Beans and Rice with Roasted Sweet Potato and Green Sauce

From The Rancho Gordo Vegetarian Kitchen, Volume 1 (Rancho Gordo Press, 2019)

Ingredients

3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced into rounds or wedges

4 tbs extra virgin olive oil

Rancho Gordo Stardust Dipping Powder or New Mexican Chile Powder

Salt and pepper

2 cups cooked Rancho Gordon Rio Zape or Midnight Black beans

2 cups cooked brown or white rice

For the green sauce:

1.5 cups plain yogurt (or sour cream)

1 small bunch fresh cilantro, stems removed

2 green onions, chopped

1 garlic clove, chopped

1 small jalapeno chile, seeded and chopped (optional)

Juice of 1 to 2 limes

Salt

Makes 6 servings

Directions

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with foil and coat with 1 tbs olive oil.

2) In a bowl, toss the sweet potatoes with the remaining 3 tbs olive oil and a liberal amount of Stardust, salt, and pepper. Spread the sweet potatoes on the baking sheet in a single layer; bake until soft, about 30 minutes. 

3) Raise the oven temperature to 450 degrees F and bake until the edges of the sweet potatoes are caramelized, about 10 more minutes. Check the sweet potatoes often and move them around on the sheet to make sure they don't stick or burn.

4) In a small saucepan, warm the cooked beans over low heat. Add the cooked rice and stir to combine. Keep warm.

5) To make the green sauce, place the yogurt, cilantro, green onion, garlic, and chile (if using) in a blender; blend until smooth. Add lime juice and salt to taste.

6) Divide the rice and bean mixture among plates, top with sweet potatoes, and drizzle with the green sauce. Serve extra sauce at the table.

Instant Pot Chana Masala

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons Ghee 

1 teaspoon cumin seeds 

1 onion (finely chopped) 

1 Tablespoons minced garlic 

1 teaspoon ginger 

 

Spice blend: 

2 teaspoons salt 

2 teaspoons Kashmiri chili powder 

1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric 

1/4 teaspoon garam masala  

 

1-2 cup tomato (diced) 

1 cup chickpeas (soaked overnight) 

Directions:

1) Soak 1c chickpeas in water overnight 

2) Add 2 Tbs Ghee to Instant Pot on Sautee setting 

3) Add cumin seeds when ghee is hot – they should sizzle for 1 – 2 mins 

4) Add onions and cook for 5 mins 

5) Add ginger and garlic and cook 1 min 

6) Add remaining spices, tomatoes, chickpeas, and 1.5c water 

7) Cancel Sautee. Stir. Don’t forget to scrape the bottom of the pot. 

8) Put lid on and pressure cook on high for 35 mins 

Easy Refried Beans

This is the latest way Sameer and I make refried beans from dry beans in the InstantPot. It's the best I've found so far. The amounts of the seasonings to replace the salsa might need tweaking because I currently eyeball it, but it can be corrected by taste after cooking the beans.

Ingredients

2 cups dry beans (black or pinto)

1/2 cup Mrs. Renfro's green salsa (OR 1 tsp onion powder, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp salt, 1 tbs pickled jalapeno slices)

Directions

1) Put all ingredients plus 5 cups water into InstantPot and cook for 30 minutes with natural release. (If you soaked your beans ahead of time, that's great, but not necessary.)

2) Drain most of the water and blend the beans with an immersion blender. Adjust seasoning as necessary. If you forgot to put in any seasoning at all (as I sometimes do), add it to taste now.

Instant Pot Quinoa

 Ingredients

1 cup quinoa

1 1/2 cups broth or water

Directions

1) Rinse quinoa and put quinoa and water or broth in Instant Pot. 

2) Seal lid and cook for 1 minute, natural release.

