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!

Mushroom & Sausage Stroganoff with Mashed Potatoes.

This recipe is ridiculously good! I used the "Seitan Portobello Stroganoff" recipe from Vegan With A Vengeance. I used two 8oz. cartons of cremini mushrooms and replaced the seitan with 2 sliced Field Roast smoked apple sausages. The amount of sauce it makes is wonderful! You can use it on top of mash and also on wide noodles which I plan to do tomorrow because it looks like we have quite a lot of leftover sauce.

Fresh russets make the best fluffy mashed potatoes whipped with almond milk and Earth Balance margarine.

View #1. Beautiful stuff. You can see how rich and red it is from the wine and mushrooms.

The Field Roast worked very well and held up in the sauce. I love Field Roast.

Roasted Potatoes with Mojo & Chocolate Torte with Bittersweet Ganache

I tried my first recipe from the River Cottage Veg book and it was a success. It was roasted potatoes with two kinds of mojo: Mojo Picon and Mojo Cilantro. These sauces are perfection. Each one required a whole bulb of garlic. Insanely tasty. The picon had roasted red peppers and chile. I want to make these all the time now. Also on the plate, a pretty salad and a blob of leftover muttabal from a lebanese restaurant we went to last night.

In Fran Costigan's Vegan Chocolate cookbook, this is called "Bittersweet Ganache-Glazed Chocolate Torte To Live For". It really is. Intense and chocolatey and moist.

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.

Eat Your Greens!

Mmm, kale! I sure do love this dark green leafy that I've been eating a lot of lately. I'm sure to some of you, the idea of eating a serving of dark green vegetables plain is not desirable in the slightest. Which is why it's a good idea to pair it with something that will make you love your greens. Today I made two sauces that I ladled over steamed kale. Both were absolutely wonderful!


First up is this delicious garlicky sauce that was invented by my friend Lauren. She eats kale by the ton and uses this sauce that she whipped one day. She is addicted to it and I think I will be too! She ran the recipe by me today and I came home and made it. It takes not more than 3-4 minutes and is worth the preparation. This is what you do: Chop finely a few cloves of garlic. Heat some olive oil (I used about 2TB) in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add some Earth Balance margarine, just a bit for some saltiness. Add chopped garlic and saute until it lightly browns. Then add nutritional yeast flakes(I added only 1/2 cup, Lauren uses a full cup!) and then add some water little by little while stirring to make a sauce with the thickness you prefer. Season with black pepper and cayenne. Pour over steamed kale and toss to coat.


Second sauce is the Tahini Dill sauce from Veganomicon. Super easy to make as well in your blender. It's a wonderfully smooth and creamy sauce made with tahini, dill, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, water and vinegar. The recipe called for balsamic but I used red wine vinegar instead. Very good on fresh salad too.

Yum Yum Tofu.

This has got to be the yummiest way to eat tofu. Pan fried and smothered in a sweet plum-hoisin glaze. I got this recipe from Vegan Dad's blog and I've made it a bajillion times, it's so good! It's the only time I feel like it's ok to fry. I served it with jasmine rice and coleslaw. Deliciousness.

Just a heads up...
Tomorrow is the first day of VEGANMOFO (Vegan Month of Food). Me and a bunch of other bloggers will be busy cooking and eating and writing about vegan food for the whole month of October. The goal is to blog every single day or at least as much as possible. I will do my best and I know it will be great because I always have a list of delectable dishes in my mind that are just waiting to be made. The list is long!

Penne with Summer Vegetable Sauce

So the first day of Autumn has passed but it certainly still feels like summer here in Southern CA. It's downright hot and nasty right now. I probably should have made a salad for dinner but opted for this summery vegetable pasta made with fresh and beautiful produce: eggplants, zucchini, red bell peppers and mushrooms. Oh, and canned plum tomatoes from Italy! It was adapted from a recipe from 'The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen' cookbook. It was a delicious celebration of the bounties of summer. Goodbye Summer, I'm looking forward to Fall now!

