Day three of MoFo and all is well……. Well, sort of.
Zucchetti with Sun Dried Tomato Marinara Sauce
I was browsing around the internet, soaking in all the wonderful vegan posts, and wham, go attacked by a computer virus. Basically the virus attached a secret encryption to all my files and the only way to get my files back was to go to a website and pay to get the secret code…………..I think not……. fortunately I do regular back ups, so a quick loading of the original dvd’s that came with the computer, everything is wiped off and reloaded. Thank goodness for external hard drives and backups. A little inconvenient but nothing too serious.
Zucchetti with Sun Dried Tomato Marinara Sauce
Continuing on with the theme of quick and easy (didn’t take too much time or effort to restore my computer) and delicious, todays recipe is for Zucchetti with Sundried Tomato Marinara Sauce. You could sub out they zucchetti (spiralized zucchini) with a pasta of your choice if you prefer.
This meal can be totally raw or if you like (as I did) you can add in fried mushrooms.
Enjoy,
Zucchetti with Sun Dried Tomato Marinara Sauce
Serves 2
2 or 3 zucchini spiralized (or 2 cups of cooked pasta of choice)
1 Cup sun dried tomato’s soaked in 1/2 cups hot water for 10 mins (reserve water)
1 Tblspn olive oil
2 plum tomato’s
1 handful fresh basil
1 garlic clove
Sauteed mushrooms and nutritional yeast if desired to garnish
Place spiralized zucchini on paper towels to absorb excess moisture.
Combine drained sun dried tomato’s, olive oil, plum tomato’s, basil and garlic in a blender or food processor. Process until fairly smooth. Add reserved tomato soaking water a tablespoon at a time until you reach the desired consistency.
Place zucchini on two plates. Spoon marinara sauce over top and sprinkle with sautéed mushrooms and nutritional yeast if using.
You may also gently heat the marinara sauce in a small pot before serving if you prefer a cooked sauce.
I like the sauce “raw” and it avoids one more pot to clean, adding to the “quick and easy” part of the recipe…….and it truly is delicious.
Italian Wedding Soup with Gluten Free Basil Crackers
One of my favourite pre vegan soups was Italian Wedding Soup. I just love the meatballs. Come to think of it, I love meatballs in spaghetti too. So, I have been trying to find a great meatball substitute. For a long time I have used button mushroom whole in spaghetti sauce to mimic the meatballs. While this is good, it never really satisfied my “meatball” craving.
Here I think I have found my ultimate meatball so, with my MofFo theme of Soups and Breads, I decided to tackle the old favourite, Italian Wedding Soup. The result was even better than I had hoped. I guess I may have cheated a little with the Basil Cracker, it isn’t really a bread, but, it just seemed the perfect fit. You will see in the Nutritional Info at the bottom that this dish is very high in sodium. If you want to lower the sodium content make sure to use low sodium broth and omit the additional salt. Also, the cracker recipe is Gluten Free, however, obviously the meatballs are not. If you are Gluten Free, you could use Gluten Free pre prepared meatballs, or even, in a pinch, use whole button mushrooms.
Enjoy,
Italian Wedding Soup with Gluten Free Basil Crackers
Italian Wedding Soup
Serves 6
4 Tbspns olive oil, divided
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced plus 1 whole clove, peeled, divided
¾ cup diced carrot
¾ cup diced celery
1 Tbs Oregano
1 Tbspn Basil
1 Tbspn Parsley
8 cups vegetable broth
¾ cup ditalini pasta
18 – 24 vegan meatballs (recipe follows – the recipe is based on Vital Wheat Gluten)
1 5-oz. pkg. fresh spinach
1 Tbspn fresh lemon juice
Heat 2 Tbspns olive oil in large pot over med heat. Add onion and garlic; sauté 5 minutes, or until beginning to soften. Stir in carrot and celery, and cook 5 minutes more, or until onion is soft. Add oregano, basil, and parsley, and cook 1 minute. Stir in broth, and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to medium, add ditalini, and cook at low boil 5 minutes, or half of cooking time stated in ditalini package directions. Add meatballs, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 10 minutes. Add in a little extra water if necessary to thin to desired consistency,
Meanwhile, heat remaining 2 Tbspns oil in pan over med heat. Add remaining garlic clove, grated.. Add spinach; cook 3 to 5 minutes, turning constantly so spinach becomes evenly coated and wilted, but still bright green. After meatballs have simmered, add spinach and lemon juice to soup, and season with salt and pepper.
