GREEN SMOOTHIE #7

This Green Smoothie is different from the others in that is does not turn out a pretty green, but rather a light purple, but it adds different fruit than the others, which is our goal.  Try to mix up the greens and the fruits every day so that we are getting different benefits. The raspberries add a nice taste to this mix.

• 1 cup of raspberries (i used fresh)
• 1 cup of blueberries (i used fresh)
• 1 apple cored (if you have a vitavix...like Kelley and Daniel you don't have to core the apple)
• 3 big handfuls of spinach
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup of ice cubes  (if you don't have ice, use 2 cups of water
• 1 scoop of protein powder
• 1 tsp of flax seed oil if you have it.

BROILED TOMATO, ASPARAGUS, CHEESE SANDWICH

Ezekiel sprouted grain bread can be found in the freezer section of the grocery store.  I pop it in the freezer when I get home and just take the pieces out that I need and let them thaw.  It's expensive but packed full of fibre and protein. 

***just a note on veggie cheese.  I have tried a lot of different brands, some of them highly recommended by other bloggers...and they were horrible.  The one that I love and use the most is made by Galaxy foods.'
http://www.galaxyfoods.com/  I don't know if it is available in Canada or not.  You need to experiment yourself and try some different kinds....don't give up if your first experiment fails.  There are lots of brands out there.

• 2 slices of good whole wheat bread lightly toasted
• sliced tomato
• 2-3 spears of asparagus
• shredded veggie mozarella cheese (or a blend of the mozarella and cheddar)

Set oven to broil and put shelf in middle position.  On a cookie sheet put your slices of toasted bread, top with one layer of tomatoes, asparagus (cut to fit) and sprinkle a good layer of veggie cheese. 
Place cookie sheet under broiler and stand there and watch it cook.  Do not leave the oven door!  I can't count the number of time I have burnt my lunch simply sorting through the mail and forgetting the oven.
Broil until the chesse bubbles and turns a crispy golden brown. 

I like to serve it with worchestershire sauce drizzled over the surface, but any of your favorite condiments will do.

Enough Protein??

The serious vegan bloggers, authors and speakers, all get asked the same #1 question...."how do you get protein in your diet without meat, poultry, fish and dairy?"  I am amazed that in my small life circle how many times that I get asked this same question.  Everyone automatically assumes that you need to eat meat, poultry, fish and dairy to get enough protein in your diet.  So the big question is how much protein to we need on a daily basis? 

There are tons of articles on the web with differing opinions and numbers of grams we need.  I have read tons and have come to a decision that I personally need about 30-40 grams a day. I try to have 1/2 of my protein in the morning....green smoothie with protein powder, sprouted grain bread, wasa bread with peanut butter as a snack, oatmeal, soy milk or other flavors....you get the point.  This helps me have more energy for the rest of the day. But I have to say that just about everything I eat now has protein even if it is just a salad (throw on some kidney or chick peas).  I stopped worrying about the protein content months ago after charting my intake over a period of two weeks.  Then I stopped counting the grams simply because it wasn 't necessary anymore as I became more familiar with the foods I eat and their content.

Our bodies burn more calories digesting protein than carbohydrates or fat.  Plus protein make you feel fuller longer. So of course it is important to make sure we get enough protein.  But it doesn't have to come from fat laden red meat or dairy. I like that the proteins that I am putting into my body have mostly 0 cholesterol and lots of plant based protein and fibre.

It only takes afew minutes a day on the internet to educate yourself on how much protein do you need and where else you can get protein besides meat and dairy.  I'll give you a good example:

Check out the labels on the breads you buy and look for the protein and fibre content.  Whole wheat and Sprouted grain breads (found in the freezer section) are anywhere from 3-9g of protein. That's a lot! and that is for one slice....make a peanut butter sandwich using two slices and you have about 20g of protein!

 Or check out my blog piece on broiled tomato, asparagus and cheese sandwich....16 grams plus 4 more approx for the veggies = approx 20 grams.

