It's a Jolly Holi-dog!

My sister found this on youtube and I thought it was so cute!!

Broccoli Cheese! Broccoli Cheese!

Broccoli Cheese was the highlight of my holiday dinners.  The responsibility (and high honor) of making it would alternate between us and the McDevitt cousins.  One year when it was our turn, our beloved dog, Goober, enjoyed the entire casserole to herself while we stopped at McDonald's on the way to the family gathering.  It was an utter tragedy, and so was losing the broccoli cheese.  This tasty concoction consisted of a block of velveeta cheese, a can of cream of mushroom soup, frozen broccoli and spinach and fried onions (the canned kind).  When I became vegan, I mourned one dish only - Broccoli Cheese.  How could I replicate coagulated cream of mushroom soup? And a mysterious block of orange goop with such questionable edibility??  Impossible!  Well not anymore.  We've done it!  With real ingredients that will make your heart skip- not stop.  This year I had the pleasure of having non-vegans over for Thanksgiving.  They were self-proclaimed cheese fanatics who couldn't believe their taste buds.  "This isn't cheese?! Really?!?."  Really.  So now, I have the great honor of presenting one of my most proud moments in vegan cooking history.  I give you...the Broccoli Cheese.  

Rich Man's Toasted Walnut Pesto Pasta

...you'll be rich from all money you didn't spend on the pine nuts and Cuisinart.  Traditionally, a pesto is made in a cuisinart with a lot of olive oil, pine nuts, basil, garlic, and Parmesan cheese.  I wanted to simplify the recipe and see if it tasted just as good without the cuisinart, loads of oil and parm cheese.   It was awesome! I think this will become a staple because of how easy and delicious and healthy it is!  Yay for new staples!

Clean and Green

 I know I'm behind the times a bit on this, but I'm finally putting to rest the harmful chemicals that I've grown so fond of cleaning with.  No more bleach, lysol, scrubbing bubbles, windex, pine sol or....I can't believe I'm about to say this....cleanser.  I have five animals - three cats and two dogs - so I've been reluctant to switch to green cleaning products because I relied on the overwhelming swimming pool scent to cover the unwanted scents - and I thought green products just wouldn't cut it.  This past Wednesday, however, I became a believer.  If Michael hadn't stopped me, I would've wiped down every single wall in my house.  I found joy in the household activity I typically loathe with a passion.  When I bought it, I thought it was a splurge because of how expensive it was.  But it's ultra concentrated and you only use 1⁄4 cup per gallon.  My eyes weren't burning, my hands didn't feel like I had just dipped them in acid, and I didn't bleach my favorite pair of sweatpants.  My house smelled like the crisp clean log cabin in the snowy hills of Vermont I wish I had.  And of all the concoctions I've developed to get rid of animal smell, this worked the best!  I used a 1⁄4 cup of Meyer's clean day, a couple splashes of vinegar (a natural disinfectant) and a 1⁄4 cup of natural pet enzyme cleaner.  Voila!

Lentil Loaf with Truffle Scented Mushroom Gravy

Ok, I'm kinda really proud of this recipe.  I created it without the help of someone else's recipe, and I have to say, it DELISH!  I tested it out on some friends last night and it was a huge success.  I'm going to serve it in honor of the bird that will be happily frolicking in a meadow and not laying on my table :)  It's a lot of ingredients, but it's Thanksgiving!  I'm going to make this a day in advance so I can just pop it in the oven on Thursday.  Sorry, I'm not able to get a picture up til Friday - we ate the whole thing last night!

PUMPKIN BREAD!!!

Of all the recipes I've posted, I'm most excited about this one.  Every year since he was about 7, my wonderful husband has been in charge of making the holiday pumpkin bread.  This year, he as been tirelessly working to create the perfect vegan version of his famous classic.  After about 4 different loaves, he's finally found THE ONE!  It's light, fluffy, moist, sweet, pumpkinny, and the most delicious bread I think I've ever had.  The only other bread that could compete would be my dad's zucchini bread.  I seriously considered not posting this because I've always wanted a stellar secret recipe, but Michael insisted I share it with everyone :)  He's too nice.  Remember that baking is a science, so you want to follow this recipe like the straight A student you always wished you could be ;)

Indian Dahl

Not only will your taste buds be giddy, your heart will thank you too! This delicious recipe is from Caldwell B. Esselstyn's book, Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease.  There's some chopping that has to be done, but you basically throw it all in one pot and let it cook.  It's super easy!

 If served with brown rice, it serves 6.  If not, it probably serves 4

Ingredients
2 1⁄2 cups lentils (any color)
5 cups water
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
1 can of chopped tomatoes with green chilis (OR 1 tomato, chopped, and 1 jalepeno
1 1⁄2 tsp ground turmeric
2 tsp curry powder (optional)
handful of cilantro, chopped
1 carrot, shredded (or about 12 baby carrots, shredded)
1 bell pepper (any color), finely chopped
1 zucchini, finely chopped

Chili

 I love chili on a chili fall day ;) This is a basic recipe that is amazing on it's own but can also be pimped out to your liking.  Michael likes to add celery but I am anti-celery unless it has peanut butter and raisins on it :) You could also add a zucchini, red, yellow, or orange bell pepper, butternut squash, etc... This is also a recipe where you get to call upon your inner chef.  I'm a flavor lover, so I usually go heavy on the spices and add a little more than what's listed here.  But start with these amounts, let your chili simmer for a couple minutes to let the spices incorporate, and then test it and go from there.  I know this recipe looks like it has a lot of ingredients, but besides chopping the onion and whatever veggies you decide on, the rest is just canned goods and spices that get thrown in.  Plus it's a one-pot meal! My FAVORITE!  

