** Update May 25, 2012 **

Wow! I’m blown away that this recipe won the Lunch/Dinner category for the So Much to Love Givaway from So Delicious Dairy Free! I’m being treated to a BIG shopping spree as my prize – there’s sure to be a blog post about my purchases later.

The last of my recipes for the So Much to Love Givaway from So Delicious Dairy Free this May! A This recipe is a soy and gluten-free take on a good comfort food.

Since the cheezy sauce for this dish is already soy and gluten-free, choosing a brown rice pasta just continues the theme. While I’m fortunate not have an intolerance or allergy to either soy or gluten, I like to have some recipes to rely upon to make for others. I also really enjoy brown rice pasta, so I use it in most of my pasta dishes.

The richness of the sauce comes from blending raw cashews that have soaked in hot water. I think of this as something of a special occasion dish, but when it is paired with a big pile of veggies it makes for just the kind of hearty, rich meal I want on a cold winter’s night. Sometimes I like to make a little extra of the tasty sauce and add a bunch of steamed broccoli in when the pasta gets mixed in and make a casserole.

The Stuff

• 1/2 c raw cashews soaked in 1/2 c hot water
• 1 c almond milk
• 2 T cornstarch
• 1/2 c fine flake nutritional yeast
• 1/2 t granulated garlic
• 1/4 t turmeric
• 1 t dried marjoram
• 1/8 t mustard powder (a nice pinch)
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 8 oz brown rice pasta (elbows, penne, rigatoni, etc.)
• 1 t chickpea miso (soy free)

The Making

Start cashews soaking in the half cup of hot water in your blender jar. Cashews need to soak for at least 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 325 Fahrenheit.

Bring water in a larger saucepan to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to the directions on the packaging. Once pasta has finished cooking, drain and rinse in cold water to stop it cooking. Retain 2 tablespoons of the pasta water in the saucepan.

In the blender jar add almond milk, miso, and spices. Begin blending on a medium speed until the cashews are incorporated with the almond milk and water in a smooth mixture. About 3-5 minutes depending upon the type of blender you have.

With the blender still processing, remove the center cap of the lid and add in the cornstarch. Once the cornstarch has incorporated add the nutritional yeast in a slow pour. Continue to process for at another minute longer.

Return saucepan and 2 tablespoons of pasta water to a medium heat. Pour in sauce from blender and stir. As the sauce heats it will begin to thicken, keep stirring at regular intervals to make sure it doesn’t stick. Once it reaches a thick consistency, about 2-3 minutes, pour back in the pasta and stir to cover. Let pasta sit in sauce on medium, for an addition 5 minutes to thicken, stirring occasionally.

Pour pasta and sauce mix into a 8×8 baking dish that’s been lightly sprayed with Canola oil. Bake casserole for 5 minutes at 325. Then flip on low broil setting and broil for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and very lightly spray top of casserole with Canola oil. Return to low broil for another 4 minutes, tuning half-way through, until golden on top. Let stand a few minutes before serving.

You can skip the last step of baking/broiling if you’re in a hurry. Just be sure the pasta and sauce are thoroughly heated through in the saucepan before serving. It really takes about the same time and the sauce thickens up very nicely in the oven. I sometimes throw 3-4 cups of steamed broccoli in along with the pasta and serve it once the sauce thickens, after about 7-10 minutes.

Serves 4

Nutritional Info

Serving Size: 1 cup
Calories: 429
Total Fat: 15 g
Saturated Fat: 2 g
Sodium: 75 mg
Carbohydrates: 63 g
Dietary Fiber: 6 g
Sugars: 5 g
Protein: 19 g

Update: March 17, 2013 – This recipe is now gluten-free, so long as GF rolled oats are used. It also can be made soy-free by choosing a miso made from another legume.

On the shockingly long list of vegan staples I’ve never tried making at home is the humble lentil loaf. Kind of a vegan stereotype of sorts, but one I’ve rarely encountered in person. I actually rather like the idea of a lentil loaf. Green lentils have a nice, earthy taste and I feel they pair well with walnuts & quinoa for a protein dense, rich loaf.

