Grain-Free/Vegan - Curried Cauliflower Quinoa

Another quick fix dinner was necessary last night!  I was starving and exhausted from a long week and lack of sleep.  I thought about my Easy Quinoa Delight, but I just made that last week.  After looking through our spice drawer, I decided I was in the mood for curry!!!   Monday is usually grocery shopping day, so as I rummaged through the fridge, I was incredibly luck to find the perfect pairing....cauliflower!  Yaaaaay!!!  As this was baking I made some dinner rolls - with added spices.

After eating, I fell asleep on the couch at 6:30!!!  Yes, 6:30!!  So at 9:30 my hubby kindly woke up to let me know a tiny little oopsy I had made :/  Yes, sadly, I had left the oven on with the dinner rolls inside.  So, they had been baking for over 3 hours....uhhhhhh.....oops :-D!!!  Well, I decided to put them into a plastic bag and into the fridge...perhaps they would make nice croutons?  HA!  I was sadly mistaken!  I took them out this morning and I had mini frisbees!  Oh well....perhaps the vita-mix can eat them up into bread crumbs?  Sure hope so!!!  I guess I should be happy I didn't burn the house down!  Perhaps I take after my Mom, who has set the toaster oven on fire several times?????  I always tell my husband "it's a good thing I married a fireman!"

Curried Cauliflower Quinoa
1 cup Quinoa
1/2 tablespoon Grapeseed Oil
1/2 head of cauliflower, cut into mini florets
1-2 teaspoons Herb Stop's Organic Curry Powder
1 cup Cashew pieces
2 teaspoons Herb Stop's Onion Soup & Dip Mix
2 teaspoons Herb Stop's Vegetable Broth
3 cups Water
Himalayan Salt - optional

Add grapeseed oil to a large skillet.  Sautee quinoa, curry, cashews, onion soup mix and vegetable broth until all the oil has been absorbed into the quinoa.  Cover with the water.  Bring to a boil and reduce to a hard simmer.  In about 15 minutes, check the quinoa.  If it has begun to open up, add the cauliflower.  Cook an additional 5 minutes.  Serve hot with extra curry powder over the top, if desired, and added salt. ENJOY!

Grain-Free/Vegan - Unbelievably Cheesy Vegetable Lasagna

I love Betty Crocker....well at least I love her for giving me ideas!  When I'm lost in the world of hunger, I browse through her cookbook.  Almost all of her recipes are not vegan let alone gluten free, but.....the ideas are there.  I was looking at a vegetarian lasagna - which was LOADED with cheese :( - and she had a fabulous idea to use pesto in the mix.  I thought....hrmmm, what a genius idea!  Well, she was right!  This recipe does involve quite a few steps, but I was able to eat on this for lunch and dinner for 3 days....and feed my mom too, of course!  Definitely worth the time.....it's so cheesy and very filling!

Unbelievably Cheesy Vegetable Lasagna
1 medium Zucchini
Grapeseed Oil
3 cups Broccoli, diced florets and sliced stem
3 Carrots, grated (shredded)
2 Roma Tomatoes, diced
1 medium Bell Pepper, sliced into strips
1/2 Red Onion, diced
1 batch Perfect Vegan Pesto (http://veganisnotjustsalad.blogspot.com/2010/10/perfect-vegan-pesto.html)
1/4 teaspoon Herb Stop's Himalayan Salt
3 tablespoons Grapeseed Oil
1 clove Garlic, pushed through garlic press or finely chopped
3 tablespoons Arrowroot Powder
2 cups Unsweetened Plain Almond Milk
1 tablespoon Herb Stop's Pesto Mix Seasoning
1 tablespoon Nutritional Yeast

Coat the bottom of a casserole pan with grapseed oil.  Preheat oven to 350.  Thinly slice zucchini with a mandoline slicer, or using a vegetable peeler, into long strips.  Place 1/2 the strips in the bottom of the casserole pan to create the "noodles" at the bottom.

sliced zucchini

In a large bowl combine, broccoli, carrots, tomatoes, bell pepper, onion, pesto and salt.  Mix very well until all the vegetables are coated with pesto.  Spread evenly over the zucchini.  (If you want to make a layered lasagna, you can separate this into two batches and use one more zucchini sliced to make the middle layer and a little extra on the top and bottom).  Add a final layer of zucchini to the top.

grated carrots

broccoli

bell pepper

tomatoes

onions

veggie mix added to the top of the zucchini

Heat grapeseed oil and garlic over medium heat.  Cook until garlic turns golden, stirring constantly.  Add Nutritional Yeast, Pesto Mix Seasoning and arrowroot and mix well, until fully incorporated.  Add Almond Milk and heat to boiling.  The sauce thickens very quickly.  Be sure not to over cook or it becomes like pudding.  If you over heat the mixture and it becomes to thick, add a couple tablespoons of almond milk to thin it out. Pour this mixture over the top of the "lasagna".

