by : Reiko Beans/Lentils, Pasta/Noodle/Rice, Reviews, Root vegetable, Soup, Vegan, Vegetarian

Moroccan Chickpea Stew with Roasted Veggies
ロースト野菜のせモロッコ風ひよこ豆シチュー

Last week Terry and I took a whole week off and enjoyed a few mini trips.

The destination of one of the trips was our favorite city, Chicago.

We LOVE Chicago for so many reasons, but one of the things we really enjoy doing there is trying different restaurants because there are so many options!

People come home from their trip with souveniors, but I come home with food ideas (lol).

We are having more and more vegan friendly restaurants in the Twin Cities, but Chicago has so much more options, so consequently I find more cool vegan food ideas.

One of the restaurants we like to visit when we are in Chicago is Native Foods Cafe.

We stayed at Virgin Hotels Chicago(we had a very cool suite!), so we were only a few blocks from the restaurant.

We ended up dining at Native Foods Cafe twice during our 3-day stay in the city!

One of the meals I had there was Moroccan Bowl.

To tell the truth, I did not love the bowl because the tofu which was supposed to be marinated with Moroccan spices had little to no flavors and some of the veggies were a bit under-cooked.

But I did like some of their ideas.

One thing I really liked was their large pieces of roasted veggies.

So here is my big batch of roasted veggies.

These are some of my favorite vegetables to roast: carrots, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower.

So here is where my Moroccan bowl starts to greatly differ from the restaurant’s.

Well, it’s not fun to re-create exactly the same thing after all, right?

So the main part of my Moroccan bowl is this chickpea stew.

And I didn’t forget raisins.

I used golden raisins for my bowl because just in general I prefer golden raisin to regular darker raisins; the restaurants’s Moroccan Bowl had regular raisins.

I think the golden ones are more plump and fruity.

Voila!

This is my Moroccan Chickpea Stew with Roasted Veggies.

It was served over brown rice.

I was pretty happy with the final result.

This is why taking a trip is a good thing, and it’s okay to come home without a T-shirt or a shot glass but with food idea notes!

Moroccan Chickpea Stew with Roasted Veggies

roasted vegetables
– canola oil
– 2 carrots, cut into bite-sized pieces
– 2 cups Brussels sprouts
– 2 cups cauliflower, cut into bite-sized pieces
– salt and pepper
Moroccan chickpea stew
– canola oil
– 4 cloves garlic, chopped
– 1 onion, chopped
– 2 celery stalks, chopped
– salt and pepper
– 1~2 tablespoons flour
– about 1 cup water
– 1 28oz can whole tomatoes, pureed with hand blender
– 2 bay leaves
– 2 cinnamon sticks
– sugar
– spices (ground ginger, ground cumin, ground cinnamon, ground cayenne, ground allspice, paprika)
– 1 can chick peas, drained and rinsed
– 1/2 cup golden raisins
– 2 tablespoons toasted almond slices
– chopped cilantro

1. Roast vegetables. Preheat oven to 400F. Place vegetables on a pan lined with foil. Drizzle oil. Salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for about 20~30 minutes or cooked through.
2. Make stew. Sautee garlic and onion in oil. Add celery and continue to cook for a few minutes. Salt and pepper. Put flour and continue to cook while stirring for a few minutes. Add water. Boil and then turn down to low heat.
3. Add tomatoes, bay leaves, and cinnamon sticks. Boil and then turn down to low heat.
4. Add sugar, spices, chick peas, and raisins. Add salt and pepper.
5. Serve with the roasted vegetables. Sprinkle almond slices and chopped cilantro.

The best thing I had at Native Foods Cafe was their Oatmeal Cream Pie.

It was DELICIOUS, and I still dream about it (lol).

by : Reiko Soup, Vegan, Vegetarian

Indian Butter Cauliflower
バターカリフラワーカレー

When we switched from 95% to 100% plant-based diet about a month ago, I thought Indian food would continue to be a great option for us.

And then I quickly realized that it was a bit trickier than I initially thought.

Yes, there are dishes that are flavorful not because of the meat but because of rather a wonderful use of spices.

However, many of our favorite Indian dishes contained some kind of dairy products, like cheese, yogurt and cream.

Then I realized that I could use something else besides cream to make an Indian butter dish.

I use cashew nuts for other things where I would have used mayo, yogurt, or sour cream, so I decided to use cashew cream to see how it goes.

The result was awesome!

We got all the wonderful flavors from a mix of spices, but we also got the creaminess that we were looking for.

I have to say I really didn’t miss anything, meat or dairy cream.

