Peachy Keen Green

A delicious lentil soup that Larry's sisters Laurie and Cyndy discovered. It's particularly good with real French Green Lentils, but green lentils from Trader Joes is also delish. Ingredients 1 onion, chopped 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes 2 T canola oil 3 carrots, diced 3 stalks celery, chopped 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 14 oz crushed or diced tomatoes 2 cups dry green lentils 6 cups veggie broth 2 cups greens (kale, spinach, cabbage), chopped 2 T white balsamic vinegar Spices: 1 tsp dried oregano 1 bay leaf 1 tsp dried basil salt to taste Instructions In large soup pot, cook onion, pepper, carrots, and celery in oil until onion is tender.  Stir in garlic and spices and cook another 3-5 minutes.  Add tomato, lentils, broth, and greens. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes.  When ready to serve, stir in vinegar (important, this is delish!)

An easy appetizer that is delish! Ingredients 6 tomatoes 3 cloves garlic 1/2 cup fresh basil 1T olive oil salt to taste baguette (french or sourdough) Instructions Dice the tomatoes and garlic, and chop the basil. Toss together with olive oil and a little salt to taste.  Slice the baguette diagonally, brush with olive oil, and toast. Assemble together on a nice plate with a spoon so folks can top their own toast!

A delicious vegan potato salad. Fools the omnivores! Can make it the day before a summer bbq. Adapted from epicurious recipe, and uses cashew mayo .  Ingredients 3 pounds baby red potatoes  3 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar 1 cup cashew mayonnaise (see below) 3 medium green onions, thinly sliced 1 celery stalk, chopped 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil 2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill (important) 1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel Cashew mayo 1 cup raw cashews 1 cup water  1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar 1/4 cup almond milk (or other vegan milk) 1/4 – 1/2 cup olive oil salt and pepper to taste  Instructions To make the cashew mayonnaise : Soak the cashews in the water and vinegar for 1-2 hours.  Drain off water, and put cashews and 1 cup water (or less, if you like thicker mayo) into a blende or food processor. Blend until smooth, then blend in the vegan milk. Drizzle in the olive oil while blending. Add sa...

This is a South Mediterranean version of caponata, the famous Italian eggplant salad. I often double the recipe if we make it for a party, so we have leftovers at home.Thanks to Christine for the delicious recipe. Serve with pita bread (whole wheat, lightly toasted if desired) or pita chips or baguette. Ingredients 1/4 cup olive oil (or more, as needed) 1 medium onion, finely chopped 2 medium cloves garlic, minced 1/2 tsp salt 1 large eggplant, cut into 1 inch cubes 3 T tomato paste 1/4 cup red wine vinegar 1 cup small pitted green olives 1 small jar (6 ounces) marinated artichoke hearts, (drained, each piece cut into 2 or 3 smaller pieces) 1/4 cup toasted pinenuts Instructions 1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the onion, garlic, and salt, and saute over medium heat until the onion is soft and translucent (5 to 8 minutes). 2. Add the eggplant cubes, stir, and cover. Cook until the eggplant is very well done (15 to 20 minutes), stirring occasionally. Add s...

Larry's sister Laurie made this yummy dish for us. The chutney, garam masala, and nuts really make it. (Garam masala is a blend of spices such as nutmeg, cloves, cumin, cinnamon, cardamom, coriander, and pepper.) Bake in a glass pie plate; comes out really colorful and pretty. Makes 8 servings. Ingredients 1/2 cup mango chutney (too sweet if use more) Cilantro leaves (optional) 1 1/4 cup dry red or yellow lentils 2 medium carrots, shredded 2/3 cup chopped dried apricots 1 medium onion, chopped 1 stalk celery, chopped 1 1/2 tsp. garam masala  2 cloves garlic, minced 1 T vegetable oil 3 flax eggs (3 T flax meal + 9 T water) 1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice 3/4 cup pecans, toasted and chopped 1/4 cup chopped red sweet pepper 1/4 cup chopped peeled fresh mango Instructions 1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Bring 3 cups water and lentils to boiling; reduce heat. Cover, simmer 10-15 min or until tender. Drain; set aside. 2. In skillet, cook carrots, apricots, onion, celery, gara...

