Quick Hungarian Mushroom Paprikash

What the cat is paprikash? According to my research and mostly Wikipedia - not an evidenced based source, but it will do for my current purposes - paprikash is a stew flavored by the spice paprika. Hence the name paprikash.

I have been meaning to make my version of this recipe for some time now. I enjoy pasta with homemade tomato sauce, but I also admit that it gets boring. This recipe is really easy and you can dress it up or down any which way. Add chickpeas or baked tofu for a more substantial meal (the more protein in your food, the more satiated you will be, but don't over do it). You can add an additional cup of favorite vegetables, perhaps a bell pepper?

Cheers!

Hungarian Mushroom Paprikash

Hungarian Mushroom Paprikash 

Ingredients
1-2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large onion, sliced into half moons
1 (10-oz package) baby bella "cremini" mushrooms, roughly sliced (white button mushrooms may be substituted)
2 large portabella mushrooms, roughly sliced with gills and all
4-5 garlic cloves, minced
3 large carrots, peeled and shredded
Freshly ground black pepper (about 1/4 teaspoon)
1 teaspoon salt (season according to your taste)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons sweet smoked paprika or regular sweet paprika
1 (6-oz can) tomato paste
2 cups strong vegetable broth
1 tablespoon corn starch (optional)
1/2 cup unsweetened soy or almond milk (vegan sour cream may be substituted, use about 1/3 cup)

*Cooked noodles of choice (I used brown rice noodles)

Directions
In a large, deep pan, sauté the onion, baby bella mushrooms, large portabella mushrooms, and carrots in oil, over a medium heat, for about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir often.

*This is a good time to start boiling the water for your noodles. 

Add garlic, and all the spices and cook for another minute. Add tomato paste and continue cooking for another 2 minutes or so. It is important that the raw taste of tomato paste is "cooked off."

Stir in the vegetable broth, cover and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat to low and cook for about 5 minutes.

*Optional: You will use corn starch to thicken the stew, however skip this step if you like the consistency as is. It will be rather thick without the corn starch. During the last 5 minute mark, remove about 1/2 cup stew and place it in a small bowl. Add corn starch and whisk it well to ensure no lumps are left. Add it back into the pan. 

Turn off the heat and add the plant milk. Mix well. If adding vegan sour cream, do so gradually and also off the heat. Otherwise, there is a chance it will separate. Nie dobrze! (Translation from Polish: not good!)

Be sure to taste the prepared dish for additional seasonings such as salt and pepper.

Serve over cooked noodles of choice or anything you fancy.

Peace out!

Eat!

Vodka Sauce with Cashew Cream

I had both of my wisdom teeth removed today. Given I am less wiser now, I fear that I may not survive the remaining two months of what is left of the school semester. Hopefully I will not be affected that much ;-)

Well, I am still up for posting a recipe today, and this one is really good. There is a finicky eater in my household who is not vegan or vegetarian, and he liked this recipe immensely. Cheers! 

Vodka Sauce with Cashew Cream. 

Vodka Sauce with Cashew Cream 

Ingredients
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
4-5 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup shredded carrots (you don't have to be exact about this amount)
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon basil (if using fresh basil, add it at the end, once the sauce is ready)
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2-3 teaspoons raw cane sugar (I like my sauce tangy, and used 2 teaspoons of raw cane sugar)
1 (28-oz can) crushed tomatoes
1/2 to 3/4 cup vodka of choice (I used 1/2 cup)
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Cashew Cream
1 cup raw cashew pieces, soaked in water overnight or longer (I soaked mine for 2 days)
1-2 tablespoons unsweetened plant milk of choice (I used soy milk)

* Don't forget the pasta. I used 1 (16-oz package) of whole wheat penne pasta and cooked it according to package directions. Use pasta of choice for this recipe. 

The longer the cashews are soaked, the creamier they get when blended. 

