Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip

I've been saving this recipe from the now-defunct Vegetarian Times magazine for literally years.  I finally got around to making it for the "big football game" this year, and it is fantastic!  It's from a lovely vegan food blog called Dreamy Leaf.  Check them out!

 

Ingredients:

1 12-oz. package soft silken tofu (Be sure to get the silken tofu, not the crumbly Chinese tofu.)

1/4 c. nutritional yeast

1 T. lemon juice

1/2 t. crushed red pepper

1/2 t. freshly ground black pepper

salt

1 T. olive oil

1/2 red onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb. frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and drained

1 14-oz. can artichoke hearts, drained and roughly chopped

Method:

In a blender, purée the tofu, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, crushed red pepper, ground black pepper, and a pinch of salt until creamy and fully blended.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the onion and garlic, and cook until slightly softened (2 - 5 minutes).  Add the spinach and artichokes, and cook another 5 or so minutes until everything is soft and warmed through.  Add the tofu, and continue cooking 2 - 3 minutes until fully heated through.  Transfer to a serving dish, and enjoy!

Makes about 2 - 2.5 cups.

Hearts of Palm Carnival

I'd never had hearts of palm, but my friend Natasha had been particularly exuberant about her love for them just before I saw this vegan recipe featuring them in the paper years ago.  The Commercial Appeal credited the The Sugar Mill Caribbean Cookbook by Jinx and Jefferson Morgan, but when Scott and I finally got around to trying this recipe last night it tasted more Mediterranean than Caribbean.  Either way it was guh-ood.  I think this would be a popular appetizer.  We literally ate it standing at the counter, leaning over the cutting board, glasses of chilled white wine on hand.  Hope you love it as much as we did!

Ingredients:

1/2 c. coarsley chopped Kalamata olives

3 coarsely chopped tomatoes

3 chopped green onions, white and green parts

1 - 2 jalapeno peppers, minced

1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper, to taste

18 canned hearts of palm, cut in half vertically

loose-leaf lettuce

Method:

In a bowl, mix all ingredients except the hearts of plam and lettuce.   Arrange the lettuce on 6 salad plates, place hearts of palm in a fan shape in the center of the lettuce.  Mound the vegetables at the base of each fan and serve.  Serves 6.

NOTE:  We did not do this fancy presentation.  We just broke off pieces of warm pita bread, topped with a leaf of lettuce, then mounded on the vegetables.  This would work on toasted bread or crackers or whatever you like.  It was really delicious!

Indian Green Tomato Pakoras

These fritters are SERIOUSLY GOOD.  A big thank-you to Country Living magazine for the recipe!

 

Ingredients:

1 c. chickpea flour (a.k.a. garbanzo bean flour)

1/2 c. rice flour

1 t. cumin seeds

1 t. chili powder

1 t. turmeric powder

salt

1 lb. green tomatoes, chopped into matchsticks

3 shallots or 1 onion, thinly sliced

3 c. vegetable oil, for frying

 

Method:

In a large bowl, combine the chickpea flour, rice flour, cumin seeds, chili powder, turmeric powder, and 2 t. salt.  Stir with a fork to combine.  Add the tomatoes and shallots/onions to the mixture.  Divide the mixture into 16 patties, using your palm to gently flatten.

 

(NOTE:  I used green Roma tomatoes, and I had trouble getting the batter to hold together into patties.  I assume this is due to the fact that Romas have less juice and more meat.  I suggest using green slicers instead of Roma or paste tomatoes to make patties.  I made a few patties, but I ultimately just tossed in the coated vegetable pieces into the oil without forming patties.  It was still very good, mind you!  Just not what I expected.)

 

In a heavy 2-quart pot fitted with a deep-fry thermometer, heat the oil over medium-high heat to 350 degrees F.  Working in batches of 4, fry the fritters until golden, 3 - 4 minutes.  Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain.  Serve hot.

 

The magazine provided this analysis per 2-fritter serving:  4g protein, 15g fat, 19g carbohydrate, 2g fiber, 603mg sodium, 0mg cholesterol, 220 calories.

Soft Pretzels

Scott recently made some soft pretzels, and I think they would be PERFECT for your gameday party on Sunday.  He used an easy recipe from the 75th anniversary edition of Joy of Cooking by Irma Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker, and Ethan Becker.  Scott and I both highly recommend this cookbook.  Check out his delicious results, below!

