Category Archives:  Dinner

Bhindi Masala

Tonight’s Dinner. It’s also my favorite dish to order at pretty much any Indian restaurant I end up at. I love the variations I’ve had of this dish, which simply translates to spiced okra. Although, I’m admitting right now, this doesn’t taste exactly like authentic Indian cuisine–because, ya know, I’m much better at Polish/German/Irish/American cooking.

But! It’s delicious, and pretty spicy in a mild kinda way. Feel free to add more chili powder to jazz it up. Before attempting to make my own Bhindi Masala,  I learned some important tips from Manjula about okra cooking that I never knew the hundred other times I’ve made it. First, after you rinse your okra, be sure to pat them very dry, lest your okra get slimy while cooking. Also, you don’t have to cut your okra into cute little ferris wheels to make this dish. Hers looked pretty kickin’ with the pods cut lengthwise.

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Apple, Pear and Onion Tarte Salée

This savory tart is hearty enough to call a pie and delicious enough to star as a fantastic main course. I’ve always loved the combination of apples, onions and cheeze and decided to incorporate all three in this special entrée. The addition of unripened Bartlett pears gives it an extra touch of sweetness and unexpected flavor.

Inspired by my ongoing obsession with French everything, this tart is excellent for impressing house guests, or even just your favorite people who sit alongside you at the dinner table.

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Quinoa Salad Stuffed Grape Leaves

Hi everyone! First, I have to thank you all for the wonderful comments and congrats on the book, the move to Philly and the VegNews mentions. Your kind words mean a lot to me and I just loved reading all the comments! ♥

Also, I’ll be announcing the winner of the decorating kit giveaway at the end of this post, so bear with me–or just scroll down to get to the good content. ;)

Now, onto the stuffed grape leaves. Stuffed grape leaves are from the cuisines influenced by the Ottoman Empire, including but not limited to Turkish, Greek and Middle Eastern cuisine. These little nuggets of deliciousness are most typically known as dolmades. Dolma is from the Turkish verb dolmak, ‘to be stuffed’, and simply means “stuffed thing”. Neat, eh?

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Summer Pasta-less Salad

Since the weather outside has been too hot for even this heat junkie to handle — with temperatures reaching close to 100 °F — I’ve been avoiding my oven and stove-top and instead looking to water-packed raw fruits and veggies to get me through these sweltering days of summer.

This light summer salad is reminiscent of the pasta salad I used to enjoy as a wee one… except I left out the heavy pasta and replaced it with my fave go-to summer staple: zucchini “noodles”. If you don’t have a spiralizer, a vegetable peeler works great too.

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Besan Fries

Besan flour–otherwise known as chickpea flour, gram flour or garbanzo bean flour–has become a coveted staple in my household. Almost every single day I make a quick meal using this versatile flour. Somehow, though, I missed the buzz about chickpea fries that seemed to be happening a couple of years ago… from folks like Mark Bittman, Martha Stewart, and even Oprah. Where have I been? I’m not sure either, but I promise I am never going back to that isolated place. Not after getting a taste of these crispy gems.

I admit, I’m not big on fried foods… really much at all. I have to eat fried stuff in extreme moderation because it jives badly with all the nutritious stuff (like raw veggies!) that my belly loves the most. But, if I ever have the craving for a few greasy french fries… I’ll probably reach for my bag of besan rather than my basket of potatoes.

These guys brings back memories of restaurant fries from my childhood: flavorful and crunchy with no need for dipping sauce. However, they do pair nicely with a blend of spicy mustard, a little Vegenaise and chili garlic sauce. Very nicely.

They are slightly more involved than your average fry, though. First you have to cook the batter and let it chill in the fridge until it firms up, almost like polenta. But after that, it’s smooth sailing. That is, if you’re not terrified of hot grease. In which case, it may be a tad more difficult for ya.

It’s great to make the batter and have it chilling in the fridge the night before so that you’ll have them ready to fry up the next day.

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Colcannon Casserole

With St. Patrick’s Day right around the corner, my google reader seems to be spitting out hundreds of recipes for Colcannon.

And for good reason. This Irish dish is not only easy to make, it is also quite tasty. It’s composed of two of my most favorite foods: kale and mashed potatoes. Sometimes the kale is replaced with cabbage (or is it the other way around?). It makes no difference to me… I am still smitten. Really, any cruciferous veggie mixed with mashed potatoes is sure to win my heart.

This recipe is just an elaboration on the popular dish. It’s basically colcannon topped with a whiskey marinated tofu, fragrant toasted walnuts, and a decadent mushroom gravy. Altogether, it makes a killer main course.

I’ve always been fairly indifferent to St. Patrick’s Day as celebrated here in the USA. I’ve never been much of a bar-hopper, and now that I have children, even if I had the urge to do so, I’d have to hassle with a sitter, and then we’d have a curfew–and well, it’s just much more fun for me to snuggle up next to my hubby and sip green beer in our cozy living room. Maybe watch Leprechaun or something.

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Anyways, the whole time I was making this, I kept thinking how wonderful this casserole would be for a holiday dinner… like Thanksgiving. Or any holiday where there’s some sort of feast involved.

St. Patty’s Day? Yep, that’ll do.

So this year, I’m declaring Colcannon Casserole as our family’s official St. Patrick’s day celebration meal… complete with a few (gluten free) green beers. Now that’s a tradition I can get behind 100%.

