Recipe - Broccoli Pesto

I am on a huge broccoli kick right now but I am getting seriously sick of stir-fry. I was stoked when I came across a recipe for Broccoli Pesto in the Happy Herbivore cookbook. Unfortunately the recipe isn't on her website and so I can't give it to you exactly, you will have to buy the book for that but I can give you my variation on it.

Pesto Broccoli -
2 Heads cooked broccoli
.25 cup silken tofu
appox 1 cup basil leaves
1 large clove garlic
Juice from 1/2 lemon
Sea Salt and Pepper

After you cook the broccoli, blend all the ingredients until smooth. Then toss with freshly cooked pasta. I really like whole grain pasta with this because it adds a nutty flavor. Also instead of silken tofu, an avocado might be tasty.

Squash, Anyone?

So I totally said I would put this recipe up today only it turns out that "today" was three weeks ago. Whoops. There are excuse, some of them valid but let's just pretend this happened right away and I am an excellent blogger.

Okay moving on.

Acorn Squash Filled with Onions, Sage and Oyster Mushrooms (this is a variation of something I saw on jointhereboot.com)

You will need -

• An acorn squash
• Sage
• Yellow onion
• Oyster Mushrooms
• Garlic
• Chili flakes
• Olive Oil
• Salt & Pepper

First take an acorn squash cut the ends off, cut it in half lengthwise -

Get rid of the guts brush it with olive oil and sprinkle some salt and pepper on it -

Turn it upside down and bake on foil or parchment paper at 450 degrees for 35-40 minutes until it is soft. Seriously make sure it is soft. Mine wasn't done all the way and it sucked.

While baking the acorn squash dice up a medium yellow onion and mince two cloves of garlic and sauté with olive oil over medium heat. You don't want the garlic to burn - 

Add fresh sage. About this much... -

Get your oyster mushrooms (or any you want, I like these because I am new to mushrooms and they have a pretty delicate taste and texture) and chop them into small pieces.

Add to them to the pan and let everything get nice and soft -

If you are like me you may want to add a few dashes of chili flakes. It was a nice kick. I buy them in the bulk section. Turn down the heat on the pan to low until your squash is soft.

Once your squash is nice and ready, flip it over and spoon the mixture into it. Bake for another 15 minutes.

Tah dah!

 If you go sparingly on the oil this is a really healthy meal!! Low fat, high in fiber and it kinda makes you feel domestic.

Bits of Not Bacon

Bacon bits are a great way to salty up a salad or a potato but since we don't want to kill anything, try these!!

Gretchen's Bits of Not Bacon - 

1/2 cup TVP (you can find it in bulk at Winco)

1 T. Soy Sauce

1 T. Vegan Worcestershire 

1.5 tsp Liquid smoke

A nice dash of chipotle powder

3 T water

Cracked pepper and salt (optional)

In a small sauce pan, boil everything but the S&P and the TVP. It is going to start boiling very quickly so be ready. Turn off heat and add TVP and mix. Dump mixture in to a frying pan. I used non-stick because I didn't want to add oil. Cook until they are dry and crispy. Add S&P as needed.

* If you aren't concerned about you waist line, then fry them up in a little oily. They will be more bacon-y.

I love them on a baked potato with caramelized leeks. They are also and ridiculously good topper for the Potato Leek Soup. Um I like leeks, apparently.

Review - The Happy Herbivore Cookbook

Not all vegan food is healthy, you can still be a big fatty and eat vegan if, for instance, all you eat is French Fries. Lindsay S. Nixon, author of The Happy Herbivore Cookbook: Over 175 Delicious Fat-Free and Low-Fat Vegan Recipes, created a cookbook that has recipes as delicious as they are healthy.

All of the recipes have no or very little added fat which is great for your heart, but can take a little getting used to when it comes to cleaning your pans. (Honestly, I haven't had that much trouble with clean up yet, but I keep expecting to.)

I haven't made all the recipes in this book (there are over 175 of them remember), but I have made quite a few and haven't been dissappointed. The Chocolate Zucchini Muffins are probably the #1 winner so far. The Ghandi Bowl is our favorite quick fix and we love the Mac and Cheese.

