Category Archives: vegetables

Moroccan Beef Stew – made vegan

Posted on February 20, 2012 | Leave a comment

Most recipes are really easy to veganize and it is getting easier and easier with all the faux meats you can find these days. This recipe calls for 1 1/4 lb beef, but I’m sure you could also easily use seitan if you wanted to avoid soy.  In this recipe (which I adapted from a recipe titled the same in the January 2012 O magazine),  I used 2 packs of Gardein beef tips (9 oz each).   I was really surprised at how fast this soup came together.  I think maybe I may stir in some spinach next time.

Vegan Moroccan Beef Stew

    • 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
    • 2 packs of Gardein beef tips
    • 2 tsp salt, divided
    • 1/2 tsp ground black pepper, divided
    • 3 cloves garlic, chopped well
    • 1 large carrot, chopped (I sliced mine into thin medallions)
    • 1 large yellow onion, chopped
    • 1 tsp ground cumin
    • 1 tsp sweet paprika
    • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
    • 1/2 tsp ground ginger
    • 6 cups beef or chicken broth ( I used 6 cups of water + 2 veg bouillon cubes and 1/2 block of a “no-chicken” broth cube)
    • 2 (15 oz) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
    • < 1 cup dried spaghetti, broken into 1″ pieces (I used tri-color corkscrew spirals instead for added nutrients and color)
    • 6 Tbsp chopped cilantro, for garnish (optional – i did not use this)
    • 1 large lemon, cut into 6 wedges, for garnish (optional)

1) Make your broth, if not using pre-made broth, and set aside. Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a large pot over med-high heat.  Add beef, 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally until browned, about 10 minutes.

Gardein's vegan beef tips

2) Add remaining 1 Tbsp oil, garlic, carrot, onion, and 1/2 tsp salt and cook until vegetables are softened, about 6-8 minutes. Stir in cumin, paprika, cinnamon, and ginger and cook, stirring constantly for about 1 minute.  Add broth and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low and cover until beef is tender* (*the original recipe says to cook for 45 minutes so that the beef cooks, but I found with the faux beef that mine was good in less than half that time!)  Go ahead and toss in those chickpeas now and let them get cooked with the soup to avoid them tasting raw.

3) Add the noodles, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper and continue to cook, covered until the noodles are al dente, 10-15 minutes.

To serve, season to taste with salt and pepper, then ladle into bowls and garnish with cilantro (if using) and lemon wedges on the side.

Serves 6. Can be frozen up to 8 weeks (though if you plan on freezing, I would recommend omitting the noodles until you are re-heating it).

Those faux beef tips are tasty and freakishly beef like. I thought this soup was very satisfying, though next time I use these faux beef tips, I’m gonna try a more traditional “beef” stew and dumplings recipe… one that would require a creamier sauce (rather than a broth) and a thicker stew with peas and potatoes.  That being said, I really enjoyed this soup.

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Posted in fall, soup & stew, Vegan, vegetables, winter

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Vegan Lasagna with Tofu Ricotta

Posted on February 13, 2012 | 1 comment

Well, Valentines Day is tomorrow.  You know, when someone puts their time and energy into making a homemade meal, there is nothing that could be better or more loving, at least in my opinion. I would much rather enjoy a delicious homemade meal for Valentines Day in the privacy of my own home than to sit in a crowded restaurant with (often) over-priced food.  Maybe that’s just me, but there is something extremely sexy about a man (or woman) cooking in the kitchen for their loved one.

Valentines Day is also one of those occasions where you may want to consume a small (or large) amount of wine – I would like to use Sir Paul McCartney as my example here, when he sings, “I want to tell her that I love her a lot, but I gotta have a belly full of wine”… well, who wants to stop ole Paul from saying that?! And what better a day than Valentines to say or hear those words ‘i love you’… without also hearing an “Uh oh, my dear – we are being pulled over”!  Yes, Valentines Day is a great opportunity to stay home and have a nice candle-lit home cooked meal… and to indulge a bit 😉

So, one of my favorite meals EVER is lasagna. There is nothing in the world like a good lasagna.  There are many things to love about lasagna.  I love how versatile lasagna is.  I love how yummy it is.  I love how you have leftovers.  I love that my kids love it.  I love how you can basically make it out of whatever veggies you have in the fridge.

When I make lasagna, I usually stick to the basics… onion, spinach, mushrooms, zucchini and yellow squash.  Combine those with some noodles, a good sauce (homemade is best, but sometimes you gotta go with the jar), and a good ricotta recipe and you will find yourself content.  Make that very content.

Now I would like to share with you my delicious homemade ricotta recipe.  It is SO easy, and SO good, you better just prepare yourself!

~ TOFU RICOTTA ~

This is my original delicious tofu ricotta recipe.  This is enough for one lasagna. Simply blend until desired consistency in the food processor – be sure to pulse in the basil last so your ricotta wont turn green!

