Sunday, January 27, 2013

Vegan Eggplant Lasagna


My sister made this dish over Christmas. I switched things around a little bit. She had made one big one for the family and then let me make a mini one vegan style. I bough an eggplant last week because they were on sale for a dollar. I knew I had to use it quickly and wanted to do something different then I did last time. I looked up a million different recipes but I kept coming back to this idea so I just went with it. Like I said I did add my own little twist to it though & it came out so yummy :)

Ingredients
1 large eggplant
egg re placer
Italian style bread crumbs
1 meium zuchinni  
1 jar of sauce
daiya mozzarella
vegan Parmesan
olive oil
italian seasoning

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
1. Slice eggplant into about 1/2 inch slices. Coat these with the egg re placer & place in bread crumbs. Coat evenly with bread crumbs. You will then place these on a s cooking tray (make sure it is non-stick or you spray with non-stick cooking spray) Place egg plant in oven for about 15 minutes. You probably want to turn them about half way through. When they look crispy on both sides take out of oven and let cool.. 
2. Slice zuchinni into 1/4 in slices. Also place these onto a non stick or spray with non stick spray tray. Spread some olive oil on top and sprinkle some Italian seasoning on top. Place in oven for no more then 10 minutes. Make sure to flip them as well and onc they are crispy on both sides remove from oven and let cool.
3. Make the Garden Ricotta. If you click where it says Garden Ricotta under ingredients it will bring you to the recipe. I have used it in other items on my page.
4. In medium clear glass cooking pan place some sauce on bottom. Add one layer of breaded egg plant. Add some zuchinni as well. Spread some of the Garden Ricotta evenly on top of eggplant and zuchinni. Add some daiya mozzarella and then some more sauce.
5. Repeat this process one more time except add the mozzarella last this time so (eggplent. zuchinni, ricotta, sauce & then cheese).  
6. Place in oven for about 30 minutes or until it is hot. 
7. Make sure you let it cool for about 10 minutes because it will be VERY hot.
Serve with vegan Parmesan :)


           
















Pea & Zucchini with Barley

As I mentioned earlier we went to Aspen yesterday for the X-games. Well when we got there it happened to be right in the middle of a break. We decided to go downtown Aspen and hang out there for a little bit. We ended up at this little Irish pub. It was really cool it was downstairs and just a really fun environment. They did not have many menu choices but luckily they had one completely vegan dish on their menu. I made sure I asked if there was any cheese, meat or butter in it. To my surprise there was not. It was served in this cute little skillet that was extremely hot (don't worry I manged to touch it anyway) and was filled with awesome flavor. I do not know all of the ingredients but I can tell you what I tasted.

Barley,peas, yellow squash, zucchini, red pepper, onion, mushroom, & greens.

It was literally just mixed all together and served in a dish!!! 


Vegan Breakfast Potatoes

I knew yesterday was going to be a long day. I was still tired from the night before and we were heading to Aspen for the X-Games. I figured we should start the day off with a good meal. As little energy as I had I got up and made this delicious and completely vegan breakfast. This is something you can get when you are eating out as well. Just make sure they don't use butter and don't add egg or cheese. ( I was able to add cheese because I was home) but i guarantee it will be just as delicious with out it. This is still one of my favorite things to get when I go out to breakfast. It was extremely filing and filled with flavor.                                                                         
                                              X-Games 2013
                                                    '
            
      Vegan Breakfast Potatoes

Ingredients
4 red potatoes
1/2 white onion
2 cloves garlic
1/2 red pepper
2 mushrooms
2 pieces fresh broccoli
spinach (optional)
2 green green onions (optional)
olive oil
daiya cheddar cheese
garlic salt

Directions
1. Slice potatoes into medium sized squares. Place in a bowl and put in microwave for about a minute. (This helps to soften them up before cooking them)
2. In a large skilled add potatoes and coat evenly with olive oil. Add a little garlic salt to taste. 
3. Turn on medium-to high heat and let cook for about 8 minutes. Once one side is crispy turn over and cook for another 8 minutes. If potatoes are still not cooked all the way through lower the heat and continue cooking.
4. Slice all the vegetables. In a medium skillet add all vegetables except mushrooms, green onion and spinach with a little olive oil. Cook on medium-high heat for about 5 minutes. Then add the mushrooms and spinach. Cook until all vegetables are soft.
5. Once everything is done mix potatoes and vegetables together.
6. Place on  a plate and add daiya cheddar cheese and sliced green onions. If you want it melted a little more place in microwave for about a minute.

