Monday, August 30, 2010

Vegan Dinner Party This Friday

I am throwing a dinner party in honour of my cousin who is visiting from Holland.
Here is the menu:
Appys
Onion Puff Pastry
Black Bean Dip

Entree's
Roasted Vegetable Strudel with White Sauce
Caramelized Leek and Spaghetti Squash Polenta with White Sauce
Creamy Sweet Potato Bake
Garlic Asparagus
Creamy Cauliflower Bake
Quinoa with Basil and Pine Nuts
Purple Potatoes
White and Purple Carrots

Dessert
Chocolate Coconut Brownies

Served with Red or White Wine

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Eating Vegan on the VEGAS strip.

ELVIS ok nothing to do with food...but its ELVIS

 A Vegan Bocca Burger...so very good
 Guacamole...need I say more? My love affair with the avocado continues
 Margarita..
 Veggie pizza, no cheese
Avocado and Veggie roll, with hot sauce. We were really hungry so this is really the left overs
Roasted Veggie wrap with GUACAMOLE!! yep love avocados


We had some great food. Roasted veggie wrap at the Paris hotel was amazing! Even in the airport we could have a veggie sub from quizno's. (minus cheese of course) Yam fries...mmmmm. We were shocked though at the portion sizes. WOW you americans sure serve up BIG portions. When we ordered a wrap there was no "whole wheat" choice, we could choose bread but only white. White bread, white bagel, white roll. Once when we were being served, we were told our meal comes with fries or onion rings, we said "no thanks" the server was confused. He said "but they are free, they come with" 
What a great 4 days in the Vegas! Love the weather. Even walking around at 11PM its warm and beautiful. 

Monday, August 23, 2010

Amy's Pizza


Best pizza ever!!! Only 200 calories for 1/4 of the pizza. The sauce is amazing. I have no idea what it is but it is GREAT!!! mmmmmm 

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Vegan Forums

VeggieBoardsImage via Wikipedia
Here are two great vegan forums that I visit a lot.  
1) veggieboards (veggieboards.com)
2) craigslist (vegan forum)
My user name is Care563

Friday, August 20, 2010

Coffee? This post is for you Janet!!! :)


This is the fake coffee I buy. I boil almond milk on the stove, pour into a mug, add a heaping (maybe more) tbsp of the coffee powder, then some agave syrup for sweetness. It replaces my soy lattes and I really like it.

Pumpkin Smoothie OH WOW

This smoothie is amazing...great today but probably even better on a fall day. The colour is off it is a beautiful orange colour.

Makes 2 - 3 servings
3/4 cup canned pumpkin (not pie filling)
1 frozen ripe banana, cut into chunks (I didn't have a frozen one so I added a few ice cubes)
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
2 cups cold almond milk

Place all ingredients, except 1 cup of the almond milk, in a blender. Blend until smooth. Add the remaining 1 cup of almond milk and blend until smooth. Pour into glasses and sprinkle with more nutmeg. Serve immediately.
Serve it instead of eggnog during the holidays!!

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Mmmmm good black bean dip



Black Bean Dip
1 can of black beans
cumin
salt
hot pepper sauce
blend
add
tomatoes
avocados
(optional: garlic and onions) I used green onions
serve with chips (I served with bake chips)
and margaritas :)

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Strudel

This is another amazing recipe that tastes great and looks incredible. It is easy to put together. Vegetables never tasted so good.

