Roasted Root Bowl...

I've really been craving root vegetables lately. Radishes, Turnips you name it. The problem is I eat them so seldom I don't really know what to do with them most of the time. This is one of those magical dishes born somewhat out of necessity. Meaning, it was really all I had on hand and I needed to make something for dinner.

I am beyond amazed at how well this turned out. It's a super simple dish to throw together, and despite the hour and fifteen minute cooking time it is super low effort. I kept it lightly and simply seasoned so as not to overpower any of the natural roasted flavor of the veg. All the flavors work so well together and I love the variety of texture between the different roots and the cous cous. I hope you enjoy it too!

Roasted Root bowl

2 medium Sized Turnips Diced
1 Large Parsnip cut into Half Moons
1 large Onion Diced
12 Radishes cut in Half
1/2 Bag of Baby Carrots Left whole if small otherwise cut in half
Olive Oil to taste
Maple Syrup to taste
Sea Salt to taste
Garlic Powder to taste
Black Pepper to taste

Garlic Olive Oil Cous Cous

2 Cups Pearled Cous Cous
4 cups Water
1 Vegan Chicken Bouillon Cube
1 tsp Garlic Powder
1-2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/4 tsp Ground Turmeric
Garlic Infused Olive Oil to taste (Optional but recommended)
Minced Parsley to Garnish

- Combine everything for the Roasted Roots in a large glass baking dish. Stir it so it's all mixed together then cool it at 400'F for 1 hour.

- Increase the heat to 500'F and cook for an additional 15 minutes until the roots are nice and browned.

- Combine everything for the garlic cous cous (except the garlic infused oil, and the parsley) in a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until all liquid has been absorbed.

- Drizzle garlic infused olive oil over the cous cous, and stir to combine.

- Plate the cous cous, top it with the roasted roots, and sprinkle the minced parsley over top. Add additional salt and pepper to taste if desired.

Classic Ratatouille...

It had been way to long since my last blog entry, I realize that. I had hoped to get back to regular blogging after we returned from our Washington/Oregon Road Trip, but things were just hectic, and I didn't have the time nor the energy, nor the inclination to do much cooking, or blogging. I don't know if today will mark my return to blogging or not, but I did want to post this recipe that I made last week because I thought it turned out rather good, and who couldn't use more vegetables?

Classic Ratatouille

2 Tbsp Olive Oil
4 Garlic Cloves Minced
4 Large Tomatoes
1 Large Onion Diced
1 Red Pepper Diced
1 Yellow Pepper Diced
1 Medium Eggplant Diced
2 Large Zucchini Diced
2 Tbsp Tomato Paste Mixed with 1 Tbsp Water
1 tsp Sugar
1 Bay Leaf
3 Springs Thyme
1 Tbsp Minced Basil
1 Tbsp Minced Parsley
1-2 Additional Garlic Cloves to taste
1 tsp Sea Salt
1/2 tsp Black or White Pepper to taste


- Score a cross into the bottom of each tomato.  Plunge into boiling water and boil for 20 seconds. remove from the water and blanch in ice water. peel the skins away from the tomato, and chop the tomato. Reserve.

- Heat 1Tbsp Oil in a pot. Add the onion and cook for 10 minutes. Add the 4 garlic cloves, the red and yellow peppers. Cook for about 4 minutes and then remove the vegetables from the pan.

- Heat the second Tbsp of Oil in the same pan. When it's hot add the eggplant and cook for 4 minutes until beginning to brown. Add the zucchini and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes or until the veggies are a nice deep brown.

- Add the Onion and Pepper mix back to the pot.  Add in the tomato paste mixture and stir well to combine. Cook for 2 minutes and then add in the tomatoes, sugar, salt, pepper, bay leaf, thyme and basil. Stir well and cover to cook for 20 minutes. Check the vegetables after 10 minutes and if they look too dry add in about 1/4 cup water.

- Mix the remaining 1 or 2 garlic cloves with the minced parsley. When your Ratatouille has finished cooking add the garlic/parsley mix and stir lightly just to combine.

- Serve your Ratatouille hot with crusty French Bread or Garlic Bread. Enjoy with a glass of red wine for good measure.

Vegan Mofo #9: Seitan with Raspberries...

