Stored in the fridge in an sealed container, with a piece of plastic wrap placed right on the surface of the tofu sauce, it will keep for up to 2 days.

Ingredients

· ¾ cup walnuts
· 3 cups coarsely chopped fresh basil leaves
· 9 garlic cloves
· 12 ounces firm tofu, crumbled
· ? cup extra-virgin olive oil
· 1½ tsp kosher salt
· 2 batches pizza dough (recipe below)
· 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
· 1 cup Roasted Tomato Sauce (recipe below)

1. Place walnuts, basil and garlic in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Transfer into a small bowl along with tofu, olive oil and salt. Mix well.
2. Preheat oven to 500°F. Working with one pizza batch at a time, cover other batch with plastic wrap. Divide dough into three even balls. Flour a flat surface and using fingers, flatten and stretch the dough onto a three separate 8-inch circles.
3. Flour a 10-inch pizza pan and transfer 8-inch dough circles onto them. Press dough out on the pan until it just fits inside the rim of the pan, the dough should be less than ¼ inch thick. Drizzle olive oil over dough and repeat with remaining dough. Place pizza dough in oven and bake until dough sets, 10 to 12 minutes.
4. While pizza dough is baking, make Roasted Tomato Sauce. Once dough has set, remove pizza pans from oven and spread Roasted Tomato Sauce over dough, leaving room for a border/crust. Place pizzas back into the oven and bake until dough is golden crispy. Cut pizza into slices and serve.

Makes six 8-inch pizzas

Stored in the fridge in an airtight container it will keep for 2-3 days.
 
Ingredients
 
·        ½ cup small pasta shells
·        ½ tbsp light olive oil
·        ½ small onion, minced
·        1 medium carrots, peeled and finely diced
·        1 medium celery stalk, diced
·        3 cups prepared vegetable broth
·        ½ small zucchini, finely diced
·        1 plum tomato, finely diced
·        ½ cup frozen peas, thawed
·        1 really good handful of spinach leaves,
     stemmed and shredded      
·        ½ tbsp minced fresh dill or ½ tsp dried
·        Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
 
1.     Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package. Cook until soft then drain them.
2.     While the pasta is cooking, heat the oil over medium heat in a soup pot. Add the onion, carrots and celery and sauté until the turn a golden colour.
3.     Add the vegetable broth and bring to a simmer. Add the zucchini, tomatoes, and peas; cover pot. Allow soup to gently simmer until the vegetables are just done which should take about 10 minutes.
4.     Add the spinach and fresh or dry dill and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat when the greens have started to wilt. Add the pasta shells and add salt and pepper to taste.
5.     Remove the lid to the pot and allow the soup to stand for 30 minutes or so, off of the heat. Serve warm.
 
This Recipe Serves 2-4

Stored in an airtight container in the fridge, this salad will keep for up to 2 days. You can place it in the fridge with the dressing on, because the leaves are sturdy they won’t get soggy and the apple won’t discolour, as the vinegar in the dressing will keep it white.
 
Ingredients
 
·        1 bunch watercress
·        ¼ cup coarsely lemon balm leaves, chopped
·        1½ Belgian Endive, thinly sliced
·        1 Royal gala or any other eating apple, peeled, cored and sliced   
     thinly.
·        ½ cup Watercress and Apple Salad Vinaigrette
 
1.     In a medium sized bowl, place leaves from watercress, chopped lemon balm or mint, if using, Belgian endive and apple slices. Toss together.
2.     Drizzle on vinaigrette and toss again. Divide salad onto individual salad bowls and serve.
 
This Recipe Serves 4

Many nonvegetarians and some vegetarians alike question whether being a vegetarian really makes any difference at all. Some bring up blurry ethical situations to make it impossible to see a vegetarian lifestyle as ethical.

If you are a prospective vegetarian for ethical reasons, but aren’t sure whether or not a vegetarian lifestyle is truly a more ethical choice, here are some statistics from EarthSave to help you make your choice (for or against):

1. Over 1.3 billion human beings could be fed each year from the grain and soybeans that go to livestock in the United States.

This means that the entire population of the United States could be fed (without losing any nutritional value) and there would still be enough food left over to feed one billion people.

In a world where millions of people die each year of starvation, that type of food excess and inefficiency could be considered unethical.

2. Livestock in the US produces roughly 30 times more excrement than human beings. While humans in the US have complex sewage systems to collect and treat human waste,there are no such systems on feedlots. As a result, most of this waste leeches into water.

This means that large-scale, massive production and slaughter of animals is not only unethical, but it also causes serious environmental degradation.

3. It takes 7.5 pounds of protein feed to create 1 pound of consumable hog protein; and it takes 5 pounds of protein feed to create 1 pound of consumable chicken protein. Close to 90% of protein from wheat and beans is lost to feed cycling.

This means that an enormous amount of resources are dedicated to producing wheat and soy just for the purpose of feeding it to animals, which will be slaughtered as “a source of protein”–even though they only provide about 1/5 of the amount they consume.

Not only can the production of meat be considered an injustice against animals, but it can also be considered an injustice against human beings, as well as the environment in general.

A tip for roasting the pecans is baking the nuts at 350°F in the oven, on a tray with a baking sheet, for 5-8 minutes.

Stored in the fridge in an airtight container it will keep for 2 days.

