Vegan Nachos

Vegan nachos with all the fixings

I’m lazy and I’m vegan. These things have already been established. So no one will be surprised when I post another easy recipe of what I have for dinner sometimes.

I love nachos. But when I stopped eating dairy I stopped eating them and have been sad ever since. It’s one of the only things I miss about going dairy-free. That and a tall glass of milk with my popcorn. I’ve learned to live without these treats and I admit my life has been a wee bit less because it it. Until now.

I have learned to enjoy popcorn sans milk, but I couldn’t live without nachos. I could use that fake cheese but don’t like to each much processed food, so I wanted to find an alternative. I found it with another raw foods-like recipe from Post Punk Kitchen.  I changed it up to suit my needs (and my cupboard) and came up with this yummy concoction. I usually serve it over tortilla chips with homemade refried beans, guacamole and store-bought salsa.

Cashew Queso (adapted from this recipe) 

1 cup cashews, soaked for at least 2 hrs or overnight

2 cups veg broth

2 tsp cornstarch

1 Tbs olive oil

1 small yellow onion, diced

4-6 jalapeño stuffed olives, diced (I buy mine at TJ’s, but have seen them at QFC)

3 cloves garlic, diced

2 tsp cumin

1 tsp red pepper flakes

2 Tbs nutritional yeast (I buy mine in bulk from PCC)

1/4 tsp salt

1 Tbs lemon juice (I get mine from a squirt bottle, not fresh but to each her own)

Drain the cashews. In a blender or food processor, puree them with vegetable broth and cornstarch until very smooth. This could take anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes depending on your blender. Rub between your fingers to test; slight graininess is okay, but try to get it as smooth as possible.

In the meantime, preheat a 4 quart pot over medium heat. Saute onion and olives in oil with a pinch of salt until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and saute about a minute more.

Transfer vegetables to the blender where the cashew mixture is. Add cumin, nutritional yeast and salt. Blend again until very smooth, scraping down the sides of the blender with a spatula to make sure you get everything.

Transfer mixture back to the pot. Whisking often, turn heat up to medium until the queso comes to a slow rolling boil. Lower heat so that it doesn’t burn and cook for about 20 minutes. Whisk often and check to see that it’s thickening, if it’s not, then turn the heat up a bit. It should become nicely thickened but velvetty and pourable.

Stir in the lemon juice at the end. If the queso seems too thick, drizzle in a little water and whisk to desired consistency. Taste for salt, spices and lemon juice and adjust as you like.

Serve hot!

I make a big batch and refrigerate it for about a week. I wouldn’t keep it longer than that and mine usually doesn’t even last that long!

Refried Beans

1 15-oz can of pinto or black beans, drained and rinsed

1 Tbs olive oil

1/2 small yellow onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground coriander (dried cilantro)

1/2 tsp salt, or to taste

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a medium frying pan. Saute onion about 5 min or until slightly soft. Add garlic and saute about 30 more seconds. Add beans and spices and saute until fragrant and well combined. Use a potato masher or big spoon and mash the beans, leaving a few unmashed for texture. Or alternatively, place beans in a food processor or blender and mash before adding to onion/garlic saute.

Just another version of a lazy dinner for me. Sure, it take awhile to make this stuff initially, but the leftovers are fast and easy!

A Garden I Shall Grow…

I’ve been away for a long time, dealing with some personal things and trying to figure things out. I feel like I’ve been saying that for awhile, maybe I’m not supposed/ever going to get it. Hmmm.

While I’ve been on hiatus I’ve changed jobs a couple of times, got a 10×15 ft plot in a community garden and committed to being 100% vegan. I’m actually thinking of changing jobs again, but that’s boring. So instead, I’ll talk about my P-Patch plot.

My garden “before”

What’s a P-Patch? Well, it’s the community garden program here in Seattle. It’s named after the family, the Picardos, who used to own the land where the city developed the first patch. It’s funny how many times I tell people I have a P-Patch and they have no idea what I’m talking about. Until I did a little research, I thought all community gardens were known by this nickname and that everyone in the city knew what they were. Not so!

In my garden, I’m taking a seriously experimental approach. I’ve planted seeds in the ground because the seeds I planted earlier this month inside  never went beyond germination. I’ve read that this is a bad idea because the plants won’t have enough growing time. We will see!