Today’s recipe I found in a French cook book and couldn’t help but be intrigued. Unfortunately the book didn’t provide any information on history or origin of the dish, and so I have no idea where it comes from. Though it is a pretty common practice throughout Europe to cook rich meats with sweet fruits, and the French sure like to make food look fancy so regardless of origin this dish at least fits with my theme.

I’ll admit I was pretty skeptical about this dish when I first attempted to make it. I just didn’t know how seitan would taste when mixed with fruits, guess I needn’t have really worried because the dish turned out amazing! Seriously, it far exceeded my expectations. I myself have only ever eaten duck once, a long time ago, in a Chinese restaurant and I hated it. I thought it was greasy, and fatty and disgusting, I never ate it again. When eating poultry I never liked dark meat anyway and duck is all dark meat. So I was a bit flummoxed as how to make this seitan taste ‘duck-like’ and Google raveled nothing further then what I already knew “Tastes like greasy chicken” thanks, so helpful!  In the end I decided to make a basic chicken-style seitan but included in the met ingridients I added a spoonful of marmite and I used sesame oil instead of regular oil. Before I boiled the cutlets I also coated them in oil, then when they came out of the broth I oiled them again and let them sit in the fridge in a bit of their cooking liquid until I used them the next day. I can’t say that the seitan tasted like ‘duck’ but it didn’t have a ‘chicken’ taste either, it was richer, and slightly more greasy then your average seitan. So, while it might not be an ‘authentic’ duck taste, it was certainly different, and enjoyable, and why do you need your seitan to taste exactly like duck anyway?

The true star of this show however is the raspberry sauce. Oh... my.... god.... the sauce alone is amazing and I wish I’d made more cutlets just so I could eat more sauce! If it sounds weird to you to cook raspberries in a somewhat savory dish, I hear you, but trust me when I tell you this will literally blow your mind! Try it, and see! Enjoy with a nice glass of wine, a side of mashed potatoes, a side salad, or as we did, simply with a side of Vichy Carrots.

Seitan with Raspberries
(AKA Canard aux Framboises aka ‘Duck’ with Raspberries) 

A Splash of Olive Oil
2-4 Homemade or Store Bought Chicken Style Seitan Cutlets
1 tsp Sea Salt
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
2 tsp Sugar
½ Cup Red Wine
1/3 Cup Creme de Cassis (A Red Current Liquor)
1 Tbsp Cornstarch
9oz Fresh Raspberries

- Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium high heat. Add in your cutlets and brown 4-5 minutes per side.

- In a small bowl mix together the salt, sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.

- In another bowl whisk together the red wine and creme de cassis, set aside.

- When the seitan is done cooking carefully remove it from the pan and put on a plate. Leave the pan, you are going to uses it again.

- After the seitan has cooled for a minute or two carefully rub the salt sugar, cinnamon mixture into the seitan on both sides. Then return the seitan to the pan and cook on medium heat for another 2-3 minutes per side.

- Add most of the red wine, creme de cassis mixture to the pan with the seitan, reserving a couple of Tablespoons. Mix this reserved wine mix with the cornstarch and then add that into the pan as well. Stir to combine and let simmer 2 minutes until thickened.

- Add raspberries, stir to coat with the sauce, and then simmer for an additional 2-3 minutes stirring occasionally until the sauce is thick and the berries are cooked.

- Remove seitan cutlets from the pan, place on individual plates and spoon the sauce and berries over top. Enjoy!

Vegan Mofo #5: Steak au Poivre...

Steak au Poivre is a pretty typical French dish, and one that can be found in most traditional French restaurants. I saw it on a lot of menus when we were walking around Paris and I found the concept intriguing because I’ve never tried it before as a meat eater. I thought it might be a fun, and relatively simple recipe to veganize. The internet says the dish comes from the 19th Century, and became popular In restaurants in Normandy where men would take their women in the hopes that the peppers aphrodisiac properties would work their magic. I don’t know how true that is, but it’s a cool story.

For my veganized version I decided to go with some homemade Seitan Steaks. I used Skye Michael Conroy’s Filet Mignon recipe from his book “The Gentle Chef Cook Book” because traditional Steak au Poivre used cuts of filet mignon, though I think any seitan steak would work just as well, and you could probably even use steamed tempeh for a gluten-free version, or perhaps even large portobello mushrooms for a gluten and soy free version, though obviously taste and cooking times would be different. I also decided to use a blend of peppercorns rather then just regular black pepper, and I did so because I wanted a richer more unique flavor, but any old peppercorns would do just as well I think.

