Veggie Quinoa Casserole (serves two)

If you have never tried quinoa (pronounced “keen-wah”), here are some things to consider:

Quinoa is one of the least allergenic grains. It contains 8 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber, and it is a plant protein source of all 9 essential amino acids. Technically a seed, quinoa is nutritionally dense and gluten free. It is an excellent grain substitute for anyone suffering with celiac disease. In addition, the fiber in quinoa acts as a prebiotic by providing food for your beneficial gut flora. If you have a sensitive tummy or live with an inflammatory digestive condition like colitis, you know how important all these factors are to your diet and comfort.

This Veggie Quinoa Casserole is an easy protein-packed main dish that will satisfy even a meat-eater. The recipe serves 2, but I tripled it because I knew people would want seconds.

Ingredients:

1 cup vegetable broth

1/2 cup uncooked quinoa

2 tsp. olive oil

2 tsp minced garlic

1/2 cup broccoli florets

1/2 cup diced firm tofu (press to drain)

1/4 cup vegetable broth

1/4 cup sliced mushrooms

1 cup chopped fresh spinach

Directions:

Place uncooked quinoa in a sieve and rinse thoroughly under cold running water. Drain.

Press tofu between two paper towel-lined plates with a heavy can of something on top to drain for about 1/2 hour.

In a medium sauce pan, bring 1 cup vegetable broth to a boil. Stir in drained quinoa and reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
While quinoa is cooking, heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, broccoli florets, and tofu cubes. Stir for one minute, then cover and steam over low heat for two minutes.
Stir in 1/4 cup vegetable broth, mushrooms, and spinach. Cover and cook over medium heat until the mushrooms are soft and the spinach is wilted (about 3 minutes).
Stir the vegetable/tofu mixture into the cooked quinoa. Cover, and allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving.
Season with Bragg’s Liquid Aminos if desired.

Eat the Rainbow… All the Colors of the Rainbow

It seems like rainbows are everywhere today — TV ads, social media, posters, t-shirts and billboards. Did you know that God made the first rainbow? Not as a marketing ploy or a social/political statement; God made so many colors because he knew we would enjoy them!

I love that God thought of color as a primary way to entice humans to find nutritious food. In the beginning God made the different fruits brightly colored and easy to find peeking out from the green leaves in the garden. Fruit is designed to appeal to all of our senses, so we are instinctively drawn to it… IF we aren’t distracted by modern fake food. For a healthy, natural, sweet treat, fruit should be your first choice. Fruit is not only colorful, but fragrant, sweet and juicy, plus it comes in its own edible or biodegradable wrapper. Win! Win! Win! Win!

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Rumbledethumps

In our house the month of March is kind of a big deal. With a husband who is proud of his British Isles heritage, we try to use every excuse available to celebrate it, especially as we await warmer weather. We start the month of March on the 1st, celebrating St. David’s Day with Welsh potato leek soup. (You can find the recipe here: https://www.wordpress.com/post/vegtutor.com/57). St. David was a 6th century bishop, a vegetarian and he is the patron saint of Wales. On March 17, we move on to St. Patrick’s Day and celebrate the patron saint of Ireland, famous for bringing Christianity to that country. It’s a great opportunity for vegetarians to feast on multiple potato dishes and Irish soda bread. Recently we learned of another dish popular in Scotland. Using modest ingredients it is easy to see how Scottish Rumbledethumps would be a simple comfort food sure to keep you warm when cold winds howl across the moors. Plus, Rumbledethumps is just plain fun to say — that alone may keep the kids asking for it for it for dinner!

This Scottish one-dish meal is made from easy to find ingredients. There are several recipes online that I looked at before coming up with this version. We love Rumbledethumps. I hope you like it, too.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 lbs. potatoes, scrubbed and cubed

2 turnips peeled and cubed

1 head green cabbage, chopped

2 large onions, peeled and chopped

1/4 cup organic butter

1/4 cup olive oil

1 cup veggie cheddar cheese (I used Daiya brand)

1 Tbsp. nutritional yeast

Salt and pepper to taste

To Prepare:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large pot boil potatoes and turnips until fork tender, then drain. Mash and set aside.

Place organic butter and olive oil in another large pot and heat over low heat until butter melts. Then add the chopped cabbage and onions and cook covered on medium heat until wilted, but not brown (stir often). Remove from heat.

