Choco-Nana Date Nut Muffins

Here a yummy and healthy muffin to satisfy your sweet tooth. The sugar comes from dates, bananas, and a little chocolate - no white sugar, oils, or eggs.  These muffins are gluten free and vegan.

4 small very ripe bananas - I wait till they are almost entirely black. 
2 cups of Bob's Red Mill Oat Flour
1/2 cup unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk or Coconut Milk
1 package of Ziyad All Natural Baking Dates (about 1 cup pureed)
1/2 cup of chocolate chips (vegan)
1/2 cup of chopped walnuts or pecans
1 tbs Cacao Powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt.

Directions:

1. In a food processor - add all of ingredients and blend well.  I use my Ninja food processing bowl. Easy, right?

2. Scoop into muffin tins. I use an ice cream scoop. This makes exactly one dozen muffins.

3. Bake at 350 until browned on top - approximately 30 minutes.
 
4. Let cool and enjoy!

Three Lentil Soup (Corner Bakery Style)

I love lentil soup - it is rich, hearty, and plant based! I loved the version they make at the local Corner Bakery but If I am correct - Gasp- it looks like it has been replaced by a Tuscan bean soup. With this in mind I set off to make my own quick and easy version and I was very pleasantly surprised.

Ingredients

2 boxes of Trader Joe's Hearty Vegetable broth (4 cups each)
1 container of Trader Joe's Mirepoix (or 1 cup each onion, celery, and carrot diced)
2 garlic cloves grated on a microplane
2 cups of button mushrooms diced
6 oz bag of Trader Joe's baby spinach
2 cups of pureed tomato
1/4 cup green lentils
1/4 cup red lentils
1/4 cup brown lentils (I found these dry in the bulk section at Whole Foods) but you can also find them steamed in the refrigerated section of Trader Joe's)
1 tsp cumin
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1/4 tsp tumeric
1 bay leaf
1 good shake of Goya Adobo w/ pepper seasoning. Taste and add more if you need more salt.
1 TBS of olive oil and a little more for later. 
Cayenne to taste. I leave mine out of the pot to avoid the inevitable kiddo complaint "It is too spicy".  I just add a dash to my bowl before eating.

Directions:

1. In a large soup pot sautee Mirepoix and garlic in a tablespoon of oil. 
2. Add the chopped mushrooms to the mirepoix. 
3. Roughly chop spinach and add it to the veggies once the mushrooms reduce a little.
4. Add both containers of veggie broth
5. Add the rest of the ingredients except Cayenne. 
6. Let simmer until lentils are cooked and broth loses it's raw tomato taste. I let it come to a very brief boil and then put it on the lowest heat setting until the flavors meld.  I often add an extra drizzle of olive oil to the pot at the end just before serving. 
7. Sprinkle cayenne to taste for those of you who want spice. It really does make it taste fabulous but kids are not always keen on the extra heat. 

Enjoy!

Marinated Mushrooms

I love marinated mushrooms. They are great for snacking on and for adding to salads. At Whole Foods, these bad boys are 7.99 a pound. You can make your own for much less with very few ingredients and just a short amount of time.

Ingredients:

2 16oz packages of whole white mushrooms (1 Quart)
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
2 cubes of Dorot Garlic  or 2 cloves of fresh
1 cube of Dorot Parsley
1 cube of Dorot Basil
1 TBS Penzey's Greek or Italian Seasoning
1-2 TBS of olive oil.

Clean and pull off stems from mushrooms.
Add a little oil and the garlic to a deep round high edge skillet ( I use a wok)
Add the mushrooms and the vinegar.
Let simmer until the mushrooms give off their juices 
Remove from heat and pour the mushrooms and the liquid into a class container
Let cool and then refrigerate. Use them as needed. They won't last long :)

Enjoy!

Black Bean Burrito Filling

This is something we cook up almost every week at our house.  Here is a quick and easy recipe that can be made in no time at all.

Ingredients:

2  cans of black beans drained, rinsed.
1  4 oz can of chopped green chiles
1/4 cup of loosely packed cilantro (finely chopped)
2 garlic cloves
4 oz of salsa - fill the empty chili can to measure
1 tsp of smoked paprika
oil of choice

Directions:

1. Divide the beans and loosely mash half of them. Leave the other half whole.
2. Saute the garlic in a little oil and then add salsa, cilantro, and smoked paprika.
3. Mix in  beans (whole and mashed).
4. Saute on low until well blended and creamy.  Taste and salt as needed. Don't let them dry out.

Enjoy in salads, wraps, tacos, or on their own. :)

Garam Masala Roasted Cauliflower

On a whim I wanted to do something with some fresh cauliflower that was cut up in the refrigerator.  Since we were going to eat an Indian themed dinner I found a recipe for roasted cauliflower but I didn't have the exact ingredients to make it. I decided to combine two recipes and the results follow. Spice combining on a whim seemed to work in this case. Enjoy.

