This week's menu

I recently shared my recipe for Roasted Red Pepper Coulis with a student and since it came out so delicious, I decided to make it for a client this week.  It's probably one of the easiest sauces to make, and yet the flavor is so rich and decadent.  It goes nicely with Cumin Spiced Quinoa and Black Bean Stuffed Baked Zucchini Boats, which is how I served it this week.

The second meal was Cornmeal Crusted Tofu Cutlets with Quinoa and Broccoli with Cauliflower Cream.  I had been wondering what to make with cauliflower since it's in season right now, and remembered this luscious sauce (I guess I must be feeling pretty saucy this week!).  The cauliflower is cooked until fork tender, then pureed with nutritional yeast, miso, rice milk, and a little olive oil and sea salt.  You'd never know it's as healthy as it is.

The third entree was Curried Chickpea and Cashew Quinoa Pilaf with Stringbean Amandine.  The quinoa pilaf is modified from a recipe that called for couscous, but since I can't eat wheat I substituted the quinoa, which I think tastes even better.  There is kind of a sweet-spicy-savory-flavor combo with a nice balance of natural sweetness from raisins and spice from curry powder, cinnamon and turmeric. Perfectly sublime.

Pan-fried Tempeh with Pumpkin Seed Pesto, Mashed Potatoes and Sunchokes, and Brussels Sprouts

I found a nifty little vegetable in the produce section of my favorite independent grocery store and decided to try an experiment for dinner the other night.  The sunchoke, or Jerusalem artichoke, is the tuber from a perennial sunflower that grows wild in woodlands and blooms at the end of the summer.  This is also the time of year that the tuber can be harvested, which is why it was in my grocer's refrigerated section. 

It looks kinda like a gnarled hand of ginger, which is also a tuber, but its taste is mild, like a slightly sweet potato, which is why I decided to try boiling and mashing it with a potato.  This was going to be my entire meal (yeah, that's how creative I am when it comes to cooking for myself), until I found a handful of Brussles sprouts in the refrigerator that needed to be eaten lest they turn to compost.  I decided to complete the meal with some pan-fried tempeh and top it all off with pumpkin seed pesto I had left from a demonstration I had done a couple days before.  Like magic, this meal came together perfectly.

Start by pan-frying the tempeh.  I like LightLife garden veggie tempeh best, which I cut into 8 thin rectangles.  I heated a little olive oil in a nonstick pan, then added the tempeh and a generous sprinkle of sea salt and fresh black pepper.  After a couple minutes of sizzling, I flipped the tempeh over and let it brown on the other side. 

While this was cooking, I mashed my cooked russet potato and sunchokes with about a tablespoon of Earth Balance margarine, some rice milk, and sea salt.  I always leave the skins on the potatoes for added fiber and texture, and since these were organic, I didn't have to worry about any pesticide residue. 

The meal looked lovely on the plate and tasted even better as all the flavors complemented each other nicely.

Easiest Soup Ever

Whenever it's rainy outside, I seek comfort in a bowl of soup.  In this case it was red lentil dal for lunch.  This is such an easy process that you probably don't even need a recipe, but here it goes:

Place about a cup of rinsed red lentils in a soup pot with a 1-inch cube of fresh ginger, about a teaspoon of turmeric, and 3 cups of water.  Cover, bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer about 15 minutes.  When lentils have softened, remove ginger and stir in about a 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt, squeeze of lemon, and a giant handful of fresh cilantro.  Add water if you like the soup thinner.  That's it.  Done.  And even though it's about zero calories, it's surprisingly filling and satisfying. 

Gluten-free Vegan Apple Cake

It's the season for apples and this is the time of year when I crave my grandma's Lithuanian Apple Cake, which was a staple of childhood.  It was moist, sweet and brown sugary, with a hint of crispness to the crust.  Nothing fancy, but somehow oh so good. 

Since I can't eat wheat for health reasons, it was my mission to create not only a vegan version of this cake, but also one that was gluten-free.  I never had my grandma's original recipe (she never wrote these things down either!), so I've had to work from memory.  I've tweaked it over the years and recently came up with a recipe that harkens back to the original, but that is much healthier.

I used about 8 Macoun apples, but if you like things a little tarter you can use Granny Smith (which I often do, as a tribute to my grandma). They cook down significantly, so don't let the minimal batter worry you when you mix them in. The cake cooks up nice and brown, then gets moist as it cools, and even glistens the next day as if it's loaded with oil even though it's not. I made the recipe as two 8x8 square cakes, but you can also do it in a 9x13 pan.

