The Unnamed Dessert = Bad News!

This is the #1 dessert you go to when you are craving something bad! Chocolate and almonds made into a rich, raw, frozen dessert that will make you say MMMMMM!! The best part: only natural ingredients are used... it's naturally sweet and full of the good fats! Careful not to have too much though, as this dessert is packed with calories! I am guilty for overloading on this! Shhh...  Once you try this, you will understand :)

Here it is... It's called The Unnamed Dessert! I came across this recipe on Healthy Girl's Kitchen. If I were to name this dessert though, I think I would call it "The Satisfy-Your-Chocolate-Crave Brick." Ha! This is delicious and I love it, but definitely dense!

 

The Unnamed Dessert

Ingredients

• 16 ounces Medjool dates, pitted
• 2 cups of almond milk
• 10 oz almond butter 
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2/3 cup cocoa powder
• 2 cups raw almonds, chopped

Directions

1. Place the dates in a container and pour the almond milk over the dates. Place the container in the refrigerator and allow to soak overnight.
2. Pour the dates and almond milk mix into a food processor.
3. Add the almond butter, vanilla, and cocoa powder. Blend until the mixture is smooth and spreadable.

4. Into a 9x9 casserole dish, sprinkle a thin layer of almonds on the bottom of the dish.
5. Pour the date mixture on top of the almond layer.
6. Add the remaining almonds to the top of the date mixture.
7. Freeze overnight or until frozen solid before serving.
8. Cut into squares and serve frozen.

A new kind of salad, full of flavor!

So I'm always on the lookout for new recipes. Recently, I have been a little more daring with flavor though! Crazy how herbs and spices can really make a dish top notch, huh?!

I have been following the blogs of many cooks/chefs these days, most of them vegan, but friendly for all eaters!  I am always finding recipes "I just have to try!". Holy Cow Vegan Recipes has some great recipes, which is where I found strawberry avocado black bean salad! Not only are her recipes different, but they are delicious and fun! Hope you all enjoy this as much as I did!

Strawberry Avocado Black Bean Salad

Ingredients

For the salad:

• 1 cup strawberries, quartered
• 1 avocado, pitted, peeled and diced
• 1 (15-oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 bunch scallions, chopped

For the dressing:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• A pinch of cayenne pepper
• 1 tbsp agave nectar
• Salt, to taste

Directions

1. Mix the ingredients for the dressing together.
2. Place all the prepared vegetables and beans in a bowl. Drizzle the dressing over, and mix.
3. Serve at room temperature.

Hummus: How do you eat it?

For all those who like hummus... how do you eat it? With fresh vegetables? Pita chips? On a pita sandwich? Or maybe even by itself?! Ha!

Well... let me tell you... I LOVE hummus! And I found a great recipe in Veganomicon that I insist on sharing with you all! This is a classic recipe that is just perfect with fresh veggies! I also used this hummus recipe in my Too Good-To-Be-True, Healthy Nori Rolls! Yum, yum, yum!

Veganomicon's Hummus Recipe:

Ingredients

• 2 (15-oz) cans chickpeas (I used slightly more than this, one 15-oz can and one 19-oz can)
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 3 tbsp tahini
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/4 cup water
• Pinch of coriander
• Salt, to taste
• Pepper, to taste
• Paprika (optional)

Directions

1. Puree half of the chickpeas and olive oil in a food processor by pulsing serveral times and stirring a few times in between.
2. Add the remaining chickpeas and olive oil, as well as the lemon juice, tahini, garlic, water, coriander, salt, and pepper.
3. Pulse several times and stir, until the desired creamy consistency.
4. Transfer to a bowl and garnish with paprika.
5. Cover and refrigerate until ready to eat. Serve with fresh vegetables or pita chips or use as a spread on a sandwhich.

To the cooks of Veganomicon, Isa and Terry: Thank you so much for the wonderful recipes!!

Yummy Teething Biscuits!

Yes, this is it! A recipe for teething biscuits! A great way for babies to take their mind off of those aches when their teeth are beginning to come in.

