cashews

Vegan Mango Tarts with Vanilla Pastry Cream

April 3, 2018 By thecuriouschickpea Leave a Comment

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! That is, it’s mango season! Specifically champagne/ataúlfo mango season. We might be able to find mangoes year round in most parts of the United States, but it’s typically the larger red and green skinned varieties which tend to be less sweet and more fibrous. Ataúlfo mangoes on the other hand are beautifully golden hued on the inside and out, they border on too sweet with the most delicate buttery flesh. I’m smitten, usually skipping whole meals just so I can stuff more mangoes into my belly. And I love that in season also means well priced, and I can often buy whole cases of them for less than $1/mango. This means I regularly find myself with some 18 ripe mangoes that need to be finished within days of each other. Challenge accepted! Again, and again, and again, at least until the season is over and I have to bide my time until next year….

Vegan Garlic White Sauce

March 20, 2018 By thecuriouschickpea 4 Comments

I’m completely enamored of this 8-ingredient, 15-minute vegan garlic white sauce. I first made this completely pantry friendly white sauce to use as a base for pizza. And given my love for pizza it’s such a big surprise, I know 😉 . It was a welcome break from my usual red sauce and so versatile and delicious that I’ve kept it stocked in the fridge ever since. Beyond being a delicious creamy base for your pizza toppings, it’s perfect when tossed in pasta, slathered on bread for a sandwich, or thinned slightly and drizzled as a dressing for a bowl. Let your imagination and your taste buds run wild!…

Vegan Chipotle Mac and Cheese with Spicy Tempeh Crumbles

March 15, 2018 By thecuriouschickpea 2 Comments

I think everyone needs at least 500 vegan mac and cheese recipes. This is possibly a conservative estimate, but you have to start somewhere! If you’ve been visiting my site for awhile, you’ve probably noticed that I make a lot of spicy food and have a particular love for chipotle, and so it’s probably unsurprising to hear that we’ve been making vegan chipotle mac and cheese for years. The smokey flavor of chipotles fits perfectly into the creamy mac sauce, which is made from a homemade cashew milk and thickened with a traditional roux. The mac and cheese itself is quick to make, ready in just about 15 minutes. The spicy tempeh crumbles take a bit longer, but that’s mostly hands off time in the oven where they bake into chewy flavorful bites. The smokey, spicy chipotle flavor of this dish pairs perfectly with scallion greens for this perfect vegan meal….

Vegan Potato Leek Soup

March 8, 2018 By thecuriouschickpea 2 Comments

I love this creamy, comforting, heart-warming potato leek soup. It’s so incredibly easy to make with only 12 pantry-friendly ingredients (and that’s including the garnish!) and it’s ready to eat in just over 30 minutes. There is something so satisfying about soup but I don’t make them very often, partly because we always eat leftovers for lunch and soups are harder to transport and reheat. But every time I do make soup I regret that we don’t eat them more often! They’re just so perfect. Especially this one. This potato leek soup blends up in the the most velvety, lusciously smooth texture and it is filling while not feeling too heavy or indulgent….

Vegan Roasted Jalapeño Cheese

February 13, 2018 By thecuriouschickpea 8 Comments

This vegan roasted jalapeño cheese is one of my go-to recipes. It packs in a ton of flavor and is so simple to make. It melts and stretches, and makes the best quesadillas. Before going vegan, I would regularly eat quesadillas for lunch or dinner, and would always make those with pepper jack cheese. When I cut cheese out of my life I thought I would never enjoy a quesadilla again. I mean of course I tried all the commercial brands, and while I’m fine with them in certain applications, I did not enjoy them in quesadillas, where the flavor and texture of the cheese is upfront. And then of course the cultured nut cheeses came onto the market, but they weren’t the right fit for quesadillas either! Delicious, certainly, but they weren’t trying to emulate gooey, melty cheeses….