SLOPPY JOES

This was an easy and a tasty conversion of an old favorite.  My daughter Kelley introduced me to Yves brand of meat substitutes, and every one that I have tried have been great.  http://www.yvesveggie.com/
The down side is that I can't find them locally and have to travel to Whole Foods over an hour away.  But I went to Whole Food a few weeks ago, and loaded up....their products can also be frozen until you use them.  As I've said before I am not a fan of fake meat product, which is why I started making my own seitan, but I have to say that Yves has made me a fan. While up north at Kelley's we had the meatless beef strips.  We sauteed them with onions and peppers and piled them onto a crusty bun and it was delicious.  Check out the web site and find what you like and see if your Whole Foods stocks them.......or ask the manager to stock the ones that appeal to you. This morning I saw that they are also offering Asian Ground Round Lettuce Wraps...I have to find some of those! That was my favorite menu item at P.F. Changs.

This recipe packs 11g of protein with just the Yves meat substitute, let alone the other ingredients. (1/4 of my personal daily requirement.)

• 1 pkg of Yves Meatless Ground Round (or the one designed for tacos)
• 1/2 cup of chopped onions
• 1/2 cup of green peppers (I used red and yellow since  hubby doesn't like green peppers)
• 1  7 1/2 ox can of chopped tomatoes
• 2 TBl of quick-cooking oats
• 1 tsp of chili powder
• 1 -2 tsp of Worcestershire Sauce
• 1/2 tsp of garlic salt
• dash of hot pettper sauce (optional)
• whole wheat hamburger buns split
• ****my husband also likes baked beans in his sloppy joes, so these would be considered optional.

GREEN SMOOTHIE #6

This is my last green smoothie post for awhile.  My goal was to have enough recipes to alternate the fruits and greens to maximize the nutrient values. I have also gone back and edited the previous green smoothie posts and added the protein powder to each one, to remind you that this is a great way to get your protein in the morning.  The one that I have been using suggests two scoops and this equals 25g of protein. Since I am looking for 40g of protein daily this is a great start to the day.  Some of the recipes make a full blender and I share some of this so the protein would be cut in 1/2.  I also discovered that while I have a full glass in the morning,  I put blender container in the fridge and I will have another glass mid-morning. The protein powders come in a variety of flavors etc, and I am liking the ones flavored with vanilla which adds a nice sweetness to ones where I am using kale.  And for some reason the last batch of protein powder that I bought had whey in it, and I have since discovered that this is a milk by product....so if you are looking to eliminate dairy or reduce the amount of dairy then look for the ones without whey.

***if you are lucky enough to have a vita mix then you can just throw in the apples and 1/2 lemon whole with the skin and all.

• 2 apples skinned and cored
• 1/2 to 1 lemon peeled
• 2 romaine lettuce leaves....add more to taste
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup of ice cubes
• 2 scoops of vanilla protein powder

GREEN SMOOTHIE #5

This recipe is not as pretty to look at as the previous Green Smoothie recipes.  Lets just say that it tasted way better than it looks. The ingredients were what initially attracted me to the recipe since I love mangos and strawberries, and I happened to have both of them. The color of the smoothie was a green/brown color and would probably scare off some people, but the texture was amazing....really smooooooth with a hint of strawberry. Since the experts on the Green Smoothie sites recommend that you switch up the fruits and veggies everyday, so that you don't overload on the same nutrients makes sense to me. My goal is to have 5-7 green smoothies recipes so that I can rotate them over the course of a week.  I don't want to get bored and stop making them, since I am pumped on the raw green veggies that I am consuming! Tomorrow I am trying a recipe with romaine lettuce.

• 1 mango (peel using the same trick I posted for the orange)
• 1 cup strawberries
• 2 cups of spinach (approx 2 handfuls)
• 1/2 to 1 cup water...start with 1/2 cup and add to desired consistency
• 2 cups of ice
• 2 scoops of protein powder

GREEN SMOOTHIE #4

This smoothie uses an apple, orange and lemon this time.  The idea of the lemon intrigued me so I had to try it.  It is not as sweet as previous ones, but it has a nice tart almost lemonade taste.  The recipe called for spinach, but I only had bok choy and it still tasted great.  One author stated that bok choy in a smoothie creates a very smooth texture and it was true.  I recommend this recipe since in adds another flavor....we run this risk of making a healthy meal like this boring if we don't mix it up.  Plus switching up the ingredients each day adds different vitamins and minerals to our system.

