Baked Penne and Roasted Vegetables with Smokey Cheese Sauce - Dairy, Soy, Gluten Free, Vegan

  Last week I bought a zucchini, a yellow squash, and an eggplant simply because I liked the colors. I figured I could find something to do with them but inspiration never hit me. This morning I decided to try to do something with them tonight or they were going to end up in the trash; the eggplant was becoming soft and not so bright purple. So then as I was browsing Facebook and saw this recipe from GoingHomeToRoost.com and it was perfect! I used eggplant instead of mushrooms (we didn't have any mushrooms), and really had to scale down this recipe as it was originally made for 12 full grown men. So this is my version, but you can find the original recipe here. This was really yummy, though Chris and I both agreed when we make it again we will probably add some ground turkey.

Baked Penne and Roasted Vegetables

1 zucchini
1 yellow squash
1 medium eggplant
1 yellow onion
1 bell pepper
1 Tbs olive oil (or coconut oil)
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 Tbs Herbs De Provence
1 package GF penne pasta (or regular)
1 cup marinara sauce

Smokey Cheese Sauce:
1 Tbs Earth Balance Soy Free Buttery Spread
1 Tbs GF all purpose flour (or whole wheat flour)
1 cup plain unsweetened coconut milk or other plain unsweetened non dairy milk
2 Tbs nutritional yeast flakes
dash of Tabasco
1 tsp malt vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp spicy brown mustard
1/2 tsp each salt and black pepper
1 cup Daiya Mozzarella cheese shreds

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Chop zucchini, squash, eggplant, onion, and bell pepper, being careful to keep them all roughly the same size so they will roast evenly. Toss with oil, salt and pepper, and Herbs De Provence. Roast on large baking sheet until tender, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, melt butter and flour together over medium heat. Whisk in the coconut milk. Add in the rest of the cheese sauce ingredients except Daiya, and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and whisk in cheese shreds, stirring until completely melted and smooth. Set aside.

Cook pasta according to package directions, but remove from heat and drain while pasta is still slightly firm as it will continue to cook in the oven.

Spray a large casserole dish with olive oil. Add drained pasta, roasted vegetables, marinara sauce, and cheese sauce to casserole dish and stir until incorporated.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until top is golden brown.

Cornbread Topped Vegetable Pot Pie

  Happy Meatless Monday! Tonight we had cornbread topped pot pie made using Bob's Red Mill cornbread mix. It came out really well if I do say so myself! Feel free to add pretty much any vegetables you want (such as peas or onions). I used what we had on hand, which reminds me that we need to buy onions.
 Also I added some Daiya cheddar cheese to the cornbread batter and that's totally optional. To tell the truth I couldn't really taste it.

Cornbread Topped Pot Pie

filling 
1 Tbl olive oil
2 large carrots, sliced into coins
2 stalks celery, sliced thin
1 box (32oz) vegetable stock
1 cup fresh green beans, trimmed and chopped into 1 inch pieces
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
5 baby red potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp salt
4 or 5 cracks of fresh ground black pepper
2 Tbl corn starch mixed with 1/3 cup cold water

cornbread
1 package Bob's Red Mill gluten free cornbread mix
1/3 cup olive oil
1 1/2 cup unsweetened plain almond milk (or other non dairy milk)
egg replacer (EnerG) for 2 eggs
1 Tbl ground flaxmeal
Optional: 1/2 cup Diaya cheddar cheese shreds
1 Tbl Soy Free Earth Balance buttery spread

Preheat oven to 375.
In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add carrots and celery and saute a few minutes, until celery begins to turn transparent. Pour in vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Add remaining ingredients except corn starch mixture. Return to boil, then reduce heat and cover, simmer for 20 mins or so until potatoes are fork-tender.

Meanwhile, prepare cornbread batter by pouring entire package into bowl of a stand mixer. With mixer on slowest setting, slowly pour in almond milk, olive oil, egg replacer, flaxmeal and cheese (if using). Mix on medium for 30 seconds.

Slowly whisk corn starch mixture into the vegetable pot and stir until thickened, about 1 minute.

In large casserole dish, pour in filling. Scoop cornbread batter onto the top (depending on the size/shape of your dish, you may not need to use all the cornbread batter or your topping will be too thick). Smooth it with the back of a wet spoon. Place casserole dish on a baking sheet to catch drips.
Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and spread Earth Balance on the top of the cornbread. Return to oven and back another 15 minutes. Allow to sit 5-10 minutes before serving.

Daiya, you had me at Havarti!

