Nori Rolls

I have had Nori in the cupboard for quite a while and I finally used them! They were delicious! I used Ani Phyo’s “Ginger Almond Nori Roll” recipe. You can check out the video recipe here. I dipped them in Liquid Aminos with a little agave nectar added. YUM!

I really like pesto sauce, so I’ve tried a few recipes since I started cooking vegan. This recipe is by far the best one we’ve had and my hubby and I devoured it! YUM! YUM! YUM! The recipe is a modification of the Pesto Presto in THIS COOKBOOK.

3 Garlic Cloves, crushed

1/3 cup Macadamia nuts, raw

1/2 teaspoon Salt

3 cups Fresh Basil Leaves

1 teaspoon Miso

1/3 cup Olive Oil

In a food processor or Vitamix, combine the garlic, macadamias and salt and process to a paste. Add the basil and miso and process until pureed. With the machine running, stream in the oil, blending to incorporate.

Try it! You won’t be disappointed

For over 20 years as a vegetarian, my hubby’s favorite soup was “cream of broccolli”. You know, comfort food at it’s best Well, I decided I need to try a vegan cream of broccoli soup from every cookbook that I own until we find our favorite! I don’t have a picture, sorry. But, we really liked the last one that I made from "1000 Vegan Recipes"

For the recipe, CLICK HERE and then click “look inside” and do a search for “Cream of Broccoli Soup”.

I got a few new cookbooks for Christmas from my son and my hubby picked out some recipes he wanted me to try out. This Mac n’ Cheeze is from “Vegan Comfort Food”.

My family liked it more than any other vegan mac n’ cheeze that I’ve tried!

I had posted a link to the book, but it wasn’t working, so here is the recipe:

1 pound elbow macaroni

2 med. yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced

1 med. carrot, peeled and diced

2/3 cup yellow onion, diced

2 1/2 cups water

2/3 cup canola oil

1/3 cup raw cashews

1/3 cup macadamia nuts

2 teaspoons salt

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1/4 teaspoon dry mustard

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 cup plain bread crumbs, optional

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly oil a 3 quart casserole dish.

Prepare the pasta according to directions. Drain and set aside.

Combine the potatoes, carrots, onion and 2 1/2 cups water in a small saucepan and set over medium heat. Bring to a boil, turn down the heat until the water is simmering and cook, uncovered, 10 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

Put the oil, cashews, macadamias, salt, garlic, dry mustard, lemon juice, black pepper, cayenne and cooked veggies with the cooking water into a blender and process until completely smooth.

Toss cooked pasta with blended cheeze sauce until it is completely coated. Transfer the mixture into the casserole dish and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake for 30 mins. or until bubbling.

I still don’t have my camera back, so I’m using my iphone to take photos. Not the greatest quality, that’s for sure.
Anyway, I made this delicious smoothie the other day. 1/2 batch coconut water from a Thai Young coconut (I drank the other half on it’s own,love it!), 2 bananas, 2 handfuls Baby Spinach, 2 Kiwis and 6 ice cubes blended in my vitamix.

Thai Young Coconut Water

Coconut Water, Banana, Kiwi, Spinach Smoothie

Bananas on my tree

I haven’t posted in forever because my camera is being repaired. Just wanted to mention it

Vegan Christmas Eve Dinner 2010

I made a vegan dinner on Christmas Eve for my family and my son’s GF.

The Menu:

Vegan Loaf, Gravy, Garlic Sweet Potatoes, Stuffing, corn and Sourdough rolls.

This is the 1st time I’ve tried making a vegan loaf and everyone loved it! I made the recipe with The Magical Loaf Studio You should try it!

