If you keep different kinds of pasta, a variety of canned beans, canned tomatoes, canned sauces, and torillas wraps you can whip up quick and easy casseroles and lasagnas with whatever veggies you have around -make up your own 'lasagna' dishes - I'd love to find a good greek lasagna recipe?? still havent made eggplant lasagna either - yum! Post recipes if you come up with some good combinations! :)


SPINACH STUFFED MUSHROOMS

..
Spinach Stuffed Mushrooms


Ingredients :



24 large (but not huge) white mushrooms

1/4 cup chopped shallots or onion

2 large cloves garlic, chopped

2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup water

2 teaspoon seasoning (recipe follows)

1 pack frozen chopped spinach (about 10 oz?) - thawed and drained



Directions:



Wash mushrooms and carefully remove stems. Lay out caps on nonstick jelly-roll pan and pop in oven for 5-10 minutes to dry out and cook slightly. Set caps aside. Chop the mushroom stems finely.




Saute shallots, garlic, and balsamic vinegar in small saucepan. When onions start to turn translucent add mushroom stems, water, and seasoning. Cook a few minutes. Add spinach and cook till water is almost all absorbed/evaporated.




Mound the spinach mixture onto the the mushroom caps, pressing it into the caps. Lower oven heat to 300-350 and bake for 10-15 minutes until hot and mushroom caps are cooked.




If you leave them slightly undercooked, you can do these ahead and then heat them up in the microwave when needed.




Seasoning


Ingredients :



1 1/3 cup nutritional yeast flakes

3 tablespoon onion powder

2 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon salt

1 teaspoon celery seed

2 1/2 tablespoon Italian seasoning

2 tablespoon parsley, dried



Directions:



Blend smooth all ingredients except parsley. Stir in parsley. Store in airtight container.



Notes:



Use this seasoning to make a quick stock out of water when you have no veggie stock on hand. Excellent for flavoring rice and as a soup base.




Make a very simple, easy, and good-tasting gravy by mixing water, seasoning, and miso (I like the dark brown rice miso). Typical proportions: 1.5 cups water, 1 T seasoning, 2 t miso. Increase/decrease seasonings according your your taste. Right before serving gravy, mix some starch (I frequently use potato starch) in a bit of water till well-blended and add to gravy to thicken (do this over medium heat). Add starch until you reach desired thickness. Quick, easy, and surprisingly tastey.




Broth From _Country Kitchen Collection_.






VEGAN CHEESECAKE



Yummy Vegan Cheesecake



Ingredients :



16 graham cinnamon graham crackers, crumbled

1/2 cup vegan margarine

1 tablespoon light Karo syrup

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

16 oz.
Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese

1/3 cup sugar (or fructose)

4 EnerG egg substitute "eggs"

1 teaspoon vanilla

juice of one lemon

Ah!Laska vegan chocolate syrup

fresh raspberries



Directions:



Crust: Combine graham crackers, margarine (adjust amount as needed), Karo syrup, and flour in a bowl. Mix by hand and press firmly into a round pan.




Filling: Combine "cream cheese", sugar, "eggs", vanilla, and lemon juice in a blender and blend until creamy and smooth. Pour onto crust.




Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 25-30 minutes, until set (doesn't jiggle when you move the pan). Let cool. Place in refrigerator and chill for 12 hours.




Topping: You may use any kind of topping such as strawberries in syrup, chocolate, vegan whipped cream, etc. My personal favorite is drizzling the cheesecake in Ah!Laska vegan chocolate syrup and adding fresh raspberries.
Mmm!



Serves: 8-10



Preparation time: 30 min.



Transylvanian Goulash with Brown Rice



Transylvanian Goulash with Brown Rice

Ingredients





1 - Onion, large, diced

1 tbsp.
Garlic, crushed

1 tbsp.
Olive Oil, extra virgin

1 Cabbage, green, medium size, cut

2 lbs.
Sauerkraut



2 lb can Tomatoes, whole peeled

or

1 lb can Tomatoes, whole peeled

and

5-6 fresh Tomatoes, (in season only) cut in chunks



Juice of 1 Lemon

3 tbsp.
Paprika, Hungarian sweet

1 tbsp.
Caraway Seeds

3 Bay Leaves


Preparation


We prepare our Transylvanian goulash in a large covered baking dish (Photo-left) in the microwave oven, but this recipe can also be prepared in a large covered pot on the stove top.




