Cold Be Gone Soup!

 Cold Be Gone Soup!

It may not look like anything special, but this soup packs a zesty wallop and clears your head lickety-split! Get the tissues ready! 👍

Ingredients:

• 3 cups water
• 2 packets chicken or veggie broth paste or cubes
• 3 garlic cloves, sliced
• 2-3 small dried red chili peppers
• 1 mushroom, sliced
• 1/4 yellow squash or zucchini, sliced
• Handful cilantro leaves, ripped or chopped
• Fresh ground pepper
• Black pepper
• Hot curry powder
• Sweet curry powder
• Dried or crushed ginger
• Turmeric
• Ground coriander
• Onion powder
• 1/8 onion, sliced
• 1/2 Meyer lemon
• 1/2 lime
• 2 slices Roma tomato, chopped
• Handful garbanzo beans (+ oil for frying)

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a small pan. Add garbanzo beans and cook until slightly browned and soft. Set aside.
2. Bring water to a boil in a medium size pot.
3. Stir well while dissolving broth packets in water.
4. Add garlic slices. Tear chili peppers into pot.
5. Cover, return to a boil then lower to low-medium.
6. Add mushrooms, squash, and cilantro. Stir well.
7. Add generous sprinkles of all seasonings. Stir well. Make sure soup is simmering, not boiling.
8. Add onion, juice of the lime, tomato, and garbanzo beans.
9. Add juice of the lemon and all of the lemon skin (empty out the peel with a grapefruit spoon).
10. Continue cooking over low-medium heat until very fragrant. Sample and add additional lime/lemon or seasonings to taste. Enjoy!

Greek Potato Casserole

Greek Potato Casserole

Ingredients:

• Few Tbsp. avocado oil
• 1 package (approx. 1 lb.) plant-based ground beef or sausage (I like Light Life Gimme Lean sausage)
• Few shakes Worcestershire sauce
• Garlic powder, to taste
• Onion powder, to taste
• Black pepper, to taste
• 1/2 red bell pepper, sliced
• 1/2 onion, sliced
• 6 mushrooms, sliced
• Few Tbsp. Kalamata olives, sliced
• Few marinated artichoke hearts, sliced
• Few leaves fresh basil
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• Handful baby spinach, torn or chopped
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
• Dash smoked paprika
• 3 dashes dried mint
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 medium yellow potatoes, very thinly sliced
• Large tomato, sliced
• Handful crumbled feta cheese and/or vegan cheese of your choice
• Aleppo pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. In a few tablespoons of avocado oil in a large skillet, break up and brown plant-based meat. Add Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper. When browned, move it to the side of the pan.

3.  Add more oil to the pan and add bell pepper. Cook for a couple of minutes, add onion and  mushrooms. Cook for a couple of minutes. Stir veggies into sausage and cook a couple minutes. Add  Kalamata olives and of artichoke hearts. Stir in basil, oregano, and spinach. Add lemon juice, paprika, mint, and a bit of olive oil. Stir and cook until well-mixed and evenly browned. Set aside.

4. In a medium size casserole dish, add a layer of sliced potatoes. Add a layer of veggie/sausage mix. Add a few slices of tomato. Sprinkle with feta. Repeat until casserole dish is full. Try to end with potatoes and sprinkle with cheese.

5. Bake for 1/2 hour covered with foil. Remove foil and bake at least 40 minutes longer, until cheese is bubbly and potatoes are soft.

6. For a bit of spice, sprinkle with Aleppo pepper. Enjoy!

Aleppo Fried Rice

Aleppo Fried Rice

Fast, easy, healthy, cheap + delicious lunch for one! 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 bag Trader Joe's frozen brown rice
• TJ's Tunisian olive oil
• 1/4 package TJ's pre-cooked lentils
• 1/8 white or yellow onion, sliced
• Aleppo pepper, to taste
• Fresh or dried mint, to taste
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• Black pepper, sprinkle
• Smoked paprika, sprinkle
• Ground cumin, sprinkle
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• Handful spinach leaves
• Fresh mint for serving

Directions:

1. Microwave rice according to package
2. Meanwhile heat olive oil in a wok over high heat
3. Add lentils + onion, stir for a couple of minutes
4. Sprinkle generously with Aleppo pepper, stir
5. Add mint, garlic powder, black pepper, smoked paprika, ground cumin + lemon juice, stir
6. Add more olive oil + spinach 
7. Add rice, stir well until spinach is wilted + rice is thoroughly mixed in
8. Sprinkle with fresh mint + enjoy!

