29 Feb 2012
by marisashealthykitchen
in Home Cooking, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes
Tags: broth, butternut squash, carrot, coconut milk, comfort food, curry, curry paste, ginger, lime, onion, potatoes, quick and easy, rice, thai, tomatoes, turnips, vegan, vegetarian
I love curries! Since winter is ending (yeah!!!!) I wanted to get one last yummy root veggie dish on the table and this turned out amazing! I also love a big one pot meal, especially if I already have cooked rice in the fridge already like I did this night! Perfection!

Thai Root Veggie Curry with Coconut Milk
Serves 4
2 cups rice, cooked and set aside
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
1 onion, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups butternut squash, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 turnips, trimmed and cubed
3 carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
6 fingerling potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 zucchini, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
2 1/2 cups hot vegetable broth, or more as needed
1 teaspoon red or yellow Thai curry paste, or more to taste
1 cup low-fat coconut milk
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- Heat the oil in a large pan and set over medium-high heat. Add ginger, onions and salt and cook 4 to 5 minutes until the onions softens. Reduce the heat to low and add the butternut squash, turnips, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes and zucchini and simmer.
- In a separate saucepan over medium heat, whisk the hot broth with the curry paste until the paste dissolves. Pour the broth over the vegetables to cover them; simmer over medium heat, covered , for 20 to 25 minutes,until veggies are tender.
- In the empty broth saucepan boil coconut milk until it reduces in volume by half. The pour over the vegetables and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Stir in the lime juice and serve over rice with lime wedges.

24 Feb 2012
by marisashealthykitchen
in Home Cooking, New York Highlights, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes
Tags: artichoke, broccoli, capers, comfort food, corn, daiya, dough, eggplant, flour, garlic, herbs, homemade, marinara, mushrooms, non-dairy cheese, olive oil, olives, onion, pala, pepper, pesto, pizza, sauces, sausage, soy, sugar, sun dried tomatoes, tempeh, tofu, tomato, tomatoes, vegan, vegan cheese, vegetarian, viva, yeast, zucchini
Who doesn’t appreciate a good slice, especially here in NYC where pizza is so very important and such a point of contention – even for vegans! Our favorite place to order from is Viva Herbal Pizzeria where we can get spelt or gluten-free crusts with daiya and even vegan sausage as toppings (our personal fave combo!) Pala Pizza also has great vegan options and that brick-fired pizza taste, yum!
Sometimes it is easy to buy dough and tomato sauce quickly whip up a pie at home, but if you are interested in making your own dough, here is a great recipe! My mom made the dough and I added the homemade sauce (thanks mom!!). It was really very very good!
Check out here for some of my other fun pizza nights 🙂 Flatbread Pizza with hummus, green olives, cherry tomatoes and za’atar (this is a raw one and Well Worth the effort!), Raw Eggplant Pizzas and the quick at home whipped up kind with purchased dough.

Vegan Pizza with Homemade Dough & Daiya Cheese
Pizza Dough Recipe
- 3 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon finely ground sea salt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 1/4 teaspoon dry yeast (1 packet of dry yeast)
- 1/4 teaspoon sugar
- 1 1/2 cup warm water
- Pre-heat oven to 500 degrees (if using a pizza stone – place in the oven to get hot and heat for an hour)
- Mix together the warm water, sugar and yeast. Put aside to get foamy. If it does not foam then the yeast is not good – redo this step.
- In a separate bowl mix all of the other ingredients. Add in the yeast mixture and mix well until dough forms a ball. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough – Use the palm of your hand and keep pressing in and folding it over and repeating for about 5 minutes.
- Divide the dough into 4 – one pound balls. Place these dough balls into containers and cover the container with anything that will keep the air out. Set the dough to rise in a warm spot for at least 45 minutes. (you can freeze any unused dough after rising*)
- Prepare your topping. Stretch out the dough and aim for it to be even thickness all around. Top your pizza and place in the oven. Bake for 8 minutes. Let it rest. Add any herbs to your pizza afterwards.
*If using frozen dough – allow dough to defrost in fridge 12 hours
- Either use a jar of Marinara Sauce or make your own
Basic Sauce Recipe
- 28 ounce pureed tomatoes
- sugar to taste
- salt to taste
- 3-6 finely grated fresh peeled garlic cloves
Mix all the ingredients together.
Topping Suggestions:
- Mushrooms
- Onions
- Fresh or Roasted Garlic
- Broccoli
- Sweet Corn
- Peppers
- Olives
- Fresh Tomatoes
- Sun Dried Tomatoes
- Grilled/Fried/Baked Eggplant
- Grilled Zucchini
- Roasted Red Pepper
- Capers
- Saute Spinach
- Pesto Sauce
- Artichokes
- Soy Pepperoni or Soy Sausage or Tofu/tempeh
- Daiya Vegan Cheese or other vegan cheese
- Herbs

