Rajma (Kidney Bean Curry) & Vegan Richa's Indian Kitchen

Today I spent most of the day running errands before the snow storm hit, cleaning, and cooking. 

As many of you know I have been trying to do more foods that are inspired from different parts of the world.  Today one of the dishes I made was Rajma which is a Kidney Bean Curry.

After doing a little research of the origins of Rajma I found that not only is it popular in South Asia, Northern India, but also, Nepal.

This photo doesn't do the dish much justice but I think it came out pretty tasty!  To my knowledge this is the first time I have tried this dish.  It was perfect timing, too, because I had some tomatoes I needed to hurry up and use.

The recipe I used was from Vegan Richa's Indian Kitchen.  This is another new book to my collection.  it's been on my wishlist for a long time!  I'm so happy I finally have it in my hands!  I know I will be referring to this book a lot!

Not only did I make the Rajma Recipe in this book today - I also did the Dal Bukhara - which is a Black Gram Lentils in Tomato Sauce type dish.  I will share that one with you another day!

I also have to recap Friday's nights festivities so I will probably do that in tomorrow's post!

What did you do this weekend!?  Which of Richa's Recipes are your favorites?

"What Ever You Have" Curry

It's been 'slim pickins' with the foods that are left in my pantry and the last thing I actually bought was (canned) lite coconut milk so I knew I could get away with some sort of curry.  

I like to call this my "What Ever You Have" Curry

If you are anything like me - it's all about the curry sauce or broth that can make it or break it and I knew I was CRAVING a savory one so here is what's in this version - this time around...

1 can of Organic Light Coconut Milk

2 T Coconut Oil

3 to 4 Tomatoes, Diced

1 t Minced Onion

1 T Minced Garlic

1 t Garam Masala

1 t Curry Powder

1 t Turmeric

1/4 t Cumin

1 t Lemon Juice

Pink or Black Himalayan Sea Salt to taste

2 t Coconut Flour

About 6 or 7 Mini Red, Orange, Yellow Bell Peppers, Diced

About 1 Pound of Broccoli

About 1/2 C Corn

Smoked Paprika to taste

This 'hit the spot' and I will be doing variations of this recipe again very soon!

Sweet Earth Curry Tiger Burrito & Homemade Vegan Curry Dipping Sauce!

Yesterday I mentioned that I will be blogging about various things I have been grabbing at MANY stores as of late.  One of the things I have stocked up on is Sweet Earth Burritos thanks to TARGET in Erie!

I've had a few of the Sweet Earth Burritos before and have enjoyed them BUT I think they are even better with dipping sauces!  So...I have taken it upon myself to create a Curry Dipping Sauce to go along with their Curry Tiger Burrito!  I have to say - it was pretty YUMMY if I do say so myself!

I know it's NOT the best photo I have ever taken but you will get the idea!

Here is the recipe for this Homemade Vegan Curry Dipping Sauce:

3/4 C Vegan Mayo

Drizzle of Oil (I used Pumpkin Oil but it's optional)

2 t Curry Powder

1 T Lemon Juice

1 Clove Garlic, Minced

1 t Dill

Pinch of Cayenne

Pinch of Smoked Paprika

Pinch of Lemon Pepper

Pinch of Black Sea Salt (optional)

I was able to get about 6 of the Sweet Earth Burritos and 2 of their Bowls on sale!  Woot!

Thrown Together Veggie Curry

Nothing overly exciting happening this week in the kitchen - sorry folks!  I've had a bunch of volunteer stuff going on and busy at work, too!  But one of the things I have been eating a lot of lately is home made veggie curry that is vegan and literally thrown together!  I can't even tell you what the ratios of ingredients were - again, sorry!

What I can tell you is what I threw in!  This veggie curry contains coconut milk, Earth Balance, Cashews, Spinach, Peas, Chickpeas, Tomatoes, Tomato Paste, various spices, etc.  This made a HUGE HUGE HUGE batch!  I ate leftovers for 3 meals AND froze a large container and just finished that up a few days ago.  It was tasty!

