Are there ever days…

..when you feel like you can’t work out. Not that you don’t want to…but like literally can’t? I feel like today is one of those days and it’s making me feel reeeeally anxious. It is down-pouring. The sidewalks are flooded. I can’t walk to school with my 15 lb backpack (cardio AND weight bearing exercise all in one!). I had to shuttle like a lazy person. Is it okay not to exercise? Should I do something for exercise later? Probably…it is just so miserable out. Damned lake effect rain.

Anyways, the weather and combined percieved sense of lack of exercise is making me anxious, and that anxious feeling is only intensifying because I ate breakfast this morning hoping that I would have a walk to help burn off some of the calories. But alas…I ate with no exercise. I mean, 100 calories worth of rice pudding shouldn’t be too much, should it? I mean…without exercising to burn it off? And lunch will either be this…

Not "Chick'n" Masala Soup

Or….

Palak Gobi

I haven’t decided yet. Whatever it is, it’s going to be 60 calories worth of something. All I know is, I hope that I’ll be able to get some form of exercise in today or I won’t be a happy camper… >.>

It’s National Coffee Day!

And what can be bad about that? Nothing! That’s what! In all honesty, it was a very good day, despite the terribly s****y weather (torrential downpours = not fun). Classes were cancelled today in observance of Rosh Hashanah which was a delightful departure from the norm. I still took a wander over to campus early in the morning to drink my morning cuppa. Found $20 on the way to school. I brought along some khee-rni to have with for breakfast. Yep. I’ve started to try to eat breakfast. I’m yet again trying to increase my calorie intake a little bit. (I’ve been feeling majorly off for the past few days – weak. Shaky. Just not good…). So anyways, no shakes today! After I walked back to my apartments, I whipped up some Espresso Bars (recipe follows) just for the fun of it while I waited for mum to come and visit. ‘Twas a perfect shopping day and a day to just…chill. I had all of my homework done before hand, and now all I have to do is a little bit of studying for a Hindi quiz tomorrow morning.

But tonight I had the pleasure of being able to have time to cook! I made a batch of my favourite soup, and played around with a few new recipes! As mentioned earlier, I made espresso bars! Essentially, they are your typical “larabar” style bar made of dates and nuts. But these taste strongly of coffee and are thus amazingly delicious.

Espresso Bars

Yields 3

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup raw almonds
• 6 pitted and chopped dates (I use plain old California dates)
• 1 heaping tsp instant espresso powder
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp chocolate extract

Directions:

Grind down your almonds until they almost reach a “meal” consistency. Add in your remaining ingredients, until you can mold them together. Remove from your chopper of choice, form into three bars and enjoy now or later! I personally like to chill these for a few before I have one, just so they firm up a bit.

Alternatively, form into 6 balls and have espresso balls!

Also in honour of National Coffee Day, I thought it appropriate to rip off a recipe make a spin-off recipe from your typical Starbucks fare!

Morning, Noon, and Night Buns

Yields: 8 rolls

Ingredients:

• 1/2 recipe basic pizza dough
• 1 tbs margarine
• about 1/4 cup cinnamon sugar (1/4 cup sugar, at least 1 or 2 tsp cinnamon – I use more)

Directions:

Prepare your dough, take half, and use the rest for another purpose.

On a floured surface, form your dough into a roughly 12×6 rectangle. Sprinkle with your cinnamon sugar and dot with your margarine. Roll up as your would your typical cinnamon roll. Cut into 8 rolls, and place each one in a muffin tin sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Give each one a spritz of spray and sprinkle with additional cinnamon sugar. Allow them to rise for about about another 30 minutes. Preheat your oven to 400F and then bake for 15-17 minutes. Enjoy with a cuppa home-brewed coffee! (or eat it at your local Starbucks – smugly – as passerby’s watch in envy…)

**Just a note! I used white whole wheat flour for my pizza dough, and used stevia in place of sugar in the recipe.

And to offset the fact that I felt like I made nothing healthy today (I always have that warped sense…), so I decided to use up some spinach that was just sitting around in the fridge. This. Is my favourite thing I made today (well, besides my soup…)

