Warm German Potato Salad

A variation of the recipe on Vegetarian Times website. Lip-smacking tasty potatoes on a bed of spinach. Serves 2. Four Stars.

Ingredients

• 8 oz. baby red potatoes, cut into 1- x 1/2-inch pieces
• 4 oz. green beans, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 Tbs. olive oil
• 2-3 green onions, white and pale-green parts chopped (1/4 cup)
• 2 Tbs. white balsamic vinegar
• 2 Tbs. chopped fresh parsley
• 4 cups loosely packed baby spinach leaves

Directions

1. Cook potatoes in pot of boiling salted water 8 minutes, or until tender. Add green beans during last minute or so of cooking.

2. Meanwhile, heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add green onions and garlic. Cook 3 to 4 minutes, or until tender but not browned. Remove from heat, and stir in vinegar.

3. Drain potatoes and green beans. Toss with olive oil mixture and parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Serve warm on bed of spinach.

Vegan Blueberry Muffins with Struesel Topping

I found this recipe on the TheDailyGreen website. These are totally awesome – not too heavy, and the cake not too sweet. Of course, I had to fiddle around with the recipe. I used white whole wheat flour, cut the sugar by 1/4 cup and added some vanilla extract. And it was so good! I don't normally bake with Ener-G Egg Replacer but the recipe called for it and so I used it. It was fine. (For some reason I was afraid it would leave a "funny" taste.) I also have to note that with the crumb topping it was a bit too sweet for me. I'll probably leave it off next time and maybe add a couple tablespoons of the sugar back in. The original recipe says 12 servings but I only got 10. Four Stars.

For the original recipe go to TheDailyGreen website:
http://www.thedailygreen.com/healthy-eating/cookbook/3378

INGREDIENTS
1- 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
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1 Ener-G Egg Replacer
1/3 cup soy milk
3/4 cup blueberries

Crumb Topping:
1/4 cup sugar
2 TB white whole wheat flour
2 TB vgan margarine
3/4 teaspoons cinnamon

PREPARATION
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease 10-12 muffin cups.

Combine flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder.

Make the Ener-G egg.

Pour the vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup, then add the egg and enough soymilk to fill the measuring cup, and then vanilla. Add to dry ingredients and mix well.

Fold in blueberries, then place the batter into the greased muffin tin.

Crumb topping: Mix ingredients until any large lumps are worked out. Sprinkle topping over muffin batter before baking.

Bake about 25 minutes, until the topping and the tops of the muffins are golden.

Rainbow Chard Quiche

I've always loved quiche. This one comes pretty close to the "egg" type but without the eggs. You could substitute the vegetables too. Four stars.

Ingredients:
1 pound extra-firm tofu, drained
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1 large bunch rainbow chard
1/4 cup chopped onions
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
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½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp turmeric
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp red pepper flakes
¼ cup nutritional yeast
¼ cup cornstarch
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp lemon juice

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a shallow 9" pie dish and set aside.

For the greens: Cut off bottom 1 inch or so of stems and discard. De-vein each leaf and finely dice the stems and veins. Keep separate from rest of leaves. Chop the rest of the leaves. Saute the stems, veins, onions, and garlic until wilted. Add rest of leaves and saute until wilted. Set aside.

Crumble tofu into bowl with your hands. Add spices, nutritional yeast, cornstarch, mustard, and lemon. Mix well and add cooked chard. Mix in chard and transfer to baking dish. Bake 30-40 minutes, until golden and the center is not still mushy. Allow to cool at least 10 minutes before slicing.

Breakfast Tofu and Vegetable Hash

The best of all worlds to start your morning - tofu, potatoes, and peas! Four Stars.

Ingredients
8 ounces extra-firm tofu, drained
1 tsp tamari or Shoyu
1/2 tsp curry power*
1/4 tsp dried dill weed
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2 medium red-skinned potatoes, diced
2 tsp olive oil
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1/2 cup diced green peppers
1/4 cup diced red onion
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
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1/3 frozen peas
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1 small tomato, finely diced
fresh parsley to taste
1 TB nutritional yeast
sea salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Crumble the tofu in to small bowl with the first 3 spices. Mix and let sit. Heat olive oil in pan and cook potatoes over medium heat until lightly browned around the edges. Add bell pepper, onions, and garlic and cook until onion is translucent. Add peas and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add tofu and the rest of the ingredients and cook for around 2 minutes.

*If you're not too wild about curry powders, substitute with 1/2 tsp cumin powder, 1/2 tsp thyme, 1/2 tsp tumeric powder, and 1/4 tsp cayenne powder

Homemade Veggie Burger

I make at least one new veggie burger a month. I really hate to buy commercial ones and I'm looking for that "perfect burger" – tasty and holds together when you cook it. My last foray was unsuccessful since it didn't hold together when I baked it. The recipe said to fry in a pan and I just could bear to do that, baked it, and was sorry, sorry, sorry!

This version is fried in a skillet and after last week, I didn't even attempt to bake it; just went ahead and fried it. And it was GOOD! This recipe originated from the book Vegan Comfort Food. Four stars, quite tasty! It would have been five stars except for the fact I had to fry it, instead of bake it. Makes four patties. Serve with Hacienda Home-Fried Veggies (see last blog).

Ingredients
3/4 cup vegetable stock
1 tsp liquid smoke
1 cup textured vegetable protein (TVP)
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1 tsp vegan worcestershire sauce
2 TB chopped red onions
1/4 cup chopped green peppers
1 garlic clove minced
1/4 diced crimini mushrooms, stems removed
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2 TB catsup
2 TB vital wheat gluten
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper

Toppings
Bun or pita
Guacamole, sliced tomato, dill pickes, sprouts, spinach, whatever turns you on!

Directions
Bring the stock and liquid smoke to a boil and add TVP and let sit for 5 minutes. Add to food processor with worcestershire sauce and diced vegetables and pulse until combined. Add rest of ingredients and mix with your hands until well combined.

Heat oil in pan, and fry until browned, flip and brown other side. Enjoy!