Almond Milk mixture poured over the top

Bake uncovered for 40-45 minutes.  If you can (wink) wait 10 minutes before cutting into the lasagna.

Fresh out of the oven

To serve drizzle with a little pesto olive oil (I made two batches of pesto and drizzled a little oil over  my dinner and added a dollop of pesto to the top)

Vegan Southwest Walnut Bean Burgers

 

So.  My mom and I ordered a 20 lb box of organic non-gmo walnuts.  Needless to say, I've been busy cracking shells and trying to figure out what to do with that many nuts!  Although they are so delicious....I think I'm drooling just thinking about them....I have to figure out what to do with them.  I had a craving for my black bean burgers, but I wanted to change them up.  I also wanted to use my dinner roll recipe and make them into sandwich buns, which really worked well.  This delicious burger was incredibly yummy, quite a bit of heat - but just the right amount!  ENJOY!


Vegan Southwest Walnut Bean Burgers

1 can of Black Beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 large Red Onion, diced

1 Red Bell Pepper, diced

Grapeseed Oil, for sautee ing

1/2 cup walnut halves, pulverize to a meal

2 tablespoons Potato Starch

2 tablespoons Tapioca Starch

2 teaspoons Herb Stop's Southwest Spice 

1 teaspoon Herb Stop's Garlic Granules

1 teaspoon Herb Stop's Onion Granules

1 teaspoon Herb Stop's Chipotle Salsa Seasoning

1/8 teaspoon Herb Stop's Himalayan Salt (optional)

Pulverize walnuts to a meal.  Make sure not to make walnut butter, just a meal.  Sautee onion and bell pepper in oil until limp.  In a large bowl, mash black beans until near smooth.  Add the rest of the ingredients to the beans and mix very well.  Separate mixture into 6 equal pieces and shape into burgers.  In a large skillet, heat some grapeseed oil over medium high heat.  Cook burgers on each side for about 5-7 minutes, until well cooked.  

To make dinner rolls - make batter for Amazing Vegan Bread Sticks and Dinner Rolls (http://veganisnotjustsalad.blogspot.com/2010/12/amazing-vegan-bread-sticks-and-dinner.html).  Separate mixture into four equal pieces.  Flatten until each piece is about 4 inches wide.  Bake for 25-30 minutes.

ENJOY!!!!

sauteed onion and bell pepper

All mixed up

patties

all cooked up

If you don't want the dinner roll, you can just add lettuce leaves, onion and tomatoes and enjoy.

Vegan Espresso Chocolate Chip Muffins

This was my very first go at muffins and I'm a little embarrassed to say that I ate them all in less than 24 hours :/.  To my defense....I did give one of my friends, Judy, a few of them!  I promise!  My friends are all so sweet, they let me use them as guinea pigs for my recipes!  Thanks Judy for being the first brave one!!!!  These muffins are unbelievably good!  I fell in love....I've made 3 batches in one week.....I guess I'll need a little extra time on my Wii this week!!!

Vegan Espresso Chocolate Chip Muffins
1 cup Potato Starch
1/2 cup Tapioca Starch/Flour
1/2 cup Sugar (I used 1/4 cup Herb Stop's Espresso Sugar and 1/4 cup Cane Sugar)
1 tsp Himalayan Salt
2 tsp Herb Stop's Baking Powder
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
3/4 cup Almond Milk
1/4 cup Grapeseed Oil
1/2 cup Vegan/grain-free Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Put muffin cups in th a muffin pan.  In a medium bowl, combine potato, tapioca, xanthan, sugars, salt and baking powder.  Mix well.  Add almond milk, grapeseed oil. Mix very well.  Add chocolate chips and fold in to the batter.  Add the batter to the baking cups - this recipe makes 12 regular sized muffins.  If you like extra sugar - sprinkle some over the top before placing in the oven.  Bake for 25-30 minutes.   Allow to cool over night or immediately peel the baking cups off otherwise they will stick after about 10 minutes and you'll have to wait to eat them until morning.  The next morning the paper should remove from the muffins easily - or use silicone baking cups.  Yummy Yummy!!!!

ready for the oven

fresh out of the oven

Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins/Scones

Lemon Poppy Seed - do I really need to say any more????  ENJOY!!!!

Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins/Scones
1 cup Potato Starch
1/2 cup Tapioca Starch
2 teaspoons Xanthan Gum
1/2 cup Sugar (I used 1/4 cup Herb Stop's Lemon Sugar and 1/4 cup Cane Sugar)
1 teaspoon Salt (I used Herb Stop's Himalayan Salt)
2 teaspoons Herb Stop's Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
3/4 cup Almond Milk
1/4 cup Grapeseed Oil
1 Tbsp Grated Fresh Lemon Peel
1 Tbsp Herb Stop's Poppy Seed

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Put muffin cups in th a muffin pan.  In a medium bowl, combine potato, tapioca, xanthan, sugars, salt, baking powder and poppy seeds.  Mix well.  Add almond milk, grapeseed oil and lemon peel. Mix very well.  Add the batter to the baking cups - this recipe makes 12 regular sized muffins.  If you like extra sugar - sprinkle some over the top before placing in the oven.  Bake for 22-25 minutes.  Allow to cool over night or immediately peel the baking cups off otherwise they will stick after about 10 minutes and you'll have to wait to eat them until morning.  The next morning the paper should remove from the muffins easily - or use silicone baking cups.  Yummy Yummy!!!!

batter all mixed up

Fresh out of the oven

I wanted to eat them right away so I peeled the baking cups off....hehe..I couldn't wait!

Vegan Berry Berry Muffins

Ahh muffins!  Enjoying a muffin seemed to be a memory forever forced to be in the past.....until....
The other morning, I felt inspired to bake.  I haven't done any baking in a long while and I decided to make something tasty!  As I looked through my cookbooks, no recipe seemed like it would work if I changed the flour and used egg replacer, so I just started mixing and voila!  I made all different kinds of muffins - espresso chocolate chip, berry berry and lemon poppy seed.  They are all so delicious!!!  I'll post each recipe separately. ENJOY!

Vegan Berry Berry Muffins
1 cup Potato Starch
1/2 cup Tapioca Starch/Flour
2 tsp. Xanthan Gum
1/2 cup Sugar (I used 1/4 cup Herb Stop's Vanilla Sugar and 1/4 cup Cane Sugar)
1 teaspoon Salt (I used Herb Stop's Himalayan Salt)
2 teaspoons Herb Stop's Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
3/4 cup Almond Milk
1/4 cup Grapeseed Oil
1 1/2 cups Frozen Berry Mix (I used Fresh & Easy's berry mix that had raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and strawberries - I just removed the strawberries and used the rest of the berries)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Put muffin cups in th a muffin pan.  In a medium bowl, combine potato, tapioca, xanthan, sugars, salt and baking powder.  Mix well.  Add almond milk, grapeseed oil and berry mix. Mix very well.  Add the batter to the baking cups - this recipe makes 12 regular sized muffins.  If you like extra sugar - sprinkle some over the top before placing in the oven.  Bake for 22-25 minutes.  Allow to cool over night.  The next morning the paper should remove from the muffins easily.  If you try to remove the paper right after baking, it will just get stuck, so make sure to wait - or use silicone baking cups.  Yummy Yummy!!!!

fresh out of the oven

Easy Quinoa Delight

This morning on my way out the door I realized that I didn't have anything for lunch!  Normally my food takes at least 30 minutes to prepare and I just didn't have that kind of time.  So, I did quick inventory of the kitchen.  I grabbed quinoa, cashews, vegetable broth and our onion soup mix.  I wasn't really sure what was going to happen, but it was going to have to work......and man did it ever!  This turned out to be delicious!!!!

Easy Quinoa Delight
1 cup quinoa
1 cup cashew halves/pieces
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
2 teaspoons Herb Stop's Onion Soup & Dip Mix
2 teaspoons Herb Stop's Vegetable Broth Powder
2 1/2 cups water
chives - optional
Herb Stop's Sel Gris salt - optional

Heat oil in a medium sauce pan.  Once hot, add quinoa and cashews and sautee until the oil has been absorbed.  Add onion soup and vegetable broth and still until well combined.  Add water.  Cover and simmer until the water is fully absorbed (about 20 minutes).  Serve hot with some chives and salt sprinkled over the top.  YUMMY!