Veggie and Mushroom Burger

Today's lunch. I used up the broiled mushrooms and veggies from yesterday and added grilled onions. I usually make my own burger patties from scratch using beans and tofu but I was lazy and heated up a Boca vegan burger instead. They are ok but not as good as homemade burgers. The sauce is just ketchup and vegan mayo with a shot of hot sauce. Very good burger which I enjoyed with a bloody mary cocktail (not pictured).

I Love Pasta!

Hello Friday! Good to see you. I got out of work early today (3pm) so I wanted to celebrate an early start to the weekend by cooking up a big pot of my special red wine vegetable marinara. I really love this sauce. It's rich and deep with a hint of sweetness and full of a variety of veggies. Whatever I have in my fridge is what goes in this sauce. I had zucchini, carrots, red bell pepper and onions which made a wonderful chunky sauce. I haven't had pasta in a while so this was a treat. My husband brought home a fresh loaf of french bread. It was definitely a carb heavy dinner but it was worth it! Underneath the pasta there is a big handful of fresh baby spinach. The topping is "Parmezano Sprinkles" from The Ultimate Uncheese cookbook.

Meal in a Bowl.

I like the idea of a meal in a bowl. You've got your protein, grain and vegetable all in one. And it gets more interesting when you add other elements like savory sauces, beans, nuts, dried fruit and pretty much anything else you can think of. After a long day at the ballgame (Dodgers won AGAIN!), I was hungry when I got home. I was in the mood for a rice bowl. I steamed some rice, added fresh steamed broccoli, pan fried tofu chunks and covered everything in a curry sauce. The sauce recipe is "Chip Shop Curry Sauce" which can be found here. I don't know why I used this sauce because it is traditionally used for fish and chips and I've never had original curry sauce from England before so I didn't know what to expect. I think I was attracted to the chopped up onions and apples in it which I thought would make the sauce pretty flavorful. I really wanted to be blown away by it but I found it to be kind of bland and underwhelming. I ended up adding a few teaspoons of sugar and a bit of soy sauce to give it some flavor. I also served it with a blob of mango chili chutney as well. It tasted much better after all of that but I wish it would have been good from the start. Oh well! I guess my next meal in a bowl will have to feature a better sauce. Maybe a sweet and savory peanut sauce, a bbq sauce or a spicy tomato sauce or something... Well, it's good to try things and I'm glad I tried it.

Creamy Tomato Blender Sauce with Angel Hair Pasta & Cookbook Giveaway!

This is the second time making this sauce from a lovely little book called "Pasta & Vegetables". You can see the first post here. It's a vegetarian recipe that uses dairy but I was easily able to veganize this by using plain soymilk for the cow's milk and vegan parmesan for the parmesan cheese. It was delicious on top of delicate angel hair. I can see myself adding mushrooms next time or even veggie sausage!



I have an extra brand new copy of this book that I would like to give away to one of my readers. I think you will enjoy this little gem of a book. A lot of the recipes in the book are easily veganizable. Some recipes to tempt your tastebuds:

Pan-Roasted Garlic Chunks with Tomato and Arugula

Texas Tomato Cream Sauce

Moroccan Roasted Red Pepper Pasta

Orzo Vegetable Melange

Fire Roasted New Mexico Pepper Sauce

Roasted Squash Sauce with Ginger and Sherry

And many more! The best part is all the recipes are Low Fat!

To enter the contest, simply leave a comment telling me about your favorite pasta and vegetable combination and I will randomly pick a lucky person! I'm sorry but this contest is only open to US and Canadian residents! The contest ends in two weeks on April 9th. I will announce a winner on April 10th so please check back!

A big bowl of pasta.

