Creamy Garden Vegetable Soup

 

     Sometimes I go on these crazy cooking sprees where I create dishes with interesting flavor combinations while dancing around the kitchen singing the song from Lady And The Tramp that plays when Lady and the Tramp fall in love over a plate of spaghetti... THAT'S AMORE!(You know the one).

(http://www.world-wide-art.com/Chris_Dellorco/Lady_and_the_Tramp_Thats_Amore_Suite_Original/vaid37916.html)

     Other times I make a big pot of soup so I don't have to cook for a week. Today was one of those times.

     I love soup year round, but there's something special about sitting down with a big bowl of soup in the middle of winter. I switched up my typical vegetable soup recipe just a little bit by blending it with an immersion blender to add creaminess to the soup.

 

Creamy Garden Vegetable Soup

 



(Makes: one big pot)
Ingredients:

-2 carrots
-1 stalk of celery
-1/2 onion
-2 small red or 1 russet potato
-6 cloves garlic
-8 cups veggie broth
-1 can(14.5 or so oz.) diced tomatoes
-1 can(6 oz.) tomato paste
-3 cups frozen veggies(mine contained corn, peas, green beans, lima beans and carrots)
-1 can beans(I used pinto because that's what I had)
-Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Place a large pot over medium-low heat. Chop carrots, celery, onion and potatoes into similarly sized pieces and mince garlic. Sauté in a little bit of olive oil for about 5 minutes or until slightly browned. Add remaining ingredients except for beans and cook on high until boiling. Reduce to a simmer and cook for about an hour stirring occasionally. Add beans and simmer for another half hour or so.  You can eat as is, or blend for a creamier soup. I used an immersion blender, but left the soup somewhat chunky. Alternatively you could also blend half the soup in a blender and stir back into the pot.

Warm Roasted Potato, Beet & Butternut Squash Salad

For me, the popular dish Potato Salad conjures up images of church picnics and summer pot lucks when I was a child. I used to love potato salad the way my mom made it, with lots of mustard, pickles and hard boiled eggs, tucked perfectly into an ice chest for a day at the lake or a pot luck at the park.

This potato salad is all dolled up and ready for a night out on the town with the addition of roasted beets, butternut squash and herbs, and a light, warm mustard vinaigrette dressing. I still get my mustard fix(I used to eat the stuff plain or stir it into my mashed potato's as a kid. *Cringe*, I know), but I sub Dijon mustard for its common yellow cousin. And vinegar gives the dish the same delightful tang of pickles.

Warm Roasted Potato, Beet & Butternut Squash Salad

Ingredients:

- 2 beets, washed, peeled and diced (I actually tend to not peel them because it's messy and mine were organic, but I guess most people do peel theirs, so I leave the life altering decision to your discretion)
-2 potatoes, diced(I used 1 Russet and a couple small reds)
-1/4 of a butternut squash(about 2 cups), diced
-3 cloves garlic, minced
-1 onion, diced
-1 Tbs. olive oil

For Dressing:

-1 1/2 Tbs. Dijon mustard
-1 Tbs. vinegar(I used apple cider vinegar, but would have subbed red wine vinegar if I had any on hand)
-A handful fresh rosemary(or maybe about a Tbs. dried)
-2 tsp. thyme
-1/2 tsp, dill
-1/2 tsp. garlic powder

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine all vegetables and oil in a large bowl, then divide between 2 baking sheets. Roast for 30 minutes or until veggies are tender, stirring every 10 minutes or so.

Meanwhile prepare dressing by whisking all dressing ingredients in a bowl.

When veggies are done, pour into a large bowl and immediately toss with dressing. This dish is delicious warm, room temperature or cold. You have choices!

Creamy & Tangy Secret Ingredient Pasta Sauce

I've been a little squash obsessed recently. There are just so many varieties and it's the perfect fall food. Even though California holds onto that summer warmth until November, this year I'm hoping for early gray skies, colored leaves, and some October sweater weather. I will it. I've even accessorized with scarves at least a few times a week in the 100 degrees Fahrenheit weather, just to protest these Californian 8 month summers. It's a travesty.

End rant.

Anywho, as you've probably ascertained, the secret ingredient in the pasta sauce is... squash! Specifically of the butternut variety. A delicious food with a very fun name. Come on, say it with me: butter nut, butternut, butternutbutternutbutternutbutternut! It's just fun to say. And this pasta sauce is equally fun to eat.

Pureed squash adds creaminess(without fat), to this recipe and lends a very pretty pale orange coloration. I also add cauliflower because... why not? Lemon juice lightens up the flavor while adding some tang. Try this recipe. It's super healthy, super delicious.

