Squash N' Balls

Spaghetti Squash with Kasha "Meatballs" and Cheese Sauce

Sometimes you just get bored of pasta and tvp meatballs. So here's a riff on both that cuts out both the flour-based pasta and TVP. She's a three-parter:

1. Spaghetti Squash Pasta:
Ingredients:
1 spaghetti squash
1 medium onion
3 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon of olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

- Pre- heat oven to 450°

- Cut Squash in half length wise.

- Place rind side up on a baking sheet, brush squash with a bit vegan margarine or olive oil so it doesn't dry out and bake for 40 minutes or until you can pierce through with a fork.

- While squash is baking fry onions and garlic in olive oil until carmelized.

- When squash is cooked remove from oven and scoop out guts and throw in to frying pan, set to low heat, mix with garlic and onions, add a pinch of salt and a bit of pepper (don't go crazy here because there is salt and pepper in the cheese sauce). Turn off heat and put a lid on to keep everything warm while you make cheese sauce.

2. Cheese Sauce:
3/4 cup Daiya Mozzerella (or Cheddar, or both)
1 tablespoon vegan magarine
1 cup almond milk (unsweetened original) or unsweetened regular soy milk
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon of fresh cracked black pepper
Salt to taste

Directions:

In a small sauce pan, add almond milk (you can use soy milk too) on medium heat. Heat  until boiling then reduce to low heat, add vegan margarine and let it melt. Add Daiya a little bit at a time while stirring continuously. You want the sauce to be smooth, not chunky. Add in nutmeg, garlic powder and salt. Stir and whisk. Once Daiya has melted and sauce looks smooth and creamy it should be ready to go.  Pour sauce over squash and balls, add more fresh pepper.

3. CC's Salty Balls:

Hi there. So, about the balls. The secret weapon here is kasha, which is buckwheat groats. Kasha has a nutty taste and texture-wise, it makes a good substitute for ground beef (great in tacos too), so it works like a charm for these poseur meatballs. You get the kasha and fry some of it in a dry frying pan, basically you're just toasting it till it's a bit (more) brown. If I may be so bold - this really makes my balls pop. 

Boil a soup bouillon cube in some water (2 cups or less) and olive oil while you mix the dry ingredients, which are: ground flax (which makes it stick together), Teff, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, sage (liberal amounts of) rosemary garlic, salt and pepper. Mix this stuff up good. You don't have too much time, the flax makes everything stick to everything so mix it thoroughly and start balling them up in your hand so they look something like below, put them on a baking tray and you know, bake them shits. Because I have little sense of decorum or forethought, I've never really worked out the proper amounts, but basically you want these to be baked on the outside but not over dry on the inside. You're walking a thin tightrope between my Salty Balls and Vegan Dirt Cakes. So keep on your toes - here be demons.  

 Heap on the cheese sauce and serve with salad or greens.

...!

Dinner & A Movie Vol.1

     CC and I are both big movie nerds so movie nights are a-plenty in this household. Between studying film in school, attending many of our great local festivals (TIFF, Fantasia, Hot Docs...) and countless movie marathons (sometimes weeks at a time), I've had the opportunity to see many great films.  It doesn't hurt that CC works at Suspect Video & Culture and is surrounded by obscure, foreign and cult films, most of which pass through this home. And what better way to combine two of our  favourite pastimes than to put them together here?

Italian Horror Movie and Dinner Night 

First (of many- I am a sucker for Italian horror so this may be a recurring theme) recommended Italian Horror film: La Setta (1991) A.K.A. The Sect A.K.A. The Devil's Daughter. Beware, Italian horror films seem to go by many different names (by country of release), often winding up with two English titles. La Setta begins with a stylish opening sequence set in California during the Summer Of  Love. While a group of hippies are partying on a camping ground, a gnarly looking old man crashes the party and ritualistically murders everyone in a grisly montage. Cut to modern day Frankfurt Germany, where we see Miriam (played by Kelly Curtis, scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis' older sister) an unsuspecting and good-natured school teacher, become involved with a satanic cult whose leader Damon (Thomas Arana) has ungodly plans for her. Directed by Michele Soavi (Cemetery Man / Dellamorte Dallamore), produced and written by Dario Argento (Suspiria).

Pre-Movie Italian Feast:
Pesto Farfalle With Sundried Tomato, Spinach And Baby Bellas

What you will need:
Home made pesto (see below for recipe)
2 1/2 cups of Farfalle (bowtie pasta- also try whole wheat farfalle)
1/4 cup of sundried tomatoes in oil
1 cup of chopped fresh spinach
1 cup of baby bella mushrooms
1/2 red pepper

Vegan Pesto:
2 cups of fresh basil
1/2 cup fresh baby arugala
3/4 cup of olive oil
1/2 cup of salted roasted cashews (set aside an extra 1/4 cup - grind into a powder and use as a parmesan "cheese" topping)
Juice from 1/2 lemon
2 cloves of garlic
Salt and pepper to taste

Throw everything into a Magic Bullet, food processor or blender. Blend until all ingredients are mixed well and pesto looks smooth. Add to pasta. This makes a lot so freeze whatever you don't use for a later date. Tip: put pesto in a an ice cube tray and use to replace oil for frying.

