Yield: 24 bruschetta slices

Ingredients:

• 1 eggplant, cut in small pieces
• 1 red bell pepper, de-seeded and cut in small pieces
• 1 medium zucchini, chopped in small pieces
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1-2 cloves garlic
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• Italian herbs
• salt and pepper
• oil to saute with
• 2 baguettes, sliced
• 1/4 cup fine olive oil
• balsamic vinegar to drizzle on top
• basil leaves as optional garnish

Directions:

1. Prepare all the vegetables, de-seeding and chopping etc.
2. Heat the oil in a large frying pan.
3. Begin cooking the bell pepper first, as it takes the longest time to soften.
4. Then add the zucchini and onion, saute until they begin to soften.
5. Add the garlic, herbs and tomato pieces.
6. Stir well and season to taste with salt and pepper.
7. Turn the heat down to keep the vegetables warm.
8. Meanwhile, slice the baguette and brush each side with fine olive oil.
9. Grill or toast the baguette slices.
10. Place a spoonful of ratatouille on each toasted baguette.
11. Drizzle a bit of balsamic vinegar on top, and garnish with a basil leaf.

Serving Size: 4

Ingredients:

• 1 cup pearl couscous
• 1 eggplant, cut in small cubes
• 1 small zucchini, cut in small cubes
• 1 red bell pepper, de-seeded and cut in small pieces
• 1 purple onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste
• pinch of paprika (optional)

Directions:

1. Place the couscous in a saucepan with 3 cups of water.
2. Bring the couscous to a boil, then cut back the heat to a soft simmer.
3. Cook the couscous until almost all of the water has been cooked off and the couscous is soft.
4. Remove from the heat, place a lid on the pan and allow the couscous to absorb the rest of the water.
5. Prepare the vegetables.
6. Heat a large frying pan and saute all of the vegetables mixing well.
7. Add the thyme and alt and mix well.
8. When the vegetables have cooked al dente, or to your preference, remove from the heat.
9. Place the couscous in a strainer and rinse with water to remove the extra starch so that the balls of couscous will not clump.
10. Place the couscous in a large bowl.
11. Add the vegetables and mix well.
12. Season to taste with additional thyme, optional paprika or pepper.
13. Shortly before serving, chop the fresh basil and mix into the salad.
14. Serve the salad at room temperature.

It really did taste like a smooth pureed version of one of our favorite meals, the classic Provencal dish ratatouille. It’s a hearty soup that can be enjoyed as a supper with nice whole grain bread. The balsamic vinegar really makes a nice touch and adds a lovely depth of flavor to the soup.

We spotted this lovely salad and looked forward to enjoying it over the weekend. It was very delicious and easy to make. We will be havig this one more often.

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: 4

Ingredients:

• 4 cups vegetable juice
• 1/2 large papaya (about 2 cups)
• 4-5 large circles (slices) pineapple (about 2 cups of small pieces)
• 1 sweet bell pepper (we used a red one)
• 1 small zucchini (about 1 cup of small pieces)
• 1 Persian lime
• small pinch salt
• 1 teaspoon Cajun spice
• splash or 2 Tabasco
• cilantro or coriander as garnish

Directions:

1. Pour the vegetable juice into a large bowl.
2. Cut the papaya in half, remove the seeds, peel, cut into small pieces and add to the vegetable juice.
3. Slice 4 or 5 large circles from a fresh pineapple.
4. Cut the outside rind off. If the pineapple is very ripe, the inner core is also soft and can be used, therefor just cut into small cubes. If the core is hard, then remove the core and cut the ring into small cubes.
5. Add the pineapple pieces to the vegetable juice.
6. Seed and chop the bell pepper into very small pieces.
7. Add the bell pepper pieces to the vegetable juice.
8. Clean and slice the ends off the small zucchini, then cut into small cubes (should make about 1 cup).
9. Add the zucchini pieces.
10. Cut a large lime in half and squeeze both haves into the juice.
11. Season the juice, which is by now the gazpacho, with a small pinch of salt, 1 teaspoon of Cajun spices and a splash or 2 of Tabasco.
12. Serve the gazpacho garnished with some coriander or cilantro and a small piece of fresh pineapple.

