Tag: comfort food

Veggie Barley Soup

Veggie Barley Soup

This is a soup I have come to love. Before heading down this heart healthy path, I could count on one hand the number of times I had used barley. I think both of those times it was for a soup and I only purchased what I needed for that particular day. Today, barley has become a staple in my pantry. I buy it in bulk and then store it in my own Rubbermaid container.

Last Friday I spent the day making food to take to my college aged son. It makes me feel good to make up healthy little packages for him. I make things for him that are easily frozen and taste good after having been frozen. We discovered vegan macaroni and cheese doesn’t unfreeze well. Veggie Barley soup is perfect for freezing in small containers. I was able to get 4 small containers from this batch of soup. Each container has about 2 1/2 servings of soup.

Freezer ready Veggie Barley soup

I use a homemade vegetable broth when I make this soup. I keep it written in the front of one of my cookbooks because I make it all the time. I usually make up a double batch and keep it in a large spice container in my spice cabinet. This is not my recipe and I cannot remember where it came from but this is a photo. You can always use a store bought vegetable broth if you prefer.

Veggie Broth recipe

Veggie Barley Soup

  • Servings: 12
  • Difficulty: easy
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A hearty barley soup packed with veggies.


Ingredients


• splash of water (to sauté)
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 carrots, thinly sliced
• 1 large stalk celery, thinly sliced
• 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (2 tsp. minced garlic)
• 8 cups vegetable broth
• 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 can diced tomatoes (I use chili ready diced tomatoes)
• 2 cups frozen cut green beans
• 1 cup pearled barley
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 tsp. dried basil
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cup frozen peas
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

  1. In a non-stick large pot over medium heat, add water, onions, carrots, and celery. Sauté until veggies are softened, about 5 minutes. Add additional water to prevent sticking if necessary.
  2. Increase heat to medium-high and add mushrooms and cook until lightly browned, stirring frequently.
  3. Stir in garlic and cook, stirring constantly.
  4. Add broth, chickpeas, tomatoes, green beans, barley, corn, basil, oregano, and bay leaf.
  5. Bring soup to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover.
  6. Cook soup until barley is tender, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.
  7. Mix in peas and cook until tender and hot, 1 to 2 minutes.
  8. Remove soup from heat and discard bay leaf. Season with pepper to taste.


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Vegan Carrot Cake

Hey Heart Healthy friends!

I found this awesome recipe for carrot cake on the forks over knives website https://www.forksoverknives.com/recipes/vegan-carrot-cake/#gs.5r131r They have a fabulous video with the recipe, which I should have watched before I made it.

I think the frosting would have been just a touch creamier with less water. It’s easy to add more water to thin it than it is to remove water to thicken it. I didn’t use the vanilla bean seeds and it was just fine. I simply didn’t have any in my kitchen.

I also did not include the optional walnuts in the cake but maybe next time I will. Yes! I said next time! I am definitely adding this one to my recipe book. I’ll let you go to the forks over knives website and print the recipes off. The cake and the frosting are two different recipes, so don’t forget to track down the frosting.

I don’t have a kitchen scale and usually just make guesstimates when necessary. On that note, I used 6 dates pitted and chopped in the cake, and 7 dates pitted and chopped in the frosting.

Enjoy! Remember you only have one ❤️. The same recipes that are good for your heart health are also good for your brain health.

Buddha Bowl

I love Buddha Bowls and let me just say this is my own personal mash up. Sorry if this is so far from a Buddha bowl in your book that you are having to zoom in to see “what the heck did she put in there”. This is basically a Heartie kitchen left over Bowl, but humor me and let’s say it’s a Buddha bowl.

Quinoa a perfect base and I like it right in the center so I can easily mix it up. The quinoa was not left over. It’s the only thing I made fresh for this one.

Baked green beans (farmers market beans) with onion and mushrooms, they were a previous side.

Roasted potatoes with leftover Steff’s Mac and Cheese, cheese sauce poured over the top.

Grilled corn that I cut from the cobs from a previous meal.

Sautéed collared greens a previous side and a previous post.

Sautéed mini eggplants, also a previous side and a previous post.

When it looks like you only have a little of this and a little of that and really not enough of anything to make a meal for anyone…think Buddha bowl. Steam up some quinoa or if that’s not your thing some rice or lentils. Put all those veggies together under a fabulous sauce and presto…left over Buddha bowl!

My personal preference is for Hak’s BBQ sauce on the top, but you be you and figure out what you enjoy best. Plant Strong and Heart Healthy ❤️ur ❤️

Collared Greens

Collared greens are rich in nutrients and come from the same family as their fellow cruciferous vegetables, cauliflower florets, turnip greens, mustard greens, broccoli florets, and kale. Among these collard greens are typically more affordable with the same nutrient power pack.

Collared greens are a loose leaf species, they don’t grow as a head but as individual dark colored edible leaves. They are typically found in small bundles in the refrigerated section of the produce department. Smaller leaves are more tender, larger leaves are tougher and you would want to cut the stem out and perhaps some of the center rib.

These plants have been eaten for at least 2000 years and evidence has shown that ancient Greeks cultivated several varieties of collards as well as kale.

