Roasted red pepper alfredo lasagna

fancy...

1/3 cup almonds
1 small onion
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 lb tofu
1 cup non dairy milk
several dashes of soy sauce
2-3 roasted red peppers
lasagna noodles
spinach

Chop the onion and saute until it is soft. Grind the almonds in a blender then add the onion and lemon juice. Blend until mixed. Add the tofu, milk and soy sauce, blend until smooth. Add the roasted red peppers and pulse until they are incorporated. Then in a square glass baking dish layer the sauce, lasagna noodles and spinach. Bake on 400 degrees until the noodles are soft.

Green Tofu Salad

Its green because you use an avocado instead of mayo. Its just a coincidence that today is St. Patrick's Day...

1 ripe avocado
1 red onion
approx. 6 dill pickle slices (or more if you like them)
1/2 tomato
1 celery stalk
1 block of tofu (preferably frozen, thawed and drained)
about 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
salt, pepper, other spices optional

Dice the onion, pickles, celery and tomato and add them to a bowl with the avocado and mustard. Mash well and add the spices of your choice (oregano and basil are good choices). If you prefer your tofu cooked then you can either fry it in olive oil or boil it, but let it cool before serving. Combine tofu and avocado mixture well. Serve in a pita or over a lovely bed of greens.

potato, cauliflower and kale pancakes

This is based on a soup I made for a Kent Food Not Bombs event a few weeks ago. I pretty much just threw things in a pot in true FNB fashion, and while the soup was pretty good, Jen's mom's suggestion to turn it into pancakes made it even better (I accidentally typed "batter" first, which was actually a pretty good pun. let's all laugh now!)


1 head of cauliflower
6 large potatoes
1 large bunch of kale
1 white onion
6 cloves roasted garlic (optional)
1 bunch green onions (optional)

Put a large pot of water on the stove to boil. Cut the potatoes into smaller pieces to make them boil faster. When the potatoes have been boiling for a few minutes, add in the cauliflower, also cut into smaller pieces. You can use the whole thing, stem and all since everything is just going to get pureed up. Boil until they are soft.

Meanwhile, strip the kale leaves from their stems and rip them into very small pieces, and dice the onions. Saute gently in a pan with olive oil.

When the potatoes and cauliflower are soft, drain the water, but put a pot underneath your strainer to reserve some of the water. Put the potatoes and cauliflower in a blender or food processor and puree (or mash by hand if that's your preferred or necessary method. This is als the point at which you would add the roasted garlic if you happen to have any on hand). Return the mush to the large pot and add some of the water you saved from draining. Stir until the texture becomes soup-like. Then add the onions and kale. Stir, combine, salt and pepper well.

To make this into pancakes, simply add flour. I just add it little by little until it looks right, but a good ratio is probably 1/4 cup flour to every cup of soup. Then heat up olive oil in a pan and drop about 1/2 cup of batter onto the hot oil and pat them down. Fry until crispy and brown on both sides. They tend to come out crispy on the outside and soft on the inside and yummy all over.

just a note, this tends to make a lot, you may want to half the recipe if you don't need to feed a lot of hungry people.

Tofu Bacon

The first time I made this I cried literal tears of joy. Then I put it on a sandwich with tomato and avocado. Then I had the best day ever.

1 block of firm tofu
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup maple syrup

1. Drain the tofu very very well (remove from package, wrap it in several towels, place a heavy book or two on top and let it sit for about 20 or so minutes)
   
2. slice the tofu lengthwise into the thinnest strips possible
3. mix the soy sauce and maple syrup together in a bowl
4. dip the strips in the mixture
5. heat about 1/2 an inch of olive oil in a frying pan. When the oil starts to sizzle start adding the tofu strips.
6. fry the tofu until they are crispy all the way through. A little burnage actually works in the tofu's favor in this case.
   

Mall Style "Asian" Noodles

This pretty much qualifies as vegan junk food. The first time i tasted it, it took me back to about 7th grade when I would go to the mall all the time. It tastes so much like whatever I used to get at Amazing Wok or whatever that place was called it almost makes me feel like loading on layers of glittery lip gloss and begging my dad for 20 bucks.

