Ginger Almond Tofu and Greens Medley

For supper tonight, I made a few separate dishes that went well together. Each dish was easy to make and the end result was very yummy!

Here are the recipes for the Ginger Almond Tofu and Greens Medley (see picture to the left):

Ginger Tofu and Green Beans

1 tbsp olive oil, 1/2 tbsp sesame oil, 1 medium onion, sliced, 2 garlic cloves, minced, 1 tbsp, ginger, freshly grated, 1 package of tofu, sliced (I used the 175 g package of soyganic super firm tofu), 1 1/2 tbsp wheat free tamari, 2 cups green beans, 1/2 cup almonds, chopped

Place olive oil and sesame oil in frying pan over low heat, add onion, garlic, and ginger and saute for 3 minutes. Add tofu and saute for another 3 minutes. Add tamari and saute for another 3 - 5 minutes and remove from heat. Place green beans in steamer and steam for 3 - 5 minutes. Transfer green beans to tofu mixture, place pan back over low heat, add almonds, and saute for another 3 minutes. Remove from heat.

Almond Kale and Collards:

3 cups leafy greens (I used a mixture of black kale and collard greens), chopped, 1 cup zucchini, chopped, 2 medium carrots, grated, 1/4 cup almond butter, 1 tbsp wheat free tamari, 1 tsp balsamic vinegar, 1/8 cup water, 1/4 tsp red chili flakes

Place leafy greens and zucchini in steamer and steam for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and combine greens, zucchini, and carrots in a bowl. In a small bowl, blend together almond butter, tamari, balsamic vinegar, water, and red chili flakes until smooth. Pour almond butter mixture over greens mixture.

I served the tofu and greens over rice (for the rice, I combined 1/2 cup of short grain brown rice and 1/2 cup of japonica rice, which is like a short grain black rice, with 2 cups of water, brought it to a boil and cooked it for 40 minutes) and it was a very tasty meal!

Yummy Fall Granola

Generally, I prefer to eat nuts and seeds raw to ensure that I get the optimal benefit from the anti-oxidant rich essential fatty acids found in nuts and seeds, but with the cooler weather I decided to make a baked nut and seed granola. With all the nuts and seeds in the granola, it is very protein rich and it makes a great fortifying snack (or breakfast).

Here is the recipe for Yummy Fall Granola (see picture to the left):

3 cups oats (I used a combination of whole rolled oats and steel cut oats), 1 cup almonds, chopped, 1 cup cashews, chopped, 1 cup walnuts, chopped, 1/2 cup sunflower seeds, 1/2 cup sesame seeds, 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds, 1/2 cup raisins, 1/4 cup coconut oil, 1/2 - 2/3 cups pure maple syrup, 2 tsp vanilla extract, 2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Mix all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Place granola, evenly spread out, on 2 large, lightly canola oiled baking sheets. Bake for 24 minutes, stirring granola every 8 minutes to ensure that it doesn't burn. Remove from oven, allow to cool, and store in fridge (it will keep in the fridge for approximately 2 weeks)

I have the granola with rice milk and it tastes delicious!

Fall Pumpkin Soup

The fall is a great time to integrate some of the delicious squash that is so readily at the local farmer's markets. I picked up a few small sugar pie pumpkin squash at the Strathcona farmer's market a few weeks ago and today I decided to make pumpkin soup.

Here is the recipe for Fall Pumpkin Soup: (see picture to the left):

2 tbsp olive oil, 1 medium onion, chopped, 3 garlic cloves, minced, 3 celery ribs, chopped, 1 leek, chopped, 4 cups pumpkin (any type of squash would be fine), peeled and cubed, 1 medium carrot, chopped, 1 1/2 cup zucchini, chopped, 1 1/2 tsp turmeric, 1 1/2 tsp cumin, 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated, 2 tsp sea salt, 6 - 8 cups water, 1/2 cup cashews, 3/4 cup non dairy milk (I used original/unsweetened rice milk), 2 cups purple kale, chopped, 2 cups lima beans, cooked (I cooked the lima beans, which had been soaked for 4 hours prior, while I was preparing the soup)

Place olive oil in large soup pot over low heat. Add onions and garlic and saute for 2 minutes. Add leek and celery and saute for another 2 minutes. Add squash, carrot, zucchini, turmeric, cumin, ginger, and sea salt and saute for another 8 minutes. Add water, bring to boil, and reduce to simmer for 20 minutes or until squash is tender. Remove from heat. Blend cashews and rice milk together with a hand blender (or in regular blender or food processor) to make cashew cream and add to soup. Add kale and lima beans. Dish up and enjoy!

