Okara Bread

Last week we had our first attempt at making our own soy milk. It was quite a success, with a very high yield of soy milk, I'd say about 3gallons, for less than the price of a single 1/2 gallon from the grocery store! And it's ORGANIC! We will definitely make it again. In our YouTube video viewing, we learned not only how to make soy milk at home, but about its delightful byproduct-Okara. I of course tried a few recipes using this high protein, high fiber soy pulp and of the recipes I tried the bread (thanks to vegweb.com) was the best.

Straining the soy milk to separate the okara

Ingredients
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1tsp salt
1 cup soy milk (lukewarm)
1 cup cooked okara
3 Tbs oil
1 Tbs molasses
1 scant Tbs yeast

Directions

Mix flour, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the soy milk, okara, oil, molasses and yeast. Let it sit for 5-10 min to allow the yeast to grow & ferment.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and combine to make a sticky dough. Cover the bowl with a dry towel and let it rise for 30-45 min or until doubled in size. Add a few spoons of flour and knead to form a firm loaf. Place in a greased bread pan and make a few slits on top with a knife to let steam escape while it bakes. Bake at 350 for about 30 min, until golden brown.

Freshly sliced okara bread

Simple Eggless Cake + flavor variations

Nana's chocolate snack cake recipe has been my go-to recipe for several years when it was time to whip up a treat for special occasions. I've been on a quest for a while to find the perfect eggless white cake recipe. I've tried a couple that were acceptable, but they all included an ingredient I don't normally keep on hand. So I decided to try the never-fail chocolate cake recipe minus the cocoa-and landed upon the best eggless vanilla cake yet! Super moist. Not too dense. It makes the perfect cake for pineapple pastry cake, too. Recipe for that will be posted soon!

Chocolate Snack Cake
1 1/2 c all purpose flour
3/4 c sugar
1/3 c cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 c water
1/2 c canola oil
2 Tbs white vinegar
2 tsp vanilla extract

Combine first 5 ingredients. In separate bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients & stir to combine. Pour into greased 8 inch square pan and bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes. *Optional-- Once out of oven, sprinkle 1 c chocolate chips and when chips looks melted, spread with a knife.

For vanilla cake
Instead of 1/3 cup cocoa, add additional 1/3 cup flour.

For orange cake
Instead of 1/3 cup cocoa, add additional 1/3 cup flour
Instead of 2 tsp vanilla extract, add 1/2 tsp vanilla extract and 1 1/2 tsp orange extract
Add 1/4 tsp orange zest (or more for taste preference)
Optional: for more intense orange flavor, as well as to help make cake more moist
-Use the juice from one orange mixed with 2-3 Tbs water to drizzle over the cake after it is baked

Garlic Red Pepper Curry

This cooks up in less than 30 minutes, so if I sleep in a little and want to make something super easy (like this morning, thanks Friday) this is what I make.

Ingredients & Process (makes 1 generous serving)

1 red pepper (capsicum), chopped

1/2 red onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

Heat 1 Tbs oil in skillet on medium heat. Add garlic and onion. Saute for 2 minutes. Add red pepper pieces with a sprinkle of salt (1/4tsp). Cover with lid and allow to steam for about 10 minutes to reach desired tenderness, stir occasionally. Serve with rice.

*You can add popu if you like, or a 1/2 tsp minced ginger in addition for additional flavor & zing. 

P.S. My kitchen routine in the morning begins with setting rice in the rice cooker. Then I begin the process of cutting veggies and making the curry. By the time the curry is ready, so is the rice!

Fajitas

Ingredients & Process (makes 3 fajitas)
3 flour tortillas
shredded cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup (more or less depending on your cheese preferences)

Filling
1 clove garlic, minced
1 red onion, sliced (1/2 inch long strips) *set aside Tbs for salsa
1 green pepper, sliced  (1/2 inch long strips)
seitan (1/2 recipe is sufficient), sliced in thin strips

1 Tbs oil
1/2 tsp veggie broth powder, or salt
1/4 tsp vaamu (ajwain/carom seeds)
sprinkle of paprika and/or black pepper

Heat oil in medium pan, add veggies and spices, cover with lid and allow to steam on med-low for 5-10 minutes. Add seitan, give it a stir, and steam another 5 minutes.

Meanwhile prepare salsa
1 tomato, chopped
1Tbs chopped onion (saved from filling ingredients)
5 sprigs of cilantro, chopped

Mix together in small bowl. You can add salt & pepper, or season however you like. I add a drizzle of Taco sauce and Chipotle sauce.

Assemble-
Place tortilla on plate and sprinkle cheese. Warm in microwave for 30 seconds. Add heaping serving spoon of filling to tortilla and top with salsa. Fold sides in, then fold bottom up and roll to make a burrito.

Making Vegetable Curry: 101

At first I was really intimidated to start cooking Indian food. It didn't take long though to realize what a misconception that was. Sure, there are some complex dishes one can make, but day to day cooking is quick, easy, and might I add...delicious! Oh, and fun.

