Posts filed under 'sauce'
Pesto, Cherry Tomato and Raw Cashew Cheese Pizza
I was never a fan of “real” pizza aka tomato and cheese. The cheese was always so gross and stringy. Even with the advances in vegan cheeses like Daiya and the new and improved Teese I’m still not much of a fan. I like those brands of vegan cheese but not on my pizza! My favorite all time pizza is a new one for me. It consists of homemade Basil-Miso-Walnut Pesto, some homegrown still warm from the sun cherry tomatoes and a raw cashew cheese.
The process is very simple:
Roll out dough (I like the whole grain one from Whole Foods)
Spread pesto over pizza
Thrown on some halved cherry tomatoes
Pop into the oven…400 450 degrees…whatever you fancy.
When the crust is nice and brown and the tomatoes are nice and bubbly take the pizza out and drop on the raw cashew cheese in random places.
Cut.
Serve!
Its basically the best pizza ever. Peter and my Maa are hooked. Reno will just eat pieces with the tomatoes and cashew cheese taken off…she’s only 3 so what does she know..right? I insist that you all make this pizza. Your taste buds will thank you.
p.s. the cashew cheese is from Ani Phyo’s new book: Raw Food Essentials. I’ll be posting a full review of her new book in a few days!
August 30th, 2010
BBQ Pinto Bean Burgers
A few weeks ago I had one of those crazy “I must cook something new right this second!” moments. Within 30 minutes of that “moment” I was chowing down on the burger you see above. It was one of those wonderful and crazy cooking experiments that worked out really well. So not only did I eat the burger for lunch but I also ate it again for dinner and then if I remember correctly I ate it again for lunch the next day.
My favorite parts of this recipe are the raw onions and the BBQ sauce that are mixed into the burger. I always like raw onions on top of my veggie burgers but they always either fall off or you eat a huge chunk of the onion with one bite and it just doesn’t get evenly distributed between bites. I figured if I chopped them up and stuck them in the burger that would take care of those 2 problems and it did! Some of the onions got cooked while the burgers were frying in the pan but the majority of them were still raw-ish. You definitely got that raw onion flavor with every bite. For the BBQ sauce, I alway’s knew I was going to put some on top of the burger, when I had the idea to make them, but I then decided to also put some into the burger to get that extra BBQ flavor. It was nice and subtle.
A few weeks after creating this burger I also used this recipe during a vegan cooking class I was teaching with 2 of my friends for our local vegan meet up group. Everyone really liked it and I hope you all like it too!
BBQ Pinto Bean Burgers
makes 4-5 burgers depending on the size you want
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 of a red bell pepper, finely diced
2 tablespoon olive oil, divided
1 15oz can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 small onion, finely diced
1/2 cup vital wheat gluten
3 tablespoons of your favorite BBQ Sauce, I use Annies Smokey Maple
1 tablespoon tamari
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons water (only if needed)
1 avocado, sliced
mesclun salad
burger rolls
In a medium or large saute pan, heat your olive oil over medium heat, add your chopped garlic and peppers and saute until soft. About 5 minutes.
In a medium size bowl mash the pinto beans with a potato masher or fork. Mix in the garlic-pepper mixture, onions, vital wheat gluten, BBQ sauce, tamari and salt. Ditch your mixing utensil and with clean hands kneed the burger mixture to help activate the vital wheat gluten (this is what makes the burgers hold their shape.) If the mixture seems too dry add the water 1 tablespoon at a time until your mixture is moist enough to hold it’s shape.
Form into whatever size burgers you want.
In the same pan you cooked the garlic and peppers add 1 tablespoon of oil and reheat the pan over medium heat. Cook the burgers until golden brown, approx. 3-5 minutes each side.
Place on bottom of a burger bun, spoon extra BBQ sauce, add some avocados and some mesclun salad, top the burger with the other bun and EAT!
July 13th, 2010
Cheezy Kale Chips
A few months ago I FINALLY purchased a Excalibur Dehydrator! I’ve been wanting one for years ever since I worked at a raw foods restaurant in NYC. I was missing all the treats I use to eat and make while I was there and saw that Excalibur was having a special sale so I quickly snapped one up. I purchased a black 9 tray model that also comes with a timer. Please choose one with a timer if you decide to buy one. Its so useful, especially if something is done “cooking” while I’m sleeping or out of the house, it can just turn itself off.
