Broccoli, noodles, and thick sauce

This recipe is overdone. Beware.

There are three parts:

The sauce:
Start by pressure-cooking

1/2 dry soybeans
1 T olive oil

for 20 minutes. While this is cooking, carmelize

1 sliced onion
1 teaspoon salt

in a greased saucepan. When the soybeans finish, drain them, and grind in a blender with enough water to make 2 cups for at least 3 minutes. Once ground, add to the now-carmelized onions. Reduce the heat, and simmer for at least 7 minutes. During this time, rinse out the blender and grind

3/4 cup cashews
1/4 cup walnuts
enough water to make 3 cups

until smooth, at least 2 minutes. After the soybeans and onions have finished cooking, add the mixture to the blender, and continue to blend for at least another 2 minutes. At this point, you can set the sauce aside (it doesn't need any further cooking), or put it back in the saucepan and cook for a few minutes more.

The broccoli:

This is the easy part: pare

1 bunch broccoli rabe

and fry at high heat in olive oil.

The pasta:

Combine

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup semolina flour.

Cut in enough water to make an elastic pasta dough. Knead for at least 5 minutes, then set aside for at least 10. Divide the dough into four equal portions. Roll each out into a thin strip about 4 inches wide, and as long as possible. Slice along the short direction into strips about 1/8 inch wide. Peel each strip off the board carefully with the point of a knife, stretch to about twice the original length and drop into boiling water. The pasta cooks in about 2 minutes, so it is most practical to cook it in batches.

Eggplant cassarole

I have a penchant for cassaroles... This is the latest development, inspired by "Lamb and Eggplant Cassarole" in The Joy of Cooking. Of course, there's no lamb in it... Indeed, it's farther along in the whole foods end than I typically go!

Mix

2/3 cup quick oats
1/4 cup split red lentils
1/4 teaspoon paprika
parsely
oregano
1/4 cup soy sauce
1-1/2 cup water

and cook over medium heat until the oats thicken. While this occurs, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and dice finely

1 onion
1 tomato

and cube

1 large eggplant.

Put all of the remaining ingredients into the oat mixture and stir thoroughly. Pour the mixture into a greased, lidded cassarole and bake (covered) for 45 minutes.

Yellow cashew curry sauce

A take on an Indian yogurt sauce...

Begin by dicing

2 potatoes

and bringing to a boil. Cook for 15-20 minutes or until just tender. While this is cooking, slice

3 onions and
4 oz white mushrooms.

Dry roast

1 teaspoon cumin seeds.

When they brown, add oil and fry the onions and mushrooms. When the onions brown, add

1 can white beans

and the cooked potatoes.

Grind

1/4 cup raw cashews and
1/4 cup water

in a food processor or blender for 2 minutes. To this, add

1/2 teaspoon chili powder,
1/2 teaspoon tumeric,
cilantro,
1 tablespoon lemon juice,
and a pinch of salt.

Add this to the frypan with

8 oz shredded fake chicken

and stir frequently until the mixture thickens. Serve over brown rice.

Orzo and vegetables

Begin by frying

1 sliced shallot,
3 minced cloves garlic, and
8 oz. sliced mushrooms

in about 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. As this gets near done, add

2 chopped stalks celery,
chopped broccoli,
some snow peas,
1 diced tomato,

and

1/4 cup water. Simmer over medium heat, then add

about 6-8 chopped capers,
1/3 cup chopped green olives, and
a dash of balsamic vinegar.

Bring a few quarts of water to boil. Add to the boiling water, add

1 cup whole wheat orzo

and cook until al dente. Drain the pasta, and add to the vegetables. Cook briefly, stirring thoroughly.

Vegan quiche

Quick notes on modifying "Savory veggie pie" to obtain a vegan analog:

Keep the same crust -- it's fine!

However the filling should be changed as follows:

Saute onions and carrots in salt as suggested. However, this is where we diverge. Grind

1/2 cup mixed walnuts and almonds
1/2 cup cashews
1/2 to 1 cup soymilk (depending on desired thickness)
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
8 ounces of firm tofu

in a food processor until smooth. This might strain the food processor a bit, so add the ingredients slowly in the order listed. Mix the onions and carrots into the puree, and put into the crust. Bake as before: 375 degrees F for 20 minutes.

LLT

As part of a "New Year's" resolution.. I want to keep track of some yummy meals from cookbooks we enjoy, because so much of what we eat comes from a few of our favorite books...

Tonight's dinner is Lamb Lentil and Tomatoes from "INDIAN deliciously authentic dishes" p.118 Replace Lamb w/Morningstar Sausage Style Recipe Crumbles and can of chickpeas (14 oz can). Served w/half brown basmati and half Japanese rice.
ISBN 1-84309-273-5

Carrot cake

(Based on the muffin recipe in the previous post.) Dissolve

2 teaspoons yeast,
3 tablespoons honey,
1 tablespoon molasses, and
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

in 1-1/4 cup warm water. Mix

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon salt

and cut in

1 tablespoon vegetable oil, and
2 tablespoons nondairy margarine.

Stir in

1 grated carrot and
3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts.

Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ones briefly, and pour into a

well greased 9"x9" glass baking dish. Cover with a towel and let rise in a warm place about 20 minutes, or until doubled in height. Bake about 20 minutes at 325 deg F, or until a toothpick comes clean.

While the cake is baking, prepare the icing": cream

2 cups of powdered sugar,
1/4 cup nondairy margarine, and
2 teaspoons vanilla.

Mix in slowly

up to 1/4 cup of soymilk

until the appropriate texture is achieved. Once the cake is baked, let it cool before icing.