Creamy Spinach Pasta

Easy basic white sauce pasta dish. Would be divine with some sauted mushrooms too!

Creamy Spinach Pasta
serves two

Ingredients

1 cup chopped spinach (if frozen, defrost)
200ml soy/rice milk

2 Tbls GF flour

1 tsp vegan margarine

2 cloves garlic, finelty chopped

1 tsp salt

1 Tbls water at room temperature
2 Tbls nutritional yeast
salt or seasoning to taste (I like vegan chicken salt)
1/2 box GF pasta (serves two)

Method

Cook pasta per packet instructions.
In a non stick saucepan add margarine and garlic on a low heat and sauté for 1 min.
In a small bowl whisk in flour and water and till it forms a paste without lumps.
Reduce heat to very low and pour in paste.
Whisk and pour in milk, small amounts at a time until blended.
Continue whisking and pouring milk until milk is finished.
Increase heat to medium and simmer until mixture thickens, stirring occasionally.
Turn off heat, whisk in salt and nutritional yeast.
Stir in spinach and mix well.
Add in the cooked pasta and fold through.

Homemade Chai Tea

Adapted from a recipe on The Hathi Cooks. For Chai Latte add twice as much milk.

 Homemade Chai Tea
(makes 1 large cup or 2 small)

Ingredients

1/2 cup non-dairy milk
1/2 cup water
1 to 2 tsp. vegan sugar, or agave
1 tsp. loose tea leaves
1-2 whole star anise
1/4 tsp. chai masala  see recipe below


Method

Pour all ingredients into a saucepan.
Place over medium heat.
Allow to heat until small bubbles appear around the perimeter of the milk.
Stir the chai, scraping the bottom to avoid scalding the milk.
When the milk comes to a boil, turn off the heat and stir well.
Bring to a boil once again, turn off the heat and stir well.
Allow to steep for a few minutes.
Strain carefully into a cup, and serve.

Chai Masala
Makes about 1 cup of chai masala.

Ingredients

16 g. whole black peppercorn (or finely ground, same weight. Volume: 1 cup + 7 Tbsp)
25 g. whole dried ginger or ginger powder (Volume: 1 cup + 8 Tbsp)
10 g. cinnamon sticks (or finely ground, same weight. Volume: 1/4 cup + 2 1/2 Tbsp)
10 g. whole cardamom seeds (or finely ground, same weight. Volume: 1/2 cup + 1/2 Tbsp)
1 g. whole cloves (or finely ground, same weight. Volume: 1 Tbsp)
1 g. nutmeg (or finely ground, same weight. Volume: 1 Tbsp)


Method

If you are using whole spices, weigh out the appropriate amount, place in spice grinder and grind into a fine powder.
Mix all the spices together, store in an airtight jar in a cool, dry part of your kitchen.
Do not expose to too much sunlight.

Brown Lentil Dahl

Original recipe from NY Times. Dahl is an easy, tasty & healthy way to enjoy Indian cuisine. I love it paired with raita and saffron rice.

Brown Lentil Dahl

Ingredients

½ pound brown lentils (about 1 1/8 cups), washed
1 small onion, cut in half
2 garlic cloves, cut in half
1 bay leaf
4 cups water
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon turmeric
2 teaspoons curry powder
Salt, preferably kosher salt, to taste
Chopped cilantro for garnish


Method

Combine the lentils, onion, garlic, bay leaf, and water in a medium soup pot or heavy saucepan.
Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer 30 minutes.
Add salt to taste (under-salt slightly because you will be reducing the liquid), and continue to simmer for another 15 minutes, until the lentils are falling apart tender and fragrant.
Remove the onion and garlic and discard.
Heat the oil in a large, heavy nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
Add the spices and stir as they sizzle for about 30 seconds, until very fragrant.
Add the beans with their liquid and cook, stirring and mashing with the back of a wooden spoon, until the mixture thickens, like refried beans.
Add salt to taste, once the mixture has reduced to the desired consistency.
Spoon onto plates and top each serving with a generous spoonful of yogurt and a sprinkling of chopped cilantro.

Fried Falafel with Tahini Sauce

Original falafel recipe from Tori Avey.

Fried Falafel with Tahini Sauce

Ingredients

1 pound (about 2 cups) dry chickpeas/garbanzo beans - you must start with dry, do NOT substitute canned, they will not work!
1 small onion, roughly chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
3-5 cloves garlic (I prefer roasted)
1 1/2 tbsp flour
1 3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Pinch of ground cardamom
Vegetable oil for frying (grapeseed, canola, and peanut oil work well)


Method

Pour the chickpeas into a large bowl and cover them by about 3 inches of cold water.
Let them soak overnight. They will double in size as they soak – you will have between 4 and 5 cups of beans after soaking.
Drain and rinse the garbanzo beans well.
Pour them into your food processor along with the chopped onion, garlic cloves, parsley, flour, salt, cumin, ground coriander, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and cardamom.
Pulse all ingredients together until a rough, coarse meal forms.
Scrape the sides of the processor periodically and push the mixture down the sides.
Process till the mixture is somewhere between the texture of couscous and a paste.
Once the mixture reaches the desired consistency, pour it out into a bowl and use a fork to stir; this will make the texture more even throughout. Remove any large chickpea chunks that the processor missed.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
Fill a skillet with vegetable oil to a depth of 1 ½ inches.
Heat the oil slowly over medium heat.
Meanwhile, form 2 Tbls of falafel mixture into round balls or slider-shaped patties using wet hands or a falafel scoop.
The balls will stick together loosely at first, but will bind nicely once they begin to fry.
Before frying my first batch of falafel, I like to fry a test one in the center of the pan.
If the oil is at the right temperature, it will take 2-3 minutes per side to brown (5-6 minutes total).
If it browns faster than that, your oil is too hot and your falafels will not be fully cooked in the center. Cool the oil down slightly and try again.
When the oil is at the right temperature, fry the falafels in batches of 5-6 at a time till golden brown on both sides.
Once the falafels are fried, remove them from the oil using a slotted spoon.
Let them drain on paper towels.
Serve the falafels fresh and hot; they go best with a plate of hummus and topped with creamy tahini sauce.


Tahini Sauce

Method

1/2 cup tahini paste
1 Tbls lemon juice
1 garlic clove, chopped finely
1 tsp fresh chopped parsley
1 tsp salt
Pepper to taste


Method

Whisk or process all ingredients adding a small amount of water and increase the water until you have the consistency you desire.

Coriander Quinoa Salad with Chili Lime Dressing

I invented this when I had some left over quinoa and it was so delicious. Serves two as a side or one big piggy like me :)

Coriander Quinoa Salad with Chili Lime Dressing

Ingredients

1 cup cooked quinoa
2 carrots cut julienne or shredded
1/2 cup sugar snap peas, topped and tailed
1/4 cup wilted baby spinach
1/2 cup chopped coriander/cilantro leaves
Juice of one lime
1 tsp agave/sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1-2 tsp chili flakes
2 tsp sesame oil


Method

In a large bowl mix together the salad ingredients.
In a small bowl, whisk lime juice, agave, salt, chilli flakes and sesame oil.
Pour dressing over salad and toss well.