GO Veggie! recently posted to their website two of my newest recipes made with their delicious vegan cheese products. Check out the cheesy goodness:
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
(If you want to skip the backstory and product review, just scroll down a little bit to the creamy-cheesy recipe!)
Recently, I received a big box of Go Veggie! vegan products to test. If your preferred grocery store, like mine, only stocks Go Veggie! vegetarian products (made with casein and such) and you thought it wasn’t the brand for you, I have good news: they make quite a range of vegan cheeses and, so far, I have found them very tasty with beautiful melt-ability. Look for the purple packaging and click here for a store locator.
Just prior to receiving the bountiful box, I had seen two unrelated shows on the Food Network in which the hosts made mac-n-cheese, so that seemed the perfect dish in which to test several of the products all at once. Both recipes were made with a veloute sauce instead of a bechamel. Of this pair of French “mother” sauces, bechamel is a classic white sauce and veloute exactly the same, only made with stock instead of milk or cream. I liked the idea of a veloute since so much “dairy” is used for mac-n-cheese anyway. But if you are a non-dairy “Dairy Queen,” then, by all means, substitute your favorite non-dairy milk for the vegetable base/bouillion and water.
So, this morning, having literally not cooked all week–we dined out for dinner a lot with a guest in town, meaning there was also plenty of leftovers for my school lunches–I eagerly woke up and dove into what turned out to be my very simple and satisfying project. Since the cheddar-like package of “shreds” I was sent was called “Mexican Flavor,” I decided to nudge my recipe slightly west of the Missisippi River without making it overpoweringly Mexican.
The award-winning Go Veggie! Dairy Free Cream Cheese Alternative added just the right amount of body to my veloute, which is definitely a bit thinner than a bechamel, due ot the lack of butterfat. Their cream cheese has a pleasantly mild flavor and creamy texture, though a little liquid had separated, which may have been due to shipping and really didn’t present a problem, regardless; I simply poured it off before using.
The Go Veggie! Dairy Free Mexican Flavor Shreds melted beautifully, though I could barely detect any Mexican spices in the mix of both Cheddar- and Jack-style shreds, which is probably just as well because that allows the cook to better control the spices and resulting flavor. I chose a mere half teaspoon of ground cumin and a quarter teaspoon each of chili powder, dried oregano, and smoked paprika, along with onion, garlic and roasted poblano peppers.
For the topping, the Go Veggie! Dairy Free Grated Parmesan Style Cheese was tasty–nutty, pungent and appealingly dry–and browned just perfectly mixed with vegan butter and Panko bread crumbs. I could have used crushed corn chips, but I was trying to merely suggest the Southwest, not hit anyone over the head with a sombrero!
Speaking of heads, I am head-over-heels for this one, and hope you are too! My finished dish is just perfect to me: not a thick, “gloppy” cut-it-with-a-knife mac-n-cheese, but pasta noodles bathed in a rich, silky, deeply flavorful and golden sauce with plenty of cheesiness, though far less cheese than many recipes call for.
6 tablespoons vegan butter
1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
2 large cloves garlic, minced
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour (I use white whole wheat)
2 rounded teaspoons powdered vegetable base (or 2-3 bouillion cubes; not the extra large ones for 2 cups of liquid)
Pinch sea salt
2 cups water (or your favorite unsweetened non-dairy milk)
1/4 cup Go Veggie! Dairy Free Cream Cheese Alternative
1-8 ounce package Go Veggie! Dairy Free Mexican Flavor Shreds
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon chili powder (mile or hot, your choice)
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/8 teaspoon freshly gound black pepper
2 poblano peppers, stemmed, seeded, halved, roasted under the broiler until skin blackens (about 5 minutes), skin removed, and finely diced
8 ounces rotini pasta, cooked according to package directions, drained, rinsed, and drained again
Crunchy Topping (recipe follows)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add onion, and cook, stirring occasionally, until onoins are translucent, about 3 minutes. Add garlic, and cook and stir for another minute. Whisk in flour to make a roux, cooking and whisking for a couple of minutes to remove raw flour taste. Slowly whisk in vegtable base and water. (Note: you may substitute vegetable stock for vegetable base and water.) And cook for about 7 or so minutes or until sauce is quite thick. Add cream cheese alternative and whisk until melted, followed by shreds and all spices. Check for seasoning, and adjust if necessary. Stir in poblano peppers and then fold sauce into pasta and spoon lightly into prepared dish. Sprinkle topping evenly over the surface, covering completely, and bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Let cool for about 15 minutes before serving to allow the sauce to reabsorb back into the pasta.
