cupcakes and kale

gluten-free cinnamon buns

2012-02-22T13:44:00.000-05:00

eek! somehow this post got buried in my draft folder! what a sweet, gooey, cinnamon-y shame.

last month 2 of my friends celebrated birthdays within a couple days of each other. both anne & ryan love making music and they were putting on a night of feet-moving tunes at our local watering hole to celebrate. sadly m & i were going to end up missing this party night to get him down to the airport, so instead we had them over for dinner. the birthday kids are both omnis of the open-minded kind and willing to try anything from my vegan kitchen {which i love!}, so i cooked up my high protein cauliflower alfredo complete with sundried tomatoes to wow them with alongside a huge massaged kale salad inspired by this lovely one from hannah. i couldn't decide on a cake for dessert, so on a whim i made cinnamon buns!

cinnamon buns usually get relegated to brunch material {and don't get me wrong, i love a sunday cinnamon roll brunch} but they're all kinds of amazing as a dessert too. especially since like a cupcake you get your very own, which you can scarf down, or eat it methodically, round and round, layer by layer, winding your way to the middle for the most amazing few gooey bites in the universe.

and actually, a little birthday candle fits perfectly when wedged in the middle of the roll!

{birthday girl & birthday boy}

i used this recipe, cutting it in half and making it with gluten-free flour. the original {full} recipe makes 8 - i made 6 from my half-batch. they were a little on the small side, but perfect size for dessert! for the icing i just whisked up a little icing sugar and almond milk and poured it liberally over top of the semi-cooled buns.

sorry to have held out on these drool-worthy photos, but i figured better late than never. hopefully you won't mind looking at them on the blog for a little while...

if you don't hear from me for a couple weeks, it's because i'm bound for spain on friday! actually, on friday i'm bound for london. once there i'll be meeting up with m now that his uk tour is complete, and then we're headed to spain, where we've got exploring to do, sangria to drink and vegan tapas to {hopefully} discover!

and i can't wait to tell you all about it when i return.

coffee crunch bites

2012-02-17T12:58:00.001-05:00

a few months back now, i received a little package in the mail from the very lovely danielle with one of the new cappuccino larabars inside. i was over the moon at this kind gesture and really excited to try it! being the coffee freak that i am, i had a feeling i would love it up - and i also had a feeling that i didn't want to share it with m. so i ate it. alone. in the car. so ridiculous, right?! hahaha, at least i can laugh at myself...

well, i did love it. {and i felt a little guilty for not sharing.} so for both of those reasons, i pretty much immediately set to recreating it in the kitchen. the end result was very similar in taste, but i wanted to make it my own and i added a nice crunch to it with the addition of cacao nibs. yum. so this time i'm sharing. and actually - i shared this for the first time a few weeks ago on the tie dye files while kaitlyn was away getting her alpen swoosh, swoosh on. but i thought i'd share them again, this time here on my blog for those of you who missed them the first time around.

coffee crunch bites
makes 9 balls
1/2 cup raw almonds
1/4 cup raw walnuts
1/4 cup tightly packed dates {about 4 medjools}
1 tsp ground coffee beans
1 tbsp cacao nibs

combine the almonds, walnuts, & dates in a food processor and run until you get a fine crumb that comes together when you pinch it between your fingers. add in the coffee grounds & cacao nibs and pulse to combine. pour the mixture into a bowl and scooping up 1 heaping tablespoon at a time, squeeze the mixture in your hand until it comes together and roll it into a ball. repeat with with the mixture until it’s all rolled into scrumptious coffee crunch bites!

*note, if you want these to truly be 100% raw, then you'll have to omit the teaspoon of coffee since it's roasted.*

i opted for making balls instead of bars because i really find that 2 bites is all i need as a snack, but by all means, turn these into bars if that's your preference. i find these are sweet enough to quench a little afternoon sugar craving {without any refined sugars i might add!}, hearty enough to keep hunger at bay, and with the healthy fats from raw walnuts & almonds, they're a great grab & go for after a run.

oh and coffee and chocolate.

did i mention they taste like coffee and chocolate??

pack these up in a sealed tupperware container and keep them at room temperature, or if you're partial to a chilled treat, you can opt to keep them in the fridge or even the freezer.

now go get your coffee crunch on and have yourself a glorious weekend! do you have anything exciting planned?

xo
jess

spreading love ...and chocolate

2012-02-14T09:24:00.001-05:00

so are you up to your ears in sappy, over the top valentine's day overload yet? i was planning on obstaining, but turns out i couldn't resist. although i'm not really one for celebrating this 'holiday' i'll usually accept any excuse for baking. or chocolate. preferably baking with chocolate. oh right, and love too.

and i love spreading love with homemade goodies, so this morning as i sit here on my big red couch sipping on my morning coffee, i thought i'd share a few of my favourite chocolate memories from cupcakes and kale. maybe it will inspire you to whip up something sweet to spread the love today too... even if your day is jam-packed and you've no time to bake something for yourself, i hope you take a moment to feel the love. and maybe eat some raw brownies.

spiced oatmeal chocolate chunk cookies are a little crispy, a little chewy and lightly spiced. you can always up the ante and double the spicies though and add in a little cayenne for firey love.

chocolate mocha cupcakes: coffee + chocolate + cupcakes. need i say more?

really now, who doesn't love brownies? and if any of you out there just raised your hand, you should give them one more try. because a pan of these rich, decadent raw brownies come together in no time and are sure to make someone you love smile.

and even if you have no time at all to bake, throw a peeled banana in the freezer when you get home from work and by evenings end you can whip up a sinfully smooth cacao & pb smoothie.

and then there's always it's a date granola. meet my date for valentine's this year.

do you have plans to bake up anything special today?

i hadn't been planning on it given that my love is away again {you can read more about the husband's band here}, but i'm still feeling the love. in fact - the mail just popped through the mailslot in the front door and wouldn't ya know it, among a pile of bills was a post card from m! he's been sending me postcards from his travels covered in Xs and Os since we started dating. set my heart a flutter!

maybe some raw brownies are in order after all....

easy thai coconut soup

2012-02-10T13:00:00.001-05:00

today is a day for a cozy bowl of tangy, thai-inspired soup!

it's quick to pull together with just a few pantry items too... a little thai curry paste, some coconut milk, fresh ginger & lime and winter squash is all you really need. some cubed organic tofu would also be a great addition to add a punch of protein!

served piping hot with a handful of fresh spinach leaves and some green onions, it's sure to satisfy hungry bellies.

easy thai coconut soup

serves 3-4

1 tbsp vegetable oil

2 tbsp fresh ginger, minced

1 big clove of garlic, minced {about 1 tbsp}

2-3 heaping tbsp thai green curry paste

2 cups vegetable broth

1 cup winter squash, peeled, seeded & cubed {i used butternut}

1 cup coconut milk

1 lime, juiced

2-3 tbsp tamari

fresh spinach & green onions for serving

heat the oil in a medium-sized pot. add the fresh ginger & garlic and saute about a minute until fragrent. add in the curry paste and continue to saute while stirring another minute or two. add in the vegetable broth {careful that that oil doesn't spatter}, coconut milk and the squash. cover and simmer 10-15 minutes, or until the squash is tender. stir in the lime juice and tamari and then season to adjust the taste with more tamari.

divide spinach leaves and green onions between bowls and ladle the soup over top.

between the tang of this soup and it's playful bright colours, somehow it makes me feel like spring isn't quite so far away...

submitted to wellness weekends

it's a date granola

2012-02-03T11:42:00.000-05:00

last week i realized that i hadn't made a batch of granola since the summer. i don't even really eat it as breakfast food unless we have guests {i'd much rather sip on a big green smoothie} but i do like to snack on it. since i store my granola in mason jars it makes it really easy to walk past and grab a handful to munch on. that's right, no bowl or utensils needed.

my kinda snack food.

i'm calling this recipe it's a date granola because well, there are big chunks of dates floating about in it. i guess if i was going for the descriptive name thing i could have gone with "it's a walnut, oats, cacao nibs, hint of cinnamon & a date granola". but, it just didn't have the same ring to it...

not too sweet, this granola is just right. little pops of crunchy cacao, rich walnuts with a hint of cinnamon. you should make a date to make this granola.

it's a date granola
2.5 cups rolled oats
2/3 cup walnuts
1/4 cup ground flax seeds
1/4 - 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/3 cup brown rice syrup
2 tbsp coconut oil
1/4 cup cacao nibs
4 or 5 big medjool dates, pitted and chopped

preheat your oven to 300f. in a large bowl combine the oats, walnuts, flax, cinnamon and salt and mix. in a small saucepan {or in a microwavable bowl} gently heat the brown rice syrup and the coconut oil until the oil has liquified. whisk this mixture well and then pour it over the dry ingredients. working quickly, stir everything up with a silicone spatula, making sure to get things covered {especially the ground flax which probably sank to the bottom of the bowl}. turn the bowl out onto a baking sheet lined with either a silpat or parchment paper and spread into thin layer. bake for 15-20 minutes, checking often and stirring gently halfway through.

when you remove the granola from the oven it won't yet be crunchy and that's okay - it will firm up as it cools. transfer the granola back to the mixing bowl and stir in the cacao nibs & chopped dates and then return back to the baking sheet, spread it out again and leave it to fully cool before packing up in glass mason jars.

also, this it's a date granola might just be my date for valentine's day this year as my sweetheart is away again on tour. i think i'm kind of okay with that though because,

1) i'll be traveling abroad to meet up with him at the end of the month in spain! and

2) it means more granola for me.

hah, i'm a romantic, i know.

happy weekend!
xo

submitted to wellness weekends

winter times

2012-02-01T13:19:00.002-05:00

happy first of february friends! although it might not actually look like winter where you are, it's certainly winter here. no recipes or food talk today for you, but rather here are are few photographs that my dear friend ben took when he was recently up to visit.

we went out on a chickadee feeding mission. and although there is no evidence of their little feet landing on our hands, a few of them did make that leap of faith, gripping onto my cold fingers to pause and meet my eyes before picking the best seed up for offer and flying away.

i think another chickadee hike is in order soon.

moonlighting

2012-01-28T11:25:00.000-05:00

morning y'all!

as i made reference to yesterday, today you can find me over on the tie dye files. the lovely kaitlyn is off on an italian skiing adventure and she was kind enough to ask me share a guest post with her readers. so if you're interested in a little {almost} raw treat with a serious crunch and a strong hind of java, hop on over to check out these coffee crunch bites i made!

enjoy your weekend,
xo
jess

roasted garlic & sweet potato soup

2012-01-26T20:58:00.000-05:00

smooth, velvety, soup. deceivingly sinful and incredibly delicious ~ if the empty pot speaks for itself.

roasting the garlic is key to smooth flavour that is less likely to upset sensitive tummies {like mine} and roasting the sweet potatoes brings out their sweetness as they turn golden brown on the outside and their sugars begin to caramelize. mmmm, i definitely snuck a few out of the roasting dish before they made it into the soup pot. just these 2 ingredients matched up with a vegetable stock would have been wonderful, but seeing as i had some white beans kicking around the fridge from some high protein alfredo pasta i made on monday for a mini-birthday dinner party, i added those too.

why not? i'm always up for beans and a little added protein!

{soup}

roasted garlic & sweet potato soup
makes 4 servings
1 huge sweet potato, cubed {roughly 2 cups}
4-5 cloves of garlic, peeled
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
fresh pepper
2.5 cups low sodium vegetable broth
1/2 cup water
1 cup cooked white beans {if using canned, rinse well}
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, optional

place the cubed sweet potato & garlic cloves in a baking dish and drizzle with the oil. sprinkle with salt & a few cracks of fresh black pepper. roast at 375f for 30 - 35 minutes.

remove from the oven and empty contents into a small soup pot along with the broth, water and beans. bring this to a boil, then reduce the heat and let it simmer for 10 - 15 minutes. if you like a chunky soup then you can just season to taste with s & p and serve, but i love this once it's pureed.

you can either blend the soup in 2-3 batches in your blender {being ever so careful not to burn yourself or paint your walls with hot soup} or you can do as i did and use an immersion blender right in the pot {same caution applies. if you're looking to transform your space, don't use splattered soup. you're much better off contacting this girl.}. if the soup is a little thicker than you'd like add a bit more water to the pot, then season to taste with a little more sea salt and pepper if needed and serve.

i garnished it with a little hot sauce & some raw pumpkin seeds. deeeeeelish.

happy weekend friends. saturday i'll be moonlighting on one of my favourite daily reads {can you guess which one???}, so be sure to check back for the link-through! for the mean time, here's a little teaser of what i'll be sharing... xo

shared at wellness weekends

maple walnut oatmeal muffins

2012-01-25T08:59:00.000-05:00

i've been holding out on you with muffins. maple walnut muffins to be exact. i made them way back on saturday after my friend anne mentioned that she was busy making muffins for breakfast over at her place and i thought, yeah! i'll bake some muffins too! {really and truly, that was my honest saturday morning enthusiasm in these here parts.} there must have been something in the air, because my pal heather was also whipping up a batch!

anywho, back to my morning excitement. being the good little canuck that i am i sought out to make maple walnut muffins. i've been trying to go easy on the gluten lately, so for my gluten-free readers, you'll be happy to know that you need not adapt these to suit yourself - they're already good to go!

these muffins are probably my favourite kind of muffin - the muffin itself is not too sweet and full of hearty ingredients like oats, flax, walnuts & fortified almond milk, and then there's the top - a little crunchy on the exterior with a sweet, caramelized nut topping that can be gently popped off and savoured last.

{saturday morning projects}

i dare say the muffin top is my favourite part. for sure. and, can i just say, i love a little muffin top. and no, i don't mean the one that pops out of my jeans {though i'm trying to embrace that one too as it doesn't seem to be going anywhere...} but really, this muffin top rocked my socks off. it took every ounce of willpower not to rip all of the tops off and hide them for myself. they're just so good with their tempting, sweet candied maple walnuts just calling me...

{maple walnut oatmeal muffins}

maple walnut oatmeal muffins gf, vegan
makes 12 muffins
1 cup gluten-free flour blend {i used bob's red mill}
2/3 cup brown rice flour
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup rolled oats {not quick oats}
1 cup almond milk {or any non-dairy milk}
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 flax egg {1 tbsp ground flaxseed + 3 tbsp hot water + 5 minutes to soak}
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup canola or sunflower oil
1 tsp maple extract
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup walnuts, roughly chopped

for the topping
1/3 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
1 tbsp ground flaxseed
1/4 cup brown sugar
2-3 tbsp maple syrup

preheat oven to 375f. in a large bowl, mix up the dry ingredients except for the oats and set aside. in another bowl, mix together the almond milk and vinegar to curdle. to the milk add the oats, prepared flax egg, sugar, oil and extracts. mix well. add the wet bowl to the dry and mix gently to combine before folding in the walnuts. scoop into paper-lined muffin tins.

prepare the topping by mixing all ingredients in a small bowl. divide the topping among the uncooked muffins, about a teaspoon on top of each. bake for 20 - 25 minutes until the tops are browned and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. allow them to cool in the tin for at least 5 minutes before carefully removing them to cool fully on a cooling rack.

{nice muffin top}

these muffins will make you friends.

my favourite way to eat them? from the bottom up, eh.

{eh}

save that muffin top for last.

achiote tempeh tacos

2012-01-19T23:08:00.001-05:00

today we got snow. a lot of snow. and it fell on top of more snow.
all i could think about was mexico.

and then i caught these incredible tempeh tostadas on jl goes vegan and then all i could think about was mexican cuisine. as i looked in the cupboard i eyed my bottle of achiote. achiote tempeh it would be.

{achiote inspiration}

achiote paste is a vibrant red, seasoned spice paste that's popular in the yucatán region of mexico. it's made from the seeds of the annatto tree and mixed with herbs & vinegar. traditionally it's used as a rub or marinade for a variety of meat dishes - but who needs tradition?

not this girl.

bring on the tempeh!

