Three Omnivores and An Occasional Vegan

Posted by: Cidell

I love spicy Asian foods. When we do go out for lunch, I find myself choosing the sichuan string beans from our local spot. I decided it was high time to try it at home. Cooks Illustrated to the rescue again!

I made this for my friend’s Passover seder on Friday night and originally for lunch co-op months ago. By quadrupling the original recipe to four pounds of string beans and stir frying on my outdoor grill’s wok, I was able to make enough for 16 in one go. It received rave reviews from everyone with some being syphoned off for leftovers. Cook’s also has a variation with broccoli that sounds just as good.

The original calls for ground pork and suggests shitake mushrooms to make it veggie. Since this was going to be my main course, I added large chunk TVP (so hard to find locally I finally bought a box from Amazon). Oh, and I got the fresh French green beans from Sam’s Club for all of $4. By far the least expensive meal I’ve put together!

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon dry sherry
• 1teaspoon sugar
• 1/2teaspoon cornstarch
• 1/4teaspoon ground white pepper
• 1/4teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/4teaspoon dry mustard
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 pound green beans , ends trimmed, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 4 ounces shitake mushrooms or two cups of moist TVP
• 3 medium cloves garlic , minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 1 tablespoon)
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 3 scallions , white and light green parts sliced thin
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

1. In small bowl, stir together soy sauce, sherry, sugar, cornstarch, white pepper, pepper flakes, mustard, and water until sugar dissolves; set aside.

2. Heat oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet (I used a 22 inch wok) over high heat until just smoking. Add beans and cook, stirring frequently, until crisp-tender and skins are shriveled and blackened in spots, 5 to 8 minutes (reduce heat to medium-high if beans darken too quickly). Transfer beans to large plate.

3. Reduce heat to medium-high and add pork to now-empty skillet. Cook, breaking pork into small pieces, until no pink remains, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and ginger; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, 15 to 20 seconds. Stir sauce to recombine and return beans to pan with sauce. Toss and cook until sauce is thickened, 5 to 10 seconds. Remove pan from heat and stir in scallions and sesame oil. Serve immediately.

4. Per Serving:

   Cal 200; Fat 14 g; Sat fat 3 g; Chol 20 mg; Carb 12 g; Protein 8 g; Fiber 4 g; Sodium 680 mg

   

Posted by: Catalina-de-Cuenca
Continuing with my obsession with Seitan :D This week I decided to twist a Tofu recipe around by replacing it with Seitan AND adding other goodies.
The original recipe “Broccoli-Tofu Stir Fry” comes from the book “Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home”. I really like this book even though it is not a vegan book.  As said before I switched the recipe around to add other flavors and accommodate what I had and did not have at home

• 3-4 tablespoon of olive oil
•  2 garlic cloves
• 14 oz of seitan
• 1 large head of broccoli cut into 1 inch florets
• 1/3 cup of water
• 1 white onion
• 1 cup of peas
Instructions:
Combine the sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Before beginning to stir fry prepare the vegetables and have all the ingredients at hand.
In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of oil on medium heat. Add the garlic and half of sliced white onion for 1 minute before adding the seitan. Continue to stir fry for 3 to 4 minutes until seitan is lightly brown. Remove the seitan and set it aside. Add another tablespoon of oil to the skillet, heat for a few seconds and add the broccoli. Stir for a minutes and pour the water. Stir fry for 3 minutes. Add the rest of the sliced onion and peas continue to stir fry for another minute and then add the seitan and the sauce. Stir carefully and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 3 or 4 minutes until the sauce thickens. Serve with brown rice.

Posted by: Catalina-de-Cuenca
About three weeks ago I decided to cook with Seitan and I was hooked! I loved its texture and how tasty my dish turned out.
Similar to many of my recipes, I decided to look at a series of sweet and sour seitan recipes and came up with my own. This dish can be a little too sweet, so I suggest tasting it as you cook.

By: Catalina-de-Cuenca

I’ve been craving a hamburger for the last two months. I usually eat one every two or three months to alleviate the cravings; however, I typically feel awfully guilty and extremely bloated after eating them (I guess the large side of French fries along with the burger will do it too —- but I am not ready to give up French fries yet!). So, I decided to make a burger on the healthy side

I looked up a series of recipes with chickpeas, lentils, kidney beans (you name it). The most appealing recipe came from the Food Network (Vegetarian section). I really liked the fact that the veggie burger mix included onions, scallions, and walnuts!!

I decided to tweak the recipe by adding minced garlic to the burger mix and by substituting mayonnaise with BBQ sauce  

The end product was a juicy garlicky veggie burger with sautéed mushrooms and onions and BBQ sauce. It was great!

Posted By: DearestLizzie

When I was out last week running some errands with Cidell we stopped by Trader Joes which is great for some Vegan finds and staples. We both bought a couple of packs of Soy Chorizo, Catalina-de-Quenca used it once and it is very hard to tell its not actually sausage AND its only $1.99 per pack!!!

I had no idea what to make with this so I searched for Chorizo recipes and found this little gem - Chorizo and Chick Peas. My very slightly altered version appears below, I just used soy chorizo obviously, a little less broth, and I didn’t have allspice.

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp olive oil

½ lb soy chorizo, crumbled

1 onion, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp ground cumin

1 tbsp ground coriander

½ tsp allspice (I didn’t have any)

¼ tsp chili powder

5 medium tomatoes, chopped

1/2 c. water or veggie stock

1 (15 oz) can chickpeas, drained

1 c. Israeli couscous

¼ c. freshly chopped parsley

Directions:

Heat oil in large skillet, over medium heat. Add chorizo and brown, approx. 5 minutes. Add onions and garlic and cook until translucent and aromatic. Add cumin, coriander, allspice and chili powder; stir to combine. Remove to a plate and set aside.

Cook couscous. Bring 1 ¼ c. salted water to a boil. Add couscous to boiling water and cover. Simmer 8-10 minutes or until tender. Remove and set aside.

Add tomatoes, chickpeas,and water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Add chorizo mixture and couscous to skillet and season to taste with salt. Simmer 5-10 more minutes until liquid is absorbed.

Serve hot, sprinkled with chopped parsley.

I am going to go to the Au Bon Pain by work and get some french bread as the original recipe suggests but upon tasting I really liked the flavors, it seems like it is going to be hearty and filling.

Posted by: DearestLizzie

Lately I’ve been trying to use what I have in the house. I had a block of extra firm tofu burning a hole in my fridge so I searched Tofu Recipes… I found this Sloppy Joe recipe and I was kind of excited about it, also I was happy to find a new website to try recipes from. Not to mention the fact all that I had to buy at the store was a red pepper and a jalapeno!

I made a few changed from the original recipe. I make meat sloppy joe fairly often and I like a little extra mustard and lots of Ketchup :) I also don’t like green pepper so much so I used red. The original called for a cup of water towards the end, I omitted that entirely and still had to actually strain the dish. I mashed the tofu with a large serving fork in the beginning and that worked really well.

Ingredients:

1 lb firm tofu

2 Tbsp oil

2 Tbsp minced red or green pepper

1 Tbsp minced fresh garlic

2 Tbsp minced onion

1 Tbsp minced jalapeño pepper

Pinch chipotle pepper

1 tbsp dijon mustard

1/4 cup ketchup

2 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 Tbsp soy sauce

2 tsp brown sugar

2 Tbsp minced cilantro

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Mash tofu and mince the veggies

Heat oil on medium in a large frying pan, fry onion & garlic 5 min

Add tofu, jalapeno & green pepper, fry 5 minutes, on high

Add dry spices and fry for 2 minutes

Add ketchup, soy sauce, br sugar, parsley and simmer 10 minutes

Tofu moisture content varies, so add more catsup and water as needed if the mixture seems too dry

Serve over buns with fixins - tomato, lettuce, avocado slices & mayo are good choices 

Overall I liked it, it was very summer picnic to me which is refreshing. Catalina-de-Quenca really liked it too! I may put this one back in rotation over the summer and actually add “fixins” the next time around.

Posted by Cidell

This salad is an easy way to add more greens (color) to your diet. A friend told me about the ANDI index and Whole Foods adoption of it. Essentially, using nutrients, calories, fiber, etc a numerical index between 0 and 1000 is assigned to food. Kale, is at the top with 1,000. French Fries, my personal favorite is a sad sad 7. Catalina appropriately pointed out that kale is likely high because it has almost no calories, lots of vitamins and nutrients and tons of fiber. It’s high impact for little cost on the waistline. I realize it’s the epitome of ‘rabbit food’. But, it’s delicious and nutritious.

I subbed out sliced almonds for the pepitas and and pomegranate seeds for the mango. It adds a great burst of fruit flavor and is another ‘super food’.

