Halloween Treat: Vegan Mint Ice Cream

 

 

Yum, yum, yum! I didn't make this with Halloween in mind but I think the color made it come out eerie. This recipe is so simple and yummy. Its a must try if you are a fan of mint chip ice cream. I didn't have chocolate chips so I topped it with cocoa powder but chocolate chips would have been better.

Ingredients:
2 frozen bananas
1 handful of spinach
2 tbl almond milk (or soy or coconut or water)
1/4 tsp mint extract

Place bananas in the blender.

Add the spinach.

Add almond milk and mint extract.

Blend until smooth, if things get stuck just stop and stir.
If you have chocolate chips stir them in when done.
Enjoy!

African Soup

 

This soup has peanut butter and coconut milk combined with tomato to make a delicious unique flavor. The coconut soup was added last and I actually think I liked the flavor before I added it. I used russets instead of sweet potatoes because it is what I had but you can use either.

Ingredients:
1 russet potato, cubed
1/2 yellow onion,chopped
2 cloves garlic,minced
1 can tomato paste
2 cups water
1 tbl seasonings
1 can coconut milk
1/2 cup peanut butter
chopped cilantro for garnish

Begin by baking the potatoes at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.
Place chopped onion and garlic in a dutch oven or soup pot.

Cook on medium until soft. Add the water, tomato paste and seasonings.

This is the seasoning mix I used.

Bring to a boil. Add potatoes and peanut butter.

Reduce to medium low heat and use an immersion blender to smooth out the chunks. Add the coconut milk and heat until warm. Top with cilantro.
Enjoy!

Rolled Oat Milk

I revisited this recipe since the first batch of oatmilk was only OK. This one turned out much better. I used rolled oats instead of steal cut. I also strained it twice. It was much less starchy. I am not sure how much healthier the steel cut oat milk is so let me know if you think it's worth it to make the other instead.

Ingredients:
1 cup rolled oats (not instant oats)
3 cups water

I soaked the oats for 20 minutes, much less than the steel cut oats. Rinsed them in a colander.

Then put them in the vitamix with water and blended until smooth. Strained and repeated. Viola!

Korean BBQ Tofu

My mom sent me this recipe that she found for Korean BBQ tofu and it seemed easy so I gave it a go. It turned out really good but next time I will modify the recipe. The recipe said to bake the tofu for something like 30 minutes but mine just wasn't getting crispy so I turned the broiler on for 5 minutes at the end to give it a nice crisp. I also won't bake it in the marinade because it turned out a little salty, which Chris loved but next time I will just add the marinade back after it is done.

Ingredients:
1 package of firm tofu, pressed

for the marinade:
2 tbl soy sauce
2 tbl sesame oil
2 tbl ketchup or hoison or both (I did a little of both)
1 tbl vinegar (rice wine or whatever you have)
1 tsp sugar (I used agave syrup)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp sriracha, optional

Mix the ingredients for the marinade in a bowl.

Cut the tofu into slices and add to the marinade. Allow to sit for 20 minutes.

*I would suggest baking it without the marinade.

Bake for 15 minutes at 375 and then flip the tofu over and bake for another 15 minutes.

*I then turned the broiler on for 5 minutes to crisp the tofu.

 

Enjoy!

Lemon Cashew Sauce

This recipe is a keeper! I changed the name to highlight the sauce because it is the star of the dish and would be good over any grain with any veggies. Well I would change that to most not any. I pretty much followed the recipe except I added wine, because I love cooking with wine, also served it over rice instead of pasta.

I didn't soak my cashews but if you don't have a high speed blender you definitely should and if you don't own a high speed blender you should consider getting one. They are amazing! I like using nuts as a fat replacement to animal products but I always was left with a gritty and grainy product using a regular blender. The vitamix makes a very smooth creamy sauce with nuts.

On another note Chenelle mentioned to blend the nuts first by themselves but I didn't exactly listen ha ha. Because the vitamix doesn't work the same as the blendtec and when it blends it doesn't  pull things down into the blades, probably why it comes with the tamper stick. So I tried blending with only the nuts but the blender just pushed everything to the sides and out of frustration with my unblended nuts I added the rest of the ingredients anyways. My sauce turned out super creamy and no grit so I was lucky or maybe with the vitamix you don't have to blend the nuts alone first? hmm...ill let you know in future trials.

