Mighty Leftover Loaf

Oh, the joys of a vegan buffet. All the different colours, tastes  and combos on your plate. Mmmm! Spectacular! So what to do with all of these leftovers when your company has gone home, and you're tired of eating the same dish over and over? Grasshopper stumbled on this Mighty Leftover Loaf, that tastes better than the separate dish it once was. And as a bonus, it makes a mighty fine cold pâté.

Mighty Leftover Loaf

For the base, grasshopper ground together a  Summer Bean Medley Salad, roasted garlic, fennel/radish salad, lemon juice, and bread crumbs, then added a sprinkle of chia seeds, dash of black pepper…cumin-ground and whole, and grind once again.

Oil glass loaf pan

Spread mixture in loaf pan.

Grind steamed carrots, and Easy Sweet Potato Dip.

Spread on legume mix.

Top with a thin layer of salsa.

Bake 375 till it smells right…30-40 minutes, and blackens slightly around the edges.

Love Grasshopper

Spicy Chick Pea Deep Dish Bake

   The fall season brings us wonderful opportunities to marvel at the bounty of local fresh vegetables and herbs, and a good reason to put on the oven, warm up the house, and enjoy a baked casserole. For Grasshopper, chick peas have always held an untapped culinary mystery and so kitchen experiments on the art of alchemizing the chick pea with veggies began. Hence the discovery of how well the magical chick pea mashes and tastes with cooked squash was born.
    It is the adaptability, taste and texture of the chick pea that make it so accessible as a baking ingredient. Once cooked, Grasshopper often will mash 75% of the pot when warm as they get very creamy this way. The other 25% is left whole just for variety's sake in other recipes. They freeze well both ways, and having a store of mashed chick peas is always handy for a quick protein addition to a meal, be it hummus, Roasted Snack Beans, or adding to a soup.
   This mashed chick pea recipe has gone through a few incarnations, starting out as being baked into a simple legume loaf, Grasshopper wanted to create a complete meal, so cooked and drained seasonal vegetables are added. The ingredient list may appear daunting however the squash and non-starch veg were pre-cooked, (any veg leftovers will do, or frozen) and the spices create this wonderful deep-dish meal to enjoy with a bottom and top chick pea crust that tastes like a falafel,  sandwiching veggies. Mmmmm.
 

Spicy Chick Pea Deep Dish Bake
Crust
1 1/2 c  cooked and mashed chick peas
1/3 c  pumpkin seed (grasshopper pre-soaks and drains these for 5 hours)
1/2 c  cooked and mashed squash
1/3 c  parsley
juice from 1/2 a lemon
1/4 c  olive or coconut oil
1/2 c   buckwheat flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
1/2  tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground ginger, or a thumb-nail size of grated ginger root
1 tsp caraway seed
1 very large (or 2 medium) grated garlic clove

Veg Filling
Cook any non-starch veg combo and drain moisture out onto a paper towel.
 1 c  spinach
1/2 c peas
1/2 c green beans

Process all crust ingredients in a food processor until smooth.
Pre-heat the oven to 375* F.
 Oil a 9 or 10 inch square baking dish, or pie plate, or line with parchment paper. 
Spoon and spread about 1/3 of crust batter on the bottom. Pre-bake for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven. Cover this layer with the drained veg mix. Spoon and spread the rest of the crust batter evenly over the veg to form the top crust.
Bake in oven until top crust is brown and your kitchen smells divine, 45 min- 1 hour.

Love Grasshopper

Summer Bean Medley Salad

      Grasshopper enjoys conserving energy, both personally and environmentally. On hot summer days the last thing anyone would ever want to do is heat the living space up by putting the oven on, or cooking  beans for hours! Grasshopper saves these tasks for those fall or spring days when it's too early to put the heat on, but the mornings are quite cold from the evening's temperature drop. then a cooking spree happens!
    The bean medley for this favourite summer staple is a variation on Grasshopper's earlier post from December 2012, Lentil Mung Bean (LMB) Perfect Combo with the addition of adzuki beans for more colour and variety. Soak for a good 24 hours for best results, then please refer to the cooking method described in the 12/03/12 post, regarding changing the cooking water. It's that white frothy stuff you want to get out of your cooking water, so you can digest these beans easier. Cooking time must be very slow, never a rolling boil,  and will be done anywhere between 15-35 minutes depending on the age of the beans that you've used. Don't take your eyes off of these tiny morsels, or you'll have floating skins and mush! Try to mash an adzuki to see if it's done. It'll take the longest.
    Soaking pumpkin or sunflower seeds in water in the morning is enough to prepare them for a lunch or evening salad. The salad improves in flavour as it marinates. Grasshopper makes it in the morning, and by evening the flavours have infused.
    Summer brings us so many shades of colour and taste in our herb and vegetable gardens. There is not a real recipe to this salad, as Grasshopper creates a new salad depending on what the season and gardens bring to us. This bean medley provides a base to your taste. Make your vinaigrette as you prefer and add vegetables that you enjoy that are in season. Let it all marinate until you are ready to eat. These are suggestions that have worked for Grasshopper and guests. The salad denies a 'crunchy chewy' factor  (without hard, raw veg ) so you and your guests can enjoy large helpings of this wonderful vegan protein.

