Middle Eastern Chickpea & Quinoa Salad

I found this recipe on Veg News, and it is YUMMY!  It originally calls for brown rice and roasted peppers, but I like quinoa better than rice salad.  Also, I do not like red peppers, so I omitted them.  My toddler loves olives and baby tomatoes, so I'm hoping she will like this salad.  

Serves 10

What You Need:

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
Peel of 1 lemon, cut into strips
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 minced garlic clove
2 red peppers, cut into wide strips  Bleck!
3-1/2 cups cooked quinoa
1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
24 cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup pitted kalamata olives
1 cucumber, peeled, deseeded, and diced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup finely diced red onion

What You Do:

1. Preheat broiler. In a bowl, combine lemon juice, lemon peel, olive oil, and garlic. Set aside.
2. Place red peppers on baking sheet and broil until skin bubbles and starts to turn black. Remove peppers from broiler and place in a covered bowl for 5 minutes. Remove outer skin, and dice peppers.
3. In a large bowl, combine quinoa, beans, tomatoes, olives, cucumber, parsley, onion, and peppers and toss with lemon juice dressing.

Chef’s Tip: Depending on your preference, you can include the lemon peel in the salad or discard.

V05 is vegan! I recommend the strawberry soy milk conditioner!

Dear Bethany,

Thank you for contacting us. We appreciate your feedback and support of VO5 hair care. Our line of VO5 products are vegan friendly, contain no animal products and aren't tested on animals. Please visit www.VO5haircare.com for promotional offers and discounts. We periodically offer coupons in Sunday newspapers. Please look out for them in the near future. For additional questions please email consumerrelations@highridgebrands.com. Thank you again for choosing VO5.

Sincerely,

The Team at High Ridge Brands


5 High Ridge Park Stamford, CT 06905
    Phone: 203-674-8080    Fax: 203-674-8088
www.highridgebrands.com

Zucchini + Chocolate = Toddler Eating Her Veggies!

Vegan Zucchini Bread

Yield: 2 loaves

Ingredients

• 6 tbsp ground flax seeds
• ½ c warm water
• 2 c turbinado sugar (or light brown sugar)
• ½ c oil
• ½ c applesauce
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 to 2½ c grated zucchini (~3 medium-sized ones)
• 3 c whole wheat flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 c chocolate chips 

Instructions

1. Grease two loaf pans.
2. Mix together flax seeds and warm water.
3. Add sugar, oil, applesauce, and vanilla; beat well.
4. Add grated zucchini; stir til combined.
5. In a separate bowl, sift together remaining dry ingredients.
6. Add dry mixture to wet and stir just until dry ingredients are moistened and everything is incorporated evenly; some lumps are fine. If adding additional mix-ins, fold them in now. Divide batter between prepared pans.
7. Bake at 350 for 50-55 minutes, or until knife inserted in center of loaf comes out clean. Let cool a few minutes before slicing.

Smiling!

I found this recipe on hell yeah it's vegan!  It is very yummy, and even the batter was tasty!  It is a sweet, dessert type of bread.

Baking

Complete

Now is the Moment that Never Ends

The past is gone
The future is not here
Now, I am free of both

-Deepak Chopra

Vegan Spanakopita

http://www.madejustright.com/user/recipe/spinach-and-mushroom-phyllo-squares

Just made these last night.  First time working with phyllo bread, and I think I did pretty well.  I did over "butter", but I'll use less next time, because it was pretty rich.  The filling is really yummy.  I used grapeseed oil, instead of the olive oil the recipe calls for.

• 2 10-oz pkg chopped spinach, thawed
• 1 tbsp. of Olive oil (I was out of olive, so I used grapeseed oil)
• 1/2 cup(s) of Earth Balance Margarine (I used more, oops)
• 1 1/2 cup(s) of Daiya mozzarella
• 1 1/2 cup(s) of mushrooms, diced
• 12 phyllo dough sheets
• 1/2 tsp. of salt and pepper, or to taste

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Drain the thawed spinach. Squeeze as much liquid from the spinach as possible. Transfer to a large bowl. Pull apart the spinach as much as possible.
3. Add the diced mushrooms to the spinach, as well as the salt, pepper, and olive oil. (yummy)
4. In a small saucepan, melt the Earth Balance.
5. Using a pastry brush, coat each side of the phyllo bread and layer them on top of each other in the pan.  (I used four or five sheets for the bottom.)
6. Layer on the spinach/mushroom mixture, then the Daiya cheese.
7. Layer the remaining (4-5) phyllo sheets on top, again buttering each layer as you put them down. Butter the last one.
8. Cut into squares and bake for 40 minutes.  (I cut it, after baking.)

Saturday Baking Urge

Chocolate Cardamon Drops link here.  I get the urge to bake, and these cookies lent something else to the calming down experience of baking.  You get to roll them in your hands, almost like gardening.  Well, only in the therapeutic way that occurs when you are all alone and your toddler is playing outside with your husband, who agreed to give you a thirty minute baking break.

