Friday, November 30, 2018

Chickpea lentil loaf (EN/ RO)

It's cold here and it feels like winter already, even if it's not quite December yet... The streets are decorated for the winter Holidays already and everything feels a bit rushed, a bit too soon. Maybe because this year's Holidays come with so much more than usual! And I can barely think of everything and it's way too much to put into words right now.
But with everything going on right now (last few weeks of pregnancy, last preparations and more), I still wanted to make some recipes for this year's Holiday season. Or maybe just because there are so many wonderful things going on I wanted to share some more of my recipes with you :)
And I believe that a chickpea lentil loaf that it's delicious and can also be baked in individual servings (as savory muffins or mini loaves) deserves a spot on your table as an entree. It goes well with steamed, baked or sauteed veggies, a side salad and don't forget about your favorite gravy too! 
As most of my recipes, this one has no added oil and as a bonus it's gluten free too (or, if you don't consider oats gluten free, I have alternatives for that too). 
Now let's stop with everything else and see how it's actually made, because it's also easy to make it!


Ingredients (makes 1 big loaf or 8-10 big muffins):
** 340 g (2 cups) green or brown lentils, cooked, drained
** 200 g (1 cup) chickpeas, cooked, drained
** 180 g (1.5 cups) rolled oats *
** 180 g (1 cup, packed) carrots, grated
** 200 g (1 cup) onions, chopped
** 120 g (3/4 cup) sunflower seeds
** 3 flax eggs (3 tbsp flax meal + 9 tbsp water)
** 3 tbsp tomato paste **
** 1/2 tsp salt
** 2 tsp garlic powder
** 1 tsp sage
** 1 tsp thyme
** 1 tsp ground coriander
** 2 tsp paprika
** 1/4 tsp black pepper
** 1/4 tsp chili powder ***


Method:
In a food processor or blender add the oats and blend until you have a coarse flour.
I prefer to chop the onions in the food processor as well, as it saves time and energy :)
In the food processor add the chickpeas, veggies, sunflower seeds and spices and blend until everything is crumbly. Add the lentils and about 0.5 cup of the oats flour. Blend until you have a homogeneous yet still a bit chunky mixture. Add the rest of the oats and the tomato paste and mix everything (I use my hands or a spatula at this point). If it's too dry you can add some water (a few tablespoons should be enough), just don't make it too wet.
You can let it rest in the fridge for at least half an hour, but this step is not mandatory.
Line a baking dish with parchment paper and put that mixture in. Press it down enough to be even.
Preheat your oven to medium heat for about 15 minutes before baking.
Bake the loaf for 60 minutes on medium -low heat. You can make a glaze with tomato paste, garlic, pepper and other spices that you like or you can use some vegan barbecue sauce too. If you want to glaze your loaf, then take it out after 30 minutes and spread that glaze on top of your loaf. Bake for another 30 minutes. Take it out and let it cool a bit before cutting it.
Also, you can make mini loaves or big muffins for individual portions.
If you choose to make muffins or mini loaves bake them for about 30 to 40 minutes on medium – low heat. And if you want to glaze them take them out after about 15-20 minutes, glaze them and let them bake for 15-20 more minutes. Take them out and let them cool for a bit.
Enjoy with a side of veggies, a salad, your favorite gravy...
Also, you can use the leftovers for sandwiches, for your work or school lunch.


* Instead of the oat flakes you can also use buckwheat or quinoa flakes
** You can substitute tomato paste with ketchup, barbecue sauce (make sure it doesn’t have any animal products in it, though).
*** If you love spicy to very spicy foods you can add more chili powder




Don't forget that you have a video version for this recipe too:


If you like what you see, don't forget to follow this blog, subscribe to my YouTube channel and also comment and share the things that you like!





Ingrediente (1 „drob” sau 8-10 brioșe mari):
** 340 g linte verde sau maro, fiarta, scursa
** 200 g năut, fiert, scurs
** 180 g fulgi de ovăz *
** 180 g morcov, ras
** 200 g ceapa, tocata
** 120 g seminte de floarea-soarelui
** 3 „ouă” de in (3 linguri in macinat + 9 linguri de apă)
** 3 linguri de pasta de tomate **
** 1/2 linguriță de sare
** 2 lingurițe usturoi pudra
** 1 linguriță salvie uscata
** 1 lingurita cimbru
** 1 linguriță coriandru macinat
** 2 lingurițe boia de ardei dulce
** 1/4 linguriță piper negru
** 1/4 linguriță chili pudra ***