 

 

Ingredients:

1 c. warm water (105 - 115 degrees F), separated

2 1/4 t. active dry yeast (1 envelope)

3 c. all-purpose flour

2 t. vegan margarine, melted (I like to use Earth Balance brand.)

1 T. sugar

1/2 t. salt

2 T. plus 1 t. baking soda

coarse salt

 

Method:

In a large bowl, combine 1/2 c. warm water and the yeast.  Let stand until yeast is dissolved, about 5 minutes.

 

Add flour, margarine, sugar, and 1/2 t. salt.  Mix this by hand while slowly pouring in the other 1/2 c. warm water.  Stir for a minute, adding more water if needed to make a moist but not sticky dough.  Knead for about 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic.  Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl and turn the dough to coat it with oil.  Loosely cover the bowl and let it rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, 1 - 1.5 hours.

 

Punch down the dough and divide it into 8 - 12 pieces, depending on how thick you want the pretzels.  (The recipe calls for 12 pieces, which is what Scott made.)  On an unfloured work surface, roll each piece into a ball.  Loosely cover with oiled plastic wrap and let rest for 10 minutes.

 

Grease 2 baking sheets.  Roll each ball int an 18-inch-long rope, working from the center outward and slightly tapering the ends.  To form the pretzels, lift the ends of the rope and bring them to meet at the 12 o'clock position, forming an oval.  Twist the 2 ends once or twice around one another about 3 inches from the ends, then fold back down over the oval pressing the twist at the 6 o'clock position of the oval.  Place the pretzels on the baking sheets, cover, and let rise in a warm place until nearly doubled in volume, about 35 minutes.

 

 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Bring 8 cups of water plus the baking soda to boil in a large pot or Dutch oven, then reduce the heat to a simmer.  Using a slotted spoon, gently slide one or more pretzels into the simmering water.  Simmer for 30 seconds, then flip over and continue to simmer until puffed, approximately 30 more seconds.  Returned to greased baking sheet and sprinkle with coarse salt to taste.

 

Once all the pretzels have been boiled and salted, bake until deep golden brown, about 15 minutes.

 

Makes 8 - 12 pretzels.

Spring Rolls!

Ever since Scott made a layer cake at Christmas, he's been on a cooking kick. The sweet joy of success is eating your own creation! I have to give him credit for taking on the task of finding ingredients for and making such a foreign food, which we fell in love with at a local Vietnamese restaurant. With the aid of the classic cookbook Joy of Cooking, he recreated our beloved dish perfectly at home!

First make the peanut dipping sauce, which we mixed with store-bought chili garlic sauce. I could eat this with a spoon!

Ingredients:
2 t. canola oil
4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 t. peeled and minced fresh ginger
1/2 t. crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
1 c. water
2 T. soy sauce (or tamari or shoyu)
2 T. fresh lime juice
2/3 c. chunky peanut butter
1 T. brown sugar, or to taste

Method:
Heat the canola oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until golden brown (about 1 minute). Add the water, soy sauce, lime juice, peanut butter, and brown sugar. Cook, stirring, until thickened (about 4 minutes).
Serve warm or at room temperature. This sauce will keep, covered and refrigerated, for up to 1 week.

Now make the rolls:

Ingredients:
4 large red-leaf lettuce leaves, washed, large stems removed, leaves torn into large pieces
1 large carrot, peeled and shredded
1 c. bean sprouts, rinsed
1/2 c. cilantro leaves, minced
8 scallions, washed and chopped, white and green parts
2.5 oz. vermicelli noodles, broken in half (or use cellophane noodles or rice stick noodles)
3 T. canola oil
1 lb. firm Chinese-style tofu, water squeezed out, cut into 1/2-inch chunks  (I like to freeze my tofu for 24 hours, then thaw it.  It improves the texture.)
8 12-inch round sheets of rice paper (This stuff is edible, even though it does not appear to be when first taken from the package.)

Method:
First make sure all your vegetables are prepared and ready to go.  Put a large saucepan over high heat and bring 4 c. water to boil.  Cook the noodles until just firm to the bite.  Drain and rinse under cold water.

In the meantime, heat the canola oil over medium-high heat in a large non-stick skillet.  Add the tofu to the hot oil and brown on 2 sides of each chunk.  Remove from heat.

