Okay, well maybe vegan pizza isn’t really in the category of “breaking news”, but it’s pretty darn exciting! Thanks to the pizza hungry Montclair Vegans, True North Osteria in Montclair is keeping Daiya cheese on their menu as premium topping. That means I can have delicious vegan pizza anytime I have a hankering – and I don’t have to make it myself!
It’s a chili time of year! I’ve made this recipe many times for many people, and most of them have asked me for the recipe afterward. I’ve adapted it from a old recipe card I got from Peta about 15 years ago, and this is the first time I’ve ever written my version of it down. This makes a HUGE amount of food, so you can have it for lunch every day, make it for a potluck, freeze some for later, or invite a bunch of people over to help you eat it. This would be a perfect dish to serve if you’re having friends over to watch the big Puppy Bowl this weekend! You can use fresh beans and sauce, but I use cans for convince.
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True North Osteria opened in Montclair, NJ about three months ago, but it took me about 2 months to get there to try the food. They have a very veg-friendly menu that consists of pizzas, bruschetta, soups, salads and small plates of vegetables. On my first visit, I had a bowl of lentil soup and really, really amazing cauliflower chickpea bruschetta. Just about everything they serve is made from scratch in house, and owner Leah Moon is a life-long vegetarian, so she can answer all of your questions about ingredients and the veg-friendliness of the food. Their thin-crust grilled pizzas are made with fresh, homemade dough, and they make delicious tomato sauce using Jersey tomatoes. The sign outside says that the pizza will change your life, and I might have to agree with it.
Since they have a very veg-friendly menu, I planned a Montclair Vegans lunch there over the weekend. This was one the group’s most popular meetups, with 21 people in attendance. True North was kind enough to bring in Daiya cheese for us, so we could have vegan pizza options. Everyone was oohing and aahing over the food, and I heard a few people ask “How do they get this food to taste so good?” The most popular dishes were the Brussels sprouts, the cauliflower chickpea bruschetta, and of course, the pizzas. At one point, the Brussels sprouts were declared the most delicious thing on the table and someone said that was quite a statement about how good the food was, since sprouts usually get a bad rap. I noticed that there were no crusts left on anyone’s plates after finishing off the pizza, which is a testament to how good the dough is.
Dennis and I split an order of cauliflower chickpea bruschetta. I really love the combo of cauliflower, capers and olives.
I had the True North pizza, which is made with pesto and oven dried tomatoes. I added olives and mushrooms.
Dennis had the Jersey Devil, which is made with a spicy tomato sauce, caramelized onions and peperoncini peppers.
For dessert I had chocolate bruschetta, which is made with olive oil, chocolate and a sprinkling of sea salt.
Lunch at True North Osteria was so good that as people were leaving, they asked me if I was going to plan another group lunch there soon. I think I just might!
I remember chicken cacciatore being a favorite dish of mine when I was little, but for the life of me I can’t remember actually eating it. Perhaps I heard the word “cacciatore” somewhere and really liked the sound of it? Maybe my mom made some other dish and called it “cacciatore”? I will probably never know for sure, but my guess is that there was some sort of jarred sauce that was poured over chicken and called “cacciatore” because it sounded exotic and exciting.
Most vegan versions of cacciatore are made with seitan, but I thought it would be fun to try it with chickpeas. It’s traditionally served over pasta, but I had some leftover cooked quinoa in the fridge that I served with it instead. This is another really warming stew-like dish for a cold winter’s evening.
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My slow cooker really has been earning it’s keep lately. I’ve been cooking up curries, stews and all sorts of yummy dishes. This Seitan Stew is perfect for a cold winter’s evening!
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I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the slow cooker is a thing of beauty. I’ve had people tell me that slow cookers scare them, and that they’re afraid their house will burn down while they’re at work. I’ve never actually heard of anyone having a slow cooker fire in their house, so I really don’t think there’s anything to worry about. Temperatures on slow cookers vary between 170 and 200 degrees, and they’re actually safer than ovens and stovetops, because of the lower temperatures and closed lids. And I can’t emphasize enough how wonderful it is to come home to a hot cooked meal. And, bonus: there’s only one pot that needs to be washed after dinner!
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* You can use drained firm tofu, fried tofu or baked tofu. I used two packages of baked tofu this time.
