rainbow chard lemon-garlic fettuccine

back with a new recipe. i have been cooking during my blog absence, but mostly just recipes i've already shared. so many people contributed to me getting up the creative energy to make this happen: my dad, a big meat and potatoes kind of guy, actually cooked a vegan meal for my birthday. thanks dad! my mom, who made him cook that meal :), and also once again went out her way to get me some rocking pappardelle pasta for my birthday. my brother, who got me a kick-ass ceramic knife which made this meal possible. (plus, he brought me over 20 pounds of asparagus this year). my csa, greely gardens, which started this weekend (yay!). and of course, my husband, who always graciously tries my recipes and smiles through it all. plus, he drove to store and got the mushrooms. whew, sounds like i a won an academy award or something... moving on to the food!

• 4-5 rainbow chard leaves
• 2 inch garlic scape, sliced
• 10-12 button mushrooms, sliced
• 6 oz. roasted garlic Pappardelle fettuccine
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup Drew's Lemon Goddess dressing

in a large pot, bring 4 cups of water to a boil and cook pasta for 8 minutes. drain then rinse with warm water. set aside.

trim stems from the chard and tear the leaves into fourths.  in a small pot, boil 2 cups of water and add stems for 3-4 minutes to tenderize. remove from heat and drain.
slice garlic scape into thin medallions, almost like scallions. in a large skillet on medium heat, sauté the garlic and chard stems in olive oil. after 2-3 minutes, add in chard leaves and about an 1/8 cup of water. cover with lid to wilt stems. when the leaves have reduced, remove lid and add the sliced mushrooms. continue sautéing on medium heat for 3-4 minutes.

in a pasta bowl, toss the fettuccine noodles with 1/2 cup of the lemon goddess dressing. the noodles should be well-coated and will separate. add in the chard and mushroom saute, as well as up to another 1/4 cup of dressing as needed. serve warm.

balsamic green bean salad

i made this a couple months ago almost exclusively using produce from greeley gardens.  i've blogged on a couple other csa-inspired dishes, but i really made a lot more than made it to this blog.  i was able to can a lot of the veggies so i can continue to enjoy them all winter long. what i love most about my weekly bag of produce is that i'm almost immediately inspired to create a new recipe.  you can check out the weekly pics of all my csa goodies here.

• 1 cup mixed yellow and green beans
• 5-6 baby potatoes, diced
• 5-6 cherry tomatoes, halved
• 8 button mushrooms, sliced
• 2 tablespoons veggie broth
• 1 tablespoon vegan butter

for the miso balsamic dressing:

• 1¼ yellow miso
• 3/4 teaspoon garlic
• 3/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 3 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 3/4 teaspoons rosemary
• pinch of black pepper

chop beans into 1-inch bite sized pieces. steam the diced potatoes and green beans for approximately 10-12 minutes. meanwhile, lightly sauté the mushroom slices in the butter and veggie broth for about 5 minutes and then set all the veggies aside to cool

mix the dressing ingredients in a magic bullet or blender.  put the cooked veggies in a dish and pour the dressing over top.  add in the cherry tomatoes and toss gently.

this can be served cool or warm.

purple potato & brussels sprout salad

the best thing about having a csa this year is that i have found so much new produce to cook with (hello, kohlrabi rocks!).  i only blog about one tenth of the things i make.  seriously, if you are in kansas city and are looking for a quality produce csa, i urge you to check out greeley gardens.  every saturday i jaunt down to the city market for pick up and rush home to start plotting and scheming what to make with all the goodies in my bag.  purple potatoes have been in my crop a few times, and i whipped up this tasty little salad a couple weeks ago.

• 6-8 small purple potatoes
• 1 cup brussels sprouts
• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil

caper dressing:

• 1½ tablespoons earth balance, softened
• 1/2 cup cashews
• 1½ tablespoons jarred capers
• 1½ tablespoons vegan mayo
• 1¾ tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 tablespoon caper brine
• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
• 3/4 teaspoons dijon mustard
• 1 small clove garlic, minced

cut up the potatoes and steam for approximately 15-20 minutes.  while they are steaming, slice brussels sprouts into halves and toss with 1/2 tablespoon olive oil. arrange them on a foil-lined cookie sheet and broil on low for 5-7 minutes on each side.

while potatoes and brussels are cooling, mix caper dressing ingredients into a food processor and blend well.  toss brussels sprouts and potatoes with caper dressing until well coated and sprinkle with vegan parmesan.  serve slightly warm.

purple potatoes!

wild rice kale wrap

i've been a terrible blogger lately - summer is just so crazy busy.  the good news is that i'm still cranking out lots of recipes, i'm just not getting them posted as quickly as i'd like.  like a lot of vegans, finding a wrap or tortilla that doesn't contain l-cysteine has presented its challenges to me.  luckily our local store started carrying joseph's flax, oat bran & whole wheat tortillas, and i snatched them up in a hurry.  they were pretty decent, although they did start to dry out a little after a few days. you can see a few tears in the wrap, but that could also be because i overstuffed them.  at any rate, i was just happy to have a wrap to stuff all these yummy ingredients in.