Quick Palak Gobi

Yields: 3 cups

Ingredients:

• 3 cups chopped cauliflower flowerets
• 1 cup cubed winter squash
• 1 small onion, sliced into thin half-moons
• 2 tbs ketchup
• 1 tbs braggs liquid aminos
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1/4 tsp each coriander powder, turmeric powder, powdered ginger
• salt and fresh cracked black pepper, to taste
• 1 5 oz baby spinach
• a few tablespoons of water, as necessary

Directions:

In a saucepan, boil your cauliflower and squash until tender. Drain in a colander and set aside. In a cast iron skillet sprayed with nonstick cooking spray, sauté your onion over medium-low heat until it starts to soften up a bit. Add in your cooked cauliflower and squash. Add in your ketchup, liquid aminos, and spices. Mix. Now add in half of your greens an a tablespoon of water or two to wilt the greens with, mixing them in with your other veggies. When your first batch of greens have wilted down, add in the rest. Once they have wilted as well, you are ready to serve! This would be great with any Indian flat bread, or just as is!

Well, even though it was a good day, I still feel like I’m lacking in exercise. You know, it is really hard to going from an excessive amount of exercise to a fairly “normal” amount. It makes me feel sluggish and lazy, especially on rainy days when I can’t walk a whole lot outside. But I guess I shouldn’t be concerned with that at 10 pm though, should I? Tomorrow’s a new day. I just hope it’s a bit dryer….

I’ll probably end up having either soup or palak gobi for lunch tomorrow. Yums.

[Wellness Weekend Post]

Kheer? Phirni? What the halwa?

Ah yes, me and my obsession with pudding. It’s like the ultimate comfort food, isn’t it? Lately I’ve been much into rice pudding. Well, tonight I decided to venture from my usual recipe to go for something a little different. But more on that later. It’s time for a little lesson in Indian pudding varieties! *waits for cheers*

Mmkay! So here’s the deal. There are a whooooole buncha different types of Indian puddings, yea? Yeah. Lets start with halwa. Well, I’m honestly not sure if you would even want to consider it a pudding, since it is uber-thick and depending on what it’s made of, is often molded into a block and served as a sweet. Halwas are generally made from sooji/semolina flour, a nut-butter base, or from a mixture of milk and grated veggies (commonly bottle gourde or carrots). And two of the most commonly confused Indian puddings are kheer and phirni. This is understandable since they’re both rice puddings. It’s just in there preparation are they really different. Kheer is a a basmati rice pudding where the rice is cooked in the milk (much like my other recipe) and sweetened with sugar or jaggery and spiced with stuff like cardamom or saffron, with fruits, dried fruits (raisins, dates, et cetera) and nuts (cashews, almonds, pistachios, et cetera). Different regions of India have their own versions of kheer (of which I will not get into). Phirni, on the other hand, is made of rice that is ground into a flour and cooked with milk, sweetener, and garnished in a similar manner to kheer. See? Similar. But not the same. What I made up last night was (albeit unconventional) a combination of the two types of pudding…and I added squash! And it was delicious….

Squash Khee-rni

Yields: 3.5 Cups

Ingredients:

• 4 cups cubed butternut/buttercup/kabocha squash (peeled if desiered)
• 1 cup cooked basmati rice
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1 tbs sweet mango chutney (or use orange marmalade or apricot jam)
• 2 tbs jaggery (or brown sugar) (or sweetener to taste)
• 1/4 tsp cardamom powder

Directions:

In a soup pot, boil your squash until tender. Drain the water and return the squash to the pot. Add in your cooked rice and milk. Set the flame to medium heat until your mixture starts to thicken a little, and turn your heat to low, stirring often. Add in your chutney, sweetener, and cardamom. One thickened enough for your tastes, remove from the heat and serve warm or chilled.

