Chickpea Crepe with Carrot Top Cheese

June 2, 2020

George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Tony McDade; it feels important to us to acknowledge these three Black people who were recently murdered by the police. Right now we are feeling grief, loss, anger, anxiety, and extreme sadness that we live in a society that deems White people worthy and needing protection while condemning Black people as something to fear and kill. Rachel Lewitt, one of Camille’s mentors, pointed out that we are currently seeing some of the largest demonstrations since the 60s, and we can create radical change y’all. We can resist!

We’ve been noticing a lot of White people just now realizing that racism still exists, feeling the injustice, and wanting to take action. Some of the things coming up for White people right now are anger, fear, being overwhelmed, confusion, the feeling of wanting to use our white privilege to end racism, the need to fix this, wanting to be good and do the right thing, and wanting to take action. Awesome, we need all of us in this work! We all need to be fighting racism wherever it shows up and if you are reading this and you are White, racism lives in your body, and ours too. To be White in the US is to be indoctrinated into the lies of white supremacy culture. To be White in the US is to be racist. If you feel activated by these statements, that is a normal response and is part of what will keep you from being able to do the work.

If you’d like to talk to us about this, reach out to us at chickpeasandspice@gmail.com. We’re here to process this with you, no judgement. This is inside our bodies too and until we all look at it, face it, understand it, and extract it we will continue to do harm.

Rachel Lewitt, a wake-up leader in Portland, who is deeply inspired by and mentored by Holistic Resistance says, “when White people become under-resourced, we become even more dangerous”. Right now we are living through the global trauma of a pandemic as well as the trauma of living under the oppression of white supremacy culture. If you, like me, are new to seeing the ways in which white supremacy culture systemically targets and kills black people as well as erasing indigenous people this can be a lot to take in. Remember to go slow. Don’t expend all your energy this week yelling and then assume you have done your part. As Aaron Johnson from Holistic Resistance says, “this is a marathon”. Our question is why are you doing this work? What will keep you doing this work?

If you aren’t White, we hope you are getting rest, nourishment, and time for whatever it is that you need.

One of the ways we resource ourselves is to cook delicious food and eat it. This is our most recent joyful recipe: A delicious crispy chickpea crepe with cheesy carrot top cheese and fresh sugar snap peas topped with tangy pickled onion. May it bring you nourishment that will help sustain you as you do the deep work of opposing racism where it comes up both internally and in the world.

Serves: 2-4

Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

2 cups sugar snap peas

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup oil for frying

For the Pickled Onion

1 tiny onion

Juice of half a lime

1/2 tsp salt

For the Carrot Top Cheese

1 cup cashews soaked

1 tbsp olive oil

3 tbsp water

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 clove garlic

juice and zest of 1/2 lemon (about 2 tbsp lemon juice)

small handful of carrot tops

2 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)

For the Chickpea Crepe

1 1/2 cups chickpea flour

1 1/4 tsp sea salt

1 3/4 cups water

3 tbsp olive oil

3/4 tsp rosemary

Cover cashews with cold water and put in the fridge to soak for 30 minutes. Thinly slice the onion and add it and the salt and lime juice to a bowl. Set the onions aside to pickle, this takes at least 30 minutes. If you have some leftover, they keep in the fridge. Store them with the liquid. Mix the chickpea flour, salt, water, olive oil, and rosemary and whisk until smooth and let sit for 30 minutes.

Remove the ends from sugar snap peas. Heat pan with a high heat oil until it is medium to high heat. Add the sugar snap peas and cook until blistered and golden brown on one side. Flip. Salt while the second side cooks. Remove from heat when the second side has golden brown parts and set aside.

Combine all the cheese ingredients and blend until smooth, scraping down the sides of your blender or food processor as you go. The cheese keeps for 1 week. You can freeze and use it later if you don’t need the whole batch.

You can use either a food processor or a Vitamix blender for this. Using a food processor will give the cheese slightly more texture and a Vitamix will make the cheese extra silky/creamy. Both are good! I would not recommend trying to make this cheese in a blender that isn’t high powered, as the nuts can be hard on the motor and the cheese will come out with a strange texture. Note, I don’t always soak the cashews and can say from first hand it isn’t 100% necessary when using a Vitamix. It does however help take care of your equipment and can make the final product creamier, so I do recommend it, if you have the time. Because this is a thicker cheese recipe, if using a Vitamix we recommend using the tamper while blending. If you don’t have this you can add a bit of extra water to help with the blending process.

Using the same pan (clean first if there is any residue), heat a small amount of oil. Once the oil is hot, add 1/3 cup of chickpea batter to the hot pan. Tilt the pan to spread out the batter, and cook until golden brown and crispy on one side. Be patient, when the bottom is golden brown and crispy, the edges of the top will start to show color. Flip the crepe over and cook until speckled with golden brown on the second side. Cooking crepes to have a crisp but flexible texture takes some practice. Some tips are make sure your oil is hot before you add the batter. Don’t add too much batter. Allow the first side to cook until an even color is achieved before flipping. Remember, the first pancake rule applies to crepes as well. Your first crepe might come out under cooked and crumbly. Don’t be discouraged, keep cooking, be patient, and future crepes will be better.

We often cook as many crepes as we want to eat when we first make this dish. We then refrigerate the batter and fry fresh crepes for leftovers. When cooking batter that has been refrigerated, make sure to stir thoroughly before frying and if it is too thick, you can add a little water to thin it out.

To assemble the crepes, spread some carrot top cheese onto the crepe, top with sugar snap peas and onions. Try not to transfer too much of the lime juice when you transfer the onion onto a crepe. Roll them up and enjoy!

Chickpea Crepe with Broiled Asparagus

May 26, 2020

Many cultures worldwide have a pancake or crepe traditionally made with bean flour. In Northern India there is the chilla, in Western India, the pudla. In Italy, it is called socca or farinata. Each of these variations is made with different traditional ingredients and techniques. Inspired by these recipes, today we are sharing how to make a thin, crisp gluten-free crepe that can be easily wrapped around filling. It’s spring time where we live, so our filling today will feature asparagus as it’s one of our all time favorite spring treats.

Serves: 2-4

Time: 1 hr

Ingredients:

1 bunch asparagus

zest from 1/2 lemon

1 bunch spring onions

salt

olive oil

For the pesto

1 bunch spinach, de-stemmed and thoroughly rinsed

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

2 cloves garlic

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tsp salt

3 sun-dried tomatoes, soaked and drained

2 tbsp nutritional yeast

zest of 1/2 lemon

2 tbsp lemon juice (start with less to try)

For the Chickpea Crepe

1 1/2 cups chickpea flour

1 1/4 tsp sea salt

1 3/4 cups water

3 tbsp olive oil

3/4 tsp thyme

To make the chickpea crepes, whisk together chickpea flour, salt, water, olive oil, and thyme and allow to sit for 30 minutes. While crepe batter is sitting, make the spinach pesto. Start by soaking the sun-dried tomatoes in hot water until they are plump and re-hydrated. Note, if you are using sun-dried tomatoes in oil then you can skip this re-hydrating step.

