Recipes

I’ve recently been loving this blended red pasta sauce so I thought I’d share the recipe for anyone who wants to try it. It’s easy to make and seriously I’ve made it like three times in a row – that’s how good it is!

I think this recipe will be especially appealing to anyone who is either vegan or trying to limit their dairy consumption because it tastes cheesy without having any dairy products at all. The secret is blended chickpeas. I’m not really sure why it tastes cheesy because (at least to me) whole chickpeas just don’t really have that flavor, but when you blend them into this sauce it turns really creamy and delicious. This is also a great way to make a simple pasta red sauce healthier and heartier than it otherwise might be.

If you store it separately from the pasta, this sauce will stay fresh for several days in the fridge so I really have been loving just having it on hand for days when you don’t feel like making a meal from scratch.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 medium can of tomatoes (around 30oz) – mashed
• 1 small can of chickpeas (around 15oz) – drained & rinsed
• 1 medium/large onion – chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic (optional) – chopped
• 2 celery stalks or 1 medium zucchini* (optional but tasty) – chopped
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional but I like the spice)
• 2 tbsp white sugar
• 3 tbsp olive oil (this is for flavor so don’t skimp!)

*Note about the celery/zucchini: I’ve made this both ways depending on what I have on have and both versions are tasty but I slightly prefer the celery option. Both are good though. Also, you could easily add in any other veggie you wanted. The whole thing gets blended up so it just becomes a part of the sauce and it’s a great way to sneak more veggies into your meals! Just limit the quantity to about one medium-zucchini’s-worth of ‘other’ veggies so it doesn’t overpower the sauce – a red pepper would be great too.

PREPARATION:

1. I like to pre-prep all my ingredients into 2 bowls: I chop up all the veg and place it right into the pot with the olive oil. And in another bowl, I combine the tomato/chickpea cans and seasonings so they’re ready to go once I start cooking.
2. In a pot on medium high heat, cook the chopped onion, garlic, celery, and olive oil until the onions are translucent and the celery has softened (about 4-5 mins), stirring frequently.
3. Add in everything else (tomatoes, chickpeas, seasonings). Reduce heat to medium, stir mixture until combined, and cook covered for ~ 10 mins (stirring every couple minutes so it doesn’t stick).
4. Blend it!!! That’s the secret. Just blend it all like you would a soup. So far, I’ve just used an immersion blender (mine’s pretty old but I think this is the newer version of it: Amazon | Walmart) and blended it right in the pot, but you could also use a stand mixer (just be careful to allow room for the hot the air to escape).
5. Serve with your pasta of choice and enjoy!

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I adore these little donut bites so I thought I’d share the recipe. You don’t need an oven, but you do need a specific cake pop appliance to make these. However, it’s fairly inexpensive, I’ve had mine for years and it’s held up really well so personally I think it’s worth it for the homemade donut yum.

The Cake Pop Appliance I use can be found at: Walmart, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Amazon. It comes with the appliance, special prongs (really useful), cooling rack (with little holes), and recipes.

Dry ingredients (combine in a bowl and mix):

• 
1 3/4 cup flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon

• 1/2 tsp nutmeg

• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp cloves

Wet ingredients (combine in a separate bowl and mix):

• 
1 egg
 (whisked lightly with a fork)
• 
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
• 

1/2 cup milk (or soy milk)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar (white or half white/half brown works too)
• 1/3 cup melted butter (or sunflower oil)
• 
1-2 tsp vanilla


Coating:

1. Small bowl of sunflower oil or melted butter (~3-4 tablespoons)
2. Small bowl of cinnamon sugar (mix 1/2 cup white sugar and 2-3 tbsp cinnamon)

Directions:

1. Preheat your Cake Pop appliance – just plug it in, when the light turns green, it’s ready to use.
2. Combine the contents of your wet and dry ingredient bowls and mix.
3. Lightly spray the appliance’s baking tray with cooking oil. Spoon batter into each little hole – each one should be filled about half-way. Don’t overfill them or they’ll overflow.
4. Close and bake for 3-5 minutes. They’ll be softly golden brown when done.
5. Use prongs to remove them from the heat and cool on the designated rack for about 1 min.
6. When they’re cool enough to touch (but still warm!), brush them with melted butter (or sunflower oil), then roll them in the cinnamon sugar until fully coated.
7. Place them on a drying rack until they’re all complete.
8. Repeat until your batter is used up.

