Black Bean Lettuce Bundles

2 cups cooked black beans
1/2 large avocado, mashed
1/2 green pepper, chopped
3 scallions, chopped
1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
2 Tbsp lime juice
1 tsp cumin
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 cup mild salsa, low sodium
8 large romaine lettuce leaves

1. Mash beans and avocado together with fork. Mix all remaining ingredients except lettuce.
2. Place 1/4 cup of filling in the center of lettuce leaf and roll like a tortilla.

Vegetable Broth
Makes about 10 Cups of Broth

Minimalist Broth
2-3 Tbs Olive Oil
1-2 Large Onions, chopped
1 lb Celery, Chopped
1 lb Carrots, washed but unpeeled, chopped
3 Whole Cloves Garlic
1 Bay Leaf
10 Whole Black Peppercorns
2 tsp Salt
1/4 Cup Low Sodium Tamari
1 Gallon Water

I also added, because I could
2 Parsnips, chopped
2-3 Tbs Tomato Paste (or one or two tomatoes)
A few Sprigs Rosemary (parsley is more traditional, use a lot!)
1 Head Broccoli (a strange but decent choice)
1 Sweet Potato (another odd choice, whatever)

You might also have or want to use
Any fresh veggie scraps from other meals
Leeks
Mushrooms
Celery Root
Potatoes
Peppers
Turnips
Any Greens
Zucchini
Fennel

You see what I mean?  If it’s clean and fits in the pot, it can go in.  Minimal chopping, no peeling, just in the pot it goes!

Heat a large stock pot with some olive oil in the bottom.  I chop my way through the vegetable list as I’m cooking–so once the onion is chopped, add it to the pot, then do the celery, the carrots, etc, adding each thing once it’s chopped up a bit.  When you’re out of stuff to add, pour in the water, turn up the heat and cover.  It should only take you about 20 minutes to chop everything and get it in the pot.  From then on out it’s easy street.

Cook for 1 hour, turning the heat down a bit once the whole thing starts boiling. 

I finish my broth by adding salt/tamari/soy sauce to taste and letting it simmer uncovered for another 20-30 minutes to concetrate the flavors.

Strain the veggies out into a large pot. I further strained it through cheesecloth into a pitcher.

The pitcher makes it easy to pour some of the broth into ice cube trays for easy storage. Ice cubed size chunks of broth make for easy defrosting and easy recipe additions.

The broth will keep about a week in your refrigerator, and two good months in your freezer.  If you cook for the holidays, it’s a good time to make some veggie stock and put it up now to use for all your upcoming holiday meals.  You’ll thank yourself for being prepared, and your food will be that much more delectable!

Delicata Squash Bisque
Serves 4 large bowls, 6-8 Cups

3 Pounds Delicata Squash, (2 pounds after prepping)
Oil for roasting
4 Cups Rich Vegetable Broth
1 tsp Thyme
Lots of Black Pepper
1 1/2 tsp Salt, more or less to taste

Cashew Cream
1 Cup Raw, Unsalted Cashews
1 Cup Rich Vegetable Broth, divided

Preheat oven to 400º F.

Peel squash and chop off the ends.  Halve the squash and scrape out the seeds.  Place on a baking sheet cut-side down and brush lightly with oil.  Bake for 30-40 minutes until tender and beginning to brown.  Flip squash before the baking is finished if needed to prevent burning.

Meanwhile, add the cashews to your blender and 1/2 cup of veggie broth. Begin pulsing to incorporate, eventually turning the blender all the way on while slowly adding the other 1/2 cup of broth. Once all the broth is added (1 cup total), let the blender run for 1-2 minutes until very, very smooth. Set cream aside.  If your blender can’t get the cream completely smooth, strain before adding it to the soup.

Remove squash from the oven. Using a spatula, transfer it into a large soup pot. Break up the squash into chunks with a spoon or your spatula and add 4 cups of veggie broth, thyme, and black pepper. Bring to a boil then turn down the heat and let simmer for 20 minutes, covered.

Working in batches if needed, blend the soup until very smooth, being careful not to overfill your blender. My 64 oz blender fit the entire batch of soup.

Return the blended soup to the pot and add all but 1/4 cup of the cashew cream. Season with salt and more pepper. How much salt you add with depend on how salty your broth is to begin with. I thought 1 1/2 tsp salt was perfect for my batch, but yours might differ.

Remove soup to bowls (or mugs!) and garnish with extra cashew cream drizzled on the top and some fresh black pepper.  Little squigglies of cream look nice, but you can also draw hearts or stars or swirls, whatever!

