Month: November 2011

Ratatouille with Polenta

 

 

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  We had such a great time with our family and ate way to much of course.  This ratatouille recipe is great way to get in a bunch a veggies after all the not so good for you holiday food.  It is very filling and warm, so perfect for the fall weather.  I baked mine in individual portions, but it would be just as great in a larger casserole dish.  The ratatouille could also be served on its own or with the polenta as a side dish.

Ratatouille

2 TBSP olive oil

1 large eggplant cut into 1/2 inch cubes

3 medium zucchini cut in 1/2 inch cubes

2 cloves minced garlic

1 14oz can of tomatoes or 3 fresh diced

2 tsp herbs de provence

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup fresh basil chopped

3 cups of prepared polenta (follow package directions)

 

Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a large skillet.  Add the eggplant and sauté about 5 minutes until it starts to soften then remove it from the pan.  Add the remaining oil to the pan and sauté the onion for about 5 minutes. Add in the zucchini and garlic and sauté for a couple more minutes.  Add in the herbs, salt, pepper, tomatoes and the cooked eggplant and simmer for about 10 minutes.  Stir in the fresh basil.  Put the ratatouille into a baking dish and top with the polenta.  Bake at 375 for 20 minutes.

 

 

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Thanksgiving Menu

This year we will have 16 people here for Thanksgiving and the kids have been working hard on our decorations.  Our little house will be very full, but it is such a blessing to have everyone together.   I tried to keep the food very traditional this year, so everyone will have something familiar.  Here is the menu:

Meatless Loaf from the Fat Free Vegan Kitchen.  I am going to wrap mine in puff pastry.

Traditional stuffing with apples

Greens beans with apple cider, carmelized onions and walnuts

Cranberry sauce

Roasted sweet potatoes with, cranberries, sage and walnuts

Mashed potatoes and gravy

Homemade rolls

Pumpkin Pie

 

Pumpkin Pie

1 package of silken tofu

2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 14oz can of pumpkin

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup of brown sugar

2 Tbls molasses

1 prepared pie crust (recipe below)

Preheat the oven to 350.  Blend the tofu in a food processor.  Add in all the other ingredients.  Pour the mixture into the prepared pie crust and bake for 1 hour.  You may need to put foil around the edges of the crust to keep it from burning.  Let the pie cool and then refrigerate until you are ready to serve it.

 

Pie Crust (makes 2 crusts)

2 cups unbleached flour

1/2 tsp of salt

1 Tbls of sugar

8 Tbsp of butter

6 Tbsp of non hydrogenated shortening

1/2 Cup of ice cold water

 

Put the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor.  Pulse to combine.  Add in the butter and shortening.  Pulse until the butter and shortening are coarsely combined with the flour.  There should still be some small pieces.  Slowly add the water with the processor running until the dough comes together.  Remove the dough, divide it in half and wrap in plastic wrap.  Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

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Taco Salad Bar

Tonight I made a taco salad bar.  I just put out all of our favorite taco ingredients and let everyone make their own salad.  This was great for the kids.  They had fun making their big salads and then ate it all.  To go along with the salad I made chips.  I just cut corn tortillas into quarters, tossed them in a little canola oil and salt and then bake them at 375 for 8-10 minutes until they are crispy.  Just make sure you keep an eye on them, they burn fast.

 

For the taco salad I used:

romaine lettuce

tomatoes

black olives

black beans

Daiya cheese

salsa

guacamole

vegan sour cream

hot sauce

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Minestrone Soup

I made this soup because my daughter loves it so much.  She asks for it all of the time, which is great.  It is super healthy and really cheap to make.  It cost me less than $5 for the entire pot and there is usually enough for more than one meal.  We ate it with homemade bread that had just come out of the oven.  It was delicious!

