My husband and I really enjoy Amy’s veggie loaf frozen dinner.

The only reason I can figure that it isn’t advertised as being vegan is the addition of honey somewhere in the meal.  I don’t consider honey to be vegan (some vegans still eat it regularly), but I will eat it on a rare occasion in a commercially-made product.  Why is honey not vegan, you may be asking yourself?  Well, honey is food that bees make for themselves, not for me.  That’s why I don’t eat it.

Anyway, before I get completely off track, I was craving it last night (really, I was craving something with gravy on top accompanied by mashed potatoes).  I got all the ingredients and using the Magical Loaf Studio, I put together a recipe.  The Magical Loaf Studio is not working the way it’s meant to, but I did find the basic gist of making a loaf.  Now, for some reason, I can’t even find that.  Well, here’s how I made mine.

Lentil Loaf

2 cups cooked lentils, I used green (cook up 1 cup of dry lentils and you should get around 2 cups)

1 cup cooked quinoa (again, cook up 1/2 a cup and you should get around 1 cup)

1/2 cup nuts & seeds, I used 1/4 cup sunflower and 1/4 cup pecans.  Pulse them in a food processor until coarsely ground.

2-3 TB flax meal

1 TB soy sauce

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried parsley

5 TB ketchup

1/2 tsp seasoned salt

1 large carrot, diced

1/2 small onion, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease the pan that you intend to cook your loaf in.  Size doesn’t matter; although, I read that an 8×8 pan makes for a crispier loaf.  I used the 8×8 pan.

Saute all the veggies in a little olive oil until tender.  Add the veggies along with everything else into a mixing bowl and combine.  If the mixture is too dry, add up to 1/2 cup of liquid.  This is where I messed up,  I think, because I didn’t use any liquid and my loaf was pretty crumbly.  Stock, broth or soy milk (unsweetened, of course), ought to do it.

Put mixture into your pan and bake for 45 minutes.  Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes before cutting.  To cut, invert the loaf onto a plate or platter (so as not to scratch up your baking dish when you cut it).

My loaf, although a bit crumbly, was really tasty.  Even the kiddo ate it, albeit reluctantly at first.  I normally make my own gravy, but since I was making everything else from scratch, I opted for the mix that comes in the little packets.  I know, I know.  But, the one I bought was vegan and didn’t have anything weird in it.  Actually, it had pretty much everything in it that I would have put in it anyway, so maybe it’s not so bad.  The brand is Road’s End and I used the “savory herb” variety.  You can find it in the spice aisle of Whole Foods (for a measly 89 cents!).  It was pretty darn good, too.

You’re going to take one look at this recipe and think I’ve lost my mind.  I thought for a minute tonight that maybe I was crazy for adding beet greens to fajitas… but my dinner turned out awesome, so I guess that means I’m a genius! 

The Back story:  I bought a bunch of organic golden beets today.  I always buy them with the greens attached thinking that I’ll do something great with the greens.  I think to myself, I’ll cook ‘em up, juice ‘em, something awesome.  It never happens and they always turn to something that looks and smells like seaweed before I have the chance/ambition to do something great with them.  But Not Tonight (hey, isn’t that a Depeche Mode song?).

Funky Fajitas

Since I didn’t measure anything, I will describe how I made these.

1. Thoroughly wash your beat greens.  They are usually very sandy so take an extra minute to clean them well.  If you don’t have beat greens or don’t want to use them here, use kale, chard, spinach, or other green of your choice.
2. Remove the big stems from the greens (save them for juicing, if you’re into that sort of thing).
3. Roughly chop the greens and add them to a preheated skillet that has a little oil in it (if you are using spinach, don’t do this yet– you will want to add that last since it takes no time at all to cook).  Your skillet should be fairly hot.
4. Add half an onion that has been sliced.
5. Add 2 small carrots that have been peeled and chopped.
6. Cook a few minutes using tongs to move the veggies around, like you were stir-frying.
7. Add 2 small zucchini that have been sliced or chopped.
8. Continue to stir fry.
9. Add some beans if you want.  I had leftover black and pinto so that’s what I used (maybe a cup total).
10. Add spices– I used (maybe a TB of each) chili powder and cumin; about 1 tsp dried oregano.  S&P to taste.

Yummy additions:  cooked potatoes, mushrooms (if you like them, that is… I don’t), bell peppers…

I made a chunky guacamole to top them with and it was delicious!  Confession:  I also used the chunky guac as dressing for our side salad.

On the side, I sauteed up some plantains.  They were good, but super sweet.  I had bought them last week with the intention of using them in a recipe that I never got around to making.  Soooo… after sitting in the hot kitchen for a week, they are getting nice and black.  Anyway, I think I may try making plantain pancakes, waffles or muffins one day this week since they’re now too sweet for eating straight up, IMO.

