Gift giving

Now that the holidays are approaching and DIYers are scrambling for tasty morsels to whip up and give out to family and friends its only appropriate to share a bit of sprinkle bark don't you think? I am a huge fan of tasty bits as homemade gift giving, you can never go wrong with a few sweets in my opinion and this cake batter and sprinkle bark would sure be a crowd pleaser. I might just have to give this recipe a try with my own homemade vegan white chocolate and some super dark chocolate thrown in for good measure...oh the tasty possibilities. Wrapped up in a simple container and bow and you have yourself one festive treat to hand out.

image by sweetapolita

Homemade soda

It has been unseasonably warm around here lately, not that I am complaining or anything. This recipe from My darling lemon thyme sure would wet my whistle in the bestest of ways...if only I could find mulberries around here. I'm not even sure I have ever tasted one but they sure to look scrumptious. Made with very little effort and interchangeable berry options, this fizzy drink would be perfect for these last few days of warm don't you think? I think. What are your favorite recipes to stay cool on warm days?

image by my darling lemon thyme 

Vegan MOFO day 14: Chia seed pudding

images by our designed life

Another dish I learned from the Veg world fest a few weeks ago was this chia seed pudding. Of course I still don't have all the amazing ingredients on hand- like maca powder {that stuff is pretty pricey!}I made do with what we had in our pantry for breakfast this morning along with a green smoothie. The husband loved it, its got a nice tapioca like texture with just enough sweetness. I was also out of agave and had to make do with a bit of honey, perhaps next time I may even add a teeny tiny bit of cocoa powder too just for kicks. This does take a little bit of planning ahead since you have to soak the seeds over night but folks, its totally worth it.

Chia Seed pudding

1/4 Cup chia seeds 

1 Cup rice milk {or other milk substitute}

Soak the seeds over night in an air tight container. Every once and a while I would give it a little shake to get them really coated. In the morning you will have a little bit of a gelatinous like goo but just give it a good stir and you are good to go. For add ins I used green apple, pear, banana and ground flax seeds- which I also used in our green smoothie for the morning. I also added a couple of squeezes of honey for a bit of sweetness. You could really add in anything you want, plumped up raisins, dried fruit, nuts really anything goes!

*update* after writing this I had a little left to taste test with cocoa powder. And oh yes, do try it! It really gave it a great taste with a bit of bitter meets sweet. Can't wait to give this a try again with even more add in flavors.

VeganMOFO day 9: Taquitos and kale salad

image by our designed life

One of my quick and go to meals has got to be a few tasty taquitos with a bit of a punch. I am a huge fan of meals that don't take too much time or effort and this sure is one of them. This particular evening I made fresh pinto beans- they take about an hour and a half to boil {you can use canned refried beans but fresh tastes oh so much better} and mixed it with soy chorizo. I get mine from Trader Joe's but you can usually find it in major grocery stores. 

To make these, simply warm up the beans and soy chorizo and wrap with a corn tortilla. Preheat the oven to 350 and line the taquitos in a small dish. Spray or drizzle the tortillas with olive oil and bake for about 15-20 minutes or until they get crisp at the edges. I like to serve with either salsa or guacamole for a little added tastiness!

I also served the taquitos with a massaged raw kale salad. I just leaned how to make this and let me tell you, you will want to have this on the side at every meal. Its so good even the husband gave me a high five during dinner. To make the salad I used half a bunch of kale {about 7 leaves} and de-stemed them. I added chopped red bell pepper, a bit of sea salt, a few shakes of garlic powder, a shake of cayenne pepper and a splash of tamari. Sorry I don't have exact measurements but the woman that taught me didn't give anything exact she just kept saying add what you feel. I know, totally hippie like. With the ingredients in a large bowl I added about a teaspoon of olive oil and with clean hands began giving everything a nice massage. A few minutes later the leaves were ready to eat and I had oh so soft hands, a total win win. This is a great way to get in a bit of kale with a ton of flavor, the perfect side dish for any meal. 

VeganMOFO day 5: A normal meal

Everyone always wonders what exactly we vegans eat on a regular ol day so I thought I would snap a picture of a midweek meal. I try to keep things as balanced as possible and when ever I can pick fresh fruits and veggies from the garden its always a plus. For this dish the husband and I dinned on baked yams with purple onion, mustard greens with bell pepper and lentils. Before growing our own mustard greens I had never had them before and it for sure was an acquired taste...it took about 3 times of eating them before I started to really like them but now they are my favorite. They have quite a bit so if you are trying them out for the first time and aren't a fan, give them another shot. Just to be sure. This meal was super easy to pull together, the entire plate was pulled together in under an hour.

