Vegetarian Passover

Posted on March 28, 2013 by moviewitz

Whenever this holiday rolls around, the usual reaction from friends and family is this, “What are you going to make? How can you have a Seder without meat?”, and sometimes, “Um, thanks for the invite, but I’m busy.”

This year, I decided to look around on the web and see what great ideas were out there for this traditional holiday meal. My usual repertoire is ratatouille and quinoa, roasted root vegetables, and a spinach bake that I found on-line a few years ago.

So, thanks to http://www.kosherinthekitchen.com. I made the quinoa “meat”balls, and they were excellent, especially, as suggested, served over spaghetti squash. I’d completely forgotten about this vegetable alternative to pasta; my mom loved making it, and I now will add it to my list of standards.

I also made a spaghetti squash bake that I found on-line on joyofkosher.com, which was really good (yep, kind of went overboard on the spaghetti squash). And I made a simple salad of chopped fennel, fresh mandarin orange slices, and sliced avocado, tossed with a little bit of olive oil and vinegar.

Dessert was an apple/pear crumble, made just about the same way as I make it usually, subbing matzoh farfel for oats.

Happy holidays!

quinoaballs

Posted in main course, Passover, quinoa, salad, Vegan | Leave a comment

Excellent Yams and other stuff

Posted on February 20, 2013 by moviewitz

yamsideAnother experiment, based on what I had at home. It worked into an excellent side dish, pictured here alongside a piece of avocado with a dab of soy sauce. The main course was steamed vegan buns.

Ingredients:

1 tbs olive oil

1 shallot, peeled and sliced into small pieces

1 half large yam, scrubbed and sliced, about 1/8 inch thick

1 large bok choy (bottom removed, and separated into leaves)

1 stalk broccoli, chopped

dash cumin

dash mustard powder

How:

Heat oil in large skillet, add shallots, then add yams. Cook over medium heat, flipping the yams often. Add the seasoning, then the bok choy and then the broccoli. Cook for a few minutes, until yams are tender.

Serve and enjoy!

Posted in Uncategorized, Vegan | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Really Red Cabbage

Posted on January 14, 2013 by moviewitz

really red cabbage

 

This is possibly the laziest side dish I’ve made in awhile…

Ingredients:

1/4 wedge of red cabbage, cut into chunks

1 bunch broccolini, trimmed and cut into pieces

1/2 cup frozen organic corn kernels

1/2 cup sliced mushrooms (I used large white “stuffing” mushrooms)

1 tbs olive oil

1 tbs dijon mustard

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

How:

Sautee the mushrooms and broccolini in olive oil, on medium in a frying pan

Add the cabbage and continue to cook until the cabbage is softened. Add the corn. Add the balsamic vinegar and dijon mustard.

Heat for a couple of minutes more, then serve. Enjoy!

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

New Year. New Lunch.

Posted on January 11, 2013 by moviewitz

couscousvegetable

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Many Mushroom (and arugula) Strudel

Posted on December 25, 2012 by moviewitz

finishedWe are invited to a Christmas dinner, where there will be lots of carnivore-ish things…. So I came up with a recipe that should offer a good alternative to turkey, etc.

This was made very easy by using President’s Choice phyllo sheets. If you’re Canadian, you’ll know what I am talking about. I don’t usually like to use pre-made stuff, but I haven’t a clue as to how to make phyllo, and the ingredients on this package were pretty basic. This is one of those dishes that looks impressive, but was fairly simple to create.

So here’s the recipe, for two loaves.

Ingredients:

2 – 3 cups mixed sliced mushrooms (I used shiitake, button, and a couple of other types, thanks to a packaged organic mushroom mix I bought)
3 sliced then chopped portobello mushrooms
1 large chopped onion
3 cloves chopped garlic
2 stalks chopped celery
Splash of vegetable broth (really a splash — I had some vegetable broth in the fridge, and was starting to worry that the mixture wouldn’t have enough flavour)
Pinch salt
About a tbs of balsamic vinegar
1 tbs olive oil
1 package baby arugula (those convenient pre-washed organic clam shell packages. Which makes me wonder, is there such a thing as full-grown arugula?)
10 sheets phyllo
3 tbs Earth Balance spread (wanted to keep this vegan, so used this instead of butter)
How:
Sautee the onions and garlic, then add celery, mushrooms and all other ingredients, leaving the arugula to the end, so that it doesn’t overcook.
IMG_1491
IMG_1492Follow the instructions on the package for apple strudel, but use this mixture for the filling:
Take a large sheet of parchment paper, add the first sheet of phyllo, brush some Earth Balance on, at the next sheet, then the next, up to five.
IMG_1493
Add the filling along the long edge of the pastry, keeping it about one or two inches from the edge. Then carefully roll the pastry, until you can’t roll it anymore (I really don’t know how else to describe this!)
Fold the ends under, brush the last bit of Earth Balance across the top.
With a very sharp knife, make several slices, about 1 – 2 inches long, and about two inches apart, along the top of the pastry to let the air escape.
Put in a preheated oven (375), and cover loosely with a sheet of foil and bake for 15 minutes.
Remove foil sheet, then bake for another 15 minutes until golden brown.
IMG_1494
My husband and I ended up taste-testing this before the party, since it looked so good. And it was.
Enjoy. Happy Holidays and all the best for 2013!
Posted in arugula, main course, prepared food helper, Vegan, vegetarian | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Vegan Chili

