Masala Crepes with Tomato Chutney and (lemon poppy seed bars)

Potato Masala (to place on crepe)

5 potatoes chopped and steamed for 20 minutes
1 onion chopped
1 leek chopped (optional)
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 green chillies chopped
1 1/2 tbsp ginger minced
1/4 cup coriander chopped
1/2 tsp turmeric
pinch of hing
salt

Saute mustard seeds in oil until they pop.  Add cumin seeds, onion and leek let sizzle for 1-2 minutes, then add green chillies and ginger.  Add the turmeric and hing, mix well.  Combine the potatoes and coriander stir and keep aside.

Tomato Chutney (this recipe needs a good blender or grinder):
4-5 small tomatoes
1 onion
3 chillies
pinch of hing
2 pieces of dry tamarind
1 tbsp oil
salt

Heat the oil, saute chillies and onion for a few minutes.  Add the tomatoes and hing.  Lightly salt. Keep cooking the tomatoes until they are soft and completely cooked.  Add mixture to a blender or grinder and add the tamarind.

Crepes (good blender needed):
3 cups water
3/4 cup dates
1/4 cup dried currents (dates and currents can be replaced with raisins if needed)
1 cup buckwheat flour (I at first put 1/2 oat and 1/2 cup gluten free flour mixture, but the crepes weren't binding, I added 1 cup of buckwheat flour and it helped a lot)
2/3 cup cashews
small handful of sesame seeds
handful of pumpkin seeds
1 tbsp sunflower seeds (all the seeds unnecessarily but can add a cup of nuts/seeds of your choice instead of cashews through sunflower seeds)
2 tbsp flaxseeds
pinch of salt

combine all ingredients apart from flour in a blender.  Blend until smooth. Add mixture to flour and stir well.  The batter should be a little thinner than waffle batter.  Add water if needed.

This recipe was a little difficult, but with practice it an be done.
Pan should be heated to a medium heat -- make sure it is non stick.  Pour 1/2 cup of batter on to the pan and quickly rotate pan to cover the bottom, or smear the batter with the bottom of the cup, before it cooks -- otherwise it will ruin it.. but if you do it fast enough it can work.



Eat crepes topped with potatoes and lathered with tomato chutney.

:)


LEMON POPPY SEED BARS

--- So when I had the crepes I add additional batter left over this is what I did with the batter -- I probably had about 2-3 cups of batter left.

I added
2 tsp of lemon oil
1/4 cup poppyseeds
1 cup of oat flour
1/4 to 1/2 cup of sugar
1-2 tbsp agave
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda

Heated the oven to 375 degrees
Cooked them for 14 minutes.

Came out fabulous!

Tomato Spice Muffins

Made some tomato spice muffins this morning. I adapted a regular cinnamon muffin recipe, since my fridge full of tomatoes needed to be put to good use  Surprisingly the muffins had more of an apple flavor  

1 cup sorghum flour + 1 cup rolled oats
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp vanilla bean powder
3 tomatoes blended with 6 dates and a 1" piece of dried tamarind
2 tbsp olive oil + 2 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp of agave + 2 tbsp of 'honee' (its this amazing plant based honey made from apples! Additional agave would also work)
topping:
1 tbsp cinnamon sugar mix

Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a muffin tin with 2 tsp oil.
mix the flour, baking powder, vanilla, salt and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl and stir well.
In a blender, add the tomatoes, dates, oil, vinegar, sweetener, and tamarind. Blend until smooth.
Pour the wet mixture into the mixing bowl and stir until a batter forms.
Spoon batter into muffin tins and top each muffin with the cinnamon-sugar sprinkle - generous amounts.
Bake at 400 degrees for 12 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 and bake another 8 minutes. Serve warm or store in the fridge or freezer if not eating within a day.

Quiche!!

I have been wanting to get back to posting on this!! Things with school have been really busy with the start of a new semester -- living off of a lot of Pro bars, oatmeal, cereal (corn flakes, dried raisins plus flax seed milk), ready made burritos (Sweet Earth) and going out to eat... I know it's terrible.

And I actually did sick for about a week -- which kind of got me behind in classes and everything -- I blame my husband lol. He went on a trip to Singapore and came back with a terrible virus.  Which I fortunately got.  I know. Lovely.  I consumed about 3 bags of coughdrops in a week, lots and lots and lots of tea.  Natural Philosophy (a local health food store/yoga studio) was wonderful and specially mixed some healing tea for me :) :)

I also did my best to get back into preparing fresh healthy meals and juices -- I am rather time constrained with my schedule, but I am doing the best that I can :)

I have taken a few pictures of some meals that I have made within the past few weeks, which hopefully I will post sooner rather than later... :)

I made this quiche today.. and it was amazing!!

