Fava, Butternut & Couscous Bowl

What to make when you have most of your kitchen packed up for a move and are craving something quick and easy? This easy bowl of grains and veggies, of course! I got these lovely fresh fava beans from from my produce delivery this week, and decided to pair them with some Israeli couscous and butternut squash for a filling and fast meal.

Fava, Butternut & Couscous Bowl
serves 2
1/2 C Israli couscous, cooked
1 tsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 C shelled fava beans
1 C butternut squash cubes (I used frozen)
2 Tbsp pine nuts
Lemon juice
Agave
Salt & Pepper

Cook the couscous and set aside. In a skillet heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the garlic and let cook under slightly browned. Add the frozen butternut squash cubes and cook for a few minutes, then add the fava beans. Cook until heated through and slightly browned. Add the pine nuts and toast until just browned. Place the couscous in a bowl and top with the squash and fava beans. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and toss with a little lemon juice and agave.

I'm looking forward to completing our house move so I can get my new kitchen set up. I need to get back to cooking and baking. Sorry for the lack of posts around here - I'll be back to normal soon!

Got any tips for setting up a new kitchen or any must-haves? 

Thanks for stopping by!

Artichoke & Chickpea Salad

Thank you for voting this recipe as the best side dish in the
May 2013 Virtual Vegan Potluck!







Welcome Virtual Vegan Potluckers! I hope you'll enjoy your stay here at Vegan Fling.
I am very excited to be participating in this event for the 3rd time. It's always so much fun!

I know, I know... I am in the Side Dish category but my post title says "Salad". This is not your typical salad dish though, and it works wonderfully alongside almost anything. It can be two things at once because it's just that tasty!

I loved that this dish was quick and easy to make. After spending a huge part of my day baking up a double batch of my Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Cookies for an event this weekend, I needed something uncomplicated, fast, and filling. This dish delivers on all three!

Artichoke & Chickpea Salad
serves 4-6, adapted from vegan yum yum

1 Tbsp oil
1 15 oz can Chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 clove garlic, chopped
5-7 large artichoke hearts, drained and sliced
1/3 C sliced almonds
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

In a skillet over medium-high, heat the oil. Add the chickpeas and cook for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and set in a serving bowl. Add the garlic to the pan and saute for a minute, then add the sliced artichokes. Cook until slightly browned. Remove from the pan and add to the chickpeas. Toast the almonds until just slightly browned, and add them in with the chickpeas and artichokes. Add the lemon juice, salt, and parsley, and toss well. Serve warm.

I enjoyed this side dish next to some roasted cauliflower with brussels sprouts, and some simple vegetable risotto, but it would be delicious with so many different other meals and flavors. You could always change up the spices to suit your other dishes too - it's super versatile!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and don't forget to check out the rest of the Virtual Vegan Potluck!

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Mango Black Bean Salad

This fresh and delicious salad is a favorite of mine to bring to parties and potlucks. It's great for a side dish, but is also filling enough on it's own. I can never get enough mangoes, and this is a great way to use them! My mom found this recipe in a magazine years ago, and my family has made it a lot since then. The original recipe called for olive oil, but it doesn't need any - just add in some more of the salsa if you need to! We've tried this with wild rice in place of the brown rice, which is fun as well.

Mango Black Bean Salad
serves 4-6 as a side dish

1 large mango, peeled and chopped
1 C green onion - thinly sliced
3 Tbsp cilantro - finely chopped 
4 Tbsp fresh salsa
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 15oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 C brown rice, cooked


Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.
Toss gently to mix, refrigerate until serving.

This dish is getting me excited for summer cookouts! What's your favorite potluck dish?

Thanks for stopping by!

Baked Mac 'n Cheese with Spinach

Sometimes when it snows in the middle of April, the only thing that can cheer you up is a big bowl of mac 'n cheese. Sure I threw some spinach in there to make it "healthy", but this is vegan comfort food at it's finest!

Baked Man 'n Cheese with Spinach

1 lb whole wheat penne pasta
1 Tbsp vegan butter
3/4 C unsweetened almond milk
1 Tbsp arrowroot powder or cornstarch
1/4 tsp garlic powder
6 Tbsp nutritional yeast
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 C canned pumpkin puree
salt and pepper to taste
few handfuls baby spinach
panko crumbs
optional: red pepper flakes

Preheat oven to 400 F.
Cook your pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

Melt the vegan butter in a saucepan over medium heat.
In a separate bowl whisk the milk, arrowroot, and garlic powder and then add this into the pan.
Add the nutritional yeast, dijon, and salt & pepper. Continue to whisk until the sauce has thickened.
Add in the canned pumpkin and whisk until heated.

Pour the sauce over the cooked pasta and stir to combine. Add in the spinach leaves and mix again. Pour the pasta mixture into a casserole dish and top with panko crumbs. Bake for 20 to 25 min.

I love this pasta because it's so creamy and it really does remind of the mac and cheese of my early years. You can taste the pumpkin in there a little bit, but it's not too overwhelming. Give it a try and let me know how you like it!

