roasted veggies

while this isn't technically a recipe, it's still darned tasty-- and really easy. i've been trying to keep some gall bladder pains under control until i can get things situated (the joys of being uninsured in america), and consequently i've renewed my interest in eating lots of delicious veggies and low-fat foods.

this was my first attempt at cooking beets myself! i'm proud of how they came out and they were requested a second night! here are roasted beets and carrots, with asparagus.

roasted root veggies

in this photo, beets and carrots were roasted! i peeled and cut the beets into about 2cm cubes (give or take), and drizzled with a little olive oil and maple syrup in a glass baking dish. i salted them with sea salt, and tossed them to mix. i baked them at 400f for 45 minutes, turning half-way through. i cheated with the carrots since they were leftover steamed plain carrots-- 5 minutes before the beets were done, i tossed these in to re-heat them. make sure the beets are fork tender (but will still be firm) before serving.

i've since tried this with beets, carrots, and parsnips-- the parsnips take on the color of the beets when roasting together. if you'd like, roast stuff separate, and toss together before serving to keep the colors vibrant. but the purple is pretty and i don't mind.

roasted asparagus

i chop the ends off asparagus and give them a good washing. lay them in a glass baking dish and lightly drizzle with olive oil, salt with sea salt, and toss a bit with tongs. roast at 400f for about 20 minutes, flipping with tongs half-way through.

i served the asparagus, beets, and carrots with pomegranate bbq tofu from vegan with a vengeance, a huge favorite around here. (the bbq sauce is good on the asparagus, too!)

not-the-parmesean

it must be something leftover from my childhood, but a pasta dinner just isn't the same without the "shakey cheese" on top. i'll go without and still enjoy it, but there's something about that fatty salty topping, that's just awesome.

so here are some recipes. i'll update this as i discover more. :)

tofu shakey cheese

ingredients:

1 block of tofu, frozen and thawed, pressed (I used trader joe's extra firm)
2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp dried basil crumbled between your fingers
1/8 c. nutritional yeast
2 tsp olive oil

directions:

in a small mixing bowl, add the tofu, lemon juice, salt, garlic, and basil, and squish with your hands till it's pretty well mixed and crumbly. add the nutritional yeast and olive oil and mix with a fork. store in a sealed container in the fridge for a couple weeks before it gets iffy.

variation: using unfrozen tofu makes this much moister and is a great pizza topping, stuffed shell/manicotti filling, or lasagna ingredient.


not-the-parm 1

ingredients:

1/4 cup peeled almonds
1/4 cup unsalted sunflower seeds
1/4 tsp lemon zest
1/4 tsp sea salt

directions:

grind almonds in mini food processor until coarse crumbs remain. add the other ingredients and process until crumbs are small to very small. transfer to spice jar with a shaker top and store in the fridge. makes about a half cup.

not-the-parm 2

ingredients:

1 cup walnuts
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 tsp sea salt

directions:

put the walnuts in a food processor and chop until they resemble crumbs or coarse crumbs. add the nutritional yeast and salt, and pulsate a couple more times to mix. i recommend keeping the mixture in the fridge; in there, i think it'll last indefinitely. makes about a cup.

chocolate mint bundt cake

chocolate mint bundt cake
Originally uploaded by broken dolly

tasty and delicious!

ingredients:

1 1/2 cups soymilk
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
4 generous tbsp cocoa powder
2 cups flour

directions:

preheat oven to 350f and grease a bundt pan. mix wet ingredients, sift in dry. mix well. bake 37-40min, until a toothpick comes out clean.


for the icing:

melt 12 oz. vegan chocolate chips in a double boiler, add 1/4 cup soymilk and 1 tbsp peppermint extract. allow cake and icing to come to room temperature before frosting. cake is moist, so take care not to break up the cake.

store cake covered in fridge to keep the ganache/icing from melting.

sugar-free carrot mini-muffins

i was trying to think of a witty or at least more descriptive name for these guys, but nothing comes to mind. they're pretty healthy, as far as these things go, since they use date sugar in stead of regular sugar or artificial sweeteners, have carrots in them, and can be made whole wheat for extra awesomeness. i opted to use white flour because my newfound love of fiber is probably going to backfire on me soon and i don't want to overdo it. (date sugar is ground up dehydrated dates, which are my new favorite food.)

my apologies for the lack of picture, but they seem to have been eaten too quickly for me to get a good one!

ingredients:

1 cup soymilk
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp ground flax seeds
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup minus 2 tbsp date sugar
1/3 cup pineapple juice
1 cup shredded carrot (about 2 medium carrots)
1 tsp orange zest (i buy it in the spice section instead of making my own)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch nutmeg (fresh or not)
1 1/3 cup flour

directions:

preheat oven to 375f, and spray a mini muffin tin with oil. then mix everything up! in the interest of laziness, i mixed everything in one bowl in the order above (first letting the vinegar curdle the milk a bit). if you are fancier and less lazy than me, you can mix the wet ingredients together, and then sift in the dry. mix well, and spoon into mini muffin tin. bake for about 18-20 min, until a toothpick comes out dry. cool for a moment and then transfer to wire rack.

