Olive and Sundried Tomato Polenta Wedges

I’ve only made polenta once before, which made the formulation of this recipe quite the lesson in trial and error. My frustration was most definitely exacerbated by the fact that there is a heat wave scorching through Toronto right now, making it so that every time the oven or stove top is turned on in our kitchen it feels like the temperature rises to about 45 degrees Celsius. Totally bogus. Big thanks to Warren for braving the hellish temperature long enough to stick around and snap some pictures of the end result.

I originally put way too much oil in this recipe and the polenta turned out a bit soggy inside, so I cut it in half from 1/4 cup to only 2 tablespoons. This way, the polenta should turn out relatively fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside after frying it. Also, it’s way tastier with a dipping sauce to accompany it. I whipped up a tomato-basil sauce with the leftover kalamata olives and it was delicious. Or you could spread some pesto over it. Even the marinara sauce from my last post would be great too.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup kalamata olives, pitted and sliced
1/4 cup green olives, pitted and sliced
1/3 cup sundried tomatoes, sliced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups cornmeal
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Instructions:
1. In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic. Sauté, stirring frequently for about 5 minutes, until fragrant and the onions are turning translucent.
2. Add the olives, sundried tomatoes, oregano, and black pepper. Sauté for another 2 or 3 three minutes, stirring often.
3. Add the vegetable broth, water, and salt. Turn heat up to high and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn heat down to low and stream in the cornmeal, whisking it constantly. Continue stirring until the polenta mixture thickens up (check out the above picture for reference). I usually get the right consistency after less than a minute of simmering, but depending on the type of cornmeal, it could take up to 15 or 20 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and let cool for about 5 minutes. Spread out about 1/2-inch thick onto a lightly oiled tray or baking sheet. Cool in the refrigerator for about an hour.
5. Slice into rectangular wedges and heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Don’t bother putting any oil in the pan. Instead, very lightly oil the polenta wedges and put them in the hot pan. Fry on each side for a few minutes until crispy (you’ll likely need to repeat this step a couple times depending on the size of your skillet). Sprinkle with a bit of sea salt and serve with your dipping sauce of choice.
Serves: 4 or 5

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Sweet Potato-Chickpea Coconut Curry

equal parts negligence and a busy work/school schedule. Both of my photographer roommates have been super busy lately, with one of them actually being out of the country, so unfortunately, the photo accompanying this recipe isn’t nearly as beautiful as some of my more recent past entries.

Admittedly, this Thai-inspired coconut curry is not very authentic. I would have liked to have busted out the lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, and red chillis for this recipe, but I’m supremely broke right now and watching nearly every penny, so I tried to stick to things I already had in my pantry. Which really wasn’t such a bad idea, because it still turned out pretty delicious, using everyday ingredients that you don’t have to search very hard for.

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 cup onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons ginger, finely grated or minced
2 carrots, peeled and sliced diagonally into coins


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Grilled Portabella Sandwich with Avocado, Fresh Basil and a Chipotle BBQ Sauce

First thing’s first. There has been somewhat of an exciting development here in the Vegan Eats camp: I’ve decided to offer my cooking services (for a reasonable fee) to those seeking meatless catering for small-scale events. For more information, click here to check out the page I set up for this new little venture of mine.

I really do love a good sandwich. I was having a conversation about it with my friend Billy, a fellow sandwich aficionado, and we were trying to narrow down the essential complimenting ingredients in each of our ‘perfect sandwiches’. For me, it came down to five components: 1. at least two good spreads/sauces, 2. something pickled, 3. avocado, and 4. alfalfa sprouts. Avocado is good enough to hold it’s own as the main ingredient of a sandwich, but I like the richness of it so much that I usually throw at least a little bit of it in every sammie I make. The star of this sandwich is the rich and meaty portabella mushroom, sautéd in olive oil with a bit of thyme and balsamic vinegar.

The BBQ sauce here turned out really deliciously. My best one yet, for sure. Depending on where you live, dried chipotle peppers might be a little hard to find. I got mine from Perola Supermarket in Kensington market, my favourite local Latin grocer. Any Latin grocer should carry them, but if you can’t find any dried chipotles in your area, just go with the canned ones. This recipe makes quite a lot of sauce and since it’ll keep for about a week or so, you might want to freeze some of it if you’re not going to use it all in that time.

