Eggplant Lasagna

1 eggplant
2 tbsp bread crumbs
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup firm tofu
baby spinach
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp salt
dash basil

preheat the oven at 350 degrees

1. Peel and slice the eggplant lengthwise in large wide strips, about a 1/4 inch thick.

2. Coat each slice with olive oil and then pat with bread crumbs.

3. Lay out the strips in a baking dish, overlapping slightly and put in the oven. Check and turn often to prevent burning.

4. Crumble tofu to resemble ricotta cheese. Add salt and basil.

5. Mince and saute garlic over medium high heat in a small amount of olive oil. Add the seasoned tofu and stir constantly until heated.

6. Heat tomato sauce over medium heat.

7. When eggplant is tender remove from oven.

8. Place one slice of breaded eggplant on the plate. Spoon on tomato sauce. Add small amount of tofu. Add a layer of baby spinach. Repeat until three layers are complete. Top with tomato sauce.

It was pretty good, greatly recommended for lasagna lovers who for whatever reason can not have pasta. The eggplant has a great flavor and adds a lot to the dish. I am somewhat torn about the tofu. I think it added to the look of the dish, however did not add too much to the taste. Was a perfect match for ricotta consistency wise, however I could probably have done better at replicating the cheese's flavor.

More recipes soonly coming!

I will be making some recipes this weekend, I promise! :D Lately I've been having fresh fruit and veggie dinners. Night before last was figs, strawberries, celery, blueberries, and grape tomatoes...last night was cucumber slices and peanuts. I think the night three days ago was plain rice. : / I do have some ingredients however and some fab ideas. :D

Which looks better, gloppy pot pie or lovely fruits and veg? haha, ignore the feets.

Protien Rich Dinner Salad

Ingredients:
Dark green salad mix of your choice, I used an herb salad blend with baby spinach, red romaine, arugula and others.
1/4 can purple hulled peas, washed
1/4th cup peanuts
3 club crackers, crumbled
1 tbsp Italian dressing

Assembly:
Lay out salad, tear into small pieces if desired.
Add peas evenly.
Sprinkle on peanuts.
Crush crackers over the salad and sprinkle on.
Add dressing.

Very very awesome meal. 300-350 calories, lots of nutrients. Of course more veggies would have been nice, but it's what I had. :)

Almost Pancakes

Ingredients:
3 fresh Corn Tortillas
4 Strawberries, sliced
2-3 tsp honey

Assembly:
1. Heat tortillas in the oven until soft and pliable
2. Place one tortilla on plate and add 1/3 of the honey, repeat for all.
3. Top with strawberry slices

Verdict:

Was tasty and I was full before I finished. I found myself longing for coolwhip, but you can't beat it with a stick for 200 calories. XD I think hotter and fresher on the tortillas would have made this pretty awesome.

Rainbow Chili

Ingredients:
1 cup vegetable broth
1 can kidney beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can corn of choice
1 can diced tomatoes
1 zucchini, sliced
Dash of garlic powder
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp Lawry's seasoning salt
1/4th tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp cornstarch
Pinch of dried basil
Assembly:

1. In a large sauce pot over medium heat, combine rinsed, drained beans, drained corn, vegetable broth (reserving a 1/4 cup for later), drained tomatoes, and sliced zucchini.
2. Add garlic powder, seasoning, chili powder, basil, and cayenne.
3. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cover. Let simmer for 15-20 minutes.
   
4. Whisk cornstarch and reserved vegetable broth together and add to pot. Stir until fully incorporated.
   

Presentation:

I just served it in bowls along with some multi-grain toast.
I briefly considered sour cream for his, but decided against it without being able to test myself. If I had had onions I would have added them, green peppers too. Jalapenos probably could have been substituted for cayenne, but I like the way cayenne tastes in soups. Potatoes would have been horribly good in this.

Verdict:
I liked it but didn't think it was over the moon good. Was very pretty and filling, but needed something in my opinion. Oil? Something to give it that smack smack, num.
On the plus side...

