Cinnamon-Cumin Lentil Soup

This recipe is found in The Ultimate Guide to the Daniel Fast by Kristen Feola.

Cinnamon – Cumin Lentil Soup

6 cups water or Vegetable Broth

1 cup dry lentils, sorted and rinsed

1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

½ cup diced carrots

½ cup diced red onion

½ tsp. cinnamon

½ tsp. cumin

¼ tsp. salt

Bring water or broth to a boil. Add lentils, chickpeas, carrots, onions, cinnamon, cumin, and salt. Simmer gently with lid tilted for 30 minutes, and serve.

Eggplant Curry

I love curry!  I’m not a fan of HOT curry, but I love mild ones.  They are a meal that is naturally vegan (unless you’re using meat in it), and they have such great flavors and varieties you don’t need to get bored.  This recipe is mild, and does not rely on a curry paste or powder.  It also does not call for ingredients that are hard to find in your grocery store.

This is one of the few meals that I recommend doing all the prep work BEFORE starting to cook, timing is important to keep from burning it.

Eggplant Curry - serves 4-6

Ingredients and Prep

2 Large Eggplants	Peel; cut into 1/2 inch circles, and then quarter them.	Salt and toss with olive oil.  Bake at 400 for about 20 minuets.  They should be starting to turn golden brown on the edges.  Set aside when finished for later.
1 in. square of fresh ginger 4-6 cloves of fresh garlic	peel and rough chop	Blend until it becomes a smooth paste.  Set aside for later.
1 TBSP water 1 tsp olive oil
4 tsp peanuts 2 TBSP sesame seeds	Dry roast in a frying pan until they turn golden brown (add sesame seeds after a minuet).	Chop in a food processor.  Set aside for later.
2 lg onions 1 jalapeño pepper 6 lg tomatoes		Dice and set aside separately.  Set aside for later.
2 dry red chilies 1 tsp mustard seeds 1 tsp cumin seeds/powder 2 pinches turmeric 2 tsp coriander powder olive oil water (as needed)

Cooking instructions:

Saute onions, red chilies, mustard seeds and cumin seeds/powder for about 2 minutes.  Add the Jalapeño pepper, ginger garlic paste and turmeric, cook about 2 more minuets.  Add tomatoes and coriander, cook until tomatoes fall apart.  Add small amounts of water if it begins to stick.  Once the tomatoes are cooked, add the eggplant and cook about 5 minutes.  Add peanuts and sesame  and turn off the heat.  Serve over brown rice and enjoy!

“Chicken” loaf (or Patties/Meatballs)

This is a great holiday loaf for all your vegetarian/vegan friends.  It is easy to make, and has a great presentation.  If you make it as patties, try them with tarter sauce.

1 bag Morningstar Farms Meal Starters Chicken Strips, thawed and cubed.

1 16 oz. block firm tofu, drained and rinsed.

3 TBSP nutritional Yeast Flakes

1 TBSP Soy Sauce

1 ½ c. Special K cereal (or Rice Krispies)

1 c. Soda Cracker Crumbs (Whole Wheat ones work well too)

1 small onion or one bunch of green onions (all the white and about 2 inches of green)

2 tsp. Celery salt

1 tsp. Seasoned Salt

1 tsp. parsley

Rinse tofu, break into about 8 pieces and put into a food processor with the onion (unless you’re using green onion), Yeast Flakes, soy sauce and seasonings.  Puree.  Put diced chicken strips, (chopped green onion if applicable), Special K and cracker crumbs into a large mixing bowl, pour the tofu mixture over and stir until evenly mixed.  Coat a loaf pan with cooking spray and spoon mixture in, smoothing the top so its slightly higher in the middle – shaped like a loaf of bread would be.  Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees.  Allow to chill at least 2 hours, or even overnight.  Slice, lay on a oven safe platter and reheat for your meal, about 20 minuets.

If making patties, form the patties (2″ diameter, ½” thick) instead of putting the mixture into a loaf pan.  Place on a baking sheet coated with non stick cooking spray and bake for 20 minuets.  Serve immediately.

This dish goes well with mashed potatoes, Vegan Chicken Gravy and Savory Butternut Squash, and any other Thanksgiving Day items you enjoy.

Coconut Milk Curry

Curry is such a versatile dish, that there should be something to please everyone!  This basic curry recipe is something simple and easy for the western palate to enjoy.  Feel free to add more spices, a variety of vegetables, or even lentils, chick peas or tofu.

I’d had a fear of making curry because the spices called for in recipes are so unfamiliar that I’m always afraid I’ll hate it, and worse won’t know how to adapt it to make it the way I’d like it.  Thankfully I found this great curry paste (pictured HOT, but I usually use MILD and let my husband use some HOT to spice his portion up) and it has a nice balance of flavors.

