Creamy Avocado Pasta

After a two hour hot yoga class last night finishing at 7:30PM, I was not really in the mood to do much cooking when I got home. Luckily, I found this recipe by Angela Liddon, who writes an awesome vegan blog called “Oh She Glows”. I had half an avocado on hand so I halved the recipe and added in some cherry tomatoes.  It was delicious and came together so quickly, I was able to sit down to eat before 8PM!


Ingredients:

• 1 medium sized ripe Avocado, pitted
• 1/2 lemon, juiced & zest reserved for garnish
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1-2 garlic cloves (I recommend one clove, unless you are a big garlic fan)
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 6oz servings of pasta (I used whole wheat angel hair)
• 2 tsp pine nuts
• 8 cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
• Black pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Bring several cups of water to aboil in a medium sized pot. Add in your pasta, reduce heat to medium, and cook until Al Dente, about 8-10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, make the sauce by placing the garlic cloves, lemon juice, and olive oil into a food processor. Process until smooth. Now add in the pitted avocado, salt, and 1 tablespoon of water. Process until smooth and creamy.

3. When pasta is done cooking, place pasta into a large bowl with tomatoes. Pour on sauce and toss until fully combined.* Garnish with lemon zest, pine nuts, and black pepper. Serve immediately. Makes 2 servings.

*Note - Reserve a little pasta water in case you need to thin out your sauce.

Sweet & Sour Tofu

While the ingredient list for this stir fry might look long, it consists mostly of pantry staples. The stir fry comes together very quickly -  perfect for a busy evening after work. Serve over cous-cous or brown rice to make a full meal.

The dish was modified but based mostly on this recipe I found online

Ingredients:

1 pound firm tofu, patted dry cut into 1-inch cubes
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon sesame oil
¾ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoons raw sugar
2 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon low-sodium tamari
1 teaspoon sirracha
1 teaspoon ginger root
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 scallions, trimmed and cut into 1-inch lengths
1 cup diced red or green bell peppers
½ cup diced fresh or canned pineapple
2 cups broccoli
Sesame seeds and/or chili pepper flakes, for garnishing

Directions:
1. Lightly steam the broccoli and set aside
2.  In a bowl, coat the tofu with the cornstarch, sesame oil and salt. Set aside.
3.  In a seperate bowl, whisk together the ketchup, sugar, vinegar, tamari, sirraccha, and ginger
4. In a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat, warm the oil. Add the tofu and fry, turning, until crisp and golden on all sides, about 8 minutes
5. Add the bell pepper and broccoli and continue to stir-fry for 2 minutes.
6. Add the sauce and stir until it is thick and clings to the tofu and vegetables, 2 minutes.
7. Top with sesame seeds or a pinch of chili pepper on top

Kale & Mushroom Lasagna

The other night I made my first attempt at a vegan lasagna. I am not the biggest fan of "fake" vegan cheeses so I was attracted to this recipe that does not call for any vegan cheese but rather uses tofu and nutritional yeast to make the "cheese" layer. The tofu mixture really does resemble cheese mixtures I have used in previous lasagnas. The texture is very similar...and while you can definitely tell the difference in taste it was still really good.

The recipe is from Quick-Fix Vegan by Robin Roberston.

Ingredients:

1 box no-bake lasagna noodles

2 lbs extra firm tofu, well drained and mashed

8 ounces kale, stems removed and finely chopped

1/2 cup nutritional yeast

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1.5 teaspoons dried basil

1/2 tsp ground fennel seeds

1/2 tsp dried oregano

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tsp red pepper flakes

6 oz cremini mushrooms, chopped 

4 cups marinara sauce

1/3 cup pine nuts

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, combine the tofu and nutritional yeast. Mash well to combine. Add the parsley, lemon juice, basil, fennel, oregano, 1 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper. Mix well to combine and adjust to taste.
3. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until softened. Add the kale and season with salt. Cook until wilted, about 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook until softened and any liquid is absorbed, 5 minutes. Set aside.
4. Spread a layer of marinara sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking pan. Arrange 4 noodles on top of the sauce, overlapping slightly. Spread half of the tofu mixture over the noodles in a thin layer. Spread half the kale mixture. Repeat layering with the sauce, noodles, the remaining tofu mixture, and the remaining kale mixture, ending with the noodles topped with the marinara sauce. Sprinkle top with pine nuts.
5. Cover the lasagna with foil and bake for 45 minutes, until hot throughout. Let stand at least 10 minutes before serving.

The Best Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe. Ever.

I am surprised I even had any batter left to make these cookies...I couldn't stop eating it raw. Maple syrup + peanut butter? Thanks Heidi for my new favorite cookie recipe.

Ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2  teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1/2 cup peanut or almond butter
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
In a medium mixing bowl combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. in a separate larger bowl combine the peanut butter, maple syrup, olive oil, and vanilla. Stir until combined. Pour the flour mixture over the peanut butter mixture and stir until barely combined. Let sit for five minutes, give one more quick stir, just a stroke or two. Now drop by heaping tablespoonfuls onto parchment-lined baking sheets.

Press down on each one gently with the back of a fork. Bake for 10 minutes (don't over bake or they will be dry). Let cool five minutes and transfer to a cooling rack.

Makes a dozen cookies.

Vegetable Jelfrazi

Have I mentioned previously that I love Jamie Oliver? A good looking Brit who cooks and is a great role model for healthier (if not vegan) eating. If only I could understand his choice of baby names. Buddy Bear Maurice? Poppy Honey Rosie? Daisy Boo Pamela? Petal Blossom Rainbow? Seriously? 

