Tag Archives: Recipes

Vegan Chia Mango Lassi

Anyone who knows me well knows that I love Indian food.

Okay, strike that. Anyone who has only slightly met me knows it, because I shout “I LOVE INDIAN FOOD!” sometimes, totally spontaneously, to strangers who look like they’re curious about what drives me in life.

(Now you know)

And Mango Lassis–have you heard of them? Ever had one? Well. WELL. Imagine perfect, sweet, ripe Mango pureed with yogurt and cream. Now make it a little more liquidy and add some ingredients I haven’t researched but are probably in there too, and bam.

So basically it’s an ultra-good mango yogurt drink.

The thing is, yogurt doesn’t sit so well in my stomach. At least not in super large quantities, and it’s impossible to have a Mango Lassi and not drink super large quantities. I’ve become more dairy-sensitive as I’ve gotten older, and while I’m by no means striking dairy from my diet, I can no longer ingest an entire wheel of Brie in one sitting.*

*Yes, I did. And paid for it with pain. Lots of pain. Though part of that could also have been the ENTIRE BAGUETTE I spread it on. I can only say that I was twenty years old and . . . yes.

Recently, my co-worker brought her homemade Vegan Mango Lassi to the office. And brilliantly, she put Chia seeds in it, which made it almost like a pudding. She offered me a taste and I was blown away. It was so good. And it was healthy too???? I had to make it myself. And over the weekend, I did.

Twice.

The baby made me do it.

Do yourself a kindness and make it too. It is so creamy and wonderful that I feel no need to seek out any other Mango Lassi recipes. Ever.

Vegan Chia Mango Lassi

Serves 4

2 ripe mangoes

13.6 oz (1 can) coconut milk

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 tsp lime juice

2 TBS maple syrup

2 TBS Chia seeds (optional)

First, soak the Chia seeds in 6 oz of water for about 15 minutes (or follow the directions on the back of your package of seeds). Have you ever done stuff with these magical little thingies before? If not, today’s your lucky day.

Also, does anyone else feel the random need to capitalize the word Chia? It can’t be just me.

Next, grab yon mango.

Peeleth it. Chopeth it. Repeateth with the second mango.

Puree the first five ingredients in a blender.

Stir in the Chia seeds and soaking water. Then chill the whole beautiful mess in the fridge. When it’s nice and cold, drink it up or eat it with a spoon.

NOTE: If you’d like to go for the pudding experience, you can add the Chia seeds directly to the lassi instead of soaking them in water first. Let them lounge around in the lassi for a couple hours, then get your spoon out and dive in.

Does that picture gross you out? If you said ‘yes,’ you probably need therapy because of a scarring experience with baby food that you can’t remember but is secretly ruining your life.

I need therapy.

OTHER NOTE: The flavor of the lassi will be SO dependent on the flavor of your mangoes. Taste them! If they’re a little bland, you may need to amp up the lime juice and maple syrup. If they’re bursting with flavor, you may not need maple syrup or lime juice at all! Go with your taste buds on this one.

Here’s a picture of me showing how happy this lassi makes me.

And here’s a picture of me holding it in my claw.

Make it!

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Chicken Étouffée à la Dad

photo 2 (3)Once upon a time, we were in Wisconsin at my parents’ house. In Wisconsin, the days are book-ended by coffee at the beginning and amazing dinner at the end. Recently, my dad has been on a Cajun kick and I’ve tasted two different kinds of Étouffée and a Gumbo. These culinary excursions have reminded me of something: I LOVE CAJUN FOOD. I had forgotten, somehow … though I don’t understand how, since that’s what we served at our wedding, for Pete’s sake.

Anyway, Cajun and I are getting along just great again. We reignited our feelings for one another through this recipe, courtesy of this awesome food blog, via my dad, and now I’m passing it along to you.

If someone served this to me at a restaurant, I would be happy. That’s how good it is. It has a nice low burn to it, but it’s not too spicy–in fact, my husband denies he can even taste the spice.

photo 1 (6)

Hmmm. His taste buds must have been nuked–that’s the only explanation I can think of, because there’s definitely some heat there.

In fact, upon further thought, I believe I can identify the very place where his taste buds were forever damaged: a little restaurant called Burmese Gems (since closed) that we ate at during our undergrad days in Bloomington, Indiana. Their food was so spicy that once, on the walk back to the dorms, I had to lie down on the sidewalk because the pain in my abdomen from the spice was so severe.

photo 5 (1)

The sidewalk, people!

My taste buds made it out okay, but apparently my spouse’s were forever inoculated against spice, and now he can’t taste it unless it’s of the magnitude of the Chicago fire. Or something.

Anyway.

Here’s the recipe, a couple semi-blurry iPhone pics and my firmest endorsement.

Chicken Étouffée à la Dad

(Serves 8)

Ingredients

2 TBS olive oil
2 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 stick butter
2/3 cup flour
1 large onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 bottle amber beer
2 bay leaves
1-14.5 oz can diced tomatoes with chiles
3 cups chicken stock
1 TBS maple syrup
2 TBS Cajun seasoning
2 TBS Worcestershire sauce
Serve with rice and a bottle of hot sauce

  1. Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven or large pot. Season the chicken with salt and pepper; brown in batches and remove to a cutting board.
  2. Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces (it will still be a little raw–that’s fine). Prep your veggies: dice the onion, green pepper, celery, and mince the garlic.
  3. Melt the butter in the pot; when melted, add the flour and stir frequently for 20-25 minutes (don’t let it burn!) to create a roux. The roux is done when it’s a little darker than peanut butter. If your chicken brownings are coloring the roux from the start, go even darker.
  4. Add the diced veggies and garlic to the roux. Cook for 10 minutes, until they’re softened.
  5. Pour in the beer and scrape the pot to get all the browned bits in circulation.
  6. Add the remaining ingredients (bay leaves, tomatoes, stock, maple syrup, Cajun seasoning, Worcestershire sauce) and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer and add the chicken pieces back in.
  7. Simmer for 45 minutes; taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.
  8. Serve with rice and hot sauce that everyone can add to taste.

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