Super Simple Smoothie

I had nothing prepared breakfast wise yesterday and feared that I may have to stop at Dunkins for a bagel (gag me).  I tore through my fridge trying to find anything substantial and decided I’d whip up a smoothie since I hadn’t had one in awhile and I quite simply, had no other options.  It was SO delicious and surprisingly filling and I was thrilled I didn’t succumb to a DD run.

2 bananas, halved

6 strawberries, halved

1 cup fresh baby spinach

1/4 cup blueberries

1/3 cup coconut milk

• Combine all ingredients in a blender and pulse until desired consistency.  And you’re done!

      

Apple Insanity

Me and my friends from work went apple picking this past weekend at Tougas Farm and I was SO excited to make a whole mess of apple treats.  Arikka and I split a 20 pound bag and I went home with probably 30 apples.  After apple pancakes, I figured I’d use up a bunch for applesauce and then make a soup and baked apples later in the week.  Applesauce seemed simple enough and although I’ve always hated it (more or less because the store bough brands are generally nothing but sugar and processed apple juice) and I’ve recently read that it’s a great substitute for eggs in vegan baking.  It’s actually pretty yummy and makes a really great snack!

        

   

           

About 4 lbs apples (9 or 10) peeled and cored

1 cup water

3 tsp cinnamon + 1 tsp

1 tbsp brown sugar

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/8 tsp nutmeg

• Pour water, apples, 2 tsp cinnamon, brown sugar, salt and nutmeg in a large saucepan
• Cover, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, then cook on  low/medium heat for 30 minutes
• Remove from heat, crush apples with a potato masher until you reach desired consistency (we like our a little chunkier)
• Stir in remaining tsp of cinnamon

Lazy Lasagna with Spinach and Fresh Tomato & Herb Sauce

I had planned to make a legit lasagna the other day and was pretty pissed when I got set up to make it and realized I didn’t have any lasagna noodles.  I did have an overflow of brown rice penne though and decided pasta is pasta, and I may as well see if it works out well.  And I’m so thankful because it was by far, the BEST lasagna I had ever made!  I may do this from now on, because regular lasagna noodles can be a real pain in the ass and this was super simple.  I used to use the meatless sauce I first came up with awhile ago, but now that we don’t use any can products I started using fresh tomatoes from the farmer’s market (the BEST ones I’ve ever had) and herbs from our porch.  It’s pricier than the can version and doesn’t make a huge batch (about 2 cups) but it is so worth it!

                     

FOR THE LASAGNA

3/4 lb brown rice penne

2 cups fresh baby spinach

4 oz fresh mozzarella, sliced

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan

1 tbsp oil for the pan

TOMATO SAUCE

3 large fresh tomatoes, sliced

1/4 cup fresh basil leaves

1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/4 cup chopped fresh oregano

5 cloves garlic, minced

4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 cayenne pepper, minced

• In a large frying pan, heat 4 tbsp olive oil and cayenne over medium heat
• After 3 minutes, add tomatoes, basil, parsley, oregano, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper and reduce to low/medium heat
• Let simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally
• After 45 minutes, add garlic, cook for an additional minute, then remove from heat
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees
• Pour 1 tbsp oil into the bottom of and 8 X 8 pan so it’s completely covered
• Add 1/2 of the pasta evenly, then layer with half the sauce
• Ontop of the sauce, add the slices of mozzarella, then top with the spinach
• Add the remaining pasta ontop of the spinach, layer the remaining sauce, then top with Parmesan cheese
• Cover with foil then bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes

White Bean, Rosemary & Arugula Crostini

2 cup cannelloni beans, cooked

6 slices whole wheat french bread, toasted

1 1/2 cups fresh arugula

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp dried rosemary

1 1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Shaved Parmesan for garnish (optional)

              

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees
• In a food processor, pulse beans, salt and pepper together until thick
• Meanwhile, over medium heat, cook rosemary in olive oil for about 3 minutes or until the fragrance becomes stron
• Add garlic and cook for an additional minute
• Remove from heat and pour into food processor.  Pulse into beans until mix is even creamier
• Distribute bean mix onto the slices of bread
• Place crostinis on baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 6 minutes
• Remove from oven, top with arugula and cheese, and serve

Raw Pumpkin Seed & Raisin Granola

Not a far cry from our Goji Berry & Cocao bars, but a more seasonally appropriate version of the dehydrated nut mix.  Even though I’m not too thrilled about it, fall is definitely in the air-and our food!

1 cup raw pumpkin seeds, soaked overnight

1 cup raw almonds, soaked overnight

2/3 cup flaxseed

1/2 cup raw honey

1/3 cup organic raisins

3 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

• Drain all seeds well (you don’t want to have excess water) and blend the pumpkin seeds, almonds and flaxseed in the food processor until chunky
• After a few minutes, add in honey, cinnamon and nutmeg and continue to blend in food processor until thoroughly mixed
• Pour in a large bowl and mix well
• Press onto two (2) non-stick dehydrator sheets and spread out until about ½ thick.
• Dehydrate at 105 degrees for 24 hours

Sweet Potato & Kale Pasta Bake

Jim’s first solo blog-I am so proud!

