I wish I had thought of this while zucchini was in season, but it will certainly be a stand-by recipe next fall. In the meantime, this is a wonderful little treat to warm you up on those cold winter nights.
1 bay leaf
3 c. vegetable broth
2 T. olive oil
1 small white or yellow onion, diced
1 1/2 c. cooked white beans
2 c. sliced zucchini
1/2 of a 10 oz package frozen spinach (or use fresh)
1 c. cooked barley
1 T. dijon mustard
1 T. curry powder
2 T. nutritional yeast
1 T. miso paste
Put vegetable broth and bay leaf in a large pot. Bring to a simmer. Reduce heat and let stand 10 minutes.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently, 3 to 5 minutes or until onion is soft. If you prefer carmelized onion, which I love, cook a little longer until onion browns. Sometimes I carmelize some garlic along with the onion. :~)
Put onion and all remaining ingredients except nutritional yeast and miso paste into the large pot with vegetable broth. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook over medium heat about 3 to 5 minutes, or until zucchini is cooked and soup is heated through. Do not over cook! Mushy zucchini is nasty. :(
Remove from heat and discard bay leaf. Add nutritional yeast and miso paste, stirring well to combine. Let stand about 5 minutes before serving.
Random factoid: You may have noticed that when using nutritional yeast I always recommend adding it at the end of the cooking cycle after removing the dish from heat. I have read conflicting reports, but some suggest that nutritional yeast will break down when cooked. Personally, I have noticed that it becomes slightly bitter if boiled, so I add it at the end. The choice is yours.
Showing posts with label Spinach. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Spinach. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 28
Wednesday, October 20
Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
It's Utah, it's autumn, and everyone has an abundance of tomatoes. It's nearly impossible to give tomatoes away, so when Mom sent me home with five grocery sacks full of these little babies, it was time to get cooking. This recipe is super easy, but allow some time to simmer - the longer it simmers the yummier it will be. My oldest raved about it being the best spaghetti sauce he's ever tasted. I suspect it would work marvelously in a slow cooker, but I haven't tested that yet. :o)
Olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
18 small roma tomatoes*
1 T. basil (more or less to taste)
1 T. oregano (more or less to taste)
1 t. Real Salt (more or less to taste)
1/2 t. cumin (more or less to taste)
2 bay leaves
Heat a small amount of olive oil in a very large skillet. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until starting to brown. Meanwhile, prepare tomatoes.
Cut each tomato in half or quarters, depending on the size. Place tomatoes, all at once, in blender (I hope you have a Blend Tec or similar high powered blender, but if you don't, any blender will work). Use "Whole Juice" cycle if using a Blend Tec, or high speed in a regular blender. Tomatoes should be completely pureed. Once pureed, add all at once to hot pan with onions and garlic.
Add basil, oregano, salt and cumin, stirring to combine. Add bay leaves. It will not be very tasty at this point, and it has kind of a pink hue, but be patient. Cook, stirring frequently, over medium-low heat. Sauce will darken and thicken as it cooks. Cook at least 30 minutes, but longer if you have time, stirring and adding more seasonings as necessary.
Serve over cooked whole wheat pasta or thinly sliced vegetables - I like zucchini from the Spiralizer. Sauce can be made ahead in larger quantities, if desired. I don't usually have fresh herbs on hand (I tend to kill stuff like that), but fresh herbs would be exponentially delicious.
*Note: Feel free to substitute any kind of tomato. My romas were quite small so I had to use more than would be used for supermarket-sized tomatoes. The tomatoes filled a 1 quart blender almost to the top.
Variations: Spaghetti sauce is a great opportunity to sneak in extra veggies that picky eaters don't seem to mind. Thinly dice or slice carrots, zucchini, eggplant, mushrooms, bell pepper, spinach or pretty much anything else and cook in the sauce until tender. Yum! :o)
Olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
18 small roma tomatoes*
1 T. basil (more or less to taste)
1 T. oregano (more or less to taste)
1 t. Real Salt (more or less to taste)
1/2 t. cumin (more or less to taste)
2 bay leaves
Heat a small amount of olive oil in a very large skillet. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until starting to brown. Meanwhile, prepare tomatoes.
