Category Archives: Sides

Sides

Cabbage Matar

I love all things spicy and I also love food from another ethnicity. Indian food makes my heart so happy because anyone that makes food this magical with herbs, to me is like an artist. I have a passion for food made with lots of beautiful herbs. The vibrant smell and taste of herbs. You can use them in savory dishes (and you should be) and you can also use them in sweet dishes, such as lemon rosemary cookies.

I had this dish at a restaurant with my husband the other day and I immediately fell in love. I mixed a little of this recipe with that one, made it vegan, and made it work. Now I can share it with you and I hope that you will give it a try!

What do I need?

  • 2 Bay leaves
  • 3 Tbsp EVOO
  • 1 can of chopped green chilies or 2 fresh green chilies or 1/2 of a poblano pepper
  • 7 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1″ of grated fresh ginger or 1/2 tsp dry ginger
  • 2 onions, sliced thin
  • 1 tomato chopped
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp coriander
  • 2 cups of shredded cabbage
  • 1/2 -3/4 cups of frozen peas (if you use canned peas, add them at the end instead)
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2-1 tsp of garam masala
Garam masala is made from bay leaves, cinnamon bark, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, whole cloves, and black cardamom.
Now is when you wish you had a scratch and sniff screen.

How do I make this?

  • Preheat the oven to 350
  • Easiest way to make this is to prep all of your ingredients ahead of time and just add them when it gets to their turn!
  • Add the bay leaves and green chilies or peppers and fry for a few seconds (I wait until the smell hits my nose)
  • Add garlic and ginger
  • After a few more seconds add in the onions
  • Cook them for a minute or so to get the onions a little soft
  • Throw in the tomatoes, turmeric, chili powder, cumin, coriander, and simmer for 2-3 minutes
  • Toss in the frozen peas, cabbage, and salt
  • Simmer for about 5-7 minutes.
  • If you are using canned peas, add them now along with the garam masala
  • Stir and simmer for another 5-7 minutes.
  • Serve
No filter or special lighting needed for this beauty!

So, this dish has been Morgan approved. She loved it so much that she asked me to pack some for her for lunch tomorrow. I just roasted an acorn squash, so I will stuff the squash and bake it for a little bit. Glad that she loved it as much as I did!

Send me some ideas for next time. Just remember, anything you can make, I can probably make vegan!

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Sides

Baked Green Tomatoes

I bought some beautiful green tomatoes the other day at the farmer’s market. I almost forgot that I had them but I noticed them today. They started turning a little pink, oh no!Gotta use them up!

They aren’t totally pink, but they needed to be used up TODAY! I chose to bake them instead of fry them, not because it is healthier (even though it is) but because I didn’t feel like standing over the stove and getting splashed with hot oil.

What do I need?

  • 2 large green tomatoes
  • 2.5 cups of non dairy milk
  • 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • seasoned breadcrumbs

What now?

First thing you have to make is some buttermilk. Vegan buttermilk is actually pretty easy to make.

  • Mix together the non dairy milk and the apple cider vinegar. Let this sit while you are slicing your tomatoes.
  • Slice your tomatoes to your desired thickness. I judge depending on what I am using them for.
  • Put your tomato slices in the buttermilk and pre heat your oven to 350.
  • Dredge your soaked tomatoes in your breadcrumbs.

Send me some ideas for next time. Just remember, anything you can make, I can probably make vegan.

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Sides

Curry Roasted Garbanzo Beans

I love garbanzo beans in almost every way. They are so good for you and so versatile. Hummus, roasted, rice & beans, and yes, even sometimes in desserts! Crazy right? I was getting my snack jars ready for the week and decided that they needed just a little more something to them. Nuts and beans are an excellent source of protein, so do it up!

What do I need?

  • 1 can of garbanzo beans
  • 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp pink salt
  • 1/2 black pepper
  • curry powder to taste

How do I make this?

So the first bit is a pain in the rear, but it makes a huge difference if you decide to skip this step.

  • Drain a can of garbanzo beans, rinse them, and peel the skin off of them (squeezing them slides it right off) If you leave the skins on them you will not get the same crisp, it will end up steamed in the middle instead of roasted.
  • Pre-heat your oven to 400.
  • Dry your garbanzo beans thoroughly.
  • Transfer your beans to a bowl and drizzle with evoo then sprinkle with curry powder, pink salt, and black pepper.
  • Pour onto a baking sheet in a single layer.
  • Bake for 15 minutes.
  • After 15 minutes, shake the pan around and bake for another 15 minutes.
  • After 15 minutes, shake the pan around and bake for another 10 minutes.
  • Let cool to store in an airtight container or mason jar, or you can serve warm just like popcorn!
I love this picture for the simple fact that those are Patrick’s adorable little toddler hands. He gave this dish his seal of approval… then walked away with them!

Other Ideas:

Roasted garbanzo beans don’t just have to be savory like I said before. Here are some ideas of other seasonings you can use for them.

Send me some ideas for next time. Just remember, anything you can make, I can probably make vegan!

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Sides

Vegan Collard Greens

Today I wanted some comfort food. I was feeling a bit under the weather so I also just wanted something that would pretty much just cook itself. My mom gave me a pressure cooker that she hadn’t even taken out of the box.

I love Christmas on random days of the year. I really am a sucker for kitchen stuff and they all know it. I couldn’t wait to try it and today was definitely the day to do it! Let’s do it!

What you will need:

  • 9-10 cups of collard greens after they are chopped
  • 2 Tbsp white vinegar
  • 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1 large onion
  • 6 cloves of chopped garlic
  • 1 cup of veggie broth
  • 1 Tbsp of smoked paprika
  • 1 Tbsp of chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp of turmeric
  • 1/2- 1 tsp of liquid smoke (I use a little bit closer to 1 tsp because I like mine smoky)
  • 1.5 tsp of black pepper
  • 1.5 tsp of liquid aminos

What do I do now?

