Potato Salad with Dill & Mustard Dressing

Ingredients:

• 1-2kg of red waxy potatoes, cut into bite size pieces

Dressing:

• 1/4 C red wine vinegar
• 1/3 C extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Tblsp seeded mustard
• 2 tblsp soft brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tblsp dill, chopped

Directions:

Place potatoes in a large saucepan with cold water, bring to the boil and simmer for approx 20 mins or until tender. Drain.

Whisk together salad ingredients and pour over warm potatoes. Season with salt & pepper. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Vegan Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients:

• 2 tbls. olive oil
• 2 large bell peppers (I used one red, one green) \
• ½ of a 1 lb. tube of organic polenta (about 1 ½ cups) – diced into ½ inch pieces
• 1 cup chopped sweet onion
• 1 cup chopped mushrooms (I used white button)
• 1 1/2 tbls. chopped garlic
• 2 tsp. chili powder (more if you prefer as you taste)
• 3 tbls tomato paste
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• I carton of veggie stock (you will use 2-3 cups – Kitchen Basics is my preferred brand)
• 1/2 cup vegan cheese (I used a soy based variety)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Remove the top 1/2 inch of the peppers and clean, inside and out and set aside to dry. Cut the usable pepper away from the stems on the “tops” and dice.
3. In a skillet, heat the olive oil over medium/high and add the onions. Cook for 5-6 mins or until softened.
4. Add the garlic and mushrooms and cook for another 3-5 mins or until the mushrooms begin to reduce.
5. Add the chopped peppers and cook for another 3-4 mins or until they are softened.
6. Add the tomato paste, chili powder and about ½ a cup of veggie stock. Stir until well combined.
7. Add the polenta and combine with the veggies. You may need to “mush” down the pieces as they cook to combine well to make the stuffing.
8. Add broth as needed to keep the consistency similar to a wet paste - be careful not to burn.
9. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.
10. Divide the stuffing evenly between the two peppers – filling almost to the top. Finish filling by covering the stuffing with spoonfuls of the diced tomatoes.
11. Add the remaining tomatoes to the bottom of the pan and add about 1 cup of veggie stock.
12. Cook, covered, at 400 degrees for 30 minutes (I used a small Le Creuset for this – but if you don’t have a pot with a lid that can go in the oven, cover well with foil). At 30 mins, check to be sure the peppers have cooked and remove from the oven. Be careful not to overcook them - they can turn to mush and then are hard to serve. Turn on the broiler.
13. Top each pepper with ½ of the cheese and return to the oven and broil for 3-5 mins or until the cheese has melted.
14. Serve warm with a fresh green salad.
15. These peppers are very large servings. I can make 4 meals for one or 2 meals for 2 out of this recipe if served with a salad.

Sweet Potato Soup

Ingredients:

• 3+ Cups (575 g) Sweet Potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 1 Can Coconut Milk (not the low fat stuff!)
• 1 Cup Vegetable Stock or Water
• 1 Vegetable Bullion Cube
• 1 tsp Celery Salt
• 1/4 tsp Nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp Allspice
• 1/4 tsp Cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp Cardamom (optional)
• 2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1 1/2 Tbs Maple Syrup
• 1 Tbs Olive Oil

Directions:

In a large heavy bottomed stock pot or cast-iron dutch oven, heat the olive oil. Add sweet potatoes and caramelize the chunks on all sides over medium-high heat. Deglaze the pan with the vegetable stock or water, scraping the bits from the bottom, then add the coconut milk and bullion cube. Simmer covered until potatoes are soft and can be mushed with a spoon, about 20 minutes.

Transfer soup to a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Please be careful during this step! If you’re not positive your machine can fit all the soup in one go, blend it in batches. No one wants boiling soup exploding all over them! Unfortunately I speak from experience here.

When the soup is blended, transfer back into your pot and add the spices, vinegar and syrup. Simmer for 5 minutes more and serve.

Garnish with maple syrup and fresh cracked pepper. It would also be great with a little cranberry sauce!