  It's no small secret that we LOVE Diaya cheese in this house. Their mozzarella is fabulous on pizzas and other italian dishes, the chedddar makes the absolute best vegan macaroni and cheese, and their pepperjack in bean and 'cheese' taquitos is to die for.
  So imagine my so-excited-I-almost-wet-myself happy dance I did in Central Market when I came across Daiya's new product, Cheese Wedges.
  Oh. My. Gosh.
  I bought a cheddar wedge and a (are you ready for it?) Havarti jalepeno and garlic wedge. What now? YEAH, you read that right!! They also make a jack style wedge but I didn't buy it. I haven't even tried the cheddar one yet but I'm sure it will be fantastic. I'm here to talk about this jalepeno garlic soft cheese.
  Right out of the fridge, it was soft but not like cream cheese or anything. In fact I tried to scrape some up with a Glutino pretzel (The absolute best wheat free vegan pretzels) and my pretzel broke. However, I put a scoop in a microwave safe dish and heated it for about 15 seconds. It was semi-solid looking but after a good stir the whole thing became smooth and creamy and it was so good it made me weak in the knees! It tasted like spicy spinach and artichoke dip, and I bet it I added some cooked spinach and artichokes and then broiled it quickly with some bread crumbs on top, this would be the most fabulous allergen free spinach/artichoke dip in the entire world. Seriously. Even my dad, who is not feeling the allergen free foods, thought this was amazing. You should definitely give these wedges a try!
  We ate the whole package over the weekend, but next time I go to Central Market I will buy another and I will make this with spinach and artichoke and see if it's as good as I think it's going to be!! :D

Actually Good Vegan Mac and Cheese- Soy/Wheat/Gluten Free

  So I've already posted a recipe for cheese sauce in the recipe for Cheeseburger Macaroni, but since Macaroni and Cheese is a more common (and much easier) dish, I thought I'd make it a seperate post.
 Most vegan 'cheese' sauce is one of those things that is so hard to get used to. A lot of people say that you'll like it more the longer it's been since you've actually had cheese... well as someone who eats real cheese when we eat out occassionally (since we are not vegans but rather avoid almost all animal products at home due to our son's severe allergies), I don't have months or years to dedicate to forgetting what real cheese tastes like! This cheese sauce is delicious and DOES taste (and feel!) like cheese sauce though. It's a milder flavor than that neon orange powdered Kraft stuff, but that stuff isn't cheese either... if you've ever had homemade mac and cheese, the flavor is very similar to that.

 Keep in mind that when making this sauce, it's really not necessary to measure exactly. I'll put measurements to give you an idea of how much you need and you can certainly use them, but you'll probably want to tweak this a little for your own tastes anyways. Enjoy!

Vegan Macaroni and Cheese

12 oz corn or corn/quinoa pasta elbows, cooked according to package directions
3 Tbl Earth Balance Soy Free Buttery Spread
3/4 cup unsweetened plain almond milk, divided (or other plain non dairy milk of your choice)
1/2 package (about a cup) of Daiya Cheddar Cheese shreds
big pinch of each garlic powder, onion powder, sea salt, ground mustard and turmeric*
1/4 tsp lemon juice
1/4 cup of water (if needed)

In a small saucepan, heat buttery spread and 1/2 cup of almond milk on medium heat until butter is completely melted. Add Daiya cheese shreds and stir until almost all melted. Add in the seasonings and stir to incorporate. Whisk in lemon juice and remaining milk and continue stirring until all the cheese shreds are melted. Remove from heat. If sauce is too thick, add water. The sauce will thicken slightly when it cools. Pour cheese sauce over cooked macaroni, stir well and enjoy!

*The turmeric is just for color. If you don't have it, it's not a big deal

Oven Baked Bean and Cheese Taquitos- Vegan, Wheat, and Soy Free

  This is such a simple recipe that I debated for a long time if I should even post it. It's sort of like posting a recipe for cereal. But these were so tasty and I did learn one little trick (adding oil to the tops so they don't crack right open) so I decided to post it anyway.
  Also, at Central Market they have an enormous bulk foods section (I mean bulk like you scoop it from bins into bags, not bulk like Costco size stuff), including instant soup mixes, a lot of which, like the corn chowder and split pea, are free of dairy, wheat, rice, soy, etc. etc. Last time we were there we found "Instant Refried Beans" which sounded weird but was Jack-friendly so we bought them. OMG they were amazing! But you can make your own 'refried' beans, I'll include my recipe, or buy pre-made vegan refried beans.
  These were crispy enough for my 17 month old and 3 year old to eat without them falling apart, so that was a total plus.
  Anyway, here goes!

Vegan Baked Bean and Cheese Taquitos

We served ours with chipotle lime sunflower sour cream. Mmm!

