Greens, Tofu & Kohlrabi (the post-candy meal)

I'm writing this the day after Halloween, and I've heard about quite a bit about candy hangovers today. My first complainant? My husband.

Have you or your family suffered from the sugar rush? Do you need a tasty, healthy meal to counteract your sluggishness? Boy do I have a suggestion for you.

Roasted root veggies, braised greens, and seasoned tofu.

Tofu:
1. Wrap a square of extra firm tofu in a kitchen towel and place a cast iron pan or a baking sheet with a heavy book on top.

2. Allow to sit 30-45 minutes.

3. Remove the towel and saturate the tofu with tamari soy sauce and a dash of liquid smoke.

4. Preheat a cast iron skillet at 7 of 10 heat.

5. Slice the seasoned tofu, reserving any remaining liquid. One block makes 8 slices for me, but adjust to your family size.

6. Cook the tofu in a small amount of olive oil for about 4 minutes. Flip, add any remaining marinade and cook an additional 4 minutes.

7. Serve immediately or set aside.

Roasted root veggies:
1. Chop a variety of root veggies, like kohlrabi, beets, turnips, parsnips, sweet or white/yellow/purple potatoes, to sweet potatoes and toss with peeled garlic cloves and sliced onion.

2. Toss all veggies with olive oil and salt, pepper, paprika, dried chili pepper flakes, oregano, and a dash or two of liquid smoke.

3. Roast in a cast iron dutch oven at 300 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour, stirring every fifteen minutes.

Braised greens:
(this recipe follows easily after the tofu has just finished)

1. Wash and chop your greens (collards and kale work best, but beet, turnip and mustard greens work well too).

2. Saute garlic slices in about 2 T of olive oil over medium heat. Add chopped greens and toss to coat.

3. Add seasoned salt or mixture of salt, pepper, paprika, oregano, and chili flakes. 4. Once greens are brightened, add a dash of lemon juice (juice of one half lemon) and serve immediately.

To cook the whole meal in concert:
1. Press the tofu.
2. Wash and chop greens, then veggies.
3. Start roasting the root veggies.
4. Cook the tofu.
5. Stir the veggies.
6. Cook the greens.

Aloo, Gobi, and Chard

Here is my take on everyone's favorite Indian dish. Serves 6-8, depending on veggie quantities and what else is served at the meal. This recipe is even better the next day. It can be made in the crock pot, if steps 1-4 happen on the stove first. Then combine the rest in the crock pot and increase the cooking time to a few hours. Step 6 should happen with about 20-30 minutes before you plan to serve so that the chard cooks and the beans heat through.

Ingredients:
2 c brown basmati rice
1 head cauliflower, chopped
3 large potatoes, cubed
1 bunch chard, chopped (stems included)
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1" piece of ginger, minced (equal amounts ginger and garlic)
1 32 oz can chopped tomatoes
1-2 cans coconut milk (or homemade!)
1-2 cup(s) or 1 16 oz can of beans, rinsed (garbanzos or white beans) OR 1-2 cups frozen green peas
olive oil

1 t cumin seeds
1 T salt
1 T turmeric
2 T coriander
1 t cinnamon
1 t ground cardamom
1 t cayenne (more or less, to taste)

1. Prepare rice according to directions.
2. Saute onion, garlic, ginger, and cumin seeds in enough oil to coat the bottom of a dutch oven pan over medium heat.
3. Combine all remaining spices and salt into a bowl and open cans of tomatoes/coconut milk.
4. When onion starts to become translucent but before it begins to brown, quickly stir in the spice mixture and stir constantly for about 30 seconds. This is critical! Add the tomatoes and coconut milk to cool the pan.
5. Add cauliflower and potatoes, and allow to simmer for about 30 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through (you can speed the recipe a little by microwaving the cubed potatoes before adding them in, but they won't taste quite as amazing).
6. Add beans or peas and chard and cook another 5 minutes or until the chard is wilted but still bright green.
7. Ladle over brown rice and enjoy!

Hurry, Curry! (Lentil Dip)

I love hummus, don't get me wrong, but sometimes I find it boring. And sometimes I find that we have no cooked, soaked garbanzos. Or worse, no garbanzos at all.

So, what's a vegan yogini with a GF husband to do?

Improvise.

Introducing a flavorful dip that is just a bit different from anything else (and the only recipe I will EVER write that contains "curry powder".

1 cup dry lentils (any brown, green, or black variety will do, just not the dainty red lentils).

1 vegan Not-Chik-n bouillon cube

2 cups water

1 bay leaf

1 T toasted sesame seed oil

1-2 t curry powder (depending on your taste) salt to taste

additional water

1. Cook the lentils in the water, bouillon and bay leaf in a covered pot over low/medium heat. They should get mushy, so between 20-30 minutes should be perfect. You may need to add additional water if the lentils are still not mushy but the water has evaporated. I have mistakenly made burned lentil patty this way, and there's a reason that isn't the featured recipe.

2. Discard bay leaf and pour contents of pot into a food processor. Add oil, salt, and curry powder. Pure like the dickens. Thin with water as necessary to achieve a "dip" texture to your liking.

3. Serve with corn chips, rice crackers, or crudite. Great for a pot luck, but be sure to label it so people aren't horribly surprised when it isn't guacamole.

Easy. Delicious. Nearly impossible to mess up, unless you let the water boil off of the lentils or puree the spatula with the dip (Someone in our house who still owes me a new spatula may have also done this once).