Recipes
I posted about this a while ago, promising recipes - finally, here they are.
I prepared this meal to meet very strict requirements, so I'll add notes of things I might add or change without that. Also, I never measure much of anything, to assume those given to be approximate.
Basil-garlic hummus in cucumber cups with black sesame and radish
The hummus in this case was chana dal based (lower on the glycemic index), but would work fine with garbanzos.
2 cups chana dal (soaked overnight, drained, covered in water again, cooked until tender, drained again - retain a cup or two of the liquid.)
3 tbsp tahini (easily replaced with other nut butters, though it changes the flavor some)
2-4 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 tsp salt
2 tsp fresh ground pepper
4-5 large basil leaves or 3 tsp dried basil
3-5 tbsp olive oil
Mix all ingredients in food processor, blend until smooth. If it's too thick, add the liquid retained from cooking the dal, tbsp by tbsp.
To serve I sliced a cucumber into 1" rounds and used a melon baller to make 'cups', filled those with hummus (pastry bag or ziplock with a corner cut off), sprinkled the whole thing with black sesame seeds.
Caesar salad (romaine, carrot, broccoli sprouts, radish, cucumber, Millenium's oil-free dressing)
Like it says on the tin. The dressing is quite good, but I won't provide it as it isn't mine.
Miso glazed eggplant fries with balsamic reduction and fresh cracked pepper
2 large eggplant
2tbsp white miso
1tbsp braggs liquid aminos
1tsp herbes de Provence
1c balsamic vinegar
fresh cracked pepper to taste
salt
Slice the eggplants in 1/2" slices. Lay these out on a cutting board. Salt heavily, turn over, salt heavily on the other side. Let sit for ~20 minutes, then rinse. Cut into 'fry' shapes, as you prefer them.
Pour balsamic into a small saucepan and simmer, stirring often, until it reduces into a syrup. (Can be done in advance, and there will be some left - it's handy and tasty to have around!)
Preheat oven to 375F. Line a baking sheet or two with silpats or parchment. Mix miso, braggs and herbs in a small bowl. Rub eggplant fries with this mixture, then lay them out on the parchment. Bake for 20-30min.
Kabocha, fennel and pear soup and yellow split pea tom kha, served together with a drizzle of cashew cream
Kabocha/Fennel/Pear Soup
1 Kabocha (pumpkin or butternut squash can be substituted, but will give a slightly different flavor)
1 bulb fennel
2-4 ripe pears
1c red dal
4c vegetable broth
2tsp salt
1tsp sage
1tsp pepper
1 sm onion
Preheat oven to 375. Cut squash and fennel into chunks and lay on greased (I use olive oil) sheet pans. Roast for ~30min. Mix with all other ingredients and simmer for 30-60 minutes, then puree with an immersion blender or in a standard blender.
Yellow Split Pea 'Tom Kha'
2c yellow split peas
4c vegetable broth
1tbsp galangal (or, if you can't find it, ginger)
2 kaffir lime leaves (or zest of 1 lime in large-ish pieces)
2-3 2" pieces lemongrass
Tamari to taste
Mix all ingredients in a saucepan, cook until peas are mushy. Remove leaves/zest and lemongrass, puree, add 1/2-1c coconut milk
Cashew Cream
The 'hard' way is to soak raw cashews overnight then blend them with a bit of water to make cream. The 'easy' way is to mix a tbsp or so of water with 2tbsp of cashew butter.
To serve these I poured a ladle of each - at the same time - into two sides of a bowl, then drizzled the cashew at the last minute. They would be lovely on their own, as well.
Flower Fairy and Burning Man Sauerkraut
I didn't make these, they came from a local co-op. Yum!
Red lentil stuffed baby-bella mushrooms with a cashew cream drizzle
2c red lentils
2 stalks celery, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 sm onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3c vegetable broth
2tsp salt
2tsp braggs
1tsp black pepper
1tsp herbes de Provence
12 medium 'baby bella' mushrooms, stems removed and chopped
Sautee onion, garlic, carrot, mushroom stem and celery in olive oil until onion is clear. Mix everything else (but mushrooms) and cook ~45 minutes or until lentils are done. Fill mushrooms with mixture and bake ~20 minutes at 350. Drizzle with cashew cream made as above.