BROL

This recipe comes from Michael Greger MD of NutritionFacts.org.  I'm not sure if this base recipe is in one of his cookbooks or if it's only found with other things added to it.  I couldn't find it plain though and I just make this basic BROL (barley/rye/oats/lentil) as the base for my lunchtime Buddha bowls.  It makes enough for a week worth of Buddha bowl lunches.  It's just basic whole grains and lentils, so it could theoretically be the base for a lot of different things.  It is one of the few things I've ever eaten that made me feel energetic and just better in general than before I ate.  I also used up some random whole grains as substitutions (e.g., millet) before buying the actual ingredients listed below.  If you have whole grains or lentils to use up and don't know what to do with them, I highly recommend this.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup hulled barley

1/3 cup rye berries

1/3 cup oat groats

1/2 cup black beluga lentils

Directions:

1) Rinse barley, rye, and oats and combine with 2 cups of water in an Instant Pot.  Cook for 30 minutes with natural release.

2) Set aside cooked grains and put black lentils and 1 cup water into Instant Pot. Cook for 1 minute with natural release.

3) Stir grains and lentils to combine.  Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to a week.  Eat plain or add whatever.  They have more flavor than most plain grains.  Not bad for a healthy breakfast, especially with some fruit.

B-Savory Sauce & Marinade

This recipe comes from The No Meat Athlete Cookbook, pg. 232.  I've been making it every week or so to marinate and bake tofu.  I slice up a brick of tofu and then marinate it for anywhere between 30 minutes and 24 hours in the fridge.  Then I bake the slices in a preheated 400 degree oven for 40 minutes, flipping them over at the halfway point.  

Ingredients:

1/2 cup nutritional yeast

1/4 cup reduced sodium tamari

2 tbs apple cider vinegar

2 tbs balsamic vinegar

2 tbs vegan Worcestershire sauce

1 tbs + 1 tsp maple syrup

2 tsp Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp ground turmeric

1/4 tsp black pepper

Directions:

1) Combine all ingredients in a resealable container. Can be refrigerated for up to 3 weeks and yields enough to marinate 4 blocks of tempeh or tofu, or 16 portobello caps.

2) For Buddha bowl tofu, slice 1 tofu brick into fourths.  Marinate for at 30 minutes to 24 hours in refrigerator.

3) Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

4) Bake marinated tofu on baking sheet for 20 minutes, flip, and then bake for another 20 minutes.  Reserve remaining marinade in resealable container in the refrigerator for another use.

5) Cube baked tofu.  Throw some into a Buddha bowl and put the rest in a sealed container in the refrigerator for next time.

Black Bean Burgers from HNTD

I have a recipe titled "the best black bean burger," but this newer one is actually better AND easier.  It's from The How Not to Die Cookbook.  I'm copying it here so I don't have to get my cookbook out every time I make a grocery list or make these burgers.

Ingredients
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup walnut pieces
1 1/4-inch piece fresh turmeric, grated (or 1/4 tsp ground)
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1/3 cup chopped mushrooms
1 1/2 cups cooked or 1 15-ounce can black beans, well rinsed and drained
2 tbs tahini or almond butter
1 tbs ground flaxseeds
1 tbs nutritional yeast
1 tbs chopped fresh parsley
2 tsp white miso paste
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp Savory Spice Blend

Directions

1)  Pulse the oats, walnuts, and other dry ingredients in a food processor until they are finely ground. Add the onion, mushrooms, beans, tahini, and flaxseeds, and pulse until well combined. Add the remaining ingredients and pulse to mix well.

2) Pinch some of the mixture between your thumb and index finger to test whether it holds together. If the mixture is too wet, add more oats. If the mixture is too dry, add a little water, 1 tbs at a time. Transfer mixture to a work surface and divide into four equal portions. Shape each into a patty about 1/2-inch thick and transfer to a plate. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

3) Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

4) Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper and arrange the burgers on it. Bake until hot and lightly browned, turning once, about 25 minutes. Serve hot, as desired.

Mexican Omelet

This is a knock-off of the omelet I like best at French Roast NYC.  All amounts are poorly estimated from memory.  It tastes dramatically better with Gruyere than with any other cheese.  I'm not sure why, but I've tried it with whatever I had on hand (frequently cheddar) and it wasn't as good.