Sometimes that's just all you want. It's comforting, it's pretty easy to prepare and it just hits the spot on a cold, rainy night like tonight. I love pasta and it's probably one of the most prepared foods in my kitchen. For years, I was always aware that too much white flour pasta is just "carb and calorie" overload which leads to weight gain etc. etc. But recently I've become more concerned not so much with carbs and calories, but with processed foods and how a diet with a majority of it is bad for your body. Here's an excerpt from an article which talks about processed foods, in particular refined white flour (which regular pasta is made from):

Refined flour has had the brown husk of the grain stripped away, leaving the white, refined starch found in white bread, white rice, pasta, cookies, and numerous other junk foods. Without the fibrous husk, refined starches are broken down quickly into sugar and absorbed immediately into the bloodstream causing glucose levels to rise, and increasing the risk of obesity.

So that's not such good news. But don't get me wrong, I am not totally against things like white rice and pasta. You will have to pry my rice cooker full of Thai white jasmine rice from my hands and I will always make cakes and cookies with white flour and I will not give up white flour pasta. It's just that I need to balance things out but by eating more whole foods that have not been stripped of their nutrients. Which is why I'm over the moon about this brown rice pasta that I can now get at Trader Joe's for $2. It's lovely and I find tastes so much better than whole wheat pasta. A few days ago I tried the brown rice fusilli and it was great. My husband and I could not tell the difference between this and regular pasta. Today I got some spaghetti which I had with a luscious mushroom red wine spaghetti sauce that had been simmering for a few hours. I accidentally overcooked the spaghetti (D'oh!) so it was a wee bit mushy but my sauce rocked. I used this recipe but added mushrooms. Next time I have to keep a good eye on the pasta while it cooks.




Sprinkled with "Parmezano Sprinkles" which is just almonds, miso paste, nutritional yeast and salt ground into a powder. It's yummy!

Creamy Tomato Pasta

I have this really great cookbook called 'Pasta and Vegetables' that I got at a bargain bookshop for $1. It's filled with great vegetarian recipes utilizing vegetables in different ways and pairing them with pasta. Tonight's dinner was from this book. It's the "Creamy Tomato Blender Sauce" which was really easy to make and features lots of garlic, red pepper flakes, tomatoes from a can and soymilk. The recipe originally called for fat free milk but it was easily switched out to make the recipe vegan. I added a few handfuls of chopped and steamed swiss chard to give it some color as well as boost the nutrition content. This orangey pink sauce is thick, creamy, velvety smooth and delicious! The consistency of the sauce was very much like an alfredo sauce. You know, it's dishes like this that can shatter misconceptions about vegan food. It proves that animal free food is not bland or boring or a self punishing diet of plain vegetables. You can easily make tasty, comforting, indulgent food that you've always remembered, no problem.

Psst...you can get this book at Amazon merchants for as low as 1 cent!

Smoky Tofu and Red Bean Burgers

Another successful burger recipe. These were inspired by a recipe that Gillian McKeith featured on her show "You Are What You Eat". I liked the idea of beans and tofu together to create a tasty burger. These came out really tasty (omni husband approved yay!) with a hint of smoky flavor, not overwhelming at all. I served them on a hamburger bun with grilled onions, lettuce and tomato. On the side are baked regular and sweet potato fries and for condiment I made a homemade thousand island dressing that was spiked with Frank's Red Hot Sauce!

Smoky Tofu and Red Bean Burgers
(makes 6 patties)

1 14oz. can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
7 oz. firm tofu, squeezed of excess water and crumbled
1 carrot, grated
1/2 onion, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, minced
handful of parsley, chopped
1/2 cup whole grain breadcrumbs
2 TB flour
1/4 tsp liquid smoke
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp all purpose seasoning (like Mrs. Dash or Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute)
1/2 tsp each of garlic and onion powder (you may add less if you like)
1/2 tsp paprika
salt and pepper to taste

Mash beans in a bowl and add the crumbled tofu. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir to combine. I like to use a pastry cutter/blender or fork to help chop and smoosh the mixture which will make it form into patties easier. You may have a taste in order to adjust seasonings. Refrigerate mixture in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Shape into patties and place on oiled baking sheet. Bake for 25-30 minutes, flipping halfway at 400 degrees F or until browned and crispy.