[Wellness Weekend Recipe]

I didn’t have much time for cooking yesterday other than that. I whipped up some of my favourite soup. Other than those two things, I did homework and studying. All day. From like 8 in the morning to 11 at night, with few breaks inbetween. Uhhhhg, and this morning my head hurts. And I have a test in two and a half hours. Coffee is a must. So that’s that.

This past weekend wasn’t much better, work wise. I did manage to do a little cooking on Sunday. I made myself Garlicky Mushrooms and Kale from AFR, whilst making a pot of soup for the fam for the week. Made them the Veggie Pot Pie Stew (also from AFR), which I’m pretty sure they loved (it won’t last a week, that’s for sure! Get cookin’ something besides pasta, mum!). Whipped up a batch of cut-out cookies in the shape of leaves as well in honour of the vernal equinox. I frosted them with maple icing. Mmmm. The recipe was my usual fav from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar.

Garlicky Mushrooms and Kale

Veggie Pot Pie Stew

Maple Cut Outs

I would have posted these yesterday, or even Sunday evening, but I forgot my camera cable at home so I couldn’t transfer any of my photos to my computer! Mum had to buzz into my apartment yesterday inbetween classes (thanks mum!). Ohhh…what a week it is going to be.

A bit of good news! Check out my latest e-bay find…it’s an antique, authentic Indian masala dabba…cute, huh?

What’s the funnest thing you’ve found on e-bay lately? 

Removing a source of anxiety?

The scale. You hate it. I hate it. And yet…I’m obsessed with mine. Which is why tonight I took the batteries out of it and hid it at the bottom of my hamper, underneath a pillow case. I am pretty sure that amongst people with weight preoccupations (and forgive me for the generalization), the scale is enemy numero uno. For me at least, it was starting to take over my life…my overall mood for the day depended on that damned number on the scale. I started to weigh myself after I drank an effing cuppa coffee to make sure that I didn’t accumulate any water weight! And I’ve noticed that I have been really agitated lately. And that’s the reason. That damn scale…that is now in the bottom of my hamper. So lets see if my mental stability and traces of sanity return tomorrow, or only get worse…oh. And what actually got me to get rid of the devilish scale you ask? I stepped on it three consecutive times within 5 minutes and got a different number each time. Um yeah. Even I’m rational enough to know that that isn’t possible. So, scale…be gone!

Other than that, tonight was sort of a cooking night (no cookies this week, Rigby…sorry!). I decided to make another batch of Not Chick’n Masala Soup because well…its good. Just a half of a batch, and replaced the tempeh with tofu. I’m keeping it on hand for lunches next week. I also put my little vegan twist on a recipe off of Eating Well‘s website for a curried “chicken” and broccoli salad. I like it well enough, the amount of curry powder could be increased IMO, but the flavours were interesting. Definitely worth making again.

Madras Curry Tofu and Broccoli Salad

Yields: 4 cups

Ingredients:

• 1/2 block pressed lite firm tofu, cubed fairly small
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 4-5 tbs soy yohgurt
• 1 tbs mango chutney
• 1 tsp (or more) Madras curry powder
• 3 cups chopped broccoli
• 2 tbs cashews, chopped (raw or roasted)

Directions:

In a cast iron skillet sprayed with nonstick cooking spray, over low heat, dry-fry your tofu with the garlic and onion powders. Spray with additional cooking spray if necessary. Once they  have browned a bit, they are done, and set aside.

At the same time, steam your broccoli for 5 minutes. When that is done set aside.

In a medium sized mixing bowl (big enough to hold at least 6 cups o’ stuff for easy mixing), mix together the soy yohgurt, chutney, and curry powder. Add in your tofu and broccoli, along with your chopped cashews, mix and serve at room temperature or chilled.

So what are your feelings towards the scale…do you even bother weighing yourself?

[wellness weekend recipe]

Peace.

Let’s start off this post on a positive note, shall we? Today, September 21st, is the International Day of Peace. What does that entail, you ask? Well…

“Peace Day should be devoted to commemorating and strengthening the ideals of peace both within and among all nations and peoples…This day will serve as a reminder to all peoples that our organization, with all its limitations, is a living instrument in the service of peace and should serve all of us here within the organization as a constantly pealing bell reminding us that our permanent commitment, above all interests or differences of any kind, is to peace.”

