Marinara Sauce

After making the "Marinara Sauce" (page 194), I see no need to purchase canned or jarred marinara ever again.  This recipe is ridiculously quick and easy, made with ingredients you can find in any grocery store, namely canned crushed tomatoes, garlic, and fresh or dried spices.  The sauce ends up tasting like something that simmered all day, when in reality you simmer for a mere 15 minutes.  I did not cook the garlic in oil as instructed in the recipe, I simply added it in along with the other spices.  Try this!  It may become your new favorite marinara, too! Hint - use the highest quality crushed tomatoes available for the richest flavor.

Sherry-Braised Baby Bok Choy

My (old) favorite way to prepare baby bok choy is to simmer it in soy sauce and sliced garlic, so the recipe for "Sherry-Braised Baby Bok Choy" (page 357) was already half way there.  Here you take whole baby bok choy and simmer it not only in soy sauce and garlic, but sherry and ginger as well.  What a great blend of flavors!  I made a couple of changes.  I sliced both the ginger and the garlic, rather than mincing then, and I omitted the step of softening them in oil altogether.  Rather, I put everything in a large skillet, covered with a lid, and simmered until tender.  Easy, delicious, and totally fat free!

Chilled Cucumber Salad

The "Chilled Cucumber Salad" (page 60) starts with a basic recipe using cucumbers, onion, and dill, plus some seasonings, and dressed with lemon and olive oil.  Following the main recipe there are six variations, swapping out the dill for basil or parsley, the onion for garlic, cilantro instead of dill, lime or sherry vinegar instead of lemon and so on. (I wonder, do these variations count towards the "1000" recipes?)  The recipe as written calls for a whopping ¼ cup olive oil, but when looking over the ingredients list, I felt nothing would be lost by leaving it out altogether, without trying to replace it with anything else.  So, my version consisted of cucumbers, red onion, a squeeze of lime, cilantro, small sprinkles of salt and pepper, and served over a bed of salad greens.  This was a perfect dish to start our dinner of Mulligatawny Soup (see recipe below).

Mulligatawny Soup

More cold weather, and the "Mulligatawny Soup" (page 155) turned out to be the perfect warmer-upper. The process consisted of cooking up red lentils, onion, celery, carrot, bell pepper, and hot pepper in broth, along with the curry, and other seasonings, pureeing this mixture in a blender, then returning to the pot and adding uncooked rice, then cooking that for about thirty minutes.  When the rice is done, you add coconut milk, diced apples, and cilantro.  When I add uncooked brown rice to soups, for some reason it doesn't seem to get "done" the way I like it, the way it does when cooking up a pot of just rice, so I opted to cook the rice separately, then add it to the soup.  I also added about twice the amount called for to give the soup some extra body.  I really like this soup! It is bursting with flavor, and sort of reminded me of a thin Dal, another Indian dish I am very fond of.

This soup presented me with a number of challenges, the biggest one being my husband isn't overly fond of curry, or Indian food in general.  I didn't mention to him that this soup did in fact contain curry, and was an Indian dish, hoping that if he tried it with an open mind, he might find he liked it.  And actually, he liked it more than I thought he would, but still couldn't make friends with the curry flavor.  The second challenge was the two tablespoons of oil called for, but that was easy to just omit, and I sautéed the veggies in a little broth instead.  The third challenge was trying to decide whether or not to use the coconut milk called for. Not technically forbidden on the McDougall Plan, it is quite, no, extremely, high in fat, saturated fat, no less, and the recipe called for 12 ounces.  I had heard the idea of using soy or rice or almond milk flavored with a bit of coconut extract in place of coconut milk, and thought this would be a good time to give that a try.  I used about 1/8th teaspoon of extract, plus a drop or two more in 12 ounces of soymilk, and it was actually wonderful!  I could see using this substitution in any number of recipes calling for coconut milk.

Mylie's Secret Queso Dip

"Mylie's Secret Queso Dip" (page 13) reminded me of very thick nacho cheese, or even of a cheese style fondue.  I've explored lots of uncheeses since becoming vegan, especially enjoying the recipes from Jo Stepaniak in her Uncheese Cookbook, and this recipe includes the usual ingredients that give it the cheesy flavor - namely, nutritional yeast and tahini.  This is a warm dip, and requires a bit of preparation, dicing up and sautéing onions, whisking oat flour into a roux, and adding several other ingredients to end up with a thick and chunky dip (from canned diced tomatoes and chilies).  I opted to use Rotel tomatoes for a spicier version, a good choice. I left out the oil and sautéed the onion in a little water instead.  I thought the dip was extremely thick, and ended up adding about ½ cup of water to get it to the consistency I wanted.  The recipe says to add more soy milk if needed to thin it down; I used water for a more neutral flavor.  This dip does a good job standing in for nacho cheese style dips.  I used it on homemade vegan oil-free tamales, and baked oil-free corn tortilla chips.  I think it would be especially good over baked potatoes.

