Instant Pot Mac and Cheese

This was a weird one.  I was craving mac and cheez and I wanted to do something in the Instant Pot.  I was going to do a dal, but then looked up Instant Pot Mac and Cheese and lo and behold I found one. by Detoxinista. The instructions say to set the thing at zero, but I found that really didn't work for me, so after I got the burn error, I set it for 2 minutes on high pressure.  That seemed to work and it was not as runny as I thought it would be.  I added roasted broccoli with garlic. right after I depressurized the pot and stirred it up.  It was quite tasty and unlike other mac and cheese recipes I have tried my husband ate this one. That's always a plus.

Imam Batildi

This eggplant dish is from Turkey apparently.  It is divine.  The recipe is from Feed Me Phoebe and I followed it somewhat close to the written recipe.  I decided however, that instead of frying the eggplant in a pan, I used by baby frier.  That seemed to do the trick and it was faster to make that way.  The pieces were cut totally wrong for this dish but they were cut up when I got them as they were from a friend's garden and she gave me what she didn't use when doing fried eggplant. I served them with rice putting a few arugula leaves on the top to make it look good.

Tofu and Artichoke Scampi

This scampi was pretty good.  I added spinach because I was confused and thought the recipe called for it, but it worked.  Of course, if you ask me, spinach works for almost everything. That and avocado, but I digress.

The recipe was from Connoisseurusveg, whose recipes I generally really like.  They are fairly simple and always delicious.  This was as well and even my husband liked it, which is my key that it is good.  I generally like anything vegan, but hubby, not so much. 

Give this one a try.

Jungle Curry

This was very tasty to me.  My husband was so-so about it. I usually like the ones from the Happy Pear and this one was one that I have done a few times, but not always following the recipe as it is written.

I didn't make too many changes.  I used some different veggies.  I had a yellow squash from the garden - the first harvest! - so I had to add that.  The other change is one that I have made before and that is instead of using a Serrano chili, which I rarely buy (I am growing them in my garden so that will change, I'm sure). Instead I used my old standard red chili flakes in an amount that I think will equal the heat of the pepper. The other change was noodles.  I used the linguine rice noodles, which I added to the pot after the curry itself was ready.  I found that it soaked up the liquid and really made the whole dish come together. 

Instant Pot Dal Tadka

This turned out really good.  I had heard of Dal from friends of mine but never made one.  My sister-in-law made a fantastic one and said she was going to give me the recipe but haven't gotten around to. 

I got this from Caitlin Shoemaker's blog.  It is not her own, as she collaborated on this with Nisha Vota (the link is in Caitlin's blog).  I am always on the lookout for Instant Pot vegan recipes and when I saw this I knew I had to try it.  I am so glad I did.

I made a few changes mostly because I didn't have the ingredient.  I didn't use the serrano pepper but simply used chili flakes.  It was still quite spicy, but not overly so. I also didn't have curry leaves as I forgot to look for them on the last grocery trip. Finally, the recipe calls for black mustard seeds.  I didn't have them either, but had regular mustard seeds.  But otherwise it turned out great.

Generally it was a simple, easy recipe and was very good as a leftover.

Frittata

I was invited to a brunch the other day and decided to make this to take with me. It was very well received in a room of mostly omnivores.

This recipe was by Minimalist Baker and it was very good. I followed it exactly, well mostly.  I added a bunch of fresh herbs from my garden (dill, basil, and parsley) after I took it out of the oven because it looked so good in the picture on her site and because I wanted to brag about my bountiful garden.

As I said, it was very well received.  Several people asked about it and could not believe that one could make a frittata without eggs.  The mung beans the recipe calls for were a very different ingredient for me. I found them at Wegman's in my area in the Asian section and used them in a Instant Pot Dahl recipe (which I will post in another entry).

Mushroom Frajitas

Still on the Mexican kick.  Seems like that is my favorite type of food, but I digress. 

This was a very tasty recipe by Forks over Knives. I saw this come up on my Instagram feed and thought it looked good.  Interestingly enough, the video shared was not the same as the printed recipe and I liked those ingredients more so I more or less followed them. This included tamari sauce (or low salt soy sauce) and maple syrup. That touch of sweetness really made this dish.

It calls for grilled portobello mushrooms, which I didn't really have.  I got sliced baby portobello at the store and they worked just fine.  I served the mushroom mixture with chipotle salsa, hot sauce, and of course, avocados. I think using grilled mushrooms would greatly reduce the amount of liquid released by the mushrooms as they cooked.  I did drain it because I was impatient and didn't want to overcook everything.  I guess if I cooked the mushrooms separately, I could have added them once they had released their liquid.I also forgot to add the cilantro.  I have fresh growing in my garden and I simply forgot to go out and cut it. 

The one thing I really like about Forks over Knives recipes is that they use no fat.  Cleanup is a breeze - at least I find that to be true.

Taco Tuesday

This meal was made without a recipe, basically. I had some cannelloni beans leftover in the fridge, so I knew I was going to use them.  I also had some TVP in the pantry and I thought that might be a good thing to use as I didn't have any vegan beef crumbles.

