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Nori and Rice Salad

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A healthy, nourishing salad that’s really filling and packed with flavour.

Ingredients: 
½ cup dry weight sushi rice, cooked according to package directions
1 carrot, shredded
60g broccoli, in small florets
¼ red pepper, chopped (use the other whole red pepper, if following the plan, and cut down the side, leaving the other ¾ intact)
1 scallion, sliced
3 or 4 mushrooms, sliced
2 or 3 tbsp red cabbage, shredded (cooked, if desired)
100g baby spinach
2 sheets of nori, finely chopped
Soy sauce, if available; if not, use either salt or some of the sultanas to flavour
Flaked almonds, toasted, to garnish

Directions
1. Steam the broccoli until just fork tender. Cool in an ice bath (or under cold running water). 
2. Fry the mushrooms with the spinach until cooked.
3. Mix all ingredients, and season to taste. Sprinkle with flaked almonds, if desired.

Five-Minute Black Bean Tacos

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This is one of our favourite quick dinners: flavoursome comfort food that’s ready in a flash!

Ingredients:

1 can black beans
4 corn tortillas
1 red pepper
1 carrot
½ green cabbage
2 green onions
½ cup all-plant coconut yoghurt
1 tbsp lime juice
½ tsp garlic granules
Salt and pepper

Directions: 

1. Shred the carrots and cabbage, and finely slice the pepper; I used a food processor to speed it up. 
2. Warm the beans and toast the tortillas in a pan to make them crispy. 
3. Make the dressing by mixing the coconut yoghurt, lime juice, garlic powder, and salt and pepper. 
4. Serve the tortillas with the beans, veg, and dressing.

Waste-Not Want-Not Soup

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Don’t throw those vegetable scraps away. You can slow-simmer them for a flavourful vegetable broth, or you can turn them into a hearty soup that’s very easy on the budget.
Ingredients:
2 medium onions, medium chopped
3 parsnips, medium dice
3 carrots, medium dice
1 small turnip or swede, medium dice
Stems from a bunch kale, chopped
Cauliflower leaves, chopped
Outer leaves of a savoy cabbage, finely shredded
Stem of 1 broccoli head, chopped
Inner stalks and leaves of celery, chopped
2 potatoes, medium dice
2 l vegetable broth
2 tsp turmeric
1.5 cups soup mix
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
1) Sauté the onion in a large soup pot until lightly coloured.
2) Add the rest of the ingredients, bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 30-45 minutes or until vegetables are cooked to your liking.
3) Serve.

Ginger-Miso Cabbage Salad

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Perfect for packed lunches or picnics, this is even easier to put together if you can use the shredding attachment on a food processor.

Salad:
200g red cabbage, shredded
150g white cabbage, shredded
1/2 red onion, finely sliced
1 large carrot, shredded
2 tbsp golden raisins or cranberries
2 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted in a frying pan until golden

Dressing:
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1/2 tbsp soy sauce
pinch dried ginger
1 heaped tsp yellow miso

Directions:
1. Mix all of the salad ingredients.
2. Mix all of the dressing ingredients.
3. Mix the dressing into the salad.

Sauteed cabbage with roasted red pepper

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Ingredients:

1 large red pepper (and olive oil to coat — about a teaspoon)
2T coconut oil
1/4t powdered turmeric
1/2t coarse sea salt
1/4 cup minced scallion
2T minced garlic
1T lemon juice
3 cups loosely packed shredded cabbage (I use coleslaw mix)
2T kalamata olives, minced
2T of nutritional yeast
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Directions:

Lightly oil and roast the red pepper in a oven on 450F.
When the skin has until lightly charred, remove the red pepper, cool, peel, seed and dice in 1/2″ pieces.
In a frying pan, bring the oil and sea salt to heat on medium high.
Add the scallion and saute for 2 minutes.
Add the garlic and turmeric and saute for 2 minutes.
Add the cabbage, red pepper and lemon juice.
Saute for 5-8 minutes or until the cabbage is wilted, but not soft.
Remove from heat.
Add the nutritional yeast, olives, and stir to combine.
Add additional sea salt and black pepper to taste.