Summer Bean Medley Salad 
   cooked french lentils, mung beans and adzuki beans - enough to feed you and your guests
  a handful of raw, pre-soaked pumpkin and sunflower seeds (about 5 hours)
  sliced red onion
 toss with any chopped garden herbs - thyme (definitely)
                                                     fennel, parsley, cilantro, coriander, basil
vinegar or lemon juice (suggestions are coconut, balsamic,  apple cider vinegar, or lemon juice )
organic olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
vegetables (suggestions are  cooked diced string beans, sliced raw mini zucchini, roasted                   red pepper)

Love Grasshopper  

Grasshopper's Gluten-free Eggplant Patties

  This recipe takes a bit more time than Lucia's Eggplant Burgers, because of the cooking method, but the eggplant will have absorbed less oil because they are baked first. It is remarkable how buckwheat flour blends beautifully with the subtle taste of eggplant, creating a wonderful gluten-free delight.
     Grasshopper keeps this a simple recipe for people with food sensitivities, but is not hesitant to replace some of the flour with  soaked and ground sunflower or pumpkin seeds, or hemp seed for a protein boost. Also, the preference is to let these patties  remain as a veggie side dish, not on a bun, and serves them with a lentil -type salad in the summer time like the next post- Summer Bean Medley Salad
     Other optional additions would be finely chopped jalapeno peppers.

Grasshopper's Gluten-free Eggplant Patties
makes 6-8

2 medium small eggplants (about 1 3/4c cooked)
about 3/4-1c dark buckwheat flour 
dash of salt, to taste
1 tbs oil to fry

Preheat oven to 400*F. Wash and de-stem eggplant. With a fork, prick the skin of the eggplant all around, then bake whole on a baking dish for about 45 minutes, or until completely shrivelled and soft. When cool enough to handle, scrape out the eggplant pulp into a food processor, add salt and flour, then pulse until a pasty dough is formed. Depending on the size of the eggplant you may adjust the flour measurement, so that it will have the consistency of a stiff, sticky batter, and  fry up smelling just like a pancake.
Heat oil first at a medium temperature in a cast-iron skillet. This step is important so as not to absorb too much oil into the burgers. If a drop of water sizzle in the pan, it is ready. Shape the mixture into the fry pan, cook until golden on both sides, and let drain on a paper towel.
 Love Grasshopper

Winter's Beanloaf

Grasshopper woke one morning with a strong craving for winter comfort food. A hearty baked loaf reminiscent of a traditional meatloaf with ketchup. Mmmm. Tomato is generally avoided by grasshopper, as it is an inflammatory food, but some believe that baking it won't create as much inflammation. Purchasing an organic ketchup will do the trick, or just leave it out of the recipe.

The base requires a 12 hour pre-soak of navy bean and whole peas then cooked till the navy beans are soft, adding fennel seed and bay leaf while cooking . The whole peas will split, but won't be mushy, adding a nice chewy texture to the beanloaf.
A traditional loaf will often include a grain as a binder, but grasshopper chose to keep it simple, and used presoaked flax seed which takes 6 hours. The flax seed makes the loaf rise slightly and creates a soft, fluffy texture. Slices can be frozen for later use, if there's any leftover?? oh so good!!