Ingredients:

3 1/2  cups of fresh cauliflower. Chopped into small florets.
1 tsp fresh lime zest
1 tsp freshly grated ginger
1 tsp of cumin
1 tsp of garam masala
1/8 tsp of cayenne pepper 
olive oil
salt to taste

Directions:

1. chop up the cauliflower & toss with a splash of olive oil
2. sprinkle on seasonings and mix well.
3. place cauliflower on a baking dish.
4. Roast in a 450 degree oven until browned and tender.

Savory Baked Tofu

This recipe is adapted from a Moosewood Cookbook that I have had in my collection for years. When the tofu comes out of the oven it is hard not to start snacking on it right away. Amazingly delicious.

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons of gluten free tamari or soy sauce
1 tablespoon of toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 clove of garlic grated (with a microplane)
Szechuan pepper to taste
1 block of firm tofu

Directions:
1. Press the tofu between two plates with a book or other weight on top for 15-20 min. Once a pool of water has collected under the tofu - chop the block up into 1 inch cubes
2. Mix the wet ingredients together in a bowl and then microplane a large clove of garlic into it
3. Mix the tofu into the wet ingredients.
4. Arrange on a baking sheet and sprinkle with pepper.
5. Bake at 400. Turn every 10 minutes or so to crisp up on all sides. Remove from oven when nicely browned.

Grilled Zucchini Lasagne

Ingredients:

3 large zucchini
14 oz white mushrooms thinly sliced
1 bottle of your favorite pasta sauce
2 small yellow onions
Penzy Spice Pizza Seasoning
1 batch of Cashew Ricotta
1 (4 link) package of Meatless Italian Sausage

Directions:

1. Make the cashew cream. I used a recipe from the following website The Simple Veganista
I made mine the day prior so the flavors could meld.

2. Using a mandoline - slice the zucchini longways into thin strips. Also thinly slice the mushroom, onions, and Italian sausage. Make sure the veggie sausage is as thin as you can get it.

3. Toss the zucchini in a bit of olive oil and a few dashes of Penzy's Pizza Seasoning

4. Grill zucchini directly on the grill. Wrap up the mushrooms in foil with a little olive oil and pizza seasoning. Wrap up the sausage with the onions after tossing with a little olive oil and pizza seasoning. Grill until the zucchini has grill marks and is slightly tender. The rest should all be cooked until tender.

5. Once everything is grilled, start layering your lasagne in an 8x8 baker. Pour in a bit of sauce. Then layer the Zucchini, next spoon on a thin layer of Cashew Ricotta, next the Sausage and onions, mushrooms, and then repeat. Top with sauce and bake at 350 until bubbly. Sprinkle with vegan parmesan if you wish.  It is a bit runny the first day so it is a great dish to make the day before and reheat.

#1 Sauce

                                                                                   

#2 Grilled Zucchini

#3 Cashew Ricotta

#4 Onions and Veggie Sausage

#5 Mushrooms

Zucchini Chips

    Slice Zucchini thinly

                                         

Toss with olive oil & Penzy's Greek Seasoning

                                         

Place in Dehydrator. Wait several hours until crisp. Enjoy!

Spicy Soy Chorizo & Potato Tacos

Spicy Soy Chorizo & Potato Tacos

Ingredients:
Trader Joe's Soy Chorizo 
10 oz (1/2 a bag)Trader Joe's Shredded Potatoes
7 oz (1/2 a bag) Trader Joe's Fire Roasted Peppers & Onions
Trader Joe's Soy Shredded Soy Cheese
Corn Tortillas
Avocado 
Salsa
Olive Oil  

Directions For Filling:

1. Add 1 TBS of oil to a large pan
2. Saute Onions and Green Peppers 
3. Add Shredded Potatoes
4. Add entire tube of Chorizo (Cut of the end and squeeze the content out - tube is plastic) 
5. Heat corn tortillas and fill with 1 TBS or more of filling, sliced avocado, salsa, vegan cheese,  and any other condiment of your choice. 

     

  

Black Bean Chili

Black Bean Chili
vegan & gluten free

Ingredients:

1 package of dry black beans
1 box of veggie broth
1 container of Trader Joes Mirepoix 
  (16 oz of chopped celery, onion, and carrot)
1 cup of frozen corn
1 cup of Costco Organic Salsa
2.5 cups of Tomato Puree
1 Tbs chili powder
1 Tbs Adobo Seasoning
1 Tsp cumin
1/3 cup of Gluten Free TVP
Olive oil for sauteing

Directions:

1. sort and soak beans overnight
2. cook the beans 3 hours or until soft. 
3. drain beans and set aside
4. saute mirepoux
5. Add spices and let warm up with the veggies
6. Add veggie broth, tomato, and salsa
7. Add TVP
8. Add beans
9. Cook until tomato taste mellows and broth reduces 45 min - 1hr. 