Massaged Kale Salad

• 1 bunch kale (black kale is especially good), stalks removed and discarded, leaves thinly sliced
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
• Kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons honey
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 mango, diced small (about 1 cup) 
• 1 cup of diced fruit
• Small handful toasted nuts or seeds  pepitas (pumpkin seeds), about 2 rounded tablespoons
• Dusting of cayenne, red pepper flakes or chili powder

In large serving bowl, add the kale, half of lemon juice, a drizzle of oil and a little kosher salt. Massage until the kale starts to soften and wilt, 2 to 3 minutes. Set aside while you make the dressing.

In a small bowl, whisk remaining lemon juice with the honey and lots of freshly ground black pepper. Stream in the 1/4 cup of oil while whisking until a dressing forms, and you like how it tastes.

Pour the dressing over the kale, and add the mango and pepitas. Toss and serve.

Posted by Cidell:

I am again dipping in to the Cooks Illustrated well with this Thai-Style soup. I’ve made the original version for friends with real chicken and for lunch club, this vegan version. I’ve served this to half-a-dozen different people and everyone RAVES over how good it is.

To make this vegan, I switched out the chicken for MorningStar Farms Meal Startes Chik’n Strips. And, instead of chicken broth, I used veggie broth with two cubes of chicken flavored bouillon. If you want a meatier texture and skip the faux meat, I highly recommend oyster mushrooms in addition to the button mushrooms.

I sautéed the Chik’n Strips lightly in a non-stick pan with no oil. I didn’t add them directly to the soup. Rather, I put them in the bowl and ladled the soup on top.

This soup is incredibly rich with the addition of two cans of coconut milk. I also like my food spicy, so I added a third teaspoon of red curry paste. I highly recommend the one from Trader Joe’s if you have access. If you’d like to add some of the fishy flavor back when you omit the fish sauce, I suggest adding Kombu or other seaweed to the soup.

Ah, one last change. I added bean sprouts to ours too. Anything to up the nutrient factor!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 3 stalks lemon grass, tough outer leaves removed, bottom 5 inches halved lengthwise and sliced thin crosswise
• 3 large shallots, chopped (I used onions as I didn’t have shallots on hand)
• 8 sprigs fresh cilantro leaves, chopped coarse
• 3 tablespoons fish sauce 
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken vegetable broth
• 2 (14-ounce) cans coconut milk, well-shaken
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• ½ pound white mushrooms, cleaned, stems trimmed, cut into ¼-inch slices
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved lengthwise and sliced on bias into ⅛-inch-thick pieces
• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice from 2 to 3 limes
• 2 teaspoons red curry paste (Thai)

Garnish:
½ cup fresh cilantro leaves
2 serrano chiles, sliced thin
2 scallions, sliced thin on bias
1 lime, cut into wedges

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat until just shimmering. Add the lemon grass, shallots, cilantro, and 1 tablespoon soy fish sauce; cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are just softened, 2 to 5 minutes (vegetables should not brown). Stir in the chicken veggie broth and 1 can of the coconut milk; bring to a simmer over high heat. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until the flavors have blended, 10 minutes. Pour the broth through a fine-mesh strainer and discard the solids in the strainer. Rinse the saucepan and return the broth mixture to the pan.

2. Return the pan to medium-high heat. Stir the remaining can of coconut milk and sugar into the broth mixture and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium, add mushrooms, and cook until just tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove soup from heat.

3. Combine lime juice, curry paste, and remaining 2 tablespoons soy fish sauce in small bowl; stir into soup. Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with cilantro, chiles, and scallions. Serve immediately with lime wedges.

Post by: Catalina-de-Cuenca

This recipe is one of my favorites so far, the mushroom fricassee sauce is so tasty and rich. The wine really makes the tempeh and mushrooms stand out. I served this recipe with brown rice and lentils as a side dish. The fricassee sauce and the brown rice truly complemented each other.

The original recipe comes from cookinglight.com as part of a series of tempeh recipes. The original recipe “Tempeh and Wild Mushrooms Fricassee” is a bit more elaborate with many types of mushrooms and fresh herbs. However, I made mine with regular mushrooms and spices to replace the fresh herbs and I had no complaints.

Ingredients

·         8 ounces tempeh, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

·         1/4 cup dry white wine

·         2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

·         3 cups sliced button mushrooms

·         1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

·         1 teaspoon of thyme

·         thinly sliced garlic (about 5 cloves)

·         14 ounce vegetable broth

·         1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

·         1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

·         1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

Heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add tempeh; sauté 8 minutes or until golden brown. Add wine and soy sauce; cook 15 seconds or until liquid almost evaporates. Remove tempeh from pan.

Add mushrooms to pan; sauté 5 minutes. Stir in flour; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Add thyme. Add garlic, and broth to pan; bring to a boil. Add tempeh, stirring well. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes.

Uncover and cook 3 minutes or until thick.  Stir in lemon juice, salt, and pepper.

Serve with brown rice as a side dish

Posted by Cidell: 

This was my second time making this Lentil Soup With Coconut Milk for the girls. But, somehow, my first time blogging it. 

The soup is not originally vegan. I’ve had both the vegan and vegetarian version and I think they taste equally good. Once Upon a Tart is a wealth of great recipes for everyone — ominovores, vegetarians and vegans.

Oh, I’d also like to add that I’m loathe to use anything low fat. For real. Coconut milk is chock full of yummy tasting calories. Live a little and don’t get the low fat version.

This soup tasted best the next day.

Green Lentil Soup with Coconut Milk and Warm Spices

• 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter 
• 3 Tbsp olive oil or vegan margarine
• 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced or pressed
• 1 tsp. fresh thyme leaves
• 1½ tsp. turmeric
• 6 c. vegetable or chicken broth 
• 1½ c. French green lentils, picked over for stones and other debris
• 4 whole cardamom pods
• ¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
• 3 whole cloves
• A pinch of grated nutmeg
• A few grinds of black pepper
• 1¼ c. coconut milk
• ¼ tsp. fine salt, or more to taste

In a soup pot or Dutch oven, warm the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until it is translucent. Turn the heat down to medium and add the garlic, thyme, and turmeric. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is lightly browned and very soft.

Add the stock, spices and the lentils. Bring to a simmer and cook for 25-30 minutes, or until the lentils are soft and tender.

Add the coconut milk and stir well. Cook for about 15 minutes to blend the flavors. Taste, and adjust the salt as necessary. 

Posted by Catalina-de-Cuenca

Continuing with my quest of the spices and new ingredients, this week I decided to experiment with tempeh.  This recipe came from book “Moosewood Restaurant and Cooks at Home”; even though it is not a vegan cookbook, I highly recommend it for its side dishes, salads, soups, and homemade dressings.

 This sandwich was a bit spicy for my taste, so I suggest starting with 1 teaspoon of Tabasco or hot pepper sauce

 I decided to make an “Asian Cabbage Slaw” in order to offset the spiciness of the sandwich and serve as a side dish.   

 Ingredients:

·         2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil

·         2 medium onions, chopped about 2 cups

·         1 large garlic clove

·         1 red bell pepper

·         ½ pound soy tempeh (8 oz.)

Sauce:

·         1 tablespoon soy sauce

·         3 tablespoons tomato paste

·         1 tablespoon molasses or brown sugar

·         2/3 water

·         1 tablespoon ground coriander

·         1½ teaspoons of ground fennel

·         1-2 teaspoons of Tabasco or other hot pepper sauce (to taste)

·         Salt to taste

 ·         4 pita breads

 Preparation:

Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a heavy skillet and sauté the chopped onions for 3 to 4 minutes, until they begin to soften. While the onions sauté, mince the garlic and chop the bell pepper; add them to the onions. Continue to cook another 5 minutes stirring often.

Cube the tempeh; add it to the skillet and sauté for about 5 minutes until it begins to brown. While the tempeh browns, mix together the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside

Add the coriander and fennel to the tempeh and vegetables and stir constantly for a minute. Pour on the sauce and simmer for about 5 minutes until the sauce has thickened.

Serve in warmed pita pockets

Asian Cabbage Slaw

 Ingredients

·         2 cups finely shredded cabbage

·         1 cup grated carrots

Dressing

·         2 tablespoons vegetable oil

·         2 tablespoons rice vinegar

·         1 tablespoon soy sauce

·         2 teaspoons brown sugar

·         ½ teaspoon grated fresh ginger root

·         Chopped peanuts (optional)

 Preparation

Combine the cabbage and carrots in a serving bowl and set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients. Pour the dressing over the vegetables ans toss well. Just before serving add the chopped peanuts

Posted by Cidell:

This is my second soup from Once Upon a Tart and my third or fourth recipe from this book. They are also the creators of the awesome Chickpea and Lentil Salad with Sun Dried Tomato. In addition, I’ve made their Lentil Soup with Indian Spices in both vegan and vegetarian versions. But, seem to have neglected to blog them. 

Have I mentioned I love soup? I made this soup so I wouldn’t have to scavenge for dinner when I get home. I brought a little in to the office just to tease the girls. 

