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 :) 

'Paneer' Biryani and Coconut Curry Vegetables

Paneer Biryani/ Tofu Biryani
2 16oz packages (baked) extra firm tofu (I used sprouted)
1 cup unsweetened coconut yogurt (or other)
1/2 cup cilantro chopped
2 inches gingerroot minced
2 garlic cloves minced
1 tbsp garam masala
1 tbsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 large onion chopped.
1 medium tomato chopped.
2 cups brown rice cooked with 4 cups of water (slightly al dente)

Cube the tofu, and bake for 15 minutes at 350 F, flip them, and bake for another 15 minutes at the same temperature.  This gives the tofu a more of a paneer texture.

Put 2 cups of rice on the stove with 4 cups of water, cook for 30-40 minutes until slightly al dente.

In a bowl combine the yogurt, cilantro, ginger, masala, coriander, turmeric and salt.

Once the tofu is baked, combine the tofu into the mixture.

Let marinate while the rest of the ingredients are prepared.

Heat oil in a pan, add cumin, cardamom and fennel seed.  Let sizzle for a couple seconds and add the onion.  Fry until the onion has browned or mostly become clear, add the tomato.  Let fry until tomato has mostly broken down.  Add this mixture to the slow cooker.  Then add the marinated tofu, then add the rice on top.

Cook on low for 3 hours.  Serve right out of the slow cooker.


Coconut Curry Vegetables
2 heads of broccoli chopped
2 carrots chopped
1 package of button mushrooms chopped
3 garlic cloves
1 tbsp of oil
2 tbsp of curry powder
1/2 tsp of salt
1 can of coconut milk
2 tbsp of tomato paste

Heat oil and garlic in a pan, add the broccoli, carrots and mushrooms.  Cook until the colors brighten and the vegetables slightly soften.  As soon as the pan seems to dry or it's starting to brown at the bottom, add some coconut milk, to keep some moisture.  Once the vegetables are at the desired consistency, add the rest of the ingredients.  I made this dish in the morning for an afternoon potluck, and since I don't like to cook my vegetables much before eating them, it worked out well, because the mushrooms even though they were hardly cooked they still became soft by lunchtime because they had that extra time to marinate, the dish was successful :)

Jambalayan Fry

It's seriously unfortunate my camera is out of batteries, because it looks absolutely amazing.

Tip ** never steam or boil your vegetables long enough that they lose more than 70% of their original crunch.  They should only ever be cooked enough so that their colors brighten and as much of their crispness is in tact.

I made a mistake yesterday and I overcooked my broccoli for the holandaise dish.  I know, seriously a pity.  I think it's the main reason why after a few hours the broccoli gave off that typical funny broccoli smell.. so sad.  Don't overcook veggies :):)

Unfortunately the chilled version of my dish yesterday was a no go.  So best advice, serve it FRESH or, make the amendments that I made today, and you got yourself a whole new thing!

Jambalayan Fry
1 to 2 cups of leftover Ultimate Hollandaise Veggie Toss
1 tbsp of nutritional yeast
1-2 tsp of smoked paprika
1 tsp of mixed herbs
1 tsp of sriracha sauce

Mix everything together in a nonstick pan.  Fry for just enough time to get it sizzling and even a little crispy.  This is an excellent dish, in fact if you made the same mistake as me.. and made the veggie toss recipe to be served a couple hours later.. best is to make these amendments to it, so it can be a new exciting and flavorful dish for hours to come!

Ultimate Hollandaise Veggie Toss

I went to a potluck yesterday, as I am the only vegan that I know at my work/school I had to choose something that could work even if it was the only thing that I could eat.  I thought about bringing dessert too, I just didn't have that much time to do it as well.

I had a bunch of veggies in the fridge, but I wanted a really nice sauce to go along.

I wanted the sauce to remind me of a hollandaise sauce.

Surprisingly I did a really good job at getting that 'eggy' flavor and consistency.  Not quite sure how I did it, but the interesting this was, this sauce could also be made with a little less liquid and really tastes reminds me of deviled eggs! It would be interesting in future recipes to play with this recipe a little more.. and combine it with some kind of a tofu recipe to actually make vegan deviled eggs!! It would certainly be a fun experiment.