This soup was warming and delicious (I also added a Doctor Kracker seeded spelt cracker to round out the meal)!

Cranberry Lemon Walnut Muffins

To celebrate the fresh cranberries still available at the store after thanksgiving, I decided to make muffins!

Here is the recipe for Cranberry Lemon Walnut Muffins: (see picture to the left):

2 cups spelt flour (I sifted the spelt flour through a wire mesh strainer to help make it a bit lighter), 2 tsp non aluminum baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp sea salt, 1 cup non dairy milk (I used original/unsweetened rice milk), 1/2 cup canola oil, 2/3 cups unrefined sweetener (I used pure maple syrup), zest of 1 medium lemon, freshly grated, 2 tsp vanilla extract, 1 1/2 cups cranberries, chopped (I used a food processor), 1 cup walnuts, chopped (I used a food processor)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly canola oil muffin tin. Mix spelt flour, non aluminum baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt in a large mixing bowl. Add non dairy milk, canola oil, unrefined sweetener, lemon zest, and vanilla to dry ingredients and mix until half way blended. Add cranberries and walnuts to mixture and mix until fully blended. Place mixture into muffin tin and bake for 23 - 27 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

These muffins are very tasty and not overly sweet - a nice fall time snack!

Raw 'Cheese'cake!!

Today I made another recipe from the new cookbook I picked up (Ripe From Around Here by jae steele). It is an amazing raw 'cheese'cake!

Here is the recipe for Raw 'Cheese'cake (see picture to left):

Crust: 1 cup raw walnuts, 1 cup raw almonds, 1/4 tsp sea salt, 1/4 cup (packed) pitted and chopped dates (I used medjool dates which are very yummy)

Place nuts and sea salt in blender or food processor and blend until crumb like. Add dates and blend until mixture is fairly smooth and will hold together when pinched. Place mixture into a lightly canola oiled 7 X 11 pan and press until flat.

Middle layer: 2 cups raw cashews, soaked for 4 hours +, 1/4 cup unrefined liquid sweetener (agave syrup/brown rice syrup/pure maple syrup - I used brown rice syrup), 2 tbsp water, 2 tbsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1/2 cup coconut oil/canola oil (I used canola oil)

Drain and rinse cashews, place in blender or food processor and blend into small pieces. Add liquid sweetener, water, lemon juice, and vanilla extract and blend until smooth. Scrape down mixture from sides of blender/food processor, add oil and blend until smooth. Pour over crust, distribute evenly, and place in freezer for 30 minutes to allow mixture to firm up.

Top layer: 2 cups raspberries (I used a mixture of both raspberries and blueberries), 2 - 3 tbsp unrefined liquid sweetener (agave syrup/brown rice syrup/pure maple syrup - I used brown rice syrup)

Place both ingredients in blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Pour on top of middle layer and allow to chill in fridge for at least 4 hours.

Even though it took the cake awhile to set, the recipe was quick and easy to make. This made a very light and delicious 'cheese'cake!

Crafty Pasta Dinner

After 2 months of no exciting recipes to post, tonight I had Crafty Pasta Dinner and wanted to share the recipe! To start the meal, I had my first harvest of fresh zesty mesclun mix greens from my garden (see top picture to the left of the greens in the garden and then the picture below it of the greens in the salad bowl)! They were delicious and it is such a treat to be able to eat food that has just been picked fresh from the garden!

Here is the recipe for the Crafty Pasta Dinner (see the bottom two pictures to the left):

Pasta: For the pasta, I used tinkyada organic brown rice elbows. The pasta cooked up very nicely in 15 minutes in a large pasta pot of boiling water. Once the pasta was finished, it was set aside until the stir fry and sauce were finished.

