Recipes

[Quiet]

Heres a thread for our recipes. Healthy, vegan, indulgent, unhealthy, whatever.

Im trying to learn to cook using vegan principles. I was hoping that [MENTION=2890]Lerxst[/MENTION] and [MENTION=5145]AKM[/MENTION] could post some of their favourite recipes.

 

[Quiet]

Healthy white sauce

Healthy white sauce

One cauliflower should be enough for about 4 people, but it depends on how you want to use it.

1) Trim of leaves around the stem and damaged areas of the cauliflower. Chop up cauliflower (florets and stem) into small pieces.

2) Transfer chopped cauliflower into a suitably sized pot. Pour enough boiling water over the top to just cover it. Add some rock or sea salt, to your liking.

3) Boil for about 5 minutes or until just cooked. If you overcook, it will lose nutrients and flavour.

4) Strain water out using colander, and then transfer cauliflower back to the pot.

5) Use a stick blender to puree the cauliflower to your desired consistency. The more you blend the smoother and silkier it will be, but its also nice to have less refined consistency.
Taste and add more salt and pepper if required.

Variations:
Add garlic or chopped onion to the boiling water when cooking the cauliflower
Add a fresh garlic clove after cooking for a stronger taste and better nutrition.
Add herbs- parsley, chives etc.
Add cooked spinach, peas, carrots, corn etc
Add butter or olive oil for taste. (never margarine)
For a more savoury sauce, cook cauliflower in vegetable or chicken stock
For a really creamy sauce, cook cauliflower in milk, or a mixture of milk and water, or you could cook it normally and simply add a bit of cream at the end when you are pureeing the mixture
Add cheese for taste- parmesan,cream cheese, ricotta, mozzarella, brie, camembert, blue cheese etc

To make a great white sauce for lasagne-
Puree cauliflower as described above
Make a smooth cornflower paste- one or two tablespoon cornflower mixed with a bit of cold water. The more cornflour you use, the thicker your sauce will become.
You could also use crushed chia seeds as a healthier thickener. It wont be as smooth but it has a pleasant taste and is very nutritious.

Bring the pot of pureed cauliflower to gentle, simmering heat. Add the cornflower paste and mix rigorously to ensure mixture doesn't stick and thickens properly.
After mixture has thickened, add appropriate seasoning and cheese if desired.

You can also use pureed cauliflower as a base in pasta sauce, casseroles, risotto etc.

 

[AKM]

Healthy white sauce

....
You can also use pureed cauliflower as a base in pasta sauce, casseroles, risotto etc.

[MENTION=2890]Lerxst[/MENTION]...would you like to address how risotto is made to be creamy?
I'll probably post at some point, not right now though. If I were less paranoid I'd link to my recipe blog (though I haven't updated it in a few months...)

 

[Lerxst]

This one is easy since I just made it again last night - Punjab Eggplant (trust me, it doesn't resemble any type of eggplant dish you've eaten before)

Coat 2 medium/large eggplants in olive oil.
Slit eggplants lengthwise in half, cutting about 3 inches deep
Peel and cut off woody-end of 1 onion
Peel 8 cloves of garlic
Stuff garlic in eggplant (4 cloves in each)
Bake onion, garlic and eggplant in 400 degree oven for 45 minutes

"Gut" eggplant into large pot (scrape out with spoon)
Toss in roasted garlic and onions
Add 2 tomatoes or 1 can of diced tomatoes
Add: 2 Tbs of cumin, 3 Tbs fresh ground coriander, 2 Tbs turmeric, 3 Tbs curry powder, 2 Tbs salt, 1 tsp crushed red pepper

Stick-blend into puree. Serve over rice.


Or...

Dice onion, crush garlic and caramelize in pot, then add roasted eggplant, tomatoes and spices and mash with potato masher.

Or... for the most nutrition

Roast ingredients together as above, cut off "stem" of eggplant and toss whole eggplant (peel and all) and half an onion in a Vita Mix blender with 1 tomato and 1/2 the spices. Repeat for second eggplant. Texture should almost be creamy.

 

[Lerxst]

@Lerxst ...would you like to address how risotto is made to be creamy?
I'll probably post at some point, not right now though. If I were less paranoid I'd link to my recipe blog (though I haven't updated it in a few months...)

Ok then...

For a creamy risotto...

Make sure you buy a very short-grained, sticky rice. Doesn't need to be called "Risotto rice" but can't be your typical American style long-grained white rice either.

Get a large, sauce pan and pour a few tablespoons of oil in it. Once oil gets hot, add the amount of rice you wish to cook (1 cup or so)

Keep rice in hot oil over medium/low heat and stir until rice starts to turn translucent.

