Red Lentil Soup with Lemon

If you want the weather to take a turn in South Florida, apparently all one needs to do is blog about the 'unseasonably warm' weather you're having. The nighttime temp dropped from a breezy 76 degrees to a chilling 40 something. Cold enough for our patio kitty to give us that 'you're going to set up my cage and let me sleep inside tonight, aren't you?' stare. 

Chilly enough to take one look at my newly blended carafe of Caesar dressing and declare, 'Um, no. Let's have soup!'. 





(please forgive the poor picture. the one taken via my phone was actually more editable than those from my camera. curse you, dinner time lighting!)

This soup is one I happened upon while perusing 101 Cookbooks for a pizza dough recipe. I'm not even sure what led me to it, but I knew when I read it it was one I had to try. Lentils, lemon, cilantro? Yes, please! Adapted from Deborah Madison's Red Lentil Soup with Lime recipe in Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, it's hearty but bright and uses the lemons which are looking so good around here right now. 

Obviously, this vegan version does not include the yogurt suggested in the original recipe. I don't think a substitute is at all necessary. Also, I opted to nix the rice and in it's place serve with roasted cauliflower (the more veggies, the better, I say!).  I love how the sweetness of the onions and roasted cauliflower compliment the tart lemon juice. I increased the mustard seed just a tad, decreased the cumin a smidge, and added zest to the final bowl, just to suit our tastes. We loved this soup, it was really flavorful, filling but not heavy, and hearty with a bright burst of lemon tang.  It will definitely be added to our go-to soup arsenal. 

Red Lentil Soup with Lemon (and Spinach and Cauliflower)
serves six

2 cups red lentils, rinsed and picked through
7 cups water 
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 large onion, diced small
1 tablespoon turmeric
2 teaspoons mustard seed
1 1/2 teaspoons
1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Juice of 3 lemons
zest of one lemon
sea salt
5 cloves garlic, slivered (divided)
2 small - medium heads cauliflower, washed, dried completely*, cut into smallish florets
2 large bunches fresh spinach, chopped

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place cauliflower in parchment covered Pyrex dishes, roasting pan, or lipped baking sheet (I use two Pyrex casserole dishes). Add one tablespoon of olive oil and a few pinches of sea salt and toss to coat evenly. *you want to be sure to start with dry cauliflower so it roasts well without steaming so much first. the result is a better browned, sweeter roasted cauliflower. 

Place lentils and water in large stock pot. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, turmeric, and 2 teaspoons of sea salt. Bring to a boil, lower heat, cover and allow to simmer, stirring occasionally, until lentils are soft and falling apart, about 20-25 minutes. 

While lentils are cooking, place cauliflower in oven for 20-25 minutes. During the last 10-15 minutes, add 4 cloves of slivered garlic, and toss to evenly distribute. Put back in oven. 

Place last tablespoon of oil in large skillet on medium heat, add remaining slivered garlic and heat for about 30 seconds, careful not to let garlic burn. Add spinach and a pinch or two of sea salt. turn carefully with tongs to coat. Add 1 tablespoon of water and cover. Lower heat, allowing spinach to wilt.

Using a stick/immersion blender, blend lentils until smooth. (you can do this in batches in a blender or food processor as well, but a stick blender is invaluable for tasks such as this one!). Taste for salt. My husband added a bit more. Me? Not so much. To each their own! Stir in the fresh squeezed lemon juice (I'm sure bottled juice tastes fine, but fresh really makes this soup, I think). Place serving of soup in bowl, add roasted cauliflower. Squeeze out excess water from wilted spinach and serve some of that in the same bowl. Sprinkle with a tiny bit of lemon zest on top and enjoy!

Bad, yellow dinner time lighting and all!

The Return of the Vegan Ceasar

It's really not so much a 'return' as I enjoy this salad in my rotation all of the time, but I have laid off blogging (laid off, slacked off, tomato, tomato) for so long that enjoying them lately keeps making me feel like others need to be adding them to their salad lineups. (What is with that popular comment, 'What do you eat, salad?' when one confronts a veg diet?  People who come up with that response obviously do not know how to make a good salad. Give those people this recipe!)