Thoroughly clean and then blanch the spinach. To blanch, bring a small pot of water, well salted, to a boil. Put a bowl of ice water next to the stove. Add the cleaned spinach to the boiling water and cook about one minute. Remove with a slotted spoon and immediately immerse in ice water. Squeeze as much water out of the spinach as you can and drain the sun-dried tomatoes. Add both to a food processor or blender along with the rest of the ingredients from the ‘For the Pesto’ list. Blend until smooth and creamy.

Heat a small amount of oil in large flat pan. Once the oil is hot, add 1/3 cup of chickpea batter to the hot pan. Tilt the pan to spread out the batter, and cook until golden brown and crispy on one side. Be patient, when the bottom is golden brown and crispy, the edges of the top will be starting to show color. Flip the crepe over and cook until speckled with golden brown on the second side. Cooking crepes to have a crisp but flexible texture takes some practice. Some tips are make sure your oil is hot before you add the batter. Don’t add too much batter. Allow the first side to cook until an even color is achieved before flipping. Remember, the first pancake rule applies to crepes as well. Your first crepe might come out under cooked and crumbly. Don’t be discouraged, keep cooking, be patient, and future crepes will be better.

Turn on the oven to broil. Rinse the asparagus and trim about 1/2 inch off the bottom. Arrange on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle about 1/4 tsp of salt and put in the broiler. Note, depending on your oven, this could be the top shelf, or a drawer at the bottom. Broil the asparagus for 7 minutes, remove and flip, and broil another 7 minutes for a total of 14 minutes of cooking time. The asparagus should be golden brown. Set aside to cool slightly. Once these are cool enough to touch (but still warm) slice into 1 inch long pieces. This is an optional step, but will make the food much easier to eat as otherwise the asparagus can become stringy when you bite into it.

Cut the spring onions lengthwise into thin pieces 3 inches long each. Fry in oil until golden brown. Salt and remove. Put them on a plate or piece of paper bag.

To assemble, spread the pesto on the crepe then add asparagus. Sprinkle with crispy spring onions and lemon zest. Form this into a hand wrap and enjoy!

Garlic Scape Spread

May 19, 2020

Scapes are in season and we learned to make this spread from Laura at River Bank Farm. We love making a bunch of this and keeping it in the fridge for delicious local garlic all summer long. Often we use scape spread as a replacement for minced garlic, which cuts down on cooking time. It is also a delicious spread to add to sandwiches.

Serves: 16 oz

Time: 10 min

Ingredients:

Scapes (about two handfuls), coarsely chopped

Olive oil (1/4 cup or less)

Blend the scapes and olive oil in a food processor until fully pureed. Store the mixture in a jar in the fridge and use a tablespoon as a replacement for 3 cloves of minced garlic in any stir fry, salad dressing, soup, stew, etc. If you have an abundance of scapes, make some extra and store it in the freezer to use when you run out of your first batch.

Tangy Nut Butter Noodles

May 12, 2020

We like to keep carrots and cabbage in the fridge because they take a long time to go bad; if stored well these can keep for many months! Because of this recipe, we always keep the other ingredients (soy curls, thai noodles, and nut butter) stocked in my pantry. During the before times, when we had guests over or have run out of food ideas we always had a back up meal already planned. We also loved feeding this to guests because it makes a lot and is fairly cheap. Plus, white people are often excited that it is not the usual ‘American’ fare. Now, we are happy this is a low effort meal that makes our bodies feel good that we can pull together if we aren’t feeling like putting in much effort.

A note on tamarind. We like to buy jarred tamarind paste and keep it in our fridge, as it is a great acid to add to many meals. If you can't find packaged tamarind paste, however, no worries -- dried tamarind pulp is available at many Asian and Latin American grocery stores, and you can use the pulp to make your own paste. Soak the brick of pulp in hot water until it's cool enough to touch, then break it down with your hands to incorporate the water and release the flavor. Run the thick paste through a sieve to strain out the pods, and keep in the fridge or freezer. You can simmer the resulting liquid until it is a thicker paste, but that is a question of personal preference.

Serves: 4

Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

2 large carrots (3/4 lb)

1 lb cabbage (4 cups, packed)

1 package pad thai noodles

5 tbsp neutral oil for frying vegetables and soy curls, divided

1/4 cup toasted peanuts or almonds, chopped

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

for the soy curls:

4 oz soy curls

1 bouillon cube or 1 tsp Better than Bouillon paste

1 1/2 cups hot water

for the sauce:

1/4 cup peanut or almond butter

1 tsp lime zest

2 tbsp lime juice

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 tsp sriracha

1 tsp tamarind

3 tbsp soy tamari (gluten-free soy sauce)

2 tbsp water

Slice carrots into 2 inch long julienne and chop cabbage. Dissolve bouillon in hot water and soak the soy curls for 10-15 minutes. They will re-hydrate and should soak up all of the water that you put in. Heat 2 tbsp of neutral oil to medium heat in a pan. Add the veggies and fry until the carrots are starting to brown and the cabbage is starting to crisp. This takes about 10-15 min.

In the meantime put a pot of well salted water on to boil. The water should taste about as salty as sea water so that the noodles soak in the water and are perfectly salted when done. Don’t worry if these feels like a lot of salt; you will be draining the water. Once boiling, add the noodles into the water and cook until soft (check noodle package for instructions). Once you drain them, remember to rinse with lots of cool water to prevent clumping. Remove the veggies from the frying pan and set aside. Heat the veggie pan with 3 tbsp of oil and fry the soy curls until brown and crispy, about 15 minutes.

Whisk together nut butter, lime juice and zest, sesame oil, sriracha, tamarind, tamari, and water. If your nut butter is clumpy, we recommend stirring the lime juice into the nut butter first to work out the clumps before adding the rest of the ingredients. Also if your almond butter is very thick you may want to add some water to make the sauce thinner. This isn’t necessary, but makes stirring easier.

Toast the nuts in a dry pan until slightly darker in color. Chop the almonds or peanuts and cilantro. Toss the veggies, soy curls, and noodles with the sauce and serve warm, garnished with cilantro and toasted nuts. Enjoy!

Cardamom Mango Smoothie

May 5, 2020

Anne first had a mango lassi when they were twelve and loved it. Their body does not enjoy mango lassis made the way that first one was made, but this mango smoothie is reminiscent and delicious without the ingredients that don’t work for our bodies. Feel free to play around and make it your own!

Serves: 1 16 oz drink

Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup (8 oz) of your preferred non-dairy milk (soy-free option, nut-free option)

3/4 cup frozen mango

3 - 6 pitted medjool dates, pits removed

1/2 tsp freshly ground cardamom

Add nut milk and dates to a high speed blender and blend until the dates have incorporated into the liquid. Add mango and cardamom and blend until smooth. Enjoy!

