Polenta-Stuffed Poblano Peppers

I, for one, am happy to see asparagus back in the super market produce selection. Thank you California! The best place to buy asparagus is from your local farmer's market, however, it is not quite time in Colorado to be picking asparagus as there are still inches of unmelted snow covering our land. I am looking forward to April and May when we get the freshest, local asparagus. Did you know that asparagus is a member of the lily family? It is also a natural diuretic and loaded with a myriad of vitamins and minerals such as Vitamin C and K, folate and potassium. Folate...that sounds familiar. Oh yeah, folate, the B vitamin that naturally occurs in food that doctors are always telling pregnant women they need a supplement for (which is actually folic acid). Rest assured, folate is a naturally occurring vitamin in leafy green vegetables (go figure, right?), fruits (especially citrus fruits), and dried beans and peas. In fact, the folate in prenatal vitamins is actually folic acid, a synthetic form of folate...so you are not actually getting folate in those prenatals, you are getting a denatured form of folate. Best to get your nutrients from whole foods...real, living, food. Educate, educate, educate yourself about the best forms of food to put into your body. It if comes in a box, plastic, has more than 5 ingredients in it or comes in a pill form, put it back on the shelf!

Red Chili Sauce
Makes about 3 1/2 cups
Total Time: 25 minutes

3-4 ounces dried Chile de Arbol chiles (come in a pkg in the mexican food aisle) or other dried chiles
2 tbsp peanut or vegetable oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp cumin
1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes
2 cups vegetable broth (or 1/2 broth and 1/2 water if your broth is strongly flavored like Pacific)


In a large sauce pan or a kettle bring 1 quart of water to boil. Have ready a medium sized glass or metal heat-resistant bowl.

Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat. While skilled is heating slice open dried chiles, remove stems and seeds and open chilies so that they can be easily flattened when pressed with a spatula. Place chilies in heated skillet, pressing and stirring frequently to toast, a little less than a minute. Watch carefully to prevent chilies from burning. Remove skillet from heat and place chilies in a heat resistant bowl. Pour boiling water over chilies and set aside for 10 minutes, allowing chilies to soften. Drain water from chilies.

In a large sauce pan combine oil and onion and cook over medium heat until onion is translucent about 5-7 minutes. Add chopped garlic and stir frequently until sizzling and fragrant for about 1 minute. Stir in oregano and cumin, then pour in softened chilies, tomato sauce and vegetable stock. Either use an immersion blender or pour into a blender jar and puree mixture to create a smooth sauce. Return to the sauce pan if the blender jar is used.

Bring pureed mixture to a simmer over medium heat and stir frequently, about 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt. Set aside.


Polenta-Stuffed Poblano Peppers
Serves 4
Total Time: 35 minutes

4 poblano peppers, halved lengthwise and seeded
1/2 cup instant polenta (non-instant will work just as well)
1/2 package of frozen or fresh corn
1/2 cup black beans
1/4 cup Daiya cheese (optional)
4 scallions, sliced

Heat broiler. On a rimmed broiler-proof baking sheet, place the pappers cut-side down. Broil until tender and charred, turning the peppers halfway through, 5 to 8 minutes.Spread half the chili sauce in a 9-by-13 inch baking dish. Arrange the peppers in the dish, cut-side up.

In a medium saucepan, bring 2 1/4 cups water to a boil. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt. Gradually whisk in the polenta. Cook, whisking constantly, until thickened, 3 to 4 minutes (if you are using non-instant polenta, this will take about a half hour so account for time while preparing other parts of the dish). Stir in the corn, black beans, cheese, and all but 2 tablespoons of the scallions.

Divide the polenta among the peppers. Top with the remaining sauce and bake until heated through, 5 to 10 minutes. Sprinkle with the remaining scallions before serving.

Chili with Jalapeno Cornbread

"Really? You are posting a chili recipe? Everyone knows how to make chili!" Ok, that is enough from the peanut gallery. Yes, I know, chili, how boring-it is like posting a salad. This, however, is what we had for dinner tonight, and my goal is to post all dinners made sans repeats. So, a chili recipe it is! And what is so wrong with trying new ways to make chili anyway...sheesh!