My mom's recipe, with less sugar and whole wheat flour instead of white. Really easy to make, not overly sweet, and hard to stop eating! I like to make mini loafs to give as gifts. (Like for Judi. Her family loves this, yay!) Ingredients Dry: 3 1/3 cups whole wheat flour 1 1/2 cups sugar  1 tsp salt 1 tsp cinnamon (heaping) 1 tsp nutmeg (heaping) 2 tsp baking soda Wet: 1 cup oil (I use canola) 4 flax eggs (1/4 C flax meal + 3/4 C water) 2/3 cup water 1 15oz can cooked pumpkin (2 cups) Optional: Chocolate chunks (I use Trader Joes) Instructions Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl by hand. (Don't use a mixer; if you overmix, it will be dense and not rise properly.)  Grease and flour 2 muffin pans, or 2 large loaf loaf pans, or 1 large loaf pan and 3-4 mini loaf pans.  Pour batter pans. Optionally top with chocolate chunks. Bake roughly 35 minutes for muffins, 45 min for mini loaf pans, or an hour for large loaf ...

A great recipe from Happy Healthy Long Life that's easy to make. I've made some slight modifications, and Ingredients 2-3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled & sliced 32 oz salsa (mix of mild & hot, or yummy Tomatillo & Hatch Chile from Costco) 12 oz soyrizo - or even better  homemade soyrizo 12 oz package corn tortillas (12 count) 15 oz can black beans 1/2 package roasted frozen corn Ripe avocado, sliced Optional: Use kale or chard as middle layer Instructions 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees 2. Pour 1/4 of the salsa on the bottom of a 9 X 13" baking dish 3. Cover the sauce with a single layer of the tortillas (1/3 of the package); cutting some to get better coverage if desired 4. Top with 1/3 of the chorizo, 1/3 of the sweet potatoes, 1/3 of the roasted corn, & 1/3 of the black beans (and optional greens) 5. Top with 1/4 of the salsa, and repeat the layering, starting with the tortillas. You'll do this two times. 6. Cover the final layer...

A wonderful squash soup that I like especially with Buttercup squash, a big green squash with a thin skin that you can leave on and puree with everything else! Kabochas are also great. Butternut isn't worth too; too bland. I'll bake a big squash and store it in the fridge for a day or two sometimes; then making the soup from it is quick. Ingredients 1 hot pepper, diced 1" grated ginger (or 1 tsp ground) 5-6 pounds winter squash (buttercup or kabocha) 1 large onion, diced 2 carrots, diced 6 T vegan margarine (like Earth Balance) 6 tsp brown sugar   5-8 C vegetable broth (adjust per thickness) 1/2 tsp nutmeg (optional)   1 tsp curry (optional) salt, to taste Instructions Cut the squash in half or thirds, scoop out the seeds. Roast the veggies: bake squash and other veggies (onion, carrot) for 1 hour at 350 degrees. (I bake on a silicon sheet with a little olive oil on the sheet, squash face down). Remove from oven and let cool. You can store it in the refrigerator...

Super delicious! From the Silver Palate cookbook. Ingredients 4 T vegan margarine (or butter) 1 large onion, chopped 12 large carrots, 1.5-2 pounds, chopped 4 cups vegetable stock 1 cup orange juice (fresh squeezed is best) 2-3 T grated fresh orange zest (to taste, but critical) salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste Instructions Melt the margarine in a soup pot. Add the onions, cover, and cook over low heat until tender and lightly colored, about 25 minutes, stirring along the way. Add carrots and stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until carrots are very tender, about 30 minutes. Puree in place with a hand blender (worth buying!) or transfer to a food processor and process (in batches) until smooth and return puree to the pot. Add the orange juice, orange zest, and salt and pepper to taste.

I first had this in during college, maybe when I was visiting Chicago and Brenda made it from the Molly Katzen's Moosewood Cookbook . It quickly became a favorite! I've also adapted it a fair bit over the years. Besides making a much larger batch, I use fresh jalapeno; double and use canned tomato (easier and just as good), and try different greens and beans in the mix. The spices, tomato, and variety really make this special. Ingredients   2 T canola oil 1 jalapeno pepper, diced  1 large red or white onion, chopped 3 cloves garlic, minced 3 stalks celery, chopped 3 carrots, chopped 3 yams, peeled and chopped OR winter squash 8 C vegetable broth 2 14 oz can diced tomato 2 C greens: cabbage, chard, or kale, chopped 1 can garbanzo beans 1 can black beans (or another garbanzo, or other bean) 1 C dry barley or farro (optional) Spices : 1 large bay leaf 3 tsp paprika 2 tsp turmeric 2 tsp dried basil 1/4 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp salt 1 T soy sauce Instructions Saute hot p...

Well, you don't have to serve this with fettuccine; we serve it over Garofalo whole wheat spaghetti or fusilli with my homemade marinara .  This is recipe adapted from the wonderful cookbook Isa Does It . Isa's recipes are so awesome. Her Post Punk Kitchen blog is another great source of vegan recipes. Anyway, it's very easy to make, and people seem to love it. It's a great dinner meal to serve to non-vegans! Ingredients 2 T olive oil 1 eggplant, sliced into 1/4 thick half melons 2 long green zucchini, sliced into half melons Breadcrumbs Marinara (I use  homemade ) Pasta (we like  Garofalo whole wheat ) Bread crumbs 1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs 1/2 tsp dried thyme 1/2 tsp salt Instructions To make breadcrumbs, toast a piece or two of whole wheat bread in the toaster and let cool. Put the toast, thyme, and salt into a food processor or chopper and process until you have crumbs :) In a large nonstick pan, heat olive oil on medium heat. Add eggplant ...

This is a thick, yummy homemade hummus slightly adapted from Judi's hummus.  For the two of us, I halve her recipe, don't use as much salt, and don't use any olive oil (it doesn't need it). Serve with pita chips or sourdough baguette. Eat it up in a day or two while it's still fresh! Ingredients 1 can chickpeas, or fava beans (from dried) 2 T tahini 1 lemon, juiced 1 clove garlic (or 1 tsp minced) 1 tsp cumin 1/2 tsp salt 1-2 T olive oil One of the following flavorings (optional) 1/2 C roasted red peppers (or half jar TJs) 1/4 C shiracha 1/4 C chipotle sauce ( Judi's recipe ) YUM 1/2 C sundried tomatoes Instructions Drain and rinse garbanzo beans (I don't use any of the liquid; it's better thick!). Put beans, tahini, lemon juice, garlic, salt, cumin, olive oil, and an (optional) flavoring in a food processor and blend. Scrape into a bowl to chill, or serve right away. The picture here is with Judi's chipotle sauce.

An alternative to the fresh blueberry kale salad that is also amazing––maybe more so, with the candied walnuts. This is adapted from Oh She Glows Best Shredded Kale Salad to use candied walnuts instead of vegan "pecan parmesan" for the nuts, and adding an avocado to the dressing. I called Judi to ask how she made her yummy toasted pecans and used her recipe for the walnuts, because walnuts are even healthier than pecans, with their omega 3's. When I want something really fast, I skip the quinoa, and walnuts, and instead sprinkle on TJs toasted pine nuts out of the bag. Ingredients 2 bunches kale (curly or dino; chopping/dressing shrinks 'em) 1 cup lightly candied walnuts (see below) 2/3 cup dried cranberries 2 cups cooked quinoa Candied Walnuts 1 cup walnut halves 1 T vegan butter 1 T sugar 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper Dressing 3 T olive oil 1 lemon Salt lemon pepper 1 avocado  Wash the kale leaves and rip them off the stems (to discard...

