Sautéed Fennel with Couscous and Lemon

From Vegan Everything - 100 Easy Recipes for Any Craving --from Bagels to Burgers, Tacos to Ramen  2019
by Nadine Horn and Jörg Mayer.

I think the flavor of fennel or anise is very interesting taste.  It pairs well with citrus flavor.  In this dish, the lemon and the chopped greens definitely make the dish!  This is a quick dish to put together. The greens can be prepared while the fennel is cooking.  It smells delish too!  With the beans, it can be a main dish.

Fresh fennel should be bright green with no brown marks on its outer layers.  A tip from this book is that it is delicious raw when thinly sliced or grated.  They also recommend it in a Middle Eastern-inspired salad with lentils.

Ingredients:
1 cup instant couscous
2 fennel bulbs (~ 1 pound each)
5 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup cooked white beans
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 bunch fresh parsley chopped

Directions:
1) Bring 1.5 cups of water to a boil in a small pot.  Add the couscous, cover and remove from the heat.  Let sit for 5 minutes, then uncover and fluff with a fork.

2) Trim the stalks from the fennel.  Chop the fennel fronds and set aside.  Quarter the bulbs and cut out the cores.  Cut into slices 1/2 inch thick.

3) Heat 2 Tbsp of oil in a sauté pan over medium high heat.  Add the sliced fennel and cook for about 8 minutes, turning over the slices after 4 minutes, until golden brown.

4)  Remove from the heat.  Mix in the beans and let sit in the warm pan for about 3 minutes.

5) Transfer the couscous to a serving bowl and top with the fennel and beans.  Drizzle with the lemon juice and the remaining 3 Tbsp oil.

6)  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Garnish with the reserved fennel fronds and the parsley.

Roasted carrot soup

From: https://www.washingtonpost.com/recipes/roasted-carrot-and-cashew-soup/17209/

This simple, creamy (but vegan) soup gets a dose of complexity and heat from the spices, which help balance the carrots’ natural sweetness. Pair with a dark, toasted bread, if you like, for a satisfying meal.  If you don't want to bother with the soup, the roasted carrots alone are delicious.  The garlic seemed to develop more and more each day, so although the taste was fine initially, I would decrease the garlic so that it was overwhelming on subsequent days.  And maybe increase the salt, pepper, coriander, sumac and pepper flakes a bit.  I thought it tasted better without the addition of vinegar at the end.

Make Ahead: The roasted carrots can be refrigerated for up to 5 days before finishing the soup.

Storage Notes: The finished soup can be refrigerated for up to 1 week or frozen for up to 3 months.

SERVINGS:

Tested size: 6 servings; makes about 9 cups

INGREDIENTS:

2 pounds carrots, trimmed, scrubbed and cut into 2-inch pieces
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 medium shallot, quartered
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 teaspoon kosher salt, or more as needed
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or more as needed
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground sumac
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
6 cups no-sodium-added vegetable broth - would start with only 4 cups and increase as needed.
1 cup (6 ounces) roasted, unsalted cashews
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk or cashew milk
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice or apple cider vinegar - I would omit, or maybe try the lime instead of vinegar.

DIRECTIONS:

1) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees with the rack in the middle.

2) In a large bowl, toss the carrots with the garlic, shallot, oil, salt, black pepper, coriander, sumac and red pepper flakes. Transfer to a sheet pan large enough for the carrots to fit in a single layer. Roast for 30 to 40 minutes, or until tender.

3) Meanwhile, heat the vegetable broth in a saucepan over low heat and keep warm.

Place 1/4 cup (1 1/2 ounces) cashews in a high-speed blender. Add the coconut milk and puree until smooth. Chop the remaining cashews for garnish.

Add the carrots and vegetable broth to the blender and puree until smooth. (If necessary, puree the soup in batches, combining about half of each — the stock, carrots and cashew puree — in each batch and stirring everything together again before serving.) Taste the soup and add more salt and pepper, if desired.

If needed, return the soup to the saucepan over medium heat and warm until heated through. Stir in the lime juice or vinegar and divide the soup among serving bowls. Top with chopped cashews and drizzle with olive oil. Serve hot.

Frittata with Oyster Mushrooms

From Vegan Everything 100 Easy Recipes for Any Craving from Bagels to Burgers, Tacos to Ramen
by Nadine Horn and Jörg Mayer

Tofu makes a great egg substitute in this dish.  And the taste improves each day.
I need to work on how to keep it from sticking.  Perhaps sauté veggies in a separate pan, then grease the frittata pan and pour in the ingredients.  Also be  sure to get the tofu to room temperature before preparing.

Ingredients:

1 onion
9 oz fresh oyster mushrooms (I used a mix of mushrooms)
3 Tbsp olive oil
10.5 oz silken tofu
3 Tbsp corn starch
2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
5 oz firm tofu
Parsley to serve

Can use zucchini strips or sun-dried tomatoes.  I added both - soak the sun-dried tomatoes first.

Directions:
1)  Preheat the oven to 350
2)  Dice the onion and coarsely chop the mushrooms
3) Heat 1 Tbsp of the oil in an oven-safe sauce pan over medium high heat.  Cook the onion for about 3 minutes, until translucent
4)  Add the mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes stirring occasionally
5)  While the mushrooms are cooking, puree the silken tofu, cornstarch, nutritional yeast, turmeric, onion and garlic powders, salt, pepper and the remaining 2 Tbsp oil in a food processor.  Crumble the firm tofu and fold into the pureed tofu mixture.
6)  Reduce the heat to medium, pour the tofu mixture over the mushrooms and cook for 10 minutes or until the frittata sets.
7)  Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 10-20 minutes or until golden brown.  Top with parsley cut into wedges and serve.

I topped it with cheese halfway through the oven time.