Beans and Cornbread???????

I believe tonights meal is a testament to the fact that we will eat anything! Not that anything tasted bad, but yet I believe the beans might make excellent mortar, and the "cornbread", while flavorful and moist (and better yet with vegan margarine), might be a good doorstop! ROFLMAO..... But I said I'd share the good and the bad... and this serves as my record, since meals I cook fade from my memory in no time at all.... With some proper tweaking, who knows wher it might end up! :O) I take from this that I really like mashed carrots added to my beans, and the flavors in the cornbread are definately on the right track- just way too heavy... Something I think may be due to the masa harina, which I will eliminate on my next try...Still using what may be too old baking powder as well...

Beans

4 cups of cooked pinto beans cooked with chopped onions,a little crushed red chilies, and a couple bay leaves, drained
4 large carrots, cooked till very soft (save cooking water for another use!), pureed with half the above beans
(remaining half just mixed in)
1 head broccoli, processed to fine bits
3+ cloves garlic, minced
2 tomatoes, pureed
4 Tbsp. Ketchup

Combine all and bake for awhile, till broccoli tender and flavors merge. Serve with chopped parsley and chopped olives and cornbread.

Cornbread

2 cups masa harina

2 cups cornmeal

1 cup barley flour

1/2 cup nutritional yeast flakes

6 tsp baking powder

2 tbsp. dry chives

2 tsp. crushed red chilies

1/'2 tsp salt

2 1/2 cups water

1 1/4 cup applesauce

1/4 cup olive oil

4 egg equivalent of Ener-G Egg Replacer

2 tbsp. agave nectar

2 tbsp maple syrup

Mix dry ingredients and wet seperately, thoroughly combining.. Add together, thoroughly incorporating ingredients. Drop batter into a greased/sprayed 9 x 13 inch glass baking dish. Bake @ 350 degrees until it passes the toothpick test, covering with foil if necessary to keep top from over browning...

Spinach & Mushroom Lasagna (aka #3)

I ran across a fantastic vegan blog the other day. And as if that wasn't treat enough, she had an long list of additional vegan blogs. This is her recipe... I highly recommend this simple, yet delicious lasagna. Her layering method made a big difference too- 2 layers in a row are just the tofu spinach mix, swith sauce on the bottom and the top of the lasagna. Since I like a lasagna that really holds up in shape I went ahead and added one additional layer of noodles to the top, followed by more sauce (so I used the sauce in thirds rather than half and half). Since I need to replenish my herbs again I also only used oregano (no rosemary and oregano)....


THANK YOU SUSAN V! Check out her blog at:
http://blog.fatfreevegan.com

Easy Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna

1/2 lb fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 tsp. chopped garlic
2 tbsp. water
2 26-oz jars of spaghetti sauce (or your favorite pasta sauce)
9 lasagna noodles (regular lasagna noodles, uncooked)
Soy Parmesan (optional)
Sliced black olives (optional)

Filling:

10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1 lb tofu (firm, reduced-fat recommended--not silken!)
1 tsp. salt (optional)
2 tbsp. nutritional yeast (adds a cheesy taste)
1 1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. rosemary, crushed
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

Sauté the mushrooms and garlic over medium heat in the 2 tbsp. water until tender; cover between stirring to keep them from drying out. Remove from heat and add the spaghetti sauce.

Place the tofu and thawed spinach in the food processor and process briefly. Add the remaining filling ingredients to the processor and blend until smooth. (You may do this without a food processor by using a potato masher on the tofu.)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Spread half of the sauce in the bottom of a 9x12-inch pan. Place a layer of noodles over the sauce, using three dry noodles and leaving a little space in between them. Spread half of the tofu mixture on the noodles (I drop it by spoonfuls and then spread it). Cover with another layer of 3 noodles and then spread the remaining tofu mixture over them. Top with a final layer of noodles, and pour the remaining sauce over this. Cover the dish tightly with foil, and bake for 30 minutes. Then, remove the foil and bake for another 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with soy Parmesan and sliced black olives if you want. The lasagna will cut better if you allow it to cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Roasted Squash & Curried Rice

Wasn't gonna bother posting this, seemed too simple, but it came out great so here it is. We actually had more veggies on our plate than rice, but this was what I had left to photograph...