This one pictured is my typical go-to. Nothing fancy, just lettuce, sun dried tomatoes, hemp seed (mmmmm....hemmmmmmp seeeeeed), and some super quick almond meal-encrusted baked tofu. When I have them or are hoping to impress, I add some roasted portobellos and some roasted garlicky Brussel sprouts. Oh yeah. So good!

If you're making this for yourself or for two, the extra tofu saves well and is reheated beautifully in a 375 oven for about five minutes. I like the tofu and the dressing and eat one every day until they're gone. True story.

I got this Caesar Dressing recipe from a blog I used to frequent years ago called, Bunnyfoot. It is an amazing vegan version that can stand up against any anchovy-laden variety. I always have the ingredients on hand (one shaker of kelp powder lasts a long time as this is all I use it for), and the dressing comes together really quickly.  I always make a double batch!

Vegan Caesar Salad with Almond-Encrusted Tofu

For Dressing:

3 cloves garlic*
1/2  teaspoon salt
1/2 - 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 Tablespoon vegannaise
1/3 cup olive oil
dash of vegetarian Worcestershire sauce
a few sprinkles of kelp powder (for me a 'shake, shake, shake' counts as one sprinkle. I add three sprinkles)
water, to taste (optional)

*I make the dressing a day ahead and love the added bite of the fresh garlic. My husband prefers it to be a little more subtle so I've been known to roast the garlic in advance and use that instead when serving him or lots of guests. When I'm roasting garlic, I opt for the whole bulb of garlic and double of everything in the recipe.)

I place all ingredients in a tall container and whiz with my immersion blender. You can also microplane or press the garlic and whisk with all the ingredients save the oil and water. Then, whisking constantly, add the oil in a steady stream. Lastly, also whisking constantly, and after tasting the dressing, add water until you've achieved desired saltiness and thickness. I like to use maybe a few tablespoons of water to thin it out as it's super flavorful and rather thick. It will also thicken a bit once it's been in the refrigerator. This dressing should last for a couple weeks in your refrigerator. Not that I would know personally. It gets gobbled up at my house in no time! 

For the Almond-Encrusted Tofu

1 block extra firm tofu, pressed (I drain mine, wrap in paper towel then dish towel and leave in the refrigerator for a day or two until most of the water has been sucked out of it)
3/4 - 1 cup almond meal
1/3 cup almond milk (or any non-dairy milk)
salt, to taste
black pepper, to taste
1/2 T nutritional yeast

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment and lightly mist with olive oil. Season almond meal with yeast, salt, and pepper to taste. It doesn't have to be super salty, the dressing will add some of that. Cut block of tofu in half, lengthwise so that you have two rectangles. Cut those rectangles into 1/2 inch square slices. Leave them this shape or cut the squares in two, creating triangles.
Dip tofu slices in milk just to wet them and then coat with seasoned almond meal. Place triangles (or squares) onto parchment and lightly mist the top with olive oil. I use a Misto, LOVE that thing! Place pan of tofu in oven for ten minutes. Carefully flip each triangle (or square!) with tongs and bake for another ten minutes. The side that is on the pan will lightly brown.

Assemble salad:
Chop washed romaine lettuce, chop about a 1/4 c. of sun dried tomatoes. I buy mine packed in oil and just drain on a paper towel while I'm baking the tofu. Sprinkle liberally with hemp seed (I also sprinkle some nutritional yeast over mine. I am of the opinion that there is no such thing as too much nutritional yeast though, so your call ;).  Add chopped sun dried tomatoes. ** Pour on approx 2 T of dressing per serving and toss until well coated. Serve and top with tofu. ***

**If you are using Roasted Garlicky Brussel Sprouts, add them before tossing. 

***If you are serving with Roasted Portobellos (I roast mine, trimmed and de-gilled, with light olive oil spray, sea salt, and fresh black pepper with the tofu, turning when I turn the 'fu), I like to add them last as well as they tend to cast a dark hue over the salad when you toss them in early. 

