spaghetti carbonara with shitake bacon.

 

I had seen this recipe floating around on the internet for quite some time now, and added it to my list to make. Glad I did. this was EASY and delicious. We served some roasted broccoli with it. You would think you slaved for hours making this dish – when it really comes together in no time!

SHIIITAKE BACON

• 1 pound shiitake mushrooms,
  trimmed and thinly sliced
  (about ¼ inch thick)
• 2 T olive oil
• 2 T soy sauce
• 1 tspn maple syrup
• 1/2 tspn liquid smoke
• 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

PASTA CARBONARA

• 1 pound long pasta
  (spaghetti, linguine, fettuccine)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 14 ounces soft tofu
• ½ cup water
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2½ teaspoons sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Chopped fresh Italian parsley for garnish
• vegan Parmesan Topping

For the shiitake bacon:
Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Mix together the ingredients for the mushrooms. Slice mushrooms long-wise and thin and coat with liquid. Spread them on  a large rimmed baking sheet and bake for about 30 minutes, turning frequently with a spatula, until lightly browned and crisp.

For the pasta:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to package directions. Drain and return to the pot.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add onion and let cook until soft. Add garlic and let cook a few more minutes. Remove from heat.

In a blender, combine onion, garlic, tofu, water, lemon juice, and salt. Process on high until very smooth, about 2 minutes.

Add sauce to pasta and toss to coat. Season with pepper and add more salt to taste. Let pasta sit for about 5 minutes to allow sauce to thicken slightly. Top with shiitake bacon, parsley, Parmesan topping, if using, and serve.

 

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cheesy veggie soup.

This is a pretty easy soup you can make from a variety of vegetables in your fridge. I havent done it, but I imagine you can interchange veggies to what you have in stock.

What I did:
1 onion
4-6 cloves of garlic
1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed
3 stalks celery
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
3 cups brocolli
6 cups vegetable broth
olive oil
4 T nutritional yeast
salt and pepper

saute chopped onion and garlic in some olive oil in a soup pot and sautee until translucent, about 5 min. Add vegetables and sautee about five more minutes. Add salt and pepper then add broth, cover and let cook about 15 minutes until veggies are soft. stir in nutritional yeast and transfer to blender – puree until smooth. add salt and pepper and more nutritional yeast to taste – Serve with crusty bread or garlic crutons or garlic toast!

almond meal chocolate chip cookies.

Im always looking for something gluten free to make for friends who avoid gluten, but i don’t always have the ingredients on hand. But I always have almonds, and for these cookies, you just have to blend some almonds in the vitamix, and you are well on your way. I used coconut palm sugar in replacement of the brown sugar, and halved the amount and these were sweet enough for me. I also used grain-sweetened chocolate chips, to keep the sugar down as much as I can. These will make a good little snack when I get a sweet craving in my day – and overall they are pretty healthy for you, and gluten free, and contain no refined sugars!

you can find the recipe and instructions here. 

• 1 1/4 cups almond meal (ground from raw almonds)
• 1/4 cup vegan chocolate chips ( I used grain sweetened, linked above)
• 1/2 cup finely shredded unsweetened coconut
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/3 cup brown sugar (I used half this amount and used coconut palm sugar)
• 1/4 cup aquafaba (the brine/liquid in a can of chickpeas); if not vegan, use one egg
• 3 Tbsp coconut oil, melted
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

salt + vinegar potatoes.

Salty. Tangy. Potatoes. Sign me up!
I cooked these in my air fryer, but you bake/broil them instead.

Slice yukon gold or finerling potatoes in 1/4 inch slices. Place in saucepan and cover with vinegar. boil for about 10 minutes until start to get soft. Preheat oven to 400 degrees or place in air fryer. Toss with a little bit of olive oil and toss with salt. Bake in the air fryer at 370 for about 15 minutes (tossing occasionally); or bake in over for about 15 min, flip and then bake about 10 min more. For crispier potatoes, broil for a few minutes.

peanut noodle salad.

Whoah, this salad was a hit! we made it twice in one week so we can eat it all week long for lunch.  With a little meal prep ahead of time it comes together in no time for a quick, delicious weekday lunch.

Original recipe found here
I changed things slightly, using tofu instead of tempeh and reducing the amount of maple syrup.