Chickpea Tomato Soup With Fresh Rosemary

Ingredients

• 1 (15 ounce) cans chickpeas
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and coarsely chopped
• fresh rosemary, needles removed from stem and finely chopped
• 1 (28 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
• 1 pinch sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 4 cups vegetable stock

Directions

1. Warm the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium-low heat, and add the garlic and rosemary.
2. Cook for a minute or two, and then add the tomatoes, sugar, salt, a few grinds of pepper, roughly half of the chickpeas, and the stock. Bring to a boil over high heat; then reduce the heat to low and simmer, partially covered, for 20 minutes.
3. Remove the soup from the heat to purée. If using an immersion blender, purée the soup directly in the pot. Otherwise, wait a few minutes, until the soup cools; then purée it in batches in a blender or food processor and return it to the pot.
4. Add the remaining chickpeas, and warm the soup over medium heat. Serve warm.

Posted by: Cidell

Here’s a good reason I stick with lunch club despite not being a vegan. Money. This was my lazy lunch on Thursday. There’s a little place around the corner that everyone gets lunch from. While I applaud them for having tofu for a protein and lots of vegan options, this was $11. And, I was still hungry after.

Marinated and grilled tofu, asparagus, mango and pineapple slices.

For less than $20, I can feed four of us in lunch club and still have food left over. Nothing like a reminder that hits you in the pocket!

Posted By: DearestLizzie 

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Salt & Vinegar potato chips…. like it makes me salivate when the bag pops open and I get a whiff. If you don’t live in a part of the country where UTZ are available I am truly sorry, They are hands down the best potato chips on the planet. With that being said I love the flavors together and when I came across this recipe I was excited. Also…no girl can just eat chip all day everyday :(

I saw this perusing Pinterest- which is how I find many things these days. The recipe can be found here on the blog Oh She Glows and I must say a great find of a blog. 

I did take the little shells off my chick peas -slightly tedious but totally easy sitting in front of the TV doing it. These turned out really well and they are slightly addictive for me at least. I had to stop because I wanted to take it in to see what the girls think!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups canned chickpeas*
• 3-4 cups white vinegar
• 1 tsp Coarse sea salt
• 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

Directions: Line a baking sheet with tin foil or parchment paper. Take chickpeas and vinegar and place in a medium sized pot. Add a dash of sea salt. Bring to a boil and then remove from heat. Let sit in pot for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 425F. Carefully drain chickpeas. Place on lined baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and sea salt. Massage with fingers until fully coated. Roast for 45 minutes, flipping once half way through. Keep a careful eye on them after 35 minutes of cooking to ensure they don’t burn. The goal here is crispy and golden chickpeas, not black…lol. Enjoy as a high protein snack or as a side to a lunch or dinner.

Posted By: DearestLizzie

This is another holiday back post. This recipe was inspired by the trip to Sam’s Club to pick up my Christmas tree. Cidell was gracious enough to take me, let me use her membership and stuff the christmas tree into her mini cooper :) At Sam’s was a beautiful bag of 6 colored peppered. So off I went to find a stuffed pepper recipe.

What I found is from Hungy Girl and it turned out to be very good. I topped these with a soy based yogurt mixed with a clove of garlic minced and mixed in. AND in my quest to be filled I can say this worked!

Recipe and pictures follow - I was on my hipstamatic bing for fun…

Ingredients:

2 zucchini, stem ends removed, halved lengthwise

1 red onion, sliced into rounds with rings intact

1/2 eggplant, stem end removed, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices

2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

1 tsp. olive oil

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. black pepper

1/2 cup uncooked quinoa (I used Red)

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

1 tsp. chopped garlic

1/2 package of extra firm tofu - finely cubed

1 cup crumbled reduced-fat/light feta cheese

6 large red bell peppers (look for peppers that sit flat when stem sides are up)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Spray 2 large baking sheets with nonstick spray. Place zucchini, onion, and eggplant on sheets in a single layer. Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine vinegar, oil, salt, and black pepper. Mix well. Using your fingers or a brush, evenly spread half of the mixture on top of the veggies on the sheets. Flip veggies, and spread with the remaining mixture.

Bake in the oven until veggies are tender, 20 - 25 minutes. Set aside to cool, but leave oven on.

Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.

Meanwhile, cook quinoa according to package instructions. (Typically, as follows for 1/2 cup: Combine quinoa with 1 cup water in a small pot on the stove. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to low. Cover and let simmer for 15 minutes, or until water has evaporated and quinoa is fully cooked.

Transfer quinoa to a large bowl. Once baked veggies are cool enough to handle, roughly chop and add to the large bowl. Add basil, garlic, and feta cheese, and stir thoroughly. Set aside.

Carefully slice off the top (stem side) of each bell pepper, about a half-inch slice from each. Remove and discard seeds. Place peppers cut-side up in a deep 9” X 13” baking pan. If peppers do not sit flat, gently lean them against the pan sides for support.

Evenly distribute the quinoa-veggie mixture among the bell peppers, about 1 cup each. Bake until peppers are soft and filling is hot, 20 - 25 minutes.

Makes 6 servings - PER SERVING (1/6th of recipe, 1 stuffed pepper): 180 calories, 5g fat, 405mg sodium, 27g carbs, 7g fiber, 10g sugars, 9g protein — PointsPlus® value 4* 

Posted by: Catalina-de-Cuenca

This week I decided to get out of my comfort zone and expand my palate with Middle Eastern ingredients and flavors. This recipe came from vegan.com and received the “vegan.com best recipe of the year for 2011”

Cooking Latin American dishes comes easy to me, so this week’s recipe was a challenge since I was working with ingredients I have never cooked before

Ingredients such as tahini and saffron really caught my attention: Tahini because I have never seen it and I literally had to Google a photo to see what it looked like AND saffron because it was sooooo expensive ($12 for a ½ tablespoon). I am surprised stores don’t have it behind the counter  :D

I decided to substitute pistachios with walnuts and used cilantro as my preferred herb. I must say this dish has MANY components and when you are cooking them individually they don’t seem as special. It is when you bring them together that the flavors become incredible.

I was extremely surprised at how tasty and crunchy the tofu turned out. I am not a big fan of Tofu and had thought of replacing it with zucchini, but luckily I could not find any. The fact that I liked it so much is making me look at Tofu under a totally different light ….maybe it was NOT the Tofu, maybe it was ME… maybe….

Anyway this dish not only tastes amazing but it’s also beautiful and colorful

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did … yum…yum

Posted By: DearestLizzie

This is a recipe I made a few weeks back, SEE we have been cooking and not blogging! I wanted to make a crock pot recipe that week because I wanted easy as it had been a long weekend :)

The Recipe I used can be found here and it is from Better Homes and Gardens. 

It was a little late to find pumpkin in the grocery store and even though I love it, it can be tough to work with. For this recipe I used Butternut Squash. I also used green lentils as red were triple the price at my local store. 

It turned out well and it was tasty. It was not very stewish, meaning no water. I probably cooked it a little over 8 as I put it in before I went to bed. Topping it with peanuts gave it a good texture and the vegan yogurt is also a great addition. Also, i’m sure you’ve noticed i’m in my Chickpea phase.

This is def a nice comfort food type winter dish. Enjoy!

Posted By: DearestLizzie

I’ve been on fire this week…. this is the third thing i’ve cooked, which is a lot for me. I wanted to bring a decent snack to work and to share with the girls. I came across this Sweet Potato Hummus recipe. I love Sweet Potato AND Hummus so I thought WHY NOT!!

I have a very small food processor so I had to do it in batches and finished the whole thing in the blender. The whole process was not terrible though and overall a simple quick recipe (aside from boiling the sweet potatoes). 

Note: I know Cidell is hating my pictures lately - they will get better, I promise!

I really like the taste, it is different than traditional hummus though. It tastes lighter and comes out a bit fluffier. I hope to experiment with more hummus soon!

Ingredients

• 1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 can (19.5 ounces) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• Whole-wheat pita and crudites such as red pepper and broccoli

Directions

1. Set a steamer basket in a large pot. Fill with enough water to come just below basket; bring to a boil. Add potatoes; reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook until tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a food processor.

2. Combine chickpeas, lemon juice, tahini, oil, cumin, and garlic in the food processor. Puree, about 1 minute; thin with water if necessary. Season with salt and pepper and let cool; refrigerate, in an airtight container, up to 1 week. Serve with pita and crudites.

Posted by: Dearest Lizzie

Cidell and I headed to the beloved Punjab last weekend and I was desperately hoping something would jump out at me to make for lunch. Of course because the Punjab is magical it did! I was also excited because it was going to be SO easy to make. I didn’t have to buy anything extra because Cidell let me have a can of chopped tomatoes! 

I found this Falafel Dry Mix for $2.99 so a cheap meal as well!! On the back was their recipe for Vegetarian Chili, I re-named it because this really isn’t like chili at all as a final produce and that is not a bad thing. 

Sadly I did not take photos so the fake box photo is below I can say it looks just like that in the end…. I added “sour cream” on top along with Cilantro and also had bought a bottled mint chutney at the Punjab. The Girls really enjoyed this one too. It is also filling with the protein the chickpeas provide!