Lazy Shakshuka

Lazy Shakshuka

Ingredients:

2 Vital Farms eggs

1/2 can roasted, diced tomatoes

1/4 onion sliced

1/4 can garbanzo beans

Handful spinach leaves

Harissa powder

Garlic powder

Salt

Few sprigs fresh parsley

1/4 cup crumbled feta

Avocado oil

Directions:

1.  In a small sauté pan, heat oil over medium-low heat.  Add garbanzo beans and onions.  Cook 3-5 minutes until starting to brown.

2.  Push veggies to the side of the pan and add eggs.  Cook to your liking, over medium/hard or scrambled.  

3.  Add tomatoes, harrisa, garlic, and spinach.  Cook and stir 2-3 minutes until spinach is wilted.  

4.  Serve and sprinkle with feta and parsley.

Thick & Creamy (Vegan!) Pesto Dressing

Thick & Creamy (Vegan!) Pesto Dressing

This is a great dressing for a vegan grain & veggie bowl.  I like it drizzled over a bowl of quinoa (or rice), garbanzo beans (or lentils), greens, radish, avocado, and red onion.  Delish!

Ingredients:

• 12-15 leaves of basil
• Handful spinach leaves
• 1/8 cup olive oil
• 4 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 6 Tbsp. minced garlic
• Sprinkle dried oregano
• Handful roasted, salted sunflower seeds
• Sprinkle pepper
• Sprinkle salt
• 1/8 cup flax seed

Directions:

1.  Put all ingredients in a food processor/blender (I like Vitamix).  Blend until smooth. 

2.  Add extra olive oil and/or a bit of water to reach desired consistency.  Extra flax seed will make it thicker, extra sunflower seeds will make it crunchier.

Funky Avocado Toast

FUNKY AVOCADO TOAST

Why be basic when you can be funky?

Ingredients:

1/2 avocado
1/3-1/2 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
2 garlic cloves
1/2 lime
1/4 red onion
1 Tbsp. minced ginger
Olive oil
Turmeric
Salt
Pepper
Red chili pepper flakes (or small chili pepper of your choosing)
2 sliced radishes, sliced cherry tomatoes, or other toppings
Your favorite bread

Directions:

1.  Toast slices of bread.
2.  Meanwhile, heat 1/2 of olive oil in saute pan over medium-high heat.  Add garbanzo beans.  Stir, sprinkle with turmeric, salt, red chili pepper flakes, and black pepper to taste (approximately 1/2 teaspoon each).  Saute until just starting to brown.  Let cool for a few minutes.
3.  Use a stick (immersion) blender or food processor to blend garbanzo bean mix with garlic, avocado, lime, onion, ginger, (and chili pepper if not using flakes) and enough olive oil to reach desired consistency.
4.  Spread on toast and top with radishes or other toppings.

Notes:

*Garlic and ginger and avocado and olive oil and garbanzo beans and turmeric are so, so good for you - but I know you know that.
*There are so many tasty ways to experiment with this - use Meyer lemon instead of lime, add smoked paprika, add 1 tablespoon tahini, etc.

New Years "Good Luck" Goulash

New Years "Good Luck" Goulash
Serves 3-4

{sorry no pic - ate it all up before I could take one!}

Ingredients:

1 lb. dried black eyed peas
10 oz. collard greens, stems removed
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1-2 onions, chopped
1-2 large sweet potatoes, skinned and chopped
4 garlic cloves
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup veggie broth
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
Optional:  1 tsp. Tabasco Sauce
Optional:  brown rice for serving

Directions:

1.  Rinse and drain black eyed peas well.  Add to large cast iron pot/Dutch oven with 6 cups water, garlic cloves, and bay leaf.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer partially covered about 45 minutes, or until tender but not mushy or falling apart.

2.  15 minutes before the black eyed peas are done, stir in the sweet potatoes. 

3.  Drain and rinse the black eyed peas and sweet potatoes in cold water and set aside.  Remove the bay leaf.

4.  Rinse and dry pot.  Heat olive oil over medium heat, add onion, saute about 5-6 minutes until soft but not mushy. 

5.  Layer collard greens on top of onion.  Add black eyed peas and sweet potatoes on top, but don't stir.  Pour orange juice, veggie broth, and vinegar (and Tabasco, if using) over mixture.  Sprinkle with paprika, and with salt and pepper to taste.

6.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cook for 5-10 minutes as-is, then stir gently.  Cook for another 10-15 minutes, until collard greens are cooked but not wilted and veggies are not mushy.

7.  Serve hot, over rice and with additional Tabasco, if desired. 

8.  Enjoy good luck (& good health!) the whole year through!  :)