Thai Coconut Curry Loaded-Veggie Soup

Okay so any time I make a vegetable soup, I tend to go a little overboard with the veggies... okay, fine, A LOT overboard! I can't help myself though, I LOVE VEGGIES! And I love to cook in large amounts. I can split it up into many individual portions and freeze them! This allows me to be able to have prepared dinners on those busy school days or when I'm clueless of what to make for dinner.

So here we go, a 22-ingredient soup I put together after David's mom gave me a carton of Thai Coconut Curry broth and asked me to do something with it. Happy to take on the challenge, I began brainstorming... I glanced through a few possible recipes and then found a vegetable soup recipe on the back of the broth carton which I started to follow, but in the end, I came up with my own thing. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 2-4 tbsp olive oil
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 (32-oz) carton College Inn Culinary Broth: Thai Coconut Curry
• 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 cup cauliflower, chopped
• 1 cup broccoli, chopped
• 1 cup sugar snap peas
• 1 (15-oz) can organic soy beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (15-oz) can organic garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 large zucchini, diced
• 1 medium yellow squash, diced
• 2 medium carrots, diced
• 2 cups asparagus, chopped
• 2 (15-oz) cans diced tomatoes, with juice
• juice of 1 lime
• 2 tsp fresh ginger, grated
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 (14-oz) pkg extra-firm tofu, diced
• 1-1/2 cups light coconut milk

Directions

1. Heat oil  in a dutch oven and saute garlic and onion for 3-4 minutes.
2. Add the broth to the pot, followed by the bell peppers, cauliflower, broccoli, sugar snap peas, beans, zucchini, squash, carrots, asparagus, diced tomatoes, and lime juice. Stir to combine.
3. Add the ginger, curry powder, and cayenne pepper. Stir to combine.
4. Add the tofu and gently stir into the soup.
5. Bring soup to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Add the coconut milk and stir to combine. Simmer for 1 to 1-1/2 hours.

Vegan Eggplant Bake

After a great dinner of vegan lasagna with my fabulous vegan friends, I decided to branch out a bit more and come up with some kind of eggplant parmesan dish. Here we have it, a vegan eggplant bake! This was very similar to the lasagna I made. The only changes I made were: eggplant instead of lasagna noodles, a slightly different marinara sauce, a new tofu filling (thanks to Veganomicon), different veggies in the stir-fry layer, and finally, the addition of veggie cheese (unfortunately the cheese I used contains a couple of products that make it vegan-UNfriendly, but there is vegan cheese available out there!).

Vegan Eggplant Bake

A colorful, layered bake very similar to eggplant parmesan, only better!

Ingredients

  

For the marinara sauce, modified from Veganomicon:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 small onions, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup red wine
• 3 (15-oz) cans diced tomatoes, with juice
• 1 (6-oz) can tomato paste
• dried parsley
• dried basil
• dried oregano
• salt 

For the filling, Tofu Ricotta from Veganomicon:

• 1 lb extra-firm tofu
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 tsp salt
• Pinch of ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes 

For the veggie layer:

• olive oil
• 1 pkg soybeans, shelled
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1 zucchini, diced
• 1 yellow squash, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• garlic powder
• onion powder
• salt
• ground black pepper

Other:

• 1 medium eggplant
• sea salt
• olive oil
• 1 package (12 slices) veggie cheese, mozzarella flavor
• 1/4-1/2 cup grated veggie cheese, parmesan flavor 

Directions:

1. Prepare the marinara sauce: Combine the olive oil, garlic, and onion in a saucepan. Heat over medium heat and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the wine and simmer for 3 minutes. Add the diced tomatoes, tomato paste, and spices. Simmer on low for at least 15 minutes, or until ready to use.
2. Prepare the tofu ricotta: In a large bowl, mush the tofu until crumbly. Add the lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper, and basil. Mix/mush until consistancy of ricotta cheese, 2-5 min. Add the olive oil, stir with a fork. Add the nutritional yeast and mix together all of the ingredients with a fork. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
3. Roast the eggplant: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Grease a baking sheet. Slice the eggplant into 1/4-1/2 inch thick rounds. Place rounds on the baking sheet and salt and brush olive oil on both sides of each slice. Bake for 10 minutes. Flip eggplant over and bake for another 5-10 minutes longer. While the eggplant is roasting, make the veggie layer. When the eggplant is ready, remove from oven and set aside until ready to use.
4. To make the veggie layer: Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add soybeans, carrots, zucchini, squash, and bell pepper. Season with garlic powder, onion powder, salt and black pepper, to taste. Cook until vegetables become tender. Set aside until ready to use.
5. To make the eggplant bake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13 Pyrex dish. Place about 1 cup marinara sauce in the bottom of the dish. Place half of the eggplant rounds on top. Layer with half of the tofu ricotta filling, then half of the stir-fry veggies, and then 6 slices of mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Pour half of the remaining marinara on top. Top with the remaining eggplant, tofu ricotta, veggies, and sprinkle with parmesan cheese (omit the mozzarella on this one). Top with the rest of the marinara sauce, 6 slices of mozzarella cheese, and parmesan cheese. Cover with tinfoil and bake 50-60 min. Remove from oven and lift one end of the tinfoil to allow the bake to release steam. Let rest for at least 10 minutes before serving.

This eggplant bake was DELISH! The tofu ricotta was wonderful! To all you non-vegans, it tasted nothing like tofu! The dish was very flavorful and I have plenty for later! I was able to divide up this dish and freeze it in single servings! Perfect on those late school nights! Enjoy!

Vegan Cheese Sauce

In the past few years I've never been one to eat cream or cheese sauces because of the amount of calories in them, BUT when I saw "cheezy sauce" in Veganomicon, I just have to try it! Ok, thank you Shannon for warning me, and fair warning to everyone else, but this doesn't exactly taste like cheese. It is similar and has a great creamy consistancy though. Oh! And it is very flavorful! I drizzled the "cheese" sauce over steamed veggies, which was yummy!

I had also made black bean burgers that night and got a little daring... I decided to dip my black bean burger into the "cheese" sauce.... AMAZING! I'm not sure why I loved it so much but both the burger and sauce went perfect together. This combo is a must and I will definitely do it again!

Cheezy Sauce (Source: Veganomicon)

Ingredients

• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• A pinch of dried thyme
• 1/4 tsp salt
• Ground black pepper
• 1/8 tsp turmeric
• 3/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp prepared yellow mustard

Directions

1. Combine the broth and flour in a small bowl and whisk with a fork until dissolved.
2. Heat the oil and garlic in a saucepan over medium-low heat, cooking for 2 minutes.
3. Add the thyme, salt, and pepper, and cook for about 15 seconds.
4. Add the broth, turmeric, and nutritional yeast, and raise the heat to medium. Stir constantly with a whisk. The mixture should bubble and thicken within 3 minutes.
5. Once the mixture is bubbling and thickening, stir and cook for about 2 minutes.
6. Add the lemon juice and mustard, and stir to combine.
7. Turn off the heat and cover the saucepan to keep warm until ready to use.
8. Yields ~3 cups.

Raw Dessert #2: Banana Nut Bars

So, loving the idea of raw desserts and after a successful first try at a raw recipe (brownies), I decided to search for other raw dessert recipes! Indeed, I found another good one! Banana Nut Bars! Tastes like banana bread but RAW and so delicious! I think the next time I make this I'd like to incorporate cocoa or chocolate chips into it! Enjoy!

Raw Banana Nut Bars (Original Recipe)

Ingredients

For the Crust:

• 1 cup finely ground rolled oats (from about 1 1/3 cup rolled oats)
• 1 cup finely ground raw almonds
• 1/2 cup finely chopped Medjool dates
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 cup agave nectar or maple syrup
• 2 tbsp fresh orange juice

 For the Filling:

• 1 cup finely ground raw cashews
• 3 cups mashed ripe banana
• 1/2 cup finely chopped Medjool Dates
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 2 tbsp coconut manna (or coconut oil)
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions

1. Line an 8x8 Pyrex dish with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In a food processor, combine the finely ground rolled oats, ground almonds, Medjool dates and sea salt. Gently pulse until combined. Add the agave nectar and orange juice, gently pulsing until the the mixture just holds together but is not wet. Press half of the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan and place in the freezer while moving on to the next step.
3. To make the banana filling: In a blender or food processor, blend all of the ingredients except for the chopped walnuts until creamy. Stir in the chopped walnuts by hand. Take the prepared pan out of the freezer and pour the banana filling on top of the crust. Place back in the freezer for 30 minutes.
4. Press the remaining crust mixture on top of the banana mixture, then return the pan to the freezer for 1 hour more. Serve cold.

