Seasoned Field Pea Nachos

I am excited to be discussing nachos in this weekend's So Many Cooks in the Kitchen show So Many Comfort Foods! - and we are now streaming not just to facebook but also YouTube and twitter. I have a draft of my section of the recipe document and will try to remember to link the whole document here once it is published. In it, I collected and named some references to "cheese" sauces that I have made in the past - bit.ly/veganCheeseSauce1, bit.ly/veganCheeseSauce2, bit.ly/veganCheeseSauce3, bit.ly/veganCheeseSauce4, and bit.ly/veganCheeseSauce5.

I had leftover field peas from yesterday (by the way, I updated my pressure cooking table, available for free download at at bit.ly/DilipPressureCookingNotes, to include field peas) and decided to try a new way of making nachos with seasoned field peas.

The basic approach was to put the cooked field peas in a pan along with chunks of bell pepper, celtuce, broccoli stem (small 1/4" or smaller pieces), and spices (cumin, smoked paprika, garlic powder, and a pinch of salt). I had intended to mix in some red onion at the end but forgot.

I also made a "cheese" sauce by blending 1/4 cup "raw" cashews, a small clove of garlic, between 1/8 and 1/4 cup water, 2T nutritional yeast, 1/2 t garlic powder, a small red bell pepper, 1 t lime juice, and a dash of salt (there was plenty leftover). I made nacho chips by taking tortillas, cutting them into triangles, and air frying them at 350°F and checking them after 3 minutes; they were almost done and another 30-45 seconds got them nicely browned (be careful as they can burn easily).

I served the chips, field peas, cheese sauce, and some salsa. On the side I had fresh tomato and broccoli. 

Results

We all loved the meal! Field peas by themselves can be bland but both yesterday and today we were quite pleased by the way I had prepared them. Nachos don't have to have black beans!

Ideas for the future

I should make nachos more often; made this way they are nutritive and tasty. I look forward to this weekend's show as my talented colleague Mark Cerkvenik is coming immediately after me and making "Pub Nachos"; his dishes always look great and I bet I'll have something to learn about new ways to make nachos.

Election Night Wontons

Nachos with Broccoli

I've been wanting to use my air fryer to make almost no fat tortilla chips for a while and today followed simple guidance I found from Leanne of crumbtopbaking. I used sprouted corn tortillas that have only 1.5g of fat for 2 tortillas; I cut the tortillas into triangles and put them with nothing else - no oil or anything - in a single layer in my Cuisinart air fryer's frying basket. I cooked them in air fry mode for 7 minutes at 350°F. They came out a nice light brown color and crispy!

I had made a pot of black beans with spinach, onion, salt, garlic powder, and a little bit tabasco sauce in my Instant Pot pressure cooker. I also made a cheese sauce like I have in the past in my blender, but I only had a few cashews, so I also used almonds.

I simply served plates of the chips topped with the beans, onion, tomato, and cheese and salsa. I put a ring of cooked broccoli florets around the outside.

 

Results

Pending

Ideas for the future

Pending

Air Fried, Waterless Green Beans and Seitan

I put, in this order, a little onion and garlic, frozen green beans, and seitan into a large Saladmaster stock pan. I cooked waterlessly - i.e., I covered the pan and heated it on medium high until the vapor release started jiggling, then I reduced the heat to low till the jiggle stopped. I let it cook for about 10 minutes.

Then, I mixed in bread crumbs, nutritional yeast, and lemon pepper. I put it in my Cuisinart air fryer and "fried" (with no oil) at 350°F for 5 minutes.

In my Instant Pot cooker, I also cooked acorn squash and Japanese sweet potato (13 minutes under pressure). I served the main course, along with the squash and sweet potato, plus some tomato slices.

Results

Pending

Ideas for the future

Pending

Air "Fried" Eggplant with Homemade Tomato Sauce, Grits with Edamame (No Added Fat)

I made an air fried eggplant dish with grits on the side. I used Ener-G Egg Replacer to have a sticky "egg" that I dipped eggplant slices (about 3/8" thick) into, followed by dredging them in a mixture of panko bread crumbs, along with a little nutritional yeast, sesame seeds, salt, and black pepper. I air fried with no oil for 5 minutes at 400°F. I also made a fresh tomato sauce by gently simmering cubes of tomato with onion, dried oregano, a little hot red pepper, and salt, and serving it atop the eggplant.