Grapefruit granita
6-8 sweet red grapefruit, juiced
2tbsp agave nectar
Mix juice and nectar, pour into a pyrex baking pan. Freeze. Every 30 minutes (or so) pull it out and use two forks to 'shred' it. Served in shot glasses, though I'd eat more. :)
Zucchini 'fettuccine' with a fresh heirloom tomato and basil sauce
3-4 medium-large zucchini, julienned into 'fettuccine'
3-4 large heirloom tomatoes, roughly diced
8-10 large leaves basil, chiffonade
2 cloves garlic, minced
2tbsp olive oil
Steam zucchini for 5-10 minutes, until tender.
Sautee garlic until fragrant, add tomato and basil, lightly salt and pepper to taste. Toss zucchini with mixture and serve. (I love this with cheese!)
Mashed cauliflower with mushroom, leek and asparagus (and steak for the non-vegans)
1-2 heads cauliflower, cut into chunks
mushrooms - as many as you want and as many varieties as you're willing to buy, sliced
2 leeks, white part sliced finely and cleaned (save green parts for stock)
1 bunch asparagus, cut into 1-2" pieces
olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
braggs
vegetable broth
herbes de Provence
Steam cauliflower until soft, put in food processor and 'mash' with ~1tbsp olive oil and vegetable broth as needed. Salt and pepper to taste.
Sautee garlic until fragrant, add leek and mushrooms - cook until *wonderful*. Add braggs, herbes de Provence, salt, pepper and asparagus. When asparagus is tender, serve on cauliflower.
Blackberry-raspberry popsicles with a creamy blueberry middle
1/2pt blackberries
1/2pt raspberries
1pt blueberries
3-5tbsp agave nectar
1 block soft tofu
I used a Zoku popsicle maker, which makes doing a 'center' easy. Not sure how I'd go about it without that tool. In any case, the bases:
In a blender mix blackberries, raspberries, 2-3tbsp agave nectar, water as needed. Pour into another bowl, then in the blender mix blueberries, tofu and 1-2tbsp agave nectar.
Chocolates and Port
Pretty obvious. Make your own - or don't!
I prepared this meal to meet very strict requirements, so I'll add notes of things I might add or change without that. Also, I never measure much of anything, to assume those given to be approximate.
Basil-garlic hummus in cucumber cups with black sesame and radish
The hummus in this case was chana dal based (lower on the glycemic index), but would work fine with garbanzos.
2 cups chana dal (soaked overnight, drained, covered in water again, cooked until tender, drained again - retain a cup or two of the liquid.)
3 tbsp tahini (easily replaced with other nut butters, though it changes the flavor some)
2-4 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 tsp salt
2 tsp fresh ground pepper
4-5 large basil leaves or 3 tsp dried basil
3-5 tbsp olive oil
Mix all ingredients in food processor, blend until smooth. If it's too thick, add the liquid retained from cooking the dal, tbsp by tbsp.
To serve I sliced a cucumber into 1" rounds and used a melon baller to make 'cups', filled those with hummus (pastry bag or ziplock with a corner cut off), sprinkled the whole thing with black sesame seeds.
Caesar salad (romaine, carrot, broccoli sprouts, radish, cucumber, Millenium's oil-free dressing)
Like it says on the tin. The dressing is quite good, but I won't provide it as it isn't mine.
Miso glazed eggplant fries with balsamic reduction and fresh cracked pepper
2 large eggplant
2tbsp white miso
1tbsp braggs liquid aminos
1tsp herbes de Provence
1c balsamic vinegar
fresh cracked pepper to taste
salt
Slice the eggplants in 1/2" slices. Lay these out on a cutting board. Salt heavily, turn over, salt heavily on the other side. Let sit for ~20 minutes, then rinse. Cut into 'fry' shapes, as you prefer them.
Pour balsamic into a small saucepan and simmer, stirring often, until it reduces into a syrup. (Can be done in advance, and there will be some left - it's handy and tasty to have around!)
Preheat oven to 375F. Line a baking sheet or two with silpats or parchment. Mix miso, braggs and herbs in a small bowl. Rub eggplant fries with this mixture, then lay them out on the parchment. Bake for 20-30min.
