Serving Size: 4

Ingredients:

• 3-4 spring onions green parts only, chopped (chives)
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup walnuts, some chopped some whole
• 1 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 medium radicchio, sliced
• 4 tablespoons walnut or olive oil
• 1 cup risotto rice
• 6 – 8 ounces smoked tofu (180 grams)
• 1 lemon juiced
• 1/4 cup white wine (optional but nice)
• 2 cups vegetable bouillon
• 1/4 cup grated soy cheese
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Chop the walnuts and lightly toast in a pan.
2. Slice the onion and mince garlic.
3. Cut the spring onions to make chives (small round green onion pieces).
4. Julienne the radicchio.
5. Grate the soy cheese.
6. Toast the walnut pieces in a dry frying pan. Be careful that they do not burn.
7. Heat the oil in a large frying pan.
8. Add the onion slices and sate until glassy.
9. Add the risotto and garlic.
10. As the risotto becomes glassy, add the wine if using.
11. Allow the wine to be absurd, then add 1 cup of vegetable bouillon.
12. Add the toasted walnut pieces reserving a few as garnish.
13. Cook the risotto, stirring until the bouillon has been absorbed.
14. Add the second cup of vegetables bouillon and the tofu pieces.
15. Cook the risotto, stirring.
16. As the risotto becomes soft and is almost ready to be served, add the sliced radicchio and mix into the risotto. It does not take long for the radicchio to wilt and thus be ready.
17. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
18. Serve the meal with the chives sprinkled and a light dusting of soy cheese sprinkled on top.
19. Add a few walnut on top as well, and the meal is ready to be enjoyed.

Serving Size: 4

Ingredients:

• 1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped
• 1 small red bell pepper, deseeded and chopped
• 2 spring onions sliced
• 1 tablespoon vegan margarine
• 1 cup prepared vegan cream sauce*
• 8 ounces artichoke hearts, halved or quartered
• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
• 1 package spicy tofu pieces (about 1 & 1/2 cups or 10 ounces)
• 1 & 1/2 cups long grain rice or black and white mixture (white and wild rice)
• 1/2 cup soy cheese, grated
• 1/2 cup soy milk or other no-dairy milk
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• vegan Parmesan, soy cheese or dried bread crumbs as topping

for the vegan cream sauce:

• 1 cup soy cream or soy milk or soy yogurt
• 2 tablespoons vegetable bouillon powder
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce (optional but gives a bit of color and flavor)

Directions:

to prepare the rice:

1. Cook the rice in 3 cups lightly salted water.
2. Cook until the water has been almost completely absorbed (10 inures or so).
3. Remove from the heat and put a lid on the rice to allow it to further swell.

to make the vegan cream sauce:

1. Place the soy cream or soy yogurt in a medium saucepan.
2. Add the corn starch and stir well to mix.
3. Add the vegetable bouillon powder and soy sauce if using.
4. Heat the mixture until it becomes a nice thick sauce, stirring so that it does not scorch.
5. Remove from the heat.

to make the casserole:

1. In a large frying pan, melt the vegan margarine and saute the carrot, sweet bell pepper and green onion until the vegetables are al dente.
2. Remove from the heat.
3. Put the cooked rice in a large bowl.
4. Add the sauteed vegetables and then the prepared vegan cream sauce.
5. Add the artichoke, thawed peas, tofu, grated vegan cheese, thyme, and non-dairy milk.
6. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed.
7. Gently mix and pour into an oiled baking dish, or individual casserole dishes.
8. Sprinkle with vegan Parmesan, grated soy cheese or dried bread crumbs.
9. Bake, covered in a 350 F / 177 C oven for 10 minutes, uncover then bake for about 5 more minutes or until the mixture is bubbly.
10. We dusted the top with a pinch of sweet paprika for color.
11. Let stand for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Serving Size: 4

Ingredients:

• 1 & 1/2 cup lentils
• 4 cups water
• 1 vegetable bouillon cube
• 1 onion chopped (optional)
• 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped (optional)
• 1 tablespoon oil
• dash taco seasonings
• dash cayenne or Tabasco
• sun-dried tomatoes (optional)
• 1-2 tablespoons tomato paste (optional)
• 1 eggplant, cut in rounds
• oil for frying
• soy cheese, crumbled or grated
• rucola, chives or basil as garnish

Directions:

1. If you are including the onion and bell pepper, heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a pot and saute the chopped onion and bell pepper.
2. When the onion becomes glassy and the bell pepper pieces soft, add the lentils and stir well to mix the flavors.
3. Add the water ad bouillon cube.
4. Cook the lentils until the lentils are soft but al dente.
5. While the lentils are cooking, slice the eggplant and lightly fry on each side.
6. The eggplant slices can be kept warm in the oven until ready to serve the meal.
7. When the lentils are done, remove from the heat and drain off any excess liquid.
8. Add the seasonings and chopped sun-dried tomatoes if using.
9. Crumble a piece of soy cheese.
10. To assemble, lay a slice of eggplant on a plate, then a layer of lentils, then another pice of eggplant, then top with the lentils, optionally top with another slice of eggplant.
11. Garnish with some greens or basil and crumbled soy cheese.
12. Optionally if you would prefer the lentil mixture to stick together a bit more, 1-2 tablespoons of tomato paste can be added to the lentils.

