In this chapter, you’ll find helpful information on the basics, including valuable advice on how to maintain a “quick-fix” vegan kitchen, a pantry list, kitchen tips, and equipment information. Recipes are also included for some basic ingredients used throughout the book, including vegetable broth and seitan for those who want to make them from scratch. Similar basic information can be found in my earlier book Quick-Fix Vegetarian, but the fundamental strategies are important to the quick-fix concept and bear repeating so you have them handy for making all new recipes in this book.

quick-fix vegan basics

If your busy schedule is keeping you out of the kitchen, then you’ve come to the right place. The recipes in this book can help you put a home-cooked meal on the table even when you’re short on time.

One reason that quick-fix vegan recipes are important to me is that I want to dispel the notion that cooking vegan is especially time-consuming. With these recipes in hand, that tired old excuse goes right out the window. In the bargain, you’ll not only be eating healthy, home-cooked meals, you’ll be saving money too, since cooking vegan is also economical.

Basics discussed in this chapter include the elements that will help you have a quick-fix kitchen, including shopping tips, menu-planning, keeping a well-stocked pantry, and the judicious use of convenience foods.

time-saving strategies

Over the years, I’ve discovered lots of ways to save time in the kitchen, particularly when I worked as a restaurant chef and caterer. Here are some tips that I think you’ll find indispensible:

• Wash and dry fresh produce when you bring it home from the market: This ensures that your ingredients are ready when you need them and allows you to remove any wilted leaves and so on. Exceptions to this strategy are mushrooms, berries, and other fragile ingredients that should only be washed immediately before using.
• Keep your kitchen well organized: This makes it easier, when you’re ready to cook, to assemble your mise en place, which means gathering the ingredients and equipment you’ll need. This includes measuring out the ingredients in advance. If you do your mise en place prior to making each recipe, it will save you time and may also bump up the quality of your cooking to a higher level.
• Read and reread a recipe: When you are familiar with your recipe, and you have your ingredients and equipment at hand, you will be amazed at how much more easily you can prepare a meal. Good prep can also help avoid kitchen mishaps, such as missing ingredients, wrong pans, or burning up dinner while you search for a spice or a spatula.
• Be more intuitive or instinctive when you cook: By this I mean don’t be afraid to substitute or change ingredients when it seems appropriate. For example, if you don’t like a certain ingredient in a recipe, just make a reasonable substitution for something you do like, such as replacing tarragon with basil or pinto beans with kidney beans. In most cases, the recipe will turn out just as well and maybe better, since it will now have your own personal touch.
• Be flexible: While it’s best to plan ahead and make sure in advance that you have everything you need in the house, it sometimes happens that you run out of an ingredient at the last minute. In those cases, rather than dropping everything to rush out to the store, try to determine if you have something in the house that can be substituted. To avoid running out of the ingredients you use most frequently, keep an ongoing grocery list in the kitchen so you can write down items the minute you run out or see that you’re getting low.
• Keep a well-stocked pantry: The surest way to make certain you can get dinner on the table is to keep your pantry well supplied with the staples you most frequently use.

 

a quick-fix pantry

Keeping your pantry stocked with a good supply of your favorite ingredients means that a good meal can always be ready in minutes. Fact is, many delicious dishes can be made with convenient pantry ingredients. The wider the variety of ingredients you have, the more choices you will have at dinnertime.

 

on the pantry list

Here is a list of ingredients that can be used to create a variety of quick-and-easy meals. In addition to basics such as beans, whole grains, and pasta, I’ve included a variety of condiments, sauces, and other ingredients. Depending on your personal taste, consider keeping several of these ingredients on hand to add variety to your menus.

 

THE BASICS

Beans: Keep a variety of dried beans on hand to cook in large batches and then portion and freeze for ease of use. In addition to the dried beans, a supply of canned beans, such as chickpeas, kidney beans, cannellini beans, black beans, and pintos, can be the ultimate convenience foods on busy weeknights. Protein-rich beans are a great addition to pasta and grain dishes, as well as vegetable dishes and salads. Beans can be pureed for sauces, dips, and spreads, or mashed to make bean loaves, burgers, and more.

