Tahini Dip

We adore this dip and make it about once a month for dressing salads, or as a dip for crackers or raw veggies. It has an almost cheese-like quality to it that is just so good. I have also put it over pasta and used it as a spread for sandwiches and wraps. It is very versatile and great to have on hand.

Ingredients:

1 cup tahini

1 cup room temperature water

3 tbsp lemon juice

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

2 tbsp Braggs or tamari

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1 1/2 tsp liquid smoke

Directions:

Put the tahini in a bowl or jar and whisk in the water 1/4 cup at a time until the tahini has lightened in color and is the consistency you would like for your dressing or dip. It is important to add the water to the tahini before adding any other ingredients because if you don't go in that order the tahini will "break" and the oil will separate.

Once your tahini is blended with the water and creamy you can whisk in the rest of the ingredients.

Udon Noodle Soup

I have been on a YouTube food and travel video bender, and especially love TabiEats and Paolo From Tokyo. They make everything look so good and describe what they are eating with great detail. They are not vegan, but that's okay, I just veganize the recipes that look and sound good to me. This is one of those recipes.

Vegan Udon Noodle Soup

Ingredients:

6 cups vegetable broth (adjust soy sauce if your broth is salted - I used 1 tbsp Better Than Boullion)
Thumb size piece of ginger, peeled
1 inch piece of Kombu (dried seaweed for making stock)
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup Bragg Liquid Aminos or soy sauce
1 tbsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp garlic chili paste
1 tbsp dried wakame seaweed

1 tbsp sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp minced fresh ginger
1/2 cup diced carrot
1/2 cup chopped broccoli
1/2 cup sliced cabbage

2 cups fresh (or frozen) udon noodles (about 8 oz)
Sliced scallions to sprinkle on top
grated radish for topping (optional)

Directions:

Heat the vegetable broth in a saucepan with the thumb-sized piece of peeled ginger, rice wine vinegar, Braggs or soy sauce, Worcestershire, and garlic chili paste. Bring to a low boil and let it simmer for 15 minutes while you prepare the vegetables. When the broth is done, strain out the ginger and the kombu.

For the veggies, mince the garlic and ginger. Then dice the carrot, broccoli, and cabbage. Heat the sesame oil in a non-stick pan and stirfry the garlic, ginger, broccoli, and cabbage until al dente and still somewhat crisp and bright.

Prepare the udon noodles according to package directions.

Put the noodles in a bowl and top with the stirfried veggie mix, ladle on some broth and top with the scallions and grated radish.

Adzuki Beans with Winter Squash

This is a simple and comforting winter dish that is healthy and warming. This recipe is inspired by the principles of Macrobiotics with seasonal, local and mindfully prepared ingredients.

Adzuki Beans with Winter Squash

Ingredients:

1 cup dried adzuki beans (soaked overnight in 3 cups of water and then drained)

1 tsp coconut oil
1/4 cup yellow onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp minced fresh ginger
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
4-inch strip of kombu
2 cups of water
2 tsp vegetable bouillon

1/2 winter squash (e.g. acorn, pumpkin, butternut, kabocha)

Directions:

Heat the coconut oil in the bottom of a large saucepan or pressure cooker. Add the onion and saute until it turns translucent. Then add the garlic and ginger and stir for a minute or so before adding the cumin and coriander. Then put the kombu in the pan with 2 cups of water and the bouillon. Add the soaked beans and stir to distribute the seasonings.

If cooking this in a saucepan, bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer until the beans are cooked through. Adding more hot water as needed. If pressure cooking, seal and cook for an hour on high pressure.

While the beans are cooking, prepare your squash. Discard the seeds and the peel and cut the squash into bite-sized pieces. Toss them with a tbsp of melted coconut oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake in a 400-degree oven for 20 minutes (or until tender).

When the beans are done, add the cooked squash and enjoy. It is great served over steamed brown rice with some fresh cilantro sprinkled on top.

Tom Kha Soup

This soup is so delicious. It is savory, rich and super satisfying. It is a comforting dish when it is cold outside and has complex flavors for not too much time in the kitchen. I have been working on a vegan version for a while now and have found this recipe to hit the spot.

The Thai ingredients are easily found at a specialty grocery store. We have several where I live in Denver, but you could also find them online (Amazon Fresh carries the galangal, lemongrass, wakame, dried shiitake, and the Thai curry paste).

Tom Kha Soup

Ingredients:

1 tsp coconut oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp Thai red curry paste
1 tbsp vegetable bouillon

4 cups of water
aromatics (place in a cheesecloth or tea strainer)
1 tbsp peeled and chopped fresh ginger root
4 rounds of sliced galangal root (omit if you can't find)
4 1 inch pieces of lemongrass (use lemon zest if you don't have lemongrass)

1 carrot, sliced into rounds
1/2 cup dried shitake mushrooms
1 tbsp wakame seaweed
1 leaf kale, chopped small
1/2 tsp sugar

1 can coconut milk
Fresh chopped cilantro
Lime wedges

Directions:

Heat the coconut oil in a saucepan and add the onion to the pan. When the onion begins to soften add the garlic and stir for about a minute before adding the curry paste and bouillon. Stir to coat the onions and garlic and then add the water and the packet of aromatics (ginger, galangal root, and lemongrass).

