White Bean and Herb Soup with Garlic Knots

Tarragon is the star of this soup and gives it a light, aromatic taste.  Tarragon has many healing properties and is great for warding off colds.  Additionally, it reduces platelet adhesion and is, therefore, helpful in preventing cardiovascular disease.  Is the "King of Herbs" in French cuisine and is the foundation for Bearnaise sauce among other recipes.

In this recipe, it provides a strong flavor that compliments the white beans and provides a hearty meal.  Combined with the garlic knots you have a great dish for a Sunday afternoon. All that and it only takes 20 minutes to make!

White Bean and Herb Soup

Ingredients:

5 cups vegetable broth

1 small yellow onion, chopped small

1 cup diced celery

4 medium-sized garlic cloves, minced

2 medium-sized carrots, thinly sliced

1 medium-sized parsnip, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon peeled and minced fresh ginger

1 tablespoon of dried tarragon

1 can of small white beans (you could also use navy or cannelloni), rinsed well

2 tablespoon of minced fresh chives

2 teaspoons dried thyme

3 tablespoons of Tamari

2 bay leafs

sea salt and black pepper

Cut up all your veggies and put them in a large stock pot.  Drizzle with grapessed oil and a dash of salt and pepper.  Saute for 5 minutes and then add the veggie broth and bay leafs. Bring to a boil and cook for 15 minutes, or until your veggies are tender.

Next add the white beans and combine well.  Cover again and cook for ten more minutes.

Remove your soup from the heat and add the chives, Tamari, tarragon and thyme.  Taste to see if you need more salt and pepper.

Voila! Yummy, hearty soups.

Garlic Knots

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm water
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil 

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons of EVOO

3 tablespoons of minced garlic

3 tablespoons of parsley

2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast

Salt to taste

First make your pizza dough.  Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Mix the yeast with the lukewarm water until the yeast is dissolved. Let it stand for a couple minutes. Add the salt and vegetable oil/melted margarine. Mix. Add the flour, and mix. 

Let your dough rest for 15 minutes with a towel over it.  Roll out the dough and use a pizza wheel to cut it into 1 inch wide strips that are 1/4 inch thick.

Put your EVOO garlic, salt and parsley in a small pan and saute until the mixture is brown.  Brush the oil/garlic mixture on the pizza toe strips and tie them into knots.  Brush more of the oil/garlic mixture on the top and sprinkle with nutritional yeast.

Place them on a baking sheet and cook them for 15 minutes or until they are brown.

That's it!  That simple and they are great with pasta too.

Enchiladas

Ok, let me preface this by saying that this is not one of my healthier meals, but it is delicious nonetheless.  I have struggled to find a vegan enchilada sauce that I like, so this time I decided to try to make my own.  I have to say that it turned out pretty damn good.  I hope you like it as much as me.

Vegan Enchiladas
Ingredients:

1 green pepper, diced

1/2 red onion, diced

1/2 cup of green beans, diced

1/2 cup of frozen corn, thawed

1 tablespoon of diced garlic

1/2 cup of Smart Grounds (vegan ground "beef")

1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed

1 tablespoon of Latin seasoning (homemade: Cumin, oregano, sweet paprika)

2 medium tortillas

1/2 cup of Daiya (I used the jack cheese mixture)

1/2 cup of avocado, diced

1/2 cup of tomato diced

Enchilada Sauce:

2 tablespoons grapeseed oil

2 tablespoons chickpea flour 

2 tablespoons homemade Latin seasoning

2 cups water

6 ounces tomato paste (that's one of the small cans)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Brown all of your enchilada ingredients in a saute pan (minus the avocado, tomato and Daiya) and add the Latin seasoning.  Add the beans at the very end and cook for another 5 minutes.  Watch that it doesn't burn and stir often.

Scoop about one cup of your mixture onto the the tortillas in a strip down the middle with some of the Daiya.  Close the enchiladas and put them into a baking dish seam side down.

Now make your enchilada sauce. Heat oil, flour and Latin seasoning in a large pot over medium heat for 1-2 minutes. Add water and tomato paste, dissolving tomato paste in water. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for about 20 minutes, stirring regularly.

When your enchilada sauce is done, spoon it over your enchiladas and the sprinkle the Daiya on top.  Back for 25 minutes.  Once your enchiladas are done, plate them and then sprinkle your fresh avocado and tomatoes on top.  Serve with some tortilla chips and you are good to go!

