rustic bread and eggplant lasagna (Kandis)

Another vegan yumyum recipe that I made this for Joe and Robyn the other night with the blueberry grunts for dessert.

http://veganyumyum.com/2009/05/rustic-bread-eggplant-lasagna

The flavors with delicious and I modified a few things:
I added fresh romano cheese to the bread crumb topping
I used all wheat flour for the grunts...
serving with balalmic vinegar is a must--but don't over-do it!)
If I make it again I will make sure I toast the breat to a crisp so it's not so soggy... (I hate soggy)
But it was way easier to make than conventional lasagna!

Ginger Peanut Noodles (kandis)

Ok people! This dish rocked my world! (and Colby's too) You HAVE TO TRY IT!

http://www.legumesamis.com/search/label/Asian

(Just use angel hair or linguini if you can't find soba noodles or another asian noodle that could work... Just thinking about this meal is making me crave it again!)

Tostadas!

Refritos ~ from the New Moosewood Cookbook

2 cups dry pinto beans, soaked

2 to 3 Tbs. olive oil

2 cups minced onion

5 to 6 (or even more) medium cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp. cumin

1 1/2 tsp. salt

black pepper

optional: 1 small bell pepper, minced

1. Cook the presoaked beans in plenty of boiling water until very soft. Drain and set aside.

2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add onion, half the garlic, cumin, and salt. Saute over medium heat about 10 minutes, or until the onions are soft. Add (or don't add) the optional bell pepper, and saute another 5 minutes. Add remaining garlic; season with black pepper.

3. Turn heat to low, add beans, and mix well. Mash with a fork or a potatoe masher, and cook for just a few minutes more. Serve right away or store in refrigerator or freezer until time to reheat.

Tostadas

Tostada Components:

1. Deep fried tortiallas ~ Fry corn tortillas in hot oil unil crisp. Drain well on paper towels, and serve in a basket.

2. Refritos

3. Accessories: shredded lettuce, minced olives, chopped hardboiled egg, finely shredded cabbage, grated cheese, minced mild chilies, guacamole, chopped tomatoes, sour cream, hot sauce, salsa, olives, cilantro, etc.

My Notes: ~This is my favorite kind of meal because of all the options, the kids pick what they like and leave what they don't and we are all happy!
~ I used pre-fried tostadas, they are cheap and easy, but I want to try frying my own too!
~I used canned pinto beans, I know I'm lazy, but if you do, DON'T ADD THE SALT called for! Mine were too salty.
~ I used my favorite Corn Salsa

Tomatoes 2-4
bunch cilantro
bunch green onions (or less if you don't like that much!)
1 can corn
1 can black eye peas
Good Seasons Italian Mix dressing ~ made with low oil instructions
salt and pepper
jalapeno

Enjoy!!

Zucchini Crusted Pizza

Got this from my new Moosewood Cookbook, Zucchini Crusted Pizza.

olive oil and flour for pan
2 cups (packed) grated zucchini (about 2 7-inchers)
2 eggs, beaten (ok to delete one or both yolks)
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup grated mozzarella
1/2 cup grated parmesan
optional: pinches of basil, marjoram, and/or rosemary
2 tbs. olive oil

Topping suggestions:
extra olive oil
1 large ripe tomato, sliced
extra mozzarellaa, sliced or grated
2 to 3 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced
sauteed mushrooms
thinly sliced bell peppers
sliced olives

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Generously oil a 10-inch pie pan and coat lightly with flour. (you can also use a jelly roll pan.)
2. Combine zucchini, eggs, flour, mozzarella, parmesan, herbs and 1 Tbs. olive oil in a bowl and mix well.
3. Spread into the prepared pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until golden brown. About halfway through the baking, brush with the remaining Tbs. of olive oil (optional). Remove from oven. When it has cooled for about 10 minutes, use a spatula to loosen the crust from the pan, so it won't break later.


4. Top with your favorite pizza items and bake at 400 degrees until heated through.

My Notes:
I put my crust in a slightly smaller pie pan, and the end result was not a crust. It was more like a quiche (I didn't omit the egg yolks obviously). The flavor was still great, but the texture was a quiche with toppings (still really yummy!) So next time I will try it in an actual pan to get more of a crust. We still loved it though!

Onion Rings ~ To Die For!

I went to Red Robin a few weeks ago and had onion rings...they were awesome! Then I found this and made them and they were equally awesome!!! And healthier too! A perfect side for lots of meals!

1 1/2 cups cornflakes

1/2 cup plain dried breadcrumbs

1 large egg

1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk

1/4 cup flour

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

coarse salt and ground pepper

1 medium sweet onion, such as vidalia, quartered crosswise and broken into rings (discard small center rings)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a food processor, pulse cornflakes and breadcrumbs until fine crumbs form, then transfer to a medium bowl. In another medium bowl, whisk together egg, buttermilk, flour, and cayenne and season with salt and pepper.

2. Dip onion rings in egg mixture (letting excess drip off) and dredge in cornflake mixture; place on a large plate. Pour oil onto a rimmed baking sheet. Place in oven and heat 2 minutes. Remove sheet from oven and tilt to coat evenly with oil. Arrange onion rings on sheet. Bake, turning once, until onion rings are golden brown, about 16 minutes. Season with salt. Read more at Marthastewart.com: Baked Onion Rings - Martha Stewart Recipes

Blueberry Grunts (Kandis)

Another awesome recipe from Veganyumyum:
http://veganyumyum.com/2008/07/individual-blueberry-grunts/
(my only modification: I used half wheat flour and half white--and Smart Balance instead of margarine of course!) This is TO DIE FOR GOOD!

Vegan crumb cake (Kandis)

I got his recipe here:
http://veganyumyum.com/2008/06/crumb-cake/
(my only suggestion--make sure your crumbs are really small if you use Smart Balance instead of butter... it makes 'crumb rocks' if they are too big!)