Beet salad with creamy horseradish dressing

Beets and horseradish is a perfect pairing and if you add a cream dressing and apples well then it's just superb. That was my lunch yesterday, a lunch that took me over an hour to eat because of all the interruptions I had to endure such as the constant "mommy, mommy, mommy" or  door bells or phone calls. I'm guess I'm lucky my food was a cold salad.

I used golden beets for my salad but regular red beets will do too. I adapted this recipe from one of my mom's old Swedish cookbooks.

4 small beets, cooked and skinned
1 green apple, peeled and diced
2 red potatoes, cooked and diced
1 tbs capers
1 cup spring mix lettuce

Dressing:
2 tbs Sour cream ( I used tofutti)
2 tbs milk ( I used plain almond milk)
2 tbs olive oil
2 tsp dijn mustard
2 tbs fresh grated horseradish
Salt & pepper to taste

Blend dressing and let it sit in fridge for 10 minutes to develop flavor before serving. Arrange beets, potatoes and apples over spring mix. Sprinkle capers over. Serve with a dollop of dressing.

Nut and oatmeal cookies

Yesterday I had one of those days when a lot of things went wrong and lots of stress. So what do I do to relax? I bake or cook. I know it sounds weird but it's when I know I can control things and keeps my hands and head busy and it's not about eating either. Hubby off course was thrilled about the goodie surprise that was waiting for him when he go home from work. 

200g butter
1 cup sugar
2 tbs cocoa powder
1 cup chopped salted and roasted cashews
1 cup oats
1 tsp baking powder
1 vanilla bean seeds 
3 cups white spelt flour or all-purpose flour


1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to F350
Combine butter and sugar in a bowl and whip until fluffy and white. Stir in remaining ingredients except the chocolate chips and blend well. Roll little balls and place in a parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Let cookies cool on a wire rack. Melt chocolate and drizzle over cold cookies.

Take the happy out of a happy meal

I would guess that majority of you who visit my blog are not regulars at McDonalds but I bet you do know someone who is and this article on Frugal Dad is worth reading about the unhealthy happy meals and San Francisco's happy meal ban.

Our trip to San Francisco

I love eating in San Fransisco because there so many fun and unique options and many healthy alternative. So here I want to share in our experience and our favorite places to eat in San Francisco!

La Boulange
This is a great place for breakfast, lunch or just coffee and goodies. Most of their items are organic and handmade in the restaurant. I loved their oatmeal served with sliced bananas, flax seeds, blueberries and an option for maple syrup, honey or brown sugar.

The plant Organic cafe

This is an amazing place for organic lunch and dinner. They have many vegan and vegetarian options and everything is incredible fresh. I love their drafted kombucha which was served as is or with fresh pressed vegetable or fruit juice. I also loved their vegan and gluten free chocolate/hazelnut cake.

Wonderful mild kombucha on tap and you could mix it with fresh juice

Amazingly rich vegan and gluten free cake

Super fresh avocado and grape fruit salad served on a bed of baby arugula tossed with a macadamia nut dressing

Greens
This restaurant in the Marina has an amazing view as well as menu. It gets quit busy so a reservation is recommended. They have brunch on Saturday and lunch and dinner everyday. The food is fresh and all vegetarian and some vegan options. Make sure to check out their dessert menu.

Spicy roasted bell pepper soup

San Francisco has been treating us as good as ever with sun, warm weather and tons of fun. It makes us always wonder why we left at all. We’re staying in a house in the Marina so we’re close to everything; the farmers market, restaurants, playground, walking along the bay etc etc. I'm still in awe over how easy it is to find good vegetarian food here. Some of the best vegan/vegetarian restaurants is in San Francisco. Cafe Gratitude, Greens and Millennium are just a few options. 