  • 1 block extra firm tofu (drained)
  • 1/2 – 1 cup soymilk
  • 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
  • 1 cup Vegan Gourmet mozzarella cheese, shredded (you will need one entire block to have enough to shred some on top)
  • 1 Tbsp lemon juice
  • salt & pepper
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (pulse in last)

ricotta necessities (minus basil and tofu)

blending up the ricotta in my food processor

Heres how much basil I used - please note that this amount of basil is for two lasagnas.

TO MAKE (ONE) LASAGNA:

You will need:

  • at least one jar of sauce
  • lasagna noodles (1-2 boxes)
  • veggies of choice (my last lasagna contained: 1 onion/ 1 cup chopped mushrooms/ 2 zucchini & 1 squash, quartered/ 2 cups packed spinach).

Start by cooking your lasagna noodles al dente.  I like to saute my veggies about 5 minutes to soften them up, then I just stir them right into my ricotta to save a step for easy lasagna stacking. Assemble lasagna as shown below in a 13 x 9″ pan and bake for an hour, covered, at 350.  Sometimes I like to broil it uncovered for 2-3 minutes at the end, just to get the top cheese meltier.

(That last step of broiling is unnecessary if you use Daiya cheese, though I LOVE the flavor of the Vegan Gourmet so much, I have actually never tried to make lasagna using Daiya, though I bet it would be just as fabulous. You maybe would need two bags though, since it comes pre-shredded.)

  • shredded cheese on top
  • sauce
  • noodles
  • sauce
  • ricotta/veggies
  • noodles
  • sauce
  • ricotta/veggies
  • noodles
  • layer of sauce on bottom of pan

These are my favorite noodles

dont forget to wash your veggies!

I like to lightly saute all the veggies

Here I am, building up the layers...

Here is one of them about to go in the oven... I would've liked to have a bit more cheese on top but I ran out!

Voila! This slice for my daughter came out beautifully!

I like to eat mine with some good buttered bread on the side! You gotta have bread to wipe up all that extra yummy sauce and ricotta that falls out!

Our family was part of a “food tree” where we signed up to bring a home cooked meal to a friend who just had a baby, hence the two lasagnas.  If you ever have the opportunity to participate in one, sign up!  It feels so good to help people! And you parents (especially you new parents) know how good a nice meal can be when you don’t have to throw it together yourself while the baby is napping!  (And just so you know, they said the lasagna we brought them was “the bomb”!)

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Posted in dinner, pasta, tofu, Vegan, vegetables

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Muppet Party Over Here, HAAAAY!

Posted on February 8, 2012 | 11 comments

We decided to join our kids birthday parties this year so we could have one giant muppetational celebrational party!  My family and the Muppets go WAY back, so I have been super excited about this 🙂 My daughter just turned 4 on Jan 22 and my son is turning 2 on Feb 14. Their birthdays are pretty close, they basically have the same friends, & they are still so young, I figured I could get away with combining parties… just this once!

Happy Birthday!

MY MUPPETATIONAL CRAFTS

I found all kinds of cool crafts to print out on card stock on this Disney website.  It is FULL of cute ideas for having a muppet party!  I was even contemplating making my own Beaker pinata, but time just caught up with me and I didn’t get around to it!

"These are so cool, Mom!"

Here are the muppet stick-puppets I made… By “made”,  I mean I downloaded them, printed them, cut them out and laminated them and then cut them out again! As you can see, they came in two different sizes – small (which went into the goody bags) and large.  It was really easy, but tedious. They are great though – you can do so many things with them… play like a puppet show, tape them to the windows, stick them in a plant… I keep thinking of more ways to use them!

Here are the little ones, going through my laminater!

And here are the big ones, which are taped to jumbo pop sticks. Check out the pic above with my girl for a better size reference.

Click on this great link to check out how to make these stick-puppets and more muppet party crafts.  These muppet “pookaloos” are too cute, in my opinion.

Once these were laminated, they were very versatile!

I even printed some out on special magnetic paper for my kids for some playtime at the refrigerator!

I also printed out and laminated these animal door hangers for everyone too! I downloaded these off the Disney site shown above.  (Yes, I own a laminater, and I would recommend having one!  You’d be surprised at all the stuff you find lying around that is good to have laminated!)

And of coarse, I had to make cards for the food… Just look up images of muppet characters online and you will find plenty of choices!  Just cut and paste carefully on some card stock and… ta-da!

