Nosh & Nom

Who says vegan food has to be boring and bland?! This recipe came about using leftovers in my fridge! I’m the leftover Queen!

I used broccolini in this version rather than regular broccoli, although the regular stuff would work equally. I happened to have broccolini on hand so it’s what I used. I honestly prefer the taste of broccolini as it’s a bit milder and sweeter in flavour.

Vegan Beer Broccoli “Cheddar” Soup

4 cups organic broccolini chopped (keep in large chunks as it will be blended anyway)
1 large onion roughly chopped
3-4 cloves of garlic roughly chopped
1 bottle of beer (brown or dark ale ie. Guinness or New Castle)
1 Litre of low sodium vegetable stock
2-3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp Za’atar Seasoning (optional)
2 tbsp tomato paste*
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 package Daiya shredded cheese (mozarella or cheddar - I used mozza)
Himalayan sea salt to taste

1. In a large pot heat up 1-2 tbsp oil on medium high heat (I used coconut oil) and sauté onion and garlic for 2-3 minutes until slightly translucent.
2. Add broccolini and cook for another 5 minutes or until broccolini is a nice bright green and cooked through.
3. Pour beer and vegetable broth over top of your sautéed veggies and bring to light boil. 
4. Lower heat and add in apple cider vinegar, Za’atar seasoning, tomato paste and nutritional yeast. Simmer for about 10 minutes.
5. Remove pot from heat and using a hand blender, blend soup until chunks of broccolini are blended well.
6. Stir in Daiya cheese and blend again until strings of cheese are no longer visible.
7. Place back on heat and bring to a light boil. Remove from heat and season to taste with sea salt.
8. **Serve with some optional toppings or a good piece of sprouted grain toast!

*Tip: buy your tomato paste in a tube to avoid extras from a can going bad!

** Optional Toppings: extra steamed broccolini, grilled vegan sausage, extra Daiya cheese, green onions, chives, etc.

I had a huge head of cauliflower that I purchased last week thinking I would make something awesome with. I really had no idea what to do with it :(. I looked up a few recipes online this weekend, and since it’s going to be a VERY COLD week here in YYC (-30 to -40ºC), I decided on a curry cauliflower soup (adapted from AllRecipe). I made a few adjustments with the addition of 2 Ambrosia apples and to make it a bit lower cal, I substituted the can of coconut milk with almond milk. Oh, and I also made my own curry paste! It’s easier than it sounds - best made using a mortar and pestle, but a food processor may also work. Use store bought paste to save time. I won’t judge you (I will secretly judge you).

Curry Cauliflower Apple Soup

1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
2 apples, peeled, cored and chopped into large chunks (any kind will do)**
grapeseed oil
sea salt
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 onion, diced
2 tablespoon curry paste *homemade or store bought
5 cups water (or no/low sodium vegetable or chicken broth)
1-3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk or other non-dairy milk (drinkable coconut milk would work great and is lower fat than a can of coconut milk)
sea salt to taste
1-2 tbsp maple syrup *optional

*(optional) Homemade Curry Paste:
Put all of the following into a mortar & pestle and grind until you get a smooth paste: coriander seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, tumeric powder, red chili/cayenne powder, cinnamon, black + yellow mustard seeds, Himalayan sea salt, 3-4 cloves fresh garlic chopped roughly, large chunk of fresh ginger chopped roughly. Sorry I don’t have exact measurements, but it was an eyeball and toss recipe. Use your own judgment for how much of each spice to add. Want it less spicy, then use less chili powder, etc. Remember that cumin, fennel and coriander are fairly strong flavours so use sparingly. Or use the easy method of store bought. There is no shame in that (I am still judging you) - just use something good quality!

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Place the cauliflower and apples on a baking sheet, sprinkle with a bit of grapeseed oil and sea salt. Bake in preheated oven until golden brown, about 30 minutes.

