Mushroom-Barley “Risotto”
06 Dec 2011 6 Comments
in Home Cooking, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: barley, chanterelle, comfort food, cremini, garlic, morel, mushroom, olive oil, onion, oyster, sides, tumeric, vegan, vegetarian
I love all things mushroom! So this was one of those amazing recipes for my house. Thank goodness I made a bunch as we were super happy to eat it for a while 
The best part was that unlike regular risotto – I didn’t have to stand over the hot stove and stir this dish the whole time. And of course barley is way more nutritious than arborio rice.
Check out these other mushroom dishes from the past…Mushroom and Crumble Stroganoff -Vegan Creme of Artichoke and Mushroom Soup with Pesto, Raw Spinach & Wild Mushroom Quiche, Chopped “Liver” Spread, Thai Coconut Bliss Soup, Mushroom Stroganoff and Raw Mushroom Cream Sushi
Mushroom-Barley “Risotto”
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups mixed mushrooms, quartered (chanterelle, cremini, morel, and oyster)
1 cup pearl barley
3 cups vegetable stock or water
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.
- Add the onions; cook about 5 minutes and stir in the garlic and cook, 30 seconds.
- Add the mushrooms; cook until soft, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the barley to coat.
- Add the stock, salt, and turmeric and bring to a boil.
- Lower to a simmer and cover, stirring occasionally, until the barley is tender and liquid is absorbed.
Butternut Squash Cornbread Stuffing
21 Nov 2011 Leave a Comment
in Home Cooking, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: butternut squash, celery, comfort food, cornbread, entertaining, garlic, mushroom, onions, red pepper, sides, stuffing, thanksgiving, vegan, vegetarian
I’m so sorry to have gone MIA for so long! It was a crazy couple of months and then we went on a fabulous whirlwind tour of Australia So no complaining here but I am happy to be back home and back in the kitchen!! And just in time for an awesome Thanksgiving recipe!!
I have always Loved the stuffing part of the meal so this dish is pretty perfect. It has all the carby goodness of the cornbread but much more veggies than a normal stuffing, so you can even enjoy this as a great fall meal. Yum! And I just love roasted squash! Plus this dish is also really low in fat compared to all the butter laden stuffing recipes out there
What are your favorite vegetarian Thanksgiving recipes/dishes? I would love to hear from you!!
Butternut Squash Cornbread Stuffing
Serves 8 as Main Dish or 16 as Side Dish
- 1 butternut squash (love buying the pre-chopped!!), cut into 1/2″ pieces
- 2 Tbsp. canola oil
- 2 onions, diced
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 3-4 celery stalks, diced
- 1 lb. button mushrooms, diced
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 14 ounce bag cornbread stuffing
- 2 cups “chicken” flavored veggie broth
- salt
Heat oven to 400°F. Spray sheet or roasting pan (I needed 2 pans – but I also made extra squash for buttnernut mash- nice to be able to double duty the recipe!) Spray pan with nonstick cooking spray and roast squash for 25 minutes. Rotate squash and cook for an additional 20 minutes. Set aside and reduce heat to 350°F.
In a saute pan or wok – heat canola oil and cook onions, pepper, celery and mushrooms until onion is translucent. Add garlic, cook for one minute more and remove from heat.
Combine squash, veggies, broth and cornbread in large bowl. Place in a baking dish/roasting pan (use the same 1 or 2 that you roasted squash in) and cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350°F for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 10 minutes. Sprinkle with salt to taste and enjoy
Polenta & Shallot Squares
04 Sep 2011 3 Comments
in Home Cooking, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: comfort food, cornmeal, onions, polenta, shallots, sides, vegan, vegetarian
We love all things Polenta!! You can serve this as is or fry it up in a pan to make it a little more decadent, but we thought it was perfect on its own. Such a yummy side dish!
Here are a few other polenta dishes to check out: Vegan Creamy Polenta, Polenta with Nectarine-Blackberry Salsa, Polenta with Black Beans, Pan-Fried Tofu & Roasted Coconut Tomato Sauce, Slow Cooked Corn Polenta and Chiles and Polenta Vegetable Casserole.
