Khichari, Plus a Daiya Giveaway

This is a bowl of khichari, which I think of as the Indian equivalent of pure comfort food. And it's naturally vegan! In India, if you are ill or unwell, this is what you will eat. It's meant to be simple and soothing and easy to digest. It's basically a porridge made of rice simmered with some type of lentil, bean, or split pea in a fair amount of water, so the whole thing goes to mush. Sometimes vegetables are added. A spiced oil is stirred in, and the whole thing is finished off with cilantro. The version I made can be found in a book called Heaven's Banquet, but there are variations available everywhere. The bowl above is pretty simple, and you could make it without a recipe easily: basmati rice, red lentils, more water than you would for regular rice, cook it to mush and season it. My spiced oil contains a number of Indian spices, turmeric for color, lots of fresh ginger, and a pinch of asafoetida/hing (often used in place of onions and garlic in Indian cooking). I've fed this to omnis before and they have loved it. I hope you find a recipe and try it!

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Today's giveaway is brought to you by the generous people at Daiya! I have a coupon for a free package for you. To enter, please leave a post below, and tell me how you pronounce Daiya, or about a day in your life, or about something you've dyed, or anything at all. This giveaway is open to anyone who can get Daiya products. The coupons do not specify where they can be used, so enter if you can buy Daiya where you live!

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The winner of yesterday's Coconut Bliss giveaway is Monique a.k.a Mo. Congratulations to you! Please send your name and address to me at miso...@yahoo.com. (<---make sure to click on the . . . link for the rest of the email address. This is a spam avoidance thing.)

Carbonara, and a Giveaway from Lightlife

Is it getting cooler where you live? Do you need some comfort food on this dreary November day? Let me make you some carbonara. I should say that when creating this recipe, I used a carbonara recipe from The Urban Vegan as a starting point, but it's now significantly different. For the bacon component, I used a package of Smart Bacon, diced into about 1/3-inch pieces. It really tightened up and had a practically ground beef consistency.

Pasta Carbonara

1 T. arrowroot
1 1/2 c. unsweetened non-dairy milk (I used hemp milk)

2/3 lb. pasta (I used penne)

6 oz. package of vegan bacon, diced
olive oil
1/2 c. white wine
1/3 c. vegan butter
3 T. nutritional yeast
1 c. green peas
Black salt and black pepper to taste
vegan parmesan or additional nutritional yeast for serving.

Heat a large pot of water on the stove--do this first so it can come to a boil as you make the sauce. Whisk the arrowroot with the milk and set it aside.

Heat a bit of olive oil, say half a teaspoon, in a saucepan. Cook it till it's nicely browned, about five or six minutes. Don't worry if some of it sticks and browns, because you're going to deglaze the pan now by adding the wine. Stir and scrape up the browned bits, and continue cooking till the wine is absorbed, an additional five minutes. Remove the bacon to a side bowl or plate. By now, your water should be boiling, so throw in some black salt, add the pasta, and keep an eye on it while you make the sauce.

In the same saucepan, melt your butter. Add the nutritional yeast and non-dairy milk-arrowroot mixture, making sure that the arrowroot is fully dissolved. Stir to combine, and simmer until thickened, about five minutes. Add the bacon and continue cooking for three minutes. Now add the peas, and cook an additional two minutes. Remove from heat.

Your pasta should be done by now, so drain it, return it to the pot, and toss it with the sauce. Taste it for salt and pepper. The black salt is important, as it is the secret to lending the carbonara a traditional eggy flavor.

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Because I happened to make the carbonara with Smart Bacon, let's have today's giveaway be from Lightlife! I have two coupons, each good for a free Lightlife product. To enter, please leave a post below, telling me your about a light in your life, or a lamp next to you, or anything at all. This giveaway is open to anyone who can get Lightlife products. The coupons do not specify where they can be used, so enter if you can buy Lightlife where you live! If you're just meandering over here for the first time, please know that these giveaways are happening every day of Vegan MoFo, and each of them lasts one day. Please note also that if you're not checking back to see if you have won and don't have a visible profile enabled, I may have no way to contact you if you win!

The winners of yesterday's Soy Curls giveaway are Seglare, seitanismymotor, HayMarket8, panda with cookie, and K! Congratulations to you all! Please send your name and address to me at miso...@yahoo.com. (<---make sure to click on the . . . link for the rest of the email address. This is a spam avoidance thing.)

Squashies, Roasted, and a Daiya Giveaway

The grocery store I am addicted to has beautiful squash lately, lots of it. In the photo above, you'll see celebration (the small round one that's pale yellow and dark green), delicata (the long yellow squash with green stripes), kabocha (larger, round, and dark green), and red kuri (deep orange). I roasted the squashies simply with olive oil, salt, and freshly ground white pepper to see what taste and texture differences I could discern. Here's my verdict.


celebration: sweet, slightly tangy, slightly grainy in texture.

delicata: not very sweet, slightly bitter, smooth texture. My least favorite.

kabocha: sweet, creamy, very yummy and full-flavored. This one is very popular in Japan, and it's easy to see why.

red kuri: slightly sweet, rich, dense texture. My second favorite.

I'm left wanting to make two pumpkin-type pies, one creamy one with kabocha, and one dense one with the red kuri. Not so much the other two. I have a memory that kabocha is often braised with a mixture of soy, mirin, and (sake?) in Japan. Is this kinpura? I would love to try that.

Verdict: go find yourself a kabocha!

However, don't wait too long to cook it. My first one sat out for a couple of weeks and when I grabbed hold of it to cook it, my fingers literally sank into the top-the shell was that . . . soft from kind-of-nearly-maybe-rot. There are no words for this experience. Learn from my mistakes!

Ahem. Yummy food giveaway below, after the sorbet to cleanse your palate.

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Today I have a free product coupon good for a bag of melty, stretchy Daiya! To enter, please leave a post below, telling me your about what you want to do make with Daiya, how you pronounce the word Daiya, or anything at all. This giveaway is open to anyone who can get Daiya products. The coupons do not specify where they can be used, so enter if you can buy Daiya where you live!

The winner of yesterday's wonderful giveaway for The Conscious Cook is Candy Bean! Please send your name and address to me at miso...@yahoo.com. Congratulations!

Psssssssst!

I'm gearing up for Vegan MoFo next month, and I've been contacting vegan- and vegan-friendly companies to see if they would like to donate free products, coupons for free products, etc. I hoped initially to have a giveaway week. However, the response has been way more than I originally expected, and it's looking like, in addition to a food post, I'll also be able to do at least one giveaway each day! Curious? Hungry? Please come back and enter!

Want a preview? I'll be giving away at least three cookbooks (all three of which you definitely want), a coupon for a free pint of Luna and Larry's Coconut Bliss, and delicious Go Max Go candy bars!