Pumpkin-Ricotta-Spinach Casserole

1 small pumpkin (or spaghetti squash), roasted
1 bag frozen spinach
1 container fat-free ricotta
1 egg
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp roasted garlic powder

1 tsp white pepper
1 tsp salt
nutritional yeast
pine nuts


Shred the squash/pumpkin flesh.  Mix with the frozen spinach, ricotta, beaten egg, nutmeg, salt, white pepper and roasted garlic powder.  Dust with nutritional yeast and sprinkle on some pine nuts.  Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

Mini Portable Breakfast Things

These are awesome and easy to make. If you're vegan, you can sub the eggs with this tofu mini quiche recipe.

A dozen eggs OR one batch tofu mini quiche mixture
12 slices smoked tomato Field Roast OR vegetarian bacon
1/2 cup finely chopped spinach OR kale (optional)
Smoked salt
Tobasco (optional)

Spray twelve muffin tins with oil. Line each tin with a slice of Field Roast or vegetarian bacon. Top with 1 tsp spinach or kale. Crack 1 egg on top of each one (or spoon in a few tablespoons of vegan quiche mixture). Top each cup with a pinch of salt and a dash of hot sauce. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes (30 if using the vegan option).

Each cup is about 100 calories of protein-y goodness.

Kale and Hearts of Palm Greek Yogurt Quiche (with vegan options)

2 bunches kale, trimmed and chopped
1/2 zucchini, shredded*
4 cloves garlic
1.5 cups hearts of palm, chopped finely
1 leek, chopped finely*
1 Tbsp olive oil
1.5 cups plain Greek yogurt OR soy yogurt
2 Tbsp capers*
3 eggs OR 1/3 cup hummus
1 Tbsp fresh oregano
2 Tbsp nutritional yeast*
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp smoked paprika*
1 Tbsp pine nuts*

* optional ingredients

Heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic, leek, zucchini and kale and stir for a few minutes. Add some water, cover and cook for 3 more minutes, or until the kale is dark green.

Meanwhile, beat the eggs/hummus and yogurt together. Mix in the salt, pepper, paprika and nutritional yeast. Spray a casserole dish well.

Mix the kale mixture with oregano,  pine nuts, hearts of palm and capers. Pour the yogurt mixture over the vegetables, and stir well. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Serves 8.

Kale Artichoke White Bean Strata

It's hard to say exactly how I came up with this dish. I was thinking spanakopita, but vegan. And then my pantry conspired to create this casticasserole.

Farmer's Market Spanakopita

1 Tbsp olive oil
2 bunches swiss chard or kale: de-stemmed
1 medium leek: chopped finely
3 garlic cloves: minced
2 handfuls fresh herbs: chopped (dill, basil, oregano, tarragon, thyme)
1 container lemon basil Northern Prairie Chevre
2/3 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Heat the olive oil in a large pot. Saute the greens and leek for 5 minutes, until dark green and wilted. Chop the cooked greens finely. Spread in the bottom of a baking dish. Add garlic, herbs and chevre and mix well. Top with the puff pastry, smearing the top with olive oil. Bake for 40 minutes.

Note: You can use the rest of the puff pastry for a quick dessert. Simply smear the remaining third with jam and/or chocolate, roll it up and bake for 15 minutes or so. (I used dark chocolate spread and black raspberry jam.)

Kale-Mushroom-Sundried Tomato-Sausage Quiche

1 can biscuit dough (Hy-Vee's Texas biscuits are vegan)
4 eggs (or 1 batch Vegan Brunch omelette mix)
1 tsp olive oil
1 cup kale, destemmed and chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
4 oz. oyster mushrooms
2 handfuls sundried tomatoes in oil, chopped
2 Morningstar Farms sausage patties, chopped
1 handful fresh basil & oregano (or other fresh herbs)
salt & pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Oil a pie plate. Press the biscuit dough into the pie plate until the bottom and sides are covered in a thin layer of dough.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Saute the garlic, kale and mushrooms for 5-10 minutes, or until the kale is dark green and tender. Mix in the tomatoes, fresh herbs and sausage chunks and spread evenly over the biscuit dough.

Whisk the eggs together until yolks and whites are incorporated. Season with a dash each of salt and pepper. Pour the egg mixture over the veggies. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the egg mixture is set.

Artichoke-Kale-White Bean Dip With Roasted Garlic

Based on this recipe from Grow. Cook. Eat.

