Author Archives: Panda

Veggie Loaded Chili (Gf,V)

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Ingredients:

  • 1 medium-sized onion, diced small
  • 2 carrots, diced
  • 2 ribs celery, diced
  • 2 – 3 T olive oil
  • 2 cups other diced veggies of choice – any yummy veggie works like zucchini, summer/winter squash, sweet potato, parsnips, more carrots or peppers
  • 4-6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 t salt, divided
  • 3 T chili powder
  • 1 T cumin
  • 2 t coriander
  • 1/4 t chipotle powder (or sub 1 t smoked paprika)
  • 2 t dried oregano
  • 3 1/2 cups (2 cans) diced tomatoes (canned or fresh)
  • 4 1/2 cups (3 cans) assorted beans of choice
  • 1/4 cup water
  • Optional 2 – 3 t soy sauce, GF liquid aminos, or miso paste

Special tools:

  • Large dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot

Steps:

  1. Dice onion, carrots, and celery into desired size.
  2. Place in large dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pan with olive oil. Cook over medium heat.
  3. Chop the rest of your veggies of choice. Add in veggies and chopped garlic to pot. Add in 1/2 t salt and cook for about 15 minutes or until veggies are tender, stirring occasionally.
  4. While veggies are cooking, gather your spices, rinse and drain your beans, and if using fresh tomatoes, dice and save the juices.
  5. Once veggies are tender, add in all spices – chili powder, cumin, coriander, oregano, and chipotle powder/paprika.
  6. Toast spices with veggies for 1 – 2 minutes to bring out flavors.
  7. Add in tomatoes (with juices), water, beans, and remaining 1/2 t salt.
  8. Cover with a lid and simmer on low heat for about 15 minutes.
  9. Serve with optional toppings.

Pizza dough (Gf, V)

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This recipe makes about 2 thick or 4 thin pizza crusts.

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 cups warm water – hottest tap water settings works great for me
  • 1 packet or 2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
  • 2 T sugar
  • 4 1/2 cups bread flour (or white flour if necessary but the dough will not be as good)
  • 2 T oil
  • 1 tsp salt
  • Toppings and sauces of choice

Special tools:

  • Pizza cooking method and device

Steps:

  1. Mix together water, sugar, and yeast. Let sit for 10 minutes to activate.
  2. In a bowl, add flour, salt, and oil.
  3. After 10 minutes, stir yeast mixture well.
  4. Add yeast mixture into dry ingredients. Mix well.
  5. Knead for 5 – 10 minutes to activate the gluten.
  6. Let rise in a warm place for 1 – 3 hours, or until doubled in size. If it is cold in your house, you can turn on the oven for 30 seconds to get slightly warm and then turn it off and place dough in there for proofing time.
  7. After dough has risen, preheat oven to 400 f and divide dough in half if you want thick crust or four if you want thin crusts.
  8. Roll out into circles of desired size.
  9. Place desired toppings and sauces.
  10. Bake until crust is crisp and toppings warm, about 15 – 25 minutes, depending on how cooked you like your pizza.

Classic Cashew Pulao (Gf, V)

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Ingredients:

  • 2 1/2 cups veggie broth or bouillon broth
  • Pinch of saffron threads
  • 2 – 3 T oil
  • 1 medium onion – chopped
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 4 – 6 cardamom pods
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 1/3 cup white rice or basmati rice soaked for 20 – 30 minutes prior
  • 1/2 – 2/3 cup cashews
  • Optional 1/3 cup golden raisins

Special tools:

  • 2 cup pyrex measuring cup
  • Large sauce pan or pot

Steps:

  1. Mix together veggie broth and saffron. Set aside until needed.
  2. Heat oil, onion, and garlic in a large saucepan or pot for about 5 minutes.
  3. Stir in the cinnamon stick, cardamoms and, and bay leaf. Let cook for 2 – 3 minutes.
  4. Rinse rice until the water going through is clear. Add to the pan, and cook, stirring, for 2 – 4 more minutes.
  5. Pour in veggie broth and bring to a boil.
  6. Give it a stir and lower the heat.
  7. Cook, covered, until rice is tender and no liquid is apparent, about 10 – 20 minutes.
  8. Meanwhile, in a small frypan or wok, heat 1 – 2 t oil.
  9. Brown cashews until toasty and slightly browned.
  10. Mix in cashews and optional golden raisins with cooked rice.
  11. Serve with optional naan bread.

