Blog

The recipe for a Vegan Bobotie is a mushroom rich variant of a traditional South African dish. It has a combination of hearty flavors, with hot spices and a fruity component. Only 6 ingredients and 4 easy steps.

I’m sure you wouldn’t have expected today’s recipe for a Vegan Bobotie. Maybe you never heard about it, so guys it’s time to get excited and come on board with me on this trip to South Africa.

First, I guess, you ask what Bobotie is and why/how I came up with this easy recipe and share with you all. During a recent neighborhood party, for which I had made my amazing Best Hot Quinoa Burger, I talked to one of our neighbors.

Her name is Fleur and as it turns out totally obsessed with South Africa. She had traveled there often and visited cities like Cape Town and Johannisburg as well as more rural regions.

And in doing so she fell in love with South African food. After the vegan burger we enjoyed during the evening, Fleur ‘challenged’ me to make a vegan version of her favorite – Bobotie.

She intends to eat healthier and more often meatless and a traditional Bobotie is essentially something of a meatloaf. Obviously, I had never heard of this dish before and didn’t fully grasp what I was up to when I accepted the challenge.

It took some trail and error but eventually there was a version I was happy with. More importantly, a version that Fleur enjoyed when I invited her over. Mission accomplished. Hah, I hope you will enjoy my Vegan Bobotie as much as Fleur did!

Bobotie, as a national dish of South Africa, is traditionally a mixture of meat, fruits, and a creamy topping. I have to admit I was a bit skeptical how I would manage to capture similar flavor notes in a vegan and gluten-free version.

But I never give up and will work my butt off so that I can have a result that satisfies me – and also you. And that means not only that it is definitely delicious but also really easy to make.

The first challenge for making a Vegan Bobotie was to find a substitute for the main ingredient. Instead of going for the obvious option of using crumpled tofu or tempeh, I aimed for something more vegetable based.

I always thought that the color and texture of finely diced and then sauteed mushroom should resemble that of minced meat quite closely and this was the ideal opportunity to give it a try.

I combined this with a spicy flavor from curry paste and some fruity components from a Mango Chutney.

To offer you a bit of variability, I give you two options for the creamy sauce that tops off the Vegan Bobotie. Either take the sauce of my Vegan Potato Casserole (minus the tahini) or choose the sauce of my Moussaka recipe and  leave out the nutritional yeast.

I actually made both versions for Fleur, so I was so curious, which one was her favorite. We both agreed the sauce from the Vegan Potato Casserole is a bit creamier and richer than the sauce from the Moussaka recipe. But both are totally delicious and it’s up to you which one you prefer.

Why you should give the Vegan Bobotie a try!

Not only this an easy and exciting recipe you can serve your friends and family. It is a low carb recipe and you can also benefit from an infusion of nutrients coming from the mushrooms.

Read “5 Health Benefits of Mushrooms”  and find out that they provide Vitamin D and iron, are low in calories, and boost your immune system.

Making the Vegan Bobotie is straightforward as always.

This dish is no exception and you only need few ingredients and easy steps. Simply dice the mushrooms finely, sauté them, and mix with onion, curry paste, and some herbs. Whisk together your favorite sauce and give over the mushrooms in a casserole dish.

Bake for 30 minutes and enjoy!

by Kathy Patalsky · updated: Sep 13, 2019 · published: Aug 18, 2009 · About 3 minutes to read this article. 1 Comment

Hiding veggies in your kids food is so last year. What’s in? Minimizing your veggies with my Micro Chop Method!

Eat this: 6 radishes, 1 cup of carrots and 1 ½ cups of leafy green arugula. Try getting your kids to eat that raw veggie combo: Good luck. But what about if you micro chopped those healthy veggies into a creamy spreadable cream cheese dip that’s totally snack-friendly? Perfect! Serve my recipe for vegan Micro Veggie Cream Cheese and you won’t have to remind them to eat their veggies…because they just did! Click ahead for my recipe…





Micro Chop Method. I’m not a big fan of hiding veggies in food. However, I have no problem with minimizing them! The basic theory: chop your veggies into super small shreds, dices and bits. Tiny bits are easier to eat than big monster sized chunks. I think many adults will even appreciate this idea. After you’ve sliced and diced your veggies into the tiniest of bits, fold and whip them into a creamy spread. I love using vegan cream cheese. You can even use this same method in spreads like peanut butter, hummus and guacamole.

Healthy Veggie (and Fruit) Options. For cream cheese I love a colorful array of radishes, carrots, arugula or parsley. It’s crunchy, healthy and zesty! Other healthy veggies (and fruit) that you can easily micro chop include: celery, spinach, bell peppers, apples, raw broccoli, radishes, fennel, olives, scallions, zucchini, cucumber, onions, bean sprouts, mushrooms, parsley, cilantro, basil, cabbage, jicama, and so much more! I just don’t advise using anything mushy like tomatoes, strawberries or similar items.