Enchiladas

Ok, let me preface this by saying that this is not one of my healthier meals, but it is delicious nonetheless.  I have struggled to find a vegan enchilada sauce that I like, so this time I decided to try to make my own.  I have to say that it turned out pretty damn good.  I hope you like it as much as me.

Vegan Enchiladas
Ingredients:

1 green pepper, diced

1/2 red onion, diced

1/2 cup of green beans, diced

1/2 cup of frozen corn, thawed

1 tablespoon of diced garlic

1/2 cup of Smart Grounds (vegan ground "beef")

1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed

1 tablespoon of Latin seasoning (homemade: Cumin, oregano, sweet paprika)

2 medium tortillas

1/2 cup of Daiya (I used the jack cheese mixture)

1/2 cup of avocado, diced

1/2 cup of tomato diced

Enchilada Sauce:

2 tablespoons grapeseed oil

2 tablespoons chickpea flour 

2 tablespoons homemade Latin seasoning

2 cups water

6 ounces tomato paste (that's one of the small cans)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Brown all of your enchilada ingredients in a saute pan (minus the avocado, tomato and Daiya) and add the Latin seasoning.  Add the beans at the very end and cook for another 5 minutes.  Watch that it doesn't burn and stir often.

Scoop about one cup of your mixture onto the the tortillas in a strip down the middle with some of the Daiya.  Close the enchiladas and put them into a baking dish seam side down.

Now make your enchilada sauce. Heat oil, flour and Latin seasoning in a large pot over medium heat for 1-2 minutes. Add water and tomato paste, dissolving tomato paste in water. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for about 20 minutes, stirring regularly.

When your enchilada sauce is done, spoon it over your enchiladas and the sprinkle the Daiya on top.  Back for 25 minutes.  Once your enchiladas are done, plate them and then sprinkle your fresh avocado and tomatoes on top.  Serve with some tortilla chips and you are good to go!

Kale Chips

These are best when made in a dehydrator, but you can make them in the oven.  The are a delicious, healthful snack anytime of year.  

Kale Chips
Ingredients:

1 cup cashews (soaked for a few hours)
1 Medium Red Pepper
Juice of half a lemon (or 2 tablespoons)
1/4 cup of nutritional yeast  or more if you’re a fan
1 tablespoon Salt (or to taste)

Wash the kale & remove tough stalks, de-seed the red pepper, drain off your soaked cashews,

Put all the Ingredients into your food processor and blend everything together until you have a smooth, cheese like substance.

Apply the coating to the kale.  I use my hands to mix it all together and make sure every leaf is well coated.  It's messy but it works.

Bake In a 300F Oven for 20 Minutes, Flipping, and Then Baking Another 10 Minutes or so.    

(You can also bake in a 200F oven with the door ajar.  It will take longer but the results will be closer to that of a dehydrator.).  This is the method I use.

Or dehydrate them.  In any case, you want to keep a close eye because burnt kale smells nasty!  Bake them to your desired crispyness and then let cool.  Once cooled I put them in a large ziplock and they keep about 1 week.

Vegan French Onion Soup

This is the perfect soup for a cold day.  It's starting to get cold here in Boston and I decided it would be great to veganize this recipe.  You could jazz it up a bit with some toasted bread and Daiya cheese, but it's great nice and simple too.

French Onion Soup
Ingredients:
2 large or 4 medium onions,finely chopped
1 leek, white part only, chopped fine
4 cups of vegetable stock\broth
2 cloves garlic,minced
1/2 teaspoon black pepper,freshly ground
1 tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon of chickpea flour
2 tablespoons of Balsamic vinegar (or dry red wine)
2 bay leafs


Heat oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the onions and leeks and saute until lightly brown. Add the garlic and saute another minute or two.

Cover and cook for 25-30 minutes on medium-low heat until onions and leeks are brown,stir occasionally. Add the pepper and salt and bring to a slow boil.

Mix in the chickpea flour  and Balsamic and add to the boiling onion mixture,keep stirring to prevent lumps. Simmer for about 3-4 minutes. Add the vegetable broth and simmer covered for 15 minutes.  

Remove the bay leaf and serve.

