Monthly Archives: November 2013

Almost Instant Noodle Soup in a Jar

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With this recipe, you can make your own tasty (almost) instant noodle soup with very little effort. You can prepare this recipe the previous day, and you have the perfect, quick office lunch – just add boiling water! And you can customize and make this recipe your own by adding different vegetables. See my suggestions below.

I first came up with this recipe on my vegetarian cross country road trip. When I was on the road and stopped at places where I couldn’t get a proper vegetarian meal, I used to make my own ‘instant’ noodles by soaking dried mushrooms, fresh greens and rice noodles in boiling water. I posted the recipe on the blog, and to my surprise many of you were making it at home! To me, it was an improvised recipe for the road trip, but when I saw how many of you were actually making it, I decided to come up with this version.

Assemble the seasonings, vegetables and rice noodles in a jar the previous night and keep it in the fridge. Take it to work the next morning, and just add boiling water to the jar – you have lunch in minutes! Mason jars or empty pasta sauce jars work well. And if you use a wide mouth jar, you can eat directly from the jar. And change up the vegetables however you like; just remember that the vegetables should be the easily wilting kind, so they can “cook” on the boiling water soak.

Other ingredients you can use in your almost instant noodle soup
Sweet corn
Baby corn, chopped
Shredded kale
Dried shitake mushrooms, reconstituted
White button mushrooms, sliced
Tofu cubes
Paneer cubes
Seaweed
Bean sprouts
Watercress
Sliced jalapeños
Kimchi
Chopped scallions
Chopped cilantro
Crushed red pepper
Powdered lemongrass

Almost Instant Noodle Soup in a Jar Recipe

serves 1

Ingredients
an approximately 16 oz glass jar, preferably a wide mouth one, with lid
1.5 oz rice noodle sticks
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon lime juice
1/4th of a stock cube
1/8th teaspoon garlic powder, optional
1/4th teaspoon grated ginger, optional
½ cup shredded carrot
½ cup shredded napa cabbage
12 leaves of baby spinach

Method
1.  Remove the rice noodles from packaging, and measure out 1.5 oz. Place it in a zip lock bag. Grab the ziplock  bag with your hands and carefully break up the noodles into smaller pieces. Set aside.
2. Wipe the jar clean, and add in all ingredients from soy sauce through to baby spinach, in that order.
3. Then pack the broken up noodles into the jar. Screw on the lid and store in the refrigerator for upto a day.
4. When you are ready to eat, pour boiling water into the jar. Pour in enough water to cover the noodles, about 1 1/2 cups. Replace the lid and let the noodles soak for about 12 minutes or till they have softened. Mix the soup gently so that the stock cube dissolves evenly. Be careful, the jar will be very hot, use a towel or oven mitts to handle the jar.
Note: Adding hot water to a very cold glass jar can cause the glass to crack! If your jar is very cold (or if your fridge is set to very cold), leave the jar out at room temparature for about 15 minutes before adding hot water.
5. Tip your almost instant noodle soup into a bowl and serve. Or eat it directly from the jar!

My Go-To Vegetarian Gravy Recipe

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Nutritional yeast is the secret ingredient to this fast and easy vegetarian gravy recipe. Nutritional yeast is a dried and deactivated yeast that comes in flake and powder form. It has a deep umami taste and is a perfect flavor enhancer for vegetarian dishes. You can sprinkle it on popcorn, use it in soups, or in a vegetarian gravy like I have done today. You can buy nutritional yeast from the bulk section of the grocery store.

My other secret ingredient in this vegetarian gravy recipe is curry powder! I use my all time favorite S&B curry powder for my gravy. Its available in Asian markets and online.

Nutritional yeast flakes

Here are some recipes that you can make, to serve the vegetarian gravy with-
Thanksgiving Vegetarian Wellington
Baked Tofu Steaks
Kale and Goat Cheese Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Vegetarian Gravy Recipe

makes about 2 cups

Ingredients
1 tablespoon butter or olive oil
2 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
2 cups vegetable stock
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon or more curry powder. I recommend S&B curry powder
1/2 teaspoon soy sauce

Method
1. The heat the butter or oil in a small saucepan. Add the flour and nutritional yeast, and stir on medium-low heat for about a minute.
2. Then add all other ingredients and whisk constantly. Bring the gravy to a boil, while whisking and continue boiling for about a minute. Taste the gravy, and if needed add more curry powder for spice or more soy sauce for saltiness.
3. If the gravy gets lumpy, simply push it through a strainer or blend it in a blender. The gravy might thicken as it cools. If it gets too thick, thin it out with water or stock while re-heating.