The cookies just came out of the oven, and my daughter is furiously signing "more" and saying "more".  They need to cool, but sure smell good!  My husband popped one in his mouth, fresh from the oven; it was hot and he had to use the kitchen sink to cool his mouth.  This whole episode only fueled the signing of my toddler, who just watched Daddy eat a hot cookie.  Again, they need to cool.

Cool Cookies

Share with a friend!

Carrot Cake for all the bunnies out there!

Making carrot cake from this link minus the raisins.  Instead of a butter cream frosting, I'm going to make a cream cheese vegan frosting from Vegan Celebrations by Alicia Simpson.  It contains:

1/2 cup cream cheese, vegan
1/4 cup Earth Balance, or that's what I'm using for the margarine
1 tsp coconut extract with 2 drops (liquid) vanilla Stevia (this is changed from the original 1 tsp vanilla extract)
3 cups confectioner's sugar

Beat till light and fluffy.

So VERY yummy!  And healthy...carrots, walnuts and coconut = healthy!

Eco Sevi = Awesome Company!

Vegan Nom Noms: How To Make Seitan: An Illustrated Guide

Vegan Nom Noms: How To Make Seitan: An Illustrated Guide: Now if you really wanted to be a Level 5 hardcore vegan (or just don't have access to vital wheat gluten/gluten flour ) you would make seita...

Happiest Moment

Today, I made chocolate pudding.  You see, my daughter has a very nasty stomach bug and needs to take probiotics, which come in small packets.  Due to the explosive nature of her illness, we could not go out and buy pudding.  This recipe did the trick.  I added the probiotics to a spoonful of pudding,  and the medicine went right down.  

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 1/2 cups soy milk
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Directions

1. In small bowl, combine cornstarch and water to form a paste.
2. In large saucepan over medium heat, stir together soy milk, vanilla, sugar, cocoa and cornstarch mixture. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture boils. Continue to cook and stir until mixture thickens. Remove from heat. Pudding will continue to thicken as it cools. Allow to cool five minutes, then chill in refrigerator until completely cool.

Yea!  Vegan pudding with the right consistency!  

Vegan Kid-Friendly Nail Polish

How cool is this?!? Hopscotch Kids is a vegan, non-toxic nail polish line for kids!  I stumbled upon them this morning, as I was looking for a vegan alternative to Zoya nail polish (I'm having some trouble with their lack of customer service skills).  So, Zoya is out, and Hopscotch/Scotch Naturals vegan nail polish is in!

Evelyn always wants me to paint her nails as I paint mine, but I usually can only bring myself to paint one little baby toe.  I worry about the toxins in nail polish, even though my polish was vegan, that still didn't mean it was safe enough for my kid.  Not to mention the polish remover!  Evelyn's one painted toe stays painted, until the polish chips off.  She doesn't seem to mind the chipped look.  :)  But, it appears that Hopscotch Kids has a safe nail polish remover for kids!  I'm just so excited to try this out!  Woo hoo!

Mardi Gras + Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cookie, Cookie!

1 cup unbleached flour
1 cup rolled oats 
2 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp.salt
cinnamon to taste 
1/2 cup vegan chocolate or carob chips 
1 cup  sugar in the raw 
1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
1/4 cup applesauce 
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup water

In a large bowl mix flour, oats, baking powder, salt, cinnamon. Add the chips. Make a well in the center and set aside.

In a medium size bowl mix sugar, oil, and applesauce. Mix it well. Add the vanilla and then add the water. Mix it well. Add the wet to the well in the dry.  Spoon onto ungreased cookie sheets.  Put them in the oven at 350. Bake for 9-10 minutes

The cookies are done when they seem a little bit softer than you want them to be. They will harden up some as they cool.

Here is the original recipe.  I have changed a few things, just because it makes my life easier.

Whole Wheat Flat Bread

 1 3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
    2/3 cup water 
    2 tablespoons baking powder 
    1/3 cup coconut oil


*I made minor changes to the original recipe (linked to the title).


Mix all of the dry ingredients together.  Pour the water and melted coconut oil in, and incorporate them into the dough.

Gently knead the dough together.  Knead until the dough feels slightly elastic. Set the dough aside under a moist towel, and let it rest for about 15 minutes.

In the mean time, fire up the oven to around 400-500 Fahrenheit.

The dough can now be rolled out in whatever way you want. You can divide it into 8 rounds and make flat bread. 

If you are using the oven, dust a baking sheet with cornmeal or flourl and bake the dough until it is tender and soft.  For flat bread, it takes me about 15-20 minutes, but your oven my be different.

Vegan Orange Cranberry Muffins

Ingredients:

Dry Ingredients:
2 cups Flour
3/4 to 1 cup Brown Sugar (depending on preference of sweetness)
2 tsp Baking Powder

Wet Ingredients:
1/3 cup Oil
2/3 cup Orange Juice
2 tsp flax seed meal (or egg replacer for two eggs)
1/3 cup Water
zest from one orange
1 cup Cranberries, coarsely chopped (or use dried cranberries)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven at 375F. Grease or line a muffin tin with paper liners.

