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.
Growing up in Australia, Asian food was readily available and totally delicious. I love all Asian food, but especially Vietnamese and Thai. These cuisines are vibrant both visually and in taste. Fresh lime juice, cilantro, peppers and lemon grass all work to give amazing fresh tastes.
Pad Thai is one of my favourites, and I am trying to keep my diet as clean as possible at the moment so this is perfect.
The sauce is very rich, so add a little to the veggies and taste. If you want more, add it in. If there is any left over, it can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for a week or so. I am not sure if it will keep longer than a week, as I can never get it to last that long.
Enjoy,
Raw Pad Thai
Raw Pad Thai
Serves 4 – 6
Sauce
1/4 cup tamarind paste
1/4 cup tamari sauce
1/4 cup sunflower oil
1/4 cup raw cashews roughly chopped plus extra for garnish
2 tblspn hot pepper flakes
4 tblspns water
3 cloves garlic roughly chopped
Noodles
2 zucchini
1 small daikon radish thinly sliced
1/2 small red cabbage shredded
2 red peppers cut into thin strips
1 yellow or orange paper cut into thin strips
1/2 cup green onion thinly sliced
1/2 bunch cilantro roughly chopped
fresh lime juice
Place all sauce ingredients in blender and process until thickened and mostly smooth. Place in fridge to chill while preparing
using a spiralizer or mandolin, cut the zucchini into thin strips (noodles) and place in a large bowl. Add in the daikon radish, red cabbage, red and yellow peppers, green onions and cilantro. Mix together well.
Add the sauce and mix to coat the veggies well. If you do not use all the sauce, it can be stored in a glass jar in the fridge for a week.
Place a mound of vegetables on a plate, sprinkle with extra raw cashews and drizzle with fresh lime juice.
Corn Tortilla Nacho’s with Creamy Golden Cheez Sauce
Time sure goes by fast, I cannot believe this blog is already one year old. Yes, the very first posting was May 30,2013. So here we go with the first post of the second year. Thank you to everyone who is reading and following. I love hearing your comments. 🙂
This dish says “Summer” to me. Nacho’s are great at an outdoor bbq, or sitting on the deck with a nice cold beer or glass of wine. The wonderful colours of the golden cheez sauce, the bright vivid green of the jalapeno and the cherry red of the tomato’s are fresh and vibrant.
I used my Dehydrated Corn Chip recipe and topped them with tons of thinly sliced jalapeno pepper, halved cherry tomato’s and chunks of fresh creamy avocado. Then I poured the creamy cheez over the top. A couple of sprigs of parsley and this delicious dish was done. You know the recipe is good when you use your fingers to wipe up the last tiny bits of sauce off the plate….yum.
Enjoy,
Corn Tortilla Nacho’s with Creamy Golden Cheez Sauce
Corn Tortilla Nacho’s with Creamy Golden Cheez Sauce
Serves 6
Cheez Sauce
2 cups plain unsweetened soy milk
5 Tblspns corn starch or tapioca flour
1/4 cup light tasting vegetable oil
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1 Tblspn white miso paste
2 tspn tomato paste
1 tspn apple cider vinegar
1 tspn dry mustard powder
1/2 tspn sea salt
1/2 tspn onion or garlic powder
Mix all ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth and totally combined.
Pour into a saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture begins to bubble and thicken. Continue to cook and stir until mixture is thick and glossy. Removed from heat. To use as a pourable sauce, keep warm. The sauce will thicken more when cold. If necessary you can add additional soy milk while cooking to give you the texture you want.
It’s SPRING……Finally, we made it through the winter. There is always a thought around the begining of March, that we might be stuck in winter for ever…..well, the thought crosses my mind anyway.
Unfortunatley, it is still quite cold and the ever present threat of snow continues.
So, to celebrate the soon to be here warm weather, it is time for a wonderful salad.
Vitality Salad with Zesty Oil Free Italian Dressing
This salad was delicious. A nice mix of greens and fresh vibrant veggies. To make it even more interesting I added in sprouts that I had just sprouted in my kitchen. For those of you who have not tried growing your own sprouts, it is really simple and the end result is a wonderful tasty vitamin packed sprout. I usually end up eating them as a snack before they make it into a meal.
The Italian Dressing is oil free but nice and thick and spicy. You can adjust the ingredients to your own liking. I love garlic, so lots went in.