Cut each tomato in half or quarters, depending on the size. Place tomatoes, all at once, in blender (I hope you have a Blend Tec or similar high powered blender, but if you don't, any blender will work). Use "Whole Juice" cycle if using a Blend Tec, or high speed in a regular blender. Tomatoes should be completely pureed. Once pureed, add all at once to hot pan with onions and garlic.
Add basil, oregano, salt and cumin, stirring to combine. Add bay leaves. It will not be very tasty at this point, and it has kind of a pink hue, but be patient. Cook, stirring frequently, over medium-low heat. Sauce will darken and thicken as it cooks. Cook at least 30 minutes, but longer if you have time, stirring and adding more seasonings as necessary.
Serve over cooked whole wheat pasta or thinly sliced vegetables - I like zucchini from the Spiralizer. Sauce can be made ahead in larger quantities, if desired. I don't usually have fresh herbs on hand (I tend to kill stuff like that), but fresh herbs would be exponentially delicious.
*Note: Feel free to substitute any kind of tomato. My romas were quite small so I had to use more than would be used for supermarket-sized tomatoes. The tomatoes filled a 1 quart blender almost to the top.
Variations: Spaghetti sauce is a great opportunity to sneak in extra veggies that picky eaters don't seem to mind. Thinly dice or slice carrots, zucchini, eggplant, mushrooms, bell pepper, spinach or pretty much anything else and cook in the sauce until tender. Yum! :o)
Monday, June 7
Baked Falafel Burgers
While at the store the other day I was looking for something healthy and vegan that the kids wouldn't balk at (they've been doing a lot of balking lately). I came across some packaged falafel. I had never eaten falafel before, but the ingredients were wholesome so I figured we'd give it a try. I was completely amazed at the results. I thought, "If the packaged mix is this good, they're probably to die for when homemade!" I didn't like that it was fried in oil, so I surfed the web to get the gist of the ingredients and then made these tonight for dinner. I decided to bake them with cooking spray instead of frying them in oil. It worked like a charm! They got great reviews from the kids.
1 1/2 cup cooked garbanzo beans
1/2 cup cooked mung beans (optional)*
1 small sweet onion
1 large handful fresh spinach leaves
3 T. whole wheat flour
1 T. parsley
1 t. ground coriander
1 t. ground cumin
1 T. Real Salt
2 T. minced garlic
1/2 t. freshly ground black pepper
* Mung beans are not a traditional ingredient in falafel. I added them because a) I had them on hand and b) I was afraid the garbanzo beans were not going to yield enough food for my growing teenage boys to devour. As it is, it would have worked out fine without them, but fine with them, too. Fava beans or white beans would also work, or simply use more garbanzo beans (I just happen to store mine in 1 1/2 cup portions).
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. If using canned garbanzo beans rinse very well. Spread garbanzo beans onto a single layer atop paper towels and allow to dry.
Put garbanzo beans, mung beans (if using) and onion in a food processor and blend on low setting until very well combined. Add spinach and process to incorporate. Add seasonings and pulse a few times until fully mixed. It will be necessary to stop the food processor and scrape the sides numerous times during the blending process. The mixture will be wet and very crumbly. Resist the temptation to add liquids - you won't be able to form the patties if the mixture is too wet and it won't cook properly.
Put mixture into a large bowl and stir with a wooden spoon to ensure seasonings have blended well, adding additional seasonings if necessary to taste. The mixture should stick together when squeezed gently. If it does not, add additional flour.
