Polenta Primavera - from the Local Bounty

One of my most treasured cook books is Local Bounty by Devra Gartenstein. This book showcases seasonal dishes that are simple yet hearty and beautiful. I made Polenta Primavera tonight, tweaking it as I went along based on the on-hand veggies I had. I might add that tonight was the very fist time I cooked with white wine. I used a delicious chardonnay and the fruity tangents mixed with the flavorful veggies was an amazing pair. I will be cooking with this wine more often.

One vegetable that was showcased was my lovely chard that has been growing the past few months.

It was tender, mild and such a treat. Of course I under estimated the amount of shrinkage so next time I will be cutting double the amount.

Polenta Primavera from Local Bounty

Ingredients – 2 servings

• 4 - 1/2 inch slices of pre-cooked polenta



• 2 tablespoons olive oil



• 1/3 sweet yellow onion, sliced into large pieces



• 1 tablespoon minced garlic



• 1/3 red bell pepper, sliced into small strips



• 1 cup sliced mushrooms



• 1/2 cup fresh of frozen peas



• a few handfuls of fresh green beans, washed and cut into 3 inch pieces



• a large amount of chard (depending on the size of leaves – it will shrink down 50% or more)



• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped



• 1/4 cup white wine



• salt and pepper

Directions

Sear of bake the polenta. If baking, preheat oven to 375 and lay polenta slices on a baking sheet. Cook for 10 minutes on each side, or until crispy on the outside. If searing, place a few tablespoons of EVOO in a skillet and sear each side of the polenta until crispy.

Add 2 tablespoons of EVOO to a large pan on medium. Add onion, red bell pepper, mushrooms and a pinch of salt. Sautee for about 5 minutes. Add garlic, peas, chard, beans, parsley, pepper and another pinch of salt. Cook for another 5 minutes. Add white wine, cover and cook for about 10 minutes, or until wine is mostly cooked out.

Serve vegetables over the polenta.

Vegan Lentil Soup

This thick and hearty soup will keep you full all day from the protein, and have you coming back for seconds at the same time! Packed full of carrots, celery, potatoes and spices, lentils have never tasted so good. It freezes well so make an entire batch for tonight and enjoy the rest next week or in a month.

Ingredients – see below for notes

• 2 cups lentils, rinsed and looked over


• 6-8 cups of vegetable stock or water


• 1 medium yellow onion


• 2 cups of chopped yellow potatoes


• 2 garlic cloves, chopped or tablespoon of garlic powder


• 3-4 carrots, chopped


• 3-4 celery stalks, chopped


• 1 tablespoon dried basil


• 2 tablespoons dried parsley


• 1-2 bay leaves


• salt and pepper to taste

In a large soup pot pour your water/vegetable stock. Turn stove on high heat. Add rinsed lentils, carrots, garlic, onion, potatoes, herbs and some salt and pepper. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer (medium-low) and cover for an hour.
Check often to make sure water level is not too low, adding small amounts at a time.
The end result should be a thick and creamy soup, with the lentils being broke down and soft. Taste to make sure it is seasoned the way you like it, adding more salt and pepper if needed.
Serves 4-6

Notes -

• Use yellow, creamy potatoes in this soup. I used 5-6 fingerlings - I HIGHLY recommend them! You can also use Yukon gold.


• I used garlic powder instead of whole cloves.


• Add more vegetables for more soup yield. I would have loved to see more vegetables in my soup – next time I will adding double!

Enjoy!

Vegan Banana Bread Muffins

Banana bread is comforting with its warm cinnamon and nutmeg flavors. Now you can enjoy them all wrapped up into individual muffins. Serve warm with Earth Balance spread.

Ingredients

• 3 ripe bananas
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil OR 1/4 vegan butter like Earth Balance
• 1/2 cup organic raw sugar
• 1/2 cup organic brown sugar
• 1 cup unbleached organic white flour and 1 cup organic whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• walnuts or pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 360 degrees
Cream sugar/oil with sugar. In a separate bowl mash bananas with a potato masher or fork. Add bananas to butter and sugar and mix well.
Now add the dry ingredients to the wet, making sure to scrape the sides and mix well. Stir in nuts at the end if you plan to use them.
Spray cooking spray in a muffin tin and add dollops of batter into each slot – 3/4 of the way full.
Bake for 25 minutes.
Makes 12 muffins.

Vegan, dairy free, pancakes

Oh, Pancakes. How I love you. You are soft, luscious and irresistible.

I love making my my pancakes from scratch - no box mix for this lady.

You can sub the whole wheat flour with any kind of flour you prefer – this is a wonderful kitchen staple for vegan, dairy free pancakes!

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup non-dairy milk (1 1/4 cups if using flax meal)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 tablespoons flax meal (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon oil, vegetable
• 1 teaspoon organic raw sugar (optional)

Mix the dry ingredients together, sifting if possible. Add milk, oil and whisk to make batter. Thicken by adding a little more flour, or thin by adding more liquid.

Heat pan on medium heat. Pour desired amount of batter in pan. Once you see bubbles that are starting to pop, flip gently. Cook another minute or so. I found that mine were pretty thick and they needed to cook a tad longer.

Top with syrup, fruit and nuts and enjoy!