This recipe is almost too timid for him, as his meals are usually elaborately spiced, filled with ALOT of vegetables and take awhile to prepare.  This dish seemed almost too easy for him, but I was absolutely blow away by how delicious it was.  The Greek yogurt and sweet potatoes make it rich and creamy, but the cripsy kale and mildly tough pasta give it a hearty taste.  A new favorite! 🙂

         

1/2 lb brown rice penne, cooked

3 sweet potatoes, cubed and boiled

1 head of kale, destemmed and torn into pieces

2 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 cups organic Greek yourt

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• In a bowl, whisk together eggs, yogurt, garlic, salt and pepper
• In a large bowl, toss the pasta, sweet potatoes and kale together
• Pour yogurt mixture into pasta and stir together until everything is well blended
• Add everything to a greased 13 X 9 baking dish and cook at 400 degrees for 25-20 minutes

Vegan Corn Muffins

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup ground cornmeal

1 cup almond or coconut milk

2/3 cup organic sweet corn kernels, cooked

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup olive oil

4 tsp baking powder

3 tbsp vegan “egg”

1/2 tsp sea salt

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees
• In a large mixing bowl, stir together flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt
• Slowly add in remaining ingredients until everything is mixed well and has a thick, sticky consistency
• Add into cupcake tins (makes about 24 muffins) and bake at 425 degrees for about 15 minutes

      

     

                     

The Lost Recipes

I’m not a perfectionsit when it comes to cooking.  Although I’m fanatical about cooking everything pretty much homemade or organic, my focus is not always on getting measurements perfect or writing down every single ingredient or getting every recipe absolutely accurate.  I forget things.  I cook too late, get started after one too many glasses or wine or simply just get caught up in the art of cooking and don’t document every move I make.  Jim is even worse at this then me, which can sometimes makes things tough when a meal comes out amazing and we have no idea as to what the f*ck we did to get it that way.

That being said, here’s a rundown of the minimal details of some dishes we forget to remember.  Maybe you’ll create your own and perfect them, maybe they’ll be an absolute mess.  Everything’s always an experiement, and more often than not, that’s the beauty of cooking.

       

Butternut Squash and Peas in Brown Rice

• Butternut squash
• Peas
• Brown Rice
• Coconut milk
• Parmesean cheese

Kale & Cabbage Spring Rolls

• Eggroll wrappers
• Kale
• Shredded carrots
• Napa cabbage
• Radicchio
• Red Onion
• Ginger
• Lemon Juice & oil

     

Whole Wheat Waffles

• I think they’re extremely similar to a pancake recipe.  We were hungover and too lazy to bother posting.

       

Lentil and Oat Balls

• Green lentils
• Rolled oats
• Breadcrumbs
• Egg
• Onion
• Soy sauce
• Lemon juice and Oil
• That’s all I’ve got.  Sorry!

Vegan Cheese: Love it or Leave it?

                                                      

I’ve given up dairy milk completely.  I could go without eggs (although Jim’s frittatas make it hard to do so).  And butter replacements are not hard to find.

But cheese?  I’ve mentioned numerous times that cheese is just something I’m not ready to part with it.

But knowing how addictive it can be and how detrimental cheese can be for your health, I’ve made a conscious effort to try and kick the habit.  Cashews and nutritional yeast are great substitutes, but the texture is never quite the same as the ooey gooey mess that originates from the real deal.  Recently though, Arikka wholeheartedly committed to veganism (SO happy that someone has enough will power to do it!) and began testing out the fake cheeses- most of them soy based.

So I figured I’d give it a try.  I’d tried out the Daiya version, which SUCKED because it virtually just turns into liquid unless your baking it on super high heat, which means it’s a no go for pizza, quesadillas and more of my favorite foods that don’t take long to cook.

I had high hopes for the Follow Your Heart brand, as it had a short list of ingredients that I could actually pronounce.  Their blocks of various types of “cheese” range in all sorts of flavors, so I was instantly drawn to the mozzarella version, because the consistency looked and felt somewhat similar to actual cheese.  It also resembles your standard block of tofu, so I had mixed thoughts as I attempted to cook a vegan margherita pizza.  It took MUCH longer to get the cheese to melt, but overall it looked exactly like mozzarella and had a very mild, subtle taste that you almost didn’t notice.  But at least the texture was realistic and it didn’t taste like tofu (or something worse).  Another friend of mine also used the mozzarella in a pasta dish and pulsed it in the food processor, which also, didn’t stand out much in the dish it all.

Great on pizza, OK in pasta but not much else, unfortunately.  I tested out the cheddar in quesadillas, tried some straight up and Arikka attempted to use it in tacos, all of which were an epic fail.  I would suggest putting in extra spices or trying to liven up the flavor a bit, but its dense texture and obviously high temperature gauge makes it difficult to work with.

My advice?  Go vegan and avoid recipes that call for cheese all together.  And if you’re continuing to use the real thing, just use it sparingly.

(margherita pizza- legit cheese or vegan?……OK, it’s vegan)

Zucchini & Cauliflower Casserole

3 1/2 cups zucchini, diced

2 1/2 cups cauliflower, cut into pieces

1 cup onion, chopped

3/4 cup shredded carrot

1 1/2 cup cream of celery soup (I found a great organic brand at Whole Foods- not in a can either!)

1/2 cup organic butter, melted

1 package whole wheat stuffing (lots of good brands at Whole Foods-find an herbed one of add your own fresh herbs to a plain one)

Black pepper to taste (I can never get enough!)

• In a large bowl toss together vegetables and black pepper
• In another bowl mix together stuffing mix and butter, and set 1/2 of it aside for topping
• Add vegetables to 1/2 of stuffing mix, add cream of celery soup and mix well
• Transfer mix to a greased 13 X 9 inch baking pan and top with the other 1/2 of stuffing
• Bake at 350 degrees, uncovered, for 50 minutes