Line a baking sheet with foil and coat generously with cooking spray. Form mixture into six hamburger-sized patties (they will not shrink like beef does) and gently arrange on cooking sheet. The mixture will be wet and squishy. Spray tops of falafel burgers with additional cooking spray. Bake for 15 minutes. Flip and spray again with cooking spray. Bake an additional 15 minutes. Falafel should be browned on both sides. If it is not, bake an additional 5 minutes at a time, turning frequently, until browned. The insides will still be slightly moist.
Makes 6 burgers. We eat them like regular hamburgers with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, etc. However, falafel is traditionally served in a pita with a cool cucumber dressing, which is also an option. They tend to get a little more crumbly when stored, so if storing is necessary, make sure the patties are not disturbed to keep them intact.
Cal 95; Fat >1; Carb 18; Fiber 4; Protein 4
Note: If you object to using generous portions of cooking spray, which some people might, it would be perfectly acceptable to use a light coat of olive oil. Keep in mind this will skew the nutritional facts, adding fat and calories to the final count.
1 1/2 cup cooked garbanzo beans
1/2 cup cooked mung beans (optional)*
1 small sweet onion
1 large handful fresh spinach leaves
3 T. whole wheat flour
1 T. parsley
1 t. ground coriander
1 t. ground cumin
1 T. Real Salt
2 T. minced garlic
1/2 t. freshly ground black pepper
* Mung beans are not a traditional ingredient in falafel. I added them because a) I had them on hand and b) I was afraid the garbanzo beans were not going to yield enough food for my growing teenage boys to devour. As it is, it would have worked out fine without them, but fine with them, too. Fava beans or white beans would also work, or simply use more garbanzo beans (I just happen to store mine in 1 1/2 cup portions).
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. If using canned garbanzo beans rinse very well. Spread garbanzo beans onto a single layer atop paper towels and allow to dry.
Put garbanzo beans, mung beans (if using) and onion in a food processor and blend on low setting until very well combined. Add spinach and process to incorporate. Add seasonings and pulse a few times until fully mixed. It will be necessary to stop the food processor and scrape the sides numerous times during the blending process. The mixture will be wet and very crumbly. Resist the temptation to add liquids - you won't be able to form the patties if the mixture is too wet and it won't cook properly.
Put mixture into a large bowl and stir with a wooden spoon to ensure seasonings have blended well, adding additional seasonings if necessary to taste. The mixture should stick together when squeezed gently. If it does not, add additional flour.
Line a baking sheet with foil and coat generously with cooking spray. Form mixture into six hamburger-sized patties (they will not shrink like beef does) and gently arrange on cooking sheet. The mixture will be wet and squishy. Spray tops of falafel burgers with additional cooking spray. Bake for 15 minutes. Flip and spray again with cooking spray. Bake an additional 15 minutes. Falafel should be browned on both sides. If it is not, bake an additional 5 minutes at a time, turning frequently, until browned. The insides will still be slightly moist.
Makes 6 burgers. We eat them like regular hamburgers with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, etc. However, falafel is traditionally served in a pita with a cool cucumber dressing, which is also an option. They tend to get a little more crumbly when stored, so if storing is necessary, make sure the patties are not disturbed to keep them intact.
Cal 95; Fat >1; Carb 18; Fiber 4; Protein 4
Note: If you object to using generous portions of cooking spray, which some people might, it would be perfectly acceptable to use a light coat of olive oil. Keep in mind this will skew the nutritional facts, adding fat and calories to the final count.
Friday, June 4
Spinach and Mushroom Cream Sauce
The boys are at a Men Only Campout tonight to it was just me for dinner. I was tired from working all week and wasn't feeling particularly creative. I used the leftover cream from the Rice and Beans with White Sauce to make this absolutely delicious meal. I already had cooked brown rice in the refrigerator, so dinner came together in a snap.
