Featured Recipes

Farmhouse Stew

This recipe was inspired by one of Jason Wyrick’s recipes.  When I received his recipe by e-mail last week, it sounded so unique, that it immediately went into my “have to try this” pile of recipes. To subscribe to Jason’s recipes, go to www.veganculinary
experience.com.  I recently made a variation for my family, and it was such a hit that Heather went home and made the recipe for her family.  The addition of bread to the stew during the last 5 minutes of cooking really makes this dish a special treat.  This is a very hearty stew, best served in a wide, deep bowl.

Preparation Time:  15 minutes
Cooking Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes
Servings:  4 

6 cups vegetable broth
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1  15 ounce can chopped tomatoes
2  15 ounce cans red beans, drained and rinsed
¼ cup pearled barley
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon oregano leaves
freshly ground pepper to taste
3 cups fresh chopped spinach
2 cups chopped hearty bread

Place a small amount of the broth in a large soup pot.  Add the onion, garlic, celery and carrot.  Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes, until vegetables soften slightly.  Add the remaining broth, canned tomatoes, beans, barley, bay leaf, oregano and ground pepper.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and cook for about 55 minutes.  Add the spinach, cook for an additional 5 minutes, then add the bread and cook for about 5 minutes longer.  Serve at once.

Hints:  If you prepare this stew ahead of time, do not add the bread until just before serving.  A hearty Artisan type bread that is about 2 days old works very well in this recipe.  Softer breads do not hold their shape well in this stew.  I used small red beans in this recipe, but this could also be made with other kinds of beans, such as white or black.

Marinara Sauce

This is my family’s favorite simple marinara sauce, which I have been making the same way for over 30 years.

Preparation Time:  20 minutes
Cooking Time:  1 hour, 10 minutes
Servings:  makes about 4 cups 

2 tablespoons water
2 onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed
½ pound mushrooms, chopped
2  15 ounce cans tomato sauce
1  15 ounce can chopped tomatoes
1 ½ tablespoons parsley flakes
2 teaspoons oregano
1 teaspoon basil
dash sea salt, if desired

Place the water, onions, garlic and mushrooms in a large pot.  Cook, stirring frequently, until onions soften and begin to take on a golden color, about 10 minutes.  Stir in remaining ingredients.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally.  Do not cover.  Serve over pasta.

Hints:  This may be made ahead and reheated.  It also freezes well. 

Pasta Fagioli

This is a simple bean and pasta stew that is easy to prepare and delicious to eat.  There are many variations of bean and pasta stews, usually made with Italian type seasonings, such as tomatoes, basil and oregano.  We like this one topped with Sriracha chili sauce to add a bit more heat.

Preparation Time:  20 minutes
Cooking Time:  40 minutes
Servings:  8

1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2  15 ounce cans chopped tomatoes
3  15 ounce cans cannellini beans, undrained
10 large leaves fresh basil, rolled and thinly sliced into strips, plus more for garnish
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon sugar
several twists of freshly ground pepper
1 pound whole wheat penne rigate pasta
2 tablespoons Vegetarian Express Parma Zaan Sprinkles 

Place the onion and garlic in a large pot with about 1 tablespoon water.  Cook, stirring frequently, until onion softens and water has evaporated.  Add tomatoes, beans, basil, bay leaf, oregano, sugar and pepper.  Bring to a boil, cover and cook over low heat for about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Drop in the pasta and cook for about 10-12 minutes until pasta is tender.  Drain and place in a large bowl. 

Pour the bean mixture over the pasta and stir to mix well.  Sprinkle with the Parma Zaan Sprinkles and mix again.  Garnish with a tablespoon or two of fresh basil strips.

Hints:  This may also be made with other kinds of beans.  Garbanzos are delicious in this stew.  If you like to drain and rinse your beans before using in recipes, you will need to add about 1 cup of vegetable broth to the ingredients above to replace the broth from the canned beans.  Parma Zaan Sprinkles are made by The Vegetarian Express.  Website: www.thevegetarianexpress.com.  This is a healthy, delicious substitute for Parmesan cheese.

