Spring Minestrone with Parmesan and Chive Meatballs

It's Spring! Well, almost. While it is sunnier and the days are longer, it's just not warm enough to give up soup yet. So we took some inspiration from a recipe from Bon Appetit and tweaked it a little to fit what we had in our pantry, and increased some measurements to get about 6 servings. The leftovers are AWESOME!!!

Ingredients:
12 oz. Grass Fed Beef
1/2 Cup Breadcrumbs, maybe a little more
6 Tbsp. Grated Parmesan (3 for meatballs, 3 for garnish)
1 Egg, beaten
Olive Oil, for sautéing
2 Qt. Veggie Stock, we used home made
3 Carrots, cut into 1/4" slices
1 Bunch Lacinato Kale- You know, the dinosaur kind. Chopped pretty finely. No giant pieces.
2 Large Shallots, finely diced
4 Cloves Garlic, finely diced
1 Cup Ditalini Pasta, cooked al dente (measurement is precooked)
6-8 Leaves of Basil, chiffonade for garnish
6 Chives, finely chopped (half for garnish, half for meatballs)
salt and pepper to taste

Let's-a make-a meatballs! Combine beef (you could totally substitute chicken or turkey), egg, breadcrumbs, 3 Tbsp. of Parmesan, half of the chives, and some salt and pepper and mix well. You can add more breadcrumbs if you need to get them to form. In a non-stick pot (we used a Dutch oven) over medium-high heat saute the meatballs until browned on all sides. Don't have a non-stick pot? You might need a little oil then. Don't worry about cooking them through, that will be the soups job. Go ahead and take them out and set them aside, but don't get rid of that pot yet!

While you are cooking the meatballs, its a great idea to cook and drain the pasta. You can also set that aside as well.

Now in that meatball pot, add in about 2-3 Tbsp. of olive oil and toss in the garlic, shallots, and carrots. Saute' these until the shallots and garlic start to turn translucent, about 5-6 minutes. Add in the veggie stock, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes until the carrots begin to get cooked through. At this point, you can toss in the meatballs, pasta, and kale. Cover again and simmer for another 10 minutes and then season to taste.

Grab some bowls, garnish with basil, chives, and Parmesan and get your slurp on! We served this with some pesto toast, but you could use crackers, other crusty bread, or whatever your heart desires. Enjoy!

fajitas

You know what I like about fajitas? Everything! But I especially like the fact that they require almost no cooking, are super fast, and that there is only one pan to clean. So, it's kind of like the perfect meal. You can use whatever vegetables you want for this dish, the method just makes it special, and totally adaptable to anything you want to throw in the pan. (If you want to do something with meat in it, I would recommend cutting the meat into small pieces to assure proper cooking.) But anyway I digress. Let's fajita!

Ingredients:
1 package of seitan, roughly chopped
1 can of black beans, drained
2 peppers, julienned
2 carrots, julienned
1 yellow squash, julienned
1/2 onion, juli- gotcha!, sliced
1 scallion, sliced
3 Tbsp. fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
4 Tbsp. safflower oil
2 Tbsp. lime juice (2 limes)
1 Tbsp. cumin
1 tsp. smoked paprika
salt and pepper to taste

OK, here it goes in 50 words or less: Heat pan smoking hot. Mix oil and juice with spices. Toss with other ingredients. Add to pan, cook for four to six minutes, tossing constantly. Serve on warm tortillas. Top with cheese or sour cream. Eat fajitas! Only wash one pan!

carrot ginger soup

OMFG its cold! Being back in the Northeast for a full Winter has me realizing just how full of shiat Whats-His-Name was when he was talking about S.F. Summers being the coldest thing ever. But the Northeast's Winters, and the year round S.F. climate have one thing in common; they are both perfect for soup!

