blueberry smooooothie

Blueberries are an insanely high nutritional powerhouse. Vitamin A, C and loads of anti-cancer properties. I'm a fan of mixing my blueberries with soymilk and a bit of honey for a lovely beat-the-heat drink on this 80 degree day. You could even add some yogurt (or soy yogurt) to make it more substantial. 

Blueberry Smoothie: 

1 cup washed blueberries (make sure there's no little irksome stems)

2 cups soymilk

2T honey 

Mix together in a blender with a couple cubes of ice and serve. 

Yields about 2 servings

lavender shortbread

Butter. How I love thee. I try to limit my butter intake, but sometimes you just gotta make a recipe that is basically all butter. And sugar. And lavender. This recipe is a fancy take on shortbread. But it's super easy to make. It's kinda like making a pie crust. You just press the dough into a cake pan, fork it, bake it and eat it! It's just so good. 

Lavender Shortbread 

1 1/2 cups butter (room temperature)
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons very finely chopped lavender florets (fresh or dried)
2 1/3 cups flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 325°F.
Butter two cake tins that have the removable bottoms and fluted edges. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, sugar and lavender with an electric mixer. Mix until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes.) Add flour, cornstarch, and salt and beat until well incorporated. Divide dough in half. Flatten into a disc and wrap in plastic. Chill for about 20 minutes.

On a floured surface, roll out each disc to a thickness of  about 1/2 inch. Press into cake tins (including up the sides). Prick the dough a couple times with a fork. Bake 20 to 25 minutes until pale golden (do not brown). Cool slightly, then transfer to a rack. Cut into triangles. If you're feeling high class, serve with tea. 

Red Quinoa with Swiss Chard and Seitan

Okay, back to the healthy stuff. While I was in PA, I made this super easy red quinoa dish for my mom. This particular quinoa has a more earthy flavor than it's white counterpart, but is just as insanely high in proteins, which is great if you don't eat meat. I pair it a lot with coconut milk and curry dishes, but I wanted something a bit lighter this time of year. I sauteed it with some swiss chard (I find that if you finely chop greens like kale, swiss chard and collard greens, they are easier to eat even if they're barely cooked, AND people who don't normally like eating greens will especially like this because you can barely taste it!) I added a yellow pepper for some color and vitamin C, sliced up a package of seitan and added a bit of lemon juice to perk it up. 

Red Quinoa with Swiss Chard and Seitan

1 cup quinoa

1 1/2 cups water

1 pepper (any will do, I had yellow)

1 bunch of swiss chard (finely chopped leaves; save stalks for another recipe)

1 package of seitan

1 tablespoon of lemon juice

extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper

Put quinoa in a medium sized pot and add the water. Cover and let simmer for about 20 minutes or until all of the water is absorbed. Add a tablespoon of olive oil to a saute pan, let it heat up and then add the swiss chard with a pinch of salt. Saute for a couple of minutes and then add the yellow pepper and quinoa. Cook for a couple more minutes to meld the flavors and then sprinkle with a tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice and ground pepper. 

In the picture below, I added the quinoa dish to a split pea soup I had made as well. The flavors went really well together and I'll post the recipe for the soup next time. 

vegan peanut butter blondies

I'm back. No more wisdom teeth woes. It's time to get down to business and do some cooking. Well, baking to be exact. Last week, I went home to see my mom in Pennsylvania. Along with the obligatory healthy soups and stews, I knew I had to make her something sweet. She's always had a sweet tooth and although you're really not suppose to eat too many sugary foods when you're battling cancer, really, sugar in moderation is awesome. If I was going to do something sweet, I figured it might as well be rich and have some good fats in it. Hence, peanut butter blondies! It's basically the same recipe from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar, but with dark chocolate chips added. I used all natural peanut butter that literally has nothing in it but peanuts and salt. They're so rich and fudgey, it's hard to believe they're vegan. This particular blondie is topped off with some soy delicious mocha fudge ice cream and a bit of soy whipped cream. 

Peanut Butter Blondies: 

3/4 cup all natural peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)

1/3 cup canola oil 

1 cup Brown Sugar

1/4 cup Non-dairy Milk

1/2 tsp Salt 

1/2 tsp Baking Powder 

1 cup flour (I used whole wheat)

2 tsp Vanilla Extract

1/3 cup dark chocolate chips

1/3 cup chopped peanuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease an 8X8 metal baking pan. Whisk peanut butter, oil & sugar in mixing bowl. Add vanilla & non-dairy milk (I used rice, unsweetened). Now, add flour, salt and baking powder and knead it with your hands until well-mixed. It will hold together and not spread. 

Place in pan and pat to fit evenly. Sprinkle with chopped peanuts if you so desire, and press lightly into surface. Bake for 22-25 minutes, only until edges begin to brown slightly. Set on rack and cool thoroughly. Cut into squares or wedges and serve.

wisdom teeth woes

I haven't posted on my blog in over a month. It's been a treacherous month, food-wise. I've had my bottom two wisdom teeth taken out and eating has been a less than a enjoyable experience. I mean, I love me some peanut butter and banana soy milkshakes. But, when you're in pain, nothing tastes good. 

My point being, is that I have literally been living on smoothies, soups and mashed potatoes for too long. I'm ready to get back in the kitchen and cook up somethin tasty and maybe even crunchy! 