And this is great. A day of ceasefire among nations and man (and lets add animals in there!). But the thing is…it sounds great. What would be truly great is this peaceful attitude being put into practice. Actually putting into practice these peaceful ideas is what is going to change people’s attitudes, and thus change the world itself. Actually negotiate with countries – and with words, not weapons. See the point of view of others – don’t automatically assert that your way is the right way and expect everyone else to conform to that “ideal” *cough cough, American exceptionalism and European imperialism, cough cough*. Really, really care about those within and outside of your country (or state, city, town, school…) who are struggling and do what you can to help. See people, peace is not just on a national level. It’s not even just on a statewide level. Peace needs to be within every single person. And this means being kind to others.

Now I wish to switch to a more somber tone. Just recently a 14 year old boy from Williamsville, NY (located right near where I attend University) named Jayme committed suicide from being constantly bullied by his peers because of his sexual orientation. This is unacceptable. Bullying is a hate crime that needs to be stopped. No child deserves to die because of the cruel words of others. People need to understand the power of words. People need to understand that one thing said can resonate with someone for a long, long time and really effect them in major ways. Poor Jayme just happened to pay the price. Let’s take this peace day to realize what peace really is. Peace needs to come from within everyone.  Please, if you Twitter, make a post promoting peace and love amongst all with the hash-tag #MakeALawForJayme to help stop bullying.

Onto a much lighter note! Would you like a piece of apple crumble with you’re peace in the world this evening? Yes. Yes, of course you do. Especially considering it is a healthy apple crumble. Unlike the streusel-topped, brown sugar laden recipes that are all too prevalent, my “crumble” is not a crumble at all. It’s well…a surprise! Oh, okay. It’s actual cooked oatmeal and rice! It’s good, really! Give ‘er a try!

Apple “Crumble”

Makes one 8″ or 9″ pan

Ingredients:

“Crumble”: 

• 1 cup oats (rolled oats or quick oats)
• 3/4 cup water
• a pinch of salt
• 6 packets of stevia in the raw (or sweetener of choice, to taste)
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ginger powder
• 1/8 tsp cardamom powder (optional but good)
• 1 tbs vanilla extract
• 1 tsp maple extract
• 1 cup butternut squash, cubed and cooked until quite tender**
• 1 cup cooked bastmati rice
• 1/2 cup almond milk

Apple Mixture:

• 4 small-medium sized apples, peeled and sliced fairly thin
• 1 tbs flour (any sort is fine…although whole wheat probably wouldn’t be so pleasant…)
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3 tbs water
• 1 tbs vanilla extract
• 1 tsp maple extract

**You could also use 1/2 cup or perhaps even more of butternut squash, pumpkin, or sweet potato puree. 

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350F and get your pan prepared with non-stick cooking spray.

In a mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients for your apples and mix. Pour into your prepared pan, cover with foil, and bake for 30 minutes.

While your apples are roasting, in a saucepan, prepare your oats as per instructions with the 3/4 cup of water (yes, I know – it’s less than what the instructions say to do on the package. Deal with it…it’s supposed to be really thick!), salt, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, extracts and squash. When your oatmeal has cooked and very thick, lower the heat to well…low and add in your cup of cooked rice and the almond milk. Over the low heat mush and mix everything together. Set aside until your apples are done cooking.

When your apples are cooked and soft, spread/press the oatmeal-rice mixture evenly on your apples. Give a spritz with nonstick cooking spray, and bake at 350F for another 20 minutes. Enjoy!

[Wellness Weekend Recipe]

Good and guilt free! Well..except for if you’re me and feel guilty after eating a bowl of kale, but let’s not get into that! I am doing my best to keep eating. Today for lunch I made myself my current favourite combo…roasted squash and kale! I used a yummy heritage carnival squash this time instead of my usual kabocha. Don’t you just love the variety of squash during autumn?

