easy – Page 3 – Vegan Babymama

French Onion Soup

I have no idea why, but last week I was sitting in the couch watching TV and all the sudden wanted french onion soup. I have made Alton Brown’s recipe from Good Eats before and loved it. I didn’t feel like looking up his recipe so I did it off the top of my head. The real recipe calls for butter, beef broth, and wine. I don’t eat butter or beef broth, so I used vegan margarine, vegetable broth. I also used beer because I did not feel like buying a bottle of wine and my boyfriend has plenty of beer in the fridge. The beer did give a different flavor, a little bit more yeasty/salty, but I liked it. Michael did not complain either.

Onions are amazing. They can help clean out your digestive system, have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Some research even suggests they have cancer fighting abilities. Ever why onions make you cry? Wouldn’t you try to blind your enemy if they were trying to cut you open and eat you!

This makes 2-3 servings.

French Onion Soup
2 large white onions, cut into thin half slices
3 tbs of vegan margarine
Pinch of salt
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 bottle of beer (I used Long Board)
1 can of vegetable broth
3 cup of water
Salt and Pepper to better

Cut onions in half, then into thin slices. Mince the garlic.

In a large pot over medium heat, melt the butter.

Add the onions and a pinch of salt.

Stir everything together well and spread into a even layer on the bottom of the pan. Let it sauté for a few minutes, stir and spread out evenly again. Repeat until all the onions are brown and caramelized. This could take awhile, be patient and don’t crank up the heat.

Add the garlic and sauté for a minute or two.

Add the beer and scrap up all stuff from the bottom of the pot.

Add the broth and water, and bring to a boil.

Reduce to a simmer and cover. Let it cook for 30 minutes.

You can get all fancy and put in little ramekins and cover them with a cheese-covered crouton and bake in them in the oven. Or, do what I did and put a little cheese on top and serve them with grilled cheese sandwiches.

Huli Huli "Chicken"

Out past Pahoa is one of my favorite spots on the Big Island, the Ahalanui warm spring. It’s a natural geothermal pool that has been retained by a cement foundation and is refreshed with ocean waves. I love going there early before all the people arrive and swim a few laps in the nice warm water—just be warned there are little fish that will pester you every time you stop.

On the drive to the warm spring, I’d always past this sign for homemade huli huli chicken, and always wondered what it was. One time I finally Googled it and learned it essentially Hawaiian barbecue chicken. Huli means turn in Hawaiian and it’s called “turn turn” chicken because it is traditionally cooked on a spit so it would turn and turn as it cooked over a fire.

But, I am vegan there is no real chicken and I am broke college kid so no spit fire roasting. Instead, I used seitan strips and cooked it in a skillet over a stove. I have made this several times before and finally decided to post the recipe.

This makes 2 servings.

Huli Huli “Chicken”
2 servings of vegan chicken (any form is fine, I used strips)
1/4 cup ketchup
4 tbs soy sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbs white wine vinegar
1 1/2 inch piece of ginger, minced
2 cloves of garlic, minced

In a large bowl, mix together all the ingredients, except the fake chicken.

Now at the chicken and it it marinade for at least a half an hour.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.

Add the marinaded fake chicken and the sauce. Cook until the fake meat is heated and the sauce has thickened.

I served mine with cole slaw and rice. Tangy, sweet, and totally worth trying. I think Hawaiian barbecue is my favorite style.

Sugar Cookies

I am sorry I haven’t posted in awhile. If you follow me on twitter, you know that I was in a car accident. I am fine, just a concussion and whiplash, but sadly my car was totaled. What pisses me off the most was I was not doing anything bad—not speeding, playing with my phone, or goofing around at all. The car just started spinning out of control and I crashed. That aside, it could have been a lot worse so I am glad that I only have minor injuries. But, crashing your car the weekend before finals does not leave a lot of time to cook yummy food, so please forgive my absence.

Baking with a neck brace, so sexy. Thanks to my
wonderful friend Joely for the apron, I smiled for the
first time all week when I opened my package.

I wanna help mama.

Anyways, it’s only a few days before Christmas so it’s cookie time! I love decorating cookies with my family, I’ve done it since I was a little girl and plan on doing it every christmas to come. I decided to decorate cookies anyways this year even though I am by myself, it would not be christmas without them! Plus I was not totally alone, Penny tried to jump on the table 3 times while I was decorating them.