Directions
Preheat a large pot or sauce pan over a medium heat. Add olive oil and onion. Sauté for about 5 minutes. Add garlic and carrots and continue sautéing for another 3-5 minutes. Add a splash of water to prevent from sticking to the pan, if necessary. Now add crushed tomatoes, all of the spices including sugar. Mix well. Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat to medium-low, add vodka, and cook for about 30-45 minutes.

Stir once in a while. You may have to lower the heat a bit more if the sauce bubbles too much. The longer you cook the sauce, the better the flavor, however, it taste good at the 30 minute mark as well.

While the sauce is cooking, make the cashew cream. Drain the cashews, add them to a high speed blender or food processor along with the plant milk. Blend until very smooth. The longer you blend it, the smoother and thicker it becomes. You don't want it gritty, thus blend for at least 2-3 minutes.

Prepare pasta of choice according to package directions about 10-15 minutes before the sauce is ready. 

Once the vodka sauce is ready, turn off the heat. Use an immersion blender to blend the sauce before adding the cashew cream. You can use food processor or regular blender for this task as well. Be careful about transferring the sauce to a blending tool as it will be very hot. If you don't have any blending gadgets, that's ok. There will be some chunks from the onion and carrots, but so what?

Add the cashew cream to the sauce and mix well. The sauce looks like this when blended and once the cashew cream has been added.

Beautiful! 

Taste for seasonings. You may want to add more sugar, salt, or pepper if needed. Serve over cooked pasta and enjoy. 

Eat! 

Quick Dinner Idea - Pasta with Kalamata Olive Tapenade and...

Pasta! - there are more exclamation points to unfold within this post. 

Being human or otherwise comes with having particular days. Some include feeling the following:

• I suck! 
• You suck! 
• Everything sucks! 
• and...Suck it! 

Conversely, you may also have days when you feel:

• I rock! 
• You rock! 
• Everything rocks! 
• and…Rock on! 

Whatever day you are having, even if not depicted above, a quick dinner idea may HELP. 

Whatever happens….

Dude says: HELLO! 

Pasta is a staple food for whatever ails you. Even if you are not ailing, you will enjoy this recipe.

Pasta with Kalamata Olive Tapenade. 

Pasta with Kalamata Olive Tapenade 

Ingredients 
1 (12-oz package) pasta of choice (I used Trader Joe's Organic Vegetable Radiatore)
*This pasta is not gluten-free.

Tapenade
3 garlic cloves
1 cup pitted kalamata olives (Other good quality olives may be substituted.)
2 tablespoons sun-dried tomatoes (The ones packed in oil will also do.)
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, tightly packed, stems removed
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Freshly ground black pepper (about 1/3 of a teaspoon)

Mountain of yum. Take a hike! 

Directions 
Prepare the pasta of choice according to package directions. No need to salt the water as the tapenade is pretty SALTEE in my humble opinion. However, if you disagree, go to town with salt, but not that far.

While the pasta is cooking, make the tapenade. In a food processor, or high speed blender (I am not sure how regular blender behaves during this task. Be sure to let me know.) add the garlic cloves, and pulse for a second. Add the remaining ingredients and give your food processor or blender a GO! Be sure to add a bit of water or additional olive oil if the blending is not going so well.

Drain the pasta - do not rinse! - place in a large bowl and mix in the tapenade. Serve with additional basil on top or vegan parmesan. You can also add favorite nuts of choice to make it more interesting.

If you are not a pasta fan, serve the tapenade with crackers or toast. Serve it hot or cold - the choice is yours.

Peace out!

Eat and cheers peeps!

Pasta with Creamy Tomato Sauce and Frustration

Pasta with Creamy Tomato Sauce. I used whole wheat pasta because I am cool like that. 

It is hard to believe it is November already, and that I have not posted anything this month. Midterms kept me busy for quite some time. They also unleashed much despair and chaos onto my life. Well, that was then. Now I face another struggle, which quite honestly is a thorn in my side lately.

What is it? I can't get into much detail for confidentiality reasons, but let's just say that helping people who are not ready to be helped is a challenge. I know it is not about me, and yet me is part of the equation. As much as I try to remove me in efforts to think objectively, it sneaks in. It also takes things personally. I can't help it, I am human. There is a word I thought I would never use in regards to myself.

