How It All Vegan!: Irresistible Recipes for an Animal-Free Diet (22 page)

2 medium carrots, chopped

3-6 mushrooms, chopped

(plus whatever other vegetables you may have)

2½ cups cooked
or
canned kidney beans

½ tsp dried basil

½ tsp dried oregano

pepper (to taste)

cayenne pepper (to taste)

1¾ cups white basmati rice

½-1 cup water (only if you don’t have enough liquid to cook the rice)

2 medium tomatoes, chopped

½ cup green
or
black olives (optional)

In a large stock pot, sauté the onions, garlic, and salt in the oil on medium-high heat until the onions become translucent. Add the tomato juice, tofu, peppers, broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, and beans. Stir gently, so as not to make the tofu mushy. Add the basil, oregano, pepper, cayenne, and rice. Again, stir gently. If you think there isn’t enough liquid to cook the rice, then add a little water.

Cover with a lid, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer 15-25 minutes or until rice is done. Add the fresh tomatoes and olives. Stir and cover. Let simmer until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Remove from heat, fluff with fork before serving. Makes 4-6 servings.

SAVOURY SHEPHERD’S PIE

This delightful dish is sure to have guests coming back for seconds. It tastes best when topped with
miso gravy
.

Filling:

1 small
or
medium onion, chopped

3 small carrots, chopped

½ cup spinach, chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

1 large tomato, chopped

2 tbsp olive oil

½ cup cooked
or
canned green lentils, mashed

½ tsp dried basil

½ tsp salt

1 tbsp Braggs
or
soy sauce

Topping:

3 medium potatoes, roughly chopped

¼ cup soy milk

1 tbsp margarine
or
olive oil

salt to taste

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a medium pot of water, boil the chopped potatoes until they can be pierced easily with a fork. In a medium saucepan, sauté the onions, carrots, spinach, celery, and tomatoes in the oil. Once carrots are tender, add the mashed lentils, basil, salt, and Braggs. Stir and simmer without a lid until the liquid cooks off.

Meanwhile, in a food processor or a medium bowl, mash the potatoes, milk, margarine, and salt with a potato masher or fork. Set aside. Pour the vegetable mixture into a lightly oiled pie plate and then layer the mashed potatoes over top. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Makes 4-6 servings.

BIG BEN’S LENTIL BURGERS

My mum used to make this recipe. We called them Big Ben’s burgers because my younger brother Ben was a miniature human garbage disposal with a big appetite. This was his favourite meal as a kid.

¾ cup wheat germ

2 cups cooked
or
canned lentils

1 cup bread crumbs

¼ cup chopped onions

3 tbsp olive oil

½ tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

On a small plate, set aside 2 tablespoons of the wheat germ for coating. In a medium bowl, mash together the remaining ingredients with a potato masher or your hands. Divide and shape into 4 patties. Lay down each patty in wheat germ, coating each side.

Cook on a lightly oiled frying pan on medium-high heat for 5-10 minutes, flipping occasionally. Serve like a regular burger – an all-vegan patty, special sauce, lettuce, soy cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame bun! Makes 4 patties.

SPICY BLACK BEAN BURGERS

These burgers are spiced to perfection. To make them even spicier, you could melt jalapeno soy cheese on each patty and serve topped with
salsa
.

½ cup flour

1 small onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ tsp dried oregano

1 small hot
or
jalapeno pepper, minced

1 tbsp olive oil

½ medium red pepper, diced

2 cups cooked
or
canned black beans, mashed

½ cup corn niblets

½ cup bread crumbs

¼ tsp cumin

½ tsp salt

2 tsp chili powder

2 tbsp fresh parsley, minced (optional)

On a small plate, set aside flour for coating. In a medium saucepan, sauté the onion, garlic, oregano, and hot pepper in oil on medium-high heat until the onions are translucent. Add the peppers and sauté another 2 minutes, until pepper is tender. Set aside. In a large bowl, mash the black beans with a potato masher or fork. Stir in the vegetables (including the corn), bread crumbs, cumin, salt, chili powder, and parsley. Mix well. Divide and shape into 5 or 6 patties. Lay down each patty in flour, coating each side. Cook on a lightly oiled frying pan on medium-high heat for 5-10 minutes or until browned on both sides. Makes 4-6 patties.

VEGGIE RICE BURGERS

These make scrumptious and flavourful patties, but they’re fragile, so treat them with tender loving care. Serve on a bun or bread with soy cheese, ketchup, and relish.

½ cup flour

1 medium carrot, diced

1 small onion, diced

¼ cup zucchini, diced

1 stalk celery, chopped

2-4 mushrooms, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

¼ tsp thyme

¼ tsp dried dill

1 tbsp olive oil

2 cups cooked rice, mashed

¼ tsp salt

1 tbsp Braggs
or
soy sauce

1 tbsp tahini

1 tbsp psyllium husks

On a small plate, set aside flour for coating. In a medium saucepan, sauté the carrots, onions, zucchini, celery, mushrooms, garlic, thyme, and dill in the oil until vegetables are tender. Remove from heat. In a large bowl, stir together the sautéed vegetables and cooked rice. Add the salt, Braggs, tahini, and psyllium husks. Mix together well. Divide and shape into 6 patties. Lay down each patty in flour, coating each side. Cook on a lightly oiled frying pan on medium-high heat for 5-10 minutes or until browned on both sides. Makes 6 patties.