Overall I think the dish turned out quite well. I was pretty nervous about the flambe because I’ve never had to do that before, and being so close to a large open flame kind of freaks me out, but I had some help with that and because the alcohol content is so small the flame didn’t get all that big. The ‘whoosh’ was kind of fun! My only complaint - okay I have two - is 1) A large dose of pepper can be quite overpowering, I ground the peppercorns by hand and I think it might be easier to grind them coarsely in a grinder, also use less then suggested if you don’t want as much heat. 2) As with before I found the texture of the seitan a bit soft for my liking, I said the same thing the last time I made the Filet Mignon and I thought that a longer cooking time would firm it up a bit but it did not. I realize traditional Filet is quite soft, because it’s served rare but I guess that just isn’t my thing. Flavor wise the seitan is great, and I recommend the recipe if you like Filet. My husband loved the dish, and so I would make it again with a few changes. Anyway, without further adieu, here is Steak au Poivre, enjoy!

Steak au Poivre 

4 Seitan Steaks (Homemade or Store bought)
6 Tbsp Black or Mixed Peppercorns Crushed
2 Tbsp Non-Dairy Butter
3 Tbsp Cognac
1/4 C White Wine
½ C Cashew Cream (for a thicker sauce) or ½ C Non-Dairy Milk of Choice for a slightly thinner Sauce.
Olive Oil as needed.
Sea Salt to taste

Instructions

- If your seitan steaks are a bit dry rub them in enough Olive Oil to coat. Spread the crushed peppercorns on a plate and place the seitan down on top, pressing each side into the crushed pepper, use your fingers if needed to press the pepper into the steak so it sticks.

- Melt the non-dairy butter in a large pan over medium high heat. When melted add the steaks and let them sizzle. Let brown on each side for 4-5 minutes or until they’ve reached your desired brown/doneness level.

- Once your steaks are cooked to your liking add the cognac to the pan.  Using a long match, or barbeque lighter quickly (and carefully) light dish on fire. You want to make sure you light the dish as soon after adding the cognac as possible, leaving the cognac in the pan too long will result in the steak having a bitter or alcohol taste. Also please make sure you are not sticking the flame into the pan and lighting the actual food, what you want to do is light the alcohol fumes on fire. Stand a little bit back so you don’t get engulfed, and make sure you have a lid ready to throw over the pan incase things go awry.

- Once the alcohol has burned off and the flame has gone out on it’s own (it will happen quicker then you think!) Remove the steaks from the pan with a spatula and place on individual serving plates.

- Now add the wine to the pan and boil stirring for one minute to deglaze the pan.  Then add the cream and stir to combine, simmering one to two minutes or until the cream has warmed through and the sauce is combined. Taste, and add some sea salt to season, and extra black pepper If you desire.

- Spoon the Sauce over your steak, and serve with a side of steamed asparagus, and a mound of mashed potatoes, plus a glass of wine, you deserve if after your flambe experience!

For anyone interested I lightly steamed my asparagus so that they were tender crunchy, then I drizzled them in Lime Olive Oil, and tossed them with Sea Salt and Course Ground Lemon Pepper. The Mashed Potatoes were made with Unsweetened almond milk, Earth Balance, Sea Salt, Garlic Powder and a little of the leftover crushed peppercorns. I used 4 Medium Sized Russet Potatoes, and FYI the Cognac sauce tastes just as good over the potatoes as it did over the steaks. Actually the sauce was probably my favorite part of the whole Steak au Poivre experience!

Peaceful Easter 2015...

I trust everyone had a lovely Easter weekend. Mine was relaxed and uneventful. The week of Easter I came down suddenly with a horrible flu that had me in bed for three days. It took me quite by surprise since I’m rarely sick and haven’t had the flu since I was about 12 years old. In the past ten years I’ve only vomited twice, once due to excess of alcohol, and once due to nervousness, and so it took me some time to recover. Though I was mostly better by the time Easter came around I chose to stay home rather then celebrate with my husband’s family. I felt I needed a little more recovery time and so I enjoyed the afternoon reading in the sun, and made a nice, but small dinner for the two of us to enjoy when he returned from his family’s party.

