Curried Lentil Soup with Chapati

Jaime made this dish for us during our visit to Bulgaria.  We enjoyed it so much then and still do now.

What you’ll need:

2 Tbs Earth Balance

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 tsp garam masala

¼ tsp cumin

2 pounds tomatoes, seeded and chopped or 2 - 14 oz canned chopped tomatoes, drained

1 cup red lentils, rinsed

2 tsp lemon juice

1 vegetable bouillon

1 ¼ cup coconut milk

Salt and pepper

What you do:

Melt butter in a large pot and sauté garlic and onions for 2-3 minutes.  Add spices and cook for an additional 30 seconds.

Stir in tomatoes, lentils, lemon juice, bouillon, and coconut milk and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer 25-30 minutes, until tender. Blend with hand held blender or in food processor.  Season to taste and serve over rice with Chapati (recipe to follow).

Chapati is an is an unleavened flat bread, which goes perfect with this dish.

What You’ll Need:

2 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp turmeric

¾ cup water

What you’ll do:

Mix the ingredients together to form dough.

Need for about 5 minutes

Form into 8 small balls

Roll flat and fry in butter.

Apricot Chutney

After a recent weekly trip to a new favourite restaurant in Sofia, a couple of friends decided that I needed to figure out how to make the Apricot Chutney to accompany my Chapatis when preparing Indian meals at home. So, here it is…

What You'll Need:

Dried Apricots - 450 grams (about 16 oz), finely diced
Garam Masala - 1 tsp
Honey - 1 1/4 cups
Apple Cider Vinegar - 2 cups
Fresh Root Ginger - 1 tsp, grated
Salt - 1 tsp
Golden Raisins - 1/2 cup
Water - 2 cups

What You’ll Do:

Put the dried apricots and Garam Masala into a medium pot and add the honey, vinegar, ginger, salt, raisins and water. Mix thoroughly with a spoon.

Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 30-35 minutes, stirring occasionally.

When the chutney has thickened to a fairly stiff consistency, spoon it into 2-3 clean jars and leave it to cool.

Store it in the refrigerator.

J and J Pad Thai

Jaime has always been great at experimenting with Asian foods, so when she told me we’d be making Pad Thai for dinner - I wasn’t surprised. The end result was incredible! Consequently, Pad Thai has turned into a family favourite. It’s so simple and pleasing. So if you’re one of those individuals who always orders Pad Thai when dining out, or you just love Asian recipes, then this one is for you!

What You’ll Need:

8 oz. dried Pad Thai rice noodles, OR enough for 2 people (linguini-width)
Tofu cut into cubes and fried

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium onion, finely chopped

Chinese cabbage or Bok Choy, roughly chopped

Broccoli, chopped

2-3 carrots, chopped
2 cups bean sprouts
2 green onions, sliced
Fresh coriander/cilantro
1/4 cup ground (or well-chopped) peanuts (OR substitute cashews or slivered almonds)

PAD THAI SAUCE:

3/4 Tbsp. tamarind paste (available at Asian/East Indian food stores)

1/4 cup hot water
3 1/2 Tbsp. soy sauce, we like Braggs Liquid Amino (or gluten-free soy sauce)
1/2 to 2 tsp. chili sauce (to taste), OR 1-2 fresh red chilies, minced
3 Tbsp. brown sugar or 2 palm kernels
3 Tbsp. smooth peanut butter

OTHER:

3-4 Tbsp. oil for stir-frying 2-3 Tbsp. vegetable stock
lime wedges for serving

What You’ll Do:

I like to make my sauce first so it’s ready when everything else has been cooked. Start by dissolving the tamarind paste in the hot water. Add the other sauce ingredients and stir well to dissolve the sugar. Add as much or as little chili sauce as you prefer, but don't skimp on the sugar (you’ll need it to balance the sourness of the tamarind). Reserve.

Bring a pot of water to a boil and remove from heat. Soak noodles in the hot water for 6-10 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Tip: Noodles are ready to drain when they are soft enough to eat, but still firm and a little bit "crunchy". The noodles will finish cooking when they are fried.

Place your wok (or large frying pan) over medium-high heat. Add 1-2 Tbsp. oil plus the garlic and onions. Stir-fry 1 minute to release the fragrance. Add broccoli and carrots and cook for 3-5 minutes.

