Vegetable Barley Soup

I do a monthly health challenge offered by my insurance agency.  One of the challenges this week was to cook a recipe with a new kind of whole grain.  I decided to try a vegetable barley soup.  It turned out pretty well.  I cooked it in a crock pot, but I think it would work fine just in a large pot simmering on the stove.

1 tbs olive oil

1/2 cup diced onion

1 tsp minced garlic

2 stalks celery, sliced

3 carrots, sliced
2 red potatoes, cubed

1/2 cup uncooked pearl barley

water

vegetable soup base

1 can diced tomatoes

1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning Mix

1 zuchini sliced thin

Heat the oil in a pan and then add the onion, celery and garlic. Sautee until soft. Put all ingredients except the zucchini in a crock pot, adding enough water to cover the vegetables, and 1 tsp of soup base for each cup of water you add.  Set on high and cook for 4 hours, or until the carrots and potatoes are soft. (If you are doing it on the stove top, bring to a boil, and then reduce heat and simmer for about an hour).  Add the zucchini and cook an additional 20 minutes or until the zuccini is translucent.  Serve with your favorite whole grain bread.

Balsalmic Roast Brussels Sprouts

My son and daughter-in-law made these for us last time we visited them.  They added 3 oz bacon, but it works fine without it.  I also think the balsamic vinegar marinade would work well with a variety of vegetables.

1 1/2 lb brussels sprouts, halved

1 lb red potatoes, cubed.
3 shallots, sliced
3 tsp garlic, minced
3 tbs olive oil
2 tbs balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup honey
1 1/4 tsp Johnny's Seasoning Salt (available through Amazon or use your favorite seasoning salt)

Prepare brussels sprouts, potatoes, and shallots and put in a large bowl. In a small bowl mix the rest of the ingredients. Pour over the vegetables and toss to mix.  Spread the vegetables on a cookie sheet or broiler pan lined with parchment paper, placing the brussels sprouts flat side down. (If you are adding bacon, chop raw bacon into small pieces and sprinkle on top of the vegetables). Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes.

Broccoli and Mushroom Rice Bowl

 I made up this recipe to try to copy some rice bowls I had eaten at restaurants.  I wanted the sauce to be mild and not too salty.  If you don't like fish sauce, you can substitute with soy sauce.

3/4 cup brown rice.  Cook according directions on the package.
About 4 cups fresh broccoli florets
1 T olive oil or use cooking spray 
1/2 cup chopped onions 
1 pint mushrooms (8 oz) sliced
1 clove garlic, minced.
2 cups vegetable broth
2 Tbsp corn starch
1 tsp fish oil 
1 Tbsp sugar
Salt and pepper to taste

Cook rice (I put it in a rice cooker in the morning with a timer so it will be done when I get home from work). Keep warm.

Put broccoli in a steamer and cook until tender, but still bright green.  If you don't have a steamer, boil the broccoli, but be careful not to overcook it.

While the broccoli is cooking, sautee the onions, garlic, and mushrooms in the olive oil until tender (if you want to use less fat, sautee them in a pan prepared with cooking spray and use a little of the vegetable broth to keep it from scortching).  Mix the corn starch, fish oil, and sugar into the vegetable broth, and then add to the mushroom mixture in the skillet.  Reduce heat and simmer, stirring frequently,  until the sauce thickens. Add salt and/or pepper to taste.

To serve, place some of the warm rice in a bowl.  Add some broccoli, and then top with the mushroom sauce.  

Vegetable Lasagna

I pretty much just made this one up. It is a vegetable lasagna with a white sauce instead of tomato sauce. It is not vegan because it has some parmesan cheese, but it is pretty low-fat.

6 wide lasagna noodles (I suggest wheat)
1 clove garlic (or 1/4 tsp garlic powder)
1/2 c cup chopped onion
8 oz mushrooms
2 cup plain soy milk (or other unsweetened nut-milk)
3 Tbsp flour
1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp italian seasoning blend (or 1/4 tsp oregano, 1/4 tsp basil)
1 package italian vegetables 
1 cup fresh spinach, chopped.
parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top

Cook the noodles according to package instructions.  Spray a 9X9 or 8X10 pan with cooking spray.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a skillet, sautee garlic, onion and mushrooms until softened.  Add the spinach and sauté another minute to wilt. Set aside

In a saucepan mix soy milk and flour until blended. Add salt, pepper, and italian seasoning.  Heat on medium, stirring frequently,  until the sauce starts to thicken.  Remove from heat. 

Cook the italian vegetables according to package instructions.

To assemble the lasagna, place 1/2 cup of sauce in the bottom of the pan.  Trim lasagna noodles to the proper length, and put down as a layer.  Sprinkle 1/2 of onion mixture and 1/2 of italian vegetables as a layer.  Pour 1/2 cup sauce. Add another layer of lasagna, vegetables and sauce. Add a top layer of pasta and the rest of the sauce.  Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake for 30 minutes.