12 small corn tortillas
1 cup (or so) vegan refried beans*
1/2 cup Daiya Pepper Jack or Cheddar cheese shreds
1 Tbl olive oil

Preheat oven to 400.
Wet a paper towel and squeeze out most of the water. Wrap 2-3 tortillas at a time in the damp paper towel and microwave for 15-20 seconds. On a flat surface, plop about a tablespoon of beans onto one half of a warmed tortilla and minimally spread it. You don't want it to go all the way to the edges but you also don't want a big ball of beans. Sprinkle with a big pinch of cheese shreds and roll the tortilla up, starting with the bean side. Lay the taquito on a cookie sheet with the free edge down. Repeat with remaining tortillas.
Lightly brush the tops with olive oil.
Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the tops begin to turn golden brown.
Roll them over so now the free edge is up (though it shouldn't try to unroll anymore) and brush again with olive oil. Return to oven for another 8-10 minutes or so.

*"Refried" Black Beans
1 can black beans, drained
1 can garbonzo beans, drained
1 Tbl Earth Balance Soy Free buttery Spread
1 tsp ground cummin
1 tsp chili powder
1/8 tsp salt

In a medium saucepan, heat beans. Remove from heat. Add butter and seasonings and stir well. Using a potato masher, mash to desired consistency. I prefer some larger pieces of beans in mine so I don't use a food processor, but you could use one if you like smooth beans.

Quinoa and Black Bean "Taco" Burgers - Wheat and Soy Free and Vegan

 When I set out to make these I was sort of picturing something like a flat taco flavored falafel eaten in a tortilla with shredded lettuce and other taco toppings. Well it didn't quite work like that, what I ended up making were black bean/quinoa burgers that were flavored spectacularly and topped with Daiya pepper jack shreds and a (now Jack friendly) dairy free chipotle sour cream that was absolutely fantastic. These would have been great topped with fresh salsa and shredded lettuce also, and we certainly will be making these again.

Vegan Quinoa and Black Bean Taco Burgers

2 cups cooked quinoa (cooked in vegetable broth instead of water)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic, diced
2 tsp olive oil
1 Tbl chili powder
1/4 tsp oregeno
1 1/2 tsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 cup Daiya Pepper Jack Shreds (plus more for topping, optional)
2 Tbl ground flax meal
3 Tbl cold water

In a medium skillet, heat olive oil. Saute onion, bell pepper, and garlic until onion is transparent and bell pepper begins to lose it's vibrant green color, about 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
In a measuring cup or ramekin, mix flax meal and cold water and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, mash black beans with a fork or potato masher. It's not necessary to smash up every one but get a good amount of them smooshed. Stir in quinoa, sauted onion mixture, seasonings, Daiya cheese shreds, and flax gel, making sure to evenly mix everything. Refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.
Heat a griddle to 375. Form dough into ping pong size balls and them flatten to form patties. Grill about 5 minutes on each side.

Serve with 1 Tbl Sunflower Seed Sour Cream mixed with 1/4 tsp chipotle powder and 1 tsp lime juice.

Sunflower Seed Sour Cream

3/4 cup raw sunflower seeds (you can use roasted unsalted seeds, the flavor will be a tad nuttier though)
1/4 cup lemon juice
3/4 cup water
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder

Blend until completely smooth (if you have a Blentec, the "Sauces" button works perfectly for this.) Keep refrgerated in a tightly sealed container for up to a week.

Arepas with Chipotle Lime Sauce-Vegan, Soy, Wheat, and Gluten Free

It's Meatless Monday! Arepas is a dish made from cornmeal popular in Columbia. I found a version of this recipe posted on Meatless Monday's FB page and made these but I had to make a lot of substitutions. These were REALLY good. Chris said it's his favorite Meatless Monday recipe so far, however, I don't think these turned out like arepas are really supposed to be. I looked at pictures online and some look almost like pitas, though some looked like ours did as well. Who the heck knows, who cares! All I know is these were yummy!

The chipotle lime sauce was super good on top, but it uses Soy Free Vegenaise which contains rice syrup. Chris and I are just trying to finish off the big container of it we bought before we found out it was not Jack safe.

Vegan Arepas

1 cup cornmeal (grits work in a pinch, it just needs longer to sit and soften up)
1/2 cup Daiya Cheddar Cheese shreds
2 tsp sea salt
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
2 Tbl soy free Earth Balance buttery spread
1/2 cup corn kernals
1 tsp dried cilantro
a dash of smoked chipotle chile powder (optional)
*1/2 cup mashed potato flakes
3 Tbl peanut or other neutral oil for frying

In a bowl mix cornmeal, daiya, and salt. Set aside.
In a small saucepan, heat almond milk on medium-low heat. Once it begins to steam (about 3 minutes), add Earth Balance and allow to melt. Slowly stir in cornmeal mixture and stir until it's pretty thick, 1-2 minutes. Fold in corn, cilantro, and chipotle powder. Allow it to sit about 15 minutes. *If after 15 minutes the mixture is still to thin to be able to roll into balls, add mashed potato flakes.
Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat.
Roll arepas dough into ping pong ball size balls and then flatten. Fry them a few at a time for about 2-3 minutes on each side. Daiya has a tendency to burn easily so keep your eye on them!
Remove to a paper towel lined plate to absord excess oil. Serve alone or chipotle lime sauce drizzled on top!

