On an absolute whim, I decided I would make some Vegan Vegetable Enchiladas.

I had tortillas, lots of vegetables and time – so what did I have to lose…well, except that I’d never made them before and an enchilada sauce seemed intimidating to me!

The sauce was truly the part of the dish that has caused me hesitation in the past. I know, I know, you can go “buy” enchilada sauce, but, what’s the fun in that?!

As I scanned the internet for recipes and ideas, I truly could NOT believe how easy it was to make an enchilada sauce right at home! I basically found 2 recipes I liked used a bit from here and a bit from there and then added in my own little bits and came up with the recipe below.

Vegetable Enchilada Ingredients:

• vegetables…any that you think might be good wrapped in enchilada deliciousness. I used corn, squash, zucchini, carrots, broccoli and artichoke hearts.
• tortillas – I used 8 inch whole grain tortillas (I believe corn based)
• garlic, salt & pepper to taste
• pinto or other beans – not necessarily needed, but I enjoyed them on the side – and you could add them to the enchiladas too
• 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts (optional)

for enchilada sauce:

• 3 Tablespoons Coconut Oil
• 2 teaspoons Ground Cumin
• 6 ounces Tomato Paste
• 20 ounces (2 1/2 cups vegetable stock)
• 1/2 cup water

First things first, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Then, I would recommend, chopping and preparing your vegetables.

After this, start your enchilada sauce in a medium saucepan.

Enchilada Sauce Directions:

Add 2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil to a saucepan and warm on medium heat.

To this add in:

• 6 ounces of tomato paste
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 20 ounces (2 1/2 cups) vegetable broth

Mix well and bring mixture to a boil.

Whisk in 1/2 cup water and lower the heat to simmer sauce 5-8 minutes.

While my sauce was simmering, I cooked my veggies adding 1 Tablespoon coconut oil to a frying pan and heating them through.

I started by tossing the carrots, squash, zucchini and frozen corn into heat (yes, I would’ve used fresh corn if I had some), then added some artichoke hearts, then I decided I wanted to add some garlic (decisions are always last minute here), so I made room in the middle of the pan to heat it before I mixed it in, then finally I added the broccoli.

As I was roaming through my cupboards, I came across these tasties:

and decided this dish might benefit from adding some tasty, toasted pine nuts…so….

yep, I toasted some and tossed them in the mixture.

Now, at this point in the recipe, you have a major decision to make – you can warm your tortillas (wrap in foil and warm in the oven for 5-10 minutes) or just use them straight out of the package. I decided to warm mine, but may just use them straight from the package next time (or maybe get really brave and make my own!).

Either way, fill each tortilla with about 1/3 cup of the filling (I may have possibly overstuffed mine – just a personal preference as I made a LOT of filling), roll the enchiladas and place in a baking dish.

I decided to top 1/2 of the enchiladas with a small amount of Daiya vegan shreds. Why? well, because I had a little bit of them left in the fridge.

Pour on the delicious enchilada sauce you’ve created, cover with foil and pop the enchiladas into the oven.

Bake the enchiladas for 15-20 minutes (mine were overstuffed, so I may have left them in there about 25-30 minutes) and then cool for 5 minutes before you enjoy!

We ate them just like this with a side of beans, but you could add some additional toppings after they’re cooked.

Other Topping Suggestions:

• vegan sour cream
• guacamole
• sliced olives
• chopped green chili

What do you think?? Once you get started, it’s super easy! I’d say pulling the ingredients together was less than 5 minutes, making the sauce less than 3 minutes, chopping veggies about 5 minutes, heating veggies about 10 minutes, rolling enchiladas 3 minutes and baking 25 minutes …all done in less than an hour!

I wanted this recipe up for Meatless Monday – but this Monday was a bit crazy around here…(as Bubba sighs):

Hope yours was awesome – Enjoy,

Have you heard of the Vegan Cuts site yet?

If not, you have no idea what you’re missing!!!

Vegan Cuts is super fun vegan shopping site featuring vegan food items, vegan body care and even vegan fashion!

