Cilantro Chutney

Ingredients

1/2 cup peanuts

1 jalapeno, deseeded

1 bunch cilantro, washed and leaves only

1 tsp salt

1 tbs lemon juice

1/2 cup water

Directions

1) Roughly blend the peanuts and set aside.

2) Blend all the other ingredients until smooth, scraping down sides of blender as necessary.

3) Add peanuts back into blender and blend until smooth. Store in refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Red Chile Pesto

This is my revised recipe for the red chile pesto that goes with the grilled avocado enchiladas.  The chipotles in adobo are an estimate because I used three today and it was very spicy, so I would use one to start and see how that is before adding another.  I have made this pesto so many ways over the years because I forget to update my recipe and end up just making up a new one as I go.  As long as you adjust to taste, it's very forgiving.  Sameer always eats it until it's gone.

Ingredients
1/4 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted (I just move them around in a skillet over medium heat for a couple minutes until they start to smell toasty)
2 dried ancho chiles
2 dried guajillo chiles
4 cloves garlic
1 cup cilantro leaves
1/2 tsp salt
juice of 2 limes
2 tbs tomato sauce (I used an open jar of pizza sauce today.  I would use marinara or plain tomato puree or whatever I've got already in the fridge.)
1-2 chipotles in adobo

Directions

1) Remove seeds from the chiles and soak the chiles in hot water for an hour.

2) Put all ingredients in a food processor and blend.  Adjust to taste  If it needs more spice, add another chipotle in adobo.  If it's too spicy, add more tomato sauce.  If it's bitter or still too spicy after adding more tomato, add sugar 1/2 tsp at a time.

Creamy Chipotle-Lime Dressing

This is still my first effort at this dressing, but I don't want to forget what I used.  And apparently the key to thinning white bean puree into the consistency of dressing is the addition of water (for thinning) and vinegar (so that it doesn't taste watery). 

Ingredients
1/4 cup water
1 15 oz. can white beans, drained and rinsed
1 chipotle in adobo, from canned (note:  ONE CHIPOTLE, not one can full.  If you use the whole can, the spiciness will murder you.  Put the rest in a sealed container and throw it in the freezer for later.)
Juice of 1 lime (again, I think 2 would be preferable -- yielding about a tablespoon of juice in total, I'm estimating -- but I'm out of limes.)
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup prepared salsa
salt, to taste
2 tbs nutritional yeast
2 tbs unsweetened yogurt (I used some of the homemade unsweetened soy cashew yogurt I made the other day -- I was shocked at how much it brightened and improved the flavor.  Though now that I've added vinegar, I'm not sure how much the yogurt mattered.)
2 tbs apple cider vinegar (vinegar seems to be essential to creating a bold enough flavor to serve as a salad dressing -- it was far too watery before I added it)

Directions
1.  Put all ingredients in a food processor and blend smooth.  Refrigerate for up to a week (conservative estimate).
 

Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Salad Dressing

I was going to make Neal Barnard's Roasted Red Pepper salad dressing, as found on Healthy Girl's Kitchen, but I started getting things out and ended up making it my own way instead.  It's still vegan, no-oil, and no-salt.  It's not very vinegary since I'm not super into vinegar, and it tastes good plain on a spoon, so we'll see how it tastes when diluted over an entire salad.  I think lemon zest and juice could also be a good addition or replacement for the vinegar, but I have no lemons right now.

Ingredients
1 12 oz. jar roasted red peppers, drained and rinsed
1 15 oz. can white beans, drained and rinsed (I used cannellini because it's what I had on hand, but great northern and probably even butter beans would work equally well)
1 1/2 tbs white balsamic vinegar (because that's how much I'd used when I realized the bottle was empty)
1 tbs fig-infused balsamic vinegar (because it smelled milder and more appealing to me than my plain balsamic)
1 tsp Mrs. Dash original salt-free blend (because I have two varieties of Mrs. Dash from when I first read Esselstyn and Fuhrman's books, and I never really use them)

Directions

1.  Put all ingredients in a food processor or blender (I used my Vitamix for optimal smoothness) and blend until smooth.  Store in sealed jars in the refrigerator for (I'm guessing here) up to two weeks.  Makes two standard size mason jars worth of dressing.