quinoa and cashews mixed with the spices and oil

with the added water

Skillet Pizza

Oh pizza...yes, I do miss you the most!  As I've mentioned before, I'm Swiss.  Not eating cheese is blasphemous!  They may never let me back into Switzerland!!!  Swiss roots + classic American food =  PIZZA!  I try all kinds of things for pizza, and found that the crust just doesn't work very well.  So I decided, instead of working against it......go with it!  Put it in a mini skillet!  This pizza is certainly very crumbly, so make sure to leave it in the skillet when serving, just be careful of the hot pan :)  This recipe uses my Vegan Corn Pancake recipe, so what I do is make 2 pancakes for breakfast and the left over batter is put into the skillet for dinner.  Also, the toppings can be changed to whatever you like - you can add sauce, mushrooms, peppers, artichoke hearts, what ever you desire!

Skillet Pizza
1/3 batch Vegan Corn Pancake (http://veganisnotjustsalad.blogspot.com/2010/11/vegan-pancakes.html)
      If you need quick access to that recipe here it is:

• 1 cup Corn Flour
• 3/4 cup Almond Milk
• 1 tablespoon Sugar 
• 2 tablespoons Grapeseed Oil
• 3 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1/4 teaspoon Himalayan Salt
• 1-1/2 teaspoons Ener-G Egg Replacer
• 2 tablespoons Water

1 teaspoons Herb Stop's Pizza Seasoning
1/4 teaspoon Herb Stop's Rosemary Powder
1 teaspoon Herb Stop's Pesto Mix (split into 1/4 teaspoon and 3/4 teaspoons)
Tomato slices (I used 1 Roma)
Onion Slices (I used Red Onion)
any other desired toppings

Preheat oven to 375.  Make pancake mix (this recipe is just for 1 pancake, so make sure to only use 1/3 of the batch or to adjust the other ingredients if making more than one pizza).  Add pizza seasoning, rosemary powder, and 1/4 teaspoon pesto mix.  Mix well and pour into a mini skillet.  Cook for 10-15 minutes, or until pancake is fluffy and no longer wet, but not browned.  Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes.  Place topping on the pancake crust, add the rest of the pesto mix and bake for another 7-15 minutes (this depends on your toppings).  Make sure to wrap the handle so you don't burn yourself as your eating.  ENJOY!!!

before baking the second time

Vegan Potato Leek Soup

Ahhh potatoes and leeks, what could be better???  It's like seasoned mashed potatoes in a bowl!  This is my mom's recipe that she has been making since we were little.  The problem with most recipes....bacon!  YUCK!  So here we have a pig-free, deliciously creamy, flavorful potato leek soup!  ENJOY!

Vegan Potato Leek Soup
6 medium-small russet potatoes (bigger than new potatoes, smaller than medium potato - or 2 1/2 very large potatoes) - if they are organic you can leave the peel on, other wise peeled and diced into 1/2 inch - 1 inch cubes.
1 large leek - separated, washed, then sliced
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
water
Himalayan salt - optional
Nutritional yeast - optional

In a large saucepan, add grapeseed oil and heat over medium heat.  Add leeks and sautee until limp.  Add potatoes. Add enough water to cover plus 1/2 inch.  Bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer and simmer for 45 minutes, or until potatoes are very soft.  Let cool for 15-25 minutes (you don't want the plastic melting on your blender!)  Using a hand-held blending stick, blend until creamy.    Serve hot with optional salt and nutritional yeast to give a cheesy flavor.

chopped leeks

limp leeks

with added potatoes

covered with water

ready for the blender

I'm back, but it was rough!

This holiday season really took a hold of me.  I love Christmas time, but this year it was a little somber.  My baby, Mu, is a tiny little chihuahua.  I adopted her when she was 6 weeks old and she just turned seven, so we've been together a pretty long time.  My little Mu means the world to me and I spoil her as much as possible.  

One day I was massaging her and I found a very hard lump.  Because Mu only weights 4 1/2 - 5 lbs, getting her to eat everything on her plate is quite the challenge.  She would eat around the herbs and vegetables I was giving her to shrink the lump - she was definitely not a good patient!  After 3 months, the lump was not shrinking and I knew that I would have to go see someone about it.  The doctor told me that we needed to remove it right away (I already knew this would be the case) and she also said it was important to spay her so that she doesn't end up with a uterine infection.  I agreed that this would probably be the best for her.  