Grains: Some grains cook faster than others, such as quinoa and bulgur. Couscous and quick-cooking brown rice are also good to keep on hand. Longer-cooking grains can be made in large batches, portioned, and stored in the freezer for convenience.

Pasta: Keep a variety of pasta shapes on hand, including quick-cooking capellini, as well as orzo, thin rice noodles, and buckwheat soba.

Gnocchi and polenta: Look for shelf-stable vegan gnocchi that cook up in 3 minutes and can be used as a change from pasta, potatoes, or grains. Polenta is also available refrigerated in a log shape or in a shelf-stable rectangular shape and is great topped with chili or marinara sauce.

Flour tortillas, lavash, and other flatbreads: In addition to burritos, fajitas, and quesadillas, you can use tortillas and other flatbreads to make wrap sandwiches, layered casseroles, and even ultra-thin-crust pizzas.

Pizza dough: Buy ready-to-bake pizza dough to make quick and easy pizzas with your favorite toppings, or keep a stash of homemade pizza dough (see here) in the freezer.

Pie crust or dough: Frozen ready-to-use vegan pie crusts can come in handy. More economical is your own homemade pie dough (see here), individually wrapped and frozen. When ready to use, just thaw and roll out. Frozen vegan puff pastry—such as the Pepperidge Farm brand, which does not contain any animal ingredients—is also handy to keep in the freezer.

Vegetable broth: A world of choices awaits, from homemade broth portioned and frozen, to prepared broths in cans or aseptic containers. There is also a variety of vegetable broth pastes, powders, and cubes—just add water (see here).

Nondairy milk: There is a wide variety of nondairy milks now available including soy, rice, and almond milk. You can buy them in refrigerated cartons or aseptic containers. Many varieties come in different flavors including unsweetened (for savory recipes), as well as plain, vanilla, and chocolate.

Unsweetened coconut milk: Used in many Asian dishes, unsweetened coconut milk can also be used to enrich desserts, sauces, and other recipes.

• Tomato products: Canned tomatoes are practical and versatile and come in many forms including diced, whole, puree, paste.
• Bottled marinara sauce: Nothing beats the flavor of homemade marinara sauce, but keeping a jar of bottled sauce on hand can help you get a pasta meal on the table in minutes. Add a splash of red wine, fresh herbs, or sautéed mushrooms to give the sauce the taste of homemade.

 

BEYOND THE BASICS

For quick-fix cooking or for any cooking, for that matter, be sure to keep your pantry and/or refrigerator stocked with these additional items. You’ll be glad you did.

Sun-dried tomatoes (dried or packed in oil)

Roasted red peppers

Tomato salsa

Dried chiles

Capers

Minced gingerroot (bottled)

Black or green olive tapenade

Black and green olives

Artichoke hearts (canned and frozen)

Miso paste

Vegan mayonnaise

Barbecue sauce

Hot chili paste

Sriracha sauce

Hoisin sauce

Soy sauce

Curry paste or powder

Chutney

Chipotle chiles in adobo

Peanut butter

Almond butter

Tahini (sesame paste)

Nutritional yeast

Nuts and seeds

Dried fruits: raisins, cranberries, apricots, etc.

 

ingredient shortcuts

Many recipes in this book call for ingredients that can be made either from scratch or purchased at the store. If you opt for store-bought, then all you need to do is stock your pantry. If you prefer to go the homemade route, then you need to keep a supply of those foods prepared and on hand.

Whether planning ahead means keeping containers of vegetable broth and beans in the freezer or buying canned vegetable broth and beans for the cupboard, the important thing is to keep essential ingredients on hand to prevent time-wasting extra shopping trips for one or two ingredients.

