Rice Blend

Rice Blend

A few months ago I bought a package of different rices that had been mixed together and sold at one of the big box stores. It was ridiculously expensive, but I must admit it tasted fantastic. So when I looked at the ingredient list, I realized that I had all of the individual ingredients in my own pantry. After experimenting, this is the blend that I came up with.

Ingredients

2 cups brown basmati rice
1/2 cup black rice
1/2 cup wild rice
1/2 cup red rice

Cooking Ingredients

6 Tablespoons mushroom seasoning, optional , but adds a lot of flavour.                               

6 cups water

Directions

Mix all of the ingredients together in a pot and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat, cover  and simmer for 50 minutes.

Enjoy!

Carrot Dogs

Carrot Dogs

This tastes surprisingly like an actual meat hot dog, or at least as I remember they taste. I usually start these the day before so they have lots of time to sit in the marinade.

Ingredients

8-12 long thinner carrots, peeled but left whole with top and tail removed
water for boiling

Marinade

1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp vegetable stock powder
2 Tablespoons liquid smoke
3 Tablespoons maple syrup
1/4 cup red or white wine vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce

1. Boil the carrots in the water until just soft. Do not overcook.

2. Mix all the ingredients for the marinade in a small bowl and transfer to a large ziplock bag.

3. When carrots have finished cooking and have cooled, add them to the bag.

4. Let carrots marinate overnight. In the morning turn the bag over and continue to marinate until ready to cook.

5. Grill on the BBQ or cook in the oven with the marinade.

Enjoy!

Tip

I serve mine with all the fixings, including cooked onions, mustard, relish, ketchup, onions, sauerkraut,  and leftover cheese sauce

Lasagna

Lasagna

This is an adaptation of Chef AJ's disappearing Lasagna recipe. This recipe takes a quite a bit of effort so give yourself lots of time to prepare. This makes 2 - 9x13 inch pans.

Ingredients

Mushroom Layer

2 lbs fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 large onion

Bean / Potato  Layer

2- 19 oz can navy beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup cooked white potato , diced
3 Tablespoons white miso
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1/8 teaspoons red pepper flakes
1/2 cup water, or more to bring the mixture to a thick consistency

Additional Ingredients

2 lbs frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry
1-2 cups frozen corn, defrosted
1-2 boxes no boil oven ready lasagna noodles
4 jars favourite pasta sauce. I use tomato and basil lite by Ragu
nutritional yeast for sprinkling on top of lasagna

Directions

Mushroom Layer

Add mushrooms, garlic and onion to the pan and cook until all the liquid has disappeared and the onion is well cooked.

Add soy sauce and continue cooking until the liquid has evaporated.

Set aside.

Potato Bean Layer 

Add all the ingredients to a food processor and mix until it is creamy and smooth.

Set aside.

To Assemble

Pour 1-2 cups of pasta sauce in bottom of each of the 9x13 pans.

Cover with a layer of noodles.

Top noodles with a layer of the potato / bean mixture. This should use up all the the mixture.

Top with spinach.

Add mushrooms on top of the spinach.

Divide half of the corn between the two pans.

Top with a layer of noodles.

Add a layer of sauce.

Add a layer of corn. This should use up the remaining corn.

Top with noodles.

Add a layer of sauce.

Sprinkle with nutritional yeast.

Bake in a preheated 350F  oven  for 60 minutes. Let rest for 15 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!