This is a super low calorie dessert – and while it might not be Tiramisu – it is a lovely sweet treat you can eat while remaining faithfully on your diet!
Summary: Low Calorie but delicious dessert
Ingredients
2 large Apples, cores removed
2 T. dried Blueberries (or Cranberries)
1/4 c. Raisins
2 dried Apricots (chopped)
1/2 t. freshly Grated Ginger
1/2 t. Cinnamon
1/4 c. Orange Juice
1/4 c. Apple Juice
2 t. Honey or Agave Nectar or Maple Syrup
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Place apples in small baking dish – hole side up
Mix berries, raisins, apricots,, ginger, cinnamon and juice and fill apples with mixture
Sprinkle any excess over the top of the apples.
Bake 20 minutes. Place on individual plates or small bowls and drizzle with honey (or agave or maple syrup)
Variations
Stick a few cloves in the apple before baking if you like them
Experiment with the juice you stew the apples in – Apricot Nectar?
8 cups high quality, organic, whole milk
1/4 c. fresh squeezed lemon juice
Instructions
Heat milk in a pot large enough to allow the mile to rise without overflwoing.
Squeeze lemon juice
Line strainer with two layers of cheescloth – if you want to save the whey, place a bowl underneath.
When the milk begins to rise, stir in the lemon juice. Almost immediately the curds separate from the whey. If the whey isn’t clear , add more lemon and stir again.
When curds have separated completely, pour curds and whey into the cheescloth.
Rinse under cold water to make firmer and remove lemon juice.
Tighten the cheesecloth around the paneer and squeeze out any excess water.
Quick Notes
This is surprisingly easy and quick to make. Ayurvedic and Macrobiotic Dietetics claim that fresh (non-aged) cheeses are far more healthy for the human body.
Variations
You can make a firmer paneer by pressing the paneer with a weight after straining. The longer it is pressed, the firmer it will be.
Dal Tarka with Coconut Cream, Mango Chutney and Cilantro
Making Tarka
Masoor Dal
Tarka Spices
Yellow Split Peas
I recently had Dal Tarka for the first time at my favorite restaurant and I was blown away by how delicious and satisfying this simple dish can be. I came home determined to make my own.
Dal, made from any of a variety of pulses (dried beans or lentils), is a mainstay in South Asian vegetarian cooking. Dal Tarka is made by pouring Tarka over the Dal after it’s been cooked. I made my Dal from yellow split peas.
Tarka is more a method than a list of ingredients. Also called chaunk, bagar, popu and a several other names – Tarka is essentially whole spices fried briefly in oil or ghee to release the essential oils from the spices. The Tarka is then poured into the dal and voila! – Dal Tarka!
I used the Tarka spices from a recipe in my “Hare Krishna Book of Vegetarian Cooking” by Adiraja dasa. I also used unprocessed, organic peanut oil instead of ghee – so that the end result would be vegan. The peanut oil worked perfectly as a replacement providing the rich flavor that ghee gives – without the butter. The whole spices included:
a couple of bay leaves
a cinnamon stick broken in 1/2
1 1/2 t. turmeric
1 1/2 t. cumin seed
1 dried chile, crushed
1/4 t. asafetidda
2 t. crushed ginger
I squeezed half a lemon into the Tarka before pouring on the dal. Served with Basmati rice, coconut yogurt, cilantro and chutney, it was a meal in itself.
Root Vegees, Golden Beet, Sweet Potatoe and Butter Potatoe
Recipe: French Green Lentil, Golden Beet and Sweet Potatoe Soup
Summary: Rich french lentils and chopped vegees in a broth of indian spices
Ingredients
1 1/3 cup Puy lentils
6 c. vegetable stock or water
1 golden beet, peeled and shredded
1 small sweet potatoe, peeled and thinly sliced
1 small potatoe, diced
1 c. organic coconut milk
Cold pressed olive oil
1 T. grated ginger
2 T. chopped onion
1 t. ground coriander
1 1/2 t. cumin
1 t. turmeric
1/2 t. asafetida
2 to 3 T. coconut cream
salt
pepper
optional garnish coconut yogurt and fennel or coriander leaves
Instructions
Bring 4 c. stock or water to a boil. Add lentils. Reduce heat, add potatoes, simmer 15 minutes.
Add beets, coconut milk, and the rest of the water or broth. Continue simmering for 5 minutes until beets are tender.
Heat olive oil in small pan over medium heat. Saute ginger, oinion, coriander, cumin and turmeric. Cook 3 minutes. Stir in asafetida and coconut cream.
Stir the ginger-onion mixture into the lentil mixture. Season with salt and pepper.
Serve with optional garnishes
Quick Notes
This soup is perfect for a cold, winter night.
Cooking time (duration): 1 hour
Diet type: Vegan
Diet (other): Low calorie, Reduced fat, High protein, Gluten free
Summary: There are only a few foods I get cravings for….chocolate, deep fried spring rolls, kung pao tofu….and miso soup. Especially if I’m feeling run down – Miso soup does an amazing job of nourishing me and it always tastes good. I like this recipe because it has alot of value-added vegees not just the traditional broth with seaweed and a few squares of tofu.
