Galaxy Nutritional Foods Blog

Eating Well’s new cookbook Fast & Flavorful Meatless Meals is chocked full of delicious recipes that are easy to prepare and accompanied by nutritional information. This one could be great for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Enjoy!

Breakfast Burritos from Eating Well’s Fast & Flavorful Meatless Meals

Ingredients:
1 tsp canola oil
2 red potatoes, cooked (poke several holes in potatoes and microwave on High until cooked through, 8 to 12 minutes), peeled, if desired, and diced (1 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup chopped scallions (4-6 scallions), divided
1 tomato, seeded and diced
1 4-ounce can chopped green chiles, drained
1/4 tsp salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
2 large eggs
2 large egg whites
Pinch of cayenne pepper
2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
4 corn tortillas or small whole-wheat flour tortillas, warmed
1/2 cup tomato
1/4 cup shredded Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add potatoes and 1/3 cup scallions and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add tomato and chiles and cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Beat eggs, egg whites and cayenne with a fork in a small bowl. Push the vegetables away from the center of the pan and pour in the egg mixture. Cook, stirring the eggs with a wooden spoon, until some curds have formed but the mixture is still creamy, 1 to 2 minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro and stir the eggs and vegetables together.

Divide the egg mixture among warm tortillas and roll each one into a burrito. Top each with a spoonful of salsa, a little cheese and some of the remaining chopped scallions. Serve immediately.

Yield: 4 servings

Whether or not you live in or are from the south, the turmoil Mother Nature has wreaked there over the past month can hardly go unnoticed. Reuters reported that, between Arkansas, Tennessee, and Mississippi, a total of nearly 3 million acres of farmland had been inundated. In Mississippi the river could rise 11 more feet in the next ten days. Our thoughts are with those in the Delta suffering the worst flood to hit the region in over 70 years.

The American Red Cross and Salvation Army are two of the organizations helping those left homeless in the wake of this natural disaster. If you know of food banks in the areas hit by flooding, please post information on them in the Comments section.

With this region on our mind, we share with you today a delicious recipe for comfort food from an old spiral bound collection organized by the Junior League of Jackson, Mississippi. Please note, we suggest substitutions for several items in order to make this a more heart healthy recipe.

Asparagus Souffle by Mrs. Robert Allen Smith from the Junior League of Jackson, Mississippi’s Southern Sideboards

Ingredients:
4 eggs
1 (15 1/2 ounce) can asparagus spears, drained
1 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese (substitute with Galaxy’s Veggie or Rice Cheddar Shreds)
1 cup mayonnaise (or Vegenaise)
1 (10 1/2 ounce) can cream of mushroom soup (Imagine’s Mushroom Soup is a good option)

Directions:

Beat eggs in blender. Add remaining ingredients and blend. Pour into lightly greased 1 1/2 quart souffle dish. Place souffle dish in a second pan and add 2 inches of water. Bake at 350 F for 55 – 60 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Yield: 6 servings

While at Natural Products Expo West in Los Angeles in March a few of the Galaxy Nutritional Foods staff met with some of the editorial staff from Vegetarian Times. These trade shows are always a lot of work, as one can imagine, but the results are hard to beat. We get to talk to other people making and selling natural foods we enjoy (after all, as much as one might like, you can’t live on our cheese alone…you at least need some fruit and crackers). We also are able to engage in conversations with editors like those from Vegetarian Times, a publication several people in the office read and at least one subscribes to for their recipes. What we learn from interactions such as these are not just what is working (thankfully a lot), but where we can improve, how people use our products, and what people want (one way our Facebook page is great, all those comments asking for a soy free item or placement on a shelf in a natural food store in a small town in Colorado…).

