I first saw this recipe on Yeah… and thought I’d try it out as a possibility for when my parents visit next weekend. They are coming to celebrate my dad’s birthday, so I thought it would be nice to make/reinvent foods that he enjoys. I remember my mom making ribs for him when I was a kid, but I have to admit that I never really developed a fondness for them. They’re too human-like. I was never really a fan of anything that resembled my own body parts. Anyway, so I’m happy that I tried this recipe out first before trying to serve it to guests. They were edible and freakishly rib-like, but the flavor was a little weird to me. I think it may have been the paprika and I may the recipe again without adding it to see if it is better.

I did make my own BBQ sauce for them, which I’m pretty proud of. The sauce was a tad spicy, but really, really tasty. For a hearty side dish (aka a backup in case the ribs were unsuccessful), I made the delicious BBQ beans from Vegan Planet. I also modified the corn bread recipe from there and made the best cornbread I have ever had. Sooooo yummy! It’s a great book and not very expensive if you buy it from Amazon. I totally recommend it for your home library.

The idea of tacos sounded really good to me the other night, but I wanted something different than our usual lentil taco filling.  This filling came together on the fly, but was so good that we will be having it again and again.

Bean & Zucchini Tacos

1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1 small zucchini, diced

1 onion, chopped

1 small jalapeño, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup jarred salsa, any kind will do

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp cumin

Juice of half a lime (about 1 TB)

S&P to taste

In a medium skillet, saute the onions in about 1 TB of olive oil until tender.  Add the zucchini, jalapeño and garlic and cook for another few minutes, until the zucchini begins to get tender.  Add the spices, salsa and beans and cook until the liquid from the salsa has reduced down to a thick paste.  Remove from heat and add the lime juice.  Taste, and season with S&P.

We had ours topped with some homemade guacamole.  This was an awesome dish!  We will definitely be having this again really soon.  For those concerned about the use of the jalapeño, the heat level of this was a mild.  I could have used more to suit my taste, actually, but I was scared to use too much and blow my taste buds out.

For dinner the other night, I made another batch of my Three Bean Soup. This is so easy to make and so tasty. I was running short of time, so I decided to use my little chopper (it’s like a mini food processor) to chop up all the veggies. That was a big time saver and I think I will do that from now on.

On the side, we had some of vegandad’s focaccia. I’ve actually made this once before, but never blogged about it because it didn’t turn out quite right. I was not very precise when measuring the flour, which made the bread turn out a little on the brick-ish side. It was still very good, but I realized right away that I need to be more careful when measuring for baked goods.

This batch turned out much better. So fluffy and yummy… I did substitute dried basil for the sage and it was delicious! Since my mixer does the kneading for me, I will definitely be making this all the time. It is awesome on it’s own, but it would be great for veggie sammies or paninis.

Last night, I made the baked beans recipe from Vegan Planet. I’ve made them a few times and it is one recipe that doesn’t disappoint– it’s just the right balance of sweet and spice.

As a side dish, I made some cornbread dressing muffins. I think I’ve only made these once before, when we were still eating eggs, so this was my first time winging it vegan style.

Cornbread Dressing

1 1/2 to 2 cups cornbread (I used the recipe from The Joy of Vegan Baking)

1 onion, chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

1 apple, roughly chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 T fresh sage, chopped

1 cup vegan sausage, chopped

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1 to 2 cups veg stock (or more depending on dryness of cornbread)

S&P to taste

In a large skillet, saute the onions, celery, apple, and garlic in about 1 T olive oil over medium heat. When they begin to get tender, add in the sausage and sage. When the sausage begins to brown, add in the cornbread, dried cranberries and enough of the veg stock to moisten the cornbread. Scoop the mixture into lightly greased muffin tins and bake at 425 degrees for about 30 minutes or until the tops and sides begin to look crispy.

I used the leftovers from this recipe for the sausage. I think this recipe would have been better (definitely less spicy) had I used a breakfast type sausage. It was still good, but I will definitely try a different kind of sausage the next time I make it.

I came up with the idea for this soup when my mom asked me what uses there are for kale, aside from cooking it up and eating it as is.  She asked if it could be put in salads and, at the time, I didn’t know, but I can now assure you that yes, it is good in salads.  I sprinkle some in and mix it in with the lettuce and you can’t even tell that it’s there.

