Saturday, December 29, 2012

Black Bean & Sweet Potato Tortilla Casserole

VegCookbookClub December recipes from Nava Atlas-Vegan Holiday Kitchen:

I have a confession. I am a CHEESE addict. So when I find a vegan recipe that satisfies that craving, gives my brain chemicals the 'happy dance' and doesn't leave me with a hangover, headache and intestinal distress the next morning-WHOO HOO! Believe me, I have caved in  several times and ordered pizza and I am not a happy person to be around for a couple of days! I know there are some vegan purists who poo poo at "fake" cheese but not this CHEESE addicted girl. I cannot even keep CHEESE in the fridge for my hubby; it calls my name... He's better off without it anyway. So all of that to say-this is one heck of a delicious casserole that I will even serve to those who eat CHEESE!

Before the delicious cheesy sauce.
I always tear my corn tortillas into pieces; much easier than layering them.
 

Mmmm-after baking with the delicious cheesy sauce. Could not live without Daiya; I keep packages of it in my freezer. I never want to run out; never! For this recipe I used half cheddar and half mozzarella flavors. I have made many, many enchilada casseroles in my pre-vegan/vegetarian days and this beats them all. I know what we're having for leftovers tomorrow!

Black Bean & Sweet Potato Tortilla Casserole and Sauteed Asparagus & Broccolini
 
I ate two helpings of this but that is much better than stuffing myself with CHEESE pizza!! I have three more recipes I plan on making out of this awesome cookbook. I've never made black-eyed peas and collard greens on New Year's Day and I'm starting the tradition at our house this year-Hoppin' John, Garlicky Greens and Green Chili Cornbread. Thanks Nava, for putting out such excellent cookbooks. I still have her cookbook "Vegetariana" from many moons ago!
 

Sauteed Asparagus and Broccolini

VegCookbookClub December recipes from Nava Atlas-Vegan Holiday Kitchen:

 
My local Sprouts market had some organic broccolini and bell peppers. This was the perfect recipe to use them along with the asparagus. It also calls for olives or sun-dried tomatoes; I love Kalamata olives so I chose to toss those in along with the lemon juice. I did add some dried garlic while the veggies were sauteeing. I feel you can never have enough garlic!

Thursday, December 27, 2012

Roasted Squashes and Peppers

VegCookbookClub December recipes from Nava Atlas-Vegan Holiday Kitchen:

Mmm-roasted peppers and squash!
 
Love the smell of roasting veggies. Now that the holiday season is almost over it's time to focus on some good, clean eating. Too many sweets-ugh! Next month the Veg Cookbook Club is cooking out of Kris Carr's new cookbook "Crazy Sexy Kitchen." Of course that is one of the few vegan cookbooks I don't have yet and being the cookbook junkie that I am, I immediately ordered it. She is such a powerful example of what clean, healthy eating can do for you. I'm trying, I'm trying! I can't quite get into the green juicing (yet!) I need to add a juicer and maybe a Vitamix to my wish list. :)

 
I served my roasted veggies with Swiss Chard with White Beans & Barley.
Here's to a new year of eating healthy and getting back in the gym!

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Red Quinoa Pilaf with Kale and Corn

VegCookbookClub December recipes from Nava Atlas-Vegan Holiday Kitchen:

 
Quinoa and kale-two of my favorite power foods! I've never tried red quinoa before and also cooking it in the vegetable broth gave it lots of good flavor. This pilaf tastes delicious warm or cold.
 
 
I served the pilaf with a cucumber, red onion and tomato salad tossed in Amy's Tuscany Italian dressing.
 

