Cauliflower Fritters and Romesco Sauce

These make really great appetizers as well as week day meals if served with pasta salad or a whole grain like brown rice pilaf or quinoa salad. If you don't like romesco sauce you could serve these with a simple marinara sauce.

• 4 cups cauliflower, cut into florets and steamed
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup Pecorino Romano or Parmesan
• 1/4 cup Italian parsley, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup hot water
  
• salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 425°.
2. Roughly mash cauliflower in a large bowl. 
3. Stir in flour, garlic, egg, cheese, parsley, salt and pepper. Add water until batter becomes slightly thicker then pancake batter.
4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spoon 1/4 cup size scoops onto a baking sheet.
5. Bake for 10 minutes on each side. 

Romesco Sauce 

• 4 Roma tomatoes, diced
• 1 small onion, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 sweet red pepper. diced
• extra-virgin olive oil
• 3/4 cup cubed crustless day-old bread
• 3 tbsp sherry vinegar
• 3/4 smoked sweet paprika
• 1/2 salt

1. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a medium size saucepan. Add tomato, onion, garlic and pepper. Cook until onions turn translucent.
2. Transfer tomato mixture to a food processor and puree.  Add bread, sherry vinegar, paprika and salt and pulse until mixed. Add a tablespoon or two of olive oil if mixture is too thick.
3. Serve romesco sauce with cauliflower fritters.

Chimichurri Portobello Steak Sandwhich

If your a vegetarian or vegan craving a steak sandwich or looking for something meaty but trying to cut back on your red meat, this is a really satisfying and flavorful recipe. The lemony garlic chimichurri* sauce pairs very well with asparagus and a chilled glass of pinot blanc!

*Chimichurri is a green sauce that originated in Argentina and is commonly used as a marinade for grilled meat.

Recipe adapted from "Once Upon a Plate"

• 2 large portobello mushrooms
• 2 thick slices crusty bread
• 1 cup Italian parsley, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon chili pepper flakes (increase if you like more heat)
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 2 tbsp shallots or red onion, minced
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 tbsp sherry wine vinegar, or red wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp water
• 1/4 cup lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. To make the chimichurri sauce combine all ingredients from parsley through to lemon juice into a food processor and pulse until well chopped, but not pureed. Add more water if you feel your sauce is too thick.
3. Wash and dry portobello mushrooms and place gill side up in a a baking dish. Pour 3/4 of the chimichurri sauce over top of portobellos and cover with tin foil. Bake for 20 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, prepare you bread by brushing with olive oil and rubbing with a fresh garlic clove. Lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place on baking sheet.
5. Remove tin foil and raise temperature on oven to broil. Move mushrooms to lower rack and place bread on top rack. Toast your bread until browned then flip bread and toast on other side. You may choose to brown your mushrooms under the broiler once you have removed the bread.
6. Slice portobellos and serve on bread with the remaining chimichurri sauce spooned over top.

Citrus Rice Noodle Salad

This salad is so fresh and flavorful. I can't wait to make this again using a different combination of veggies, nuts and fruit. I served this salad with sandwiches when I was feeling to lazy to cook!

Salad

• 1/2 cup rice noodles, soaked and drained (bean thread noodles are best)
• 1/2 semi-ripe mango, peeled and chopped into small pieces
• 1 carrot, shredded
• 1/4 cup scallions, both green and white parts thinly sliced
• 1 cup black beans, cooked and drained
• 2 roma tomatoes, chopped into small pieces
• 1 cup pea shoots
• 1 cup cucumber, diced
• 1/2 cup cashews, toasted
• 1 small organge, peeled and diced

Dressing

• 4 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
• 1 fresh hot pepper, minced (optional)
• 1 tsp freshly grated orange zest (organic is preferable)
• 1 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice (use same orange you zested)
• fresh ground salt and pepper

1. Combine all ingredients for dressing and let sit 15-20 minutes allowing the flavors to infuse.
2. Combine salad ingredients into a medium size bowl. 
3. Pour dressing over salad . Toss and serve!

Baked Zucchini Sticks

One of my favorite foods growing up was deep fried zucchini. I now understand that although deep fried tastes wonderful it isn't always good for me. Lucky for us there are alternative ways to cook our favorite deep fried foods. This particular recipe requires you to bread and baking the zucchini at a high temperature. The result is very satisfying and if done properly very similar to deep fried zucchini. I served my zucchini sticks with ranch dressing but I also recommend marinara sauce.

Note: I made the mistake of using fresh breadcrumbs that were coarsely ground. When I make these again I will without a doubt use fine bread crumbs.

