Vegetable Chowder

This soup is easy, delicious, comforting, and it uses up the ends of all the veggies left in your fridge at the end of the week. In other words, it's everything a soup should be.

2 tbsp oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 large carrot, diced
1 large stalk of celery, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 large russet potato, diced
3/4 C green beans, trimmed and cut into inch long pieces
3/4 C broccoli, cut into small florets
1/2 C each frozen corn and peas
2 C unsweetened almond milk (or whatever you have)
1/4 C white/light miso paste, dissolved into the milk
1 fake chicken bullion cube
1/4 C nutritional yeast
2 tsp poultry seasoning
1 small bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste
finely diced red pepper, flat leaf parsley, and a dollop of plain soy yogurt to garnish, if you're feeling adventurous

In your soup pot, heat the oil over medium high heat. Add the onion and cook until starting to turn golden and soft. Add the carrot, celery, garlic, and cook for 5 minutes. Add the potato and 3 cups of water. Allow to come to a boil, then reduce to a simmer until the potatoes are just cooked through. Add the green beans, cook for five minutes. Add all the remaining ingredients, increase heat to medium to boil, then reduce heat and serve.

Lentil and Quinoa Stew with Roasted Buttercup Squash

Fall is here in the great white north, and I'm so excited! Fall is my favorite season :) Cool days and gray skies and back to school, these things get me revved up to start new projects. Seeing all these lovely fall vegetables in the markets inspires me to cook warm, tasty things that roast long and slow in the oven or in a pot on the stove, filling the house with delicious smells and warmth. This dish is savoury and comforting, a great way to enjoy Buttercup's rich, meaty texture without the brown sugar and cinnamon it's usually accompanied by (although it's good like that too!)

1 Buttercup or Kabocha Squash, halved and baked cut side down in a cup or water in a rimmed pan at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes. Then, turn over, smear 1 tbsp Earth Balance over the cut side and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Return to the oven for another 15-30 minutes. Baste with the margarine once or twice during cooking, and cut each half in half again when meltingly tender, to make four wedges.

1 cup green lentils, cooked with a bay leaf, a pinch of red chilis and a pinch of salt
1 cup quinoa, rinsed
olive oil and Earth Balance, for the pan
1 onion, chopped
1 stalk of celery, chopped
6 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp each: dried thyme, marjoram, and savoury
1 vegan beef bouillon cube, made in one cup of water
black pepper
lemon
fresh baby arugula, optional


Cook the onions and celery in a large pot with the oil and EB until golden. Add the garlic, and the lentils with the bay leaf, the quinoa, and 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then simmer, covered, until the quinoa is cooked through, about 15 minutes total. Add the remaining ingredients except the lemon, and simmer about 5 minutes. Stir in the juice from half the lemon in and season with pepper just before serving. Serve one quarter of a squash with a cup and a half of the stew, a wedge of lemon, and a handful of fresh baby arugula. I'm sure some warm pita to sop up the stew would be lovely.

Asian Slaw

In the summer, or when life is otherwise too busy to spend much time in front of the stove, it's good to have a few salad recipes on hand that keep well in the fridge for a few days. Coleslaw is an old standby, and this Asian version is just right. Do try it, even if you don't like regular coleslaw. Napa cabbage, or Sui Choy, is a much milder, more delicate version of regular cabbage, and doesn't have much of the bitterness associated with it. For a lighter version, hold the Vegenaise, adding a few spoonfuls of water and a squirt of lemon or lime instead.

Dressing:
1/3 cup Vegenaise
3 tbsp seasoned white rice vinegar
1 tbsp tamari
1 tbsp agave nectar, or some other sweetner (start with less and add to taste)
1 tbsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp garlic chili paste
1/4 tsp Asian 5 spice seasoning (or more, if yours isn't especially fresh)
1 clove garlic, minced

Slaw:
1 smallish head of Napa Cabbage (Sui Choy) cut into thin strips- about three cups
1/2 cup julienned carrots
1/2 cup julienned snow peas (tips and tails removed)
1/2 cup julienned red pepper
1/2 cup julienned green onion
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/3 cup coarsely chopped cashews

Whisk together dressing very well, toss to coat salad. This will last for a few days in the fridge, and carries well in lunches.

Summer Squash Casserole

I want to call this lasagna but it's not, cause there's no pasta in it. This casserole is rich and satisfying just like lasagna should be, but full of light summer flavours.