Everyone loves soup. If you don't love soup you must be an alien, because you certainly are not a citizen of this planet. So far this Winter we have spent a lot of meals (and not a lot of time or money!) eating soup. This particular one came to me right before I was leaving work. I was thinking that the only produce I had in the house was potatoes, carrots, and scallions; but I didn't really want to go shopping for a bunch of stuff, and alas, it was born. This here soup is hearty, packs a lot of flavor, and the ginger warms you up pretty damn well. Plus, its not too carrot-y. So yeah, let's go!

Ingredients:
Soup:
2.5 pounds of Yukon Gold Potatoes, cut into 1 inch chunks
4 large Carrots, cut into 1 inch chunks
1/2 large Yellow Onion, diced
4 cups (1 Quart) Veggie Broth
2 Tbsp. 2X Tomato Paste, because its awesome
2 Tbsp. Earth Balance
1-2 cups Unsweetened Soy Milk
1/4 cup Nutritional Yeast
2 Tbsp. Ground Ginger
salt and pepper to taste

Cilantro Scallion Pesto: *
1 bunch of scallions, washed and de-rooted
1 bunch of cilatro, washed and de-rooted
2 Tbsp. Lime Juice
2 cloves of garlic, peeled
1/2 cup + of Safflower Oil (remember, I told you so...)
salt and pepper to taste

Get a big pot. Put it over medium heat. Add Earth Balance and onions and saute' until translucent, about 7-8 minutes. Toss in the 2X tomato paste and let it toast for 2 minutes. DO NOT PUT THE GINGER IN NOW. I don't mean to yell, but most soups would call for the ginger to come in at the beginning of the soup, and well, that just really mutes its flavor, not to mention cooking away some of its awesome benefits. Just put the ginger down. Do it slowly. OK. Deep breath. Now back to cooking.

Sprinkle the pot with a lil pepper (cayenne if you wanna be dangerous), and then throw in the carrots, potatoes, and veggie broth. Put a lid on the pot and get a drink. These veggies will cook through in about 20-26 minutes, so we should probably make the pesto.

Get out your food processor (or chop-chop-grindy-shreddy mah-cheen as I like to call it) and put all the ingredients inside. Puree' them. After that difficult task you deserve another drink. G'head and grab one. I can wait.

* - Side note! This makes an awful lot of pesto. It isn't a bad thing. It has served us well, let me recount the ways so far...
1. Added to mashed avocado it is instant guacamole
2. It is a great topping for burritos and tacos
3. It was a pivotal ingredient in the dip for the recipe below
4. Chips and... Pesto? Hell yes!
5. We still have about 1.25 cups in the freezer to play with. OH YEAH! I forgot to mention that it freezes really well and can be frozen without losing flavor for a really long time.

Back to the soup. By now your veggies should be fork tender and ready to rock n' roll. So grab your immersion blender and let's get down to business. Don't turn off the heat the whole way just yet. Add in the nutritional yeast and 1 cup of the soy milk (or almond, rice, cow, goat, pterodactyl, whatever) and start to blend. If you need or want a looser consistency then just keep added more liquid. Is it totally blended and smooth? Now, add the ginger and blend for another minute. Aiiiight. You are ready to season and get down to some serious grub.

Add some of the pesto to the soup and chow down! BTW, you don't have to make dots. You can do zig-zags, tie dye prints, write names in the soup, it's all good.

cabbage soup

MORE CABBAGE! This recipe highlights all of the ingredients in it. You can taste each one and its contribution to the dish. It's simple, hearty, and cooks pretty darn fast. Great for a nice chilly evening.

