A leisurely afternoon spent with friends, eating good food and sipping champagne is the best way that I know to spend my time!

The asparagus were delicious.

I sautéed them in olive oil, 3 cloves of crushed garlic and crushed red pepper flakes and a handful of pine nuts.

We sipped on Mimosas and soaked in the gentle sunlight listening to music and chatting about old times.

I woke to a cold and snowy day and considered the possibilities.

I had thoughts of stew, like when I was a child. The kind that came from a big pot on the stove which mom made in the morning anticipating children who would be stuck in the house all day; a snow day.

Well, since becoming a vegan it is dishes like these that I miss the most; the kind which come from big pots and are swimming in gravy.

Then I considered, “what was my favorite part of those meals?” The pearl onions!

I loved those sweet slippery gems. For that matter I loved all the veggies and remember pushing dark beef bits to the side.

The gravy would be the tough part. I’ve kind of avoided this kind of thing as I am not a big fan of “substituting” processed fake meat products for meat.

This was really easy, just a bit labor intense.

I started by boiling the pearl onions; skin and all, in water for about 3 minutes.

Remove them and run cold water over them then cut off the root end. Gently squeeze and the “pearl” pops out.

Set those aside and prepare the mashed potatoes and keep them warm until you’re ready to serve.

Ingredients:

½ cup olive oil
6-7 carrots chopped
2-4 cloves of garlic sliced
4-5 cups of baby bella mushrooms halved
3-4 Tbsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp vegetarian stock / bouillon
5-6 cups of water depending on your desired thickness
1 cup of peas
1-2 cups pearl onions (depending on your preference)
Pinch or so of dried Tarragon

Method:

Put the oil in the pan and start adding garlic and carrots

Allow them to sauté, add the tarragon

Add the mushrooms and the pearl onions and allow to continue cooking

Mix the water and the cornstarch and add to the pan

Add the vegetarian bouillon

Add more water if necessary

Allow to cook until everything is tender and serve over mashed potatoes.

Having a recipe that you can make quickly and get right everytime is a great skill to master.

Red skin potatoes are a great side dish for so many dishes and these are great alone; as a treat.

I have made these for appetizers and as a snack to go with cocktails.

These are like a dressed-up version of potato skins minus the huge calorie count!

They take about 30 minutes from washing the potatoes to serving them. So you can whip them up in a jiff if need be.

Tahini Sauce

Tahini sauce is made from tahini – a sesame seed paste. Tahini sauce is thinner and used in pita sandwiches, marinades, and dips. Tahini sauce is very easy to make. Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator and it will keep for about two weeks.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)
3 gloves garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon parsley, finely chopped (optional)
Preparation:
In a food processor or mortar and pestle, combine garlic and tahini. Add kosher salt.

Remove from food processor and add olive oil and lemon juice. If too thick, add a teaspoon of warm water until desired consistency.

I washed and quatered about 12 medium sized organic red skin potatoes

Saute in about 1/4 cup of olive oil

I added about 10 shakes of red pepper flakes and 4-5 pinches of dried rosemary

I let this cook until the potatoes became browned

I then removed them from the frying pan and wrapped them in aluminum foil and placed them on a cookie sheet in a 450 degree oven for about 15 minutes.

Salt to taste

Top them off with the tahini sauce and serve.

Enjoy!

OK. I know that some of my posts will seem really boring. I eat pretty much the same thing every day.

I follow a vegan diet and my children are primarily vegetarians; eating cheese and eggs.

But I am truly on a mission to make vegan meals tasty and completely nutritious and enjoyable for everyone. I also, try to keep these meals as inexpensive as possible.

I realize that there is a big emphasis on inexpensive meals, but keeping them nutritious is the real challange.

Adding veggies to everything is a great habit to get into and you will find that your cravings for less than healthy foods will decrease if you’re meeting your nutritional needs regularly.

Today I have put together some of my favorite flavors; garlic, coconut, peanut , and crushed red pepper.

I simply steamed the broccoli, spinach, and garlic. When that was done I added the crushed red pepper and the peanut sauce.

It was fantastic.

You can boil whole wheat pasta and add more of the peanut sauce and toss in the vegetables for a great meal or a side dish.

Use the pepper to taste. I love things hot and spicy but you could modify this.

