Savoury Lentils

This is a favourite McDougall recipe that I have been making since August 2002, according to the notes in my cooking binder. It's from one of Dr McDougall's books (not sure which one). I have modified it very slightly according to my own taste and that's the version I will post here. This would be excellent over mashed potatoes or over whole wheat toast.

2 cups dried green lentils
4 cups water
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 onion, chopped
4 - 6 green onions, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1 5.5 oz can tomato paste
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Place the lentils in a large pot and cover with the water. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce the heat, and simmer for 1 hour.

Saute the garlic, onion, green onions and celery in 1/3 cup water until soft. Add to the cooked lentils, along with the soy sauce, vinegar, tomato paste and mustard. Add freshly ground black pepper to taste. Continue to simmer for 1 hour more for a souplike consistency, uncovered for a gravylike consistency.

Lori M's Sausage Chowder

I got this delicious recipe off the McDougall forum years ago posted by someone named LoriM. It calls for a faux hamburger "meat" and the only type I could find where I live is Yves Ground Round, as pictured below. This product is expensive and too processed for my liking, but it does work well in this recipe.























Next time I will use Bob's Red Mill TVP (textured vegetable protein). I think it's more reasonably priced and it's certainly not as processed, the only ingredient being soy flour.



















Here's the recipe:

1 lb faux ground "meat" of your choice
2 onions, chopped fine
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp thyme
2 tsp sage
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
1 can chick peas
2 cans red kidney beans
3 potatoes, diced

Brown sausage and onions in a dutch oven and add all ingredients except the potatoes. Simmer 1 hour. Add potatoes, cook for an additiona 1/2 hour. Easily doubled and freezes well. You can add extra water and tomato sauce to thin it slightly, if you prefer. I like it thick.

Brownies

Above is a picture of my brownies just out of the oven, uncut, left to cool on the rack.

Dry Ingredients:

1 cup unbleached white flour
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup vegan chocoloate chips (optional)
1/2 cup nuts of your choice (optional)
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt

Wet Ingredients:

1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup water

Preheat oven to 350F. Mix dry ingredients together very well. Mix wet ingredients. Add wet to dry ingredients and stir just enough to mix. Pour batter (batter will be thick) into an 8"x8" square pan. Bake for about 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Leave in pan for about 10 minutes, then remove and place on cooling rack. Once cool, cut into squares.

Notes: Instead of applesauce, I have used jars of prune baby food in the past.

It's important not to overmix dry and wet ingredients when you don't use animal products (such as eggs) in your baking. The reason for this escapes me at the moment but I learned this rule early on my in vegan baking "career".

You will have to test the baking time in your own oven. I use a toaster oven and it took 45 minutes. It make take less in a regular oven. I don't know. Check after 30 minutes. If it's not done, continue to bake and check for doneness in 5 minute increments.

Green White Bean Dip

The green part of this dip is from Swiss chard leaves and the white is from a can of white kidney beans. You could also use spinach or kale. Bean dips are so easy to make with a food processor. I rarely follow a recipe and just toss in whatever I have on hand. This would be good with raw veggies, tortilla chips, plain crackers or even as a sandwich spread. (I just happened to have a loaf of bread baking in the oven right now).

1 can white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 tsp ground cumin
1 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1 clove garlic, minced
2 Swiss chard leaves (green part, not the veins)
1/2 tsp salt
splash water
few twists freshly ground black pepper

Put all ingredients into a food processor and pulse. Add a tiny bit more water if necessary. Blend until all the ingredients are fully mixed and smooth. Add more salt and pepper if required.

Thai Sauce

This recipe is for the Thai Sauce. I guess I didn't really need to post a picture of my stir fry but the colours looked so pretty that I couldn't resist. I won't say anything about the stir fry because you can use whatever veggies strike your fancy. The top photo shows what the sauce looks like before cooking. No photo of the finished dish because my camera battery died.

