Another version of chickpea curry, but with cashews added for a little extra sweetness and a surprising crunch.

After more than two years of doing the whole Weight Watchers thing, I came to rely heavily on stir fry.  I stir fried just about everything.  It was quick, easy, and took relatively little planning.  Just cut up some defrosted chicken breast, throw in some broccoli, serve over rice and you’re done.  Since making the switch to veganism, though, I’ve discovered a new passion for curries.

Granted, the preparation is pretty much the same, but I’ve noticed that I’m more willing to experiment with curries than I ever was with stir fry.  Tonight’s curry has a base of chickpeas with some green pepper, onions, minced garlic, carrots, frozen peas and a handful of roasted cashews for a little different texture.  I added ground cumin, curry powder, five spice, garlic powder, and turmeric.  Then I added two teaspoons of the chunky Sriracha sauce (my favorite for cooking; the one in the squirt bottle is much better for a garnish).

Fluffy pillows of whole wheaty goodness!

This is the coup de grace for tonight’s dinner, though—I must say I’m really proud of these.  Since I knew I was making a curry tonight, I thought that fresh baked na’an bread would be a perfect accompaniment—plus, Sean has been begging me to try this recipe for ages.  I used a mixture of whole wheat and all-purpose flour, so it’s a little denser than typical na’an.  The soy yogurt worked just fine.  I still need to work on my rolling technique a little.  These were a lot more like pita than na’an.  Just takes a little more practice, I’m sure.  They turned out really pretty, though.

Chickpea and Cashew Curry with brown rice and whole wheat na'an. Tasty!

Here’s a picture of the whole dinner, complete with brown rice on the side.  Yum!

"Sloppy Janes" and a homemade bagel.

Sean took leftovers with him for lunch today and sent me a picture of what it looked like after he got it all ready.  It’s vegan sloppy joes (which he decided to rename “Sloppy Janes”—not sure why, exactly), vegan cheese, and one of the bagels he made last night.  I have to admit, I got hungry just looking at it, and I was the one who made it!  The bagels came out nice and savory—lots of flaxseed, caraway seed, garlic powder, and some other spices—and the texture was pleasantly chewy.  It’s nice to know I’m not the only one in the house who can make bagels now!

After dinner we both wanted something sweet, so I made Ghirardelli Double Chocolate Brownies, but I made them healthier (and vegan!) by substituting all of the recommended ingredients with a can of black beans.  To do this, just empty the can with the liquid into the blender and let ‘er rip.  I did add a little bit of water to them—maybe a tablespoon or so—because the puree seemed a little thicker than I wanted it to be. After that, just mix the pureed beans with the brownie mix and bake as directed.  You can also do the same thing with pureed pumpkin, though I like the black beans better with brownies.  It works with cake mixes, too.  Just one more tip I picked up from Weight Watchers.  ☺

Yummy whole wheat bagel with herbs and seeds in it!

Thank goodness for vegan cookbooks, that’s all I can say.  So many wonderful ones out there – we have a stack of them in the kitchen – but a few of my favorites so far have to be the writing style, awesome recipies and photography of the Veganomicon and Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World.  Visit their web-site, join the forums, buy the books – or at least check them out at the library first.  Each are extremely useful and an enjoyable read as well – not boring, for sure!

Of course, having said that, the recipe that made the bagel above isn’t from PostPunkKitchen, but so many things we’ve made this week have been.

Getting the kids to eat vegan food has been something of an adventure.  Last night’s dinner was a total miss for them—too strong of a wine taste in the sauce, beans, and any number of other stuff that just turned them off completely.  Tonight, I decided to try to duplicate something that Daniel really loves:  meatloaf.

Vegan meatloaf is a challenge.  Trying to find something with the right consistency that won’t fall apart or dry out is tough when you don’t use eggs, dairy, or meat.  So here’s the recipe I used (cobbled together from about 3 or 4 different recipe suggestions):

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TVP “Meet Loaf”

1 ½ cups TVP
1 ½ cups boiling vegetable broth/stock
3 tbsp dried minced onion (or more, to taste), rehydrated in water
1 tbsp dried parsley
1 tbsp Italian spice mix
1 tsp salt
½ tsp fresh ground pepper
4 oz baby bella mushrooms, diced small
2 tsp Ener-G Egg Replacer, mixed with 2 tbsp water
1 cup breadcrumbs
¼ cup ketchup

Mix TVP with boiling vegetable stock in a medium-sized bowl; let sit for 10 minutes or until all liquid has been absorbed.  Combine all ingredients except ketchup in bowl and pour into loaf pan or baking dish.  Bake at 375F for 35 to 40 minutes.  Spread ketchup over top of loaf and bake an additional 10 minutes.  Cool for 5 to 10 minutes.  Serve with more ketchup on the side, if desired.

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The result:  the kids ate every bite, Sean mentioned how moist it was compared to my last meatloaf attempt (made with ground chicken, I believe), and I was fairly happy with the outcome.  I have read that there are some rather noxious side-effects that often go along with eating TVP, but Sean and the kids heartily enjoy their flatulence so I’m not too worried.  ☺  I wish I had gotten a picture of it before I cut it, but I didn’t think of it until after it had already been consumed.  At least there was a tiny bit left for someone’s lunch later on and for the picture posted above.  Since the kids are going to be here next week as well, I’ll probably be making this again soon.

The Death Cupcakes from yesterday weren’t so bad after they sat out overnight in an airtight container.  They’re definitely more brownie-like than cupcake-like, but at least they’re edible.  The kids have liked them a lot!  And the icing really is awesome.  I have plenty left, so I may make some more cupcakes soon—especially since Sean picked up flour for me tonight.  ☺

I made bagels again today.  This is my third attempt with them, and I think they keep getting better each time.  Today, I made them with half unbleached all purpose flour and half whole wheat flour.  I also added some caraway seeds, flax seed, wheat germ, garlic powder, and onion powder.  I wanted a savory bagel this time, and I think I got it.  You really can’t taste the garlic and onion so much, so next time I might try minced garlic and onion instead of the powders, but they also went over really well.  I almost forgot to dip them in the boiling sugar water to give them their nice crust, but I caught it before they were completely baked.  Even with that little oversight, they’re really, really good.

All in all, a good cooking day.  Tomorrow is Wednesday, which means that it’s time to pick up more veggies from the CSA farmer.  I hope we get some tomatoes soon.  I know it’s still early in the season, but I’m looking forward to making some homemade tomato sauce and salsa so I can stop buying the jarred stuff.  And hopefully we’ll be getting the Vita-Mix soon.  We ordered it a week ago, and the waiting is just killing Sean.

Time for a nice long puppy walk followed by dessert!  Vegan “ice cream” and a brownie-cupcake, anyone?  ☺