This canned mixed bean salad recipe is courtesy of my super duper Mama-in-law. 🙂
Even though it’s April, it seems that Winter has just arrived in Toronto – we had the biggest snowstorm this past week!
Lucky for me, I had the good fortune to spend this past week on a Caribbean cruise with my Mama. Friends, it was absolutely amazing. I’d never been on a cruise before and now I know why people are cruisers for life. It’s basically a 5-star resort on a ship, in the middle of the ocean. I was a bit worried about the food situation (being gluten-free and vegan isn’t always very easy) but I had no reason to fear! The food was incredible and they were very accommodating to gluten-free and vegan diets! We cruised with Holland American who have impeccable service.
Anywho, I arrived 2 days ago and was not ready for a Toronto winter in April! To keep up with my Caribbean spirits, I have decided to share a summer canned mixed bean salad recipe. This salad is incredibly satisfying with it’s sweet and spicy flavours. It’s basically a flavour party in your mouth. Plus, it’s perfect for the summer! Bring some Caribbean in your life. 😛 Enjoy!
Canned Mixed Bean Salad Recipe | happygut.ca
Canned Mixed Bean Salad Recipe
2016-04-13 12:14:03
This canned mixed bean salad recipe is the perfect spring and summer salad. Not only is it super delicious but it is incredibly quick and easy to make!
My Mama’s Pakistani saag recipe made with rapini and spinach is the best! I have adapted it to make it a complete protein packed vegan meal, by adding tofu. Hence, my vegan saag paneer 🙂
The thing is, I have been exposed to many different type of saag dishes (disclaimer: I could live off my Mama’s Pakistani saag dish for a very long time). I especially love saag that is made with rapini and spinach. Unfortunately Pakistani saag is often drenched in ghee, or clarified butter. This isn’t necessarily bad as ghee can have many health benefits, one of them being easier on your digestive track than other types of dairy. Nevertheless, it’s still dairy so if you can’t have dairy then you can’t have ghee. Never to fear though, happygutters (well, that sounds kind of strange :S), saag has just become vegan with tofu and olive oil instead of ghee. I like to call this one the “Vegan Saag Paneer” 🙂 Enjoy!
Drain tofu - I usually put it between two plates and put something heavy on it for about 20 minutes, then I drain the liquid.
Place ALL saag ingredients into a saucepan, stir and bring to boil.
Lower to low-medium and allow to cook for about 40 minutes (or about 25 minutes if you have a pressure cooker).
Check and stir it every 5-10 minutes to make sure it doesn't burn or dry out (add more water if this is the case, but don't add too much - you don't want it to be watery). You can to cook it until it is really soft and until the water has evaporated.
Remove from heat and, if you like, use your hand blender or food processor to blend it (this makes really smooth, like saag you would get at a restaurant).
While the saag is cooking, make the tarka. Place your olive oil or vegan butter in a frying pan over medium heat and add the ginger and garlic just until they start to brown. Add the tarka to the saag when it is cooked and mix well.
Cut tofu into thirds lengthwise and eighths crosswise.
Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
Add tofu.
Cook tofu, stirring gently every 2 to 3 minutes, until browned on all sides, 6 to 8 minutes.
Add the tofu with the saag
Adjust spices to taste.
Notes
Tarka refers to the final seasoning of an Indian/Pakistani Punjabi dish.
This dish also freezes really well. If you do plan on freezing it, don't add the tofu to the saag. Rather, eat the tofu on the side as the tofu doesn't freeze as good.
I love tofu scramble. I’ve tried many variations of tofu scramble over the years but this tofu scramble recipe with nutritional yeast is absolutely amazing! Nutritional yeast is so versatile and is a vegan’s best friend. 🙂 It’s a terrific veggie/vegan dietary supplement and has a nutty (some even say cheesy) flavour. It’s also rich in vitamin B-12 and packed with protein –1 heaping tbsp has about 8 grams! Aside from it’s nutritional benefits and awesome taste, nutritional yeast is also a wonderful yellow colour! I like my tofu scramble to look like scrambled eggs (this way I get to trick the meat-eaters :P) and so the addition of nutritional yeast is perfect! This recipe came out so wonderfully delicious and satisfying – try it for yourself and see. 😉 I had it with some hummus and avocado.
Drain tofu (I usually do this by placing it between 2 plates, putting something heavy on top, and letting it sit for about 10-20 minutes and then draining the excess water).
Crumble up the tofu with your hands and set aside.
This is how this vegan chicken strips recipe came about: It was a lazy Sunday morning. We hadn’t had breakfast yet and my brah (i.e. my partner) asked if we wanted to go to Hogtown Vegan in for some waffles and eggs (oh the pearls of living in Toronto! We can literally go to a restaurant 5 mins away and get “chicken” and waffles, I love this city!). Then I had a brilliant idea! I thought, “We have a waffle maker. We have tofu. We have (gluten-free) breadcrumbs. Omigod, I can make my own chicken and waffles!”
