All posts in Sauces

Quinoa Salad Stuffed Grape Leaves

By On September 9, 2011 In Appetizers/Hors d'oeuvre, Dinner, Gluten-Free, Sauces With 19 Comments Permanent Link to Quinoa Salad Stuffed Grape LeavesPermalink

Hi everyone! First, I have to thank you all for the wonderful comments and congrats on the book, the move to Philly and the VegNews mentions. Your kind words mean a lot to me and I just loved reading all the comments! ♥

Also, I’ll be announcing the winner of the decorating kit giveaway at the end of this post, so bear with me–or just scroll down to get to the good content. ;)

Now, onto the stuffed grape leaves. Stuffed grape leaves are from the cuisines influenced by the Ottoman Empire, including but not limited to Turkish, Greek and Middle Eastern cuisine. These little nuggets of deliciousness are most typically known as dolmades. Dolma is from the Turkish verb dolmak, ‘to be stuffed’, and simply means “stuffed thing”. Neat, eh?

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White Chocolate, Raspberry & Sage Tart

By On June 26, 2011 In Baked Goods, Desserts, Gluten-Free, Pies, Sauces With 33 Comments Permanent Link to White Chocolate, Raspberry & Sage TartPermalink

Homemade white chocolate, berries from the backyard, and fresh sage from the garden all add up to a ridiculously easy, yet sophisticated, tart.

As I was making this tart (at this point, I had only finished baking the crust) my husband kept begging me to let him try it. So, by the time the whole thing was said and done and photos had been shot, he managed to eat HALF of said tart in about 10 minutes. And he’s not even a white chocolate fanatic like moi. My son and I were equally impressed with how much he liked this recipe; but, given its delectable and slightly minty flavor from the sage, neither of us were surprised. This is a really great tart.

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Orange Sesame Yuba Rolls

By On May 20, 2011 In Gluten-Free, Sauces With 23 Comments Permanent Link to Orange Sesame Yuba RollsPermalink


 

A while back I learned about yuba, or tofu skin. If you’ve never heard of it, it’s basically the film that coagulates on the top of a boiled pan of soymilk.

Hungry yet?

But here’s the thing… this stuff is really good, but in kind of a strange way.

You see, I finally tried it, and it turns out that I love this stuff. I can imagine doing so much with it. Yuba is my friend!

With that said, I can see how it might be an acquired… um, texture to get used to. Pre-fried it looks a lot like a deflated balloon. It also has sort of a funny smell when you cook it the first time through (hey, just being honest). But, other than that…it’s great! It has a peculiar chewy and crispy texture when pan fried. It can also be used in a variety of other ways: as a dumpling wrap, vegan sausage casing, or just eatin’ fresh with some simple seasoning. Just like tofu, it soaks up any and every flavor you let it. And if you buy the dried, frozen or fresh varieties, it is super easy to prepare. Like, easier than tofu. For serious!

Now are you more interested? I hope so.

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Colcannon Casserole

By On March 16, 2011 In Dinner, Gluten-Free, Sauces, Side dishes With 19 Comments Permanent Link to Colcannon CasserolePermalink

With St. Patrick’s Day right around the corner, my google reader seems to be spitting out hundreds of recipes for Colcannon.

And for good reason. This Irish dish is not only easy to make, it is also quite tasty. It’s composed of two of my most favorite foods: kale and mashed potatoes. Sometimes the kale is replaced with cabbage (or is it the other way around?). It makes no difference to me… I am still smitten. Really, any cruciferous veggie mixed with mashed potatoes is sure to win my heart.

This recipe is just an elaboration on the popular dish. It’s basically colcannon topped with a whiskey marinated tofu, fragrant toasted walnuts, and a decadent mushroom gravy. Altogether, it makes a killer main course.

