Drawn to Food

Broccoli and walnuts: vegan

Ingredients:

one large head of broccoli

1 orange peel cut in strips
1 lemon peel cut in strips
1/2 c walnuts

2 tbsp ponzo sauce
1 tbsp vinegar
juice of lemon you used for the peel
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves minced

Directions:

Boil broccoli till tender, drain and set aside to cool.

Make a dressing with ponzu, vinegar, lemon juice, sugar, oil and garlic.

Add the orange and lemon peels with the walnuts to the broccoli, add the dressing toss and refrigerate for a couple hours. Serve cold.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 2: 288 calories per serving, 576 for the whole dish.

I combined parts of different recipes and experimented with what to add to this dish. Peanuts would make a nice alternative to the walnuts, and sesame seeds would also add a nice flavor.

The peels can be a little overwhelming, you can pulse them in a food processors to chop the pieces up a bit more.

Cauliflower soup: vegan

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil
1 head of cauliflower cut into florets
1 onion cut in bite size pieces
2 cloves garlic minced
1/4 c white wine

4 cups water
1 tbsp veggie bouillon
2 bay leaves
1 small can tomato sauce

4 oz. dry pasta

Directions:

Sauté cauliflower and onions in oil till lightly brown. Add garlic and stir a few times, then deglaze the pan with wine.

Add the water, bouillon, bay leaves and tomato sauce, bring to a boil and then simmer for about 20 minutes. Cauliflower should be getting soft.

Add the pasta and cook for about 10 minutes, the pasta should absorb most of the water, turn off heat and let stand covered for about 5 minutes. Remove the bay leaves before serving.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 4: 327 calories per serving, 1308 for the whole dish.

Top off this dish with a tbsp of parmesan cheese. Use a rounded pasta like shells or orecchiette. We used conchiglie this time.

Some parsley for garnish would be nice and I think adding carrots would also make it sweeter, I’ll try that next.

Pairing:

“White Burgundy – The birthplace of the Chardonnay varietal, this elegant white wine will compliment a savory cauliflower soup without adding too much of the buttery punch that the California styles tend to have. Serve chilled in a white wine glass.”

– Damian Kelley

Beet burgers: vegetarian

Ingredients:

1 can sliced beets
1/2 onion cut into large pieces
1/2 can red kidney beans
1 clove garlic
1 tbsp peanut butter or tahini
1 egg

1/2 c bread crumbs
2 tbsp sesame seeds

1 tbsp olive oil

Directions:

Put first 6 ingredients in food processors and pulse till smooth. Place the mixture into a bowl and add the bread crumbs and sesame seeds. Mix with a large spoon.

Place the olive oil in a skillet and heat. Add beet mixture, it will be wet and soft, so just spoon it into 4 sections and flatten with back of spoon. Cook on medium for about 5 minutes and flip over carefully, cook additional 5 to 10 minutes, until both sides are dark brown.

Serve on a hamburger bun.

Serves 4: 382 calories each with the bun.

These came out soft and very tasty. I like the outside a bit “burnt” so i cooked them a little longer. You can add nuts in the food processor if you want some extra protein and body. Instead of putting the beans in the food processor, you can use other beans like cooked lentils and add them after you process the other ingredients. We topped the burgers off with some salsa the first night, then the next day I made a thousand island dressing with mayonnaise, ketchup and sweet relish. Lettuce and tomato would also be good additions to the sandwich. We ate ours with a side salad.

Pairing:

“GSM – (Granache, Syrah, Mourvedre) Bright and herbaceous, this red blend will be a perfect compliment to a savory beet burger. Ripe fruit on the front end and pepper on the finish will leave your mouth cleansed and ready for the next bite! Serve cellar temp in a red wine glass.”

– Damian Kelley

Red curry: vegan

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion chopped
1 tbsp ginger minced
2 cloves of garlic minced
1 potato cubed

1 1/2 c water
1 cup unsweetened coconut drink
2 tbsp red curry paste
2 dates pitted and chopped small
1 bag frozen kale mix

1 cup grape tomatoes cut in half
juice of two limes
chopped cilantro

Directions:

In a large sauce pot sauté onion, potato and red pepper till slightly brown, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and ginger and stir till flavor is released, just about a minute.

Add water, coconut drink, red curry paste, dates and kale mix, bring to a boil and then simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes until the potatoes are soft.

Turn off heat and add the tomatoes, lime juice and cilantro.

Salt to taste and add some red pepper flakes if you like.

Serves 4: 233 calories per serving, 932 calories for the whole batch.

You can basically use any green vegetables in place of the kale mix, fresh or frozen. We had some left over pasta that we added after. I also think that half an avocado would be really good to add.

Red lentils with butternut squash soup: vegan

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion chopped
1 tbsp ginger minced
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1 ten oz bag frozen butternut squash
1 c dry red lentils
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp turmeric
juice of two limes

1 c grape tomatoes cut in half
1 c raw spinach

Directions:

In a large pot sauté onions in olive oil and cook till starting to brown, add garlic, mustard seeds and ginger, stir for a minute. Add 5 cups of water, butternut squash, red lentils, cumin, turmeric and lime juice. Bring to a boil, stir frequently, lower heat and simmer till lentils are cooked, about 15 minutes.

Turn off heat, add tomatoes and spinach, stir to wilt spinach and serve.

Serves 4: 268 calories per serving, 1225 calories for the whole batch.

We love lentil soup and this is a nice fall variety with the butternut squash. Serve it with a teaspoon of vinegar and add salt as needed.