Without question, cooking beans and grains from scratch and making homemade broth are the best choices both nutritionally and economically. However, with today’s hectic pace, cooking with canned beans and quick-cooking rice may be the only way some people can manage to cook healthy vegan meals. For that reason, the recipes in this book call for your choice of cooked or canned beans and often use quick-cooking grains. If you prefer to make certain ingredients from scratch, you’ll save time if you plan ahead and portion and freeze ingredients such as beans and longer-cooking grains as described earlier in this chapter.

Since a 15-ounce can of beans usually contains about 1½ cups of beans, it’s a good idea to portion and freeze your home-cooked beans in the same amounts. On average, 1 pound of dried beans will yield 4 to 6 cups cooked (depending on the bean), or the equivalent of 3 to 4 cans.

Other prepared ingredient shortcuts that can help save time are jarred roasted red peppers and bottled minced ginger. I also like to keep a bag of frozen bell pepper strips on hand for times when I need only a small amount of bell pepper for a recipe, when I’ve run out of fresh ones, or when the fresh bell peppers are too expensive.

Peeled garlic cloves, available in a jar in the produce section of the supermarket, are convenient time-savers, and they taste great. While minced garlic is also available in jars, I prefer the flavor quality of the whole peeled garlic cloves. A jar of peeled garlic cloves can also be a handy backup when the remains of your fresh garlic bulb have sprouted or dried up.

 

PREPARED VEGETABLE BROTH

If you prefer not to make homemade broth (see here), prepared vegetable broth available in cans and aseptic containers can be found at well-stocked supermarkets and natural food stores. The strength and flavor of the broth varies greatly by brand, so try one or two and decide which one you like best. In addition to these full-strength broths, you can buy vegan bouillon cubes, powdered vegetable base, and vegetable broth paste that become broth with the addition of boiling water.

Be aware that the saltiness of the different broths can vary widely (including your homemade batch). Many of the recipes in this book call for salt to be added “to taste.” As stock reduces, saltiness increases, so you have to judge this carefully as you cook. As with any packaged food, check the ingredients for additives and buy the healthiest one (often the one with the fewest number of ingredients and the lowest amount of sodium). When using broths, initially taste them for strength, since some have stronger flavors that may encroach on the flavor of your finished dish. For a milder broth that is also more economical, dilute the canned broth by adding the equivalent amount of water. For example, if a recipe calls for 4 cups of broth, you can use 1 can of broth (approximately 2 cups) plus 2 cups of water.

 

A WORD ABOUT VEGETABLES

I’m an advocate of using as much locally grown, fresh organic produce as possible. However, I’m also realistic enough to realize that sometimes fresh organic produce is not available in the varieties we need, is astronomically priced, or is out of season. Also, if you limit your shopping to once per week, you may not be able to store enough fresh produce to last until your next shopping trip.

One solution can be to incorporate some frozen vegetables into your meals later in the week. Frozen veggies are already prepped and easy to use. Since they are frozen when they are fresh, they can be fresher than the “fresh” veggies in your supermarket, which may have been picked early and shipped long distances. Frozen vegetables are also economical, cook quickly, and can help you get through the week with quick and healthy meals.

Some frozen vegetables that find their way into my cooking include artichoke hearts, baby green peas, bell pepper strips, chopped spinach, corn kernels, and edamame. When fresh veggies aren’t available, I also use some canned vegetables, especially tomatoes and tomato products, artichoke hearts, solid-pack pumpkin, and of course, canned beans of all kinds.

Even within the realm of fresh vegetables, there are convenience items that you can use to minimize prep time, including a wide variety of washed and prepared salad mixes from baby spinach to mixed field greens to crunchy romaine. Just open the bag and toss the leaves into a bowl. If you use a high-quality bottled vegan dressing, your salad is ready in seconds.

Also convenient are baby carrots, because they can be used without having to be peeled. Like bagged lettuces, bagged shredded cabbage is available, primarily for coleslaw, but it’s also ideal when recipes call for shredded cabbage. For those in an unrelenting time crunch, you can save even more time by using presliced mushrooms, fresh chopped onions, and bags of fresh stir-fry vegetables.

