Sunday, February 3, 2019

Southern Fried Chick Pea Patties

Confession: during my days as a carnivore, one of my very favourite guilty pleasures was Fried chicken with fries and gravy, followed closely by a crunchy chicken burger or wrap, so when I discovered that chick peas can truly mimic that fried chicken experience, I was excited to say the least!

These patties are just great served on their own or with any topping you like. And I'm here to tell you, they're also amazing with mushroom gravy and fries!

I think one of the best kept secrets of going vegan, though, is how much money you save.

These patties are made with dried chick peas which cost about $2.00 for a big bag. I've tried recipes using canned chick peas before but I find they're often too moist and you just don't get the same great texture. But never fear the dried bean... I have a super easy method for getting them food processor ready in an hour. Basically, you prep the chick peas, put them in a food processor with other yummy ingredients, form them into patties, and have your way with them.

Have I mentioned, they also freeze like a dream!


Don't even get me started on the taste and texture.

If you have kids, you can easily turn the chick pea dough into chick pea nuggets to serve with dip (and if you wanted to sneak some pre-cooked veggies like carrots and broccoli into the food processor with the other ingredients, I won't tell anyone ;)

The pattie pictured above also has broccoli and carrots in it. 


 The other way I love these patties is on burgers. I like mine with fresh tomato, lettuce, vegan mayo, and a dill pickle on the side.

You can freeze these patties before cooking. But you can also fry em up, cool em down, and freeze like that.

Defrost over night, take to work, microwave on high for one minute, and Holy McYumm Batgirl!

KAPOW and KAPLEWY and all that jazz.

Sorry, I got excited.

But it's just so exciting to discover this whole new world of food that doesn't involve any kind of cruelty, is great for the environment, is amazing for your spiritual energy, health, and pocket book.

I mean, who knew?

Okay, whatever, y'all knew.

Leave it to me to show up fashionable late.

But I'm so happy with this recipe, I've decided the next thing on my agenda will be a chick pea breakfast sausage.

Doesn't that sound great?

Thank you so much for stopping by and if you feel so inclined, say hello and introduce yourself in the comments.

I am a speaker, writer, tarot reader, and chef who has slowly turned vegan over the last few years.

If you would like to learn more about the other things I do, please visit me on my website: Lyndsaywells.com

Southern Fried Chick Pea Patties  
For printable recipe click HERE

Prep Time: 80 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Yield:  8 patties


Ingredients
  • 1 cup dried chickpeas
  • 1 cup finely chopped onion
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1/2 tsp chipotle powder or smoked paprika
  • 1/2 tsp ground chili pepper
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp fennel seeds
  • 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 tsp brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 1/4-1/2 Cup high heat oil
Directions
  1. Rinse and strain chickpeas and add to a large pot. Cover with water and bring to a boil over high heat for 5 minutes. Cover, remove from heat, and let sit for 1 hour. Drain and set aside until cool.
  2. Place the chick peas, onion, baking powder, spices, brown sugar, and nutritional yeast into the food processor and process until you have a dough that resembles a paste. This might take a few minutes. Add a little water if the mixture is too dry. Taste for seasoning and add additional salt if desired. 
  3. Once the mixture can easily be formed into patties, take about 1/3 - 1/2 cup of the mixture per patty, roll into balls, and using your hands, flatten and form into even patties.  Cover, and refrigerate for 1 hour, or lay flat on a baking sheet and freeze. Once frozen tranfer to a freezer bag for up to one month and thaw before frying. 
  4. To fry, heat a large stainless steel or cast iron skillet over medium/ medium-high heat. Once hot, add enough oil to create a thin layer on the bottom of the pan and wait 1-2 minutes for the oil to get really hot. 
  5. Place 4 patties at a time in the hot oil and cook 2-3 minutes on each side. Once the bottom side is evenly browned, flip gently and continue cooking until all burgers are golden brown.
  6. Once they are all done, place on a baking sheet and finish in a 350 oven for 7 minutes.

These are great on a bun with tomatoes, lettuce, and vegan mayo, or served as patties drizzled with mushroom gravy. 

Saturday, February 2, 2019

Black Eyed Pea and Spinach Bowls

Never in a million years would I ever have guessed the love affair I was going to end up having with legumes.

As a chef, recipe developer, and hard core carnivore for most of my life, dried beans, lentils, and chick peas were an aisle I completely avoided at the grocery store.

In fact, truth be known, the only beans I ever bought came from a can - and that was usually to make chili... or lentil soup.

