Skillet Lasagne

This recipe is from the cookbook Quick-Fix Vegan by Robin Robertson.

Recipe: see page 78 of Quick-Fix Vegan.

I think I might have tried making lasagne (lasagne is the traditional spelling, lasagna is the American way of spelling it) only a half dozen times in my entire life, so making it in a skillet on the stove top seemed a little unusual to me. I wasn't sure it would work, but this recipe came out quite nice. Really, it's not much different from baking in the stove, except it's faster. I like that I didn't have to turn on the oven and wait for it to preheat. It was just a matter of assembling everything in the skillet.

There are only two layers of lasagne noodles (make sure you get the kind without egg, since most of them seem to include that). Sandwiched between them is the 'ricotta cheese' layer, which is a mixure of crumbled firm tofu, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, and spices. The crumbled tofu gives it the texture of ricotta, and the nutritional yeast and lemon juice give it a mild cheesy flavor.

There is an option to use vegan mozzarella or Parmesan on top. I'm not a fan of the faux cheeses so I went with some homemade Parmesan-style cheese, which consists of sesame seeds, nutritional yeast and salt milled together in a handheld electric coffee grinder.

Total prep time was only about 10 minutes, so this was definitely was a quick recipe, and the taste was pretty good too. I think this would be a good stand-by recipe too, for those times when you are rushed and don''t have time to plan dinner. Keep a box of lasagne noodles and a jar of marinara on hand, and then you are only a block of tofu and 10 minutes away from having dinner on the stove.

Ingredients: lasagne noodles, firm tofu, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, garlic powder, dried basil, dried oregano, black pepper, fresh parsley, kalamata olives (optional), vegan marinara sauce, vegan Parmesan (milled sesame seeds, nutritional yeast, salt used here).

Indonesian Satay Sandwiches with Peanut Sauce

This recipe is from the cookbook Quick-Fix Vegan by Robin Robertson.

Recipe: see page 119 of Quick-Fix Vegan.

This is another really good recipe in Quick-Fix Vegan that is fast to prepare. Satay is a traditional Indonesian meal consisting of skewered meat, kind of like a kebab. In this vegan version, chicken-flavored seitan (I used Trader Joe's Chicken-Less Strips) is cooked in a frying pan then covered in a  sweet and spicy peanut sauce. The sauce thickens up and becomes very sticky. The seitan is then served on a pita or flatbread along with shredded carrot, cabbage and tomato.

That peanut sauce is outstanding and really makes this dish.  The sweetness makes the seitan taste like candy.

Ingredients: pitas (or flatbread, flour tortilla, lavash), seitan, cabbage, carrot, tomato, garlic, creamy peanut butter, hoisin sauce, rice vinegar, light brown sugar, Sriracha sauce, vegetable broth, vegetable oil, black pepper.

White Bean and Basil Soup

This recipe is from the cookbook Quick-Fix Vegan by Robin Robertson.

 

Recipe: see page 88 of Quick-Fix Vegan.

Good soup. It's got a wonderful aroma from the fresh basil, and the chunks of sun-dried tomato give it little intense bursts of flavor.

Ingredients: white beans, yellow onion, carrot, celery, garlic, dried basil, fresh basil, vegetable broth, sun-dried tomatoes, salt, black pepper.

Seitan Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce

This recipe is from the cookbook Quick-Fix Vegan by Robin Robertson.

Recipe: see page 118 of Quick-Fix Vegan.

This is another good, fast recipe from Quick-Fix Vegan.  The most time-consuming part was slicing the onion and tomato. The tangy tzatziki sauce really makes this.

I think a key to this recipe is to use fresh pita bread. I've used pita that was from a bag that was opened 3 days previous, and it split when I went to fold it. I also tried steaming a pita for a little bit to make it more pliable and that made the bread rubbery. So, I think fresh is the way to go.

Ingredients: seitan (Trader Joe's Beef-less Strips used here), tomato, lettuce, red onion, pita bread, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, black pepper, olive oil, rosemary, oregano, salt, vegan yogurt (Whole Soy & Co. Plain Yogurt used here), cucumber, garlic, fresh dill, salt and pepper.

Stovetop Fruit Crisp

This recipe is from the cookbook Quick-Fix Vegan by Robin Robertson.

 

 Recipe: see page 194 of Quick-Fix Vegan.

This was tasty, and fast to prepare. It is sweet from the peaches and berries, and a little crunchy from the granola. It is a fruit crisp, but the twist is that it is made on the stove-top in a skillet, rather than in a pan in the oven. I was a little worried about this sticking to the pan and burning, so I kept an close eye on it, but the bottom still burned. I just served the top part.