I'm off to PA this weekend to hang with my mom and I'm going to do my best to create healthy dishes that she can eat that won't cause her pain either. I'm thinking about braising lots of spring time vegetables and making mellow soups and stews. And of course a fair share of not-too-sweet desserts and breads! 

vegan pumpkin chocolate cupcakes with cinnamon icing

My baking rampage continues....And I also wanted to let everyone know that my former culinary school classmate and friend Eileen Botti and I will be selling our vegan cakes and cupcakes starting in the next couple of months. We're still figuring out the logistics of it all, but we hope to get started real soon. In the meantime, I will be posting more photos of vegan sweet treats for everyone to start drooling over. 

carob date cake

Here's another version of the carob cake recipe. This one had chopped dates and a vanilla bean cake soak as well. It came out a super dark morbidly black color. I think it's a bit halloween-esque. If only I had had orange sprinkles..

vegan carob cupcake with coconut and hawaiian sea salt

I'm continuing on my poor girl's culinary journey of trying out new dishes with random ingredients that I've had sitting in my cupboard in need of attention. It really forces you to be more creative in this hard economic time. ( I'm in the process of making my own mustard and mayonnaise-so easy and cheap-which I'll write more about later) It's also so therapeutic creating a tangible item and clearing space in the kitchen.

I adapted this recipe from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. Instead of using cocoa powder, I used carob. Carob tends to give baked goods more of an earthy flavor that can be a bit on the dry side. Therefore, I  made a vanilla bean cake soak that adds moisture to the cupcake and gives it an awesome vanilla/sugary kick without being too over-the-top-frosting sweet. Using an actual vanilla bean makes all the difference. They're a bit pricey, but way worth it when you wanna make something special. Adding the sea salt plays well with the sweetness. (I had some leftover from when I went to Maui, but any coarse sea salt will do) Who doesn't love sweet and salty combined?! Think of a more refined chocolate-covered pretzel!

Carob Cupcakes: 

1 cup soy milk

1 teaspoon vinegar ( I used apple cider, don't use balsamic!)

3/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup canola oil

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup all purpose flour

1/3 cup carob flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with paper liners. Or use ceramic ramekins and simply oil with a bit of canola oil. Whisk soy milk and vinegar and let sit in a small bowl for about 10 minutes to curdle and get a bit thick. Meanwhile, sift flour, carob, baking soda and powder and salt in a medium bowl. Add thickened soymilk and sugar, canola oil and vanilla extract. Mix thoroughly until all large lumps are gone and spoon into paper muffin liners until 2/3 full. Bake until a toothpick is inserted in center and comes out clean, or about 20 minutes. Cool on wire rack for a bit. 

Vanilla Soak: 

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 vanilla bean

Put 1/2 cup water, the sugar, and the oil in a small pot. Split the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and use a small sharp knife to scrape the seeds into the pot. Add the pod as well. Cook at a slow bubble, whisking mixture frequently, until the sugar is dissolved and the liquid is slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Let it cool to room temperature, then remove and discard the pod. 

Pour the soak over the individual cupcakes and let sit for an hour. 

sweet potato and coconut soup

Sweet potatoes are insanely high on the nutrition scale. They have high levels of beta carotene, vitamin C, B6 and tons of fiber. I made this soup a couple of weeks ago when I was visiting my mom in Pennsylvania. It's a creamy and nourishing one, with a simple blend of sweet potato and coconut milk. The secret ingredient is lemongrass, which imparts a lovely lemony flavor that really ties the sweet potato and coconut together nicely. Lemongrass' essential oil is actually a natural form of an anti-cancer proponent that causes apoptosis, which is the process of killing cancer cells. I'm sure you need to be eating a hell of a lot of lemongrass to really make it potent, but it's nice to know that it's helpful in the fight against cancer. 

Recipe: 

Two sweet potatoes (peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes)

One can of coconut milk

Two stalks of lemongrass (bruised and cut into chunks)

olive oil

One onion (diced)

Two cloves of garlic (minced)

Four cups of veggie stock

chopped mint (optional)

coconut flakes (optional)

Heat a stock pot on medium flame. Add olive oil, diced onions and a pinch of salt. Cook until onions are translucent. Add garlic and saute a minute more. Add the diced sweet potatoes, lemongrass, veggie stock and coconut milk. Simmer on low heat for about twenty minutes. Check to see if sweet potato can be easily pierced with a fork. If so, you're done! Ladle into soup bowls and top with chopped fresh mint and a sprinklin of coconut flakes. 

olive oil date cookies

I made these cookies simply because I wanted to get rid of the bag of chopped dates I've had sitting in the fridge. You know how sometimes you have something in the kitchen and you know you should do something with it, but you're just too lazy? Well, this bag of dates has been staring at me for far too long. It was about time I ate 'em.

I didn't want to make a cookie that was too sweet either. So, instead of using bland ole canola oil, I substituted olive oil. This gives the cookie a cakey inside and a crisp outside. And turns the cookie batter a creepy green.

Recipe: 

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

pinch of salt

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

3/4 cup milk or soy milk

1/2 cup olive oil

3/4 cup chopped dates 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine dry ingredients. Beat the eggs, olive oil and milk. Add wet to dry and mix until thoroughly combined. If the mixture seems too tough, add a bit more milk. Fold in chopped dates. 

Drop by rounded teaspoons onto a lightly oiled cookie sheet and bake 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool for a couple minutes, then transfer to cooling rack.