Our Veggie Kitchen

I'm not sure if its some new trend or just a bit of tunnel vision on my part, but everywhere I look, it seems, I see creamy pesto. My psyche has been inundated with beautiful pictures of pasta laden with Alfredo sauces, cream sauces, and delicious pesto. I decided that I had to have some for myself. I did some playing (and a fair bit of chopping) and came up with this, rotini pasta with a creamy cashew pesto sauce.



Rotini with Creamy Pesto
1 lb pasta shapes, such as rotini or shells
Pesto:
1/4 cup almonds, ground
2 tbs olive oil
4 cups basil leaves (lightly packed), minced
1 cup parsley (lightly packed), minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
Sauce:
1/2 cup cashews, ground
1/2 cup boiling water (reserved from pasta)
1 cup unsweetened soy milk
1 tbs miso
1/2 small lemon, juiced
1/2 tsp salt

For the pesto, chop the herbs very finely. combine with the ground almonds, olive oil and garlic. Stir thoroughly.

Cook the pasta according to package directions. While the pasta is cooking, combine the sauce ingredients in a blender and blend thoroughly. When the pasta is finished cooking, drain. Reserve about 1/2 cup of the boiling water. Add the water to the blender and blend. Pour into the pasta pan with the pasta and heat just until the sauce begins to thicken and remove from heat. Stir in the pesto and serve.


5 Servings: 545 cal (18g fat, 78g carbs, 19g protein)

I've been working a Spanish Rice recipe for about a month, now. I got the flavor right a couple batches ago, but the water content continued to elude me. So, finally, I strained the tomato and just measured the liquid, then added additional broth. This batch turned out perfectly.



Spanish Rice
1 Tbs vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
1 Anaheim pepper, seeded & chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp salt
2 tomatoes, grated
1 lime, juiced
1 1/2 cup chicken flavored vegetable broth
1 1/2 cups Jasmine rice

Heat the oil in a medium sauce pan set to medium high heat. Add the onion and pepper and saute until soft. Add the garlic, saute until fragrant then add the spices and stir. Add the tomatoes, lime juice and broth. Bring to a boil, stir in the rice. Reduce heat to the lowest setting, cover and simmer for 25 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

4 Servings: 376 cal (6g fat, 73g carbs, 8g protein)

I've made this a couple a couple of times and it's fast becoming one of my favorite soups. It's not spicy hot, but the blending of colors and flavors is beautiful and the spinach adds a welcoming texture to this creamy soup.



Curried Tomato Soup
3 tbs vegetable oil
1 tsp cumin seed
1 tsp brown mustard seed (or yellow)
1 large onion, chopped
6 red jalapeno peppers, seeded & chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbs ginger, chopped
1 cup red lentils
1 tbs curry powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
2 lbs tomatoes, chopped (about 5 cups)
5 cups water, divided
6 oz tomato paste
4 cups fresh spinach, chopped
3/4 cup plain soy yogurt

In a large sauce pan, heat the oil over medium high. Add the cumin and mustard seed and cook until they begin to pop. Add the onion and jalapeno and saute until the onion begins to caramelize and turn brown. Add the ginger, garlic and red lentils and saute until the ginger and garlic become fragrant. Stir in the curry powder, salt sugar and tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes begin to soften. Add 4 cups of water and bring to a boil. Simmer, covered for about 45 minutes, until the lentils have turned to mush.

In batches, blend the soup and set a side. In the now empty sauce pan, add 1 cup of water and the chopped spinach. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer until the spinach is fully cooked, about 5 minutes or so. Add the blended soup and wisk in the soy yogurt. Bring the soup just to a simmer, then remove from heat.

5 Servings: 335 cal (11g fat, 49g carbs, 14g protein)

Yesterday, I made buckets and buckets of burgers. I normally a double batch of something and freeze them for later. But, lately, I haven't been getting around to making them, and I've completely run out. So, I made two staples: Chickpea Burgers and BBQ Tempeh Burgers.

Then, I made one that's been kicking around in my brain for a while, now: The Thai Tempeh burger. I made them with typical green curry spices and topped with mushrooms sauteed in some soy milk and red curry paste. They were delicious with the mushrooms and Thai basil. These are not hot. If it were me, I'd double the peppers, so make your own choice.



Thai Tempeh Burgers
1/4 cup lentils, raw
1/4 cup brown rice, raw
1 cup water
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6 oz tempeh, grated
1/2 cup shallots, minced
1 tbs galangal (or ginger), minced
1 tbs lemon grass (white part only), minced
1 tbs Thai Birds Eye Peppers (see note), minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup lime juice (2-3 limes)
2 tbs Golden Mountain Sauce (or Soy Sauce)
2 tbs vegetable oil
2-4 tbs water
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1 cup vital wheat gluten
1/4 cup chickpea flour

Add the brown rice and lentils to 1 cup boiling water, reduce heat to low and simmer, covered until the lentils and rice are soft, about an hour. Cool in the refrigerator when finished cooking. Meanwhile, boil the tempeh in water for about 10 minutes. Remove, drain and cool in the refrigerator.

When the tempeh, rice and lentils are cooled, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Mix all of the ingredients together and kneed for a couple minutes. Form into 8 patties. Coat a cookie sheet with vegetable oil. Bake the patties for 25 minutes, flipping after 15 minutes.

I make these to be reheated, so if you eat them right away, they will be a bit soft. You can reheat them, either frozen or refrigerated in the oven, microwave or grill.

Pepper Note: The green peppers are hotter than the red, but the red add a pleasing color. Use your own judgement when mixing them and determining quantity. I used 4 green and 2 red and the burgers were not spicy hot.

8 Servings: 205 cal (7g fat, 19g carbs, 19g protein)

This is a family favorite. When all the families converge on my mom's house each summer, we will go through a couple bowls of this. This is my mom's creation and she doesn't measure much of anything and that's how this recipe should be. I make it mild, and two jalapenos won't add much heat. Also, my boy cherry picks the tomatoes, so I add a bunch in anticipation of that. If you can hold off the crowd, this is best the second day, or after it's sat out for a couple hours. It's also best served at room temperature.



Cabbage Salsa
1 head cabbage, chopped
1 tsp salt (more to taste)
1 red onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
8 tomatoes, chopped
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded & finely chopped
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
2 limes, juiced
2 lemons, juiced

Chop the cabbage and put into a large serving bowl. Toss with the salt and set a side while you chop the remaining ingredients, or just let set for a few minutes. Add the onion, garlic, tomatoes, jalapenos and cilantro and toss to combine. Squeeze the lemons and limes and toss again. It's best if you let the salsa sit for a while to let the flavors mingle. It's also best served at room temperature.

6 Servings: 75 cal (0g fat, 18g carbs, 4g protein)