Here's how I put together the sauce:

2 garlic cloves, minced
1 green onion, sliced
3 Tbsp lime juice, fresh or bottled
1 tsp sugar of your choice
4 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce *
1/8 tsp Tabasco sauce **
2 tsp corn starch

Mix all the ingredients in a small bowl and set aside. After stir frying the veggies, stir in the sauce and stir fry for a couple of minutes, or until thickened and bubbly. Serve over brown rice or noodles.

* I use 2 Tbsp of a regular soy sauce and 2 Tbsp water to cut down on the sodium
** you could use a bit more Tabasco sauce if you prefer more heat

Cream of Celery Soup

Celery, onion and garlic cooking.

















Soup pureed.
















Our pantry is getting mighty bare and I may not be able to get to the grocery store until the weekend. I still had some celery that was getting just a little limp so we're having Cream of Celery Soup tonight, without the cream, of course. I also baked a fresh loaf of caraway-rye bread to go with it.

I'm thinking this soup may even be better without the garlic so as not to overpower the delicate celery flavour. I have a bad habit of dumping garlic into everything.

I made this up ahead of time and will reheat it tonight. It should thicken up some more for a nice creamy texture.

1 large onion, chopped
5 stalks celery, chopped (about 2 cups)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 green onions, diced
1 large potato, chopped (about 1 cup)
2 cups vegetable broth
2 cups water
½ tsp celery seed
freshly ground black pepper
salt to taste

Steam fry the onion, celery and garlic with a little water in a soup pot for about 15 minutes, until the vegetables soften. Add a little more water to keep from sticking if necessary.

Add the remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes.

Puree in batches in a blender, taking care to vent the steam. Add salt to your own taste before consuming.

Yellow Pepper Sauce

Yellow peppers are usually much more expensive than green peppers where I live. I am happy whenever yellow peppers are on sale because it means I get to make this very tasty sauce without breaking my pocketbook. This recipe is based on a McDougall recipe which calls for 4 yellow peppers, but since I only cook for hubby and myself, I half the recipe. The original recipe uses soy sauce which I find spoils the bright yellow colour of the peppers. I use salt instead to retain the lovely colour.

I like to use this as a sauce over steamed vegetables. Sometimes I use it as a pasta sauce mixed with steamed kale and black beans.

2 medium yellow bell peppers
1 medium potato
1/2 medium onion
2 tsp lemon juice
1/8 tsp white pepper
salt to taste

Clean and chop the peppers and peel and chopped the potatoes and onion. Cover and cook over low heat for about 30 minutes.

Remove from the heat. Pour ino a blender and blend until smooth.

Return to saucepan and add the remaining ingredients. Heat through and allow the flavours to blend.

Curried Red Lentil Soup

This is a really simple and cheap soup to make. It's based on a McDougall recipe which I have modified slightly.

2 cups chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
7 1/2 cups water
1 tsp turmeric
3/4 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne
1 1/2 cups red lentils
2 medium potatoes, finely diced
1 carrot, finely diced
1 tsp red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley or cilantro

Saute the onion and garlic in 1/2 cup of the water in a large pot until the onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Add the seasonings and cook for 1 minute. Add the lentils, potatoes and carrots and the remaining water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for an hour. Stir in the vinegar and garnish with parsley or cilantro before serving.

Slow Cooked Cabbage

This is a very simple dish to make. It's great if you like cooked cabbage (I do, hubby doesn't).

1 onion, diced
1 tsp paprika
4 cups finely shredded green cabbage (love my trusty food processor for this)
1 tsp salt

In a large pot, steam fry the onions in a little water until they are soft and golden, about 15 minutes. Add more water as necessary to prevent sticking. Add the paprika, cabbage and salt and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Cover tightly and cook on a very low heat for at least an hour, stirring occasionally until the cabbage is very soft. Add more water if the cabbage begins to stick to the pot.

I usually leave this on low heat for a couple of hours for a sweet flavour.

This can be a side dish. I make it my main meal with cooked pasta stirred in. I think this would be niced with boiled potatoes too.