Middle Eastern dinner night

The other night I decided to just go for it and make a bunch of Middle Eastern food. I had chickpeas, quinoa and plain soy yogurt in the fridge and came up with the perfect idea: Quinoa Tabouli, falafel and tzatziki sauce. It was great because I only had to run to the store for tomatoes, a cucumber, pita bread and some salad mix. And the store is only 2 minutes walking, or 30 seconds driving.

Quinoa Tabouli


I found a recipe online as a guideline, and it came out pretty boss. I'm pretty sure I added way more quinoa than I was supposed to, but it's still good.

2 cups cooked quinoa
1-2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp kosher salt (or to taste)
1 cup fresh chopped parsley and/or mint leaves (more of less to taste)
1 cucumber, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
freshly ground pepper (to taste)

1. Mix quinoa and parsley/mint together
2. Add rest of vegetables
3. Add lemon juice and olive oil, stir adjust to taste
4. Season with salt and pepper, to taste

Falafel (from Vegan with a Vengeance)


I don't have the recipe right now, but I'm sure you could probably find it on google. I baked it instead of frying it and it came out so good. I don't understand why so many people have a problem when making this recipe.

Tzatziki Sauce

This was seriously so delicious. I've never made it before, but thought it would be a nice change from having Tahini sauce (since I was out of tahini).

1 cup plain soy yogurt
1/2 cucumber, peeled and cut into little chunks
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 of a lemon, juiced (I just put in some and hoped for the best)
dill
minced garlic (however much you want, I use a lot)
salt & pepper to taste

1. Mix it all together and let it sit in the fridge for awhile to let the flavors "mingle". Serve it on falafel or salad or whatever! It's really good.

Mac n Cheese, and beets

I made this the other day and it was delicious. It's my go-to mac n cheese recipe.


1 1/2 cups soy milk
1 cup water
1/3 cup soy sauce
1 1/2 cups nutritional yeast
1 tbl paprika
1 tbl garlic powder
1 tsp salt (it says 1 tbl, but I never noticed until now. That would be way too much)
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup margarine
1 tbl mustard

noodles

1. Boil/drain pasta
2. Add all the ingredients for the cheese sauce into a blender
3. Put the pasta in a casserole dish and cover it with the sauce
4. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes covered, then 10 uncovered

I added some turnip greens since I have a ton, but I usually add a can of diced tomatoes.

Price Rite - Holy Crap!

I just got back from my first venture to Price Rite. I had heard that the prices there were wicked good, but I just hadn't had the chance to get out there. I bought 21 items, and my bill came to $21.70.

Canned:
Vegetarian Baked Beans - 2 @ .99 each
Turnip Greens - .49
Sliced Beets - .49
Huge can of Whole Tomatoes - .89
Chopped Kale - .49
Collard Greens - .49
Mustard Greens - .49
French Cut Green Beans - .39

Fresh:
16oz Romaine Hearts - 1.69
Macintosh Apples, 3lb - 2.69
Mangoes - 2 @ .69 each
Cantaloupe - 2.49
1lb Strawberries - 2.49
5lb Potatoes - 1.89

Packaged:
Graham Pie Crusts - 2 @ .89 each

Etc:
3 Cards (2 graduations and 1 fathers day) - .50 each

Sausages

Well, I didn't make it to the Peace Abbey to see Gene, even though I really wanted to. I made the decision to hang out in a lake during the heat wave we were having instead of on a hot farm.

I haven't really been cooking lately, but I have been eating these sausages I made recently.


Julie from Everyday Dish made up this recipe, and it rules so hard. To see how she did it, check out her blog.

If you don't want to check it out for some crazy reason, here is the recipe.

Spicy Italian Vegetarian Sausages
Makes 8 links

2 1/4 cups vital wheat gluten
1/2 cup nutritional yeast flakes
1/4 cup chickpea flour
2 tbsp Bills Best Chik’Nish Seasoning (if using another brand which is salty, or saltier than Bill’s Best, you’ll want to greatly reduce the amount you use)
2 tbsp granulated onion
1 to 2 tbsp fennel seed, optional
2 tsp coarsely ground pepper, preferably freshly ground
2 tsp ground paprika
1 tsp dried chili flakes, optional
1 tsp ground smoked paprika
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground allspice
2 1/4 cups cool water*
6 to 8 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp soy sauce

1. In a large bowl, mix together all of the dry ingredients. Whisk together the water, garlic, olive oil and soy sauce and using a fork, gently stir into the dry ingredients. Stir just until ingredients are mixed. If dough mixture is too dry, you can add another tablespoon of water or as needed.
2. Scoop 1/2 cup dough mixture at a time and shape into logs. Place logs on piece of aluminum foil and roll up, twisting ends. Place sausages in steamer and steam for 30 minutes. Once sausages have cooled, remove from foil and refrigerate until ready to eat. After cooling, the sausages may feel a bit dry on the outside. Don’t worry, as they will soften and firm up considerably after chilling.