Ingredients:

2 small heads of napa cabbage, shredded- about 4 cups

2.5 quarts of veggie stock

2 pounds of red potatoes, cut into 1/2" pieces, and well rinsed

1 pound of carrots, cut into 1/2 pieces

1 LARGE leek, white and green parts only, halved, and cut into 1/4' slices- about 1.25 cups packed

1.5 Tbsp. Earth Balance

3 tsp. dried thyme

salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot over medium heat, melt the Earth Balance, and saute' leeks until translucent, about 7-8 minutes. Add potatoes, carrots, thyme, and stock. Cover and bring to a boil. Once it reaches a boil (10 or so minutes), the potatoes and carrots should be almost cooked. Test them. If they are fork tender, its time to proceed, if not, continue cooking until they are ready. I'm waiting. OK, they're done- let's move on. Add cabbage and turn off the heat. Stir for 2 minutes until the cabbage is cooked through. Serve with some nice crusty bread or crackers and eat while watching Jersey Shore, wrapped up in your Snuggie.

UPDATE 1/7/10:

Tonight we took the leftovers from this soup and totally reinvented it. We cooked 12 vegan meatballs in the oven, reheated the soup with the leftover shells from the recipe above, and 2.5 Tbsp. 2x tomato paste, and added 2 tsp. of oregano. Tossed the meatballs into the soup, and made some nice crostini. It was damn good (I ate 2 huge bowls!). Hooray for versatile recipes!

thanksgiving

Here are the recipes I made for our annual Thanksgiving potluck this year:

A salad of roasted butternut squash, walnuts, pomegranate seeds and arugula with orange vinaigrette from Bon Appetit. Here's a helpful step-by-step guide on How to de-seed a pomegranate, with photos.

No-cream creamed spinach from the White House via the NY Times.

some screwed up combination of these two carrot soup recipes: Carrot soup from 101 Cookbooks, and Carrot and red lentil soup from What For Lunch, Honey? (Btw, just found that blog and it's beautiful!). It's my family's tradition to serve a first course of soup at Thanksgiving. So for the last three years that I've been out in SF, I've made soup to bring to our annual potluck. And every year I manage to screw up the soup and need to scramble to save it. This year involved too much salt in the broth and a last minute run to the corner store for a bottle of Odwalla pressed carrot juice and a bag of baby carrots. Next year... I might just skip the soup.

All of these recipes are of course seasonal, using ingredients from the CSA box and they all happen to be vegan and (I believe) gluten-free, though I'm not super familiar with what's allow or not allowed in the gluten-free diet so I could be wrong on that one.

No photos because I suck. Seriously, I don't even have an excuse for our lack of blogging lately- we just really suck.

So, how was your Thanksgiving? What did you make? Any awesome seasonal recipes we should check out?

cabbage and carrot slaw

Ingredients:
1 small cabbage, shredded
1 large head of romaine lettuce, shredded
4 carrots, shredded
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup coconut milk
juice of 1 lime
1 Tbsp mixed black and white sesame seeds
salt to taste


This salad was SUPER tasty! It takes your average everyday cole slaw to a whole new level!
Just combine all of the vegetables, mix and then add the coconut milk and lime juice. Add salt to taste. Top your pulled pork sandwich, tacos, or just eat it right out of the bowl. Oh my gosh, so good. I finished ALL the leftovers for lunch the next day.

cherry glazed chicken

Ingredients:
For the chicken:
1 cup cherries, pitted and roughly chopped
1/4 of a large red onion, diced
1 12oz. lager beer (we used Stella)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast (about 3 breast pieces)
1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
salt and pepper to taste

For the salad we ate it with:
1 head romaine lettuce, chopped, rinsed and dried
1 large carrot, thinly sliced
1/2 cucumber, thinly sliced
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup roasted and salted cashews

In a sauce pan over medium heat, saute the diced onion in olive oil until translucent, about 6-8 minutes. Add cherries, and let cook another 5 minutes, until the onions just start to caramelize. Season with a little salt and pepper, and pour in the beer! (It's O.K. to take a sip for yourself too.) Now stir in the brown sugar, and turn to low heat and allow the liquid to reduce by 75%, stirring frequently. Now brush it on your chicken while your grilling it!

