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Testimonials
āOMG! The Chickpea curry is amazing! We cooked it last night. I would say the best curry we have ever made. Very impressed! Honestly it was soooo good! Iām making it a weekly.ā ~Friend of a friend
āThereās something special about VegeHead. Itās a lot like Alex: healthful and straightforward, yet with lots of depth. I like how itās well thought out, easy to read and easy to cook! Iāll return to it again and again! My favourites: cabbage salad, red cabbage salad, and fried kumara. Yummo!ā ~Jenny Klosser
āOnce upon a time I owned dozens of GF DF RSF V cookbooks and would regularly open 50 [web browser] tabs at a time searching for the perfect recipe. I thought I was shit hot at cooking until life graced me with VegeHead. VegeHead has eliminated my mental frazzle associated with cooking and significantly reduced the amount of time spent slaving in the kitchen. Plus, my taste buds and gut are all the better for it! This cookbook is the only tab you need open, ever.ā ~Megan Coup
āDarwinās On the Origins of Species, Kantās Critique of Pure Reason; there are some influential bodies of work in recent history. In my life, none more so than VegeHead. Iāve yet to encounter a recipe I havenāt enjoyed or been able to easily make, and I like the layoutās refined simplicity āno scrolling through the life story of each āChosenā ingredient. 5/5ā ~Matt McDonald
āTip #1: Make sure you have a frying pan. Failing that, stop by Alexās, because there is a whole lot more know-how in that frylet than I have words for. Cāest YUM.ā ~Evania Natalie-Anne Premadaya Quin Vallyon
āAlex makes good shit. The good shit that Alex makes is here. This is legit food. If I werenāt such a maverick and actually followed recipes, this would be the place for me. If you donāt like legit food, might I recommend a trip to the freezer aisle of your local big box grocery store where you might find something appropriately prosaic?ā ~Lewis Thorwaldson
Introduction
This is an open-source cookbook and a work in progress. In compiling it, i set the following requirements.
Yummy. The food should taste great.
Fast. The food should take at most 30 minutes to make, excluding trivial preparation, such as soaking legumes overnight to remove their phytic acid. I enjoy cooking but donāt want to spend a lot of time doing it. To fulfill this requirement, many of the recipes use a pressure cooker. If you donāt have one, then just use a pot and cook for roughly twice as long. I also cheated: some of the recipes, such as the almond rolls, take slightly longer than 30 minutes to make, but those that do are too good to omit.
Vegetarian. The food should not require the killing of animals. I like to minimize the suffering involved in my meals, and going vegetarian is a step in that direction. Going vegan is a bigger step, one that iām not willing to take at present.
Pre-industrial. The ingredients should be as close as possible to the ones eaten by our pre-industrial ancestors. That rules out 20th-century edible food-like substances (synthetic flavorings, high-fructose corn syrup, skim milk powder, etc.), food grown with synthetic pesticides, and even canned food because of the shady chemical linings used in the cans. I donāt trust that stuff. That said, i do get lazy and use canned tomatoes.
Grain-free. The food should not contain grains: wheat, rice, corn, oats, etc. Iām eating less carbohydrate these days, and cutting out grains is one simple way to do that. Iām cutting back on sugars too, which is the greater devil, but i still include some sweet recipes here, such as ice cream. Mmm, ice cream.
In this book, i use the following abbreviations:
c = cup, T = tablespoon, t = teaspoon.
I also use metric units such as liters, kilograms, and Celsius with their standard abbreviations.
This cookbook is published under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). You can contribute to the book via its Git repository. Enjoy and share!
Savory Recipes
Aioli
This recipe is vegan even.
Ingredients
Ā½ c soy milk
1 T apple vinegar
3 cloves garlic
1 T whole grain mustard
Ā½ t salt
2 c light olive oil, at room temperature
Ā½ā1 c water, at room temperature
Hummus
This is most easily prepared with a food processor, but you can also use simple implements such as a whisk, mortar, and pestle.
