Tofu kale ricotta pie, lemon garlic roasted cauliflower and fennel, caper raisin dressing.

Because I'm home for the first time in weeks and weeks.  Because it's Spring and still freezing.  Because I'm not drinking wine tonight so I'm going to shower my body in gastronomical affection.  Because I love myself.

Ingredients:

olive oil

3 cups tuscan kale leaves, chopped

1 brown onion, chopped

375g firm tofu

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1.5 teaspoons sea salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 tablespoon white or barley miso paste

1/2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon nutritional yeast (optional)

1/2 cup vegan mozzarella or cheddar (I used Vegusto No-Moo Melty)

7 filo pastry sheets

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

2. Heat olive oil a fry pan on medium heat. Sauté the tuscan kale leaves in a few batches. Only cook the leaves for a few minutes until they start to wilt, then place on a dish or a tray to cool down.

3. Use the same fry pan to sauté the chopped brown onions, until they are transparent. Place the onion on a dish to cool down.

4. Place the onion, garlic, and tofu in a processor. As it blending add the sea salt, black pepper, miso paste, apple cider vinegar and nutritional yeast. Blend until the onions and garlic are broken down and the mixture becomes like a moist crumbly ricotta texture.

5. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and stir through the tuscan kale and vegan cheese. Add more salt and pepper if you need.

6. Take a 20cm-round springform pan and brush the base and sides with with some oliveoil.Take 1 sheet of filo sheet and place on a flat surface. Brush the filo with olive oil, then place the oiled side on the base of the pan, letting the edges hang over the edge. Repeat this, layering 5 more sheets on top of each other in a clockwise pattern.

7. Place the tofu ricotta and kale filling in the centre of the pan, making sure its equally distributed.

8. Scrunch the sides of the filo sheets to form a border around the filling.

9. Brush another sheet of pastry with oil on both sides, then scrunch the sheet over one side of the filling, within the pastry border. Repeat with another sheet on the other side of the filling.

10. Bake for 40 minutes or until the pastry is golden and crunchy. Leave to stand for 10 minutes before removing from the springform pan and serving.

For the Cauliflower:

1 lemon, peeled and sliced thinly (about 6 slices), seeds removed
1 medium head of cauliflower, cut into medium florets
1 head of garlic, cloves peeled and left whole
1 fennel bulb, cored and thinly sliced (2 cups sliced)
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 ¼ teaspoons salt
Freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. For the gremolata, mix together the garlic, lemon zest, and parsley in a small bowl and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, place the lemon slices, cauliflower, garlic cloves, fennel, oil, salt, and a sprinkle of pepper, and toss together. Spread on a parchment-covered baking pan and roast for 40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until the cauliflower has browned and the garlic is tender. Transfer to a serving dish or to individual plates and sprinkle with the gremolata. Serve hot.

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

• 75g/2.65oz. raisins
• 75g/2.65oz. capers
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 clove garlic, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• Salt to taste

Step 1 - Rinse the capers and place them in a small saucepan along with the raisins, water and garlic. On low heat simmer so that the raisins plump up and allow to steep for 15-20 minutes. Cool a little.

Step 2 - Blend the raisin caper mixture water and all with the white wine vinegar and olive oil. Season with a little salt. Serve with roasted vegetables.

Creamy broccoli soup with cheesy garlic croutons.

Last night I slept eleven hours and today I am having a 'day off'.  Washed my hair, changed the sheets, drank endless cups of tea.  Soon I will tolerate the rest of the insufferable Wuthering Heights whilst sitting next to the heater and consider doing yoga.  My soul feels better than it did.


This is a SEXY BROCCOLI SOUP.  It is creamy, salty, hearty, and huggable.  For the croutons I added nootch and salt because salt.  Okay, your move winter.