Our first night here we cooked dinner for friends and Noah’s godfather. I didn’t know what kind of kitchen I was going to cook in so when we grocery shopped on our way in to the city I decided to make a spicy soup and serve it with garlic bread. Soups are easy to make and require little kitchen appliencies. Lucky me the kitchen was awesome and so was my soup. I think it’s way to spicy for kids to eat  but by removing the jalapeno peppers it becomes child friendly and why not serve it with grilled cheese sandwiches. Mmmmmmm!!!!

3 red bell peppers

1 orange bell peppers

2 red jalaeno peppers

1-2 tbs olive oil

Herb seasoning

2 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup tomato sauce

½ cup sour cream

Salt & pepper to taste

Ground chili pepper if you want more "heat" in the soup

Preheat oven to F420

Cut all peppers in half and remove seeds and stems. Place peppers on a baking sheet. Drizzle oil over and sprinkle herb seasoning. Rub the oil and seasoning all over peppers and arrange peppers cut side down. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until peppers are tender. Let them cool to be able to handle with your hands. Use a small knife to slice the skins of peppers. In some cases you might even be able to just pull them off. Place peppers flesh with broth and tomato sauce in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and combine with  sour cream, salt, pepper and ground chili if so wish in a blender. Mix until creamy and no lumps. Reheat soup. 

Sweet and spicy chill sauce

Stir frys is a good way to serve a lot of vegetables that does not require lots of skills or time. When I'm really in a rush I love woking veggies and just add a little sweet chill sauce for extra flavor and serve it over cooked rice. My favorite chili sauce is homemade. I personally think this sauce taste great on almost everything. So have fun!

1 tsp canola oil
3 red Jalapeño peppers, minced with seeds 
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup honey
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup  white wine vinegar
1/2 tbs tomato puree
1/4 cup water

Cook peppers and garlic in a small sauce pan on medium heat not letting them brown. Add honey, vinegar, tomato puree and water and blend well. Let sauce cool off completely before pouring it into a clean glass jar.

And yes another seitan stew

I know, there has been waaaay too many seitan recipes lately but since I figured out a way to make cheap and easy seitan that and beans has been the staple of our diet. So here comes another yet delicious seitan dish.  I think stews, soups and casserole are I busy mom's best friend since they require little attention after food prep and usually works well as leftovers the next day.

1 tbs canola oil
1/2 cup yellow onion, minced
2 large carrots, cut into coins
1 cup seitan, cubed
2 bay leafs
5 black pepper corns
1/2-1 tbs tamari
2 cups water
1 tbs corn starch
1 cups cooked or canned kidney beans
Salt & pepper to taste

Heat oil in in a large sauce pan on medium heat and cook onions 1 minutes. Cook carrots and seitan with the onions for 3-4 minutes. Add bay leaf, pepper corns, tamari and water and bring to a boil. Cook for 5-7 minutes or until carrots are soft. Mix corn starch with a little of the broth from the stew and stir until lump free. Blend in with the stew and add kidney beans, salt and pepper. Reduce to a simmer and stir until stew broth has thicken a bit. Serve over mashed potatoes and side of steamed broccoli.

Baked pasta and kale

The hardest vegetable for me to get my kids to eat is the leafy greens such as spinach, swiss chard or kale. I usually have to be good at "masking" them in a sauce but I also have to make dishes an adult will find fun. This baked pasta dish is one of those dishes that is good enough for us parents to enjoy while feeding our kids the very nutritional greens.

The reason we eat a lot of kale is because it's one of the healthiest vegetable on the planet due to its high levels of beta carotene, vitamin K, C and calcium. Kale also has high levels of a potent anti-cancer properties. I like adding kale to my salad and smoothies as well. Soon I hope we'll be able to eat kale from our own garden.

