Tropical Smoothie

Yet another smoothie...which I wont be making for a while because genius me shoved the tamper too far down the blender and my vitamix shredded the thing to pieces. SO dumb on my part- not only can I not make anything that uses ice until I get another tamper but I'm sure I dulled the blades on my blender as well. But it made me realize how bad it would be if someones finger got in there. If it can shred a huge stick of plastic I don't even want to imagine what else it can do to body parts!! :( This smoothie was seriously awesome though! I felt like I was in Hawaii!

I dont feel like typing the ingredients so follow the pictures, LOL!

Ingredients


Measurements


Final Result

Chocolate Glazed Peanut Butter Scones

I'm not sure if I just eat too much or what but I swear when I make recipes it says it serves 4 but yet me and Ryan always finish it off ourselves?? Whatever, I'm just gonna keep telling myself that the authors don't eat enough, LOL! These are really good scones, even without the glaze if youre feeling too guilty to add it!

Chocolate Glazed Peanut Butter Scones

PB Scones
1 1/2 c AP flour
2 TBSP sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 TBSP margarine
1/4 c crunchy peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 c soymilk

Choc PB Glaze
1/3 c confectioners sugar
1/2 TBSP cocoa powder
1 TBSP creamy PB
1 TBSP plain soy milk

Preheat oven to 400. Combine flour through salt, and use a fork to press the margarine and peanut butter into the mixture. When it begins to resemble large crumbs add the vanilla and slowly drizzle in the soymilk. while stirring. Drop the dough into a circle and cut into 4 quarters. Bake on a parchment lined baking sheet for 15-20 min.

Mix all ingredients for the glaze together and drizzle over the scones once theyve cooled a bit.

Apple Cinnamon Swirl Pancakes

If you haven't ever been to http://blog.fatfreevegan.com I suggest you go now!! She has wonderfully low fat versions of everything one could want. I made her Apple Cinnamon Swirl Pancakes quite a while ago and they are still a weekend breakfast classic. The applesauce makes them extremely moist. These are way better than any pancakes you could get a breakfast diner.

Apple Cinnamon Swirl Pancakes

Pancake Batter:

1 1/4 cups unbleached flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/3 cups almond milk or soymilk
1/2 tablespoon egg replacer powder* mixed with 2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Cinnamon-Apple Swirl Batter:

2 tablespoons prepared batter (above)
2 tablespoons natural apple sauce
1 teaspoon cinnamon
In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Add almond (or soy) milk and egg replacer mixture and stir just until flour is moistened. (For thicker pancakes, use only 1 cup milk.) Let the batter rest for 5 minutes while the skillet heats.

While the batter is resting, combine all of the "swirl" ingredients, using 2 tablespoons of the prepared batter.

Heat a non-stick griddle or skillet (sprayed lightly with non-stick spray) over medium heat until a drop of water sizzles. Gently stir the walnuts into the batter. Pour batter by scant 1/4 cupfuls onto hot griddle. Immediately drizzle the cinnamon-apple batter over the top of each pancake in a swirl pattern. Cook until tops are bubbly and bubbles burst; edges will look dry. With a pancake turner, turn and cook until undersides are golden. Place on a warm platter; keep warm.

Repeat until all batter is used, brushing griddle lightly with canola oil, if necessary, to prevent sticking. Serve pancakes with syrup or other topping as desired.

Strawberry Love Muffins

These strawberry love muffins from My Sweet Vegan are SOOO good! They have alot of sugar in them, which is the downside but seriosuly I could live off of these!

Strawberry Love Muffins
From: My Sweet Vegan

Ingredients

1 1/2 Cup AP Flour
1/2 Cup Sugar
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
3/4 Cup Vanilla Soymilk
1/3 Cup Canola Oil
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 Cup Frozen Strawberries, Thawed

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and grease muffin tins.

Begin by mixing together your dry ingredients (Flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and soda.) Gently stir in soymilk, oil, and vanilla but be careful not to over-mix. A few lumps are okay! Fold in your thawed strawberries and pour batter into muffin tins, 3/4 of the way to the top. Slide you filled tins into the oven and cook for 15 – 20 minutes, depending on your oven. Test for doneness by inserting a toothpick; When they’re ready to come out, the toothpick will remain dry.

Don’t try to remove them immediately or you will end up with smushed, dented muffins! Allow to sit for atleast 10 minutes inside their cooking vessel. Enjoy with someone you love.

Leek and Bean Cassoulet with Biscuits

This recipe for Leek and Bean Cassoulet with Biscuits came from the new Veganomican and it was really good! Truly hits the spot and feels you up QUICK! No joke! I was missing a few ingredients so improved and added others in its place. Its pretty simple so you can change it however and can't really go wrong!

