vegetarian moviemaker

This was too easy and delicious not to share!

I’ve been reading about oats, banana and chocolate chip cookies for awhile. And I wondered, could I substitute and use matzah meal instead of oats?

And the answer is: YES!

I did a test run with one banana, which made six cookies, which were enjoyed by my husband and me in one sitting…. Next time, I’m doubling the recipe.

But for six cookies, here’s what you need:

1 banana

1/4 cup chocolate chips

up to 1/2 cup matzah meal.

HOW:

preheat oven to 350

Mash the banana and matzah meal together, add the chocolate chips, mix well.

Spoon out six cookies onto a sheet of parchment paper (or one of those silicone baking sheets, which is what I used).

Bake for about 15 minutes, let cool and ENJOY!

This isn’t the prettiest meal I’ve made, but it was delicious. I was stuck trying to think of what to make for our virtual Passover Seder. Some people don’t eat lentils on Passover, but we do….

I spent the afternoon researching various recipes, and then came up with something that worked for me, and the holiday. Here’s what I did.

Ingredients:

2 celery stalks

1 shallot

2 carrots (peeled and chopped)

2 large white mushrooms, chopped

2 large white mushrooms, sliced

1/2 cup matzoh meal (I didn’t have any; so I put a slice of matzah in the food processor and made my own)

1/2 cup lentils

1 cup water

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

salt/pepper

1 teaspoon dijon mustard (optional, some don’t use mustard on Passover)

1 bay leaf

HOW:

Pre-heat oven to 375.

First, I cooked the lentils in a cup of water, with a bay leaf. While that was happening, I chopped the vegetables, then put them in the food processor until they were kind of like a chunky paste.  I left out two of the mushrooms and thinly sliced those.

I sautéed the vegetable mash with the thinly sliced mushrooms in a tablespoon of olive oil.  I added a dash of balsamic vinegar and about a teaspoon of dijon mustard .

You can see from the picture above that I didn’t mash the carrots that well… but I thought they’d add a bit of texture to the loaf.

Once the lentils were ready, I drained out the excess water and removed the bay leaf. I put half of the lentils into the food processor and mashed those into a paste. I added the cooked vegetables, the lentil mash, the other lentils and the matzoh meal into a bowl, and mixed as well as possible.

I greased a loaf pan with a bit of olive oil, then added the mixture, patting it down into a firmly shaped loaf. For the topping, I took the tomato paste and balsamic vinegar, mixed that up, added a bit of salt and pepper, and spread it onto the loaf. I could have used a bit more tomato paste! And maybe added something else for a bit more flavour.

Cooked the loaf for 40 minutes or so, in an oven preheated to 375.

For the side dish, I made butternut squash (topped with a teaspoon of Earth Balance butter substitute and a half teaspoon of maple syrup), cooked for about half an hour. I also boiled some frozen green beans.

And that was that! Virtual seder preceded the meal with relatives across the country.

And then, it was our time to Enjoy!

I’ve tried to make this before, and now I’ve tried to make it again. Last time, the “crust” was a messy mush. This time around, the crust stayed together and the result was: SUCCESS!

Cauliflower pizza is tricky and as my husband mentioned while we were eating it, it’s not the kind of thing you’re going to pick up in your hands and enjoy like that other stuff. But, it’s tasty and with a few tweaks, I was able to keep the carbohydrate (and likely calorie) count within reason.

Ingredients:

1 container of “riced” cauliflower (rinsed), or about 3 cups of finely “riced” cauliflower

1 -2 tbs dijon mustard

1 tbs olive oil (for the sauce, plus 1 more tbs for cooking the mushrooms)

4 – 5 mushrooms, sliced and sautéed

1 small shallot, chopped

1 half red pepper, diced (or more!)

black olives (or green olives)

1 tbs (or so) of nutritional yeast

salt and pepper as needed

1 egg

2 – 3 slices of cheese or handfuls of shredded cheese (or vegan cheese shreds)

Any other toppings you like.