Thousand Island Burger Sauce With A Kick

1/2 cup vegan mayo
2-3 TB ketchup
1 TB chopped dill pickle
a squirt of lemon juice
1/4 tsp all purpose seasoning blend
salt and pepper to taste
5-6 drops of hot sauce

Combine all ingredients and chill.

More cooking with Gimme Lean "Sausage".

After being impressed with this meat alternative with last night's pancakes, I decided to use it in the spaghetti sauce I was making for dinner tonight. I really liked the texture. It's nice and firm with great sausage like flavor. It added a good body to the sauce and made it quite flavorful along with mushrooms and red wine. If you are interested in buying this meatless sausage, you can find it at most chain grocery stores in the same refrigerated case where they keep the tofu and other vegetarian products. I bought mine at Vons supermarket.


I sprinkled a little 'Parmezano Sprinkles' (almond/miso/nutritional yeast mixture) on top.


'Sausage' Mushroom and Red Wine Spaghetti Sauce

2 TB olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 celery rib, chopped
8-10 button mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tube of Gimme Lean Sausage Style, crumbled
1/4 cup red wine
1/2 tsp oregano
1 veggie bouillon cube or 2 tsp. veggie broth powder
1 28oz. can crushed tomatoes (or whole peeled tomatoes, blended in blender)
1/2 tsp salt
freshly cracked black pepper to taste
1 tsp sugar

Heat olive oil in a large pot. Add onion, carrot, celery and mushrooms and saute until onion is translucent. Add the sausage crumbles and cook on med-high heat until nice and browned. Add the wine, oregano and veggie cube. Stir until wine cooks out. Add the tomatoes, salt, pepper and sugar. Bring to a boil then turn heat down to low and simmer for 1 hour. If it seems too thick you can add a little water and let it simmer longer. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

Chickpeas in a Burger.

The good old veggie burger. I love 'em. When I don't feel like eating a highly processed frozen veggie burger (which I do from time to time), I like to make my own. There are so many ways to make them - with various kinds of beans or tofu, grains, nuts, veggies, seasonings and so on. This recipe was supposed to have only red lentils in it but I found that they were too soft to hold up on their own. This is where my beloved chickpeas come in. Great tasting lowfat burger to enjoy in a bun or on a plate with rice and veggies. To go on top of it, I made a quick burger sauce which has all the yummy flavors of your typical burger condiments all in one!

Chickpea and Red Lentil Burgers

3/4 cup split red lentils
1 3/4 cups water
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 14oz. can chickpeas drained and rinsed
handful of cilantro, chopped
1 tsp baking powder
1 TB flour
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp all purpose seasoning (I used Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute)
1/2 tsp paprika
salt and pepper to taste

Burger sauce:
3 TB vegan mayo
2 TB ketchup
1 clove garlic, minced
2 TB finely chopped onion
2 TB chopped dill pickle
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 squirt of lime juice
salt and pepper to taste
pinch of cayenne pepper
Combine all ingredients and chill.

Make the sauce and store in fridge to let the flavors combine. Combine lentils and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer until lentils are soft and mushy and water is absorbed. Let cool. Mash chickpeas in a large bowl and add the lentils and the rest of the ingredients. If you find the mixture too wet, add a little more flour or breadcrumbs. Chill mixture in the fridge for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Shape into patties and put them on an oiled baking sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes, flipping burgers over halfway or until browned and dry on the outside (don't worry, they will be tender on the inside!). Variation: You can also fry the patties in oil if you're not worried about the fat content! They will turn out very crisp and really yummy this way too.


I served mine open face on toasted sesame ezekiel bread with lettuce and tomato. It was delicious.

Sauce + Bananas: Caramelized!

No, not sauce and bananas together! I just happened to have made two dishes with caramelized somethin' in them!