Salad

• 6 ounces rice vermicelli noodles
• 2 whole carrots, “ribboned” with a vegetable peeler or spiralizer
• 1/4 cup (15 g) chopped cilantro
• 1 cup (30 g) loosely packed spinach, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
•  1 batch peanut Tofu (ingredients below)

DRESSING

• 1/3 cup  salted creamy peanut butter
• 3 Tbsp soy sauce or tamari
• 2 Tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp chili garlic sauce, 1 red Thai chili minced, or 1/4 tsp red pepper flake
• 1 lime, juiced
• Water to thinTOFU
• 1 package of tofu, water pressed out
  SAUCE
  • 2 Tbsp salted creamy peanut butter
  • 2 Tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 Tbsp lime juice
  • 2 Tbsp maple syrupSlice your tofu; marinate for a few hours or overnight. toss in airfyer and cook 370 for 15 minutes, flipping halfway through.

 

tahini cereal.

I guess I’m on a cereal making kick! After making that chocolate cereal, I remembered this recipe on Shutterbean and tried it out. Another success! Makes a great snack, but also so good in almond milk with bananas!

• 2 cups Kashi Seven Grain Cereal
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/3 cup sesame seeds
• 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup tahini
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• milk, for serving
• bananas, for serving

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a large bowl, mix together Kashi cereal, oats, sesame seeds and coconut until well combined. In a small bowl, combine the tahini and maple syrup. If mixture is thick, add about 1 tablespoon of water to thin it out. Stir maple tahini sauce into the cereal mixture until well coated. Season with salt and spread coated cereal mixture onto a baking sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes to make sure mixture is evenly browned.  To serve, divide cereal into bowls, top with milk and bananas. Cereal will last in an airtight container for up to a week.

butternut squash mac & cheese.

When fall comes I always find myself buying a butternut squash, then scrambling to find something to make with it before it goes bad. Why not sneak it into some mac and cheese? I made it for my son and his friend and they gobbled it up. Didn’t even phase them!  This would make a great thanskgiving side dish too if you are looking for one.

I found the recipe here.  My modification is below.

• 1/2 butternut squash, peeled and chopped (yields: 3.5 cups raw)
• 1/2 cup raw cashews
• 1 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk
• 3-4 garlic cloves
• 2 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
• 6-7 tbsp Nutritional yeast
• 2 T Miso Paste
• 1 tspn onion powder
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1/4-1/2 tsp Paprika + more to season
• Your pasta of choice

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet.  In a bowl, season chopped squash with some oil (~1 tsp) and kosher salt (couple pinches) and stir. Add to baking sheet and roast in oven for 40 minutes, flipping once half way through baking.

2. Add roasted squash, cashews, non-dairy milk, garlic, , salt, nutritional yeast, pepper, miso, seasonings) to vitamix type of blender and process until smooth

4. Cook your pasta according to package directions. When squash is finished roasting, add it to the food processor and blend it with the cheese sauce until smooth. Adjust to taste. The sauce will thicken up with time. If at any point the sauce becomes too thick, you can add a bit of milk to thin it out.

5. Drain and rinse pasta with cold water. Now add the pasta back into the same pot and add your desired amount of cheese sauce on top. Stir well. Add in any desired mix-ins like peas or broccoli. You can either heat this up in the pot, or pour it into a casserole dish (I used a 4 cup dish), sprinkle on breadcrumbs + paprika, and bake it at 350 for about 20-25 minutes.

fried chick’n sandwich.

I found a recipe to make this vegan chick’n sandwich which is supposed to be a copycat Chick-fil-a.  I never had a chick-fil-a sandwich, but having recently bought an airfryer, this appealed to me. Turned out to be pretty delicious! I modified the recipe a bit and made it twice in one week! I made the seitan ahead of time and then bread it when im ready to make some for dinner.  They reheat well too!