I forgive you, Jamie, because you give me recipes like the below Vegetable Jelfrazi. While there is quite a bit of chopping involved,  I promise that this dish is worth it.

A few notes:

• This makes a LOT. I had to switch pans halfway through cooking it....and my huge wok was still barely large enough. Halve the recipe if you do not have a big enough pan.
• Red curry paste can be hard to find...look for it in the Asian section of your supermarket. I could not find the Patak curry paste Jamie uses so I used Maesri Thai Red Curry instead which turned out to be very (!) spicy. 
• I left out butter and switched the red chilli pepper to a jalapeno. Otherwise I kept his original recipe pretty true to form, as it was already very vegan friendly.

Ingredients:
1 medium onion
1 jalapeno
A thumb-sized piece of fresh root ginger
2 cloves of garlic
A small bunch of fresh coriander
2 red peppers
1 cauliflower
3 ripe tomatoes
1 small butternut squash
1 x 400g tin of chickpeas
Vegetable oil
½ a 283g jar of Patak’s jalfrezi curry paste
2 x 400g tins of chopped tomatoes
4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 lemons

Prep:

 Peel, halve and roughly chop your onion

Finely slice the chili

Peel and finely slice the ginger and garlic

Pick the coriander leaves and finely chop the stalks

Halve, deseed and roughly chop the peppers

Break the green leaves off the cauliflower and discard

Break the cauliflower into florets and roughly chop the stem

Quarter the tomatoes

Carefully halve the butternut squash, then scoop out the seeds with a spoon and discard. Slice the squash into inch-size wedges, leaving the peel on but removing any thick skin, then roughly chop into smaller pieces

Drain the chickpeas

Cook:

Put a large casserole-type pan on a medium to high heat and add a couple of lugs of oil

Add the onions, chilli, ginger, garlic and coriander stalks and cook for 10 minutes, until softened and golden

Add the peppers, butternut squash, drained chickpeas and jalfrezi curry paste

Stir well to coat everything with the paste

Add the cauliflower, the fresh and tinned tomatoes and the vinegar

Fill 1 empty tin with water, pour into the pan and stir again

Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down and simmer for 45 minutes with the lid on

Check the curry after 30 minutes and, if it still looks too liquidy, leave the lid off for the rest of the cooking time

When the vegetables are tender, taste and add salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice

Serve:

Serve over basmati rice with a sprinkle of coriander leaves and a few lemon wedges for squeezing over.

Chinese Noodles with Broccoli & Tofu

This dish completely satisfied my craving for Chinese take-out  - and no need to resist ordering egg rolls!

Ingredients

• 8 ounces rice vermicelli
• 4 teaspoons vegetable oil, divided
• 8 ounces extra-firm tofu, drained, pressed, and cut into strips
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce, divided
• 1 tablespooncurry powder
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into thin matchstick strips
• 1 carrot, shredded
• 1 tablespoon white wine
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 2 cups small broccoli florets

Directions

Soak the rice noodles according to package directions until softened. Drain well and set aside. Place broccoli in a covered container with 1 tablespoon of water in the microwave on high for 1 minute to lightly steam.

Heat 2 teaspoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the tofu and stir-fry until browned, adding 1 tablespoon of the soy and a sprinkling of curry powder sauce while cooking.

Remove and set aside on a plate. Reheat the skillet with the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil. Add the bell pepper, steamed broccoli, and carrot and stir-fry 2 to 3 minutes to soften. Stir in the remaining curry powder and stir-fry 10 seconds, or until fragrant. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons soy sauce, along with the wine, sugar, salt, and red pepper flakes, stirring to mix well. Stir in the broth and bring to a boil over high heat.

Add the drained rice noodles and return to a boil, stirring to coat the noodles in the sauce. Add the steamed broccoli and reserved tofu, and cook, stirring, 1 to 2 minutes, or until the liquid has been absorbed by the noodles. Enjoy!

Vegan Peach Almond Muffins

The little coffee shop across the street from me has the most amazing baked goods. I enjoy breathing in the heavenly smell of bread, scones, and other yummy things baking in the oven when I walk past every morning on my way to work. Their muffins are especially appealing - combinations of fruit that I rarely see (peach/cranberry, blueberry/apricot, etc) where the chunks of fruit are always peaking out of the sides and top of the muffin.

Unfortuantely, this bakery does not have any vegan items on the menu. I am still waiting for them to offer soy milk for coffee (ahem! come on people!).  So when I found a can of peaches in the back of my cupboard and no idea what to do with it, I decided to try to recreate one of their peach muffins - lower in fat and vegan of course.

The end result was actually amazing - I am using all my self control not to have a third with my afternoon tea today. I adapted the below recipe from one I found on Susan Voisin's blog.


Vegan Peach Almond Muffins

Ingredients:
1 can of peaches - drained and chopped
1 1/2 teaspoon ground flaxseed
2 tablespoons warm water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 cup white + 1 cup whole wheat flour
2  teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons sliced almonds + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400F. Spray muffin tins with olive oil (or some other non-stick) spray.

Drain and chop the can of peaches - set to one side.
In a medium mixing bowl, mix the ground flax seed with the warm water. Add the vanilla extract and almond milk to the flax mixture and whisk well to combine.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar or substitute. Mix well. Add the liquid ingredients and stir just until combined; batter will be thick. Fold in the peaches, making sure they are distributed throughout the batter. Fill each muffin cup to within 1/2-inch of the top. Smooth the top of each muffin and sprinkle with sliced almonds and granulated sugar . Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 15-20 minutes. Allow to cool before serving.

Yield: around 14-16 muffins