Just a couple of weeks ago, they sent me a Vegan Snack Box from their monthly box subscription service to try!!

OMG there were just so many yummy items to sample!!

Because I’m a chip LOVER, I didn’t waste any time at all opening up and digging in to the Food Should Taste Good Sweet Potato chips!!

HEAVEN!!!

Just delicious sweet potatoes kettle cooked and lightly salted – I think I could’ve eaten 10 bags and am happy only 1 was in my box!!

Next snack to try – the Oloves! (don’t you just love that name?!?!)

I opened that sweet little pouch before Pops and I began eating our lunch – and we devoured them all before 1/2 of our sandwiches were gone! My box came with the “Luscious Lemon” flavor and I would love to try the “Mediterranean” and “Hot Chili Mama” flavors now, too!

These little delights are available on Amazon now too Oloves Lemony Lover, pitted green olives with lemon and garlic, 1.1oz X 10 Packages

That evening, we were having our family over for dinner. I figured it was the perfect time to make some vegan nachos as an appetizer. I’d heard about this next product, Teese vegan cheese, but hadn’t seen it to purchase yet! I was so excited to get a sample to try!

This vegan cheese is a 100% dairy-free, gluten-free and soy-free alternative to dairy cheese!! AND, it’s super yummy too!!! Even the non-vegans in our family, loved the taste and said had I not told them, they wouldn’t have known the nachos were vegan! (well, maybe they would’ve figured it out since they were eating at my house!)

The next morning, I started the day with 2 more products from the Vegan Cuts Vegan Box – I added the 22 Days Nutrition Plant Protein Power to a morning protein shake and I tossed the Milas Roasted Pepper & Artichoke Bruschetta into a tofu breakfast scramble.

What a super way to start the day!! The 22 Days Nutrition Plant Protein Power made for a delicious protein shake with none of that chalky after-taste that can happen so often with other powders. I tossed the powder in a blender, added some frozen bananas and frozen cherries – figuring those would go great with the chocolate powder flavor – poured in some soy milk and then blended away!

The Milas  DipIN – Roasted Pepper & Artichoke Bruschetta
-well, let’s just say I could’ve truly eaten this delicious spread right out of the jar!! It did add so many delicious flavors to our morning tofu scramble that no other spices were needed – YUM!

Oh, wait, I almost forgot the cup of Teecino French Roast herbal coffee I enjoyed this morning too. This product really helped me when I was transitioning from coffee to tea – added benefit…it’s naturally caffeine free!

You really have to try it to believe a cup of “tea” can taste so much like a cup of coffee! Great also if you’re just trying to cut back on your caffeine intake.

Also in my box, from 22 Days Nutrition, was this little gem:

Seriously, PB + Chocolate Chip does equal Nirvana!!!! I’m anxious to try some of the other 22 Days Nutrition bars now.  With flavors like “Enlighted Pumpkinseed”, “Nut Butter Buddha” and “Goji Mate Firecracker” they just sound amazing!

I’m not quite sure exactly when this light and airy bag of Skinny Pop Popcorn was eaten (as you can see there was a lot of snacking going on), but it has definitely been consumed!

I mean, it says right on the package “indulge guilt free” and surely I did! The best kind of snacks are those without guilt attached wouldn’t you say? I could definitely see having bags of this light popcorn treat around as quick and easy snacks for the kids.

I was happy to find a sweet little lip treat among all the snacks in the box:

I never seem to have enough lip balm. Applying it is an absolute constant in my day. This amazing balm was made with cocoa butter, hempseed and coconut oils along with added essential oils. What a delight – and Meow Meow Tweet also makes a ton of other fabulous body products like body oils, insect repellants, body creams, natural deodorants, soaps and even soy candles. Definitely worth checking their site out.

This next product, Parmela Parmesan Style Aged Nut Cheese, is already a staple in our house.

Made by hand in Los Angeles, it’s a tasty dairy, gluten and lactose free vegan “cheese” option. We sprinkle it on soups, salads and pastas in our house.