Roasted kale soup with cabbage, scallions and green herbs

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A little diced potato adds some traditional flavor and body to this soup but lengthens the cooking time.

For the soup

1T olive oil
1t coarse sea salt
1T minced garlic
1 scallion, minced (reserve 2-3″ of green for garnish)
1T of fresh dill, stemmed and minced
1T of fresh thyme, stemmed and minced
A dash of liquid smoke
1/4t of black pepper
1 1/2 cups of light vegetable stock
1 1/2 cups of unsweetened plant milk (I use soy)
1 spring of kombu
1 bay leaves
1T of arrowroot powder whisked with 1T of water
1t of coconut oil
1/4t of purple dulse flakes
2T of scallion for garnish

For the kale and cabbage

1 cup of packed kale, finely chopped
1/2 cup of shredded cabbage
1T of olive oil
1/4t of sea salt

Bring the olive oil to head on medium high.
Add the scallions and saute for 2 minutes.
Add the garlic, dill, thyme and smoke and saute for 1 minute.
Add the plant milk and the stock.
Reduce to low and bring to a very low simmer.
Add the bay leaf and the kombu.
Simmer for 15 minutes.
While the soup is simmering, preheat the oven to 400F.
Toss the kale and cabbage in the oil and salt.
Spread the mixture in an even layer on a small baking sheet.
Roast for about 10-12 minutes, until the kale and cabbage are wilted.
Remove the bay leaf and the kombu from the soup.
Add the kale and cabbage to the soup, and stir to combine.
Simmer for another 5 minutes.
Whisk the arrowroot with the water until dissolved.
Add the arrowroot mixture to the soup, pouring slowly and stirring continuously until thickened.
Remove from heat, let stand 5 minutes and bowl.
Garnish with sliced scallions and a pinch of purple dulse flakes.

 

 

Shredded cabbage with red pepper, tomatoes and dill

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Ingredients
3T of cooking oil (reserve 1-2t for the peppers)
1/2t of coarse sea salt (divided in equal parts)
2 large tomatoes (about 1/4 to 1/2 pound)
1 large red pepper
2 scallions, minced
1T of garlic
1T of fresh dill, minced
2 cups of cabbage, shredded (I use coleslaw mix)
2T of nutritional yeast
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Directions
Preheat the oven to 450F.
Lightly oil the peppers and then oven grill until lightly charred (or use the traditional stove top method if you have a gas stove).
Let stand to cool about 15 minutes, peel, cored, seed, and chop.
Core and seed the tomatoes.
Puree the tomatoes with the red pepper with 1/4t of the sea salt in a high speed blender until smooth.
Set aside.
Bring the oil and remaining sea salt to heat on medium high.
Add the scallions and saute for 2-3 minutes.
Add the garlic and the dill, and saute for another 2-3 minutes.
Add the cabbage and saute for another 10-12 minutes or until the cabbage has wilted lightly and pan starts to brown.
Add the pureed tomatoes and red pepper to deglaze.
Reduce heat to medium low and simmer until the sauce is somewhat thick (about 10-15 minutes).
Remove from heat and add the nutritional yeast, stirring to combine.
Let stand to cool 10 minutes, season to taste and serve.

Cauliflower soup with roasted potatoes, mushrooms, cabbage, and red pepper

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This is a thick, luxurious soup with some additional texture, flavour and colour added by a layer of roasted vegetables. The cauliflower gives the soup good density, and its surface tension is increased by the arrowroot. The thinly sliced potatoes work like a raft distributing the weight of the roasted vegetables, themselves lightened by loosing their water weight through roasting.

For the roasted vegetables

4 small yellow potatoes, thinly sliced (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 small red pepper, cored, seed and thinly sliced (about 1/2 cups)
1 scallion, minced (reserve about 3″ of green for garnish)
2 cups of shredded cabbage
4 small cremini mushrooms, stemmed and thinly sliced (about 50g)
1T of cooking oil
2t of lemon juice
1/2t of coarse sea salt
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

For the soup

1T of cooking oil
1/4t of coarse sea salt
1T of garlic, minced
3 cups of cauliflower florets
2 cups of vegetable stock
2 cups of unsweetened soy milk
2T of nutritional yeast
1T of arrowroot powder whisked with 2T of water
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Start with the roasted vegetables, then make the soup

Preheat the oven to 400F.
Slice the potatoes in about 1/8″ slices, lengthwise. Reserve the ends; throw them in with the soup.
Slice the red pepper in about 1/4″ slices, and the mushrooms in about 1/8″ slices.
Mince the scallions and shred the cabbage (I use coleslaw mix).
Whisk the oil, lemon juice and sea salt.
Toss the sliced vegetables in their lemon and oil dressing.
Spread the vegetables evening on an oven pan with sides.
Roast for about 30 – 40 minutes or until everything is lightly browning.
Season the vegetables to taste.
While the vegetables cooking, make the soup.
Bring the oil to heat with 1/4t of coarse sea salt.
Add the garlic and saute for 2 minutes.
Add the cauliflower and potato ends and saute for about 5 minutes until the pan is lightly browning.
Add the stock and the soy milk.
Return the pan to a low boil and simmer for about 25 minutes or until the cauliflower is tender.
Add the nutritional yeast.
Puree the soup.
Season to taste.
Whisk the arrowroot with the water.
Return the soup to low heat.
Add the arrowroot mixture slowly stirring continuously until it thickens.
Let the soup stand about 5 minutes and let the vegetables rest at least five minutes before serving.
To serve, arrange the potatoes in a thin layer on the surface of the soup (like a raft).
Carefully spoon the other roasted vegetables onto the potatoes, trying not to sink them, although if they sink a little, it’s not a crisis. You should still have enough vegetable to make a nice, nuanced presentation.
Garnish with the sliced scallions greens.

Makes two large bowls or four smaller ones.

Cabbage and potato pie with portobello mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes and tomato sauce

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A rich, savoury pie, stuffed with vegetables, white, and red sauces.

Ingredients

For the crust
2 1/4 cups of hard wheat flour
1 cup of warm water
1T of year
2t of sugar (1)
1/4t of sea salt
3T of olive oil, divided 1T/1T/1T

For the filling
1T of cooking oil
1/2t of coarse sea salt
1 cup of shredded cabbage
1 cup of shreded potatoes, packed
1 cup (one large) portobello mushroom thinly sliced
1 cup of unsweetned soy milk
1/4 cup of sesame seed butter
2T of white miso
1/4 cup of sun-dried tomato, chopped
1/4 cup of nutritional yeast
2T of arrowroot powder whisked with 2T of water
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

For the sauce
1T of cooking oil
1/4t of coarse sea salt
1T of garlic minced
1T of dried basil, rubbed
1t of dried oregano, rubbed
1/2 of dried thyme, rubbed
1t of sugar*
1 cup of passata (tomato puree)
1t of lemon juice
1t of corn starch whisked with 2t of water
2T of nutritional yeast, divided, 1T/1T (for garnish)
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Directions
First, start the dough, then the filling, then the sauce.
Combine salt and flour in a bowl.
Combine the water, yeast and sugar according to your yeast’s instructions.
Once the yeast proofs, whisk in 1T of oil.
Combine the wet and dry ingredients.
Kneed for 10 minutes on a floured board.
Let rise at least 1 hour in a clean, lightly oiled bowl, covered with a damp clean kitchen towel.
Punch down from time to time.
While the dough is rising, make the filling.
Bring the oil to heat on medium high in a large frying pan.
Add the garlic, basil, and sea salt and saute for 1 minute.
Add the cabbage and potatoes and saute for 5-7 minutes.
Add the mushrooms and saute another 8-10 minutes until the mushrooms and potatoes are cooked.
Blend the soy milk, white miso, and sesame seed butter.
Pour into the pan and simmer for another 10 minutes.
Whisk the arrowroot powder with the water until dissolved.
Pour the arrowroot mixture into the cabbage and potatoes stirring continuously until thickened.
Remove from heat, add the nutritional yeast and sun-dried tomatoes, stir to combine and set aside.
Let cool about 15 minutes (give or take) while you make the sauce and roll out the dough.
Bring the oil for the sauce to heat on medium high in a sauce pan with a lid.
Add the sea salt, the garlic, and the green herbs, and saute for 1 minute.
Add the lemon juice, the sugar, and the tomato puree.
Reduce to medium low and simmer about 10 minutes.
Cover lightly if you need to to avoid spattering.
Add the nutritional yeast.
Whisk the corn starch with the water until dissolved.
Add the corn starch mixture slowly, stirring continuously until the tomato sauce has thickened.
Remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes.
Once the filling and sauce are ready, roll out the dough.
Preheat the oven to 450F.
Season the sauce and the filling to taste.
Divide the dough roughly into 2/3s and 1/3s (for the bottom crust, and the top respectively).
Roll out well flour board for a 9″ pie pan (glass preferred).
Oil the pie plate with the second 1T of olive oil. (2)
Add the bottom dough to the pie plate.
Brush the dough with the last 1T of olive oil.
Add 1/3 of the tomato sauce in a thin layer.
Add the filling.
Add the top dough and pinch the pie closed.
Perforate the top crust gently with a fork to allow the interior moisture to escape.
Bake on the middle rack for 20 minutes.
Add the remaining tomato sauce to the top and bake another 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven.
Let cool 20 minutes (or longer), and then slice.
Season to taste and serve with a sprinkle of nutritional yeast.

(1) A growing number of white table sugars are produced without using animal bone charcoal. Beet sugar, organic sugar and unrefined sugars are typically fine.

(2) It shouldn’t be necessary in a well-oiled plate, but I usually sprinkle a pinch of coarse yellow corn meal in the bottom to absorb moisture and make it easier to remove.

Potato and cabbage soup with roasted portobello mushroom slices

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Thickened with sesame and tapioca and garnished with scallion, parsley and nutritional yeast, this is a flavourful and rich soup with lots of body.

Ingredients

2T cooking oil, divided
1t coarse salt, divided
3 scallions, minced (reserve 4-6″ of green for garnish)
1T fresh garlic, minced
1T lemon juice
2 cups vegetable stock
1 large white potato (about 1/3lb or 2 cups) in 1/2″ dice
2T sesame seed butter (thick tahini)
2 cups shredded cabbage (I use coleslaw)
2 cups unsweetened soy milk
1/4 cup nutritional yeast, divided
Sea salt and black pepper to taste
2 large portobello mushrooms (about 200g), 1/2″ slices
2T tapioca flour dissolved in 1/4 cup cold water.
2-4 sprigs flat leaf parsley

Directions

In a large pan with a lid, bring 1T cooking oil with 1/4t coarse sea salt to heat on medium high.
Saute the scallions for 2 minutes.
Saute the garlic for 1 minute.
Add the potatoes and saute for 3 minutes.
Add the lemon juice and deglaze the pan.
Add the stock, bring to simmer, cover and reduce to low.
Simmer for about 20 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender.
Add the sesame seed butter and 2T of nutritional yeast.
Puree the soup until smooth.
Add another 1/4t sea salt and the cabbage.
Return the soup to a simmer, cover and simmer on low for 20 minutes until the cabbage is lightly tender.
While the soup cooks, make the mushrooms.
Preheat the oven to 450F.
Clean, stem, and slice the mushrooms and toss the slices in 1T cooking oil and 1/2t coarse sea salt.
In a lightly oiled roasting pan, roast the mushrooms until they brown (about 20 minutes), turning once. Ovens vary; use the colour and tenderness of the mushrooms as your guide.
When the cabbage has softened, whisk the tapioca and water.
Stirring continuously, slowly add the mixture to the soup until thickened.
Remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes to cool.
Season to taste.
Ladle out and garnish with the remaining nutritional yeast, then the mushrooms, and finally the scallion and parsley.