Swiss Chard in Spicy Peanut Butter Sauce

No, this dish is not the prettiest of all. It's not all neat and shiny, no, it's smothered all over, smothered in peanut butter sauce. But don't let appearances fool you. Hmmm, the goodness of tender Swiss chard enveloped in the peanuts' creaminess, here and there a nutty, crunchy splinter, and then a hint of chili heat... Together with your favorite pasta this is comfort food in its purest form.

Try it and you will love it :-)


Swiss Chard in Spicy Peanut Butter Sauce
serves two

1 thumbsize piece ginger, peeled & minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups Swiss chard, sliced
2 cups very light vegetable broth
3-4 tblsp crunchy peanut butter (get one without hydrogenated oils)
a generous dash cumin
a dash cayenne pepper (or as much as you like)
1 tblsp balsamic vinegar
2 tblsp shoyu

+ your favorite pasta for two, cooked al dente

Heat a large skillet. Lightly spray it with olive oil, and add the garlic and the ginger, cover with a lid. Cook for a minute, make sure it doesn't burn.

Add the Swiss chard, together with the rest of the ingredients and cook until the chard is as tender as you like it - I like mine with A LOT of crunch left.

Add over your favorite steaming hot pasta and dig in :-)

Spinach-Squash Lasagna

This months topic for Heart of the Matter, hosted by the Accidental Scientist, is Stews and Casseroles. Heart of the Matter is all about heart-healthy food that is delicious without putting your health at risk. Hm, last months topic was soups. I didn't want to make anything that would resemble last months theme, so I went for a spinach-squash lasagna, since lasagna could arguably pass as a casserole.

This lasagna is almost fat-free and 100% cholesterol-free, something your ordinary lasagne is probably not. Still it is chock-full of flavors and veggies: caramelized squash, tender spinach and heart-healthy garlic. This one is a keeper.

Spinach-Squash Lasagna

2 1/2 cups vegan broth
2 1/2 cups soymilk
2 tblsp flour dissolved in some cold water
nutmeg, freshly ground pepper, minced garlic, lemon juice
1/2 cup nutritional yeast flakes + some more for sprinkling

1 1/2 cup squash/pumpkin cubes, roasted with garlic and sea salt
1 cup spinach (I used frozen thawed)

dry lasagne sheets



Cut the squash/pumpkin into approx 1/3" cubes, toss with some olive oil, season with sea salt and garlic and roast until tender. Defrost the spinach (or wash, cook, and drain fresh spinach).

Bring the broth and soymilk to a boil. Season with nutmeg, pepper and a spritz of lemon juice. Stirr in the dissolved flour and bring back to a boil, stirring constantly until the sauce thickens. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Then start by pouring a thin layer of "bechamel" in your lasagna form to prevent the sheets from sticking to the bottom. Cover the bottom with lasagna sheets but leave room for them to expand (they will). Top with the roasted squash and a generous amount of sauce. Add another layer of lasagna sheets, top with the spinach and again sauce. If you still have veggies left and room in your form, then just repeat. Make sure you use plenty of sauce because the pasta will soak it up and you want a nice and moist lasagna. The amount of sauce you need will vary with the size of your lasagna form, you may need more or less. Make sure you have one cup sauce left over.

Stirr the nutritional yeast flakes into the remaining 1 cup of sauce, pour on top of the lasagne. Sprinkle with nutritional yeast and into the oven it goes. The yeast flakes on top give it this nice crunch that is usually achieved with cheese that has baked for a long time. Bake for approx. 45 minutes until the pasta is tender and the top is nicely browned and crunchy.

This was the first time I've attempted to make a non-tomato-based lasagna and I was really surprised at how rich and creamy it tasted. The starch of the pasta makes for very creamy results even though this is almost fat-free. Serve with a BIG salad, lambs lettuce is in season plus it tastes divine.

Serves two.

Spaghetti with Caramelized Veggies in Creamy Red Wine Sauce

Susan over at the FatFree Vegan Kitchen is again hosting Vegetable Love. This is an event where she collects fat-free, vegetable-centered, healthy, sexy recipes for Valentine's day. So, what is the most sensual thing to eat with candlelight, a glass of good red wine, and subtle music? Think Lady and the Tramp.... It's spaghetti. Seriously. Comfort food that a simple sauce can transform into an aphrodisiac and which will still retain its simple, sensual appeal. And if that sauce is veggie-based it meets all the other requirements above. So here I give you the recipe for our all-time favorite pasta. Sweet caramelized onions, earthy mushrooms, and tender courgetts with perfect al-dente spaghetti enveloped in creamy, aromatic, red wine sauce. (Picture of Lady and the Tramp: Disney).

Spaghetti with caramelized veggies in creamy red wine sauce

Serves two plus leftovers

2 cloves garlic, minced
3 red onions, halved and then thinly sliced
4 courgettes
8 oz brown portobellos, sliced
8 oz shiitake, sliced

3/4 cup soymilk (see note)
3/4 cup red wine
3/4 cup vegan stock (instant)
salt, freshly ground pepper, fresh thyme

Lovingly set the table with flowers and candles and put on romantic music.

Cut the courgettes in half lenghtwise, then shave them with a potato peeler into thin slices.

Ligthly spray a non-stick skillet with olive oil. Gently fry the garlic for a minute over medium heat. Add the onion slices and cover with a lid. The onions will now start cooking in their own juice. Stirr frequently, adding 2 tblsp of water if the onions start browning too much or sticking to the pan. After about 20 minutes the onions should be tender and caramelized.