And as I promised, I made some sweet mango chutney! I’ll probably use it as a spread on tortillas or toast or something like that. Or stirred into rice pudding. Mmm…mango rice pudding sure sounds good!

But perhaps another day. I’d rather not think too much about carbs. I ate an extra serving of food yesterday, which still has me in a bit of a loop so…yeah. Not fun.

Well, the time comes to go and study. Adieu!

And the curries keep a-comin’!

I have been in such a curry-ish mood lately. Blame it on the emergence of autumn. Or my increasing fascination with Indian culture. But sadly, none of the things I make are even relatively “authentic” (well, as authentic as a vegan Indian dish can be. It’s so hard to find recipes not laden in ghee, milk, or yohgurt). Oh well, just going by taste, I at least feel my things are a little bit Indian tasting. Sorta? Maybe? You be the judge. Whatever the flavour is, it’s good. I decided to make a spicier, tomato-sauce based curry tonight. This is what I came up with…

Mushroom Chickpea Curry

 

Yields: Around 6 cups

 

Ingredients:

 

• 1 small onion, thinly sliced
• 1 cup (5 oz) de-stemmed and coarsely chopped shiitake mushrooms
• 1 tbs braggs liquid aminos
• 4 cups chopped cauliflower, steamed for 5 minutes
• 1 cup chopped butternut squash (or other winter squash, or sweet potato), boiled until tender (but not falling apart into mush)
• 1 cup cooked chickpeas (canned is fine – just drain and rinse first)
• 1 7oz can tomato sauce
• 1/4-1/3 cup water (or veggie broth)
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 2-3 tsp curry powder
• 1/2 tsp ginger powder
• 1/2 tsp coriander powder
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• black pepper, to taste
• 2 tbs soy yogurt
• 1/2 tsp sriracha

 

Directions:

 

Well, first off make sure that you have your cauliflower pre-steamed and your squash pre-boiled. So get that outta the way.

 

Next, in a large cast iron skillet sprayed with nonstick cooking spray, sauté your onion over medium heat until it becomes translucent. Add in your chopped mushrooms and start cooking down. When they start cooking a bit (they will reduce in size exceptionally), add in your squirt of braggs. Add in your cauliflower, chickpeas, tomato sauce, water and spices. Mix everything together. THEN add in your butternut squash and mix gingerly as not to break it up too much (it’s tender, ‘member?). Then finally add in your soygurt and sriracha, mix and serve! This would go great with rice or some chapati or roti, and a dollop of soygurt or some raita!

Again…totally inauthentic. Please, if you have any suggestions on what I could possibly veganize that is Indian, do tell! Like…what is your favourite thing to order out at an Indian restaurant? I’ve honestly never even been to one, so I would not know. I just cook by what I see as common ingredients in cookbooks and online!

Anyways, tomorrow I know I’m going to whip up some sweet mango chutney from a new Ayurvedic cookbook that I bought recently, and maybe even some ladoo. Anyone else think that those some sorta like Indian larabars? Sort of? Maybe? Just my thoughts? Who knows.

Yet again, I digress. I just feel like I’m running off at the mouth tonight with this post because I seriously have nothing to do. I’ve been studying since 7 am, did all my homework that is due, I have my readings started…what does one do during periods of free time? I would normally cook, but I have a serious cooking block! And I never make baked goods for myself so…I’m in a crutch! I’ve got t-t-t-too much time on my hands, and it’s making away with my sanity…(styx interlude, anyone?).

So. Suggestions on what to make? Please?

This is so going to be my lunch tomorrow.

 

Pilau!

