Pot Pie Soup

Adapted from One Green Planet

Veggies:
Frozen corn
Frozen peas
Onion
Carrot
Celery

Seasonings:
Basil
Thyme
Butter extract
Home made veggie broth powder

Other:
Unsweetened plain almond milk
Corn starch slurry
seitan
Yukon potatoes

Pasta, Pesto, and Broccoli [and Chick'n]

Alright!  I totally got swamped by English for a few days, but that's over now.. So, back to the food. 

Ahem.  Yes, well, this is a good, hearty pasta dish.  With chick'n.  Yes.  And broccoli is on sale right now for me, so win-win...

Oh, yes.  Today is Friday!  Yaaay!

Adapted from Meet the Shannons

Pesto: blend

• 1/4 cup hazlenuts
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/3 bunch spinach, washed, destemmed
• handful fresh basil
• handful fresh parsley
• 1 clove garlic
• 3 tbsp nooch
• 1 lemon

Mix with sauteed broccoli, whole wheat pasta, and chick'n (baked instead of boiled at 350 unitl firm, ~30 minutes)

'Sausage' and Mushroom Cream Sauce over Rice

Well, as I should be studying for physics and french, I'll try to keep this short.

 

 

Heck, who am I kidding?  Studying is the LAST thing I want to do right now.

... well.  Yes.  This dish.  M reeeeeeeeeeally liked it!  Nice and wintery.  The sad thing is, it's been in my line-up for AGES, and I just now got around to making it.  But it's made now, and I have had the delightful experience of eating it.  My life just got that much better.

 

Adapted from Fat Free Vegan

 

Saute until tender:

• 1 small chopped onion
• 1 coined carrot
• 1/2 chopped bell pepper
• 8 oz sliced mushrooms
• 4 cloves chopped garlic . 

 

 Add in:

• 1/2 tbsp smoked paprika
• splash of soy sauce
• 1 tbsp thyme
• lots of chopped fresh basil
• 1 1/2 cups water + vegetable broth powder
• 3 tbsp whole wheat flour (whisk this in slowly)
• A good amount of chopped 'sausage' - I omitted the oil, and baked this at 350 for 30 minutes, until poofy and firm

 

Cook until thickened, and serve over brown rice.

It's Pizza... No, It's Quinoa... No, It's Pizzaquinoa!

So, I made this Pizza Quinoa casserole...

 

 

It was the PERFECT start to a 4 day weekend!  What flavour!  Excellent!

And, now since I have a bit more time to type tonight, I will take advantage of that and rant for a bit.  I think all of my friends, and I now that I think about it, have senioritis.  It's bad, and the year is not even half overwith yet.  I feel like my emotions inside are kind of rolling around, like a giant wad of tangled thread.  It's like of weird - I'm either laughing or about to cry or both.  I'll stop now, and move on to food...  so I don't get too depressed.

 

Adapted from Food Doodles

 

In a casserole dish, combine:

• 1/2 cup dried quinoa, cooked with 1 cup water
• 1/2 onion, finely chopped and sauteed
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped and sauteed
• 1/3 red bell pepper, finely chopped and sauteed
• 3 tbsp home made ketchup (heavenly stuff - use stevia for the sucanat to reduce calories)
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp each freshly chopped basil and oregano
• 1 tsp sumac
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 2 tbsp nooch
• a few drops liquid stevia

 

bake at 350 for 20 minutes or so

Very Full Burritos with Salsa and "Feta"

Wraps are so frustrating to photograph... sorry.. (it doesn't help that I was hungry!)

 

 

I promise you, though, these were excellent.  Filling, flavourful, and just messy enough.

Adapted from Oh She Glows

On a panini press, cook sliced onions and mushrooms with some chopped garlic.

Mix with heated:

• diced & cooked potato
• black beans
• chopped basil & parsley
• nooch
• paprika

Pile into a wrap, and top with feta and salsa

What's Up In My Kitchen - Recipe Round-Up (Finally!)

Ok, go glance at this article.  It will make you smile.

Blended chia pudding: if you don't like the texture of chia pudding, just blend it!  Makes all of the lumps go away, and it has the texture of yogurt.  Here, topped with piles of granola.

 

Made a batch of tofu feta.  Only this stuff is better than your normal tofu feta, because it's a LOT firmer.  Changes: 1/3 cup agar flakes, 3 tbsp olive oil (I ran out).  Wow, this stuff was good on a salad!

 

Pancakes... Mmmm... Sans frosting and raisins (which I left out and added a few pepitas), these make 2 292 calorie servings.  And the servings are HUGE!  I wanted to make the frosting, but forgot to chill my can of coconut cream... :(

 

 

 

Roasted Veggie Salsa - my first shot at homemade salsa.  I would recommend using less lime juice, but otherwise I loved this recipe.  Oh, and I used hatch chilis instead of jalapenos.  Because I have ALWAYS wanted to use those things...