Lay a damp kitchen towel on the counter.  Have a large bowl of hot water (115 - 120 degrees F).  Dip 1 sheet of rice paper into the water, completely submerging it, and quickly remove it to lay flat on the damp towel.  Slightly lower then center and leaving about 1 inch on the right and left, put a horizontal line of lettuce, then noodles, then bean sprouts, then tofu, then cilantro, then scallions, then carrots (about 1/8 of each ingredient).  Fold the right and left sides in and overlapping the filling by about an inch so that the paper sticks to itself above and below the filling.  Bring up the bottom edge of the paper to cover the filling and stick to the rice paper at the top of the filling.  Now roll tightly into a neat cylinder.

If the rice paper starts to tear, overlap it with another sheet of paper (prepped in the hot water, as usual), using 2 sheets for one roll.

Cut each roll on the diagonal with a sharp knife and serve immediately as the rice paper will toughen with time.  Serve with peanut dipping sauce and, if you want, some chili garlic sauce.  Makes 8 delicious servings.

Dilly Spinach Dip

A big thank-you to my neighbor Kim who gave me this recipe from Real Simple magazine.  I've made some minor tweaks, but it's pretty much as originally given to me.  This vegan dip is delicious, healthy, and filling.  Spread it on crackers or crostini, dip it with tortilla chips or pita chips, or do like I did today and spread it onto crusty European bread with sliced tomatoes and roasted red peppers for a delicious vegan lunch.

Ingredients:

1/4 c. extra-virgin olive oil

1 clove garlic, coarsley chopped

1 15.5-oz. can white beans (cannellini, Great Northern, etc.), rinsed and drained

1 12-oz. bag frozen chopped spinach, thawed

1/4 c. fresh dill sprigs (or to taste)

juice from 1/2 juicy lemon

3/4 t. salt

1/4 t. freshly ground black pepper

Method:

1.  In a small saucepan, heat the oil with the chopped garlic over medium heat until fragrant, 2 - 3 minutes.  Let cool.

2.  Squeeze the excess water from the thawed spinach.

3.  In a food processor, combine the garlic, oil, beans, spinach, dill, and lemon juice.  Season with salt and pepper, and purée until smooth.

Garlicky Red Lentil Dip or Spread

I think I've mentioned before how I will sometimes get a good recipe and hang onto it for quite a long time before trying it.  I don't always have the emotional or creative space to try out something new, and when I do, that recipe might not fit the bill for that moment.  Well, this is one of those recipes, but I'm so glad I finally got around to trying it!  My friend Elaine, who lives in Tampa, mailed this to me a few years ago.  I'm not sure where she got it, but I'm glad she shared it!

This recipe is for a garlic-y red lentil dip that can easily be used as a spread for crostini, canapes, or even, as below, a sandwich!  The dip is hummus-like, but it does not have garbanzo beans nor tahini.  It's deliciously vegan and makes about 2 cups or maybe more.

Ingredients:
1 c. red lentils
1.5 c. water
6 medium cloves garlic, peeled
1/4 c. extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 c. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 t. salt
1.5 t. ground cumin
1 t. chili powder
1/4 t. hot red pepper sauce (or more, to taste)

Method:
Place the lentils, water, and garlic cloves in a medium saucepan and bring the water to a boil over high heat.  Boil for 3 minutes, then remove the pan from heat.  Cover and let stand for 12 minutes or until the lentils have absorbed the water.

Put the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, cumin, chili powder, and hot pepper sauce in the work bowl of a food processor.  Add the lentils and garlic, and purée until smooth.  Transfer to a serving bowl and serve immediately as a dip - or spread over crostini, canapes, or your sandwich bread to build something else delicious.  (I made a sandwich on baguette bread and stacked up the spread, mild banana pepper rings, avocado slices, arugula, and tomato slices, and I served it with crinkle-cut fries.)

Hillbilly Caviar

My friend, Pam, gave me this recipe.  She called it "Hillbilly Caviar" and said she got it from Southern Living magazine.  It's an attractive, healthy, filling, vegan appetizer, and it makes a very decent amount for a small crowd of 20 or so.  Serve it with scoop-style chips or anything that can be hollowed (like maybe thick zuchinni slices).