4 portions of cooked whole wheat penne 
1 tbs canola oil
1 1/2 cups chopped kale, stems removed
1 tbs all-pupose flour
1 cup milk ( I used almond milk
1 tbs honey mustard
1/2 cup garlic & chive flavored cream cheese 
Salt & pepper to taste
1/2 cup grated cheese

Preheat oven to F350
Heat oil in a sauce pan on medium heat. Cook the kale for a few minutes until wilted. Sprinkle flour over and still well. Pour in the milk and use a whisk to remove any lumps. Bring to a boil while stirring and cook for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and add mustard, cream cheese, salt and pepper. Blend well. Combine pasta and sauce in a baking dish. Make sure all the pasta is coated in sauce. Sprinkle grated cheese over and bake for 15 minutes. Eat will a side salad for a complete meal.

creamy carrot and bean soup

So today was the first day of Bella's week off from school and it started out so well with baby brother sleeping in and then a nice family morning walk. For lunch I made soup because it's fast and a very easy way to get kids to eat vegetables.

Later this week on Thursday we're going to San Francisco so see friends, go shopping and eating fabulous food.

2 tsp canola oil
1/4 cup yellow onion, minced
2 cups water
1 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup shredded celeriac
1 tsp grated ginger
1/2 vegetable bouillon cube
2/3 cups cooked or canned garbanzo beans
1 tsp agave nectar or honey
1/4 tsp sour cream

Heat oil on medium heat in a saucepan. Saute onion and ginger for a few minutes. Add carrots, celeriac, water and bouillon cube and bring to a boil. Cook for 5 minutes. Combine with beans, agave nectar and sour cream in a blender and mix until creamy.

Beet and cabbage slaw

I love slaws in any shape and form and for today's lunch I have a slaw in the fridge blending flavors as I write. I don't make my slaws creamy but rather use vinegar and oil base. I intend to eat this on the side of a veggie burger.

This salad is so colorful and packed with great nutrients. The Hemp seeds add a nice nutty flavor but also protein and all nine of the essential amino acids. I sprinkle hemp on quit a lot of my foods from salads to smoothies.

1 cup red cabbage, sliced very thin
1 medium golden beet, peeled and grated
1 carrots, peeled and grated
A few green leaves, chopped ( I used beet greens)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbs Ume plum vinegar
1/2 tsp agave nectar
1 tsp olive oil
1 tbs raw hemp seeds

Combine cabbage, beet, carrot, greens, salt, vinegar and oil and use hands to "massage" the slaw to soften it up and release natural liquids. Blend in agave nectar and hemp seeds. Slaw taste best if it can developer flavors in fridge for 20 minutes before serving.

Raw lemon cookies

Yuck, another evening of overeating and feeling terrible. I don't know why I did it to myself and I believe I'm fine as long as I don't eat too much sugar. I makes me shaky and keeps me up at night.

I had promised Bella to make cookies today and I did but we made raw cookies with agave nectar so I won't have another sugar roller coaster. The cookies are so delightful with a cup of herbal tea on grey morning like the one we're having here. The recipe for the cookies is adapted from this recipe.

Happy Sunday everyone!!!

1 cup almond meal
3/4 cup shredded and dried coconut
Juice from one small lemon
1 tbs maple syrup (more if "dough" seems dry)
1/2 vanilla bean, split open and seeds scraped out and used

Combine everything in a food processor and blend until it's a dough call. With wet hands, roll dough to small balls. Flatten slightly and dehydrate in F105 until dry on outside and chewy on inside.

Seitan and mushroom stew

I had two five year olds at home yesterday afternoon so I had to act like a referee A LOT.  Or at least until I finally had it and told them either they play nice or not but not to come to me anymore. It worked!!! I was very happy when it was dinner-pizza time and then a movie (Lady& the Tramp) so I got a little breathing room and they were kind of quiet...kind of:)

I didn't feel like pizza so I made a seitan and mushroom stew instead, served over pasta. It was perfect with many flavors and creamy sauce, just how I like it. I used the seitan I made the other day but off course store bought works as well. This is the kind of stew you can serve people very skeptical of vegan food and they will for sure be happy.

