Baked : : Ziti

A big hit at our house for these cold, dark evenings is Baked Ziti.  Back in the old days I used to make ours with sausage, but of course now that isn't an option.  But I still want the strong flavors and smells that you get from using sausage.
So, I thought I would add some common sausage seasonings to the sauce and cross my fingers. Well, it worked!  We all loved the end result.  A hot, steamy, garlicky, basily, fennely, baked casserole deliciousness.



Baked Ziti

1/2 onion, diced (I used white)
1/8-1/4 cup water
4 cloves garlic, minced (I use my garlic press)
1 carrot, shredded
1 zucchini, shredded

1/2-1 tsp. red pepper flakes
2 tsp. basil
2 tsp. oregano
2-3 tsp fennel seeds

1 package Soy meat crumbles (ours are from Trader Joe's)
1/2 jar organic marinara
2/3 box veggie broth
salt to taste
1/4 cup nutritional yeast (optional, vegan cheese would also work)

1 package gluten free brown rice ziti (any tube style pasta will work well)

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Pre-heat oven to 375º

Start a large pot of water boiling.

Saute onions in water until onions are translucent (I saute in water to avoid using oils, works great).  Do this in a large casserole, dutch oven or oven ready deep pan.

Add shredded carrots, zucchini and half the garlic and cook until soft. (add more water if you need to)

Add soy meat crumbles, basil, oregano, fennel seeds, red pepper flakes and salt and saute over med heat for 5 min. ish. A little browning on the bottom of the pan is good at this stage.

Add vege broth and deglaze pan (scrape any browned bits from the bottom of the pan)

Add marinara and remaining garlic and let simmer.

Add ziti to water.

Drain ziti (and rinse if using brown rice pasta)

Add cooked ziti to sauce and stir to combine, Sauce should be a bit thin at this stage, if it's not add some more veggie broth to thin it a bit.

Sprinkle nutritional yeast on top (or any vegan cheese)

Place casserole dish in the pre-heated oven with no lid for about 20-25 min, or until bubbly and browned on top.

Enjoy!

P.S. Adding the garlic in two stages gives you two different types of garlic flavor.  The sauteed garlic will be mellower, and a little sweeter and the garlic you add into the marinara will have a fresher, slightly sharper garlic taste.



'Till soon,
A

Corn Bread BBQ Sandwich : : Heck yes

So, I may have invented something.  

Not likely, but humor me anyway OK?

A Cornbread, Baked BBQ tofu, Caesar Salad Sandwich.

Just take these simple things and stack them all up!

I used the BBQ Tofu recipe from the Veganomicon cookbook

The Caesar Salad recipe from The Kind Diet Cookbook (which I almost have completely memorized at this point)

And the Cornbread recipe from The Happy Herbivore (I made it gluten free by using a gluten free all purpose flour mix in place of wheat flour)

And if you are the type who prefers to keep your foods separate thankyouverymuch, you can absolutely do that and still have a delicious dinner (like both my children opted to do).  This is one of the kids' favorite dinners and is sure to elicit requests for seconds or thirds.   BBQ sauce has magic powers!

You can bake the tofu and the cornbread at the same time, and the dressing just whips up in the blender so it all comes together pretty quickly.  

Till Soon, 

A

Butternut Coconut Curry Soup : : Yum

Yesterday, being the day before Halloween, I felt the full crisp warmth of Fall hit me.  Pumpkin carving, baking, costume fittings and leaves crunching under my feet when I walked the dog.  I had an overwhelming urge to make soup...and not just any soup, but one using the butternut squash that has been sitting in my fruit/veg platter since last weekend.  So, before we headed out to the store to stock up on last minute Halloween supplies, I poked a few holes in the skin of my squash and threw it in the oven to roast while we were gone.  When we arrived home about an hour and a half later the house had that warm, nutty sweet smell that only a butternut will produce.

After a quick peeling session and throwing a little of this and a little of that in the blender I had a delicious, creamy, spicy warming soup.  I had mine with a salad and some toasted bread.

Chris and the boys, on the other hand, were looking pretty suspicious of the creamy orange concoction.
I asked everyone to at least have one taste and then if they didn't like it the could make something else. One by one they took their spoons and dipped them into the soup, and one by one they wrinkled their noses and said they would make their own dinners.  They decided on black bean burgers, which I am sure were good...but no way were they even close to this soup!

Sounds good to me...Now I can freeze half of the soup to have on a rainy day when I don't feel like cooking.


Here's the recipe...
Inspired by the Happy Herbivore cookbook's Sweet and spicy Butternut Soup, which I have made and love!

Butternut Coconut Curry Soup

4-6 servings depending on the size of your squash

• 1 med to large butternut squash, roasted.
• 1 can of green chilies, drained
• 1 can of light coconut milk
• 1/2ish cup of veg broth or non dairy milk (for thinning)
• 2 Tbs coconut oil
• 2 Tbs green curry paste
• Salt to taste
• Hot sauce to taste 

1. Roast your squash for an hour or so...depending on size.  Then peel the skin and remove the seeds.
2. Transfer squash to a blender with chilies, coconut oil, curry paste, and salt.
3. Add broth or other non dairy milk as needed to achieve the consistency you like, I like mine pour-able but not watery.
4. If your soup is still hot at this point you can serve straight from the blender, otherwise pour it into a saucepan to heat up before serving.
5. Drizzle some hot sauce on top after you dish up.  

