Mushroom Vindaloo

The mere mention of Vindaloo, Xiacuti, Ambotik, Cafrael, Sorpotel will send many an Indian into a 'vacation state of mind' ... !! Summer vacations spent on the beaches of Goa allowed many of us to sample in its unique Portugese-Inspired cuisine. Suffice to say .. it always brings back good memories. 

Vindaloo is derived from the Portugese dish Carne de vinha d'alhos, a pork dish made with wine and garlic as the main elements. In Goa, the red wine was substituted with the cheap and locally available palm vinegar and Red Kashmiri chillies were added along with several other local spices to make Vindaloo. While meat-based preparations are marinated in the vindaloo spice paste overnight, this is not necessary for vegetables and this dish, like most of my other recipes, is made in less than 30 minutes.

Prep Time: 30 min 

Ingredients (Serves 4):

1. 2 x 12oz Packs of Sliced Mushrooms (about 3 cups)
2. 1 cup frozen peas
3. 1 Medium Red or Yellow Onion, diced. 
4. 5-6 Dried Red Chillies
5. 2 x 1" pcs of Cinnamon
6. 1 tbsp Cumin Seeds
7. 1 tbsp Coriander Powder (or Coriander Seed)
8. 1 tsp Turmeric
9. 6-8 Cloves
10. 2 inch piece of fresh Ginger
11. 1 tbsp Minced Garlic, or 4-5 fresh cloves
12. 4 whole Green Cardamoms
13. 1 tsp whole black pepper corns
14. 1/4 cup Malt (or White) Vinegar

Directions for Vindaloo Paste: 

In a small blender or food processor, mix red chillies, cinnamon, cumin, coriander seeds, turmeric, cloves, ginger and garlic and vinegar and blend to a smooth paste. This magic in a jar vindaloo paste can be used on any number of dishes and can be adapted to any taste. Use less red chilli peppers if you prefer a milder taste. Add more vinegar if the paste is too dry while grinding. A little extra won't hurt the flavors. You can also make up a big batch of paste, freeze in an ice cube tray and store the frozen cubes for future use.  

Directions:

Line a skillet with water and saute onions until translucent. Add a splash of water if necessary to prevent sticking. Once the onions are done, add the whole green cardamoms and black pepper corns and saute until the cardamoms pop open with the heat and steam, adding a splash of water or vegetable broth, as needed. After a couple of minutes, add Vindaloo Paste, mix well and add vegetables. Turn heat to medium and toss everything together. Saute for a few minutes to allow flavors to blend and the spices to cook. Then add a cup of water or vegetable broth. If you want your dish soupier, add more water to obtain the desired consistency. Bring to a boil and turn down to a simmer for about 10 minutes. Garnish with fresh cilantro and serve over steamed rice, or with thick bread for sopping up the curry. 

Nutrition Facts (Per Serving): Calories 110 (Fat Calories 12)

Total Fat 1.3 g; Carbohydrates 19.3 g; Fiber 6.1 g; Sugars 6.2 g; Protein 8.5 g


If you liked this recipe, be sure to check out my Recipe Index for more Whole-Food, Plant-Based, No-Added-Oil recipes. You can also like Rugrat Chow! on Facebook. Thanks!

Miso & Garlic Tofu Stir-Fry

In my humble opinion, a stir-fry is the easiest way to consume fresh vegetables in a hot dish without losing too much of the nutritional value (as opposed to eating the raw veggies). I often make quick stir fries out of whatever veggies and/or mushrooms I have handy, and have in the past often used commercially-made Asian sauces such as Vegetarian Thai Peanut Sauce or Vegetarian Oyster Sauce. While these sauces are great, they do contain a lot of added sodium and also the mystery ingredient "natural flavors". So today, I tried to make a stir-fry which was made with simpler ingredients and didn't have anything I couldn't identify in my pantry. 

