Sprouts & Chocolate » mothers day http://www.sproutsandchocolate.com Livin' the veg life, one meal at a time Fri, 16 Oct 2015 13:13:22 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=4.3.1 Mother’s Day Special: Roasted Tomato & Herb Quiche http://www.sproutsandchocolate.com/mothers-day-special-roasted-tomato-herb-quiche/ http://www.sproutsandchocolate.com/mothers-day-special-roasted-tomato-herb-quiche/#comments Wed, 06 May 2015 12:00:40 +0000 http://www.sproutsandchocolate.com/?p=1875 This is for my mother, who taught me to love who I am and what I do, Reading is my favourite thing to do beyond cooking, writing or photographing since books have been a wondrous habit of mine since I was young. My mom, a real champ about my book addiction, would stop at garage...

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The post Mother’s Day Special: Roasted Tomato & Herb Quiche appeared first on Sprouts & Chocolate.

]]> Sprouts & Chocolate: Roasted Tomato and Herb Quiche. #vegan #glutenfree

Sprouts & Chocolate: Roasted Tomato and Herb Quiche. #vegan #glutenfree

Sprouts & Chocolate: Roasted Tomato and Herb Quiche. #vegan #glutenfree

This is for my mother, who taught me to love who I am and what I do,

Reading is my favourite thing to do beyond cooking, writing or photographing since books have been a wondrous habit of mine since I was young. My mom, a real champ about my book addiction, would stop at garage sales to look for new books for me, would fill out my order card for the book fair at school every year with at least three new books and we were frequent card users at our local library. She was a single parent for the majority of my life, worked two jobs to feed and clothe my sister and I but she never complained or questioned my need for books. Whenever we were at a family gathering and my social anxiety was at an all time high, she never pushed me to “go play with the other kids” since she knew I was most comfortable under a tree in the backyard reading a book. I had a bad habit of hiding in odd places to avoid my younger sister or cousins so I could read in peace. One of my favourite places to do this was the linen closet in the hallway. I would climb up the shelves, tuck myself in between the sheets or towels, turn on a battery-operated push light that my mom taped to the wall and read my book in a little space all to myself. It really freaked my mom out to see a small child’s head amongst the linen whenever she opened the closet. Her reactions were always very funny to me.

When I was eleven, I started reading the Harry Potter series and absolutely fell in love with the magical world, as I am sure all of us who read it did. Money was very tight during this time of my life but my mom, bless her heart, still bought me the newest Harry Potter books when they came out. She told me that there were worse things to spend money on than her daughter’s books and kept encouraging me to read. She hugged me when I sobbed over a character’s death and never once suggested that, “it wasn’t real,” even though I was sixteen when the seventh book came out. She knew that I was emotionally invested in the story and my feelings about it were very real to me. I will always appreciate her compassion. The Harry Potter series is still on my bookshelf, 17 years later, and I have refused to lend them out since they are my most special collection, thanks to my mom.

My sister and I played dress up quite often since we grew up with tinfoil covered rabbit-ear antennas and a VHS player that occasionally ate our beloved Disney tapes, we were left to entertain ourselves for the most part. For Halloween one year, I was Belle from Beauty and the Beast and I loved that bright golden dress with the matching gloves. I definitely pretended I was Belle and would hang out in the yard wearing that dress and reading a book. My mom never said anything about me wearing a Halloween costume in July but simply reminded me to bring out a blanket so I wouldn’t mess up my dress. 

My mother has helped me become a life-long reader and introduced me to my ultimate passion in life. She encouraged me to be myself, that odd book-reading kid who hides in the linen closest to catch up on her R.L. Stine and stood up for me whenever a family member questioned my desire of isolation. Sure, I was a weird kid that got really excited when I saw my mother carrying old dusty books in a grocery bag but she was more than happy to feed my addiction.

A special thanks to my mom for encouraging me to do the things that make me the happiest and allowing me to be myself, despite what others might think. Happy Mother’s Day to you.

Love, Jessica

This recipe is adapted from At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen: Celebrating the Art of Eating Well

*This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a *teeny* commission if you make a purchase using this link.