While most of the country is warming themselves with big pots of soups, stews, and chilis, it's been unseasonably warm here, even for Florida. I have been enjoying cooling off (I know, your heart bleeds for me, I'm sure!) on the patio with giant Vegan Caesar Salads. I hope that those of you who are also experiencing warmer temperatures are inspired to pile on the green stuff and enjoy this amazing Vegan Caesar! (And what goes better with soup than salad? Nothing wrong with you northerners piling up your salad plates, as well!).

Vegan Salt & Pepper White Gravy

Panko Crusted Seitan with Gravy and Spinach

In my fam, I'm known for bringing the vegan brown gravy to every holiday dinner we have together. Sometimes it's shiitake flavored, sometimes its base is veggie broth, others it's almond milk. Sometimes I'll caramelize onions and blend them in, other times I just reach for onion powder. Whatever ends up in it it's always rich, dark, thick, sop up every last drop good.

Even when making gravy for breakfast with biscuits and tempeh or seitan fauxsage, I'm known for whipping up a rich brown gravy to serve as the salty, tasty component to a biscuits 'n gravy dish.

Until the recent Vegan Chopped challenge, white gravy wasn't on my radar at all. It came to me while dreaming up my entry and hasn't left my brain since. So simple, no crazy ingredients, just pantry staples thrown together quickly, with ease, and yielding a rich, perfect, salty and flavorful breakfast addition. I like to season mine with a personal favorite balance of salt and pepper. Enough salt to make it tasty, and just enough pepper to make it 'peppery' without being overpowering. Granted, I love black pepper, so ease off the listed amount and add to taste if you're worried about them being too peppery.

This morning I woke up wanting protein but not tofu, hadn't remembered to precook my beloved steel cut oats, and decided on one of my favorite things: 500 Vegan Recipes' Protein Quick! Mini Seitan Bites. I've made these so many time. They're the perfect easy, fast, protein packed savory choice for breakfast. They're not a muffin, they're not the same texture as any seitan I've ever made. They're just GOOD. As is in the book they're sublime, made with sausage-y herbs (think fennel, sage, marjoram, red pepper flakes) they're sausage in a protein-packed muffin. Made with rye seeds and bits of sauteed onion they're amazing with just a pat of Earth Balance, no gravy needed. However you choose to enjoy them, they're totally worth purchasing 500 Vegan Recipes for (tho there are plenty other great recipes in there I hope to blog about later!). They lend themselves perfectly to a light drizzle of gravy. Or a whole mess of gravy. The choice is yours.

Sausage Flavored Broccoli Bites with S&P Gravy

This morning I made my Protein Bites with fennel, sage, marjoram, garlic powder, onion powder and little bits of sauteed broccoli. I don't know about you, but throwing in a green veggie in the morning just reeeeally makes my breakfast. Wanting the white gravy my taste buds were craving, this was the perfect quick breakfast.

With this tasty dish I get all the flavor and texture satisfaction I want from a biscuits and gravy dish with more nutrients packed in and with less effort. The bites mix together so easily in one bowl and come out beautifully every time with very little effort.

Vegan Salt & Pepper White Gravy
makes about 2 cups

2 cups warmed almond milk
2 T Olive oil or Organic Smart Balance
3 T unbleached flour
1/2-1 tsp sea salt 
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder

While your bites are baking, heat almond milk in microwave for two minutes. In a med sauce pan, melt Smart Balance over med heat and whisk in flour. Whisking continuously, add about a 1/4 cup of warmed milk at a time, whisking in completely before adding your next 1/4 cup increment. When all the almond milk has been incorporated, add spices and whisk. Whisking occasionally to avoid a layer forming on the bottom of the pan, keep on med heat until bubbly and thickened. Turn heat to low.

I find that this gravy is a bit thin if you eat it piping hot, is a bit thicker if allowed to cool a bit, and is the perfect thickness if reheated from the day before. You could always mix a bit of cold almond milk with a bit of corn starch and stir that in while bubbling. that thickens it up quickly.

If you want to use this gravy over vegan biscuits, adding tempeh or seitain fauxsage, stirring it in at the end, would be a perfect choice!