Leek and Bean Cassoulet with Biscuits

Ingredients

stew
2 yukon gold potatoes, cut 1/2 inch dice
3T cornstarch
2T olive oil
2 leeks, washed well and sliced thinly (about 2 cups)
1 small onion, cut into medium-sized dice
1 1⁄2c carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch dice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1T heaping, chopped fresh thyme, plus extra for garnish
several pinches of freshly ground black pepper
1⁄2t salt (more or less depending on how salty your broth is, so taste first
3⁄4c frozen peas
1 (15 ounce) can navy beans, drained and rinsed (about 1/2) cups

biscuits
3⁄4c plain soy milk
1t apple cider vinegar
1 1⁄2c all-purpose flour
2t baking powder
1⁄4t salt
1⁄4c nonhydrogenated vegan shortening

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Place the potatoes in a small pot and cover with water. Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, let cook for about 10 minutes, until the potatoes are just tender enough to be pierced with a fork. Drain immediately so that they do not overcook. While they are boiling, you can prep the rest of the veggies and start preparing the biscuits - the potatoes should definitely be done by the time you are.
Now, prepare everything for the biscuits. You're not going to make them yet, but it's good to have everything ready when it comes time to top the stew. Add the vinegar to the soy milk in a measuring cup and set aside to curdle. Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium-size mixing bowl.

Now leave that alone and start the stew:
Mix the cornstarch into the vegetable stock until dissolved.
Preheat an oven-safe skillet, preferably cast iron, over medium heat. Saute in the oil the leeks, onions, and carrots until ery soft and just beginning to browm about 10 minutes. Keep the heat moderate so that they don't burn.
Add the garlic, thyme, freshly ground black pepper, and salt, and cook for 1 more minute. add the cooked potatoes, and frozen peas, then pour in the vegetable stock mixture. Raise theh eat just a bit; it will take a few minutes but the liquid will start simmering. Once it does, lower the heat again. Let it simmer for about 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, but no longer than that. If you need more time for the biscuits, then turn off the heat under the stew.

Back to the biscuits
Add the shortening to the flour in small slivers and work it into the dough with a fork or with your fingers until large crumbs form. You don't want to cream it in; there should be clumps. Drizzle in the soy milk and mix with a fork until everything is moistened (some dry parts are okay).
Wash and dry your hands, then lightly flour them and get them dirty again. Gently knead the dough about ten times right in the bowl, just so that it is holding together and not very sticky. If it seems sticky, as in sticking to your fingers, then gently work in a little more flour. Set that aside and check your stew.
The stew should be simmering and slightly thickened. Mix in the beans. Now, let's add the biscuits. Pull off the chunks of dough that are about slightly large than golf balls. Gently roll them into balls and flattem at bit; they do not ahve to be prefectly round. Add them to the otp of the stew, placed an inch or so apart.
Transfer the whole megillah to the preheated oven. If you are worried about spillover, place it on a rimmed baking sheet, but we've never had that problem. Bake for about 15 minutes. The biscuits should be just slightly brown and firm to the touch.
Remove from the oven and use a large serving spoon to place some of the stew and a biscuit in each shallow, individual bowl. Sprinkle with a little chopped, fresh thyme.
Serve at last! Especially yummy when you break up your biscuit and mix it in a bit with your stew.

Orange Sesame Tofu

So it's official, I do not and never will like Tofu. I've tried it at health food restaurants, I've tried cooking it at home, I've tried it at chinese restaurants and I DONT like it! But Ryan does, so I figured I'd give it another go ahead and see if I could learn to like it. Not gonna happen! But if you like tofu you'll love this. Ryan said it was his fave tofu so far!

Ingredients
2 tsp arrowroot powder
1/2 fresh squeezed OJ
1 tsp orange zest
3 Tbsp tamari
2 Tbsp maple syrup
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 cloves minced garlic
1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 pkg extra firm tofu sliced in 1/4 inch thick squares
1 tbsp sesame seeds for garnish

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In an 8x12 baking dish combine arrowroot with 2 Tbsp OJ and stir. Add remaining juice and ingredients except tofu and stir. Add tofu and turn to coat. Cover and refridgerate to marinade for an hour or longer. To bake, cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes. Take out, remove foil stir and bake another 9 minutes without foil.

At this point the recipe ends, but I decided to throw the tofu chunks on the stove and fry them up for a few minutes on each side so they aren't so bouncy, LOL! Your choice...depends on how you like them!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Icecream

I don't even have to say anything about this! Just make it!

