Perfect Pesto

Perfect Pesto

We have about 10 basil plants growing in the backyard and it is time to start preparing for the fall garden.  Today my husband pulled one up and I started making some pesto for the freezer.  I made the pesto, put it in some freezer safe jars and put them in the freezer.  Oh...and we saved some and are about to eat some with some quinoa. Yummie!!!!

 
The Ingredients

1 cup of Basil
1/4 cup of macadamia nuts (cashews or pine nuts can be used also)
1/4 cup of Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons of Lemon Juice (fresh squeezed is the best) 
3 Garlic Cloves
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon of cayenne (if you like it hot...if not, use less or none)

The Procedure

Place all of the ingredients in a Vita-Mix blender (or a food processor will do) and blend/process until

smooth. 

How To Eat

• Over any pasta
• on a sandwich
• with crackers
• as a dip or spread

   
 

Collard Wraps

Collard Wraps

We are currently eating a raw vegan diet. For how long? Who knows? We are not being super strict about it. If we are out and have to grab a bag of chips or eat something that is not raw....no biggie. While we are at home, we are trying to stick to raw as much as possible.

One of the easiest and most tasty things to make are collard wraps! 

The Ingredients:

Collards (1 leaf for each wrap)

Fillings (whatever you want in it)

Our fillings change every time depending on what's in our fridge.  Fillings can range from chickpea salad, salad dressing, tabouli, sprouts, salad greens, hummus, and much more.  Just be creative!!!!  It's pretty hard to mess up a collard wrap.

The Procedure:
 

Lay your collard green flat (the top side facing down).

Place your fillings on the wrap.

Roll the collard green and hold together with a toothpick.

Now Eat!!! Nom Nom!!!! 

The Procedure Storybook:

Lay your collard green flat (the top side facing down).

Place your fillings on the wrap.

Roll the collard green and hold together with a toothpick.

Now Eat!!! Nom Nom!!!!

Vegan Fettucine Alfredo

Vegan Fettucine Alfredo

Fettucine Alfredo was one of my favorite Italian dishes. I loved Fettucine Alfredo more than spaghetti!!!! I had to figure out a way to make it!!!! Here goes!!!!
The Ingredients:


1 1/2 cups of corn kernels (fresh, canned or frozen - however you like)
1 1/2 cups of non-dairy milk (coconut, almond, soy, rice, etc.)
2 tablespoons of tahini
1 tablespoon of chopped onion (red or white - your preference)
1 tablespoon of nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon of salt
1 lb of Fettucine
Cracked Black Pepper to taste

The Procedure: 

If you are using fresh corn, cob it! If you are using canned corn, drain it! If you are using frozen corn, thaw it and drain it! Place the corn, milk, tahini, onion, nutritional yeast, and salt into a blender. Process until the mixture is completely smooth.

Pour the mixture into a sauce pan and warm over medium-low heat. Stir often.

Cook the fettucine while the sauce is heating. When fettucine becomes tender, drain well and return to pot. Add the sauce and toss until noodles are coated. Top it off with cracked pepper and serve immediately.

Enjoy! Nom Nom!!!

The Procedure Story Book:

If you are using fresh corn, cob it! If you are using canned corn, drain it! If you are using frozen corn, thaw it and drain it! Place the corn, milk, tahini, onion, and salt into a blender. Process until the mixture is completely smooth.

Pour the mixture into a sauce pan and warm over medium-low heat. Stir often.

Cook the fettucine while the sauce is heating. When fettucine becomes tender, drain well and return to pot.  

Add the sauce and toss until noodles are coated. 

 Top it off with cracked pepper and serve immediately.

 For even more nutritional value...add some dulse flakes!!!!

Dill Cabbage Soup

Dill Cabbage Soup

We harvested several cabbages from the garden and I wanted to try something new.  Since it's still winter time....I decided to try a cabbage soup.  We also had a lot of dill in the garden, so I went with a Dill Cabbage Soup.  It turned out lovely!  If you are not a big fan of dill, I would most definitely cut back on the dill.  If you're a dill lover, keep it the way it is!!!  I don't really like cooking when I get home during the work week, so I made big batch so we could have leftovers during the week.  This recipe made enough for 10 servings.  You could always cut the recipe in half if needed.

