Pasta with White Bean Sauce

I'm broke. I get paid at the end of the week, but until then I'm being very thrifty and getting to know the contents of my kitchen cupboards. At the request of my son, tonight's dinner was originally planned to be one of our favorite soups, but I realized I was missing a couple of key ingredients. And since I'm determined not to go shopping this week, a special trip to the store for only two ingredients was out of the question. I had the white beans and the pasta though, and thought a white sauce would be nice. I did a Google search for recipes and soon found my inspiration. I added a few ingredients, increased the recipe, and in less than 30 miuntes dinner was on the table with a side of red kale.

This was really easy to make, calls for simple ingredients and is surprisingly satisfying. The flavor is delicate and just slightly "cheesy" with a nice smooth texture. I hadn't made a bean sauce before tonight, but now I'm a huge fan. I know I'll be playing around with this one some more. With a little adjusting, I think it would make a great base for a Stroganoff, too.


You'll Need:

6 T Earth Balance
3 large cloves garlic, minced
3 C or 2 15oz cans white beans (cannellini or great northern), drained and rinsed
2 C soymilk
1 t Spike seasoning
2 t nutritional yeast
splash dry vermouth or dry white wine (optional, but recommended)
salt and pepper to taste

Your favorite pasta–I won't try to guess ounces this time. Plan for 4 - 6 servings.

Method:

While pasta is cooking according to instructions, get started on the sauce. In a deep skillet, melt margarine and saute garlic for 2 minutes. Add a splash of vermouth and cook another minute or so. Put beans in food processor and add margarine and garlic, soymilk, nutritional yeast and Spike seasoning. Puree mixture until completely smooth, adding more soymilk as needed to reach desired consistency. Return mixture to the skillet and simmer on medium-low, stirring frequently for 6-8 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve over pasta.

Black Beans with Roasted Pumpkin

Did you know you can eat those mini pumpkins that often end up as seasonal decoration? I received those two little cuties pictured above in my produce box a few weeks ago and had no idea what I'd do with them. I was a little upset to think that they'd just serve as knick-knacks for a few weeks before ending up in the trash. (I don't compost. I know...) I couldn't believe that Fresh Abundance would throw ornamental food into one of their weekly produce boxes, so I did a little research. A friend told me that she was told our particular variety is a mini jack-o-lantern. Doesn't sound very appetizing, but then I came across this post over at The Kitchn. I thought stuffed pumpkins would be cute (sans egg, cheese and meat, of course!), but I wasn't really in the mood for cute. I wanted something hearty. Something satisfying. I remembered seeing this recipe for black beans on the same website and suddenly I had my inspiration!

I peeled and cubed the pumpkin and tossed it with olive oil, cumin, nutmeg and salt and pepper and roasted for about 15 minutes. In a large pan I sauteed some red onion with pickled garlic, added some black beans and drizzled in a little tamari, balsamic and sake. When the pumpkin was tender, I added that to the pan also and threw in a little bit of fresh sage. I served the beans and pumpkin over jasmine rice. (We usually eat brown basmati rice, but sometimes I just crave jasmine!) I was so pleased with how this came out. I hadn't even finished eating my first helping and I was already looking forward to making it again. My son loved it too and specifically requested leftovers for lunch the next day.

I love autumn!

Cheez Ball

I made a vegan cheese ball. And it tastes good! Seriously. I fed it to omnivores and vegetarians and they all liked it. It doesn't really taste like cheese, but really, do you want it to? I don't. I posted the recipe over on the Shrinking Violet Society's blog. Enjoy!

Soup Season

This is the year of soup! Until recently, I never really got too excited about soups or stews. I don't know what changed, but all of a sudden I'm crazy about the comforting ease of making and eating soup. I've been eying a recipe for pasta & bean soup from Maxine Clark's cookbook, Italian Kitchen that was printed in October's issue of Woman's Day magazine and finally decided to give it a try. Once again, my co-worker's abundant magazine subscriptions and my employer's frugality inspired my dinner. Who knew?

(Please forgive the poor picture quality. Soup tends to be a little camera shy and photographing steaming-hot food is a bit of a challenge.)

The original recipe calls for dried beans, but I used canned and adjusted things accordingly. I also used a Not Chicken veggie bouillon instead of the broth called for in the recipe. The bouillon added more salt and oil, I believe, so I adjusted the oil and did not add any additional salt. The soup turned out really well! We'll happily be eating leftovers for lunch the next two days. Another great thing about soups - leftovers!

