Ingredients:

for the Italian TVP Balls:

• 1 cup tvp
• 1 teaspoon vegetable bouillon powder
• pinch salt pinch garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup dried bread crumbs
• 1 cup boiling water

for the Italian tomato sauce:

• 1 can crushed tomatoes
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1-2 tablespoons oil
• pinch salt
• pinch garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon Italian herbs
• splash lemon juice
• splash Tabasco (optional)

for the meal:

• 1 package frozen chopped spinach
• 1&1/2 cups rice
• 1-2 tablespoons oil to fry the tvp balls
• chopped black olives as garnish

Directions:

to prepare the Italian tvp balls:

1. Place the cup of tvp in a medium large bowl.
2. Add the seasonings and chopped onion.
3. Add the boiling water and put a plate or lid on top and allow the tvp to swell. (5 minutes)
4. As the tvp becomes soft add the bread crumbs and stir well to mix. It may need a bit more hot water. Stir again, and the mixture will become a sturdy mass.
5. When the tvp mixture is cool enough to handle, form balls.
6. We got about 20 balls about the size of golf balls or walnuts.

to prepare the rice:

1. Bring 3 cups of lightly salted water to boil.
2. Add the rice and cook until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is soft. When done, place a lid on top and set aside.

to make the Italian tvp balls:

1. Fry the Italian tvp balls in 1-2 tablespoons of oil.
2. Heat the oil in a large frying pan.
3. Place the formed balls in the oil and fry lightly until golden brown.

to make the tomato sauce:

1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a pan.
2. Saute the chopped onion until glassy.
3. Add the can of crushed tomatoes.
4. Add the Italian seasonings.
5. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper, and Tabasco as desired.

In a small saucepan, heat the spinach.

to serve:

1. Place a generous amount of rice on a plate.
2. Add a nice layer of tomato sauce.
3. Top with 3 or 4 tvp balls and a few spoonfuls of the spinach here and there.
4. Sprinkle chopped black lives as a garnish.

Yield: 8 generous crespelle

Ingredients:

for the crespelle:

• 1 cup soy milk
• 1&1//3 cup water
• 1/2 cup vegan margarine, melted
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tablespoons egg replacement powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

for the filling:

• 5-6 cups fresh spinach, washed, trimmed and chopped
• 2 shallots, chopped
• 3/4 cup soy yogurt
• 3 teaspoons vegetable bouillon powder
• 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 2 teaspoons mustard

for the sauce:

• 1 cup soy yogurt
• 2 teaspoons mustard
• 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast (more if desired)
• 2 teaspoons vegetable bouillon powder
• splash white wine for thinning
• baking oil to spray on the crepe pan

Directions:

for the filling:

1. Clean and trim the spinach and chop or julienne into strips.
2. I steamed the spinach as that way it retains more of the nutrients and takes less time and electricity.
3. When the spinach is wilted, squeeze off the water and place in a bowl.
4. In a second bowl, prepare the filling mixture.
5. When the spinach has cooled a bit, add to the mixture and stir to mix well.

for the crespelle:

1. Place all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix well.

for the sauce:

1. In a separate bowl, mix the sauce ingredients.
2. Season to taste with additional nutritional yeast salt and or white pepper.

to make the crespelle:

1. Heat a crepe pan or medium frying pan.
2. Spray with oil.
3. Pour a thin layer of batter over the bottom and allow to cook.
4. When the top is dry, flip to brown the other side.
5. When it has browned, turn out onto a plate and continue making crespelle.
6. While a crespelle is cooking, you can fill the previous one and roll it up.
7. Place a thin layer of the sauce on the bottom of an oven proof baking dish and lay the finished crespelle in the bottom.
8. Check on the crespelle that is cooking – flip it over.
9. Preheat the oven to a low temperature just to keep the crespelle warm.
10. Continue making and filling crespelle. Top the completed crespelle with sauce and place in the oven to warm.
11. Serve warmed and garnished with a few chives.

