homemade vegetable stock

This is so easy to do that it's not really a recipe. Since I started getting CSA boxes I have had tons of lovely vegetable scraps and using them up to make vegetable stock feels better than throwing them in the trash (London doesn't compost!)

Here's what I do...

Save veggie/fresh herb scraps in the freezer, chopped up into relatively small pieces to maximize the surface area (I make sure to include lots of onion and garlic, and this batch I had some fresh thyme to add).

Put the veggies in the slow cooker and add enough water just to come up to the top of the veggies and add some salt. Turn it on low and leave it to hang out for a few hours.

Strain out all the veggie bits...done! I'm going to use mine to make enchilada sauce for dinner tonight.

local produce box and cauliflower tabbouleh

I ordered my first produce box from On The Move Organics (London, ON) last week and I so wish I had done it earlier! It's $30 (free delivery) each week, with a one-time $15 deposit for the rubbermaid tote the food is delivered in. The food is almost entirely local, and all organic.

Last week's box contained:

4 cobs of sweet corn, 1 head of purple cauliflower, 1 bunch of parsley, 2 lemon cucumbers, 1 lb. hot house tomatoes, 1 bunch of rainbow beets (1 of which is pictured above), 1 bunch of celery, 1 grapefruit, a mini red watermelon, 2 packham pears.

I think it's pretty great value, and plan to keep up with it next year, especially for those weeks where I sincerely don't have time to make it to the grocery store, such as exam week. I also like that it makes me experiment with new foods. They include a suggested recipe, using many of the ingredients each week, too, like last week's for cauliflower tabbouleh, which I'm including below:

1 head cauliflower, grated or finely chopped (I used my purple one)

1 cup chopped parsley

1/2 cup chopped mint

3 green onions, chopped

1 cup tomatoes, chopped

2 lemon cucumbers, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

dressing:

juice from 1 lemon

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

2 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper

Mix the chopped veggies, mix the dressing and toss together. I liked it better after it had sat in the fridge overnight, and I also made only a half recipe because that's a lot of tabbouleh, otherwise! I'd also recommend chopping more finely than I did in the photo, and I will do that next time for sure.

Also, the beets came with gorgeous greens attached that I couldn't bear to waste so I went recipe hunting and also made this wicked salad, that I will be making AGAIN for dinner tonight.

roasted beet hummus

This is a recipe from the blog freutcake that I have crept back through my pinterest so many times to look it up that I thought I'd share (link here). Almost too pretty to eat! Beets, cumin, lemon juice and garlic. Yum!

cookbook review: the oh she glows cookbook

I have been following the blog oh she glows, for almost 2 years now, so I was anxiously awaiting this cookbook.

Hands down my favourite cookbook I have ever owned or tried. It's full of beautifully photographed vegan recipes for meals, snacks and desserts and includes recipes for making homemade vegan staples. I just counted and I have made 11 recipes out of it since purchasing it in March, and loved them ALL!

Although I don't label myself as vegan (see feta cheese in photo above), I'm also not afraid of the label! I find a lot of people are...they have the same reaction to "vegan" as they do to "feminist". Amusingly, even my meat and potatoes roommates have been wandering kitchen into to the kitchen to see what the amazing smell is every time I cook from this book and everything has passed the taste test. The recipes are hearty and filling, but without a bunch of hard to find ingredients.

I had been seeing and hearing about cashew cream for a long time and wanted to try it out...today was the day! In the top right picture is the "broccoli & cashew cheese-quinoa burrito" and my own potato roasties. So yum. Cashew cream is made by soaking cashews overnight (they turn rubbery) and then blending them. They turn into the neatest consistency. The "cheese" includes other ingredients like nutritional yeast and mustard. I am not a big fan of the idea of vegan recipes trying to taste "non-vegan," but this has a great taste all of its own. I can't wait to try the desert version (similar to whipped cream).

Pictured on the bottom left is photo for the "cream of tomato soup with roasted italian chickpea croutons." Next on my list!

I would recommend to anyone to check this book out, but if you are unsure, the oh she glows blog is also full of (free) recipes.

slow-cooked baked beans

make-ahead summer salad

This is almost so easy I shouldn't call it a recipe, but I'm always amazed that something so simple can taste sooooo good.