Wash and slice several zucchini and several yellow squash about 1/2 inch thick, give or take... Cut a big purple onion into anout 8 pieces, and seperate the pieces... Add these veggies to a large glass baking dish, lightly drizzle with olive oil, (fresh herbs would be great too, as well as fresh pepper), and toss well. Bake at 400 degrees, re-tossing periodically, until desired texture and onions start to carmelize. Took me over an hour in a convection oven.... For the rice I took one cup of brown rice, well rinsed, and added 2 cups water to it in a microwave safe dish with a tight fitting lid. I also added 1 Tbsp. Mochi Curry Powder, and a couple teaspoons vegan margarine. I first nuked it for about 8 minutes on high, followed by 17 minutes on half power (no peeking).. I let it set for 10 minutes and then fluffed with a fork for serving.. We also had some leftover Macaroni Hates Cheese sauce on the side as a condiment... The flavors really complimented one another... Next timt I'll be sure to add garlic and mushrooms!

Macaroni Hates Cheese

Macaroni Hates Cheese

http://www.theppk.com/recipes/dbrecipes/index.php?RecipeID=210

Submitted by Bryan Gregory May
prep time: a couple minutes | cooking time: 5-10 minutes | makes 4 servings

my girlfriend and i made this up a couple weeks ago for this column i have in the newspaper of a high school i don't go to. i'm not usually this blatently concieded, but this ended up being the best mac and cheese i've had in my life.

Equipment:
medium pot, small pot, strainer, mixing spoon

Ingredients
1 box elbow macaroni
2 cloves garlic
half a fairly large sized onion
1 cup nutritional yeast
1 cup soymilk
2 tbsp. margarine
4 tbsp. tomato sauce
1 tsp wet mustard
2 pinch chopped basil
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
oil

Directions
Throw the elbow macaroni into boiling water, following directions on the box. i like using quinoa noodles, for some extra health value. Dice the onion and garlic. Lightly cover the bottom of a small pot with oil and fry the diced onion and garlic at medium-low until onion is transparent. At this point, pour the nutritional yeast and soymilk into the pot. Add the rest of the ingredients, somewhat in the order listed above, while mixing the contents at low heat. Continue heating the sauce for a couple minutes, stirring every so often. The macaroni should be done, so strain it. Pour sauce over macaroni in a bowl. Enjoy!

My changes:
First off, I used a 1# box of whole wheat penne pasta (his recipe doesn't specify the size). I also doubled everything, and put 2 cups of the sauce aside for tomorrow's dinner (or just to have or dipping veggies in). Only I didn't double the margarine, I only used 3 Tbsp. total... Secondly, I always use ketchup instead of tomato sauce, just because it's there, lol.... I also don't add salt. And this time around I used dry thyme instead of basil, which I am out of... This guys recipe really is great, it's a favorite around here now, think I have made it 5 times in the last month!

We had a salad of fresh greens topped with cauliflower, carrots and kale- all of which were first processed fine in a food processor- wonderful texture and a terrific way to pack in the extra fiber and other goodies- we jokingly now refer to our favorite salad being "pre-chewed"... I always make it right b4 we are going to eat, unless its leftover, to protect the nutrients. We also topped ours off with some garbanzos... For dressing I was running low, so I tossed some stuff in my "Magic Bullet" blender.... No real recipe as of yet, but one is in the works.. I used some cashews, vegenases, soymilk, pepper, lemon juice, rice vinegar, parsley, chives, garlic, white beans... Experiment, you really can't ruin it.....