Notes:

The recipe can be halved for 2 people, making 4-5 generous crespelle.

Vaishali has created a delicious meal here. Basically the recipe is quick and simple to make, the only tricky part is having the ingredients to make the sambar curry powder. We enjoyed the meal over white rice. This is one we look forward to having more often. We hope you give the recipe a try and enjoy t as much as we did.

Serving Size: 4

Ingredients:

for the vegetables:

• 3 medium carrots
• 3 medium red skinned potatoes
• 1/2 small cauliflower
• 2 parsnips
• 1/4 pumpkin or butternut squash
• olive oil for baking

for the vegan creamed spinach:

• 1 & 1/2 lb. fresh spinach (or 1 package frozen)
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 small onion
• 1 clove garlic
• 2-3 tablespoons soy yogurt
• pinch salt and pepper
• pinch of nutmeg (optional but very nice)
• 2-3 tablespoons dried bread crumbs to thicken

for the English piccalilli:

• 1 jar English piccalilli

Directions:

1. Peel the carrots and slice as you wish to present them.
2. Scrub the red skinned potatoes well and slice in thick rounds.
3. Break the cauliflower into smaller florets.
4. Peel and slice the parsnips as desired.
5. Peel and slice the pumpkin into similar sized shapes as the parsnips and carrots.
6. Place all in a baking dish and drizzle the oil over the vegetables.
7. Sprinkle with a bit of salt and bake in a preheated 450 F /  232 C oven for 25-35 minutes.
8. After about 15-20 minutes of baking, take baking dish out of the oven and turn the vegetables so that they cook evenly. Check for doneness with a fork. Return for another 10 minutes or as needed.
9. While the vegetables are baking, make the spinach sauce.
10. Clean the spinach and roughly chop.
11. Chop the onion and mince the garlic.
12. Heat the oil in a large frying pan.
13. Add the onions and saute.
14. When the onions begin to soften, add the garlic and then the spinach.
15. Stir well while the spinach is wilting.
16. Cook only until the spinach has wilted.
17. Remove from the heat and place in a large blow.
18. Depending on the amount of moisture, you may want to squeeze some of the liquid off.
19. Using a knife and fork, we further chopped the spinach. We did not want to puree the mass, only have a finely chopped spinach.
20. Add the soy yogurt, salt and pepper and nutmeg if using.
21. Stir to blend.
22. The mixture will be rather liquid, so you will want to add some dried bread crumbs to make it a thicker sort of dip or sauce. Start by adding 2 tablespoons of dried breadcrumbs. Add more if you wish it to be thicker.
23. When the vegetables are roasted, remove from the oven and allow to slightly cool.
24. Serve the roasted vegetables on a plate with both sauces.

Note:

We would suggest you buy a nice jar of piccalilli. All of the various brands here are vegan. If you want to make your own, our favorite piccalilli recipe (without the honey) is from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and just like other pickle recipes it takes about 6 weeks to season properly.

Serving Size: 2

Ingredients:

• 1 package frozen french fries
• 10 ounces /280 grams frozen spinach
• 1 cup vegan cheddar sauce

for the cheddar sauce:

• 4 tablespoons vegan margarine
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 cups soy milk
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
• 1-3 tablespoons miso
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• splash lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 – 1 teaspoon grainy mustard
• splash Tabasco
• pinch sugar or agave

Directions:

to make the cheddar sauce:

1. Melt the margarine in a saucepan.
2. Add the flour and stir to mix.
3. Add the soy milk and stir to bed a thick sauce.
4. Add the salt, nutritional yeast, onion and garlic powders, stir well to mix.
5. Remove from the heat and add the miso, lemon juice and mustard.
6. Season to taste with a pinch of sugar and possibly some white pepper if desired.

for the spinach dip:

1. Thaw and drain the spinach and place in a bowl.
2. Add the cheddar sauce and puree to a smooth consistency.
3. Season to taste with additional salt, lemon juice or mustard.

Cook the french fries according to the instructions on the package.
We prefer oven baked.
Serve the fries with a small bowl of dip.