Kasha Tabouleh - Gluten Free

Ingredients

1 cup of Kasha (buckwheat groats) cooked as directed on the box
4 medium tomatoes
4 cups of loosely packed parsley
1/2 a medium onion
1 lemon
Salt & Pepper & Olive Oil to taste

Directions:

1. Make Kasha and then let cool.
2. In a food processor pulse together tomato, parsley, onion, and juice of 1/2 a lemon until the veggies are coarsely chopped.
3. Mix Veggies and groats together, add salt & pepper and more lemon juice to taste
4. Mix in 1 Tbs or more olive oil to taste if you wish.  
       
Enjoy!

13 Bean Soup & Hickory Cheddar Kale Sandwich

Today it is a cold one and there is snow on the ground. Tomorrow, maybe sunny and 60? Either way, the Chicago weather has provoked me to continue on with my soup kick. This time I changed up the Bob's Red Mill 13 Bean Soup recipe to be vegan and added some lazy additions.  It went quite well with a grilled cheese sandwich.


13 Bean Soup

2 cups of Bob's Red Mill 13 Bean Soup Mix
2 boxes of vegetable broth
2 cups of water
1 medium onion diced
2 cloves of garlic minced
1/2 of a bottle of marinara sauce
1 Tbs chili powder

1.Wash and pick through the beans. Cover with fresh water and let soak overnight. I happened to start mine in the afternoon and rinsed the beans several times before letting them soak until the morning. 
2. Rinse and drain the beans one more time.
3. Saute your onion and garlic in big pot.
4. Add vegetable broth, water, and beans.
5. Add tomato sauce and chili powder.
6. Let simmer until beans are tender.  Bobs says 3 to 3 1/2 hours. I just kept mine on until the soup was thick and reduced and the beans were tender.

Hickory Cheddar Kale Sandwich

Ingredients:
Bread Slices
WayFare Hickory Cheddar Dairy Free Spread
Sauted Greens ( I used kale, arugula, and beet tops sauted in garlic and olive oil)
Vegan Butter Spread. I used Earth Balance.


Make this just like you would a grilled cheese with greens in the middle. The vegan cheese spread gets very hot so be cautious when you bite into your sandwich!!

All Veggie Minestrone

Hubby is months into his mostly vegan diet. We enjoyed this big pot of soup with family, down on the farm in Ohio. It is very close to my grandma's recipe that everyone loved, including me.  All I had to do was swap out beef broth for veggie. Also, this go around I didn't add cabbage. If you would like to add it - please do. 

Minestrone 

Ingredients

8 cups of vegetable stock or broth
1 can of red kidney beans
1 can of cannellini beans
1 1/2 packed cups of fresh torn spinach
1 onion chopped
2 carrots chopped into discs and then halved
1 stalk of celery diced. Chop up the leaves and add those, too.
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
2 tbs parsley
1 cup of shredded zucchini (you can slice if you like - we just had shredded on hand)
1 cup of Italian flat beans
1 can of diced tomatoes

**cook up some macaroni or ditalini or other small pasta on the side.

Directions: Saute onion, celery, and carrots in 1-2 TBS of olive oil until they sweat a bit and start to soften. Add stock and the rest of your veggies and herbs. Cook until the tomato taste mellows and soup reduces a bit. I cook mine low and slow for several hours.

To serve - scoop noodles into your bowl and top with soup and vegan Parmesan or mozzarella  if you wish. You can also drizzle a bit of good olive oil on top. Enjoy

Smoky Sweet Potato, Kale, & White Bean Soup

My mother-in-law made a version of this soup the day before we came back to Chicago.  I mixed it up a bit with a less clear broth and a bit of smoky seasoning.  Enjoy.

Ingredients:

1 large sweet potato (cubed)
2 boxes of Trader Joe's Vegetable Broth (this brand has a bit of tomato in the broth)
3 cups of chopped fresh kale
1 can of Great Northern Beans (drained)
1 small onion chopped
1 garlic clove minced
1-2 tablespoons of olive oil
salt & pepper (to taste)
Trader Joe's South African Smoke Seasoning Blend (to taste)

Directions:

In a dutch oven saute onions and garlic in 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil.  Add kale and let cook until the kale has reduced and wilted. Add the broth, the chopped potato and the beans.  Salt and pepper and add a few twists of the African Smoke.  Let cook until the soup reduces and thickens a bit.