Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Broccoli with Israeli Couscous

Memorial Day weekend here in Boston seemed to bring with it a barrage of temptations for the vegan in me: burgers, hot dogs, lobster rolls, ice cream....the list goes on. To get back on track this week I whipped up a super quick salad as an easy "work-day" lunch.

Ingredients:

Two sweet potatoes

2 heads of broccoli

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup of Israeli couscous

1 tablespoons of pesto

Preheat oven to 425'. Trim and cut broccoli into small florets. Peel & dice sweet potatoes into one inch cubes. Toss sweet potatoes with half of the olive oil and spread onto a baking sheet (I sprayed mine with a non-stick olive oil spray for good measure). Cook for 10 minutes. Toss broccoli with remaining olive oil and salt, and add to the pan after 10 minutes. Cook for an additional 15 minutes, until sweet potatoes are tender and broccoli is crisp.

Meanwhile, cook Israeli couscous according to package directions. Once tender, mix the couscous with the pesto. Top with the roasted vegetables and voila - a filling, healthy, vegan lunch. This made around four large servings for me.

Polenta & Vegetable Casserole

I haven't spent too much time cooking with polenta, but I ran across this recipe from EatingWell.com and decided to give it a go. It requires minimal prep time, particularly if you buy jarred marinara sauce instead of making your own. The vegan cheese is a pretty integral part of the recipe so I would recommend getting a brand you really like. My favorite is Daiya.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 medium eggplant, diced
• 2 small zucchini, diced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 cup water
• 10 ounces baby spinach
• 1 1/2 cups prepared marinara sauce
• 14 ounces prepared polenta, sliced into thin slices
• 1 1/2 cups shredded vegan mozzarella-style cheese, divided

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 450 degree F. Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until just translucent. Add the eggplant, zucchini, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender and just beginning to brown, 4 to 6 minutes. Add water and spinach; cover and cook until wilted, stirring once, about 3 minutes. Stir marinara sauce into the vegetables and heat through, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat.
3. Place polenta slices in a single layer in the prepared baking dish, trimming to fit if necessary. Sprinkle with 3/4 cup cheese, top with the eggplant mixture and sprinkle with the remaining 3/4 cup cheese. Bake until bubbling and the cheese has just melted, 12 to 15 minutes. Let stand for about 5 minutes before serving.

Baked Vegan Doughnuts

When I found this recipe on  Angela Liddon's blog I knew I had to give it a go. Yesterday afternoon I had a some spare time and all the ingredients on hand. Angela is right in that the recipe is super easy to pull together. The only hard part is really the shaping of the doughnut, since if you are like me (and most normal people?!) you do not have a doughnut pan on hand. After scrolling through the comments on Angela's post I got the idea to pour the dough into a homemade pastry bag (ie ziplock bag with a corner cut out). Worked pretty well...the main issue was keeping the dough apart in the middle to form the holes. I used some shot glasses to help mold them....which was partially successful. Also, my doughnuts came out pretty thin, which I am sure would be solved by using a doughnut pan.

Dry Ingredients
1 Cup All Purpose Flour
1/2 Cup Sugar (I used raw cane sugar, but feel free to use white)
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp (scant) Nutmeg
1/4 tsp Cinnamon

Wet Ingredients
1/2 Cup Soymilk (I used vanilla almond milk, since that was what i had on hand)
1/2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
1/2 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
Egg Replacer for 1 Egg
4 Tbs Earth Balance (regular margarine should work too)

Icing Glaze:
1/2 cup powdered icing
1 tbsp soy milk
sprinkles/nuts/other toppings

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Take all the wet ingredients and put in a small pot on the stovetop on low. Whisk ingredients together to blend well. Do not let the mixture get too hot, it should just be warm to the touch. Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Add the wet to the dry and mix until just incorporated. Do not over mix.

Mold doughnuts on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. If you are not using a doughnut pan, get creative with what you have lying around to help you shape them! Wet your hands when touching the dough to prevent it from sticking.  

Bake for 12 minutes. You don’t want them brown, but they should slowly pop up when pressed with a finger. Cool on a wire rack and then decorate.

As you can see, I made 8 doughnuts from this batter...although two were super-sized as I was playing around with how to mold them.

Spaghetti Squash Sesame Noodles with Edamame

I picked up a spaghetti squash when I was at the grocery store last weekend with really no plan in mind on how I wanted to cook it. I did some online browsing yesterday, knowing that I wanted to do something a bit different, and came across this recipe. I was sold - super simple and no extra ingredients besides edamame which I happened to have in my freezer.

