Gazpacho-- Vegan

Soooooo good! Gazpacho is one of my favorite meals EVER! It's really simple and inexpensive to make too. All you need is 3 cups of tomato juice, one hothouse cucumber, 4 roma tomatoes, 2 stalks celery, one red onion, 3 cloves of garlic minced, 2 red bell peppers, 1/4 cup olive oil, and 1/4 cup white wine vinegar, salt and pepperto taste. All you have to do is chop up the veggies super fine (I cup each vegetable into 1 inch cubes and then threw them in a food processor, but mae sure you don't overprocess) and then mixed all the other ingredients together. Then you are done! You can eat this immediately but the flavors are better if you allow it to chill in the fridge for awhile :)

BBQ Tofu Wrap

My new favorite thing to do with extra firm tofu is to freeze it before I use it because it changes the texture and makes it easier to drain all the water out of it (you can just squeeze it because the texture is like a sponge, so it won't cracks or crumble the tofu, even if you try). So this recipe was simple, I made it for lunch one day and saved some leftovers for Andrew and he enjoyed it as well. After cutting up the tofu into cubes, I sauteed it with some olive oil and rosemary. After it was cooked I added 1/4 c. bbq sauce and 1/4c. water and mixed it in with the tofu and allowed to simmer for 5 minutes. Then I just threw it in a wrap with some vegannaise, lettuce and tomato. yummy :)

Tofu Salad

Okay, so since I became a vegetarian, I have liked taking dishes I used to like that contained meat and making the either vegetarian or vegan. This dish is twist on Chicken Salad and it is vegan! You are going to need extra firm tofu (frozen, then defrosted and drained), vegannaise (I make my own with silken tofu, but you can buy this at Whole Foods), celery, walnuts, grapes, a pinch of cayenne pepper and salt and pepper to taste. I cut the tofu into really small cubes and then sauteed it until the sides were a golden brown, then you just mix it with all the other ingredients, and wah-la! Toficken Salad! Throw it on a vegan pita with some lettuce and tomato and you are good to go!

Pesto Lavosh Pizza with Smoked Gouda

So, Andrew and his buddies have cycling races called Tortilla Flats every Tuesday Night now. They have been doing AMAZING, so whenever I don't work on a Tuesday night, I like to reward them with a nice home-cooked meal :) This meal was a huge hit! It was simple, and really cheap to make. I started off with a sheet of Lavosh, I got a pack of 10 a trader joe's for less than $4. Brush each side of the Lavosh with olive oil and then bake it at 350 until it's a little crispy ( about 5 min). While the Lavosh is baking slice up some mushrooms, tomatoes and garlic. Saute the the mushrooms, garlic and spinach in one pan with some olive oil until the spinach looks wilted and the mushrooms are tender. In anther pan throw the sliced tomatoes in with some oil oil and cook until they blister. After the Lavosh is crispy, spread on some pesto to cover the entire surface. Then I put on the the blistered tomatoes, top those with shredded smoked gouda, and then top that with the garlic, spinach and mushrooms. Bake at 350 until cheese is melted (about 7 min).

Tofu Burgers and Sweet Potato Fries

This was delicious and very easy vegan meal to make. You need a package of firm tofu, carrots, one onion, mushrooms, walnuts, bread crumbs(I made my own using wheat bread) garlic, teriyaki sauce, soy sauce and salt and pepper to taste. Drain tofu and mash it up into crumbles, add breadcrumbs and all the other ingredients after you process them. Shape into patties and place on a greased cook sheet and bake for 40 min at 375 degrees. Throw them on a bun with your favorite toppings and wah-la! Tofu burgers!
As dor the sweet potato fress, nothing could be easier. Well, cutting them IS pretty hard... that's why I have Andrew do it ;). After they are cut into wedges I just toss them with some olive oil, minced garlic, coriander and sea salt. Bake them for 35-40 min at 400 degrees.

Veggie Pizza with Feta Cheese

I LOVE pizza! SO I was absolutely thrilled to come across a delcious and easy recipe for pizza crust. Oh, and it’swas also, flaovored pizza crust, Garlic crust!!! After I made the dough, I let it rise for a couple hours in a warm place. I then rolled it out as thin as possible, topped it wiht olive oil, garlic, tomatoes, spinach, mushrooms and feta cheese. Wa-la!! A yummy and simple vegetarian dish!

Portabella Mushroom Fajitas

I am all about making simple dishes that are absolutely delicious. I’m a college student, so I can assure you that these recipes are quick and rather inexpensive to make. I was in the mood for some yummy fajitas, so I pulled this meal together. I chopped up the mushrooms, a peppers (i used yellow, orange and red), and red nions and sauteed them with EVOO, garlic and salt. Meanwhile I heated up some tortillas and put them between two plates to keep them warm. Not so professional, but it worked for me. Once the veggies were tender, I wrapped them all up in a warm fajita and served it with a side of homemade guacamole and some salsa. Que Delicioso!

Quinoa Tabouli Salad

So, school is finally over for the semester, which is one of the reasons I haven’t posted a blog in awhile. So back to cooking!! woo hoo! So, I love Quinoa, and I love Tabouli, so this recipe combines the two to make a fantastic dish. This recipe is one of my favorites and is perfect for summer time; Quinoa Tabouli Salad! I cooked the Quinoa while a chopped up some fresh parsely, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots and green onions. When the Quinoa is cooked and cooled, you just toss all the ingredients together in a large bowl with some olive oil, lemon jucie and salt, then it’s ready to serve! Super easy and Super delicious. I try to make a lot so I can have left overs, but Andrew eats it all up! I guess he likes it, too…

YUMMY MAC N CHEESE!!!

Ok, so I cannot take credit for coming up with this delicious recipe. I owe this to Andrew for finding this recipe in one of his GQ magazines. It sounded delicious and it was the most amazing mac n’ cheese I have ever had… so thank you Andrew . It’s vegetarian but not vegan (sorry joanie, but since you are a master chef, I’m sure you would be able to make it a delicious vegan meal. And if you do.. please send me the recipe!!!) This is what you need:

1 lb. of fusilli

1 quart milk

8 tablespoons of unsalted butter

1/2 cup of flour

12 oz. of gruyere or swiss

8 oz of extra sharp cheddar cheese

1 tbsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground pepper

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1 lb of tomatoes, sliced

1 1/2 cups of breadcrumbs

heat oven to 375 degrees. While the oven is heating up cook the fusilli according to the instructions on the packaging. You also should add a little bit of vegetable oil to the boiling water to make sure the pasta doesn’t stick together. While the pasta is cooking, heat up the milk on medium heat but don’t let it come to a boil!!!! In a different pot melt 6 tbsp. of butter, once it’s melted add 1/2 cup of flour and mix it together. Once the milk is heated, combine the flour butter mixture and whisk until it is thickened and smooth. Take the pot off heat and add the cheeses, nutmeg, salt and pepper the milk mixture. Once the pasta is cooked and drained, add the cheesey mixture to the pasta pot. You also want melt that extra 2 tbsp. of butter in a separate pot and add 1 1/2 cups of breadcrumbs to the melted but, stir until breadcrumbs are evenly coated with the butter. When the fusilli is even coated with the cheesey mixture, transfer it to a casserole dish and place your tomato slices ontop of the cheesey pasta. You then want to evenly sprinkle the breadcrumbs ontop of the tomato slices and pasta. Throw it in the oven for about 45 minutes or until the top is a golden brown color. Let it rest for 5 minutes to let the pasta set and the cut and serve!

This dish was a big hit with my friends, they ate it all up!!