Vegan Parmesan Cheese

We made it! After 23 hours of driving, spread out over three days, we are finally sleeping in our new apartment in Queens, New York. We couldn't be happier. Our apartment is everything we hoped for. The metro is literally right across the street, there's an amazing food market less than a block away, and there are all different kinds of cuisines to choose from at our fingertips. 

The view from our apartment our first morning. See the food mart?!

Breakfast my first morning in our new place. Chocolate mint oats with banana slices, 

almond butter and hemp hearts.

As for the interior of our apartment, we were unpacked in two days. I'm the kind of person that loves organizing and decorating, so to be able to start from scratch in a new, clean apartment was a dream. I spent all day yesterday working on the final touches and now we can just enjoy the open space, large windows and of course the kitchen!

This angle makes the world map look small and not centered, but it looks better in person.

At least I hope so.

Ah, the kitchen. It's good to be cooking and baking again. I'm actually amazed at all the different things I've been able to whip up in addition to all the decorating and unpacking I've been doing. I guess you could say I've been deprived. 

Since we got here on Friday I've made:

Peanut Butter Coconut Cookies

Asian Coleslaw Salad

Homemade Nutella

Homemade Tahini

Ratatouille

Nutella Stuffed French Toast with Strawberry Sauce

Couscous with Sautéed Veggies and Chickpeas

Watermelon Juice

AND...Vegan Parmesan Cheese. 

Yum.

If you follow me on Instagram, you would have seen my picture of the Ratatouille I made the other day. I said that I would be sharing the recipe today, but then I remembered that the recipe calls for vegan parmesan and I have yet to share that recipe with you. So, today I'll share with you how to make a dairy-free parmesan thing that's pretty close to the real thing. I really hope you try it out, whether you eat dairy-free or not. Brett gave this parmesan high marks and kept reaching back for more. But, the coolest thing about this faux parmesan for me is the way it melts like real parmesan cheese. When you sprinkle it on something warm, it seems to just melt away and marry with all the other flavors.  

Make this parmesan quick, because you'll want it to sprinkle on my Ratatouille, which recipe I'll share with you next!

Vegan Parmesan Cheese

Ingredients:

• 1 cup raw almonds
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Place all the ingredients in a food processor and process until a fine meal forms.
2. Store in an air tight container in the fridge.

Eat Consciously,

Faith

Vegetable Vegan Lasagna

One of the main reasons I started this blog was to keep track of vegan recipes I've tried or created and to share with others the ones I think are pretty delicious. So far, most of the recipes I've shared are other people's creations or recipes that I've tweaked a little. 

I hoped that as I continued to try out different recipes and do more research on vegan cooking that I would eventually get to the point where I could create my own vegan recipes...ones that are actually edible. While I'm not quite there yet, I CAN tell that my cooking has improved since I started writing this blog, and that's exciting! I've even created a couple of my own recipes that Brett and I would actually eat again. Score.

Going vegan forced me to try cooking with new ingredients. Even more so it forced me to use well known ingredients in new ways. Who knew cashew could be soaked and then blended with liquid to make a creamy sauce? Or that you could use dried fruit to naturally sweeten baked goods? Or that you could get your daily protein from plants? I know a lot of people know these things, but I had no clue.

I've loved the journey so far and lately have been even more encouraged as I've tried stepped out of my "cooking-comfort-zone" and experimented a lot more. This Vegetable Vegan Lasagna is an example of such experimenting, and I must say it turned out pretty delicious. 

I had searched vegan lasagnas, but didn't quite find what I was looking for. So I decided to combine a lot of ideas from different recipes to make my own. This lasagna is really easy and the "ricotta" filling made from tofu, lemon juice and nutritional yeast tastes almost like the real thing. At least in my opinion. Brett loved it too and we both at the whole pan in a couple days. 

Another great thing about this lasagna is that it is really light. You can eat two, whole pieces and still have room for some other sides. 

Unfortunately I have yet to get a nice camera and the lighting in our house isn't good, so these pictures don't do the taste of this lasagna justice. I hope you try it out though and let me know what you think!

Vegetable Vegan Lasagna

(Serves 4-5)

 Ingredients:

· 12 oz. whole wheat lasagna noodles (you’ll only use 9)

· Favorite jar of pasta sauce

· 1/4 cup chopped basil leaves

Filling:

· 1 lb. firm tofu

· 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast

· 2 teaspoon lemon juice

· 1 teaspoon lemon zest

· 1/4 cup chopped parsley

· 1 teaspoon kosher salt (or more to taste)

· 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper (or more to taste)

Vegetables:

· 1/2 cup chopped onion

· 2 teaspoons minced garlic

· 1 medium zucchini squash, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces

· 1 medium yellow squash, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces

· 4 oz. mushrooms, chopped

· 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes (or more to taste)

Directions:

1. Start by bringing a large pot of water to a boil and preheating your oven to 350 degrees.

2. Once the water boils, cook your lasagna noodles according to the directions on the package, 3-4 at a time. While they cook, start on the vegetables and “ricotta” filling.

3. Heat a large skillet to medium heat and spray with non-stick cooking spray.

4. Sautee the onions and the garlic until the onions are soft. Then add in the rest of the vegetable ingredients and saute until they are cooked through but still a little crisp.

5. As your vegetables cook, make the filling.

6. Place all of the filling ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. You can add more salt, pepper or nutritional yeast to your taste.

