Antipasto Dip

Here's a dip recipe from my Aunt Robin. I don't think I've ever had it, but it sounds interesting and she loves it. Apparently I was talking about having leftover canned artichokes at some point (probably after the Easter Soup Disaster of '09) and this is a good use for them.

14oz can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
7oz can sliced mushrooms, drained and chopped
7oz jar roasted red peppers, drained and chopped
1 c pimento-stuffed olives, drained and chopped
1/2 c chopped green pepper
1/2 c chopped celery
1/2 c finely chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 c olive or vegetable oil
2/3 c white vinegar
2 1/2 t Italian seasoning
1 t seasoned salt
1 t sugar
1/2 t freshly ground pepper

Try to chop all the vegetables to about the same size. Combine artichoke hearts, mushrooms, red peppers, olives, green peppers, and celery in a large bowl and set aside. Sauté garlic and onion in oil about 3 minutes until onion is tender. Add vinegar and spices. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat and pour over the vegetables. Cover and chill for 8 hours. Use a slotted spoon to transfer to serving dish. Serve with crackers or with toasted bread as bruschetta.

Sweet Potato Cauliflower Soup, round 2

I made this again for a party at work yesterday. I added some chili powder to the garam masala and oil - maybe 3 little shakes - and it didn't make any noticeable difference, but I think a little spice would be nice to counter the sweetness.
I also added carrots - about 20 baby carrots cut into thirds - and boiled them with the potato. I would not recommend it, they didn't get as soft and I ended up having to fish them out to make sure they went in the blender, or smashing them individually with the spoon. Maybe if they were shredded it would go better? They didn't make much noticeable difference either, though.

Sweet Potato Cauliflower Soup

I can take zero credit for this soup, it is from Manifest Vegan. I saw it on Pinterest today and the description was intriguing: "this soup has only five ingredients: cauliflower, sweet potatoes, onion, garlic, and water!" I said to myself, I can do that - I already have three of those!

I made it for dinner tonight and it's really tasty. It's sweet and has a creamy texture from being blendered, but the surprise chunks of roasted cauliflower are yummy (duh). I'm going to list the directions as I did/wish I had done them, so it's slightly different than Allyson's.

img via: Manifest Vegan

1 head of cauliflower
3 sweet potatoes
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
7 cups water
garam masala
olive oil

Preheat oven to 400F. Chop the garlic and onion. Heat olive oil and some garam masala in a large saucepan. Saute garlic and onion on med-low heat. Peel and cube the sweet potatoes. When onions are soft, add potatoes and water. Boil until potatoes are soft. Meanwhile, chop cauliflower into bite-size pieces. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Sprinkle with garam masala and drizzle with olive oil. Bake 20-30 minutes, then add to potatoes. Carefully blend half, then recombine.

Minestrone

2 T olive oil
1 1/2 c chopped onion
5 cloves garlic
1 c diced celery
1 c cubed carrot
2 t salt
4 t black pepper
2 t oregano
1 t basil
1 c chopped green pepper
3 1/2 c stock
2 c tomato puree
2 c chick peas
1 c chopped zucchini
3 T red wine
1 c chopped tomato
1/2 c dry pasta
3/4 c parsley

In stock pot, saute onion and garlic in oil until onions are translucent. Mix in celery, carrot, and 1 t salt. Add pepper, oregano, and basil and cook covered 5-8 minutes. Add green pepper, stock, tomato puree, chick peas, red wine, and zucchini, and simmer covered 15 minutes. Add tomato and 1 t salt, and keep on low heat. 10 minutes before serving, add pasta and bring to a boil until soft. Serve topped with parsley. Optional: top with parmesan cheese.

Vegan Sloppy Joes

1/2 lb firm tofu
1 T oil
1/2 large onion, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped (optional)
1/4 t garlic powder or 2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 t salt
1/2 t oregano
1/2 t basil
1 c tomato sauce
2 or 3 English muffins


Mash tofu to crumbly, drain if needed. Sauté onion, pepper, and garlic in oil for 2-3 minutes. Add tofu, salt, and herbs and stir for a few minutes until most of the moisture from the tofu has evaporated. Add tomato sauce, mix and simmer on medium low until veggies are tender, stirring occasionally. Split and toast English muffins, cover each slice with Sloppy Joe. Optional: top with mozzarella or parmesan and broil to toast cheese.

Fruited Grain Salad

This is a neat salad from Moosewood, originally introduced to us by one of the Liberal Luncheon crew.

1 c raw wheat berries
1 c pearl barley
1 c short grain brown rice
3 T balsamic vinegar
1 T lemon juice
3 T light oil
1/2 t salt
1 1/2 c golden raisins
3/4 c minced chives or scallions
6-7 large mint leaves, minced
4-5 ripe plums, sliced (or grapes, peaches, etc.)
1-2 tart apples, diced

Soak wheat berries about 30 minutes. Wash barley several times, then cook with rice and 4 1/4 c water (boil, cover, simmer 35 minutes). Drain wheat berries, then cook with 2 1/2 c water (boil, cover, simmer 1 hour - 1:15). Combine warm grains. Add everything except fruit. Cover and chill. Add fruit just before serving.