There, I’ve made it through this amazing Vegan Cuts Snack Box!! Now, to share more about the actual box program. You can receive your own box monthly in your home with a variety of vegan snacks and other treats inside which means you could have as much fun as I did sampling all these items.

Here are a couple of the box subscription details:

• $19.95 monthly
• Free shipping to the U.S.
• 7-10 products
• Mostly gluten-free
• Cancel anytime

Should you not be interested in the box subscription, but want to check out some other Vegan Cuts vegan products, just pop on over to their site and check out what’s for sale.

Right now, I’m eyeing a Glam Natural Sampler Kit, Compassion Co. Boycott Puppy Mills T-shirt, and I’ve already placed my order for more Teese in their variety pack!

Please let me know if you try any of these products from VeganCuts – or any of their other items on sale. Maybe you can give ME some inspiration on vegan products to try!

Hope everyone’s week is going well,

P.S. I did receive this box of vegan items free to try and blog about. Even so, all the opinions above are mine – I wouldn’t share them here if I didn’t.

On our final morning in the “Big Apple”, we were fortunate to meet this amazingly talented group of performers called the “Uniquely Abled”.

The lead of this group, David, has loved Nia since the “Fame” days (haven’t we all), and was able to get in contact with her after seeing she would be in the New York area.

David asked Nia if she would have some time for his talented group to perform for her. I can tell you, I’m so happy we had the time!!

What an amazing group of individuals. So full of light and energy!

Oh…and TALENT!

I confess, again I had the tears flowing from my eyes!

We were able to sit a while with this talented group to hear about all the things they do from performing, to traveling, to really, just about everything!!

What a day of inspiration!! Their stories are one I will never forget!

Nia also shared an impromptu performance with all of us – what fun!

With such a charming group of people, you can be sure we had lots of laughs too! And, of course, some goofing off was to be had!

Our final morning, was most certainly one of the highlights of our trip!!

Thanks David for the amazing memories!

This day, we began our tour around the city by visiting ground zero (the 911 Memorial) – therefore, this day began with a lot of tears from yours truly.

I would sincerely recommend you have tickets when visiting – and it is incredibly easy to get them. You can get them either online or at the ticket center located a couple of blocks from the site entrance. We went into the ticket center thinking it might be a while until we could get a timed entrance, but we were given tickets to enter straightaway – bypassing a lot of stand-by people waiting in line.

This was such a powerful place to visit. It’s as if I could feel all the sadness, hope, strength, compassion, fear and love that has been felt by others here. I don’t really have the words to do justice to the emotions I experienced.

After our visit to the memorial site, we headed uptown to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Chris, Sam, Nia, myself and Pops at the Met

Truth be told, Pops and I made 2 visits to the Met spending a few hours each time and still we did not see all we wanted to see. This museum is magnificent!

Seeing all the artwork is completely overwhelming and, as I’ve experienced at museums in Italy and Paris, your mind reaches a point of saturation where you can just not take in any more visuals.

A perfect time to take a stroll in Central Park!

Just a glorious day in the park!

So, you might be thinking, all this touring around is fun, but didn’t you come to New York with a purpose?

Well, yes, we did, and this evening we went to the Chelsea Cinemas to view Sam’s documentary “Hawaiian – The Legend of Eddie Aikau” (showing in the Tribeca Film Festival) for the first time on the big screen!

Again, with the tears for me!! Though I’ve seen this movie a handful of times now, and I know what happens, I still tear up at the end. Seeing Sam stand before the audience for a Q&A following the film, and feeling such happiness and pride for him, brought along more tears. What an incredible experience!

Oh and taking time to pose on the “red carpet” wasn’t so bad either!

Three words – SO.MUCH.FUN!

We extended the fun of this evening by heading to Pastis for a wonderful dinner there.

Beautiful place + beautiful friends + delicious food = FABULOUS evening!

After dinner and visiting and the evening being super late it was time to retire for the day. I must give myself a small pat-on-the-back for leading to the train station and getting us home quickly and safely.

Final morning to share tomorrow – be ready for a surprise!