Miso & Garlic Tofu Stir-Fry

Prep Time: 20 min

Ingredients*:

1. 1 block (14oz) Extra-Firm Tofu, pressed** and diced
2. 2 bunches of Scallions (white parts halved and leaves separated)
3. 1 cup Baby carrots, thinly sliced, if needed
4. 2 large Oyster Mushrooms, sliced
5. 6-8 White mushrooms, sliced
6. 2 tbsp Low-Sodium Soy Sauce
7. 1 tbsp White Miso
8. 1 tbsp Ginger-Garlic Paste
9. 1 tbsp Minced Garlic
10. 1 cup (or less) Vegetable broth
11. Pepper, to taste.
12. Brown Rice, steamed, 1 cup

Directions: 

Mix miso in about an 1/8 to a 1/4 cup of vegetable broth until completely dissolved. Set aside. If your rice is not previously steamed, fill a stock pot with water and add rice, and set it to boil on the back burner, once the water comes to a rolling boil, reduce heat to medium-high and allow to simmer until the rice is tender. Drain and rinse, like pasta. Set aside.  While the rice is boiling, line a large skillet (or wok, if you have one!) with broth. On high or medium-high heat, and add ginger-garlic paste and the extra garlic (for the extra oomph!). Once these release their aroma, add soy sauce and immediately add all the vegetables and a splash of vegetable broth. Stir fry for a couple of minutes until vegetables are done (to your taste) and add the diced tofu, toss well. Generally, I like to leave the vegetables just a tad crunchy and don't let them become fork tender. Mix well. Turn off heat (but leave the pan on the stove). Add Miso/broth mix and stir everything together. Cover and let sit for 2 minutes to allow the miso to release its flavors and for the tofu to absorb as much of the flavors as it can. Serve over steamed brown rice. Garnish with freshly sliced scallions and freshly cracked black pepper. 

Miso & Garlic Tofu Stir-Fry

My Assessment: Umm Umm Good!!! I had 2 huge guilt-free bowls tonight and I have enough leftovers to  take for lunch tomorrow. This recipe makes 4 good size servings. T tried the last serving and picked at it because he's not a fan of tofu.  

* This is a no-added-salt recipe. The soy sauce and miso had so much flavor and natural salt that I didn't add, or feel the need for, any salt at all.

** Press tofu between kitchen towels, with a weight on top for 5-10 min. This removes excess liquids and then the tofu tends to absorb fluids from the vegetables and the sauce and takes on a lot more flavor.  

Two Lentil Soup

This heart warming Two-Lentil Soup is a concoction I came up with on a rainy Ohio fall day. It is packed with protein goodness, zero fat and greens as well. Also, it has only 1 spice ... roasted ground cumin! Yum! If you like cumin, or even if you don't, do give roasted ground cumin a try. It has a much smoother earthy flavor and a little bit of it goes a long way. 

Two Lentil Soup with Oyster Mushrooms

Prep Time: 15 min (pressure cooker)

Ingredients:

1. 1/3 cup Mung Dal (Green lentils, split and skinned)
2. 1/3 cup Masoor Dal (Red lentils, split and skinned)
3. 1 cup Spinach, coarsely torn
4. 1 cup Oyster mushrooms (optional)
5. 1 medium red onion, diced
6. 1 large tomato, diced
7. 1 tbsp Ginger-Garlic paste
8. 2-3 cups of water or vegetable broth
9. 1-2 tsp roasted ground cumin, to taste.
10. Salt and Pepper, to taste

Directions:

Mix all ingredients in a pressure cooker and cook under high pressure for 8-10 minutes. Release steam immediately. Stir to combine ingredients. Taste check for salt and add more cumin, to taste. Garnish with freshly cracked black pepper, and fresh cilantro (if you have any available). If you don't own a pressure cooker, this can easily be made on the stove top, simmer on medium heat for ~30 min until the beans are well done and blended with the rest of the ingredients. It should not take longer than 30 min as the skinned split lentils typically cook super fast. Serve hot!! 

Oyster Mushroom Tossed Pasta

I've been eating a lot of grains and whole veggies lately and some days you just need a hearty pasta dish. I bought a few bunches of fresh Oyster mushrooms (New Veggie #14) at the store yesterday and wanted to use those maybe in a Lo-mein. 

When I got home, I only had regular spaghetti noodles (which we buy mostly for the kids). I prefer Quinoa Pasta these days and all I had was shells. So, slight change in plans - I made this lovely tossed pasta with lots of veggies instead - perfect for a summer evening !!  

I told somebody today that I've never met a mushroom I didn't love. Oyster mushrooms with their very characteristic aroma and flavor and slightly chewy texture are on top of my list of favorites. I usually further enhance the flavor of Oyster mushrooms by adding Oyster sauce. Yum!

