Sauces

Here are some various sauces you can make and use in your cooking when you need to just throw something together!
I borrowed these recipes from my fav cook book "Forks over Knives: The Cook Book," however made some alterations of my own.

"No Cheese Sauce"

Ingredients:
1 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped
1 large red bell pepper, coarsely chopped
1 cup nutritional yeast
3 Tbs cashews

Instructions:
Combine all ingredients in food processor or blender and puree until smooth and creamy, add water as needed to achieve desired consistency

"Chinese Brown Sauce"

Ingredients:
1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/3 cup veggie stock
1/4 cup molasses
2 Tsp grated ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tsp arrowroot powder (can be found at your local food co-op)

Instructions:
Combine all ingredients in a medium sauce pan and cook over medium heat until thickened.

White Bean, Potato and Asparagus Salad

Ingredients:

1 Lb red-skinned potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1/2  inch dice
1/2 Lb asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 Tbs brown rice vinegar
2 Tbs Dijon Mustard
2 Cloves Garlic, minced
1 can of white beans (your choice)
8 Green onions

Instructions:
Step 1: Steam potatoes and asparagus until tender (steam them separately of course!)
Step 2: Combine Brown rice vinegar, mustard and garlic in a small bowl and whisk until mixed
Step3 : Place potatoes, asparagus, beans and green onions in a large bowl and stir together
Step 4: Add the brown rice vinegar sauce to the potatoes and stir
Step 5: Chill and then eat or enjoy warm!

Black Bean Burgers

Black Bean Burgers

Ingredients:
1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
1 can black beans
1/2 cup minced onion
2 TBS ketchup
1 TBS rolled oats
1 TBS basil

Note: I recommend you make a "double batch" for bigger burgers, depending on your food processor size, make the mix twice and combine it in a big bowl. More ingredients = bigger burgers!

Directions
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and lightly oil a baking sheet
Step 2: Chop sunflower seeds in the food processor (or similar food chopping device), place into large bowl
Step 3: Mash black beans in food processor (it should look like black bean paste), place into large bowl
Step 4: Mix onion, ketchup, rolled oats and basil with the beans and sunflower seeds
Step 5: Form into patties and place on baking sheet
Step 6: Bake for 25 minutes, flip over, "smoosh" down the patties a little bit (they are more likely to bake through), bake for another 10 minutes
Step 7: Enjoy!


My recommendation: Pair this with "white bean, potato and asparagus salad," and some corn on the cob and you have the perfect summer dinner!

Eggplant roll-ups

Ingredients
2 large eggplants - peeled and sliced lengthwise (thinness or thickness as preferred)
2-3 Tbs water
2 Medium red bell peppers, chopped
1 cup carrots, chopped
1/2 cup celery, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
Pasta sauce (as needed)
Mozzarella cheese (as much as desired)

Instructions:
Step 1: Pre heat your oven to 350 degrees
Step 2: Grease a cookie sheet and place the eggplant in a single layer on it (you typically need two cookie sheets for the two eggplants) Bake for 20 minutes (this varies depending on you eggplant slice thickness), you will know they are done when they are flexible enough to roll up.
Step 3: While your eggplant is baking, saute the pepper, onion, carrot, celery and garlic.
Step 4: Transfer veggies to a mixing bowl and add in pasta sauce (just enough to coat the veggies, not drown them) and 1 1/2 cups of shredded cheese.
Step 5: Once your eggplants are done baking: Spread about 1/4 of a cup of pasta sauce in a baking pan
Step 6: Put a little of the veggie mixture on each eggplant slice and roll them up, placing them in the pan.
Step 7: Pour the rest of the veggie sauce in the pan over the eggplant rolls and sprinkle as much (or as little) cheese as you would like over the top.
Step 8: Bake for about 25 minutes
Step 9: Enjoy!

Hummus and tabbouleh lettuce wraps

Note: It is strongly recommended that you listen to snappy 50’s music and dance around your kitchen for best results.

 

Ingredients:

Spicy Cilantro pesto (if you don’t like spicy or cilantro you can also use basil pesto, but its not as fun!)

Flour tortilla wraps (Or giant romaine lettuce leaves if you feel like being even healthier!)

