Vegan Rustic White Beans and Mushrooms Recipe

Ingredients:

2 cups dried white beans, soaked for at least 8 hours
1 small onion, peeled and sliced in half
1 stalk celery, cut into two pieces
1 small carrot, sliced in half lengthwise
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 teaspoons dried tarragon, or 2 tablespoons fresh
1/4 cup olive oil
2 large cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 large leek, sliced thinly
1/2 pound (about 2 generous cups) mushrooms, either cremini, shiitake, or oyster, or a combination, rinsed and sliced thinly
1 1/2 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
Freshly ground pepper

Drain and rinse the beans and transfer them to a stockpot.  Add 4 cups of cold water, cover, and bring to a boil.  Boil for about 3 minutes. Skim off any white foam from the top.  Cover the pot and lower the heat to medium; add he onion, celery, carrot, thyme, and tarragon.

Simmer for about 45 minutes, until the beans are very tender.  Remove the onion, carrot, and celery (either discard or use in a stock).  Lower the heat to low and continue to simmer while preparing the remaining vegetables.  The beans should resemble a very thick stew, not a soup.  If there's too much liquid, leave the pot uncovered and stir occasionally.

About 10 minutes before the beans are done, place the garlic and 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a cold skillet.  Heat the skillet over medium heat, allowing garlic to sizzle for about 30 seconds.  Add the chopped leek and saute until soft, 1 to 2 minutes.  Scrape the leeks into beans.  Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil to the pan, allow it to warm for about 30 seconds, and add the mushrooms.  Sprinkle the mushrooms lightly with 1/2 teaspoon salt and saute until most of the mushroom liquid has evaporated, anywhere from 8 to 12 minutes depending on the kind of mushroom.  When most of the excess liquid is gone, add the mushrooms to beans.  Turn off the heat and season the beans with the remaining salt (or more, if desired) and freshly ground black pepper.  Allow the beans to stand for about 10 minutes before serving.

B made these for me to bring to Christmas dinner on Sunday, so I'd have a protein option.  We tried a little bit of it for lunch today and it was AMAZING.  I'm curious to see what the family thinks, as I know some don't like mushrooms and others have expressed their dislike of dried beans (preferring mushier canned beans instead.  Oh well, more for me & B then!

"These are simple, homey, French-inspired, stick-to-your-ribs beans fro early autumn days.  The tarragon and leeks really shine through the mild white beans, and the mushrooms add a chewy bite.  This recipe is made with dried beans; canned beans cannot be substituted, so plan accordingly and soak the beans overnight or in the morning before you leave to work." - from Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero's "Veganomicon: the ultimate vegan cookbook"

Coming to terms with holiday baking

You may have noticed that I've been doing a lot of baking lately.  None of which has really been vegan.  Technically speaking, most refined sugar is not vegan because it is refined with animal bones, and of course, anything containing butter, eggs or honey is an animal product.  So what is this new vegan to during her first holiday season with this plant-based lifestyle???

Find balance...

For my favorite Everything Bread Recipe, I struggled for a while over the use of honey.  For the time being, I've decided to use organic, local honey, and to just be ok with that for now.  If I feel differently later as I continue to grow into my new humane plant-based lifestyle, then that's fine too.

For my to-die-for Whole Wheat Morning Glory Muffins, something that I eat for breakfast every day now, I didn't know what to do.  The recipe contains two eggs.  Watching videos of factory chicken farms makes me feel so guilty about this morning pleasure.  So for now, I've decided to buy only organic, cage-free, vegetarian fed eggs.  If I can talk to the farmer and buy them locally, even better.  If I later find an egg substitute to replace this ingredient then great!  Better yet, I'd love to get my own backyard chicken coop.   But for now, I'm choosing to be ok with using my buying power to support only animal products that I want to support.

Butter.  Hmmmm.  It has always been one of my favorite flavors!  For baking, I've been buying organic butter.  For spreading and cooking, I use Earth Balance.  I hope to eventually look for other vegan alternatives for baking too, but its just so scary to start messing with all your tried and true recipes!

Finally, the sugar issue.  This is something I have not even started trying to conquer yet.  You can buy raw natural sugar that is vegan, but I'm not ready to start experimenting with my recipes to see how this effects them, yet.  Someday, in my fantasy world, I'll find the time to not only bake, but to experiment with baking too.  For now, if I can squeeze 30 minutes in here or an hour there, I'm going to stick with what I know and get the job done.  The point is, at least I'm making everything from scratch, which is definitely healthier and kinder to the planet in so many ways.

