Microwaved Potato Chips? September 30, 2009

That is what I was thinking. I’ve been under some stress, hence all the posts lately and the lull before, therefore I needed some comfort food. Like most people I’m trying to make better food choices and when I saw this recipe on a food blog I was in disbelief. Today I tried it, with much success. The times are dependent on the microwave and the thickness of the chips.

Soo thanks to Vivacious Vegan (again) and her blog and her blog (http://vivaciousvegansrecipes.blogspot.com/2008/05/microwaveable-fat-free-potato-chips.html)… I’ve made more use out of my microwave in this one afternoon then I have in its whole lifespan.

Vegetarian Sausages September 7, 2009

I love the Tofurkey brand sausages they are great to barbecue and slice up in pasta for a nice change form TVP or veggie dogs, so when I came across a recipe for them I jumped at it and it was fantastic. Again I can’t take even the slightest ounce of credit for this recipe BUT I did vary up the spices a little. I added a little liquid smoke and next time I would substitute the olive oil for seasame oil to give it a little flavor, also I didn’t have nutritional yeast on hand so I used 1.2 cup of TVP and I think it added even more to the texture.  Here is the original recipe to do with what you please but please try it, it really is a simple process with outstanding results.

This recipe comes from Everyday Dish which I encourage you all to visit. It also has a handy video to go with it proving how easy it is, please visit http://www.everydaydish.tv/index.php?page=recipe&recipe=109 .

Spicy Italian Vegetarian Sausages

Makes 8 links

2 1/4 cups vital wheat gluten
1/2 cup nutritional yeast flakes
1/4 cup chickpea flour
2 tbsp Bills Best Chik’Nish Seasoning (if using another brand which is salty, or saltier than Bill’s Best, you’ll want to greatly reduce the amount you use)
2 tbsp granulated onion
1 to 2 tbsp fennel seed, optional
2 tsp coarsely ground pepper, preferably freshly ground
2 tsp ground paprika
1 tsp dried chili flakes, optional
1 tsp ground smoked paprika
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground allspice
2 1/4 cups cool water*
6 to 8 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp soy sauce

1. In a large bowl, mix together all of the dry ingredients. Whisk together the water, garlic, olive oil and soy sauce and using a fork, gently stir into the dry ingredients. Stir just until ingredients are mixed. If dough mixture is too dry, you can add another tablespoon of water or as needed.
2. Scoop 1/2 cup dough mixture at a time and shape into logs. Place logs on piece of aluminum foil and roll up, twisting ends. Place sausages in steamer and steam for 30 minutes. Once sausages have cooled, remove from foil and refrigerate until ready to eat. After cooling, the sausages may feel a bit dry on the outside. Don’t worry, as they will soften and firm up considerably after chilling.

Variation: You can shape the dough into little patties instead of links. If you don’t want to use aluminum foil, you can wrap the links in damp muslin or tea towel and tie ends with cotton twine.

Copyright © 2008 Julie Hasson

Seriously THE Best, Vegan Brownies September 7, 2009

Ok so being a vegetarian a long time and trying to convince meat eaters to at least try to scale down how much animal products they consume I figured I should take my own advice. I am not vegan but have the utmost respect for people who can live the lifestyle so noticing where I consume the most animal products in my diet is in baked goods I needed to find some cruelty free options. I’ve been baking since I was a little girl and do so with a passion and brownies vegan and non-vegan alike are a very recipe protected venture. However, yesterday as I was drooling through multiple vegan baking websites I came across these brownies who many people were up in raves about. I decided I had to take the plunge and boy was I totally impressed. The problem I find with most brownie recipes are due to the heavy ingredients, even though it  was a really moist fudgy brownie the baking part of it was the secret, you can’t bake them too long because they get dry can’t under cook them because the egg  needs to set.  Vegan brownies gave me a fool proof concoction, no egg to set wooo but I was worried about them being dry…I was sooo wrong. I omitted the nuts in the photo simply because I was too impatient to get my butt to the store but they turned out FANTASTIC I suggest you try, amazing!