Add: 1/2 cup veggie cheese (reserve the other half for topping), nutritional yeast, and the mashed potato/turnip mixture. Stir all together with with a large spoon, and add salt and pepper to your taste.

Place entire mixture in a large sprayed glass casserole dish and spread reserved half cup cheese on top. Cover with a lid or foil.

Cook in preheated oven for 30 – 45 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 5 minutes until cheese topping is slightly brown.

Enjoy!

Homemade Spicy Citrus Potpourri

Today I felt like playing, not cooking, not even writing, so I put together the bits and bobs I’ve been squirreling away to make potpourri. Here is a photo of the finished product… about a gallon of potpourri in my largest pasta bowl. I wish you could smell it — the fragrance is like citrus spice heaven!

All summer I’ve been dehydrating fruit and vegetables. Last week it was apples (because it’s Fall) and bananas (because I bought way too many). Never wanting to waste anything, I’ve also been saving orange and lemon peels leftover from juicing. Over the summer months I collected quite a lot of dehydrated peels. (Orange and lemon peels are a great way to fill that extra empty tray when you dehydrate). I followed my normal procedure of dehydrating overnight at 105 degrees F because that low temperature protects the living enzymes in the fruit so it is preserved, but still considered raw. It was also the perfect temperature to dry out the citrus peels while still allowing them to maintain their fresh fragrance. Can you see them on the bottom shelf?

Here is what I used in this potpourri (amounts are up to you):

Orange peels, cut into 1/2 inch strips

Lemon peels, cut into 1/2 inch strips

cinnamon sticks, broken into small pieces or crushed

whole star anise

whole cloves

Fragrance oils: I used food grade wild orange, cinnamon and clove oils (a few drops each) because I didn’t want any unnatural chemical smells contaminating the air in our home.

dried calendula flowers (optional). I used these because I had a huge bag on hand for making a soothing decaffeinated tea, and because they look pretty in the potpourri mixture… but you can skip the calendula or add something else you might have in your pantry.

Cinnamon/ applesauce cutouts:

To make these you will need about 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce and enough ground cinnamon to make a workable dough. I used a container of the cheap cinnamon you can find in many stores for about a dollar and mixed these two simple ingredients together until the dough was no longer sticky. Sprinkle more cinnamon on your work surface as needed, and roll the dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut shapes with small cookie cutters and dehydrate overnight at 105 degrees. The house will smell wonderful when you wake up!

So, try making your own potpourri. It’s much less expensive than the fancy varieties you’ll find in stores this holiday season, You can refresh the scent with a few added drops of essential oil as needed. Have fun! Fill your home with fragrance or give as gifts. Enjoy!

Sundried Tomatoes

Wash and thinly slice tomatoes. Sprinkle with nutritional yeast and Herbamare seasoning. Dehydrate at 105 degrees overnight or until completely dry and crisp. (At 105 degrees these will still be considered raw). Store in a tightly sealed jar to use until next summer. You can also eat them as chips… delicious!

Homemade Muesli

If you like granola, but are leery of the fat contained in most commercial brands, if you like to make your own granola but don’t want to heat up the kitchen making it on hot summer days, if you’re looking for a healthy breakfast that really gives you energy and keeps you feeling full until lunchtime, then muesli is for you. Muesli is a raw oatmeal dish that contains other grains, nuts, seeds and dried or fresh fruit. It’s a heart-healthy alternative to processed cereals that actually helps to lower your cholesterol! Have you ever tried it? Some people have never even heard of muesli.

Muesli was first created by Swiss physician Dr. Maximilian Bircher-Benner, who believed that much of the sickness experienced by his patients could be alleviated through a diet rich in raw grains, fruits and vegetables, plus moderate exercise including walking and gardening daily. Although muesli was first commercially produced in 1959 and has been a presence on grocery store shelves for over 60 years, it is is often overlooked or crowded out by the slick packaging, colors and shapes of the processed breakfast foods we know today. That is a shame, because muesli is so healthy, can be eaten cold or hot with or without added plant milk or yogurt… and it is so easy to make that even a child can do it.