Italian Wedding Soup with Gluten Free Basil Crackers
Gluten Free Basil Crackers
Makes 24 crackers
Ingredients
1 cup gluten free flour blend
1 Tblspn melted vegan butter
1 tspn olive oil
1 tspn basil
½ tspn agave
½ tspn salt
Sea salt for the top
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour blend and salt. Add oil, melted butter, agave, and ¼ cup water and mix until the dough comes together into a ball.
Add more water if the dough seems too dry.
Pat the dough into a disk. Place the disk between two pieces of parchment and using a rolling pin, roll until very thin, about ⅛ inch.
Remove the top piece of parchment from dough and cut dough into 1-inch squares, but do not separate. Lightly brush the dough with water and sprinkle with sea salt.
Keep the dough on parchment paper and move onto a cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees until crisp and slightly puffed, about 15-20 minutes. Rotate the cookie sheet after about ten minutes.
Cool then separate.
Italian Wedding Soup with Gluten Free Basil Crackers
Mix the following liquid ingredients
3/4 cup Cold water
1 Tblspn tamari
1 Tblspn vegetable oil
For the simmering broth you will need:
6 cups vegetable broth
Directions:
In a large pot, bring broth to a rapid boil.
Add the liquid ingredients (not the simmering broth) to the dry ingredients. Mix thoroughly until all ingredients are combined. Dont overwork the dough or the meatballs will be tough. Cut off small pieces of dough and roll into small, round meatball shapes with the palms of your hands, about 1/2-inch in diameter.
Work quickly as the gluten in the dough becomes more elastic the longer the dough sits, and this will make rolling more difficult. Do not make the meatballs too large because they will increase in size when simmered.
Now add the meatballs to the boiling broth and immediately reduce the heat to a slow simmer. Cook uncovered for 25 minutes. Check frequently to maintain the broth at a very gentle simmer. Do not boil. Stir occasionally once the meatballs float to the top of the pot. When done cooking, remove the pot from the heat and let the meatballs cool in the broth until they reach room temperature. Refrigerate the meatballs with about 1/2 cup of the simmering broth in a zip-lock bag or airtight container for a minimum of 8 hours, or for up to 10 days, before browning in the skillet. This will firm and optimize their texture. You can also freeze them for up to 3 months
Finishing the Meatballs:
Sauté the meatballs in a skillet with 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil over medium-high heat until nicely browned
Italian Wedding Soup with Gluten Free Basil Crackers
Italian Wedding Soup with Gluten Free Basil Crackers
Vegan Mofo is here…….and I have decided to go with a theme of Soups paired with different breads. When I first thought of this, I was only thinking how great all the soup and fresh baked bread would be. I didn’t really consider the fact that if I make and post about 20 different soups, that will also mean I will be baking 20 different breads. Well, I will certainly be busy, but one thing I know for sure…… my kitchen is going to smell great for the next month at least.
So here we are with the first soup and bread recipes for MoFo.
Packed Minestrone Soup
There is something wonderful about Minestrone Soup. it is so rich and full of flavours. Indeed a meal in itself. To enjoy with this wonderful soup, I have made a warm onion bread roll, full of whole wheat goodness. I will be making some Gluten Free breads as well during the month and will have an All Purpose Gluten Free Bread Flour mix for you as well in the coming posts.