Soytan 'n A Biscan't

I don't know what I'm more proud of, that this Vegan Chopped, Brunch Edition inspired me to create and make possibly the best thing to ever come out of my kitchen or that I did it on a whopping four hours of sleep after a fabulous but all-too-long night of celebrating a Gator win with some of my favorite peeps. Getting up, feeding the kids, cleaning the kitchen from said celebration and getting on brunch before the future brunchers catching those last winks of sleep even thought of cracking an eye open was a serious accomplishment, but oh, how it paid off in the end!

What I'm not proud of is that super awful play on words blog title for this entry. I can't help myself. No, really, I can't or I'd have deleted it by now. But it's at least less wordy than the formal description of my entry, 

Roasted Butternut Squash Rosemary Scones over White Sage Gravy with Popcorn Encrusted Soy-tan Cutlets and a Dijon Apricot Drizzle

the Vegan Chopped Brunch Edition ingredients?
popcorn
fresh rosemary
apricot preserves
butternut squash

As is the case with me and Vegan Chopped ideas, I'm not known for really busting out of the vegan culinary box, but my brain dreams up something immediately upon seeing those four ingredients. Once that idea is born in my brain, there is no deviating.

For some reason I immediately thought of Chicken 'n A Biscuit.  before my two decades of being vegetarian then vegan, I'd never tried the combo, never knew anyone else who had, and had never seen them on an actual menu. Somehow this did not stop me from knowing that the pairing was a popular brunch item somewhere. So be it!

I have only made scones once before, but felt I needed to try my hand at them in a savory way. I adapted Vegan Brunch's Tomato Rosemary Scones as I've heard nothing but good things about them. Swapped tomato for roasted butternut squash puree that I'd made the day before and added ginger because, to me, ginger and rosemary need to be together. Okay, truth be told, ginger needs to get it on with most other flavors that show up on my plate so I may be biased in her favor. Ginger it was. Mmmmmm, ginger. I think next time I'd amp up the ginger now that i know how seductive she was in a subtle appearance in these babies.

Roasted Butternut Squash & Rosemary Scones
(adapted from Vegan Brunch)

3 cups unbleached flour
2 T baking powder
1/4 (scant) cup Florida Crystals
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
1/3 c. olive oil (I used a very light bodied variety)
1 1/2 cups roasted butternut squash puree*
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 T fresh rosemary, chopped
2-3 tsp fresh grated ginger (I use my microplaner)

400 oven
combine flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and black pepper in large bowl.
in separate bowl, whisk squash, oil, vinegar, rosemary, and ginger.
add wet ingredients to well in dry ingredients and stir gently until well incorporated.
line baking sheet with parchment paper.
my dough was sticky at this point so I lightly oiled my hands and my dough scraper.
divide dough into two and shape into two discs. divide each disc into six equal (ish ;) triangles.
bake 14-16 minutes or until firm.
mine, tested with a wooden skewer, were perfect inside after fifteen, skewer coming out clean but the scones were pillowy inside and the lightest crust on the outside (and such a pretty color!)

The gravy is a simple versatile no-nonsense gravy. I just wanted something thick and hearty to make the scone more biscuit-y and when I think rosemary, I think thyme and sage. I saved the thyme for the soytan breading.

Easy Vegan White Gravy

2 cups nondairy milk (I always use unsweetened almond), warmed
3 T unbleached flour
2 T vegan margarine (my fave is vegan Organic Smart Balance)
1 1/2 tsp dried sage
salt, pepper, garlic, and onion powder to taste

warm almond milk (I nuke mine for a few minutes). over medium heat, toast flour in a saucepan until fragrant, whisk in margarine. keep whisking until well combined (add nooch if you want here, I almost always do but just flaked this morning) then start slowly adding, whisking the whole time to avoid clumps, the warmed milk. simmer until thickened and add seasoning to taste. keep covered on low until ready to serve.

I feel in love last week with 1000 Vegan Recipe's Soytan cutlets, recipe here, (thanks again, Magic Jelly!) and love them as is in the recipe. It was no real stretch to make popcorn flour in the food processor (took about ten minutes and was beautiful, using my favorite, Black Jewel popcorn). I seasoned the already perfectly salted flour with Hungarian paprika, nutritional yeast, thyme and fresh cracked black pepper.