I am writing this to vent a ton and to also to draw some conclusions. The conclusions I have been able to gather in a neat pink bow thus far are: meet the person where they are, and ride it out with them, even if you sit in a room together, in silence. The wave will break eventually - PLEASE break.

Cheers!

Notice my feline friend Lilah in the background. I think she brings it all together, don't you? 

Pasta with Creamy Tomato Sauce

Ingredients 
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
4 to 5 garlic cloves, minced (I like garlic!)
1 (28-oz can) crushed tomatoes
Freshly ground black pepper (I used lots of it)
Sea salt to taste (about 1/2 teaspoon or less)
1/2 to 1 teaspoon raw cane sugar (I used about 3/4 of a teaspoon)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
1/2 cup green peas, defrosted (optional)
1/4 cup raw blanched almonds, slivered and soaked overnight (This is your almond cream for the tomato sauce)

* Cooked pasta of choice. 

Directions 
To make the cream, soak the almonds in 1 to 2 cups of water, in the refrigerator, overnight.

In a large pan, sauté the onion in oil for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, stir, and continue sautéing for another minute or so. You can add a splash of water instead of additional oil to prevent it from burning.

Add crushed tomatoes, pepper, sugar, oregano, basil, salt, and red pepper flakes. Stir, cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat to low, and continue cooking for about 15 minutes.

During this time, prepare the pasta of choice and make the cream.

To make the almond cream, drain the almonds, add a splash or two of water and process it in a high powered blender. The cream should yield about 3 tablespoons total. I used all of it in my sauce.

This is what the almond cream should look like. 

Once your tomato sauce is ready, use an immersion blender to make it smooth or if you like it chunky, don't bother. Add the peas, cream and mix well. Taste for seasonings, adjust accordingly.

Ready for pasta!

Serve over pasta of choice.

Homemade Noodles - LAZANKI # Vegan MoFo

Can you make homemade noodles in less than an hour using pantry ingredients you have on hand at this very moment? I deem this to be true. Don't you believe me? Scroll down to the ingredients list, and check your pantry. I will wait...was I right? I bet I was.

These noodles differ from other types of pasta in that they are thick, and do not require to be suspended in the air to dry. Furthermore, you do not need any special tools to make these noodles other than a roller and a pizza cutter. I bet you have these already too.

Lazanki (noodles) are traditionally served during Christmas. Some people prepare them with sweet poppy seed dressing while others eat them with cabbage and mushrooms. I eat them with tomato sauce. That's right!

Cheers!

Homemade noodles with tomato sauce and vegan parmesan. 

Ingredients (Makes 2 servings)
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour, plus additional for dusting the work surface
1/2 to 1 teaspoon ground sea salt, depending on preference
2 tablespoons olive oil (vegetable oil may be substituted)
3 tablespoons cold water, plus 1/2 tablespoon, as needed

Directions
In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour, salt, oil, and 3 tablespoons of water. Knead the dough for about 2 minutes, and add the remaining water as needed. The dough should be moist, but not too sticky.

This is what the dough should look like.

Wrap the dough in a plastic wrap, and put it in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes. Remove from the refrigerator and roll out the dough as thin as you can. Like this.

Use a pizza-cutter to slice the dough to shapes of choice. Traditional lazanki (noodles) are broad and shaped like this.

Hello!

Separate the noodles and allow 15 minutes to dry prior to boiling. Like this.

So easy! 

While the noodles are drying, bring a medium sized pot of water to boil. Once boiling, add all the noodles, lower the heat to medium-low and cook the noodles for about 5 minutes. Stir often. The noodles will float to the top when ready. Serve with favorite sauce. These are great pan-fried too!

Eat!

MacCatty and Cheese (Vegan Mac and Cheese)

MacCatty and Cheese

Instead of my usual approach, I leave you with this poem.

Oh MacCatty and Cheese! How I love thee. 