1 onion (I use sweet onions) halved and thinly sliced
1 medium red or yellow pepper, cut into strips (I used a small red & yellow pepper)
12 asparagus spears, tough ends trimmed
1 small zucchini, cut into strips
8 oz white mushrooms, cleaned and chopped
2 carrots, cut into strips
3 tbsp olive oil
Salt and Pepper
3 ripe plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise and cut into strips
2 cups fresh spinach leaves coarsely chopped
1 tsp thyme
15 oz can white beans, drained, rinsed and mashed
6 sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed
1/4 cup earth balance margarine
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, In a large bowl, combine the onion, peeper, asparagus, zucchini, mushrooms, carrots and olive oil, tossing to coast. Sprinkle the veggies with salt and pepper to tasted, then transfer to a 9 X 13 inch baking pan and roast until tender, about 30 minutes.
Transfer the roasted vegetables to a large bowl. Add the tomatoes, spinach leaves, and thyme, and stir to mix well.
Blot off any moisture from the beans and add them to the veggies. Mix well and set aside to cool, draining off any liquid that may remain in the vegetables.
When the veggies are cool, place 1 sheet of phyllo dough on a flat work surface. Brush with some of the melted margarine. Top with a second piece of phyllo and brush with melted margarine. repeat with the remaining phyllo sheets and melted margarine. Spoon the veggie mixture lengthwise down the centre of the phyllo, spreading it to within 1 inch of the edge. Fold in the short edges about 1 inch, then tuck in the sides and roll up. Place the roll, seam side down, on a large baking sheet. Brush the strudel with the remaining melted margarine. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before slicing.

Pecan Pancakes

I love pecans so of course I had to try these pancakes. They are great. Perfect for breakfast on a rainy Sunday morning.  

1 3/4 cups flour
1/3 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups almond milk
3 tbsp maple syrup
3 tbsp earth balance, melted

In a large bowl, combine flour, pecans, baking powder, and salt.
In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, syrup and margarine. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and blend until just combined.
Ladle 1/2 cup batter into heated skillet, when bubbles form and sides start to brown , flip.
Serve immediately with maple syrup  and more chopped pecans.

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Portobello Fajitas

Wow another great, great recipe and so easy to make. 

2 tbsp olive oil
3 large portobello mushrooms, cleaned and cut into 1/4 inch strips
1 large yellow onion
1 pepper (I used yellow but any colour will do)
1 hot chile pepper
3 cups of fresh baby spinach
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
Tortillas, vegan sour cream, salsa, avocado and any other toppings you would like.

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium high heat. Add the mushrooms, onion, pepper and chile, and cook until seared on the outside and slightly softened, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes.
Add the spinach and cook until wilted, 1 to 2 minutes. Season with the spices. To assemble, place 1 tortilla on a work surface. Spread with 1/4 of the mushroom mixture. Top with salsa and any other toppings and roll up.  The mushroom mixture tastes great the next day too!!!
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Dinner Vegan Style

My Noodles
Creamy Cauliflower

Creamy Cashew Sauce

For dinner tonight I stir fried some veggies...onion, pepper, eggplant, garlic and zucchini. I cooked some udon noodles (I love udon noodles) added to the veggies and added Creamy Cashew Sauce. What a rich and flavourful sauce. It was creamy and delicious. On the side I had Creamy Cauliflower. What an amazing dish, the recipe is in previous posts.

Creamy Cashew Sauce
1 cup unsalted raw cashews
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
2 cups unsweetened almond milk
1/2 tsp salt
pinch of cayenne
Blend all the ingredients with a hand held until smooth.  Mmmm good.  Next time I think I will use this sauce with udon noodles and broccoli...no spinach...wait maybe kale.
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Sunday, August 1, 2010

Quinoa Muffins

Made with quinoa these muffins are healthy.They bake up nice and are delicious!!

I cup vanilla soy milk
1 tbsp ground flaxsees
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups pastry flour
1/4 cup ground almonds
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2  tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1 1/4 cups cooked quinoa
1/2 cup finely chopped dried apricots or currants (I used dates)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a 12 cup muffin tin. In a medium size bowl, whisk together the soy milk and ground flaxseed. Allow to sit for 1 minute, then whisk in oil, syrup and vanilla. In a separate large bowl, sift together flour, almond, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, mixing until just incorporated. Gently fold in the cooked quinoa and the apricots and mix until only the large lumps are gone. Pour into the muffin tin and bake for 20 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the muffin comes out clean.