Who doesn’t love lasagna? Who doesn’t love Mac-n-Cheese? Put the two together….can you say Vegan Heaven? Or as the famous food connoisseur, Homer Simpson, puts it “Aaaarrrrrrhhhh!”

I made this special for my oldest daughter, the diva extraordinaire. She lives with her mother in Cleveland and she’s always complaining about the extravagant meals we make and she doesn’t get to share. Then she proceeds to complain I don’t put any pictures of her on our website. So, now I’m making food and trying to take pictures of her.

And, as any typical teenager…she complains about no pictures, but doesn’t want to take pictures. Never satisfied. True Diva! But you know what, this recipe made her and it’ll make you very happy!

The assembly of this is a cinch, but you’ll need to do some prep work first. You’ll need the following recipes:

Creamy Soy Cheese – 1 and 1/2 times the recipe. Add an additional 1/2 tablespoon of Sea Salt. You want the cheese salty because it will be flavoring the bland pasta.
Tofu Ricotta – 1 recipe
Ste Martaen Marinara Sauce – 1/2 recipe

Our Veggies:

1 red pepper, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
1 bulb garlic, diced
12 oz sundried tomatoes (the kind packed in olive oil), diced
1/2 lb fresh spinach, washed

You’ll also need one package of Tofurky Italian Sausage links. Slice them up and put to the side.

All prep work is done, time to start cookin! Cook 1 pound of elbow macaroni until just before al dente. You want it a little firmer because it will finish cooking while in the oven. Other than that, it’ll get all mushy. Also, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a large pot saute your veggies (all but spinach) on medium high with 1 and 1/2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

After 5 minutes, add your Tofurky slices and saute and additional 5 minutes.

Add the cooked pasta to your saute veggies and mix.

Add Creamy Soy Cheese to the mix until everything is real creamy and moist. At this point you have Sundried Tomato Mac-n-Cheese. You can cook this by itself for 30 minutes at 350 degrees for a great tasting Mac-n-Cheese dish. But we’re taking this a few steps further.

Time to turn up the yumminess!

Ladle some Ste Martaen Marinara sauce in the bottom of a 11″ x 15″ casserole dish. Cover the bottom of the dish completely.

Add a layer of the Sundried Tomato Mac-n-cheese.

Add a layer of fresh spinach.

Next, add a layer of the Tofu Ricotta.

Top with some more Marinara sauce.

And, another layer of the Sundried Tomato Mac-n-Cheese.

Finish it up by covering the top with the rest of the Creamy Soy Cheese.

Put in your 350 degree preheated oven and bake for 40 minutes.

Wow, that looks awesome! Let the Lasagna glory sit for about 7 minutes then dig in!

Layers of comforty goodness!

Our parting shot. Time to eat. My taste buds are happy…very happy .

Here it is…Tortilla chips, Avocado, Tomato, Cilantro…Nacho cheese sauce. The tasty glue that brings all of the aforementioned together. Look at it! Drippy, mouth watering fabulousness! Forget the runway, give me a seat and some nachos!

My oldest daughter came to spend the winter break with me and this is the first meal/snack we had. It was midnight, but the glory of these nachos lit the sky.

I could blab on and on about these, but let’s get to the recipe so you can start blabbing (where did that word come anyway…blab?).

Veggies:
8 cloves garlic, slice thin or minced
1 jalapeno (2 if you aren’t scared), diced
2 green onions, diced

Cheese:
No other than our Ste Martaen Colby and Olive (8 oz of each). However, you can pick whatever combination you desire

Spices:
1/2 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt and more to taste

And:
2 cups of unsweetened soy milk

Let’s start the madness!

Heat 1/2 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil on medium. Add veggies and saute for 5 minutes.

Add one cup of milk and heat to near boil.

While the milk is heating. Get the vegan cheeses ready. As seen above, we are using the Colby and Olive styles.

Rough chop the cheeses.

Add one half of the chopped cheese.

Whisk until smooth. Add the second cup of milk, heat, add the last half of cheese and whisk again until smooth.

Add the spices.

Whisk again.