My friend, Mickie, had recommended the Rubin to me knowing we had loved all the art we saw on our tour of Thailand.

The museum did not disappoint!

After the Rubin, we headed to the Explorer’s Club – just to see what we could see (which was basically the entrance foyer as we’re not members).

Then it was off to Bauman Rare Books which is always a treat.

Walking the streets of mid-town was simply a delight with all the flowers blooming everywhere.

Of course, our walking tour took us by Rockefeller Center and Radio City Music Hall – which had the NFL Draft going on creating a buzz throughout the whole area.

We then headed downtown towards Chelsea for a DELISH dinner at Buddakan with the whole crew.

The atmosphere, in itself, is worth the visit to this restaurant – I must say I kinda felt a little cool just being there.

We had quite a large party, so we were shown the “party menu” – luckily they had a vegetarian party menu too for Pops and I!

Everything was simply scrumptious!

You’d think our day would’ve been over then, but HEY, we’re in NYC the city that never sleeps!!

For an after dinner evening stroll, we decided to walk the High Line.

Have you heard about this “1-mile New York City linear park built on a 1.45-mile section of the former elevated New York Central Railroad spur called the West Side Line”?

If not, I truly could not recommend it more!! The sights are AMAZING!

That just about covers day 1 – the story continues tomorrow….

Last week, we went on a whirlwind trip to New York City to see our friend Sam’s documentary “Hawaiian – The Legend of Eddie Aikau” playing in the Tribeca Film Festival.

I haven’t been to New York City it about 16 years – I can’t even believe it’s been that long!! So along with seeing the movie, we basically had 3 full days to cram in as much as we could possibly see while keeping the trip enjoyable too!

We had a big crew on this trip – including Sam and Nia and their daughter and son, Sienna and Chris, Sam’s sister, Julie, her husband Michael and their daughters.

We stayed across the Hudson in Jersey City – which ended up being a great choice as we found the views of the city skyline from there to be breathtaking!

Though we thought there might be rain on our trip, we got lucky and the weather was perfect! Spring – what a beautiful time to visit NYC with all the blooming  flowers, including tulips and cherry trees, to see.

Simply just an amazing time to visit.

More photos and trip details coming throughout this week including the museums we visited, our walks through Central Park, the Hi Line and Brooklyn Bridge, the delicious meals we had, etc.

I truly cannot come up with any words, for this blog or for myself, that help me understand the tragedy of the bombing that happened during the Boston Marathon.

I know many unthinkable things happen every day all over the world. At times, I feel the pain of all the needless losses everywhere.

Possibly the curse of being a highly sensitive person.

It’s not simply being vegan that makes me aware of the needless cruelty and harm that is done in this world…I believe we all experience it – it’s called being human.

When it all becomes too much and, I curl up in my little introverted world…it all becomes unthinkable….unfathomable really.

Having come from Massachusetts and having most of my family still living there, I am grateful that none of them were caught up in this tragedy. I cannot express the relief I had when my oldest and dearest friend Maura – who I knew was, during the weekend, running a race ending at the marathon finish line, was home safe with her family when the bombs went off. Relief…and then sadness for those who were not as fortunate.

My incredible Grandson, Hunter, turned 8 years old this week – the same age as the little boy who lost his life from one of those explosions…leaving me again with thoughts that are unthinkable.

I’ve worn my Boston Red Sox hat this week…not as an attempt at getting attention, but as a statement of the love I was sending to the people of my home state and all they were going through. It was truly amazing how many other people I’ve met while wearing it. Those who came up to me and who also got teary-eyed with me just sharing how our loved ones were doing through all these events. A sign about how much we are all very connected no matter where we are.

For I truly believe we are all…every single one of us…connected.

It’s why we can rejoice when others we see – even on television – are doing well, and why we can mourn when we see others are saddened. It’s why we can celebrate the achievements of athletes and feel the pain of others who are injured.

In a less serious way, it’s why 42, 000 fans of the San Francisco Giants can passionately sing “Sweet Caroline” during the 8th inning of the Friday night game in support of our fellow humans in Boston and the trauma they have been going through.