As difficult as it will be, you must resist the temptation to cut into the cake before it has cooled completely. I couldn't wait and ended up with a heaping pile of crumbled cake on my plate (still delicious, nonetheless). When I cut a piece the next day it held together nicely.

It is moist, but with perfect crumb. You will really think you're eating something decadent after the first bite. I hope this becomes a fall favorite in your family!

For more delicious autumnal apple desserts, take a look at my post on how to make Apple Cider Donut Muffins.

Grandma’s Lithuanian Apple Cake (gluten-free vegan version)
1 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour (Red Mill)
1 cup brown rice flour
½ tsp xantham gum
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp sea salt
1 ½ cups Sucanat
3 Tbl ground flax seeds, plus 1/3 cup water
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1/4 cup apple sauce
½ cup apple cider
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups sliced apples (about 6-8)
½ cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, sift together flour, xantham gum, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together Sucanat, flax seed mixture, coconut oil, cider and vanilla. Combine wet and dry ingredients and stir until smooth. Stir in apples and walnuts. Spread batter into oiled 9x13 pan and bake 40-50 minutes (or two 8”x8” pans baked at 25-30 minutes), or until edges are lightly browned and toothpick comes out clean. Let cook, then top with powdered sugar.


Lentil Redux

There's no need to be boring and predictable if you're vegan.  Sometimes it just requires a little creativity and planning ahead.  Take lentils, for example.  Yes, plain old ordinary and often maligned brown lentils, a staple of vegetarian cookery.  "Hippie food," if you will.

Moroccan Spiced Lentils with Raisins, Cumin and Cinnamon and

Brown Basmati Rice garnished with Fresh Cilantro

On Sunday I made a great big pot of lentils with butternut squash and collard greens from my garden.  I've been enjoying this lovely concoction through the week in various incarnations.  Yesterday it was Moroccan Spiced Lentils with Raisins, Cumin and Cinnamon and Basmati Rice granished with Fresh Cilantro.  The trick here was that just before serving I melted about a teaspoon of coconut oil on top for extra richness. 

For lunch today I'm planning Curried Lentils, perhaps with some Grean Beans Mallum on the side.  Tonight I think I'll mix the lentils with tomato sauce and toss them with pasta.  And if there's anything left tomorrow, it'll be lentil burgers on gluten-free bread for lunch because I have a tomato in my garden that will be perfectly ripe by then and would go nicely on top with a few fresh basil leaves. 

Any other ideas for what to do with a pot of lentils?

Cobbler in a Cup

This weekend I tested a recipe for a Gluten-free Peach Cobbler, which came out good (how can anything made with fresh, ripe peaches not be good?), but it was more slump-like and cakey than cobblery, so I've been craving something more authentic ever since.  I didn't want to bake another whole pan of cobbler (or eat that much, which I easily could), and I only had one peach, yet I still wanted to satisfy that craving.

So I decided to try a trick another food blogger used recently for making single-serve chocolate cake in a cup:  use the microwave.  This was something new, and I figured if it didn't work I could just dump out the gooey mess and at least try to salvage the peaches.  To my great joy, the entire thing was not only edible, but incredible!

I started by slicing that lovely peach into eighths, then I sprinkled it with a little bit of Florida Crystals and cinnamon.  I mixed the batter in a separate little cereal bowl.  Because I made it gluten-free, I used 1 tablespoon of rice flour and 1 tablespoon of all-purpose gluten-free flour (but you can just use 2 tablespoons of regular unbleached white flour if you don't have to worry about gluten), 1 tablespoon of Florida Crystals, 1/4 tsp baking powder, pinch of sea salt mixed together with 1 teaspoon of melted coconut oil.  Stir in 1 tablespoon vanilla soy milk until thick dough forms.

Drop dough on top of peach mixture. It won't look too pretty at this point, but trust me, you will be amazed.  Microwave your mug of peaches and dough for 3-4 minutes, until peaches shrink, and the dough becomes cakey.  It will start to smell just like a peach cobbler is baking in your kitchen!

And there you have it:  fresh "baked" peach cobbler in less than ten minutes.  (And gone in under 5!)

