Vegan Quiche

Ingredients
1 vegan pie crust

3 leeks, light green and white parts finely chopped

2 c. mushrooms

2 tbsp. vegan butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

1-14 oz. package extra firm tofu, drained

1/2 c. raw cashews

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 c. nutritional yeast

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. kala namak (black salt)

1/2 cup water

Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Saute leeks and mushrooms in butter with some salt and black pepper until the leeks become soft and tender, but do not brown. 

Place all other ingredients into Vitamix and blend until very smooth and airy. Season with salt and pepper, as needed. 

Add the tofu custard to the leeks and mix well. Pour the filling into the pie crust and bake for 45 minutes, or until filling is set. It should not jiggle. Cool for 20 minutes before serving. 

Hot & Sour Soup

Easy weeknight meal that comes together in a half hour. Check out the original recipe here: Vegan Hot and Sour Soup with Ramen - Vegan Richa.

Ingredients

5 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1/2 inch ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 hot green chili, minced
3 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp .dark soy sauce (or use 1 tbsp. regular soy sauce + 1 tsp. molasses)
1 tbsp. rice vinegar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper
a good dash of white pepper
2 tsp. maple syrup
1/2 c. carrots, thinly sliced
2 c. shitake mushrooms
2 c. napa cabbage, thinly sliced
1/2-1 c. extra firm tofu, pressed and chopped small
1 tbsp. cornstarch
3 or 4 green onions chopped (keep most of the green parts for garnishing and use the white and half of the green parts for the soup)
3 oz. ramen noodles

Instructions
Add 5 cups of broth to a saucepan over medium heat. Mince your ginger, garlic, and chili together so that they get crushed together. Add that to the broth. Add all the sauces, and seasonings, the soy sauce, dark soy sauce, vinegar, salt, peppers, and maple syrup to the broth.

Once the mixture is starting to boil, add in your mushroom, carrots, tofu, and stir. Once the mixture is rapidly boiling, add in the cabbage. Mix in the cabbage, then carefully taste and adjust the flavor with the extra soy sauce, and vinegar if needed. Add in the white parts of green onions.

While the soup is boiling, make your cornstarch slurry with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch mixed in 1/2 cup of the broth.

Toss in the ramen noodles, and once they have broken apart, and they seem like they're about to be al dente, add in your cornstarch mixture, and mix well. Let the mixture start to boil again, and then take off heat. You don't want to cook the ramen noodles too much. You want them to be just about done, because they'll continue to cook in the hot broth.

Take the pot off the heat, taste, and adjust salt and flavor with soy sauce, salt, vinegar etc. Garnish with some pepper flakes or black pepper, and the remaining parts of the green onion, and serve immediately.

Serves 4. 

1 serving = 180 calories 

Smoky Portobello Tacos

Ingredients
Spanish rice
¼ cup cashews
8 oz. portobello mushrooms
1 garlic clove
1 lime
1 radish
1 scallion
1 jalapeño
1 tbsp. liquid smoke
1 tbsp. tamari or soy sauce
4 whole wheat tortillas
2 oz. shredded red cabbage
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
Salt and pepper

Directions
Cook Spanish rice. Preheat the oven to 400°F for the tortillas. Add the cashews and ¼ cup hot tap water to a small bowl. Soak nuts for at least 10 minutes. Thinly slice the portobello mushroom caps. Peel the garlic. Halve and juice the lime(s). Trim the radish(es) and cut into matchsticks. Thinly slice the scallion(s). Deseed and roughly chop the jalapeño(s).

Add the cashews and their soaking water, garlic, lime juice, chopped jalapeño, and a pinch of salt and pepper to a blender. Blend the jalapeño cashew sauce until smooth.

Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sliced portobello mushrooms and let cook, undisturbed, until they begin to brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the tamari and just 1 teaspoon of liquid smoke. Toss to coat, and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes.

Wrap the tortillas in tin foil and place in the oven to warm, 3 to 4 minutes. Top the warm tortillas with Spanish rice, smoky portobello mushrooms, sliced radish, sliced scallion, and shredded red cabbage. Drizzle with jalapeño cashew sauce. Serve the smoky portobello tacos with any remaining Spanish rice.