Turn the heat to high and add the mushrooms. Cook for a few minutes on high until the mushrooms start exuding their juices. Add the courgette slices together with the soymilk, red wine and vegetable stock. Bring to a boil, cover again and cook for two minutes. Uncover and stirr. The steam should have softened the courgette slices, they are so thin that they will cook in no time. Cook for one or two more minutes of needed. Add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste and sprinkle with fresh thyme. Add more liquid if needed.

Pour over your steaming hot spaghetti and serve to the one you love. Slurp on the same strand of spaghetti. Kiss.

THE END


Mmmmmmh, can you smell it? Mmmmmmh... :-)

For more yummy pasta recipes check out Spaghetti with arugula, garlic, and grape tomatoes

Note: If you are not concerned about fat-free, use soy-creamer.

Fat-free depends on the use of fat-free ingredients.
Gluten-free depends on the use of gluten-free ingredients.

Roasted Squash with Wasabi Mashed Potatoes

Ok, maybe this is a little off-season. Just before Christmas I saw the first (probably this season's last) acorn squash I had ever seen in my life and bought it - only because it was so beautiful. At least I think it is an acorn squash. It is kind of an orangy brown with a blueish hue. Beautiful. We were gone over Christmas for our honeymoon, and I returned with a nasty bug that upset all that is inside me so I couldn't hold down anything for another two weeks. But yesterday the beautiful squash was finally able to shine.



(Lady Sunshine and Mr. Moon: fall's last squash and spring's first tulips.)

After so much pumpkin soup, pie, muffins, etc. in fall I wanted to try something different. I'm glad I did. Roasting the squash elevated its flavor to a level I had never expected from this somewhat unexciting vegetable that is unvariably adorned with powerful spices to make it interesting. Roasting it, the squash's very own aroma was brought out. Alas, my active English vocab is not comprehensive enough to describe the rich, smooth, intensive taste of this orange beauty when roasted.

To go with it I made wasabi mashed potatoes. Not that this is a novelty, its just something something I had never tried before. Ooooooh, spicing up the mash was just as good as roasting the squash, and the two things went together perfectly.


The best thing about it: this was easy as (pumpkin) pie. No, easier. I peeled a chunk of squash, cubed it, lightly coated the cubes with olive oil, sprinkled them with sea salt and dried garlic, and roasted them for 15 minutes at 400 F - and voila, they were done already. For the mashed potatoes, I made them as usual and added 1/2 teaspoon wasabi powder per serving. Easy-peasy as Jamie Oliver says. But good. Very good. Comfort-food good.

Fat-free depends on the use of fat-free ingredients.
Gluten-free depends on the use of gluten-free ingredients.

Fauxballs and Spaghetti

In our house, Friday night is leftover night. (Across the pond, its Friday night already). We still had some spaghetti left over from yesterday's indulgence and some frozen tomato juice. AND there were these amazing faux meatballs sitting in the fridge smiling at me and whispering, "Yeesss, you want us, you know you do". And indeed, I did.

Spaghetti to your heart's content, your favorite tomato sauce, and faux meatballs. Again, not a recipe that could be spelled out, since it doesn't really involve much cooking. The star of the meal comes out of a pack... (unless you make them yourself, of course).

Ok, ok, there is this debate whether or not it is wise to use faux products. I usually don't use many, primarily because there aren't that many available in Germany. But a few things I wouldn't wanna miss, and fauxballs are one of them.

Enjoy your weekend :-)

Spaghetti with arugula, garlic, and tomatoes

Yay, this was my first real meal after two weeks of bland diet - if anything at all. And boy did I have a craving for spaghetti. This dish is one of my favorites. It is a cinch to throw together because it is almost a raw sauce that doesn't need much cooking time. If you make that on a weeknight you may want to go easy on the garlic, though.

It is a lovely simple dish, as garlicky as you make it, crisp arugula, fruity olive oil, aromatic tomatoes, and with great colors to boot. Oh, and it is even an original Italian recipe.

Spaghetti with arugula, garlic, and tomatoes

There is not much of a recipe. Cook as many spaghetti as you like. In a skillet, heat a generous splash of some nice and fruity extra virgin olive oil. Peel and chop as much garlic as you like and let it sweat in the oil a bit. Make sure it doesn't get too hot. Chop the tomatoes, throw them in and let them cook for just a few moments, just to soften them a bit. Add the cooked, drained spaghetti. Salt to taste. Add the arugula (rocket in the UK) and let it wilt for a few seconds in the hot spaghetti. Enjoy with your favorite red wine :-)

Saved-My-Day Pancakes

After a week of nibbeling dry toast and sipping chammomile tea and STILL feeling sick and getting cramps and everything I was ready for something else this morning. When I saw the mouthwatering photo of FatFreeVegan Susan's Golden Spice Pancakes I knew it had to be pancakes. The doctor had told me to abstain from sugar and milk (haha, two things I don't eat much anyway).

Ok, strictly speaking sugar would include maple syrup. The real challenge however was to make them absolutely completely fat-free since I knew that my stomach couldn't handle that for sure. I used a non-stick skilletand set the heat on medium. And - oh miracle - they came out beautifully. Their surfaces weren't sealed by the fat so they absorbed the maple syrup immediately. But for a stomach-impaired person like me they were perfect.




Saved-My-Day Almost-BRAT-Diet Pancakes

1 cup soymilk (mine is slightly sweetened with organic cane sugar)
5 tablespoons all-purpose-flour
1 tablespoon soyflour (or egg replacer of choice)
1 tablespoon organic brown cane sugar
1 heaped teaspoon baking soda
1 pinch of salt

Whisk together and "fry" or rather bake them in a non-stick skillet over medium. Of yourse you can grease the skillet but if your skillet is really non-stick it should work without fat. Drench in maple syrup and enjoy :-)




Fat-free depends on the use of fat-free ingredients.
Gluten-free depends on the use of gluten-free ingredients.