But the first time I ever made a curry with dried chick peas, I was converted. The flavour, texture, and versatility of them belw me away and sent me on a quest to learn more and taste more from these nutritional (and very inexpensive) power house foods.

Which brings me to black eyed  peas. As a food blogger, I've been aware for years of the Southern US tradition of serving black eyed peas for good luck on New Years day and this year I decided I just had to try it.

Now I know dried beans can seem daunting because there's a certain amount of cooking required, but if you have a trusty slow cooker, I'm here to tell you, this super economical, delicious, and healthy meal is a SNAP to prepare!

You just saute up a little mirepoix of onions, carrots, celery, and garlic, diced tomatoes, dump in the beans, some veggie stock, a few spices and aromatics, put on the lid and simmer on low for 8 hours.

I like to get it all ready in my slow cooker the night before and then turn it on before I leave for work in the morning.

Serve with your favourite rice, and some cooked spinach, and you've got an awesome bowl of deliciousness on a cold winter night. Better still, it makes a ton and freezes like a dream for lunches and dinners later in the month!

Black Eyes Peas and Spinach 
Visit printable recipe HERE

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 8 hours

Ingredients
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 3 carrots, diced
  • 2 large stalks celery, diced 
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 3 large cloves garlic, diced
  • 2 chopped tomatoes
  • 2 cups dried black eyed peas
  • 4 cups vegetable stock
  • 1/2 tsp liquid smoke
  • 1 tsp Italian seasoning
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1/4 tsp chili flake
  • 1 tsp chopped parsley
  • salt to taste
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 8 cups baby spinach
Directions
  1. Saute the vegetable in olive oil until the garlic becomes fragrant and everything is well coated
  2. Put everything but the spinach into a crock pot and cook on low 8 hours.
  3. Steam spinach until tender and drain well.
  4. Serve spinach and peas with your favourite rice in bowls.

Wednesday, January 30, 2019

Foccacia Bread with Olives and Roasted Tomatoes


Do you like making bread and working with dough? Well I absolutely love it! There's just something very comforting to me about taking simple ingredients like flour, yeast, and olive oil and turning them into something warm and crispy and chewy from the oven.

And bread is a lot more simple to make than people might think. In our busy world of convenience, I believe we've been robbed of some very basic, simple pleasures - not to mention the fact that anything homemade right out of the oven just tastes better!

You can make this bread without the toppings and it is still just delicious, but my secret ingredient in many, many recipes is roasted tomatoes - especially in the winter when tomatoes aren't in season. Roasting them gives a depth of flavour and sweetness that can't be beat!

 To roast tomatoes simply Lay them, cut side up, in a single layer on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with thyme and garlic. Roast for 40 minutes. Increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees and roast the tomatoes until caramelized, about 20 minutes more.

Okay, now back to the bread.

First, let me couch this by saying I have a full time job along with a side line business, and I still find time just about every day to make meals from scratch - this includes homemade pizza, pasta, and today's bread.

Now before you start accusing me of being the energizer bunny, let me reassure you, nothing could be further from the truth.

In fact, in years past, the first thing I thought about when I arrived home from work was "Where's the takeout menus?" Followed by "What's on TV tonight?"

That was before I became intentional about my happpiness.

Nowadays, the first thing I do when I get in the door is take a deep breathe of appreciation for my cozy home. I put on comfy soft clothes, some background music, pour a glass of wine, and get into the kitchen. Oh the pleasure of it! The smells, the textures, the absolute relaxation of letting ingredients sing.

Looking for a slower, more delectable life? Get thee to some dough.

Tell em The Kitchen Witch sent you!

Foccacia Bread with Olives and Roasted Tomatoes
Adapted from the original recipe at Inspired Taste 

Visit printable recipe HERE


Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely diced
  • 1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried
  • 1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary or 1 tsp dried
  • 1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
  • 1 cup warm water
  • 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast (1 packet)
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 4 roasted tomatoes
  • 10 olives (pick your favourite kind) sliced
Directions

  1. In a cold medium skillet, combine olive oil, minced garlic, thyme, rosemary, and the black pepper. Place the pan over low heat and cook, stirring occasionally, 5 to 10 minutes or until aromatic, but before the garlic browns. Set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, combine the warm water, yeast, and sugar. Stir a few times then let sit for 5 minutes. Add 1 cup of the flour and a 1/4 cup of the infused garlic-olive oil mixture. Stir 3 to 4 times until the flour has moistened. Let sit for another 5 minutes.
  3. Transfer the dough to the baking sheet then press it down into the pan. Use your fingers to dimple the dough.
  4.  Press the tomatoes and olives into the dough then drizzle the top with the remaining 2 tablespoons of the garlic-olive oil mixture. Let the dough rise for 20 minutes until it puffs slightly. Bake until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool baked focaccia bread on a wire rack.

