Club Sandwich and Curried Butternut Squash and Split Pea Soup

Husband and I went for a 40 minute run/walk before coming home to this delicious dinner. I made baked tofu and tempeh "bacon" to make this beautiful club sandwich with white toast, romaine lettuce, fresh tomato from the garden and Vegenaise!


I also made this healthy butternut squash and split pea soup flavored with cinnamon, ginger and curry powder. It was so delicious with tender chunks of butternut squash.

Baked Tofu and Tempeh Bacon

14 oz. firm tofu, cut into 1/2" thick slices
1 package tempeh, cut into 1/8" thick strips
For the marinades below, feel free to adjust to your tastes.

Marinade for tofu:
1/2 cup olive oil
2 TB dijon mustard
2 tsp. low sodium soy sauce
2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. black pepper
Whisk ingredients until smooth.

Brush both sides of tofu with marinade and place on lightly oiled baking sheet.

Marinade for tempeh:
1/4 cup olive oil
1 TB soy sauce
2 tsp. sugar or 1 TB maple syrup
1/4 tsp. liquid smoke

Brush both sides of tempeh slices with marinade and place on lightly oiled baking sheet.

Bake both sheets at 350 degrees F for 18-20 minutes, flipping tofu and tempeh slices halfway.


Curried Butternut Squash and Split Pea Soup

1 small onion, chopped
2 cups cubed butternut squash
1/2 cup yellow split peas
2" cinnamon stick
1/2 tsp. ginger powder
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. cumin
pinch of sugar
4 cups vegetable broth or water
salt and pepper to taste

Saute onions in olive oil until soft. Add squash, split peas, spices and veggie broth. Bring to a boil and lower heat to simmer covered for 45-50 min. until peas and squash are tender. Remove cinnamon stick and discard. If soup is too thin, uncover and let simmer a while longer. It will thicken as it sits.

Quinoa-Beans and Greens Tortilla Casserole

You've seen this thing a million times on my blog. Instead of burrito style I made it casserole style with layered pieces of tortilla between the filling of quinoa, kale, beans and sauce.


Recipe here.

Late night soup makin'.

I had an urge to use up the rest of the heirloom tomatoes that I got today. They were all very ripe and I knew I had to use them up quickly. I decided to roast them for soup.


Here they are halved with garlic, basil and a generous drizzling of olive oil ready for the oven.


Forgot to get a pic of them when they came out of the oven in all their roasted glory but here is the finished soup. After roasting, I transferred it all to my blender, pureed it and pressed the mixture through a sieve over my soup pot. I then added a little dried basil, a splash of balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. It's so sweet and delicious!

Heirloom Tomato Bruschetta and Potato Soup

I work in a co-op kitchen and the lovely guy who works next door to our kitchen gave us some beautiful heirloom tomatoes. I came home and made a bruschetta with lots of garlic, basil and olive oil. Perfect spread on fresh baguette.


A light potato soup with spinach that I like to make when I have an abundance of potatoes. Recipe here. I used onions instead of leeks.

Chickpea Pot Pie

Yummy pot pie with potatoes, turnips, chickpeas, broccoli, carrots and cauliflower and a puff pastry top! The gravy was a mixture of veggie broth, soymilk, thyme and white miso paste.



Recipe

1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 ribs celery, sliced
2 carrots, sliced
2 cups cauliflower florets
2 cups broccoli florets
2 potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 small turnip, peeled and cubed
1 14oz. can chickpeas, drained
4 TB olive oil, divided
2 TB flour
1 TB cornstarch
1 tsp. white miso
1-2 TB veggie broth powder
1 tsp. thyme
splash of soymilk
1 TB soy sauce
salt and pepper to taste
1 sheet of prepared puff pastry

1. Cook the carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, potatoes and turnip by placing them in a pot and covering with water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10-12 minutes until they get soft.
2. Drain them but keep the water they were cooking in a bowl. Set it aside.
3. Saute onions, garlic and celery in 2 TB olive oil in another pot over medium heat until soft. Add the other 2 TB of olive oil. Take about a cup of the reserved water and dissolve the miso, veggie broth powder and flour in it. Add that to the pot and stir the mixture until it starts to get thick. When that happens, add the reserved veggie water little by little until you get the amount of gravy you desire. Keep stirring the gravy. If you want it thicker, dissolve the 1 TB of cornstarch in a little cold water and add it to the pot. When it has thickened the way you like it, add a splash of plain soymilk for creaminess.
4. Add the cooked veggies and the drained chickpeas to the pot and mix well. Season with soy sauce, salt and pepper. Pour the entire mixture into a 9x12 baking dish and top with the sheet of puff pastry. Bake for about 30-45 minutes in a 350 degree oven or until pastry is golden browned and puffed.

Thai Green Curry with Somen Noodles

This mouthwatering bowl of green curry on somen noodles was my dinner last night. Rich and creamy, fiery with a hint of sweetness. I love making this. My basic recipe is here. I switch up the veggies depending on what i have. Last night I used firm tofu, butternut squash, red and yellow peppers and cremini mushrooms. I also added kaffir lime leaves to replace the lime juice. This was delicious on somen noodles, aka "kanom jean" in Thai.