Chili
Serves 2-3
Total Time: 2 hours, almost all of it inactive

1 15 ounce can Muir Glen diced tomatoes
1 15 ounce can Tri-Bean Blend, drained and rinsed
1 can Rotel Original
1 cup Spicy V8
1 1/4 tsp dark chili powder
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp olive oil
1/4 cup onion, finely diced
1/4 cup red bell pepper, finely diced
1 small jalapeno, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced

Put first set of ingredients in a crock pot on low temp setting. Heat oil in a small pan over medium heat. Add all ingredients and saute for 4-5 minutes until tender. Add to crock pot. Cover with lid and cook approximately 2 hours.

Serve with homemade cornbread muffins. I bought a package of Bob's Red Mill Cornbread Mix, nixed the eggs using egg replacer, and added jalapeno and corn. It is delicious with butter and agave.

Buffalo Tofu with Chipotle Coleslaw

I adapted this recipe from one of my favorite veggie restaurants in Denver. This is Shannon and my  best friend, Melissa's, favorite sandwich to get at the restaurant. Crispy breaded tofu covered in classic buffalo sauce on a locally made bun with chipotle coleslaw equals heaven. Seriously, this sandwich is amazing!

Chipotle Coleslaw

Serves 3-4

2 cups purple cabbage, thinly sliced

2 cups green cabbage, thinly sliced

3/4 cup to 1 cup Vegenaise (depending on how mayonnaise-y you like your slaw)

1-2 tbsp dried chipotle powder (more or less for spiciness)

a pinch of sea salt

Mix all ingredients together. Cover and refrigerate while preparing tofu. This gives your slaw time to mellow and increase in deliciousness.

Buffalo Tofu
Serves 3-4
Total Time: 30 minutes + time to marinate

Oil, butter or cooking spray (whatever your preferred fat is)
1 tub extra-firm tofu, drained and pressed
1/2 cup buffalo sauce or Frank's Red Hot Sauce
1/2 cup extra fine breadcrumbs

Slice tofu lengthwise into 3 or 4 slabs. Marinate tofu in buffalo sauce for 30 minutes (this is to enhance the buffalo flavor. If you do not have this kind of time, just dip the tofu in the sauce. In a medium frying pan on medium heat, heat oil or butter. Add tofu slices and fry on each side for approximately 3-5 minutes. Remove tofu from pan and dredge in breadcrumbs. Add a little more butter or oil to pan, return tofu to pan, increasing heat to medium-high. Fry tofu on both sides for approximately 10 minutes until crispy and golden brown. Turn heat off. Gently pour remaining sauce/marinade over tofu slices. Place on a lightly toasted bun and top with chipotle coleslaw. We like to eat the coleslaw as a side, too!

Serve with carrot and celery sticks with homemade ranch dressing and a green salad...and extra napkins! YUM!

Sloppy Joe's

Sloppy Joe's are definitely on my top ten list of favorite meals. I never liked Sloppy Joe's before I became vegan. I guess a bun full of ground meat and ketchup just was not appealing to me. Enter Boca Crumbles and homemade Sloppy Joe sauce. Guaranteed this sammich will win over even the staunchest carnivore. Just do not tell them it is vegan until after they have devoured the entire thing and have sauce dripping down their chins.

Sloppy Joe's
Serves 4
Total Time: 30 minutes

2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1/2 red or green bell pepper, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups Boca Crumbles

3 tbsp chile powder

1 tbsp oregano

1 tsp yellow mustard powder

8 ounces tomato sauce

2-3 tbsp maple syrup
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add onion and bell pepper and saute for about 5-7 minutes. Add garlic and saute another 30 seconds. Add crumbles and cook for approximately 7-10 minutes. Mix in chile powder, oregano and mustard powder. Add tomato sauce and mix until incorporated. Lower heat to medium-low and cook for 10 minutes. Add maple syrup, salt and pepper to taste and serve.