Ingredients
3 eggs
1/3 cup Gruyere, shredded (is that a normal amount of cheese for an omelet? you just want a normal amount.)
1/4 cup tomato, diced
2 tbs guacamole
salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Directions

1) Whisk the eggs, salt, and pepper in a mixing cup.  Heat the skillet, and lightly oil.  I like to spray it with Pam and then melt a pat of butter onto it.  Keep the heat medium or lower so the eggs don't brown.

2) Pour the eggs into the skillet and allow to cook for about fifteen seconds.  Add shredded Gruyere, tomatoes, and guacamole on one half.  Then fold the other half of the eggs over the filling.  Cook just long enough for cheese to melt and eggs inside to finish cooking.  Serve immediately.

Nut-Crusted Tofu

This recipe comes from The No Meat Athlete Cookbook.  The ingredients are the same, but I've simplified the directions to make it less messy.  This is one of my favorite protein-rich dishes.  It's so good.

Ingredients
1/2 cup roasted, shelled pistachios (if salted, don't add salt to the bread crumb mixture)
1/4 cup whole wheat bread crumbs (I like Panko)
1 shallot, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp grated lemon zest
1/2 tsp dried tarragon
Salt and black pepper
One 16-oz package extra-firm tofu, drained and sliced lengthwise into 8 pieces
1 tbs Dijon mustard
1 tbs lemon juice

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Chop pistachios in food processor until they are roughly the size of bread crumbs. On a plate, combine them with bread crumbs, tarragon, lemon zest, salt and fresh ground pepper.

3. In a tall glass or measuring cup, combine lemon juice, Dijon mustard, shallot, and garlic.

4. Use a pastry brush to coat the tofu all over with the wet mixture.  Then press each side into the breadcrumb mixture.

5. Place the tofu slices on the baking sheet.  Bake for about 20 minutes, gently flipping the tofu slices over once at the halfway point.  They are done when slightly browned. 

Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Salad Dressing

I was going to make Neal Barnard's Roasted Red Pepper salad dressing, as found on Healthy Girl's Kitchen, but I started getting things out and ended up making it my own way instead.  It's still vegan, no-oil, and no-salt.  It's not very vinegary since I'm not super into vinegar, and it tastes good plain on a spoon, so we'll see how it tastes when diluted over an entire salad.  I think lemon zest and juice could also be a good addition or replacement for the vinegar, but I have no lemons right now.

Ingredients
1 12 oz. jar roasted red peppers, drained and rinsed
1 15 oz. can white beans, drained and rinsed (I used cannellini because it's what I had on hand, but great northern and probably even butter beans would work equally well)
1 1/2 tbs white balsamic vinegar (because that's how much I'd used when I realized the bottle was empty)
1 tbs fig-infused balsamic vinegar (because it smelled milder and more appealing to me than my plain balsamic)
1 tsp Mrs. Dash original salt-free blend (because I have two varieties of Mrs. Dash from when I first read Esselstyn and Fuhrman's books, and I never really use them)

Directions

1.  Put all ingredients in a food processor or blender (I used my Vitamix for optimal smoothness) and blend until smooth.  Store in sealed jars in the refrigerator for (I'm guessing here) up to two weeks.  Makes two standard size mason jars worth of dressing.

Vegetarian Italian Sausage

I made this vegetarian Italian sausage yesterday because I had some free time and the grocery store I went to didn't have any ready made ones in stock (Tofurky makes good ones).  I used this recipe from everydaydish.tv.
   I was surprised when I tried them today in advance of using them in penne alla vodka and discovered they are the best fake meat I've ever had.  Not only is the flavor great (and not very spicy at all the way I made it), but even the texture is good.  I don't normally like to eat seitan plain, but I kept eating this stuff plain and cold.  I want to try it in a crusty hot dog bun with mustard and sauerkraut.  My recipe below will look slightly different from the original in the link because I used what I had.

