Dinner

Black Beans, Dinner, Recipes

Fiery Black Bean Enchiladas Recipe

Cooks in 1 hour Difficulty Medium

I feel like there’s a plethora of delicious taco joints throughout Chicago, but I have a hard time finding delicious Enchiladas in the city.  Maybe I’m just not going to the right places, but the more authentic places tend to not have the best vegetarian options for their enchiladas even though their sauces are phenomenal.  They are always vibrant and flavorful.  One of my favorite “Mexican” dishes are enchiladas because of how saucy they are…

Dinner, Eggplant, Lunch, Recipes

Saucy Szechuan Eggplant Recipe

Cooks in 1 hour Difficulty Easy

I was inspired to cook Szechuan Eggplant after purchasing some Japanese eggplant from the farmers market.  While I have cooked with regular eggplant many times, Japanese eggplant is long, lean, and purple.  It’s absolutely beautiful.  Szechuan eggplant is also quite simple to make, but you do need to baby the eggplant a bit since it is really easy to overcook and undercook it. 

Dinner, Recipes, Tofu

Tasty Tofu Étouffée Recipe

Cooks in 1 hour Difficulty Medium

My recent trip to New Orleans was quite inspiring when it came to trying and exploring new and dynamic flavors.  I was exposed to amazingly delicious Creole and Cajun cuisine (and I learned that these are distinct from one another as well) and wanted to explore making a vegan version of a New Orleans classic, Crawfish Étouffée.  The étouffée sauce is traditionally made with butter and a meat or seafood stock, but I used soy butter and a veggie broth instead.  I also made it with pan fried tofu instead of crawfish. 

Dinner, Eggplant, Lunch, Recipes

Chinese Eggplant Recipe with Seitan

Cooks in 1 hour Difficulty Medium

I love Chinese food but unfortunately the more fast/convenient Chinese food places tend to be high in sodium without fresh vegetables.  This recipe is also based off of my mom’s Chinese food recipes.  What I love about this dish is that it is hearty, delicious, and affordable!  I am all about the sauces and I love this garlic sauce!