Yield: 6-8

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Vegan Cream Cheese (e.g. Tofutti)
• small bunch chive, chopped
• water to thin the cream cheese
• small pinch salt and freshly ground black pepper
• large bunch watercress, washed
• 1/2 cucumber
• slices of wholewheat bread

Directions:

1. Mix the Tofutti with a bit of water, the chopped chives salt and pepper.
2. Wash the watercress, pat dry and chop into lige pieces (about 2 inch in size)
3. Thinly slice the cucumber.
4. Spread each slice of bread with the Toufutti mixture.
5. Layer the cucumber slices on top, then the watercress. Top with the second slice of bread.
6. Cut the crust from around the sandwich and slice diagonally in half.
7. Depending on how thick you spread the cheese, this can make 6-8 sandwiches.

Notes:

If you don’t have or like cucumber, you could use a zucchini (as we did), and if you don’t have Tofutti, you can use home made sunflower spread.

Ingredients:

• 1 can cooked chickpeas (about 2 cups)
• 2 red bell peppers, roasted skins removed and de-deeded
• 1/3 cup tahini
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• splash Balsamic vinegar
• 1 or 2 zucchini, depending on size
• Handful small basil leaves as garish

Directions:

1. Roast the bell peppers.
2. When they have cooled, remove the skins, slice and remove the seeds.
3. Drain the chickpeas and place in a food processor.
4. Add the minced garlic oil and lemon juice and pure.
5. If it is too thick add a bit of water or lemon juice.
6. Add the tahini and roasted bell peppers and blend again.
7. Add the cumin, cayenne and Balsamic vinegar.
8. Season to taste with additional salt possibly Tabasco.
9. Wash the zucchini.
10. Cut off the stem and the end.
11. Using a vegetable peeler peel strips off along the length of the zucchini, leaving every other strip green.
12. Slice the zucchini in rounds and using a melon baller, or an apple corer remove the inner circle of the zucchini.
13. Fill each zucchini with the humus mixture.
14. Garnish by dusting with sweet paprika powder and a small basil leaf.
15. Place on a serving tray or individual appetizer plates.

For this meal I picked the last zucchini of the year and put the vine on the compost heap.  On the one hand it made be sad but on the other hand I saved plenty of organic seeds from it for next year, and we enjoyed this really tasty dinner. We will do this again next year as soon as the zucchinis are ready! I guess that’s the fun part, always looking forward to next year’s crop.  Meanwhile we do have a lot of nice pumpkins and many more Vegalicious recipes to come. It’s going to be a good winter. This recipe makes a very nice dinner or light supper. It is easy to follow and quick to make. I added a sweet bell pepper, cut into strips but otherwise followed the instructions.

Savory Walnut and Herb Biscuits

Yield: 10-12 biscuits

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup white flour
• 3/4 teaspoon. salt
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 6 tablespoons margarine, cold
• 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
• 1 tablespoon tarragon, fresh, chopped
• 1 tablespoon marjoram, fresh, chopped
• 1 tablespoon chives, fresh, chopped
• 3/4 cup soy milk

Directions:

1. Combine the flours, salt and baking powder in a bowl.
2. Add the cold margarine, cut in pieces, rub he margarine in until the mixture has the texture of coarse sand.
3. Stir in the chopped walnuts and herbs, then add the soy milk and stir with a fork until the mixture just holds together.
4. Put the dough out on a lightly floured board and very gently knead it just a few turns, just until it can be rolled out.
5. The less you work the dough, the more tender the biscuits will be.
6. Roll the dough out 3/4″ thick, and cut out biscuits with a cutter.
7. Place the biscuits on a parchment covered baking sheet, and bake them at 425 F / 218 C for about 12 to 13 minutes, or until puffed and golden brown.
8. Makes about 10 to 12 biscuits.

Pistachio Eggplant Spread with Cajun Seasonings

This makes a very tasty eggplant spread that is a nice alternative for Baba Ganoush.

Yield: 1 – 1 & 1/2 cups

Ingredients:

• 1 eggplant
• 1/2 cup shelled pistachios
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon Cajun spices
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder

Directions:

1. Prick the skin of the eggplant all over with a fork.
2. Place the eggplant in an oven proof baking dish with a bit of oil, so that it does not stick.
3. Bake the eggplant at 350 F / 177 C until it becomes soft, about 20-40 minutes.
4. While the eggplant is baking, shell the pistachios.
5. When the eggplant has softened, remove from the oven.
6. When it can be handled without burning your fingers, remove the skin and place the pulp in a bowl.
7. Add the shelled pistachios and puree to a smooth mixture.
8. Add the lemon pepper, salt and garlic, onion and Cajun spices.
9. Season to taste with additional spices as desired.