Ingredients
2 t. ghee (or sesame oil for vegan)
2 t. grated fresh ginger
1/4 t. asafetida
2 T. tamari or shoyu 2 t. miso
8 c. vegetable broth
Optionally any of the following
1 bok choy, sliced crosswise in thin strips
handful of dried Shitake mushrooms
1/2 c. thinly sliced daikon radish
1/2 c. thinly slice zucchini
1 small leek, cleaned and thinly sliced
handful of dried rice noodles, broken into small pieces
1/4 c. small cubes of tofu
2 t. chopped cilantro
Instructions
Heat ghee, saute ginger 3 mintues
Stir in everything else (except noodles if you add them)
Bring to a boil, Simmer 10 minutes
Add noddles (if you decide to) Simmer 20 minutes more
Add miso and serve.
Quick Notes
I like chickpea miso because I try to limit my Soy intake.
Summary: Try this on roasted vegees, rice or omelets. It’s REALLY good!
Ingredients
1 jalapeno chile, seeded
1 large bunch cilantro, stems removed
1-2 garlic cloves
1/2 c. olive oil
1/4 c. water (optional)
juice of 1 lime
1/t. ground cumin
sea salt to taste
Instructions
Coarsely crop the chile, cilantro and garlic, puree with 1/4 c. water and oil. Add lime juice and cumin. Salt to taste.
Quick Notes
modified from Deborah Madison’s recipe in Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone
Trader Joe’s Pancake and Waffle mix is wheat, peanuts, nut, milk and diary, soy and corn free! Since this list contains many of the allergy culprits this mix bodes well for any person avoiding these foods or allergic to them. Also sugar free!
Most importantly the waffles are delicious and lose nothing from the lack of wheat. The main flour is rice flour with some tapioca and arrowroot flour as well.
Light with a spongy textures inside, crisp, crunchy outside. We made ours with dairy free Sweet Cream and warmed up dark Morello Cherries – also from TJoe’s for a satisfying and delicous Sunday brunch.
Summary: easy to make, rich and creamy Vegan soup guaranteed to confuse non-Vegans
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups sliced onions
1/4 cup rolled oats
6 cups chopped zucchini (3-4 medium zucchini)
2 1/2 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried basil, or 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons tahini
2 teaspoons umeboshi or rice vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Instructions
In a large pot, layer the onions, oats, and zucchini. Cover with the water and bring to a boil. Add the salt, dried basil, and black pepper. (If using fresh basil, see below.) Reduce heat to simmer, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 40 minutes. In a blender or food processor, puree the zucchini mixture with the tahini, vinegar, lemon juice, and fresh basil until well blended. Return the mixture to the pot, reheat, and simmer for 5 minutes. Serve immediately.
From The Ultimate Vegetarian Cookbook by Roz Denny with some modifications. Use the butterless and milkless options for Vegan Corn Chowder. This is one of my all time favorite soups. I must have made it over a hundred times. It tastes even better the next day reheated but is good from the get go.
INGREDIENTS:
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed (optional)
1 medium size potato, chopped
2 stalks celery, sliced (optional)
1 small green or anaheim pepper, seeded and sliced
2 T. olive or sunflower oil
2 T. butter or more oil
4 c. stock or water (use part milk if you want)
salt and ground black pepper
1 – 7oz. can lima beans or 1 c. dried (cooked)
1 1/4 c. corn, fresh, frozen or canned
pinch dried sage (optional)
Optional: If using dried lima beans, cook. I use a pressure cooker with 1c. dried beans, 2. c. water for 4 minutes with a ten minute break before releasing pressure.
Put the oinion, (garlic), potato, (celery) and pepper into a large saucepan with the oil and butter.
Heat the ingredients until sizzling, then turn the hear down to low. Cover and sweat the vegetables gently for 10 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally.
Pour in the stock or water, season to taste, and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat, cover and simmer gently for about 15 minutes.
Add (milk), beans and corn – and the sage. If your using canned corn and the broth tastes good, you can add that too. Simmer for 5 minutes. Check for seasoning and serve hot.
Ghee is butter that has had the solid fats and salts removed by slow simmering. Although it’s often thought of as a part of Indian Cuisine, it can be used in place of oil for sauteeing in any cuisine and can even be spread on toast instead of butter. Ghee is better for you as it is relatively free of oxidized cholesterol and it also has a much higher burn temperature and is less likely to become rancid. It will keep for months if stored in a closed container in a cool dry place.
Ghee is surprisingly easy to make and homemade is more cost effective and fresh then ghee purchased at the store.
From The Hare Krishna Book of Vegetarian Cooking:
Begin by heating the butter in a large heavy saucepan over medium heat until it comes to a boil. When the surface of the butter is covered with a white foam, reduce the heat to as low as possible and simmer uncovered. From time to time remove the solids that accumulate on the surface. Make sure the ghee doesn’t burn. If ghee is cooked over too high a heat or cooked too long, it will darken and give off a pungent odor.
How much time you need for preparing the ghee depends on how much you are making (see table below). The finished ghee should be golden-colored and clear enoug~ to see through to the bottom of the saucepan. Carefully ladle the ghee into a can or crock and allow it to cool uncovered to room temperature. The milk solids skimmed off the surface and the solids remaining in the bottom of the pan can be mixed into cooked vegetables, soups, and grains. Ghee properly prepared and stored in closed containers in a cool dry place will keep for months.
Preparation and Cooking Time of Ghee
Quantity of butter
Cooking time
Yield of ghee
2 Ibs (1 kg)
1/2 hr.
1 3/4 lbs.
Note: I’ve made this with one pound of butter and it turned out fine.
From The Ultimate Vegetarian Cookbook by Roz Denny with some modifications. Use the butterless and milkless options for Vegan Corn Chowder. This is one of my all time favorite soups. I must have made it over a hundred times. It tastes even better the next day reheated but is good from the get go.
