Garlic-Dill White Bean Spread on Olive Bread

Ingredients

Loaf of olive bread, (Rustica Bakery-Minneapolis), 4 slices

1 can cannellini beans, drained & rinsed

3 garlic cloves, pressed

1/2 cup fresh dill, chopped

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1/2 cup veganaise (grapeseed oil type of veganaise)

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp freshly cracked pepper

1/2 cup spinach

1 large chunk of roasted red pepper from a jar, sliced

Directions

Mash the cannellini beans with a potato masher in a medium sized bowl. Mix in mayo, dill, garlic, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper.

Assemble sandwich: bread, bean spread, spinach, 1 tsp bean spread, red peppers, little more bean spread, and top with last slice of bread

I was inspired to make this sandwich after getting an amazing loaf of fresh olive bread from the amazing Rustica bakery in Minneapolis. I wanted to have protein in the sandwich, so I decided to go with a mild white bean because I didn't want anything that would over power the flavor of the delicious bread. Although I wanted the bean spread to be mild, I didn't want it to be tasteless, so I loaded it with garlic (warning, it's strong, you may only need 2 cloves) and fresh dill. I just bought the dill, so it was super fresh and fragrant. I have a tendency to always buy cilantro, so I thought I would switch things up with the dill this week. Feel free to make your own roasted red peppers (which are more flavorful), but I just wanted to use up the leftover jar I had in the fridge. I specified the type of veganaise I use because there are several types and I have never clarified what kind I prefer. The grapeseed oil type has less soy in it, which I prefer because I believe you should only consume small amounts of soy for your health. Soy oil is often in the most unlikely foods, so make sure you read your labels. When I do eat soy I always make sure that it is organic because soy is one of the most highly pesticide sprayed products.

Pesto Israeli Couscous with Balsamic-Glazed Tofu & Mushrooms

Ingredients

2 cups Israeli couscous

4 cups filtered water

1 pkg organic firm tofu

2 cups white button mushrooms, sliced

1 can whole large black olives, drained

1 tsp ghee (clarified butter)

Pesto

2 cups fresh basil

4 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup slivered almonds

1/3 cup olive oil

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp freshly cracked pepper

Balsamic Glaze

1/8 cup balsamic vinegar

1/3 cup olive oil

1 tsp Trader Joes garlic aioli mustard

2 garlic cloves, pressed in garlic press

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp freshly cracked pepper

Directions

Press the tofu by: draining the water out of the tofu package, rinse the tofu off, wrap tofu in a kitchen towel, place in a medium bowl with 2 canned goods placed on top to weigh it down, after 20-30 minutes it is ready to be cooked. Cut into bite-size cubes.

Next, in a large non-stick pan saute the tofu until golden (about 8-10 minutes) in the ghee over medium heat (never go higher than medium in a non-stick pan). Next add in the mushrooms and cook through.

Next, make the couscous by bringing the water to a boil, add the couscous, bring back up to a boil, cover, reduce heat to low, cook 10-12 minutes, and finish by fluffing with a fork.

Meanwhile, whisk all the balsamic glaze ingredients together. Add to the tofu and mushrooms and cook for another 8-10 minutes until the tofu becomes crispy and the glaze has reduced to half. Then drained off any excess olive oil.

Meanwhile, prepare pesto by adding all the pesto ingredients into the bowl of the food processor besides the olive oil, pulse a few times, then stream in the olive olive with the motor running until well blended.

Finally, mix the pesto, couscous, tofu, mushrooms, and olives together.

Ever since I realized I could make a delicious cheaper pesto with slivered almonds (as opposed to expensive pine nuts) I have been wanting to make pesto every week. Israeli couscous is one of my favorite grains because of the soft comfy texture so I am always happy to use it. I decided to make up a glaze for the tofu because I didn't want to have flavorless tofu and I knew the best way to infuse flavor into the tofu was by stir-frying in a sauce. I typically used an asian-inspired sauce, but that obviously wasn't a fit with the pesto. So the best pairing I could think of was a balsamic vinaigrette, which turned out perfectly. I wasn't planning on it, but the olive oil in the vinaigrette ended up making the tofu lovely and crispy. I drained off the excess olive oil to save on calories, but feel free to keep it. The olives were a perfect finish for this dish. I ate this cold the next day for lunch and it was just as good. I was very pleased with the results of my random ideas.

Roasted Fingerling Potatoes Topped with Creamy Truffle Vinaigrette Salad

Adapted from Vegetarian Times

Ingredients

Dressing

2 Tbs. veganaise

1 1/2 tsp white truffle oil

2 Tbs chopped fresh chives

1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp sherry vinegar

2 Tbs olive oil

Salad

2 cups fingerling potatoes, diced

1 Tbs olive oil

1 head butter lettuce or red leaf lettuce (salad green of choice), finely chopped

1 can chickpeas, drained & rinsed

1 tomato, diced

1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds or slivered almonds

Directions

To make Dressing: Whisk together veganaise, truffle oil, chives, mustard, and vinegar in bowl. Whisk in olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.

To make Salad: Preheat oven to 400°F. Toss potatoes with olive oil on a parchment-lined baking sheet, then spread into single layer, and season with salt and pepper, if desired. Bake 25 minutes, or until golden brown, turning occasionally.

Place chickpeas, tomatoes, pumpkin seeds, and salad greens in a large bowl and toss with the dressing right before serving to ensure the salad stays crisp.