I truly hope all of you and your families are safe and well following not only the Boston bombing tragedy, but also the explosions in Texas and really, all the tragedies this world has experienced lately.

I’m off to hug my family and truly appreciate all the moments we have together.

Sending Peace, Love and Light,

I’m pretty confident that if you’ve been living a vegan/vegetarian lifestyle, you’ve seen Nasoya products where you buy groceries – and you’ve probably eaten their tofu, too.

To help me celebrate an “Eggless Easter” this year, the lovely people at Nasoya sent me sample bottles of their vegan Nayonaise spreads. I received both the regular, egg & dairy free, Nayonaise you see above and the Nayo Whipped vegan sandwich spread.

The Nasoya Nayonaise is made from expeller pressed oil and is a good source of vitamin B12 and Omega-3 ALA. The Nasoya Nayonaise also contains 1/2 the fat and 1/3 of the calories of traditional mayonnaise – and of course by omitting the key ingredient of eggs found in traditional mayo spreads Nayonaise contains zero cholesterol!

It also turns out to be GREAT in vegan veggie dip recipes – which I was happy to prepare this Easter.

Almost all our family meals (especially the holiday ones) include a pre-dinner cut veggie platter with a variety of whatever raw veggies I happen to have on hand.

This Easter was no different. AND after checking out some of the recipes posted on the Nasoya site, I decided to make a dijon dip combining some of their recipe ideas.

In my dip recipe I included:

• 1 cup Nayonaise egg & dairy free sandwich spread,
• 2 Tablespoons sweet relish,
• 2 Tablespoons dijon mustard, and
• 1 Tablespoon spicy brown mustard

The results:

A DELICIOUS, slightly tangy, vegan, veggie dip!

So very easy to mix together and truly enjoyed by everyone! I couldn’t have been happier with the results.

Next up, I’m anxious to try their Vegan Hot Artichoke Dip. I mean, how yummy does that sound?!? I will definitely keep you posted on how it goes.

So, did you keep your Easter eggless this year? AND if you did and made any delicious vegan recipes, please share!

Happy Spring,

P.S. While I did receive free bottles of the Nasoya Nayonaise products, the opinions above are all my own – I truly did love the dip that I created with Nayonaise and I’ve already used it again to make tartar sauce for some vegan fish sandwiches (again it was delicious). I will definitely be using it again in more recipes including the ones shared on the Nasoya site!

AND a very BIG Welcome to Springtime!

Much Love, Peace and Happiness to you All,

Today, I’d like to share one of our current, and luckily local, favorite vegan restaurants the VeggieGrill!

VeggieGrill at Santana Row in San Jose, CA

As of right now, they have locations in Southern and Northern California, Oregon and Washington – so basically a West Coast sort of place.

We simply LOVE this place! All menu items are vegan – 100% plant-based. AND I’ve noticed that the veggie proteins they use are made by Gardein from organic and non-GMAO soy, wheat and pea proteins!

They also have many gluten-free items on their menu for those of you with an intolerance!

As I sit here looking at my take-home menu, I also see that nothing on this menu with a price over $10 – What a DEAL!!

We’ve eaten  at our local VeggieGrill about 4 times now.  Once for our son-in-law’s birthday. What you need to know is he is NOT a vegan – yet, he still chose the VeggieGrill as his birthday restaurant choice because he simply LOVES it (which makes the rest of us super happy!)

Their hearty veggie dishes will please even the most picky eaters too!

Our recent trip there, this past weekend with some friends, had us enjoying these dishes:

Uptown Nachos

VG-Cheeseburger with a side of chili

Crispy Chickin’ Plate with a side of Kale

Grillin’ Chikin’ Wrap

You truly must try their Cauli-mashed potatoes and gravy too (I had it as a side with my wrap).

fresh cauliflower blended with mashed potatoes, porcini mushroom gravy with fresh rosemary

They even have kids’ meals for $5.95 with choices from 3 entree’s, 4 sides and 2 desserts to choose from:

Chickin’ Nuggets with a side of kale and chocolate pudding dessert

I cannot recommend this place more!! So, if you happen to see one opening in your area, be sure to check it out – you won’t be sorry!!

