Chickpea Piccata and Happy Mother's Day!

Last night we had the Chickpea Piccata with Caulipots from Appetite for Reduction. Piccata, if you don't know, is a caper-lemon-garlic sauce. I'd made a seitan piccata dish in the past and didn't care for the flavor, but I decided to give it another try. Glad I did! This is a pretty impressive-looking dish that I was proud to serve my little family, and it tasted awesome.

The recipe calls for serving the chickpeas and caulipots on a bed of arugula. My salad-loving husband finished off the arugula before I made this recipe, so I substituted spring mix. I think the idea is just to have some greens involved for a textural contrast with the creamy mashed potatoes and cauliflower. The spring mix worked great.

I also didn't have any white wine, so I just used an extra half cup of vegetable broth. If, like me, you're not a big wine drinker, another thing you can do is buy a bottle of dry vermouth. Unlike wine, it keeps indefinitely, so you can always have it on hand for cooking. I've found it to be pretty much interchangeable with white wine in recipes.

Mother's Day is this Sunday...what are your plans? I won't see my own mom until summer, but we will talk on the phone and I'll be thinking of her. I know she wishes she could spend the day with her grandbabies, but my dad is a school teacher and they can't travel until the term is over. I wish I got to see her more often. In a couple years my dad will retire and they will visit more. They even talk about moving to Texas. That would be great.

 

I'll also be remembering my Granny, who passed away a few years ago at age 92. She was a sharp, fun lady who ran a beauty parlor for many years. I never saw her without her hair done and fresh nail polish and lipstick. My brother and I spent a lot of weekends at her house and she doted on us. So many of my memories of her revolve around the kitchen. When I was very small, she showed me how to pick fresh tomatoes from her garden, make perfect creamy mashed potatoes, crimp the edges on a pie crust so it looks nice, and a million other little things that I will soon be teaching my kids. I just hope I can summon up some of her endless patience!

Today we are driving up to Oklahoma to spend the holiday with my mother-in-law. It is a surprise visit (don't worry, she doesn't know about my blog!) She hasn't seen the kids since Thanksgiving. Now that we are settled in our new place, she is getting really anxious to spend time with them. I really lucked out, as far as in-laws go. She is awesome.

See you when I get home. Happy Mother's Day!

Check out a couple of giveaways before they end! Midwest Vegan is giving away a copy of Tal Ronnen's The Conscious Cook (ends May 11) and Small Steps on Our Journey is giving away a huge jar of Tropical Traditions coconut oil (also ends May 11.)

Chickpea "Refried Beans"

Happy Cinco de Mayo! How are you celebrating Mexico's victory over the French? This evening we might take the kids to a festival happening downtown, we'll see. Tony is still getting up to speed at his new job, so sometimes he has to stay late.

It appears to be turning into Recipe Week here at Busy Vegan Mama. First we had pho and cinnamon blondies, and today I have another recipe to share. But first, a little background.

Do you like bean burritos? Nachos with refried beans? Who doesn't? Me, until now. I'm allergic to beans. Taking a bite of the luscious, creamy frijoles refritos that are always served alongside veggie enchiladas would mean hours of regret. My throat closes up and I feel like I can't swallow, and my nose runs and my eyes water like crazy. Fun times.

Fortunately my body tolerates other types of legumes...like the wondrous chickpea. What can't chickpeas do? They can make a killer refried bean substitute, for one thing.  

Chickpea "Refried Beans"

1 15-oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1/2 cup tomato sauce

2 garlic cloves, chopped

2 Tbsp. chopped parsley or cilantro

1 tsp. lemon juice

1 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. chili powder

1/4 tsp. salt

up to 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional, if not serving to kids)

Blend all ingredients in a food processor until creamy and smooth. Microwave for 40 seconds, just to warm it up a little. Serve as a dip, as a side with Mexican food, atop nachos, rolled up in burritos, or any other way you typically eat refried beans!

I adapted this from the delicious Almost-Instant Chickpea-Tomato Soup in Vegan on the Cheap, because every time I make it, I think, "This kinda tastes like refried beans!" If you have no problem with beans, you still might like my chickpea version. Just think of it as Cinco de Mayo hummus. Also, it's nearly fat-free, unlike traditional refritos. After my first bite, I was kicking myself for not thinking of it sooner. Hope you enjoy!

Cinnamon Blondies

Tony ate lunch at work today, so the kids and I had a "snacky lunch" -- seedless watermelon, roasted green beans, pita chips and hummus.

For dessert, I made some cinnamon blondies.

They made the house smell wonderful. I veganized this recipe. I'm not much of a baker, but veganizing baked goods is easy if you have a box of Ener-g Egg Replacer on hand.