To make the yams: I used 2 small/medium yams {sweet potatoes work too} chop up into little pieces and spread in a glass dish with about a table spoon of butter {Earth balance} and a teaspoon of olive oil. Bake at 400 for about 45 minutes. Throw in the onion around 20 minutes in otherwise the onion will be burned to a crisp. 

To make the greens: Chop up a good amount of mustard greens {approx. 3 cups, they cook down} and bell pepper. Saute pepper over medium heat until tender and then throw in greens. Sprinkle garlic powder to taste, I like it with a ton! Saute for about 5-8 minutes.

What are you favorite go to dishes that pack a punch of flavor?

Vegan MOFO day 3: Pineapple sweet bread

One of my favorite things growing up was the delectable sweet bread my parents used to buy for our family to snack on. Sadly becoming vegan meant no more easy trips to the store for these sweet treats. That is until this recipe. Though its not exactly as I remember, its a great dessert full of flavor and literally finger licking good. I've made this a few times both for other vegan and non vegan friends and never do I have any left over to snack on. So sad. I even took a batch to a bar for a friends birthday and they were inhaled! I would highly recommend trying this recipe out, its a little bit of work but thankfully most of the time is spent letting the dough rise.

Pineapple sweet bread

1/2 Cup rice milk

5 Tbsp. butter {I used Earth balance}

3 pieces of star anise

4 Tbsp. ground flax seed and 12 Tbsp. water

3 Cups flour

2 envelopes dry active yeast

3/4 Cup sugar + more for sprinkling

2 Tbsp. wheat germ {optional}

Pineapple {canned will work in a pinch but fresh is better}

In a small pot, combine rice milk, butter and anise and bring to a low boil. Once boiling, remove from heat and set aside.

In a small bowl mix the flax seed and water, set aside.

In a large bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups flour, yeast, sugar and wheat germ. 

Remove the anise from milk/butter mixture and add to dry ingredients. Add flax seed mixture. Dough will be very sticky, add another 1 1/2 cup flour until dough is a bit more workable. 

On a floured work surface kneed the dough till it is a bit elastic like. 

Lightly grease a large bowl and place dough inside to let rise. Cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm place.

When dough is rising, pulse pineapple with a teaspoon of sugar in a food processor till smooth.

Once dough has doubled in size, about 1 hour - 1 1/2 hours, pull apart and shape individual pieces. I tried for about 5-6 inch rounds rolled out slightly. 

Place a small amount of pineapple in the center of the dough and fold over pinching edges closed so the mixture stays put.

Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and sprinkle lightly with sugar.

Bake at 350 for 25-35 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove from heat and brush with orange juice. Immediately sprinkle with a little more sugar and let cool.

Serve and enjoy!

Serves 8

This recipe is also entered in the Better Recipes Mexican themed cooking contest, I sure would love it if you gave me a little vote! I promise these are super tasty and highly addictive.

images by our designed life

Vegan MOFO: day 2 Hearty pancakes

Before I came up with this recipe for pancakes it was like pulling teeth to convince my husband to accept pancakes as a good enough breakfast, something about just being a glorified cake, yada yada yada. But now that I add a few extra bits and pieces they not only still taste like cake {score one for me!} they also provide us with a bit of nutrition like vitamin E, folic acid, protein and fiber. I love to top my pancakes with fresh fruit like bananas, strawberries or blueberries and a splash of agave nectar. So delish!

Hearty Pancakes

1 Cup unbleached flour

3/4 Cup chickpea flour

1 Tbsp. flax seed

2 Tbsp. wheat germ

2 Tbsp. baking powder

1 Tbsp. {vegan} sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 1/4 Cup rice milk

1/4 oil {I used canola}

1 Tbsp. vanilla

Earth balance for pan

*In a large bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients till blended well.

*Add in wet ingredients and stir just until blended. Try not to over stir or it will get a little elastic like.

*In a large pan place a little bit of butter over low/medium heat until melted. Pour batter and turn once they begin to bubble. 

Makes 6-7 medium sized pancakes.

These babies will keep you full for hours and taste oh so good. Just writing this makes me want to whip up a batch. And the best part, from start to finish is under 30 minutes!