{tempeh tacos}

achiote tempeh tacos adapted from jl's tostadas
serves 2
4 oz tempeh (about 1/2 a standard package)
1/2 - 3/4 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup celery, chopped (1 big stalk)
1/4 cup onion, diced (1/2 small one)
1/4 cup cremini mushrooms, sliced (4 or 5)
1/2 tsp chili powder
1-2 tbsp achiote marinade
sea salt to taste

to serve:
guacamole {you can find my staple guacamole recipe here}
lettuce, shredded
hot sauce
soft corn tortillas

to start, steam or simmer the tempeh for about 15 minutes in a little bit of water and then drain off any remaining liquid. as i've mentioned before, i really think this is an essential step to preparing tempeh as it reduces the strong bitterness.

then i heated the broth in a frying pan and added the onion, celery, mushrooms and tempeh along with the spices. a few stirs in the pan and i covered it, reduced the heat and let it simmer for about 10 minutes. uncover the pan and continue to cook it down about 5 more minutes. season to taste with a bit of sea salt and it's ready to serve.

top each corn tortilla with a little handful of lettuce {or any salad green of your choice} and top with about 1/3 cup of the achiote tempeh filling, followed by a big dollop of creamy guacamole and if you like hot sauce or a bit of salsa. yum.

{piled high with guacamole}

take a big bite, close your eyes and visualize the hot mexican sun on your shoulders.

{olé}

have you heard of or cooked with achiote before?

if you don't have achiote you can still make these and i'm sure they'll be amazing! just toss in some other spices of your liking. if you'd like to try achiote though, you can likely find it at a mexican grocer and it's definitely worth a try. if you can, i'd suggest buying the ready-to-use liquid marinade, but the solid spice block is good too, you'll just have to turn it into a paste with water, vinegar or orange juice. {here's the brand we're familiar with.}

we don't have any mexican grocers locally so we always bring some home from our annual trip to akumal... and seeing as the bottle's almost empty... i guess we'll just have to take one for the team and go back!

shared at wellness weekends

cookbook review: fresh

2012-01-18T10:08:00.001-05:00

it's time for another cookbook review! this time we're looking at the latest cookbook release of 4 from fresh restaurant, fresh: new vegetarian and vegan recipes from fresh restaurants by ruth tal & jennifer houston. this book was gifted to me from my super thoughtful father in law who has no doubt heard me mention going to fresh time and time again.

i love fresh and i love having the recipes to the dishes they serve up at their 3 {soon to be 5!} toronto locations. being that i live 4 hours north of toronto i'm not at fresh all that often, but when m and i do make it there it is always busy. always. as in every table is full. so obviously giving away their not-so-secret recipes is not putting a damper on business.

{source}

i've always considered fresh to be a vegan restaurant - which it almost is, but not quite. they offer a few cheeses on their menu as 'add-ins' which although not for me, is probably liked by many of their omni/vegetarian clientele. this cookbook also includes a handful of recipes that call for cheese {a few salads and a few sandwiches} making this cookbook a little more accessible perhaps for those who are not yet vegan or those who are transitioning to veganism. for example, their greek pita lists both vegetarian and vegan alternatives {store-bought tatziki & dairy feta as well as recipes to make your own vegan tatziki & cauliflower feta}.

there are lots of familiar favourites from the restaurant in this book and like thier others, entire chapters dedicated to juices, power shakes & smoothies. sounded like a good starting point for me!

{heads up: i chose recipes that were new to me, ones that i haven't yet tried at the restaurant, so i can't offer any comparisons to the 'real deal'.}

the first recipe i made was the chi-spa power shake. i already love putting chia seeds in my smoothies, but i've never put dates in my smoothie! yowza! talk about a sinfully sweet breakfast! it was delicious and if anything, just a wee bit too sweet. i'd make this again but next time i'd cut the dates in half.

{chi-spa}

next up i went for the eat your greens! salad with the green dressing. i had to improvise for the salad as i was all out of cucumber, peas, sprouts and avocado {pretty much the entire salad} but i still filled the bowls with the greens i did have on hand: cabbage, spinach, broccoli & edamame. done and done, yum and yum. if i'm being completely honest though, neither m nor i were really that into the dressing. it was way too sweet {again} for us and this was with only a quarter of the agave the recipe called for. but i do really like the idea of blending over a cup of fresh herbs into a salad dressing! giddy up.

{eat your greens!}

maybe a few months early, but yesterday we had a little pancake tuesday action in the house. i couldn't wait to try the pineapple flax pancakes and even made a special trip to the corner store for a can of diced pineapple {something i never buy}. so how were they? let's just say i'll probably be purchasing a few more cans of pineapple to keep on hand in the pantry. they were light and fluffy and every bite came with a sweet, juicy bite of fruit.

{pineapple flax pancakes}

okay, and the last 'recipe' if you can call it that, that i've tried so far was for instant turtles - do you remember turtles? you know those nutty, chocolate caramels that were popular in the 80s? well, you can really recreate the same flavour by stuffing a medjool with a couple other pantry staples and popping it all in your mouth at once. i kid you not, it tastes just like i remember them! i was amazed. so i ate 2.

{instant turtles}

the recipes in this latest fresh cookbook are for good, wholesome, casual food. what you won't find in this book are recipes worthy of a fancy dinner party. but what you will find are recipes that can become new staples in your everyday kitchen. the highlights for me are the endless possibilities of mixing and matching dressings & sauces with salads, noodles & sandwiches.

there are many more recipes in this cookbook that i'm looking forward to trying including the curry laksa & the tofu ricotta fritters and - wait for it - the recipe for their quinoa onion rings! and though i'll be creating more of these recipes myself, i'm not going to lie - i'll also be back to fresh and let them do the cooking too.

an uninspired {but delicious} lunch

2012-01-17T09:37:00.000-05:00

i don't know that it happens all that often to me, but it did yesterday. after a really great weekend visit from a friends, lots of good eatin's, a bit too much wine {so much for that detoxification!} and some fun but less than successful chickadee feedings, i really had no direction as far as what i wanted to eat. it was coming on noon, i was hungry, and i was at a complete loss. there i was, in a kitchen full of food and i couldn't make a decision to save my life. i was at a complete loss. and having a mini meltdown. i realize that for someone who's not as enamoured with food as i am this sounds totally ridiculous.

you're hungry? eat something. who care's what it is, just fuel yourself with some toast.

but i love food and every time i'm hungry {and sometimes not hungry} i have an opportunity to create something delicious, whether it's experimenting with something new or whipping up an old favourite. when i feel uninspired by food i just feel.... less like myself. maybe it was just a case of the mondays. that's possible.

so what did i do?

i looked to you. i asked on my cupcakes and kale facebook page what you were cooking up in the kitchen. and thank you by the way for humouring me and sharing your monday eats! i wanted everything that was mentioned! but in the end, a weird little craving for a big ol' bowl of broccoli won out.

yes, you read that correctly. i had a minor meltdown and in the end was appeased with a bowl of broccoli.

haha, seriously, what is up with me?

{big ol' bowl of broccoli}

i have to tell you though that it was delicious. crunchy, green broccoli blanketed in cheezy nutritional yeast....

{lunch}

i quickley blanched half a head of broccoli, trimmed stems and all, and tossed it with nutritional yeast, minced garlic and salt & pepper. so simple and so yummy. just enough to get me back to me.

and, it totally tided me over while i looked to another of my christmas-gifted cookbooks and got back to my busy self in the kitchen. expect another review soon!

do you ever find yourself hungry with absolutely zero kitchen inspiration? how do you beat the kitchen blahs?

good morning lemon scones

2012-01-12T09:05:00.001-05:00

these are based on the scones my mom makes for christmas breakfast. the original recipe was passed to her from mrs. mcqueen, the mother of one of my parents' good friends. hers are quite different in that they're not vegan, full of raisins and don't call for lemon. but, since right now i have an over-abundance of lemons i changed things up a bit.

{scones + confiture}

these scones ended up having a light lemony flavour and crumble just the way a scone should {in my books at least}. once you break through the lovely crust, the inside is moist and tender. they're scrumptious on their own {especially warm from the oven with a cup of tea} but they're also wonderful spread with your favourite jam. i paired mine with a raspberry lime rickey confiture that we were gifted for christmas. don't you just love foodie gifts?

{good morning}

{lemon scones}

what you see here is only half of the original recipe because the last thing i need around here is 2 dozen delicious scones calling out to be eaten, so feel free to double if you're entertaining or if you'd like to freeze them {they do freeze well}.

also, i was out of my gluten-free flour blend when i made these, so if any of you awesome gf readers adapt these, i'd love to hear how they turn out!

good morning lemon scones
makes 10-12
1.5 cups all purpose organic flour
1.5 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
4 oz vegan shortening
1 flax egg {1 tbsp ground flaxmeal + 3 tbsp hot water: mix & wait 5 minutes}
zest of 1 lemon
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
scant* 1/2 cup almond milk

*all told you want a 1/2 cup of liquid, so add your lemon juice to a measuring cup and then top it up to 1/2 cup with the almond milk.

preheat your oven to 400f. in a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. using a pastry cutter {or if you don't have one, you can use 2 forks like i did} cut in the shortening. add in the flax egg and mix lightly, followed by the zest and milk/lemon juice mixture. mix until the dry ingredients are just incorporated - don't overmix it!

the dough will be very wet and sticky. flour your hands & working surface {board or counter} well and gently form the dough into a round and pat it down to about 3/4" in thickness. using a well-floured biscuit or cookie cutter {i used one 2" in diameter} cut out scones one at a time and place them onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. form together the scraps, pat out again and cut out more scones until you've used all of the dough. alternatively, you can also form your scones by cutting them with a well-floured knife as i did with these ones. bake for 9-12 minutes et voila!

good morning, lemony scones! breakfast is served.

a gourmet gift

2012-01-11T09:33:00.000-05:00

i know it's january but i feel like christmas came all over again. yesterday i received a special delivery in the mail ~ a box of confections from allison's gourmet. remember back in december when my cinnamon & chocolate linzer cookies won 3rd prize in the 1st annual vegnews holiday cookie contest? well this was my prize! {i'm still giddy over that win by the way} i can't help but feel like it was a gift though... just look at the beautiful package...

{unwrapping}

it's obvious how much love and effort went into putting this together, from the ribbon to the tissue, to even the care guide for the goodies. i took my time unwrapping this and savouring each new layer and discovery. and then i got to the real gift. four packages of gorgeous sweets! i almost didn't know where to start. almost.

first things first i went for the salted vanilla caramels. they were soft and creamy and so amazing with just the right kick of salt. i was happy just with that, but i felt it would have been wrong to not dig into the other bags too - for you of course - i mean, i wanted to be able to tell you dear readers about them. yeah... that's it...

{salted caramels}

next up i savoured one of the salted chocolate caramels: again, so creamy and chewy and i loved the crunch of the tiny sprinkle of himalayan salt on top. {i love caramels and i can't believe i hadn't had one since becoming vegan!}

then i opened the chocolate almond toffee. wow. this was like the best skor bar i ever ate. only way better and with a more grown up flavour profile. part of me really wants to crumble some of this over banana soft serve like the blizzards of my ~~university days~~ youth. i'm not sure if i'll actually follow through or not - but i'll keep you posted.

{chocolate almond toffee}

finally i opened the spiced peanut brittle and tried a small little piece. then i reached back in and pulled out the biggest one in the bag. such a great 'snap' to it and perfectly spiced with just a hint of cinnamon & cayenne pepper. in one word: delish.

{spiced peanut brittle}

many thanks to vegnews & allison's gourmet for this sweet gift and for making a little exception about shipping to canada! you have no idea how much i appreciate it.

four lovely confections and all four are delicious winners. if you've been eyeing allison's gourmet online and considering an order, stop thinking and just do it! i promise you won't be sorry.

just remember to brush those teeth before bed.

romaine tacos with cumin quinoa filling

2012-01-09T22:50:00.000-05:00

i had great intentions for sharing this recipe earlier today because i think it makes for great meatless monday dish - but i got distracted by a special postal delivery. and so here we are now on monday evening, long after everyone's dinner i'm sure. oops. but, if you like the looks of this there's nothing to keep you from bookmarking this one for next week though, right?

with a slight lightening up of winter's bite in the past couple days here in the north, i was inspired to make something that wasn't a piping hot bowl of soup and instead came up with these romaine & quinoa tacos. they make for a great lunch or light dinner. i found the cumin-scented quinoa flavour to be warming but they're also crisp with bright cilantro and refreshing romaine "taco" shells.

{romaine & quinoa tacos}

these actually kind of make me want to hit the park for a picnic.
how long again until june???

romaine tacos with cumin quinoa filling
serves 2-3 hungry folk
1/2 cup quinoa
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable broth
pinch of sea salt
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
1 cup sweet potato, peeled & cubed
1/3 cup cooked black beans {either cooked from dry or well-rinsed canned beans}
1 green onion, diced
2 tbsp cilantro, chopped
romaine leaves to serve

combine the quinoa, water, broth, salt and cumin seeds in a small pot and bring it to a boil. reduce the heat, cover and simmer 15 minutes. turn off the heat, full the quinoa with a fork and set it aside to cool to room temperature. meanwhile, cook the sweet potato by steaming it or simmering it in an inch of water. test with a fork to see that they're done and drain.

{getting started}

{quinoa}

add the sweet potato to the quinoa along with the beans, onion & cilantro and stir to mix it all up. to serve, pile into romaine lettuce leaves, season if you like with a squeeze of fresh lime or hot sauce.

{cumin-y quinoa goodnes}

these made a perfect weekend lunch on sunday afternoon. m was a bit more voracious than i so he opted to go with corn tortillas around his romaine tacos - a more filling variation.

or, for someone who's both hungry & impatient {looking inward with non-judgment}, i can vouch for the deliciousness of the quinoa mixture on it's own out of the bowl with a fork. yummy stuff my friends, yummy stuff.

{nom}

countdown 'til picnic season when i can eat these tacos with my feet in the grass:

a mere 5 months.

submitted to wellness weekends @ diet, dessert and dogs

review: blissful bites

2012-01-06T10:08:00.002-05:00

one of my many spoilings this holiday season that i received was the gorgeous cookbook blissful bites: vegan meals that nourish mind, body, and planet, the first {of hopefully many!} from the blissful chef herself, christy morgan.
{thanks grandpa for this gift! xo}

this colourful cookbook is full of plant-based recipes that focus on whole foods with plenty of raw & oil-free options. after a thorough flip through the book i had no idea where to start. the book itself is stunning {amazing, glossy food photos galore} and so well organized. each chapter of recipes is devided by dishes or courses {eg. breakfast and brunch of champions, compassionate proteins} and each section is further grouped by season & coordinating colour-coding for easy reference. you see, i simply wanted to make everything. in the end, i closed the book and set it down. upon doing so i made my decision.

i had to make the amazing rolls gracing the cover. i've been seeing that cover {and those rolls} now for weeks as i coveted this book from afar so that seemed the natural place to start. i made the soba noodle sushi with apricot-ginger dipping sacue with just a few tweaks based on what veggies i had on hand and they were awesome. love, love, loved them up!

{switching sushi up with soba}

did i mention christy has an entire chapter dedicated to sea vegetables? it's true. and it's amazing because she explains them so well and provides such straightforward recipes to try them that it helped me conquor my 'only a nori girl' fears. so much so, that the next dish i tried was the sea and land soba salad. i made mine with arame and it was another winner. great textures & great flavours.

{adventures in arame}

the easy cheezy broccoli soup was both easy and oh-so cheezy. a great wintery soup to warm you up on a cold winter's day. i went all out and swirled on some cashew-garlic aioli as suggested too. mmmm, so rich and creamy.

{soup's on}

not pictured, but we i also made the sage-infused polenta fries which. were. amazing. seriously - m could not get enough of them, especially dipped in what was left of the cashew-garlic aioli {hence the lack of a photo}. i know we'll be making these again soon.

there are so many more recipes i'm eager to try. but in the mean time i'm happily reading through and bookmarking my next moves. {i still want to make everything in this book!}

thank you christy for sharing your bliss!

vanilla chia pudding

2012-01-04T01:01:00.000-05:00

have you tried chia pudding yet? if you have, then you likely either love it or you hate it. {and if you haven't, newsflash: you're either going to love it or hate it.} chia seeds have quite the texture... quite the, je ne sais quoi to them that some people find hard to handle. just ask m - he's not a fan. sometimes i can sneak them into our morning smoothie {especially easy to do when i throw a kiwi in because he thinks he's just crunching on kiwi seeds} - i'm not intentionally deceptive otherwise, promise. anyways i stray.