Whenever you use precut vegetables or ready-to-eat salad greens, however, even those that are labeled “washed and ready to use,” I recommend washing them again at home, just to be safe.

In the recipes in this book, it is assumed that vegetables are medium in size unless otherwise specified, and also that all fresh produce is washed, trimmed, and/or peeled before using, unless otherwise specified.

 

NONDAIRY MILK

Nondairy milk, including those made from soy, almonds, rice, and oats, can be used in recipes in the same way dairy milk is used. For savory recipes, it’s important to use unsweetened varieties, however, since some brands of nondairy milk contain added sugar, even those labeled “plain.”

Other nondairy products such as vegan versions of mayonnaise, butter, cheese, cream cheese, sour cream, and yogurt can be used instead of dairy products in recipes as well.

 

TOFU, TEMPEH, AND SEITAN

Protein-rich foods such as tempeh, tofu, and seitan are popular plant-based alternatives to meat. In addition to these mainstays, prepared vegan protein options include burgers, sausages, and burger “crumbles.” These products can be used to replace meat in recipes that normally call for meat, or they can be enjoyed in interesting new ways.

While tofu and tempeh are widely available and reasonably priced, buying prepared seitan can be expensive and may be harder to find in some regions. In addition, the flavor of commercially prepared seitan can vary by brand, and depending on how it is seasoned, that flavor might interfere with your recipe. Homemade seitan, on the other hand, is simple and economical to make. On here, you will find a basic seitan recipe that can be made three different ways: on top of the stove, in the oven, or in a slow cooker. You can also vary the seasonings according to taste. Once cooled, seitan can be wrapped and refrigerated or frozen to use in recipes.

 

OTHER INGREDIENTS

In an effort to make this book user-friendly, I’ve done my best to use easy-to-find ingredients in the recipes. I don’t want you to avoid a recipe simply because you can’t find a particular ingredient. At the same time, if you have personal preferences, feel free to substitute ingredients you like for ones that you don’t. For example, if you don’t enjoy the kidney beans called for in a recipe, but you love chickpeas, go ahead and use the chickpeas instead. As mentioned earlier, this applies to seasonings as well. If you prefer more or less of certain seasonings, feel free to season foods according to your own taste. Similarly, for lower-fat recipes, simply use vegetable broth or nonstick spray for sautéing, instead of using oil.

You may notice that some recipes call for hard vegetables such as carrots that are thinly sliced, finely chopped, or shredded. This is because the thinner a vegetable is sliced, the quicker it will cook.

When olive oil is listed in a recipe, it refers to extra-virgin olive oil. When salt is listed, sea salt is preferred. When chopped scallions are listed, it refers to both the white and green parts. For sugar, I prefer an organic natural sugar rather than the highly processed white table sugar.

When specific can or jar sizes are called for, these sizes are based on what is available in my local store. If your store carries 16-ounce canned beans and the recipe calls for a 15-ounce can, go with the size found in your store. Such a small difference in size won’t affect the recipe results.

 

plan ahead

The best way to ensure that you can get dinner on the table in 30 minutes or less involves some advance planning in the form of an ongoing grocery list and a menu plan for the week. Here are some ways to incorporate list making into your routine:

Keep a list of your family’s favorite dishes and rotate them regularly.

Plan meals in advance, serving make-ahead one-dish meals on especially busy nights.

Plan your menus: This doesn’t have to be a complete formal menu plan. Instead, just make a brief note such as: “Monday: chili; Tuesday: tempeh stir-fry; Wednesday: pasta and salad;” and so on. Having an idea of your menus for the week will help you with your grocery shopping and save you time all week long. Refer to your notes when you make your grocery list so you’ll have all your ingredients on hand.

Make a master grocery list once and photocopy it for future use.

Keep your grocery list handy to jot items on the list as they become low.

Organize your pantry shelves so you know where everything is at a glance.

