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:)

Vietnamese Pho Soup

I can't find veg Pho anywhere in Orlando and I've been craving it for years(!), so I finally cooked up my own:




Broth ingredients:

2-3 cinnamon sticks
4 cloves
2 pods of star anise
1 medium size onion cut into several large chunks
8 cloves of garlic, halved
1 inch piece of ginger, coarsely sliced
8 cups vegetable broth (I use Vegebase and water)
3 tablespoons of soy sauce
salt to taste


Soup ingredients:

1 package of cooked rice noodles
8 oz package of seitan, cut into slices
a few scallions, finely chopped
2 cups of bean sprouts
one bunch of cilantro, coarsely chopped
1 lime, cut into wedges
hoisin sauce



Put the cinnamon, cloves, star anise, onion, garlic and ginger in a large sauce pan and cook over medium heat until everything is slightly charred. Now and the broth and soy sauce and bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Strain the broth into another dish with a fine mesh sieve and dispose of the cooked spices/veggies.

Put some cooked rice noodles in a large bowl and top with some seitan. Ladle broth on top and add desired amount of sprouts, chopped cilantro, and if you'd like, a little fresh lime, hoison sauce, and/or crushed peanuts.

Veggie, lime, & cilantro soup

3 TBS of oil
2 carrots, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped,
3 stalks of celery, chopped
1 TBS of garlic powder
1 1/2 TBS of chili pepper

5 cups of vegetable broth
1/2 bag of frozen corn
1/2 bag of frozen peas
2 cans of Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed


Heat the oil in a pan then add in the carrots, onion and celery along with the garlic powder and chili pepper and saute for 5 minutes. Add the broth, corn, peas, and beans and let simmer for 20 minutes. Squeeze juice from one fresh lime and stir in a generous handful of fresh chopped cilantro. Now eat it up!

Caponata

Ingredients:

1 medium size eggplant, seeded and cut into 1 inch pieces
2 plum tomatoes, quartered
1 yellow pepper. seeded and sliced
1 medium zucchini, sliced
4 ounces of black olives
15 fresh basil leaves
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
2 ounces olive oil
1 tsp black pepper



Directions:

Place all ingredients in a saucepan and cook for about 30 minutes on medium/low heat, stirring occasionally.

Once it has cooked down, take off heat and spoon on toasted bread and top with whatever veg cheese you'd like. Eat. And then eat some more. :)


(Variations: Can serve over pasta, or if you'd like it more as a stew, add some vegetable broth and veggie sausage)

Stir fried veggies with peanut sauce

Peanut sauce (i'm guessing measurements here. i usually just add things to the consistency and flavor i want):
1/2 cup of peanut butter
1/3 cup of hoison sauce
1 cup of water
a few dashes of cayenne

stir into a small saucepan and heat until melted together




For the Stir fry (which I just sort of made up as I went):
2 TBS vegetable oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 chunk of fresh garlic, minced
1/2 seeded jalapeno, minced
2 carrots, sliced
1 head of fresh broccoli, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, sliced
1 C of snow peas
Vermicelli rice noodles

(You can use whatever vegetables you like, I just used what was in the fridge.)

Put the skillet on medium-high heat and add the oil, garlic, ginger, and jalapeno. Cook for a few minutes then add the vegeatble and cook for about 10 minutes until veggies are softed but still have some crispness to them.

Last thing to do is cook the vermicelli rice noodles. Just get some water boiling in a saucepan and add in the noodles as soon as it comes to a full boil, then take off the heat right away. Allow to sit for 4 minutes then dump the noodles in a colander and rinse with cold water.

Now get yourself some noodles, veggies, and top with the peanut sauce and there you have it!

Channa Masala

Got this straight from here - http://www.route79.com/food/channa-masala.htm (has step-by-step pictures). So yummy :)

2 tins of ready-boiled chickpeas - rinsed in a colander
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
1 large onion chopped into long thin strips
3 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped into bite-sized chunks
Chunks of frozen, pre-pulped garlic, ginger and green-chillie
Spices: Turmeric (halidi), Garam Masala, Ground Coriander, Salt
Seeds: Onion seed and Cumin (Jeera) seeds.
A large large pot in which to pour 2 or 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil


Heat the oil in the pot until hot. Add the onion and cumin seeds and watch them pop and fizzle for around 20 seconds. Then add the chopped onions and fry until they are lightly browned. Then add the frozen (and by now thawed) chunks of pulped ginger, garlic and chillie. Stir fry on medium heat.


Then add the tin of chopped tomato and stir-fry for about 5 mins on medium-to-high heat until the oil starts to separate from the onion/tomato mixture - and then add the spices:

2 teaspoons of salt
2 teaspoons of ground coriander
2 teaspoons of garam masala
1.5 teaspoons of haldi (turmeric)

Stir it all thoroughly on medium flame.