Great Vow has a nut loaf they make for special occasions, however, it is based around the use of eggs as a binder, so no luck in looking to that recipe for much inspiration. Online the recipes are hugely varied, to such a degree it is hard to find something that sounds right. After a lot of reading and recalling the meatloaf my Mom used to make, I came up with a very tasty dish.

It crumbles a little coming out of the pan, but not too much. Slices pretty well and we found it very satisfying, particularly when served alongside the very last of the amazing mashed potatoes Christie made for Thanksgiving. I’m going to be working on an entirely gluten-free version of this dish next.

The Stuff (for loaf)

• 1 small onion
• 3 large cloves garlic
• 2 stalks celery
• 2 cups cooked, green lentils (overcooked is better, should be mushy/mashed)
• 1 cup cooked quinoa
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup rolled oats (gluten-free)
• 2 tablespoon red miso (**possible to substitute chickpea or lima miso to make soy-free)
• 1/3c flax meal whisked together with 1/3 c water
• 3 T tomato paste (taken from a 6oz can)
• 1/4 c nutritional yeast
• fresh ground black pepper
• 1/2 t sweet paprika
• 1 t dried oregano
• 1/2 t dried marjoram
• 2 T fresh parsley

The Making (the loaf)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Whisk together the flaxseed meal and water in a large bowl, set aside. Dice onion and celery small, and mince the garlic cloves. Sauté the onion, garlic and celery until onion begins to caramelize. Add sauteed vegetables and remaining ingredients into large bowl with flax/water mixture and mix well. Spray a loaf pan with non-stick spray and fill the loaf pan with the mixture. Press down and top with tangy tomato sauce.

The Stuff (the sauce)

• remainder of tomato paste from 6oz can
• 2 T apple cider vinegar
• 2 T balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 t sweet paprika
• 1/2 t black pepper
• 1/4 t or less ground clove
• 1 T  water

The Making (the sauce & the loaf)

Whisk together all ingredients for sauce and spread on top of loaf before baking. Cover loaf pan with foil, it is alright that the sauce will smear a bit.

Bake loaf 30 minutes covered, remove foil. Bake 10 minutes uncovered. Let stand for 5-10 minutes before cutting and serving.

• 1 small sweet or red onion (diced)
• 1 small can diced tomatoes (drained)
• 3oz grilled extra firm tofu (diced)
• 1 smallish cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup slivered roasted almonds or cashews
• 1 tbsp curry powder
• pinch of saffron
• 1 lime
• chopped cilantro

Make quinoa as per normal, adding the curry powder & saffron in with the simmering water. While simmering, peel, slice and seed the cucumber, place in strainer and salt liberally to remove water. When quinoa finishes, let it cool to room temp, then combine all other ingredients. Let sit for at least 2 hours in fridge to allow flavors to meld. Serve cold topped with cilantro & fresh lime wedges to squeeze over.

This is another installment of the ‘Ode to an Inexpensive Pressure Cooker‘ series. One of our favorite, in fact. Yes, this can be made without the pressure cooker, but I highly recommend one. I haven’t bought canned beans since we purchased it.

So, here’s the soup. There’s comments about doing stove top, some variations, etc. below.

The Stuff

• 2 cups dried split peas (yellow or green)
• 1 onion* diced
• 2 large cloves garlic, minced (or one enormous clove)
• 4 medium carrots, diced
• 4 large stalks of celery diced (or equivalent)
• 2 T nutritional yeast
• 1/4 – 1/2 t garam masala
• 1/4 – 1/2 t ground cumin
• 1/4 – 1/2 t sweet, smoked paprika
• 2 T olive oil
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• 6 cups water

The Making

In the pressure cooker heat olive oil and saute onions until translucent (about 5 minutes), then add garlic. Continue cooking until these begin to caramelize a little, about 5-7 more minutes, then add carrots and celery. Cook together until carrots & celery brighten in color and are more aromatic (3-5 minutes).

Add cleaned, rinsed peas and water. Stir together all ingredients then lock down the lid. Bring pressure cooker up to high pressure, reduce temperature, and cook for 7 additional minutes.