I like to top mine with avocado slices. Serve with a green salad.

Mushroom Reubens

These used to be a mainstay at our house until we laid off of mushrooms for awhile. These are so rich in flavor and delicous. From the sauerkraut to the homemade thousand island to the marianted mushrooms, this is a sandwich you will not be able to put down until the last bite is gone! This is one messy sandwich so make sure you have plenty of napkins. We could each barely finish our whole sandwich-we usually split one, but we thought we could each eat our own...we were wrong!

Reubens
Serves 2
Total Time: 30 minutes

1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, thinly sliced
6 oz button mushrooms, sliced
1 portobello mushroom, gills removed
1/2 cup sauerkraut
4 slices rye bread

Heat oil in a medium size skillet over medium heat. Add onions and saute until translucent and fragrant. Add mushrooms and sprinkle with a little salt. Let the mushrooms cook down and brown, approximately 7-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, cover the portobello mushroom in a marinade (I use a little balsamic vinegar, soy sauce and spices) and bake it or saute it for about 10 minutes until it is soft. I just put mine in a toaster oven on bake at 350 for about 10 minutes. Remove and cut into a large dices.

Divide the sauerkraut between two pieces of bread. Place all 4 slices of bread in the toaster oven and toast for about 7 minutes until bread is slightly brown.

Thousand Island
Makes enough for 2 sammiches

3/4 cup Vegenaise

3 tbsp ketchup

2 dill pickles, roughly chopped

Mix all of the ingredients together. Spread evenly between the two sammiches. Top with the mushroom mixture and serve.

We served our reubens with Veganomicon's Brooklyn Deli Macaroni Salad.

Moussaka

The first time I had ever heard of Moussaka was in the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding where she was talking about being a swarthy 8 year old and bringing weird food to school. A girl asked her what she was eating and she said "moussaka." The girl then replied "moose-caca? hahahaha!" Oh kids...I remember being silly like that. Where did my innocence go? This was last night's dinner-Veganomicon's Moussaka. I never quite follow recipes to the T and it always works out in my favor. This dish calls for bread crumbs and an extra layer of veggies which I did not have. Weird because I bought the exact amounts of veggies the recipe called for. I marked in my book that I actually need double in order to make it two layers. There is something about opening my cookbooks and seeing food splatters and crossed out measurements with my own next to them. I dig it.

Again, I do not think I can post the recipe without the authors' permission, but I am sure you can find it online somewhere. Try www.theppk.com.

Spicy Peanut Noodles with Marinated Cucumbers, Bok Choy & Edamame

I love this dinner: spicy peanut noodles, marinated cucumbers, edamame and bok choy. Yum! It is nice and light, which I love. My favorite are the cucumbers-they are just so crisp and yummy and somehow taste amazing with tamari, rice wine vinegar and dark sesame oil.



Spicy Peanut Noodles
Serves 2-4

1/2 package of pasta

3/4 cup all natural peanut butter
1/4 cup tamari or soy sauce
3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp peanut oil
2 tbsp hot chili oil + 1 tbsp of the red pepper flakes at the bottom
1/4 tsp dark sesame oil

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, mix remaining ingredients together in a mixing bowl. When pasta is done, drain and add to peanut sauce.


Marinated Cucumbers
Serves 2-4

1 english cucumber, skin-on, scrubbed, cut into half moons or quarters
1/4 cup tamari or soy sauce
3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
a few dashes of dark sesame oil
black or white sesame seeds for garnish

Lay out cucumber pieces on a large, flat serving dish. In a small bowl, mix together soy sauce, vinegar and sesame oil. Pour over cucumbers. Garnish with sesame seeds.

Bok Choy
Serves 2-4

1 tsp peanut oil
1 clove garlic, minced
4 baby bok choy, ends trimmed
3 tbsp water or vegetable broth
2-3 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
sesame seeds for garnish

Heat peanut oil in a medium skillet over medium-low heat. Add garlic and saute 30 seconds until fragrant. Add bok choy leaves and water or vegetable broth. Cover and steam until wilted approximately 3-4 minutes. Add soy sauce, sprinkle with sesame seeds, serve.