One of the first things I made was a recipe that my friend Donna gave me for Cheezy Kale Chips. It is a cashew and red bell pepper based sauce which is well blended and then massaged onto kale and dehydrated for hours and hours. The hours and hours and hours it takes to make these is well worth it. They are so crunchy and cheezy tasting. Peter has become a big fan of these chips so I have too make sure to make a few batches each time. Its really easy to gobble these up in one day. Reno has yet to want to try them although she did eat some sauteed kale for dinner the other night!
Kale from my garden
I made sure I grew a lot of kale in my garden this year so that I can make as many batch of kale chips that I wanted. I’ll most likely be making more today and again at the end of the week to take on vacation with us.
I’m going to have lots of Raw Vegan posts coming your way over the next few weeks to show you what I’ve been making as well as all the usual cooked food I make. 
July 12th, 2010
Buffalo Tempeh with Ranch Mashed Potatoes
I know I post about Buffalo “stuff” a lot but this is more about the mashed potatoes. First about the Buffalo. I made it with tempeh for the first time ever. So that’s new. I usually just stick with seitan and occasionally will use tofu but never tried it with tempeh. I have to say that I’m really glad I tried it! It was so good. Tempeh was one of the first things I ever tried when I became a vegetarian way back when I was 18 years old and it’s something I have always loved but it’s also something that I almost now never cook with. I have no reason for that. It just is what it is. I purchased a few packs of it at Whole Foods yesterday to make some new things with it over the next few weeks. One of my favorite uses is to make Tempeh Sausage Crumbles with it then from that making Biscuits and Gravy. I see in my immediate future a delicious weekend breakfast!
Now the potatoes. I accidentally use sweetened rice milk when mashing these and as you can imagine that was kinda gross and weird tasting. The ranch dip I made for the Buffalo Tempeh came to the rescue. I couldn’t stomach the potatoes on there own but when I mixed in the ranch dip it made them delicious in a this can be kinda gross way. I would NEVER serve mashed potatoes like that to another human being but I would make them again that way, minus the sweetened rice milk, for myself when I’m feeling like eating something deliciously gross.
January 5th, 2010
Hidden Veggie Tomato Sauce
I have a very picky eating child. No veggies will pass by those precious lips of hers except peas. Occasionally when I’m chopping up carrots she will say “Reno eat that” and I’ll give it to her and she either eats it or throws it in the trash. One day I had her help me snap some string beans in half and she again said “Reno eat that” and she took 2 bites of one and then that was enough. At least she tried it though and when she tries foods or actually eats foods I have Yo Gabba Gabba to thank for that. I’m always singing 2 of their songs to her. One goes something like “There’s a party in your tummy, SO YUMMY, SO YUMMY” the other ones goes “Try it! You’ll like it!” Those 2 songs have helped us get a few extra bites of food into her body.
This is all so frustrating to me on so many levels. One being that my career before having her was all about food and cooking.Two, I’m a veggie mom to a veggie kid who won’t eat her veggies. Third being…(i forgot! i know there was a third though!) Anyway I have basically resorted to blending veggies into our foods to trick her into eating them. The best thing ever for doing this besides mashed potatoes are tomato sauces. I could dump a pot of tomato sauce on our front lawn and she would eat it. Needless to say…we eat pasta…ALOT.
Hidden Veggie Tomato Sauce
Don’t worry about your knife skills on this one. The veggies are blended in the beginning and the entire sauce at the end of the recipe. The chopping of the vegetables in the recipe are to make it easier on your blender/food processor.
1/3 cup olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
5 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/2 bunch of kale, stems removes and chopped
2 medium carrots, scrubbed and chopped into 2 inch pieces
1 red bell pepper, seeds removed and chopped
2 28oz cans Whole Peeled Tomatoes (i like Muir Glen)
1/2 cup fresh basil, washed well
Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Saute onions for 5 minutes then add garlic and saute for 3 more minutes or until soft.
While the onions and garlic are cooking chop the kale, carrots and pepper in a food processor until the vegetables are fully broken down into itty bitty pieces. Then add them to pot of already cooking onions and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes.
Then add both cans of tomatoes. Bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer. Place a cover over the pot with a bit of the pot still open to let steam escape. Cook or 1 hour stirring whenever you think about it. Add the basil for the last 10 minutes of cooking time.
Turn the heat off and blend the sauce in batches in your blender or food processor.
This recipe makes a ton of sauce. It keeps in the fridge for about 5 days. I like to freeze single serving sizes for just Reno. Its great for those nights when I don’t want to fight to get her to eat what we are eating and we don’t in turn have to eat pasta again.
Happy VeganMoFo
October 13th, 2009
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