• 1/2 cup wild rice
• 6 oz of tofu (marinated)
• 1/3 avocado, sliced
• 1/2 carrot shredded
• 1 kale leaf, shredded
• 1/2 cup salsa
• 1 joseph's flax wrap

tofu marinade:

• 1/2 cup wheat free tamari
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
• 1/2 tablespoon of pure maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder

mix the tofu marinade ingredients in a bowl.  crumble the tofu and mix with marinade for a least 2 hours.

cook wild rice according to directions.  about 15 minutes before rice is done, heat a large non-stick skillet and pour both the tofu and the remaining marinade in and sauté on medium-high until liquid dissipates. turn the heat down to medium-low and continue to fry the tofu, using a spatula to flip over occasionally.  this creates a nice crispy outside on the tofu.  after it reaches your level of crispiness, turn off heat and let cool.  the rice should be done as well, and should cool for about 5 minutes before placing in the wrap.

you will want to use a small dash of olive oil to massage your kale - this will remove the cardboard stiffness that raw kale can have.   layer the rice, avocado, tofu, carrot, and kale.  add salsa to your liking and wrap like a burrito.

the delicious kale was part of week 3 csa bounty!

cashew tamari dressing

 have long been a fan of homemade salad dressings, and rarely purchase the commercial variety.  however, there are a few bottled versions that i love, and i recently added another one to the list when i visited austin this past spring and my fabulous aunt took me to wheatsville co-op.  aside from the great selection of groceries and a myriad of vegan options at the deli, they also have a seriously awesome cashew tamari dressing. faced with the idea of funding a trip to austin every couple weeks to pick up a bottle, i hauled some back to kansas city and used it sparingly for several weeks as i tried to make a clone.  the result was... pretty darn close.  and cheaper than flying to austin once a month.

• 1/2 cup raw cashews
• 2¾ tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1¾ tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1¼ tablespoon tamari
• 1/4 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

combine all ingredients in a magic bullet or blender, and let soak for about an hour.  after soaking, puree the heck out of it until the cashews have been effectively pulverized. add a little water along the way if needed or if you like thinner dressings.  makes enough for 2 or 3 salads and will keep in the fridge (sealed) for a couple of days.

served here over a yummy kale salad, courtesy of my awesome csa, greeley gardens.

chard and turnip gratin

finally the stars aligned, and i found a kansas city csa that i could afford and had a nearby pickup area.   granted, i have my own organic garden every year, but i think a csa is perfect for supplementing my own veggies, and hey - it totally inspires my inner chef by providing me with ingredients i'm less familiar with.  this was our first week, and i received an awesome canvas bag with radishes, turnips, swiss chard, red & green lettuce and a kohlrabi.  the first thing i set out to tackle was the turnips...  and threw in some chard.  this gratin was the result, and it was super savory and totally veggie packed.  yum!  thanks greeley gardens!

• 1 package mori nu firm tofu
• 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons soy milk
• 1½ teaspoons apple cider vinegar
• 3/4 cup button mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 cup small turnips, sliced
• 4 swiss chard leaves, diced
• 1/3 cup uncooked wild rice
• 3/4 cup veggie broth
• 2 tablespoons earth balance
• 1/4 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 2 tablespoons tahini
• 1 tablespoons tamari
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1/4 cup breadcrumbs (optional)

first bring veggie broth to a boil and add wild rice. bring it back to a boil, stir, cover, then simmer for 35 minutes or until veggie broth has evaporated.  in a separate container, pour apple cider vinegar into the soy milk and let sit to thicken.  in the meantime, slice turnips into thin medallions.  also slice mushrooms and chop your swiss chard.

set chopped veggies aside and preheat oven to 375°f.  in a blender, combine the tofu and rest of ingredients (except breadcrumbs) and puree into a thick gratin sauce.  add the earth balance to a large skillet on medium high, and add turnips.  sautée for about 4 minutes, then add mushrooms and sautée for another 2 minutes.  finally add the chard to the mix, cover, and steam/sautée for another 2 minutes.

combine wild rice, veggies and blended gratin sauce in a bowl and mix.  pour into a greased 1.5 quart round casserole dish.  sprinkle the top with bread crumbs if so desired, and bake for 40-45 minutes.  let cool for 5 minutes before serving.  then liberally douse with your favorite hot sauce.  :)

my awesome csa haul: