Quick and Easy ~ Lively Mexican Vegan Hash

We've got some beautiful little red and purple potatoes coming out of the garden now.  I was looking for a quick and easy meal the other day.  I thought about potato hash.  I had some tempeh in the fridge and thought it would make a nice addition.  I sliced some into little cubes and gave them a quick marinade of tamari, lemon juice, and a little garlic chili flax oil. I let them sit in the marinade for about 15 minutes.

I browned the cubes and set them aside. Then sauteed some fresh onions, shallots, red bell pepper, and fresh red potato slices in a little water. While the potatoes cooked, I added a little mexican spice blend: cumin, chili powder, oregano, cinnamon, and garlic powder. I put the tempeh back to the mixture and about a  half cup of filtered water and simmered it all until the potatoes were tender. Added a handful of chopped Italian Parsley and topped it off with some vegan chipotle cream sauce and avocado.

Chipotle Cream Sauce: 1/2 cup veganaise, 1 tsp chipotle chili powder, dash cumin, (or favorite spice), 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice, dash salt, (optional). Whisk it all together until blended.
One of the spice blends I like to keep on hand is a mexican blend.  It's handy to have around to change up the flavor of a stir fry or bean dish. 

Mexican Spice Blend
     Makes 7 tablespoons

1/4 cup chili powder
2 TB cumin powder
2 tsp oregano, dried
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Place all ingredients in a small mixing bowl and mix well.  Store in a glass jar.

Add to casseroles, beans, vegetable stir-fry or any recipe you'd like to liven up.

Raw Buckwheat Pancakes

Friday night I put some pancakes in the dehydrator.  Yep, eight hour pancakes.  They were worth it.  Not much work involved in the batter and very few ingredients.  Waking up to the smell of apples and cinnamon was quite nice Saturday morning.  These whole grain pancakes were very filling, I only ate one, but my son enjoyed four.  They are a great source of protein and fiber.  A serving of two provides 4 g protein and 6 g fiber. Paired with some fresh fruit, it's a great way to start the day.  I took some of the strawberries I had frozen in June and warmed them with a little pure maple syrup for a nice warm fruit topping.

Raw Pancakes
     A recipe from Vegan Fusion
            The Complete Idiot's Guide to Eating Raw, pg 196

1 cup red apples, seeds removed, and chopped
8 dates, pitted, and soaked at least 30 minutes
1/4 cup date soak water
1/2 cup agave nectar (I used coconut nectar)
1 TB vanilla extract
1 tsp. lime zest
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 TB golden flax seeds, ground
Pinch sea salt
1 cup buckwheat groats, ground (I grind them in a little coffee grinder I have specifically for grinding food)
1/4 cup shredded coconut, unsweetened (optional)

1.  In a food processor fitted with an S blade, or a blender, place apples, dates, soak water, agave nectar, vanilla extract, lime zest, cinnamon, flax seeds, and salt.  Blend on high speed for 15 to 20 seconds or until a chunky batter forms.

2.  Transfer to a bowl, and combine with buckwheat and coconut until well incorporated.

3.  Scoop onto Teflex-lined deyhydrator sheets to desired sizes.  They'll flatten out a little, so make them about 1/2 inch thick to start.

4.  Dehydrate at 110ºF for 6- 8 hours.  Keep an eye on them, you don't want the outsides to be too dry.  Pushing down on them will tell you if the insides are still mushy, which is ideal.

Serve hot off the trays, topped with maple syrup or a flavored agave nectar, if you want.  Pancakes will keep in an air-tight container for 3 to 5 days.

