Spicy Red Lentil Dal

I like recipes that are simple. I’m realizing that more and more about myself. I should rename this site Simply Scrumpdilly Vegan Dishes (with gravies or sauces and a side). Because that’s what I’m into: simple, vegan, sauce or gravy-type meals. My realization was affirmed last night after I made something that took too much time. I had to make a paste, rub it all over tofu in the morning before work, let it sit for 8 hours, then chop, dice, simmer for 45 minutes, then add more ingredients, and you know what? Meh. It was MEH!

So here is freakin’ GOURMET and so easy. So simple! It’s a simply scrumpdilly vegan dish that is guest-worthy! Thanks KristinAthena for turning me onto this dish about two years ago. I’m still lovin’ it, and I bet the scrumpdillies will too.

Spicy Red Lentil Dal (from Vegetarian Times)*

2 cups vegetable broth
1 cup dry red lentils
1 tbs vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. turmeric
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1/2 cup coconut milk
2 tsp. lime juice

Bring broth and lentils to a boil in a pot over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, partially cover and simmer for 10 minutes, until lentils are tender. Cover and remove from heat.

Heat oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and red pepper flakes. Saute 5 minutes. Add cumin, turmeric and coriander and cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.

Add the tomato paste and cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the coconut milk and lentils, cook for 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste and stir in lime juice. Serve over rice.

*This recipe moves fast, so have everything ready to go once your lentils are cooked.

I didn’t want to post about gravy tonight. It just didn’t seem right with how hot it’s been. I mean, I could eat gravy any ol’ time, but I wanted to tell you about something more appropriate for the season. So you get a naked post, a post without a picture, because my only ready-to-go pic is gravy. And I don’t want to post about gravy tonight.

Me and Vegan Dad are on the same wave-length. Must be the French influence - he in Canada, me misplaced Louisianian. Or could it be that it’s corn season? And hot? And you want a delicious meal without spending 8 hours heating up your kitch? Either way, we’re on the same wave-length, with slight variations. Here’s the recipe I use.

Read me now, believe me in a week.

Eula Mae’s Maque Choux*
(from Eula Mae’s Cajun Kitchen Cookbook)

2 tablespoons vegan butter (Earth Balance)
1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
1/2 cup seeded and chopped green bell pepper
4 cups corn kernels (fresh or frozen, thawed)
1 medium-size ripe tomato, peeled and chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon Original TABASCO®**

Melt the vegan butter in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and bell pepper. Cook, stirring often, until soft, about 5 minutes.
Add the corn, tomato, salt and TABASCO®. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, until the corn is tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Serve hot.***

*Edited to make vegan.
**I use at least 1 teaspoon, probably more, because a 1/2 teaspoon of Tabasco isn’t quite beautiful enough. So add Tabasco to taste. While you’re at it, you’ll probably need more salt. And how ’bout some freshly ground black pepper.
***I serve mine over rice. I don’t know why. But talk about good!

Stems and Leaves from Red & Yellow Chard

Friends leave town - they’re on vacation. They gift you their box full of CSA greens. You want to make them proud.

This was absolutely delish! The coconut milk and curry simply add a delicate flavor without any hostile take-overs.

Stems & Leaves Stir-fry

8 oz. Thai-spiced tofu, drained but not pressed
1 bunch Swiss Chard
1 bunch Red Chard
1 bunch Yellow Chard
1 Bok Choy
1 Baby Bok Choy
2-3 celery stalks
1 Tbsp. canola oil (optional)
2/3 can (or 10 oz.) coconut milk
2-3 Tbsp. Red Curry paste

For all three chards, remove leaves from stalks. Cut stalks into pieces and set aside. Place leaves in a separate area/pile. For both bok choys, separate stalks from base, then cut stalks into pieces up to leafy part. Place stalks in stalk pile and leaves in leaf pile. Cut celery into pieces and place with other stalks.

If using oil, heat in wok over medium heat. Otherwise, heat wok without oil on medium heat for a minute until hot. Add tofu and cook for 1-2 minutes until warmed through. Add stems and cook for 2-3 minutes or until brightly colored. Add leaves and cover. Allow to steam until just wilted. Add coconut milk and curry paste, stir until curry paste is mixed and dissolved completely.

Serve over rice.

Tofu Florentine

Pregan, I loved Eggs Florentine. But, honestly, this one is better. Way better. Turns out, it’s short-listed as one of my favorite evening meals. It’s quick, it’s easy, it’s healthy, and it contains several food groups in one lump. You can even make the hollandaise ahead of time and use it later. Just heat it up when you’re ready and pour it on. But, seriously, the entire meal, including the hollandaise, takes about 30-40 minutes to prepare, especially if you’re willing to multi-task. I’ve listed everything sequentially, but you can always take care of multiple pieces at the same time. Just practice.

Tofu Florentine (serves 2*)

2 English Muffins, halved
8 oz. firm or extra-firm tofu
24 oz. fresh baby spinach
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2-3 c. water
Hollandaise sauce (recipe below)
2 green onions, sliced
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Prepare Hollandaise according to directions below.

While hollandaise is still warm (or warming on low), cut tofu into four small rectangles.

Heat olive oil in grill pan or skillet on medium-high heat. When oil is hot, sear tofu on each side until brown and lightly crispy (about 5 minutes each side, pressing with a spatula every now and then). Turn heat to low to keep warm.

Add water to large pot and boil. Place steamer inside pot and begin steaming spinach in batches until all spinach is cooked. While spinach is steaming, toast English muffins.

To assemble: Place two muffin halves on each plate. To each muffin half, add a slice of tofu, a mound of steamed spinach, and drizzle with one quarter of the hollandaise sauce. Add sliced green onions, salt, and pepper to taste.

Hollandaise Sauce (source: Vegetarian Times)
1/2 cup or 4 oz. silken tofu
2 Tbs. lemon juice**
1 Tbs. nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp. turmeric
2 Tbs. corn oil

Heat tofu on plate in microwave 30 to 45 seconds, or until warmed through. Transfer to food processor, and purée until smooth. Add lemon juice, nutritional yeast, salt, cayenne, and turmeric; pulse until well combined. With food processor running, add oil in steady stream to finish sauce.

*The Vegetarian Times recipe claims the hollandaise is enough to serve 6. I don’t like being skimpy with sauces, so I use about 1/4 of the sauce on each 1/2 muffin, tofu, spinach combination.

**I thought that for this dish, the hollandaise sauce was far too lemony as it was written. It overpowered everything else. So I reduced the lemon juice to 1 Tbsp. and added 1 Tbsp. water to make up the remaining liquid.