Black Bean Burgers

With quite an interest in the vegan diet recently, I purchased Veganomicon : The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. Although I am not a vegan, I have loved exploring the vegan recipes! I'm trying new and delicious flavors and foods I would have never imagined to try!

So I was browsing through the book and found a recipe for black bean burgers. I have always wanted to try these! 

Ingredients

• 1 (15-oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 vital wheat gluten
• 1/2 cup plain whole wheat bread crumbs
• 1 tsp chile powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro (optional)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 small onion
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, mash the beans with a fork until no whole beans remain (do not puree).
2. Add the wheat gluten, bread crumbs, chile powder, cumin, water, tomato paste, and cilantro, but do not mix yet.
3. Use a microplane grater to grate the garlic in and use a box grater to grate the onion in.
4. Mix everything together with a fork. Proceed to knead with your hands until the mixture is mixed well and firm (about 1 minute).
5. Preheat a pan over medium heat.
6. Divide the burger mixture into 4 or 6 patties (depending on your preferred burger size). Roll each piece into a firm ball. Use your palm to press the ball down on a clean surface to form a patty about 1-1/2 inches thick until the patty is flat on both sides.
7. Pour a thin layer of olive oil into the pan. Cook the patties for 5 minutes on each side, gently but firmly pressing down on them with a spatula. Once cooked, the patties should be very firm when you press down on them.

I ate these two nights in a row. The first night David grilled them for me. I served the burgers with avocado, sliced red onion and tomato. The second night I cooked the burgers stove-top and served them with a mixture of mashed avocado and fresh salsa (a guacomole-type of dip). Both methods worked out well!

A Healthy Dessert to Kick-Off the New Year: Raw Brownies!

Happy New Year! Did everyone make their new year's resolutions? I decided my new year's resolution would be to start making healthier desserts. As most of you know, I have a HORRIBLE sweet tooth. I may eat mostly healthy meals, but that all goes out the window when dessert is in front of me! Oy vey!

I had never heard of a "raw" diet until only recently. To get a better understanding of what exactly a raw food diet is, I've found some websites that sum it all up pretty well!

Alternative Medicine: Raw Food Diet
WebMD: Raw Food Diet
Raw Food Health Watch
Raw Guru

As most of you also know I've been somewhat curious about the vegan diet, so I began following some vegan blogs to get some recipe ideas. Turns out, Dreena's Vegan Recipes posted a recipe for raw brownies!

Dreena's Frosted B-raw-nies

Ingredients

For the brownies:

• 1 cup raw almonds
• 1/4 cup raw cashews
• 1/2 cup raw walnuts
• 1 3/4 cups (packed) pitted medjool dates
• 1/4 cup dried organic pitted cherries
• 1/3 cup cacao (raw cocoa powder) or regular cocoa powder
• 1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp almond extract (optional) 

For the frosting:

• 1/2 cup coconut butter (Nutiva Organic Coconut Manna)
• 1/4 cup raw agave nectar
• 2 tbsp cacao (raw cocoa powder) or regular cocoa powder
• pinch sea salt 

Directions

1. In a food processor, first add the almonds and cashews and process until very fine (the almonds are the hardest, and need to be worked until crumbly).
2. Then add walnuts, dates and cherries and pulse/process until mixture is quite crumbly, but not yet coming together. *Note: If the dates are on the dry side, add 1-2 tbsp water.
3. Add the cocoa powder, salt, and vanilla and almond extracts and pulse through. Process until the mixture starts to come together but do not overmix so that the nuts release their oils. *Note: Heat generated by the food processor will bring the oils out of the nuts if overmixed.
4. Remove the mixture and press into a brownie pan (8” x 8”) lined with parchment paper. Use a small piece of the parchment to help press and flatten the mixture evenly into the pan.
5. For the frosting, in a mini-food processor, first combine the coconut butter and agave nectar until smooth. Then add the cocoa powder and salt, and pulse through again until just combined. Do not overprocess or the frosting will begin to separate with the heat of the churning and become oily. (If you don’t have a mini-processor, you can follow the same steps stirring by hand in a bowl).
6. Smooth frosting over the brownies, and refrigerate for an hour or more until set. Cut into squares and serve! These brownies are freezer-friendly!

