Vegan Steel Cut Oats with Banana and Manuka Honey

 

So good!!!!

Manuka Honey can be found at Trader Joe's or other specialty grocers. It can also be ordered online from Amazon and eBay.

Adventures in Canning: Southwestern Black Bean Soup

 Southwestern Black Bean Soup

 

 

    I started canning about 5 years and I really enjoy it.  However lately we just haven't had the time with all our home projects and other hobbies. Well,  I just picked up a new pressure cooker after my last ones seal wore out and it was all the inspiration I needed to get back into it.  A year ago...we did have a pantry full of stocks, broths, soups, and canned beans but we have since used up all our storage.  This left me antsy as I love the look of a full pantry that is ready for anything!  My husband is in LOVE with the black bean soup (it's vegan) that they sell at Costco, he takes it to work almost everyday. I was determined to search out a recipe so I could can some for him.  So I began searching the internet, the recipes were all over the place with cook times and ingredients.  So I settled for a basic black bean soup recipe that I would tweak to make my own.  The basic black bean canning recipe can be found here:  http://www.food.com/recipe/home-canned-or-stove-top-black-bean-soup-365370 .  What is nice about it is that it includes both stove top directions and canning directions so there is no pressure to run out and get a pressure cooker if you don't already have one, since you can throw it right into a stockpot and go.

 

 

The first thing I did was sanitize the jars, then I let the beans soak in them for a day in 1 quart jars. 

Beans soaking in water over night

Next you rinse the beans and clean your jars again.    After your jars are prepared  you put the beans back into the jar.  Add all the ingredients as listed in the link I gave you.  Here are some modifications I did to put a southwestern spin on the soup:  Swapped red onion for white onion, swapped jalapenos for green chilis, added diced tomatoes and added corn.  You can really play with it and make it your own just be sure to add hot water to it after your ingredients and leave about 1 inch space at the top of the jar

 

Add your ingredients, fill with hot water, leave space at the top



I used 1 quart jars

 

 

 

 

After everything is in the jar, you've added the hot water, you've remembered to leave about 1 inch space you can seal them up and prepare your pressure cooker. 

Pressure cooker,  doesn't actually hold 4 like my old one :(
I realized that after the photo. I had to cook them 2 at a time in the center.

 

 

 

I cooked these on high on my stove top in the pressure cooker for 90 minutes.

That's it!! Your house will smell amazing!!!

 

Bon Appétit,

 

 

Recipe adapted from Food.com  Photos by Laura Spear





   

Maple-Pecan-Crusted Vegan Chicken

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons margarine
1/4 teaspoon crushed pink Himalayan salt
1/4 teaspoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon olive oil
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/3 cup crushed pecans
2 cups of your favorite vegan chicken

Directions:

In a cast-iron skillet, melt the margarine over medium heat then add the salt, brown sugar, ginger, and olive oil. Mix that together.  Stir in the maple syrup, pecans and turn the heat down to low. Wait for it to bubble then add your vegan chicken. Flip it a few times to get it coated and then let your chicken simmer in the maple syrup mixture.  Cook for 2 to 3 mins then flip and cook another 2 to 3 mins. The kitchen will smell AMAZING.  You know the chicken is done when you have a golden brown crust on the pecans.

Recipe by:  Annie & Dan Shannon authors of the Betty Goes Vegan cookbook.
Photo by:  Laura Spear

BBQ Seitan Ribs

Ingredients

• 1 cup vital wheat gluten
• 2 teaspoons smoked Spanish paprika
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 3/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons tahini or other nut butter
• 1 teaspoon Liquid Smoke
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• about 1 cup of your favorite barbecue sauce (see some suggestions below)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 and lightly spray an 8×8 baking dish with canola oil. Mix the first 5 ingredients together in a large bowl. Mix the water with the nut butter, Liquid Smoke, and soy sauce and add it to the dry ingredients. Stir to mix well and then knead lightly in the bowl for a couple of minutes.

Put the dough into the baking dish and flatten it so that it evenly fills the pan. Take a sharp knife and cut it into 8 strips; then turn the pan and cut those strips in half to form 16 pieces:

This photo is by Susan Voisin of fatfreevegan.com

Put it in the oven and bake for 25 minutes. While it’s cooking prepare your grill.