Ingredients
3 c cooked chickpeas (about two 400 mL cans worth), however you can manage it
Ā½ c tahini
Ā¼ c lemon juice
Ā¼ c olive oil
1 t salt
2 cloves garlic
1 t cumin
a little water or chickpea liquid for thinning
Zucchine alla Scapece
Big thanks to my friend Sasha, who told me about this dish while visiting Naples.
Ingredients
1 large zucchini, sliced in half lengthwise then crosswise into 1-cm-thick half-discs
1 T olive oil
2 cloves garlic, diced
Ā¼ t chili flakes
2 t apple cider vinegar
2 T fresh mint leaves, diced
salt to taste
Tempeh Sauerkraut
This one comes from Lorna Sass.
Ingredients
2 T coconut oil
500 g tempeh, cut into fingers
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 red capsicum, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
Ā½ t caraway seeds
3 c sauerkraut
Ā¼ c water
Ā¼ c mayonnaise or honey mustard (homemade of course!)
Directions
In a large skillet sautƩ the tempeh in 1 T of oil until golden brown. Set aside.
With the remaining oil, sautƩ the onion, capsicum, and garlic until lightly browned.
Add the tempeh, sauerkraut, mustard, caraway, and water and continue to cook, stirring continuously, until heated through.
Cabbage Salad
Ingredients
1 medium head cabbage (about 1.5 kg), thinly sliced
1 apple, grated
200 g roasted and salted peanuts
Ā½ c desiccated coconut
Ā¼ c lemon juice
Ā¼ c chopped coriander
Ā¼ c coconut oil
2 t black mustard seed
2 t cumin seed
2 t asafetida
Ā½ t turmeric
Red Cabbage Salad
Ingredients
1 medium head red cabbage (about 1.5 kg), grated
1 t salt
1 t caraway seeds
1 apple, grated
ā c balsamic vinegar
2 T olive oil
Directions
In a big bowl, combine the cabbage, salt, and caraway seeds in a large mixing bowl, and thoroughly squeeze the mixture for several minutes to soften the cabbage and release its juice.
Mix in the rest of the Ingredients.
If you have the time, chill the salad for several hours before serving.
Tarator
This is a Bulgarian recipe from my mother.
Ingredients
1 L yoghurt
3 c water
1 T balsamic vinegar
1 t salt
1 t olive oil
1 large cucumber, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
Ā½ c walnuts, chopped
Ā½ c fresh dilled, chopped
Mashed Kumara
Ingredients
1 c water
1 kg kumara, cut into 1 cm cubes
2 T coconut oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 t allspice
salt to taste
Fried Kumara
Ingredients
1 large kumara, cut into 5mm-thick slices
2 T coconut oil
ā t ground cinnamon
salt to taste
3 T hulled tahini
Directions
Heat the large skillet with the coconut oil over medium heat and fry the kumara covered for 7 minutes or until lightly browned on one side.
Flip the kumara and fry uncovered for 4 minutes or until lightly browned on the other side.
Sprinkle on the cinnamon and salt, transfer to dishes, and top with tahini.
Almond Rolls
Finally, a delicious low-carbohydrate vector for cheese!
Ingredients
150 g or 1Ā½ c almond flour or ground almonds
45 g or Ā½ c psyllium husk
10 g or 1 T baking powder
5g or 1 t salt
60 mL or Ā¼ c olive oil or butter
4 eggs, beaten
100 g or Ā½ c sour cream or kefir
100 g seeds, such as sesame or sunflower
Frylet
Iāve been eating this for breakfast with a salad for last five years. You think iād tire of it, but no!
Ingredients
Ā¼ c onion, julienned
1 T butter
Ā½ t chili flakes
2 eggs
some cheese, thinly sliced or grated
2 t fresh turmeric, grated, or Ā¼ t dried ground turmeric
dash salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Heat the skillet over medium-high heat, add 1 t butter, and sautƩ the onion covered until golden brown.
Push the onion to the skilletās perimeter, add the rest of the butter, and crack the eggs into the skillet.
Top the eggs with the chili, cheese, and turmeric.