1 tbs olive oil 

2/3 cup shiitake mushrooms, sliced

1/4 cup yellow onion, minced

1/2 cup grated carrots

1 cup seitan, diced

1 tsp ground chili

Herb salt to taste

1 tbs dijon mustard

1 tbs ketchup

1 cup strained tomatoes

1/2 cup chopped kale

1/4 cup sour cream

Heat oil in a saucepan on medium heat and brown the mushrooms. Remove and set a side. Add garlic and carrots to saucepan and cook for 1 minutes. Add seitan, chili, salt and cook for a few minutes, stirring often. Now add dijon mustard, ketchup, strained tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes. Click in sour cream and let it melt. Toss in kale, mushrooms and blend well. Serve with pasta, rice or barley.

Frozen Berry Yogurt

Wow the weeks are flying and I can't believe it's Friday already. This weekend is packed with activities and people to see and next week Bella has the week off from school. Lots of fun times to look forward to.
Today Bella has a play date in the afternoon who is staying for dinner. They are both super excited so I'm making pizza and for dessert  frozen yogurt.

2 cups plain yogurt ( I used whole soy & co organic soy yogurt)
2 tbs coconut oil, melted
1/4 cup honey (maybe more if you want it sweeter)
3/4 cup mixed berries (  I used raspberries and blueberries)

Combine everything and blend well. Place in a ice cream maker until solid. Freeze for an hour before serving.

Marinated mushrooms

We had a wonderful Valentine's dinner on Tuesday but when I woke up on Wednesday I felt terrible and stuffed from overeating rich food. So for lunch I made a fulfilling salad with tons of veggies and marinated mushrooms that took the salad from average to amazing. These mushrooms are also fun as tapas or as a party snack. 

10 white mushrooms, cut into half and then half again

1/4 cup zucchini, diced

4 sun dried tomatoes in oil, minced

1 tsp dried herb provencal

1/8 cup lemon lemon juice

Salt and black pepper to taste

Parsley, minced

Combine everything in a bowl and blend well. Let the mushrooms and vegetables soak up the liquid and spices for half an hour before serving. 

Homemade nut cheese

I finally gave it a try to make my own hard vegan cheese and I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised how well it turned out and how easy it was. The cheese is hard so it can be sliced or grated and melts in the oven. Next time I'm going to try and make a pepper jack or garlic cheese.

Dry ingredients:
1 1/2 cup raw cashews 
2/3 cup nutritional yeast
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp ground paprika


Wet ingredients:
4 1/4 cups water
1/2 cup grated carrots
3 tbs agar-agar powder
3 tbs lemon juice

Blend all dry ingredients in a food processor until it's a fine meal. Combine water and carrots in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes. Bring to a boil again and add agar-agar and disk until dissolved. Reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes. Add agar-agar-water-carrot mix to food processor as well as lemon juice and blend until smooth and creamy. Scrape down sides a couple of times. Pour into a bowl or jar and let cool off for 2 hours before removing cheese and placing on a plate.

BBQ Tofu Neatloaf

Happy Valentine's day!

Today Bella is feeling better but I'm feeling sick instead. Typical for Valentine's day right? Well the weather is also behaving strange and it's been so cold and rainy lately and it does not help that we're stuck inside all day:( However later this evening me and James are going out for dinner just the two of us so I have something to look forward to.

To make something fun I made BBQ neatloaf that I know is very much appreciated and served it very traditional with  gravy, mashed potatoes and green beans.

Rainy days leaves plenty of time for cuddles

1/2 yellow onion, peeled and diced

1 tsp canola oil

1/2 cup rolled oats

1 package extra firm tofu, crumbled

1 tsp chili pepper

Salt to taste

1/2 cup BBQ sauce + extra to spread on top of the loaf

• Preheat oven to F400
• Grease a loaf pan. 
• Heat canola oil in a frying pan on medium heat and cook onions until glossy but not brown. 
• Combine onions, rolled oats, tofu, chili pepper, salt and BBQ sauce in a bowl and use fingers to blend well. 
• Press tofu into loaf pan cook in oven for about 20 minutes. 
• Spread a layer of BBQ sauce over loaf before serving. 

