Spinach and Tempeh Lasagna

I really liked the texture of this lasagna and the unique flavor of the Swiss cheese and fresh basil. I wouldn't recommend trying to make this recipe without a food processor or blender as you would probably loose the great texture. So far this is my favorite vegetarian lasagna recipe, which I will for sure be making again.

Recipe was adapted from Vegetarian Times - January 2008 issue.

• 1 medium onion, quartered
• 1 cup fresh basil leaves
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled (reserve 1 tsp)
• 1 8-oz. pkg. tempeh, cut into chunks
• 1 28-oz. can chopped fire-roasted tomatoes
• salt and pepper (freshly ground)
• 2 10-oz. pkgs. frozen spinach, thawed and drained 
• 8 whole wheat lasagna noodles
• 1 16-oz. jar roasted red peppers, rinsed and drained
• 1 16-oz. container low-fat ricotta cheese, divided
• 1 cup grated Swiss cheese, divided

1. Bring large pot of water to a boil. Salt and add lasagna noodles. Cook according to package directions. Strain and set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 375°.
3. Place onion, basil, oregano, and 2 whole garlic cloves in food processor; pulse 6 times, or until onion and garlic are chopped. Add tempeh, and pulse until tempeh is ground. Add tomatoes, salt and pepper; pulse until chunky sauce forms.
4. Mince the remaining clove of garlic and combine with spinach.
5. Grease a 9x13" baking dish. Spread 1 cup tomato sauce over bottom, and cover with 4 lasagna noodles. Spread 1/2 spinach mixture over top. Layer 1/2 of the roasted red peppers over spinach, and top with 1 cup ricotta and 1/3 cup Swiss Cheese. Finish with 1 cup tomato sauce. Repeat, layering the remaining 4 noodles, spinach, peppers, ricotta, 1/3 cup Swiss cheese, and remaining tomato sauce. Top with last 1/3 cup Swiss cheese.
6. Cover with tin foil and bake at 375° for 20 minutes. Remove tin foil, increase heat to 400° and bake uncovered for another 20 minutes.

Zucchini and Corn Quinoa Taco Salad

I served this salad in a rush as we had to be somewhere in a timely manner and it turned we came up with a great way to eat this dish. We whipped up the salad and served it as more of a spread for tortilla chips and couldn't believe how much we enjoyed it. We quickly decided this would be great served as an appetizer at a dinner party or as a nutritious snack on movie night! Kinda like serving a bean dip or salsa with tortilla chips.

I didn't have cotija cheese so I used feta instead. The taco seasoning for this recipe is fantastic, I highly recommend using it when cooking other recipes that call for taco seasoning. I used whatever chili powder I had around the house and not the toasted, ground chilies as recommended.... I would assume it would be that much better if I did!

Thai Curry Tofu Bowl

Mike pulled off this recipe a few weeks ago when I was out getting my hair cut. I was not only impressed by his effort but by how amazing this dish turned out. I have been disappointed by many curries that are mediocre in flavor with boring ingredients - but this one is neither! I think it would be possible to serve this curry over rice but I personally prefer this served as a stew.

Don't cut any corners with this recipe, especially the roasting of the sweet potato and tofu!

Asparagus and Asagio Canapés

These make great appetizers that you can serve hot or cold. In my case I served them cold for a St. Patrick's day potluck. These turned out great and I will definitely be making them again!

• 3 sheets phyllo pastry
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup Asagio cheese, finely grated
• 12 asparagus spears, trimmed
• freshly ground salt & pepper

1. Preheat oven to 425°.
2. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Meanwhile prepare a large bowl of ice water and set it aside.
3. Blanch asparagus in boiling water for 30 seconds. Immediately strain and place asparagus into ice water.
4. Brush one sheet of phyllo pastry with olive oil and top with second sheet of phyllo pastry; repeat until all three sheets are sandwiched together. Turn over and brush outside with olive oil and sprinkle with 3 tbsp Asagio cheese. 
5. Cut pastry into 3 x 4 so you have 12 sections. Place an asparagus spear at the beginning of one square and roll till end and place seam down on baking sheet. Repeat until all 12 canapés are ready to bake. 
6. Sprinkle canapés with remaining cheese and season with salt and pepper.
7. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

Vegetarian Chilli

I adapted this recipe two years ago by omitting the ground beef and substituting with another can of beans. I have made many different chilies but this one hits the spot every time! A very easy recipe to double with increasingly better flavor the following day - so definitely reheat for lunch and always serve with crusty bread or tortilla chips!

• 1 onion, diced
• 1 sweet red pepper, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
• 1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (19 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (19 oz) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup frozen corn kernels
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice
• 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

1. In a Dutch oven, saute onion, peppers, carrots, celery. garlic and spices over medium-high heat until onions turn translucent. 
2. Stir in tomatoes; bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Stir in beans, corn and tomato paste; simmer until bubbling, about 5 minutes.
4. Sir in coriander and lime juice.
5. Sprinkle with cheese and top with sour cream.