1 packet ramen noodles
about 1 cup or assorted veggies chopped (i.e. carrot, celery, mushroom)
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, finely chopped or grated
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 cup oyster mushroom sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil

1. boil the ramen noodles ( you won't be needing the flavor packet)
2. chop veggies and saute them in the olive oil
3. in a small sauce pan combine the garlic and ginger with a little olive oil and immediately add the soy sauce.
4. once the garlic ginger combo becomes fragrant, add the veggies and oyster mushroom sauce.
5. when noodles are done add them to the sauce.
   

The oyster mushroom sauce is the big flavor secret here. Its what really makes this dish taste yum.

Eggplant Sauce

I'm going eggplant crazy! I think the inspiration for this recipe came either from harira, which is a traditional Mediterranean stew featuring tomatoes and cinnamon, or Skyline chili, which is a traditional American fast food chain restaurant which features cinnamon in their chili. Hm, I wonder which one it really was....

1 eggplant
1 can of v8 juice, or standard canned tomato sauce, OR if you're feeling awesome and really cool (its ok if you're not) about 5 large tomatoes either juiced in a juicer or blended very well in a blender.
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon each of basil, oregano, and marjoram
salt and pepper to taste

1. skin and chop the eggplant
2. put the pieces in a strainer over the sink and sprinkle with salt. Let them sit for at least 10 minutes, then rinse well.
3. in a saucepan combine the eggplant, tomato sauce or juice and olive oil. Bring to a simmer
4. add other ingredients and taste to make sure all the flavors are in balance. Make adjustments if needed.
5. Cover and let simmer for 15 minutes, checking on it every five minutes and giving it a good stir. While stirring, try to break down the eggplant pieces even more. They should get very soft throughout the simmering process.
6. The sauce is done when all the flavors have melded together and the eggplant pieces are soft and incorporated into the tomato.

This is very good over pasta, lentils or rice. To make it more of a stew add in carrots, celery, mushrooms and any other vegetables you like.

Eggplant Rolling Up Things

I kind of remembered that there's this thing you can do with eggplants where you slice them and roll things up in them, I think its called rollatini, but I've never done that, so I just improvised. Results were quite pleasing.

Baked Eggplant Roll Ups
1 eggplant
1 cup bread crumbs
1/2 olive oil
(filling)
1/2 cup white mushrooms
1 very small onion
3 handfuls walnuts
1/2 of a roasted red pepper (instructions on how to roast a pepper at the bottom)
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 bunches fresh basil or several hearty shakes dried

1. Slice the eggplant lengthwise about 1/2 an inch thick. Its better for it to be too thick than too thin.
   
2. Lay the slices out on a plate or something and sprinkle them with salt (this is pretty much optional, salt leeches the bitterness out of eggplants and makes it more tender).
   
3. Put all the filling ingredients together in a blender and pulverize until mostly pasty and a little chunky.
4. Rinse the salt off the eggplant and dry them.
   
5. Pour the olive oil into a bowl and the breadcrumbs into another bowl. Dip one side of the eggplant in the oil and then dip into the crumbs (haha, that's just how you're supposed to do it. What i really did was spooned the oil on to the eggplant and heavily sprinkled the breadcrumbs on top. It worked really well).
6. Lay the slices out on a baking sheet and put them in the oven at 400.
7. Bake for 10-20 minutes (the baking time will depend on the thickness of the slices). They are done when they are very soft and the skin is slightly wrinkled.
   
8. Remove eggplant from the oven and flip the slices over. Spread the filling liberally all along the slice and roll.
9. eat!

I think that this would be very versatile in that you could use infinite different kinds of fillings. The next time I make it i think I would like to make a greeny-spinichy filling and I also think it would be awesome with just a basic pesto filling!

****HOW TO ROAST A PEPPER**************************************************
This works best on a gas stove, but I have attempted it mostly successfully on an electric stove as well.

1. Hold the whole pepper with tongs or something long and sharp that you can spear it with over the flame.
2. turn it frequently. On an electric stove it works best to actually touch the pepper to the heat source.
   