Lasagna #2

Saute in a heavy bottomed large pan the following veggies, food processed to bits:
3 leaves kale, stems removed
2 ribs celery
3 generous handfuls baby carrots
1 head cauliflower
1 green bell pepper
1/2 can black olives
1 small leek (sliced thin, not processed)

Cook through and then add:
2 small zucchini, sliced
2 Tbsp Oregano
about 2 cups or so tomato paste
3-4 cups water (eyeball it for desired consistency)

Simmer till zucchini is crisp tender or so...

"Cheese" layer
16 oz. extra firm tofu
1-2 Tbsp. dry chives
1/2 cup soymilk
cracked pepper to taste
Process all in the food processor until consistency of ricotta cheese

Most of a 16 oz. box lasagna noodles (I used Dreamfields high fiber low carb, as I have heard good things about it not raising a diabetic's blood sugar, and it seemed to hold true for me)

To Assemble:
Pour a couple cups sauce into bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish.
Top sauce with a layer of noodles, breaking to it where necessary. Top with half of the tofu mixture, followed by a layer of sauce, followed by another layer of noodles, the remaining half of tofu mix, more sauce, one more layer o noodles and finally, top it of with more sauce.

Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until noodles are cooked and desired lasagna consistency has been reached. Let set for 15 minutes before serving.

Turned out great- George liked it better than #1, me I am not sure. Its hard, when you have never met a lasagna you didn't like!

Green Potato Salad

Ever a food processor fan, here it helps you get the green veggies in without even realizing it!

2 Large Sweet Potatoes, cooked in skin and diced
1 Large Yam, cooked in skin and diced
6 White Potatoes of choice, cooked in skin and diced
3 Leaves Kale, finely processed in food processor
2 Small heads Broccoli, finely processed in food processor
1 White Onion, diced
3 Ribs Celery, diced
2 Tbsp dried Chives
6-8 Mini Dill Pickles, diced
1 Can Medium Black Olives, sliced
1 Cup or so Vegenaise, Grapeseed Oil Variety
Fresh Cracked Pepper, to taste
Salt, if used, added by individual
(otherwise you need a ton!)

Mix it all up! Obviously you can do whatever you want with this- next time I will add more sweet potato, as it held up the best... However, this came out great and really doesn't need any tweaking, imo.... We served ours over a bed of baby greens, with red and yellow tomatoes.

Barley Stew & Cornbread Too

While the picture leaves something to be desired, the contrast in flavors between the stew and cornbread complimented eachother nicely. George made several comments about enjoying the mushrooms in this dish. The cauliflower and barley were hard to tell apart, an effect I was aiming for, utilizing the cauliflower to lower carb content and boost vitamin content.

Barley Stew

To a large crockpot I added 1 cup of dry pearled barley, 1 large chopped purple onion, one head of cauliflower, processed to small bits, and 8 oz. sliced mushrooms. I then topped it off with a 14 ounce can of vegetable broth, dilluted to make 2 quarts of liquid, and 3 bay leaves. Put on low for about 6 hours, at which point I found the water completely absorbed and it starting to stick. I added a 1# bag of frozen Italian vegetables processed to small bits, a Tbsp. of dry thyme, fresh cracked pepper and about a cup and 1/2 additional liquid in the form of about 50/50 soymilk and water. Transfered to another crockpot on low for an hour or two.

Corn Bread

From Turn Off the Fat Genes by Neal Barnard

1 ½ c organic original soy milk
1 ½ tbsp vinegar (I used rice vinegar)
1 cup organic corn meal (I used an additional Tbsp. to compensate 4 the additional sugar/syrup)
1 cup organic barley flour
2 tbsp organic cane sugar (I used 4 Tbsp. Maple Syrup)
2 tbsp baking powder (non-gmo)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp sea salt

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Combine the soy milk and vinegar and set aside. Mix the cornmeal, barley flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Add the soy milk mixture and stir until just mixed. Spread the batter evenly in a sprayed 9 x 9-inch baking dish. Bake until the top is golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Serve hot.