Sunday, December 23, 2012

Chocolate-Orange Cake

VegCookbookClub December recipes from Nava Atlas-Vegan Holiday Kitchen:

 
I bought this awesome Yule log pan by Nordicware and wanted to make a cool Yule log cake for the Winter Solstice Friday. It looks beautiful but I think you could actually sacrifice this Yule log cake on the fire as a real log! Hee, hee-I need to figure out how to bake in the pan next time. The cake flavors are wonderful but I had to bake it for over an hour to get the middle of the cake done. By then the outside was brick hard. Someone told me to wrap wet terrycloth around the pan to keep the edges from getting so done. I'll have to do a little research and try it again. I do want to make the cake recipe again using a regular Bundt pan. I love orange and chocolate together.


Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Agave and Mustard-Glazed Green Beans

VegCookbookClub December recipes from Nava Atlas-Vegan Holiday Kitchen:

 
The recipe for this dish says you can use fresh brussels sprouts or green beans. I had some organic frozen green beans that I needed to use and they tasted delicious with the agave/mustard glaze and toasted pine nuts. Can't wait to try this with brussels sprouts.

 
I served my green beans with Gardein Chick'n Tenders and Roasted Holiday Vegetables from La Dolce Vegan. The roasted veggies have carrot, potato, onion and sweet baby yams. Yum!

Monday, December 17, 2012

Spinach/Arugula Scrambled Tofu

VegCookbookClub December recipes from Nava Atlas-Vegan Holiday Kitchen:


Love me some scrambled tofu! This recipe calls for baby spinach or arugula; so I used arugula this time. I didn't have any red bell peppers but it tasted just fine without them. I remember the first time I ever heard about or tasted tofu. We were visiting a friend and he made a salad for us with some weird looking white square things in it. I thought it was some kind of cheese but he told us it was tofu-soybean curd. Thus began my 30 year-long love affair with all things veg!



Sunday, December 16, 2012

"Three Sisters" Stew

VegCookbookClub December recipes from Nava Atlas-Vegan Holiday Kitchen:

Squash, corn, and beans~the 'three sisters' in Native American mythology. Love it! I had half a butternut squash left over from the Coconut Butternut Squash Soup I made the other day so this stew was perfect. All of the other ingredients are staples in my kitchen; even the cilantro :)

 
I served my stew over brown rice. You'll notice some extra green surrounding the stew. I had baby bok choy in the fridge that needed to be cooked so I sauteed it with some olive oil and garlic. Yum, it added texture, color and crunch to this dish.
 
 

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Spiced Southern Tofu Wrap

I was just browsing through my cookbooks looking for a particular seasoning blend recipe and found this recipe I had marked in Quantum Wellness by Kathy Freston. There are so many great vegan recipes I've made in the past that I want to make again. So many recipes, so little time. It was lunchtime and I was hungry and I knew I had everything to make this...and I love the flavors in it!

 
The recipe calls for 2 cups spinach but I thought I would try my new favorite green-arugula! She also includes a recipe for the "Steak" Seasoning. It's a great blend to have on hand when you want to add a little kick to something. You toss the sauteed tofu with some lemon zest and juice, capers and the greens.

 


 
I wrapped my mixture in some warmed up Food for Life's Sprouted Grain Tortillas. The arugula was a hit. It added to the lemony, peppery, spicy flavor of these wraps. We're watching the grandkids tonight so it will be frozen vegan chick'n nuggets, Amy's vegan mac & cheese and some mandarin oranges-their favorite! Can't think about cooking when I'm chasing after a one-year old and a two-year old. :)
 

Monday, December 10, 2012

Coconut Butternut Squash Soup

VegCookbookClub December recipes from Nava Atlas-Vegan Holiday Kitchen:

 
Wow, it's been awhile since I've posted anything. I've just been cooking old stand-bys and frozen vegan convenience foods. This is what I have been busy doing: Having fun making lots of good-smelling things ~ seasoning mixes; herb teas; bath salts; aromatherapy sprays; dream pillows; herb sachets and incense. Other than cooking and baking, this is my passion!
 
 
 
So now I finally got around to making a recipe from this month's cookbook. I'm glad butternut squash has a long shelf life because I have had it sitting on my counter for awhile!

