Baked Egg Rolls & Duck Sauce

*This is vegetarian, not vegan, because of the egg in the wrapper. Substitute with a vegan version of your choice*


I made baked vegetable egg rolls and home made duck sauce today! YAY!





I bought cabbage to make egg rolls a few weeks ago and kept putting it off because I couldn't find a decent recipe to follow.

I kind of just threw things together and it turned out surprisingly well. I also remembered to take pictures along the way:





1. 1/2 a head of cabbage, shredded
2 carrots, julienned
1 stalk of celery, diced
3 green onions, sliced


2. Saute ingredients with 3 TBS of vegetable oil for a few minutes then add 1 tsp of ginger, 2 tsp garlic powder, TBS of soy sauce, and 1/2 cup of vegetable broth. Cook until vegetables are tender, drain in a colander then set aside to cool for 15 minutes.


3. Place 1 TBS of filling in the corner of the wrapper


4. Roll the wrapper over once or twice then fold in the sides and finish rolling. Place seam down on a baking sheet.


5. Brush the tops of the egg rolls with a little oil then place in a preheated oven at 425 F for 10-15 minutes until browned.


6. Duck sauce: 1/2 cup of water, 1/3 cup of sugar, 1/3 cup of apricot preserves, 1 1/2 tsp cornstarch, 1 TBS white vinegar, 1 tsp salt. Stir over medium heat.


7. Bring to a boil and simmer until thickened (5-10 minutes). Pour into a serving dish.


8. Now you can eat them up!


9. Obligatory "finished product" photo :)

Home Fried Potatoes

aka, crunchy, salty, heavenly goodness.





3 tablespoons earth balance butter
3 russet potatoes, cubed
salt & pepper to taste


Rinse the potatoes after cubing and make sure to dry them. REALLY dry them, or the potato police will come after you for turning crispy potato yumminess into soggy icky mush.

Ok, now that they're dry, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the potatoes and make sure they're all coated well, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Now just let it sit there. No matter how much you want to stir them, flip them, and mix them all up, just let them be for at least 5-10 minutes.

See if one of the pieces is browning, if so, NOW you can mix them all up, and then let them sit still again for at least 5 minutes. Keep doing this until they're pretty evenly browned. It took mine about 30 minutes to finish cooking.


And there you go! Try not to eat them all in one sitting or you may get a tummy ache....of course the pain would be worth every crunchy salty bite :)


P.S. Feel free to play around with spices you like...garlic salt, cayenne, garam masala...have fun!

Veggie Samosas with Tamarind Dipping Sauce

Recipe coming soon....

Thai Red Curry with Tempeh

At 12:30 in the morning I was craving Thai Red Curry, and I could not find a single recipe that sounded decent or authentic tasting. So, I kind of followed the basic guidelines of making a curry, added my own ingredients, and threw this together. It turned out to be pretty fabulous.


Ingredients;

2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
1 inch piece of ginger, grated
3 tablespoons of red curry paste
1 tablespoon of brown sugar
1 can of coconut milk (not lite)
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 8oz package of tempeh, cut into small cubes
1/2 a large onion, chopped
1/2 a bell pepper, chopped
1 zucchini, halved lengthwise then sliced
1 carrot, cut into this slices
5 kaffir lime leaves, halved
10-20 thai basil leaves


Directions:

Heat the oil in a large saucepan then stir fry the garlic, ginger and curry for 2 minutes. Pour in the brown sugar, coconut milk and cornstarch, then whisk thoroughly to make sure there are no lumps.

Add the tempeh, onion, bell pepper, zucchini, carrot, and lime leaves. Allow to simmer 10 minutes then stir in the fresh Thai basil leaves and continue simmering until the vegetables are tender (another 5-10 minutes) . Try to pick out all the lime leaves (but leave the basil), and serve the curry over some freshly cooked rice.

Vegetable Lo Mein

1/2 box of cooked angel hair pasta
3 tablespoons of vegetable oil
1 cup of snow peas
2-3 carrots, cut into matchsticks
1/2 a bell pepper (any color), sliced
1 small onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch piece of ginger, grated
2 cups fresh bean sprouts
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 cup vegetable broth
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
4 tablespoons hoisin
2 tablespoons soy sauce

peanut sauce (optional)


Heat the oil in a large skillet and saute the snow peas, carrots, bell pepper, onion, garlic and ginger. Add in the bean sprouts and cook for a minute or two.