I tell people the most difficult part about Indian cuisine is the spices & keeping everything on hand. The good part is, a little goes a long way. Once you buy it, you'll have it in stock for a while.

I used to be the type of cook who followed the recipe to the T, measuring and timing everything perfectly. When I started to learn from my husband and mother-in-law, I was somewhat overwhelmed because they didn't use recipes. They just chopped, tossed, and whizzed through preparations while I was trying to jot down approximate measurements. I was amazed at the skill they possessed  and how many recipes they had memorized! Now, I find myself doing the same thing. It's freeing, in a way, to be able to cook like that. And to get creative while preparing meals. Currently though, I'm a little intimidated by what I've gotten myself into with documenting these recipes. I will do my best to document thoroughly for those of you who are methodical recipe followers.

We eat pretty simply in our household, so maybe that's why I can master these veggie curries. The beauty in cooking this way is that once you get the general process down pat, you just vary the veggies and create new recipes with whatever produce you have on hand. To get started, here's a recipe I made for today's lunch: Parsnip Carrot Curry (Quantity is based on serving 2 people)

Ingredients & Process
1/2 red onion, chopped
3 parsnips, chopped
2 carrots, chopped

Seasonings (in Telugu we call this popu)

In medium size pan, add 1 Tbs oil and heat over medium heat.
Add these spices in the order listed:
1/4 tsp black mustardseeds
1/4 tsp split channa dal
1/4tsp split yellow pesara dal
1/4 tsp split urad dal

Once mustardseeds begin to pop & sputter, turn heat to low & add:
6 curry leaves
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp salt
(Popu can burn quickly if the heat is too high, so try to add veggies quickly to help prevent the seasonings from frying too much.)

Add chopped veggies, a 1/4 cup water and cover to steam and cook veggies, about 10-15 min on med-low heat. Stir occasionally, adjust heat as necessary or add more water to prevent burning. Serve with rice.

So, in about 30 minutes you have a healthy, home-cooked meal!

*I will try to post more info to clarify ingredients. I mix languages when referring to these spices...some English, some Hindi, some Telugu :) Part of the reason why I'm feeling hesitant to post these recipes...I may be the only one who understands what I mean. Me and Google, of course. Google knows everything.

 

Peanut Butter Balls

This simple no bake cookie, from the cookbook Sweet & Natural, was an instant hit with everyone who tasted it. 


1 c raisins, chopped fine (I used food processor)
1 c natural peanut butter
5-6 Tbs dry milk powder

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Use your hand to mix. You should be able to knead the mixture without it sticking to your hand. You may need to add a little more dry milk powder to get to this point. Form into walnut size balls, place on tray and refrigerate to help them firm up.
That's it! Eat & enjoy! 

*The recipe also suggested using oatmeal instead of milk powder as a variation. Next time I would be curious to try using chunky peanut for more crunch...or almond butter...or cashew butter...


Update: 5/11/2012: 
Today I wanted to make these cookies but was out of peanut butter. I had bought peanuts to make peanut butter, but instead decided to try a short cut. I threw it all in the food processor-1 c peanuts (dry roasted, unsalted) and 1 c raisins. It didn't get as smooth, but I had wanted to try with crunchy pb anyways...so this gave a great texture. I also rolled a couple in cocoa powder for a chocolate fix. So good! You can probably add a tablespoon or two of cocoa powder to the mix if you want an entire batch of chocolate peanut butter balls. I remembered to take a picture, too :) before my husband and I eat them all! 

Almond Herb Crackers

I've had some almond flour left from Christmas cookie baking, so when I saw this cracker recipe I could hardly wait to make a batch. Credit & thanks go to a favorite couponing blogger who shared this recipe here.

I am now out of almond flour, but after tasting these crunchy, delightfully rich & flavorful crackers, you better believe that it's on my shopping list again. Different add ins and variations to this cracker keep coming to mind, so I can't wait to experiment a little more with my next batch. My sweet tooth is begging me to add cinnamon and make them sweet...but this savory herb is so delish that I may try something more Indian...I'm thinking cumin, coriander, and black salt...will have to post other ideas once I try them!

The recipe is so simple. The result, so delicious.

Caution: highly addictive cracker. I have to portion package these so I don't eat them all!

2 cups almond flour (almond meal)
4Tbs herbs of your choice (I used a combination of oregano, basil, parsley, turmeric & coriander)
1/4 tsp salt (Original recipe called for 1 tsp. First I tried 1/2 tsp, but even that was too much.)
1Tbs olive oil
2Tbs water

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Wisk together oil & water and add to the dry ingredients. Use your hand to mix together and form a ball of dough. Put dough in gallon ziplock bag, remove air, and use hands or rolling pin to roll out the dough to fill the bag. (This was a tip I read on this blog and will be trying to make these graham crackers soon!) Once rolled out nicely, cut edges of bag, peel top layer back, invert dough onto cookie sheet (removing the rest of the plastic bag of course), and use knife or pizza cutter to cut crackers into desired shape/size. I have to admit, while doing this I felt like I was making Kashi TLC crackers. On a much smaller scale, though. I got about 50 bite size crackers from this batch.