It takes a bit of elbow grease* and a whole lotta ingredients to get this thing put together, but it’s well worth the effort if you’re a fan of the green stuff + mashed potatoes like I am.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

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Bulgogi Steak(less) Sandwich

The Bulgogi Steak Sandwich: Veganized and De-glutenized.

The original version of this concoction comes from KoJa–a popular foodtruck in Philadelphia–and was featured on Huffington Post’s America’s Top Ten New Sandwiches.

The soft (and slightly chewy) hoagie roll is stuffed with tofu bulgogi, chili garlic sauce, oozy Daiya and a crapload of sauteed peppers and onions.

This is what my dreams are made of.

Check out the full recipe here.

Bulgogi Style Tofu

One thing I love so dearly about the blogging community is the sharing of ideas… and the creative endeavors that I may not have found myself pursuing had it not been for the collaboration with other bloggers. I was recently contacted by Marly, of Namely Marly, inviting me to participate in this great idea she had to veganize a list of America’s Top Ten New Sandwiches named by the Huffington Post. Isn’t that a great idea?!

If you all know anything about me, it’s that I love veganizing omni eats… so I was already intrigued when I first heard Marly’s idea. But once I saw the details–and that there was a bulgogi Philly Cheesesteak involved–I got more than excited. I was elated. And then I quickly became on a mission to bring back a food that I used to eat at least twice a week: bulgogi.

You see, even though I may reside in the middle of Ohio (land of corn), I have been surrounded by a fairly large Korean community since I was wee little. Heck, even my son has Korean roots. And from the exposure to such a great culture, I have eaten my fair share of bulgogi, kalbi, kimchi, kimbap, bibimbap, mandu, loads of banchan and many more traditional Korean dishes.

Bulgogi was always around, as my son’s Korean grandmother religiously kept a giant vat of bulgogi marinade tucked away in her fridge. And, even though I used to love the stuff back in the day, bulgogi hasn’t crossed my mind in years since shunning meat.

But man, am I ever happy to have it back in my life! This tofu rendition tastes amazing. I really do think it tastes better than the traditional stuff. Seriously, try it. I was even snacking on it uncooked… yum!

Keep your eyes peeled here tomorrow, where I will show you how to use this bulgogi in a recipe for a Korean inspired Philly cheesesteak. For now, this stuff is deeee-lish served over rice.

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Gluten Free Gnocchi

Back when my husband and I first became acquainted outside of art school (some people call it dating), we both participated in an ambassador program that had us painting, drawing, art appreciating, and eating throughout Italy. The culture, beauty, and history of Florence, Venice, Bologna, Siena, and Rome combined with thinking critically about art and intention…well, changed my life forever.

Of all the amazing memories that I recall of my time in Italy, one of my favorites is the first meal that we had in Florence in a tiny eatery across from our hotel. Within what felt like minutes of being seated to large rustic wooden tables covered with bubbly frizzante water, red wine, fresh baked bread, and olive oil, we were greeted with a beautiful pesto gnocchi. It was served up in gigantic flat dishes that seemed even larger than the tabletops they were placed upon. The pesto was bright green and deeply fragrant, and the gnocchi itself was tender bites of perfection. I sadly cannot remember the name of that trattoria where we feasted almost every single night, but I do remember that they served the best friggin’ gnocchi I have ever had.

So today, to bring back some savory memories, I whipped up a batch of my own gnocchi- with just a touch of pesto. And, it’s a pretty good gluten free and vegan substitute for the meal I had years ago. I mean, except that the authenticity and scenery of Florence is pretty much non-existent (unless of course you live in Florence- in which case- you probably don’t need a recipe like this at all because you are constantly surrounded by delicious balls of pasta, right? Oh, and make me your house-guest for a year or two… k?). But it works well in a pinch.

I dressed mine simply with olive oil, green beans, and nutritional yeast, and laced a thick basil pesto into the gnocchi itself… rather than serve the pesto as sauce.

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Orange Sesame Vermicelli

Tomorrow’s the very last day of VeganMofo… can you believe it?!

Sometimes (especially towards the end of the Vegan Month of Food) some of us (eh-em) tend to feel a bit lazy… but still need adequate fuel to get us through that last stretch.  These simple rice noodles do just that- not altogether a complete powerhouse of a meal, but definitely a nice accompaniment to a larger dinner, or alone as a light lunch.

I had them midday today and am using the leftovers to accompany some sort of gingery tofu with a cucumber salad for tonight’s dinner.

Also, I really enjoy how this dish looks… kinda leopard-like, you know?

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VeganMoFo Pierogi Triple Threat & Giveaway!

Yes, you read that right. Tomorrow is my birthday, and I like to celebrate in style.

So, I have synced up with (Jessy and Kittee), both of whom I adore and admire, to bring you a triple dose of gluten-free vegan pierogi madness! Instead of just one dose of pierogi, you get a three way! Are you excited yet?

Well, brace yourself, because this is gonna be one humdinger of a pierogi overload.

Jessy and I both grew up on these Polish dumplings, and ever since we first went gluten free- we had been yearning for their stuffed goodness to dance back into our lives. Kittee, well, she is simply a master of all things food. Period.

So, we all three decided to team up and do a simultaneous gluten free-vegan pierogi post for VeganMoFo!

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Super Easy Winter Squash Stew

If you already happen to have some roasted squash lying around, this recipe is extremely simple, and if you don’t— roasting up a squash only adds a thin layer of complexity to the dish. I enjoy making these types of dinners – especially when I am having a “lazy” day. Which, happens more often than not around my kitchen. :)

This stew is perfect comfort food, and it makes enough to serve a hungry family of four.

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