Peachy Keen Green

Our kitchen was overflowing with zucchini and tomatoes from our and Elsa's garden. Larry fondly recalled ratatouille, so Cyndy and I gave it a try during her visit. We decided on this roasted vegetable version. Really good! And the fresh tomatoes added a lot. Update: I've also just tossed the zucchini, pepper, eggplant together in salt and oil and air-fried for about 15 minutes (stir halfway), and then tossed it into the sauce. It might take two air fry batches. Still, it's easier and delish. Ingredients 1 eggplant, diced into ½-inch cubes 1 bell pepper, cut into ¾-inch squares 2 zucchini (green, or mix of green and yellow), diced into ½-inch cubes 2 pounds ripe red tomatoes (6 medium or 4 large) 1 small onion, diced 4 cloves garlic, minced 1/4 C chopped basil 1/4 T red pepper flakes (or dice a hot pepper) olive oil salt fresh pepper Instructions Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line two large, rimmed baking sheets with silicon sheets or parchment paper. Chop tomatoes and p...

So many vegetables work here; I go for a nice mix of color. I almost always use root vegetables like potatoes, carrots, onions, and beets, sometimes bell pepper, and often mushrooms or other vegetables (like asparagus) that need less cooking. Using silicon baking liners makes cleanup super easy. Pictured is a colorful tray that I took to Elsa & John's 2026 fourth of July party. Ingredients A mix of vegetables, like: potatoes beets yams carrots (with part of tops!) onions brussel sprouts cauliflower red pepper mushrooms Optionally, some fast-cooking vegetables like: green beans asparagus Seasoning: 1/4 C canola oil 1 tsp sea salt 1 tsp pepper Juice from 1/2 of a lemon 2-3 cloves garlic, diced 1 tsp TJs 21 spice blend Herbs like oregano, rosemary, basil Instructions Clean the veggies and cut off any blemished ends, etc. I don't bother skinning anything but yams. Cut carrots diagonally; cut others into halves or fourths, or whatever size you prefer (not to...

Larry's cousin John and wife Lou hosted us at their Massachusetts home in early October, when we were on our way to Portugal. Lou made this delicious and easy one-pan meal  for us, and loved it so much, she made it two days in a row! It's quite easy, and we love that it has legumes and veggies together. Below is a slightly adapted version. Ingredients Potatoes, cut into wedges 1/2 large red onion Brussels sprouts or green beans or asparagus 2 C (or 1 can) cooked chickpeas 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped Cherry tomatoes (optional; if using diced tomatoes below, can skip) Dressing: 1 C vegetable stock 1 can diced tomatoes OR 1/4 C tomato puree 1/2 tsp turmeric 1/4 tsp cayenne or red pepper flakes Dill (fresh if possible, dried is fine) 3 T oil Salt and pepper to taste Parsley, fresh (if you have it) Instructions Cut potatoes into wedges,  cut onion into slices, finely chop garlic, and chop green veggies. Drain chickpeas if using canned. In a 9 x 13 inches baking dish, place...

Purple Carrot's  Crispy Sheet Pan Tofu  was relatively easy, with a couple nice twists, including the lentil grain mix, dressing, and layering. I don't expect to order more from Purple Carrot (see below*), but was glad for this recipe. I tweaked it to use  mujadara  and tried different veggies for dinner with Judy and Robert when they visited. Thanks, Robert, for the nice photo! Ingredients 1/2 C dry grains (mix of lentils, rice, quinoa) OR make mujadara  (yum!) 6 oz green beans 6 oz broccoli florets Other veggies as desired (mushroom, peppers, etc.) 16 oz extra firm tofu, pressed & drained 1 tsp coriander 1 T canola oil pinch salt and pepper lemon zest (other spices, like garlic and red pepper flakes, as desired) miso dressing: 2 T lemon juice 1/4 C hemp seeds (optional) 1 T white miso paste 1 tsp sesame seeds 1 T olive oil 3 T water Instructions Cook the grains in instant pot or with 1 1/4 C water on the stove (bring to boil, simmer 25 minutes). Remove fro...

Elsa made this dish for a dinner party a couple of times, served with a salad. It was so good; I loved the rich flavor from the white beans and veggies and crusty bread -- so much that I bought a 6-qt cast iron dutch oven largely so I could try this out. The recipe below I've adapted some to add more veggies and a mix of fresh herbs. Ingredients 1/4 C oil 1 leek (or onion), finely chopped 3 large carrots, cut in 3/4" pieces 3 large celery, chopped (optional) 1 large potato, chopped (optional) (or other root veggies) 10 oz mushrooms, sliced 4-5 cloves garlic, minced 2 T flour 1 C water 3/4 tsp salt 1/4 tsp pepper 1 T tomato paste OR 1 can diced tomatoes 1/2 tsp thyme 1/2 C white wine 30 oz white beans (cooked, or two 15 oz cans) 4-5 slices country bread, cut in 1/2" cubes 1/4 C oil (olive or canola) 1/4 C minced parsley OR mix of fresh herbs (basil, thyme, rosemary, sage) chopped Instructions Chop and dice the veggies. Whisk together the flour and water.  Saute onion (with...

Judy and Robert made a variation of this delicious NYTimes recipe for Za’atar Roasted Tofu With Chickpeas, Tomatoes and Lemony Tahini for lunch before we enjoyed a beautiful hike through redwoods at Robert's Regional Recreation Area . Below is a variation close to what they made, and I want to replicate! Ingredients 14 oz firm tofu, drained 1 can chickpeas, drained, rinsed and patted dry 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes (can also try butternut squash) 1 (8-ounce) bag leafy greens, such as baby spinach, baby kale, arugula, or mixed greens Salt and pepper Marinade: 3 garlic cloves, diced 2 lemons 2T oil 1 1/2 T za’atar dry spice mix  1 tsp dried oregano or marjoram 1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley 2 T soy sauce (for 2nd half of marinade, used on tofu) Dressing: 1/4 C tahini 1 T honey 2T water Farro, barley, wild rice medley, or other grain, for serving Instructions Heat oven to 425 degrees. Cut the drained tofu into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Combine the chickpeas and tomatoes on a half...

A simple, delicious dish, created by Munira. Who'da thought corn and tofu would be so good together? You might be tempted to add other ingredients; feel free. Bell peppers, for example, are delish in the mix. But it really is delicious in its simplicity. Ingredients 1 block tofu, drained 2 cups frozen corn, thawed garlic, diced pepper, diced oil salt to taste optional: bell peppers (chopped) Instructions Press the tofu to drain some of the water. Cut into chunks. In a pan, saute diced garlic and pepper in oil. Add the tofu and saute until browned. Add the corn and saute a few more minutes. Salt to taste. Serve with rice or roti.

Judi shared her easy marinated and baked tofu recipe, yay! I've tried other marinades and not been so happy with them; they've been too liquidy, and didn't turn out better than frying. This one was easy and the marinade really stuck to the tofu because it was thick from the cornstarch and nutritional yeast. Serve on salad or in a stir fry. Ingredients 1 tsp rice vinegar 1 T soy sauce 1 T oil 2 tsp sesame oil onion pwd to taste garlic pwd to taste 1 T cornstarch 2 T nutritional yeast  (try other spices as desired; maybe hot pepper?) Instructions Drain and press a block of tofu, and cut into chunks. Mix the marinade. Put both into a covered container and turn to toss gently. Bake on a silicon sheet in the oven at 350 for 20-ish minutes.

Marina shared a recipe for Cauliflower Salad Sandwiches from the New York Times; delicious! If you make sandwiches, a roll handy to keep everything in place, since it's a bit chunky. Alternately,  serve on top of a lettuce salad (yum!), or as a side salad by itself. Ingredients Head of cauliflower, cut into 1-inch slices 6 T canola oil 5 tsp curry powder 1/4 C walnuts, chopped 1/3 C golden raisins 1 apple, chopped 1 lemon, zested and juiced 1/2 C vegan mayo 1/2 C plain yogurt (optional; I didn't have/need) 1/2 C cilantro leaves Salt and black pepper to taste Whole wheat rolls or lettuce salad (optional) Instructions Preheat oven to 450. Toss cauliflower with 3 T oil, 3 tsp curry powder, and large pinch of salt. Spread on baking sheet at bake for 20 minutes. While the cauliflower roasts, toast the walnuts in a small pain with remaining oil and a pinch of salt for about 5 minutes or until lightly browned. In a large bowl, stir together the apple, lemon zest and juice, 2 tsp curr...