Then add in the carrot, shitake mushrooms, wakame, kale, and sugar. Bring the soup to a boil and let simmer until the carrots and mushrooms are tender (about 10 minutes or so). Finally, take out the packet of aromatics, stir in the coconut milk, and serve with cilantro, lime, and pan-fried tofu.

Serve with fried tofu, fresh cilantro and a squeeze of lime.

Millennial Hash

This recipe is simple and very filling. I love the combination of the potatoes, kale, and avocado - it is so good!

Millennial Hash

This recipe got its name from my husband making a comment about me putting avocado on my hash browns "like a millennial"....because millennials are known for spending more on groceries than other generations and they apparently put avocado on everything. I think that is a great thing because avocados make everything better - including hash browns!

Ingredients:

1/2 bag of frozen shredded potatoes (1 lb bag)

1/4 cup finely diced onion

1 clove garlic, minced

4 oz button mushrooms, sliced

1/2 bunch of kale washed and chopped into bite-sized pieces

Salt and pepper

Tamari

1/2 a ripe avocado, sliced

Directions:

Place the potatoes in a non-stick pan over medium heat. I don't add oil. I find that if you leave them alone to let them brown, they don't stick and flip easily. I let them cook for 10-15 minutes - check them and flip them when they begin to turn golden brown.

While the potatoes cook, heat the onions and garlic in another non-stick pan until they begin to soften. Then add the mushrooms and the kale and cook through. Once the veggies have softened sprinkle them with salt and pepper and then use a little tamari or soy sauce to deglaze the pan. Serve the veggies over the hash browns and top it all with the sliced avocado.

Bring on the Spring Smoothie

As the weather warms here for spring, smoothies are starting to sound really good again. This smoothie makes me happy with its bright pink color and texture from the basil seeds and dragon fruit. The basil seeds soak up some of the liquid and are like little balls of tapioca in your drink and are a fun change from chia seeds (they act very similar in recipes). This is a great way to try basil seeds if you haven't yet and you can find them online or at specialty grocers. I found mine at Pacific Ocean Market in Denver.

Bring on the Spring Smoothie

Ingredients:

1 cup diced mango
1 cup sliced banana
1/2 cup diced dragon fruit
1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder
water to cover

1 tbsp basil seeds

Directions:

Put all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Top with 1 tbsp of basil seeds and chopped dragon fruit.

Ultimate Vegan Pizza

I am calling this "ultimate" vegan pizza because, after 10 years on a vegan diet, this is definitely the recipe that best satisfies those vegan junk food cravings and is our long-standing favorite pizza recipe. Of course, if you are newly vegan this won't immediately replace a cheese-laden pizza from your not too distant memory, but given time tastes do change and you will find that vegan pizza is delicious.

Plan for the time you need to make the dough and let it rise. Often, I will make the dough in the morning, let it rise the first time, and then put it in the fridge until later that day when I am ready to make the pizza. Then take it out in enough time to let it come back to room temperature.

Ultimate Vegan Pizza

Dough Ingredients:

1 pkg active dry yeast (about a tbsp of yeast)
1 1/2 cups warm water (not hot, though, you don't want to kill the yeast)
2 tsp sugar

2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp salt
3-4 cups all-purpose flour

Dough Directions:

Place the yeast in a large mixing bowl with the warm water and the sugar. Mix it gently with a wooden spoon and then leave it for about 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, the yeast should be forming a foam on the top of the water. If you do not see any foam, it means your yeast is dead and you should start again with new yeast. Otherwise, add the olive oil, salt, and one cup of flour. Mix to incorporate and then continue adding flour one cup at a time until a loose shaggy dough begins to form. Then slowly work in the last cup of flour while you knead the dough.

You want a nice elastic dough that is not too dry. So don't add any more flour than you have to while you knead the dough. The amount of flour you will need to add varies - I think it has to do with the brand of flour, the humidity, etc. that determines how much flour to add before your dough has a nice smooth yet slightly tacky feel to it. Knead the dough for around 5-7 minutes or so.

Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a damp towel. Set the dough aside in a warm spot in your kitchen to rise for an hour. After the hour, your dough should have doubled in size. Punch it down and let it rise again (if you made the dough ahead, here is where you can put it in the fridge until you are ready to use. Otherwise, let it rise for another 30 minutes before rolling out for pizza. Alternately, if you refrigerated the dough, take it out of the refrigerator 30 minutes to an hour before you plan to roll it out so it can come to room temperature, which makes it much easier to work with.

Pizza Ingredients:

16 oz jar of vegan pizza sauce
Vegan parmesan (Follow your Heart makes a really good one)
Veggies for topping (artichoke hearts, diced red onion, sliced mushrooms, and diced fresh tomato are great)
Meat substitute of your choice (I really like dicing up Lightly Seasoned Tofurky Chicken and sprinkling it on top)

Pizza Directions:

Pre-heat your oven to 500 degrees. I like to heat a pizza stone in the oven at the same time the oven is pre-heating and use a pizza peel to slide the pizza into the oven and onto the stone.

Divide your dough for the individual pizzas you are planning to make. I usually go for 3 small-medium sized pizzas. You could also divide the dough in half for two larger pizzas.

Roll the dough out on a floured surface and let it rest for 10 minutes. Then top it with the pizza sauce, vegan parmesan, and any veggies that you like. Add a meat substitute if you choose to, and slide the pizza into the oven. Bake for about 5 minutes and then turn the pizza for even baking. Then bake for 2-5 minutes more.