Eat Veggies, save the planet

Mexican food in Saarbruecken is difficult to find. So Rose asked for refries when I was visiting her this week. Here’s my recipe. She liked them so much I made them twice.

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbs. oil (olive oil is what I used this time)
• 2 small or 1 large onion
• 2 large cloves of garlic
• 4 cups of cooked and drained pinto beans (or if you’re in Germany and can’t find pinto beans then use borlotti / cranberry beans)
• 3 Tbs. chili powder, preferably salt free
• 1 Tbs. cumin
• 1 – 2 cups of cooking liquid from the beans
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp. dried parsley
• 1/2 tsp. salt (could need more or less, depending on how salty your beans are)

Instructions:

1. Heat cast iron skillet to medium. Add the oil. When oil is hot add the onions. Saute for 2 minutes and add the garlic. Saute another minute.
2. Add beans, chili powder, and cumin. When hot mash with a potato masher. Don’t mash the beans 100% though. A little texture is nice.
3. Add oregano, parsley, salt, and 1 cup of bean juice. Heat until just beginning to bubble, then turn off heat. If you want them wetter add more bean juice.

Almost all the chia pudding recipes I have read say the ratio of chia seeds to milk should be 3 tablespoons of chia seeds to 1 cup of milk. I disagree. I find the texture preferable with only 2 tablespoons of chia seeds for each cup of milk. Below is a basic recipe. You can add any fruit, dried or fresh, coconut, cocoa nibs, or anything else that strikes your fancy to the finished pudding.

Ingredients:

• 1 cups of non-dairy milk (I like raw, homemade almond milk)
• 2 Tbsp. chia seeds
• 1/2 tsp. of date syrup (or sweetener of your choice)
• 1/8 tsp. almond or vanilla extract (optional, I like almond)

Instructions:

1. Add chia seeds to milk, and stir.
2. Keep stirring for a minute or two so the chia seeds don’t clump up.
3. Add the date syrup and extract of your choice. Stir again.
4. Let sit for at least 1 hour so the chia seeds plump up.
5. Refrigerate if you don’t eat it all immediately.

Last week Hanaleah took me to Woodland’s Vegan Bistro, one of the top-rated vegan restaurants in Washington D.C. The best thing I had there was the parsley salad. When I got to Germany this week I wanted to make it, so I googled various parsley salads and created this recipe.

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

• 2 ounces of parsley leaves (Pull the leaves off the stems but no need to chop them.)
• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 2 carrots, grated
• 2 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
• zest of one lemon (optional)
• 4 tsp. olive oil
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1/4 cup toasted pumpkin seeds

Instructions:

1. Toast pumpkin seeds on medium heat in cast iron pan for about 5 minutes. Stir frequently. Don’t burn.
2. Put lemon juice, olive oil, and salt in bowl. Stir. Add parsley, carrots, and onions. Stir.
3. Let sit for 30 minutes to let flavors meld.
4. Add pumpkin seeds and serve.

My son asked for my vegan pesto recipe. It’s so simple I told it to him verbally. But then he messages me and asks for it again, so I’m putting it here even though I know he already made it. Now he can share it when he wants to.

Ingredients:

• 3 tightly packed cups of basil leaves
• 1/3 cup of walnuts, toasted
• 2 to 3 cloves of garlic
• 1/3 cup of olive oil
• 1/2 – 1 teaspoon of salt (I like a 1/2 tsp., but other people like it salty)

Instructions:

1. Toast walnuts in a cast iron pan on medium heat for approximately 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Do not burn.
2. Put garlic in food processor. Pulse until chopped. Do not remove from food processor.
3. Add cooled toasted walnuts to food processor. Pulse (with garlic) until chopped.
4. Add basil leaves to the nuts and garlic in food processor and process until basil is finely minced, approximately two minutes.
5. With food processor running, drizzle in the olive oil. Turn off the food processor and use a rubber spatula to scrape everything off the sides back into the bowl.
6. Add salt and process again. Enjoy!