All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2018
To see images of my past posts & get links to the recipes – look on my Pinterest board – HERE.
~
All my posts now have a VERY customizable PRINT & PDF option. Create a PDF & save the recipe to your computer or print it out. It offers a “remove images” option & you can delete any part of the post you do not need before printing. The button is below by the Twitter & Facebook links.
~
Click the image above to watch the video.
All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2018
To see images of my past posts & get links to the recipes – look on my Pinterest board – HERE.
~
All my posts now have a VERY customizable PRINT & PDF option. Create a PDF & save the recipe to your computer or print it out. It offers a “remove images” option & you can delete any part of the post you do not need before printing. The button is below by the Twitter & Facebook links.
~
Click the image above to watch the video.
I keep throwing softballs like this out there to you kids. Softballs in that the recipe is easy & the result delicious. When, oh when, will you trust me & try one?
This one is almost like a quiche but uses no eggs or heavy cream – and it is vegan! I used three colors of heirloom tomatoes but any tomatoes would work, even cherry tomatoes, I suspect.
For the pastry crust
makes two tarts
INGREDIENTS
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
16 TBS ice cold (even frozen) vegan butter
1/4 cup or more of ice water
Heirloom Tomato Pie with Arugula, Tofu, Cream Cheese & Parmesan
makes two tarts
INGREDIENTS
Pie crust – uncooked
5-6 heirloom (or other) tomatoes – sliced thin
2 cups fresh arugula
2 cloves garlic
1 (14 oz) block firm tofu
4 oz vegan cream cheese
2 slices of your favorite flavor vegan cheese
1/4 cup vegan Parmesan – grated (plus a bit extra for topping – optional)
S&P
Basil – as garnish
DIRECTIONS
For the pastry crust
Put the flour, salt & sugar in a food processor. Pulse to blend. Then, 1 TBS at a time, pulse in the cold butter until it is all incorporated. Add a few TBS water & pulse until little balls of dough begin to form & it falls away from the bowl of the processor.
Remove from the bowl & press into two balls – one a tad larger than the other. Press flat, wrap in plastic wrap & chill for about an hour. Let it sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes before you roll it out.
DIRECTIONS
for the Heirloom Tomato Pie with Arugula, Tofu, Cream Cheese & Parmesan
Heat the oven to 400 degrees.
Press the dough into a greased pie or tart pan. A traditional pie dish is absolutely OK to use – as is a spring form pan. Slit the crust at the bottom and par-bake it for 7 minutes.
Put the sliced tomatoes on paper towels, salt them & press more paper towels on top. If your tomatoes are very wet & seedy, squeeze some of the seeds out to avoid excess moisture in the pie. You can see that I did this with my red tomatoes.
Meanwhile, blend the tofu, cream cheese, cheese slices, vegan Parmesan, arugula & garlic in a blender or food processor. Season with S&P.
When the crust has baked 7 minutes, top with the cup of grated Parmesan, the tofu mix & the drained tomatoes. Add some S&P. Maybe sprinkle some grated vegan Parmesan on top. Drizzle a bit of olive oil on top.
Bake for 45-60 minutes – or until the ricotta is set. You might need to wrap the edges of your pie with foil (or one of these cool silicone things – the red thing below – that I got at Bed Bath & Beyond) to prevent the crust from over-browning.
When the center seems set, allow this to cool for at least 15 minutes before cutting into it. It can be eaten warm or room temperature.
Garnish with basil & eat it up!
All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2018
To see images of my past posts & get links to the recipes – look on my Pinterest board – HERE.
~
Click the image above to watch the video.
This is a really easy, 5-minute pasta sauce. It is fairly spicy so cut back on the crushed red pepper if you are sensitive to heat. Canned tomatoes are not desirable – even BAD – (read why you should avoid canned tomatoes & seven other foods HERE) – but they are sometimes the only affordable (and super convenient) option. .
Fresh herbs will also improve this sauce measurably but – in a pinch – they are absolutely not REQUIRED to make this sauce tasty.
Five (5) Minute Arrabiata Sauce
INGREDIENTS
Eggplant is an odd thing. Some of my favorite dishes are made of eggplant – most markedly my nearly guiltless Indian Baingan Bharta & one of the most popular recipes of this blog’s history, my Spicy Vegan Chinese Eggplant – both seen just below.
But if it is cut into slices or cubes that are too large & then under-cooked – it can have an icky texture & an icky flavor. Lots of people categorically reject it because the first time they tried it – it was yucky. But it is so versatile & can take on so many flavors so well. I love it & I feel certain I could convert more than a few haters – if I served them the right dish.