Sprouts & Chocolate: Roasted Tomato and Herb Quiche. #vegan #glutenfree

 
Roasted Tomato & Herb Quiche
Serves 8
This recipe is a little more hands on but moms are totally worth it. This recipe is vegan and gluten free. Feel free to substitute roasted sunflower seeds instead of the pine nuts for a nut-free option (though I have not tested this version out). Adapted from Amy Chaplin's amazing book, "At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen: Celebrating the Art of Eating Well." Eat well, we shall. The total time does not include the cooling time before serving.
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Cook Time
40 min
Total Time
1 hr 20 min
Cook Time
40 min
Total Time
1 hr 20 min
For the Roasted tomatoes
  1. 2 pounds hothouse or plum or on-the-vine tomatoes
  2. 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  3. ½ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
  4. Pinch of coriander (optional)
For the Crust
  1. 1 tablespoon ground flax seed + 3 tablespoons warm water
  2. 1½ cups rolled oats
  3. ½ cup pine nuts or walnuts (Walnuts are significantly less expensive but just as good)
  4. 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  5. ½ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
For the filling
  1. 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  2. 1 leek
  3. 5 garlic cloves, minced
  4. 15 ounce package extra firm tofu
  5. 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
  6. 2 tablespoons nutrition yeast
  7. ½ cup chopped fresh chives
  8. ½ cup chopped fresh basil
  9. ¾ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
  10. Cracked black pepper, to taste (I added about 3 turns of the peppermill)
For the Roasted tomatoes
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. Rinse the tomatoes and with a pairing knife, cut the stem out. Slice the tomatoes about ¾ of a centimeter thick. Toss the tomatoes with the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl to coat.
  3. Line the tomatoes in a single layer on the prepared baking sheets and roast for 20 minutes until wrinkly. Remove from the oven and turn the heat down to 350 degrees to cook the crust.
For the Crust
  1. In a small bowl, whisk together flax and water and set aside.
  2. In a bowl of a food processor, ground the oats and nuts until it resembles a course flour. Add in the flax egg, salt and oil. Stir until mostly combined, adding more water if necessary. The dough should stick together when you pinch it.
  3. Transfer the dough evenly over the base of the pie dish. Starting from the centre of the dish, press the mixture evenly into the pan, working your way outward and up the sides of the pan. Poke a few fork holes in the dough with a fork so your pie crust does not explode.
  4. Bake the crust at 350F for 14-16 minutes, or until golden and firm to touch. When the crust is done, turn the heat up to 375 degrees and let the crust cool while you prepare the filling.
For the Filling
  1. Drain the tofu, rinse and cut into half vertically. Wrap the two pieces of tofu in paper towels or a clean dishtowel and add some weight to the top with a heavy book or use a tofu press.
  2. Cut off the dark green stalk of the leek and discard. Cut the leek in half lengthwise but leave the root tip in tact so the leek is still in one piece. Chop into half-moons and transfer to a water filled bowl. Swish the leeks around and drain. Dry with a clean dishtowel and set aside. Peel and mince the garlic.
  3. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. When the skillet is hot, add the leeks and cook for 5 minutes. If the leeks are browning too quickly, turn down the heat. For this recipe, the leeks should be just soft and not brown. Add the garlic and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Take the leek-garlic mixture off the heat and set aside to cool.
  4. Crumble the pressed tofu into a bowl of a clean food processor with the lemon juice and nutritional yeast. Process the tofu until it is completely smooth and creamy. Add a splash of unsweetened almond milk to help the tofu along if it needs it. Wipe out the large bowl used for the tomatoes and add the tofu mixture to it. Add the rest of the filling ingredients to the bowl and mix with a spatula until fully combined.
  5. Spread the tofu mixture evenly into the prepared cooled crust using a spatula. Top with the semi-roasted tomatoes and bake for 35-40 minutes until the crust is golden. Let the quiche rest for 15 minutes before cutting into it. Top with the small basil leaves, cut and serve.
Adapted from Amy Chaplin's Dill Roasted Plum Tomato Tart with Pine Nut Crust
Adapted from Amy Chaplin's Dill Roasted Plum Tomato Tart with Pine Nut Crust
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