Grilled Broccoli and Spinach White Pizza

I love pizza but had all but given up on finding a vegan "cheese" that wasn't utterly disgusting. Then, I heard about something called Daiya. I had been hearing people sing it's praises so I figured I would try it. Guess what? Finally, I have found a vegan cheese substitute that is not only edible but actually good! I am still experimenting with it but I can tell you that it melts well and seems to be pretty much interchangeable for any recipe for which you would use shredded cheese. YAY for Daiaya!

Grilled Broccoli and Spinach White Pizza

1 whole grain pizza crust (I used a pre-made one from the store)
1/2 small head of broccoli lightly steamed
1/2 12 oz bag of spinach, wilted
3 cloves roasted garlic
2 handfuls Daiya mozzarella shreds
2 tbsp Olive oil
salt, to taste
paprika (optional)

Heat grill to high heat and roast spinach with 1 tbsp olive oil in a foil pouch until soft (about 5-7 minutes). Set aside to cool.

Add a small amount of water to the bottom of a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Add broccoli (use a steamer insert if you have one) and cover. Allow to steam about three minutes until bright green. Remove broccoli and immediately rinse under cold water to stop the cooking.

In a saute pan over medium to medium high heat, add remaining 1 tbsp olive oil and spinach. Allow spinach to wilt for a minute or two. Season with salt. Remove from pan and set aside.

Brush remaining olive oil on pizza crust. Spread roasted garlic over pizza crust evenly. Cut broccoli florets from the stems. Place florets on pizza crust. Add wilted spinach to pizza. Sprinkle with two handfuls of Daiya mozzarella shreds.

Place on grill and cover until edges brown and cheese melts. This should take no longer than ten minutes but time will vary based on your particular grill.

Remove from grill, sprinkle with paprika if desired, for color.

Horizons Oyster Mushrooms Rockefeller

I am lucky enough to live and work in the Philadelphia area where we have a phenomenal vegan restaurant called Horizons. Today, while sitting outside at the pool I read a write up in Vegetarian Times about the chefs at Horizons that included some recipes. I made the Oyster Mushrooms Rockefeller and they did not disappoint! I changed it up slightly (added salt and used red onion instead of shallot to accommodate for what I had in the house) but this is basically the exact recipe from the April 2010 Vegetarian Times issue. This was too good not to share!

Next time, I may use slightly less Vegan mayo as this was very rich. Thank you Rich and Kate. This is a real winner!

Oyster Mushrooms Rockefeller

24 oz fresh oyster mushrooms, tough part of stems removed

4 tbsp olive oil divided

2 lb baby spinach

1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise

1/2 cup chopped fennel

2 tbsp Dijon mustard

2 tbsp chopped red onion

2 cloves garlic minced

salt to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spread mushrooms in bottom of ramekins or baking dish. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Saute spinach until wilted, tossing occasionally. Spread wilted spinach over mushrooms in ramekins or baking dish. Whisk together remaining 2 tbsp oil, mayonnaise, fennel, mustard, red onion and garlic in small bowl. Spread sauce over spinach until well covered. Bake 15 minutes or until sauce begins to brown.

Garnish with fennel fronds, if desired.

Chilled Mango Persimmon Soup with Cilantro Oil

This is inspired by a cold soup I had the other night while dining out. I love tropical fruits and summer is such a great time to enjoy fresh fruit as a meal. What a bonus to not even have to turn the oven on. To me, this is a near perfect lunch!
Chilled Mango Persimmon Soup with Cilantro Oil

1 bunch cilantro
1 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 mango peeled and cut up
1 persimmon peeled and cut up
1 large jalapeno pepper cut up (veins and seeds removed)
Juice of one lime
Salt and pepper to taste

Prepare the cilantro oil the day before. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Once boiling add the bunch of cilantro to the water for 20 seconds. Drain and immediately rinse in cold water. Allow to dry thoroughly and then blend olive oil and cilantro in a food processor. Place in a jar in the refrigerator over night. When herb has settled strain mixture through a fine cheesecloth or coffee filter into a glass jar or bottle.

Place mango, persimmon, jalapeno, lime juice, salt and pepper into a food processor. Puree until smooth. Refrigerate mixture at least two hours before serving. Place in a bowl or cup, drizzle with cilantro oil and garnish with fresh cilantro if desired.

Panko Crusted Tofu Over Spicy Peanut Udon Noodles

Neighbors are great. I am really lucky to have neighbors that will share more than just the occasional beer in the backyard with me. Take Teddy, who took the time to share the recipe for this fantastic dish. While I made some changes to his original, I think he would agree that this reflects the spirit of the dish. Thanks, Teddy!



Panko Crusted Tofu Over Spicy Udon Noodles

3 tbsp peanut butter
3 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
grated fresh ginger to taste
one clove finely chopped fresh garlic
cayenne pepper to taste
1/2 cup vegetable stock
2 tbsp crushed peanuts (some reserved for garnish)
Udon noodles
1/2 package extra firm tofu drained and cut into cubes
panko bread crumbs
2 tbsp olive oil for sauteing
salt and pepper to taste
green onions (green part) chopped for garnish
sesame seeds for garnish

In a bowl combine peanut butter, vegetable broth, crushed peanuts, ginger, garlic, cayenne and soy sauce. Whisk until incorporated. Mix panko, salt ad pepper in a shallow dish. Coat tofu cubes in mixture. Bring water to a boil and cook Udon noodles according to package directions. While cooking the noodles heat olive oil and saute tofu at medium heat until browned.