Simple and amazing!

Tofu Quiche:

2 fresh tomatoes chopped
2 cups of swiss chard chopped
1/2 onion chopped
1 package of white mushrooms chopped
2 garlic cloves chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp all purpose herb mix
1/2 tsp smoked paprika (optional)
3-4 drops liquid smoke (optional)
2-3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp soy sauce (optional)
1 tsp vegan worcester sauce
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp black pepper

1/3 - 3/4 cup nut, seed, grain or soy milk
14 oz firm tofu
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp veggie bouillon powder or 1/2 - full veggie bouillon cube -- to taste

2 ready made pie or pizza crusts (deep dish).

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Saute onions, garlic and mushrooms in oil, until onions are transparent.  Add seasonings from herb mix to black pepper and mix well.  Turn off heat and add tomatoes and swiss chard and mix.  Set aside and pour milk into blender with tofu, turmeric, salt and veggie bouillon.  Blend until smooth.

Combine blended mixture with veggies.

Pour into 2 small pie crusts or 1 large.

Serves 4

The pizza creation

This recipe makes a bit of extra veggies that can be placed in a separate pan to bake at the same time as the pizza.  

Super Green Pizza with Red Pepper Cashew Cheese

Toppings

1 head of broccoli finely chopped

4 cups of greens (kale, spinach) ripped into bite size pieces

2 heirloom tomatoes diced

1/2 green pepper chopped

1/2 jar/can of tomato paste

1/4 tsp italian seasoning

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1 garlic clove minced

1/4 cup parsley

1/2 cup to 1 cup daiya

Cheese Sauce

1 red pepper

2 tbsp nutritional yeast

1 tbsp oil

2 tbsp agave

1 cup cashews

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp amchur (dried mango) (2 tsp lemon juice can be used instead)

Dough

1 tsp salt

2 tsp yeast

1 tsp sugar

1/4 cup warm water

1 cup wheat flour

1 3/4 cups garbanzo bean flour

1/4 cup ground flax meal

1 1/4 cup warm water

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp italian herbs

1 tsp oregano

To make the bread, first mix the yeast, with 1/4 cup warm water and sugar. Let it stand for 10 minutes.  Mix the rest of the dry ingredients together.  Add the yeast mixture to the dry mixture plus 1 1/4 cup of water.  Knead the dough with flour on your hands until elastic and smooth.  Place the dough ball into a container and cover with a cloth for 1 hour.  

Spread the dough out onto an oiled pizza pan.  Lather the tomato paste on top.  Evenly spread the tomato pieces and the green bell pepper on the pizza.  Sprinkle the garlic powder and the italian seasonings over the pizza.  

To make the cheese sauce, blend the ingredients together (from red pepper to salt). Sprinkle the amchur atop.  Pour the cheese sauce into a bowl with the greens, broccoli, minced garlic and parsley.   

Put this mixture evenly on top of the pizza --- there will be extra of this cheesy greens, so they can be put in another pan in the oven :) 

Savory Breakfast

Cheesy breakfast potato scramble

This is a hearty breakfast, great for celebrations.  If you like vegan sausage, this is a good one to add it to, but it’s not missing if its not added.  Guacamole or chopped  chives would be a fabulous adornment but not necessary.

1 bunch dandelion greens chopped

1 russet potato chopped small

Steam the potato pieces, and once done, put them in a bowl.  Put the greens in the steamer for just a few minutes enough time that they just barely wilt. 

Cheesy sauce:

½ cup nutritional yeast

1 cup water

1 ½ tsp Dijon

½ tsp of salt or kelp ‘salt’

dash of zesty spice (ground lemon)

dash of pepper

1 tbsp of tapioca starch (this gives it’s stringy cheese texture)

1 ½ tsp braggs

‘Scrambled Eggs’

1 lb tofu

½ tsp sage

2 tbsp nutritional yeast

¼ tsp basil

½ tsp turmeric

1 tomato chopped.

1 small onion chopped

2 cloves garlic

1 ½ tsp brags

Saute the garlic and onion in 2 tbsp of water until onion is rather clear.  Mix tofu and seasonings in another bowl and then add to the pan.  Cook until hot.  Add chopped tomato to end. 

These dishes can be served side by side or mixed, based on preference. 