After devouring my first attempt at this recipe I had to go back to the store and pick up another squash and make more pasta sauce. I had to. To perfect the recipe and make it blog ready obviously.

Creamy & Tangy Secret Ingredient Pasta Sauce

(Makes 3 cups sauce)
Ingredients:

-1/2 a butternut squash, cubed(I like to cube and roast the other half with mixed veggies and add to pasta and sauce)
-2 cups cauliflower florets
-1 cup non-dairy milk
-1/4 cup nutritional yeast
-1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
-1 1/2 tsp. onion powder
-1 1/2 tsp. salt
-1 Tbs. Dijon mustard
-3 cloves garlic, diced
-1 lemon
- Optional: 1 Tbs. olive oil(I used it the first time I made the recipe and omitted it the second without noticing much of a difference)


Method:

Steam squash and cauliflower until tender. Meanwhile puree all other ingredients in vita-mix(or blender/food processor). Add steamed veggies and puree until smooth. Serve over pasta and roasted veggies.

Green Monster Mash

Okay, so I'm not exactly sure where the "monster" part came in, but Green Monster Mash sounds a whole lot better to me than "Mashed Cauliflower and Broccoli" which is really what this dish is.


-Does it look pretty?

-No.

-Does it taste pretty?

-YES.

 

I used to hate broccoli with a passion. I was the kid who would sit at the dinner table making comical, grossed-out expressions as I tried to finish my two pieces of broccoli with microscopic bites. My relationship with cauliflower and countless other vegetables followed this same pattern. Who ever would have thought I'd grow up to become vegan? Now I can't get enough of the stuff!

 

This garlicky Green Monster Mash is a perfect side dish to whip up alongside almost any main dish. I often even eat it as my main dish. I recommend serving it over a bowl of quinoa(usually my bowl is mostly mash with a little bit of quinoa mixed in). If you like, you can add a drizzle of olive oil, or a bit of non-dairy margarine, but this recipe tastes buttery to me without it.


Green Monster Mash


Ingredients:


-A 1 lb. bag frozen broccoli and cauliflower blend
-1/4-1/2 tsp. salt
-1/8 tsp. pepper
-1/2 tsp. garlic powder
-1/4 tsp. onion powder
-Optional(but recommended): 4 roasted garlic cloves


Method:


Steam veggies until tender. Just follow the directions on the back of the bag, I like to steam mine in a colander over boiling water, but the microwave works as well. Place in a food processor(or in a bowl if you want to mash by hand) and add salt, pepper, garlic and onion powders and roasted garlic if desired. Pulse(or mash with a fork) until all ingredients are combined. I like mine pretty chunky(The pictured mash above is actually quite smooth for me), but you can make yours as smooth or chunky as you'd like.

 

 

Smooth Sailing Zucchini Boats

 

 

 

The idea to develop this recipe was definitely Ashleigh's. I thought these pretty little boats were going to be a flop from the get-go.

 

 

Boy was I wrong.

 

 

 

 

 

They are quick and easy to make(especially if you have leftover rice like we always do), and it is a relatively simple dish in terms of ingredients, but they are so good. With sweet, savory and tangy components, these zucchini boats are like an explosion in your mouth. An explosion of delicious.

 

 



 

 

 

(Serves 2 as a main dish or 4 as a side)

 

Ingredients:

 

 

-2 zucchini

-2 tomatoes, diced

-3/4 cup mushrooms, diced(I used 6 baby portabella mushrooms)

-1/2 onion, diced

-2 cloves garlic, diced

-1 Tbs. olive oil

-1 cup cooked brown rice

-1 tsp. oregano

-1/2 tsp. salt

-1/4 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. agave nectar

-1/2 small lemon

 

 

Method:

 

 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Sauté onion and garlic in olive oil until onion becomes translucent. Meanwhile, half your zucchini and carefully scrape the inside out to make a hollow boat shape. Chop the scraped out zucchini middles and add them to the pan along with the tomatoes, mushrooms and rice. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until veggies are cooked through.

 

 

Mix in oregano, salt, pepper, agave nectar and lemon juice. Remove from heat. Place your zucchini boats on a baking pan and fill with rice mixture. Even after heaping the mixture onto your zucchini boats you will have about half leftover. This is a good thing. The rice is the best part!

 

 

We like to scoop the leftover mixture into a corner of the pan and cook with the zucchini. Bake for 15-20 minutes and serve the boats with a scoop of extra rice mixture.

 

 

 

 

 



 



Fancytime Brown Rice Waffles

 

 

 

It's time to get fancy with this healthy, wafflicious recipe. With 1 cup of brown rice flour plus 1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice, these crispy waffle's are packed with over a 1/4 cup of rice per 2 waffle serving.