Polenta & Shallot Squares
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onions, diced
2 shallots, diced
1 cup water
2 cups vegetable broth
1 cup coarse cornmeal
Salt & pepper, to taste
- Place oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion and shallots. Cook, covered, for 10 minutes, or until softened, stirring occasionally.
- Add the water, broth, and bring to a boil. Gradually whisk in the cornmeal.
- Reduce the heat and cook, stirring often and adding water as needed, for 30 minutes, or until thick.
- Season with the salt and pepper.
- Brush an 11x7x2-inch dish with oil. Spread the polenta in the dish. Cool completely and cut into squares.
Vegan Peach Cobbler Pie
03 Aug 2011 2 Comments
in Home Cooking, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: agave, Cobbler, comfort food, dessert, earth balance, flour, nutmeg, peach, pie, snack, soymilk, sugar, vanilla, vegan, vegetarian
- Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
- Toss the peaches with the agave and the nutmeg in baking pans and set aside.
- Mix all the sauce ingredients together until smooth and pour over peaches.
- Combine the crumbles ingredients into a crumbly dough with your hands. Sprinkle on top, completely covering the peaches and sauce.
- Place in the oven 35 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle another tablespoon of sugar onto both pies. Place back in the oven for 7 more minutes.
- Remove, let cool, and enjoy!
Carmelized Onions and Pesto Quinoa Pasta
24 Jul 2011 3 Comments
in Home Cooking, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: basil, comfort food, gluten-free, olive oil, onions, pasta, pesto, pine nuts, quick and easy, quinoa, sauces, tofu, vegan, vegetarian
We had such a super lovely week of vacation! We spent most of the week out in Sag Harbor relaxing, cooking, practicing yoga with the amazing Colleen Saidman at Yoga Shanti, hanging out with my wonderful sister & brother in law and their adorable twin girls and just generally taking it super easy. (I’ll post some of our other super quick vacation recipes soon!)
We then headed out to Northport to stay with our friend Lisa Dawn. She has a beautiful studio there, Project Yoga, that I was honored to be teaching at this weekend. Such a sweet and blessed space. We spent the rest of the time there at the beach and of course cooking a little more
As many of you know, I love onions! We bought the most beautiful onions at the Farmers Market in Northport and I wanted to use them right away. Lisa had this amazing Vegan Pesto from Delpozzo at the farmers market so it was just a perfect quick and easy beach meal to throw both these together with quinoa pasta. Easy Peasy!
The pesto was Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Basil, Garlic, Pinenuts, Tofu, Salt and Pepper. Super easy! I have never tried tofu in the my pesto and this was out of control amazing! I usually make my pestos with olive oil, pinenuts (or sometimes other nuts), salt and pepper -occasionally I will add some nutritional yeast. I always like to try new things of course, so I am excited to experiment with this one soon myself.
Caramelized onions are one of my favorite things ever. They come out so sweet and deelish!! All you have to do is cook them down and the sugar in the onions make them super sweet. Yum!
Carmelized Onions and Pesto Quinoa Pasta
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3-6 onions (depending on how much you love onions and if you want some for leftovers)
- 4 ounces of quinoa pasta
- 2-3 ounces vegan pesto
To caramelize the onions, just peel and chop the onions. Heat oil in a pan over medium heat and add the onions, stirring. Continue to let the onions cook for a while, stirring occasionally to make sure the onions don’t burn. You can either cover the onions with a lid and let their liquid cook themselves down or for a browner more caramelized version, keep the lid off and the liquid begins to evaporate as the onions begin to brown, just make sure you are stirring frequently to prevent them from burning. You can cook both versions for about 10-20 minutes till you reach your desired color and texture.
After you get the onions in the pan, boil the pasta water. Add the pasta and cook according to instructions.
Then simply combine the onions, pesto and pasta with a bit of salt and pepper and Enjoy
I kept the cover on for the onions, so they are not as brown, but they are soft and super sweet!