makes 24 minis! (if you want full-sized muffins, it should make about a dozen, and double the cooking time.)

variations: add 1/2 cup raisins, dried cranberries, dried cherries, and/or chopped walnuts. to make them less healthy, they'd be awesome with a crumb topping or cream cheese frosting!

chickpea salad sandwich

ingredients:

1-15oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 tsp onion powder
3 tbsp vegan mayonaise
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp sweet relish
1/2 tsp yellow mustard
dash black pepper

good hearty bread for sandwiches
lettuce, tomato, other fixins

directions:

mash the chickpeas with a potato masher until no whole beans remain. add the rest of the ingredients (through black pepper) and mix with a fork until well blended. (feel free to season more to taste, too.)

smother on bread with lettuce and tomato, or whatever makes you happy.

brownies

this was an attempt at rescuing a broken recipe a friend tried to use. i had a sweet tooth and it was a good excuse to attempt vegan brownies. pre-vegan days, i was not a cake brownie fan, but preferred them fudgey and gooey and practically oozing into your mouth from your hands. i'm still hoping to find that someday in a vegan treat, but in the meantime, these aren't too bad. they're cakey but extremely moist. they'd probably do well drizzled with a raspberry or strawberry sauce, peanut butter frosting, or turned into a cake or torte. however, in the interest of simplicity at 2am, i just sprinkled a little powdered sugar on top and left them on the counter as a treat for my hard-working fiance when he gets home.

ingredients:

1/2 a 12oz aseptic package tofu (about 1 cup)
1/2 cup soymilk
1/3 cup canola oil
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups sugar
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder

directions:

preheat oven to 350f. grease an 8x8 pan and dust the bottom with cocoa.

in a blender, puree the tofu with the soymilk until smooth. if you have a really great blender, throw in all the other ingredients and go to town. if your blender isn't that brave, scrape out the tofu mixture into a large mixing bowl, add the other ingredients, and mix well. it'll be pretty thick. pour into the prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes. a toothpick inserted will not come out clean, but it'll be obvious when the center isn't batter any longer.

cool on a wire rack, and remove from pan before cutting, or cut away. i actually don't seem to own an 8x8 brownie pan that's sufficient for brownies, so i used one of my good cake rounds, and wasn't going to carve it up with a knife-- hence the wire rack. you do what makes you happy :)

alm-ella

this is my almondy version of the popular chocolate hazelnut spread. another photo-less post, simply because, well, i'm lazy. and you can imagine what a bowl of melty chocolate looks like. i will say that my only complaint about how this recipe turned out was that the almonds did not turn to a paste or almond butter consistency like i wanted it to, but i am not sure if that's the fault (or nature) of the almonds, or my failing food processor, because it was making some terrible noises!

this was my test recipe for a "how stuff works" project for my teaching physical science class. if it came out more like that commercial spread, i'd likely have used it, but it was kind of gritty. tasty, but gritty. so i'll just make hummus for my physics class. :)


ingredients:

1 cup skinned almonds
1 1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup confectioners sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
10 tbsp almond oil

directions:

grind up the almonds in a food processor until pasty (or at least powdery). add the extracts, sugar, and cocoa, and about half the oil, and puree until pasty and chocolatey. use a spatula to scrape the sides occasionally. add the rest of the oil a little at a time (you may not need to add it all), until you've reached a consistency you like.

serve with graham crackers! i'm sure this would also be great warmed as a fondue for fruits and pound cake and other delicious things.

tofu scramble

i don't have any photos of this, but it's probably my favorite breakfast food, along with a good waffle and some sausage. it's a great weekend breakfast, and the leftover scramble is awesome when reheated for breakfast the next day. it's great in tortillas too for breakfast wraps. there's a ton of variations, so i'll post some at the bottom. here's the bare bones recipe:

ingredients:
one block drained and sorta pressed firm/extra firm tofu
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp olive juice
2-3 tbsp nutritional yeast

spice mix:
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp paprika (i like hungarian best)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp turmeric
dash of pepper

directions:

over medium heat in a large skillet, sautee the garlic for about a minute, then add the spice mix stirring well for about a minute. crumble the tofu into the skillet (i prefer larger chunks, they'll break as you're cooking anyway, but do what you wish). try not to mash the tofu up, but give it a good toss and stir to coat it all with the spices, garlic, and oil. depending on how much water was left in your tofu, you'll need to cook it for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. if it looks really dry or sticks too much, add a splash of water to deglaze the pan a bit.