 

Quinoa/Adzuki bacon.  Dang, this stuff smelled SO good in the oven.  Changed: cooked the beans, cooked up 1/3 cup quinoa to replace the buckwheat, Italian seasoning instead of thyme, and no oil.  It was a bit crumbly, but that was OK by me.

 

As for lunches... well, I've made a wrap with peaches, basil, lettuce, avocado, and sugar free blackberry jelly - yum!  Lots of fruit!

 

 

 

My other wrap has been peaches (can you tell I like peaches?) with the tofu feta, bacon, lettuce, and avocado.  Again, yum!  (adapted from Iowa Girl Eats)

 

 

 

Another new b-fast food: banana bread in a bowl.  Blendm, let sit for 45 minutes or so, and it's like ice-cream for breakfast.  Did I mention you should top it with chocolate (which turned out very good, by the way!)

 

 

 

 Salad dressing!  Good for using up a surplus of basil... Fat free and creamy basil blast for your salad!

 

And, finally, 100% whole wheat strawberry pepita muffins (adapted from Chocolate and Carrots)!  Mix:

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 tbsp + 1 tsp baking powder

1/3 cup pepitas

1/2 tbsp cinnamon

1/4 cup stevia baking blend

1 cup almond milk

1 tbsp apple cider or white vinegar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/3 cup chopped frozen strawberries

 

Pour into muffin tins and bake (I have only a mini muffin pan - this made 24 muffins, 250 calories for 7 muffins.  Bake for about 17 minutes for mini muffins, probably 27 for regular)

 

 

Veg-ful Soup

Do you have an abundance of fresh herbs & veggies?

 

If yes, this soup is for you!  If no... this soup is for you!  Yay!..

Adapted from EarthBalance

Veggies:
Onions
Corn (fresh)
Carrots
Green beans
Frozen peas

Seasonings:
Vegetable/veg chicken bouillon
Fresh basil, parsley, and oregano

Other:
Great northern beans
Yukon potatoes or pasta (I attempted the dumplings... didn't work too well...)
Corn starch slurry
Seitan chicken (minus the oil, baked at 350 until poofy)

Weeeeird Pizza #2

Tofu fingers.. on a pizza?  Sure!

 

 

It actually worked out really well.  Quite intense goodness!

Adapted from Veg-Bergers

First, make some mini tofu logs, about as big as your pinky.  In one bowl, mix 1/3 cup soy milk with 1 tbsp dijon mustard.  In another bowl, mix 1/2 cup cornmeal, paprika, thyme, basil, and oregano.  Dip the tofu in the milk, then coat with cornmeal.  Bake in the oven at 350 for 20 minutes, until firm.
Spread a pizza crust (cooked for a few minutes in the oven) with tomato sauce (from a can), and sprinkle with nooch.  Top with broccoli, sun-dried tomatoes, orange pieces, and tofu.  Bake for 20 minutes at 350, until broccoli is cooked.  Serve with ketchup, incase the tofu falls off. ;)

Herby Soup

 

Okwowthisblewmymindaway.

Somanyfreshherbs.  Yay!

 

 

Adapted from Taste of Home

Veggies:

• Celery (I'm trying to make myself like celery... here goes!)
• Onion
• Carrots
• Garlic
• Crushed tomatoes

Seasonings:

• LOTS of fresh oregano and basil
• dried thyme
• veggie chicken bouillon
• A few drops butter extract

Other:

• Brown rice
• White beans
• Seitan
• Corn starch slurry

Falafel

I haven't made falafel in AGES!

 

 

Whaaat?  That shouldn't be legal...

 

But, I shall avoid those darn falafel police! ;)

Yummmmmy baked, herbed falafel... you know, I actually was going to throw some parsley in these,but totally forgot...

Adapted from Cookie and Kate

Blend:
1 cup cooked chickpeas
1/4 cup cilantro
1 sauteed shallot
1 sauteed clove garlic
a bit of cumin
a bit of cinnamon
a few tbsp water

shape into patties, bake at 375 for 25 minutes, and serve over lettuce, with grapes, and dressing...

Dressing (adapted from Healthy Vegan Recipes), blend:
2 peaches/nectarines (no need to peel, just pit them... I actually had some that got a little bad spot on them, and I froze them to use in situations like this!)
1 cup water
2 cloves garlic
1 cup fresh basil
1 tsp paprika
2 tbsp sesame seeds

Rice and Lentil Soup

And the latest addition to out of seasoning cooking...