7. One you have all three elements prepped you can assemble the lasagna.

8. Using a 9 x 13 inch pan, spread about 1/4 of your pasta sauce on the bottom. Then lay three cooked, pasta noodles across the bottom to cover the whole pan. (If your noodles are short, you may need to cook one or two extra to cover the short ends.) Then spread half of the filling over the noodles and top with half of the cooked vegetables. Repeat again: sauce, noodles, filling, vegetables.

9. Finish the lasagna off with another layer of noodles and some pasta sauce.

10. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for about 15-20 minutes. Then remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes or until heated through.

11. Cut into large pieces and dig in!

Note: You can easily double this recipe and just make a thicker lasagna which will serve about 8-10 people. When I make this recipe, I usually cut the lasagna into 9 pieces and people can eat two pieces each since it's so light. 

Blend all of the filling ingredients together to make your "ricotta" filling.

Choose your favorite jar of marinara sauce or make your own!

Start layering: sauce, noodles, filling and then veggies.

Finish with some more sauce on top!

Eat Consciously,

     Faith

Cheesy Vegan Spaghetti Squash and Broccoli Casserole

I've made a lot of progress this week in my goal to cook with at least one new ingredient each week. After my half marathon (recap here!), Brett and I stopped at the Winter Park Farmers Market and picked up a bunch of produce. In addition to our regular produce, we got bok choy, fennel and spaghetti squash, three veggies that I have yet to cook with before. 

I sauteed the bok choy with some salt and pepper and put it inside a whole wheat wrap with sweet potato, black beans and tomato. It definitely reminds me of some Asian dishes I've had and made me want to try it again soon in a noodle soup or stir fry.

For the fennel, I roasted the bulb with some potatoes and carrots and used the leaves and soft stems to make a lemon, fennel dressing. This dish turned out great! I'll be sharing it soon.

Lastly, for the spaghetti squash I combined two recipes to make this cheesy dish. I know I'm way behind in using spaghetti squash, but it really was so easy and shredded just like spaghetti.

To cook the spaghetti squash, preheat your oven to 400 degrees and cut your squash in half length-wise and scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Then place the halves face up on a baking dish and spray the halves with cooking spray. 

Then stick it in the oven and roast for about 50 minutes until its tender enough to poke with a fork. After it cools enough to touch, just take a fork and shred the squash horizontally until all the squash has been removed. 

You can use it as a spaghetti substitute or have it act as rice for stir-fries or curries. Or even better, you can make this awesome Vegan Cheesy Spaghetti Squash and Broccoli Casserole.

Cheesy Spaghetti Squash and Broccoli Casserole

(Makes 6-8 servings)

Ingredients:

· 1 large spaghetti squash, roasted and shredded

· Two cups steamed broccoli

· 1/2 –1 cup green peas (optional)

For the Cheese Sauce:

· 1 1/4 cups water

· 1 cup almond milk

· 3/4 cup nutritional yeast

· 3 tablespoons cornstarch

· 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

· 1 teaspoon salt

· 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

· 1/2 teaspoon paprika

· 1/2 teaspoon turmeric

· 1 tablespoon tahini

· Ground pepper and red chili flakes to taste

  

Directions:

1. See above for how to roast and shred a spaghetti squash.

2. For the cheese sauce, place all of the ingredients from water to tahini in a blender and blend until smooth.

3. Pour the sauce in a large sauce pan and heat over medium-low heat. Allow the sauce to thicken while stirring occasionally. This should take about 5 minutes.

4. Once the sauce begins to thicken, add in the spaghetti squash, broccoli and peas.

5. Season with ground pepper and red chili flakes.

Notes: The cheese sauce is adapted from Oh She Glows.

Eat Consciously,

     Faith

Edamame Pesto (Oil and Nut Free)

Wow.

Wow!

That's what I kept saying while I was sneaking taste tests of this pesto as I made it last night. I was so surprised at how closely it tasted like classic pesto, even without all the oil and nuts. Even better, this pesto is chalk-full of protein and is as easy to make as pushing a button - seriously that's really all it takes. 

As I continue to buy and experiment with new ingredients, I amazed at all the easy ways there are to get protein other than meat and dairy. While a bowl of pasta and pesto isn't everyone's first idea of a protein packed meal, if you eat 1/4 of this recipe you'll get more than 10 grams of protein. Not too shabby. 

Try it out and let me know what you think!

Edamame Pesto

(Makes 4 –6 servings)

 Ingredients:

· 1 cup packed basil

· 2 cloves garlic

· 1 14 oz. frozen bag of shelled edamame, thawed

· 1/2—3/4 cup vegetable broth

· 2 tablespoons lemon juice, freshly squeezed

· 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

· 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Directions:

1. Place the basil and garlic in a food processor and pulse until the basil is well chopped.

2. Add in the remaining ingredients and process until relatively smooth, occasionally stopping to push down the mixture from the sides of the processor with a spatula.

3. Serve with pasta or use as a spread for sandwiches!

Notes: Adapted from here.

Such a beautiful, bright green.

I ate my pesto with wheat linguine and sauteed mushrooms. Mmm.

You can use it as a spread on a veggie sandwich.

Or add it to some raw "pasta" using zucchini and carrots that have been peeled into long, thin strips!

Nutrition for 1/6: Cals: 91; Fat: 2g; Carbs: 9.5; Fiber: 4.1g; Sugars: 0g; Protein: 7g

Eat Consciously,

     Faith