Ingredients

· ¼ cup olive oil
· 1 tbsp chopped garlic
· 1 cup finely chopped red onion
· One 19 oz can of chickpeas or red kidney beans,
     drained and rinsed
· ½ cup toasted pecans
· 1 egg
· ¼ cup Japanese panko bread crumbs
· ½ cup finely chopped fresh parsley
· 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary, or 1 tsp dried
· 1 tbsp grated lemon rind
· 1 tsp Asian chili sauce
· Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
· Olive oil for brushing burger
· 4 oz old cheddar, sliced
· 4 whole wheat or sourdough buns
· 1 cup Red Pepper Rouille (recipe follows)

1. Place a skillet on the stove over medium heat. Add 1 tbsp oil and sauté garlic and onions until softened.
2. Purée chickpeas, pecans, remaining olive oil and egg in food processor until almost smooth. Transfer to a large bowl and stir in panko.
3. Stir sautéed onions and garlic into panko mixture along with parsley, rosemary, lemon rind and chilli sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Form into 4 patties about 1 inch (2.5-cm) thick.
5. Preheat grill pan or grill to medium high heat. Brush patties with oil and grill 3 to 4 minutes per side. Place on buns and top each burger with cheese and Red Pepper Rouille. Serve.

Serves 4

Many nonvegetarians wonder what drives vegetarians to give up meat and adopt an entirely different lifestyle. There is no single answer to this question. Nonvegetarians become vegetarians for a number of different reasons - some even for multiple reasons.

Most vegetarians claim that they became a vegetarian for one of three reasons.

The first reason, which most vegetarians claim, is that they have ethical problems with eating meat. Most disagree with how chickens are debeaked, forced to live in small cages, and are then slaughtered when they do not produce eggs fast enough.

Most vegetarians also disagree with the crowded and stressful environments animals are forced into; and the hormone-laden feed used to make them grow faster and produce more.

People who become vegetarians for this purpose often draw ethical boundaries in different spots, depending on their personal beliefs. For instance, some staunch vegans wont consume yeast, wear wool, or even eat certain vegetables, such as carrots, that require killing theplant to harvest.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, some vegetarians–sometimes referred to as pseudo-vegetarians–will actuallyeat fish and chicken on a regular basis.

The second biggest reason vegetarians claim for not eatingmeat is that it conflicts with their dietary preferences.
Some of these vegetarians simply do not like the texture and taste of meat; others do not eat it because it is high in cholesterol and often contains high concentrations of hormones and preservatives.

The third and smallest group of vegetarians cite environmental reasons for not consuming meat. They complain that consumption of meat causes farmers to continually deforest land to create grazing land for cattle.

In addition to these three major groups, there are a number of other smaller groups of vegetarians who stopped eating meat for entirely different reasons.

To get that authentic Mediterranean flavour, use balsamic vinegar instead of lemon juice. And remember to use the freshest, ripest tomatoes you can find!
 
Ingredients
 
·        4 muffins
·        4 garlic cloves, crushed
·        2 tbsp butter
·        1 tbsp chopped basil
·        4 large tomatoes
·        1 tbsp tomato paste
·        8 black olives, pitted and halved
·        1¾ ounce mozzarella cheese, sliced
·        Salt and pepper, to taste
·        1 tbsp olive oil
·        2 tsp lemon juice
·        1 tsp clear honey
·        Basil leaves, to garnish
 
1.     Place muffins onto a cutting board and using a sharp knife, slice each muffin in half. Transfer muffin halves into a toaster or oven and toast until they turn crisp and golden.
2.     Preheat oven to 300°F. Place butter, garlic and chopped basil into a small mixing bowl and using a small spoon, stir until well combined. Once all muffins are toasted, spoon garlic mixture of each muffin half.
3.     Pour boiling water into a large bowl. Using a sharp knife, slice a small cross shape at the bottom of each tomato and then place into the bowl of boiling water. After the tomatoes begin to soften, which shouldn’t take longer than a couple minutes, remove tomatoes, one at a time from the boiling water using a fork. Using your fingers, peel away the flesh from the tomatoes.
4.     Once all flesh is removed, chop tomatoes into small dice. Pour diced tomatoes, tomato paste and sliced olives into a mixing bowl and blend together. Spoon onto the muffins. 
5.     In a separate small bowl, mix together olive oil, lemon juice and honey.  Using a spoon, drizzle mixture over tomato covered muffins and lightly place mozzarella slices on top. Sprinkle on salt and pepper.
6.     Place muffins onto 1 large or 2 medium sized baking sheets and place into the preheated oven. Bake until cheese melts, about 1½ to 2 minutes.
7.     Transfer ready muffins onto a platter or tray and garnish with fresh basil leaves. Serve immediately. 
 
This Recipe Serves 4

Grilled Mushroom Burger

If you are using mushrooms that are small, just double the amount to fit on the burger bun.

Ingredients
 
·        4 large oyster mushrooms, cleaned and stems removed

·        4 large shiitake mushrooms, cleaned and stems removed

·        2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

·        2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

·        1 small clove garlic, minced

·        1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped

·        ¼ tsp salt

·        ¼ tsp freshly ground pepper

·        Butter for greasing skillet

·        4 hamburger buns, split in half

·        ¼ cup Red Pepper Rouille

·        4 small lettuce leaves

·        ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

1.     Take cleaned and de-stemmed oyster and shiitake mushrooms and place into a large bowl. In a small bowl, pour oil, vinegar, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper; whisk together until well mixed. Drizzle over mushrooms and using a large spoon, gently toss mixture until mushrooms are well coated with sauce.

2.     Melt butter in a skillet (or grill pan) over medium-high heat. Transfer mushrooms into the skillet and sauté for about 7 minutes or until they turn a golden-brown colour.

3.     While mushrooms are sautéing, toast buns and place two halves (I whole bun) on each plate. Spread buns with Red Pepper Rouille and top with lettuce. Divide mushrooms on top of ready buns and sprinkle on Parmesan cheese.  Serve immediately.

Serves 4