Crunchy Topping:
1 tablespoon vegan butter
1 cup Panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup Go Veggie! Dairy Free Parmesan Style Grated Cheese
In a small saucepan, melt butter overmedium high. Remove from heat and stir in crumbs and cheese until all ingredients are well combined.
Yield: 4 modest servings (will need a substantial side dish or side salad to make a full meal)
This easy recipe yields pasta that looks like those made from doughs “dyed” with various vegetable dyes (or animal, like squid ink–ick!). But, instead, taking Giada de Laurentiis’s lead, prepared pasta is cooked in red wine and turns this beautiful color. Clever, no? Giada also adds a little bit of tomato paste to hers, which you can certainly do. It will deepen the color for sure. But I really wasn’t after that rich cooked tomato flavor, so I left it out and my husband and I both loved it.
She serves hers with herbs and goat cheese. If I had had an of my Homemade Vegan Ricotta Cheese, I would have stirred little pieces of that into it, but we ate that right up! So, I had some beautiful yellow-orange grape tomatoes from the farmer’s market that I thought looked striking in contrast with the pasta. And it tasted delicious too.
Feel free to add whatever cooked vegetable you choose (though tomatoes are best added fresh). You can hardly go wrong unless the color is too close to the pasta color and doesn’t show up.
8 ounces whole wheat pasta (I like a thin vermicelli–not the Asian rice variety–but spaghetti is nice too, just adjust cooking time)
Sea salt
2 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup finely diced red onion or shallot, red if available (about a medium shallot)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups of dry red wine, like a Zinfandel or whatever you have on hand
16 golden grape tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup finely chopped basil
Garnish: sprigs of basil and optional nutritional yeast
Bring a large (4 quart) pot of well-salted water to boil over medium-high. Add pasta and simmer pasta for about half it’s cooking time (about 4 minutes for whole wheat vermicelli); lower heat if necessary. Meanwhile, in a large cast iron skillet over medium-high, heat olive oil. Add onion and garlic and sauté, stirring continually, until softened and fragrant, about a minute or two. Add red wine, and bring to a simmer; adjust heat if necessary. Drain pasta and add to skillet with red wine mixture, or scoop pasta directly into mixture using a slotted spoon. Cook pasta for its remaining time or a minute or so longer, stirring occasionally. When almost all of wine has cooked off, add tomatoes and basil, and gently toss until all of the moisture has simmered away. Serve immediately dusted with nutrition yeast if desired (but not enough to hid the beautiful color), and a sprig of basil.
Yield: 6 servingsIn this lovely summer lasagna–a guest recipe I was asked to create for Tofutti Brands, Inc.–a fluffy and creamy Swiss Chard Filling finds its perfect counterpoints in rich Walnut Pesto; zippy, pleasantly acidic, lightly cooked Fresh Roma Tomato Sauce; and a crunchy topping.
Creamy Swiss Chard Filling (recipe follows)
sea salt
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons olive oil
6 dried lasagna noodles
1/2 pound (about 3 large) fresh Roma tomatoes, unpeeled, stem end removed, and halved
3 tablespoons loosely packed fresh basil leaves
1 cup walnut pieces
1 large garlic clove, halved
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
Make Creamy Swiss Chard Filling in food processor, transfer mixture to a medium bowl, set aside, and rinse out bowl of food processor.
Noodles: Fill a large pot (4-quart) 3/4 full with water, add a tablespoon each of sea salt and olive oil, and bring to a gentle boil. Add lasagna noodles, partially cover, and simmer 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente, lowering heat if necessary. Drain and arrange noodles in a single layer on a baking sheet, covered with a kitchen towel to prevent drying out.
Fresh Roma Tomato Sauce: Place Roma tomatoes in food processor with basil and a pinch of sea salt and process until smooth. Transfer to a medium (2-quart) saucepan and cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until sauce thickens and most of watery moisture has evaporated; lower heat if necessary to prevent scorching and sticking on the bottom. Remove from heat.
Walnut Pesto: Rinse and dry bowl of food processor and add the nuts, garlic clove, and about a 1/2 teaspoon sea salt. Pulse until finely chopped and, then, with motor running, drizzle in 1/4 cup of olive oil to make a thick paste. Set aside.
Topping: Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large cast iron skillet, add bread crumbs and toast, stirring occasionally, until crumbs begin to turn golden brown, lowering heat if necessary. Add nutritional yeast and continue toasting and stirring for another minute or until crumbs are golden and yeast is fragrant. Remove from heat.