Posted on November 30, 2012 by moviewitz

 

chili

As usual, this was really easy to make, and really good.   My only mistake was that I decided to make chili at about 1 p.m., and didn’t realize how long you’re supposed to soak dry beans before cooking (overnight, for most varieties). So, that meant I had to cook the chili a bit longer than expected. Lesson learned; this is also why there are lentils in this recipe, since I did have some quick cooking beans on hand.)

Ingredients (for 4 good sized servings):

1/2 chopped onion
1 chopped shallot
1 tbs olive oil
1 diced celery stalk
1 chopped carrot
1 tsp dry basil
1/2 tsp thyme
1 chopped red pepper
1 28 oz can of organic diced tomatos
2 bay leaves
about a cup of vegetable broth
1 pinch of chili flakes
1 cup cooked beans (kidney beans, usually)
3/4 cup dry mixed beans cooked as directed (this is a great quick cooking mix of lentils, mung and adzuki beans, made by “truroots”)
dry porcini mushrooms
How:
Sautée onions and shallots in a tbs of oil
Add celery and carrot
Add tsp basil and 1/2 tsp thyme and a pinch of chili flakes
Add a splash of vegetable broth and keep cooking until the vegetables are slightly soft.
Meanwhile, soak the porcini mushrooms (or other variety) in vegetable broth until tender.
Add chopped red pepper and 28 oz can of organic diced tomatoes and two bay leaves
Cook on low heat a bit longer, then add all the beans, and about a 1/4 cup of vegetable broth.
Continue cooking on low heat, and add another 1/4 cup of vegetable broth (I added a bit more than usual, because of the aforementioned dry beans debacle).
And soaked porcini mushrooms in broth.  Simmer for about 2 hours, covered.
Enjoy (with a wedge of french bread, for example).
Posted in beans, main course, Vegan | Leave a comment

One last addition to those cacao and date treats….

Posted on November 11, 2012 by moviewitz

I might be bordering on obsession with these little treats, but for today’s batch, I added a teaspoon of grated ginger, as well as the aforementioned apricots/dates, cacao, walnuts, lemon juice, and cinnamon.  I think I’ve hit perfection…. Enjoy!

Posted in apricots, cacao, dates | 1 Comment

About those cacao and date treats…

Posted on November 6, 2012 by moviewitz

Just a quick addendum to that recipe. Yesterday, I made a fresh batch, and made this change: 6 dates plus 8 dried organic apricots.  An excellent variation….

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Couscous and Mango salad

Posted on October 24, 2012 by moviewitz

Image

This is another one of those salads that pretty much evolved from whatever was in the refrigerator at the time.

Ingredients (for two):

3-4 cups baby arugula

1/2 cup couscous

1 half diced mango

1 half diced avocado

1 handful chopped walnuts

1 diced yellow pepper

4 tbs. daiya brand shredded cheddar

2 tbs olive oil

2 tsp balsamic vinegar

How:

Mix all ingredients together; this recipe is more of an inspiration than an actual methodology.

Enjoy!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Cacao and Date treats

Posted on October 24, 2012 by moviewitz

I’ve become obsessed with these really delicious treats. They are courtesy of http://jodilarrynd.com/, from whom I took a workshop recently.
Really easy to make; the only modification I’ve made to the original recipe is that I add the juice of half a lemon. I’m not sure if I need to do this because I have a really old food processor, though…

Ingredients (for 12 balls):

2 tbs cacao nibs (the original recipe calls for cacao powder)

2 tbs hemp seeds or chia (the original recipe calls for flax seed)

2 handfuls of chopped walnuts

12 dates

1 tsp ground cinnamon (my addition)

juice of 1/2 fresh lemon

unsweetened grated coconut

HOW:

Place all ingredients in a food processor and grind until mixed completely, adding the lemon juice after the first few blasts. (I’m not sure if that’s a technical term, but it’s the best way to describe what happens when my processor goes into high gear.)

Spread the grated coconut onto a clean surface, like a plate or cutting board. Form the mixture into small balls, and roll in the coconut. Enjoy!

I store these in the refrigerator, and munch on them as needed…. My friend Gigi, who has tried each batch I’ve made, figures these gems are the perfect hostess gift, and has placed her order (with me) for the holidays.

Posted in cacao, dates, dessert treat, Vegan | Leave a comment