Middle Eastern Lentil Bake with Eggplant Steaks

I love lentils! They are healthy little guys that fuel us with protein and fiber and other nutrients. I like the versatility they give us, from lentil salads, lentil purees, lentil soup to different lentil "meatloaves". They don't require overnight soaking which is a big plus. I created this recipe using an interesting spice mix called Baharat. Baharat is a mixture of finely ground Middle Eastern spices. Mine has: allspice, black pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, coriander and cloves. It smells outstanding and tastes exotic. It is a warm, spicy, sweet and delightful experience for my taste buds. You can use a mixture of spices mentioned above, or just some of those depending on your personal preference. When assembling this dish, don't follow my picture but rather make sure you place the potatoes all the way on the top since otherwise your bell pepper or eggplant might get too dry during the baking process. I highly recommend that you cook your potatoes and lentils day ahead and keep them refrigerated until you are ready to bake the main dish.

Enjoy!

Middle Eastern Lentil Bake with Eggplant Steaks

Lentil mixture:

1 cup green lentils, uncooked

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 15-oz can diced tomatoes, don't drain the juice

1 bay leaf

1 tsp onion powder

2-3 tsp Baharat spice mixture (allspice, black pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, coriander and cloves)-start with 2 teaspoons and add more if you like spicier food

salt to taste

Eggplant "steaks":

1 large eggplant, top cut off

1 Tbs soy sauce

1 Tbs apple cider vinegar

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp liquid smoke

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

4 large potatoes, unpeeled

1 large green bell pepper, top cut off and core removed

To make the lentil mixture:

Place lentils into a large pot and cover with 3 cups of hot water. Add diced tomatoes, including the juice. Bring to a boil. Add minced garlic, bay leaf, onion powder and Baharat spices. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 20 minutes. Uncover, stir and cook another 20 minutes, or until lentils are tender. Season with salt to taste.

Meanwhile, place potatoes into a large pot and cover them with water (add enough water to cover about 2 inches above the potatoes). Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and cook 40 minutes, or until potatoes are tender enough to be pierced with a fork easily. Don't overcook them though. Drain and rinse under cold water, until potatoes are cool enough to handle. Peel and cut into 1/2 inch thick slices.

Cut eggplant into 1/2 inch thick circles. Toss soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, paprika, liquid smoke, salt, garlic powder, onion powder and 1/3 cup water together in a medium bowl. Dip each eggplant slice in the marinade and place onto a large baking sheet. Pour the remaining marinade over eggplant steaks and let marinate for 15 minutes.

Slice bell pepper into 1/2 inch thick circles or strips.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly coat 9x13-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray. Place 2 sliced potatoes on the bottom of the baking dish. Lightly season with salt. Add sliced bell pepper layer (1/2 bell pepper) and a layer of eggplant steaks. Spoon lentil mixture on top and create an even layer. Top with the remaining bell pepper, followed by eggplant and potatoes. Sprinkle more salt over potatoes and cover with aluminum foil. Bake 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake another 30 minutes. Serve warm.

This receipe makes about 4 large servings (each about 300 calories)

No oil added, low fat, gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian

Stuffed Tomatoes with Israeli Couscous Pilaf

Yesterday I made this awesome recipe from Urban Vegan blog, TWICE :-) I loved it the first time so much that later that day I made another batch, but did not use the tomatoes for the second batch since we ate them all for lunch. It was still amazing without the tomatoes. I used less broth than it was recommended for cooking the couscous and it turned out fine. I always cook my Israeli couscous in less water (or broth), I put just enough to cover it and then some more since it usually does not expand that much. I cook it with the lid on like I would cook rice or quinoa and between the hot water and steam it cooks nicely. We ate the second batch warm. The trick was to marinated the kale prior to adding the couscous. I massaged the kale leaves with the dressing and let it sit for a while before blending it with the warm couscous. It was great warm, too.

I will be making this recipe often.

Fiesta Kale Salad

Fiesta Kale Salad

1 bunch kale (about 9-10 large leaves)

1 red bell pepper, core and seeds removed, diced

3 tomatoes, diced

1 cucumber, peeled and diced

1/4 red onion, chopped

Dressing:

2 large avocados, pitted and peeled

juice from 1 lime

1/3 cup water

1/4 tsp of ground chipotle pepper (or more if you like spicy foods)

salt to taste

Remove tough stems from the kale and tear leaves into bite-size pieces. Wash the leaves and drain excess water. Place the kale into a large bowl.

Put all ingredients for the dressing into a blender and blend until smooth and creamy, adding more water if the dressing is too thick. Pour the dressing over kale leaves. Massage the dressing into kale with your hands, making sure each leaf is covered.

Add the the rest of the vegetables and toss with kale. season with salt to taste.

Smokey White Bean Chili

Smokey White Bean Chili

1 Tbs olive or canola oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

2 15-oz cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

1 28-oz can diced fire roasted tomatoes in juice (or regular)

1 cup vegetable broth

1-2 Tbs chili powder

1 tsp liquid smoke

pinch cayenne pepper (optional)

salt and pepper to taste

Mash 1 can of beans in a bowl with a fork, set aside.

Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions, and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir chili powder, garlic and optional cayenne pepper into the onions, cook 1 minute stirring. Add broth and simmer 10 minutes. Add tomatoes with their juice, whole and mashed beans and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in liquid smoke. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm with bread, vegan sour cream and fresh cilantro if desired.

Vegan Paella

I wanted to create a paella recipe for a long time. As a child I visited Spain numerous times and liked this beautiful dish. Sophie's Kitchen, plant-based vegan seafood company, sent me a few coupons for their vegan products just in time for my Paella recipe :-) I used their vegan Prawns, but you can use their vegan Shrimp, or leave the vegan seafood out. The dish looks really cool with the vegan seafood garnish, even my family was freaking out asking me if I started to eat meat again because those prawns look very realistic. The sausages that I used for this recipe were Field Roast Frankfurters which are their newest creation. So far they are my FAVORITE vegan sausages! Nothing beats it! I am seriously in love with these sausages, they are awesome cold (they are fully cooked, ready to eat), or warm in recipes or in hot dogs. They remind me of my favorite Czech salami-sausage. Very flavorful, juicy, a bit smokey, but not too spicy. I can eat these everyday and would not get tired of them. By the way, Field Roast Classic Meatloaf is pretty awesome, too! I eat that stuff cold in sandwiches or hot with mashed potatoes and gravy :-)

Saffron is a very expensive spice that gives paella recipes beautiful yellow color, but you can use turmeric if you don't have saffron. Turmeric will give it a nice yellow color for much cheaper (or free if you have some at home already).

Vegan Paella

1 cup white rice, uncooked

3 cups vegetable broth

1/2 cup white wine (or extra vegetable broth)

2 bay leaves

pinch of saffron or 1/2 tsp turmeric

1 Tbs olive oil

1 small red onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 Field Roast Frankfurters (or other vegan sausages), cut into 1/2 thick rounds

1 medium red bell pepper, thinly sliced

1 14-oz can diced tomatoes, drained

1 6-oz jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and quartered (about 1/2 cup)

1 cup frozen green peas

2 tsp paprika

Sophie's Kitchen Vegan Prawns or Vegan Shrimp (optional)

1 lemon, cut into wedges for garnish

salt and black pepper to taste

Combine rice, 2 cups vegetable broth, saffron (or turmeric) and bay leaves in a medium saucepan with a tight fitting lid. Bring to boil. Turn heat to low, cover with a lid and simmer 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Discard bay leaves and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet or paella pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook 5 minutes. Add garlic, sausages, paprika, red bell pepper and cook 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook 3 minutes. Add rice, 1 cup vegetable broth and white wine (or more broth), artichoke hearts, frozen peas and vegan prawns (if using). Cook 5 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Garnish with lemon wedges.

NEWS! I won a recipe contest with this dish recently :-) I won a Kindle :-)

Vegan eats-Vegan MoFo Day 11

I bought cheap, restaurant style condiment mini bowls and did not know what to do with them until a few days ago. I roasted potatoes and mushrooms, and pan-fried some marinated tofu cubes for dinner. I served that with ketchup, BBQ sauce and a homemade lemon curry dipping sauce. I made the curry sauce by blending vegan mayo, lemon juice and mild curry powder. The curry sauce was very good. I will be making more soon.

Did you make too much pasta for last night's dinner, but did not use it all up? That is what happened to me one night. So I sauteed some cooked chickpeas, garlic and fire-roasted canned tomatoes (drained) on olive oil. Then I added the cooked pasta and I got a new dinner :-)

Kale with creamy avocado & lime dressing-Vegan MoFo Day 9

I love my Garlicky Cheezy Kale Salad, but I ran out of nutritional yeast :-(

However, I found some lonely avocado and a few tomatoes in the fridge and decided to make a different kale salad. First I wanted to dice the avocado and tomatoes and mix it with my kale, but then I changed my mind as I was dicing it. I mashed it instead and made a creamy base for my new salad creation. The results were so good, even my husband was asking for seconds. I want to share the recipe with you and let you decide if this kale salad is better than my Garlicky Cheezy Kale Salad.

Kale with creamy avocado & lime dressing

1 bunch kale (about 9-10 large leaves. I used Lacinato kale for this recipe)

1 ripe avocado, peeled and pitted

2 large tomatoes, diced

juice from 1 lime (start with half a lime and add more to taste)

salt and cayenne pepper to taste

Remove tough stems from the kale and tear leaves into bite-size pieces. Wash the leaves thoroughly and drain excess water. I used lettuce spinner to get my kale dry which made the dressing stick to each leaf nicely.

In a small bowl mash avocado with fork or with your hands until smooth. Add lime juice and mix well. Pour the dressing over kale leaves. Rub the dressing into kale with your hands, making sure each leaf is covered. Add diced tomatoes, season with salt and cayenne pepper to taste and mix well. Serve at room temperature or chilled. You can add diced cucumber and chopped cilantro if desired.