1 8-oz. can artichoke hearts, drained
1/2 cup kale
1/2 cup fresh herbs (I used basil, oregano and tarragon)
1 cup navy beans, pureed
1 head roasted garlic, mashed
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp lemon juice (optional)
1 tsp white miso (optional)

Sautee the kale in a little olive oil until wilted (about 5 minutes). Chop the artichoke hearts, cooked kale and fresh herbs very finely and mix together. Mash/puree the beans and roasted garlic and add to the artichoke mixture along with the olive oil, lemon juice and miso. Use a stick blender to smooth the texture out, if desired. Adjust seasonings to taste. It's ready to eat now, but if you want, you can warm it in the oven or the microwave before serving.

Serve with chips, toasted bread or raw veggies for dipping.

Kale Chips

I made these last night, and they were AMAZING. Kind of like salt-n-vinegar chips. Crispy and salty and NOM.



1 bunch kale, leaves de-stemmed, washed and dried
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 Tbsp lime juice (or lemon juice or balsamic vinegar)
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 350. Whisk the oil, lime juice and salt together and coat the kale evenly. Spread the kale on baking sheets and bake for 7-15 minutes, or until the leaves are crispy and break easily. (Mine only took 7-8 minutes, but the original recipe called for 12-14, so who knows?)

Peanut BBQ Tofu; Orangey Roasted Squash & Sweet Potatoes; Kale & Black-Eyed Peas

Peanut BBQ Tofu

1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup BBQ sauce
2 tsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 tsp curry powder
1-2 tsp hot sauce (optional)
1 lb. extra firm tofu, cut into 1/4-inch thick slices

Mix all the sauce ingredients together and whisk until incorporated. Smear the tofu slices on all sides and marinate for at least 20 minutes (overnight is best).

Lay the slices in a baking dish, smear with any extra sauce and bake, covered, at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.

***

Orangey Roasted Squash & Sweet Potatoes

1 largish sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
1/2 yellow onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
salt & pepper to taste
a drizzle of olive oil
1/4 cup orange juice
2 Tbsp agave nectar

Combine all ingredients in a baking dish. Bake, covered, for 40 minutes at 400 degrees, or until the squash chunks are fork-tender. Taste and adjust seasonings to your preference.

***

Kale & Black-Eyed Peas

1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 tsp Cajun/Creole seasoning
a dash of liquid smoke (optional)
2-3 cups finely chopped frozen kale (or 1 bunch fresh)
1 can black-eyed peas, drained
2 Tbsp salsa
1/4 cup water

Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and saute for 5 minutes, or until translucent. Add the liquid smoke and Cajun seasoning, followed by the kale. Cook for 2 minutes or so, then add the black-eyed peas and salsa and stir well. Add the water, cover, and cook on medium-low for 10 minutes, or until the kale is tender.

African Beans and Greens

This was my attempt at recreating a favorite dish from a African restaurant that closed around these parts a few years ago. I served these with the Cornmeal Biscuits from Vegan Brunch. Delish.

2 cans black eyed peas, drained
1 can fire-roasted tomatoes, with juice
1 veg bouillon cube
1 tsp curry powder
1 cup frozen collard greens
a few shakes liquid smoke
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp each onion and garlic powder

Throw all ingredients into a crock pot or pressure cooker and cook until greens are very tender.

Butternut Squash, Kale & Mushroom Pasta Bake w/ Coconut Bechamel

This post by A Hungry Bear Won't Dance was the inspiration for the dish. It sounded delicious, and she even said you could veganize it by leaving out the bechamel and cheese, but I thought a coconut bechamel might be just as delicious and decadent. This recipe takes a little bit to put together, but it's so, so worth it.

1 small butternut squash, peeled and cubed

Arrange the cubes on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees, or until the cubes can be easily pierced with a fork.

1 lb. medium shells
a lot of water
1/4 tsp salt

Bring the salted water to a boil. Add the shells and cook, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes, or until al dente. Drain the pasta.

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 smallish yellow onion, diced
1 bunch kale, leaves de-stemmed and chopped
2-3 cups sliced crimini or shiitake mushrooms
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1 can cannellini or navy beans, drained
a splash of white wine (optional)
a dash of salt

Heat the olive oil. Add the onion, kale and mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes, or until the onion is translucent and the kale is dark green and wilty. Add the tomatoes, beans, white wine and salt and cook on low until heated through.

1 can light coconut milk
1/2 cup raw cashews
3 Tbsp white miso
2 Tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Blend the coconut milk, cashews, miso, nutritional yeast and nutmeg for 3 minutes, or until completely smooth.