MY MUPPETATIONAL FOOD

It sure was fun trying to think of funny muppety food for the party 🙂  I copied some of the food-labeling ideas off of other muppet party sites and then veganized things to my liking.  I actually made up 2 new recipes that are my new favorites! I really wanted to make muppet cake pops but I have never worked with fondant and most of the cake-pop dips have some milk product in them.  Luckily I found these cute little muppet rings to use as cupcake toppers on Ebay and got a whole set of 24 for only $7! (I also bought the muppet mugs you see, the muppet plates, balloons, and probably everything else you ask “where did she get THAT?!” Answer = Ebay!)

I found these awesome sigma collectible cups on Ebay for a STEAL! I even got Rowlf (not pictured)!

Kermit & Piggy’s Chocolate Death Cupcakes with Vegan Vanilla Buttercream Frosting – need I say more! (Read more about these cupcakes in my last post ‘Mama’s Sugar Cookies and more for the vegan sweet tooth’.)

These toppers were little rings!

Kermits Rainbow Connection Fruit Skewers – since its February and some fruit is out of season, it took a little looking around to get the organic fruit we wanted for these, but we managed just fine! 🙂 Recipe: Buy, wash, skew and serve!

Mmmm! Fresh fruit rules!

Scooters Back-Stage Snacks – basic hummus & veggies, chips & salsa (My hummus recipe is the first one on my blog. The salsa was store-bought.)

Chips, veggies, salsa & hummus... party staples

Rowlf’s Favorite Treats  (a.k.a. muppet sugar cookies) – I scored this set of cookie cutters on Ebay and used my moms awesome sugar cookie recipe, which she veganized for me (Thanks mama! This recipe appears in my last post!)

my muppet cookie cutters

The best sugar cookies ever - even Rowlf agrees!

Waldorf & Statler’s Raw Vegan Waldorf Salad – I took the traditional Waldorf salad and gave it a healthy spin by omitting the vegan mayo base (since it would be sitting out on the table anyway) and using a different kind of “dressing”.  I got the idea for this one after looking on a raw foods website. (I also decided not to serve it on lettuce for the party… too complicated.)  The recipe is at the end of this blog. It was SO good!!  And of coarse, I had to come up with a witty card for this one!

I forgot to take off the lid for this picture - DOH!

Dr. Teeth’s Secret Stash (of candy) – This was a great way to get help rid of our leftover candy!

Electric Mayhem-osas – yep, we made a pitcher of mimosas for the adults to enjoy!

Dr Bunsen Honeydew & Beeker’s Latest Creation – their latest creation, in this case, was a fresh batch of apple-orange-carrot-ginger juice, made by my Brevelle juicer! Mmmmmmm!  Recipe: buy, wash, chop, juice, drink!

Please excuse my plastic wrap!

Animals Drumsticks – These were just simple bread sticks for quick munching!

Fozzie Bear’s “Bear-y Good Snacks” – these were cinnamon and chocolate teddy grahams.  I had to have something I didn’t make myself!  I discovered that these were vegan by looking at this website, which I check frequently for easy store-bought vegan goodies.

Usually I eat Annie's bunny grahams, but these were perfect for a quick find for Fozzie.

Camilla & Gonzo’s GarGONZO Bean Salad – This bean salad is sooo good, healthy and quick to whip up!  Even though it was a kids party, I tried to have as many healthy foods as I could. This was my first time making this and it worked beautifully.  It was delicious!   Think bruchetta without the bread, & add chickpeas.  This was one of the first things gone! The recipe is at the end of this blog 🙂

Sorry for the bad pic! At least you can see the cute card 😉 This was before I stirred it - it was a party favorite!

MY MUPPETATIONAL GIFT BAGS

We made our own recyclable party sacks by carving a Kermit stamp out of a potato and we used finger paint to stamp each bag!

our Kermit potato stamps

Here they are before I added the red mouths

Inside each one we had muppet coloring pages, bubble stuff, mini muppet stick-puppets, an animal door-hanger, a pack of muppet bandz bracelets & muppet stickers in each bag for the kids.

Here are SOME of our Muppet dolls & puppets!!

My sister made this awesome Muppet throw she found at JoAnne Fabrics! She also made the picture board thingy on the left! What are those called?!

Muppet t-shirts were mandatory.

Who isn't happy with a mouthful of frosting and a Miss Piggy ring?!

Muppet puppets RULE!

...And so do Fraggle puppets!

Now THAT'S a smile!

Even MY friends came to the party... with their kids, of coarse!! I still can't believe that me and my high school girlfriends are all mamas! Apologies to those not pictured. (That's me in the Animal T-shirt.)

It was truly a terrific muppetational celebrational party!

~

 THE RECIPES:

~

Camilla & Gonzo’s  GarGONZO Bean Salad

  • 5 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp pepper
  • 2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 6 Roma (or any kind of small) tomatoes
  • 1 onion, minced
  • 2 Tbsp fresh minced basil

In a bowl, combine the oil, vinegar, salt and pepper.  Whisk well, then add the beans.  Toss.  Place tomatoes in a serving bowl (I used a nice glass tupperware with a lid) and add onion & basil.  Sprinkle with a wee bit more salt and pepper if desired.  Top with the bean mixture.  Cover and refrigerate at least an hour.  Toss before serving.