Enjoy,
Packed Minestrone Soup
Protein Packed Minestrone Soup
Makes 6 servings
Ingredients
1 yellow onion, diced
2 medium carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 zucchini, diced
1 cup fresh green beans, cut into bite size pieces
1 red pepper, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups vegetable broth
1 (14 oz) can crushed tomatoes
3 cups water
1 handful fresh chopped parsley
½ tsp rosemary
½ tsp dried thyme
1 tsp sugar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup dry quinoa – rinsed
1 cup dry pasta
1/2 (15 oz) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 (15 oz) can chick peas, drained and rinsed
1 Tbsp lemon juice
Directions
Heat olive oil over medium heat in large soup pot. Add diced onion, carrots and celery and sauté about 5 minutes, until softened. Add in zucchini, green beans, red bell pepper and continue to sauté 2 additional minutes, then add garlic and cook 1 minute longer.
Add in vegetable broth, crushed tomatoes, water, parsley, rosemary, thyme, granulated sugar, season with salt and pepper to taste and bring mixture to a boil, add quinoa and pasta then reduce heat to medium and allow soup to gently simmer, uncovered until pasta is cooked al dente, about 12 minutes.
If necessary add additional water to keep soup at desired consistency.
Add cannellini beans, chick peas, and lemon juice and cook, uncovered for 5 minutes.
Protein Packed Minestrone Soup
Whole Wheat Onion Breadsticks
Makes 14
1 pkg active dry yeast
2 Tblspns sugar
4 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 Tblspn sea salt
2 Tblspns coconut oil, melted
For the Topping
3 Tblspns unsalted butter melted
1/2 tspn coarse sea salt
1/4 tspn onion powder
pinch of dried oregano
Place 1/4 cup warm water and sugar in a mixing bowl, stir to dissolve sugar, sprinkle in the yeast and set aside until foamy, about 10 mins.
Add the flour, coconut oil, fine salt and 1 1/4 cups plus 2 Tblspns warm water, mix using dough hook attachment of mixer, or by hand until slightly sticky dough forms, approx 5 mins (mixer), 10 mins by hand.
Knead the dough on a floured surface for 5 mins or until smooth and soft.
Roll into a 18 inch log and cut into 14 equal pieces.
Knead each piece and then shape into 7 inch breadstick. Place on parchment lined baking tray, leaving 1 – 2 inches spacing.
Cover with a cloth and let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, approx2 hours
Preheat oven to 375
Topping:
Brush the breadsticks with half the melted butter and sprinkle sparingly with coarse sea salt. Bake until lightly brown, about 15 mins.
Mix together the remaining salt, onion powder and oregano.
Brush breadsticks with remaining melted butter and sprinkle with onion oregano mixture.
2013 was a good year, I found my “voice” in this blog and now enjoy being part of a wonderful online community. My third granddaughter, Grace was born, another angel in the family. Everyone is healthy and happy, it does not get any better than that.
2014 is a blank slate, nothing is impossible, and everything is ahead of us. My plans (or resolutions) for the coming year include, learning Italian (part one of planning to visit Italy in the next couple of years), regularly practicing yoga (part one of fitting back into some of my favourite clothes) and eating a more healthful vegan diet (part two of fitting back into said favourite clothes) and, finally, making time for a relaxing bubble bath every week, complete with soft music, chilled wine and candles (me time).
Whatever your plans or resolutions, I wish you all a fantastic 2014 filled with love and laughter and sunshine.
For a final snack in 2013 or a first bite in 2014, this pizza is perfect. I cheated this time and purchased flatbread for the base, but you could make your own, or use tortilla’s. The tomato sauce is from my previous post Spaghetti (squash) with Roasted Tomato Sauce and Meatballs which is perfect here. You can top the pizza with whatever vegetables you like just make sure you roast them in the oven first, this intensifies the flavour.
vegetables of choice sliced and tossed in olive oil and roasted in 325 oven for 30 mins (I like onions, mushrooms, asparagus and red pepper)
1 small eggplant
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
While roasting assorted vegetables, pierce eggplant all over with skewer and place in oven. Roast for 40 mins or until soft when pierced with knife.
Remove vegetables from oven and let cool slightly. Remove eggplant from oven and let cool.