Black Beans and Rice with Cilantro Crema

April 28, 2020

When we were kids, our understanding of vegetarians was all they ate were black beans and rice. We now know that isn’t true at all, however we do love going back to this as a staple. Warm rice and beans with zesty cilantro cream on top is straight up delicious. It’s also quick and it’s easy to substitute whatever veggies you have on hand to help you clean out the fridge. Also, if you don’t have sunflower seeds you can substitute cashews or pumpkin seeds in the crema. If you aren’t using an Instant Pot to cook your beans, you will need to add 2-3 hrs of bean cooking time in addition to an overnight soak. We don’t recommend using canned beans for this recipe since much of the flavor comes from how the beans are cooked.

Black beans and rice is a staple in many cuisines and we didn’t want to post this without talking briefly about cultural appropriation. Part of being raised and socialized white in the US is not being taught our rich ancestral traditions and ethnic origins. These were purposefully taken from us in the 1600s during the process of making us white and others non-white. Not having those rich historical traditions at our fingertips, and being settlers on a foreign land, it is easy to be hungry for traditions be they spiritual, musical, artistic, or food/recipes. For us, the food culture we grew up with was largely invented in the 1950s and revolved around meat. When we moved away from those food traditions, we felt like we were missing something. We had no cultural knowledge of how to cook vegetables deliciously or how to have a varied diet that fed all our body’s needs. It is here that we need to acknowledge that many of the foods and food preparations we learned were from cultures other than our own. Often ones that have been historically dominated by white people. How do we justify sharing these recipes that are neither all our own nor authentic to an originating culture? How do we know when we are appropriating and when we aren’t?

We don’t have the answers to these questions and we aren’t going to stop ourselves from living in hopes of not doing harm (harm is inevitable). What we offer is this: here is one of our recipes for a staple from a culture that isn’t ours. Cook with it, enjoy it, and if you feel harmed by us sharing it please let us know - we are ready and open to learning publicly. If you are interested about learning more on cultural appropriation check out one of our favorite articles or favorite podcast episode on the topic.

What’s Wrong with Cultural Appropriation? These 9 Answers Reveal Its Harm

In a Metal Mood - Revisionist History

Time: 1 hr with Instant Pot

Serves: 6

Ingredients

1 avocado

For the Beans:

1 1/3 cup dry black beans

1 clove garlic

1 tbsp kosher salt

2 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp chili

sprinkle of cayenne

squeeze of lime

For the Rice:

1 1/2 cup brown rice

3 cups of water (or stock)

1 tsp bouillon (gluten-free option; soy-free option)

1/4 tsp salt

3 tbsp minced cilantro

squeeze lime

For the Veggies:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 small onion, thinly sliced

2 medium bell peppers (I like yellow and orange), thinly sliced

1 small zucchini, cut in half coins

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp salt, divided

squeeze of lime

For the Sauce:

2/3 cup sunflower seeds

1 cup water

1/2 bunch cilantro

juice of half a lime

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp sriracha

Soak the sunflower seeds in a bowl of water.

Add the all bean ingredients to an Instant Pot. Cover the beans and seasonings with water (in the small Instant Pot this is about 6 cups of water). Set the Instant Pot to pressure cook for 19 minutes letting depressurize naturally. Drain and rinse the beans before adding to the dish. If you don’t have an Instant Pot, see bean cooking instructions at the bottom*.

While the beans are cooking, put rice and water in a small pot. Bring to a boil add bouillon and salt, stir to dissolve. Reduce to a simmer and simmer about 45 minutes or until the rice has absorbed all of the water. Remove from heat, stir in cilantro, and a squeeze of lime juice.

While the rice is cooking, thinly slice the onions and bell peppers. Cut the zucchini into half coins. In a frying pan heat 2 tbsp olive oil and 1/2 tsp salt. When the oil is hot add onions and cook until starting to brown, about 7 minutes. Add the bell peppers and zucchini and fry. When veggies start to turn oily, after about 2 minutes add the remaining salt and cumin. Continue frying until golden brown, about 5 more minutes. Remove from heat and add a squeeze of lime.

To make the sauce, drain the soaked sunflower seeds and add them with the other sauce ingredients to a high powered blender and blend until smooth. Taste and season accordingly.

Slice avocado and add a pinch of salt and a squeeze of lime juice.

To assemble: layer rice, beans, veggies, and top with sliced avocado and a thick drizzle of sauce. Enjoy!

*To Cook Beans without an Instant Pot:

If you don’t have an Instant Pot, you can easily cook beans from scratch with a little planning. First you will need to soak the beans which can be done one of two ways. 1. you can soak them overnight making sure they have enough water and space to double in size or 2. you can put them in a pot and bring to boil, then turn off the water and let soak for one hour. Again, make sure you have enough water and space that they can double in size.

Sheep Lover's Pie

April 21, 2020

This sheep lover’s pie is our take on a more traditional ‘shepherd’s pie’. The layering of peppered mushrooms, sweet carrots and cabbage, edamame, and fresh swiss chard makes a savory sensation you won’t want to miss! Topped off with our famous garlicky potatoes we always get excited when we have leftovers to eat day after day.

We love this dish because it is easy to use up whatever is in your fridge or whatever your farm has in stock. Speaking of farms, now is a great time to remember we still need to support our local farmers if we want to continue to have access to delicious local food!

If you live in the Portland area consider buying online from The Side Yard Farm https://www.thesideyardpdx.com/. If you live in the Seattle area, Kirsop Farm https://www.kirsopfarm.com/ has an online shopping option. If you live in Roxbury, Connecticut, Riverbank Farm has an online option with a pick up at the garage: https://www.riverbankfarm.com/.

We are great believers in the value of small local farms and farmer’s markets. Right now, many small farms are struggling because a large part of their revenue comes from farmers markets. Social distancing, and in some places closure of markets, means that farms can use any help they can get. Shopping directly from local farms is one way to help, another is to give to local funds that offer grants to farms who have lost revenue. A great way to figure out how to help is to check out your local farmer’s market website.

On the subject of giving back, many of us will have seen, or will soon see, stimulus checks in our bank accounts. As white settlers we are keenly aware that, due to systematic oppression, the pandemic is having disproportionate impact on black, indigenous, and people of color. For example, stimulus checks are being distributed widely, independent of level of need. This means that those continuing to work and seeing less impact receive as much as or more than the most impacted.

For those who have lost jobs or were already in a precarious place, the stimulus checks are a great boon, but Anne’s family looked at their situation and decided that the additional income is not as essential to them as it is could be to others who are bearing the brunt of this global pandemic. They chose to give their stimulus check to local organizations supporting those who are most impacted by the pandemic. We offer this thought: do you need your stimulus check? If you don’t, please consider giving to organizations in your area that are supporting those who do.