Thanksgiving Vegetarian Wellington with Fennel Braised Seitan, Thyme Roasted Mushrooms and Kale

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Make this vegetarian wellington recipe for Thanksgiving and the turkeys of America will love you! And so will your guests. This welling is a puff pastry wrapping, stuffed with orange and fennel seed braised seitan, thyme roasted mushrooms and kale. All served with the best vegetarian gravy ever (recipe coming up next)! You can make all the components to this recipe up to three days in advance. Just assemble and bake the wellingtons on Thanksgiving day – easy!
Now, here are all the components for this recipe

The Spice Mix
I used fennel seeds, coriander seeds and a few peppercorns to add a little spice and great flavor to this wellington. Crush everything in a mortar and pestle and let it sizzle in some butter. The flavors will infuse the butter beautifully. The spices in this recipe are subtle. But if you want a more pronounced spice note, feel free to double the spice mix recipe.

The Seitan Filling
Seitan, also called “wheat meat” is made from wheat gluten, and is easily available at most grocery stores. It has a meaty texture and is high in protein. Use whatever brand seitan you like. I used west soy brand chicken style seitan. The recipes calls for 8oz of drained seitan. So if your seitan is packaged in liquid, remember that the 8oz is the drained weight.

For the seitan filling, brown it in butter, along with half of the spice mix. Then braise the seitan in orange juice for a bright, citrus flavor. Orange zest adds an extra pop.

Kale Filling
The kale filling is a quick sauté of onions, celery, carrot, garlic and kale, along with the delicious spice mix.

Roasted Mushroom Filling
This is a simple, and easy filling, and requires no baby sitting. Just toss the mushrooms in olive oil, salt and pepper and bake till golden. Just make sure the mushrooms arent touching each other. If you crowd them on the baking sheet, they wont brown.

How to Make the Wellingtons
Spread the three fillings all over the thawed puff pastry, leaving a little border. Then using the parchment paper that the puff pastry is sitting on, lift and roll (like sushi), till it forms a log. Brush with egg wash and bake.

A note on puff pastry
A lot of puff pastries contain butter. But if you are looking for a vegan puff pastry, use pepperidge farm. Also, if you haven’t worked with puff pastry before, you may want to start with the vegan puff pastry. Puff pastry made with butter can be difficult to handle. And remember if the puff pastry gets too warm, it will get sticky (put it back in the freezer for a few minutes), and if its not thawed enough, it will be too hard. Time your cooking in such a way that you take out the puff pastry from the freezer to thaw about 20 minutes before you need it.

Make Ahead Tips
- All three fillings can be made up to 3 days ahead, and refridgerated
- If you made the roasted mushrooms ahead of time, they may get a little watery. Strain out the liquid from the mushrooms before using
- You can also assemble the entire wellington, and then freeze it unbaked. On the day of Thanksgiving, bake the frozen wellington at 400f for about an hour or till it is golden.

Thanksgiving Vegetarian Wellington with Seitan, Roasted Mushroom & Kale Recipe

serves 6-8

Ingredients
2 sheets of frozen puff pastry
1 egg, for egg wash. Substitute with 1/4 cup of whole milk or soy milk
a pinch of fennel seeds

For Spice Mix
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon black pepper corns

For Mushroom Filling
1 lb mushrooms (white or crimini)
4 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper
A few sprigs of thyme

For Seitan Filling
8oz drained seitan*
1 tablespoon butter or olive oil
1 large orange
1/4th teaspoon sugar, optional
Salt
*if the seitan is packed in liquid, the net weight will be more, so look for the drained weight, which should be 8oz.

For Kale Filling
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 celery ribs, diced
1 medium carrot, peeled and diced
4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1/2 bunch kale, shredded
1 teaspoon thyme leaves

Method
Pre-heat oven to 425F
1. Using a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder, coarsely grind the fennel, coriander and black pepper. Set the spice mix aside.
2. Wipe the mushrooms clean. Then cut them in half.
3. Place the mushrooms, olive oil, salt and pepper in a bowl and toss well.
4. Transfer the mushrooms to a baking sheet. Make sure the mushrooms are not crowded or touching each other. Use two baking sheets if needed.
5. Scatter the thyme sprigs on top of the mushrooms.
6. Bake at 425F for about 20 minutes or till golden. When done, remove from the oven and let the mushrooms cool.

