Curried Split Pea Soup

Curried Split Pea Soup

Ingredients:
1-2 T olive oil
1" ginger root, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped 
1 medium onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
2 celery ribs, diced

1 cup split peas (rinsed)
1 chipotle pepper
3 cups water (or vegetable stock)
1 cup spinach leaves

   Spices (heaping):
      1/2 tsp curry powder (I used the East Indian bottle spice mix from the book 660 Curries, below.)
      1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds (toasted and ground)
      1/2 tsp coriander seeds (toasted and ground)
      1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1-2 cups water (or vegetable stock)
Garnish with parsley or cilantro (optional)

For rice:
1 cup brown rice (rinsed)
1 3/4 cup water

In saucepan, saute onion, carrot, celery, garlic and ginger in olive oil 3-5 minutes. Add split peas, chipotle pepper and 3 cups water (or stock). Bring to boil, then lower heat to simmer covered for about 90 minutes.
If you want to serve this with rice, start it after the split peas have cooked for 45 minutes. Rinse 1 cup brown rice and put in saucepan with 1 3/4 cup water. Bring this to a boil and then lower heat to a simmer, cover and cook for about 45 minutes. (If you use white rice, it takes about 20 minutes to cook.)

When the split peas are soft, add salt, spices, and 1-2 cups water, depending upon how thick you like your soup. Bring back to a simmer, then remove from heat. Remove chipotle pepper.

Using a submersion blender (see picture below - I like this one, because it's versatile with the attachments), blend the soup until it has a nice consistency. Stir in the spinach leaves, cover and let the heat wilt the spinach. Salt to taste.

Serve over rice. Garnish with parsley or cilantro.
Serves four.

Tempeh Reuben Sandwich

   Angelica Kitchen Restaurant is one of my favorite places to eat, when I'm visiting New York City! If you can't make it there, then the next best thing is making the delicious food from home... This is one of my favorites. I was a HUGE fan of Reuben Sandwiches when I was a kid. This isn't quite pastrami, but it's darn good!

For the Marinade:

 1-lb tempeh, sliced to preference

1 1/3 c. apple cider or apple juice

3 T. Shoyu or Tamari

3 T. grainy mustard

1 tsp. ground Cumin

1 tsp. ground Caraway

1 clove minced garlic

pinch of cayenne pepper

1/4 c. Olive Oil

- Preheat Oven to 350
- Prepare marinade by whisking all ingredients (except Tempeh) together
- Lay tempeh in a baking dish large enough to hold all the pieces in a single layer
- Cover the dish and bake for 35-minutes.
- Uncover and bake 5-10 minutes longer until tempeh is nearly dry.

For the Dressing:

makes 1/2 cup

1/4 c vegan mayo

2T. ketchup

2T. stone ground mustard

1/4 finely chopped onion

- Mix and chill before serving.

Alternatively:

Russian Dressing

1/2 lb silken or soft tofu

1 T. freshly squeezed lemon juice

3 T. Rice Syrup

1 T. Olive Oil

1 tsp. prepared mustard

1 T. minced red onion

2/3 c. sun-dried tomatoes, soaked and finely chopped

1/3 c. minced dill pickles

1/2 tsp sea salt plus additional for seasoning

- Combine the first four ingredients into a food processor or blender, puree until creamy
- Add tomatoes, pickles, red onion, salt; pulse a few more times to combine

- Layer some Rye Bread with Russian Dressing, Sauerkraut, and prepared tempeh (perhaps some leaf lettuce as well).

