Delicious White Bean and Caramelized Fennel Mini-Calzones

I finally tried this recipe from the New York Times but I tweaked it a little bit. You can find the original here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/18/dining/white-bean-and-caramelized-onion-calzone-recipe.html

It's delicious and the fennel taste mellows a bit with the caramelization process. I used store-bought pizza dough to make it a little easier and it turned out great! I also like the idea of mini-calzones because that way you can serve multiple people... or if you make them REALLY small you can even serve them as hors d'oeuvres/finger food.

White Bean and Caramelized Fennel Mini-Calzones

Fennel and onion prior to caramelization

Ingredients:

-pizza dough

-1 large fennel bulb with fronds

-5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, more as needed

-1 large white onion, halved root to stem and thinly sliced

-1 1/2 teaspoons fennel seed (optional)

-3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, more as needed
-1/4 teaspoon black pepper, more as needed
-1 3/4 cups cooked white beans (about 1 can, drained and rinsed)
-1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

-All-purpose flour, as needed

-1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt


Fennel and onion after caramlization



-Lemon wedges, for serving

Method:

Remove the stems from the fennel bulb. Chop 2 tablespoons of fronds and save the remaining fronds for another use. Halve the bulb lengthwise, remove the core, and thinly slice each half.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 3 tablespoons oil, fennel bulb, onion and fennel seed. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are very tender and caramelized, about 25 minutes. Season with 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.

Bean puree

In a small bowl, mash the beans with 2 tablespoons oil, lemon zest, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper until they form a chunky purée.

Heat the oven to 500 degrees. Lightly oil a baking sheet, or flour up a pizza stone.

Lightly flour a work surface, and stretch or roll the dough into a rectangle shape. Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into 6-8 smaller squares. Spread the bean mixture on half of the dough, leaving a half-inch border. Top with the fennel-onion mixture and sprinkle with fennel fronds. Brush the edges of the dough with water, and fold dough in half, over filling; pinch the edges of the dough together to seal.

Transfer calzones to baking sheet. Brush the top with olive oil, and sprinkle with flaky salt. Bake until crust is golden brown and firm, 15 minutes or so. Let cool 5 minutes before serving with lemon wedges.







Calzones before going in the oven



Finished product



Mexican Cheese Dip

This is a great alternative cheese dip - better than many pre-made vegan cheese dips because it isn't made with artificial oils and flavorings. It's great with tortilla chips, or to drizzle on tacos or taco salad.

Mexican Cheese Dip

Ingredients:

-1/2 cup raw cashews
-1 tbsp tahini
-1 1/2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
-2 tsp apple cider vinegar
-1 cup + 1-3 tbsp plain unsweetened almond or oat milk
-1/2 tsp sea salt
-1/4 tsp prepared yellow mustard
-1-2 tbsp arrowroot powder
-1/2 tsp paprika
-1 tbsp neutral-flavored oil
-1 ½ -2 tbsp nutritional yeast
-3/4 cup of your favorite salsa

Method:
Combine all ingredients except the salsa in a food processor and puree until very smooth (start with 1 cup + 1 tbsp milk). Transfer mixture to a small/medium saucepan, and heat over low-medium heat for ~8 minutes, until mixture is starting to slowly bubble and thicken (stir frequently through heating). If you need to thin the sauce slightly, stir in another 1-2 tbsp of milk. Avoid thickening sauce over high heat (or increasing heat too quickly), since this sauce can burn easily. Once sauce has thickened, transfer to a serving dish, stir in the salsa, and serve!

Warm and Delicious Sticky Toffee Pudding

This dish had been on my "to try" list for way too long and this weekend I realized I had all the ingredients and people coming over for dinner... a perfect storm.
If you like the traditional English dessert, which is swimming with toffee sauce and has enough sugar to rot our your teeth (fillings and all), you will love this. Of course it has lots of sugar so it's not really "healthy," but it is much healthier than other versions because it doesn't have too much soy butter, plus of course no eggs or cream, etc.  And it's easier than it first appears!

Sticky Toffee Pudding
Ingredients for cake:

• 1.5 cups pitted dated, roughly chopped
• 1.5 cups almond or oat milk
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 cup Earth Balance (or other vegan butter substitute), lightly softened
• 1/2 cup unpacked brown sugar (75 grams)
• 3/4 cup toasted chopped pecans, divided
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1 & 1/4 cups whole wheat flour

Ingredients for the toffee sauce:

• 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp brown rice syrup
• 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp unpacked brown sugar (35 grams) OR Sucanat
• 3 tbsp Earth Balance
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp almond or oat milk
• 1/4 tsp salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325F and toast the pecans for about 8-10 mins. Now, preheat oven to 375F. Grease a 9-inch pie dish or an 8-inch square pan with Earth Balance.



milk and date mixture on stovetop



2. In a medium sized pot, bring 1.5 cups of almond milk to a low boil. Add in the chopped and pitted dates and reduce heat to low. Cook for 1 minute, remove from heat, and stir in baking soda. It will froth up a bit.



3. In a large bowl, whisk together the softened Earth Balance and brown sugar until no clumps remain. You can also use an electric mixer if desired. Now add in the date & almond milk mixture and stir.





Milk and date mixture frothing with the baking soda



4. Add the dry ingredients (cinnamon, salt, 1/2 cup of pecans, and flour) into the wet and stir until just combined. Spoon the mixture into the prepared dish.