VEGAN SLOPPY JOES

A truly exceptional vegan dish. Bet you never thought you’d be able to have it again!

Tomato Sauce:

4 tbsp olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 6-oz can tomato paste

2 medium
or
large tomatoes, chopped

1 tsp salt

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp pepper

1 cup boiling water

1½ cups textured vegetable protein (TVP)

1 medium onion, chopped

1 tbsp oil

1 medium green pepper, chopped

1 medium tomato, chopped

1 large pickle, chopped

2 tbsp Braggs
or
soy sauce

1½ tsp chili powder

dash of cayenne pepper

dash of allspice

dash of salt

In a blender or food processor, blend together the oil, onion, garlic, tomato paste, tomatoes, salt, basil, oregano, and pepper until you reach the desired consistency. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, pour the boiling water over TVP and set aside for 10-15 minutes. In a medium saucepan, sauté the onions in oil on medium-high heat until translucent. Lower heat to medium and add the peppers, tomatoes, pickles, Braggs, chili powder, cayenne, allspice, salt, and tomato sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add TVP to saucepan and stir together. Simmer on medium-low heat for another 20-30 minutes and serve over toast or on a bun. Makes 2-4 servings.

ZUCCHINI DELIGHT

Hard to believe that anything so easy to make could be so delicious.

1½ cups soy mozzarella cheese, grated

1 28-oz can diced tomatoes

5 cups zucchini, chopped

½ tsp dried oregano

½ tsp dried basil

½ tsp red pepper flakes

½ tsp salt

1 cup cooked
or
canned lentils

½ cup jasmine rice

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large casserole dish, combine½ cup of the cheese with the tomatoes, zucchini, oregano, basil, red pepper flakes, salt, lentils, and the rice. Stir together. Top with remaining cheese and bake uncovered for 30-40 minutes or until rice is done. Makes 2-4 servings.

POTATO “CHEESE” PEROGIES

These tasty jewels will explode in your mouth. Serve these up with a green salad or steamed veggies.

Filling:

2 medium
or
large potatoes, cubed

1½ cups soy cheese, grated

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp dried dill

dash of pepper

Dough:

1½ cups flour

½ tsp salt

tsp nutmeg

egg replacer (to equal 2 eggs)

4 tbsp margarine
or
vegetable shortening

sour cream
(garnish)

salsa
(garnish)

In a medium pot of water, boil the cubed potatoes until they can be pierced easily with a fork. Drain. In a medium bowl, combine the potatoes, cheese, lemon juice, mustard, dill, and pepper. Mash together well with a potato masher or fork. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt, nutmeg, and egg replacer. With your hands or a fork cut the margarine into the flour mixture until well blended. You will want a nice, smooth dough, so you may need to add a touch of water if the dough is dry. Divide the dough evenly into 16 balls. Roll out each ball into a 3-inch circle and put 1½ tablespoons of potato mixture in each centre. Fold dough over and press edges down with a fork.

In a large pot of boiling water, add 3-4 perogies at a time and cook for 5 minutes on low boil. Remove perogies with slotted spoon and serve. As an option, you could fry the perogies in a non-stick frying pan until crispy. Top the perogies with sour cream or salsa. Makes 16 perogies.

JANA’S HEALTHY RICE

Try this with
honey lemon carrots
.

4 cups water

2 cups short-grain brown rice

5 cloves garlic, minced

3 tbsp cilantro, minced

¼ small white onion, chopped

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

3 tbsp curry paste

1 tsp salt

4 tbsp flax oil

2 cups kale, chopped

In a medium pot, add the water and rice, boil for 30 minutes on medium heat. Stir in the garlic, cilantro, and onion and cook 10 minutes more. Remove from heat and stir in the vinegar, curry paste, salt, oil, and kale. Makes 2-4 servings.

STUFFED SPAGHETTI SQUASH

Warm and homey, this is a perfect harvest-time concoction.

1 medium
or
large spaghetti squash, halved and cored

1 medium onion, chopped

4-6 mushrooms, chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

½ tsp cumin

1 cup cooked
or
canned lentils

½ cup bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350°F. Cut the squash lengthwise in half and scoop out the seeds, but leave the meat. Lay squash face up on cookie sheet. Set aside. In a medium saucepan, sauté the onions and mushrooms in oil on medium-high heat until onions are translucent. Add the salt, pepper, cumin, lentils, and bread crumbs and cook for 3 minutes more. Spoon the stuffing into each half of squash and bake in oven for 30 minutes or until squash can be pierced easily with a fork. Note: If your squash won’t lay flat on your cookie sheet, you can cut a bit off the bottom. Makes 2-4 servings.