Breast of Tofu

MARINADE:
1 and 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tbsp of vinegar
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
2 teaspoons dried sage leaves, crumbled (or 2 T. fresh, chopped)
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary (or 1/2 T. fresh)
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme (or 1/2 T. fresh, chopped)
1/2 teaspoon onion powder


Prepare the marinade by mixing all of the ingredients together in small container with a tight lid. Slice the tofu about 1/4" thick and place in the marinade so that it is fairly tightly-packed and covered with liquid. Let marinade for one day or over night.

Mix together 2 cups unbleached flour or whole wheat (I prefer whole wheat), 1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes, 1 teaspoon salt, and freshly-ground black pepper to taste.

Coat the slices with Seasoned Flour. Heat about 1 tbsp of olive oil in a skillet over Medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the slices and cook, watching carefully, until golden brown and crispy on the bottom. Turn the slices over and cook the other side until golden and crispy.

Mix together 4 tbsp of soy sauce and 2 tbsp of vinegar together in a small bowl. Pour over tofu.
Enjoy!

Lentil Burrito

This recipe is SO easy to make and is so delicious!

Serves 6

Ingredients:
1 medium chopped onion
2 cups of lentils- I use the precooked lentils from Trader Joe's (can be found in refrigerator section)
1/4 cup of mexican cheese
1 tbsp of EVOO
4 tbsp of cumin powder- add more or less according to taste
salt to taste
6 tortillas (I prefer to use uncooked tortillas)

Directions:
1. Heat up a pan with EVOO. Add chopped unions and saute until golden.
2. Add the lentils and cook for 5 minutes.
3. Add salt and cumin powder.
4. Add cheese and mix.
5. Put some in the middle of a tortilla and wrap.

I enjoy eating the burrito with some guacamole and hot sauce.

Lentils, a small but nutritionally mighty member of the legume family, are a very good source of cholesterol-lowering fiber. Not only do lentils help lower cholesterol, they are of special benefit in managing blood-sugar disorders since their high fiber content prevents blood sugar levels from rising rapidly after a meal. But this is far from all lentils have to offer. Lentils also provide good to excellent amounts of six important minerals, two B-vitamins, and protein-all with virtually no fat.

Lisa's Persian Eggplant Dip

Ingredients:
3 eggplants, skin removed and diced
1 onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 pinch of saffron
1/2 cup of khask (if you don't have khask, you can use sour cream)
5 tbsp of olive oil
Salt & pepper
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 tsp of dried mint

Directions:
1. Peal eggplants, dice, and place in a bowl.
2.Sprinkle a generous amount of salt, add water to cover the eggplants, and give it a mix with your hand so that the salt is diluted. Make sure that you do this step because what you are doing right now is removing the eggplant’s bitterness.
3. Since eggplant is buoyant, place a dish on top of it and put something heavy to hold it down. I put a glass on mine and it worked out great.
4. In the mean time saute the onion and garlic for the dish with 2 tbsp of oil on medium heat.
5. Once the eggplant is ready, rinse it and place in a colander to drain water
6. Once the onion has turned into a golden color add 2 tbsp of oil and the eggplants to it.
7. Fry the eggplant until it turns brownish. This should take about 20-30 minutes.
8. Then add 1 cup of water, tomato paste, cover, and let cook for about 30 minutes. At this point season with salt and pepper. Add saffron
9. Use a hand blender to mash the eggplants. Keep chunks though.
10. Taste to adjust seasoning and then add Kashk (or sour cream) and mix.
11. Mix in dried mint.
ENJOY!

Serve with flat bread.

Kadhai Paneer

Kadhi Paneer is a delicious Indian dish. Paneer and colorful bell peppers are sauteed in spicy tomato gravy.

Recipe serves 4.

Ingredients:

1/2 pound paneer
1 medium red bell pepper
1 medium green bell pepper
3 tablespoons oil
3 medium tomatoes
About 1/4 inch piece of ginger
1 green chili
Pinch of asafetida
1 teaspoon cumin seed
1 and 1/2 tablespoons coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3/4 teaspoon salt, adjust to taste

Directions:
1. Cut paneer and bell peppers into 1/2 inch cubes.
2. Blend the tomatoes, ginger, and green chili to make a puree.
3. Heat the oil in frying pan on medium heat and stir fry paneer for about 2 minutes - Until golden
4. Next stir-fry bell pepper until they are tender. Do not over cook the bell pepper. Take them out and drain on a paper towel.
5. Using the same frying pan, Test the oil by adding one cumin seed to the oil; if seed cracks right away oil is ready.
6. Add the asafetida and cumin seeds.
7. Add the chopped onions and stir fry for a few minutes.
8. After the cumin seeds crack, add the tomato puree, coriander powder, turmeric, and cayenne pepper.
9. Cook for about 4 minutes on medium heat.
10. Tomato mixture will reduce to about half in volume.
11. Add about 2 spoons of water, and the salt.
12. Wait till gravy comes to boil add paneer and bell pepper and let it simmer for about five minutes on low medium heat.
ENJOY!

Serve with basmati rice and naan

Bean and Cheese Enchiladas

Ingredients:
1 can of vegetarian refried beans
2 cups of shredded Mexican cheese
small corn tortillas
1 tsp of cumin
1/4 cups of green onions
1/2 cup of sliced black olives
1 can of red enchilada sauce
1 can of green enchilada sauce

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Directions:
1. Microwave 3 tortillas at a time for 30 seconds. (to make tortillas more flexible)
2. Mix bean, cheese, cumin, and salt together.
3. dip tortilla into sauce and then place on a cooking sheet.
4. Spread about 2 tbsp of bean mixture down the center of each tortilla.
5. Roll up.
6. Pour left over sauce over enchiladas.
7. Sprinkle cheese, olives, and green onions over enchiladas.
8. Bake for 15-20 minutes.
ENJOY!
Serve with guacamole, cheese, sour cream, chopped tomatoes, and shredded lettuce.

Pasta with Creamy Pesto Sauce

Pesto
1 cup fresh basil

1/2 cup pine nuts

4 cloves garlic

1 jar of sundried tomatoes

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1 tsp coarse ground black pepper

salt to taste

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil


Directions:
1. In a food processor, process the basil, pinenutes, garlic, parmesan cheese, pepper, and salt.

2. Gradually add the olive oil while the processor is running. You'll definitely want to taste and add things as needed. Consistency will be a fairly thick paste.

3. Melt the butter in a medium pan. Add flour; cook and stir for 2 minutes with a wire whisk.

4. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly. Cook until it starts to thicken. When the sauce has thickened to your liking, add the pesto. Add the sun dried tomatoes. Stir.

5. Serve over hot pasta. Enjoy!

Notes: For a richer sauce, you can substitute half-and-half or cream for the milk in the Alfredo part of the recipe.

Roasted Beets

Roasted beets are the perfect accompaniment to salads, homemade pizza or even as an appetizer with a good goat cheese. I like to roast a whole bunch of them at once, then I have them in the fridge to do whatever with throughout the week.

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. To start, scrub all beets (2-3 pounds)

3. Peel all beets and slice into thin disks.

4. Prepare a baking sheet with a layer of parchment paper. Spread beets over pan.

5. Using clean hands, brush 1/4 cup olive oil and a generous amount of a good sea salt and pepper all over beets until well coated.

6. Cover with aluminum foil and roast for 1 hour.