 
I didn't pre-cook the squash; I just peeled and cubed it and added about 10 minutes to the cooking time.  I also used full fat coconut milk-oops! I wasn't going to cook the garnish but I'm glad I did. I used a new ingredient that I have never bought before -arugula! I loved it raw on my bean burritos and I thought I would try it cooked with the sauteed red onions for my garnish instead of the kale. It was delicious! It added some texture to the smooth and creamy soup. I quickly added it to my grocery list for my next shopping trip. Can't wait to eat the leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Vegetable White Bean Hash

VegCookbookClub November recipes from Forks Over Knives The Cookbook:


Leeks, red bell pepper, garlic, turnip, sweet potato....sounds like this would be a yummy fall weather meal. Ugh-then I added the zest and juice of one orange; neither myself nor my hubby liked that addition! It seems like quite a few of these recipes rely on some type of citrus to add flavor. Doesn't always work though. And I sauteed my leek and pepper in olive oil-I feel so naughty when I use oil and/or salt now. I'm about done with this cookbook for now. I'm eating healthy enough as it is; I need some oil, salt and spice. :)

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Green Chile Rice with Black Beans

VegCookbookClub November recipes from Forks Over Knives The Cookbook:

 
I made this quick and easy recipe the day before Thanksgiving. It has two of my favorite ingredients-cilantro and lime! I'm ashamed to admit that as a native Arizonan I have never used a fresh poblano pepper before. I was perusing all the peppers at the grocery store and found every conceivable pepper available except for a poblano. So I got on my droid and discovered that poblanos north of Mexico are usually called pasilla peppers. Wow! Learn something new every day. I should have taken a picture of it-hehe! The recipe called for a jalapeno pepper which I didn't add; I felt it was hot enough. As you can see I added Daiya cheddar shreds and then I garnished each serving with sliced green onions.  Love the fresh lime zest and the green onions added just that little extra to make this dish delicious. I've been eating the leftovers as a hearty, savory breakfast. This morning my husband even ate a big bowl of it for his breakfast!
 
 
I had to share a pic of my contribution to the family Thanksgiving dinner. Every year I'm responsible for cooking the tofurky for the herbivores and my mom cooks for the omnivores. I also made Florida Slaw from La Dolce Vegan and a gallon of Hibiscus High tea. Plenty of food for everyone!



Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Fall Harvest Vegetable Chowder

VegCookbookClub November recipes from Forks Over Knives The Cookbook:

 
Delicious fall soup! I know this cookbook is all about no oil and no salt so I tried to follow the directions in this recipe. I used low-sodium vegetable broth and sauteed my onion, celery and carrots in 1/2 cup of it, which worked out just fine. While cooking and tasting the chowder I added 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper. When it was all done I still needed to add more salt and some freshly ground black pepper. I should have just used the regular vegetable broth and then it wouldn't have needed so much adjusting. Most of these recipes could benefit with a little salt to bring out their delicious flavors! After all of that, this chowder is yummy with some toasted garlic/nutritional yeast bread for dunking. The recipe makes alot and I still kick myself because I always forget to halve the recipe. My husband and I can only eat so many leftovers; I'm going to try and freeze some of this and see how it tastes after defrosting.

Friday, November 16, 2012

Red Lentil Dal

VegCookbookClub November recipes from Forks Over Knives The Cookbook:

 
I love red lentils. So many different ways to use them in recipes. I like the way they cook down and get mushy! I'm not a stickler for no oil cooking so I used a Tbsp. of olive oil to saute' the onions. If you make this recipe definitely add the lemon zest at the end of cooking. It gives it a bright, fresh taste. I hadn't cooked in awhile so I used up all the odds and ends of veggies I had in the fridge. Just got back from the grocery store today and wow!-did I buy alot of veggies and fruit. Now I can get back to cooking again.


