Creamy Cashew Leek and Spinach Pasta with Tempeh Bacon.

Hey guys, here's a great pasta recipe that uses a vegan version of creme fraiche. You basically soak about 1 cup of cashews in hot water for 30 minutes, drain and then blend with 1/2 cup water, 2 TB lemon juice and a couple pinches of salt. Then you cook up some leeks, garlic, spinach and mix in with cashew sauce. I added tempeh bacon to mine. This is optional.

Some ingredients: spinach, vegan cheese and pasta. You will only need 1/4 cup cheese. Save the rest for pizza later in the week!

Chop up your leeks (I used 2) and garlic (2 cloves) . Quickly fry up the tempeh bacon that has been cut into bits.

Saute the garlic and leeks in olive oil over medium high heat. Once leeks have softened, add half a bag of spinach that has been roughly chopped.

This is what your cashew creme fraiche looks like all blended up.

Stir the cashew sauce into the leeks and spinach. It'll be very thick. At this point you can add some unsweetened soy or almond milk to thin it out, or even hot water. Add the 1/4 cup of vegan cheese. Season with salt, pepper, a squeeze of lemon, red pepper flakes.

After the sauce is nice and hot and creamy, mix in the pasta. Add the tempeh bacon bits.

Eat!

Grilled Portobello Sandwich, Pesto Pasta Salad, Scones

Grilled portobello, red pepper, red onions on toasted whole grain bread with Vegenaise, arugula pesto and fresh arugula. Amazing sandwich.

Served with arugula pesto pasta salad.

Arugula and spinach pesto mixed with Vegenaise made a great pasta salad dressing.

Cranberry and raisin scones.

Indian food and cake.

I made a delicious indian feast today: Mixed lentil dal curry (split masoor dal, moong dal and split urad dal) and Aloo Palak (potatoes in spinach gravy). So good with rice and buttered bread!

For dessert I used 2 cups Bisquick mix with two mashed bananas, two tablespoons sugar, 1 cup almond milk and vanilla. Before I stuck it in the oven, I sprinkled a mixture of Earth Balance, cinnamon, brown sugar and Bisquick to make a topping.

It's really good. Kind of a cross between a pancake and a muffin in taste. Not too sweet because of the small amount of sugar. Perfect for tea! *Edited to add: I guess this is more like "coffee cake"? It's really good the next day even after refrigerating it. I had to keep it away from ants!

Spinach, Tofu and Potato Curry

I followed the "Chard and New Potato Curry" recipe in the River Cottage Veg cookbook. I substituted spinach and used regular russets and added a bit of cubed tofu. And also instead of yogurt I substituted almond milk. I kept all the spices: garlic, ginger, garam masala, mustard seeds, turmeric etc the same. Delicious!

Simmering away.

This curry goes well with rice, couscous, quinoa or chapati.

Bean Tostada and a Grain Bowl.

Today's lunch was a delicious tostada that had refried black beans, corn, sauteed garlic kale and potatoes and avocado.

I also prepared a grain bowl for my lunch tomorrow. Quinoa, spinach, sauteed tofu, yellow tomatoes, sweet potato, cranberries and miso tahini dressing.

Szechuan Cabbage, Spinach and Mushrooms

Delicious szechuan cabbage recipe from The Complete Vegan Kitchen cookbook. Served over brown rice with Sriracha hot sauce drizzled on top.

Indian in less than an hour.

Check out this lovely plate of food. My co-worker Cynthia and I were talking indian food at work and we got so hungry and inspired that we decided to go to my house and make what you see here. I made the red lentil dal and mint chutney and Cynthia made the saag aloo (spinach and potatoes). It all turned out delicious and was so quick to make. It was really just throwing everything in a pot and letting it simmer. In case you're wondering, the mint chutney was made with Tofutti sour cream instead of yogurt.

'Use What You Have' Weeknight Meal.

While at work today I was scanning my pantry and fridge in my mind trying to come up with an idea for supper. I came up with: potatoes, brown rice, cabbage, spinach and beans. So this is what I made with those items. It all came together in about an hour. I cooked up some brown rice first and while that was cooking, I made the potatoes. I sauteed onions and garlic with olive oil and then added cubed red potatoes and a bit of water. I let them cook covered until the potatoes were almost tender. Then I added a couple handfuls each of shredded cabbage (bagged coleslaw) and chopped spinach and seasoned with salt, pepper and Trader Joe's 21 Salute seasoning and let cook a little longer until potatoes were done. For the kidney bean salad, I just tossed the beans with a minced clove of garlic, olive oil, red wine vinegar, dried parsley, salt and pepper and chilled it in the fridge before dinner.

New Year's Day Lunch.

