Cabbage Apple Quinoa Bake with Creamy Garam Masala BBQ Sauce

This recipe is one of those leftover miracles.  Last week I bought a head of green cabbage, thinking that I was going to make coleslaw to go with some barbecue seitan sandwiches. Then Anthony broke the sad news that salad has been making him feel sick lately (He used to eat it every day for lunch at work), and he thinks that the dressing is the culprit (reason unknown).  After hearing that, I didn't dare make coleslaw, so what to do with the cabbage?  I kept ignoring it in the fridge until another unexpected turn of events made for more lonely leftovers that needed a new recipe home.  Our family was planning to go to Disneyland this week, but Sawyer has been refusing to go to sleep at night and thus got sick the morning that we were planning to go.  I had already made a bunch of snacks for the trip, two of which being roasted curried chickpeas and soy-free jerky.  It was time to start scheming for new ways to put these foods to good use.  I had a half an hour to make dinner, during which frantic time this casserole was born: totally improbable, and totally delicious.

For more tasty allergy-friendly recipes, please check out Allergy-Free Wednesdays!

For the filling:
1 Tbsp. coconut oil
1 Tbsp. soy-free Earth Balance buttery spread (could just sub more coconut oil)
1 medium head green cabbage
2 medium sweet-tart apples (I used Pink Lady)
1/2 tsp. salt
dash of pepper
1 Tbsp. agave nectar or maple syrup
2 cups cooked quinoa

For the topping:
1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 1/2 tsp. curry powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 recipe soy-free vegan jerky (You could sub about 1 cup vegan bacon bits.)
1 Tbsp. coconut oil

For the sauce:
1/4 cup non-dairy milk (I used hemp milk.)
1/4 cup vegan mayo
1/4 c. barbecue sauce
2-4 tsp. garam masala, to taste
1/4 tsp. smoked paprika

1. Preheat the oven to 400.  In a small mixing bowl, combine the chickpeas, olive oil, curry powder, and salt. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and spread the chickpeas evenly over it. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes, stirring half-way through, until they are toasty with a bit of crunch.
2. While the chickpeas are baking, shred the cabbage and apples in a food processor. You could use a knife, but you want them shredded very fine.  Melt the coconut oil and Earth Balance in a large skillet.  Add the shredded cabbage, apples, salt, and pepper and saute for about 10 minutes, until cooked down and starting to brown a bit. Add the agave and stir to evenly distribute. Cook for about two minutes more and remove from the heat.
3. Oil a 9x13 inch baking dish, scoop the cooked cabbage-apple mixture into the pan, and then mix in the quinoa until evenly distributed.
4. Once the chickpeas are done, add them to the food processor along with the soy-free jerky or bacon bits and the remaining tablespoon coconut oil. Pulse until evenly ground. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the quinoa-cabbage-apple filling.
5. Bake the casserole in the 400 degree oven for 25-30 minutes, until heated through and the topping is nicely browned.
6. While the casserole bakes, prepare the sauce by mixing all of the ingredients together in a small bowl. Start with 2 tsp. garam masala, and increase the amount according to your tastes and the strength of your spices.  Serve the completed casserole with the sauce drizzled on top. Baked sweet potatoes and some sauteed greens make great side dishes.

Leftover idea/ variation:  I took about 2 cups of the casserole and mashed it up with a small, very well baked potato and 1-2 Tbsp. of the sauce to make a few veggie burger patties. Just fry them up with a bit of olive oil in a skillet and top with additional sauce in a pita or on a bun!

Halloween Treats: Fried Brains (Spaghetti Fritters) and Green Goo (Avocado Pudding)

This Halloween post is two weeks late because we have been fortunate to have both my parents and Anthony's parents visiting over the past two weeks. While the day is past for goulish-themed meals, I hope you can still enjoy the recipes and pictures.