Arrange potatoes on each plate and top with the truffled salad greens.

This recipe was adapted by Vegetarian Times from a traditional french recipe called salade lyonnaise. Then I adapted the recipe some more. The original recipe called for frisée lettuce, radishes, and pistachios, but I am not a huge fan of frisée lettuce or radishes and I didn't have any pistachios on hand. I wanted to add some protein to round out the meal, so I added the chickpeas and the pumpkin seeds. I was munching on the chickpeas while I was cooking and I realized they make a great snack by themselves. I had to kick Eric out of the kitchen before he ate them all:) I absolutely love the truffle dressing. I have made this dressing several times already because it's that good! The meal plated up beautifully, so it would be perfect for a dinner party and the golden potatoes made the salad comfy. I have made this salad with other veggies and different types of potatoes and nuts. It turned out great every time!

I served the dished with some garlic toasted rye bread and coconut broiled grapefruit for a light dessert.

Basil Veggie Frittata

Ingredients

12 organic eggs

1 portobello mushroom, sliced

2 tsp ghee (clarified butter)

3 garlic cloves, minced

3 vine-on tomatoes, diced

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, stems removed

1 cup aged white cheddar, shredded

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a large cast iron pan melt the ghee and saute the mushrooms until golden and tender. Add in garlic and saute for 1-2 minutes. In a large bowl, crack the eggs, whisk until smooth, and add to the cast iron pan. Add the tomatoes to the pan. Cook on medium heat and continue to push the sides of the egg mixture towards the center until the eggs are slightly set. Topped with basil and cheese and place in the oven for 8-10 minutes until completely set.

This was my first attempt at a frittata. I have been wanting to make one ever since I got my cast iron pan. I like how you can be as creative as you want with this dish. I went to the farmer's market for the first time this year today, so I was inspired to have a dish filled with veggies. We picked up some amazing croissants at the farmer's market, so we decided to slice the croissant in half and add the frittata for an amazing buttery egg sandwich. We also served it with some super sweet strawberries. They are in season now so make sure you pick some up:)

Russian Honey Layer Cake

Adapted from http://www.russianrecipes.co.nz/recipes/dessert-medovie.html

Ingredients

Cream Filling

2 1/4 sticks unsalted butter

14 oz organic sweetened condensed milk.

8 oz organic sour cream.

Cake

4 cups all-purpose flour

2 eggs

1/2 cup local honey

1/2 cup raw sugar

3/4 stick unsalted butter

1 tsp baking soda.

8 inch round baking pan

Cream Filling

Soften the butter and beat together with the sweetened condensed milk. Next mix in the sour cream and refrigerate while you prepare the cake.

Cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat the eggs until combined. Gradually mix in 1 1/2 - 2 cups of the flour.

In a saucepan gently heat together the honey, sugar and butter. Add the baking soda, stir together until foaming. Turn off the heat.

Add the honey mixture to the dough. Stir to combine. Gradually add in more flour, half a cup at a time until the dough comes away from the sides of the mixing bowl.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead for a minute or two until smooth. Then divide into 8 equal portions by slicing down the center of the dough, then across horizontally, then slice diagonally each direction to total 8 sections.

Roll out each portion until it is 8 inches in diameter and 1-2mm thick. Place each round onto a greased flat baking tray and bake for 4-5 minutes until lightly cooked - the texture of soft cake rather than hard biscuit. Remove layers from the baking trays and cool.

(Rotate between rolling out the dough, one sheet baking in the oven, and another baking sheet cooling. The timing should work out perfectly and more efficiently.)

Assembly

Using the baking pan as a cutting guide, trim the edges off each baked layer to create 8 equally sized rounds. Keep the trimmings as they will be used for the topping.

Place one baked layer of cake into the bottom of the pan. Spread 1/8th of the cream filling over the layer of cake. Repeat with the remaining layers, topping with the last portion of filling.

Crumble the leftover cake trimmings in a food processor until they become fine crumbs. Sprinkle 1/3 to 1/2 of the crumbs over the last layer of filling on the top of the cake. Reserve the remainder to coat the sides after the cake has been removed from the pan.

Refrigerate the cake for 12 - 24+ hours, until the filling has solidified and been partly absorbed by the layers of cake.

It would be easier to use a spring form pan with a loose bottom so you could remove the sides of the pan once the cream has absorbed so that you could spread the crumb topping on the sides and it would look better for presentation. I do not have one, so my regular round cake pan worked fine.

I can not take credit for this recipe because it was only slightly altered from the original recipe. Not only that, I was not the person who found this recipe. I was lucky enough to have have some friends make this amazing dessert for me. When you first look at it the cake looks good, but once you actually taste it it quickly becomes the best dessert you have ever tasted. The smooth taste of the honey dough mixed with the sweet cream completely satisfies every taste bud in your mouth. I am usually a chocolate fan, but this is by far the best dessert I have ever had. I decided to make this for easter with my family to celebrate my Dad's birthday. I think everyone had the same first impression that I did. It looked good, but then they were quickly surprised at just how good it was. It was so rewarding to have every member in my family continuously repeat how amazing it was.

I know the recipe may look complicated, but it really is quite basic. It is so worth the effort. I highly recommend making this recipe. I know it's far from being healthy, but I think it is good to indulge for special occasions:)