I wanted to make tofu cutlets tonight with some kind of sauce. I first thought of marsala but I didn't have any marsala wine. What I did have was red wine so I experimented and came up with this rich, flavorful sauce with loads of caramelized onions. If you're onion phobic like my husband (he didn't really like the amount of onions in it), you can cut the amount of onions you use in half. I smothered pan fried tofu cutlets with the sauce and had them that way. To be honest, I would have rather enjoyed the sauce with something meatier like a veggie burger patty or veggie meatloaf. The tofu was just too bland for me. But maybe you can make it work better than I did!

Red Wine Miso Sauce with Caramelized Onions

2 TB olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced (you may use 1/2 or less if you desire)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup red wine
1 cup vegetable broth
1 tsp tomato paste
2 tsp cornstarch
1 TB mellow white miso paste
1/2 tsp italian seasoning
1/4 tsp sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in a saucepan on medium high heat. Saute the onions and garlic until onions are soft, browned and caramelized. Add the red wine and let it simmer and reduce for about a minute or so. In the meantime, combine the broth, tomato paste and cornstarch and whisk together. Pour this mixture little by litte into the red wine/onion mixture and stir to combine. Keep simmering for another 4 minutes or so until it gets thick and shiny. Stir in the miso paste, italian herbs, sugar and season with salt and pepper to taste.


On tofu with mash and peas.

Earlier today I got these from my banana tree in my backyard:



So I made this:



Caramelized Bananas with Cinnamon

3 mini bananas, sliced (go ahead and use a couple normal bananas or even very ripe plantains.)
1-2 TB canola oil
2 tsp sugar
couple pinches of cinnamon

Heat oil in a small saucepan on med-high heat. Add the sliced bananas in a layer and let cook for a few minutes. Sprinkle 1 tsp of the sugar on top and then flip them over either with a spatula or a "flick of the wrist". Sprinkle the remaining sugar and cinnamon and continue to cook and flip around until all the bananas are browned and caramelized. These would be delicious served on top of vanilla soy ice cream or on top of pancakes.

Chickpea & Fava Bean Burgers with Cucumber Sauce

I am a chickpea fanatic. I get made fun of when I make too many dishes with chickpeas in it. Lentils also. My brother says: "Kim is always eating lentils." And my husband says: "What's for dinner? Chickpeas?" I like that these beans as well as other varieties are a perfect ingredient to make burgers with and can be enjoyed with your favorite sauce. They are a great source of protein and are much more exciting to eat than a bowl of beans. I make falafel (middle eastern chickpea fritters) often. These are similar to falafel but not quite a traditional recipe because I add a bunch of other seasonings to it. I also made a garlicky cucumber sauce which is kind of like tzatziki sauce except I use rich vegan mayo instead of yogurt. These burgers are delicious. They are crispy on the outside and moist and tender on the inside. Note: If you can't find fava beans, you may use all chickpeas and the results will be just as good.

Chickpea & Fava Bean Burgers

1 15 oz. can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
1 15 oz. can foul mudammas (cooked fava beans), drained and rinsed
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
handful cilantro, chopped
1 TB nutritional yeast (totally optional)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp Trader Joe's 21 salute seasoning (or any salt free all purpose seasoning blend)
1/2 tsp salt
freshly cracked black pepper
1/4 cup corn flour (masa harina) or all purpose flour for binding
canola oil for frying

Cucumber sauce:
3 TB vegan mayo (or more if you like)
1/2 cup finely chopped cucumber
1 clove garlic, minced
1-2 tsp fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
Stir to combine all ingredients and chill.

Drain and rinse beans. Put them into a large bowl and with a potato masher or fork, mash the beans until there are no whole beans left. Add the remaining ingredients and using your hands, mix the ingredients until they are all combined. If you find the mixture a little wet or sticky, use a little more flour to bind it together. Form into 6 or 7 medium sized patties and place them on a plate and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.
On the stove, heat a shallow layer of oil in a frying pan on medium heat. Fry the patties about 2 minutes on each side, just until they are browned. Then transfer patties onto the baking sheet and finish cooking them in the oven for about 10-15 minutes. Serve with cucumber sauce as is or as a sandwich inside of a pita pocket with lettuce and tomato.