Cashew Cream

Every December 31st my mother would blend up a batch of Grasshoppers to help us ring in the New Year, a mixed drink consisting of Crème de Menthe, Crème de Cacao, heavy cream, and ice, and it was my Grandmother whom I remember liking them best!  This year, being away from family, I was getting nostalgic for something traditional, and thought I would resurrect the Grasshopper.  Of course, I didn't want to use dairy cream, and thought that the "Cashew Cream" (page 493) would be the perfect choice. Oh, was it ever!  The Cashew Cream is actually one of six options to be used as a base for the vegan ice creams (Nice Creams) in this book, but filled in nicely for the purpose I had in mind.  It is basically equal parts raw cashews and water, blended until smooth and creamy.  Decadent, rich, and thick - almost spoonable - and definitely something to be used sparingly!

Southwestern Three-Bean Salad

It's been a long time since I've made a three-bean salad, and I always end up wondering why I wait so long between times.  The "Southwestern Three-Bean Salad" (page 78) is a delightful variation on a theme.  The three beans used are pinto, red kidney, and black, and to this you add corn, red bell pepper, green onions, and cilantro.  Already this has the makings for the Southwestern theme.  But the clincher is the blended dressing, made from fresh plum tomatoes, garlic, jalapeno, chili powder and cumin.  The recipe calls for olive oil, but instead I just added extra tomato, and in place of the apple cider vinegar, I used lime, as I felt this would be less tart, and more authentic for the Southwestern theme.  What a colorful and great tasting salad this is, and good for a crowd, it makes a lot!

Sesame-Orange Dressing

I pretty much love anything with tahini, so I knew right away I would like the "Sesame-Orange Dressing" (page 101) when browsing through the salad dressing section looking for ideas.  Even though the recipe calls for a tablespoon of sesame oil, I figured it wouldn't be missed since the basis of the dressing was creamy tahini.  The orange part of the mix comes from fresh juice, and the rest of the ingredients are soy sauce, vinegar, and cayenne.  The directions say to whip it together in a bowl, but I found I wasn't getting the consistency I wanted, so I put everything in the blender and ended up with a very smooth dressing.  I used only half the amount of both the soy sauce and the vinegar.  It seemed salty enough with that amount of soy, and neither my husband nor I like things too vinegary.  I added about 1/8 teaspoon of guar gum to help thicken it up.  This is a very rich and delicious dressing, and a little drizzled over greens goes a long way.

Warm Lentil Salad with Walnuts

Little did I know the last time I was in Whole Foods, which is 70 miles from where I live, that I should have picked up green lentils.  There were half a dozen varieties of lentils available in the bulk section, but not knowing what I would really use them all for, and having limited space in my 5th wheel, I just picked up regular old brown lentils.  I love brown lentils in just about everything, but the "Warm Lentil Salad with Walnuts" (page 78) called for green lentils.  What to do!  I decided to be brave and use the brown lentils, being careful not to overcook them, and this worked out just fine. 

The cooked lentils are mixed with red bell pepper, toasted walnuts, red onion, and parsley, then drizzled with a blended dressing which called for vinegar, olive oil, shallot, garlic, and various spices.  I completely omitted the oil, substituting a rich dark vegetable broth in its place, which added a wonderful depth to the overall flavor.  I tasted the finished product when it was still warm, as intended, and it was luscious.  By the time we had it with dinner, it had cooled down to room temperature, and it was still very good.  The next day I had it cold with lunch, and I liked it that way, too!

Cream of Artichoke Soup

The "Cream of Artichoke Soup" (page 176) is definitely a blue-ribbon soup.  Maybe because its winter, or maybe I just love soup, but I've yet to make a soup from this book I don't like.  This particular cream-of soup is rich, velvety, and complex without being complicated.  It's a snap to put together, calling for the frozen variety of artichoke hearts, a couple of shallots, a sprinkling of spices.  But the secret ingredient might just be the almond butter.  I've used tahini and peanut butter in soups, but this is the first time I used almond butter. Did I mention, this soup is heavenly?  I omitted the oil when sautéing the shallots, and that was the only change necessary to keep it McDougall friendly. The cooked and pureed soup is ladled into bowls and topped with toasted slivers of almonds and snipped chives.  I'm sorry I didn't make more!