Noodle Soup

This soup is reminiscent of my favorite chicken noodle soup when I was a child.  I usually make this with fancy ribbon noodles (egg-free, of course) which sort of melt in your mouth when you’re eating them.

Preparation Time:  10 minutes
Cooking Time:  30 minutes
Servings:  4-6 

6 cups vegetable broth
1 onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
½ teaspoon marjoram
½ teaspoon sage
¼ teaspoon thyme
freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon soy sauce
3 cups uncooked fancy ribbon noodles

Place all of the ingredients, except the noodles in a large pot.  Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes.  Add the noodles and cook about 10 minutes longer until noodles are very tender.

Hints:  Garden Time Organic makes Fancy Ribbons sold in a 10 ounce bag.  I use about ½ of the bag in this recipe.

Cauliflower Dal

Preparation Time:  15 minutes
Cooking Time:  35 minutes
Servings:  4-6 

1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
2 cups vegetable broth
1 teaspoon ground cumin
¾ teaspoon ground coriander
¼ teaspoon turmeric
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 cup dried red lentils
1  15 ounce can chopped tomatoes
2 cups cauliflower florets
1 large russet potato, peeled and coarsely chopped 

Place the onion, garlic and jalapeno in a large pot with 1-2 tablespoons of the vegetable broth.  Cook, stirring frequently for about 3 minutes until onion softens slightly.  Stir in the cumin, coriander, turmeric and red pepper flakes.  Cook and stir for about 1 minute.  Add the remaining broth and the rest of the ingredients.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.   Serve in a bowl with some pita bread on the side, or over brown rice. 

Recipes from McDougallers: 

The following recipes were sent to me by Scott Haas.  He told me that they just made the carrot cake recipe and it was so moist and delicious he just wanted to share the recipe.  So here it is.  These recipes came from a booklet called “Surviving the Holidays”.  Scott said many of the recipes in the booklet were packed with fat and not really fixable, but these they fixed to be McDougall.

Healthy Carrot Cake

Preparation Time:  25 minutes
Cooking Time:  35-45 minutes
Servings:  makes two 9 inch cakes

1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped 
3 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (sifted) 
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups pure apple juice
3/4 cup applesauce
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 cup agave nectar
3 cups grated carrots
1 banana, mashed
1/2 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Toast walnuts for 10 minutes until golden and fragrant, then chop.

Sift all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Toss in nuts and set aside.

Mix applesauce, juice and syrup in a smaller bowl, add to the dry ingredients, whisk until smooth. Fold in carrots, mashed banana and raisins.

Use two non-stick 9 inch cake pans.  Place batter in pans and bake 35-45 minutes or until knife comes out clean (do not overbake). (Top may crack but that's OK.) Cool for 20 minutes before inverting onto a plate.

Note from Scott: “I have found a combination of 2 parts barley flour and 1 part brown rice flour works just as well as whole wheat flour in nearly any recipe for those who are wheat sensitive.  This recipe was so delicious that our cake didn’t even make it to the plate.  We just began eating it out of the pan.  This carrot cake was so good that we didn’t even bother with the glaze, however the glaze was part of the original recipe.”

Lemon Maple Glaze

2 cups apple juice
1 cup water
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
5 teaspoons cornstarch

Add a small amount of water or apple juice to the cornstarch in a separate bowl and stir until completely dissolved. Set aside.

Bring everything except cornstarch to gentle boil. Slowly stir cornstarch mixture into liquid until clear and thickened. Drizzle over cakes before serving.

Carrot Salsa

This is a very unique salsa that Scott says is a winner!

Preparation Time:  20 minutes
Servings:  variable

6 medium carrots, grated finely
1 small green pepper, minced
2 medium scallions, minced
½ -1 cup chopped cilantro (or to taste)
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
1/2 cup pure apple juice
2 tablespoons lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon)
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)

Combine all ingredients and adjust to taste.