BBQ tofu stir fry

Bella is still feeling pretty bad and we're now on day 3 of fever and I'm getting fed up with it. My poor baby is so brave but not feeling well at all so she lays and rest a lot and we read books, paint etc. I sure hope she is feeling better by Tuesday because they are celebrating Valentine's day in her class and she has made 18 bird feeder and cards to hand out to all her friends.

Bella's appetite has been obviously down so I really have to be creative and make food I think she will really like and last nights dinner was one of those; tofu, BBQ  sauce and some veggies hidden in the midst of it shhhhhhhhh!!!

1 tbs canola oil
1 celery stalk, tops and ends cut of and chopped
1 cup corn
1 cup zucchini, chopped
1 package extra firm tofu, cubed
1/2 cup BBQ sauce
Salt & pepper to taste

Heat oil in a skillet on medium heat and cook seller, corn and zucchini for 5 minutes. Pour in the water and bring to a boil. Cook for 3 minutes. Add tofu and BBQ sauce, salt and pepper and blend carefully. Simmer for a minute or two before serving with pasta or rice.

Seitan in a wine marsala sauce

Yesterday was the first time I used the seitan I made the other day and I'm very happy with the result and texture of this seitan plus it's so cheap to make. I made Italian food in the form of seitan marsala and it was divine. I served it with roasted potatoes and a side salad for us adults and steamed broccoli for the kids.

1/2 batch of homemade seitan, sliced thin

1 tbs canola oil 

1 tbs butter

1 cup white mushrooms, sliced

Salt & pepper

1/2 cup water

2/3 cup marsala wine

1 tsp honey

Salt & pepper to taste

1/2 cup sour cream

Heat oil in a skillet on medium heat and cook seitan slices. Flip them once and they are done when they're browned. Remove to a plate. Add butter and melt and cook mushrooms in a single layer until they too are browned. Remove and place with seitan.
Pour water in skillet and use a whisk to scrape up bottom pieces left behind from the mushrooms and seitan. Add marsala wine and honey and bring to a boil.
Cook until reduced to 2/3. Add salt, pepper and and let sour cream melt in sauce. Place seitan and mushrooms mushrooms in sauce before serving.

Fruit leather

Bella loves fruits and fruit leather as a snack in the afternoon. Buying them at the store can get quit pricey so I made my own and my toughest critic (Bella) gave it thumbs up and said "you're pretty cleaver mom". I live for comments like that:)

Off course for this recipe you need a dehydrator or a hot air oven. You can use pretty much any fruit but for this one I used a leftover kiwi on it's last leg and one banana. It was a great combination. If you don't like the look of the seeds from the kiwi you can always strain the kiwi first to remove them.

1 large banana, peeled

1 kiwi or other fruit, peeled

1 squirt of lemon juice

Puree until creamy and no lumps exists. Use a spatula to spread thin on a parchment paper. Dehydrate on F105 until it's dry and you can peel the leather of the parchment paper.

Creamy kale soup

I've one sick little girl at home who woke up with high fever or F 103.3, stomach ache and then vomiting. She has been very cuddly and mellow and needs her mom a lot. I had to pack up both kids and go to the pediatrician after naps and it's determined it's a virus so hopefully she will get better soon.

We came home and I had a hungry Noah on my hands so I had to resort to super fast kale soup. Thankfully Noah loves pretty much everything that is food so I served it with a sliced of home baked sour dough bread.

1 tbs canola oil

1 garlic clove, grated

1 cups kale, stems removed and leaves chopped

1 tbs white spelt flour or all-purpose flour

1 cup almond milk

1/2 cup sour cream

Salt & pepper to taste

Heat oil in a saucepan on low heat and cook garlic. Add kale and sauté until wilted. Sprinkle flour over and blend and pour milk in. Whisk to remove any lumps and bring to boil. Reduce to a simmer for a few minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in sour cream, salt and pepper.