The Man:
Said it was very good. :D Just what I needed after a couple of so so responses.

Veggie Lover - Banned Peta Ad

Num Fruit Salad

6 strawberries, diced
1 apple, diced
1 banana, diced
handful of chopped walnuts
1 tsp honey (or agave nectar if you can get it, I know honey isn't vegan by a lot of people's standards, I personally do not object to it and believe most honey harvest practices are humane.)


Cut all ingredients into tiny tidbits, mix together. Add honey and stir till everything is glazed with honey. Keeps in the fridge for a few hours without really browning. I find it's nicer because the juice and the honey make a lovely syrup after 30 minutes or so.

This could make a good snack, but I've eaten it for dinner before. It's a good sized salad.

Vegan Sushi

Shopping List:

Nori sheets, half or full
3 cups Koshihikari rice (yes it matters)
3 1/4 cups water
1 avocado
1 cucumber
1 carrot
3 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup rice vinegar (yes it matters)

Assembly:

1. In a mesh strainer, rinse your rice. Rub the rice together while rinsing to polish it. Do this until the water runs clear.
2. Add water and rice to pan or rice cooker and cook according to the directions on your packaging. Do not add salt or oil.
3. On a large cutting board spread your rice out in a thin layer. Traditionally you would do this in a large wooden bowl called sushi-oke..but I do not have one. :D
4. Mix vinegar, salt, and sugar together in a pan and heat on low until sugar dissolves, stirring constantly. Allow to cool.
5. Sprinkle cooled vinegar mixture over rice, turn the rice very gently with a wooden or plastic flat spoon or spatula. NO METAL.
6. Allow to cool completely, you can use a fan or set by an open window.
7. Lay out your nori sheet. The shiny side should be facing down.
8. Wet your hands and take a golf ball sized piece of rice. Spread this evenly over the first 3/4 of your nori. Allow a small quarter inch gap between the edge of the nori and the rice.
9. Cut your cucumber, carrot, and avocado into strips. Try to cut in such a way that the strips will fit perfectly within the width of the roll. So one strip the same lenth as the width of the roll or two that are half the width etc. You do not want an uneven fill.
10. Add the vegetables in a neat stack towards the end of the first quarter of the roll.
11. Wet your hands again if they feel sticky. Roll the sushi from the side closest to you, making a small hill over the vegetables. Then roll the rest tightly, like you are rolling up a carpet. Try to sense when the nori is at it's breaking point and do not go beyond this point.
12. The fresher the nori is, the easier it is to seal, if you have trouble pressing it closed, add some moisture to the outside, like sealing a cigar.
13. Take a flat, VERY sharp knife and wet it with some room temperature water. When you cut the roll you do not want to put any real pressure, the knife should be sharp enough to glide through and not squish.

Presentation:

I cut all my pieces at once and arranged the in a spiral pattern on a black plate. It was kind of like a spiral of spirals. We ate them with soy sauce and wasabi paste. I also served miso soup along with, though it was a prepackaged mix.

The Man:

Greatly approved

Spicy Black Bean Salsa

Shopping List:

1 can black beans
1 can favorite corn (the fiesta or Mexican corn works great)
1 can purple hulled peas (or black eyed peas)
2 cans diced tomatoes (fresh equivalent greatly recommended if you can afford it)
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
fresh cilantro, as much as you like
1 cup favorite italian dressing
green bell pepper, chopped
minced garlic to taste, I think I did 3 cloves or so
1 small white onion, chopped

This seriously makes a ton of salsa. I chucked it after 3 days of munching because I was not sure about the expiration. It also makes your breath STINKY. If you cut down the onions and garlic it would lose a lot of flavor, but you wouldn't be Lady Stinky Face. DO NOT USE A FOOD PROCESSOR FOR THE ONION. It takes longer to chop it all up in little bits but if you use a food processor the onion becomes very over powering.

