Tuscan Bean and Kale Soup

This is it—my way of saying goodbye to winter, one more big pot of true winter fare before warm weather sets in for real. This is one of those soups you want to have when it’s cold and snow is falling, and you want something comforting and warming. Not that I want to invoke that sort of thing— here’s what I’m really trying to say: “Get out of here, you lousy season!”

TUSCAN BEAN AND KALE SOUP

1 large onion, chopped

4 gloves garlic, chopped

~~~~Saute onions and garlic in a bit of water until softened.

~~~~Add:

8 cups vegetable broth

2 bunches kale, finely chopped

2 cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1 pkg. Tofurky Italian sausages, coarsely chopped

1 tsp. thyme

1 tsp. chili pepper flakes

~~~~Let simmer for about an hour. Like so many things, this is going to taste better the next day!

~~~Before I served it I stirred in a bit of nutritional yeast and topped it with a spoonful of cashew sour cream, and a sprinkle of parsley. Really hearty and warming–this was a big hit!

Raw “Cheese” Wafers

Spring is here! As the weather warms up, my diet lightens up and it feels appropriate to eat lots more raw food. These wafers are great crumbled over salads or grains and they make a nice satisfying snack when you just want a little something. They go together quickly, but then you have to wait while they take a long slow ride in the dehydrator. Not the snack to choose if you want them NOW, but believe me, they’re worth the wait!

RAW CHEESY WAFERS

1 cup nuts [I used walnuts and Brazil nuts]

1 cup water

1 red bell pepper [or yellow or orange]

1 tbsp. nutritional yeast

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. salt

~~~Blend everything in in blender until smooth and creamy.

~~~Spread the mixture thinly on parchment or teflex-lined sheets in dehydrator. Set dehydrator temperature to 115 degrees and let it run for a few hours.

~~~When the tops are dry enough, flip and peel from the sheets. Cut into squares. I used scissors, or you can just break it up later.

~~~Continue to dehydrate overnight, or for a few hours, or until crisp.

This is what the mixture looks like before I put it into the dehydrator. [And by the way, I doubled the recipe. I do that a lot…]

The mixture is actually pourable, and you’ll think there’s no way this is going to work but the next morning I had a big pile of lovely savory melt-in-your-mouth wafers. Truthfully, they taste like Cheez-its, only better!

One more thing–look at my big bucket of nootch that I’m so proud of.  Having 6 pounds of nutritional yeast gives me all kinds of vegan street cred!

 

Smorrebrod!

Here’s something I’ve never tried before—Danish open-faced sandwiches. So many possibilities—this is just a hint of what’s possible.  The idea is to make lots of different components available and you can just assemble your sandwich as you like it. so it’s always good.

This idea started out with my obsession to try a recipe for vegan lox [yeah, you read that right], and I thought I’d just do bagels, lox, and capers, but I needed more colors! So in the photo, there’s thinly sliced radishes, red onion, cucumbers, avocado, red pepper, fresh dill, capers, cashew cream cheese, and the “lox”, which is made with carrots and it’s very good! A little clever vegetable alchemy happening there.

I toasted some dense German rye/sunflower seed bread [try to get it already sliced, otherwise it’s like slicing into a delicious brick] and loaded it up. It was so perfect. I see a lot more of this sort of thing in my future!

Carrot Pancakes for Easter!

You have to admit that’s not something you see every day–a rabbit making pancakes. I guess it wasn’t enough that he had to deliver all those Easter baskets and dye and hide all those eggs, he has to make breakfast the next morning and look good doing it. I mean, look at that necktie, very professional. If I had my way, I’d make these fabulous carrot pancakes for Mr. E. Bunny, tell him to put his big lucky rabbit feet up and relax!

I got this recipe from “Isa Does It” by the wildly talented Isa Chandra Moskowitz. I adjusted the recipe a bit.

CARROT PANCAKES

2 tbsp. ground flaxseeds

1 1/3 cups non-dairy milk

1 tsp. apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp. sunflower oil

1 tsp. vanilla extract

~~~~Beat together in mixing bowl. Mix well to incorporate the ground flax seeds

1  1/4 cups flour [I used spelt]

2 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice [or 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. ginger, 1/2 tsp. nutmeg, 1/4 tsp. allspice]

1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

~~~~Add to liquid ingredients and stir just till combined.

1 cup grated and chopped carrots

You want your carrots to look like this:

Then squeeze most of the moisture out of the carrots in a tea towel or paper towels.

Fold the carrots into the batter and let the batter sit for at least 10 minutes.