** If you like really spicy food, you can add the chili peppers to the slow cooker at the beginning. I mix them in at the end for a bit of flavor, but they’re really hot, so I never actually eat them. (Dennis does though!)
I’ve had people ask me for breakfast recipes because they don’t know what to eat for their morning meal after going vegan. I don’t believe that certain foods should be reserved for different times of the day. Mix it up! Have rice and vegetables for breakfast! Eat oatmeal for dinner! Changing up your meals is a good experiment to see how different foods affect your energy and hunger levels throughout the day.
This recipe would traditionally be considered a breakfast dish, but I’ve made it for dinner many times. If you do want to make it for breakfast but it seems like it would be too time consuming to put together in the morning, you can prepare and assemble it the night before and leave it in the fridge overnight. Then just pop it in the oven when you wake up!
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The person who invented the slow cooker was a total genius. I’m good a multitasking and I love the fact that I can cook dinner and not even be home! Nothing beats having a hot home cooked dinner waiting for you after a long day at work. Since I’m not a morning person, I find that chopping the vegetables and prepping all of the ingredients the night before works best for me, so that I just have to throw everything in the slow cooker in the morning. With this recipe, I added the broccoli to the mix about half an hour before dinner time. If you know you’ll be in a hurry and won’t’ have time to add the broccoli before you eat, you can add it in the morning, but keep in mind that will not be as firm.
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• 1 pound firm tofu, drained and cut into cubes*
• 2 bell peppers, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1 cup pineapple, diced
• 1 head of broccoli, florets cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 cup pineapple juice
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 3 tablespoons agave
• 1 teaspoon tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 3 tablespoons water
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1. Mix together the pineapple juice, vinegar, agave and tomato paste. Add it to the slow cooker along with the tofu, onion, pepper, carrots and pineapple.
2. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.
3. About half an hour before dinner time, mix the cornstarch and water together and add to the slow cooker. Add the broccoli and mix well. Turn the heat up to high.
4. Serve over brown rice.
* You can use either regular firm tofu, fried tofu or seasoned baked tofu. I used fried tofu this time, but I’ve also made this dish with baked tofu and it’s really yummy!
I love Dynise Balcavage’s The Urban Vegan, so I was super excited to hear that she was working on a new cookbook. I was even more excited when Celebrate Vegan arrived and could start cooking from it! And what better time to start celebrating than the New Year?
Okay, this Tofu and Broccoli and Black Bean Sauce is technically for Chinese New Year, which is still a few weeks away, but it sounded so good that I couldn’t resist making it. This dish was full of flavor and so easy to cook that I’m sure I’ll be making it again soon, and I doubt I’ll wait for a special occasion!
For New Year’s Eve dinner, I made Hot and Sour Carrots and Lentils. The intro to the recipe explains why this dish is good luck for the New Year: lentils are round like coins, and as they swell when they cook prosperity is supposed to follow. I served the dish with sautéed spinach and brown rice.
For New Year’s Day dinner, I made Hoppin’ John. I didn’t realize that Hoppin’ John was a New Year’s Day thing until a few years ago, and this is the first time I made it. According to tradition, the beans are symbolic of coins and the greens represent the color of money. I really liked the smokey taste of the tempeh bacon combined with the spices and greens in this dish. It will definitely become a New Year’s tradition in my house!
This book is chock full of recipes for just about every holiday you can think of. The recipes are divided into 6 sections: New Year’s Celebrations, American Celebrations, International Celebrations, Religion-Based Celebrations, Milestone Celebrations and Everyday Celebrations. (I like that everyday celebrations includes links like “Sick Day” and “Snow Day”!) There’s an icon key to let you know if the recipe is fast, frugal, kid-friendly, something you can make ahead and/or omnivore friendly. I really think most of these recipes are omnivore friendly, so this is the perfect book for celebratory meals for family and friends who might not all have the same dietary needs. And the recipes all look so good that you won’t want to wait until a special occasion to make them!
Scrambled tofu is hands down my all time favorite breakfast. I’ve made it for vegans and die-hard omnivores, and it has been liked by everyone. I never make the same thing twice, as I usually just throw things together. This combination of tofu with spinach, mushrooms and red pepper with a little bit of Daiya cheese is one of my favorites though, and I paid attention to what I was doing so I could share the recipe!
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