Roasted Cauliflower "Alfredo" Rigatoni with Peas

This is a great energizing pasta dish that will melt in your mouth, and satifying but without feeling super guilty.  It will beg you to take just one more bite.  I think it is pretty cool taking a dairy based cream sauce and using vegetables to create something similar to the traditional taste of the item.

Even if you are not a fan of cauliflower, you should still try this recipe.  The cauliflower flavor is subtle to not even present.  It has that nutty, more cheese-y flavor due to the nutritional yeast and miso paste.

If you are pressed for time, I would recommend boiling the cauliflower instead of roasted it.  This will chop out 20-25 minutes of your total cooking time.

Roasted Cauliflower “Alfredo” Rigatoni with Peas

 Ingredients:

1 small-medium cauliflower head, chopped

2 garlic cloves

1/2 c unsweetened/original almond milk

1/4 c nutritional yeast

1 tbsp miso paste

1 tbsp tahini

1/2 tbsp evoo

1/2 tbsp onion powder

s+p to taste

1/2 bag frozen peas, thawed

rigatoni (or pasta of choice)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425.  Toss chopped cauliflower and garlic cloves in evoo and bake for about 30 minutes.  Remove from oven.  Transfer the a high speed blender and add in everything but the peas and rigatoni.  Blend until smooth.  Add in more almond milk if too thick.  Season to taste.

Transfer to a sauce pan, and heat on low and toss in peas.  In the meantime, cook your pasta.  Drain pasta, add in sauce and bam!  Heaven in your mouth.

 

 

Fall in love with this….Vegan Freekah and Apple Stuffed Acorn Squash

While technically it is still late summer, you would have no idea here in Chicago.  It feels more like November around here.  It has been in the 40’s/50’s and rainy.  Ummm, no thanks.  This weather just begs for a  comforting fall dish!

 We were on a mini vacation last weekend and hit up some more U-pick farms (which may possibly be my most favorite activity).  I picked an abundance of succulent peaches and Michigan apples.  On top of that, I still have a ridiculous amount of produce from another trip to an Illinois farm a week prior.  With that said, I really needed to come up with something that involved kale, red cabbage and apples.  So clearly it is time to get cooking!

If you haven’t heard of freekeh, you are not alone!  I came across the grain by navigating the bulk section of my local grocery store.  Then, one night Ryan came across a food trivia game.  The question was “What is the oldest grain used for food”.  For some reason, I said freekeh.  Ding ding ding.  Oddly enough, I was correct.  I found that pretty cool.  It is now considered the “newest-oldest superfood”.  It is chewy, with a nutty flavor…think somewhere between barley and brown rice.  The nutritional value is quite impressive too! It is a great plant based protein and high in fiber.  So while quinoa has been on the rise, don’t forget about other terrific protein blasted grains as well!

Of course any squash is perfect for the fall.  A little sweet, a little nutty…hmmm that kind of sounds like a description of me :/.  Anyway, it tastes great with the nuttiness of the freekah, sweetness of a fresh picked fuji apple and the bitterness of kale and cabbage.

Vegan Freekah and Apple Stuffed Acorn Squash 

Ingredients (yields 4 servings)

2 acorn squash

1 tbsp evoo

1 c freekeh

2 1/2 c vegetable broth

2 small fuji apples, diced

1/3 c chopped red cabbage

1/3 c chopped kale

3 scallions, chopped

2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

1-2 lemons, juiced

1 tbsp evoo

1/2 tbsp rice wine vinegar or white vinegar

1 tbsp nutritional yeast

s+p

Directions

Preheat oven 400.   With a sharp knife, cut acorn squash in half, spoon out seeds, and cut off about a 1/2 inch of the bottom of each squash, so they stand up straight.  Lightly brush evoo each squash and sprinkle with evoo.  Bake in oven for about one hour or until you can easily place a knife through the squash.

In the meantime, bring the vegetable broth and freekeh to a boil, cover, turn to low and simmer for about 45 minutes.  

When the freekeh is done cooking, transfer to a mixing bowl.  Add in chopped kale, cabbage, apples, scallions and parsley.  In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, evoo, vinegar, nutritional yeast and s+p.  Pour the dressing over the freekeh salad and mix together. 