If you want some ideas of organizations check out: https://www.sharemycheck.org/

Serves: 4

Time: 2 hours (1 hour active time)

Ingredients

4-6 red potatoes (1 1/3 lb), quartered with skin on

3 tbsp salt, divided

1 head garlic

3/4 cup raw cashews and water to soak

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

1 cup olive oil, divided

3 cups sliced cremini (1/2 lb), sliced

1/2 tsp pepper

1 medium onion (1 1/2 cups), chopped

2 medium carrots (1/3 lb), cubed

1/2 lb cabbage, chopped

1 cup frozen peas

1 cup frozen edamame

5 leaves of chard, de-stemmed and chopped

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Cover the cashews with water and put them in the fridge until you make the mashed potatoes. Roast the garlic. You can do this a number of ways and our two favorite are to use a garlic roaster or a small cast iron pan. If you are using a garlic roaster chop the tops off the garlic, drizzle a bit of oil into the garlic cloves, put this into the garlic roaster and roast in the oven for about 45 minutes. To use a small cast iron pan, peel the garlic and place cloves in the cast iron pan with a small amount of olive oil. Roast this in the oven for about 20 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Either way, the garlic should look golden brown and be very soft. With the cast iron method, it is easier to burn the garlic so make sure to check on it.

Quarter and boil the potatoes in very salty water until tender. The water should taste about as salty as sea water so that the potatoes soak in the water and are perfectly salted when done. Don’t worry if these feels like a lot of salt; you will be draining the water. Drain the potatoes when they are fork tender.

Saute mushrooms in 1 tbsp olive oil until tender and starting to brown, about 20 minutes. When they are soft, add the pepper. Layer the mushrooms on the bottom of a baking dish (we use an 8.5” casserole or a 12” cast iron pan). Layer the peas on top of the mushrooms. It’s okay if they are still frozen.

Saute the onion and carrot about 10 minutes on medium high heat until the onions are translucent and the carrots are starting to brown, stirring regularly. Add the cabbage and cook about 7 minutes longer, stirring regularly, until the cabbage has wilted and released some of its liquid.

Drain the soaked cashews and add them to a blender (we like the Vitamix) with 1/2 cup water until smooth. You can test for smoothness by rubbing some between two fingers. If it feels at all gritty, keep blending. Mash the cooked potatoes with the roasted garlic, cashew cream, 1/4 cup olive oil, and nutritional yeast together. Taste and add salt if needed. There will be salt added to the top of the potatoes once the dish is fully assembled, so be careful not to over salt. Layer the onion cabbage mixture into the baking dish. Salt this layer with 1 tsp of salt. De-stem the chard and chop or thinly slice. Add the edamame and chard before topping the whole dish with the garlicky potatoes. Rough up the top of the potatoes with a fork and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and rough them up again.

Bake about one hour until the top of the potatoes have some crispy, browned sections. Enjoy!

Asparagus Pasta

April 14, 2020

Spring is in the air, and with that our thoughts are turning towards one of our favorite vegetables: asparagus! With such a short season, we always try to take advantage by eating asparagus on everything. In this recipe asparagus is the vegetable, the garnish, and the sauce for your pasta.

*Below: harvesting the last of Asparagus for the season!*

Serves: 4-6

Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

2 bunches of asparagus (skinnier is preferable)

½ lb Pasta (for GF pasta, Camille really likes Banza Chickpea Pasta)

1/4 cup olive oil, plus 2 tbsp for frying

1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, plus 4 extra sundried tomatoes (in oil) for garnish, chopped

1 avocado

1 cup salted water (take from the pasta water)

3 tbsp nutritional yeast

1 tbsp oregano

1 tbsp soy free Vegenaise or JustMayo

Juice and zest from 1 small lemon

½ tsp pepper

Salt to taste

Cut the bottoms off the asparagus. Set aside 1 fistful of asparagus (you will broil these for a topping). Chop the rest of the asparagus stalks in 1 inch pieces and divide into two piles. It would be good if one pile had softer pieces such as the heads and slim stems and the other pile had the chunkier stalks. Make sure you have 3 cups of chunkier stalks which you will use to make the sauce.

Boil water for pasta. Dissolve enough salt in this water that it tastes like the ocean, for us this is usually around 3-4 tbsp to about 3 quarts of water. This may seem like a lot of salt, but most of it will be washed away when you drain the pasta, and the vegetables and pasta will absorb salt during the cooking process so that the dish will taste well seasoned without needing to be salted much when it is finished. Start to cook the pasta. When it has 3 min left to be fully cooked, add the pile of softer asparagus pieces (heads and slim stalks). Let this cook for about 3 minutes. The goal is to cook the asparagus until it is bright green and tender, but not so much that it starts to lose its color. If you haven’t already, steal about a cup of water from the pot and set aside, you will use this in the sauce. Then, after about a minute or when the asparagus is bright green, drain the pasta asparagus mixture, rinse with cold water, and set aside.

While the pasta cooks, you can start cooking the sauce. Start by braising 3 cups of asparagus stalks. To braise, heat up the pan with 2 tbsp olive oil. Once the oil is hot, add the asparagus and cook until browned. Add about 1/2 cup of water and cook until asparagus is soft.

Combine the braised asparagus with the 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, avocado, the cup of pasta water, nutritional yeast, oregano, Vegenaise, lemon juice (reserve 1 tsp), pepper, and salt in a food processor and puree until smooth.

While this is happening, drizzle some olive oil over the fistful of reserved whole asparagus pieces. Broil these in the oven until crispy (but not burnt). Drizzle the reserved lemon juice on the freshly roasted asparagus. Chop into inch long pieces.

Finally, combine the cooked pasta and asparagus with the sauce and top with broiled asparagus pieces and minced sun-dried tomatoes. Enjoy!

Basic Polenta Recipe

April 7, 2020

It is natural that when we experience uncertainty on the scale we are currently experiencing, we feel threatened and try to hold on tightly to what we have. That can come up as overbuying, hoarding behaviors, and distrusting others. We are trying to practice holding things more loosely and coming together (not literally) in supportive community. This in an opportunity for us to build empathy for those who have been experiencing scarcity and isolation for years and to learn from others instead of reaching for our coping mechanisms of hoarding and insulation.

We’ve been hearing about pasta shortages in grocery stores right now and instead of offering options of stores that might have pasta, we wanted to offer another grain option. Polenta is a great grain dish to serve with meals. It is wonderful with roasted veggies and beans for dinner or fried with an egg on top for breakfast.

This recipe calls for corn meal. There is specific corn meal that is ground quite coarsely for polenta, and purists would say that using finer grain corn meal makes something else, not polenta. We enjoy this dish made with whatever corn meal is available. Sometimes that means finer, sometimes coarser, but no matter where on the spectrum, we love the result.