Assembly: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Oil the bottom and sides of two 5 x 9″ metal or ceramic loaf pans. Trim all of the lasagna noodles to fit the length of the pans and then cut the trimmings in half. Line each of the pans with 2 overlapped lasagna noodles, spread each with 1/4 of the Creamy Swiss Chard Filling, and cover the surface of each with small dollops of 1/4 of the walnut pesto. Top each with a single lasagna noodle and 1/2 of the noodle trimmings tucked along the sides if desired (or you may discard these). Repeat layers, ending with a final single lasagna noodle. Spoon half of the Fresh Roma Tomato Sauce over each, sprinkle with half of the bread crumbs, and bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes, slice with a sharp serrated knife, and serve.
Note: if you are watching your calories, this lasagna is equally as successful and delicious without the last lasagna noodle layer Simply spoon the tomato sauce over the second and final Walnut Pesto layer, top with crumbs, and bake as directed. In this case, you will need only 6 lasagna noodles.
Creamy Swiss Chard Filling:
1/2 pound stemmed Swiss chard leaves
14 ounces extra firm tofu, drained
8 ounces Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese
Juice and zest of 1/2 large lemon
2 large cloves garlic
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves
1/2 teaspoon Bragg Liquid Aminos
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon turbinado sugar (or any granulated sugar)
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper to taste
Finely chop Swiss chard in the bowl of a food processor. Transfer chard to a medium bowl, set aside, and rinse out bowl of food processor. Place all remaining ingredients in the food processor bowl and process until smooth, scraping down sides as necessary. Transfer to bowl with Swiss Chard and fold together until completely combined.
My delish Vegan Kale Pierogi with Sweet Potato Filling was published today on Go Dairy Free–and with it’s green filling, it’s perfect for St. Pat’s Day.
After a brief warm spell, we have winter storms here again in VA, so the kale and sweet potato combo–two of my cold weather favorites–will warm you from the inside out!
November whizzed past and it’s already that time again…
Based on Inside the Actor’s Studio host’s James Lipton’s famous “Q & A”–after the Proust Questionnaire–“Vegan Q & A Tuesday” is The Blooming Platter’s first Tuesday feature on a creative force in the vegan culinary world. Read more about “Q & A Tuesday” HERE.
Featured Force:
Laura Theodore
[See below for Laura’s Spaghetti and Wheatballs recipe.]
Laura Theodore is a television personality and radio host, vegan chef, cookbook author, and award-winning singer. She is the creator of the Jazzy Vegetarian, and author of Jazzy Vegetarian: Lively Vegan Cuisine Made Easy and Delicious and Jazzy Vegetarian Classics: Vegan Twists on American Family Favorites. Laura is the on-camera host and writer of the Jazzy Vegetarian Television Series on PBS and hosts the weekly show, Jazzy Vegetarian Radio. Ms. Theodore has appeared on ABC, NBC, CBS, and USA Networks and has been featured in the NY Times, Family Circle, NY Daily News, NY Post, Readers Digest and VegNews.
Laura Theodore and Jazzy Vegetarian have been honored with a
2014 Special Achievement Taste Award
and nominated for three 2014 Taste Awards,
including a VIEWERS CHOICE AWARD:
“Best Home Chef in a Series”!
Please consider voting for Jazzy Vegetarian here!
1. What is your favorite word? Delicious
2. What is your least favorite word? Burnt
3. What turns you on? I love the smile on the faces of friends and family when I have served them a meal that they truly savor. Makes me feel like I have accomplished a good deed!
4. What turns you off? Creating a new recipe that I am SO excited about and it just does not taste right. Well – if at first you don’t succeed try again!
5. What sound or noise do you love? Hearing friends and family (at our dining table) raving about the dinner while I am in the kitchen prepping the next course!
6. What sound or noise do you hate? Me, cursing as I drop food or utensils on the kitchen floor when I am trying to do too many things at once!
7. *What makes you curse in the kitchen? Me – dropping food or utensils on the floor when I am trying to do too many things at once!
8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? Broadway producer. I love musicals.
9. What profession would you not like to do? Doctor or Nurse
10. If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates? Glad you are here! I am looking forward to hearing a song and tasting those Spaghetti and Wheatballs!
Spaghetti and Wheatballs
Makes 3 to 4 servings (12 to 14 Wheatballs)
By Laura Theodore
1 1/3 cups lightly packed, fresh soft whole-grain bread crumbs (see note)
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
2 cups chopped mushrooms
1/2 cup diced onion
3/4 pound whole-grain spaghetti (see note)
3 cups prepared vegan marinara sauce
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a medium baking pan with unbleached parchment paper.