Once cool enough to handle, cut eggplant in half and scoop out the soft flesh. Place in food processor with nutrition yeast and process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
Cover pizza base with tomato sauce, top with roasted vegetables. Spoon eggplant cheez over top. Bake in 375 oven for 10 – 15 mins until heated through and the base is lightly browned.
Remove from oven and let sit for 5 mins before slicing.
Note: I have not included nutritional information for this recipe as it will depend on the pizza base choice as well as the amout and type of vegetables your use.
Spaghetti (squash) with Roasted Tomato Sauce and Meatballs
Wow, it is amazing that we are already closing in on the end of Vegan MoFo. Here is recipe #19 with just one more to go.
This was an easy one for me. Sometimes it is hard to decide what to make, but this was a natural.
When I opened up our CSA share this week, there was a huge spaghetti squash. This was perfect timing as last weekend I had picked up three big bags of perfectly ripe Ontario field tomato’s. They had just been put on the “reduced” rack at the store. Home they went, to be roughly chopped together with onions, garlic, red peppers some olive oil and salt and pepper and then into the oven to slow roast for an hour or so. I then pureed this into a tomato sauce. I froze this in freezer bags holding approx 2 cups each. I now have about a dozen packages of sauce in the freezer to use in the winter when fresh tomato’s are less than prime and totally overpriced, One bag came out for the spaghetti squash. Now all that was missing was a fantastic meatball.
I have tried a number of different approaches to the humble meatball to find a nice tasty solid version. I was toying with using my “beets meat” recipe but I have posted that twice recently, so went to another old favourite. This meatball has a nice texture and is very easy to make. They also freeze well.
The best part about this recipe is that by using the squash as the pasta, you can go back for seconds (or, in my case thirds) without feeling guilty.
Recipe # 20 is next, and as I mentioned earlier, it is to be a Grand Finale. Stay tuned and get ready for a sweet ending to Vegan MoFo.
Enjoy,
Spaghetti (squash) with Roasted Tomato Sauce and Meatballs
Spaghetti (squash) with Roasted Tomato Sauce and Meatballs
Serves 6
1 large spaghetti squash
1 whole head of garlic plus 6 cloves
2 tblspns olive oil
sea salt and black pepper
1/2 cup chickpea flour
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 onion, finely diced
1/2 tspn fennel seeds
1/4 tspn smoked paprika
1/4 tspn red pepper flakes
2 tblspns lemon juice
handful fresh basil
1/2 tspn dried oregano
1/2 tspn dried parsley
1/2 tspn dried sage
2 tspns nutritional yeast, plus extra for topping
1/4 cup water
4 large ripe tomato’s roughly chopped
2 medium onions roughly chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 large red pepper, seeded and roughly chopped
Extra olive oil
Preheat oven to 375
Cut spaghetti squash in half lengthwise. Remove seeds.
Grate one head of garlic and mix into 2 tblspns olive oil. Place squash cut side up on baking sheet. Cover with garlic oil mixture. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake uncovered for 40 mins. Remove from oven and let cool for at least 10 mins. Remove “spaghetti” strands from skin with a fork. Set aside.
Note: Depending on the size of your squash, you will need to adjust the cooking times. In this case, mine was huge (straight from the farm) and took closer to 1 1/2 hours to cook. Just keep checking by poking with a fork until it is tender.
Spaghetti Squash
Spaghetti Squash Cooked
Meatballs:
Preheat oven to 400
Combine chickpea flour, sunflower seeds, 1/2 onion, 2 cloves garlic, fennel seeds, paprika, red pepper flakes, lemon juice, basil, oregano, parsley, sage and nutritional yeast in food processor.
Process until almost smooth, adding water as necessary. Mixture should be thick enough to roll into balls.
Roll into balls and place on baking sheet, lined with parchment paper.
Bake for 15 – 20 mins or until starting to brown. Remove from oven and let sit for 5 mins before serving.
