Parent’s Dinner Party – Vegan Seitan Piccata, Creamed Spinach & Creamy Polenta

YUM YUM YUM!!! If you want a meal to impress here you go 🙂

Candle 79 is one of my favorite vegan restaurants! And one of my fave dishes there is the Seitan Piccata.  I adapted this dish from their recipe and it was super deeeeelish! I am sure this sauce would work on tofu, tempeh, etc…  soooo yummy!!

I knew both our dads love Creamed Spinach and Polenta so I wanted to make it for them vegan style 🙂 It was super creamy and super amazing!! I doubled the recipes below to make sure we had enough and we were happy to have some left over! They were sooo good!

I love meals where people are like…”How is this vegan?!” This wasn’t the most low-fat of meals but it sure was amazing!! Creamed spinach and creamy polenta is not everyday food for us, but it was perfect for a special occasion.

I LOVE my warming drawer! Everything was ready to go for dinner, yet I had a clean kitchen perfect for the party!

This made a lot of sauce! Was great for meals that week as well 🙂

I cooked this down a little further, but it was still so rich and creamy! YUM!

YUM! Polenta Goodness!

Vegan Seitan Piccata
adapted from Candle 79 in NYC
Serves 6
1. Dredge seitan cutlets in flour, shaking off excess.
2. Heat 2 Tbs. olive oil in skillet over high heat. Sauté cutlets in oil 30 seconds per side, or until crisp and golden brown. Remove seitan from skillet, and drain on paper-towel-lined plate.
3. Add remaining 2 Tbs. olive oil to skillet, and return to high heat. Add shallots, onion, capers, and garlic, and sauté 1 to 2 minutes, or until softened, stirring frequently. Whisk in wine and lemon juice, and cook 3 to 5 minutes more.
4. Add broth, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, and simmer 1 minute to combine flavors. Whisk in parsley, margarine, salt, and pepper. Pour over seitan cutlets, garnish with large caper berries or lemon slices, and serve.

  • 6 seitan cutlets, rinsed and drained (I used 12 cutlets – Gardein Lightly Seasoned Chick’n Scallopini)
  • Whole-wheat flour for dredging
  • 4 Tbs. olive oil, divided
  • 1/2 cup chopped shallots
  • 2 Tbs. drained capers
  • 1/2 tsp. minced garlic
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine  (I used red instead)
  • 2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup low-sodium vegetable broth
  • 2 Tbs. nonhydrogenated vegan margarine
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
  • Large caper berries or lemon slices, for garnish, optional

Vegan Creamed Spinach

  • salt
  • 1 1/2 pounds fresh spinach
  • 3/4 cup soy creamer
  • 3/4 cup plain soy milk
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil
  • 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
  • grated nutmeg
  • fresh pepper

1. Large pot of water with salt – boil
2. Put spinach  for about a minute then drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process, then chop spinach
3. Place oil in broad saucepan on medium-low, add flour and cook stirring consistently till golden, then stir in creamer/milk
4. Add spinach and bring to a boil until spinach has absorbed most of liquid and sauce is thick, about 15-25 minutes
5. Add nutmeg, salt and pepper and season to taste

Vegan Creamy Polenta

  • 1 cup vegan creamer
  • 1 cup plain soy milk
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 1/2 cups coarse cornmeal
  • 4 tablespoons Earth Balance
  • fresh ground black pepper

1. In a medium saucepan bring the creamer, soy milk and the water to a boil.
2. Add the salt and then gradually add the polenta while stirring.
3. Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer, stirring constantly.
4. The polenta should be smooth and large bubbles will pop on the surface.
5. Cook until very thick but not stiff, about 5 to 7 minutes.
6. Remove from heat and add earth balance and pepper.
7. Enjoy!!

Parent’s Dinner Party – Raw Vegan Caesar Salad

A few weekends ago we were super happy to host both sets of our parents over our house for dinner. We have been so busy lately it was nice to all get together 🙂 It was really great to see everyone and everyone enjoyed the deelish vegan meal I put together! Awesome!! All goodness!

We started off with a Raw Vegan Caesar Salad. YUM!! I haven’t made this in over a year and it was soooo good!! I doubled the recipe and kept the rest of the dressing in the fridge for a weeks worth of salads and dip for carrot sticks! You know when you eat the same food over and over and you don’t want it anymore — that did not happen! It was disappointing when we finally finished the dressing 🙂 YUM!!!