A colleague at work (Savitha) brought me a jar of her homemade marinara, and it was so delicious. I asked her how she made it, and talked with Judi about how she makes hers, and it's so easy! And so much better than purchased. You just have to be around for a few hours as it cooks on the stove. But it smells lovely, so that's not hard to do. Use jarred tomatoes if you want to be sure that you're not getting any BPA or other nasty stuff from the plastic lining. Tomatoes are so acidic that they may be worth paying a bit more for to get them in the jar. Savitha also recommends San Marzano tomatoes if you can get them. 2016 update : Larry's sister Cyndy adds mushrooms and onion, cooking them up first, an adds a couple more spices like marjoram and thyme. The onion and mushroom are nice and make it thicker! Ingredients 1/3 - 1/2 cup olive oil 1 onion (optional) 2 cups mushrooms (optional) 10+ cloves garlic, smashed/chopped 8 14-oz cans of diced tomatoes 1 T (...

Ginger pears are yummy and a great gift. We have a pear tree, so in the fall I make a bunch of it and refrigerate it (up to a couple of weeks). You can also freeze it (canning is too much work :) It's delicious over pancakes, or eat it like you would applesauce. The original recipe had LOTs of sugar (2 cups granulated, 1 cup brown). It was too sweet. In my experimenting, I halved it, then halved that again, and it still seemed sweet enough. You can even cut the sugar out completely if you like; then it's more like unsweetened applesauce. Ingredients 4-5 pounds firm, ripe pears, peeled and chopped 1/2-2/3 cup finely chopped crystalized ginger 2 T fresh lemon juice 1/4 cup granulated sugar 1/4 cup brown sugar Instructions Stir together all the ingredients in a large Dutch oven or pot (I use an 8 qt pot). Let stand at room temperature, stirring occasionally, 2 hours (or more). Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low an...

Thanks to Wanda and Judi, who gave me their great recipes, which I merged and played with to get this! Makes about 28 4" pancakes - breakfast for about 5 people, or just store the unused dry mix for later use. I love the light peanut butter taste from the  PB2 . The flax acts as an egg substitute (helps bind) and is a great source of omega-3 fatty acids. Ingredients Dry mix, almond milk, banana, toppings Dry Mix 1 C PB2 or peanut flour 1 C whole wheat flour 1 C spelt flour, oat flour, or buckwheat flour       (or whole wheat if you can't find these) 1/2 C flax meal (ground flax seeds) 2 t baking powder (heaping) 2 t baking soda (heaping) 1 T cinnamon (heaping) 1/4 C sugar Topping options Maple syrup (of course) Sliced strawberries (the BEST!) Blueberries (fresh, or frozen cooked a little to make a light syrup) Peanut butter Mini chocolate chips (dot a few on top of pancakes when they are cooking) Ginger pear compote Instruct...

Mom's easy recipe for zucchini bread, except with about half the sugar, using whole wheat flour, and with flax "eggs" to make it vegan (you can use regular eggs if you're not vegan). Moist and delicious. Thanks, Mom! Ingredients Dry: 3 C flour 1 1/4 C sugar 1 tsp soda 1/2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp salt 1 tsp cinnamon 2/3 C chopped walnuts optional: 1/2 C chocolate chips Wet: 2 1/2 C grated zucchini 1 C canola oil 3 flax "eggs" (which means 3 T flaxseed meal dissolved in 9 T water*) 2 tsp vanilla Instructions Grate the zucchini; rounding up to 3 cups is just fine. Make the flax eggs using warm water; let the mixture rest for 5 minutes. In a bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. Then mix in the wet ingredients. Pour into greased and floured loaf pans. Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees. Makes 2 medium loaves, or 1 medium loaf and 3-4 teeny loaves for gifts! *One flax egg = 1 T flaxseed meal dissolved in 3 T warm water, allowed to rest for at leas...