Tomato Sauce:
Preheat oven to 375
Combine tomato’s, roughly chopped onions, 4 minced garlic cloves and roughly chopped red pepper with enough olive oil to coat. Add salt and pepper to taste. Bake uncovered for at least 1 hour, stirring occasionally. The longer you bake this the better, you want the onions to caramalize.
Tomato, onion, garlic and olive oil
Roasted tomato onion and garlic
Remove from oven, allow to cool slightly then puree in food processor in batches.
To serve, place a nest of spaghetti squash on plate, top with 4 – 6 meatballs, ladle tomato sauce over the top and sprinkle with extra nutritional yeast if desired.
Spaghetti (squash) with Roasted Tomato Sauce and Meatballs
Whole Grain Pizza with Smokey Chickpea Cheese and Roasted Vegetables
Mmmm, I love Pizza. This pie was made with a purchased whole grain thin crust base. You could also use a flatbread, wrap or pita.
What I don’t love about pizza is feeling guilty after I eat it. Too much oil and grease.
With this pizza, there is no guilt involved. The whole grain base is thin and not at all heavy. The Chickpeas Cheese, is light but has such incredible flavour (it almost didn’t make it onto the pizza, after I tasted it, I seriously considered just sitting down with a spoon and eating it out of the bowl) and the vegetables are freshly roasted, soft and delicious.
This makes four servings. Or, as in my case, one supper and a slice to take to work the next day for lunch (which I actually ate first thing in the morning because I knew it was in my lunch bag and couldn’t wait till lunch to eat it) Yes, I ate three slices for supper, but it was so good and I enjoyed every bite.
Let me know if you can stop at one slice 🙂
Enjoy,
Whole Grain Pizza with Smokey Chickpea Cheese and Roasted Vegetables
Whole Grain Pizza with Smokey Chickpea Cheese and Roasted Vegetables
I thin crust whole grain pizza base
Smokey Chickpea Cheese:
1/2 tin chickpeas drained
1 head oven roasted garlic
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
juice of half a lemon
1/4 tspn smoked paprika
2 – 4 tblspns water
Roasted Vegetables:
2 – 4 tblspns olive oil
1/2 small yellow zucchini sliced
1 tomato coarsely sliced
3 cremini mushrooms sliced
1 small onion sliced
1/2 red pepper sliced
handful baby spinach or baby bok choy
fresh ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 375
Toss vegetables with olive oil and spread on baking tray.
Whole Grain Pizza with Smokey Chickpea Cheese and Roasted Vegetables
Bake at 375 for 10 – 15 mins.
At the same time, cut the very top off the head of garlic, drizzle with olive oil and bake with the veggies.
remove vegetables from oven and set aside.
Squeeze garlic soft garlic cloves out of peel.
Place garlic cloves, chickpeas, nutritional yeast, lemon juice and paprika into food processor. Process until smooth and creamy, adding water if necessary. You will need to scrape down the sides a couple of times.
Spread the chickpea mixture on the pizza base.
Spread the roasted vegetables on top.
Return to oven and bake for 10 – 15 mins.
Whole Grain Pizza with Smokey Chickpea Cheese and Roasted Vegetables
Note: Nutritional Information below does not include the pizza base.
Zucchini Lasagna with Oven Rosted Tomato Garlic Sauce
Yay, officially half way to the 20 posts this month. Also, another big (for me anyway) milestone, my blog just passed the first 1,000 hits, thank you everyone who has stopped by. Next stop, the first million (gotta think big 🙂
Well, the weather is really chilly today, a high of only 10 degrees, and the geese are starting to gather which is never a good sign (they gather then fly south ahead of the snow arriving)
Fortunately, I have a lovely fall recipe here for a vegetable lasagna that is stuffed full of veggies. You can easily sub out any of the veggies for whatever you have around. I had lots of zucchini and brocoli and patty pan squash, so that is what I used.
The tomato sauce part is a repeat of my go to recipe. Slow roasting the tomato’s, garlic and onions in the oven draws out and magnifies all their wonderful flavours. Adding lentils give the sauce a real “meaty” texture and tons of protein. (Note: I always cook more lentils than I need and freeze the rest in freezer bags. That way they are on hand and ready when you are)
The “cheese” sauce can be made with a head of cauliflower if you do not want to use the tofu. Just steam a head of cauliflower florets until soft and then use in place of the tofu.