7. While the mushrooms are baking, work on the seitan filling. If the seitan is packed in water, drain the water. Slice the seitan into strips.
8. Heat the butter or olive oil in a large skillet. Add half the spice mixture and let it sizzle in the butter/olive oil for a few seconds.
9.. Then add in the seitan. Cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally, till the seitan is golden brown.
10. While the seitan is cooking, zest the orange, and measure out 1 tablespoon of zest.
11. Then juice the orange and measure out a little less than 1/2 cup of juice.
12. When the seitan is golden, pour in the orange juice, sugar, and salt. Cook till all the liquid bubbles away. Add in the zest, stir, and turn off heat. Let the seitan cool completely.
(Now is a good time to take the puff pastry out of the freezer and let it thaw)

13. While the seitan is cooling, work on the kale. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and add other half of the spice mixture, the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic. Cook on medium heat till the vegetables are soft.
14. Add the shredded kale, thyme, and salt and stir just till the kale starts to wilt. Turn off heat and let the kale cool completely.
(You can make all the fillings up to 3 days in advance and refrigerate them. On the day of, just thaw the puff pastry and proceed with filling it)

Pre-heat oven to 400F
15. Break the egg into a small bowl, whisk it well. Cover and keep in the refrigerator till ready to use.
16. When all the fillings are completely cooled, and the puff pastry is thawed, you are ready to assemble the wellington. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the thawed puff pastry on the parchment.
17. Spread half the kale filling all over the puff pastry, leaving a little border all around. Top the kale with half the seitan mixture, and the half the mushrooms.
18. Grab the parchment paper on the long end of the puff pastry. Carefully lift and roll the puff pastry till it forms a log.
If the puff pastry is too sticky to be able to roll, just put the baking sheet with the wellington in the freezer for a few minutes, it will firm up and become easier to work with. If the puff pastry is too stiff, it means it needs to thaw more before you can work with it.

19. Brush the log with egg wash. Sprinkle a few fennel seeds on top of the log. Then using a sharp knife, make 3 small, evenly spaced cuts on top of the log.
20. Repeat with the second puff pastry sheet and the remaining half of the fillings.
21. Bake in a 400F oven, till golden brown, about 15 minutes.
22. Serve immediately with vegetarian gravy.

Ligurian Chard with Pine Nuts, Feta and Quinoa Recipe and a Giveaway

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I was super excited when Blue Apron contacted me to see if I will review their product! I don’t do a lot of product reviews like this on my blog; but I really liked the concept behind Blue Apron. Every week, they send their subscribers recipes for the week, and a box filled with ALL the ingredients you need to make those recipes. No grocery shopping, no guess work.

I tried the Ligurian chard with pine nuts and feta. It tasted delicious and was really easy to make! I love all kinds of green vegetables, so this was the perfect recipe for me. And Blue Apron has lots of vegetarian recipes – take a look at some other Blue Apron vegetarian recipes around the web..

Win a Blue Apron box!

 

With everything you need to make a week’s worth of vegetarian dinners!

Blue Apron is giving away one free Blue Apron box each to two lucky Veggie Belly readers! The winner will get everything they need to make a week’s worth of vegetarian dinners (6 meals) - recipes and all ingredients!

To enter
1. Go to the Blue Apron recipe page and check out their recipes.
2. Then come back here and leave a comment telling me what your favorite recipe was.

Before you enter, take a look at their delivery regions here http://www.blueapron.com/pages/learn-more – scroll down to ‘Convenient Delivery’ and click on ‘See our map’ and make sure you live in their delivery area first!
Contest ends Nov 13th at midnight. Two lucky winners will be announced on this page on Nov 14th.
Make sure you entered your email id when commenting so I can contact you if you won!

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This giveaway is over. The winners are comment #52, and 47!

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This is the Blue Apron box I received. It has 3 recipes (2 servings each) and all the ingredients needed to make them.

Veggie Belly reader special – get 30% off your first box!

Ligurian Chard with Pine Nuts, Feta and Quinoa Recipe

The original recipe is by Blue Apron, this is my slightly different version.
Serves about 2

Ingredients
1 Cup Quinoa
1 Bunch Swiss Chard
3 Cloves Garlic, chopped
1 Small Onion, thinly sliced
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
⅛ Teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
¼ Cup Golden Raisins
1 Cup Vegetable Broth
2 tablespoons Feta Cheese
1 Tablespoon Pine Nuts, toasted on low heat
8-10 Kalamata Olives, sliced
1 Lemon, cut into wedges

Method
1. Place quinoa and 2 cups water in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil. Then reduce heat, and simmer covered till the water is all absorbed and quinoa is cooked – about 12 minutes. Fluff the cooked quinoa with a fork.

1. While quinoa is cooking, wash and chop the swiss chard into thin ribbons. Also thinly slice the onion and garlic. Set aside.

3. Heat some olive oil in a large pan, add the onions and garlic and red pepper flakes and cook on medium-high till the onion is soft. Then add the chard and stir till its wilted.

4. Pour in the vegetable stock and the raisins and simmer for another 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper (keeping in mind the feta and the olives you’ll be adding later are also salty).

5. To serve, place the quinoa on a plate, and spoon the swiss chard and any liquid on top of the quinoa. Sprinkle feta cheese, pine nuts and olive on top. Serve lemon wedges on the side.

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