Remove it from the oven and carefully re-cut each strip, going over each cut to make sure that the ribs will pull apart easily later. Generously brush the top with barbecue sauce. Take it to the grill and invert the whole baking dish onto the grill (or use a large spatula to lift the seitan out, placing it sauce-side down on the grill). Brush the top of the seitan with more sauce:

 Make sure that it doesn't burn. When it’s sufficiently brown on one side, turn over and cook the other side, adding more sauce, if necessary. When done, remove to a platter and cut or pull apart the individual ribs to serve.

Note: To make this without a grill, bake it for 25 minutes without barbecue sauce. Then brush the top with a generous coating of sauce, turn the whole thing over carefully in the pan, and brush the other side with sauce. Bake for another 10-20 minutes or until the sauce has thickened and caramelized slightly but not burned. Remove from oven, cut apart, and serve.

Recipe is by Susan Voisin of fatfreevegan.com. 1st two photos are by Laura Spear, 3rd photo is by Susan Voisin of fatfreevegan.com.

Halloweegan Peppers, Stuffed Mini Jack-O'-Lanterns

Stuffed Mini Jack-O'-Lanterns Halloweegan Peppers

You can stuff Acorn Squash or Peppers for this recipe. The filling can also be changed to whatever you want, spaghetti, pasta, noodles, rice, quinoa, I used orzo and followed the recipe below because it's what I had on hand. Kids love these fun little faces!! The husband even laughed when he took a left over one to work because his Tupperware lid is see through and you just say this scary face looking back at you from inside his lunch hehehe. This recipe also works year round, try different faces for different holidays. For example I plan to use red and green pepper to make "elf peppers" this Christmas :)

Stuffed with yummy orzo, recipe below I just substituted Orzo for Quinoa

My kids LOVED these jack o'lantern faces! 

Prepare the squashes:

• 2 gold acorn squashes
• olive oil
• salt
• black pepper

If you're going to bake them in a conventional oven, preheat it to 375ºF.

Slice off the bottom tip of the squashes to create a flat base. Cut off the tops and use a spoon to remove the seeds. Save the tops for later!

Use a pencil to draw the faces on the squashes, and use a small serrated knife to carve out the faces. Luckily, carving a small acorn squash is easier than carving a big pumpkin!

Brush a little olive oil all over the inside of the squashes and lightly sprinkle them with salt and black pepper. At this point you can choose to bake them in a conventional oven for an hour or until soft, or you can cook them in the microwave like I did. Place the squashes in a microwave safe bowl, add about 1/2 cup of water and microwave for 5 to 8 minutes or until soft.

In the meantime, make the quinoa stuffing:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup mushrooms, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley, minced
• 1/4 tsp salt
• black pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 1 cup vegetable broth

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and saute for about five minutes or until soft. Stir in the mushrooms and saute two more minutes. Stir in the garlic and saute for just about 30 seconds.

Add the parsley salt, black pepper, quinoa, and vegetable broth. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 to 18 minutes or until all the water is absorbed and the quinoa is soft and fluffy. If the quinoa is still crunchy you can add more broth and simmer it for a few more minutes. 

Spoon the quinoa stuffing into the acorn squashes and cover them with the reserved squash tops. Reheat the finished dish, if necessary, and serve. 

For Tiny Appetites: You can make those mini pumpkins instead of the bigger acorn squashes. You can stuff 6 to 8 mini pumpkins with this recipe, depending on their size.

Halloweegan Peppers:

 You can also stuff a carved orange bell pepper. Carve, stuff, and bake in a covered casserole dish at 350 degrees F. for 25 to 30 minutes.

Recipe from Vegan Wing it, Photos by Laura Spear 

BBQ Portobello Sliders

BBQ Portobello Sliders

makes 6 sliders

6 baby portobello mushrooms

6 slider buns

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 red onion, sliced

2-3 ounces gouda, sliced into squares (I used daiya vegan pepper-jack cheese)

1 avocado, sliced

1/2 cup bbq sauce, for drizzling and dipping

Heat a skillet on medium-low heat and add 1/2 tablespoon olive oil. Add sliced onions with a pinch of salt and let caramelize, stirring occasionally. Cook for about 8-10 minutes, then turn off heat and set aside.

While onions are caramelizing, brush mushrooms with remaining olive oil and sprinkle both sides with pepper, paprika, onion and chili powder. Heat a skillet ( or a grill) on medium heat and cook until mushrooms are juicy and tender – about 5 minutes on each side. With 1-2 minutes remaining, add a slice of gouda on top to melt.

Assemble sliders by placing the mushroom on the bun, then top with onions, avocado, and a hefty drizzle of bbq sauce.

Recipe by howsweeteats.com Photos by Laura Spears iphone :)

Creamy Fall Asparagus Soup

One of my favorite things about fall is soup! Sure you can have soup anytime of the year but in our house we reserve soup for those times when we aren't feeling very well and who wants to only eat soup when you are sick? Not me. So September in our house is FALL MONTH, we throw up the fall decor, put those fall spices smells in the scent burners and put some hot soup on the stove.

2 teaspoons onion powder

2 tablespoons vegan margarine

10 ounces frozen or fresh asparagus spears

1 cup vegetable broth

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 dash garlic salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

(additional black pepper and salt to taste)

1 cup plain soy milk

Mix the ingredients, except the soy milk, together in a bowl and cook in the microwave for 10 mins (I did mine in my pressure cooker for 10 mins) Let it cool (you want to let it cool completely or it will explode in your blender like mine did :) Pour the cooled soup into a blender, pureeing until smooth. Return the mixture to a bowl, stir in the soy milk and microwave until heated through (I returned it to the pressure cooker for about 5 mins)

Makes 2 servings

Recipe adapted from PETA's Vegan College Cookbook, Photos By Laura Spear

Bon Appétit,

Curried Pumpkin-Apple Soup

Serve this scrumptious dish as a first course on Thanksgiving Day or as dinner's main event on a chilly evening. The curry gives it a subtly exotic flavor, while the apple and honey add a touch of sweetness.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 large apple, peeled, cored, and chopped
• 2 teaspoons mild curry powder
• 3 cups chicken broth (for vegan use no-chicken broth or veggie broth)

• 1 1/2 cups solidly packed pumpkin mash or canned pumpkin
• 1/4 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
• 1 whole bay leaf
• 1/3 cup heavy cream (for vegan sub in soy or almond milk)
• 2 to 3 tablespoons honey or maple syrup (you can also use agave)
• Sour cream and chives, for garnish (optional) (for vegan choose a vegan sour cream)

Instructions

1. Melt the butter in a medium-size soup pot. Stir in the onion, celery, and apple. Partially cover the pot and sauté the ingredients over medium-high heat until the onion is clear, about 8 minutes. Stir in the curry powder and sauté the mixture for another minute. Stir in 1 cup of chicken broth and cook it for 1 minute more.
2. Pour the contents of the pan into a blender or food processor, add the pumpkin, and puree the soup until it's smooth.
3. Pour it all back into the pot, then stir in the remaining chicken broth, the salt, and the bay leaf. Set the soup over medium-high heat and bring it to a simmer, stirring occasionally.
4. After 5 minutes, stir in the heavy cream and 2 tablespoons of honey. Taste the soup, adding more salt or honey if necessary to get the desired balance of sweet and savory. Simmer it for 2 minutes more, remove the soup from the heat, and serve it hot. For a pretty -- and tasty -- touch, garnish each bowl with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkling of chopped chives. Makes 6 servings.
   
   
   Recipe from Family Fun Magazine, Photo by Laura Spears IPHONE :)

Fluffy Rainbow Vegan Pancakes

This recipe is super easy and the kids will love it!!! Perfect for Easter or any time you want to add a little fun to breakfast. 


I used regular Bisquick mix and followed the pancake recipe on the box substituting egg replacer for the eggs and soy milk for the cows milk. I made up the egg replacer / water mixture first giving it a real good whipping to make it fluffy then I slowly added it to the Bisquick while stirring. Next I added the soy milk while stirring the mixture. This ensures that they come out fluffy!  