If you want to get really creative, sometimes Michael and I turn it into a cornbread-n-chili casserole.  Reduce the simmer time for the chili to 5 minutes, pour into a large casserole dish, top with the your favorite cornbread batter (stay tuned for a cornbread recipe -still trying to perfect it), and bake according to the cornbread's instructions.  Super yummy and fun!

Chef Peter

My amazing "little" brother (10 years younger and 3 inches taller) has recently discovered the joy of cooking.  As a varsity soccer player on one of the best soccer teams in the state, he realized he needed to be filling his body with clean burning fuel that would enhance his performance on the field.  With no prior cooking experience and hardly any help from the 'rents he has mastered several of the recipes on this blog! He's even leading the grocery shopping expeditions to shop for the intriguing ingredients that are new to him.  So if you're timid to delve into cooking delicious and healthy meals, you can look to this amazingly good looking and super cool 16 (I mean 9?) year old guy -who totally takes after his older sister- for inspiration.  His latest endeavor: Peanut Butter Eggs!

 Me and Pete when he won his Eastern PA Challenge Cup championship! 

Cheers, Bill!

Wolf Blitzer interviews President Bill Clinton as he explains his change in diet after his bypass surgery.

Click here to view the video.

Lentil and Brown Rice Goodness

This recipe cooks itself.  It's so easy and so delicious it might just become a staple for you as it has become for us.  If you don't have all of those spices, don't fret, just add a little more of what you do have.  If you want to add some garlic, go for it - it's not a picky casserole.  And if you don't have vegan cheese, it'll still be really good.

This will take 10 minutes (at the most) of prep and then cooks in the oven for an hour and a half (while you take a long and relaxing bubble bath).
Serves 4

Black-Eyed Pea Croquettes with a Dijon Glaze

This recipe is in the Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone (an awesome book/cookbook).  She found it in The Hip Chick's Guide to Macrobiotics by Jessica Porter, and Jessica acquired it from her friend Lisa Silverman.  How's that family tree for ya ;)  When we saw this recipe and how easy it was and how yummy it looked, we thought it was too good to be true.  But alas, it's super easy and super yummy!

Creamy Kabocha Squash Soup

When Kristen had me over for dinner and told me we were having a squash soup that she found in The Kind Diet, my heart sank.  I really hate squash soup.  And when she excitedly told me it was just squash, water, and salt and pepper, I wanted to go home.  But I was a good friend and stayed and I'm so glad I did! Kabocha squash on it's own is so sweet and creamy that you don't need anything else!  We made it a meal by pouring it over broccoli and rice with some bread for dipping.  You could also add some tofu or tempeh!  If you can't find kabocha squash, butternut would work too. 

Serves 4

Ingredients
4 cups kabocha squash
3 1⁄2 cups water
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
1.Cook the Squash:
Place squash in a saucepan with the water and a pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Cover, lower the heat, and simmer for 15 minutes until soft. 

2. Mash the Squash:

Mash with potato masher, mixer, or fork right in the pot.  If you're using a non-stick pot, make sure to use non-stick friendly masher-o-choice.

3. Simmer the Squash:

Add another pinch of salt and some pepper and simmer for another 7-10 minutes or longer

4. Serve

Place rice and a broccoli on the plate and spoon soup over it.  Salt and Pepper to taste.

Gluten Free

Easy Peasy

For the next couple of weeks, I will be posting delicious and healthy recipes with very few ingredients that require no kitchen gadgets.  This was suggested by my friend Kristen who said she gets intimidated by long lists of ingredients - understandably.  I was also inspired by my sister, a college student, who doesn't have funds for lots of kitchen gadgets or access to fancy ingredients.  Hope you enjoy!

Fruits and Veggies and Make-up oh my!

My friend works with a make-up artist who only uses natural and organic cosmetics.  She introduced us to 100% Pure, and we're HOOKED!  The mascara is a must - I have the blueberry and it actually smells like blueberries!  This is taken from the FAQ's on their website:

Why 100% pure?

“As much as 60% of topical skin-care products are absorbed through the skin and into the bloodstream,” Says Dr. Nancy Lonsdrof, M.D. an lowa-based physician, “They should be consumed with the same prudence that we use to choose our breakfast cereal.” – April 2006 issue of Women's Health Magazine. There are many toxic chemicals in cosmetic products that have been clinically proven to cause cancer, tumors, irritation and many different skin disorders. 100% products are truly 100% Pure-no synthetic chemicals, chemical preservatives, artificial fragrances, artificial colors, harsh detergents or any other unhealthy toxins.

More Muffins!

My friends, Chris and Shaunte, tried the pumpkin muffins the other day and made a great suggestion.  Next time they make them, they're gonna use chunky applesauce and a touch of nutmeg - I will definitely be trying that!  Thanks guys! Glad you enjoyed them! This is how theirs turned out (these definitely look more impressive than mine!)  I'm beaming :)

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies!!!