I would like to give a special thank you to Dreena, the creater of these amazing raw brownies! They were perfect! I love how they are naturally sweet and the chocolate-coconut frosting pairs wonderfully with this brownie. Honestly, it doesn't even taste like you're eating dried fruits! This was my first "raw" recipe to try and I'm excited to try more in the future.

A Great Dinner & Dessert for My Vegan Friends!

My friend Shannon and her husband, Chris, came to visit David and I for New Year's. Since they were traveling quite a long way (from North Carolina), I wanted to cook up something special for them when they arrived! My only challenge I now faced was to make a vegan dinner! Something I had yet to try! I have become very interested in my guests' vegan lifestyle, and have researched quite a bit about it. I recommend checking out their blog at The Road Less Traveled. I've learned about different vegan foods, how to save money, and how to help make our environment greener!

 

So I began browsing vegan recipes to figure out exactly what I would make them for dinner! Perfect! I would make lasagna! All though this was not going to be an easy task, I was set on making this after reading good reviews about different vegan lasagna recipes. I decided to prepare the lasagna the day before. That way, I could take my time putting it together and I could let the lasagna marinate in its flavors and juices for a day.

 

Vegan Tofu-Veggie Lasagna

 

To make this dish, I took the ideas for a vegan lasagna from two different recipes:

Allrecipes' Vegan Lasagna

Fat Free Vegan Kitchen's Vegan Lasagna

 

Ingredients

• 1 (8-oz) pkg lasagna noodles (egg-free)

For the marinara sauce:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 onions, chopped
• 3 tbsp garlic, minced
• 1 (15-oz) can tomato sauce
• 3 (15-oz) cans diced tomatoes
• 1 (6-oz) can tomato paste
• dried basil
• dried parsley
• dried oregano
• salt
• ground black pepper

For the "ricotta" filling:

• 1 (10-oz) pkg fresh spinach, steamed and drained
• 2 tbsp garlic, minced
• 1/2 a lemon, juiced
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 (1-lb) packages tofu, one pkg extra firm and one pkg soft
• onion powder
• dried basil
• dried parsley
• ground black pepper 

For the veggie layer:

• 1-2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 small yellow squash, diced
• 1 large zucchini, diced
• 2-3 tbsp garlic, minced
• 1 small head broccoli, chopped, stem discarded
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced 

Directions

1. Make the sauce: In a large, heavy saucepan, over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Place the onions in the saucepan and saute them until they are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic; cook 5 minutes more.
2. Place the tomatoes, tomato paste, basil and parsley in the saucepan. Stir well, turn the heat to low and let the sauce simmer covered for 1 hour. Add the salt and pepper.
3. While the sauce is cooking bring a large kettle of salted water to a boil. Boil the lasagna noodles according to the package's instructions, then drain and rinse well.
4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
5. Place the tofu blocks in a large bowl. Add the spinach, garlic, onion powder, basil and parsley. Add the salt and pepper, and mash all the ingredients together. Mix well. Place in the refrigerator until ready to assemble lasagna.
6. Saute the vegetable layer: In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add all ingredients and saute until vegetables become tender. Remove from heat.
7. Assemble the lasagna: Spread 1 cup of the tomato sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch casserole pan. Arrange a single layer of lasagna noodles, sprinkle one-third of the tofu mixture over the noodles. Distribute 1/3 of the sauteed vegetables evenly over the tofu. Next ladle tomato sauce over the tofu, and top it with another layer of the noodles. Then sprinkle another 1/3 of the tofu mixture over the noodles, top with 1/3 of the sauteed vegetables, then the tomato sauce, and top with a final layer of noodles. Finally, top the noodles with the final 1/3 of the tofu and sauteed vegetables, and spread the remaining tomato sauce over it.
8. Cover the pan with foil and bake the lasagna for 45-60 minutes. Serve hot and enjoy. 