Today for kicks, I wanted to try the Black Bean Brownies. The recipe can be found here - http://happyherbivore.com/recipe/vegan-blackbean-brownies/ as well as in the book. To be honest it was the only thing that I have had that I wasn't thrilled with.

They had too much cinnamon and tasted too much like banana.  So next time I am going to follow the alternative recipe - green bananas but added sugar. And no cinnamon. Maybe decaf instant coffee.

Batter

Baked

My tester. She only took one bite...wah wah.

I am going to try again soon, because the had all the potential for total deliciousness.  But seriously everything else has been great! And so healthy. Totally worth picking up at your local bookstore. Maybe with it's help I can lose this damn holiday weight.

Another Lasagna!

I have officially started my 21-day Kickstart. Pretty simple - eat completely Vegan, no cheating. The other part is not eating anything that has more than 3 grams of fat per serving. So as much as I wanted to eat the lasagna Donna made without even using a fork, I needed something on the low-fat side.

I found this recipe for Spinach Lasagna after reading about people eating it in the book. Just to be clear, this recipe is not in the book; I had to go looking for it.

This contains the magic food - Tofu. Tofu is a great replicant for many things, but not a perfect one. I have never thought "mmmm this doesn't seem different at all!". No, most of the time it is either "meh, that is pretty tasty" or "different, but still good".

That is, until last night. This lasagna literally didn't taste any different than lasagna I had growing up, minus the mozzarella on top (which I will probably add a Daiya version of when these 21 days are over). I don't know if it was the delicious Trader Joe's sauce (Tomato and Basil) or the tofu ricotta, but Kris and I were actually moaning over it.

This picture is not very pretty  (Where is Aly Medina when I need her?!) but, it still is making my mouth water. That is how good it was.

I only used about 12 noodles and I would have liked a little more "ricotta". Quick note about lasagna noodles - if you buy the "no-boil" kind they contain eggs. Read the labels carefully folks.

Okay so off you go!! Go make some and yes, your family will be saying "lasagna again?!" and then they will shut their mouths only to open them again for more bites.

Enjoy!

**************
Recipe from website if you don't feel like following the link  -

SERVINGS
8 to 10

INGREDIENTS
1/2 to 1 pound (225 to 455 g) lasagna noodles
2 packages (10 ounces, or 280 g, each) frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 package (16 ounces, or 455 g) firm tofu (not silken)
1 tablespoon (13 g) granulated sugar (optional)
1/4 cup (60 ml) nondairy milk (such as rice, oat, soy, almond, or hazelnut), or as needed
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder or 2 peeled garlic cloves
Juice from 1/2 lemon (about 2 tablespoons [30 ml])
2 tablespoons (5 g) minced fresh basil (about 20 leaves)
1 teaspoon (6 g) salt (or to taste)
4 to 6 cups (980 to 1470 g) tomato or pasta sauce of your choice

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F; (180 degrees C, or gas mark 4).

Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions or use "no-boil" lasagna noodles. Drain and set aside.

Squeeze as much water from spinach as possible and set aside. (If using fresh spinach, blanch first.)

Place tofu, sugar (if using), milk, garlic powder, lemon juice, basil and salt in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. The tofu "ricotta" should be creamy but still have body.

Transfer to large-size bowl, and stir in spinach. Continue tasting until you get amount of salt just right.

Cover bottom of 9 x 13-inch (23 x 33 cm) baking dish with a thin layer of tomato sauce, then a layer of noodles (use about one-third of noodles). Follow with half the tofu filling. Continue in the same order, using half the remaining tomato sauce and noodles, and all remaining tofu filling. End with remaining noodles, covered by remaining tomato sauce. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until hot and bubbling.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS AND VARIATIONS
Add meatless meat crumbles to your tomato sauce for more texture and body. For more cheesiness, add shredded nondairy mozzarella cheese to each layer.

This recipe is also great for making stuffed shells. To do so, stuff pasta shells with the tofu ricotta from this recipe, place them in a baking dish, pour on tomato sauce and bake in a 350 degrees F (180 degrees C, or gas mark 4) oven for 20 to 30 minutes.

Excerpted from The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau. © Fair Winds Press 2009