Ingredients

• 2¼ cups vital wheat gluten
• ½ cup nutritional yeast flakes
• ¼ cup chickpea flour (I apparently used up the gram flour -- Indian split chickpea flour -- in my pantry, so I ended up grinding some dried chickpeas into flour in my Vitamix dry container)
• 2 tbsp vegan Chik'n flavoring
• 2 tbs onion powder
• 1 tbs fennel seed (I have whole fennel seed, so I crushed it roughly with a mortar & pestle first)
• 2 tsp coarsely ground pepper, preferably freshly ground
• 2 tsp ground paprika
• 1 tsp ground smoked paprika
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp salt
• ⅛ tsp ground allspice
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 2¼ cups cool water
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp soy sauce (full sodium)

 Directions

1.  Mix together dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Whisk wet ingredients (water, oil, soy sauce) and add to dry ingredient mixture.  Incorporate everything with your hands -- I broke a rubber spatula trying to stir this stuff.  If your dough is too dry, add water in small amounts.

2.  Scoop about 1/2 cup of dough into a square of aluminum foil, roll it into a log shape, and twist it up tight like a Tootsie Roll.  Do the same with the rest of the dough (makes about 8 sausages). 

3.  If you have a steamer, bring water to a boil and put the foiled sausages in the food portion of the steamer and cook for 30 minutes.  If you are like me and don't have a steamer and your vegetable steaming basket is garbage and collapses under the weight of any food, you can do what I did.  I have a wire strainer that looks like it's made of window screen.  I put half the sausages into the strainer over a pot of boiling water and covered the pot with its own lid.  The sausages had to curve a bit, but it was fine.  Cook for 30 minutes, then do the same with the other half of the sausages (because that's how much fits in my strainer at one time).  I kept the sausages wrapped in foil and just put them in a ziploc bag in the fridge until I planned to use them.  (The strainer method is also how I steam vegetables.  I should really just throw away my vegetable steaming basket, but I keep thinking maybe I'm just somehow using it wrong because it had such good reviews on Amazon.)

Best Seitan

I have been making my own homemade seitan for years, but I found a significantly better recipe than the one I posted previously.  It's the base for HellYeahItsVegan's fried chicken, which is how I first encountered it, but I also use it sliced up in stir-fry, ground up and stirred into marinara for spaghetti or lasagna, and pretty much any time I would use seitan.  The spicing is amazing.

Ingredients

• 1½ c vital wheat gluten
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1½ tsp cumin
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper
• ½ tsp chili powder
• 1 c cold water
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce (Annie's brand makes a good one, and Whole Foods tends to carry at least a couple brands)

Broth:

• 5 c water
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp vegan Worcestershire sauce

Directions:

1.  Mix together dry ingredients in a large bowl.

2.  Mix together wet ingredients in a measuring cup and add to dry ingredients.

3. Knead and mold dough into a ball.

4.  Divide dough into at least 6 pieces, pull and shape them into thin patties (as thin as you can -- they thicken substantially during cooking).  The more you knead the dough, the better the texture since this is gluten.  Don't be too gentle.

5.   Mix together broth ingredients.  Add patties to the broth, bring to a boil, boil for ten minutes, then cover and simmer for one hour, flipping them halfway through.

Drain the finished product.  You can dredge them in flour and fry them, bake them, slice and stir-fry them, or grind them up and use like you would ground beef.  They also freeze well.

Dal Makhani

I found this recipe for slow cooker dal makhani on novicehousewife.com.  I just made it for the first time today and wanted to jot down the changes I made (some by accident, some because I didn't have the called for ingredient) because I want to be able to recreate it again.  It is fantastic.  It takes hours and hours in the slow cooker, but it takes very little active work.  The original recipe is at the link.  The version below is what I did today.  The Indian groceries near our house aren't that well stocked or particularly cheap, so I got my dals from Amazon.  My comments are in italics.

I'm not sure how much it would affect the flavor, but if you skipped the ghee (and the milk, or substituted coconut milk), it would be both oil free and vegan.  I'm going to try it at some point since I forgot to include half the ghee in the original recipe the first time I made this and it tasted as good as any dal makhani I've ever had from a restaurant. 

