A quick and easy snack: Spiced Toast and Facon w/Spinach Dip

For a quick, lightly spiced but fun snack that can be packed to go in a hurry...

The spices here can be adapted to suit anyone's taste buds. I happen to be in an Indian mood this week. Shallots, green onion, and dill could be a more authentic spinach dip (maybe with a little Veganaise?) with untoasted bread...yum.

Fake Bacon (get it? "Facon"?) on Toast Squares

Prepare vegan bacon according to package directions

On the same skillet (at medium-high), place toast pieces. While they are browning on one side, lightly coat the other side with all natural cooking spray (or Earth Balance), a light dusting of coriander powder (like, a pinch) and a dusting of salt (again, a pinch). Toast the other side until brown (or if you're like me, until they are dark brown-black). Put bacon on toast.

The Dip

In a small food processor, process:

3 tablespoons hummus

1 tablespoon nutritional yeast

5 large spinach leaves, washed and zapped for 20 seconds in the microwave (or lightly steamed)

1 tablespoon pine nuts

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon garam masala powder

1 teaspoon olive oil (optional)

Optional: Top with black sesame seeds

Oh My Yum-ness! Methi Tortilla and Kadhi

Top: Methi Thelpa, Left: Kadhi. Right: Tempeh Curry, Bottom: Cabbage

I visited our local Indian grocer today and was really disappointed not to be able to buy one of my favorite Indian treats--methi thelpa. It's a tortilla-like flatbread with fenugreek leaves and lots of spices. But after reading the label, I should not have been surprised that it contained yogurt and ghee, as so many Indian recipes do. So I went home and did some research, and here's what I came up with. I won't link any particular website because this is a combination of many different sources, as is the Kadhi recipe below. Methi Thelpa is something that is often taken on the go. They are very wholesome, with greens (nutrients!), garbanzo flour (protein!), spices (antioxidants!), and substance.

Kadhi is a Gujrati dish that I must say is another favorite of mine. If you haven't tried it, you can copy my recipe but I suggest using soy yogurt if you like it (I don't, so I used coconut). IMO it's best served with white rice but we eat brown rice nowadays.

Don't mind the shape...my dough was too moist so it was hard to roll a nice circle.

Vegan Methi Thelpa

5 stars from the omnivore (he's so easy these days)

Makes 8

Mix together, first sifting dry ingredients and then adding the remaining (oil, too):

1 cup methi (fenugreek) leaves, dried or fresh or chopped spinach (I used 1/2 cup dried methi and 1/2 cup fresh spinach)

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup unbleached white flour

3 tablespoons besan (garbanzo) flour

1 tablespoon oil

1 teaspoon tumeric powder

1/4 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon cumin powder

1/2 teaspoon coriander powder

1/2 teaspoon garam masala powder

1/4 teaspoon asafoetida powder

salt to taste

sugar (optional, I did not add any sugar)

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Add just enough water to make into a soft dough, and make a nice ball.

Separate the ball into 8 small balls, and roll them out, using enough flour to keep them from sticking. Cook on skillet or tali over medium heat, using a tiny bit of oil for each side. Cook until they are brown.

Vegan Kadhi

Makes two servings

Again, this would be better with "real" yogurt (e.g. soy)

Whisk together:

1 cup coconut (or other) yogurt

1 cup water

1 tablespoon besan (garbanzo) flour

Add:

1/2 inch piece ginger, minced

In a separate pan, heat 2 tablespoons oil. Add:

1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds

When they begin to pop, add:

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds

1/2 green chile, cut lengthwise

1/2 red chile, cut lengthwise

2 cardamom pods

1/4 teaspoon tumeric

1/8 teaspoon asafetida powder

2-3 curry leaves

Add oil to yogurt and water mixture, stirring in well. Bring to boil, then remove from heat. Garnish with chopped cilantro leaves and just a few drops of lemon juice.

A quote to share and some heavy thinking

Today, for the first time since Day 1 of Vegan Mofo, I am able to jump in to the hundreds of posts paying homage to this event. And can I just say, wow. What a treat to have access to so many vegans. I love you!

I had to share this quote that I stole from this blog. My thoughts exactly!

"Alas, what wickedness to swallow flesh into our own flesh, to fatten our greedy bodies by cramming in other bodies, to have one living creature fed by the death of another! As long as man continues to be the ruthless destroyer of other beings, he will never know health or peace". ~ Pythagoras

I was just telling my husband earlier that I don't think I will ever go back to eating dairy. If I do, I will have to purposely ignore all that I know (kind of like the way I do when I wear leather shoes). I'm trying to totally veganize my life now (shoes, too), and the more I do, the more I realize that consuming dairy, to me, is the same as eating meat. The animals are suffering for my benefit. We can't ask the cows and goats, "Hey, can I steal your milk? How do your boobs feel, all swollen and full all the time? Do you like that?" Can you imagine? I came across this post on Vegan Jains (it's an old one) and s/he links up a slideshow about 3 or 4 paragraphs in about dairy milk production versus almond milk production. Simple but honest and powerful. I sent it to my husband, who has been teetering on veganism and omnivore eating.

These are my thoughts today...I'm really feeling like I need to do more for animals besides not eating them. I can only sign so many online petititions before I come to terms with how little I actually do for animal welfare.

My favorite animals in the whole world:

Tempeh De-virginized and some sides

Welcome to Vegan MoFo Day 4 : ) I'm really enjoying this, especially after a dry blogging spell last week.

Since my blogging is really just to motivate me to eat (and it has been working, I'm very happy to say) and to cook (meaning that not only do I eat, I eat healthy homecooked food), I usually don't feel that I have much to share. I'm not a kitchen goddess like some of my fellow bloggers, but I'm a pretty good copycat. I'm just trying to get by until this whole cooking-meals-and-eating-them thing comes naturally.