{vanilla chia pudding}

i made this up yesterday as a midmorning snack/part two of my breakfast once my smoothie digested. there must have been chia in the air, because then i saw that JL has mentioned on facebook that she was possibly one of the chia-fearing folk & linked up to gena's blog choosing raw for a whole series of pudding recipes including one for strawberry ginger chia pudding. yum!

this pudding has a texture that others have compared to tapioca, but seeing as i don't think i've ever had tapioca, i can't confirm. but i can confirm this to be a healthy sweet treat perfect for just about any time of day.

vanilla chia pudding with seeds & goji berries
makes 1 serving
2 tbsp chia seeds
3/4 cup almond milk
1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
6-8 drops nunaturals vanilla stevia
{or replace with any other sweetner to taste: agave, maple syrup, etc}
1 tbsp raw pumpkin seeds
1 tbsp raw sunflower seeds
1 tbsp goji berries

whisk together the chia, milk, vanilla & sweetner and set aside for 30 minutes or more*. top with seeds & goji berries. eat pudding. i've been enjoying this as a mid morning snack but it's also a nice after dinner dessert. or breakfast. or afternoon snack.

{pepitas}

{with all the fixings}

*chia are incredible little seeds that can absorb up to 12 times their weight in liquid! the longer you wait the thicker {and more gelatinous} the pudding will get. the biggest reason i like to wait about 30 minutes for my chia pudding to "set" is because if the seeds don't swell up before i eat them, i've found they continue to bulk up after i eat them. in my stomach. and for me, this can lead to a belly ache. just ask any of my running mates. last year i told them all about chia seed pudding and how wonderful it was, and then one day i ate some without letting it bulk up first on my way to one of our runs and my belly was so full and bloated i had to walk most of the run! lesson learned.

{patience pays off}

phew - that's 2 lessons learned in 2 days. not bad 2012, not bad at all....
{you can see my first lesson here}

special mention & thank you to my lovely friend emily who falls into the not a big chia fan group. because of her i have a big bulk package of seeds since they were only collecting dust on her shelf.

but you know what they say, one woman's trash is another woman's... pudding?

shared at wellness weekends...

being kind with smoothies

2012-01-03T12:51:00.000-05:00

happy new years everyone! i hope everyone's 2012 is off to great start. i started mine off this year the same as last with the 5k resolution run, which a great little race. we lucked out and it warmed to about -3c on raceday which was a warm reprieve after the -25c practice run i took last week! brrrrrr, welcome to winter in the north. i think it's one of my favourite new traditions and possibly the only real "resolution" i'll make each year. {although, i have set some intentions for the year. nothing super concrete, but everything falls under the bubble of vowing to be kinder to myself.}

and nothing says kindness by feeding my body a big green smoothie every morning. here's my most recent favourite go-to morning smoothie. i'm loving the addition of parsley!

{lemon, ginger & parsley}

lemon, ginger & parsley smoothie
makes about 2 cups
1 banana
2 handfuls spinach
1/2 lemon, peeled
1/3 cup fresh parsley
1" nub fresh ginger, peeled
1 tbsp chia seeds
1 cup organic pineapple juice {i use a happy planet pineapple-kiwi blend}
3 or 4 ice cubes {optional}

add all ingredients together in your blender and get going! if you don't want to use juice, you can of course use water or a milk of your choice. also, if you use a frozen banana, it will be much thicker so you'll likely need to increase the liquid to get things blending nicely.

{kindness in glass}

it's vibrant, green & delicious. and exactly what i needed this morning to get me back to me.

you see, for all of the wonderful holidays i had, i forgot to heed my own advice and i let my immunity tonic regime go by the wayside. {since we're being honest, it's possible that i didn't have it once in the entire month of december!} well, apparently my immunitys guard was down, and yesterday i spent a horrible day with some sort of 24-hour bug. and couldn't even keep water down, let alone a green smoothie. it was not pleasant, but thankfully i feel so much better today.

so, today i will be making up another batch of the acv tonic and will get back to my daily regimen in the hopes that this does not happen again.

lesson learned.

in the mean time, i'm going to be more kind to myself. with another helping of green smoothie please.

as the sun sets on 2011...

2011-12-31T18:19:00.000-05:00

as the sun sets on this year, i don't have a full years recap for you, {not this year at least!} but a few words of thanks.

i started this blog seven months ago as a bit of an outlet to focus my love of food & veganism and to keep track of the many things cooking up in my kitchen. i hoped to share some of this passion with others but i wasn't sure anyone other than my mom would actually drop by to read.

as it turns out a few of you have.

along the way i've connected to an incredible online vegan community {something i wasn't expecting} which has made my heart swell. to those reading this now, i offer you my gratitude for doing so and my hopes & blessings for many good things to come your way in this new year.

happy new year lovely people. see you on the flipside.

xo
jess

holiday wrap-up

2011-12-28T22:17:00.000-05:00

so i was back to the blog yesterday after what i think was a whole week away and i came back in full force with cute photos of the family dog marlowe to woo you back to me. aren't i sneaky???

what i didn't get to was to tell you about my holidays themselves! i had a full 4 days to spend at my parents house which was a treat because usually my visits are half that length. it was still a busy few days though between a late night out with old camp friends, a skype date with a friend who's just returned from africa, brunch with my best girls & former whistler roomies, coffee with 2 of my dearest friends, dog walks with my precious marlowe, coffees with my mom and yes, of course the whirlwind christmas day too! phew!

our christmas morning always starts with stockings, then a big breakfast over at my grandfather's house around the corner. on the menu: fresh grapefruit, latkes {thanks to my aunt joanne for making seperate vegan ones!}, johnny cake, scones & glorious coffee.

{dolled up for dinner}

after a little downtime and squeezing in a run, it was time to get dolled up for dinner for more family, more visiting, more gifts, and way more food. this year we were 18 for dinner, but i think in past years we've squeezed 22 around the table. m.i.a. this year were my brother jamie & sister-in-law liane who are off adventuring in nepal! {missed you guys!}

our table extended the length of the room and all along it i clustered these little centre pieces of fresh flowers, fruit & nuts, focused around diy glitter vases i made from upcycled wine bottles. {you can make your own too! find the diy tutorial here @ ninth and bird}

{table, waiting}

{nuts}

i didn't capture as much of the dinner as i had hoped to, but after a few glasses of wine i was feeling quite jolly and neglected the camera. but i can tell you that in addition to the salad & scalloped tomatoes there was the best stuffing ever made by m {seriously, he can make the stuffing every year. for ever.}, mashed potatoes & gravy, turnip, green beans with basil & tomatoes and dinner rolls.

i filled my plate once and even did the walk of shame for a bit more - it was all so good!

{mixed greens with pom & clementine}

{scalloped tomatoes}

{big thank yous to everyone who made such an effort to provide either a completely vegan dish or to those who went to the trouble to prepare an additional veganized version of their dish for us. dear family: you're awesome and i'm so thankful for you!}

there were also 2 cakes for dessert, both of which i'll be veganizing next year: my grandma's apple pudding with rum butter sauce and toby's gingerbread cake. i manged to be sweetened enough with this cookie plate {not that i had much room left anyway, but i was happy to have worn a sheath dress! hah!}. it was piled high with orangettes, ppk's gingerbread cut-outs dipped in chocolate, orange sugar cookies, peppermint fudge & chocolate truffles. not for the faint of heart. or diabetics. but it was enjoyed all around the table. mmmmm...

{cookie plate, veganized}

also, knowing me oh so well, i was gifted a pile of gorgeous new cookbooks that i can't wait to dive into! in fact, i've already started to break 2 of them in... expect me to report back soon.

{unwrapped}

peace & love to you in these last few days of the year.

buckwheat dog biscuits

2011-12-27T20:26:00.000-05:00

happy post holidays lovely people! i hope your days were as lovely as mine, filled with family & friends, heaps of yummy food and love.

leading up to christmas i was baking up a storm to ensure that {1} there would be a plentiful vegan cookie plate at the big feast and {2} i had lots of vegan treats for gifting. i think i had those to well looked after, but there was one more family member that needed some love from my oven too.

{introducing marlowe}

{xmas treats}

as a special christmas gift this year i decided to bake some dog biscuits for my my parents' dog marlowe. she's a really wonderful pup and i always look forward to visits home so that i can stock up on marlowe hugs & walks. my brother was up to visit us in sudbury just before christmas and we cooked these up together.

these were actually pretty tasty, but definitely geared to puppy taste-buds, as with hardly any sweetener {we only used 1 tablespoon of agave} they're more on the savoury side of things. i did try one and that was plenty for this human gal. better to save them for the dog girl anyways. {i'm outing m though ~ he got at them & mowed down on a few that he slathered with maple buttercream!}

{buckwheat + pb treats}

buckwheat dog biscuits
makes about 5 dozen treats
1 1/2 cups buckwheat flour
1/4 cup rolled oats
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk {or any other non dairy milk}
1/4 cup tahini
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
1 tbsp agave

add all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl and stir to combine. in a separate bowl {i just used a 2-cup liquid measuring cup} mix together the wet ingredients. add the wet to the dry and mix to incorporate. the dough will be just moist enough to pull together. knead a few times in the bowl if there are bits of flour resisting joining in. wrap the dough in plastic and chill for 20-30 minutes so that it will be easier to handle.

roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface until it's about 1/8" thick and cut out cookies using whatever cookie cutters you like. we went for stars & christmas trees. transfer to a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes at 350f. remove and allow them to cool completely before serving to your four-legged fur friends. {the last thing you want to do is burn their mouths!}

{marlowe, pleading for me to open the jar. again.}

make these for the furry friends in your life and be prepared to become their new favourite person.

orangettes

2011-12-20T09:26:00.000-05:00

more goodies for gifting today!

here's another great treat that can be gifted this holiday season. these ones take significantly more time than the peppermint fudge i made last week, but i think they're worth it.

{orangettes}

i made these for the first time last year after seeing them here. they were a huge hit at christmas and a fun addition to the cookie plate. i was actually considering skipping them this year, but my mom hinted that she was looking forward to them so i went out for oranges. i made a couple little changes to the recipe and i'm much happier with them this year {they're less sticky and gooey and more candy-like}. if you want to make them too i'd suggest starting in the next day or two because there is a 1-2 day wait between steps.

{orangettes, gifted}

orangettes recipe adapted from smitten kitchen
makes about 80 pieces
4 navel oranges
1.5 cups organic cane sugar
1.5 cups water
1 cup semi-sweet vegan chocolate chips
1 tbsp coconut oil

wash your oranges really well {especially if like me, you don't have organic ones available}. slice the tops & bottoms off each one and then score the rind 5 or 6 times so that you can peel it off in sections. slice each section into strips - you should get about 20 from each orange. trim the ends and remove any excess pith {the white stuff}.

bring a pot of water to a boil and blanch the peels twice to remove the bitterness.
{place them in boiling water for 3 - 4 minutes, drain, rinse & repeat.}

next, bring the sugar and water to a simmer and stir until the sugar dissolves. add the orange peels and reduce the heat for them to simmer in the syrup for 1 - 1 1/2 hours. they should be somewhat translucent when they're done. remove them carefully and lay them out on a wire cooling wrack lined with wax paper or parchment {for easy clean-up!}. set them somewhere out of the way and let them dry and dry out for 24 - 48 hours. use your patience here - last year i only waited 4 - 5 hours and they were really goopey & sticky to handle.

{candied peels, setting}

after the candied orange peels have set, melt the chocolate in a double boiler and stir in the coconut oil to melt and incorporate. dip the peels into the chocolate one at a time, covering about 3/4 of each. {alternatively, you could dip the entire thing, but i think they're prettier with a pop of colour.} set the dipped peels on a baking sheet lined with wax or parchment and then place them in the fridge to cool. after about 15 minutes they should be good to go! these are best stored in the fridge. you can eat them straight from the fridge or bring them out about a half hour before you serve them to warm to room temp.

{dipped}

you can package these up in mason jars, or candy boxes or even just in a piece of parchment tied up with twine. c'est up peu fancy-shmancy, non?

{fancy pants gift}

{orange + chocolate}

who knew orange peels could 1) even be eaten, and 2) taste so good?!?!

also, as a bonus, once you've candied the oranges, reserve the now orange-flavoured syrup and save it in a mason jar for sweetening pouring over ice cream or making boozy holiday spritzers. clinky, clinky!

{via ninth & bird}

happy holidays my friends!

creamy squash risotto

2011-12-19T23:17:00.000-05:00

this weekend was a chilly one. there's still no snow {that little december 1st dusting we got is now long gone and it doesn't look like we'll have a white christmas}, but the temperature is still well below zero every night. in fact, it was -17c on my chilly saturday morning run over the weekend ! yikes! i could have definitely used a second layer on my poor legs!

what i'm getting to though, is that cool nights call for belly warming meals - and last night it was risotto. thick, creamy risotto, with plenty of roasted local squash. yum.

{squash risotto}

creamy squash risotto
serves 4 as a main or 6 as a side
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp vegan margarine
1 onion, minced
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
3/4 cup white wine
4 cups vegetable broth
1 1/2 cups roasted squash, mashed {recipe below}
a pinch of nutmeg

in a small pot, heat the veggie broth - it should be heated for when it's time to add to the rice. heat the oil and earth balance in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. add the onion and saute for 5 minutes. add in the garlic and stir the pot while it sautes for a minute {keep things moving so it doesn't burn}. next add in the dry rice and stir it to coat it with the oil for 2-3 minutes. then, add the wine and stir until it has all been absorbed. add 1 cup of the hot broth and keep stirring the pot as the rice cooks and all of the liquid is also absorbed. carry on like this for each additional cup of broth, adding more as the previous cup has cooked down {in all it will likely take 20-25 minutes of cooking and stirring}. just don't stop stirring. it's all about the stirring.

taste a bit of the risotto to make sure the rice is cooked through, then remove from the heat, fold in the mashed squash {hopefully still warm} and season to taste with salt and a pinch of nutmeg. serve hot and warm your belly on a cold winter's day.

{worth the stirring}

roasted squash
2 cups squash, seeded & cubed {i used acorn}
1 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
a few pinches of sea salt

preheat the oven to 400f. toss the squash with the oil & garlic and spread it out on a parchment-lined baking sheet. season with a few pinches of sea salt and pop it in the oven for 30-45 minutes, flipping the halfway through. once it's really tender, remove it and let it cool a few minutes so that you can handle it, then remove the peel from the cubes {so much easier once it's cooked} and mash it up with the back of a fork. keep this warm and on hand.

{risotto, plated}

{belly warming goodness}

as for tomorrow.... more sweets are on the way - i can't stop myself this time of year!

.....................................

{ps} eeeek! i'm giddy as a wee one on christmas morning...

{linzer love}

a few weeks back i entered my cinnamon and chocolate linzers in the 1st annual holiday cookie contest hosted by vegnews, and look who came in 3rd!!!

now if you'll excuse me, i'm off to do some more cartwheels :)

oh, fudge!

2011-12-15T18:27:00.000-05:00

until this week i don't think i had ever made fudge, vegan or otherwise. i really did think it was pretty advanced stuff and was in awe to see people gifting homemade fudge around the holidays. {what kind of martha stewart gods & goddesses are they?!}

well let me fill you in on a little secret. it's actually really easy to make your own homemade vegan fudge! but that doesn't make it any less tasty. in fact, this fudge is the creamiest, richest fudge i think i've ever had. and i made it myself.

i don't think i've stopped patting myself on the back actually ever since.

{peppermint fudge}

you should totally consider making your own too. i used this recipe which is originally found in hannah kaminsky's my sweet vegan.

i opted for the peppermint variation of the recipe. the hardest part of the entire process was the chopping of candycanes. those things splinter and shatter and fly across the room like it's nobody's business. so let's just say i called the candy cane crushing session short and so with only 4 chopped i omitted folding them into the fudge and instead added an additional teaspoon of peppermint extract.

the results, as i mentioned were amazing.

so good in fact that i will be doing my own homemade fudge gifting this year. and i plan on taking all the martha accolades that come my way without sharing the secret of how easy this sweet delight is.

johnny cake

2011-12-15T18:16:00.001-05:00

johnny cake is a tradition in my family. it's reserved for breakfast - and we only have it once a year on christmas morning. it's something my grandmother made for as long as i can remember.

{johnny cake}

my grandma is no longer with us and i miss her dearly, but her memory lives on. and so does her johnny cake. i like to think that she would approve of this veganized version.

johnny cake {sweetened cornbread}
makes one loaf - enough to serve 9
1/3 cup organic cane sugar
2 tbsp melted earth balance
1 cup cup soy milk
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 flax egg {1 tbsp flax meal + 3 tbsp hot water, left to sit for 2 minutes}
1 cup cornmeal
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup + 3 tbsp flour {i used whole wheat pastry flour}

preheat your oven to 375f. mix the vinegar with the soy milk and set it aside to curdle. {this stands in for the sour milk called for in my grandma's original recipe.} in a medium sized bowl mix together the milk, sugar, melted earth balance & flax egg. sift in the remaining dry ingredients and mix to incorporate. pour the batter into an 8x8 baking pan and bake for 25-30 minutes.