The Ingredients:

800 - 1000 g of cabbage, sliced how you like
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 large onion, diced
2 carrots, sliced
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
2 teaspoons paprika
3 tomatoes, pureed
8 cups vegetable stock
1 pepper (you choose, we used Serrano)
1/2 cup fresh dill, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
cayenne (optional if you like it spicy)

The Procedure:

Chop the onion, red bell pepper, and pepper. Slice the carrots.  Put the olive oil in a pot with the onion, red bell pepper, pepper and carrots and saute over medium heat for 5 minutes.  Add the paprika, salt, black pepper and cayenne (optional) and saute for another minute.  Add the chopped cabbage to the pot and stir well.  Try to coat the cabbage with the seasonings as much as possible.  Put a lid over the pot and let it cook for another 3 minutes.

Now add the pureed tomatoes and vegetable stock.  Bring the soup to a boil.  Once the soup begins to boil, turn the heat down to low, add the parsley, dill and thyme and let it cook for 30 minutes covered.  Taste test your broth as needed to get your salt and pepper as you like it.

Enjoy!!! Nom Nom!!!

The Procedure Story Book:

Chop the onion, red bell pepper, and pepper. Slice the carrots.  

 

Put the olive oil in a pot with the onion, red bell pepper, pepper and carrots and saute over medium heat for 5 minutes. 

 Add the paprika, salt, black pepper and cayenne (optional) and saute for another minute.  

Add the cabbage to the pot and stir well.  Try to coat the cabbage with the seasonings as much as possible.  Put a lid over the pot and let it cook for another 3 minutes.

Now add the pureed tomatoes and vegetable stock.  Bring the soup to a boil. 

Once the soup begins to boil, turn the heat down to low, add the parsley, dill and thyme and let it cook for 30 minutes covered.  Taste test your broth as needed to get your salt and pepper as you like it.

Melt in my Spelt Pancakes

Melt in my Spelt Pancakes

This is a good ol' recipe for some good ol' fashion pancakes....turned vegan of course.  First we'll go over the ingredients used and then get into the recipe and variations that can be made.

The Ingredients:

All of the ingredients came from Whole Foods.  A great place to find good organic foods!  Here's what you'll need:

Spelt Flour: Spelt is an ancient grain that is closely related to common forms of wheat. Spelt flour can be used in place of whole-grain wheat flour in most recipes. The flavor of spelt flour is more robust and nutty than wheat flour, and it offers many nutritional benefits. Many of the nutritional properties of spelt flour are the same as whole-wheat flour, but there are some slight differences between the two. Spelt flour is a rich source of many B vitamins, including niacin, thiamin, vitamin B6, folate and pantothenic acid. It also contains small amounts of vitamins E and K. Additionally, spelt flour contains choline and betaine, which have been shown to help decrease inflammation, according to World's Healthiest Foods. Spelt flour is a source of essential minerals, particularly manganese and selenium. It also contains moderate amounts of magnesium, phosphorus, iron, zinc and copper. Consuming spelt flour with food sources of vitamin C may help increase the bioavailability of its iron content.  Spelt flour has many components that make it particularly heart healthy. Along with other whole grains, spelt flour's fiber content may help decrease cholesterol levels and prevent heart disease, according to the American Heart Association. World's Healthiest Foods also notes that spelt flour is a source of phenolic phytonutrients, whose antioxidant properties help protect the body from both cancer and heart disease (Lalevich, 2010).