While we like polenta best when it is made with vegetable stock, in a pinch it can be made with water and bouillon, or even just with water. We use unsalted stock, so if you opt for bouillon that is salted, keep that in mind while you cook the dish.

serves: 4-6

time: 1 hour

Ingredients

1 cup cornmeal

4 cups water, bouillon, or vegetable stock

2 tsp salt (less if your bouillon is salted)

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

1/4 cup olive oil

1 1/2 tbsp minced rosemary

Bring 4 cups of liquid to a boil. Pour cornmeal into the boiling liquid slowly and whisk continuously until it comes back up to a boil. Add 2 tsp salt. Turn the heat down to a simmer and whisk every time it gets close to boiling to keep from sticking to bottom of pan. Cook 45 minutes. After 35 minutes add the rosemary. Once you remove it from the heat whisk in nutritional yeast and olive oil.

The polenta will seem quite liquid when it is hot, but will firm up as it chills. If you would like to fry it, we recommend refrigerating in a shallow pan for easy slicing.

This tastes delicious scooped into a bowl with veggies on top or refrigerate to use for frying.

Sesame Tofu

March 31, 2020

During this global pandemic we are experiencing collective trauma and this will show up differently for everyone. It’s normal if the pandemic is triggering your disordered eating. It is normal to want to eat a lot of food. It is normal to feel the urge to restrict your food. All of these feelings are real and valid. We want to remind everyone that there is no wrong way to eat, there is no “good” food and “bad” food. It’s okay to eat all day. It’s okay to eat past being full. It’s okay to eat the food your body desires. It’s okay if you are experiencing lack of access to food and are eating what’s available to you. Today we are sharing one of our favorite dishes with the knowledge that, at least in Portland and Seattle, finding tofu has become a real challenge. If you can find tofu, you won’t regret having this delicious food around!

We are obsessed with this sweet, sticky, salty delightful dish! It makes a nice appetizer, can be eaten alone as a delicious snack, or goes great with many meals. Some of our favorite ways to eat this are with millet and stir fried broccoli and cabbage or with a rutabaga bake and fried garlic collard greens.

Time: 1 hour

Serves: 4 as a side

Ingredients

2 blocks firm or extra firm tofu

1/2 cup of cornstarch

1 tsp salt

for the sauce:

6 tbsp coconut aminos

2 tbsp tamari (gluten-free soy sauce)

2 tsp maple syrup

2 tsp toasted sesame oil

1 tbsp lime juice

1 tsp sriracha

2 tsp sesame seeds, white, black, or mixed

Cut your blocks of tofu in half so that you have four, one inch thick rectangles. Press the tofu between two kitchen towels, placing a cast iron pan, or something heavy on them to remove some of the liquid. This process can be done with a tofu press. Slice the tofu into cubes or thick sticks. Combine the cornstarch and a generous pinch of salt in a shallow bowl. Toss the tofu, a couple of pieces at a time in the cornstarch mixture until coated on all sides. Heat 2 tbsp of neutral oil in a frying pan. Once hot, fry the tofu in batches on med-high making sure it gets golden brown on all sides. Feel free to add more oil if your pan gets dry. Be careful not to crowd the tofu as that will make it all stick together. We use tongs to turn each piece separately.

To make the sauce, mix the coconut aminos, tamari (gluten-free soy sauce), maple syrup, lime juice, sriracha, and sesame seeds in a small bowl. When the tofu looks done, put all your finished batches of tofu back into the pan and pour the sauce over the tofu. Cook the tofu and sauce, stirring constantly until it becomes sticky and coats the tofu, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and enjoy!

Mushroom Stew

March 24, 2020

Growing up, one of my favorite meals was the beef stew that my father made. His stew took several hours of simmering to soften the beef, but this vegetarian version only takes 1 hr. This stew reminds me of all the great parts of the stew from my childhood. It is filling, has lots of veggies for different flavors and textures, and really warms me up on a cold and rainy day. The addition of halved garlic cloves not only reduces prep time, it also provides a sweet and garlicky surprise every couple of bites. If you don’t love garlic the way we do, feel free to mince it to reduce its prominence, or omit it entirely.

Like many of our recipes, this recipe is quite flexible. You could omit the onions and garlic if that is your preference. Potatoes could be replaced with parsnips if you are sensitive to nightshades. And white beans or chickpeas could easily be added (either blended into the liquid or chunky) for more protein. Let us know in the comments how you alter it, and how it turns out!

Serves: 6

Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

olive oil

4 cups cremini mushrooms (11 oz)

1 onion (11 oz)

6 cloves garlic, halved

3 carrots (1/2 lb)

4 potatoes (2 lb)

1 tsp dried thyme

pinch of red pepper flakes

1 1/2 tsp salt

5 cups veg stock (gluten-free option, soy-free option)

1/2 tsp pepper

1 bay leaf

1 cup peas (frozen)

1 bunch of kale, de-stemmed and thinly sliced

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

Slice and saute the mushrooms until browned, over medium heat, about 20 minutes, adding pepper after 15 minutes. In a large soup pot, saute the chopped onions and carrots in olive oil until starting to soften about 14 minutes. Add cubed potatoes, halved garlic cloves, veg stock, 1 1/2 tsp of salt, thyme, pepper flakes, and bay leaf. Bring it to a boil, turn down to a simmer and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

Put the cooked mushrooms in a blender with 3 chunks of potato from the soup. Add hot veg stock from your soup until you cover the mushrooms and chunks of potato. Blend until smooth. Pour this back into the pot of stew and add apple cider vinegar, peas, and kale. Stir to combine new ingredients and simmer for 5 more minutes or until peas are hot and greens are wilted. Enjoy!

Romanesco Alfredo Pasta

March 17, 2020

This recipe was inspired by receiving romenesco and having no idea what to make with it. We love how it pairs with the cheesy Alfredo sauce. Combined with some shittake bacon and wilted greens it’s a perfect pasta night!

Serves: 4

Time: 1 1/2 hrs

Ingredients

2 heads romenesco, cut into small florets (cauliflower or broccoli is a good substitution)

6 tbsp olive oil, divided

salt

1 batch Shiitake Bacon

1 bunch Red Russian kale (or any hearty greens)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb pasta (gluten-free option)

1 onion, sliced

3 tbsp white wine, optional

For the Breadcrumbs:

1 cup breadcrumbs (gluten-free option)

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

1 tbsp garlic powder

3 tbsp olive oil

For the sauce:

1 cup cashews soaked for at least 30 min

1 1/2 cup water

1/2 lemon, juiced

1/2 tbsp garlic granules

1 tbsp nutritional yeast

1/2 tsp salt

1 pinch of red pepper flakes

Pre-heat the oven to 375 F and soak 1 cup of cashews in water. Start making shiitake bacon since the mushrooms need time to marinate. Cut the romenesco into florets and toss with 4 tbsp of olive oil and 1 tsp of salt. Bake for 45 minutes or until tender and golden brown with a couple of crispy bits.

To make the breadcrumbs, whizz the sunflower seeds in a food processor until breadcrumb consistency. Add all the rest of the ingredients except the olive oil. Start the food processor and stream the olive oil into the mixture while it is running. This should clump some of the breadcrumbs together. Be careful not to over blend.