I have stainless steel pans, so the clean up took a little bit of work. I think I would be nervous about making this in a Teflon skillet, out of fear it would still burn and damage the surface.

Ingredients: fresh peaches, berries, granulated sugar, fresh lemon juice, cornstarch, granola, all-purpose flour, light brown sugar, cinnamon, ground ginger, vegetable oil.

Chard and Red Lentil Soup

This recipe is from the cookbook Quick-Fix Vegan by Robin Robertson.

Recipe: see page 101 of Quick-Fix Vegan.

Ingredients: red lentils, chard, diced tomatoes, vegetable broth (Trader Joe's Low Sodium Vegetable Broth used here), onion, carrots, garlic, cumin, coriander, cayenne, olive oil, salt, black pepper .

Summer Pasta with Red and Yellow Tomatoes

This recipe is from the cookbook Quick-Fix Vegan by Robin Robertson.

Recipe: see page 72 of Quick-Fix Vegan.

Ingredients: farfalle pasta, zucchini, yellow squash, baby spinach, red grape tomatoes, yellow grape tomatoes, cannellini beans, fresh basil, olive oil, garlic, scallions, black pepper, salt.

Tofu "Scampi" with Spinach

This recipe is from the cookbook Quick-Fix Vegan by Robin Robertson.

Recipe: see page 44 of Quick-Fix Vegan.

I'll tell you how much I like this recipe. I made it for lunch yesterday and right after I finished I wondered if it would be weird to make it again for dinner. So I didn't. I woke up this morning and wondered if it would be weird to make it for breakfast. So I didn't. But I did make it for lunch again. It is really good.

I'm not much of a fan of tofu, but this does it right. The outside has a crispy shell that is made from the cornstarch and spices, and the inside is soft and chewy. And then you have the creamy chewiness of the spinach and the tangy zest of the lemon juice and white wine. Dulse flakes are one of the ingredients. Dulse is a type of seaweed. That gives this dish a 'taste of the ocean'. Really outstanding. I wonder if it would be weird to make it for dinner tonight.

Ingredients: extra firm tofu, fresh baby spinach, olive oil, garlic, dried basil, dried oregano, dry white wine, fresh lemon juice, cornstarch, dulse, black pepper.

Two-Tomato Pastry Purses

This recipe is from the cookbook Quick-Fix Vegan by Robin Robertson.

Recipe: see page 29 of Quick-Fix Vegan.

It's near the end of summer and the tomato plants in my garden have started dying out. I realized I haven't really used any tomatoes in this blog recently, so I scrambled through my cookbooks to find some tomato recipes before the rest of the plants go.

This is another recipe from Quick-Fix Vegan. It has some fresh cherry tomatoes with sun-dried tomatoes, and olives, scallions and basil that are cooked down then placed in little pastry squares and folded over. I'm not sure if the 'purses' are supposed to stay closed during cooking. All of mine opened up. Still looks nice either way.

This was a good appetizer. The puff pastry is fluffy and crisp, and the filling is very sweet and tomato-y. This recipe makes the kitchen smell great while it is cooking.

This was the first time I made this, and start to finish it took about 50 minutes. The oven needs to warm up, the puff pastry needs to thaw, and the filling needs to cook on the stove top, then cool before being put into the purses. With practice I might be able to get that down to 35 minutes, but the first time through it wasn't a quick fix. It's a lot of time to spend on an appetizer. Still tasty though.

Ingredients: oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives, scallions, garlic, olive oil, fresh basil, black pepper, vegan puff pastry (Pepperidge Farm used here).

Jerk Seitan and Vegetable Skillet

This recipe is from the cookbook Quick-Fix Vegan by Robin Robertson.

Recipe: see page 48 of Quick-Fix Vegan.

It catches my attention any time Robin Robertson creates a recipe with 'jerk' in the title. I love the recipes for Jamaican Jerk Sauce and Jamaican Jerk-Spiced Tempeh Nuggets in her book Vegan Fire and Spice. I make the tempeh jerk nuggets at least twice a week, because it is so fast and tasty. So, this recipe for Jerk Seitan and Vegetable Skillet in Quick-Fix Vegan was bookmarked within 2 minutes of me receiving this book. And this recipe doesn't disappoint.

It tastes very sweet and is kind of fruity. There are many different flavors at work... the spices, tomatoes, bell pepper, onion... And with all the colors, it's a fun dish to look at.

For the seitan, I used Trader Joe's Beef-less Strips. I've never had much luck creating my own seitan. It always turns out kind of spongy. FYI, the TJ's strips are seitan, but they don't call them that. Seitan is made from vital wheat gluten and spices, and is very high in protein and fiber.