{loaf, cooling}

remove it from the oven, allow it to cool, slice and serve. or cool the loaf fully, wrap it in plastic wrap and freeze it. then take it out on the night of the 24th and let it thaw on the counter overnight. on christmas morning, reheat it in the oven and serve it as you would a pancake - vegan butter & maple syrup for me please.

{johnny cake, drenched}

today i froze mine and it's ready for christmas morning. except there might be a piece missing.

{hurry up christmas}

but it was worth it.

i just hope santa doesn't judge me this year based on my will power.

mini holiday: q & fresh review

2011-12-12T16:25:00.001-05:00

last week m & i took a mini holiday down to toronto. and when i say mini, i mean mini. we were there and back in less than 24 hours. and 8 of those hours were spend driving. crazy? mmmmmaybe a wee bit. but after acquiring 2 tickets to the live taping of Q with the national as the musical guests there was no way we weren't going to make it happen.

enter: mini holiday.

the morning started off bright & early at the glen gould studio @ cbc. 2 wonderful hours of live radio followed. jian was charming & witty as ever, bon iver gave a great interview & the national were amazing and played not one, but two brand new songs. much swooning ensued. {seriously, don't take my word for - watch for yourself.}

{the national}

after all that entertainment i had worked up quite the appetite. and although i really wanted to try a new vegan restaurant {i still need to make it here, here, here and here}, we had a generous gift certificate to use up so off we went to make our usual pilgrimage to fresh.

{source}

although we've eaten at fresh many times before, at least we challenged ourselves to both try something new. we skipped the juices & smoothies this time so that we would have room for an appetizer & dessert. to start we ordered the spring rolls that were stuffed with brown rice vermicelli, mushrooms, carrot & cilantro and served with a garlic dipping sauce. these were okay, but nothing special. the rolls themselves were really greasy & a little bland but the dipping sauce spiced them up.

holy garlic though! yowza! breath. of. fire.

{spring rolls}

m ordered the special which was a huge sandwich on a ciabatta piled high with chimichuri tofu, lemon aioli, tomato, lettuce, cucumber & a little kale slaw on the side. he loved this and went so far as to gush to our server that it should be added to the next edition of the menu! although i didn't get to taste it myself {i think someone loved it a bit too much to share}, i was granted a fallen cucumber with some of the aioli and it was indeed delicious.

{hypnosis by chimichuri}

after much deliberation, i settled on the tangled thai salad; shredded carrots & yellow beets, jicama, napa cabbage, chopped peanuts, cilantro, cucumber, and their salad topper. i also added some grilled tempeh on the side. the whole thing was dressed in a peanut lime dressing. i loved the salad itself but i found there to be not much dressing and it tasted a little watered-down. i saved the day by making use of the big fat lime wedge garnishing the bowl. i'd order this again, but next time i'd ask for extra dressing on the side.


{tangled thai}

{a happy me}

dessert to go was the big winner here. m ordered his signature pair of flourless cashew cookies & i went with the feature candycane cupcake {both via sweets from the earth}. it was a really nice, dense vanilla cake - almost like a poundcake - topped with a big heap of minty-coconut icing. mmmmm. we ate them up so fast that there is no photographic evidence.

but they were the perfect ending to the best min-holiday i've had in a long while.

testing, testing 4, 5, 6

2011-12-08T20:26:00.000-05:00

i tested another few winners from terry hope romero's forthcoming cookbook!

first up was a coconut black eye bean curry & an okra masala {also known as bindi bahaji}. the coconut curry was a rich and mellow curry and a great alternative to the tomato-based curries i usually make. along with it, perfectly cooked okra - which i could not get enough of!

{coconut black eye bean curry & okra masala}

{okra masala}

then there was this rich and creamy white bean & celery root puree. mmm, this one was so good! i love a good mash and i think this was actually the first time i had cooked celeriac. this puree was a hit and it certainly won't be the last time it graces our table.

{luscious white bean & celery root puree}

and finally i think what might just be my favourite so far was this chipotle tofu cemita sandwich {of all things, a sandwich i know, but it was AMAZING!}.

{chipotle tofu cemita sandwich}

a soft roll piled high with spicy chipotle tofu, refried beans, mayo and a ton of fresh veggies. sorry that the best i can do for a photo is this one taken with my blackberry. at the time of making this one my camera was being held hostage in a tour van with my good looking vegan musician of a husband.

i think i need to throw a little mexican-themed fiesta soon so that i can make these chipotle tofu cemita sammies all over again, but in miniature slider versions!

and yes, you're invited.

{ps. if you're interested in seeing some of the other recipes i've tested for terry's new cookbook you can find them here.}

cinnamon logs & linzers

2011-12-07T10:47:00.003-05:00

every christmas after the gifts have been opened, and everyone's stuffed themselves with dinner and dessert, the christmas cookie plate gets passed around the table. totally unnecessary but i always look forward to it. or rather, i used to look forward to it. although i've been a vegetarian for 20 years and i've always avoided eggs & dairy in my own baking, this is only my 2nd christmas since adopting a vegan diet. i missed the cookie plate last year. and i know m missed the cookie plate last year.

so this year there will be 2 cookie plates. i'm hoping to take on the traditional classics from my parents & aunts and win. because winning is what christmas is all about, right? actually, i'm more focused on winning them over.

{logs & linzers}

first up are my aunt paula's cinnamon log cookies. they're buttery and crumbly and messy with cinnamon-sugar everywhere. they're pretty great. they're also m's favourite so that gave me my starting point. i made these 2 ways: first just like the original and then i decided to try out some cut-outs. out came my new linzer cookie cutters and away i went.

cinnamon log cookies based on my aunt paula's recipe
makes 48 logs or 24 linzer cookies
1/2 cup earth balance margarine
1/2 cup earth balance shortening
1/4 cup organic cane sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 cups organic all purpose flour
2 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt
.............................
1/4 cup cinnamon-sugar {1/4 cup organic cane sugar + 1.5 tsp cinnamon}
a few tablespoons of vegan chocolate-hazelnut spread for the linzers

cream together the margarine, shortening & sugars. once well whipped, . gradually sift in the flour, cinnamon & salt. mix well with a wooden spoon or you can knead it well if you want to get your hands in there.

{cinnamon logs}

to make cinnamon logs:
take a tablespoons worth at a time and roll it into a ball, then roll it out into a log. {just squish the ball and shape it into an oval. there's your log.} bake them at 350f on either parchment-lined cookie sheets or on bare, ungreased cookie sheets for 15-20 minutes. i found 17 minutes perfect for my oven. once you remove them from the oven, coat them in cinnamon sugar and then set aside to cool. i tossed them in a bowl a few cookies at a time. {the sugar won't stick once they've cooled.}

{cinnamon & chocolate linzers}

to make cinnamon & chocolate linzer cookies:
roll the dough out until it's about 1/8" thick. {i did this between two pieces of wax paper because i hate washing my rolling pin. it just doesn't fit well in my sink!} cut out tops and bottoms for the linzers and transfer them to either parchment-lined cookie sheets or on bare, ungreased cookie sheets and bake these at 350f for 13-18 minutes. these ones will bake up a little faster than the logs. 15 minutes was perfect for me this time. once you remove them from the oven, sprinkle them in cinnamon sugar and then set aside to cool. {the sugar won't stick once they've cooled.}

once they've cooled, spread some vegan chocolate hazelnut spread on the underside of the bottom {whole} cookies and the create a delicious little cookie sandwich by fitting with a top {cut-out} cookies. aren't they dainty?

{pure daintiness}

{two ways}

i really can't decide which way i like them best. the logs end up being almost more like a shortbread and sugar cookie hybrid {awesome} but i'm slightly obsesses with linzers lately {i can't wait to try these}. so i'll probably always end up making a double batch and having both.

have you started your holiday baking yet? what's going on in your holiday kitchen?

mighty minestrone soup

2011-12-05T08:41:00.001-05:00

i made 2 big pots of soup this weekend. but you're only going to hear about one. this one. because the other was a total fail. i was trying to get creative with some butternut squash and the end result tasted like a funky miso gravy masquerading as a bowl of soup. {and although i've thought to myself many times that i could totally eat miso gravy by the bowlful, i just couldn't do it.} fail.

anyway, i said i was only going to tell you about one soup. i guess i fibbed a bit. this one however is a great soup. you can either follow my recipe or just change this up with any vegetable or protein you prefer. i usually make this with white kidney beans, but since i was out i diced up some extra firm tofu.

mighty minestrone
makes 4-6 servings
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup organic tofu, cubed or 1.5 cups white beans
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp dried chili flakes
2 small potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 cup celery, chopped {about 4 stalks}
1 cup zucchini, chopped {about 1 small zuke}
1 28oz can diced tomatoes
3 cups water or broth {i used 2 cups broth & 1 cup water}
1 tightly packed cup kale, chopped

start by sauteing the onion, garlic and salt in oil until softened but not browned. add in the spices and tofu and continue to saute for 5-6 minutes. add in the remaining ingredients {except for the kale} and bring to a boil. reduce the heat to simmer and let the soup cook for 20-30 minutes. stir in the kale and cook it down for a minute or two.

slurp away until you're a happy camper.

i guarantee that it will warm your belly, fill you up, and not taste anything like a bowl of gravy.

a big bowl of this is making its way over to wellness weekends at diet, dessert and dogs

raw walnut + almond cookies

2011-12-02T11:57:00.001-05:00

yesterday i shared some details from a little wine & dessert get-together that i hosted last week. thanks to some planning and some quick {and yet delicious} raw treats, i was able to pull it all together quickly and stress-free. raw desserts are some of my favourites - i just love the versatility of nuts and fruits!

{cookies, stacked}

{raw walnut & almond cookies}

here's the recipe for the walnut & almond spice cookies i whipped up. they're soft, subtly spiced, gluten-free and free of refined sugars. oh, and they're pretty cute to boot.

raw walnut & almond cookies adapted from this recipe via one green planet
makes 3 dozen cookies {or more!}
3/4 cup raw walnuts**
3/4 cup raw almonds**
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut, shredded
1/2 tsp himalayan crystal salt
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp maca powder *optional
1/2 cup raisins
8-10 medjool dates, pits removed

place all of the ingredients except for the raisins & dates in your food processor. pulse until coarsely ground. add the fruit and continue to let the processor do it's work. after a few minutes the "dough" will be combined and will stick together when squeezed together.

remove the dough and form it into a ball. you can then form cookies one at a time, or, you can roll out the dough as i did between 2 pieces of parchment paper until it's about 1/8" thick and then use a cookie cutter to cut out your cookies. layer the prepared cookies in a cookie tin {or tupperware container} between pieces of parchment or wax paper and chill in the freezer for at least an hour.

**no need to soak your nuts for this recipe!

in a sealed container these will last for a good while in the freezer. unless you have a partner like i do who likes to sneak them 2 at time every time he passes through the kitchen. in that case, they won't last long.

{linzer inspiration}

don't you just love the little cookie cutter i just picked up? i think these would make for a great raw linzer cookie! mmmm, must get on that i think....

also, i noticed that the table spread photo from my post yesterday had random bamboo squewers strewn about - if you noticed them and were wondering what was up, i used them to make little flags identifying each dessert on the table - i guess i didn't get a photo of them finished! silly me... anywho, here's what they looked like:

{flags}

i love little flags...

happy weekend y'all!

xo
jess

these cookies were submitted to wellness weekends at diet, dessert & dogs
and also linked up to the cookie blog hop hosted by hobby and more

goodies for a lovely ladies evening

2011-12-01T15:22:00.000-05:00

eeek! it's arrived - december is here AND we awoke to the first snow of the season! being that there are now only 24 days to christmas {deep breath, jess, deep breath} i'm sure everyone is gearing up for get-togethers, parties & gatherings galore.

last week i kicked off the season with a lovely evening spent with my running group - well, my former running group. you see, we all learned to run together a year and a half ago and we've since moved on from the group. some of us still meet up 3 times a week for runs, but it had been far too long since we all got together for a proper visit. you know, the kind that takes place with a big glass of wine?

{the table, waiting}

i wanted to keep things simple because there's nothing worse that putting too much pressure on yourself with party prep, only to end up so stressed and frazzled that you can't enjoy yourself. today i thought i'd share my little menu of sweets in the hopes that it might make an easy resource if you have a soiree such as this coming up. our menu for the evening:

to nosh:

chocolate chunk toffee bars

raw spice cake truffles

raw walnut & almond cut-out cookies

dark chocolate covered strawberries

fresh fruit

to sip:

white wine

red wine

jasmine green tea

lavender tea

all of the sweets came together really quickly - it probably took all of 2 hours from start to finish and all the dishes done. now, there is a slight chance that it had something to do with 2 afternoon coffees. just sayin'.

{raw spice cake truffles}

{raw walnut + almond cookies}

actually, part of the time saved came from the fact that i used other blogger's recipes here - no need to pause to scrawl down ingredients as i went along! but including only one baked recipe {no, not that kind of baked recipe} really quickened things up. here's how i got it all done...

1. make the chocolate chunk toffee bars. i used an awesome recipe from angela at oh she glows. the batter mixes up in less than 10 minutes and then you just pop them in the oven. {as a note: based on some of the comments from the post i cut down my baking time to under 30 minutes.}

2. while the bars are baking pull out your food processor and get started on the raw spice cake truffles. for these i used desi's recipe from the palate peacemaker. within a few minutes you'll be rolling away. give the food processor a quick rinse and get ready for raw dessert #2.

3. make up the raw walnut & almond cut-out cookies. these were based on kristen's recipe shared on one green planet recently. {check back tomorrow for my adaption!}

4. by now the bars will likely be done baking. remove them to cool.

5. next up: the chocolate-covered strawberries. melt some dark vegan chocolate {you can temper it properly if you're feeling fancy}, and dip in strawberries that have been washed and dried. sit these on a piece of parchment and pop them in the fridge to set.

6. do your washing up and then slice the toffee bars.

then the only things left to do are to set up your table with stemware, mugs, plates & napkins. plate up your sweets an hour before your guests arrive {just in case you have any early-birds!} and then pat yourself on the back. done and done.

time to prettied up and enjoy yourself stress-free!

remember to check back tomorrow - i'll be sharing the recipe for my raw walnut & almond cut-out cookies!

do you have any holiday entertaining tricks up your sleeve?

homecoming breakfast

2011-11-30T16:27:00.000-05:00

so the road-weary husband has finally made it home after a month-long tour with his band. last night marked their return to town with a sold-out show at a fabulous little venue in town run by a friend of ours. candlelight, friends & cold blasts of winter air every time the door was opened.

{friends, gathered}

{set list by candlelight}

it was a great night. and a late night. today we first nursed our mild headaches with a shot of apple cider vinegar followed by a green smoothie. and then we got to the good stuff, consisting of a round of vegan pumpkin french toast and strong coffee. thanks to kaitlyn for the delicious recipe.

{strong coffee + pumpkin french toast}

{the good stuff}

if you find yourself with 1/4 cup of pumpkin puree at the end of a recipe {perhaps these scones?}, do yourself a favour, soak some cashews and make this for breakfast. seriously, why haven't i thought of cashews for a french toast batter yet? mmmm...

{simple + amazing}

full disclosure: i slathered earth balance margarine all over my french toast after the photo shoot. it was awesome.

friday five feature

2011-11-25T14:54:00.000-05:00

just a quick little post today!

i was super duper honoured when the lovely robin of the hungry birdie asked me to be a part of her "friday five" series - and of course, i said yes! it's an awesome little way to get a little snippet of some great vegans out there from all walks of life. thank you so much to robin for including me!

you can read my friday five here.

{moi, feasting at fressen}

have a happy weekend everyone!

xo
jess

pumpkin cheesecake

2011-11-22T22:22:00.005-05:00

so, this week is thanksgiving for my friends to the south. i'm sure most of you have your t-giving dinner menu in order, but in case you're still scrambling for a dessert, i thought i'd share the recipe i used for my canadian thanksgiving feast back in october.

i'm also sharing it because i'm pretty sure i promised the recipe weeks ago and i haven't come through yet. oops! so without further ado, here it is!