Assembly:

1. Drain and rinse all the beans/peas, try to remove as much moisture/goop as possible. Add to bowl.
2. Drain tomatoes and try to remove as much moisture from them, squeeze them a little even. Add to bowl.
3. Drain corn and add.
4. Add all other ingredients, aside from dressing. Mix.
5. If you still have a lot of liquid accumulation, push ingredients to one side of the bowl and drain liquid from the other.
6. Add dressing a little at a time till it looks right...it should look like salsa but not like soup.
7. Cover and put in the fridge overnight, or 6+ hours

Presentation:

Serve with chips or celery pieces (It's carby enough, right?) or you can just eat it with a fork like a bean salad...or put on top of salad...

Verdict:

I thought it totally rocked. It was mega addictive and fresh and nice. I did get annoyed with being stinky, but I'm not used to eating raw onions ever ever ever. I swear I could not brush or rinse the smell away. I feel like if I had listened and NOT food processed the onion..it would have been cool. I've made it since with no onion, no green pepper, and no corn...was still good, the corn was sorely missed however (I just forgot it)...removal of onion did hurt the flavor...removal of the green pepper was somewhat successful. It was pretty overpowering in the original dish, maybe better to half it, not remove it.

The Man:

He had some the first day, said it was good in the form of a "thumbs up" however he didn't have any more ever. Probably not a success on his side.

As always let me know if you see any non-vegan items in a recipe

Vegan Enchiladas

Shopping List:

8 Corn Tortillas
1 medium can Enchilada Sauce
1 Jar Tomato Sauce
1 Zucchini, diced
1 Baking Potato
1 can chopped black olives
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 an onion, sliced
1 tsp honey
2 tbs Olive oil
1 dash oregano
1 can pinto beans
few shakes Lawry's Seasoning Salt

*I also made the Spanish Rice again which didn't do well. I take back everything I said about simply adding more broth. Yes add more broth then only use a spoonful or two of the paste, or fresh tomatoes. More broth plus all the paste made it very saucy and was like rice in very thick, very sharp tomato sauce. It needs less tomato for sure. *

Assembly:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2. Boil potato in salted water until it's just cooked, not overly soft. Peel while hot (of course you could peel before). Cube cooked potato and set aside.

3. Put a small amount of olive oil in your pan, add honey. When it's hot and the honey is melted in, add the onion slices. Think fajita onions. Add the garlic and let onions caramelize. (I hate onions and these were the best part) Add Lawry's Salt.

4. Add your diced zucchini and some of the olives. The whole can was WAY too much..maybe just a tablespoon or two. Stir continually getting all ingredients hot and well mixed.

5. Remove from heat, mix in potato cubes.

6. Heat your tortillas. (You're supposed to add a very small touch of oil to a skillet and heat each tortilla for a few seconds per side..but I am currently skilletless so i put them in the oven on a baking sheet for a few seconds per side. Probably didn't properly activate the tortillas, but made them soft enough to roll properly. I totally recommend the correct way.)

7. Get a small casserole dish and coat the bottom in olive oil. Sprinkle oregano on top of this.

8. Fill tortillas with potato/zucchini/onion/garlic/olive mixture and roll as tightly as possible (you could dip each tortilla in enchilada sauce first to add a more even flavor, I however was too lazy for this). My pan fit 8, but the filling would have gone a lot further had I wanted to make more. Roll all your enchilada, squishing them neatly in a row in the pan, then put however many will fit on the side. You want a complete layer of them.

9. Cover these with enchilada sauce. Cover the enchilada sauce with drained, rinsed pinto beans. Cover the pinto beans with tomato sauce (not a ton, just enough to put a thin layer over all beans). Cover the whole mess with foil and a lid too if you have one.