Unbaked Pizza
06 Dec 2011
by marisashealthykitchen
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.
29 Nov 2011
by marisashealthykitchen
in Raw Desserts and Treats, Raw Vegan Recipes, Superfoods, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes
Tags: agave, almond butter, artisana, breakfast, Brendan Brazier, chocolate, coconut, coconut butter, coconut milk, dessert, honey, life tim protein, peanut butter, quick and easy, raw, snack, superfood, vega, vegan, vegan protein powder, vegetarian
I have been doing my best to get as much protein as possible lately. (Thank goodness for Brendan Brazier’s Vega Bars!) I have made many versions of this snack throughout my life, but never added protein powder before and it really was such a perfect addition! I made both vanilla and chocolate versions to enjoy 🙂 Awesome!
These were so super fast to whip up and even faster to eat haha so make sure you make some extra for the perfect on the go snacks.

Yummy Protein Goo Ball Bites
Chocolate Version
1 scoop chocolate protein powder (as I mentioned above – I love Brendan Brazier’s products from Vega and his Shake & Go Smoothie Chocolate is amazing!!!!)
2 tablespoons Artisana coconut butter (this is the best stuff ever!)
2 teaspoons honey or agave
1 heaping teaspoon organic peanut butter (or other nut butter)
1/2 cup unsweetened dried shredded coconut
1/4 cup light coconut milk
Vanilla Version
1 scoop vanilla protein powder (my absolute favorite vanilla powder – Life Time Lifes Basics Plant Protein)
2 tablespoons Artisana coconut butter
2 teaspoons honey or agave
1 heaping teaspoon organic peanut butter (or other nut butter)
1/2 cup unsweetened dried shredded coconut
1/4 cup light coconut milk
Combine all ingredients. You might need a little more protein powder or coconut if too wet or some coconut milk if too dry. Roll into balls in your hands.
Optional add ons:
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
- Extra shredded coconut
Melt chocolate over a double boiler and dip the bites in the bowl. Then sprinkle coconut over and freeze until firm.
21 Nov 2011
by marisashealthykitchen
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 🙂

02 Oct 2011
by marisashealthykitchen
in Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes
Tags: comfort food, ginger, maple syrup, quick and easy, sauces, sesame, sides, snack, soy, tofu, vegan, vegetarian
OMG! So Simple and So Amazing! This was one of the best dinners. So healthy (paired with steamed Kale! YUM!) deeeeeeelish and simple! These were amazing to keep in the fridge and soooo good cold even! I doubled the recipe and wish I had quadrupled it!!! So good!


Sesame Ginger Maple Baked Tofu
adapted from Averie’s recipe from Love Veggies and Yoga Thanks!
1 Tbsp Ground Ginger
1/4 Tsp Cayenne Pepper
1/4 Tsp Black Pepper
1/8 cup Sesame Oil
1/8 cup Maple syrup
2 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
Optional: Garlic, Onions, Salt, Nama Shoyu/Bragg’s Liquid Aminos/Soy Sauce, to Taste
Optional: bake and/or garnish with sesame seeds
- Preheat oven to 425F
- Blot the tofu with paper towels & cut into uniform slices
- Combine all ingredients in a small bowl, stir and pour over tofu slices.
- Bake for 35 Minutes, flipping over halfway through baking.

04 Sep 2011
by marisashealthykitchen
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.

18 Aug 2011
by marisashealthykitchen
in Raw Vegan Recipes, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes
Tags: agave, basil, comfort food, entertaining, green, lemon, nutritional yeast, olive oil, onions, pignoli, pine nuts, pistachios, raw, sauces, tomatoes, vegan, vegetarian, zucchini, Zucchini Pasta
I have made this dish many times over the last couple of years, sorry for waiting so long to share it with you! It is one of my faves!! And you can use each component on its own in other dishes as well 🙂 SO versatile and deelish! A total crowd pleaser – beautiful and amazing! Plus it has been one of their top sellers at the restaurant for years!

