Recipes

Learning To Juggle

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Since the holidays I have been keeping busy working on a number of new projects for the blog and my health counseling; this, on top of attempting to have a social life and work my regular job as well. I am happy to say that after this Friday things should get back to their regular pace and I will have a number of really great blog posts coming at you. For now, here is a sneak peak into what I have been working on lately:

Health Counseling

I have been working hard at completing my modules as well as taking time to market myself.  I have contacted a number of businesses about doing nutrition and wellness workshops which I hope will start up in February/March.  I also have been working, rather the Hubz has been working on getting my website for my health counseling business (Health and Wellness with Lindsay) up and running

My health counseling brochure:

Vegan Cookbook Club

I am proud to say that the Vegan Cookbook Club is up and running and we have an number of participants for our first book Veganomicon. The start date for Book #1 is Jaunary 16th so if you are interested in participating please contact me.


Ebook #2

I have been working hard at creating recipes for my second ebook and with the help from my really amazing and dedicated testers it should be released the first week of February; one month ahead of schedule.  There will be 25-30 recipes in this e-book featuring brunch, lunch & dinner recipes for the whole family.

Cook.Vegan.Lover. Survey

I have been spending time (when I have it) to go over the results of the Cook.Vegan.Lover. Survey in preparation to write a blog post discussing the results and the improvements that you will see on Cook.Vegan.Lover.  You will not be seeing any huge changes but rather I will be attempting to improve what is already here.  I really appreciate the open and honest feedback from all of you because it helps me to be a better blogger.

Okay I’ll Let You Sneak A Peak

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Over the past few weeks I have been working hard on creating new recipes for my second e-book. This new e-book will feature a variety of brunch, lunch and dinner recipes.  My testers have been hard at work getting recipes tested and thanks to their dedication I hope to release the e-book the first week of February! Here is a photo sneak peak:

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:



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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Quinoa Stuffed Squash

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Over the last few weeks we have received a number of small carnival squash in our CSA and I have been attempting to find a delicious and creative way to use them  One of my girlfriends was in town and came over for dinner so I decided that I would make stuffed squash with sauteed kale and dijon balsamic roasted beets.

Quinoa Stuffed Squash

  • 4 small squash, Carnival or Acorn would work well
  • 1T olive oil, divided
  • 1 cup quinoa, cooked according to package
  • 1.5 cups water
  • 1T olive oil
  • 1 Red Bell Pepper, small dice
  • 1 Small onion, small dice
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 can of black eyed peas, rinsed and drained
  • 1t Italian Seasoning
  • 1t Salt
  • 1/2t pepper
  • 1/2t garlic powder
  • 1/2 cup vegetable broth +2T AP flour, whisked together

Preheat oven to 350F.

Cut the tops off the squash about 1 inch down. Scoop the seeds out of the squash and drizzle each with 1/4T of olive oil and salt and pepper.  Reserve the tops to the side. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 35 minutes.

While the squash is baking- in a large skillet heat the tablespoon of olive oil over medium high heat.  Toss in the onions and peppers in the oil for 3-5 minutes until soft.  Stir in the garlic and black eyed peas for a minute. Add in the spices, salt, pepper and vegetable broth mixture.  Heat until the sauce has thickened, about 7-10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the cooked quinoa.

Remove the squash from the oven and stuff until just slightly overfilled.  Place the tops back on and bake for an additional 30-40 minutes until the squash is soft, test with a tip of a knife.