Add the Bok Choy plus the stock. Stir-fry 2 minutes, or until Bok Choy is bright green and slightly softened. Add fried tofu.

Now add the drained noodles and 1/3 of the sauce. Stir-fry everything together for 1 minute using 2 utensils and a tossing motion (like tossing a salad).

Add a little more sauce and continue stir-frying in the same way for 1-2 more minutes, or until the noodles begin to soften and become sticky. Reduce heat to medium if noodles begin to stick and burn.

Add the bean sprouts plus the remaining sauce. Stir-fry to incorporate everything together for 1-3 more minutes, or until noodles are done. Noodles are cooked to perfection when they are soft but still deliciously chewy and a little bit sticky.

To serve, scoop noodles onto a serving platter. Sprinkle with the green onion, coriander/cilantro, and ground nuts. Add wedges of fresh-cut lime on the side. Serve immediately and ENJOY!

Sweet Rice and Mangos

Recently we had some new friends over and I wanted to make something special for our Asian themed evening. My son wanted Sweet Rice with Bananas (yes, we’ll get that recipe up soon) but I wanted something a bit more refreshing. So I decided to replace the bananas with mangos. I switched the Banana Sweet Sticky Rice recipe up a bit and came up with this light and sweet delectable treat. It so simple and delicious, I just know you are going to love it as much as we did.

What You’ll Need:

1 cups uncooked sweet rice 2 cups water
1 can (13.5 oz) of coconut milk (cream and all)
¼ cup sugar
2 mangos, peeled and sliced

What You’ll Do:

Combine the rice and coconut milk in a rice cooker and cook. Should only take about 10-15 to cook.

Mix the sugar into the hot rice. Portion the rice into 4 bowls. Top with mango slices. Enjoy this sweet refreshing treat. Your guests will rave over it, mine did.

Salad Rolls

Salad Rolls are a healthy alternative to spring rolls. They make a great appetizer, snack or the perfect lunch. I made these this weekend and they turned out just great. Quick and easy with so much flavor. What more could you ask for?

The great thing about salad rolls is really you can add any veggies (or even fruit) that you like. So what are you waiting for? Get moving and make some salad rolls!

What You’ll Need:

1 package of baked tofu (I liked the teriyaki one)
1 cucumber, remove the seeds and cut into thin strips
2-3 medium carrot, shredded
1 mango, cut into thin strips
Salad greens
Large round rice paper wrappers
Dipping Sauces of choice (I like the Sweet Chili sauce and Plum sauce) or better yet stay tuned for our peanut sauce

What You’ll Do:

Soften 1 rice paper wrapper by immersing in warm water until soft (about 10-20 sec), carefully remove and place flat on a large plate or cutting board. Be careful not to let the paper fold on itself when removing the wrapper from the water.

Place veggies in the middle of the wrapper, making sure not to add too much. Roll rice paper as you would a burritos, tucking in the sides, it should stick to itself easily. Repeat for the remaining wrappers.

Cut in half and serve with your favorite dipping sauce.

Sushi? Oh Yeah!

Simple, elegant, and delicious, Sushi definitely makes the 'top 10 favourites' list for both of our families!

But, before we get to the recipe and preparation, allow us to clarify something that you may be asking....

"Isn't this a vegetarian/vegan recipe site, and doesn't sushi mean raw fish?"

Great question, and here is our answer:

"While there are many types of Sushi that include raw fish and seafood (Sashimi), there is also a wide variety of vegetarian/vegan friendly Sushi."

We usually prepare the following types:

Onigirizushi - rice with other ingredients rolled into a ball.
Nigirizushi - hand formed Sushi.
Makizushi - rolled Sushi, which is the type you see in the photos.
Inarizushi - rice stuffed into fried tofu pockets.

Regardless of the type you make, all you have to do is choose your favourite veggies and make a variety of rolls. We used a combination of Avocado, Carrot, Baked or Fried Tofu, and Cucumber in the photos shown. The possibilities are endless. Once you get the hang of making Sushi, it will be a quick and satisfying meal!

