Mango BBQ Beans and Cornbread

Another Appetite for Reduction recipe!!!

This time I made Mango BBQ Beans and Fresh Corn and Scallion Corn Bread






First up, the beans:
What I liked:
Really tasty! I loved the homemade BBQ flavor! It was super easy too, once I cooked the dried beans.

What I disliked:
Nothin' really.

What I substituted:
Maple syrup for agave.I ended up using only one TBSP of sweetener (tasting as I went) which was perfect!

My man's opinion:
He said he liked it but would prefer it over something besides rice (my choice of side with it.) Maybe someday I can try the suggestion for mashed yucca!

I also made the Fresh Corn and Scallion Cornbread to go with it:


What I liked:
It was quick and easy to mix up with no weird ingredients.

What I disliked:
It didn't seem to turn out quite like I imagined...it was both dense and crumbly. You can see the weird texture in that first pic. It almost didn't firm up into bread. I gave it about 5 extra minutes from the max time and still it wasn't quite right. I thought it could have used a bit more salt or maybe oil...it sorta tasted low-fat, if that makes sense?? I put a little EB on it after which helped!

What I substituted:
Maple syrup for agave. Frozen corn (thawed as suggested) instead of fresh.

Recipe notes:
Seemed to take a little longer to bake than the recipe said. Of course, my oven could possibly be off temp.

My man's opinion:
Thought it was okay, but he mixed it into his beans after tasting it, haha.


One or two more recipes from this book over the weekend and then I move on to the Veganomicon! :)

Irish Stew & Red Beans and Rice...CHEAP!

Hello, hello and happy Monday to you all.

Today I made my first recipe from my new cookbook, Appetite for Reduction (which is by the author of Veganomicon, Vegan with a Vengeance and that awesome vegan cupcake book).



The recipe I chose was the Irish Stew with Seitan and Potatoes.




It was perfect for a cold day! I'm doing a fun weekly cookbook challenge on a vegan cooking forum, so you'll see a lot of recipes from cookbooks in the coming weeks. I'll try to do a mini-review of each recipe!


Irish Stew with Seitan and Potatoes (Appetite for Reduction)

What I liked:
It was very easy and filling. Perfect for a winter weeknight. It was not heavy like a meat based stew, the lemon added at the end made it yummy.
The ingredients were also very inexpensive.

What I disliked:
Nothing at all, it was delicious!!!

What I substituted:
I like the lemon flavor in this, but I also used 2 1/4 tbsp instead of 3 because it seemed like it that was plenty...although who knows, maybe I missed out ;)

I also used a lager for the "ale" cause that's what I had on hand.

Recipe notes:
It seemed like the amount of oil used was not quite enough. After sauteeing the seitan and removing them from the pan, there seemed to be no oil leftover for the onions and spices. I just added some water and it was totally fine, but it could be a problem without a non-stick pan.
It was very true to the time it estimated for the recipe, which is always great!

My man's opinion:
He absolutely loved this and requested I make it again :)

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I also made my requisite day-before-payday Red Beans and Rice.
There is no real recipe here...just use what you have! I make it in my crockpot and it always comes out delicious.





All you need is:

Red Beans (kidney beans)
Cajun seasoning ( I used Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning)
Veggie broth or water
Chopped celery and onion (can be left out, just add more spices)
Liquid Smoke (can be left out)
White Rice

Put the beans,celery and onion in the crockpot and cover with about twice as much water or broth. Turn on high and let them cook all day or at least 5 hours. When the beans are nearly done, add as much seasoning as you like, just keep tasting the liquid in the pot. Add a couple of drops of liquid smoke. That's it!!! Sometimes I add leftover seitan or even softened "bacon" bits (omit liquid smoke for this).
Serve with rice, cornbread and greens for a yummy and truly cheap meal!