This is the type of whisk I am using. I don’t know if it has a technical name, but the bottom is flat versus the traditional rounded bottom. This helps act as a masher. When the cheese is added, I mash the cheese in order to help break up the chunks. If you’re using a different kind of whisk, work it out.

There it is, creamy cheesy goodness. Now, stop admiring your nacho sauce and get some chips together. I emptied a whole bag on a pastry board. And let the magic begin…

Pour your sauce all over the chips. Don’t be stingy.

Yeeeeaaaah. Nice and covered.

Top off with some diced tomatoes and avocado. Maybe a little chopped fresh cilantro and your in there.

Right at ya!

How did the crowd react?

Deep concentration…

And happiness (that’s my daughter on the right…isn’t she lovely?) The elated guy on the left you ask…my friend, the Soul Veg East juice bar extraordinaire.

After 5 minutes…the remnants still being gobbled up!

OK, one more beauty shot.

The Mercy For Animals’ 2nd annual Celebrating Compassion Gala was amazing! This has been such a hectic holiday season and we prepped ourselves for this event, however it’s been a while and we don’t get out much…together. I had so much fun being around grown ups, dressing up, serving our cheese, taking pictures, hanging with friends (Kevin & Chelsea) and spending time with my Silver Fox!

The man behind the Ste Martaen brand.

Our spread. Many people came back not only for seconds and thirds, but fourths and fifths. We were flattered!

We shared the table with other vegan Chicago local talent–Karyn’s and Great Taste Cafe. Their food was so beautifully presented!

Karyn’s Raw Sushi Rolls

Great Taste Cafe Roasted Sweet Potato with Chipotle Cream & Green Onions

So Pretty!

Early on in the evening before we were swarmed…

The decor was quite beautiful! The room where we ate dinner was amazing, however it was so dark in there I didn’t attempt pictures. The dinner meal was provided by the lovely people from Chicago Diner, dessert was Delicious Cafe, Raw Creations and Great Taste Cafe, the Late Night meal was provided by Uptons Naturals (someone stole our sandwiches) , Pattycake Vegan Bakery (They had so many vegan desserts to choose from, it was a true dessert buffet!) and Turtle Mountain.

The cast from Oh Brother Where Art Thou showed up! j/k

Kevin auditioning for the new Bond movie.

Not really.

Food, friends and fun!

Nothing like a dish that incorporates the goodness of faux meat, pasta, vegan cheese and tomatoes. Complete happiness in every bite. We are starting our 6 Weeks, 6 Lasagna’s with a bang. This lasagna is power packed with taste and body. There will be 3 types of faux meat and two types of vegan cheese; and who can resist our own special marinara sauce.

You’ll need to prepare the following basics:
2 recipes Creamy Soy Cheese – *add 1/4 cup Dried Parsley to each recipe
1 recipe Ste Martaen Marinara Sauce

Our 3 faux meats are:
1 package Upton’s Naturals Ground Beef Style Seitan
1 package Upton’s Naturals Italian Sausage Style Seitan
1 package Tofurky Italian Sausage

Most of you have most likely heard of Tofurky. In Chicago, there’s a great vegan owned company Upton’s Naturals. They are not national yet, but as good as their products are, look for them soon. Check out their website and order you some faux meat excellence. The seitan products we are using are already pre-crumbled and taste outstanding. They are better than any of the national brands I have tried.

For the Upton’s Naturals “meats” you’ll need to sauté each one separately in 1 ½ tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil until evenly browned. It should only take about 5 minutes for each. Once browned, remove from heat and empty into a small bowls.

For the Tofurky Italian Sausage, slice in ¼ inch pieces and also sauté until browned in 1 ½ tablespoons EVOO. Remove once browned a put aside in separate bowl.

There we have it, all 3 browned and ready for duty.

While browning your faux meats, boil your lasagna noodles according to directions. You want to cook them to just before al dente. You want the noodles to be pliable, but not thoroughly cooked. They will finish cooking with the sauce once baked.

Assembly time!!
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a 9×13 cassorole dish, cover the bottom with the Ste Martaen Marinara sauce.

Add a layer of lasagna noodles. Lay your strips side by side lengthwise overlapping each row.