• 2 medium zucchini sliced into 3" x 1/2" sticks
• 1 egg
• 1 cup whole wheat seasoned bread crumbs (fine)
• 2 tbsp grated Parmesan or Pecorino cheese
• 1 garlic glove, finely minced or crushed
• fresh ground salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 425°.
2. In a small bowl, beat egg and season with salt and pepper. In a ziplock bag, place breadcrumbs, garlic and cheese and shake well. Line with parchment paper or spray with cooking oil.
3. Dip zucchini sticks into eggs then into bread crumb and cheese mixture, a few at a time and shake to coat. Place the breaded zucchini in a single layer. Bake at 425° for about 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.

Rebar Chocolate Cake

Happy Valentines bloggers! I hope you are all enjoying some decadent chocolate treats washed down with some wonderful chilled wine. I know I will be digging into some chocolate covered strawberries and rose wine shortly... Let's not forget that you don't need a significant other or Valentines as an excuse to indulge in chocolate!

Speaking of chocolate I had the pleasure of making yet another birthday cake for a colleague who absolutely loves chocolate. I had planned to make her a raw vegan cheesecake but for whatever reason the Rebar cookbook was beckoning me to flip open to the dessert section and discover their signature chocolate cake. I made a few alterations to this recipe by cutting the butter in half and substituting with more cream cheese (I used a full brick) for the cake filling. My cake looks staggered because I didn't realize my cake pans were slightly different sizes. The coffee in this recipe makes for a super moist cake and I really liked how the filling turned out too, sort of like chocolate cheesecake sandwiched between chocolate cake. I will be making this recipe again for sure.

Roasted Red Pepper and Acorn Squash Soup with Orzo

I always look forward to trying out new soup recipes, mostly because it allows me to eliminate soups that I once thought were fabulous only to discover they were really quite blah. I figure if I commit to trying a different soup recipe every week for the next year or two I will possibly be able to say that I know from experience that this is the best way to make squash soup!

With that said there are infinite possibilities when it comes to making squash soup. It all depends on what flavor you are looking for or prefer. This particular recipe has a nice smokey flavor which is complemented by the roasted red peppers. I have been told that veggie based soups are always more flavorful with roasted vegetables especially those that will be pureed.

I made a few changes to this recipe by using acorn squash instead of butternut and roasting all of the vegetables including the squash in one large roasting pan at 400° for 40 minutes. I also added half a cup cooked orzo for substance.

In the end I decided I enjoyed this recipe but I will not be adding it to my favorite list, mostly because I am not a big fan of paprika.

Brussels with Cranberry and Walnuts

I wasn't a fan of Brussels until I tried them glazed with cherry jam. Now I can't get enough of them! I can even boast that I have converted at least three people into liking Brussels by glazing them with a few tablespoons of cranberry sauce or jam.

Here is another way to serve Brussels that is similar to a simple glaze but slightly more complex with nuts, shallots, walnut oil and agave syrup. This recipe is very simple and makes for a very good side dish. I used honey instead of agave syrup and served with cranberry glazed tofu as pictured below.

Roasted Squash, Spinach and Three-Cheese Cannelloni

This is the very first vegetarian recipe I ever made. Actually, it was also the very first meal I made for Mike on our second date. When he arrived for dinner I asked him if there was any foods he didn't like. He told me that he wasn't a fan of squash... Uh oh! I told him squash was in fact on the menu but I could whip something else up if he preferred. He said that whatever was baking in the oven smelled far too good for him to pass up! Needless to say Mike is now a very big fan of squash.

I treasure this recipe and serve it to anyone I am trying to woo, especially those that may favor eating animals over vegetables. I consider this recipe the turkey dinner of my vegetarian world as it is so rich and time consuming that you wouldn't normally make the effort unless it were for a special occasion.

Other then using whole wheat or brown rice lasagna noodles, I never change a thing about this recipe. I recommend serving with garlic bread and either a tossed salad or steamed Brussels or broccoli.

Millet and Black Bean Timbales

Although this dish is nice and refreshing I think I would serve it as a salad next time with a cilantro vinaigrette as I found it a bit bland. I used a tin-can with both ends removed to form the cylindrical shape presented below. Still can't believe I was actually able to pull of the timbale (according to Wikipedia this means a dish baked in a round mold). I did not have high expectations in being able to do this. I get quite giddy every time I reflect on this!

Millet is rich in B vitamins and is celiac friendly because it does not contain gluten....in case your wondering!

