Good Food!

No one would ever guess the cupcakes in this amazing Vegan cupcake cookbook are Vegan.  Feed this to a strict Carnivore and they’ll be asking for the recipe.  Seriously.  OK I know noone expects dead animals in their cupcakes but dairy and eggs they might well expect and they might look down their noses if you mentioned your cupcakes had none of these.

Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero prove unequivocably that there is no need for any dairy at all for the moistest, most lip-smackingly amazing cupcake treat.  To tell the truth before I started making these, some cupcakes would sound good but then I would inevitably be disappointed by how dry and uninteresting they ended up being.

These cupcakes jive with my cupcake fantasies!  My current favorites are the chocolate cupcakes with German chocolate icing.

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.

 Print This Post

 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.

1. Put the oinion, (garlic), potato, (celery) and pepper into a large saucepan with the oil and butter.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.

This recipe is from The Greek Vegetarian by Diane Kochilas

1 cup wild rice, rinsed and soaked for 30 minutes
1 cup baby lentils, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium-sized carrots, washed, peeled, and diced (or grated)
2 celery ribs, washed, trimmed, and minced (optional)
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced (or pressed)
1 teaspoon ground cumin seeds
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 to 3 tablespoons rice vinegar

4 to 6 servings

1. Drain the rice and place in a medium-sized pot with 4 cups of salted water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, covered, for about 40 minutes, or until the rice is tender. Remove and drain.

2. While rice is cooking, place the lentils in a medium-sized pot and cover them with 2 inches of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, until tender but al dente, about 20 minutes. As the lentils simmer, skim the foam from the surface. Remove, drain in a colander, and rinse under cold water.

3. While the lentils and rice are simmering, heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a skillet and sauté the carrots (if diced) and the celery (if using) for 6 to 7 minutes, until tender but al dente. Add the garlic and cumin seeds and stir for another minute. Remove from heat.

4. Place the wild rice, lentils, and vegetables in a medium-sized serving bowl, and toss to combine. Season with remaining olive oil, salt, pepper and rice vinegar. Let stand for 1 hour before serving.

 Print This Post

This soup is so easy to make and really is delicious despite the simplicity of the ingredients.

This recipe is from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison with slight modifications

2 T. Olive oil or butter
2 Onions, finely diced
3 small bay leaves
2 pounds potatoes, peeld,
Salt and freshly cracked pepper

Heat the oil in a heavy soup pot over medium heat, add the onions and bay leaves and cook slowly. Meanwhile, slice up potatoes to the size and shape you like.

Add the potatoes, raise the heat and saute, stirring frequently until a glaze starts to build up on the bottom of the pot, about 10 minutes. Add 1 1/2 teaspons salt and 1 c. water. Scrape the bottom of the pot to loosen the solids. Add 2 quarts of water and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer, partially covered until the poatatoes are soft, about 30 minutes. Remove bay leaves, taste for salt, season with pepper.

 Print This Post

This is the best tasting gluten free flour mix I’ve found.  There’s no predominating strong flavor that takes over the mix so the baked goods taste like . . . baked goods – not bean flour or quinoa or buckwheat.  Not that those are bad it’s just sometimes a good old fashioned tasting pancake or muffin is just what is called for. 

The basic idea for these came from "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World" by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero.

Use 1 batch of baking mix for each recipe below.

BAKING MIX
1/4 c. tapioca flour  
1/3 c. almond meal/flour
2. T. ground flax seed (or your choice of gluten free flour)
1/3 c. brown or white rice flour
1/3 c. sorghum flour
1 t. baking powder
1/2 baking soda
1/4 t. salt

FOR CUPCAKES
1 c. almond or rice milk
1/3 c. walnut or canola oil
1/2 c. xylitol
2 t. vanilla extract
1/2 t. almond extract
1 egg (optional)

Mix these ingredients on medium speed and then mix in the baking mix above.  Mix well – there’s no gluten so there’s no danger of overmixing.
Preheat oven to 350F
Oil muffin tin
Bake 20-25 minutes

FOR PANCAKES
1 c. almond or rice milk
1/3 c. walnut or canola oil
2 eggs, separated

Beat the egg whites and set aside.  Whisk milk, oil and egg yolks.
Mix in the baking mix above.  Fold in the egg whites.
Make the pancakes over medium heat in a saute or frying pan.

Good with blueberrries sweetened with Xylitol.

FOR COOKIES
1/2 c. butter or Earth Balance
1/2 c. xylitol
1 1/2 t. Stevia
2 t. vanilla extract
1/2 t. almond extract
1 egg (optional)
1/3 c. coconut

Mix these ingredients on medium speed and then mix in the baking mix above.  Mix well – there’s no gluten so there’s no danger of overmixing.
Preheat oven to 350F
Drop by spoonfuls on baking sheet
Bake 12-15 minutes

 Print This Post

I’ve been sprouting raw hulled sunflower seeds lately.  There’s very little work involved and the result is a tasty snack or salad topping.  I tried a fancy sprouter a year or so ago and the tray system for this gagdet was a pain in the neck to use. The water was hard to add and change and worst of all the sprouts often got moldy.  Now I use the old mason jar with a porous lid method with great success – easy and clean. I have "Sprout_Ease" lids which come in a pack with 3 sizes for under $5.  A long time ago I used cheese cloth and rubber bands which worked fine but the lids are easier to use and clean so I think they are worth the little investment.

Sprouting Raw Sunflower Seeds

Put 1/2 c. raw hulled sunflower seeds in a wide mouth mason jar, fill half way with water, screw on lid.

After 8 hours, dump water through lid, rinse several times and drain by dumping water through lid one final time and shaking.

Each morning and night rinse and drain the seeds.

Within a day or so you’ll see "tails" on the seeds.  They are fine to eat now and / or later when leaves start to form in a few more days.

Put 1 1/2 cups of mixed frozen blackberries and strawberries in a food processor with 1 1/2 T. Xylitol.  Blend, slowly adding unsweetned almond milk until desired sorbet consistency is achieved.

 Print This Post

Spread 3/4 c. of raw pumpkin seeds on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 10 minutes.  Meanwhile boil a little water and add 1 1/2 t. of hot water to 1/2 t. of good sea salt.  Take the seeds out of the oven and dump on the salt water.  The seeds will sizzle.  Put the seeds back in the oven for 2 or 3 minutes to dry them out.  That’s it!

 Print This Post