THIS dish might just be that dish – assuming they do not also hate spinach. The eggplant is very subtle & melts in your mouth. This could be customized a zillion ways. There are no rules. Just make a little mash of some flavors you like & roll’em up & bake them – and voila! Yes – there are a few steps but none are difficult & the result is delightful. A tad hard to photograph but really delicious.
Oh! I got this new little garlic press at Bed Bath & Beyond for (I think) under ten dollars & I am kind of in love with it. There are to ways to go with this – sliced or minced (there is a second blade tucked into the base) & all you do is press the garlic through & it creates a little drawer of crushed garlic for you. Se easy & easy to clean & no garlic fingers!
Easy Eggplant Rollatini with Spinach
Should feed 4
INGREDIENTS
2 medium eggplant – tops removed & sliced 1/4 inch thick (thick makes assembly harder)
1 lb fresh spinach (or 8 oz frozen or other spinach – thawed)
3-4 cups (28 0z or so) – marinara (your favorite brand or homemade or the one I post below) or my 5-minute spicy arrabiata
Handful vegan Parmesan
1/2 cup vegan ricotta
1/4 cup parsley – chopped
4 oz vegan mozzarella
S&P
Olive oil
More vegan mozzarella to melt on top – to taste
Parchment paper (if possible but not imperative)
Foil
Garnish: more cheese and/or parsley and/or basil
DIRECTIONS
Heat the oven to 400 degrees.
Cut the tops off the eggplant & try to cut them evenly 1/4 inch thick. I used a mandolin. Lay the slices on paper towels & sprinkle with salt. Flip & salt the other side (lightly – so they won’t be overpowered by salt). Salting the eggplant helps release excess moisture & can temper any bitterness. Let them sit for about ten minutes.
Steam the fresh spinach by simply boiling a tiny bit of water to a very large stock pot & adding the spinach. Cover the pan. It should wilt in less than a minute (this works to thaw frozen spinach, too, though it might take longer). Strain into a colander & run cold water on it. Squeeze out as much water as you can & chop the spinach.
Put the spinach, parsley, & your Parmesan & ricotta & mozzarella cheese in a large bowl & blend. Add some S&P.
Pat the eggplant slices dry & sprinkle with ground pepper. Place them on a cooking sheet covered in parchment paper (or foil treated with cooking spray – because you do not want these guys sticking). Bake about ten minutes.
Layer some sauce on the bottom of a casserole pan. Spread about 2 TBS of the filling on each of the eggplant slices. If you have extra – spread it around. Carefully roll those guys up & place them in the pan, seam side down.
Layer some more sauce on top & then sprinkle with mozzarella. Cover tightly with foil & bake for 1 hour. Remove from the oven & uncover & let rest a good 5-10 minutes before cutting in. Serve with more cheese and/or parsley and/or basil and copious red wine. See? You like eggplant!
All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2018
To see images of my past posts & get links to the recipes – look on my Pinterest board – HERE.
~
Click the image above to watch the video.
The Ivy Copycat Grilled Vegetable Salad with Lime Vinaigrette
serves 2 as an entree
INGREDIENTS
for the dressing
Juice of 1-2 limes
match the lime juice with an equal part of olive oil so it is 50/50.
Add about 1 TBS each of balsamic vinegar (or other vinegar) and agave
Season to taste with S&P.
Combine & taste. Tweak to suite your palate.
for the salad
Your choice of greens – or a mixture (arugula, romaine, butter lettuce, watercress, field greens – your call)
1 zucchini
1 yellow squash
2 ears fresh corn – in the husks
1 bunch asparagus – tough bottoms trimmed
1 red bell pepper – seeded
1/2 cucumber – diced
1 handful cherry tomatoes – haved
3-4 radishes – chopped
1/4 small red onion – diced
1 avocado – chopped
OPTONAL – chopped herbs (basil or cilantro), protein (chickpeas, black beans, vegan chicken or any other protein you desire)
DIRECTIONS
Make the dressing while the veggies are grilling.
Slice the zucchini & squash in 1/4 inch thick slices & grill until softened & there are grill marks – turning a few times. Do the same with the red pepper & asparagus. Set aside. Grill the corn in the husks until blackened on the outside. Cool & throw the husks away then cut the corn from the cobs.
Now – just assemble the salad the way you would any other. If there are going to be leftover veggies – do not dress them. They will stay fresher in the fridge undressed.
Serve & enjoy!!!
Delightful-Delicious-Delovely 