Ingredients

• 1 cup urad saboot (whole unskinned black lentils, also called black matpe beans)
• ½ cup dry red kidney beans
• 2 tbsp channa dal
• 2 tbsp ghee (clarified butter -- optional, and I no longer include it)
• 1½ tsp salt, or to taste (I use closer to 1/2 tsp)
• 4 cups water
• 1 cup ready made tomato puree (I used my grocery store's canned organic tomato sauce)
• ¼ tsp nutmeg powder
• 1 tsp roasted cumin powder
• 2 tbsp kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves -- I only noticed as I started cooking that it calls for leaves and I only have dried methi seeds.  I substituted 1/2 tbs methi seeds and the finished product was great.)
• pinch garam masala
• ½ tsp amchur powder (raw mango powder -- can be found in Indian grocery stores)
• ½ tsp black salt (can be found in Indian grocery stores -- I ordered Hawaiian black lava salt from Amazon as that was all I could find.  If it's not the same thing, it doesn't seem to make a difference.)
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• ½ tsp onion powder

Grind to paste (I just ran them through a food processor because I am lazy.)

• 2 dry, whole red chillies, preferably Kashmiri red chillies- deseeded and soaked for 10 minutes and then drained (I used dry "japones" from India that I found at my regular grocery store.  I also think it would be reasonable to use chili-ginger-garlic paste as a shortcut for all three ingredients)
• 1 inch piece ginger
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder

To Add later

• ½ cup milk mixed with ½ cup cream (I would consider this optional.  I ate an entire bowl of the dal makhani before I got to this step and it was fantastic.  You could also substitute lite coconut milk for a tasty vegan option.)
• 2-3 tbs fresh cilantro, finely chopped

Directions

1. Boil the red kidney beans for 10 minutes, then drain and rinse.  
2. While the red kidney beans are boiling, rinse the channa dal and urad saboot.  Add them to the slow cooker.  When the red kidney beans have been boiled and rinsed, add them to the slow cooker too.  Add the ghee, salt, water, and chilli-ginger-garlic paste.  Give a stir, set slow cooker to "low," and cook overnight. 
3. The next morning, mash the lentils a bit and add the tomato puree, kasoori methi, cayenne pepper, roasted cumin powder, nutmeg powder, amchur powder, coriander powder, black salt, and onion powder and let cook on low for another 4-6 hours.  If it starts to dry out or overcook, change slow cooker to "warm" setting until you're ready to eat.
4. Just before serving, add the garam masala powder and if you like the cream and milk, or just milk.
5. Add the chopped cilantro and serve with rice, naan or roti.

 

Best Crispy Breaded Tofu Strips

I think I've perfected the crispy breaded tofu strip recipe.  Simran likes this one best anyway.  This one is 100% whole grain breading and contains no oil.  You can even make it no salt by not salting the breading (there is also salt in the creole seasoning, but you can control that too since you have to make it from scratch).

Ingredients

1 package firm or extra firm tofu

1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk (or other unflavored non-dairy milk)

1 tbsp cornstarch

1/3 cup cornmeal

1/2 cup rolled oats

1 tbs Kid-Friendly Creole Seasoning

1/2 tsp kosher salt

Directions

1. Drain the tofu, wrap with a couple clean kitchen towels, and top with a shatter-resistant plate and some canned goods.  Let it sit for 20 minutes or so to squeeze out the water.

2. Meanwhile, whisk together the milk and cornstarch in a shallow dish. In a food processor, pulse the rolled oats a few times until they're about halfway between being oats and flour.  Add the corn meal, salt, and seasoning. Set aside. Preheat oven to 400F and prepare a baking sheet with non-stick parchment paper (this is how you can avoid needing oil).

3. Slice tofu into 8-9 strips, lengthwise, depending on how thick you want them. With one hand dip the tofu strip into the milk mixture and then into the cornmeal/breadcrumb mixture. Use other hand to sprinkle dry mixture all over the tofu. Coat both sides entirely and then place on baking sheet. Repeat with the rest.

4. Bake tofu on middle rack at 400F. Bake for 20 minutes, then flip the tofu, and then bake for another 15-20 minutes until crispy. Remove and serve with ketchup or dip of your choice.

Black Bean & Citrus Salad

This recipe comes from Caldwell Esselstyn's Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease.