Fry until the bottom is crispy but the yolks still runny.
Sprinkle on the salt and pepper and serve.
Spanish Beans
Ingredients
6 T olive oil
2 T tomato paste
1 medium clove garlic, minced (about 1 teaspoon)
1 medium shallot, minced (about 1/4 cup); substitute yellow onion
Ā½ t mild smoked paprika
2 stalks celery, peeled and sliced diagonally into 6mm-wide slices
400 mL large cooked beans such as gigantes, giant lima beans, giant white beans, or butter beans (drained)
2 T sherry vinegar; substitute rice wine vinegar
Ā¼ c minced fresh parsley leaves
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Combine 2 T olive oil, the tomato paste, garlic, and shallot in a medium fry pan and heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant and starting to bubble gently, about 2 minutes.
Stir in smoked paprika and cook for 30 seconds.
Add celery, drained beans, vinegar, and remaining olive oil. Cook until warmed through.
Stir in parsley, season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve.
Mung Dal
Ingredients
1Ā½ c dried mung beans, soaked for at least 4 hours
5 c water
2 T coconut oil
400 mL chopped tomatoes
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 T shredded ginger
1 t ground turmeric
1 hot chili
1 red capsicum, chopped
1 t salt
1 t cumin seeds
2 t black mustard seeds
some coriander leaf for garnish
Directions
Reserve 1 T coconut oil, the cumin seeds, mustard seeds, and salt. Put everything else into a pressure cooker, and cook at high pressure for 11 minutes.
In a small saucepan, fry the reserved coconut oil, cumin seeds, and mustard seeds until the mustard seeds begin to pop.
Add the fried seed mix and the salt to the soup, garnish with coriander leaf, and serve.
Chana Dal
Ingredients
1Ā½ c dried chana dal or yellow split peas, washed and soaked for at least 1 hour
5 c water
1 t ground turmeric
3 thin slices unpeeled ginger
Ā½ t garam masala
4 T ghee
2 onions chopped
1 t cumin seeds
3 cloves garlic chopped
1 t red chili powder
some coriander leaf for garnish
Directions
Put the chana dal, water, turmeric, ginger, and 1 T ghee into a pressure cooker, and cook at high pressure for 10 minutes.
In a skillet, fry the reserved ghee and onions until golden. Then add the cumin seeds and garlic and stir fry until the garlic is lightly brown.
Add the fried stuff and chili powder to the cooked soup, garnish with coriander leaf, and serve.
Masoor Dal with Kumara
Ingredients
2 T coconut oil
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 thumb-sized piece ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 chilli, finely chopped
1Ā½ t ground turmeric
1Ā½ t ground cumin
8 curry leaves
3 c vegetable stock
400 g kumara, cubed to side length ~25 mm
1 c red split lentils, rinsed
Ā½ c chopped spinach
salt to taste
4 spring onions, sliced, for garnish
Directions
Cook the onion in the coconut oil over medium heat until soft, about 2 minutes.
Add the garlic, ginger, chili, turmeric, and cumin and cook for 30 seconds.
Add the vegetable stock, curry leaves, kumara, and lentils, cover, and bring to boil over high heat.
Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the the lentils and kumara are tender.
Mix in the spinach and cook for 1 minute.
Add the salt and serve with spring onion garnish.
Chickpea Curry
This is the spiciest (highest spice count) dish iāve ever cooked. It is also my favorite Hare Krishna recipe.
Ingredients
1 T coconut oil
Ā½ t ground cinnamon
1 T fennel seed
ā c curry leaf
1Ā½ t asafetida
400 mL coconut cream
400 mL chopped tomato
Ā½ kumara, diced
1Ā½ t ground fennel seed
2 t ground coriander seed
2 t ground fenugreek
1Ā½ t ground turmeric
Ā½ t chili powder
Ā¾ t garam masala
1 T channa masala
1 head broccoli, chopped
1 t tamarind concentrate
3 c cooked chickpeas (about two 400 mL cans worth), however you can manage it
1 t salt or to taste
some chopped coriander leaf for topping
Directions
In a large saucepan, heat the coconut oil and sautƩ the cinnamon, unground fennel seed, curry leaf, and asafetida until fragrant.
