FREE RECIPES
Copyright © 2008 by Tricia Stuart
All Rights Reserved

For salads, I recommend green leaf, red leaf, Romano, and butternut lettuce, or any of the darker leaf lettuce. The darker, more colorful leaves have greater health benefit through vitamins and minerals than iceberg lettuce.

Put the following ingredients in a bowl, mix together with a whisk, and then cover the bowl and store in the refrigerator for later use:

1/4 cup + 2 Tbs Stoneground Mustard
2 Tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 cup Honey
1 clove minced fresh Garlic
1/4 cup Lemon Juice
1/4 cup Mirin*

*A sweet rice cooking wine that can be purchased at Whole Foods Markets® in the Asian foods section, a health food store, or an Asian foods store.

Ponzu Sauce

One day I couldn’t find the Ponzu Sauce (that had the good ingredients) that I had been to buying at the market, so I created my own, which is more economical anyway. Ponzu Sauce is a great dipping sauce for vegetarian sushi or any Asian dish that you usually dip, like pot stickers or vegetable rolls, for example. Whisk the following ingredients together in equal proportions, more or less, and only make as much as you will
use at one meal. One tablespoon of each of the four ingredients is ample for one serving.

Tamari (a light gourmet soy sauce with less sodium)
Ume Plum Vinegar or Brown Rice Vinegar
Lemon Juice (preferably, fresh from the lemon, but bottled will do)
Mirin (a sweet rice cooking wine)

All ingredients should be available at an Asian foods store or at Whole Foods Market®.

Fruit Seed & Nut Cereal

This is a high-energy cereal that starts the day just right. You can use exact measurements or put in quantities, more or less, according to your taste. Chop seeds and nuts in a food chopper or food processor before mixing with the fruit.

1 Tbs Sesame seeds
1 Tbs Flax seeds
1/4 cup Almonds
1/4 cup Cashews
1/4 cup Walnuts
1 large Banana, washed, peeled, sliced
1 large Apple, washed, cored, not peeled (to retain vitamins & minerals), chopped-bite sized
6 dried Unsulfured Apricots, chopped
1/4 cup raisins

Serve with soymilk or almond milk. Nuts can be bought in quantity from a warehouse shopping club fairly cheaply, but be careful that no unhealthy ingredients have been added (like sugar, salt, preservatives). Read the ingredients labels. Nuts should be the only ingredients. Trader Joe’s® (in larger metropolitan areas) sells nuts less expensively than most supermarkets.

Tofu Scrambler

I couldn’t find the tofu scrambler packaged mix that I used to buy at the grocery store, even after several shopping trips, so I decided to create my own recipe, and I’m glad I did. This is much better tasting, and moister than the packaged variety. If you’re used to scrambled eggs, try this instead. I’m sure you’ll like it, and it’s healthier: no cholesterol, no risk of salmonella poisoning, and tofu has phytoestrogens (natural absorbable plant estrogens), and is a great source of plant protein.

Saute in a medium-sized skillet:
1/4 cup fresh chopped Vidalia onion and:
1 clove fresh chopped garlic in:
2-3 Tbs extra virgin olive oil until soft (about 5 minutes), then add:
1/8 tsp turmeric
1 Tbs sweet basil
1 Tbs parsley
Fresh ground pepper to taste, and stir until well blended.

Drain and squeeze:
One 14-oz (397 g.) package of Firm Tofu and put it in a bowl.
Mash the tofu with a pastry cutter or a fork and add:
1 1/2 Tbs Low Sodium Tamari,* and stir.

Pour the tofu/tamari mixture into the skillet with the onion, garlic, and herbs, and stir until heated through (about 5 minutes). *Tamari is naturally lower in sodium than regular soy sauce and has a milder flavor. It can be purchased at Asian food stores, Whole Foods Market®, and at some supermarkets. This recipe serves two.

Garlic Onion Dip

This is a great non-dairy dip that everyone (even non-vegans) will love. Garlic is heart-healthy and tofu is a good source of calcium.