1 T. Earth Balance (or other non-dairy butter)
1 T. olive oil
1 c. sliced baby portabello mushrooms
1 scallion, thinly sliced
1 c. fresh spinach, sliced
1 t. garlic powder
1/4 cup white sauce (from Rice and Beans with White Sauce recipe)
1 cup cooked brown rice
1/2 T. raw sunflower seeds
Melt butter and olive oil in a large skillet. Add mushrooms all at once and saute about 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add scallion and continue cooking until mushrooms are soft. Add spinach all at once and cook until soft but still bright green. This will happen very quickly, so watch closely. Remove from heat and stir in white sauce and garlic powder. Pour mixture onto rice and top with sunflower seeds. Serve immediately.
Makes 1 serving, but recipe can easily be doubled or more to serve more people.
1 T. Earth Balance (or other non-dairy butter)
1 T. olive oil
1 c. sliced baby portabello mushrooms
1 scallion, thinly sliced
1 c. fresh spinach, sliced
1 t. garlic powder
1/4 cup white sauce (from Rice and Beans with White Sauce recipe)
1 cup cooked brown rice
1/2 T. raw sunflower seeds
Melt butter and olive oil in a large skillet. Add mushrooms all at once and saute about 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add scallion and continue cooking until mushrooms are soft. Add spinach all at once and cook until soft but still bright green. This will happen very quickly, so watch closely. Remove from heat and stir in white sauce and garlic powder. Pour mixture onto rice and top with sunflower seeds. Serve immediately.
Makes 1 serving, but recipe can easily be doubled or more to serve more people.
Wednesday, June 2
Spinach and Roasted Red Pepper Salad
The only thing that would have made this salad better was roasted almonds, but I didn't have any on hand. As a bonus, we had fresh spinach from the garden, but packaged spinach will also work. I took this as a dish to a Memorial Day barbecue and it was a huge hit.
1 red bell pepper, roasted (see post on roasting peppers)
12 cups raw spinach (about 2 regular sized packages)
1 cup cooked adzuki beans
1/2 recipe Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing (recipe to follow)
In a very large skillet, heat a small amount of water (about 1/8 cup) and olive oil (about 1 teaspoon). When water is almost boiling, place a small amount of the spinach directly into the hot pan. Turn quickly over and over with tongs until spinach just starts to cook. Do not allow it to cook thoroughly. Set aside on a plate while finishing the remaining spinach in batches.
Remove as much water as possible from the spinach. Place wilted spinach in a large serving bowl. Top with beans. Dice roasted pepper and sprinkle over salad. Prepare dressing:
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 T. minced garlic
1 t. Real Salt
1 t. crushed black pepper
Place all ingredients in a jar with a screw-top lid. Shake vigorously for about one minute or until ingredients are combined.
Pour about half of the dressing over the salad and toss to combine. Add more dressing if necessary.
Optional: prepare dressing ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator. Shake well before using. This will help blend the flavors.
1 red bell pepper, roasted (see post on roasting peppers)
12 cups raw spinach (about 2 regular sized packages)
1 cup cooked adzuki beans
1/2 recipe Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing (recipe to follow)
In a very large skillet, heat a small amount of water (about 1/8 cup) and olive oil (about 1 teaspoon). When water is almost boiling, place a small amount of the spinach directly into the hot pan. Turn quickly over and over with tongs until spinach just starts to cook. Do not allow it to cook thoroughly. Set aside on a plate while finishing the remaining spinach in batches.
Remove as much water as possible from the spinach. Place wilted spinach in a large serving bowl. Top with beans. Dice roasted pepper and sprinkle over salad. Prepare dressing:
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 T. minced garlic
1 t. Real Salt
1 t. crushed black pepper
Place all ingredients in a jar with a screw-top lid. Shake vigorously for about one minute or until ingredients are combined.
Pour about half of the dressing over the salad and toss to combine. Add more dressing if necessary.
Optional: prepare dressing ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator. Shake well before using. This will help blend the flavors.