Drain noodles and add peanut sauce reserving some sauce for drizzling. Place tofu on noodles and garnish with sesame seeds, crushed peanuts and chopped green onion.

Cashew Nut "Cheese" Lasagna

I have been trying to make a vegan lasagna that does not contain tofu for what seems like forever now without much success. Finally, thanks to this great recipe for cashew nut "cheese" that a friend sent me from  Healthy. Happy. Life.. I finally have a winner! Thank you Healthy. Happy.Life.! I cannot rave enough about how fantastic this is! This is a keeper and this "cheese" will be a staple in my home- I can think of a million uses for it not the least of which is just spread on a cracker!



Vegan Cashew Nut "Cheese" Lasagna

2 cups soaked raw cashews with a pinch of salt

2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 cup soy milk creamer

3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp dried Italian herb blend (I used McCormick's Gourmet Collection)

1 tbsp agave syrup
1 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/3 cup fresh chives

1 tsp black pepper

salt to taste

Lasagna noodles (I used eight of the fancy cut number 15 which fit perfectly in a 9x9 Pyrex

~24 oz marinara sauce (the equivalent of a typical store bought jar sauce)

Add raw cashews to big bowl of water and soak overnight. Drain soaked cashews and add them to a food processor. Add vinegar, soy creamer, agave, Italian herb blend and extra virgin olive oil. Blend on high until smooth. Add in the chives, pepper, garlic and salt.

Boil water and cook lasagna noodles according to the package directions. Place some marinara sauce on the bottom of a 9x9 Pyrex dish. Cover with a layer of noodles and add a layer of the cashew nut "cheese". Cover with another layer of noodles and add more sauce. Continue until all noodles are used and finish with a layer of sauce. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Let rest and serve. Enjoy. I loved this!

Lentil Stuffed Peppers

I think I have already told you I grew up in a home where we ate lots of Middle Eastern food. I loved almost all of it except lentils! Both my sister Erica and I thought my Fathers favorite lentil dish was gross! I have long since gotten past that and love lentils. Though, that favorite dish I refer to I have not yet made vegan or tried since I was a little girl. My sister tells me to revisit it and I trust her judgement so I will. But that's for another post.

This is my take on a bunch of lentil recipes I recently found. I love peppers and they make such a beautiful vessel for stuffing!

The great thing about this recipe is you can put any veggie or fruit you love it there!

Stuffed Peppers

4 peppers (color of your choice)
1 cup lentils
2 cups water
2 eggplants peeled, and chopped into cubed into 1" cubes
1 mango peeled and chopped into 1" cubes
1 Spanish onion minced
1/2 cup chopped peanuts
1/4 cup chopped almonds
5 scallions, chopped (green part only)
2 tbsp curry powder
2 tbsp cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oven to 500 degrees. Put eggplant cubes on a jelly roll or cookie sheet and drizzle olive oil and cumin and curry powder. Heat until tender ( about 30 minutes) turning eggplant over halfway thorough.

Cut tops of peppers and clean out veins and seeds making a vessel for the filling. In a sauce pan heat water to a boil and add lentils. Reduce heat to simmer and cook until tender or desired doneness (about 20-30 minutes). About ten minutes before lentils are done add Spanish onion.
Continue to cook while combining in a mixing bowl the remaining ingredients. Once lentils are done incorporate the eggplant, peanuts, mango, almonds, and scallions into a bowl and then transfer to peppers.

Reduce oven heat to 350 and place peppers into a Pyrex or oven safe dish and bake for at least 45 minutes until peppers are tender. If desired you may place some water in the bottom of the pan (about 1/3 inch or so) which will allow the peppers to steam a little more. If you prefer a more al dente pepper omit the water.

Allow peppers to rest and garnish with peanuts and scallion befoe serving if desired.

Beet Burgers

Admittedly, in a pinch I tend to rely on frozen vegan veggie burgers you can get in any grocery store. I don't like doing that... in my book that counts as processed food and I try my best to stay away from anything processed.

In my quest to find an easy recipe for veggie burgers that consist of non processed ingredients I have stumbled upon the fact that you don't need soy or wheat to make a great burger. All you need are a couple of beets and other things you likely have in your kitchen right now. Not only do these taste fabulous but they are great for you, too. This recipe is very versatile, you can really modify this with any veggies or nuts you have on hand but the beets and the oats are a must. Beet Burgers

2 whole beets, grated (I do mine in the Cuisinart)
1/3 cup cooked oats
2/3 cups uncooked oats
2 tbsp sesame seeds
1/2 green pepper minced
1/2 Spanish onion minced
2 shitake mushrooms chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
1 stalk celery minced
1 tsp nutritional yeast
2 tbsp fresh basil, rough chopped
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil for cooking burgers

Mix all ingredients in a mixing bowl until incorporated. Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Form into patties and place into heated oil. Cook until browned on the outside and warmed through on the inside. Be sure to flip them halfway through cooking so that each side is nicely browned. Serve on a whole grain roll or pita with your favorite toppings.