Next divide the batter into 6 small cups (depending on how many colors you want to use). Add a few drops of food coloring to each cup making each cup a new color. EXPERIMENT!! Great learning experience for the kids if you let them create colors by mixing food color, we made sea green, coral etc.... 


Next give each cup a quick stir to mix the color through and you are ready to cook.  I used a griddle sprayed with a little cooking spray. You have to watch them closely so that they don't brown too much because that will take away from the color.


After they are cooked through serve topped with vegan butter and syrup, YUM!!!


Recipe adapted from Bisquick, modified by Laura Spear. Photo by Laura Spear 

Easy Healthy Cookie Recipe For Vegan Cookies And Gluten-Free Cookies

Why This Is An Easy Healthy Cookie Recipe For Vegan Cookies And Gluten-Free Cookies

We don’t really need a recipe for these incredible power morsels of nutrition. It all depends on what we have on hand, or what we like to eat, or what we want to buy. Here is a simple recipe template utilizing the ingredients discussed above:

4 cups ground nuts

1 cup nut butter or 1/2 cup organic canola oil

1 cup organic brown rice flour

3/4 cups agave nectar

1 Tablespoon vanilla or almond extract

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon crushed anise seeds, cardamom, or other spices

1 teaspoon salt

Optional: 1/2 cup each raisins or toasted oats or seeds

The individual ingredient quantities don’t really matter that much. The template is just a general guide line. Our goal is to mix a batter that holds its shape when divided into cookie-size balls. We might have to add a little water if the mix is too dry and crumbly. Or, we might have to add more brown rice flour to a wet and sloppy batter.

This is the best part: As we are not using raw eggs, we can taste our cookie batter before we bake it off! Add more agave nectar if you like it sweeter, more spices or seeds, until you are happy!

Important points for the baking process!

Place 2-inch balls on a parchment-lined cookie pan and flatten lightly with a fork (similar to making peanut butter cookies, dip the fork in cold water before pressing it on the cookie portions)

Use a fairly low oven temperature: 8-10 minutes at 300-325 degrees; agave nectar browns a little faster than sugar, so keep an eye on your cookies and don’t let them get too dark on the bottom!

Remember, there are no raw eggs in our batter; we won’t have to bake it completely through. A lightly “under-baked” interior is wonderful!

Recipe from why buy agave nectar blog, photos by Laura Spear 

Vegan Pho

What is Pho? It is a Vietnamese noodle soup, usually served with beef (phở bò) or chicken (phở gà). The soup includes noodles made from rice and is often served with Asian basil, mint leaves, lime, and bean sprouts that are added to the soup by the person who is dining. The dish is associated with the city of Hanoi, where the first phở restaurant opened in the 1920s. Now that we've had are little history lesson on the origins of Pho enjoy this vegan, animal friendly version =)


What You Need:

• 8 ounces dried rice noodles
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 8 ounces Seitan, drained and cut into strips
• 6 cups vegetable stock or water
• 1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• 1/3 cup hoisin sauce
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 3 tablespoons miso paste
• 1/2 teaspoon Sriracha (or to taste)
• 3 to 4 scallions, thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons cilantro leaves
• 
  

What You Do:

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Turn off the heat, add the rice noodles, and let them sit for 30 minutes to soften. Drain and set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, add the seitan strips and brown on all sides. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. Bring the stock or water to a boil in a large pot. Add the onion, ginger, hoisin sauce, and soy sauce. Reduce heat to low and simmer 15 minutes. Stir in the lime juice.
4. Place 1/2 cup of the hot liquid into a small bowl. Add the miso paste and stir to blend well. Transfer the blended miso paste into the soup along with the chile paste, if using. Do not boil. Stir in the seitan& noodles.
5. Divide the soup among individual bowls. Add the scallions, and cilantro. Serve immediately.