I LOVE it when it says Vegan on it!! So Special!!!
Kitchari Challenge – Recipe #3
07 Jul 2011 6 Comments
in Cleansing, Home Cooking, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: Cleanse, comfort food, Kitchari, lentils, quick and easy, rice, sides, split peas, vegan, vegetarian
Many recipes have the option to add chopped veggies to the Kitchari and I’m sure it would be super tasty. But I am a Kitchari purist. Maybe sometime during this challenge I might try some of the chopped veggies, but I am not there yet. This one was simple, easy and deelish.
Cleansing Kitchari
Recipe adapted from Ayurveda for Women: A Guide to Vitality and Health
2 cups basmati rice
1 cup yellow split peas
12 cups boiling water
3/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 big pinch asafoetida
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoon of salt
optional, chopped veggies
- Combine the rice with the split peas and wash twice.
- Place rice and beans into boiling water, adding the turmeric and asafoetida.
- Cook over medium heat until the water is mostly absorbed.
- I usually use an immersion blender to have a semi-smooth consistency. I only blend about half.
- Add one more cup of lukewarm water, vegetables, and optional spices if you’re using them. The final dish should be a stew with a very moist and soft consistency.
Love seeing this big pot of Kitchari!
Vegan Fudge: Soy, Tree Nut, & Gluten Free
19 Jun 2011 3 Comments
in Home Cooking, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: chocolate, coconut milk, comfort food, dessert, quick and easy, snack, vegan, vegetarian
Thanks so much Averie for this recipe! OMG! This one “magically” dissappeared fast out of the fridge over the week. 
I don’t normally make these kind of desserts to keep in the house, but it was Birthday Week so I thought we could have this special treat. SO good, So fast (to make AND to eat!!). YUM!!!!!! It’s rich, decadent, fudgy, wonderful.
Vegan Fudge–Soy, Tree Nut, & Gluten Free; and a 10 Minute Recipe
Recipe from Averie
1 Cup Vegan/Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1 box Confectioner’s Sugar
1/2 Cup Cocoa Powder
2 Tablespoons Dairy-Free Margarine (Earth Balance)
1/2 Cup Regular Coconut Milk *DO NOT USE LIGHT Coconut Milk*
1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- In a large bowl, combine the chocolate chips, sugar, and cocoa.
- Separately, place the margarine and coconut milk in a small saucepan, and stir together over medium heat.
- Cook the mixture until the margarine has melted, and bubbles just begin to break at the surface.
- Remove it from the stove, and immediately pour the liquid over the dry chocolate & sugar mixture.
- Let everything sit for a couple of minutes (and if you wait too long and it hardens up on you, feel free to nuke it for 15 seconds at a time or until melty), and then stir vigorously to melt the chocolate and incorporate the dry ingredients.
- Continue stirring until a completely smooth mixture forms.
- Mix in the vanilla, and quickly pour everything into your prepared pan, a lightly greased or cooking-sprayed 8×8 pan (or another similar size)
- Let cool completely before cutting into squares.
I'm surprised any of this made it into the pan It was so good! The ultimate spoon licking dessert!!
Ready to Chill
Figgy Brussel Sprouts with Grapes and Walnuts
05 Jun 2011 3 Comments
in Home Cooking, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: brussel sprout, comfort food, figs, green, quick and easy, sides, vegan, vegetarian, walnuts
My friend Lisa Dawn, the inspiration behind the amazing Coconut Lentil Soup, recently told me about this amazing brussel sprout dish she made. We L-O-V-E brussel sprouts here, so we are always up for a new recipe with them.
She adapted this from ilili’s brussel sprout recipe. It was really sweet, very fresh, quick and super deelish.
Also see her guest post with the most deelish looking Vegan Stuffed Shells with Cashew Ricotta Cheese!!
Figgy Brussel Sprouts with Grapes and Walnuts
1 lb Brussel sprout, quartered
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper, to taste
1 cup grapes, halved
1 cup walnuts, chopped
2-3 tablespoons fig jam
2 tablespoons water
- Pre-heat oven to 350.