Any ideas for using up 2 large plantains that are now at the very sweet, almost rotten stage? 

If you’ve got a small army to feed (or if you just want to have leftovers for the next week), then do I have a recipe for you!  I originally set out to make enchiladas, but when my dry tortillas started falling apart and when my bowl of filling started overflowing, I decided to throw it all into the baking dish and call it a day.  And, it worked out really well.  This dish has actually been better as leftovers, so I would recommend baking it in advance (if you can) and then reheating it when you’re ready to serve it– like make it on a weekend when you have extra time to serve at some point during the week.  If you don’t have time to make it ahead, no worries!  It’s delicious any way you want to eat it.

Feel free to mix up the veggies here.  I would think that mushrooms would be a nice addition, but I don’t particularly like them and don’t use them often.  Eggplant may also be interesting.

Enchilada Lasagna

(serves an army of hungry vegans)

1 onion, chopped

1 tsp cumin

1 TB chili powder

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp seasoned salt (or regular salt)

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

1 generous handful of baby spinach

1 cup broccoli florets

1 cup cauliflower florets

1 zucchini, chopped

3 small potatoes, boiled and cubed (they’ll need to be mostly cooked)

1 cup pinto beans

1 cup black beans

1 package corn tortillas

2 cups enchilada sauce

2 cups marinara sauce

1 small can black olives

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish or cake pan with non-stick spray.  Line the bottom of the pan with one layer of corn tortillas and set aside.

Saute the onion in a little bit of oil and add all of the spices (everything through the pepper).  Cook until onion is tender then add to a mixing bowl with all of the other veggies and the beans.  Mix well and pour on top of the tortillas in the pan.  Add another single layer of tortillas (you’ll probably need 12 or so total).  Mix together the enchilada and marinara sauces and pour over the top.  Top with olives and bake (uncovered) for 45 minutes to an hour.

We had ours topped with some guacamole and some avocado slices.  Have I mentioned how good this is?  You should make some tonight!

YES!  I’m back in action.

For dinner last night, we had all the makings for black bean burritos,but I wanted to do something different.  I immediately thought of black bean burgers, but my gripe with burger patties made from cooked beans is that they are always too mushy.  Well, I thought maybe I could fix that, so I combined several recipes to make one delicious, not-so-mushy spicy black bean patty.  Note:  these are spicy (because there’s lots of spice going on), but they aren’t too hot.  If you’re worried about the heat, cut back on the chili powder and omit the Tabasco and chili sauces.

I made ours into a “quesadilla” by placing the cooked patty on a tortilla, adding some salsa and baby spinach and crisping the tortilla in a pan the way you would a quesadilla.  I think I prefer the crispy tortilla to a plain tortilla because it gives it a contrasting texture to the patty.

Spicy Black Bean Burgers

1 TB ground flax seeds

3 TB water

1 TB onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 TB chili powder

1 TB cumin

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 tsp Thai Sweet Chili Sauce

1 tsp Tabasco sauce

1 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed

4 TB flour

1/4 cup corn, either fresh, frozen or canned

In a food processor, whip the flax seeds with the water until thick and creamy (this is known as a “flax egg” FYI).  Add all the the spices (everything up to the black beans) and process until incorporated.  Add the black beans and the flour and pulse just to break up the beans a bit and to incorporate the flour.  Transfer to a mixing bowl and fold in the corn.  Refrigerate until ready to cook.

To cook, drizzle a little canola oil (or spray with non-stick cooking spray) into a pan.  Make patties (you’ll get 4 from this recipe) and put them in the oil to cook.  Cook about 8 minutes per side, or until golden.

I’ve made these several times and every time I make them, I can’t help but wonder why I don’t make them more often.  I mean, the last time we had these was at Christmas.  The recipe is from ED&BV and I topped them with the cranberry sauce also from that book. The filling is a mixture of white beans, walnuts, spinach, basil and roasted red peppers all wrapped up in crispy filo dough. And the cranberry sauce is just cranberries (fresh or frozen) and maple syrup. I add a little bit of arrowroot because I like it a little thicker.  So good, relatively easy to make, and so filling.  These are great for pretty much any meal too– brunch, lunch or dinner.   The best part is that the filling can be made ahead of time and kept in the fridge (no need to worry about the spinach and basil turning brown).

I love soy-rizo.  I’ve found it at my local grocery store, as well as at Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods.  If you’re missing something meaty, try this stuff out.  It will definitely satisfy your craving.  Having said that, this stuff is pretty high in fat and I’m not much into processed soy foods (like fake deli meats, fake chicken nuggets, hot dogs, etc), so things like this soy-rizo are occasional treats in my house.