Coconut Milk Curry!

3 cans of coconut milk (the lite is okay, but not as creamy, go for regular here)

3 large carrots (diced into thick half coins)

3 large potatoes (diced)

3 large onions (sliced in wedges)

2 cans imitation duck (or about 6 gluten chops, sliced into strips) (or sub in some garbanzos or lentils)

1 TBSP sugar

salt to taste

4 TBSP (+/-) mild curry paste (or use hot if that’s how you like it)

olive oil

Chop onion into wedges and sauté in olive oil and sugar until they start to caramelize.  Peel and chop potatoes and carrots and add to the pot.  You don’t want to over cook these veggies, especially not the potato, as they’ll fall apart or be soggy, so keep that in mind.

Pour in the coconut milk and allow to boil.

Add curry paste one TBSP at a time until it tastes the way you’d like it.  Salt to taste.

I like to brown my choplets in a frying pan or the oven and then add to the curry.  Pictured above is the curry with lentils, which was okay, but not as good.  Serve over brown rice and eat with naan bread.

Eggplant Linguine with a Tomato Pesto!

“This isn’t really low calorie, but uses fresh ingredients and contains no dairy products!  Its very flavorful!” – Marta

I love pesto, but usually want to eat it with a LARGE amount of Parmesan Cheese.  I’ve had lots of trouble finding a vegan Parmesan cheese for sale lately.  So I ventured to make one of my own.  After looking at several recipes, here is what I’ve come up with.  It has a good flavor and texture, but obviously does not melt and would not fool anyone, but it is a great topping for pasta!

Non-Dairy Parmesan “Cheese”
1/4 c. Yeast Flakes
1/3 c. sesame seeds
1/3 c. walnuts
2 t. garlic powder
1 t. onion powder
1 T. chicken-like seasoning
1 T. lemon juice
1 t. salt

Put all ingredients in a small food processor and chop until its a fine powder.  Store in an air tight container in the fridge.

Eggplant, Tomato Pesto Linguine
1 large eggplant
6 oz. tomato paste
1 onion diced
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 c. fresh basil (or if you’re in a pinch, 1/3 c. dried basil)
1/3 c. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup tomato paste
2 T. lemon juice
2 t. salt
1/2 c. non-dairy Parmesan
1 1/2 c. water (add in small amounts if vegetables begin to stick, but eggplant is not tender yet)
1 lb. linguine

Peel eggplant, dice into small chunks and toss with a generous amount of salt.  Allow to sit for at least 30 minuets so it can brine.  Begin cooking pasta as directed.  When its finished drain and set aside.

Once the eggplant has brined, rinse off, and toss with lemon juice.  In a large frying pan (electric frying pan works well) begin to sauté eggplant.  Dice the onion finely and add it and crushed garlic to the pan.  Allow to cook until the eggplant begins to get tender.  Puree the rest of the olive oil, basil and tomato paste and then add to the eggplant.  Cook until the eggplant is very tender.  Toss with the non-dairy Parmesan and the linguine.  Serve immediately.

Fast Asian Noodles!

“This is a quick meal, only about 10 min start to finish, and has fresh veggies and protein.  Its a good replacement to the macaroni and cheese or Lipton noodle packets I used to eat when in a hurry!” – Marta

I pkg. Ramen Noodles
1 small onion
1 large handful of fresh spinach (1-2 cups)
1/4 cup TVP (textured Vegetable Protein), re-hydrated according to pkg.  (You can find this in most grocery stores)
Soy Sauce to taste
Oil to sauté veggies.

Chop onion and sauté in small amount of oil until they begin to be tender.  Meanwhile, begin to cook ramen according to directions.  And re-hydrate the TVP.  I like to put some of the seasoning packet in with the TVP as it does not have any flavor on its own.  Soy sauce does work too.  Once the onion begins to be tender, toss in all the fresh spinach (just cook until it wilts, you don’t want to cook it too much).  You do not need to chop it up unless the leaves are very large.  Add drained noodles and tvp and allow to get brown in the pan for a little bit.  Serve immediately.  Serves one.

Note: I like Top Ramen’s Oriental Flavor, it does not contain animal fat, however you can easily toss the packet and season with your favorite vegetable based seasoning too.

Roasted Vegetable Foccacia Sandwich

This is a wonderful light fresh sandwich for a hot summer day.  And its so flavorful that you won’t even notice that it is vegan.

Roasted Vegetable Foccacia Sandwich

1 loaf Foccacia Bread

8 oz. Greek Olives (pitted), chop in a food processor until in small pieces.

