Spicy Mac and Cheez

Creamy, tasty, hint of spice. You just can't lose with this killer pasta. I really never ever thought that nutritional yeast could make such a creamy, tasty pasta sauce! I was kind of scared to try making a lot of the recipes I found online because they had soy milk (which I really am not too fond of taste-wise). So, I combined a few different recipes and took a risk by using water instead a milk-replacement. And, it paid off...big time. I can't get over how delicious this is. I will warn you that it doesn't taste like the classic old blue box mac and cheese that we all grew up on. It has a more complex taste and the sauce is very thick and creamy. How yeast becomes so creamy, I have no idea. I used farfalle pasta (bowties), but I'm sure this would be good with pretty much any pasta. I'm thinking that next time I'll saute some onions for some extra yummy-ness.

This pasta is actually really good for you. The nutritional yeast is packed with, well, nutrition! Check these sites for more info about the yeast:
Buzzle- Nutritional Yeast Benefits
Bragg-- Nutritional Yeast Information  (this is my preferred brand)

Now, on to the Recipe!!

Here's My Recipe: Serves 2 as Main Dish, 3-4 as a Side

Ingredients:

• 1/4 to 1/3 lb pasta of your choice
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1/4 cup unbleached flour
• 1 1/4 TB vegan margarine (I use Earth Balance)
• 1 cup water
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp mustard powder
• 1/8 tsp turmeric (primarily to give it a more yellow color)
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (optional, but it adds a tasty kick that I think makes this dish)
• dash cumin
• 1/8 tsp fresh cracked black pepper (I probably added a bit more)

Method:

1. Before you start the cheez sauce, start boiling some water for your pasta. Add some salt and put the pasta in. Follow the directions on the pasta package. Mine took 11 minutes. Start your sauce when your pasta has 6-7 minutes left to cook.
2. Mix your dry ingredients in a bowl until it well combined.
3. Slowly whisk the water into the dry ingredients trying to eliminate most chunks.
4. Melt the margarine in a small saucepan over medium heat.
5. Pour your cheez mixture into the saucepan and whisk well. Continue whisking the sauce almost constantly until it becomes thick and creamy to your liking. I had to add about a tsp more water to mine to loosen the sauce a smidge. Adjust your spices as necessary. Then remove pan from the heat. To be honest, I did think the sauce smelled a little weird at first, but when combined with the pasta, it tastes AWESOME!!
6. Drain your pasta gently fold into the cheez sauce and serve up immediately. It would probably be extra good with a little homemade garlic bread :)

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

I know, I know-- Brussels sprouts! Yuck!  Only not at all!!!  So easy. So tasty. Brussels sprouts are surprisingly yummy. I didn't eat them when I was a kid because my mom never liked them (until about 2 weeks ago). I was at my local Farmer's Market recently and I saw some little buckets of brussels sprouts for $2.00. They seemed like a bargain, so I snagged one. I really had no idea what they tasted like or how I should cook them, so I figured that I couldn't really go wrong by roasting them in my oven. I guess I don't really even need to give you a specific recipe, since there's no much to it, but I'll try anyway...because you're worth it!!

Ingredients:

• brussels sprouts (use as many as you want)
• extra virgin olive oil - I used just enough to lightly drizzle on the sprouts
• salt - I like to use kosher or another larger-grain salt

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Chop the little stems off of your sprouts. Then slice your sprouts in half lengthwise.
3. Remove the top little leaves of the sprout.
4. Place sprouts in a large bowl and lightly drizzle with oil. Toss to coat the sprouts.
5. Place sprouts on baking sheet cut sides down. Sprinkle the salt on top of the sprouts.
6. Bake on middle rack of oven for about 18-20 minutes. I like mine with some crispy edges, so mine took about 20 minutes, but if you want them out sooner, take them out. The edges and tops of the sprouts will lightly browned if you cook them the full 20 minutes.

Minestrone Soup

Minestrone soup is the PERFECT soup for chilly, windy days. Today was that day. Ever since the weather started to cool off this last week, I have been craving soup. I just didn't know what to make. When I woke up this morning, I knew that I absolutely HAD to make some minestrone soup. What to do when you have no recipe? Just make it up as you go! As I always say, add whatever sounds good to you or whatever you have on hand.  I know that the ingredient list is long, but the directions are insanely easy. Just use this recipe as a rough guide. I do very, very much recommend getting these fire roasted tomatoes to put into the soup. FABULOUS!

This recipe easily serves 6-8 adults.