Metodă:
Într-un robot de bucătărie sau blender puneți ovăzul și procesați până când aveți o făină grosieră.
Prefer sa tai si ceapa in robotul de bucătărie, pentru ca economisesc timp si energie :)
În robotul de bucătărie adăugați năutul, ceapa, morcovul, semințele de floarea-soarelui și condimentele și procesați până când totul este sfărâmat. Adăugați lintea și aproximativ 0,5 cană de făină de ovăz. Amestecați până când aveți un amestec omogen și totuși un pic sfaramicios. Adăugați restul de ovăz și pasta de tomate și amestecați totul (puteti folosi mâinile sau o spatulă). Dacă vise pare ca amestecul este prea uscat, puteți adăuga puțină apă (câteva linguri ar trebui să fie suficient), dar aveti grija sa nu devina prea umed.
Puteți lăsa să stea în frigider cel puțin o jumătate de oră, dar nu este obligatoriu.
Captusiți o forma de chec cu hârtie de copt și puneți amestecul înăuntru. Presați-l suficient pentru a fi uniform.
Preîncălziți cuptorul la temperatura medie timp de aproximativ 15 minute înainte de coacere.
Coaceți pamestecul timp de 60 minute la foc mediu. Puteți face o glazură cu pastă de roșii, usturoi, piper și alte condimente pe care le doriți sau puteți folosi și barbecue vegan. Dacă doriți să glazurați „drobul”, scoateți-l după 30 de minute și împrăștiați acea glazură pe toata suprafata. Coaceți încă 30 de minute. Scoateți-o și lăsați-o să se răcească puțin înainte de a o tăia.
De asemenea, puteți face mini pâini sau brioșe mari pentru porțiuni individuale.
Dacă alegeți să faceți brioșe sau mini-drob, coaceți-le timp de aproximativ 30-40 minute la foc mediu - scăzut. Și dacă doriți să le glazurati, scoateți-le după aproximativ 15-20 de minute, glazurați-le și lăsați-le să se coaca inca 15-20 de minute. Scoateți-le și lăsați-le să se răcească puțin.
Sunt perfecte cu cu legume sote sau la aburi, o salată, sosul dvs. preferat ...
De asemenea, puteți folosi restul pentru sandwich-uri pentru pranzul de la lucru sau la scoala.


* În loc de fulgi de ovăz, puteți folosi și fulgi de hrișcă sau quinoa
** Puteți să înlocuiți pasta de tomate cu ketchup, sos barbecue (asigurați-vă că nu au produse de origine animală).
*** Dacă vă plac alimentele peste medie de picante, puteți adăuga mai mult chili



Friday, November 23, 2018

Pumpkin and beans vegan "meatballs" (EN/ RO)


Another pumpkin recipe on this blog? Yes! Why? Because I like pumpkin... and I can find it in all the stores right now, so it's the perfect excuse to make more pumpkin recipes. 
And not only sweet recipes, as you already saw :) 
Actually, this recipe came to be more like an accident or a joke in the beginning. But the more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea. I tried it one day and guess what? I liked it! 
The pumpkin keeps the meatballs moist while bringing a bit of sweetness, the tahini brings some healthy fats and a nice depth of flavor. And all the spices complement each other and make these "meatballs" delicious. And you can serve them for your holiday meal too! With some mashed potatoes and your favorite gravy... Yummy! 
You can also make a "meatball" sandwich with all the fixings too! 
I think that now it's time to go to the recipe, so you can make it at home too!


Ingredients:

Friday, November 16, 2018

Lentil pumpkin soup

Today I have for you a pumpkin and lentil soup recipe that's vegan, flavorful, velvety, delicious and oil and gluten free too! And it's also easy to make, perfect for meal prep and for this dreary weather!
Also, it's my newest soup obsession too!
It's the perfect end to a day! Just imagine this: after a long cold day you come home and have a nice steaming bowl of creamy delicious soup with some croutons, vegan yogurt and fresh parsley on top too... For me this kind of sounds like the perfect dinner in this cold weather!
And you can enjoy this while wrapped in a blanket if you want, to make everything even more cozy!
Ok... Let's see how I make this yummy soup!


Ingredients (makes about 6 servings):

Friday, November 9, 2018

3 ingredients homemade bounty bars

I love myself some chocolate from time to time, even now, when I can barely tolerate commercially sweet things... But sometimes (or a lot of times, to be honest) the commercial chocolates are not vegan friendly in addition to being full of sugar... So I decided to recreate some of my favorite sweets, but made a bit healthier and a lot simpler!
I started with these 3 ingredients homemade bounty bars that are not only vegan, but oil free, easy to make and quite a bit healthier than the commercial version. And they still have a fluffy coconut middle, yummy chocolate coating, they're rich and perfect for a treat when you want one... The danger with them? You're gonna want to eat them all in one sitting. Don't say that I didn't warn you...
Granted, because I used date paste the coconut filing is not very white and sparkly as the commercial ones are, but you can use a lighter colored sweetener if you want that white. I love my bars a bit dark because they are unique and different too, so I don't feel the need to change this:)
It's nice to know that you can make stuff like this with just a few ingredients at home. And they are very sweet for my taste right now, which means that they should be perfectly sweet for the rest of the normal people :))
Let's see the recipe now, I've rambled enough...


Ingredients (for about 12 bars):

Friday, November 2, 2018

Broccoli, carrot and onion pakoras (EN/ RO)


As you know, I love chickpea flour, because it's so versatile and goes well in so many combinations, sweet or savory! 
And these broccoli, carrot and onion pakoras are delicious, gluten and oil free (if you choose not to fry them), healthy and perfect for this weather too!
And paired with a cooling sauce made with (vegan) yogurt and dill they're divine! Even small children love them! And I know this because I had a collab with a local vegan and vegetarian restaurant and even children loved the food that I made! It was awesome to see so many people enjoy my food! 
So you have to try this too!


Ingredients: