Tag: Food

Main

Lemony Lasagna Soup

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Nora: For something as heavy-sounding as lasagna, this soup was surprisingly light. The bright citrus notes in the broth kept it refreshing (can a hot soup be refreshing?) while the cashew cream and sausage gave the soup staying power. Pretty quick and easy, too!

Josh: This soup is just lovely! It is zesty by way of lemon and savory by way of the creamy cashew goodness. I expected this soup to be really comforting and satisfying, what I didn’t expect was how light it would be. The vegan sausage adds good flavor and saltiness that work really well with the rest of the soup, and on top of that it brings a strong protein content to this dish, making this soup into a Main dish rather than a side. But wait, there’s more good news! The soup is quick to make, with only some basic prep (chop some onions and garlic, slice up the sausage, blend the cashew cream) and a short cook time. We through it together on a work night and it was ready in no time!

Lemony Lasagna Soup
Adapted from: Rabbit and Wolves
Time: 10 minutes prep, 20 minutes cook
Serves: two for dinner and then two for lunch
Ingredients:
For the cashew cream:
-1c (4.5 oz) raw cashews (soaked overnight or simmered 10 minutes if you do not have a high-speed blender)
-1c veggie broth (we use Better than Boullion)
-1/2 tsp salt, several grinds of black pepper

For the soup:
-1 tbsp oil
-1 onion, chopped
-6 cloves garlic, minced
-4 links (approx. 14 oz) vegan Italian sausage, cut into half-moons (we like Tofurky)
-6 cups veggie broth
-juice of 1 lemon (about 3 tbsp if you’re using bottled)
-2 tsp Italian seasoning
-1/4c (4 tbsp) nutritional yeast
-8 lasagna sheets (about half a box– sorry)

Optional:
-8oz mushrooms, sliced
-small bunch of spinach
Directions:
1. If you are going to quick-soak the cashews, put them in a small saucepan and cover with water. Bring to boil and cook 5 minutes, then remove from heat and let sit for at least ten minutes. Drain before using. This will help the cashew cream blend more easily. If you have a powerful blender then you can choose to just run the blender a little longer (we do).
2. Prepare the cashew cream by putting all the ingredients in the blender and running on high 1-2 minutes or until very smooth and not gritty at all.
3. Heat the oil in a soup pot and add the onion and garlic, saute on medium for a few minutes until tender, translucent, and starting to brown.
4. Add sausage and mushrooms (if using). Cook another 2 minutes.
5. Pour in the veggie broth (or the water and then add the correct amount of Better than Boullion goop) and scrape any browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Add in the lemon juice, seasoning, nutritional yeast and cashew cream. Bring to a simmer.
6. Break the lasagna noodles into 1-2 inch bits. This will send shrapnel all over your kitchen (sorry). Add them to the soup and simmer 12 minutes (or according to package directions) until the noodles are al dente. Add salt and pepper to taste.
7. Remove from heat and stir in spinach (if using).
Even Easley lines up for a bowl of this soup!
Closing Arguments
Nora: A delicious soup that’s a breeze to make and would fit in any season.
Josh: This aint your grandma’s lasagna!

Main

Gnocchi Primavera

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Nora: I love this recipe because it is so easy and it only uses one pot and the blender… oh and it’s delicious! The leftovers are also excellent for several days after. Feel free to try any blend of quick-cooking veggies. I bet zucchini or asparagus would be great in this dish! Just add them in while cooking the mushrooms.

Josh: This is the ultimate weeknight dinner. The ingredient list is modest, the prep work is easy, and the whole thing comes together quickly! Then when you think about how rich and creamy it is, comfort for your tum, and how absolutely delicious it is… well, there are just so many reasons why this is an ideal dinner. It’s the kind of meal that tastes like you slaved over it for hours even though it took you mere minutes. Most importantly: gnocchi. Mmmm.

Gnocchi Primavera
Makes: dinner for 4, or dinner and lunch for 2
Cook Time: 20 min
Omnivore Index: Creamy and indulgent, nobody is going to assume it is dairy free.
Ingredients

-1 package gnocchi
-2 roma tomatoes, diced
-bunch of spinach (4 handfuls work well)
-8 oz mushrooms, sliced
-15 oz can great northern beans, drained
-oil, for caramelizing mushrooms

Sauce:
-1 cup nondairy milk
-1/2 cup (2.25-2.5 oz) raw cashews
-2-3 cloves garlic
-2 tsp miso
-3 tbsp nutritional yeast
-1 tsp tapioca starch/flour
-1 tsp salt
-cracked black pepper, to taste

-green onions for garnish

Instructions
1. Cook gnocchi according to package directions.
2. While gnocchi is cooking, throw sauce ingredients into a high-speed blender and run for 1-2 minutes or until completely smooth. (If you do not have a high-speed blender, quick-soak your cashews by putting them in a small pot of water, bring to boil for five minutes, let sit covered 30 minutes or as long as your patience will allow before draining. Or soak overnight in the fridge.)
3. Put spinach in your colander and drain the gnocchi on top of it. Return pot to the stove with a bit of oil over medium heat.
4. Saute mushrooms until they release juices and those juices evaporate. Add everything into the pot and cook, stirring frequently, for 2-3 minutes until sauce thickens.

Closing Arguments
Nora: gnocchi = dumplings = good
Josh: Did we mention this is a great excuse to eat gnocchi?
Loaded Junk Food · Main

BBQ Cauliflower Pizza

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Who doesn’t love pizza? Even if you don’t love one pizza, there are so many others that can cater to your needs. It is a magical food, the ultimate delivery method of deliciousness that can be adapted to any situation and any craving.

This is arguably our favorite pizza. When it comes down to it, we make this pizza far more frequently than any other. It has the richness of a pizza with the cheese and barbecue sauce, the hardiness with the roasted cauliflower, and the protein with the chickpeas. Cheap to shop for, easy to prepare, and exceedingly delicious to eat. Plus the leftovers are just as good!

BBQ Cauliflower Pizza
Makes: dinner for four, or dinner and leftovers for two
Omnivore Index: Everyone will know this is a vegan pizza, and everyone who tries it will not mind at all.
Ingredients

–Quick Rise Pizza Dough (recipe)
-1 head of cauliflower
-Vegetable oil or equivalent
-Spices of choice (salt and pepper, steak seasoning, TraderJoe 21 Seasoning Salute – for a few examples)
-1 can of chickpeas, drained (you can save the aquafaba for other recipes)
-Babecue sauce of choice (we use Sweet Baby Ray’s)
-Cheddar or pepperjack nondairy cheese

Optional ingredient suggestions: this goes great with avocado slices!
Instructions

-Prepare the Quick Rise Pizza Dough and cover bowl to let rise in bowl (follow that recipe and then use these toppings to finish pizza)

-Clean and chop cauliflower into florets
-Put cauliflower into large bowl, drizzle with oil, and sprinkle in spices of your choice, then toss gently to distribute oil and seasoning
-Bake cauliflower on baking sheet at 425°F for 20 minutes
-Roll out dough after at least 20 minutes rising
-Remove cauliflower from oven
-Top dough with cauliflower first, then chickpeas
-Drizzle barbecue sauce across the pizza and top with cheese
-Bake in the oven at 525°F for 12 minutes, letting stand 5 minutes to cool before cutting and eating

-Optionally, top with green onions and avocado slices before serving
Closing Argument
This pizza has the satisfying hardiness of a bbq chicken pizza without any need for animal products. Topped with avocado for healthy fat, it really delivers maximum yum.

Loaded Junk Food · Parts / Components

Quick Rise Pizza Dough

His Bite, Her Bite1 Comment

Everyone could use a good pizza dough recipe. It is part of many other recipes as it is the base of many of them. This is that recipe.

This pizza dough recipe is inspired by a frustration that every pizza crust we tried to buy had honey in it or worse. And once we started making this, it was no going back. This recipe is incredibly simple and easy, quick, and has reliably proven to be an excellent texture time and again.

Plus, the ingredients on hand are really basic pantry items, making this extremely cheap to make. This is a way better value and taste than any pizza crust we may have bought. We’ve also used this recipe to make stromboli and it turned out AMAZING.

Quick Rise Pizza Dough
Makes: 1 large pizza or stromboli
Omnivore Index: Nobody knows that good pizza dough is vegan already, and they won’t know this is either
Ingredients

-2 cups flour
-1 tbsp yeast
-1 tbsp sugar
-1/4 tsp salt
-2/3 cups warm water

Optional ingredient suggestions: garlic powder, onion powder, steak seasoning, Trader Joe 21 Seasoning Salute
Instructions

-Add flour, sugar, salt, and yeast to a bowl large enough for mixing (or use a mixer if you have it)
-Add any other spices if applicable
-Slowly add warm water and stir to combine
-When ingredients start to form, use your hands to knead and form dough ball
-Cover bowl with towel or plastic wrap and let sit for a minimum of 20 minutes
-Roll out into pizza dough and cover with desired toppings
-Bake on pizza pan at 525°F for 12 minutes
-Let cool 5 minutes before cutting and serving
Main

Dijon Brussel Sprouts Bowl

His Bite, Her Bite1 Comment

This looks like exactly the kind of meal we avoid, which is to say “bowls.” Have you noticed how almost all vegan recipes these days seem to be “bowls?” It is wild, and we are wildly unimpressed by bowl recipes. This one gets a pass because it is actually, surprisingly delicious. Brussel sprouts, vegan sausage, and best of all mashed potatoes.

The flavors in this go together just so damn well, but the magic is in that homemade dijon dressing. It really does the trick. Great meal, easy to prepare, and the leftovers hold up extremely well. Pro tip, you will need more dijon dressing, we made a batch for dinner and another for the leftovers. By the way I also ate some of the leftovers for breakfast and it was a good decision.

Dijon Brussel Sprouts Bowl
Makes: 4-5 servings
Inspired by: Budgetbytes
Omnivore Index: Everyone will know this is weird food, maybe even vegan food, but nobody will argue against how incredible it tastes
Ingredients

Mashed Potatoes
-2.5 lb russet potatoes
-1/2 tsp salt
-2 tbsp vegan butter
-1/2 cup nondairy milk

Dijon dressing
-6 tbsp oil
-6 tbsp (84g) vegan mayo
-6 tbsp (90g) dijon mustard
-6 tbsp red wine vinegar
-1/4 tsp salt
-1/2 tsp sugar
-1/4 tsp garlic powder
-freshly cracked black pepper

Brussel sprouts and sausage
-1 lb fresh brussel sprouts
-12-14 oz vegan sausage
-2 tbsp oil
Recipe

Brussel Sprouts and Sausage
-Clean brussel sprouts and slice in half
-Slice sausage into medallions
-Toss brussels and sausage with oil, put in baking dish, and bake at 425 F for 20-25 minutes, stirring halfway through

Mashed Potatoes
-Clean and cube the potatoes
-Boil on high with some salt 7-10 minutes
-Drain the potatoes
-Mash together with butter and milk
-I usually add a little garlic and onion powder as well

Dijon Dressing
-Combine all dressing ingredients by whisking together in a bowl

Layering
-Put mashed potatoes at the bottom of your bowls
-Scoop brussel sprouts and sausage mixture on top
-Drizzle dijon dressing over the bowl
-Smash

Notes

We use Earth Balance for butter
We use Silk Protein for milk
We use Just Mayo for mayonnaise
We use Torfuky Italian Sausage (if you’re avoiding processed foods you could use chickpeas instead, only because the critical point of this recipe is the dressing and not the filling. However we recommend using vegan sausage because the flavor is a major part of the whole)

Even the cats are all about this dinner.

Closing Arguments
N: But for real, the dijon dressing.