I had some sitting in my freezer and the other night, I decided to whip up a taco filling with it.  After sauteeing a little onion and garlic, I added in the defrosted soy-rizo and browned it up a little.  Then I put in a can of cannellini beans, some crushed red pepper flakes and a little bit of dried oregano.  Oh yeah, I also made homemade tortillas. 

Not the most appetizing photo, I know, but these were delicious!  And homemade tortillas are much easier to make than they sound.  After looking up a recipe on the internet, I finally came across one that didn’t use shortening.  Not that I’m against shortening (non-hydrogenated, of course) for things like frosting, but it’s not something I want to eat everyday.  Anyway, I’ve made a few changes to the tortilla recipe that I found, so here it is:

Almost Whole Wheat Tortillas

(click here for a printer-friendly version)

3/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour (not whole wheat pastry)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 Tablespoons canola oil
1/2 + 1/8 cup warm water

Mix ingredients. Knead a few times then separate into 8 equal parts (cut in half, then in half again (to make quarters), then cut each quarter in half). Roll into balls then cover and let sit for 10 minutes.  Heat a large (ungreased) pan over medium-high heat. Using a rolling pin, roll balls out into 6-8 inch flat tortillas. These will puff as they cook, so roll them out as thin as you can.  Cook one at a time in the pan until the top bubbles, indicating that it’s time to flip them (just like pancakes).

I’ve been trying hard lately to eat more Raw dishes; salads obviously being the easiest way to accomplish this goal.  I get tired of the same salads with the same dressing.  In fact, I find myself getting tired of salads altogether if I eat them every day.  So, I try to change it up a bit and give each it’s own uniqueness.

A few days ago, I tried this Fennel Orange Kale Salad from Kristen’s Raw.  In place of the hemp oil, I used cold-pressed organic flax oil.  I also didn’t have any kalamata olives, which was SOOOO depressing because I bet they’re awesome in this salad, so I used some cherry tomatoes.  My salad base was a mix of romaine lettuce and chopped kale.  Raw kale in a salad is a bit much for me, so I had to mix it up a bit with some crunchy lettuce.

Yesterday for lunch, I whipped up this salad using romaine lettuce, fennel, raw beets and cherry tomatoes.  I made this Sweet Dijon Dressing to go over it and it was AWESOME!  I found it to be a little thick, so I thinned it out just a tad with a TB or 2 of water.  This dressing is seriously good.  I think I’ll even try a ranch style version using the raw zucchini as a base and incorporating some of the herbs found in ranch dressing.

Today’s lunch was the same salad from yesterday, except I used a box grater to grate some carrot, beets and fennel.  Once I put the dressing on, I squeezed some fresh lemon juice over the top, which really made it super delicious.  I’ll have to remember to do that from now on.  Today, I had my salad with a banana and some coconut water.  Fresh coconut water is so delicious.  If you’ve never tried it, you’re seriously missing out.  I put mine in the fridge right when I bring them home from the store so that the water is nice and cold when I am in the mood for having some.  And, I’ve found that Asian markets have the best prices on coconuts, about 20 cents cheaper than my Whole Foods.  Be sure to buy the young coconuts (they have white all the way around).  The brown ones are older and don’t have the water inside.  Intimated about opening up a fresh coconut?  Here’s a video to help you:

I’ve made black bean and sweet potato enchiladas before and I thought the combo would work equally well in quesadillas.  Well, there’s no cheese, so can you really call them quesadillas?  Anyway, we ate these all weekend long, tweaking the filling a bit to make it a little bit different each night.  These were super tasty and the perfect portion when paired with a simple green salad.

To prepare the sweet potato/yam, chop it up and spread onto a baking sheet.  Drizzle with a little bit of olive oil or canola oil and sprinkle on some cumin, chili powder, cayenne, oregano, and S&P.  Use as much or as little as you like.  I rarely measure spices when I’m preparing stuff like this, so you’ll just have to trust your judgment.  Toss to coat evenly and spread out into a single layer.  Roast at 425 degrees for about 20 minutes until browned on all sides (flip over as needed to prevent burning).

When the potatoes were done, I mashed them up a little bit on my tortilla to give the black beans some glue to stick to.  Top the potatoes with black beans and any other vegetables you may have on hand.  We had ours one night with sweet potatoes, black beans and sauteed onions and bell peppers.  The next night we had that same combo with a little spinach thrown in.  These were so good, you won’t miss the cheese!