**side note** I used a small and medium sized stainless steel pan to make these and found that the small pan made the pancakes nice and even. The medium pan seemed to make a rim around the edge of the pancake and the middles got a bit fluffy. Both taste great but if you are not used to a thicker batter and use a big pan you might be surprised by the look. Just sayin.

images by our designed life

Make this: Decadent desserts

Its another wait I need one of these now moments. I came across this peanut butter and honey milkshake over on A beautiful mess and now I can't stop thinking about how I can turn this into one delicious vegan treat. With just a handful of ingredients it should be easy enough to make too. I wonder how different the taste would be with almond butter instead of peanut- turns out us pregnant ladies are advised to stay away from those little nuts since we don't know if our little babies are allergic. My favorite treat was a banana smothered in peanut butter and dipped into vegan chocolate chips talk about magical; can't wait to have that again in 4 more months! But back to this shake, be sure to stop by for the full recipe and and how to, its pretty simple.

image via a beautiful mess

Make this, Grilled tofu tacos

Not only are these grilled tofu tacos from Love and Lemon a beauty to look at, I bet they taste fantastic. I certainly cannot wait to give these babies a whirl, especially with a few handmade tortillas. I've watched as my Grandmother and Mom handmade tortillas over the years but have yet to actually try them for myself. Nothing beats homemade, nothing. And while summer is quickly coming to an end, I bet this would be a perfect meal to seal the deal.

image via love and lemons

Make this: Cold soba noodle salad

One of my most favorite blogs to read has got to be Cakies, a site filled with love, family, crazy crafty goodness and mouth watering meals. And when Ruby posted about her family meals consisting of that cold soba noodle salad my mouth started salivating on the spot. When we lived in L.A one of my favorite eateries was M Cafe, I could eat their soba noodle salad all day long so seeing this recipe not only brought back fantastic memories it made me long for those flavors all over again. So thank you Ruby for sharing I cannot wait to get my hands on these ingredients and try this for myself....seems easy enough.

image via cakies

Make this, Spicy black bean tacos

Sometimes the simplest ingredients come together to make absolutely mouth watering morsels and judging by these photos, I cannot wait to get these in my stomach! Found on Naturally Ella, these spicy black bean tacos look so good I wish I could just reach through the screen and devour, with the added lime it is by far the best summer meal you could have. I've totally been inspired by this dish and am going to whip up a batch of fresh beans stat. 

image via naturally ella

Berried

Have you seen the beauty that is the garden cake by the uber talented Mimi Thorisson? With a passion for cooking and homes that span part of the globe, Mimi fills each recipe with such decadence and love its clear to see why she creates these masterpieces. For pure foodie joy.  Fresh berries and a few small florals are the perfect decoration for a simple pleasure don't you think...makes me want to take a trip out to the garden to see what's ready for the picking.

image via manger

Our eats: carrots meet turnip

With the weather so cold and gloomy its been the perfect time for soup, and thanks to a trip to the garden for a few fresh veggies a new meal was born. We strive at planting a garden that can provide us with enough variety and nutrition and today's produce haul included fresh turnips and kale...for all those who are lucky enough to have a home garden stop what you are doing and plant kale. Its a miracle food and its super easy to grow.
But back to the soup, its pretty easy with just a few kitchen gadgets, like a blender or food processor. Its a little light for an entire meal, but pair it with a side salad and a bit of garlic bread and you've got yourself one tasty meal that just so happens to also be vegan.

photo by our designed life

Carrot turnip soup

5 small-medium turnips, cubed

4 carrots, sliced

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 yellow onion, diced

6 cloves garlic, minced

16 oz. vegetable stock

3 C. water

5 leaves kale, cut into small strips

*In a large pot, saute the onion and garlic in oil till transparent. 

*Add vegetable stock, water, turnips and carrots and simmer for 25 minutes stirring occasionally. 

*Once cooked and turnips are tender, remove from pot and add to blender. (you can use a food processor but will need to make the liquid in batches)

*Return to a large pot and add kale. Simmer for 5 minutes and serve.

Make this, Cocktail hour

I've been dying to try out rose water and petals in food ever since I tasted a rose cupcake and judging by this drink, I may have found the perfect recipe to try it out. Every once and I while I like to indulge in a glass of bubbly and who doesn't love Prosecco? Throw in a bit of gin and a few other yummy bits and you have yourself one beautiful rose petal and prosecco punch cocktail. To see the full recipe head on over to Everything fabulous.

found on everything fabulous, photo via donna hay

Make this, A berry green smoothie

Last week I had mentioned to my Mom that I wanted a blender to make my own smoothies for breakfasts and a few hours later I had my own new smoothie making machine. Thanks Mom. The husband and I have already put it to use mixing up a batch of fresh fruits and veggies we picked up. Here is what we used for a scruptious and healthy afternoon snack.

