Our Veggie Kitchen

I frequently experiment with new ideas for vegan sandwiches, especially sandwich spreads.  They make school-time lunches a breeze and they often double as a dip for veggies or chips.  With my oldest daughter, it's often a dip for her spoon.

I've made this Artichoke Dip a few times.  It's got a subtle white bean base and just creamy enough, while avoiding a calorie overload.  And the artichoke flavor shines through.  I've also made this Spinach Dip.  With the stronger spinach flavor, I could use a whole can of white beans without tasting beany.  But my girls turn their nose up at all the spinach.  This iteration, blending the two is the perfect mix.  It's healthy enough to use it in a sandwich, its got great flavor and my girls love it.  In fact, it's my favorite of the three.



Artichoke Spinach Dip
1 bunch spinach, washed, chopped and cooked
8 oz water chestnuts, finely chopped
6 oz jar marinated artichoke hearts, minced
2 tbs pickled jalapeno peppers, minced
Sauce:
1 can white kidney beans
1/2 cup vegan sour cream
1/4 cup vegenaise
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cloves garlic

Add the sauce ingredients to a blender and blend thoroughly, until very smooth. To the blended sauce, add the cooked spinach, minced water chestnuts, minced artichokes, and jalapenos.  Pulse the blender to combine and refrigerate until the sauce thickens, at least a couple of hours. The dip is better if kept overnight.
Makes about 3 cups

12 servings: 139 cal (5g fat, 19g carbs, 6g protein)

I made a batch of tzatziki for last weeks zucchini fritters and I'll use the left overs this weekend for chickpea burgers.  I've also used it as a dressing for chickpea & chard salad or topped on biryani.  Typically, it is made with Greek yogurt, which is thicker than normal.  You can strain standard soy yogurt or, as I've done here, add a little cream cheese (Tofutti has a trans fat and a non-trans fat vegan cream cheese).



Vegan Tzatziki
1 cup soy yogurt
2 tbs vegan cream cheese
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 lemon, juiced
1 tbs mint, minced
1 cucumber

combine all ingredients, except the cucumber. Either blend or vigorously whip in a bowl. For the cucumber, peel and quarter. Scoop out the seeds from each quarter, cut into long matchsticks and dice. Stir into the yogurt mixture and refrigerate for at least an hour. Makes about 2 cups.

16 servings: 29 cal (1g fat, 4g carbs, 1g protein)

These are one of my favorite treats when the garden is brimming with Zucchini.  I make them as patties (shown below) or little medallion fritters.  They're good hot or cold and I've made them for staff meetings and board meetings; definitely a treat for vegan and omni alike.



Zucchini Fritters
3 medium zucchini, peeled & grated
1/2 cup bulgur (and 1 cup boiling water)
1 tbs olive oil
1/4 cup shallots, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup loosely packed parsley, chopped
1 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
1/2 cup vital wheat gluten
2 tbs chickpea flour
2-3 tbs vegetable oil for baking

Grate and peel the zucchini. Place in a colander and toss with a tablespoon, or so, of salt. Be liberal with the salt. You'll rinse it off anyway. Set the zucchini aside to drain for at least 30 minutes. Place the bulgur in a bowl and cover with 1 cup of boiling water. Let set until the zucchini is ready.

After 30 minutes, rinse the zucchini. Squeeze out as much moisture as possible. You can squeeze it between your hands or press it between two plates. I usually squeeze it in my fist, then ball it up in sheets of cheesecloth and squeeze again. The drier the zucchini, the better the fritter will be.

Combine the remaining ingredients and stir to combine. The gluten will form stringy strands and clump, but it will not make a dough. If necessary, add a little more gluten.

Put a cookie sheet in the oven and preheat it to 400 degrees. Form the zucchini into 8 patties (1/3 cup ea) or 15-20 medallions (2-3 tbs ea). When the oven is preheated, take out the cookie sheet, pour on enough oil to cover and place the patties or medallions onto the sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes, flipping half way through. Remove from oven and serve. They are good hot or cold.

8 Servings: 136 cal (6g fat, 14g carbs, 9g protein)

A while back, I received a case of POM Wonderful Pomegranate juice in the mail.  Within a couple days, I made Pomegranate & Rhubarb Sauce.  It was delicious and, I was a bit surprised that the tart flavors blended so well.  And that inspired me to try pomegranate and blueberry.  I started with my favorite fluffy pancake recipe and used most of the rest of my juice playing and testing.  The result was mildly pomegranate, very berry and wonderful warm color.



Pomegranate & Blueberry Waffles
Wet Ingredients:
1 cup pomegranate juice
2/3 cups soy milk (vanilla is good too)
2 Tbs cider vinegar
2 Tbs agave syrup
3 Tbs vegetable oil
2 Tbs ground flaxseed
1 tsp vanilla extract
Dry Ingredients:
1 1/3 cup flour
3 Tbs chickpea flour
1 Tbs baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

1 cup frozen blackberries

Start heating the waffle iron.  Pour together the wet ingredients, stirring to combine the flax seed.  Set aside for a couple of minutes.  In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients (except the blueberries).  Just before you are ready to start cooking, pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir, just enough to combine.  Take the blueberries out of the freezer and fold into the batter.  If the batter is too thin, or if it thins over time (which will happen as the blueberries thaw, stir in a little more flour.

For 8 inch waffles, pour about half a cup of batter into the iron, enough to generously cover 2/3 of the iron.  Cook according to you waffle iron's directions.  Makes about 5 8" waffles.

5 Servings:  344 cal (15g fat, 40g carbs, 6g protein)