Your yellow exterior inspires me to live a life that is cruelty-free. 

Your creamy texture surprises me. Is there cheese in there? No, no…you are dairy-free.

Cheers!

MacCatty and Cheese

Ingredients
1 pound (16-oz package) gluten-free or regular pasta of choice
3 cups unflavored almond milk (I used Almond Breeze Original)
¼ cup vegan butter, melted
¾ cup nutritional yeast (I used large nutritional yeast flakes)
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika (regular paprika may be substituted)
½ teaspoon white pepper (optional)
½ teaspoon turmeric
2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons cornstarch, plus 2 tablespoons of water (to make the slurry)
2-3 tablespoons gluten free panko or breadcrumbs of choice, plus additional 1 tablespoon of vegan butter

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 F. Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water to prevent from further cooking. Set aside.

In a medium sized saucepan, melt ¼ cup vegan butter over medium heat. While the butter is melting, in a large bowl, whisk together almond milk, nutritional yeast, Dijon mustard, onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, white pepper, turmeric, and salt. Add the sauce mixture to the butter, stir and bring to a boil.

While you are waiting for the sauce to boil, make the slurry. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of water. Whisk until there are no lumps left. That’s your slurry! Once the sauce is boiling, lower the heat to a simmer and add the slurry to the sauce, gradually while continually whisking it for about 5-6 minutes. Once the sauce has thickened, turn off the heat.

To assemble, coat a 12-inch cooking dish with a non-stick cooking spray and add the prepared pasta. Add the sauce and mix well. Top with panko or breadcrumbs of choice. Add a few dabs of vegan butter. Cook uncovered in the oven for 30 minutes.

*Note

In a hurry? Skip the oven and add the cooked pasta to the prepared sauce without baking it.

Easy Pad Thai

Easy Pad Thai

Time-consuming recipes both intrigue and challenge me, but I tend to gravitate towards easy, everyday ingredients type of recipes. The Easy Pad Thai recipe reflects my mantra of cooking: easy and delicious. I look back on the time when I decided to go vegan. I moved from New York City to the beautiful small town of Monterey, MA. The town had no supermarket, so I did my grocery shopping at a supermarket in the next town over. I remember one time I decided to challenge myself and walk there. I had no driver’s license back then. It took me almost four hours, but I did it! Enough of that, go to your kitchen and make this recipe. 

Cheers! 

The cabin I lived in on the right. I miss it! 

Easy Pad Thai

Ingredients

8-oz package rice noodles of choice

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil or vegetable oil

3 green onions, roughly chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger

1 chili pepper, sliced and deveined (optional)

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

1 cup of vegetables of choice (I used 8-oz can bamboo shoots and 8-oz can water chestnuts. Both were sliced, drained and rinsed.)

Bean sprouts for garnish (optional)

Chopped peanuts for garnish (optional)

Sauce Ingredients

4 tablespoons tamari sauce (soy sauce may be substituted, but it won’t be gluten free)

2 tablespoons peanut butter (I used smooth, unsalted peanut butter)

3 tablespoons sweet chili sauce (found in the Asian aisle of your supermarket)

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice

Directions

Prepare the rice noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water to prevent from further cooking. Set aside.

While the rice noodles are cooking, preheat a large pan on medium heat. Add toasted sesame oil and sauté green onions and vegetables of choice for 5-7 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, chili pepper (if using) and crushed red pepper flakes (if using). Continue cooking for two minutes and stir continuously. Add a splash of water to prevent from sticking if necessary. Add the cooked rice noodles and pan-fry them for about two minutes. I like my noodles crunchy, so I leave them in the pan for about 6 minutes and then add the sauce.

Make the sauce while pan-frying the rice noodles. In a medium bowl, whisk tamari, peanut butter, sweet chili sauce, and lime juice. Turn off the heat and add the sauce to the noodles. Garnish with peanuts and bean sprouts.

*Note

If using raw broccoli or carrots as your vegetable choice, be sure to steam them first prior to adding to the noodle base.