Recipe: Tempeh Bolognese Napoleon

6 Comments

This week all of my recipes are based on dishes from local Vermont restaurants that I have either always wanted to try or love.  The first dish I made was based on a dish from Leunig’s Bistro in Burlington Vermont.  I went here about 7 years ago and have wanted to return for years however the place is a little pricey so I decided tonight that I would try my own interpretation of a dish off their menu.

Tempeh Bolognese Napoleon

This dish is tempeh bolognese with a white wine tomato sauce topped with sauteed spinach and crispy eggplant over spaghetti.

Tempeh Bolognese:

  • 1-8oz package of tempeh, grated
  • 2 carrots, small dice
  • 2 celery stalks, small dice
  • 8oz mixture of mushrooms sliced (I used shiitake and baby bella)
  • White Wine Tomato Sauce:
    • 28oz can of crushed tomatoes
    • 1T olive oil
    • 1 small onion, minced
    • 2 cloves garlic, minced
    • 1/2 cup white wine
    • 1t Italian seasoning
    • salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350F.

For the Sauce: Heat the olive oil in a medium pot over medium-high and add onion; saute for 5-7 minutes.  Stir in garlic; 30 seconds.  Add the italian seasoning and white wine; cook 3 minutes.  Add the tomatoes and salt and pepper.

Toss the tempeh with the veggies and tomato sauce and place in a casserole dish.  Bake for 30-40 minutes until vegetable are soft.

Sauteed Spinach:

  • 1T olive oil
  • 10oz frozen spinach
  • 2 garlic cloves, sliced
  • salt and pepper

In a cold pan add the garlic and olive oil and heat until garlic is warmed. Add the spinach, salt and pepper and toss together until heated through and well coated.

Crispy Eggplant:

  • 1 small eggplant, thinly sliced
  • 1T olive oil
  • 1/4 cup of flour mixed with 1t each of salt, pepper and Italian seasoning.
  • 1T salt

Toss the eggplant with the salt and place in a colander and let sit for 30 minutes.  Rise the eggplant and drain.  Pat out on paper towel until mostly dry and then dredge in the flour. Heat the olive oil in a large sautee pan over medium high and fry the eggplant until crispy.

4 servings of cooked spaghetti


To assemble:

On the based put the spaghetti, top with bolognese then the spinach, then the eggplant and sprinkle with vegan parmesan or nutritional yeast.

Serve with Italian wine and a yummy side salad.



The Great Outdoors

1 Comment

That’s right folks the old man and I are headed to the great outdoors to test our camping skills.  Now this won’t be easy with our nice new tent, camping mattress and of course that newish camping stove but I think we can tough it out and survive. I will hopefully be back on Sunday with a nice post, unless of course a bear eats us, so until then here are a few things for your enjoyment (oh and don’t forget that there is still time to enter the Care Package Swap of 2010:

hmmm is this thing on?

Q: How many Canadians does it take to light a Camp Stove?

A: TWO (and no those aren't mine or my husbands if you were wondering)

Oh and I almost forgot to mention that I am participating in Project Food Blog check it out!

Ayala’s Herbal Water

5 Comments

Ayala’s Herbal Water recently sent me samples of their Herbal Water, a water that has been infused with organic herbs to create a wonderfully tasty water. The flavors are different than most flavored waters and taste great. At first I as as bit apprehensive and expecting this water to taste like all the other flavored waters that I have tried, which is basically like an empty juice bottle was filled with water. This product was nothing like that, the flavor was strong but not over powering. It also was extremely refreshing.

The flavors hubz and I tried were:

  • lemongrass mint vanilla
    • My husband described this perfectly “it taste like your drinking a fresh roll” and it did – the flavor was fresh and cooling and we both loved it.
  • lavender mint
    • at first I didn’t know what to expect with this considering lavender is not something I generally eat or drink but the flavor with the mint was really nice
  • ginger lemon peel
    • this was one of my favorites it almost reminded me of a iced ginger tea it was delicious
  • cinnamon orange peel
    • another favorite of mine (who am I kidding I pretty much loved all of them) this one was different than the other because the cinnamon actually had more of a savory warming taste
  • cloves cardamom cinnamon
    • this was similar to the cinnamon orange peel in that the flavors were warming and reminded me of the fall
  • lemon verbena geranium
    • I liked this one but it was the only one that I didn’t love. I think it was the geranium flavor it was a bit too much floral tasting for me.

Overall these were a hit at my house.  After one bottle my husband was asking where we could buy more because he loved it.  This is my new favorite go to drink when I’m looking for something refreshing that isn’t just plain water.

All of the flavors are now available in my OpenSky shop hope you enjoy them!

“At Herbal Water™, we make our beverages by infusing organic culinary herbs in pure water. We use no artificial sweeteners, no preservatives, and no additives of any kind. Culinary herbs have been prized for centuries, for their calming, stimulating and aphrodisiac qualities, and are the natural way to flavor and enhance any food or drink. You’ll find Ayala’s Herbal Water a delightfully refreshing, mellow yet complex aromatic drink that’s 100% good for you!™. Enjoy our taste of the garden, with fresh spring breezes in every sip.”source

Disclaimer: Alaya’s Herbal Water provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose.  Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.