You'll Need:

2 cans cannellini or Great Northern beans, drained
2 T olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
8 C vegetable broth or equivalent prepared veggie bouillon
1 C short pasta (I used Ancient Harvest quinoa elbows)
4 medium fresh tomatoes, chopped (thanks, Keena!)
1/4 C Italian parsley, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Add broth (or prepared bouillon), reserving 1 cup, to a large soup pot with garlic and bring to a boil. Stir in pasta. While pasta cooks, puree 1 1/2 cans of the beans with reserved liquid and olive oil in a blender or food processor. Stir bean puree and remaining whole beans into pasta and broth, simmer until pasta is tender. Remove pot from heat and stir in tomatoes and parsley. Ladle into individual warmed bowls and garnish with fresh cracked black pepper. Bellissimo!

Mushroom Dip Sandwiches

The past month has kept me pretty busy and because of that, I've neglected this blog. But I'm back with a recipe to share!

Growing up, French dips were my favorite sandwich. It was always a special treat when my dad took us out for lunch at the little cafe next to the repair garage that my mom and dad owned and operated. I always ordered the French dip. I loved the combination of textures, the warmth of the au jus and the act of dipping the sandwich that made the sandwich so much fun to eat. Something got me thinking of all that the other day and inspired me to come up with a vegan version of this forgotten love.

My step-dad and step-brother were working on my car yesterday and a home-cooked lunch seemed like the perfect thank you for their help. My mom helped me with the shopping and in the kitchen while the guys did their thing outside. Mushrooms were the obvious stand-in for the traditional roast beef, but the au jus took a little more thought. I wanted a mushroom broth, but the store we went to didn't carry any. I ended up getting a creamy portobello mushroom soup (Imagine brand) and it worked well enough. I realized today that one of those Not Beef bouillons would have been great, but there's always next time. Going beyond the traditional recipe, I spread some aioli on the rolls and melted some mozzarella (vegan for me, everyone else had the real stuff) over the mushrooms just before serving.

The sandwiches turned out great. My omni family loved them, even my veggie-suspicious step-brother and my step-dad insisted that I make them again. We made up a simple salad to accompany the sandwiches and we all left the table satisfied. This ones a keeper!

Aioli

You'll need:
(All measurements approximate)

4 T Vegenaise
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 - 1 t lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Method:

combine all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste. This has a very strong garlic flavor, adjust if needed.

Mushroom Dip Sandwiches

You'll need:

1 1/2 lbs mushrooms, sliced (I used 1 lb cremini and 1/2 lb portobello)

1 recipe aioli

4 oz. vegan mozzarella (I like Follow Your Heart)

4 French rolls (this is a great use for any leftover baguette!)

1 t olive oil

4 C your choice of broth for dipping, heated

salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Heat a large pan and coat in olive oil. Add mushrooms and saute until just brown. If using portobellos, grill slices (George Foreman or panini grill) until tender, about 8 minutes. If using fresh French rolls, slice them open and put them under the broiler until just brown while mushrooms cook - don't leave them in too long! To assemble the sandwiches, spread aioli on the rolls, divide mushrooms among rolls and top with mozzarella slices (top and bottom). Return rolls to broiler until cheese starts to bubble and brown (yes, FYH mozzarella will do that!). Portion broth into individual warmed bowls and serve alongside the sandwiches.

Potato Salad with Tempeh

I made this potato salad for July's vegan potluck. Apparently, it was a hit! Head over to the Spokane Food Blog to check out the recipe and be on the look out for a growing alliance between the Spokane Vegans and Taste Everything Once.

Dinner, as usual

Dinner at my house on a week night is usually a variation of this simple idea and is based on whatever I have in the fridge and cupboards. Since I started getting my bi-weekly Fresh Produce Variety box from Fresh Abundance, I get a good selection of fresh veggies every other week. It also keeps my meals season appropriate and helps me avoid getting stuck in the ruts of relying on the same two or three favorite veggies. Actually, I picked up all the ingredients here but the olive oil at Fresh Abundance. I have a tendency to not only find myself using the same vegetables again and again, but also the same herbs and spices. Last fall I fell in love with oregano and used it in almost anything. Lately, I've found myself using gomasio on everything. The combination of sesame seeds and seaweed is a nice addition to veggies or tofu and reduces the amount of salt needed.

Here's the basic recipe for one of our dinners from last week. Use whatever veggies are sitting in your crisper, grains you have in the cupboard and your favorite seasonings. I use quinoa and rice noodles a lot because they are much quicker to cook than rice.