Ta da! A gluten free cookie that looks like a cookie, feels like a cookie, tastes like an amaaaazing cookie, and can be made in your very own kitchen!!!  My gluten-full friends, you may not find anything unbelievably extraordinary about this cookie.  It is, after all, one of the most standard and simple American treats.  My gluten-free friends, however, you might want to get out the box of tissues and have a seat before trying these...it could get a little emotional ;)

Emeril Says...

When you're baking it's about formulas, when you're cookin' it's about feeling.

Burrrrrrrritos!

 I realized I haven't been posting enough lunch or dinner recipes.  So I'm going to make an effort to share more of those!  The only problem is that the camera doesn't take the best pictures at night and we eat pretty late, so I might not be able to post pictures with all of the recipes.  But rest assured, they look beautiful and taste great!  This is a go-to meal we make at least once a week for lunch or dinner - we're always using different veggies depending on what we have in the fridge, so these are never set in stone.  This recipe is courtesy of my wonderful hubster, Michael.  Thanks love!

Pumpkin Spice Waffles

More waffles!!!  I feel most inspired to create or try new recipes at the start of a new season.  Especially fall.  It's just so cozy and comfort food is just so.....comforting :)  This recipe is a collaboration between Vegan with a Vengeance by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and yours truly.

Makes 12 squares

Ingredients:
2 1⁄2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1⁄2 tsp baking powder
1⁄2 tsp baking soda
1⁄2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1⁄2 tsp ground or freshly grated nutmeg
1⁄4 tsp ground cloves
2 cups milk-o-choice (I used almond)
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 (15-oz) can pureed pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 Tbsp apple sauce
3 Tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Preheat waffle iron according to manufacturer's instructions.
2. Combine milk and apple cider vinegar in a measuring cup and set aside to curdle (to create a buttermilk).
3. Sift together (or whisk) flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.
4. In a separate bowl, vigorously whisk together, buttermilk,  pumpkin, oil, apple sauce, brown sugar, and vanilla until well emulsified.
5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix.  Prepare the waffles according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Try these with the Maple Cinnamon Butter at the end of the Blueberry Buttermilk Pancake recipe post.  YUM!

Banaffles

 We had a craving for waffles one evening as we finished dinner and were already scheming a fun Saturday morning breakfast.  And to our surprise and delight, we discovered we had a waffle maker!  It was my old one from high school (probably considered an antique by now) that I begged my parents for one Christmas.  After a solid 20 minutes of cleaning her, she was good as new.  We found this Banana Walnut Waffle recipe in Veganomicon and after a couple not so successful testers, were finally able to make our (well, Veganomicon's) version of this classic favorite!

Makes 14-16 waffle squares

Ingredients:
1 3⁄4 cups almond milk (or milk of choice)
1⁄4 cup water
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 average size bananas
3 Tbsp canola oil
3 Tbsp maple syrup or agave syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1⁄4 cups all-purpose or whole wheat pastry flour (we used whole wheat pastry)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1⁄2 tsp salt
1⁄4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup walnuts, finely chopped
non-stick cooking spray

Directions:
1. Preheat your waffle iron
2. Pour soy milk, water, and vinegar into a measuring cup and set aside to curdle.
3. Mash the bananas very well in a large mixing bowl.  Add the soy milk mixture, oil, syrup, and vanilla, and stir.
4. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg.  Use a fork to combine.  Don't overmix, just mix until there are minimal lumps left.  Fold in chopped walnuts.
5. Spray all cooking surfaces of your waffle iron with nonstick cooking spray and cook the waffles according to the manufacturer's directions. 
6. Serve with desired topping (i.e. bananas, strawberries, powdered sugar, walnuts, maple syrup, etc..)

Enjoy!!!

DIVINE Lettuce Wraps

Michael found this recipe in VegNews.  Now, I'm not the type of person who gravitates toward recipes where lettuce is involved, but he insisted we make this and I'm SOOOOOOO happy we did.  We used a new spice: Chinese five-spice, we used a new veggie: jicama, and we used a new sauce: hoisin!  We love when we incorporate new foods!  This is a really fun meal to share with friends - your all digging into the same bowl, it's a little messy which I think is fun, and competing for best lettuce wrapper never gets old.  Hands down, I think this is the yummiest recipe I have posted on this blog so far.  I mean it's amazing.  A-MA-ZING!!!!!!

Prepare your tofu first, and prepare everything else while the tofu is baking.  It might seem involved, but once you get the ingredients chopped, it basically all just gets thrown in a big pan and you'll be finished with the filling by the time the tofu is done.  The leftovers (pictured above) are just as good, if not better :)

Serves 4

Baked Tofu
Ingredients
1 16-oz block extra firm organic tofu sliced into eight pieces
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. peanut oil
1⁄4 tsp Chinese five-spice powder

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375°.
2. Between two clean dishtowels or paper towels, press tofu to remove excess water
3. In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, peanut oil, and five-spice powder 
4. In a lightly oiled baking dish, place tofu and cover with sauce
5. Bake for 45 minutes until golden and firm.  Flip tofu half way through baking 