Remove the acorn squash from the oven, spoon in the salad mixture, garnish with more fresh parsley and serve.  Enjoy!

 

Vegan Ginger Scented Cauliflower Fried "Rice"

I love the aromatics when I cook.  It is basically mouth watering love flowing in the air.  And, there is always something special about walking through the door and just smelling what is waiting for your taste buds.  Almost like that smell when you walk into a Whole Foods, but…oh wait, I still have money in my bank account because I use my local grocer (ok, fine…most of the time).

The aromas of ginger and garlic filled my kitchen, along with a touch of toasted sesame oil/chili oil.  At that moment, I knew this recipe was going to be fantastic.  Ginger root is one of my all time favorite ingredients.  I felt nauseous all day, so while prepping for this meal, I chewed on some ginger root.  Badda-bing-badda-bang….bye-bye nausea.  I also love taking a lemon-ginger-cayenne shot every morning as well!  I swear, it is a great way to start the day!

The use of cauliflower “rice” is similar to my Moroccan Stew with Cauliflower “couscous” recipe, except I did not use a food processor this time.  I did not want the texture to be as delicate, and wanted larger, rice-like peaces, so I manually grated the cauliflower to resemble more of a piece of rice. 

Vegan Ginger Scented Cauliflower Fried “Rice”

Ingredients (yields 3-4 servings)

1 small head of cauliflower, grated

1 c dried shitake mushrooms

1.5 c vegetable or mushroom broth

2 carrots, shredded or grated in food processor

1/2 c shelled edamame (cooked)

1/2 block extra firm tofu, cubed

3 scallion chopped (save the green parts for garnish)

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 inch piece of ginger root, minced

1/2 tbsp sesame oil

1/4 tbsp chili oil

1 tbsp soy sauce (possibly more accordingly to taste)

Directions:

In a small pot, bring broth to a boil and add in dried shitake mushrooms.  Turn off heat and let the mushrooms rehydrate in the broth for about 20 minutes, maybe 30 minutes.  Dried shitakes tend to be hard and chewy if you do not let them soak long enough, so give them a try before you are done soaking.   Once they are nice and soft, strain them in a collander and set aside.  

Heat sesame oil and chili oil in a wok (or large pan) and saute ginger and garlic for about a minute/  Add in the grated cauliflower, chopped green onions and shredded carrots.  Saute veggies for 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently.  Add in more sesame oil if need be.  Add in soy sauce, tofu, edamame and mushrooms.  Add more soy sauce if you wish.  Serve when heat

Grilled Blackened Tofu with a Raspberry-Kale Quinoa Salad

Summer summer summer time = break out the grill, homies!  Brand new apartment and a huge deck means we finally get to buy our own very grill.  We even have a separate dining room, which is also very exciting.  I foresee dinner parties in the near future.  Yay!  Now this is exciting people! 

The raspberry-kale quinoa salad would be perfect for a picnic or any sort of get together this summer.  It is light and packed with protein.  And, who wouldn’t love the sweetness of the raspberries?

Add the blackened tofu, and this meal is blasted with protein!  With the combination, there are 34 grams of protein for one serving!  Lean, mean vegan machine right here!

Grilled Blackened Tofu with a Raspberry-Kale Quinoa Salad

 

For the Blackened Tofu (yields 4 servings):

1 package extra firm tofu sliced into 4-6 pieces

1 tbsp sesame oil or evoo

1 tbsp tamari or soy sauce

1 tbsp paprika

2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp oregano

Preheat your grill.

Once you slice your tofu, press your tofu with paper towels and remove water.  Set aside.  In a small bowl, whisk together the oil and tamari.  In a separate bowl, combine all the seasonings.  Brush on the wet ingredients, smothering the tofu, then place the tofu in the seasoning mix, coating each side.  Grill each side of the tofu for about 1-2 minutes and serve immediately.

For the Raspberry-Kale Quinoa Salad (yields 4-6 servings):

1 c dry quinoa

2 c vegetable broth or water

1/2 c fresh raspberries

1 c baby kale

1/4 c sliced red onion

1 tbsp evoo

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

2 tbsp nutritional yeast

In a pot, add in the quinoa and broth and bring to a boil.  Cover, turn to low and simmer for about 15-20 minutes.  Once done, transfer to a bowl, fluff and add in the remaining ingredients.  Season to taste.  Allow the salad to cool for about 15 minutes in the refrigerator or serve warm.  Enjoy!