What you'll need:

1/2 box stir-fry rice noodles
1 package lemongrass ginger Small Planet tofu, drained and cubed
2 small heads broccoli, chopped
1/2 large yellow onion, chopped
1 t sesame oil, or to taste
gomasio to taste
tamari (or soy sauce) to taste
olive oil, to coat pan

Method:

Bring large pot of water to boil. While waiting for water to boil, heat large frying pan (or wok, if you have one) and coat with olive oil. Add rice noodles to water, stir, remove from heat and cover. Let noodles sit for about five minutes, or until soft, but not squishy. When noodles are done, drain and rinse with cold water. Transfer back to pot, or serving dish and coat with sesame oil and gomasio, set aside. When frying pan is heated, add onions to saute for about a minute. Add tofu to pan to brown slightly and then add broccoli. Cook until broccoli is tender, but still crunchy and has that nice vibrant green color. Serve veggies and tofu over rice noodles, add tamari and gomasio to taste. Enjoy!

My Favorite Tofu

I have always loved tofu. As a kid, my favorite way to eat it was just like this: fresh from the container (pressed just slightly) with some fresh grated ginger and soy sauce. Actually, when I was little it was teriyaki sauce. I was addicted to Kikoman's teriyaki - I even put it on french fries. I don't know if I've ever mentioned it (if not, it should have been implied), but I was a strange kid. When I was in sixth grade I decided I wanted to be a vegetarian. I took this little dish to school for lunch one day. (I should also mention that I used to prefer to mash up or scramble my tofu when I ate it this way.) One of my class mates looked at my lunch suspiciously and then accused me of eating cat food. And that was the last time I brought a vegetarian lunch to school. Of course I still eat my tofu this way, but now I slice it, isn't it pretty? It's very light and refreshing. My son loves his tofu this way too. He's takes after his mom.

Curried Split-Pea Soup

I love soup. I also love curry.

So, one of my co-workers subscribes to about five different magazines. She brings them to work and leaves them in the lunch room with a few of those trashy celebrity magazines that someone else likes to read. What's my point? Well, since the mega-corporation that I work for decided that a subscription to the newspaper is an extravagant expense for our office, I end up reading a lot of home and garden magazines on my lunch breaks. In the Jan/Feb issue of Country Home, I came across this recipe for Curried Split-pea Soup. I was so excited to find a recipe in a main stream magazine that was already vegan! We tried it a week ago at my mom's house and it was a big hit. I changed things up a little because I don't follow directions well. I have a problem with authority. But that's OK. Baking is a science; measurements and method are important. Cooking, on the other hand, is an art. So be creative!

Here is a comparative list of ingredients called for in the recipe and my substitutions. (Follow the cooking instructions found in the recipe.)

Recipe/Substitution

2 14oz cans vegetable broth/32oz vegetable broth (Imagine aseptic package)
1 14 oz can unsweetened coconut milk/SAME
2 1/3 C dry split peas/SAME
1 bay leaf/2 T dried sweet basil
2 medium sweet potatoes/SAME
1 LB shiitake mushrooms/1 LB cremini mushrooms
1 medium red sweet pepper/SAME
3 green onions/SAME
1 T soy sauce/omitted
2 t curry powder (add more to taste)/SAME
1/4 t crushed red pepper/1 bulb fresh roasted garlic
1/4 C fresh basil/1/4 C fresh cilantro

Fudge Balls

These delicious morsels of chocolate are rolled in coconut and have a hidden ingredient: avocado. Yes; avocado and chocolate. I swear it is amazingly good and you cannot detect the slightest taste of avocado. Omnivores love this treat, too. I came across this recipe last year and adapted it slightly for a Halloween treat. Follow the recipe, but instead of spreading it in a pan, place the fudge in a bowl. Refrigerate for about half an hour, or until the fudge is the consistency of playdough. Using your hands, roll a tablespoon of fudge into a ball and coat in shredded unsweetened coconut. Return finished fudge balls to the refrigerator until hardened, then devour!

Curried Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

We visited my friend and her boyfriend in Richland a few weeks ago and my friend's boyfriend made us stuffed peppers for dinner. I don't know that I'd ever had a stuffed pepper before and if I did, I probably didn't like it. But my taste buds have developed a lot over the years and I really enjoyed the classic stuffed peppers with rice, tomato sauce and veggie sausage. I enjoyed it so much that my mind started racing with variations on this humble classic. So here is my take on the stuffed pepper, with some of my favorite flavors such as coconut milk, cashews, curry and cilantro. (Sorry about the poor picture quality - I really need a new camera.)