Chipotle Lime Sauce (CONTAINS RICE)

3 Tbl Soy Free Vegenaise
1 Tbl fresh lime juice
1 tsp smoked chipotle chile powder

Stir all ingredients together. That's it!

Crispy Quinoa Tots - Vegan, Wheat/Gluten Free

 It's Meatless Monday! I was all set to make quinoa burgers following a version of this recipe from Including Cake, but I just really wasn't feeling it since we had turkey burgers last night. Plus once I saw how nicely the ...uh... dough? allowed itself to be molded, I just HAD to try to make tots. I'm so glad I did!
 While there's nothing necessarily un-allergy friendly about most tater tots, these are much healthier and were so yummy, and I actually had fun making them. They came out perfectly, crisp on the outside but soft and yummy on the inside. Jack and Ben both really enjoyed these, and I think they would very easily freeze to be cooked later. Also, I fried these in our Presto Cool Daddy fryer and peanut oil, but you could probably bake these or pan fry them in olive, peanut, or corn oil. Feel free to leave out the seasonings (except salt!) for a more traditional 'potato-tot' flavor, but the flavor of these was very subtle.

*For those with potato allergies, you can substitute corn starch, arrowroot, tapioca flour, or other starches for the potato starch to make these tots completely potato free.

Crispy Quinoa Tots

2 cups cooked quinoa
1/2 cup canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 rounded Tbs flax meal
dash of Tabasco Chipotle Sauce (optional)
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp sea salt
4 Tbs potato starch*
3 Tbl corn or olive oil if pan frying


If using a fryer, preheat to 375. (If pan frying, heat oil in a large skillet on medium high heat when you are about 3/4 of the way done shaping your tots so the oil doesn't burn but is hot by the time you are ready.)
In a medium/large bowl, mash chickpeas with a fork. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. If you cooked the quinoa immediately before starting this process as I did and it's still hot, leave it all to sit until mostly cool. Shape 1/2 Tbs at a time into cylinder shape by rolling them into balls and then pinching the top and bottom slightly and pressing in the sides a little. No need to get fancy unless you are a perfectionist or trying to impress someone ;)
If using fryer, fry in two batches for about 4 minutes each, until golden brown. Remove to a paper towel lined plate. If pan frying, add 1/4 of the tots at a time and roll them in the oil so they brown evenly on all sides. Remove to a paper towel lined plate.

Quick Minestrone Soup - Vegan and Wheat Free

 It's Meatless Monday! Today I actually got a call from a project director of Meatless Monday. She wanted to interview me about how going meatless has changed and enriched our lives. I know, as the mom of a child with multiple food allergies, it seems almost stupid to commit to restricting our diets even more one night a week. But for us, realizing that not every meal had to follow the meat/veggies/carb model really opened my eyes. I started looking at and adapting vegan and vegetarian recipes and a whole new world was suddenly made visible to me. I discovered polenta, all the ways chickpeas can be used, and that you can create whole meals that satisfy everyone for half the price of a recipe including meat. Allergies suck, but even though we've removed whole food groups from our diet, we eat more varied and nutritionally complete foods than the typical american diet, and for that I am (almost) thankful for multiple food allergies.

  Anyway, I would like to make minestrone from scratch soon, the kind you simmer on the stove for 5-6 hours. But in the meantime, here is a super fast and tasty version to make on busy nights :)

Quick and Easy Minestrone Soup

28oz vegetable stock 
1 can italian seasoned stewed tomatoes, drained
1 can black beans (or kidney beans), drained and rinsed
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 cup frozen mixed vegetables, such as italian style or country mix
2 tsp italian seasoning, crushed
1 1/2 tsp onion powder
2 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp sea salt
a few cracks of fresh ground black pepper
3 Tbl marinara sauce (optional)
14 oz corn-quinoa pasta elbows or other shapes

In a medium/large stock pot over high high heat, add vegetable stock, tomatoes, beans and chickpeas, and bring to a boil, about 4 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and add the rest of the ingredients except pasta. Return to a boil, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Add pasta and cover, simmering for 6-9 minutes, or until pasta is tender. Remove from heat, adjust seasonings to taste, and serve with nutritional yeast flakes sprinkled on top and yummy garlic toast to dip in it!

Vegan Wheat/Gluten Free Cornbread and Milk

This is not so much a recipe as it is another breakfast idea. Cornbread and milk is yet another popular southern thang, as a dessert or breakfast and it's way yummy. On nights my mom made cornbread with dinner my brother Randy and I would eat as little as possible so that later we could crumble the cold cornbread up in a bowl, throw on a heaping scoop of sugar, and drown the whole thing in milk. Mmm! And the leftover cornbread for breakfast the next day is even tastier because it doesn't turn to mush quite as fast. Yum!