Waldorf & Statler’s Raw “Waldorf” Salad

  • 1/3 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
  • 1 Tbsp amber agave nectar
  • 1 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 cups diced apple
  • 1 cup diced celery
  • 1/3 cup dried cranberries
  • > 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
  • halved grapes (optional – I didn’t add these, but i meant to!)
  • lettuce to serve on (optional – again, I didn’t use lettuce because I thought it was just great as is!)

Mix the orange juice, agave and lemon juice.  Add the rest of ingredients.  Stir together and chill or simply serve straight away! DEVOUR!!!!!!

 (If you wanted to make this more “traditional”, you could leave out the orange juice and add 1/3 cup vegan mayo and maybe a splash of water, if necessary? Never done it, but I’m just sayin’…)

Both of these recipes above are also gluten-free 🙂

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Posted in appetizers, baking, cakes & cookies, desserts, gluten free, snacks, Vegan, vegetables

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Vegan Chicken Pot Pie

Posted on January 20, 2012 | 3 comments

As I was looking to eat up some produce and clean out the freezer this afternoon, I discovered I had all the essential ingredients to make a vegan chicken pot pie.  I hadn’t made one in a while, and I somehow forgot how much I loved them! I tend to think of pot-pie as a cold-weather comfort food,  and I’m still waiting for it to get colder here where I live… but as far as I’m concerned, there are no rules on good food – I’d eat this meal any time of the year!

I’m glad I made something new today because the last few days I have been cooking all my old favorites, most of which I have already posted on my blog.  This week we have had my fettuccine no-fredo, mac-n-cheeseless, and homemade veggie burgers (which is actually one I have not blogged yet).  Here’s some more of what we’ve been up to…

I cooked my first donut-holes in my Babycakes cake-pop maker and they turned out really fantastic 🙂  My kids couldn’t get enough of them (surprise, surprise)! I just veganized one of the recipes in the book that came with the machine. Boy was it nice to eat a little donut hole again that wasnt fried (though I have been meaning to make some “real” donuts soon).

These apple cider donuts with cinnamon sugar & powdered sugar were great!

This morning we made my buttermilk biscuits for breakfast and I tried something new by adding a round tofu “egg” (if you will) to make my own sort of “McVegan Biscuit” thing… It was really easy and was a nice change to try something new – I just cut my block of tofu down the side 2 times to make 3 skinny rectangles (about 1/4″ thick), then I used my biscuit cutter to cut 3 big circles out of the rectangles (1 of which I cut in half again to make 2 really thin circles for the kids), then I cut the rest in strips.  All I did to cook them was pan fry them in a teeny bit of olive oil and I added a splash of soy sauce while they were cooking.  I mean, it’s no egg, but it was good, esp on top of my little GimmeLean Soysage Patty 🙂

My McVegan Biscuit = soysage & tofu patties in a buttermilk biscuit! Next time I'm adding soy cheese!

Anyway, so back to the pot pie… this recipe was originally in the Vegan Planet cookbook (as the Winter Vegetable Pot Pie) although I changed their recipe quite a bit.  I may also suggest making the dough ball first, as I find it easier to roll out a crust when the dough is cold. In fact, I usually put my ingredients (flour and all) into the freezer to get really cold before making the crust.  It seems to make the dough easier to handle and tear less while rolling.

~Vegan Chicken Pot Pie~

TO MAKE THE FILLING:

    • 2 large all-purpose potatoes, peeled and diced
    • 3 long baby carrots (or 1 large carrot) chopped
    •  1 bag of frozen veg (10 oz bag)
    • 1 1/4 cup vegetable stock
    • 2 Tbsp tamari or soy sauce
    • 1 Tbsp cornstarch dissolved in 2 Tbsp water
    • 1 Tbsp olive oil
    • 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
    • 12 ounces of mock meat coarsely chopped (I used an entire bag of Gardein chicken scallopini + 1 more patty, though you could also use seitan or tofu)
    • salt and pepper to taste
TO MAKE THE CRUST:
  • 1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  •  1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup chilled corn or canola oil
  • 2 Tbsp ice water

1) First make the filling by cooking the potato & carrot in a pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain, rinse and set aside

2) In a small saucepan, bring the stock and tamari to a boil over med-high heat.  Reduce the heat to low and whisk in the cornstarch mixture. Simmer, stirring, until thickened 2-3 minutes.  Remove from heat and set aside.

3) Heat the olive oil in a medium-sized skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, cover, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.  Transfer the onion to a lightly oiled 2-quart casserole dish.