1 bunch green onion, chopped
2 cloves fresh garlic, chopped
14 oz. (397 g.) soft silken tofu
1/4 cup Vegenaise®*
2 1/2 Tbs lemon juice
2 tsp Tamari**

Chop the garlic and onion in a food processor. Crumble the tofu into the food processor and then add the Vegenaise®, lemon juice, and Tamari. Process everything in the food processor until it is well blended. Store in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator. You can make this a day ahead of time and the flavors will be enhanced. Serve with bite-sized fresh vegetables or low sodium corn chips. *Vegenaise® can be purchased at health food stores and Whole Foods Market®. It is an egg-less, soy-based mayonnaise with no artificial ingredients. **See information about Tamari in previous recipes.

Guacamole With Soy Cheese

Guacamole is one of the favorite snack foods in the New Mexican diet.  I used to make it with eggs to add a little extra thickness to the texture, but since being a vegan, I explored a different choice.  This recipe uses cheese made from soy yogurt, which is very easy to make.  Guacamole makes a nice colorful dip for parties.

6 oz. Plain soy yogurt
2 medium avocados, seeded, peeled, mashed
1 clove garlic, minced
1 bunch spring onion, minced
1 1/2 tsp. Fresh squeezed lemon juice (bottled will do in a pinch)
1 small tomato, diced (optional)
1 dash Tabasco (optional)
White corn tortilla chips

Put the plain soy yogurt in a fine mesh strainer over a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and put in the refrigerator overnight, or for 24 hours.  The next day, prepare the following and put it into a medium sized bowl:  Cut the avocados length-wise, remove the seed, and scoop out the green avocado fruit.  Mash the avocado with a pastry cutter or fork.  Mince the garlic and spring onion in a handy chopper.  Prepare the lemon juice with a juicer, put the 1 1/2 tsp in the bowl, and reserve remaining juice in a covered container in the refrigerator.  Scoop out the drained yogurt cheese from the strainer.  Dice the tomato, and add Tabasco, if using. Stir all the ingredients together in the bowl and serve with white corn tortilla chips.

Garden Vegetable Stir-Fry

Sometimes I get a craving for Wok Food and this recipe fits the bill nicely.

1 clove fresh garlic, chopped
1 bunch spring onion, thinly sliced
2 medium carrots, quartered lengthwise, and then cut in 2-inch lengths
2 cups snow peas
2 cups sliced mushrooms
2 medium zucchini, sliced
14 oz. (397 g.) firm tofu, drained & cubed
2 Tbs cold water
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
2 Tbs Tamari
1 Tbs Mirin
2 tsp raw sugar
Dash fresh ground pepper
2-3 Tbs. High heat safflower oil
Serve over cooked white basmati rice or wild rice (optional)

Wash and prepare all vegetables.  Whisk together water and cornstarch in a small bowl.  Add Tamari, Mirin, raw sugar, and fresh ground pepper, and whisk.  Set aside.  Preheat wok or large skillet on high and add oil.  When oil is heated stir-fry garlic and onion about 1 minute.  Add carrots and snow peas and stir-fry 3-4 minutes.  Add mushrooms, zucchini, and tofu and stir-fry 2 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender.  Stir cornstarch-Tamari mixture; stir into vegetables and cook and stir 3-4 minutes or until thickened and bubbly.  Serve over cooked rice, if desired.  Serves 6.

Vegan Cream Of Tomato Soup

The evils of dairy are legendary but this vegan translation of the classic Cream Of Tomato Soup is soothing, delicious, and worry-free.  This has been one of my favorite soups since childhood.  Serve with rice crackers or dolmas, if desired.

2-3 Tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
5 Tbs flour
5 cups soymilk or rice milk
1/2 bay leaf
1/4 tsp celery seed
1 1/2 tsp raw sugar or date sugar or Sucanat
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
6 large fresh tomatoes, chopped