Just to note this is in nooo way my recipe it is all thanks to The Modern Vegetarian Kitchen by Peter Berley which I found only because of this blog http://vivaciousvegansrecipes.blogspot.com/2008/05/best-vegan-brownies-ever.html

AMAZING Vegan Brownies

1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup soymilk
1.5 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup unbleached white flour
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup semi/sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil an 8 inch square GLASS pan.
2. Put the oil, maple syrup , soy milk and vanilla in a medium bowl and whisk to combine.
3. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder and salt.
4. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet mixture with a rubber spatula. Don’t overmix.
5. Fold in the chocolate chips and walnuts.
6. Put the batter in the pan and spread it out evenly. Bake for 35 minutes.
7. Don’t over bake.
8. Cool before cutting.

Roasted Tomatoes September 7, 2009

These are wonderful and with tomatoes season upon us it’s a great way to use up some extra you might have form the garden. This works best with plum, cherry or grape tomatoes. You’ll find yourself just snacking on them but they are great used anywhere you can think of. I recently made a pizza with these and goat cheese and roasted garlic, delish!

Roasted Tomatoes

• 2 pints of cherry or grape tomatoes or about 12 plum tomatoes
• olive oil
• sea salt and black pepper

Pre-heat over to 225 C

wash and half the tomatoes, placing face up on a large cookie sheet brushed with olive oil

sprinkle with sea salt and crack black pepper and drizzle with a little extra olive oil

let back for up to 3 hours until mostly dehydrated

let cool and enjoy

Potato Salad May 31, 2009

I love potato salad in the summer, this is a quick, easily “veganized” version that really is low on ingredients and big on taste.

Potato Salad

Potato Salad

4-5 medium sized new potatoes washed well, cut in half with skin on(red skins work well too)

2-3 green onions

1 small clove of garlic grated

3 tbsp fresh dill, chopped fine

1 tbsp  Dijon mustard

3/4 cup (up to) of light “real” mayo or veganaise I love the garlic version but I’d suggest omitting the garlic if you use this, also I often split the mayo with sour cream as well to make it lower fat but when i make it vegan JUST veganaise

Salt and pepper to taste

Scrub new potatoes and cut in half, I like to leave skins on but it’s up to you. Boil until tender when pierced with a fork, drain, cube and  set aside to cool.  In a smaller bowl, mix green onions, garlic, dill, mustard,  mayo/veganaise/sour cream and salt and pepper. When potatoes are cool combine and roughly mash  so there are cubes and smaller poatyoes pieces as well. Chill for about 30 mins ot an hour and serve.

Roasted Garlic May 31, 2009

If you are going to roast garlic, roast a whole bunch, you won’t regret it and you can freeze it. (I should make a note, if you freeze it make sure you have extracted it first otherwise you will have a soggy mess.)

Roasted Garlic

Roasted Garlic

Just cut off the tops, rip off a square of tin foil for each bulb drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper
and bake in the oven or toaster over at 350 for at least 20-25 minutes until brown on top and soft to  squeeze.

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Roasted Mushroom and Spinach Salad April 5, 2009

Roasted mushrooms make a great side to warm wintery dishes, they are earthy, juicy and only take minutes to make. Since Spring is on it’s way but there is still a nip in the air I tried to come up with something to satisfy the cravings of both seasons.

warm mushroom and spinach salad

Roasted Mushrooms

1 Package of washed and stemmed whole button mushrooms
2-4 tbspn of olive oil
1 tspn dried roasmary
1 tsp thyme
1/ tsp garlic powder
a sprinkling of sea salt

Preheat oven to 400F

Coat baking sheet with half of the olive oil.

Toss washed stemmed mushrooms in a medium bowl with half  the oil and all the herbs and spices,coating well.  Turn mushrooms out onto pan and bake  for 10 minutes.  Flip mushrooms and bake for 5-10 more minutes until well cooked and  wrinkly.