Now why would I want to make teething biscuits? Well Mallory, Eric and the newest addition, Sloane!, came to visit! Fabulous company, fun times, and Sloane is too cute for words! She's adorable! But Miss Sloane had it rough one night. Poor thing. It was possible she may have began teething, so we starting searching for home remedies and Eric found a recipe for Teething Biscuits: Oats & 'Naner Drops. Of course I had to make these for Sloane! Anything to make her feel better.

 

Teething Biscuits

Ingredients

• 1 cup quick oats
• 1 cup ground oats (grind oats into a flour-like consistency)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• 1/4 t nutmeg
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 ripe bananas, mashed

• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 tbsp oil

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, mix together the oats, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and baking powder.
2. In a separate bowl, mix together the bananas, vanilla extract, and oil.
3. Add the banana mixture (wet) to the oat mixture (dry).
4. Drop by the spoonful onto a greased baking sheet.
5. Bake at 350 degrees F for 12-15 min.
6. Let cool on a cooling rack. 

These were like banana bread bites! This recipe was actually adapted from a vegan cookbook. And guess what? Sloane loved these! They fit perfectly into this great new invention: The Munchkin Fresh Food Feeder. It looks like a pacifier, but a mesh-like bag is attached to it, where you can put food in! It's really neat because you don't have to worry about the baby's safety (i.e. choking) while he/she is biting down or sucking on it.

I'm not sure who liked these more though... Eric or Sloane! Ha!

Vegan Rice Crispy Treats

Here's something new for ya! I decided to veganize the recipe for The Original Rice Krispie Treats! So how did I get this crazy idea? Well, I happened to be shopping at a local health food store with my friend Meagan, and we came across Suzanne's Ricemellow Creme a.k.a. vegan mashmallow fluff! Thinking about it for a second, we wondered how this would be in rice krispie treats.... hmm... Now all we needed was rice krispies... so we went on the search for a healthy rice cereal and found Erewhon Brown Rice Cereal! Though these treats weren't quite the real thing, they didn't taste too bad. They were sweet and tasty, BUT the vegan fluff didn't hold the rice cereal together enough. It was very delicate! As soon as you picked them up they would try to fall apart on you. Okay, so not the greatest reviews, but I still had to share! If anyone has suggestions of how to keep the treats together a little better, advice is welcomed this way!

Vegan Rice Crispy Treats

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons soy-free vegan butter (Earth Balance)
• 1 (10-oz) container vegan fluff (Suzanne's Ricemellow Creme)
• 6-7 cups rice cereal (Erewhon Crispy Brown Rice Cereal)

Directions

1. Grease a 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan with cooking spray.
2. In large saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Add the vegan fluff and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat.
3. Add rice cereal. Stir until well coated. Pour into greased pan.
4. Use wax paper to evenly press mixture into the pan. Allow to cool. Cut into 2-inch squares. Best if served the same day.

Lentil Marinara Sauce: Super Thick and Yummy!

I am back! Sorry it has taken me so long to update my blog. It gets a little busy when you have family and best friends visiting, and unfortunately, those unexpected events. But here I am, ready to share my fun and fabulous dishes with you all!

I adapted this lentil marinara sauce recipe from Mrs. J. She had given me this recipe months ago and I finally got the chance to check it out! As I was cooking it though, I decided to turn it into something a little bit more than sauce! More like a stew, but it was a nice, thick sauce perfect over pasta, sauteed veggies (my preference for a healthier dish), or even rice! I love marinara sauces, and to me, the thicker, the better! Yum!

Ingredients

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3-4 fresh garlic cloves, minced
• 1-2 tbsp olive oil
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1-1/2 cups lentils, uncooked 
• 1/8-1/4 tsp cayenne
• 4 large carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
• 3 (6-oz) cans tomato paste
• 2 (14.5) oz cans diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1-2 cups broccoli florets
• 3/4 salt
• pepper, to taste
• 1/2 tsp basil
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp parsley
• 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
• 3 handfuls of baby spinach leaves

Directions

1. In a  large pot or dutch oven, saute the onion and garlic in oil on medium-high heat until tender.
2. Add the broth, lentils, and cayenne pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 40-45 minutes covered.
3. While the lentil mixture is cooking, steam the carrots for roughly 20 minutes, then puree or mash them. This helps to thicken the sauce. Set aside.
4. Once the lentils are done cooking, to the lentil mixture, add the pureed/mashed carrots, tomato paste, diced tomatoes,  broccoli florets, and spices. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 20-30 minutes.
5. Add the spinach leaves, cover the pot and simmer for 5 minutes more, until the spinach is wilted.
6. Serve over sauteed, julienned vegetables (i.e. zucchini, squash, carrots) or rice or pasta. Top with fresh basil.
7. Enjoy!

