Friday, November 25, 2011

Vegan Pot Pie

This simple and QUICK recipe will have your belly warm and sooo full.

Makes two pies
  • 10-12 medium red potatoes
  • 2 medium purple potatoes  
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 large onion, chopped (I like rough chops, you may prefer a fine chop)
  • 6 cups diced vegetables of your choice
    (choose 3 or 4 from among cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, leeks, peas, corn kernels, zucchini, kale, etc.)
  • ¼ cup tablespoons unbleached white flour
  • 2 cups vegetable stock
  • 1/4 cup nutritional yeast  
  • 1 ½  tablespoons adobo seasoning (or Mrs. Dash)
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
  • Two 9-inch prepared pie crust,
  • 1 cup fine whole grain bread crumbs (make your own, its cheaper)
  • Smoked Paprika for topping
Cut the potatoes into sixths. Boil until fork tender, mash them coarsely leaving many large potato bites (you want that, trust me). Set aside until needed.
Preheat the oven to 350º F.
Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the onion and sauté over medium heat until  golden. Add the vegetables of your choice, add a bit of water; cover and cook until the vegetables are tender but not overdone, about 5 minutes.
Sprinkle the flour into the skillet, and then pour in the stock. Add the nutritional yeast. Cook for a minute or two, stirring constantly until the liquid thickens. Stir in both the diced and mashed potatoes. Heat through gently. Stir in the seasoning blend, thyme, and parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Pour the mixture into the pie crust and pat in.
Sprinkle the bread crumbs evenly over each pie, then top with a sprinkling of paprika. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the crust is golden. Let the pies stand at room temperature for 10 minutes or so, then cut into wedges and serve.

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Dutch Apple Pie

With fall comes baking. Here is an amazing pie recipe. Enjoy!

5 1/2 cups peeled cored sliced cooking apples
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg


Topping
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup butter or 1/3 cup margarine, room temperature


Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Fit pie crust into pie plate.
3. In a large bowl, mix sliced apples, lemon juice, both sugars, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg.
4. Pile into crust.
5. Prepare topping: In a medium bowl, with a pastry blender or a fork, mix flour, both sugars, and butter until coarsely crumbled.
6. Sprinkle evenly over apples.
7. Bake at 375°F for 50 minutes.

Pesto Pasta Salad Recipe

Here is a nice summer/fall salad. Well.....eat this salad anytime!

·         4 cups uncooked spiral pasta (use rice pasta for wheat-free version)
·         1 cup fresh pesto (your favorite-click here)
·         2 Tbs chopped green olives, or olive tapenade
·         1/4 cup pine nuts
·         1 cup frozen peas, defrosted (or fresh if you can get them)
·         12 ounces cherry tomatoes, halved
·         Several fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped
·         1 Tbsp olive oil
·         Salt and pepper

Cook pasta according to instructions on the package. Make sure the water is salted (at least a half teaspoon per quart). Remove pasta from heat and strain when pasta is cooked, but still firm (al dente).
Put pasta in a big bowl. Mix in fresh basil pesto, green olives, and pine nuts. Gently mix in cherry tomatoes, peas, fresh basil leaves and olive oil. Salt and pepper to taste. Chill or serve at room temperature

Vegan Blackberry Pie

Do you know what warms my heart more than anything? No, not an amazing sale at Target- geeze…A yummy warm berry pie.


4 cups fresh blackberries
½ cup white sugar
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie
2 tbs almond milk
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tsb cinnamon


Combine 3 ½ cups berries with the sugar and flour. Spoon the mixture into an unbaked pie shell. Spread the remaining ½ cup berries on top of the sweetened berries, and cover with the top crust. Seal and crimp the edges. Brush the top crust with milk, and sprinkle with ¼ cup sugar and cinnamon.

Bake at 425 degree F for 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature of the oven to 375 degrees F and bake for an additional 20 to 25 minutes. Let stand for several hours before serving.

Pistachio Arugula Pesto

Pesto recipe # 21544....haha, kidding of course. This pesto has an earthy spice that only arugula can provide. This is best served with a penne pasta and grilled veggies!

1/2 Cup Roasted, salted Pistachios
2 Cups Arugula
4-5 Tbs Olive Oil (or to taste)

1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 small seeded jalapeno (optional)
Fresh Cracked Pepper


Mix all ingredients in a food processor. Mix well, or to your favorite texture.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Vegan Blackberry Pie

Do you know what warms my heart more than anything? No, not an amazing sale at Target- geeze…A yummy warm berry pie.


4 cups fresh blackberries
½ cup white sugar
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie
2 tbs almond milk
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tsb cinnamon


Combine 3 ½ cups berries with the sugar and flour. Spoon the mixture into an unbaked pie shell. Spread the remaining ½ cup berries on top of the sweetened berries, and cover with the top crust. Seal and crimp the edges. Brush the top crust with milk, and sprinkle with ¼ cup sugar and cinnamon.

Bake at 425 degree F for 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature of the oven to 375 degrees F and bake for an additional 20 to 25 minutes. Let stand for several hours before serving.

Roasted Purple Potatoes

Last weekend I had the ladies over for lunch and holiday decorating- YES, I decorate in early November. The menu was a sweet potato and roasted onion sandwich and roasted purple potatoes. Here is the recipe for the potatoes. Fair warning- don’t make too many, because you’ll never stop eating them….

6 large purple potatoes (quartered lengthwise)
1/8 cup olive oil
1 tbs garlic (minced or dried)
½ tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried dill weed
½ tsp dried thyme
½ tsp dried sage
½ tsp dried parsley
1 tsp crushed red pepper
Salt and pepper to taste

Toss the oil, potatoes and spices in a bowl, coat well. Place evenly, skin side down, on a roasting pan/baking sheet (I use silpat). Bake at 475 for 25 minutes.

This is a great side dish or an amazing main course when smothered in pesto!

Friday, November 11, 2011

Pumpkin Pancakes

Twas the weekend after Halloween and all though the house
Not a gourd was safe, not even the pumpkin
The knife was sharpened by Furi with care
In hopes that St. David would soon be there

---okay--- cheesy, I know. Anyway, I was SOO hungry for some hearty pumpkin pancakes, so I went to the kitchen and started playing with ingredients.


2 ½ cups whole wheat flour
2 ½ cups water
½ cup “milk” (I used pumpkin spiced soy milk)
2 tbs baking powder
1 tsp salt
½ cup mashed, cooked pumpkin
½  tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp ginger powder (slightly less than 1/4 )
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp apple cider vinegar

Combine soymilk with the tsp vinegar in a separate bowl. Give it 5 minutes to curdle (this is like using buttermilk). Stir together pumpkin, spices, water and soymilk in mixing bowl. Add in remaining ingredients and stir JUST UNTIL MOIST, NO LONGER- DO NOT OVERMIX. Let sit 5 minutes to rise and lightly stir again. This makes about 20 pancakes.

FYI- I cooked mine on a cast iron grill coated with hazelnut oil…YUM