5. Bake at 375F for 27-28 minutes, or until the cake gently springs back when you touch it.

6. Toffee sauce: About 10 mins before the cake is done, make your toffee sauce by whisking together the sauce ingredients in a pot (use the same one). Bring to a low simmer over medium heat, and then reduce heat to low, whisking frequently making sure it doesn’t burn. Heat for about 5 minutes while standing over the pot to stir & watch. Remove from heat and set aside.

7. Remove cake from oven, let it cool for a few minutes, and then prick with a fork all over. Pour 2/3 of the toffee sauce over the top of the cake (reserving the other 1/3 of the sauce for later) and smooth out with a spoon.

Cake out of the oven, cooling before sticking a million times with a fork

8. Scoop out your portions onto plates, drizzle with remaining sauce, and top with toasted pecans.

Greek Lemon-Tahini Quinoa Salad

This is a really filling “salad” that is different from the usual green salad.  It also holds up well in the fridge for a couple of days so it’s good as leftovers.

Greek Lemon-Tahini Quinoa Salad

Ingredients:

Finished product

-1 cup uncooked quinoa

-1/2 cucumber, diced small

-1 small red onion, sliced very thinly

-1 ½ cups cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

-2 scallions, sliced thinly

-1 red bell pepper, diced small

-1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives

-6 cups baby spinach or baby field greens of your choice

-1/2 cup pickled Italian hot peppers, halved and stems discarded (optional)

Ingredients for dressing:

-1/3 cup tahini

-2 cloves garlic

-2/3 cup water

-3 tbsp. lemon juice

-4 tbsp. ground flax seed

-1 tbsp. miso paste

-1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes

Method:

In a saucepan, boil 2 cups of water with 1 tsp. salt and ¼ tsp. fresh black pepper. Once boiling, add quinoa, stir, and turn heat down to medium.  Cook for about 15-17 minutes, until quinoa has absorbed all of the water and is cooked through.

Meanwhile, chop all the veggies and throw together in a large bowl.  In a blender or food processor, process the dressing ingredients until very smooth.  Taste and add salt and pepper if desired.

Veggies mixed in bowl before sauce, greens and tahini

Once quinoa is done cooking, combine with the veggies and fluff.  Then pour dressing on the whole thing and mix well.  Enjoy!  Can be served at room temperature or chilled.

Lemon-Basil Risotto

This risotto tastes fresh and lemon-y and is great with a heap of fresh cracked black pepper on top. Delish!

Lemon-Basil Risotto

Ingredients:
-4 tbsp. olive oil (I used lemon-infused oil but regular is fine)
-5 finely chopped shallots
-1 1/2 cups risotto rice
-3/4 cup white wine
-5 cups vegetable stock
-1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
-3 tsp. nutritional yeast
-1 1/2 cups fresh chopped basil

Method:
In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Once hot, add shallots and cook until translucent.  Add the rice and stir and cook for 2 more minutes until it's all coated.

While the shallots cook, bring the stock and lemon juice to a simmer in another saucepan.  

Add wine to the rice and slowly stir, allowing the rice to absorb the wine.  Keep stirring.  Once the wine is almost absorbed, add the stock in 1/2 cup increments, stirring constantly. Add each additional 1/2 cup once it looks like the risotto has absorbed the last one.  

When there's only about 1/2 cup of stock/lemon juice left, add the nutritional yeast and stir. Then stir the remaining liquid into the rice and stir until you get a nice risotto-y consistency and it's almost all absorbed.  

Remove from heat, stir in basil and a bit of fresh pepper, and serve!

Optional topping: more fresh pepper and some lemon zest.

Sweet-Tart Morning Smoothie

I know green smoothies with tons of spinach in them aren't for everyone, so this morning I tried something new which might be more appealing to those of you who drink smoothies in front of colleagues in the morning who you don't want to gross out.  This was sweet and tart and FULL of antioxidants.

Sweet Tart Smoothie

Ingredients:
-1/2 cup soy yogurt (flavor of your choice)
-1 small banana
-1 scoop protein powder of your choice (I like Sun Warrior Soy or Rice Protein)
-1/2 tsp ground flax seed
-1/2 tsp matcha powder (this is a green tea powder)
-1/2 cup non-dairy milk (I am into Oat Milk these days)
-1/3 cup frozen cranberries

Method:
Put everything in a blender and blend until ultra-smooth.

Crazy Awesome Guilt-Free Spinach Artichoke Dip

Because this dip is made with a silken tofu base and NOT a cheese or cream base, you can eat the entire thing and not feel guilty at all.  It's baked in the oven so it's warm and melty and delicious, and I bet if you bring it to a party and don't tell anyone it's vegan, they wouldn't even know.

Baked Spinach Artichoke Dip

Ingredients:

Dip before going in the oven

-1 small yellow onion, diced
-1 (12 ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach (thawed, drained and squeezed dry)
-1 (8 ounce) jar marinated artichoke hearts, roughly chopped
-1 tablespoon olive oil
-1 (12 ounce) packages firm silken tofu
-1/2 cup nutritional yeast flakes
-3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
-2-3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
-1 teaspoon dried basil
-1 teaspoon dried parsley
-1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
-1 teaspoon salt
-1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Method:

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Saute onion, spinach and artichoke hearts in olive oil until onion is soft, about 8 minutes.  Blend together tofu, nutritional yeast, garlic, vinegar and spices in blender or food processor until mixed and very smooth.

Combine the smooth base from the blender and the onion/artichoke/spinach mix in a bowl.  Taste and add extra seasonings and nutritional yeast, as needed.  Smooth into non-stick baking dish and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until lightly browned on top.  Serve warm with bread.