I planned on making cookies from scratch, but after spending 4 days in muscle relaxer coma on the couch, I did not feel like doing all that work. So, I decided to go with a package mix. Like I said before, proceeded foods should be eaten in moderation and very rarely. A few cookies for the holidays is fine. I am keeping a couple for myself and taking the rest to work for everyone to share.

I used the Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix. I substituted vegan shortening for the butter and soy milk for the egg. Although it does not say to do so on the package, I refrigerated the dough over night like normal sugar cookie dough. This really makes rolling out and cutting the dough easier. However, I needed a lot of flour to prevent the dough from sticking. This is a common complaint I found on the reviews for this mix. The cookies tasted good in the end, but the dough puff up more than I would have liked. Overall, if you want cheap and easy sugar cookies, this mix is just fine. But it’s nothing special, homemade from scratch are better.

I made a double batch so I used two packages. Half this recipe for a single batch.

Sorry I did not take pictures of the whole process, I made the dough last night when I got off work and was I too tired.

Sugar Cookies
2 packages of Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix
2 stick of vegan shortening (I used Earth Balance), softened
1/2 cup soy milk

In a large bowl, mix together all the ingredients until. Make sure all the shortening is worked in and there are no lumps.

Spray some plastic wrap with cooking spray. Form the dough into a ball and cover with the plastic wrap. Chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.

On a clean, well floured surface, divided the chill dough into quarters. Work with one quarter at a time and put the rest back in the fridge.

Roll the dough to desired thickness and cut out your cookies with festive cookies cutters.

Bake for 7 to 9 minutes. The edges will be slightly golden and the inside still white.

Let them cool on the baking sheet for a minute then remove and let them cool completely.

Then decorate them as desired. I used sparkle gel icing and basic Christmas sprinkles.

Every year I make a Shaun White sugar cookie because he is my favorite snowboarder.

Shaun White cookie!

I also made a bloody car crash victim person, because that’s just the kind of girl I am 🙂

Car crash cookie. There was no blood in my
accident but that is not as fun to decorate.

I am feeling better so I should be back to my normal blogging soon. Look out for my Thai feast Christmas Eve dinner….

Sopa de Mani: Bolivian Peanut Soup

I was chatting with my Bolivian friend Leslie again and decided to make another Bolivian dish. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to make and did not want to have to go buy tons of ingredients. After some searching on the web, I came across a recipe for soap de mani and thought it sounded amazing. It’s a peanut base soup traditionally made with chicken, raw peanuts, and carrots. It’s a little thick and sweet from the carrots. In Bolivia, soups can be a starter or main course (just like everywhere else I guess….). I left out the chicken and used purple sweet potatoes because that is what I had on hand. I found a recipe that skipped the whole raw peanut boiling step by using natural peanut butter instead. Yeah, I know it is not the traditional way, but I do not have the money to buy whole raw peanuts nor the patients to wait for them to cook down. And, since I found this recipe on an international recipe site, I am sure plenty of Bolivians cheat with peanut butter too.

Peanuts are native to the tropical regions of America. They are high in protein, vitamin B3, and vitamin E. They are also a good source of fiber and antioxidants. They were consumed by the Aztecs, who even mashed them into a paste. But modern day peanut butter is quiet different than the paste the ancients ate. Most modern versions of peanut butter roast the peanuts first, and include oil to make it more spreadable and sugar to make it sweeter. Although peanuts have some health benefits, the peanut oil or other vegetable oils added to peanut butter are still fats so it should still be eaten if moderation. And natural peanut butter, meaning it is only ground up peanuts and a bit of unprocessed peanut oil, is always the best way to go. No one needs the added sugar of processed peanut butter.

This recipe is based on one from Whats4Eats called Soupa de Mani. That recipe serves 4, but I cut mine down to serve 2.

Sopa de Mani
1/2 white onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
3 cups vegetable stock
3 carrots, sliced
3 small potatoes (I used purple sweet potatoes), peeled and cut into bite size pieces
1/4 cup natural peanut butter
Red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper

Chop the onions, mince the garlic, slice the carrots, and cut up the potatoes. Always easier to prep all the veggies before you start cooking.

In a large pot, heat some oil and add the onions. Cook on medium-low heat until translucent.

Add the garlic for cook for a minute or two.