Ingredients: seitan, red onion, red or yellow bell pepper, zucchini, grape tomatoes, scallions, jalapeno, garlic, fresh ginger, soy sauce, cider vinegar, lime juice, dark brown sugar, thyme, allspice, cumin, nutmeg, fresh orange juice, black pepper, salt.

This recipe is from the cookbook Quick-Fix Vegan by Robin Robertson.

Apple Pie Parfaits

This recipe is from the cookbook Quick-Fix Vegan by Robin Robertson.

Recipe: see page 198 of Quick-Fix Vegan.

You want to know if this tastes good. Mercy. Look at the ingredients. Apples, maple syrup, cinnamon, granola, almond butter, toasted walnuts, vanilla extract... of course it tastes good. It tastes great!

This Apple Pie Parfait is very sweet and has a wonderful mix of textures. The apples, the crunchiness of the granola/walnut mixture, and the gooey creme that is made from the nut butter and maple syrup.

It is very quick to make, just like the book promises, and tastes even better after being in the fridge overnight.

Ingredients: Granny Smith apples, cinnamon, walnuts, granola, almond butter, maple syrup, vanilla extract, silken tofu, lemon juice, brown sugar, vegan butter (Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks used here).

Portobellos Stuffed with Chickpeas and Chard

This recipe is from the cookbook Quick-Fix Vegan by Robin Robertson.

 

 Recipe: see page 147 of Quick-Fix Vegan.
This is another very tasty, and healthy, recipe from this cookbook. So far, I have liked everything I have made from Quick-Fix Vegan. The stuffing has an asian-style flavor that comes from the fresh ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil and greens. The mashed chickpeas bring a lot of protein, and along with the cooked chard, a soft texture that is contrasted by the crunchiness of the panko bread crumbs on the topping. This might be a good dish to serve on Thanksgiving. Even if you don't include the portobellos, the stuffing is great on its own.

Ingredients: portobello mushroom caps, onion, chickpeas, chard, panko crumbs, garlic, fresh ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, black pepper.

Easy Artichoke Puffs

This recipe is from the cookbook Quick-Fix Vegan by Robin Robertson.

Recipe: see page 33 of Quick-Fix Vegan.
The taste of these artichoke puffs is outstanding. The pastry crust is light and crispy, and the filling intensely flavorful from the marinated artichokes and sun-dried tomatoes. Biting into one is like a flavor explosion. It is tangy and savory, and also quite salty.

Ingredients: frozen vegan puff pastry (Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Sheets used here), marinated artichoke hearts, scallions, vegan cream cheese (Trader Joe's brand used here), capers, oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, olive oil, red pepper flakes, salt, black pepper.

Penne with Artichokes, Walnuts and Olives

This recipe is from the cookbook Quick-Fix Vegan by Robin Robertson.

Recipe: see page 68 of Quick-Fix Vegan.
That linguine with artichoke recipe from Quick-Fix Vegan that I made last week was so good that I had to try another pasta recipe from this book.

Linguine with Artichoke and White Bean Alfredo

This recipe is from the cookbook Quick-Fix Vegan by Robin Robertson.

 Recipe: see page 71 of Quick-Fix Vegan.
This is a tasty alternative to traditional alfredo sauce, which usually contains the non-vegan ingredients of butter and cream.

Smoky Chipotle-Chocolate Chili

This recipe is from the cookbook Quick-Fix Vegan by Robin Robertson.

Recipe: see page 59 of Quick-Fix Vegan.
I had been looking forward to trying this recipe since it contains ALL my favorite things. AND one wild-card, at least for me. I've never used unsweetened chocolate

Vegetable Fritters

This recipe is from the cookbook Quick-Fix Vegan by Robin Robertson.

Recipe: see page 32 of Quick-Fix Vegan.
I've never made fritters before so this has been a new experience. They are light and puffy like pancakes, but filled with potato, onion,

Sweet and Spicy Tempeh

This recipe is from the cookbook Quick-Fix Vegan by Robin Robertson.

Recipe: see page 61 of Quick-Fix Vegan.
I love tempeh, and this is one of the first recipes I bookmarked in Quick-Fix Vegan. The sauce is

Soba Slaw

This recipe is from the cookbook Quick-Fix Vegan by Robin Robertson.

Recipe: see page 129 of Quick-Fix Vegan.
This vegan side dish combines coleslaw, a popular American salad made with cabbage and carrots,

Pear Turnovers

This recipe is from the cookbook Quick-Fix Vegan by Robin Robertson.

Recipe: see page 192 of Quick-Fix Vegan.
I've never made turnovers before and didn't realize the process was so fast and easy. It is just some