I prepared grits by getting 3 cups salted water boiling then adding maybe 1/2 cup frozen shelled edamame. I cooked for a few minutes till the edamame was defrosted, then added 1 cup grits and a few tablespoonfuls of nutritional yeast. I stirred occasionally and cooked for 5-7 minutes until thick.

Results

Dinner was very good! My daughter particularly liked the meal and ate leftovers again later in the evening. The eggplant was nicely crispy and the sesame flavor was quite nice. The grits were very good!

Ideas for the future

I should use egg replacer and sesame more often in making air fried dishes. I was originally going to air fry other vegetables along with the eggplant and should soon make a melange of air fried mixed vegetables maybe served with a tomato or creamy sauce.

I was not initially planning on using edamame but it turned out to be convenient. It wasn't an ideal flavor combination, but wasn't bad. I should experiment with other grit combinations.

Pressure-Cooked Risotto with Peas and Carrots, Air "Fried" Tempeh (or Tofu) (No Added Fat)

I decided to make risotto like I described last May with a 1 to 2 ratio of arborio rice to water pressure cooked for 5m, along with cubes of potato and carrot, plus peas, onion, and garlic. I also prepared tempeh (tofu for my daughter; I had some tofu, too) in the air fryer at 350°F for 4m.

Results

Pending

Ideas for the future

Pending

Hemp and Chickpea Tempeh with Broccolini and Cauliflower, Quinoa (Almost No Added Fat)

My wife and daughter are traveling on Friday and I'm teaching tomorrow, so this is my last meal for the family till they return. My wife had picked up some broccolini, which I thought I'd make a mixed vegetable waterless dish out of. I picked up some Hempé brand soy-free hemp seed and chickpea tempeh, which I air fried at 350°F for 4 minutes then 400°F for an additional 2 minutes.

I put, in this order, a little onion, half a head of broccolini chopped into 1/2" pieces, maybe 2 cups of frozen cauliflower florets, 3/4 cup frozen bell pepper slices, and a large baby bok choy, cut into 1" lengths, into a large Saladmaster stock pan. I cooked waterlessly - i.e., I covered the pan and heated it on medium high until the vapor release started jiggling, then I reduced the heat to low till the jiggle stopped. I let it cook for about 20 minutes.

I mixed the "fried" tempeh and vegetables, then mixed in 4T of Frontera brand key lime skillet sauce (1g of fat per 2T). I served with sprouted quinoa and some delicious tomatoes.

I don't list this as "no added fat" because the tempeh has 7g of fat per serving, which is a quarter of the package. I used maybe 4/5 of the package; divided by the three of us, we each got about 4/15 or 1/4 of the package, so about 7g of fat. That's still not bad!

Results

Pending

Ideas for the future

Pending

Air-Fried Chickpea Fritters (No Added Fat)

Panko-coated Air-Fried Seitan and Tofu, Sweet Potato (No Added Fat)

My wife and daughter are traveling this week, so I was on my own for dinner. I coated seitan in panko bread crumbs and jerk seasoning, but the coating didn't stick so well (I should experiment with vegan "egg" additions in such situations), so I also coated a piece of tofu, which takes coating well. I air fried for 5 minutes at  375°F. I had some small sweet potatoes and pressure steamed them for only 9 minutes in my Instant Pot; I could have gotten away with perhaps only 6-7 minutes!

Results

Dinner was good and I should replicate this for my family. The seitan, not nearly as moist as the tofu, was just a bit overdone but actually still quite good. If there were some lemon, it would remind me of my signature lime marinated jerk seitan dish. The tofu was good but could have been air fried for a few more minutes. It was fun to eat three sweet potatoes!

Ideas for the future

I might experiment with adding lemon zest to the breading of seitan - and mix in  some yogurt, a vegan "egg", or maybe lemon or orange juice to the breading to help it to stick to seitan. Some sesame seeds would also be nice but I'd be concerned that they might burn.

Air Fried Tofu, Waterlessly Cooked Kale and Vegetables (No Added Fat)

My wife ate on her own but I waited till after midnight to enjoy dinner with her cousin, visiting with us for a few days. I made air fried tofu by cutting tofu into approximately 3/8" x 1" x 2" pieces, dredging in a mixture of nutritional yeast + salt + jerk seasoning, and air frying first for 6m at 375°F, then for 4m more at 425°F. I served the tofu with a waterlessly cooked mix of kale, bell pepper, and onion, as well as brown rice that I had made in the pressure cooker (1 part rice to 1 3/4 parts water cooked with a touch of salt for 20m).