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Dry Ingredients:

 2 c. Whole Wheat Pastry Flour

1/2 c. rolled oats

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

Wet Ingredients:

1/2 c. canola oil

1/2 c. maple syrup

1tsp vanilla extract

1T. water

Additional:

3/4 c. carob or chocolate chips

3/4 c. chopped walnuts or pecans

- Preheat the oven to 350-degrees
- Combine the dry ingredients and mix well
- Whisk together the wet ingredients until smooth combined well
- Fold in the additional indredients (chips and nuts)
- On a lightly oiled sheet tray, portion out the cookie dough in 2-4 Tablespoon heaps and flatten with the palm of your hand.
- Bake until cookies are a light brown, roughly 20-25-minutes

Creamy Fresh Horseradish Dressing

2 T. fresh grated horseradish

1/2 block silken tofu

1/8 c. (2T) extra virgin olive oil

1/4 chickpea miso or blond

1/2 c. soy milk

2 garlic cloves, mashed or pressed

juice of 1 lemon

splash of rice vinegar

white pepper to taste

hot sauce to taste

1/2 tsp. dijon mustard

- Peel and grate horseradish
- Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth and creamy

Quick Tofu Teriyaki

For the marinade:

4 cloves minced garlic

juice from 1/4 cup peeled and grated ginger

2 T. maple syrup

1T shoyu

1 T umeboshi paste

1/2 c. apple juice

- In a blender, combine all above ingredients with 1/2 c. water and blend until smooth.


-  Slice 1 lb. firm or extra firm tofu into 3 or 4 slabs of equal thickness
- Combine the tofu with the marinade into a saucepan and bring to a boil.  Simmer, covered for 35-minutes.
-  Drain tofu, reserving marinade, and blot with paper towels (or side rag) to absorb excess moisture.
- Coat tofu with some Oat Flour (shake off excess)
- In a medium skillet, heat oil and pan fry tofu over medium-high heat until golden on both sides.
- After tofu is cooked, drain any excess oil out of the pan and place tofu in a warmed oven to keep warm.
- Place marinade in blender with 2tsp. Kuzu and process until smooth
-Pour the blended mixture into the pan and cook for about two minutes, until the liquid is thickened, stirring constantly.
- Add tofu to the sauce, stirring until well coated.
- Serve with rice and steamed vegetables.


Alternatively:

4 T. rice syrup

2 T shoyu

1 tsp rice vinegar

2 slices of ginger

1 T. water

- Combine all ingredients into a sauce pan and bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes.   Remove the ginger and use the sauce.

vegan Scones

1/2 c. Apple juice or cider (keep out 1/3 c. if using fresh fruit)

1/3 c. currants

2 1/2 c. whole wheat pastry flour

pinch sea salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 c. corn oil (or canola or coconut)

1/4 lb. tofu (or 6T. butter or 8T butter minus the above oil)

zest and juice of 1 lemon

3 T. maple syrup

- Preheat oven to 350
- Soak currants in 1/3 c. apple juice
- Sift flour, sea salt, baking soda and baking powder together in a mixing bowl.
- Puree tofu, corn oil, lemon, and maple syrup in a blender until smooth
- Pour liquid ingredients into dry ingredients.
- Add currants and juice.  Mix together gently until dough holds together (it may need more water).  Do not over-mix)
- Place dough on floured pastry cloth or between sheets of waxed paper (dusted with flour)
- Roll dough out 1/2 to 3/4-inches thick.  Using a glass, cut 2" circles and place with spatula on lightly oiled cookie sheet in even rows.
- Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until golden on top
- Glaze with maple syrup the last 5-minutes of baking.  Serve warm with jam or spread.

Gingerbread

This recipe is untested, hence the "?" with the quantity of baking powder

Dry Ingredients:

5 c. whole wheat pastry flour

2 T. baking powder ?

1 tsp. cinnamon

2 T. ground (powder) ginger

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Wet ingredients:

1 c. canola oil

1 1/2 c. maple syrup

1/2 c. barley malt

2c. soymilk

1 tsp. vanilla

pinch sea salt

- Preheat oven to 350
- Sift together dry ingredietns into a bowl
- Whisk together wet ingredients into a separate bowl
- Combine wet into dry ingredients.
- Fold into oiled and parchment lined loaf pan
- Bake 55-60 minutes.