Enjoy!

I love kale and have become obsessed with it since discovering Dr. Alejandro Junger’s book, CLEAN.

Dr. Junger refers to green foods as the royal family of nutrition and kale is the king.

This dish includes all of my favorites; kale , asparagus, broccoli, garlic, spinach, basil, and a tablespoon of toasted pine nuts and half an avocado for garnish.

I steamed everything and topped it with a spinach, basil, and oilve oil pesto.

What I like about the pesto is that it incorporates spinach and garlic which are raw, thereby adding important enzymes to this meal.

These foods are great for the cleansing program, to be sure, however, I like to include these super foods into my everyday meals.

Making healthy highly nutritious foods a part of your daily diet ensures that you are are getting high quality, nutrient rich food and that you are functioning at optimal levels.

I am attemping to make these dishes easy for everyone to enjoy with recipes that don’t compromise quality and which satisfy the palate and the senses.

Easy and green Meatless Monday!

The cheese sauce starts with a simple roux of butter and flour to which I added about 1 cup of heavy cream and 3/4 cup of shredded parmesan.

I also added 3 cloves of thinly sliced garlic while the butter was melting before I added the flour.

And anytime I use cream or spinach I add a pinch of nutmeg.

This was a hit with my teenage daughters who don’t always enjoy my vegan meals.

Add salad and you have an inexpensive, nutritious meatless monday!

I added aspargus and broccoli to this meal. Artichokes would work here, also.

It all started with cake and a snow storm and the gorgeous organic produce in my refrigerator.

Sometimes when I’m shopping I don’t have any particular recipe in mind. I simply pick up things that catch my eye, are in season, especially ripe, smell good or are just pretty.

So that is how I ended up with a coconut, that gorgeous ginger root and a million organic carrots!

What to do with carrots on a cold snowy day in the middle of winter? Soup, of course!

But to begin my day, baking a cake seemed to be the most natural thing in the world to do to get things rolling. Chocolate, raspberry and fresh whipped cream was beckoning.

Cake would be a nice treat at the end of a long day.

Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup shortening
2 eggs (1/3 to 1/2 cup)
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 ounces melted unsweetened chocolate (cool)

Method

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease and flour baking pan, 13×9x2 inches, or two 9-inch or three 8-inch round layer pans.

Measure all ingredients into large mixer bowl. Blend 1/2 minute on low speed, scraping bowl constantly.

Beat 3 minutes high speed, scraping bowl occasionally.

Pour into pan(s). Bake oblong 40 to 45 minutes, layers 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool.

Coconut Carrot Ginger Soup

Ingredients

About 20-30 carrots
5-6 cloves of garlic
A nice sized piece of fresh ginger root 5-6 inches long
2 tsp ginger powder
1 can organic coconut milk
One whole coconut ( use the water and flesh)
2-3 cups vegetarian stock
2-3 Tbsp coconut oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Cilantro, for garnish
Avocado, for garnish

Method

Peel and chop the carrots then sauté with garlic and coconut oil.

Start grating the ginger and add to sautéing carrots.

Add the ginger powder.

Let things start to lightly caramelize then add the stock.

Allow to cool then transfer the mixture to the food processor and puree.

Add the coconut milk to the mixture and continue to puree.

Transfer to a soup pot and add the coconut water and flesh.

Add ginger powder if necessary.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve warm with fresh cilantro and avocado garnish.

Enjoy!

I added curry powder to the dough

Kale, yellow waxy potatoes, garlic, coconut oil, coconut milk, red curry paste, curry powder

Courtesy of Laylita’s Recipes

Making empanada dough is not as hard as it sounds, especially if you have a food processor, and even if you don’t it is still pretty easy because the dough should not be overworked and requires minimal kneading. Also, these days it is very easy to find the empanada discs already made (frozen) in Latin grocery store, and even though I was skeptical at first they are actually quite good, but it also always fun to have them homemade and you can also customize the dough by adding spices, herbs, etc that will complement or contrast with the fillings.