I'm calling this a make-ahead salad because I steam my broccoli and sautee the tofu at the start of the week, and then everything's ready to go in my fridge at any time.

Ingredients:
1-2 broccoli crowns, chopped and steamed
1 block of firm tofu, cubed and sauteed with spices (my go-to is Clubhouse's Thai seasoning mix. I eat this on nearly everything)
cherry tomatoes
2 avocados
2 lemons
Bragg's Liquid Aminos (or soya sauce, but if you've never tried Bragg's, I'd recommend checking it out!)

This makes 4 servings in total, which I eat 1 at a time by tossing 1/4 of the broccoli, 1/4 of the tofu, and a handful of cherry tomatoes. Chop and add a half an avocado, squeeze on the juice of half a lemon and a splash of Bragg's with each bowl.

YUM. Seriously.

vegan cornbread

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose whole wheat flour
1 cup cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cane sugar
3/4 cup almond milk
2 "flax eggs" (2 tbsp of ground flax + 6 tbsp hot water)
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425°.
2. Lightly grease an 8x8 inch baking pan.
3. Prepare the flax eggs (add hot water to ground flax seeds) and set aside4. Mix dry ingredients
5. Mix wet ingredients
6. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix well
7. Bake for 15-20 minutes

vegan pumpkin pie

Pie Crust 
makes crust of a 9" pie dish (dough can be split in half depending on how much crust you like)

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup coconut oil
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp cane sugar
1/3 cup ice water

Directions:

1. Mix flour, oil, salt, and sugar until crumbly
2. Add water until dough holds
3. Shape into pan

Pie Filling

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups of pumpkin puree
1 cup cashews
3/4 cups cane sugar
2 tbsp tapioca starch
2 tbsp molasses
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp dried ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves

Directions:

1. Soak cashews in water for 3+ hours and drain (I soaked mine overnight the day before I planned on making the pie)
2. Add all ingredients into food processor and mix
3. Add filling to pie crust

mushroom fried brown rice

Ingredients:
1 cup brown rice

1 vegetable boullion cube

1/2 onion

1 cup chopped cremini mushrooms

1/4 cup chopped green onions

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp paprika

Directions:

1. Cook brown rice with vegetable bouillon, let cool

2. Fry onions in olive oil until sauteed

3. Add mushrooms, rice, paprika to onions and fry

eggplant lentil curry

Ingredients:

1 medium eggplant

5 vine tomatoes

1/2 cup red lentil

1 lemon

1 onion

2 gloves garlic

1/3 cup olive oil

1 tbsp tumeric

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground corriander

2 tsp garlic salt

fresh parsley as garnish

Directions

1. Roast eggplant in oven for approx 1 hr at 400 deg.

2. Let cool, then cut up and put in food processor and set aside

3. Rinse red lentils and cook in 2 cups of water and set aside

4. Chop tomatoes and juice lemon, set aside

4. Sautee onions & garlic in olive oil

5. Add eggplant, chopped tomatoes, lentils, spices and cook simmer for 20 minutes

6. Garnish with parsley

spicy mango salsa

Ingredients:

1 ripe mango

1 vine tomato

1/8 cup of green onion

1 sprig parsley

1/2 lime of juice
1-3 thai chili peppers (dependent on how spicy you would like it)

Directions:

1. Dice mango and tomatoes

2. Add all ingredients together and mix

sweet potato biscuits

Ingredients:

1/2 cup mashed sweet potato

3/4 cup almond milk

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 sea salt

1 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp canola oil

Directions:

1. Boil sweet potato and mash, let cool, set aside

2. Mix together almond milk and vinegar and let curdle

3. Preheat oven to 400 deg.

4. Mix flours, baking soda, salt, and sugar in bowl

5. Add sweet potato and almond milk and mix

6. Add oil and knead

7. Use 1/3 measuring cup to "cut" biscuits and bake for 15-20 minutes

Makes approx. 8 biscuits.

lentil dill kofte

Ingredients:

1 cup red lentils

2 1/2 cups water

1/2 cup bulgar

1 medium onion

1 lemon

1/2 bunch green onion (2/3 cup chopped)

1/2 cup dill

1/3 cup olive oil

2 tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp garlic salt

Directions:

1. Wash lentils and boil/simmer until water almost soaked

2. Add bulgar and salt to lentils and let expand and then cool everything

3. Cook onion (not green) in olive oil

4. Add tomato paste and cumin

5. Add this to lentil bulgar mixture once cooled

6. Add remaining ingredients

7. Form into logs

8. Bake in oven at 350 for 15 minutes

9. Eat warm or cold

recipes: pesto, tofu steaks, and honey roasted root veggies

A mixture of random recipes.