Homemade seitan

I've made seitan from scratch before but never been super impressed with the results until today. I just got fed up with the cost of store bought seitan so I did some research and found a super easy recipe on a Swedish blog. It just requires all-purpose flour and water for the base.

6-7 cups all-purpose flour
water

Blend flour and water until you are left with a shiny dough. This is where the work is, work that dough really hard because the more you work it the better result you'll have. I used a kitchen aid to help me out and probably ran it for about 20 minutes. I added more flour as I saw fit if the dough was too sticky. Cover bowl with a plastic wrap and place in fridge for at least 6 hours or even better overnight.

Washing out all the starch cant take it's little time

Add cold water to dough and begin kneading and "washing" the dough from all the stretch. The water will get white so drain water and add more. Repeat this process until water is clear and you now have something resembling a large piece of gum and is the wheat gluten protein.

Looks strange

Combine seitan in a food processor and  any flavoring you want. I made it simple and just used a garlic and herb salt. Hold on to the processor and you blend in the flavors.

Ready to add some fun flavors

Now place seitan in a saucepan and cover with vegetables stock. Bring to a boil and cook for 1-1 1/2 hours. The seitan will float up to the surface when it's done.

You can use the seitan many different ways. You can slice it and cook in butter and spices in a frying pan. Cut into smaller pieces and use in stew. You can grate it and use and minced. There are endless possibilities:)

Ready to be eaten!

Roasted acorn squash soup

I celebrated the rain we were getting in San Diego yesterday because my garden so desperately needs it and also because I love rain...in moderation off course. Me and Noah took a walk right before the rain started and it was quit windy which Noah was not very happy about so I ended up sprinting home and once inside in our cozy place with no winds he was again the happy little boy he is.

I thought roasted vegetables and bean soup sounded like a great way to warm up after the cold walk. The roasting vegetables made the house smell so welcoming. I served the soup slices or fresh baked bread from this morning.

1 medium acorn squash, cut in half
1/2 yellow onion, peeled and chopped in large pieces
2-3 fresh thyme twigs
1 tbs olive oil
2/3 cups cooked garbanzo beans
Salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to F350
Arrange vegetables in a single layer on a parchment sheet. Drizzle oil over and toss vegetables until coated with oil. Place thyme over and bake until vegetables are soft, about 15-20 minutes. Use a spoon to remove the acorn "flesh" and puree them, garbanzo beans and  2 cup vegetables stock in a blender or food processor until smooth and creamy. Pour into a pot and reheat. Add salt and pepper.

Chocolate and hazelnuts cookies

I went on a 7 mil bike ride this morning and then running around like a manic rest of the day which by the way began at 5 am when both kids woke us up. So in the afternoon when Noah was napping and put Bella to rest in her room meaning listening to music and reading books while I whipped up yummy cookies to have with afternoon tea. These are super fast and easy so enjoy, just what I needed to survive the remaining of the day.

100g butter, soft
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbs maple syrup
2 1/2 tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup while spelt flour
1/4 cup chia seeds
1 vanilla bean, split open and seeds used
1/2 tsp baking soda
1//4 cup chopped hazelnuts

Preheat oven t F350. Whip butter, sugar and maple syrup until white and fluffy. Add cocoa powder flour and blend well. Add chia seeds, vanilla seeds, baking soda and mix. Use wet hands to roll small balls and place on parchment paper. sprinkle chopped nuts over and lightly press nuts in on top. Bake for 15-20 minutes. They will be a little soft in the middle but will stiffen as they cool.

Quinoa Pizza balls

Today my husband stated "super bowl is over so now I can cancel cable". We've been talking for months to stop cable and only use the TV for movies so I was happy it's finally happening. It's such relief not having TV and watching reruns and other crappy things that does not add anything to our lives.

These little rolls were a fun addition to our super bowl party food and the one who liked the absolutely most was Noah who ate them while still hot and all because he could not wait for them to cool off. I know I will make these a staple food of any future party.