All in all a good recipe. Am pleased with the lack of oil. Didn't rise as well as I would have liked, but my baking powder is a bit old. Tasted too salty to me, and was still a bit gooety in the center, but brown on top- might consider covering it for part of the bake time. Will make again and tweak.

White Beans & Red Rice

Another simple concoction, I cooked a pot of white great northern beans in the crockpot with nothing more than a ton of minced garlic, some leftover chopped onion, a touch of leftover spinach from yesterday, and one bunch of finely chopped kale.... This was served over a bed of red cargo rice, a new favorite. Red Cargo Rice is unhulled jasmine rice, fiber and vitamins still intact. It's soft and delicious and lately I find I prefer it to brown rice. To cook the red rice I first rinsed it thoroughly and then left it in a sieve for an hour. I used 2 cups of dry rice. To a pot I added the rice and 3 cups water. Bring to aboil, cover and reduce heat to medium low for 5 minutes, then lower the heat to low and let cook for 35 minutes. Remove from the burner and let sit for 10 minutes before finally removing the lid. Not as chewey as some whole grain rices, I really recommend it. Top with the beans, and then we also topped with a touch of chopped sweet onions and George a little hot sauce, which I found drowned out the great flavor of the beans, so I skipped it. Great garlic flavor. I am a touch concerned aboutthe nutritional content of the kale being compromised by the long cook time, but loved the flavor so, next time I would probably add an additional freshly chopped bunch to the mix about a half hour or so before serving...

Smothered Sweet Potatoes

We have been smothering a lot of taters lately- namely sweet potatoes... Not really a recipe because this is soo simple, and the sky is the limit on what you can do here.. Tonight I took a large sweet potato, cooked in the microwave, and split it into four pieces lengthwise. Then topped with raw minced white onion (we really like the texture and flavor of the raw on these), followed by a layer of plain pinto beans, then a large helping of cooked frozen spinach. Then I topped with two large falafel balls (just made from Whole Foods market bulk mix and baked, not fried), followed by some canned diced tomatoes, and topped off with more onion.... Actually, wecould have split one plate and it would have been plenty, we couldn't finish ours, but our two potberllied pigs were happy to help us out! Leftovers are great to use up this way, let me know if you come up with some favorite toppings.....

Red Rice Salad

I started by cooking 2 cups of dry red cargo rice (for instructions on how to cook red cargo rice please see my post dated Tues., July 18th, 2006 entitled "White Beans & Red Rice). To the rice I added a can of drained corn, a can of drained garbanzo beans, a bag of finely food processed "Mexican Style" veggies which consisted of broccoli, cauliflower, corn and red peppers. I find myself finely processing anything with broccoli in it quite often, as George thinks he doesn't like broccoli, unless he doesn't know its there, lol.... To it all I added one bunch of finely chopped parsley (again, processed in my beloved and often used food processor extraordinaire, lol)... Oh, and I almost forgot, the remaining third of a head of finely shredded green cabbage. Over this salad I poured a dressing that I mixed up, consisting of one cucumber, a tomatoe, 1/2 cup of rice vinegar, and a couple of Tbsp. black sesame seeds (I think I will just sprinkle them over the salad next time since processing them resulted in an off color dressing, although the color of the salad was not greatly impacted). Poured this over the salad and mixed and refrigerated a few hours...
I think this could use a little spice, maybe even garlic powder or?? Mint even comes to mind, as in tabbouleh. I am finding I really enjoy the leftovers alongside some also leftover falafel balls (just from a bulk mix and baked). In fact they seem to belong together, and I may just have to try a homemade version of falafel soon.