Ingredients for Sticky Rice:

3 cups Sushi Rice

4 cups Water1/3 cup Rice Vinegar

3 Tbsp Honey (or sweetener of choice)

1 Teaspoon Sea Salt

Nori - seaweed sheets either toasted or dried
Soy Wraps - the light green sushi in picture above

Filling Ingredients:

Carrots, shredded or sliced

Avocados, thinly sliced
Baked or Fried Tofu, sliced

Cucumbers, remove seeds and slice thin

Preparation:

Cook rice in rice cooker with water.
While rice is cooking, mix rice vinegar, honey, and salt in small saucepan on low heat 'till combined. Set aside.
When rice is done, transfer to wooden, stainless steel, or glass bowl.
While still hot, pour rice vinegar mixture over rice and fold with wooden spatula, being careful not to smash the rice.
If you can use a fan while folding the rice, it will makes rice shiny and sticky. If you can't, just fan it manually, i.e, with a mock paper fan.
When cool to touch, wet hands, (not dripping, but just wet) form rice into tennis sized balls (- a bit) and lay out on top of Nori sheets....conveyor belt style.
Wet your hands again, getting any rice off, and spread the rice balls out gently with your finger tips pushing the rice out in all directions until nori is covered just right. Use the photo below as a gauge for just how much rice to use (I used a little too much in this roll).
Place your fillings a little lower then in the middle (closer to you), then roll 'em up using two non - rice covered hands.
If you need help with the rolling part, you can use a bamboo mat, sold at most Asian markets.
Once your sushi's are rolled up nice and tight, slice them into even circles with a clean, sharp, and slightly damp knife.
You may need to clean your knife in between slices, as rice will stick to the knife and will make it difficult to cut the Sushi neatly.

P.S. Sushi makes the perfect lunch for your kiddos to take to school! Ours love it and request it(more like demand it) weekly. Several of their friends always try to make a 'trade' with them for a piece of their Sushi or Inari, I don't think they are too successful though!




Here is our method to making it an easy and quick lunch to prepare in the morning when your time is - let's say.... limited.

When you make it for dinner, make sure you set aside a good amount of Sushi Rice in a container after rice has cooled sufficiently. We like to leave it out (in the container) overnight because we dislike like the consistency of the rice after it has been refrigerated. We did some research on this, and have learned that the rice will not spoil in that short amount of time due to the added vinegar. We also save time by storing any left over carrot slices in water in the refrigerator, so they're all ready to go in the morning.

We use the rice and chopped veggies to prepare a roll or two for each kiddo -including our husbands :) and we make sure to fill up a pouch of Inari with rice, or else we'll here about it later.

Don't forget the Soy Sauce (we use Bragg's liquid Amino's). Put some in an air tight container and their lunch is set.

Sushi Tips

If the rice doesn't stick to Nori, or roll does not stick together when rolled, you most likely did not use enough vinegar in your rice. The rice should be very sticky, annoyingly so. Keep a small bowl of water close by when preparing your sushi. You'll need to wet your hands frequently during the process, as it prevents the rice from sticking to your hands.

If your roll is too thick, or does not hold together well, you probably used too much rice, or packed it down too tightly. The rice should be spread on the nori and should not cover the nori completely. You should be able to see nori between the rice....use just a bit less then the amount shown in the picture above.

Thai Style Vegetables with Peanut Sauce

For those of you who love creamy dessert like peanut sauce you will love this dish. The combination of this sweet creamy peanut sauce with fresh veggies and coconut rice is simply delicious and crowd pleaser.

Peanut Sauce:
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
4 Tbs soy sauce
4 Tbs lime juice
4 cloves of garlic, minced
4 Tbs rice vinegar
4 palm kernels (found in Asian markets) or 2 Tbs agave syrup
Peanuts

Combine all ingredient in a medium size pan. Heat on medium until all ingredients dissolve. Turn heat to low, keep warm until vegetables and rice are ready. Remove from heat and let stand for a few minutes to thicken before serving.

Vegetables:
16 oz firm tofu, cut in cubes
Medium size bok choy or napa cabbage, chopped
3 large carrots, thinly sliced
2 cups of chopped broccoli
Any other vegetables of your choice

In a large wok or saute pan cook tofu until golden. Add vegetables and cook on medium heat until tender about 10-15 minutes. Place cooked vegetables in a shallow bowl and cover with peanut sauce, add peanuts as a garnish.

Reserve peanut sauce can be used as a nice alternative for dipping veggies.

Coconut Rice:
3 cups of uncooked rice
4 cups coconut milk
2 cups water

Combine ingredients in a rice cooker or medium size pot. Cook for approximately 20 minutes or until rice is done. Serve rice on the side.