Till soon

A

Vegan Pizza : : Garlicky White Sauce

Made a veggie pizza on the grill recently using cashew cream in lieu of cheese, it was pretty good but next time I would grill the veggies before putting them on the pizza.  Otherwise yum! 

Ingredients for a whole wheat pizza crust : : There are tons of recipes online .

Cashews soaking : : getting ready to be creamed

Pizza dough ball rising.

Cashew cream : : cashews, garlic, salt, pepper, basil, water.  Blend : : add water to get the right creaminess.

Put some sauce on.
Put the veggies on.
Put on the BBQ

We used : : zucchini, yellow squash, mushroom, onion

All cooked up.

Chris had his with tomato's and extra sauce on top.

Summer Veggie Orzo : : Salad

A delicious summer salad.

I made this before I started my 5 week cleanse,

 but is a great vegan meal for those not restricting their diets.

Slice some veggies to put on the grill, then grill 'em.

Dice tomatoes and a halve lemon.

Shuck some corn.

Get out your orzo...put a pot of water on to boil.  

Cook according to the package directions.

Brown rice or Quinoa would work well here for a gluten free option.

Rinse your chickpeas, black beans, and olives.

For the dressing combine lemon or lime, cold pressed olive oil,  a couple cloves of garlic, 

salt, pepper, cumin, oregano, cayenne and chili powder.

Chop up those grilled veggies.

Throw all of it into a bowl and mix, mix, mix.

Let it set in the fridge for at least an hour for the flavors to combine.

Eat!

Vegan Brown Rice : : Sushi

Brown Sushi Rice

2 cups short-grain brown rice

2 1/4 cups plus 1 teaspoon water

4 teaspoons soy sauce

4 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar

Rinse rice well and bring to a boil with 1 cup water and 1 teaspoon soy sauce in a 4 quart heavy saucepan, then reduce heat to very low and simmer, tightly covered, until water is absorbed, about 40 minutes.

Remove from heat and let rice stand, covered, 10 minutes.

While rice is standing, stir together vinegar and remaining teaspoon soy sauce.

Transfer rice to a wide nonmetal bowl (preferably wood, ceramic, or glass) and sprinkle with vinegar mixture, tossing gently with a large spoon to combine.

Cool rice, tossing occasionally, about 15 minutes.

For veggies we used carrots, cucumber, avocados, and green onions.  Yum-lish.

This was enough rice for us to make about 6-7 long rolls...we were all stuffed.

Zucchini Pesto : : Pasta

it was a hot summer day...

all i wanted was some fast, simple food that used lots of veggies and basil from the garden (mine and my mom in law's).

Zucchini Pesto Pasta is what i came up with.

I julienned up 2 big zucchini on my mandolin.

for the pesto i blended:

2 cloves of garlic

2 handfulls of basil

1 large zucchini

olive oil

salt

pepper

juice from 1 lemon

1 handfull of cashews

put the julienned zucchini in a large bowl.

add 1 package of cooked whole wheat pasta

pour pesto sauce over noodles and zucchini.

stir  and serve.  

this is good cold or warm and was a hit with the adults and the kids both!

Beef Stroganoff : : Vegan

most of the key ingredients...forgot to put all in the photo.  i will get better at this!

after a couple of weeks of eating lots of veggie based dinners...salads, wraps, stir-fry's...i was ready for some good ol'fashioned comfort food!  so I came up with this "beef stroganoff" recipe that was a big success!

i've been playing around with making 'cream' sauces using soaked cashews and had great success.  i made a sweet whipped cream by adding vanilla and maple syrup last week.  I poured it over fresh berries and success!  yummy dessert.

then i was missing sour cream on my burrito. so, i made another batch of cashew cream...but this time i added cumin, garlic salt, lime juice, cayenne pepper and oregano.  special burrito sauce was a big success!

now i was feeling bold...ready to make the sauce the star of the meal, not just a condiment. 

 i'm talking gravy here folks.

Start by boiling a package of your fave noodles.

sautee about 1/2 an onion in olive oil until it starts to soften.

add mushrooms.  sautee until soft and brown.

add meat substitute crumbles.  i used soy 'beef' crumbles from trader joe's.

season with salt and pepper.

veggies done.

now for the cream sauce.  in a high speed blender blender add: 

~1 cup soaked cashews 

1/2 sup unsweetened soy milk

2 cloves garlic

garlic salt

nutmeg

onion powder

cayenne pepper

fresh cracked black pepper

salt

(i don't measure when i cook...i just do it by feel.  so play with it, trust your gut!)

Blend until smooth and creamy...add more soy milk if necessary to thin.

add cream sauce to veggies.

pour over i package of your favorite pasta and stir.  i had this fat spiral on hand...a flat wide noodle would be more stroganoff-y.  

the pic doesn't look terribly appetizing but i promise it was delish.  the fault lies in my photog skills...not the food!

enjoy!