When I purchased these two bundles at a farm market the vendor was kind enough to fill me in on her preparation method. First she said they cook up great with a little bacon, but if you want to eat healthy don’t do that.

First cut the stems off and then blanch the leaves for 5 minutes. Remove from the water and roll each leaf on the diagonal and then slice in strips on the diagonal the other direction. Sauté the strips with a little garlic, red onion, and balsamic vinegar. Keep a little cup of water handy to prevent your veggies from sticking to the skillet. Enjoy this healthy little side. I used this as a side one night and as a section of a Buddha bowl the next.

Be creative and try new foods! Plant strong and heart healthy! ❤️ur❤️

Vegan Minced Mushroom Burger

This is our latest burger. We are always trying new recipes, tweaking, and then trying again. My freezer is sometimes full of things I’ve tried and then I can’t wait to make it again and change one thing. So into the freezer all the tests go. Thankfully I have lots of people who enjoy eating all the attempts. I have one son who says he basically eats experiments every time he’s home.

The first thing you want to do when making these burgers is to cook your rice in the rice cooker. I usually prepare 3 cups of uncooked rice which gives me more than enough. The mushrooms need to be pulsed in small batches through a food processor, you don’t want them to be paste, just minced. The onions need to be finely diced. This was my third attempt with this particular burger and I couldn’t bring myself to make another batch just to dice the onions finer. So in my photo you can see the onion…the burger will hold together better if they are finer.

Summer Savory seems to be a difficult spice to find, so be aware. The light sweet miso is sometimes found on the shelf and I have also found it in the refrigerator section, so just poke around or ask. I use a 1/2 cup measure to form my burgers so they all have the same amount of “meat”. Using the 1/2 cup measure this recipe makes 18-20 burgers. Freeze those leftovers to make for an easy dinner another day.

We eat burgers with 100% whole grain buns, usually some lettuce, tomato, onion, mustard, some homemade hummus is always nice as well.

Vegan Minced Mushroom Burger

  • Servings: makes 18 burgers
  • Difficulty: medium.
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Ingredients

  • 2 pounds mushrooms, pulsed
  • 2 large onions, finely diced
  • 4 cups cooked brown rice
  • 1 16 ounce can tomato paste
  • 3 Tbsp. dried parsley
  • 1/2 cup soy sauce
  • 4 Tbsp. light sweet miso
  • 3 Tbsp. dried basil
  • 2 tsp. thyme
  • 2 tsp. summer savory
  • 1/2 tsp. allspice
  • 4 tsp. minced garlic
  • 3 cups vital wheat gluten
  • no salt seasoning (for sprinkling on burgers before baking, if desired)

Directions

  1. Pulse mushrooms in batches and put in a large bowl.
  2. Finely chop onions and add to the mushrooms
  3. Add rice to the mushroom mixture
  4. Mix in tomato paste
  5. Blend in parsley, soy sauce, miso, basil, thyme, summer savory, allspice and garlic. Mix well so that the spices are evenly distributed.
  6. Add in the vital wheat gluten.
  7. Form burgers and place on prepared baking sheet. (line the sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper) Sprinkle with no salt seasoning.
  8. Bake at 350° for 30 min.
  9. Enjoy!

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Plant Based Potato Salad

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My mother in law used to make the most fabulous potato salad, the kind that is so rich and creamy it just melts in your mouth.  But alas, it was far from plant-based with its mayo and eggs.  So this is the substitute, not as creamy but certainly as tasty.  We test made this over the Labor Day holiday weekend, when all my kid’s were home.  They are always good taste testers.  They agreed it passed and could be added in to those family gatherings where we used to enjoy grandmas potato salad.  It’s fairly quick and easy to pull together and best yet, it can sit outside at the family picnic without any worries about whats going on with the mayo sitting in the sunshine.  We chose to leave the skin on the potatoes but you can certainly peel them if you want.  Potato skins are actually quite healthy.  One whole baked potato amazingly has more potassium than a banana. Spuds are also rich in iron, magnesium, and fiber, and fiber my friends is only found in plant food, and is a must have for our bodies to run efficiently.  Enjoy!

Plant Based Potato Salad

  • Servings: 6-8
  • Difficulty: easy
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A flavorful salad, rich with herbs and packed with nutrients

Ingredients

  • 4 lbs medium red potatoes, cubed
  • 1/2 cup apple sauce
  • 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp. whole grain mustard
  • 1 tsp maple syrup
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
  • 1 1/2 cups diced celery
  • 1/2 cup chopped parsley
  • 1/2 cup minced scallions
  • 1/4 c. finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes
  • 2 Tbsp chopped dill

Directions

  1. Put potatoes in a saucepan full of water.  Bring to a boil and cook 5-8  minutes, until just tender.  Drain and set aside.
  2. Whisk apple sauce, vinegar, mustard, maple syrup, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add the hot potatoes and toss to coat.
  3. Add celery, parsley, scallions, sun-dried tomatoes and chopped dill.  Stir.
  4. Serve immediately while still warm or refrigerate to serve chilled.

theheartie.kitchen ❤️ur❤️

Steff’s Mac and Cheese

 