Add your sauteed Upton’s Naturals Ground Beef-Style seitan.

Cover with marinara sauce.

Pour on a layer of Creamy Soy Cheese.

With a spatula, spread out the Creamy Soy Cheese in an even layer.

Add another layer of lasagna noodles.

Add the Upton’s Naturals Italian Sausage-Style seitan.

Cover with marinara sauce.

Pour on some more Creamy Soy Cheese and spread out.

Now add your Tofurky Italian Sausage pieces.

Shred 1/4 pound of Ste Martaen Vegan Muenster Style Cheese evenly over the top.

Ready to bake. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.

Oh. My. God. That looks good.

I know this will be hard, but let the lasagna cool for 10 minutes, then go ahead and cut a piece. As Kevin from Delicious Cafe said: “The combination of the creaminess of the cheese and the faux meats is mouth watering. I ate a piece and I couldn’t resist going back for more.” I couldn’t have said it better myself! Enjoy!

The base of all things good. The sauce that took weeks to perfect. The base that flavors the whole. Yes, The One. Yes, it’s here…The Ste Martaen Marinara Sauce.

Alright, enough with the fake hype. As you may know, I hate store bought tomato sauce. For years I have tried every brand under the sun and still couldn’t hep but to add a little of this or that to any sauce I purchased. So, after finding the glory and wide uses of canned tomatoes. Bam!!! I figured out what was missing…my flavors. I’m picky, but I believe great food can be made easily. Why waste your money buying half made products, when you can create your own masterpieces at home with a quarter of the budget?

A good marinara sauce can take you a real long way. Marinara is the essential flavor you taste in so many dishes…pizza, pasta, lasagna, etc., etc., etc. So, here’s our foundational glory…The Ste Martaen Marinara.

The Veggies:
1 medium sized red pepper
1 poblano pepper
1 cubanelle pepper
1/2 medium red onion
1/2 bulb garlic

Dice all your veggies. Heat 2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil in a medium stock pot. Make sure you use a good grade of Olive Oil. Remember, the better the quality, the better your meal will be.

Add your diced veggies and a pinch of Kosher salt to the pot and saute for approx. 10 min on medium high heat or until your onions become translucent. I love onions, they’re like little timers that tell you when to start the next step.

The onions have dinged!!

Add 1/2 cup of a sweet to slightly sweet white wine. For example a sweet would be a Reisling and a slightly sweet would be a Sauvignon Blanc.

We’re using the Trader Joe’s staple – ’3 Buck Chuck’ or aka Charles Shaw. Good quality wine at a great price. Let the wine reduce for about 5 to 7 minutes.

Next add two 2 cans (roughly 56 ounces total) of whole peeled tomatoes. It is important to find a brand you like.

For us, it’s Trader Joe’s again. I prefer an unsalted variety and this one with the added fresh basil gives a good flavor punch. Reduce your heat to medium and simmer the sauce while you get your spices together.

Our spice mixture includes:
2 Tablespoons Mexican Oregano
1 Tablespoon Basil
1 1/2 Teaspoon Cumin
1 1/2 Teaspoon Coriander
1 Teaspoon Paprika
1 Tablespoon Kosher Salt

Dump your spices in and get ready to blend.

Using my favorite tool, the hand-blender, blend all of your ingredients until the tomatoes are completely pureed. Reduce the heat to low and begin to simmer.

Lastly, add 1 Tablespoon Pure Maple Syrup (No Aunt Jemima please). The maple and the sweetness of the reduce wine help balance the bitterness of the tomatoes.

That’s all folks. Continue simmering for at least 20 minutes to as long as you want. Use in as many dishes as you like. Next up for us, 6 Lasagna’s in 6 weeks.

Salute!!!

Mmmmmmmm, Tempeh. It is one of those hit or miss ingredients. I loved it from the first time I tried back in the mid-90′s. But it seems a lot of people just can’t seem to tolerate the taste. Tempeh tends to have a slightly bitter after taste if not prepared correctly. I think I found the secret for the skeptics…just a touch of sweetness and that “bitterness” disappears. So, no matter what side of the fence your on, you’ll really enjoyed this Tempeh preparation.