Add the coconut cream, chopped tomato, and kumara, and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to simmer and add the remaining spices.
Cook for 5 minutes, add the broccoli, and cook for 8 more minutes, or until the kumara is tender.
Mix in the tamarind concentrate, cooked chickpeas, salt, and maybe some water to thin the curry.
Top with coriander leaf and serve.
Pumpkin Curry
Ingredients
1 T coconut oil
1 onion, peeled and coarsley chopped
2 c pumpkin or butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1 cm chunks
2 t ginger, diced
2 t curry powder
Ā½ t ground turmeric
Ā½ t ground cumin
Ā½ t ground cinnamon
Ā½ t chili powder
400 mL coconut cream
400 mL chopped tomatoes
250 g firm tofu, cubed
2 c spinach
1 t salt or to taste
1 T lemon juice
1 bunch coriander, chopped
Chili
Ingredients
3 T olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, diced
1 green capsicum, diced
2 jalapeƱos, diced
2 ribs celery, diced
1 t oregano leaf dried
1 t basil leaf dried
1 t cumin seed
1 t smoked paprika
Ā½ t ground turmeric
1 t ground coriander seed
Ā¼ t cinnamon
800 mL chopped tomatoes
800 mL water
2 c assorted dried beans (but not chickpeas, because they take too long to cook compared to other beans), soaked for at least 4 hours
Ā½ kumara, diced
2 c greens such as kale
1 t salt or to taste
some coriander leaf for garnish
Directions
In a pressure cooker, heat 1 T olive oil and sautƩ the onion, garlic, capsicum, and chilis until golden.
Add in everything else except the salt and coriander, and pressure cook at high pressure for however long the slowest cooking bean needs, e.g. 14 minutes for a kidney bean + pinto bean + mung bean combination.
Add the remaining olive oil, salt, and coriander, and serve.
Moroccan Chili
This one comes from Lorna Sass.
Ingredients
1 orange juiced
12 cloves
2 T olive oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
2 medium onions, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 medium leeks, cleaned and chopped
1 c mushrooms, coarsely chopped
2 large carrots, coarsely chopped
1 rib celery, finely chopped
1 large red capsicum, seeded and diced
Ā½ c raisins
2 c chopped tomatoes
1Ā½ c brown lentils, picked over and rinsed
3 c vegetable stock or water
2 t ground coriander seeds
2 5-cm cinnamon sticks broken in half
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
In a pressure cooker, heat the olive oil and sautƩ the garlic, onions, and leeks until the leeks begin to soften, about 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms, carrots, celery, and capsicum, and cook another minute over medium-high heat, stirring frequently.
Add in the rest of the ingredients.
Bring to high pressure and cook there for 11 minutes.
Add salt and pepper and serve.
Italian Lentil Soup
This one comes from Lorna Sass.
Ingredients
6 c water
2 c brown lentils, rinsed
2 T olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 large cloves garlic, peeled and minced
4 ribs celery, cut into 2cm slices
2 large carrots, chopped
125 g mushrooms, sliced
2 bay leaves
1 t dried thyme or marjoram
Ā¾ t dried oregano
Ā¼ t dried chili flakes
3 T tomato paste or 2 large tomatoes, coarsely chopped
2 T balsamic vinegar
1 t salt or to taste
some parsley for garnish
Directions
Put everything except the tomato paste, vinegar, and salt in a pressure cooker, and pressure cook everything at high pressure for 11 minutes.
Remove the bay leaves, add the vinegar and salt, dissolve the tomato paste in a cup of soup, and stir the cup back into the soup. Garnish with parsley and serve.
Almost Minestrone
I say almost, because thereās no pasta or rice.
