Before I went veggie and eventually vegan, I really hated mushrooms. Now I eat at least one package of fresh mushrooms every week. (Turns out I still hate the canned shrooms though.) Maybe you'll find a fondness for onions eventually.
Simple meals for lazy people:
Pasta:
1 16 oz package pasta + 1 can tomato sauce = meal. Very boring, but puts food in you.
The Barely "Burrito":
1 15 oz can of spanish + 1 15 oz can of refried beans. Mix the rice and beans togethr, heat, and smear all over a few slices bread. This meal, which I have enjoyed many times, is recommended only for the laziest of bachelors and college students.
Awesome bean dip:
1 can Tostitos medium salsa + 2 15 oz cans of refried beans = best fuckin bean dip ever. Good with Fritos and tortilla chips.
More elaborate meals for less lazy people:
Hummus:
Hummus is a kind of chickpea puree. Its full of calcium, high protein, and low fat. You can find hummus recipes all over the internet. Most hummus recipes require an ingredient called "tahini", which is a sauce made from a sesame seed puree; you can usually find tahini an any international aisle of a grocery store, but there are plenty of tahini-free recipes as well.
1 16 oz can of chickpeas
1/4 cup liquid from can of chickpeas
3-5 tablespoons lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons tahini
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
Puree all ingredients in a blender or food processor.
Plain hummus is fine, but the food itself is remarkable for its ability to transport flavors, it takes on the flavor of whatever you add to it. Its possible to make a very spicy hummus, or an olive-y one, or a very buttery tasting hummus.
You can adjust the liquid content for a thicker or thinner hummus. I like thicker hummus to schmear all over bagels.
Falafel:
Not just for Passover anymore, falafel is a fried chickpea mixture, traditionally served inside pita pockets.
1 16 oz can of chickpeas
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
3 tablespoons of fresh parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon cumin
2 tablespoons flour
Salt
Pepper
Oil for frying
Boil your chickpeas for 5 minutes to soften them up. Drain, then combine all of the ingredients and mash up the mixture until it forms a paste-like batter. If the batter is too watery, try adding 1/2 teaspoon or baking powder or 1/4 cup of whole wheat breadcrumbs.
Stir the batter until everything is evenly mixed, then shape it into 1 1/2 inch balls, then flatten into 2-inch diameter patties.
Heat about 1/2 inch of vegetable oil on low heat. You'll know the oil is ready when you can sprinkle in a little flour and the oil bubbles up rapidly. If your oil begins to boil or smoke, then its too hot.
The key to a good falafel is the oil. If the oil is too hot, then it begins to boil and will shake apart your falafel patties. If its too cool, then the patties will become water-logged (or whatever the equivalent is for being saturated in oil) and turn to an inedible mush. Once you've got the oil just right, cook the patties for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes on each side.
(Note: If you're like me and are just bad at frying things in oil, you can cook your falafel patties on a greased skillet until it develops a nice golden brown crust.)
Stuff the patties in a pita pocket, top with hummus or a rich dressing, and enjoy.
Chickpea cutlets:
I personally adore chickpeas, as you can tell, so heres yet another way you can cook chickpeas.
1 can of chickpeas
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup vital wheat gluten (located in the baking aisle of most stores. I recommend getting the kind in a bag, not the kind in a box)
1/2 cup plain bread crumbs (equals 1 slice of bread)
1/4 cup vegetable broth or water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest (or a few squirts of lemon juice)
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground sage
Mash up the chickpeas and oil until there are no whole chickpeas left. I prefer a smoother consistency. Then mix the remaining ingredients together and knead with your fists for 3 minutes until strings of gluten have formed.
Flatten out the chickpea mixture on a cutting board into a 12x8 inch rectangular shape. Cut the mixture into 4 equally sized chickpea cutlets.
I recommend breading the cutlets to give them a healthy texture. Any kind of breading in a box works well, but a mixture of 1 cup cornmeal + 2 tablespoons chile powder + 1 teaspoon each of ground cumin and salt is an adequate breading and imparts an interesting flavor. If the cutlets are a little dry, dunk them in soy milk before breading.