Results

Fried tofu (with no oil!) always comes out well in the air fryer, and my wife's cousin quite enjoyed it. I thought that the vegetables were a bit "flat" but my wife's cousin liked them.

Ideas for the future

Waterless cooking is nice, but I should be sure to use more vegetables. Having some cauliflower or broccoli might have been nice.

Udon Noodles with Air Fried Vegetables and Tofu/Vegan Sausage, Tomato and Olive Salad, Sweet Potato (No Added Fat)

With my daughter's help (she loves udon noodles, and so do my wife and I), I made an udon noodle dish tonight. We chopped golden zucchini, shallot, and broccoli into small 3/8" chunks and air fried at 350°F for 6 minutes. I also had my daughter include some tofu pieces dredged in nutritional yeast/sesame seeds/salt, and a Field Roast brand vegan sausage cut into 1/4" pieces and halved; the tofu went with her meal and some with mine, and the sausage went with my wife's meal and some with mine.

The noodles took 7m to cook on a low boil. I put the vegetables/tofu/sausage atop the noodles. My wife got some hot sauce and my daughter and I got soy sauce. A tomato and olive salad with ume plum vinegar, salt, and pepper, as well as sweet potato (cooked in the Instant Pot), completed the meal.

Results

We all loved dinner!

Ideas for the future

I had forgotten, but wanted to include ginger with the noodles; I should cook with udon noodles more often and remember to pair them with a good sauce and ginger.

Okara Burger, Avocado Fries (No Added Fat); New Soymilk Maker

I have been thinking for a while of buying a soymilk maker and just bought the SoyaPower G4. (I also bought but didn't open their tofu making kit; I'll try it in the near future.) I opened the box last night and today made my first batch of soymilk; it was good though a bit thin, so I'll try again with more beans.

As part of the process, okara (soy pulp) is generated. It was a very light brown/off-white color with the consistency of thick oatmeal. I thought I'd make okara burgers for my daughter and me (and serve a non-soy burger to my soy-intolerant wife). I took the okara from a cup of soybeans, mixed in about 1/4 as much whole wheat pastry flour and the same amount of nutritional yeast, plus about the same amount of onion, chopped into 3/8" cubes, plus a pinch of salt, and made into two balls. I flattened them and put them in my air fryer. I baked at 350°F for six minutes to let the inside get cooked somewhat, then air fried for 5 more minutes also at  350°F.

The other fun new item I made was "avocado fries". I simply cut avocado slices, dragged them through some panko bread crumbs and salt, and air fried for 5 minutes at  375°F.

Results

My wife and I liked the avocado fries, but my daughter didn't. I took some over to a neighbor who also liked them. I thought that they were a bit too rich; one or two slices would have been enough maybe mixed into a salad. I liked how the inside of the avocado was softened by the cooking experience, almost like roasted garlic becomes. The okara was good but a bit bland. But it's exciting to see that I started with soybeans and water, and ended up with soymilk (and hot chocolate!), okara burgers, and a batch of soy yogurt (with a little of the previous batch as starter) underway.

Ideas for the future

A panko coating for the burger would have been good, especially if I didn't have other breaded dishes with the meal. I should also try making okara burgers with other ingredients mixed in, such as greens and chunks of vegetables. If I'm going to be making my own soymilk, I need to come up with more okara ideas and hope that I don't end up having to compost much of the nutritious okara that is a by-product of the soymilk (and tofu) making.

Air Fried Broccoli, Organic Oven Fries, Black Beans

I was out and about and asked my wife to get some beans going as a simple and nutritious side dish in the Instant Pot. She picked black beans (I had her do a 0 minute cycle to be almost equivalent to soaking overnight, then I cooked for 25 minutes).

I thought I'd continue my experiments with my air fryer and have seen several recipes for air fried broccoli. I think that Kathy Hester had a recipe, but I also quickly looked and found one recipe that included boiling the broccoli first, and another that was simpler that I modified a bit and tried.

For the broccoli, I used not just the florets, but also the chopped stalk. I made a mixture of rice milk, Panko bread crumbs, garlic granules, freshly ground black pepper, and salt, and coated the broccoli, then air fried. The recipe I modified suggested 350°F for four minutes, shaking the broccoli up, then continuing for another four minutes, but I wasn't using olive oil and thought I'd try just one go at four minutes.