 

 

 

Pistachio Crusted Tofu!

It has been a rough start to the summer for me.  Torn pectoral fibers equals no work or strenuous activities for this little one.  What a bummer!  I guess this means more cooking….. and….back to being a puppy mommy.

So this is a great, savory tofu dish that you cannot pass up!  A little bit spicy from the dijon mustard, a bit sweet from the agave nectar and a salty crunch from the pistachios.  You cannot go wrong.  I would guess this would be similar to a crusted salmon dish, which is where I got the idea from I suppose.

Best part is, this recipe only has 5 ingredients and is simple!

I loved loved LOVED the brand of tofu I used for this recipe!  Wildwood Sprouted Tofu is by far my favorite tofu ever.  It is super super firm, sprouted and has 14 grahams of protein per serving.  So if you have yet to try this brand, scoot your tush to a Whole Foods or local Co-op and grab some!

This was an afterthought after I baked this, but this would also be great on the grill, and smoking it on a cedar plank.  So, if you are in the mood to grill, try it out!  I would imagine it would be tasty as all heck!

Pistachio Crusted Tofu

Ingredients/Directions: (serves 3-4)

1 block of firm tofu, cut into 8 “cutlets” (about 1/2 inch thick)

1/2 c pistachios chopped

2 tbsp dijon mustard

1 tbsp agave nectar

1/2 tbsp tamari (or soy sauce)

s+p

Preheat oven to 400.  With a paper towel, pat dry the tofu “cutlets”.  In a small bowl, mix together the dijon mustard, agave mustard and tamari.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  With a brush, smother the tofu pieces with the marinade.  Now cover the tofu cutlets with the chopped pistachios and bake for 20 minutes.  Enjoy!

No Illusion, Its a Fusian!…Vegan Italian Style Shepard’s Pie

Well the 80’s came aaaannnnnddd they left.  It’s a somewhat chilly day compared to the high 80’s we had over the past few days.  I thought I would go with something a little bit more comforting.  Heck, there aren’t going to be too many more cool days left this summer to cook dishes like this (crap, I hope I didn’t jinx us!)

Anyway, I was having a “cookers” block.  And then I thought what can I do with Shepard’s Pie to make it a fusion with a different cuisine.  Italian seemed to make the most sense for some reason.  Ryan has it doubts, so clearly…challenge excepted.  I had a feeling it would be pretty damn good. 

Tvp mixed with your favorite marinara, topped with wonderfully sauteed zucchini and eggplant, then topped with mountainous pillows of garlic scape mashed potatoes????  Um yeah, pretty confident that this will be a winner. 

If you are not familiar with garlic scapes or cannot find them, simply just replace them with minced garlic cloves.

Vegan Italian Style Shepard’s Pie

Ingredients: (yields 2 personal “pies”

1/2 c tvp

1/2 c vegan beefless broth

1/4 c yellow onion chopped

3/4 c of our favorite marinara sauce

Italian seasoning

1 tbsp evoo

1/2 c  zucchini cut and quartered

1/2 c  eggplant, cut into small cubes

1 potato, skin removed and quartered

2 tbsp chopped garlic scapes

1 tbsp vegan butter

1/4 unsweetened almond milk, or vegan milk of choice

s+p

Directions:

Preheat oven 350.  In a small sauce pan, bring vegan beefless broth to a boil, add in tvp, stir and remove from heat.  Let sit for 10-15 minutes.  Once soft, add in marinara and combine thoroughly.  Add in Italian seasonings and s+p to taste.

In the meantime, heat evoo over medium heat in a saute pan and saute zucchini and eggplant for about 5 minutes or until just soft enough.  Do not overcook.  Season with s+p.  Set aside.

Now, time for the mashed potatoes.  Add water to a pot and boil potatoes and garlic scapes until potatoes are soft.  Remove from heat and drain.  Transfer to blender, add in vegan butter and almond milk.  Blend until smooth.  Add in seasoning and more “milk/butter” if needed.  Transfer your mashed potatoes to a pastry bag or a plastic baggie (this is only if you want to make the “peaks”, if you do not care, no need).