Wrap Filling
Ingredients
1 Tbsp peanut or grapeseed oil
1 inch cube of ginger, peeled and minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1⁄2 pound of daikon radish or jicama, finely chopped (daikon radish isn't in season right now so we used jicama and it was perfect)
1 cup frozen, shelled organic edamame
3 scallions, ends trimmed and thinly sliced
the baked tofu, finely chopped or crumbled
2 Tbsp soy sauce (or tamari for gluten free-ers)
1 tsp-ish hot sauce - your choice how hot you want it!
1⁄4 tsp Chinese five-spice powder
2 Tbsp fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1 1⁄2 cups toasted peanuts or walnuts (we used walnuts), coarsely chopped
10-ish sturdy lettuce leaves (we used butter lettuce which was good, but not sturdy.  VegNews recommends Boston, bibb, or red romaine)
hoisin sauce for dipping/dabbing/sprinkling

Directions
1. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, preheat oil, stir in ginger and garlic, and cook for 45 seconds or until fragrant.  Add radish or jicama and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes until softened.  Stir in edamame and cook for another 2 minutes or until tender, then add scallions and tofu.
2. Sprinkle with soy sauce, hot sauce, and five-spice powder and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is hot and completely coated with soy sauce, 3 to 4 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in cilantro and nuts-o-choice.
Serve filling right out of the pan or in a deep dish, stack lettuce leaves on a plate, and pour some hoisin sauce in a small bowl.
3. To serve: take a lettuce leaf, spoon a few tablespoons of filling into the center and dab on hoisin sauce.  Fold the bottom of the leaf toward the filling then overlap the sides (like a little burrito) and eat immediately.  Make sure there are lots of napkins at the table.

*If you use tamari instead of soy sauce (which is what we did) and hold the hoisin sauce, this is Gluten Free!

This recipe is courtesy of Terry Hope Romero via VegNews.  She is the co-author of Veganomicon (one of our favorites), Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar (which I will be buying shortly), and Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World (another amazing one).  Viva Vegan!, her first solo book, was released earlier this year!  If I could only have one vegan cookbook, it would be Veganomicon!  Thanks you for keeping our mouths happy and our bellies full, Terry!!!

The Dirty Dozen

Michael and I recently went to a cooking demonstration with Chef Tanya at Native Foods.  She's an awesome, fun, and well educated woman who has created a STELLAR menu and this AMAZING restaurant in Westwood (also a few other locations).  While she was cooking, she mentioned the "dirty dozen."  Michael and I have switched to organic unless we can't find an organic option, but we had no idea about this dirty dozen, and have definitely bought a few of these when they were on sale. According to CNN, the Environmental Working Group, a non-profit group focused on public health, determined that these fruits and vegetables have between 47 and 67 pesticides per serving! GROSS!!!  It's believed that they are more susceptible to the absorption of  the chemicals due to their soft skin.  So here they are:
Celery
Peaches
Strawberries
Apples
Domestic blueberries
Nectarines
Sweet bell peppers
Spinach, kale and collard greens
Cherries
Potatoes
Imported grapes
Lettuce

On the flip side, organic is more expensive, and if you're on a tight budget, there's the "Clean 15." These fruits and vegetables have a tougher skin and showed little to no pesticides.  So if you can't go completely organic, you can get away with these.  But please, for the love of - don't poison yourself with that dirty dozen.

Clean 15:
Onions
Avocados
Sweet corn
Pineapples
Mango
Sweet peas
Asparagus
Kiwi fruit
Cabbage
Eggplant
Cantaloupe
Watermelon
Grapefruit
Sweet potatoes
Sweet onions


To read the whole article from CNN and to learn more about pesticides click here.

HAPPY 16TH BIRTHDAY PEDOR!!!

Cuteness

Can you stand it?!

Mexican Feast!

I had some friends over last night and we had a big Mexican feast!  It was soooo yummy!  I didn't get a picture of it, but it wouldn't have done it justice anyway.  With some help from Michael, it took us a little over an hour.  Worth the effort though.  Worth. The. Effort. :)
Serves 6-8

The Menu

Seasoned mixed vegetables with pinto beans (recipe below)

Refried black beans

Spring mix greens

Spicy rice (recipe below)

Guacamole  (recipe below)

Citris Sour Cream (recipe below)

Chopped tomatoes

Chopped cilantro

Salsa

Blue Corn hard taco shells

Whole wheat soft taco shells

Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes

I wanted to find a healthier alternative to Bisquick - no offense Bisquick, I enjoyed you throughout my childhood.  This recipe took me quite some time to perfect and comes from combining/veganizing a few different recipes.  It's hearty but fluffy at the same time, and with the maple cinnamon butter Michael made, it's a little bite of heaven in your mouth!