Needless to say, the vegan chicken strips recipe was born. 🙂
1 block extra firm tofu (I use organic sprouted tofu)
1 cup bread crumbs (use gluten-free, if you are gluten-free)
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp basil
1/2-1 tsp salt (to taste)
1/4 olive oil
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400.
Drain tofu (I usually do this by placing it between 2 plates, putting something heavy on top, and letting it sit for about 10-20 minutes and then draining the excess water).
Mix the breadcrumbs with all the spices into a bowl and set aside.
Pour the olive oil into a separate bowl and set aside.
Oil a baking sheet and set aside.
Cut the tofu into strips.
Taking one tofu strip at a time, gently dip the strip into the bowl of oil. Make sure it's completely covered in oil.
Once the tofu strip is nicely oiled, dip it into the breadcrumb mixture, ensuring that it is completely coated in the breadcrumbs (the breadier the better! :))
Place the bread covered strip onto the baking sheet.
Do that for all the tofu strips.
Bake at 400 for about 20-30 minutes, flipping over the tofu once in between.
This amazing chickpea pattie recipe comes from my Mama (thanks mama!). The recipe is an adaptation of a traditional Punjabi dish made with potatoes called “Aloo Tikkis” (meaning potato patties). I try not to eat too many potatoes and so I asked my Mom to make it with chickpeas. She did and it was delicious. 🙂 This chickpea pattie recipe is filled with indian spices so get ready for your mouth to explode with spicy amazingness!
Chickpea Pattie Recipe | happygut.ca
Ingredients for Chickpea Pattie Recipe
1 cup dried chickpeas, soaked overnight (or 2 cans of 15 ounce chickpeas)
2-3 green onions
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp of chat masala, optional
1/4 tsp of chilli powder, optional
1/2 of a fresh green (or red) chilli, optional
1-2 tsp of freshly squeezed lemon juice
salt, to taste (I used about 1/2 tsp)
3 tbsp of ground chia + 1/2 cup water
4 cup greens (baby spinach, kale, etc.), optional
Directions for Chickpea Pattie Recipe
Combine the 3 tbsp of ground chia with the 1/2 cup of water in a bowl and set aside.
Wash & cook the chickpeas until they are super soft (you will have to mash them by hand, so the softer they are the easier it will be for you).
Once the chickpeas are cooked, drain any excess water and set aside.
Grease a baking sheet and preheat oven to 400.
Chop the green onion, fresh cilantro and greens, if using, and set aside.
Now it’s time to use your mom arms, yoga arms or if you are like me, your slightly weakling arms. 🙂 With a potato masher (or fork if you don’t have a masher), mash the chickpeas. You want to mash them just until you can’t see any more whole chickpeas. You still want them to keep their form. You don’t want to use a food processor because they will get too soft and won’t form properly into patties.
Add all of the spices and the chia mixture to the chickpeas and mix with a spoon until everything is nicely combined.
Using a 1/3 measuring cup, scoop up the chickpea mixture and place onto your greased baking sheet. Use your fingers to flatten your patties until they are about 2-3 inches thick.
Bake at 400 for about 30-40 minutes, flipping them mid-way through.
Enjoy them in your salad, in your burger, in a wrap or on their own!
You can pan fry them right before you eat them so that they are nice and crispy.
These freeze really well, so feel free to wrap them up and freeze them once they are cool.
Are you ready for this? Vegan butter chicken sauce? Ahhh my gawdd! It was so so so delicious and so so easy! I will be making this again again! My only regret is that I didn’t make more! I had a number of friends stroll in the day I made this vegan butter chicken sauce and everyone of them loved it (and none of them are even vegan). 🙂
I want to make this again and eat this right now. 🙂
The picture here doesn’t look super saucy but not to worry! I’ve adapted the recipe to double the sauce and that’s what I have shared below.
1 tsp of sugar, optional (I didn’t add this but “traditional” butter chicken often includes this)
Directions for Vegan Butter Chicken Sauce
Soak the cashews (you can do this for however long you like. I have a high powdered blender so I usually skip the soaking process entirely but if you don’t have a high powdered blender, you can soak the cashews overnight or for a minimum of 30 minutes). Place the soaked cashews in a food processor / blender, add the coconut milk and blend them until they are completely smooth. Set aside.
Drain tofu and prep tofu. I usually do this by placing it between 2 plates, putting something heavy on top, and letting it sit for about 10-20 minutes. If you would like a “meatier” tofu texture, you can then bake the tofu after it’s drained on a greased baking sheet/parchment paper. Bake it for in about 30 minutes on 400 degrees, flipping mid-way through.
Heat the olive oil (or vegan butter) in a large pan over medium heat.