Peel the onion, dice and place in the baking dish or pot. Peel and crush the garlic and add to the baking dish or pot. Add the extra virgin olive oil and mix thoroughly. Cook until the onions start to become translucent. Remove from heat.




While the onions and garlic are cooling, wash, slice, and cut the cabbage into bite-size pieces. When the onions are cooked, add the cabbage. If you are using fresh tomatoes, wash and cut them into bite-size pieces and add to the baking dish or pot. Add the can of peeled tomatoes (cut them into bite-size pieces, too). Add the sauerkraut, lemon juice, and seasoning and mix well. Simmer for about one hour.




While the Transylvanian goulash is cooking, cook the rice in a covered glass pot on the stove top.




Serve the Transylvanian goulash over a bed of brown rice.
Enjoy




PEANUT BUTTER CUPS



Peanut Butter Cups

Ingredients :

1 cup peanut butter (reduced fat and creamy)
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups of vegan chocolate chips
1/4 teaspoon salt
12 paper muffin cups

Directions:

Cut the top half of the muffin cups to where they are about half the original height.



Microwave the chocolate chips for about 2 minutes at 50% power in a glass or microwaveable bowl. Stir until creamy, you might need to microwave them a little more. Make sure you do not overcook them.



Using a spoon or paint brush spread the chocolate evenly within the muffin cups making sure you fill the crevices on the sides. Place the coated muffin cups in the freezer so that the chocolate hardens.



In a separate bowl combine the peanut butter and salt and fold in the powdered vegan sugar.



When the chocolate cups have hardened put the peanut butter mixture into the microwave for 1 minute. Wait a minute for it to cool and then bring out the chocolate cups.



Spoon the peanut butter into the chocolate cups leaving a little room for the top layer of chocolate. You have the option of putting the top layer of chocolate on now or after the peanut butter has hardened in the freezer. Both ways work just as well in my opinion.



Place the cups in the freezer and wait an hour (or as long as you can).


Serves: 12


Preparation time: 1 hour



Best Vegan Mac and Cheese in the entire world...seriously






Ingredients :


1 1/2 cups of plain soy milk
1 cup of water
1/3 cup of tamari or soy sauce
1 1/2 cup of nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon vegesal or in lack of fancy product, just use salt
1/4 of a block of firm (not silken) tofu
1 cup of canola or vegetable oil
1 1/2 lbs of pasta of your choice preferably macaroni
a relatively large baking pan (like a brownie pan)
1 dollop of mustard (optional)



Directions:

This is very simple and tastes amazing!

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.


Boil water in a big pot for the pasta.


All of the ingredients sans pasta can easily go in a blender liquid and powdered this is by far the easiest way and the only was I do it.


Once pasta is cooked drain I and put it in the baking pan pour the cheese sauce over the pasta.


Bake until the top of the pasta looks slightly browned and crispy about 15 minutes but not too crispy because that is gross.


I honestly do not know the serving information or nutritional content I can tell you it feeds a heck of a lot of people and if you are cooking for yourself it will last about 5 days if you eat it for all three meals of the day.


Serves: a lot



Preparation time: about 8 min.




MARNI”S VEGAN CHILI RECIPE

i just had someone ask me for my VEGAN chili recipe, so i copied it to share it with everyone......... ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

sorry i don't have an actual "recipe", but i'll try to get everything down here, without leaving anything out....

you will need:

1 big stew pot
1 package "gimme lean" ground beef style
1 onion, chopped up
1 Tbsp.
vegetable oil
1 tsp.
chopped garlic
1 package Williams Chili Seasoning (silver package)
1 BIG can of tomato sauce
1 BIG can of pureed or crushed tomatoes
1 BIG can of tomato paste
2 cups of pinto beans
1 cup of black beans
1 cup of red beans
salt (depends on how much you like)

so i smush up the "gimme lean" with the back of a fork, because i don't like any big chunks..... then i get the oil hot in the pot, add the "gimme lean", the onions, and the garlic, and cook it until the onions are translucent... then i add the tomato ingredients and the chili seasoning and salt, along with a can or two of water. stir this around for a while, until the chili seasoning and tomato paste are blended in really well.... then i go ahead and add all of the beans to the pot..... simmer it for like an hour or two.... and i serve it with vegan cornbread.... yummy!!!!