Vegetable Fried Rice

Vegetable Fried Rice
Ingredients:
1/2 cup of frozen corn, thawed
1/2 of frozen shelled edamame, thawed
1 red pepper, diced
1 green pepper, diced
4 button mushrooms, sliced thin
1 leek, white part only- halved and sliced thin
1 broccoli floret, broken down small
2 tablespoons of Sriracha
1/2 cup of dry Basmati rice
Sesame Oil 
Tamari
1 tablespoons of sesame seeds


Saute all your veggies in a little sesame oil and the Sriracha.  While your veggies are cooking, prepare your rice.  Bring 1 cup of water to a boil and add a drizzle of grapeseed oil and a dash of salt.  Add your rice and cook.

One your rice is done, add it to your veggies and Tamari for flavor.  Toss and continue to fry.  Add the sesame seeds and some more Tamari.  Let cool before serving.

Loaded Potatoes

This is a yummy game day treat that your vegan and non-vegan friends will both like!  It is a modern take on the twice baked potato, but with a vegan approach.

Loaded Potato
Ingredients:
2 large russet potatoes, washed well
1/4 cup of Earth Balance
2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup of Daiya shredded cheese
2 tablespoons of fresh cut chives
1/4 of vegan bacon bits


Preheat your oven to 375.  Pierce your potatoes, I pierced mine around where I would eventually cut them in half, and then bake them for one hour.

Increase your oven temp to 400.


Remove the potatoes from the oven and let them cool enough so that you can handle them.  Cut the potatoes in half and scoop the contents into a large bowl.  Make sure that you leave enough in the skins so that they are firm enough to hole the mixture at the 


Combine the remaining ingredients and the inside of the potatoes and mash together well.  Taste to make sure you don't need to add any salt and pepper.  When you have the flavors correct, scoop the mixture back into the potatoes until they are heaping. Place the loaded skins on a baking sheet and cook for another 25 min.

For your non-vegan friends you can add some sour cream.  Otherwise, just let them cool and serve.

Grilled Avocado and Arugula Salad

This is a light and filling recipe all at the same time.  It is great for lunch or even for dinner.  I made it for dinner the other night and it was perfect!

Grilled Avocado and Arugula Salad
Ingredients:
Half tub of arugula greens
4 button mushrooms
1 small red onion, cut into half moons
1/2 red pepper, cut into thin strips
1 avocado, cut into thin strips
Grapeseed oil
Aged Balsamic Vinegar
1 tablespoon of sesame seeds
some lemon


Combine your mushrooms, peppers and onion in a grill pan with a little grapeseed oil.  Saute for about 5 minutes, until they start to brown.  Drizzle with a little Balsamic and cook for another 1-2 minutes.  Remove from the heat and set aside.


Coat your grill pan with Pam and add the avocado in a thin layer.  Grill on each side and then drizzle with some Balsamic.  Set aside.

Place your arugula greens on a plate and make your dressing.


For the dressing use 1 tablespoon of EVOO and 2 tablespoons of Balsamic and 2 tablespoons of water.  Combine well and add the sesame seeds.


Dress your salad greens and then add the peppers, onions and mushrooms and finally the avocado.  Drizzle remaining dressing over the top and you are done!

Almost Irish Stew

This is a great slow cooker recipe.  Throw everything in the crock pot in the morning and then when you come home a night it is ready to go!  You can just serve this a traditional stew, it's filling enough for sure, or you can serve it over cous cous which is what I decided to do.

Almost Irish Stew
Ingredients:
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 cups of carrots, peeled and cut into fourths
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
5 small white potatoes, quartered
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups vegetable stock
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons tamari
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups blanched kale


Place the chopped onion in the bottom of a slow cooker. Add the carrots, potatoes, garlic, stock, bay leaf, wine, tamari, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. About 30 minutes before serving, add the kale. 

Create a roux by heating 3 tablespoons of EVOO in a small sauce pan.  Add 3 tablespoons of whole wheat flour and combine well.  Cook and stir the roux over med-lo heat for a few minutes to bring out the flavors, being careful not to scorch it, then pour it into your hot pot to thicken your stew.


Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve hot.

Three Pepper "Steak" with Cous Cous and Brussels Sprouts

I was looking for a quick recipe after a long day at work a few weeks ago.  This recipe hit the spot- fast, easy and delicious!