Ingredients:

In a large bowl add:

1/2 cup raw walnuts, crushed*

1/2 cup raw almonds, crushed*

3 cups organic old fashioned rolled oats

1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds

1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds

2 Tbsp. ground flaxseed

2 Tbsp. wheat germ

1/2 cup chopped dates

1/2 cup organic raisins

Gently stir to mix all ingredients together. Place in a tightly covered glass container and store in the refrigerator. Take out individual portions as needed and serve cold with plant milk or as a yogurt topping. If you prefer a softer cereal, top your muesli with just enough plant milk to cover and keep it in the refrigerator overnight. It will soften by morning, and you can eat it cold or warm it in the microwave for a hearty porridge. Add fresh fruit, honey or maple syrup to sweeten if desired.

* Hint: this is an easy way to crush nuts, and cleanup is a breeze. Put the walnuts and almonds in a plastic lunch bag, press out all the air and seal it closed. With any rolling pin roll over the bag several times until each nut has broken into desired size chunks. When you are finished just dump the nuts into your large bowl and throw the bag away. Nothing to wash!

This recipe makes 10 or more 1/2 cup servings. Muesli is a real time-saver to have on hand for busy mornings. Healthy and delicious!

Vegan Stuffed Italian Zucchini Boats

It’s zucchini season again and if you are a gardener, you’re looking for zucchini recipes right about now. You would think that vegan zucchini recipes would be everywhere, but they’re not. I found a great Italian Zucchini Boat recipe online by Valerie Brunmeier, but it wasn’t vegan, so I made a few changes and voila! I really like this recipe first of all because it tastes delicious, second because it is a filling entree served with a side of brown rice or pasta, and third because it is beautiful.

Ingredients:

3 medium zucchini, roughly the same size

1 (24 to 26 ounce) jar marinara sauce, divided

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/3 cup chopped onion

1 tsp. minced garlic

1/3 cup chopped red bell pepper

1/2 cup chopped button mushrooms or small jar of sliced mushrooms

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

1 tsp dry parsley flakes

1/2 tsp pink sea salt

freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper or to taste

1/2 lb hamburger style veggie crumbles

1 – 1 1/2 cups veggie mozzarella cheese

1 Tbsp. nutritional yeast

2 Tbsp. panko bread crumbs

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Measure out 1 cup marinara sauce and set aside for later.
Trim about 1/2 inch from each end of the zucchini and slice in half lengthwise. With a sharp knife lightly outline the center area you will remove to create the hollow of your boats (this will include the seed area, leaving about a half inch of solid zucchini around all the edges). Be careful to not cut through the skin. Using the tip of a spoon remove the zucchini flesh inside your outline, chop and set aside.
Place the scooped out zucchini boats into a 13″x 9″ baking dish, and add about 1″ of water. Cover with foil and bake in preheated oven 20 minutes or until just slightly fork tender but not soft. Remove from oven and set aside to cool a bit.
Meanwhile add olive oil to a 12″ frying pan and place over medium heat. Add onion, bell pepper, and garlic; cook a few minutes until veggies have softened, stirring occasionally.
Add the chopped zucchini flesh, mushrooms, remaining marinara sauce, veggie crumbles, nutritional yeast and the spices. Stir well to combine. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low and simmer for about 15 minutes.
Remove the partially cooked zucchini boats from the baking dish and pour off water. Pour the reserved 1 cup marinara sauce into the empty baking dish and place the zucchini boats on top of the sauce.
Generously divide the cooked filling between the 6 zucchini boats (if you have extra filling just spoon it into the dish around the boats). Cover dish with foil and bake for 20 – 30 minutes until zucchini boat is fork tender, but not soft and droopy.
Remove baking dish from oven and set oven to BROIL.
Remove foil and sprinkle zucchini boats with half the veggie mozzarella, panko bread crumbs, and more mozzarella.
Place dish in oven and broil for just a few minutes (watch closely so it doesn’t burn) until the cheese melts and bread crumbs are golden brown.

Delicious!

Garlic Dill Salad Dressing

A simple homemade dressing with all natural ingredients.

Vegtutor's Weblog

Garlic Dill Salad Dressing If you love pickles, then you will love this salad dressing. It’s so simple to prepare, and has none of the unhealthy fats you’ll find in commercial dressings. The only fat in this salad dressing comes from the single fresh avocado. The green color will stay bright several days in the refrigerator (thank you, lemon) — if it lasts that long!

