What Vegans Eat

I've been posting the occasional link over the past few months to recipes on Mike K's Vegan for the People food blog. I've especially been spending a lot of time ogling his posts since the beginning of January, when he began participating in something called E.A.T. World, where bloggers "travel the world" by sharing recipes and food-related posts from around the globe. It's really worth checking out what he's posted so far, including his most recent recipe for Feijoada. I'd posted a recipe for a variation on this popular Brazilian dish back in March of 2008.

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Cookbook author Robin Robertson recently shared a recipe that caught my attention on her Vegan Planet blog, mostly because I've been looking for a vegan recipe for Jewish Apple Cake. Robertson's is indeed an Apple Cake, but I'm not quite sure that it even vaguely resembles the finished product of my significant other's mother's recipe, which is the sort of beloved nostalgic childhood foodstuff that's best left either reproduced accurately or not at all. I'm posting about Robertson's recipe anyway because it looks really yummy! (Oh, and if anyone has a good recipe for a vegan version of traditional Jewish Apple Cake to share, I'd really appreciate it!)

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So I leave you with that and with a favourite recipe of mine I'd initially posted on My Face Is on Fire back in January of 2008. It's for Spicy Sweet Potato and Bean Burritos. They're simply amazing. I usually make them using black beans and don't always add avocado. The recipe is very roughly adapted from a couple of different recipes found online over the years. It's a hybrid that's taken on a taste of its own. Enjoy!

Spicy Sweet Potato and Bean Burritos

1-2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
3 cups of kidney beans or black beans, canned
1 cup of water (or leftover bean liquid)
1Tbs chili powder, heaping
1 tsp cumin, heaping
2 Tbs soy sauce
4-10 inch soft whole wheat tortillas
2 cups mashed cooked sweet potatoes (with an optional dab of margarine)
1/4 cup green onions, chopped
1 avocado, chopped
1/4 cup salsa
chopped jalapeno peppers (optional)
vegan cheese shreds (optional)

Cook in advance enough sweet potatoes to make two cups (I usually bake a couple of small ones or a really big one). Set aside.

Heat the oil in saucepan over medium heat. Sautée onion in oil until transparent. add garlic and stir. Add beans, water, chili powder and cumin. Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover, reduce head to low. Simmer until beans are very soft, about 10-15 minutes. Stir in soy sauce.

Mash beans in the pot with a potato masher or large fork. Simmer over medium-low heat to cook away any excess liquid, about 20-25 minutes (watch it really closely, though). Taste and add more seasoning if warranted or desired. If you like things REALLY spicy add some chopped jalapenos at this point.

Preheat the oven to 375F. Spread about 2/3 of a cup of the bean mixture down the middle of a tortilla and top with a 1/2 cup of mashed sweet potatoes. Sprinkle with some green onions. Roll up the burrito and place it seam side down (to keep it from opening) on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with vegetable cooking spray (alternately, you can brush on a bit of oil). Repeat with the remaining tortillas.

Bake for 15 minutes or until burritos are crisp and turning slightly golden. Top burritos with avocado and salsa.

Optional: Sprinkle some vegan cheese on top (I rarely bother, 'cause it's really unnecessary).

Makes 4 servings.

Vegan Recipes in the News

The St. Catharines Standard has a couple of scumptious sounding recipes from cookbook author and vegan blogger Laurie Sadowski, whose focus seems to be on gluten-free whole foods. The recipes include Creamy Baked Penne w/ Broccoli, Black Bean and Sweet Potato Enchiladas and Sticky Maple Syrup Gravy w/ Cinnamon Walnuts. You can find pictures of the finished products here on what seems to be her fairly new blog.

The Boston University student paper BU has a great article on eating veg*an at Thanksgiving that includes a whoppin' bunch of great recipes: Nut Roast, Tofu Turkey w/ Stuffing, Vegetarian Gravy (which is really vegan), Kale and Olive Oil Mashed Potatoes, Green Bean Casserole, Garlic Brussels Sprouts, Broccoli Roasted w/ Garlic, Chipotle Peppers and Pine Nuts and a couple of dessert recipes that aren't vegan. A few of the savoury recipes have optional dairy ingredients that are very easily substituted.