Well last night we had a version of Hoppin' John with kale greens and cornbread. We used Bob's Red Mill gluten free cornbread mix with Ener-G egg replacer, 1 1/2 cups of water, and 1/3 cup melted Soy Free Earth Balance buttery spread. Also I prefer to make mine into muffins rather than a big sheet the mix calls for, but that's just me.The cornbread was absolutely delicious while hot with dinner, and it made enough that we had leftovers which worked perfectly for breakfast this morning!

I used vanilla almond milk and a (less than heaping) spoonful of organic non GMO sugar over the crumbled cornbread. The boys loved it and I loved being able to share the familiar treat from my childhood with them in a safe way. :)

Jumpin' Jack (Vegan and Rice Free Hoppin' John)

It's Meatless Monday! I decided to make a sort of version of Hoppin' John, a southern, slightly spicy dish made with rice, bell peppers, celery, black eyed peas, and bacon or ham of some sort. It's sort of like the white bean version of red beans and rice, in my opinion. I wanted to make it with barley instead of rice but after I was already cooking I realized I didn't have quite a full cup of barley. I decided to do half barley, half quinoa, but you could do either on their own. Also I did not have black eyed peas but I did have cannellini and to me, there's really not much difference other than aesthetics. Since it's Monday, I just left the meat out all together.
  This was yummy, especially with  braised kale greens and cornbread!
(On that note, I used Bob's Red Mill gluten free cornbread mix with Ener-G Egg Replacer, Soy Free Earth Balance Buttery Spread, and water instead of milk/dairy free milk. They were moist and delicious!)

Vegan and Rice Free Hoppin' John

1 Tbl olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped (red would also be great)
2 cloves minced garlic
2 cup vegetable stock or broth, soy free
1/2 cup quick cooking barley*
1/2 cup quinoa*
1 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp sea salt
2 cans cannellini beans or black eyed peas, drained and rinsed
*you could use both of these or 1 full cup of either

Heat oil in a large skillet. Add onion and bell pepper. Cook until the vegetables are soft, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 min. Add vegetable broth, barley/quinoa, thyme, lemon juice, red pepper flakes, and salt. Bring to a boil then reduce heat, cover, and simmer 15-20 minutes, until barley and quinoa are cooked and there is no liquid left. Remove from heat and stir in beans. Let sit for 5 minutes to heat beans through and serve.

French Toast- Vegan, Wheat and Soy Free

Breakfast. What a daunting word when you have multiple food allergies. It seems you can eat almost anything for lunch and dinner, but what's breakfast? Eggs, some sort of pork, a wheat filled bread type substance, and potatoes. Cereal, fruit and yogurt too, but those are not really 'Sunday Breakfast' material.
A few milk, egg, wheat, pork/beef free options:

• grits
• turkey bacon
• wheat free toast (we prefer white rye since we are not gluten free and other wheat free breads contain rice, another of Jack's allergens)
• country potatoes
• wheat free vegan pancakes (Bob's Redmill GF Pancake mix)

But this list is obviously lacking. We used to make wheat free biscuits and dairy free gravy but since losing rice products that hasn't been something we have been able to recreate in a decent way yet. Last night for whatever reason I wondered if there was a vegan way to make french toast. I jumped on the computer and looked it up and sure enough, there are all sorts of variations of this delicious breakfast food. Some included tofu so were off the list, but I found a few that used pureed banana and non-dairy milk, and a few that contained nutritional yeast flakes. I mixed and matched ingredients until I made one I thought would work for us. This mornign we gave it a shot and oh my, this was so good and easy. It does have a slightly banana-y aroma, but it is not distracting. Jack ate 2 WHOLE slices! He normally doesn't even eat one piece of regular toast. Score!!

Vegan and Wheat Free French Toast

8-10 slices vegan wheat free bread (we use Food For Life White Rye)
3 ripe bananas
3/4 cup vanilla almond milk
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
a pinch of pumpkin pie spice (optional)
1/2 tsp Nutritional Yest Flakes or a large pinch of salt
2 Tbl Soy Free Earth Balance buttery spread, divided

In a blender or food processor, add bananas, almond milk, spices, vanilla, and yeast flakes. Blend until smooth. Pour the mixture into a pie pan or wide shallow bowl. Heat a large skillet on medium high heat. Add 1/2 Tbl Earth Balance butter to the pan. Once melted, add two slices of bread quickly dipped in the banana mixture and cook about 2-3 minutes on each side. Remove and place on a warmed plate and repeat with remaining butter and slices of bread. Serve with powdered sugar, syrup, and more Earth Balance.