Kabocha, fennel and pear soup and yellow split pea tom kha, served together with a drizzle of cashew cream
Kabocha/Fennel/Pear Soup
1 Kabocha (pumpkin or butternut squash can be substituted, but will give a slightly different flavor)
1 bulb fennel
2-4 ripe pears
1c red dal
4c vegetable broth
2tsp salt
1tsp sage
1tsp pepper
1 sm onion
Preheat oven to 375. Cut squash and fennel into chunks and lay on greased (I use olive oil) sheet pans. Roast for ~30min. Mix with all other ingredients and simmer for 30-60 minutes, then puree with an immersion blender or in a standard blender.
Yellow Split Pea 'Tom Kha'
2c yellow split peas
4c vegetable broth
1tbsp galangal (or, if you can't find it, ginger)
2 kaffir lime leaves (or zest of 1 lime in large-ish pieces)
2-3 2" pieces lemongrass
Tamari to taste
Mix all ingredients in a saucepan, cook until peas are mushy. Remove leaves/zest and lemongrass, puree, add 1/2-1c coconut milk
Cashew Cream
The 'hard' way is to soak raw cashews overnight then blend them with a bit of water to make cream. The 'easy' way is to mix a tbsp or so of water with 2tbsp of cashew butter.
To serve these I poured a ladle of each - at the same time - into two sides of a bowl, then drizzled the cashew at the last minute. They would be lovely on their own, as well.
Flower Fairy and Burning Man Sauerkraut
I didn't make these, they came from a local co-op. Yum!
Red lentil stuffed baby-bella mushrooms with a cashew cream drizzle
2c red lentils
2 stalks celery, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 sm onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3c vegetable broth
2tsp salt
2tsp braggs
1tsp black pepper
1tsp herbes de Provence
12 medium 'baby bella' mushrooms, stems removed and chopped
Sautee onion, garlic, carrot, mushroom stem and celery in olive oil until onion is clear. Mix everything else (but mushrooms) and cook ~45 minutes or until lentils are done. Fill mushrooms with mixture and bake ~20 minutes at 350. Drizzle with cashew cream made as above.
Grapefruit granita
6-8 sweet red grapefruit, juiced
2tbsp agave nectar
Mix juice and nectar, pour into a pyrex baking pan. Freeze. Every 30 minutes (or so) pull it out and use two forks to 'shred' it. Served in shot glasses, though I'd eat more. :)
Zucchini 'fettuccine' with a fresh heirloom tomato and basil sauce
3-4 medium-large zucchini, julienned into 'fettuccine'
3-4 large heirloom tomatoes, roughly diced
8-10 large leaves basil, chiffonade
2 cloves garlic, minced
2tbsp olive oil
Steam zucchini for 5-10 minutes, until tender.
Sautee garlic until fragrant, add tomato and basil, lightly salt and pepper to taste. Toss zucchini with mixture and serve. (I love this with cheese!)
Mashed cauliflower with mushroom, leek and asparagus (and steak for the non-vegans)
1-2 heads cauliflower, cut into chunks
mushrooms - as many as you want and as many varieties as you're willing to buy, sliced
2 leeks, white part sliced finely and cleaned (save green parts for stock)
1 bunch asparagus, cut into 1-2" pieces
olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
braggs
vegetable broth
herbes de Provence
Steam cauliflower until soft, put in food processor and 'mash' with ~1tbsp olive oil and vegetable broth as needed. Salt and pepper to taste.
Sautee garlic until fragrant, add leek and mushrooms - cook until *wonderful*. Add braggs, herbes de Provence, salt, pepper and asparagus. When asparagus is tender, serve on cauliflower.
Blackberry-raspberry popsicles with a creamy blueberry middle
1/2pt blackberries
1/2pt raspberries
1pt blueberries
3-5tbsp agave nectar
1 block soft tofu
I used a Zoku popsicle maker, which makes doing a 'center' easy. Not sure how I'd go about it without that tool. In any case, the bases:
In a blender mix blackberries, raspberries, 2-3tbsp agave nectar, water as needed. Pour into another bowl, then in the blender mix blueberries, tofu and 1-2tbsp agave nectar.
Chocolates and Port
Pretty obvious. Make your own - or don't!