Ingredients:
1 or 2 dried chipotle peppers
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes, with juices
3 tablespoons tamari (or other good quality soy sauce)
1 tablespoon

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Pumpkin-Spiced Sweet Biscuits

Once again, it’s been a while since I’ve posted something on here, so I thought I’d share a seasonally festive little treat with you all. I was originally trying to make a cake-y sugar cookie of some sort with this recipe, but they turned out way more like a biscuit. The first time I made them, I had kneaded the dough too much and they turned out a bit too chewy and tough, so I’d suggest mixing the wet and dry ingredients together until just combined. Also, I used a starch-based egg replacer for this recipe. The one I use, which is pretty much the only one around where I live, is made by PaneRiso. I got it at a health food store, but I think you can find it in most Metro supermarkets too. I’m also familiar with the one made by Ener-G, but I think it’s only available in the States, because I’ve never seen it up here in Ontario-land.

Ingredients:
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup canned pumpkin puree
1/4 cup Earth Balance, near room temperature (or other vegan butter)
Egg replacer enough for 2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons soy or rice milk

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. Stir together until well mixed.
2. Using an electric mixer (or a food processor or a whisk) cream together the sugar, pumpkin puree, and Earth Balance. Mix in the egg replacer, vanilla, and soy or rice milk.
3. Add the creamed sugar mixture to the dry ingredients and stir together just until dough forms. Don’t knead the dough. Form pieces of the dough into balls about the size of a small golf ball and flatten into a cookie. Lightly grease a baking tray (or line one with parchment paper) and bake for about 7 to 10 minutes, depending on how hot your oven is.
Makes: about 20 biscuits

For Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon soy or rice milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
A few drops of food colouring of your choice

Whisk everything together. Add more sugar if it’s too thin, add more soy or rice milk if it’s too thick.

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Quinoa-Pumpkin-Apple Stuffed Portabellas

Sticking with the seasonal theme, I’m following up my last entry with another pumpkin recipe. Obviously you can substitute the pumpkin here with whatever other winter squash that’s in season. Butternut squash is always a popular favourite. If you do end up using a pumpkin, make sure you buy a small one that feels heavy for its size. The tiny pumpkins are used in cooking and are often labeled ‘pie pumpkins’ because their flesh is soft and sweet, while the bigger, decorative, jack o’ lantern pumpkins aren’t so good for cooking or baking with. Make sure you completely peel your squash and remove all the pulp and seeds from it. Sometimes this can seem like a bit of a hassle, I know, but the pie pumpkins are usually so small that it won’t even take more than 5 minutes. Also, make sure you save the seeds, toss them in a bit of olive oil, salt, and cumin, and roast them in the oven for about half an hour or so at 300ºF for a delicious snack. One more thing, you might have bit of leftover quinoa mixture once all your mushrooms are stuffed, but no worries, it’s pretty tasty on its own.

Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa, rinsed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon

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Yam and Potato Quinoa Curry

I didn’t quite know what to call this stew at first, because it was really just one of those ‘kitchen sink’ dishes that made use of whatever had been lying around the refrigerator for a while. In my case, it was some potatoes, a carrot, pumpkin purée, ginger, black kale, and chickpeas. I think my favourite part is the whole fennel seeds, because every now and then you get a delicious licorice-like pop when you bite down on one. If you buy the canned pumpkin purée to make this, you’ll likely have at least a cup leftover. If you wanna use it up and don’t know how, check out this previous post for a sweet biscuits recipe. Or you could use it up by buying a pre-made pie crust and searching out an easy pumpkin pie recipe.

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1 cup onion, diced
1 large carrot, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
3 or 4 Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons tamari (or other good quality soy sauce)
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 19oz. can tomatoes
3/4 cup canned pumpkin purée
3 cups water
1 cup quinoa, rinsed
4 cups kale, spinach, or other leafy green, chopped
2 cups chickpeas
Juice of 1/2 a lemon

Instructions:
1. Heat the olive oil in a stockpot over medium heat. Add the garlic, ginger, onion, carrot, and celery. Sauté, stirring frequently for about 8 minutes.
2. Add the potato, sweet potato, tamari, fennel seeds, cumin, coriander, curry powder, turmeric, cloves, cinnamon, salt, and pepper. Cook for another 6 minutes, stirring often.
3. Stir in the tomatoes, pumpkin, and water. Turn heat up and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn heat down to medium-low and cover. Let simmer for about 15 minutes.
4. Stir in the quinoa and let simer, covered for another 20 minutes or so. Add the leafy greens and chickpeas and let cook for another 5 minutes, or until both the quinoa and the potatoes are cooked through.
5. Uncover and stir in the lemon juice before serving. If needed, season to taste with more salt.
Serves: 5 to 7

