Rice and Beans

Rice:

2 C long grain rice

4 C water

1 6 partly can tomato sauce

Minced garlic to taste

2 tb canola oil

Salt and pepper

Heat oil in a soup pot and toast the rice, stirring frequently. When the rice is toasted, add the garlic. Next, add water that has been mixed with tomato sauce and pepper. Cover and allow to simmer, reducing the flame to the lowest level. DO NOT TOUCH IT until the rice is tender--it should look like little Xs. Let it stand covered for 5 minutes, then add salt to taste. You can garnish it with green peas and cilantro sprigs. 

Rice is a fickle mistress and it takes practice to make this well. Be patient. It's worth it 

Beans:

For a Party-->

A massive can or large pot of cooked pinto beans

Canola oil

Jalapeños (whole, fresh-roasted or pickled)

(If you use fresh beans, make them with garlic and herbs. Bay leaf and epazote work best.  If you use canned beans, you may choose to rinse them to reduce the sodium, sugar, and unpleasant bloating stuff.)

Heat oil in a large soup pot, then add the beans with some of their liquid.  When the start to simmer, use a smasher to crush about half of them. Add the jalapeños and simmer until they thicken. If you don't like them too spicy, remove the jalapeños. 

For Lunch With the Girls-->

2 tb coconut oil

2 regular (or one medium can) vegetarian retried beans (or smashed beans you made from scratch)

Daiya Mozzarella Shreds to taste (or your fave brand)

Water

Heat the coconut oil in a pot, then add the beans, breaking them down any large pieces. Add enough water to soften the beans into a smooth consistency. When the start to bubble, add the Daiya and stir to encourage melting. Remove from heat and serve. This reheats and freezes well. 

Roasted Potatoes

1 lb of waxy skinned potatoes (red, yukon, white, etc.), cut into small pieces

4 cups of large mushrooms (your choice of variety), sliced

4 cloves of garlic, chopped

1/2-1 bunch fresh parsley (curly or flat), chopped

Olive oil

Salt, pepper, paprika optional

Put the chopped potatoes, mushroom, parsley, and garlic into a mixing bowl.  Add olive oil to coat the mixture, then sprinkle in the seasoning.  Mix well with your hands or your favorite utensils.  

Bake at 450º on a sheet pan or casserole dish covered in parchment until the potatoes are both fork tender and covered in roasty golden goodness.  Stir while baking a few times to keep the veggies from sticking.  This particular batch took about an hour to bake, but the time will vary with your oven and the size of your potatoes.

Make sure to transfer to a serving bowl or container shortly after you take them out of the oven so that you can soak your dish.  Roasting juices are hard to clean off after they've dried.  Also, these are unlikely to burn as long as you keep an eye on them after they start to roast.  

BEAST BURGER!!!!!!!

I had a Beyond Meat Beast Burger for the first time today. I defrosted the patty in the microwave for a minute and a half, then cooked it in a pan for about two minutes on each side to crisp it up. For the last minute, I let a sandwich slice of Daiya provolone get gooey and delicious. Made the sandwich with toasted bread, avocado chunks, and mustard/mayo/ketchup. 

While I cooked the patty, it smelled like carne asada.  Thankfully, he texture was hearty, but not gristly like real meat. The flavor was smoky and tasted like grilled food, but it didn't taste like real meat. I appreciate this because too much realness in a veggie meat makes me queasy. Overall, the sandwich was deelish.

Blueberry Pancakes

Blueberry Pancakes made with +Bob's Red Mill Organic Pancake and Waffle Mix

1 C of pancake mix

1 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 C sweetened vanilla almond milk plus 1tb to replace the egg

1 tb canola oil

1/4 C dried blueberries

Alton Brown's show GOOD EATS, though not vegan at all, offers great technique and some cool science behind yummy food.  Check out his pancake game here.  It is true that most people over mix their pancake, especially when there is no egg to help cushion the flour from the wet ingredients.  Leave some lumps and let your batter sit for a minute or two before pouring onto your griddle.  The pancake will cook best in the middle of the griddle on a medium flame and is ready to flip when the edges look dry and there are some bubbles/holes on the top.  The second side is done when the center of the pancake starts to look a bit like a cone in the middle.  