Saturday, May 15
Veggie Lasagna
This is a modified version of a vegan lasagna I used to make using noodles. This version is completely veg-based, making it healthier and lower in calories. It's a little more labor-intensive than recipes I usually make, but it's great for a Saturday or Sunday night dinner when you have more time to cook.1 medium eggplant
3 to 4 small zucchini
1 pkg (12 oz) firm silken tofu
2 T. lemon juice
1 t. basil
1 t. oregano
1 t. salt
1 t. garlic powder
1 t. olive oil
soy milk (if needed)
2 cups spinach, thinly sliced
1 jar (16 oz) spaghetti sauce of your choice (I like the no-sugar mushroom flavor)
Peel eggplant and remove ends. Remove ends from zucchini. Slice very thinly, lengthwise (these will be the lasagna "noodles"). Lightly salt eggplant and set aside.
Fill a medium saucepan halfway with hot water and bring to a boil. Cook spinach for 2 to 3 minutes. Stop cooking while it is still bright green - don't let it turn brown. Drain and press to remove as much of the water as possible.
While water is boiling, begin preparing the "cheese." Place tofu, basil, oregano, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and garlic powder in a blender. Blend on the lowest speed for a few seconds or until completely combined, but leave slightly lumpy. Drizzle in a little soy milk if necessary for processing. Add cooked spinach and pulse a few times to combine.
Line a 13x9 baking pan with foil, then coat with cooking spray. Place a small amount of spaghetti sauce in the bottom of the pan. Line with one layer of zucchini and one layer of eggplant, edges almost touching. Pour 1/2 of the tofu mixture, spreading evenly, followed by a small amount of spaghetti sauce. Continue layering in this way until all ingredients have been used.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until heated through. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving. Makes about 8 servings, unless you have teenage boys, then it makes less. :o)
Calories 100; Fat 3; Sat. Fat 0.4; Cholesterol 0; Carbs 13; Fiber 4; Protein 6
You can modify this many different ways by using different vegetables, herbs and seasonings.
Thursday, May 6
Baked Burritos
In honor of Cinco de Mayo, the boys wanted something Mexican-ish. They originally suggested burritos, which are not my favorite. Earlier in the day I had come across a number of different recipes for Cinco de Mayo feasts, and this is a hybrid of my favorite parts of each.8 (8 inch) flour tortillas (whole wheat is best)
1 can (12 oz) fat free refried beans*
1/2 small onion, diced
1 cup packed spinach, thinly sliced
2 roma tomatoes, diced
1/2 c. non-dairy cheese (optional)
Taco seasoning to taste
Olive oil
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and coat with non-stick cooking spray.
To prepare burritos, put a small amount of each ingredient just off center on each tortilla in the following order: beans, onion, tomatoes, taco seasoning, spinach, cheese. Tuck each side in and roll into a burrito. Place on prepared baking sheet with the open edge down to hold it in place.
Use a pastry brush to very lightly coat each burrito with olive oil. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Turn over and bake an additional 5 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with salsa, avocado, non-dairy sour cream or any other desired burrito toppings.
Makes 8 burritos.
*If you have time, homemade refried beans are really easy. Take 1 1/2 c. cooked pinto beans (from scratch, not from the can or what's the point?) and mash with a potato masher. Mix with just enough water to get the right consistency, 1/2 t. of cumin, 1 T. powdered vegetable broth, and Real Salt to taste. Stir and continue adding water as necessary. Feel free to play with the seasonings until you get the taste you're after. They're much tastier than the canned beans, although they do take a bit more time.
Nutrition facts per burrito without garnishes
Cal: 265, Fat: 10, Carb: 35, Fiber: 4, Protein: 9
Random Factoid: Most commercially produced non-dairy cheeses contain casein, which is a milk protein. I hate to point out the obvious, but that means it's not a dairy-free cheese. Checking the label for casein (or more appropriately, lack of casein) will ensure you're getting a truly dairy-free cheese.
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