A big thanks to the lovely Sarah from Fried Dandelions for passing on the Liebster Award to me!
It comes along with a set of questions - so here we go.

1. What is your favorite vegan dessert and why (include a link if you have one!)
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies!

2. Pick 2 foods/ingredients that you just couldn’t live without!
Avocados and Hummus 

3. What is the most important thing you’ve learned along the way about blogging?
It's easy to get sucked into the world of blogging because there is always so much more you could be doing for your blog - sharing your posts, networking, editing, redesigning...but you have to just be realistic and do your best with the time you have.

4. How long have you been a vegan (or vegetarian)?
A little over a year.

5. What is your most trusted cookbook?
Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World

6. What is your #1 tip for bloggers?
Don't compare yourself to other too much - just do you and your blog will be great!

7. What tips do you have for new vegans?
Start slow if you need to. Figure out what meals you already love are actually secretly vegan. Don't worry, you'll totally be able to figure out how to dine out.

8. What is your favorite vegan comfort dish?
Anything with pasta, or black bean chili. 

9. What do you have pinned on your pinterest board that you are dying to make?
Waaay too many things. 

10. What made you want to start blogging?
To keep track of my recipes and hopefully connect with other vegans - it worked!

11. What is your favorite dish to bring to a dinner party?
I usually show up with dessert of some type - cookies or cupcakes.


 Thanks for stopping by!

Thanksgiving 2012

I know this post is a little late, but we just got home from our trip to Paris (post on that coming soon!) and I still wanted to share what I had for Thanksgiving this year. Hope you don't mind!

Someone's ready to eat!

As the only vegan at a Thanksgiving dinner for six people, I figured I might be bringing a lot of my own food. However, my family rocks and they all brought things to share that I could eat as well. My Mom made a delicious salad with roasted squash, carrots, and pears to start things off. My sister made some tasty mashed potatoes with earth balance and almond milk.

We also had asparagus, rolls, and homemade cranberry sauce. I volunteered to make stuffing, baked beans, and dessert. Clearly there was already too much food planned, but that didn't stop anyone.

The stuffing I made was adapted from this recipe, and was delicious! This was my first attempt at homemade stuffing, and It was totally worth it. I also whipped up some quick vegan gravy to top my potatoes and stuffing.

Even though baked beans aren't really a traditional Thanksgiving dish in my family, I decided it might be a fun addition. I made some sweet and spicy baked beans in the crockpot, and they had a really good flavor.

For dessert I used my recipe for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies, but just poured the batter into my mini bundt pan. It worked great and we really enjoyed our pumpkin bunts! (Sorry I don't have a picture - I think we ate them too fast.)

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!

Caramelized Tofu with Brussels Spouts and Saffron Rice

Back in my middle school days, at least once a week I'd be over at my best friend's house and her family would invite me to stay for dinner. Her Dad would make this really delicious yellow rice, and I always loved when it was on the menu. Last month when I was visiting my friend in Philadelphia, I asked her if she had her Dad's recipe for the rice. She did, and so we made some. It was just how I remembered it (I probably hadn't eaten it in 8 years). I knew I had to get the recipe from her and share it with all of you!

This yellow rice was delicious as always, and went with the brussels and tofu dish perfectly. The tofu has a crispy and sweet coating and the brussels have a nice crunch. A great easy dinner!

Caramelized Tofu with Brussels Spouts
serves 3-4, adapted from 101cookbooks

1 block extra-firm tofu, cut into 1" strips
sea salt
sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 lb. brussels sprouts, cut into thin ribbons

 Press your tofu to drain excess water. Cut into 1 inch strips. Heat a skillet with a splash of sesame oil, and cook the tofu strips until golden on both sides. Add the minced garlic and the walnuts and saute for another minute. Add the brown sugar and stir. Cook for another minute to allow the sugar to caramelize. Remove tofu from the pan and set to side.

Add another splash of sesame oil, and a pinch of sea salt to the pan. Add the brussel sprouts ribbons and cook over medium high heat. Saute for a couple minutes until the brussels are cooked through but not entirely wilted. Serve topped with the tofu pieces.


Yellow Saffron Rice

1 and 1/4 C rice, rinsed

1/2 inch diameter handful of vermicelli or angel hair pasta (break into small pieces)

2.5 C vegetable broth

1/4 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp turmeric

4-6 strings of saffron

1 Tbsp oil

Add all ingredients to a pot. Stir while bringing to boil. 

Lower heat, cover and stir every 10 minutes, and toward the end every 5 minutes until done - about 30 minutes total.
(If rice seems dry, add more vegetable broth or water as needed).

 

I have finally achieved tofu success! Every attempt before this (besides in a scramble) has been kind of a flop, but this tofu recipe turned out great. The outside got crispy and had a delicious sweet flavor. I was so excited that I even did a celebratory fist pump in the air. True story - my husband witnessed it.

He is also now as equally obsessed with the yellow rice as I am. I see a lot of yellow rice in our future. Thanks for sharing the recipe, D. As your Dad would say... it was yum yum. :)

What is your favorite recipe success story?

Thanks for stopping by!