What?  I had a giant bag of lentils that needed to be used up! ;)

Adapted from All Recipes

Veggies:

• Carrots
• Onions
• Spinach
• Garlic
• Crushed tomatoes

Spices:

• bay leaf
• chopped fresh oregano
• chopped fresh basil
• nooch
• chili powder
• celery seed
• a splash of vinegar
• vegetable bouillon

Etc:

• lentils
• brown rice
• seitan
• cornstarch slurry to thicken



Limey Wild Rice and Broccoli Salad

I hope you like lime...

Because I have a pile of lime-intense food for you today.

If you don't want to be BLASTED with lime, I would cut it down drastically... same goes for the lemon.  All kidding aside, though, this was one unique dish!

Adapted from The First Mess

Cook up some wild rice.

Chop and grill on a panini press onion and broccoli.

The dressing was... (all blended in my lovely Mr. V)

1 orange

1 lime

1 lemon

~6 oz tofu to thicken

a few drops stevia extract

a large handful of fresh basil leaves

The whole shebang got topped with sunflower seeds and chopped avocado.

Sloppyyyyyyyyyyy Joes!

So, I was volunteering at a food pantry last Friday... and they were going to be closed to the public for the next 4 days, so they needed to give away all of their bread and desserts.

They had piles of it.  I mean, PILES.  Probably over 2000 loaves.

Unfortunetly, they were not able to give it all away - clients took all that they could for their families, but there was still leftover bread.

So, about 750 loaves of perfectly good bread were thrown away.  I took a few loaves home, mostly for M to make PB&J sandwiches, but... what a waste.  It killed me.

Adapted from Robin Robertson

• A handful of mushrooms, finely chopped
• 8 oz tomato puree
• ~1/3 cup TVP
• Fennel seeds
• basil
• sumac
• garlic powder
• sage
• paprika
• Italian seasoning
• Burger buns, cheese, pickles to serve

Sautee the mushrooms, and add remaining ingredients and simmer for ~30 minutes, until the TVP has absorbed the tomato.  Serve on buns, topped with pickles and the best cheese in the world.

Peach and Corn Tacos

Taco shells are like hamburger buns...

EVERYTHING that goes in them tastes good!

Oh, gosh, I'm loving this fresh corn, though...

Adapted from The First Mess

Cabbage slaw:

~1/4 cup thinly shredded green cabbage

Juice of 1 lime

Tacos:

~1/2 cup chopped onion

~1/2 red bell pepper

kernels from 1 ear of corn

cumin

chili powder

chopped fresh basil

a handful of dried brown lentils, cooked

1 peach, finely diced (peeling is optional)

taco shells

For the cabbage slaw, just mix the two ingredients together.  Doesn't get harder than that!

For the filling, saute the onion and bell pepper for a few minutes, and then add the corn.  Keep sauteing until the corn is tender, about 3 more minutes.  Add the remaining ingredients and heat through.  Spoon the filling into shells, and top with slaw.

Quinoa and Veggies

I think the pictures speak for themselves.

A light, refreshing summer dish.

Adapted from Vegetarian Adventures

Base: cooked quinoa (water : quinoa = 1.5 : 1) seasoned after cooking with
garlic powder
tofutti herbed cream cheese
chopped fresh basil
nooch
vegetble bouillon
Topped with panini-grilled red bell pepper, onions, and carrots.

Pesto + Arugula Pizza

Pizza.

First bite: "FLAVOUR"

Fresh arugula, cheeze sauce, and pesto

BAM, in your FACE

Fresh, home grown arugula is best.

Adapted from Cookie and Kate

Used this pizza dough, cooked on the panini press

Topped with this pesto

Panini press cooked sliced red onion

Dollops of this cheeze

All warmed up on the panini press, and finished off with fresh arugula

Soup

Is it pretty?

No.

Did it taste really good, MUCH better than expected?

YES!

Adapted from Eating Well

Sauteed carrots, garlic, and onion, then soaked pinto beans.. followed by lotsa water, nooch, sumac, a few dried herbs, veggie chicken bouillon.  Added in whole wheat linguine, torn/stemmed spinach, corn starch slurry, and setian.  Served with a large dollop of pesto (subbing mirin for the olive oil, and adding sunflower seeds to thicken)

This was super good - it kind of reminds me of restaurant wedding soup!  I've been wanting to recreate this flavour for a while, but this totally happened by accident.

PS - I might get a Vitamix soon!

PPS - I totally cut my finger reeeeeeeeeeeeeeally badly on my immersion blender today.  Was trying to clean the blade out, and then I accidentally pushed the button to make the blade spin.  OOOUCH!