Yam Latkes

Those of you who regularly visit my blog have probably begun to notice that I am drawn to pancake recipes. I have discovered many different ways to name a pancake especially since my boyfriend rolls his eyes every time he sees me dropping balls of batter into a frying pan while explaining to him that a latke is nothing like a pancake! Unfortunately he is an information seeker and will actually drag me to a Wikipedia article to back up his case of the pancake. Anyways, they always turn out in the end and I know he secretly loves them! One of the things I like most about pancakes is how presentable they are.

If your going to attempt this recipe and I definitely recommend that you do, make sure to make a dip or sauce to accompany them as they are really dry otherwise. I made a yogurt tahini sauce to go with this batch of latkes.

Chocolate Hazelnut Mousse

If you like mousse and love hazelnuts then you absolutely have to try this recipe. It's very easy to whip up and so beautifully presentable! I tried this dessert out on some dinner guests and I think you should too!

Sweet Potato Tofu Hash

I think this dish makes for a really good late lunch or Sunday brunch. Although I don't think that I will personally be making it again I know that Mike really enjoyed it. I didn't have Shiitake mushrooms so I used button mushrooms and I would recommend only adding 1/2 tsp of the liquid smoke as it is a very intense flavor.

You can make many different variations of this recipe by using different potatoes and substituting bell peppers for the mushrooms. If you don't like mashed food then think outside the box and make it a fried hash with chunky fried tofu with peas, corn, russet potatoes and a completely different combination of spices. So many different possibilities!

Parsnip Stuffed Peppers

I invented this recipe when trying to think up a unique way to stuff peppers. I really like the flavor of parsnips but don't particularly like to eat them by themselves. The pairing of parsnip with the sweet flavor of the peppers, coriander and curry make for a delicious dish. You can make this recipe vegan by omitting the cheese.

• 2 large parsnips or 4 small parsnips, steamed and mashed
• 4 bell peppers, assorted colors
  
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
  
• 1 tsp coriander
• 1 tsp curry powder
  
• 2 cups spinach, roughly chopped 
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup Monterary Jack or Mozzarella cheese (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. Cut the top off of each pepper and remove seeds. Set the peppers along with the pepper tops into a baking dish with about 1/4 cup water.
3. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a medium saucepan and add onions. Cook for about 6 minutes, add garlic, coriander, curry powder, spinach and cook for another 2 minutes stirring constantly. Stir in mashed parsnip, salt and pepper. Remove from heat.
4. Fill peppers with parsnip mixture and sprinkle with cheese if using. 
5. Bake covered with tin foil for 25 minutes. Uncover and bake another 5-10 minutes until bell peppers begin to blister and cheese is golden brown.

Note: You could substitute the spinach for a 1/2 cup frozen peas and/or corn and stir in a 1/4 cup chopped cilantro.

Corn and Black Bean Quinoa Salad

This week the healthy workplace branch is featuring quinoa as a super food. What makes quinoa a super food? Well what other grain is so high in protein, iron and dietary fiber? Above all of those it's also gluten-free, making it very easy to digest.

I know that some of you are thinking about the slightly bitter after taste or cardboard like consistency that quinoa is known for, but these statements force me to think about all the other bland tasting grains like rice, millet and bulgar just to name a few. I think this is a really poor reason not to be eating quinoa as I fall upon a huge array of very tasty quinoa recipes on a daily basis. Here's just one that I urge all quinoa critics to at the very least try.

I think I like the beautiful texture and colors of this salad just as much as the smoky chipotle chili flavor. If you don't have chipotle sauce you can always use chipotle chili powder.

Apple Pie Bars

This recipe was my last attempt to finish up our box of homegrown Okanagan apples, and I must say that once you finish peeling and slicing about 12-15 apples you won't care to see another apple for awhile! These are however worth the effort and if you don't have a large crowd to share these with, I am happy to report that they also freeze well.

Kohlrabi Fries

Kohlrabi is my new favorite vegetable! I have to admit that I was very intimidated by this turnip like vegetable when first spotted at the market and was even further put off when I was unable to find a recipe that inspired me to cook these guys up. In turn, they ended up sitting in my fridge for about two weeks. Alas, I confronted this vegetable head on and decided to just simply work with it. I peeled and cut off a piece and was pleasantly surprised at the crisp full flavor that kohlrabi has to offer (think broccoli stem only sweeter) and was immediately inspired to bake them into fries. There is but one thing you need to know if you are going to attempt this recipe and that is, unlike potatoes kohlrabi will keep a crisp texture no matter how long you roast them.

• 1 tbsp olive oil 
• 2 large kohlrabi
  
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• seat salt and fresh ground pepper

1. Heat oven to 475°.
2. Use a pairing knife to peel of outer skin of kohlrabi and cut into sticks about 1/4 inch thick.
3. Toss with olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper and pour into a roasting pan.
4. Roast in oven for 25-30 minutes.
   

