My favourite way to cook is to just grab things from the fridge and improvise. If you asked me to do this 5 years ago, I would’ve looked at you like you had two heads. It gets easier with practice though. Something that used to cause me so much stress is now one of my favourite ways to unwind and relax. Other days, I seem to be allergic to cooking and will do anything to avoid it. Like on a Friday. We’re going to take advantage of this beautiful spring weather and walk downtown for beer & burgers tonight. Now that is relaxing!
When I do cook, my goal is to have a balance of the following:
- veggies
- grains
- protein
- healthy fats
It’s a goal and not always reality, mind you. Life isn’t always perfectly balanced and well-rounded and I don’t expect all of my meals to be either. But I do try my best, even if some nights we sit down – happily – to big bowls of cereal.
For quick meals, I like to sauté vegetables because they are ready in about 10 minutes or so. Steaming is also quick and healthy. I also rely on quick-cooking grains like quinoa and couscous if I’m in a rush. Quinoa is ready in about 15 minutes and couscous in about 10 minutes. That’s hard to beat.
For this meal, I threw asparagus into a skillet with olive oil, lemon juice, zest, breadcrumbs, nutritional yeast, Herbamare, and pepper. Meanwhile, I cooked the quinoa on the stove-top. Just before serving, I threw in a (drained and rinsed) can of chickpeas and heated it with the asparagus mixture.
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20 Minute Vegan Dinner for Two
Yield
2 servings
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Ingredients
For the quinoa
- 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
- 3/4 cup water
- Herbamare or salt, to taste
- pat of soy-free Earth Balance spread, stirred in at end
For the asparagus & chickpeas
- 1 bunch asparagus, rinsed and ends broken off
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tbsp breadcrumbs (Panko)
- Lots of Herbamare (or kosher salt) + freshly ground black pepper
- Pinch or two of lemon zest
- Can of chickpeas (BPA-free), drained and rinsed
Directions
- Rinse and drain the quinoa in a fine mesh strainer. Add into pot with water and stir. Bring to a boil, uncovered, and then reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer on low for about 15 minutes or until the water is absorbed and quinoa is fluffy. Set aside (you can leave the lid on until ready to serve). Stir in a pat of Earth Balance and season with Herbamare or salt and pepper.
- In a large skillet, over medium heat, sauté the asparagus in the olive oil and lemon juice and season generously with Herbamare and pepper. Add a minced garlic clove if preferred. Cook for about 10 minutes, tossing frequently, until tender and slightly browned. Reduce heat and stir in the breadcrumbs, nutritional yeast, and zest. Drain and rinse a can of chickpeas and stir into the asparagus mixture then sauté until heated through.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)This meal serves two portions at about 450 calories each.
There’s no need to go to complicated measures for a meal that feels special. Sometimes simple trumps anything else. Plus, it’s fancy…did you see that lemon slice?
What are your favourite staple dinners?
In other news, the Vegan Online Shopping Guide is now updated as of this morning. There are SO many cool stores to check out. Thanks for all your suggestions!
This looks amazing and so classy (and 20 minutes!?).
Tonight we’re having pasta with tinned sauce due to lack of time — should have read this about 20 minutes earlier!
I love these “quickie” meals. I will often do a quickie tomato sauce to slather over spaghetti squash or make a quick lentil stew. Always with a massive salad on the side – lots of greens, left over veggies, and toasted nuts.
I havent had spag. squash in too long. Its so good.
Quinoa is my go-to staple. I use it as a side, a pasta replacement, and even recently experiemented with using it as a pizza crust. Gluten-free, protein packed, you just can’t go wrong:)
My only go to meal is veggies stir fried with soy sauce and red wine vinegar over pasta. I got the original idea from The Kind Diet’s Rustic Pasta, but I mostly just use whatever vegetables I have at the time and it is always delicious. Other than that, I am pretty much always trying new recipes. There are too many great vegan blogs in the world and I can only eat so much. The list of recipes I want to try is overwhelming sometimes. :) I am going to repeat and make your Perfect Veggie Burgers again this weekend though, because they are just amazing!
Our go-to quick meal is a beans, greens and grains bowl. I might use quinoa, or pre-cooked & frozen brown rice, or sometimes whole wheat pasta, roasted chick peas are my favorite, but skillet browned white beans with lemon and nutmeg are good too. Then, sauteed kale. For seasoning I use Bragg’s Liquid Aminos, Red Pepper Flakes, & an All Purpose, Salt Free Chef’s Shake. It’s the most delicious meal and on the table in about 20 minutes!