I planted spinach, kale, carrots, cilantro, thai basil, chamomile and thyme. I thought I’d plant some cukes as well, but am told they take up a lot of space that I might not have. So I might just get some tomato starts instead. I swear to Pete that there’s an edible plant sale every weekend through mid-summer here. So I’m sure i have plenty of time, and if not, it’s ok! It’s all an experiment anyway.

I began planting in May, and have been back a few times to add compost, fertilizer and water. I actually need to water more often than I have been, but sometimes I’m so tired when I get home from work I just want to eat dinner and read a book or watch my new favorite show, Gordon Ramsey’s The F Word.

My garden last week, pre-weeding and compost topdressing

My kale and spinach are doing well, and the carrots seem to be growing, too. None of the herbs save a single plant of cilantro have made an appearance, though, so I might start those over again. All in all it’s coming along nicely and I’m having a lot of fun doing it!

My vegan monkey bread

I’m also working on doing more cooking, baking and smoothie drinking as a confirmed vegan. For those of you that don’t know what that is, it just means that I’m a vegetarian that doesn’t eat dairy or eggs. I’ve actually discovered a lot of fantastically delicious things that are healthier and just as delicious as anything I ate as an omnivore. For instance, banana ice “cream”, cashew “cheese” and the best pancakes I’ve ever eaten.

I think a lot of my family, especially the mid-westerners, think I’m odd for not eating meat or cheese, but I feel great, have lost weight and my skin is clearer than it’s been in a really long time. All things worthy of maintaining this way of life. Now if only I could stop making high-calorie vegan desserts….

Game Night Nacho Feast

I’m having people over this weekend for Game Night and decided that we needed some munchies. I want it to be healthy and/or made from scratch so I can continue my unprocessed challenge, but I also want my friends to feel comfortable bringing something that may not be homemade. So, I compromised.

We’re going to have a nacho bar where I provide the corn tortillas chips, cheese and homemade salsa*, and they bring their favorite toppings and beer. I also decided to make some refried beans because it is just so easy. Buen apetito!

Corn tortillas

2 cups corn flour (Masa Harina, I used Bob’s Red Mill but you can find a different brand in the Mexican Food aisle of the grocery store. )

½ tsp sea salt

1 ½- 2 cups water

 Put flour and salt in a bowl and mix. Add water, ½ cup at a time to reach desired consistency. The dough should be spongy to the touch, not too dry or sticky. Let sit, covered, for 1 hour in a cool, dry place.

 Put small amount of oil into a frying pan or cast iron skillet at medium heat to thinly coat. You won’t need to add more oil, even when the tortillas absorb what is in the pan.

 Roll dough into golf ball size balls and flatten with a tortilla press covered in plastic wrap, or place dough between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and use a heavy pot or pan to flatten very thin. Place in pan and heat just until edges dry up, then flip and repeat on other side. It only takes a few minutes once the pan is hot enough.

 To make into chips: Cut each tortilla into triangles using scissors or a knife. Depending on size of tortillas, you can get 4-6 triangles per tortillas. Sprinkle with salt.

Preheat oven to 400. Place tortillas wedges in a single layer on a cookie sheet at least 1/4” apart. This promotes crispiness. Bake 8-12 minutes or until chips start to crisp and edges are turning brown. (After 8 min, check every 2 min.) Remove from oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.

You can also fry the chips using this method. 

Refried Beans

2 15 oz cans pinto beans (I used a bag of beans I bought from the store, following the directions on the bag to prepare.)

2 or 3 cloves garlic, chopped

1/4 cup yellow onion, chopped

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 tsp cumin

chili powder to taste

salt to taste

1 jalapeno, chopped (optional)

Saute onions and garlic in oil until tender, about 3-5 min. Put one can (or cup) of beans in food processor to mash, or mash by hand. Put both cans beans in saute mix. Add spices, tasting all the while to get to where you like it. I have added a jalapeno before, which is good if you like hot. Cook until warm. Usually tastes best after sitting in the fridge for a day or two, then reheated. 

*The salsa I made was weeks ago because I had a lovely, gigantic Pink Dahlia tomato, some tomatillos, an onion and some other goodies from a garden I volunteer with. It’s delicious, but adapted from a couple of different recipes that I unfortunately didn’t keep track of.