Recipe:

1 box falafel mix

3/4 C cold water

2 T vegetable oil

1 28 oz chopped tomatoes

1/2 t salt

1 oz package chili seasoning (you can sub chili powder, cumin, etc…)

1 15.5 oz can of chick peas 

a few splashes of hot sauce as desired

Combine falafel mix and cold water in a bowl, mix well and let rest for 20 minutes

Heat vegetable oil in frying pan, add falafel mixture and saute of medium heat breaking up mixture into crumbles

When mixture is dry and crumbly, add tomatoes with liquid, salt, chili seasonings and drained chick peas. Mix well and reduce heat

Cook chili until thoroughly heated

Scoop into bowls and garnish with your favorite garnish. Sour Cream or shredded cheese substitutes work well as does cilantro

Makes 4 hearty servings

Posted By: Catalina-de-Cuenca

Hi All,

Its been a while since I have posted recipes, the reality is that I have not been cooking as much. But after much thought and numerous days of eating potato chips and gummy bears from the vending machine, I realized that that I needed to re-join the lovely vegan group (which not only saves me many hours of cooking but also money)

I decided on this recipe in an effort to keep up my fellow co-workers and their elaborate dishes :p

I looked at a series of vegan and non-vegan enchilada recipes and came up with own version.

Ingredients

·         1 can of pinto beans

·         1 can of black beans

·         1 cup of corn

·         1 cup of chopped onions

·         2 tablespoons of garlic

·         1 cup of sliced red peppers

·         1 cup of sliced green peppers

·         2 cups of sliced mushrooms

·         3 cups of enchilada red  sauce

·         6 large tortillas

·         1 tablespoon of cumin

·         1 teaspoon of salt

·         1 tablespoon of chili powder

·         1 tablespoon of olive oil

·         Cilantro

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350F and set aside a casserole big enough for 6 enchiladas

In a large skillet start by sautéing the onions for a few minutes, once the onions have caramelized add the garlic, peppers, and mushrooms and continue sautéing for another few minutes.  

Continue by adding the beans, corn and 2 cups of enchilada sauce while stirring constantly. Lastly add the salt, cumin, and chili powder (adjust seasoning if necessary)

Use ½ cup of enchilada sauce onto the bottom of the casserole and spread. 

Scoop about  three tablespoons of the mixture onto each tortilla and wrap (repeat for the remaining 5 tortillas. Use the remaining of the enchilada sauce (1/2 cup) to spread over the top

Bake your enchiladas at 350f for approximately 20 minutes

Serve with sour cream and sharp cheddar (for those non-vegans)

Buen Provecho!

Posted By: DearestLizzie

If you ask anyone in my life I LOVE ketchup. I love it so much I carried a mini glass bottle in my backpack in high school because because I despise “catsup.” Heinz is the ONLY way to go in my opinion…

With that love profession over, I still decided to try my hand at making it after seeing it on pinterest. This is a very simple recipe found here from Clean Eating (an new to me magazine that looks intriguing). 

I have never grated an onion before. It took almost half of a small onion to make 2 teaspoons. I expected it to make me weep but it wasn’t so bad. Here are the ingredients just before mixing.

I whisked everything together and it still seemed a little tomato pasty if that makes any sense! I then added a bit more honey and a splash of regular white Vinegar. NOW I realize honey isn’t exactly vegan and if I realized it earlier I would have used agave nectar. Below is the result of everything mixed!

It looks nothing like the Clean Eating picture…. I may try again and shop around on tomato pastes. This was the super cheap store brand. I also would like to try agave nectar because I think it would be creamier. As for taste it grew on me as I was eating my baked fries. It is certainly different, but I would say worth a try!! Just go in knowing its not like the ketchup you grew up on ;) 

Posted By: DearestLizzie 

It’s been a bit since we’ve posted, and for that we all apologize. If you were wondering, ‘yes’, we are still cooking. I have so many recipes pinned on my pinterest board how could I NOT be cooking! 

I just finished making this Creamy Avocado Pasta for dinner and it was very easy. The avocado comes out much like a pesto sauce, which I love. So this was right up my alley. Do note though that you have to love both avocado and cilantro, I know that may seem obvious. This much cilantro gives it a little kick.

I found the recipe on the blog twopeasintheirpod via pinterest. I happened to have all of the ingredients at home which was the deciding factor tonight. Below is the finished product!

I think that my avacado could have been more ripe. I had to add about 1/8 cup of olive oil and a little water to make the sauce “creamy”. I didn’t want to add a ton of olive oil because it didn’t need to be even more rich. I suggest following the recipe then adding as necessary to get just what you need. 

I used quinoa pasta which tastes great and I feel good about :) Overall the dish was very simple and very tasty, a nice eat after a long day.

We just wanted to thank everyone who voted!!!! We came in 3rd place out of 27 in this years Baltimore Sun Mobbies Awards. No we didn’t get a prize, but we are happy with placing so well on our first try.  SO, thanks again :)

Cidell found this article Veganism has some stylish new spokespeople: Celebs It is always interesting to hear about which famous people are Vegan or lean Vegan. It makes you able to say that, “hey even Bill Clinton is a Vegan!!”

The other part that is great is maybe we can visit Pure Food and Wine in NYC as the article suggests. The three omnis and the vegan need a good vegan exploration trip to NYC!!!

For those of you that miss our posts we should be up and running the week of December 5th so stay tuned!!

-the girls

Good People - we have been nominated for a Mobbie (Maryland’s Outstanding Blogs).

Thank you if it was you and you are reading this. As of this moment we are in 6th place in the food blog category. Please please please vote for us, because it would just be awesome if we won. 

We know you may hate “signing up” to vote but all you have to do is “sign in” with facebook and voila go to the food category and vote for us. You can vote once a day for the next 9 days so get to it!!! 

Follow this link TO VOTE or click on the icon at the top of our blog. Thank you for your support!!!

-the girls

Posted by: DearestLizzie

I made chili similar to this when we first started lunch club before the blog. I decided to make it again because I love comfort food… and maybe it’s a pretty easy dish that basically cooks itself, i’m not sure which :)

A few weeks ago at Target I found “crumbles”. It is a textured protein, like a crumbled seitan. Then, on Sunday Cidell and I went to the farmers market and I was able to get almost all of the ingredients there and for pretty cheap!

This time around I pretty much made it up. 

Again no recipe, but as you can see it is hearty. Red Beans, sweet potatoes, corn, zucchini (green and yellow). Be careful not to put too much liquid in because as the veggies break down the water is pulled from them. Add no more than half a cup of broth but I would say even a quarter is sufficient. For spices various chili powders will do and garlic is always helpful :)

Cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 7 or 8 hours, just make sure to check on it towards the end because it could come out sooner. I like my potatoes on the mushy side and you may not. 

Everything for this dish I got at the farmers market so it was really just what looked good. I had so much cut veggies leftover that I made freezer bags just to pop into the crockpot for the next time… GENIUS!

Posted By: DearestLizzie

We’ve been on a little bit of a hiatus for no real reason and Cidell and I are certainly not happy about it :) even though we could both just cook…. 

ANYHOW, I am posting a couple of recipes that have been in que forever and this is one of them. I saw empanada shells by Goya called Discos in the frozen section of my supermarket and snatched them up. I wasn’t sure what to put in them but I always loved Indian spices so I made something similar to the Samosa Wraps filling. 

It is basically Tofu, cashews, leftover zucchini a tiny bit of red peppers, onions and rice. Mostly a mild yellow curry for spice with some cumin and a little garlic mixed in, OH and a dash of cinnamon (I adore cinnamon). I love Mahatma Saffron Yellow & Rice because it make a great side alone (easy to cook) and can be combined with just about anything. Tofu being in the mix really allows for the ingredients to stick together and of course adds much needed protein along with the cashews.

Stick a tablespoon full of filling in the center and fold over. Make sure to close by sealing the dough with a fork.

Bake for about 20-25 mins at 350 degrees to meld the flavors and crisp the dough.

Viola a tasty street foodish easy to eat meal. Would be great with a yogurt sauce for dipping as well. I’m sorry the recipe is basically non-existent, but I would encourage you to really experiment with these types of things. Find out what flavors you really like and play with spices.

Posted By: DearestLizzie

We lunch-clubbers always find ourselves fascinated by dishes that are supposed to mirror a classic. We like to see how close it is to the original, or if it’s good enough to stand on its on. Enter TuNut. I loved Chick Pea of the Sea, so when I came across this recipe for TuNut, I thought it was be good to try out.

I found a new website that has some good stuff on it and I’m excited to try more recipes, it is Lunch Box Bunch and it is 100% vegan. Next up according to Cidell is Ginger Sage Butternut Squash Pumpkin Soup.

The original recipe for TuNut can be found here. I followed it pretty much to a T. I will say that I DO NOT like mushrooms generally but they were great in this dish and you really could not tell at all.