Roasted Squash with Couscous

Is everyone else enjoying the slower post-mofo pace of November? I loved cooking up so many fun things, but it's nice to be able to have a little more time to plan my recipes and to also catch up on my blog reading! I feel like I've missed some great posts from some of my friends... don't worry, I will get caught up soon, I promise!

Last month, Kristy from Keepin' It Kind posted this amazing looking recipe for quinoa stuffed squash, and I was inspired to buy some squash. I loved her idea of creating a filling for the squash, so I did just that with ingredients I had on hand. It ended up being a really easy dinner, and one I would happily eat anytime!

Roasted Squash with Couscous
2 small to medium carnival squash
1 Tbsp vegan butter
1 Tbsp brown sugar
salt and pepper
3 C vegetable broth
1.5 C Israeli couscous
1/4 C pine nuts
1/4 C dried cranberries
Few handfuls fresh spinach

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Cut the squash in half using a strong knife, and scoop out the seeds and stringy center.
Add about 1/4 inch of water to the bottom of a baking dish, and place the squash halves in the pan, cut side up. Coat the insides of the squash with the vegan butter, and sprinkle 1/2 Tbsp of brown sugar and a sprinkle of salt and pepper over each half.
Bake for 1 hour, or until the tops of the squash are lightly browned. 

When the squash is about halfway done, you can get started on the filling. Combine the vegetable broth of the couscous in a pot and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and let simmer 15-20 minutes until the liquid is absorbed.

Lightly toast the pine nuts in a pan until golden brown. Careful not to burn.
Mix the pine nuts, cranberries and spinach into the couscous. Let sit until the spinach wilts.
Scoop some of the couscous filling into each half of your squash, then serve.

My husband really dislikes squash, so I was the only one eating these - but I'm not complaining! I will definetly be making this again. I had never tried these little carnival squash before but they were really good. I think next time I will add in some chickpeas like Kristy had in her recipe!

What is your favorite type of squash right now? What other types of filling would you add to your roasted squash?

Thanks for stopping by!

Carrot Soup with Garlic Croutons

As a part of Vegan MoFo I decided to dedicate my Thursday posts to recreating my family's favorite recipes - vegan style. My hope is that no one would be able to taste the difference!

 

I'm so excited to share today's family favorite recipe! This carrot soup cooking on the stove means that fall has arrived. The recipe was from my Mom's father, who is the resident gourmet in the family. It's delicious and creamy, and very easy to make!

I decided to veganize our carrot soup (not too hard actually - just subbing out cream with some almond milk) and it tastes just right! I added some quick homeade croutons on top, since I always love some bread with my soup.

Carrot Soup 
serves 6-8

5 C carrots, chopped
1 C potatoes, chopped
3/4 C onion, chopped
1/2 stick vegan butter
4 C vegetable broth
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 C almond milk

Chop and prep your carrots, potatoes and onions. Melt the vegan butter in a deep pot and saute the vegetables for 10 minutes over medium heat.

Add in the vegetable broth, bay leaf and salt and pepper. Cover and lower heat. Gently simmer for 45 minutes.

Puree the soup in a blender in batches as needed, and return to the pot.
Stir in 2 C almond milk and heat through. Remove bay leaf before serving.

Garlic Croutons
6-8 slices of sourdough bread
2 Tbsp vegan butter
garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste

Slice the sourdough bread into cubes.

Heat the vegan butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add in the bread slices and top with some garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Lightly toast until slightly browned on all sides. Remove from heat and add to your soup.

I just love the bright orange color! Even though I made a huge batch and froze some, I know I'll be making this soup again throughout the winter. What is your favorite soup to make this time of year?

 

Thanks for stopping by!

Soft Pretzel Bites

As a part of Vegan MoFo I decided to dedicate my Wednesday posts to Ladies' Night! You'll find ideas to host a fun movie party complete with drinks and snacks for the perfect girls night in.

I almost picked another musical movie this week, but I figured I'd better spread them out so I don't seem too crazy. (Too late?) So this week I want to talk about 90's teen movies. 10 Things I Hate About You, Empire Records, She's All That, and my personal favorite - Clueless. These movies are the epitome of agnst-filled cheesiness, but they are still so fun to watch which makes them perfect for girls night. 

Does anyone else automatically start singing this song in your head whenever anyone mentions the mall?

Everyone who is anyone in 90's teen movies hangs out at the mall, and there is no better mall food than soft pretzels! If you've been missing your mall soft pretzels or are planning a 90's teen movie marathon, then this snack is for you. 

 

I followed this recipe for soft pretzels from Peas and Thank You. At first I did attempt to roll the dough into a pretzel shape, but realized after doing one that my dough was maybe a little too dry (or I just did not have pretzel shaping skills). Instead I broke off chunks off the dough and formed little pretzel bites. I followed the same steps of boiling them for 30 seconds, and then baked them.

They came out great! The soft pretzel taste is spot on, and paired with some of our favorite spicy german mustard, these were a great snack or party appetizer.

Have you tried making pretzels or other fancy folded or braided bread? They always look so pretty in photos, but mine always look kind of sad. I may just need more practice!

Thanks for stopping by!