Mushroom Shawarma

Ingredients
1 garlic clove
1 tbsp. white vinegar
¼ c. vegan mayo
¾ tsp. ground turmeric
1 red onion
8 oz. cremini mushrooms
2 tsp. baharat spice blend
4 oz. curly kale
1 oz. fresh parsley
4 oz. shredded red cabbage
2 multigrain flatbread
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 tsp. olive oil
Salt and pepper

Directions
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Peel and mince the garlic. In a small bowl, combine just 1 tsp white vinegar (reserving the rest for the next step), the minced garlic, Vegenaise, turmeric, and a pinch of salt. Mix the turmeric aioli.

Peel and slice the onion. Wipe the mushrooms with a damp towel to clean, and cut into ½ inch thick slices. Add the sliced onion and sliced mushrooms to a baking sheet, toss with 2 tbsp vegetable oil, the baharat spice, and ¼ tsp salt. Roast until the vegetables are crispy in places, about 16 to 18 minutes.

Destem the kale and thinly slice the leaves. Remove the parsley leaves from the stems. In a medium bowl, combine the remaining vinegar, kale, parsley leaves, red cabbage, 1 tsp olive oil, and a pinch of salt. Toss the kale salad to combine.

Wrap the flatbreads in foil and put them in the oven to warm, about 1 to 2 minutes.

Spread the turmeric aioli on the flatbreads. Place the roasted vegetables and kale salad on one half of the flatbread, and fold the other half over. Serve any remaining salad alongside the mushroom shawarma.

Serves 2; 420 calories per serving without the bread.

Summer Vegetable Lasagna

Ingredients

For the vegetable mixture:

1tbsp. oil

1 small onion, diced

100 g. asparagus, cut into ½ cm. slices

50 g. sugar snap peas, cut into ½ cm. slices

4 cloves garlic, minced

100 g. mushrooms, cut into 1cm dice

125 g. cherry tomatoes, quartered

125 g. sweetcorn kernels

For the sauce:

2 tbsp. butter

2 tbsp. plain flour

300 ml milk

¼ tsp. ground nutmeg

Salt

Black pepper

50 g. cheddar cheese, grated

To construct the lasagna:

150 g. no-boil lasagna sheets

100 g. mozzarella, grated

1 large tomato, sliced

Fresh parsley, chopped, to serve

Instructions

Begin by preparing your vegetables. Heat the oil in a frying pan, and add the diced onion, asparagus, and sugar snap peas. Cook over a fairly low heat for 5 minutes, stirring regularly, and then add the garlic and mushrooms. Cook for a further 5 minutes, until the mushrooms have cooked down and the mixture is fairly dry. Remove from the heat, and add the tomatoes and sweetcorn. Set aside.

Next, make the creamy sauce. Melt the butter in a saucepan, and add the flour. Whisking constantly, cook over a very low heat for a minute or two, and then add the milk a little at a time, whisking until smooth each time before adding another dash. Add the nutmeg and plenty of seasoning, along with the grated cheddar. Whisk for one more minute until the cheese has melted into the sauce, and then remove from the heat.

Heat the oven to 375°F.

Now you can begin to construct the lasagna. Begin with about a tablespoon of sauce, spread out over the bottom of a baking dish (mine measured around 8 x 6 inches). Add a layer of lasagna sheets, breaking them into pieces so that they cover the bottom of the dish in a single layer.

From here on, it doesn't matter too much how you create your layers, but here's how I made mine: ⅓ of the vegetable mixture; ⅓ of the sauce; layer of lasagna; another ⅓ of the vegetables; another ⅓ of the sauce; another layer of lasagna; remaining vegetables; remaining sauce. Make sure any corners of lasagna are covered in at least a little bit of the sauce to stop them from burning.

Once you've used up all of your vegetables and sauce, top the dish with the grated mozzarella and slices of tomato. Bake for around 40 minutes, or until the cheese is crispy and golden brown and the lasagna is tender. If the cheese is browning too quickly, just cover the dish loosely with foil and return to the oven until the pasta is cooked.

Leave to stand for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Serves 4 to 6.

Vegetarian Shepherds' Pie

Ingredients

1 spaghetti squash

1 head of garlic

1/4 c. olive oil 

2 c. bread crumbs

1 c. milk

2 eggs, beaten

1 tbsp. fresh basil, chopped

1 tsp. fresh thyme, chopped 

1 tbsp. flat parsley, chopped

6 Yukon Gold potatoes, boiled but not peeled

1/4 c. melted butter

1/2 c. smooth goat cheese 
1 c. half-and-half 

3 c. sliced mushrooms

6 c. zucchini

1 medium onion, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

4 cloves garlic cloves, minced

1 c. lentils (cooked), kidney beans or chickpeas

Fried shallots to garnish

Salt and pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 300 °F. First, cut the spaghetti squash in half and remove the seeds. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 1 ½ hours. As an alternative, place on a plate and cook in the microwave on high for about 20 minutes.