Makes about 15-18 medium pancakes

Ingredients:
2 cups milk of your choice (we use almond)
2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
3 1⁄2 tsp Enger-G egg replacer
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1⁄2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
4 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
about 3/4 cup frozen blueberries, thawed

Directions:
1. Heat a griddle or pan to medium-low
2. Combine apple cider vinegar and milk and set aside to curdle (this is your buttermilk)
4. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, egg replacer, salt and sugar
4.  In a medium bowl, whisk together buttermilk and vanilla
5. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until there are no lumps.  Fold in melted butter.  Do not over-mix as your pancakes won't be as fluffy.
6. Turn up the heat on your pan to medium
7. *Allow batter to sit for 3-4 minutes* This is an important step as I and a lot of other pancake makers believe it makes fluffier pancakes.  Something about the leavening setting in....
8. If using a non-stick griddle, you don't need cooking spray or oil, otherwise, this is the time to spray or oil your pan.
9. TEST EM'! make a small tester pancake.  See if you have enough heat/too much heat/enough oil, too much oil, etc...
10.  Using a 1⁄4 cup measuring cup, pour batter onto griddle.  Spoon the blueberries on each pancake.  It's fine to mix the blueberries into the batter but your batter will be blue and the blueberries might get smushed - I prefer to sprinkle them on when the batter is on the griddle.
11. Allow pancakes to sit about 1 1⁄2 to 2 minutes depending on how hot your pan is.  They are ready to be flipped when the outer ring isn't gooey anymore and there are bubbles forming in the center.  Like this:

12. Flip and cook for another 40 seconds to a minute until cooked all the way through.  I keep cooked pancakes stacked on a plate with a towel draped over them to keep them warm.  The towel allows some steam to escape so they don't get soggy.

Serve these guys right away with maple syrup and maple cinnamon butter.  They're best when they're hot and fluffy!

Maple Cinnamon Butter (this recipe can be played around with to your liking)
4 Tbsp butter, softened
2 tsp maple syrup
1 tsp honey or agave
couple dashes of cinnamon

Tempeh in a Hearty Mushroom Lager Sauce

This recipe is from Vegetarian Time's March 2009 issue.  We made it last week, but it would be a great meal for a cozy winter night as well.  It's soooo yummy!!  I've never cooked with beer or millet before, but I'm an official fan of both.  And grab an extra beer or two to serve with the meal!

Serves 4

Ingredients:
4 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
1 7-oz package of tempeh, cut into bite size cubes
1 Tbsp. low sodium soy sauce or tamari (which is what I used)
2 large portobello mushrooms, sliced and chopped in thirds
6-8 oz. shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
2 Tbsp. flour
1 1⁄2 cup lager (we used Lobotomy Bock and it was awesome)
2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp agave nectar
2 green onions, white and green parts finely sliced

Directions:
 1. Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in a large frying pan or skillet.  Cook tempeh cubes 8-10 minutes or until browned  on all sides, stirring frequently.  Add soy sauce and cook 1 minute or until pan is almost dry.  Transfer tempeh to a paper towel-lined plate.
2. Add remaining 2 Tbsp. of oil and all mushrooms to pan, and sprinkle with some salt.  Sauté mushrooms 10 minutes or until browned and slightly caramelized, stirring occasionally. 
3. Reduce heat to medium-low, and stir in flour.  Cook 1-2 minutes, or until flour begins to brown, stirring constantly.  Increase heat to medium-high, add beer, mustard, and agave and bring mixture to a boil.  *If sauce is too bitter for your taste, add a little more agave.  Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 15 minutes or until sauce is thickened.  Stir in tempeh cubes and simmer 5 minutes more.  Serve sprinkled with green onions.

Enjoy!

Dog Beach

We took the kids to the dog beach in San Diego.  It smelled like pee but Gumba  and Beezy didn't seem to mind...

Berry Easy and Delicious Cobbler

(not the most amazing picture..)

This recipe is a collaboration of a recipe I found online and my mom's apple crisp.  I pretty much ate the entire thing in one night.  This is a great dessert when you need to quickly throw something together and really want to impress your guests, or yourself :)

Cobbler

Ingredients

7 cups frozen berries, thawed and drained (to save time, I put them in a strainer and ran  warm water over them.  It will be around 5-6 cups when thawed.  I used blackberries,  cherries, and blueberries.)

1⁄4 cup flour

1⁄4 sugar

juice of 1⁄2 a lemon

zest of 1 whole lemon

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and spread in a greased pie dish.

Topping

Ingredients

1 1⁄2 cups brown sugar (packed)

1 cup flour

1 cup rolled oats

1 1⁄2 tsp cinnamon

2⁄3 cup butter, softened

Mix all ingredients well in a medium bowl (a pastry cutter works great - or a fork) and spread over berry mixture. 

Bake 25-30 minutes or until berry mixture is bubbling and topping is golden brown.

Enjoy!

My Perfect Smoothie

Finally....the moment my family has been waiting for.  My perfect smoothie.  Michael and I drink these after almost every workout.  A great source of protein, fiber, omega-3, potassium, good fats, complex carbs (those are the healthy ones), antioxidents, and a little special happy powder called Maca, this is a super duper healthy, hearty, creamy and absolutely delicious smoothie.  There are a couple special ingredients like cacao nibs, Maca powder, and hemp protein that are great investments.  They are a little pricey, but a little bit goes a long way and they'll last a very long time - I think we've had our Maca for over 6 months and we're just about half way through it.  Go to my "intriguing ingredients" page for more info on these not-so-common ingredients.