Baja-Style Tempeh Tacos

We had our friends over for dinner this weekend, and I made Veganomicon's Baja-Style Tempeh Tacos. They are essentially the vegan take on fish tacos. The tempeh is marinated in a chile-beer marinade, then grilled and served on white corn tortillas with cilantro sour cream and slaw. They were pretty delicious. I am not sure if I can post the recipe online without the authors' permission, so if you are interested in the recipe you can get it here: http://www.theppk.com/books/veganomicon-the-ultimate-vegan-cookbook/

It is money well spent! I am sure you can find the recipe online somewhere. In fact, while I was trying to find pictures of this dish (there is not one in the cookbook), I came across a site that posted the recipe.

Sauteed Squashes and Garbanzo Beans with Herbed Couscous

This is one of my favorite dishes to make for lunch. It takes 15 minutes, is light, healthy and full of nutrition.

Sauteed Veggies

Serves 1

1/2 medium zucchini, cut into half moons

1/2 medium squash, cut into half moons

a few thin slices of onion

1/2 cup garbanzo beans aka chickpeas

1/4 tsp dried thyme

1/4 tsp dried basil

1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 clove garlic, minced

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and saute about 3 minutes. Add the zucchini and squash; sprinkle with a little salt and saute, tossing often, until just tender about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the chickpeas, garlic, and spices and cook until heated through, 2 to 3 minutes. Serve over herbed couscous.

Herbed Couscous

Serves 1

Cook 1 serving of couscous according to package directions. Before serving, sprinkle in a little thyme, basil and butter. Fluff. 

Pizza Pot Pies

Mmm, pizza in a pot pie, yum! I started making these a few years ago when I saw a show Giada de Laurentiis did. All the veggies and sauce are packed inside and covered with a delicious piece of crust, it just doesn't get any better than that. It is especially delicious served with a side of homemade ranch and Caesar salad. Throw in any veggies, meat and/or cheese substitutes that you like on a regular old pizza and voila, you have a pizza pot pie.

Pizza Pot Pie
Serves 3-4
Special Equipment: 3-4 ramekins or pot pie tins
Total Time: 1 hour, half of it inactive

1 recipe Pizza Dough
1 recipe Marinara Sauce

1 cup broccoli florets
1 cup red bell pepper, diced
3/4 cup onion, diced
3/4 cup olives, sliced
1/2 cup pineapple

Place veggies and pineapple in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.  

Marinara Sauce
Makes about 5 cups

Total Time: 15-20 minutes

2 tbsp olive oil (I love olive oil, but if you want to cut the fat, use less)
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 28-oz can Muir Glen Organic Crushed Tomatoes with Basil
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt (plus another small pinch or so to taste)

Preheat saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the oil and garlic, and saute for about a minute, until fragrant, being careful not to let it burn. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. When marinara sauce is ready, add about two cups of the sauce to the veggie mixture and mix well. Add more sauce if you like it saucier. Fill the ramekins with the mixture. Set aside.

Dough

Total Time: 10 minutes

1 package active dry yeast (2 teaspoons)
1 cup warm water (105° to 115°, no more)
3 cups all-purpose or bread flour or whole wheat flour or a mixture of any or all of them
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus a little for coating

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.


Dissolve the yeast in the warm water and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt; sift together. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the olive oil and yeast mixture into it. Stir until it begins to form a ball, then turn it out onto a clean, floured surface and knead for about 4 or 5 minutes. Your pizza dough should be a smooth, elastic ball. 

From here you can, lightly oil the ball and the inside of a large glass bowl. Place the dough in the bowl, cover, and let it rise in a warm place until doubled, about an hour. For better crust, punch down the dough, reshape into a ball and let it rise again. You can refrigerate or freeze the dough at this point.
Or you can divide the dough into 4 equal portions. Roll out the pizza dough and cut circles with a pairing knife that are 1-inch wider in diameter than the ramekins. Place the circles of dough over the filled ramekins and press down to seal, making sure to pull the dough over the edge of the ramekin. Brush the top of the pizza dough with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Cut a small slit in the top of the pizza dough with a pairing knife. Bake until the pizza crust is golden, about 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly before serving.

