tofu stuffed portabella mushroom for one

when you're just cooking for yourself, but want to do something fancy.

balsamic marinade

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

splash of olive oil

dried basil, oregano, salt and pepper

-combine all ingredients

tofu mixture

1/3 cup tofu

1 tsp basil

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp garlic

2 tsp nutritional yeast

2 tsp frozen chopped spinach

salt and pepper

recipe!

-poor marinade into a small over safe pan

-clean one portabella mushroom cap, and place it in pan, being sure to get marinade all over it

-marinade for at least 20 minutes

-preheat oven to 350

-with portabella cap side down, take the tofu and stuff

-cook for about 20 minutes

-serve over a bed of greens, and drizzle with the remaining marinade

sun-dried tomato spinach filo pouches

can filo entrees be healthy? they are usually white flour and smothered in butter filled with something cheesy, maybe if you are lucky filo is smothered in olive oil. i think olive oil is a healthy fat in moderation. and don't get me started on cheese! to healthify these pouches i used whole wheat filo and olive spray to keep the fat low. the result is a delicious, healthy treat! 

while i was at it, i used some spare filo and filled some pouches with blueberries and cherries and sprayed with canola oil instead of olive oil. a light summer dessert to match your entree! 

recipe!

3 sheets of whole wheat filo cut into fourths

olive oil spray

sun-dried tomato filling:

6 oz firm tofu, crumbled

about 6 rehyrdrated sun-dried tomatoes , chopped. 

1/4 c frozen spinach 

garlic powder, salt and pepper

-preheat the oven to 350 degrees

-grease baking pan with olive oil spray

-combine the ingredients for the filling

-cut the sheets into 4 squares

-spray one square lightly with the oil spray

-carefully put a small-ish amount of filling in the middle of one square

-carefully combine the edges of the square and pinch together

-repeat for each square! 

i ate my pouches with fatfree vegan's mini crustless quiches.

yuba wrapped marinated portabellas with pesto

yubayubayuba!

yuba is "tofu skin." it is made by boiling down soy milk until it creates a thin film. you can make it on your own, but i tried once and i failed miserably. so you will likely have to take a trip to a well stocked asian market. well worth it.

recipe:

a couple sheets of yuba, cut into squares

two portabella mushrooms

marinade: balsamic vinegar, splash of olive oil, salt and pepper

pesto

-cut portabellas into long strips, wash and marinade for at least 20 minutes

-preheat over to 350

-lie yuba out on a flat surface

-lay down portabellas on edge closest to you, and spoon small amount of pesto over the mushrooms

-roll the yuba and mushrooms like sushi. you want to make sure there are at least a couple of yuba layers.

-place yuba rolls seam side down on a lightly oiled baking dish

-bake for about 15 minutes, until nice and crispy

-let cool, and then cut pieces so that each roll has one mushroom strip.

walnut-basil pesto:

about 20 basil leaves

hand full of walnuts

tbl of olive oil

a little lemon, salt, pepper

-blend ingredients together!

fancy pearled barley olive stuffed bell pepper

in my opinion, stuffing anything makes dinner seem instantly fancy. and anything served with veganomicon's chickpea cutlets with a brown mushroom gravy is fancy as it is. 

pearled barley is one of my favorite grains. its a departure from rice and couscous. it is arborio-esque, so i frequently use it as a healthy, whole grain substitute for risottos. like arborio rice, pearled barley requires a lot of liquid, so watch it as it cooks... i estimated here. 

barley olive stuffed bell peppers:

1 bell pepper (i like orange)

1/2 yellow onion

1 c pearled barley

3 c vegetable broth

1 tsp red wine vinegar

some kalamata olives

pre heat oven to 350. saute onion in sauce pan. add barley and broth to sauce pan, add olives and red wine vinegar. you can also add some olive oil if you would like. stuff into bell pepper, and put into a lightly greased pan. cook in oven for about 35 minutes or until bell pepper is nice and soft. yum.