It’s rare to read posts about cooking that do not ignore the time factor.. this makes them practical and about a real way of life.
Two comments:
1. There actually is a compatitor grain in terms of cooking time and nutrients, and this is the buckwheat . I love it, and it beats the couscous in terms of protein.
2. What wastes my time is the sorting of grains. I do it rather too slow, and I cant let myself skip thia part.. any tips?
Any suggestions on what brands/where to find BPA-free cans in big box grocery stores, eg Zehrs/RCSS/Sobey’s/Metro etc?
The brand I buy is Eden Organics, but Im not sure it it’s available in those stores. I buy it from the natural food section though. Still trying to cook them from scratch but there are always those times when I need it *now*, like in that meal. I want to start cooking big batches of beans/lentils and freezing them though!
i LOVE the nutritional benefits of quinoa and chickpeas but for some reason they don’t fill me up very easily =/ does anyone else experience this or is it just me…?
That happens to me sometimes…if that’s the case I just eat more. heh. But my hunger varies a lot each day. Sometimes I need twice the amount to feel satisfied and other times not.
Totally agree with you on that one! i don’t count calories (i used to), but I do try to do an estimate in my mind each time i’m eating so i don’t overdo it. Quinoa’s surprisingly high in calories so it worries me whenever I eat and I try not to go for seconds… (Btw do you know why that is?)
Beautiful and simple! Sometimes we forget that a vegan dinner does not require hours of prep or 50 ingredients. Thanks for the reminder! Is that red quinoa? It’s gorgeous!
Yumm that looks delicious! Anything with Asparagus is my friend ;)
Just wanted to let you know how much I enjoy your blog! I nominated you today for the Versatile Blogger Award. Check out my post for the details. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and ideas! http://wp.me/p1SLLp-w4
Thank you Simone, I will check it out!
Couscous is my staple go-to meal, with fresh or frozen stir-fried veggies, and a vegan burger!
my thoughts exactly! I love how you also have big bowls of cereal as meals too (i so often do that for dinner especially when i’ve had a big lunch as my main meal), one of my main tricks is to have loads of things ready to go in the feezer- soups, ready cooked quinoa and veggie burger type things…so versatile and quick!
Leftovers in the freezer are always a fun surprise! I need to start making double batches of things and freezing.
What an elegant garnish! ;) hehe! This looks so good Ange, and I love the simplicity. I would have never thought to use nooch on asparagus but it sounds very tasty now that I think about it! My go-to staple dinners are usually whatever veggies I have in my fridge (usually zucchini, peppers, red onion, sometimes eggplant, and Brussels sprouts from the freezer) heated in a skillet with balsamic vinegar and a little olive oil. Then I throw in some crushed tomatoes and italian herbs, paprika and pepper, and some sort of protein (usually fish, chickpeas or beans), and let everything heat through. I guess it’s sort of like a marinara dish, but the sauce I seem to come up with tastes so much better than anything I’ve found in a bottle! On cooler days, I’ll usually take the veggies that I like raw (celery, carrots, peppers, radish, spring onion etc), toss them together with some quinoa and beans, and pour a light fruity balsamic on them. That one never gets old!
It’s so nice to see this because this is the prototype for so many of my weeknight meals when I’m just too tired to do much! Great idea to add breadcrumbs to the asparagus.
Thanks Catherine. And yes the breadcrumbs were key!
I’m the same way… I naturally gravitate towards a balanced meal. It packs in the nutrition and usually ends up being what I’m craving anyways!
Those asparagus look amazing!
Sounds and looks yummy. I assume you use the original Herbamare with salt?
yup :)
they also have a spicy one (and other flavours) too which Ive been meaning to try.
Such a perfect meal!
What beautiful pictures, Angela!
Hello!
I’m wondering what brand chickpeas you use? I prefer them canned, simply for convenience, however the BPA in cans makes cringe!! Thanks :)
Eden organic canned beans are BPA free! You can get them at Whole Foods, Sprouts, etc.
yup Eden Organic is the only one I have found so far.
Thank you – I was going to ask the same question!
I didn’t even know BPA was in cans?
Is this why people say not to use tomatoes from a can – the acid of canned tomatoes eating away at the lining?
I feel like I’m the only vegan that detests nutritional yeast! I feel like I must be using it wrong or something.
I didnt like it when I first tried it…for a while actually. The smell and taste seemed weird to me, but now I love it. Less is more though!
I’m not a fan of nutritional yeast either **yuck**