Source: http://veganyumyum.com/2006/12/stewart-my-sweet-potato-soup/

Veggie Root Stew

Ingredients:

• 1 tbls. olive oil
• 1 cup chopped sweet onion
• 3 tbls. chopped garlic
• 2 ½ tsp. fresh chopped rosemary
• 1 ½ cups diced, peeled sweet potato
• 1 ½ cups diced, peeled white potato (I prefer Yukon gold)
• 2 ½ cups diced rutabaga (peeled)
• 2 cups diced white turnip (peeled) – about one medium turnip
• 3/4 cup diced parsnips (peeled) – about one medium - large parsnip
• Pinch of sugar
• 4 -5 cups veggie stock
• ¼ cup of ½ and ½ or whipping cream
• Salt and pepper to taste (White pepper is a good choice to mix with black if you have on hand)

To Make:

• Prepare all the veggies in advance before beginning – peel, dice, measure, etc.
• In a large Dutch oven, heat oil over medium/high and cook the onion 5 mins or until tender.
• Add in the garlic and rosemary and stir, cooking for another minute.
• Add the potato, rutabaga, turnip and parsnips.
• Stir to combine with the onion, garlic and rosemary.
• Add a large pinch of sugar (this helps the root veggies taste the best!).
• Add the stock and bring to a boil (usually about 4 cups or a carton - be sure to just cover the veggies).
• Simmer, covered (with lid to side a bit to allow steam out to prevent boiling over) for 45 mins to an hour or until veggies are tender (rutabaga always takes the longest, so be sure to check it).
• Take 2-3 cups and place in a blender – removing center piece (to allow steam to escape) and cover with a clean towel. Blend and return to pan (alternatively, I used an immersion blender to do this). You may want to add more stock after doing this to adapt the consistency to your liking.
• Add in ½ and ½ and warm through (I left this out when preparing this time – dairy is to be omitted during the veggie cleanse I am doing – it is MUCH better with the ½ and ½ - so add it or a vegan substitute for best results). It is still very tasty without it though!
• Add salt and pepper to taste and serve with a drizzle of good olive oil, fresh rosemary spring and toasted bread.

Adapted from a “Cooking Light” recipe.

Source: Vegetarian Recipe Swap Page

Smothered Green Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 jar of your favorite tomato sauce (I like Trader Joe’s organic low sodium marinara)
• 3-4 medium or 2-3 large Portobello mushrooms
• 1 bag of organic spring greens
• Good balsamic vinegar
• Olive oil
• 1 clove fresh garlic
• Salt and pepper
• Italian herb combo (usually has oregano, rosemary and parsley)
• Vegan mozzarella cheese (optional)

Directions:

• Clean the portabellas – remove the stems and black gills. Use a soft mushroom brush to clean the tops (or wipe with a dry paper towel).
• In a medium sized baking dish, coat with nonstick spray and then spoon a third of the sauce over the bottom.
• Place the cleaned mushrooms in the dish gill side up and close together.
• Spoon the remaining sauce into the mushrooms, coating the edges and sides as you fill.
• Drizzle a 1/4 of a teaspoon or so of olive oil over the top of each mushroom.
  Bake, uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 - 35 mins.
• Remove; check to be sure the mushrooms are tender enough.
• Sprinkle about a ¼ cup vegan cheese on the top of each and return to oven for an additional 5-10 mins or until the cheese is melted (this is optional and they are just as good without the cheese).

For greens:

• Combine 1 part olive oil to 2 parts vinegar (about a tablespoon of each).
• Add 1 clove finely chopped garlic, a large pinch of salt and a few twists of fresh black pepper.
• Whisk to combine. Add in about 3/4 a tsp of the Italian herbs and whisk again.
• Taste to make sure everything is balanced and then toss with greens.
• This is my mom’s homemade O & V dressing recipe and I put it on everything. It makes a great bread dip, too! A nice twist is lemon in place of the vinegar – but use about half as much.
• Serve a mushroom with a large helping of the greens.
• Spoon a bit of the sauce from the bottom of the pan over the mushroom when serving.

Makes 4 servings

Source: Vegetarian Recipe Swap Page

Granny's Slow Cooker Vegetarian Chili

Ingredients:

• 1 (11 ounce) can condensed black bean soup (or canned black beans in juice)
• 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed (sometimes I use lentils)
• 1 (16 ounce) can vegetarian baked beans
• 1 (14 1/2 ounce) can chopped tomato puree (I use large 29 oz. can crushed tomatoes)
• 1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 2 zucchini, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 (4 ounce) can diced chilies
• 1 -2 jalapeno, chopped (depending on how much heat you want)
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 1 tablespoon cilantro (optional)

Directions:

1. In a saucepan, saute the onion, bell pepper, zucchini, and celery for about 5 minutes.
2. In a slow cooker, combine black bean soup, kidney beans, garbanzo beans, baked beans, tomatoes, corn, onion, bell pepper, zucchini, jalapeno, chilies, and celery.
3. Season with garlic, chili powder, cumin, parsley, oregano, basil (and cilantro if using).
4. Cook for about 6 hours on low.
5. Serve with tortillas, cornbread, rice, or French bread.
6. Enjoy!
7. This freezes well!
8. Leftovers are good on top of nachos!

Source : http://www.food.com/recipe/grannys-slow-cooker-vegetarian-chili-51140