Unsweetened Cashew Soy Yogurt

Nowhere in my region seems to sell unsweetened vegan yogurt, but fortunately it seems to be as simple as making dairy yogurt.  I have now made vegan yogurt two different ways, one with cashew and one without.  The cashewed version is obviously fattier, but it also has a significantly nicer texture.  I got the recipe from Miyoko Schinner's Artisan Vegan Cheese.  I've eaten it plain (would be great in a parfait) and also used it in place of plain dairy yogurt in things like Cranberry Waldorf salad. 

Ingredients
4 cups unsweetened soy milk
2/3 cups cashews, soaked in water for 3 hours then drained and rinsed
1 probiotic capsule (this is the only one I've ever used for this purpose because Fo Reals Life, where I found my non-cashewed vegan yogurt recipe, said it's the best)


Directions

1. Put the cashews and 1 cup of the soy milk in a blender and process until smooth and creamy.
2. Transfer to a heavy medium saucepan and whisk in the remaining soy milk.
3. Warm over low heat, whisking occasionally, until the mixture reaches 110 degrees F or until a few drop placed on the wrist feel barely warm. Remove from the heat. 
4. Empty the probiotic capsule into the warm milk and stir until thoroughly combined.
5. Pour into a clean 1 quart glass jar and cover. Let rest in a warm place for 4 - 8 hours, until set and the desired degree of tartness has been achieved.  Alternately, use a yogurt maker, which is severely unnecessary, but mine was a gift.
6. Refrigerate the yogurt; it will thicken more as it cools.
7. Stored in a covered container in the refrigerator, Cashew Yogurt will keep for 1 to 2 weeks.

Slow-Cooker Refried Beans

Ingredients
2 cups dried pinto beans
8 cups water
3 small (or 2 large) yellow onions, quartered
2 jalapeno chiles, seeded and roughly chopped

"Taco Spice"
2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp chili powder

Directions

1. Put all ingredients into slow cooker.  Turn it on low and ignore it for about 8 hours.  Alternately, you can cook on high for about 3 hours.


2. Turn off slow cooker and drain as much water as you can from the beans.


3. Use an immersion blender to puree the cooked bean mixture.  If you don't have an immersion blender, wait until the beans cool to put the mixture in a blender in batches.


4. (Optional) Add a few tablespoons of salsa and/or low-fat plain yogurt to make a creamy bean dip.  Also tastes good as a spread in quesadillas and hot sandwiches.

Mushroom Pâté

This recipe comes from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian.

Ingredients
3 tbs neutral oil, like grapeseed or corn
1 medium onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
About 2 lbs cremini or white mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed, and roughly chopped
1/4 cup dried porcini (optional), reconstituted
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbs tomato paste
3/4 cup dry white wine (optional)
2 tbs freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup Fresh Bread Crumbs or crumbled crackers, plus more as needed
Finely chopped chives or parsley leaves for garnish

Directions

1. Put the oil in a large skillet over high heat. When it is hot, add the onion, carrot, and celery and cook until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cook for another few minutes, then add the tomato paste and the white wine if you're using it. Stir and cook until the liquid is mostly evaporated, about 10 minutes. Turn the heat off and let the vegetables cool.

2. Transfer the mushroom mixture to a food processor, add the lemon juice and bread crumbs, and pureé until smooth. Taste and season with more salt, pepper, or lemon juice as needed. The consistency should be fairly thick  but still easily spreadable; add more bread crumbs if it's too thin; add vegetable stock or water if it's too thick.

3. Spoon the pâté mixture into a terrine or ramekin(s) and refrigerate until chilled. Serve at room temperature, garnished with chives or parsley. It will keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Vegan Remoulade Sauce

I found the non-vegan version of this recipe on Food.com.  I chose this one because I knew I could find all the ingredients at the grocery store and wouldn't have to try to find "Creole mustard" or figure out what exactly "chili sauce" meant.  I'm using this sauce on vegan po'boy sandwiches.

Ingredients

1 cup vegan mayonnaise
2 tablespoons whole grain mustard
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup finely chopped scallion
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
1 stalk finely chopped celery
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon paprika
2 teaspoons hot sauce
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Directions

 

1. Whisk all ingredients together.

 

2. Cover and chill 1 hour.

Lazy Chipotle Mayo

I'm not sure how complicated this recipe was when I started making it, but I'm pretty sure it at least had fresh lime juice in it.  Now I just make the laziest version possible, and I don't think Sameer has ever been able to tell the difference.  We use it as a spread on black bean burgers, and it makes the entire sandwich.

