Garden Vegetable Lasagna w/ Ricotta Nut Cheese and Marinated Mushrooms and Zucchini

Recipe adapted from lunchboxbunch.com.This dish requires a bit of prep time but it is WELL worth it. You have to soak the cashews 2-4 hours or overnight. Again, so worth it. My kids happily had thirds. It is delicious with out the veg cheese too. The nut ricotta is amazing on salads if you can save a few spoonfuls. It is gluten free, vegan. Contains soy and nuts.

Garden Vegetable Lasagna w/ Ricotta Nut Cheese and Marinated mushrooms and Zucchini
vegan, makes one 9-11" lasagna

1 large ripe tomato, sliced into thin rounds
2 cups marinara sauce (or homemade recipe)
1 large zucchini, sliced into thin flat strips
1 cup mushrooms, sliced thin, any variety
1/4- 1/2 cup non-dairy cheese, I used Daiya
2 cups fresh leafy greens
*I used Kale, spinach, etc work too.
1 box gf no-boil lasagna noodles
*you can choose the boil method if you'd like
optional: 1/2 cup fresh chives, chopped - chopped basil

1 1/2 cups Chive Nut Cheese Ricotta
Vegan Chive Ricotta Cashew Nut "Cheese"
makes 2 1/2 cups

2 cups of soaked raw cashews/pinch of salt, drained
2 tsp garlic powder or 3 fresh garlic cloves
1 1/2 Tbsp EVOO
1/4 cup plain soy milk or soy creamer (for richer flavor)
3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar OR lemon juice
*you can also use red wine or balsamic vinegar's if you prefer those flavors
1 Tbsp dried Italian herb blend
1 Tbsp agave or maple syrup (or honey)
1/3 cup fresh chives
1 tsp black pepper
salt to taste (about 1/4 tsp minimum)
garnish: handful of fresh chopped chives

optional: 1 Tbsp Vegenaise

note on salt: If you are adding this ricotta to a recipe with salty ingredients (like a tomato-sauced lasagna) go easy on the salt. The ricotta should add a texture/taste component to the dish and not a salty one. However, if you are using the ricotta raw on salads, as a dip or dessert - you may want to increase the salt and even sweetener content a tad to suite your tastes.

Directions:

1. Add raw cashews to a big bowl of water, add a pinch of salt. Soak in fridge overnight or at least for about 2-4 hours. More soaking, smoother texture.

2. Drain soaked cashews. Add them to a food processor.

3. Add in the vinegar or lemon juice, soy milk or creamer, agave and EVOO.

4. Blend on high until smooth. This may take a few minutes depending on the strength of your food processor. If your ricotta is looking too dry, add more soy milk and/or more EVOO. I used soy creamer which made my ricotta nice and creamy.

Zesty Garlic Marinade
1 Tbsp garlic powder OR 5 chopped garlic cloves
3-4 Tbsp EVOO
1/2 cup red wine, apple cider or balsamic vinegar (I used balsamic/red wine)
*see vinegar note below
2-3 Tbsp dried Italian herb seasoning blend
1 tsp black pepper
optional: 1/4 cup fresh basil - chiffonade

*vinegar note: if using apple cider or red wine vinegar you may want to add a splash of agave/maple syrup to sweeten your marinade up a bit. The balsamic vinegar should have enough sweetness on its own.

Directions:



1. Gather your ingredients.

2. Make your marinade by combining all ingredients in a large bowl.

3. Prep your veggies. Slice you ingredients very thin so that the marinade absorbs quickly.

4. Place your sliced ingredients (zucchini, mushrooms, tomatoes, greens) into your marinade bowl. Toss gently. Add more EVOO/vinegar if needed to cover ingredients. Allow to marinate at least 20 minutes. Otherwise you can prep this part for overnight marination.

5. If you haven't made your Chive Ricotta Lasagna in advance - do it now. Set aside.

6. Begin building your lasagna. Basically, sauce, noodles, sauce, greens,  sauce, noodles, sauce, mushrooms, noodles, ricotta, noodles, sauce, cheese, fresh tomatoes, chives, black pepper. And done! You can really build a lasagna however you'd like though. There are very few rules.

