Tag: Vegan Recipes

Vegan Recipes

Vegan Chipotle Chili

Crystal Fleming

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As y’all know, cooking healthy, pleasurably nutritious meals is one of the corner stones of my self care. Here’s an easy and delicious meal I whipped up the other day in no time..

Ingredients:

– 1 cup of corn
– 1 can of beans
– 1/2 large can of whole tomatoes
– cilantro
– 1/4 cup green peppers
– 1/2 chipotle pepper (de-seeded)
– 1/4 cup “no egg” powder (thickener)
– cumin
– black pepper
– sea salt
– splash apple cider vinegar
– dash of garlic
– tofutti sour cream
– chives

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a pot with about 1 cup of water. Cook on medium/high heat, stirring frequently, for about 25 minutes.

Serve with gluten free toast, garnish w vegan sour cream & chives.

That’s it.

Makes about 4 hearty servings. This chili has more of a smoky flavor than spicy, per se. For an extra kick, add a little more pepper – or a bit of Chipotle Cholula 🙂 Enjoy!

Food, Vegan Recipes

Vegan tofu scramble with gluten free toast

Crystal Fleming

Learned this ridiculously delicious and easy recipe from my mom during our trip to Maine earlier this month.

Ingredients:

  • Silken tofu (firm)
  • Tumeric
  • Sea salt
  • Black pepper
  • Coconut oil
  • Onion
  • Spinach or kale

Directions:

1. Chop up tofu, set aside.

2. In a pan, sautee onion and kale (or spinach) in coconut oil.

3. Add tofu to pan. “Scramble” as you would with eggs.

4. Sprinkle with tumeric, sea salt and papper.

5. You’re work is done, my friend.

I really hate the idea of eggs, but, being a hypocrite, I like the taste on occasion.  I was shocked — shocked — at how delicious this was. It’s just as good as eggs – except better, because, you know, it’s not.. eggs.  You can even use this to make egg sandwiches. Thank me later!  Better yet, thank my mom!

Vegan Recipes

Grilled Tofurkey Sandwich w/ Chipotle-Fried Potatoes & Baby Bok Choy (V)

Crystal Fleming

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This poor blog is feeling awfully neglected with the constraints of my work load and schedule.  All I have time to post are 1-line spiritual musings and vegan food porn.

In lieu of a real update, let me just say the following: 1) I’m incredibly happy in this moment 2) Some really exciting, beautiful things are flowering in my work and personal lives right now 3) I am so grateful for the friends, mentors and connections that are breathing synchronicity and joy into my everyday and 4) I’ve found my life’s purpose.  No fucking kidding. My life’s purpose.  No time to tell you about it now, but we’ll chat about it soon.  I promise.  Now back to food.

* * *

The thing I like about posting the the vegan sorta-kinda-recipes is that although they may be merely impressionistic descriptions – rather than the full-on step-by-step instructions you might be accustomed to on a food blog – they do convey 1) the sheer beauty of the meals 2) some creative ideas about how to have your delicious, healthy cake and eat it too and 3) a certain veganish je ne sais quoi.

Truly though, the reason I still share some of my meals is that I really fuckin’ love cooking.  It’s something I stopped doing for a while — between travel and work stress and laziness, I fell off the vegan wagon . . . But now that I’m back on, cooking has brought more balance, artistry and health into my life.  I gained no less than 10 lbs over the last few months from eating out so much and so often (and my goodness.. I consumed some really delicious food).  Now I’m in the kitchen again and getting back into the rhythm of living an active life.  Hot yoga, cardio boot camp and the elliptical are regular visitors on my weekly calendar.

Tonight’s epic vegan masterpiece was absofuckinlutely amazing.  Pretty easy too.

Grilled Tofurkey Sandwich with Chipotle-Fried Potatoes & Baby Bok Choy

Ingredients

– Hoagie spread (you know, the jar of peppers)

– Vegan mayonnaise

– Whole wheat bread

– Tofurkey links of your choice

– 1/2 red onion

– 2 potatoes

– 1 clove of fresh garlic

– 1/2 chipotle pepper (de-seeded)

– EVOO

– salt and pepper

– herbes de provence

– 1 baby bok choy (chopped, grilled and marinated)

– ketchup

– hot sauce

Directions

  1. Slice potatoes, onion, chipotle and garlic
  2. Cut Tofurkey links lengthwise, then again through the middle, to create 8 smaller links
  3. Heat 2 tablespoons of EVOO in a large skillet
  4. Grill Tofurkey for about 5 minutes (turn)
  5. Toss in potatoes, onions, chipotle and garlic – cook until nicely browned
  6. Meanwhile, chop and grill your bok choy in another skillet (I confess I bought mine pre-made and marinated from my favorite Thai restaurant)
  7. Remove Tofurkey from skillet, set aside
  8. Add bok choy to the potato/onion mixture
  9. Reduce heat
  10. In another skillet (are we up to three now?) – heat one tablespoon of EVOO and 2 tablespoons of herbes de provence. Add whole wheat bread and toast (turn so both sides are grilled)
  11. To make the vegan sandwich spread: In a bowl, mix 3 tablespoons of vegan mayonnaise with as many tablespoons of hoagie spread (peppers) as your stomach can handle
  12. When your bread is toasted, dress one slice with the vegan sandwich spread, layer with tofurkey and drizzle with ketchup
  13. Serve the potato/bok choy mix on the side
  14. If you are from the south: Garnish with ketchup and hot sauce
  15. ENJOY … LIKE A BOSS!!
Food, Vegan Recipes

Sauteed Spinach & Stewed Yams Over Rainbow Quinoa (V, GF)

Crystal Fleming

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Part of my self care regimen on the tenure track is scheduling time to cook healthy, nutrutious vegan meals on Sundays. During the week, I regularly work between 9-12 hours a day on research and writing projects, which means I have very little energy left over to cook .. and getting takeout every night isn’t an option unless I want to gain a million pounds.