Chilaquiles Casserole

I was so impressed with the chilaquiles that I made the other day, I wanted to do it again but this time make much more of it. Because I like food in casserole form, I decided to try it that way and bulk it up with more tortilla chips, more sauce and corn kernels. It was so delicious and something that would be an easy weeknight meal. I know that I used a lot of canned stuff here so please feel free to use fresh ingredients if available. I needed dinner quick on the table tonight and I didn't have any fresh produce so I had to resort to my pantry.


We were such in a rush to eat that I forgot to take a photo when it came out of the oven! So here it is after being dug into several times. It doesn't look that bad actually.

Chilaquiles Casserole

2 TB olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1 28oz. can diced tomatoes
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. sugar
salt and pepper to taste
1 15oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 15oz. can sweet corn, drained and rinsed
tortilla chips
2 cups vegan cheese (I used the cheddar style Daiya vegan cheese)

1. Saute onions, garlic and green pepper in olive oil until soft.
2. Add tomatoes and spices. Bring to a boil and then simmer on Low for about 10-15 minutes.
3. Spray a medium baking dish with oil. Spread a small amount of tomato sauce on the bottom of the dish. Spread a layer of tortilla chips. Add half the beans and half the corn evenly over the chips. Ladle half the sauce and sprinkle half of the cheese. Repeat with another layer of chips-beans-corn-tomato sauce. Save the other half of the cheese for the end.
4. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes.
5. Remove foil, turn oven up to 400 degrees F. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top, return to oven and bake uncovered for 5 more minutes or until cheese melts.
6. Serve with avocado chunks and a dollop of Vegenaise or vegan sour cream.

Tempeh & Veggie Rolls

Delicious tempeh and veggie rolls (recipe from Veganomicon) that I will serve to my in-laws and husband for supper. The filling is tempeh chunks coated in vegan mayo with a little sesame oil and chili sauce, carrots, cucumber and scallion.


A mountain of rolls in celebration of my two days off tomorrow and Friday!

Black Bean Chilaquiles

I've never made authentic chilaquiles before so I asked one of my coworkers for tips. She gave me a quick rundown and I came home and pretty much followed her instructions. (Though she did say to make a lot of sauce which I should have done!) It was super easy and delicious! I used Daiya vegan cheese which didn't melt well in the skillet so I had to stick it under the broiler at the end. That worked just fine. It was sooo good with some avocado on top. Some of the chips were soaked in the spicy chilaquiles sauce and some were still a bit crispy. Definitely going to make this again.


Simmering the sauce.


Just out of the broiler.

Black Bean Chilaquiles

olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
1 15oz. can diced tomatoes
1 15oz. can black beans, drained
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. oregano
a pinch of sugar
salt to taste
2 cups tortilla chips
2 cups vegan cheese

1. Heat a bit of olive oil in a skillet on medium high heat. Saute onion, garlic and jalapeno for about 5 minutes or until soft.
2. Add tomatoes and half the beans.
3. Stir in spices and simmer on low for 10 minutes.
4. Add tortilla chips, the other half of the beans and cheese. Cover with a lid for 5 minutes. Uncover and transfer to broiler to further melt the cheese.
Note: You can always double the sauce part to make the tortilla chips more soggy-like.

Korean BBQ Baked Tofu

Marinated some tofu slices this morning in korean bbq sauce and when I came home from work, I popped them in the oven for 15-20 minutes. They came out a little burny but the charred parts are actually quite good!

Brinjal Curry

I had some nice eggplants that needed to be used so I pulled out my favorite cookbook Olive Trees and Honey and made the Brinjal Curry recipe. It's a tasty curry of eggplant, chickpeas, tomatoes, spinach and spices like cumin and mustard seeds. Went well with both rice and pita spread with dairy free margarine.

Really Good Leftovers.

I usually get tired of leftovers real fast but this was amazing even the third night in a row! I made this rigatoni casserole on Saturday which I took to a dinner party. There was a whole lot leftover so I took the rest home. There is currently a small tupperware of it left in the fridge. It's basically a layered baked pasta with eggplant-mushroom marinara and cashew-tofu ricotta with spinach. Delicious paired with quick chopped salad tossed with italian vinaigrette.

Chickpea Tacos

Tonight's dinner was a quick chickpea filling made with one can of chickpeas sauteed with onions, garlic, taco spices (cumin, chili powder, oregano, paprika, onion/garlic powder) and then mashed. They were yummy on soft corn tortillas with chopped tomato, onions, salsa roja and guacamole.

Quiche-y Part 2.

A new week, a new quiche! Last week I made the Classic Broccoli Quiche from Vegan Brunch. Today I made a similar one with cauliflower, lima beans, red peppers and red onions. This one's for supper tonight. YUM! Recipe here (I substituted cauliflower for broccoli etc.)

Bruschetta and Soup.

Went to the farmer's market this morning and got some beautiful tomatoes to make this salad. It was delicious on fresh baguette slices.


Very simple soup of potatoes, cauliflower, zucchini, onions and cubed tofu with summer savory.