Spicy Tom Yam

What's a Tom Yam? 

One of many Thai soups - and from my limited, but growing, knowledge of Thai cuisine - one that is...simple to make. Boil water. Add flavourings. Add veggies. Pronto.  

It's flavoured by the usual Thai suspects: lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, alliums. It also calls for a fresh red chili, smashed, which...goes a long way in the route of spicy. And this vegan version has all kinds of veggies and fungi...including, in this case, the bat-ear mushroom. 

Crunchy like a liver. And almost strange...

Aside from the small dose of mushroom sauce and soy sauce, it's all...very light. Watery, as opposed to soupy, and yet so flavourful...and loaded with veggies. Paired with fruits, one of the more perfect breakfasts.

Feeds two

Ingredients:

1 lemongrass, cut into 4-inch wide bits

3x3 inch galangal, sliced

2 kaffir lime leaves, shredded from the midrib (to diffuse its most amount of flavour)

1 fresh red chili, smashed

1 small shallot, peeled and crushed

2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

1 bat-ear mushroom, roughly sliced

4 wild mushrooms, shredded

4 Oyster mushrooms, sliced in big chunks 

4x4 inch firm tofu, cubed in big chunks 

1 small tomato, cubed

1 small carrot, sliced horizontally 

1½ cups of water 

1 tb of soy sauce 

1 tb of mushroom sauce 

2 tbs of lime juice 

1 tsp of brown sugar 

A pinch of sea salt 

3 tbs of roughly chopped cilantro

Creative Steps:

Add the water to a pot, bring to a boil and then add the lemongrass, galangal, garlic, shallot, kaffir lime leaves and chili. After 2 to 3 minutes, add the rest of the ingredients except for the cilantro. Continue to cook for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the carrot is soft but slightly crunchy. Remove the pot from the heat and throw in the cilantro. Let cool a bit, eat mindfully...and enjoy! 

Borscht: Slavic-Style Beetroot Soup

When you wake up to a blizzard at 4 in the morning...

You stay in...and make borscht.

Recipe from the Ontario Vipassana Centre in Canada, adapted from one that feeds 150 to one that feeds up to 5 as a side dish

Ingredients: 
1 small-sized yellow onion, sliced
2 medium-sized carrots, grated
2 medium-sized beetroots, grated
1/2 teaspoon of dried parsley (or dried dill, or dried oregano, or dried basil)
1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme
2 tablespoons of vinegar
1 small (smallest) tin of tomato paste - about 1/2 a cup
2 medium-sized yellow potatoes, grated
1/2 of a small green cabbage, sliced thinly OR 2 handfuls of Brussels sprouts, sliced thinly
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon of sea salt
A few turns of freshly ground black pepper to garnish

Creative steps: 
In a large pot, saute onion in olive oil over medium heat for three minutes, or until the onion starts to soften. Add the carrots and cook for three minutes, or until the carrots start to soften. Add the beetroots, dried parsley and thyme, vinegar, tomato paste, and a cup of water; the resulting consistency should be that of a thick tomato sauce - add more water if needed. Bring to a boil and then simmer over low heat for 15 minutes.

In another pot or large pan, bring 3 cups of water to a boil. Add potatoes, cabbage, and bay leaves - if the vegetables are not totally submerged in the water, add more hot water until they are. Simmer over low heat for 15 minutes. Then transfer the potato/cabbage mixture into the other pot, add salt, and then simmer over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, or until all the vegetables are soft but still retain a bit of texture or crunchiness; check for readiness at the 15 minute mark to ensure that the vegetables do not get overcooked. Garnish with freshly ground black pepper, and ta ta enjoy! 

Vegan Shepherd's Pie: Two Ways

The first time you had a shepherd's pie - the "real" shepherd's pie, it was a memorable experience. The ground beef, the mashed potatoes - the softness and comfort and savoriness of it all. 

Then by a lucky set of circumstances...you become a vegetarian. 

And then one day not very long after...you see someone consuming a vegan shepherd's pie. A light goes off. 

Lentils in lieu of the ground beef - that's one way (see images above). 

Or mushrooms and soy-based veggie "ground round" in lieu of the ground beef - that's another way (see images below). 

That's all it takes. 

However. 

We can't forget the all-too-important dark green veggies...so...you happily break the rules. Bok choy (see images above), and broccoli (see images below). 

And when you find leftover wild rice in the fridge, you have the good sense to throw it on top (see images above)...which adds a nice and much-needed crunchiness to the dish. 

And because you like pretty - and again - some texture, you slice up green onions very thinly and carefully, and use it to bedazzle the field of mashed potatoes (see images below). 

If the meal of a shepherd is shepherd's pie, then the dream is to be a shepherd. 