Vitality Salad with Zesty Oil Free Italian Dressing
Enjoy,
Vitality Salad with Zesty Oil Free Italian Dressing
1 cup cold water or light vegetarian broth
2 tsp cornstarch
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp Dijon-style prepared mustard
1-2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp fine sea salt
1 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp paprika
pepper to taste
Gently heat water and cornstarch in small pot. Simmer gently until liquid is almost clear and thick.
Remove from heat and cool.
Combine cornstarch liquid and all other ingredients in a jar and shake vigorously to combine.
This will make approx 1 1/4 cups of dressing. Store in airtight container in the fridge.The dressing will thicken up even more once completely chilled.
Love is in the air. Next week is Valentine’s day and I was inspired to create a romantic dish for the occasion. What better way to show your love than to make a wonderful creamy Fettucine Alfredo and to have it “heart healthy” at the same time.
There is nothing in this delicious rich pasta sauce that is even remotely bad for you. The secret loving ingredient is the faithful cauliflower. This vegetable is a wonderous creation. Low calorie, crunchy when raw, perfect for dipping, smooth and creamy when cooked and pureed. I used brown rice pasta but if you wanted to take it even one step further in the health department you could use thinly sliced or spiralized zucchini or other hard vegetable.
Fettucccine Alfredo Amore
When I was dreaming up this dish, I had visions of lots of tiny red hearts sprinkled over the top. I would “cut” the hearts out of red peppers, simple…….not really. As you can see in the pictures the final result has three hearts. While they do look very nice, it is not exactly what I had in mind. These were more difficult than I imagined. Wether you make one, three or more, the thought is still the same, and, as they say, “it’s the thought that counts'”
Enjoy,
Fettucccine Alfredo Amore
Fettuccine Alfredo Amore
Serves 6
1 medium cauliflower
1/2 Tblspn olive oil
3 large garlic cloves minced or grated
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 Tblspn lemon juice
2 tspns onion powder
1/4 tspn ground black pepper
sea salt to taste
8oz dry fettuccine of choice, I used brown rice fettuccine
red pepper for garnish
parsley for garnish
Separate cauliflower into florettes. Place in large saucepan and cover with cold water. Heat on high until water begins to boil, reduce heat and simmer 5 – 10 minutes until tender. Drain and allow to cool slightly before processing further.
Heat olive oil in pan on low and saute garlic very gently for 5 mins. Do not let garlic brown.
Add cauliflower, garlic, half the almond milk, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, onion powder, pepper and salt to food processor ( you may have to do this in two batches). Pulse, scrapping down sides until everything is incorporated. Slowly add the remaining almond milk and blend on high until completely smooth and creamy, approx 3 – 5 mins. Set aside.
Fettucccine Alfredo Amore
Fill large pot with cold water, place on stove and bring to a boil over high heat. When water is boiling add dry pasta and cook according to directions on the packet.
Once cooked, drain and rinse.
If making red hearts, cut small piece of red pepper that is fairly flat. Using a sharp pointed knife, cut out hearts,
Add Alfredo sauce to drained pasta and toss together. Place serving on plate and top with red pepper hearts and parsley.
In last weeks post, I promised the remaining two recipes for my Thanksgiving dinner, and here they are.
Scalloped Twin Potato’s (at the top middle of the pic) and Greens with CauliCheeze Sauce (at the bottom of the pic). I could not decide if I wanted Brocoli with CauliCheeze sauce, or Asparagus with CauliCheez sauce, so I had both. 🙂
Lentil Seitan Roast with Mushroom Sage Gravy
This photo is literally what I ate for Thanksgiving (plus a second helping of Scalloped Twin Potato’s, they were so good. While this is a ton of food, I still felt full of energy afterwards, No Turkey overload here, just great food.I decided to make the scalloped potato’s with a mixture of white and sweet potato’s this year. The white potato, while delicious, is a bit of a bad boy, he is the one you love, but you know you shouldn’t. A little is fine, but too much could get you in trouble. Now his twin, Sweet Potato, on the other hand is the good reliable guy, the one that wont hurt you and is actually good for you, He has loads of vitamins and fibre. When you mix the two together, you get the best of both worlds.
Scalloped Twin Potato’s
When it came time to make the Brocoli and CauliCheez Sauce, I was literally standing in the grocery store with a lovely vibrant green head of brocoli in one hand and a bunch of crisp tender asparagus in the other and I couldn’t make up my mind which one I wanted, so I did both, you can never have too may greens on your plate 🙂
Asparagus with CauliCheez Sauce
Both the brocoli and the asparagus tasted wonderful with the caulicheez sauce. The recipe made lots of sauce, so I had some left over. By mid-week, I had a craving for pasta (not an unusual occurrence for me), so I used up the remaining sauce and turned it into Mac and CauliCheeze (no recipe, just added the sauce to cooked pasta and voila!!)