Ultimate Hollandaise Veggie Toss:
Serves 8-10

1 small head of broccoli chopped
1 bunch of kale chopped
1 small head of cauliflower chopped
1/3 head of purple cabbage chopped
3 carrots chopped
1 bunch of asparagus chopped

1/3 cup of tahini
1/4 cup of oil
1 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
Juice of 1 1/2 lemons
1tbsp of 1/4 tsp of agave
1/2 tsp of salt
1 tsp of tapioca starch
1/2 tsp of mustard or powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp of broth powder
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
1/4 tsp of black pepper
1-2 tbsp of smoked paprika
1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper
1 tbsp of all purpose herbs

Steam the asparagus, carrots, cauliflower, and broccoli together in a pot until a bit softer but still with a crunch. Put steamed veggies in a big bowl to stir.  Then steam kale for a minute, add to the other vegetables.  Steam the cabbage for a very short time, 1-2 minutes, it shouldn't lose it's dark purple color. Let the cabbage cool a bit before blending it with the other vegetables so it doesn't bleed its color onto them.

Whip the rest of the ingredients together, if it's looking anything but creamy, keep whipping :)

If it's still too bitter, you can always add more agave, salt, and apple cider vinegar.
If it doesn't have enough flavor, you can always add more smoked paprika, salt, mixed herbs and
cayenne.

mix the sauce with the veggies, and serve hot!

Unfortunately a couple hours had past before it was served at the potluck and it didn't hold up as well. I may have been overly judgmental of it, because I was very disappointed, but someone did still come up to me and complimented me on the dish... so it's possible that it was fine but I was too critical of it.
I will find out today, if chilling before serving would have improved it.  Some dishes are really incredible once chilled, so I am crossing my fingers on this one! I will let you know as soon as I eat this for lunch if chilling it prior is the best method for this guy.

Also, the hosts were so gracious and made the two main dishes vegan--- I'm pretty sure for me, because I'm the only vegan I know in that circle.  Amazing, it's these small -- to me big-- acts that really touch the heart!

Best!!

Esther

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 :):)

Day 1

It's finals.  And yesterday was my first visit to the new store in town, 'Natural Grocers'.

I am so used to only having a very small selection of products to choose from.

Give a vegan choices and it could be dangerous for that vegan's pocketbook.

I bought quite a bit to say the least.

I am living with a friend, and just thinking about the feast that I was going to have upon my arrival home from the grocery store made me feel way to gluttonous and disgusting.

So I was happy to give my friend and call to see if she wanted to indulge with me on all of the amazing products that I haven't been able to consume storebought since I was a non vegan.

They had things like vegan spring rolls, dumplings, cake, snacks, candy...... holy lord.

Give a vegan options during stressful finals.. oh you bet they will be spending a bit o' dough.


We had an amazing party of....

Falafels on gluten free rice tortillas
tahini and lemon dressing
lime juice just for extra moisture (falafels can be dry sometimes)
tomatoes
jalapeno and garlic havarti cheese by Daiya (amazing, this stuff melts and makes fabulous quesadillas)
fresh greens
sunflower seed sprouts

vegan dumplings with soy sauce

vegan spring rolls with that special red sauce

Broccolini -- this was previously unavailable in my town, but I must say it's an amazing vegetable!  Definitely a new favorite
I prepared it by sizzling 2 cloves of garlic in 2 tsp of oil in a pan.  Adding 2 cups of chopped broccolini 2 heads of brocollini and stirring.
I put in about 1tsp of kelp powder-- a salt substitute
1/4 tsp of garlic powder
1-2 tbsp of nutritional yeast
1 tsp of vegan butter (earthbalance)

It came out amazing!  very lovely.

We also snacked on baked nori squares - sesame flavored
jalapeno kettle chips -- oh so addictive and amazing

After dinner we indulged in Vegan icecream which happened to also be low glycemic!  Luna and Larry's Organic Coconut Bliss icecream flavored Chocolate Walnut and Brownie!! :):)  Oh it was delish.

We finished eating around 10pm :):)

What an amazing evening of food!!!

Thanks Natural Grocers :)