I don’t really like celery, and many in the group agree, so I added onions for crunch. I chose the sandwich thin bread and I thought it worked out well. Pita is also a great option, as the TuNut can slide out. I chose to go with Veganaise to my bread, even though the original touts you don’t have to (I guess its healthier or something…).

I thought it was great and so did the girls. I would definitely make it again. Also would be a great picnic food which seems to be hard to come by in the vegan world sometimes.

Posted by Cidell:

This Nepalese dish comes from the book Mangoes & Curry Leaves (recipe here). I borrowed the book from a neighbor a month ago and haven’t brought myself to bring it back yet!

The ingredient list is simple:

• 1 tablespoon mustard oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 tbsp minced ginger or ginger mashed to paste
• 1 tbsp minced garlic or garlic mashed to a paste
• 1 red cayenne chile, minced
• 1 large tomato, chopped into 1/2 inch chunks
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground tumeric
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup water
• 2 cups shelled fresh or grozen soybeans (edamame)
• 1/2 cup chopped coriander (cilantro

Directions

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over high heat. Add the onion, garlic, ginger and chile and stir fry for 2 minutes or until the onion is well softened. Stir in the tumeric, cuminn, and salt, then toss in the tomato. Stir-fry for 1 minute or until the tomato starts to soften and give off liquid.

Add the soybeans and mix well. Add the water and bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, uncovered for about 10 minutes or until the beans are softened but still firm to the bite. Serve garnished with the coriander leaves. Serves 3 to 4.

Serve with plenty of rice to soak up the sauce.

By Cidell:

Mmmmm. Can Fried Green Tomatoes be made without eggs and buttermilk? Absolutely. For this version, I used frozen cashew cream from my Fried Chik’n experimnent. It was the perfect sub in for buttermilk!

 Ingredients

• 4 large green tomatoes, sliced 1/2 inch thick, deseeded
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp cayenne
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs or bread crumbs
• 2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 quart vegetable oil for frying

Using a candy thermometer, heat the oil to 360 degrees. Hot oil is so important in getting a crisp crust. 

Mix together cornmeal, baking soda, bread crumbs, pepper, salt, cayenne and flour. Transfer to plate or pie dish.

Slice the tomatoes about 1/2 inch thick. Dip in cashew cream then, dredge through flour mixture to form crust.

Place slices in heavy bottom frying pan or pot. Fry until golden brown on one side, flip over and continue to fry until brown. When done, remove from oil and place on paper towels to drain off excess oil.

Serve with salsa or a side of vegan sour cream (I use Sour Supreme).

These reheat well in the toaster over the next morning if you’d like them for breakfast!

Posted by Cidell

It’s not pretty. But, it’s delicious. My dad is Jamaican. It was only in recent years I learned the connection between Jamaican and Indian food. Gungo peas (as I grew up calling them) are readily available as piegon peas from generic grocery stores or toovar or toor dal in Indian stores. Mixed with garam masala and a little mango, this made a very satisfying meal. It also made it’s way on to the Jamaican Independence Day Dinner menu.  This was my second time making it. The first time I really made it for dinner because I was tired of scavenging for food in the evening. But, DearestLizzie insisted I bring some to work. That girl cannot resist food sampling :)

And now, the recipe from the venerable Gray Lady. I served mine over brown rice and ate it for both breakfast and dinner.

Pigeon Peas With Mango

1 heaped cup skinned yellow pigeon peas (toovar or toor dal), preferably the un-oily variety, picked over for stones

1 medium ripe mango, peeled, seeded and chopped

1/2 teaspoon cayenne plus 1 teaspoon ground toasted sesame seeds, or 2 tablespoons Maharashtran sesame-flavored garam masala (see below)

Salt to taste

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

10 to 12 curry leaves

2 tablespoons canola oil

2 teaspoons cumin seeds

1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro

1. Place the pigeon peas in a medium, heavy saucepan. Cover with 1 inch of water, and roll around the peas. The water will cloud. Drain through a strainer, and return to the pot. Repeat several times until the water is no longer very cloudy when you cover the peas. Drain and return to the pot, then add 3 cups water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Skim off and discard any foam. Stir the peas, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer, stirring from time to time, for 10 minutes. The peas will be partly tender.

2. Add the mango, the garam masala or the cayenne, salt, turmeric, curry leaves and 1 cup water. Bring back to a boil, then reduce the heat again to medium-low. Cover and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the peas are tender and falling apart.

3. While the peas are simmering, heat the oil in a small, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the cumin seeds. When they begin to sizzle, turn a reddish brown and smell nutty, remove from the heat. Add the cilantro, and stir until the sizzling stops.

4. When the pigeon peas and mango are very tender, remove the curry leaves and mash the mixture with the back of your spoon. Scrape in the seasoned ghee or oil, and stir together. Cover and simmer five minutes until the flavors are nicely blended. Taste, adjust salt and serve.

Note: For the garam masala, in a small, heavy skillet over medium-high heat combine 2 tablespoons skinned raw peanuts; 1 tablespoon white sesame seeds; 1 1/2 teaspoons coriander seeds; 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds; 4 to 5 dried red Thai chilies, cayenne chilies or arbol chilies; 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg or nutmeg shavings; and 1 blade of mace. Stir until the peanuts are lightly colored in spots and the sesame seeds are a honey-brown color. Immediately transfer to a plate or bowl to cool completely. Add 2 tablespoons shredded dried unsweetened coconut to the pan, and stir just until almond brown, about 15 seconds. Transfer to the plate or bowl with the spices and nuts. Allow to cool completely. Blend in a spice mill, pulsing the mixture so that the sesame seeds and peanuts don’t heat and grind to butter. Transfer to a jar, and store in a cool, dry place.

Yield: Four servings.

Advance preparation: You can keep this in the refrigerator for two or three days. It will stiffen up. Thin out with water if desired.

Nutritional information per serving: 296 calories; 5 grams saturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 0 grams monounsaturated fat; 20 milligrams cholesterol; 44 grams carbohydrates; 9 grams dietary fiber; 12 milligrams sodium; 12 grams protein

Martha Rose Shulman is the author of “The Very Best of Recipes for Health.”

Posted by Cidell

Oh, wheat meat! I debated making a traditional goat dish for my Jamaican Independence Day Dinner party. But, after talking to my mom and veg girlfriend I decided to take a stab at a seitan based dish instead. Seitan is a great alternative to tofu if you want a meaty / protein heavy dish. My white seitan base is from Viva Vegan but for once, the actual dish is all my own!

This was awesome! I won’t tell you it ‘fooled the omnivores’. I find that statement silly. I didn’t stop eating meat because it tasted bad. But, I think they were satisfied and there was enough texture and flavor for this seitan ‘chicken’ dish to pass with flying colors. I didn’t use hot curry as one of my dinner guests is spice sensitive. Plus, all Caribbean food doesn’t have to be spicy.

Ingredients

• 3 - 4 cups of seitan, sliced about 1/2 inch thick (or one full recipe of Viva Vegan’s white seitan)
• 1/8 cup of madras curry. If using hot Jamaican curry, I wouldn’t use more than four tablespoons
• 2 Tbs of garlic powder
• 1 tsp mashed / minced fresh ginger
• 1/2 yellow or white onion either sliced or chopped
• 1 tsp minced fresh or dried thyme
• 1 tsp allspice
• 1/8 cup of oil
• 3 - 4 starchy potatoes
• 2 carrots cut into quarters
• 2 cups of veggie broth or chicken flavored veggie broth

Slice the seitan into medallions. About, 1/2 inch thick. Season with spices and toss with onion, garlic, ginger and oil. Leave at least one hour and up to overnight.  Transfer seasoned seitan to pot and add broth and/ or water. Add potatoes and carrots to pot. Cook for about one hour until broth is reduced and thickened somewhat. Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve over rice to soak up broth.

Posted by Cidell

August 6th is Jamaican Independence Day and being half Jamaican, is was the perfect time to try out some recipes from Caribbean Vegan. I immediately gravitated to theEggplant Accra as they are meant to sub in for fish cakes. Fish was a HUGE deal in my Carribbean house. My parents ate it non stop. Now, living in Baltimore, people are literally sad when I tell them I don’t eat crabs. Even now when I visit family in New York, there is always a cod cake around.

These fritters use eggplant as the base with seaweed for a fishy flavor, scotch bonnet peppers, onions, spring onions and my dash of old bay for seasoning. Rather than a tofu cake, these rely on a flour and baking soda batter for the cake.

I served these at a little dinner party for my girlfriends (and two of the members of lunch club). They were a hit! They are a great appetizer if made by the teaspoonful and a awesome side dish by the two tablespoonful. Oh, the author also tells you how to bake instead of fry. But, without central air, it’s just too hot to run the oven so fried they were.

Posted By: DearestLizzie 

I am actually a few weeks behind in posting so I made this one awhile ago. The original recipe can be found on The Happy Healthy Life Blog. I did not make the slaw and could not find green tomatoes at the time so I used regular. Other than that I followed the recipe closely.