Mac and CauliCheez
Enjoy,
Scalloped Twin Potato’s
Scalloped Twin Potato’sServes 4
2 tblspns olive oil
1 medium onion finely diced
2 cloves garlic minced or grated
1 tblspn flour
2 cups unsweetened almond (or other non dairy) milk
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
salt and ground black pepper to taste
2 white potato’s peeled and thinly sliced
1 large sweet potato peeled and thinly sliced
Heat oil in medium pot on medium heat. Add onions and garlic and saute for 5 mins until soft.
Add flour and cook 1 min. Slowly add about 1/2 cup of the almond milk while stirring quickly. The mixture will thicken immediately. Add the rest of the milk and continue stirring until everything is completely mixed. Stir in nutritional yeast and salt and pepper. Lower heat and allow to simmer slowly for a few minutes to thicken. Remove from heat.
Grease the bottom of a baking dish with a little olive oil. Place half the white potato slices in the dish in an even layer, top with half the sweet potato slices, Pour half the milk mixture over the top. Repeat with remaining potato’s and milk mixture.
Bake uncovered in 350 F oven for approx 35 mins or until potato’s a soft and top is lightly browned.
Remove from oven and let sit for 5 – 10 mins before serving.
Asparagus with CauliCheez Sauce
Greens with CauliCheez Sauce
Serves 4
1 head of brocoli cut into medium florets’
or, 1 bunch asparagus trimmed (or a combination of both)
Steam brocoli and/or asparagus until just tender.
CauliCheez Sauce
1/2 head cauliflower cut into medium florets’
1 onion finely diced
3 cloves garlic roughly chopped
1/2 tspn smokey paprika
1/4 tspn dry hot mustard powder
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
1 tblspn corn starch
1/2 tblspn lemon juice
salt to taste
Place cauliflower, onion and garlic in medium pot, add 2 cups water, bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and allow to simmer for 20 mins. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
Transfer in small batches to food processor and blend until smooth. Return to pot and add paprika, mustard powder and nutritional yeast. Mix cornstarch with 2 tblspns water to a smooth paste, stir into cauliflower mixture. Return to heat and cook on low for 6 mins until thickened. Stir in lemon juice and salt to taste.
Drizzle sauce over brocoli and/or asparagus and serve.
This weekend is Canadian Thanksgiving. Growing up in Australia, we did not celebrate Thanksgiving, but living here, I just love this holiday.
The scenery at this time of the year is just beautiful. Where I live. in Northern Ontario, it is a vibrant mix of dark green, vivid red, burnt orange and bright yellow leaves all mixed in together and situated amongst rocky outcrops and pristine lakes.
While I joke that I hate the Fall because I know Winter is just around the corner (and I am definitely a Summer girl, give me a beach and sunshine and I am happy), the truth is, Thanksgiving weekend is truly magical here.
Last year I tried making a Tofu Turkey, which turned out OK, but not exceptional. This year I am making a Lentil Seitan Roast which is totally delicious. It is stuffed full of mushrooms, leeks, garlic and cranberries and then smothered in Mushroom Sage Gravy…….totaly mouthwatering.
I will also be making Scalloped Twin Potato’s (white and sweet potato’s in a creamy garlic sauce) and Brocoli with CauliCheez Sauce. Both these recipes will follow in the next day or so.
If you are in Canada, I know this is posting too close to Thanksgiving for you to try, but it is also perfect for the Christmas dinner table. For my American followers, this might be perfect timing for your celebration next month. For everyone else, again, it is perfect for a Christmas dinner, or just because you feel like a wonderful tasty roast.
Enjoy,
Lentil Seitan Roast with Mushroom Sage Gravy
Lentil Seitan Roast
Serves 8
Stuffing:
2 tblspns olive oil
6 oz mushrooms finely diced
2 Leeks sliced finely
4 cloves garlic minced or grated
2 tblspns fresh thyme chopped
salt and ground pepper to taste
1/4 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1/4 cup vegetable broth
1 tblspn lemon juice
1/4 cup dried cranberries
In large pan, saute mushrooms and leeks in olive oil over medium heat until soft, 5 – 10 mins. Add garlic and thyme and continue to cook for additional 2 mins. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Add breadcrumbs and mix well. Cook until breadcrumbs begin to toast and mixture is quite dry (make sure to stir often to prevent burning).
Remove from heat, add in broth, lemon juice and cranberries. Stir to mix well and complete coat breadcrumb mixture. Set aside.
