Creamy Zucchini Farfalle

You are probably going to be inundated with fresh zucchini soon, either from your own garden or the farmer's market. This is a very easy and very tasty way to use some of it up.

INGREDIENTS
- 1.5 lbs zucchini, diced
- 8 oz firm tofu
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup light coconut milk, or other non-dairy milk/creamer
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 lb farfalle

METHOD
1. Get a large pot of salted water boiling (you will cook both the zucchini and the pasta in this water).
2. Meanwhile, crumble the tofu into a food processor with 1/2 cup of the coconut (or other) milk/creamer. Blend for a good 5 mins until very smooth, adding more liquid if needed.
3. When water is boiling, add zucchini and cook until tender (3-5 mins, depending on how big you diced your zucchini). Remove into a colander with a slotted spoon and drain/cool.
4. Add farfalle to the pot and cook until al dente.
5. Add zucchini and nutritional yeast to the food processor and pulse until blended (you want some texture). Add nutmeg and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add additional liquid if needed.
6. Toss pasta with sauce and serve.

Zucchini Pancakes with Tomato-Onion Relish

Over the next week or so I am going to post some recipes that have their roots in the recent issue of Food and Drink from the LCBO. (On a side note, does anyone else think it's weird that the government puts out a food magazine so we buy more alcohol?) Food and Drink has finally started to cater (somewhat) to the vegetarian crowd, but has yet to make a significant foray into vegan cuisine (even though we cocktail-sipping veggie hipsters would love it). First up is this veganized zucchini pancake (they call it a fritter, but it's not) with a version of my onion and tomato relish. Vegan Mom and I enjoyed these as an appetizer on date night before launching into onion soup and baguettes.

Tomato-Onion Relish
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 large sweet onion, diced
- 2 tbsp packed brown sugar
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 large tomato, diced
- 1/4 tsp salt
- fresh ground black pepper

METHOD
1. Heat oil in a saucepan over med to med-hi heat. Add onions and saute for about 5 min, until soft and translucent but not browned. Add brown sugar and vinegar and stir. Bring to bubbling and cook for 3 mins, stirring regularly.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to bubbling over med-hi to high heat. Cook for about 5 mins, stirring regularly. Drain relish in a fine mesh sieve so it is no longer runny. Keep warm.

Zucchini Pancakes
Makes at least 8
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- fresh ground black pepper
- 1/3 cup soy yogurt
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup soy milk (more if needed)
- 2 sage leaves, finely chopped
- 1 1/2 cups finely shredded zucchini (or so--1 small zucchini will do)
- oil for frying
- chopped parsley for garnish.

METHOD
1. Whisk together dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk yogurt, vinegar, and soy milk together. Squeeze excess moisture out of the shredded zucchini and add to liquid ingredients with the sage leaf. Mix.
3. Gently mix the wet ingredients into the dry, adding a few splashes of soy milk, if needed until the dry ingredients are just moistened. The batter should be firm (not as runny as pancakes) but not stiff.
4. Heat a think layer of oil in a cast iron skillet over medium to med-lo heat. You want to be able to cook the pancakes for about 3 mins per side so they get golden and crispy but not burnt. Drop a scant 1/4 cup of batter into the oil and flatten slightly. Repeat (you should be able to get 4 pancakes in the pan at one time). Cook about 3 mins, then flip and cook 3 mins.
5. You can keep these warm on a rack in a 300 degree oven for about 30 mins or so if you need to make them ahead for a dinner party. Serve with the relish and garnish with parsley.

Roasted Vegetable Alfredo Lasagna

Vegan Mom gave me a beautiful extra deep, enamel-coated, cast iron lasagna pan for my birthday. Armed with my new fresh pasta recipe and a fridge full of veggies, I put together this lasagna. I'm not going to post an actual recipe since it did not come out perfectly, but I'll tell you what I did. The idea was to use this alfredo recipe combined with roasted veggies. I did not cook the alfredo sauce ahead of time, figuring that it would cook in the oven. The end result tasted amazing but the sauce did separate, giving it a curdled look. I wonder if cooking the sauce first would be a good idea. I also think the sauce should be a little thinner and that the arrowroot powder is not needed. Anyway, here is an idea you can play around with.