Ingredients:
1 1⁄2 cups milk (we use unsweetened vanilla almond milk)
1 banana
1⁄2 cup almonds
1⁄4 cup walnuts
2 Medjool dates (pronounced me-(like the e in hemp) jool(rhymes with drool...or cool)
2 1⁄2 Cups frozen fruit:
    I used: 1 cup (about 10 whole frozen strawberries), 3⁄4 cup pineapple, 1⁄4 cup
               blueberries, 1⁄2 cup sliced peaches (about 6 slices)
1 tsp. Maca powder
1 Tbsp Hemp protein powder
1 Tbsp ground flax seed
1 Tbsp sweetened or unsweetened cacao nibs
2 tsp. agave or maple syrup

Starting with the milk, blend all ingredients until smooth.  If your blender isn't that powerful, slowly add the ingredients and blend a little at a time.

I know there are lots of ingredients, but I've made this so many times, that it takes me about 7 minutes so cheer up Charlie - you'll get better with practice.  And don't be afraid to play around with different types of fruit or the amount of sweetener.  Michael likes them a little thicker so he adds about 1⁄2 cup more nuts.

Your body thanks you :)

Gluten Free!

French Toast Doughnuts!

My favorite memory of doughnuts has to be when we were "down the shore" (Ocean City, NJ) and my dad would get up early in the morning to get fresh doughnuts and Mallon's sticky buns.  It was blissful waking up on a warm and muggy East coast morning to the sweet smell of pastry heaven.  This recipe is courtesy of Vegetarian Times September 2009 issue.  These are not the type of dougnuts you'll find at a pastry shop like the jelly doughnuts I made in November.  They're heartier like the boxed ones you find at the grocery store.  But better.  Much much better. Not to mention they're so easy!


Doughnuts:
1 1⁄2 cup all-purpose flour
1⁄2 cup sugar
1 1⁄2 tsp. baking powder
1 1⁄2 tsp. egg replacer (Ener-G brand)
1⁄2 tsp salt
1⁄2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1⁄4 tsp. ground nutmeg
2⁄3 cup plain soymilk
4 Tbs. nonhydrogenated vegan margarine
1⁄2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp. vanilla extract


Maple Glaze:
2 Tbsp. soymilk
2 Tbsp. maple syrup
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1⁄8 tsp. salt
1⁄2 tsp. vanilla extract


Cinnamon Sugar:
2 Tbsp. sugar
1⁄2 tsp. ground cinnamon


Directions:
1. To make doughnuts: Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat doughnut pan (see below) with cooking spray or vegetable oil.
2. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, egg replacer, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl.
3. Combine soymilk, margarine, and vinegar in saucepan, and heat over low heat until margarine is melted.  Cool. Whisk vanilla extract into soymilk mixture.  Stir soymilk mixture into flour mixture.
4. Fill each doughnut mold half full with batter.  Bake 12 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in doughnut comes out clean. Carefully unmold doughnuts on wire rack to cool, and repeat with remaining batter.  Depending on the size of the doughnut pan, you may not have enough batter to make two batches :(
5. To make Maple Glaze (yum!): Combine soymilk, maple syrup, sugar, and salt in saucepan, and  bring to a simmer, whisking constantly.  Remove from heat, and cool 5 to 10 minutes, or until thickened.  Stir in vanilla extract.
6. To make Cinnamon Sugar: Whisk together sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
7. Dip each doughnut into Maple Glaze and sprinkle with or dip in Cinnamon Sugar.  Let glaze set before serving...if you can wait that long...


Enjoy!


You can purchase one of these doughnut pans at Sur La Table for $10.

Blackened Tofu and Orzo Pasta Salad with Chipotle Ranch Dressing

One of my favorite lunches.  It's a long post, and it might look complicated, but if you have some of the ingredients made in advance, it's easy peasy.  This was a left-over creation when I already had extra cooked orzo from the night before, blackened tofu from 2 nights before and Ranch dressing on hand. But the Ranch is really easy and A-MA-ZING!  It's courtesy of our friends Jenny and Heather at Spork Foods and it's a staple for us.  So if you plan your meals a little in advance - have a yummy pasta dish the night before and make a little extra pasta for the next day.  Have blackened tofu, mashed sweet potatoes, and sautéed garlic spinach two nights before and make some extra tofu.  The leftover tofu will be nice and firm too! If you don't have leftovers, I suggest making the tofu and orzo the night before so it's not hot when you serve it.  If you don't want to make it the night before, chill the tofu and orzo for an hour before assembling.  This is better served cold because of the veggies and dressing.

I actually can't believe I haven't posted this tofu yet - I eat it at least once a week.  This is also courtesy of Jenny and Heather, but with a little twist of my own.  I eat it on it's own, or in salads.  Unfortunately, by the time I'm done cooking it, usually only half has made it out of the pan alive...even my non-veg friends love it!

Serves 4 as a side or 2 as an entrée.

Pasta Salad:
Blackened Tofu (recipe below)
1⁄2 seedless cucumber, quartered and sliced
1 red bell pepper, cut into bite size-of-your-choice pieces
1 or 2 tomatoes depending on how much you like tomatoes, cut into bite sized pieces
15-ish baby carrots or 1 or 2 big carrots, sliced
1 Cup cooked Orzo*

*Orzo is a type of pasta that has a similar shape to rice.  If you can't find orzo, any small pasta will do.