Preheat a large skillet or griddle. Lightly coat with oil if needed. Pour batter onto griddle in 1/3 cup scoops. Cook for about 4 minutes per side.

Serve with maple syrup and fruit or whatever you’d like! This recipe made about 8 lovely big spicy pancakes!

We thought these would be good but we were stunned by just how how good! Really, you have to try these.

I sprinkled a little dried coconut over mine too. Pay no attention to the cat nose encroaching in the photograph there.

Look at all the carrot in there!

Now if only you could get these flavors in cake form. Hmmmm….

 

 

What I Ate Wednesday

I do this because I’m asked so often “What do vegans eat?” I think people ask me this with great sincerity, and the main reason that I’m doing this blog is to show that this lifestyle is do-able and very joyful!

Breakfast was a big slice of quiche, made with tofu and a lot of vegetables, and coffee.

Midmorning I had a cup of berries, a banana, and a clementine.

Lunch was this amazing sandwich! We found this great whole grain seeded baguette and I hollowed it out till it was just a crispy bread-y shell, then I stuffed it with roasted zucchini, onions, red peppers, mushrooms, red cabbage, carrots, tomatoes, basil, a slice of Chao cheese, avocado, and a slosh of garlic vinaigrette, then warmed it on the panini press, then added chopped lettuce. Day-um. This thing was incredible! It was a horrible mess to eat, but so worth it. Honestly, I should’ve eaten it over the sink, and well out of sight of Garry, but I made him one too, and we were both too invested in purring over our sandwiches to judge each other’s manners. Unfortunately, this sandwich wasn’t very photogenic, so I took a photo after a few bites to show the innards.

After lunch, we had a couple of the chocolates I made yesterday.

Dinner was just a slice of toast with cashew cheese, avocado, tempeh bacon and some vegetables and humuus.

That’s it for the day!

 

 

Fun with Chocolate!!!

I was relaxing at home today and my thoughts turned to chocolate, and well, one thing led to another, and here we are—with a whole box of homemade fancy choccies! Easter is coming and seasonal vegan treats are hard to find. Sometimes you can’t find a “peep of anything vegan. “Peep”—see what I did there?

I simply melted a big bar of dark chocolate in the microwave and I dragged out some of my silicone molds. I will not be denied.

I had to decide what kind I wanted, so it’s always going to be peanut butter. All good-hearted people love peanut butter [unless they have an allergy, of course!]. I have these lovely triskele molds. Pretty and elegant and appeals to my Celtic heart!

My second choice was coconut. I mixed some grated coconut with a bit of coconut oil and a touch of agave, and filled these clever  3″ Easter Island molds with chocolate and a coconut filling. “Easter” Island—get it? I know you do!

As for the buddhas,  it was dark chocolate and vegan white chocolate chips [have to order these from Amazon] marbled together with crispy rice added. I think that’s why they look a little distressed, like an antique–too many little air pockets. The photo makes them look huge, but they were only about 4″ tall.

Let me just say it—who needs an Easter Bunny when you can have an Easter Buddha? Boom.

Vegan Quiche

Ah, quiche. One of my favorite things. It was one of my staples when I went thru my short-lived wanna-be vegetarian body builder phase and was all about protein and was slamming down eggs and cottage cheese. When I went vegan I knew I had to come up with a plant-based version and I’ve tried a few recipes, some better than others, some very complicated and silly, but I think I’ve really cracked the code here. It’s delicious and easy and I feel sure you could serve it to anyone and they’d love it! Just know that there will always be that one smart-ass in the crowd who’ll say “Real men don’t eat quiche” and cackle and crow like they’ve just said the most clever thing. Oh, how I’d love 5 minutes alone with the wretch that coined that phrase! You know what I’d do? I’d give them a nice warm wedge of this quiche and we’d have a nice meal together, that’s what!

Anyway, on to the recipe!

VEGAN QUICHE [this makes one quiche, but I double the recipe since it’s just as easy to make 2!]

9″ deep pie crust, optional [you can have a crustless quiche if you’d like. This time I used a spelt crust from Wholly Wholesome, you can find it in most natural foods stores and some supermarkets.]

12.3 oz. pkg. firm silken tofu, drained well

1/4 cup soymilk

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

1/8 cup tapioca starch [you can use cornstarch]

1/4 tsp. turmeric

1/2 – 3/4 tsp. salt [if you have black salt, use that.]

1/4 tsp. pepper

2.5 cups cooked vegetables [Make sure there’s cooked onions in there!!!]

any herbs you’d like

~~~Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Bake for 35-40 minutes. Let cool a bit, then slice and enjoy!