Ingredients

• ¾ cup raw cashews, soaked
• 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 medium onions, diced
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 3 carrots, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 16 oz broccoli (about 7 cups, packed)
• 6 cups water, divided
• 1½ tsp salt (or to taste)
• freshly ground pepper

Instructions

1. Place cashews in a small bowl. Cover with water. Soak for at least 30 minutes, or overnight. (I brewed water in a tea kettle, poured the boiling water over the cashews, and let them soak for 15 minutes. If you have a high-speed blender, they won't need to soak long.)
2. Add oil to a large pot (I used my dutch oven) over medium high heat. Once hot, add onion and a pinch of salt and sautee for about three minutes. Add celery and carrots and sauté for another five minutes. Add garlic and broccoli and sautee for another five minutes.
3. Add 5 cups water, salt, and pepper. Stir and bring mixture to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes.
4. Drain cashews. Place cashews and 1 cup water in a blender (I used my nutribullet). Blend until very smooth and creamy. There should be no clumps. Set the cashew cream aside.
5. Puree soup using a large blender or immersion blender. You'll likely have to do this in batches.
6. Once soup is pureed, stir in cashew cream. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper, if desired.

Homemade Croutons in 20 Minutes

 

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Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

20 mins

 

Author: Vegan Insanity

Recipe type: How-To Guide

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

• 1 loaf day-old French bread
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp basil (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Chop bread into cubes. Make sure they're bite-sized!
3. Add bread cubes, olive oil, garlic powder and basil into a large bowl. Mix well, so that all bread cubes are coated nicely.
4. Arrange bread cubes on a baking tray, lined with non-stick spray or a Silplat baking mat. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until firm to the touch and lightly browned.
5. Allow to cool completely, then stick them in a freezer bag and pop in the freezer until needed. Thaw for 5 minutes before use.

Chocolate chip peanut butter cookies.

It's okay to feel sad.  It's a part of this weird giant rollercoaster.  It's also okay to hug your sadness with some Sunday cookie baking and eat the biscuits while they're still warm on the tray and love yourself to bits and pieces.

Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yields 16

Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

10 min

Total Time

20 min

Ingredients

1. 1 1/4 cup flour
2. 1 cup vegan chocolate chips
3. 1/2 cup organic peanut butter
4. 1/2 cup vegan butter (such as Earth Balance)
5. 1/2 cup organic sugar
6. 1/2 cup brown sugar
7. 1/4 cup organic soy milk
8. 1 tsp vanilla
9. 3/4 tsp baking soda
10. 1/2 tsp baking power
11. 1/2 tsp salt

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Combine the butter, peanut butter, vanilla and sugars in a bowl.
3. Combine the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder in another bowl.
4. Stir the flour mixture into the peanut butter mixture, adding soy milk as you stir.
5. Mix in the chocolate chips.
6. Form the dough into 2-inch balls and place on a greased cookie sheet, spacing 2 inches apart.
7. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes.
8. Let cool for 5-10 minutes - if you can wait that long!

Cauliflower with almonds, raisins and capers.

Such a beautiful side dish, even sans breadcrumbs.  Obvs I use tamari or smoked almonds.

Yield: 4 servings (sure, totally)
1 head cauliflower, trimmed of leaves
1 1/2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh soft bread crumbs
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons whole almonds
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons golden raisins (I had only dark ones on hand, nobody complained)
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon capers, rinsed and drained
1 teaspoon finely chopped parsley
1 teaspoon finely chopped tarragon
1 teaspoon finely sliced chives.
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut cauliflower from top to bottom in 1-inch slices. Place a large ovenproof skillet over low heat and add one tablespoon butter. When it has melted, add bread crumbs and toss until toasted and golden brown, about 3 minutes. Transfer crumbs to a plate and wipe out pan.
2. Return pan to medium heat and add one teaspoon olive oil. Add almonds and toss until lightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Season lightly with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer almonds to a plate, let cool, and cut each almond into three pieces*; set aside.
3. Wipe out pan and return to medium heat. Add remaining one tablespoon olive oil and cauliflower slices. Sauté until lightly browned on both sides. Transfer pan to oven and roast until tender, about 12 minutes. (I had to brown my cauliflower in batches, not having enough surface area in my pan, but tossed everything back in to roast it.) Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over low heat, melt remaining 1/2 tablespoon butter and add raisins, vinegar and 1 tablespoon water. Simmer until raisins are plump and soft, about 5 minutes; drain and set aside. In a small bowl, combine almonds, capers, raisins, parsley, tarragon and chives. Season with salt and pepper and toss to mix.
4. Arrange roasted cauliflower on a serving platter. Spoon almond-herb mixture evenly on top and sprinkle with toasted bread crumbs. Serve immediately.