2. In a large bowl mix together the dry ingredients and keep it aside.

3. prepare egg replacer separately

4. Measure orange juice in a liquid measuring mug, add water. To this also add the egg replacer, orange zest and stir together well.

5. Pour all liquid ingredients to the flour mixture and mix until just moistened. Fold in the cranberries too. Do not overmix.

6. Spoon in the batter in the greased muffin tins. Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

7. Move the muffin tin to a cooling rack and let it cool for just 5 minutes. Then remove the muffins from the pan and cool it completely on a wire rack.

*This recipe came from Group Recipes.  I used a cup of Cherry Craisins for the dried cranberries, and flax seed meal, instead of egg replacer.  I used coconut oil, instead of canola or veggie.  The only issue with coconut oil is that it is solid, so I mixed it in with the dry mixture and set the bowl in the oven, until the oil melted.  It worked like a charm.  Yum!  This recipe made 18 muffins.  

These are wonderful!  

Sweet Potato & Bean Burritos

Ingredients:
1 tbsp Coconut oil
1 onion (chop it)
4 garlic cloves (crush & mince them)
1 bag kidney beans, soaked and cooked -or-3 16 ounce cans of kidney beans
2 tsp cumin

Boys like 'em

3 tbsp chili powder
4 tsp mustard
1 pinch cayenne
3 tbsp soy sauce
2.5 to 3 lbs sweet potatoes
8-12 tortillas, large burrito size
8 oz. shredded cheese or daiya

Preheat oven to 400.  Wash and poke sweet potatoes.  Put them in the oven, until they are soft and oozing sticky sweet stuff.  It takes about an hour.  While still warm, but not too hot, peel potatoes and scoop out the insides into a bowl.  Mash them with a masher.  Throw away the peels or give them to your dogs.

Heat oil in cast iron wok or skillet (whatever you own to saute large amounts of food) over medium heat.  Saute onion until soft.  Add garlic and cook for a minute or two.   Stir in beans and cook them, until heated through.  Add chili powder, cumin, mustard cayenne pepper and soy sauce.  Mix it up.  Add 1-2 tbsp of water.  Mix it up.  Remove from heat.

Divide bean mixture, mashed potatoes, and cheese evenly between the tortillas.  Fold up the tortillas burrito style, and place on a baking sheet.

Bake for 12 minutes at 350 degrees and serve with salsa.

*This recipe makes so many burritos, that it is better to bake them as needed, and freeze or refrigerate the rest until you want to enjoy them.

Yep, we eat cookie bars for breakfast!  








Here is the recipe:

3 1/2 cups wheat flour (or any flour of your preference)
1 1/2 cup raw sugar (Sugar in the Raw or Florida Naturals)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda

Mix together, then add:

1 cup vanilla soy milk (or any non-dairy milk of your preference)
1 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup vegan (Ghirardelli semi-sweet) chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.  Pour into 9x13 pan.  Bake for 25-30 minutes.  Cool for a couple minutes before digging in, and then eat them (again) the next morning for breakfast.

Lasagna with Roasted Cauliflower & Spinach

We are going to eat this tonight! I'll let you know. So far, toddler approves the tofu/cauliflower ricotta filling.

OK, well, I opted for Newman's Own Marinara for the sauce. Because, as you can see, my daughter became a bit bored with all the cooking. I used whole wheat noodles, so they had to be boiled ahead of time. The mixture of cauliflower and tofu was pretty good. I didn't use exact measurements, but it still worked out. I would love to add roasted garlic, along with the cauliflower (maybe I'll try that next time.) All in all, it was a success. The cooking time was near perfect, which is a challenge with lasagna. I didn't have any olives, so I couldn't add them. Daiya might be good as a topper to this dish.

Toddler Approved Vegan Pumpkin Oat Bars

Pumpkin Chocolate Bars (changed from original recipe on VegNews by Kim Lutz)

Makes 20 bars

What You Need:

3 cups gluten-free oat flour (make your own by grinding rolled oats in a blender)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup canned organic pumpkin pie mix
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup canola oil, plus more for pan
1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon gluten-free vanilla
1 cup milk-free chocolate chips

What You Do:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and lightly oil a 9 x 13-inch baking pan. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, combine pumpkin with baking powder. Add oil, sugar, and vanilla. Stir to combine. Mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients, one half at a time, and stir to combine. Mix in chocolate chips.

3. Pour batter into pan. With damp hands, press batter to evenly fill pan. Bake 18 minutes, and cool completely before cutting into bars.

So, I had some left over pumpkin pie mix, who doesn't after Thanksgiving, and I am always on the alert for things my toddler will eat. These pumpkin bars are delicious, and pretty easy to make. I changed the recipe to suit my cabinet. The original just calls for pumpkin, instead of the pie mix, and about a cup more sugar and a cup more chocolate chips. The first time I made these I put in the full 2 cups of chocolate chips, and that was even too much chocolate for me. (Is there such a thing? Yes, apparently.)

On another note, I am hoping to keep up with this blog more, now that I have a laptop. Woo Hoo!