I made a pilaf! Isn’t that fun to say? Pilau? Pilaf? Yeah. It is. So anyways, I decided to whip one up before I headed back to the apartment for a week. I didn’t spend any time cooking Friday evening or Saturday. Most of Friday night was devoted to homework, while Saturday morning was the Walk for Farm Animals (the rest of the day = homework, but let’s talk about the walk instead, shall we?). I must say, it was really a very nice day for the walk (although a little more sunshine would have been appreciated…). There was quiet a good turn out of people – young and old. A bunch of people brought their dogs along with them (which made me wish that I had a dog…). All we really did was take an hour long walk around a local park holding signs reading things like “Walk for Farm Animals” and the like. Plus there was a little cookout at the end where people brought smart dogs, homemade baked beans, a few salads, and some desserts. It was fun, I really was glad I went. Plus as a whole, the Buffalo walk raised a couple thousand for Farm Sanctuary which is totally awesome. That’s what it’s all about anyways

As for the rest of my weekend! Can you say..change in assignment? Yeah, I hate when that happens. I get all of my work done and what does the professor decide to do? Change the assignment! Ahg! Nothing is more aggravating than that IMO…so a lot of my time went into doing the second assignment. By this afternoon I had finally resigned to the fact that I have done enough homework (ie more than I actually needed to do) and decided to make a loaf of bread for the fam for the week, some muffins and something Indian (pilau!). The muffins I made were the Double Chocolate Chip Muffins from La Dolce Vegan – my mum’s favourite. I swear they’re more like dense cupcakes than they are muffins. I like my muffins on the healthier less indulgent side. They’re just so chocolate-y!

And after hours upon hours of perusing Indian food blogs, I decided on the most basic of Indian recipes…the pilaf! And let me tell you, this is such an easy recipe. So easy, a homework-obsessed-college-bird can do it. So make it. Add more veggies if you’d like as well!

Muttar Paneer Pilaf

Yields: 5 cups

Ingredients:

Tofu Paneer:

• 1 lb lite firm tofu, drained, squeezed, and patted dry but NOT pressed – cubed
• 1 tbs vegan margarine
• 1/2 tbs lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp each: onion and garlic powder
• a healthy pinch of salt

Pilaf:

• 2 cups cooked basmati rice
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 2-3 tbs braggs liquid aminos
• 2 tbs ketchup
• 1/2 tsp sriracha (or more if you like it spicier)
• 1/2-1 tsp each garlic powder and onion powder
• 1/4-1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/4-1/2 tsp ginger powder
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• salt, to taste

Directions:

To make the tofu paneer:

In a large cast iron skillet, melt your margarine over medium heat. Once melted add in your cubed tofu, lemon juice, and seasonings. Fry over medium heat until the tofu starts to brown a little in some spots, stirring frequently (it won’t get crispy – it’s not supposed to). It’s okay if the tofu mushes a little bit whilst stirring. When your tofu has started to brown a little, add in your cooked rice, peas, ketchup, sriracha, and remaining seasonings. If you like less spice to your pilau, then use the lesser amount. Pretty much season to your liking. Heat your rice and peas through, and serve.

And upon returning to my apartment, I had my usual favourite snack of squash and kale, and a half-cup of my not chick’n masala soup. Very tasty.

Now I am exhausted. I’d say it’s about the time to hit the sack. Too tired to think about food anymore tonight.

[Wellness Weekend Recipe]

Accomplishment! Yes!

Oh wow, have I been busy. I swear it has been homework, homework, homework for like the past week. But that’s what school’s all about then, right? Homework. At least what I’m doing is enjoyable. I really like learning Hindi, and I am anxious to get switched over into the Asian Studies programme.

But as much as I like learning a new language, I have to admit that it is hard work, and rather tiring going over the script over and over and over again, and drilling into your brain how the characters will change if masculine or feminine, and how to form sentences, how to use adjectives…ahh! It’s like seventh grade spanish all over again (but fun!). Plus my being a self imposed anal-retentive study-crazy freak doesn’t help any. I could probably have a little more allowed free time, but I spend that time studying instead (is that why I have no friends? Hmm…oh wells). But today I did allow myself to take a bit of a breather and decided to do some long deserved baking and cooking. Well, I had to cook something since I ate up all of my kitchari for snacks and lunches (yumm….) and I had to bake something a vegan group I’m in at University. Tomorrow I guess a bunch of the student groups are setting up stands in the school’s student union to encourage people to join the club, and our Veg Club is apparently setting up a mini bake sale, so I decided to whip up a batch of chocolate chip cookies, some pinwheels, and a pan of brownies using the recipe from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar. I really hope that people enjoy them. I know it felt good actually doing something other than homework for once! Plus, Rigby’s going to be pretty damn happy since there are some leftover pinwheels. Life is goooood.