Sources:

• Cake pop appliance kit: Walmart | Bed Bath & Beyond | and Amazon
• Glass jar: The Container Store
• Label maker: Amazon | Walmart | The Container Store
• Hex coasters: Crate & Barrel
• Utensil crock (similar): McGee & Co
• Wood utensils (similar): Bed Bath & Beyond | Bed Bath & Beyond
• Rectangular cutting board: Amazon
• Salt cellar (similar): Crate & Barrel
• White ceramic vases (set of 3): Amazon | Similar: Wayfair
• Drawer pulls: Amazon | Similar: Schoolhouse
• Cabinet knobs: CB2 (mine were sold out and replaced with these very similar ones)
• White ceramic bunny: Crate & Barrel (sold out)

This is our newest favorite dish and since we’ve made it like 3 times in a row recently, I thought I’d share the recipes here (it’s actually two recipes: one for the curry, one for the naan). These last few weeks, we’ve been focusing on meals made from pantry shelf staples without fresh ingredients as part of our efforts to keep staying home and limit grocery runs during these pandemic times.

Note: these are not ethnically-accurate recipes. These are just our own versions of these dishes so I’m sure the technique or recipe may not be authentic but they work really well and taste amazing!

RECIPE #1: POTATO CHICKPEA CURRY

Preparation: get all the following groups of ingredients prepped in bowls and set aside.


Into a small bowl | Spice blend:

• 3 tbsp curry powder 
• 2 tsp ginger (or grated fresh ginger if available)
• 1 1/2 tsp smoked/normal paprika 
• 3/4 tsp cumin powder
• 3/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp salt

Into a larger bowl | Wet ingredients: 

• 1 can (~2 cups) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 can (~2-3 cups) crushed tomatoes
• 1 can (~2 cups) coconut milk (if you don’t have coconut milk, substitute veggie stock)
• 2 cups vegetable broth/stock

Into a large sauce pot that you’ll be cooking the curry in:

• 2 tbsp olive oil 
• 1-2 onion, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced (optional)

Into a cast iron pan or baking sheet:

• 2-3 medium potatoes, cut into small cubes
• 3 tsp olive oil

Cooking instructions for potatoes:

• Option 1: fry the potato chunks in olive oil on the stovetop in a cast iron pan on medium-high heat, stirring every 2 minutes until they are crispy on all sides and fork tender. About 10 mins.
• Option 2: roast the potato chunks in olive oil in the oven at 350-400, stirring every 5 minutes until they’re fork tender.

Cooking instructions for main curry:

1. In large pot on medium-high heat, stir garlic/onion/olive oil for 3 min until onion is translucent.
2. Add  in Spice Blend and stir for 1 minute.
3. Add the chickpeas, tomatoes, broth, and coconut milk. Bring to boil then turn down the heat to medium and simmer for 35 minutes or until the sauce has thickened. Stir every 5 minutes.
4. Add in fried/baked potato chunks whenever they’re ready. Then you’re done!

Notes:

• Rutabagas work instead of potatoes, and squash would also be good. Prepped same way.
• Possible additions: peas, lentils, cumin seeds.
• Serve with rice and/or naan bread.

 

RECIPE #2: VEGAN NAAN BREAD

Dough ingredients:

• ~3 loose cups or 375g sifted all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
• 2 tsp coarse grain salt (or 1 tsp table salt)
• 1 cup + 1/8 cup warm water
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Dough preparation:

1. Combine flour, yeast, & salt.
2. Add honey to warm water and mix that up.
3. Using a stand mixer (Amazon | Bed Bath & Beyond), slowly add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, mixing constantly. Mix on medium until dough comes away from sides (1-2 mins).
4. Add olive oil using it to coat the dough and create a ball.
5. Leave in a bowl, covered, for at least 1 hour until it triples in size.

Olive oil/garlic mixture: (only do this if you want garlic naan)

• 4 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1/2 tsp dried parsley
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Cooking instructions:

1. Divide dough into 6 balls (pinch them away).
2. Roll them out flat with rolling pin (use olive oil if too sticky, not flour) until about 1/8″ to 1/4” thick
3. To cook, place them on a cast iron pan pre-heated to medium-high heat. Once the dough has been placed in the pan, brush the top with the oil/garlic/herb mixture.
4. When it’s cooked (~1 min), flip and cook the other side for about 30 seconds. Basically the same concept as a bready pancake. Repeat x6.