Here is the recipe:

Micro Veggie Cream Cheese


vegan, makes 2 cups

1 cup vegan cream cheese


6 radishes


1 ½ cups arugula


1 cup organic baby carrots


pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Clean your produce.


2. Scoop cream cheese out into a large mixing bowl.


3. Micro chop your veggies in tiny dices, cubes, shreds and bits. I advise using a Chef’s knife or a Santoku knife. I love my Mini Santoku knife from Crate and Barrel-only $10. I found a Mini Santoku Knife from Amazon only $6.99.


4. Scoop all the chopped veggies/fruit into your mixing bowl and whip well. Make sure to coat all the veggies in cream cheese and the manual mixing will whip some nice fluffy texture into the cream cheese.

5. Add some fine black pepper if you’d like.


6. Serve! Add a garnish of leftover micro veggies.

NOTES:


Optional Add-in: add an acid like lemon juice or apple cider vinegar to your recipe. This will thin out the spread or dip and give it an acidic kick! And you can always get fancy by adding in other herbs, flavors and accents. Try everything from dill and paprika to soy sauce and maple syrup! Creativity folks…

Uses: Use it the same way you would any cream cheese. Makes a perfect snack-just add crackers! Spread it on bagels, toast, wraps, pitas and even as a veggie stick dip for double the veggies!

I just took stock of my pantry because baking season has officially begun.  It started slowly with a few batches of cookie dough for back to school lunches.  Then Mr. Picky’s birthday rolled around last week and whoosh it’s Rosh Hashana this Wednesday night already!  I don’t need to tell you what is just around the corner, do I?

Thankfully, I share the Jewish holiday cooking with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law.  We each host a meal and cook whatever we want.  I have the first day of Rosh Hashana lunch, as well as the break fast on Yom Kippur evening.  The break fast is actually one of my favorite holidays to host because people literally starve themselves for 24 hours (no water either!) and then come to my house to eat.  I could basically serve anything and it would be a hit!

One of the nice traditions of the Jewish new year is eating seasonal foods.  Love that!  Apples are likely the most important food along with honey which symbolize the hope of a sweet year ahead.  I have been loving the new crops of local apples flooding the markets over the past month.  My kids particularly love Honeycrisp, Pink Lady (my personal fave), Granny Smith.  I use apples all over the place at this time of year — turned into applesauce, sautéed on top of pancakes and waffles, cooked into oatmeal, chopped in salads and folded into simple snacking cakes like this one.

I saw a recipe a few years back for a Depression era chocolate cake called “Wacky Cake.”  The cake didn’t use any “expensive” ingredients like eggs, milk or butter and I think got it’s name “wacky” because somehow the crazy recipe actually produced a moist, delicious cake.  There are a gajillion recipes for the classic chocolate Wacky Cake, but last year I decided to put a twist on the (vegan) recipe and use apples and spices instead.  Delicious!

The result was a moist, fragrant and just sweet enough little cake that I think is just perfect for after school snacks, lunch box treats, brunch or anytime you need a seasonal dessert for a fall gathering, like Rosh Hashana!!  I make some sort of apple dessert every year for my luncheon, but I am very fond of this one because it is so darn easy and it freezes amazingly well.  It is also pretty clean: whole grain flour, minimal amount of unrefined coconut sugar, and very little oil (I use unrefined coconut oil.)  My entire family loves it!

You can do different things with this easy cake.  You can double the recipe and bake the cakes in 9-inch round pans for a 2-layer cake.  I would use this vegan frosting or a classic cream cheese frosting to go between the two cakes and on top.  If you don’t like raisins, leave them out.  Or instead of placing the walnuts halves on the top of the cake, chop them up and fold them into the batter.  Or make this into muffins.  For my do-aheaders, make this today and freeze it for the upcoming holiday (Rosh Hashana, Halloween, Thanksgiving — GASP!)  If you are celebrating the new year this week, may it be a sweet one!

I’m excited to announce that we’ve officially partnered with the Meatless Monday Campaign.  Launched in 2003 in conjunction with John Hopkins to get people to cut down on meat consumption for both health and environmental reasons, it has since become a truly global movement.  Schools, companies, restaurants and bloggers like me participate in the campaign on a weekly basis.  The recipes made will be shared on various media outlets to get the word out.

Ours will still be the vegan recipes you’ve come to know, but also marketed to those who may not yet have become vegan. Maybe they are interested but don’t know where to begin. I think it’s a great resource, so on that note…let’s get started with this week’s recipe!

Vegan Mac and Cheese.  Now, this recipe’s goal is to offer an alternative to cheese.  While you could certainly use a vegan cheese product, I have yet to find a melting vegan alternative I love.  So this is more of a flavorful cheese-like vegetable based sauce.