 

 



I also opted not to sweeten these waffles. That way they can be served savory or sweet. Sprinkled with a little salt they remind me a little of a soft pretzel so sometimes I even dip them in mustard.


Don't diss it till you try it.


They also complement salads nicely. And if it's sweet you're craving, they're great drenched in pure maple syrup, or drizzled with my Dark Chocolate PB Sauce.


First they're savory:

Then they're sweet:

(Makes about 16 waffles)
Ingredients:


-1 cup brown rice flour
-1/2 cup tapioca flour(also called tapioca starch)
-1/4 cup almond flour(you can also grind whole almonds in a food processer to make your own almond flour)
-2 tsp. baking powder
-2 tsp. baking soda
-1/2 a banana
-3 Tbs. oil(I used olive oil)
-1 1/2 cups non-dairy milk
-1 1/2 tsp. distilled white vinegar or lemon juice
-1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice


Method:

Preheat your waffle iron. Mix all ingredients except cooked brown rice in a large mixing bowl. Fold in brown rice. Once your waffle iron is preheated, spray with cooking spray and pour in waffle batter(the amount you'll need depends on how big your waffle mold is, but I used 1/4 cup scoops). Cook to desired crispiness, about 5-8 minutes.

Magical Vegetable Garden Lasagna

 

 

 

This lasagna is packed with over 8 cups of vegetables! And this is not counting the fresh spinach, which all good vegans know shrinks an insane amount when cooked. Let's just say, if I could shrink as well as spinach does, they'd be writing comic books about me.

 

 

 

 

Also this is probably one of the most delicious things ever. And I used to hate lasagna. Like detest it. But this lasagna(original recipe credited to Ashleigh), is so magical, it reformed me. I used to have so much hate in my life, but now there are only unicorns and happy, vegan lasagna thoughts. That's just the magic of this lasagna.

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients:

 

-1 box lasagna sheets(I used no-precooking needed rice sheets)

-4 1/2 cups sauce(I used 1 recipe each of my It's Time To Get Sauce-y Balsamic Red Sauce, Pesto With Pizzazz and Wowzers White Sauce, but you can use all red or a combination of any)

-About 8 cups chopped veggies(I'm just guesstimating on the measurement, but I used 1/2 a ginormous yellow squash from a friends garden, 1/2 box mushrooms, 2 carrots and 2 small heads of broccoli)

-One 5 oz bag spinach

-1 1/2 cups Daiya mozzarella style shreds(Click here for nutrition facts and ingredient list)

(Fun fact: Dayaa means "loving, kindness and compassion" in Sanskrit)

 

 

Method:

(I'm going to write this as I made it, with all 3 sauces, but if you're not using all 3, just sub for the ones you are using)

 

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spread a small amount of red sauce at the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Arrange a single layer of lasagna noodles. Spread 1/2 of white sauce over sheets and top with 1/2 of each type of vegetable and dollop with 1/2 of pesto. Wash, rinse and repeat. Top this amazing pan of delicious with your Daiya shreds and pop into the oven covered with foil for 40 minutes, then cook 20 minutes longer uncovered. Enjoy the magic.



It's Time To Get Sauce-y

 

 

 

 

In honor of my recent -and weird- obsession/cravings for every type of pasta dish known to mankind, I thought I'd post recipes for my three favorite, basic vegan pasta sauces.

 

 

So I used to be almost afraid to eat pasta. Yes, I know that's weird. For some reason I was convinced that it was horrendously bad for you in every way, shape or form. And if I ate it, I was going to explode... or something to that effect.

 

 

I'm not a huge fan of white flour, or white flour products anyways, which probably added to my pasta weirdness, so when I discovered brown rice pasta my mind was blown. BLOWN. It opened me up to a whole world of more nutritious pasta products including quinoa pasta and mung bean pasta(I haven't actually tried this one yet, but it intrigues me).

 

 

 

 

But I digress. The star of this blog is the sauce, not the noodles. I also healthified those. And let me tell you, although they are all delicious, the Wowzers White Sauce recipe(which I invented on the spot -not to brag or nothin') is sooooooooooo good. These are winners. And they go really well in my lasagna recipe: Magical Vegetable Garden Lasagna

 

 

 

 

 

Balsamic Red Sauce(Makes 2 cups):

 

 Ingredients:

 

 

-1 onion, diced

-4 cloves of garlic, minced

-2 big tomatoes(I like heirloom), cubed

-1/2 cup canned tomato sauce

-1/4 tsp. salt

-2 tsp. dried basil

-2 tsp. dried oregano

-1 Tbs. balsamic vinegar

 

 

Method:

 

 

Sauté onion and garlic in a little water until softened(you can do this in olive oil as well if you prefer). Add tomatoes, sauce, salt and herbs. Bring to a boil, then reduce to low/medium-low and simmer for 30 minutes or so. Remove from heat and mix in balsamic vinegar.