Pinto Bean Bake

Tonight I goofed, but the results were quite tasty! I was trying to make a bean loaf, but the results were not able to stand up as one, partially due to my pouring the reserved tomato juice over the entire thing after it had baked for quite awhile, thinking all but the flavor would evaporate... George really liked this and wants it again, but next time I'd obmit the egg replacer, since its sole purpose was to be that of a binder.. At first I was thinking the bread was adding too many carbs, but had it turned out a loaf I wouldn't have thought anything of it, and we have all had beans and rice- plus this was a good quality whole sprouted grain bread... I will definately be trying this again. No pic, as we woofed it all down, but it just looked like refried beans anyway.

3 Cups cooked Pinto Beans, pureed in food processor
4 slices Whole Grain Bread, processed to crumbs
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 can Diced Tomatoes, no salt added- liquid reserved
4 Tbsp. Ketchup
3 Tbsp. Ener-G Egg Replacer, mixed with 4 Tbsp. of the reserved tomato juice
Dry Basil, about a Tbsp.
Dry Chives, about 1/2 Tbsp.

Process and combine all and bake at 350 until you think its done. Or toss it in the crockpot on low for a few hours...

Whole Wheat Cornbread

2 Cups Masa Harina (finely ground cornmeal, just what I had around)
1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
4 Tbsp. Maple Syrup
2+ Cups Water (enough to make the right consisatency 4 cornbread, cornmeal sucks up a lot less moisture than masa harina, so it would be a lot less with true cornmeal)
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil

Sift dry ingredients. Mix wet ingredients. Combine and bake in an oiled or sprayed loaf pan or individual pans at 400 degrees for 25 minutes, or 325 in a convection oven

Eggplant and Broccoli Enchiladas

Well tonight I decided to get a little adventurous, AND utilize just ingredients on hand. Enchiladas are another of my favorite dishes... So first I made up an enchilada type sauce. Into the food processor went 2 green bell peppers, a can of diced tomatoes, 8 or so roasted green chilis, 2 Tbsp. Fiesta Chili Powder (Frontier brand, sold in bulk- one of my favorites), 1/4 cup or so left in a jar of Salsa Verde, and 1 Tbsp. Maple Syrup (since one of my all time favorite enchilada recipes uses honey- which is obviously not vegan).
For the filling I had previously sliced an eggplant and soaked it in saltwater to remove the bitterness. I chopped this up finely in the food processor, and added to it a large head of broccoli florets that I had also finely processed, as well as a finely processed large onion, and several bulbs of minced garlic. I drizzled it all with olive oil and sauteed until the onions were translucent. I then added some food processed cooked pinto beans and a healthy scattering of cumin. This became my enchilada filling. I poured a bit of sauce into the bottom of a 9x11 baking dish and proceeded to fill 18 or so taquito sized warm corn tortillas with filling, placing seam side down in the dish. Topped with the sauce, and baked at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes, maybe less. Topped with chopped fresh tomatoes and served with Tofutti brand vegan sour cream, these were a welcome treat. I think my filling was a bit too wet though, and I might process only half the beans next time, and maybe add some grated carrot to bulk it up. Oh and some black olives might be a nice touch!
Serves- a couple of porkers who ate it all in one night, lol.... (and I am not talking about the potbellied pigs eithe, lol)

Veggies with Uncheese Sauce

Pigged out bigtime- the entire lasagna seems to have vanished in less than 24 hours- so I decided to make something simple tonight. Dropped some cauliflower, cabbage and red onion into a crockpot with about 1/2 cup water. Mixed up a mock cheese sauce of sorts- 1 cup nutritional yeast, 1 cup soymilk, 2 Tbsp. olive Oil, and a couple Tbsp. Tofutti vegan sour cream and about a Tbsp. prepared yellow mustard (a key ingredient in an uncheese sauce it seems).... Drizzled over the veggies... Pretty tasty, that nutritional yeast is not too bad-- I will definately be experimenting with it further...