My kids love spaghetti, but the individual noodles are so slippery that there are always more noodles sliding out of their mouths than are wriggling their way in.  This frustrates all of us, as they zealously dig in to their meal, but end up dropping most of it on the floor.  I decided to make the spaghetti more finger-food friendly by pulsing it in the food processor, forming it into patties, and making a pasta pancake of sorts. This worked well for Sawyer, but when Abiline saw me slurping my own full-length spaghetti, she still wanted mine. I think she just likes sucking off the sauce and discarding the noodles.  The measurements are approximate on this one, as you can of course use whatever ratio of sauce to noodles that you like, or whatever leftovers you have on hand.

1 cup cooked spaghetti
1/3 c. marinara sauce
1 Tbsp. tahini
1 Tbsp. nutritional yeast (optional)
1/4 c. cannellini or  garbanzo beans
Olive oil for frying

Place the beans in a food processor and puree. Add the noodles, sauce, tahini, and nutritional yeast, and pulse to combine, just until the noddles are in bite-sized pieces.  Heat 1-2 Tbsp. oil in a large skillet over medium heat (enough to coat the whole pan), and fry until browned and crispy, 3-5 minutes per side.





While the spaghetti fritters were more popular with Sawyer, Abiline is the number one fan of the green goo. This pudding has been part of a rebirth of her love of baby-food consistency dishes. When Abbie was first trying solid foods, she loved bananas and avocados, but then she quickly decided that she would prefer to eat the food off my plate rather than any baby mush.  Now, with numerous teeth coming in, the avocados and bananas are back in her good graces, along with oatmeal, yogurt, and soggy cereal. But you don't have to be a baby to enjoy this--just adventurous enough to pair avocados with sweet instead of salty.

1 medium, fully ripe avocado
1/2 medium banana
1/4 c. plain non-dairy yogurt
1 1/2 Tbsp. coconut sugar or sweetener of choice
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. spirulina powder (for a deeper green color, which I think is more appealing)
1/4 tsp. coconut extract (optional)

Blend all in a food processor or blender until completely smooth. Serve chilled.

And now, finally, some cute Halloween pictures. If you are wondering why there are no pictures of Sawyer in his costume, that is because he decided that he doesn't like wearing costumes. Anthony was thrilled to wear the super-hero costume instead--along with Abiline's ladybug antennae, which I think hurt her head.

A Bean and Seed Veggie-Burger Recipe

On Friday I had planned on making a recipe for Thai burgers from the new Peas and Thank You cookbook, but then I realized that I didn't have most of the ingredients. So I made up my own basic veggie burger, which had such great texture that I decided to post it even though veggie burgers are not usually particularly noteworthy. We like to butter the bread and fry our veggieburger sandwiches in the Holden household to get some extra calories into the kids. If you are not wary of excess calories, then I highly recommend this method. I served these particular grilled sandwiches with the nutritional yeast cheesy sauce from Go Dairy Free, and everyone gave them the thumbs up, but use whatever toppings you like on your burgers if the grilled cheese patty isn't for you.

1 c. oatmeal, finely ground in a food processor
1 1/2 c. adzuki or black beans (can sub 1 can if not using homemade)
1 1/2 c. chickpeas (can sub 1 can if not using homemade)
3 Tbsp. pumpkin seed butter (could sub 1/4 c. ground pumpkin seeds and 1 Tbsp. oil)
1/2 c. pineapple chunks (Yes, I put pineapple in everything nowadays. I bought a huge can of it at Costco :o)
2 Tbsp. liquid coconut aminos, or soy sauce if you don't have any soy allergies
1/4 c. chia seeds (could sub ground flax seeds)
2 tsp. chile powder
1 tsp. crumbled, dried rosemary
1/4 tsp. salt
2 small or 1 large carrot, finely grated

In a food processor, puree the beans with the pumpkin seed butter, pineapple, coconut aminos, chia seeds, chile powder, rosemary, and salt. Transfer to a mixing bowl, and add ground oats and grated carrots, and stir to combine. Refrigerate for 30 mins. if you can to firm it up. When you are ready to fry them up, heat a tablespoon or two of olive or grapeseed oil in a frying pan and cook them until nicely browned on both sides.