Friday, February 23, 2007

Easy Beans 'N Rice, A Loaf (of sorts), & More Biscuits 'N Gravy

Is there anything easier or more satisfying than Beans 'N Rice? Here, I just drained and rinsed a can of organic black beans (tho I'm thinking next time I'll double that, but that's all we had this time), put them in a sauce pan that I'd sauteed onion and garlic in olive oil, added a can of no salt added tomatoes with their juices, added some cumin and coriander, sea salt and black pepper and allowed to heat thru while the pressure cooker blasted some brown rice in minutes flat (i LOVE this thing!).

We topped it with some jarred Zapata fire roasted salsa verde, a bit of Tofutti BTSC, and fresh avacado.

A side of our favorite sauteed broccoli
(lots of garlic in a bit of olive oil, toss in the broccoli and allow it to unleash it's nutty aroma, sprinkling with sea salt, oregano, and basil...then, just before the florets start to brown toss in a T or two of water, cover, lower heat allow to steam until just perfect!) and dinner was served! And lunch today too, for that matter! ;)

One night I realized I had some leftover lentils (cooked in leftover mushroom broth) and leftover quinoa. What to do? I processed half the lentils in the food processor with some sauteed onion and garlic, oregano, and thyme, then mixed that in a bowl with the remaining lentils and quinoa. The idea was to make patties, but I was feeling lazy so in a loaf pan it went.
When I turned it out, the inside was still a bit mushier than I'd like so i sliced it, basted it with organic ketchup and baked it some more. A quick roasting of brussel sprouts and steaming of cauliflower that I'd later mash with a little EB and soy milk, sea salt and pepper made for a surprisingly easy and tasty dinner.
I think it's painfully obvious, my love for all breakfasts biscuits 'n gravy, no? I know this one looks much like one you've seen previously but it's a bit different. I made the Mushroom Gravy and Baking Powder Biscuits from La Dolce Vegan, and the usual tempeh fauxsage crumbles from VWaV.
I like these biscuits even better than the Fancy version (tho those are fab) I mentioned previously, I think because they're not in your face with flavor. There's a hint of oregano that gives them a nice savory taste without being a flavor you have to compete with.One more thing....I've been totally in LOVE with La Dolce Vegan's ease of seitan preparation and can't seem to stray from the faux chicken flavoring. I'm trying to help a friend in need of more protein discover a love for all things wheat meat as I have, so i ask all of you....what's YOUR favorite seitan preparation/flavoring?

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love the LDV seitan recipes too and most often make the chicken style. The jay-lo fried 'chicken' is probably my favorite recipe in that book.

Linda said...

i went through a seitan phase that only lasted about a month so I never really got into it to the point where I had a preferred flavoring-- though I have been intrigued by all you bloggers that make your own. i plan to try it soon. hopefully i'll be able to find my preferred seasoning. in the meantime-- im glad to read about yours :)

laura k said...

You're right, NOTHING is as simply satisfying than beans and rice. Yours sound delicious--I love doing the Tex-Mex flavors. Those biscuits sound great--I'd be addicted to them too! As far as seitan, I've only had one bite of it in my life. I'm trying to work up the nerve to make it myself.

Melissa said...

I've only ever made seitan from Garden of Vegan and LDV. I love LDV's! The broth flavours them so well, its eerie how "meaty" they smell sometimes. I love the faux sausage on pizza with mushrooms!

THE WALK-IN said...

Love the variation to Black Beans...will have to try it out! And the broccoli - never thought about the steaming part at the end (always steam before I add to the recipe).

Padparadscha said...

The beans and rice recipe is really ggod ! I tried it this week-end. Thanks !