Enjoy,
Zucchini Lasagna with Oven Rosted Tomato Garlic Sauce
Zucchini lasagna with Oven Roasted Tomato Sauce
Serves 8
4 large ripe tomato’s coarsely chopped (I used a combo of tomato’s I had in the fridge, any kind will do, just have about 3 – 4 cups total)
2 large onions coarsely chopped
6 cloves garlic coarsely chopped
2 Tblspns olive oil
2 cups cooked lentils
I head brocoli, chopped
2 cups chopped vegetable of choice (I used Patty Pan Squash as they were in the fridge and needed using up. )
3 tblspns fresh basil chopped
1 block silken tofu
6 tblspns Nutritional Yeast
juice of half a lemon
pinch sea salt
2 large zucchini
1 medium sweet potato
Preheat oven to 375 F
Combine chopped tomato’s, onions, garlic and olive oil in baking dish. Bake for 40 mins. Remove from heat and stir in cooked lentils,
Zucchini Lasagna with Oven Rosted Tomato Garlic Sauce
Place mixture in food processor and process 4 or 5 times to combine but still leave lumps. Set aside.
Place brocoli and other vegetable of choice in pan with either a little olive oil or water. Gently saute for 5 mins until vegetables are just starting to soften. Remove from heat and set aside.
Combine Tofu, nutritional yeast, lemon juice and sea salt in food processor. Process until totally smooth and creamy. Set aside.
Slice zucchini and sweet potato into long thin strips. I used a mandolin for the zucchini and a wide vegetable peeler for the sweet potato.
Zucchini Lasagna with Oven Rosted Tomato Garlic Sauce
Grease large baking dish on bottom and sides.
Place 1/3 of the zucchini in layer on the bottom of the baking dish.
Zucchini Lasagna with Oven Rosted Tomato Garlic Sauce
Top with 1/3 of the sweet potato slices.
Zucchini Lasagna with Oven Rosted Tomato Garlic Sauce
Spread 1/2 of the tomato mixture on top.
Zucchini Lasagna with Oven Rosted Tomato Garlic Sauce
Spread 1/2 of the brocoli mixture on top.
Zucchini Lasagna with Oven Rosted Tomato Garlic Sauce
Spread 1/2 the tofu mixture on top.
Zucchini Lasagna with Oven Rosted Tomato Garlic Sauce
Place 1/2 of the remaining zucchini on top.Place 1/2 remaining sweet potato on topPlace remaining tomato mixture on top.
Place remaining brocoli mixture on top
Place remaining zucchini on top.
Place remaining sweet potato on top.
Cover with remaining Tofu mixture.
Sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper.
Bake covered for 45 mins at 375 F. Remove cover and return to oven, bake additional 20 mins uncovered.
Allow to sit for at least 15 mins before slicing and serving.
Zucchini Lasagna with Oven Rosted Tomato Garlic Sauce
The weather here is still quite cool, especially for summer 😦 So to cheer myself up, I headed to comfort food.
For me, either pasta or potato’s (or at times both, if I am in a real funk) always do the trick.
This week I put together a creamy, garlicy pasta. The roasted garlic and paprika give the dish a nice smokey flavour. If you prefer to go soy free, you can substitute 1 cup white kidney beans for the tofu. This will not be quite so creamy, but still very delicious.
We are happily receiving wonderful CSA baskets each week. It is hard to believe we are already at week 7. I love receiving my email on Sunday night that lists what will be in the next baset. My fridge is always full of wonderful fresh produce. Thank you Ryan and Isabelle.
CSA Week Seven
So, what to do with all these goodies? I usually do a stir fry and a “Buddha Bowl” (mixture of steamed veggies and brown rice with a little soy sauce). These are both great to do ahead in a big batch, then they are ready for quick suppers or to grab to take to work for lunch.
