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Vegan Rivel Soup

Yesterday was my grandma’s birthday and I happened upon a picture of her in my camera from Christmas, the last time I saw her. Fortunately it was a happy event with tons of pictures and I’m glad I can call that my last memory of her.

This recipe always reminds me of her and home. I grew up eating what we called “rabels” after Easter and other holidays, as it was a good way to use up leftovers. Upon further investigation on the Internet I found the proper term is rivel soup, but I will still always call it rabels. It’s funny how things get lost in translation and the words stick that way.

This is a great fall weather recipe, or even when you’re feeling under the weather. It’s thick and hearty with cheap ingredients. One word of warning; it tends to thicken further after the first day, so you may need to thin it down quite a bit.

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Tags: aquafaba, dinner, egg free, German, ham, plant-based, recipe, rivel, soup, vegan, vegetarian

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Categories meat alternative, personal, soups, vegan

Mapo Tofu-Revisited

11 Aug

Mapo tofu is still one of our favorite meals here – it’s one of my go to dishes when I’m low on time, because it doesn’t require a huge prep time. I’ve improved on my original recipe a lot, specifically by adding the broad bean paste and szechuan pepper. The szechuan pepper adds an almost – citrus flavor that’s perfect for this spicy dish.

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Tags: asian, chinese, dinner, mapo, plant-based, recipe, tofu, vegan, vegetarian

Comments 6 Comments
Categories asian, chinese, vegan

Hazelnut Pesto

7 Aug

I grew a successful pot of basil this year, all from seeds. I’ve always purchased basil already started then moaned at how straggly and thin the plants grew throughout the summer. But not this year! I tossed in the seeds and now have a thriving, bushy plant!

I had leftover roasted hazelnuts from making my dacquoise and I figured “hey, throw them in the pesto, can’t hurt.” It’s been quite a while since I had pine nut pesto, but I can tell the hazelnuts have a different complexity to them. If you don’t have hazelnuts on hand, pine nuts or walnuts would work just as well!

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Tags: dinner, food, hazelnut, italian, pesto, plant-based, recipe, vegan, vegetarian

Comments 2 Comments
Categories dips, gluten-free, Italian, vegan

Lentil Soup

13 Jul

Some days I really love cooking and I enjoy spending the time chopping and sautéing and preparing something fresh for my family. Other days I really enjoy throwing everything in a pot and watching Netflix. This recipe is for the latter days.

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Tags: dinner, easy, food, lentils, recipe, soup, vegan, vegetarian

Comments 1 Comment
Categories gluten-free, soups, vegan

Baked Tofu

29 Jun

I’ve already told you guys about how much I hated tofu as a child. As much as I don’t enjoy saying it (my husband can attest to this), I was wrong! Tofu is one of the most scrumptious things in the universe, as long as you drain it well and cover it in delicious flavors. I’ll be honest though, I’ve come to even enjoy eating it plain.

You can definitely use extra firm tofu for this, but firm will work just as fine. Don’t get the stuff in the aseptic package, you want the water filled stuff you have to drain. Don’t forget to save that water to whip into meringues! Black vinegar is the only hard to find ingredient in this recipe, but you can substitute a good balsamic vinegar if you don’t have a well stocked asian store nearby. It won’t have the same flavor profile, so definitely search for black vinegar!

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Tags: dinner, food, recipe, tofu, vegan, vegetarian

Comments 13 Comments
Categories asian, chinese, meat alternative, vegan

The Easiest and Best Vegan Cheddar Cheese Sauce

15 May

I know, that title sets a pretty high standard. I was pretty skeptical when everyone in a Facebook group I’m in with posting about this potato carrot cheese, stating that it was the best cheese they’ve ever made. We decided to try it to see if it lived up to the hype, but obviously made a few modifications. I’ve tried my fair share of cheese sauces, from cookbooks and online blogs, but this one is going to be my current go to from now on. This cheese sauce works because the cell walls of potatoes release starches when you destroy them, this is a common problem when making mashed potatoes and results in a gluey texture. However, with vegan cheese, gluey texture equals amazing stretch.
The carrots add that nice orange flavor, coconut oil replicates the creamy mouth feel of dairy fats, nutritional yeast has the stinky cheesy smell of cheddar, miso paste gives an authentic umami flavor, and lactic acid provides the sharp tang of dairy cheese. Please try this cheese!

This recipe is fantastic for nachos.

As well as breakfast sandwiches.

In fact, it’s pretty much good with just a spoon and nothing else 🙂

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Tags: cheddar cheese, cheese, cmpa, dinner, food, gluten-free, mspi, recipe, soy-free, vegan

Comments 16 Comments
Categories american, dips, gluten-free, vegan

Sweet and Sour Seitan

3 Jan

One of my favorite meal growing up was sweet and sour meatballs. My mom used a recipe from the original orange Betty Crocker (you know the one, your mom had it too.) I love adapting old recipes, so here’s my version.

I use seitan instead of meatballs, but you could easily substitute tofu. Feel free to add different veggies, but the pineapple is essential.

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Tags: chinese, dinner, food, recipe, seitan, sour, sweet, vegan, vegetarian

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Categories asian, chinese, grains, vegan

Blueberry Muffins

16 Dec

When Ken and I first started dating, we took a trip to a blueberry farm in Illinois. We spent hours picking (and mostly eating) berries, until I got tired and lost our group. I ended up trying to call him multiple times from a stranger’s cell phone and surprisingly there’s very little cell reception on a blueberry farm in the middle of nowhere. After waiting awkwardly on a bench for an hour, we finally found each other, and we left that farm with a cooler full of blueberries. Most were frozen and eventually made their way into loaves of banana bread, but some turned into these excellent muffins.

I made a huge batch of these to freeze before having my baby, so feel free to do the same. You can even substitute chocolate chips for the blueberries and pretend like it’s a healthy breakfast. I promise not to tell.

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Tags: blueberry, dinner, food, muffin, recipe, vegan, vegetarian

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Categories breakfast, desserts, vegan

Mushroom and Onion Risotto

13 Dec

A while ago I challenged The Friendly Fig to face her fear of making risotto, and I would do the same. It’s been over a month now, and I finally figured it was time to attempt a recipe. I’m so glad I did!

This was delicious and creamy and wasn’t nearly as hard as I thought it would be. I discovered the trick to making risotto is not leaving the stove for very long, but it didn’t require the constant stirring that I had been previously afraid of. I added a little almond milk and nutritional yeast to give it a flavor boost that dairy would normally give. I served this with a batch of chickpea cutlets, another Post Punk Kitchen recipe.

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Tags: dinner, food, italian, mushrooms, plant-based, recipe, risotto, vegetarian

Comments 3 Comments
Categories casseroles, gluten-free, grains, Italian, vegan

Spanakorizo

6 Dec

When we visit my husband’s family, we often go out to dinner at a restaurant called Greek Islands. One of my favorite sides there is the spanakorizo, which translates to spinach rice. This can be made with or without the tomatoes, either way is delicious.

This dish is much better with fresh dill; use it if you have it. My dill plant didn’t last the summer, unfortunately. We like to serve this with a squeeze of lemon, a little olive oil, and some fresh pita bread.