Ingredients
3 T olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 100 mm strip kombu, diced; scissors help here
1 bay leaf
1 t oregano leaf dried
1 t basil leaf dried
1 t marjoram leaf dried
1 t fennel seed
1 t chili flakes
400 g diced tomatoes
1600 mL water
2 c assorted dried beans (but not chickpeas, because they take too long to cook compared to other beans), soaked for at least 4 hours
1 large carrot, diced
2 c greens, such as kale
1 t salt or to taste
Directions
In a pressure cooker, heat 1 T olive oil and sautƩ the onion and garlic until golden.
Add in everything else except the salt, and pressure cook at high pressure for however long the slowest cooking bean needs, e.g. 14 minutes for a kidney bean + lentils combination.
Add the remaining olive oil and salt and serve.
African Peanut Stew
Ingredients
1 T olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 T fresh ginger, grated
400 mL chopped tomatoes
800 mL vegetable broth
400 g kumara, cubed to side length ~25 mm
Ā½ c crunchy peanut butter
4 c chopped collard greens, or any brassica leaves
1 t ground cumin
Ā½ t chili flakes
salt to taste
some chopped coriander leaf and vinegary hot sauce for toppings
Directions
In the pressure cooker, heat the oil, then sautƩ the onion and garlic until the onion becomes soft and translucent, about 3 minutes.
Add the remaining ingredients, except for the salt and garnish, and cook at high pressure for 7 minutes, or until the kumara is tender.
Salt, top, and serve.
Sweet Recipes
Every vege head has a sweet tooth, probably a rotting molar, and this book is no exception. So here is a section of sweet recipes, all of which conform to the letter of the grain-free law but clearly contradict itās low-carb spirit. You have been warned.
Black Bean Brownies
The chia seed and water combination used in this recipe is a clever vegan substitute for eggs. Serve with a creamy topping, such as, yogurt.
Ingredients
2 T chia seeds or flax seeds + 2 T water
400 mL cooked black beans (drained)
Ā¾ c cocoa powder
Ā¼ t salt
1Ā½ t baking powder
Ā¼ c sugar
Ā½ c maple syrup or date syrup
1 t vanilla extract
Ā½ c peanut butter
coconut oil to grease the baking dish
nuts, goji berries, or cocoa nibs for garnish (optional)
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 180Ā°C.
Grease the baking dish with the coconut oil.
In the food processor, pulse the chia seeds and water. Add the remaining ingredients, minus the garnish, and blend until smooth, adding a little water if necessary.
Pour the mix into the baking dish, smooth it over with a knife, and sprinkle with the optional garnish.
Bake until the top is crispy but the inside still fudgey, about 40 minutes.
Nut Butter Muffins
Ingredients
1 c nut butter such as peanut or almond
2 large spotty bananas
2 eggs
1 t baking powder
1 t apple cider vinegar
1 c berries, such as raspberries
grease for the muffin mold
Chocolate Tempered
Directions
Finely chop the cocoa butter, reserving one quarter of it for later.
Melt the remaining three quarters of the cocoa butter along with the cocoa powder, vanilla beans, and sugar in a double boiler until it reaches 56Ā°C.
Remove from heat, then set aside one third of the chocolate in a warm place.
Mix into the remaining two thirds the reserved cocoa butter, stirring constantly until the mixture reaches 28Ā°C.
Mix in the reserved molten chocolate so that the mix reaches 32Ā°C.
Pour into a chocolate mold, pan, baking paper, something like that.
Let it cool at room temperature until it hardens.
Variations
Replace the vanilla with 2 t of diced peppermint leaves
Add Ā½ t orange zest, Ā½ t cinnamon, and Ā½ t ground chili
Notes
The heating and cooling to specific temperatures in this recipe tempers the chocolate so that it hardens and remains hard at room temperature. Also, including liquids in this recipe would ruin or make very difficult the tempering. If the chocolate does not temper, then something went wrong. Try the melting process again with the failed batch.
Chocolate
If you donāt want to temper chocolate and donāt mind keeping chocolate in the refrigerator, then this recipe is for you.