Directions:

Bring about 2 litres (or enough water to cover pasta) of salted water to a boil in large pot. Cook pasta for approximately 10 minutes - I like my pasta al dente. While pasta is cooking, drop a teaspoon of pesto and a couple drops of oil from the sundried tomatoes into a large heated pan. Once heated add baby bella mushrooms, fry until soft, add red pepper and sundried tomato, stir and fry until soft. Add spinach and let wilt. Turn down heat to low. Pasta should be done at this point so drain and and add to vegetables in frying pan. Give everything a stir and  add a 1/4 cup (or more if you like) of the pesto. You want the pesto to cover everything . Give it stir and when thoroughly mixed and warm it's ready to go.

Serve with salad and cheesy garlic bread. If you are feeling really fancy add Vegan Tiramisu Cupcakes for dessert (Recipe in Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The  World). And if you are so inclined, pair with Yellow Tail Shiraz- Grenache (vegan).

 Buon Appetito!

Soyrizo Loco

     Do you have a husband who is crazy for soy chorizo? Is your freezer full of a dozen packages of this stuff and are not quite sure what to do with it? Well.......let me give you some suggestions. I had to figure out what to do with all this soy chorizo before it went bad. You can only get this at Trader Joe's so if you are Canadian like us and loco for soyrizo like CC,  you need to stock up every time you go Stateside. I have a few recipes I can share now, but I suspect there will be more in the next coming months once CC hits the road again.

*Warning* If you haven't tried this stuff yet I need to tell you in advance that it is addictive - proceed with caution! P.S. These are not "low cal" recipes. Just sayin'.

*Recommended listening for soyrizo partying;

Wipers - Over The Edge

Suicide -Suicide

Nine Nine Nine - High Energy Plan

1) Soy Chorizo And Collards On Baked Potato

What you will need for a 2 person dinner (double and triple as needed):

- 1/2 package of soy chorizo

- about 5 leaves of collards

- 1 small or med size onion (depending on how much you like onions)

- 2 med size baking potatoes or yellow potatoes or yams- go crazy

- about a tbls olive oil- plus a bit extra

- white button mushrooms - as many as you like (optional)

- Daiya cheese or vegan cheese for top or Toffutti sour cream or vegan sour cream

- garlic powder, pepper, hot sauce (optional)

Directions:

- Pre-heat oven to 450°

- Clean and prep potatoes.

- Stab potatoes a few times with a fork so they don't explode, then place on baking pan.

- At this point you may want to lightly brush on some oil (or use a bit of vegan margarine) on the potato so it wont dry out. 

- Bake potato for 30-40 minutes (check occasionally to see if it's ready- some ovens may vary)

- While potatoes are baking begin prepping collards. Wash off all the dirt and grit and chop off stems (if you don't like the thick vein in the middle of the leaf you can cut that out as well). Stack all 5 leaves together, roll leaves like a cigar then cut into strips. Set aside.

(*Note: If you choose vegan sour cream for your topping you may want to cook your collards and chorizo 15-20 minutes before potatoes are ready because you will want everything hot. If you choose to top with vegan cheese you can prep all this all and let the collards and chorizo sit in warm pan then add mix to potato, top with vegan cheese and warm and melt in the over for a few more minutes.)

- Next, clean and chop mushrooms. Chop onions into small pieces, then sautée onions in a pan with a tbsp of oil on high until they are golden brown.

- Remove casing from soy chorizo and sautée in pan with onion for approximately 30-60 secs.

- Add collards and any of the extra spices listed above (*note: you may also want to add a bit of water to to allow collards to steam - not much - 1/4 cup add as needed). Cover pan with lid and reduce to low heat and let the collards soften up. This should take about 10 minutes or so (check occasionally - you don't want anything to burn). Let all the flavours of the soy chorizo and onions mix with the collards.  

- Once potatoes are ready, remove from oven, make an incision down the middle of potato and open it up a bit. Spoon chorizo and collard mix on to potato - top with vegan sour cream. If using vegan cheese, add cheese top and pop it  back in the oven for a few minutes to melt cheese. 

