Dry Pan "Fried" Potatoes With Savoy Cabbage

I love reading the McDougall recipe forum because I learn so much. Like how to fry potatoes without oil.

How much more simple can you get. Cube/dice some potatoes and soak them in water overnight. This is supposed to remove the starch and keep the cubes firm when "frying".

Drain the potatoes and pat dry with a couple of tea towels to get rid of the excess surface moisture.

Fry in a non-stick pan along with some diced cabbage (or whatever veggie you like). I used a medium high heat and kept stirring occasionally as the potatoes started to brown. I let the potatoes and cabbage cook for about half an hour (you don't have to stand and watch it every minute). Depending on what vegetable you cook this with, you may have to add a little water if you find the potatoes start to stick.

I seasoned it with onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper. You could use a sprinkle of nutritional yeast as well.

The result. Lovely potatoes cooked all the way through and brown on the outside without losing their shape. And tasty too. And no added fat.

Vegan Sausages (No Added Fat)

I somehow wandered onto Vegan Dad's blog and saw this recipe for homemade sausages. After reading all the positive comments, seeing how simple these were to make and having all the ingredients on hand in my kitchen, I decided to give it a shot. Follow the link for Vegan Dad's recipe. Mine is similar but I cut it in half, mainly because I like to limit my intake of "processed" foods. Hubby and I find that we like these so much that if I made more at a time, we'd eat more. So for us, it's an occasional treat.

The photo above shows what they look like just after steaming. We will be lightly grilling them this afternoon for our hubby's birthday BBQ. We like these with an organic yellow mustard and full sour kosher pickles. Yum.

The original recipe called for a Tbsp of olive oil which I confess I did include the first time I made these. This time I omitted the oil and although I won't be sampling the sans oil version until this afternoon, I'm expecting that there will be no noticeable difference.

1/4 cup beans, rinsed and drained (I used white kidney beans)
1/2 cup cold water
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 garlic clove, finely minced
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp gluten flour (Vital Wheat Gluten)
2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tsp fennel seed, crushed
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp basil
1/4 tsp rosemary
freshly ground black pepper

Before mixing your ingredients, have your steaming equipments ready. Bring water to a full boil. This recipe comes together very quickly.

Have ready 2 or 4 sheets of tin foil, depending on whether you want to make 2 or 4 sausages. In a large bowl, mash the beans with a fork until there are no whole ones left. Toss together all the other ingredients in the order listed and mix. Divide dough in (2 or 4) equal parts. Place one part of the dough into tin foil and mold into about a 5 inch log. Wrap dough in tin foil (like a tootsie roll). Don't worry too much about shaping it as it will snap into shape while it's steaming.

Place wrapped sausages in a steamer and steam for 40 minutes.

If you want to make more sausages at a time, just double the recipe. Also I think it's very worthwhile to read the comments on Vegan Dad's blog for additional info.

Indian Bean & Dill Casserole with Zucchini & Mushroom

I have typed in my notes that this recipe was adapted from one by Bryanna Clark Grogan. I've had this recipe for a long time and I figure I must have made a few small changes to Bryanna's original recipe as I could not possibly have been so clever as to come up with this wonderful dish.

I love zucchini but hubby doesn't care for it as much as I do. So to make this more palatable for him, I serve this stew with brown rice pasta. Since he loves the pasta, this is how I get away with serving him zucchini.

Also, I think I halved the original recipe as I don't think hubby would go for zucchini leftovers. This recipe can be easily doubled.

1/2 can beans, drained and rinsed (any kind but black beans look good in this recipe)
1/2 large onion, diced
3 - 4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp red chile flakes
1/2 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes
lots of fresh dill or 2 Tbsp dried dill
2 bay leaves
1 medium or large zucchini, diced
2 - 3 large mushrooms (chopped or sliced)
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp curry powder (or garam masala)
salt to taste

Add onion, garlic, cumin, mustard and chile flakes to a heated skillet. Stir fry, adding a little water as necessary to the mixture to keep from sticking and burning, over medium-high heat until the onion softens, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes, bay leaves, zucchini, mushrooms, drained beans, dill, paprika and curry powder. Mix well and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and cook, uncovered for 15 minutes or so. Taste for salt and serve basmati rice.