If you find that your batter is too thin, you can sprinkle in a small amount of mix or quick cooking oats, folding gently so you don't overmix.  If it's too thick, add a scant tsp of milk.  

I chose to use dried blueberries for a couple of reasons.  Thawed frozen blueberries work well, but are very juicy and tart.  Save them for your smoothie.   Fresh blueberries, even at room temperature or warmed in the microwave, contributes to uneven cooking of the pancake, which leads to raw and burned areas on the same cake.  BUT I'm only speaking from my own experience.  If you have luck with fresh or frozen berries, please tell me how you did it,  :P dried berries are more expensive than frozen.

I keep my pancakes on a warm plate while I cook the rest, and serve them with maple syrup warmed with a pat of Earth Balance Buttery Spread.  2 pancakes per person, maybe with a slice of protein.

Platanos Machos Fritos (Fried Bananas)

1/2 to 1 platano per person

Canola or corn oil for frying

Salt

Side dishes

Platanos Machos look like a caveman style banana.  They have the same shape as Chiquita bananas, but are bigger, rougher, and thicker skinned.  Since they are starchier, they fry up very well.  Pick a platano this is still a little green, if it's too ripe it will stick to your pan.  

To peel your patano, I find it helps to cut off the ends, then score skin on the outer curve to peel.  Slice in rounds or angled cuts about a half a cm thick.  in a pan large enough to hold your sliced platanos with space between them, heat canola or corn oil.  You should use a few Tb, maybe the same amount you would use to fry potatoes.  

When the oil is hot, add your slices gently, the oil will splatter.  Fry until golden brown on each side, turn when they move easily if you jiggle the pan handle.  If you find that they are sticking, carefully use a spatula to lift and turn them over.  Season and serve with yummy sides.

Nopales

1 jar of nopales
1 8oz can of mushroom slices/pieces
1 8oz can of jalapeños, or fresh slices, to taste
1-2oz sun-dried tomato packed in oil, sliced
Fresh or dried herbs to taste
1/2 to 1 bag of veggie chicken strips
2 tb oil
Your favorite sides.

(This recipe doubles very well)

First, drain the nopales and rinse VERY VERY well under running water.  They tend to be starchy and salty, so wash 'em good.  I used Embasa Nopales here because I hate onions, but Doña Maria makes nice prepared nopales that are already seasoned.  I don't have a cactus or a grill, but making your own from scratch is easy with tweezers and a potato peeler.

Next, saute the mushrooms in oil until they're warmed through.  Add the nopales and stir to help reduce some of the residual liquid on your ingredients.  When the mixture is more dry, add the tomatoes, jalapeños, veggie chicken, and any dry herbs you may be using.

When the liquid cooks off a little, add any fresh herbs you may be using.  When the herbs are wilted and completely incorporated, you're done.

I used +gardein Teriyaki Chik Strips here and discarded the sauce.  Beyond Meat frozen strips also well in this dish.  Any protein you use will be good in this dish will taste good, but I like the strips because they make nice tacos.  

If you use dried herbs, use maybe a tsp or to to start, then taste before adding more.  Fresh work well in this, but know how strong each herb tastes in relation to the others you use.  Here, I used dried oregano and thyme, and fresh parsley and cilantro.

You may have noticed that I didn't list any salt or pepper among the ingredients.  Jarred nopales are very salty, even after being rinsed.  I used canned jalapeños and mushroom, drained but not rinsed, which adds more salt to the dish.  If sodium is an issue for your diet, used fresh ingredients whenever possible.  Mushrooms can be sauteed the day before, they keep well overnight.

Some good sides for this dish are corn tortillas, tortilla chips, beans, rice, israeli couscous, polenta slices, avocado slices, or Johnny Cakes made out of masa harina.  Let me know how you serve nopales, I'd like to hear it.

Reuben Sandwich

Toast up two slices of bread. Rye is traditional, but you can use whichever you like.
Smear the bread lightly with Vegenaise.
Top one side with some Gold Mine Raw Sauerkraut.
For the other side, top with a slice of Tofurky Deli Slices. I put my slices in the microwave for a few second to melt some Daiya Mozzarella Shreds to a lovely gooey texture.
Add Follow Your Heart Thousand Island dressing in the middle and nosh.