once cooked, add the lemon juice, and nutritional yeast.

i'm from new england, so i prefer my tofu scramble smothered with ketchup. feel free to do something classier, like salsa, or minimalist, and eat it plain.

variations:

i hate onions. you probably don't. add half a chopped onion to the garlic, and caramelize the heck out of it. alternately, you could add onion powder to the spice mix.

i love peppers. add half a washed, seeded, and diced bell pepper of your favorite color to the garlic, and continue as usual. live dangerously and use more pepper if you're into it.

i love mushrooms, too. add three or four good sized chopped white or crimini mushrooms to the garlic and sautee until they release their juices.

carrots rock. if you're not as lazy as i am, grate a large one or handful of baby ones in a food processor and throw it in towards the end.

if you have some vegan sausage on hand, crumble it in with the tofu, and make breakfast goulash. (i'm sorry i lack witty names for these things.)

serve it with tater tots-- or just cook some tater tots and throw them in with the sausage and toss it all together. this combo, along with peppers and mushrooms, is my personal favorite. with ketchup, of course.

tooner noodle casserole

ingredients:

12 oz small noodles (i used quinoa mini shells here)
3 tbsp margarine
1/4 c flour
2 c vegetable broth
1 1/2 c soymilk
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 c nutritional yeast
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp salt
dash fresh black pepper
2 (15 oz) cans chickpeas
2-4oz cans mushrooms (use fresh if you have them, sautee in oil)
1 1/2 c frozen peas
about 1/2 c bread crumbs (i use panko)

directions:

preheat the oven to 350f, and lightly spray a 9x13 glass baking dish (or deeper smaller casserole dish). start the pasta cooking, and start on the sauce. (when the pasta is done, just put it back in the pot and leave it until needed.)

mash the chickpeas in a large bowl with a potato masher and set aside.

in a large saucepan, melt the margarine over medium heat, add the flour and stir until the flour is absorbed. add the broth and bring to a boil, whisking constantly until thickened. turn the heat down to low, add the soymilk, lemon juice, soy sauce, spices, and nutritional yeast, and whisk. add chickpeas, peas, and mushrooms, and stir well. add the mixture to the cooked pasta and mix well.

pour into baking dish, and cover with bread crumbs (add more or less to suit your tastes), and bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes.


if you'd like to actually have this resemble some kind of semi-fishy taste, you could add a tablespoon or so of dried kelp or hijiki or something like that. personally, i've never been a fan of tuna, but i just love comfort food casseroles and pasta dishes, so i left out the fishiness and modified some other recipes i've found in the past to get this.

warm nacho dip

i don't know what to call this sauce. i feel like a derivative of "cheese" is implying that the sauce is trying to imitate cheese or dairy. if i call it "creamy" that also seems to imply it is dairy-like. i wouldn't call it "rich" but that's the next best word that came to mind. however, i think for something good for nachos, it's really not as rich as a fat-laden dairy-based food. in fact, i think it goes down quite nicely.

that said, this *is* my own version of a nutritional yeast-based sauce that some may say is trying to do a cheese imitation. however, i assure you, it is not. nutritional yeast is usually an acquired taste, and if you go into it thinking it's going to be vegan cheese, you're going to be disappointed. but if you take it for what it is, a warm nacho-esque dip or sauce that happens to be vegan and have a hint of tomato, i think you'll like it.

here it's shown with a soft warm pretzel (and boy was it yummy comfort food!), but it'd be great for tortilla chips (either to dip, or poured over the chips with refried beans and some peppers and olives), or even with rice or pasta.

ingredients:
1 cup water
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon salt
Generous dash of garlic powder
Generous dash white pepper
Small pinch mustard powder (less is more, you can add more later)
2 tablespoons margarine
equal amt salsa, diced tomatoes, picante sauce, enchilada sauce, etc

Dippers

directions:

in a small saucepan, whisk the flour and water. turn the heat up to medium, add the nooch yeast and spices, and whisk until the sauce bubbles and thickens (depending on your tomatoy-addition, you may want to let it get pretty thick so it doesn't thin out too much). stir in margarine until melted. remove from heat and sample a smidge of it. if it's "lacking" something, it's probably mustard powder or garlic powder, so go ahead and do what you like with it. add your choice of salsa or tomatoes (or whatever you're into). i always use mild, and in this picture it was picante sauce. if you like chunky tomatoes and/or spicy hotness, have at it. (or divvy it up and make half mild and half hot if you have a diverse crowd.)

this makes a generous amount of dip. when all is said and done, it's probably about 2 or 2 1/2 cups. i am pondering making a double batch of this and putting it out in a mini crockpot for our next party. i'll let you know how it goes.

by the way, yes that *is* a halloween plate in the photo, and yes it *is* february. don't judge.