It’s thick, creamy and tastes delicious!

The very first thing we need to do is soak the cashews.  I wasn’t able to find raw cashews in my local store, so I got lightly roasted.  In this dish, it only added to the flavor.  We want to soak them for at least 30 minutes to an hour to make them soft enough to puree into a cream.  If you are not using a high speed blender, just soak them overnight. The water gets discarded prior to blending.

Next, we saute diced potatoes, carrots and onions in a low-sodium vegetable broth.  This one is the Imagine brand which has a really rich color to it.  Once the vegetables become tender, it all gets added to the blender.  Allow to cool for a minute or two.  You never want to add a hot mixture to a blender.  Things expand and there is potential for the lid to be forced off.  We don’t want any kitchen accidents here.

In addition to the cashews and vegetable mixture, we also add almond milk and seasonings.

And this is what it looks like after 1 minute of blending.  At this point, it’s important to taste for seasoning and adjust for consistency.  A little salt and maybe a smidge more broth may be in order.

Once you have a tasty, creamy sauce, it’s time to fold it into the pasta.  We boiled up some medium shells, but you could also use traditional elbows.

If you like your mac and “cheese” a bit looser, you can enjoy it right now.  This next step is completely optional, but it’s how we do it in my family.

Spoon the mac and cheese into an oven safe dish and top with panko bread crumbs.  We melted a bit of vegan margarine with those crumbs so we’d get a nice golden crust.  Pop it into a 350 degree oven just until browned and you are done.

It looks pretty convincing, doesn’t it?  The secret to this vegan mac and “cheese” is all in the sauce.  It’s about building flavor.  This is a nice, healthy alternative to the traditional dish.  I served mine with glazed carrots and garnished with fresh parsley.

This recipe serves four people.

Before you go, why not check out some of our recent videos and be sure to subscribe to the YouTube Channel! 🙂

The ultimate healthy breakfast recipe, this warm, hearty Instant Pot banana oatmeal is delicious and easy! Whole grain, full of fiber, and vegan.

I love the chewy texture and wholesome flavor of steel cut oatmeal. Add in creamy, tasty bananas with a bit of cinnamon and you have the perfect breakfast. I’ve been on a bit of an oatmeal kick ever since I figured out how easy steel cut oatmeal is to make in an Instant Pot. Pumpkin steel cut oatmeal has been in our breakfast rotation for months. Now we’re switching it up with this delicious Instant Pot banana steel cut oatmeal.

In my last post about oatmeal, I wrote about the difference between steel cut oats, rolled oats, and quick oats. Check it out here for a quick primer. Using an Instant Pot with steel cut oats is key, as you don’t need to stir or do much of anything – I love simple breakfasts!

What is an Instant Pot?

This post contains affiliate links. See my disclosure policy.

An Instant Pot is a brand name of multi-use, programmable electric pressure cookers.  The Instant Pot brand offers several different sizes and there are a number of other brands on the market as well with similar features.  I have the Instant Pot Duo 6qt, so all of my instructions are based on that one.  All of the pressure cookers brands and models are pretty similar; they just name things a bit differently, so refer to your manual if I reference a button that you don’t have on yours – or leave a comment in the notes and I’ll try to help you out!

How to Make Instant Pot Banana Oatmeal

Start by turning the Instant Pot on “Saute” and press the Saute button until it’s on “More.”  Add the margarine or butter (not vegan).  When the margarine has melted, add in the steel cut oats, water, and two bananas. No need to slice up the bananas, just peel and add them in whole. You don’t need to stir either.

Seal the lid, close the pressure relief valve and press the “Pressure Cook” button until it’s on “Normal” and the “Pressure Level” until it’s on “High Pressure.”  Then press the +/- buttons until the time shows 00:10 for ten minutes.  The Instant Pot will say “On” while it’s getting up to pressure and then will start counting down.

When it’s done, allow the pressure to naturally release for 10 minutes (just leave the Instant Pot when it’s done and it will start to count up).  When it’s on 00:10, then ten minutes are up.  Turn off the Instant Pot by pressing “Cancel” and quick release the rest of the pressure by opening the pressure relief valve (making sure to steer clear of the steam).

When the float valve is down and the pressure is released, open the lid.  Stir in the cinnamon, salt, and brown sugar if using.  Let the pot sit for 5 to 10 minutes to allow the oatmeal to thicken. Serve the oatmeal with banana slices and peanut butter.

Looking for more Instant Pot recipes?  Try this Instant Pot Greek Yogurt, my absolute favorite recipe that I make every week.  This Instant Pot Mushroom Frittata is another easy breakfast recipe. If you try this Instant Pot Banana Oatmeal, leave a comment and review below and let me know how it worked out for you!