Spinach and Artichoke Pie

I adapted this from Fat Free Vegan, and it was delicious. Deeply satisfying, too, to wildly mush everything together, throw it in the oven and abscond to the living room to do yoga. We used our first spinach harvest from the garden in this dish. As in the original recipe, you can use phyllo dough to top the spinach mixture; I frequently do. But when I'm feeling lazy (which is often), I break out the puff pastry.

2 bags (16-ish oz.) baby spinach

12 oz. extra-firm tofu (the water-packed kind in tubs)
2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tsp. salt, or to taste
1-2 Tbsp fresh dill, chopped
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion powder
black pepper, to taste
a few shakes of hot sauce
7-10 artichoke hearts, coarsely chopped

1/4 cup toasted pinenuts
1 sheet frozen puff pastry
olive oil for smearing

Set the puff pastry out to thaw. Put the spinach on the stove with a little water and cook, covered, until uniformly dark. In a colander, drain the tofu, and using clean hands, squish it until it resembles ricotta cheese, draining off the liquid. Put the tofu, seasonings and artichoke hearts in a bowl and mash well.

Drain the spinach in the colander. Throw a few handfuls of pine nuts in the bottom of a dry saucepan and cook, stirring for a 5 minutes, or until golden. Add the pine nuts and spinach to the tofu mixture and mix well.

Spread the mixture in the bottom of a glass baking dish. Top with the puff pastry. Smear a little olive oil on top of the puff pastry. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 45 minutes, or until golden and puffed up on top.

"Neat"-balls and Spaghetti

I adapted this from the PETA Celebrity Cookbook.

1 cup TVP granules
1 cup boiling water + 1/2 veg bouillon cube
2 dashes liquid smoke
3-4 dashes Tobasco

Dissolve the bouillon cube in the boiling water. Combine the TVP, bouillon, Tobasco & liquid smoke. Let stand for 5 minutes, or until all the liquid is absorbed.

2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
2 Tbsp flour
1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs

Combine the yeast, flour and bread crumbs in a small bowl. Add to the TVP mixture.

1/2 tsp rosemary
1/2 tsp fennel seed
1 tsp sage
1/4 tsp salt
ground pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder

Grind the spices in a mortar and pestle. Add the spices to the TVP mixture. Form the mixture into small balls, coat with baking spray and set in a baking dish. Bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees.

2/3 jar marinara sauce
1/2 tsp pureed chipotle pepper in adobo
2 handfuls fettucine or linguine
6 cups water

Boil the water. Drop the pasta in and cook until al dente. Drain and toss with a little olive oil. Meanwhile, heat the marinara sauce. A minute or two before serving, remove from heat and stir in the "neat"-balls. Dish up the noodles, top with sauce.

Food/exercise log - May 18th

Breakfast:
- oatmeal with walnuts, flax seeds, raisins and soy milk
- orange juice w/ calcium

Lunch:
- avocado & hummus on toasted whole wheat
- raw organic carrots
- banana
- butternut squash soup

Snacks:
- 4 cups green tea
- fruit leather
- date coconut roll

Dinner:
- spaghetti & 'neat'-balls
- grapes

Exercise: 45 minutes walking (2 miles), 35 minutes weight-lifting (10-25 lb. sets)

Fresh Salsa

We don't have any salsa in the house, so I whipped this up to go on our black bean tostadas tonight. It took virtually no time and tasted marvelous.

1 large tomato, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 handful cilantro leaves
1-1/2 tsp lime juice
2 dashes onion powder

Mix all ingredients together and let sit for a few minutes to let flavors mingle.

Food/exercise log - May 10th

Breakfast:
- oatmeal with walnuts, flax seeds, raisins and soy milk
- orange juice w/ calcium

Lunch:
- curried chickpeas in relish
- pita chips
- raw organic carrots
- grapes

Snacks:
- 3 cups green tea

Dinner:
- portobello steak
- grape-orange-soy nut salad w/ honey mustard dressing
- chocolate pudding w/ raw cacao nibs
- red wine

Exercise: 50 minutes yoga (Yoga for Dummies)

Food/exercise log - May 9th

Breakfast:
- bulgur with walnuts, flax seeds, raisins and soy milk
- orange juice w/ calcium

Lunch:
- refried beans & salsa
- chips
- raw organic carrots
- pear

Snacks:
- 3 cups green tea
- baked plantain slices

Dinner:
- BBQ wheat meat
- almond green beans
- banana
- red wine

Exercise: 45 minutes weight-lifting (10-25 lb. sets)

BBQ Wheat-Meat & Almond Green Beans

I think I got the inspiration for this from another vegan food blog, though I can't remember which one. Regardless, this took about 5 minutes to prepare and was damn tasty.

BBQ Wheat-Meat

1/2 bottle barbecue sauce
2 cans braised wheat gluten tidbits, drained and rinsed
1/2 tsp each garlic & onion powder (optional)
1/2 tsp pureed chipotle in adobo (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and heat on medium for 5 minutes, or until bubbly. If it chars on the bottom, so much the better! Just scrape it up and mix it in.

Almond Green Beans

3 large handfuls green beans, trimmed and washed
1 Tbsp lime juice
1/4 cup water
salt & pepper to taste
1 handful toasted sliced almonds

Combine green beans, lime juice, water and spices in a large pan. Heat, covered, for 5 minutes over high heat, or until no longer crunchy. Drain, sprinkle with almonds and consume!

Baked Plantains

When I made these with tostadas last week, my slightly wary boy (who didn't care for the last plantain preparation) looked at these and asked hopefully: "What are these? Fried bananas?" I thought about explaining, but instead I happily fudged: "Why, yes!" We then both proceeded to gobble them up.

