Gardein, or... The Cooking Channel Veganized

If you're going to try Gardein for the first time, you're going to need a recipe that actually uses MEAT. I, however, fall quite short in that department.

I thought "beef stew" was kinda obvious, and shish kabab (which these look like) are rather difficult without a grill, BUT I had a package of the Gardein Beefless Tips in my freezer that I, at least, wanted to TRY.

One day, I had the Cooking channel on in the background, and this adorable Asian chef came on the screen, with a lovely Brittish accent.  Her show was called Chinese Food Made Easy, and her cullinary point of view was to debunk the myth that Chinese food was the greasy, fried, take-away we all see here in American, (and apparently in England too, which is where this show is from). She wanted to teach her viewers that authentic Chinese cuisine is fresh, quick, delicately balanced in flavor, and totally accesible to cooks at home.

So, I looked to tried this:  Spicy Beef Stir-Fry Topped With Scallion and Coriander

Adapted and veganized from Cooking Channel's Chinese Food Made Easy.  I used Gardein frozen beefless tips for this, but I imagine pieces of seitan would work wonderfully here as well. Serve this with wasabi mayo (recipe below) over some warm flatbread or tortillas...DELICIOUS and spicy!!

Cumin is not a spice one might expect to find in a Chinese dish. There is a large population of Muslim Chinese in Beijing. They came from western China and brought with them a unique cuisine that calls for the use of spices such as cumin and fennel, which found their way to China along the Silk route. The spices in the dish are distinct and extremely flavourful, and pair amazingly with the fresh scallion and coriander. Please, if you can, take the time to freshly grind your cumin from the whole seeds. I used a mortar and pestle, and it made ALL the difference!

Ingredients:

For the Wasabi Mayo

1/2 tablespoon wasabi powder
4 teaspoons water
3 tablespoons vegan mayonnaise (I use Veganaise) 

1 pinch powdered sugar

For the Spicy Coating

2 tablespoons cumin, freshly ground
2 tablespoons dried chili pepper flakes
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

For the Beefless Stir-fry

8 ounces seitan (I used 8oz package Gardein Beefless Tips)

2 tablespoons peanut oil

1 teaspoon rice wine or 1 teaspoon dry sherry
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 cup fresh cilantro, leaves and stalks, roughly chopped
2 spring onions, finely sliced


Directions:

1. To make the mayo: In a small bowl, mix the wasabi powder with 1 teaspoon water to make a paste.
2. Mix the wasabi paste, remaining water and vegan mayonnaise together. Season with some sugar, and set aside.
3. To make the spicy coating: Grind your cumin seeds in a mortal and pestle.
4. Once ground into a powder, add dried chile flakes, black pepper, and salt.
5. Heat a wok or pan over high heat and add the peanut oil.
6. Add the beefless tips or seitan and stir-fry for less than 1 minute.
7. Add spicy mixture and stir to coat pieces in spice and oil.
8. When spices become fragrant, pour in the rice wine or sherry, and season with the soy sauce.
9. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cilantro, and spring onions. Serve immediately on warmed bread of choice with wasabi mayo.



Spicy Beefless Stir-Fry with Scallion and Coriander



Butternut Squash & Apple Soup

In honor of the temperature going down to 28 degrees tonight, I thought I'd share a warm and comforting Autumn soup!



This soup is adapted from a recipe I found in Fitness Magazine. The hint of curry, as well as the sweetness of the apples give this soup a really unique and delicious flavor. The addition of the white beans adds some depth and creaminess as well. Perfect for a cool Fall night! This soup is really nice served with some toasted crostini, spread with some fresh roasted garlic. 

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 2 cups onions, chopped

• 1 teaspoon curry powder

• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

• 6 cups butternut squash, peeled and cubed

• 2 granny smith apples, cored, peeled and cut into bite-size chunks

• 1/2 teaspoon thyme

• 2 (15 ounce) cans white beans, drained and rinsed

• 1/2 teaspoon salt (to taste)

• 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup (optional)

• 4 cups vegetable broth

• 2 cups water

• freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

1.  In a soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.

2.  Add the onion and curry powder and cook 3 minutes.

3.  Add the butternut squash, apples, thyme, white beans, salt and vegetable broth and the 2 cups of water - bring to a boil.

4.  Reduce heat and cook until squash is very tender, about 20 minutes.

5.  Working in batches, puree the soup in a food processor or blender until almost smooth.  (I like to let the soup cool a bit OR work in VERY small batches if soup is still hot).

Mint and Chocolate, the Perfect Pair

So, I went a bit overbaord with the Halloween cupcakes, but hey, Halloween's my birthday, so I should go overboard.

This batch was CHOCOLATE!

Here they are naked, fresh from the oven ^.^ I dripped the batter everywhere!!



As always, I used my "go-to" recipe for vegan chocolate cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take over the World.  This recipe is a little different from the golden vanilla in that it uses canola oil for the fat instead of Earth Balance, but believe me, it is equally as yummy.

I did find that many of my friends do not like "chocolate" cupcakes, and much rather prefer the vanilla.  I'm not exactly sure why there's this bias against chocolate cupcakes, but that's ok... more for me!

I thought I'd try something different with the buttercream frosting for these, so I used 1 tsp of vanilla extract and 1/2 tsp of mint:

The result: Chocolate and Minty goodness:





Tomorrow's post will NOT be about cupcakes, I promise! ^_^

Halloween Cupcakes! (Vegan Style)

Trick or Treat!  A few fun sprinkles plus some white and black vegan buttercream make these delicious sweet little treats!