In a small bowl, stir together the cornstarch and broth then pour over the veggies. Now stir in the cayenne, curry powder, hoison, and soy sauce, then allow to cook a few minutes until the sauce has thickened.

Have the cooked angel hair ready in a large serving bowl and pour the veggies and sauce over the pasta. Combine thoroughly then eat up!

(If you like, set out a small bowl of peanut sauce and add to your taste)

Potato Curry

This is better than any curry I've ever eaten. Seriously. So. So. Good.

I sort of found a few recipes, doubles the spices they listed, and changed 2 or 3 other ingredients....does that make it my recipe? I don't know. But you can make it and call it yours, I don't mind. Just eat it and sigh with contentment.





4 LARGE russet potatoes, peeled and cubed (use more of they're small)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
4 teaspoons curry powder
4 teaspoons garam masala
1 inch of ginger, grated
2 teaspoons cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons salt
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1 14 oz can of coconut milk
1 15 oz can garbanzos, rinsed and drained
1 15 oz can peas


To get started, put the cubed potatoes in a pot, fill with just enough water to cover the potatoes, and boil until soft (about 20 minutes). Drain and set aside.

Warm oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in onion and garlic, and cook until the onions are soft and translucent. Stir in curry powder, garam masala, ginger, cumin, cayenne and salt. Cook for 1 or 2 minutes, stirring. Mix in potatoes, garbanzos, and peas, then stir in the tomatoes and coconut milk. Simmer 5-10 minutes.

Done!

Now, this is spicy. Feel free to adjust the cayenne to taste. This also makes a lot of sauce, so have some rice, or chapatis, or even throw in an extra can of garbanzos to soak it up. And be prepared to eat several bowls in one sitting.

Chapati's (& Channa Masala)

I posted the Channa Masala recipe awhile back here: http://megsvegrecipes.blogspot.com/2005/07/channa-masala.html


Now here is the recipe for the Chapati's


2 cup all-purpose flour (or 1 cup whole wheat, 1 cup all-purpose)
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup hot water or as needed


In a large bowl, stir together the flour and salt. Stir in the olive oil and enough water to make a soft dough that is elastic but not sticky. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until it is smooth. Divide into 10 parts and roll each piece into a ball.

Heat a skillet over medium heat until hot, and grease lightly. On a lightly floured surface, use a floured rolling pin to roll out the balls of dough until very thin like a tortilla. When the pan starts smoking, put a chapati on it. Cook until the underside has brown spots, about 30 seconds, then flip and cook on the other side. Continue with remaining dough.

Strawberry Shortcake

This is a quick and easy recipe that I love and it's straight from the back of the Bisquick box (except I use soymilk instead of cow, of course).

Topping:
4 cups of very ripe strawberries (1qt)
1/2 cup sugar



The berries should be very ripe and soft enough to squish easily. I just use clean hands to mush them up in a bowl, but you can use a masher if you'd like. Once they're the consistency of a thick syrup, stir in the sugar and set the bowl aside.


Shortcake:
2 1/3 cups Bisquick
1/2 cup soymilk
3 Tbs sugar
3 Tbs earth balance butter, melted


Preheat the over to 425.

In a separate bowl, mix together the Bisquick, soymilk, sugar, and melted butter. Divide into six large spoonfuls on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 12 minute, or until lightly browned and cooked through. Cut shortcakes in half and top with strawberries.

Lemon Poppy Seed Scones

3/4 cup earth balance butter, softened
1 lemon, juice and zest
1 1/2 tablespoons poppy seeds
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt


Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into the softened butter until completely blended. Stir in lemon juice, zest, and poppy seeds. Use two greased cookie sheets with 6 scones per sheet to give them plenty of room. Bake for 10-15 minutes until lightly browned.

Especially tasty with a cup of tea :)

Lemon Bars

Crust:

1/2 cup earth balance butter, softened
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup white sugar


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix together the butter, flour and sugar with a fork until crumbly. Press into an 8 inch square pan and bake for 20 minutes (it will still look white, don't let the crust brown!)


Filling:

4 TBS cornstarch
1 1/2 cups white sugar
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 lemons, juice and zest


Thoroughly mix together cornstarch, sugar, flour, baking powder, lemon juice and zest. Pour over the pre-baked crust and put it back in the oven for another 20 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Let bars cool before cutting.

Yum:)