10. Bake for about 45 minutes.

* This is the time to make Spanish rice if you're going to. *

Presentation:

Once it's done baking, scoop the tomato saucy beans off the top and onto the plate, do not mix them in with the enchiladas. They actually have a totally different taste and I was very pleased how this turned out. A little bit of the tomato sauce seeps into the enchilada sauce, enhancing the flavor, and it could be a full meal using only two dishes. (one pan and one baking dish)
Once the beans are removed (or at least the beans in one area), scoop out the enchiladas. I just kind of got a big spoonful out, not individual enchiladas, it might have been possible, but since there's no real binding element, tasted just the same mixed up. So spoonful of beans, spoonful of enchilada, spoonful of rice (if applicable)
I kind of separated the spoonfuls and added mixed salad greens in the middle, it was pretty. :D I also added sour cream to his enchiladas, I don't really know how this affected them as I didn't taste it, but it seemed like the right thing to do.

Verdict:

I undercooked my potatoes and that really affected the dish. I thought they would be easier to cut if they were slightly firm and that they would cook the rest of the way in the oven...they did not.
The flavor I thought was really awesome. I liked it a lot. I would do this again for a big, filling, vegan meal.


The Man:

did not seem overly impressed. He said good, and ate it all, which was a lot...but I do not think it would be a favorite for him.

As always point out anything that clearly AIN'T VEGAN

Pinto/Spanish Rice Burritos 1-25-09

Ingredient list:

Big Flour Tortillas - 4 of em

(Spanish Rice)
Tomato Paste - one itty can
Olive Oil - a couple tsp
White Rice - I used Jasmine, one cup
Vegetable Stock - one can, 16oz
Yellow Onion - about a quarter of a large one, chopped
Garlic - 3 cloves, minced
Oregano - a few shakes

(Beans)
Pinto Beans - 1 can (rinsed!)
Diced Tomatoes - 1 can
Chili Powder - pinch
Garlic Powder - tiny shake
Jalapeno Pepper - 1/5th pepper, the tip, chopped fine


First I made the Spanish rice:

1. You put a little bit of olive oil in your skillet and heat it to medium.
2. Add uncooked rice and stir often, browning the rice.
3. Once rice is browned add garlic and onion. Cook about 4 minutes, stirring often (don't let your rice burn!) until onion is tender.
4. Add stock and tomato paste.
5. Add oregano, stir until all the paste is blended into the stock, will be thick.
6. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low, and cover. Check after 20 minutes, should be done...cook times vary.
7. Remove from heat, let stand covered (after ascertaining doneness) 5 minutes

Then the beans:

1. Drain and rinse beans (not a lot, but enough to get a good bit of the slime off)
2. Add to sauce pot
3. Drain tomatoes, get as much liquid out of them as possible, squeeze them if you have to
4. Add to beans
5. Heat mixture on a low medium heat, allow moisture to accumulate.
6. Add powders to your taste, and salt and pepper if desired (I would recommend going light on the salt as the paste is salty and when the tastes are together I find this adequate.)
7. Add the jalapeno and stir well.
8. Cover and place on low.

Heat your oven to 250 degrees. Place tortillas directly on rack for a couple of minutes until they are warm and puffy. Try to time this so that your rice is done resting (the 5 minutes) when the tortillas are just coming out of the oven.

Presentation:

If you can find and tolerate vegan cheese and sour cream I think they would improve this dish. Some avocado slices or shredded lettuce probably would have been nice also. Anything that you would normally like in a burrito, go for it. These were not exceptionally spicy, so you could slice up the rest of the jalapeno and add it.

What I did was put a portion of the bean mixture and the rice on each plate and I had the tortillas on their own plate. It worked really well as an easy build you're own. The rice was very pasty, like baked rice, which made for a very clean and easy burrito. The beans were also not too wet.

Things I would try differently:

• I would like to add something crunchy in the mix, lettuce sounds really good to me
• The rice cooked faster than I anticipated because (I believe) the paste made the stock thick and I lost a little stock when I added it because the pan was still hot. More stock should probably be added...but if less paste can be used and produce the same effect this would be much more preferable. I would hate to buy a whole other can of stock for the few tablespoons more needed.

The Meat Eater's (husband's) verdict: Very Good

If you notice anything in this or any other recipe posted that is not vegan, please please let me know. I'm still learning and I am often missing small animal product ingredients. Thanks