Winter's Beanloaf
     a combo of navy bean and whole dried peas (enough to fill a loaf pan) - presoaked, rinsed and cooked with one tbs fennel seed and 3 bay leaves, and drained
     1Tbs flax seed presoaked in 1 Tbs of water for 5-6 hours
     1 portabello mushroom sliced
     2 celery stalks sliced
     2 garlic cloves grated
     1 Tbs chopped onion
     a thumbnail of fresh ginger root grated
     a dash of balsamic vinegar
     spice combo- 1 tsp himalayan salt 
                          1 tsp black pepper
                          1 tsp fennel seed
                          3 tsp herbes de provence
                          1 tsp dried thyme or 1 Tbs fresh
     1/4 c organic ketchup

Using a food container with a lid, add the balsamic vinegar and sliced mushrooms, secure the lid, and give a good shake to coat the shrooms. In a small frying pan, sautee the sliced portabello in a dab of olive oil until cooked.  In a food processor, grind legume mix  (remove bay leaves first) till navy beans are pureed. Add chopped celery, garlic, ginger root, onion, spices, and flax seed. Blend well. Add the shrooms and pulse till partially chopped.

Spoon mixture into a well-oiled loafpan (glass works great), drizzle ketchup on the top to cover mixture. Bake at 350* for 40 minutes, or until brown and smelling divine.

Easy Sweet Potato Dip

Arriving at a seasonal party and finding this dip was a welcome surprise for a gut that needed some wholesome comfort food. Scooping up dollops of this dip in a mini corn chip or cracker was heavenly. Prep work includes pre-soaking the rock hard carway seeds in water for at least 6 hours or overnight. Yams or sweet potatoes are washed, pricked and baked whole in a 425* oven for about one hour or until soft depending on the size. When cool, the skin peels off easily.
Packed with  vitamins like A, C and B6, sweet potatoes have good antioxidant properties, and are an excellent source of dietary fiber, potassium and iron. They are a low-glycemic index (GI) food, which releases glucose slowly into the bloodstream, making  them a healthy choice for diabetics. You can substitute lemon juice for lime, or simply omit the citrus and use more ground herbs if you prefer.
Easy Sweet Potato Dip
  2 medium size sweet potatoes, baked, cooled and peeled
  juice of one lime
  1 tsp caraway seed (presoaked till chewable or grind)
  1/2 tsp ground cumin
   drizzle of olive oil

Mix lime juice with spices. Mash sweet potatoes and mix in citrus juice until smooth. Spoon into a serving bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Serve with your favourite dipping vessel??

Love Grasshopper

Christmas Vegan Protein Bowl

I had the pleasure of having some wonderful vegetarian guests for dinner this season. Grasshopper fixed a delicious, satisfying vegan dish that was wow to everyone, full of protein and creative in texture. This recipe works well to suggest to cooks when you are the guest and they ask you what you eat. It can be made in 15 minutes if you have any precooked legumes and grains. This  lentil/mung bean combo and the whole kamut grains can be made in advance, frozen, and defrosted prior to use. If you substitute, Grasshopper suggests to choose small grains and legumes for a the best chews!
 Mmmm... just the right combo!

  

For instructions on how to prepare grains and legumes from scratch,
see these Grasshopper's Vegan Kitchen recipes:

LentilMungBeanCombo http://grasshopperkitchen.blogspot.ca/2012/12/lentil-mung-bean-lmb-perfect-combo.html
and
Comfort in Kamut  http://grasshopperkitchen.blogspot.ca/2011/10/comfort-in-kamut.html

        Grasshopper dreams up gourmet organic ingredients for Christmas dinner with coconut vinegar and morning soaking prep work.  Flavours enhance when this dish is made in advance.

Christmas Vegan Protein Bowl

   Precooked:

     1 cup cooked kamut grains or barley (or subsitute brown rice, wild rice, quinoa, or millet for gluten-free)

         2 cups cooked blend of black lentils and mung beans (or substitute a small bean combo such as black beans, adzukis)

  

  Presoaks: drained seeds and grains can be refridgerated until use.

•     water pre-soaking (just to cover) of  1 cup of sunflower seeds ( or substitute pumpkin seeds) for 6 hours, drain off the water
•     water pre-soaking (just to cover) of  1/2 cup of dried cranberries (or substitute dried raisins, or black currants) for 4 hours or until soft, saving the soaking liquid to flavour the dressing
•    (optional) make an infusion of  one tbsp rosemary and one thinly biased sliced garlic clove covered in about 1/4 cup olive oil,  in a clear glass jar, covered and soaking in the sun  for the day, then strained   

   Raw Veg:

•  3 washed celery stalks, sliced thinly on a diagonal 
• 1 tsp thinly sliced red onion  (optional) 
• 1/4 cup washed and chopped parsley

 Dressing:
          1/4 cup infused (optional) olive oil (see above)

         2 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice

        1 tbsp balsamic vinegar (or  substitute apple cider or red wine)

        1/4 cup soaking liquid from dried cranberries (fruit)

         1 tbsp ginger root, sliced thinly on a diagonal, then coarsely chopped 

         1 tsp ground cumin

        1/4 tsp black pepper

         salt to taste

Whip the ingredients together with a fork. 
       