Variation: If you want a tomato based sauce, substitute 1 cup of prepared spaghetti sauce for 1 cup of the soy milk sauce.  Layer the tomato sauce and soy sauce when constructing the casserole.  The soy milk sauce acts as the "cheese" layer balancing out the acid of the spaghetti sauce.

Sweet Potato Burgers

I found this recipe in the Plant Based Meal Solutions magazine. The sunflower seeds add a crunchy tecture, and the oatmeal binds them together.  The pineapple barbecue sauce adds a Hawaiian flare.

1 sweet potato, cooked (1 1/2 cup)
1/3 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup quick oats
1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp dried parsley
Olive oil cooking spray

Pineapple Barbecue Sauce (see below)

Pre-cook the sweet potato, (I usually bake it in the oven for an hour.  I preset the oven to bake before I go to work and time it so they will be done right when I get home.  You can also just peal them, cube them, and boil them.)  Peal and mash the sweet potato, and then add the other ingredients. Form the mixture into 4 patties.  Line a cooking sheet with parchment paper.  Place the patties on the paper, and then spray lightly with olive oil cooking spray.  Bake at 400 degrees, for about 15 minutes, remove from the oven and gently turn over the patties. Spray the other side with cooking spray and return to the oven for another 15 minutes.  While they are cooking mix up the Pineapple Barbecue Sauce

Sauce

1/2 cup of your favorite barbecue sauce
1/3 cup pineapple bits, drained. 

Put in a small food processor and pulse a few times.  The sauce shouldn't have big chunks, but it shouldn't be completely smooth either.

Remove the patties from the oven and serve on wheat or multi-grain buns.  Garnish with your favorite greens (I like fresh spinach) and the pineapple barbecue sauce. 

*Note: The magazine I got this from suggested you could make similar vegan patties using potatoes or refried beans instead of sweet potatoes. 

Applesauce Breakfast Cake (not vegan)

 This morning I had some leftover Mussleman's applesauce I wanted to use up so I made up this recipe.  It isn't super healthy or low fat, but at least a little better than a regular coffee cake (6 T rather than 8 T of oil) or a store-bought muffin.

1/2 cup Kodiak Flapjack mix
1 cup white or wheat flour (or you could use all Kodiak mix, and not add the salt, baking powder and baking soda)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
3 T olive oil (or other vegetable oil)
1 egg (if you wanted to you could leave out the egg)
1/2 cup soy milk
1/2 cup chunky applesauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together the dry ingrediants in a bowl.  In a separate bowl wisk egg, and then add the rest of the ingredients.  Wisk some more, and then add them to the dry ingredients all at once.  Pour into a prepared 8X8 square pan.  

6 TB applesauce

Spoon the applesauce onto the batter in six evenly spaced dollups (like dots on dice).  Don't stir in.  Place in the oven and set the timer for 25 minutes.  Then prepare the topping.

Topping

1/2 cup flour (white or wheat)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
2 TB butter or margarine

Mix together topping until it resembles course crumbs.  When there is 15 minutes left on the timer, remove the cake and spread on the topping.  Return to the oven and finish cooking

Glaze

1/2 c powder sugar
1 T butter or margarine
1 tsp soy milk (or however much you need to make a runny glaze)

Mix together the powder sugar and butter.  Add the soy milk and mix, adding enough liquid to make a runny glaze.  Drizzle over the warm breakfast cake.

Variation: I have made this same recipe but substituted frozen berries for the apple sauce.  I thawed the berries first.  When I did I had to add a little extra soy milk to the batter because it was too stiff.

Sweet Potato Glass Noodles

I am a big fan of Cup Bop so I decided to try my hand at Korean Glass Noodles.  I ordered the noodles online, though it is probably cheaper to get them at an Asian food market.  I looked up several sauce recipes, but then mostly invented my own.

4 oz dry Korean Glass Noodles (cook according to package directions and drain)
2 carrots, grated coursely
1 cup raw spinach, cut into thin strips
1 zucchini, sliced very thin. 
1/2 block of extra firm tofu 

Sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 T fish sauce (Choose a vegan variety if you are strictly vegan)
1/2 cup water
2 T sugar
1 T coconut oil

Cook the noodles according to package instructions.  While they are cooking, stir-fry vegetables in a skillet or wok  Remove them from the pan and keep warm.  In the same pan add crumbled tofu and stir fry until lightly browned.  Return vegetables to the pan.  Add the cooked (and drained) noodles and the sauce.  Simmer for 5 minutes until most of the liquid from the sauce is absorbed. 

If you are not too concerned about being vegan, you can substitute fried and chopped egg for the tofu.