Hearty Vegetable Pot Pie

by Nava Atlas www.vegkitchen.com

Makes two pies, 12 or more servings

• 8 medium potatoes
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, quartered and finely chopped
• 3 cups diced vegetables of your choice
  (choose 3 or 4 from among cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, leeks, peas, corn kernels, zucchini, yellow summer squash, mushrooms, kale, etc.)
• 2 tablespoons unbleached white flour
• 1 cup vegetable stock (homemade or store bought)
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast (optional but highly recommended)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose seasoning blend (such as Spike or Mrs. Dash)
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• Two 9-inch prepared good-quality pie crust, preferably whole grain
• 1 cup fine whole grain bread crumbs
• Paprika for topping

Cook or microwave the potatoes in their skins until done. When cool enough to handle, peel them. Dice four of them and mash the other four coarsely. Set aside until needed.

Preheat the oven to 350º F.

Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the onion and sauté over medium heat until  golden. Add the vegetables of your choice, layering quicker-cooking vegetables like peas, corn, and zucchini over longer cooking ones like cauliflower, broccoli, and leeks (though none of these are terribly long-cooking). Add a bit of water; cover and cook until the vegetables are tender but not overdone, about 5 minutes.

Sprinkle the flour into the skillet, then pour in the stock. Add the optional nutritional yeast. Cook for a minute or two, stirring constantly. until the liquid thickens. Stir in both the diced and mashed potatoes. Heat through gently. Stir in the seasoning blend, thyme, and parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Pour the  mixture into the pie crust and pat in.

Sprinkle the bread crumbs evenly over each pie, then top with a sprinkling of paprika. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the crust is golden. Let the pies stand at room temperature for 10 minutes or so, then cut into wedges and serve.

Pueblo Corn Pie

by Nava Atlas www.vegkitchen.com

Serves: 6 to 8

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium green or red bell pepper, diced
• 2 cups cooked fresh or thawed frozen corn kernels
• 2 1/2 cups canned or cooked pinto beans
• 2 cups chopped ripe tomatoes, or one 16-ounce can diced tomatoes
  (try fire-roasted), lightly drained
• 2 teaspoons good-quality chili powder, or to taste
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin, or to taste
• Salt to taste

Cornmeal topping:

• 1 1/4 cups cornmeal
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup grated vegan cheese, optional (great with Daiya)

Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the onion and sauté until translucent. Add the garlic and bell pepper and continue to sauté until the onion is golden brown.

Add the corn kernels, pinto beans, tomatoes, and seasonings. Stir well and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt. Remove from the heat.

Bring 5 cups of water to a rolling boil in a heavy saucepan or double boiler. Slowly pour the cornmeal into the water in a thin, steady stream, stirring continuously to avoid lumping. Add the salt and cook over very low heat, covered, for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Oil a shallow, 1 1/2-quart baking dish and line the bottom with half of the cooked cornmeal. Pour over it the skillet mixture and sprinkle with the optional grated cheese. Top with the remaining cornmeal, patting it in smoothly.

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the cornmeal is golden brown and crusty. Let stand for 10 minutes, then cut into squares or wedges to serve.

Sweet & Crunchy Mandarin Quinoa Salad

Adapted from Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan by Dreena Burton

Ingredients:

• 1 cup quinoa, uncooked
• 1 3/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/3 cup raw almonds, sliced
• 1 tbsp 100% maple syrup
• 1 tbsp mandarin juice
• 1/2 cup mandarin slices (fresh is best)
• 2 tbsp pecans, chopped
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp sea salt, to taste

Preparation:

1. Add your quinoa, water, cinnamon, nutmeg, sea salt, and mandarin juice to a pot. Bring to boil and then reduce to low and simmer, about 10 minutes (or as package suggests).

2. Stir in your chopped dried fruit. Cook on low, covered, another 5 minutes.

3. Remove from heat. Stir in almonds, and maple syrup. Fold the mandarin oranges into the mixture gently so they remain whole.

4. Sprinkle with chopped pecans, maple syrup, and cinnamon.

Guilt-Free Pumpkin Pie

Recipe by Dr. Joel Fuhrman

Ingredients:

OAT PIE CRUST

• 1 cup quick oats (not instant)
• 1/4 cup ground almonds (Trader Joes raw almond meal works perfect)
• 1 tbsp whole wheat flour (optional)
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp water

PIE FILLING

• 1 15-ounce can pumpkin
• 1/2 cup date sugar
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 2 1/2 tbsp arrowroot powder
• 1 10-ounce pkg soft tofu

CASHEW CREAM

• 1 1/3 cups raw cashews
• 3/4 cup non-dairy milk
• 2/3 cup dates
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. 2. Pie Crust: Mix oats, almonds, flour, and date sugar. Blend oil and water together with a wire whisk. Add to dry ingredients and mix until it holds together. You may need to add a little more water. Spray 9-inch pie dish lightly with cooking spray and press the crust to thinly cover the bottom and sides of the pie dish. 3. Pie Filling: In a blender combine the pumpkin and date sugar. Add raisins, spices, arrowroot powder, and tofu. Blend until smooth. Pour mixture into pie shell and bake for 15 minutes then lower heat to 350 degrees. Cover crust with strips of aluminum foil on top of parchment paper to prevent burning, and bake for an additional 35 minutes. 4. Cashew Cream: Blend all ingredients together in a Vita-Mix or other powerful blender. 5. Serve slightly warm or cold with a dollop of Cashew Cream.

Pumpkin-Pie Protein Blend

Adapted from original recipe by Angela Liddon, Oh She Glows

Ingredients:

• 1 cup non-dairy milk (I prefer soy in this recipe)
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or equal parts cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg)
• 1 tsp organic blackstrap molasses (this is subtle but noticeable, can use other sweetener if preferred)
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder (I like Vega)
• 2 ice cubes (to thicken)

Preparation:

Add all ingredients into a blender and process until smooth.

Mushroom Mashed Potatoes

Adapted from original recipe by Heather Crosby, YumUniverse

Ingredients:

• 3 lbs Yukon gold potatoes (These have the creamiest texture when cooked) 1 lb sliced mushrooms (button or shitake are best)
• 1/3 red onion, chopped 2 tsp ground thyme
• 1 tsp ground dill
• 3/4 cup non-dairy milk 1 Tbsp + 2 Tbsp. Earth Balance vegan butter* (or 3 Tbsp. coconut oil)
• Sea salt, pepper, and paprika, to taste (may use Braggs Liquid Aminos in place of salt)

Preparation:

1. Cut the potatoes into 2-inch pieces and toss in a large pot. Cover with water and boil until tender (20-25 minutes).

2. In a pan, sauté onion and mushrooms with 1 Tbsp. Earth Balance thyme, and dill. Cover and cook until mushrooms “sweat” (8-10 minutes).

3. Drain the potatoes and mash, either by hand or with a mixer, with non-dairy milk and 2 Tbsp Earth Balance.

4. Sprinkle with sea salt, pepper and paprika. Top with mushrooms.

5. Another variation can be made adding ½ cup frozen spinach. Add spinach to step 2 once the onion and mushrooms have been cooking for 5 minutes. With the addition of extra veggies, more potatoes may be needed.

*If using coconut oil, use in step 3 only. Another option: Instead of butter and coconut oil, water-sauté the mushrooms in 1/8 cup water. This would make the dish lower in fat.