Curried Tomato Stew with Chickpea Dumplings no chili spice

 

So I was blessed in winning a new cookbook by Gina Hamshaw, entitled Power Plates  

it came in the mail yesterday and I have only made one recipe so far  but was blown away by the ease of preparation as well as the fantastic flavor! An added bonus I had everything on hand, if this is any indication  of what I can expect from the other recipes I'm very excited!  

*The stew base is made from olive oil, onions, garlic, ground turmeric, sweet paprika, curry powder, canned crushed tomatoes, red lentils, vegetable broth, salt, (omitted-->)red pepper flakes, and kale. 

*The dumplings are made from chickpea flour, salt, baking powder, cumin, fresh parsley, scallion greens, and water.

Vanilla Oat Custard

          Today's prompt was to create something creamy without nuts. Thankfully I'd made some lackluster rice pudding from left over rice from our sabbath dinner. It was fine, nothing special and normally I’d probably have just left well enough alone except I saw the prompt and though this would be perfect opportunity to improve the dish.

          As I mentioned on day one my daughter is now gluten free and so I’ve been experimenting with oat flour which is fairly inexpensive for something gluten free that I can make myself. I had this left over as well and all I did to make this cream sauce was  to take 1/4 c oat flour mixed with 1cup of plant milk of choice we used unsweetened plain soy milk a small splash of vanilla extract and 2 tbsp. sugar, I simmered it while stirring on the stovetop until it was thick and creamy you of course can adjust sweetness to your liking and use less or more milk for desired thickness.  Easy peasy and it brought my 3star rice pudding up to a 5star!

Golden

Around here our favorite soup, possibly food is a big piping bowl of matzo ball soup! It’s not a lot to look at but it tastes like home and conjures memories of my grandmother and recovering from any woes I endured as a child.

These days we are vegan so chickens and their eggs are safe! Our recipe isn’t exactly  like Grandma’s but judging by the rapid emptying of the pot you wouldn’t know the difference!

Ingredients

SOUP

• 1 Tbsp vegetable or olive oil
• 6 cloves garlic minced
• 1 yellow onion
• 3 carrots
• 3 stalks celery
• Handful of button mushrooms diced or quartered
• 4 medium/large potatoes chipped into largish but bite sided pieces
• 6 cups vegetable or “chicken broth” we use better than bouillon no chicken soup base
• 2 cups water
• Black pepper few shakes
• Parsley(few shakes)

MATZO BALLS

• 1 box extra firm silken tofu
• 3 Tbsp vegetable or canola oil
• 2 cup matzo meal
• 1tsp onion powder
• 1tsp dry parsley
• 1tsp no chicken soup base
• 1 tsp salt  
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1tsp garlic powder
• 3 Tbsp water

Instructions

1. Mix the matzo ball dough. In a medium bowl, whisk together the TOFU, soup base, water and vegetable oil. In separate bowl mix dry ingredients.  Combine wet and dry mixes and Stir until well combined. Refrigerate the mixture for 30 minutes to allow the matzo meal time to absorb the moisture.

2. Mince the garlic and dice the onion, celery, potato, mushroom and carrots. Sauté in oil in a large pot over medium heat until the onions are soft and transparent (about five minutes).

3. Add broth, 2 cups water, some freshly cracked pepper, and spices to the pot. Place a lid on the pot and let it come up to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, turn the heat down to low and let simmer.
4. Once the matzo ball mix has refrigerated and stiffened up, begin to form it into ping pong sized balls. Drop the balls into the simmering soup as they are formed, returning the lid to the pot after each one. Once all the matzo balls are in the soup, let them simmer for 30-40 minutes without removing the lid. Make sure the soup is gently simmering the entire time.
5. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed

Enjoy!

Ugh! How can you live on rabbit food?! I'd die if all I could eat was salad!!

... The struggle is real.

Traditional Eggplant Parmesan Cookbook and a "famous person" Vegan MoFo

When my girls were very young and money was particularly tight I stumbled upon a YouTube channel called “Great Depression cooking” it’s a  channel  for making simple yet delicious meals on the budget  even using found foods like dandelions. The star is a 90 year old great grandmother; Clara Cannucciari and while she isn’t vegan and neither is her cookbook she stole my heart reminding me so very much of my paternal grandmother I’m grateful her grandson made the channel as my own grandmother passed away years before and it brought back wonderful memories.

  Indecently many of the recipes in her book are vegan by simply omitting of parmesan cheese or subbing vegan.  One of my favorite recipes is her Eggplant Parmesan  served with her DiMaria Family Sauce(pg94) we got fancy and added follow your heart vegan mozzarella and pamesean. and served it with a third attempt at making vegan gluten free red lobster rolls garlic rolls. (Still working on this one.)

Some other recipes we love from her are swiss chard and garlic(over pasta), pasta and peas, both of these work fantastic with rice as a gf alternative or even just a more whole food alternative.

While simple I've enjoyed all of her recipes and if you are looking for a bit of history and some simple budget meals I highly recommend her channel and book! Sadly she has since passed away but it's still a lovely place to stop on the web.

Rice and Peas with nooch