I have been doing a lot of loaded vegan nachos as a meal lately, too!  This time of year I tend to get bored with food whether it be because it's hard to find good quality fresh produce and/or because I suffer from Winter Blues...that is yet to be determined.  It's probably a little bit of both!

Vegan Palak Ki Tiki

At the end of last week I knew two things...one...I was craving Indian or Indian Fusion dishes...and two...I wanted to do something with potatoes and spinach.  I did a CHEATERS version of Vegan Palak ki Tiki.  What was the cheat?  I used Potato Patties instead of regular potatoes.

Here's the recipe I came up with:

6 Potato Patties, Mashed

Up to 2 C Frozen Spinach, Cooked, Mixed in

1 t (Wildtree) Garam Masala

1 T Dried Cilantro

2 T Lemon Juice

Pinch each of Cayenne, Black Pepper, Black Sea Salt

1 C (or more) Vegan Bread Crumbs 

I rolled each 'patty' into the bread crumbs and flatted and coated each one with  more bread crumbs and then pan fried.

As you can see I made an Indian Dipping Sauce for these, too:

1/2 C Just Mayo

1 T Dijon Mustard

2 t Sriracha, 

1 t Curry Powder

1 t Lemon Juice

Playing Catch Up!

I found this cute meme on Instagram the other day and reposted and commented...This is my Monday Face...and Tuesday Face...and Wednesday Face...lol...YEAH...it's been a rough few weeks or months but I am trying to kick the attitude and start a NEW!

Eventho it's been a very mild winter here in the snowbelt I'm looking forward to spring regardless!  So far today we had between a foot or two of snow fall.  I was shoveling my sidewalk and driveway and the city plow came thru and plowed me back in.  Nice!  I'm typing that with much sarcastically - I don't know if you picked up on that!

The furkids are doing well!  Cricket is a 'crazy lady' that is what we call her sometimes but she's also a sweet pea and darling girl!  She puts so much life into our home.  She has a devilish side, too!  She likes to torment her brothers.  Riley has a soft side for her most times whereas Paco is too polite to do anything to snap back and I usually have to stop Cricket from picking on Paco.  Paco is so funny - he actually waits in line to drink from the water bowl in the living room at night.  He lets Cricket and Riley go first and he waits until last to lap up the water!

Paco is doing really well considering all of his medical issues.  He's been on his same meds for over a year now and his blood work is consistently where it should be.  He pees a lot but I would rather him do that than not be with us.  He's still sweet as ever!  And he's so strong to deal with everything, too!  He's plumped up from the meds but just adds to his character.  

I took this photo on a sunnier day than today and just had not posted it yet.  I'm still wearing my glasses and most likely will just continue to.  I think it makes me look older but I don't really care.  I know in the past no one could believe I was 36 but maybe now I will start looking my age anyways.  It is what it is, right!?

Work has been rough but I'm still plugging along.  I've been fairly uninspired in the kitchen as of late and going back to some comfort foods, cheap foods, fast foods, and good old stand by's!

I've been throwing a lot of dishes together much like this veggie curry here.

I've been re-organizing my tea collection and re-visiting some old favorites.

I have been able to spend a good amount of time with my parents the last several months.  They went to Aruba last month.  They LOVED it.  My sister had a rough weekend because she lost one of her furkids to cancer.

I'm still VERY MUCH into the Essential Oils.  My parents have gotten into them, too!  My sister has been buying some stuff online at PipingRock.com so I thought we would try it at as well.  So my parents and I went in on it together and they bought an Essential Oil Starter Kit with about 14 different oils.  I had at least half of them so I didn't get one of the kits I opted for 4 individual oils instead.

I decided to try 2 of their blends.  The Mental Clarity and the Stress Relief blends and I have them at work.  I have tried and like both of them.

Then I grabbed some Grapefruit Oil and Pine Needle Oil.  Those were two of the ones on my results sheet I received before Christmas.  I really like both of these, too!  I will say that the Pine Needle surprised me.  I thought it was going to be way too 'manly' and pungent but it's 'just right'.

I really like Piping Rock so far!  Their prices are quite a bit lower than many other sites I have seen.  I've only gotten their oils but I intend to make a purchase down the road that contains some of their nuts, seeds, snacks, etc.