Recipe: Brazillian Black Bean Stew (aka Feijoada)

This is a recipe adapted from one found in an old issue of "Vegetarian Times". Traditionally, feijoada -- a dish popular in both Brazil and Portugal -- is meat-laden, but this animal-free take on it is delicious, as well as more nutritious and much lower in fat and cholesterol. Feijoada is known as Brazil's "national dish" and it's apparently commonly served in most restaurants there, however fine the dining. The "Vegetarian Times" article suggested serving it with steamed Swiss chard wrapped in warmed tortillas. Traditionally, it's a thick stew served with a pot of hot pepper sauce and the following side-dishes: rice, chopped and refried kale or collard greens, lightly roasted (coarse) casava flour (called farofa), and orange segments. Sometimes it's served with deep-fried casava or deep-fried bananas. It's usually enjoyed with caipirinhas (a popular Brazilian alcoholic beverage) or beer.

Brazilian Black Bean Stew

1 Tbs olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2-3 medium garlic cloves, minced or crushed
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 large red bell pepper, diced
1 (or more) hot green chili pepper, minced
half a large (28 oz / 796 ml) can of diced tomatoes -- don't drain 'em
2-16 oz cans of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 ripe mango, peeled, pitted and diced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/4 tsp salt

Optional: Cooked rice, chopped steamed (and fried, if you'd like) kale / collars / Swiss chard, orange segments.

Heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until it's softened. Stir in the garlic and cook an extra 3 minutes until the onion is golden.

Stir in the sweet potatoes, peppers, tomatoes w/ liquid and bring to a boil. Lower heart and simmer around 10-15 minutes until the potatoes are tender but still firm. Stir in the beans and simmer uncovered, ever so gently, until everything is heated through.

Stir in the mango and cook another minute, until heated through. Stir in cilantro and salt to taste. Preferably using ceramic bowls or platters for authenticity, ladle the stew on top of a mound of rice. Place the chopped greens and orange segments (if using) around the edges of the dish. Sprinkle the chopped greens and orange segments with farofa (if available) and splash some hot sauce on the side of some of the stew. Eat while hot! Serves 6.

Recipe: Spicy Sweet Potato and Bean Burritos

These are simply amazing. I usually make them using black beans and don't always add avocado. This is very roughly adapted from a couple of different recipes found online over the years. It's a hybrid that's taken on a taste of its own.

Spicy Sweet Potato and Bean Burritos

1-2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
3 cups of kidney beans or black beans, canned
1 cup of water (or leftover bean liquid)
1Tbs chilli powder (heapin'!)
1 tsp cumin (heapin!)
2 Tbs soy sauce
4-10 inch soft whole wheat tortillas
2 cups mashed cooked sweet potatoes (with an optional dab of margarine)
1/4 cup green onions, chopped
1 avocado, chopped
1/4 cup salsa
chopped jalapeno peppers (optional)
vegan cheese shreds (optional)

Cook enough sweet potatoes to make two cups (a couple of small ones or a large one). I usually bake them in advance. Set aside.

Heat the oil in saucepan over medium heat. Sauté onion in oil until transparent. add garlic and stir. Add beans, water, chilli powder and cumin. Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover, reduce head to low. Simmer until beans are very soft, about 10-15 minutes. Stir in soy sauce.

Mash beans in the pot with a potato masher or large fork. Simmer over medium-low heat to cook away any excess liquid, about 20-25 minutes (watch it really closely, though). Taste and add more seasoning if warranted or desired. If you like things REALLY spicy add some chopped jalapenos at this point.

Preheat the oven to 375F. Spread about 2/3 of a cup of the bean mixture down the middle of a tortilla and top with a 1/2 cup of mashed sweet potatoes. Sprinkle with some green onions. Roll up the burrito and place it seam side down (to keep it from opening) on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with vegetable cooking spray (alternately, you can brush on a bit of oil). Repeat with the remaining tortillas.

Bake for 15 minutes or until burritos are crisp and turning slightly golden. Top burritos with avocado and salsa.

Optional: Sprinkle some vegan cheese on top (n.b. I rarely bother, 'cause it's really unnecessary).

Makes 4 servings.