Easy Tortilla Torta

A great easy weekday meal is a mexican torte, which is essentially a layered lasagna-like dish heavy on flavour, and short on labour.

Mix some leftover salsa with some tomato sauce. I used my final jar made last fall.

In the bottom of a casserole dish, spread some sauce, and layer a whole wheat tortilla. Next, layer:

A can of whole-kernel corn and put another tortilla on top.
A layer of cheddar cheese (Daiya makes a great vegan cheese) and another tortilla
A layer of black beans, some more sauce, and another tortilla

Keep layering, until you've added some great healthy layers. USE ANYTHING IN THE FRIDGE! Veggies, leftovers - the salsa will tie everything together. Search the pantry and freezer too.

I used a can of southwest style baked beans for smoky flavour, and some vegan meatballs (President's Choice Worlds Best Meatless Meatballs. Use a spoon of sauce for each layer - without making it too wet.

Bake at 375 covered in tin foil until hot. I like to leave the top tortilla un-cheesed (I realize this is not a word) so it gets toasted and crispy for the last 5 minutes of cooking. Use the broiler if you want to speed this up. I also topped it with some olive oil, salt and pepper - with lime zest.

Our friend came by last night - missing abot 30 pounds of his former self! Bill gave him a copy of "The China Study" last month - a life changing book about plant-based cuisine - and are THRILLED to see him applying some of it to his own life. It is amazing to see how a few dietary changes can put life back in your years.

Buffalo Chickpea Pizza with Ranch

It's been raining so much around here that we need a canoe to get out of the driveway. After a long day at work, I was more inclined to face up to an empty fridge than run into the grocery store and get wet again.

Delisio is advertising for a Buffalo Chicken Pizza lately, and Boston Pizza's new chicken wing menu is also running heavily. I love wing sauces, and especially hot ones - they're just craving inducers!!

So - rather than give into eating those fowl limbs just for the sauces, I thought I'd throw together a version of a buffalo chicken wing pizza for us...

Before even changing out of my work clothes, I made a quick pizza crust.

3 cups of whole wheat flour
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 scant tablespoonfull of quick rise yeast
1 teaspoon each of salt and garlic powder.

Turned the mixer on, and added 1 1/4 cup of warm water. Mixed until a ball formed (about 4 minutes) and then let it rise while I got to the lentils.

I thought the lentils would make a hefty thick "sauce". Vegan pizzas can slide like crazy without the gluey cheese to hold everything together, and one of my cookbooks suggested thickening them with beans. It's a great tip, which adds protein, fibre and flavour.

I took 2 cups of water, a cup and a half of red lentils (which smell like chicken soup!) and a half a cup of hot sauce in a pan, bringing them to a boil. I added a clove or two of garlic, with hefty salt and pepper to taste.

Daiya makes a mozzarella cheese which is now available in mainstream locations like Zehrs and Loblaws. To make it taste like Ranch, I added some more fresh chopped garlic, some chives, some rosemary and some pepper.

Finally, I put some whole chickpeas in a pan (rinse them well!) with more hot sauce and Earth Balance and a tablespoon of dijon - my signature wing sauce.

I baked the pizza crust without any toppings to make sure the crust was cooked through. Added the lentil sauce topping, the herby cheese and topped with the saucy chickpeas.

I told Harrison at the outset that I was attempting a vegan buffalo chicken pizza. At first he hesitated, and then said "I'm sure it'll be good". When I asked why, he replied "Cause you're Mom!"

K

Royal Wedding Menu, Recent Catering and Survivor Finale!

A rare moment just for the halibut! Harrison, Bill and I were addicted to Survivor this season - here is Halibut three ways on finale night. One with lemon, asparagus and capers, the second with a hearty Indian curry spice, and the third with Lime and fresh red chili.











Another variation on the bread / pizza crust recipie. Here is a focaccia dough, stuffed with corn, black beans, tomatoes and salsa. Folded over top like a big perogy!




I love to do double batches of food we are already eating and pass it on to friends! Here is a catering I did recently for a friend's busy weeknights. A double of our focaccia, some curried chickpea and lentils with lemon-poached cauliflower, and in the back is a white bean cassoulet with braised celery.


I have been loving the addition of fresh chopped greens to any saucy dish. Here, an indian curry gets mixed with fresh green onions - and they turn a vibrant emerald! Lots of active enzymes, oxygen and chlorophyll.












Two words - ROYAL WEDDING! I just couldn't get enough. Here is a lunch sandwich, with some avodaco, fresh tomato pureed with garlic and some veggie bacon.
















William's fave dessert is reportedly Eton Mess - a layered dessert of vanilla whipped cream, fresh berries, raspberry sauce and meringue. NOT VEGAN, but delicious. Served in my great grandmother's teacups. Berries only for Bill in the background.













Oeufs en Cocotte, with cream and watercress, served with crumpets and lemon. Didn't this dish just layer beautifully!!!??? This was absolutely SPECTACULAR - especially when eaten during the wedding of the century - and especially when it is obvious that those two really GET each other.

Smoked salmon puffs, poached asparagus and hollandaise rounded out the April 29th menu.