Category Archives for Dinner
Fresh Pasta Sauce Recipe Using Tomatoes
My main reason for creating this recipe is I have a lot of tomatoes from my garden. When I researching canning and freezing, my laziness genes kicked in and I thought there must be an easier way! I also didn’t want to peel or seed the tomatoes. The problem now is I can’t go back to using store bought canned tomatoes! Video below as well.
Serves about 2 people, possible leftovers. Use more tomatoes if you want to make a batch of sauce for another day. Adjust the quantities of veggies or use other things that you like!
Ingredients:
-8 large ripe tomatoes. I used ‘Scotia’ tomatoes but romas work well as they have less liquid. The exact number doesn’t really matter and depends on if you want leftovers. (I used ‘Scotia’ tomatoes from my garden, you can use roma which are more ‘fleshy’ with less liquid.)
-1 large yellow onion, chopped
-1 green pepper, chopped
-1 red pepper, chopped
-3 cloves of garlic (use less/none if desired), pressed. I use garlic press.
-1 zucchini, sliced
-1 cup of chopped lacinato kale. I cut up small with scissors leaving the spine out (exact amount doesn’t matter)
-1 tbsp or more of Italian spices (I use dried oregano, basil – you can use fresh if you want)
-1 tsp hot pepper flakes, optional (if you like it hot/spicy)
Instructions:
Tomatoes – Cut up the tomatoes into chunks. You can blend them a little in a Vitamix or food processor while still leaving some chunks. Pour the mixture through a strainer with a large bowl underneath to catch the liquid. The first time I made this I poured in some extra liquid as it boiled off. The second time I didn’t add any liquid to the sauce.
Fry up the onions, garlic, peppers, kale, zucchini (or whatever veggies you prefer) with a little water in a non-stick skillet. I cover to speed up the cooking process. When veggies are fairly soft dump in the tomatoes and stir and leave the cover off. As the mixture cooks the tomatoes will break down and release some liquid. Cook on high heat until most of the liquid boils off and the sauce gets thick (as you like it), stirring on occasion to keep from burning. Make sure the liquid doesn’t all boil off or veggies may dry out and burn. When the sauce is thick as you like it, add in the spices and hot pepper flakes. I then add in my cooked pasta (fettuccine as of late) and mix before serving. Enjoy!
Indian Pakora No Oil Vegan
I made pakora today so good! I followed this recipe (click here), used my silpat sheets but just baked without oil. Leave out the salt if you like. I pressed 2 cloves of fresh garlic. I baked for a few minutes extra as there was no oil to crisp them up as much. Watch carefully so they don’t burn. I dipped in some tomato sauce mixed with a little garam masala and cumin/turmeric.
Yummy Black Beans
I love this simple recipe. Nothing fancy is really needed, the beans taste so good!
Crispy BBQ Wings with Corn Flake Crumbs
I found some corn flake crumbs in the store so I thought I would try them on my bbq cauliflower wings recipe. So crunchy good!
Bonnie’s Hot and Spicy Rice and Vegetables
Stir fries are generally pretty easy once you know you can use water or vegetable stock to soften vegetables. Feel free to vary this as per your own taste with different vegetables. Essentially you are just softening veggies, adding in the beans, peas, rice and spice and you’re done!
Whole Wheat Pasta with Cauliflower Garlic ‘Alfredo’ sauce.
The basic idea is to use cauliflower, non-dairy milk as a base for your cream sauce. Think of the rest as possible additions, can be more or less quantity depending on your tastes. Be creative!
Split Pea Soup (Vegan)
This recipe courtesy of Jerry U, one of my YouTube viewers. Thanks Jerry!
NOTE: Do NOT buy loose, bulk unpackaged split peas, as they may be old and not cook thoroughly. We learned this the hard way.
Ingredients:
18 cups of water in a large pot (note: I couldn’t fit this many cups in my large pot so I used less)
16 oz BAG of rinsed green split peas (yellow ok too but imo not quite as tasty)
2 large peeled sweet potatoes
2 peeled medium carrots
2 stalks of celery and leaves
2 onions
Italian seasoning
salt
pepper
Total time = 1 1/2 to 2 hours, possibly a bit more
Directions:
Puree the celery, carrots and onions in a blender or food processor. Chop the peeled sweet potatoes into cubes or chunks.
Bring water to a rapid boil. Put in the rinsed split peas and pureed celery, carrots and onion. Put in the peeled cubed or chunky sweet potatoes.
Keep the pot uncovered for this phase.
Cook at a medium boil for about a half hour, stirring every once in awhile. Keep at a medium boil for another half hour to an hour and stir more often to keep from sticking. Put in additional water if the need arises, a half cup at a time
When you see the soup start to thicken, put in the Italian seasoning – a thin layer over the top or to taste. Be careful not to put in too much. Put in a pinch of salt and pepper. Cover and bring to a simmer for about another half hour, or until the soup thickens, and stir now and then. When you see that the soup has thickened, take it off the burner, keep it covered, and let it sit on another cold burner for about 10 minutes. Try eating with some toasted whole wheat baguette slices. Enjoy!!
Vegan Holiday Recipes
Thanksgiving can be tasty, filling, healthy and cruelty free with these recipes. Please also see the videos posted below.