Sweet and Sour Tofu

Ever since I came across Lauren Ulm's VeganYumYum blog years ago, I have been making this sweet and sour dish. I used to love sweet and sour chicken when I was a kid. Although, I never really liked the chicken and would only eat the breading around the edges leaving the chicken in the middle intact. Even as a kid I never really like meat...or dairy. Just ask my mom. She used to make me sit at the kitchen table until I finished drinking my milk. Guess who won that battle? Me. I would sit there all night if that is what it took to not have to drink that nasty glass of milk. Yuck! She still tells this story to this day. And it is still entertaining to anyone who listens because they all say they can see me sitting at that table, arms folded, silently biding my time.

Anyhow, back to dinner! I just love this meal. I think it is really the pineapple that I love the most. Shannon loves the tofu and exclaimed tonight that this is her favorite meal. I think I have said this before: she says this about every meal! It never gets old, though. I think it is sweet that she loves my cooking so much. This recipe comes straight from VeganYumYum with some adaptations.

Choose whatever vegetables you have on hand or like with stir-fry, they will work in this dish just fine. I used carrots, celery, onion, red pepper and pineapple. Stir-fry in a wok for a few minutes on high heat and mix in with the tofu and sauce.

Crispy Sweet and Sour Tofu
Serves Two

1 Tub Extra Firm Tofu, pressed
2 tsp Ener-g Egg Replacer + 4 tsp water, mixed
1/4 Cup Cornstarch
1/4 Cup Peanut or Canola Oil (or you can dry fry to nix some of the fat)

Sauce
3 1/2 Tbs Seasoned Rice Vinegar
1/4 Cup Water
3 tsp Sugar
1 Tbs Tamari
1 Tbs Ketchup
1 tsp Molasses
1/4 tsp Ginger Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1 1/2 Tbs Cornstarch + 2 Tbs water

Slice the tofu into triangles or small cubes. Smaller = better for this recipe, since smaller pieces won’t have a tendency to break when you toss them, and they have a bigger surface area to volume ratio (read: they’ll be crispier).

Toss tofu with the egg replacer/water mixture until coated. Then toss in cornstarch until each piece is coated and dry, adding more cornstarch if needed.

Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet or wok. 

While oil is heating, mix sauce ingredients except for the cornstarch/water into a small sauce pan and whisk over medium heat until sugar and salt is dissolved. Add cornstarch mixture and whisk until the sauce thickens. If you leave the sauce unattended now it will thicken and burn, so keep an eye on it. When thick, turn off heat and set aside.The sauce thickens extremely quickly after adding the cornstarch mixture.

Place tofu in the hot oil, being careful not to burn yourself. You don’t want the tofu to be crowded or the pieces will stick to each other, so fry it in batches if needed. Fry for 3-5 minutes until golden on the bottom, then gently turn and brown the other side.

Drain tofu from oil (in the sink like you’d drain pasta, being very careful), and place tofu in a large bowl. Pour sauce on top and gently toss to completely coat. Sauce should be thick and sticky – it shouldn’t pool at the bottom of the bowl.

Spicy Chik'n Salad with Avocado Ranch

Maybe you are wondering to yourself, "Self, why is she posting a salad?" Well, note to self, this is no ordinary salad. This is a fill-you-up, cannot-stop-thinking-about-how-good-that-was salad. You may even want to have a repeat of it later in the week, who knows! It it just that good. Boca recently veganized all of their Chik'n products. Yay Boca!

Spicy Chik'n Salad
Serves 1 as an entree or 3-4 as a side salad

1 Boca Spicy Chik'n Patty
3 cups of mixed greens (I used romaine and field greens)
1 carrot, peeled and sliced
1 rib of celery, sliced
1/4 of an avocado, sliced
Sprouts

Cook Chik'n Patty according to package directions. Assemble salad. Cut patty into slices or dices. Top salad with patty.