Vegan MoFo ~ Fusion Challenge!

I'm STILL plugging along with Vegan MoFo and the pre-determined prompts!  Today's is...the Fusion Challenge!  I'm not sure how much of a fusion dish this is but I *think* it would or could qualify!

COLESLAW!

First up is the more traditional vinegar based type of Coleslaw.  I took about a pound of red cabbage, carrots, and broccoli stalks that were pre-packaged and added the sauce which was made up of 1/3 C Tahini, 1/3 C Maple Syrup, 1/3 C Vegan Mayo, 1/3 C Apple Cider Vinegar, 1/3 C Ground Pumpkin Seeds

Here's where the FUSION part comes in...

I made a 2nd slaw.  Both of which I took to an omni pot luck.  This 2nd one is a Curried Coleslaw.  I used the same pre-packaged julienned/match-sticks and added a sauce made up of...1 C Golden Hunza Raisins, 1/4 C Pumpkin Seeds, 1/3 C Tahini, 1/4 C Lemon Juice, 2 T Maple Syrup, 1 T Curry Powder, 1/2 t Garlic Powder, 1 T Nutritional Yeast.

I enjoyed both.  The more I ate the more I liked the curry one.  It seems the more traditional type people at the potluck enjoyed the first one more - including my husband.

Not that these are FUSION but I also brought these Raw Vegan Lemon Balls to the Potluck.  The flavor was good but they were a little dry.  I suspect the Almond Flour was to blame.  I need to tweak this recipe before posting.

As you can see here there are 3 different looking "balls".  One I rolled in Shredded Coconut, the one is left as-is, and the one in the back I rolled in Coconut Sugar.

Question of the day: would you classify my Curried Coleslaw as a FUSION dish?

Taste of India - Amherst, NY - Visit

Yes, once again I am behind on my blogging but I do have a lot in-store for this week so stay tuned.  I would like to thank everyone for the well wishes for our cat Charlie.  He's progressing with his recovery and I hope to post a progress report on that later this week. 

In the meantime...for today's post...a visit to A Taste of India in the Buffalo, NY, area a little over a week ago.

My husband and I took a day trip to a few places in the Buffalo area in the Abarth.  This is where we had lunch.  They have a HUGE menu and a nice vegetarian section.  I thought it was neat that you could 'name your heat level'.  I decided to choose Medium but next time I will be going with the Hot.  What did I have?  Well...off their vegetarian menu I chose the Chana Saag.  Curried Spinach with Chickpeas.  It came with Rice and in their white rice they added simple chunks of carrot for color.  I really enjoyed it. 

Along with my meal I had a large glass of straight-up Mango Juice.  Dale is somewhat hooked on Mango Lassi Drinks now.  I am going to start making them at home for him.

Because he's FAR FROM Vegetarian he chose one of the platters because he wanted to try a bunch of different things that they offered.  I believe there was Tandoori Chicken and Shrimp, Chicken Tikka, Boti Kebab, Naan, Sauteed Onions and Peppers, Beef Curry, and he had some of the white rice of mine because there was a huge plate of it and I thought he would enjoy it.  The location was on Sheridan Drive in Amherst but many people just say "Buffalo".  It's always FUN visiting the area I grew up and I think we will be doing it more often with the small cars and the Fiat Club.  Speaking of which - we hope the weather holds for this Saturday because it is the first time we hope to meet up with them.  We are planning on visiting the Zippo Factory and Museum in Bradford, PA with a few other stops along the way.  More on that next week, tho!

Mixed Vegetable Curry & A Not-So-Awesome RAW Spinach Tomato Soup

Thursday Night I was preparing my lunch for the following day and decided Vegetable Curry sounded good.  I used Frozen Veggies PLUS an Onion as the main 'brunt' of it.  The Mixed Veggies were Broccoli, Cauliflower, Carrots, Peas, and Beans.  I added 4 small tomatoes to this, too!  I also added 1/2 tea of each of the following...Garlic Powder, Turmeric Powder, Cayenne, Cinnamon, Ginger Powder, and a little Jalapeno Powder because I didn't have Curry.  Towards the end I added about a tablespoon of shredded coconut and a teaspoon of Organic Sugar (Vegan) from Wholesome Sweeteners.  I added water as needed while cooking.  It turned out really good with some heat but also a tad of sweetness, too!  I'm still craving some Dal, tho, so I might be making some of that soon!