Chick’n Seitan:

• 1 cup vital wheat gluten
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp onion powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp poultry seasoning
• ¾ cup vegetable broth
• 2 tbsp tahini
• 3-4 cups of vegetable broth (enough to cover), for cooking

Binder

• ¾ cup plain, unsweetened almond milk

Breading

• 1 cup  white unbleached flour
• 3 tsp paprika
• 2 tsp cracked black pepper
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder

Topping ideas

• Burger buns, I used pretzel buns
• Vegan Ranch or vegan mayo
• avocado
• vegan cheese
• pickles

To make the seitan:

1. In a mixing bowl, mix together wheat gluten, salt, nutritional yeast, onion powder and poultry seasoning.
2. In a larger bowl, combine ¾ broth and tahini and whisk until smooth.
3. Mix the dry ingredients with the wet and stir until well combined.
4. Knead the dough until it is elastic but not dry. Sprinkle some additional gluten flour if you find you have made your dough too sticky.
5. Divide the dough into small little burgers. Keep in mind they will grow to about twice their size, so make then smaller then you would normally. Place in a casserole dish, covering them completely with vegetable broth.
6. Cook burgers in broth for 1 hour at 350 degrees, flipping at 45 minutes. Allow to cool.

Breading

1. Combine the flour, paprika, black pepper, chili powder, salt, baking powder, and garlic powder in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Set aside.
2. Toss the seitan “chicken” cutlet into the dry mixtured and coat completely, then toss it into the wet, again coating evenly on all sides. Toss into the flour mixture again and coat generously. Repeat with the remaining cutlets and set aside.
3. Place cutlets in the airfryer and bake at 370 for about 12 minutes. Flip occasionally to ensure even cooking. If you dont have an air fryer, im sure you can bake in the over, deep fry!

buffalo tofu.

I recently jumped on the air fryer bandwagon. I kept seeing the food being made in my feed – and then saw an infomercial and knew i had to have one. I chose this one and its been working pretty well. It doesnt make french fries taste like they have been deep fried, like the infomercial promised, but it does cook things so quickly and really does make stuff crispy with using a minimal amount of oil.

I kept seeing kittee posting about her buffalo tofu and I have to say this is hands down the best thing we have made in here so far! Wowza. we turned these into buffalo tofu wraps with some avocado, home grown tomatoes and daiya ranch dressing.  Cant wait for leftovers tomorrow!

You can find Kittee’s recipe for her buffalo cauliflower here – I modified it a bit to make it work for tofu/my needs.

First, she mentioned on instagram to marinate your tofu in tamari, nutritional yeast, garlic, liquid smoke and rice vinegar.  I just kind of eyeballed it all. Mix together and let marinade a few hours to overnight.

as to the recipe i posted above i used only
1/2 cup chickpea flour instead of the three flour blends she suggested, and i think i will only use a 1/2 T of curry next time.

I already have another batch of this marinating today! I cant wait to eat it again! Its not too spicy, super crispy and  heated up nicely the next day in the air fryer – crispy as can be!

zucchini noodle lasagna.

I took a stab at making a lasagna with zuchinni instead of noodles. I just kind of threw this recipe together, and happy to say…it was a hit! I came home late from work one day and my family was gladly eating this. Milo didnt even realize the noodles were zucchini.

zucchini – sliced thin with a mandolin slicer
1 package extra firm tofu, pressed and crumbled
3/4 cup raw cashews
1/2 cup-3/4 cup water
3-4 garlic cloves
salt
pepper
nutritional yeast
fresh basil
1 bag fresh spinach
vegan parm (recipe below)
Tomato sauce

Prep your zucchini.  Slice thin with a mandolin slicer and lay flat on paper towels, sprinkled with salt. Let sit for about 10-20 minutes and dab with paper towels as zucchini starts to sweat out the water.

Make the cashew cream: Blend together the drained raw cashews, fresh water, garlic, lemon juice, and generous pinches of salt and pepper.Add a little fresh basil if youd like as well.  Add a little vegan parmesan or nutritional yeast. Adjust seasonings to your taste.

Make the spinach: I make spinach by filling a tea kettle with water and boiling it, then putting bag of spinach in a colander and pour boiling water on top of spinach.  Run some cold water on it and squeeze out all excess water.  Chop roughly.

Make the tofu ricotta: Take crumbled tofu, cashew cream and spinach and mix to combine. Add fresh chopped basil.

Assemble the lasagna:Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour some pasta sauce in an 8×8 pan. Layer the zucchini noodles, then layer with tofu ricotta and sauce. Continue until you end on a layer of noodles on top. Top with remaining sauce and vegan parmesan.  Bake covered with foil for 25 min.  Uncover and bake for about 30 min more.