I really like “burgers” as a vegan meal. You can get a complete meal in a bun and its filling and satisfying. The consistency of these was a little on the soft side but it didn’t bother me.

I noticed that the type of crackers you use can really change the taste if the burger. I used a whole foods brand cracker that basically looked like an everything bagel on top. It added a very interesting but good flavor to the burgers.

All in all I was very happy with how things turned out. I liked parsley as lettuce and the monterey jack vegan cheese from whole foods is great! Also who doesn’t love the incredible soy bean!!

Posted by Cidell

Apparently, I’m the only person in the world who didn’t know tamales were an all day family affair. I saw them in Viva Vegan and thought I would give them a go. These little suckers are time consuming. But, oh so worth it! Between cooking the veggies, wrapping the tamales and the 55 mins to 1:15 to steam — they are a time suck.

Making my own Latin American food only reinforces to me that there are just no good restaurants serving the same in the area. For reals. I’ve never liked tamales. I thought they were grainy with way way too much of the corn flour. Bleh.

These? Little pockets of fresh, hot deliciousness. Is it really possible I like something veganized vs the omnivore version? Was it the fresh corn, potatoes, carrots and zucchini, peas and beans from my CSA and farmer’s market? 

I served these with a side of Homestyle Refried Beans for protein and simple Tomato Sauce for flavor. I ended up eating all the beans myself they were so so good. 

Posted by: Cidell

A few years ago an old friend gave me a copy of the 2003 Once Upon a Tart… The book is named for a bakeshop and cafeof the same name in New York. To date, I had made just one recipe from the book. I pulled it out for lunch time inspiration and found this great Mediterranean influenced salad.

Is there any more of a miracle plant than a bean? You know I generally have no use for green salads. I find them to be an absolute waste of energy. But, this salad is hearty and packed with loads of flavor and nutrients.

I ate my share and then some! The green lentils I found at the local Punjab, the basil from my garden and the red onion and bell pepper from my CSA. Perfect for summer!

Ingredients

• 4 cups cold unsalted water (for the lentils)
• 1 cup green lentils
• 1 15 ounce can chickpeas
• 1 small red onion, halved, peeled, and diced fine
• 1 red bell pepper, diced fine
• 1 cucumber, peeled, halved seeded, and diced fine
• 6 marinated sun-dried tomatoes, julienned
• 1 recipe Sun Dried Tomato Vinaigrette
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, cut into thin strips

Directions

1. Place the water and lentils in a big saucepan, and bring them to boil over high heat. Lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 20 - 25 minutes, until the lentils are tender but not losing their skins. 

2. Drain and rinse the canned chickpeas in a colander.

3. Toss the remaining ingredients except the basil on top of the beans. Toss the salad with a big spoon or with your hands until all the beans are evenly coated with the vinaigrette. Sprinkle the basil over the salad and toss again, gently so you don’t bruise the basil. Taste for salt. If the flavors need to be heightened a bit, drizzle a tablespoon or two of the balsamic vinegar over the salad.

4. Cover and refrigerate the salad for at least an hour, so the beans can absorb the flavor or the vinagrette. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Posted by: Callmebabs

This week I made a pretty standard white bean and artichoke dip, since I finally replenished my nutritional yeast supply and really wanted to pour a ton of it into something creamy. Plus, this dish is one of the few vegan opportunities I’ve found to use Old Bay. I need to find more dishes that mix Old Bay and nutritional yeast: I know it sounds odd, but this may be one of my favorite combinations, ever.

Nutritional yeast, for those unenlightened, tastes like tangy cheese but it’s all protein, fiber and B vitamins. It’s one of the only vegan foods that is a complete protein, and also one of the only vegan foods regularly fortified with B12. Here is the standard nutritional information. Did I mention it tastes like CHEESE?!! This is miracle food if ever there were miracle food.

Old Bay is simply the best seafood seasoning on the planet. Perhaps it’s the Baltimoron in me, but Old Bay means crabs to me. That’s why I call this “crabby” dip. There’s nothing else in this dip that is remotely related to crab.

1 can white beans - I used butter beans since that’s all my new grocery store had
1 can artichoke hearts
1/2 cup soft tofu
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 yellow onion
1-2 tablespoons chopped garlic
Salt, white pepper, and Old Bay to taste

Blend it all in a food processor. Done. Yum. I put it on a pita with lettuce and tomato. I fried up some vegan bacon to add in the pita. Maybe I overcooked the vegan bacon thinking it was still fatty like regular bacon. Whatever I did, it tasted so bad I had to throw it out. Oh, well.

I keep forgetting to take pictures of my food. Instead, here are (stolen) pictures of nutritional yeast and Old Bay.

Posted By: Cidell

This may be the least expensive meal I’ve put together for our lunch co-op. Thanks to my CSA and my overstocked pantry, I had everything on hand this week for the New York Times’ Eggplant, Tomato and Chickpea Casserole. This ran under  their wonderful Recipes For Health.

I selected this dish because of the eggplant. My mom mentioned having an abundance of it from her community garden. And, I get so much from my CSA half share that I start freezing it at the beginning of the season.

The basil adds a wonderful fragrance and I can’t resist anything with onions. Plus, I like the one dish meal :)

By MARTHA ROSE SHULMAN

This dish is based on a Middle Eastern staple traditionally served with fresh Arabic bread at room temperature, though I like to serve it warm. The casserole tastes best if made a day ahead.

1 large eggplant or 2 medium (1 pound), peeled if desired, cut in half lengthwise, then sliced about 1/2 inch thick

Salt to taste

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 large onion, sliced thin across the grain

2 to 4 garlic cloves (to taste), minced

1 (28-ounce) can chopped tomatoes

2 tablespoons tomato paste

Pinch of sugar

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

1 sprig basil

1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained

3 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, and brush the foil with olive oil. Place the eggplant slices on the foil, sprinkle with salt and brush each slice lightly with oil. Place in the oven for 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from the heat, and carefully fold the foil in half over the eggplant. Crimp the edges together, so that the eggplant is sealed inside the foil and will continue to steam and soften. Leave for at least 15 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, make the tomato sauce. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the onion. Cook, stirring often, until tender, about five minutes, and add the garlic and a generous pinch of salt. Cook, stirring, until the garlic is fragrant, about a minute. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, cinnamon, basil and salt to taste. Bring to a simmer, and simmer uncovered, stirring often, for 20 to 25 minutes, until the sauce is thick and fragrant. Add freshly ground pepper, then taste and adjust salt. Remove the basil sprig, and stir in the drained chickpeas.

3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Oil a 2-quart baking dish or gratin. Cover the bottom with thin layer of tomato sauce, and make a layer of half the eggplant. Spoon half the remaining sauce over the eggplant, and repeat the layers.

4. Bake 30 minutes, until bubbling. Remove from the heat, and allow to cool for at least 10 to 15 minutes. Sprinkle on the parsley before serving.

Yield: Serves four to six.

Advance preparation: You can assemble this dish through step 3 up to two days ahead. Keep it in the refrigerator. Leftovers will be good for about three days.

Posted by: DearestLizzie

So, let me begin by saying I’m OBSESSED with a little website called Pinterest. It’s kinda hard to explain so go check it out. But, it’s like idea boards and/or bookmarks all kept in one place. Anyhow, the point is… that is how I found this recipe. I have a whole board called food to make.

This recipe was very easy to make and tastes great. Plus, for omnivores makes a perfect side dish.

I used Pearled Couscous from Near East which is smaller than the Israeli Couscous that the recipe called for. I couldn’t find it over the weekend but of course my stop at the Punjab today produced it so I will be making this again….

The original recipe can be found here. (As a side note, a link of that post has a ton of squash recipes, you WILL be seeing some of these.) I used acorn squash because that was all that was available at the grocery store, and it was very good. I read that ginger is a good compliment to acorn squash so i sprinkled some in the browning stage. 

I don’t like squash to be too firm so i cooked it split and covered with plastic wrap in the microwave first. I think i cooked it too long, its a very fine line. Still worked in the dish, but should have been just firm enough to stay cubed.

I did add some more oil in the combining stage and it worked out, but be careful because adding too much is very easy.

The flavors meld together really well. A very simple but flavorful dish! Enjoy.

Posted By: Cidell

Last week to round out the stuffed poblano peppers, I made up Cook Illustrated’s Tortilla Soup. Except, this one doesn’t have tortillas. Or chicken. But, it does have quinoa for texture and white beans for protein. My roomie and I looooove this soup. It’s got a warm heat and layered flavors. The garnishes only improve the experience.