Stir fry: 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 medium onion, chopped, 3 garlic cloves, minced, 1/2 leek, chopped, 2 cups mushrooms, chopped (I used shitake and crimini mushrooms), 2 cups zucchini, chopped, 2 cups carrots, chopped, 2 tsp dried oregano, 1 tbsp wheat free tamari, 2 cups purple kale, finely chopped, 2 cups cooked chickpeas

Place olive oil in pan over low heat and add onion, garlic, and leek and saute for 4 minutes. Add mushrooms and saute for 3 minutes. Add zucchini, carrots, oregano and tamari and saute for 3 minutes. Add purple kale and saute for 1 minute. Stir in chickpeas, remove from heat and set aside.

Sauce: For the sauce, I used a recipe from a new cookbook I recently picked up called Ripe From Around Here by jae steele - it is a great cookbook with lots of very helpful suggestions on working towards eating more locally grown foods. The recipe is called Cheesy Sauce.

3/4 cup red lentils, 1 1/2 cup water, 1 medium garlic clove, minced, 1/2 tsp dry mustard powder, 1/4 tsp dried thyme (I used rosemary instead), 1/2 tsp sea salt, 1/2 cup unsweetened non dairy milk (I used rice milk), 1/2 cup nutritional yeast, 1/4 cup tahini, 2 tbsp olive oil

Combine red lentils and water in pot and bring to a boil (skim off any excess white foam). Reduce to slightly lower heat, add garlic, mustard powder, thyme (rosemary), and sea salt. Simmer for 20 minutes and remove from heat. Place lentil mixture into food processor/blender and add non dairy milk, nutritional yeast, tahini and olive oil and blend until smooth.

Preheat oven to 35o degrees. Once the pasta, stir fry, and sauce are finished being prepared, lightly canola oil two casserole dishes and add pasta, stir fry, and sauce. Mix all ingredients together, cover casserole dishes, and place in oven for 20 minutes.

Once the meal was dished up, it was seasoned with sea salt and flax oil. This dish was a yummy and fun meal!

Veggie Shepherd's Pie with Golden Gravy

Continuing with the theme of vegetable pies, I had a Veggie Shepherd's Pie with Golden Gravy for supper tonight. Even though the weather has been so beautiful, I am still in the mode of winter cooking!

Here is the recipe for the Veggie Shepherd's Pie and Golden Gravy (see pictures to left):

For the stir fry: 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 medium onion, chopped, 3 garlic cloves, minced, 2 green onions, chopped, 1/2 leek, chopped, 1 medium zucchini, chopped, 1 cup portobello and crimini mushrooms, chopped, 3 carrots, chopped, 1/2 tsp oregano, 1/4 tsp sage, 1/4 tsp rosemary, 1 tbsp wheat free tamari, 1 cup green kale, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place olive oil in large pan over low heat and add onion, garlic, green onion, and leek and saute for 5 minutes. Add zucchini and mushrooms and saute for another 3 minutes. Add carrots, oregano, sage, rosemary, and tamari and saute for another 3 minutes. Add green kale and saute for another 1 minute, remove from heat.

For the beans: 1 cup of mixed (I used pinto and navy) beans, soaked for 4 hours earlier in the day, rinsed, covered with fresh water, brought to boil, reduced to slightly lower heat for 45 minutes, drained, and rinsed.

For the topping: 1 large yam, peeled, and chopped, 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and chopped, 1/4 cup rice milk (or soy/almond/oat), 1 tbsp canola oil, 1/4 tsp sea salt

Place yam and sweet potato into steamer and steam for 15 minutes or until tender. Place yam and sweet potato in bowl and mash until smooth. Add rice milk, canola oil, and sea salt and mix until smooth.

For the gravy: 1/4 cup nutritional yeast, 1/4 cup non wheat flour (I used spelt), 1/4 cup olive oil, 1 1/2 cup water, 2 tbsp wheat free tamari

In a dry small pot, toast nutritional yeast and non wheat flour over low heat until lightly browned. Whisk in oil and constantly stir mixture until it turns golden brown. Whisk in water, increase to medium - high heat, and stir constantly until gravy thickens. Stir in tamari.

In a lightly canola oiled casserole dish, place stir fry as bottom layer, place beans as middle layer, add 2 - 3 tbsp of golden gravy over beans, cover with topping. Place in oven and bake for 15 minutes, covered, then remove lid and bake for another 5 minutes. Remove from oven and serve, topped with gravy (I also seasoned with flax oil and extra sea salt).

This was a fun and hearty meal!