Like I said, I ate up all of my delicious kitchari over the course of the week, so I had to make something. Yesterday, I spent about an hour in the evening toiling over some of my ayurvedic cookbooks/Indian food websites trying to decide what to make. I was going between something Indian (obviously) or else I would default and make the Cheeze Please soup from The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook again. So I decided…I would make an Indian flavoured soup. This is what I came up with…Now. Before you go around saying “This isn’t Chicken Masala!” all I have to say is…that it isn’t. I’ve never even had chicken tikka before. I only used the words “chick’n” and “masala” together in the same title because in the same dish are both “chick’n” in the form of marinated tempeh, and “masala,” spices. Specifically garam masala. So enjoy this totally inauthentic dish!

Not Chick’n Masala Soup

Serves: Around 6 cups

Ingredients:

• 1 8oz block of tempeh marinated in 1 tbs vegan chicken broth powder and 1 cup of water
• 4 cups cauliflower, chopped
• 2 cups butternut squash, chopped
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced into half moons
• 3 cups of water/broth
• 3/4 block (9 oz) lite silken tofu (mori-nu brand works well)
• 2-3 tbs braggs liquid aminos
• 2-3 tbs ketchup
• a squirt of sriracha
• 1/2 tsp tamarind concentrate or lemon juice
• 1/2 tbs garam masala
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp ginger power
• 1/4 tsp ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• black pepper, to taste

Directions: 

In a bowl, cube up your tempeh into smallish cubes and let marinate in your broth mixture (powder + water) for about an hour or more. Set aside.

In a soup pot, bring to a boil your chopped cauliflower, chopped butternut squash, and sliced onion in your 3 cups of water. When the veg and water comes to a boil, allow them to simmer over medium-low heat until you can pierce them with a fork (around 10 to 15 minutes).

While this is boiling, spray a cast iron skillet sprayed liberally with nonstick cooking spray and set it to medium-low heat. Drain your tempeh and add to the skillet. Spray again, reduce the heat slightly and allow the tempeh to brown, stirring with a metal spatula occasionally to prevent sticking.

When your vegetables have become tender, remove from heat and transfer half of the veg and some of the liquid to the canister of a food processor along with the tofu (crumbled), and the remaining ingredients (except for the tempeh). Blend until smooth and lump free. Add back to the soup pot, set the heat to low and mix to incorporate the pureed veggies with the ones left in the pot. Add in your browned tempeh. Taste for seasoning, and enjoy! If you feel it is too thick, feel free to add additional broth, water, or even non-dairy milk until it reaches a good enough consistence. It is, however, intended to be thick. And warm. And just right for a chilly autumn day.

What are your favourite foods to eat when the temperatures start to go south?

[This is a Wellness Weekend recipe! And a brown bag lunch recipe!]

Feeling Cheezy!

Some days you want to cook. Some of those days you know you want to cook, but you have no clue what to cook. Then you decided what you want to cook. Aaaand…realize that you don’t have the ingredients for what you want to cook. Because you left all of your spices at your apartment. Brilliant. Today was one of those days.

I was (as usual) feeling like making something Indian inspired. So I browsed the web, got inspired by a few random recipes for veggie korma dishes, and decided on making something like that. So I went out to the kitchen to get out all of my ingredients and found no spices. At all. I took them all with me to my apartment. I either have to: a. remember my spices or b. buy spices for home…damn.