I forgot to add spinach yesterday so it wont be pictured but it will defiantly add some flavor. If you really like tomatoes they would be good to add as well. Make sure you let this cool for a bit before you serve it. 





         



White Bean Flat Bread

Jimmy asked me to make my butternut squash soup again last Sunday and I was not sure what to make to go along with it. I was texting my friend Colynn (who is also vegan) and she suggested a flat bread. I decided to use the white bean recipe she use to make all the time when I was in Florida. She also suggested I chop up my vegetables in the food processor. Anyway, this is a really simple recipe  but tastes delicious. It may look a little funny but all of the flavors are there. It was absolutely delicious and we were able to eat it the next day for lunch. 

Flat Bread Ingredients
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup flour
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 -1 1/2 cups warm water
garlic salt (to taste)
dry parsley (to taste)

Directions
Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Kneed for about 5 minutes until no longer sticky.
 Form into a ball and place in a bowl. 
Put a wet towel over bowl to help keep moist until you are ready to use it. 

White Bean Spread Ingredients                                                     Directions
1 can white beans (drained & rinsed)                    Mix everything in food processor.
4 cloves garlic                                                      You may have to add extra olive oil to help 
2 tablespoons olive olive oil                                             your food processor out.
                                                                                        Mix until a smooth mixture is formed

Flat Bread Toppings
1 cup fresh spinach
1 red onion
1 white onion
5-6 white mushrooms
olive oil
garlic salt
steak seasoning

Directions
1.Slice both red and white onion and place in medium skillet. Add olive oil and seasonings to taste.  Cook on medium-high heat until onions are soft. Let cool and place in food processor until finely chopped. Place in a bowl until ready to use. 
2.Slice mushrooms and place in medium skillet. Add olive oil and seasonings to taste. Cook on medium-high heat until mushrooms are soft. Let cool and place in food processor until finely chopped. Place in a bowl until ready to use.

Making the Flat Bread
Preheat oven to 425 degrees
1. Roll out dough using a rolling pin. 
(I made 2 medium sized pizzas but you may want to just use one large one)
2. Spray cooking tray with non stick cooking spray and place dough on tray.
3. Add white bean spread evenly over dough. 
4. Add spinach on top of white bean spread.
5. Place onion & mushrooms on top of flat bread. Basically just glob in on as evenly as you can.
5. Place in oven for about 20 minutes or until dough is crispy. 
6. Let cool for about 5 minutes.
7. Slice and serve
You may want to add some vegan Parmesan as well :)





Friday, January 11, 2013

Vegan Cheese Calzone

Over Christmas I made my pesto lasagna with my dad and it got him thinking about other things I could make with the Garden Ricotta. I went through a stage when I was younger where every time we would order pizza I would get a cheese calzone instead. I decided I really wanted to try it and I figured it would be simple and easy to make. Well, it was and let me tell you it was delicious. I know I say this a lot but as we were eating it (on our table) last night Jimmy looks at me and goes "yep, this is my new favorite". I just laughed because he says it all the time but is good to know that I keep making things he really seems to enjoy. They got so big that we were only able to eat half but I will be enjoying the other half today for lunch while he is out snowboarding. Most of the parts of this recipe are already on my blog but I will write them down for you again so it is all together. I hope you get a chance to try this.

***This recipe makes 2 big calzones. If you only want one cut recipe in half***

Dough
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 package rapid rise yeast
1 -1 1/2 cups warm water
garlic salt (to taste)
dry parsley (to taste)

Mix yeast with a little warm water and let sit for about 10 minutes or until it starts to bubble. In large mixing bowl combine all ingredients and kneed for about 5 minutes. Form into a ball shape and add a little extra oil on top. Place a wet cloth on top of bowl and let rise for about 45 minutes. 

Garden Ricotta
1 package extra firm tofu (drained)
1 package fresh basil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 small onion (diced)
2 gloves garlic (diced)
4 tablespoons olive oil
salt/pepper (to taste)

In small skillet cook diced onion and diced garlic with 2 tablespoons olive oil until onion is soft. Remove from heat and let cool. In food processor combine tofu, lemon juice, cooked onion and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add basil and salt and pepper and mix until it reaches a smooth texture. You may have to do this in two batches to help with the texture but it depends on the size of your food processor. 

Cheese Calzone
dough
garden ricotta
daiya mozzarella
olive oil
garlic salt
dry parsley
3-4 mushrooms
1/2 red onion
(any other vegetables you may want to add such as peppers, spinach etc.)