We ate this with a nice fresh salad, and really didn't find that we needed to make a dressing because the cherry glaze had so much flavor. If you feel differently, I would just do a simple lemon juice vinaigrette. Now chow down!

nanny's chicken noodle soup

Last time we were perusing the bulk section at Rainbow, we picked some herb infused egg noodles, thinking they would be awesome to make soup with. This is a riff on Kenny's grandmother's chicken noddle soup. Nanny serves up a big delicious bowl of beige: chicken, corn and noodles, accompanied by saltine crackers and butter. We decided to make a few modifications, including the addition of carrots and substituting all vegetarian products. Our whole apartment smelled so good while this was cooking... a neighbor coming home from work actually stopped Kenny outside to be like, "What are you cooking!? OMG It smells incredible!"


Ingredients:
1 Tbsp olive oil
5 carrots, sliced thick
3 ears corn, remove kernels, discard cob
1 package Lightlife chicken strips
10 cups water
6 Tbsp vegetarian chicken broth powder (also from Rainbow)
1 lb herb noodles, or egg noodles
salt & pepper

Heat olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Saute carrots and corn for 5-7 minutes, until your kitchen smells like fresh roasted corn on the cob. Add in chicken strips and cook an additional 5 minutes. Mix water with chicken broth powder and add to the pot. Bring to a simmer, and cook covered for 15 minutes. Add noodles, return to a simmer (NOT a boil, unless you really want to clean your stove afterwards...) and cook uncovered for another 15 minutes, until noodles are al dente. I know, you are probably thinking I am crazy for not cooking the noodles separately and then adding them in. I thought Nanny might have been crazy too, but the starch that cooks off of the noodles helps to thicken the soup, and give it a really awesome consistency. AND you only have one pot to clean up! When the noodles are done, the soup is done. Grab some crusty bread (or saltine crackers if you are a member of my family), and dig in. Get ready for carbo-load heaven!

whole garden pasta salad

My best friend is visiting this weekend, which means lots of dining out! We wanted to make something to use up as many veggies as possible from the CSA so that nothing went bad while we were enjoying our weekend away from the kitchen. So we made a super easy pasta using 6 ingredients from the box!


Ingredients:
1 bunch chard, leaves roughly ripped
3 heads broccoli, florets only
3 peppers, julienned
1 bunch carrots, thinly sliced
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
10 leaves basil, chiffonade
3 Tbsp olive oil
salt, pepper & balsamic vinegar to taste
1 lb whole wheat fusilli

Get a pot of water boiling and add in the pasta. Add the olive oil to a large pan, and saute the garlic and onions for 2-4 minutes. The order for the veggies goes like this: broccoli & carrots first, until carrots are tender and broccoli is bright green, then add in the chard and peppers and stir until the chard is wilted. The pasta should be done by now, so strain and return to the large pot. Dump in all the veggies, toss and season how you like. Top with basil. Serves 6.

indian carrot lentil soup

We have been receiving carrots have been pretty steadily the last few weeks. I'm not the biggest fan of cooked carrots... I mean, I'll eat them but they're not my favorite thing in the world. Regardless, for some reason, every time we opened the box and saw carrots, my first thought was soup. I knew I wanted to use this week's carrots, spring onions and tomato in a soup so I started looking around the internet for inspiration recipes. I saw this, but of course I wanted to put my own spin on it.

So I swapped out the mung beans for lentils and then Kenny & I made a trip to Rainbow to check out their bulk spice section. I wanted to keep the soup Indian-influenced so we picked out coriander seed & green cardamom, which would go along with the cinnamon and bay leaves we already had in our pantry. Also worth mentioning is that Rainbow has a garam masala pre-mixed spice blend in the bulk section, and a whole section of indian spice mixes and marinades at the end of one of the grocery aisles.

We decided to break out the slow cooker for this one but if you don't have a slow cooker, you could totally make this soup on the stove, just bring to a boil then reduce the heat to a simmer until the carrots are tender.


