Month: October 2022

Recipe Sunday – Vegan Stuffed Shells Florentine

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Beautiful kittens! How is life treating you these days? It’s nearly Halloween, can you believe it?! I just thought of sharing this recipe very quickly with you, because I feel we need a lot of comfort with all that is happening around the world. And what best comfort food if not PASTA?! And there is the recipe for a vegan ricotta within the main recipe! What’s not to like? So, without further ado, here are the Vegan Stuffed Shells Florentine by ConnoisseurusVeg.

Vegan Stuffed Shells Florentine by ConnoisseurusVeg

Ingredients

  • 6 ounces dried jumbo pasta shells (about 20 shells)

For the Quick Tomato Sauce

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • ½ large onion, diced
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 (28 ounce or 794 gram) can crushed tomatoes
  • ½ tablespoon organic granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • ½ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper, plus more to taste
  • ½ cup fresh basil leaves, torn and lightly packed

For the Vegan Ricotta Florentine

  • ½ cup roughly chopped onion (about ½ of a medium onion)
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 cup raw cashews soaked in water 4-8 hours, rinsed and drained
  • ½ cup unflavored and unsweetened soy or almond milk
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 (14 ounce or 400 gram) package extra firm tofu, drained and broken into 5-6 large chunks
  • ½ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper, plus more to taste
  • 2 cups fresh spinach leaves, coarsely chopped and lightly packed

Method

  1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta shells and cook them according to the package directions.
  2. Drain the pasta into a colander, then return it to the pot and toss it with a few dashes of olive oil. Set aside.

Make the Quick Tomato Sauce

  1. Coat the bottom of a medium saucepan with oil and place it over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the onion. Sweat the onion until softened, about 5 minutes.
  2. Add the garlic and sauté it with the onion 1 minute more, until very fragrant.
  3. Stir in the crushed tomatoes, sugar, oregano, salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to a simmer and lower the heat.
  4. Allow the sauce to simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  5. Stir in the basil and remove the sauce from the heat. Taste test and season with additional salt and pepper if desired.

Make the Vegan Ricotta Florentine

  1. Place the onion, garlic, cashews, milk and lemon juice into bowl of food processor. Blend until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl as needed.
  2. Add the tofu, salt and pepper. Pulse the machine until a thick and slightly chunky, ricotta-like texture is achieved, again, stopping to scrape down the sides of bowl as needed.
  3. If some space remains in food processor bowl, add the spinach and pulse until finely chopped and well blended. Otherwise, transfer mixture to a bowl and stir the spinach in by hand.
  4. Taste-test and season the mixture with additional salt and pepper to taste.

Make the Stuffed Shells Florentine

  1. Preheat the oven to 400º. Coat the bottom of a 9 inch by 9 inch baking dish or 10 inch round oven-safe skillet with about half of sauce.
  2. Stuff the shells with the ricotta mixture and arrange them in a single layer in the baking dish or skillet. Top with the remaining sauce.
  3. Cover and bake the shells for 20-25 minutes, until the sauce is bubbly.
  4. Remove the shells from the oven and allow them to sit for 5 minutes before serving.

It’s easy and delicious!

Love,

TVCL xx

Recipe Sunday – Comforting Wholesome Pear Muffins

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Hello cuties! How is everything with yous? I hope you’re having a brilliant weekend, spending it doing what makes you feel good. If you’re not, and you have to deal with unpleasant things, I really hope you’ll get over this soon. In any way, I feel that the recipe I’m sharing with you today will bring a smile to your face.

Pear muffins are something I wouldn’t have thought I would have loved this much because I’ve never been a fan of pears. But at some point, I found myself with so many pears and wasn’t sure about what I could do with them: a browse online for “quick vegan pear recipes” and there it was, Comforting Wholesome Pear Muffins by SeitanIsMyMotor! Tried it, absolutely loved it and you will too!

Comforting Wholesome Pear Muffins by SeitanIsMyMotor

Ingredients

  • 140 g (purple) whole wheat flour (1 cup + 2 Tbsp)
  • 50 g sugar (¼ cup)
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ¼ tsp baking soda
  • 120 ml soy milk (½ cup)
  • 70 g apple sauce (3 tbsp)
  • 30 ml neutral oil (2 Tbsp)
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • zest from one lemon
  • ½ tsp cinnamon
  • 6 mini pears or six pear quarters (or ½ cup diced pear)

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 200°C and grease 6 muffin tins with oil.
  • In a bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda and mix well.
  • Stir in remaining ingredients except for pears.
  • Pour the batter into the muffin tins and press pears into the batter. Or, if you are using diced pears, mix them into the batter before pouring the muffins into the tins.
  • Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown.
  • Let cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan.
  • Serve immediately or when cooled completely.

Easy, quick, and extra flavourful!

Let me know if you make it!

Love,

TVCL xx

Recipe Sunday – Vegan Cabbage Soup

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Happy Sunday, beauties! The past three weeks have been busy, had to work two Saturdays in a row and also helped cover for other members of staff during the week, and I’ve been getting at the end of the week just drained, no matter all the “keeping hydrated + exercising + sleeping 7 hours per night + eating healthy”. But Saturday night means also cabbage soup! Comforting and warm, full of healthy veggies, it’s the perfect dish for the end of a long week.