Drain the soaked cashews. Add them and all of the other sauce ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. To test the consistency, put a small amount of sauce on your finger and rub your fingers together. If it is completely smooth then you are there! If it feels at all like there is some sandiness, keep blending.

Boil a pot of well salted water. If you aren’t sure how much salt to use, the water should taste similar to seawater. Once boiling, add pasta and cook to desired consistency (follow instructions on pasta package). While pasta is boiling, cook the shiitake bacon and slice the onions. Next de-stem kale, wash, and slice into ribbons. Mince the garlic.

After straining the pasta, heat the pasta pot with oil and saute the onion until it caramelizes and turns a beautiful brown color. You will need to stir less at the beginning, but as the onion starts to break down you will need to be stirring non-stop. If the onion starts to stick, de-glaze the pan with a bit of white wine (optional). Add the cashew alfredo sauce to the pan and stir until slightly thickened. At the same time, in a separate pan, cook the garlic in a little bit of oil, adding the kale in just to wilt. Set these aside.

Now, it’s time to add it all together! Add the strained pasta back into the pot with the Alfredo sauce and stir to coat. To plate serve the Alfredo pasta topped with the romenesco, wilted garlic kale, and shittake bacon. Garnish with breadcrumbs and enjoy!

White Bean Kale Stew

March 10, 2020

I seasoned this soup with rosemary and thyme this time (haha) around, but any herbs can be used to give the soup a richer and more interesting flavor. I generally grab whatever herbs I have in the kitchen from previous recipes or in the spice cabinet. Some other nice options include: oregano, sage, bay leaves, and hot pepper flakes. If you prefer it with more or less spice, feel free to add or remove some of the cayenne.

serves: 6

time: 1 hr

Ingredients

1/2 onion, (1 cup) diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 large carrots, (1/2 lb) diced

1 small zucchini, diced

3 cups seasoned white beans* (2 cans)

4 medium waxy potatoes, 1 1/2 lbs (yukon golds or red potatoes work well), cut into 3/4 inch cubes

1/2 bunch lacinato kale, chiffonaded, about 3 cups loosely packed

6 cups hot veggie broth

1/8 tsp cayenne

one sprig rosemary, de-stemmed and minced

1/2 tsp dried thyme

parsley

salt

1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

Put a pot (about 6 cups) of salty water on the stove to boil. The water should taste about as salty as sea water so that the potatoes soak in the water and are perfectly salted when done. Cut your potatoes into 3/4 inch cubes and add to the water (it’s okay if it isn’t yet boiling). Cook the potatoes until they are fork tender but not falling apart, about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.

In a large soup pot, sweat the onions and carrots on medium low heat for about 7 minutes before adding the garlic and the zucchini. Cook this mixture for about 10 minutes before adding your seasonings: rosemary, thyme, a pinch of cayenne, and a generous pinch of salt. Mix all this together and allow to cook for about 2 more minutes.

Pour the broth over the veggies and stir. Bring up to a simmer before adding the beans and potatoes. Once the potatoes and beans are hot, add the kale, cooking 5 more minutes until the kale wilts. Add the apple cider vinegar and season to taste.

Garnish with chopped parsley and enjoy on a cold rainy night.

*Cooking white beans from dry:

In the Instant Pot:

To cook the white beans in an Instant Pot, add 1 1/3 cups of dried white beans to the pot. Cover the beans with water (in the small Instant Pot this is about 6 cups of water), season with 1 1/2 tbsp kosher salt, 2 cloves garlic, 1 tbsp cumin, a sprig of rosemary, and 1/8 tsp cayenne. Set the Instant Pot to pressure cook for 28 minutes letting depressurize naturally. Drain and rinse before adding to the dish.

On the stove:

If you don’t have an Instant Pot, you can easily cook white beans from scratch with a little planning. First you will need to soak the beans which can be done one of two ways. 1. you can soak them overnight making sure they have enough water and space to double in size or 2. you can put them in a pot and bring to boil, then turn off the water and let soak for one hour. Again, make sure you have enough water and space that they can double in size.

For this recipe, also add 1 1/2 tbsp kosher salt, 2 cloves garlic, 1 tbsp cumin, a sprig of rosemary, and 1/8 tsp cayenne to the white beans as they cook. Cook the beans until they are soft but not falling apart (this will take 1.5-2 hours). We recommend checking the beans at about an hour and then every 20 minutes until they are soft but not disintegrating. Make sure your pot has enough water as I have definitely cooked all the water off before and burnt the beans! This may seem like a lot of work, however once you get the hang of it the work is almost all passive and the reward is high: beans cooked from scratch taste much better and are much cheaper!

Bash's Cauli N' Cheese

March 3, 2020

We’re in love with this quick and easy cheesy recipe that our friend Bash taught us to make. It goes great with stir fried vegetables, and can also be delicious as a stand alone dish.

Serves: 4

Time: 30 min

Ingredients

2 T olive oil

1 med size head of cauliflower, diced

1/2 large onion, diced

3 cups cooked chickpeas* (2 cans)

1/2 to 1 tsp salt, according to taste

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp turmeric

1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

2 cups of cashew cheese

green onion, sliced for garnish

Cook onions on medium low heat until they start to brown about 7 min. Add cauliflower and cook for another 10min. Add chickpeas and remaining seasoning, cook until the cauliflower is soft and starting to brown and get crispy (another 20min). Pour cashew sauce over and stir until incorporated and warm. Garnish with green onion and enjoy!

*Cooking chickpeas from dry:

In the Instant Pot:

To cook the chickpeas in an Instant Pot, add 1 1/3 cups of dried chickpeas to the pot. Cover the chickpeas with water (in the small Instant Pot this is about 6 cups of water), season with 2 tbsp kosher salt, 2 tbsp turmeric, 2 bay leaf, and 1/4 tsp cayenne. Set the Instant Pot to pressure cook for 35 minutes letting depressurize naturally. Drain and rinse before adding to the dish.

On the stove:

If you don’t have an Instant Pot, you can easily cook chickpeas from scratch with a little planning. First you will need to soak the chickpeas which can be done one of two ways. 1. you can soak them overnight making sure they have enough water and space to double in size or 2. you can put them in a pot and bring to boil, then turn off the water and let soak for one hour. Again, make sure you have enough water and space that they can double in size.

For this recipe, also add 1 tbsp turmeric, 1 bay leaf, and 1/4 tsp cayenne to the chickpeas as they cook. Cook the chickpeas until they are soft but not falling apart (this will take 1.5-2 hours). We recommend checking the beans at about an hour and then every 20 minutes until they are soft but not disintegrating. Make sure your pot has enough water as I have definitely cooked all the water off before and burnt the beans! This may seem like a lot of work, however once you get the hang of it the work is almost all passive and the reward is high: chickpeas cooked from scratch taste much better and are much cheaper!

Garlic Bread

February 25, 2020

This garlic bread is completely amazing. In fact, it we had to make this a dozen times to take a photo, because we kept eating it before we had time to photograph it!