So I started off soaking the TVP, putting a little coconut oil and sauteed some onions and then added some minced garlic.  Then added some diced red pepper, the beans, the soaked TVP, taco seasoning, and hot sauce.  When everything was done I served it up with fresh tortillas heated up in a hot pan, vegan lime crema, salsa, avocado, and lettuce from the garden.

The end result was pretty tasty. Hubby enjoyed it and we had a nice meal.

Puerto Rican Beans and Rice

I really like beans and rice and have tried several different recipes, including throwing my own together.

This one from Puerto Rican Vegan has become my go-to one. It's simple and quick, but most importantly it's tasty and hubby likes it.  It also makes a lot so, I have several other meals I can get from it.

The only change I do to this is to add onions.  I love onions and tend to add it to many things. I think when I made it one time, I put onions in it thinking it was part of the recipe and found out it was not, but I have continued to use them.

Trying Indian Food

The other day, hubby took me to a local Indian restaurant.  The food was pretty good and we had a great time.  I had made an Indian inspired dish a while ago, and eating there reminded me of the recipe that I had stored away called Vegan Palak Paneer.  If you eat Indian at all, you know that this means large chunks of cheese in a spinach sauce.

The recipe I followed was by the Minimalist Baker, whose recipes I really like.  This one was no exception.  It was easier that some I have seen and was quite tasty.  I had gotten a large container of spinach at the market especially to make this dish, but as usual I forgot to get the peppers.  So I used chili flakes that I have on had and a little dab of hot sauce.

The tofu that I have mentioned before is the super firm style and I think it added just the right consistency for the "paneer" chunks because when I made it before, I used firm tofu and it didn't really firm up as much as using this kind.

Cabbage Soup

The evening was chilly and it had been raining all day.  Just a raw kind of day.  Perfect day for a soup.  I decided to try Jill Dalton of Plant Based Cooking Show's Cabbage Soup in the Instant Pot. Her recipes for me are hit and miss, frankly. I guess my taste buds are still not ready for things that do not have a lot of spice.  This soup was a little bland for my tastes, so I added Better than Bouillon vegetable stock and some extra water.

I love using my Instant Pot. While the soup was cooking I was able to do some other things. Soup, in my opinion, is the perfect thing to cook in that appliance.

Along with it I served a wrap of Quorn Meatless Chicken Spicy Patties, leftover fried rice, Daiya shreds, and a little vegan mayo.  It was a huge hit with the hubby - the wrap more than the soup.

Fake Chicken

So I know this isn't the most flattering of pictures, but it tastes much better than it looks.

I recently came acrss Super Firm Tofu at the market the other day.  I found that you don't hae to do much to press it as it has very little water in it.  The other day, I took a package of it and sliced off a bit and just cooked it in a little oil and added salt and pepper (fresh groun pepper), and viola, it tastes like chicken.  The texture and tast was very close.  Even an omnivore friend told me it tasted like chicken.  Enough proof for me.

Next day I put it in a little container and took it to snack on.  Really good.

Throw Together Meal

 

So for this meal, I did vegan Elote (Mexican corn) Tofu Steaks, and mixed vegetables.  I have been really trying to use up what I have bought because I am very bad at letting things stay in the fridge until they are old and yucky and have to be thrown away.  Food waste is terrible but I fear I am the worst at it.

So the vegetables are peppers, leeks and broccoli sauteed in a little vegan butter (I use Earth Balance).  This meal was a very last minute type of meal.  I put BBQ sauce and vegan Worceshire Sauce (The Wizard's) and pan fried it in a little olive oil.  My husband loves Mexican corn so when I see corn at the store I usually buy it for that.  I use Earth Balance, Mayo One, a mixture of Chipolte and Ancho powder and then vegan shake on cheese made of ground cashews and nutritional yeast. Usually turns out quite good and very close to the "real thing" made from dairy based mayo, cheese, and butter.

My husband is the taste tester.  He is not a vegan, has no interest in being a vegan, but he knows how I feel and how I want to eat.  So when he likes something, I am very happy.

Welcome

As a relatively new vegan (5 years and counting) I am still learning new things. There are always new things to try; recipes, products, techniques. I want to try them all. Sometimes I just feel as if I am flying by the seat of my pants - hence the name.

The purpose of this blog is to share that new knowledge with you and also let you know that as a new vegan, trying new things is not scary.  It's fun and exciting. But sometimes people get hung up in having to follow a recipe by the letter and that's not really necessary. I have learned through the years of my cooking life (omnivore and vegan) that there are many substitutions that can be made which will yield delicious results, and sometimes you come up with a new taste thrill that can make the dish entirely your own.  I do not intend to insult vegan recipe writers by changing their formula, I just want to allow a sense of creativity to each dish I make. I would like to bring you along with me and if you like it, that's great.  If you don't, that's great too - I'd love to hear your input.

I plan to post at least once a week and feature a recipe that I have tried and let you know how it turned out and what I may have done differently or done as written. There could be some dishes that I create on the spot and I will share those as well so that you may glean what you can from that.  I do not profess to be a great cook, but I think (and my husband agrees) that I can hold my own often. I simply want to pass on knowledge that could be of help to another new vegan and together we will explore the realm of plant based cooking.

So thank you for joining me on this journey.  I hope you enjoy what is presented.  Again, please let me know if there is anything out there you would like me to try and report on.