I substituted the water for my homemade vegetable stock and I cooked
the onion and garlic before adding in the stock. I added in about a cup
of chopped cilantro at the end …and halved the oregano. I think the key here was the home made stock because I cooked it with bought veggie stock and the original amount of oregano and I wasn’t impressed.

Black Bean Chili

Makes about 2 quarts (8 1-cup servings)

This is a mild chili, delicious with brown rice and a green salad. It can also be used as a burrito filling if it is cooked until it thickens. If you like a hotter chili, add some cayenne or finely chopped jalapeño pepper.

¹/₂ cup water
1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 onions, chopped
4 garlic cloves, pressed
2 tablespoons dried oregano
¹/₂ teaspoon ground cumin
¹/₄ teaspoon black pepper
1 4-ounce can diced green chilies
1 15-ounce can crushed tomatoes
2 15-ounce cans black beans, undrained
¹/₄ teaspoon salt
1 chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

Heat water and soy sauce in a large pan until steamy. Add onion and garlic. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until onion is soft, about 5 minutes.

Add oregano, cumin, and black pepper. Cook 3 minutes, stirring often. Stir in diced chilies, tomatoes, black beans, and salt. Simmer 20 minutes, or longer for a thicker chili. Garnish with cilantro, if using.

Cabbage and Mushroom Stirfry

12 Asian mushrooms (I used some beautiful shitakes)
1/2 medium cabbage, shredded
1 ½ cups of broccoli rainbow slaw
3 cups bean sprouts
1 medium onion, sliced thin
1 chopped clove garlic
1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
2 tablespoons each soy sauce and dry sherry
3 tablespoons hoisin sauce

I used a stir fry pan and started with the smallest amount of oil you can get away with and browned up my mushrooms.
Put them aside.
Throw in sliced onion and brown, then throw in garlic and ginger cook but don’t burn. Then add in cabbage and slaw and cook for about 2-3 minutes, then add in bean sprouts. Cook for about 5 minutes then add in the soy sauce, sherry, and hoisin. Mix it up real well and throw it over brown rice for the kiddos and husband and eat it by itself like me!
Took about 20 minutes to prep and cook! Brown rice takes 35 minutes to cook though so time it right.

Orzo salad

 1 lb orzo, cooked
1 bunch chives, chopped
3 T basil, chopped
1 can corn, drained
1 can black olives, drained and sliced
1 jar, 8 oz, sundried tomatoes chopped with oil/liquid
2 cups craisins
1 package feta chipped

 I buy the tri color orzo that comes with plain, sundried tomato, and spinach. I also put in half kalamata olives and half black olives.

Date Bite
(taste like a brownie bite)

2 cups of dried dates
3/4 cup of raw walnuts
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Throw it in a food processor until finely chopped.
Set out a plate and put unsweetened coconut on it.

Grab a tablespoon of the mix and press/roll it into a ball and then roll it in the coconut!

Taken and adapted from quinoa flour bag:

quinoa pancakes

1/3 cup oatmeal
1/3 cup quinoa flour
1/3 cup cornmeal
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
 1 cup rice milk
squeeze of agave nectar (instead of sugar)
touch of applesauce (instead of 3 tablespoons oil)
1 tablespoon flaxseed meal + 3 tablespoon water + 2 minutes (instead of an egg)

Mix first 5 ingredients.  Combine rest of ingredients. Mix all together and let stand for a couple of minutes.

 I like to top with almond butter and sliced banana.

tempeh tacos

1 pound tempeh
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons tamari
1/4 cup lime juice
1 tablespoon mexican seasoning
1 onion, chopped
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Crumble tempeh into small pieces and place in a mixing bowl.  Combine 1 tablespoon of olive oil, tamari, lime juice, and chili poweder in small bowl and pour this marinade over tempeh.  let stand 10-30 minutes

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet.  add onion and saute until soft.  Add marinated tempeh and keep mixture moving in pan until tempeh turns golden brown, add chopped cilantro just prior to serving.

Vegan Pesto

• 1 1/2 cups fresh basil
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 cup pine nuts (other nuts, such as almonds or walnuts may be substituted)
• 5 cloves garlic
• 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a food processor until nuts are ground. Pesto should still have texture and not be completely smooth. Add more salt and pepper to taste and enjoy! One variation is to add 1/2 cup rehydrated sun-dried tomatoes. For a lower fat version replace half the oil with soy milk.