Care Package Swap

31 Comments

It’s time to do another Care Package swap! Last year around this time I organized a swap and it went over really well.  I am hoping that this year will bring on an even better turn out.  This swap gives participants a chance to connect with other bloggers as well as try a number of new items.  The care package that you create can be filled with homemade or store bought items and can include any items you like such as food, clothes, health living items, ect.

So, if you are a blogger and are interested please comment here and send me a note  to Lindsay (at) cookingforaveganlover dot com with the e-mail address that you would like to be contacted at as well as the following information:

  • Name
  • Location
  • blog URL
  • whether you will ship internationally or not
  • Would you like to receive only vegan, vegetarian or do you have no preference (including non-veg items)

Please do not send me your address. I will match people together, give each other your e-mail addresses and then you can go on to exchange mailing addresses.

Please expect to spend around $25 on  goods, if you would like to spend more than do so, however, do not be disappointed if your partner does not do the same.  Also you do not have to be vegan to participate in this swap however you do need to have a blog and unless paired with another non-vegan you will be expected to only include vegan items in your care package.

Please enter to participate by August 22, 2010. I will match people up and let them know their pairs by August 24, 2010. You will have one month to gather your items and mail them out- so all packages should be mailed by September 24, 2010. Once you receive your package please photograph the contents and make a post to your blog detailing what is in your package, link to your partners blog and a link to this posting.

*Disclaimer: Please remember that this swap is based on trust and only for those who are serious about participating and will follow through.

The Care Package Hubz received - 2009

The Care Package I received 2009


Coffee and Yoga

2 Comments

This morning is all about getting down to business and my agenda is packed with breakfast, coffee, budgeting, yoga and blogging all before I head to work.  This mornings breakfast was a little unconventional.  I wasn’t really feeling the oatmeal, cereal, toast, or grits so I decided to have leftover spaghetti for breakfast (so did the Hubz).  We then sipped some coffee and I did yoga while the Hubz worked on a few things.  Now it’s time to finish the coffee while blogging and budgeting!

I love that the Hubz is a coffee drinker now and that we can make a french press of coffee for the two of us in the mornings and share it while waking up and getting ready for the day.  I however have been trying to be good and cut back on my coffee intake because it isn’t great to have too much of it but I have a cup or 2 a day and tons of water. My favorite Bodum french press (above) is in my OpenSky shop and is such a good deal too.

Oh and here is breakfast:

I finally have got myself back in the yoga groove again and am loving how the balance between my running and hiking and gentle yoga that helps to stretch my tight body.  I have recently received a new yoga mat from Aurorae and I am really starting to like it.  For me and I assume most people it takes a little time to get used to a new yoga mat and work it in but I am really starting to enjoy this one.  I also love that each of the Aurorae mats are a different color which are meant to define your inner self; mine is pink which is Hope.

The qualities that the Hope (pink mat) define are intuitive, faithful, visionary, power of positive thought, energetic & healing.  Additionally I really like that this mat is longer and thicker than some of my other mats which is great when I want a gentle practice or meditation.  Lastly one of the great features of this mat is the focal point icon at the end of the mat to help with concentration.  I find myself drawn to focusing there and it helps me balance and focus. Since I really like this mat I’ve decided to add it to my OpenSky shop hope you check it out!

Lastly don’t forget to let me know if you are interested in participating in the vegan care package swap.  At this point there is no commitment I am just trying to get a feel for how many people are interested.  You do not have to be vegan to participate in this swap however you do need to have a blog and unless paired with another non-vegan you will be expected to only include vegan items in your care package.  These items can be store bought or homemade and can be anything from food to clothes to gadgets or basically anything you like and want to share with someone else. If you are interested please go here and leave a comment letting me know.  Oh and you can be international so long as I have participants who want to ship internationally! In the next day or 2 I will be posting more information about what the swap entails and how to sign up.

Disclaimer: Aurorae provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose.  Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.

Just a Thought

16 Comments

So I was thinking about this over coffee and oats yesterday morning:

French Press of Coffee and Oatmeal with Chia Seeds and PB

And then again over chocolate and wine last night:

I think it may be time to do another Vegan Care Package Swap– so if you would like to learn more about this and are blogger who is interested in participating please let me know.  Over the years more and more people have participated and I think that it is a great way to connect with people as well as try new and fun things. So if you are interested please e-mail me or leave a comment. If I receive enough interest I will make a formal post about the start of the event.

Also just a little update you can now subscribe to my newsletter by clicking SUBSCRIBE TO MY NEWSLETTER! on the right side between recent posts and blog roll.  Those who subscribe to my newsletter will receive updates, recipes, surprises and giveaways available to newsletter subscribers only!