Tired Fruit - Inexpensive Goodness

I've found shopping locally and regularly at the same places in town gets me some interesting benefits. I know my farmers and local grocers and let them know I appreciate what they do. The last couple weeks of our local farmer's market, I don't usually pay for too much, they're glad to give it away and not have to take it home. They call it "Customer Appreciation". When something special or unusual comes in or there's a good price for some of my favorites, the vendors are sure to let me know. Last weekend, while doing some produce shopping at Payton's, Lester asked me if I would like a juice box.  He had a few boxes of fruit he couldn't sell, but people often take for juicing.  He said he sells them for 99¢. I never turn down free fruits and vegetables.  We split a a quart blender full of smoothie for breakfast with at least five pieces of fruit every morning.  It wasn't going to go to waste. There was about eight to ten pounds of fruit in the box.  I do make an effort to use everything I bring home.  I am pleased that we don't waste much. Most people would pass right by this fruit, it does look like it's just about ready for the compost pile and much of it was.  I saw it as buried treasure I had to dig up. Much of the produce had to be cleaned and prepared that day, but I'm willing to do it.  I managed to get quite a bit from that box of tired fruit.

I made a large fruit salad and used some of it to make smoothies for the next two mornings.

Fruit Salad

Morning Blend

I made some Coconut Milk Almond Ice Cream and added a couple heaping spoonfuls of the fresh fruit to the ice cream when it was just about frozen.  The ice cream is another version of my vanilla ice cream base using almond extract instead of vanilla.  I also had a carton of hazelnut coconut milk creamer I used instead of one pint of the plain coconut milk.  It's very flavorful with bits of frozen fruit throughout.

Dairy Free Almond, Hazelnut Ice Cream with Fresh Fruit

Dairy Free Vanilla Ice Cream

Begin by making a substitute for condensed milk.

Condensed Milk Substitute

1/3 cup thick coconut milk (The cream at the top of the can)
1/3 cup maple syrup or agave
1 TB melted coconut butter

Whip all above ingredients together and place in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Vanilla base for ice cream

3 TB egg replacer
9 TB filtered water
3/4 cup sucanat
Remaining can of coconut milk from condensed milk substitute
Condensed milk substitute (above)
1 pint coconut milk coffee creamer
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 1/2 TB vanilla extract or the seeds from a whole vanilla bean.

In a large mixing bowl whisk 3 TB egg replacer with 9 TB filtered water until thoroughly mixed and fluffy. Add the condensed milk substitute. Add 3/4 cup sucanat (or brown sugar) and again mix thoroughly. Add the rest of the can of coconut milk and 1 pint of coconut creamer, 1/2 tsp sea salt and the vanilla. Chill mixture for about four hours before freezing according to the directions for your ice cream freezer.

Coconut Pudding with Pineapple/Orange Pureé

Friday Vegalicious Recipes posted a recipe for coconut pudding.  Thought I'd give it a try, it sure looked good when I noticed it. This is a very easy and tasty pudding made with coconut milk, toasted coconut flakes, agave, and corn starch.  Toasted Coconut, Pineapple/Orange Pureé.  Hmm...Piña Colada Pudding.  :D This recipe is for mango and kiwi pureé, but I didn't have either of those.  I did have a pineapple and some tangelos. I garnished it with crushed stevia leaf.

Vegan Banana Pancakes

Vegan Banana Pancakes with Strawberry Maple Syrup

A nice banana pancake that can be served with a vegan nut cheese like an omelet.  This recipe only has three ingredients.  My granddaughter helped out.

Banana Pancakes

About 6 medium green bananas
     (I have made these with ripe bananas, I just skip the blanching step and mash.  I think they come out fluffier if you use green bananas)
1/2 cup flour, I used WW pastry flour
1 tsp baking powder

Cut the ends off the green bananas and score up the sides. Place scored bananas in a large pot and cover with water.  Bring to a boil and cook until you can easily poke a fork through them, approximately 15-20 minutes.  Drain and allow them to cool.

Remove peels and mash them in a large bowl.  Add flour and baking powder and knead into a dough.  Divide dough and roll into little balls and form patties.

Fry on hot griddle with a little oil, I used coconut oil, for about three to five minutes. Flip and cook for another three to five minutes.  I usually make a little foil tent to hold in the heat so the insides are cooked thoroughly.

The syrup:  I heated a package of the strawberries I put up last June with about a 1/4 cup of pure maple syrup in a small sauce pan just until warm.