A big thanks to the kind person at Vegetarian Times who enjoyed the Classic Plain Vegan Cream Cheese and then turned us on to the recipe Linguine in Lemon Cream Sauce, which she had used light cream cheese in and we agreed could easily be swapped out for ours. Well, we did (swap it out that is) and oh the pasta dish was so so good. In advance of giving you the recipe we are going to encourage you to get pen and paper ready to write down what you need (should you not have everything in your house, pretty short list so you might) and let the family know you’ve got dinner tonight. Oh, and serve with a nice salad on the side with some fresh greens and tomatoes dressed in a nice light extra virgin olive oil based dressing with Hawaiian Sea Salt (sold at gourmet shops, Whole Foods Markets) and freshly squeezed lemon juice.

For once dinner will come out just as pretty as in the picture. Just visit this page of the Vegetarian Times website for the recipe.

Just one more itsy bitsy little item Vegetarian Times just announced their 2011 Foodie Awards. Galaxy’s Vegan Classic Plain Cream Cheese made the short list of products!!! We are featured under the Soft Cheese category (section #23), http://www.vegetariantimes.com/2011foodieawards Added bonus, just because the publication is so cool, by voting you are eligible to win a $250 grocery shopping spree. The magazine will announce readers’ top choices in their October issue.

If you have A Platter of Figs you probably have some idea of the good things in store for you in David Tanis new (released in 2010) cookbook Heart of the Artichoke: and other kitchen journeys. A bit of chopping, few fresh vegetables, little heating, bit of blending, and voila a beautiful and inspiring meal. Oh, and while this is one of those soups that is extra special when warm…is also very good on a warm day served cool. We enjoyed a few of our cheddar flavored blocks with this soup. A bit of crusty bread might be nice too. Enjoy!

Fennel Soup with a Green Swirl from David Tanis book Heart of the Artichoke

Ingredients:

For the soup:
1/4 cup olive oil
3 medium fennel bulbs, trimmed and sliced
1 large onion, sliced
4 garlic cloves, chopped
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup long-grain white rice (we used brown rice, because that is what we had on hand, and the end result was delicious)
6 cups chicken broth or water, or as needed

For the swirl:
1 cup roughly chopped fennel fronds
1/2 cup parsley leaves
1/4 cup basil leaves
1/4 cup chopped scallions
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper

In a large heavy-bottomed pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the sliced fennel, onion, and garlic. Season generously with salt and pepper, and stew the vegetables, stirring every few minutes, until they are softened and light colored.

Add the rice and broth or water. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a gentle simmer. Taste the broth, add more seasoning if necessary, and simmer for 20 minutes.

Puree the soup in a blender (we recommend a food processor instead), then pass through a fine-mesh strainer to remove any fibrous strands (we did not do this and there were no strands). Return the strained soup to the pot. Check the consistency. It it’s too thick, add a bit of water or broth.

Rinse and dry the blender, and put all the ingredients for the swirl into the blender at once. Blend on high speed until you have a smooth green puree. Transfer to a small bowl.

To serve, reheat the soup and ladle it into soup bowls. Swirl a tablespoon of the green puree into each bowl.

We paired with Galaxy’s Vegan Cheddar Block, Rice Cheddar Block, and Veggie Cheddar Block.

Pumpkin Soup in Pumpkin by Hidemi Walsh

Ingredients:
4 Striped Medium Pumpkins
1 package of Onion Soup & Dip Mix (1oz)
1 cup Fresh Mushroom, thinly sliced
1 bunch Broccoli
1 carrot
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
1 1/2 cup Skim Milk
4 tablespoons Veggie Grated Topping

Directions:

Cut the 1/3 of top of pumpkin off. Take seeds out and wrap each pumpkin in plastic wrap and heat in a microwave until tender.

Scoop inside of each pumpkin and mash in a bowl.

Cut broccoli into flowerets and the stem into bite-size pieces. Chop carrot.

In a sauce pan, heat butter and add flour. Stir frequently and add skim milk little by little stirring constantly. Simmer until thickens. Season with salt and pepper.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In another sauce pan, bring 4 cups of water to boil. Add carrots and broccoli. Cook until tender.