• 1/2 lemon peeled (remember hint on how to peel citrus from smoothies #2)
• 1 large peeled orange (if orange is small use 2)
• 1 large apple cored (leave peel on)
• 1/2 to 1 banana to taste
• 2 cups spinach
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 cups of ice
• 2 scoops of protein powder

blend for a few minutes.

GREEN SMOOTHIE #3

This version was milder than the previous ones, probably because it used spinach as the green.  I am hunting for one that uses apple, so stay tuned.....

GREEN SMOOTHIE #3

• 1 cup of green grapes
• 1/2 cup of pineapple
• 2 cups of spinach
• 1/2 of a banana
• 1/2 cup of water
• 1 cup of ice cubes
• 2 scoops of protein powder

GREEN SMOOTHIE #2

This recipe is from the Vita Mix website and it calls for ice cubes, so if you don't have ice cubes (Kelley) add some more water until desired consistency.  But I have to say that the ice cubes really made it nice and cold.
When you shop for bananas buy extra for freezing.  Put 5-6 bananas into a freezer bag and use as needed.  Freezing the bananas adds a creamy texture to the smoothie.  But you can also use fresh bananas.

• 1 orange, peeled (see note below)
• 1 cup of green grapes
• 1/2 of one pear
• 1 banana
• 1 cup of kale
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 cups of ice cubes
• 2 scoops of protein powder

blend for 2 minutes.

**hint** I was recently reading a recipe and it called for a peeled orange.  I hate peeling oranges!  But I found this great suggestion to make it easier.  Cut a slice off the top and bottom of the orange exposing the flesh. Stand the orange upright on the cutting board, and using a sharp knife cut the peel off in slices cutting the white pith as you go. You end up with a orange you can easily now break into slices.  For the smoothie I just broke it in two pieces and threw it into the blender.

GREEN SMOOTHIE #1....TROPICAL TANGO

I have been trying very hard to get more of the dark green leafy vegetables into my diet.  The vitamins, minerals, and the overall benefits are key to our well-being.  And most people have very few dark green veggies in their diet. Sure we all eat salads, and have the occasional green bean, but what about kale, mustard greens, collard greens, swiss chard, cabbage, bok choy, spinach?  To be honest I have cabbage once in awhile and the occasional spinach salad.  The longer I am a vegan and the more reading and experimenting that I do, the more these green veggies are rearing their heads.  So I am on a quest for the next month to try more and more recipes using these vegetables.  Daniel sent me a recipe recently for a kale salad with cashew cream dressing and it was great!  I will be posting that soon. Everywhere you go on the vegan/vegetarian sites there is a buzz about green smoothies and I am going to be trying a new one every day for the next week and will post the successes.  The two that I have tried so far were so good that I can't wait to try another one tomorrow. This is such an easy way to incorporate green veggies into the family diets.  If they ask why it is green,  just tell them you used green apples to make it. :-)

I am also adding a tsp of flax seed oil to each recipe even when it isn't called for and a scoop of protein powder.

GREEN SMOOTHIE #1..... TROPICAL TANGO

• 1-2 cups of fresh pineapple
• 1 banana
• 1 cup of fresh orange juice (approx the juice of two oranges)
• 1 cup water
• big handful of greens ( used spinach but anything will do)
• add some flaxseed oil or protein powder (optional)

Blend for 2 minutes

CHICKPEA TACOS

We made these tacos last week and they were a hit with hubby.  I tired to make tacos a few months ago using the ground beef substitute, but if you have been following this blog then you know how I feel about the commercial substitutes.  But this one is full of good things and easy to make.  The spices were perfect and I loved the feeling of eating something that used to be unhealthy and is now so good!  I got this recipe from another vegan blog and now I can't find where it came from.  So as soon as I can sort that out I will come back and add an acknowledgement and link to the blog.  (l'll add a picture too the next time we make them)  The original recipe called for 1 tsp of cumin, but I dialed that down a notch to 1/2 tsp....it can be an overwhelming spice, so add more if you like that taste.