I’ve always been fairly indifferent to St. Patrick’s Day as celebrated here in the USA. I’ve never been much of a bar-hopper, and now that I have children, even if I had the urge to do so, I’d have to hassle with a sitter, and then we’d have a curfew–and well, it’s just much more fun for me to snuggle up next to my hubby and sip green beer in our cozy living room. Maybe watch Leprechaun or something.

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Anyways, the whole time I was making this, I kept thinking how wonderful this casserole would be for a holiday dinner… like Thanksgiving. Or any holiday where there’s some sort of feast involved.

St. Patty’s Day? Yep, that’ll do.

So this year, I’m declaring Colcannon Casserole as our family’s official St. Patrick’s day celebration meal… complete with a few (gluten free) green beers. Now that’s a tradition I can get behind 100%.

It takes a bit of elbow grease* and a whole lotta ingredients to get this thing put together, but it’s well worth the effort if you’re a fan of the green stuff + mashed potatoes like I am.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

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Bulgogi Style Tofu

By On February 10, 2011 In Dinner, Gluten-Free, Sauces With 54 Comments Permanent Link to Bulgogi Style TofuPermalink

One thing I love so dearly about the blogging community is the sharing of ideas… and the creative endeavors that I may not have found myself pursuing had it not been for the collaboration with other bloggers. I was recently contacted by Marly, of Namely Marly, inviting me to participate in this great idea she had to veganize a list of America’s Top Ten New Sandwiches named by the Huffington Post. Isn’t that a great idea?!

If you all know anything about me, it’s that I love veganizing omni eats… so I was already intrigued when I first heard Marly’s idea. But once I saw the details–and that there was a bulgogi Philly Cheesesteak involved–I got more than excited. I was elated. And then I quickly became on a mission to bring back a food that I used to eat at least twice a week: bulgogi.

You see, even though I may reside in the middle of Ohio (land of corn), I have been surrounded by a fairly large Korean community since I was wee little. Heck, even my son has Korean roots. And from the exposure to such a great culture, I have eaten my fair share of bulgogi, kalbi, kimchi, kimbap, bibimbap, mandu, loads of banchan and many more traditional Korean dishes.

Bulgogi was always around, as my son’s Korean grandmother religiously kept a giant vat of bulgogi marinade tucked away in her fridge. And, even though I used to love the stuff back in the day, bulgogi hasn’t crossed my mind in years since shunning meat.

But man, am I ever happy to have it back in my life! This tofu rendition tastes amazing. I really do think it tastes better than the traditional stuff. Seriously, try it. I was even snacking on it uncooked… yum!

Keep your eyes peeled here tomorrow, where I will show you how to use this bulgogi in a recipe for a Korean inspired Philly cheesesteak. For now, this stuff is deeee-lish served over rice.

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Super Easy Pasta Bolognese

By On November 18, 2010 In Gluten-Free, Pasta, Sauces With 16 Comments Permanent Link to Super Easy Pasta BolognesePermalink

Being that it is now freezing and gloomy outside in my part of the world, I have had quite a hankering for pasta Bolognese. I always think of it as the perfect food to warm me up on a not so cozy evening.

I tried to make it using tempeh just last week. And well, it didn’t exactly hit the spot. So, off I went to purchase some textured vegetable protein. I never buy this stuff on a normal trip to the market- but for this dish, I am very glad that I did. It makes a great (although very tomato-y) Bolognese sauce in mere minutes.

Mmmm… thank you Bologna.

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Pumpkin Alfredo

By On September 27, 2010 In Dinner, Gluten-Free, Pasta, Sauces With 81 Comments Permanent Link to Pumpkin AlfredoPermalink

Out of my crazy cat lady-like obsession with pumpkin (and, who am I kidding? all things orange) during the Autumn months, came this gem of a simple dinner. This pasta/pumpkin combo may not sound too appealing for some folks , but each and every person I served this stuff to absolutely loved it.

Pumpkin. Alfredo.

It is utterly delicious.