Happy Meatless Monday,

P.S. I almost forgot to mention…I was not paid for this post or compensated in any way…in fact, I’m sure VeggieGrill has no idea who I am. I’m just sharing something I love…just because.

Yes, Life is GOOD – and very, very busy (both at home and at work)!!

For fun, this past weekend, we went down to the little central California town of Cayucos to see a movie showing of our friend Sam’s latest documentary.

Jimi and Sam

What documentary you may ask? Well, this one:

Sam’s latest documentary tells the story of legendary Hawaiian big wave surfer Eddie Aikau.  Just a hint, I’ve seen the movie a couple of times now and haven’t been able to keep the tears from welling up in my eyes even though I know what happens.

The weekend was also full of sunshine, beautiful beaches and visiting with some great friends that we haven’t seen in a while.

4 Guys I Love – Robb Derringer, Matt George, my Jimi and Sam George

The sunsets were also amazing.

The movie was shown in the small town’s old car garage – a fabulous location to see a movie twinkle lights and all!

Of course, our favorite bulldog, Bubba, got to come and enjoy some beach time! The weather was gorgeous!

What a wonderful time we all had – seeing old friends, making new ones and enjoying a gorgeous weekend in Cayucos, California!

Sam’s documentary will be showing on television in the near future. I’ll keep you posted as to when it will be on…..follow me on Facebook or Twitter to be sure to catch the news.

Hope everyone is doing well!

As I’m working on photos from our latest trip to Death Valley to share, I came by this recent video posting of my friend Nia’s son Christopher performing a cover of Maroon 5′s “Daylight”.

In a word, it’s FABULOUS!

Chris is simply incredibly talented and I truly seem to love hearing him perform!

I wanted to share the video and link here so all of you can enjoy his sound too.

If you enjoy his music as much as I do, be sure to follow Ellis on Facebook and subscribe to the Ellis YouTube channel.

More Soon,

Happy Valentine’s Day!!

I happen to know quite a few people that get very distressed…albeit downright irate at Valentine’s Day.

I am not one of those people. I don’t view this day as just a “made-up” day where you’re supposed to purchase some sort of token to show the people you love that you love them.

I don’t need any flowers, chocolates, jewelry, or other gift to feel special – though I do know that they are nice to receive and I think most people like to receive special tokens from their friends and loved ones.

I mean, who wouldn’t?

For me, a simple I love you and I’m thinking of you does just fine – even if it’s expressed as “Happy Valentines Day!”

What I’m trying to say is that I don’t get all caught up in the “whats” – as in what did you get? I’d rather focus my attention on the why’s.

Why isn’t it okay to let this day be a reminder to us to spread the love to our family and friends? We know we should do this more often and quite possibly we do, but why not celebrate a day focused on the joy it brings to our loved ones when we tell them and show them we care?

Have you ever just received a simple text from a friend who’s far away saying, “hey, I was just thinking of you and wanted you to know I luv ya”? Those are the BEST texts ever because they always seem to come on a day when you really, really need them.

See, for me, it’s not about the money you spend, it’s about the moments you take to express your love.

I have a drawer full of homemade cards from my hubby – these are my favorite kind to receive and the ones I will cherish forever. Sometimes he writes the words to a song that reminds him of me or one that we love to listen to together. Sometimes there’s just a heart drawn with Jen+Jim in the center and sometimes he writes some very special words about what our lives together mean to him.

It’s not that we don’t express our love daily, but it’s in addition to that. I LOVE these simple homemade cards more than any item he could buy me because they are an expression of him and his love.

Now, I’m not saying you shouldn’t go out and buy a treat for someone you love, I’m just saying if this stresses you out, then relax, it’s not necessary, a simple “I Love You” or “I was thinking about you” works just as well.

Sending love and Happy Valentines to you all,

Happy Meatless Monday!!