You know how much I love to go ‘all-out’ for holidays but since I’d been sick - and my appetite hadn’t returned at all yet - I wasn’t in the mood for preparing a grand dinner. Instead I pulled out my copy of “Vegan Holiday Kitchen” by Nava Atlas and chose a few simple dishes to make for dinner.

Moroccan Vegetable Soup

The first thing that caught my eye in the book was the Moroccan Vegetable Soup with Matzo Balls  Technically it’s from the Passover Chapter not the Easter Chapter but close enough I reasoned, and besides what better food to eat after being sick then a warm comforting bowl of soup? This particular soup contained leeks, potatoes, carrot, celery, turnip, tomatoes, cumin, turmeric, dill, parsley, and of course matzo balls which I made separately. The soup was also suppose to have mushrooms but for some reason the thought of mushrooms turned my stomach, and so I left them out.

Matzo Balls 

Moroccan Vegetable Soup with Matzo Balls 

I really enjoyed this soup and it was so easy to prepare. I loved the combination of flavors and it was a really hearty meal, but If I’m being honest I like Nava’s traditional Matzo Ball Soup better. I made that last year for Passover and it went over like gangbusters.

Moroccan Flavored Tofu with Apricots and Olives 

Quinoa 

For our main meal I made the Moroccan-Flavored Tofu with Apricots and Olives from the Rosh Hashanah Chapter. Since I made Moroccan soup I thought I’d keep the North African theme, and besides this sounded so good. Tofu with olives and apricots, I loved the idea of a sweet, salty, tart dish. The dish uses pre-baked marinated tofu, and so I picked up some Italian-style Baked Tofu from the store. Under normal circumstances I probably would have just baked my own tofu but since I was still recovering I was happy for the short-cut in prep time. In addition to green olives and apricots the dish also had onion, green onion, garlic, broth, ginger, cumin, cinnamon, lemon juice, agave, slivered almonds and parsley. Nava suggests in the book to serve this over Quinoa which I did. Just a simple pot of boiled quinoa seasoned with salt, pepper, and parsley. Man was this dish fantastic, I can easily see making this regularly.

Moroccan Flavored Tofu over Quinoa
with Moroccan Carrots 

For a side dish I went with the simple Moroccan Carrots also from the Passover Chapter. These were super simple saute carrots cooked in oil, garlic, lemon, parsley, chives, salt and pepper. I left off the sliced almonds, but loved the touch of lemon zest added to this dish. These carrots were beyond perfect, I only wish I’d had a bigger appetite so I could have eaten more.

Moroccan Carrots 

For dessert I actually picked a recipe from the Easter Chapter and went with the very simple - but super delicious - Strawberry Snack Cake. This is basically a vanilla cake with a strawberry topping. You make the topping by cooking strawberries with sugar and water and cornstarch until it’s thick then pour it over the cake. Unfortunately my topping didn’t want to stay put and it kind of dripped and spread out all over the plate but the cake was nonetheless delicious. I especially loved the idea of it because it was light and fluffy, the perfect dessert for an early Spring day.

Strawberry Snack Cake 

So that was our Easter. Perfectly peaceful and though I didn’t eat much, what I did eat I enjoyed. It was my first real meal for the entire week, as I’d previously only been able to keep down some watermelon and toast.

I hope everyone else had a great holiday and if you haven’t tried out any recipes from “Vegan Holiday Kitchen” you should give it a look, so far everything I’ve made out of this book has been fantastic!

Stir-Fried Tempeh and Snow Peas in Black Bean Sauce...

This is just a really quick and easy stir-fry that would be good for dinner any night of the week. Simply prepared, it comes together without much effort making it perfect for busy nights. It was inspired by the limited produce I had in my fridge last week, and by my last trip to the Asian market where I got a huge jar of Black Bean Paste for a reasonable price. If you love Black Bean Sauce as much as me, and you’re in need of a good stir-fry recipe to throw into rotation, this one certainly satisfies.

Stir-Fried Tempeh and Snow Peas in Black Bean Sauce 

1tsp Sesame Oil
½ Large Yellow Onion Diced
*** 8oz Tempeh Sliced
10oz Snow Peas trimmed
3 Large Green Onions Sliced
3 Tbsp Black Bean Paste
4 Tbsp Water (or more to thin as desired)
2 Tbsp Agave Nectar
4 Cloves Garlic Minced
Brown Rice for serving

- In a small bowl whisk together the black bean paste, water, agave nectar and minced garlic.