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Spicy Almond Noodles

These saucy noods come to you courtesy of my wonderful friend, Sarah Mac. Mac is a wicked chef and also happens to be the executive chef my work. She’s my boss lady. One night at work, she whipped up an udon noodle stir-fry with a delicious almond sauce for everybody to feast on. I told her that I had been watching her make it and that I was going to steal the recipe, write it out, put it on my blog, and pass it off as my own. I told her that there was nothing she could do about it. So here it is. And Mac, if you’re reading this: frig you, man!

I used regular ol’ durum spaghetti noodles for mine, because I had them on hand and they’re cheap. However, either soba or a thick, flat rice noodle would be ideal. I suggest making this recipe for a small group of people (or two disgustingly hungry individuals), because the sauce is pretty thick and it only gets thicker when refrigerated. So the leftovers, while still being very tasty, can make you feel a bit like a dog with peanut butter on the roof of his/her mouth. Just sayin’.

Ingredients:
For spicy almond sauce:


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Almond-Banana Hot Cocoa Smoothies

Long name, tasty drink. My vision for this was to make almond and banana flavoured hot chocolate, but it when I puréed it, it was super thick because of the banana, so I added smoothie to its official title. I’m sure it would still be a great tasting drink if you made it with no banana and a couple extra dates. It would certainly be thinner and more similar to the traditional consistency of hot cocoa. I made it with the Camino Panama extra dark 80% bar, it’s really good. For me, 80% is the perfect percentage of cocoa for a dark chocolate. You can use whatever dark chocolate you prefer, but I suggest not going less than 70%.

I originally made this drink for another one of Brooks and I’s infamous cookouts last week. People were stoked on it. Dates are a really great sweetener for drinks, sauces, and dressings, because not only are they full of sugar, they have a really nice taste of their own. ‘Tis the season, folks, so make this warm smoothie for friends/family and watch a classic holiday movie together.

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups almond milk
35 grams good quality 80% dark chocolate (8 squares of a Camino bar or about 1/4 cup measured out)
1/2 banana, sliced
4 dates, pitted
2 tablespoons

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Fried Parsnip and Apple Dumplings

First things first: a little bit of exciting news from the Vegan Eats camp. The ever informative and inspiring online community/podcast/news source, The Vegan Police, just posted an interview I did with them a couple weeks ago. To check it out, click here!

Okay, on to the recipe. Admittedly, these fried little doughballs turned out tasting more like pakora than fried dumplings because of the curry spices I threw into the batter. Although, I was hesitant to actually call them pakora, since Indian and South Asian pakora is traditionally made with chickpea flour (aka gram flour). I shallow fried them in a little saucepan three at a time and seasoned them with a bit of salt as they cooled down. They turned out really delicious. One helpful tip: if the dumplings break apart in the oil, it likely means that your batter is too thin. Just mix in some more flour, bit by bit until it all holds together and you’re able to get nice, fluffy golden brown dumplings.

Ingredients:
1

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Curried Sweet Potato and Peanut Soup

Well, it’s Christmas time once again at the Corder residence. Thus far, it has proven to be another merry one, complete with my mother having baked five batches of shortbread, six hundred butter tarts of varying fruit flavours, and eight different kinds of crumble for our three family members. Moreover, my father had once again complained twice on Christmas morning of receiving too many gifts, yet quickly and firmly protested my casual suggestion of returning them all for a full refund before he had the chance to unwrap any of them. It’s Boxing Day as I write this and I had toyed earlier with the idea of leaving the warm comforts of my parents’ home and traveling to a shopping mall to bask in the glory of a veritable consumer hell; a place where the moral universe is turned upside down as the ugly free-for-all leaves the courteous and weak trampled beneath the boots of the stalwart deal shoppers a mere thirty-six hours after the Christmas spirit saw both parties side-by-side at midnight mass wishing each other peace in goodwill. While it seems exactly like the type of spectacle I would love to behold, I’ve decided to stay in and watch movies with my mom. I think I made the right choice.

Happy holidays, friends.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1

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