Scurry

In West Texas, spring has sprung: the weather is doing that back and forth thing, but most days are lovely; the trees and bushes, including the red buds, are starting to peek out; and my stomach is yearning for something besides winter foods. But, there is still a chill in the air in the evenings, so I also want something warming. What to do?

Vegetable curry! There are a million curries in the naked city, but this one is simple, delicious and straddles the seasons well by combining root vegetables with those skinny little green beans that are so very yummy. And the gravy? It's tomato-based, simmered with ginger, garlic, pepper and spices and married to a healthy dose of (light) coconut milk for a creamy finish perfect with rice or sopped up with some naan. Leftovers? You'll have a few to see you through a couple of lunches for the week. Plus, this recipe is easily adapted to whatever veggies you like or have on hand. Enjoy.

Recipe: Delicious Vegetable Currrrrry

2 tablespoons canola oil
1 small onion, finely diced
2 tablespoons finely minced fresh ginger
1 jalapeno, seeded and cut into thin strips
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp chili powder
1, 16 oz can petite diced tomatoes with juice
1, 16 oz can tomato purée
1, 16 oz can garbanzo bean, drained and well rinsed
One 14-ounce can light coconut milk
3 carrots, peeled, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 pound sweet potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 pound small green beans, cut into thirds
Salt and pepper to taste
Cilantro for garnish
Brown rice for serving


In a large, dutch oven, heat the oil. Add the onion and cook for five minutes, until it begins to soften. Add the ginger, jalapeno and garlic and cook over moderate heat until softened, about another five minutes. Add the spices cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant; about two minutes

Add the tomatoes and tomato puree and cook for five minutes, until the tomatoes begin to soften. Add the coconut milk, season with salt and pepper and bring to a simmer.

Add the carrots and sweet potatoes, cover loosely and simmer for about 20 minutes. Add the green beans and garbanzo beans, cover and simmer until all the vegetables are tender, about 10-15 minutes longer. Taste and adjust the season. Serve with brown rice and garnish with cilantro.

Six servings.

BBQ Pizza, BBQ Everything

For dinner tonight, I made BBQ "chicken" pizzas and they were pretty delicious. For the "chicken," I rehydrated Butler Soy Curls and seasoned them with thyme, garlic powder, onion powder and a little BBQ sauce. For the sauce, I used my new favorite which is the hickory flavor from Garland Jack's Secret Six made in Garland, TX right outside of Dallas.  It is delicious on everything and I suggest that if you cannot find a bottle in your store, you should order some online. They don't stock the "squealin' hot" flavor here, so I think am going to order some of that.  So, started with the special sauce, added thinly sliced red onion, a mixture of Daiya cheeses, soy curls and them topped them with fresh cilantro when it came out of the oven. Of course, I had to spice mine up with a little Sriracha sauce, but I have to do that regardless of what kind of pizza it is!

Tuna-less salad

It's been more than fifteen years since I've eaten tuna salad, so I make no claims that this tastes 'just like' the original. What I will say is that my vegan version of the classic sandwich spread is delicious whatever you want to call it. I love it on lightly toasted wheat bread, crackers or just with some celery sticks. I've worked out the basic proportion of the tasty spread, so you can make as little or as much as you like--although I never make less than a double batch!

Recipe: Tuna-less Salad
Per 16-ounce can of chickpeas, drained and well rinsed
1 tbsp unseasoned rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp Tamari or soy sauce
2 tbsp Vegenaise
2 tbsp sweet pickle relish
1 1/2 tsp dulse flakes*
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 green onions, finely chopped
1/2 tsp spicy or Dijon mustard (optional)
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced (omit, if you intend to serve the salad with celery sticks)

The most important thing here is texture, so it may take you a batch or two to get it to where you like it. The trick is to use a potato masher, which splits the chickpeas into small flakes. You might be tempted to break out the food processor, but I've tried that technique to try and speed up the process and you only end up with pulverized chickpeas.

Place the chickpeas in a big yellow bowl, add the vinegar and Tamari--the liquid helps the mashing process and fully incorporates it with the beans. Mash with the potato masher until there are very few whole beans--although a couple certainly don't hurt. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir until combined. It's delicious right away, but even better after sitting in the fridge overnight, all of the flavored melding together.

*What the heck is dulse? It's a form of seaweed that has been dried and coarsely crumbled into flakes. It has vitamins and minerals in it, plus adds a salty or briny flavor to the salad. You don't have to use it, but it does add flavor and nutrients to the dish.

Your Lasagna is in My Cupcake! Your Cupcake is in My Lasagna!

I realize I am late to the table (Ahem.) with this one, but I was afraid you were too, so I wanted to share this fantastic, easy and delicious idea with you: lasagna cupcakes! No, no, no...it's not what you're thinking. I would never suggest you bake cupcakes that are flavored like lasagna. These are individual lasagnas baked in a cupcake pan and they are delectable and super simple.

The secret? Won ton wrappers. You can either buy the round ones (some places stock them) or do as I did and buy the square ones, then cut them with a biscuit cutter. What are won ton wrappers? Basically fresh pasta, right? So what you get are little lasagnas layered with thin sheets of pasta and your favorite filling. If you have a pasta roller, you could do the same with it and just cut the pasta into round to fill the tins. In fact, this is perfect for satisfying a variety of taste, because in theory you could make each lasagna a different flavor.

Recipe? I would love to give you one, but in this case, lasgana cupcakes are not an exact science. You need ricotta, sauce, mozzarella and maybe some Parmesan to make them, plus whatever else you would like to add. Thin slices of zucchini? Broccoli? Tomatoes? Whatever. If you are using a firmer vegetable, you may want to cook it a little before using it as filling.

Spray your pan with cooking spray or a light layer of oil, then layer won ton wrapper, ricotta, sauce+any other filling and then cheese. Repeat and for the final layer use a won ton wrapper, sauce to the edge and them a layer or cheese.

In the end, pop these into the oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes and you are good. Let them rest for five minutes and you're ready to serve. I've made several variations, including a traditional tomato as well as a butternut squash. They are great leftover and are a perfect meal with a salad or any simple vegetable.

Pizza

One of my favorite finds at the HEB (here, everything is better) in Midland has been the house brand thin and crispy pizza crusts. Perhaps they have a regular brand at your store, but HEB stocks three different varieties in the larger size, including whole wheat, plus a three pack of individual sized crusts in original and whole wheat. If you love a thin pizza crust--and I do!--then these are for you. Just top with some sauce, your favorite toppings and bake for 10 minutes. Since they are par-baked, that's all it takes. Include some veggies and a green salad on the side, and you have a quick and pretty healthy dinner on the table in just a few minutes.

We had some leftovers seitan, so tonight we experimented with a BBQ chick-un pizza topped with sauce, garlic and thinly sliced onions. It was messy, like BBQ is supposed to be, but it was quite delicious!