Gado Gado

This is a Moosewood recipe for a spicy peanut sauce, that I mostly remember eating over plain brown rice. It's something along the lines of the sauce that Noodles & Co. puts on the Indonesian Peanut Sauté dish, but a bit creamier and more ginger than heat.

1 c chopped onion
2 cloves garlic
1 bay leaf
1-2 t grated fresh ginger
1 c peanut butter
1 T honey
1/4 t cayenne pepper
juice of 1 lemon
1 T cider vinegar
3 c water
1/2 - 1 t salt
dash tamari

Cook onion, garlic, bay leaf, and ginger in sauce pan to soften onion. Add everything else. Simmer on low heat 30 minutes. Serve over grains, cooked veggies, tofu.

Note: A quick search for "Moosewood Gado Gado" comes up with a no-cook sauce that gets blended in the food processor. It uses 1 cup of peanut butter but only 1 1/2 cup of water, but it's hard to say which comes out thicker, since this one gets simmered down.

Bean Soup

This is a simple crock-pot soup that I made for Father's Day last year. We were meeting up for a winery tour in the morning, and then everyone came to my house for lunch, so I needed something that could take care of itself for a while. The times below are how our day went, but I'm sure it would be fine with cooking longer in part 1 and shorter in part 2.

2 c mixed dried bean
2 potatoes, cubed
2 quarts water
1 c uncooked macaroni
1 can Rotel tomatoes w/ green chilis
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
salt, pepper, basil, oregano

Part One: Rinse the beans. Put beans, potato pieces, and water in crock pot. Cook on High for 3 hours.
Part Two: Sauté the onion and garlic in oil until onions are soft. Add the onion and garlic, tomatoes, and macaroni noodles to the crock pot. Salt and spice to taste. (It needs more salt than I expected - canned beans have a lot of salt, while dry beans have none.) Cook on High for 1 hour.

Cranberry-Orange Salad

This is an simplified version of a rather complicated salad that I made for Thanksgiving one year. Now I make this one for everything.

img via: pinch my salt

2 oranges or several clementines
6oz baby spinach leaves
1/2 cup (or more) dried cranberries
4oz chopped pecans

Toast the pecans about 5 minutes at 350 degrees, then set aside to cool. Peel and separate the oranges and cut them into 1/2 inch pieces. Baby spinach usually comes well washed, but rinse if you want to. Toss everything together. Serve with a balsamic vinaigrette dressing.

Mexican Beans

My mom created this recipe. It's awesome with rice or Cornbread, and we use it as the base for tacos and taco salad. For some reason, the version that I have written down is for a massive batch, and calls for a gigantic can of beans, the one as big as your head. Scale away.

img via: off the (meat) hook

6lb 12oz canned kidney beans (3-pound coffee size)
1 t garlic powder
1 1/2 t oregano
3 t cumin

Combine over medium heat. Stir/mash occasionally to prevent sticking. It can stay over low heat for a while and will continue to thicken.

Louisiana Style Red Beans & Rice

From Skinny Vegetarian Entrees.

3 c canned red beans (save canning liquid)
3 c cooked rice
1/3 c minced red onion
3 T butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/4 c minced scallion (greens and whites)
1/4 c minced celery leaves
1/4 t dry sage
1/4 t dry thyme
1/4 t cayenne powder

Melt butter in saucepan. Saute garlic 1 minute on low heat.
Add red onion, celery leaves, and round 1/3 cup scallions. Saute 4 minutes on medium heat.
Add sage, thyme, and cayenne. Add beans and 3/4 canning liquid. Simmer 10 minutes, stirring often.
Serve beans over rice, garnish with remaining scallions.

Black Bean and Rice Burritos

From Vegetarian Times.

1c brown rice (dry)
12 6-inch flour tortillas
16 oz. can black beans
1 clove garlic, mashed
1 tomato, chopped
1/4 c chopped onion
1-2 t chili powder
1/2 t ground cumin
chopped scallions
salsa

Cook the rice as directed, usually: 1 cup rice to 2 cups water, bring to a boil, cover and simmer on low heat 35 minutes.
Wrap tortillas in foil and heat in oven at 200F, or microwave as directed.
Combine the black beans (with canning liquid), garlic, tomato, onion, chili powder, and cumin in a saucepan. Simmer until tomatoes are soft, usually 5-15 minutes.*
Spoon rice and beans into each tortilla. Garnish with scallions and salsa.

Per burrito: 185 calories, 0 cholesterol, 3g fat, 35g carbs, 6g protein.

*The even simpler cheater version of this is to just combine a can of drained black beans with a can of half-drained tomatoes and chilis (I usually get either Rotel or Hunt's), add some cumin and chili powder, and cook on medium heat until it's hot throughout and starts to simmer.