You will need:

4 green bell peppers, cored and seeded
1 C quinoa
1/3 C currants
1/3 C cashews, roasted, unsalted
1/2 C mushrooms, sliced
1/2 C cilantro, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1/2 t cumin
1 t ginger powder
1 T curry powder
1 C coconut milk
salt to taste

Method:

Preheat oven to 350°. Add quinoa to 2 cups water and bring to boil. Cook covered at a simmer until all water is absorbed and the germ has separated from the grain. Stir coconut milk, spices and garlic into quinoa and combine thoroughly. Toss in mushrooms, cashews, currants and cilantro. Fill peppers with quinoa mixture and place in a deep baking dish filled with 1/2 inch of water. Bake for 30 - 40 minutes, or until peppers have softened but are still firm. Let sit for 5 minutes and enjoy!

Quinoa Crusted Quiche

Growing up, quiche was one of my favorite breakfast dishes. So I was very excited to come across this recipe from the FatFree Vegan Kitchen. I made a few substitutions to the recipe based on what I had at hand. Instead of brown rice for the crust, I used my favorite grain, quinoa. I subbed broccoli for the asparagus, added some Italian seasoning and topped it off with tomatoes. It turned out pretty good. I think the tofu mixture needed a little more seasoning and the crust would be better with a quick pre-bake, but I will definitely make this again. I took left-overs to work for lunch and got compliments on the smell. That's unusual. Most days my food just gets suspicious looks from my tofu-fearing coworkers.

Autumnal Inspiration

Fall is my favorite time of year. The leaves change, the skies are overrun by cotton ball clouds, we pull sweaters from our closets and we eat warm rich foods. One of my favorite foods to eat when the mercury drops are potatoes; any kind will do. I love the warm and exciting color of yams and the sweet rich flavor is a real treat. This dish was inspired by the earthiness of fall's colors and flavors. Although it's perhaps a tired denomination for foods of a certain taste, I like to call it harvest quinoa. The nutty flavor of the quinoa really shines here and compliments the sweetness of the raisins and yams.

You will need:

4 small yams, peeled and cubed
1 small yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T Italian seasoning
1 C quinoa
1/3 C raisins
1/4 C dry roasted pumpkin seeds
2 t olive oil
salt to taste

Method

Quinoa:
Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Add quinoa, cover and bring water back to boil. Turn off heat and let sit 5 minutes. Add raisins and pumpkin seeds and stir. Return lid and let sit until all water is absorbed.

Yams:
Boil yams for 3-5 minutes, until just soft. Heat olive oil in large pan or wok. Sauté garlic for minute. Add onion and sauté 3 minutes. When yams are just soft, drain and add to pan with Italian seasoning and cook until yams start to brown. Combine quinoa and yams in pan and salt to taste. Serve warm.

Variations on a theme: Add 1 cup mushrooms with yams, substitute cranberries for the raisins and/or use walnuts in place of pumpkin seeds. Add 1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro before serving.

Veganagna

My favorite cartoon character growing up was Garfield the cat and one of my favorite foods was lasagna. I remember watching Garfield eat pans of lasagna in one swift gulp and admiring him for his good taste. Lasagna is one of those classic comfort foods that so many of us vegans crave and one that tends to make the omnivores cry foul if done incorrectly. I assembled this veganized version of the classic recipe on the fly a few weeks ago when I needed to come up with an easy dinner option to take to my (omni) mom's house. It turned out well and even got compliments from my tofu-suspicious steak-eating step-father. I was really pleased with the recipe but did a little tweaking of the tofu "ricotta" mixture and voilà! Here, then is my recipe for GF vegan lasagna, or what I like to call veganagna:

You Will Need:

1 box GF lasagna noodles* (I like the rice variety)
1 jar of your favorite marinara sauce
1 C water
1 T lemon juice
2-3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 14 oz package extra firm tofu
1 C fresh chopped parsley
3 t Italian seasoning
3 T vegan parmesan style rice topping
1 C vegan mozzarella style soy cheese, shredded (I like Follow Your Heart Gourmet Cheese Alternative)
13" x 9" baking pan (I use glass)
foil

Method:

Preheat oven to 400˚F. Drain and press tofu. Using a fork, crumble tofu in medium sized mixing bowl until crumbles are uniform in size. Add parsley, lemon juice, 2T "parmesan", garlic and 2t of Italian seasoning to tofu and combine. Mix water with marinara sauce and coat bottom of baking pan in a thin layer. Add a layer of noodles** and top with marinara and tofu mixture. Repeat layers, leaving the top layer of noodles without tofu mixture and instead top off with remaining marinara sauce and Italian seasoning. Sprinkle "mozzarella" and "parmesan" on top. Cover pan with foil and bake for 40 - 50 minutes. Remove foil and brown under broiler for 1 - 2 minutes. Bon appétit!

* There is no need to boil the noodles if you add water to the marinara sauce. Add more water if your sauce is very thick.

**I like to break a couple noodles and use the pieces it to fill in any gaps in the layers.