Broccoli & Leek Vegetable Cups

        

2 refrigerated pie crusts, cut into 11 circles (I stamped them out with the top of a measuring cup!)

1 cup carrot, shredded

1 leek, thinly sliced

2 cups broccoli florets

1 tsp dried oregano

1 cup coconut or almond milk

½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese

3 tbsp cornstarch

¼ cup breadcrumbs

2 tbsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cayenne pepper, minced

1 tsp sea salt

½ tsp black pepper

• Line cupcake tins with aluminum foil and fold pie crust circles into them (I’m sure there’s fancy cookware out there for this but I don’t own it!)
• In a frying pan over medium heat, cook cayenne pepper in olive oil for 1 minute
• Add leeks and broccoli and cook for 2 more minutes, stirring occasionally
• Add garlic, oregano, salt and pepper and cook for 1 more minute, and then remove from heat
• In another saucepan, bring coconut or almond milk and cornstarch to a boil, then reduce to low and simmer for 10 minutes
• When mix begins to thicken, remove from heat and stir in cheese
• Pour sauce mixture, vegetable mixture and carrots into a bowl and stir well
• Evenly distribute mix into pie crust cups (I found 2 scoops of a small ice cream scooper were PERFECT) and top with about ½ tsp of breadcrumbs on each
• Heat oven to 400 degrees and bake for 25 minutes

Soba Noodles with Butternut Squash & Bok Choy

When most people go on vacation they camp out and grill hot dogs and hamburgers or dine at restaurants.  Things aren’t that easy for vegetarians and I learned this when Jim and I recently spent the weekend in Maine (3 year anniversary celebration, thank you very much!).  The eateries were by no means meat-free so our only option was to haul pots, pans and grocery bags full of food to the campground.  I came up with this Asian style dish by sauteing colorful veggies and creating my own sesame seed sauce.

1 box organic Soba noodles, cooked

1 head of bok choy, green parts only

4 cups butternut squash, cubed

1/2 cup green onions, sliced

1/2 cup hulled, raw sesame seeds

1/2 cup rice vinegar

4 tbsp olive oil

2 gloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp sea salt

• Bring a saucepan of water to a boil and add butternut squash.  Let boil for about  6 minutes
• In a frying pan over medium heat, cook 3 tbsp oil for one minute.  Add butternut squash and bok choy to pan and saute for 7  minutes or until bok choy is completely wilted and squash is soft
• Add garlic and cook for an additional minute
• When cooked, toss butternut squash mix, Soba noodles, green onions and salt in a large bowl
• In another frying pan on medium heat, cook 1 tbsp olive oil for one minute.  Slowly pour in rice vinegar and then the sesame seeds and cook, constantly stirring, for 2 or 3 minutes or when liquid starts to evaporate and seeds start to turn golden brown

Bruschetta

5 Roma or plum tomatoes, chopped

1/2 cup red onion, chopped

1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped

1 tbsp fresh arugula, chopped

1 tbsp balsamic vinagerette

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

5 gloves garlic, minced

Olive oil for drizzling

1 0r 1 1/2 loaves whole wheat French bread, cut

• Combine tomatoes, onion, basil, arugula, salt and pepper, and mix
• Drizzle about 1 tsp of olive oil on each slice of bread and top with about 1/2 tsp of the garlic
• Set oven to BROIL and place bread under broiler for about 5 minutes or until bread is toasted
• Remove from oven and top with tomato mix

       

 

Mushroom & Chickpea Curry

I’m seriously starting to think Jim should have his own category on the blog because although he doesn’t cook often, when he does, he comes up with creative and unqiue dishes that I never would have looked at twice.  Spices are what make this dish so good, and although we weren’t too happy with it the first time, adjusting his original recipe to include less overpowering additions make it an extremely healthy vegan dish.

1 1/2 cups shiitake mushrooms, destemmed and sliced

2 cups chickpeas, cooked

1 yellow onion, chopped

2 tomatoes, chopped

3 gloves garlic, minced

2 cayenne peppers, minced

3 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp water

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp ground coriander

Dash of cinnamon

Dash of black pepper

• Cook onion and cayenne in olive oil over medium/high heat for about 5 minutes or until onions are completely translucent
• Add salt, turmeric, coriander, cinnamon and pepper and mix for 1 minute
• Add the water, chickpeas and mushrooms and reduce to a simmer
• Continue cooking for about 15 minutes
• Add garlic and stir for 2 additional minutes

Vegan Corn & Jalapeno Burgers

1 ½ cups Garbanzo beans, cooked

½ cup breadcrumbs

½ cup garbanzo bean flour, plus extra for coating

¼ cup flaxseed “egg”