I am partial to the Lightlife brand of tempeh and in particular the Garden Veggie version. You’ll need two packages for this recipe.

Into a medium to large mixing bowl, crumble the two packages of tempeh and add:
2 stalks celery, diced
1 small pablano pepper, diced
3 green onions, diced

Gets your hands in there and mix well.

To this we are adding:

1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 tablespoon Mexican oregano
1/2 tablespoon granulated garlic
1/8 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon hot curry powder
1/8 teaspoon coriander powder

Next add:
1 tablespoon Bragg’s liquid amino
1/2 tablespoon pure maple syrup

The maple syrup is the key to the whole dish. This little dash of sweetness transforms the entire taste of the Tempeh Salad. If you don’t have maple syrup, don’t bother making the dish…it’s that important.

Next add 2 cups of Vegenaise (the purple label is the best) or homemade simple soy mayonnaise.

Mix it all up and Eureka! Great tasting tempeh!

Serve in a sandwich or on crackers and enjoy.

Make it right, you’re a star. Make it wrong, the whole meal is ruined. So much rides on this seemingly basic bread. There’s just something about cornbread that just makes or breaks a meal. And it’s amazing how many variations there are. I’m not talking about adding this or that, onions, cheese, or jalapenos; just different formulas for plain cornbread. Then I solved the puzzle. I figured out a perfect recipe for cornbread just this year. And when you have great cornbread, your meal is skyrocketed to another taste dimension. Now, my wife won’t attempt to make it because “it doesn’t compare” to mine. Nice compliment, but I think it is part of her continual plan to stay out of the kitchen as much as possible. I’m on to you love! With great cornbread, you can serve Army slop and guests will rave about you all year long. In fact, when serving cornbread, the cornbread is really the main dish and what ever else is served becomes the compliment. I’ll stop rambling and let you give it a taste test. This cornbread goes great with any beans and really well with the Thai Curry Orange Lentil soup I recently made.

First, preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Add two sticks (or 1 cup) of vegan margarine to a 9″ x 13″ baking dish. Throw the dish in the oven while it is preheating to melt the margarine.

The dry ingredients:

2 cups cornmeal
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon baking powder
4 tablespoons turbinado or raw sugar

Add dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl.

Check on your margarine. Once melted, take out of the oven and pour over the dry ingredients.

Also add 2 cups of soy milk.

Mix it all together with whisk.

Pour your mix into your baking dish.

Scrape all the glory out. Like momma said: “It’s not good to waste.”

Bake in the oven for 25 minutes. Now you have to wait. Always the hardest part.

It’s always fun to have the children do some chores while you wait. In our family, the boys must work for food. No freebies around here. Especially when they eat like grown men! My boys can demolish some food. I have no idea how their stomachs fit it all. Then, after 3 servings, they ask for dessert. Yeah right, you’re lucky you don’t get a check.

DING!!! The best sound ever. Take out your cornbread.

Let it cool for about 5 minutes. Then serve it up.

Add another pat of margarine ’cause there wasn’t quite enough in the recipe and get to smackin’!!!

And if your mouth winds up looking like his…don’t worry, I understand.

It started last week with our middle son…then momma…then the baby boy…then our oldest son…then me. The FLU!!! Swine flu? I don’t know? But whatever it was, our whole family was affected. Laviyah had it worst. She was bed ridden for 3 straight days. When I say bed ridden, I mean comatose, under the covers, barely able to wobble herself to the bathroom to go tinkle. I was down one full day with the internal body aches and another day with a small headache…like that dehydrated because I was out way too late the night before hungover feeling. (You Chicago VOT’ers know what I mean ) The only one who didn’t fall prey to Porky Pig’s revenge…baby girl.

Our 8-month old Super-Immuno Baby. This girl is laying directly down wind from 5 icky people coughing in her face and nursing from a zombie mother. We’re all dragging ourselves around the house and she’s smiling, bopping up and down and yapping enthusiastically at us. The CDC needs to take a vile of her blood and develop a proper flu antidote. You know what? I’m tired of all that laughing and carrying on you did last week. That’s why I’m gonna stuff my face with pasta and you get some Joe’s O’s and So Delicious coconut yogurt…so Nah!!! Who’s laughing now?!! OK, you still are…love ya baby girl – super immune system vegan creature.