Then add onion soup mix. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Add mushroom, mashed pumpkin and white sauce (4). Stir and simmer for another 5 minutes.

Put the soup into each hollowed-out pumpkin. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of Veggie Grated Topping on each top of pumpkin soup. Bake for 10 minutes.

Vicious Vichyssoise by Amy Angelo

Ingredients:
4 cups diced potatoes, (baking potatoes)
4 Tbsp butter
4 cups sliced leeks, white part only (sliced)
1½ cloves of garlic (chopped)
1 large onion (chopped)
3 cups vegetable stock
2 roasted jalapenos, seeded and chopped finely (To roast, place jalapenos under broiler.Broil until skin is black and bubbles. Remove from oven and peel skins off of jalapenos)
3 cups water
1 tsp white pepper
1½ to 2 tsp salt or to taste
½ cup of heavy cream
1 Tbsp fresh chives or parsley, minced
1/2 cup Galaxy Veggie Topping

Directions:
Place potatoes in a large pot of water and bring to a boil.
Cook for 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
Drain and return potatoes to the pot. Set aside.
In a large sauce pan, melt butter and add leeks. Cook for 3 minutes, add garlic and onions. Cook for 3 more minutes.
Add vegetable stock , bring to a boil.
Remove from heat and set aside.
Add jalapenos,water and leek mixture to the large pot the potatoes are in , add white pepper and salt. puree.
During the summer months you can chill the soup at this time. In the winter months, keep it hot!
Before serving, stir in heavy cream and sprinkle with Galaxy Veggie Topping.
Top with chives or parsley and serve!

Vegetarian French Onion Soup by Camille Reicherter

Healthy Creole Soup by Tammy Nimmer

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 Red Onion
2 Cloves Garlic
1 Green Pepper
1 Jalapeno Pepper (optional)
3 cups Tomato Juice
1 cup Water or Vegetable Broth
1 tsp dried Thyme
2 Tbsp Creole Seasoning (found in the spice aisle, look for a blend that doesn’t contain salt)
1/2 cup Carrots, sliced (2 small carrots)
1/2 cup Celery, chopped (1 celery stalk)
1/2 cup Brown Rice, uncooked
1 cup Galaxy Nutritional Foods Vegan Topping, Veggie Grated Topping, Veggie Parmesan Shreds or Parmesen Grated Rice Topping

Directions:

In large stockpot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Dice onion and cook until soft. Add chopped garlic, diced green pepper, and diced jalapeno. Cook an additional 5 minutes.

Add liquid ingredients: tomato juice, broth (or water). Add creole seasoning, thyme, carrots, celery and brown rice. Bring to a simmer and cook 30 minutes, until rice is tender.

Ladle into bowls and top with desired amount of Galaxy Nutritional Foods topping. Garnish with fresh cilantro.

Before Tuesday, February 15 please let us know which of the five finalists are your favorites (in order 1 - 5 with #1 being your favorite) by commenting on this blog post. The three final recipes should be chosen based on taste and creativity.

Gwendolyn Mathers - King Midas’ Golden Soup

Tammy Nimmer - Healthy Creole Soup

Camille Reicherter - Vegetarian French Onion Soup*

this is a temporary photo.

Amy Angelo - Vicious Vichyssoise

Hidemi Walsh - Pumpkin Soup in Pumpkin

This recipe for vegetarian chili from the blog Simply Recipes is healthy, nourishing, and something you may turn to at lunchtime and dinnertime. We like it with some of our Cheddar flavored Veggie Shreds or shavings from our Cheddar flavored Vegan Block. This is a recipe you can count on to warm you up during the cold months, or be eaten (once cooked) cool during the warmer ones. Easy enough to put into a thermos for a school lunch or a reusable container to be spooned out at the office. Make this chili and enjoy it at a relaxed pace so you can take in all of the delicious flavors.

Recipe is here.

Photo from Simply Recipes.