My Vegan MoFo theme this year is “Go Vegan with JL…In the kitchen!” in which I reply to your questions about cooking in your vegan kitchen. (I explain a bit more about my theme and plan for my October posts here.)
Today’s issue:
“I love to cook…and often make overly ambitious recipes that frustrate me.”
Me, too! I like the idea of fancy vegan recipes but ultimately they intimidate me and take much longer to prepare than I like. Good news! It is easy to make interesting, delicious and healthy meals with very few ingredients.
This week I returned home from a trip to Colorado (where I’m moving!) and I had not yet gone to the grocery store. I had purchased a bunch of curly kale, impulsively, the day before we left and it was still fresh and lovely in the crisper of the refrigerator. I scanned my mason jars and saw some black lentils in my cupboard. I also had homemade vegetable broth in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Those three things, plus avocado oil, garlic, onion, almond slivers and a bit of Bragg’s Liquid Aminos and I was ready to make a super-easy eight ingredient meal.
I love the ease of using a rice cooker so I put the lentils and veggie broth in it (I used 2 cups dry lentils + 4 cups vegetable broth; this made a huge batch of lentils and I froze half), set it on the brown rice setting and let it go for 40 minutes. If you’re using the stove, simply bring your broth to a boil, add the lentils, bring back to a boil, then cover and simmer for 40 – 45 minutes. When my lentils were just about done I sautéed garlic (3 cloves) and onion (half of a small Vidalia, cut into half moons slices) in avocado oil for a few minutes. Then I added an entire bunch of kale, with a splash of Bragg’s Liquid Aminos, reduced the heat to low, covered and let steam for five minutes. After five minutes I stirred in a handful of almond slivers and simmered for another few minutes. I served the garlic-infused kale over the lentils for a wonderful, comforting meal.
Look at that steaming, piping-hot, hearty vegan meal! Served over brown rice, quinoa or farro, this recipe includes four of the five fabulous vegan food groups (hey, have a piece of fruit for dessert and you have all five!).
Beans, greens and grains are so easy to season and spice up – and require very little work to prepare (particularly if you opt for canned beans and quick-cooking grains, like quinoa). I think it’s one of the reasons I find a vegan diet so sustainable. It’s not complicated and it’s incredibly easy to eat wholesome meals.
What are some of your favorite six, seven or eight-ingredient vegan dishes?
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