- Place the tempeh in a shallow dish or sealable container, pour the marinade over top and cover. Let marinate at room temperature for 1 hour, or refrigerate and marinate for several hours.

- Heat Sesame Oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. When sizzling add the yellow onion and saute for 3-5 minutes until soft.

- Using a fork remove the tempeh form the marinade, shaking off as much marinade as possible before placing the tempeh into the sizzling pan.

- Cook Tempeh without stirring for 2-4 minutes until browned. Then flip and cook another 2-4 minutes. If needed, add a little bit of water to the pan to deglaze the pan and prevent the tempeh from sticking.

- Add the snow peas and cook for 3 minutes until bright green.

- Pour the reserved marinade into the pan and stir to combine everything. Cook for 3-4 minutes until everything is heated through and the marinade has reduced slightly. Add in the green onions and stir to combine. Let the dish sit for a couple of minutes to let the green onions wilt slightly.

- Serve the stir-fry over brown rice and enjoy!

*** Note - To make this soy-free you could use seitan in place of the tempeh*** 

Impromptu Pre-Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving Dinner...

My Plate!

Last night my husband and I enjoyed a pre-Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving dinner. There are a few reasons for this. 1) My mother-in-law picked up two 1 pound Celebration Roasts by Field Roast for us to have on Thanksgiving. You see, we normally go to my aunt’s husband’s for the holiday and she wanted to make sure we had something to eat. Of course, I’m already way ahead of the game and I already have an American Thanksgiving Menu planned out. She gave them to us anyway and aid then we could eat them whenever. 2) The weather outside is frightful! It’s so cold, so windy. All I want to do is hibernate in my bed, and on days like that I inevitably end up craving either soup, or comfort food. What’s more comforting then a bowl of mashed potatoes? 3) My husband found out that this year he will in fact be working on Thanksgiving. Not black Friday, but actual Thanksgiving. Which means we won’t be spending the holiday with his family, and we won’t be spending it with one another either. Thank you Corporate American Greed. Thank you Capitalism My husband was pretty bummed out, and I was too.

However, I didn’t want to let morons, holiday madness, and corporate greed ruin our holiday and so I decided we should have a pre-Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving. I’m still going to make my originally planned Thanksgiving Menu - probably Wednesday, but in the meantime, we needed a litlte comfort.

Celebration Roast fresh out of the oven

So, since this was an ‘impromptu’ dinner we didn’t have any appetizers or salad or a fancy dessert. I kept things low-key and simple, and used what I had in the house already, and somehow it just worked out really well.

For sides I made the Braised Red Cabbage with Cranberries from Robin Asbell’s book “Big Vegan” this was a really tasty dish, kind of like a traditional German Red Cabbage. It had onions, apples, bay leaves, cinnamon, cloves, red wine, sugar, red wine vinegar and cranberries. It was super moist, and full of flavor, and looked so pretty on our plate. I’m a big fan of cabbage anyway, so I knew this was going to be a win.

Keeping with the cabbage theme I made the Maple Mustard Roasted Brussels Sprouts from Betsy DiJulio’s book “The Blooming Platter Cookbook” this is not so very different then other Maple Mustard Brussel’s I’ve made in the past, except this one adds a splash of balsamic vinegar to kick things up. I really loved these sprouts, and even my husband loved them. Which is amazing, since he’s never liked Brussel’s Sprouts and will typically only eat them if they’re shredded. He’s never filled his plate with whole roasted Brussels before, so that’s pretty impressive.

Then I made the Mustard Spinach Mashed Potatoes from Celine Steen and Joni Marie Newman’s book “500 Vegan Recipes” this is mashed red skinned potatoes - skin on - with frozen spinach, earth balance, vegan sour cream, salt, pepper, and stone ground mustard. It’s a really simple recipe, but oh my is it delicious!

Lastly the main event, was our Celebration Roast by Field Roast. I have many Field Roast products in the past but never the Celebration Roast so I was excited to try it. I think it turned out really well, it was chewy and tasty, but I’ll save a full review on this product for a separate post. I will say though, that I baked it super simple, just stuck it in a pan with some vegetable broth and Tamari. I didn’t have any aluminum foil to cover it though, and I neglected to baste so the top got kind of crispy, but I actually really liked that effect.