This is my favourite Vegan Cabbage Soup by LovingItVegan. The recipe calls for Cayenne pepper: I don’t really use it, but obviously, if that’s your taste go for it! Same goes for the broth/stock: the end result is already flavourful so you can skip this (perfect if you have to keep an eye on your salt intake too!). Also, I like to switch the beans I put in the soup: any white beans are great, but also Borlotti and Red Kidney work well in this recipe.

Vegan Cabbage Soup by LovingItVegan

Ingredients

  • 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
  • 1 Medium Onion White, Yellow or Brown, Chopped
  • 3 Cloves Garlic Crushed
  • 2 tsp Dried Oregano
  • 1 tsp Dried Thyme
  • 1 tsp Smoked Paprika
  • 1 tsp Cayenne Pepper
  • 2 Large Carrots Chopped
  • 2 Large Stalks Celery Chopped
  • 6 cups White Cabbage (540g) Chopped
  • 15 ounce Can Cannellini Beans White Beans, Drained
  • 28 ounces Canned Chopped Tomato (800g)
  • 4 cups Vegetable Stock (960ml) or Broth
  • Salt and Pepper To Taste

Method

  • Add chopped onion and olive oil to a pot and sauté until the onions are softened. 
  • Add crushed garlic, dried oregano, dried thyme, smoked paprika and cayenne pepper and sauté with the onions for a minute or so until toasted. 
  • Add chopped carrots, celery, cabbage and white beans and toss together with the onions and spices. 
  • Add chopped tomato and vegetable stock and mix in. Bring to a simmer. 
  • Reduce the heat, cover the pot and leave to simmer until the veggies are soft and cooked. 
  • Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with fresh parsley sprinkled on top and fresh bread on the side for dipping. 

Easy, peasy and super tasty!

I hope it will fill your night with warmth and cosiness.

Love,

TVCL xx

Recipe Sunday – Mayim Bialik’s Sufganiyot

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Happy Sunday, dearest! We’re getting into Autumn, my second favourite season, with the leaves turning from green to yellow and orange and all the different tones of these colours, the air becoming less and less hot perfect for snuggling under a blanket on the sofa with a warm mega-mug of tea. Yes, I love Autumn. And with this season we can finally bake and make all that food that heats up your kitchen. So I feel that today is a good time to share this recipe for vegan sufganiyot that I found ages ago, tried and loved it. It’s unclear why I haven’t shared this with you earlier!

Mayim Bialik’s recipe for Vegan Sufganiyot

I found the recipe by chance, don’t even remember how the search went, but I’m glad I found Mayim Bialik’s recipe for Vegan Sufganiyot because it’s easy to make and oh my goodness! So. Delicious. I didn’t know about sufganiyot (and various other spellings): they are basically Jewish doughnuts made usually for Hannukah. And for those of you who don’t know her, Mayim Bialik used to play Amy in The Big Bang Theory and she also acts and is the executive producer of the sitcom Call Me Kat. On top of this, she has a PhD in neuroscience! And she’s vegan. Really difficult not to like her!

So, here is this delicious recipe!

Ingredients

  • 0.25-oz. envelope active dry yeast
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. warm (about 110°F) soy, rice, or almond milk
  • 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
  • 1 1/4 tsp. coarse salt
  • Egg replacer equivalent of 2 eggs
  • 3 tbsp. unsalted vegan margarine, melted and cooled
  • Nonstick cooking spray
  • 6 cups vegetable oil, for frying
  • Icing sugar, for sprinkling
  • About 2 cups raspberry jam (optional)

Method

1. Combine the yeast, sugar, and 1 cup of the warm nondairy milk in a small bowl and let stand until foamy, about 8 minutes.

2. Whisk together the flour and salt in a bowl. Add the yeast mixture, egg replacer, and margarine, and beat until the dough is soft but not sticky, about 3 minutes.

3. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough until smooth and elastic, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer the dough to a medium bowl coated with nonstick cooking spray, and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.

4. Punch down the dough. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough a few times, and roll out to 1/4-inch thick. Cover with a clean dish towel, and let rest for 5 minutes.

5. Using a 2-inch-diameter cookie cutter, cut out rounds and transfer to a lightly floured baking sheet. Re-roll the scraps, and cut out the remaining dough. Cover the rounds with a clean dish towel and let rise in a warm, draft-free place for 20 minutes.

6. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot until it reaches 375°F.

7. Place a wire rack on top of parchment paper or on a baking sheet, and line with paper towels or brown paper bags. Working in batches of four or five, add the doughnuts to the hot oil and fry, turning once, until golden and puffed, about 1 minute per side. Using a slotted spoon, place the doughnuts on the paper towels to cool.

8. Sprinkle with icing sugar. You can also make some jam-filled doughnuts, by spooning jam into a pastry bag fitted with a plain 3/8-inch tip. Pierce a hole in the side of a doughnut with the tip, and squeeze in jam to fill (the filled doughnut will feel heavy). Note: Be sure to drain well before serving and enjoy!

You will love them, trust me!

TVCL xx