Then add the chunks of potato - stir until well coated in spices. Then add around 3 smallish glasses of water into the pot - and put the lid on and bring to boil. Let it simmer on a very low flame for around 20 mins with the lid on. This will soften the potato.


After about 20 mins - check to see that the potato chunks are soft - and then add the drained (already-boiled) chickpeas. Stir it all up - and add another small glass of water to the pot. Bring to a fierce boil and then turn the flame down to simmer the pot for a while - with the lid partially on.


After about a further 15 mins of simmering - add some freshly chopped (or frozen) fresh coriander leaf and stir it all in. Keep it simmering for about 10 mins more. After that - turn off the heat - put the lid on tight - and let it it stand for around 15 mins whilst you make some basmati rice - or warm some pitta bread etc. It's then ready to serve!


Channa Masala!

Enjoy.

Mango Black Bean Salsa

Ingedients:

1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
3/4 of a 15oz can whole kernel corn, drained
1 medium mango, peeled, seeded and cut into small cubes
1/4 cup finely chopped onion (I used red)
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin


Mix everything together in a bowl and eat it all up with corn chips :)

Jamaican "Beef" Patties

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
1 dash salt
1/2 cup earth balance margarine
1/3 cup water

2 tablespoons margarine
1 12 oz package of morning star farms veggie "burger" crumbles
1 small onion, finely diced
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
1 veggie bouillon cube (I used maggi brand)
1/2 Cup water


Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). In a large bowl or food proccessor, combine flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder, and pinch of salt. Mix in 1/2 cup margarine until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in water until mixture forms a ball. Shape dough into a log, and cut into 10 equal sections. Roll each section into a six inch circle (approximately 1/8 inch thick). Set aside.
Melt margarine in a skillet over medium heat. Saute onion until soft and translucent. Stir in the package of "beef" and season with curry powder, thyme, black pepper, and chilli poweder. Crumble in bouillon cube, stir, add water, then stir again. If it's too liquidy just simmer until enough liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat.

Spoon equal amounts of filling into each pastry circle. Fold over and press edges together, making a half circle. Use a fork to press edges then bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

Ooey-Gooey Cinnamon Rolls

Rolls:
3/4 C unsweetend soy milk
1/4 C earth balance margarine, softened
3 1/4 C all-purpose flour
1 (.25 ounce) package instant yeast
1/4 C white sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 C plus 2 TBS water
2 TBS cornstarch
1 C brown sugar, packed
1 TBS ground cinnamon
1/2 C earth balance margarine, softened

Glaze:
2 tsp light corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 C sifted confectioners' sugar
4 TBS unsweetened soy milk

Heat the soy milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Mix in margarine; stir until melted. Let cool until lukewarm.

In a large mixing bowl combine 2 1/4 cup flour, yeast, sugar and salt; mix well. Add water, cornstarch, and the soy milk/margarine mixture; beat well. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. When the dough has just pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes (I put mine in a food proccessor instead of kneading).

Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, cinnamon, softened margarine.

Roll out dough into a 12x9 inch rectangle. Spread dough with margarine/sugar mixture (if you want you can add in some raisins or nuts).

Roll up dough and pinch seam to seal.



Cut into 12 equal size rolls and place cut side up in 2 lightly greased rounds pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until browned. Combine all the ingredients for the glaze in a small bowl and mix until smooth. Let rolls cool a few minutes then drizzle with glaze.



Serve warm and enjoy the yuminess :)

Fiesta Soup

Fiesta Soup

1 C cooked rice
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp chili powder
1 onion, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1/2 zucchini, chopped
3/4 C edamame
2 C veggie broth (I used 2 Maggi bullion cubes dissolved in 2 C water)
1 15 oz can of corn

Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat and cook the onion, carrots, zucchini, edamame, garlic powder, and chili powder for 5 minutes, stirring often. Pour in the broth, corn, and rice. Bring to a boil then simmer for about 15 minutes to get the edamame a bit soft.

Note: I really love the way this turned out. The chilli and garlic adds the perfect amount of spice so that you can still taste the flavor in each of the veggies (mmmm, especially the sweet corn). Also, if you you don't have the veggies called for just do what I did and throw in whatever you have :)

Sweet & Spicy Nuts

Sweet & Spicy Nuts

2 1/2 C almonds
1/4 C sugar
1 1/2 tsp coarse salt
1 tsp cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 350 F then spread the almonds on a baking sheet and toast for about 10 minutes. Combine sugar, salt, and cayenne in a large skillet and melt over medium-low heat. Stir the mixture and be sure to keep the sugar from burning. Once the sugar has melted toss in the almonds and make sure they all get coated. Let the nuts cool completely in a single layer on a baking sheet then store in an airtight container. They should keep for 2 weeks.