Serving Size: 4

Ingredients:

• 2 medium celery roots (plan 2 nice slices per person)
• 14 ounces vegan cheese (we used 2 packages of Cheezly)
• 1 package (8 slices) vegan cold cut such as bologna or ham
• 3/4 cup dried bread crumbs
• 1 & 1/4 cups flour
• 1/2 cup water
• oil for frying
• 2 lemons

Directions:

This meal is a bit picky and messy to make. However, it is really worth the effort to make it. It tastes as delicious as I thought it would. What is picky, is the dredging, the keeping the various layers together through the “breading” process and placing the cordon bleu in the frying pan to be fried. Once one side has been fried to a golden brown, then the cheese has melted enough to hold it all together so turning it over is not so difficult.

Plan for 2 slices of cordon bleu per person or perhaps more if you have big eaters. That will mean 2 slices of celery root per person.
Plan 1 slice of vegan cheese for each celery root slice. It would be best to use a sort of vegan cheese that melts. However if that is not available other sorts of vegan cheese will work also. It would not be good to grate or shred the cheese, you will want it to be a slice that matches the size and shape of the celery root as closely as possible.
Plan 1 slice of vegan bologna or ham for each celery root slice.

First prepare the flour and breadcrumbs for the “breading” process.
Place 1/2 cup of flour in a deep plate or shallow bowl.
Place 3/4 – 1 cup of flour in a second deeper soup bowl or dish.
Mix the water with this flour to form a liquid paste.
Place the breadcrumbs in a 3rd shallow bowl.

Slice the vegan cheese into 8 thin slices.
Prepare 8 individual slices of vegan cold cut.
Slice the celery roots in thin 1/4 inch slices.
Trim the outer rind from the slice. If the slice is large, perhaps cut it into a half moon.
Dredge 1 side of the celery root in the dry flour.
Next dredge the same side into the wet flour paste.
Followed with dredging the same side through the breadcrumbs to cover that side with breadcrumbs.
While the celery slice is still sitting in the breadcrumbs, place a layer of vegan cheese on the top.
Add the vegan cold cut slice on top of the cheese.
Carefully take a spoonful of the wet flour mixture and cover the top of the vegan cold cut with the wet flour mixture. It may take 2 spoonfuls of the wet mixture to cover the area.
Next sprinkle or cover the wet flour mixture with the breadcrumbs, so that the top is also covered with breadcrumbs. You may want to slightly push the breadcrumbs on top into the flour paste so that all are evenly incorporated as the bottom of the slice is.
Do this for each of the celery root slices.
Heat a large frying pan with cooking oil.
When the oil is medium hot, carefully place the cordon bleu slices in the hot oil. I used a spatula to do this.
Fry the bottom side of the cordon bleu until it is golden brown. Then carefully turn the cordon bleu over to fry the other side golden brown.
You may want to keep the finished ones hot in the oven while you are frying the others.
Serve the cordon bleu with a lemon wedge as garish and to squeeze the juice on the cordon bleu as a condiment.

Notes:

I think 2 medium sized celery roots would be better than 1 large one because with the large one, the slices become such a big circle that they are difficult to work with, A medium sized slice is much handier to cook, and makes a nice sized serving.
If the frying oil becomes blackened with small breadcrumbs then I would suggest you clean the frying pan with paper towels and use some fresh oil. Otherwise the following cordon bleu will have to overcooked blackened breadcrumbs.
We enjoyed this with spicy potato wedges and green beans with pears and balsamic vinegar.

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 4 ounces spirali pasta
• 1 cup peas (fresh or frozen)
• 2-3 cups romanesco broccoli florets
• 1/2 cup fresh basil,chopped

for the sauce:

• 2 tablespoons miso
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1/2 cup ground almonds
• pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1-2 ounces soy cheese grated as garnish and handful toasted almonds

Directions:

1. Steam the romanesco florets al dente.
2. Cook the pasta according to the recommendations of the package.
3. Prepare the peas – frozen can be thawed with boiling water, fresh should be cooked al dente.

to prepare the sauce:

1. Place the miso in a small saucepan.
2. 
Add the white wine and stir to evenly dissolve the miso.
3. Add the ground almond and pepper flakes if using.
4. Lightly warm the sauce.
5. Season to taste as desired.
6. Toast the almonds in a dry frying pan.
7. Grate the soy cheese.

to prepare the meal:

1. When the pasta is coked, drain off the water and return to the pot
2. Add 13/4 of the miso sauce and mix well.
3. Add 3/4 of the chopped basil, the peas and mix.
4. Add the romanesco and lightly mix in.
5. Serve the meal in a large serving bow, or on individual serving plates.
6. Garnish with a few more basil leaves, some toasted almonds, and the grated soy cheese.
7. The rest of the miso dressing can be served in a bowl for people to help themselves I they want more.