Add the green cardamoms, cloves, peppercorns and cinnamon.
Add the tomato puree, red chilli powder, garam masala, salt, and fresh chillies, if using.
Increase heat to medium-high and bring the mixture to a boil (you can add more water if you find the mixture sticking to the pan. I did not do this though).
Reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes.
Add the tofu and simmer for another five minutes or so. Add the coconut milk & cashew mixture.
This paleo coconut flour naan was such an exciting discovery! I LOVE naan and grew up with amazing Afghani naan courtesy of the countless Afghani shops in our neighbourhood (thank you Toronto!). Since trying to cut down on the grains though, I am always experimenting with grain free versions of my favourite grain-filled stuff. I was surprised of how easy this paleo coconut flour naan turned out!
Paleo Coconut Flour Naan | happygut.ca
Directions for Paleo Coconut Flour Naan
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup tapioca starch (also known as tapioca flour)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 tsp cumin, optional
1/4 tsp garlic powder, optional
*4 chia eggs (4 tbsp of ground white chia + 1/2 cup water)
1/4 cup full fat coconut milk (Full fat coconut milk from the can works best. Almond milk will also work though you may need to add more water and will have a stronger chia taste, I haven’t tried any other dairy free milks yet.)
oil, for frying
*You can use black ground chia as well but it will have a stronger chia-like taste. If you don’t have chia and are not vegan, you can use regular eggs instead. I haven’t tried it with regular eggs but I assume it will work.
Directions for Paleo Coconut Flour Naan
Combine the ground chia with the 1/2 cup water and set aside.
Meanwhile, combine the coconut flour, tapioca flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices (if using) and mix well.
Add the dairy free milk and the chia mixture and mix well. The dough/batter should be easily spreadable but not as liquidly as pancake batter. Add some more milk/water if it’s too thick.
Heat a tbsp of oil in a frying pan over medium heat.
When the pan is hot, use a 1/3 measuring cup and slowly pour the naan batter in the pan.
Use a spoon to spread out and pat the batter in a circular motion making sure to cover any holes in the batter. We want a complete naan. 🙂 Don’t spread it out too thin or else it will be like a crepe / may break. I spread my batter out to be about 1/8 inch thick.
Wait 3-6 minutes before you flip the naan to make sure it cooks completely. Wait another 3-6 minutes for the other side and continue flipping until you get some nice dark brown spots.
Remove from pan, coat with some oil, if desired and serve hot.
Sigh, vegan winter salads….the best type of salads! I love salads and eat them all year round. Eating salads is the summer is super easy and refreshing. Having salads in the winter though is not always awesome. My criteria for vegan winter salads: it has be warm and complete with protein (and, of course, delicious and easy).
I was invited to a potluck a couple of weeks ago and decided to bring a salad. In my search for vegan winter salads, I came up with so many delicious options that I decided to bookmark and share with you. 🙂
See below for my roundup for the best vegan winter salads.
All of the salads are complete with protein. The first section of salads calls for lentils, the second section has tofu and the last section has some other type of veggie protein.
I love me some real simple quinoa salad. It’s the perfect quick, yummy and nutritious weekday meal.
I’m lazy and so I need meals that are complete and packed with protein. Adopting mostly a plant-based lifestyle this isn’t always so easy and so I’m always on the look out for quick, delicious and complete meals. I’ve curated the best real simple quinoa salad recipes that are both vegan and are complete meals with protein.
See my roundup below for the the best real simple quinoa salad recipes.
All of the recipes are vegan but I have also indicated whether they are:
Why this makes the cut: Full disclaimer, this is my recipe. 🙂 If you like zesty loaded with garlic and lemon, you will like this one! It’s one of my go-to staple weekday meals. Â
This is by far the best tandoori tofu recipe. I have tried many over the years and this one takes the cake! (or tofu, hehe).
My aunt who is a fabulous cook uses this recipe for chicken, I just replaced the chicken for tofu and it was delicious! Not only that, but it was incredibly easy to make – the perfect quick weekday meal.
Ideally, you will want to prep this the night before.
Ingredients for Tandoori Tofu
1 block extra firm tofu, sliced
1 cup yogurt (use vegan yogurt if you’re vegan)
2 tbsp fresh garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
1/2-2 tsp red chilli powder (I use 2 but I like it spicy!)
3 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
Directions for Tandoori Tofu
Combine all the ingredients, except the tofu, into a bowl
Add tofu slices to the sauce mixture and ensure that all the tofu is covered with the sauce
Marinade overnight in the fridge (or a couple of hours)
Pre-heat oven to 400 on bake
Oil a baking tray and place tofu onto tray (you will have excess sauce, use it as a dip if you please!)
Cover baking dish with foil and bake for about 40 minutes
Remove the foil paper and broil each side for about 5-10 minutes