Avocado Ranch
Makes 1 cup

1 cup Vegenaise
1/4 of an avocado, mashed
1/2 tsp dried dill
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic salt or 1 clove garlic, minced
Fresh ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients. Use an unsweetened milk substitute to thin out the dressing or serve as is. You will never buy store bought ranch again!

Baked Tofu with Mashed Potatoes and Kale with Carrots

I typically use this meal as a stand-by meal because it can be made from start to finish in about 30-40 minutes, and I usually have most if not all of the ingredients on hand. Super simple and quick to make, delicious, healthy and kid friendly all bundled up into one yummy dinner.


Baked Tofu
Serves 2-4

1 cup breadcrumbs
2 tbsp old bay seasoning
1 tsp egg replacer + 2 tbsp water
1 tub extra firm tofu, drained and pressed, cut into 4 rectangles

Preheat oven or toaster oven to 350 degrees. In a dish, combine breadcrumbs and old bay seasoning, mixing well until incorporated. In a separate dish, mix together egg replacer and water. Dip a piece of tofu into the egg replacer mixture, then into the breadcrumbs, coating the tofu thoroughly. Do this with all four pieces. Bake for 15-20 minutes until lightly browned.

Mashed Potatoes
Serves 3-4

4 medium size red skin potatoes, skin-on, diced
1/4 cup vegetable broth
3 tbsp Earth Balance butter
Salt and pepper to taste

Boil potatoes for 15 minutes or until soft when pierced with a fork. Drain and place back into pot. Add remaining ingredients and mash with a potato masher or mixer.

Gravy
Serves 3-4

3-4 tsp flour
2-3 tsp oil (I used olive oil, but you can use canola or vegetable)

1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup onion, finely minced
1/4 cup celery, finely minced
1/4 cup carrot, finely minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup vegetable broth
1 tsp dried rosemary
Salt and pepper to taste

Create a roux by combining the flour and oil, mixing until it forms a thick paste. Add more oil and/or flour to get the correct consistency.

Heat olive oil in a medium sauce pan over medium-low heat. Add onion, celery and carrot and saute about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add garlic and saute 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add roux to pan and cook until slightly browned. Add vegetable broth and whisk until incorporated. The gravy should begin to thicken. Continue stirring frequently. Add rosemary, salt and pepper. Remove from heat.

Kale and Carrots
Serves 2-4

1 bunch kale, stems removed, roughly chopped
2 carrots, peeled and sliced

Lightly steam kale and carrots for approximately 7-8 minutes. Sprinkle with a little salt or soy sauce.

Veggie Lasagna

I have been having a hankering for pine nut cream sauce. Why, I do not know. It is delicious, like light your taste buds up, delicious. This pine nut cream sauce is usually the topping for Veganomicon's Moussaka, and I thought it would go perfectly with my homemade veggie lasagna. After prepping and tasting everything, I did not think I was going to be hungry enough to eat dinner, but when I bit into that first bite, I was in awe. Wow, what a great flavor combination. The cream sauce literally takes 1 minute to whip up and is well worth buying a $5 bag of pine nuts for.

Veggie Lasagna
Serves 4-8
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

1 recipe marinara sauce
1 recipe tofu ricotta
1 recipe pine nut cream sauce (recipe to follow)
1 box no cook lasagna noodles
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium zucchini, diced
1 medium yellow squash, diced
1/2 yellow onion, diced
3 cups baby spinach, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat your favorite large skillet over medium heat. Add oil and onion. Saute onion for about 7 minutes until fragrant and translucent. Add the zucchini, squash and garlic to the skillet. Saute approximately 3-5 minutes until tender. Add spinach and saute until wilted, approximately 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Marinara Sauce
Makes about 5 cups

2 tbsp olive oil (I love olive oil, but if you want to cut the fat, use less)
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 28-oz can Muir Glen Organic Crushed Tomatoes with Basil
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt (plus another small pinch or so to taste)

Preheat saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the oil and garlic, and saute for about a minute, until fragrant, being careful not to let it burn. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Feel free to cover if you like; I love the smell of it cooking so I never cover mine.