2. In a large dutch oven or pot, melt coconut oil over medium heat. Add diced onions and sauté until translucent. Add curry paste to onions to cook out the spices to bring out the flavour. Be careful not to burn the curry paste. Add a few tablespoons of water to prevent buring and to naturally deglaze your pot throughout. Cook out onions and curry paste for another 5 minutes.

3. Add roasted cauliflower and apples to onion curry mix and stir until they are coated evenly in the curry. Pour water and almond milk (or other non-dairy milk) into the pot and bring to a light boil. Lower heat and simmer for another 5-10 minutes.

4. Carefully purée the soup in a blender or use a hand immersion blender until it has reached your desired consistency. Pour back into pot and bring to a light boil again.

5. Adjust the seasoning by adding a bit of sea salt to taste. For a bit of added sweetness add 1-2 tablespoons of maple syrup.

6. Serve with slices of chopped chicken breast over top, with a side of naan or fresh corn tortillas (crisped in the oven or just warmed up). YUM! ENJOY!

**instead of apples you could also use mangos to add sweetness and flavour!
**adding fresh cooked lentils would make this extra hearty! The possibilites are endless!

It’s a brand new year which means everyone including myself is looking to eat cleaner. However, that doesn’t mean you have to completely deprive yourself! I am a true and true choco-holic and need my fix as often as I can! These chocolate snowballs satisfy your chocolatey sweet tooth cravings without the guilt! They taste like rich sinful truffles, but do not have the added refined sugars or hydrogenated fats of the real thing. I may or may not have eaten 6-7 of these in one day. Just to make sure they were ok and blog worthy of course :). That’s dedication if I do say so myself!

This recipe, adapted from another raw vegan chocolate snowball recipe, is rich and decadent yet chocked full of healthy omega-3/omega-6 fats and anti-oxidants. With the addition of Maca Root Powder, there is the added benefit of increased energy levels, better mental clarity and is supposed to help with PMS symptoms amongst other hormonal imbalances :). It adds not only these great health benefits, but a slightly roasted nutty flavour. If you cannot find Maca Root powder, you can leave it out of the recipe. You can find this at most health food stores in the bulk section or if you are lucky enough to have a BULK BARN in your city, they will carry this as well.

Raw Vegan Chocolate Maca Snowballs

1-1/2 c Unsweetened Shredded Coconut (unsulphured if available)
1/4 c Hemp Hearts
3/4 c Maple Syrup or Agave to be technically raw (I used a mixture of the two)
3/4 c Dutch Cocoa Powder
4 tbsp Maca Root Powder
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/4 c Coconut Oil

1. Measure out all ingredients into a medium sized bowl.

2. Mix by hand with a wooden spoon or in a stand mixer until it becomes smooth and coconut oil is evenly distributed throughout mixture.

3. Place mixture into a freezer-safe container and freeze for 4-8 hours or overnight to let mixture firm up slightly. 

4. Scoop out either all the mixture into balls or keep in container and scoop out individual balls as you desire. Keep mixture/balls frozen in an air tight container. Mixture will stay soft and pliable even though it is stored in the freezer so no need to fret :).

5. Optional: Roll balls in raw cocoa powder for an added kick of chocolate flavour and true truffle decadence!

6. Eat and ENJOY!! Nom nom nom!!

7. The end.

I was having a craving for savoury crêpes after having one for lunch recently at the La Crêperie (Kindsland Farmer’s Market). They’re quite pricey, and although delicious it wasn’t WOW delicious, at least not for the price tag of $10. I figured I could easily make my own after watching the crêpe making skills of the chef on hand. *Note to self - get a large crêpe pan :). What can I say, I’m a kitchen gadget whore.

My version uses dark buckwheat flour which is completely gluten free. I found they weren’t quite as pliable as a regular all purpose flour crêpe, so you will have to take care when flipping and folding these to make your crêpe-wich. They are however, still fluffy and delicious when combined with smoked salmon, lemon dill cream cheese (non-dairy), pickled red onions and spinach. Oh MY!