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Walnut Sage Fettuccine

By On August 5, 2010 In Gluten-Free, Pasta, Sauces With 20 Comments Permanent Link to Walnut Sage FettuccinePermalink

This is a delicious pasta recipe that takes very little time to prepare. Walnuts and sage dominate the flavor of the creamy sauce, and  walnut pieces provide some texture; turning a few simple ingredients into a hearty meal.

Walnut Sage Fettuccine

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup walnuts chopped finely, plus 1 cup coarsely crushed walnuts
  • 12 oz silken tofu, extra firm
  • 1 cube vegetable bouillon
  • 2 tbsp olive oil plus extra for drizzling onto pasta
  • 1/3 cup almond milk
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 2 tbsp chopped fresh sage leaves
  • 1 package fettuccine noodles, gluten free or regular

Directions:

Cook pasta according to package directions.

In food processor, combine 1 cup finely chopped walnuts, 12 oz silken tofu, 1 cube vegetable bouillon, 2 tbsp olive oil, 1/3 cup almond milk, sea salt, and sage leaves. Puree until smooth. Sauce will appear liquidy.

Drain pasta, (if using gluten-free pasta, rinse with cold water) and while still in colander, drizzle with extra olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Toss pasta with sauce and half of the amount of the larger crushed walnuts. Place into serving dishes and top with the remaining  crushed walnuts.

Serve hot.

Blueberry Avocado Salsa

By On July 16, 2010 In Appetizers/Hors d'oeuvre, Gluten-Free, Sauces With 42 Comments Permanent Link to Blueberry Avocado SalsaPermalink

I never used to like salsa. Not at all.

Not riding atop my favorite tortilla chip, not accompanying my fajitas, not even as a stand in for butter on my baked potato. Nope, I hated it.  I also used to loathe cilantro, as I understand many people do. Perhaps it was an acquired taste, because after years of relentless late night salsa snacking by my hubby… I finally caved and started devouring his favorite dip right alongside him.

It used to be that he could savor an entire tub all by himself with no competition trying to sneak their chip into the last bite. Not anymore. I have converted into a full fledged salsa fanatic. Now we buy two containers and polish off both within ten minutes, dueling chips in hand.

I even have developed a particular fondness for that stinky cilantro (but I would rather credit my love affair with Indian cuisine for that one). Mmmm… Baingan Bharta.

Anyways, did you know how wonderful cilantro, avocado and blueberries meld together?  They do, and this recipe is simple proof…

…that is, if you don’t hate salsa. :)

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Purslane & Mint Pesto Vermicelli Salad

By On June 25, 2010 In Dinner, Gluten-Free, Pasta, Salads, Sauces, Veggies With 16 Comments Permanent Link to Purslane & Mint Pesto Vermicelli SaladPermalink

vegan-pesto-vermicelli-salad-with-basil-mint-pesto

This cold noodle salad combines a lot of great flavors and textures to make the perfect summertime meal. It also includes my newly discovered friend, the purslane.

These beautiful and nutritious succulent plants are often weeded from folks’ gardens. Last week, as I was weeding my own garden, I came across this little plant that resembled a jade plant. I decided to let it go, as it simply was too beautiful to pull up from the ground. That exact same day, I was researching edible wild plants (one of my fave things to do), and wouldn’t you know it… the plant I left alone turned out to be something that should be in my garden!

Purslanes were apparently one of Ghandi’s favorite foods, and they are quickly becoming one of mine.

I had never heard of them prior to my recent discovery, but the purslane is actually a nutritional powerhouse! Now that I recognize the greatness of this little plant, I have been encouraging it to spread far and wide in my garden. It seems to prefer the company of my kales to any other veggie. Seriously, so would I …

I have never seen a purslane at the grocery store, unlike it’s edible weed friend, the dandelion. Like I said, I had no clue what it was before I almost weeded the poor thing. But, then again, I’m hardly a foodie. Feel free to substitute fresh green peas, spinach or arugula for the purslane. Those veggies aren’t quite as awesome as the humble purslane, but they’ll do.

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