Tomato-Saffron Risotto Milanese

Saffron adds a touch of elegance to every dish, including risotto which I typically think of as a simple comfort food. The below recipe puts an unusal twist on a risotto milanese by adding tomatoes and spinach. Adapated from this recipe and made vegan.

Ingredients:
1 can plum tomatoes, pureed in a blender
6 cups vegetable broth
2 pinches saffron threads (about 1/4 teaspoon)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine (eyeball it)
2 cups spinach (fresh or frozen) pine nuts or nutritional yeast optional as toppings

Directions

Pour pureed tomatoes into a medium saucepan and add the chicken broth and saffron. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then keep warm over low heat.

In a deep skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic; season with salt and pepper and cook until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the rice to coat with the oil, increase the heat to medium-high and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the wine and cook until slightly evaporated, about 1 minute. Stir in a couple ladlefuls of the warm tomato broth, stirring constantly until absorbed, about 1 minute. Continue adding the broth, a couple of ladlefuls at a time, stirring after each addition until absorbed and to prevent sticking. Cook until the rice is tender and the mixture is creamy but not soupy, about 18 minutes. During the last 2 minutes of cooking, add the spinach.

Serve the risotto with pine nuts and/or nutrional yeast.

Spicy Sweet Potato Soup

Whipped up a quick soup for lunch today, in between running errands. Took me about an hour from start to finish and used up a few random items I had lying around. Adapted from a post I found, it turned out a bit thick but delicious. I probably would add 2 more cups of water the next time I make it.

Ingredients:
2 tbps olive oil
1 onion, cut in medium dice
2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 stalks of celery, diced
2 medium carrots, diced
1 tsp. ancho chili powder
2 tsp. grated fresh ginger
4 cups of  vegetable stock + 2 cups of water
3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 canned chipotle, chopped (less if you are not a fan of spicy)
1/4 cup fresh lemon  juice
Salt and pepper

 Directions:

Warm olive oil in large soup pan. Add the onions, garlic, celery, and carrots. Cook, stirring often, until the vegetables brown slightly. When the vegetables have begun to brown add the spices. Cook until vegetables are fairly soft.

Add the stock and the sweet potatoes. Cook until the sweet potatoes are very soft, just about falling apart, about 40 minutes. Taste the soup and add chipotle and lemon juice. Puree the soup using a hand-held blender. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Top with toasted pumpkin seeds, fresh cilantro leaves, or a small amount of harissa paste (if you are like me and always trying to add some extra heat).

Pasta with Roasted Peppers & "Sausage"

Last night I wanted to use up the remaining meatless sausages I had from on hand, leftover from my chickpea, brussel sprout, and sausage salad earlier this week. The sausages were Trader Joe's "Sausage-less" Italian sausages and were really quite good. Probably one of the best meatless sausage products I have tried so far.

I came across this recipe on FatFreeVegan and was inspired to make a similar one. I used a more traditional red sauce for the base than the original recipe called for, but loved the idea of roasting the peppers and sausage before adding them to the sauce. It turned out delicious!

Ingredients:
2 meatless sausages, sliced (I used Trader Joe's Sausage-less Italian Sausages)
2 red bell peppers, cut into 1-inch strips
1 green bell pepper, cut into 1-inch strips
8 ounces whole wheat rotini
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 28 oz can of whole peeled plum tomatoes
2 pinches red pepper flakes
1 teaspon dried basil leaves
salt and pepper to taste



Spray a baking sheet lightly with olive oil, put it into the oven and preheat to 450F. Once it’s heated, spread the peppers on one half of the sheet and the sausages on the other. Give them a quick spray of olive oil. Cook, stirring every few minutes, until the peppers just begin to get charred along the edges, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and keep warm.
Heat olive oil in a medium sized pan on medium-high. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until they soften, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and dried basil and cook for one minute. Add the tomatoes and 2 tablespoons of water. Let the tomato sauce reduce and thicken over a medium heat, breaking up the plum tomates as they cook for around 20 minutes.

Cook the pasta according to package directions, drain, and set aside.

Once the sauce has thickened, add red pepper flakes, and salt and black pepper to taste. Add the sausges and peppers and heat for an additional 2 minutes. Toss with the pasta to coat.
 

Whole Wheat, Fat-Free Vegan Carrot Cake Cupcakes with "Cream Cheese" Frosting

I love what Lindsay S. Nixon is all about and her cookbooks should be staples in most vegan kitchens. Lindsay claims this recipe is one of two that really made her famous.