~~~I always like the layer of cheese on the bottom of quiche so I used 3 slices of Field Roast Chao cheese in my quiche. Not crucial but it’s a nice touch!

Then I blended all the ingredients [EXCEPT VEGETABLES!] together in my food processor till smooth, and poured into a mixing bowl, then mixed in the vegetables. Pour into the pie shell. [REMEMBER—the proportions for this recipe are for one quiche, I doubled the recipe, because I am a quiche freak.]

By the way, the vegetables I had were red peppers, red onions, mushrooms, cauliflower, broccoli, and zucchini. And you know me, I already had the veggies cooked so this went together quick.

Before they went into the oven, I sprinkled them with a little paprika. And I found some of those crunchy onions in the cupboard left over from Thanksgiving. Not necessary, but it was a nice touch.

Here it is after it’s come out of the oven. Looks like quiche!

I admit it. I had a slice of this before it had cooled enough to achieve any structural integrity, and it was a mess but it was delicious—creamy, cheesy, luscious! Here’s a slice that’s ready for it’s close-up. Yum. So there it is, it’s not just for breakfast!

 

French Toast Sunday

French toast always feels like a celebration to me. Well, it is the first day of Spring, and even though it’s cold and rainy outside, this breakfast makes me feel pretty darn festive!

This recipe makes enough for 2 big servings.   I had 5 slices of sprouted grain bread that had gone a bit stale I dipped them in a mixture of:

1 cup non-dairy milk

1/4 cup chickpea flour

1 tbsp. tapioca starch or cornstarch

1 tbsp. nutritional yeast

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

dash of cinnamon

pinch of salt

Whisk together till smooth, then saturate the bread slices in the mixture.

Heat a skillet or griddle. You know it’s hot enough when a drop of water skitters and sizzles away. Oil the griddle if you’d like and lay the soaked bread slices on and cook until golden, about 4 minutes each side.

I have some tempeh bacon and soy sausage cooking along with the French toast. I love sweet and savory.

This recipe went together very quickly and it tasted like like any French toast made with eggs or milk, but who needs eggs and milk. This is just too easy!

I topped the French toast with a slosh of maple syrup, and served it with a cup of berries and kiwi, and the tempeh bacon and soy sausage, and 2 big cups of coffee. Perfect Spring breakfast!

By the way, you can double or triple this recipe and make enough for breakfast for the next few mornings. It keeps well in the refrigerator. Think of how smug you’ll feel. You’re welcome!

 

What I Ate Wednesday!

Breakfast was the veg-tofu scramble that I made a few days ago with a little vegan chorizo mixed in, and sprouted grain toast with cashew cheese and avocado. And Garry’s coffee. Have I ever mentioned that Garry makes a soy creamer for us and it’s delicious and all organic? He’s the coffee guy in our house and when I’m home all day I treat myself to as much coffee as I like. Thanks, Garry!

Lunch was a simple salad with balsamic vinegar and a bowl of freshly made pasta fagiole, with hempseed “parmesan”.

A little afternoon snack of the desserts I made today and more coffee!

Dinner was this glorious Mexican bowl with brown rice, corn, beans, fajita-style butternut squash, pico de gallo, avocado, and cashew sour cream. It’s my new favorite thing. Actually, any incarnation of rice and beans is my favorite thing, but this one was exceptional!

Roasted Butternut Squash Fajitas

This is a recipe that I adapted from a great food blog, forealslife.com. Check it out! This is a fantastic recipe that I’ve already made several times and I never get tired of it. It’s really easy to make too, just chop and roast. You know I love that!

ROASTED BUTTERNUT FAJITAS

Medium size butternut squash, peeled and cut into cubes or strips, as you prefer

1.5 large red and/or yellow bell peppers, chopped

1 large onion, chopped

1 tbsp. chili powder

1 tsp. each garlic and onion powder

1 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. salt

 

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Toss the veggies with the seasoning and spread onto baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, remove from oven, flip the veggies with a spatula, and bake 20 minutes more. This may take less [or more] time depending on how large you cut the vegetables.

Next I made a nice pico de gallo. I just threw it together. I don’t know the proportions but  I made it with:

plum tomatoes

onion

peppers

cumin

salt

cilantro

lime juice

Beautiful colors!

Next I steamed some brown rice and then I mixed up 3 different kinds of beans, black, kidney, and cannelini.

Ever have one of those meals that’s so good, you just kind of purr through the whole thing? This is what we had tonight—a bowl with brown rice [it’s under there!] surrounded with beans pico de gallo, corn, butternut fajita mixture, romaine lettuce, and topped with cashew “sour cream”, and chopped avocado. I want this every day!

And a beautiful feast for the eyes too!