golden mushroom & pea risotto from the vegan chef

last saturday night i had a craving for something creamy and comforting, so i decided to find a vegan risotto recipe that would still be "creamy" without the butter & parmesan cheese. found it! thank you Vegan Chef  for this great recipe.

there were some tweaks i made to the recipe:
- i used chicken stock instead of veggie stock
- i did not add asparagus (not at the supermarket right now)
- left out the "nutritional yeast flakes" & lemon zest

it was still so good! definately

original recipe from The Vegan Chef


  3 1/2 - 4 cups vegetable stock
1 lb. asparagus, tough ends trimmed
1 cup onion, diced
2 T. olive oil
1 1/2 cups cremini mushrooms, destemmed, cut in half lengthwise, and sliced
2 T. garlic, minced
1 cup Arborio rice
1/2 cup white wine (optional) 
1/4 t. saffron threads
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 cup fresh or frozen peas
1/3 cup nutritional yeast flakes
1/4 cup freshly chopped parsley
2 T. freshly chopped dill
2 t. finely grated lemon zest
  In a medium saucepan, place the vegetable stock, and bring to a boil. Slice the asparagus spears diagonally into 1-inch pieces and place them in a fine mesh strainer. Place the strainer in the boiling vegetable stock and cook the asparagus in the stock for 2 minutes to blanch them. Remove the strainer from the stock and set the asparagus aside. Reduce the heat of the stock to low. In a large saucepan, saute the onion in the olive oil for 3 minutes to soften. Add the mushrooms and garlic and saute the mixture an additional 3 minutes. Add the Arborio rice, stir well to coat it with the sauteed vegetable mixture, and cook an additional 2 minutes while stirring constantly or until rice turns opaque.
Add the white wine (or use some of the stock if omitting) and saffron threads, season to taste with salt and pepper, and stir well to combine. Reduce the heat to low and cook the mixture while stirring occasionally until all of the liquid has been absorbed. Add 1/2 cup of the simmering vegetable stock and continue to cook, while stirring occasionally, until all of the stock has been absorbed. Repeat the procedure of adding a 1/2 cup of simmering stock, stirring, and cooking until fully absorbed before adding additional stock, until all but a 1/2 cup of stock remains. Add the blanched asparagus, along with the remaining ingredients, and stir well to combine. Cook the mixture an additional 2-3 minutes while stirring constantly, adding the remaining stock, as needed, so that the rice is tender and the risotto has a creamy consistency. Taste and adjust the seasonings, as desired.
Serves 4 (main dish) or 6 (side dish)

meal plans for the week: veganish

via

Sunday: Veggie Paella 
Monday: Mushroom & Pea Risotto 
Tuesday: Quinoa Guac Salad & Cajun Chickpea Cakes 
Wednesday: Green Goddess Grilled Cheese Sandwich 
Thursday: Eggplant Stir-Fry & White Rice
Friday: Falafel with Tahini-Lemon Sauce 
Saturday: Zuppa Toscana with no cream

Breakfast ideas: Banana Chocolate Chip & Date Muffins 

so you're going vegan?- Spicy Indian Chickpeas

yesterday ry and i were talking about the needed changes to his diet. it kind of terrified me. no eggs, no dairy, and no red meats. the no red meat thing was okay with me, i could totally be a pescetarian but every once in a while i love a great burger. but no dairy and eggs?! oh my gosh i love butter and heavy cream- what is a home cook to do?

most of my friends & family know that i dislike hippies and the hippie way of life (the no shower, dreadlocks  and hug trees type of hippie). its too relaxing for me. that's why my sister (future nurse) tells me that i will probably die early of stress, but at least i accomplished a lot! kidding. 

the word vegan equaled hippie to me. but after watching forks over knives i have definitely changed my way of thinking. 

last night for dinner i made lucinda scala quinn's Spicy Indian Chickpeas. so good. its a great cheap dinner that fills you up. the spices really make the chickpeas so delicious and it is on the spicier side but paired with some avocado its just perfect. white rice is my favorite accompaniment to this dish but lucinda also recommended cucumber yogurt salad .

now don't worry, this is not a vegan blog! just a blog about our food adventures in a kitchen that seriously needs a facelift but we deal with it and still make tasty food. 

Spicy Indian Chickpeas
from Mad Hungry by Lucinda Scala Quinn

Yield
Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients

• • 2 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped (about 1 1/2 cups), plus 1 small onion, sliced, for garnish
  • 8 cloves garlic, minced (2 tablespoons)
  • 1 3-inch-square piece of peeled fresh ginger, minced (3 tablespoons)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons garam masala
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 3 15-ounce cans chickpeas, drained (1 cup liquid reserved)
  • 1 large tomato, sliced in wedges, for garnishing
  • 3 hot fresh green chiles, sliced lengthwise and seeded, for garnishing

Directions

1. Heat large skillet and swirl in the oil. Add the chopped onion, garlic, and ginger. Saute until soft and lightly golden, 5 to 6 minutes.
2. In a small bowl, combine the cinnamon, garam masala, cumin, coriander, cloves, cayenne, and salt. Add to the onion mixture; cook and stir in the spices to lightly toast, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for another few minutes to combine. The color should be dark red.
3. Add the chickpeas plus the cup of reserved liquid. Stir to combine. Cover and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, removing the cover in the last few minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit for a minute to allow the beans to soak up the spice flavors. Season with salt to taste.
4. Serve in a shallow bowl garnished with the sliced onion, tomato wedges, and slices of green chiles.