Plan B! Italian is always plan B. That or soup. So I did both. For the soup, I decided on a variation of the Cheeze Please soup from The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook. Instead of using potatoes and carrots, I used some butternut squash and cauliflower, and decided to leave some of the soup chunky. I’ve made this soup before, about a year ago. Man, I forgot how good it is! It’s like eating a big bowl of cheese sauce. Or fondue. If you have this book, make this soup. You’ll be glad you did.

Earlier in the day, I had started making some loaves of french bread (Garden Of Vegan’s recipe) upon a request from me mum. Like I usually do, I made one long baguette and two smaller sub sized rolls. Since I had nothing else prepared with dinner, I decided to make the two small rolls into french bread pizzas! I knew Rigby would like them (I think she likes those Red Barron ones?), and I was interested in making a vegan version of those Schwan’s garlic breads. You know what I’m talking about, right? Those tasty garlic french breads that are cheesy, yummy, and oh so bad for you? Yeah, one of those, but vegan. Probably not one’s idea of “health food” but hey. No animals were harmed in the making of this junk food! (note: I didn’t eat this. I’m scared of carbs, remember?). All I did was …

Split one of the rolls in half, slathered each with 1/4 cup of béchamel sauce, divvied up a slice of vegan mozzarella cheese amongst the two halves, sprinkled with a little garlic powder, and broiled it until the cheez started to brown. 

Not really a recipe, just a nice throw-together sorta deal.

MUCH earlier in the day, I found that mum must have done some cleaning while I was at my apartment, and found something that I had won off of VegWeb ages ago…it was a Navita’s Naturals Chocolate Superfood Kit. I had never opened it before, and since it was just lying there, I decided to make it. All I can say is…I love dark chocolate.

As for now, I’ll save my Indian cooking for my apartment. As for my Indian studying…I have some Indian religious songs to read the lyrics to and some devanagari characters to study. Peace out, kids.

TGIF!

Ohh, it’s been such a long time since I’ve actually been glad it’s Friday! No classes tomorrow! There is such a big difference between taking online courses and in-person/on-campus classes…it’s a little hard to get used to! Like….time-wise. I hardly have any time to think about making up new recipes, and I have hardly perused my cookbooks at all lately.

Thankfully, today I had a few hours inbetween classes so I decided to shuttle back to my apartment and do a little long overdue baking and recipe testing. As (most of) you may know, Starbucks has just came out with their annual supply of pumpkin treats. Pumpkin lattes. Pumpkin scones. And those good lookin’ pumpkin muffins filled with cream cheese. I’ve never had one myself, but I have always imagined that they would be delicious. So I made my own…just a version that’s vegan, fat free, and sugar free!

Faux-mpkin Muffins

Yields: 12 Regular Sized Muffins

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (4.9 oz) chopped and peeled butternut squash
• 1 soft small/medium sized banana
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tbs vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups flour (Unbleached AP Flour or White Whole Wheat/Whole Wheat Pastry)
• 1/2 cup stevia in the raw/sweetener
• 1 tbs baking powder
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp powdered ginger
• 1/2 tsp garam masala (or 1/4 tsp each nutmeg and allspice)
• (optional) 1/8 tsp ground cloves
• a pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup tofutti better n’ cream cheese (add 1 tbs sweetener if you like your “cream cheese” on the sweeter side – I leave it plain)

Directions:

In a saucepan, boil your squash until very tender. Once they become very tender, add to your food processor with the banana, water, and vanilla and puree. Set aside until you’re ready to use.

Preheat your oven to 375F and spray 12 muffin tins with nonstick cooking spray.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together your dry ingredients. Pour your wet mixture into the dry and mix. It will seem tough and like there isn’t enough liquid, but fear not! Just keep working at it until everything is combined. It WILL be thick and a tad sticky. Divide evenly amongst the 12 tins. In each muffin, press 1 tsp of your tofutti in the middle, about half way down. Bake for 18-20 minutes.

I really recommend letting them cool completely before eating. They taste better the longer they sit (well you know…don’t let them sit too long…I don’t want you all eating moldy muffins! haha…)

What is your favourite (or favourite looking…) Starbucks treat?