2) Soy Chorizo Shepherd's Pie

Here is what you what you will need:

- 1 package of soy chorizo

- 2 med yams

- 1 bunch of kale 

- 2 small onions

- 2 cloves garlic

- 1tsp. oil (olive)

- 1 tsp. (or more if you like) of vegan margarine 

- 1/4 cup of non-dairy milk 

- sweet spanish paprika (optional)

- Cholula Hot Sauce

- Salt / Pepper

You will need 1 pot, 1 sautée or frying pan with lid and one round baking dish or a smaller rectangular baking dish.

Directions:

- Pre-heat oven to 425°

-YAMS: Clean and prep yams. You can leave the skin on for more fibre if you want. Chop into small cubes so they boil faster. Fill a med sized pot with enough water to cover potatoes + a bit more then boil potatoes until soft. Once potatoes are cooked, drain water, add non-diary milk, vegan margarine, salt and pepper. Mix, and mash. Set aside.

-KALE: While waiting for the yams to cook begin prepping kale. Wash well and chop off stems. Chop into largish size pieces. Set aside. Dice onions, chop or press garlic and add to sautée pan with 1 tblsp. of oil. Sautée onions and garlic until onions are translucent then add a splash or two of water and throw in the kale and add bit of salt and pepper. Cover and let the kale steam for a few minutes until slightly wilted. Stir occasionally.  

-Next, remove casing from soy chorizo and spread evenly on bottom of baking dish. Then layer kale and onion mix and spread mashed yams on top. Sprinkle a bit of sweet spanish paprika on top.  

-Bake for aprox. 20-30 minutes.

Note: The pie below was actually made with collards instead of kale so if you prefer collards, substitute for kale.

3) Soy Chili

Ingredients:

- 1 package soy chorizo

- 1 large can (796ml)  stewed diced tomatoes

- 1 red and 1 green pepper

- 2 med onions

- 3-5 cloves garlic (depending on taste)

- 1 large yam

- 2 small zucchinis or 1 large 

- A bunch of white button mushrooms - I usually use a whole package

- 1 can of corn

- 1 can of red kidney beans -540ml (optional)

Spices:

- 1 tblsp cumin

- 2 tsp chili powder (chorizo is spicy but you can adjust chili powder to 1-2 tbls to make it spicier)

- 2 tblsp dried oregano

- 2 tsp coriander

- salt to taste: soy chorizo is loaded with sodium so taste it before adding more salt.

Slow Cooker Method

- Dice onions. Chop or press garlic and then sautée in pan until golden brown. Set aside.

- Wash and chop yam into cube size pieces (I leave the skin on)

- Wash and dice mushrooms, zucchini, red and green peppers.

- Add diced tomato to slow cooker pot, then add onions garlic and spices. Stir. Add all veggies including canned corn and beans (drain & rinse first). Give it a stir. Cook for 2-4 hours on low. (I think all slow cookers are slightly different so check the times- I used the Wolfgang Puck digital so it's the "slow cook" setting. 

Stovetop 

If you don't have a slow cooker you can use large (5.4 litre) pot and cook on the stove. Cook on low heat or simmer for an hour, stirring and checking occasionally. 

4) Soy Chorizo Hot Cheese Dip

I made this for an xmas party. Veg as well as meat eaters loved this. Unfortunately I don't have a picture. It was all gone before I remembered to snap a photo. That's a good sign though. Right?

Ingredients:

- 1 package of soy chorizo  (You can probably use Yves Veggie Ground and spice it with taco seasoning. I am sure that will work just as good.)

- 1/2 green pepper and 1/2 red pepper 

- 1 container of toffutti cream cheese

- 1/2 cup Daiya chedder flavor (you can add more if you like) 

- 1/4 cup toffuti sour cream
- 2 med onions

- 2-5 cloves of garlic (this depends on much you like garlic)

- 1 tbls olive oil

*Note: I didn't add extra spices or salt. I just used the chorizo flavour but you can add chili flakes, salt, cilantro etc.

I prepared this in a slow cooker but I am sure you can make it in a pot on the stove. I would just keep in on low heat and stir lot so it doesn't stick to bottom of pot.

Directions:

- Sautée onion and garlic in some 1 tbsp olive oil until translucent or light brown.

- Once the the onions and garlic are ready throw everything in the pot and heat it up. I use "slow cook" for an hour but then stopped around once in started bubbling (15-20mins) then I set the slow cooker to "keep warm". Stir it often. 

- Serve with, tortilla chips, bread, garlic bread, crackers.

*** A Friend just sent a photo for this post

Photo courtesy of J.Tetreau

Stay tuned for more Soyrizo recipes. - B

Quinoa Salad with Lemony Tahini Dressing

If you are not familiar with quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) then it is time to get acquainted. Here's the scoop. It's an ancient grain/seed originally grown in South and Central America and is high in protein, calcium and iron. It also contains vitamin E and some B vitamins as well as some other good stuff that I am not going to get into because I am not a nutritionist and don't know what they do (yet). When cooked, quinoa becomes fluffy and has a nutty flavour, so it works with many different vegetable combinations.