Asparagus and Penne with Vegan Marsala Sauce

 It's Meatless Monday! I usually like to plan dinner in the morning, but today was pretty busy with doctor appointments, interviews, Walmart, and general parental craziness. I didn't even start to think about what to make until 4:45. Thankfully I purchased some lovely asparagus and a package of mushrooms just a few days ago hoping something would come to mind, and we always have pasta on hand. This was really yummy, even Jack and Ben liked it!

Asparagus and Penne with Vegan Marsala Wine Sauce

1 Tbl Soy Free Earth Balance buttery spread
1/4 white onion, diced
2 cloves minced garlic
8-10oz mushrooms (divided), rinsed and chopped
1/4 cup Marsala Wine
1 cup cashew cream *(recipe below)
1 cup soy free vegetable stock
2 tsp sea salt
1 few cracks of fresh ground black pepper
2 tsp nutritional yeast flakes (optional)

12 oz organic corn pasta
25 stalks fresh asparagus, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 cups water

In a medium sauce pan, melt Earth Balance over medium high heat. Add onions and garlic and saute until onion begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Add half of the mushrooms and saute until mushrooms begin to darken and get soft, about 3 minutes. Add Marsala Wine and cook down until about half the liquid has evaporated, 1-3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium low and add cashew cream and vegetable stock. Bring to a boil stirring frequently, then reduce heat to low. Add remaining mushrooms and simmer about 15 minutes, until sauce has thickened to desired consistency. Add salt, pepper, and nutritional yeast. (If your sauce just won't thicken and you're in a hurry, mix 1 tsp cornstarch and 1 Tbl water in a small cup until smooth and lump free. Add to sauce and raise heat a little to return to a boil. it should thicken quickly).
Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions. At the same time in a seperate small pot, bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Reduce heat to low, add asparagus and boil until fork tender and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Drain both pasta and asparagus and stir the two together. Serve penne with a big spoonful of sauce on top and maybe some yummy garlic bread. Yum!!

*To make cashew cream,  soak 1 cup of raw cashews overnight. Drain and blend or process in a food processor until smooth. If you don't have time to wait, bring 2/3 cup of water to a boil. Add 1/2 cup raw cashews and a big pinch of salt and boil for 15 minutes. Pour the cashews and water into the blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

Mini Polenta Pizzas

I know people say the polenta in the little tube from the grocery store is not very good, but I've never had polenta before and I didn't want to go through all the trouble to make it from scratch just to find out I don't like it. So I bought a tube of sun dried tomato and basil flavor and tried to find something to do with it. I found a recipe for polenta lasagna and I just sort of worked off of that, making these little tasty treats that are almost like pizza bagel bites without the whole in the middle. Very yummy and not hard to make and a giant plus: this did not create a lot of dishes for me to do! I think these would make a great lunch for the boys!

I just used the Food Merchants Organic Polenta in Sun Dried Tomato and Basil, cut into 1/2 inch rounds. I oiled a small cookie sheet and lined these up and sprinkled a little more olive oil on top. I baked them at 425 for 15 minutes then broiled them for 5 minutes. Then I sprinkled on chopped fresh spinach, a spoonful of marinara sauce, and a little bit of Daiya Mozzarella and popped em back in the oven at 425 for 10 minutes. These are sprinkled with nutritional yeast flakes also. Yum!

Dairy and Wheat Free Pasta Primavera

  A version of this recipe arrived in my inbox from Allrecipes.com. I usually just skim past their daily e-mail but this one caught my eye, what with the 'no cream pasta primavera' title and all. I still had to do some adjusting, but this was way good; a nice tangy, garlicy sauce that complimented the roasted vegetables and pasta perfectly. I HIGHLY recommend this recipe!!
  By the way, we are trying to remove as many genetically modified foods from our diet and trying to avoid 'the dirty dozen' pesticide contaminated foods, so we used organic, non-GMO corn pasta and organic bell pepper.

Dairy and Wheat Free Pasta Primavera

1 yellow squash, chopped
1 zucchini, chopped  
1 cup green beans, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 carrot, sliced thinly
1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced into thin strips
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbl olive oil, divided
3 Tbl Soy Free Earth Balance Buttery Spread
1/2 Tbl lemon juice
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/3 cup chopped basil
1/3 cup chopped parsley
2 tsp lemon zest (or 1/2 tsp lemon pepper seasoning in a pinch)
3 Tbl balsamic vinegar
10oz corn penne pasta
Optional: nutritional yeast flakes for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 450.
In a large bowl, toss squash, zucchini, green beans, carrot, and bell pepper with 2 Tbl olive oil, salt, pepper, and lemon juice. On a foil lined baking sheet, spread oiled vegetables into a single layer. Bake 15 minutes until tender. Meanwhile, boil penne according to package directions. Set aside.
While veggies are roasting and pasta is boiling, heat 1 tbl olive oil and 3 Tbl buttery spread in a skillet. Add onion and garlic and cook until onion is tender. The onion and garlic will sort of be swimming in the butter, but that's ok. Add parsley, basil, lemon zest, and balsamic and cook about 1 minutes. Add pasta and toss to coat, cook until heated through. Remove from heat and in a large bowl (I just wiped out the bowl I mixed the veggies in to begin with), toss pasta and vegetable mixture together. Sprinkle with nutritional yeast flakes and serve.