So everyone’s back on their stride and it’s time to celebrate. And how do you think we should do it? With starch, of course! So what, we were all mucous filled for a week. Let’s show this cursed, hoofed-footed beast of a flu we ain’t afraid. Our taste buds deserve a flavor extravaganza.

First, let’s make the sauce:

We have and our using:
1/8 cup Sesame oil
1/8 cup Hot Sesame oil
1/8 cup Bragg Liquid Aminos (not pictured)
1/8 cup Aged Soy Sauce
2 green onions, finely chopped
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
6 cloves freshly minced garlic

Add the liquids to a small sauce bowl.

Using a microplane…grate the fresh ginger into the sauce bowl…roughly 1 tablespoon.

Add your freshly minced garlic and finely chopped green onions and all ingredients together.

Doesn’t that look good? Put your mix to the side while you cook your starch and prep some more veggies.

I used this Barilla whole grain linguine. Of the whole grain pastas I have tried, this is quite good and goes very well with Asian flavors. You could also use a rice type noodle, but I like the wheat the best.

Put your pasta on boil and prep the topping vegetables.

We are going to top the dish with:
1 red pepper, cut into thin strips
1/2 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped
1 hefty handful of mung bean sprouts (not pictured yet)

After the pasta is cooked, strain, add to a large mixing bowl and pour in your sauce.

Add the fresh red pepper and cilantro.

Mix everything together making sure to coat all the noodles well with the sauce mixture.

Finally, add the mung bean sprouts, mix and time to serve up.

Aahhh, welcome back to the world of great eating. I enjoyed my week of soups, water and juice. We may have gotten a little roughed up but we were victorious. And nothing says victory like a mouth watering plate of pasta drenched in the flavors of the Orient!

The erratic weather here in Chicago has been a welcome reprieve from the imminent winter doom that lingers but now my family is feeling the sick blues. It started with the middle boy, worked it’s way to the little prince and now Momma is down for the count. And I mean down…she hasn’t moved out of bed all day So, looks like a nice batch of a warm and spicy soup to zap the ickies away and tantalize the taste buds as well. What soup can handle this responsibility?…well, the Thai Curry Orange Lentil Soup has answered the challenge. This soup is velvety smooth & nutrient packed with a hint of citrus and a bite of heat. The perfect man for the job.

I use a gallon sized crock pot for this soup. You do all your prep in the morning and let it simmer all day, filling the house with the aroma of good feelings. Let’s start with the veggies:

1 Thai chili (not pictured)
1/2 Bulb Garlic
1/2 medium red onion
1 Cubanelle pepper
2 limes
1 12oz can coconut milk – not the ‘lite’ version or watered down
5 medium red potatoes

Turn your slow cooker on high and add 1 tablespoon of Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Dice the onion, peppers and garlic and add to the crock pot.

Next up, wash your red potatoes.

Dice your potatoes into small chunks and add to the pot. Stir the veggies around to lightly coat with the EV Olive Oil.

Add two dried Bay Leaves.

Then juice your two limes right into the pot. Don’t worry if some pulp falls in; it just adds to the flavor. However, you may want to watch for stray seeds.

Add two cups of orange lentils.

Time to get wet! Add your can of coconut milk.

Add a quart and a half of water.

Cover and let slow cook all day (approx. 6 hours). Take note: (1) Do not add salt right now…got it? No Salt. (2) Do not stir the pot right now. The soup ingredients are layered right now…veggies on bottom and lentils on top. You can stir everything up after and hour. Why? Cause I said so and you need to learn patience. Some cooking techniques just work…and I really don’t know why I do this, but it makes a difference. Trust me, it does

Fast forward. It’s 6 hours later, get our your hand blender.

Blend up all the yumminess until creamy.