1/2 cup Quinoa
1 cup water
1 cup cooked kidney beans
5-10 fresh basil leaves, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp dried Italian herb mix
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup tomato paste
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup grated cheese ( I used rice cheese)
1/4 cup oil to brush with

Bring to a boil quinoa and water in a saucepan. Cook for 10-12 minutes until all water has absorbed. Set a side to cool. Combine in a food processor remaining ingredients except the oil and blend for a few seconds. You still want some pieces of beans left. Combine with quinoa and place in fridge for 20 minutes. Preheat oven to F400 and with wet hands shape the cooled mix to small balls. Place on a parchment paper. Brush each with some oil. Bake for 10-15 minutes until they are slightly crispy on outside and browned. Serve with a salad as a meal or with ranch dip for a snack.

Vegan BBQ wings with vegan ranch dressing

I found this recipe for the wings and the ranch on the Recipe Renovator but I did end up changing just a little and it turned in to what I remembered ranch dressing tasting like. Since hubby loves anything with BBQ sauce I actually used that instead of hot sauce for the wings It will go well as a dip for the vein wings, quinoa pizza rolls, garlic bread and etc I'm making for hubby to eat during Super bowl. Go Patriots!!!!!

While the boys are watching football, me and Bella are dressing up and going to see Beauty & the beast at the movies and then were going out for a veggie burger:)

From left to right; quinoa pizza balls, tofu BBQ wings, garlic bread and sausage rolls and in the front is the ranch dip

Ranch dip:
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup soy milk
1 tbs apple cider vinegar
2 tbs chives & garlic flavored soy cream cheese
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
1tsp dried dill
1 tsp dried parsley

Combine the soy milk and the vinegar in a small bowl and let stand 5-10 minutes to curdle. Add all other ingredients in a blender or food processor along with the curdles soy milk and blend until smooth and creamy. Add more soy milk as needed if you want a pourable dressing.

Wings:
16 oz super firm tofu
1/2 cup BBQ sauce
1 tbs canola oil

1/4 tsp almond meal
2 tbs nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp chili pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 onion powder

Press the tofu overnight by wrapping the tofu in a clean kitchen towel and place between two cutting boards. Put a heavy frying pan or pile of cookbooks on top.

Cut the tofu into 12 pieces, using the short side as your length, and making the pieces as even as possible. If you want the shapes to be more organic and less stick-like, use a vegetable peeler to shave off the corners of the long edges, and the corners of the top and bottom of each piece. (Reserve the tofu scraps for a stir fry.)

Prick the pieces all over with a fork to help the tofu absorb the marinade.

Whisk BBQ sauce and oil together. Set 2/3 of it aside in the refrigerator until serving. Brush the tofu with the remaining marinade, covering each side evenly, and then pour the rest over it. Cover and marinate, overnight if possible, in the refrigerator.

Preheat the oven to 350F/160C/gas mark 4. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Mix the remaining ingredients together in a shallow bowl, stirring with a fork. Roll each piece of tofu in the breading, making sure it sticks to each side evenly. Place on the prepared cookie sheet. Spray with cooking spray, and flip over, making sure all the breading is thoroughly coated with spray.

Bake for 15 minutes, then flip all the pieces over. Bake another 20 minutes, until the sticks are crispy. Gently toss the hot “wings” in the remaining sauce (you’ll need to whisk it together again). Place each piece on a skewer. Dip them in the ranch dressing.

Blueberry sour cream tart

Bella asked me why I don't bake sweet thing anymore and I realized it was true and since Christmas I had not baked anything sweet unless it was raw. The reason for it is that I have been giving my body a break and been eating more healthy and raw.

However, Bella asked me to make something with blueberries so I made a tart that was just perfect for a Friday evening dessert. I used a recipe from Cookie madness but changed a bit and made it vegan off course and used spelt flour instead of all-purpose flour and real vanilla bean instead of extract. 