Three Pepper "Steak" 
Ingredients:
1 package of Gardein beefless tips, defrosted
salt and pepper to taste

• whole wheat flour for dredging
• 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
• 1 medium white onion, sliced into half moons
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 green bell pepper, sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced
• 1 yellow or orange pepper, sliced
• 1.5 cups of water
• 2 tablespoons of vegan Worcestershire
• 
  
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Season the "steak" with salt and pepper to taste. Dredge in the flour and shake off the excess. Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Brown the "steak" tips in the oil, then transfer to a large, shallow casserole dish. Sprinkle the garlic, vegan Worcestershire, onion, and green pepper over top, pour in water, and wrap with aluminum foil.
• 
  
• Bake in preheated oven until steak is tender and vegetables are soft, about 1 1/2 hours. So little prep yet so much flavor.

Cous Cous

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of dry cous cous (I use the plain kind)

1 cup of water

1 teaspoon of nutritional yeast

Salt and Pepper to taste

Bring the water to a boil and add a splash of EVOO and a pinch of salt.  Add the cous cous and nutritional yeast and stir well.  Cover and remove from the heat.  Let stand for 10 minutes and the fluff with a fork and add salt and pepper to tasted.

Balsamic Brussels Sprouts

Ingredients:

1/2 lb of Brussels sprouts, cleaned and halved

EVOO 

Salt and pepper (a pinch of each)

Aged Balsamic vinegar

In a large bowl, toss your Brussels sprouts with some salt and pepper and EVOO until they are well coated.  Lay them out on a baking sheet and roast them in a 350 degree oven.

Once they start brown (about 10 min), drizzle the Balsamic vinegar of them them and place them back in the over for another 5-10 minutes.

Voila!  This is a yummy, balanced dinner that took about 20 minutes.  That's what I am taking about!

Vegan Broccoli and Ziti with Parma Rosa Sauce

I live in the North End, Boston's historic Italian section which is home to some of the best restaurants in town.  While most of the menus here are laden with dairy and meat, most of restaurants are very accommodating- you just have to ask.  I have had some amazing vegan meals here.


One thing that I have often seen and wanted is parma rosa sauce.  Sadly this sauce is composed of heavy cream and so I have not had the opportunity to try it.  So the other day, I decided to make a vegan version.


It came out better than I expected and this recipe made a lot so there were plenty of leftovers.  This is a thick, creamy sauce with tomato base.  It is healthy in its vegan version and has tons of yummy veggies hidden inside.  I hope you enjoy it as much as Joe and I did.

Vegan Broccoli and Ziti with Parma Rosa Sauce
Ingredients:

1 head of cauliflower, broken down into small florets head of cauliflower

2 medium white potatoes

3 cloves of garlic

1 tablespoon of oregano

A dash of paprika

1 teaspoon of salt

1 tablespoon of fresh ground pepper

1 head of broccoli

1 medium white onion

2 lbs of plum tomatoes, diced 

1 1/2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast

Chop up the cauliflower and peel and chop the potatoes into 1 inch cubes.  Chop the garlic and onion as well.  Combine them all in a medium sauce pan and water, enough to cover the veggies.  Cover and boil until soft. This takes about 15 minutes.

While the veggies are cooking, make your pasta.  I used ziti, but you can use whatever you like best.  Clean, breakdown and steam your broccoli florets. Drain it and keep it covered (off the heat) until you are ready to serve.


Set your oven to 375.  Take your diced tomatoes and lay them out on a cookie sheet.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and drizzle with some grapeseed oil.  Roast for 30 minutes, or until the tomatoes collapse.  Remove them and let them cool.


Once the steamed veggies are ready, add them to the food processor with the remaining water, spices, nutritional yeast, and salt and pepper.  Process the ingredients until you have a smooth mixture.  Add the roasted tomatoes to the food processor and combine until you have a sauce that is rosy colored and thick.  As your are processing, drizzle in some EVOO to thin it out a bit.  If your sauce is still too thick, take some of the water that you boiled your pasta in and add it to the processor.  The starchy water will help thin the sauce.

Combine your pasta and broccoli in a large bowl and then slowly add your sauce.  Mix well and serve.  I added some sun dried tomatoes to mine, but Joe doesn't like them so I added them at the end and then added a small sprinkle of nutritional yeast.

This was so yummy! I actually added a little extra sauce to mine at the end, it was that good.

