B00AG0VMTC EBOK (30 page)

By Renee Van de Motter

Renee has a green thumb and an architect’s eye, and is one can-do woman. She makes this amazing dip in a thing called a Magic Bullet (an odd little blender)! Here is her twist on
guacamole or hummus. Try this on the Hanover Flatbread (
here
) for lunch.

2 avocados, pitted and peeled

One 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

2 garlic cloves, crushed

Juice of 1 lime

1 tablespoon fresh cilantro

Pinch of salt

Pinch of freshly ground black pepper

Place all of the ingredients in a food processor, high-speed blender, or Magic Bullet and blend until creamy. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to a bowl. Serve immediately, or chill.

Adapted from Maeve’s Daddy by Jane Esselstyn

At a birthday party for Maeve, one of my daughter Sophie’s classmates, I spied a curious dip with a bright, fresh consistency and a light-green color. I asked Maeve’s daddy what the base was, and when he said “edamame,” I immediately asked him to share the recipe. Here is our light, bright, fresh, oil-free version!

2 cups edamame, shelled and cooked

½ cup onion, diced

½ cup fresh cilantro

1 garlic clove, crushed

¼ cup fresh lemon juice (about 1 lemon)

1 tablespoon yellow miso

cup Anaheim pepper, seeded and diced

3 dashes crushed red pepper flakes

1 to 2 tablespoons water, for texture

Pinch of salt

Pinch of freshly ground black pepper

In a food processor, combine all of the ingredients except the water and salt and pepper.

Blend well and taste. Add water, as needed—the texture should be drier and fluffier than hummus. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate.

Tip:
Serve this with veggies, crackers, or rice cakes, or try on Sunny Day Flatbread (
here
) for lunch.

By Jane Esselstyn

Say the word “Nottingham” slowly three times. The sound should be reminiscent of “Not-Eating-Ham.” This recipe is by no means a ham spread, but it sure does have the consistency and texture of one! Try this on none other than the Nottingham Flatbread (
here
) for lunch.

1 cup chickpeas, mashed with fork

¼ cup chopped onion

¼ cup chopped pickles or pickle relish

1 celery stalk, finely chopped

1½ tablespoons mustard

1½ tablespoons applesauce

½ teaspoon fresh dill, chopped

Pinch of salt

Pinch of freshly ground black pepper

Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl using a fork—make sure to smash the chickpeas.

Spread on sandwiches, or serve as a dip.

By Kimetha Wurster

Kimetha used to make her patented spinach-artichoke dip every February for a friend’s birthday party. True to her new, dairy-free E2 lifestyle, she was determined to make the recipe dairy-free, too. The guests had no idea it wasn’t the traditional one and gobbled it up. And there’s no baking necessary. Try this on the St. Nick Pizza (
here
) for lunch or dinner.

14 ounces artichoke hearts, packed in water

2 to 6 garlic cloves

9 ounces fresh spinach, or 1½ cups frozen spinach

1 ripe avocado

1 cup nutritional yeast

6 shakes hot sauce

Pinch of freshly ground black pepper (optional)

Pinch of salt (optional)

In a food processor or blender, pulse the drained artichokes with garlic until chopped.

Add the raw spinach (or drained frozen), avocado, and nutritional yeast and pulse until well mixed.

Shake in the hot sauce and season with salt and pepper as desired, and pulse again. Transfer to a bowl and serve with 100 percent whole wheat crackers or veggies, or use as a spread, dip, pizza sauce, or flatbread spread.

By Halle Foster Moore

My grandmother was Jane Halle, daughter of Sam and Blanche, founders of the Halle Brothers department store in Cleveland, Ohio. In fact, famous actress Halle Berry grew up in Cleveland, and her mother named her after the department store. My mother’s sister, Joan, had four children and named her youngest daughter Halle as well. My cousin Halle has grown up to be an amazing woman: doctor, mother, Clevelander. I am proud to offer Halle’s Guacamole as the foundation for the numerous fun guac variations you will find below! Try this on the Santa Fe Pizza (
here
) for lunch or dinner.

2 ripe avocados, peeled and smashed

2 tomatoes, chopped and seeded

1 bunch fresh cilantro, stems removed and finely chopped

Juice of 1 lime

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

¼ to ½ red onion, finely chopped

¼ to ½ fresh jalapeño pepper (depending on how hot you like it)

Pinch of salt

Pinch of freshly ground black pepper

Prepare all of the ingredients as indicated. Combine in a bowl and serve.