Slowly add about 2 cups of vegetable broth a few tablespoons at a time. Constantly stir the rice after each addition of broth until the broth is gone and rice gets a little softer each time. Anywhere from an hour or 2 later, the rice will have a creamy, soft, sticky "pudding" texture. Add some salt and/or vegetables to it at this point if you want and keep stirring until they heat up.

Eat.

Temperatures and altitude could mean adding up to 4 cups of broth and stirring it constantly for several hours (3+) since you lose a lot of the moisture to boiling off... it gets rather labor intensive!

 

[#@&5&49]

I LUV to bake and my husband and I both have a sweet tooth, but since we started getting old I've had to learn how to bake low fat healthy deserts. I hope this recipe thread sticks around cause I always appreciate new healthy recipes. I'm going to try both the healthy white sauce and the eggplant dish. I love eggplant. I have a great recipe for eggplant salsa that I'll post at a later date.

Okay here's an awesome recipe for a low fat flour-less chocolate cake. It's a bit like a souffle. This is a south beach diet recipe that I modified a little. My husband and I LOVE this cake. If you bake it let me know how you like it. I might bake one this evening, if I do I'll post a picture of it. If a picture doesn't show up in the next day or so I either didn't bake the cake or we ate it before I could get a picture :hungry:

Flour-less Chocolate Cake

Ingredients
2 tablespoon trans free margarine (I use smart balance)
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup blanched almonds
1/2 cup sugar
3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
1/2 cup fat free sour cream
1/2 cup sugar substitute (I use splenda)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 egg whites room temperature
1 cup sliced strawberries

Preheat oven to 350

Generously coat a 9" glass pie pan with 2 tablespoons of the margarine and dust with the cocoa powder. (Don't tap out the excess cocoa; leave it in the pan)

In a food processor, combine the blanched almonds with 2 tablespoons of the sugar. Process until finely ground. (Don't process until it turns into peanut butter)

Melt the chocolate and remaining 4 teaspoons of margarine in a microwave on defrost, stir occasionally until smooth.

Place the chocolate mixture in a large bowl. Add the almond mixture, sour cream, sugar substitute, egg yolks, vanilla extract, and 1/4 cup of the sugar. Stir until well blended.

In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on high speed, beat the egg whites until frothy. Gradually add the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar, beating until stiff, glossy peaks form.

Stir one quarter of the beaten egg whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it. Gently fold in the remaining egg whites until no white streaks remain. Place in the prepared pan. Gently smooth the top.

Bake for 30 minutes or until the cake has risen, the top is dry, and a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. It isn't completely like a souffle cause the cake will rise to almost double the size and then it's supposed to fall.

Place the pan on a rack and cool. Top with the sliced strawberries.

 

[AKM]

Quinoa Sushi (Vegan, gluten free, soy free, mostly candida safe)
Boil a little over 2 cups of water, cook 1 cup of quinoa on medium heat for 12 minutes. Turn heat off, cover, and let sit for 15 minutes. Transfer quinoa to a cool bowl (glass works well) and stirring occasionally to cool, combine with a teaspoon of salt, splash of lemon juice, a tablespoon or so of tahini. You want it to be cool enough to touch comfortably.
Slice veggies of your choice into thin strips. (tonight I used cucumber, red bell pepper, garlic, green onion, avocado, but other veggies that work well are carrots, steamed asparagus, zucchini, summer squash, mushrooms, jicama...anything else you like)
Place nori shiny side down on a bamboo rolling mat (I put mine in a gallon ziploc bag for easier cleanup later.) Spread about cup of the cooled quinoa mixture onto the sheet of nori, leaving about 1/2 inch of nori free at the top edge. Lay veggies across the nori and roll. (Your on your own for how to roll sushi...lots of videos and tutorials online.) Slice with a thin sharp knife, wiping clean between cuts, and turning the roll to avoid smushing it.
Any wasabi I can find in the store has ingredients I can't or won't eat, so I use dry mustard for dipping bites in.
Yummy
(This amount of quinoa will make about 5 sushi rolls (if using full sheets of nori)

 

[Lerxst]

Vegan Pancakes:

1 cup flour
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup soy/almond milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Fry in hot skillet like any other pancake!

 

[Thinkist]

Are these recipes from scratch and not out of some cookbook or other reading source?

 

[AKM]

Are these recipes from scratch and not out of some cookbook or other reading source?

Speaking for myself, recipes I share are usually mine that I come up with after looking at various other recipes, picking and choosing techniques and ingredients, substituting others, and doing my own thing. If they are very close to a source recipe (ie: all I changed was using olive oil instead of margarine and almond milk instead of cows milk) then I will say that it was adapted from that one recipe.