Valentine's Day 2011 Recap

I hope everyone had a nice Valentine's Day! It's always nice spending this special day with loved ones (or talking on the phone), whether it's a significant other, family, or friends! Of course we always celebrate year-round, being surrounded by our loved ones, but I like to make this day extra special with David (all though, come to think of it, we have quite a few extra special days)!

So David woke up the morning of Valentine's Day with post-it notes EVERYWHERE! In the pockets of his work pants, the pocket of his work shirt, in his shoes, on the bathroom mirrors, on his car, in his lunch bag, on his coffee mug... I mean EVERYWHERE! Ha! I had wrote little love notes on about 20 post-its and put them in random places for David to find. What can I say? I love the guy, and I wanted to do something cute and cheezy!

David had tulips sent to the house... my favorite :) One day, I want to be able to grow my own tulips - they are so beautiful, but I feel I don't have the space to grow my own garden right now.

We decided to spend our Valentine's Day with a special homemade dinner. David had requested pasta with a meaty marinara sauce and garlic bread. The day before Valentine's Day I decided to take on a challenge and make my own French bread to make the garlic bread. I found a great recipe on Allrecipes! Turns out, French bread is for everyone! Vegans and non-vegans! It is very simple to make too! The only non-vegan step involved in making this bread is an egg-wash that is brushed on the dough before baking it - this is to just give the bread a nice, crusty, dark color though, which can also be done with milk! Since I wanted to try this French bread too, my "egg-wash" substitute was almond milk - perfect!

French Bread

Ingredients

• 1 pkg active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• Cornmeal
• 1-2 tbsp almond milk

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in warm water. Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes, allowing the yeast to activate.
2. Add the sugar, oil, salt and 2 cups flour. Stir the mixture until well-blended. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a stiff dough.
3. Turn the dough onto a floured surface. Knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes.
4. Place the dough in a greased bowl, turning it on all sides so the dough will not stick to the bowl. Cover, with a piece of plastic wrap or a damp towel, and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour (I usually place my dough in the oven. I warm up the oven a little, but not too much, before setting the dough in there).
5. Punch the dough down. Allow the dough to rest for about 10 minutes, then cover the bowl and let rise again for 30 minutes.
6. Punch the dough down again. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Shape it into a loaf (16 in. long x 2-1/2 in. wide) with tapered ends.
7. Sprinkle a greased baking sheet with cornmeal and place the loaf on the baking sheet. Cover the dough and let it rise until doubled, about 25 minutes.
8. Brush almond milk over the dough. With a sharp knife, make diagonal slashes 2 in. apart across top of loaf.
9. Bake at 375 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.
10. Remove from pan to a wire rack to cool.

Unfortunately, my bread didn't rise as much as I would have wanted it to, so I didn't take a picture (to spare my embarrassment LOL). I don't know if my yeast wasn't activated enough (water may have been too warm, potentially killing the yeast) or if I had accidently formed the dough into something too long and wide. Who knows, I will do better next time!

 

The day of Valentine's Day I sliced up the bread and layed the slices on a baking sheet. I minced fresh garlic and put it in a small pan with vegan butter, allowing the garlic to saute a little in the melted butter. I then brushed the butter-garlic mixture on the tops of the sliced bread and sprinkled veggie parmesan cheese on top. All vegan and you would never even know it! I turned the broiler on and put the garlic bread in the oven for about 2 minutes - Perfect! David loved it!

 

For dessert, I made David's favorite... Gingerbread Cookies! I made one big cookie for him with lots of little heart-shaped cookies on the side. Since this was all for David, I did not "veganize" the recipe... they are perfect the way they are :)

 

I love Valentine's Day because it gives me a chance to get all creative and gives me a GREAT excuse to be beyond CHEEZY! LOL. I love it!