(vegan) coconut-banana breakfast cookies

Modified from this recipe to include coconut oil, extra coconut, less sugar... and more importantly, veganized!

Read the recipe after the jump!

coconut raisin walnut curry rice

I came up with this recipe and it turned out amazingly. I made a lot because I was bringing this to a dinner, so you can half the recipe if you do not intend of serving 6-8 people.

Ingredients:
1/2 spanish onion
2 cloves garlic
2 cups brown rice
2 tbsp coconut oil
1/4 cup coconut flakes
1/3 cup raisins
1/4 cup walnuts

1 tbsp curry powder
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp paprika
1 vegetable bouillon cube

Directions:
1. Cook brown rice with vegetable bouillon until ready and set aside
2. Saute onion and garlic with 1 tbsp of coconut oil until slightly brown, then add curry powder
3. Add cooked rice, other 1 tbsp of coconut oil, and all other ingredients and stir until well mixed

veggie lasagna

Adapted from this recipe, I added some extra green goodness to the lasagna. 

Ingredients:

coconut oil (or any vegetable oil)

3 gloves garlic

1 onion

1 eggplant

1 container of spinach

1 cup broccoli 

1 can lentils

1 can of diced tomatoes

1 tsp Italian herb & spices

1/2 cup cashews

3/4 cup water

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp nutritional yeast

fresh basil leaves

pine nuts

Directions:

1. Slice eggplant into thin slices, sprinkle some salt onto slices, and place between two heavy plates to drain excess water for 30 minutes.

2. Preheat oven to 400 F

3. Blend cashew, water, salt, and nutritional yeast to make "cheese" sauce

4. Fry eggplant slices in oil and set aside

5. Saute garlic, onion, herb & spice then add chopped broccoli, lentils, tomatoes and mix together, turn off heat and set aside

6. In a lasagna pan, add layer of eggplant, spinach, veggie mixture, then another layer of any leftover eggplant. Pour "cheese" sauce over ingredients. Add fresh basil leaves and pine nuts on top and bake for 40 minutes. 

avocado + banana chocolate pudding

I love this dessert. It's healthy and delicious. I would recommend eating it after preparing it because I've stored it overnight before and the flavour changes as the avocado further ripens. Also very delicious with strawberries.

Ingredients:

avocado

ripe banana

teaspoon of honey

1/8 cup of almond milk

3 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder 

Directions:
Combine all ingredients into food processor and process! Easy peasy.

sun-dried tomato basil hummus

Homemade hummus is so fast and easy, and so, so good.

One can makes a pretty whopping batch, so whenever I make hummus I split it in 2 and freeze half of it (hummus freezes really well!), especially since when using fresh herbs and no preservatives, I don't want to leave it hanging around in the fridge for too long...but really, I ate this so fast that there was no danger! Yum!

Ingredients:
1 15 oz can of chick peas
2 tbsp tahini
the juice of one lemon
10 sun-dried tomato halves
about 15 fresh, large basil leaves
1/2 tsp of salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Mix with a food processor or immersion blender until smooth, adding water if necessary to thin it out a little bit.

[vegan, gluten-free] pizza

I've been making this pizza pretty much every night for dinner because it's delicious, quick, and nutritious.

Ingredients:

gluten-free tortilla

pesto (I made my own using basil, pine nuts, garlic, & olive oil)

kale

mushrooms

tofu

banana peppers

nutritional yeast

Directions:

1. Spread pesto onto tortilla

2. Put on ingredients (pretty much anything you want)

3. Bake for 5 mins, broil for 5 mins

4. Eat with knife & fork