Earlier in the week I made this Raw Soup.  It's mostly made of Spinach, Tomato, and spices...but it needs some work!  It looks good but I wasn't completely excited about it.  I did have 1 bowl but I am certainly going to tweak it before posting.

I'm still trying to catch up from being away for a few days.  I think I'm almost there!  Might have one or two more smaller posts to post from last week.  PLUS...tomorrow starts a new week...with more kitchen adventures!

In My Kitchen - February

Better Late - than NEVER, eh!?  Yeah...sorry about this In My Kitchen - February being so late!  And I don't know if I am breaking the rules or not but I'm starting this post off with an item that I REALLY enjoyed the past few months and have run out of recently!  This is definitely a restock-able item the next time I get to Trader Joe's!  It's their Vegetable Masala Burger and it's VEGAN.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE the flavor of these.  The first ingredients listed is Potatoes and they are marvelous!  I wasn't even able to eat these as an actual 'burger' - I ate them plain.  I just cooked them in a pan on the stove top with a little bit of Grapeseed Oil and it was spot-on AWESOME!  I think that by putting it between a bun you might lose some of the flavor.  Don't quote me on that but I am FINE with the way I ate it stand-alone!  I already told my husband I will stock up on them next time!

One of the many tea companies I was introduced to this past month was Tea At Sea.  They don't have a HUGE selection of teas (yet) but they are doing a LOT of things RIGHT!  I really LOVE the little "press kit" promotional visual they included in my mailing!  It looks a lot like this...it was a half of a Wine Cork for the base with a tooth pick for the 'body' and a heavy duty paper that you clipped on for the sail!  Very nice!  I was able to sample both their Black Tea as well as their Oolong Tea and both were lovely.

In the past I have shared my Veg*n Findings at Aldi and I am happy to report than their Vegetarian and Vegan offerings are multiplying as well as their Organic offerings!  So exciting!  This month I found a Bean and Corn Salsa/Dip that was not only made with vegan ingredients it was actually LABELED Vegan as well!  AND...I found a Mango Chutney that was labeled vegan, too, YAY!   I also noticed earlier this week that they now have a Vegetarian Section in their Recipe area on their website!

I always have GARLIC in the house...whether it's actual Garlic Cloves and Bulks or Minced Garlic in the Frig or powder even.  I almost always have Lemon Juice in the house, too, but I just ran out of it with the Raw Vegan Burgers I made Sunday Night.  2 flavors I have been using more than usually as of late have been both CURRY and TURMERIC.  Not only the flavors I have been craving but the nutritional benefits of each.  PLUS...with this horribly cold winter we are having it just makes sense to consume them both!

As for Grab-N-Go Convenience Foods this month I have enjoyed a few of the McDougall's Vegan Soups.  I bought them because they were on sale.  They aren't a new-to-me-product but I don't necessarily buy them often either...unless they are on sale.  I especially like the lower sodium offerings because I'm not a salty foods fan - generally speaking.  All of the soups I have tried I have liked.  I see there is a Tamale one that I have tried but want to.  Those are just a few things that have been popular in my kitchen this past month!  How about you!? 

Marinated Cucumber Tomato Hemp Seed Salad, Butternut Squash Lentil Walnut Kale Curry, Today's Lunch!

TGIF!  What am I eating today!?  Well, here's a peak!

From top left - Butternut Squash, Lentil, and Kale Curry (Recipe Below), on the side - Cucumber, Tomato, and Hemp Seed/Hemp Heart Marinated Salad (Recipe Below), at bottom - store brought dried crisp "snapeas"...I found at a random store that aren't too bad but I will be dehydrating some of my own in the near future.

I used a Cucumber and a half and a Large Tomato for this.  After I cut them...I added the following...