Ingredients
1 large onion, diced (1 cup)
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced (1 cup)
6 oranges, sectioned, membranes ad pith removed (1 1/2 cups)
2 tsp orange zest
1/4 cup fresh orange juice, reserved from orange sections
3 tbs fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 - 1/2 tsp Tabasco or other hot sauce
1/2 - 1 cup chopped cilantro
2 15-oz cans black beans, drained and rinsed
arugula or baby spinach

Directions

1. Stir-fry onion and pepper in a nonstick sauce pan over medium heat until just tender. Add orange juice or water as necessary. Set aside.

2. Place orange sections in a large bowl.

3. Combine orange zest, orange juice, lime juice, cumin, and Tabasco in a bowl.

4. Add onion mixture, cilantro, and beans to orange sections. Add juice mixture and toss to combine. Serve over a bed of arugula or baby spinach.

Slow-Cooker Refried Beans

Ingredients
2 cups dried pinto beans
8 cups water
3 small (or 2 large) yellow onions, quartered
2 jalapeno chiles, seeded and roughly chopped

"Taco Spice"
2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp chili powder

Directions

1. Put all ingredients into slow cooker.  Turn it on low and ignore it for about 8 hours.  Alternately, you can cook on high for about 3 hours.


2. Turn off slow cooker and drain as much water as you can from the beans.


3. Use an immersion blender to puree the cooked bean mixture.  If you don't have an immersion blender, wait until the beans cool to put the mixture in a blender in batches.


4. (Optional) Add a few tablespoons of salsa and/or low-fat plain yogurt to make a creamy bean dip.  Also tastes good as a spread in quesadillas and hot sandwiches.

Tofu, Provençal Style

This recipe comes from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian.

Ingredients
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 tbs minced garlic
1 large or 2 medium onions, chopped
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and chopped
Large pinch saffron threads (optional -- do it, it tastes better with the saffron)
1 tsp fresh marjoram, oregano, or thyme or 1/4 tsp dried (I use 1 tsp herbs de provence to get the best of all worlds.)
2 tbs drained capers
2 cups chopped tomato (canned is fine), with juices
1 cup good-quality black or green olives or a mixture, pitted
1 1/2 to 2 lbs firm or extra-firm tofu, preferably pan- or deep-fried, or cooked in another fashion, but frozen or even fresh and blotted dry will do, cut into 3/4-inch cubes (I pan fry them, but in lots of grapeseed oil and for a few minutes on each side.)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Chopped fresh parsley leaves for garnish

Directions

1. Put the oil in a large, deep skillet, preferably non-stick, over medium heat.  When hot, add the garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until it begins to take on some color, just a minute or so. Add the onions and the bell pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the saffron, herb, and capers and stir, then add the tomato and olives. Stir, bring to a boil, and cook until the sauce thickens a bit, about 10 minutes.

2. Add the tofu and cook, stirring once or twice, until it's swollen slightly and heated through, about 5 minutes. Taste and add salt if necessary and plenty of black pepper.  Garnish and serve.

Vegan Meatballs

I like having something in my spaghetti sauce, like ground seitan or vegan meatballs.  I've already tried one vegan meatball recipe from myvegancookbook.com, but despite how impressed I was, Simran didn't care for it, so now I'm trying the other.  I like to make such things in advance and throw them in a ziploc bag in the freezer for later.

Ingredients

• 1/2 Cup Cooked Lentils
• 1 Cup Cooked Brown Rice
• 1/4 Cup Old Fashioned Oats
• 1/4 Cup + 2 Tablespoons Wheat Germ
• 2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 2 Teaspoons Lemon Juice
• 1/4 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
• 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
• 1/2 Teaspoon Black Pepper
• 1 Teaspoon Balsamic Vinegar
• 1/8 Teaspoon Nutmeg
• 1/2 Teaspoon Chili Powder
• 1/2 Teaspoon Chipotle Chili Powder
• 1/2 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 1 Teaspoon Onion Powder
• 2 Teaspoons Molasses
• 2 Teaspoons Dry Mustard

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

2. Mix ingredients together in a bowl. Measure out 2 tablespoons of mixture for each meatball and roll into a ball with your hands. Spray cooking sheet and place meatballs on it.