{pumpkin cheesecake}

vegan pumpkin cheesecake
based on the banana chocolate galaxy cheesecake from vegan pie in the sky

for the crust:
2-3 cups vegan graham crumbs {depending on how thick of a crust you want}
3-4 tbsp melted earth balance

mix the cooking crumbs & melted earth balance and press into a 9 or 10 inch springform pan. bake for 8-10 minutes at 350f. remove from the oven & set aside while you prepare the filling.

for the cake:
1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked in water for 4 hours to overnight {soaking is essential as it makes the cashews soft and creamy}
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 pkg of firm or extra firm silken tofu {like mori-nu}
1/2 tub vegan cream cheese {about 1/2 cup}
3/4 cup organic cane sugar
2 tbsp melted virgin coconut oil
2 tbsp organic corn starch
juice of 1/2 a lemon
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp ground cloves

drain the cashews and place them in a food processor and blend them until somewhat smooth. add the tofu and blend again until the cashews are completely broken down and incorporated to make a silky smooth texture. add in all of the remaining ingredients and blend well until everything is incorporated and smooth. taste the filling and adjust if you need to with more spices/sugar/lemon to get your perfect "tang" - this is your cheesecake so make it how you like it!

pour this filling on top of the par-baked crust and smooth the top with a spatula. bake it at 350f for 45-50 minutes until you can see that it's firmed up. the top will puff out a bit and the edges will have started to brown (but this might be hard to see though because of the pumpkin coloured cake). remove your cheesecake from the oven and let it cool for 30 minutes, then place it in the fridge to cool completely (a good few hours) prior to cutting.

this was so light and tangy and it had an amazing creamy smooth texture going on. who says you need dairy for cheesecake?!

{not just for thanksgiving}

yum. i loved it then and love it still. and in my opinion, this pumpkin cheesecake needn't be reserved for only thanksgiving. this can be an anytime cheesecake.

also, as you may have noticed i've not been posting like crazy lately - that's mainly because my main squeeze m is on tour right now with his band and he's got our camera along for the ride! {hey west-coast readers, shows this week include vancouver, edmonton & regina!}

i do have a borrowed stand-in while he's away, but it's a lot of work getting to know a new camera & so far i'm not having a ton of luck with it. but the good news is that m will be home in less than a week! which is really great because i miss him quite a lot. and i'm kinda missing the camera too. i also miss having m here him oohing & ahhing over my kitchen creations. he's really great that way :)

{wahoo for a recipe index}

speaking of missing, did you catch my weekend facebook update? i've added a new recipe index page! don't miss it! {i don't know how to link up the photo, but you can click on the caption below it!}

apple cider tonic for cold & flu season

2011-11-17T09:23:00.001-05:00

i'm lucky to have a pretty great immune system and i rarely fall ill with a cold or flu bug that gets the better of me. {i know you can't see me but for the record, i'm knocking on wood something fierce right now!}

last year i left my gig as a supply teacher for a contract at our local food co-op. most of my job was behind the scenes in marketing & education, but saturdays were some of my favourite work days because that was my one day of the week that i got to spend working in the store. i love talking food {slight understatement?} and saturdays i had many a great conversation, talking food and food systems with the lovely shoppers. one of my saturday regulars was a woman named suzanne. suzanne is a tiny little french lady in her 70s, probably a few inches shy of 5', who walks everywhere and is vegetarian. we used to have lovely chats about food and health where i'd get to practice my french and she'd often tell me stories about various Buddhist temples & ashrams she'd visited.

one day last winter, when i mentioned that m had a cold, she told me about this tonic of sorts that would keep me from coming down with it and would keep me healthy through the season. she scribbled the recipe down on a scrap of paper and tucked it in my pocket. i went home and made the tonic and drank it religiously all winter. and you know what? i didn't get sick. not once. whether it was the tonic or not, i can't be sure, but i'll tell you one thing. i've got a jar of it on my window sill and i've started my daily regime again this year.

{secret serum}

and today i'm going to share that recipe with you too!

immunity tonic
1/2 cup organic, unpasteurized apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup warm water
2-3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper {i use 1/2 tsp but that makes it a little spicy!}

place all ingredients in a mason jar, tighten the lid, and shake shake shake! take a big gulp {about 2 tablespoons worth} morning and night {shaking first} to ward off seasonal illness. make more as needed.

what is apple cider vinegar? well..... it comes from apples, which are crushed to release their juices. those juices ferment and turn into alcohol and from there it's fermented for a second time to turn the booze into vinegar! to reap the health benefits from ACV, it's crucial that you purchase a raw (aka unpasteurized) cider vinegar, and preferably, organic. the most popular ACV seems to be bragg's {also known for their liquid aminos}, but my vinegar of choice is filsinger's which is produced here in ontario by a small company that uses local, certified organic apples, cured in oak barrels.

{source}

ACV isn't just for drinking though, here are the 3 other ways that i use it in my daily life:

{1} kitchen
i use apple cider vinegar whenever i bake a cake or cupcakes. i use 1 tablespoon in a cup of non-dairy milk to curdle it, which mimics buttermilk giving me a great 'crumb'.

{2} hair
after reading there's lead in your lipstick last year, i revamped a lot of my beauty routines and i discovered that ACV makes an amazing hair conditioner! it leaves my hair shiny and tangle-free. i use about 3 tablespoons worth, massaging it into clean hair, combing my fingers through and then rinsing. {and because i know your wondering about the smell, it rinses out in the shower and you'd never know to smell my hair!}

{3} face
i've started using apple cider vinegar as my morning facial cleanser after seeing the pure 2 raw girls suggest it. i'm a pretty big fan of my thayer's witch hazel but i decided to give the vinegar a try. i found it far too potent to use at night around my eyes so i'm sticking with the witch hazel at night because it's very gentle and a great make-up remover at the end of the day. but for the morning i just tip the bottle over onto a clean organic cotton pad and then swipe it over my face, avoiding my eyes. just remember to take a good, deep breath before doing this - it makes you choke a bit otherwise, hahaha. but really. i'm not joking. hold your breath.

what are your tips & tricks to stay healthy over the winter season?

cacao & PB smoothie

2011-11-16T09:38:00.001-05:00

sometimes a gal just needs a bit of chocolate.

in the morning. first thing out of bed. {pms anyone??}

{cacao & pb smoothie}

this is how i started my day today, with a thick, chocolatey smoothie. so rich, so filling & so good! this makes for an eat-it-with-a-spoon smoothie. if you like yours to be drinkable, you can up the non-dairy milk to a full cup.

cacao & PB smoothie
1/2 frozen banana
1/2 cup non-dairy milk {i used unsweetened vanilla almond milk}
2.5 tbsp raw cacao powder
1 tbsp chia seeds
1 heaping tbsp natural peanut butter
1 tsp maca
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp agave nectar *optional
1 tbsp raw cacao nibs

combine all the ingredients except for the cacao nibs in a blender and hit go. do a little stretch while the blender does it's job. top with cacao nibs. then eat the chocolate fruits of your labour.

{chocolate breakfast}

did you know that 1 serving of raw cacao powder has 4g of dietary fibre, 3g of protein and 8% of the daily RDI for iron? not bad for chocolate! additionally, this smoothie boasts a punch from the chia seeds, maca root powder, fortified almond milk, protein-rich peanut butter....everything in it is great!

i just ate chocolate for breakfast.

today is going to be a good day.

submitted to wellness weekend at diet, dessert and dogs

testing, testing 1,2,3

2011-11-15T08:58:00.000-05:00

those of you who keep up with me on facebook & twitter have probably already caught on to this, but i've been doing a little testing in my kitchen lately. i am extremely excited, honoured, giddy & all in all geeked out to be testing recipes for a forthcoming cookbook from terry hope romero. eeek! so fun!

anywho, so i've been trying out some recipes and i wanted to share a couple photos of my favourites so far.

these shanghai-style kale dumplings were out of this world! i love dumplings but rarely do i get to eat them around here because it's tough finding egg-free wrappers. but when i came across some a couple weeks ago i stocked up. this was also my first time cooking with yu-choy {chinese kale} & 5-spice. i really, really, loved these and am looking forward to making them again and again. oh, and on top? that's a drizzle of a delicious sesame sauce. yum.

{shanghai-style dumplings}

{so good}

another hit was this millet mango peanut salad. this dish is gorgeous and just pops with colour and bright bursts of flavour. it's sort of like an african twist on a tabouleh. millet is a newish grain in our house and i loved it this way. this would make a perfect potluck dish, or a picnic salad.

{millet mango peanut salad}

{millet, towering}

and of course i baked up a dessert. {and really, how could i not try this recipe out knowing that it's coming from the co-author of vegan pie in the sky?!}

this tenacious tart tatin {french caramelized apple tart} was the perfect ending to an autumn sunday family dinner. soft, caramelized granny smith apples were piled high atop of the most amazing, rich & flaky olive oil shortbread crust. that's right, olive oil shortbread. i didn't even know such a glorious thing existed! but i do now. and there's no going back.

{tart tatin}

{autumnal apple pie}

dilly homefries & lentil salad

2011-11-13T22:02:00.000-05:00

happy monday lovelies!
{or happy sunday night if you're still up and catching up on your blog reading like i am!}

today i'm sharing a super yummy meal that we enjoyed a couple weeks ago, consisting of some dilly homefries and then a quick, lovely lentil salad.

{lentil cred.}

mmm, i do love lentils and frankly i don't think they get enough salad cred. yes, chickpea salads rock. and black bean salads are pretty awesome too, especially with avocado and garden-fresh tomatoes. but lentils are superstars too! i gave them some love in the salad and you should give them some love too.

{lentil salad & dilly homefries}

lovely lentil salad
makes 2-4 servings, depending on size
1 can lentils, drained and rinsed
2 carrots
1/4 cup of green olives
fresh basil leaves
extra virgin olive oil
fresh squeezed lemon
sea salt & fresh pepper to taste

scrub the carrots & chop them into whatever size and shape you like {diced, grated, julienned, etc}. pit the olives and slice them up. chiffonade or mince the basil. toss everything together in a bowl and dress to taste with lemon & olive oil, a pinch of salt and a few cracks of black pepper.

dilly homefries inspired by mama pea's dill pickle fries
potatoes{i used 4 big yellow potatoes from my csa}
2 tsp dried dill
1 tsp granulated garlic
1 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp white vinegar
1 tbsp a vegetable oil {i used sunflower}

i like a lot of salt. and vinegar. and garlic and dill too. you can probably still get yummy fries with half measures but the more the merrier in my books. peel and cut the potatoes into wedges, toss with everything to coat and bake in a single layer on a cookie sheet for about 25-30 minutes at 400f.

{lentil love}

{dilly}

a quick post for a quick meal. more from me this week. promise. xo.

pumpkin scones

2011-11-09T15:34:00.000-05:00

do you ever wish that the seasonal pumpkin scones at starbucks were vegan? i do sometimes. i had my fair share of these in my years prior to adopting a vegan diet, and although i know their nutritional content is nothing to write home about, i do remember them being quite tasty. check out the ingredient listing though - it's a mile long.

hmm, on second thought, maybe i'm just fine with the fact that they're not vegan. i'll take my fresh small batch homemade vegan version, thank you very much!

{vegan pumpkin scones}

last night i fell asleep thinking about scones. this morning i woke up and set to it. 25 minutes later i had pumpkin scones fresh from the oven.

pumpkin scones
makes 1 dozen
1 cup organic all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp cup cold earth balance margarine
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
2 tbsp non-dairy milk {i used vanilla soy}
5 tbsp brown sugar

preheat the oven to 400f. in a large bowl sift together all of the dry ingredients. using a pastry cutter {or 2 forks} cut the cold earth balance into the mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. in another bowl, mix the pumpkin, milk & sugar. add this to the flour bowl and mix to combine. you'll end up with a fairly dry dough. turn this out onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into 3 equal balls. flatten each one into a round disk that's about 6 inches across and 1/2 inch thick. using a sharp knife, cut each disk into quarters and place them on a parchment or silpat-lined baking sheet. bake for 15-16 minutes. remove from the oven, allow the scones to cool and then drizzle them with spiced glaze.

spiced glaze
5 tbsp sugar
.5 tbsp flour
1/4 tsp molasses
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ginger
pinch cloves
1 tbsp non-dairy milk

mix everything together in a small bowl and drizzle onto the scones either with a spoon, or from a plastic bag with the tip cut off.

{scones, glazed}

{scones, waiting}

these are light and flaky and have a nice subtle pumpkin flavour, but the warm spices in the glaze put it over the top. perfect for morning coffee or afternoon tea. or whatever time it is right now.

{yes please}

oh my scone, these are good. and just like the real deal at starbucks. only better.

pumpkin power smoothie

2011-11-07T11:28:00.001-05:00

i sort of feel like i can conquer the world today. i don't know if it's the sunshine, the lingering extra hour of sleep from daylight's saving or my awesome trail run yesterday with friends. it's probably a little bit of all of these things. but the cherry on top is this pumpkin power smoothie. filling, nourishing, full of superfoods and delicious to boot.

{pumpkin power smoothie}

pumpkin power smoothie
makes enough for 2 modest servings or 1 giant power serving
1 frozen banana
3 tbsp pumpkin puree
1 cup vanilla soy milk
1/2 tsp nub of fresh ginger
1-2 tsp maca root powder
1 tbsp chia seeds
1/2 tsp cinnamon
dash of nutmeg
splash of pure vanilla extract
1 tbsp maple syrup {optional}

place all ingredients in your blender and power it up!

you can read a quick description of chia seeds in my pantry. i don't have maca listed there yet {don't worry, it's on my list of things to do today once i conquer the world}, but until then you can find some information on maca here.

here are some other yummy pumpkin-y smoothies that i'm looking forward to trying:

love this green pumpkin smoothie from spabettie
a gingerbread smoothie from oh she glows
this one actually is a sweet potato smoothie, but it's orange and totally intriguing with the addition of lucama & ashwaghanda (which i have never heard of!) from barefoot and frolicking
and finally this pumpkin peanut butter smoothie from vegan moxie. you heard me pumpkin + pb.

i'm loving me some pumpkin right now, especially since i missed going crazy with it during october because of my vegan mofo theme. what about you?

have you jumped on the pumpkin train yet this autumn? are you still loving it or getting a bit tired of all?

submitted to wellness weekends at diet, dessert and dogs

quinoa bowl & miso gravy

2011-11-04T19:45:00.000-04:00

happy friday everyone! wow, i've been trying to spit this post out all day it seems! i thought since it's been such a glorious day {from what i can tell given that i've been only looking out through the record shop windows} that it might be a quiet one, but i've been a busy gal all day. no complaints here since i did manage to squeeze in some time catching up on a few blog reads, shared a pot of lavender tea with a friend who dropped by and of course i stopped for lunch. on the menu? a big, warm, quinoa bowl!

{quinoa bowl}

this is actually the same thing i ate for dinner last night, a rarity if you know me well. {i usually have an aversion to eating the same thing 2 days in a row.} since i was dealing with leftovers, all i had to do was re-heat everything and dress up the bowl. easy peasy. this meal doesn't really take more than about 35-40 minutes to put together from scratch if you pop the tofu & vegetables in the oven first, then put the quinoa on the stove (or use your rice maker!) and cook the gravy.

quinoa bowl with brussel sprouts, squash, tofu & miso gravy
serves 2-4 depending on serving size or if there's a salad to pair with it
for the quinoa
1 cup quinoa
2 cups water

bring the water and quinoa to a boil in a pot. cover with a tight fitting lid, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. remove lid, stir, recover and allow to rest off the heat for another 5-10 minutes. {sometimes i add salt to the water but when i know there will be leftovers, i leave the salt out - that way i have the option of using it for a sweet breakfast porridge.}

for the veggies
brussel sprouts
1 small squash {i used an acorn}
extra virgin olive oil
sea salt

wash the brussel sprouts & peel and cube the squash. {for the record, this is no easy feat with acorn squash. but in my opinion, worth a bit of work for maximum roasting surface area.} cut any large sprouts in half {also known as green balls in these here parts}. toss the veggies with some extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with some coarse sea salt. spread them out on a baking sheet and roast for about 25 minutes at 350f, stirring them up once or twice throughout cooking time.

for the tofu
1/2 package organic extra firm tofu
marinade of your choice {i used a mexican achiote sauce i had in the cupboard}

press the water out of the tofu in a tea towel, slice it up and drench it in the sauce of your choice. place it in a baking dish and place it in the oven to cook at 350f for 20 minutes, flipping the pieces halfway through.

for the miso gravy
2 tbsp flour
3 tbsp nutritional yeast*
1 tsp granulated garlic
1 tsp sea salt
1 2/3 cup water
2 tsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp miso paste {i used white miso}

in a small saucepan, whisk the flour, nutritional yeast, salt & garlic over medium heat for a couple minutes. slowly add in the water, stirring all the time with a whisk. the mixture will be quite thin, but will thicken up as it cooks. bring the gravy to gentle boil, stirring frequently. as the sauce begins to thicken, reduce the heat to low (even minimum) and add in the dijon & miso. taste, and adjust seasoning as you see fit.