Sunday Brunch for Three

Fruited Quinoa & Sugar Free Apricot Muffins

Cherry Vanilla Quinoa

We usually have a smoothie during the week for breakfast, but on the weekend I like to do something different.  I found a nice recipe for quinoa and apricots, cooked in non dairy milk with raisins and vanilla.  I used dried cranberries and the apricots I canned last summer.  The quinoa is kind of special because I grew it in the garden, homegrown quinoa.  We failed to take a picture of it, but I'll post the recipe because it's very easy and it came out very good.  It was raining pretty hard this morning and a warm breakfast was very welcome.

Fruited Breakfast Quinoa

Makes about 6 1/2-cup servings

Quinoa is a highly nutritious grain that was a staple in the diet of the ancient Incas. It has a delicious flavor and a light, fluffy texture.

1/2 cup dry quinoa, well-rinsed
1 1/2 cups vanilla rice milk
2 tablespoons dried cranberries
1 cup chopped fresh or canned apricots
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine quinoa and rice milk in a medium saucepan. Bring to a slow simmer, then cover and cook for about 15 minutes until the quinoa is tender. Stir in cranberries, apricots, and vanilla, then transfer about 1 1/2 cups to a blender and purée. Return puréed mixture to the pan and stir to mix. Serve warm or chilled.

I opened two pints of apricots and drained them for the quinoa.  I was left with about a cup of apricots and quite a bit of good liquid from canning.  When I canned them, I only used  lemon juice and a little stevia. I made some sugar free muffins by substituting 1/2 teaspoon of liquid Stevia and about 1/2 cup of the apricot juice.

Sugar Free, Dairy Free, Apricot Muffins

Sugar Free, Dairy Free, Apricot Muffins

    * 2 cups whole wheat flour
    * 1/2 tsp Stevia and 1/2 cup apricot juice or water
    * 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
    * 1/2 tsp baking soda
    * 1/4 tsp salt
    * 1 tsp ground ginger
    * 1 cup coconut milk
    * 3 tbsp sunflower oil
    * 1 TB ground flax seed and 3 TB water
    * 1 cup canned apricots

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat a nonstick 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray, or line with paper cups.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and ginger. In a separate bowl, combine buttermilk, oil and egg.

Make a well in the flour mixture and add wet ingredients. Stir until just moist.

Scoop about 1 tablespoon of batter into each muffin cup followed by a teaspoon of apricot preserves. Fill cups evenly with remaining batter. Bake for 18-20 minutes until golden, then cool on a wire rack.

Makes 12 regular or 24 small muffins.

Sunrise Brunch ~ Vegan "Eggs" Benedict

We went up the hill to catch a sunrise this morning.  On the way back I thought it would be fun to go out to breakfast. It was only about 8:00 a.m. as we headed down toward home.  Then we got to thinking that there really isn't much around to get the kind of Sunday breakfast we'd want to eat.  We also had quite a few layers of clothes on this morning since we left the house before sunrise. It really wouldn't be comfortable in a warm place. I had seen a vegan eggs Benedict recipe before and it looked pretty good, so I thought I'd try that when we got home. We stopped by the store and grabbed some WW English muffins and some vegan kielbasa sausages.

I found a nice recipe that I used as a guide for the "egg" portion. I whisked together:  ¼ cup safflower oil and ¼ cup golden balsamic vinegar with ¼ tsp. sea salt and 1 tsp. tumeric, a dash of black pepper and poured that on tofu slices and baked them at 450° for 20 minutes, turning after 10 minutes cooking time.

Then, I sliced the vegan kielbasa very thin and grilled that in a little avocado oil.  I poured about a tablespoon of troufle balsamic oil after they had browned a bit, creating a nice glaze. I picked up the troufle oil in a liquidation store.  Amazing what goodies you can find if you visit those stores once in awhile.

I made the hollandaise sauce with vegan margarine, a little flour, coconut milk, and non dairy milk. I let that simmer until it got thick then added the juice of a lemon and about ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper.

We decided we couldn't have had a better Sunday morning breakfast unless we drove to Portland.