Ingredients:

• 5 cups vegetable broth
• 1-2 cups water
• 1/3 pound pasta of your choice (I used ditalini)
• 28 oz. can of diced fire-roasted tomatoes & their juice (I got mine at WholeFoods)
• 15 oz. can of light red kidney beans, drained
• 15 oz. can of cannelini beans, drained
• 2 large stalks celery, chopped small (I also added some of the leaves from the celery plant)
• 1/2 large red onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced into rounds
• 1 small zucchini, sliced thinly into rounds
• 1 medium/large red potato, peeled and diced small
• 1 very large handful baby spinach, roughly chopped/torn
• 1 medium leek, sliced-- white and light green parts only (Be sure to clean the leek really well after slicing. I use my salad spinner)
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 TB dried parsley
• 1 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 2 TB extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
• 1 1/2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic salt
• sea salt to your tastes
• 1/8 tsp ground coriander
• dash ground thyme
• 1/8 tsp crushed rosemary

Method:

1. Heat half of your oil in a stock pot, and half in a non-stick frying pan (both over medium heat).
2. Place the celery and onion in the stock pot to start them cooking. In the frying pan, place the potatoes, carrot, zucchini. Stir frequently so nothing sticks to the pans. When the onion is translucent, add the garlic, leek, and spinach and stir. Let cook about 2 minutes, then add the veggies from the frying pan. Mix well.
3. Add the tomatoes and their juice to the stock pot. Then, mix in the vegetable broth.
4. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir well. If you're adding the parmigiana-reggiano, do so now.
5. Cook about 20 minutes, boiling gently, covered. Be sure to stir every few minutes so nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot.
6. Mix in your pasta and cover again (or cook separately and add in a few minutes). Follow the cooking time on the pasta you choose. Mine took 9 minutes, but yours may take longer. Once the pasta is cooked, you will likely need to add the water. I added about 1 1/4 cups hot water to mine and cooked it another 5 minutes.
7. Keep tasting and adjust your spices as necessary, and be sure to remove the bay leaves before serving. This soup goes very well with some delicious, fresh-baked crusty bread or some homemade garlic bread. 

Colorful Quinoa Fiesta

   

Born of a desire to not waste any food, this recipe uses a bunch of ingredients that I have onhand in my fridge and pantry. I hate wasting food, and when I found an unopened box of quinoa squirreled away in the back of my cupboard, I immediately started thinking about how I could use it. Granted, this recipe only used about 1/4 of the box, but it's going to be the first of several recipes dedicated to this delicious and versatile ingredient. If you're new to quinoa, see the note at the side of this page to read more about what it is and what you can do with it. When you're measuring and preparing the quinoa, just remember that a little bit goes a long way. You may think you're not making enough, but it seems to multiply when it's cooked :)
You can use whatever ingredients you would like in this recipe, I just took the opportunity to use what I had here. I also made it into a main dish, which is another reason for so many ingredients. Feel free to add or subtract and to experiment! That is the best thing about cooking...the ability to take a basic recipe and change it however you want. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did (and will do again for a snack later)

Here's my Recipe: Serves 3 as a main dish or 4-8 as a side

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup dried quinoa (be sure to rinse it well unless you have the pre-washed variety)
• 1 cup organic, low-sodium vegetable broth (you could use water if you prefer)
• 1 very small zucchini, thinly sliced
• 1 very small summer squash, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn
• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen peas
• 1/2 cup onion, diced
• 2/3 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup raw almonds, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup bell pepper, diced
• 1 Tb extra virgin olive oil
• salt & pepper to your taste
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• A few shakes of chili powder (probably less than 1/8 tsp)

Method:

1. Put chopped almonds into a small saucepan over medium heat. You will stir them every 30 seconds for about 4 minutes, or until you can smell them lightly toasting. Remove from heat and from pan immediately so they don't burn. Set almonds aside.
2. In same pan, place dried quinoa over medium-low heat. Stir almost constantly for about 3 minutes. You're very lightly toasting the quinoa to give it a slightly nuttier taste. As soon as the 3 minutes are up, pour the vegetable broth over the dry quinoa. Put the pan over a medium heat and bring to a boil. Once it starts boiling, cover and cook, stirring twice for about 15 minutes over a medium-low heat. You'll know the quinoa is done when it becomes mostly transparent and the liquid is absorbed.
3. While the quinoa is cooking, get a large skillet heating over a medium heat. Add the oil and spread around the pan. Once the oil is hot, add the onion, zucchini and squash. Cook about 5-6 minutes, until the onions are translucent and the zucchini and squash are softened. I used 2 large wooden spoons to flip the veggies partway through cooking.
4. Add in the corn, peas, bell pepper, chickpeas and cook for another few minutes to heat thoroughly. Add in spices to your tastes.
5. By now, the quinoa should be all done cooking. Fluff it with a fork and add to the veggie skillet. Mix in your almonds and heat about 2 minutes to allow the flavors to all come together.
6. Remove from heat and serve up right away.