Roast:
3 – 6 cloves garlic, minced or grated
3/4 cup cooked green lentils
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 tblspn poultry seasoning
3 tblspns soy sauce
2 tblspns olive oil
2 cups vital wheat gluten
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1 tspn fennel seeds crushed
1 1/2 tspns sweet paprika
2 tspns dried thyme
2 tspns dried sage
freshly ground black pepper to taste
Pre-heat oven to 350 F
Place garlic, lentils, vegetable broth, poultry seasoning, olive oil and soy sauce in food processor. Process until fairly smooth.
In large bowl, mix together all remaining ingredients. Mix well.
Add lentil mixture to dry mixture. Combine well and work into a stiff dough. Knead for a few minutes to make sure everything is incorporated.
Form the “dough” into a flat rectangle that is approx 12 by 10 inches. Place the filling in the centre of the rectangle and form it into a log shape using your hands to squeeze it tightly. The log should reach to within 2 inches on each side of the “dough”. Bring the front and back of the “dough” up and over the filling to meet at the top. Make sure the seam is totally joined by squashing together. Close the ends by squashing the dough togeher.
Lentil Seitan Roast Prep
Place three large sheets foil on workspace. Gently transfer roast to the centre of the foil and wrap up completely, making sure the roast is completely secure.
Lentil Seitan Roast Prep
Place on baking sheet and bake for 1 – 1/2 hours. Every 15 mins, turn the roast on the baking sheet so that every side is in contact with the baking sheet at some time (this will allow the entire roast to brown nicely). After 1 hour, check to see if the roast feels solid by gently squeezing with a pair of tongs. If still soft, allow to cook longer.
Once cooked remove from oven and allow to cool in foil before unwrapping and slicing. This will give the best result. I make this the day before it is required and leave it in the foil overnight in the fridge (after cooling) then place back in the oven, still in the foil for 20 mins to reheat prior to serving.
Mushroom Sage Gravy
Serves 8
4 cups vegetable broth
3 tblspns corn starch
1 medium onion, finely diced
2 tblspns olive oil
16 oz mushrooms, finely diced
4 – 6 cloves garlic minced or grated
2 tspns dried thyme
1 tspn dried sage
salt and ground black pepper to taste
3 tblspns nutritional yeast
In large bowl or jug mix together vegetable broth and cornstarch until dissolved. Set aside.
In large pot over medium heat, saute onions in oil for 5 mins until soft. Add mushrooms, garlic, thyme, sage, salt and pepper and continue to cook for additional 5 mins.
Add vegetable broth/cornstarch mixture and nutritional yeast. Continue to cook over medium heat for 20 mins, stirring often.
Gravy can be served as it is, or if you prefer a smoother gravy, allow to cool slightly then transfer to a blender and blend gently until smooth. You may need to add a little water or broth if too thick.
Roasted Harvest Vegetables
This is not really a recipe. Just take whatever vegetables you like, cut into serving size pieces, toss in a little olive oil and sprinkle with black pepper and sea salt to taste.
Place in a baking pan and roast in oven at 375 F for approx 20 – 40 mins depending on vegetables used.
Harvest Roast Vegetables Prep
I used heirloom carrots, parsnips, pumpkin and sweet potato.
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
In an earlier post, I made Beets Beef Burgers, this meatloaf recipe uses the same basic ingredients, but transforms into a juicy meatloaf. Served with the Mushroom Sage Gravy, it is a perfect possibility for Thanksgiving. I have added in my Sweet Oven Roasted Vegetables with Dates as the side for this. The sweetness of the dates goes perfectly with the slight sweetness of the beets in the meatloaf, and then when you add in the mushrooms, sage and thyme, the end result is fantastic.
With this already chosen for my Thanksgiving supper this year, I am now looking around for inspiration for a Christmas Menu, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
I know it is a little early to be talking Thanksgiving, let alone Christmas, but I have found if I don’t start now, by the time the event roles around, I am not prepared, or the recipe I decide to use, does not turn out as well as I hope, so I am leaving myself lots of time for trial and error.
Let me know if you have any suggestions for recipes for me to try.
