Penne Ratatouille Bolognese

There is so much delicious vegan food here in Tel Aviv, my bank account is in serious danger!  Now that the holidays are over and we're getting settled into a regular routine, we've been cooking most of our meals at home.  

Last night I had some whole wheat pasta in the pantry that I wanted to use up.  I messed around and ended up with a delicious sauce, something in between ratatouille and bolognese.  In the US, "bolognese" generally indicates tomato sauce with meat in it, but traditionally bolognese is a sauce comprised mainly of meat with tomato added as flavoring.  So this is a mish-mosh recipe, but it's totally traditional as well. ;)

It's not a fancy recipe but it turned out so well that I had to share it!  

There's no way to make this pretty, but trust me, it was delish.

Penne Ratatouille Bolognese

8 oz penne

extra virgin olive oil, to taste

1 medium eggplant, diced to 1 inch

1 red bell pepper, diced to 1 inch

1 onion, finely chopped

4-6 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups vegetarian burger crumbles (I rehydrated plain dry TVP and it worked perfectly)

3 tablespoons dried basil, or 1/2 cup fresh

salt and pepper to taste

6-8 oz tomato paste

1/2 - 1 cup water

2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil (optional)

1 tablespoon tamari (optional)

Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package.  Make sure to use a huge pot of water, salted liberally once the water comes to a rolling boil. 

Meanwhile, heat a thin layer of olive oil on medium-high in a large, deep pan.  Once the oil is very hot, add the eggplant, season liberally with salt and pepper, and cook until soft, about 5-10 minutes. Drain the eggplant on a paper towel and set aside.

In the same pan, add a little more olive oil on medium.  Once the oil is hot, add in the onions and garlic.  Cook for 10 minutes until everything begins caramelizing, then add the red pepper.  Cook for another 5 minutes, then add in the TVP or crumbles and the basil.  Cook for another 5-10 minutes, adding a dash of salt and pepper.

Add in the tomato paste and work it through the crumbles to evenly coat them.  Add in about half a cup of water and see how everything looks- it should be the consistency of a sloppy joe or a chili, not a sauce.  Add more tomato paste if it is too thin, or more water if it's too thick.  Add in the toasted sesame and tamari, if using (not necessary but it gives the dish a little extra depth), and add the cooked eggplant back to the pan.  Turn heat down to low and simmer for 10-15 minutes, then taste and adjust the seasonings to your preference. 

Add the drained pasta and toss to coat.  Serve with bread slathered in (vegan) butter and nutritional yeast on the side for sprinkling.

Dinner on the balcony.  I'm having a nooch bowl at every meal from now on.

Notes and Thoughts:
-Adding some zucchini would be nice for next time.
-I'm still building my spice cabinet little by little (based on what I can translate at the store), I'd pick up some red pepper flakes next time.
-If you don't do pasta this would be delicious served over roasted potatoes, or even on it's own as a stew.
-If you are TVP adverse, you could sub in cooked brown lentils instead.

Acai Bowls - Healthy Vegan Fridays

**Linking up to Healthy Vegan Fridays this week with a fast, easy summer meal!**

Living in California means that I am very up-to-date on the latest hipster health and foodie trends.  I've seen the kabocha squash phase, the chia seed craze, the brief foray into offal and bacon (blech!!), and the kale revival.  San Francisco hipsters love to find a "superfood" from another culture and promptly overhype it, jack up the price and eat it at every meal.

The latest mainstream superfood is the acai berry from Brazil.  This is mostly seen in the form of the acai bowl, which is the newest breakfast craze.  Which is basically a smoothie in a bowl topped with granola, fruit and other goodies.

Me at Samba Rock Cafe in Santa Cruz

Alleged health benefits, according to Samba Rock.

How to eat it! 

From Vitality Bowls in Redwood City

Acai bowls are so simple, but I was intimidated to try making them at home.  That was silly of me- they are so simple and come together in ten minutes!  

The nice part about acai bowls is that, in my opinion, the acai part is optional.  If you can't get your hands on the special berry, substitute blueberries and you're still down to clown.

