Quick and Easy Pantry Cooking Day Seven: Broccoli Pasta

When I want a quick dinner that is healthy and full of veggies, I pick up some fresh broccoli and make broccoli pasta. I usually use the De Boles brand pasta if I want whole wheat or Barilla if I want regular pasta. This time I used the De Boles whole wheat angel hair. For this recipe, you can add lots more broccoli if you want a high broccoli to pasta ratio. You can substitute rapini or cauliflower for the broccoli. I sometimes add fresh or frozen spinach to the broccoli while it is cooking. For a boost of protein, add a drained and rinsed can of cannellini beans after the broccoli has been added to the pasta.

Broccoli Pasta

8 cups fresh broccoli, chopped

2 tablespoons olive for cooking plus 2 more to add after the pasta has cooked

6 garlic cloves, chopped

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/4 cup veggie broth or water

1/2 lb pasta

salt and pepper to taste

Saute garlic and red pepper flakes in 2 tablespoons of olive oil for a few minutes. Do not let brown too much. Add broccoli and broth or water. Cook covered on medium low heat for about 15 minutes until broccoli is tender. While broccoli is cooking, cook pasta according to package directions. When pasta and broccoli are done, combine them and add the other 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Season to taste.

Quick and Easy Pantry Cooking Day Six: Lentils and Rice

A few days ago I cooked one pound of lentils. I used half for a lentil salad that day and saved the rest to make lentils and rice. I used brown rice to make it healthier and the brown rice pairs nicely with the lentils, but you could use whatever you have.

I usually cook my rice in veggie broth to add more flavor. Sometimes I use the broth in the cartons but those can be expensive. I do try to make my own broth but that doesn't happen as often as I'd like. So I always keep two bouillon products in stock. The Rapunzel Vegetable Bouillon is wonderful because it comes in individually wrapped cubes and there is a no salt version. This one is good for throwing in with rice or to make a cup of broth to drink. The other one I use regularly is the Better Than Bouillon vegetable base. This one is a bit salty but is a great base for soups. It is a thick liquid that comes in a jar. For this dish, I used one Rapunzel bouillon cube.

Lentils and Rice

1/2 lb dry lentils, cooked

1 cup brown rice

1 vegan bouillon cube

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 tablespoons parsley, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Cook brown rice according to package directions. Add bouillon cube to rice at start of cooking or replace water with veggie broth. While rice is cooking, saute onion, garlic and red pepper flakes in olive oil until onions are translucent. When rice is done, stir in lentils, onion mixture and parsley. Season to taste.

Quick and Easy Pantry Cooking Day Five: Orange Marmalade Sweet Potatoes

There are certain vegetables such as sweet potatoes that I always keep in stock. I put them in soup, roast them with other veggies, bake them as oven fries or just eat them as a baked potato. I now have a new favorite way to prepare sweet potatoes, mashed with orange marmalade. Rachel Ray made them on her show, Thirty Minute Meals and I veganized her recipe. I have combined orange and sweet potato before, making mashed sweet potatoes with orange juice and maple syrup but the orange marmalade is just delicious and takes it to another level! The picture does not do them justice. Use a good quality orange marmalade.

Orange Marmalade Sweet Potatoes

6 small sweet potatoes or 3-4 large (mine happened to be very tiny so I used 6)

2-3 heaping tablespoons orange marmalade (add three if you like extra sweetness)

2 tablespoons Earth Balance margarine

salt to taste

Roast potatoes in 400 degree oven for about an hour until tender. You could also microrave them or cut into chunks and boil them but I prefer the flavor of baked potatoes. Peel and roughly mash potatoes, add remaining ingredients and combine thoroughly.

Quick and Easy Pantry Cooking Day Four: Lentil Salad

Beans are so versatile and healthy. There are practically endless types of beans and endless possibilities for preparing them. Beans have been a staple food throughout the world for thousands of years. Whenever someone says that they don't like beans-I always ask which one. How could someone not like all beans. Maybe I'll dedicate a month to beans! Being that I am not fond of meat substitutes, tofu, seitan and tempeh (shocking I know, a vegan that doesn't love all those things), I depend on beans for my main source of protein in a meal.