Variation: You can shape the dough into little patties instead of links. If you don’t want to use aluminum foil, you can wrap the links in damp muslin or tea towel and tie ends with cotton twine.

BVS Peace Abbey Event - Sunday, June 8

I am beyond excited for this weekend. Today (Friday) my man is taking me out to Grasshopper for dinner, which is the best vegan Chinese restaurant ever. Well, at least in Boston. Then tomorrow we're going to Six Flags New England to hang out in the water park all day. AAA membership = cheaper tickets ($27). Then on Sunday is the Boston Vegetarian Society Peace Abbey Event! It's going to be an awesome potluck, gonna hang out with new people (maybe, I get shy) and GENE BAUR IS SPEAKING! He is the president and cofounder of Farm Sanctuary. I have big plans to go volunteer there after I get out of school for good.

If you're around the area and might be interested in going, here's the info:

SUNDAY, JUNE 8, 2008, AT 1 P.M. (Rain or shine)

BVS' annual event at the PEACE ABBEY in Sherborn is a highlight event of our year. Soak in the beauty and "good vibes" of this unique place, meet the animals in the small sanctuary for rescued farm animals, stroll the grounds and view the Pacifist Memorial and Gandhi statue, the magnificent Emily the Sacred Cow Animal Rights Memorial, and explore the Abbey and its artifacts from around the world.

ALL WELCOME! This is a family-friendly event, and we encourage you to bring your friends and family, **especially non-vegetarians**. We would love them to hear Gene Baur's presentation. We'll have plenty of room!


1 P.M. VEGAN POTLUCK

Share delicious vegan cuisine. Bring a favorite dish to share that is free of meat, poultry, fish, dairy, eggs, and honey. Dishes should be ready to serve, and please include serving implements (labeled with your name). A card with ingredients/recipe helps those with food allergies. A dish serving 8-10 per person is suggested.


3 P.M. SPEAKER PRESENTATION

We'll use the church next to the Peace Abbey for the speaker program. It seats 350, so we'll have plenty of seats! Bring friends!

Program - "Changing Hearts and Minds about Animals and Food"

Gene Baur, President and Cofounder of Farm Sanctuary, grew up in Hollywood and worked in television, film and commercials. Today, he campaigns to raise awareness about the negative consequences of
industrialized factory farming and our cheap food system. He has a master’s degree in Agricultural Economics from Cornell University. His new book hit the Los Angeles Times Best Seller List!

His documentation of conditions at farms, stockyards, and slaughterhouses have aired around the globe. He has testified in court and before legislatures, and has initiated groundbreaking legal enforcement and legislative action to prevent factory farming abuses. He played a significant role in passing the first U.S. laws to prohibit cruel farming systems, and his work has been covered in most major national media. Farm Sanctuary is the country's leading farm animal advocacy organization.

Gene's new book, "Farm Sanctuary: Changing Hearts and Minds about Animals and Food," has gotten terrific reviews and will be available for signing and purchase. $25 hard cover, cash or checks only.

"This book is the most authentic account of the real lives of farm animals, by the St. Francis of our time. There is nobody else in America who could tell the truth about farm animals from such a deep perspective, and at the same time make your heart soar."
—Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson, author of When Elephants Weep and The Pig Who
Sang to the Moon



ABOUT THE PEACE ABBEY:

The Peace Abbey is a center which encourages non-violence, peacemaking, social justice, and compassionate living. Peace and justice advocates from around the world have come here, including Mother Teresa and the Dalai Lama. It was home, until her death four years ago, to Emily the Cow, who gained worldwide celebrity years ago with her dramatic slaughterhouse escape, and became spokescow for veg living.

The Peace Abbey
Two North Main Street
Sherborn, MA (next to Natick)
Where Route 27 and Route 16 overlap


Event is free with your potluck offering; donation requested for the Peace Abbey.

Roasted Carrots

I've had tons of carrots just sitting and hanging out in my refrigerator for weeks now. I decided that roasting them could be the way to go to get rid of them/put them in my belly. I've never tried this recipe before, but it's only on the Food Network website for a limited time so I might as well put it up here before it's lost forever.

Roasted Carrots

12 carrots
3 tablespoons good olive oil
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons minced fresh dill or parsley

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

If the carrots are thick, cut them in half lengthwise; if not, leave whole. Slice the carrots diagonally in 1 1/2-inch-thick slices. (The carrots will shrink while cooking so make the slices big.) Toss them in a bowl with the olive oil, salt, and pepper. Transfer to a sheet pan in 1 layer and roast in the oven for 20 minutes, until browned and tender.

Toss the carrots with minced dill or parsley, season to taste, and serve.

Of course, I didn't read the directions carefully, and already put the dill onto the carrots before I started cooking them. Oh well. We'll see how it turns out!

EDIT: Yum!

I served these along with Egg McVegans, of course.