My system lately is to figure out what I have in the fridge and look up recipes during the day to figure out what sounds good in the evening. I often find lots of yummy recipes that I can't implement due to lack of ingredients. But it's nice to have literally a world of recipe options to try.

Last night's dinner was a success, receiving omni- and vegan-approval. I have never tried tempeh (it looks disgusting like moldy cheese!) but we tried it tonight for the first time per my husband's request.

The meal:

Tempeh and Mushrooms in Tomato Cashew Curry

Cabbage and Russet Potatoes

Wild Rice

Comments:

Curry: The curry recipe is fabulous, and the more things I try from the Vegan Epicurean blog, the more of her recipes I want to try! There are blogs I follow for recipes, and blogs I follow for inspiration, and blogs I follow for information, and from VE I get all three! I did modify a few things only because of limited ingredients:

-I replaced two cups of tomatoes with tomato paste and water

-I replaced the cardamom powder with whole pods as this is what I tend to see in traditional Indian recipes...and they are fun to chew on at the end of the meal (aids digestion)

-I replaced coriander seeds with a 1/2 teaspoon coriander powder, and the ginger root with powder.

Overall, this dish was amazing. Would be better (for me) with only half a lime juice rather than a whole, and if you have a Vita-Mix (I don't) the cashew creme will come out nice and smooth. Mine looked chunky. Still delicious, though! We both really loved this one.

Cabbage: The cabbage was prepared in a very traditional Indian manner. Roast mustard seeds in oil until they pop. Then add cumin seeds and diced green or red chile. Then add one potato (cut very small) and cook until they are browned. Throw a head of cabbage on top of that, and after about five minutes, add asefotida powder, cumin powder, salt and turmeric. When the cabbage is the consistency that you want, take off heat and add chopped cilantro. It's nice to have a dish without onions and garlic once in a while.

Wild Rice: I soaked the rice for a few hours before cooking, and it had a nice flavor. I also added a few fenugreek seeds to the water because I find any excuse to add spices to whatever I'm making.

Vegan Breakfast Crepes

Vegan Breakfast Crepes

Crepe

3/4 cup garbanzo flour

1/2 cup quinoa flour

1/2 cup brown rice flour (or lighter flour of choice)

2 tablespoons of oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

Whisk all ingredients together. Let stand for 20 or so minutes in a covered bowl. Heat skillet on medium. Lightly coat with oil, and put 1/4-1/2 cup of batter (depending on skillet size) on the pan at a time. Roll the batter around until a very thin crepe is formed. Let it cook until underside is brown and top layer is cooked through. Can flip or serve as is. Top with topping of your choice.

Batter can be refrigerated overnight for later use. After that the consistency changes and the end result is not as good.

Filling

1 chopped apple (I used half green and half red)

1 chopped persimmon

1/4 cup raisins

1/4 cup dried dates

cinnamon to taste

garam masala (optional)

1/4 cup wheat germ (for the zinc)

Put apple and persimmon in sauce pan with a few tablespoons of water and cook on medium for 10 minutes. Turn down to simmer and add remaining ingredients. Simmer for a few more minutes.

My filling was nothing to write home about but I included it anyway. Enjoy!

Rajma with Socca and Roasted Fennel

"Yum" said the omnivore and the vegan in unison.

Indian Spiced Kidney Beans (Rajma)

Mediterranean Socca

Roasted Fennel

Saffron Rice*

Spinach and Romaine Salad**

My comments: Sounds complex, but was very easy. These dishes complimented each other surprisingly well. The omni declared that it was "very flavorful", and said that I must have worked really hard on this meal (I didn't--about an hour in the kitchen, not including clean up--but I let him think I did!). I normally don't like fennel, but this was delicious and complimented the other components of the meal.

*Saffron Rice: Leftover rice reheated with a little bit of saffron-infused water. Just a few threads of saffron made a statement.

**Salad: Spinach, romaine, sunflower seeds, cranberries, and a diced pear, tossed with olive oil, balsamic, a tablespoon of nutritional yeast and a teaspoon of wasabi powder.

CSA box contribution to this meal: spinach, romaine, pear, and fennel! What a treat!

Exercise

"We like to be alive, too! And look! We're cute!"

Welcome to Day 1 of Vegan MoFo IV (which is really just a better-than-usual excuse for me to blog every day).

I came across this article today which basically states that exercise (14 minutes a day or 42 minutes over a three day period) can inhibit chromosomal aging (damage to the ends of chromosomes, called the telomeres) due to stress. My interpretation? The more stressed I am, the more I need exercise.

The article specified that not just any exercise counts. It has to be heart-pumping, sweat-inducing exercise. And that exercise not only protects the telomeres, but actually helps the body produce telomere-protective enzyme.

What does this have to do with being vegan? Have you ever noticed that when you exercise, something internal gets reset? I crave very specific foods after I exercise. Before I became vegan, I would crave eggs and sugar. Now, I start craving kale and spinach smoothies and tofu. I think exercise resets my cravings to what my body needs, rather than what my mind wants.

If you're like me, you identify more with these guys and would rather nap under a heat lamp than exercise!

So what am I going to do about it? Probably nothing this morning, since my sinus infection seems to have come back and running out in the cold probably isn't the best idea (even though the article also suggests that exercise helps to strengthen the immune system), but maybe I'll get in front of the TV and put on the exercise channel later, and then dig into my CSA box for some greens.

***

2 hours later

I did it! I spent twenty minutes sweating in front of the Exercise TV channel doing kickboxing! Two minutes in I felt like giving up, but once I got over the hump, it was a good feeling to get the endorphins going.