Vegan Shepherd's Pie I 

Ingredients: 

2 sweet potatoes, cut in cubes 

2 red potatoes, cut in cubes

1 cup of lentils, cooked in boiling water and strained 

1 bunch of purple bok choy, steamed and chopped roughly 

6 cloves of garlic, minced 

1/2 of a red onion, minced  

1 fresh red chili pepper, minced 

1 dried red chili pepper, crushed 

1/2 cup of cooked wild rice 

3 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil (1 tb for cooking, 1 tb for greasing, 1 tb for drizzling)

Freshly-ground black pepper to taste

Sea salt to taste 

Creative Steps: 

Cook potatoes in boiling water for about 15 minutes, or until they become mushy. Drain the water away, mash the potatoes, mix in two pinches of salt, and then set aside. In a pan over medium heat, saute the onion, garlic and chili peppers in olive oil for 3 to 5 minutes, or until they soften and become fragrant. Add lentils and cook for 1 minute. Then mix in the bok choy. Grease an oven dish with olive oil. Divide the mashed potatoes equally into two. Put the first batch in the oven dish and then season with black pepper. Layer in the lentil / bok choy mixture and then put the remaining mashed potato on top. Finally sprinkle the wild rice over the top. Add a few turns of black pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. Bake in the oven at 350 degree Celsius for 25 minutes. Let cool a bit and enjoy! 

Vegan Shepherd's Pie II

Ingredients: 

1 sweet potato, cut in cubes 

2 yellow potatoes, cut in cubes 

1/2 cup of coconut milk 

1 tablespoon of coconut oil 

3 spring onions, sliced thinly 

1 medium-sized yellow onion, minced 

6 cloves garlic, minced 

1 pack (340 gram) soy-based veggie ground round 

4 Cremini mushrooms, minced 

2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil 

1 teaspoon of mixed Italian herbs 

1 can (411 grams) of cherry tomatoes (chemical/preservative-free)

Freshly-ground black pepper to taste 

Sea salt to taste 

Creative Steps: 

Cook potatoes in boiling water for about 15 minutes, or until they become mushy. Drain the water away and then mash the potatoes. Add coconut milk and coconut oil, a few pinches of sea salt and a few turns of black pepper; combine well and put aside. In a large pan over medium heat, saute the onion for 2 minutes, or until just soft, and then add the garlic and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes, or until they soften and become fragrant. Add the mushrooms and cook for about 5 minutes, or until they brown and soften. Add the veggie ground round and cook for about 3 minutes. Mix in the cherry tomatoes and the Italian herbs and then bring to a boil. Then simmer under very low heat for about 5 minutes. In a large oven dish, first add the sauce and then cover with the mashed potatoes. Sprinkle in the spring onions and bake in the oven at 350 degree Celsius for 20 minutes. Let cool a bit and enjoy with a side of roasted broccoli! 

Kale- & Allium-Stuffed Jumbo Shells (first try at vegan cheese)

You love ravioli...but...what if you don't love to make it from scratch every time. What if...you don't love to make it from scratch at all.

And store-bought ravioli is simply...out of the question.

Store-bought, hand-made, gourmet ravioli? Where did you find these? And were they good?

Regardless...

There is a way to have ravioli...without the ravioli.

Introducing, welcoming  - drum roll - the Jumbo Shells.

They are giant. They are dry. And they come clean and easy...in a box.

You boil them, stuff them with the goodies of your choice (today's choice: kale, alliums, vegan cheese), and then slowly whisper "let there be ravioli."

----

Feeds four

Ingredients:

15 jumbo shells, cooked according to package instructions

1 large bunch kale, leaves torn from the stalks by hand 

1 small-sized yellow onion, thinly sliced

8 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp of extra-virgin olive oil

1 canned whole or diced tomatoes

4 "grates" of whole nutmeg

Sea salt to taste

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

4 handfuls of vegan cheese (2 handfuls cheddar style, 2 handfuls mozzarella style) (I used Daiya)

Creative steps:

Bring water to a boil and cook the jumbo shells according to package instructions, usually about 8 to 10 minutes. In the meantime, prepare the filling.

In a pan over medium heat, sauté the yellow onion with olive oil for one minute and then add the garlic and cook for another 3-5 minutes, or until translucent and fragrant. Take care not to burn the garlic. Add the kale and nutmeg and cook for another 5 minutes, or until the kale wilts slightly; try to find the middle state between too chewy and completely wilted. Add salt and pepper to taste, remove pan from the heat, and then mix in 1/2 of the vegan cheese (1 handful cheddar style, 1 handful mozzarella style).

When the jumbo shells are done cooking, drain them in a colander, rinse them with cold water briefly, and let the excess water seep through the colander. Stuff the kale into the shells immediately, before the shells start to dry out.

In a large baking pan, dump the can of tomatoes. If using whole tomatoes, use a spatula to break apart each whole tomato. Add 2-3 pinches of salt, a few turns of black pepper, and 2-3 pinches of dried mixed herbs. Tuck each stuffed jumbo shell in the tomato mixture, three shells per row, for a total of five rows. Sprinkle in the remaining vegan cheese. Bake in the oven at 400 degree F for 20 minutes, or until the tomatoes start bubbling and the vegan cheese melts.

Eat mindfully and ENJOY.

P.S. A little, but much deserved, praise for the vegan cheese: it was good - tasty to the taste buds and light to the tummy. It is essential, however, that the "cheese" melts, and so leftovers need to be reheated before consumption.