I served the Red Lentil Dal with garlic sauteed spinach, steamed broccoli and Sweet 'N' Sour Red Cabbage from La Dolce Vegan. Everything went together deliciously. I topped my red lentil dal with a little sriracha sauce for a some kick.

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Kale Salad with Maple-Mustard Dressing

VegCookbookClub November recipes from Forks Over Knives The Cookbook:

 
I'm finally making my first recipe from this month's cookbook. I've been trying to clean out my fridge, freezer and pantry and use what I have; still working on it. :) I'm always looking for new ways to use kale so I thought I would try this salad recipe. It makes a Big salad-I had to dump it in a larger bowl to get it mixed up.
 
 
I added a little more lemon juice to mine. The acidity helps cut the bitterness of the kale. This will taste better the next day after the flavors marinate and the kale softens up a little. Still not my favorite kale salad; my favorite is Massaged Kale Salad. I probably make that one once a month. But I will make this again and add more lemon juice and maybe some apple cider vinegar. I served the kale salad with some Vegan 'Sausage' Hash.
 

Monday, October 29, 2012

Southern Skillet Black-Eyed Peas with Quick Buttery Biscuits

VegCookbookClub October recipes from Chloe's Kitchen:

 
 These biscuits were good but next time I'll make my favorite biscuit recipe from La Dolce Vegan, 'Basic Baking Powder Biscuits'. They have a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar that helps them rise.

 
Hubby loved these blackeyed peas. It was really like a stew to me. Really good for dipping the biscuits in. I know it must have been good because he said I could make this one again!

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Cinnamon-Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies

VegCookbookClub October recipes from Chloe's Kitchen:

The weather is finally cooling down here though we'll still have a high of 82 degrees today. I'm sitting here in shorts and a tank top-lovely! It was so nice yesterday to open all the windows and putter around in the kitchen after I went for a bike ride. I had tapioca pudding cooking in the slow cooker (The Vegan Slow Cooker cookbook), cookies baking in the oven and Sassy Jasmine tea brewing. It smelled wonderful-ahhh.
 
 
These are yummy! If you don't like the taste of coffee these probably aren't for you. The 3 tablespoons of espresso powder really pack a punch. They tasted really good with a cup of my herb tea I had just brewed. I love mixing up all different kinds of teas; I'll drink them hot and cold!
 

 
 
 
 

Maple-Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Toasted Hazelnuts

VegCookbookClub October recipes from Chloe's Kitchen:

 
And we have a winner! The last two recipes I made weren't my favorites. This one is yummy! I love brussels sprouts anyway so that helped. If you don't like brussels sprouts this recipe will change your mind. This might take the place of my other favorite brussels sprouts recipe from La Dolce Vegan Dijon Mustard Brussels Sprouts. Wow, I've never typed the words brussels sprouts so many times all at once in my life-hehe :)

 
I served my roasted brussels sprouts with garlic mashed red potatoes and Gardein Chick'n Scallopini.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Cheesy Broccoli Soup

VegCookbookClub October recipes from Chloe's Kitchen:

 
First I had to share the vegan parmesan from Galaxy Foods. I was shopping at Sprouts and was so excited to see that they finally got some in stock. I usually make my own with nutritional yeast but this tastes exactly like I remember parmesan cheese tasting. I get tired of making everything from scratch. I love making garlic parmesan bread though!