To go with the roast I made a quick pan gravy. My own recipe, it was just something I threw together but it turned out so well that I made sure to jot down the recipe and I’ll post it tomorrow, just incase any of you find yourself in a pinch where you need a quick tasty gravy.

Quickie Pan Gravy

For dessert I made the Pumpkin Scones with Maple Glaze from Fernanda Capobianco’s book “The Vegan Divas Cookbook” these scones were super moist, and so tasty,. The glaze really brings them together, and they tasted especially amazing straight out of the oven.

Not bad for an impromptu dinner celebration right?

Stir-fried Bean Curd and Chinese Flowering Chives in Garlic Black Bean Sauce....

Black Bean Sauce is one of my favorite things in Chinese Cuisine, something about that salty, earthy flavor really gets me. Since I haven’t had it in a while, and we’ve been on an Asian Food kick lately, I was really craving this long-time favorite. I just didn’t know what kind of stir-fry I wanted to make. The thing about Black Bean Sauce is that it requires a hearty protein, something that can really soak up that black bean flavor. You need a sturdy protein that can get coated and glazed in the delicious black bean sauce. Naturally I’d think to use seitan, only I don’t have any at the moment. My next thought was tempeh but wasn’t in the mood for the distinctive tempeh flavor. The next logical choice then is tofu, only I didn’t have the time to pre-bake or pre-fry the tofu to get it really firm. Then it hit me, why not use that package of Bean Curd I’d picked up at the Korean Market the other day? Oh, and why not pair it with those Chinese Flowering Chives I had sitting in my crisper drawer. Perfection!

Chinese Flowering Chives - or Garlic Chives, as they’re also sometimes called - are a relative of the onion family. They look kind of like a thin green onion - or chive - but they have little white flower buds on the end that taste more like garlic. They have a potent smell, but not a particularly overwhelming flavor. They’re great in stir-fry’s. Fried Bean Curd is a kind of tofu, it has a much lower moisture content then the regular tofu you buy at the store, and it’s been previously fried till golden. The texture is very chewy, very meaty, and it shreds rather then crumbles. It’s a great stand-in for meat in any dish, and doesn’t taste anything like regular tofu which may make it more appealing to people who claim not to like tofu. Actually both the texture and the flavor remind me more of tofu skin, then tofu. Fried Bean Curd stands up really well to stir-frying, and it paired amazing with the Chinese Flowering Chives and the Black Bean Sauce to make the perfect lunch.

Most well stocked Asian Groceries should have everything you need to make this dish, and If you love Asian food as much as we do then I urge you to go on a little scavenger hunt, and then make this dish.

Stir-fried Bean Curd and Chinese Flowering Chives in Garlic Black Bean Sauce

1 Tbsp Toasted Sesame Oil
1 Tbsp Minced Ginger
3 Garlic Cloves sliced thin
8oz Fried Bean Curd Sliced into Strips
12oz Chinese Flowering Chives cut into ½ inch pieces
2 Tbsp Fermented Black Bean Paste
2 Tbsp Tamari
2 Tbsp White Wine
2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
1 Tbsp Chinese Black Vinegar
Sesame Seeds to Garnish

- First make the marinade. Add Black Bean Paste, Tamari, White Wine, Brown Sugar, and Chinese Black Vinegar to a small bowl and whisk together. Set aside until ready to use.

- Heat Sesame Oil in large pan over medium-high heat.

- Add in Garlic and ginger and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes until fragrant and garlic is golden-brown.

- Add in Sliced Bean Curd and stir-fry for 8 minutes until golden-brown on both sides.

- Add in the Chinese Flowering Chives and stir-fry for 2-3 more minutes until softened and bright green.

- Add in Marinade, and let cook for 2-4 minutes until slightly reduced.

- Remove from heat, garnish with sesame seeds and serve over a bed of brown rice or eat as is.

*** Note - Make sure you read the labels on your Black Bean Paste. Make sure it is FERMENTED, and made with black soybeans. Do not confuse it with sweet black bean paste which is sweeter in nature and made with mung beans. Fermented black bean paste is more like a miso, where as the other kind of black bean paste is used like red bean paste in pastry’s, desserts, and other confections. *** 

Spicy Beef and Spinach Lasagna...