Visiting Munira in Dallas, we made our favorite homemade pizza using  Trader Joe's Whole Wheat Pita  Bread. They make a nice crispy crust, and it's a super easy way to make tasty personal size pizzas (no slicing required). Use your favorite veggies, and optionally top with sauteed tofu, our new favorite addition (recommended by brother Jeff -- thank you!). Note that you can use pesto in place of tomato sauce as a base for some of them if you want more variety, and let people make/top their own pizzas for some fun. Ingredients TJ's Whole Wheat Pita Bread 1 jar tomato sauce (we use Rao) 1 package firm tofu (drained/pressed) 2 T oil 3 cloves garlic, diced 1 C fresh basil leaves 1 T dried oregano or italian spice mix 2 tsp red pepper flakes 1 small can olives, sliced  Your favorite mix of chopped vegetables, like: Onion (1 large or 2 small), sliced Mushrooms, sliced Bell pepper, sliced Squash or eggplant, sliced in half moons Spinach leaves Tomatos, sliced Instructions Pl...

Munira is visiting from Texas, yay! We biked over with some fig banana bread , and she treated us to an impromptu, delicious dinner of her lentil dosa and  secret gobi . I thought dosa was super hard to make, but she showed me how -- and it wasn't so hard! I'm very excited because besides their delicate deliciousness, her lentil dosas are high protein, super healthy, and a wonderful pairing with indian veggies. She also cooked up some bhindi masala for her IT guy (Larry) and sent it home with us, along with leftover dosa batter and a (loaner) dosa pan so I could practice my dosa-making skills again tomorrow.  Sweet! She recommended serving with lettuce, tomato, and chopped onion, and filling the center and rolling up into a "stuffed" wrap. Lots of possibilities! Rough measurements for ingredients follow (of course no actual measuring was done :) Ingredients A mix of dry lentils, such as: 1/2 C red lentils 1/2 C green lentils 2/3 C urad dal 2/3 C channa dal 1 tsp salt ...

Our grape vines are prolific, but the grapes are teeeeeeny. Larry's sister Cyndy mentioned that she loved putting grapes in any sandwich, like tuna or turkey. That reminded me of a nice "fake tuna" salad I made long ago. So I did a quick search and adapted this recipe by adding grapes. Really good! I might add pickles next time - or at least serve them on the side.  Ingredients 1 can (14 oz) garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed Zest of 1 lemon Juice of 1/2 lemon 1/3 C vegan mayo 1/3 C celery, chopped 1/4 C red onion, chopped 1/2 tsp garlic powder 1/2 tsp pepper 1/4 tsp cayenne or chili powder optional: 2 crushed or shopped nori sheets (seaweed) 1 T chia seeds or hemp hearts (for some omega 3) 1/3 C grapes 1/4 C chopped dill pickle (or dill relish) Instructions Mash chickpeas: Drain and rinse chickpeas, place in medium size bowl and roughly mash about 3/4 of the chickpeas with the back of a fork or potato masher, until desired consistency. Assemble salad: Add the rest of th...

We had a super fun, impromptu potluck today at Judi and Nick's, featuring soba noodles with Kira's special sauce. So delicious! The amounts below are guesses based on watching Kira mix; no measurements were made. Kira says measure with your heart. Aaaw! p.s.  A week after posting Kira's recipe, I got the ingredients for this tahini-sauce based soba: Panko-Crusted Tempeh with Lemon Zucchini Soba & Avocado  from Purple Carrot. The best part was the zucchini ribbons! Just take off slices with a peeler, toss with a little lemon, and toss on the plate. Easy and yummy. But Kira's overall recipe is better and easier. I'll just toss zucchini ribbons on it next time. Ingredients Sauce: 2 T tahini 1 T white miso 2 tsp sriracha 2 tsp soy sauce 2 tsp rice vinegar 1/2 tsp powdered ginger 1/2 tsp powdered garlic 2 t rice vinegar Toppings: 2-4 Just Egg folded patties 2 Sweet Earth Applewood Smoked Plant-based Ham deli slices 2 diced scallions (optional) 1 zucchini, sliced into...