Comfort Food Goes Cruelty-Free

Plant-based meals can be especially hearty and comforting. Here are two of my favorite recipes that, when paired together, make for an ideal Fall/Winter meal.

Portobello Mushroom and Bell Pepper Sloppy Joes

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil or water
• 2 cloves garlic , peeled and chopped
• 1 small green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and thinly sliced
• 1 small red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and thinly sliced
• 1 thinly sliced yellow onion
• 1 pound portobello mushrooms, wiped clean, black gills scraped out and discarded, and thinly sliced
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tsp. chopped fresh oregano
• 1/2 tsp. Tabasco sauce
• 4 toasted whole wheat hamburger buns
• 1/2 jalapeno pepper, sliced (optional)

Directions:

Heat 2 tablespoons oil or water in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic, bell peppers, and onion; cook, stirring, until softened, about 10 minutes. Add rest of oil/water and mushrooms; toss well. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are soft and liquid is absorbed, 8 to 10 minutes; season with salt and pepper.

Reduce heat to medium. Add tomato sauce and paste, Worcestershire, oregano, Tabasco, and 3/4 cup water; stir well. Cook, stirring often, to thicken, about 10 minutes; season with salt and pepper.

Spoon mixture inside hamburger buns, and add jalapeño slices on top (if using).

Recipe variations:

Add thinly sliced eggplant to the skillet with the mushrooms.

Omit peppers and increase mushrooms by 6 ounces.

Substitute other varieties of mushrooms for the portobellos.

From Hudson Valley Mediterranean: The Gigi Good Food Cookbook, by Laura Pensiero. Copyright (c) 2009 by Laura Pensiero. Published by William Morrow Cookbooks, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

 

Corn Bread from Alicia Silverstone's book The Kind Diet

Servings: 12

 

Ingredients:

1 cup pure maple syrup 1 1/4 cups soy/rice/almond milk 

1/4 cup safflower oil (or applesauce) 1 1/2 cups cornmeal 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour (or other flour) 1 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp sea salt 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400, lightly grease 12 cup muffin tin, combine syrup, non-dairy milk, oil/applesauce in bowl and mix well.
2. In seperate bowl, mix together all dry ingredients.
3. Add dry to wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
4. Pour batter into a 12-cup muffin tin or pan and cook 25-30 minutes.