Before Baking:


IMPORTANT TIP: Be sure to put a sauce layer on at least one side of each noodle layer - since you are using the no-boil noodles you want your lasagna to be extra extra moist before baking.

And I actually poured a bit of my extra marinade over top to use as an extra moisture adder for my lasagna. Worked beautifully.

7. Cover your lasagna and store in fridge until ready to bake that day. Or bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 45-60 minutes. Note: if baking lasagna from a chilled fridge, your baking time will be longer since the temp will be colder.

Summer Potato Salad

Summer Potato Salad

This Recipe was a lot of fun and really delicious. I found a bag of mixed potatoes at Trader Joe's and used two bags for this. The purple potatoes are a little alarming because the are REALLY purple. Inside and out. Gluten-free, vegan, soy-free, nut-free

Ingredients
3bs red potatoes
1/2 cup veganaise
1/2 cup dijon mustard
2 stalks fresh celery with leaves
1/2 white or yellow onion
3 fresh green scallions
1 tbsp smoked paprika
1 fist full kosher salt
1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup fresh thyme leave

Cooking Directions

1. Quarter and boil potatoes for about 20 minutes, until tender with a fork.

2. Finely chop the celery, onion and thyme leaves, and mix together with mayo and mustard in a large mixing bowl. Add salt, pepper, and paprika.

3. When potatoes are cool to the touch, dress them in the mixture and cover. Let ingredients set up together for an hour. Eat!

Lentil Loaf

Yes, I know my pictures are not the best. It is meat loaf though! I don't think it was meant to be pretty. When my picky 8 year old told me this is better than ice cream, I knew I had to share it. I found the recipe on  melomeals.blogspot.com Gluten-free, vegan. Can be made soy-free if you sub the soy sauce for garlic salt to taste.

Lentil Loaf

4 T Olive Oil

1 large onion

10 cloves garlic

1 t poultry seasoning

1 c celery, diced

1 c carrots, pulsed in a food processor

Pinch salt/pepper

2 c cooked ( and drained ) lentils 

2 c cooked brown rice or millet

½ c sunflower seeds

½ c gf oats

2 T flax meal

½ c nutritional yeast

2 t  Cajun Spice

2 T Dijon mustard

2 T balsamic vinegar

2 T Braggs or GF soy sauce 

Glaze

½ c cranberry sauce

¼ c ketchup

2 T Dijon 

2 T evoo

1. Sauté onion, garlic , poultry seasoning, celery and carrots along with the pinch salt/pepper for 10 minutes or until soft
2. Place veggie mixture along with the lentils/grains in a food processor and pulse well
3. Scrape mixture into a bowl
4. Pulse nuts and oats, add to bowl
5. Mix in the rest of the ingredients.
6. Taste and adjust seasoning
7. Spray a piece of parchment with cooking spray and form into a loaf; pour half of the glaze 
8. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes; drizzle rest of glaze over the top.

Ratatouille

Ratatouille

So yummy just like the cartoon movie. Gluten-free, soy-free, vegan :)

3½ - 4 cups cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
1 zucchini quartered
1 ¼ - ½ cups red onion, finely chopped
3 - 4 medium-large cloves garlic, minced
1 28-oz can (796-ml) diced tomatoes
1⁄2 cup red or orange bell pepper, diced
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil or spray
1 tbsp freshly grated ginger
2 tsp  raw agave
2 tsp mustard seeds
2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1⁄2 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp sea salt
1⁄8 tsp allspice
freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 dried bay leaves

Preheat oven to 400°F . In a large, deep casserole dish, combine all the ingredients except the bay leaves. Stir through until well combined, then embed the bay leaves in the mixture. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Stir through, cover, and bake for another 35-45 minutes, until the onions are tender and translucent (stir through again once or twice through baking). Remove bay leaves and serve with a cooked grain such as quinoa, wild rice, or brown rice.