Now start to prepare your “pie”.  Start with your tvp “meat” mixture, then spoon over the vegetables, and then top with the garlic scape mash.  Transfer to oven and cook for roughly 30 minutes or until the mashed potatoes are slightly golden.  

Vegan Grilled and Stuffed Avocado!

Finally we have been granted with sunny skies and warm weather!  A perfect Memorial Day Weekend here in Chicago!

When it comes to cooking and in the warm spring/summer months, everyone thinks grill time!  Now when it comes to being vegan, I bet many people think that we are limited.  But slow your roll….there are many more things to just throw on some skewers!  Remember last year we made grilled pizza and grilled seitan bulgogi sandwiches,

This spring/summer, we are going to start off our vegan grilling with grilled stuffed avocados!  I love this because it is so flipping easy and a perfect, light meal on a hot day!  I filled it with a vegan creamy “texas caviar”, but feel free to be creative if you wish!

Vegan Grilled and Stuffed Avocado

 

Ingredients (yields 3-4 servings)

3 avocados 

2 limes, cut in half

for the Creamy-Chipotle Texas Caviar:

1 c black beans, drained and rinsed

1 c corn, drained and rinced

1 large tomatoes, diced

1 handful cilantro, chopped

1/4 c red onion chopped 

1/2 jalapeno seeded and chopped

1 tbsp vegan sour cream

2 tsp chilis in adobo sauce

Heat grill (or your Breville/George Foreman).  Cut avocados lengthwise in half and carefully remove seed with spoon.  Set aside until grill is heated.

In a meantime, combine all the texas caviar ingredients, aside from the vegan sour cream and chilis in adobo.  In a separate bowl, combine the sour cream and chili sauce.  Mix until combined.  Add in seasonings if desired.  If you need more dressing, I actually added in a splash of apple cider vinegar and a splash of original almond milk.  Toss over the salad and place in refrigerator until avocados are completed.

Place the avocados and limes face down on grill and grill until there are nice char marks on them.  Once grilled, drizzle the charred lime on the avocado and fill each avocado with your tex mex caviar.  Enjoy!

Vegan Saag "Paneer"…..Indian Spinach and Tofu

 I often wonder why more people do not cook Indian food.  Maybe the cuisine is perceived to be difficult to cook?  Or maybe people have the misconception that it is mostly fried or full of oil?  Or could it be because they are scared to try something new or simply just don’t know the what name of the dish actually is?

Well, this recipe is far from difficult to make, contains insanely little oil and is packed with flippin spinach for petey sakes!  A traditional saag paneer contains paneer, which is a fresh cheese.  It is very mild and has similar texture to firm tofu.  So using tofu to replace paneer is perfect!

This is perfect to serve with fresh, homemade naan or rice.  I prefer naan because, well, I enjoy eating with my hands.  And yes, I am a messy little one.  It would be an accomplishment to get through a meal without some sort of evidence on my face or clothing.

Vegan Saag “Paneer”

Ingredients: (yield

6 cups tightly packed fresh spinach

fenugreek (if you can find, if not- no worries!)

1 tomato chopped

1/2 yellow onion diced

1 turmeric root grated (or powdered turmeric)

1 tbsp ginger minced

2 garlic cloves minced

2-3 tsp garam masala (or curry powder)

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tbsp evoo

2/3 c almond milk (or preferred vegan milk)

1-2 tbsp vegan plain yogurt or vegan sour cream

salt to taste

Directions:

Boil a pot of water and cook spinach/fenugreek for about 3 minutes.  Strain and press to release excess water.  Transfer to blender and puree.   Set aside.  

In the meantime, heat evoo in a large saute pan and saute garlic, ginger, turmeric root, and onion for roughly 3 minutes.  Add in tomatoes, pureed greens, almond milk, vegan yogurt or sour cream, and seasoning.  Mix thoroughly and add salt to taste.  Turn to low and cover for about 15 minutes.  Serve with naan or rice. 

The Best Vegan Curry! Vegan Turmeric Root – Coconut Currry with Calabash

Now this is a must have.  No joke here!  It is rich, creamy, spiked with turmeric root juice and just enough heat to get you excited.