On the BBQ I roasted:
- 1 large eggplant (roast until soft and squishy, about 20 min), then skin
- 1 head of garlic (roast the whole head, skins on, for about 15 mins)
- cremini mushrooms (tossed in olive oil)
- zucchini, sliced lengthwise, tossed in olive oil
- red, yellow, and orange peppers
- red onion, roasted with skin on for about 15 min

- fresh lasagna noodles, dried for 30 mins
- 1 recipe alfredo sauce

I put some sauce on the bottom of the pan, then layered sauce and veggies, and topped the final layer of noodles with a thick layer of sauce. I baked it for 1 hour, covered, in a 350 degree oven. Then I baked for 15 mins, uncovered, to firm up the top.

Let me just say that Son#1 absolutely hated this lasagna. In fact, I think it is the only meal he has refused to eat. I suppose the combo of onions, eggplant, zucchini, and mushrooms was just too much for him. He never actually took a bite but he was convinced that it was gross. To make it up to him I made a more traditional lasagna with veggie ground round, tofu ricotta, and vegan cheese on top.

Italian Sub, Veggie Style

I decided to make some submarine buns today (or hoagie rolls, whatever you want to call them) but wanted to steer away from the rather obvious seitan route when filling them. Instead I went with a "bruschetta meets grilled veggies" route for a different spin on an Italian sub. If you have leftover sandwiches, wrap them up tightly in waxed paper and refrigerate--the flavours will meld together and the veggies really do taste great cold. Perfect for lunch at work.

INGREDIENTS
Makes 2 foot long sub sandwiches
- 2 foot long submarine buns
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 red onion, diced
- 6 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tomato, diced
- 1 tsp basil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 small eggplant, sliced lengthwise into 1/8" slices
- 2 small zucchini, sliced lengthwise into 1/8" slices
- 1 red pepper, roasted
- 10 cremini mushrooms
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- sliced tomato
- shredded lettuce

METHOD
1. Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Saute onions and garlic for 5-7 mins until softened. Add vinegar and tomatoes and stor well. Cook until liquid has cooked off. Season with basil and salt and pepper. Set aside.
2. While tomato mixture is cooking, toss eggplant and zucchini in some olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill on a BBQ over medium heat until soft, turning regularly. Roast the pepper at the same time. Skin, seed, and slice when done.
3. Toss mushrooms in olive oil and season with salt and pepper. BBQ cap side down until water has been released. Remove from grill, thickly slice, and mix with smoked paprika.
4. Assemble sandwiches. Spread a thick layer of the tomato mixture on the bottom bun. Top with red pepper, then eggplant, then zucchini, then mushrooms. Top that with tomato slices and lettuce. Top with bun and enjoy!

ON SUBMARINE BUNS
The buns are Peter Reinhart's Italian bread recipe (p. 172). I subbed the biga with 180z of sourdough starter, then reduced the liquid by about 2 tbsp (add slowly until dough forms). I brushed the final buns with soy milk and baked for 15 mins at 450 degrees.

Zucchini Mashed Potatoes

OK, I am sure you saw the pic tonight and thought, "what the deuce?" I was tempted to call these "Three Mile Island Mashed Potatoes" because they look like cooling towers and the attempt at a funky presentation was about as successful as America's foray into atomic energy. The plan was to add finely grated zucchini to mashed potatoes for extra nutrition and taste. But, I thought the boys might revolt at green specks in their potatoes so I tried to a kind of columnar presentation. As you can see it did not work out. The flour I added to make them stiffer made the potatoes too gummy, and the columns flattened in the oven. That aside, the idea is still good. After you make mashed potatoes, add in one finely grated zucchini and mix well. The flavours work well together and it is a way to get kids to eat zucchini.