Ingredients
50 g cocoa butter
50 g coconut oil
70 g cocoa powder
20 g cocoa nibs
1 t ground vanilla beans
1 t carob powder
1 t honey
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
Ā½ c Medjool dates, pits removed
2 c almonds
1 t baking soda
ā t salt
1 t vanilla extract
2 T coconut oil, melted
1 egg
Ā¼ c shredded coconut
Ā½ c dark chocolate chips
Directions
Preheat the oven to 180Ā°C.
In a food processor, grind the dates, almonds, baking soda, salt, and vanilla into a fine mix.
Add the coconut oil and egg, and blend for a few more seconds until mixed.
Transfer the mix to a large bowl, and stir in the shredded coconut and chocolate chips.
Shape the mix into 12 cookies and place them on a baking tray.
Bake until golden brown, roughly 15 minutes.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Pie
Ingredients
1 c diced almonds
Ā¼ c coconut oil
1 banana, sliced into disks
250 g dark chocolate
Ā½ c peanut butter
500 g silken tofu
4 T maple syrup or honey
Directions
Crust. In a small sauce pan, melt the coconut oil and mix in the almonds.
Press into a pie plate.
Lay the banana slices on the crust.
Filling. Melt the chocolate in a double-boiler (a large plate on top of a small sauce pan of simmering water)
In a large bowl, mix the melted chocolate, peanut butter, tofu, and maple syrup into a homogenous goo.
Pour the goo into the crust and chill for an hour.
Apricot Balls
Ingredients
Ā¾ c raw cashews
Ā¾ c raw almonds
Ā¼ c pitted Medjol dates
1Ā½ c dried apricots
1 dash salt
Ā¼ c shredded coconut
1 T grated orange zest
1Ā½ T grated fresh ginger
Ice Cream
Directions
In a medium bowl, mix the guar gum with a little bit of cream to make a homogeneous paste with no lumps.
Mix the paste with the remaining ingredients.
Pour into an ice cream maker and make. Alternatively, put in the freezer and stir every 20 minutes until it reaches your desired consistency.
Notes
The guar gum is to prevent the ice cream from freezing too hard.
Here are some example flavorings.
Vanilla: add 2 t vanilla extract
Chocolate: add 1 t vanilla extract and 150 g melted dark chocolate
Raspberry: add 2 t vanilla extract and 300g mashed raspberries
Peppermint: add 1 t vanilla extract, 2 t peppermint extract, and 25 g shaved chocolate bar
Rosey: add 2 T rosewater
Fat Elvis: add 2 t vanilla extract, 1 very ripe bananas mashed, 25 g shaved chocolate, and ā c peanut butter
Rhubarb Sauce
Ingredients
3 ribs rhubarb, leaves removed and finely chopped
1 T water
1 banana, peeled and coarsley chopped
1 t honey
Banana Kulfi
This recipe is vegan even.
Ingredients
2 ripe bananas
4ā5 t sugar, date syrup, or maple syrup
Ā½ c coconut cream
Ā½ c peanut butter
1 t vanilla extract
a dash of salt
Bathroom Recipes
Hooray for Baking Soda!
Baking soda, also known as sodium bicarbonate, is a versatile chemical compound. Besides baking with it, you can use it as part of
Tooth powder: mix three parts baking soda and one part salt and brush your teeth with the stuff
Mouthwash: add baking soda to water and rinse to neutralize mouth acids and kill bacteria
Body deodorant: dampen your armpits with water and apply a little baking soda
Exfoliant: dampen your skin with water and gently rub with baking soda
Cleaner: sprinkle some baking soda on a dirty surface, add your favorite liquid cleaner (water, vinegar, etc.), and rub. Donāt do this on aluminum surfaces, though, as baking soda attacks the thin nonreactive protective oxide layer of this otherwise very reactive metal.
For more uses of baking soda, check out its Wikipedia article.
Deodorant
This stuff smells so good i want to eat it. Nom nom. Bah! Bitter.
Ingredients
Ā½ cĀ baking soda
Ā½ c arrowroot powder or corn starch
5Ā T coconut oil
20Ā drops of grapefruit essential oil or another essential oil with antibacterial properties