Chloe's Cheesy Broccoli Soup
 
This looks nothing like her photo in the cookbook. Well, does anything really ever? No special lighting or food artist on the premises here-hee hee! As you can see, I chose not to put it in a bread bowl but used my garlic parmesan bread for dipping. I don't think I pureed my soup enough so it was kind of thin. The flavor didn't knock my socks off so I probably won't try this one again.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Warm Spinach-Artichoke Dip

VegCookbookClub October recipes from Chloe's Kitchen:


I have to admit this wasn't my favorite vegan spinach artichoke dip I've tasted. I have made a previous recipe for the dip that I loved but do you think I can remember where I got the recipe?! That's one of the reasons I started this blog so I can easily find a recipe I've made in the past. :) I'll have to take some time and dig through my cookbooks and recipe binder to find it. If I do I'll share it with you. Anywhoo, about this recipe-I chose to use the 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper and the 1/2 tsp. black pepper. Those two spices combined just masked all the delicious flavor of the artichoke and spinach and creaminess of the dip. We still ate it anyway. I tried some on bread and some on tortilla chips. And then I tried carrot sticks; they tasted the best with it so that was my supper!

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Mongolian BBQ Seitan

VegCookbookClub October recipes from Chloe's Kitchen:

 
Love this! I like the sweet and spicy taste that the hoisin sauce, sriracha, ginger, cloves and cinnamon give it. Will put this on my 'make again' list.

 
Mongolian BBQ Seitan served over brown rice

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Tuscan Bean and Greens Soup over Garlic Toast

VegCookbookClub October recipes from Chloe's Kitchen:

 


I love when a few simple ingredients (which I usually have on hand) makes a delicious meal. I did try to find some escarole but had no luck. I've never cooked with it before and wanted to try it. Maybe next time. So instead I had some baby spinach I needed to use and it worked great. I didn't put my garlic toast in the bottom of my bowl like she suggested; I like to dip and dunk and I don't like totally soggy bread.

Saturday, October 13, 2012

Easy Peasy Pasta Salad

VegCookbookClub recipe from Chloe's Kitchen:

 
Easy and yummy! My only complaint is that all of her recipes make so many servings that my hubby and I have leftovers for 2 or 3 days. At least he doesn't mind eating them. Chloe suggests using wagon wheel pasta but do you think I could find that kind? My grocery store had every conceivable pasta shape imaginable except wagon wheel; so I used shells. In fact, they worked out really well. My hubby asked me if the pasta came with the peas inside-hee hee! Next time I might try using edamame instead of the peas to give it some extra texture and protein.
 

Easy Peasy Pasta Salad with Garlicky Greens and steamed broccoli

Garlicky Greens

VegCookbookClub recipe from Chloe's Kitchen:


I tried a different kind of kale this week. I usually buy curly kale but I found some good looking organic dinosaur kale (Lacinato). I found that the flavor is milder than curly but it does need more cooking time. It was a little tough to chew but still tasted good and garlicky!

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Barley Bliss Casserole

VegCookbookClub recipe from Chloe's Kitchen:

Hot and bubbly from the oven.
 

 
I love barley and this casserole has plenty of it. It's a great warm, homey, filling meal for a cool autumn evening; even though it still gets up into the triple digits here! You really need to use a pan that's larger than 9x13 or it will make a big mess. I used my large lasagna pan and it worked out fine. Just allow yourself at least 2 hours to make this before you want to eat because it takes 1 hour and 45 minutes to cook.

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Ooh-La-La Lasagna

October's cookbook for the VegCookbookClub Chloe's Kitchen:


 
Ooh-la-la indeed!! This is THE best vegan lasagna I've ever made. The Garden Ricotta is heavenly; I could have just eaten that right out of the food processor.  The leftovers will taste even better tomorrow. Thank you Chloe! I remember watching her on 'Cupcake Wars'. She is so charming and has such a sweet spirit. Now she needs a vegan cooking show pronto!

Monday, October 1, 2012

Chick'n and Dumplings

Had to post one more recipe from The Vegan Slow Cooker for the VegCookbookClub .

 
Wow! All I can say is I feel like I'm back on the farm at my Grandma's house sitting down to eat her chicken and dumplings. Yummy! I do remember though getting a chicken bone every once in awhile in my bowl. Yuch! No chicken bones here. I used store-bought chicken flavored seitan. Instead of the bay leaf, thyme and rosemary I used my  Poultry Seasoning .