CHICKPEA TACOS

-1 TBL of oil or water
-1 small onion diced (about 1/2 cup)
-2 cloves of garlic minced
-1 15 oz can of chickpeas drained and rinsed
-1/2 tsp of cumin (or more if desired)
-1 tsp of chili powder
-1 tsp of paprika
-1 tsp of oregano
-juice from 1/2 lemon (or about 2-3 bottled)
-1 cup of raw spinach or swiss chard chopped small
-box of taco shells or soft tacos

For the fillers chop up some tomatoes, lettuce, jalapenos or whatever you like on your tacos.  Put a little bowl of veggie sheddred cheese, another bowl of vegan sour cream, and another of salsa.

1. Heat oil in large skillet over med heat, then add the onion and garlic and saute until the onion is translucent....about 5 min.  Don't let the garlic burn so you may have to lower the heat a bit. 
2. add the chickpeas, cumin, chili powder, paprika, oregano and lemon juice.  Mash the chickpeas with a fork until they still have some chunks but they have lost the roundness.
3. add spinach and stir to combine.  Cook about 7 minutes on med-low heat to combine the spices, adding some water to keep the mixture from sticking.  You will have to add the water several times.

Adding a package of yellow rice is our favorite side dish with tacos.

CHOCOLATE COVERED CHERRY PUDDING CAKES

This dessert is soooo good!  It comes courtesy of one of my favorite blogs www.fatfreevegan.com.  I was looking for something new to try for an upcoming dinner party.  I don't like to make new recipes to serve to company unless I try it before hand, and besides its a good excuse to make something sweet.  I made the recipe as follows and used 4 ramekins and it was perfect for 4 servings.  However, next time I will double the ingredients and try it in a cake pan.  We ate it warm with non-dairy vanilla ice cream, and it was so good that way that the next night we put the leftover ramekins in the microwave to reheat them a bit. Note:  the cherries are frozen to start with, then you have to let them thaw with the sugar for 1-2 hours to extract the juice.  So make sure to allow this time before baking.

Don't be scared by all the ingredients.  Assemble everything first and it honestly goes together very quickly. 

CHOCOLATE COVERED CHERRY PUDDING CAKES

-20 frozen pitted cherries
-1 tsp sugar
-1/3 cup of brown sugar
-2 TB of unsweetened cocoa powder
-1 tsp of cornstarch
-1/2 cup flour
-1/2 tsp salt
-1/3 cup of sugar
-1 1/2 TB unsweetened cocoa powder
-1 tsp baking powder
-1 1/2 tsp vanilla
-1 1/2 TB of soy yogurt
-1/4 cup soy milk (or other non dairy milk)
-boiling water

1. cut cherries in half while frozen and put them into a small bowl along with the sugar.  Allow them to thaw for 1-2 hours.
2. oil or spray 4 ramekins.  Preheat the oven to 350F.  Mix together in a small bowl the brown sugar and 2 TB of cocoa.
3. Pour the cherry juice (from the thawed cherries) into a measuring cup and lightly press the cherries to get as much juice as you can. Put to the side
4. Sprinkle the cornstarch onto the thawed cherries and mix well to coat the cherries. Divide the cherries into the prepared ramekins.
5. In a medium bowl mix the flour, salt, 1/3 cup of sugar, 1 1/2 TB of cocoa and baking powder.  Stir in the vanilla, yogurt, and soy milk.  Mixture will be thick.  Divide this mixture evenly into the ramekins and spread with a spoon to cover the the cherries.
6. sprinkle the brown sugar mixture over the batter and level nicely
7. Add some boiling water to the cherry juice till you reach 3/4 cup.  Pour gently over the brown sugar in the ramekins...about 3 TL per ramekin.
8. bake for about 25-30 minutes until the sauce is bubbling around the edges, and the tops look mostly dry (but there will still be streaks of wet looking areas...don't overcook).