*this is not the same thing as brewer's yeast! check out my pantry for more on nutritional yeast.

once all of the components are ready, serve some quinoa into bowls and pile them up with toppings! i threw on some raw carrot too.

{lunch}

bowls like this are so great and all you need is a grain, some veg, some protein and a sauce. they're one of my favourite kinds of meals - i love piling them high with goodies and then drenching them with a savoury sauce.

{love those little green balls!}

no quinoa in the cupboard? make rice! not into brussel sprouts squash? how about zucchini and mushrooms! you don't dig miso gravy? try spicy peanut sauce!

{miso goodness}

happy weekend everyone!

xo
jess

submitted to wellness weekend at diet, dessert and dogs

spiced oatmeal chocolate chunk cookies

2011-11-02T11:51:00.001-04:00

yesterday i had a bunch of time to myself and as usual decided to spend a chunk of it baking. we still had a few of these cupcakes left and we didn't really need anything else ourselves, so if i was going to bake i had to figure out who i could gift it to. m came up with the idea of bringing any kitchen successes downtown to memorial park where a faithful few are set up for the occupy sudbury protest. so that is where these treats ended up.

on a cool rainy day, a nice bowl of spiced oatmeal warms the body and soothes the mind but i wanted to bake and share and cookies can be shared further than a bowl of oatmeal. so spiced oatmeal chocolate chunk cookies it would be.

{world vegan day baketivism}

these cookies are my perfect oatmeal cookie. if you get the timing right, they cool to have a great crispy crust and are still chewy in the middle.

spiced oatmeal chocolate chunk cookies
makes 2 dozen
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp cloves
2 tbsp earth balance vegan margarine, softened
1/2 cup organic cane sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 flax egg*
3 tbsp almond milk {or other non-dairy milk}
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/3 cup rolled oats {i used my favourite local oats from LoonSong}
1/2 cup vegan chocolate chunks or chips

preheat the oven to 375f. in a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder & soda, salt and spices and set aside. in a large bowl cream together the margarine & sugars. add the flax egg, non-dairy milk and vanilla and mix well. mix in the dry ingredients and then fold in the oats and chocolate.

{cookie dough, rolled}

{waiting to be baked}

wet your hands and roll the dough into balls of about a tablespoon each {the water will help the dough from sticking to your hands}. place the balls on a parchment or silpat lined cookie sheet a few inches apart and bake for 10-12 minutes. don't flatten the balls, they'll spread out enough as they cook.

to get the crispy shell and chewy middle you have to catch the cookies and take them out of the oven when the tops are dull-looking but before they've started to brown. for my oven it's right at the 11 minute mark.

then either pack them up to gift or gobble them up with friends.

* haven't tried flax eggs yet? they're a great egg replacement in baking. for one flax egg, mix 1 tbsp of ground flax seed with 3 tbsp hot water. allow to sit for 2 minutes and your flax egg is ready! it will become thick and a bit gelatinous and will do the job of an egg (binding) as it cooks. flax eggs are great for cookies, bars, muffins, pancakes, etc.

{cookies, cooling}

in other news, i'm feeling great today after participating in a 6k fun-run on the cross country ski trails under the lights last night! it was a small group of pretty avid {and speedy!} runners out, and i think i was the last to finish, but with a time of 39 minutes flat i was happy. at one point, about 4k in i think, my mind was wandering and i felt like i tensed up. so i forced myself to smile. at first it was a gentle turn up at the corner of my mouth, but then it turned into a big toothy grin. and you know what? it totally helped me relax and focus and on enjoying the fact that i was out running.

the last 2k were blissful. speed will come with time and some hard work {i hope}, but for now i'm just happy that my feet carried me through. my kick-ass running mix helped too.

vegan mofo - the end! chocolate pumpkin cupcakes

2011-10-31T13:44:00.001-04:00

it's the end of vegan mofo {aka the vegan month of food} 2011! what a month it's been. i have logged so many enjoyable hours discovering new blogs & getting to know some new amazing folks in the vegan community. my google reader is so full every morning now and i love catching up over my morning coffee. not to mention, i've had so much fun with my "cupcakes or kale" theme. i think some new readers have found me this month too {hello there!!} which is wonderful. i hope you say hello soon if you haven't yet!

without further ado, here is my final post for mofo this year. i'm finishing it off with cupcakes because i love them. and they contain pumpkin. i love pumpkin and have been looking forward to some pumpkin cupcakes for a while now. it's probably a little late to call this a halloween recipe because everyone had their parties this past weekend, but if you have friends dropping in tonight to help with trick or treaters these would be great.

{cupcakes, naked}

{chocolate pumpkin cupcakes}

this cake is light and fluffy with the slightest hint of pumpkin and spice. i couldn't wait for them to cool and ate one up warm from the oven. they're also a great naked cupcake.

chocolate pumpkin cupcakes with half the sugar frosting
adapted from VCTOTW's pumpkin chocolate chip cupcakes
makes one delicious dozen
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/3 cup sunflower oil
1 cup organic cane sugar
1/4 cup almond milk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt

preheat your oven to 350f. combine the pumpkin, oil, sugar, milk & vanilla in a large bowl and mix well to combine. in another bowl sift together the remaining ingredients. add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and combine until no lumps in the batter remain. the batter will be just a bit thicker than standard cupcake batter because of the pumpkin puree. scoop batter into a liners in a muffin tin and bake for 20-24 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. wait until fully cooled and then ice.

half the sugar vanilla frosting
1/4 cup earth balance vegan margarine
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp powdered sugar
2 tbsp all purpose flour
1 tsp almond milk
1/4 tsp each cinnamon & nutmeg

whip up the earth balance and incorporate the sugar, flour, milk & spices. ice cooled cupcakes as you please. this batch of frosting is a lot smaller than what i normally ice my cupcakes with, but given that it's halloween and we're all bound to be snacking on vegan candy, i thought less was more here. plus you get to focus on the super moist chocolate pumpkin cake this way too.

ashlae gave me the idea to cut my frosting with a bit of all purpose flour. this adds some body to the frosting, cutting the amount of sugar needed to stiffen it up. genius. the frosting is still sweet but shouldn't give you a toothache if you eat 2 cupcakes in a row. not that i would know from personal experience or anything...

{distracted by awesome pumpkin stem curls}

{cupcakes, frosted}

{cupcakes, queued}

{happy halloween}

congrats to all the mofo bloggers out there! this cupcake's for you.

chocolate kale chips

2011-10-27T13:06:00.001-04:00

alright. i went for it. i turned my kale into dessert.

actually, i pretty much just dipped it in chocolate. you heard me. chocolate.

{chocolate + kale}

{chocolate kale chips}

and you know what? it's all kinds of awesome.

i tried chocolate kale chips only once before. last year m attended a chocolate show in town that i couldn't make it to and he brought me home a bag of raw, chocolate kale chips. yeah, i swooned a little bit. they were really awesome and came out in big chocolatey clusters. i remember them having a great hint of coconut too. and my memory serves me, these are a pretty close match. if i do say so myself.

chocolate kale chips
this made enough for 2 big leaves of kale, enough to fill one cookie sheet.
2 tbsp virgin coconut oil
4 tsp agave nectar
3 tbsp raw cacao powder
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tbsp chia seeds
2 tbsp shredded unsweetened coconut
kale {i used purple kale}

first remove the kale from its stem in bite-sized pieces, wash and pat dry. to prepare the chocolate coating. melt the coconut oil in a small dish. i did this by sitting the dish in another bowl of hot water and stirred it gently, sort of like a cheaters double boiler. alternatively, you could always use a microwave. once the coconut oil has warmed to a liquid, stir in the vanilla and agave. then whisk in the the cacao powder making sure there are no lumps. fold in the chia seeds and the coconut.

now you're ready to coat those pieces of kale! i used my hands to make sure that i got chocolatey goodness in all the little curls of the leaves. but if you're not into that you can use a spatula. no judgment here if you're tidy like that.

spread the leaves on a cookie sheet lined with a piece of parchment paper, making sure that none are touching. cooking times are going to vary based on your oven and how much coating is on the kale. somewhere between 40-50 minutes at 225f should do it. for mine i took them out after 25 minutes, flipped them over and put them back in the oven for 15 minutes more. if you have a quirky oven, just hang close and check on your kale chips every 10 minutes to keep them from burning. alternatively, use your dehydrator and keep it raw!

then eat your kale. FOR DESSERT. wow.

{dessert}

{oh yes}

m thought the whole chocolate + kale thing was maybe a bit too far out. until he snuck one of the pan before i could snap a photo and his eyes lit up. maybe sometimes far out turns out to be just what you need.

{purple kale}

also, i just want to give the gorgeous purple kale a little love - look at it! isn't it beautiful? and i love the bright green of the inner stem peeking through. this kale comes to you from my final csa delivery of the year. i'm so thankful to be involved in a great farm share and am looking forward to next june's first arrival already! but thankfully i've got a whole lot of squash and pumpkins and carrots & potatoes to tide me over for a good while.

shared at diet, dessert and dogs wellness weekend.

cheesy green cornbread muffins

2011-10-26T13:12:00.000-04:00

i can't believe october is nearly over. that means i've only got a few more vegan month of food posts ahead of me with the theme of cupcakes or kale. i've got some sweet ideas for my final two posts - fingers crossed things turn out!

this morning we're digging into these cheesy, green cornbread muffins. they're nice and savoury which i love and i've been nibbling on one as is, but i imagine they'd be an awesome addition to a big bowl of chili.

{cheezy green cornbread muffins}

i love that these muffins are gluten-free too without even trying. go corn, go!

cheesy green cornbread muffins
makes 9 small muffins
1 cup non dairy milk {i used unsweetened soy}
1 tbsp cider vinegar
1/4 cup oil {i used sunflower}
1/2 cup corn meal
3/4 cup corn flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup vegan cheese, grated {i used cheddar daiya}
3/4 cup kale chiffonade
1/4 cup fresh basil chiffonade
1/2 a small hot chili, minced *optional

mix the milk & vinegar in a large measuring cup and set aside to curdle. meanwhile, mix together the corn flour, cornmeal, baking soda, baking powder and salt. whisk the oil into the milk and then add to the dry ingredients, mixing well to blend. gently fold in the vegan cheese shreds, kale, basil and chilies if using.

scoop mixture into greased muffin tins and bake for about 22-24 minutes at 350f, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

{cornbread, in the making}


{basil, measured}

{cornbread, waiting}

{cheesy green goodness}

oh i do love savoury muffins... in fact, the only time i think i'll go for sweet + cornbread is on christmas morning, when i'll douse a vegan version of my grandma's johnny cake with syrup.

what about you and cornbread? sweet or savoury?

5 minute kale with peanut sauce & maple glazed tempeh

2011-10-25T15:15:00.001-04:00

how do you make even the most picky eaters eat their greens? with a quick 5-minute peanut sauce.

we ate this up today with maple-glazed tempeh - the same recipe i used for our vegan thanksgiving dinner. a few readers had asked for it, so i've included that recipe too. i think you'll be pleasantly surprised to see just how easy it is as well!

{5 minute kale with peanut sauce}

are you ready to hear how quick this kale & peanut sauce was? first i lightly steamed a bunch of purple kale that i'd washed. then i made my super quick spicy peanut sauce {you can find the original post here}. then i poured the sauce on the kale. could a warm lunch really be any easier?

5 minute kale with peanut sauce
1 bunch of kale
2 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 tbsp rice vinegar
3 tbsp tamari
1/3 cup natural peanut butter
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp sriracha, or more to taste {i used 2}

to make the quick and easy spicy peanut sauce, combine the sesame oil, rice vinegar and tamari in a small saucepan and warm over medium low heat. add in the peanut butter and stir gently as it softens and melts. add the water a bit at a time as need be until the sauce has reached a smooth consistency. continue to stir is as it simmers and thickens for 3 or 4 minutes. add some or all of the sriracha (alternatively another chili sauce or dried chili flakes) to create as much heat as you like.

maple glazed tempeh
1/2 block tempeh
1.5 tbsp tamari
1.5 tbsp pure maple syrup
1/2 tbsp oil for frying

first things first, steam the tempeh for 15 minutes in a covered pot about an inch or two of water. {don't skip this step! it's really important if you want to cut the bitterness. and trust me when i say you want to cut the bitterness.} then cut your tempeh and marinate it in the maple-tamari mixture, flipping once or twice. let the tempeh sit in this for at least an hour, but ideally for a few hours or even overnight.*

heat a little bit of oil in a skillet and fry the tempeh, adding another splash of marinade to the pan. cook for 4-5 minutes on each side until browned. the syrup will caramelize a bit so if things get too sticky, you can always add a little bit of water to deglaze the pan. devour along with steamed kale topped with peanut sauce.

*for our thanksgiving i prepped mine in the marinade the day before and it was to nice to have it ready to cook up just before eating.

{lunch for the picky}

{yum.}

really, i can't imagine anyone not liking this dish. if you or someone you love has a nut allergy then i'd suggest making the peanut sauce with tahini instead. i've made it with tahini using only a 1/4 cup instead of the 1/3 of a cup and it was awesome.

in other news, i decided to start up a facebook page for cupcakes and kale. so lovely readers, if you'd like to follow along and stay connected with me in the land of facebook, you can find my page here and "like" it. because we all like being liked, don't we :)

caldo verde

2011-10-24T11:07:00.000-04:00

it's soup season. the leaves have fallen, sweaters & toques have been pulled out and a cold drizzle fills the air today. perfect weather for soup. this recipe is based on a traditional portuguese caldo verde, or green soup. there seem to be lots of variations around, but they almost always include potatoes, onions & kale. sounds good to me.

portuguese caldo verde based on this recipe
serves 4-6
olive oil
2 onions
1 or 2 cloves of garlic
4-6 potatoes {about 4 cups once peeled and sliced}
6 cups water or broth*
1 - 2 tbsp bragg's liquid aminos
1 1/2 veggie sausage {i used tofurky tofu beer sausages}
1 cup packed kale, shredded
sea salt

dice the onion & garlic and saute in 3 tablespoons of olive oil with a couple generous pinches of sea salt until the onions are softened, but not browned. add in the sliced potatoes and continue to saute another 5 minutes, stirring all the while. pour in the water or broth, bring the pot to a boil and simmer gently for 15-20 minutes.

while the soup simmers, slice the veggie sausage into disks and fry it up in the last tablespoon of oil. add the sausage & the kale to the soup. season with bragg`s and cook until the potatoes are fork tender. serve or wait until later and reheat to serve. either way this is tasty! i opted to leave the potatoes as they were, even though i think they`re supposed to be mashed up in the traditional soup. i do love thick blended soups but there's something to be said for a hot broth with lots of goodies to be scooped up.

*if you opt to use broth instead of the water, go easy on the salt when softening the onions to start, and you might want to skip the bragg's altogether so that the soup isn't so salty that it's inedible.

while i can't vouch for its authenticity given that i've never had the real deal, i can tell you that this soup got two big thumbs up from m who said, "that's up there. number one of your soups." thanks honey.

and i'll leave his accolades as is, because i'm sure if i get into how he went on to say that the soup could even be made with chips (um, yeah - as in potato chips) you might not heed his advice to make this yourself.

so let's just pretend i didn't mention that last part.

i'm having a hard time understanding how october is nearly through! this week marks the last of vegan mofo and also my last week of posting kale and cupcake recipes - hopefully you're not sick of kale yet! i've got a few more yummy things in the works for this week and i'm going to try for something special for fridays post...

kale & avocado salad with chickpeas

2011-10-21T11:17:00.001-04:00

i've been craving a big bowl of creamy avocado and crunchy kale since i saw this recipe for a nice filling kale salad posted on sketch-free vegan eating last week. it's really simple and has 2 of my favourite things: kale and avocado.

sadly we {mostly me} mowed through our kale supply by the end of last weekend so i had to wait until our csa delivery this week to stock up again.

wednesday evening we stocked up. and then we feasted.