Zucchini and Green Zebra Tomato Lasagne with Basil-Pistachio Pesto
Recipe by Matthew Kenney of Pure Food and Wine
Serves 6
Lemon-Pignoli “Ricotta”
2 cups raw pignoli nuts, soaked in water for at least 1 hour
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon sea salt
6 tablespoons water
Place the pignoli, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, and salt in a food processor, and pulse a few times, until thoroughly combined. Gradually add water, and pulse until the texture becomes fluffy, like ricotta. Place in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside.
Tomato Sauce
2 cups good-quality sun-dried tomatoes (dry-packed), soaked in water for at least 2 hours
1 medium ripe tomato, diced
1/4 small onion, chopped
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon agave
2 teaspoons sea salt
Pinch hot-pepper flakes
Place all ingredients in a Vita-mix or high speed blender, and process until smooth.
Basil-Pistachio Pesto
2 cups packed basil leaves
1/2 cup raw pistachios
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
Pinch freshly ground black pepper
Place all ingredients in a Vita-mix or food processor and process until well combined but still slightly chunky.
Lasagne
3 medium zucchini, ends trimmed
3 medium green-zebra tomatoes (or other heirloom variety)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh oregano
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
Pinch of sea salt and fresh pepper
Garnish: whole basil leaves
- Using a mandoline or vegetable peeler, shave zucchini lengthwise into very thin slices, then cut in half crosswise. Cut the tomatoes in half, and each half into thin slices.
- Line the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with two layers of zucchini slices. Brush the zucchini lightly with olive oil, spread 1/3 of the tomato sauce over it, and top with small dollops of “ricotta” and pesto, using 1/3 of each. Layer on 1/3 of the tomato slices, and sprinkle with 1/3 of the oregano and thyme. Add another double layer of zucchini and repeat twice more with the tomato sauce, pesto, ricotta, tomato slices, and herbs. Serve immediately, or cover with plastic and let sit at room temperature for a few hours. Garnish with basil. (or make individual portions by layering into square shapes on plates)
08 Aug 2011
by marisashealthykitchen
in Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes
Tags: comfort food, green, kale, lemon, pine nuts, quick and easy, quinoa, scallions, sides, vegan, vegetarian
I love one pot meals! SO easy! This one uses quinoa and kale; two of our favorite foods ever makes this one even more perfect! YUM!

One Pot Kale and Quinoa Pilaf
adapted from Food52
Serves 2-4
2 cups salted water
1 cup quinoa
1 bunch (any type) kale, washed and chopped into 1″ lengths
1 lemon, zested and juiced
2 scallions, minced
1 tablespoon toasted walnut, grapeseed or olive oil
3 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
salt and pepper
- Bring the water to a boil in a covered pot. Add the quinoa, cover, and lower the heat until it is just enough to maintain a simmer. Let simmer for 10 minutes, then top with the kale and re-cover. Simmer another 5 minutes, then turn off the heat and allow to steam for 5 more minutes.
- While the quinoa is cooking, take a large serving bowl and combine half of the lemon juice (reserving the other half), all of the lemon zest, scallions, oil, and pine nuts.
- Check the quinoa and kale when the cooking time has completed — the water should have absorbed, and the quinoa will be tender but firm, and the kale tender and bright green. If the quinoa still has a hard white center, you can steam a bit longer (adding more water if needed). When the quinoa and kale are done, fluff the pilaf, and tip it into the waiting bowl with the remaining ingredients. As the hot quinoa hits the scallions and lemon it should smell lovely. Toss to combine, seasoning with salt and pepper, and the remaining lemon juice if needed.

03 Aug 2011
by marisashealthykitchen
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
When we were out in Sag Harbor we went to every farmers market in the Hamptons. SO many fresh and colorful fruits and veggies 🙂
One of the markets we went to,
The Milk Pail in Water Mill had beautiful peaches, so I couldn’t resist the 5 pound bag. Two years ago I had done the same thing (
we had actually got to pick the peaches then) and made
Raw Luscious Peach Cobbler. This year I figured although we LOVED that cobbler, to try a baked version. Michael’s absolute favorite dessert is cobbler so I always love to experiment with it. I looked up some different recipes and here is my interpretation. Yum!!!
Vegan Peach Cobbler Pie
makes 2 cobbler pies 8x8ish or round pie pans
Sauce
1 cup flour
3/4 cup white sugar
2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup soymilk
4 teaspoon vanilla
Crumbles
3/4 cup vegan butter, melted
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon agave nectar
pinch of sea salt
2 1/3 cup flour
Peaches
7-9 peaches, sliced or chopped
1/2 cup agave nectar
1 tablespoon nutmeg
- 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!
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