         Recipe from all recipes.com photos by Laura Spear 

Mongolian BBQ Seitan

Ingredients (serves 4)

1/4 cup hoisin sauce

1/4 cup water

1 T soy sauce

1 T agave

1 tsp lemon juice

1 to 2 tsp chili-garlic sauce (I used 3)

2 T's canola oil

8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced

8 ounces seitan, you can make your own or use one of my recipes or even buy a store bought package

2 tsp grated fresh ginger

1/8 tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground cloves

4 ounces of snow peas (i used a bag of stir fry veggies)

2 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

2 cups cooked rice, for serving

In a small bowl, make the sauce by whisking together hoisin sauce, water, soy sauce, agave, lemon juice, and chili-garlic sauce. Set aside. 

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat and stir-fry the mushrooms and seitan until lightly browned and mushrooms have released their juices. Add ginger, cinnamon, and cloves; let cook a few more minutes.

Add the sauce and snow peas (or stir fry veggies) to the skillet. Reduce heat to medium, and let cook until sauce has thickened. Turn off heat and mix in scallions and cilantro, serve over rice.

This recipe is by Chef Chloe, the photos are by Laura Spear. If you'd like to pick up her new cookbook you can find it on the right side of my blog in my amazon spindle, its called Chloe's Kitchen. Enjoy!

Vegan Brownies

Vegan Brownies

Dense, nutty, with a crisp crust and flaky top. Come to mama.

Inspired by Vegan Baking, found on the Oh She Glows blog 

Ingredients:
1.5 tbsp ground flax + 3 tbsp water, whisked
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole almonds, ground into a flour/meal & sifted (OR sub 1.5 cups almond flour)
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp Earth Balance or other non-dairy butter substitute
1/2 cup + 1/4 cup non-dairy chocolate, divided
1 cup + 1/4 cup organic cane sugar (note: a reduction in sugar will lead to a more cake-like brownie)
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp almond milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
powdered sugar for topping (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9 inch square pan with parchment and grease allsides. In a small bowl, whisk
together the ground flax and water and set aside.
2. In a blender or processor, process almonds into a meal/flour. Sift out large pieces. Or use store bought
almond meal/flour. In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flours, cocoa, salt, soda).
3. In a large microwave safe bowl, add chocolate and Earth Balance and melt in microwave for about 30-45
seconds until melted. Stir well and add in flax egg, sugar, vanilla, and milk. Whisk.
4. Pour wet mixture over dry mixture and stir well. The mixture will be VERY dry, but not to worry keep mixing!
Now fold in the walnuts and remaining 1/4 cup chocolate chips.
5. Scoop batter into prepared pan and place a piece of parchment on top. Spread with hands or a pastry roller
untilsmooth and even.
6. Bake for 32-34 minutes at 350F and allow brownies to cool in pan for about 1.5 hours. DO NOT REMOVE BROWNIES (uh oh I’m yelling!) until completely cool or they will crack apart. After an hour or so, gently separate edge of brownie from pan with a butter knife and place on a cooling rack. Cool completely and slice carefully. Some cracking when slicing is normal and I say it gives the brownies character, right? Store in air-tight container for up to 3-4 days

Recipe from the Oh She Glows Blog, photos by Laura Spear

Baked Macaroni and Cheese (vegan) By Chef Chloe Coscarelli

Ingredients

• 1 pound elbow macaroni or piccolini
• ¼ cup vegan margarine
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour (or gluten-free all-purpose flour)
• 3 cups soy, almond, or rice milk
• ½ cup nutritional yeast
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon agave
• 2 tablespoons seasoned bread crumbs

Procedure

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 inch pan

Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Add macaroni and cook according to package directions. Drain and return to pot.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, make a roux or paste by whisking the margarine and flour over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes. Add nondairy milk, yeast, tomato paste, salt, and garlic powder to the saucepan and bring to a boil, whisking frequently. Reduce heat to low and let simmer until the sauce thickens. Adjust seasoning to taste (I added a little black pepper) and stir in lemon juice and agave. Toss the noodles with the sauce and transfer to the prepared pan.

Sprinkle bread crumbs on top of the pasta and bake for 30 minutes or until the top is lightly browned and crisp. Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Recipe by Chef Chloe Coscarelli, and can be found in the cookbook Chloe's Kitchen available from amazon. Find the cookbook and many more in my amazon widget in the upper right hand corner of this blog. Photos by Laura Spear