 

 

Pesto With Pizzazz(Makes 1 cup):

 

 Ingredients:

 

 

-4 cups packed fresh basil

-4 cups spinach

-1 cup nuts(I've used almonds, walnuts and pecans with good results. Pine nuts are traditional, but too expensive for my sad college student budget)

-1/4 tsp. salt

-4 cloves of garlic

-1 Tbs. olive oil

-2 Tbs. nutritional yeast(I have made pesto without nutritional yeast, but it adds a really nice flavor)

-The juice of 1/2-1 lemon(I use 1 or sometimes more because I like my pesto super pizzazzy)

 

 

Method:

 

 

Throw all ingredients into your handy dandy food processor and blend until as smooth or chunky as your heart tells you.

 

 

Wowzers White Sauce(Makes 1 1/2 cups):

(This white sauce is so good, it'll make you say "wowzers!" Sometimes even I can't believe how amazingly cheesy I am.)

 

 Ingredients:

 

 

-2 cups non-dairy milk, up to 3 if needed(I use unsweetened almond milk)

-1/2 cup cashews

-1/4 cup nutritional yeast

-2 cloves garlic

-1 Tbs. olive oil

-1 1/2 Tbs. brown rice flour

-1/2 lemon(1 if you're feeling tangy)

-1/2 tsp. salt

-Pepper

-1/2 tsp. garlic powder

-1/2 tsp. onion powder

-2 tsp. mustard

 

 

Method:

 

 

Blend first 4 ingredients on high in your vitamix if you have one, or blender if you don't. Meanwhile heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in brown rice flour and cook for a minute or so until browned. Add milk mixture, lemon juice, salt, pepper, garlic and onion powders and mustard. Bring to a boil and simmer until sauce reaches desired thickness. If too thick, add more milk to thin out.

 

Try one of these sauces on its own or mix 2, or all 3 together if you're feeling brave.

 

 

 

 

 



 

Creamy Roasted Veggie Pasta

 

 



Pasta. It's a food that almost everyone enjoys in some form or other, but it's often not one associated with healthy eating. I'm about to change that. This pasta dish was inspired by my love for roasted vegetables and a surplus of Follow Your Heart and Tofutti vegan cream cheese that I needed to use up.

 

There aren't many meat and dairy copycat products that I frequently buy, but, somehow, between my sister Ashleigh and I, we ended up with 2 Tofutti's and a tub of Follow Your Heart vegan cream cheese. My usual go to recipe for this particular ingredient is Earthquake Cake. If you don't know what this is, look it up, it will blow your mind! It's likely I'll still end up making and posting my recipe for this delicious dessert in the next few days as I still have 2 1/2 containers left, but I wanted to try my hand at a savory recipe first.

The addition of just 2 tablespoons of vegan cream cheese adds creaminess while still keeping the dish light and summer-y. If you're not vegan, regular cream cheese can be easily substituted. And the sauce itself is so versatile. Along with mixing it into pasta, this roasted vegetable blend can be used as a dip for crackers and a spread on sandwiches.

 

 

 

Ingredients:


-3 zucchini, cut into rounds
-1 box cherry tomatoes, halved
-1 large bell pepper, sliced
-3 cloves garlic, chopped
-2 Tbs. oil
-1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
-2 cups pasta(I use brown rice pasta)
-1/2 lemon
-2 Tbs. vegan cream cheese(or regular cream cheese if you're not vegan)
-Salt and pepper to taste


Supplies:


-2 baking sheets
-Spatula
-Pot with a lid
-Ladle
-Strainer
-Food processor
-Measuring cups and spoons


Method:


Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Divide first 4 ingredients equally between two baking trays and toss each with 1 Tbs. olive oil and 2 Tbs. balsamic vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven, stirring every 15 minutes or so, for about an hour or until veggies are tender.


Before roasting:

After an hour or so:

Meanwhile prepare your pasta according to box instructions.


When your vegetables are done scoop about 2/3 into a food processor and add lemon juice and cream cheese. Blend until ingredients are combined, but the mixture is still somewhat chunky. At this point hand stir in remaining vegetables, taste, and salt and pepper if needed. And voila!


Makes 2-4 servings, depending on how hungry you are. I got about 3 servings out of this recipe.


If you try this recipe out, let me know what you think!