Ingredients for 15 medium size or 25 small empanada discs:

3 cups all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
6 oz unsalted butter (1 ½ sticks), cold and cut into 12 pieces
1 egg
4-5 tbs water
Mix the flour and salt in a food processor.
Add the butter, egg and water until a clumpy dough forms.
Form a ball and chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
Roll out the dough into a thin sheet and cut out round disc shapes for empanadas (use round molds or a small plate).
Use immediately or store in the refrigerator or freezer to use later.

I like to eat my veggies. I look forward to eating my veggies and usually crave them first thing in the morning.

And I don’t apologize for it anymore. If I want broccoli for breakfast then, that is what I eat.

But sometimes crunchy, cruciferous, crudités don’t sit well on an empty belly.

And besides, I am all about deconstructing these days. I am experimenting with texture and flavor.

I am trying new tricks with old favorites and trying to look at food in a new way, new presentations and combinations.

I am a vegan after years of examination. I like organic, basic, unprocessed food. But I am having fun “processing” the favorites in my diet.

I try to make every bite count; that means getting the most nutrition out of every bite.

This dish combines some of my favorite flavors; toasted pine nuts, roasted garlic, basil, broccoli, and olive oil.

As I am cooking more I am starting to realize that the method is just as important as the ingredients.

Toasting and roasting bring ingredients to peak flavor. Pureeing creates creaminess without adding fat and layering flavors and textures ensures well rounded nutrient rich, complete meals which are satisfying and nutritionally balanced.

I am calling this Broccoli Mousseline. It could substitute for mashed potatoes. Not that there is anything wrong with mashed potatoes but the nutritional bang is in the broccoli.

Olive oil and pine nuts add fat and protein. I also snuck in about a ½ of an avocado. Once again, adding fat and creaminess as well as depth of flavor. The flavors can range from buttery to almost bacon tasting.

Try this recipe to add tasty nutritious elements in place of carbohydrate filled empty calorie foods.

Ingredients:

10 oz broccoli
5-6 cloves roasted garlic
2-3 Tbsp olive oil
1/8 toasted pine nuts
½ ripe avocado
2 Tbsp Basil pesto
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Cook the broccoli until bright green and just tender.

Add all the ingredients into the food processor and puree until well blended and serve.

Garnish with pine nuts. I think that artichoke hearts would be a great garnish with this, also.

Serve it as a side or as a main dish with spinach pasta. This would also work well as a filling for ravioli, manicotti, or perhaps lasagna.

Enjoy!

…And don’t believe the “ it’s bitter” complaint often levied against this healthy nutrient packed green.

So many of the kale recipes I find utilize this green in soups and rightfully so, it stands up to lots of heat and long cooking times.

But one of the things that I like best about kale is the fresh “greenness” of its taste and the robustness of its texture.

This green stands up to some intense flavors like garlic and tomato which are the ingredients I used today.

This would make a great side dish with beans or on a bed of polenta for an entrée.

It would also be great with pasta.

I enjoyed mine au naturel!

Ingredients:

1 bunch of kale
5 cloves of garlic
1 fresh tomato
2 tbsp olive oil
Splash of balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp tomato sauce
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Add olive oil, thinly sliced garlic, and chopped tomato to a warm skillet and sauté.

Add roughly chopped kale and let simmer and reduce over medium heat 10-15 minutes.

Add the splash of balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy!

I needed healthy, hardy fast food. I am a vegetarian/vegan ( I sometime slip with cheese) so there were not a lot of options as I was running errands today.

I am working on a writing deadline and just needed to fill the growling belly…quick.

That is when, as I was hunting through my pantry, I came across this gorgeous soup idea.

Here is a recipe for a simple soup. This was insanely good and I would serve it to guests.

RECIPE

1 can cannellini beans
2 cloves garlic sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
A handful of fresh spinach
½ cup of veggie stock
2-3 pinches of dried rosemary
Salt to taste

METHOD

In a medium sauce pan add olive oil, garlic and rosemary

Drain some of the liquid from the can of beans and pour the beans into the sauce pan.

Stir it around a bit. I mashed up my beans, too. That’s how I like it.

Add a large handful of fresh spinach. Let it cook for a few minutes on medium to high heat.

Add ½ cup of the veggie stock and salt to taste.

This was amazing! So simple, so fast and truly filling and delicious!

If you want to get fancy I would puree it in the food processor for a more genteel presentation; however, the rustic look with say a Panini sandwich would also be fantastic.