Cucumber Lemon Orzo Salad 

Adapted from mydarlingvegan.com

Ingredients

  • 2 cups dry orzo pasta
  • 2 tbsp. olive oil
  • ¼ cup lemon juice
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 ½ cup cucumbers, chopped
  • 1 cup lettuce of choice, loosely packed
  • ½ cup packed parsley, minced
  • 2 tbsp. fresh mint, minced
  • ½ cup toasted pine nuts

Directions

  1. Combine the olive oil, lemon juice, and garlic in a small bowl and set aside.
  2. Bring 4 cups of water to a boil.
  3. Cook orzo in the boiling water for 9 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  4. Strain the orzo well and transfer it to a large bowl.
  5. Toss with olive oil/lemon juice mixture and place in the refrigerator to cool.Prepare the vegetables and herbs.
  6. Toss the cucumbers, arugula, herbs, and pine nuts with the orzo.
  7. Add salt  and return to the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before serving.
  8. Serve with fresh lemon wedges and freshly ground pepper.

Mini Mushroom Quiches

Original recipe from Fatfreevegan.com

Ingredients

  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • ½  cup bell pepper
  • 1 cup chopped mushrooms
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh chives or one green onion
  • 1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary or 1/2 tsp. dried, crushed
  • 1 12.3-ounce package lite firm or extra-firm silken tofu drained of water, see note below
  • ¼  cup plain soymilk or other plant milk
  • 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch may substitute another thickener such as arrowroot or potato starch
  • 1 teaspoon tahini or cashew butter optional but preferred
  • ¼  teaspoon onion powder
  • ¼  teaspoon turmeric
  • ½ -¾  teaspoon salt
  • ¼ tsp black salt kala namak adds an eggy taste, optional

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 F. Spray 12 regular-sized muffin cups well with non-stick spray or use silicone cups. Heat a non-stick skillet and sauté the garlic, bell peppers, and mushrooms over medium heat until the mushrooms just begin to exude their juices. Stir in the chives, rosemary, and freshly ground black pepper, remove from the heat, and set aside.
  2. Place the tofu and all remaining ingredients into a food processor or blender. Process until completely smooth and silky. Add the tofu mixture to the vegetables and stir to combine. Spoon equally into the 12 muffin cups: it will fill regular muffin cups about halfway.
  3. Put the muffin pan into the oven and immediately reduce the heat to 350 F. Bake until the tops are golden and a knife inserted into the middle of a quiche comes out clean–about 25-35 minutes depending on your oven and muffin cups (silicone will take longer than metal, so if you’re using a metal pan, check it at 20 minutes). Remove from the oven and allow them to cool for about 10 minutes. Enjoy! They’re light, so plan on making more of these—or serve hearty side dishes—if you’re serving more than 3 people.

Hummus

Recipe from Eat, Drink, and be Vegan by Dreena Burton

Ingredients

  • ¾ cup raw cashews
  • 3-3½ tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1½ cups cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
  • 1 clove garlic 
  • 1 tbsp tahini
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • ½ tsp sea salt
  • 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 5-6 tbsp water (to thin dip as desired)

Directions

  1. In a food processor, combine cashews with 3  lemon juice and purée until almost smooth.
  2. Add remaining ingredients except water and purée again until smooth, gradually adding water as desired to thin dip and scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
  3. Season to taste with additional salt, remaining lemon juice, and/or nutritional yeast.

Frozen Strawberry Pie

Recipe adapted from Dolores Ruminson 

(Fills 2 regular size I think 8 or 9 inch gram cracker pie crust)

Ingredients

  • 2- Gram Cracker Pie crust or Pecan crust
  • 1- 16 oz partially thawed bag or frozen strawberries (could use other berries)
  • 1- Tofutti (vegan) cream cheese 
  • 1 tsp. Vanilla extract 
  • 1- tub of So Delicious Coconut Whip or Tru Whip 

Directions

  1. In a mixer or by hand (mixer easier); put in cream cheese, vanilla, mix well…then add coco whip,  mix well then add frozen berries.
  2. Divide between the two crusts, put plastic lids over and freeze for at least 1-2 hrs. Take out to thaw 15-20 min if really hard frozen.
  3. Serve firm/partially frozen. Can garnish each cut piece with fresh berries and fresh mint leaf! Enjoy! 

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