Zucchini Involtini with Blackberry Ginger Sauce

Once you get the hang of using thinly sliced zucchini as a wrapper for any roll, you can fill these with whatever you fancy. The tighter you roll, the easier it will be to slice and cook without falling apart. Use the plastic wrap as a tool to maneuver the roll without having to touch it with your hands.


Carrots, onions, fresh apricots and tvp rolled tigthly in zucchini and quickly seared, served with a slightly sweet and savory blackberry ginger sauce.

Zucchini Involtini
serves 2
5 tbl extra virgin olive oil, divided
4 large zucchini, thinly sliced with a mandolin or vegetable peeler
1 small yellow onion, minced
1 carrot, minced
1 fresh apricot, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup textured vegetable protein (tvp)
1 tbl creole seasoning
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 cup orange juice
3 tbl chopped fresh parsley

Gently cook all of the zucchini slices in 1 tbl of olive oil just to soften so they will be pliable. Drain on a paper towel to remove any excess oil and set aside to cool.
Saute the onion, carrot, apricot and garlic in 2 tbl of olive oil until tender, 10 minutes. Add the TVP and season with creole blend, cumin, salt and pepper. Cook until the tvp browns, 3-4 minutes. Add the orange juice and simmer until evaporated, 3-4 minutes. Taste and season for more salt and pepper and add the parsley. Set mixture aside to cool.
Place a large piece of plastic wrap on the counter. Divide all of the zucchini slices in half. Making one roll at a time, place half of the slices vertically about 8 inches wide, slightly overlapping each piece. Cover with overlapping pieces going horizontally. Place half of the filling in the lower half closest to you and use the plastic wrap to tightly roll up. Chill for at least 30 minutes. Repeat making one more roll.
Slice into 5-6 pieces each roll and brown, seam side down in the remaining olive oil.


Blackberry Ginger Sauce
1 tbl extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup minced sweet onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup blackberries
1/4 cup water
2 tbl balsamic vinegar
2 tsp organic cane sugar
1 tsp minced candied ginger
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 tsp cornstarch

Saute the onion in olive oil over medium heat until soft and caramelized, 10 minutes. Add the garlic, blackberries, water, vinegar, sugar, ginger, salt and pepperand simmer for 15 minutes until the berries break down. Transfer to a blender with the cornstarch and blend until smooth.

Kale Satchels & Cinnamon Grits

Kale, collards or any other large green leaf are great vehicles for filling and wrapping and tastes wonderful over a bed of grits infused with spices. I find the stems in kale to be more tender than collards, so I keep them in the leaf. If using collards, simply cut out the stem in each leaf before wrapping up.

Eggplant, carrots, tvp and seasonings stuffed inside bright green kale leaves quickly seared and served over fragrant and savory cinnamon grits.

Kale Satchels
1 bunch kale, ends trimmed
3 tbl extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 small red onion, small dice
1/2 small eggplant, skin on, fine dice
1 carrot, fine dice
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbl cumin
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups vegetable broth
1 1/2 cups textured vegetable protein
1 tbl vegan worcestershire
2 tbl tamari
2 tbl ketchup
2 tbl fresh chopped mint

Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Add the kale leaves and cook for 3-4 minutes. Drain and shock in cold water to stop the cooking process. Drain, pat dry and reserve.
In a large saute pan, saute the onion, eggplant and carrot in 2 tbl oil for 7 minutes until the carrots start to soften. Season with salt and pepper, cumin and nutmeg. Add the garlic and toast until fragrant and golden brown, 3 minutes. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Add the tvp, stir evenly and turn off the heat. Let sit until all of the broth has been absorbed then turn the heat back on. Add the worcestershire, tamari and ketchup. Saute the mixture until the tvp has browned, 6 minutes. Add the mint and taste to season if necessary.
Lay the kale leaves flat and scoop a spoonful of filling in the center. Roll up like a burrito.
Heat 1 tbl of oil in the pan and place seam side down to sear lightly for 3-4 minutes.

Cinnamon Grits
4 cups water
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt1 cup grits (not instant)
3 tbl earth balance vegan butter

Bring water, cinnamon and 1 tsp of salt to a boil. Whisk the grits into the water while slowly pouring in. Cook over medium-low heat, whisking occasionally to prevent scorching. Cook for 30 minutes then add the butter. Taste and season.

Apricot Sriracha Patties and Grilled Snow Pea Salad

When hydrated in flavorful broth and tossed with flour, tvp forms chewy, meatly like patties perfect to take on any flavor you desire.

Textured vegetable protein soaked in a rich broth of ginger, garlic, sweet apricot and soy then coated in crunchy panko breadcrumbs and sauteed until golden brown. Serve with my grilled snow pea salad with water chestnuts, carrots and caramelized shallots.

Apricot Sriracha Patties with tvp
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1 vegan non-chicken vegetable bouillon cubes
2 tbl apricot (or orange) preserves
2 tbl soy sauce
1 tsp sriracha, or more to taste
1/2 tsp grated ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup textured vegetable protein
1/2 tsp salt
pinch black pepper
1/2 cup ap flour
1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/4 cup peanut oil for frying

Combine the vegetable broth, bouillon cubes, apricot preserves, soy sauce, sriracha, ginger and garlic in a small pot and bring to a boil. Whisk to combine until the bouillon has dissolved completely. Boil for 2 minutes then remove from the heat. Add the tvp, salt and pepper and let sit for 10 minutes until the liquid has been absorbed.
Add in the flour and form into 5-6 patties. Coat both sides in panko and pan fry until golden brown on both sides.
Drain on a paper towel and sprinkle with salt while still hot.

Grilled Snow Pea Salad
6oz snow peas
3 tbl extra virgin olive oil, divided
salt and pepper
1 shallot, halved
4oz water chestnuts, drained and rinsed
1/2 carrot, spiraled or cut into thin matchsticks
1 red chile, thinly sliced
1/4 cup cilantro, leaves and stems
6 mint leaves, chiffonade
juice of 1 lime
1 tsp org light brown sugar

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the snow peas for 3 minutes. Drain from the hot water and shock in ice water to stop the cooking. Drain and pat dry.
Preheat a grill to medium-high. Toss the snow peas and shallots with 1 tbl of oil and salt and pepper to taste. Grill the shallots for 10 minutes until soft and caramelized. Grill the snow peas for 2-3 minutes just to achieve grill marks. Thinly slice the shallots and snow peas and transfer to a bowl with the water chestnuts, carrot, chile and cilantro.
In a small bowl, combine the mint, lime juice, brown sugar and 2 tbl oil. Season to taste with salt and dress the salad.

Hoisin Lettuce Wraps

Today at work, a co-worker was nice enough to bring me a big bag of different lettuces picked right from her garden. The biggest leaves were so soft and tender that I wanted to enjoy them in their raw state, wrapped around fresh vegetables.

Crunchy red bell peppers, carrots, morels, yellow onions and tvp (textured vegetable protein) with sweet hoisin sauce and salty peanuts wrapped in big leaves of lettuce.

Hoisin Lettuce Wraps
1 cup minus 1 tbl vegetable broth
1 tbl soy sauce
1 cup textured vegetable protein (tvp)
1 tbl peanut oil
1/2 white onion, small dice
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 cup sliced morel mushrooms (or cremini, shiitake etc.)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
1 tbl rice wine vinegar
1 carrot, grated
3 scallions, minced, green parts only
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, divided
1/4 cup roasted, salted peanuts, divided
lettuce leaves (romaine, bibb etc)

Bring vegetable broth and soy sauce to a boil. Remove from the heat and add the tvp. Let sit for 10 minutes.
In a large saute pan, heat the oil and add the onions, red bell peppers and morels. Saute over medium-high heat for 7 minutes until the onions start to soften. Add the garlic and grated ginger and cook 3 minutes more until the garlic is fragrant. Add the tvp to the pan, along with the hoisin and vinegar and stir. Saute for 7 minutes until the tvp has slightly crisp edges.
Remove from the heat and add the raw carrots and scallions. Add half of the cilantro and half of the peanuts.
Serve with large lettuce leaves and garnish with the remaining cilantro and peanuts.