hope you enjoy!!!!!!!!!

love,
marnie



Kitchen Wisdom: Do-It-Yourself Seitan

by Sarah Kramer


Today's topic is Seitan�?/STRONG> but before I start talking about The Wheat Meat I wanted to give you my Number One tip in the kitchen. Do you have your pens out? Are you ready to write this down? This will be on the test.


My Number One tip for working in the kitchen is to buy yourself a stand-alone oven thermometer. Everyone's oven comes equipped with an internal thermometer, but they are rarely correct. My oven is off by about 25 degrees! That is a big difference when you are baking or roasting or doing anything that requires precision timing and oven temperature.


If you only learn one thing from me in this lesson it should be to get a stand-alone oven thermometer. They are available at any kitchen or hardware store and usually cost between $7-$20 but they are worth their weight in gold. Run out and get one and then e-mail me and let me know how thankful you are because your oven temperature was way off and you had no idea. You'll be shocked at how off your oven is�?seriously.



Now. On to today's lesson.



Seitan.
What is Seitan? Does anyone know?


Seitan (pronounced SAY-tan) or "wheat meat" is a protein rich food made from wheat gluten. All that mock-meat you eat in restaurants or purchase from your supermarkets is usually made in part from wheat gluten.


Like all flours, wheat gluten has virtually no flavour�?so this means your Seitan will soak up the flavours of whatever it is cooked with.


You can run out to your local supermarket and purchase pre-made Seitan or pre-flavored cutlets�?but why do that when it is so easy and cheap to make yourself! You can make Seitan from scratch using regular flour and water (recipe on page 284 of La Dolce Vegan) but for today's lesson and in the interest of time we will be using Instant Vital Wheat Gluten.


Gluten has many names. Instant gluten. Wheat Gluten. Vital Gluten. Vital Instant Wheat Gluten. It's all the same�?just get some and let's get cooking.



BASIC INSTANT GLUTEN

1/2 cup instant vital wheat gluten flour
1/2 cup water

In a medium bowl, stir together the wheat gluten and water until it becomes elastic. Knead for 5 minutes and set aside.
Choose a mock meat flavouring

Makes 2 large or 4 small servings.



FAUX CHICKEN FLAVOURING

Basic Instant Gluten (see recipe above)

Broth:


2 cups water
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
2 tbsp tamari
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp dried sage
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp celery seed

In a large saucepan, bring all of the broth ingredients to a boil. Slice Basic Instant Gluten into steaks, chunks or strips and drop carefully into broth. Reduce heat and cover with lid. Let simmer for 50-60 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until broth has reduced completely.



Use "chicken" immediately in your dish of choice or store in the refrigerator (for up to 6 days) or the freezer (for up to 6 months). For a chewier texture, once you've boiled the "chicken", bake it at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) in a lightly oiled baking dish for 30 minutes.



Makes 2 large or 4 small servings.



JAY-LO'S FRIED "CHICKEN"

When you prepare your "chicken", shape and cut them so they resemble a nice breast. Tee hee. I said breast. This is my good friend Jason's fried chicken recipe that he makes for BBQ's at his house. It's delish and quite a dish�?just like Jay.


1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 cup "milk" (soy, oat, rice etc)
Faux Chicken (see recipe above)
3-4 tbsp olive oil

In a shallow dish, stir together the flour, paprika, salt and pepper. Set aside. In a small bowl, pour "milk" and set aside. Dip "chicken" into flour, then dip in "milk" and then into flour again. In a large frying pan on medium-high heat, fry "chicken" in oil until well browned on both sides.



Makes 2 large or 4 small servings.


See how easy that was??

Tonight's homework: Make some Fried "Chicken," then stop by the corner store and get a internal oven thermometer and a copy of La Dolce Vegan.


CLASS DISMISSED!