Okra, Tomato & Potato Curry [Vegan Mofo]

Vegan Mofo, Day 4!

So this is what I whipped up for dinner tonight, with delicious results!

A stew/curry of tomatoes, potatoes, okra, quinoa, curry powder, onions, garlic, spicy Rotel for more tomato-y goodness.

I didn't measure anything, really. This was an experiment to work on something in the future. I think that this is a great example of why I don't blog all my food. I feel bad if I don't write down a full recipe and measure everything, etc. By the time I even start thinking about that, I give up on considering blogging and just eat some food! So this is a great push to keep posting about food, recipe or not.

Soft Tacos

Here's my attempt to make tacos photogenic. Atop a lightly toasted flour tortilla: taco-seasoned TVP, refried black beans with garlic, fresh sweet corn with lime juice and cilantro, rotel tomatoes with habaneros, chopped cilantro, Tofutti sour cream. I added fresh spinach and taco sauce before folding up as a taco and eating.

I know I said that the next taco night I'd make my own tortillas. I still plan on making my own, I just need to get a cast iron pan first. I know I can do it without one, but I'd like to get one anyway and this seems like the perfect excuse.

Vegetable & Bean Stew with Spicy Biscuits

I made this quick vegetable stew the other day. I also made biscuits, a variation of the recipe from the other day. I added some liquid from the stew as well as red pepper flakes to the mix to create a spicy version. Another make it up as I go, so not an "official" recipe, but here's roughly what I did.

The Stew

Ingredients:
1 28oz can of Fire Roasted tomatoes
1 15(I think)oz can of dark red kidney beans
1 15(I think)oz can of white kidney beans (cannellini)
1 8oz can spicy Ro-Tel [diced tomatoes with habaneros)
1/2 a large onion, med. dice
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
frozen corn
cumin
paprika
chili powder
water
veg stock or bouillon cube
1tsp oil (for sauteing onion & garlic)

Instructions:

1. in stock pot, saute onion in oil until soft, add garlic and spices to taste

2. add drained and rinsed beans and can of tomatoes

3. add Ro-Tel, stir everything

4. add water. I basically filled the big tomato can with water and dumped it in and added a little more

5. bring to boil, add some frozen corn and or vegetables of choice. Sweet corn really works with these flavors but I'm sure many others would work.

6. bring down to simmer. If you feel like it, add vegetable stock or bouillon cube for flavor.

Done! The flavors of both the stew and biscuits are even better the second day. This lasted for most of the week for both me and Mr. Coconut's lunch.

Axel's Bombastic Black Bean Dip

The Saucy Coconut Food Blog is Back in Action! I know, I've said that before only to not post for weeks on end. Hopefully this time I'll stay true to my word and post more often. Well, this is a fantastic post to come back on:

Axel's Bombastic Bean Dip!

This is seriously the best bean dip EVER. I've made endless excuses why not to make my own bean dip: laziness, "too much work," and...laziness. There really isn't a good reason why I haven't been making my own bean dip. Yet it took my fiance, Axel, to have a heavy dose of inspiration in the kitchen to get me on the "make my own bean dip from now on" train.

This is a rough estimate of the creation of the best bean dip ever, but it will be recreated soon with more details and tweaking.

What's in it, roughly:
1 can of black beans, drained
1/2 can of refried black beans
1 can of pinto beans
1 can of Rotel^TM Original Tomatoes and Green Chilies
4 cloves of garlic (or less if you aren't a fan of garlic)
good shake of red pepper flakes for spice
good shake of cumin for flavor

Directions (sort of):

1. In a big bowl, mash almost all the beans up with a potato masher

2. Add the Rotel^TM, mix thoroughly.

3. Either mince the garlic into a paste, or blend it with a hand blender, or the Magic Bullet Blender.

4. Blend the bean mixture, and also place into hot pan and cook mixture. Add some of the whole beans that were set aside before you started mashing. Leave these as whole.

5. Add cumin, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste. Fresh chilies like jalapenos, habeneros, etc., would be great.

Serve hot OR cold with chips, fresh veggies, crackers, pitas, or anything else you can think of. This dip gets better and more garlicky/spicy with each passing day, so try and save some for tomorrow!