4) Reheat the skillet and add the “meat”. Season with salt & pepper to taste and cook, stirring until browned, about 5 min. Transfer to the casserole dish.  Stir in the peas, potatoes/carrot mixture, and sauce and set aside.

5) Preheat the oven to 350 F.

6) Make the crust by combining the flour & salt in the food processor, pulsing to blend. Add the oil and process until the mixture is crumbly.  With the machine running, slowly add the water and process until the dough forms a ball. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a rectangle slightly larger than the casserole dish. Place the crust over the casserole and crimp the edges. I found that rolling the dough on parchment paper made it a breeze to flip the crust over right on top of the casserole. 

7) Bake until the filling is hot and bubbly and the crust is lightly browned, about 45-55 minutes.  Let rest 5 minutes before serving. Devour.

Perfect for my pot pie!

This is the "chicken" I used - it was great!

Here is the filling before adding the sauce...

... and after adding the sauce! Time to make the crust!

~ ~ ~ rolling out the crust ~ ~ ~

Hey! I'm ready for the oven now!

Here it is just out of the oven! Time to set the table!

The first piece always crumbles apart, but... who cares?!

*
And yes, we all cleaned our plates! AND my husband and I both had seconds…
*
*
It was really funny & sweet because during dinner, my daughter said to me, “Mom, I’m in love with your food!” and when Arlo was taking his last bites, he said “WOOW“! (It was kinda like saying wow how that Joey guy says “Whoa”!)
*

"All Done!"

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Posted in baking, dinner, fall, lunch, seitan, tofu, Vegan, vegetables, winter

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Homemade Pizza, Vegan Style

Posted on January 9, 2012 | Leave a comment

Who doesn’t love pizza?  There is something very satisfying about making a delicious homemade pizza, made to order.  Some people think that when you go vegan, you  have to give up pizza, but that is simply untrue. After all, all a vegan really does is replace the animal ingredients with plant-based ones.  It’s easy… and most of the time it is better for you!  In fact, when I became vegan, I also discovered that I really enjoy a pizza loaded with veggies without cheese at all!

But, there are definetly times when I feel like eating a cheesy pizza… & when I do, I like to use either Follow your Heart brand Vegan Gourmet mozzarella or Daiya mozarella. My husband prefers the flavor of the vegan gourmet, but I think both are just delicious!  (You may want to note that the daiya “cheese” is a gluten & dairy & soy free cheese… And also, it does tend to melt better on a quick cooking time, (such as this 12 minute pizza), which is probably why our local pizza shop offers the Daiya cheese on the vegan pizzas rather than the other brand.)

delicious daiya "cheese"

So, when Im in a pinch for a quick dinner this is my go-to crust.  It doesnt require any real rising time, which means by the time you blend the dough up, you can practically slap it right onto your pizza pan, top it with sauce, veggies & cheese and bake it for 10-14 minutes… so this can definetly be an under 30 min meal from start to finish 🙂

 Your Vegan Neighbor’s Quick & Easy Pizza Crust

(makes one large crust)

  • 1 1/4 cup unbleached flour
  • 1/2 cup cornmeal
  • 1/4 cup vital wheat gluten
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1 Tbsp yeast (I use a kind that I buy in a jar in the flour aisle of Kroger, Fleishmans bread machine yeast)
  • 2/3 cup hot water + enough olive oil to meet the 3/4 cup mark on my measuring cup

(If you are unfamiliar with using yeast, you should note that water that is too hot will kill the yeast.  You do not want to use boiling water.  In fact, I usually stick in my finger to see if it is a good temperature.  It should be tolerable to the finger – it shouldn’t burn you, but it should feel hot!)

1) Preheat oven to 450 F.

2) Mix dry ingredients in the food processor.  Pour the hot water/oil in through the feed tube and let the dough form a ball.   Process for about 40 seconds, then transfer to a lightly-oiled bowl or a floured surface.

3) Let rest for several minutes while you prepare your toppings, then punch it down & roll it /stretch it out to fit your pan. If it doesnt want to stretch as big as you want, just let it rest another minute, and if it gets too thin & starts to tear anywhere, just pinch it back together.

4) Add sauce, toppings & bake for 10-14 minutes until cheese is melty or crust is golden brown.

making the doughball

Here is my dough ball after resting about 10 minutes while I chopped all my veggies!

It is good with cheese or just plain and loaded with veggies!

Misc pizza tips: I use a pizza pan with holes in the bottom.  I think that helps the pizza cook more evenly.  I also give my pan a quick spray w/non-stick cooking spray to ensure that my pizza doesn’t get stuck!  When my pizza is about to go in the oven, I think that drizzling a little olive oil all around the edges of the crust gives the pizza a fantastic end result!

