Grocery Outlet vegan bargains, #1

We love Grocery Outlet. There are several stores in San Jose, and one is thankfully quite near our residence. At one point, we spent enough time in there that our little boy was singing along to their jingle. "Grocery Outlet, Bargain Market!"

Yeah. Being vegan, it's especially awesome, because the vegan stuff is just priced like all the other stuff. It's just stuff.

One of our recent favorite finds was So Delicious' Turtle Trails Coconut Milk ice cream. For $1.99. These guys are not kidding when they talk about bargains.

This week, we found So Delicious Cultured Coconut Milk Strawberry Banana YOGURT for 50 cents.

Before this starts to sound like a So Delicious ad, which it isn't meant to be at all - we also found Galaxy Nutritional Foods' Vegan Cream Cheese. For $1.50.

I never buy vegan cream cheese. It's very processed, of course, and it's so expensive. But sometimes I want to make vegan cheesecake, because cheesecake is something I miss. For $1.50, I think I can go with it. But, of course, as always, these bargains only last while they're there.

If you're vegan, and there's a Grocery Outlet in your area you haven't checked out, I highly, highly recommend it.

Perfect, garlic vegan naan

I have a stand mixer, and it rocks my world.

So when I decided to make a veganized version of Dal Makhani, I thought I should probably put the gorgeous machine to work and make some delicious naan to go with it.

My naan attempts up to this point have been rather hit or miss. But this was a definite WIN. I am only sorry that the bread was eaten so quickly that there was none left to photograph. You'll have to envision it: perfect, puffy oblongs glistening with buttery spread and dotted with garlic. Oh, and the fragrance. My husband said he wanted to capture it with some sort of aroma-photograph so he could experience it again at will.

You won't regret trying this recipe.

If you don't have one - buy a baking stone. This recipe won't be the only time you'll be glad you did.

Vegan garlic naan



I am including the brands I used so if you want to replicate my recipe exactly, you can. I am sure other ingredients will work just as well.

1 1/2 cups Silk PureAlmond original, slightly warmed
1 tsp quick yeast
1 tsp sugar
3 1/2 cups King Arthur bread flour
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp garlic powder
4 tsp minced garlic

Earth balance for brushing the bread

I used my stand mixer, since, as mentioned, it rocks my world. But if you don't have one you can still make this.

In a large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the warm milk, yeast, and sugar, and let sit until foamy. Add the flour, then the salt, garlic powder, and garlic, and stir until it all comes together. I turned on my mixer with the dough hook and let it go for several minutes until the dough was smooth.

In the absence of a mixer, once the dough comes together, turn it out onto a floured surface and knead for 5-10 minutes until it's smooth and elastic.

Cover the dough with a damp towel - I tossed one over the bowl of my mixer - and let sit in a warm place for an hour or so, until doubled in size.

Put a baking stone in your oven and turn it on to its highest setting while your dough is rising - it should be hot by the time you're ready.

Punch the dough down, knead briefly, and then cut into 12 pieces. Roll each piece into flat oblongs, dust with flour, and stack. Let rest for 5-10 minutes.

If the oven is hot, open it and lay as many breads as you can fit on your stone without overlapping. Close the oven, wait two minutes, flip each naan gently with tongs, close the oven, and wait two more minutes. Take them out and brush with Earth Balance while you're waiting for the next batch, and repeat.

Try not to eat it all before you serve the meal.

Yum!

Vegan Dal Makhani

I love Indian food. Sometimes the spice level is a little more than I can stand, but I love it.

When I went from vegetarian to vegan, Dal Makhani was suddenly on my no-go list in restaurants, and I mourned. But then I thought, hey. I can make this myself. Honest.

Given the fact that there's an Indian market just a mile or two down the road, I figured why the heck not? And oh, it's so, so cheap. The ingredients require a little initial investment but should last me for a long, long time. It was $2 for a bag of cumin seeds that fills up two of my spice containers with leftovers, the same price for garam masala in an equal amount.

I spent all day fiddling with the lentils and the rice and the naan, but honestly if you don't have that kind of time it's not a big deal either.

YUM.

1 1/2 cups urad dal (black beluga lentils)
3 tsp fresh grated ginger (I used a microplane grater which made ginger mush, perfect)
4-5 cloves of garlic, chopped
Salt to taste

For the tadka:
5 Tbsp earth balance
1.5 tsp cumin seed
4-5 garlic cloves, minced
pinch asafoetida powder
1 small can tomato paste

To finish:
1/3 cup coconut cream
5 tbsp earth balance
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garam masala

Soak the lentils overnight, rinsing and changing the water several times.

Boil the lentils with the ginger, garlic, and salt, simmering until well cooked. Drain any excess water - I scooped it out with a mug and poured it into my huge sieve to catch the lentils. Mash the lentils lightly with the mug or the back of a ladle.

To make the tadka, heat the earth balance in a separate pan until hot, add the cumin seeds and stir until they crackle. Add the garlic and fry until it starts to brown. Sprinkle in the asafoetida powder, add the tomato puree and stir for a minute. Add to the cooked dal, mixing well. Let the dal boil again, then add the chili powder, earth balance and coconut cream. Simmer gently for 30 minutes.

Add the garam masala last, stir through, and salt to taste.

As written, it's mildly spicy - a nice blend with just a little bit of heat.

Serve with basmati rice & fresh naan.