This is going to be one of our go-to Indian dishes; although it will be hard to find an Indian restaurant who makes vegan butter curry…

There are pretty plates that do not look that good when food is served on, and then there are not-that-pretty plats that make any food look good.

This is one of that latter kind of plate (or I should say bowl in this case), and I absolutely love it.

I happened to find it on eBay many years ago, and it’s still one of my favorite dishes.

Indian Butter Cauliflower

1/3~1/2 cup cashew nuts
hot water
canola oil
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 teaspoons chopped ginger
1 onion, chopped
1/2 cauliflower, cut into bite sizes
salt and pepper
1/2~1 teaspoon garam masala
1/2~1 teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon cumin
2 cinnamon sticks
2 bay leaves
water
1 can (28oz) whole tomatoes, pureed
1/2~1 can (6oz) tomato paste
sugar
salt and pepper
chopped cilantro or parsley

1. Soak cashew nuts in hot water that barely covers the nuts for 15~20 minutes.
2. Sautee garlic and ginger in oil. Add onion and continue to cook for another few minutes. Add cauliflower and continues to cook. Salt and pepper.
3. Add garam masala, turmeric, cumin, cinnamon sticks, and bay leaves. Mix well.
4. Add water to barely covers the vegetables. Boil and then turn down to low heat. Continue to cook until the cauliflower is cooked through.
5. Add pureed tomatoes, tomato paste, and sugar. Mix well.
6. Puree the cashew nuts until smooth and creamy. Add the cashew cream to the curry. Salt and pepper. Serve with chopped cilantro or parsley.

by : Reiko Pasta/Noodle/Rice, Soup, Vegan, Vegetarian

Veggie Shoyu Ramen
べジ醤油ラーメン

I know that a lot of people do not like change in their plan.

I’m usually a pretty relaxed person (I think) but when it comes to food, I have a very hard time with change in a plan.

When we have a plan to go to a specific restaurant, I study their menu thoroughly in advance.

Terry laughs when he sees me so focused on a restaurant’s website and carefully plan my meal (lol).

But now I’m eating 100% plant-based, I feel that I have to be well prepared for my next meal (or next several meals) more than ever.

Last weekend we were talking about checking out a new ramen restaurant which offers vegan ramen, and I was so excited about it.

Unfortunately our plan had to be changed because we had this awesome Blues Festival happening in our neighborhood, and we didn’t want to leave for too long and miss the music.

So I decided to prepare a quick meal for dinner myself.

As you can see, I still had craving for ramen, and that’s what I made.

Although I was a bit disappointed because I didn’t get to try the new restaurant, I loved my ramen!

One of the great things about making your own food is that you can make it exactly the way you want it.

I know I’m stating the obvious but I often forget this and eating-out sometimes seems like a much better idea than it actually is.

I should really have to remind myself that home-cooked meal is awesome (lol)!

Veggie Shoyu Ramen

soup
– canola oil
– 2 cloves garlic, cut in half
– 1 small onion, sliced
– salt and pepper
– 1 tablespoon Japanese salted Kombu seaweed (shio-kombu)
– 2 cups water
– sugar
– soy sauce
100g cooked noodle
vegetables; I used cooked broccoli, lightly cooked carrots, corn, scallion
dried Nori seaweed sheet

1. Sautee garlic and onion in oil until browned. Salt and pepper.
2. Add salted Shio kombu.
3. Add water. Boil and then turn down to low heat.
4. Add sugar, soy sauce, one teaspoon at a time, until it achieves your preferred taste. Add more salt if needed.
5. Strain the broth. Serve with noodle, vegetables, and Nori seaweed.

by : Reiko Beans/Lentils, Soup, Vegan, Vegetarian

Seitan Chili with Blackened Corn
焦がしコーン入りチリシチュー

Chili is a quick and easy dish I can put together with what I have in the fridge.

I recently bought seitan and I wanted to use it for something, and I thought chili would be a good idea.

I’ve had an interesting relationship with seitan.

Seitan probably has the texture the closest to real meat, compared to other vegan options.

But I was never sure about eating “gluten”.

I recently did a little more research and found out exactly how you make seitan, which made me feel relaxed.

I also learned that some very traditional Japanese ingredients that I always liked were actually “gluten” as well.

The other star of this chili is blackened corn.

The corn is so sweet right now!

It’s like eating candy, and I absolutely love it.

Doesn’t it look good?

I like my chili thick, and I use tomato paste.

Although my relationship with seitan has improved, I would have to say I’ll see how it goes.

I think it’s a great option for people who crave for the meat texture, but personally, it’s not that important.