Edited to add that I have my computer up and running this morning so I added the pic! Off to back up this thing before I lose it all forever!
I had a beautiful picture that did a better job of explaining how much of each seasoning went into the bag of flour made from one bag of popped corn, but my computer just died after typing up this blog post and I lost anything I didn't already text to a friend this morning. I'm currently typing this from my husbands computer with limited photos to post. grrrr.

I dipped the cutlets (made a double batch) in almond milk and then dredged in the seasoned flour. Fried them in oil for a few minutes on one side, then splashed with lemon juice after flipping, browned the other side for a few minutes, then laid them to rest and cool on a paper towel lined drying rack, covered with a large pan cover til ready to eat.

The fancy sounding Dijon Apricot reduction was just a simple but great way to add a little sweet to all the savory (I should note that the scones were a tad sweet and I'd reduce the sugar a bit more for this recipe when making again, but I am so happy to eat the leftovers as is).


fancy sounding Dijon Apricot Reduction

1 5.5oz can of apricot nectar
1/2 c. apricot preserves (I did find a fancy imported french variety. ooh lala!)

2 T Dijon mustard
3 tsp apple cider vinegar
3 tsp agave nectar
salt to taste
pepper to taste
in saucepan over medium heat, bring all ingredients except salt and pepper to boiling, whisking continuously. simmer for about ten or fifteen minutes or until reduced and thickened. If it's too thick, add a few more splashes of nectar, too thin? try simmering for another 3-5 minutes.
add salt and pepper to taste.


I paired the satisfying, tasty plate with some fresh grapes and fresh peaches. and what kind of brunch would I be hosting without a fancy drink? Apricot Mimosas (I put a sprig of rosemary in mine and let it sit for a bit while plating and serving. was surprisingly so very good!).

I have to say, everyone was very happy with the results, but my most favorite reply came from my omni husband in the other room watching football, after the last bite, as the clink of his fork was heard hitting his plate, "Hey Bry? That was NUTS dude. NUTS! Wow. Thank you for that!"

I'm still smiling over that one. And plan to totally dis my daily beloved steel cut oats breakfast tomorrow for a fancy 'wish it was still Sunday' breakfast of brunch leftovers in the morning.

Overnight Steel Cut Oats

I've never been a fan of oatmeal. To me, oatmeal was always that nasty stuff that came in individual packets and always tasted like cinnamon and some dried fruit combo, was mushy and unappealing. I tried over the years to 'love' it like everyone else seemed to, but it never stuck. Whenever I got tired of tofu scrambles or smoothies for breakfast I'd try it again. No dice.

Enter Steel Cut Oats. I had them at a restaurant in town pan-seared and amazing. I copied their method and enjoyed them that way a LOT. But I had to have the forethought to make them ahead of time, stir a pot of oats for 40 minutes before bed and use a little too much Organic Smart Balance in the morning to enjoy them.

Did the crock pot thing for a while, but even that wasn't delivering the right texture. A visit from a friend last weekend changed everything. 'I do mine overnight. Nuke them at night, again in the morning. Perfect every time!'. No, it couldn't be. How had I missed this method? (Ironically, she told me this as I was stirring our breakfast oats for forty minutes that morning).

For the past week I have been blissfully enjoying the overnight method. You could do it on the stove if you prefer, but I like fact that I can make them and eat them all in one bowl and utilize the microwave while doing other things like dishes or getting a certain four year old to bed.

Basically, I take:

1/4 c. steel cut oats
3/4 c. water 

and place in a Pyrex bowl. I cover it with a small plate and microwave for two minutes. Remove from microwave, cover tightly (I use a bowl that came with a lid so that's super simple) and leave on the counter til morning.
In the morning I remove the cover, replace that small plate and microwave for another minute.
Done.
Seriously.
Then I stir in a big tablespoon of Justin's Chocolate Hazelnut Butter (oh my dog. how did I live without this stuff?!) and a sliced banana. 
Perfect. 
Every time.