Mushroom Barley Risotto

  Well I was watching Nadia G.'s Bitchin' Kitchen and she was making risotto, which is made of rice and contains all sorts of cheese. I couldn't even begin to figure out a yay to make that Jack friendly, so I sort of ignored the whole recipe. Then a little later I started thinking, well could I make it with quinoa? Lentils? Barley? I searched and searched for recipes and found a great one on Browneyedbaker.com using barley and though it still required some adjusting to make it fit our needs, it looked easy enough.
  Needless to say, this came out amazing. It was so creamy and even slightly cheesey, the mushrooms gave an outstanding flavor and texture, and the health benefits of barley were a nice touch.
  I was going to make this meatless as well but for Chris' sake I added a little bit of sausage. We both agreed while we were eating this that it would have held it's own without the sausage though, so this could easily be a great Meatless Monday meal or vegan dish as well.

Sausage Mushroom Barley Risotto

2 Tbl olive oil
*1/2 lb ground turkey sausage
1 cup yellow onion, chopped
12 ounces cleaned and sliced/cubed mushrooms (I used 2 portobellos and an 8 oz package of button mushrooms)
3 Tbl chopped fresh parsley
1 Tbl chopped fresh thyme
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup quick cooking pearled barley
5 cups vegetable broth (divided)
1 Tbl soy free Earth Balance buttery spread
2 Tbl nutritional yeast flakes
3 Tbl soy free Vegenaise
1-2 tsp sea salt, to taste
fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Heat olive oil in a large deep skillet or saucepan on medium heat. Saute onion until it just begins to brown, then add sausage and brown, making sure to break it up. Add mushrooms and saute until they have released their liquid and are golden brown, about 10 minutes. You may need to add 1-2 Tbls of water if the mushrooms start to stick.
Stir in herbs and garlic, then add in barley and stir to coat for 1 minute. Add 4 cups of  broth and bring mixture to a boil over high heat.
Cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid is absorbed. Reduce heat to medium and add another 1/2 cup of broth, stirring until it is absorbed. Add the remaining 1/2 cup of broth and do the same, until barley is tender but still slightly firm. (If you used non quick-cooking barley, you may need to add another cup of broth in this manner).
Remove from heat and stir in butter, yeast flakes, and vegenaise until all are well incorporated. Season with salt and pepper if desired.

* just skip the sausage and this becomes vegan

Roasted Cajun Sweet Potatoes and Carrots

This is a very simple side dish, tasty and dare I say, a tad healthy. We bought a bunch of sweet potatoes from the farmer's market and then found really nice looking organic ones at a local health food store, so we're stocked to the gills in sweet potatoes! I sorta shot from the hip with this recipe and I'm glad I did, it was great and both the kids loved it too!

Also, as a side note, I am afraid Jack may have a corn allergy. I can't be sure just yet, but I'm going to try to avoid corn and corn products in my recipes for awhile.

Roasted Cajun Sweet Potatoes and Carrots

2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 medium carrots, sliced into coins
2 Tbl olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
a few cracks of fresh ground pepper
1 tsp cajun seasoning
1/2 tsp dried rosemary

Heat oven to 400.
Place carrot and sweet potatoes pieces on a large cookie sheet with a rim. Drizzle on olive oil and stir pieces around with a spatula to evenly coat. Sprinkle on salt, pepper, cajun seasoning, and rosemary and stir again. Spread pieces out into a single layer on the cookie sheet. Bake for 45-50 minutes, until all pieces are fork tender and bottoms are slightly brown and crisp. Stir once halfway through for even browning if desired.

Easy Vegan Stuffed Mushrooms

  Once again, I forgot to take a picture! I need to keep the camera by my chair at the table.... Anyway, yesterday was Meatless Monday and as I had purchased some lovely mushrooms the other day, I decided to do stuffed mushrooms as a main dish rather than just an appetizer. These were very easy and very good!