Serves: 4 as a side

Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

3/4 head + 1 clove of garlic, divided

1 tbsp olive oil

3 tbsp vegan butter (soy-free option) (we recommend Miyoko’s)

1/2 tsp salt

14 inches of baguette (gluten-free if needed), cut lengthwise like a hoagie

Pre-heat the oven to 375 F. Roast 3/4 of a head of garlic with 1 tbsp of olive oil. You can do this a number of ways and our two favorite are to use a garlic roaster or a small cast iron pan. If you are using a garlic roaster you will chop the tops off the garlic, drizzle a bit of oil into the garlic cloves, put this into the garlic roaster and roast in oven for about 45 minutes. To use a small cast iron pan, peel the garlic and place cloves in the cast iron pan with a small amount of olive oil. Roast this in the oven for about 20 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Either way, the garlic should look golden brown and be very soft. With the cast iron method, it is easier to burn the garlic so make sure to check on it.

Carefully remove roasted garlic from skin (if you haven’t already done this). Mash with butter and salt. Mince the remaining clove of raw garlic and stir into roasted garlic and butter mixture. Spread on the cut sides of the baguette. Put the baguette back together and cook for about 20 min in 375 F oven on a sheet pan. The outside of the bread should get darker in color, but not blacken. Enjoy!

Winter Bounty Kale Salad

February 18, 2020

My dear friend Meredith shared this recipe with me. It is perfect in the fall or winter when what you have in abundance is root vegetables, apples, and kale. I love all the colors in this salad; it’s a treat for the eyes and on the palette! We usually don’t peel the vegetables (sweet potato and apple are left un-peeled) however we recommend peeling the carrot because peeled carrot tastes sweeter when you roast it. You can totally leave the carrot peel on, however it will add a bit of bitterness to the dish.

Serves: 2-4

Time: 1 1/2 hrs (45 minutes active time)

Ingredients

1 medium sweet potato (1 lb), 1/4“ diced

2 root vegetables (3/4 lb), peeled and 1/4” diced (we used carrots but parsnips and beets are also nice)

4 tbsp olive oil

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 medium green apple, diced

1/2 cup raw un-salted pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds

for the chickpeas:

1 15-oz can chickpeas or 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas*, drained

1 tbsp oil

1 tsp curry powder

1 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp turmeric

1/4 tsp garlic powder

for the kale:

1 generous bunch kale, chopped into thin ribbons

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 pinch of salt

for the dressing:

2 tbsp maple syrup

1/4 cup tahini

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

3 tbsp hot water

1 tsp curry powder

1 tsp tamari (gluten-free soy sauce)

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp paprika

1/8 tsp cayenne

1/8 tsp turmeric

Pre-heat the oven to 400 F. Dice the sweet potato and root vegetables. Toss in a bowl with 4 tbsp olive oil, 1 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper. Spread on baking sheet and bake until golden brown, stirring every 10 minutes. This should be about 45 min. Toss chickpeas in a bowl with 1 tbsp oil, 1 tsp curry powder, 1 tsp paprika, 1/4 tsp turmeric, and 1/4 tsp garlic powder. Spread on baking sheet and cook until golden brown and slightly crispy, stirring every 15 minutes. This should be about 45 min.

Wash and de-stem the kale. Cut into tiny strands (chiffanade). Pour 1 tsp apple cider vinegar and a pinch of salt over the kale and massage until the kale turns a bright green color.

Combine all ingredients for the dressing and whisk until smooth. Toast pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds in a dry pan on medium heat until fragrant. Raw seeds can burn quickly, so remove from heat if starting to brown. Dice the green apple.

Combine kale, chickpeas, roasted vegetables, apple, and pumpkin seeds. Dress each serving of salad before eating. Enjoy!

Hot tip: If you end up with extra dressing, it makes a great sauce to use in wraps.

*Cooking chickpeas from dry:

In the Instant Pot:

To cook the chickpeas in an Instant Pot, add 3/4 cup of dried chickpeas to the pot. Cover the chickpeas with water (in the small Instant pot this is about 6 cups of water), season with 1 tbsp kosher salt, 1 tsp turmeric, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, and a pinch of cayenne. Set the Instant pot to pressure cook for 35 minutes letting depressurize naturally. Drain and rinse before adding to the dish.

On the stove:

For this recipe, also add 1 tsp turmeric, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, and a pinch of cayenne to the chickpeas as they cook. Cook the chickpeas until they are soft but not falling apart (this will take 1.5-2 hours). We recommend checking the beans at about an hour and then every 20 minutes until they are soft but not disintegrating. Make sure your pot has enough water as I have definitely cooked all the water off before and burnt the beans! This may seem like a lot of work, however once you get the hang of it the work is almost all passive and the reward is high: chickpeas cooked from scratch taste much better and are much cheaper!

Cauliflower Tikka Masala

February 11, 2020

This meal is melt in your mouth good. The flavors are balanced and dance on your tongue. My wife says her mouth (and belly) are a full “yes!” to this dinner. We really like having leftovers of this meal, so we often double the recipe!

We like this recipe so much we thought we would share it with you on Anne’s birthday! It’s warming and cozy. What’s better for a winter birthday meal?

Serves: 6

Time: 1 hr 45 min

Ingredients

1/2 cups cashews, soaked

olive oil

salt

2.5 lb cauliflower (1 med size head)

1 lb potatoes (3 small)

1/2 lb onion (1 small), diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp ginger, minced (less than an inch)

1 small red bell pepper

1 tomato

1/2 bunch cilantro

1.5 cups cooked chickpeas* (1 can)

1 1/2 cup of rice

vegetable stock (optional; soy-free option)

Spice Mix

1.5 tsp garam masala

1 tsp ground coriander

1.5 tsp turmeric

1 tsp cinnamon

1.5 tsp salt

1/4 tsp chili powder

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Mix the spices in a bowl. Cut the cauliflower into florets, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkled with half of the spice mix. Roast for 45 minutes until soft and golden brown. Cube the potatoes in 1/2 inch cubes, toss in olive oil and 1/2 tsp of salt. Roast for 45 minutes until soft and golden brown on the edges.

Cook your rice with with salt (and vegetable stock if you like).

Dice the onion. Cook in a large pot over med. heat until soft (about 15 min). Add garlic and ginger and sautée for another 5 min. Add the remaining spice mix and sautée for another minute. Remove from heat.

In a Vitamix combine cashews, 1/2 cup water, red pepper, tomato, cilantro, and onion mix. Blend until smooth. Combine sauce with cooked potatoes, cauliflower, and chickpeas in the large pot from before. Stir to coat and then warm to desired temperature. Serve over rice.

*Cooking chickpeas from dry:

In the Instant Pot:

To cook the chickpeas in an Instant Pot, add 3/4 cup of dried chickpeas to the pot. Cover the chickpeas with water (in the small Instapot this is about 6 cups of water), season with 1 tbsp kosher salt, 2 tsp coriander, 1 tsp turmeric, and 1/4 tsp chili powder. Set the Instapot to pressure cook for 35 minutes letting depressurize naturally. Drain and rinse before adding to the dish.