1 large Onion Sliced and grilled

1 lb. sliced mushrooms (or 2 portabella mushrooms, sliced) sauteed

1 Summer Squash, sliced and grilled (sprinkle with salt, onion and garlic powder first)

1 Red Pepper roasted (you can get these in a jar and its much faster)

Fresh Spinach

1 Cucumber

1 pkg. Tofu (prefrozen and thawed and marinated with soy sauce) sliced and grilled

Trader Joe’s Goddess dressing (or Kraft Cream Italian (4T.) + 1t. Tahini + 1/4t. soy sauce)

Bake whole Foccacia Bread about 10 min in a 350 oven, just to give it a nice crunch.  Remove and cut down the middle (the long way to form top and bottom).  Spread bottom of  bread with the olive mixture.  Next layer the onion and mushrooms over the whole sandwich.  Next the summer squash (there really is no set way, although I’d keep the cucumber and spinach at the top).  Next Tofu or Gluten chops (as seen in picture).  Next red pepper.  Next Cucumbers and Spinach.  Drizzle with dressing, add the top to the sandwich and cut into easy to eat pieces.

Polynesian Style Meatballs

I am very proud of this recipe since I am normally not the type of person who likes to stray from a traditional European palette which is in general savory.  My husband is constantly whining that I try something new, like say Thai, Indian, African…  While I’m not opposed to these cuisines, I find that I either love or hate the spices, so trying something has a 50/50 chance of failure.  But I’ve been making an effort.  Here is the fruit of some of my labor.

Polynesian Style Meatballs
1 recipe Sweet and Sour Sauce (see recipe below)
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
1 onion
1 cup FRESH pineapple
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Dash of soy sauce
Dash of olive oil
20-30 meatballs (one of my favorites are Tofu Walnut Balls)

Place meatballs in a small baking dish (9×13 is too large).

Cut peppers and onions into strips and cut strips in half.  Saute pepper, garlic and onion in the olive oil and soy sauce until they begin to get tender.  Scatter on top of meatballs.

Cut up fresh pineapple into bite sized chunks and add to the pan you sauted the peppers in.  Lightly brown the pineapple and then toss on top of the meatballs.

Pour sweet and sour sauce over the meatballs and bake for 30 min on 350.  Serve immediately.

** This would also be a nice topping for gluten chops or grilled/fried tofu or some other meat substitute.**

Sweet and Sour Sauce
1/2 c. Brown Sugar
4 t. corn starch
1/2 c. Vegetable broth
1/3 c. lemon juice
2 T. soy sauce
1/2 c. coconut milk
4 T. tomato paste
1 t. olive oil
1/2 c. toasted shredded coconut (fastest way is in a frying pan – no oil – on med heat, keep flipping them so they don’t burn)

Mix ingredients together (minus coconut) and heat on medium heat until thickened slightly.  Add coconut and mix in.

Ranch Veggie Pizza

We love this pizza! Perfect for warm weather, potlucks, luncheons – really anytime!!

Ranch Veggie Pizza

2 (8 ounce) packages refrigerated crescent rolls
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup mayonnaise
1 (1 ounce) package dry Ranch-style dressing mix
1 cup fresh broccoli, chopped
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 cup chopped cauliflower
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roll out the crescent roll dough onto a 9×13 inch baking sheet, and pinch together edges to form the pizza crust. Bake crust for 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Once finished cooking, remove crust from oven and let cool 15 minutes without removing it from the baking sheet.

In a small mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, mayonnaise, and dry Ranch dressing. Spread the mixture over the cooled crust. Arrange broccoli, tomato, green bell pepper, cauliflower, shredded carrots, and Cheddar cheese over the cream cheese layer. Chill for one hour, slice and serve.

Homemade Corn Tortillas

1 3/4 cups masa harina
1 1/8 cups water

In a medium bowl, mix together masa harina and hot water until thoroughly combined. Turn dough onto a clean surface and knead until pliable and smooth. If dough is too sticky, add more masa harina; if it begins to dry out, sprinkle with water. Cover dough tightly with plastic wrap and allow to stand for 30 minutes. Preheat a cast iron skillet or griddle to medium-high.

Divide dough into 15 equal-size balls. Using a tortilla press, a rolling pin, or your hands, press each ball of dough flat between two sheets of plastic wrap. Immediately place tortilla in preheated pan and allow to cook for approximately 30 seconds, or until browned and slightly puffy. Turn tortilla over to brown on second side for approximately 30 seconds more, then transfer to a plate. Repeat process with each ball of dough. Keep tortillas covered with a towel to stay warm and moist until ready to serve.

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