Ingredients
1-2 chipotles in adobo, from can (typically found in the Latin-American section of the grocery store's "international" aisle -- please note this calls for 1-2 actual chiles, NOT entire cans of them)
1 cup mayonnaise (substitute vegan mayo to make vegan)
garlic salt, to taste
juice of 1 lime

Directions

1. Put all ingredients in a food processor and blend.  Serve immediately or store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Buffalo Hummus

This recipe comes from a cook book called No Meat Athlete by Matt Frazier, but I found it on OhSheGlows.com.  I made some pretty substantial changes when I made it in order to make it both low-fat and mild enough Simran could enjoy it too.  I swapped out the standard chickpeas and tahini for white beans, since white beans create a rather comparable level of creaminess and I generally avoid tahini on account of its fat content.  Aside from the salt, the recipe below is so low-fat and healthy that it meets even Caldwell Esselstyn's 'prevent and reverse heart disease' standards. 

Everyone in the house liked it, and we ate all of it immediately.  It is good as a dip for celery sticks, pita chips, and crispy breaded tofu strips, and I'm pretty sure it would be good as a sandwich spread too.  It's very simple and only takes a few minutes to throw together.  If you like spicy wings with Buffalo sauce, I suggest you try the spicing from the original recipe linked above, which calls for much more hot sauce and cayenne pepper as well -- mine is much milder.

Ingredients

• 1 15-oz. can white beans, drained and rinsed, but set the bean water aside in case you need to add it back in (Cannellini, Great Northern, or Navy beans will work)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 dashes Frank's Red Hot sauce (add more if you aren't serving it to a baby)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 cup jarred roasted red pepper

Directions

1. Combine all the ingredients in a food processor. Pulse a few times to combine and then scrape down the sides.  With motor running, add bean water slowly until you reach desired consistency.

2. Add more salt, lemon juice, or hot sauce, to taste.

White Bean Sandwich Spread

I invented this recipe for use on vegan paninis and other sandwiches that would benefit from something creamy and cheese-like.  It is based loosely on Esselstyn's simple no-tahini hummus, the fact that tahini-based hummus is usually much creamier and nicer tasting than that, and my love for blending white beans into other things.

Ingredients
1 15-oz can white beans (great northern, cannellini, or navy -- I can't tell the difference), drained and rinsed
1 tbs nutritional yeast
zest of one lemon
1 garlic clove
1 tbs Bragg Liquid Aminos (or low-sodium tamari)
1 tsp Dijon mustard
fresh ground black pepper, to taste
2 tbs low-sodium vegetable broth (or as needed)

Directions

1. Put all ingredients except vegetable broth in a food processor and blend.  Add low-sodium vegetable broth as necessary until a creamy, hummus-like consistency is achieved (for me, this took 2 tbs).  Serve on sandwiches or as a dip with crackers, crudites, or pita chips.

Cucumber Dill Dressing

This is the dressing I use on California Wraps.  Sameer calls it "kitten sauce" because he would allegedly eat anything -- even a cat -- as long as it had this dressing poured over it.

Ingredients
1 cup plain non-fat yogurt
1 tbs mayonnaise
1/4 cup fresh grated cucumber
1/2 tsp dried dill weed
1 dash white pepper
garlic salt to taste

Directions
Mix together all ingredients and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving on sandwiches, fresh vegetables, or green salad.

Pea Guacamole

This recipe from Caldwell Esselstyn's Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease doesn't sound particularly appealing to me, but I wonder if it might get Simran to eat peas again without them being purchased as jarred baby food.  I'll be making this with Simran in mind, so I'll be simplifying it a bit.  My changes are in italics.

Ingredients
2 cups frozen peas
4 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp minced garlic
cilantro, a handful or more [I'll be omitting this since it's for Simran and cilantro seems to be her least favorite part of normal avocado guacamole.]
1 small red onion, minced (1/4 cup) [I'll be omitting this as well since she doesn't like raw onion in her guacamole.]
1/2 cup minced ripe tomato
pepper, to taste
red pepper flakes, to taste [I'll probably omit this since it's some very concentrated spiciness.]

Directions


1. Put peas under warm water until softened but still cold.  [I'm lazy -- I'll just move them from freezer to fridge a few hours before I want to use them.] Place peas, lemon juice, garlic, and cilantro in a food processor and process until very smooth. Transfer to a medium bowl. [WHY? Why do I need to sully another bowl?  I'll just add the tomato and pepper to the food processor and mix them in as much as I can without everything pouring over the sides.  Or if I make it in advance, I can mix the final additions together in a Rubbermaid container.  No need for so many mixing bowls.]

