Category Archives: Recipe

Easy Beans

Ingredients

  • 1 cup of rice
  • 1 tbsp or cube bouillon
  • 1 can of beans
  • 1 can or jar of salsa/sauce

Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes

I use a rice cooker to cook my rice so that I don’t have to babysit it. I throw the bouillon in with the rice while it cooks. When it’s done, I add the other stuff.

If I’m looking for a Mexican-style flavor, I will use the Herdez Guac salsa. If I’m looking more for an Indian-style flavor, I’ll use Patak’s Jalfrezi Curry sauce with garbanzos (aka chickpeas). If I’m looking more for a Southeast Asian-style flavor, I’ll use soybeans and a teriyaki sauce.

I’m not sure what the nutritional info on a serving would be, but I find this makes a pretty hearty bowl of food. It’s fast, inexpensive, and ingredients (except maybe the sauces — but get what you’re comfortable with) are all individually supposed to be pretty good for you.

One person could refrigerate the unused portion and eat this for lunch for 3–5 days probably, depending on the quantity consumed per meal.

This Herdez salsa seems to be available everywhere.
This Walmart salsa (right) is usually about $1 a can and, I think, pretty tasty. The can is BPA non-intent.
I like Kroger’s canned products because they’re inexpensive, taste as expected, and come in a BPA-free can. These additions make the Mexican-style dish even tastier.
This Patak’s sauce I’ve only found at a local WinCo.
This Soy Yay teriyaki sauce is really just a stand-in for any low sodium version you can find.
If you want to make more of a Southeast Asian-inspired dish, throw in some shelled edamame (aka, mukimame) with your favorite teriyaki sauce. I have the best luck finding this at my local WinCo.
This is a highly-regarded bouillon with relatively low sodium.

Rosemary Bread Machine Bread

Makes a 1 \frac{1}{2}-pound loaf

  • 1 cup warm water (110 degrees F (43 degrees C))
  • 2 \frac{1}{2} teaspoons active dry yeast
  • 3 tablespoons white sugar
  • 1 \frac{1}{2} teaspoons salt
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • \frac{1}{2} teaspoon ground thyme
  • \frac{1}{2} teaspoon garlic powder
  • 2 teaspoons crushed dried rosemary
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour

Directions
Pour the water into the pan of a bread machine, then sprinkle in the yeast and sugar. Let the mixture sit in the bread machine until a creamy foam forms on top of the water, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle in the salt, then add olive oil, thyme, garlic powder, rosemary, and flour. Set the machine for light crust setting, and start the machine.

Vegan Mac and “Cheese”

Prep/cook time: ~20 minutes
~4 servings

  • 12 oz. package of soft silken tofu
  • 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp. nutritional yeast
  • 1 tbsp. regular yellow mustard
  • 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
  • 1 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1 tsp. paprika
  • 1 tbsp. tamari or soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp. olive oil
  • 6 oz. diced tomatoes
  • 12 oz. box of dried whole wheat pasta

Blend everything using a hand blender and poor over cooked pasta. I’ve mixed it successfully with both whole wheat penne rigate and whole wheat rigatoni. I think the tomatoes add a welcome flavor, but also (along with the olive oil) thin the sauce out a bit, making it less of an immovable congealed blob if I end up refrigerating some of it.

Adapted from recipe at Beer and Tofu.

Slow Cooker Vegan Lasagna

Note: I use a 7-quart slow cooker.
Prep time: ~20 minutes
Cook time: 1–2 hours

  • Half box of 13.25 oz box of whole wheat lasagna noodles
  • 23.5 oz jar of any marinara sauce
  • Veggie ground “beef” [example]
  • 10 oz frozen spinach (can use more or less)
  • 1/2 to 1 pound of mushrooms sliced or chopped
  • 12 oz. package of tofu (crumble into feta-like consistency)

When I prepared this, I thawed the spinach for about an hour until I could cut it into strips and lined the bottom of the pot with those spinach strips. I also added a small amount of sauce. I then put strips of the pasta on top of the spinach for the first layer. For the next layer, I used some more pasta sauce and about half the mushrooms I had before adding another layer of pasta. For the next layer I used tofu and the vegan “beef” crumble. On the top layer, I added the rest of the mushrooms. This would probably be great with black olives and other greens such as kale.

This took about two hours to cook on high. I didn’t babysit it, though, so it might have been done before that. I used uncooked noodles and was concerned that they wouldn’t cook. This concern was unfounded, though, as they ended up cooking fine.

Split Pea Soup

2 cups green split peas
8 cups water
3 vegetarian bouillon cubes
2 potatoes, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
2 carrots, sliced
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp sage
1 tsp thyme
3 bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:
Combine all ingredients in a crock pot or slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for at least 4 hours, or until peas are soft.

Remove bay leaves before serving.
[source]

I use two cubes of this Rapunzel Bouillon.

Hummus

2 cups garbanzos
1/4 cup liquid from chickpeas
3–5 tablespoons lemon juice (depending on taste)
1 1/2 tablespoons tahini
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil

I usually use 2 lbs of garbanzos and so I have to adjust the recipe.
Here is a spreadsheet I made myself for doing this more easily.
If you don’t have LibreOffice, you can get it here.

I use bulk garbanzos, soak them overnight, and put them in the slow cooker with some garlic. Probably ~8 hours on low is sufficient.