Just a simple salad dressing or sauce for cooked vegetables.  You probably always have the ingredients in the house, so you can whisk it together at will.

From Cooking the Whole Foods Way by Christina Pirello.  Bless its little heart -- this was the first cookbook to really make me think about the concept of whole foods.

Prep Time:  5 Minutes
Cooking Time:  5 Minutes
Yield:  About 1 Cup
Ingredients:
¼ Cup Good Olive Oil
Dash of Tamari
2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
Juice of 1 Lemon
1 Tbsp Agave Nectar or Honey
2 Tbsp Prepared Mustard
1-2 Cloves Garlic, minced

Directions:
In a small saucepan, warm the oil and tamari over low heat for about 3 minutes.  Whisk remaining ingredients into the oil mixture until emulsified.  Use warm or at room temperature.

Despite an appearance of being stridently against ready-to-eat canned-things (see this week's recipe for Spaghetti-O's), I would be a liar if I didn't begin this entry by speaking the truth:  I have a history of ALWAYS choosing canned cranberry sauce over fresh.  I grew up with a professional chef for a mother, so we would have to assume that her fresh cranberry sauce was pretty decent--- but that was irrelevant.

Seriously, all of us would sit around and rave about how fabulous it was that you could still see the ridges from the can in every slice.  And I know we're not the only family who did this, so whatever.  

I guess it's because I'm "older" and have more "sophisticated taste" that I've opened my mind to the home-made version.  Or maybe its that I "read ingredients on the back of cans" and sometimes "choose not to eat them".  Anyway, the shocker turns out to be that... (...suspense...drumroll...)

FRESH TASTES BETTER.    

This version, with the addition of spice, was inspired by a spicy cranberry quinoa recipe I made once-- which was delicious.  I'm sure you would also agree that it just makes sense to combine sweet, spicy, and sour whenever possible.

Prep Time:  5 Minutes
Cooking Time:  10 Minutes
Yield: A Few Cups 
Ingredients:
4 Cups Raw, Fresh or Frozen Cranberries
3/4 Cup Maple Syrup
½ C   up Water
1 Tsp Grated Orange Zest
Juice of the Orange
½ Tsp Sea Salt
¼ Tsp Cayenne Pepper
1/8 Tsp Allspice
½ Cup Chopped Walnuts

Directions:
Combine all ingredients except walnuts in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring to mix completely.  Simmer for about ten minutes, stirring often, or until all of the cranberries have popped.  Remove from heat, transfer to a bowl, stir in walnuts, and let cool to room temperature.  Refrigerate to fully cool.  Serve.

Did you know that Spaghettios with Meatballs contain NO meat?  The only thing that would stop a vegetarian from eating those things (besides chemicals, if you’re not into those), would be the ‘beef flavoring’.  I used to love me a can of Spaghettios with Meatballs but, y’know—ew.  I feel betrayed.

This recipe was inspired by the original ingredient list, taken word for word, minus the scary bits, then translated into healthier versions.  I was going for that sauce that tastes nothing like the usual spaghetti with tomato sauce, but instead sweeter, smoother, and more like the 1980’s.  There are no "meatballs" in here, for simplicity’s sake, but I will suggest that, if you own a copy, the meatball recipe from the Veganomicon would be perfect.  Just make them small. 

Nutritional yeast, if you choose to use it, can be found in your local health food store.  It is B-12-filled alternative to cheese.  Also try it with fresh lemon juice and sea salt on your steamed broccoli. 

Note:  The pasta type is left up to you, but none of this works without an appropriately spagettio-esque shape.  For this reason, I had to use refined flour pasta (something called Ditalini that is vaguely ‘O’-shaped)…and will continue to do so until the world evolves to the point where whole grain pastas dominate the market-place and come in every imaginable style and shape. 

Prep Time:  5 Minutes
Cooking Time:  15 Minutes
Yield:  About 4 Servings
Ingredients:
½ Lb. Small Pasta (see note)
6 oz. Tomato Paste
1 Cup Vegetable Stock
1 Tsp Onion Powder
1 Tsp Garlic Powder
2-1/2 Tbsp Agave Nectar or Honey
¼ Cup Nutritional Yeast (optional)

Directions:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Drop in pasta and cook until soft, then drain and set aside.  In a saucepan, combine tomato paste, vegetable stock, onion powder, garlic powder, and sweetener.  Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat and, stirring occasionally, cook for about 5 minutes or until heated through and well-combined.  Stir in nutritional yeast, if desired, then combine with cooked pasta in a large bowl.  Stir well to combine.  Serve.

Are they dessert?  Are they an appetizer?  A snappy side-dish for Thanksgiving?  I don’t know.  But they’re yummy.

Prep Time:  20 Minutes
Cooking Time:  15 Minutes
Yield:  About 30
Ingredients:
3 Cups Cooked, Mashed Sweet Potatoes or Yams (Boil in water until soft, drain, then mash.)
1 Cup Rolled Oats
1/3 Cup Real Maple Syrup
¼ Cup Chopped Walnuts
1 Tbsp Butter or Soy Butter (organic, if possible)
2 Tsp Vanilla Extract
2 Tbsp Whole Wheat Flour
¼ Tsp Cinnamon
1/2 Cup Silken Tofu
Coating:
2 ¼ Cups Finely Chopped Pecans and/or Walnuts
1/3 Cup Real Maple Syrup
¼ Cup Rolled Oats
½ Tsp Sea Salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place sweet potato in a large bowl and stir in oats, sweetener, nuts, butter, vanilla, flour, and cinnamon.  Beat in tofu.  In a small bowl, stir together chopped pecans, the other 1/3 cup sweetener, rolled oats and sea salt.   Gently form potato mixture into bite-size balls and roll in nut mixture.  Don't worry if it doesn't coat perfectly or if you've got a few bald spots.  Place on a lightly greased baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes.   Serve warm or at room temperature. 