On the stove:

Once you have soaked your beans, rinse them and then put in a pot with salty water. These will be cooking for about 2 hours so you don’t want as much salt as you would use for pasta, but you do want to add enough that you can taste the salt. The best way to get good at this is to practice. Each time you salt the water, taste it and when the beans are done taste them to see if they are well salted. A well salted bean should taste flavorful but not salty. If it tastes like you are eating salt, you added too much. If the bean lacks flavor then you didn’t have enough salt. For this recipe, also add 2 tsp coriander, 1 tsp turmeric, and 1/4 tsp chili powder to the chickpeas as they cook. Cook the chickpeas until they are soft but not falling apart (this will take 1.5-2 hours). We recommend checking the beans at about an hour and then every 20 minutes until they are soft but not disintegrating. Make sure your pot has enough water as I have definitely cooked all the water off before and burnt the beans! This may seem like a lot of work, however once you get the hang of it the work is almost all passive and the reward is high: chickpeas cooked from scratch taste much better and are much cheaper!

Nut Milk

February 4, 2020

We love making our own nut milks and here’s why:

For us, they taste better than anything you can buy in a store.

Milk with zero packaging (if you buy the nuts in bulk with your own jars).
Affordable: cost is $4.50 for 32 oz of organic almonds and $2.25 for 32 oz non-organic almonds at our store. Plus, you can use the pulp to cook with and stretch that savings!

We use almonds and cashews most often because we like the balanced taste this combination creates. Most nuts can be made into nut milk and we look forward to hearing about your favorite combinations! Let us know in the comments what you like!

Serves: 4 cups

Time: 15 min (nuts need to soak for at least 6 hours in advance)

Ingredients

1.25 cups of nuts, soaked for at least 6 hours (recommend 1 cup almond and 1/4 cup cashew)

4 cups water, plus more for soaking

Here are three options for making nut milk. Unless you are going with option #3 you will need to soak the nuts at least 6 hours and I find it easier to do this overnight. If in the morning you don’t want to make milk, just rinse and re-fill with clean water. When you finally get to making the milk, strain the nuts and use 4 cups of fresh water to blend.

Options:

Peel some or all of the soaked almonds (not necessary but makes for a sweeter, more amaretto flavor). Put through a masticating juicer with water. If you don’t have a juicer, use method 2!
Add all the ingredients to a high powered blender (Vitamix recommended) and blend on high. Then strain with a nut milk bag.
If you have the money to spare and know you want to always have home-made nut milk and nut-butters there is a machine that does just that and it works really well: TheNutraMilk. This is a great option especially in commercial environments.

Save the pulp to use in cashew cheese or throw it in with some veggies and beans for home-made veggie burgers. The nut milk is best if used within 4 days.

almond%2Bmilk%2Band%2Bcashew%2Bcheese.jpg

Quick Stir Fry

January 28, 2020

We all have nights when we have not planned for dinner and have not shopped for a particular meal. One of the benefits of cooking regularly is that there are often some veggies or a block of tofu in the fridge. This recipe was cooked on such a night and used various left-over veggies. For this reason, any of the ingredients can be subbed out for whatever is in your refrigerator.

Serves: 4

Time: 30min

Ingredients

1 cup rice

1 block tofu

1/4 cup corn starch

1 tsp salt, divided

1/2 onion, sliced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 inch ginger, minced

1 bell pepper, sliced

3 carrots, thick julienned

1/4 purple cabbage, sliced

1 small head broccoli and stem, broken into florets and slice the stem

5 tbsp, divided neutral oil like avocado, sunflower, or canola

1 tbsp tamari (gluten-free soy sauce) or coconut aminos

For the sauce:

2 tbsp tamari (gluten-free soy sauce) or coconut aminos

1/2 tsp hot sauce

1 tsp agave

Cook rice with 1 tsp of salt, for a more flavorful rice, add 1 tsp veggie bouillon to the water. While rice is cooking, put the cornstarch and 1 tsp salt in a small bowl.

Cut your block of tofu in half so that you have two, one inch thick rectangles. Press tofu between two kitchen towels, placing a cast iron pan, or something heavy on them to remove some of the liquid. This process can be done with a tofu press. Slice the tofu into cubes or thick sticks. Toss tofu in cornstarch salt mixture. Heat 2 tbsp of neutral oil in a frying pan. Once hot, fry the tofu on med-high making sure it gets golden brown on all sides.

To make the sauce, mix tamari (gluten-free soy sauce), hot sauce, and agave in a small bowl. When the tofu looks done, pour this sauce over the tofu and toss until coated and then remove from heat and set tofu aside.

In the same pan, add 1 tbsp of oil and sautee the onion for 2 minutes. Add garlic and ginger, and sautee for another minute. Add bell peppers. Cook until onions are soft and starting to caramelize and the peppers are tender with some color. Set aside.

In the same pan (or you can use 2 pans and do this at the same time as the onions) fry the carrot, cabbage, and broccoli at a med-low heat with 2 tbsp of oil. Cook until carrots and broccoli are bright and cabbage is soft, stirring frequently. Combine all the vegetables and stir in the last 1 tbsp of tamari (gluten-free soy sauce) and serve over rice with tofu.

Shiitake Bacon

January 21, 2020

This sweet and crispy bacon is great on pasta, polenta, or baked potatoes.

Tamari, coconut aminos, and soy sauce are all very similar. Tamari is a gluten-free soy sauce. Coconut aminos is a soy-free sauce that is on the sweeter side. If you don’t happen to have both tamari and coconut aminos on hand, feel free to use what you have. For example, if you don’t have tamari, substitute soy sauce or coconut aminos. Keep in mind that coconut aminos are sweeter so if you use more, reduce the maple syrup. Tamari is saltier so if you omit it, add a pinch of salt.

Serves: garnish for 2 portions

Time: 1hr (30 min active)

Ingredients

3/4 lb shiitake mushrooms, (4 cups with stems removed and thinly sliced)

1 tbsp tamari/gluten-free soy sauce (optional) (omit for soy-free option)

3 tbsp coconut aminos (if you don’t have this substitute tamari or soy sauce)

1/2 tsp maple syrup

3 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp balsalmic vinegar

Pinch cayenne

Whisk together all the ingredients except the mushrooms in a medium bowl. Slowly add the mushrooms, mixing with a folding motion to make sure all the mushrooms are coated. Allow to sit, mixing every 10 minutes, for at least a half hour.

Heat a large frying pan to medium low and use a fork or slotted spoon to transfer the mushrooms to the pan. Cook, stirring regularly, until the mushrooms are dark brown, the edges may start to blacken, and the liquid makes a sticky coating, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Any leftover marinade can be used in any number of other ways, like to season stir fry, coat carrots for roasting, or put in rice.