3. When the skin of the pepper is 80-90 % burnt, remove it from the heat source and place it in a closed paper bag for 10 minutes. When you take it out the skin will be very easy to remove and then you've got yourself a roasted pepper!
   

Chili-Lime Sweet Taters

At Berea Fest last year Eric Ayotte told me that he eats a sweet potato every day. I only remember this because at first i was pretty impressed. But then i began to wonder how you can eat a sweet potato every day and not get sick of them. I wish he'd give me some of his recipes. I'd trade him for this sassy one.

Sweet Potato Fries (plain)
depending on how many people you are intending to feed, 1-infinity sweet potatoes
olive oil
salt

1,Take a potato
2. slice it in half
3. slice the half in half
4.slice those halves into thirds or so
Thats just how i do it. It makes nice professional looking fries, but do what you want.
Lay them flat on a baking sheet and drizzle lightly with olive oil
salt generously
to chili-limeize
1 tablespoon lime zest
dash of lime juice
1/3 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
dash of pepper and perhaps a pinch of red pepper flakes or cayenne if you like 'em kicky

mix all the ingredients together and toss with potato slices, then bake as described above.

Oh, I forgot to include baking instructions! I don't even preheat my oven really for these. I just set it at about 350 and put them in. Potatoes aren't temperamental to temperatures, its not like you're making a souffle or something, they'll just cook as the oven heats up. It kind of takes a while, depending on how many you have. Count on it taking around 30 minutes, but check them often. They'll be done when you stab a fork into one of them and its soft. I like to keep going a little while longer so they get slightly crispy.

Cookie Dough Truffles

Um, may i get a hell yeah?

Cookie dough
1 cup margarine (softened)
2 cups turbinado sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 bag vegan chocolate chips (Good Life brand is pretty much unbelievable. Plus they have little baby chocolate chips which are good for this recipe. You can get 'em at the co-op).

combine the soft margarine, sugar and vanilla in a blender, or by hand if you're feeling frisky, until its creamy. Add the flour little by little whilst blending. Add in the baking powder, soda and salt. Fold in 3/4 of the chocolate chips. Put the dough in the fridge for at least 1/2 an hour.
to truffleize
When the dough is firm and cold melt the chocolate chips in the microwave. Roll the dough into little balls and dip them in the melted chocolate. Get them all good and coated with the chocolate and then put them somewhere to harden.

Hellllll yeah.

Clatterslaw

I dunno, maybe its because of the second snowfall, but I've been craving summery-type foods all of a sudden. I usually try really hard to eat in season but i just thought i'd post this now because its on my mind and i'll just wait a couple months to actually eat it. Unless cabbage is in season right now...hm, i don't actually know. Maybe its one of those freaky vegetables that grow all year round?
Anyway, this is called Clatterslaw because the first time i made it was at Kelly Clatterbuck's house because these are the ingredients she just happened to have laying around.

Clatterslaw
1/2 head of red cabbage
1/2 head of green cabbage
1/2 red onion sliced super thin
1 cup coarsly choppped walnuts
1 cup raisins
1/4 cup italian dressing (or oil & vinegar)
1/2 cup tahini
salt & pepper

chop up the cabbages into eatable bites. slice the onion. quickly chop up the walnuts. Toss it all together with the raisins and add the dressing and tahini. Season with salt and pepper.

This would be a good side dish with like, veggie burgers or bbq seitan nuggets (recipes of which i shall post someday), or for a potluck or picnic or barbecue....man i miss summer.

Guaca-smoothie

Yesterday i found the world's most perfect avocado at the co-op. Later when i got home i made this inspired by Heather at Phoenix who once fed me a smoothie with avocado in it. The avocado gives it the smoothest texture. My stomach is getting all fluttery just remembering it. I think it's in love.

Guaca-smoothie
1/2 a super ripe avocado
1 cup pineapple chunks
the juice of 1 clementine
3-4 ice cubes

put everything in a blender and puree until it is smooth and creamy. Easy!