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This past 4th of July my family traveled as we have for many years to my sister’s house on the east side of Cleveland.  Her home is nestled in Ohio wine country and we celebrate yearly at Chalet Debonne Vineyards.  It’s a joy to visit because she prepares scrumptious plant-based dishes too.  This year she prepared a Mac and Cheese, (along with lots of other dishes) that was extra yummy.  My hubby even went back for seconds and he was never a Mac and cheese kind of guy before this plant-based adventure.  I was initially a little concerned because following Dr. Esselstyn’s prevent and reverse heart disease lifestyle one is supposed to stay away from nuts.  I have been avoiding them like the plague.  However, at a recent conference, Dr. Esselstyn was asked about nuts and he stated he doesn’t like nuts because no one can stop with just one handful and people end up with nuts in their car, nuts in their desk, nuts in their purse, essentially you can’t stop with just one.  So I made the executive decision that I can use them occasionally within a recipe and just keep them out of sight and hidden in my house so they don’t become a go to snack.  Over Labor Day weekend I prepared Steff’s Mac and Cheese for the first time.   My sister assured me it was super easy.  Just toss everything in the Vita-mix.  I’m told if you have a Vita-mix you don’t need to soak your raw cashews, however the ones I had were lightly salted so I soaked and rinsed them just to get rid of the added salt.  I had to text her photos of my progress several times during the process because I was expecting the sauce in my Vita-mix to be much thicker than it was.  She assured me it was perfect.  Sticking with Esselstyn I used 100% whole grain elbow macaroni.

Steff's Mac and Cheese

  • Servings: 5-7
  • Difficulty: easy
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A yummy substitute for the traditional blue box, approved by one their most avid fans.

Ingredients

  • 2 red peppers
  • 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
  • 1/2 tsp. onion powder
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup raw cashews
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
  • 1 -1lb box elbow macaroni

Directions

  1. Place the nuts in a small bowl and cover with water, let sit for approximately  6 hours, then drain and pat dry, this step is not necessary if you are using a Vita-mix.
  2. Prepare pasta and while the pasta is cooking, chunk up red peppers.
  3. Toss red pepper chunks, nutritional yeast, onion powder, water, cashews, salt, nutmeg and turmeric in food processor. Blend until smooth.
  4. Drain pasta and pour back into pan.
  5. Pour sauce over the cooked pasta, stir and place over low heat just until heated through.

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Tofu Breakfast Scramble

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Before going plant based I would make a lovely breakfast casserole for every holiday or basically anytime we had everyone home. I would assemble my ingredients the night before and then pop it in the oven the next morning while everyone was still sleeping. Waking up to the aroma of something wonderful baking is just a basic part of a family get together. So I knew I needed to come up with a suitable substitute. This is it! There is no evening before preparation and there are so many variations, the options are limited only by your palette. I use a 9×13 baking dish and just cover the whole bottom with tater tots, I have used both tots and crowns so either are fine. The best part is the veggies that get mixed with the tofu…they literally can be any veggies. This past Christmas we used leftover stuffing in place of the veggies and it was fabulous. We have also added in some leftover corn casserole and again it was tasty. I have to admit the dairy free cheese on the top isn’t my favorite but my kids love it. Kala Namak is a seasoning that gives the tofu its eggy flavor and a little goes a long way, you really only need a pinch. You can order it from Amazon. I have also found my local Indian grocery store carries it. Typically we make this or some variation every morning of the holidays. Enjoy! ❤️ur❤️

Tofu Breakfast Scramble

  • Servings: 6-8
  • Difficulty: easy
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A hearty warm breakfast for a cold winter morning.

Ingredients

  • frozen tater tots, I use rounds
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 red sweet peppers, chopped
  • 1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 cup spinach leaves, roughly chopped
  • 2 pound extra firm tofu, drained and pressed
  • 1 tsp. turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp. paprika
  • 4 Tbsp. nutritional yeast
  • 1 Tbsp. corn starch
  • A few pinches of kala namak
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • vegan cheese shreds to sprinkle on top
  • sliced tomatoes for the top

Directions

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. In a large skillet, sauce the onion, garlic and sweet pepper in a little water over medium heat.
  3. Once the onion is translucent, add the mushrooms and spinach.  Saute until the mushrooms are soft and the spinach is wilted.
  4. Crumble the tofu in a small bowl and stir in the turmeric powder, paprika, nutritional yeast, corn starch, kala namak, salt and pepper.
  5. Stir the vegetables and the tofu together until combined
  6. Arrange the tater rounds in a casserole dish. Spread the tofu and veggie mixture over the top. (Sprinkle with optional tempeh)
  7. Top with tomato slices and vegan cheese shreds.
  8. Bake for approximately 30 minutes

Optional tempeh instructions

  • 5 oz. tempeh
  • 1 Tbsp. barbecue-sauce
  • 1 tsp. paprika
  • 1 tsp. soy sauce
  • 1/2 tsp. liquid smoke

Cut the tempeh into small cubes, stir in the barbecue-sauce, paprika, soy sauce, and liquid smoke and cook over medium heat for approximately 5 min.

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