 Kale another essential part of this recipe, has powerful anti-oxidant properties and is high in beta carotine, vitamin K and C, calcium and other things I can't pronounce. With the leftover kale from the salad, you can bake it with flavourful spices like cumin, coriander, whole fennel seed, garlic, sweet spanish paprika, sea salt and black pepper.

The combination of red beets, golden beets, carrot, kale and quinoa create a very colourful, super nutritious and in combination with the tahini dressing makes it super tasty. -B

What you will need:
* A cup of cinnamon chai tea (David's Tea makes a delicious caffeine free one) to revitalize, wake you up and help you focus.
*You might want to listen to Demon Fuzz- Afreaka. Just saying.

For the salad:
1 cup Quinoa (I like to soak the quinoa for about 20-25 mins to reduce the earthy taste)
2 cups water
Bunch of Kale
1 Large carrot
2 Red beets
1 Small golden beet
1 medium-large size carrot

Soak Quinoa for about 20-25 mins. While quinoa is soaking, peel then shred carrot and golden beet. Take two kale leaves, wash and chop into bite size pieces (you can use the stems if you like).

Peel and chop red beet into small bite sized pieces. Set veggies aside. When quinoa is done soaking, fill pot with 2 cups of water. Bring to boil. Add quinoa. Bring to boil again. Reduce heat to low and place on a tight fitting lid. Cook for approx. 20- 25 min (or until soft) stirring occasionally. When ready, let quinoa cool before adding veggies. Once cool, throw everything in. Give it a mix.  Serve with dressing on top.

For the dressing:
2.5  Tbls. Prepared Tahini (you can find this in most grocery stores or you can get it at Akrams in Kensington Market)
Juice from 1 medium sized lemon
Fresh parsley -a small handful
1-2 cloves garlic (adjust to taste)
Black pepper (to taste)
Sea salt (to taste)

*I use a Magic Bullet for this. If you don't have one a blender will work or you may just have to mix in a cup with a fork or whisk but it should be creamy.

Throw all the ingredients above in the Bullet and mix that shit up. Kay? Done. Adjust to taste if you like. I like it really lemony.

Baked Kale

While quinoa is cooking start preparing the kale.

Pre-heat oven to 350˚.

Wash the leftover kale from the salad and chop in to bite-size pieces. Throw the kale into a big bowl and drizzle on olive oil (just enough so that spices stick). Mix it up. Now this part is a guessing game. I just throw everything on, mix it up and BAM - Done! Sprinkle on the following spices; garlic powder, cumin, whole anise/fennel seed, coriander, sweet spanish paprika, sea salt and black pepper. Mix it up.

Spread kale on baking pan. (I don't grease or cover with anything). Bake for 10-15 min. Mix occasionally. You kinda want some really crispy pieces - almost burnt. It's a nice mix to have super crispy with just baked. When finish eat as a snack or serve as side dish. -B

Polenta! A staple of Italian country cooking.

Polenta, boiled cornmeal, is the base for many (Italian) dishes. One of which is this polenta breakfast scramble.  I love tofu scrambles so when I found out I had a "sensitivity" to tofu (but soy protein is ok- go figure) my breakfast dreams were shattered so I decided to replace the tofu with polenta. I also add veggie sausage/patties for a bit of protein. Check it out.

To start:
*You will need polenta- the pre-made kind in a tube which can be found at your local grocery store. Making polenta from scratch definitely tastes better but for this recipe the pre-made kind (plain, sundried tomato, or basil) works fine. It's also easier to cube or crumble for the scramble. For other recipes I recommend making it from scratch.

Note: If you buy the small tube use the whole thing. If you buy the large size use about half.

Other ingredients:
Your favorite salsa (if you are in a pinch and don't have salsa, tomato sause works fine)
2  med. cloves fresh garlic
1 med. zucchini cubed
1 portobello mushroom- chop in to pieces
2 cups chopped white button mushrooms (I am a big mushroom fan so I tend to go overboard so you can adjust amount to taste)
1 small red and green pepper- chop, clean and dice
2 shallots or 1 small onion

I like to sautée the onions a garlic in about a teaspoon of oil. When soft/ translucent,  I add in about 2 tablespoons of salsa and sautée the vegetables with the garlic and onions for a couple of minutes before adding in the polenta. I prefer chopping the polenta in to small cubes but you can just crumble it up and throw it in the pan. I let everything cook with the lid on (stir occasionally) until everything is soft. Then serve as is or fry up some veggie breakfast patties or veggie links(like yves) for protein.