Combine the squash, sauteed vegetables and drained pasta in a 9x13 casserole dish. Pour the coconut bechamel over everything. Top with grated Parmesan cheese if desired (I used a little of Milton Creamery's amazing Prairie Breeze), then cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. (If not using the cheese, you can just combine everything in a large pot and heat through. Gets it on the table faster. :)

Tasty Smoothie that I made tonight

1 frozen banana, in chunks
two handfuls frozen berries
3 handfuls blueberries (fresh or frozen)
2-3 scoops vanilla coconut ice cream (optional)
4-5 leaves swiss chard, washed & chopped
2 handfuls raw cashews
vanilla soy milk
orange juice

Combine and blend on high for 2-3 minutes, or until creamy.

Ingredient Notes: When my bananas start to get spotty, I chuck them in the freezer. When I'm ready to make a smoothie, I chop them up and peel the chunks. I get my raw cashews at the health food store in bulk and store them in the freezer. The ice cream is totally optional, but I like it. I add enough soy milk and orange juice to cover the frozen stuff, then add more as needed. You could also use kale or spinach in place of the swiss chard. When blended up, you can't taste the greens. They add vitamins.

Food tonight (5/6)

BBQ seitan 'ribz'
sauteed garlicky kale
pesto oven fries
Mexican brownies

Kale-a-kopita

1 tsp olive oil
10 oz kale (1 large bunch)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
5-6 mushrooms, sliced
1/2 tsp dried dill
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

8 oz. (1/2 block) firm tofu
1 tsp grainy mustard
2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1/8 tsp salt
1-2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp vegetable broth powder (optional)

1 sheet puff pastry


Set the puff pastry out to thaw. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Mash the tofu. Add the mustard, nutritional yeast, salt, lemon juice and veggie broth powder and mix well. Set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan. Add the mushrooms. Saute for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and kale and stir-fry for another 2-3 minutes. Stir in the dill, shake in some salt and pepper and remove from heat.

Spread the kale-mushroom mixture in the bottom of a greased baking dish. Spread the tofu mixture on top (or mix it in). Top with the puff pastry sheet, smear with olive oil and bake for 40 minutes or until golden and puffed up.

The Day of Vegan Decadence

The boy and I are in Los Angeles for a few days, and since he is the greatest husband in the history of all mankind, he offered to spend the day taking me to vegan restaurants and seeing just how much vegan food we can possibly stuff ourselves with. I think we've done an admirable job, all things considered. We're both practically comatose. (Of course, some of that is due to the fact that it's midnight back home... but I think the food has a lot to do with it, really.)



Breakfast: Swingers
Swingers is attached to our hotel, but we've been known to make trips way out of our way to eat here in the past. So breakfast was a no-brainer. We both got hot tea (me: green, him: earl grey). I had the soyrizo scramble: tofu, soyrizo, black beans and fresh salsa with sourdough toast smeared with agave syrup. DH had the organic eggs with veggie bacon, potatoes and toast. I think the veggie bacon is directly responsible for his intense love of all things Swingers.

After breakfast, we hit Whole Foods to stock up on staples, wandered through the Farmers' Market and headed out to Golden Apple and Secret Headquarters, two of L.A.'s many fine comic book shops.





Lunch: Flore Vegan Cuisine
Two things sold me on this location: 1) it's located right across the street from Secret Headquarters, and 2) they have a tempeh reuben. Ever since Beggar's Banquet closed in DSM, I've been without the joys of a tempeh reuben. Flore did not disappoint. We got hot twig tea to drink, the crispy kale as an appetizer (never knew kale could be so tasty! And crispy!). I got the tempeh reuben, of course, which was delectable. DH got the tempeh bacon and mushroom pizza with vegan mozzarella, which he pronounced scrumptious. I can't be totally certain, but I'm pretty sure I saw Flea, the bassist from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, at the table next to us.



Snack: Scoops
Two words for you: vegan gelato. Even though we were filled to bursting after lunch, we dashed in here quickly to share a scoop of the vegan orange-basil gelato. I would never have believed it didn't have dairy if I hadn't seen it clearly labeled 'vegan.' Freaking amazing.

After lunch, we headed back to the hotel, where I changed and ran back out to do an hour and a half of yoga at Liberation Yoga, on La Brea. (Have to burn off the gelato somehow!) Yoga left me exhausted and slightly sore, so it took some effort to decide where to go for dinner. Exhausted though we were, we decided to head out to Soul Vegetarian on Pico. Alas, their supposed location seemed to be occupied by a disco. Not to be deterred, we ventured forth.