Various textures from various vegetables are simply satisfying to me.

But again, it’s a fun option to have, and I’m sure you’ll see more dishes with seitan on my blog in the future.

For instance, this blackened corn.

Love the texture as well as its sweetness.

Seitan Chili with Blackened Corn

canola oil
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 package or about 1 cup seitan, finely torn with hands or chopped
1 can black beans, rinsed
water
2 bay leaves
1 6oz can tomato paste
chili powder
1~2 teaspoons diced chipotle peppers from jar
cane sugar
salt and pepper
1 ear corn, blackened
cilantro, chopped

1. Sautee garlic, onion, and green peppers with oil.
2. Add seitan and black beans. Continue to cook. Salt and pepper.
3. Add water to cover the vegetables and seitan. Add bay leaves. Boil and then turn down to low heat.
4. Add tomato paste, chili powder, chipotle peppers, sugar, salt, and pepper.
5. Serve with blackened corn and cilantro.

by : Reiko Pasta/Noodle/Rice, Soup, Vegan, Vegetarian

Bukkake Soba
茄子とズッキーニのせぶっかけ蕎麦

What do you serve with your soba noodles?

When you cannot decide what to do, how about making “Bukkake-Soba”?

Bukkake means “pile up everything” in Japanese, and that’s what I did for my lunch.

The main players were sauteed eggplant and zucchini, but the supporting players are also important.

These are some of my favorite supporting ingredients for my Bukkake-Soba: scallion, Japanese shiso, and grated radish.

You also need soup.

If you have a cute pot like this, you can separately serve soup in style.

Grated radish is important for both its taste and its beautiful pink color, which brightens up the whole dish visually and taste-wise.

Doesn’t this look tasty?

You can serve this soba hot, cold, or even at room-temperature.

Love “Bukkake”.

So flavorful and satisfying.

You can always make your vegetables into tempura, but if you don’t　want　to　go　through　the　hassle　(if　you　are　like　me),　you　can　use　sauteed　vegetables　and sprinkle store-bought fried onions.

Bukkake Soba

100g cooked soba
soup
– 1 cup water
– 3×3 inch dried Kombu
– 1 tablespoon soy sauce
– 1 tablespoon cane sugar
– salt
1/3 cup sauteed zucchini
1/3 cup sauteed eggplant
1~2 tablespoons fried onions
2 tablespoons chopped scallion
2 tablespoons chopped Shiso Japanese basil
2 radish, grated

1. Make soup. Combine water and Kombu in a small pot. Boil and then turn down to low heat. Add soy sauce, sugar, and salt. Mix well.
2. Serve soba in soup with sauteed vegetables, fried onions, scallion, Shiso, and grated radish.

Here is a picture of some of the flowers I got from the local farmers market last weekend.

I enjoy getting locally grown vegetables, but fresh flowers are also fun to look at at the market.

The prices are so reasonable, and I look forward to having more fresh flowers in our house.

Have a great weekend everyone!

by : Reiko Beans/Lentils, Potato/Squash, Soup, Tofu, Vegan, Vegetarian

Kabocha Tofu Chili
南瓜と豆腐のチリスープ

08

Chili is one of my favorite dishes to make.

Especially since we stopped eating a lot of meat, I’ve become more creative and started experimenting with various ingredients.

What I’ve found is that you can’t really go wrong with chili, whatever ingredients you use!

12

This is no-meat Kabocha Tofu Chili.

In this chili along with Kabocha squash and mashed extra firm tofu, you’ll find black beans and onions (I was planning to add green peppers and I forgot).

This was so tasty!

I really liked the sweetness from the Kabocha balancing the spices.

14

Chili is such a great one-bowl meal.

Packed with nutrients and makes me stay full for a long time.

07

Kabocha Tofu Chili

canola oil
3~4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 cups cubed Kabocha
1 package extra firm tofu, microwaved for about one minute and excess water was removed
2 cups water
2 bay leaves
1 can black beans, rinsed
1 6-oz can tomato paste
cumin
chili powder
sugar
2~3 teaspoons chipotle sauce from a jar
salt and pepper
hot sauce
japapeno peppers from a jar, chopped
chopped cilantro

1. Sautee garlic and onion in oil.
2. Add Kabocha and continue to cook.
3. Add tofu and continue to cook. Salt and pepper.
4. Add water and bay leaves. Boil and then turn down to a low heat. Continue to cook until Kabocha is cooked through.
5. Add beans, tomato paste, cumin, chili powder, sugar, chipotle paste, salt, pepper, and hot sauce. Mix well.
6. Serve with chopped jalapeno peppers and cilantro.