Basic Acai Bowl (Serves Two)

1/2 cup milk (I use vanilla soy)

1 frozen banana

1 packet frozen acai (or sub 1/3 cup frozen blueberries)

3/4 cup frozen strawberries (or any combo of strawberries plus raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, etc.)

Combine everything in a food processor or high speed blender until smooth. the mixture should be very thick.  Layer with granola (I make my own) and fruit in a bowl, and gobble up!

The brand of frozen acai I use.

Keep it nice and thick like ice cream!

Layer 1: fruit and granola

Layer 2: acai smoothie

Layer 3: toppings! I used granola, bananas, strawberries, blueberries and a dollop of peanut butter.

Here's out breakfast this morning; this recipe makes two regular sized servings, or one small serving and one jumbo serving if you're a pair like us.  You can top it with whatever you like; a dollop of nut butter is a delicious addition.  I actually prefer mine with just peanut butter and bananas, but that looks boring so for this tutorial I added in more fruit to keep it colorful.

His and hers acai bowls.

None for Pups, but I did toss him some fruit while I was chopping, so he was a happy camper.

Ready and waiting in case a rogue banana slice drops on the floor.

These aren't just for breakfast- they are great for any time you want a light meal!  We don't have air conditioning, so these bowls are becoming a quick and easy dinner on days where it's just too hot to cook.

Healthy Vegan Fridays- Crockpot Curried Potatoes with Chickpeas

Ok let's be real, it's hard to take a picture of curry and have it look appetizing.  I mean, if you are lazy like me.  I'm sure if you used a fancy camera and spend 40 minutes poking at the food  and added a sprig of rosemary or whatever, it would looks awesome.  But that's not my style.

I made this last Sunday and have been eating it for lunch all week.  It's not a fancy curry, and it's definitely not meant to be authentic to any cuisine.  It's a light, mild version that even people who hate curry would be able to enjoy.  I ate it as-is but it would be nice as a side dish, maybe alongside salad and some grilled tofu.

I'm also linking up this week for Healthy Vegan Fridays with Rock My Vegan Socks!

Basic Crockpot Curried Potatoes with Chickpeas

3 medium potatoes, peeled and diced

1/2 onion, diced

1 can chickpeas, drained

1 can diced tomatoes, drained

1 can coconut milk (I used light)

1/2 tablespoon garam masala

1 teaspoon coriander

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon cardamom

1 teaspoon coarse group pepper (or to taste)

1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

dash of cayenne if you like it hot

Mix everything in the crockpot and let it go on low for 4-6 hours, stirring occasionally.  It will be watery when you pump everything in, but the sauce will thicken from the potato starch.  Don't let it overcook or else you'll end up with potato puree.

Adjust the seasonings before you serve; the potatoes will soak up a lot of salt so you may need to add more. You can add more garam masala if you want to pump up the flavor as well.

Serves 4-6.

Looks weird, tastes yum!

Healthy Vegan Friday- Breakfast Chow

Just as I was starting to feel better, AP decided to run out and pick up the flu.  Just to keep things interesting around here.  He's out for the count and I'm getting worn down again, and crossing all the fingers and toes that I don't come down with his plague.  And so, we venture into our fourth weekend in a row filled with naps, Netflix and takeout.

However, I'm definitely well enough to participate in Healthy Vegan Fridays this week!  This week I'm sharing AP's breakfast.  I make a batch of this granola every Sunday, and he eats it for breakfast all week long.  If you've been granola shopping recently, you know how ridiculously expensive it is.  $8 for a little bag of oats???  Not on my watch. 

My recipe is based on this one, but pared down and spiced up a bit.  With crappier pictures.

Peanut Butter Breakfast Chow

1/2 cup PB2 powder (you can use regular peanut butter or almond butter if preferred)

1/2 cup coconut oil, melted

1/2 cup maple syrup

1.5 tablespoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon vanilla

1-2 teaspoon garam masala, depending on how much zing you want.

6 cups rolled oats

Dump everything except the oats into a huge bowl, and stir until fully combined.

PB2!  I love how it blends in sauces, much smoother compared to regular nut butters.

