Recipes

Christmas Eve Party of 4

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This Christmas Eve we had my parents over for a little holiday party with drinks and appetizers. There was also a round of Scattergories, a photo shoot and a movie before heading to bed to wait for Santa to arrive.

Roasted Artichoke Salad: Preheat oven to 400F. Toss 1 package of frozen artichoke hearts that have been defrosted with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Roast for 25 minutes. Whisk together the dressing for the salad: 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar, 1/4 cup olive oil, 2 tsp dijon mustard, and 1 tsp agave. Toss dressing with warm artichoke hearts and 1 tablespoon of capers; serve room temperature.

Trio of olives: garlic stuffed, oil cured, & Greek Mix

Veggies with Ranch Dip

Crackers with Wayfare Hickory Cheddar Spread

Gardein Chik'n Fingers with Smoked Paprika Dip: For the Dip- 1/4 cup sour supreme, 1/4 cup vegenaise, 1 heaping tsp of hot smoked paprika, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp dried parsley, 1/4 tsp onion powder, salt and pepper to taste- whisk together!

Bourbon Spiked Soy Nog

Chocolate Bock Gingerbread Cupcakes with Orange Spice Glaze

After eating and drinking came photos:



Chocolate Bock Gingerbread Cupcakes

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To me it really doesn’t seem like Christmas without gingerbread.  We usually make gingerbread cookies or gingersnaps, which I know isn’t the same as gingerbread but we like ginger something at Christmas.  This year I decided to make cupcakes but not just any cupcakes these ones have beer in them, Chocolate Bock to be exact.  The Chocolate Bock is a dark beer that is slightly sweet.

Makes 18 cupcakes

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup vegan margarine (Earth Balance)
  • 1 cup raw sugar
  • 3 “eggs” (I used Egg Replacer)
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp cloves
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 cup molasses
  • 1 cup Chocolate Bock or other dark beer (stout or dark bock would work best)

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350F and line a 12 cupcake pan and a 6 cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
  2. In a stand mixer or large bowl with an electric beater, cream together the margarine and raw sugar.  Beat in the “eggs” until combined.
  3. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, cloves, and nutmeg.
  4. In a another medium bowl combine the molasses and beer and stir to dissolve.
  5. Add the dry ingredients and beer mixture alternately to the margarine mixture, beating after the addition of each.
  6. Fill the cupcake liners until about 3/4 full and bake for 20-22 minutes until lightly browned and when a tooth pick is inserted it comes out clean.
  7. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes in the pan and then remove and continue to cool on a wire rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, frost with vanilla frosting or glaze with my orange spice glaze (recipe below).

Orange Spice Glaze

Ingredients:

  • 1 box of lite silken tofu (I used mori-nu)
  • zest and juice of 1 medium orange
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/8 tsp ginger
  • 1.5 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

  1. Place all ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth.

Recipe: Scrambled Tofu al la Hubz

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I’ve been sick with a fever and the flu since Saturday night so little cooking has been happening at our house.  The hubz however made a tofu scramble for himself last night that he was really proud of so I decided to post his recipe.

Ingredients:

  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 medium yellow onion – thinly sliced and caramelized
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 5 mushrooms, sliced
  • 1/2 block of extra firm tofu, crumbled
  • 2 T of braggs (you can use soy sauce)
  • 1/2 t of smoked hot paprika
  • 1/2 t of tumeric
  • sprinkle of crushed red peppers
  • sprinkle of italian seasoning
  • 2 cups of baby spinach
  • salt/pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. In a medium skillet over medium-high heat  the olive oil; add the onions and cook until caramelized.
  2. Stir in the garlic and mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes.  Stir in the spices and tofu and cook for 5-6 minutes.
  3. Stir in the baby spinach and cook until wilted. Taste and season with salt and pepper

Hot Cocoa Pumpkin Chip Cookies

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The Hubz and I both at a craving for something sweet last night, however we are trying to watch our sweet intake as well as sugar in general. However it is the time of year for sweet treats so I decided to create something slighly lower in sugar and oil but still really tasty.

Makes 18-20 cookies

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup vegan margarine, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup raw sugar
  • 1/4 cup vegan hot chocolate mix
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
  • 3/4 cup spelt flour (could substitute white flour)
  • 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven 350F

  • With a stand mixer or electric beaters, cream the vegan margarine, pumpkin puree, peanut butter, sugar and vanilla for 4 minutes.
  • In a medium bowl stir together the baking powder, baking soda, salt, whole wheat flour, and spelt four.  In the stand mixer on low or with a wooden spoon slowly add in the dry mixture until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
  • Using a measuring spoon scoop out heaping tablespoons of dough and place on a parchment lined baking sheet, bake for 14-16 minutes until lightly browned. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet before removing and placing on a cooling rack. The cookies may seem slightly soft but once they cool on the baking sheet they will begin to firm up.

Sneak Peak

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As I stated earlier this week I am working on a new e-book, which I hope to release at the end of March.  Until then you will be able to get sneak peaks of what I am creating in the kitchen.  I also will be getting a flicker page together so that my testers can post their shots as well.  Here is a sneak of last nights dinner: Rosemary-Balsamic Roasted Tempeh & Mushroom Skewers, Spicy Maple Sweet Potatoes and Cheezy Kale.

I am still looking for a few testers so if you are interested please email me.

Slow Cooker Smoky Pumpkin Chili

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As soon as the snow comes so do the chilis at our house. Yesterday was going to be a busy afternoon so I decided to get a head start on dinner before I went to work. I honestly rarely use our slow cooker and it has been in a box for the last year, however I decided that I would give it another try. Besides slow cooked food is always better especially when it comes to soups and chilis.
I have to say I used to be a little lost about how the slow cooker worked and years ago i decided I wanted to make chili in the slow cooker so I chopped everything up and placed it in the slow cooker, turned it on and then thought it was just going to cook everything perfectly…including the uncooked rice I had added to the chili. Boy did I learn my lesson- there are certain things that need to be cooked prior to being placed in the slow cooker (like uncooked rice).

That being said I learned my lesson and this chili turned out really delicious.

Slow Cooker Smoky Pumpkin Chili

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 3 carrots, diced
  • 3 celery stalks, diced
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons chipotle chili powder or you can use 2 chipotles in adobo diced**
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoons pepper
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1 (15oz) can of low sodium vegetable broth, reserve 2 tablespoons
  • 1  (15oz) can no-salt added diced tomatoes
  • 1 (15oz) can brown lentils, drained and rinsed
  • 1 (150z) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 1 tablespoon lite soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon umeboshi plum vinegar (optional)*
  • 2 teaspoons cocoa powder (make sure it’s unsweetened)
  • 1 cup frozen corn
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, add in the onions, carrots and celery; saute for 10 minutes.
  2. Stir in the garlic, spices and 2 tablespoons of vegetable broth into the onion mixture, cook for 1 minute.
  3. Add the pumpkin, vegetable broth, tomatoes, lentils, chickpeas, lite soy, umeboshi plum vinegar, cocoa powder and onion mixture to the slow cooker.  Stir to combine and then cover and turn the slow cooker onto low for 6 to 8 hours.
  4. After 5-6 hours stir in the corn and taste for salt and pepper.

*You could use red wine vinegar.

**Chipotle is essential to make this chili smoky

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