Iron Chef Challenge II: Coffee and Bananas

Last weekend, I missed the posting deadline for iron chef challenge I, I made a thanksgiving turkey out of stuffing and chickpeas. It was sad that I wasn't ready to post on time, so I made sure I would not miss it this time!

Slightly more challenging this week, the ingredients were coffee and bananas. I didn't want to make the obvious coffee cake, muffins or some sort of sweet baked good. I wanted to find a way to incorporate these ingredients into dinner. Thinking and thinking, my first thought was to make a rice dish or banana coffee risotto, but I was not in the mood to be babying a pot of rice (Although I may try that some day... hmm...).

I am a coffee junky. Not a day really goes by without at least one cup of coffee and I always have instant coffee and espresso on hand when I bake. Secretly, I add instant espresso to most of my baking (especially chocolate baking) to add a special... addictive quality. If you have not tried this, please do.

I am also a banana junky. I eat one almost every day. Generally in the form of a smoothie. Bananas can be used to add flavour and binding qualities to many dishes. They are a decent egg substitute (beware they will make what you cook taste like banana).

I decided instead of the baking route to go a bit outside the box for me and make coffee rubbed seitan with coconut coffee rice and banana-mango chutney. Sounds pretty yummy doesn't it? It was. I will admit, each peice alone was just ok, but together they were magic... vegan magic.

Here is what I did:

Banana-Mango Chutney
Makes about a cup, 15 minutes

• 2 ripe bananas, diced
• 1 mango, diced (or a cup of frozen)
• 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar
• 1/8 cup of brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp mined ginger
• 1/4 tsp lime zest
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup instant coffee
• 2 Tbsp rasins (I used driet pomegranite)

Alright, this is very easy to make. Start by putting the vinegar, sugar, raisins, spices in a pot and bring it to a boil. Add about half of the banana and the mango and reduce to a simmer and cook, uncovered for about 10 minutes. The liquid should thicken up. Once cooked, add in the rest of the banana and the mango. Remove from heat and chill.

Pretty simple. add all the ingredients in a pot, cook down, chill and serve

The finished product. So good... I will be making this again!

This is my homemade seitan - click here for the recipe

Coffee Rubbed Seitan
Serves two, 15 minutes

• 1 package of seitan
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp instant coffee
• 1/4 tsp cayenne
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 Tbsp oil

In a bowl, mix all the dry ingredients. take the seitan out of the package. It should be fairly wet already. if you want you can spritz a little lime juice on them. I did this for my first attempt and it was good. Dump the seitan into the dry spice bowl and mix with your hands, rubbing the spices right into the seitan.

Now heat a pan on medium heat with the oil. Add the seitan and cook for about 7 minutes a side (Keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn).

Now, make you dish. Start with some rice (Here is a recipe for coconut rice that is what I served it with) and then top first with the seitan and then lots of chutney. Lastly sprinkle some chopped cilantro on top if you have it. It helps brighten up the plate.

Mmm.... challenge complete!

Mushroom Leek Soup Part II

Recently, I made some wonderful, creamy potato mushroom leek soup. It was filling and warming, exactly what you need with soup. I had a little mushroom and leek leftover, so I figured why not make another soup?

These ingredients are so versatile that I wanted to try something different from the last one. This time, I made a soup with very similar ingredients, but added some Japanese elements to transform it into a completely different meal.

If you haven't tried cooking with miso, you should. It is not an ingredient used in western cooking, but it is really common in Japanese food. You can find it in health food stores, but I find the best place to get it is in an Asian market. Much cheaper and more variety. Most commonly used in soup, but it can be used to season lots of dishes.

What is miso? Well, normally it is fermented soy beans, but sometimes is made with barley, rice or wheat. Once fermented, it becomes a paste that is salty and smooth. Miso is fermented with a B12 bacteria, so if you are looking for a way to get B12 in your diet (fellow vegans, I am talking to you), this is an easy source. It is also a source of trace minerals like zinc and copper, another thing that are helpful in a vegan diet. Miso is really high in sodium, so watch how much you have in a day. That said, you don't need much, so unless you are on a low sodium diet, I don't think sodium is a big issue with miso.

Photo credit: http://www.foodsubs.com/Soyprod.html

Alright let's get back to this soup. I love miso soups because they don't take a long time to cook. Basically make any kind of vegetable soup you want and then add miso at the end. I always try to add some sea vegetables to boost nutrition. I also usually add tofu for a little more protein.

This time I kept it super simple.

Mushroom Leek Miso Soup

• 1 Tbsp sesame oil
• One Leek, white part only, halved lengthwise and chopped
• 1 clove of garlic, sliced
• 1-2 mushrooms, chopped
• 2 cups vegetable broth 
• Water (enough to cover the vegetables)
• Udon  noodles
• 1 Tbso soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp mirin
• 2 Tbsp miso paste
• 1 Tbsp Rice Vinegar
• Optional additions: Tofu, wakame, broccoli, kale,carrots, celery etc etc.

Like most soups add oil to a large pot and heat. Add the leeks, garlic and mushrooms cook them until they are soft and browning. If they are sticking, add some water. Once cooked, add the water, broth, noodles and bring to a boil. Add the soy sauce and mirin. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes. 

Always saute your base veggies for soups. it adds flavour

I tried to fry some of the noodles first. It really didn't do much, so I didn't add it to the directions.
Up to you to try this way

Now to add the miso, take a cup of the broth out of the pot and add the miso paste. Stir it well and then add it to the soup. Lastly, before serving drizzle a little rice vinegar.