HOW:

Cook the cauliflower for a couple of minutes, letting it boil so it softens. Then drain extremely well and set aside

Meanwhile, sauté the mushrooms and shallot together

Mix the egg.

Put the cauliflower in a large bowl, add the egg and the nutritional yeast and salt and pepper if you want. Mix really well.

Spread the mixture onto a silicone mat on a baking sheet (or use parchment paper).

Bake for about 20 minutes at 425•, until it looks like it’s getting a bit crispy.

Add the toppings (I mixed the dijon mustard with the olive oil, then spread it as a layer, follows by the cheese, the red pepper, the olives, the mushrooms, and shallot.)

Bake for another 10 – 12 minutes.

Let sit for a couple of  minutes, serve and ENJOY!

We were out at friends for dinner the other night, where they served a great lentil soup. I started thinking … I have lentils…. I have vegetables… I can make…

Vegan Shepherd’s Pie!

So, totally unrelated to the soup, except for the lentil thing, but here goes. And I was missing a couple of traditional ingredients, such as an onion or garlic, so I used dijon mustard and organic ketchup to season, as well as salt and pepper and a bay leaf.

I did a nutrition breakdown on this, using the verywellfit.com website. It clocks in at 334 calories per serving (I made 6 servings). Here’s a screen shot of the nutrition label:

Another very, very easy recipe, made for a friend’s dinner last night and served again today at home.

Ingredients:

1 package mixed mushrooms (cremini, shiitake, oyster, button; about two cups)

1 cup cooked quinoa (I use the red quinoa)

1 clamshell package baby kale (about 8 cups?)

3 chopped carrots

2 tbs roasted sunflower seeds

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/3 cup olive oil

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1 tbs dijon mustard

1 splash honey (or maple syrup. Probably better with maple syrup but didn’t have any on hand).

Salt and pepper to taste

How:

Prepare quinoa and let cool. Sauté mushrooms in a little bit of olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, and remove from heat.

Put the now warm mushrooms, cooled quinoa, kale, and carrots in a large salad bowl.

Blend together the olive oil, vinegar, dijon mustard, and honey. Pour over salad and toss. Add the sunflower seeds and cranberries, and serve.

ENJOY!

Not sure what to call these, but they’re delicious. For the last few years, I’ve been bringing a mushroom and arugula phyllo concoction (recipe on the site) to my friends’ Christmas Dinner.  This year, I decided to mix it up, and try my hand at making oddly shaped triangular treats. Well, I didn’t actually set out to make oddly shaped triangular treats, but that’s what happened.

Here’s the recipe, which I intend to try again, and finesse the assembly of these things so they actually look like triangles.

Ingredients:

1 box vegetarian phyllo sheets (I use the Loblaw’s President’s Choice brand)

1 large shallot, chopped finely

2 boxes – or four cups – of mixed mushrooms (oyster, shiitake, button, cremini, whatever…)

1 package diced frozen sweet potatoes (about two cups)

1 cup frozen corn

1 tbs olive oil

1 tbs balsamic vinegar

1 tbs dijon mustard

dash pepper

dash salt

A lot of Earth Balance soy-free spread, melted

How:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Sauté the olive oil and shallots, and add the mushrooms, then the frozen sweet potatoes, and corn

Melt the Earth Balance soy-free spread

Meanwhile, take a box of defrosted phyllo pastry sheets. Cut one sheet into four strips. Lightly brush each strip and then add a dollop of the mixture of vegetables. I made a bit of an assembly line — one large cutting board for assembly then several baking sheets. In total, I made about 28 from this recipe, using about 7 sheets of phyllo in total (each sheet is cut into four).

Carefully fold into a triangle, then into another triangle, then into another triangle until you’re at the end of the sheet. Place on a parchment covered baking sheet, gently brush each triangle with a bit more Earth Balance  and bake for about 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

Perfect if you’re thinking of an alternative to burgers and other barbecue!