{guaca kale salad}

m & i both loved this up a lot. it was quite filling for a kale salad too thanks to the healthy avocado fats & the protein-rich chickpeas. the original post where the idea came from didn't have any measurements {and it's a salad so really you don't need any}, but i've included mine here in case you want try this out yourself and like a guide to follow. this salad is pretty awesome.

kale & avocado salad with chickpeas based on the idea from sketch-free vegan eating
kale {2 or 3 stalks}
1/2 cup chickpeas
1/2 avocado
1/3 cup salsa {i used salsa verde}
sea salt
drizzle of olive oil

wash and pat dry the kale. remove the greens from the stalks and spine and tear into bite-sized pieces. drizzle lightly with olive oil and massage for a couple minutes until tender. add the chickpeas {if using canned chickpeas, drain and rinse them first}. in a small bowl, mash up the avocado with the back of a fork along with the salsa and salt to taste. add this creamy dressing to the kale and toss well to coat. enjoy!

{lunch}

{kale love}

i'm looking forward to heading out tonight for a night of dancing at our local watering hole - a fundraiser for a friend's dance company, and also to getting in a nice long run. any big plans for you?

happy weekend!
xo
jess

shared at diet, dessert and dogs' wellness weekend.

thank you & blog love

2011-10-20T12:21:00.003-04:00

wow, thank you 4 fold to cynthia, allysia, caitlin & rachael!

i'm touched to have gotten some recognition from these lovely bloggers this week {and i'm so sorry that i've been a bit slow to reciprocate}. "liebster" is german & translates to dearest or beloved and can also mean favourite. {i'm having grade 10 german class flashbacks. gutentag herr koeppe. whoa.} this is a little award to bring attention to lesser known blogs. it's just another lovely thing during this vegan month of food.

when you receive a liebster you're meant to:

~ show your thanks to those who gave you the award by linking back to them.

~ reveal 5 of your top picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.

~ post the award on your blog.

~ enjoy the love and support of some wonderful people!

technically the blogs chosen are meant to have less than 200 followers. but some bloggers don't have counters on their sites and i'm not going to leave them out because of that. because i think they're awesome. just sayin'.

so today i'd like to pass this on to the following fine folks:

kaitlyn @ tie dye files for her pumpkin pancake recipe that's been filling my belly this month.

{pumpkin pancakes}

ashlae @ oh ladycakes for day after day of pumpkin amazingness. and gorgeous photographs. seriously.

{pumpkin hand pies}

sarah @ winged snail has inspired me to try baking bread. how can i not when she's got a recipe for saurkraut rye?

{rye with saurkraut}

cold and sleepy cooks has made me want to learn the alphabet all over again. her way.

{r is for rosemary}

nikki at fresh young coconut for making me want more raw in my life.

{pumpkin parfaits}

and katie @ not your parents granola for a kale salad that won over meat-eaters at my vegan thanksgiving dinner and for encouraging me to make toffee bars on a wednesday night.

{creamy kale salad}

okay, so that might be six new favourites instead of five. i'm sure i could have gone on to twenty though. xo all around. i hope you've been discovering some new favourites too!

apple & salted caramel cupcakes

2011-10-19T11:45:00.000-04:00

here's the cupcake dose for the week!

when i saw this recipe & ridiculously gorgeous photos for a salted date caramel recently, i knew that i wanted to try it out and work it into a cupcake. and raw date caramel is way more approachable than the traditional caramel that requires boiling sugar. { i scare easily when it comes to making candy.} since i still had a few organic macoun apples that a friend had given me last week, i decided apple & salted caramel cupcakes were the way to go.

{apple inspiration}

these cupcakes have more components than i usually bother with, but they were pretty tasty so i'd say they're worth it. both the apple filling & the caramel can be made in advance too.

i made these yesterday to take to a dinner meeting and wanted to make them gluten free so that everyone could enjoy them. this is only my 3rd time giving gf cupcakes a go and i'm really happy with how they've turned out. i'm still not ready to venture into mixing & matching flour blends myself, so i'm sticking with pre-fab gluten free flour mixes for now.

{gluten free caramel apple cupcakes}

apple & salted caramel cupcakes
pt 1 {gluten free cinnamon cupcakes}
makes one dozen
1 cup non-dairy milk {i used unsweetened soy}
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup sunflower oil
3/4 cup organic cane sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/3 cup gluten free flour blend {i used bob's red mill}
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 heaping tsp cinnamon

preheat your oven to 350f. mix together the milk and vinegar in a large bowl and set aside to curdle a few minutes. add in the oil, sugar and vanilla and mix until well combined. into a separate bowl sift and combine the dry ingredients. add the dry to the wet and mix until just smooth. {i noticed that the consistency of the wet batter was different than the batter i'm used to and i'm guessing this can be attributed to the gluten free flour... it was thick and 'gummy'.}

i resisted the urge to add more liquid {because of the gumminess of the batter} and instead i scooped the batter into a muffin tin filled with liners. tap the muffin tin a few times on the counter top to level out the batter in each liner and bake for 20-24 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. allow the cupcakes to cool completely before adding filling & icing. {this is longer than my cupcakes usually take - again because of the gf flour maybe? mine took almost 24 minutes to bake.}

pt 2 {apple filling}
this was really just a thickened apple sauce and i didn't measure {oops!}... but here is what i used:
2 small apples, about 1 cup total
a couple splashes of apple cider
a big pinch of cinnamon
a few spoonfuls of brown sugar
a sprinkle of organic cornstarch

peel and chop up the apples and cook them down in a small sauce pan with some cinnamon, brown sugar, and apple cider. add a bit of organic corn starch to thicken the mixture. this is going inside the cupcakes so you don't want it to be too runny and lead to soggy cupcakes. {that would just be too sad.}

pt 3 {salty medjool caramel} i used vanessa's amazing recipe found here
blend the following:
8 medjool dates, rinsed, soaked & pitted
6 tbsp water
6 tbsp soymilk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt

pt 4 {caramel vanilla buttercream}
1/4 cup earth balance vegan butter
1/4 cup earth balance shortening
2 1/2 cups icing sugar
2 tbsp salty medjool caramel
1 1/2 tbsp soy milk

whip the earth balance butter & shortening and incorporate the caramel. add in the sugar and soy milk a bit at a time, mixing as you go along until you reach a consistency and flavour you're happy with. {lucky you, that means tasting as you go!} you can use electric beaters or a stand mixer here, but you can also do it by hand - i always make my buttercreams with a fork!

{cupcakes, cooling}

{cupcake, coned}

{cupcake, filled}

{cupcake, iced}

{finished with caramel}

{macoun & medjool}

to assemble the cupcakes, cut a cone out of the centre of each cupcake with a small pairing knife and discard. and by discard i mean eat. fill the hole with a teaspoon of apple filling, and ice the top to cover. drizzle with date caramel. nosh away. they're very "fall" & would be great with a cup of warm mulled cider. although last night they were just perfect with some apple cider shandies. {thanks p & l!}

my favourite part of this whole process might just be the leftover date caramel. it's so good. i think i'm going to need some more apples to eat the rest up. although a spoon would probably cut it.

scrambled tofu & greens

2011-10-18T10:57:00.000-04:00

i'm kind of a closet fan of brunch. i was never the biggest fan of going out for breakfast or brunch after a big night out, but that mostly had to do with the destination - sitting in a cafe that stinks of bacon & eggs is more than somewhat unappealing. but whenever we're visiting somewhere that has a vegan brunch spot i'll be there in a heartbeat. because i love a good tofu scramble. savoury for breakfast is where it's at.

this weekend i cooked up an awesome scramble for sunday brunch that was heavy on the greens. i used kale (of course) and some peppery arugula, but if you don't like arugula, maybe try some baby spinach in it's place. i love arugula {also known as rocket} and it's tender leaves & bitter bite.

{scrambled tofu & greens}

scrambled tofu & greens
serves 2
1/2 454g pkg extra firm organic tofu
2-4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup red onion, diced
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 cup kale
1 cup arugula
sea salt & pepper to taste

heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan and saute the onions over medium-high heat until softened. crumble the tofu into the pan, sprinkle with turmeric and continue to cook. add more oil if you need it (sometimes the tofu tends to soak up a lot) and season with salt & pepper. fold the kale (chopped and stems removed) into the tofu to cook for a few minutes. right before serving add the arugula too just to wilt. serve with a side of multigrain toast smothered in earth balance vegan butter.

{savoury brunch}

{yum}

i'll say it again, savoury brunch is where it's at. bring on the weekend. again.

monday & a roundup

2011-10-17T11:31:00.000-04:00

i'm still a bit full, and my heart is still bursting with gratitude after a lovely evening last night. a close friend of my mother in law's had m & i over for dinner and prepared for us a 4 course vegan meal. it was amazing. {and marked the hostesses first time preparing tempeh!}

we started with hummus & baba ganoush over sparkling wine. then we sat down to a soup - a belly-warming puree of carrots & leeks with freshly grated nutmeg. following that our main course was a plate of crispy potatoes, a carrot saute, wilted swiss chard and orange-glazed tempeh. oh and all of the vegetables were homegrown out at camp. {for any readers who are not from northern ontario, camp = cottage.} we were all so stuffed after dinner, but still managed to scarf down some apple-cranberry crisp.

i'll say it again, my heart runneth over for such a beautiful meal shared with family & friends. my only regret is that i forgot my camera at home, so you'll have to take my word for it.

................................................

today i thought i'd share a wrap-up of all of the kale recipes i've cooked up so far this month.

first there was a tangy kale & cilantro pesto that got turned into a quick pizza.

then there were sour cream & onion kale chips. next time i will be making a full batch.

quick and delicious ginger sesame soba with kale got us fed & out the door on time.

fall flavours were showcased in this apple-walnut kale salad with maple cider dressing.

creamy kale salad was gobbled up at our vegan thanksgiving dinner.

this savoury tart with kale, tomato & white beans was a fancy lunch.

i couldn't get enough of this clean out the fridge asian-inspired kale slaw.

and finally, this creamy bowl of cauliflower alfredo with kale & sundried tomatoes had me wanting to curl up by a fire. this will definitely be made again.

this week, look out for more kale recipes! i'll be taking some inspiration from around the vegan month of food blogosphere. and there might be some caramel apple cupcakes too.

high protein cauliflower alfredo sauce

2011-10-14T10:21:00.001-04:00

creamy pasta, that's all i could think about for dinner last night. and i wasn't in the mood for mac 'n cheeze, although we did try angela's recipe last week and loved it. no, last night i wanted alfredo.

i'm not even a huge alfredo fan, though i did love it up earlier this fall when i tried my hand at a raw version. but this - this is something different. this is a luxuriously creamy number that wraps up into a big 'ol bowl of comfort. and it's really easy. and it's gluten-free. and full protein too.

oh yes, and of course it includes some kale, for good measure.

i had a beauty of a cauliflower from my csa {sigh, this week was one of the last 3 of the season...} and over the long weekend i remembered that i was telling someone about how much i love mashed cauliflower in the place of mashed potatoes. {have you tried that yet? it's amazing!} anyways, so i thought, why not use mashed cauliflower as a base for a creamy pasta sauce? i also had some white beans in the fridge leftover from the savoury tart i made earlier this week, so i added those to the sauce for added creaminess and protein.

high protein cauliflower alfredo
makes 3 1/2 cups of sauce
1/2 head cauliflower, about 2 cups worth
1 cup white beans (drained and rinsed if using canned)
1 - 1 1/4 cup almond milk
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 large shallot (i used 3 because mine were tiny)
salt & pepper to taste
1 cup kale (i used toscano kale)
1/8 cup sundried tomatoes, packed in oil
dash nutmeg
your favourite cooked pasta

start by cutting the cauliflower into large florets and add them to a pot of boiling water. cook until soft, about 15-20 minutes, then drain. while the cauliflower is cooking, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a pan and saute the shallots until softened and lightly browned.

place the cooked cauliflower in a blender along with the white beans, almond milk, sauteed shallots, the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil and a dash of nutmeg. blend until silky smooth. season to taste with sea salt & pepper. pour enough needed to coat the cooked pasta and mix. fold in the sundried tomatoes and kale and heat through.

place any remaining sauce in a sealed container in the fridge and use within a few days.

then sit down and enjoy a warm bowl of comforting goodness.

this was so good, and so rich and creamy that it was honestly hard to believe that someone hadn't snuck some dairy in when i wasn't looking. {for the record, no one did!} the cauliflower and the white beans really worked some magic here. perfect for the cool, rainy weather that's set in too.

happy weekend!
xo
jess

submitted to wellness weekends at diet, dessert and dogs.

double chocolate mint cupcakes

2011-10-13T11:01:00.001-04:00

these cupcakes are probably the most popular of all the cupcakes i make. so many people love the combination of chocolate & mint and the pairing exists in lots of well-known pairings... after-eight, junior mints, mint chocolate chip ice cream, ovation {those used to be a christmas staple in my house growing up}, those addictive crunchy girl guide cookies... none of which are vegan i might add. i tend to be more of a vanilla cake gal, but my double chocolate mint cupcakes are the ones that get requested the most, especially by non-vegans.

what can i say? there's just something about chocolate and mint...

{double chocolate mint}

double chocolate mint cupcakes based on the basic chocolate cupcake in VCTOTW

makes one dozen
1 cup non-dairy milk {i used almond}
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup sunflower or canola oil
3/4 cup organic cane sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp pure mint extract {or peppermint, spearmint, etc.}
1 cup organic all purpose flour
1/3 cup + 2 tbsp cocoa
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

preheat your oven to 350f. mix together the almond milk and cider vinegar in a large bowl and set aside to curdle a few minutes. add in the oil, sugar and extracts and mix until well combined. into a separate bowl sift and combine the dry ingredients. add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until the batter is pretty smooth, but don't overmix it either. {unless instead of cupcakes, you'd rather double chocolate mint hockey pucks.}

spoon the batter into a cupcake tin filled with liners and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. allow the cupcakes to cool completely before icing with chocolate mint buttercream.

vegan chocolate mint buttercream
1/2 cup earth balance vegan margarine
3- 3 1/2 cups icing sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1-2 tsp pure mint extract {depending on how minty you like things}
2 tsp almond milk, and more as needed

whip the earth balance and incorporate the mint extract. add in the cocoa powder, followed by the sugar and almond milk a bit at a time, mixing as you go along until you reach a consistency and flavour you're happy with. ice your fully cooled cupcakes and if you like with fresh mint.

{so chocolatey}

{garden mint}

moist chocolate cake with a refreshing mmmmmminty goodness.

asian inspired slaw

2011-10-12T15:46:00.000-04:00

today is wednesday which means it's our csa delivery day! and by association it is also the day in which i try frantically to make room in my fridge for more farm-fresh produce.

today's salad-based lunch came together based on what i needed to eat: cabbage, kale, carrots & one lonesome green onion. there are no measurements here because, well, i didn't measure anything! but who really wants to measure anyway when making a salad?

{asian inspired slaw}

asian inspired slaw
cabbage {i used green}
kale {i used curly green but purple kale would look gorgeous in this!}
carrots
green onion
shelled edamame
unsalted peanuts

shred the cabbage and kale, slice the carrots into thin matchsticks and dice the onion. combine in a large bowl with shelled edamame {remember to thaw in hot water if using frozen!} and chopped peanuts. whisk together a dressing of oil, tamari, seasoned rice vinegar, fresh lime juice & a drop of agave for sweetness. toss and serve. or, let it sit and really marinated in the dressing for even more punch, but maybe a bit less crunch.

{crunchy & punchy}

{delicious too}

crunchy and delicious. make room in your belly for lots of this. it's pretty fantastic.

you might have noticed that i didn't massage the kale, nor did i cook it, but that's because i find that if raw kale is shredded finely enough, the 'toughness' of it fades. for real, i say that even the most skeptical of raw-kale eaters out there can handle it like this. provided that they're not also adverse to deliciously tangy, pungent & sweet asian-inspired dressings of course.

what about you? do you eat raw kale? with or without massaging it?

kale, tomato & white bean tart

2011-10-11T19:26:00.000-04:00

it was simply too gorgeous of an october day here to do much indoors, so without further ado - i'll cut to the chase: today we noshed on a kale, tomato and white bean tart with a homemade savoury pastry.