If you want a stovetop method with the spice mix broken down, this recipe is great too:
http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2006/02/real-louisiana-red-beans-and-rice.html

The cornbread muffins I served with these are from Robin Robertson's book 1000 Vegan Recipes, a wonderful tome of great recipes!

I love this recipe because it is all pantry ingredients. No soy yogurt or egg replacer needed! That makes it cheap and easy to add to any meal. I added jalapeños to the batter this time, yum!

Hope you all survive the coming week...! :)

MOFO

Catch-up time! I haven't blogged for a few days, things have been hectic. Currently waiting for the weather to make it's damn mind up about snowing so we can either travel or not travel for Thanksgiving!

In penance I offer this cookie:



It's a recipe by Dreena Burton that I really love but don't make all that often because it calls for 1/3 cup maple syrup which frankly isn't in the budget that often. Here is where you can get the RECIPE and watch Dreena make them!
http://www.everydaydish.tv/index.php?page=recipe&recipe=86

Also, Vegan Vittles has a recipe for extended maple syrup that is quite helpful! Some google sleuthing will find it ;)


---------------------------------------!!!HOT TODDY ALERT!!!------------------------
I made hot toddies recently since it has been very chilly here especially at night. Usually these are made with honey but if you're adverse like me, agave works great as does some simple syrup or just sugar if the liquid is hot enough to dissolve it well.

You can find a recipe online easily but you can improvise. Just taste test as you go!

I like a bit of orange zest in mine....This time I used a clementine. Cute!

Gimme some sugah!

Nutmeg and cinnamon...spicy!

Freshly grated is the best!

Lovely lemon:

The magic elixir:

Throw it in a teapot with boiling water so you can top it off when it starts to cool down!

......aaaaaaand then forget to take a picture when you are done! ;)
Here's an action shot.. Not too pretty, but very warming!

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Today I made some burritos (wraps?) that had BBQ glazed sweet potato, black beans, jasmine rice,chili powder and avocado, YUMMY!!!



MMMMMM!!!


Where burritos go to die:


Send anti-snow thoughts my way, people!!!

MOFO the 14th

Making diner a little early tonight as I'm off to work soon... I opted for the Leek and Bean Cassoulet from Veganomicon as it's perfect cheap winter food.



I can never seem to follow a recipe exactly as written...Here I modified a few things. I used whole wheat pastry flour (and added nooch) for the biscuits instead of AP. I also added cabbage, squash and extra garlic to the stew part.
I garnished it with the cute flower that my garlic chive plant made...thanks plant!



Overflow....


Also, since I had a little leftover pumpkin and an old baguette I thought I'd throw together a quick bread pudding. (I'm scrambling to take the photo here cause I'm also trying to put the cassoulet biscuits together so sorry that it looks crappy, haha)


I do plan to make a cream of sorts and a caramel topping for this later tonight but I couldn't wait to try it right away!!! I scooped some out piping hot and added a few chocolate chips to melt into it...pretty good for an on the fly/leftovers recipe.
Bread puddings are awesome for that, you can make endless variations.

MOFO DAY TWO

Okay seriously, yesterday was only the second day and I didn't post....lame. So this is Day 2 really. Here's what I cooked yesterday and maybe I'll do a post later today too.

White Bean, Kale, and Rice Soup


Pretty much perfect for a chilly autumn night. This was sort of thrown together with the ingredients dictated by what was in my fridge and pantry.

I cooked the rice first and then dumped some into a pot that I had sauteed garlic in.
Then I added the white beans (which were cooked yesterday) and several cups of water.
I was out of broth, so I fudged it with some 'poultry' seasoning (I think it's usually parsley, sage, marjoram,rosemary,garlic and thyme or something like that), nooch, low sodium soy sauce and black pepper. With bean soups this usually works well because the beans themselves add some flavor to the cooking water.
Lastly I added the kale right into the pot raw, it got stewed pretty well in a couple of minutes. I sopped up all that brothy goodness with a baguette too......DELICIOUS!