Let cool for 10-15 minutes and dive in.  You can thank me later!

Living without dairy

It has been eight months now since I made the transition to changing my eating habits to vegan.  I have stumbled here and there, but for the most part I am proud to say that I have been deligent and focused. The hardest challenge has been dairy.  I still occasionlly crave a glass of milk. I use soy, rice or almond milk on my cereal or oatmeal, and use the non-dairy milk when I'm cooking, but there are times when I would love to have a big old glass of dairy milk. So I don't have it in the house anymore.  I was buying dairy milk for my husband, and the only time he used it was on cereal.  But he announced last month not to buy it anymore, since he was using rice milk most of the time anyway. So if I don't have dairy milk in the fridge I can't be tempted.  With time I am sure that the craving will disappear. My son Daniel has made almond milk and this is something that I want to try.

Living without eggs has not been a problem.  I love the Veganaise brand of mayonnaise and use it all the time.  Other brands that I tried just didn't measure up to Veganaise. The Ener-G powdered egg substitute, blending flax seed and water, and vinegar are all great ways to bake without eggs.

 Cheese has been another hurdle.  The commercial vegan cheese substitutes are not great.  About the only one that I can say that I use all the time is the Parmesan.  Using tofu and nutritional yeast is a great way to layer a lasagna and my husband loves it.  (see the recipe for lasagna) The shredded veggie cheese is not great, although the mozzarella is better than the cheddar. I will use the mozzarella veggie cheese when I want that melted taste like on our homemade pizzas.

My son Daniel sent me a recipe several months ago for Kale Salad with Cashew Cheese and I planned to try it but it got lost in my file of "recipes to try".  The idea of cashews tasting like cheese threw me off, and I thought I would be disappointed.  But I had some Kale in the fridge and desperately wanted to learn to make this vegetable part of my diet. It was great!  I'll post the recipe this week. Another recipe that I am going to try this week is baked macaroni and cheese using the cashew cream. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Another experiment that I plan to make this week is actually making a hard cheese from the cashew recipe.  According to the author the cheese can be sliced for crackers, or shredded.

BBQ SEITAN ON A BUN

Last month I posted a recipe for BBQ Seitan that I really like.  I used that recipe for a main entree with sides of veggies, and I chopped some of the leftovers into a salad for lunch the next day.  But the next night there was still some left, so I sauteed some onions and peppers very slowly for about 20 minutes then toasted a hogie roll and put it all together for a great sub!  Add some additional BBQ sauce to taste.

BLACK BEAN BURGERS

I am not a fan of frozen veggie hamburgers.  I find that they taste like cardboard, but I love homemade veggie burgers.  They are easy to make and packed full of protein.  The recipes are large enough that we always have enough for leftovers, or they freeze really well.  The key is not to over cook them otherwise they dry out. This recipe is compliments of Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's The Vegan Table. I made them according to the directions, but the second time I adjusted the spices to our tastes.  I put in 1/2 the chili powder, no cumin, and I didn't use the corn.  I haven't tried serving them on a bun yet, but each time I made them I simply served them alone, with oven fried potatoes and sliced tomatoes. They are crispy and delicious!

SPICY BLACK BEAN BURGERS

-1/4 cup of flour
-1/4 cup of cornmeal
-olive oil or canola oil for sauteing
-1 small yellow onion diced
-1 jalapeno pepper minced and seeded.
-1 red bell pepper diced
-2 cloves of garlic minced
-1/2 tsp of oregano
-2 cups of black beans drained and rinsed (about 2 cans)
-1/2 cup of corn kernels (optional)
-1/2 cup of bread crumbs
-2 tsp of chili powder (I used 1 tsp)
-1/4 tsp of cumin (i don't use any.  I am not a fan of cumin)
-1/2 tsp of salt
-2 Tbs of fresh minced parsley

1. Combine flour and cornmeal on a shallow plate and put aside.
2. Heat the oil in a frying pan and saute the onion, jalapeno, red pepper, and garlic for a few minutes.
3. In a large mixing bowl mash the black beans with a potato masher or fork. Stir in the sauteed vegetables, and the remaining ingredients.
4. Add some more oil to the frying pan and heat over medium heat. Shape the bean mixture into 8 patties, (not too thin) and add them to the frying pan.  Cook for about 5 minutes on each side or until they look brown and crispy.