Dinner: Rahel's Vegan Ethiopian Cuisine
At this point, I was seriously craving some curry, so I almost derailed us to Electric Karma (billed as 'the most romantic Indian restaurant in L.A.'). But neither of us had ever tasted Ethiopian food, so we stopped here instead. The place was small, dimly lit, interestingly decorated, and presumably authentic. I got a traditional drink made from barley, flax seed and sunflower seed, all blended up and mixed with agave. It tasted a little like a cereal milkshake. I ordered one of the combos, and DH got a single vegetable stew. When it came out, we were both boggled. Way too much food, especially considering our already-stuffed state. We made a good go of it, but there was only so much we could accomplish, being absolutely full and exhausted.



Which brings us to now, curled up in our delightfully decorated room in the Beverly Laurel Motor Hotel and trying not to fall into instant slumber.

Tomorrow we do it again!

Vegan Thanksgiving

Even though we're heading out to Chicago later this afternoon, I got a powerful yearning to make a semi-traditional Thanksgiving lunch:

- mashed potatoes
- kale (from our garden) with garlic & (tempeh) bacon
- wild mushroom strudel
- jellied cranberry sauce
- pumpkin pie

I made the cranberry sauce and the pie last night, but everything else came together relatively quickly late this morning.

Totally delicious, all made from scratch in less than half the time it'd take to roast a turkey, and no tryptophan coma to boot!

***

Mashed Potatoes

4-5 Yukon Gold potatoes, diced
1 cup veggie broth + enough water to cover potatoes
salt & pepper to taste
3-4 Tbsp Earth Balance margarine

Cover the potatoes with veggie broth and water plus a pinch or so of salt. Boil until very tender. Reserve 1 cup of the liquid, then drain potatoes over a colander. Return to the pot with Earth Balance, salt, pepper and a little liquid. Mash until creamy, tasting for seasoning and liquid.

(P.S. The mashed potatoes were especially good when mixed with the kale/bacon mixture. Mmmm....)

Bacon-y Potato-Swiss Chard Quiche

This recipe is from have cake, will travel. I adapted it to what I had on hand, and goddamn, was it tasty. It didn't set up very well, but I had proprotionately less tofu than veggies and probably didn't press out as much cooking liquid as I could have.

Crust:
1 cup spelt flour
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3 Tbsp margarine (cold)
1/4 cup water (cold)

Filling:
1 tsp olive oil
1 largish potato, cut into thin half-moons
1/2 onion, diced
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup water
1 bunch swiss chard, well rinsed and torn
3 garlic cloves, minced
6-10 tempeh bacon slices

Sauce:
1 package extra-firm silken tofu
4 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1/2 chipotle in adobo
3 Tbsp miso
2 cloves garlic
1/3 c plain soy or rice milk

Prepare the crust. Whisk together the flour, nutritional yeast, salt and pepper. Use your hands to squish in the margine bits until crumbly. Add the water a little bit at a time, until the dough forms a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate/freeze for 10-20 minutes, to chill the dough.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Chop the potato, onion and garlic and rinse/tear the swiss chard. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet, then add the potato and onion and 1/4 tsp salt and saute for a few minutes. Add the water, cover, and simmer until the potatoes are tender. Meanwhile, put the swiss chard in a large pot with an inch or so of water. Cover and cook for 5 minutes, or until the swiss chard is all wilty. Drain the potatoes, onions and swiss chard in a colander (you may need to press out extra liquid).

Rinse/dry your skillet and return it to medium heat. Add the tempeh bacon slices and cook for 5 minutes, or until crispy. Chop/crumble into little bits.

Dump all the sauce ingredients in a large jar and blend until smooth.

Spray a pie dish with olive oil. Remove the dough from the fridge/freezer and roll it out between two sheets of wax paper until thin. Peel off the top sheet of wax paper and flip the dough circle into the pie plate. Bake the crust for 10 minutes.

Mix the potatoes, onions, garlic, swiss chard and bacon with the sauce. Ladle the mixture into the prebaked crust and return to the oven. Bake for 20 minutes, then serve!

Cajun Black-Eyed Pea Tempeh Stir-Fry

Here's my thought process regarding dinner last night:

* Black eyed pea patties with chipotle remoulade sound tasty.
* Hm. Out of tofu. I could have them with salsa instead!
* Black eyed pea and tempeh patties sound even tastier.
* Damn. I'm really hungry. Patties are too much work. Let's throw it all in a pot instead.
* And add... tomatoes? And diced green chiles.
* Hm. No diced green chiles. Jalepenos!
* You know what would be tasty? Kale!