So, in my opinion, calabash tastes almost exactly like Thai eggplant.  They are around the same shape and size, have that earthy, subtle flavor and can easily absorb any sort of liquid or oil.  The only real difference, as far as I can tell, is that the calabash is green, whereas the eggplant is purple.  They both also have the tiger stripe like characteristics in appearance.

 Unlike some of my recipes, this one is fairly easy.  Though, having a juicer is key here.  If you do not have one, do not fret!  Simply crush and grind our turmeric root with a mortar and pestle or blend it along with your coconut milk. The goal here is to extract as much of the turmeric root juice out to really pull out that flavor and to also give your curry that beautiful orange color.

Feel free to add more vegetables if you wish.  I decided to focus on the calabash as my main veggie because the texture and flavor is simply delicious. 

Vegan Turmeric Root – Coconut Currry with Calabash

Ingredients: (serves 2-3)

6-8 calabash, washed and cut into quarters

juice from a handful of turmeric root (to equal about 2 tbsp of juice)

2 tsp fresh ginger, minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

3-4 dried Thai chilis

1 can light coconut milk

s+p

1 tbsp evoo

Directions:

Heat evoo on medium in saute pan and saute ginger and cloves for roughly 3 minutes.  Add in calabash pieces and saute for another 3 minutes (add in more evoo if need be- calabash absorbs liquid quickly).  Calabash should be slightly soft.  Add in coconut milk,  turmeric root juice and seasoning to taste and dried chilis.  Cover and let sit on low for about 20 minutes.  

Serve with rice.  Yummy!!!!!

Breadfruit??? Yup! Caribbean style Vegan Stuffed Breadfruit topped with Mofongo!

Can’t afford that trip to the Caribbean?  Well unfortunately I cannot change this dreadful “spring” weather, but I can bring the taste of the Caribbean to your home!  Breadfruit,  tvp ground meat doused in Jamaican style jerk sauce and mofongo….now that sounds pretty island inspired to me!

If you are not familiar with any of these fruits, veggies or dishes, I will clarify.  Trust me, I definitely have never cooked with breadfruit before!  So what the heck is breadfruit?  It comes from the mulberry family that is somewhat starchy and similar to that of a potato once cooked.  You can also make this into a form of the popular Hawaiian dish “poi” or into a Puerto Rican version of mofongo.

Mofongo is basically mashed plantains with evoo and garlic and cooked in a pan.  I blended both plantains and the breadfruit to make my mofongo.  It’s flipping delicious!

Now where can you find all these fun ingredients?  Plantains are easy to spot in any store that has a large Hispanic or Caribbean population.  As far as breadfruit, usually any sort of international market should carry them.  Though, I have also read that you can find it frozen…not so sure how that would work for this recipe…???

While cooking this dish and tasting all the different flavors, I really felt that it needed something to brighten in up.  It just seemed a bit heavy.  So I added some beautiful, juicy, vine ripe tomatoes and multicolored carrots.  Otherwise, I would consider this “ground meat” and “potatoes”…well sort of but not really at all.  🙂

Ingredients:
breadfruit
1 c tvp crumbles
1 c vegan “beef” stock
1 plantain peeled and cut into pieces
2 carrots peeled and cut into small pieces
1 vine ripe tomato chopped
1/4 yellow onion diced
3/4 c jamaican jerk sauce
1 garlic clove minced
evoo

Directions:
Boil breadfruit for about 30-45 minutes or until it is tender enough to cut and scoop out the insides.  Once boiled, preheat oven to 375.
Cut off about 1/4 of the breadfruit and discard.  Scoop out the inside flesh, at least as much as you are able to and set aside.  Heat evoo in a pan, add in garlic, sliced plantains and the breadfruit flesh.  Saute until brownish, remove and mash.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Set the mofongo aside.
Now, start the “beef” crumble mixture.  In a small pot, bring the broth to a boil and add in the tvp crumbles.  Remove from heat and let stand for about 15 minutes.
In the meantime, heat evoo in saute pan and saute onions and carrots for about 5 minutes or until soft, add in tomatoes.  Season with salt and pepper.  Combine the rehydrated tvp to the vegetables and stir in about 1/4-1/2 c of the jamaican jerk sauce. 
Lightly oil the breadfruit shell, spoon in the tvp mixture and top with the mofongo.
Bake in oven for 20-30 minutes.   Serve with more jamaican jerk sauce.  Yum!!!!