Serving Size: 6

Ingredients:

• 10-12 large pasta shells
• 2 cups fresh pumpkin, cut in small cubes
• 1 package fresh spinach- about 4 cups, cleaned

for the soy ricotta:

• 1 cup soy yogurt
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons tahini
• dash dried onions
• dash dried garlic
• 1 tablespoon miso
• pinch salt and pepper
• optionally paprika and dry mustard as desired

for the tomato sauce:

• 1 can crushed tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1-2 cloves garlic
• 1 tablespoon Italian herbs
• splash lemon juice
• salt and pepper
• splash Tabasco (optional)

Directions:

Begin by making the soy ricotta.
In a medium bowl, mix the soy yogurt, nutritional east lemon juice, miso salt and pepper.
Season to taste with additional spices as desired

Steam the small pumpkin cubes al dente, remove from the heat and set aside.
Steam the spinach, when wilted and soft, place the spinach in a medium bowl.
Chop with a knife and fork as you would on a plate.
Drain any extra liquid that comes from the spinach.
Add the soy ricotta a tablespoon at a time. At about 2 or 3 tablespoons, it should be the right consistency for your filling. The rest can be used as dollops on top of the shells and around the baking dish.

Make the tomato sauce.
Heat the oil in a small saucepan.
Saute the onions.
Add the tomatoes, herbs and garlic.
Season to taste with a splash of lemon juice, Tabasco, alt and pepper.

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to boil.
Put the pasta shells in ad cook about 5 minutes until al dente. Be careful to not over cook, as they will become too soft to fill and tear.
Place a bit of the tomato sauce in the bottom of an ovenproof baking dish.
Preheat the oven to 350 F / 177 C.
Remove the shells from the boiling water. Drain and extra water that may be in the shell.
Fill the shell with about a tablespoon of spinach mixture and add the pumpkin cubes.
Place the shell on the tomato sauce in the baking dish. Continue filling all the shells.
Place any extra tomato sauce around the shells and dollop some of the soy ricotta.
Place a lid or aluminum foil over the top of the baking dish and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.

Notes:

We enjoyed this meal with a mixed salad, a whole grain baguette and a lovely organic wine.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup white wine or white balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons maple or agave syrup
• pinch salt
• dash white pepper
• 2-3 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only
• 1 onion, sliced
• 2 apples, washed, cored and sliced
• 10-12 ounces fresh spinach, cleaned and trimmed
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

1. Mix the white vinegar, wine, lemon juice syrup, salt, pepper and thyme in a small bowl, and set aside.
2. Clean and slice the apples into the vinegar/wine sauce.
3. Place 1 tablespoon oil in a small pot, saute the onion rings until glassy and soft.
4. Add the apples and vinegar wine sauce and cook until the apples are soft, but not mushy.
5. Remove from the heat.
6. In a large frying pan, heat the other tablespoon of olive oil. Saute the spinach until just wilted.
7. Place on a serving dish and drizzle the apple, onion sauce on top.

Serving Size: 4

Ingredients:

• 250 grams / 8.8 oz tofu crumbled
• 1/2 cup soy yogurt
• 2 teaspoons grainy mustard
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric for color
• dash or two of Tabasco sauce
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 3 ounces spicy tofu pieces, diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 red pepper, diced
• salt and pepper
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 cups fresh baby spinach, chiffonade
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 1/2 cup shredded soy cheese
• 1/8 cup soy milk
• 6 sheets vegan puff pastry dough, thawed
• poppy and sesame seeds, optional

Directions:

1. Blend soy yogurt mustard, nutritional yeast, Tabasco and turmeric together and set aside.
2. Prepare the onions, garlic, red pepper, spinach and tofu pieces.
3. Heat the olive oil over medium heat.
4. Saute the onion until it begins to soften and become glassy.
5. Add the red pepper pieces and continue sauteing.
6. Add the spicy tofu pieces.
7. Add the spinach and cook until lightly wilted.
8. Add the cherry tomatoes and crumbled tofu.
9. Stir well.
10. Add the soy yogurt mixture and cook until the mixture begins to become sold and the liquids are coked off.
11. Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 shredded soy cheese
12. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a Silpat or parchment paper.
13. Place the 6 sheets of thawed puff pastry next to each other in a row 3 by 2, slightly overlapping and using soy milk to connect the overlapping slices together.
14. Spoon the tofu mixture down center of pastry, leaving a one inch margin on top and bottom and three inch borders on each side.
15. Cut pastry on side borders into one inch strips.
16. Crisscross strips over top of filling, lightly brush each tip with soy milk to help stick the strips together.
17. Brush top and sides of pastry with soy milk and top with seeds if desired.
18. Bake for 30 minutes or until pastry is golden brown and puffed.
19. Remove from oven and let cool a bit before slicing to serve.

Notes:

You can also make smaller versions by filling individual pastry sheets and therefor have individual parcels.

Yield: 1 & 1/2 cups hummus

Ingredients:

• 1 or 2 whole grain flour tortillas per person
• 1-2 tablespoon spinach hummus per wrap
• 1 red onion, sliced in fine rings
• 1-2 mushrooms per wrap, sliced
• 2 cherry tomatoes per wrap, sliced

for the spinach hummus:

• 1 can chickpeas, drained
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder or 1-2 cloves garlic minced
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons tahini
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• pinch of cayenne or dash of Tabasco
• 2 cups fresh spinach, cleaned and blanched

Directions:

to make the spinach hummus (about 1&1/2 cups):

1. Blanch the spinach by bring a pot of water to oil. Cook the spinach for a minute then drain and plunge into cold water.
2. Place the chickpeas, olive oil, lemon juice and tahini n a food processor and puree to a fine smooth mass.
3. Add the seasonings. and blend again.
4. Squeeze the water fro the spinach and ad the spinach to the mixture.
5. Puree once again to form a nice smooth hummus.
6. Season to taste with additional seasonings as needed.

to make the wraps:

1. Spread some about a tablespoon of the hummus on each flour tortilla.
2. Add the slices of mushrooms and tomatoes.
3. Top with some of the red onion rings and roll the wraps.

Serving Size: 4

Ingredients:

for the Panko herb breaded eggplant:

• 1 eggplant, sliced thinly
• 1/4 cup soy milk
• 1/4 cup flour, seasoned with salt and Italian herbs
• 1 cup Japanese breadcrumbs called Panko
• oil for frying the eggplant

for the Spinach Pesto:

• 2 cups fresh spinach, washed
• 2 tablespoons green olive tapenade
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• pinch salt
• dash lemon juice
• dash garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 2 tablespoons almond flour
• water to thin the mixture
• 500 grams (18 oz) whole wheat pasta
• tomatoes as garnish

Directions:

to make the pesto:

1. Put all the pesto ingredients in a food processor or blender and puree to an even mixture.

for the breaded eggplant:

1. Place the flour and herb mixture in a shallow bowl or saucer.
2. Place the soy milk in a shallow blow.
3. Place the Panko in a shallow bowl or saucer.
4. Slice the eggplant in 1/4 inch rounds.
5. Dredge both sides of each eggplant round in the flour mixture, then in the soy milk then in the Panko mixture.
6. Heat the oil in a frying pan.
7. We served the eggplants on a small bed of whole wheat pasta. If you choose to do so also, then at this time, start the pot of lightly salted water and when it comes to a boil, add the pasta.
8. Meanwhile, lightly fry the eggplant rounds until golden on each side.
9. When the pasta is ready, drain and mix a bit of the pesto sauce on the pasta.
10. Serve the pasta with a couple of eggplant rounds and a generous dollop of pesto on top.
11. We garnished the meal with slices of tomato.

Notes:

You can use many different greens to make the pesto, basil is the most traditional. We had fresh spinach on hand so used that. It was very tasty. You can also use any bread crumbs to make this, but the Panko are especially nice and add an extra crunchiness.