*ignore the rotting tomatoes that made it into this picture and my shadow. I guess I was impatient and wanted to eat instead of photograph.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup cashews
3 cups of veggie broth
1 tsp dried basil
juice of two lemons, this made it very lemony(not a word) so if you aren't a fan use just one
3 tbl cornstarch or tapioca starch, I prefer tapioca starch
1 tbl olive oil
1/2 diced onion
3 cloves minced garlic
1 sliced carrot
2 tbl white wine
1/2 bunch of kale de-stemmed
salt and pepper, I added salt because I used my homemade veggie broth that has no salt

Place the cashews, veggie broth, basil, lemons cornstarch and olive oil in a blender. Blend on high for 1 minute until smooth.

*The crockpot has refried beans made from sprouted chili beans. It turned out great!
Alright back to the recipe. In a large pan sauté onion and garlic.

After a minute add the thinly sliced carrot to the pan.

Sautee a minute or two and then add the wine. Once the wine cooks away add the blended sauce.

Simmer for a couple minutes until the sauce thickens. Add the kale and cook until the kale wilts.

Serve over rice or pasta or more veggies. Enjoy!

Oat Milk

I finally decided to try making my favorite milk alternative. It turned out a little more starchy than I like and when I added it to my mashed potatoes they literally turned to paste. I think I will try using four cups of water or more next time. I will share some of the other experiments as they turn out but give it a try and modify because I think this is a great alternative to of course dairy and store bought options for milk.

Ingredients:
1 cup steel cut oats
3 cups water

Soak the oats for 12 to 24 hours in a bowl with enough water to cover by an inch.

Rinse them under water until it runs mostly clear (I think I should have rinsed mine more).

Place the oats in the blender with 3 cups of water and blend until smooth.

Run the milk through the strainer a couple times to remove and grit that the blender couldn't get. You can add sweetener, cinnamon, salt or whatever you like. Enjoy.

Roasted Peppers

This will be a simple post. I roasted some peppers and added them to my pasta for dinner last night so I thought I would share how.

 

You can probably use whatever type of pepper you like I had red bell pepper, green bell pepper, poblano and a hot chili.

Just cut them in half and place in a casserole dish with seasoning.

Broil in the oven for 5 minutes on each side.

You can place them in a brown paper bag to cool and then remove the skin but I skipped this for all except the poblano. enjoy!



Chipotle Sweet Potato Soup

Its been way too long since I posted on here. I have been busy getting married and going on long honeymoons :)
With all the planning and events over I am ready to start posting all my recipes.
I found this recipe on pinterest so I cant take all credit for its deliciousness. I did make some modifications because the original recipe used soymilk for the base instead of coconut milk. This would be a lowfat less yummy option. I also left the skin on my sweet potato and I think it blended well.

Ingredients:
1 large sweet potato
1 can coconut milk
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1/2 tbl chipotle powder
lime juice and diced avocado for topping

I baked my sweet potato the night before at 400 for about an hour. This way when I got home from work I had a 15min meal.

Combine coconut milk and vegetable broth in a pot and heat on medium high. Add the sweet potato.

Use a hand blender to blend the soup or blend in a regular blender. Add chipotle powder. Serve with avocado and lime juice.

Enjoy!

How to: Crispy Tofu

I wanted to do a post on how to cook tofu because I often get complaints along the lines of: "I like tofu but mine is always mushy." This is the process that I take my tofu through to get crispy tofu without a mushy inside. An alternative to pan frying is baking at 350 until crispy or broiling for a couple minutes on each side. When I oven bake mine I will add a marinade.

Ingredients:
1 block extra firm tofu (silken or other soft tofus are best for sauces and soups)
1 tbl high heat oil such as coconut oil

Start with removing the tofu from the package and removing the water. Place on towel and wrap the towel around the tofu.

