Potato Tacos

The new veg news magazine arrived this weekend and was full of delicious Mexican recipes. I think I might have to make them all! These are the potato tacos and they turned out great! I think I would add bell peppers and mushrooms next time. The "cheese" which is seasoned tofu could have been omitted in my opinion. But I did like the crunch and flavor of the cumin seeds which I will keep next time. I also made tomatillo salsa to top them which is an earlier recipe I posted.

Ingredients:
tortillas
3 russet potatoes (or whatever kind you like, just modify bake time)
1 package firm tofu
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
juice 1/2 lemon
1 tsp paprika
1 avocado
cilantro and tomatillo salsa to top them

If you want to make the "cheese" crumble tofu into a bowl and toss with olive oil, lemon juice and cumin seeds. Allow to sit in fridge while you cook the potatoes.

Cut potatoes into bite size pieces and arrange in casserole dish. The recipe said to toss with oil but I skipped this and they turned out great. Toss the potatoes with paprika and bake at 350 for 40 minutes, stirring halfway through.

Serve on tortillas with "cheese", avocado, cilantro and salsa. Enjoy!

Black Bean Soup

This soup was really easy to make and made the house smell really good. I modified a recipe I found on pinterest to make it vegan. I made fresh beans but the recipe used canned. I think canned beans would have given it a more creamy texture. For some reason canned beans are always softer. The original recipe also used seasoned black beans but I roasted some chilies and added them instead. yum!

Ingredients:
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 onion, chopped
1 tsp chile powder
1 tsp cumin
3 cups or 2 cans black beans
1 roasted jalapeno and 5 roasted red peppers (optional)
4 cups veggie broth

Add garlic and onion to a large pot.

Stir fry on low for a couple minutes and then add seasonings, stir. Remove the seeds from the jalapeno and chop both peppers. Add them to the pot.

Add the beans and broth and bring to a boil. I don't know if it is necessary to bring to a boil but I followed the recipe.

Reduce to a simmer and blend with an immersion blender. Enjoy!

 



Mushroom and Wild Rice Soup

This soup is so yummy! I roasted the mushrooms with garlic before adding to the soup and I don't think it was necessary but the roasted garlic added a good flavor. I used a wild rice blend with quinoa and other rice which worked really well.

Ingredients:
1 cup sliced mushrooms
2 cloves garlic
2 carrots, diced
1 celery rib, diced
1/2 onion, diced
2 tbl flour
1/2 cup white wine
1 tsp thyme
2 cups veggie broth
1 cup wild rice, cooked

I started cooking my rice while I worked on the soup. In a casserole dish I combined the mushrooms and garlic. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
In a large pot combine carrots, celery and onion. Sautee on low until soft.

Add flour and stir to coat. Cook for another few minutes.



Deglaze with the wine and then add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Serve with salt and pepper. I added some vinegar too. Enjoy!

Chickpeas with Peanut Sauce

I cooked up some chickpeas earlier in the week so when I came home from work and needed a quick recipe this was perfect. The sauce is really tasty and was so yummy on top of sauteed greens.

Ingredients:
2 cloves garlic minced
1 tomato chopped
2 cups greens, I used collard greens
2 cups cooked chickpeas
For the sauce:
1 tbl peanut butter
1 tbl apple cider vinegar
1 tbl soy sauce

Heat skillet and add garlic.

Saute for a minute and then add chopped tomato.

Add greens and cook until wilted.

Prepare sauce in a bowl by combining ingredients and whisking until smooth. Pour sauce on chickpeas and stir to coat. Server beans on top of greens. Enjoy!

Saurkraut Soup

I know it might sound strange but this Eastern European dish is quite popular, especially among vegetarian/vegans. I have been wanting to make this for a while and decided to make my own homemade saurkraut for the recipe. It was pretty much a basic veggie soup with saurkraut. The original recipe says to cook it with the saurkraut in it but I didn't want to kill any beneficial bacteria so I added it on top once finished.

Ingredients:
4 cups veggie broth
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
4 mushrooms, sliced
2 small yellow potatoes, diced (or root veggie of choice)
1/2 cup barley (optional)
2 bay leaves
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp thyme
1/2 cup cooking wine or sherry
1/4 cup saurkraut for each serving bowl

I cooked in a crockpot since I was at work but you can cook it on the stovetop also. Place half the broth at the bottom of the crockpot and add chopped veggies on top.

 

Add the remaining ingredients.

Cook on high for a couple hours or until done. Top with saurkraut. Enjoy!



Veggie Broth

This is more of a tip than a recipe but I wanted to share. I like to save my veggie scraps to make broth with. I keep a large bag in the freezer and add the ends and skins of onions, carrots, celery, etc. The only veggies you aren't supposed to add is calciferous veggies like broccoli, cabbage and Brussels sprouts. It makes a delicious healthy broth and reuses what would just be thrown away.

Instructions:
Keep a container in the freezer and add veggies to it as you collect them. It can be any size I just prefer to make a large batch at once.

Place the scraps in a large pot and cover with water.

Bring to a boil and then strain the veggies from the liquid. Enjoy!

Kale Pesto

I got three bunches of kale from the market this week so when I came across a recipe for kale pesto I thought it would be a perfect time to make it. The recipe called for a 1/2 cup of olive oil and I did 1/4 cup and 1/4 cup water but I might try all water next time. I did use organic cold pressed olive oil to keep it healthiest. I thought the recipe turned out great but when I had the leftovers I added extra lemon and it was even better. You can substitute walnuts for pine nuts to save cost.

 

Ingredients:

1 bunch of kale, stemmed

juice of 1 lemon

1/4 cup pine nuts

1/2 cup olive oil and water mixture

salt and pepper to taste

 

Place ingredients in a food processor and pulse until smooth. Serve on veggies, pasta or rice. Enjoy!