At this point, you can either fry the chickpeas in a very thin layer of oil on your stove on medium heat for 7 minutes on each side, or you can brush them with oil and stick them in the oven at 375 F 10 minutes on each side. I prefer the oven because my cutlets don't hold together well enough for rough handling on the skillet. In the end, the cutlets should be golden brown and very firm.
I like to top my cutlets with a creamy, thick mushroom sauce for a rich, earthy taste. But its also good to top with barbecue sauce, mashed potatoes
Cooktime: 45 minutes to an hour
Feeds 2 people. Recipe doubles perfectly to feed more.
Reheats well.
This is a good, healthy recipe. Its high protein, high calcium, low calorie, no saturated fat. Best of all, its vegan food you can eat with a steak knife.
As a vegan, I've eaten enough salads to be sick of them for the next twelve lifetimes. However, here are three salad recipes that I actually like to make every once in a while:
Macaroni salad:
1 lb of cooked pasta. Any kind will do, but spiral pasta is traditional.
3/4 cups of Vegenaise (or equivalent amount of the sauce recipe below)
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
4 or 5 grated radishes
2 average size carrots grated and peeled
Lots of little little cherry tomatoes
Mix everything and enjoy. This is nice easy meal to make, and although its very healthy, its very tasty too.
If you can't find vegannaise, you can make your own pretty easily:
1 pound fresh silken tofu. Make sure its the 'soft' kind, not the 'firm' kind.
3 tablespoons brown rice vinegar (white vinegar is fine too)
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper (or white pepper if you can find it)
1/4 teaspoon mustard powder
Blender all of the sauce ingredients until smooth and creamy.
Spinach salad:
8 oz bag of fresh spinach
1 large onion, sliced finely
Lots of little cherry tomatoes
4 or 5 radishes, sliced
2 large carrots, grated
2 cloves minced garlic
Whatever else you think is good in a salad.
A liberally amount of basil-tofu ricotta (recipe follows)
Basil-Tofu ricotta:
1 pound extra firm tofu
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 clove minced garlic
Pinch of black pepper
10 finely chopped basil leaves, or I'd estimate 2 tablespoons dried basil
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes (this stuff can be found in most decent grocery stores and most health food store. I actually buy mine in bulk from bobsredmill.com. If you use nutritional yeast powder, then cut this ingredient down to 1/8 cup.)
Basil vinaigrette dressing:
2 tablespoons balsamic or red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
Pinch of red pepper flakes
Pinch of salt
I personally think the key to a good spinach salad is a very strong, almost pungent flavor. Thats why I like to use a whole uncooked onion, radishes, garlic. I want people who eat my salad to be brought to tears and beg for more.
Of course, spinach salads are fun because you can be really creative with them. You can add sliced pecans and almonds to them, you can add fruit like grapes and cranberries, add sesame seeds or poppy seeds. (I recommend omitting the onion and radishes for fruity-tasty spinach salads.) And of course, you can get very creative with your dressings.
Corn and Edamame salad:
This is very quick and easy to make, so it should be placed under the "food for lazy people" section. In any case, edamame is just a fancy name for the soy beans in a soy bean pod. I usually find edamame in my grocery store's frozen vegetable section.
Dressing:
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil (note: sesame oil has a simply indulgent aroma. You can try to substitute olive oil, but it just won't be the same.)
1 tablespoon rice vinegar (red wine, brown rice, white, or any other mild vinegar works too)
2 teaspoons soy sauce
A generous pinch of salt
Salad:
2 cups frozen, shelled edamame
1 cup fresh corn or frozen corn
2 tablespoons toasted seasame seeds, but chopped pecans and almonds work too
Boil the edamame for 3 minutes. Add the corn and boil for another two minutes. Run the corn and edamame under cold water until cold. Transfer to a bowl and mix the dressing and remaining ingredients altogether.
This is a very crunchy and even filling salad. Compliments the taste of chickpea cutlets and mashed potatoes very well.