Sugar Free Brownies (Gf, V)

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Ingredients:

  • 2 ripe bananas, mashed
  • 1/3 cup nut/seed butter
  • 1/4 cup syrup (or sugar-free syrup)
  • 2/3 cup plant-based milk
  • 1 cup flour (can be gluten free)
  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder
  • 3/4 t baking soda
  • 1/8 t salt
  • Chocolate chips (optional)

Cooking directions:

350 f for 20 – 25 min

Special tools:

  • 9×9 pyrex container

Steps:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 f and grease a 9×9 pan.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the bananas, nut/seed butter, milk, and maple syrup.
  3. Gently fold in all remaining ingredients until combined.
  4. Pour batter into the pan and bake for 20 – 25 minutes, or until the center is firm.

German Potato Salad (Gf, V)

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Ingredients:

  • 2 lbs potatoes
  • 1/2 medium-sized onion or 1 small onion
  • 2/3 cup veggie stock or broth
  • 1 T vinegar
  • 1 T mustard
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Special tools:

  • Pot
  • Saucepan
  • Whisk or wooden spoon

Steps:

  1. Scrub and wash your potatoes. If you desire, you can peel them but it is not necessary.
  2. Cut potatoes into even 1/4s.
  3. Place into a pot with water just covering them. Bring to a boil.
  4. Once water is boiling, let cook for about 10 minutes or until tender.
  5. Drain carefully and let cool.
  6. In a large saucepan, add in onion, veggie stock, vinegar, mustard, salt, and pepper.
  7. Give it a stir with a whisk or spoon and cover and bring to a boil.
  8. Remove lid and cook down for about 5 move minutes.
  9. Cut potatoes into bite-sized pieces.
  10. Mix the sauce and cut up potatoes into a serving bowl.
  11. This dish is usually served at room temperature but it is yummy cold and warm as well.

Pupusas (Gf, V)

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Ingredients:

  • 2 cups masa harina flour
  • 1 lime, juiced and zested
  • 1 – 1.5 cups water
  • Fillings of choice – traditionally beans with spices but any protein-rich fillings are great

Steps:

  1. Mix together the masa harina flour, lime juice and zest, and 1 cup water.
  2. If the dough is too dry or too wet, add in water or flour.
  3. Let the dough sit at room temperature for 15 – 20 minutes.
  4. While the dough is resting, prepare any fillings of your choice.
  5. Take about a 2 T ball of dough and roll into a ball. Flatten the ball in your hand to about 1 cm thick. Place about 1 – 2 t of filling in the middle of the flattened ball. Roll in the edges of the dough to incase the filling. Place on a baking sheet or other flat surface. Flatten the filled ball into about a 1/2 – 1 inch thick disk.
  6. Repeat process until all of your dough is used up.
  7. Now, you can either cook and eat the pupusas now, or freeze them for later use.
  8. If you are going to cook them now, heat up a cast iron pan with a small amount of oil.
  9. Place one pupusa in the pan and cook until golden brown. Flip over and cook until both sides are slightly crispy.
  10. Oil the pan in between pupusas and repeat until all pupusas are cooked.
  11. If you are going to freeze them for later use, spread out all pupusas on a baking sheet so that each individual pupusa is not touching anything else.
  12. Freeze until hard, about 10 hours, or overnight. You can then combine all pupusas into a bag or container and freeze until you plan to use them.
  13. To cook a frozen pupusa, follow directions as listed above. You may need to cover the cooking pupusa to warm up the center faster. These are great for quick lunches or preparing for a super simple dinner.

Idli (Gf, V)

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Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup urad dal
  • 1 cup idli rava (or idli rice)
  • 1/2 t non-iodized salt
  • 3/4 – 1 cup chilled water

Special tools:

  • Idli plates(like these) or stainless steel measuring cups
  • Steamer
  • 2 non-metal mixing bowls
  • Blender or food processer

Steps:

  1. Rinse and soak the idli rava and urad dal in separate non-metal bowls. Have at least 2 – 3 inches of water above the top of each bowl.
  2. Let soak for at least 6 – 8 hours.
  3. After 6 hours, drain and rinse both idli rava and urad dal.
  4. Add soaked urad dal and 3/4 cup water to a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. If you need to add more water, do so.
  5. Add in soaked idli rava and salt. Blend just until combined.
  6. Set the idli batter aside in a warm place for at least 12 – 14 hours but can go longer. You may want to put a pie dish or something to catch any overflow just in case. The batter will ferment and should get thicker and smooth. If you start the batter in the evening, you can let it ferment overnight and continue on the next step just before dinner the evening after.
  7. Do not cover the batter while fermenting but you can put it in the oven turned off to keep it away from any bugs or dirt.
  8. After the fermentation process is over, prepare to cook the idli.
  9. Boil water in the bottom of the steamer basket.
  10. Lightly grease your idli plates or stainless steel measuring cups. Give the batter a light stir and fill the plates about 3/4 of the way full. The batter will rise so you do not want the cups to overflow.
  11. When the water begins to boil, place the filled idly stand and plates or measuring cups in the steamer. If you are using measuring cups, make sure the cups are sitting flat and not on an angle. Cover and steam for 10 minutes. Turn off the stove and leave the lid on for 2 minutes to gently lower the heat. after 2 minutes, carefully take the idli out of the steamer. It may be very hot to touch so you may want to be careful.
  12. Continue the process until all idli have been cooked.

