Crusty Cauliflower and Ricotta Casserole

Wow, so it's been a while. A long while. Although I am no longer vegan, I am still vegetarian and have been attempting to cook at home more frequently again. So here's my attempt to start this blog back up. Tonight Brett and I made Crusty Cauliflower and Ricotta Casserole, which is a recipe I got out of one of my favorite new cookbooks by Jeanne Lemlin, Quick Vegetarian Pleasures.

Crusty Cauliflower and Ricotta Casserole

Takes about 1 hour and serves 4 people.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 c finely diced, drained tomatoes

1 medium cauliflower, cut into small flowerettes (about 6 cups)

3 large eggs

1 c part-skim ricotta cheese

3/4 c milk

1/4 c grated parmesan

1 tbsp freshly minced parsley

1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

dash cayenne pepper

freshly ground pepper to taste

1 c grated Muenster cheese

1/4 c bread crumbs

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Do not brown the garlic. Add the tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often. Stir in the cauliflower and toss to coat all over with tomato mixture. Pour in a few tablespoons of water and cover the pan. Cook for about 7 minutes, or until the cauliflower is tender. Mine took a lot longer, probably about 12 minutes, but I kept my heat pretty low to avoid the spitting. Let sit for several minutes, until it is warm or room temperature.

2. Preheat the oven to 375 F. Butter a 12 x 7 x 2 inch ovenproof dish or other shallow 2 1/2 quart baking dish. I used a 3 quart dish and it was fine.

3. Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Beat in the ricotta, milk, parmesan cheese, parsley, nutmeg, cayenne, pepper, and Muenster cheese. Stir in cauliflower mixture. Spread in the prepared dish and sprinkle on the bread crumbs.

4. Bake for 20 minutes, or until hot and bubbly. Do not overcook, or the casserole will dry out.

5. Enjoy!

Hungry? Pin this recipe for later!

Vegan Slow Cooked Bombay Potatoes

Another fabulous recipe from my lovely friend, Katie Boswell. I actually made this a couple weeks ago, but I'm just getting around to posting it now. It was super simple and very tasty!!! Will definitely be making again.

Slow Cooked Bombay Potatoes

Takes about 30 minutes to prepare and 4-6 hours to cook. Serves 4-6 people.

Ingredients:

3 lbs potatoes

1 can chick peas

1 medium onion

4 tomatoes

2 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp garam masala

1 1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp dried chili flakes

3 tbsp olive oil

1 1/2 to 2 tsp kosher salt

freshly cracked black pepper

coriander (or flat-leaf parsley)

Directions:

1. Preheat your slow cooker.

2. Mix up all seasonings, except the mustard seeds, in a bowl. Don't worry if you already accidentally added the mustard seeds. I did too. It still turned out.

3. Mince the onion. Peel, wash, and cube the potatoes.

4. Wash the tomatoes, squeeze out the seeds and chop 'em up. Don't worry about peeling them.

5. Heat the oil in a large frying pan, add the mustard seeds, and wait for them to start popping.

6. As soon as they pop, add the onion. Cook for a minute or until the onion turns translucent.

7. Add the spice mixture and cook for another 3 minutes.

8. Add the potatoes and mix, making sure every potato gets some of the spice mixture.

9. Transfer the potato mix to your slower cooker and add the tomatoes, can of chick peas, and the salt & pepper. Stir together.

10. Cook on low for 4 - 6 hours, depending on your slow cooker. When done cooking, add the corriander or parsley all over and serve with rice.

Vegan Balsamic Herb-Roasted Tofu

I'm sorry I've been so awful about updating. Life has been mean to me lately. Well, not really, I should say that my brain has been mean to me lately. Lots of stuff on my mind that make it hard to actually want to do healthy and productive things, like cooking. Anyway, I'm here now, and I am forcing myself to work on this again.

Seriously though, this recipe is probably my new fav. SO delish!

Vegan Balsamic Herb-Roasted Tofu

Takes about 30 minutes to prepare, 30 minutes to marinate, and 1 hour to bake. Serves about 4 people.

Ingredients:

2 (14-ounce) packages firm tofu

3/4 cup balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon dried or 1 tablespoon fresh chopped thyme, oregano or parsley (I used thyme)

Directions:

1. Drain tofu and place on a plate. Cover tofu with another plate and weight the top with a food can or other object of about 1 pound.




2. Let stand 20 to 30 minutes to extract excess liquid.

3. While waiting for the tofu to drain, in a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, mustard and herbs. Set aside until the tofu has fully drained.





4. Drain excess liquid and cut the tofu into 3/4 inch slices. The thinner the better.




5. Place the slices single layer in a shallow dish and pour mixture over the tofu and let marinate 30 minutes.



6. Preheat oven to 350. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove tofu from the marinade and place on the baking sheet. Bake until firm and lightly browned, about 1 hour.

Brown Sugar Kale Chips

You may remember my entry on sauteed kale back in January. And if you do remember that entry, you may also remember me stating I wasn't a huge fan of kale, mostly due to the texture. Well this recipe totally changes my opinion of kale. For the good. Crispy, sweet, and snackable brown sugar kale chips are AWESOME.

It all started when my colleague made me try her homemade baked chipotle kale chips. I was pretty 'eh' on the idea, but I went for it and was pleasantly surprised. I didn't mind them. Then she mentioned I may like brown sugar ones even more and explained the recipe (which I am only recalling by memory here...) Turns out, I love brown sugar kale chips!!! And I would like to share the recipe... so here it is!


Brown Sugar Kale Chips
Takes about 15 minutes to prep and 20-25 minutes to bake. Serves about 3 people. (Unless you're like me and eat the whole thing...)


Ingredients:
1 bunch of fresh kale
1 1/2 tbs olive oil
1/2 - 3/4 cup brown sugar




Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with tin foil.



2. Wash kale and lay out on a towel (or paper towels) to dry. To help the kale dry quickly, use a towel (or paper towels) and pat down the kale by hand. I hear you can also use a salad spinner to help. Try to get the kale as dry as possible.





3. Tear kale into chip-sized pieces and place in a large bowl. Note: Do not include the stems.





4. Add a splash (about 1 1/2 tbs) of olive oil and mix in with your hands.





5. Add the brown sugar and mix in with your hands. I eyeballed the amount. I just kept adding more until I felt it was well coated.



6. Spread kale mixture across a baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until crispy and slightly brown.




7. Be sure to remove from the baking sheet as soon as possible. The more time the kale chips have to cool, the more they will stick to the tin foil!!!

Vegan French Onion Soup

Been busy lately. Or so it seems. Anyway, here's another tasty soup recipe. Hope you all enjoy it as much as I did!


Vegan French Onion Soup
Source: neverhomemake.com

Takes about an hour and 20 minutes total and serves about 5-6 people.

Ingredients:

2 pounds of sliced thinly onions

2 cloves minced garlic

1/4 olive oil for the onions and 2 tbs olive oil for the roux mixture

2 tbs maple syrup

salt and pepper (to taste)

1 tsp ground coriander

8 cups vegetable broth

1/3 cup whole wheat flour

wholegrain sourdough bread (or your favorite), cubed

Directions:

1. Slice onions very thinly.

This takes a while, and I guarantee will make you cry like a baby. I have proof.

See...

2. Heat the 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions and cook for 8 to 10 minutes -- stirring often -- until softened.

3. Add the maple syrup, salt, and pepper. Stir well -- being careful not to burn the onions -- for 20 minutes, until golden.



4. Add in the garlic, coriander, and vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer for 30 minutes.

5. During those last 10 minutes of waiting, (and yes, the waiting is super annoying... While I waited all I could think is, Can I eat this already???) heat the olive oil into a shallow pan on medium-low and wait for the it to get to a hot, but not too hot (shouldn't be smoking).

By the way, this is how your onions should look at this point...

6. Add the flour to the 1/4 cup oil and stir continuously for 10 minutes -- until flower is deep brown and smells nutty.

7. Add roux to the soup and let cook for another 5 minutes. Serve with cubed bread and enjoy!