Spent all morning preparing this fantastic greek spinach pie. I was so eager to eat that I forgot to photograph the whole pie. This recipe is from "The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen". I added cremini mushrooms and red bell pepper to the spinach filling which was a nice change.


We ate this with dijon potato salad, chickpeas with yogurt sauce and a Bulgarian relish called Lutenica. Delicious food!

Veggie Quiche!

Made a veggie quiche with tofu, broccoli, spinach and mushrooms. It's yummy right out of the fridge or warmed up.


I served it with a sauce made of Vegenaise with a touch of ketchup plus a baby lettuce salad with balsamic vinaigrette.

Happy Halloween!

I'm being the hermit again this year by staying in and eating scrumptious foods and watching scary movies with my husband. We're starting off with Rosemary's Baby. I didn't want to make a dinner but instead do appetizers which we could nibble on with bloody marys.


Spinach Artichoke Dip with sundried tomatoes and hot chili flakes. This will go with whole grain crackers and celery sticks. Recipe here.


Stuffed baked potato skins with imitation bacon bits. Yum!


And you gotta have a sweets on Halloween. These are pumpkin bars with cream "cheez" frosting. I am not crazy about this recipe, it was only ok. The frosting didn't set at all and the bars were a bit on the mushy/gooey side.

Greek Lenten Spinach Pie

I've been on a greek food kick lately. Can't get enough! This is the greek lenten spinach pie from "The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen". It's basically spanakopita without the cheese. It is served during lent when animal products are forbidden. I've had non-traditional spanakopita with tofu (Vegan with a Vengeance recipe) which is very rich and filling. This pie is a little on the lighter side yet satisfactory. I think I may use a few sheets less of phyllo as I found it way too much.


My pie had a serious hump top from the phyllo puffing up a lot. It soon deflated a bit when I cut into it. I think I might double the filling next time.


Served with russian salad, a potato salad popular in greek cuisine and lutenica which is a red pepper spread from Bulgaria.


Good stuff.

Fatayer bi Sabanakh

My post earlier about Mediterranean food made me want some! The fatayer (spinach pies) I had at the restaurant were so good that I wanted to try it out myself at home. Got this recipe from a wonderful book "Classic Vegetarian Cooking From The Middle East and N. Africa". The book asks for pizza dough so I looked no further than Trader Joe's for their pre-made pizza doughs. Worked out perfectly! They were delicious and not as tart (from lemon) as the ones I had at Gaby's. I didn't mind though. They were chewy and crisp on the outside and really lovely inside. Steamy spinach, nuts (in my case almonds because I didn't have pine nuts), onions, sumac and a touch of lemon.


Inside shot.


With a side of baby lettuce salad with balsamic vinaigrette. Perfect summer dining on the patio.

Mock Crab Cakes, Oven Baked Risotto and Steamed Spinach

This was fabulous! I had some tofu that I needed to use up and for some reason I wanted to make "crab" cakes. I've never had a real crab cake before because in my omni days I was never a fan of seafood. It doesn't matter because these were so delicious. I got the recipe from vegweb here. I did a few things differently by making my own "Old Bay" spice blend, adding a bit of spelt flour to the tofu mixture to bind it better and dusting the cakes with farina before baking. They came out crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. I served it with homemade remoulade sauce (Tyler Florence recipe using eggless mayo and omitting anchovies), a beautiful oven baked risotto and steamed spinach with lemon. The risotto was perfectly creamy and so comforting. It was a perfect side dish to the crab cakes.


Inside shot.

Harissa Spaghetti with Spinach, Mushrooms and Chickpeas

I am so in love with the homemade harissa that I made. I want to use it in everything! Luckily I know about this delicious spaghetti recipe that combines the wonderful flavors of spicy harissa, tomato and saffron. It is also cooked in a broth so there is so much flavor! Recipe here.

VeganMoFo: Spinach Artichoke Dip

Let's go Dodgers! Game 1 of the NLCS is tonight and I'm going to be heading over to my bro's house after work to watch the game. I'm really excited and I hope our boys kick the Phils' butts! I prepared my famous spinach artichoke dip to bring along with crackers, chips and salsa and hummus and pita bread. Can't wait!

Artichoke Spinach Dip

1 container Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese (I find this at Trader Joe's, Ralphs Market and Whole Foods Market)
1 cup Vegenaise
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 14 oz can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 10 oz box frozen spinach, thawed, drained and chopped
1/2 cup sundried tomatoes in oil, drained and chopped
2 TB nutritional yeast (optional) or 1/4 cup vegan parmesan (optional. I've left these out with no problems.)
2 TB lemon juice
1/2 tsp italian herbs
salt and pepper
chili flakes

Combine all ingredients and pour into a baking dish. Top with crushed chili flakes and extra vegan parmesan. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees F until browned and bubbly.