Remove from heat and let sit for several minutes before releasing the valve. Remove lid when lock releases then add yeast and spices. Let sit several minutes for the spices to blend into the soup before serving.

Variations:

• Add curry powder and additional garam masala – more like a Indian dish then
• Add some squirts of Siracha when serving
• More smoked paprika will give a much smokier flavor
• Add some chopped veggies, like cauliflower
• Add diced potatoes to this
• We like to serve it with a little quinoa & some nice bread
• Give it a drizzle of Bragg’s Aminos instead of salt at the table

Yes, you can make this without the magical pressure cooker. You just need to cook everything about 45 minutes until the beans are cooked through. Once they are cooked through the spices & seasonings can be added.

I was inspired by a radish greens & kale saag a friend of mine mentioned recently and wanted to give it a try. While at the co-op I was thrilled with some gorgeous beets with lush greens and brought them home to try out. I am going to be making this again and soon, so a picture of this beautiful dish will be up soon.

Leaves & stems of at least 4 beets are needed. You should end up with about a cup of chopped stems and around 4 cups of leaves. I’ve also made this with a mix of beet greens and chard. Kale would be great… pretty much any greens will do!

The Stuff!

• beet stems, chopped
• beet greens, large leaves torn a little
• half a medium, sweet onion, diced
• 2 inches ginger, peeled and minced
• 1 teaspoon garlic paste or 2-3 cloves minced (out of garlic, oops)
• 1 T mild oil
• 1/2 t Panch Poran (check out a Desi shop for this)
• salt & lemon juice to taste

Saute onion in oil until it begins to brown and caramelize. Add in garlic, ginger and then the Panch Poran, cooking until fragrant. Then add in beet stems, a little salt, and cover. You may want to add a tablespoon or so of water to help steam the stems. After the stems start to soften a little add the greens and cover until they begin to wilt. Toss greens with stems and onions below to blend all together. Continue to cook covered until stems are cooked (we still like them kinda firm). Toss with a little more salt and lemon juice before serving.

I take only 1% of the credit for this, the remaining howevermany percent going to Radioisotope at Sparkpeople, Joanna Vaught, and Julie Hasson (y’all can fight over proportional credit).

By mashing together Radioisotope’s fantastic pepperoni spice recipe (she uses tofu) with the steamed seitan sausage numminess of Joanna and Julie (and a little wingin’ it on my own), I came up with a pretty decent pepperoni.

Dry ingredients:

• 2-1/4 cups vital wheat gluten
• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
• 1/4 cup garbanzo or soy flour (replace with another 1/4 cup vital wheat gluten for firmer pepperoni)
• 1 T paprika
• 4 t ground black pepper
• 2 t salt
• 2 t fennel seeds, crushed
• 2 t Frontier vegan beef broth powder
• 2 t smoked paprika
• 1 t crushed red pepper
• 1 t anise seed, crushed
• 1 t garlic powder
• 1 t onion powder
• 1 t ground mustard
• 1 t cumin

Wet ingredients:

• 2-1/2 cups water (opt: replace 1 cup of water with your fave broth and delete the broth powder, above)
• 2 T olive oil
• 2 t liquid smoke (or sub 1-2 t smoked paprika in addition to the 2 t smoked paprika above)

Method:

1. Put a steamer’s worth of the water on to boil. I use a stock pot with probably a quart of water.
2. Mix the dry stuff.
3. Mix the wet stuff.
4. Mix ’em together. The dough is really easy to work, so you don’t need to dirty up the mixer. Just throw it in a bowl and mix it with a spoon or by hand. Hand-mixing bonus: pepperoni-flavored fingers.
5. Using a 1/2-cup measuring cup, scoop out a hunk of dough. Drop it on a piece of foil (Julie suggests muslin as a less-waste alternative). Whip out your trusty bamboo-placemat-that-thinks-it’s-a-sushi-mat to shape the foil-wrapped dough into a sausage shape. Alternatively, you can just use shape the dough manually, but what fun is that?
6. Repeat until you’re out of dough.
7. Arrange your soon-to-be pepperoni sausages in steamer trays and steam them for 30-40 minutes.