1 cup organic corn, cooked

½ cup red onion, chopped

1 jalapeno pepper, de-seeded and chopped

1 cayenne pepper, minced

1 tbsp fresh cilantro, minced

Salt & pepper to taste

3 tbsp olive oil for frying

• In a food processor, combine garbanzo beans, corn, flaxseed “egg”, salt and pepper and blend until thick and chunky
• Pour into a bowl and stir in remaining ingredients, except oil, until thoroughly mixed
• Mold mixture into burger sized patties and lightly coat with additional garbanzo bean flour
• In a frying pan over medium heat cook olive oil until it begins to bubble
• Cook burgers in oil until golden brown on both sides, about 6 minutes each

Spinach & Artichoke Calzone

1 refrigerated whole wheat pizza dough

6 cups fresh spinach, de-stemmed

1 jar artichoke hearts (about 1 ½ cups), halved

2 cups mozzarella, shredded

½ cup onions, sliced

¼ cup water

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tbsp lemon juice

½ tsp sea salt

¼ tsp black pepper

Whole wheat flour and extra virgin olive oil for coating and sautéing

• Drizzle olive oil on a frying pan, and over medium heat cook sliced onions for about 7 or 8 minutes, until browning
• Add artichokes, oregano, salt and pepper, then drizzle lemon juice over it
• Cook for 5 more minutes until artichokes begin to brown
• In a large saucepan, cook spinach and water over medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes, or until spinach has wilted.  Drain excess water and mix with the artichokes
• Add mozzarella and quickly stir until mix is thick and sticky
• Layer a baking sheet with whole wheat flour and stretch out dough to fit it evenly
• Pour spinach and artichoke mixture over half the dough, then cover with the other half of the dough.  Drizzle top of dough with olive oil
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees, and bake for 25 minutes

       

 

Homemade Polenta Rounds

I decided to enter a recipe contest for Slow Food USA using my polenta and eggplant sandwich recipe, and in effort to make the dish as homemade as possible, I needed to learn how to make my own polenta.  it was super simple and cheap to make, so I will definitely be using this recipe from now on- wish me luck!

6 cups water

1 3/4 cup organic cornmeal

3 tbsp butter

2 tsp sea salt

1 cayenne pepper, minced

• In a large saucepan, bring the water to a boil
• After it begins boiling, add sea salt and cornmeal
• Reduce to a simmer, add cayenne and begin to whisk mixture together
• Continue whisking every minute or so, for 15 minutes as mixture thickens
• After mixture is thick, remove from heat, add butter and stir until butter melts
• Transfer polenta into a baking sheet so that the entire sheet is 1/2- 1 inch thick
• Let stand for 30 minutes, and then using a round cookie cutter (or just a knife if you don’t need rounds) cut polenta sheet into about 15 slices

Kale Avocado Salad

Again, I’m usually not a huge fan of salads.

But as I try to incorporate more raw foods into my diet AND the sweltering summer heat has finally commenced, I’m straying from dishes that stuff up my apartment from cooking on the stove or in the oven.  Once more, my boyfriend whipped up this addictive salad that we learned to make in our health class, that features our new favorite vegetable-kale!

1 head of kale, stems removed and torn into pieces

Meat of 2 avocados

2 carrots, shredded

1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp sea salt

Dash of pepper

• Combine all ingredients and massage kale with the wet ingredients

Strawberry Rhubarb Apple Crumble

FOR THE FILLING

1 pre-made, pastry crust

2 cups apples, peeled and sliced

3/4 cup rhubarb, chopped

3/4 cup strawberries, sliced

2 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp whole wheat flour

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla

Pinch of salt

• Combine all ingredients (except for the crust) in a large bowl and mix well
• Press crust into pie tin and pour fruit mixture into it

FOR THE TOPPING

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup rolled oats

4 tbsp, butter, chopped

• Using a masher (or your hands) combine all ingredients and mix until butter is creamy and well-distributed through dry ingredients until it makes a crumbly crust
• Pour topping over filling mixture until the fruit is covered
• Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes

      

Whole Wheat French Bread

I’ve made it a point to steer clear of white or processed foods, so even though I LOVE white breads, I’ve learned to love whole wheat breads even more.  This recipe makes 2 large loaves and are great for sandwiches, bruschetta and garlic bread (my favorite).  They’re super easy to make and WAY more cost-effective than the loaves I find at Whole Foods.  And if you store they loaves in the fridge they tend to last close to 2 weeks!

            

5 cups whole wheat flour (plus 1 tbsp  for coating)

2 cups warm water

1 tbsp yeast

1 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 tsp sea salt

• In a bowl, mix water with yeast and sugar and let sit for 15 minutes
• Add salt, 1 tbsp oil and 2 1/2 cups flour and mix and knead for a few minutes or until everything is evenly distributed
• Stir in remaining flour and knead until soft and doughy, about 5 minutes
• Use 1 tbsp oil to coat the dough and the bowl- cover and let sit in a warm place for 1 hour
• After an hour, split dough in half and roll out into 2 long loaves
• Sprinkle baking sheet with 1 tbsp of flour and place loaves on sheet
• Cover and let sit for another 30 minutes
• After 30 minutes, bake at 375 degrees for 30 minute