2 SIMPLE VEGAN RECIPES TO SPICE UP YOUR QUARANTINE COOKING

Tacos, pasta, spaghetti—repeat! If I serve my family any of these dishes—ONE MORE TIME, they may protest! Raise your hand if it’s been challenging to mix up your daily menu now that we’re in day whatever of quarantine? It feels like there are so many other bigger concerns, outside of what’s for dinner. But a good meal can usher in clear thinking, and the right one can help you feel good—inside and out.

As a work-from-home mom with two young children, who we are homeschooling—ain’t nobody got time for elaborate meals! Plus, I used to be a takeout queen, so dabbling in the kitchen is new for me. I like to keep it simple with minimal ingredients—for the sake of my sanity (and my family’s tastebuds). I’m vegan, but my family is not exclusively plant-based. We’re new to vegan cooking, learning and experimenting together along the way. Here are two quick, clean, and filling vegan recipes. One is hot, the other one is cold to help mix up your cooking routine:

1 Cold Recipe:

I adapted this recipe from 22 Days Nutrition. Technically it’s a chickpea salad sandwich; but it actually reminds me of chicken or tuna salad. I added my own spin to the recipe by swapping out some of the ingredients, and it’s pretty filling. The sandwich pairs well with raw, sliced veggies or your favorite carby-side.

Chie’s Chickpea Sandwich Jam:

(10 minutes to make. 3-4 servings)

Ingredients:

• 1 can of chickpeas

• 1 avocado (Make sure it’s soft and ripe enough. This sets it offff!)

• 1 quarter of red onion (adjust as desired for taste and crunch)

• A few stalks of celery

• A handful of spinach (or lettuce)

• 1 capful of olive oil

• 1 handful of cilantro

• Seasonings: sea salt, pepper, garlic powder and Old Bay

• 2 slices of whole wheat or gluten-free bread (depending on preference). You can also use a wrap.

• *Optional sandwich dressing add ons: tomatoes, cucumber, a squeeze of lemon.

Directions:

1. Open can of chickpeas. Drain juice. Soak and rinse with water. Add to a strainer

2. Dice red onion and celery in small sized bite sized pieces.

3. Cut your avocado in half. Remove the seed. Scoop out the inside. Mash it with a fork on a cutting board. Sprinkle in olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and Old Bay seasoning.

4. Add chickpeas to a bowl. If you have time to spare (HA-maybe), peel off the chickpea shell casings. If not, it’s ALL GOOD. Let them live, it’ll still be hittin’. Mash up the chickpeas.

5. Put the avocado in the bowl and mix it up with the chickpeas. Add in the diced red onion, celery, and a tiny squeeze of lemon juice, if desired. Mix well. Put in your refrigerator to cool for a few minutes.

6. Toast your bread of choice. (Un-toasted bread also works fine, but toasted bread elevates the experience  If you’re using a wrap, you can warm it up for a few minutes on a non-stick skillet, if needed.

7. Grab your chunky, avocado/chickpea goodness from the fridge. Spread it on your bread. Add spinach or lettuce to your sandwich, along with tomatoes and cucumbers. Top with cilantro. Taste!

1 Hot Recipe:

Wells Made Co. Vegetable Coconut Soup

This quick and simple hot dish was shared by Andrea Wells, creator and and owner of Wells Made Co., a popular seed and nut butter company based in Louisville, Kentucky. She shared the soup recipe during a recent Mama Squad 40 meetup:

(30-40 minutes to cook. Makes 2-4 servings)

Ginger, zucchini and green onions

Ingredients:

• 1/2 head of cauliflower

• 1 (14 oz) can of chickpeas. Black beans or butter beans can also be used. Rinse and drain.

• 1/2 zucchini

• 1-2 green onions

• 1 medium size yellow onion

• 1/2 can of canned corn

• 1 cup of rice

• 2 cups of vegetable stock or broth

• 1 (14 oz) can of full fat coconut milk

• 2 Tbsps of grated ginger to taste (or a few thin slices of ginger)

• 2 Tbsps of olive oil (Andrea prefers garlic olive oil)

• 1 Tbsp of turmeric

• Coriander, salt and pepper to taste

• Water

Directions:

1. Make a pot of rice.

2. Warm up olive oil in a separate pot. Add diced green and yellow onions, and grated ginger to the olive oil pot. Add 1 tablespoon of turmeric. Sautee for 2-3 minutes, until the onions become translucent.

3. Chop up the cauliflower and zucchini into bite sized pieces. Rinse and drain the chickpeas and corn.

4. Add 1 cup of water and 2 cups of vegetable stock to the main pot. Add in the cauliflower. Heat on medium. Bring it to a steady simmer for about 10 minutes

5. Add coconut milk, chickpeas, corn, and zucchini. Simmer for 5 more mins.

6. Put the rice in the mix last, based on how thick you want your soup to be. Add more water or broth, if needed, also to balance out the consistency.

7. Add fresh parsley, coriander, salt and pepper to taste.

Andrea adapted her soup recipe from The Yoga Kitchen Plan cookbook.

Cookbooks

Need more inspiration? Go back to the basics. Dust off those cookbooks! Recipe swap with your family or the homies on FaceTime. Some public libraries have also enabled borrowing online. Here are three great cookbooks that Andrea, (who cooks her tail off), recommends:

William Sonoma’s Vegetable of the Day

1. Discovery of a Continent: Food, Flavors, and Inspiration from Africa by Marcus Samuelsson: The beautiful 174 paged book includes the cultural background of the African recipes that range from meatless to meat-a-fied. Dishes are divided into four sections that correlate with the continent’s geography: North, South, East and West and East. “Marcus also includes his favorite recipes for Africa’s unique spice blends and rubs, which can transform ordinary ingredients into explosively flavorful dishes.”

2. The Yoga Kitchen Plan: A Seven- Day Vegetarian Lifestyle Plan with over 70 Recipes, By Kimberly Parsons: This is the cookbook that Andrea used to inspire her Vegetable Coconut soup. According to the book description, it is filled with breakfast, lunch and dinner recipes “that target each of your 7 chakras.” Delightful!

3. Willams-Sonoma’s Vegetable of the Day, by Kate McMillan: Filled with 365 recipes for the entire year, the book provides one vegetarian meal per day. Each chapter opens with a monthly calendar filled with recipes that connect to each season. “From January to December, you’ll find recipes that suit every occasion, from a weekday family supper or a summer backyard barbecue to a celebratory dinner, and that fit every schedule, from quick sautés to slow braises.” Yep, remember when we could all gather together? Well, you can still cook like we do. Better times soon come!