Vegan Week, Dish 9: Sauteed Eggplants with Angel Hair

Another eggplant dish (poor Tony) because I just love the stuff! Tossed with some kalamatas and capers, how can you go wrong? Just a note, I was making two dinners (the norm during Vegan Week) so I forgot the last step of adding the pasta to the pan to mix with the eggplants and by the time I realized, most of the liquid had been absorbed and it wouldn't have worked so I just served it over the pasta. I recommend you don't forget that step.

Ingredients
1 tbs olive oil
2 small eggplants or 1 large, cut into half inch cubes
1 tbs minced garlic
3 plum tomatoes, diced
1 small sweet onion, diced
2 tsp capers
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp chopped parsley
16 oz angel hair pasta, cooked according to directions on package, 1/4 cup of cooking liquid reserved
1 cup sliced kalamata olives
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
1 In a pan over medium-high heat, add oil, garlic and crushed peppers. Saute till fragrant.

2 Add onions and saute until translucent.

3 Add tomatoes and saute until soft.

4 Add eggplants, toss to combine, cover and cook 10 minutes or until eggplants are tender, stirring occasionally.

5 Add olives, capers, vinegar, salt and fresh cracked pepper and combine. Cook 2-3 minutes.

6 Add pasta and pasta water, toss to combine. Turn off heat and stir parsley in.

Vegan Week, Dish 8: Vegan Chili

With loads of vegetables and beans, this is a really hearty dish. Just like my Turkey Pumpkin Chili and my Beef Pumpkin Chili, it's great for the slow cooker. I like my food spicy, as I'm sure you've noticed so I added three different kind of chili spices. Feel free to add more or less, according to your level of heat acceptance.

Ingredients
1 tbs olive oil
1 small sweet onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 1/2 tbs minced garlic
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 jalapeno, diced
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tbs ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
28 oz can whole tomatoes, diced and juice reserved
15 oz can black beans
16 oz can kidney beans
1 tbs cocoa powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 1/2 cups mushroom broth
1 bay leaf

Directions
1 In a pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat and add garlic, onions, carrots, celery, bell peppers and jalapenos and saute until tender. (After this step, you can transfer everything to the slow cooker, add the rest of the ingredients and cook on low 6-8 hours.)

2 Add the rest of the ingredients, including the reserved tomato juice from the can, stir and bring to a boil.

3 Reduce heat, cover and let simmer 40 minutes to an hour.
4 Garnish with black olives, cilantro and/or green onions.

Vegan Week, Dish 7: Pad See Ew

This Thai dish, when translated literally, means "Stir-Fry Soy Sauce." The dish came out really good, but was lacking that traditional Pad See Ew flavor. After doing a bit of research, I discovered what I did wrong. It's not called "Stir-Fry Soy Sauce" for nothing. I used the soy sauce I had in my pantry, but the dish needs the right soy sauces in order to get the right flavors: sweet dark soy sauce and a light soy sauce. I used a regular dark soy sauce and my old favorite, Golden Mountain, which I guess you would probably categorize in the dark soy sauce family, too. Don't make my mistake if you want the same flavors that you'd get in the restaurants. Look for "Dark Sweet Soy Sauce" and a "Light Soy Sauce", not to be mistaken with "Low Sodium Soy Sauce." The word "light" does not refer to the sodium intake, or even the color, but the taste. Light soy sauce does not taste as salty as the darker soy sauce. If you don't already have the right soy sauces and don't care to go searching for them, then I recommend adding a couple more tablespoons of sugar (more or less to taste) to obtain that bit of sweetness that the dish is supposed to have.

Ingredients
14 oz package XL flat rice noodles
3 tbs dark sweet soy sauce
1 bunch Chinese broccoli, leaves and stems separated, stems cut at an angle (about 3 cups)
10 oz package extra firm tofu, cut into strips
10 oz package soft tofu, roughly cubed for scrambling
1 tbs minced garlic
1 tbs sugar
1 tbs light soy sauce
3 tbs mushroom sauce
2 tsp vinegar
2 fresh Thai chilies (optional)
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Directions
1 In a bowl, mix together the sugar, light soy sauce, mushroom sauce, vinegar and Thai chilies. Set aside.
2 Heat oil in wok on high heat and add garlic. Toss till fragrant.
3 Add extra firm tofu and dark sweet soy sauce. Stir-fry 2-3 minutes.

4 Add noodles and cook about 5 minutes, continuously folding in noodles to incorporate with the rest of the ingredients.

5 Push everything in wok to the side and add soft tofu cubes. Scramble, then toss with the rest of the ingredients.

6 Add Chinese broccoli and sauce mixture and stir fry for another 5-7 minutes, until noodles are cooked and broccoli is crisp-tender.
7 Serve immediately.