Your Vegan Neighbor’s Homemade Pizza Sauce

Whisk together the following ingredients and spread on prepared crust! This makes enough for 2 pizzas.  (You can also freeze half for another time!)

  • 1 – 6 oz can tomato paste
  • 1 can of water (use tomatoe paste can)
  • generous splash of olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp pepper
  • 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 1/8 tsp garlic powder
  • 3/4 tsp basil
  • 1 1/2 tsp oregano
  • < 1/4 tsp thyme
  • 3/4 tsp fresh rosemary (or 1/2 dry – I have a big rosemary bush so I almost always use fresh rosemary!)

Some of my favorite toppings are chopped broccoli, onion, cubed tofu, black olives, spinach, garlic, artichoke hearts… You’d really be surprised at what your kids might eat when it’s cooked into a delicious pizza! The Yves brand soy pepperoni is pretty good but my kids think it’s a little too spicy for them. And sometimes we just go for a plain pineapple & cheese pizza 🙂  Mmmmm!  I think I’m ready for another slice…

Look! There's a piece of broccoli going in with that bite!

Taking a cautious bite of fresh baked (& little hot) pizza!

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Posted in baking, breads, dinner, lunch, sauces, Vegan, vegetables

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A Southern New Years (Collards, Black Eyed Peas and Cornbread)

Posted on December 30, 2011 | 5 comments

Apparently, if you eat black-eyed peas on New Years Day, it is supposed to bring you good luck for the new year.  I like to pair mine with collards and cornbread to make it a truly delicious “southern” new years meal. I grow my own collards (which is truly easy in Georgia – they seem to grow well in all seasons, but esp fall and winter, when you don’t really have to worry about any bugs eating them up!).

You can use canned or dried black-eyed peas to make this dish, though when you use dried beans, they must be soaked first and the water ratio and cooking time in the recipe changes.  I haven’t made this with dried beans in a while so I am going to share the recipe for using canned black-eyed peas.

The cornbread recipe is not my own… I got the recipe from Cooks Illustrated magazine.  You would be pleased to know that it won the Blue Ribbon at the Iowa State Fair, which surprised many people, since the cornbread was vegan!  I did change around some of the actual directions to my own, which I found made it easier to prepare and didn’t seem to change the outcome at all.

I will add some pictures when I make this tomorrow! I’m just getting a head start and I wanted to share this so YOU can make it tomorrow or on New Years day as well! 🙂

Black Eyed Peas with Collard Greens

  • 1 cup onion, chopped well (white or yellow)
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3  1/2 cups vegetable broth
  • 3-4 cups packed prepped collard greens*.  I think that’s about 10 large leaves… I would buy 2 bunches if you are getting them from the store to ensure lots of greens
  • < 1 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 2 Tbsp soy sauce
  • 3 heaping Tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 1/4 tsp liquid smoke
  • 2 cans black-eyed peas, drained (my favorite brand is Eden)

1) Saute the onion and garlic in a little olive oil and set aside.

2) Bring the broth to a boil in a large stockpot and add the collards.

* To prep collards, first wash them.  Then chop off the stem up to the base (or you can remove the thickest part of the stems by simply cutting them out from about halfway up the leaf, which makes it much easier to roll them up).  Stack and roll 2-3 leaves up tight, like a cigar shape.  Then slice them, cutting into about 1/4″ slices.  I usually save some of the thick stems and toss them into the pot as well, usually cut in 1/2″ – 3/4″ pieces.

3) Add the spices, soy sauce, nutritional yeast, liquid smoke and onion/garlic mixture and cook (covered) on simmer until the collards are tender, stirring occasionally. This usually takes about 45 minutes, give or take.

4) Add the canned black-eyed peas and continue to cook on simmer, at least another 30 minutes, until flavors have some time to blend.

Blue Ribbon Cornbread

    • 2 Tbsp ground flax-seed + 6 Tbsp water
    • 1 cup all-purpose flour
    • 1 cup cornmeal
    • 1/4 cup sugar
    • 4 tsp baking powder
    • 3/4 tsp salt
    • 1 cup soymilk
    • 1/4 cup canola oil
    • 1 cup canned corn (this is my personal touch to the recipe)

1) Heat oven to 425 F and spray an 8×8″ square baking pan with non-stick spray.

2) Mix ground flax and water. Whisk well. Wait 2-3 minutes, whisk again. Set aside. (The original recipe says to boil water, add flax and reduce heat to medium low, simmer 3 minutes until thick and set aside. I tried this and it didnt seem to make any difference to me either way, and I think my way is easier.)

3) In medium bowl, whisk flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt.

4)  Add soymilk and canola oil to the flax mixture and whisk it together really well.  Fold into flour mixture and mix until just mixed – try not to overmix. Fold in corn gently and pour into the prepared pan.

5) Cook for 20-25 minutes.  Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes in the pan, then cool for 10 min out of pan.  Cut and serve!