Minestrone Soup

2 TBSP olive oil

1 medium onion diced

2 stalks of celery sliced

2 carrots sliced

2 zucchini sliced

2 cups of green beans cut into 1 inch pieces

6 cups vegetable broth

2 TBSP tomato paste

1   14oz canned of diced tomatoes

2 TBSP Italian seasoning

salt and pepper to taste

1   14 oz can of cannellini  beans

1 cup small shaped whole wheat pasta

1/2 cup fresh basil chopped

 

Heat the oil in a large pot.  Add all of the veggies and cook about 10 minutes.  Add the broth, tomatoes, tomato paste and seasoning.  Simmer for about 20 minutes then add the beans and pasta and simmer for 10 minutes more.  Stir in the basil and serve.

 

 

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Stuffed Squash

Squash

This is the perfect fall dinner.  Today it was chilly out and all the leaves were coming down, so it seemed like a great night for this meal.  The rice stuffing is just as good on its own or it would make a great side dish as well.  The rice has just the perfect amount of sweetness from the apples and goes great with the roasted squash.  Tonight I served the stuffed squash with a spinach and orange salad with a balsamic vinaigrette.

 

Stuffed Squash

3 acorn squashes

1/2 cup brown rice

1/2 cup wild rice

2 cups vegetable broth

1 TBSP canola oil

1 small apple diced

1 small onion diced

1/4 Cup pecans or walnuts

1/2 tsp cinnamon

salt and pepper

 

Preheat the over to 400.  Cut the squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds.  Place the squash on a baking sheet and bake for about 30 minutes until the squash is tender.

Bring the broth to a boil for the rice.  Add the rice and bring it back to a boil.  Cover and turn the heat down to medium low and simmer for about 45 minutes.  In a large skillet heat the oil.  Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes.  Add the apple, nuts and spices and cook for another 5 minutes.  When the squash is ready stuff it with the rice mixture and bake for another 10 minutes.

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Spicy Eggplant

Eggplant

 

This recipe is for my cousin Larkin.  We went to a Chinese restaurant a few weeks ago and ordered spicy eggplant.  It was so good, but I felt terrible after eating it because of all the salt and oil.  I felt even worse when I looked up the nutritional info and found out it had over 40 grams of fat and 3 days worth of sodium.  Larkin wanted to me to come up with my own version, so here it is.

 

 

Spicy Eggplant

2 TBSP canola oil

2 large eggplants cut into 1 inch cubes

1 small onion finely diced

2 cloves of garlic diced

1 1/2 cups vegetable broth

2 TBSP honey

3 TBSP low sodium soy sauce

1 TBSP rice vinegar

1 TBSP arrowroot powder or cornstarch

1 – 2 tsp crushed red pepper

 

Combine the broth, honey, soy sauce, vinegar, arrowroot powder and crushed red pepper in a bowl and set aside.  Heat  half of the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add the onion and cook for a couple minutes and then add the garlic and half of the eggplant.  Saute the eggplant for about 5 minutes until it is softened.  Remove the eggplant to a bowl.  Heat the rest of the oil and add in the remaining eggplant and cook for 5 minutes until it is soft.  Put all of the eggplant back into the pan and add the sauce.  Bring it to a boil for a couple of minutes until the sauce has thickened.   This is great served over brown rice.

 

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Chef Brooke’s

I am finally home from Florida and my Mom is all settled in her new house here in North Carolina.  This last week has been so crazy, but it has been worth it to get my parents close by.  It is such a blessing to have family close to us again.

Before leaving Ft Myers I had to go to my favorite restaurant there, Chef Brooke’s Natural Cafe.  She always has the most beautiful, delicious food and the best vegan cupcakes.   My favorite are the raw nori rolls with sesame dressing.  I order them every time I go.  This time my husband and I shared the coconut mung bean dahl, nori rolls and the tofu platter.  Normally I am not a fan of tofu, but hers was so good.  My kids took a bite and kept begging for more.

Nori Rolls

Tofu Platter

Coconut Dahl

Vegan Cupcakes

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