Ingredients:
1.5 lbs carrots, chopped
1 tomato, seeds removed and chopped
2 small spring onions, diced
2 cups lentils
2 Tbsp vegetarian chicken broth powder
4 cups water
16 pods of green cardamom
12 coriander seeds
3 bay leaves
1 Tbsp cinnamon powder
salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste

Toss the cardamom and coriander in a hot pan for a minute or so, so that the spices begin to release their oils. Add everything into your slow cooker and cook on high for 4 and a half hours, until the carrots are very tender. Fish out the green cardamom and bay leaves before serving.

stuffed peppers

These are from the same BBQ as the pie above. My friend and coworker Eli, who just joined FFTY, looked at me and said "Peppers! What am I going to do with all those freaking peppers?!". So this one is for him!

Ingredients:
6 medium to large sweet gypsy peppers, tops cut off, ribs and seed removed
1 cup long grain white rice
3 chipotle peppers in sauce, finely chopped
1/2 package soy veggie taco meat
3 carrots, 1/4" dice
1 small onion, 1/4" dice
1 Tbsp canola oil
cooking spray
salt and pepper, to taste

Cook rice in a rice cooker with 2 cups of water. (Don't have a rice cooker? Use and extra 1/2 cup of water in a covered pot on medium low heat. Better yet, use left over rice from last nights Chinese take out!) In a large saute pan over medium heat, sweat onions and carrots for 5 to 7 minutes in canola oil, until onions are translucent. Add rice, soy taco meat, and chipotles and cook for an additional 8-10 minutes until flavors are incorporated. Season with salt and pepper. Stuff peppers and place on aluminum foil that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Season the outside of the peppers with salt and pepper and wrap them tightly in the foil, making a little pouch. Place on a hot grill and cook for 8 minutes on each side, flipping once. If you do not have a grill, or don't want to go outside, bake them in a 350 degree oven for 15-18 minutes. This recipe leaves a good deal of left over filling to make burritos or tacos another day. Or if you have more peppers- stuff them all!

grilled chipotle lime tofu and "Caesar-ish" veggie salad

Ingredients:
chipotle lime tofu:
1 block extra firm tofu, sliced width-wise into 8 equal rectangles
3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp lime juice
3 cloves of peeled garlic
2 roasted red peppers
pinch of salt

Combine chipotles, lime juice, garlic, red peppers olive oil, and salt in a food processor and run until smooth. Apply to tofu and marinate overnight.

This recipe is pretty spicy, so if you don't like it quite so hot, but do love the flavor of chipotles, you can use only 1 chipotle, and substitute an extra red pepper. It will still be super tasty, and have just a little kick!

Katie went a little photo crazy last night. Check out the grill action!!!

Coat one side of the tofu and grill over hot coals. Turn 45 degrees to get nice grill marks.

Flip onto the other side to cook on the cooler side of the grill.

Spoon remaining marinade over the tofu. Cover the grill and allow to cook for 15-20 minutes.

Nothing says summer to me (Kenny) like Caesar salad. Ask anyone who knows me, and I just cannot get enough of them. I love the tang of the dressing, the nuttiness of Parmesan cheese, and the crisp texture of the lettuce and croutons. But sometimes you want other veggies, not just lettuce, so I decided to try to give my Caesar addiction a little spin, and it turned out awesome! I substituted mustard for the eggs in the dressing as an emulsifier, and used a little extra salt instead of stinking up the kitchen with anchovies. You could also use vegan parm on this to make it vegan, and it wouldn't miss a beat.