Keep a variety of condiments on hand that add flavor to a recipe. I especially favor soy sauce, sriracha sauce, chutney, and salsa.

Save time at the supermarket by being familiar with the store layout (many grocery stores have maps) and write your grocery list in the same order as you’ll trek the store aisles.

Take advantage of sales and have some flexibility regarding ingredient choices. For example, when the store has a sale on asparagus, you want to buy extra to enjoy before the price goes back up.

 

QUICK-FIX COOK-A-THONS

When time is at a premium, consider doing a weekly cook-a-thon during which you prepare several meals at once. Set aside a few hours to spend in the kitchen—I usually schedule mine on Sunday afternoons, when I put on some music and prepare a few dishes to get me through the week. I like to prepare things that reheat well or that can be portioned and frozen, such as a pot of chili, a hearty soup, a casserole, or a grain pilaf. It’s also a great time to cook a big batch of brown rice, dried beans, or vegetable broth to portion and freeze.

Here are some guidelines for cook-a-thons:

Prepare double batches of long-cooking recipes, such as stews, soups, and chili. Bonus: Their flavor improves when reheated, so they’re even better when served later in the week or after being frozen for a time.

Cook a large pot of a staple grain or bean—I usually make a different kind of bean each week, so I can have a variety portioned and frozen for later use. When you need them, just thaw and heat.

Double up on prep work, such as chopping onions, when making more than one recipe, so you have enough for all of them. When you need only half an onion, chop the whole onion and refrigerate the unused portion in a sealed bag.

Wash lettuces and other vegetables when you bring them home from the store. This will save you time when you want to make a quick meal.

 

LOVE THOSE LEFTOVERS

I love leftovers, and not just those soups or stews that taste even better reheated. I even enjoy the solitary leftover baked potato or that small amount of vegetables that were overlooked last night at dinner. Leftovers are fun to transform into a second meal that is entirely different from the first way it was served. This not only helps if you have family members who don’t like to eat the same thing two days in a row, it’s also economical, since it can help stretch your food dollar and eliminate waste. With a little ingenuity, there are lots of creative ways to use leftovers.

For example, that leftover potato can be diced or sliced and sautéed with chopped onions, oregano, and lemon juice for a terrific side dish of Greek-style potatoes. You could also mash it up with some leftover vegetables and make fritters or even a stuffing for samosas.

I sometimes even make dinner with a second meal in mind. Chili is a prime example. You can enjoy the chili “as is” one day and then use the leftovers to make a layered Mexican-style casserole with soft tortillas, salsa, and other ingredients. Spoon leftover stew into a casserole dish, top with a ready-to-use pie crust, and pop it into the oven for a quick and easy potpie. Puree a small amount of leftover vegetable soup to use in a flavorful primavera sauce for pasta. Just as leftover vegetables can be used in a quiche or casserole, or added to composed salads or pasta and grain dishes, so too can a small amount of leftover pasta, potatoes, or rice be added to salads or soups for a hearty main dish meal.

Begin to think about preparing food that can be incorporated into another meal. For example, if you need only half a box of pasta for a meal, cook the entire box anyway. Toss what you don’t use with a small amount of olive oil, cover, and refrigerate until needed. Having extra cooked pasta on hand can save time when making dinner another night, using the pasta in a different way.

 

HOMEMADE CONVENIENCE FOODS

Ready-made food from the supermarket can save time when preparing a meal. The downside to that convenience is the added expense. You can make many such convenience foods, such as broth and pizza dough, at home in quantity, and then portion and freeze them. One of the most economical items to make from scratch is vegetable broth. A recipe for homemade broth, as well as other homemade convenience foods, including seitan, pie dough, and pizza dough, can be found on here.

kitchen equipment

While good kitchen equipment is important, I believe that cooking is more about the cook and the quality of the ingredients. Buy the best quality equipment you can afford, but you don’t necessarily need to have a huge set of pots and pans (or other equipment) when just a few will do.