Vegan Cheese Calzone
Preheat oven to 400 degrees

I used a pizza stone so I put that in the oven for about 10 minutes first but if you are using just a regular cooking tray make sure you spray it with non stick spray first. 

Directions
1. Cook vegetables with a little olive oil in a small skillet. Let cool and place in a paper towel to help remove oil. This will help avoid juices leaking when calzone is cooking. 
2. Break dough into 2 even pieces. Roll out dough into circle type shapes. You may need to place some flour on the counter so dough doesn't stick.
3. Spread some olive oil on one side of dough (the side that is facing up)
4. Place some daiya mozzarella on one half of dough, add half of the garden ricotta on top of that, then add whatever vegetables you have decided to use on top of that and finally add a little more daiya mozzarella 
5. Fold the top over so it meets the bottom and pinchclose. Fold the sides up as well so that there are no openings. 
6. Put some more olive oil on top and sprinkle with garlic salt and dry parsley.
7. Repeat this steps 2-6 to make another calzone
8. Place on pizza stone and place in oven for 20-30 minutes or until bread is a golden brown.

Make sure you let cool before you eat it :)



 

Vegan Baked Broccoli Mac and Cheese

Vegan Baked  Broccoli Mac and Cheese

This is something else I have been saying I want to make for a long time. We got home way to late last night and I knew this would be simple. Plus I had all the ingredients. I have not made it to the grocery store yet so all I have is what I left while I was away and the 5 things Jimmy bought before I came back. So as of right now I have a very limited selection. It came out so creamy and delicious and it baked so nicely we both really enjoyed it. This will probably be a meal we will remember for a long time because today my table bases from Florida finally arrived!!!!' While I was cooking Jimmy had to figure out how to piece the one together. But he finally did it. So last night was our first official night eating on a table since we have lived in our apartment since October. It was almost kind of weird and is going to take some getting use to, but very exciting at the same time. I can't wait to set up my placemats and reorganize everything so it's not all cluttered! Well, anyway here is the recipe and I hope you enjoy it as much as we did last night and for lunch today :) 

Ingredients 
3/4 box pasta
2 cups almond milk (unsweetened)
8 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1/2 onion (diced very thin )
Fresh broccoli about 5-6 florets cut
1 tablespoon corn starch 
Oil (about 2 tablespoons) 
Bread crumbs (to taste) 
Salt/pepper
Italian seasoning 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

1. Cook pasta (leave a little aldente) as it will continue to cook in the oven
2. In a medium saucepan cook finely diced onion in oil until very soft. 
3. Add almond milk, nutritional yeast and broccoli and bring to a boil. Stir frequently. Once it is boiling remove from heat and add corn starch according to directions. Keep stirring until sauce begins to thicken. Add salt and pepper to taste.
4. Combine pasta with cheese sauce and place in a glass pan. Sprinkle bread crumbs on top of pasta and add a little Italian seasoning. 
5. Bake in oven for about 20-30 minutes or until pasta is starting to brown. Make sure you keep an eye on it so you don't burn it.

Serve hot and enjoy :)



Monday, January 7, 2013


Well, I fly back to Colorado today. It has been a CRAZY 3 weeks. By the end of today I will have visited 7 different airports across the county in that time. Denver, Dallas, JFK, Islip LI, Orlando, Salt Lake City and finally Grand Junction CO!. I am looking forward to getting back into a routine and being able to add more recipes to this blog. I have been brainstorming all kinds of ideas over the holidays. My dad let me make a few things which was a lot of fun. One day my sister, dad and I were all in the kitchen at once (and we didn't argue) it was crazy but a great time! This mini vacation I had had its ups and downs. It didn't start off great because I had to change my plans and fly home last minute to attend a funeral of a close childhood friend. It was a blur of a few days but made me think about a lot of things and appreciate the life I have been given even more. I also spent 2 weeks back in Orlando where I went to school with my family. My sister is still attending UCF down there so we went to visit her and my Aunt. We did a lot of great things such as mini golf, senor frogs, Sea World and a lot of just family time. I really enjoyed our trip. After that I came back to Long Island again and got to spend some great time with my friends from High School. It was a nice long weekend of some fun and lots of rest. I am already looking forward to summer and being back home. I hope everyone had a great Holiday and great New Year. 13 is my lucky number so I am hoping that 2013 is going to be an even better year then last filled with adventure and new opportunities. Hopefully I will have time to food shop this week so I can add some new recipes (I know I have been slacking). Happy New Year everyone :)