That's the good stuff. 

Once everything is combined.give it a taste, make sure you like it. Then add in the oats; add 3 cups, stir until fully coated, then add the other 3 cups and stir until it's all uniformly peanut buttery.

Leave no oat uncoated.

Spread the chow on a nonstick pan, and toss into a 350F oven.

Make sure it's spread out evenly. 

Let the granola go for about 15 minutes, then take it out and stir it so it doesn't burn.  Put it back in for another 10 minutes or so.  Keep an eye on it- every oven is different!  My oven takes 15 minutes, stir, 5 minutes, stir, 5 minutes, done.  It's an old crappy oven though, so your mileage may vary.

Finished!

Bam! A week's worth of fancy granola for pennies.  I even got a swank cereal box from Ikea.

Suck it Whole Foods.

That's all I got this week- hopefully by next week this family will be back in full swing.  Or at least weaned off our humidifier addiction.

Lemon Cookies and Sunny Memories

Finally, Girl Scout cookie season is over.  It's so awkward having to dodge the little sashed saleswomen outside of the Safeway.  That plus about 15 of my coworkers seem to have Brownies or Daisies, and we just finished the Science Camp cookie-dough drive, and the candy bar drive prior to that... I just need a break from saying "no thanks" to adorable children.

I was a Girl Scout, Brownie through Cadette.  I did all the camping, cookie hocking, crafting and volunteering.  By the time we hit Cadette, my troop's activities consisted of sitting around my best friend Christina's kitchen table, picking at our nail polish, eating Wawa hoagies and asking her awesome mom questions about life and womanhood.  It was a year of camaraderie, growing up, growing apart, learning to use eyeliner and realizing I hated it.

One of my favorite cookies growing up was the much-maligned Lemon Pastry Cream:

Way to make it a kid-appealing treat, right?

For years I avoided the dreaded "low-fat" cookie, but once I took my first bite, I was hooked on the flaky cookie and bright citrus flavor.  And probably the addictive magic fairy dust that the GSA clearly laces all of their baked good with.

This past weekend I attended a vegan Girl Scout Cookie swap, and took a swing at recreating the LPC.  The lovely lady hosting the swap is gluten free, so these cookies are too.  They came out really well- great texture and a bright citrus sunshine flavor!

I ate all of these in one sitting.  Not really. But I wanted to.

Lemon Sandwich Cookies 

2 cups almond flour*

1/4 cup coconut oil, softened

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/4 tsp sea aalt

Zest of 1/2 lemon

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Mix together all of the ingredients until you have a smooth dough.  If it's too squishy, you can toss it in the fridge for a bit to firm it up.

Form dough into cookie-shapes on a pan lines with parchment paper.  These cookies don't rise or spread, so whatever shape they are in when they go in the oven, is the shape they'll be when they come out.  I got about 24 small round cookies per batch.

Bake for 8 minutes, then peek at them and leave in for another minute if not yet brown around the edges.  Mine were done in 9 minutes on the dot.

Adapted from this recipe

*I used Bob's Red Mill almond flour, and they turned out fine.  I know that Honeyville is the gold standard for almond flour, but if all you have is Bob's, this recipe will still work for you.

These cookies are good on their own, but if you want to do it up right, make them into sandwich cookies with this filling:

Lemon Cream Filling

1/4 cup vegan cream cheese

2 T coconut oil, softened

Zest of 1 whole lemon

Juice of 1/2 lemon (save the other half for tea)

Powdered sugar (Whole Foods Organic 365 is vegan)

**This makes enough for 3 batches of sandwich cookies, 4 if you skimp on the filling.

Mix the first four ingredients together until smooth.  Beat in powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time until the consistency looks right for you, between 2 and 5 cups.  You can use less sugar and make a glaze to drizzle over the cookies, or you can use more to make a frosting-type filling.  

Put the frosting in the fridge for about 30 minutes to set up a bit (the coconut oil will help here) and then make your cookie sandwiches.  Devour.

Gluten-Free Vegan Do-Si-Dos, Lemon Pasrty Creams, Thin Mints, Samoas!