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1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
2 pinches sea salt
2 pinches black pepper
24 ounces fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into bite-size pieces (8 cups)
1 tablespoon sliced almonds

CHUNKY MUSHROOM GRAVY
1 yellow onion, cut into ½-inch dice (2 cups)
16 ounces mushrooms, sliced (8 cups)
6 cloves garlic, minced
⅓ cup oat flour
2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a mixing bowl, combine thinly sliced onion, flaxseed, salt, and pepper.
Mix well to coat onions; let sit for 5 minutes.
Spread onions on prepared sheet and bake 15 minutes until lightly brown around the edges.
Set aside.
Meanwhile, place green beans in a steamer basket in a large saucepan.
Add water to just below basket.
Bring to boiling.
Steam, covered, about 10 minutes or until tender.
Remove from heat and transfer beans to a 2½-qt. baking dish.

To make gravy, combine diced onion, mushrooms, and garlic in a saucepan over medium heat.
Cover pan and cook, stirring occasionally, for 7 to 10 minutes or until onions start to turn translucent.
The mushrooms will release enough liquid to keep the vegetables from sticking to the pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk together oat flour, broth, vinegar, and Italian seasoning; season with salt and pepper.
Add broth mixture to mushroom mixture; cook for 3 to 5 minutes more, or until gravy thickens.
Transfer half of gravy to a blender.
Purée until smooth.
Return puréed mixture to saucepan and stir well.
Pour the gravy over the green beans in the casserole dish.
Scatter browned onions and almonds over the top.
Bake about 20 minutes or until heated through.

Makes 8 cups
Note: For less crunchy green beans, steam approximately 15 minutes. I substituted unbleached flour for the oat flour.
A recipe inspired from forksoverknives.com

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1 yellow onion, chopped
1 large pepper, yellow, red, orange or green, chopped
1 1/2 Tablespoons chili powder
1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 cloves garlic, minced
15 ounce can, pinto beans, rinsed and drained
15 ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained
2 cups vegetable stock
Sea salt, to taste
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
Cooked quinoa, rice, or pasta (optional)

In a Dutch oven, cook onions and peppers over medium heat, until softened 5 minutes, or until softened.
Add water, 1 to 2 Tablespoons at a time, as needed to prevent sticking.
Stir in chili powder through garlic.
Cook 1 minute.
Add beans through vegetable stock.
Bring just to boiling over medium-high heat.
Reduce heat.
Simmer, partially covered, 20 minutes or until mixture is slightly thickened.
Season with salt and black pepper, if desired.
Can be served as a soup.
Or served over cooked quinoa, rice or pasta for an extra-hearty meal.

Makes 7 cups
Inspired by a recipe from Forks Over Knives by Chef Del Sroufe

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1 large butternut squash (approximately 3 lbs.)
1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces*
Fresh sage or oregano leaves, about 6 sage leaves or oregano leaves from 2 stems (can substitute with 1 teaspoon dry herbs)
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste

Cut neck off from squash.
Peel squash.
Resting squash on its base, may have to slice 1/2 inch off bottom, cut squash lengthwise in half, creating two steaks.
Heat oil in large heavy skillet (cast iron is great) over medium heat.
Cook squash steaks, turning every 3 minutes, until browned on both sides and fork-tender, approximately 15 minutes.
Add butter, herbs and garlic, tilting pan to pool the butter on one side.
Use large spoon to continually baste steaks with butter.
Baste until butter is no longer bubbling, approximately 1 minute.
Remove from heat.
Stir in lemon juice; season with salt and pepper.

Serves 2
*Note: can substitute with non-dairy butter
Inspired by a recipe from Bon Appetit

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8 ounces tempeh
15 ounce can black beans, drained
1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons of the taco seasoning
3 tablespoons water
Corn tortillas
Topping choices: chopped lettuce, salsa, diced avocado, etc.

Taco Seasoning
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
3 teaspoons Kirkland no-salt seasoning
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Crumble tempeh in large bowl.
Mix 2 tablespoons of the taco seasonings with 3 tablespoons water.
Add to tempeh.
Stir to combine.
In a large pan over medium heat sauté onions and tempeh mixture for 8-10 minutes, or until onions have softened.
Add minced garlic and cook 30 seconds.
Add black beans and cook about 3 minutes, or until heated through.

Assemble tacos
Warm tortillas, if desired, and add tempeh mixture and toppings.