Falafel with Lemon Tahini Sauce

Falafel. You just can't say anything bad about it. I friggin' LOVE it! I've been on vacation for the last few weeks, and had some falafel while I was gone. Since I got home a couple of days ago, it's all I could think about. So, I decided to ask for a little help from some fellow food bloggers (floggers?) and sort of combined a mish-mash of their recipes to make my own special mix. I've never fried anything before, so I was a little nervous, but it turned out really, really well. This is definitely going to be a permanent recipe in my repertoire!!

I didn't use canned/tinned chickpeas. I used dried chickpeas that I soaked for 18 hours in a large bowl of water. So, I can't guarantee how they would turn out if you used the canned variety. I bought my dried chickpeas from an organic vendor at my local farmer's market, but you can also find them in the ethnic foods aisle near the Middle Eastern and Mediterranean foods. Since I soak dried beans, this isn't really a dish you can just decide to whip up and eat right away...it takes a little planning. But, it is worth it and I swear you will not regret the time it takes to soak the beans. Another little tidbit: I didn't measure my spices, but I am pretty good at estimating amounts for recipes. But, as always, taste as you go so you get the tastes you like.

I used grapeseed oil for my frying, but you could use veg oil or peanut if you really want. I chose grapeseed because it has a very mild taste and less fat than some other oils. It is somewhat expensive if your store is like mine and has very little selection (they only had 1 brand of this oil), but you may have more luck at a WholeFoods. I used a deep saucepan so that I wouldn't have oil spatter all over my stove. I only put about 1 1/2 inches of oil into my pan. You may want to go deeper if you choose to make falafel balls instead of patties. Either way, you want the oil to just cover the falafels. I suggest using a candy/frying thermometer because you want your oil to be 350 degrees F in between batches. It's important that your oil doesn't get too cool or too hot between batches.

Here's My Recipe (Makes about 20 falafel patties that are 1 1/2 inches in diameter):

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb dried chickpeas (also called garbanzo beans)
• 1/2 cup diced red onion
• 3 garlic cloves (2 for falafel & 1 for sauce)
• Oil for frying (again, I used grapeseed oil)
• 2 TB dried parsley flakes
• 1 TB sea salt
• 3 TB fresh lemon juice (1 for falafel & 2 for sauce)
• 1/4 tsp cracked pepper
• 1/2 tsp coriander
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/8 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 1/4 cup water

Method:

1. Soak your chickpeas for at least 12 hours, but I suggest a bit longer because mine were still sort of hard at 12 hours. I liked mine at 18 hours best. Put your chickepeas in a large bowl and cover with water until the water is 2 inches higher than the beans. Cover and let set on counter or in fridge for your selected time. Then, drain well and put chickpeas into a food processor.

2. Add onion, 2 cloves garlic, parsley, salt, pepper, 1 TB lemon juice, coriander, cumin, turmeric, paprika, chili powder, cayenne and garlic powder into the food processor. Pulse repeatedly until the mix isn't pureed, but is getting kind of close. You'll need to scrape down sides of the food processor several times. Add baking powder and pulse a bit more. Taste frequently and adjust the spices until it tastes good to you.   
3. Put the oil into your pan and heat on medium-high heat until the oil reaches 350 degrees F. Meanwhile, use your hands to shape your mixture into either patties or balls. I suggest making them while the oil heats because these cook really fast and you won't have tons of time between batches. I also turned my oven up to 225 degrees F. and put a paper towel-lined cookie sheet on a rack. Putting the cooked falafels on the sheet will keep them nice and warm in-between batches.

4. I could put 4 falafel patties in my pan at one time. Leave room so they aren't touching so they don't get raw spots or get stuck together. It took about 2 minutes on the first side and 2 on the second side. Also, because I am wary of hot oil, I used a slotted spoon to put the patties into (and take them out of) the oil. No splashing or worrying about getting burned for me. Remove from the oil when the falafels are a dark brown and place them on the cookie sheet in the oven.
5. Let your oil heat back up to 350 degrees F before you add more patties into your oil.
6. When all of your patties are cooked and are in the oven, it's time to make your sauce. In a bowl, whisk together tahini, water, 2 TB lemon juice, 1 minced garlic clove and salt/pepper. Should be thick, yet thin enough to drizzle (in my humble opinion).

7. Serve your falafels on a pita with sauce and veg or just eat them with the sauce and a fork. Either way, you will love them!