Every kitchen needs at least one pot big enough to boil pasta and make several quarts of vegetable broth. You also need a couple of smaller saucepans, including one with a steamer insert for steaming vegetables. Two or three heavy-bottomed skillets, ranging in size from 8 to 16 inches in diameter, are a must. At least one skillet should have a nonstick surface. All pots and skillets should have lids that fit well. When the term “skillet” appears in recipes, it means “medium-size” (10 to 12-inch) unless otherwise indicated.

Other kitchen basics include a few mixing bowls, a set of measuring cups and spoons, a colander, cutting boards, and baking dishes and pans. Nothing much beyond these is required to make the recipes in this book. In addition, there are a few kitchen tools that can help make cooking faster and easier:

Knives: There are three knives that no kitchen should be without: a paring knife for peeling and trimming; a long serrated knife for slicing bread, tomatoes, and other fragile foods; and a good (8 or 10-inch) chef’s knife for virtually everything else. Buy the best quality knives you can afford and keep them sharp. You can chop more quickly and safely with sharp knives than dull ones.

Food processor: A food processor is essential for making pesto, pureeing vegetables, chopping nuts, and making bread crumbs. It is also great for making pie dough, chopping vegetables, and numerous other mixing and chopping tasks. The trick is knowing when it will be faster to cut, whisk, or chop by hand, and that can usually be determined by the quantity of food involved. In addition to a large-capacity processor, some people also have a smaller model that they use for smaller tasks.

Blender: For the longest time, I got along with just a food processor and no blender at all. Then I acquired a high-powered blender (Vitamix) and my cooking habits changed. I now use both blender and food processor for different purposes. The blender is reserved for smoothies, sauces, soups, and anything I want to make supersmooth and creamy very quickly. Another plus of having both a food processor and a blender in play is that I can often avoid stopping to wash out one or the other when making multiple recipes.

Immersion blender: The advantage to the immersion blender is that it is easier to clean than the regular blender and it saves the time it takes to pour your recipe into a blender container, since you can blend the food right in the bowl. It’s especially handy for pureeing soup right in the cooking pot.

Box grater: This versatile tool can be used when you have a small amount of food that needs grating or shredding (instead of dirtying the food processor). It works well for anything from citrus zest to cabbage. For small jobs, use a rasp grater (such as a Microplane).

Mandoline: I use a mandoline when I need very thin slices very fast. Sure, you can always slice ingredients with a knife or even the slicing attachment of a food processor, but this handy gadget lets you cut uniform slices, from thick to paper-thin, with ease and swiftness—just watch your fingers because the blades are very sharp. Note: The plastic Benriner slicer is a smaller version of the stainless-steel mandoline and is much less expensive, making it a good choice if you’re on a budget.

Salad spinner: Spinning your salad greens is the easiest and quickest way to dry them after washing. It gets every drop of water off your lettuce, leaving it crisp and ready for your salad.

Vegetable peeler: Indispensable for peeling carrots, potatoes, cucumbers, and the like, a peeler is quick, easy, and very low-tech.

Microwave: While I would never actually cook dinner in a microwave, it can be a useful tool to help get dinner on the table. It’s ideal when you need a small amount of melted vegan butter, chocolate, or hot liquid. You can use it to soften hard winter squashes to make them easier to cut. It’s also a convenient way to reheat leftovers.

basic recipes: convenience foods from scratch

One of the key points to getting dinner on the table in 30 minutes or less is having all the ingredients you need at the ready. Some ingredients are naturally quick cooking, while others need to be made ahead or purchased ready-made at the store. A few of these basic “convenience” foods are easy and economical to make from scratch. Here are the recipes and cooking instructions for some of the items frequently called for in my recipes. I’ve also included descriptions of the store-bought versions of these ingredients that can be found at well-stocked supermarkets and natural food stores.

In addition, you will find instructions on how to toast nuts and roast bell peppers, both of which can also be bought prepared but are easy to make at home.