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

1. 4-6 oz Oyster mushrooms, sliced
2. 1 cup baby spinach
3. 1/2 cup mixed frozen Veggies 
4. 4 oz Quinoa shells. 
5. 1/2 cup Vegetable broth
6. 2 tbsp Low-Sodium Soy Sauce
7. 2 tbsp Liquid Aminos
8. 1 tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar
9. 1 tbsp Ginger-Garlic Paste
10. 1-2 tbsp Vegetarian Oyster Sauce
11. Freshly cracked pepper, to taste

Directions: Boil pasta shells and set aside until ready to toss. Line a skillet with vegetable broth and add ginger-garlic paste. Once that is fragrant, add the liquid ingredients (except the Oyster sauce) and stir well. Next add the baby spinach and allow to wilt (2-3 min). Once the spinach is wilted, add the remaining  veggies and toss for a couple of minutes until thawed. 

Add the pasta shells and toss again. Add the oyster sauce at the very end, and garnish with freshly cracked black pepper after a quick (and final) toss!! Enjoy!!

Nik's Reaction: This one was another hit. He didn't much care for the mushrooms (more for me!) but ate the shells and veggies with gusto!! Yay!

Zucchini & Kale Casserole

As I drove home this evening, I kept wondering about what I would make for dinner tonight. I had 2 zucchini sitting in the fridge that I absolutely needed to use soon and I also had a large bunch of kale, which was also teetering on the brink. I decided that there had to be recipe out there that would allow me to use both. Sure enough, a quick Google search lead me to a blog called "Epicurean Vegan" where I found this wonderful recipe for a "Zucchini & Kale Breakfast Frittata".  As soon as gave it a quick read through - I knew it was a winner!! 

Since I modified the recipe based on the ingredients I had on hand, I'm presenting the recipe as I made it here. Credit for the original definitely goes to Epicurean Vegan. 

Prep Time: 30-40 min

Ingredients:

1. 4 links of MorningStar Farms® Veggie Breakfast Sausage  
2. 2 medium Zucchini, sliced
3. 12-15 fresh, or dried Oyster mushrooms (New Veggie #14) - I used dried mushrooms.
4. 2-3 cups of Kale (New Veggie #23), stalks removed and leaves torn
5. 1 medium tomato, diced
6. 5-7 Wasa Whole Grain crackers, crumbled
7. 1 packet Veggie Shreds, Cheddar & Pepper Jack blend
8. 1 tbsp minced Garlic
9. 2 tbsp dried Onion flakes 
10. 1 tbsp dried Parsley flakes
11. 1/8 cup Vegetable broth
12. Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. In a sauce pot, bring 1/4 cup of water to boil and add the frozen links of breakfast sausage and dried mushrooms. Allow the water to simmer for a couple of minutes and then turn off heat, cover and let sit. After a few minutes remove sausage links (should be well thawed); crumble with a fork.  

Line a non-stick skillet with vegetable broth and add garlic, parsley, onion flakes and crumbled sausage and cook for a few minutes. When the broth is almost all evaporated, drain mushrooms and add to the skillet as well. You can save the water used to reconstitute the mushrooms for later, but sometimes it can be gritty, so it may need to be strained if you want to use it in a recipe. Saute the mushrooms for a few minutes. 

Then, add the sliced zucchini and toss everything together. Sprinkle some salt over the squash to make it sweat and begin to cook. Add a splash of water, if necessary, to prevent sticking in the pan. 

Meanwhile, crumble the Wasa crackers by putting them in a ziploc bag and pounding the bag with a rolling  pin. It's a great way of letting out your frustrations from a rough day at work too ;-) !! Once crumbled, line the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish with crackers and top with a thin layer of cheese. 

Once the zucchini begins to gain a slightly translucent look (just beginning to cook), add the kale to the skillet and toss everything together. Allow to wilt. Add another splash of water, if necessary, to prevent sticking. This step can be hastened by putting a lid on the skillet. 

Once the kale is wilted, transfer the veggies to the prepared casserole dish, over the layer of crumbled crackers and cheese. 

Top off the veggies with a layer of finely diced tomatoes ... 

And another layer of cheese. I also added a generous sprinkling of freshly ground black pepper. The original recipe called for covering the dish with foil and baking, or baking uncovered for crisper Kale. I decided to bake it uncovered. Set the timer to 15 minutes. The layer of crackers absorbs any moisture from the veggies if they sweat and in just 15 minutes, the casserole is perfectly done!!  

I let it sit for a couple of minutes before I cut into it. 

My Assessment: The original recipe called for Daiya cheddar shreds and Field Roast Sausage. I will definitely make this again, but only after I get those 2 products. I had bought both the sausage and veggie shreds I used today before I went 100% plant based and unfortunately neither of these met my current dietary habits. The casserole though was absolutely awesome. I could have eaten the whole pan but restrained myself to 1 serving. 