So…. Here’s one of two delicious meals I made today:

Take a yam. Peel it. Chop it up and boil it.

Meanwhile: bring 1 cup of rainbow quinoa to boil in 2 cups of water. I toss in a cube of vegetable buillion. Reduce to simmer for 20 minutes. Set aside.

When the yam is tender, strain and set aside. In a small saucepan, combine 1 tablespoon of EVOO with 1/4 cup of almond milk. Stir in yams, drizzle with agave and sprinkle with nutmeg and cinnamon.  Stir in 3 large handfuls of spinach and a dash of salt. Optional: sautee the spinach with fresh garlic before adding to the yams.

Spoon the yam/spinach mixture over the quinoa. Savor.

Yummmmm..

Vegan Recipes

Avocado & Kale with Mango-Berry Vinaigrette

Crystal Fleming

In keeping with my recent practice of re-purposing food to maximize deliciousness and minimize waste, I made this amazing mango-berry vinaigrette with the remnants of a smoothie I made in the Vitamix.  Instead of immediately rinsing it out, I decided to use this as an opportunity to make a fruity-vinaigrette, something I’ve been wanting to try for a while.  Although I’m a condiment queen, I don’t generally buy salad dressing.  In part, this is because I prefer warm vegetables to cold salads.  But when I do get a hankering for a salad, I tend to want some kind of vinaigrette, as I absolutely love the taste of vinegar.  Anyways, to make this, I simply added about a quarter cup of EVOO to the leftover smoothie, along with copious amounts of balsamic vinegar,  sea salt and black pepper.  It was so ridiculously good.  And, I got to store it in this re-purposed jar, formerly home to maraschino cherries.  Recycling this tiny jar made me very, very happy.

I am delicious. I am tiny. I am amazing. I am recycled.
I am delicious. I am tiny. I am recycled.

To celebrate my re-purposing triumph, I cut up an avocado, sprinkled it with cumin and introduced it to a handful of kale.  Drizzled it with my amazing mango-berry dressing.  And for the next 20 bites, all was right with the world.

Avocado & kale

Food, Vegan Recipes

Grilled Romaine & Tofu in Spicy Tomato/Raspberry/Avocado Sauce

Crystal Fleming

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I’m getting in the habit of repurposing food as the spirit moves me.  The other night I made a delectable cappellini dish in cashew cheese alfredo with grilled mushrooms.  Not wanting to eat the same thing two nights in a row, I decided to experiment with using the leftover pasta as a base for something altogether different.  I noticed some romaine lettuce in the fridge that needed to be eaten, so I used this as an excuse to grill it up.  The sauce began with the remnants of a raspberry/blackberry/avocado smoothie I’d made that morning.  Instead of washing out the Vitamix, I used the repurposed the remaining smoothie by adding a tomato, balsamic vinegar, garlic, a little Worcestershire sauce and whatever else I could find that would yummify it. The fact that the noodles were bathed in cashew cheese and nutmeg meant that the dish was quite rich and savory.

One thing that I’m learning is that I actually enjoy tofu better when it’s chopped nice and small. I noticed this while eating out at a Thai restaurant last week.  There were these tiny bits of something or other in my salad – they tasted so good but I didn’t know what they were.  When the server told me it was tofu, I resolved to cut mine up as small as possible the next time I cooked it up at home.  I think smaller pieces are more enjoyable because they maximize taste.  Being the Condiment Queen I am, I need my tofu to serve as the most efficient delivery system for my sauce as possible.

Happy Veganisting!

Photos, Vegan Recipes

Pan Seared Pineapple Curry & Split Pea Mash

Crystal Fleming

 

Last week, I ordered some kind of pineapple/chili dish served with tofu, grilled cashews and steamed vegetables.  As I noshed, I wondered: “Why don’t I ever cook with pineapples?”  Rectified this gross culinary negligence by whipping this up tonight.  The base of the curry is an almond butter sauce I made, along with carrots, garlic, grilled peanuts, almond milk and coconut butter.  Seared the pineapple in coconut oil along with red onions. Served over brown rice, red rice & black barley, with a side of split pea mash.  Incredibly delicious. Not low fat. At all.

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Food

Lazy Gourmet: Habanero Taco Salad with Fried Plaintain

Crystal Fleming

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Prep Time: 2 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

– 1 lb. of ground beef (grass fed, organic)
– 1 can of black beans
– Tortilla chips
– 2 ripe plantains
– Jalepeno peppers
– Crushed habaneros
– Shredded mexican cheese
– Pico de Gallo salsa
– Sour cream
– One small can of black olives
– 1/2 lime
– Romaine lettuce
– Taco seasoning
– Salt, pepper to taste
– Olive oil

1. Set stove to medium. Coat saucepan with 1/2 inch of olive oil.
2. Slice and fry plantains. Be sure to turn plantains frequently. Remove from heat when golden brown.  Drain on paper towel and cover with foil.
3. Cook ground beef and sauté with taco seasoning, salt, pepper and habaneros.
4. Prepare taco salad with two handfuls of romaine lettuce. Layer with cheese, beans, tortilla chips, peppers, black olives, salsa, sour cream. Garish with lime juice.
5. Devour.