Bake at 350 for 9-11 minutes, or until desired crispiness. (I probably baked longer, closer to 25 minutes to get nice an toasty.) If you have self control, allow to cool on pan. Otherwise, if you're like me, eat them straight out of the oven & try not to burn your tongue!!

Seitan

Seitan (say-tahn) is a protein substitute suitable for vegetarians. It's made from wheat gluten- the protein from the endosperm of the wheat berry, making it an excellent source of protein--23g per 1/4 cup. That's pretty impressive! Seitan is commonly referred to as "wheat meat" but in our household we call it "wheat bajji". (A bajji is a traditional Indian appetizer, made by dipping any variety of vegetable in a batter and frying it.) I use Bob's Red Mill Vital Wheat Gluten which we find at our local Marc's for an incredible price! This recipe can be improvised by using your favorite spices, but this gives an idea to get you started. It's super easy to make and is so versatile. We are always creating new recipe variations, and eat it at least a couple times each week.

1 cup vital wheat gluten
2 Tbs nutritional yeast (optional)
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp paprika
1tsp veggie broth powder
1/4 tsp salt
1tsp onion flakes
*Spice measurements are approximate. Feel free to adjust according to your taste preference.

Mix together all ingredients to incorporate the spices.

Add 3/4 cup water. Use your (clean) hand to mix together. It will be sticky/rubbery, kind of like chewing gum. Knead for a couple minutes.

Now, to cook it. This, again, can be done in a variety of ways. Here are our two favorites.

1. Heat large frying pan on medium heat. Pour enough oil in to cover bottom of pan (will help prevent them from sticking too much to the pan). Use kitchen scissors to cut off pieces of seitan into the pan, being careful not to splatter the oil. The pieces will puff up and expand as they cook. If they stick to each other, that's ok. Cover pan with lid and allow to fry & steam until golden brown. Use fork or other utensil that makes sense, to flip each over and continue to cook on low with lid on, until golden brown.
 OR
2. Bring pot of water to a boil. Add seasonings to the water (soy sauce, veggie broth, paprika, etc). Form dough into log or a few larger chunks. Boil seitan for 30min (chunks) or 1 hour (single log). It will expand when cooking, so make sure you use a big enough pot. Cooked seitan can be stored in the broth in the fridge. Otherwise, drain it, chop it up and use for your recipe.

Saltine Cracker Cookies

This cracker cookie is simple to make, and tastes just like a heath bar. Yum! These are dangerous to keep in the house when feeling like you have poor self-control :) I recently made these without chocolate chips for a plain toffee-like cookie. So addictive!! Next time I may try sprinkling toasted almonds on the top...for added delight!!!!!!

Heat oven to 400 degrees.
Line an 11 x 17 pan with aluminum foil.
Cover the tray with single layer of saltines.
(1 ¼ sleeves of crackers)
Put 1 cup brown sugar and 1 cup butter in a saucepan.
Bring it to a boil then boil 3 minutes.
Pour this mixture over the saltines. Bake 7 minutes.
Take out of the oven and sprinkle a bag of chocolate chips evenly over the top.
After a few minutes spread the melted chocolate with the back of a spoon to cover evenly. Cool until
chocolate is set. Break or cut into pieces.

Pie Crust

1 cup flour (whole wheat is fine, but you may need to add a little extra water)
½ tsp. salt
1/3 cup shortening (butter)
Cut in the butter(food processor is great) until it looks like cornmeal crumbs
then add
2-3 Tbs. ice water

Combine to form smooth ball of dough. Roll out on floured surface to desired size/shape according to your recipe requirements.

Veggie Pot Pie

This is a basic recipe for pot pie. The veggies listed are the ones I add as a minimum. You can toss in anything else you want to use up. I've added mushrooms, green beans, & corn. For a pot pie, I say, the more the merrier. I even threw in some rice that needed to be used up. A couple notes: I typically make this with seitan as the protein. Seitan recipe is posted here. Also, if you don't have poultry seasoning, you can add marjoram. In my opinion, that is the signature flavor of poultry seasoning. If you don't have marjoram, don't sweat it. Add any seasoning you like-basil, oregano, turmeric, black pepper, etc. or simply omit it.

1 Tbs. olive oil
½ cup onion slices
½ cup carrot rounds
* 2 cups extra veggies if omitting the protein substitute.
Sauté vegetables. Cover and cook 8-10 minutes on low until tender.

Add ¼ cup flour. (Sprinkle over the top of the veggies and stir to combine.)
Salt and pepper to taste.
Add 2 cups milk or broth or a combination of both (As you stir, it should start to thicken, thanks to the flour)
*Add 2 cups of protein substitute
¼ tsp. poultry seasoning
1 cup peas

Allow this to simmer for about 5 minutes or so. It should be creamy, but not too liquidy.

Put in a casserole dish. (I've made it in a 7x11 baking dish, but I'm sure you can put in whatever size you have 8x8, 9x13 etc)

Top with pie crust.

Bake 375° for 35 minutes.