**The veggies, tofu, and orzo in this recipe are just a guide.  I'm not sure exactly how much I used, so if you'd like more cucumber - add more! if you like more pasta and less bell pepper, go for it! If you want different veggies, be my guest! Same goes with the ranch dressing - start with less Chipotle and garlic seasoning and add more if you see fit - I like a lot of both :)

Ranch Dressing:
3⁄4 Cup Veganaise
1 tsp agave
dash of fresh lemon juice
1 tsp Chipotle seasoning (less if you don't like spicy)
pinch dried celery seed
1 tsp garlic powder
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste

Mix all ingredients in a bowl (adding Vegenaise first), and let it sit for a few minutes before mixing it in the salad.

Blackened Tofu: 
1 Block of extra firm organic tofu (I use Trader Joe's in the vacuum sealed pack)
Smokin Willies meat seasoning (I think this can only be found at Whole Foods - I couldn't find it online - but trust me; find it.  You'll LOVE it.)
1⁄4-1⁄2 Cup canned coconut milk or soy creamer
2 tsp Jerk seasoning (optional but yummy)
2 Tbsp Coconut oil (or another medium-high heat oil like Safflower. Do NOT use olive oil)
salt, to taste

Heat oil on medium-high heat in a large pan.  Cut the tofu into bite-size cubes.  Sauté tofu until good 'n brown on most sides - this will take some time. Add milk until it just covers tofu with a little extra in the pan and toss to coat.  Cook until most of the milk has evaporated.  Sprinkle a generous amount of Smokin Willies seasoning and a little salt until the tofu is completely coated.  Cook on medium-high heat for 3 or 4 more minutes.  Add the jerk seasoning, a little more Smokin Willies, and toss the tofu until evenly coated.  Remove the tofu from the pan onto a paper towel to remove excess oil if there is any.  Let cool before adding to the salad.

Mix all components together in a large bowl and Voila! You've just made a damn good lunch/side/dinner/snack/bowl of heaven.

Make this with Gluten Free pasta and it's Gluten Free!

Beautiful Bali

Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Eggs...whhhaaaaattt???

Crunchy chocolaty shell, smooth peanut-butter-cream-cheesy center... You're gonna love these!

Ingredients:

8 oz cream cheese
2 Cups smooth (or crunchy if you like) peanut butter
3 Tbsp earth balance (softened)
1⁄2 pound of powdered sugar
1⁄2 tsp salt
1 1⁄2 tsp vanilla extract
24 oz (2 bags) chocolate chips (I used whole foods bulk chocolate chips)

Mix all ingredients together (except the chocolate) with a mixer until smooth.  Scoop into little balls and place on a wax paper covered cookie sheet.  I think my mixture made about 55.  Place in the freezer for at least an hour.

When they're frozen, melt chocolate on medium - low.  Be so careful not to burn the chocolate - it sucks.  Dip the balls - eggs - haha oh my -whatever you'd like to call them in the melted chocolate and place on a wax paper covered cookie sheet or plate.  I used a fork to fish them out.  You should get a nice thick layer of chocolate.

When they're cooled, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator....if they even make it that far....

enjoy!!

p.s. isn't my easter plate so cute?!

Gluten Free!

Tip of the Day!

who says it's not easy being green?  A simple way to add a little green to your day: use re-usable water bottles.  I have a sigg bottle (that I LOVE - it keeps my water tasting fresh all day!!), which is about a $20-$30 investment - not too shabby when you put it in perspective. They say the average American buys 170 bottles of water a year - that's over 200 bucks!  Doesn't sound like a lot, but multiply that by 50 years and you've spent $10,000!  That's a car, or a couple really great vacations, or 200 dinner dates, or lots of clothes, or whatever your heart desires to spend $10,000 on!  Plus, bottled water is much less regulated than tap water meaning your bottled water could be significantly lower in quality than your tap.  Don't like the taste of your tap?  Get a filter - it's still gonna be cheaper than if you use bottle water :)

ribbet ribbet

Vegan Shoes!!!!

I kind of chose to remain ignorant about leather and where it comes from - until I saw Earthlings.  A truly disturbing documentary on the way animals serve us: as pets, as food, as entertainment, as clothing, and for science.  You can watch it for free online - just click on the word "Earthlings" above.  I cried hysterically for the first hour, and after I could hardly see past my puffy eyes, I sat in horror.  I mean it was really really bad.  I think even if you're not vegan, or not too much of an animal lover, you'd be haunted by this.  So I've chosen to fully submerge myself into "vegan-ness" and stop buying leather shoes, bags, wallets, etc.  I still haven't stopped carrying my favorite purse, but maybe I'll come around - I mean I didn't buy it, so does that count??

Anyway, on my quest to find vegan shoes for my wedding, I ran into this AMAZING website.  It's endless.com.  They have thousands of vegetarian shoes, and a lot of them are actually really cute! And most of them are very affordable - I found a pair that I love for $33!  PLUS on most of the shoes they have free 2-day shipping and on some they have free overnight shipping.  PLUS they have free return shipping.  Seriously this site's awesome.  I'm not a huge internet shopper, but with free return shipping how could I not be??  :)   I swear I'm not getting paid for this...

So go to endless.com, click on women's shoes, then at the bottom of the list of categories you'll see vegetarian.

Oh and even if you're not looking for vegetarian shoes, they have bajillions of other shoes.