Kale spanakopita.

Food as healing.  Always, always food as healing.

I adjusted this recipe because apparently this is a thing I can do now.  Added tahini and heaps of salt to the cashew feta, steamed the kale in chicken stock, caramelised thin onions (thanks Ottolenghi), PLUS added nootch and two no-eggs.

I didn't realise the filo needed three hours to thaw so I just did it as an 'open pie' with almonds and pine nuts over the top and gave my soul the hug it needed.

Ingredients

For the Cashew Feta
• 1 cup raw cashews, soaked in water 4-8 hours
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons unflavored soy or almond milk
For the Kale Filling
• 1 (1-pound) bunch kale, stems removed and chopped into 1 to 2-inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
For the Pastry
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 24 sheets phyllo pastry

Instructions

Prepare the Cashew Feta
1. Drain the cashews, place them in a food processor and blend to a thick paste, stopping to scrape down the bowl occasionally. Add the lemon juice and soy or almond milk. Process again until smooth and set aside.
Prepare the Kale Filling
2. Add about 2 inches of water to a large saucepan and bring it to a boil. Lower heat to medium, add the kale and cover. Steam the kale until it's completely wilted, removing the lid and stirring about every 2 minutes, cooking for a total of 6-8 minutes. Transfer the kale to a colander to drain.
3. Pour all of the water out of the saucepan, wipe it dry, and return it to medium heat on the stove.
4. Heat the olive oil in the saucepan. Add the onion and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and continue to sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Return the kale to the saucepan, and add the lemon juice, green onions, salt, pepper and cashew feta. Toss a few times to get everything well mixed, then remove from heat.
Prepare the Spanakopita
5. Preheat oven to 400°F.
6. Use some of the olive oil to grease a 9 x 9 or 9 x 13-inch pan. Arrange a sheet of phyllo in the bottom of pan. Brush the entire top surface of the phyllo sheet with olive oil.
7. Layer a second sheet over the first, and then brush the second sheet with olive oil in the same manner. Repeat this for 8 phyllo sheets, making sure to firmly (but gently) press down on each sheet to work out air bubbles. If using a 9 x 9-inch pan, tuck the excess phyllo down along the sides of the pan, or fold over top.
8. After 8 sheets are layered, distribute half of the kale filling over the phyllo. Arrange 8 more sheets of phyllo over the filling, brushing each with olive oil as described above.
9. Distribute the second half of the kale filling over the phyllo. Arrange the last 8 sheets of phyllo and remaining olive oil over the second filling layer, in the same manner as described above, making sure to brush the surface of the top phyllo sheet with olive oil.
10. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown on top. Cut into 6 to 8 squares and serve.

Notes

While preparing the spanakopita, keep your phyllo covered with a damp dish towel, as the sheets will dry out quickly otherwise.

A 9 x 13-inch baking dish is the easiest way to go with this, because that's pretty close to the dimensions of most phyllo sheets. I prefer a 9 x 9-inch pan though, because it results in a thicker spanakopita that holds up better during cutting.

Read more at http://ohmyveggies.com/vegan-kale-spanakopita/#pfgzA6kbfwvPwcOb.99