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I have absolutely hit on a divine combination with this one.  I cannot believe that from such humble stuffs arose this magical creature.

I started by chopping a whole onion and two cloves of garlic and let them start to brown in sesame oil. When they were just starting to caramelize I threw in a can of drained and rinsed chickpeas.

After those had a few minutes to warm up I added a generous swishing of soy sauce, a tsp. or so of rice vinegar, two squirts of hoisin sauce, and a few teeny dollops of chili garlic sauce.

After a few more minutes the sauces had reduced and glazed the chickpeas and onions with a spicy, salty, sweet coating.

It sits on a bed of jasmine rice, fluffy like a pillow. Toasted sesame seeds and chopped scallions top it all off.

This was one of those dishes where I had little idea what I was making until I was halfway there. I assure you it will go swiftly into the “make again” file, it’s just too easy and too good!

Spicy chickpea and onion donburi

Chickpeas and onions glazed with a spicy sauce, served over rice.

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients

• 1 can chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
• 1 large onion
• 2 cloves of garlic (minced)
• 1 tbsp. rice vinegar
• 2-3 tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 tbsp. hoisin sauce
• approx. 1/2 tsp. chili garlic sauce
• sesame oil for sauteing

Cooking Directions

1. Saute diced onion and garlic in sesame oil.
2. When onions begin to caramelize, add chickpeas and sauces.
3. Allow sauces to heat up and form a glaze over the chickpeas and onions.
4. Serve over jasmine rice and top with scallions and toasted sesame seeds if desired.

It’s glorified rice and beans, people!  And it’s insane!

November 16, 2010 Alayna Discussion, Recipes 5 comments

I don’t know why, but I’ve been craving banana pudding for a week or so.  I thought I’d try to veganize it for Vegan MoFo and this is what I ended up with…

It was a little soupy and didn’t have the intense banana flavor I was hoping for.

Here’s what I started with:

• 3 bananas
• 1 package silken tofu
• about 2 tbsp. agave nectar
• a package of vanilla wafers that just happened to be vegan

I started by mixing the tofu, bananas, and agave together in the food processor.

I tasted the mixture and decided that it needed more flavor, so I added a sprinkle of cinnamon and about 1 tsp. vanilla extract.

I lined the bottom of a bowl with the wafer cookies…

….then added a layer of the pudding mixture and more cookies…

then more pudding and lots more cookies.

After the last of the pudding was added I crushed even more cookies on top.

Normally I would let something like this set up in the fridge first but I really wanted to try it so I dug right in.

It was good, but just not “bananaey” enough. I think that I would want more like 4 or even 5 bananas in it next time.

I had a bit this morning after it had set up overnight in the fridge and while the pudding was a much thicker and decadent consistency this time, the cookies had turned to mush. Surprisingly, I didn’t find it that gross though.

Overall I think I made a pretty tasty vegan nanner puddin’, but it could still use some tweaks to be perfect.

Any ideas on what you would have done differently?

November 15, 2010 Alayna Discussion 1 comment

Jeff hates all nuts. It’s mainly the texture that bothers him. He wishes that he liked them though, since they’re so portable and snackable and a healthier alternative to chips and crackers.

We’ve spied several brands of spiced nuts at the grocery store that look really tasty and that Jeff thought he might actually enjoy, but they were really expensive for the quantity. He mentioned that he would be willing to try them if I made some at home, so that’s exactly what I decided to do.

I started by adding about 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of vegetable oil to a non-stick pan. I chose to use about 1/4 tsp. each of garlic powder, paprika, and turmeric and just a pinch of cumin and black pepper.

Into the pan they went to heat up with the oil.

1/2 cup each of raw almonds and cashews went into the warming oil.

I used a spatula to toss them in the spice mixture.

When they were fully coated and starting to toast I transferred them to a baking sheet.

I baked them at 300 degrees for about 10 minutes. I wasn’t really trying to brown them anymore at this point, just dry up some of the excess oil.

They came out smelling super toasty and fragrant.

With a hefty sprinkling of salt, they were ready to munch on.

See the cat creeping in the background? He’s nuts for those nuts!

I liked these, they were flavorful without being overwhelming. They have that kind of subtle flavor that makes you eat them continuously in an effort to taste them more.

Jeff won’t try them though, he just turns up his nose.

I think he’s nuts………….::::cricket noise:::::

Sorry, I can’t help myself! 😉

November 13, 2010 Alayna Discussion 8 comments