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Pasta is one of my favorite dishes and with since we’ve been pretty strict about staying home these past few pandemic weeks, I’ve tried getting creative with making recipes out of pantry shelf stapes – without extra fresh ingredients (that by now we’re out of). The catch is that I’m also trying to make the meals as balanced as possible so I wanted this to be more than just tomato sauce and pasta so this is a bit of a jazzed up version with protein from the beans/lentils while still being a yummy pasta dish!

(If you’re wondering why we don’t just use ground meat, we just don’t really like to eat much meat in our house. We’re not vegan – we eat cheese/eggs/fish – but we typically don’t eat meat products.)

Ingredients:

• 1 can tomatoes (either used crushed, or crush the tomatoes you have)
• 1 can black beans or lentils or chickpeas (drained + rinsed + lightly crushed/mashed.)
• 1 cup vegetable stock/broth
• 1 onion (any kind, chopped)
• 4 garlic cloves (minced)
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp tomato paste (optional, but tasty)
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp dried parsley
• 1/2 tsp red pepper/chili flakes
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Now, if we were still doing regular grocery runs (which we’re not), I would totally add chopped celery, fresh basil, spinach or kale, even some roasted cherry tomatoes… but we’re really trying to stay home right now for as long as we possibly can, so that means that we’re working with pantry staples.

Preparation:

1. I like to pre-prep everything into 3 bowls before I start cooking to make things simpler. First, chop up your onion and mince the garlic and place them into a large sauce pan with a healthy glug of olive oil, and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, drain and rinse your beans/lentils/chickpeas and mush them up with a fork/potato masher until they’re just a bit broken up, but NOT a paste!! Add in your can of crushed tomato + cup of veggie stock/broth + olive oil. This is your liquids bowl.
3. In a small bowl, assemble all your spices and set aside.

Cooking instructions:

1. In a sauce pan on medium-high heat, fry up the onion and garlic in olive oil for about 3 minutes, or until the onion is translucent.
2. Add in the spice blend, and stir constantly for about a minute.
3. Add in the tomato paste and stir it through. (This is optional.)
4. Add in the contents of your liquids bowl (crushed tomatoes, mushed beans/lentils, veggie stock, olive oil) and stir it through. Reduce to medium-low heat and cook for around 30 mins or until the sauce thickens up a little, stirring occasionally.
5. Optional last step that I personally like to do (but is not strictly necessary), use an immersion blender (Amazon) to break it up a little. But JUST pulse it a few times for like half a second in different spots around the sauce pan. You don’t want to turn it into soup!! It should have texture.
6. Prepare your pasta of choice according to package instructions.
7. Serve & enjoy!

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I thought I’d share this delicious, healthy soup I’ve been loving recently. I’ve recently started considering squash as a pantry staple. It’s a low-maintenance fresh produce item and pandemic or not, I think everyone should always have at least one squash in their pantry because they last for months, they’re versatile and nutritious, and they’re a fresh item that doesn’t need to be refrigerated.

Please note that pretty much all these ingredients are highly modifiable. You can add more or less of them and your soup should turn out just fine. You can even make it without any of the spices and just a bit of salt, for a milder version. So please consider this recipe more of a general guideline.

Ingredients:

• 1 x medium/large squash cubed into even chunks (I used butternut)
• 2 x small/medium onions, chopped
• 4 x garlic cloves, chopped
• Small peeled bit of fresh ginger (optional), about half a thumb size
• 2 tsp olive oil (or any other oil or melted butter honestly)

• 2-3 cups vegetable broth
• 1 can coconut milk
• 2 tbsp maple syrup or honey

• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper or chili flakes
• 1 1/2 tsp curry powder
• 1 tsp ginger (use this only if you don’t have fresh ginger)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Instructions:

1. In a large pot on medium/high heat, heat the oil then add in the onions and garlic (and fresh ginger if you have it). Stir them around for 2-3 minutes until the onions are translucent.
2. Add in the squash and stir for 1 minute.
3. Add in all your spices (salt, pepper, curry, ginger, cinnamon) and stir until everything is coated. Cover the pot and cook for 5 minutes. Stir every minute or so.
4. Add in all your liquids (coconut milk, broth, sweetener). Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes until the squash is fork tender. Poke a few different chunks to be sure they’re all evenly cooked.
5. Blend the soup using either an immersion blender (Amazon), or a normal blender (Amazon) and blend until perfectly smooth.

I like to serve it with toasted bread & goat cheese but there are loads of options for serving. You can garnish with cilantro, toasted seeds or chickpeas, serve with salad, or anything your heart desires.

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