Happy Shopping!

p.s. they're not all as funky as the yellow ones above, I just liked those :)

Party Soup!

I didn't know what to name it - there's so many fun and yummy things in it.  It's super duper easy and easily modified to please your personal palette!  I had left over rice, diced tomatoes and my carrots needed to be used so I just threw everything together without exact measurements.

Sneezer and Aunt Kristen

Valentine's Flowers

Michael went to the LA flower district to create a beautiful bouquet of flowers for me.  He woke up at 5 in the morning the day before and got home 5 hours later!  he wanted to get peach peonies (my favorite) but there weren't in season.  I think he did a pretty good job.  I picked a good one :)

Vegan Ice Cream In Hawaii!!

 

Michael and I went to Hawaii last week.  And we have to admit - it wasn't easy to maintain our diet.  We DID, however, get word of a little roadside stand that sold vegan ice cream!!!  I mean there's coconuts everywhere on that island - coconut ice cream seems pretty obvious! The stand was not the cleanest in the world - not even by outdoor Hawaiian food stand standards..) It was outside, so obviously had never been cleaned in all of it's existance.. which looked to be about 10 years.  And the guy who served us...his hands...oh his hands...completely black from using the machete to cut the coconuts and make the spoons.  This is how desperate I was for ice cream.  There were about 6 flavors, but michael and I both went with mint chocolate chip and toffee coffee.  We were definitely skeptical, but YUM!  The black-fingerenailed man told us that Glen is actually a classically trained chef and that he even made the toffee in the toffee coffee ice cream!  He dished out the ice cream into the coconut shell, and then made spoons right in front of us - it was so cool!   Of course the second I got in the car, I took his spoon out and replaced it with one we had packed for a picnic :)  About five minutes and a few miles later, we wished we had bought a whole case of it.

So if you ever find yourself at around mile marker 28 on your way to Hana, stop at Coconut Glens! 

Haiti

We all have to do our part.  Here's a link that I found on CNN.com that lists the top charities providing aid in Haiti. 

http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=content.view&cpid=1004

Grilled Cheese Please

Ladies and Gentlemen, let me introduce you to Daiya Cheese.  I really hope you are within a reasonable distance from a whole foods.  If not, find it online.  It will change your life.  Daiya Cheese is a new vegan cheese that tastes like cheese, looks like cheese, and yes, actually MELTS like cheese.  For non-vegans, you might be thinking, no big deal.  If you're a vegan, you will probably have to go change your pants.  Seriously, this is amazing!!!!

Ingredients:
Tomato Basil dressing from salad in previous post
Daiya cheese (Italian herb and cheddar flavor - use both!)
Spelt Bread
Butter

Directions:
Spread butter on both sides of the bread and toast BOTH sides of the bread.  Pile on ingredients as you wish and get it toasty and golden brown.

YUM!

Cucumber Pesto Salad w/Tomato Basil Dressing

This salad is as healthy and delicious as it looks.  Michael and I have been reading a book called Thrive by Brendan Brazier.  Brazier is a professional Ironman Triathlete and a vegan...just wanted to make sure ya got that ;)  I haven't finished the book yet, but we're trying to bring our "healthiness" to a whole new level.  This salad is from that book.  So if you want to be uber healthy for the day, include this as one of your meals!

Salad
Ingredients
1⁄2 clove garlic, chopped
1⁄2 Cucumber, grated
couple handfuls broccoli florets
1 bag mixed greens
2 Tbsp pine nuts
Nutritional Yeast and Sesame Seed Topping (1 part nutritional yeast flakes, 1 part unhulled sesame seeds ground together in coffee grinder.  This mixture imitates parm cheese)

Dressing (makes about 1 1/2 cups)

Ingredients
2 tomatoes
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp hemp oil
1 Tbsp dried basil or 3 Tbsp fresh
1 Tbsp agave
salt and pepper to taste

- Blend ingredients in a blender or food processor to desired consistency (we liked ours a little chunky)

Toss salad ingredients with desired amount of dressing.  You will have extra salad dressing.  Save it for the next recipe I post!! Top with a little extra "parm cheese" mixture.

What's the deal with...

Hemp oil?
Nutritional Yeast Flakes?

check out the "intriguing ingredients" page to learn about 'em!


You can find Nutritional yeast flakes usually by the vitamins in health food stores.

Gluten Free!

Kale Chips

(I stole this image off the internet..shhhhhh)

Kale Chips are surprisingly yummy - and extremely addicting.  And of course super duper healthy!  I've made them a few times and they're always a hit.  Even for the non-believers.  And they're easy peasy.

Ingredients:
1 bunch kale
few Tbsps extra virgin olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
tsp Garlic powder

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325°F

1. Wash the kale.
2. Dry the kale thoroughly.
3. Pile on cookie sheet
4. Drizzle with olive oil, and mix with hands until olive oil JUST coats it.  You don't want too much oil or they will be soggy.
5. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
6. Bake for 10-15 minutes, mixing kale around on sheet half way through baking.  Make sure they don't burn. You want them a nice light golden brown on the top.  You'll be able to feel when they're crispy.

Serves two hungry people or three kind of hungry people as a side dish.  The kale cooks down to about half of what you start with.

Happy New Year

My resolution:

Enjoy the journey :)

What's yours?

more recipes to come!