lemon zest | Kid Tested Firefighter Approved

I bought some mung beans at the Asian Market last week, I’ve been wanting to try them since they’re so good for you. This recipe is from Melomeals: Vegan For $3.33 A Day – I’ve had my eye on it for a while now so I decided to make it tonight. It’s really easy to make, doesn’t take much time at all and tastes delish! It was a tad too spicy for our toddler but not for us at all. The toasted coconut topping was a nice touch.

Coconut Mung Beans

1 T coconut oil
1 /2 t cumin seeds
1 large onion, diced
1 Serrano chili (I used a jalapeno, all I had. Removed all seeds and diced)
1 T minced ginger
1 T curry powder (I used Kashmiri Curry from World Spice Merchant)
1 c mung beans
4 c water
1 t Creole seasoning
Juice and zest 1 lemon (around ¼ lemon juice. You can use lime juice or 3 T of apple cider vinegar in place of lemon juice)
½ c cilantro
Toasted coconut for garnish (I toasted unsweetened coconut shreds in my toaster oven on 325F for a few minutes)
Soy Sauce/Pepper to taste

* In case you’ve never seen them before, here are mung beans:

Dry Mung Beans

Directions:

In a pressure cooker over med hi heat add the oil, cumin, onion, chili, ginger, and curry powder along with a pinch of salt. Sauté for several minutes, then lower the heat down to low and continue cooking for 10 more minutes. (My pressure cooker doesn’t have a low setting so I just sautéed it for about 8 minutes or so)
Add the beans, water and Creole seasoning
Put top on pressure cooker and bring to high pressure for 6 minutes.
Let the pressure come down naturally then stir in lemon juice and zest and cilantro. Taste and adjust seasonings and add toasted coconut to garnish if you desire
Serve over rice – I used brown rice and served it with Naan bread… my hubby’s request!

Saute onions, pepper, ginger, curry, cumin seeds and a pinch of salt in coconut oil

Add beans, water and creole seasoning

Cover, cook on high pressure for 6 minutes

Toast unsweetened coconut for topping

Slow release pressure, add lemon juice, zest and cilantro

Yum!

Let me start by saying, I am NOT a baker! I attempt it now and then but I am not very good at it. We don’t eat many sweets so that’s okay. Every now and then I get a craving for something sweet so I attempt to bake. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t. This cake turned out really tasty so I’m glad I attempted it. I’m new to gluten-free baking so this cake may not look the way it’s supposed to but it sure is good! They’re really more like bars with their thick texture. Ah, whatever you want to call them is fine because I call them DELICIOUS!!

I received a bunch of lemongrass in my CSA box last week and I’ve been looking for new recipes that call for lemongrass. I usually make Thai Food but I wanted to make something new. I’ve been cooking my way through my favorite vegan food blog, Melomeals: Vegan For $3.33 A Day – she had this recipe on her site so I had to try it! I love anything with lemon too so this was a perfect match!

Here’s her recipe:

Lemongrass Cake with Coconut Frosting

· ½ c golden flax meal

· ¼ c Vegenaise (vegan mayo – found at Sprouts)

· 1 c sugar

· 1 t vanilla

· 1 t coconut extract

· Juice and zest of 1 lemon

· 2 T lemongrass (sold at Sprouts)

· ½ c light-colored oil – I used vegetable oil

· 1.5 c Bob’s All Purpose Gluten-Free flour (I suppose you could use regular flour too)

· 2 t baking powder

· 1 t baking soda

· ½ t salt

Method: Pre-heat oven to 350

1. Mix flax, mayo, sugar, extracts, lemon juice, zest , lemongrass and oil together very well until everything is totally incorporated

2. Sift together the flour, powder, soda and salt into the wet mixture and mix together completely. You don’t have to worry about over working this dough. Mix super well!

3. Spray a 9 by 9 cake pan with cooking spray, pour batter into pan and bake for 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

4. Cool cake completely on a wire rack

5. Frost!

Frosting:

· 1.5 c unsweetened coconut shreds

· ¼ c nondairy milk

· 3 – 4 c powdered sugar

· Juice and Zest of 1 lemon

· Pinch salt

1. In a food processor, process the coconut and milk if needed until coconut turns into butter like substance. This will take around 4 minutes

2. Add the powdered sugar, lemon juice and zest, salt and process until it comes together like frosting adding milk as needed