My boy declared this scrumptious. Funny how the tastiest recipes are borne out of desperation.

1 tsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 block tempeh, thawed and diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp bouillon powder
1/4 tsp Cajun seasoning
1 can diced tomatoes, with juice
2 cans black eyed peas, drained and rinsed
5-6 tamed jalepeno rings, diced (optional)
3-4 shakes Tobasco
3 kale leaves, washed and torn into bits (stems discarded, optional)

Heat the olive oil in a large pot. Add the onion, tempeh and salt and cook for 5-7 minutes, or until the tempeh is starting to brown. Add the bouillon powder, Cajun seasoning and garlic and cook for another minute or so. Add the tomatoes and juice and lower the heat to a simmer. Add the black eyed peas, jalepenos and Tobasco and stir well. Add the torn kale leaves on top, cover and cook for 7-10 more minutes, or until the greens are dark and wilted. Stir in the greens and serve!

Preserving 101: For Those of Us Too Scared to Can

One of these days, I'll get around to canning. But the Polk County Master Gardeners have managed to put the fear of God into me, and I don't have a pot large enough to submerge jars in anyway. So for now, if I'm going to preserve any of all this farmers' market bounty, it's going to have to be frozen.

Note: One side benefit is that this forces us not to clutter our freezer with processed crap that we basically never eat.

We did a little of this last year, freezing corn kernels and a few strawberries. This year, we've already frozen twenty quarts of strawberries and a few plastic tubs worth of corn and green beans.

Fortunately, the process is pretty simple. You briefly cook whatever you're going to freeze, then you either pack it into tubs or spread in a layer on a cookie sheet to freeze. (We usually don't bother to cook corn or strawberries.)

Last night, I froze five pounds worth of roma tomatoes by dipping them in boiling water for a minute or two, then plunging them in cold water. Once chilled, the skins slipped right off. I packed the skinless tomatoes into a plastic tub as tightly as possible (oxygen is not your friend in the freezer), then sealed it.

Tonight, we're roasting a whole crisper drawer's worth of beets. After they're cooked, we'll peel, slice and pack those into tubs as well.

Next up: kale!

Cajun Beans-n-Greens w/ Sausage & Polenta

I came up with this after a vigorous late afternoon of pulling ivy out of our neglected flower bed. We were both hungry, so I needed something quick and hearty. This was one of those peruse the pantry, peruse the refigerator, pull stuff randomly out of both, throw in pot and cook until tasty recipes. It cooked in just under ten minutes, and we gobbled up every last scrap.

1/2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, diced
10 or so 'tamed' jalepeno slices, chopped (or canned diced green chiles)
1 Tofurky sausage, diced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp Cajun seasoning
2 Tbsp tomato paste and/or salsa
1/3 cup water
1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 shakes liquid smoke
3 big handfuls baby spinach or 1/2 pkg frozen greens
More salsa or pickle relish for garnish

Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed soup pot. Add the onion, jalepeno slices and diced Tofurkey and cook for 5 minutes, or until things are starting to brown and stick to the pan a little. Add the garlic and Cajun seasoning and stir for another minute. Add the tomato paste, water, beans and liquid smoke and cook for 2-3 more minutes. Add the spinach or frozen greens and cook until wilted/thawed. Serve over grilled polenta and topped with more salsa or sweet pickle relish (Yes, I like sweet pickle relish on beans... it's a weird childhood thing).

Microwave Polenta
=======================

I took this from Fat Free Vegan's blog. What a miracle! So easy, and so convenient to use once it's cooked up. I've been throwing slices of polenta in everything this week.

2 cups water
1/2 cup + 1 tbsp. yellow cornmeal or boxed dry polenta
1 tsp salt
1 tsp olive oil (optional)
black pepper to taste

Combine cornmeal, salt and water in a microwaveable bowl. Cook for 6 minutes. Stir. Cook for another 4 minutes. Stir again, adding the olive oil (I forgot to add the oil, and it came out just fine). Spray a smallish dish with olive oil and pour/ladle the cornmeal goop into it. Cover and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, you will have delicious, homemade polenta!

You can then slice it about 1/4 inch thick, spray the slices with olive oil, and grill it, brown it in a pan, bake it on a cookie sheet, or microwave it topped with something tasty (like pesto! or tomato-olive sauce! or leftover soup!).