Let ’em cool. Fridge ’em. Slice ’em. Eat ’em. Why not dig out the springform pan you bought for that ill-fated cheesecake experiment and make a stuffed pizza?

Tip: If you’re using a food processor to slice your pepperoni, freeze the sausages for half an hour or so first. The sausages are a little soft, but they’re moist enough to take a good freeze without getting unworkably hard.

Last Sunday, February 9th, the dinner request was, “Some kind of tomato-y garbanzo stew…”

Here are the delicious results!

2 cups cooked garbanzos (yes, canned is fine, just drain & rinse first)
3 cups diced winter squash (like butternut)
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 “cloves” of shallot, chopped small
1 15oz can diced tomatoes
1/4 cup tomato paste
3 c water
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon herb mix (I was using “21 Seasoning Salute from Trader Joe’s)
1 teaspoon tamari
1/2 teaspoon Sriracha
1 Tablespoon nutritional yeast

You can use some olive oil to sauté the shallot & garlic or, instead of sautéing in oil, you can use water, tamari or broth for an ultra low-fat dish. Once they start to soften add the rest of the ingredients, bring to a boil then reduce heat to low. Simmer until squash is cooked through, about 40 minutes, and serve. We served this with some quinoa for an even more hearty dish.

This makes a good size pot of soup (about 8 servings?) – enough to have leftovers for lunch during the week! I’m tagging this “Quick” because it is easily thrown together and set to simmer while you can get other things done.

Tammy, this one’s particularly for you...

I’ve been missing Marc’s / Bob’s Big Boy lately ( ?! ) (as well as George Webb’s, but that’s exclusively a Wisconsin thing). I especially miss the classic messy as hell Big Boy burger itself, and the BBB sauce on it, which was a dill pickle relish based mayo/tartar sauce. Oddly enough, their sauce was really close to (ew!) McDonnald’s fishwich sauce (read the ingredients!) Anyway, this is my go-to tartar sauce recipe that is about as close as a vegan sauce can get to that nasty goodness

• 1 cup Vegenaise (use soy-free version)
  
• 2 tablespoon dill pickle relish
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon mustard powder or 1tbsp yellow salad mustard
• 1/4 – 1/2 tsp dill
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice

This dish is made extra quick and easy since it uses lots of canned items. In fact, this is such a quickie I’m feeling a smidge guilty for posting it. However, since Amy’s asked for more lentil ideas and Christie asked me to jot down what I did, here it is!

2 15oz cans of lentils drained and rinsed
1 7oz can of diced green chilies
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/2 – 1 teaspoon cumin powder
1/4 teaspoon sweet, smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Sriracha sauce to taste

Put all ingredients into a saucepan and simmer for at least 20 minutes for the flavors to “marry”. Yep, that’s it. Put this in tortillas with salsa and greens for tacos or burritos. Serve as a topping to steamed grains, potatoes or yams.

Yes, I suggest Sriracha to give some heat to this dish, just add as much or as little as you like. I find in small amounts it adds a brightness and just a little heat to any dish, plus sometimes seems more easy to control than using powdered, hot chilies.

Except for the lentils you can really wing it with this recipe (really more a “suggestion” than a “recipe”). Heck you could even wing the legumes and use garbanzos, pintos, red beans… you get the picture. By all means, if you don’t want to use canned legumes, don’t. Just make the legumes first and use them drained — about 3 cups or so.

Add more or use less cumin if you want. A squeeze of lime would be great in this. Fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves chopped up and added on top would be lovely (our’s had gone nasty in the fridge… ooops). Leave out the green chilies if you don’t have them. Add some mustard seed, powdered coriander, tumeric, ginger and black pepper (or just some garam masala) to start taking this more of an Indian dal direction.

Used this in a “chick’n” burrito last night. This is very “Taco Bell”-ish, which is actually what I was going for.

• 1 cup Vegenaise (use soy-free version)
• 2 tbsp brown mustard (I used smoky brown, which was nice)
• 1 tsp granulated garlic
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp smoked chipotle powder (to taste)
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika (optional)
• 1 tsp lemon juice

Whisk all together. There you go…