Another warm and satisfying soup. 

Good for any meal. Including breakfast. Some people swear by miso first thing in the morning

Well, after today, I am on the road for a week. I have a bad track record for blogging on the road. I am really going to try my best to keep up blogging everyday. I am truly loving it. Even if it is hard work! Anyone out there reading.. I am looking for food that can be made with just a microwave and very limited cooking supplies. Please comment if you have any suggestions, or email me.

Thanks, have an excellent Saturday!

Searching for Noorishment

A new vegan/raw/organic restaurant has opened in Edmonton and I really have wanted to give it a try. I went there for their grand opening and, well, it did not go exactly as planned (Click here for more info on that one). So, I vowed to try and come back so I could blog about them during Vegan MoFo. So, tonight my James and I made our way to the southside to give the restaurant another try.

Note the tank and scarf/funky hat combo. Nothing matches. This is what James refers to as a hipster.
The iPhone is a must to complete the look. Extra points for live tweeting through the meal.

Unfortunately, a very similar scene to the opening was before us. Staff that had no idea what was going on, no one knew where to seat us. Reservations were getting lost, menus were made out of paper and they ran out. We were able to get a seat though, so I was seeing this through! 


The menu is small and a bit lacking in my opinion. Salads, a soup, pizza, burger, quinoa and nachos. It actually really annoyed me, because this is what I am generally stuck with at all other veggie-friendly restaurants around here. I was really hoping for something different!!

The menu, nothing special on paper, but everything was amazing  once it got to the table

The menu may not have been all that original, but the food? I thought it was fantastic. We had a little bit of everything so that I could give my true honest opinion of the restaurant. First up was a berry blast elixir. Oh man, was this tasty. It was whole berries and it looked super seedy when I got it, but it wasn't (Seeds are my pet peeve in smoothies). The have a citrus one as well as a couple hot ones to choose from. I wish i could make a smoothie as good as that was!


Next up our main course. You have to order from the counter and pay up front for food here. I am not personally a fan of this in a sit-down restaurant. You have to tip before you eat or really have any service. That makes it difficult to gage. When we ordered, the girl at the counter unfortunately was not really an employee, but helping out that night, so she couldn't answer any questions I had about the food. C'est la vie. I paid and she took my name so they could call when the food was up. Unfortunately the person calling out the food did not get names with it and they don't have (or weren't referring to order numbers) so they just call out what the food/drinks are. Our food took a little trip around the restaurant before coming to us.


For an entree, James had a raw pizza which he did not like at all, I loved it though. I think if you are looking for the taste of a traditional pizza, this one will not do it, but I adored the combination of flavours and all the colours on the plate. So pretty and yummy at the same time! The pizza was one a sunflower crust and had a salsa base, veggies... many veggies, and cashew cheese on top. It comes with beets, carrots and some ginger salad thing that go really well with the pizza. I highly recommend this if you go!

This soup didn't look like much, but it was in the top 10 for soups I have ever tried.

Wilted Kale salad. Almost perfect, but the kale wasn't very wilty.

I ordered a wilted kale salad and Peruvian inspired soup. The salad was tasty, but the kale wasn't really wilted. They need to massage that kale a little more. It was very simple, but very good. Something I should make at home sometime. The soup, also simple tomato-based soup had the perfect combination of spices. It looked a little blah, but it tasted like heaven! I was a good friend and traded James soup for pizza. I missed my soup, but it was a good trade to get that tasty pizza.

What does raw, vegan pizza look like, please see above. mmmMMmmm

For dessert I had kiwi lime pie. It had a chocolate coconut crust and some kind of coconut topping. The first bite, I didn't really like this one, but by bite two, I was in love. It was so good, yet not heavy at all. I love that about vegan food. James had a brownie. Again using a lot of coconut, I thought it was good, but wasn't as good as I hoped. I think they need to add some banana to that brownie and maybe some spice. 

Kiwi-Lime Pie. Nuff said.

Brownie - Pretty good, but must like coconut to enjoy this one!

Overall, the people are nice at Noorish. While they were pretty useless if you had a question, needed a table, or wanted them to fulfill a reservation, it was obvious that it was not intentional, they just don't know how to run front of house at a restaurant. The food is amazing. We ordered almost a third of the menu and I was impressed with everything we got (and, might I add, we got the food fairly fast! Hard to find in this city).


On the downside, the menu was a bit flat for me. It did say daily on it, so if they plan on changing it daily, then that would good, but something tells me they aren't. The restaurant appears to be a a sit-down place, but the food is much more cafe. poor James was starving after his food and while I was not so much, I think the dinner menu would have better been used as a lunch menu. The biggest issue is just the complete lack of organization. There were too many people working and not enough people leading. A yoga class broke and everyone just poured into the already full restaurant making it kind of uncomfortable. People coming in with reservations couldn't get a table and I think they were running out of some food so people that should have been running the front were out buying fruit.

James getting his greasy food fix after dinner. I much preferred Noorish, but it is not for everyone.

I will go back to Noorish, but not for a while unless I am getting it to go. They need to get their shit together. I seriously think that they could do well. They got the customers, but the chaotic environment inside will drive them all away if they don't fix it.


If you are in the 109 st area, I do think you should check it out. It is worth it for the food, but be warned if you go during a dinner rush.. things may not be so smooth when you get there.

One last thing, if anyone reading this works at Noorish or knows someone that does, please tell them to put their phone number on their website!!