Vegan Week, Dish 6: Vegetable Curry

The coconut milk and curry paste is so wonderful together, the two ingredients alone can make this dish. That's how much I love that combination. Maybe some toasted French baguette to sop up the soup, YUM! To make it a meal, however, we'll have to add lots of vegetables. I LOVE my veggies so I may have gotten a bit carried away. Add whatever kind of vegetables you fancy. It's your dish, so make it your own.

Ingredients
4 oz can Thai red curry paste (or whatever kind you prefer)
2-13.5 oz can coconut milk
2 cups green beans
1 Idaho potato, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
1 small sweet onion, cut into 1/4 inch strips
Half dozen Thai eggplants, quartered
15 oz can extra small baby corn
20 oz can bamboo shoots (half), sliced into 1/4 inch strips
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/4 inch strips
2 cups Thai basil leaves
3 tbs soy sauce
2-4 lime leaves (optional), finely julienned
2 fresh Thai chili peppers (optional), cut in half at an angle
knuckle-size piece of ginger (optional), peeled and finely julienned

Directions
1 In a heated pot over medium-high heat, add coconut milk and curry paste and stir for 1-2 minutes.

2 Add bamboo shoots and potatoes and stir. Reduce heat to medium, cover and cook about 5 minutes.
3 Add baby corns, eggplants and green beans. Cook about 7-8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4 Add bell peppers, onions and soy sauce and cook about 3-5 minutes, until crisp-tender.

5 Turn off heat and add chili peppers, lime leaves and basil leaves. Stir to incorporate.

6 Serve hot over steamed rice and garnished with strips of ginger.

Vegan Week, Dish 5: Farfalle with Mushrooms and Asparagus

I don't think it can get any healthier, yet heartier, than this dish because I used vegetable broth in place of oil (well, if you use whole grain, I guess then it could be healthier). The dried shitake takes it to a whole new level so don't leave that out. I cooked the pasta in the water used to soak them, I think it gives it a little something extra.

Ingredients
12 oz farfalle
1 bunch asparagus, ends broken off and spears sliced at an angle into inch-long pieces
2 cups dried shitake mushrooms
8 oz baby portabella mushrooms, sliced
2 tb minced garlic
2 shallots, sliced
1/2 ts dried pepper flakes
1 tb chopped parsley
1-2 cups vegetable broth
salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste

Directions
1 Soak the shitake in enough hot water to cook the pasta. Once soft, remove shitake and set aside.

2 In the water used to soak shitake, bring to a boil and add pasta. Cook till al dente. Drain and set aside.
3 In a heated pan, over medium-high heat, add about 2 tb vegetable broth, garlic, shallots and pepper flakes (I forgot to add the pepper flakes here so I did it in the next step). Cook till fragrant.

4 Add mushrooms and cook, stirring for about 10 minutes. Keep adding broth if it evaporates, you don't want the pan to dry out and burn the mushrooms.

5 Add asparagus, salt and fresh cracked pepper. Add more broth if necesscary. Cook, stirring occasionaly for about 3-5 minutes, till asparagus are crisp-tender.

6 Remove from heat, add parsley and stir.

7 Add pasta and toss to combine.

Vegan Week, Dish 4: Basil Eggplant

This dish is adapted from another recipe from http://www.thaitable.com/. If you love eggplants like I do, you're going to love this dish! It's also quick and easy so it's an awesome dish to for a busy weeknight.

Ingredients
4 Chinese eggplants
2 cups Thai basil leaves
2 tb minced garlic
2 Thai chili peppers, finely chopped (optional)
1 1/2 tb sugar
3 tb soy sauce
2 tb oil
2 tb water

Directions
1 Slice the eggplants at an angle, alternating sides with each cut.

2 In a preheated pan over medium high heat, add oil, garlic and chili peppers and saute till fragrant .
3 Add the eggplants and stir to combine.

4 Add water, lower heat to medium, cover and let cook for about 5-8 minutes, until eggplants are almost cooked through.
5 Add sugar and soy sauce and stir. Cook for another 2-5 minutes, until eggplants are cooked through. They will become almost translucent.

6 Remove from heat, add basil and stir to incorporate.

7 Serve hot over steamed rice.

Vegan Week, Dish 3: Tofu Puffs with Peanut Cilantro Dip

I found this really delicious snack on http://www.thaitable.com/. Forget that it's tofu because the dip takes it out of this world! We've been having it every day as a snack during our vegan week. You should be able to find the packet of soy puffs at most Asian markets.

Ingredients
4 oz package soy puffs
About half cup chopped cilantro
2 tb toasted and roughly crushed unsalted peanuts
2 tb sugar
1 tb vinegar
1 ts chili garlic sauce
1/2 ts salt, or to taste

Directions
1 Cut puffs in half and bake in a preheated 350º oven for about 10 minutes on each side, just to toast them.
2 Mix the sugar, vinegar, chili garlic sauce and salt in a bowl and stir to dissolve. Add cilantro and peanuts and stir.