Tempeh-Pimiento Cheeze Ball

The "Tempeh-Pimiento Cheeze Ball" (page 19) is the perfect holiday appetizer, vegan or otherwise!  Meant to step in for the traditional cheese ball, this version stands on its own.  A mixture of tempeh, mayo, nutritional yeast, and pimientos is put through the food processor, shaped into a ball, and rolled in chopped pecans.  Be aware, you should start this recipe early in the day or even the day before, as there are a couple of points along the way where refrigeration is required.  The final result is well worth the wait!  As long as you use a vegan, oil free mayo, no changes to the recipe are necessary to keep this within the McDougall guidelines.  Set out with a variety of crackers and enjoy!

Wild West Pasta Bake

As soon as I read the recipe for "Wild West Pasta Bake" (page 224), I thought it looked like so much fun!  It called for wagon wheel pasta!  Anything with wagon wheel pasta is bound to be fun, right?  Except...I couldn't find wagon wheel pasta.  I didn't let that stop me though; I just looked for different pasta that would come close to emulating wagon wheels, and after at least 15 minutes of staring at all the different pastas in the pasta aisle, I decided on the Radiatori.  Sometimes it is frustrating living somewhere with limited grocery options, but the challenge can also be fun. 

This dish combines the cooked pasta with a sauce, half of which was pureed, consisting of canned tomato products, pinto beans, and Mexican spices, topped with pumpkin seeds, and baked in the oven.  The only oil called for in this recipe was for sautéing the garlic, but I just bypassed the sauté step altogether and added fresh garlic to the sauce, since everything was going into the oven anyway.  As I mentioned before, I prefer the ratio of ingredients in my pasta dishes to be heavier on the sauce, lighter on the pasta, so I decreased the amount of pasta from one pound to 12 ounces.  I still could have used a little more sauce, but it worked out okay. 

This was a very tasty dish.  The pumpkin seeds added an interesting crunch, but I don't think I would have missed them - good news if you don't really want to add the extra fat and calories.  The total baking time was supposed to be 30 minutes covered, 10 minutes uncovered, but it was more than ready after the 30 minutes, so I stopped there.  I did not use whole grain pasta, so once again, I found this to be the hardest part of my challenge to overcome.  Plan to feed a crowd if you prepare this dish, it makes a lot!

Cardamom Carrots with Orange

I have really come to appreciate the flavor of cooked vegetables without any added oil, butter, or margarine, maybe just using a sprinkle of salt or perhaps some garlic or other seasoning.  It took me a while to get accustomed to eating them this way, but it seems I have come to actually prefer cooked veggies in their most basic form.  On the other hand, I love to try new dishes, so I prepared the "Cardamom Carrots with Orange" (page 362) with an open mind. I'm fond of cardamom (the recipe warns that people seem to either love this spice or hate it), and I also like orange zest. The sprinkle of cayenne added a delightful burst of warmth as well. But somehow, I still found myself wondering why not just have plain steamed carrots?  The recipe did call for 2 tablespoons of margarine, which may have added a depth or richness that would have blended with and mellowed the overall flavors, but I omitted that and used a little broth instead.  Or, I may have zested my orange a little too close, causing a slight bitterness that can occur when that happens.  This dish was very easy to prepare, and fun to experiment with the different flavors, but I think I'm still not convinced that plain steamed veggies aren't best.

Green and Yellow Split Pea Soup

This is the time of year for soup, and I guess I'm on a roll with green soups!  But I just couldn't resist making the "Green and Yellow Split Pea Soup" (page 163) after buying some of the freshest split peas I've come across in a long while.  I have prepared many variations of split pea soup, and haven't come across one yet I don't like, but this is the first time I combined both yellow and green peas in the same pot.  The vibrant colors of the peas along with the orange from the carrot made this so bright and colorful, a pleasure to prepare.  I also added some chopped fresh parsley and garlic at the end of the cooking time (not part of the recipe) just because that sounded good to me.  The only change I made to make this McDougall friendly was to omit the oil when sautéing the onions.  The recipe gives the option of adding vegan kielbasa, which I did, a very nice touch, but the soup would still have been very delicious without it.