3 T Red Wine Vinegar
2 T (or less) of Wholesome Sweeteners' Organic Sugar
1 to 2 T Hemp Seeds/Hemp Hearts (Manitoba Harvest)

I marinated it overnight in the frig.  It's very flavorful and yummy!  Since I haven't gotten cut with the decor in the Bento Boxes I'm hoping the colors of Red & Green will qualify for this week's Christmas Theme?

For the Butternut Squash, Lentil, Walnut, Kale Curry
I did the following...

1-pound of Butternut Squash
1 C Kale
1 Shallot
Splash of Grapeseed Oil (Wildtree Basil Pesto Flavor)
2 tea Curry Powder
1/2 C Walnuts
2 T Cilantro
Lime Juice to Taste

Participating in: Pin Me #64, Bento For Kidlet's Meatless Monday, Freedom Fridays, Bento Blog Network #116, Leftovers On Fridays, 

Coconut Kale & Chickpea

Last night I made a HUGE batch of this for lunches for the rest of the week and it turned out pretty good.  It's not all that spicy like more of the curry-like things I have made but the flavor is tasty, regardless.

In this dish I have the following:

1 Can of Coconut Milk

4 C Chickpeas

3 C Diced Tomatoes

1 Small Onion

4 T Minced Garlic

2 tea Ginger Powder

1/2 Bunch of Baby Kale

 2 T Coconut Secret Coconut Nectar

1/2 tea Turmeric

1 tea Cinnamon

I'm going to be trying various sauces in the near future - some curry, some sweet, some maybe even sweet and sour.  Another project I have for Christmas Eve is vegan dips for all to enjoy!  And of course I will have many more Dehydrator Posts planned for this week, too!  Stay Tuned!

Simple Yet Flavorful Quick Foods For This Week

TGIF!  Most of this week I have been getting to work between 4:15 and 4:30am!  WOWZA!  Yup!  I'm ready for the weekend!  Regardless of the jumbled-up schedule I have been eating pretty good!  I've been making Quick and Simple YET Flavorful Foods most of this week!

This first photo is from earlier in the week - it's Tomato Garlic Rice Noodles.  I FINALLY found some Rice Noodles in the region!  I've been looking for them for a while.  I got them at the Whole Foods Co-Op in Erie a week or two ago!

For this dish I used Wildtree's Garlic Dipping Oil (Grapeseed Based with Garlic and Sea Salt) for a stir fry like stove top method.  I also used: 1 Onion, 3 small Tomatoes, Lemon Zest, Approx. 6 Basil Leaves, 2 T Bragg's Liquid Aminos (in place of Soy Sauce), Pinch of Wholesome Sweeteners Raw Brown Sugar, 1 to 2 T Lemon Zest.

Another dish I did this week was in a few parts that I ended up combining into a Breakfast Bowl of sorts.  This first part is the Simply Curry Rice I made using 2 C Rice, 2 T Lime Juice, 1 Small Onion, 1 T Curry Powder, 1/4 C Cilantro, Pinch of Sea Salt, Splash of Garlic Grapeseed Oil.  All on top of the stop in a Wok.

For the 2nd Part I found a (Vegan Friendly) brand of "gently salted' potatoes a while back and finally decided to use them be I didn't have any fresh Potatoes.  I also did these in a Frying Pan on my stove top with a little bit of the Garlic Dipping Oil...but not very much.  I like mine crispy so the quasi-burned edges are intentional.  I really didn't do much else to these potatoes they were good as-is!

I made it in the evening and decided to save it for a 'brunch' the next day.  It ended up keeping over night in the frig just fine.  It was pretty tasty the next day.  I guess you could call it a non-traditional breakfast bowl of sorts...at least that is what I am referring to it as.  Since I usually am not a fan of salt - this had very little in it but it was 'just right' for my taste buds.

I'll tell ya!  The shipment of Garden of Life Products couldn't have come at a better time!  Because I have been working even stranger hours that usual this week it has come in handy, that is for sure!

Earlier this week I tried the Raw Protein Marley Coffee Blend with just 8 ounces of Cashew Milk I found at the Whole Foods Co-Op in Erie.  I was so pleased to see this new(er) product on their shelves!  As many of you know I am a fan of Almond...it's my go-to "Milk", really, but my first 2 attempts with this Cashew Milk have been pretty impressive, too! 