Cheesy Polenta Cups with Shredded Zucchini

We scored several bags of discount tomatoes at the grocery store, so it was homemade pasta sauce tonight with tempeh meatballs. I made these polenta cups (with cornmeal because it's easier) to try to get the kids to eat some zucchini without so much whining. They didn't whine, but they didn't jump up and down either. I really liked them and they would make a nice appetizer.

INGREDIENTS

- 1 cup water

- 1/2 tsp salt

- 1/2 cup cornmeal

- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

- 1 tbsp olive oil

- 1 small zucchini, finely grated

- 1/2 cup spaghetti sauce (or more)

- grated vegan cheese (alternate topping: Italian bread crumbs)

Variation: top zucchini with pesto

METHOD

1. Bring water and salt to boiling in a sauce pan. Whisk in cornmeal and keep whisking until thick. Remove from heat and whisk in nutritional yeast and olive oil.

2. Spoon polenta into 6 muffin tins. Allow to cool slightly, then, working quickly, press into a shell shape. Wet your fingers of polenta is sticky. Place muffin tin in the fridge to cool.

3. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Grate zucchini. Squeeze out excess water with your hands. Remove polenta from fridge, remove from muffin tin, and place on a non stick cookie sheet. Gently press 1/6 of the zucchini into each cup and top with a generous tbsp of spaghetti sauce. Top all that with some cheese.

4. Bake for 10-12 mins, until cheese is melted and polenta is slightly crispy.

NOTE: you need to shape the polenta before it cools. Wetting your fingers can help if polenta is sticky, or is cooling quickly. If you want to make more than 6 cups, I would suggest making two batches of polenta rather than trying to for 12 cups at once.

Fusili With Fire Roasted Sauce

I love roasted red peppers, and when blended with roasted tomatoes and garlic they make for a fantastic sauce that is a great alternative to marinara. I put thinly sliced zucchini into the sauce for some extra flavour and colour contrast. And, when paired with this focaccia . . . well, things just don't get much better.

INGREDIENTS

- 4 red peppers

- 2 large tomatoes

- 1 head of garlic

- salt and pepper to taste

- 1 tbsp olive oil

- 3 small zucchini, thinly sliced

- cooked fusili pasta (about 6 cups)

METHOD

1. Roast red peppers, tomato, and head of garlic on BBQ, or under a broiler. When skins are blackened, put peppers in a bowl and cover with a plate. Let steam for 15 mins, then skin and de-seed. Skin and de-seed tomatoes, and peel garlic.

2. Blend everything in a food processor, or in a container with hand blender, until very smooth. Heat in a saucepan over medium heat and season with salt and pepper.

3. While sauce is heating (and pasta is cooking), saute zucchini slices in oil in a frying pan over medium heat for 10-15 mins, until zucchini is golden brown. Add to sauce.

4. When pasta is cooked, drain and return to pot. Add sauce and mix well. Serve

Balti Chickpeas and Zucchini in a Spicy Tomato Sauce

Tonight we did something different. Since it was New Year’s and no one wanted to spend all afternoon slaving away in the kitchen, we decided that everyone would contribute one dish to tonight’s meal. Sort of an in-house potluck, with Indian being the cuisine of choice. I, of course, made dhal (I am starting to feel like a one trick pony, but I do enjoy that dish!) and a tandoori tofu that is not worth mentioning again. Vegan Mom and Mom-in-Law made Sweet and Sour Balti Chickpeas and Curried Cauliflower and Potatoes, and Vegan Dad-in-Law made Zucchini in a Tomato Sauce and the basmati rice. It was quite a spread, and no one had to work too hard on a holiday. Huzzah! Here are two of the dishes--the other will follow tomorrow on leftover day.

