Vegetarian Lasagna

I have been craving yummy comfort food lately and while I dont have a photo of this, because I ate it so quickly, it is worth sharing!

Makes enough for 6

Barilla Lasagna Sheets (the kind you dont have to pre cook)
1 and a half jars sauce your choice, I used Paul Newman's Sockarooni
1/2 bunch Kale washed and stemmed, chopped
3 cloves garlic
pinch of red chili flakes
2 red peppers, chopped in 1 inch strips
1 yellow pepper chopped in 1 inch strips
1/2 Medium red onion, large dice
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
veggie cheese - smoked provolone flavor

Tofu Ricotta:
organic firm tofu
3-4 Tablespoons fresh basil, chiffonade
1 lemon, juice only
olive oil

saute onion and peppers with olive oil.
when soft add chopped garlic. remove from heat and place in a bowl.
In same pan saute kale with olive oil, garlic and chili flakes. add some water to help steam the kale and soften it.
crumble tofu, add lemon juice, basil, salt, pepper and olive oil. mix well.

spray baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. I rubbed olive oil on it. layer some sauce on the bottom, place enough sheets of pasta to cover. add more sauce and peppers add half of the tofu mixture. Layer pasta, kale, sauce, tofu. Pasta, sauce and veggie cheese.

Bake 375 for 35 minutes until pasta has absorbed water from veggies and is cooked. Serve with more sauce.

enjoy. I made this with these ingredients because its what I had in the house. I bet broccoli rabe would be tasty and mushrooms...maybe that will be next!

Enjoy!

Black Bean, Qunioa Tostada with Avocado

I went to an amazing weekend of training and bike skills with some great women. On the way back we stopped at the Chicago Diner in Chicago. Their slogan is "Meat Free Since 83". I had this as my Linner (lunch and dinner) and it was so good I made it when I got back. Here is what I threw together.

Makes 4 - 6 Tostadas depending on how much you pile it on!
1 bag of tostadas preferably organic
1 can of vegetarian re fried black beans (you can make your own beans but I was hungry)
1 can diced green chiles (Trader Joes) (you could flavor this with chipolte too!)
1 clove of garlic
1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon cumin
salt
2 avocados
1/4 red onion diced
1 bunch of cilantro
Lime wedges
Hot sauce to taste - I used Sriracha sauce

heat 2 cups of water to boiling and add quinoa. Simmer 15 minutes. take off heat add cumin and salt to taste and let steam for 5 more minutes. Add about 1/2 cup cilantro. or not if you are a "cilantro-phobe".

While quinoa is cooking, mince onion, mince garlic, slice avocado and clean and chop cilantro.

Cook re-fried beans in a non stick pan with chiles and garlic. Heat through.

Assembly: Put tostada on plate, top with beans, top with quinoa, top with avocado, onion and more cilantro. Serve with hot sauce and lime wedges.

2 is an entree size, 1 is a good snack size.



Enjoy!

Tuesday Night Quick Fix

So I just finished a workout and was really hungry but didn't want to cook and I didn't want leftovers. (I must take after my dad right now!) This is why I came up with the idea for my business of being a personal chef for athletes.

This is what I threw together with what I had in the fridge and pantry. Its really good, so I'm publishing it here.

Seared Mushrooms with Spinach
Serves 1
Portobello Mushrooms
Oyster Mushroom about 1 cup of each mushroom diced in big chunks
1 T butter or Olive Oil
1 clove garlic, left whole
1/2 tsp fresh rosemary chopped
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
large handful baby spinach
salt and pepper
1 cup quinoa, cooked

Heat a large saute pan over medium high heat until nice and hot.
Add butter/oil and garlic clove and paprika. Wait for butter to foam and bubble.
add mushrooms....don't move anything for at least 2-3 minutes, season with salt and pepper. then shake pan to toss mushrooms. Sear another 2-3 minutes, shake pan again.
Add baby spinach and wilt. Mix everything together and serve over heated quinoa.

This is why you need a well stocked pantry. Smoked paprika was hard for me to find, but now I have it, I use it with potato salad and mushrooms. it adds such a unique depth of flavor to the food.

I wish I had more mushrooms. I would make another batch! That was tasty!
Enjoy!

Veggie Meatballs or Patties

My resolution this year is to go veggie. This meatless meatball recipe is very good. it has a very bright taste that stands up to a flavorful marinara sauce. I like the fact that it doesnt use soy "meat" fillers.

2 hard cooked eggs
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 cup wheat germ
1 Tb. Fresh Parsley
1 cup minced onion (can use scallions too for different flavor)
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup melter butter
1 tsp. salt
2 raw eggs, beaten

Mix all ingredients well, then add raw eggs. Shape into balls or patties and cook over medium heat until lightly browned.

Quick Yummy Lunch Stir Fry Chard with Farro

Today for lunch I made some Farro (well that was left over from the other night) and baby rainbow Swiss chard that I sauteed with shallots and garlic and then finished with Tamari and Siracha hot sauce. SOOOO GOOD! Oh it was so yummy I couldn't stop eating it. This is going to be my new quick stir fry recipe.