Chocolate Chip Cookies (Gf, V)

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Ingredients:

  • 2 1/4 cup flour (can be gluten-free)
  • 1 T cornstarch or arrowroot
  • 1 t baking soda
  • 3/4 t salt
  • 1/2 cup vegan butter, margarine, or oil
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup white sugar
  • 1/4 – 1/2 cup water
  • 1 t vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup chocolate chips
  • Optional chopped pecans, walnuts, or other nuts.
  • Optional sea salt

Cooking directions:

350 f for 10 – 15 min

Special tools:

  • 2 – 3 baking sheets
  • Parchment paper (slipmats are not great for this)
  • Stand or hand electric beater

Steps:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 f and line 2 – 3 baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch or arrowroot, and baking soda.
  3. Using the stand or hand mixer, beat the butter or substitute, both sugars, vanilla extract, and salt.
  4. Add in the dry ingredients to the butter mixture. It will be very crumbly and dry.
  5. Slowly add in the water until the dough has come together and can be rolled into cookies, but not too wet.
  6. Carefully fold in the chocolate chips and nuts if adding.
  7. Scoop about 1 T of dough onto prepared baking sheets. Press down slightly and add sea salt if using.
  8. Bake for 10 – 25 minutes at 350 f.
  9. You can freeze the baked cookies to eat later or freeze the raw dough to bake later if there are not many cookie eaters in your house.

Chia Seed Brownies (Gf, V)

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Ingredients:

  • 1-2 T flax or chia seeds
  • 1/2 cup water or cold coffee
  • 1/2 – 3/4 cup sugar depending on preference
  • 1/4 cup oil
  • 1 t vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup flour – can be gluten free
  • 1 t baking powder
  • 1/2 t salt
  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder
  • Optional chocolate chips, nuts, or other add-ins.

Cooking directions:

350 f for 25 – 35 min

Special tools:

  • Pyrex 9 x 9,9 x 13, or muffin cups – lightly greased
  • Fine mesh sieve

Steps:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 f.
  2. In a small bowl, mix the flax or chia seed and the water or coffee until well combined.
  3. Let soak for 5 – 10 minutes until it turns into a gelatinous looking mixture.
  4. In a medium-sized bowl, add in the sugar and oil. Mix well.
  5. Add in the vanilla extract and flax or chia mixture.
  6. Sift in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.
  7. Mix until combined but do not over mix.
  8. Gently stir in your add-ins if using.
  9. Spoon into Pyrex baking dish or muffin cups.
  10. Bake until a toothpick inserted will come out clean.

Carrot & Mushroom Loaf (Gf, Veg)

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Ingredients:

  • 1 onion – minced finely
  • Oil
  • 8 oz mushrooms
  • Basil to taste – cut up finely
  • Thyme to taste – cut up finely
  • Dill to taste – cut up finely
  • 3 cups shredded carrot
  • 1 cup bread crumbs – you can put some stale bread in a food processor to make bread crumb instead of store-bought breadcrumbs.
  • 1/2 – 3/4 cup grated cheese
  • 1 egg

Special tools:

  • 9 x 9 baking dish

Steps:

  1. Prepare the carrots and onions. Set aside in different bowls.
  2. Preheat oven to 350 F.
  3. Lightly oil your 9 x 9 baking dish.
  4. In a large pan, heat up 1/2 – 1 T oil.
  5. Saute onions for about 5 minutes.
  6. Add in mushrooms, basil, thyme, and dill.
  7. Continue to saute for 5 – 10 more minutes.
  8. Set aside.
  9. In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the grated carrots, bread crumbs, cheese, and egg.
  10. Mix in the sauteed veggies.
  11. Spread the mixture into the prepared pan.
  12. Cover with foil.
  13. Bake for 30 minutes covered then 15 minutes with the foil off.