New Year's Day ~ Vegetarian Breakfast

Shredded potatoes, with green onions, chopped sweet onion, a little grated sharp cheddar cheese, smokey maple bacon flavor tempeh, (Yeah, whole grains with a smoked bacon flavor, yippee! Thought I'd try it and it worked.), and slightly beaten egg whites.

Stuffed French Toast - Vegetarian Brunch

I am so glad my granddaughter gets to visit regularly. I spoke to my youngest son on the phone last night and he called her the "Empty Nest Patch."  That makes sense.

This morning the Thanksgiving weekend continues.  My sweetie has to work today, so I greeted him this morning with a nice breakfast.  One of my friends was talking about stuffed french toast at lunch a couple weeks ago.  We don't go out for breakfast very much, I'd not heard of it.  It sounded fun so I've been wanting to try it.  I thought Scott and Kaylee would enjoy it too.

I have some fresh ground peanut butter, frozen strawberries from when they were in season, some nice fresh whole grain bread, and some free range eggs. I whipped up some french toast batter and spread some peanut butter on the bread, laid three large strawberries in the middle of the sandwich.  I dipped the whole sandwich in the batter and grilled about 5 minutes on each side until the edges were brown and a bit crispy.

The batter:

Free Range Eggs
Coconut Milk Creamer
Vanilla
Orange Zest
a handful of shredded coconut
Cinnamon
Nutmeg

The filling is fresh ground peanut peanut butter and strawberries. (The strawberries were stored when they were in season.)

I heated frozen strawberries with about 2 TB of pure maple syrup and added some orange slices when it was hot.

Chai Rice Pudding with Peaches

I made Chai Rice Pudding for breakfast Saturday for something warm and fun. I didn't have any dates on hand so I used a small handful of dried currants. I also folded in some home canned peaches.

Chai Rice Pudding
By Vered Lenn

Serves 8
1 cups water
4 cups unsweetened almond milk, divided
1 cup basmati rice
1/2 cup agave nectar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
2 teaspoon dates
1/4 cup raisins

1. In a medium pot, bring water and 2 cups
almond milk to a boil. Add rice, agave, and salt.
Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes.

2. Add remaining almond milk, cinnamon,
cardamom, cloves, and ginger. Simmer uncovered
for 20 minutes or until rice is very soft.

3. Remove from heat, add dates and raisins,
cover, and let sit for 10 to 15 minutes. Dust with more cinnamon.

The granddaughter gave it two thumbs up.

The Flexitarian Cookbook is Here

Although I post mainly plant based dishes and recipes, I am a flexitarian.  That means I eat vegan and vegetarian most of the time with the occasional animal protein which is usually fresh seafood. I've posted some meals I've cooked in the past year and have mentioned I can't post the exact recipe because they are test recipes for an unpublished cookbook.  Well, it's published and for sale now: The Flexitarian Cookbook and I am very excited about it. All the recipes are made with whole fresh foods and are written to be made with and without meat. I only have one original recipe in the book because I could only think of one completely original recipe at the time they requested it.  I have tested many of these recipes and suggested changes though.  It's been a really fun project to be involved with.

It's 100% voluntarily produced and the proceeds go to two great charities, Slow Food USA and Yoga Bear



The Flexitarian Cookbook

It can be purchased at Amazon.com

Baked Rice Bites

I've had this recipe card laying around the kitchen for awhile for something called "breakfast in a cup."  It's a rice, cheese, and egg mixture you bake in the oven.  I finally decided to play with it today.  I've been thinking of trying to make them with egg replacer.  I had this great idea to use coconut milk instead of water to give it a creamier texture. They came out OK, the outside is kind of crispy and the inside moist.  I served them for breakfast with some fresh fruit salad.  I think they'd make a good buffet item with a nice sauce, maybe some salsa. 

Baked Rice Bites

3 cups cooked brown rice

1 red pepper diced
1/2 cup diced onion
2-3 mild chilis diced
1/3 cup coconut milk
3 TBL egg replacer whipped with 1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper, or to taste.

Combine all in a large bowl and spoon into muffin cups.  Bake at 400° for about 15 minutes until they start to brown a bit.

I added the rest of them to my pot of beans, now I've got beans and rice for lunch this week too.