2. Stir in the onion, tomato, pepper, and pepper flakes. Let stand for 10 minutes and serve within an hour or two (it loses its bright color after that, but still tastes the same).

Outback Steakhouse-style Horseradish Sauce

I found this recipe on AllRecipes.com along with a recipe for the Bloomin' Onion.  I plan to use it on vegan breaded shrimp from the freezer section.  We'll see how that goes.

Ingredients
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tbs ketchup
2 tbs cream-style horseradish sauce
1/3 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp dried oregano
1 pinch ground black pepper
1/3 tsp cayenne pepper

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, combine mayonnaise, ketchup, horseradish, 1/3 teaspoon paprika, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon oregano, a dash ground black pepper and cayenne pepper; mix well. Keep sauce covered in refrigerator until needed.

Horseradish Cream Sauce

I wanted to make an Outback Steakhouse-style horseradish sauce to go with the vegan breaded shrimp I found in the freezer section at Whole Foods, and horseradish cream sauce is the primary ingredient.  I went to buy some from the store, but all of the options were cheap, garbage-style condiments with high fructose corn syrup and other preservatives, so I decided to make my own.  I found this recipe by Alton Brown on the FoodNetwork website.  Alton tends to make the best recipes.  I plan to make maybe half of this into the Outback-style dip and keep half as is.

Ingredients
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup grated fresh horseradish (You can find whole horseradish root in the produce section, typically near the ginger root and herbs.)
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Place all of the ingredients into a medium mixing bowl and whisk until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Place in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight to allow flavors to meld. Sauce can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 2 to 3 weeks. (One thing I read online about horseradish is that it goes bitter and gross shortly after being grated unless you add vinegar or something to it.  So make the whole mixture in one go rather than grating anything ahead of time.)

Artichoke-Bean Dip

This recipe from Caldwell Esselstyn's Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease sounded appealing, and I have a can of artichokes that I'd like to clear from my pantry, so I'm making artichoke-bean dip this week to serve with crudites as a side to veggie burgers on homemade buns.  It will be one of those weekend meals that seems thrown together and simple because it's burgers, but actually takes hours of preparation.  I think this is one thing Simran will eat willingly though, based on her positive reaction to last week's no-tahini hummus.  And she's never had artichokes before.

Ingredients
1 14 oz can artichoke hearts in water, drained and rinsed
1 15 oz can navy or pinto beans, drained (Navy or cannellini beans sound much better here for creaminess.)
2 tbs lemon juice
1 garlic clove, chopped
2 green onions, white and green parts, chopped (I didn't have any green onions, so I omitted this ingredient on my first try. Tasted fine.)
pepper, to taste
cayenne, to taste

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. This is good with vegetables, cooked greens, crackers, bread, or just alone.

[Edited 2/3/13: I went back and added the "baby food" label because Simran loved this.  She even ate leftovers straight from the fridge the next day.  The texture of the artichokes after going through the food processor reminded me of tuna salad, so I could see adding chopped celery to this.  I bet it would be good in a pita pocket with some sliced tomatoes and a couple leaves of romaine lettuce too.]

Homemade Ranch Dressing

 I like this dressing with salads, cheese fries (it closely resembles the spicy ranch from Outback Steakhouse -- the key is the cayenne pepper), and cut raw vegetables.  The dried herb amounts are all approximations since I don't bother using measuring spoons when I make this.  Go easy on the dill weed and do everything else to taste.

If you want to lose weight without trying, make this dressing and buy a bunch of fresh vegetables like broccoli florets and carrots.  Eat as much as you want of the veggies and dip whenever you want.  Any time I do this, I end up gorging myself on veggies and dip -- particularly in the afternoon before dinnertime -- and being too full of fiber and non-fat yogurt to eat much else.  Any time I make this dressing, I tend to lose about a pound per week.

Ingredients
1 small yellow onion
1 cup plain non-fat yogurt (for vegan option, use Forager brand unsweetened plain cashew yogurt)
2 tbs mayonnaise (for vegan option, use Vegannaise)
1/2 tsp dried dill weed
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp freeze-dried chives
1/4 tsp garlic salt (I'm honestly not sure how much garlic salt I use. I typically turn the shaker upside-down and count to three. If you taste the dressing and it still has a sort of sour yogurty taste, add more garlic salt.)
1/8 tsp fresh ground black pepper (the 'fresh ground' part is important)
1-2 dashes cayenne pepper

Directions

1. Grate the onion into a bowl (I use the fine side of a cheese grater).  Add remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly.  Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.