Speaking of cheese, I’ve loosened the reins a bit and allow my Emma to eat cheese on occasion.  I’ve concluded that my reasons for being vegan don’t have to be hers, although I hope she’ll chose a vegan lifestyle when she is older and can decide for herself.  Anyway, I was cutting some cheese for her to eat the other day and decided to taste it myself.  It’s been about a year since I’ve had cheese and I was just curious to see if I still like it after not having it (I was a huge fan of cheese– in fact, it was my arugment against going vegan for a long time because I thought I couldn’t give it up).  When I tasted it, I thought it was disgusting.  It coats your mouth with all sorts of creamy funk.  Nasty!

Okay, I admit it… we were planning a bunch a while back and I had no idea what to make.  Looking for inspiration, I did a quick google search and came up with the most ridiculous thread.  Vegan brunch can be pretty hard, especially if you aren’t vegan yourself, and I tried to keep reminding myself of this while I scrolled through.    The original poster was looking for advice on vegan brunch items because s/he was hosting a brunch and one of the invited people was vegan (and I have to say it’s super thoughtful of this person to try to find a yummy vegan recipe for this lone vegan).  Here is a sampling of the most entertaining responses:

Wow! Everyone…thank you so very very much!
Just re-saw this thread. Looks like there are a wealth of options
for my vegan friend. Now I have to figure out how I’d keep
scrambled tofu warm for her. Maybe in the oven? Do ahead & leave w/
tortillas like mentioned for her to fill herself w/other fillings?
Thanks so very, very much!!

Anyway, enough of that.  If someone happens to search for vegan brunch items, I hope they find my blog because I have a few recommendations.  First, you totally have to check out the cookbook Carb Conscious Vegetarian because it’s awesome.  Tons of breakfast ideas.  And Robin Robertson is a genius– she markets this as a vegetarian cookbook when, in actuality, it’s mainly, if not totally, vegan.  A lot of people are totally turned off by the term “vegan” that they may not have even picked up this book.  But “vegetarian” is far less scary.  So smart!

Another recommendation I have for someone who may find themselves asking the all-knowing Google for vegan brunch dishes is to check out The Joy of Vegan Baking.  A bunch of muffin recipes, coffee cakes, bundt cakes, etc. You can’t go wrong.  To go with our frittata, I made the Jam-Filled Oat Muffins.  One word– yum!!!!  Since I’m sort of watching things right now, I figured if I was going to make a muffin, one that’s made primarily with oat bran would be the wisest choice.  These were great and the recipe was super easy.  Since I very easily found the recipe posted at RecipeZaar, I’ll go ahead and post it here until someone tells me to take it down.

Yep, lots of salads in my house these days.  This was was particularly tasty– perfect for those of us watching our intake because it tastes good, but is pretty healthy.  This is based on a lentil salad recipe from Raising the Salad Bar. Since I didn’t have all of the ingredients to make that recipe, I made up my own.

Lentil Salad

(click here for a printer-friendly version)

1 1/2 cups French green lentils

2 bay leaves

1 carrot, grated

1/2 medium red onion, diced (and soaked in several changes of water if the aftertaste of raw onion bothers you)

1 roasted red pepper, chopped

1/3 cup chopped cilantro

1/4 cup toasted pecans halves, crumbled lightly in your hand before adding to the salad

1/4 cup raisins

Dressing:

2 TB apple cider vinegar

1 TB white wine vinegar

1 TB fresh lemon juice

1 TB maple syrup

2 tsp flax oil

S&P to taste

Fill a medium pot with water and bring to a boil.  Add the lentils and bay leaves, reduce to a simmer and cook until the lentils are tender (but not mushy), about 20 minutes.  When cooked, drain them and let them cool a bit.  Meanwhile, put the remaining salad ingredients into a large bowl.  In a separate bowl, prepare the dressing ingredients.  (NOTE:  The original recipe called for balasamic vinegar, but I was out, so I used the apple cider and white wine vinegars.)  When the lentils have cooled a bit, add them to the salad along with the dressing and toss everything together.

We had ours over some romaine and butter lettuce with cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, and drizzled with a little of the lentil salad dressing.  I thought the dressing was a little too delicate for the salad, so I will try it next time with the balsamic vinegar instead.  The delicateness could also be due to the fact that I used 2 tsp of flax oil instead of 1/4 cup of olive oil.  It was still good and I’ll be having the leftovers for lunch today, probably wrapped up in a cabbage leaf.  Yum!

The “chips” along the side of the bowl are garlic-herb lavash chips that I made so that we could have a “bread” with our salad.  These turned out great– even my Emma liked them!  All I did was cut a whole wheat lavash into triangles, either spray or brush lightly with olive oil, and sprinkle on some salt, granulated garlic and dried oregano.  Bake at 350 degrees until brown and crispy.  A very simple meal with very little cleanup too– can’t beat that!

Don’t forget– there’s only a few days left to enter yourself into my 1st super awesome giveaway!