INGREDIENTS

• 5 Medium potatoes
• 1 1/4 Tablespoons light olive oil
• 1 Medium onion, diced
• 2 Medium carrots, diced
• 1 Cup finely chopped broccoli
• 1/8 Cup unbleached white flour
• 1/2 cup rice milk
• 1 9-inch whole wheat pie shell
• Home made whole wheat bread crumbs

DIRECTIONS

Cook or microwave the potatoes in their skins until done. When cool enough to handle, peel them. Dice 2 and mash 3. Set side until needed.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Heat half of the olive oil in a large skillet. Saute carrots and onions until they start to turn golden. Add broccoli along with a small amount of water. Cover and cook until the broccoli is tender, but not over done.

Sprinkle the flour into the skillet and add the milk, stirring constantly. Cook for a minute or two until the liquid starts to thicken. Stir in both the diced potatoes and mashed potatoes. Pat the mixture into the pie crust.

To prepare bread crumbs, take three slices of whole wheat bread and dice them. Mix in a bowl with the remaining olive oil until all the pieces are coated.  Sprinkle the bread crumbs into the prepared pot pie.

Bake the pie in the over 30-40 minutes or until the crust is golden. Cut into wedges and serve. This is great with a side of gravy!!

If you want to use regular milk for in place of rice milk, you can. The rice milk just makes this a vegan dish.

INGREDIENTS

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil                 
• 1/3 cup chopped onion               
• 2 cloves garlic, minced               
• 1/4 cup UNBLEACHED all-purpose flour             
• 2 teaspoons nutritional yeast       
• 2 tablespoons tamari or low sodium soy sauce      
• 1 cups vegetable broth                 
• 1/2 teaspoon dried sage               
• 1/4 teaspoon salt                         
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 

DIRECTIONS

Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in flour, nutritional yeast, and soy sauce to form a smooth paste. Gradually whisk in the broth. Season with sage, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, stirring constantly, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until thickened.

Increasingly, I hear that eating raw vegetables, and vegetables closer to their natural state is best for you so, I started  looking through some websites for a recipe. I found a broccoli slaw recipe and it inspired me to create my own version. It was simple and consists on items that you probably always have on hand. I will not give you measurements this time. Just add the amount that looks right to you, adding more of the items you favor. Also, be creative and feel free to add additional items. (For example – sunflower seeds, soy seeds, raisins instead of cranberries, walnuts, etc.) There are so many possibilities.

INGREDIENTS

• Finely chopped broccoli
• Finely chopped red onions
• Almonds, roughly chopped
• Dried Cranberries
• Any creamy salad dressing, low fat or fat free.

Mix all ingredients together and enjoy!

~Edward Stanley

This is a great side dish warm and is equally good the next day cold.The one great thing about this recipe is that you really can customize it to your tastes. Add extra lemon, add more parmesan, pepper, or even toss in some broccoli or peas.

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INGREDIENTS

• 2 Sweet potatoes – diced
• 2 Regular potatoes – diced
• 2 Tablespoons canola oil
• 1/4 Teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 Teaspoon curry powder
• 1/4 Teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 Teaspoon salt
• 1/4 Teaspoon sugar

DIRECTIONS

In a large skillet, heat canola oil. Add potatoes and heat until they are tender. You can add a bit of water and cover the skillet immediately to speed the process. Once the potatoes are tender, turn the heat down and add all spices – coating all potatoes evenly. Let cook through for about 5 more minutes to let spices soak in.

Makes about 4 servings

I served it here with broccoli and sliced red bell pepper. The tofu was hearty enough that I didn’t even need to use rice or noodles. But that’s not to say that it wouldn’t be great over a fried udon noodle, or even quinoa.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 block of extra firm tofu, pressed and cubed
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup organic tamari
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• unbleached white flour or cornstarch to cover tofu before frying
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil for frying

DIRECTIONS

Press the tofu between a clean tea towel, two plates and weighted with some books. This takes about 15 minutes. Cut the tofu into 1 inch cubes.

In a deep dish – a pie dish works well, place the tofu and marinate (tamari and garlic powder) Let that sit for about 20 minutes, turning tofu over 1/2 way through.

Heat vegetable oil in a wok or non-stick frying pan.

Remove Tofu from the marinade (save  marinade) then coat the tofu with corn starch or flour and carefully place it in the pan with oil avoiding dangerous splashes. Cook tofu on all sides until golden brown and crispy. Transfer to a plate lined with a paper towel to soak up excess oil.

FOR STIR FRY – in the same pan add some chopped broccoli and one tablespoon of water, cover and let cook for about 2 minutes until broccoli is semi-tender. Add red bell pepper and cook an additional 2 minutes. At this point, you can add some of the reserved marinade for added flavor.

Transfer veggies to plate and top with tofu.

Eat with chopsticks.

These are one of the few legumes that don’t need to soak prior to preparation, making them a great choice for last minute dishes. They are also ridiculously cheap, about 75 cents a pound if purchased in bulk at the grocery store. There are several different varieties of lentils, including yellow, brown, black, orange, yellow and green. I used green for this recipe.

Another cool fact – For many centuries, lentils were considered to be “the poor man’s meat.” In Catholic countries, those who couldn’t afford fish would eat lentils during Lent instead.

This was my lunch today and the lentils are served alongside steamed collard greens with balsamic vinegar and agave. Heavenly!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1 carrot chopped
• 3 cups water
• 1 cup green lentils, rinsed
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked or regular paprika
• salt to taste

DIRECTIONS

Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, besides salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat slightly and simmer for approximately 25 minutes, or until lentils are tender. Salt to taste and remove bay leaf before serving.

Tip: Always cook your food salt free and add the salt at the end. This prevents over salting and thus decreasing sodium intake.