Add vegetable stock and bring to a boil.

Add the carrots and cook for 10 minutes.

Add the potatoes and cook for another 10 minute until all the veggies are soft.

Remove a bit of the hot broth and whisk in the peanut butter to temper it.

Add the tempered peanut butter to the pot and let it simmer for a minute or two. Season with the red peppers flakes, salt, and pepper to taste.

I garnished mine with a bit of basil, not sure if that is Bolivian, but I wanted a splash of green. The soup is creamy and sweet, with a bit of a kick from the red pepper flakes. I loved it, the flavors blend together so nicely. I ate this with a side of mashed plantains, which I will be posting tomorrow.

Baked Apples

I was very sad yesterday when my mom texted me to tell me Steve Jobs, one of the cofounders of Apple Inc., passed away from pancreatic cancer. I looked at the text on my iPhone, a device his company developed that revolutionized mass communications, and my heart sank. Coming from a big techie family, his life and accomplishments were well-known in my home growing up. Whether you’re a Mac or PC person, you cannot deny that he helped change the world. You might not be able to read this very post right now if it wasn’t for his vision (and because I am typing this on a Macbook). I like what my brother posted as his Facebook status, “Steve, I was hoping you would stick around for “One More thing…” ”

In honor of Steve, I decided to make baked apples. Many factors can trigger cancer, and diet is one of them. This is one of the main reasons I became a vegan. There are so many unknowns in this world and I want to give myself the best fighting chance of living a long, healthy life and proper nutrition is a good way to do so. Keeping that in mind, I made my apples a little bit differently. I did not use any butter. If you use nice ripe apples, their own natural juices will be enough to help it brown. I also did not use white or brown sugar. Most white sugars are processed using animal bones to remove the color so they are not vegan anyways. Not to mention it lacks any nutrients. Brown sugar is just white sugar with regular molasses added, so it isn’t any better. What I did use is black strap molasses. Yes, it is a processed sugar byproduct, but it does have some important minerals like iron, manganese, copper, calcium and vitamin B6. If you are going to eat sugar, it might as well have something beneficial in it. But, just like any processed food, it should be eaten in moderation. You cannot control the future, but you can control your actions now in order to have a better future. Steve is proof that all the money in the world cannot buy you health. Do all you can to prevent cancer.

Baked Apples

4 Granny Smith apples

1/2 cup rasins

1/2 cup dry oatmeal

1/4 cup black strap molasses

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Core the apples, but make sure you leave the bottom intact. If you have an apple corer, I really suggest using it. It can be done with a pairing knife but it’s a little tricky.

In a small bowl, combine together the remaining ingredients.

Fill the apples with the mixture. I stuffed mine pretty well.

Place the filled apples in a baking pan. Fill the pan with about 1/4 of an inch water.

Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes. The apples should be tender, and the filling golden and caramelized. Let them cool a bit before eating. You can also cover the pan with foil before baking if you don’t want your filling that crunchy.

Thank You Mr. Jobs. You changed the world and taught a whole generation to “think different.”

Purple Sweet Potato Hash

I talked about purple sweet potatoes, or ‘uala in Hawaiian, in my Purple Sweet Potato Salad post. But I have fallen more in love with them since. They are cheap at the Hilo Farmers Market so I buy them often. My new favorite breakfast is a purple sweet potato hash. A little sweet, a little salty, and very easy to make. A hash is usually just chopped or julienned ingredients pan-fried until golden brown. Most common kind is hash browns, which usually consist of white potatoes. While I have nothing against traditional hash browns, purple sweet potatoes have more nutrients too. You might as well get more vitamins and minerals in your food if you are going to cook them in fat.

This is the most basic way to make this hash. You can add in veggies, beans, tofu, or even top them with some vegan cheese. I had shortening left over my from birthday cupcakes so I fried them in shortening but olive oil is great too.

Purple Sweet Potato Hash
1 cup purple sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 clove of garlic, minced
Red pepper flakes, to taste
1 tbs vegetable shortening
1/4 cup of water
salt and pepper to taste

Wash, peel, and dice the sweet potatoes. Mince the garlic.

Heat the shortening in a large skillet over medium heat.

Once the shortening is melted, add the garlic and red pepper flakes to the skillet. Cook for a minute or so, just until you can smell the garlic. Don’t let it brown or burn.