Cinnamon Blondies

1/2 cup vegan margarine

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour

2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. salt

2 "eggs" (1 Tbsp. Ener-g egg replacer + 1/4 cup water)

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

First, melt the margarine and brown sugar together in a saucepan over medium-low heat. When it starts to bubble around the edges, remove from heat and let cool for about 10 minutes.

While the sugar mixture cools, preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a 8x8" baking pan with parchment and grease the parchment. Combine the flour, cinnamon, and salt in a large mixing bowl.

Stir the eggs and vanilla into sugar mixture. Add sugar mixture to flour mixture and stir until combined. Pour into pan. Bake for 25 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes, then run a knife around the edges to loosen and invert onto a cooling rack, peeling off the parchment paper. Let cool and slice into squares.

Have a great afternoon! The weather is perfect today and we are spending most of the day in the backyard. Can you spot the Jackson in this photo?

Rainy Day Pho

We're having some unseasonably cold weather here in Austin. It even rained yesterday, which is pretty unusual. To combat the chill, I decided to make the hot, spicy Vietnamese soup known as pho.

When Tony and I were first married, Tony worked near the Little Saigon neighborhood in Oklahoma City. At lunch, he would frequent the various pho cafes. Pho became one of his favorite foods. But because traditional pho is made with beef broth and contains chunks of beef, or sometimes tripe, I could never partake with him. He encouraged me to create a vegetarian version so that I could enjoy it, too.  This is the recipe I've been making for years; he says it's pretty close to the real deal.

Rainy Day Pho (serves 4)

First, make the broth.

6 cups vegetable stock

4 cups water

3 Tbsp. soy sauce

8 garlic cloves, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

1-inch piece of ginger, chopped

2 cinnamon sticks

2 bay leaves

1/8 tsp. anise seed

In a soup pot, bring broth ingredients to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, partially uncovered, for 20 minutes. Strain out the solids and return broth to soup pot.

While the broth is simmering, prepare the fixins. Keep each in a separate small bowl.

7 oz. rice noodles, uncooked

4 oz. firm tofu, cut in 1/4" cubes

4 heads of baby bok choy, chopped*

1 large carrot, grated

1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped 

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

4 scallions, chopped

1/4 cup peanuts, crushed

2 limes, cut in wedges

2 jalapenos, minced

*Prepare baby bok choy as you would a bunch of celery: chop off the base and discard, then slice the stems and leaves.

Now bring it all together. Add the baby bok choy to the broth and cook for 5 minutes, covered, at a gentle simmer.  Meanwhile, portion the rice noodles and tofu into four large soup bowls. Pour the baby bok choy and hot broth over the noodles and tofu and allow to sit for 5 minutes, in order to cook the noodles and heat the tofu. Top with carrot, basil, cilantro, scallions, peanuts, and jalapeno. Squirt fresh lime juice on top and serve.

Note -- I actually ladled more broth into my pho after taking this picture. It may seem like there is a lot of broth, but that's as it should be. Slurp the broth as you are eating the noodles. It's not rude -- you're supposed to slurp it!

It Really Ties the Room Together

Hi guys, how was your weekend? Ours was productive. On Saturday we went to IKEA and picked up a few things for the house. We really needed a new rug for the living room. Monster had clawed up our old rug, so we didn't bring it with us when we moved. Olivia thinks we chose well.

After exhausting ourselves in a store the size of several football fields, we ate at an Indian buffet. I won't name the restaurant because it has gone downhill since we last lived here. The food was OK, but not great.

On Sunday, we took Monster to the dog park in the morning. Then I dropped off some sweets at the Vegan Bake Sale. I made chocolate peanut butter bars.

Later I went back to the bake sale with Jackson and let him pick out some goodies. He was a big fan of the strawberry mini-cupcakes that somebody brought. He ate them up before I could take a picture. Here are some pics from the bake sale. I heard that they made over $1000 - wow!

This morning I was cleaning up my folder of pics from April, and realized I had a bunch of food pics I hadn't posted yet. Here are a few recent creations.

Ziti with mushroom marinara and Field Roast Apple Sage sausage. Man, that sausage is good. Tony thinks it's one of the best faux meats he's tasted. I'll have to try making my own at home.

The marinara was a little spicy for Olivia's taste, so I made her a separate meal. You can't beat the versatile Cheezee Sauce recipe from Vegan on the Cheap for a quick bowl of mac n' cheese.

I guess we've been in the mood for pasta. Here is the Garden Rotini, also from Vegan on the Cheap. Chock full of cherry tomatoes, peas, radishes, chickpeas -- the perfect spring salad. The goddess dressing is so good. I ate this for lunch all week. Olivia loves pasta salad, too.