Ingredients
1 package Newmans Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups or homemade ones (recipe in previous post)
Vanilla Soy Icecream
Creamy Peanut Butter

Blend icecream and 1 scoop creamy peanut butter in blender, throw in chopped up peanut butter cups.

Chocolate Chunk Spice Cookies from ED&BV

These cookies were a bit different, but delicious none the less! They remind me of something you would eat at Christmas time!

Chocolate Chunk Spice Cookies
From: Eat Drink and Be Vegan

Ingredients
1/3 c sugar
1/3 c chocolate chunks
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/16 tsp allspice
1 pinch ground cloves
1 c less 2 TBSP AP flour
3 TBSP cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/3 c maple syrup
1/4 c + 1 tsp canola oil

Preheat oven to 350. Combine all ingredients except syrup and oil. In a seperate bowl add the syrup and oil and mix both together. Scoop batter onto parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 11 minutes

Cinnamon- Banana Oatmeal

Oatmeal is like my staple breakfast. Give me some oatmeal topped with a banana and some Ezekial bread with PB and I am happy! Oatmeal is super easy to make but plain oatmeal just isn't as fun. Thats why I add goodies to mine! No measurements here...add to your hearts content!

Ingredients
some oatmeal
water
cinnamon
brown sugar
1 banana, strawberries, blueberries (whatever youre feeling)

Put the oats in a cup and fill with water so it just barely covers the oatmeal. Place in microwave for 2 minutes. You may need to stop and stir once or twice. Mix cinnamon and brown sugar and slice up your fruit on top! YUM!

Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice

We have 2 HUGE orange trees in our yard which means fresh squeezed orange juice for FREE!! Yippee!! Nothing too special here...just thought I would emphasize how easy and cheap it is to make OJ when you have a tree!! :)

Tostada Salad Bowl

Ryan wanted Mexican food- I wanted something I could cook in 10 minutes= hence we have a tostada salad bowl. Super easy to make and odds are you'll have all the ingredients on hand.

Ingredients
2 flour tortillas
1 can of kidney beans heated on stove mixed with seasonings of your choice (chili powder, cumin etc.)
lettuce or a salad mix (I use herb salad mix)
guacamole (I made my own with 1 avocado, salt, lime juice, 1/2 and onion and 1 tomato)
salsa
soy cheese

Get 2 pieces of foil and roll them into 2 seperate balls. Place on a baking sheet, and lay your tortilla on top of the foil balls. Bake in oven at 400 degrees for about 5 minutes. You now have your bowl...Layer all your ingredients in the bowl and enjoy!

The Farmer and The Cook

Ryan and I went to this great little cafe/grocery store called Farmer and The Cook in Ojai that grows all their produce out back. They are a great local store that even has a tracker that tells you how much solar energy they are putting out each day. SUPER COOl!! I forgot to take a picture of our sandwiches but the dessert was a must, all vegan! We got a vegan mexican wedding cake (I ate it before I got a picture, LOL), vegan lemon bar, and a vegan peanut butter and chocolate smore bar. Everything was delish!! Especially the lemon bar!

Woman In A Hurry Soup

I had left over cornbread from last nights meal and wanted something I could throw together real quick. What goes better with cornbread besides soup (chili of course but we had that last night, LOL) As I was making this I was laughing about how this is probably the only southern meal I have ever cooked! I threw some cut up red potatoes, zucchini, carrots, brocolli, celery garlic, and onions and about 4 cups of veggie broth and a can of diced tomates. I then added a can of kidney beans, some basil, oregano, salt and pepper and boiled it and let simmer for about 25 minutes. Quick, hearty and easy!

Smoothie Time

Strawberry- Mango Smoothie


I've been trying mounds and mounds of smoothie recipes recently...they have all came out delicious, I take that back- a blueberry flax one came out pretty bad but that was my fault because I didn't have any ice to make it cold. I have been reading alot of blogs for inspiration and just experimenting alot but these are a few of my faves...even though its February I figured everyone could use summer smoothies anytime of the year :)

Coconut Date Smoothie


Blueberry Protein Smooothie

Bad Dinner

Ryan had been craving cream of mushroom soup for SO long so I decided to make it for him real quick before I went to the gym. I got the recipe out of my vita-mix recipe book (mistake #1) and threw it together. I didn't get a chance to try it and just left it out for him to eat when he got home from work. I figured it would be fine right...wrong, it was disgusting. He said it was terrible and I didn't beleive him so when I got home I tried it and wanted to throw up. I'm not sure exactly what went wrong, it did call for the juice of 1/2 a grapefriut and I am guessing it was something to do with that. Anywayz..don't try the cream of mushroom soup out of the vitamix recipe book, LOL!!