  • Clean your collard green leaves. I usually soak mine to make it a little bit easier to clean.
  • After you clean the leaves, cut the spine out of each one (just pretend like it’s the person that ate the last slice of your favorite vegan cheesecake).
  • Chop up your leaves into about 2-3 inch squares and drop them into your pressure cooker.
  • Cut your onions into slices and chop your garlic cloves.
  • Add everything into the pressure cooker except for the liquid smoke and the liquid aminos. ( I use Bragg’s because they are just awesome af)
  • Once you add everything in, give it a little stir!
  • Set your pressure cooker to 25 minutes and let it do its thing!
  • Carefully let the steam out of your cooker, open it, and add your liquid aminos and liquid smoke. If you want to add any kind of faux meat to it like tofurky ham or chorizo, this is the time to do it. I use either depending on what I have on hand. I had half of a tofurky ham in the fridge today.
  • Set your cooker for another 10 minutes.
  • Once your timer goes off, your greens are good to enjoy.
  • TASTE IT BEFORE YOU ADD ANYTHING TO IT! You don’t want to miss it if it is perfect when you take it out.
Oh man, look at those garlic chunks!

I usually add some hot sauce to it and once in a while, some nooch. Either way, it’s delicious and guilt free!

Tell me what you thought about this recipe if you try it. Just remember until next time, anything you can make, I can probably make vegan!

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Sides

Onion Fritters

Why onion fritters?

For some reason, we go through so many onions in our house. I don’t think there are many recipes that are missing that vital ingredient. So what do you do when you have too many onions? You make the onion the main ingredient! I know, just stay with me here on this, I promise it will be worth it.

My daughter loves fritters of almost every kind, and she loves onions, so we decided to take our zucchini fritter recipe and make onion fritters!

What do you need?

  • 2 1/2-3 cups of onions
  • 3/4 cups of non dairy milk (unflavored and unsweetened)
  • 3/4 cups of all purpose flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 2 TBSP corn meal (make sure it isn’t corn meal mix because that has sugar added)
  • 1 TBSP sugar
  • 1/2 tsp pink salt (plus more to sprinkle on top)
  • 1/4 cup of chives (fresh or dried)
This might look too wet, but it is actually the perfect consistency!

How to make your fritters!

  • Add vegetable oil to a cast iron pan and heat it to med high (trust me, you will want to replace all your pans once you start using cast iron)
  • Cut up your onions. Start with 2 1/2 cups and add more if you think your mix is too runny
  • In a large bowl mix together all of your ingredients (or use a large plastic drink pitcher because kitchen hacks are epic and awesome. You’ll love this later when you go to pour the mix in the oil)
  • If you want to make the mix a little thicker, add more corn meal instead of flour for better flavor
  • Pour your mix into pancakes in your hot oil (make them as big or as small as you want)
  • Fry your fritters until they are golden brown on both sides
  • When you take them out of the oil, make sure you drain the excess oil off of them so that they don’t get all squishy. (I use a splatter screen or cooling rack over a plate since we don’t use paper towels in our house)
  • While the fritters are still hot, sprinkle them with some more pink salt

What to add to your fritters

I know that some of these are going to sound strange, but give them a chance

  • Applesauce
  • vegan sour cream
  • vegan spicy mayo (1 part sriracha sauce and 3 parts vegan mayo)
  • what we call pepper sauce (1 part hot pepper relish and 2 parts ketchup)

Tell me what you thought about this recipe if you try it. Just remember until next time, anything you can make, I can probably make vegan!

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Sides

Vegan Feta Cheese

For those of you that miss that little bit of one of the most awesome cheeses on the planet. Okay, I just really like cheese.

Here’s what you need:

  • 1 block of extra firm tofu (gives it the best texture although I haven’t tried it with firm tofu)
  • 1/4 cup of lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup of water
  • 1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tbsp of oregano (if you are using fresh oregano you might need less unless you like a bit of a punch)
  • Tofu press

This is my favorite tofu press I’ve found so far

/https://www.amazon.com/Tofu-Press-stylish-transform-Tofuture/dp/B01698J0RU/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=tofu+press&qid=1558623807&s=gateway&sr=8-4

There is the link just in case you want to order one. If you don’t want to or can’t order one, the best thing to do is take a plate, place a dish towel (obviously a clean one) or some paper towels, place the tofu, fold the dish towel over the top (so one dish towel is all you really need, not two) or some more paper towels, then another plate. After you make you tofu and plate sandwich (which I DO NOT recommend eating as it may be too crunchy and could cause a nice stomach bleed), then you are going to want to weigh it down with something like a heavy rock, a pan, a toddler, or anything heavy, you just want to make sure that the weight is evenly distributed. That is the good thing about a tofu press is that it keeps its shape.

Okay, onto the steps!

Make your marinade using all of the ingredients minus the tofu
Cut the tofu into your desired size chunks
Add the tofu to the marinade and give it a good shake. Since you are using extra firm tofu, it can stand up to the shaking!

Time to dig in!

Woah, slow down there cowboy. The best way to eat this feta cheese is to let it set for about 4-5 days. It is when the flavor gets to perfection. You can keep it in the refrigerator for about 3 weeks to a month from what I’ve had but it usually doesn’t last that long.

I’ll post some recipes when my feta cheese is ready to eat to give you some ideas. Look for some in about a week!

Until next time, send me some ideas of things that you would like me to make for you. Just remember, anything you can make, I can probably make vegan!

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