Add 2 tablespoons curry powder and 1/2 tablespoon Kosher Salt. I prefer hot curry powder. If you choose not to add the more hot…that’s cool. But please get your curry powder from your local Middle Eastern or Indian market and please don’t use the kind from your local mega-grocery store. The quality is far better and your taste buds will thank you so much more. Mix in with your hand blender. Taste…if you think it needs more salt…well, add some more til your tongue says…yes! Garnish with some cilantro and serve with some cornbread.

Soup’s ON!!!

Now Eat.

Yeah!!!! That makes me feel better already!

Back in the recesses of my mind is a memory of a Broccoli Burger served by Whole World Natural Bakery & Restaurant that I can still taste. I haven’t been there since the early 90′s when I was a much darker haired, newly turned vegan, college student. However, unlike my brown hair, the taste has stayed with me all these years. Since I’m not going to be in Columbus, OH anytime soon, I decided to tap into my creative side and see if I could concoct a recipe of my own. And you know what? I think I nailed it! This 3-Grain Veggie Burger has a light, fresh taste yet very filling…just like I remember. So let’s give this a whirl and let me know how they turn out for you.

The Grains: Basmati Rice, Quinoa and Hard Red Wheat Berries

Start of by cooking each of the grains separately and according to your packaging directions. I have included a link for the general cooking time for each grain in the parenthesis after the quantities. However, I often find the packaging may call for a different ratio to cooking time.
This recipe calls for:
1 1/2 cup Basmati Rice (see eHow)
1 cup Quinoa (see savvy vegetarian)
1 cup Hard Red Wheat Berries (see Purcell Mountain Farms) – Yes, it takes a long time for these, so start early.

After you have cooked each grain, dump into large mixing bowl and let cool.

The veggie potpourri:
2 Carrots
1/2 Red Onion
1 cubanelle pepper
1/2 bulb of Garlic
3 stems of Broccoli (not pictured)

Rough chop all the veggies and add to a food processor. If you do not own a food processor, then finely dice all your veggies.

Process the veggies on high for a few seconds until you are left with small diced pieces.

Warm a cast iron skillet with 1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil on medium heat.

Add the veggies to the skillet w/ 1 Teaspoon of Kosher Salt and saute for 7 minutes or until tender.

After sauteing, dump the veggies into the bowl with your grains and get ready for your spices.

The spices:
2 Teaspoons Kosher Salt
1 Tablespoon Mexican Oregano
1/2 Tablespoon Granulated Garlic
1 Teaspoon Poultry Seasoning
1 Teaspoon Coriander
1 Teaspoon Paprika
1/2 Teaspoon Cumin
1 1/2 Tablespoon Vegan Worcestershire Sauce
1 Teaspoon Mustard Powder
1 Cup bread crumbs

I don’t have a pic of the dry ingredients but I did snap one of the Vegan Worcestershire Sauce in case any of you didn’t believe there was such a thing. See…no Anchovies!
Add all the spices to the mixing bowl and let those hands get to workin’. Mix all the ingredients well. Give your mix a taste and add salt if you deem necessary.

To form your patties, you can free hand it or, like me, use a canister lid wrapped in saran wrap to make nice even patties. I used a 4 inch diameter lid that is approximately 3/4 of an inch deep. This yielded me 11 veggie burgers.

You have a couple of options here. You can directly cook the burgers in a skillet on medium high heat until brown on both sides. I did a two step process. First, I placed the patties on a lightly oiled baking sheet.

Lightly brush the top of each patty with some veggie oil. Bake the patties for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Your patties will be “pre-cooked” so you can freeze some for a later date.

For the ones you are going to eat now, cook in a lightly oiled skillet until browned on both sides. For the ones you stick in the freezer, let them thaw before you brown them.

Assemble your 3-Grain Veggie Burgers and eat up. I think they go perfect on a Kaiser bun that is lightly toasted. Nothing like that thin crispy crust and warm soft delicate interior as the perfect chamber for your burger. Slather some Vegenaise and ketchup on the bun, add the burger trinity of lettuce, tomatoes and onions and you are good to go.

Man, I’m getting hungry all over again!

Yea, they enjoyed it too. Knocked out…nothing like the power of a full stomach.