Put the garlic head on a baking tray. Drizzle with 1 tsp. olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and put in the oven for 30 minutes or until the garlic is very tender.

In a bowl, mix the bread crumbs with the milk. Let stand for 5 minutes until all the liquid has been absorbed. Mix in the eggs and herbs. Put aside.

Mash the potatoes with the butter, goat cheese, cooked garlic puree and cream to make them nice and smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

Remove the spaghetti squash flesh with a fork and put it in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper and put aside.

Preheat the oven to 450 °F. Heat the remaining oil in a large pan and sauté the onions, carrots and celery over medium heat until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, mushrooms, and zucchini and continue cooking until brown, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Add the cooked lentils or beans and the bread mixture. Stir and put aside.

In an 9 x 13 inches baking dish, spoon the vegetable mixture onto the bottom. Layer with the spaghetti squash, then the potatoes and smooth them down. Cook in oven for 30 minutes or so until top is slightly browned. Garnish with fried shallots to taste.

Portobello Mushroom Stroganoff

Ingredients
2 tsp. olive oil
2 tsp. butter
1 large sweet onion, chopped finely
2 large cloves garlic, minced
2 lbs. baby portobello mushrooms, cleaned and sliced thickly
1 tsp. kosher salt, divided
1/4 c. flour
1 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. black pepper, freshly ground
3/4 c. white wine or dry vermouth
1/2 c. vegetable broth
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
3 c. baby spinach
1/2 c. sour cream or Greek yogurt

Directions
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add in the onions and garlic and cook until onions begin to soften, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and salt. Cook until mushrooms begin to soften, about 3 to 4 minutes. Continue to cook until liquid reduces by about half.

Meanwhile, cook egg noodles according to package directions, drain, and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine flour, paprika, and pepper. Sprinkle flour mixture over cooked mushrooms and toss to coat the mushroom mixture. Add broth, wine or vermouth, and Worcestershire sauce to mushroom mixture and stir to combine. Add in spinach, cover and turn heat down or off. The spinach will wilt in just a few minutes.

Just before serving, stir in the sour cream or yogurt and heat on low to bring it up to temperature. Do not boil. Serve over egg noodles, topped with crunchy Chinese rice noodles. Serves 6.

Spinach Enchiladas

The is an excellent white sauce for the traditional "Mexican Flag" enchilada dish you might find. 

Ingredients
For the enchiladas:
1 lb. fresh organic spinach (we used the Wegmans 11 oz. organic baby spinach)

2 tbsp. chopped garlic
1 large onion, chopped
1 lb. fresh mushrooms, halved
1 tbsp. butter
2 slices white bread, crusts removed
salt
2 tsp. white pepper
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. chili powder
2 eggs, beaten
2 c. grated monterey jack and cheddar cheese blend, divided
6 to 8 flour tortillas

For the cilantro cream sauce:
1-1/2 c. half-and-half
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tbsp. cornstarch, plus 1 tsp. cornstarch, dissolved in a small amount of cold water
1-1/2 c. cilantro, chopped finely

Directions
Wilt spinach in large pot. Combine garlic, onion and mushrooms in food processor, and process until coarsely chopped. Melt butter in sauté pan, and sauté onion mixture until onion is translucent. Remove pan from heat, and set aside.

Make bread crumbs in food processor from sliced bread. Add spinach, salt, pepper, nutmeg, chili powder and eggs. Process until blended thoroughly. Transfer to mixing bowl, and stir in onion mixture and 6 tablespoons cheese.

Preheat broiler. Spoon a portion of filling onto each tortilla and roll it up. Place each enchilada in casserole dish, seam side down. Repeat until you've used up filling. 

For cream sauce, mix half-and-half, cayenne, salt and a little of the dissolved corn starch in medium saucepan, and heat until thickened. The sauce should be creamy, not runny; add more cornstarch mixture as necessary. Off the heat, stir in cilantro. Pour cilantro cream sauce over tortillas, and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Broil until cheese melts and turns a nice golden color.