Buffalo Soy Curl Pizza

December 19, 2017 By thecuriouschickpea Leave a Comment

I’d been craving buffalo sauce for awhile now, and am so glad that craving culminated in this incredible pizza. Everything about this vegan pizza is pure perfection. There are spicy, salty, vinegary, buttery vibrantly orange-colored soy curls. A creamy and tangy homemade ranch dressing. A doughy pizza base that cooks up nice and crisp on bottom with a soft, puffy crust. Rich, delicious vegan mozzarella cheese completes the pizza, but don’t forget the scallions in all their oniony glory, and a drizzle of hot sauce to finish. Many tears were shed over how much we enjoyed this pizza (ok, maybe not actually, but emotionally, we were there)….

Vegan Cheesy Eggplant Casserole

September 26, 2017 By thecuriouschickpea Leave a Comment

So, I know it’s been crazy hot all over the US this past week, with the Midwest in particular experiencing record breaking heat waves, but theoretically the first day of fall was just a few days ago and we’re supposed to be settling into our sweaters and steaming mugs of pumpkin spice lattes. Well, however hot the temperature, I can’t be the only one craving creamy and comforting warm foods. And this vegan cheesy eggplant casserole is exactly what I want to be eating right now!

The eggplant is baked with two layers of creamy vegan sauces. A silky smooth sauce makes the base and coats the slices of roasted eggplant, while a luscious vegan béchamel covers the whole thing. Handfuls of scallions are sprinkled throughout the layers for an oniony bite, and as an added (and optional) indulgence crumbled cultured nut cheese is tucked into the casserole….

Vegan Chipotle Cheese Spread

September 7, 2017 By thecuriouschickpea 4 Comments

If you’ve been following along with me for a bit now, you know that I like my bread and I like my [vegan] cheese. But as of yet, I haven’t shared a recipe for my everyday cheese-spread. While sometimes I spread creamy almond cheese on toast, I tend to gravitate towards flavored cheese spreads for my bread. I’ve always been a flavored cream cheese over plain type of girl, what can I say. For a long time my go-to was a cultured creamy cashew cheese. And while I tried a lot of different mix-ins over the years, I’d always gravitate back to a chipotle one. Something about the smokey flavors of chipotle makes cultured vegan cheese even cheesier tasting. This cultured version is still probably my go-to for the depth of flavor it achieves, but over the past year I’ve developed a non-cultured version. It’s perfect for busier times, and is nice because there’s no chance it will go off while culturing!…

Vegan Fried Bacon Mac and Cheese

August 17, 2017 By thecuriouschickpea Leave a Comment

Fried bacon mac and cheese (vegan, obviously), is the food of my dreams. Creamy, cheesy macaroni is pan fried with your favorite meat-free bacon. See, it’s the food of your dreams too! If you haven’t already been lusting after having some fried bacon mac and cheese in your life it’s probably because you’ve never heard of Upton’s Breakroom in Chicago. It’s owned and run by the same people who own Upton’s Naturals, and has tasty tacos, sandwiches, soft serve, and, of course, fried bacon mac. We didn’t go there often when we lived in Chicago, because it was on the other end of town and more of a lunch spot, but when in the area I’d go out of the way to get some of their vegan bacon mac….

Penne with Buffalo Cauliflower Cream Sauce

July 13, 2017 By thecuriouschickpea 5 Comments

I have an unofficial countdown running in my head, as I wait for mid-August to arrive. What happens in mid-August? Well, my best friend from college is moving to DC! She’s going to be right across the street from us! I’m so excited I can’t wait for us to eat all the vegan pizza-I mean all the food-together (did I mention she’s vegan too?)!

She came to visit last month to scope out the area, and while she was here we went out to eat at DC’s newer vegan diner Fare Well. It’s run by the same people of Sticky Fingers and opened last fall. To be honest, I’ve had mixed experiences at the restaurant, while I think the food has been steadily improving, the service has been super hit or miss for us. Nevertheless, while my friend was in town we went there for dinner and ordered an INSANE amount of food for three people. We ordered my favorite appetizer, a house-made vegan burrata that comes with a delicious caper and pesto salad and grilled buttery bread. But we couldn’t help ourselves and ordered a second appetizer that I had been eyeing for months (I just couldn’t bring myself to ever order it over the burrata, ya know?): a whipped cauliflower and cashew buffalo dip. And guys. OMG. The dip was SO GOOD. It was served in this mini-cast iron dish and insanely smokey and deliciously buffalo-y. Like, I’m definitely going to have to take turns with my appetizer ordering in the future….