Put the bread crumbs, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and salt in a large bowl. Put the walnuts in a blender or food processor, and pulse to process into coarse crumbs. Add the walnuts to the bread crumbs and stir gently to incorporate.
Put the mushrooms and onion in a blender or food processor, and process to a chunky purée. Add the mushroom mixture to the walnut/bread crumb mixture and stir to incorporate. Spoon out about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the mushroom mixture and roll it into a ball. Continue in this way with the remaining mushroom mixture. Arrange the wheatballs on the lined baking pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Gently rotate each wheatball and bake for 12 to 16 minutes more, or until they are crisp and golden.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender but firm. Drain the spaghetti well.
Meanwhile, pour the marinara sauce in a medium saucepan. Bring the sauce to a simmer over medium-low heat. Gently add the wheatballs to the sauce, one at a time, cover, and simmer for 7 to 10 minutes.
To serve, put one-quarter of the spaghetti into each of four pasta bowls, and top with three or four wheatballs. Ladle marinara sauce over the top and serve immediately.
NOTES
· To make fresh bread crumbs: Put 3 to 4 slices of whole-grain bread in a blender or food processor and process into coarse crumbs.
· You may use your favorite gluten-free pasta in this recipe.
Based on Actor’s Studio host’s James Lipton’s famous “Q & A”–after the Proust Questionnaire–“Vegan Q & A Tuesday” is The Blooming Platter’s first Tuesday feature on a creative force in the vegan culinary world. Read more about “Q & A Tuesday” HERE.
Featured Force:
Robin Robertson
(See below for Robins’s Linguine with Thai Pesto recipe.)
Robin Robertson has written more than twenty cookbooks, including the bestsellers Quick-Fix Vegan, Vegan Planet, Fresh from the Vegan Slow Cooker, Vegan Fire & Spice, Nut Butter Universe, and One-Dish Vegan. A longtime vegan and former restaurant chef, she writes the Global Vegan column for VegNews Magazine and has written for Vegetarian Times, Cooking Light, Natural Health, and other magazines. Robin lives in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Her website is www.robinrobertson.com.
1. What is your favorite word?
Amuse Bouche.
2. What is your least favorite word?
Gastropub.
3. What turns you on?
Preparing a special meal for friends.
4. What turns you off?
Being out of a needed ingredient I can’t find locally — especially when craving a certain recipe.
5. What sound or noise do you love?
“Mmmmmm…..” (when someone eats my food)
6. What sound or noise do you hate?
The crash of a glass or plate falling – especially when full of drink or food.
7. *What makes you curse in the kitchen?
Burning my arm on a hot pan usually does the trick.
8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
I’d like to own a B &B (but only if I didn’t have to do all the work myself!)
9. What profession would you not like to do?
Anything that involves numbers.
10. If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates?
*Lipton’s question #7 is always “What is your favorite curse word?”–and the answers are always colorful– but I reworded it since this is a “family show.”
Good job!
Robin’s Linguine with Thai Pesto
Redolent of garlic, lemongrass, and pungent herbs, this Asian-style pesto makes a fabulous fusion dish when combined with linguine. Most of these ingredients, including the slender, hot Thai chile, are available in supermarkets. Thai basil can be found in Asian markets, as can any of the other ingredients that your regular market may not stock. To make this gluten-free, use gluten-free pasta or rice noodles. This recipe is from Nut Butter Universe by Robin Robertson © 2013. Used with permission.
Gluten-Free Option
Soy Free
Serves 4
2 large cloves garlic
1 Thai bird chile, halved lengthwise and seeded
1 stalk lemongrass, white part only, chopped
1 teaspoon natural sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup Thai basil leaves
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
1/2 cup parsley leaves
1/3 cup peanut butter
3 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
12 ounces linguine
1/2 cup chopped roasted peanuts
Combine the garlic, chile, lemongrass, sugar, and salt in a food processor and process to a paste. Add the basil, cilantro, and parsley and process until finely ground. Add the peanut butter, water, and lime juice and blend thoroughly, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Set aside.
Cook the linguine in a large pot of salted water just until tender, about 12 minutes. Drain, reserving about 1/2 cup of the water.
Toss the pasta with the sauce, adding a little of the hot pasta water, if necessary, to thin the sauce. Garnish with peanuts and serve immediately.
Yield: 8 servings
I love beets! Roasted, in salads, in my “famous” Beet Muhummara…you name it, I love me some beets!