Curried Butternut Squash, Spinach, and Chickpea Soup

This soup was created with my motto "everything tastes better with curry" in mind.  I had about half of a container of Imagine Butternut Squash Soup left today from making Butternut Risotto for a client (yummm), half a bag of spinach, and half a can of chickpeas.  Since I knew spinach and chickpeas go together nicely, and I've used canned pumpkin in curry, I figured this soup idea wouldn't be much of a stretch. 

Oh, yeah, I also had about 6 Brussels Sprouts, which I halved and sauteed in olive oil first.  Then I tossed in the spinach and let it cook until wilted.  I sprinkled the veggies with about a teaspoon of curry powder, half a teaspoon of turmeric, and some sea salt and let it cook just a few seconds more until the lovely fragrance permeated the air.  I deglazed with about a tablespoon of Thai Kitchen organic coconut milk, about a cup of the butternut squash soup, and half a cup of water.  I let this simmer for a couple minutes, then served it topped with chopped green onion and a handful of fresh cilantro.  Supper couldn't be any easier or more satisfying on a cloudy and gray day like today. Even though it filled me up, two steaming bowls just weren't enough!

Summer Squash with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

I've been loving this roasted red pepper sauce, serving it recently on baked tofu and with black bean and brown rice stuffed zucchini.  For lunch today I tried it with a simple saute of zucchini and yellow squash. 

It worked really nicely all tossed together on top of a mix of quinoa and brown basmati rice.  With an extra little drizzle of olive oil at the end, it picked up a rich, glossy texture as well.  I'll definitely be making this as a side dish more often. 

Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

12 oz. roasted red peppers

2 Tbl olive oil

1 Tbl red wine vinegar

¼ tsp cumin

1/4 tsp paprika

¼ tsp sea salt

pinch cayenne pepper
1-2 Tbl water

Puree together ingredients in a blender until smooth sauce forms, adding water if necessary.

This Week's Menu

There's a proliferation of stringbeans in the garden right now, and so I decided to feature them in a few of this week's entrees.  We've also had a change in weather, with cooler nights followed by warm, breezy days.  This makes me want to incorporate some of the late summer/early fall vegetables like butternut squash, corn, and Brussels Sprouts into a few recipes.

One meal I made was Three Sisters Stew on Baked Polenta.  The "three sisters" refers to corn, beans, and squash, which are companion plants that grow in perfect harmony:  the tall corn stalks serve as a trellis for the climbing bean vines, and their feet get shaded by the squash which grows along the ground.  This stew was made with tomatoes as a base and a little sprinkle of cumin and oregano which add a lovely savory quality that perfectly balances the sweetness of the squash.

Meal #2 was Baked Tofu with Harissa, Mashed Potatoes and Brussels Sprouts Amandine.  I love this Harissa sauce, which is made with roasted red peppers, paprika, red wine vinegar, olive oil and a pinch of salt.  You can add some cayenne, too, if you like things spicy, but I just enjoy that rich roasted red pepper taste.  It's amazing how such simple ingredients can have such a depth of flavor.  

The third meal for the week is my favorite:  Red Lentil, Corn and Millet Croquettes with Stringbeans and Cilantro Curry.  The little croquettes are seasoned with coriander, a light lemony contrast that balances well with the spicy green curry. 

I liked this so much that I made a version for myself for lunch the next day.  You can make the curry by combining cilantro, ginger, coconut milk, curry powder, turmeric, and sea salt in a food processor if you want it chunky, or in a blender if you want it smooth.  I made it smooth for lunch and the sauce developed a deep emerald green color.  Sprinkle the top with some shredded coconut for some added crunch and a pretty snowy contrast to the green mound on top of the hill.

Baby Spinach, Cherry Tomato and Avocado Gremolata

Today I picked about a handful of cherry tomatoes from my garden, plus I had half a pint from the store, and a bag of baby spinach that needed to be eaten, so I decided to combine them to make this yummy and simple salad for lunch.  The avocado was a bonus, and I needed the extra calories to get me through the afternoon.

The gremolata is made with fresh lemon zest, lemon juice, and a bunch of parsley chopped up really fine.  I decided to add some tahini for body and tamari for flavor, and they all seemed perfectly happy blended together in a bowl. 

 

Simply stir everything together to make a thick dressing, then toss with your drained spinach and tomatoes.  

Slice half an avocado and lay over the top.  Garnish with plenty of fresh cracked pepper. Simple, beautiful, and delicious!