{savoury kale tart}

{an easy eat}

don't be overwhelmed by the long method - this is really quite an easy make! ...and an easy eat too!

kale, white bean & tomato tart
makes one 10-inch tart
for the pastry:
3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp dried garlic granules
1/2 cup cold earth balance vegan butter
3-6 tbsp ice water

for the tart:
pastry, chilled
1 cup canned white beans, rinsed
1 medium tomato, sliced
1/2 cup (packed) of kale
3 tsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
a pinch of sea salt
fresh basil

to make the pastry, combine the flours, earth balance, salt, dried basil and garlic in a food processor. pulse to combine until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. sprinkle with ice water a tablespoon at a time and pulse again. continue adding more ice water as need be until the dough is crumbly but will hold together if you squeeze it between your fingers. turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, shape it into a disk, being careful not to handle it too much, then wrap it in plastic and place it in the fridge to chill at least 1 hour.

once chilled, unwrap the dough and roll it out on a piece of parchment paper until it's fairly thin and about 10 inches in diameter. pinch up the edges between your thumb and fingers to give a the toppings a boarder {and a little decorative crust to boot}.

mash the white beans in a bowl with the back of a fork and add 1 teaspoon of olive oil and a pinch of salt. spread the beans onto the dough almost to the edge. tear the kale into bite-sized pieces and massage with 1 teaspoon of olive oil {this will allow the kale to crisp up around the edges, but keep it from drying out to nothing during cooking}. spread the kale over the beans and then arrange the tomatoes on top. bake at 350f for 40-45 minutes until the edges of the crust have browned lightly. remove from the oven, drizzle with the remaining teaspoon of olive oil, garnish with fresh basil and serve.

{kale, white bean, tomato & basil}

this was a lovely {late} lunch. it tasted very mediterranean and was surprisingly filling. the crust was so buttery and had the best, subtle little kick of garlic! i had a piece this evening too and it was equally yummy cold.

{yum}

our vegan thanksgiving

2011-10-10T10:54:00.000-04:00

happy monday everyone! i'm ever so slightly straying from my kale or cupcake theme today because i really wanted to share our thanksgiving feast from last night. but there's still a kale dish included so i've forgiven myself from bending my own rule. hah.

i'm happy to report that my thanksgiving dinner last night was a huge success. this was the first year that i've done all of the cooking and i was a little nervous, given that there had been a lot of hype surrounding this mystical vegan dinner. some of my guests had no idea what would be in store. what could they possibly be served at a harvest meal in the absence of all meat and dairy and eggs?? in reality there was nothing mystical at all. with the gorgeous harvest bounty i wasn't short on kitchen inspiration. in fact the biggest problem i had was narrowing down the number of dishes so that we didn't have too much to eat!

we started things off with this super seedy hummus. {i only made a half batch - one can of chickpeas - and i didn't have any milled chia seeds so i omitted that and threw in some more pepitas.}

{super seedy hummus}

then, after some bubbly and a crazy photo session in the leaves, we sat down to feast. there was a creamy, massaged kale salad in a tahini dressing based on this recipe. {as for changes, i didn't really measure things for the dressing and i left out the sweetener.} yum, this was awesome. there was a bit of confusion at one end of the table because some folks kept getting kale and kelp confused, but once i assured them that it wasn't a seaweed salad {not that i would have minded that at all as i've been craving kelp noodles like whoa lately}, it was gobbled up.

{creamy kale salad}

there was a moist, savoury wild rice stuffing that included pear, dried local cranberries & rosemary based on this recipe. everyone commented on how great this was - and better in fact than the usual suspect.

{wild rice stuffing with pear & cranberries}

there was maple-tamari glazed tempeh and tofu. this was so good that i didn't mind having to explain what tempeh is about 10 times.

{maple glazed tempeh & tofu}

there were tons of crispy roasted potatoes & sweet potatoes with lemon and rosemary. i was ever so thankful that these cooked in time after we discovered that the oven had been turned off accidentally. oops.

{lemon & rosemary potatoes and sweet potatoes}

and if all the dinner wasn't enough, there was pumpkin cheesecake for dessert. i had planned on using a layered lemon & pumpkin recipe, but in the end i used the galactic banana-chocolate cheesecake recipe from the terry hope romano cooking demo i attended in september as inspiration. although the photograph doesn't do it justice, this was a showstopper. everyone loved it. some of us {or maybe that was just me} even had a second slice. honestly, this was incredible. i'll definitely be making this again and when i do i promise to share the recipe.

{pumpkin cheesecake}

after we feasted, laughed & debated the dairy industry, everyone commented on how although they were certainly full, they didn't feel ill like they normally would after a big turkey dinner. they also thanked me profusely and hinted that they hoped they'd be invited to attend another vegan holiday feast in the future. i'd call that a success.

this year in addition to being thankful for my family, my friends, my health & m, i'm also thankful for the open-minded guests who joined us for dinner last night. that and the sunny, above seasonal temperatures that i'll be enjoying today. oh, and i think m & i are also thankful for the 2 slivers of leftover cheesecake.

sending out thanks to the universe today. xo.

apple & walnut kale salad

2011-10-07T15:23:00.001-04:00

it's friday and week #1 of vegan mofo is through! phew! so much reading, cooking, drooling at the computer screen... it seems that lots of you really enjoyed my french toast cupcakes that i posted yesterday, and i don't blame you, they're pretty darn scrumptious! i'm excited already to share next weeks cupcake post.... but you're going to have to wait until then!

for now, how about an easy kale salad with bright fall flavours?

{apple & walnut kale salad}

apple & walnut kale salad
1/2 bunch kale
1 apple
1/4 cup raw walnuts
1 green onion
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp pure maple syrup
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil {optional}

wash the kale and remove the tender greens from the stalk. tear the greens into bite-sized pieces and place them in your salad bowl along with 1 tablespoon of cider vinegar and a few pinches of salt and massage the kale with your hands for a minute or two.

wash and core the apple and dice it. dice the green onion too. add the apple, onion and walnuts to the kale. whisk together the remaining vinegar with the maple syrup and oil if using and drizzle over the salad. toss, season to taste with more salt if needed and serve.

i loved the crunch of sweet apple combined with rich walnuts and tender kale. and getting a little sharp pop from a green onion here and there was great too! i didn't find that i needed the oil in the dressing for this salad but it would be nice with it too i'm sure. also, you might like to adjust the sweetness either up or down to your liking.

must be on my way ~ mega meal planning ahead for canadian thanksgiving this weekend! i'm really excited to be cooking for a group of 10 lovely people. i put the offer out there to do all of the cooking to ensure that m & i could enjoy a thanksgiving meal that means something to us and that is cruelty-free. we're the only two vegans who will be in attendance so i'm excited to feed some new flavours to hungry mouths!

will so many amazing recipes out there, i decided to pull some recipes from the incredible vegan blogger community. here's a sampling of a few of the recipes i hope to include in our sunday meal:

for pre-dinner snacking, this super seey hummus from cook, bake, nibble
to stuff in my csa-fresh delicata squash, this wild rice, pear & cranberry stuffing from veg kitchen
to make sure we get our kale fix, these creamy greens from not your parent's granola
and of course not forgetting dessert, i'm planning on individual layered pumpkin cheesecakes with this recipe from fat free vegan.

now there's a list of things to be thankful for.

happy weekend and to my canadian pals, happy thanksgiving!

xo
jess

french toast cupcake

2011-10-06T10:16:00.002-04:00

have i told you before how much i love cupcakes? maybe you might have guessed given that cupcake makes up one half of my blog namesake. but yes, it's true. i love cupcakes. vegan cupcakes, that is.

a few weeks back i ~~had~~ ~~enjoyed~~ ~~devoured~~ savoured an incredible cupcake. it was one that caught my eye with it's sparkling cinnamon sugar dusting and was one that was recommended by the lovely gal working the festival booth. it was the bunner's french toast cupcake and it was incredible.

{the original}

when i returned home i dove into the kitchen and tried to recreate it. just to make sure i got it right i made a few dozen. and though all i had to go on was the memory and the lingering hint of maple on my palette, i think i've done it justice.

my cupcake is a little different from the original in that it's not gluten-free. neither m nor i have any problems digesting gluten so i didn't try to replicate that part {bunner's is a gf vegan bakery}. but what's the same is a moist cinnamon-vanilla cupcake with a nice crumble and a fluffy maple buttercream topped with cinnamon sugar. it really is french toast born again as a cupcake!

{the inspired}

french toast cupcakes
makes one dozen
1 cup non-dairy milk {i used unsweetened almond}
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup sunflower oil
3/4 cup organic cane sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/3 cup organic all purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 heaping tsp cinnamon

preheat your oven to 350f. mix together the almond milk and cider vinegar in a large bowl and set aside to curdle a few minutes{this curdling gives the cake a nice crumb}. add in the oil, sugar and vanilla and mix until well combined. into a separate bowl sift and combine the dry ingredients. add the dry to the wet and mix until just smooth. {be mindful not to overmix!}

spoon the batter into a muffin tin filled with liners and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. allow the cupcakes to cool completely before icing with vegan maple buttercream.

vegan maple buttercream
1/2 cup earth balance vegan margerine
3-4 cups icing sugar
1/2 tsp maple extract
1-2 tbsp non-dairy milk (more or less as required)
and about a teaspoon of cinnamon sugar for dusting

whip the earth balance and incorporate the maple extract. add in the sugar and almond milk a bit at a time, mixing as you go along until you reach a consistency and flavour you're happy with. {lucky you, that means tasting as you go!} you can use electric beaters or a stand mixer here, but you can also do it by hand - i always make my buttercreams with a fork!

ice your cupcakes and top them off with a light dusting of cinnamon sugar. then dig in.

{ready to dig in...}

{dug}

i don't like to play favourites.... but i think i have a new favourite.
and her name is french toast.

{shhh, just don't tell miss mocha}

ginger sesame soba with kale

2011-10-05T11:02:00.004-04:00

so is anyone else totally consumed with vegan mofo? i love all of the new blogs that i'm discovering! the only thing getting me down is that i can't possibly read all of the mofo posts. but everyone is doing such a great job - hurray for vegans!

today i'm sharing a really yummy dish that i made a few nights ago. we didn't have much time to eat before needed to head out somewhere so this dish was great - the whole thing came together in about 15 minutes!

{ginger sesame soba noodles with kale}

ginger sesame soba with kale
serves 4
for the sauce
1 inch nub of ginger
1 clove garlic
1 tsp sweetner of your choice {i used brown sugar}
1 tsp sriracha {optional}
2 tbsp rice vinegar
4 tbsp tamari
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
                 -------
8 oz dried soba noodles
                 -------
1/2 pkg extra firm organic tofu, pressed & cubed {about 1 cup}
2 tbsp organic corn starch
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
                 -------
1/2 bunch kale, about 2 packed cups worth
1 cup broccoli florets
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil

to make the sauce, place all of the ingredients {from ginger to sesame oil} in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. set sauce aside. boil a pot of water and cook the soba noodles according to package directions. while the noodles cook, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet. coat the tofu cubes in corn starch and fry until a crispy coating forms, about 2 minutes a side should do the trick. while the tofu cubes were cooking i also seasoned them lightly with salt and pepper. remove the tofu and place aside so that you can cook the greens and assemble the dish.

heat the last 1 tablespoon of sesame oil and add in the kale & broccoli. saute for 1-2 minutes until slightly softened and bright green in colour. at this point, crank the heat and add in the cooked soba noodles and the sauce. toss well and heat through. serve immediately, with the tofu on top. {if you add the tofu to the pan, the crispy coating will quickly become soft.} if you love spicy heat, you can always top with more sriracha!

{quick eats}

if you missed my mofo warm-up post you might be wondering,
hey! what's with all the kale recipes?!

if so, you should go back and take a peek to see what my theme is all about :)

but if you've already read it and are wondering,
hey! what about the cupcakes recipes?!

to you i say, come back tomorrow - i'll have a post dedicated to an incredible cupcake i enjoyed a few weeks back at the toronto vegetarian food festival.

two words: french toast.

{swoon inducing cupcake}

i'm swooning already...

submitted to wellness weekends at diet, dessert & dogs.

sour cream & onion kale chips

2011-10-04T09:40:00.000-04:00

growing up, my favourite chips used to be ruffles sour cream and onion. i know, i know, they're full of horrible ingredients, but i loved them so! as much as i love my healthy vegan life, i do sometimes still crave after them. i don't follow through on that craving because they're not vegan, but a quick google search told me that i needn't lust after them anymore because i could,

make.

my.

own.

{more mofo kale}

it seems the master of the sour cream and onion kale chip is mr. douglas mcnish, executive chef of raw aura organic cuisine. i stuck to his recipe almost to a T, but i didn't have any red onion so i used green onion and i also added in some parsley because it's going crazy in my garden right now.

now, i only made up a half a bunch of kale's worth of these chips. partially because i didn't want to be left to eat them all myself, and partially because i don't want to over-do it on the kale too early in the month! i've got a lot of kale ahead of me yet... but that being said, go ahead and double the recipe for yourself!

sour cream and onion kale chips based on this recipe from douglas mcnish
1/3 cup raw cashews, soaked
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp garlic granules
few pinches of sea salt
3-4 tbsp water
1 green onion, diced
1 tbsp fresh parsley, minced
1/2 bunch kale

soak the raw cashews in water for at least a few hours, if not overnight. drain and rinse the cashews and place them in a blender along with the vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, salt. puree the mixture adding the water 1 tablespoon at a time until a thick and creamy consistency is reached. stir in the onion and parsley.

{kale, getting saucy}

wash and dry the kale leaves and remove the greenery from the coarse stems in big bite-sized pieces. place the kale in a bowl and top with the blended cashew mixture. use a spatula if you like, or get your hands in there and work the cream into the kale. spread the coated leaves out onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake them at 200f for 60-70 minutes. alternatively, if you are lucky enough to have a dehydrator, use it to make the chips.

{kale, coated in cream}

i was in awe of the authentic sour cream flavour! the versatility of raw cashews never cease to amaze me. even m, who is not a huge fan of kale chips {allow me to refine that - who is usually not a fan of my kale chips} loved them.

you should make these. and share them. or don't share them, and eat them all yourself :)

kale, cashew & cilantro pesto pizza

2011-10-03T11:05:00.002-04:00

is pesto still pesto in the absence of basil? i was really craving a nice thick pesto and there was no basil to be found in my kitchen. but i did have the dregs of a bunch of cilantro and of course, there was kale. i adapted my kale and walnut pesto recipe and got delicious results!

{ingredients, laid out}

{curly kale}

kale, cashew & cilantro pesto
makes about 1 cup
1 cup fresh cilantro, leaves and stems, packed
1 cup kale, chopped and tightly packed
1/4 cup raw cashews
2 tbsp cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp ascenta nutraveg oil
scant 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about 1/2 a juicy lemon)
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
1 big clove of garlic
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
freshly cracked black pepper

for the pizza
1 wrap {i used my favourite ezekiel sprouted grain wrap}
1/4 cup kale, cashew & cilantro pesto
daiya cheese
caramelized onions {click here for a how-to}

to make the pesto, combine the kale & cilantro in a food processor and mince it down finely. add the cashews, lemon juice, garlic, salt and nutritional yeast and process until combined. with the processor running, add the oils through the feed spout. {if you don't have the acenta nutravege oil, just add a bit more olive oil if you need it.} season with fresh cracked pepper to suit your taste and voila - presto, pesto!

{presto, pesto!}

{nutra vege}

this pesto was so citrusy and savoury. if you haven't yet tried it, the ascenta oil is a vegan omega-3 supplement that also imports a light citrus flavour. you can also read a great review of it from ricki over at diet, dessert and dogs.

i used this pesto as the base for a delicious, quick pizza lunch. i spread an ezekiel wrap with a quarter cup of the pesto, sprinkled it with a bit of daiya cheese and topped it with caramelized onions. use whatever toppings you like though. m had his with just pesto and daiya and loved it.

{quick pesto pizza}

they cook really quickly with this 'cheater' crust, so 10-12 minutes at 350f does the trick and if you want the top to sizzle, then a careful power-minute under the broiler can finish it.

{yum}

oh so good.

but the question remains, is pesto still pesto in the absence of basil? after this, i think i'd say yes.

submitted to ricki's wellness weekends - the daiya might not fit the WW parameters, but the pesto certainly does and there are lots of whole food options for enjoying it.... i think i might enjoy the leftover pesto on top of a baked sweet potato!