Baking Powder: Aluminum Free of course!!!  If you've ever experienced a bitter, "tinny" flavor when biting into a muffin, that's because of the baking powder used—and often the overuse of it. Using aluminum free baking powder not only will keep you from ingesting aluminum, but will also take away that bitter flavor.  Recent medical reports suggest that ingested aluminum has a direct link to Alzheimer's, attention deficit disorder, bone degeneration, kidney dysfunction, and even Parkinson's disease. Studies have also shown that aluminum salts can be absorbed from the intestines and concentrated in various human tissues. Most baking powder products, a staple in some households, contain toxic levels of aluminum (More Than Alive, 2012).  So...you might as well try aluminum free baking powder.

 

Agave Nectar:  Agave nectar is a naturally sweet syrup somewhat similar to honey. It comes from the agave cactus that grows in Mexico, and it is becoming increasingly popular because it spikes blood sugar levels slower than other types of sugar. Many people are starting to use agave nectar instead of table sugar, honey or artificial sweeteners (Davis, 2011).  Agave is great for those strict vegans who choose not to use honey (an animal product).

Almond Milk:  We used the Almond Breeze Vanilla Unsweetened today.  We also use Coconut Milk sometimes.  Doesn't really make a big difference.  We just use something besides an animal milk :)  Almond milk is a good creamy substitute for cows milk.  It contains calcium, vitamin D, protein and vitamin E.  Check out this link for more info on Almond Milk.

Vanilla Extract: This has little to no nutritional content, but it sure makes things taste good!  Our favorite kind is the Madagascar Vanilla Extract.  We always try to get an organic kind that is alcohol free.

Sea Salt: A great alternative to regular table salt.  Because of the way sea salt is procured, it retains the trace elements and minerals that it had while still in the ocean. Table salt loses these nutrients because it is a processed product. Also, table salt generally has iodine artificially added while it is processed. Sea salt contains only natural amounts of iodine. Due to these factors, sea salt offers an all-natural, pure alternative to processed table salts (Henshaw, 2011).

 

 

 

Coconut Oil:  Coconut oil is a tropical oil that is used both for cooking and medicinal purposes.  The lauric acid contained in coconut oil can have a positive effect on the health when it is consumed or used as a topical solution. Oral consumption of coconut oil may prevent heart disease, eases digestive symptoms and inflammatory bowel diseases and reduces inflammation throughout the body. Coconut oil applied to the skin may fight fungal and bacterial infections, keeps the skin supple and elastic, and may control itching from both dandruff and hemorrhoids.  People who cook with coconut oil may choose to use the oil for many reasons, among them being the health benefits and the sweet tropical flavor allegedly imparts. Coconut oil also has a higher smoking point than some other oils. Stir frying and sauteing at high temperatures without charring the food may be easier to achieve with coconut oil  (Roth, 2011).

Earth Balance:  A great, soy free, vegan substitute for butter!!!!  There are many kinds of Earth Balance, be sure to get the one you want!!!

 

 

The Recipe

1 cup of spelt flour
1 tablespoon of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup nondairy milk
2 tablespoons of olive oil or non-dairy butter
3 tablespoons of agave nectar
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Additional butter or oil for cooking (optional)

Combine all of the dry ingredients in a bowl:  spelt flour, baking powder, and salt.  In a separate bowl, combine the wet ingredients:  milk, oil, agave, and vanilla extract.

Add the wet mixture to the flour mixture and mix just until moistened.  Don't overmix or you'll get some tough and rough pancakes!!!

Heat a nonstick griddle or saute pan over medium heat  (we placed the nonstick griddle on 350 degrees).  Add some oil or butter to the pan or griddle, but with a nonstick pan, you won't need any.

 Pour the batter onto the griddle to form circles as big as you like.  Cook the pancakes for a couple of minutes on one side until bubbles appear. 

Get your spatula and flip that bad boy over.  Cook the pancakes on the other side for about 2 minutes.  Once the pancake is golden brown on each side, it is ready to plate!

 

Disclaimer:  I am horrible at flipping pancakes.  They may not be pretty but they taste awesome!!!!

I hope you enjoy!!!!

Variations

You can use several different toppings:

Black Strap Molasses

Maple Syrup

Fruit Syrup

You can also use other things in the pancake mix:

Cinnamon

Nutmeg

Fruit

Nuts