3. Place into oven and cook 15 minutes on one side and roll over and cook 15 minutes on the other side. After they are out of the oven, let stand for about 10 minutes to allow them to firm up.

[Edited 3/12/2014:  These had far too mustardy a taste.  The ones in the link above are much better.]

Red Lentil & Squash Curry Stew

I found this recipe on OhSheGlows.com, and it's quite good and very healthy and very cheap to make.  I've adjusted the directions based on the easier, lazier way I make this.

Ingredients

• 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil (or ghee, if you don't care if it's vegan, or alternately skip the oil altogether)
• 1 sweet onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp good quality curry powder (or more to taste -- I like Badia's Jamaican style curry powder)
• 4 cups vegetable broth (I use low-sodium)
• 1 cup red lentils
• 3 cups cooked butternut squash (I've also used pumpkin, or any sort of winter squash I have on hand -- if you don't want to bother cooking it in advance, add the squash when you add the lentils and cook until tender)
• 1 cup greens of choice
• Fresh grated ginger, to taste (optional)
• Kosher salt & black pepper, to taste (about 1/2 tsp salt, if using low-sodium broth)

Directions

1. In a large pot, add olive oil (if using -- or ghee, if using that) and chopped onion.  Sautee for about 5 minutes over low-medium heat.  [To avoid using oil, use a non-stick pot or simply let everything cook by boiling in the broth.]

2. Stir in minced garlic and grated ginger (or ginger paste, as I use).  Cook another couple minutes.  Stir in curry powder and broth and lentils and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook for 10 minutes.

3. Stir in cooked butternut squash and greens of choice. Cook over medium heat for about 5-8 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and add some freshly grated ginger to taste.

Tofu Pot Pie

I've been making and loving this recipe for years, so I was shocked to see I hadn't actually posted it here yet.  It's based on Alton Brown's Curry Chicken Pot Pie.

Ingredients
2 batches pie crust (one for bottom and one for top)

8 oz (about half a package) firm or extra-firm tofu, cubed

2 cups chopped vegetable mix (peas, carrots, green beans, corn -- can be fresh or frozen, just use whatever you've got)

2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 cups low sodium vegetable broth
1 cup milk (I often use soy or almond milk, which work fine.)
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon curry powder (I use Badia brand -- the yellow Jamaican-style kind -- even when it means buying it in bulk on Amazon.)

1 tablespoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

Directions

1. Pre-cook one pie crust and set aside to cool -- can be several hours in advance or just before making filling.  Put remaining pie dough in a sealed container in the refrigerator.

2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

3. In a saute pan, lightly brown the tofu (butter/oil optional).  Set aside tofu, add a tablespoon of butter to pan and sweat the onion and celery. In a second small saucepan, start to heat the broth and milk. Add another tablespoon of butter and all the remaining vegetables to the celery mix, and heat through, cooking out as much water as possible. Whisk the flour and curry into the milk and cook until thickened. Season with parsley, salt and pepper. Add the tofu back in to the saute pan with the vegetables. Fill cooled pie crust with as much vegetable/tofu mixture as it can comfortably hold, then pour in milk mixture to fill in and top off (do not overfill or it can bubble over through the crust). Roll out remaining pie dough into a sheet and lay it across pot pie.  Pinch edges shut, trim off excess, and cut four 1-2 inch slits in the center of the crust to let out steam.  Place into the oven and cook until top of pie has browned lightly and the mixture is hot and bubbly, about 25 minutes.  (You can use extra vegetable mixture, milk gravy, and dough to make tiny pot pies and freeze them for later.  Alternately, you can cook excess pie dough in ramekins and make them into little tarts for dessert.)

[ETA 2/22/20: I've changed how I make the gravy and wanted to make note.  I make a cup of broth with vegetable Better Than Bouillon then add corn starch instead of flour.  No milk.  Resulting concoction is very salty but more flavorful than most broths, so I compensate by under-salting the tofu/veg mixture and the finished product evens out.  Don't use all the gravy.  Put tofu/veg mixture in the pie crust first, then add gravy so that it fills in around it.  It shouldn't cover the veg entirely.]