-

BBQ SEITAN RIBS

Store purchased seitan is difficult for me to obtain.  I can only get it when I go to Whole Foods over an hour away.  And I am also not impressed with commerically produced meat substitutes. So I went on a quest to make my own seitan and I was thrilled with my first venture!  I can't wait to try some other recipes. The first bonus was that is was so easy to make.....really easy.  The recipe makes about a 8 X 8 pan, and this is enough for dinner, and mucho leftovers to put into other recipes, and chop up into a salad for lunch tomorrow. It also has over 20g of protein which thrills me. This recipe and photo is courtesy of http://www.blog.fatfreevegan.com/2007/05/barbecued-seitan-ribz.html
You can also watch a video of the preparation on http://www.everydaydish.tv/index.php?page=recipe&recipe=106

The Gluten flour can sometimes be found in the flour section, but often it is in the health food section.

-1 cup gluten flour (I like Bob's Red Mill)
-2 tsp smoked spanish paprika
-2 Tb nutritional yeast
-2 tsp onion powder

-1 tsp garlic powder

-3/4 cup of water

-2 Tb of tahini

-1 tsp liquid smoke

-1 Tb of soy sauce

-1 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce....especially homemade

Preheat the oven to 350 and grease an 8 X 8 baking dish.  Mix the first 5 ingredients.  Separately mix the tahini, liquid smoke, and soy sauce.  Add to the dry ingredients and stir well.  Then knead right in the bowl for a few minutes.

Put the dough into the pan and flatten it with your hands.  With a sharp knife and cut into 8 strips, then rotate the dish and cut those strips in 1/2 to make 16 pieces.

Bake for 25 minutes and get your grill ready.

Remove from the oven and re cut the strips carefully.  Brush the top with lots of the barbecue sauce.  Invert the pan on the grill and brush with more sauce.  Watch that it doesn't burn, and when the first side looks brown and crispy turn and add more sauce if you like. When the 2nd side is browned remove to a platter and cut into individual ribs.

ZUCCHINI TOMATO CASSEROLE

This is one of my favorite vegetable dishes. My mother used to make something similar and through the years I have adapted a version of hers. There has never been a written recipe, and each time that I make it I sort of eyeball the measurements.  My husband is not a fan of green peppers...not at all.  But he loves this dish even though it is layered with peppers through out.  He doesn't know why, but to my knowledge this is the only time he likes green peppers. We eat this the 2nd day for leftovers.  It is a little mushier but we don't care....the flavors are great.

ZUCCHINI TOMATO CASSEROLE

-2 zucchini unpeeled
-2-3 large tomatoes (or 4-5 small ones)
-1 onion
-1 green pepper
-plain bread crumbs
-grated veggie Parmesan
-earth balance butter spread
-salt and pepper

Set over to 375.  Assemble all the ingredients along with a really sharp knife.  Grease a baking pan 9X9 or the one I use is about 8"X 12".  Slice into separate piles the  zucchini, tomatoes, onion and green pepper into about 1/4"slices.  Put 1/2 the zucchini into the bottom of the dish spreading out as evenly as possible. Sprinkle some bread crumbs onto the zucchini...about 2 Tbs. Add a handful of the onion slices, and another handful of the green pepper. Top with tomato slices until the other veggies are covered.  Sprinkle some more breadcrumbs and grated Parmesan cheese.  Add some salt and pepper and dot each tomato with Earth Balance.  Repeat the layers.  Bake at 375 for 1 hour, until bubbly and crisp looking.