Next add the sweet potatoes. Stir to coat every piece.

Next pour in the water and cover with the lid so the potatoes can steam. Keep it covered for 3-5 minutes until the water is mostly evaporated.

Remove the lid and turn up the heat a little so the potatoes can brown. Cook to desired color and crunchiness. It hard to tell because of their dark color, but I like mine lightly golden.

Remove from the pan and season with salt and pepper to taste.

This hash makes a wonderful main dish or a nice side dish. Try it with a tofu scramble and some soy bacon strips. I ate mine as is with a dash of hot sauce. I love a good Sunday morning breakfast.

Jazzed-up Ramen Noodles

Instant ramen noodles aren’t just for college students and don’t have to be so unhealthy. I don’t buy packaged foods often, but sometimes you just need a big bowl of steaming hot broth and noodles (and at 75 cents a pop who can argue?). Try to find brands with lower sodium and no animal products. This means no chicken, beef, or seafood flavors. Vegan means no animal products and chicken flavoring usually implies it came from a chicken, so it’s not vegan. Stick to vegetable broths, the one I used was mushroom.

But the best way to counteract the evils of packaged foods? Throw some fresh stuff in there too! This is just one of many variations I make when I want to jazz up my ramen. I also suggest tofu, spinach, carrots, radishes, cabbage, edamame, jalapeños or any combination of these.

Jazzed-up Ramen Noodles

1 package of instant ramen soup

2 cups water (may vary based on the brand you use)

1 1/4 inch piece of ginger root, sliced finely

1 clove of garlic, chopped finely

1 bunch bok choy

Fresh basil, chopped finely

Green onion, sliced finely

Red pepper flakes

Cook the noodles accordion to the instructions on the package. My package said to boil 2 cups of water, add the noodles and cook for 3 minutes.

After about a minute of cooking, I added in the ginger and garlic.

I suggest boiling the bok choy for a minute or two first so it is less bitter.

Once the noodle are cooked, transfer to a serving bowl.

Add the bok choy, and top with the basil, green onions, and pepper flakes.

Relive or continue to survive your college days with cheap, easy, and delicious bowl of jazzed -up ramen.

Guacamole 3 ways

I’ve lived in my new place all summer now and apparently never bothered to look up when I walked out the door. My friend Shane last week mentioned there was an avocado tree right outside my door and I was surprised. He picked a whole bunch of them for me and I’ve been patiently waiting all week for them to ripen.

I decided to make 3 types of guacamole: basic, mango, and hot roasted pepper. The basic is just the traditional with some tomatoes, onions, garlic, and lime juice. The mango is the same, just add some chopped mango. The roasted pepper obviously has a roasted bell pepper, and for some kick, some Serrano hot peppers.

Basic Guacamole
1/4 cup onion
2 cloves of garlic
2 medium tomatoes
2 large ripe avocados
Juice of 2 limes
Pinch of salt

Chop the onion and garlic into desired sizes. I like my a little guacamole a chunky so I did mine into small chunks. Add to a large bowl.

Cut the tomatoes into about the same size the onion. Add to the bowl.

Avocados aren’t hard to cut up, but they can be messy. Alton Brown explains it better than I can, so watch from minutes 2:50 to 3:40 of this clip if you don’t know how.

Chop the avocado into equal size pieces to the onion and tomato and add to the bowl.

Now squirt on the juice from the limes and sprinkle on the pinch of salt.

Mix it all up, breaking up the avocado chunks a little bit as you go and now you have yummy basic guacamole!

Mango Guacamole
1/4 cup onion
1 clove garlic
1 cup mango
1 medium tomato
2 large avocados
Red pepper flakes
Juice of 1 lime
Pinch of salt

Peal and chop up the mango into desired chunks.

Follow all the directions above for the basic guacamole, but just add the mango and some red pepper flakes. I add the red pepper in this one because I like the contrast with the sweetness of the mango.

Hot Roasted Pepper Guacamole
1/4 cup onion
1 clove garlic
1 medium tomato
1 bell pepper, roasted
2 ripe avocados
2 Serrano peppers
Juice of 1 lime
Pinch of Salt

I decided to puree this version because I thought the flavors would mesh together better. This is my new favorite way to make guacamole now!

You can buy the jarred roasted red peppers if you like for this, but I roasted my own. Just spray a pan with cooking spray and the pepper as well. Place under the broiler until the skin is charred black.