Note: These fries have such a sweet flavor, they don't require the assistance of ketchup or dip of any kind.

Rustic Bread & Eggplant Lasagna

For those of you Vegans looking for a lasagna that doesn't include tofu, this is a really great alternative. The richness of the tomato sauce paired with the crusty sourdough and complex flavor of cooked eggplant make for a sensational dish. Serve with mixed salad greens with balsamic dressing.

Spaghetti and Beanballs

Growing up my family used to eat spaghetti about once every two weeks. If we were lucky we would get to visit Grandma's house for spaghetti and meatballs made from her very own homegrown and canned tomatoes. I am yet to discover anyone who can make spaghetti and meatballs better then my Grandma.

This was a hard dish to give up when I decided to become vegetarian and although I do cheat once in awhile I have found other methods to making spaghetti and meatballs. This is one of them and after making this recipe once I find myself craving the comfort of this meal whenever I am too hungry to think of a new dish to try!

As this is yet another Veganomicon recipe I am unable to provide you with the details of this recipe but again urge you to borrow this cookbook from the library or put it on your birthday wish list.

Roasted Carrots and Mushrooms

You guessed it! Local carrots were on sale at the market last weekend. Toss with some mushrooms, thyme and sherry and serve as a side with any dish in need of some veggies.

• 4 medium-sized carrots peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thickness
• 8 oz mushrooms, sliced
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp cooking sherry
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme or 1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
• salt/pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. Toss carrots with 1 tablespoon olive oil, thyme, sherry, salt and pepper. Spread on large roasting pan and place in oven for 15 minutes.
3. While carrots are roasting, wash mushrooms and spin dry or dry with paper towels. Slice mushrooms into even slices, slightly thicker than carrots. Using the same bowl as you tossed the carrots in, toss mushrooms with remaining olive oil.
4. Remove carrots from oven add mushrooms, stir and roast 10-15 minutes more. Serve hot, sprinkled with fresh parsley.
   

Vegan Dosas

This recipe was apparently part of the daring cooks September 2009 challenge and was adapted from the reFresh cookbook by Ruth Tal. I decided that since I am beginning to tire of the same curries all the time I would take on this challenge in my own time.

There is no need to be intimidated by this three step recipe, which in my opinion is no different then making a three dish meal or a lasagna. You can make the curry sauce and filling a few nights in advance if you need to. I ended up with leftover sauce and filling which I combined and served over rice a few days later. I will for sure be making this dish again in the future, including the dosa pancakes which complete this meal.

Coconut Curry Sauce

• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp cumin
• 3 tbsp curry powder
• 2 1/2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup vegetable stock (low sodium)
• 1 can (400ml) coconut milk
• 3 tomatoes, coarsely chopped
• 3/4 tsp salt

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of peanut or coconut oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and saute for 5 minutes or until soft.
2. Add cumin, sea salt, and curry powder, cook for another minute. Add the flour and cook for 1 additional minute.
3. Gradually whisk in the vegetable broth to prevent lumps. Once the flour has been incorporated, add the coconut milk and tomatoes, stirring occasionally.
4. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for about 30 minutes.

Curried Chickpea Filling

• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 onion, peeled and finely diced
• 1 carrot, peeled and finely diced
• 1 red bell pepper, finely diced
• 2 medium hot banana chilies, minced (optional)
• 2 tbsp cumin
• 1 tbsp oregano
• 1 tbsp sea salt
• 1 tbsp turmeric
• 2 cans of chickpeas
• 4 tbsp tomato paste
• 1/4 cup chopped, fresh cilantro

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of peanut or coconut oil in a large saucepan over medium to low heat. Add garlic, veggies, and spices, cooking until soft, stirring occasionally.
2. Mash chickpeas by hand or in a food processor and add to saucepan along with tomato paste, stirring until heated through
3. Stir in cilantro before serving.

Pancakes

• 2 cups all-purpose or chapati flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1 cup almond milk (or soy, or rice, etc.)
• 1 1/2 cups water

1. Combine the flour, salt, baking powder, and curry powder in a medium bowl. Slowly add the almond milk and water, whisking until smooth.
2. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Spray your pan with a thin layer of cooking spray, if needed.
3. Ladle 2 tablespoons of batter into the center of your pan in a circular motion until it is a thin, round pancake. When bubbles appear on the surface and it no longer looks wet, flip it over and cook for a few seconds. Remove from heat and repeat with remaining batter.