Vegan Cheezy Brown Rice & Greens Casserole

This is comfort food at its best. This really is my new favorite dish - a retake of a childhood favorite, my mom's chicken, broccoli, rice casserole.

3 c. uncooked brown rice
1 bunch green veggies (i.e., kale, chard, collards, broccoli)

Cheezy Sauce
2/3 c. raw, unsalted cashews
1/4 c. vegan butter (like Earth Balance)
1/4 c. flour
2 c. vegetable broth
1/4 c. nutritional yeast
1/2 c. vegan cheese (I'm a Daiya loyalist)

Tofu
1 package extra firm tofu, cubed
1 tsp paprika
2 tsp garlic powder
dash of pepper

Step 1: Cook up some fluffy brown rice. About 3 cups, dry.

Step 2: Soak 2/3 cup of cashews in purified warm water for cashew cream. You can also buy cashew cream at some natural foods stores, but don't count on it.

Step 3: Go pick some greens (if you happen to be so lucky to have a winter garden tended by an awesome hubby, like I do). If not, buy some! Then wash and ribbon cut them. I'm using lacinato kale because it's my absolute favorite and its ready for picking, but curly kale, chard, collards, and broccoli would work really well too.

Step 4: Cube, season and pan fry your tofu.

Step 5: Toss your rice, greens and tofu together and lay down into large casserole dish

Step 6: Make your cheezy sauce...

...by whisking the seasoned flour into vegan butter in a medium-sized sauce pan on medium heat until browned. Whisk in vegetable broth, nutritional yeast and cashew cream one at a time until creamy. Add vegan cheese and stir until melted.











 







 Step 7: Liberally pour sauce over rice mixture in casserole dish, top with the rest of the "cheese" and bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes.

Vegan Red Potato & Broccoli Soup

Hurricane Sandy is rolling in - nonstop rain for the last twenty-four hours and wind that's started to blow something nasty. All four of us have been rained in all day together and goodness knows, my girls (and guy) can eat. So, spending most of the day in the kitchen is really as much a necessity as it is an diversion. We've done homemade vegan (powdered & green tea) for breakfast, black beans, rices, and collard greens (recipe coming shortly) for lunch and on tonight's menu is a red potato and broccoli soup. A creamy soup just sounded cozy and appropriate for the weather and I had 1/3 of a 10lb Costco bag of potatoes I needed to use. So, here's the recipe...enjoy!

4lbs of red potatoes (washed and quartered)
1 small onion or 1/2 of a large onion (diced)
3 cloves of garlic (minced)
1/2 head of broccoli (cut into medium-small pieces)
4 tsp or 1 cube vegan bullion
1 cup cashew-almond creme*
Salt & pepper to taste
Water 

In a large stockpot over medium-high heat, saute onion in about 3 tbls of olive oil until translucent. Add garlic and saute for another minute or less (don't burn the garlic!). Add potatoes and water to cover them by about 2 inches. Add bullion, stir and bring to a rolling boil. Turn down the heat to low boil until the potatoes are tender and some of the water has evaporated/been absorbed. Once the potatoes are tender remove about 1/2 of them into a blender with the cashew-almond cream, blend for just a few seconds until "smooth-ish" and return to the pot. You can break the remaining potatoes up against the side of the pot with the back of a spoon or spatula. Add the broccoli and cook until tender. Taste (careful, it'll be really, really hot) for seasoning and salt & pepper accordingly.


I think I'm going to sprinkle on some Daiya chedder cheese, which I would highly recommend :)


* My cashew-almond creme is so simple and such a staple for making rich-tasting vegan foods. To make it, I soak equal parts raw, unsalted almonds+cashews and hot water. I do this in the blender and after about 30 mins (or longer if you have the time), I blend on the high setting for a full minute or until I have a light cream. I also do just cashew creme and it's just as good.