Cooper (the wonder dog), is always happy when I start cooking the veggies. He thinks he is vegan too. He just loves carrots and sweet potato and apple slices. He always gets four slices of whatever I am cutting up. He knows he gets four, and if I try to shortchange him, he just gives me “the look”.
I have also started back into juicing again. I had gotten out of the habit, but now with all these greens, especially the beet tops, I am re-motivated. So far, I do not usually have anything left over at the end of the week. If I don’t eat it, Cooper does 🙂
This week I will also be making a Roasted Tomatillo and Green Olive Salsa out of the lovely basket of Tomatillo’s you can see in the bottom right of the picture. I will post that recipe too soon.
Enjoy
Creamy Roasted Garlic Linguine
Creamy Roasted Garlic Linguine
Serves 4
1 head of garlic left whole
Olive oil
½ package silken tofu
2 Tblspns nutritional yeast
½ tspn paprika
Salt and pepper to taste
4 cups Cooked pasta of choice
Pre-heat oven to 325. Cut the top off the head of garlic so that a little of each clove has been taken off. Drizzle with olive oil. Place garlic on baking sheet and bake for 30 mins.
Roasting Garlic
Allow garlic to cool slightly. Gently squeeze the soft garlic cloves out and place in blender.
Add tofu, nutritional yeast and paprika. Blend until smooth and creamy. Add a little water if necessary to thin.
What a wonderful week. Hot sunny weather, the summer is in full swing.
I really enjoy being outside during the summer. I love pottering around in my garden or sitting on my back deck just watching and listening to everything around me.
Robins taking a dip in the birdbath, “Charlie” the chipmunk coming to get his peanuts, the tiny chickadees flitting to and from the birdfeeder and the squirrels chasing each other through the trees. There is a whole community living out there.
This year I have not planted many vegetables as I am receiving my weekly CSA basket, but I still have my cherry tomato plant. There is nothing like picking a juicy red cherry tomato off the plant and popping it into my mouth. The tomato’s never make it into my kitchen, let alone onto a salad. I eat them right off the plant as soon as they are ripe.
Nothing beats fresh produce. This week we received our third CSA basket filled with kohlrabi, lettuce, field greens, basil, parsley, cilantro, spring onions, broccoli leaves and radish, all from our wonderful farmers, Ryan and Isabelle from Field Good Farms.
CSA Week Three
All that was left from last week’s supply was one kohlrabi, a few basil leaves and some of the tomato BBQ sauce I made.
For the kohlrabi, I decided to make fries.
Kohlrabi Fries with Tomato BBQ Sauce
There is no formal “recipe” for this, I just peel the kohlrabi then slice into fry size pieces. Toss in a little olive oil and herbs of choice (I used oregano) then bake in a hot oven for 15 – 20 mins, turning halfway. Serve with tomato bbq sauce.
The crust is from a recipe from Richa’s blog, veganricha. A mixture of soaked brown rice and brown lentils make a nice base with good texture.
When I looked in my fridge, I had a tomato, a portabello mushroom and some olives. Perfect toppings for pizza. I then made my “cheese” to finish off. The end result was delicious.
Enjoy,
Tracy 🙂
Brown Rice and Lentil Pizza Crust Makes 3 individual pizza crusts
½ cup uncooked brown basmati rice
¼ cup uncooked brown lentils
½ cup water
Italian herbs
¼ tspn garlic powder
¾ tspn salt
¾ tspn active yeast
Generous pinch baking powder
Soak rice and lentils overnight in warm water
Drain rice and lentils and rinse. Blend with water into a smooth batter. You may need to add a little more water. Add salt, herbs and spices and mix well.
Add yeast and baking powder and mix well.
Cover and let sit in a warm place for an hour until batter gets bubbly.
Ladle onto parchment covered baking sheets. Spread out to approx. 7 inch diameter. Keep thickness similar to a pancake.
Bake in oven for 5 mins.
Remove from oven and add toppings.
Return to oven for another 5.- 6 mins. Remove from oven, allow to cool for a min before removing from parchment paper. Slice and serve.