Salad
a couple handfuls of wash dried baby spinach leaves
fresh pepper
balsamic vinegar to taste
thinly sliced red onion
and goat cheese (optional)

In a medium sized bowl toss enough spinach for two  in balsamic vinegar (to taste).  Arrange spinach on plate, topping with thinly sliced red onion,cracked black pepper,  half of the warm mushrooms. Garnish with  goat cheese if you are not vegan…eat …done.

More on Tofu April 3, 2009

I’m always looking for new ways to cooks tofu and incorporate it into my meals. I found this tutorial by Melissa Ray Davis a while ago and loved the pictures and the information so much I needed to post it here. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

http://hubpages.com/hub/How_to_Cook_Tofu_Like_the_Pros

Turkish Lentil Kofta April 1, 2009

I try to eat vegan when I can because it simply makes me feel better so when I had this dish in a Turkish restaurant I set out to make them at home. They are cheap and easy to make and this recipe yields quite a bit. They are esp good in the summer as they are served chilled.

Lentil Kofta

Turkish Lentil Kofta

1+ 1/2 cups red lentils rinsed well and drained
1 cups fine grain bulgar
3- 3+1/4 cups of water
3 tbs olive oil for frying
1 medium to large sized onion peeled and diced
1/2 cup of washed, de-stemmed and chopped parsley
2 tbps fresh washed chopped  dill
3-4 green onions washed, trimmed and chopped
2 cloves of garlic peeled and chopped
3 tbsp tomato paste
Juice of a lemon
2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp celery seed
1 tsp mint
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

In a medium to large saucepan bring 2+1/4 cups of lightly salted water to a boil. Rinse lentils in a fine mesh strainer removing any imperfections and add to pot and cover.

While the lentils are cooking rinse the bulgar and add to lentils along with 3/4-1 cup of hot water) after they have boiled for 8-10 minutes. Cook until lentils break open and water is mostly gone. Be sure you lentils are not so over cooked they turn to paste. Remove form heat and keep covered to absorb any extra moisture.

While lentils and bulgar are cooking chop onion and garlic and saute over medium heat until just tender. When onions start to go translucent add the cumin, celery seed, tomato paste,salt and pepper. When combined well, set aside.

In a large bowl add lentils/bulgar, onion mixture and lemon juice and mix well. Let chill in the fridge for at least 3 minutes before adding the fresh herbs and green onions, mix well and let sit  at least an hour until everything is chilled and has had a chance to absorb all the flavors.

Before serving shape into logs, balls or patties/ Serve on a bed of lettuce with lemon and cilantro/parsley for garnish. I like eating these with warm grilled flat breads or as part of a wrap.

Easy Roasted Potatoes March 31, 2009

I make these potatoes all the time, they are a Sunday Brunch  or a night after shenanigans must have. Adjust the seasonings to taste but I gave you my two favorites. Happy munching!

Roasted potatoes made with the original seasoning

Roasted Potatoes

Preheat oven to 400F.

Oil a large baking sheet with 1-2 tsp of olive oil.

Wash 3-5  medium sized potatoes making sure to remove any imperfections.

Leave skin on and cut into 1 inch pieces or wedges if you like, bigger sizes require longer cooking time.

Place in a medium to large sized bowl and coat with 2 tbspn olive oil and toss well.

Add spices to potatoes making sure they are well coated then turn onto oiled pan.

Bake in the oven for 15 minuted then turn and cook for about 10-20 minutes longer. They should be golden brown, crispy on the outside but soft on the inside of when pierced with a fork.

Seasoning

• a liberal amount of freshly ground pepper
• 1 tsp of Italian seasoning
• 1/2 tsp rosemary
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• salt to taste

Cajun Seasoning

• 1 tsp of sugar
• 1/2 tsp of paprika (smoked paprika is nice if you have it)
• 1/8 tsp cayanne
• 1 tsp of chili powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• salt and pepper to taste