I microwaved the spaghetti squash instead of baking it and also halved most of the ingredients in the sauce from the original recipe. Even halved there was more than enough sauce to go around.

Ingredients:

1Spaghetti Squash

1 tablespoons Toasted Sesame Oil

1 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce

1/2 tablespoon White Wine Vinegar

1  tsp Sriracha

pinch of ground Ginger

pinch of Garlic Powder

2 tablespoons toasted Sesame Seeds

1/2 cup cooked & shelled Edamame

handful of fresh chopped green onions or cilantro for garnish, if desired.

Directions:

Pierce the spaghetti squash multiple times on all sides. Place in the microwave on a paper towel and cook for 10-12 minutes, until soft to the touch. Cut squash lengthwise, being very careful of the steam. Scoop out the seeds with a spoon and scrape the sides of the squash with a fork until you have removed all the spaghetti-like strands.

Combine sesame oil, tamari, vinegar, ginger, garlic powder, sirracha and sesame seeds in a small bowl.  Toss with spaghetti squash noodles. Gently fold in edamame and garnish.

Orecchiette with White Bean & Basil Pesto

Looking in my fridge last night, I found a box of forgotten basil. I immediately thought of making a pesto and remembered a recipe I had seen in Robin Robertson's cookbook for a white bean basil pesto. Super easy - throw the ingredients in a food processor and boil some water for pasta. I used orechiette but this pesto would also pair nicely with a whole wheat linguine.

Robin calls for 5 cloves of garlic....after making this I would recommend cutting the garlic in half but am posting her original recipe for all the garlic fans out there.

White Bean & Basil Pesto

Ingredients:

1.5 cup tightly packed fresh basil leaves
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup cannellini beans (cooked or canned)

2 tbps olive oil

1 tbsp white miso paste

1/2 tsp kosher salt

up to 1/2 cup of pasta water to even out.

Directions:

Boil water for pasta. Add pasta/make according to box directions.

Mix all pesto ingredients in a food processor or high-speed blender until smooth. Add pasta water last and use just enough to thin out pesto to the desired consistency.

Roasted Cauliflower Steaks with Picatta Sauce

Cauliflower is delicious roasted in the oven with olive oil. Add some creamy picatta sauce (with extra protein in the form of white beans) and this becomes a full meal. Adapted from Robin Robertson's Vegan Planet blog

 

Ingredients:

 

1 head cauliflower, cored

1 cup grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise

Olive oil

 

1 can cannelini beans, drained and rinsed

3 tablespoons nutritional yeast

1/2 cup vegetable broth

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon capers

1 tablespoon fresh minced basil, parsley, or chives

Directions:

 

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Place the cauliflower on a cutting board, cored side down and cut it into 1/2-inch slices, as if you were cutting a loaf of bread.

 

Arrange the cauliflower slices on a lightly oiled baking pan and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Drizzle with a little olive oil and roast until tender and nicely browned, about 30 minutes, turning once with a large metal spatula about halfway through. Add tomatoes at the halfway point.

 

 Meanwhile, in a high-speed blender or food processor, combine the white beans, wine, broth, lemon juice, garlic powder, salt, and cayenne and blend until smooth.   

 

To serve, arrange the roasted cauliflower and tomatoes on a plate, spoon the sauce on top and then sprinkle with capers and basil. 

Panzanella salad

Panzanella salads are one of my top 5 favorite spring/summer foods. I have been feeling a bit cheated by the tantalizing taste of spring we had the other week. 70-80 degree sunshine followed by 40 degree rain is a bit depressing. So to cheer myself up, I whipped up this summer special a little early. Serve with a glass of rose to really get in the springtime spirit!


Ingredients:

1 box cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 loaf of stale country bread (a baguette would also work here), torn into bite size pieces
1 green pepper, cut into small 1/2 inch pieces
1 English cucumber, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 tsp salt
2 teaspoons herbs de province
1/3 cup of good olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Salt & pepper

Directions:

Add vegetables and bread to a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the olive oil, herbs de Provence, vinegar, and salt. Toss vegetables with dressing and salt and pepper to taste. Let sit for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavors to meld before eating.


*Note: While most recipes call for garlic and basil in panzanella salads, I like to skip the garlic and add a bit of herbs de Provence to make the dish a bit more simple and pure. Using really good ingredients and olive oil is important though, since those flavors really take the spotlight!