Tuesday, January 29, 2019

Carrot, Coconut, Curry Soup

 In the fall and winter I have an absolute love affair going with soup - especially at lunch time.

For years I used to buy my lunch, spending between $7-$15.00 per day on sodium laden, mostly processed restaurant meals because I told myself I just didn't have the time to cook foods from scratch.

But over the last few years, I've had a bit of an awakening when it comes to what I eat and the myth that cooking is a difficult task that should be avoided at all costs in the name of convenience.

This is a belief created by the advertising industry, not reality.

Most days now I look forward to coming home to cook. It's tactile and satisfying to create real food with real ingredients - not to mention a boon to the pocket book! Who knew you could create a complete meal with a bag of carrots, an onion, a few spices, and some broth?

During these chiily days of winter, I can't think of a more satisfying thing to take for lunch or serve for dinner!

Carrot, Coconut, Curry Soup
For printable recipe click HERE
Serves: 4-6
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients
  • 1 white onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tbsp Thai green curry paste
  • 1 tsp curry powder
  • 1 tsp brown sugar
  • 6 cups peeled and chopped carrots (approx. 10 large carrots)
  • 4 cups vegetable stock
  • 1 8 oz can coconut milk
  • salt and pepper to taste
  •  fresh squeezed lime and cilantro
Directions
  1. In a large saucepan, cook the onion and garlic in either a bit of olive oil, vegetable stock or  water for 3-4 minutes.    
  2. Add the ginger and carrot and continue stirring. Stir in the spices and cook for a few more minutes.
  3. Add the coconut milk and vegetable broth and let simmer lightly, uncovered for about 20-25 minutes or until the carrots are cooked through.
  4. Either using an immersion blender or by placing the soup in a blender or food processor, puree until smooth and creamy
  5. Add additional salt and pepper, lime and cilantro to taste and serve. 

Vegan Mushroom Stroganoff


Before I became vegan, I used to crave comforting dishes like beef stroganoff, never imagining that old time tastes and textures could be updated and recreated in  new ways.

Not only is this delicious, it really does taste like a stroganoff - with the added benefit being, it's packed with fiber and protein so it's also very filling. And very filling means, you eat less, so we've got a win win right across the board!

The white sauce is made with white kidney beans and the trademark stroganoff flavour comes from dill.

This winner of a recipe is easy to make and the sauce freezes well.

I hope you enjoy!




Vegan Mushroom Stroganoff
Visit printable recipe HERE
Serves: 4-6
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes

Ingredients
  • 2, 540 ml tins no salt added white kidney beans
  • 1 pod Knorr's homestyle vegetable stock 
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 12-15 button mushrooms
  • 3 medium cloves of garlic
  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 1 large dill pickle
  • 1/4 cup dill pickle juice
  • 1 tbsp dry dill weed
  • 1 tbsp nutritional yeast 
  • 1/2 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
  • 1, 340 gram package egg free wide pasta ribbons (Walmart carries these)
  • 1/2 cup fresh parsley
Prep It!
  1. Drain the kidney beans into a large collander and run under cold water until no foam comes off the beans. 
  2. Place beans into a food processor with 1/2 cup water and process until smooth.
  3. Wash the mushrooms and cut into quarters.
  4. Peel 3 medium sized cloves of garlic and mince finely.
  5. Dice the dill pickle into small 1/8 of an inch pieces.
  6. Measure out the dill pickle juice, dill weed, and nutritional yeast.
  7. Chop the parsley.
Cook It!
  1. Bring a large stock pot filled with salted water to the boil.
  2. Boil the noodles for 5-7 minutes (I prefer my noodles al dente so only ever cook for 5 minutes).
  3. In a large stock pot, or deep pan, saute the mushrooms over medium high heat in the olive oil - just until they begin to release their water.
  4. Add the garlic and continue to cook, stirring frequently until it becomes fragrant. 
  5. Add the remaining cup of water and stir well to incorporate. 
  6. Add the processed beans, the vegetable stock pod, pickles, pickle juice, dill weed, pepper, and nutritional yeast. Stir well. 
  7. Drain the cooked noodles and add to the sauce, stirring so that everything is well coated. 
  8. Add the fresh parsley and serve.