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Portobello Green Bean Casserole

Posted on December 22, 2011 | 1 comment

There is a dish I feel must be consumed at some point during every holiday season… a green bean casserole. I admit, I meant to make this before Thanksgiving!  In fact, I meant to share several good holiday-ish h’oerderves, but now I find it is already 3 days until Christmas and I find myself repeatedly asking, “where did the time go?!” (Did I mention that I haven’t wrapped a thing yet?! Thank goodness my husband is taking the kids to his mom’s for the day today, so I can spend my day wrapping all the gifts!)  

I don’t know if I mentioned before, but there are, I believe, 11 birthdays in my family (among the two biggest family-gathering-holidays, Thanksgiving and Xmas)  just between November and January – oh – and that does not include my friend’s birthdays!  So, as you can imagine, my brain has been pretty busy remembering to mail cards, make food, make plans regarding how and when we are having get togethers (& what I am to bring), buying gifts, etc., plus the every day to day life… “Life is what happens to you while your busy making other plans” – WELL SAID, John Lennon.  With all this going on, my poor blog has been neglected 😦  Well, one of my new years resolutions is to make sure I don’t slack off on sharing vegan deliciousness!  )You may be interested to know that I acquired an ice cream maker at an early christmas gathering… & I can’t wait to try it out!)

My kids are funny about green beans.  For some reason, they don’t normally like fresh green beans.  However, they will totally eat up canned green beans (only the regular cut kind, not the french cut) and they REALLY eat ’em up when we play a game I like to call “Buh-Bye Green Bean” (where we put one in our mouths and suck it in really fast – they think it is hilarious and it really makes them excited to clean ALL the green beans from their plate!).  This is one recipe using fresh green beans I found that they enjoy, and I hope you & yours do too!

Buh-Bye Greenbean!

I came up with this recipe after scoping out several green bean casserole recipes and then combining my favorite bits and pieces of each one, until… TA-DA!  A delicious green bean casserole appeared… like magic 🙂  Well, almost.

~Portobello Green Bean Casserole~

  • 1 1/2 – 2 oz fresh green beans (prepped and cut into 2″ pieces) 
  • 2-3 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 2-3 small cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 block xtra-firm silken tofu, crumbled well or pureed (I like the Mori-Nu brand… though I bet a 1/2 – 3/4 block of regular drained tofu would work just as well as the silken tofu)
  • 3 large Portobello caps, cut into chunks (or a pre-sliced 6oz pack of caps works just as well)
  • a large box (1 qt) of Imagine brand Creamy Portobello Soup (you can use anywhere from half to the whole thing…  I usually use 3/4 of the box.
  • 1/2 tsp dry dill
  • 2 Tbsp butter/soy margarine
  • 1 1/2 tsp parsley
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
  • dash cayenne
  • 1 can (6 oz) French’s fried onions (or make your own)

    Gather ye rosebuds (or in this case, ye ingredients) while ye may...

1)  Preheat your oven to 375.  Bring a large pot of water to boil.  Cook the green beans for about 6 minutes, strain, rinse with cold water & set aside.

2) In a skillet, heat olive oil.  Add onion, garlic & cook about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook until soft.  Set aside.

3)  TO MAKE SAUCE: heat about half of the box of soup (or up to 3/4 of the box) with the margarine.  Add the tofu* and all other spices.  Cook until it thickens up a bit and becomes a little more “saucy”. Add the mushroom/onion/garlic mixture. Stir together well.  (*If crumbled, the tofu will look chunky… if this is gonna be an issue for you, simply puree the tofu before adding it to the soup, or use an immulsion blender if you have one -just make sure to do so before adding the mushroom mixture.  Adding the tofu helps give the casserole that thick creamy goodness, plus protein/vitamins.  Personally, I think I prefer to puree mine into the soup.)

4) Pour the beans into a 9 x 13 casserole dish (or 8 x 11.5 if you must) and pour the sauce over the top. Mix slightly. Cover and bake about 15 minutes.  Remove top/foil and add the 6-oz container of fried onions.  Bake another 15-30 minutes until browned and bubbly.

before the final bake with the onions on top

Voila! It's all done when it's nice and cripsy on top

The color of the creamy sauce is dependant on how much soup is used. If you use more soup, your sauce will appear darker.

P.S. Truth be told, the last time I was making this (yesterday) I somehow forgot to let my soup/sauce thicken… maybe it was the 2 kids running circles around my legs, grabbing onto me while screaming and tickling each other… MAYBE.  Anyway, I forgot to let the sauce thicken, and before I knew it, I was pouring it over the green beans, creating a very watery looking green bean soup! Not appetizing.  SO… I ended up having to deconstruct my casserole by straining out all my veggies with a slotted spoon (which was a huge pain in the arse) so I could cook the sauce down to thicken it up. Take my advice – don’t let that happen to you!  Ay-yi-yiiiiii! Sometimes kids can be so distracting! 🙂

Who ME? Distracting?! (Buh-Bye Greenbean! See YA!)

