Gingered Collard Greens

Vegcookbookclub January:

I think February is going to go by in a blur. I'm still working on cooking recipes from January's list! 

I'm always looking for ways to cook greens and this one is from Everyday Happy Herbivore.

Lots of ginger, red onion and red pepper flakes. I added a dash of liquid smoke and let the greens simmer awhile.

Gingered Collard Greens with some chipotle habanero sauce on top! I served them with sliced potatoes, mixed veggies and Gardein Turk'y Cutlets. 

Broccoli Pesto Pasta & Garlicky Spinach

Vegcookbookclub January 2014

~from Everyday Happy Herbivore: Garlicky Spinach

Lots of garlic in the Garlicky Spinach. I used a half and half mixture of spinach and lacinato kale. You saute' the garlic (6 cloves!) in a small amount of vegetable broth and then add Dijon mustard, red wine vinegar and red pepper flakes for seasoning. Very tasty!  

 ~from The Happy Herbivore:  Broccoli Pesto Pasta

After steaming the broccoli it is blended with 3 garlic cloves, fresh basil, tofu and other seasonings. It is then tossed with cooked pasta. I added the optional kalamata olives, some capers and quartered cherry tomatoes for extra flavor. Basically, it is an uncooked pasta sauce so the raw garlic is quite potent. We had a "garlicky" dinner tonight. Along with the garlic in the spinach and pasta I also made garlic bread! Whew! Good thing we were both eating it!

Veggie Lo Mein

Vegcookbookclub January 2014

~from Everyday Happy Herbivore:

This Veggie Lo Mein was so easy to throw together for a quick meal! Instead of sauteeing the veggies in just water I did add a little sesame oil to the pan. Oops; not totally oil-free! 

I bought a bag of Asian Blend veggies-green & red cabbage, broccoli slaw, carrots, kale and snap peas. I also added some sliced red bell pepper to the mix. After cooking, I tossed the veggies with spelt soba noodles and the Lo Mein sauce. 

For extra flavor I topped the Lo Mein with some Gardein Teriyaki Chik'n Strips. Yum!

Cruciferous Cravings

Vegcookbookclub January 2014

It seems lately all I have been cooking is kale, collard greens, brussels sprouts, cauliflower and broccoli. I just discovered they are all from the same group of plants! I must be craving some special vitamins and minerals they have. 

Both of these recipes are from Everyday Happy Herbivore.  It's been great this month digging into Lindsay Nixon's two cookbooks I have. I know most of the recipes are pretty simplistic but that makes it so much easier to get dinner on the table at night. And I usually have most of the ingredients already in my pantry and fridge. 

~ Broccoli & Red Pepper Stir-Fry ~

Sauteeing the broccoli and red pepper in savory sauce. 

I wanted to add some protein to make this a one-pot dish so I browned pressed diced firm tofu sprinkled with Butler's Chik-Style Seasoning. 

 I served the Broccoli & Red Pepper Stir-Fry on top of some brown rice. Yum!

~ Gobi Palak ~

This was soooo yummy! After cooking the yellow split peas for about 45 minutes you add lots of spices and cauliflower and let it cook down then toss in some baby spinach. I served it over brown and jasmine rice and garnished with some chopped cilantro and garlic-chili sauce. 

So easy!

"Crab" Cakes, Mashed Potatoes & Green Beans

Vegcookbookclub January 2014

~ Everyday Happy Herbivore: "Crab" Cakes; Remoulade 

Love these 'crab' cakes! A delicious combination of pressed shredded tofu, chopped oyster mushrooms and lots of seasonings; these definitely take the place of fishy crab cakes. Her recipes use no oil but instead of using the vegan mayo recipe she suggests, I used Vegenaise so my 'crab' cakes do have some oil. Maybe that's why they tasted so good! I also made the Remoulade sauce to smear on top of these. Again, I used Vegenaise along with the ketchup, dill pickle, mustard, Old Bay seasoning, lemon juice and Tabasco to make a tasty, spicy topping.

