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.
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!
Awesome when a dinner (that happens to be vegan) comes together in 20 minutes. LOVE that.
And love these colors; the yellows and greens. So pretty for spring!
Usually when i saute chickpeas I do it til they’re nice and crispy they get a real nice flavour and crunch that way.
I do not have herbamare available to me but I was wondering what herbs are in it ?? so I could sub a few of my own dry herbs. Looks so quick and easy.
I agree with you too, when I was new to cooking I thought that cooking without a recipe was unthinkable but now I love it!
Hey Alex,
I found this on their website: “Organic celery, leek, cress, onions, chives, parsley, lovage, basil, marjoram, rosemary, thyme and kelp are combined with natural sea salt and allowed to steep for many weeks before the moisture is removed at low temperature by a special vacuum process. This allows all the qualities, aroma and taste of the herbs to be absorbed.
Herbamare and Herbamare Spicy can be used as a direct replacement for salt – during cooking or at any time you want the taste and aroma of fresh herbs in your food.”
source: http://www.avogel.co.uk/Lifestyle/Herbamare.php
I hope that helps!
One of our favorite go to meals involves asparagus as well. It’s actually an adaptation from the Happy Herbivore cookbook. I roast a ton of asparagus on a baking sheet with sliced garlic and as many cherry tomato halves as I can fit, sprinkle it generously with black pepper and bake it for 15 minutes at 425 degrees. Once it is done I drizzle balsamic vinegar over the veggies and serve it over cooked cous cous or quinoa (or the original recipe calls for whole wheat angel hair pasta). Whichever grain you use just mix in some Italian seasoning and garlic powder. DELICIOUS!
Wonderful recipe! My favorite staples for dinner is already cooked rice medley and canned tomatoes. With those two items I can whip anything together!!
I love simple dinners like this – it just goes to show that healthy and delicious food doesn’t have to be complicated! One of my favourite easy dinners is a tofu and vegetable stir fry with brown rice and a Sunbutter sauce. I make it at least once a week!
PS. What restaurant did you go to? I would LOVE to read some restaurant reviews on your blog now that you live in the next town over. And if you ever seen Burlington restaurant recommendations, let me know! ;)
we were supposed to go to the works, but we ended up eating here & going to a pub instead! I’ll def. try to blog about it when we go.
Red quinoa is so pretty! Love it!
My staple easy dinner this week has been flatbread/pita pizzas with spinach, pear, figs, walnuts, and chickpeas!
I also like microwaved sweet potatoes loaded to the brim with toppings.
This is awesome Angela!! It is so tough sometimes to come up with a quick vegan meal that is satisfying and doesn’t take a long time to cook on the weeknights. My favorite weeknight meal lately has been whole grain noodles, tomato sauce, frozen spinach, and a can of white beans with lots of red pepper flakes. Surprisingly delicious!! :-)
Thinking of going to The Works tonight…did you have the Portobello Burger? Any feedback?
Hey Jaime,
We actually didnt make it to the Works yet…we were planning on it but just ended up eating here and went to a pub instead. I’ll try to post about it when we do go though!
We went. The Portobello Mushroom Burger was awesome! I had it with avocado, salsa, and eggplant. Very yummy.
I love using nutritional yeast in my cooking. Thanks for the great recipe!
quinoa is perfect for quick meals – it’s what i always make when i have nothing planned! i make a similar quinoa dish but with sun-dried tomatoes too. it’s one of my favorites!
I love simple meals like this one!!
This looks absolutely fabulous. My staple meal is probably pretty similar to this but I love the idea of chick peas. Yum!
This looks wonderful! Thank you so much for all the recipes that you share. I’ve enjoyed everything that I’ve tried from your blog. I also really appreciate that you have a ‘top recipes’ section.
Thank you valerie, Im happy to hear that!
I love quick and easy meals. This looks absolutely perfect for an easy weeknight dinner.
This looks great! I’ll have to try it. Bread crumbs are a good idea.
My go-to quick meal is cooking kale in a big pot with garlic, olive oil, sesame oil, sesame seeds, a little brown rice vinegar, and red pepper flakes. When it’s almost done, I toss in some chickpeas, and serve it over quinoa.
There is nothing wrong with cereal for dinner :P You can always pre-soak your grains to decrease the cooking time. I know my grandparents soak buckwheat overnight and then it cooks super fast :)
I don’t know why, but chickpeas always taste boring to me! I do like hummus though. :p
I love “use stuff up” meals. My philosophy is: Throw it on pasta, throw it on pizza, throw it on a baked potato, or throw it in a wrap. Beans, veggies, salsa, leftover sauces, leftover grains…. They are never the same but they are always delicious!
Angela, I love the simplicity of this dish, however I think I would need some sauce, I go vegan 100 days a year (religion) and I usually like to have my grains with some sauce, like a mushroom sauce, very simple and quick to make, just sauteed mushrooms, vegan mayo, flour and water!