Toppings:
1 tomato sliced
1 portabella mushroom sliced
12 fresh basil leaves
12 black olives sliced
¾ cup tomato BBQ Sauce
¾ cup coco-mozzarella
Coco-mozzarella
Makes approx. 1 cup
1 cup coconut milk
1 tspn Guar Gum
Pinch salt
1 tspn apple cider vinegar
½ tspn lemon juice
1 Tblspn cornstarch
1 Tblspn brown rice flour
¼ cup nutritional yeast
Heat coconut milk in pot over med heat until just hot. In separate bowl mix all dry ingredients. Add vinegar and lemon juice to coco nut milk. Very slowly ( ½ tspn at a time) add dry ingredients to wet over low to med heat, whisking continually. Cook for 3 – 5 mins until thickened.
Remove from heat and pour into greased container to set. Refrigerate for at least one hour.
To achieve a more “cheddar” like cheese, add herbs of choice, garlic powder, additional nutritional yeast and a pinch of turmeric before setting.
Coco-mozzarella or Cheddar
Assemble Pizza
Spread 1/3 tomato bbq sauce on each pizza base
Top with 4 slices tomato, four slices mushroom, four basil leaves and four sliced olives per pizza.
Drizzle 1/3 cup coco-mozzarella cheese over each pizza
Driving home last night with my basket full of fresh organic produce from my wonderful farmers, Ryan and Isabelle from Field Good Farms, the aroma of just picked basil filled the car. By the time I turned into my driveway, I was torn between making a pesto pasta sauce or an old favourite known as “Gernat’s Pasta”. So, instead of choosing between these two taste sensations, I made (and ate) them both 🙂
Pasta two ways
Whenever I smell fresh basil, I immediately think of “Gernat’s Pasta”.
Many years ago, when I still lived in Australia, we had a young man from Italy visit with us. We prepared a nice BBQ dinner for him and he enjoyed it immensely. He wanted to thank us, and asked if he could come back the next night and cook a meal for us.
The next day, Gernat arrived armed with pasta, basil, tomatoes’, garlic, onions, parmesan cheese and olive oil. Within minutes the most delicious aroma’s were coming from my kitchen.
Gernat explained that this sauce, while incredibly simple, is bursting with flavour, and he was not wrong. To this day, whenever I smell basil, I am reminded of him and the wonderful meal he prepared for us.
Enjoy,
Tracy 🙂
Gernat’s Pasta
Serves 4
Gernat’s Pasta
3 Tblspns olive oil
2 large onions chopped very finely
4 cloves garlic minced finely
3 large tomatoes chopped finely
large handful fresh basil finely sliced
1/4 cup nutritional yeast plus extra to sprinkle on top
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
pasta of choice cooked (I used brown rice linguine) enough for 4 servings
Heat oil in pot over medium heat. Add onions and garlic (test with a little piece of onion to see if the oil is hot. By adding the onions and garlic to hot oil, so that they immediately start to sizzle, you release all the flavours) Cook for 3 to 5 mins until onions soften.
Add tomatoes’ to the pot and continue to cook over medium/low heat (mixture should be slowly simmering, but not sticking to the bottom) for at least 20 mins to allow all the flavours to mix.
Gernat’s Pasta Sauce Simmering
Add finely sliced basil and nutritional yeast. Mix well and let simmer 2 or 3 mins longer. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve over pasta of choice, sprinkle with extra nutritional yeast.
Fresh Basil Pesto with Pasta
Serves 8
Fresh Basil Pesto Pasta
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup walnuts
2 cups fresh basil tightly packed
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
4 cloves garlic
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
pasta of choice cooked (I used brown rice linguine) enough for 8 servings
Place all ingredients except pasta into food processor and process until a paste.
Basil Pesto Prep
You will have to stop the processor and scrape down the sides multiple times.
Toss pesto with cooked pasta (you may need to thin the pesto with a little water). Unused pesto will last 2 or 3 days in the fridge, or you can freeze for up to three months.
stairway to vegan 