Lentil, Kale & White Bean Soup

1 onion, chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

4 kale leaves, stems removed and chopped

1 quart veg stock

1/2 cup lentils (I used brown)

1 can white beans (I actually used pinto, as I was out of cannellini)

1 T red wine vinegar

S&P to taste

In a large soup pot, heat a few tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat and add the onions, carrots, celery and garlic.  Cook for about 5 minutes, until they begin to get tender.  Add the vegetable stock, bring to a boil, and add the lentils.  Reduce the heat back to medium and cook for about 10 minutes.  Add the kale and continue cooking for about 30 minutes, until the lentils and kale are fully cooked.  Add in the can of beans (any kind will work) and let the beans heat through.  Remove from the heat and add the vinegar, S&P.  This was SO good and made just the perfect amount.  It was enough for three pretty large servings, or four smaller ones.  I love it when we don’t have tons of leftover soup to eat for days and days.

I actually make these panini sandwhiches all the time.  They are probably one of my favorite sandwiches.  I know that my photography skills could use a little work, but trust me when I say that my lame photo doesn’t do it justice.

Mediterranean Style Panini Sandwiches

(makes 4 sandwiches)

1 cup roasted red peppers, patted dry and sliced

A big handful of fresh basil leaves

6 green olives & 8 kalamata olives, finely chopped

1 large tomato, sliced

1 cup artichoke hearts, sliced

Sandwich rolls

Slice open the sandwich rolls and smear each side with a generous amount of mayo (or vegan mayo– I’m still using up my tub o’ Best Foods).  If you aren’t into mayo, a little drizzle of olive oil will do the trick too.  Pile on the sandwich fillings, but put the tomato in the middle so that your bread doesn’t get soggy.  Either use a panini press or a skillet to brown them up on both sides.  SO, so, so good.  I could eat these all day every day.

Matt’s cousin, Amy, came over for dinner last night. She had been dying to try the lentil tacos (and a recent convert to a vegan diet), so that’s what we had. I also made some tofu ranchero so that we could have lots of leftovers to have another night this week. I also made my own refried beans, which turned out a little on the dry side, but still really tasty.

For the beans, I used 1 medium onion and 1 large jalapeño satueed in about 2 TB of olive oil until they were super soft. I then added about 3 cups of cooked pinto beans and I smashed them up with a potato masher. A little S&P and I was done! I topped them with a bit of chopped cilantro just to give them an extra bit of flavor. As I said, they were slightly dry and I think next time I will add in a bit of veg stock to fix that. Other than that, they were incredibly yummy, and not spicy at all.

When Matt and I lived in San Francisco, there was a taqueria around the corner from our apartment that offered tofu rachero as a burrito or taco filler. I was scared to try it at first, but I’m glad I eventually came to my senses because it’s AWESOME! I did a search on the internet for a ranchero sauce recipe and came up with this one that has served me well for the last few years. Since I don’t follow it exactly, here is my version of it:

Tofu Rachero

1 T olive oil

1 jalapeno, diced

1 stalk celery, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

1/2 green bell pepper, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 28-oz can diced tomatoes

1 15-oz can tomato sauce

2 cups vegetable stock

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp cumin

1 1/2 tsp oregano

1 T apple cider vinegar

1 package of extra firm tofu, chopped into cubes

S&P

Heat a medium sauce pan over medium heat and add olive oil, jalapeno, celery, onion, bell peppers and garlic. Saute about 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients, except salt and pepper. Simmer for about 20 minutes and puree using a blender or hand blender. Save half of the sauce for another time. Add tofu to the remaining half and continue to simmer for as long as possible. (One batch of sauce makes too much sauce for one package of tofu, so I usually make a full batch and freeze half for another time). The longer you can let the tofu simmer in the sauce, the better. I will sometimes make the sauce on the stove and then transfer everything to my slow cooker to let it simmer all day. So delicious!

For dessert, I pulled out some cupcakes that I had in my freezer that were leftover from Emma’s birthday. As I was flipped through Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, I came across the photo of the cookies ‘n cream cupcake. It’s just a plain vanilla frosting with some Newman O’s crunched in… mmmmmm!!!

I can’t take sole credit for this recipe, but I also can’t remember the name of the book that I got it from. I did change the recipe slightly, so I feel OK posting it:

Corn and Black Bean Salsa

2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernals

1 small red onion, diced

1 jalapeno, minced

1 green bell pepper, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 can of black beans

1 large tomato, chopped

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Juice of 1 lime

S&P

Preheat your broiler and add the corn, onions, bell peppers, and jalapeno to a baking tray. Drizzle the veggies with olive oil and broil for several minutes (flipping as necessary), until the veggies have begun to char. Add the rest of the ingredients to a large bowl and, when the veggies are done in the oven, add them to the bowl too. Give it a stir and taste for seasoning, adding more lime, salt or pepper, if necessary.

We had this last night wrapped in a corn tortilla. It was really good, although, I had to substitute a few tablespoons jarred salsa for the tomatoes, bell peppers, and jalapeno. This is so good, in fact, that we are planning to serve it at Emma’s birthday party with some chips for dipping! It’s totally a crowd pleaser and it can be prepared a day or so in advance.