I am also working on a “Grand Finale” recipe to post at the end of September to close out Vegan MoFo, I am thinking something sweet and spectacular, so keep posted
Enjoy,
Beets Beef Meatloaf
Beets Beef Meatloaf
Serves 8
1 cup shredded beets
1 1/4 cups brown rice cooked, cooled 1 cup cooked green lentils, cooled, drained well 1/2 tspn salt fresh black pepper 1 tspn thyme
1 tspn sage
1 tspn dry mustard 3 tblspns onion chopped finely 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 tblspns smooth almond butter 1/2 cup very fine breadcrumbs
½ cup sun-dried tomato’s
½ cup fresh parsley
¼ cup water
Mushroom Sage Gravy
3 cups vegetable broth
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 medium onion finely diced
2 Tblspns olive oil
16 oz cremini mushrooms thinly sliced and chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tspns thyme
1 tspn sage
1/2 cup dry white wine (optional)
3 Tblspns nutritional yeast
Make Meatloaf:
Peel beets and shred. I use the shredder on my food processor. Place in large bowl. Add the S blade to the food processor. Return beets, add the brown rice, and lentils and process until mixture is finely minced.
Beets Beef Meatloaf Prep
Transfer beet mix to a large bowl and add all remaining ingredients (except sun-dried tomato’s, parsley and water). Mix thoroughly.
Preheat oven to 325
Place the mixture in the fridge for 30 mins or overnight to chill.
Line a loaf tin with parchment paper. Firmly press beet mixture into tin.
Beets Beef Meatloaf Prep
Place sun-dried tomato’s, parsley and water in food processor. Process until smooth – stopping and scraping down sides as necessary.
Place tomato mixture on top of beet loaf. Bake at 325 for 30 – 40 mins.
When cooked, remove from oven, set sit 15 mins before removing from pan. Slice and serve.
Make Mushroom Sage Gravy:
Place vegetable broth in large bowl, or jug, add the cornstarch and stir to dissolve, set aside.
Heat olive oil in pan, add onions, mushrooms and garlic. Saute until onions are soft and mushrooms have released their juices. About 5 mins.
Add thyme and sage and wine, allow to simmer for 2 – 3 mins.
Add vegetable broth mixture, stir to combine, Stir in nutritional yeast. Simmer gently for 5 mins to thicken.
You can serve as is, or if you prefer a smoother gravy, transfer to blender and process until smooth (taking care to only fill the blender half full and allow mixture to cool slightly before blending)
What’s not to like about a juicy Portabello mushroom slathered in a creamy lemon hollandaise sauce. This is a perfect Sunday (or any other day for that matter) breakfast idea. I never was a big fan of eggs, especially if they were runny…..yuk. In fact, before I moved to a vegan diet, if I ever ordered eggs for breakfast at a restaurant, there was an entire comedy routine that I would go through.
Server: How would you like your eggs?
Me: Totally cooked, nothing moving. When you think they are ready, hit them with the slider and squash them flat. Then flip them over and do it again. They will squeak and sizzle, but just ignore them.
Server:OK?
Me: And then, when you are sure they are ready, squash them again. If they don’t bounce, they are not ready.
Server: (looking a little scared at this point, and moving backwards away from the table). Yes ma’am.
Needless to say, my family tried to avoid any mention of eggs when we were out.
Portabello Benny
Lemon, on the other hand is something I love, so hollandaise sauce was a favourite. Now with no eggs and no butter, this recipe is not only delicious, but also guilt free.
Enjoy,
Portabello Benny with Creamy Hollandaise
Makes 6 servings
1/2 cup white wine (or veg stock)
4 cloves garlic, minced or grated
3 tblspns Dijon mustard
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tspn salt
1/2 tspn freshly ground pepper
6 portabello mushrooms, wiped and with stem removed
For the Hollandaise Sauce:
2 tblspns olive oil
3/4 cup silken tofu
2 tblspns fresh lemon juice
1 tblspn balsamic vinegar
1/4 tspn turmeric
1/8 tspn salt
1/8 tspn freshly ground pepper
1/8 tspn cayenne pepper3 English muffins, sliced in half and toasted (or other bread of choice)
2 tomatoes, sliced 1/2-inch thick
baby spinach leaves
Preheat oven to 350.
Mix together, wine, garlic, mustard, oil, salt and pepper in bowl. Coat each mushroom with marinade. Place coated mushrooms on baking tray gill side up. Drizzle any extra marinade over mushroom, letting it seep into the gills. Let sit for 10 mins.
Portabello Benny
Place mushrooms in oven and bake for 20 – 30 mins until tender.
To make the sauce. Place oil, tofu, lemon juice ,vinegar, turmeric, salt, pepper and cayenne in food processor. Process until smooth and creamy. You can now gently warm the sauce in a pan over low heat.
Place one half of a toasted English muffin on plate. Top with spinach leaves, one slice tomato and one mushroom. Spoon sauce over top.
stairway to vegan 