 Final Alchemic Mix:

  Toss all ingedients into a large bowl. Coat with dressing immediately. Serve at room temperature for good digestion.

Love Grasshopper

Squash/Pumpkin Gnocchi

Gnocchi is a wonderful tender pasta that can be created easily without egg or milk with this recipe. Replacing the traditional potato with pie pumpkin or squash adds a new flavour and more vitamin A. If using light spelt flour is your choice of grain, then a lovely high protein, thick hemp pesto is wonderful. Using a gluten-free buckwheat flour creates a heavier dough, so use less flour and cut the pasta into thinner, smaller shapes. it goes well with a lighter sauce like tomato. Since gourds come in so many different sizes, this recipe serves 4, but you can just add more flour if you have more pumpkin. Precooking the gourd makes this recipe very quick, 20 minutes and it's into the pot. melt in your mouth soft!!

 Gnocchi  (Serves 4)

2 cups of mashed, pre-roasted or steamed pie pumpkin, butternut or acorn squash
1-2c of flour- light spelt or buckwheat (gluten free) 
salt to taste
dash of cardamon or nutmeg

Mash precooked gourd, add 1c of flour and stir to make a sticky ball. On a generously floured surface,  spoon about 1/2 c of mixture onto the flour and begin to roll the dough into a log of about one inch in diameter with just enough flour so it doesn't stick to your hands. The inside will remain sticky to the touch when they are cut. Too much flour makes the dough tough. With a lightly-floured knife, cut the log into 1/2 inch pieces. Lightly coat each piece with flour if they are too sticky, to separate from other gnocchi balls. A quick roll in your floured hands is enough. Place each piece on a flat serving plate. Do not stack, as they will stick. Repeat with the rest of the dough.
 Grasshopper freezes the gnocchi separately, then bags them for future use. Otherwise you can boil a pot of water and  drop them in carefully. They are done when they float to the top. Depending on how many you are cooking at a time, this can take from 2-5 minutes. Do not overcook!
Here is a link to Grasshopper's Pesto Sauce. http://grasshopperkitchen.blogspot.ca/2011/10/grasshoppers-pesto.html

Love Grasshopper

Vegan Spanakopita

Mmmmm, so gourmet, and yes this recipe takes time, planning and love, but is well worth it to serve as a special dish for your vegan guests at an event as important as a wedding. Much like a samosa, but without the deepfried batter, you will have to purchase frozen phyllo dough. Grasshopper has not found a gluten-free or preservative-free product on the market in Canada, so reading the ingredients to make sure the preservatives are not animal-food based is crucial before planning this recipe on your menu. Coconut oil is used on the phyllo leaves instead of butter, so watching these bake requires care as to not burn the leaves. They do curl, and you will lose some leaves, but it's all good!

Vegan Spanakopita  (Makes about 8 logs)
(for Nisha)

You will need a pastry brush
Filling:
2 c cooked brown or green lentils, partially mashed
1 large (or 1 cup) peeled and diced cooked carrot
1/4 (or 1 cup) slivered large raw cabbage
1 tbsp garam masala
1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp finely minced ginger root
juice of half a lemon
pinch of salt
2 tsp olive oil

One lb package of frozen phyllo dough, defrosted in the fridge the night before
1/4 -1/3c melted coconut oil (pastry brush)

     Cook lentils as directed in Grasshopper's last post 'Lentil Mung Bean (LMB) Combo.' Heat oil in a large skillet on low, add cabbage and slow cook, stirring until partially carmelized and soft, about 5 minutes. Add carrots and cook a further 2 minutes. Add garam masala, cumin, ginger and salt. Cook very slowly for another 2 minutes, watch it doesn't burn. Add lemon juice. Keep stirring the gravy over low heat for 3 minutes, turn off heat and add lentils. With a fork, partially mash the mix until it begins to stick together. Do not puree.
     Open up phyllo dough sheets carefully not to break them. Using one leaf at a time, spread a modest amount of melted coconut oil over the first leaf with a pastry brush. (just enough so there are no dry spots, but being careful not to make it too oily) Assemble the next 2 leaves on top, and coat again with oil. Across the width of one end of the leaf pile, spread about 5 tbsp of filling in a 2" wide by 1" high log shape, keeping a 11/2" margin  of empty space at the bottom and side edges. Fold bottom and side edges of dough over the filling wrapping the ingredients of the log, then continue to roll log up. Place log with open end of leaves down on a large flat pizza pan or cookie sheet. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Continue making all the logs you can, until filling and dough is used up.
    Score the top of each log into serving size pieces, four is suggested. This may help to keep the leaves intact, as they do break upon cooling.
    Bake until lightly brown, about 20 minutes. These can be made ahead of time, and partially baked, then frozen for reheating at a later time.
Time saving option:
  The spanakopita may be prepared in a baking dish as a casserole rather than logs. You can sandwich the filling between 5 layers of leaves for the bottom and top, scoring 2"x2" square-sized appetizer bites.
Love Grasshopper