And they have been beet-iful at the farmer’s market lately. I bought a bunch recently–again–but wanted to do something new with them. I’m not sure why it occurred to me, but I wondered about a pasta sauce, like a Bolognese. So I searched online, and found a vegan version, but mine is substantially different and, after a little more research, seems more true to the original…without the meat, of course.
A little chopping is involved, but the recipe goes together quickly and easily and it is well worth it. Most of the time is hands-free while the sauce simmers.
The optional miso, nutritional yeast, and Liquid Aminos, granted, are hardly traditional, but they add a depth of flavor. Though they aren’t entirely necessary for a satisfying dish, if you have them on hand, I would definitely use them.
Two other tips: be sure to cook the sauce the full 4o minutes, and avoid omitting the non-dairy milk at the end, as it lightens and mellows the sauce just perfectly.
Otherwise, enjoy over your favorite pasta, including the new Shiratake noodles–very low cal–or cooked zucchini ribbons! The color is stunning, not to mention the flavor!
A foodie friend claimed that her husband “who never swoons over food” did…all while tasting it cold out of the carton standing over the sink! But they really loved it heated over pasta as did my Italian friend–another foodie in her own right–who spooned hers over Orecchiette. None of these folks, by the way, are vegan (though two are vegetarian)!
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
Sea salt
1 small carrot, peeled and diced
1 rib of celery, quartered lengthwise and diced
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf, halved
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 sprig fresh thyme, rinsed (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
8 ounces vegan ground beef substitute, thawed if frozen (I used Boca Veggie Crumbles; note: if your product is not already browned, brown in a little oil and remove from skillet before beginning recipe. If you aren’t a fan of vegan meat substitutes, consider 8 ounces of cooked lentils, maybe some nice red ones.)
1/2 pound beets, peeled and processed in a food processor until almost a paste
14 ounce can fire roasted diced tomatoes, including juice
1 cup red wine (I used a Bordeaux)
1 teaspoon natural sugar
Optional: 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
Optional: 1 teaspoon Liquid Aminos
Optional: 1 tablespoon light miso
1/4 cup tightly-packed fresh basil leaves, washed
Optional garnishes: a sprinkling of nutritional yeast and a pinch of red pepper flakes
1/4 cup unsweetened soymilk (or other unsweetened non-dairy milk)
In a large cast iron skillet over medium-high, heat the olive oil, add the onion, and a pinch of sea salt. Saute, stirring frequently for 2 minutes. Repeat this procedure with the carrot followed by the celery. Add the garlic and saute, stirring, 1 minute. Season to taste with more salt and with some pepper. Stir in remaining ingredients except soymilk. Simmer, lowering heat if necessary, for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove and discard the thyme sprig and bay leaves, stir in the soymilk, heat through, and turn off heat to allow sauce to rest for a few minutes before serving over cooked pasta garnished as desired.
What I thought was surely a once-in-a-lifetime honor has happened for a second time: Cookstr–“The World’s #1 Collection of Cookbook Recipes Online”– bestowed upon me the honor of “Author of the Day” today! What a beautiful way to start the new year. I am so grateful and humbled!
Please visit their home page where, as they told me, “…your name and photo will be the first thing our visitors see when they click onto the site.” On a continual loop inside the box are features like “Top Picks,” “Recipe of the Day,” and “Author of the Day.” If you don’t see it right away and have time to wait just a minute, me and my recipe for Angel Hair Pasta with Chard and Bell Peppers will come back around!
Cookstr was founded in New York City in 2008 by Will Schwalbe, together with Katie Workman, Art Chang and the Tipping Point Partners team. The Author of Send,Will left his job as SVP and Editor in Chief of Hyperion Books to found Cookstr.
The organization’s stated mission is to:
“…organize the world‘s best cookbooks and recipes and make them universally accessible.
We are setting the standard for innovation in the delivery of 100% trusted, tested, recipes to home cooks around the world. Our online recipe library offers thousands of recipes by hundreds of the top chefs and cookbook authors, that are free for everyone on Cookstr.com. This year alone, Cookstr.com powered recipe searches in over 20,000 cities and 200 countries!”
Here are a few additional reasons to visit Cookstr besides sharing in my 15 minutes, or rather 24 hours, of fame:
By signing up with Cookstr, for free of course, you will receive a free, handpicked selection of recipes in your inbox weekly; be able to save, share and comment on your favorite recipes in My Cookstr; and get updates on new Cookstr features and tools.
Cookstr really is creating “meaningful experiences around food, and support(ing) healthy lifestyles.” Let’s all be a part!
The warmest of thanks to Cookstr and to all of you for your support!