This one is so easy, and yes, I grill it on our trusty old George Foreman Grill. That thing has to be at least 15 years old but it’s still doing a great job.

Ingredients (for two mushrooms; adjust as needed):

1 – 2 tbs olive oil

1 – 2 tsp balsamic vinegar

1 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp maple syrup

1 tsp dijon mustard

2 portobello mushrooms, cleaned and stems removed

How:

Mix all ingredients (except mushrooms) for the marinade. I use a container with a lid, and then add the mushrooms, put the lid on, shake it around and let it sit for at least 30 minutes to one hour, turning the container over a couple of times.

Last night, I served it on a bed of Israeli couscous and sautéed baby spinach. While I was grilling the mushrooms (it doesn’t take more than a couple of minutes with the George Foreman Grill, but you can also sauté them in a pan, or put them on the barbecue if you have one), I took the marinade left in the container, and sautéed the baby spinach in that liquid.

It was delicious. I served it with fresh, sweet corn on the cob.

Enjoy!

I’ve been looking at the can of Jackfruit I bought a while ago, trying to figure out how the heck I’m supposed to cook with it. After reading a few recipes, and realizing I was missing several key ingredients to follow any exactly, I decided to give it a try using what I had at home.

Ingredients (for 4 – 5 generous servings):

1×14 oz can of jackfruit (in brine, or liquid)

1/2 cup vegetable broth

1 tbs peanut butter

1 tbs soy sauce

1 tbs apple cider vinegar

1 tsp dijon mustard

2 cubes frozen chopped ginger (or fresh!)

1 shallot (chopped)

a bunch of mushrooms — I used one large King Oyster mushroom and a few small mushrooms from a variety pack I’d bought

1 large carrot, sliced or diced (note the Pacman carrot in the photo above!)

How to:

Sauté the chopped shallot in a large sauce pan, with a bit of olive oil.

Drain the can of jackfruit, cut it into smallish chunks, and add to the pan. Add the vegetable broth and everything else but the mushrooms and carrot. Reduce to a low heat and cover, stirring occasionally. Every once in a while, shmoosh the jackfruit so that it separates and looks like (sigh) pulled pork (I’m guessing?). I think you can probably add or delete ingredients as needed, as well, based on your preferences. I’d probably add a splash of orange juice next time I make this.

After about 25 – 30 minutes, add the mushrooms and carrot, and let it cook for another five or so minutes, covered.

Serving suggestions:

Last night, I served this on a small piece of toasted naan bread (see pizza entry in blog), with a side of vegan sushi (bought) and some sweet corn on the cob. Today. I made the above cold sandwich, putting the jackfruit on a bed of baby spinach, and then adding avocado. The report back from my husband, who had this for lunch, was that it was delicious. “This is one of my favourite things!” he said, enthusiastically. Enjoy!

It’s been awhile, I know, but I’m back – -and decided to share this recipe with you. Super easy, super healthy, and super quick to make.

We bought mini Naan breads at our local Loblaws; it was the President’s Choice brand, and for those of you not here in Canada, I’m sure there are other similar products out there.

Ingredients (for four small pizzas, two pizzas per person):

4 mini naan breads

10 white mushrooms

8 small pieces of broccoli

2 cups spinach

1 tablespoon dijon mustard

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 slice of Daiya cheese (or other cheese substitute) or Swiss (or other cheese)

How:

Preheat oven to 375.

Sauté the mushrooms and broccoli in a small amount of olive oil. Set aside.

Mix the olive oil and dijon mustard together, then spread on top of the naan bread.

Sauté the spinach until wilted.

Put the spinach on top of the naan bread, distributing evenly. Then top with the mushrooms and broccoli, and then the cheese.

Place in the oven on a baking sheet, and cook for about 5 – 7 minutes until the cheese is melted.

Serve and enjoy!