Chikn Tomatillo Quesadillas

Chikn Tomatillo Quesadillas
makes one quesadilla
3 vegan gluten free chicken strips (we used 'beyond meat' brand)
1 tortilla (the good life, rice tortillas)
3 tbsp tomatillo salsa
3 tbsp daiya cheese
1/4 tomato chopped or sliced
1/4 avocado sliced

Fry or the microwave (lazy style) the chicken strips until hot. Spread out one tortilla on a pan.  Put cheese on one side of the quesadilla.  Put it into the oven for broil, for 3-4 minutes or until the cheese starts to sizzle/bubble.  Remove from the oven, add salsa, tomato, avocado and chikn.  Fold in half and eat with sriracha sauce, BBQ sauce or more salsa :)

Quick and easy dinner.  

Jalapeño Hummus Quesadillas

I haven't been that great lately at making proper meals. My last final was yesterday and now I have a proposal to really hash out and get done asap.  It's due in 10 days, and proposal writing is a whole new endeavor on my end.

Breakfast was the same old chia plus chocolate plus apples.  See  Busy Mondays for the recipe.

Today I put closer to 3 tbsp of cocoa powder and it was amazing, so chocolatey.  Somehow I've misplaced my stevia.. so I haven't been using it, but apparently with enough cocoa powder it's still amazing.

Lunch I was super lazy today, I had 3 half face toasted sandwiches with coconut peanut butter and vegan chocolate chips.  I know, what can I say, finals.

Dinner I had made some very easy

Jalapeno Hummus Quesadilla
makes 1 quesadilla

1 brown rice tortilla (I use Food for Life brand)
2 tbsp of Jalapeno garlic havarti 'cheese' (Daiya brand)
1/2 zucchini sliced thinly
1/2 tomato chopped
2 tbsp of Jalapeno cilantro hummus (Hope Foods brand)
2-3 tbsp salsa (I thought I had some, turned out I only had tomato sauce, I know completely college student of me, but I used it, and it was actually pretty good as a dipping sauce)

Spread the 'havarti cheese' on half of the rice tortilla.  Place the zucchini and the tomato pieces on the other half.  Put it in the oven on 'broiler' for 3-4 minutes or when the 'cheese' starts to melt/bubble.  Remove from oven, sweep the vegetables atop of the cheese and add the hummus to the empty side of the tortilla, close the tortilla, put it onto a plate and serve with salsa -- or in times of no salsa, tomato sauce will do :)

Hopefully I will find my battery charger for my camera sooooon 

A Vegan Easter

My mom hosted a potluck today, and I helped in figuring out what we should make as the main dish.

We decided on some Indian dishes:
Dal and tikka masala made with tempeh


(Dal) Zucchini lentil soup

Serves 8 (we doubled the recipe)

3/4 c lentils
4 cups of water
2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp salt
2 cups chopped zucchini

1 tbsp oil
1/8 asafetida powder (hing)
1 tsp cumin seeds
3/4 cup of onion
1 cup tomatoes chopped
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp garlic powder
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup cilantro chopped

Fry onions in oil with hing, cumin seeds, tomatoes, ginger, turmeric, salt and garam masala.

Add all ingredients in a slow cooker except for lemon and cilantro.

Cook on high for 2 hours, and low for a few more if needed.

Add the cilantro and lemon after the slow cooker is turned off.


Tikka Masala with Tempeh
5 servings

8 oz tempeh cut into strips
2 tomatoes chopped or can of crushed tomatoes
1 cup coconut milk
2 garlic cloves
1 onion
2 broccoli heads
1 tbsp fresh ginger
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp agave
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp chile flakes

Fry onions, tempeh, garlic, ginger, cumin, salt and turmeric in a pan. Than add all of ingredients
into slow cooker, cook on low for 4 hours

-- Vegan sour cream can be added for extra thickness
or coconut cream

Green Salad
8 servings
1 green pepper chopped
1 cucumber chopped
2 tomatoes diced
4 radishes sliced
2 heads of romaine lettuce
Dressing of choice :)

We also made a lot of rice to go along :) as well as...

Banana Bread
(1 pan 12'' x 6")
3 large overripe bananas
1/2 cup ground flaxseed mixed with half of a cup water
1/2 cup oil
3/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp molasses
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp salt
1/4 c maple syrup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Mash bananas in a large bowl, add flaxseed mixture after soaking for a few minutes,
add oil, sugar, molasses, seasonings (only half tbsp of cinnamon) and baking soda.

Once well mixed, add flour.

After flour is distributed into batter, pour into oiled pan.  pour maple syrup atop in a zigzag motion across, and add the rest of the cinnamon as well.  A spoon can be used to mix swirl it in further.
Bake for 45 minutes



My sister in law made an amazing vegan chocolate cake with coconut frosting, inspired by:
http://kitchentonirvana.com/2014/01/09/chocolate-cake-with-maple-coconut-buttercream/


HAPPY EASTER :):)