I'm sure you are asking what is Farro? From what I have been able to find out, its an old Italian grain, similar to whole wheat. it is also called Emmer Wheat. It cooks quickly (about 25 minutes) but uses a 3:1 ratio instead of rice or quinoa that uses a 2:1 ratio of liquid to grain. Although, I have seen recipes that call for a 2:1 ratio for the Farro. I made 3:1 and it is wonderful!

3 cups vegetable stock
1 cup farro
1/4 cup minced onion
1/4 cup minced green pepper (use red or whatever color you have)
1 clove garlic smashed, but left whole
salt and pepper to taste
2 T olive oil

heat olive oil over medium high heat in a sauce pot with a tight fitting lid, add onion and green pepper, saute for a few minutes. Add garlic clove and saute for a minute more. Add Farro and stir for a few minutes. Add hot or room temp stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for about 20-25 minutes. Check for doneness. Farro should be tender, but a little toothy, NOT al dente. Remove from heat and cover and let sit for a few minutes if there is still some liquid to be absorbed. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove garlic clove.

Add ins:
a couple of handfuls of spinach, some artichoke hearts, roasted red pepper OR use it as a base for the stir fry, and season with soy sauce, sesame oil and scallions.

Turkey day traditions Vegan Style

I love holidays since they revolve around my two favorite things, food and gathering together to have a good time.

I remember growing up, my mom would make something really interesting for Christmas Eve dinner, but not Christmas day and especially not Thanksgiving. Not until recently did we start making some new and different foods and all are vegan. My niece has always been vegan and almost everyone in my family needs to eat better.

I am not so adamant about having the same traditional foods at holidays, probably because I never liked green bean casserole or the candied yams. I was just a stuffing, turkey and cranberry girl. And probably because we would always go to my aunt and uncles house for thanksgiving and the turkey was really dry. I remember running out of water one time and wondering how I was going to finish my turkey. Yeah, it was that dry.

So this year with two vegans in the family and some other "dairy phobes" and people who want to eat better, we made everything so anyone could eat it then you would just add your turkey and gravy if you wanted to. I had another motive for this, to convince my meat dominant family members that vegan food tastes good. I think I won over some people especially with my sleeper dish, Swiss Chard Gratin. Everyone said, "I don't normally like this, but it was good." That to me is the ultimate compliment!

I can't wait for Christmas. We went to Frontera Grill and had brunch together and were inspired to do a Mexican Christmas feast.

Itchin to get in a kitchen

I'm really feeling the creative juices flow. I want to cook up some experimental food and need guinea pigs to taste it. On the list: savory biscotti, grilled shrimp with chermoula marinade, posole, green chile stew, vegi chili, pizzas. Oh i'm getting hungry just thinking about it all!

The good thing is i now have been cleared to run by my ortho. I fell 6 weeks ago and broke my collarbone, that put a monkey wrench in my fall cooking plans since i couldn't even lift a full pot of soup! When i was able to ditch the sling and lift a pot I made a stick to your ribs, lentil soup

Clean out the fridge lentil veg soup

1 16 oz bag of lentils, washed and drained
2 T olive oil or canola oil
8 cups of water, veg stock or chicken stock (your choice, I used chicken stock, homemade of course!)
1 14 oz can of tomatoes - fire roasted would have been great here too!
1 leek, washed and finely chopped
2 carrots - small dice
2 celery ribs - small dice
2 cloves garlic - just smashed and left whole
1 parsnip (like i said, cleaning out the fridge)
1 poblano pepper - small dice
1 yellow pepper - small dice
fresh baby spinach about 1/2 bag or 3 really big handfuls
salt and fresh ground pepper TT (to taste)
soy sauce - low sodium, preferably Tamari or Shoyu if you can find it.
Really good olive oil and smoked sea salt for serving

In a large soup pot, heat about 2T olive oil, and add leeks. saute for about a minute, add carrot, celery, parsnip and garlic. Cook for about 5-7 minutes on medium heat. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Don't go heavy on the salt, because you are going to add soy sauce later and finish with some salt, but you need some salt at this point to build flavor. If you have to stick to a low sodium diet, don't salt at this point and just add the salt at the end. You will get the most bang for the buck that way.

Add peppers and cook for a few minutes. Add rinsed lentils and stir, add tomatoes, stir. Add liquid. Bring to a boil and turn down to a simmer.

Simmer for about 20-30 minutes, covered with a few holes for venting. Check volume of liquid frequently and add more if needed. I started with 6 cups and ended up adding the final 2 because i ran out of liquid. Add spinach. Add about 3T soy sauce to start, taste your soup and adjust seasoning as you like it.

For serving, a big bowl of soup - drizzel some really good olive oil on top and sprinkle some smoked sea salt on top too. serve with some crusty bread. Enjoy!