The next time I make this, I would like to try roasted, thinly-sliced rounds of eggplant (possibly dipped in bread crumbs to give them a nice, crisp texture) in place of the lasagna noodles. I would also add some veggie cheese the next time: a combination of mozzarella and parmesan subsitutes. Yum! I did not add the veggie cheese this time because it unfortunately contains a couple of ingredients that are not vegan. There are veggie cheeses out there that are vegan but my grocery store is so small that they don't carry it... sad. When I try this recipe with these other ideas I will post it!

Now I could not forget about dessert! I wanted to do something special because not only did Shannon and Chris drive so far to come visit us, but they were also recently married (back in July)! So I decided I wanted to make a cake for them to celebrate their marriage! I've been in a Hawaiian-themed mood (probably because my parents were just there) so I decided to take the banana bread recipe I normally make and turn it into a cake with, yep, you guessed it, Hawaiian ingredients a.k.a. pineapple, coconut, and macadamia nuts!

Now, because this banana bread is not vegan, I had to make a few subsitutions! Most importantly, I needed a substitution for the eggs. So in baked goods, eggs are very important for two different reasons: 1.) leavening and 2.) binding. In order to have both of these important effects incorporated into the recipe without eggs I researched a bit and found a recipe from The Vegan Wolf  which is a great substitute for cakes, muffins and quickbreads. And it worked great!

Egg Substitute (equivalent to 1 egg)

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp ground flax seeds
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp water

Directions

1. Stir together all ingredients until a thick paste forms. Let sit until ready to incorporate into recipe.  

Vegan Ho`olaule`a Cake

 

Ho`olaule`a means Hawaiian celebration! Perfect for my guests who were just married over the summer.

 

Ingredients

For the egg subsitute (equivalent to 3 eggs):

• 3 tbsp ground flax seeds
• 3 tbsp cornstarch
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp (1/8 cup) water

For the cake:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1-2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 2 cups raw sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 (8-oz) can crushed pineapple in water
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 4 ripe bananas, peeled and mashed
• 1 cup shredded coconut
• 1 cup macadamia nuts, chopped

For the frosting:

• 8 oz. cream cheese substitute (Tofutti)
• 1/4 cup light coconut milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp coconut extract
• 1 lb (16 oz) organic powdered sugar
• 1 cup shredded coconut 

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans
3. In a large bowl, combine all egg susbtitute ingredients and stir until a thick paste forms. Set aside.
4. To prepare the cake: Whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon in a medium bowl to blend. Set aside.
5. In the large bowl with the egg substitute, beat in the sugar, oil, crushed pineapple and vanilla to blend. Add the dry ingredients and stir just until blended.
6. In a small bowl, stir together the banana, coconut, and macadamia nuts. Then fold into the batter.
7. Divide the batter evenly among the cake pans. Bake until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with no crumbs attached, about 35-40 minutes. Keep an eye on the baking time. Transfer the cakes to a rack and cool before frosting.
8. To make the frosting: Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese subsitute, coconut milk, and vanilla and coconut extracts in a large bowl until combined. Slowly beat in the powdered sugar until the right frosting consistancy forms. Stir in the coconut. Consistancy will be runnier than most frostings. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before frosting cake to allow frosting to become firmer. After frosting the cake, sprinkle with flaked coconut and chopped macadamia nuts.

This cake with the frosting was amazing. This was my first time making my very own frosting (without a recipe to follow) and I can confidently say that I did well! The only negative comment I have to make about my frosting though is that it was runnier than regular cream cheese frostings, so it was difficult to frost the sides of the cake without it trying to run down the side and accumulate at the bottom of the cake (hence, the mess I made on the cake plate). Okay, so, it was a bit of a mess but I wouldn't change a thing!

I am so glad Shannon and Chris loved the meal I prepared. My hard work payed off! Even David didn't mind it! I really think the word "vegan" throws people off. In reality, it is mostly just healthier eating. Sometimes :) You can make amazing dishes that are vegan though! You also learn to really appreciate fresh herbs and spices more!

Thanks Shannon and Chris for being such wonderful guests! We had a great time and I enjoyed learning more about the kind of vegan meals you prepare at your home! Thanks for sharing some of them with me!