Thai soups are the business, with their unapologetic combinations of spicy, sweet and sour.  And that other flavor with an exotic name.  This recipe, based on a meaty version found in Splendid Soups by James Peterson, is easy to the point of silliness, yet deliciously complicated-tasting. 

The only challenge, I would say, is to locate the tamarind paste, which is so much better than using lime juice.  I found mine in my trusty Shoprite, so don’t think you have to travel to a large city or fly to Southeast Asia.  If your local grocery store doesn’t have it, check health food stores with good Asian sections or consider ordering a jar on-line.  It will last you forever and provide a tang not found elsewhere in nature.  

And do I even need to say how healthy this is?  Serve it with brown rice.

Prep Time:  5 Minutes
Cooking Time:  30 Minutes
Yield:  4-5 Servings
Ingredients:
1 Block Firm or Extra Firm Tofu
6 Tbsp Tamarind Paste OR Juice of 3 Fresh Limes
2 Shallots, chopped
3 Garlic Cloves, minced
¼ Cup Fresh Cilantro, chopped
½ Tsp Lemon Zest
2-inch Length of Lemongrass, finely chopped OR 3 Scallions, white and green parts, sliced
4 Jalapeno Chilies, seeds removed, finely chopped
1 Tsp Finely Chopped Ginger
2 Tbsp Canola Oil
1 Quart Vegetable Broth

Directions:
Drain tofu and press between two clean kitchen towels to remove excess water.  Cut into bite-size slices and set aside.  Combine tamarind paste (if using) with 1 cup boiling water, stirring until dissolved OR squeeze the juice from all three limes.  Drop tofu pieces into tamarind/water mixture or lime juice, toss to coat and set aside.  In a food processor or with a mortar and pestle, combine shallots, garlic, cilantro, lemon zest, lemongrass or scallions, chilies and ginger.  Add a little broth if using a food processor, to get it to move around and mix together.  In a large pot, heat canola oil over medium-low heat and add the paste.  Cook for about ten minutes, stirring often, then add vegetable broth.  Stir in tamarind or lime juice and tofu pieces.  Raise heat to bring to a simmer and cook for about more ten minutes, uncovered, or until well heated through.  Serve sprinkled with fresh cilantro.     

No, this isn’t a health food, but it beats the hell out of your standard caramel sauce recipe.  So enjoy.

Prep Time:  5 Minutes
Cooking Time:  15 Minutes
Yield:  About 2 Cups
Ingredients:
½ Cup Pecans or Walnuts
1 Cup Agave Nectar
½ Cup  Molasses
1 Cup Soy Milk
Pinch Sea Salt
½ Tsp Vanilla

Directions:
Coarsely chop nuts.  Combine agave nectar, molasses, and soy milk in a saucepan and simmer over medium heat, stirring often, until smooth and creamy.  Stir in sea salt and vanilla.  Continue to simmer, stirring often, for 7-8 minutes or until slightly thickened.  Stir in nuts and serve.   Or let it cool in the fridge and then heat before serving. 

This is my attempt to duplicate the beloved barbeque sauce from Veggie Heaven, a  local Asian vegetarian restaurant.  And yep, I think it tastes quite a bit like it.  (Not perfect, but those bastards won't tell me what's in their sauce, so we may seriously never know.)  What makes this take on it unique is the use of tahini to add creaminess-- and also make people say, "What IS that?"   The standard barbeque sauce flavors of sweet and tomato become decidedly Asian-ish with the addition of ginger and tamari.

Do what you will with this stuff, which could include anything that one would normally do with barbeque sauce.  Smear it on your tofu or meat, then sear over high heat to crisp up the outside.  Or dip your oven fries into it.  You can also freeze it in ice-cube-sized blocks for emergency use. 

Prep Time:  5 Minutes
Cooking Time:  None
Yield:  About 1 ½ Cups
Ingredients:
3 Tbsp Honey or Agave Nectar
2 Tbsp Tomato Paste
2 Tbsp Tamari
2 Tbsp Tahini
1 Tbsp Sherry or Sake
1 Clove Garlic, minced
1 Tsp Finely Chopped Fresh Ginger

Directions:
Whisk together all ingredients until creamy.  

Ok.  So this is a recipe with the word "simple" in it that takes 3 1/2 hours to make.  But the ingredients are few, there are no real skills involved -- and taste like this doesn’t happen in fifteen minutes, people.   A few onions cooked for three hours, with only the smallest flick of other complimentary flavors, become way more than the sum of their parts. 

Make your onion sauce on a Sunday afternoon and use it all week long on sandwiches, over breaded tofu, on crackers, as an accessory for fish or meat, or as a base for a vegetarian French onion soup (or any soup, really).   Great hot or cold, but even better the second day than the first.  Adapted from The Book of Tofu by William Shurtleff and Akiko Aoyagi. 

Prep Time:  10 Minutes
Cooking Time:  3 ½ Hours 
Yield:  About 3 Cups
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
6 Onions, thinly sliced
1 Tsp Tamari
1 Tbsp Butter
 
Directions:
Heat a large, heavy pot over low heat and add the olive oil.   Add onions, cover, and simmer for about 3 hours, stirring every 30 minutes or so.  Once onions have reached a deep brown color and become very soft, stir in butter and tamari.  Simmer for an additional 15 minutes.  Keeps for one week, refrigerated.  Serve hot or cold.