For the cupcakes, I used my go-to recipe from the cookbook: Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World.  As far as I'm concerned, this is the most wonderfully, perfect vanilla cupcake recipe (vegan or NON).  Recipe can be found here, reprinted with permission. Vegan buttercream frosting is a must as well.  My hints for the frosting: Use Earth Balance brand shortning and buttery sticks, and beat in a Kitchen Aid mixer for the full 3 mintues and then 7 minutes!  It's like a cloud :)  Then, go to town with sprinkles!!

The only one of its kind! White buttercream and shiny orange glitter sprinkles!

Frankenstien Style! (black and green ^_^)

All purpose Halloween-y Colors!

And... my FAVORITE:  Black frosting with BONES!!

I made the full batch of buttercream, left half of it white and then added BLACK food coloring paste to the remaining half until it went from a purple-y grey to a nice dark black.  I think I added about three tiny "scoops" of the black gel until it was dark enough.

Do not, I repeat, DO NOT check to see what this food coloring gel "TASTES" like.  A small miscommunication in the kitchen made L's tongue (and saliva) black for a good three hours!! (no pics, sorry)

And... the inspiration for all the fun:

On sale at A.C. Moore!! (thanks Mom!)

Guide to the Perfect Smoothie

Think you need a recipe to make a smoothie? Think again!

Follow these basic tips to make deliciously fun, fruity smoothies everytime ^_^



Most of the smoothies I make are simply a combination of my favorite fruit, milk or juice.  I have listed a basic smoothie recipe below, and then below that, are some specific options for different ingredients:

1 cup fruit (fresh or frozen)
1/2 - 1 cup frozen banana
1 - 2 cups of liquid
1 - 2 tsp natural sweetener or nut butter
1tsp - 2tbsp supplement (optional)

FRUIT:
Frozen: bananas, pineapples, strawberries, blueberries, mangoes, peaches, cherries, or a mix of any!
Fresh: honeydew, cantaloupe, mango, peaches, oranges, blueberries, strawberries

Liquid Options (or the blender's not gonna blend)
Non-Dairy Milk (I love almond milk, but soy, rice or hemp work well too)
Non-Dairy yogurt or silken tofu
100% citrus fruit juice (orange, pineapple, mango) apple juice
Water (if you're doing RAW)

Nut Butters/Natural Sweetners:
Almond butter, all natural peanut butter, cashew butter, tahini, pure maple syrup, evaporated cane juice

Supplement:
Vegan protein powder, ground flax seed, fresh ginger

Helpful Hints: 

• Instead of making banana bread with those over-ripe brown bananas, try peeling, slicing, and keeping them a ziplock bag in the freezer.  Frozen bananas for smoothies anytime!
• Trader Joe's has amazing, resonably priced bags of frozen organic fruit like strawberries, blueberries, mangoes, pineapple, and a tropical mix that's really yummy!  I have these in my freezer at all times for whenever I'm out of fresh fruit
• Be creative! There are really no "bad" mixes of fresh or frozen fruit: strawberry/banana, strawberry/banana/blueberry (pictured above), Pinapple/banana/OJ, rasberry/peach,
• 1 TBSP ground flax seed is a great way to add thickness to a smoothie, and boost your Omega 3s.

HAPPY BLENDING!

Vegan Cookies are Invading...

A friend of mine was kind enough to lend me her copy of Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar and I went to town baking!

Oatmeal Raisin



Amazing recipe from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar! I think I like this oatmeal cookie recipe even better than the one from Joy of Vegan Baking (which I really, REALLY love). There is actually less sugar in this one, but it is all BROWN sugar so the flavor is really amazing! Original recipe in VCIYCJ called for soy milk, but I always use unsweetened almond milk. Baking time: 10 minutes = chewy, 12 mintues = crunchy. I like CHEWY :)



I actually used half raisin and half dried cranberries, since I only had a half cup of each...



Mexican Hot Chocolate Snickerdoodles!



Do yourself a favor: Make these NOW!!  You can actually find the recipe on the PPK blog here.  These cookies had the perfect blend of soft, crunch and chewy... I was a wimp, and cut the cayenne a bit, but I think next time I will make as written. 

I actually bought a bottle of chocoate extract for the express purpose of making these cookies, and it really, REALLY makes a difference in the intensity of the chocolate flavor.

AND... last but not least in any way... 

THE chocolate chip cookie!!



Again, these are the perfect blend of crispy and chewy!

Please, do NOT be tempted to over cook your cookies.  If they look done, they're OVER-done.  Just be patient and let them cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet then carefully move them to a rack to finish.

^_^

Artichoke Olive Salsa

This recipe came in the weekly emails I receive from the Meatless Monday website. It sounded so delicious I just had to try it. It's really easy, and looks gorgeous.  Perfect as a starter to an Italian or Mediterranean themed meal. Serve with crusty bread or pitas, or as a topping for bruscetta.

Ingredients: (serves 6)


1 (14 ounce) cans artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
3 roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2 tablespoons red onions, minced
1/4 cup kalamata olive, sliced
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
salt and pepper, to taste
3 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
1 -2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
 
Directions:
Prep Time: 10 mins

Total Time: 10 mins

1. Mix the artichoke hearts, tomatoes, red onion, olives, garlic and basil together in a medium sized bowl.
2. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Add enough olive oil so that the salsa reaches desired consistency.
4. Cover and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes before serving.