Vegetarian Yummies

Smashed White Bean and Avocado Sandwich

Yield: 4 sandwiches

Slightly adapted from Real Simple

Ingredients

• 2 15-ounce cans white beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• Juice of half a lemon
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 8 slices multigrain bread, toasted
• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 cucumber, thinly sliced
• 2 avocados, pitted and thinly sliced
• 5 ounces arugula or sprouts

Instructions

• Combine the beans, olive oil, and lemon juice in a medium bowl. Roughly mash until it comes together but is still a little chunky. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Divide the bean mixture among four slices of the bread, spreading in a single layer. Top each with some red onion, sliced cucumber, avocado, and arugula or sprouts. Season with additional salt and pepper. Top with the remaining slices of bread and serve.

http://www.culinarycolleen.com/smashed-white-bean-and-avocado-sandwich/


 Cheddar and apple sandwich

**could substitute smoked gouda and add strawberry jam and basil too!

Pasta Salad with Goat Cheese and Arugula

You can prep the components of this pasta salad in advance -- toss together just before serving. The spicy arugula, creamy goat cheese, and a touch of Dijon mustard give the dish plenty of flavor.

• prep: 10 mins
  total time: 25 mins
• servings: 4

http://www.marthastewart.com/313690/pasta-salad-with-goat-cheese-and-arugula

Ingredients

• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 3/4 pound gemelli or other short pasta
• 1 can (15 ounces) cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• 3/4 cup crumbled fresh goat cheese (3 ounces)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 bunch arugula (8 ounces), torn
• 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced

Directions

1. Step 1

   In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente. Drain pasta and rinse under cold water. In a large bowl, toss pasta with beans and goat cheese.

2. Step 2

   Make dressing: In a bowl, whisk together oil, vinegar, and mustard and season with salt and pepper. (To store, refrigerate pasta mixture and dressing separately, up to 1 day.) To serve, toss pasta mixture with dressing, arugula, and onion.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Kale & Mushroom Gratin
   
   Ingredients
   
3. 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
4. 1 shallot, diced
5. 1 tablespoon olive oil
6. 1 lb. (16 oz.) mushrooms, sliced or quartered, cremini or baby bella's
7. 1 large bunch kale, stems removed (I used curly kale)
8. handful spinach, optional (I added some in just because I had it on hand)
9. 1/4 cup white wine 
10. 1 cup heavy cashew cream (recipe below)
11. 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk, more as needed
12. himalayan salt & cracked pepper to taste
13. almond parmesan (a pantry staple)
14. farro, barley, brown rice pasta, jasmine or basmati rice

Heavy Cashew Cream

• 3/4 cup cashews (soaked at least 3 hours or overnight)
• 1/2 cup water, slightly more as needed
• juice of 1/2 lemon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Start with your cream. Cashews should be soaked in water, covering them with 2 -3 times the amount of water as they will swell up. Rinse cashews well. Place cashews, water and lemon juice into blender/food processor and blend until smooth and creamy scapping down the sides as needed. (The magic bullet is a perfect size blender for this job.) Add water two teaspoons at a time as needed to create desired thickness/thinness. Set aside.

Heat oil over medium high heat, add onion, garlic and mushrooms and saute, stirring occasionally until some of mushroom liquid cooks away and they start to brown, I found this to be about 12 minutes or so. Add the white wine and boil for a couple minutes. Then add cream and milk, let simmer for several more minutes. Turn off heat. (If you have time, leave this mixture to steep; the cream and milk will get wonderfully mushroomy.)

Wash and shred your kale. I liked mine to be in smaller pieces. To steam, place in a large pot or wok with cover, cook on low, stirring occasionally until it wilts, about 5 to 10 min. No need to add water as the washing done right before will give enough moisture.

Add kale and a couple tablespoons of almond parmesan to the mushroom-cream mixture. Season with salt and pepper to taste and transfer to a shallow baking dish. Lightly sprinkle a few more tablespoons almond parmesan on top. Cook for about 25-30 minutes, or until golden.

Serve over a bed of farro, barley, brown rice pasta or pasta of choice, jasmine or basmati rice. Top with a tad more almond parmesan and salt & pepper to taste. Enjoy it with the rest of the wine or a nice glass of lemon water.

 

 

Spicy Thai Curry Corn Soup

Spicy Thai Curry Corn Soup

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 4 ears of corn, cut off the cob
• 3 celery stalks, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• handful mushrooms, sliced
• 3-4 teaspoons curry powder
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 can lite coconut milk (15 oz)
• 2 cups unsweetened non-dairy milk
• 1 cup water
• juice of 1 lime
• himalayan salt & cracked pepper to taste
• large handful spinach (I used a spinach & arugula blend)

Heat oil in large pot over medium high heat and saute onions until translucent. Add garlic, corn, celery, bell pepper and mushrooms, cook a few minutes more. Add coconut milk, unsweetened non-dairy milk, water, curry powder, red pepper flakes, juice of lime, salt & pepper to taste and cook on medium heat for 10 min or until heated through. Add spinach and cook until softened to your liking. Test for flavors adding more spices if desired. Serve with lime wedges. You may even want to serve with some crispy bread to soak up the juices...

http://thesimpleveganista.blogspot.com/2012/09/spicy-thai-curry-corn-soup.html

 

 

 

Portobello Mushroom and Spinach Tartines with Roasted Garlic Spread

http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipe/portobello-mushroom-and-spinach-tartines-with-roasted-garlic-spread/ 

Serves 2

30 minutes or fewer

You can now find roasted garlic cloves in jars at supermarkets, but it’s very easy to make your own. Simply trim the tops of whole garlic bulbs to expose the cloves, set on a piece of foil, and drizzle with olive oil. Wrap tightly in foil, and bake 30 to 35 minutes at 400°F, or until garlic bulbs are soft. Cool, and store in the fridge up to 5 days. To use, squeeze roasted garlic from cloves.

• 6 oz. soft tofu, drained
• 6 cloves roasted garlic
• 1 ½ tsp. olive oil
• 1 large portobello mushroom, sliced
• 1 large shallot, sliced (¼ cup)
• ½ bag (3 oz.) baby spinach
• 3 Tbs. grated Parmesan cheese, divided
• 1 6-inch whole-wheat baguette, sliced lengthwise and toasted

1. Place tofu and garlic in blender or food processor, season with salt and pepper, and blend until smooth.
2. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Sauté mushroom and shallot 3 to 5 minutes, or until softened. Stir in spinach, and sauté 2 minutes, or until wilted. Add 1 Tbs. Parmesan cheese to pan, and remove from heat.
3. Spread a little less than 1 Tbs. tofu-garlic mixture on each baguette half. Top with mushroom-spinach mixture, and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese. Toast under broiler 1 to 2 minutes, or until cheese begins to brown.