 

[Thinkist]

My GF's ESFJ mother does something similar.

 

[5r6jhd]

[MENTION=5601]vandyke[/MENTION]...one already exists! Post away

 

[j654dgj7]

Okay so I have this soup that I love cooking. It's healthy and easy to make. It might seem "light" or even like it won't be enough for dinner -- trust me, it's perfect. A nice ciabatta bread on the side is a great side, and dipping it into the soup is not too shabby either

Ingredients you'll need:

For 2-4 people:

2 medium sized onions
2 leeks
2 large spoon fulls of canola oil (or olive oil)
1 and a quarter liters (42 oz) of vegetable broth
1 small spoon full of basil
1 and a quarter spoon full of pepper (any will do, but white pepper is preferred)
100-140 grams (3.5 to 4 ounces) of spaghetti - I don't recommend using the long thin spaghetti/macaroni, but any will do if needed.
1 deciliter (0.42 cups) of tomato purée
+/- 1 deciliter of cream (0.42 cups) (you decide on the fat percentage - I usually use 9-12%)

disclaimer: I'm not exactly strong on american measurements! If it sounds completely ridiculous, look it up or let me know that I've made a mistake.

Here's how you make the soup:

- Make the vegetable broth however you'd like
- Cut the onions into thin small slices.
- Clean your leeks thoroughly, then cut them into thin small slices.
- Put the canola oil into a medium/large sized pot, and turn the leeks and onions on the pan until they get a golden look. Don't let them get too much time alone though!
- Add the vegetable broth, along with the basil and pepper, and let it boil for a little while, while you stir it regularly.
- Add the spaghetti, and let it cook until the spaghetti is tender.
- When the spaghetti looks perfect, add the cream and tomato purée. You can add a bit more cream if you don't think there's enough in it - but experience tells me about 1 dl is plenty

That's it! Easy to make, and it tastes amazing. If you're a big fan of cheese, you can grate some to finish off the soup once it's done. You can also add bacon, or beef strips, to the soup. I would recommend you try making the soup this way first, as I think the soup gets too "heavy" when you add meat.

Enjoy!
[MENTION=5297]Neverwhere[/MENTION] - your turn!

 

[tfg345i4u5lw]

Take a pot of water and bring it to a boil. Take 200 grams of pure and put it in a coffee pot, mix it with 80 grams of baking soda. Let it heat up for a little bit then add a little bit of water to the coffee pot. Then use a butter knife and mix it. Turn the heat down to a slow simmer and let it cook. Add a little bit of the boiling water from the pot and watch as the dope rises to the top of the coffee pot. Strain and dry under a hot lamp. Cut it, bag it, and auction it.

It's cookies. =)

 

[#@&5&49]

Here's the recipe thread.

 

[Quiet]

id forgotten about this..

This is something we've been preparing a lot lately. We call it zucchini 'pasta' or salad. It is a great main or side dish.

Use as many zucchinis as you want. 1 or 2 should be enough for one person, 2-3 enough for two people etc. It also depends on the size of the zucchinis. And whether you want to eat this as a main or side dish

Zucchini pesto 'pasta' (for 4- 5 people)

5 medium to large zucchinis
1 cup pesto (home made pesto is easy to make and pesto is readily availalable at delis)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 squeeze of lemon-1-2 teaspoons
Pinch of salt and pepper to taste

1) Wash zucchinis. No need to peel them.
2) Using a vegetable peeler, peel of long lengthwise strips of zucchini. The strips will look like fettuchine pasta.
3) With the seedy bits in the middle that are hard to peel, chop them up and mix them with the pesto.
4) Toss the zucchini strips (pasta) with the olive oil and lemon
5) Stir the pesto and zucchini bits through the 'pasta'
6) Add salt and pepper to taste

This can be enjoyed by itself as a main- throw in some baby tomatoes, diced onion, strips of carrot, bell peppers, mushrooms, steamed vegies, garnish with herbs and parmasen etc.
Or use as a side for lentils, grilled mushrooms, rich rissoto, boiled or poached eggs, fish, chicken or meat. The freshness cuts though richer, heavier foods.

All sorts of sauces and dressings can be used with these zucchini pasta strips- tomato, balsamic, mustard, mushroom, vegetable purees, creamy, mayo, aeoli, herb butter etc - use your imagination and what you have in the fridge.
This is wonderfully fresh and nutrient rich way to enjoy zucchini. A great alternative to pasta for those that are avoiding gluten and/or too many processed carbs.