File Gumbo

My first time cooking a Creole dish!  I love Creole cuisine, and in my past, carnivorous life I enjoyed the chicken and Andouille sausage dishes (though never attempted them at home).  Today, after gathering ideas from several sources, like About.com, Food Network, and my favorite Joy of Cooking, I came up with this recipe.  Tastes like a very good soup, but needs more bulk/protein.  Maybe I will add some soy chicken tomorrow.

Filé Gumbo
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup flour

1 medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
3 stalks celery, diced

2 1/2 cups okra, sliced
1 can diced tomatoes
3 cups water
3 cups vegetable stock
1/2 tsp filé powder
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in a Dutch oven, add flour and stir quickly to avoid lumps.  Cook for 20 min or longer (depending on desired color and thickening power.  The less you cook it, the more it will thicken your gumbo).  Add garlic, onions, bell pepper, and celery.  Cook for about 10 min.  Slowly start adding water and stock, stirring constantly to prevent lumping.  Add okra, tomatoes, filé powder, salt, and pepper and let cook for 30 or 40 min.

Serve over rice and enjoy!

21-Day Vegan Kickstart / a Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) site

21-Day Vegan Kickstart / a Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) site

Organic Roasted Vegetables

While frantically finishing my dissertation, I could not resist some procrastination and made a bunch of easy and versatile vegan dishes that serve as foundations for a variety of vegan (for me) and non-vegan (for my guys) meals. I recently bought some Japanese sweet potatoes, and wanted to try them in a recipe that normally would use regular, orange-fleshed sweet potatoes. The best thing about this recipe is the infinite possibilities--use any veggies you have! Here is today's creation:

Organic Roasted Vegetables

Prep time: 15 min

Total cooking time: 1 h 15 min

2 large Japanese sweet potatoes

6 medium carrots

2-3 shallots (or 1 large onion)

1 red bell pepper

7-8 sprigs of parsley

a bit of fresh rosemary

salt

pepper

olive oil

While preheating your oven and a large cast-iron skillet to 400 F, cube/slice all the veggies and mince herbs, mix them in a large bowl with salt, pepper and about half cup of olive oil. Coat everything evenly with oil and place on your skillet. Bake for an hour, stirring every 15-20 min. Serve with whole grains like barley, brown rice, or buckwheat.

Russian Salad "Vinegret"

A real gem of Russian cuisine and a (conveniently) vegan dish that does not need any further tweaking, the salad figures prominently at Russian festivities and on everyday menus.  To save time, I coarsely grate all boiled ingredients instead of painstakingly dicing them into tiny bits as the tradition dictates.  I prefer to eat it while still warm, but it keeps well in the fridge (my trick to keep it fresh longer is to add pickles right before serving, otherwise the whole salad gets sour and stale). 

3-4 medium yellow potatoes

2-3 medium carrots

1-2 medium beets (no leaves)

1 can peas, drained

4-5 dill pickles, diced (or more to taste)

1 cup Russian pickled cabbage or Sauerkraut (optional)

1 Tbsp sunflower oil (or more to taste)

Fresh dill, parsley, and/or chives (optional)

Boil potatoes, carrots, and beets until soft (I boil everything in one pot, just periodically checking for doneness after first 20 min), cool, peel and grate coarsely.  Add peas and pickles, drizzle with oil, and add herbs if using.  Mix well and serve!

Banana Cake

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon ground flaxseed

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup water

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 ripe bananas (mashed)

1 tablespoon vinegar

Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Lightly oil (spray) the Bundt-cake spring mold.

Sift the flour, baking soda, salt together and mix well.

Mix sugar and oil.  Add mashed bananas, water, vanilla extract, and vinegar.  Quickly stir in dry ingredients and pour into the Bundt cake spring mold.  Bake for approximately 45 min, checking for doneness with a wooden toothpick.  

Cool on a rack for 10 min, release from the mold, and enjoy!

* * * * *

The initial inspiration for this cake came from Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's recipe for Banana Chocolate Chips Muffins, which I modified substantially.  Although a great place to start, Patrick-Goudreau's recipe included too much baking soda and no acidic ingredient to actually start the reaction.  I remedied that with some vinegar, thus eliminating soda's unpleasant taste and attaining nice texture.

Here

I have finally succumbed to the urge to start a food blog.  And since I am a freshly-minted vegan, and feeling so wonderful, and discovering all the amazing vegan foods, I am very excited to share this light, healthy, and happy way of eating.

My theory is that my vegan food should be pure and simple, without pretending not to be vegan (thus, I do not use imitation cheese, mayonnaise, bacon, etc.).  Additionally, white bread and pasta would be presented very rarely, since I almost never eat them.  A variety of grains and staple European, Indian, and Mexican fruits/vegetables will be the centerpience.  Some vegetable dishes are inspired by my Russian background (like absolutely delicious vegan Borsch!), others influenced by my interest in Ayurvedic cooking and passion for light and healthy TexMex.  

My wonderful team of professional testers--carnivorous husband, toddler, and friends of various alimental allegiances--tried and loved these dishes.

To your health,

Sat Meher