Soup 

• 2 cans of white beans
• 2 cups of cooked quinoa 
• 8 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 2 cubes of vegetarian / vegan chicken flavored bouillon 
• 1 very large white onion (about 1 pound), trimmed of root end, quartered, and peeled 
• 4 medium cloves garlic , peeled 
• 2 sprigs epazote , fresh, or 8 to 10 sprigs fresh cilantro plus 1 sprig fresh oregano 
• Table salt 
• 2 cans of diced tomatoes or 2 medium tomatoes , cored and quartered 
• 1 medium jalapeño chile, seeds / ribs removed
• 1 chipotle chile en adobo , plus up to 1 tablespoon adobo sauce 
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 

Garnishes 

• 1 lime , cut into wedges 
• 1 Hass avocado , diced fine 
• Fresh cilantro
• minced jalapeno pepper 
• Dairy free sour cream

Instructions:

FOR THE SOUP:  Bring veggie broth, 2 onion quarters, 2 garlic cloves, epazote, and 1/2 teaspoon salt to boil over medium-high heat in large saucepan; reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until chicken is just cooked through, about 20 minutes.  Pour broth through fine-mesh strainer; discard solids in strainer. 

3. Puree tomatoes, 2 remaining onion quarters, 2 remaining garlic cloves, jalapeño, chipotle chile, and 1 teaspoon adobo sauce in food processor until smooth. Heat oil in Dutch oven over high heat until shimmering; add tomato/onion puree and 1/8 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring frequently, until mixture has darkened in color, about 10 minutes. Stir strained broth into tomato mixture, bring to boil, then reduce heat to low. Add one cup of cooked quinoa and two cans of the white bean of your choice and simmer to blend flavors, about 15 minutes. Taste soup; if desired, add up to 2 teaspoons additional adobo sauce. Add shredded chicken and simmer until heated through, about 5 minutes.
4. Pass garnishes separately.

Posted By: Cidell

Earlier this spring I spent a week in Santa Fe, New Mexico. While there I took a Native American cooking class at the Santa Fe School of Cooking. There, we made stuffed peppers. I think the meat  version was lamb and the veggie version was squash. I decided to recreate a vegan version for the girls this week. With Catalina-de-Cuenca’s help I’ve named it Chile Calabazita.

The poblano peppers were purchased at our local Cinco de Mayo grocer. To remove the waxy skin, I roasted over an open flame to char all parts of the skin. Toss them in a plastic bag for 10 minutes to sweat and run under cold water to peel.

For these, I made two stuffings. One with butternut squash and quiona with a touch of Daiya cheese. The second was seitan from Viva Vegan with tomatos and onions. Once stuffed, you’ll want to place them seam side down and bake at 350 degrees for about 15 to 30 minutes.

Both versions were heavily seasoned with onions, garlic, and cumin. I know you may want a recipe. But, I’m sorry to report I made it up and I just don’t remember. I’m usually a slave to a recipe but I’m finally learning to experiment with flavors, etc. I did sautee the seitan in beer, with onions and garlic scapes from my CSA.  DearestLizze claims there were delicious so that’s a big success!

This gave each of us two peppers. But, because I’m always afraid people will still be hungry, I made a batch of tortilla soup that may be my best run ever. I’ll post that recipe next.

Posted By: DearestLizzie

I have been trying to make this dish for at least two weeks!!! I FINALLY got to it, after the original purchased basil wilted and the mushrooms went bad :( Although, I did use the original basil for my awesome Ceci All’Insalata. 

I LOVE a pesto: pine nuts + basil + olive oil + parmesan cheese = heaven!!!! Obviously that isn’t vegan with the cheese and too much oil can be too fattening so I went in search of something similar and interesting and I found something that turned out great!!

The original recipe for Spinach Linguine with Edamame Pesto from PPK and can be found here. If you are looking for some good cookbooks order from this site!!

I basically stuck with the original recipe except that I did not go back to the store for more mushrooms. To add more protein and some additional “meatiness” I went with vegetarian mock chicken from the Chinese grocery store (post to come on store later). I am curious as to what the mushrooms would have done for the dish because I could have done without the “chicken” (my issue is I don’t love mushrooms). 

As shown above, I separated and prepared all the ingredients first. Honestly, I think this is the best way to cook even though I don’t do it often. Yes, it uses more bowls… BUT… you never leave anything out and it is just more organized (not to mention it makes for a great picture)

The recipe is made in a few stages. Above is the edamame mashed into a pesto!

I used spinach spaghetti instead of linguine. This boiled separately while the onions and chicken sauteed with spices and a little oil. Everything then was combined into the onion pan and VOILA all finished.

All in all pretty easy and very tasty. My opinion is that the dish is best immediately served.  

Posted by: Callmebabs

This week I learned the following:

1. Red beans are really good for you. They have a higher Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity than any other food except raw, unprocessed cacao. I’m not exactly sure what this means, but I think it means that red beans keep us young and healthy.

2. My Superfresh closes tomorrow. This sucks. But at least pasta and vegetable juice are on sale. 

3. There’s a farmer at the Baltimore Farmers’ Market, about two tables down from the Mushroom Maven and the Pea Man and on the same side, that sells the sweetest, juiciest, most delicious tomatoes I’ve ever tasted.

I seemed destined to cook Pasta Fazool this week.

1 14.5 oz box Barilla Plus multigrain penne (***NOT VEGAN!!! See below.***)
1 can artichoke hearts
2 tbsps pure olive oil
1 tsp chopped garlic
1 red onion  
black pepper 
sage
thyme
oregano
1 bunch swiss chard
15 leaves kale
3 cups vegetable juice
4 large tomatoes, chopped
few handfuls pine nuts
basil
2 cans beans (I used butter beans and red beans)
Extra virgin olive oil

1. Make pasta.

***I used Barilla Plus multigrain penne, this omnivore’s go-to brand. Allow me to tout the benefits of this super-penne. One serving has 38 grams of carbs, but also 10 grams of protein, 4 grams of fiber and 2 grams of all-unsaturated fat. Since many of us are feeling the itch to commence the annual summer slimdown, I opted to up the protein and fiber in this meal. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until after I emptied the box into the boiling water that I realized that a small portion of that protein comes from egg whites! Sorry, vegan lunch clubbers. My bad.

2. Pull out the biggest pot you have. Heat a few tablespoons olive oil.

3. Start browning the garlic at low-medium heat while you chop the onion.

4. Add the chopped onion, black pepper, sage, thyme, and oregano. Cook until onions sweat.

5. Add vegetable juice, swiss chard and kale. Braise at low-medium heat until wilted.

I ordinarily would have used vegetable broth, instead. But my closing Superfresh at North Charles and Saratoga is selling large cans of generic vegetable juice for $1 each until it closes tomorrow. I stocked up.

6. Add pasta, beans, artichoke hearts, tomatoes, pine nuts and basil.

7. Finish with the extra virgin olive oil.

I took some for dinner and felt the need to sprinkle with more oil, salt and garlic powder. Had I nutritional yeast in the house, I’d have topped with that, too.

Posted by: DearestLizzie

As Cidell mentioned this is an off week for us. I just about opted out for the week. But, after committing managed to keep forgetting the groceries I bought on my lunch break in the office fridge. So I made something with ingredients I had at home. I wouldn’t say its a full lunch. But, hey. It’s been a crazy week.

When my family lived in Italy my mom was basically obsessed with this woman “Vera” who gave cooking lessons (I can’t believe I found this person’s blog, that is her garage kitchen!!!) She was an American that had been living in Naples for YEARS with her Italian husband. I was too young for most of the time we were there. But, when we went back for a visit after moving back to the States, I took a cooking lesson with her…. I sorta became obsessed too! Vera even told me I could come to her house anytime and stay and she would find me an Italian husband!!! So I pulled out my recently requisitioned Cucinando con Vera cookbook and found my little already vegan gem….

Ceci All’Insalata  is a contorni or side dish and is SIMPLY (wait for it) Garbanzo Bean Salad… I know you were waiting for something sexier, sorry to disappoint. I can say though this is a tasty dish and ridiculously simple. You ALSO may just have the stuff lying around.

Garbanzo Bean Salad

• 16 oz can of garbanzo beans
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 fresh lemon. squeezed
• salt to taste
• 1 TBSP fresh parsley, chopped
• 3-4 fresh basil leaves
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped

Drain beans and combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Mix well. Make a few hours in advance to allow salad to marinate.

Serves 4

Note: 1/4 of a cup is a fair amount of oil, cutting this by a third would be sufficient. Also, I chopped the basil and mixed in as well.

PS: I actually didn’t get to try my own dish but Cidell LOVED it, she got the eat the whole bowl :)

Posted by Catalina-de-Cuenca

This week I decided to cook a nice Calzone filledwith vegetables and soy cheese. When I arrived to the store’s “vegan aisle”. I must make a comment about “aisles” in the supermarket. I always laugh when I see the “Hispanic aisle” LOL! ..sorry, somehow we “Hispanics” must have our own aisle because our ingredients are sooooo different from mainstream cooking. I wonder what would happen if all races had their own aisle. What would your aisle have?