Smoked Salmon Buckwheat Crêpes (makes one super large crêpe)

Crêpes:
1/3 C unsweetened almond milk (or drinkable coconut milk - not from the can)
3 Tbsp Dark Buckwheat Flour
1 large egg
2 Tsp vegetable oil plus additional for cooking crêpes

Filling:

Small handful of fresh organic spinach leaves - chopped into julienne strips
Smoked salmon slices 

Lemon Dill Cream “Cheese”
4 Tbsp Toffuti Plain Cream Cheese
1 Tbsp fresh dill - chopped *TIP: fresh dill can be washed and frozen in a ziplock bag to keep on hand for future recipes. You can do this with many fresh herbs if you’re like me and buy too much and can’t use them all in one recipe.
2 Tsp fresh lemon juice
*combine in small bowl until smooth, set aside

Pickled Red Onions
(this actually makes more than you will really need for 1 crêpe and can be made ahead of time. Store any extra in a sealed glass jar in the fridge)
1/2 small red onion sliced thinly
3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
pinch of Himalayan sea salt to taste
pinch of sugar to taste
*combine in small bowl, let sit for minimum 10-15 minutes. Note: this would be yummy on homemade fish tacos too :)

Instructions:

In a medium sized bowl combine almond milk, buckwheat flour, egg, and 2 teaspoons oil and whisk until smooth. Chill batter, covered, 15-20 minutes.

Lightly brush a large non-stick skillet (or crêpe pan) with oil, then heat over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Holding skillet off heat, pour in batter, immediately tilting and rotating skillet to coat bottom, pushing batter around and to sides of the pan with a spatula.Return skillet to heat and cook until crêpe is just set and pale golden around edges, 30-60 seconds. Carefully fold over crêpe in half to resemble a half-moon.

Begin adding your fillings by spreading lemon dill cream cheese on the bottom, then layer smoked salmon over top, followed by the chopped spinach and a sprinkling of pickled red onions. At this point flip one corner of the crêpe into the centre, then fold other corner over top to form a flat cone shape. Flip over in skillet to seal the bottom slightly and flatten gently with spatula/flipper.

Can be eaten sandwich-style with your hands or if you’re a bit more cautious, a knife and fork :).

*You can make 2 smaller crêpes, by only cooking 1/2 the batter at a time. If you’re inclined to share that is. Completely OPTIONAL! HAHA!

So, yeah, I’m not really sure when I DON’T crave chocolate. I’ve been wanting to try this recipe for Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups for the longest time. I’m not vegan, but I’m always open to recipes of all kinds! Although I flirted with the idea of becoming vegetarian and vegan this past year, I couldn’t quite do it 100%. I love meat too much! I try not to eat a lot of meat and if I do, I try to buy local, hormone/additive-free, free range/organic whenever possible and non-farmed seafood (wild caught is best). But I digress…

I had a hankering for some chocolate peanut butter cups this past week, but Reese Peanut Butter Cups, as tasty as they are, are full of ingredients I cannot pronounce and if I cannot pronounce it I’m not sure I want to eat it. Besides, homemade always tastes better! These are mostly guilt-free, I swear :). And yes, I already had all these ingredients on hand in my pantry. What kind of foodie would I be without a fully stocked pantry of random spices and ingredients!

I adapted this recipe slightly from Alicia Silverstone’s Kind Diet book. It’s fairly low in sugar and full of protein from the natural crunchy peanut butter. I made some minor substitutions by adding palm sugar in place of maple sugar. The local health food stores here do sell maple sugar, but it is quite expensive for the amount you get :(. I also sprinkled some hemp hearts on top for some extra protein and healthy omega fats (3 & 6). The Kind Diet book has some pretty great recipes in there, so even if you’re a hard core bacon-eater, you’ll still find something delicious to try!