Today I’m sharing a 3rd recipe from Martha Stewart’s new cookbook Meatless: More Than 200 of the Very Best Vegetarian Recipes

This week’s recipe is:

Lentil and Sweet-Potato Stew

Lentils are a good choice for making vegetarian stews, since they don’t require presoaking and take much less time to cook than other legumes. Here they are combined with sweet potatoes and other vegetables in a dish with Indian flavors.

Serves 6

• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 11/2 teaspoons curry powder
• 2 cups dried brown lentils, picked over and rinsed
• 2 sweet potatoes (about 1 pound), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 9 ounces fresh green beans, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 can (14 1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes in juice
• ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus leaves for garnish
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• Plain low-fat yogurt, for serving (I would use vegan soy yogurt here)

1. In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium-high. Add onion, carrots, celery, and bay leaf. Cook, stirring often, until vegetables are softened, 5 to7 minutes. Add garlic and curry powder and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute more.

2. Add 7 cups water and the lentils and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook 10 minutes. Add potatoes and continue to cook, covered, until lentils and potatoes are just tender, about 15 minutes.

3. Stir in green beans and tomatoes with their juice. Cook until warmed through, 2 to 4 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Add chopped cilantro; season with salt and pepper. Serve topped with yogurt and garnished with cilantro leaves.

G Per serving: 345 calories, 6 g fat (0.4 g saturated fat), 0 mg cholesterol, 57 g carbohydrates, 19 g protein, 18 g fiber

This recipe looks perfect for these chilly winter days, don’t you think?

I’ll admit I have a bit of a lentil addiction right now, so this recipe is definitely necessary for me!!

Enjoy your Meatless Monday!

P.S. This recipe was printed with permission – in case you were wondering. Also, there’s a link to purchase the book at Amazon in the right sidebar…Thanks!

Happy Meatless Monday!!

Today, I’d like to share another recipe from Martha Stewart’s new cookbook Meatless: More Than 200 of the Very Best Vegetarian Recipes

Vegetable-Barley Potpies

Filled with a hearty mix of mushrooms, barley, and white beans, these potpies are just as satisfying as more traditional chicken versions. Phyllo dough offers a quicker— and delectably flaky— alternative to a pâté brisée top. (FYI – I’ve been able to find vegan phyllo dough at Whole Foods market.)

Makes 4

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 2 carrots, thinly sliced
• 4 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and thinly sliced
• ¼ cup dry white wine
• 1 ½ cups cooked pearl barley (see page 371)
• 2 cups cooked white beans (see page 365), drained and rinsed
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 4 cups vegetable stock, preferably homemade (see page 364)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus more for garnish
• 6 sheets frozen phyllo dough, preferably whole wheat, thawed
• Sea salt, for sprinkling

Directions

1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium. Sauté onion, carrots, and mushrooms until tender, stirring frequently, 6 to 8 minutes. Add wine; cook, stirring up browned bits, until almost all the wine has evaporated.

 2. Combine barley and beans in a large pot. Whisk flour into stock and add to pot. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring, until slightly thickened. Remove from heat. Stir in parsley and let cool slightly.

3. Preheat oven to 425°F. Using a 12-ounce ramekin as a guide, cut out 4 rounds from phyllo; keep covered with a damp paper towel. Spoon barley mixture into 4 ramekins. Brush each cut sheet with oil and place on top of filled ramekin. Cut vents into tops. Sprinkle with sea salt and reserved parsley.

4. Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet and bake until tops are golden and filling is bubbling, about 30 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving.

V Per serving: 492 calories, 11.9 g fat (1.93 g saturated fat), 0 mg cholesterol, 78.25 g carbohydrates, 17.22 g protein, 13.62 g fiber

Don’t these just look DELISH?!

Please let me know if you try this and how you like it. For that matter, share if you try any of her new recipes – I’d love to hear which ones you like.

Happy Meatless Monday,

P.S. This recipe was printed with permission – in case you were wondering. Also, there’s a link to purchase the book at Amazon in the right sidebar…Thanks!