This lentil salad is so simple and you can vary what you add to it depending on what you have. I made a Mediterranean style salad but you could give it a more latino feel with cilantro, cumin and jalapenos or add whatever you like. I cooked the whole 1 lb bag of lentils and used half for this and the other half I set aside for a future dish.

Lentil Salad

1/2 bag (1/2 lb dry beans or 1 1/4 cup dry beans)

2 tomatoes chopped

handful parsley, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

4 tablespoons olive oil

zest of one lemon

juice of half a lemon or about 2 tablespoons lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

variations: add chopped kalamata olives, roasted red peppers, green onions

Cook lentils (no soaking required for lentils) in a large pot of water on medium low heat for 45-60 minutes until tender. Drain. Add all ingredients and mix. Serve warm or cold.

I wanted to make a quick and easy dessert last night so I found the decadent brownie recipe in The Garden of Vegan cookbook. It was so easy to make. But I was so disappointed in the result. It did not make brownies. Brownies are fudgy and rich, a cross between chocolate cake and fudge. This recipe made a chocolate cake. It was a good cake but when you want brownies, this was disappointing!

Quick and Easy Pantry Cooking Day Three: Mediterranean Salad

I found some fresh tomatoes at the farmer's market and had some hearts of palm and artichoke hearts in the cupboard so I decided to make a Mediterranean salad. What is great about this recipe is that you can add whatever you happen to have such as roasted red peppers, olives, garbanzo beans, fresh herbs, etc. This would also be a great topping for a salad.







Mediterranean Salad
2 tomatoes chopped
4 artichoke hearts, halved (use marinated ones or ones in water-whatever you have)
handful of olives (I used kalamata but any kind would be good)
4 hearts of palm, sliced in 1/2 inch pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients
variations: add roasted red peppers, beans, fresh basil or parsley

Quick and Easy Pantry Cooking Day Two: Banana Nut Chocolate Chip Bread

I love to bake but sometimes I don’t feel like the whole big production of baking like getting out the mixer, all the cleanup, etc. This is the ideal treat for those times. It is very simple to make and requires no mixer and only a little cleanup is necessary. This is wonderful for breakfast with a glass of soymilk or as a dessert with some non-dairy ice cream. If you don’t have any nuts or chocolate chips then it comes out just as well if you leave those out. Sometimes I break up a chocolate bar into chunks and use those when I don't have any chips. You could even use a different type of nut, like pecans.













Banana Nut and Chocolate Chip Bread
3 ripe bananas
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
½ cup oil (I use canola oil)
½ cup sugar
1 ½ cups flour (I use whole wheat pastry flour)
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ baking soda
½ cup chopped walnuts
½ cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375. Lightly grease a loaf pan. In a small bowl mash the bananas really well with a fork. Add lemon juice, oil and sugar to the bananas. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until just mixed. Fold in nuts and chips. Spoon batter into loaf pan. Bake for 40-50 minutes until a knife in the center comes out clean.

Quick and Easy Pantry Cooking Day One: Caramelized Green Beans

Although I enjoy preparing elaborate recipes or ones that require that hard to find yet essential ingredient, I usually cook simple, healthy dishes. This month I will share recipes that are quick and easy to prepare and that use ingredients that most of us have in our pantries (my pantry consists of one cupboard but it sounds better when I call it a pantry) or are easily found at the grocery store. Most of these dishes are very budget friendly as well.

To start the series off..caramelized green beans. I love green beans but I prefer them on the more tender side-not a big fan of the cooked green beans that are still crunchy. This recipe couldn't be easier yet produces a great tasting side dish. I used the Trader Joe's yellow and green bean mix that is already washed and trimmed to make this dish even easier.



















Caramelized Green Beans
2 tablespoons olive oil
1-2 pounds green beans (ends trimmed)
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts or almond slivers/slices

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-low heat. Add green beans, cover, stirring occasionally, until green beans are tender and caramelized (partially browned), about 30-40 minutes. While green beans are cooking toast nuts in an un-oiled pan on the stove until lightly browned or on a baking sheet in a 400 degree oven for about 5 minutes. Watch closely since it doesn't take much to go from lightly toasted to burned! After green beans are cooked, toss with nuts. Season with salt and pepper.