2 ripe (mostly black) plantains
2 tsp Sucanat
2 tsp lime juice
1/2 tsp paprika
canola oil spray
dash salt

Spray a baking dish liberally with canola oil. Peel the plantains, then slice them into rounds. Lay the slices in the baking dish. Sprinkle with Sucanat, lime juice and paprika, then spray the tops liberally with more canola oil. Sprinkle lightly with salt, then bake in a 375 degree oven for 45 minutes, or until browned and crispy around the edges.

Food/exercise log - May 8th

Breakfast:
- oatmeal with walnuts, flax seeds, raisins and soy milk
- orange juice w/ calcium

Lunch:
- peanut-butter & creamed honey on toasted whole wheat
- raw organic carrots

Snacks:
- 4 cups green/pu-erh tea

Dinner:
- tomato-olive pasta w/ garlic & hearts of palm
- coconut rice crackers
- dates
- hard cider

Exercise: 35 minutes yoga (Crunch Joy of Yoga)

Food/exercise log - May 5rd-7th

5/5/06

Breakfast:
- oatmeal with walnuts, flax seeds, raisins and soy milk
- orange juice w/ calcium

Lunch:
- veggie enchiladas
- refried beans & tortilla chips
- quinoa-chickpea soup
- mudslide pie (1/2 Tbsp)

Dinner:
- tempura vegetables
- seaweed-sesame salad
- miso soup
- avocado nori roll
- martini
- red wine

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5/6/06

Breakfast:
- Kashi Good Friends and soy milk
- orange juice w/ calcium

Lunch:
- tomato-lime-chipotle soup
- hummus-avocado sandwich
- banana

Dinner:
- veggie-black bean burrito w/ guacamole
- chips and salsa
- red wine

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5/7/06

Breakfast:
- fruit-nut muesli and soy milk
- orange juice w/ calcium

Lunch:
- peanut-butter-banana sandwich
- fruit leather
- vanilla soy milk
- pita chips w/ hummus

Snacks:
- goat cheese
- lemon curd
- kettle corn
- chocolate milk
- vanilla ice cream

Dinner:
- pita chips w/ salsa and hummus

Exercise: 45 minutes walking (2+ miles)

Food/exercise log - May 3rd-4th

5/3/06

Breakfast:
- oatmeal with walnuts, flax seeds, raisins and soy milk
- orange juice w/ calcium

Lunch:
- peanut-butter & banana sandwich
- apple

Snacks:
- green tea (4 cups)
- fruit leather

Dinner:
- chickpea-quinoa soup
- oven-crisped corn tortillas

Exercise: 45 minutes yoga (Crunch fat-burning yoga)

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5/4/06

Breakfast:
- oatmeal with walnuts, flax seeds, raisins and soy milk
- orange juice w/ calcium

Lunch:
- black bean tostadas w/ tomatoes & cilantro
- banana

Snacks:
- green tea (4 cups)
- granola

Dinner:
- coconut-lime-mushroom soup
- broccoli-slaw salad w/ lime-garlic dressing

Exercise: 45 minutes weight-lifting

Refried Black Beans

2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp lime juice
2 Tbsp enchilada sauce
2-3 drops liquid smoke
4-5 drops chipotle Tobasco
3 Tbsp veggie broth
2 handfuls soy cheddar cheese (optional)

Combine all ingredients (except cheese) in a glass baking dish and mash until creamy. Top with cheese and bake for 30 minutes at 350 minutes, or until cheese is all melty.

Food/exercise log - May 2nd

Breakfast:
- oatmeal with walnuts, flax seeds, raisins and soy milk
- orange juice w/ calcium

Lunch:
- red lentil-and-rice patties w/ coconut-cilantro sauce
- apple
- banana

Snacks:
- green tea (4 cups)
- fruit leather

Dinner:
- black bean tostadas w/ tomatoes & cilantro
- red wine

Exercise: 20 minutes vigorous lawn mowing, 20 minutes weight-lifting (10-25 lb. sets)

Red Lentil-Rice Patties w/ Coconut-Cilantro Sauce

When Fat-Free Vegan mentioned the recipe Telephone game, I had to play. My boy was very impressed by these -- and although they smoked up the kitchen, I'm very happy to have the leftovers for lunch tomorrow. (The sauce is absolutely divine.)

1 cup red rice
1/2 cup red lentils
3 1/2 cups water
2/3 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp pureed chipotle pepper in adobo
1-2 dashes liquid smoke

2 tbsp. Bulk UnCheese Mix
2-3 tsp sesame oil

Combine all above ingredients (except the UnCheese Mix and the sesame oil) in a saucepan and simmer briskly until the rice is tender and all the moisture is absorbed, about 15-20 minutes. Set in the refrigerator until completely chilled.

While the rice-lentil mixture is chilling, combine the following ingredients in a bowl and pulse with an immersion blender until completely mixed:

1/4 cup coconut milk
1/4 tsp ground ginger
2 Tbsp cilantro leaves
2 Tbsp honey
1 tsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp lime juice
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Set the coconut sauce in the fridge to chill. Heat the sesame oil in a frying pan. Roll the mixture into balls and flatten into patties. Dredge in the UnCheese Mix and fry patties in sesame oil for 3-4 minutes on each side. Serve hot with the coconut sauce on top.

Ingredient Notes: I found the red rice at Double Dragon, our local Asian market, for $1/pound.

Food/exercise log - May 1st

Breakfast:
- oatmeal with walnuts, flax seeds, raisins and soy milk
- orange juice w/ calcium

Lunch:
- soba, tofu, gluten and tomatoes
- pear

Snacks:
- green tea (4 cups)

Dinner:
- red lentil-and-rice patties w/ coconut-cilantro sauce
- vitamin C drops

Exercise: 40 minutes yoga (total body tone w/ weights & power beauty sweat)