The photo you see here, tho, is my newest Smoothie Creation using the Raw Protein Marley Coffee Blend from Garden of Life available exclusively at Whole Foods Market.  I used 1 Scoop of the Powder in 8 ounces of Cashew Milk with 2 heaping tablespoons of Dark Chocolate Dreams Peanut Butter from The Peanut Butter Company.  Certified Vegan Flavored Peanut Butter...gotta LOVE it!  Anyhow...this smoothie turned out AMAZING!  A bit of Chocolate, a bit of Peanut Butter, a little sweet, very frothy and creamy...just YUM!  It's thick, too!  It kind of reminds me of one of those Thick Chocolate Milkshakes that have melted a bit. 

I also made Goulash this week!  I forgot to take a picture of it tho!  Oops!  When I make Goulash my 'default' way of doing things is to use a store-bought sauce, usually...this time I used Whole Foods Market's 365 Organic Tomato & Roasted Red Pepper.  I add Kidney Beans, at least 1 Onion, and sometimes I add some herbs but I didn't feel it needed it.  I also could have added some of Ives Crumbles but I kind of forgot I had some in the refrigerator so I will have to do something with those next week.  I of course add in Macaroni Noodles, too.  I'm not going to lie - it surely hit the spot - and was a lovely comfort food this week.

Irish Tomatoes & Hot Curry Nuts From Lush!

Some people refer to something like this as Irish Tomatoes or Breakfast Tomatoes or even Irish Breakfast Tomatoes - whatever you call them - they are easy and FLAVORFUL!  Of course you know me...I had to put my own little spin on them!

I've done these in my toaster oven before.  I added a little Grapeseed oil to the pan so they didn't stick.  In a case like this - any of the flavors would work - I usually like to use either the Garlic or the Basil Pesto!

Sometimes I just cut them in half if they are smaller tomatoes or sometimes I will slice them in rounds or dice them largely.  It depends on my mood sometimes!

I also like to drizzle a little Grapeseed Oil over top of them then sprinkle Garlic and Thyme.  BUT...these are fun because you can really put anything on them!  Any herb!  Any seasoning!  Do them plain!  Add Balsamic!  Or stand-alone with Nutritional Yeast!  You could also sprinkle some Daiya Shreds or real cheese if that is your thing.  I also like to add minced Garlic and Chopped Onions to these!  The possibilities are endless!  And they are OH-SO-GOOD!

I have another Lush Gourmet Foods Review for you today!  This time around...it's their Hot Curry Flavor!

This daring flavor has become a favorite of the bunch. The flavor of the curry is a wonderful compliment to the peanut, and the heat from this spice will leave you with a bite.

I LOVE Curry!  And I LOVE Spice!  So my level of spice might be a little over estimated by some.  For example...both my mother and sister do NOT do spicy at all...so they may want to stick to some of the other flavors.  BUT... found these to be AWE-SOME!

They are not overly hot but they have a nice spice!  A 'warming' aftertaste with lovely curry likeness to them!  They are somewhat candied and somewhat spicy!  I think they are perfectly coated!  They are really done to perfection!  If you like curry - these are a MUST!

PLEASE Scroll down...I have another post today!  And coming soon...I hope to have a review and a giveaway for the Vegan Delish App on iPad and iPhone!  PLEASE check back!  I hope your Friday is going well!

Casablanca Cous Cous

 Last Night I made Casablanca Cous Cous.  I found a recipe online and tweaked it based on what I had handy.  I figured you could serve this two ways.  Above I did the Cous Cous on the bottom with the mixture on top and below you can see I mixed all of it together.  I've tried the first one - last night - and mixed the rest and will have it for lunch and dinner over the next few days!

This dish had:
Cous Cous

Wildtree Grapeseed Oil

Wildtree Lemon Pepper

Sliced Carrots

Chopped Celery

Cubed Tofu

Tomato Sauce

Curry & Cayenne to taste

Chickpeas

Mushrooms

Wildtree Onion & Chive Blend

I'm pretty tickled with myself for this attempt!