Place the tofu under something heavy. I used a large ceramic bowl full or apples.

This will squish all the extra liquid out of the tofu. For best results you should give this process a few hours. I actually did mine before bed and left it overnight. In the morning it should look like this.

You can cook it right away or store in the fridge for a day.  I wouldnt store it in the fridge too long because without the water tofu spoils quickly. It actually gets slimy and gross. You can also marinate it after pressing all the water out.
Cut the tofu into cubes, or any shape you like. And cook with the oil in cast iron pan on medium high.
Stir frequently to prevent burning.

Enjoy!



Lentil Meatballs

They look a little crispy in the picture but these were very tasty. I found this recipe in a random email I got from subscribing to recipes.com. The recipes aren't always vegan but you can modify. I followed the recipe for the most part. It said to use zucchini and celery which I didn't have but I did add mushrooms. Also sprouted lentils weren't a requirement but I don't digest them well if not plus sprouting is soo healthy. I should do a post on sprouting...hmm. Anyways these were fairly easy and definitely worth it because they were super yummy.

Ingredients:
2 cups cooked lentils
1/2 onion,diced
1 clove garlic,minced
1 carrot,diced
5 mushrooms(I used crimini), sliced
1 tbl Italian seasonings
1 cup bread crumbs
2 tbl ground flax seeds
3 tbl Worcestershire sauce
2 tbl chickpea flour(or other) + 2 tbl water

Place lentils in a bowl and mash with a fork. I tried this step and they didn't mash well. I think next time Ill use a food processor. Set aside when done.

Add onion and garlic to a pan and heat on medium while you clean and chop the other veggies.

Add carrot and mushrooms to the pan and saute until soft.

Add the veggies to the bowl of lentils and stir. Add to the same bowl the breadcrumbs,Italian seasonings,flax seeds and Worcestershire sauce.

Mix the flour and water in a small bowl and then add to the lentil mixture.

Form the mixture into balls. If it seems dry add some water or non-dairy milk. Heat a non-stick skillet on medium high and cook until crispy on the outside.

I served mine on spaghetti with tomato sauce. Enjoy!

Potato Tacos

The new veg news magazine arrived this weekend and was full of delicious Mexican recipes. I think I might have to make them all! These are the potato tacos and they turned out great! I think I would add bell peppers and mushrooms next time. The "cheese" which is seasoned tofu could have been omitted in my opinion. But I did like the crunch and flavor of the cumin seeds which I will keep next time. I also made tomatillo salsa to top them which is an earlier recipe I posted.

Ingredients:
tortillas
3 russet potatoes (or whatever kind you like, just modify bake time)
1 package firm tofu
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
juice 1/2 lemon
1 tsp paprika
1 avocado
cilantro and tomatillo salsa to top them

If you want to make the "cheese" crumble tofu into a bowl and toss with olive oil, lemon juice and cumin seeds. Allow to sit in fridge while you cook the potatoes.

Cut potatoes into bite size pieces and arrange in casserole dish. The recipe said to toss with oil but I skipped this and they turned out great. Toss the potatoes with paprika and bake at 350 for 40 minutes, stirring halfway through.

Serve on tortillas with "cheese", avocado, cilantro and salsa. Enjoy!

Black Bean Soup

This soup was really easy to make and made the house smell really good. I modified a recipe I found on pinterest to make it vegan. I made fresh beans but the recipe used canned. I think canned beans would have given it a more creamy texture. For some reason canned beans are always softer. The original recipe also used seasoned black beans but I roasted some chilies and added them instead. yum!

Ingredients:
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 onion, chopped
1 tsp chile powder
1 tsp cumin
3 cups or 2 cans black beans
1 roasted jalapeno and 5 roasted red peppers (optional)
4 cups veggie broth

Add garlic and onion to a large pot.

Stir fry on low for a couple minutes and then add seasonings, stir. Remove the seeds from the jalapeno and chop both peppers. Add them to the pot.

Add the beans and broth and bring to a boil. I don't know if it is necessary to bring to a boil but I followed the recipe.

Reduce to a simmer and blend with an immersion blender. Enjoy!