Author: Monty

  • Hijiki Tofu Burgers

    • 1/4 cup dried hijiki (or wakame) seaweed
    • 1 cup peeled and grated carrots (1 medium carrot)
    • 1 Tbsp. minced garlic (4 cloves)
    • 2 tsp. grated fresh ginger root
    • 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
    • 1 block of tofu, pressed
    • 1/2 cup minced scallions (2-3)
    • 1/4 cup sesame seeds
    • 1/4 cup light miso (or more, to taste)
    • 1 tsp. dark sesame oil
    1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
    2. Sauté the carrots, garlic, and ginger in the oil for about 5 minutes, until the carrots are limp.
    3. In a bowl, mash or crumble the tofu and mix with seaweed.
    4. Add the cooked carrots and the scallions, sesame seeds, miso, and sesame oil and stir well.
    5. Place on the baking sheet and bake until firm and golden, about 30 to 40 minutes.

    adapted from PETA

  • Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Brussels Sprouts

    • 1/2 pound Brussels sprouts, trimmed
    • 1 sweet potato (1/2 pound)
    • 2 cloves garlic, smashed
    • 3 tbsp olive oil
    • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
    • 1/2 teaspoon salt
    • pepper to taste
    1. Trim your Brussels by cutting off the little brown end. If there are any yellow leaves, pull them off. Cut any large ones in half. Add to a large bowl.
    2. Peel your sweet potato and chop into 1-2 inch pieces. Add to the large bowl.
    3. Smash 2 cloves of garlic and add it to the bowl.
    4. Pour 1/3 cup olive oil over the vegetables.
    5. Add cumin, garlic salt, salt, and pepper to taste. Stir to coat.
    6. (Line a large sheet pan with foil if you want super easy cleanup)
    7. Drizzle a little olive oil onto the sheet pan and rub it all over the pan (or foil) with your hand. Or you could spray it really well with nonstick spray.
    8. Pour the veggies onto the pan.
    9. Roast at 400 for about 40-45 minutes. The veggies are done when they are brown and a fork slides into them easily.

    From The Food Charlatan.

  • David Eyre’s Pancake

    • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
    • 1/2 cup whole milk
    • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
    • 2 tablespoons salted butter
    1. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Combine the flour, milk, and eggs in a bowl. Beat lightly. Leave the batter a little lumpy.
    2. Melt the butter in a 12-inch skillet with a heatproof handle. When it is very hot, pour in the batter. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until the pancake is golden brown.

    From Food52 & the New York Times.

  • Biscuits

    Ingredients

    • 2 cups all-purpose flour
    • 5 teaspoons baking powder
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 3 tablespoons shortening
    • 2 tablespoons butter
    • 2/3 cup milk

    Instructions

    1. Preheat oven to 450. Lightly grease a cookie sheet.
    2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
    3. Cut the shortening and butter into the flour with a pastry knife.
    4. Add milk to form a soft dough.
    5. Mix well and pat out on a floured countertop until about 1/2 inch thick; cut out rounds.
    6. Place on prepared cookie sheet and bake for 12 to 15 minutes.

    Adapted from Vegan with a Vengeance & Ruth Wakefield’s Toll House Tried and True Recipes.

  • Faidley’s Crab Cakes

    Ingredients
    • 1 pound backfin or jumbo lump crabmeat, picked over
    • 1 cup crushed saltine creackers
    • ½ cup mayonnaise
    • 1 egg
    • 1 TB Dijon mustard
    • 1 TB Worcestershire sauce
    • Dash of Tabasco Sauce
    • Unsalted butter or olive oil for sauteeing or Vegetable oil for frying
    Directions
    • Spread the crabmeat out on a flat pan/cookie sheet and sprinkle the crushed saltines over the top
    • Mix together the mayonnaise, egg, mustard, Worcestershire, and Tabasco in a small bowl.
    • Pour the mayo mixture over the crabmeat/crackers and gently toss or fold the ingredients together, taking care not to break up the crabmeat lumps. Let the mixture sit for 2 or 3 minutes before forming the cakes.
    • Form the crabcakes by hand or with an ice cream scoop into 8 mounds about 3 inches in diameter and ½ inch thick. Do not pack the mixture too firmly. The cakes should be as loose as possible, yet still hold their shape. Place the cakes on a tray or platter lined with wax paper, cover, and refrigerate at least an hour before cooking.
    • Sautee cakes in unsalted butter over med/high heat for 4 to 5 minutes on each side until golden brown. OR Broil about 5 minutes each side in preheated broiler.