It’s been unseasonably cool here the past week. Mostly the days are warm but in the evening it cools considerably and there’s a good breeze. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining, I love cooler weather - fall is my favorite time of year - but this kind of weather really makes me want to eat ‘out of season’ you know? The other day when it was particularly grey and quite cool I suddenly felt in the mood for lasagna. I have about a million different lasagna recipes in my arsenal but I didn’t want to use any of them. Instead, I wanted to get creative, so I took a look around and found a package of Beyond Meat Feisty Beef Crumbles that I’d bought when they were on sale but never used. I don’t normally buy these kinds of things but since they were new, my husband and I thought we’d try them out but I just never knew what to use them in, until I realized they would be perfect in lasagna.

Since I was only making a lasagna for my husband and I, and I only had one package of beef and one package of cheese I made a small one using my 8x8 baking pan. You could probably double the recipe for a larger lasagna if you needed to, but this dish is super hearty and filling, we only ate one slice each which is a real anomaly for us - especially my husband who’s been known to turn into Garfield at the site of lasagna. This recipe exceeded my expectations and I was quite happy with the end result. So next time you need to make a really hearty, meaty, cheesy lasagna for the omnivore in your life give this one a shot - provided they don’t mind a little heat of course!

Spicy Beef and Spinach Lasagna 

6 Square Lasagna Sheets (8x8)
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Yellow Onion Diced
8 Cloves Garlic Minced
*** 1 Package Feisty Beyond Meat Beef Crumbles thawed (Or your favorite vegan beef)
1 ½ tsp Crushed Fennel Seeds
14oz Can Diced Tomatoes
8oz Can Tomato Sauce
1 Tbsp Dried Oregano
1 Tbsp Dried Basil
1 tsp Sea Salt
1/4 tsp White Pepper
1/4 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
2 Tbsp Capers
3-4 Tbsp Minced Pepperoni Peppers
10oz Fresh Baby Spinach
*** 1 Package Daiya Mozzarella Shreds (Or your favorite vegan Mozzarella)

Tomato Sauce for Topping 

1 8oz Can tomato sauce
2 Tbsp Tomato Paste
4oz water
2 garlic cloves
2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp onion powder
2 tbsp capers
2 tbsp minced pepperoni peppers
½ bunch minced parsley
Sea Salt and Black Pepper to taste
1 tsp Dried Basil

Noodles 

- Set a pot of water on the stove and bring to a boil. When boiling add the lasagna sheets and boil for 5-6 minutes until the sheets become soft and pliable. They don’t need to be fully cooked. Drain them, and rinse them.


Filling 

- Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and saute for 5-6 minutes until softened.

- Add in the crushed fennel seeds and the beef crumbles. Saute for 5 minutes, until crumbles have browned.

- Add in the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, oregano, basil, salt, pepper, capers, red pepper flakes, and Pepperoni Peppers. Simmer for about 10 minutes then remove from the heat.

Sauce 

- Heat the olive oil in a small pot on the stove. Add in the garlic and saute for 4 minutes until golden.

- Add in all the other ingredients and bring to a boil. Then decrease the heat and let simmer for 20 minutes.

- Remove from the heat and set aside until ready to use.

Assembly

- Preheat oven to 350'F

- Lightly grease an 8x8 baking pan. Layer in 2 of the lasagna noodles. Cover the lasagna noodles with enough spinach to cover them. Layer in enough of the meat filling mixture to cover the spinach. Then sprinkle enough of the cheese over the filling to cover.

- Layer 2 more lasagna sheets overtop, and repeat with remaining spinach, meat filling and cheese.

- Layer the last 2 lasagna noodles on top. Cover the top with the tomato sauce, and then cover in foil and bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes. Alternately you can bake the lasagna without the sauce and spoon the sauce over top after it finishes baking.

- Once finished remove from the oven, garnish with fresh minced parsley, then cut and serve! Preferably with a nice side salad.

*** Note - Just because I used Beyond Meat crumbles and Daiya Cheese doesn’t mean you have to. Use whatever you favorite vegan meat and cheese are, though if you use a plainly seasoned vegan beef you may want to add a bit more heat to the dish, it’s up to you. Something to keep in mind that this dish is gluten-free and soy free - as long as you use gluten-free lasagna noodles -because both beyond meat and daiya are gluten and soy free products. If you're using other vegan products and gluten or soy is an issue you'll have to read the labels to make sure.***