Yesterday's Oatmeal and Rapini Pie-Something from Nothing

       Yesterday's pot of leftover cooked oatmeal becomes the crust of this simple to make, easy to brownbag vegan pie. Vegans generally have 'let go' of the flaky perfect pie crusts of the Betty Crocker kitchen, and opt for an oil-based high protein crust. Grasshopper's love of buckwheat, calcium-rich and gluten-free, added to pre-cooked oatmeal in a fortified vegan milk of choice creates an easy high protein nutty base. Whole toasted buckwheat and can be ground on a fine grind in the blender to make a flour. Getting hungry now, and imagining the endless possibilies here with nut butters, tahini or inexpensive ground nut or seed additions...  sunflower or hemp seeds, peanut, Mmmmm,......
     You decide how to 'stiff up' the cooked oatmeal with oil and dry ingredients. Use tahini or nut butters for their oils, or grind a dry mix of seeds. Plain and simply, grasshopper uses the oil:dry ratio of 1:3 for a crunchy crust.  Decide: what's available in my kitchen, AND how much of this ingredient do I want for taste pleasure and protein.  Just count the servings you are creating. Experiment! It'll never taste the same again!
                                                                                                                  
   Yesterday's Oatmeal and Rapini Pie
       1c yesterday's cooked oatmeal    
      1/3-1/2 c of dry mix combo: buckwheat flour, ground nut or seed ..sunflower, hemp or sesame
      3tbs or more olive oil or tahini or nut butter
      dash salt
  one large bunch rapini, cleaned, washed and chopped
  2 garlic cloves crushed
  1 tsp olive oil
  dash salt

Mix enough dry ingredients/oil with oatmeal until you have a workable dough. Oil a pie plate as well as your fingers, then shape dough along the edges of the plate. Pre-bake at 350* for 10 minutes or until slightly brown. Meanwhile, oil a large covered skillet, add garlic and slowly simmer for 2 minutes. Add chopped rapini, cover, steam, and 'stir down' for 10 -12 minutes, or until soft and creamy. 
   Spread on prebaked crust.  Return to the oven for 5 minutes. Enjoy hot or cold.
Love Grasshopper

Grasshopper's Vegan Pesto

Adaptations. Living creatures are perpetually adapting. Understanding the culinary properties of your favourite foods teaches us how to adapt any recipe when we don't have an ingredient, or have specific food intolerances to avoid. May your days be filled with opportunities to experiment with ingredient substitutions. Risky when inviting guests, but surely a grateful experience of rich lessons. Ask your guests their thoughts on your new creations, and such is how we will continue with adaptations. In this vegan pesto recipe, parmesan is absent, so hemp protein is an excellent substitution for a vegan diet.

Grasshopper's Vegan Pesto
-olive oil
         a choice of seeds or nuts...
-hulled hemp for high protein works beautifully,
    or walnut, just try to use a nut or seed with a soft consistency
if using a mortar and pestal, however  any seed or nut can be
   ground in a blender; flax seed is nutritious, but lacks flavour and
   its geling properties keep soaking up the oil (not grasshopper's favourite choice)
-fresh basil leaves, fresh parsley leaves, arugula,
       any green with flavour
-cloves of garlic
-salt to taste
 
Mash, using mortar and pestal or blender for larger amounts or harder nuts and seeds. Use at room temperature or you may also line a baking dish with plastic wrap, pour the pesto over the wrap and freeze in a slab and put into a ziplock bag in the freezer for future use. Then break off chunks as needed. Just melt frozen pesto chunks in a hot pot of cooked/drained pasta, for a quick on-the-go nutritious meal.
For a great pasta recipe, see Grasshopper's easy gnocchi recipe
 http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=838924271458807488#editor/target=post;postID=3981368696112836922
Love Grasshopper