Anyhow, moving on… As I approached the vegan aisle I found soy chorizo! Yes! so I decided to include chorizo to my calzone. I must say that I did not make my dough because I found prepared dough at Trader Joe’s for $1.99. The smell of dough reminded me of my childhood when I would go to my grandmother’s home to make bread (fun times!)

Ingredients:

·         Soy chorizo

·         ½ cup of red pepper

·         ½ cup of green pepper

·         ½ cup of white onions

·         2 cups of mushrooms

·         1 tablespoon of olive oil

·         3 cups of Soy cheese

·         Dough

Preparation

·         Start by sautéing the vegetable: mushrooms, onions, peppers, and olive oil

·         Once the vegetables have been sautéed add the chorizo (be sure to remove the wrapping). Combine vegetables and chorizo

·         Roll out a small dough ball (about 8 ounces) into a round 1/4 inch thick 

·         Add two tablespoons of the chorizo mix and add soy cheese 

·         Fold the top of the calzone crust over the bottom into the traditional half-moon shape. Seal the edges by crimping them with a fork. Be sure to press firmly enough to seal the edges and keep the fillings from leaking 

·         Just before baking brush the crust with olive oil

·         Bake them in the 375-degree oven for 30 minutes.

Posted by Cidell:

This week I tried a Mango Slaw from The Smitten Kitchen. I love neither cole slaw nor salad as a meal, but someone at work mentioned mango hummus and in my internet search, I stumbled upon this gem.

We were slow on the uptake this week. One’s on vacation, two of us forgot and the fourth bowed out for the week. Personally, I didn’t get around to making my dish until Tuesday morning.

I used two mango for mine. The first is a green Haitian mango. The second is a “standard” mango from Mexico. Can I say the best mango I’ve had is a larger Guatalmalan variety. Unfortunately, those came into the Punjab a month ago never to be seen again. 

I’ve never been a big cabbage person, but the thought of cold, crispy / sweet and sour was too appealing to ignore.

For the cashews, I coarsely chopped some of my raw ones left over from my Fried Chik’n sandwich cashew cream. The mint, came from my little front yard garden. That deserves an upcoming blog post.

Oh, personally, I would serve this with some seitan or brown rice on the side. Good thing I keep Gardein in the office freezer.

From the Smitten Kitchen

Mango Slaw with Cashews and Mint

2 mangoes, peeled, pitted and julienned
1 to 1 1/4 pounds Napa cabbage, halved and sliced very thinly
1 red pepper, julienned
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
6 tablespoons of fresh lime juice, from about two limes
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons oil of your choice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste (or omit this and whisk in a chile paste to taste)
1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh mint leaves
1/4 cup toasted cashews, coarsely chopped

Toss mangoes, cabbage, pepper and onion in a large bowl. Whisk lime juice, vinegar, oil, salt and red pepper in a smaller bowl and pour over slaw. You can either serve this immediately or leave the flavors to muddle for an hour in the fridge. Before serving, toss with mint leaves and sprinkle with cashews.

About your mango: This salad will work with almost any variety or ripeness of mango, whether sour or sweet. Use the one you can get, or that you enjoy the most. In general, a firmish not overly ripe mango (unlike the very ripe, sweet one I used) holds up best but all will be delicious in this salad.

Posted By: Cidell

I love Latin / South American food. After an insanely busy weekend (Seersucker Social / Rihanna), I was craving some nice, starchy comfort food. So, I cracked open my copy of Viva Vegan and stumbled upon this Brazillian staple, feijoada.

Terry Hope Romero’s version ins’t online, but there are loads of great veggie versions available by search. This turned out to be one of my favorite things to make. I hope my fellow lunch clubbers think so too.

This Brazillian staple starts with a sofrito base of olive olive oil, garlic and a pound of onions. Thanks to Catalina, I actually knew what a sofrito / refrito was before I started. I used to swear she was adding a stick of butter to her soups they were so rich and tasty. But, she promised me it was her refrito that gave it all the flavor. A cup of TVP and a pound of portebello mushrooms give it density and sub in nicely for the meat. 

I also chanelled my inner West Indian and fried up some sweet plantains for a little side dish.

My stew was served over brown rice, with some steamed kale for greens. Seriously, I can’t get enough of this! 

Posted by:Catalina-de-Cuenca

So, I’ve been a little behind in terms of blogging. I made this recipe two weeks ago during an afternoon when I was craving pasta. So I started searching for recipes that would be easy to make and would not be time consuming.  I gathered a few vegan lasagna recipes and created my own.

The lasagna was really tasty, though next time I will try to avoid adding soy milk to the tofu mix. The soy milk made the lasagna a bit too watery for my taste.

I hope you enjoy it !

Ingredients

·         ½ box of cooked Lasagna pasta  

·         16 oz of Firm Tofu

·         16 oz of Soft Tofu

·         ¼ of soy milk

·         Garlic (3 cloves)

·         1 pound of Spinach

·         Mushrooms

·         1 Onion

·         4 cups of Tomato sauce

Preparation

·         Bring the following ingredients to the blender: soft tofu, firm tofu, soy milk, 2 cloves of garlic, salt, pepper, and oregano.

·         Sauté spinach and mushrooms with the onions and garlic. Once cooked add to the Tofu mixture and mix well

·         Preheat oven to 350 degrees

·         Lightly oil the pan and place about a cup of tomato sauce, then place 1/3 of the noodles on top of the sauce, and 1/3 of Tofu mixture with spinach and mushrooms on top of the noodles. Repeat process, making sure that you finish with a tomato sauce layer

·         Bake for approximately 30 to 40 minutes  

Posted by: DearestLizzie

This weekend was packed. Friday after work I headed to the Inner Harbor for an Urban Pirates cruise…. I know it looks ridiculous (and it was) but my friend had a groupon for it so we had a girls night! It was really fun. After that I headed to the bar for “GGBB” then finally went home.

Saturday Cidell and I headed to DC for the 2nd annual Seersucker Social. I was baited with a 2.5 mile bike ride in both directions (to and from the garden party portion) it ended up being almost 7 there and 2.5 back. Let’s just say I hurt in places we shouldnt speak about…. Also ive never ridden more than 4 square blocks before this and have a one speed… BUT we had a blast. Directly after returning home we went to the Rihanna concert.

WHEW! So yesterday I took it slow and did a little shopping at the mall then to the grocery store.

I bookmarked African Pineapple Peanut Stew from Fat Free Vegan Kitchen awhile back for its combination of flavors. It was a quick trip to the store because its not too many ingredients which I was happy about. I do wish I had read the original version  she altered hers from first because I would have used cilantro instead of parsley.

This is pre-peanut butter, etc… I like the smoky affect the camera caught

All in all it was pretty simple. So happy about that too because it took me hours to psych myself up to cook. I don’t have a wok so I started with a deep frying pan but had to switched to a large stew pot because of the amount of kale. I also didn’t put in my whole bunch because it seemed like so much but I probably should have. The only other change I made was adding a tiny bit more pineapple juice I happened to have leftover from drink mixing in my fridge. 

ALL DONE! I had some instant brown rice in the cabinet so I made that as my whole grain

It was tasty and I would make it again. I really do want to try it with Swiss Chard and Cilantro and I need to chop up the leaves better next time. I think this would also be great on crackers as an app!

Posted by: CC-Colette

After what turned out to be a very stressful weekend (had to work all day Saturday and Liam was up from 2a.m.-4a.m. Saturday night) making this recipe was therapeutic.  I turned on “Echoes” (all time favorite music) and began cooking and pealing roasted vegetables after Liam went to bed.

Amazon.com came through for me for this recipe!  I ordered this book  (Vegan Fire and Spice by Robin Robertson) on Thursday, and it was here on Saturday! Yay!  I did the free super shipper too (usually 5-7 days).   Here’s the recipe with a few changes (due to lack of capers).

When weather permits, try grilling the vegitables outdoors over hot coals.

2 Spanish onions, in their skins

2 red bell peppers

1 eggplant

1 head of garlic, in its skin

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon capers

2 fresh minced parsley (this actually came from my vegetable garden!)

1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram

1/2 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes

1/4 cub extra-virgin olive oil

Preheat the oven to 375.  Place the onions in a baking pan and bake for 30 min.  Remove from the oven and add the bell peppers, eggplant, and garlic to the pan and bake 1 hour longer.

Remove from the oven and cover the vegetables with a clean dish towel for 10 minutes.  Remove the charred skin from the peppers and scrape out the seeds.  Cut the flesh into strips.  Remove the skin of the eggplant and cut the flesh lengthwise into strips.  Peel and chop the onions.  As range the roasted vegetables in a serving dish.

Separate the baked garlic cloves from the papery skins and place in a food processor.  Add the salt, capers, parsley, marjoram, and red pepper flakes and process to a paste.  With the machine running, add the olive oil and process until smooth.  Toss the garlic mixture with the vegetables and serve.

Serves 4-6

(instead of capers I used black olives and sun-dried tomatoes)

Not sure if I’ll ever make the recipe again, but will make the marinade again!