- Toss Brussel Sprouts with olive oil and Salt and Pepper. Roast for 10-15 minutes.
- In a small pot, melt fig jam with water.
- Mix roasted brussel sprouts with grapes, walnuts and fig mixture.
- Enjoy!!
Love the Super Bright Green Brussels!
Nina’s Yukon gold potato pancakes with seaweed “caviar” and horseradish “creme fraiche”
01 Jun 2011 4 Comments
in Home Cooking, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: breakfast, comfort food, cream, entertaining, sides, snack, tofu, Tofutti, vegan, vegetarian
A frugal and cruelty free find for everyday decadence. Inspired, I created a recipe for it that evening. It is boyfriend tested and approved. Before you lament that you don’t live near a Swedish furniture palace, search for “vegan caviar” online. There are countless options. I even came across a Divine sounding truffled vegan caviar.- Prepare mashed potatoes (Yukon gold is far superior because of creamy texture and rich flavor). I trust you can prepare mashed potatoes, though here are a few tips: Salt potatoes after boiling. Use unsweetened soy milk and only the tiniest amount since you want a very stiff mash which you can handle to mold the pancake. For flavor add Earth Balance vegan margarine.
- Next prepare the “creme fraiche” by adding jarred/fresh horseradish and a pinch of salt to Tofutti brand sour cream. Set aside and allow flavors to meld.
- Meanwhile form mashies into 1/2″ rounds and dredge in flour. Pan fry over low heat for about 2 min. on each side.
- Final step is to plate. Carefully remove pancake from skillet and top with “creme fraiche”, a teaspoonful of “caviar”, a sprinkle of salt and a turn of fresh black pepper. For a special; occasion or extra decadence, serve with a flute of champagne. My apologize for the poor quality photo. We were so eager to sample that I didn’t take the time to take a proper photo. Bon Appetit!
Mushroom and Kale Polenta
18 May 2011 Leave a Comment
in Home Cooking, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: comfort food, kale, mushroom, nutritional yeast, polenta, sides, vegan, vegetarian
We love polenta! It cooks so quick and you can do so many fun things with it You can probably guess from many of my recipes that I love kale and mushrooms and they went SO well with the polenta. This an easy dish that also makes great leftovers.
Some other polenta goodness: Polenta with Nectarine-Blackberry Salsa, Vegan Creamy Polenta, Polenta with Black Beans, Pan-Fried Tofu & Roasted Coconut Tomato Sauce, Slow Cooked Corn Polenta and Chiles and Polenta Vegetable Casserole.
Here are just a few other mushroom recipes if you love them too! Mushroom Stroganoff, Mushroom and Crumble Stroganoff, Raise-the-Roof Sweet Potato Vegetable Lasagna, Raw Spinach & Wild Mushroom Quiche, Vegan Creme of Artichoke and Mushroom Soup with Pesto, Thai Coconut Bliss Soup, Easy Tofu Scramble, Raw Mushroom Cream Sushi and Chopped “Liver” Spread.
Mushroom and Kale Polenta
1 cup coarse ground cornmeal
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 – 2 cups corn kernels (fresh or frozen)
2 cups sliced mushrooms (any mix)
1 – 2 cups kale, washed and chopped
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
2-3 cups water
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt, freshly ground pepper, olive oil
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Add the cornmeal, whisking continuously. Add corn, thyme, and salt and pepper, turn heat to low and continue to cook for about 10-15 minutes. If the polenta becomes too stiff, add a little more water. (1/4 cup at a time.)
- In the meantime, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil and garlic and cook for a few minutes. Add mushrooms and a pinch of salt, and continue to cook for 5 minutes; the mushrooms should be giving off some liquid.
- Add kale and about 2 tablespoons of water to the mushrooms, then cover the skillet for about a minute, until the kale softens up.
- Add everything in the mushroom and kale skillet to the polenta. Mix the nutritional yeast into the polenta, and spread the mixture into a glass baking dish.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes. Either serve right away or chill and cut into squares.