I also made my own stuffing and gravy. Everything was delicious

Tammy’s Christmas Loaf

Ingredients:

1/2 cup cashews
2 TB olive oil
One onion, diced
One large garlic clove, minced
One large carrot, peeled and grated
Two celery ribs, diced
2 cups cooked garbanzo beans, partly mashed
1 cup cooked quinoa
1/4 to 1/2 cup vegetable broth, as needed
1 heaping TB flaxseed meal
1/2 tsp. fresh thyme, minced
1 tsp. fresh sage, minced
2 TB nutritional yeast flakes
Several dashes vegetarian Worcestershire Sauce
2 TB soy sauce

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350º. Spray a loaf pan or 8×8 square baking pan with nonstick spray and set aside (an 8×8 pan makes a crisper loaf).

Grind the cashews into a coarse meal using a food processor or spice/coffee grinder. Place in a large mixing bowl and set aside.

Sauté vegetables  in the olive oil until soft. Add to the large mixing bowl along with all the remaining ingredients. Mix and mash together well, adding only as much liquid as needed to create a soft, moist loaf that holds together and is not runny (you may not need to add any liquid if the grains and protein are very moist). Add more binder/carbohydrate as needed if the loaf seems too wet.

Press mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until cooked through.

Let the loaf cool in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes, then turn out onto a plate or platter and slice.

Tammy’s Sensational Stuffing

Ingredients:

1 Loaf Day Old French or Sour Dough Bread, cubed (about 6 cups)

1/2 a Sweet or Yellow Onion, chopped

2 Celery Stalks, chopped

1 Tbs. Olive Oil

1 tsp. Fresh Sage, minced

1 tsp. Fresh Thyme, minced

1/4 Cup Pinenuts

1 Cup Veggie Broth

Directions:

Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the onion and celery and sauté over medium heat until soft and golden. Add the sage, thyme and pine nuts. Saute for about 1-2 minutes.

Combine the bread cubes with the onion mix in a mixing bowl and toss together. Sprinkle the broth in slowly, stirring, to moisten the ingredients evenly.

Transfer the mixture to an greased shallow 1 1/2-quart baking pan or casserole dish. Bake covered 15 minutes and uncovered another 10 minutes, or until slightly brown on top.

Tammy’s Groovy Gravy

Ingredients:

2 cups Vegetable Broth

2 Tbs. Vegan Margarine

2 1/2 Tbs. Flour

1 tsp. Olive Oil

8 oz. Mushrooms, sliced thinly

1/2 cup Diced Onion

1/2 tsp. Fresh Thyme, minced

1/2 tsp. Fresh Sage, minced

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a saute pan over med. heat. Add onion and mushrooms and saute until soft and slightly brown adding the thyme and sage for the last 2 minutes. Set aside. Melt margarine in med. saucepan on med. heat and add flour, whisking for about 2 minutes. Slowly add vegetable broth and whisk until thicked and well combined. Pour all ingredients in a blender and blend for about 30 seconds, or until smooth. Salt and pepper to taste.

Your gravy is only going to be as good as your broth, so be sure to use a broth that you really like.

This is what I use:

My Favorite Vegetable Stock

I made a yummy smoothie this morning and wanted to share.
1 cup Frozen Blueberries
1 cup Vanilla Hemp Milk
1 Banana
1 heaping teaspoon ground Flaxseed

I buy my flaxseed in bulk and grind it with my mini food processor. 

This was really good and I’ll definetely make it again.

Blueberry, banana, vanilla hemp milk, flaxseed smoothie

Flaxseed/Ground Flaxseed

Costco Frozen Blueberries

TJ's Vanilla Hemp Milk

Some Kinda Nut Burgers

I made “Some Kinda Nut Burgers” from my 1000 Vegan Recipes cookbook last night. I loved them, but my husband and kids compared them to falafel patties. They weren’t too excited about them. I used 3/4 almonds and 1/4 cashews. I served them on a bun with avacado, tomato, lettuce, hot wing sauce, vegenaise and mustard. I don’t know…I’ll probably make them again, but first I’ll try some of the other burger recipes in the 1000 Vegan Recipes cookbook.

Love to have these as an appetizer or snack!
Just bake at 350 for about 10 minutes on each side and thaw the dipping sauce in warm water. Mmmmmmmmm

A snack that I like from TJs are these Wasabi peas