Chocolate Sorbet

The following recipe is really too good to be true. Delicious vegan ice cream! And no “weird” ingredients! I got the original recipe from Southern Living magazine.

5 c. water
2 ¼ c. sugar
1 c. cocoa
1 bag vegan chocolate chips (I use Ghirardelli semisweet chocolate chips with great results. The bag says it “may contain trace amounts of milk,” but milk is not a listed ingredient. I assume the disclaimer is just due to processing on machinery used for other, non-vegan products. If that doesn’t work for you, just pick a chocolate chip that does.)
about 15 lbs. ice for the ice cream freezer
rock salt

1. Bring the water and sugar to a boil in a large saucepan. Boil, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved (about 1 minute). Whisk in cocoa until blended (no lumps). Reduce heat and simmer, whisking occasionally, 30 minutes. Remove from heat. Gradually add the chocolate chips, whisking until smooth after each addition. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour.
2. Pour the chocolate mixture into the freezer container of a 4-quart ice cream freezer. Freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions, about 45 minutes.
3. Move the ice cream to your kitchen freezer, and let it “cure” in the freezer overnight.

This makes about 5 cups of unbelievably delicious ice-cream-like sorbet.

Fruit Smoothie

Here's a light, easy breakfast for people on the run. I made this one up. It's easy to modify - substitute whatever fruit and juice you like best!

1 medium banana, peeled and frozen (Do this ahead of time so it's ready when you're ready. Peel the banana, wrap in plastic wrap, and put it in the freezer.)
1/2 pint strawberries, washed and hulled
orange juice
handful of raw sunflower seeds, shelled

Cut the banana into 1-inch pieces. Put the strawberries in the blender, then the bananas, then pour in a little orange juice to give it some liquid to keep things moving. Be sure to put the non-frozen fruit in before you put the frozen fruit in. If you put the frozen pieces in first, the blender sometimes just cuts a path through them, and nothing moves around in the blender jar. Once everything is getting liquidy, toss in the sunflower seeds while it's still moving. Add enough orange juice to make the consistency you like. Pour it in an insulated to-go cup, and you're ready to hit the road, breakfast in hand!

Roasted Cauliflower Pizza

I know this is a little unconventional, and I admit that I was skeptical when I first saw it. But it was so vegan and coming from a magazine and article that were not catering to vegetarians, much less vegans, so I figured it must be good. I mean, they expected regular omnivores to try it and like it. And it IS good! It’s good right out of the oven, but I thought it was even better after being in the fridge overnight. Your call.
The original recipe is from Country Living magazine.

4 cups finely chopped cauliflower florets (This is about one head, and the finely chopping of the head into florets is the most tedious part of the recipe.)
¼ c. extra-virgin olive oil
1 ½ t. salt
½ t. freshly ground black pepper
¼ c. bread crumbs
1 recipe vegan pizza dough, enough for one 14-inch or 15-inch round pizza (If you don’t have a recipe you like, I highly recommend the pizza crust alternative recipe in Fields of Greens by Annie Somerville. I omit the rye flour from her recipe.)

Toss the cauliflower with the olive oil, salt, and black pepper. Roast the cauliflower mixture in a baking pan in a 400-degree oven until tender, about 20 minutes. Remove the cauliflower from the oven, and increase the oven temperature to 500 degrees.
Using a rolling pin, roll out the pizza dough on a lightly floured surface to a 14- or 15-inch circle. Transfer the rolled dough to a pizza pan. Top the dough with the roasted cauliflower, then sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the cauliflower. Bake the pizza until the dough is golden and crispy, about 12 – 15 minutes. The tips of the cauliflower will brown.

Mushroom Risotto

This is my adapted version of a recipe from Martha Stewart's Living magazine. It's an elegant, impressive dish that would be perfect for a romantic dinner (I'm talking to you, lover!) or an intimate dinner party. It would do well served with a romaine salad, crusty European bread, and a bottle of wine.

1/2 c. pine nuts
1/2 c. fresh basil - Dried herbs will not work for this recipe.
1/2 c. fresh parsley - Dried herbs will not work for this recipe. You can omit the parsley and use 1 full c. of fresh basil instead.
1 clove garlic, peeled
1/4 t. salt
freshly ground pepper, to taste
1/4 c. and 2 T. extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups arborio rice - This is an expensive rice, but it cooks to a creamy risotto. It is the traditional risotto rice.
1/2 oz. dried porcini mushrooms
1/2 c. dry white wine, like Chardonnay
5 1/2 c. vegetable broth (I used vegetable boullion.)