"Caesar-ish" veggie salad:
2 heads broccoli, cut into bit sized florets
about 6 to 8 small carrots, chopped into 1/2" pieces
1 bunch snap peas, trimmed
2 lbs fingerling potatoes, cut into 1/2" pieces
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 cup olive oil
1 Tbsp grain mustard
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Steam the potatoes for 12-14 minutes until fork tender. Meanwhile, prep your other veggies. Add the snap peas to the steamer just for a minute before your potatoes are done. Drain and allow potatoes and snap peas to cool. In a glass jar, shake together the olive oil, lemon juice, mustard, and salt and pepper to taste. Combine all veggies in a large bowl and pour dressing over top. Toss to coat then sprinkle on the cheese. This refreshing, slightly-acidic dish serves as the perfect accompaniment to the spicy tofu!

asian fusion cold noodles

Everyone has their typical go-to order from their favorite take out joint. When ordering Chinese, ours is General Tso's tofu and two orders of veggie lo mein. For Vietnamese, we get a vegetarian vermicelli bowl and lemongrass tofu. This dish is kind of a bastardized white person fusion of the two noodle dishes we love most.

We picked up some fresh lo mein noodles from the Richmond New May Wah Asian grocer on Clement. They have a really awesome selection of vegetarian food, and fresh noodles.


Ingredients:
1 package lo mein noodles
1 head broccoli, cut into bite sized florets
1 cucumber, 1/4" sliced on the bias
4 carrots, shredded
2 to 3 inch piece daikon, shredded
2 tsp. canola oil
1 cup sweet chili sauce
4 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. minced ginger
juice from 1/2 a lemon

Combine the chili sauce, apple cider vinegar, ginger, lemon juice, and 3 Tbsp. of soy sauce and marinate the shredded daikon and carrot for 30 minutes. Blanch and shock broccoli in salted water and set aside in refrigerator. Cook lo mein noodles according to package directions, shock in cold water, toss with canola oil and remaining tablespoon of soy sauce to coat. Mix noodles, broccoli, cucumbers, and the carrot/daikon mixture together and chow down!

quick and spicy spring vegetables

This dish is fast. Seriously, it takes like 5 minutes and is a total no-brainer. If you've been reading our blog, you must have noticed by now that we like our food spicy. Pretty much, we'll use any excuse to throw in some red pepper flakes. I'm trying to think of some interesting story to write about how this came into being, but honestly- it's just the type of thing you throw together when you're hungry.


Ingredients:
1 bunch carrots, 1/4" slice
1 zucchini, 1/4" slice
1 bunch snap peas
2 tsp minced ginger
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 Tbsp canola oil

Heat up the canola oil in a wok and saute everything together for about 5 minutes or until the carrots are heated but still crunchy. Great as a side or make it a meal by tossing with some ramen, like we did!

grill-roasted curried potatoes and carrots

Read an article today on Bon Appetit encouraging readers to join a CSA. It's brief but I thought I'd share because I felt the writer did a nice job of expressing what it's really like to take part in a CSA. Plus, they included some links for spring-centric recipes!

"The selection varies from region to region and from farm to farm; consumers make a commitment to buy exactly what is produced; and it provides great lessons in seasonality and supply and demand (when there's no asparagus, you'll be pining for it, and when you've gotten kale six weeks in a row, you'll be giving it away to the neighbors). One of the best things about subscribing to a CSA is that you'll inevitably end up with ingredients you've never thought to buy or cook." -Molly Stevens, for Bon Appetit


If you live on the West Coast, you know just how beautiful the weather has been lately. The sun has been setting later and later and that leaves plenty of time after work for one of my favorite things in the world: barbecuing. There is something about grilling that makes me so giddy and excited, maybe I'm a pyromaniac. But there is the one big downer to lighting some coals ablaze and drinking some beer in your backyard- the mess that inevitably happens. I don't really know how it happens, but it seems that every time we cook out in the yard, magic dirty dishes appear out of no where and take over the kitchen. In the spirit of this early summer weather and the fact that its too hot inside to even think about doing a lot of dishes, I decided to make some tasty grilled meals with small amounts of clean up. So go grab some charcoal and get grilling! This recipe and the next are just the beginning of the summer!