    From: Shalavee.

  • Hummus

    • 2 cloves of garlic
    • 1 15-oz can of chickpeas (reserve liquid and use in place of water)
    • 1/3 cup tahini
    • juice of 1/2 lemon (approx 2 tbsp)
    • 1/2 cup water
    • 2 tbsp olive oil
    • 1/4 tsp salt
    • pepper to taste

    Adapted from Simply Recipes.

  • Toothpaste

    From a deleted Mother Earth News blog post

    • 1/4 cup baking soda
    • 1/4 coconut oil
    • 1 tsp salt
    • 10 drops of peppermint essential oil

  • Herbes de Provence

    From Saveur

    • 3 tbsp. dried tarragon leaves
    • 1 1⁄2 tbsp. dried savory leaves
    • 1 tbsp. dried sage leaves
    • 1 tbsp. dried thyme leaves
    • 1 tbsp. dried lavender buds
    • 1 tbsp. dried marjoram leaves

  • Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken

    • 1.5 lbs. Boneless, skinless chicken thighs
    • 1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar
    • 1 apple, diced
    • 1/2 teaspoon salt
    • 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
    • 1 teaspoon hot sauce (Crystal, Frank’s, etc)
    • 5 dashes of liquid smoke

    Combine all ingredients in slow cooker and cook on low for 6 hours. Shred chicken and put back in slow cook for 30 minutes to an hour.

  • Kabocha Squash, Fennel, and Ginger Soup with Spicy Coconut Cream

    soup

    • 1 kabocha squash, halved and seeds removed
    • 1 large leek (or 2 small), white and light green parts sliced
    • 1 clove garlic, chopped
    • 1 small fennel bulb, cored and sliced (reserve some fronds for garnish)
    • 1 knob of fresh ginger (about 3/4 of an inch big), peeled and roughly chopped
    • 2 teaspoons fresh oregano (or 1 teaspoon dry)
    • 1 bay leaf
    • 1 tablespoon olive oil
    • 1 tablespoon coconut oil
    • 5 cups filtered water (alternatively you could use low sodium vegetable broth – see notes above)
    • 1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
    • freshly ground pepper
    • 1 cup spicy coconut cream
    • 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

    spicy coconut cream

    • 1 can organic coconut milk
    • 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
    • a couple pinches of salt
    • 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

    Preheat oven to 375° and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment.  Rub a good amount of olive oil over cut side of squash; place cut side down on baking sheet and place in oven.  Cook squash until fork tender – about 50-65 minutes.  Let the squash cool until it’s ready to handle.  Scoop squash out into a bowl and set aside.

    In a large soup pot, heat olive oil and coconut oil over medium heat.  Add sliced leeks and oregano, and sauté until leeks are soft; add garlic and cook for 30 seconds.  Add the fennel and ginger, and cook for about 5 minutes – until fennel is soft and ginger is fragrant.  Add the squash, bay leaf, water, salt, and pepper – stir.

    Whisk the coconut milk, lemon juice, cayenne, salt, and pepper.

    Turn the heat up and bring soup to a simmer, cook for roughly 30 minutes, stirring every so often. Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup spicy coconut cream.

    In batches, puree soup in a blender, or food processor, until smooth.  Transfer soup back to the pot and bring to a low simmer, stir in lemon juice and taste for seasoning.

    Serve soup with a dollop of leftover spicy coconut cream, poppy seeds, and chopped fennel fronds.

     

    Note: just about any variety of squash works well here, just be mindful that if it’s smaller than a kabocha squash you will need to adjust the amount of liquid, seasoning, etc.

    Adapted from Dolly and Oatmeal.