Makes 6-8 tacos

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2 tablespoons olive oil
2 leeks, cleaned, thinly sliced, white and light green parts only
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons thyme leaves, optional
1 tablespoon tarragon, chopped, optional
1 cup arborio rice
1/3 cup dry white wine
3 cups vegetable stock, warmed, divided
3/4 cup frozen peas, thawed
2 tablespoons non-dairy butter
1/2 cup non-dairy Parmesan cheese, grated
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 375ºF.

Heat a shallow Dutch oven or sauté pan over medium-high heat and add olive oil.
Add the leeks and cook until almost tender, about 4 minutes.
Add the garlic, thyme and tarragon during the last minute of cooking.
Season with salt and pepper.
Add the rice and brown slightly in pan for 1-2 minutes, until lightly opaque.
Add the wine and allow to reduce by half.
Add 2 cups of vegetable stock and stir to combine.
Bring to a simmer, cover and place in the oven to bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is al dente.
Remove from the oven, stir in the remaining vegetable stock, peas, non-dairy butter
and non-dairy parmesan cheese.
Season with additional salt and pepper and serve.

Serves 4-6

Note: Can substitute medium-sized yellow onion, diced, for the leeks

Inspired by a recipe from the chew.com

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4 large fresh tomatoes, seeded and finely chopped
2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and finely chopped
2 tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon fresh lemon or lime juice
1 teaspoon salt
Pinch of freshly ground black pepper

Combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl and mix well.
Taste for seasoning.
Cover salsa and refrigerate.

Note: Roma tomatoes are a good choice as they are more “meaty” with less juice.

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1 1/2 cups sliced carrots (thickness of a quarter)
1 1/2 cups sliced onions
1 1/2 cups green pepper strips
1 1/2 cups celery, sliced and peeled
2 tablespoons olive oil
15 ounce can stewed tomatoes
15 ounce can tomato puree
6 ounce can tomato paste
1 cup tomato juice
Juice of 1 lemon
2 – 15 ounce cans kidney beans, drained
15 ounce can chick peas (garbanzo beans), drained
2 large or 4 small garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons dried basil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

Preparation

Heat oil in large skillet on medium heat and saute chopped vegetables
until just barely tender. Transfer to large pot and add
the rest of the ingredients. Mix well. Simmer for about 20 minutes
or until hot.
Season with more salt and/or chili powder to taste.

Serves 4
Do not overcook or vegetables will be mushy.

Yield: approximately 3 quarts

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IMG_0477
16 ounce jar with lid
small salad/pickling cucumbers, approximately 7
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons pickling spices
3 garlic cloves, unpeeled, optional
1 sprig fresh dill
filtered water

Scrub the cucumbers.
Pack them vertically in the jar.
Add salt, pickling spices, garlic cloves (if using).
Add water to fully cover the cucumbers.
Place dill on top of water.
Cover with tight-fitting lid (some liquid may escape during fermenting).
Place outside on a table, if possible, or inside near a sunny window for 1-2 days, depending on the air temperature (speeds up fermentation process).
Place jar in the refrigerator.
New dills after 3 days, half sours in about a week and a half, and full sours after three weeks.

Note: Deli pickles at a fraction of the price!

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2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
3 cups canned vegetable broth
1 cup lentils, rinsed
8 ounces sweet potato/es, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
8 ounces whole baby bella mushrooms, cleaned and cut into quarters
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest (grated lemon peel)
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
6 ounces fresh spinach leaves, to (about 8 cups)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh oregano
Salt and pepper

Heat olive oil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat.
Add garlic and stir 30 seconds.
Add vegetable broth and lentils; bring to boil.
Reduce heat, cover and simmer 10 minutes.
Add potatoes and mushrooms; cook covered until potatoes and lentils are tender, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes.
Add lemon zest, lemon juice, spinach and cayenne pepper to stew.
Cover and simmer stew until spinach wilts and is cooked through, about 2 minutes.
Mix in oregano.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Spoon stew into large soup bowls.

Serves 4

Note: Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Re-warm over low heat before serving. Recipe can be doubled.

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5 cups (1 inch) cut green beans (about 1 pound)
Cooking Spray
3 cups thinly sliced onion
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon non-dairy butter
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
4 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated  Parmesan cheese, vegan

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Cook green beans in large pot of boiling water for 3 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water; set aside.
Heat a nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add onion and next 5 ingredients (onion through butter).
Saute 8 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring frequently. Stir in vinegar, basil, and oregano; cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
Arrange beans in an 11 x 7 inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top with onion mixture.
Arrange tomatoes on top of onion mixture, and sprinkle with cheese.
Bake for 35 minutes or until the cheese is lightly browned.

Serves 6

Note: This slightly sweet vegetable dish takes its name from the French term for mixed vegetables prepared gratin-style.