A berry green smoothie

8 strawberries

5 figs

1 banana 

2 tbsp flax seed

3 big leaves swiss chard

large handful of spinach

1 tbsp honey

1/2 cup rice milk

We have also already tried mixing in yellow nectarines, ginger and kale, all just as yummy and healthy. I'm going to try to locate some acai and we have yet to mix in the red beets that looked too good to pass up. Smoothie making is just so creative!

photo for our designed life

Make this, Chocolate pie sticks

Don't you just love finding new recipes? I came across this recipe for chocolate pie sticks on food gawker, one of my go to's for mouth watering eats and knew I had to bookmark this baby right away. Made with pie crust and a few chocolate chips, its a super simple dessert idea that not only looks delicious but is totally portable. I'm thinking a stack of these guys with a thermos of coffee would be a perfect addition to our picnics in the park on a cool day. I would imagine the filling could be changed out easily too.

photos via domestic fits

Make this, Veggie and barley soup

Boy its been quite a few days, the husband has been home sick since Monday and I seem to be one serious busy bee all of a sudden. And of course now it seems I am getting a touch of a cold, doesn't it always work out that way? While I am going to attempt to take it easy, I am sure glad I made this tasty soup last night...the leftovers always seem to taste even better. I found this recipe for Vegetable and barley soup a while ago and have made it a few times all with what ever I had in the fridge - I just love dishes that can also clean out your stock of left over veggies. Along with the recommended veggies, I threw in a few handfuls of spinach and rainbow chard for extra nutrients. Lets just hope this keeps the germs away.
And on a tasty side note, we also discovered that brownies are fantastic paired with a slice or two of cantaloupe   Seriously! So good.

photo via vegan family

Make this, Apple rings

I'm pretty sure these are incredibly unhealthy for you judging by the ingredients alone, but oh.my.gosh. they look good. I came across this recipe for Apple rings on How to simplify and added it to my recipe bookmark right away, you know for those special occasions when oodles of calories are a no biggie. I wonder if I can make this stand up with out the egg, sometimes recipes just don't translate to a vegan version, but it might still be fun and tasty to try. Have you made anything interesting lately? I'm still on my 'new to me' recipe kick and so far the husband and I have happy and healthy tummies.

found via paper flora; photo via how to simply

They are growing!

On Friday I went out to my parents house where we had planted 5 different tomato plants a few months ago and my oh my have they grown.  I planted 2 varieties of 'low acidic' tomatoes and so far so good on my tummy. I made Happy Herbivore's mock tuna salad and threw in a few of those yellow pear shaped ones...there really is no better flavor then homegrown tomatoes. Have you grown anything this year? Our garden has gone a bit awry but at least the tomatoes and artichokes are still growing strong. Growing up one of my all time favorite late summer snack was a tomato sandwich, but they had to be homegrown otherwise it just didn't taste the same. A few slices of tomatoes on a thin layer of mayo {or veganaise in my case} and a little salt and pepper, guys, you have to try it. And speaking of trying things out, I whipped up a batch of these fried green tomatoes for the husband and I. These were quite tasty, I ended up leaving these marinating in the beer a little long and the flavor was a bit strong but still very good. They disappeared just as fast as they were made!

photo by our designed life

Make this, Herby bean soup

Sticking with my 'new to me' recipe guidelines has really improved meal time around here. I was in a bit of a cooking slump not too long ago, you know the one where you seem to make the exact same 10 dishes every single time you cook. Over the last few weeks I have been filling my recipe folder with everything that seems interesting and doable and last night was no different.  I tried out One Green Planet's herby bean soup and my goodness, it was fantastic.  I had to do a little changing to the recipe as I didn't have everything, you would be surprised how difficult it is to find some ingredients here in SF! Or at least I have yet to find them. You can find the full recipe here, below is how I made a few adjustments... and guys, fresh soup in 20 minutes, how can you beat that!?

photo via one green planet

Herb-y bean-y soup

1 white onion

2 cloves of garlic

1 can cannellini beans

1 can light red kidney beans

4 cups low sodium vegetable stock

1 bay leaf

1 tsp oregano

pinch of salt and pepper

olive oil  {for sauteing}

I cooked everything exactly as the original recipe states but instead used a food processor to get everything to a nice creamy finish. I'm not the biggest rosemary fan so I opted to leave it out, although next time I might give it a whirl, this is a seriously delicious soup. I served it alongside a scoop of roasted brussel sprouts and a piece of garlic bread. Lets just say I am super excited there are leftovers today!