On the 23rd morning I took her to the vet.  She was scared to leave me and I cried too.  Unfortunately for the doctor, I'm one of those people that calls every hour to see what's happening.  The first time, she was doing well in surgery.  The second time she was out of surgery and sitting up, looking at the doctor - everything went perfectly.  Then, at around noon I had a feeling of uneasiness.  I called again and the doctor got on the phone and said, "I'm not going to sugar coat it, it's not good".  To my surprise, I said "what do you mean?  I thought everything was fine?".  Well long story short, Mu's blood pressure dropped, her temperature went down to 94 (Supposed to be 101), her pulse was low and she lost her color.  I called my husband - hysterical.  He came to the shop and I asked him to call the doctor because once she told me the bad news, my brain stopped listening.  

The doctor said, she was not getting worse, but she wasn't getting better.  They were giving her warm IV fluids, steroids, had her on a heating pad - doing everything they could to help her.  There was concern she might have Addison's disease.  Of course at this point I'm telling my husband, I shouldn't have done the surgery, she would have been fine for at least a few more years, I could have forced her to take more herbs, I was in full blaming-myself-mode.  

After talking to the doctor, we decided it would be best if I left and went down there to be with her.  Who knows, maybe I had some mystical magic touch that would save her?  Maybe the sound of my voice would help?  Maybe if I begged her not to leave, she would listen?

I arrived first and they took me in the back where she was in her cage (that makes it sound horrible - it's more like a huge cube that happens to be able to close into a cage), hooked up to every machine possible.  Blood pressure, they had her heart beat on a speaker, IV fluids .... everything.  They were keeping a close eye on her.  As I walked up to her, she barely opened her eyes.  I started crying hysterically saying "mu please don't leave me, please, please, please don't leave me".  The technicians eyes were starting to well up as I was begging her not to go.  I was petting her, talking to her, crying, it was very emotional.

When I first arrived, she would barely move.

Next, my husband arrived.  Mu loves him so much, so I'm sure this helped as well.  Since my husband is a paramedic, he was asking all those kinds of questions - much more together than I was...for sure.  The technicians lifted up her cheek to show us her gums, which was a shock - they were grey not a pretty pink.  About 30 minutes later they checked her blood pressure and it had returned to normal-ish, her temperature had started to go up a little, but this was mostly due to the IV and heating pads.  The goal was to get her to do this on her own.  

For the next three hours, we sat with her, petting her, sending her as much love as possible and of course, I continued to beg her not to leave me.  At that time, the doctor recommended we do a test for Addison's.  I asked what it entailed - one blood draw, one IM shot and another blood draw.  Of course, my first instinct was no way, she can't be subject to more pain and stress.  They told me the shot alone was $125, which of course I didn't care about, I just wanted her to come back to me.  After my husband and I finished talking together, we agreed to do the test, just in case.  

The blood draw was easy.  She didn't even mind at all.  But then it came time for the IM shot.  As they gave it to her, she screamed over and over.  Of course I cried some more and thought "I shouldn't have done that either".  I thought I was making all the wrong decisions.  

About an hour later, she started opening her eyes a little more.  So I asked her some questions....are you hungry? do you want a treat? do you want to go out?  do you have to go potty?  Apparently potty is the magic word.  She lifted her head!!!  We took her outside.  She just sat there.  I started making her walk around.  After a few minutes she finally went.  She made a beeline for the door to go back in, which seemed like a good thing to me.

Back into her area she went.  They lifted up her lip and her gums were turning pink! Her temperature was 99!  She was coming back to me.  After another couple hours the doctor decided she could go home around 5-ish, but the catheter in her arm was to stay in and I was instructed to flush it with the two syringes they gave me with heparin and saline solution ever 5 hours. 

Finally she started coming to.

I took my baby home.  It was a rough night.  When she cried I sat up wondering what was wrong.  When she didn't cry, I sat up wondering why she wasn't making noise.  Needless to say, I sat up all night just watching her, flushing that catheter and giving her homeopathic remedies.  

Sort of sleeping - in her bed, on my bed.

She was so silly - all drugged up.  She just kept her tongue out of her mouth the whole night.  

I held her as much as I could.

In the morning she growled at the cat.  I knew she was back!  I took her back to the vet and they took the catheter out and told me to continue to keep an eye on her.  Of course, for the next week and a half I stayed up watching her.  She got homeopathic remedies in every which way possible.  I put them in her water, in her cheeks, her food, wherever I could, I did.  Her appetite is now enormous!  They removed the stitches Friday, and she looks wonderful!

So, needless to say my poor blog has suffered.  I do have a few recipes to post today and I'll do that as soon as I finish this up.

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and a happy new year!!!!