So long sweet boy

I once so a sticker on someone's car that was a paw and read "Who Saved Who?".  I remember thinking to myself how true that sticker was at the time and even more so now.  The last month of 2011 was one of the hardest of my life.  Early in the month, Titan- my love and partner- suddenly stopped eating.  Titan had these spells before in his life and so I was not to concerned.  Still, I took him to the vet.  The vet ran some blood tests and the next morning called and said I needed to come in right away for a chest x-ray as there were irregularities in his blood work. The chest x-ray appeared to show something that scared my vet (a dark shadow near his lung) and before I knew it we were off to Angell Memorial's emergency room.

I cried that day more than I have in my life.  Once at Angell, Titan's critical care doctor ran an untrasound which showed masses on my boy's splean.  He had emergency surgery that night to remove his splean.  He came home the next day and started acting somewhat like his old self.  But that bad news continued to come and his biospy showed that Titan had hysiositic sarcoma, the most aggressive kind of cancer.  A few days later we started chemotherapy and Titan's onocologist seemed confident that he could live another 3-6 months.  Unfortunately, just two days later his health took a turn for the worst and Titan could not barely work.  I got him back to Angell where tests revealed that his platlet count was dangerously low.  The only option was for a blood transfusion to try to give the chemo more time to work.  I thought about this decision really hard.  The reality is that the blood tansfusion would only have given him a few more day and his quality of life had deteriorated.  I decided at that moment that my beautiful boy had given me nearly 12 years of unconditional love and he deserved the same.  It was the hardest decision I have ever made in my life and saying good bye to him was harder than anything I have ever faced in my life.

But I don't want to remember the sad part because there is so much more to Titan than his ending.  Titan was an old soul and one of the kindest dogs I have ever met.  He was the definition of good and all that is right in the world.  To this day, I cannot believe that his life started off so wrong and that any person would disguard this amazing soul.

When I was 21 years old I volunteered at the Sonoma County Humane Society in Santa Rosa, CA.  Titan had been there for about three months, before I brought him home.  I remember the first time I saw him.  When I entered the adoption floor with rows upon rows of cages, at the very end there was head that just kept popping up.  Sure enough it was Titan jumping up and down- oh my g-d could this dog jump! he was full of energy and so beautiful, though painfully thin.  He had cigarette burns all over his body.  People are so cruel.  I remember when I took him home, the staff was amazed that anyone wanted this mangy mutt.

Titan wasn't easy in the beginning.  He was hard to walk, anxious and skiddish all at once and an escape artist!  I cannot tell you how many times he got away and my friends and I would spend hours looking for him.  He was so fast.  But of the years, this crazy boy turned into a stately man.  He has been through it all with me.  Break ups, moves across the country, everything.  Titan lived in CA, CA, CT and MA.  He never acted out and just happily followed me where ever my life took us.  When I was hit by a car in May, Titan never left my side.  When I awoke in the emergency room, the police told me how he stood over me licking my face.  Titan was all that is good in the world.


When he was 4 years old, I brought home Max (an 8 week old chihuahua).  Sure, he pretended Max didn't exist for a month and made sure that I still knew he was #1, but he also accepted Max and took him in and taught to be a great dog.  Titan was always patient, always strong, but never aggressive.  It was amazing to see him with Max.  And in the end Max knew how special Titan was.  When he started to get really sick, Max would lay on Titan's bed with him and just lick him. He was a pure and gentle soul.

Titan was the epitome of all that an amazing dog and friend can be.  He showed the genuine kindness that most humans are incapable of and yet he was stereotyped as aggressive because of his breed.  From the second I laid eyes on Titan, I knew that he would be my partner for life.  I loved him from the second I laid eyes on him until he breathed his last breath in my arms.  I hope that he knows that.  I know that he truly saved me and not the other way around. Titan showed me that I am capable of love and taught me how to be more compassionate.  I am forever grateful for his unconditional love. 

Titan, you lived your life the way I only dream of- accepting, loving and trusting everyone.  I know that you are resting now and I am so thankful for the 12 years we had together.   You taught me so much about myself and about love.  You were my pillar when I was unsure and you are always in my heart.  I think of you every day and I still cry almost daily.  Thank you for loving me and for saving me.  Drop in on me from time to time, my sweet boy. It's hard to imagine my life without you, but I know that you are always with me.  I love you big boy.