Spinach Salad

This recipe is from our friend Lee Erikson. She's part of our group who gets together every month or so for the "Liberal Vegan Luncheon." Anyway, good simple salad, don't add the dressing til you're ready to serve it or the spinach shrivels and the apricots reinflate and it's just not the same..

2 10-oz. bags baby spinach leaves
1/2 cup cashews
1/4 cup chopped dried apricots
2 apples

Rinse the spinach, chop up the apples, throw everything in a bowl. Ta-da, there's your salad!

3 T sugar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup garlic salt
1/4 cup celery salt

Mix everything together til the sugar and salts dissolve. Ta-da, there's your dressing!

Black Bean Salad

This is a bean salad recipe that my mom developed when trying to replicate a salad she had at a restaurant. The amounts are pretty flexible, so play around with what you like.

15 oz. can black beans
1/2 t pressed garlic
1/4 cup minced onion
1/4 cup minced green pepper
1 tomato
1/8 t cumin
1/2 t dry cilantro
1 T balsamic vinegar
salt and peper

Drain and rinse the black beans. Chop the tomato. Mix everything together in a bowl and let sit at least an hour before serving.

Quick Black Bean Dip

Exactly what it sounds like. Quite good!

15 oz. can black beans, drained and rised
1/2 cup mild salsa
2 T fresh lime juice (aprox 1 small lime)
2 T fresh cilantro, chopped
1/4 t cumin

Throw everything in the food processor and blend until smooth. Serve with baked tortilla chips to not destroy the healthy-ness of the dip.

1/2 cup serving contains aprox: 100 calories, 5 grams fiber, 6 grams protein, zero fat

Szechuan Cold Sesame Noodles

My sister's graduation party tomorrow, so while we've got party food on the brain, here's some of our favorites. This is an excellent noodle/sauce recipe from the book "One Pot Vegetarian Dishes". It's really good & easy, and we usually make it in a double batch.

img via: foodzings

1/4 cup crunchy peanut butter
3 T hot water
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 T soy sauce (tamari)
2 T sesame oil
1 t vegetable oil
1 t chili oil
2 t sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
8 oz. sesame noodles or spaghetti
2 medium carrots, shredded
2 scallions, thinly sliced

Start boiling water for the noodles. In a large bowl, whisk together peanut butter and water until well blended. Gradually whisk in vinegar, soy sauce, oils, sugar, and garlic. Cook the noodles as directed, drain and rinse. Add the noodles to the sauce, toss to mix well, and serve cold with carrots and scallions as garnish.

Hummus

We love this stuff, it's from Julie Jordan's first cookbook, Wings of Life. Eat hummus with pita bread, carrots, celery, cucumbers, crackers, whatever makes you happy!

15 oz. can chick peas (drain, but reserve liquid)
2 cloves garlic (or more)
1/2 t salt
1 T tahini
juice of 1 lemon (or more)
2-6 T chick pea canning liquid
optional: chopped parsley, shredded carrot

Put everything in the food processor and grind until smooth. Add more canning liquid if necessary to unthicken and anything else to taste. Let sit to blend flavors before serving.

Serves 4. Aprox 121 calories, 3.5 grams fat per serving.

Idaho Chili

An easy potato-based vegetarian chili, good for the winter.

4 cups V8 juice
2 cups water
2 potatoes
15 oz. chick peas
1 cup dried lentils
1 onion
2 carrots
2 T chili powder
1 t basil
1/2 t garlic powder

Chop potatoes, onion, and carrots. Put everything in a big pot. Bring to a boil, then simmer 30 minutes. Garnish with yogurt, sour cream, or chopped onions and tomatoes.

Serves 6. Aprox 295 calories, less than 2 grams fat per serving.

Gazpacho

An easy summer soup. Served cold, it's great for parties or picnics! (Vegan note - contains honey.)

4 cups V8 juice
1 small onion, chopped
2 cups diced tomatoes
1 cup minced green pepper
1 t honey
1 clove garlic
1 diced cucumber
2 chopped scallions
juice of 1/2 lemon
juice of 1 lime
2 T wine vinegar
1 T olive oil
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 t tarragon
1 t basil
salt and pepper
dash tabasco

Combine all. Blend half of bulk and recombine. Chill.

Serves 8. Aprox 100 calories, 2 grams fat per serving.

Split Pea Soup

A thick winter soup good with salad and crusty bread. Takes a while to make, but totally worth it, and only gets better as leftovers.

1 pound washed split peas
3 quarts water
1 1/2 t salt
2 T butter or oil
1 1/2 cup carrot, finely chopped
1 cup sweet potato, finely chopped
1 cup onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup celery, finely chopped
3/4 t ground marjoram
1 t basil
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1/2 cup white wine
ground black pepper

Bring to a boil the water, peas, and salt. Lower heat and simmer 1 hour, skim foam from top as needed. Saute vegetables in butter or oil for 10 minutes. Add herbs and cook 5 minutes more. Add vegetables to peas and simmer 1 hour. Puree half and recombine. Add wine and pepper. Reheat.

Serves 8. Aprox 275 calories per serving.