HOMEMADE TORTILLAS CHIPS

This recipes is easy and healthy and so tasty right out of the oven.  We like to make these on the weekend when we are watching a movie.  What spices you add to the chips is optional depending on your taste.  You can make them hot or mild.  Store any leftovers in a zip lock bag.  I often have the leftovers for lunch with re fried beans as a dip (got to get that protein!). These chips taste amazing if you take the time to make your own salsa.....recipe for salsa is the next post. You can also use flour tortillas, or whole wheat tortillas.  Actually a mix of flour, whole wheat and corn is great.
 
HOMEMADE TORTILLAS CHIPS

-1 pkg of corn tortillas (white or yellow)
-vegetable cooking spray (butter flavor or olive oil)
-garlic salt or whatever spices you want to use....paprika, chili powder, cumin, cayenne pepper

Heat over to 350 and spray several cookie sheets with cooking spray.  Spray 5 tortillas with cooking spray, turn them over and spray the other side.  Sprinkle one side with garlic salt and a little cayenne pepper or other spices as desired. Stack the 5 tortillas and cut in half with a pizza cutter (or sharp knife).  Cut in half again.  You should have 4 pieces.  Cut these pieces again until you have 8 pieces.  Lay the pieces alternately on the cookie sheets. Spray the tops again lightly with vegetable spray.  Leave some space between each one or they won't get crispy around the edges. 

Bake for about 8-10 minutes until the edges are brown and starting to curl.  Watch them closely after 6-7 minutes because they burn quickly.  Dump them into a bowl and repeat process until you have as many as you want.

****Before you take them off the cookies sheet you can sprinkle come veggie mozzarella cheese on top and stick them back into the oven for a few minutes until the cheese starts to melt.

Serve with salsa, veggie sour cream, veggie cheese.

Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna

This recipe has the "hubby thumbs up" in spite of the tofu.  As a matter of fact this is one of the first vegan recipes that I  made, and it is still one of his favorites. I am not a big fan of red tomato sauce, so I have adjusted the amount of sauce in this recipe to suit my tastes. The original recipe calls for dry lasagna noodles....in other words you don't have to cook the noodles first like with most lasagna recipes.  You can simply layer the ingredients between the dry noodles.  Certainly makes life easier and the recipes goes together really fast.  But.....I didn't like it as much so the second time I boiled the noodles first and I was happier with the results. Try it first with dry noodles and see if you like it. It makes a typical large pan of lasagna, which fills my rule of having leftovers, and we still have some to freeze.

1/2 lb of fresh mushrooms
1 garlic clove (or 2 if they are small.  you need about 1 tsp of pressed garlic)
2 Tbs of water
I jar of spaghetti sauce (the original recipe called for 2 jars)
2-3 cups of shredded veggie mozzarella cheese (I use one 2 cup pkg)

Filling
10 oz of frozen spinach...thawed and drained
1 pkg of firm tofu (not silken tofu)
1 tsp of salt
1 tsp of nutritional yeast (this adds a cheesy taste)
1 1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp of garlic powder
1 tsp basil
1/2 rosemary crushed (optional)
1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper (sometimes called red pepper)

Oven 350 degrees

Saute the mushrooms and garlic in the 2 tsp of water until tender.  Add more water if they start to dry out.  Remove from heat and add the spaghetti sauce.

Place the tofu and the spinach into food processor and pulse a few times.  Add the rest of the filling ingredients and process until smooth.  You can also do this without dragging out the food processor by using a potato masher on the tofu first, then add the rest of the ingredients.

Spread 1/2 the sauce into the pan. Top with three noodles.  Spread 1/2 the tofu mixture onto the noodles. Cover with another layer of noodles and then the remaining tofu mixture. Add 1/2 the bag of mozzarella cheese.  Another layer of noodles and the remainder of the spaghetti sauce.  Finally the rest of the cheese.  Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake for about 30 minutes.  Remove the foil and bake for about another 10 minutes until the top looks crusty.  Remove from the oven.  Top with some veggie Parmesan if you like.

The lasagna will set up better if you let it sit for about 15 minutes before serving.