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 cup polenta
• 4 cups water
• pinch salt
• 6 apples
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon + 1 splash lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon vegan margarine
• 1/2 cup apple cider or apple juice
• pinch salt
• 1/2 cup soy cream
• vegan cheddar to grate on top (optional)

Directions:

to make the polenta:

1. Bring the water with the pinch of salt to a boil.
2. Add the polenta (cornmeal) and stir.
3. Cook the polenta stirring until it thickens. Be careful of spattering boiling polenta as it can burn and hurt you.
4. When the polenta has become very thick, remove from the heat and pour into a casserole dish.
5. Cool in the refrigerator to harden.

to make the apple sauce:

1. Slice the apples thinly, into a bowl of water with splash of lemon juice.
2. In a saucepan, heat the lemon juice and sugar until the sugar has dissolved and has begun to turn a lovely amber color.
3. Remove from the heat and add the vegan margarine, swirl the pan to mix the bubbling mixture evenly.
4. 
Return to the heat add the cider or apple juice and a pinch of salt.
5. When the mixture begins to boil, add the apples.
6. Simmer until the apples become soft.
7. Add the 1/2 cup of soy cream and boil for about 2 minutes until the sauce thickens.

Serve slices of polenta topped with the apple sauce.
Alternatively, grate some soy cheese on top and bake until the cheese is melted.

Notes:

inspired by http://www.motherthyme.com/2011/08/polenta-with-caramelized-apples.html

We only adapted it slightly by using vegan cheese instead of feta. It was easy to make and the instructions are simple to follow. While watermelons are still in season, do give this salad a try.

Yield: 12 bites

Ingredients:

• 12 small pastry (pie) bites formed as shells
• 1/4 cup fig jam
• 3-4 artichoke hearts, sliced
• 1 ounce soy cheddar sliced in small pieces
• greens as garnish, we used lemon verbena

Directions:

1. We used pre-made vegan pastry shells. However they can also be made from vegan pie dough and baked ahead of time.
2. Slice the artichoke hearts in thirds or quarters.
3. Slice the vegan cheese in small pieces.
4. Place a small portion (1/2 teaspoon) of fig jam in the bottom of each shell.
5. Put a piece of the artichokes on each shell.
6. Top with a small piece of soy cheese on each shell and garish with a small leaf.
7. Serve on a tray or individual plates.

Yield: 2 pizzas

Ingredients:

for the pizza dough:

• 3 cups flour
• 1 pkg. yeast
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• pinch salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 tsp. baking powder (optionally)

for the tomato sauce:

• 1 can tomato paste
• pinch salt
• pinch Italian herbs

toppings:

• 1 eggplant sliced
• 1 zucchini, sliced
• 1 ripe tomato sliced
• 1 bell pepper, sliced
• 2-3 artichokes, sliced
• 1 onion sliced in rings
• 2-3 large mushrooms, sliced
• some green olives
• vegan cheese, grated
• pinch Italian herbs

Directions:

to make the dough:

1. Make the pizza dough at least 2 hours ahead of time.
2. Place the flour in a large bowl, add the salt and whisk it around.
3. Add the sugar to the warm water, then the yeast.
4. Allow the yeast to begin to bubble (only takes a minute).
5. Using a mixer, mix the yeast and olive oil with the flour.
6. Mix until you have a smooth ball of dough.
7. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and put in a warm place to rise.
8. It will take 45 minutes to an hour depending on the temperature.

to make the sauce and prepare the toppings:

1. While the dough is rising, make the sauce by blending the ingredients together.
2. Slice and optionally grill the vegetables.
3. You could roast them in the oven, thus pre-heating the oven for the pizzas, or leave them raw and they are crunchy.
4. We chose to lightly grill them.

to make the pizza:

1. This recipe makes 2 think crispy pizzas. If you want a bit more bready, add 1 teaspoon of baking powder as you roll out the dough to form the pizzas.
2. Roll out the pizza dough and prepare the pizza pan with spraying oil.
3. Lay the dough on the pizza pan.
4. Spread the tomato sauce, and grate the cheese.
5. Top with the grilled vegetables, sprinkle some Italian herbs and bake in the oven for 18-30 minutes.

Serving Size: 2

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup prepared fava beans
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 2 tablespoons fresh basil, roughly chopped
• 1 teaspoon vegetable bouillon powder
• 1 tablespoon fresh chives chopped
• 1/2 cup vegan cream cheese
• 2-3 tablespoons soy milk to thin the vegan cream cheese
• dash Tabasco
• salt & pepper to taste
• 4 flour tortillas

Directions:

1. Prepare fava beans by blanching them and then removing the skins.
2. Place the vegan cream cheese in a medium bowl.
3. Add the soy milk and mix with a fork to make a thinner consistency.
4. Add the vegetable bouillon powder chives and basil.
5. Season to taste with a dash of Tabasco and salt and pepper.
6. Spread the vegan cream cheese mixture over the flour tortillas.
7. Sprinkle the fava beans on top and roll the tortilla up.
8. We enjoyed them cold for lunch, you could also warm them up in the oven if you prefer them warm.