Body:
1 medium-large eight ball squash, or zucchini, sliced on the bias in 1/3 inch slices (about 2 1/2 cups total sliced)
1 medium-large summer (yellow) squash, sliced on the bias in 1/3 inch slices (about 2 1/2 cups total sliced)
1 small red onion, sliced thinly
1 bunch spinach, sliced into strips
1/2 small head of garlic, chopped
1 small can navy beans
3 tbsp capers
1 small jar artichoke hearts marinated in olive oil
1 small can cherry tomatoes (or chopped tomatoes, if you can't find them)

Liquid:
1 vegan chicken bullion cube mixed in two cups of water
1/2 cup vermouth
3 tbsp Dijon
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried basil
3 tbsp nutritional yeast
3 tbsp olive oil, plus more for greasing the pan

Grease a lasagna pan very generously with olive oil. Combine all the ingredients for the "Liquid" portion of the dish in a large liquid measuring cup. Layer the eight ball squash or zucchini along the bottom or the prepared dish, overlapping slightly. Drizzle with a spoonful of oil, and top with all the ingredients that make the body of the dish in the order they are listed except the yellow squash. Pour in half the liquid mixture. Layer yellow squash prettily over the top of the dish, and pour the remaining liquid across the surface. Bake, covered, in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes, and uncovered for another 20-30. Take it out just as things are starting to get golden, and most of the liquid is evaporated. If desired, you can top this with some vegan mozzarella and toss it under the broiler until bubbly. Serve with crusty bread and a nice, crisp summer wine.

Pasta with Black Kale and Criminis

This was absolutely delicious with a nice Chardonnay. Serve it with some grilled tofu steaks and crusty bread if you're feeling adventurous

1 box pasta, cooked according to directions
3 tbsp olive oil
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
2 cups sliced criminis
2 cups sliced black kale, ribs removed
6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/2 tsp thyme
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 cup Chardonnay
1 tbsp chopped Italian parsley
Salt, pepper to taste

While cooking the pasta, cook the onions and mushrooms together in a fry pan until the mushrooms and onions are starting to brown. Add the kale and cook 3 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients, stirring to incorporate, and cook 5 more minutes.

Broccoli Sesame Stir-fry

You can get these seitan stir-fry strips all over the place for not too expensive where we live, but if you don't have them tofu would work very well here, though you might have to marinate it or increase the seasoning. I found some brown rice vermicelli and harvested some broccoli and anise-hyssop from my garden this weekend, and this is what came of it.

1 package beef-style seitan strips or 1 pack of extra firm tofu, chopped into triangles
1 package brown rice vermicelli, pre-soaked to package directions
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
a two inch piece of ginger, chopped
1/2 small red onion, sliced
1 carrot, julienned (about 1/2 cup)
about 2 cups broccoli florets
1 cup beet greens, sliced (or whatever greens you have)
1 tsp chili garlic paste
3 tbsp low-sodium tamari
3 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar
1 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
1 tbsp sesame oil
3 tbsp chopped fresh anise-hyssop or thai basil

Brown seitan with garlic and ginger, about three minutes. Add the remaining vegetables save the greens, toss a few spoonfuls of water in the pan, and cover until starting to soften and bright in colour, about 5 minutes. Remove lid and add all the remaining ingredients and the pre-soaked and rinsed noodles, save the anise-hyssop or thai basil and sesame oil. Cook five more minutes, add the herbs and oil, and serve. Add more water as you go if things look dry, or soy is it's too light tasting.

Beefy Vegetable Pasta

I had half an avocado that needed to be used, as well as a bunch of things I normally would put in a sammich, but no bread. So, I thought I'd experiment with using the avocado in a sauce. The results were surprising- the avocado added the richness and mouth-feel of a beef sauce of soup, a sort of translucent texture that's neither creamy, as if thickened by soy products, or pasty, as if thickened using a roux. Next time I want to make a beef-y soup, I'll definitely be using an avocado.

Pasta, cooked according to directions (use something with ridges that can pick up sauce)
1 small can chickpeas
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
1/3 cup red onion, sliced
1 tomato, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 large, very ripe avocado
2 cups lightly packed spinach
juice of 1/3 lemon
1/2 bullion cube of beef-flavour vegan stock made in one cup of water
1/3 cup vermouth
1 bay leaf
2 tsp dry basil
2 tsp dry rosemary
1 tsp dry oregano
a generous amount of black pepper
red pepper flakes, to taste

Put pasta on to boil, and preheat a fry pan. Brown yellow onions in a bit of olive oil in the preheated pan. Add tomato, red onion, pepper, a pinch of salt and pepper, cooking over medium heat until softened. Squeeze the avocado into the pan, smushing with your fingers as you go. Add remaining ingredients except spinach and vermouth, breaking up any lumps of avocado with the back of a spoon. Simmer about ten minutes, then add spinach and vermouth, and serve when just wilted.

This would be great with some garlic bread to soak up the juices.