Pineapple Cashew Quinoa Stir-fry (vegan)

There was some contention in the foodie household this evening about this recipe. I loved this dish, it was a lovely, light, tropical meal (perfect for summer!), but the bare-chested chef felt it was a little too sweet. I do generally have quite a sweet tooth so I guess that is why I liked it so much, but I think even if you don’t have too much of a sweet tooth it is still a really great dish, there is such great contrast between the sweetness of the fruit and the spicyness of the chili and the crunch of nuts.. I have to say that I am really loving quinoa at the moment, and the great thing about cheffy not liking it is that I get it for lunch tomorrow!!!

Pineapple Cashew Quinoa Stir-fry
(Veganomicon)

Ingredients:
Quinoa:
1 cup quinoa, well rinsed and drained
1 cup pineapple juice
1 cup cold water
1/4 teaspoon soy sauce

Stir-fry:
4 ounces cashews, raw and unsalted
3 tablespoons peanut oil
2 scallions, sliced thinly
1 clove garlic, minced
1 hot red chile, sliced into very thin rounds
1/2 inch piece ginger, peeled and minced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 cup frozen green peas
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, rolled and sliced in thin shreds
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint
10 ounces fresh pineapple, cut into bite sized chunks
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons vegetable stock
1 tablespoon mirin
Lime wedges for garnish

Method:

For the quinoa: Combine the quinoa, juice, water and soy sauce in a medium sized pot. Cover, place over high heat, and bring to a boil. Stir a few times, lower the heat to medium-low, cover, and cook for 12 – 14 minutes until all the liquid has been absorbed and the quinoa appears plumped and slightly translucent. Uncover, fluff and let cool.

For the stir-fry: Use a large frypan or wok. Have all your ingredients pre-chopped and in reach. Place the cashews in the dry pan and heat over low heat, stirring them, until lightly toasted (4 to 5 minutes).

Remove the cashews from the pan, raise the heat to medium and add the peanut oil, scallions and garlic, when the garlic starts to sizzle, add the sliced chili and ginger.

Stir-fry for about 2 minutes, then add the bell pepper and peas. Stir-fry for another 3 to 4 minutes, until the bell pepper is softened and the peas are bright green.

Add the basil and mint, and stir for another minute before adding the pineapple and quinoa.

Combine the soy sauce, vegetable stock and miri. Pour over the quinoa mixture. Stir until the mixture is coated. Continue to stir-fry for 10 minutes (it helps to use two spoons/spatulas to scoop the quinoa around). Serve with lime wedges.

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Fudgy Wudgy Vegan Brownies

It looks like Sunday is going to become baking day in the foodie household and it is fast becoming my favourite day of the week! This weekend we made Fudgy Wudgy Blueberry Raspberry Brownies. The recipe (another Veganomicon wonder) called for Blueberries but we weren’t able to get any so instead we substituted for raspberries. It was a fabulous brownie! Reliving it is making me crave that chocolatey goodness!

Fudgy Wudgy Blueberry Brownies
(Veganomicon)

Ingredients:

2/3 cup plus 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips (We didn’t have choc chips so we used a Whittakers block – our new fav vegan choccie!)
250g blueberry spreadable fruit (we used raspberry)
3/4 cup soy milk
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 canola oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (we use Green & Blacks – fair trade & organic)
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup fresh blueberries (or raspberries!!)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 160°C. Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan.

Melt the 2/3 cup of chocolate chips, reserving the other 1/2 cup. To melt, heat a small pan of water over high heat until boiling.

Place another small pan on top of that and place the chocolate in that one. Stir continuously until chocolate is melted. (Chocolate can also be melted in the microwave).

In a large mixing bowl combine the blueberry raspberry spread, soy milk, sugar, canola oil and extracts. Mix until no large lumps are visible.

Sift in flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Stir until well mixed, then mix in the melted chocolate as well.

Fold in the remaining 1/2 cup of chocolate and fresh blueberries raspberries.

Spread the batter in the baking pan and bake for 35 minutes. It will be squooshy in the middle (or fudgy wudgy depending on who you ask) and oh so lovely! The book suggests serving it with vanilla icecream (they have a fabulous vegan recipe in the book but we haven’t tried this yet.. we are saving that for another day!) but we ate it on its lonesome and it was fantastic as is they are a little rich, but I think that has more to do with the use of raspberries than anything else. I suspect the blueberries make it a little more subtle.

Potato & Kale Enchiladas with Roasted Chile Sauce

This is one of my favourite vegan meals. The photos aren’t pretty and it probably doesn’t look very appetising with my amateur photos but believe me when I tell you it is delicious! It was the first recipe we tried from Veganomicon and it is one of the reasons why we fell in love with this cookbook. No vegan kitchen is complete without this book!!

Potato and Kale Enchiladas with Roasted Chile Sauce
(Veganomicon)
Serves 4 – 6

Ingredients

Enchilada Chile Sauce:

2 tablespoons grapeseed or olive oil
1 onion, diced (as with all our cooking we substituted the onion for leek)
3 large green chiles, roasted, peeled, seeded and chopped coarsely
2 – 3 teaspoons chile powder (we made our own by grinding up Ancho chillies and Chipotle chillies)
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon marjoram or mexican oregano
1 can diced tomatoes with juice
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 – 2 teaspoons salt

Potato and Kale Filling:

1 pound waxy potatoes
1/2 pound kale washed, trimmed and chopped finely (NB: we used savoy cabbage because we couldn’t find kale)
3 tablespoons grapeseed or olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup vegetable broth or water
3 tablespoons lime juice
1/4 cup toasted pepitas
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 – 14 corn tortillas

Method:

Preheat the oven to 375F and have ready a shallow casserole dish (we usually need two for this recipe).

Prepare the enchilada sauce first: In a large, heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat, saute the onions in oil for 4 to 7 minutes, until softened. Add the remaining sauce ingredients, bring to a simmer and remove from the heat. Puree with a blender until the mixture is smooth and even

Prepare the filling: Peel and dice the potatoes, then boil them until tender. Drain and set aside. Cook the oil and minced garlic over low-medium heat, stirring occasionally until the garlic is slightly browned. Add the kale, sprinke with salt and raise the heat to medium stirring constantly to cover the kale with oil and garlic.

Partially cover the pot to steam the kale until it has wilted – 4 to 6 minutes. Remove the lid and mix in the potatoes, vegetable stock, lime juice, pumpkin seeds and salt. Use the back of a wooden spoon to mash some of the potatoes. Cook for another 3 – 4 minutes.

Ladle a small amount of the enchilada sauce into the bottom of the casserole dish. Heat a corn tortilla (30 seconds in a fry pan) dip the tortilla in the enchilada sauce so that it is covered in the sauce.

Place the soaked tortilla on a plate and place some potato mixture inside. Roll it up and put it in the casserole dish. Repeat with each of the enchiladas until you have lined them all up in the dish. Cover with enchilada sauce (saving some for topping) and cover with foil, place the casserole dish in the oven and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for a further 10 minutes. Top individual servings with the remainder of the enchilada sauce once cooked.