Ingredients:
2 lbs baby Yukon gold potatoes, halved
7 medium carrots, greens removed, cut into 1 inch chunks
1/2 red onion, quartered
2 Tbsp canola oil
2 Tbsp curry powder
4 Tbsp fresh chopped cilantro
salt and pepper to taste
cooking spray

Once you have all of your food prepped, spray a large piece of wide aluminum foil with cooking spray (if you don't have large foil, use two pieces of regular foil layed out and crossed in a "+"). Add in the potatoes, carrots, and onion, and drizzle with canola oil. Sprinkle curry powder, salt and pepper on top and wrap and seal tightly. Toss them on the grill*, cover, and cook for 40 minutes while grilling everything else your going to be eating. Top with freshly chopped cilantro and chow down! We ate this side dish with our favorite veggie burgers, topped with red onion, cheddar cheese, lettuce and curry mayo sauce!

*This can also be done in a 350 degree preheated oven with the same cooking time.

steamed veggie dumplings, miso soup with pea shoots

Ingredients:
Won tons: (makes enough for about 30)
1 large carrot, shredded
1/2 lb extra firm tofu, frozen then thawed, cut into 1 cm cubes
1 small onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch red chard, fine chiffonade
2 tsp ginger, minced
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp pepper
1 package won ton wrappers
1 egg white (optional)
2 Tbsp canola oil

In a frying pan over medium heat add the canola oil. Add onions and sweat for 4 to 5 minutes, the small size of all of the vegetables makes this cook really fast! Add garlic, ginger, and tofu and cook for another 6 to 7 minutes until the tofu starts to brown. Add the carrots, chard, soy sauce and pepper and cook until the greens are wilted, about 3 minutes. Set aside and let cool. You could totally do this a day in advance as well. When it has cooled enough to where you would be comfortable handling it, its time to make the won tons! Pile about 1 Tbsp. of filling in the center of the wrapper and apply egg white* to the edges, fold the skin over into a triangle, and press to seal. Make sure the edges are sealed and there is no filling sticking out or you will have exploding won tons, and that is no fun. Set aside, and keep making more! When you have finished, steam for 3 to 4 minutes and they are ready to go!

* Egg whites are totally optional in this recipe. They do make the finished product more sturdy and are a must if you were going to deep fry these, but for steaming water should hold up just fine.


Soup:
In each bowl: (our soup bowls are about 20 oz. so adjust accordingly)
2 Tbsp Miso Paste (We like mellow white.)
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp minced ginger

Bring a pot of water to a boil and turn off heat. You never want to boil your miso. After a few minutes add a cup or so of the water to eat bowl and whisk in the miso, soy, and ginger to incorporate. Add 1 bunch of roughly chopped pea shoots to the pot of water and stir to wilt, only takes about 1 to 2 minutes. While the greens are cooking place as many steamed dumplings as you want to eat in your bowl. Add the greens and liquid to fill your soup bowls, stir and eat!

raw carrot and beet salad

This salad is simple, but really tasty and packs a lot of crunch!

Ingredients:
3 beets, 1/2" dice
4 carrots, 1/2" dice
3 Tbsp parsley, roughly chopped

Vinaigrette:
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
salt and pepper to taste

Combine beets, carrots, and parsley in a bowl, mix vinaigrette and toss with the roots. The vinaigrette is going to taste a little sour if you try it before you add it to the beets and carrots, but their sweetness will totally make up the difference.

glazed tofu with broccoli and carrots

This recipe is from VeganYumYum. I made a few minor changes to compensate for lacking some of the ingredients and also added red onion. Because what's better than a red onion that's soaked in soy sauce? Nothing. This made enough for two plus some leftovers. I shredded three carrots but the recipe only really needs one. But if you're gonna get your food processor dirty, you might as well make it count right?