I tried preparing frozen French Fries again as a side dish; this time, I used Alexia organic oven fries that only has about 3g of fat per serving, which is the goal we tell our Food for Life students for each dish. The package suggests 450°F for 18 minutes; I thought I'd try 425°F for 12m but the fries were done after about 9 minutes!

Results

My family loves the results of air frying - and it's so easy with minimal cleanup! My wife liked the broccoli; I thought it was fine, but didn't taste different than a soft raw broccoli. The breading was crispy but not strongly flavorful, and didn't really stick. The fries were great! I mixed in raw tomato and shallot with the beans, and they were very good.

Ideas for the future

I should experiment with aquafaba or use Ener-G Egg Replacer to get vegetables sticky and receptive to Panko or other coatings. I bought some golden zucchini today and am thinking of air frying it tomorrow - perhaps with no breading. I'm so happy that I have an air fryer!

Air "Fried" Tofu and Tempeh Steaks Coated with Quinoa

I'm excited about our new air fryer, the Cuisinart Air Fryer Toaster Oven TOA-60. I got it about a week ago and am impressed by its toasting (even and fast) and baking, with or without convection (it's fast!). I finally wanted to try the air frying function.

I believe that all "air frying" is with this oven is convection baking, maybe with faster air circulation, and with food put in a rectangular basket with holes allowing air circulation. That basket sits atop a baking tray that I put aluminum foil on to make cleanup easier.

For my first try, I was going to make a battered seitan, but my wife forgot to pick up bread crumbs and it turned out that we were out of seitan. How about tofu steaks for kiddo and me, and tempeh ones for my wife?

I have read that quinoa can be a good coating, so made some quinoa. I also bought some frozen French Fries. I put a little canola oil on a paper towel and wiped the basket to help with keeping food from sticking.

The fries were easy. I wanted to buy Cascadian Farms brand French Fries that are coated with a little apple juice to enhance browning without a lot of oil; for example, their crinkle cut fries have 4g of fat per 3 ounce serving. The store I quickly stopped at didn't have these, but they did have Alexia brand organic truffle fries, which I bought. They turned out to indeed be rather oily, with twice as much fat (8g per 3 ounces).

I covered the provided baking pan with foil to ease in cleanup and put the mesh basket, very lightly rubbed with oil, on top of the baking pan. The fries were to be cooked for 425°F for 15m, but I went with 400°F for 12m. They came out great but maybe a bit too crispy; 10-12m at 375°F would probably have sufficed.

Here is what I did for the steaks:

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup uncooked quinoa
• 2/3 cup water
• 1/4 t salt
• I would have used a bouillon cube, but for some reason the Rapunzel brand cubes I love haven't been available for some weeks now
• 4 ounces tofu for two of us, cut into approx. 1/4" x 1" x 2" pieces
• 2 ounces tempeh for one, cut into approx. 1/4" x 3/4" x 1 1/2" pieces
• (optional) 6-10 half moons of onion (approx 3/8" thick)
• (optional) 1/8 cup frozen or fresh mushroom pieces
• 3T nutritional yeast
• 1t garlic powder or garlic granules

Process

1. I first cooked the quinoa by mixing the water, quinoa, and salt (and bouillon cube or broth, neither of which I had), bringing to a boil, then simmering, uncovered for 2 or 3 minutes.
2. I took the quinoa off the heat and let it stand, covered (or uncovered - it may take a bit longer), for another 7-10 minutes or so till the liquid was fully absorbed and the quinoa took on its characteristic spiral shape.
3. I dredged the tofu, tempeh, onion, and mushroom through the quinoa. The quinoa didn't stick well (in the future, I might try using a vegan "egg" such as Ener-G Egg Replacer, or even, for a savory and sweet flavor, maple syrup, first), so I mostly just patted some quinoa down on top.
4. I air fried for 350°F for only about 7 minutes (I thought it would take longer, but it was done in 7 minutes!) and served.

Results

Wow, we all loved the results of the air fryer. The main course was surprisingly good! It was so easy and came out so crispy and flavorful. My wife and I added hot sauce and my daughter added soy sauce to the steaks. This was a very successful first attempt!

Ideas for the future

 I'd like to try making French Fries from scratch by soaking potatoes for 20m then drying them before air frying them. But the frozen ones, oily though they were, were very good. I bet less oily frozen fries would be great!

My original idea of working with seitan is exciting; I can't wait to try hopefully crispy air fried seitan. I need to make or get some bread crumbs and also consider better sticking of a coating.