Cornbread

We made these into muffins instead of regular cornbread. They were insanely delicious, and went so well with the sweet potato lentil stew!!

Cornbread

serves 12

 

Ingredients:

1 cup sorghum or maple syrup

1 1/4 cups soy milk (or soy/rice blnd)

1/4 cup safflower oil

1 1/2 cups cornmeal

1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp fine sea salt

 

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Oil a 9"x9" (or similar size) baking dish or 12-cup muffin tin. Combine the sorghum, soy milk, and oil in a medium bowl and mix well. In another bowl, stir together the cornmeal, flour, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture, and mix just until well combined. 

 

2. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cornbread or a muffin comes out clean. They will be golden brown when done.

Sweet Potato Lentil Stew

Wow. Amazing. This is definitely one of the best lentil dishes we have made yet. Extremely flavorful and very filling. It can be served alone as a stew, over rice or couscous, or with the delicious corn muffins we made to go with it. The sweet flavor of the sweet potatoes was complimented perfectly by the corn muffins. Both recipes are out of Alicia Silverstone's book, The Kind Diet.

 

Sweet Potato Lentil Stew

serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:

1/4 cup safflower oil

1 medium onion, diced

2 small tomatoes, diced

1 tsp minced fresh ginger

1 1/2 tsp turmeric

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp cayenne

fine sea salt

2-3 medium swet potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4" cubes

7 cups vegetable broth

1 cup brown lentils

 

Directions:

1. Heat the oil over medium heat in a large, deep pot. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes or until the onion starts to soften. Stir in the tomatoes and ginger and cook for 3 minutes. Stir in the turmeric, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, cayenne, and a small pinch of salt. Cook and stir for 2 minutes, then taste for seasonings; try to use only enough salt to heighten the flavors. 

 

2. Add the sweet potatoes, broth, and lentils. Stir well, and bring to a boil over high heat. When the mixture comes to a boil, reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 40 minutes or until the lentils and sweet potatoes are soft. 

 

Note: We used grape tomatoes that we already had in the fridge instead of regular sized tomatoes. We also used green lentils and left out the coriander, since it's not my favorite spice, and added fresh parsley for a substitute.We didn't skin the potatoes either.

Vegan Cardamon Scented Chocolate Chip Cookies

I cannot even begin to tell you how amazing these cookies are. The flavor of cardamon and cinnamon along with the coconut oil are sinfully delicious! This recipe is from karmachow.com, Tony Horton's chef's website.

 

Vegan Cardamon Scented Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups spelt or oat flour
3/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1 cup grain sweetened chocolate chips
1/2 tsp sea salt
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cardamom
2/3 cup agave nectar
2/3 cup coconut oil, melted
2 Tbsp almond milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

 

Directions:

1. Preheat Oven to 350 degrees. Place dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir to combine.

2.  Combine wet ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk together. Add wet mixture to dry and stir together with a wooden spoon until combined. Refrigerate for 10 minutes. 

3. Place by the tablespoon on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove and cool on a wire rack.

 

Note: I used oat flour insead of spelt. I haven't used spelt before, but I really like the nutty flavor that oat flour has. I used coconut milk instead of soy milk and actually didn't have enough agave to fill the 2/3 cup measure, so I substituted maple syrup for the rest, and they came out wonderful!! =)

 

 

Ratatouille

This is a classic vegetable stew type dish that is sometimes used as a side dish, but there are beans added to this recipe to make it more of a main course. We ate ours over some brown rice penne! It's a very colorful dish with a nice refreshing taste! =)  Another one from 1000 Vegan Recipes.

 

Ratatouille

Makes 4 to 6 servings

 

 

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 medium eggplant, peeled and chopped

1 medium red bell pepper, chopped

1 medium yellow bell pepper, chopped

2 medium zucchini, chopped

1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 1/2 cups cooked or 1 (15.5-ounce) can white beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup vegetable broth, homemade or store-bought, or water

1 tsp dried marjoram

1 tsp dried thyme

2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley

  

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, cover, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds. Stir in the eggplant, red and yellow bell peppers, zucchini, tomatoes, and beans. Add the salt and pepper and cook, uncovered, stirring, for 5 minutes.

