Once-Fried Mixed Beans

I'm a big fan of refried beans but not their fat content - so I came up with a recipe that closely resembles the real thing but is much healthier, so you can munch guilt-free! I like using a variety of beans for this because of the beautiful colours and unique flavours you can make. You could still use a single bean if you want though, like a pinto bean, and the recipe would be just as successful. 

Recipe:

1 can rinsed mixed beans, ex. kidney, garbanzo, navy, pinto, romano, lima, black

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2-3/4 cups water or vegetable stock

1 medium onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, chopped

2 tsp powdered cumin

salt and pepper to taste

diced jalapeno to desired heat

Instructions:

Heat half of oil in hot skillet. Add diced onion, sauté 'til transparent. Add garlic, beans, jalapeno and water. Cook on medium 'til the beans are very soft, stirring occasionally. Mash them. Add the rest of the oil along with your cumin. If more water is needed, add a tablespoon at a time. The consistency should be a little like mashed potatoes, but I like mine to be a little chunky so I don't mash all the beans completely. Add salt and pepper to taste, then voila, you're done! 

My favourite thing to do when I'm done is make burritos. This will fill approximately six, so sometimes I double the recipe so I can have a large batch and freeze them for nights when I'm too busy to make dinner. They're really good with some salsa, guacamole and green onion inside! They're especially good when they're re-baked with some enchilada sauce covering them. 

100% Corn Muffins

     This is a gluten-free recipe that my sister and I came up with to start using a big bag of cornmeal we bought. It's very easy, has a nice rustic look and is best eaten right out of the oven. These are excellent with a little bit of corn syrup on top as a treat, or with extra corn inside! 

Recipe: 

2 tbsp baking powder

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp salt

black pepper for dusting

2 cups cornmeal

1/4 cup white sugar

1 small can creamed corn

optional: 1/2 cup corn niblets, hot peppers, blueberries, etc

Instructions:

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Pour into a greased muffin tin or pan. Bake at 400 degrees 'til a toothpick inserted comes out clean, roughly 15-20 minutes for muffins and 25-30 for other pans depending on the thickness. Remove from oven and serve while warm and fresh. Unfortunately, these golden beauties aren't nearly as nice the next day so you should aim to have them all eaten before the day is through if any of them survive that long! ;)

Rabokki, A Korean Street Staple

     This is an amazingly simple, amazingly delicious recipe I got from my South Korean housemate. It's made of sliced rice cakes and instant noodles in spicy pepper sauce - it's like this chewy, saucy, noodley fabulousness. My housemate, Ji-eun, told me that it's about as common as hot dogs over here with their carts at almost every corner. It's sold by little street vendors all over the place and she really missed it while living in Canada so she made it often when she lived with me.

     Thankfully, she gave me the recipe before she moved out and I get to share it with you guys now. You have to find an Asian grocery store for the ingredients but I promise it's worth it! I have this at least once a week and it's the only really spicy thing I'll have, it's that good. I'm sure you'll love it too. 

Note: When this is served without the noodles it's called ddoekbokki instead of rabokki. 

Recipe:

1 packet instant noodles

2 cups sliced rice cakes

half a white onion, roughly chopped

1 cup of cabbage, shredded

1-2 stalks green onion

1 cup of water 

1/3 cup hot pepper paste

1 tsp soy sauce

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp perilla or sesame oil

1-2 tbsps brown sugar

chili flakes, to desired heat

Instructions:

Add all ingredients together in a pot and boil 'til the noodles are cooked through, then it's done. Simple! 

A Very Vegan Chocolate Truffle Recipe

      On Valentine's Day I decided to make something special for my friends that we could all share, and what's more special than a big box of homemade truffles? No one could believe these rich, creamy morsels of chocolatey deliciousness could possibly be vegan. If you want the same reviews it's all about the quality of the ingredients so get your best butter substitute (I use Becel Vegan like there's no tomorrow), your favourite milk substitute (Vanilla Silk for me) and a high-quality milkless chocolate. Be sure to choose one that contains cocoa butter instead of vegetable fat or your truffles won't taste right. When I make these I usually get a slab of bittersweet from Bulk Barn and a Lindt 95% dark bar but you don't have to, I just like the depth of flavour that the extra dark chocolate gives these. Whatever you do, these will look amazing and your tasters will rave, I guarantee it. 

Basic Recipe: 

2 cups solid chocolate

1/2 cup 'milk'

3 tablespoons margarine 

cocoa powder, for dusting

optional: 1 tsp liquor of your choice, different coatings (toasted coconut, confectioner's sugar, sprinkles, chopped nuts, etc), 2-3 tablespoons truffle mixture additions like marmalade, crunchy peanut butter, raspberry preserve, maple syrup, get creative!)

Instructions:

Melt your chocolate in a double boiler or microwave, being careful not to burn it. There's no way to salvage burnt chocolate. A couple minutes in a double boiler with occasional stirring should work and a few stints in the microwave at 30 seconds each with stirring in between should do the same. I've done it both ways and you get the same results so don't feel guilty about using the microwave. 

When your chocolate is hot and liquid, add your margarine and mix 'til it's melted. This is the time to throw in anything additional you want like raspberry preserve. After that, incorporate your 'milk'. Mix well and chill covered in the fridge for several hours until your mixture has hardened. When it goes in the fridge it should resemble hot cake frosting and when it comes out it should be like cold cake frosting.

When it's ready it should be scoopable with a small spoon but it should still be firm and keep its shape. Each scoop should be about a tablespoon. Roll each quickly in the palm of your hands to melt the surface (be sure to keep them lumpy) and dust them in a bowl of your coating of choice. Let them set for a couple minutes and then you can serve them! These last for a couple weeks in the fridge if they don't all get gobbled up and they absorb smells like crazy so keep them in an airtight container. They'll be okay at room temperature too but not for as long as refrigerated ones. 

Now you have a big batch of lovely vegan truffles - be sure to share some and impress your friends too! ;)

Minestrone Soup

Just to get my first post and see what it looks like, here's my first recipe! I got this one from my nonna in Toronto, she makes the best minestrone out there and it just happens to be vegan. I had to get it for you guys!

Recipe

3-4 cups vegetable stock

1 small carrot, chopped

½ onion, diced

1 can green beans OR 1 zucchini, diced

1 can stewed tomatoes

¾ cup uncooked pasta

1 can drained kidney beans

2 tbsp Italian seasonings (basil, parsley, oregano, thyme, etc)

1 clove garlic, diced

1 stalk celery, chopped

1 potato, diced

¾ cup cabbage, chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

salt, pepper and cayenne to taste

Instructions

Sautee carrot, onion and celery with olive oil on medium heat in a pot large enough to hold a large volume of soup. When onions are transparent, pour in the stock, tomatoes and potato. Cook on low heat ‘til potatoes are nearly cooked. Add pasta, beans, garlic, cabbage and seasonings. Cook ‘til pasta is al dente and serve with salt and pepper according to taste.