Ingredients:

1 can black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 can niblet corn, drained

1 can chopped tomatoes, drained (I used the fire-roasted kind of chopped tomatoes, and it worked very nicely.)

1 green bell pepper, seeded, deveined, and chopped

1 orange bell pepper, seeded, deveined, and chopped

1/2 red onion, finely chopped (white or yellow works fine, too)

vegan Italian dressing, to coat

something to scoop the caviar with (like scoop-style chips or any edible, hollow thing - see intro)

Method:

Mix first 7 ingredients, then add just enough vegan Italian dressing to coat everything.  Serve with scoop-style chips (or any hollow edible thing - see intro).

Hummus

There is a secret to making fantastic vegetarian sandwiches:  good bread and one exciting spread.  You need to have an exciting spread,  then just load on veggies to your heart's content.  Hummus is a spread that qualifies, and it can also be used as a dip for chips (corn, potato, pita, etc.) or crudités.

I'm going to share a recipe for hummus here that is based on the one in Mollie Katzen's classic vegetarian cookbook:  The Moosewood Cookbook.  Here's the 411:

2 - 3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans garbanzo beans (also known as chickpeas or ceci beans), drained and rinsed
1/4 c. plus 2 T. tahini (Tahini is ground sesame seeds, like peanut butter is ground peanuts.)
2 juicy lemons, juiced and deseeded
1 t. salt
extra virgin olive oil

In a food processor, combine garlic, garbanzo beans, tahini, lemon juice, and salt.  Process until you have a nice texture (determine if you like it chunkier or smoother, and go to that point).  If the hummus is too thick, drizzle olive oil into the mixture with the motor running until it has thinned to your liking.  Serve the hummus as a dip with more olive oil and paprika on top, or spread it on a sandwich and sprinkle on paprika to taste.  YUM!

Hummus is often served with Middle Eastern mezzas along with things like dolmas, baba ghanoush, and tabouleh.  It's healthy and delicious!

Firecrackers

There is no excuse for this recipe other than its deliciousness and vegetarianness. There isn't anything "nutritious" about them, and they're not low in calories. But dang, they're tasty and addictive!

Vegans, be sure to check the ingredients on the ranch dip mix and the crackers to be sure. The ingredients will vary from brand to brand.

Ingredients:
1 box saltine crackers
1 package dry ranch dip mix
1 and 1/3 c. canola oil (as if crackers are not fattening enough already, right?)
2 T. cayenne pepper (or to taste)

Method:
Put the crackers in a large bowl or container. Mix all other ingredients together and pour over the crackers. Cover bowl or container securely and begin to turn over and over slowly to coat the crackers while not breaking them. Do this for about 4 minutes. Believe it or not, the crackers will absorb most of the oil. (I know I had a hard time believing it when I began.)

Move the crackers to new container to store or serve.

Serving suggestion: If you only need these to be vegetarian, you could serve them with slices of organic cheese to balance the spiciness of the cayenne.

Pico de Gallo

I got this recipe from "Granny" - my dad's mom.  Of course, I modified it a little. I have no idea where she got it, but this is perfect for picnics or alfresco dining during the summer, because there is no heating up the kitchen to make it!

1 medium onion, diced small
1 jalepeno pepper, deseeded and deveined, diced small
1/2 bell pepper, diced small
2 large tomatoes, chopped - squeeze out the seeds before dicing (Or you can just open a can of diced tomatoes if that is more your style! Granny was no-nonsense!)
1 T. chopped fresh cilantro
1.5 T. lime juice

Mix everything together in a bowl, and allow it to sit in the fridge for a couple of hours to let the flavors "marry." Serve as a condiment or dip.

Guacamole

This is a delicious recipe from Peta that I have modified to my own taste. Feel free to do the same!

Ingredients:
2 or 3 ripe avocados
juice from 1 lime
1/4 t. chili powder
1/4 t. salt (or increase chili powder by 1/4 t. if omitting salt)
1 ripe tomato, chopped
1/4 c. onion, minced
1/2 t. garlic, minced


Method:
Peel and the avocados

Combine the peeled avocado, lime juice, chili powder, and salt (if using) in a bowl, and use a fork to mash the avocado to desired texture.  (I like mine with a few chunks remaining.)

Mix remaining ingredients into the mashed avocado mixture, and enjoy! Easy!