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Simple Soba with Kale

Posted on November 29, 2011 | Leave a comment

The past few days, with Christmas fast approaching, gift shopping to do & to plan, decorating (& cleaning) the house, upcoming birthdays to remember and just taking care of the every day needs of my two kids, I feel like I’ve barely had time do to anything… except eat leftovers!  Though after several days of eating the same (wonderful) things – I’m not one that likes to throw out delicious food – we finally couldn’t do it another night, so we “dragged ourselves” out to eat at our favorite restaurant in Athens.  I think most Athenians were feeling the same way because it was especially crowded for a Tuesday evening. (And now, guess what – I have more leftovers to eat!)

If the holiday season has already got you feeling short on time, this recipe is one I recently discovered that will feed not only your belly, but also your soul 🙂   Throwing together a few simple ingredients has never tasted so good.   Kale is fast becoming one of my favorite greens. I think it used to intimidate me  because I didn’t know how to cook it, but I’m finding that it is really easy to prepare. Kale is SO good for you and the health benefits are amazing.  This recipe is really easy & great… and  surprisingly, my kids couldn’t get enough of it… and I can’t complain about that!

Simple Soba with Kale

  • 1 large bunch  kale (any kind of kale will do, but I used lacinato)
  • 8-12 oz. soba noodles (my 8 oz. made plenty of noodles)
  • 1/2 tsp minced garlic
  • 2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
  • 2 Tbsp tamari soy sauce
  • 2 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds (brown them lightly in a dry skillet)

Place a large pot of salted water to boil over high heat.

Wash and trim kale as needed.  Hold in bunch form and thinly slice remaining stems and leaves.  Place in large bowl of cold water and swish to remove any remaining grit.

Once water has come to a roiling boil, add soba pasta and cook 3 minutes less than the noodle packet instructs.  Add kale to the boiling pasta, pressing down with the back of a large spoon as kale likes to float. Continue cooking, uncovered, until kale and pasta are tender, about 5 minutes or so.

Drain pasta and kale then put back into the pot. In a small bowl, mix minced garlic (can be sautéed for a milder flavor), toasted sesame oil, tamari, and sesame seeds.  Pour over the kale and soba, toss to combine. Serve hot or at room temperature.

simple but sensational

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Lemon Maple Sweet Potatoes

Posted on November 23, 2011 | 1 comment

With Thanksgiving looming tomorrow and the meal planning & Muppet Movie release today, I’m assuming we are all pretty busy the next two days!  😉 This recipe was actually submitted to a magazine by Jennifer Garner (yes, the actress) and it is quick, easy & delicious. I have made this table pleaser several times (I’m sorry I don’t currently have a picture – I will remedy that soon!).  It’s a great side dish!

Lemon Maple Sweet Potatoes (serves 6-8)

  • 2 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1″ x 2″ chunks
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
  • 2 Tbsp maple syrup
  • 2 Tbsp lemon juice

Preheat oven to 375 F. Toss potatoes with olive oil, salt & pepper in a large glass baking dish.  Cook until almost tender, 25-30 minutes.

Whisk syrup & lemon juice in a small bowl.  Drizzle half the mixture over the potatoes.  Gently stir and bake 10-15 minutes until golden brown and tender.  Drizzle remaining liquid and serve!

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Kale Chips

Posted on October 6, 2011 | Leave a comment

At first I was skeptical about these kale chips…I knew they were really healthy but would they really taste good?  I found that the answer is (happily) YES!!  High in vitamins K, A, C, manganese & fiber, these chips can easily replace my potato chips, at least occasionally!  Maybe “guilt free super chips” would be a more appropriate name!

We made them in two batches: the olive oil batch and the olive oil spray batch.  I highly recommend using real olive oil.  We all thought they were literally a gazillion times tastier!!

~Kale Chips~

  • 1 bunch organic kale
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil or olive oil spray
  • sea salt to taste

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Rinse & pat dry kale leaves. Remove leafy part from stem and rip into chip size pieces.

If using olive oil (recommended method): put all the leaves into a bag, drizzle in olive oil, add seasonings and shake well.  Spread out on cookie sheet.  If using olive oil spray: arrange kale on the cookie sheet, lightly spray all the “chips” & season with salt.

Cook 15-20 minutes.  Watch carefully that they do not burn. As soon as the edges turn brown, they are done and ready to enjoy!

(P.S. to avoid possible embarrassment, check your teeth after eating these chips!  I learned the hard way! hahaha)

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Posted in appetizers, snacks, Vegan, vegetables