Hack-Proof Recipe Roundup, February 6, 2015

Unless I’m following a recipe, my cooking style tends toward a “shoot-from-the-hip” approach. I have a rough sense of how much of each spice to add, and adjust on the fly—and when it comes to garlic, cumin, or curry, is there such a thing as too much? So while I’m working to capture the recipes that live only in my head, please enjoy the next edition of hack-proof recipes:

 

Roasted Tofu And Kale with Pine Nuts

There’s lots of veggie goodness coming out of Laura Wright’s kitchen over at The First Mess. I dug this one out of her archives, an easy and delicious one “pot” meal!

Roasted Tofu And Kale with Pine Nuts
Roasted Tofu And Kale with Pine Nuts, from The First Mess

 

Crock Pot Indian Spiced Lentils

A great crock pot (or not) recipe from The Diva Dish.

Crock Pot Indian Spiced Lentils, from The Diva Dish
Crock Pot Indian Spiced Lentils, from The Diva Dish

 

Potato & Pea Samosa Cakes with Tamarind Sauce

I tracked this one down at The Veg Kitchen, but it’s also included in But I Could Never Go Vegan!: 125 Recipes That Prove You Can Live Without Cheese, It’s Not All Rabbit Food, and Your Friends Will Still Come Over for Dinner, by Kristy Turner. They make a great party appetizer as the cakes can be prepared ahead of time and baked on demand.

Pototo & Pea Samosa Cakes with Tamarind Sauce from But I Could Never Go Vegan.
Pototo & Pea Samosa Cakes with Tamarind Sauce, by Kristy Turner

 


I spend a fair amount of time in the kitchen hacking other’s recipes, but there are a few that make it to the plate unaltered. If you think you’ve got a hack-proof recipe, please send it my way!

 

Hack-Proof Recipe Roundup, January 30, 2015

There will be plenty of opportunities for sharing our feelings about how correct animal-free eating is, but when the rubber hits the road it’s about the food, right? And it better taste good! I spend a fair amount of time hacking other’s recipes, but there are a few that make it through my kitchen unaltered. Here are three that I come back to again and again without the need for modification:

Mashed Chickpea Salad

As a former fan of tuna salad sandwiches, this recipe hits the spot! It’s now a go-to for bag lunches.

Mashed Chickpea Salad
Mashed Chickpea Salad, from The Simple Veganista

Black and Red Lentil Chili

The black lentils provide all the texture needed to make this chili stand up to it’s meat-based counterparts.

Black and Red Lentil Chili
Black and Red Lentil Chili, from the FatFree Vegan Kitchen

Sriracha Tempeh Cauliflower Wrap

This wrap is not for the faint-of-heart, as Sriracha sauce gets added at every step. Those of you brave enough to see it through will not be disappointed!

Sriracha Tempeh Cauliflower Wrap
Sriracha Tempeh Cauliflower Wrap, from Keepin’ it Kind

That’s all for now. If you think you’ve got a hack-proof recipe, please send it my way!

 

Almost One Year

It’s somewhat arbitrary. I suppose I should have waited for the one-year milestone to start writing. Perhaps being a vegan* for a full year would officially cement my decision to forego eating animal protein. Well, I’m committed to my decision and you’ll just have to wait to celebrate the day with me when it arrives!

In January 2014, I’d realized that I had not eaten any red meat in over two months. Even prior to that, my wife and I rarely cooked red meat at home, but dinners out were a time to be indulgent and professional chefs had a knack for making a steak taste better than what we could ever achieve. But even those extravagant meals were becoming less frequent. The indulgence wasn’t paying off. The food sat heavy in our stomachs, and I knew that it wasn’t the healthiest choice.

So I declared: I was done with red meat.

For a couple months we ate more vegetables. Many meals were now centered around what we thought were healthy animal proteins (chicken, pork or fish). It seemed we were making a move to a healthier diet…

Then I went to Yale and got schooled.

Continue reading Almost One Year