 ~ The Happy Herbivore: Dirty Mashed Potatoes; Dijon-Herb Green Beans

Mashing the Dirty Potatoes

These are called dirty because you leave the skins on the potatoes. This recipe called for 2 Tbsp. of garlic powder; I cut that down to 1 Tbsp. Of course no "butter" is called for so I added some Earth Balance margarine when I ate mine! 

Mixing the green beans in the Dijon-Herb sauce. 

Instead of all the herbs and spices this calls for I used 2 1/2 tsp. of my Italian seasoning blend. 

I thought the flavor of the sauce was great but the hubby wasn't particularly fond of it. Maybe the combination of Dijon mustard, lemon juice and the herbs was too much for him. He likes things "plain jane". I should have just cooked some plain ol' green beans for him! 

"Crab" Cakes, Remoulade, Dirty Mashed Potatoes and Dijon-Herb Green Beans

"Tuna" Salad & Greens

Vegcookbookclub January 2014

The Happy Herbivore: "Tuna" Salad ~

I've made chickpea salads before that I love but this one really has the consistency, taste and texture of tuna "tuna" salad.  I used a pastry blender to mash up the chickpeas; it works really well. Instead of chopping the celery you shred it and then combine sweet pickle relish, kelp powder and a few other seasonings. I served it over a bed of arugula and spinach with chopped red onion, cherry tomatoes and yellow sliced mini peppers. I ate the leftovers in warmed corn tortillas with shredded spinach. 

Everyday Happy Herbivore:  Rainbow Greens ~

The recipe calls for rainbow chard but this time I used red chard. So easy, yet a delicious way to eat your greens. I saute' the chard stems with the garlic to soften them up a little. The combination of the  apple cider vinegar and the raisins helps to balance the bitterness of the greens. 

Spinach & Artichoke Frittata

I've been wanting to make this recipe for the last six months! I had a can of artichoke hearts in my pantry that I knew I needed to use. Now, since I can't drive for six weeks because of my back surgery I had the perfect opportunity to use those darn artichoke hearts. And I just happened to have 2 cartons of Mori-Nu tofu and some fresh spinach. This recipe comes from Everyday Happy Herbivore.

You just blend everything except the spinach and artichokes in the food processor and then pop it in the oven. Deliciously easy! I was surprised that the consistency reminded me of an egg dish.

Served my frittata with Dijon Mustard Brussels Sprouts from La Dolce Vegan and some bread spread with Earth Balance margarine, sprinkled with some garlic powder and a little nutritional yeast and broiled. I think I'll have the leftovers for breakfast!   I'm running out of fresh veggies-someone's going to have to take me to the store. :)

Tip-Top Tofu Loaf~pg. 154; Maryland's Kale

La Dolce Vegan! Challenge:

It seems like it's been forever since I've posted a recipe. I guess life happens. My niece's 'celebration of life' memorial was on Saturday and on Sunday we surprised my mother-in-law with an 80th birthday party. Lots and lots of people hugged and loved on for two days. I wasn't looking forward to making this 'loaf' again because I didn't really like it the last time. The flavor is good but the consistency and texture is like a spread for crackers. Plus, my poor hubby wouldn't eat it:(  I think he's got a mental block about tofu!

I served my "loaf" with roasted butternut squash (olive oil, coriander, cumin, cinnamon) and Maryland's Kale from Everyday Happy Herbivore by Lindsay S. Nixon. The kale recipe has Old Bay seasoning and fresh lemon-easy and delicious. When I ate everything together the tofu "loaf" tasted good. I'll just have to eat the leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

Wolffie's Nutritional Yeast "Cheese" Sauce~175; Rainbow Greens

La Dolce Vegan! Challenge:

A good, quick nutritious 'cheese' sauce to whip up for anything. After I took the picture I added some Garlic Herb Seasoning to spice it up a little. I served my macaroni and 'cheese' with Rainbow Greens from Everyday Happy Herbivore.