Check out the recipe here Raw Crisp Caesar Salad with Pinenut Parmesan. DEEELISH!!

Raw Tomato Napoleon with Basil Cashew Cheeze and Basil Oil

This was a gorgeous and delish recipe!! It was a perfect addition to the Summer Cleanse or any entertaining situation! Just beautiful!! The Cashew Cheeze is a great recipe to have for other dishes as well. This would be amazing in wraps, sandwiches or topped on Salads! So divine! Enjoy!

Raw Tomato Napoleon with Basil Cashew Cheeze and Basil Oil
Adapted from a recipe on RawMazing

For each Napoleon you will need:
1 small tomato
several  slices of zucchini
Basil Cashew Cheeze Spread
Basil Oil

Cut the tomato in thirds. Spread the Cashew Cheeze on the tomato slice. Layer tomato slice, zucchini and cheese, repeat. Drizzle basil Oil over top.

Basil Cashew Cheeze Spread
1 cup Cashews, soaked at least 1 hour
2 tablespoon Lemon Juice
1 Garlic clove
Pinch Salt
1 cup basil leaves

Start food processor. Drop clove of garlic into processor and run until garlic is chopped. Add cashews, lemon juice and salt. Place all ingredients except basil in food processor and process until smooth. Add basil and pulse until basil is chopped up and combined into cheese.

Basil Oil
Finely chop 4 tablespoons basil and add to 1/4 cup olive oil

Garlic & Herb Cauliflower

This dish is SO divine! Next time I will definitely double this recipe, it went so fast! This is one that anyone will love and Great for Kids!!!

Garlic & Herb Cauliflower
Recipe adapted from Tofu n Sproutz

  • 1-2 heads cauliflower
  • 2-4 cloves garlic, peeled
  • handful fresh herbs (a few sprigs rosemary, parsley & sage)
  • 4 Tbs olive oil
  • salt
  • 2 cups fine, dry, seasoned breadcrumbs – fresh not seasoned

1. Break cauliflower into small florets and place in a large bowl.
2. Put garlic, herbs and olive oil into food processor and mix until garlic is completely blended.
3. Pour oil mixture over cauliflower; stir until all cauliflower bits are evenly coated (Note: It works best and breaks less cauliflower if you toss with your hands until evenly coated).
4. Pour breadcrumbs over cauliflower; toss carefully again until all breadcrumbs are stuck on to cauliflower (Note: Depending on how dry the crumbs are, you might need more crumbs; cauliflower should be evenly coated and dry).
5. Lift carefully onto a shallow sided 9 X 12″ baking pan; roast at 425 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until tender-soft when pierced with a fork.

Raw Sweet Summer Creamed Corn

Summer Corn is Back!! Yeah!! I love Corn Chowder but I decided to make creamed corn tonight! YUM!!! It was really good, although I think I overdid it a little on the cayenne, so that is why I am recommending a pinch not a few shakes like I did. You could also make this creamier by adding soaked cashews into the base before blending. This could also be made sweeter by blending in some dates as well, depending on how you like it. Enjoy!

To see more recipes for Summer Corn check out all of these! Raw Corny Soup, Succotash of Fresh Corn, Lima Beans, Tomatoes and Onions, Cashew “Mock Chicken” Salad and Corn Stuffing, Super Amazing Raw Jalapeno Corn Chips, Summer Quinoa with Corn, Corn & Red Pepper Chips, Raw Corn Chowder, Sweet Corn and Snap Pea Summer Side, Cornbread Bruschetta with White Truffle “Sour Cream” and Spiced Tomatoes, Fresh Corn and Avocado Salad, Raw Spicy Corn Chips, Peach, Avocado & Corn Salad, Toasted Corn Salsa, Raw Just Corn Chips, Raw Corn Cakes, and Raw Corn Chowder II. Can you tell that I LOVE LOVE LOVE gorgeous fresh summer corn!!??!!