Tofu Ricotta
Makes 3 1/2 cups

1 tub extra-firm tofu, drained and pressed
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
Pinch of coarse salt
Pinch freshly ground black pepper
2 packages fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
2 tsp olive oil (optional)

In a large bowl, mush the tofu up with your hands until it is crumbly. Mush with hands again squeezing through your fingers until it reaches the consistency of ricotta cheese. This will take about 2-5 minutes. Add the lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper, and basil. Mush until all ingredients are mixed. You want it lumpy but cohesive so if it is not sticking together, add a teaspoon of olive oil.

Pine Nut Cream Sauce

Makes about 1 1/2 cups

1 pound soft silken tofu

1/2 cup pine nuts

3 tbsp lemon juice

1 1/4 tsp salt 

1 clove garlic

1 tsp arrowroot powder or potato starch

Pinch of white pepper if you have it, if not black is just fine

In a food processor or blender, blend the pine nuts and lemon juice until pasty in consistency. Add remaining ingredients and blend until creamy smooth.

Bringing it all together:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a 9x9x2 square pan, pour a little bit of marinara sauce to coat the bottom of the pan. Lay two sheets of lasagna down. Scoop a third of the ricotta mixture and spread evenly across the surface of the noodles. Scoop a third of the vegetable mixture and spread evenly across the ricotta mixture. Generously spread a layer of sauce. Add another layer of lasagna noodles. Scoop a third of the ricotta mixture and spread evenly across the surface of the noodles. Scoop a third of the vegetable mixture and spread evenly across the ricotta mixture. Generously spread a layer of sauce. Add another layer of lasagna noodles. Cover with ricotta and vegetable mixture and a layer of sauce. Finally, add one more layer of lasagna noodles. On top of the noodles, pour the pine nut cream sauce. It will be a nice, thick layer of sauce. 

Place pan in oven, uncovered. Cook for 35-40 minutes until the top is lightly browned a few cracks have formed in the topping. Allow to cool 10 minutes before slicing and serving. 

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

If you have never had vegan chocolate chip cookies, you are missing out! I honestly have to say that they are ten times better than regular chocolate chip cookies. It is a little taste of heaven...or 6 or 7 tastes. And you can even eat the raw cookie dough because there are no eggs. This might also come as a shock...are you ready for it...there is NO butter in these cookies. You say, "No butter? Well how can that be? You can't make cookies without butter." And to that I reply, YES YOU CAN! Vegans know how to do it. Especially this one vegan by the name of Isa Chandra Moskowitz, one of my veg heroes. She is amazing and so is the food she creates. I have 3 of her cookbooks...thanks to various family members! Shannon made these the other night and they turned out absolutely perfect. You can even see a bit of her shadow in the picture. Thanks babe! Enough congratulatory talk you say, show us the cookies!

Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes two dozen two inch cookies or about 16 three inch cookies

1/2 brown sugar
1/4 white sugar
2/3 cup canola oil
1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk (or your favorite non-dairy milk)
1 tablespoon tapioca flour
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease two large light metal baking sheets.

Mix together sugars, oil, milk and tapioca flour in a mixing bowl. Use a strong fork and mix really well, for about 2 minutes, until it resembles smooth caramel. There is a chemical reaction when sugar and oil collide, so it’s important that you don’t get lazy about that step. Mix in the vanilla.

Add 1 cup of the flour, the baking soda and salt. Mix until well incorporated. Mix in the rest of the flour. Fold in the chocolate chips. The dough will be a little stuff so use your hands to really work them in.

For 3 inch cookies, roll the dough into about ping pong ball size balls. Flatten them out in your hands to about 2 1/2 inches. They will spread just a bit. Place on a baking sheet and bake for about 8 minutes – no more than 9 – until they are just a little browned around the edges. I usually get 16 out of these so I do two rounds of eight cookies. Let cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.

For 2 dozen two inch cookies roll dough into walnut sized balls and flatten to about 1 1/2 inches and bake for only six minutes.