Vegan Stuffed Mushrooms

1 8 oz package button mushrooms, rinsed ( think that this might be very good served in portobellos as well, but I can't say for sure how they would cook up)
2 Tbl olive oil (plus some for greasing the dish)
1/2 medium white onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp sea salt
a few cracks of fresh black pepper
a quick pour of Marsala Wine
1 medium handful (about 1/8 of a cup) Daiya Mozzarella shreds)
1 cup wheat free bread crumbs of your choice

Heat oven to 375.
Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish with olive oil.
Pop stems out of mushrooms. Take about half of the stems and mince them, the rest you can throw away. In a medium skillet, heat 1 Tbl olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and saute until onions begin to turn transparent. Add mushroom stems, basil, and italian seasoning. Cook about 3 minutes. Add the other Tbl olive oil, bread crumbs (reserving a little for sprinkling on the tops), salt, and pepper to the skillet, stir to combine. Pour in the Marsala wine and stir until liquid has cooked off. Remove from heat, stir in Daiya and mix well. Carefully stuff filling into mushroom cavities, overflowing them slightly. Place them in the baking dish. Sprinkle the tops with the rest of the bread crumbs and bake 30-45 minutes, depending on how closely packed the mushrooms are in the dish. Check the mushrooms often after 30 minutes, take them out if the mushrooms themselves become very dark.
Use caution, these little buggers really retain their heat on the inside! I burned my tongue on one 20 minutes after they came out of the oven!

We had these with a big helping of quinoa cooked in vegetable broth and sauted onion (the other half of the one called for in the recipe!), and roasted green beans.

5 Minute Kale Saute

  This recipe is modified from cookitallergyfree.com. This was so super yummy, quick and healthy, and something I could easily make as a side dish or for myself for lunch during the week. I really enjoyed this! Chris didn't, but he's not the biggest fan of vegetables or vinegar-y stuff. Too bad for him!
  Also, according to an article I just read in Reader's Digest, research has shown that vinegar consumed with a meal lessens the glycemic affect, meaning that it keeps your blood sugar from spiking dramatically which can cause hunger shortly after you've eaten and long term weight problems. So that makes this an even BETTER side dish!

5 Minute Kale Saute

4 cups kale, de-stemmed and torn into bite size strips
3 Tbl olive oil
2 tsp white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/3 cup raisins
1 Tbl raw sesame seeds

optional: you could use sunflower seeds, slivered almonds, or pine nuts in place of the sesame seeds, and use golden raisins to mix it up.

Heat oil in medium/large skillet. Once heated, add kale and saute about 2 minutes. Once leaves BEGIN to shrink up and wilt (don't wait until they are already wilty!), add vinegar and salt. Cook another 2 minutes, stirring contantly. Stir in raisins and seeds/nuts. Serve warm.

Vegan Black Bean Pasta e Fagioli (Pasta Fazul)

  Happy Meatless Monday! Tonight I made a recipe adapted from Nadia G's Bitchin' Kitchen. Her recipe included bacon, chicken stock, wheat pasta, and parmesean, which I excluded or substituted to fit our allergies and monday meatless-ness. I also exchanged the white beans for garbonzo and black beans plus a few other adjustments. This was a big hit with everyone in the family!
  By the way, nutritional yeast flakes are cheesy, salty flavored flakes (sorta look like fish food) that can be used like you would use parmesean, or sprinkled on popcorn, or used to make "cheese" sauces, etc. I recommend you get yourself a container of it! I get mine off of Amazon.com.
Anyway, without further ado, here is the recipe!

Vegan Black Bean Pasta e Fagioli 

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 red onion, chopped
1 rib celery, chopped
2 carrots, thinly sliced
1 Tbl olive oil
1/2 cup halved cherry tomatoes (or 1 can drained stewed tomatoes)
1 can garbonzo beans, mostly drained
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
4 cups vegetable stock (soy, wheat, dairy free)
1 tsp oregeno
1/2 tsp rosemary
1 pinch brown sugar
2 tsp sea salt
black pepper to taste
1/4 tsp cayenne (optional)
nutritional yeast flakes (optional)
3/4 lb corn pasta elbows

  In a large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium high heat and fry garlic for about 1 minute. Add vegetables and saute until onion begins to turn translucent and lose it's bright purple color. Add the vegetable stock and tomatoes, bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer.
  In a food processor, puree garbonzo beans (drained except for about 2 tsp of liquid from the can) until fairly smooth, about hummus texture. Add the pureed beans to the stock/veggie mixture and stir well. Add oregeno, brown sugar, rosemary, pepper, salt, and cayenne if using. Simmer 30 minutes.
  In the meantime, boil pasta in a seperate pot as per package directions until al dente. You could cook the noodles in the stock, but non wheat pastas have a tendency to turn to mush very quickly, so I recommend you keep them seperate to have some control.
 After the stock has simmered 30 minutes, add the black beans and allow to heat through (about 5 minutes). Mix pasta and soup together in bowls, sprinkle with a pinch of nutritional yeast flakes, and enjoy!
Serves 4