Crust:

1 1/2 cups white spelt flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

4 ounces cold butter

No egg replacment equal one egg

1 vanilla bean, split open and seeds used

Topping:

4 cups blueberries ( fresh or thawed frozen

2 tsp cornstartch

2 cups sour cream ( I used tofutti sour cream)

1/2 cup sugar

No egg replacement equal 2 eggs

1/2 vanilla bean, seeds used

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a 9 inch round springform pan with cooking spray.In a food processor, combine flour, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut or process in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir or process in the no egg replacement and vanilla bean seeds.Press into the bottom of the prepared pan.

Stir sour cream, sugar, egg placements and vanilla bean together in a mixing bowl. Sprinkle cornstarch over the blueberries and gently stir to coat cornstarch with blueberries (it will disappear as you stir). Spread the blueberries over the crust.Pour this mixture in the bottom of the curst and spread the blueberries and carefully spread it across the top.

Set the springform pan on a foil lined cookie sheet** and bake for 50 to 70 minutes in the preheated oven, until the top is lightly browned around edges – it should still look a little loose in the center and will set as it cools and chills. Loosen hot cake from pan with a knife, but do not remove sides quite yet. Cool completely and chill for a few hours. Remove sides of springform pan.

Super bowl food

Although I have personally no interest at all in football, James loves is as does a lot of my friends  and will be glued to the TV on Sunday for the sSuper Bowl. Me, I'm charge of the food off course and I'm planning more than chips and salsa but it will be a semi healthy crowed pleasers. Happy Healthy Mama has some really fun recipes I'm planning to try. The quinoa pizza balls I'm dying to try so they will for sure be served on Sunday as well as the parmesan roasted chickpeas but I will use a vegan cheese instead. But the one dish my husband is most excited about is these vegan chicken wings with a ranch dipping sauce from The Recipe Renovator.

What are you all planning to eat for Sunday Super Bowl party?

Bean chili with ratatouille

My legs are buzzing from yesterday's 6mil bike ride and a heated yoga class this morning. But oh my how I love this feeling. And on top of that my wonderful friend Wendy also known as Chef Centehua came by and made her famous uncooked and raw food which I so enjoyed for lunch. Dinner was beans in the form of a chili and I used my last jar of ratatouille made from vegetables from our garden.  Off course this vegetables stew can be made all year around with store bought zucchini and tomatoes.

This time of year is when I'm planting new things for the season as well as harvesting a few winter vegetables. I wonder if I will have as much zucchini and tomatoes to harvest this year as I did last year. I hope so. That way I can make more ratatouille to have for the winter months.

2 cups ratatouille

1 cup beans ( I used black and kidney)

2 tbs tomato paste

2/3 cup corn

1/2 tbs maple syrup

1 tbs unsweetened chocolate

2 tbs cilantro, minced

1 tsp chili pepper

1 tsp ground paprika

1 tsp coriander

Salt & pepper to taste

Combine everything in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes. Serve with side of corn bread or other bread.

detox juice

Beginning of the year I tend to feel a bit sluggish and tired I know it's the stress and overeating during the holiday. So I like to let my body detox in January and I like to do it with vegetables, fruit, whole grains and vegetable juices. I avoid sugar, wheat and gluten and coffee. I start my day with a chia pudding and fresh fruit and for lunch or/and dinner I like to drink vegetables juices.

My favorite juice is a beet, lemon, celery, ginger and kale. Some people have a hard time drinking vegetables juices and beet juice even more but I found if it's ice cold it does not taste that bad. A juicer is off course required for this juice. I like making up larger quantities and pour into recycled glass jars to keep in fridge. This way I have access to juice to take on the go if and when I need it.

1 large lemon, peeled

1 inch fresh ginger, peeled

2-3 large beets, peeled

3 celery stalks

2 large kale leaves

Juice everything and place in a jar with lid. Shake for a few seconds and then place in fridge to make it cold if so wish.