Ingredients:
1 block extra firm tofu, cut into 1/2" strips
1 Tbsp canola oil
4 tsp soy sauce
1 red onion, sliced
2 heads broccoli, cut into bite sized florets and steamed
3 carrots, shredded
peanuts, for garnish
3 cups cooked brown rice

Peanut Dressing:
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup water
1 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tsp red pepper flakes

Prep by cooking the rice, chopping and steaming the broccoli, and shredding the carrots. Mix peanut dressing ingredients until smooth (be patient, it’ll look like hell at first*) and set aside. [*Katie's note: It really did look like hell!]

Pan fry tofu in the canola oil over high heat in a non-stick skillet until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes per side. Turn off the heat and pour soy sauce over the tofu. It will bubble up and form a light glaze. Add the red onion and return pan to medium heat and cook, covered, about 6 to 8 minutes until the onion softens.

Plate rice, add broccoli, tofu and onions, carrots, and peanuts. Drizzle with peanut dressing and serve.

mushroom bourguignon

I've wanted to make mushroom bourguignon ever since I saw it on Smitten Kitchen. I read her post and my immediate reaction was "That's what I'm making next time we get mushrooms!" I didn't want change the recipe much, except well... I did, accidentally. I grabbed what I thought was the tube of tomato paste and squeezed it in, only to realize that... Oops! I had grabbed the harissa! It added a hint of smoky heat that was nice, so it turned out to be a happy accident.

This recipe calls for a cup of a full-bodied red wine. I usually avoid cooking with wine just because I don't drink it and it seems wasteful to buy a whole bottle and then only use a cup. I was pleasantly surprised when Kenny got home from work (Whole Foods), and he had brought home a little one cup plastic bottle of Sutter Home. Yeah, that's pretty crappy wine but whatever, it's good enough for me! Kenny doesn't like mushrooms so he ate his egg noodles with half a can of baked beans. Yup, Sutter Home in a plastic bottle and canned baked beans... boy, are we classy or what?!


Ingredients:
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp Earth Balance, or butter
1 lb button mushrooms, halved
1 carrot, finely sliced
1/2 an onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup Cabernet Sauvignon
2 cups vegetable broth
2 Tbsp harissa (optional)
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1/2 tsp dried thyme
2 1/2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 cup frozen pearl onions
1/2 lb egg noodles

In a large pot over high heat, sear the mushrooms for about three or four minutes, then remove them from the pot and set aside. Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil and 1 Tbsp butter in the pot. Lower the flame to medium, toss in the carrots, onions and thyme, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Add the wine to the pot, bring to a rapid boil and let reduce in half, about 10 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, harissa and veggie broth. Add the mushrooms and once the liquid begins to boil, reduce the heat so it simmers for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, get a pot of water boiling for the noodles and prepare according to package directions. They should only need about 4 to 6 minutes to cook.

Add the pearl onions and simmer for 5 minutes. Don't be alarmed if the sauce looks thin up until this point, it will quickly thicken up with the additon of the flour. Add remaining 1 Tbsp butter and the flour into the stew. Lower the heat and simmer for 5 more minutes, or until it reaches your preferred consistency. Season to taste, and spoon over egg noodles to serve.

corned seitan, roasted carrots and purple potatoes

Ingredients:
4 pieces seitan (We got these from Layonna in Oakland, but 1 lb. of any seitan will do)
6 carrots, chopped
1 lb purple potatoes, quartered

Corning liquid:
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp vinegar
2 cups water
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp pepper
pinch nutmeg
pinch cinnamon
pinch salt

To make the gravy:
2 Tbsp butter, or Earth Balance
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp vegetable stock

Marinate the seitan in the corning liquid overnight. Bake with the vegetables for 1 hour 15 minutes at 350 degrees in a baking dish. Reserve corning liquid. Make a roux with the Earth Balance and flour, stir in the reserved liquid and whisk until gravy thickens. Add veggie stock as needed to achieve your desired gravy thickness and texture. (We needed about 2 Tbsp.)