Sweet and Sour Balti Chickpeas

INGREDIENTS
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 onion, halved and sliced
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tbsp plain soy yogurt
- 2 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp mango powder
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp sugar
- 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 2/3 cup of water (more if needed)
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
- 2 tbsp plain soy milk

METHOD:
1. Heat oil in a large pan or wok. Fry onion over med-hi until golden brown (about 10 mins). Add garlic and dry another 2 mins.
2. While onions are frying, mix tomato paste, yogurt, spices, lemon juice, salt, and sugar together. Add to pan and bring to bubbling.
3. Add in chickpeas and water, bring to bubbling, and simmer for 15 mins (or more to let the flavours develop). Add more water if it gets too dry.
4. Add in cilantro and soy milk. Cook for 2 mins and serve.

Zucchini in a Spicy Tomato Sauce

INGREDIENTS
- 2 tbsp oil
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- ½ tsp mustard seeds
- 1 onion, sliced
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- ¼ tsp tumeric
- ¼ tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp coriander
- 1 tsp cumin
- ½ tsp salt
- 3 small zucchini, sliced
- 1 red pepper, sliced
- 2 generous tbsp tomato paste
- 1 14oz can chopped tomatoes
- 2/3 cup water (or so)
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
- 1 tsp garam masala

METHOD
1. Heat oil large pan or wok on medium heat. Fry cumin and mustard seeds for 1-2 mins (until they sizzle and splutter). Add onion and garlic and fry for 5 mins.
2. Add tumeric, chili powder, coriander, cumin, and salt and fry 2 mins.
3. Add in zucchini and peppers and cook for 5 mins. Then add in tomato paste, tomatoes, and enough water to make a thick sauce. Mix well. Cover and cook until veggies are soft but not mushy.
4. Add in cilantro and garam masala. Cook for 2-3 more mins and serve.

Creamy Zucchini Soup

Don't let the crappy photo fool you--this soup is awesome. While I love to cook, I really don't know a thing about photography. Basically, I put my dishes on the ironing board and take pics with a flash and tripod. I still have yet to figure out a good way to photograph soup.

INGREDIENTS
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp non-hydrogenated margarine
- 1 onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 6 zucchini, sliced (or 2 lbs)
- 2 tsp oregano
- 2 1/2 cups vegetable stock
- 1 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 cup plain soy milk, or soy creamer
- salt and pepper to taste

METHOD
1. Heat oil and margarine in a stockpot over medium heat. Cook onions and garlic for about 5 mins, until onions are translucent.
2. Add in sliced zucchini and oregano. Cook for 5 mins, or until zucchini begins to soften.
3. Pour in stock and bring to a boil. Partially cover, lower heat, and simmer for 20 mins, or until zucchini is cooked through.
4. Remove from heat and blend with a hand blender until very smooth. Stir in nutritional yeast and soy milk/creamer. Season with salt and pepper. Reheat if necessary. Serve.


The End of Vegan Mofo
Unfortunately, Vegan Mofo ended on more of a whimper than a bang in my house. First, I had planned to make a delicious risotto to go with the soup, only to find that I forgot to buy arborio rice at the bulk food store. (snort) I also decided that I would try the chickpea cutlets again, with a nice white wine/garlic/lemon sauce to go on top. I took my own advice and pulsed the chickpeas, which worked beautifully. I also decided to bake them this time. Everything was going great, but I miscalculated cooking times and ended up finishing the cutlets before the soup. I decided I could keep them warm in the oven while everything else finished up. Well, that was a big mistake. I ended up baking the cutlets into chickpea briquettes. To top it off, no one liked my white wine/garlic/lemon sauce. *sigh* I don't take failure in the kitchen very well. If only a case of beer was in the grocery budget . . . .

Grilled Pesto Veggie Skewers

We are still chowing down on last night's jambalaya, so here is what we had for lunch. Tomorrow is shopping day, which always seems to leave us in the odd position of trying to clean out the fridge that seems to be full of nothing. We bought a whole bag of discounted zucchini last week for 97 cents that was still kicking around, as were a bag of mushrooms. The logical thing seemed to be to make pesto and BBQ everything. I added some onion chunks, and if I had any cherry tomatoes I would have added them for some colour variation.

I like the pesto from Vegan With A Vengeance, which is similar to this recipe posted on the PPK website.