Raw Sweet Summer Creamed Corn

5 ears raw sweet corn
1/2 large cucumber, peeled and diced
1 Tablespoon nutritional yeast
1 Tablespoon flax seed oil/cold-pressed olive oil
1 teaspoon dried oregeno
2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
tiny, pinch of cayenne pepper

  1. Cut corn off cobs, setting aside the kernels from 3 of the cobs
  2. Blend the remaining corn and the rest of the ingredients until smooth.
  3. Pour puree into bowls and stir in the reserved corn.

Chia-Crusted Tofu, Shaved Asparagus and Edamame Salad with Truffle Oil Vinaigrette & Cauliflower Mash

I served this deeelish Tofu with the Shaved Asparagus and Edamame Salad and Cauliflower Mash. What an absolute perfect meal!!!! Chia seeds are soo yummy and so good for you! If you want you can substitute other seeds here like poppy or sesame. The tofu had a great crunch and taste. For the salad, peeling asparagus is not as easy as peeling carrots but the salad was worth it, so deelish!  This salad is protein rich and gorgeous!

Chia-Crusted Tofu

1 12-ounce package extra-firm tofu (not silken), drained
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, or ½ teaspoon dried
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, divided
3 tablespoons chia seeds
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Zest of 1 lime
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
2 teaspoons vegetable oil

  1. Wrap tofu in a double layer of paper towels and drain excess water.
  2. On a plate, mix chia seeds, cayenne, lime zest, and remaining salt and pepper.
  3. Slice tofu into 4 pieces crosswise. Brush each side with sesame oil. Press each side of tofu into chia mixture to coat thoroughly.
  4. Heat vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat. Sear tofu blocks until crisp and golden brown, about 5 minutes on each side.

Shaved Asparagus and Edamame Salad with Truffle Oil Vinaigrette
recipe adapted from Debi Shaw Cross (picture as well)
Makes 4 side salads

Vinaigrette
2 Tbs. white or black truffle oil
1 1/2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbs. champagne or white wine vinegar
1 Tbs. lemon juice
2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper

Salad
1 lb. asparagus
1 c. shelled, cooked edamame
1 tsp. lemon zest – no zest

Whisk all vinaigrette ingredients together in a small bowl.
Using a vegetable peeler, peel asparagus into shavings. Combine shaved asparagus, edamame, lemon zest and vinaigrette in a large bowl. Toss with dressing and serve.

Raw Zucchini Noodles and ‘Peanut’ Sauce II

I haven’t pulled out the spiralizer in a long time! During the raw part of the cleanse I was inspired to break it back out. YUM! I missed these zucchini noodles, so perfect, light and tasty! I love Peanut Sauce sooo much but when I make it at home I normally make it with Almond Butter so it is much healthier for us. Still comes out soo amazing 🙂

See these recipes for more inspiration on making Zucchini Noodles: Fig Fennel Pasta, Amazing Raw “Peanut” Sauce and Zucchini Noodles, Raw Sweet & Spicy Sesame Noodles, Lemon Basil Pesto & Raw Zucchini Pasta, and Raw Zucchini Noodles with Pesto and Sun-dried Tomatoes.

Raw Zucchini Noodles and ‘Peanut’ Sauce II

1/3 cup almond butter
2 garlic clove, minced
juice of 1 lime
3 Tablespoons agave nectar
3 Tablespoons Nama Shoyu
3 Tablespoons water
2 Tablespoons grated ginger
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

In a blender puree together almond butter, garlic, lime juice, agave nectar, Nama Shoyu, water, ginger, red pepper flakes and sea salt until mixture is smooth. If needed add more water one tablespoon at a time to reach a desired consistency.

Breaking My Juice Cleanse

Love Cleansing! This latest 6 day juice cleanse went wonderfully. I felt amazing and so full of energy. I always feel so good that I hate breaking the cleanse. But I was hosting dinner last night for my inlaws and my parents so I had to eat of course. I started out with a green juice before yoga and then afterwards I enjoyed the most deeelish figs ever!!! Perfect way to break my cleanse! YUM!

P.S. Post on the dinner party to come 🙂

Vegan in Montreal

For July 4th Weekend Michael and I were in Montreal for our good friend’s wedding! It was such a beautiful and delightful weekend full of love and sunshine! We had an amazing time and I was really impressed by the uber veggie friendliness of the city 🙂 which of course always brings an even bigger smile to my face.

Yeah!