Variations:
Following the above recipe, replace one of the avocados with:

Bok-amole:
2 to 3 stalks of bok choy

Edema-mole:
1 cup shelled edamame

Cuke guac:
½ seeded and peeled cucumber

Broc-amole:
1½ cups steamed broccoli

Pea-guacamole:
1½ cups peas

Chick-guac:
one 15-ounce can of chickpeas—or see Guacamole Hummus (
here
)

Guaca Ganoouj:
1 roasted and peeled eggplant

By Jane Esselstyn

If you want to create a clean marinara sauce, this is the ticket. Making it fresh is ridiculously easy and it tastes much more alive and healthy! Serve over pasta with Spicy Italian Eat Balls (
here
). This recipe is the basis for a plant-strong pizza sauce, as well.

One 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes, no salt added

One 28-ounce can petite diced tomatoes, no salt added

3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil, or 1 tablespoon dried basil

3 tablespoons fresh oregano or 1 tablespoon dried oregano

2 teaspoons fresh thyme or 1½ teaspoons dried thyme

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic salt or garlic powder (optional)

¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 to 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

Combine all of the ingredients in a shallow saucepan over medium-high heat.

Simmer the ingredients together for 3 to 4 minutes.

Decrease the heat to low and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes more until the ingredients are warm throughout. Serve warm.

Tip:
Add sliced and cooked mushrooms, zucchini, yellow squash, chopped bell peppers, or any other veggies you love.

Adapted from the Las Vegas Whole Foods
Market sauce by Jane Esselstyn

Arrabbiata is Italian for “angry style.” The heat from the chipotles, smoked paprika, and fire-roasted tomatoes gives this sauce its tantalizing heat! Try this recipe with nonstick-pan-fried baby ’bella mushrooms and whole wheat penne! Or sample it on the Dragon Slayer Pizza (
here
) for lunch or dinner.

1 dried chipotle pepper, reconstituted in water overnight

cup vegetable stock

2 garlic cloves

1 cup raw cashews, soaked overnight

One 14-ounce can petite diced fire-roasted tomatoes with their juices

½ teaspoon smoked paprika

Almond milk, as needed (optional)

Pinch of salt (optional)

Bring the stock to a boil in a sauté pan and add the whole garlic cloves. Cook until the garlic cloves are tender and the stock has almost evaporated. Remove from the heat and set aside.

In a food processor or high-speed blender, pulse the soaked cashews, cooked garlic cloves, chipotle, tomatoes with juices, and paprika until uniformly smooth. Thin out the mixture to a creamy consistency with almond milk, if desired. Taste and add salt, if desired.

Taste, and if needed, add more chipotles or fire-roasted tomatoes to get the desired spiciness.

Transfer the sauce to a saucepan, heat and serve warm over pasta, or place in a container and store in the fridge until ready to use.

By Ann Esselstyn

Red lentils are the surprise ingredient that make this pasta sauce hearty and thick. Nutritional yeast adds a creamy feel. I love this sauce on any whole wheat or brown rice pasta or whole wheat orzo. Add a bunch of chopped Kale or greens of choice to the pasta when about four minutes cooking time is left for a luscious one-pot meal. Asparagus goes well with this, as does a big green salad.

1 large onion, chopped

3 carrots, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

2 tablespoons garlic, chopped

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

One 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes or one 26-ounce box Pomi brand chopped tomatoes

3 cups no-salt-added vegetable broth

½ cup red lentils

One 6-ounce can tomato paste

½ cup chopped fresh parsley

1 cup fresh basil

3 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

In a large frying pan stir-fry the onion over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes, then add carrots, celery, and garlic and continue cooking until all of the vegetables soften and begin to brown.

Add the dried basil, oregano, and pepper flakes and stir and cook for 1 minute.

Increase the heat and add the tomatoes, vegetable broth, lentils, and tomato paste and stir to combine.

Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook for 30 minutes.

Stir in the parsley, fresh basil, nutritional yeast, and black pepper, and simmer for 3 to 5 minutes more.

Serve warm over pasta and veggies.

By Rip and Jane Esselstyn

What a transformation! With the addition of basil to the Kale Butter recipe (from
The Engine 2 Diet
) comes… Kale Pesto. Add this sauce to any pasta for a healthy and novel meal. Try it on the Clevelander Pizza or the Book Group Pizza (
here
) for your next book group, lunch, or dinner.

2 cups Kale, stripped and cooked

1½ cups walnuts

2 garlic cloves, chopped

½ cup water, or more as desired

Zest of ½ lemon, or more to taste

Juice of ½ lemon, or more to taste

1½ cups fresh basil leaves, packed

Salt (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Place the Kale into a large pot with an inch of water. Cook for about 5 minutes, drain, and set aside.

Toast the walnuts in the oven for 5 to 7 minutes—watching closely so they do not burn.

Place the drained, cooked Kale and toasted walnuts in a food processor and blend. Add the garlic, water, lemon zest, lemon juice, and basil and continue to blend. When the mixture reaches the texture of traditional pesto, taste-test it. If needed, add more lemon, basil, water, or salt, if using, and pulse again.

Serve over pasta, or use as a spread, a dip, or a dressing.

Tip:
Add fresh mint to your liking, too!