Did I mention I bought a griddle/grill pan? I wanted one for awhile, but our old stove was not compatible. I haven't tried out the grill side yet, but I love the griddle. Now I can make pancakes in half the time. I made some chocolate chip pancakes to feed the kids for breakfast all week. So tasty with fresh strawberries.

The other day, the kids and I made a quick stop at the Asian supermarket by our house. I stocked up on hot sauces and rice noodles. I see pad thai, pho, and spring rolls in our future! I'll go back soon and take some pictures of their unbelievable produce department. I've never seen so many different kinds of greens! I can't wait to bring some home and figure out how to cook them.

Next...you guessed it...more pasta. Here's the Pasta con Broccoli from Appetite for Reduction.  This one has a verrrry strong garlic flavor. That's not a bad thing as far as I'm concerned.  

I wasn't loving the wine sauce, but I think the problem was the wine I used. It was a cheap wine that was on sale at the H-E-B. We are not big wine drinkers, so I didn't feel like buying something pricy. There is actually only one kind of wine I like. It's called 3 Blind Moose and you can buy it at Target. Such sophisticated tastes I have, haha! Do you like wine? What's you favorite kind? I've always been a beer or mixed drink girl, myself.

Continuing our Italian theme, one night I made a pizza with artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes, kalamata olives, and roasted garlic. This is my favorite "gourmet" pizza combination of all time. Who needs cheese?

 

For dessert, I made the kids some "ice cream" by blending up some frozen bananas, soymilk, and a big spoonful of peanut butter.

Last night I made a huge salad with some of my pizza leftovers. The salad had artichoke hearts, kalamata olives, radishes, and grated carrot.

This is the dressing I make whenever I don't feel like looking up a recipe for dressing. It's good on whatever veggies you happen to have lying around.

Sara's Sort-of-Greek Dressing

1/4 cup olive oil

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. oregano

1/4 tsp. black pepper

Whisk everything together in a small bowl. Makes enough to dress a large, family-size bowl of salad.

Hope you have a great week!

Tasty Testers

Before I moved, Krys from Two Vegan Boys sent me some recipes to test for her. I knew they would be great because her meals always look so yummy. It took awhile, but after settling into my new kitchen, I got around to making them.

First, some sweets. Coconut chocolate mint pudding, and chocolate raspberry pancakes.

The pudding was made with coconut milk. So creamy and rich.  The pancakes were gobbled up by Jackson and Olivia. Fresh raspberries on top -- how could anyone resist?

Next, some potato corn chowder made in the slow cooker. Vegan sausage was added to make it extra-hearty. I used Field Roast Apple Sage sausage. It was my first time trying a Field Roast sausage. It's no big thing to make my own sausage at home, but I have to say these links were really good.

My favorite of the bunch was a curried eggplant casserole. There's a layer of mixed veggies, topped with eggplant slices, covered with a soy yogurt curry sauce, and baked in the oven. I served it with basmati rice. Even Tony, who fears eggplant, admitted that this was good stuff. And, to my surprise, baby Olivia ate a big helping. You never know what little ones will end up liking, so I always let them try everything.

Are you doing any recipe testing at the moment? Or have you tried out a new recipe from any source, that you enjoyed?

This morning we are going to check out toddler storytime at our local library. I'm a librarian by profession, so I am a big supporter of public libraries! Then I have to fill out some paperwork to get Jackson enrolled in daycare. He will go part-time, two days a week, and he is not starting until September, but I still get a little teary-eyed thinking about it. Such a big step for my buddy. I'm used to having him around all the time. But I know he is ready. We toured the school yesterday and he blended right in. He loves to play with other kids. I'll be the one crying when I drop him off on that first day, not him!

Any fun plans this weekend? We are going to IKEA to get some stuff for the house. It's still looking kinda bare. When you move from a two-bedroom apartment into a two-story home, it's going to look bare, I guess. I'm not really looking forward to it. IKEA can be overwhelming. It's a huge store. If it gets to be too much, we will go back for the rest some other time. No hurry. On Sunday, we are taking Monster to a Boston Terrier meetup and then I am taking some goodies to the World Wide Vegan Bake Sale. I've never been to a vegan bake sale, so I'm looking forward to bringing home some yummy treats. I haven't decided yet what to bake. Any ideas?

Have a great weekend!

In the Sun

We have been back in Texas for nearly a month now and I still can't get enough of the warm weather and sunshine. It feels like I am slowly thawing, down to my bones.

Jackson would play outside all day if I let him.

Olivia is getting used to the feel of green grass on bare feet.

 Not eaten outdoors but delicious none the less -- Chickpeas with 40 Cloves of Garlic, from Appetite for Reduction.

Next time I need to double this recipe. The kids were fighting me over the garlicky chickpeas. So good.