Once we got off the plane and checked into the hotel we set off to meet up with some of the other wedding guests. Beyond wonderfully, they were dining at this little cafe called  Olive + Gourmando in Old Montreal. Complete heaven! There was many a meat dish, but of course once my eyes spotted the Viva Las Vegan sandwich and the Herbivore salad I knew we were somewhere special. Of course I couldn’t make up my mind which to get, but my amazing husband suggested we share them both 🙂 SOO delightful!!  YUM!!

Viva Las Vegan! Such Goodness!

The Herbivore!

Then off to the rehearsal dinner that night at Da Emma, a classic Italian restaurant in Old Montreal. Everything was very meat based yet they did not skip a beat to accommodate me. SO sweet!

On Saturday we went for a 30 or so mile bike ride along the water. (Who knew Montreal was an island??) Gorgeous!! What an absolutely beautiful day and city! Afterwards we stopped for lunch at Cafe Sante Veritas. This to me looked just like a simple lunch place, but really once we met the proprietor and had our food I knew it was so much more! He was so sweet and told me that anything on the menu with a carrot was vegetarian and that he could whip me up anything I wanted to customize as well. I was in heaven with my Wrap de tofu à la tapenade d’olives. (especially after biking for 3 1/2 hours) but this sandwich also came with a side salad. I had ordered a celery and melon juice and my meal came with coffee (and soy milk!) all for $12.39, coming from NYC I was a little in shock!

Michael's Sandwich à la poire et fromage bleu

That evening was the wedding. The couple looked so great, so happy and so in love! Absolute Perfection! At dinner that night they had already told the restaurant that I was vegan so I knew I would be all set. But still the meal I had was one of the best I had ever had at a wedding. I felt really cared for and very loved! Really it was so sweet! I had a deelish salad to start, a spiralized “pasta” with veggies in a scrumptious sauce and a perfect fruit salad for dessert. It was really very thoughtful 🙂

On Sunday we took a nice long walk through the city with some of our friends. I had a whole list of fabulous places to check out of course. We were walking along and I hear Michael telling me that there is a vegan restaurant across the street! Perfection, it was one of the top places on my list, Aux Vivres. AMAZING! I am still thinking about this place and the vegan blt we had! BLT: coconut bacon, lettuce, tomatoes & vegan mayo and we had it in the homemade chapati! YUM! This was so different from the fakin bacon I have had before, and soo good! We also  shared a deelish polenta, beans, guac and salsa dish. Overall just loved this place!

Serious BLT Goodness!!!

That night we made it date night for just the two of us 🙂 We went to another of the top vegan places on my list. Chu Chai (and their sister place called Church) Awesome! The food was delightful! The service slowed a bit as the restaurant began to fill up with lots of diners, but still it was a super great meal!

Amazing Dumplings and Peanut Sauce!

Yummy Pad Kee Mao

SOOOO good!! "Chicken" and Peanut Sauce with Crispy Spinach!

On Monday we spent the day walking around and enjoying the weather. We enjoyed a light snack and deelish teas at Ming Tao Xuan, a vegetarian tea house in Old Montreal and we needed to make one last stop to Cafe Veritas before heading home.

Vegetarian Buns - YUM!!

There are so many other veggie places that we did not get to check out, but we had such a beautiful long weekend and I’m super happy with everything with did do and saw. Now we have some places left for our next romantic trip to Montreal 😉 On the last day when we were walking around we came across Centre Luna Yoga which looked adorable and had Jivamukti Yoga Classes! Next time I will check this place out for sure!

Cranberry, Cabbage & Almond Chopped Salad

Tomorrow we are starting the Juice Cleanse portion of the July Cleanse, so this was the perfect last meal before a week of Super Cleansing!!

One of my pet peeves is when a salad is full of huge pieces of lettuce that make it difficult and sloppy to eat. Here is one of my versions of the chopped salad. Super easy, tasty, nutritious, colorful and you will even look pretty eating it. 😉 Perfection!

Cranberry, Cabbage & Almond Chopped Salad

1/4 of a green cabbage, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1/4 cup almonds
1/3 cup dried cranberries
Juice of 1 lime
2 Tablespoons flax oil
2 Tablespoons agave nectar
1/3 cup red onion, minced
1 large avocado, chopped

Place all ingredients into a large food processor and pulse-chop until chopped. ENJOY!!

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