Note: You can add hot sauce or red pepper flakes if you want to add heat to your chili.

Acorn Squash and Black Bean Empanadas

Empanada is a stuffed pastry most commonly made in Spain and Portugal. The Spanish version tends to be larger in size whereas the Portugal version is divided into smaller appetizer size portions.  This particular recipe comes from the Veganomicon cookbook (one of my favorites!).

This time around I used butternut squash instead of acorn as I just so happened to have some ready to use -  peeled and diced in the freezer. I find it easier to store extra squash in a Tupperware container in the freezer, especially when making recipes that yield small portions of squash. It's convenient to know that you always have diced squash on hand. Also, this recipe like many others only requires 1 cup of beans and most cans yield 2 cups. Instead of throwing away the extra beans you can freeze the leftover rinsed beans just as you would the squash. When you are ready to use your frozen beans, simply rinse with hot water until they become soft again.

I highly recommend this recipe both as an appetizer and a main dish (and served chilled for lunch the next day). Serve with guacamole, salsa or sour cream for dipping. I have had great success making these ahead and freezing to bake on another day. They are quite time consuming so make sure you give yourself ample time if  you plan to serve the same day. I think I will probably double this recipe next time so I can have one batch ready in the freezer for a rainy day!

Eggplant Pasta Bake

So I like to cook with eggplant! I like the color, shape, look and taste of eggplant. I literally have trouble stopping myself from buying eggplant every time I am at the market. It takes great will power to walk past the overflowing bins of eggplant at my local market....not to mention the 2 for $3.00 sign that taunts me with no shame! So I confess, I am addicted to buying eggplant...but I know there are far worse things I could be addicted to!

I concocted this recipe in an attempt to convince Mike that eggplant gratin has the potential of being more sustainable with added pasta. Also, every time I ask him what he feels like for dinner he requests either pizza or pasta!

• 2 cups brown rice or whole wheat pasta, cooked
• 1 24 oz. bottle of Marinara Sauce (or make from scratch like I did)
• 1 eggplant, sliced into 1/4 inch thick rounds
• 3/4 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
• 3/4 cup Mozarella, grated
• 1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
• salt and pepper, freshly ground
• 1/4 cup bread crumbs

1. Season eggplant rounds with salt and pepper and allow them to sit in a colander for about 15 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 400°.
3. Arrange eggplant rounds on two baking sheets and bake for 10 minutes on each side.
4. Grease a large baking dish and pour 1/3 of marinara sauce into dish. Layer 1/3 pasta on top of sauce followed by 1/3 eggplant rounds, chopped basil and finish with 1/3 of both Parmesan and Mozzarella. Repeat layers twice more sprinkling bread crumbs on last layer and finishing with the cheeses.
5. Cover with tin foil and bake at 350° for 25 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 10 minutes until cheese is bubbly.

Beet, Bean and Rice Bowl with Tahini-Miso Dressing

A little while back some good friends of ours invited Mike and I over for dinner and served a dish similar to this one. I ended up craving this salad about a week later, so I did the best I could to invent a similar recipe. This salad is great to pack in your lunch the next day, just keep the dressing in a separate container so your veggies and almonds stay crisp. *You will notice I forgot to sprinkle almonds over the salad before taking pictures!

• 4 cups brown rice
• 1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 2 cups washed and spin dried spinach
• 1 cup shredded beet
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1/2 cup almond slivers (toasted if you prefer)

Dressing

• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup oil ( e.g. flax, olive, hemp, sunflower etc.)
• 3 tbsp rice vinegar
• 3 tbsp miso
• 1 tbsp sugar or maple syrup
• 2 tbsp tahini
• 1 clove garlic, minced

1. Prepare rice according to package directions and set aside.
2. Prepare dressing by combining all ingredients in a food processor or medium bowl and process or whisk until smooth.
3. Assemble salads starting with rice and finishing with almonds. Drizzle with generous amount of dressing before serving.

Note: I recently discovered that the recipe I was inspired by is called the "Glory Bowl" from the "Whitewater Cooks" cookbook by Shelley Adams. Shelley is from British Columbia for those of you local followers!

Coconut Lime Cupcakes

You guessed it...another birthday at the office! This time around I decided to make cupcakes instead of cake. I was very pleased with this recipe, making changes only to the icing as I was horrified by the amount of sugar it called for...4 cups!! I have no issues giving up picture perfect icing if it means reducing the amount of sugar and finding a way around sticky, slightly runny icing (this can be avoided by storing them in the refrigerator and serving them chilled). With that said I have summarized the changes I made to the icing below.

I was unable to find coconut cream so I used heavy cream with 1 tsp coconut extract.

Reduced Sugar Coconut Cream Icing

• 1/4 cup soft unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 - 2 cups icing sugar
• 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1 tsp coconut extract
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Cream together all ingredients adding more sugar and cream as necessary.

PS - my apologies for the delayed post, I was out of town caring for my Mom who just had knee surgery. Might I also add that no blog worthy cooking took place during this time!

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!