Mushroom vegetable miso soup with tofu: vegetarian

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil
1 bag frozen shiitake mushrooms
1/2 onion chopped
2 tbsp minced ginger
2 cloves of garlic minced
1/4 c white wine

2 carrots sliced into ribbons
1 red pepper cut in julienne strips
2 tbsp miso paste

1/4 chopped cilantro
1 cup sugar snap peas with string removed, cut in half*
1 twelve oz box of tofu cubed

Directions:

In a large pot sauté onions and mushroom, if using frozen, it will take a while for the liquid to evaporate, then cook till starting to brown, add garlic and ginger, stir for a minute and deglaze the pan with white wine.

Add 5 cups of water and bring to a boil, lower heat to simmer for about 10 minutes. Add carrots, peppers, and miso paste. Cook for 5 minutes.

Turn off heat and add the cilantro, peas and tofu.

Serves 4: 157 calories per serving, 742 calories for the whole batch.

This soup is best served with soba noodles which adds 114 calories per cup of noodles. You can also serve with rice or rice noodles. Jacob likes it with a potato added.

*Sugar snap peas have a string along the edge, sometimes when they are really fresh it’s barely noticeable. When you are prepping them break off the tips and just pull and the string should come with it. You can also shuck the peas and just eat the insides.

Peanut butter cookies: vegetarian

Ingredients:

1/2 c sugar
1/2 stick butter
1/2 c peanut butter

1 egg
1 tsp molasses

1 1/4 c flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp coarse salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl with a hand mixer cream sugar, butter and peanut butter. Add egg and molasses and beat well.

In a small bowl mix flour, baking soda and salt. Add to peanut butter mixture.

If you have time, refrigerate for about an hour. If not, or if you are just too hungry, shape into 1 inch balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Press down with a fork if you like to make traditional criss cross pattern.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, cool on wire rack or on brown paper.

Serving size depending on cookie size: total calories for the whole batch is 1792. Divide that by however many cookies you wind up making for the individual count. This is not low fat. 😉

I like my cookies a bit burnt so I leave them just a bit longer. They are so tasty when the are still warm. Depending on how generous you are with your cookie size, this can make about 15 to 25 cookies.

Grilled corn/peach and tomato/bean salad: vegan

Ingredients:

juice of two limes
1 tbsp olive oil
dash of salt

2 ears of corn, shucked and silk removed
1 yellow onion sliced length wise in three circles
2 medium peaches, pitted and cut into quarters

1 cup grape tomatoes cut in half
medium bunch of chopped cilantro
1 15 oz can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 avocado cut in bite size pieces

juice of one lime and half lemon

Directions:

Prepare your BBQ grill, lightly oil grill and warm up. Make a dressing with lime juice, olive oil and salt.

Place corn, onion slices and peaches on grill, baste with dressing and cook for about 25 minutes, basting and turning them as they brown and remove from grill as cooked, leaving the corn till last. (Every grill varies, so keep an eye on these). Remove from heat and let cool for about 15 minutes.

Place tomatoes, cilantro, beans and avocado in a large bowl. Drizzle with lime and lemon juice.

Cut the corn off the cobs, cut the peaches into bite size pieces, cut the onion as well, and add all to the tomato mixture. Toss and serve.

Serves 4: 340 calories per serving or 1360 for the whole batch.

Grilling the vegetables and fruit gives a great caramelized flavor to the salad. We enjoyed it when it was first made, but the second day it was even better as the flavors blended and the dressing absorbed into the fruit and vegetables and we ate it with a slice of pizza.

If you like a little heat, add some tabasco sauce.

Peanut butternut squash soup: vegan

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion chopped
1 potato cut into bite size pieces
2 cloves of garlic minced
2 tbsp minced ginger
1/4 c white wine

2 ten oz. bags frozen butternut squash
2 c vegetable broth
2 tbsp peanut butter
1 tsp soy sauce

Directions:

In a large sauce pot sauté onion and potato in olive oil about 5 minutes, add garlic and ginger and stir to just release the flavors. Quickly add the white wine to deglaze the pan.

Add the rest of the ingredients and stir, bring to a boil, then simmer for about 15 minutes, until potatoes are soft when pierced with a fork. Stir occasionally. Turn off heat.

If you have an immersion blender, use that to puree the soup. If not put soup in a blender a little at a time, it’s very hot so be careful and make sure you cover the lid with a towel to avoid spillage.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 4: 200 calories per serving or 800 for the whole batch.

Fresh ginger adds a nice heat to this soup. If you like it spicier, add red pepper flakes after you serve it. The potato adds a nice smoothness to the texture.

Baba ghanoush: vegan

Ingredients:

1 medium to large eggplant

2 tbsp tahini
juice of one lemon
one quarter of the lemon skin
parsley
2 cloves garlic peeled
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Wash eggplant and dry, poke holes in it with a fork about 6 times and place on baking sheet in a 350º oven. Bake for 30 minutes, turn eggplant over and bake for 30 more minutes. The eggplant should look flattened out a bit on the side that was down and start to wrinkle up a little. Take out of oven and place aside till cool.

Cut off the stem of the eggplant and with your fingers start to peel the skin away from the flesh, cut off the bottom if it does not peel off easily.

Cut the eggplant in three or four pieces and place in a food processor with all of the other ingredients. Pulse till smooth.

Serves 2: 154 calories per serving or 308 for the whole batch.

This is an easy no oil recipe that we find delicious. It’s great served with pita bread, rice or a baked potato. We also like to have it with avocado on the side.

Update: we just bought some frozen butternut squash ravioli and used the baba ghanoush as the topping. It was so good we are making it a favorite.