entertaining
I am by no means a social butterfly, but I love to play hostess. Often times, the menus I plan to make are often much grander than my capabilities. Sometimes you just have to make something simple.
For instance, this fantastic Spinach Dip that came together in about half an hour. I ate way too much of this stuff, but it was just so good, I couldn’t help myself. Not only is this recipe fast and easy, it’s missing a lot of the ingredients that freaked me out about other similar dips (like mayo, which sounds gross). Also, it has sauerkraut as a main ingredient; therefore, it’s extra awesome.
The other thing I’m learning is that you don’t have to make everything. Sometimes ordering native wings from Native Foods is the way to go. Pair that with some chips and guacamole from Trader Joe’s and you’re set. Now that’s easy.
Do you have any favorite easy recipes to share? Something good for sitting around and watching a movie with friends?
Lentil Loaf Sandwich
Hello! I’m back with more lentil loaf. This second recipe is even more flavorful than the last lentil loaf recipe. It doesn’t have the chewiness, but instead has a grainier texture. We ate this loaf in sandwiches, which worked out great as they were tasty and filling; perfect for a picnic lunch.
So without further ado, here is the recipe:
Vegan Lentil Loaf – take two
- 2 cups cooked lentils
- 2 cups whole wheat couscous
- 1/2 cup bread crumbs
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 Tbsp arrowroot
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 2 Tbsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 tsp liquid smoke
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp ground pepper
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
Preheat oven to 375°
Mix all ingredients together in a bowl mashing the lentils as you go. Make sure you mix everything really well.
Put into a lightly oiled loaf pan and brush the top with ketchup.
Cook for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 10-15 minutes before serving.
Easy!
lentil loaf
As soon as the weather cools I find myself drawn to the kitchen to make wholesome foods. With all the wonderful fall flavors to experiment with, I generally find myself making sweet desserts: pumpkin loaves and apple pies. This year though, I’ve been fantasizing about savory fare like potato topped, vegetable pies and seitan with gravy.
This weekend was full of projects and hard work which left little time for fun in the kitchen, let alone trips to the grocery store. Instead I cooked up 2 lentil loaves using the dregs of our pantry and leftovers in the fridge. While that might sound unappetizing, that is the simple beauty of a lentil loaf. You can throw nearly anything in there and it can still turn out delicious.
While I often include some veggies in our lentil loaves, this one is pure faux-meaty goodness. It’s moist and a little bit chewy, with a tiny bit of spicy here and there. We had it with some almond gravy, but it would be wonderful with some simple brown gravy as well (in fact, it doesn’t even need the gravy, but I like gravy and will eat it at any opportunity I get).
I made two completely different recipes, so today I’ll share the the first and once we try the second I’ll post it as well.
Vegan Lentil Loaf
- 2 cups cooked lentils
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 3 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1/4 cup ketchup, plus more for topping
- 1/4 cup bbq sauce
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp dried sage
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 cup vital wheat gluten
- 1/4 cup vegetable broth
Preheat your oven to 375°
Heat a bit of oil in a small pan and saute the onions and garlic until soft and fragrant.
Mix all ingredients, minus the wheat gluten and veggie broth in a bowl. I like to use potato masher to smoosh (yes, that’s a technical term) some of the lentils. Mix together until you have a consistent mush.
Add in the vital wheat gluten and vegetable broth and knead together until it becomes slightly elastic. Press the dough into a greased loaf pan. Brush the top with ketchup to cover it.
Bake for 45 minutes. Let cool for 10-15 minutes before serving.
vegan nutella
When planning for our last A Moveable Feast, I knew I wanted to make crepes, and I new I wanted to make them extra special. What’s extra special? Nutella.
While I was apprehensive at first about this recipe, it seemed like the best option rather than getting into a recipe testing spree trying to recreate vegan condensed milk. You can’t really argue with a fresh nut butter and a good cocoa mixed together.
The key to this recipe is the simple act of toasting the hazelnuts, giving it a warm, rich flavor. Peeling the hazelnuts is a pain, even if you scrub them with a damp dish towel, but other than that, this recipe is easier than pie. A word of warning though: hazelnuts, they’re not cheap. It’s totally worth it though as the decadent dark chocolate delicacy is better than any pre-made treat you can buy.
I may or may not be eating this with a spoon for dessert for eternity (or until the jar runs out).
cats & cookies
More free time around here means more treats. Like cookies. Big fat cookies to celebrate a new camera in our household. Happiest of days. That means there will be more photos here on the blog. Hooray!
But let’s get back to the cookies…
I couldn’t decided what sort of chocolate chip cookie to make, and the votes on twitter were split, so I went with something all together different. I had seen this recipe for Malted Chocolate Chip Cookies over on C’est la Vegan and thought they’d be a perfect use for some malted barley syrup that has been hanging out in my fridge.
They’re very much like traditional chocolate chip cookies in texture and flavor, but they have an extra kick of malt. Not an everyday dessert, but highly recommended.
Malted Chocolate Chip Cookies
adapted slightly from the original recipe found on Bittersweet
- 1 cup flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1⁄2 tsp salt
- 1⁄3 cup packed brown sugar
- 1⁄3 cup malted barley syrup
- 1⁄4 cup Earth Balance
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1⁄2 cup vegan chocolate chips
Preheat your oven to 350° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In a separate bowl, cream together the brown sugar and Earth Balance. Add in the malted barley syrup and vanilla and mix until combined. Gently mix in the chocolate chips.
Spoon out the dough onto the baking sheet. I used a standard ice cream scoop to make larger than normal cookies. With the small batch I ended up with 6 baseball sized cookies, but you could definitely go smaller and make more.
Bake for 10 to 13 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack. Gobble them up!
The other cool thing about having a camera I can use at any time is taking photos of these little darlings whenever I feel like it.
More Meeme & Mochi on the blog too!