The biggest lifestyle change with trying to eat a mostly vegan diet, is all the homemade cooking and preparation in advance that needs to be done!  I have found I really need to use my weekends to plan for the week ahead, because there are very limited fast-food or pre-packaged options available to me.  Which really is a good think if you ask me anyway :)

Well, speaking of which, I better get back to my vegan Rustic White Bean & Mushroom dish that I'm bringing to pass at Christmas (to make sure I have a protein too).  See, always have to think ahead!

Quinoa with Black Beans and Mango Salad Recipe

Quinoa Salad with Black Beans and Mango* 

TIME: 35 MINUTES; 15 MINUTES IF THE QUINOA IS ALREADY COOKED

Top secret: It isn't rocket science--you can make a salad like this with any leftover grains, beans, and fruit you have around.  It is a really straight forward salad that uses simple, fresh ingredients.  Each bite will bring new flavors to the table--mango, scallions, cilantro, red peppers... you never know what you're gonna get!  Best of all, it takes practically no time if you have some leftover quinoa on hand.

TIP:  If you don't have any leftover quinoa, don't sweat it; it's easy and fast to prepare.  Bring 1 cup of dried quinoa and 2 cups of water to ta boil in  a small pot.  Once the mixture is boiling, lower the heat to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes, until all the water has been absorbed.  Then remove from the heat and fluff with a fork.  Set aside to cool, and once it has cooled you can prepare this salad.

INGREDIENTS:

1 mango, peeled and cut into small diced pieces

1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced as small as you can get it

1 cup chopped scallions

1 cup chopped fresh cilantro

2 tbs red wine vinegar

2 tbs grapeseed oil

1/4 tspn salt

2 cups cooked quinoa, cooled

1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed)

a few leaves of lettuce for garnish

COMBINE the mango, red bell pepper, scallions, and cilantro in a mixing bowl.

Add the red wine vinegar, grapeseed oil, and salt and stir to combine.

Add the quiona and stir until everything is well incorporated.  Fold in the black beans.

You can serve immediately or let it sit for a bit for the flavors to meld.  To serve, place a few leaves of lettuce on a plate ans scoop some salad on top.  This tastes good chilled and is even better at room temperature.

I made this recipe once exactly has listed above (and the pictures shown reflect that first attempt).  It was good but didn't knock anyone's socks off that I shared it with.  I made it a second time today and this time used two small apples instead of mangoes, added a diced up zucchini, and used 2 15-oz cans of black beans instead of one.  Also, I might have gone a little heavy on the cilantro last time so this time I lightened up on it a bit.  I'm taking it to a pot-luck later today so we'll see if my modifications make it more of a crowd-pleaser.

*Recipe from Veganomicon: the ultimate vegan cookbook, by Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero, pgs. 84-85.

Vegan Lentil Salad Recipe

Lentil Salad*

Thyme, tarragon, and garlic flavor this easy-to-prepare and hearty lentil salad.  Serve over red leaf lettuce (or whatever kind of fancy-shmancy lettuce you can get your hands on) with oil and vinegar on the side.  Having some warmed pita bread on hand wouldn't hurt, either.  For a cute hors d'oeuvre idea, spool small scoops of salad into endive leaves.

Ingredients:

4 cups vegetable broth

2 or 3 sprigs thyme

2 bay leaves

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 tspn dried tarragon

1/4 tspn salt

1 cup uncooked French lentils

1 small red onion, chopped very finely (about 1/3 cup)

1 small tomato, seeded and diced (about 1/2 cup)

2 radishes, grated (about 1/3 cup)

1 small carrot, grated

Several pieces of freshly ground black pepper

Dressing:

2-4 tbs olive oil

1 tbs balsamic vinegar

1 tbs Dijon mustard

1 tbs fresh lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon)

1 clove garlic, minced

BRING the broth, thyme, bay leaves, garlic cloves, tarragon, and salt to a boil in a medium-size saucepan.

Add the lentils and bring again to a low boil.  Cover the pot with the lid tilted, allowing a little steam to escape.  Let cook for 20 to 25 minutes.  The lentils should be soft enough to eat but still firm enough to not lose their shape.

While the lentils cook, stir together all the dressing ingredients in a mixing bowl.

Drain the lentils in a mesh colander (so that the lentils don't fall out the holes). 

Let cool, giving the colander a few shakes every couple of minutes so that they drain and cool faster. 

Once the lentils are lukewarm (about 15 minutes), remove the bay leaves, chunks of garlic, and thyme sprigs.



Add the lentils to the dressing along with onions, tomato, and radishes and toss to combine.

Season with salt and pepper to taste, cover, and chill for at least half an hour.
When chilled, serve over lettuce with oil and vinegar on the side.





*Recipe from Veganomicon: the ultimate vegan cookbook, by Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero, pgs. 84-85.