Hummus

Quinoa Tabbouleh

 

Instructions:

1. Spread 1 Tbs of spicy cilantro pesto on the flour tortilla / romaine lettuce leaf

2. Spread 2 Tbs of hummus on top of the spicy cilantro pesto (pay attention to the ratio of hummus to pesto, there is a fine line between awesome wrap and disaster)

3. Place 2 Tbs of Quinoa Tabbouleh on top of the hummus and pesto

4. Roll up your tortilla or lettuce leaf

5. Enjoy!

 

To make Quinoa Tabbouleh:

PLEASE NOTE:  This needs to cool for 1 hour before you eat it! If you are reading ahead before you prepare, good for you! This will save you extra trouble. If you are like me and just wing it as you go…well don’t worry you can still eat it warm.

 

Ingredients:

2 ½ cups quinoa, cooked and cooled to room temp

4Tbs lemon juice

2 roma tomatoes, diced

1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

8 (yes, 8) green onions, thinly sliced

1 cup chopped parsley (or 2.5 Tbs of dried)

1 Tbs dried mint (if using fresh, 3 Tbs)

salt to taste

 

Instructions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl

2. CHILL FOR 1 HOUR before serving (yes I am using caps so you don’t do what I did and eat it warm)

 

 

 

To make the Spicy cilantro pesto:

Ingredients:

2 Cups packed cilantro (OR: 8 Tbs of dried cilantro leaves) < -- I recommend using dried leaves because your pesto will last longer in the fridge (Also, when you live in the middle of the mountains, fresh cilantro in the early spring is pretty much non existant)

¼ cup of hulled sunflower seeds

1 jalapeño pepper (adjust the degree of spicy by the number of seeds you use from the pepper), coarsely chopped

4 Cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped

2Tbs of lime juice

½ package of extra firm tofu

¼ cup nutritional yeast (its not a necessity, but I STRONGLY advise you use it)

SALT (you are going to want a little bit in there)

 

Instructions:

1. Combine all your ingredients in a food processer (or blender) and blend until smooth.

2. Place in container and refrigerate untl ready to use

 

To make the Hummus:

Ingredients:

1 can great white beans (Any kind of white bean works)

1 Tbs sunflower seeds

1tps spicy mustard

2Tbs red wine vinegar

2tbs water

1Tbs basil

 

Instructions:

1. Combine ingredients in a food processer (or blender) and blend until smooth

2. Put in a container and set aside.

Chickpea patties with caramelized onions

Ingredients:

1 red onion finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1Tbs ground cumin

2 cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

3Tbs sunflower seeds

3Tbs cilantro leaves

2 eggs, lightly beaten

2/3 cup flour

Peanut oil (for frying patties)

2 red onions, thinly sliced

3tps soft brown sugar

3tbs butter

How to:

1. Heat a little bit of olive oil in a frying pan, add thinly sliced onion and cook on medium hear until soft. Add garlic and cumin, cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat and cool slightly

2. Blend chickpeas, sunflower seeds, cilantro, egg and chopped onion in a food processed (or with a hand blender). 

3. Fold in flour to the chickpea mixture.

4. Using floured hands (a lot of flour), form patties (should make 8 large patties).

5. Heat 1/2in of peanut oil in a skillet/frying pan. Cook patties in two batches over medium heat for 2-3 minutes for each side (they will look golden brown). Keep warm while you do the same to batch 2. 

6. Melt butter in separate frying pan over medium heat, add cooled onion and cook for 10min. Add brown sugar and cook for 1 min.

7. Place caramelized onions over patties and garnish with condiment of your choice! 

8. Enjoy!

Baked ziti

The cast in order of appearance:
1 large yellow onion, peeled and diced
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
2 Tbs oregano
One can of diced tomatoes
1 box of ziti noodles
1 batch of no cheese sauce (see below)

Supporting cast: No cheese sauce
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 large red pepper, chopped
3 Tbs cashews
1 cup nutritional yeast

Instructions:
combine ingredients and blend until smooth and creamy
Set aside

Instructions for the feature presentation:
1. Start boiling some water to cook ziti noodles
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees f
3. Sauté onion in LARGE skillet until it starts to brown
4. Add garlic and oregano and sauté for another minute
5. Add tomatoes and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes
6. Mix noodles with the tomato mixture in the large skillet
7. Pour noodles into a 9x13 size pan and pour no cheese sauce on top
7. Bake uncovered for 25-30 min
8. Enjoy!