Stir-Fried Oyster Mushrooms & Snow Peas

A quiet Friday evening after a hectic week just called out (quite desperately) for a quick and easy meal. I decided to go with a super-quick stir fry, and some broiled veggies, again super-quick. My whole meal was ready in 10 minutes, and although I've tried all 3 of the vegetables I made before, I'm going to add 2 of them to my New Veggie list as these aren't on my 'regular' list. New Veggie #20 happens to be Snow Peas. 

Stir-Fried Oyster Mushrooms & Snow Peas

Prep Time: 5-7 min

Ingredients: 

1. 1 cup Snow Peas
2. 2-4 oz Oyster Mushrooms (New Veggie #14)
3. 2 tsp Earth Balance buttery spread 
4. 1 tbsp Vegetarian Oyster Sauce
5. 1 tbsp Soy Sauce
6. Sea salt, to taste
7. Black pepper, freshly ground

Directions:

In a large skillet, or wok, on medium heat, melt butter and add snow peas. Toss for a few minutes and add mushrooms and sauces. Toss for another few seconds. Turn off heat, and remove pan from heat to prevent over-cooking of veggies. Serve sprinkled with sea salt and black pepper. 

My Assessment: I've had Snow Peas before, in fact, I had them earlier this year too ;) I just didn't remember that I had used them in my Spicy Oyster Lo-Mein at the beginning of the month ... haa! I must be getting old ... obviously my memory is failing me. I really liked this combination of Oyster mushrooms and snow peas too.  I had a phenomenal dinner this evening. Lots of whole veggies, lots of protein, lots of flavor. I paired this stir-fry with broiled asparagus .. nom, nom, nom!! 

Veggie Fact of the Day

I read somewhere earlier today "here's a mushroom that lives up to its name - it looks, smells, and tastes like oysters" and I can definitely attest to all of these. I bought a couple of packs of fresh Oyster Mushrooms yesterday at the store and my fridge was beginning to smell like something died in there (seriously!). 

Oyster mushrooms can be found growing year-round on fallen tree-trunks and are apparently easily identifiable in the wild. I'm not one to go mushroom picking as I'm too scared to get the wrong kind!! They have a very soft cap, almost fragile to touch and as I said before, a very strong sea-foody smell. Nutritionally, they're one of the few mushrooms to be rich in Vitamin C, along with eight amino acids, B vitamins, a high amount of protein and equally high amounts of essential fatty acids. 

Like the shiitake, oyster mushrooms are regarded very highly in Eastern cultures for their medicinal properties. Interestingly, oyster mushrooms are supposed to be a natural source of statins, or cholesterol lowering compounds.

Spicy Oyster Lo-Mein

I might as well admit it myself before one of you makes a comment about it. I'm on a mushroom kick right now. In the past 2 weeks, on my New Veggie Quest, I have tried porcini, shiitake and today .. New Vegetable #14, is also a mushroom. This time it is the Oyster Mushroom!  

I really enjoy mushrooms in stir fries and have been thinking about making Vegetable Lo-Mein from the Everyday Happy Herbivore cookbook by Lindsay Nixon. When I opened up the recipe today, I realized I didn't have several of the ingredients listed in it, so I decided to improvise, and use my Oyster mushrooms at the same time ... the end result was definitely to my liking ... 

Oyster Lo-Mein

Prep Time: 15 min

Ingredients: 

1. 4-6 oz fresh oyster mushrooms, sliced
2. 4-8 oz fresh snow peas, whole
3. 2 tsp minced garlic
4. 1/2 cup vegetable broth
5. 2 tbsp Soy sauce
6. 2 tbsp Annie Chun's Chinese Stir Fry Sauce
7. 2-3 tbsp Nutritional Yeast (heaping)
8. 1 cup boiled spaghetti
9. 1-2 tsp Red pepper flakes (optional)
10. Salt and pepper (freshly ground), to taste.

Directions:

Boil spaghetti and set aside. In a skillet on medium heat, add vegetable broth and garlic. Allow the garlic to release its aroma and add sauces, mix and add snow peas. Cook down for a few minutes, and then add mushrooms. Mix well, and then add spaghetti. Add salt to taste, cover and let sit for a few minutes to allow the flavors to blend. Serve, with red pepper flakes (optional) and freshly ground black pepper.

The nutritional yeast makes the noodles just a tad sticky. If you want a more authentic look, you might hold back on the NY. I like it as its a great source of Vitamin B12, in my otherwise 100% plant-based diet.