I tried it out for the first time last night. I have to admit, it was not what I expected. I would have to say that as cupcakes, these are slightly disappointing. However, if you remember that they are non-fat cupcakes with lots of healthy ingredients and no added guilt they start tasting a bit better. And thought of as low fat muffins they are actually excellent. Its really all about the expectation you have going into your first bite. Given that the frosting is basically cream cheese and the cupcake is like a healthy muffin, I decided they are perfectably acceptable for breakfast this week. And with cupcakes for breakfast, my week is looking better already! :)


Ingredients
•1½ cups whole wheat pastry flour
•1 cup raw sugar
•1 tsp baking powder
•1 tsp baking soda
•1¼ tsp cinnamon
•¼ tsp salt
•1 whole carrot, shredded
•1½ cup unsweetened applesauce
•1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a muffin pan or spray paper liners to prevent sticking and set aside. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, soda, sugar, salt & cinnamon in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, mix applesauce, vanilla and carrots. Add dry mix to wet mix in 3-4 batches. Stir until just combined. Fill cups to the top bake 15-25 minutes or until a fork inserted in the center comes out clean.


For cream cheese icing, use electric beaters to whip and combine 1 container Tofutti cream cheese, 1 tsp vanilla extract and 1/2 cup confectioners sugar at a time until the consistency is thick and sweet enough.

Chickpea, Brussel Sprout, and "Sausage" Salad

Brussel sprouts have a bad rap. And I can understand why if anyone has ever had boiled, mushy, and soggy sprouts forced on them as kids. I, however, am very pro-brussel sprouts. They are actually the only item at Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner that I put in a special request for. The trick is to bake or fry brussel sprouts - not boil them! Tossed with olive oil and salt and baked at 400' for 40 minutes is my favorite way to eat them. Last night I wanted to make a meal out of them, so I tried a receipe I found on Marcus Samuelsson's  website. Fast, simple, and yummy.

Two cooking notes:

• I used a food processor to save time shredding my brussel sprouts. I think in the future I would do this by hand to keep more texture in the sprouts. I think this would also make the salad more visually appealing.
•  Do not overcook the brussel sprouts! They should stay green and vibrant and slightly crunchy.

Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
2  Trader Joe's Italian Sausageless Sausage
2 cloves minced garlic
red pepper flakes, to taste
salt and black pepper
1 lb brussels sprouts, shredded in a food processor or roughly chopped
1/2 cup white wine
1 can garbanzo beans


Method:

1. Put the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When it’s hot, crumble the sausages into the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, to break the meat into relatively small bits, until browned, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and chile flakes and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook and stir for another minute or so.

2. Add the Brussels sprouts and wine to the skillet and cook, stirring frequently, until the sprouts are tender but still a bit crunchy, 5 to 10 minutes.

3. Add the beans and cook, stirring occasionally, until they are heated through, just a minute or 2. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

 

Baked Tofu with Dipping Sauces

I'm up to five miles on my training runs now...which is great but also means that my nights are cut significantly shorter because I spend 1+ hours at the gym. My fridge also tends to be a bit bare by the end of the week. So last night I wanted a meal that was fast and easy, using what limited ingredients I had on hand.

I had a block of tofu (I seem to always have tofu)...and a stirfry was the first thing that came to mind as a quick and easy dish. However last night I really wasnt feeling it.

I decided instead to try cooking the tofu in a different way - baking it. I drained the block of tofu and then let it sit for 15 minutes between two plates and paper towels (to remove excess moisture).

I then cut the tofu into small, two/three inch pieces and let them sit in a soy sauce/olive oil marinade for another 15 minutes.

After that I baked the tofu bites on a baking sheet covered in tinfoil for 20 minutes at 400', turning once at the ten minute mark. 

They came out looking (and tasting) great. For fun I whipped up two "dips" for the tofu slices. The dips made the very healthy meal of tofu (and some green pepper slices) fun!  

I used the same base for the two dips (soy sauce, rice vinegar, water, garlic) and added peanut butter to one and some leftover harissa paste to the other. The peanut sauce was definetly the winner!

Peanut Sauce:

2 tbps peanut butter

2 tbps water

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 cloves garlic, minced and crushed

1 tbsp rice vinegar

1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Harissa Sauce:

1 tbps of harissa paste

2 tbps water

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 clove garlic, minced and crushed

1 tbps rice vinegar

Preparation:

For both dips, combine all ingredients in a saucepan over low heat until ingredients are combined and mixture is smooth.

Quinoa, Chickpea, and Roasted Vegetable Salad

My orzo pasta salad worked out so well for lunches last week that I decided to make another salad this week. I have made quinoa & chickpea salads in the past and this time I roasted some fresh vegetables I had on hand to add flavor. I had every intention of making a lemon vinaigrette dressing from scratch when I started the salad....but by the end I got lazy and used some store bought salad dressing I already had instead (I used Newman’s Light Italian Dressing). Add some pita bread and voila - an easy, healthy pack-and-go lunch!

Ingredients:
• 1 cup uncooked quinoa (rinsed)
• 1 green pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 zucchini, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 medium eggplant, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes
• 1 15oz can of chickpeas


Directions:
Cook the quinoa according to package directions. Once cooked, allow to cool.

Preheat oven to 425. Toss vegetables with a generous pinch of salt and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Roast for 30-45 minutes.

Rinse and drain the can of chickpeas. Transfer quinoa to large bowl and mix in chickpeas and roasted vegetables. Add about ¼ cup of dressing of your choice (as mentioned, I used Newman’s Own Lighten Up Italian). Chill before serving.