Adapted from a recipe on Oh She Glows , you can use all kinds of vegetables and different kinds of beans in this soup. I like the spice/broth mix, and the kale. You can change it up a fair bit if you make it closer to the original version one time (red lentils, no cauliflower, no barley) and make a more chunky mixed vegetable version (white beans, plus cauliflower or other veggies, and barley) the next. It's all about the broth, 'bout the broth, 'bout the broth. I often double the recipe to get a big 5-qt pot full of soup, and freeze some of it! Ingredients 1 T olive oil 2 large garlic cloves, minced 1 onion, diced 3 celery stalks, diced 3 carrots, diced (opt.) cauliflower, chopped 14-oz can of tomatoes (or fresh) 5-6 cups veggie broth 1 cup red lentils, or other legume         (garbanzo, calypso, etc.) A big bunch of kale, chopped (opt.) 1 cup of barley (TJs fast, or pre-cooked) Spices (double for full pot): 1 bay leaf 1 1/2 tsp cumin 2 tsp c...

The avocado in the dressing makes this, as does massaging the dressing into the kale for a few minutes to soften the leaves. I got this idea from Judy Stern in May 2014. I had tried to make kale salads but they never tasted as good as ones I had at restaurants. Judi said massaging in the dressing, including an avocado, was key. She was right! Ingredients Curly kale leaves  Toasted pine nuts or almonds Fresh blueberries (optional) red peppers for color (optional) cooked wheat berries or farro Dressing  2-3 T olive oil 1 lemon 1 T white balsamic vinegar Salt & pepper (optional) a little mustard 1 avocado (the key!) Instructions Wash the curly kale leaves, and rip them off the stems in small pieces. Discard the stems. Mix up oil, lemon, vinegar, spices. Cut up avocado. Add dressing and avocado and massage into leaves for a few minutes to soften kale. Add toppings!

Judi found this  Hearty Cookie recipe and tweaked it a little; then I tweaked it, too. I took them down to Larry's family for his dad's birthday. They were a hit, yay! They are vegan, of course, but also gluten free, in case you need that. And just yummy, generally, with all the nuts and seeds. This recipe makes about 16 cookies. Often I double it and freeze some of them before cooking so I just take them out and cook when we need more! Ingredients Dry: 1 cup gluten-free rolled oats, blended into oat flour 1/2 cup almond meal or almond flour 1/2 cup gluten-free rolled oats 2 tablespoons sunflower seeds 2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds 2 tablespoons chia seeds 1/2 tsp fine grain sea salt 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/3 cup of flax (If you like coconut, add some--up to 1/4 cup shredded. I don't like it and I didn't add it.) Wet:  1/4 cup "drippy" raw almond butter 1/4 cup tahini 1/4 cup pure maple syrup 1 tsp vanilla up to 1/2 cup ...

Judi just gave me a sample of this at work. Oh my. It's delicious. And soooo simple to make. Just oats, flax, peanutbutter, maple syrup, salt -- and optional chocolate chips. See Judi's  Peanut Butter Granola (dangerous!)

Slightly adapted from the wonderful  Vegan with a Vengeance cookbook, an easy, yummy vegan pesto. Larry had missed pesto; it's so hard or impossible to find without cheese in it; we've purchase a few vegan versions, but they weren't very good. This one is great. Serve it with whole-wheat pasta; we like Garofalo Fusilli or Spaghetti Whole Wheat Pasta. You can also serve it with fresh grated parmesan cheese on the side for non-vegans. See a video demonstration . May 2, 2020 Update: Try this with cilantro in place of basil! We have a ton of cilantro growing in the side yard, and Larry mentioned that he saw a cilantro pesto recipe. It works! (I also planted some Italian Basil seeds today, send from the Menlo Park library seed program during the pandemic.) Ingredients 1/2 cup walnut pieces 3 cups packed basil leaves 3 cloves garlic, smashed and coarsely chopped 1 teaspoon coarse salt 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, or more to taste 2 teaspoons lemon juice Instru...