The Kind Life Diet Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

3/4 cup natural crunchy peanut butter (unsweetened and unsalted)
1/2 cup Earth Balance butter
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs or 10 graham cracker squares
1/4 cup maple sugar or other granulated sweetener *I used palm sugar (date sugar or coconut sugar is also a good replacement if maple sugar is not available)
1 cup grain-sweetened, nondairy chocolate or carob chips *70% dark chocolate is perfect for this!
1/4 cup soy, rice, or nut milk
1/4 cup chopped pecans, almonds, or peanuts *I added some hemp hearts too

Directions:

Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners and set aside. *I used mini muffin cup liners which equates to about 48 mini cups

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.

Stir in the peanut butter, graham cracker crumbs, and maple sugar and mix well.

Remove the mixture from the heat.

Evenly divide the mixture, approximately 2 tablespoons per cup, among the muffin cups. *approx 3/4 tablespoon if using the mini liners

Combine the chocolate and milk in another pan.

Stir over medium heat until the chocolate has melted.

Spoon the chocolate evenly over the peanut butter mixture.

Top with chopped nuts. *optional: hemp hearts

Place in the refrigerator to set for at least 2 hours before serving. 

Eat and enjoy! *Sharing is completely optional!

Store in air tight container in refrigerator to keep firm.

*Note: I cut this recipe in half which makes 24 mini peanut butter cups. FYI half of 3/4 cup is 6 TBSP. You’re welcome!

So I’ve been craving Canh Chau, a Vietnamese sweet and sour soup, ever since my sister in-law taught me how to make this a few months ago (Thanks Binh!). This soup is hearty and fragrant, perfect for those cold fall and winter days. I decided to make this my contribution to my family Thanksgiving dinner along with the vegan chocolate torte, which I unfortunately don’t have photos of since it was devoured and the few pieces left aren’t quite pretty enough to photograph, but trust me it was delish! We didn’t do the traditional turkey and fixin’s, but had a lovely Chinese Hot Pot full of fresh meat, veggies and noodles. So no turkey coma for me. I’m saving that for Christmas!

Canh Chau

4 cloves garlic - minced
4 medium tomatoes - roughly chopped
1 small fresh pineapple - peeled, cored, chopped into small bite sized pieces
1/2 cup tamarind paste (fresh if you can find it)
6-8 cups water 

Salt, to taste
Honey, to sweeten

2 cups of peeled shrimp, skinless/deboned fish (salmon/red snapper or other hearty fish) or skinless/deboned chicken breast/thighs, or a combination of any of the 3
2-3 cups taro root stem, peeled and chopped into bite sized pieces
2 cups Okra, stems removed and chopped into bite sized pieces

1 bunch Thai basil, leaves roughly chopped
1 bunch Ngò om, roughly chopped
1 bunch Ngò gai, roughly chopped
2 cups Bean sprouts

Fish sauce to taste

Sauté garlic until lightly brown, add tomatoes & pineapple until softened & juices run (5-10 minutes). Add water, salt & tamarind to taste. Simmer for approximately 10 minutes.

Add shrimp, fish or chicken, okra and taro root stem and simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Add herbs & bean sprouts and simmer for another 5-10 minutes.

Add fish sauce to taste. Adjust seasoning by adding more tamarind or honey if you would like it more sweet or sour, or both. Serve over top of fresh rice or rice noodles.

Serves 8-12 people. 

*Note that many of the ingredients can be found at your local Asian supermarket. Try going to the more traditional mom and pop type stores as the chain market stores (T&T Supermarket) may not have all the herbs or veggies required.

Getting ready to make a Vegan Chocolate Torte for Thanksgiving dinner based out of this cook book from The Coup + Meet Restaurant & Lounge, modified using Avocados instead of tofu (adapted by the lovely Angela Liddon of Oh She Glows). I hope it turns out!

And well….I was flipping through and only just noticed the dessert section cover page. Haha!