Potato, Leek and Fennel Soup

Another one the whole family liked!

1 bulb fennel, chopped
4-5 stalks celery, chopped
3 medium leeks, white and light green parts, chopped, rinsed and drained well
1 pound small red potatoes, diced
4 cups vegetable broth
4 oz. firm tofu
1/2 cup unsweetened plain soymilk

Saute the celery, fennel and leeks until soft and lightly browned. Add potatoes and broth, bring to a boil, and simmer until potatoes are tender. Use a stick blender or food processor to puree the soup until smooth. Puree the tofu and soymilk together in a blender until smooth, then stir into soup.

Really Easy Lentil Soup

I get a lot of people asking what I eat, so I'm going to try to post more often, even the mundane (though tasty!) stuff like tonight's soup.

Chop/cube/dice to your desired size: 1 onion, 1 large yam (light colored flesh, not too sweet), and 4 carrots. Cook in a little olive oil in a soup pot until soft and lightly browned. Add about 1.5 cups rinsed and drained lentils (I used a combination of red and french tonight, but any variety will work) and 6 cups of warm water, bring to a boil then reduce heat, cover, and let simmer until lentils are tender. Remove cover and add a head of broccoli cut into florets (I used a bag of Trader Joe's precut and washed florets) and 5-6 ounces spinach leaves (again with the Trader Joe's pre-washed bag o' spinach), simmer a few more minutes until everything is cooked through. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve as-is or with a dallop of plain yogurt. Simple, fresh, healthy and delicious!

The Best Vegan Lasagna

The Best Vegan Lasagna
Ingredients:

• 20 oz whole grain lasagna noodles

• Filling:

• 1 Tblsp olive oil
• 1 large onion and 1large red bell pepper, finely diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 lb extra firm tofu, crumbled
• 1 eggplant, 3 zucchinis, 2 portabello mushrooms, finely diced
• 1/3 cup Tahini
• 1 Tblsp nutritional yeast
• Pepper and salt, to taste

• Pesto:

• 2 large handfuls basil leaves
• 1 lb. Spinach, steamed
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 cup raw walnuts
• 1 Tblsp lemon juice
• 1 Tblsp minced garlic
• Salt and pepper to taste

• Garnish:

• 1 - 3 heirloom tomatoes, 1/2" slice

Preparation:
1. Boil water in a large pot. Add a drop of olive oil and the noodles. Reduce heat to medium high and cook until pasta is al dente. Rinse in cold water, set aside
2. Sautee veggies in a large pot, beginning with onions, garlic and peppers and adding the rest once the onions and peppers begin to soften. Cook until soft and golden (up to 30 minutes)
3. Reduce heat, add crumbled tofu, cook 5 minutes, stirring. Mix with remaining filling ingredients and set aside
4. Pesto: process all ingredients in a food processor
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
6. Lightly oil the pan. Layer noodles, 1/3 pesto, and ½ filling - twice.
7. Finish with a layer of pasta, then pesto, then garnish with sliced tomatoes
8. Bake until lasagna is thoroughly heated, approximately an hour
9. Cool 10 - 15 minutes before serving

Cheap, yummy and healthy

Here's a simple dish you can put together for just a few bucks. Be sure to take a gander at the rather impressive nutrition information I'm posting after the recipe!


Cauliflower Lentil Curry with Tomato-Cilantro Chutney
Makes 8 servings

1 1/2 cups lentils
3 1/2 cups low sodium vegetable broth
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 1/2 pounds cauliflower florets, chopped into bite size and smaller pieces
2 TBSP olive oil
1 TBSP coriander
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp curry powder
2 large tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cups chopped cilantro

Rinse and drain lentils. Boil vegetable broth in a medium pan, then add lentils. Return to boil, cover, turn down heat and simmer until lentils are tender, about 25 minutes. Meanwhile, saute the onion in the olive oil until tender and beginning to brown, then add spices and stir until fragrant, 1 minute or so. Add cauliflower and cook for a minute or two, then add a splash of water and cover to let steam until cauliflower is tender, not more than 3 minutes or so. Remove from heat, stir in lentils. In a small bowl stir together tomatoes and cilantro. Serve lentils with a small dallop of tomato-cilantro chutney.

200 calories per serving, 80% of your vitamin C RDA, 60% fiber RDA, 20% iron RDA, 10% vitamin A RDA, 4 grams of fat (all unsaturated) and 13 grams of protein

Broken Arm Bread

This bread owes it's name to the event that led to its inception. My daughter broke her arm falling off the monkey bars, and being confined to the house nursing her I had time to come up with new recipes. As always, simple is best. I used the herbs I had on hand in my garden, and I imagine this bread would be good with any number of herb combinations.

Broken Arm Bread

2 cups luke warm water
1 TBSP active dry yeast
1 tsp sea salt
1/3 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil
fresh herbs by the handful - I used a generous handful each of basil, rosemary, dill, parsley and sage, but use what you have on hand. Pulse in a food processor or mince by hand.
12-20 pitted kalamata olives (depending on how olive-y you want the bread to taste), chopped
4 TBSP wheat gluten (optional)
4-5 cups whole wheat flour

Dissolve yeast in water in a large bowl. Whisk in salt, olive oil, herbs, olives and gluten. Add 3 cups of flour and stir with a spoon until a wet dough forms. Sprinkle 1/2 cup flour on kneading surface and turn dough out of bowl onto floured surface. Sprinkle 1/2 cup flour on top of dough and knead until flour is absorbed. Add more flour if/as needed until dough stops sticking to kneading surface. Your total flour should be somewhere between 4 and 5 cups. Place dough ball in oiled bowl and cover with a cloth. Place in a warm spot and let rise for about an hour, until it's doubled in size and doesn't spring back when indented. Punch down and knead a few times, then form into a round loaf and place on a baking stone or inverted cookie sheet sprinkled with cornmeal. Place in oven and allow to rise another hour or so, then turn oven on to 375 and bake for 1 hour. Serve with butter or olive oil for dipping, or use for savory sandwiches!

Veggie Bean Burgers

I was happy with how these turned out. This recipe makes a lot of burgers, so you'll have leftovers for lunch the next day.

1 onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
4 stalks celery, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 can black beans, drained
1 can navy beans, drained
1 TBSP ground coriander
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
2-3 TBSP hummus
1 cup rolled oats
4 - 6 slices day old bread, pulsed in food processor to crumbs

Sautee onion through garlic until softened. Add onion mixture to food processor with beans, coriander, yeast, hummus, oats and half the bread crumbs. Pulse until well mixed. Place the rest of the bread crumbs in a shallow bowl. Form bean mixture into patties, dredge in bread crumbs and brown in a pan coated with cooking spray or a light coating of olive oil. Serve as you would any other burger. Makes 8-10 burgers.

Mediterranean Vegetable Bean Stew

I didn't know what to make for dinner tonight so I gathered up what I had lying around: carrots, leeks, red bells, canned canellini beans, artichoke hearts and tomatoes, and zucchini. Add a little garlic and Greek herb mix and voila!

Mediterranean Vegetable Bean Stew!
Olive oil
3 large or 6 small leeks, chopped and rinsed well
3-4 carrots, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
4 zucchini, diced
1 can artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans canellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 can diced tomatoes with liquid
1 T Greek herb mix

In large pot over medium heat, combine olive oil, leeks, carrots and red bells. Saute until softened. Add zucchini, artichoke hearts and garlic, continue cooking until lightly browned. Add beans, tomatoes and herb mix, stir, cover and simmer 10 minutes or so until cooked through. Serve with quinoa and freshly ground sea salt and pepper.