 

2. Add the broth, marjoram, and thyme. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer until the vegetables are tender but not mushy, about 30 minutes. Stir in the parsley and taste, adjusting seasonings if necessary. Serve immediately.

Coconut Red Lentil Curry

We have cooked with curry paste here and there, but nothing really adventurous, so we decided to try this recipe out that I found on vegnews.com. What a surprise! I wasn't sure I was going to like it, but it was wonderful! It had just enough spice to be slightly spicy without overbearing, and had a great flavor.

 

Coconut Red Lentil Curry

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon unrefined, organic coconut oil
1 cup diced yellow onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 cups red lentils
2 cans organic coconut milk
4 to 6 cups water (enough to cover all ingredients)
1/2 cup diced carrot
1/2 cup diced celery
2 cups diced sweet potato
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 to 2 tablespoons curry powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

 

 

 Directions:

 

1. Sauté onion in the coconut oil over medium heat for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and sea salt, stir, and cook for one minute more. 

 

2.  Add the lentils, coconut milk, water, and remaining ingredients. Cover and bring to a boil. 

 

3. Stir well, reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 30-45 minutes more, until the lentils are cooked through and creamy. Add more salt and pepper to taste. 

 

 

Note: After cooking for about 45 minutes, it thickened up nicely. We thought about having it with rice, but there is already a lot of carbs in the curry. It was delicious without it =)

 

Three-Bean Chili

I have to say, I've never used canned chiles or canned chipotle chiles before, but it gives the chili almost a spicy, smoky flavor. I'm not sure if the recipe had a typo in it, or if it really calls for 3 Tbsp of chili powder, but we only had about 2 1/2, and WOW!! SPICY! So, I think I'd probably knock it down to 1 Tbsp, maybe 1 1/2, or to taste. But the flavor was very good and we were very happy with it! =)

 

Three-Bean Chili

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes

1 (2-ounce) can chopped mild green chiles, drained

1 cup water

3 Tbs chili powder, or to taste

1 canned chipolte chile in adobo, minced

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp dried marjoram

1/2 tsp sugar

1 1/2 cups cooked or 1 (15.5-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 1/2 cups cooked or 1 (15.5-ounce) can Great Northern or other white beans, drained and rinsed

1 1/2 cups cooked or 1 (15.5-ounce) can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, cover, and cook until softened, about 7 minutes.

2. Add the tomatoes, green chiles, water, chili powder, chipolte, cumin, marjoram, and sugar. Stir in the black beans, Great Northern beans, and kidney beans and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, for 45 minutes. 

3. Uncover, and cook an additional 10 minutes to allow flavors to develop and the chili to thicken. Serve immediately.

Herb Garden!

Last year we decided that we were going to try and plant as much of a garden as we could on the balcony of our condo. It worked out pretty well for a first try. Take a look!

 

Chocolate mint, feverfew, chamomile, and valerian, with lavender in the middle pot.

 

 Sage, peppermint, oregano, spearmint, and lemon balm.

 

 Nice big pot of basil. 

 

Tyson helping me garden! =) 

 

Palm, violet, lamb's ear, pepper plant with marigolds, and a pretty pot of flowers.

 

Hen and chicks, and wildflowers.

 

 Pot of flowers =) Red geraniums are supposed to protect your home.

This year, I decided to try and start growing seeds inside before we plant them outdoors. I planted them 3 days ago and they're already starting to sprout!

 

So far, the calendula (edible marigolds), thyme, and catgrass are sprouting!

We have a few plants left from last year, but the only ones that are still thriving are the aloe and the lavender. The lavender was actually outside all winter long and flourished!! We did bring the aloe inside, but put it out a week ago or so.

 

Hopefully, come spring, we'll have a lot of sprouted herbs to plant outside in our garden. In such a busy area, it's nice to have a little bit of comfort, even if it is something as simple as a garden of fresh herbs.