Once it is cooled (unless you like burning yourself on hot vegetables), peal off the brunt skin and chop into chunks.

Follow the steps for the basic guacamole, but this time throw everything, including the roasted pepper but not the Serrano pepper, into a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth.

Next chop the stem tops off the Serrano peppers. Then cut in half lengthwise. If you don’t like it hot, you can tone it down by scraping out the seeds.

I like it hot so I so i added the whole thing to the blender. Blend until it is incorporated.

I topped some homemade black beans with the basic guacamole for lunch today.

Good thing I like guacamole because I’ll be eating the rest of the week now!

Quinoa with Cucumber and Clilantro Salad

Quinoa is one of my favorite foods. It’s been a staple of most South American cultures for centuries. My Bolivian friend Leslie has asked me several times to post a recipe with it. It is eaten like a grain, but actually is a seed. It’s related to spinach and beets. It’s a very strong little bugger, capable of surviving in poor soil and high altitudes.

It’s a complete protein, and is high in calcium, iron, and fiber. And it’s gluten free, so it’s great for people with gluten allergies. Don’t listen to the rumors it tastes like mud. Unwashed quinoa is a bit muddy tasting, but majority of the quinoa sold in stores is washed so don’t worry about it. I think it tastes like any other grain, like rice or wheat. I like it because it has a soft texture.

I came up with this recipe by myself. Every time I Skype with Leslie, she asks me for a simple quinoa dish and this is what kept coming to mind. Once again, all my veggies came from the Hilo Farmers Market and were very cheap. The veggies, including the garlic and onion, are raw in this dish. Raw veggies hold more of their nutrients and although I am not really into the whole raw food diet, it is still important to eat raw veggies often. Raw garlic is amazing for your digestion, just eat it in small dozes so it isn’t overwhelming. I use canned beans because even I think soaking dried beans is a pain.

Funny story how I got my quinoa. I drove to Kona last weekend to have some nice beach time before finals and met some nice tourists. They rented a timeshare so they cooked some of their meals. They were leaving that day and offered to give me their unopened stuff. Score for a broke college kid! Thanks Jason and Rick!

Quinoa with Cucumber and Cilantro Salad
1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
1 large cucumber
1 large tomato
1 can of red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 medium onion
1 clove of garlic
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
1 tbs lime juice
1 tbs olive oil
Red pepper flakes, to taste
Salt and pepper, to taste

Add the quinoa and water to a pot, and bring to a boil. Then cover and reduce to a simmer.

They must be Duck fans, they yell “O,” ha!

Cook for 10-15 minutes, until all the water is absorbed and the grains are translucent with the little inner ring is visible. Set aside to cool while you make the salad. Hot quinoa will warm your salad and wilt the cilantro.

I add a lot of red pepper because I like it hot.

Chop the cucumber and tomato into bit-sized pieces. Finely chop the onion and garlic. Remove the cilantro leafs from the steam and chop if you desire (I left mine whole, they aren’t that big). Drain and rinse the kidney beans. Add everything to a large bowl and mix.

Although it’s good fat, it’s still fat so don’t over do it with the oil.

Next add the lime juice, olive, oil, red pepper, and salt and pepper. Mix well to coat everything evenly. I suggest under red-peppering and salting at first, it takes a little for them to reach full potency. I chilled mine for a half an hour before serving to let the flavors really set in.

You can mix the quinoa in with the veggies or just serve the salad on top. I just topped mine. I am so glad I finally made this, I’ve been thinking about it for awhile.

Clean, crispy, but very filling.

Orange Pineapple Smoothie

I got free bananas from a fruit stand in Kona yesterday for Earth Day, so I made another great smoothie for breakfast this morning. I wanted something light since tonight I am making one of the most delicious things in the world, pierogi! Orange and pineapple blend together nicely so it has a clean, fruity taste. I used coconut water instead of soy milk. Coconut water is packed with vitamins, especially potassium. All my fruits are fresh since I live in Hawaii, but frozen is still better than no fruits at all. But always get fresh if you can, the cooking/flash freezing process strips it of some nutrients.

Orange Pineapple Smoothie
1 cup fresh pineapple
1 orange, pealed and membrane removed
1 medium banana
1 cup coconut water
Handful of ice cubes

Put everything into a blender and blend until combined and smooth.