Vegetarians eat a lot of salad, and this light creamy dressing is one of my favorites!

Ingredients:

1 avocado

Juice of one fresh lemon

1 lg. garlic clove

1 tsp. dry dill weed

1 tsp. sea salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1/2 – 2/3 cup water You can add a little more water if necessary, but don’t dilute too much, or you’ll lose flavor.*

Put all ingredients into a blender, then blend until smooth and creamy.

*Add a little less water and you’ll have a tangy dip for veggies or pita chips.

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Edible Flower Salad / Flowerpot Salad

Around the beginning of February each year I start to get hungry for color. Where we live, winter seems to drag along forever. The only colors we see outside are brown, gray and white (if it has just snowed). I miss the greens of spring and summer, but most of all I miss the kaleidoscope colors of flowers. Nothing makes me happier than seeing a rainbow of flowers growing in my yard or in pots on the patio and deck. This year I just couldn’t wait for the weather to cooperate, so I decided to start planting my flowers early, inside instead of out.

Fortunately, I have a little AeroGarden* that sits on my kitchen counter where I usually grow fresh organic herbs. This winter I decided to plant organic edible flowers to brighten our salads and introduce some color into my kitchen. I’m sure you could grow flowers in pots on a sunny windowsill, too. I have tried in the past to buy organic flowers for salads, but no one (grocer or florist) would guarantee they could supply organic, never-sprayed flowers, so I was a little leery of buying them commercially. However, when you grow your own flowers you know exactly what chemicals they have, or have not, encountered. Mine have encountered none. I also have plenty of fresh flowers to place an occasional centerpiece on the table (The snapdragons are especially prolific. The more you cut off, the more they bloom).

This is one of the best ideas I’ve ever had, and the timing was perfect. The colors of my little garden just sparkle on the black granite countertop, and the salads have been a hit with our family, too. Seeing the living profusion of colors lifts my spirit everyday and reminds me that this long dreary spell, which now includes social isolation due to the coronavirus, shall also pass.

The flowers I grew are: calendula, marigolds, snapdragons, and dianthus. All are competely safe to eat. If you are shy about eating flowers, there is nothing to fear. Most of them have a very mild flavor. The marigold petals (that’s the only part of this flower you use) are a bit peppery tasting, but the others have practically no flavor at all. Their purpose in salads is mostly aesthetic. Calendula petals have healing properties, especially when used as a tincture on the skin. Because of their mild flavor, Snapdragons have been used for years to decorate elegant desserts and specialty cocktails as well as salads. The Dianthus flower has a mild clove-like scent and is a member of the carnation family. Dianthus (Greek) means “flower of the gods.”

This little Flowerpot Salad would be perfect at a shower or tea party. The “pot” is a long thin slice of zucchini wrapped in a circle and held together by a fancy little toothpick with a frill on top. Inside place a couple spoonfuls of your favorite hummus. “Plant” celery and carrot sticks along with strips of red pepper, broccoli spears, a few salad greens and an edible flower. So pretty, and healthy, too!

* http://www.aerogarden.com

Mexican Stuffed Yams

This is one of my favorite go-to meals when I know there won’t be time to prepare dinner tonight. It takes just minutes in the morning to get the yams into the slow cooker, and then in the evening pulling it all together for serving is a breeze. Bonus: Everyone can even assemble their own!

Main Ingredient:

One organic yam per person, scrubbed and individually wrapped in foil. Place yams in slow cooker, and cook on high for 4 hours or 7 – 8 hours on low. This is all the early preparation you need to do before your busy day.

Other Ingredients:

Seasoned black beans — you may use your own recipe (a great way to use leftovers) or canned as shown below.

Guacamole — once again, your own homemade or purchased.

Vegan shredded cheddar cheese

Salsa — homemade or purchased (I like to add a squeeze of lime to my salsa)

Organic corn chips.

As you can see, making this is simple as can be if time is a factor. I know homemade everything is always the best, and I feel like I’m cheating when I open a can, but this is the 21st century. We’re all strapped for time, and if I can put a healthy inexpensive meal on the table, it sure beats take-out. So, dip your chips and enjoy a healthy meal with little preparation and lots of fun.