1. Toast the nuts by placing them in a small, nonstick skillet over medium heat. They should be in a single layer. Shake the pan around while toasting to move the nuts across the surface and prevent burning. When you begin to smell the nuts (just a few minutes), they are ready. Remove them from the heat.
2. Make the pesto by first pulsing the nuts in a food processor until they are coarsely ground, then adding the herbs, garlic, salt, and pepper. Process until everything is ground. Pour the oil in while the machine is running until everything is puréed. Set aside.
3. Bring the rice, mushrooms, wine, and 2 c. of broth to a boil. Cook, stirring constantly, until liquid has been absorbed. This takes about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-high. Continue this cycle with 1/2 c. of broth at a time: add broth, cook and stir until the liquid is absorbed, add broth, cook and stir, etc. It will take 20 - 25 minutes to get all liquid absorbed. Once all liquid has been cooked in, remove the risotto from the heat. Stir about 1/2 of the pesto (more if you like) into the risotto, then serve the risotto immediately, topped with the remaining pesto.

Tuscan Beans with Tomatoes and Sage

 This is a recipe I adapted from Ursula Ferrigno's Truly Italian cookbook - an excellent Italian vegetarian cookbook. It is highly recommended not only for the recipes, but for the beautiful photographs of Italy.

This particular recipe is deceptively simple. Eat as a side dish, over gnocchi or polenta, or atop crusty European bread as a snack. YUM! 

2 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 T. vegan margarine (I use Earth Balance.)
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1/2 t. dried/rubbed sage
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 can cannellini or Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

1. Heat the oil and butter together in a medium saucepan. Add the sage and garlic and fry in the oil/butter mixture for 1 minute.
2. Add the tomatoes and tomato juice, the beans, the salt, and the pepper, and simmer together for 5 minutes until heated through.

Pasta e Fagioli (Italian pasta stew with beans)

This is a recipe I modified a little from Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant by The Moosewood Collective. It's a really cool cookbook with recipes from various ethnic regions (including the Southeast US!) and countries.  The original recipe that I modified is in the Italy section.

Ingredients:
1 lb. pasta (short, chunky variety, like penne)
3 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and sliced into half-moons
2 stalks celery, sliced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 bunch kale, washed, de-stemmed, and torn into bite-sized pieces
1 28-oz. can CRUSHED tomatoes (and with basil, if available), with liquid
1 can cannellini or Great Northern beans, with liquids
2 T. chopped fresh basil or 1 T. dried basil
oregano, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Method:
Start cooking the pasta according to package directions.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large soup pot, and sauté the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic for a few minutes until the celery is tender. Add kale. Stir until the kale is wilted down but not drying out. Add tomatoes with liquids, beans with liquids, and herbs. You can add water to make it thinner if you like.  Simmer until the pasta is ready.

When the pasta is done cooking, drain and mix with the bean and tomato sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste. Turn out into a serving bowl, and serve hot.

Tempeh Fajitas

Here is a vegan version of fajitas that even omnivores will love.

Ingredients:
juice of 2 limes
1/2 t. chili powder
1/2 t. cumin
1/4 t. salt
8-oz. package tempeh, sliced into fajita-sized slices
flour tortillas
3 t. canola oil plus 1 t. canola oil, divided
1/2 onion, sliced
1 bell pepper, deseeded and deveined, sliced
fixin's (chopped tomato, salsa, pickled or fresh jalapenos, chopped green chiles, guacamole or avocados, chopped lettuce, pico de gallo etc.)

Method:
Mix the lime juice with the chili powder, cumin, and salt. You can also substitute the fajita-seasoning packet of your choice for the spices and salt. Marinate the tempeh slices in the lime juice mixture overnight.
Wrap the tortillas in aluminum foil and warm them in the oven on low heat while the fajitas are cooking.
In a non-stick pan, heat the 3 t. oil over medium-high heat. Put the tempeh slices in the oil, and let them fry in it until they have soaked up the oil. Add enough water to coat the bottom of the skillet, and let the tempeh soak that up, too. (It will also evaporate some.) Once the water is gone, add the remaining 1 t. oil, the onion, the bell pepper, and any leftover lime marinade. Sort of stir-fry everything together until the onion and bell pepper are cooked but still slightly crunchy. (I have even been known to add one julienned carrot to the veggie mix here.)
Once the veggies are cooked, load tempeh, veggies, and fixings onto the warmed tortillas, and enjoy!