Lasagna #1

Since I anticipate trying a lot of different lasagna recipes, I think I'll just number them :) Tonight's lasagna was just kind of made up as I went along.... I knew it was a success when my dh, George, said, "Wow, we can have lasagna and it really tastes like lasagna!". lolololol.... Its amazing just how very little I miss the gobs of cheese I previously would have included... I used a pound of Gimme Lean sausage style I had in the freezer- it was good, but since we can get plenty of protein and other nutrients without the use of processed meat analogs I wouldn't probably purchase it next time. Not to mention the tofu already in it!

Lasagna #1--

"Cheese" Layer:
1 bunch parsley, stems removed
14 oz. of extra firm tofu
scant 1/4 cup soymilk
1 Tbsp. Oregano, dry
2 Tbsp. Basil, dry
1 Onion, chopped finely

Sauce Layer:
2 Cups Shredded Carrots
2 Zucchini, sliced
8 0z. Mushrooms, sliced
2-4 Garlic Cloves, minced
Olive Oil, for cooking (drizzle)
1- Jar Vegan Spaghetti Sauce
1- 15 oz. can Tomatoes, diced, in water
1 small can Tomato Paste
Water, as needed to make sauce consistency

1# Whole Wheat Lasagna Noodles

For the "cheese" layer- I processed the parsley in the food processor, then added the remaining ingredients, except for the onion. I processed the onion seperately and then blended it into the rest of the mix. Set aside in the fridge until time to assemble. For the sauce I first nuked the carrot, mushroom and garlic until half cooked (about 5 minutes on my microwave), first drizzling with olive oil (which I admit could be eliminated, no problem but hey, I've cut so much out I am still holding onto that little bit of fat, lolol). Then I added the zucchini and nuke some more, my goal being to not overcook the squash and keep its texture. Then I crumbled and nuked the soysage, and added it in as well.... Then added the sauces and paste and water (a cup or so), and let it all simmer on the stove for a bit.

To Assemble: (in a 9x13 glass pan)
Lightly cover the bottom of your lasagna pan with a cup or more of sauce. Follow this with a layer of DRY UNCOOKED lasagna noodles. Believe it or not, you don't need to buy special "no boil" noodles (which may not be vegan, btw), that is, imo, just a marketing ploy. I have been making my lasagnas this way or years. The result is a lasagna that holds together well and is not too too saucy/runny. Of course your method may vary, and if you tend to end up with dryer lasagnas using cooked noodles then you may need to watch it if you switch...

After the noodles, add a layer of half of the tofu "cheese" mixture, followed by 1/3 of the remaining sauce. Then another layer of pasta, breaking if necessary to fit the ends. Next is the rest of the tofu mixture, followed by half of the remaining sauce. Finish up with more noodles, followed by the remaining sauce. Cover with foil and bake for about an hour at 350 degrees, then uncover and bake a little longer, until noodles are fully cooked and lasagna reaches proper moisture consistency. Let set for about 15 minutes before you cut and dig in! 6 nice sized helpings...

100% Whole Wheat Blueberry Bread

Makes 8 Mini Loaves or 12 Muffins

2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour plus
1 tsp. Baking Soda, sifted together

Combine:
1 1/4 Cups Soymilk
3 Tbsp. Ener-G Egg Replacer,
mixed with 4 Tbsp. Warm Water
1/2 Cup Agave Nectar
1/3 Cup Applesauce
1 Cup Blueberries (fresh or frozen)

Add wet ingredients to the dry. Incorporate thoroughly, but leave slightly lumpy. Pour into muffin tins or mini loaf pans that have been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes, or a 300 degree convection oven for 20 minutes- or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

These came out great- I had to put half of them right into the freezer so George didn't eat them all :)

WELCOME!!!

Thanks for stopping by! My name is SeaPRIZM, and I plan to bring you delicious vegan recipes, many of my own creation. Please enjoy your stay, and feel free to make comments and suggestions- including recipes you'd like to see me try out (vegan only, of course)...

The pic is of me and my now departed Mackey Moo, a pug who found and adopted me late in his life :)