Makes 4-5 servings

Caraway Dill Split Pea Soup

I don't have a picture of this soup because we gobbled it down so quickly! The flavors in it are insane. This recipe is from one of my all time favorite blogs ever. Melomeals.blogspot.com. Every recipe I have ever made of hers has been a hit. Gluten-free, vegan, nut-free, Contains Soy

Caraway Dill Split Pea
1 T evoo
1 t caraway seeds
1 t rosemary
2 t dill
1/2 t rubbed sage
1/2 t coriander
1 large onion, chopped
1 t Tony's Cajun Seasoning
8 cloves garlic
2 t apple cider vinegar
2 medium carrots, chopped
1 large potato, chopped
4 c cabbage, chopped
1 c split peas
1 bay leaf
6 c veggie stock
1 T dijon mustard
1 t apple cider vinegar
2 T gf soy sauce (we use braggs)
1/2 c nutritional yeast
pepper to taste

Method:
In a large soup pan add the oil, spices, onion and garlic and Tony's. Bring heat up medium low and caramelize the onions. This will take around 20 minutes. De-glaze with vinegar. Add the carrot, potato, cabbage, peas , bay and veggie stock. Turn heat up to medium hi and bring to a boil. Let soup boil for several  minutes, then turn heat down to low. Cover and simmer for an hour or so. Ad the mustard, vinegar, soy and yeast along with salt/pepper if needed. Let soup sit for 15 minutes before tasting again and adding more soy, salt or pepper.

Zucchini Rice Cakes

                                                                
                                                             Zucchini Rice Cakes

Light and lemony, these patties are packed with flavor. They are extra delicious topped with yummy dill sauce! Gluten-free, soy-free, vegan, nut-free.

PATTIES:
½ cup zucchini, finely grated (unpeeled)
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ cup finely minced onion (can sauté if you prefer)
2 cups cooked white rice, mashed lightly with a potato masher
1/3 cup finely minced parsley
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon cracked black pepper
½ teaspoon paprika
2 tablespoons arrowroot
1 teaspoon celery seed
Optional: 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning

COATING:
½ cup cornmeal
2 tablespoons arrowroot powder

Grape seed oil, for frying
Sea salt
Creamy Vegan Mayo Sauce (see recipe below)

Place grated zucchini in a bowl and rub salt into it. Transfer zucchini to a strainer and set aside to drain for 20 minutes. Combine patty ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well. With wet hands, form mixture into small patties. Separately, combine coating ingredients on a plate. Dip each burger into the cornmeal-arrowroot mixture to completely cover both sides.

Heat ½ inch of grape seed oil over medium heat in a cast iron skillet. When the oil is hot, fry the patties for a few minutes on each side, until lightly browned. Transfer patties to a plate lined with paper towels to absorb excess oil. Sprinkle with sea salt and serve drizzled with Joyce’s sauce (below), garnished with slices of fresh lemon.

Makes 6-8 patties.

Creamy Vegan Mayo Sauce

by Joyce Rosenblum
4 tablespoons soy-free Vegenaise mayo
¼ teaspoon fresh dill (minced)
teaspoon Dijon mustard
splash of wine vinegar or white wine or mirin.

Whisk ingredients together.

chickpea curry over wild rice

chickpea curry over wild rice

We make this curry a lot. It is quick, easy and kid friendly. Gluten free, soy free, vegan. Contains Coconut milk and peanuts

	28 oz	chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
	14 oz	tomatoes (diced)
	14 oz	coconut milk
	1/4 cup	peanut butter
	4 tsp	curry powder
	1 1/2 tsp	powdered ginger
	1/4 tsp	cumin seed
	1/8 tsp	red pepper flakes
	1	onion (chopped)
	4	garlic cloves (minced)
	1 tbsp	earth balance
	1/3 cup	raisins

1. Saute onions and garlic in butter until tender.
2. Add ginger, curry powder, cumin seeds and red pepper flakes and cook until the spice mixture coats the onions and the garlic.
3. Add the chickpeas and the tomatoes, let simmer uncovered on medium-low heat for 15 minutes or until most of the juices are cooked off.
4. Gradually pour coconut milk into the mixture, continue simmering for an additional 5 minutes.
5. Stir in peanut butter, cover and cook on low heat for 25 minutes.
6. Add raisins, stir and let them warm through for 5 minutes.
7. Serve over rice. With optional garlic chili hot sauce.