Creamy Curry Soup

So. While I like to think I’m an efficient human being who gets her stuff done (and done well), I admit that lately I’ve been slacking. Okay… not slacking but just… not doing anything. Showtime is upon me, which means the end of school (THANK ALL THE DEITIES!), and time feels non-existent. Everyday seems to slip by and I feel like I’ve achieved NOTHING. That being said, at least I JUST completed the second year of my program and SUMMER IS UPON US. So here is a warming soup…

This soup, creamy due to the roasted eggplant, is best served slightly warm, in my opinion. It’s earthy and spicy and crazy refreshing. Not to mention there are SO few ingredients it’s a snap to whip up. I had leftovers over a bowl of amaranth one day, and the next I dipped crackers into it – both were awesome.

CREAMY CURRY SOUP (serves 4)

• 1 large eggplant, cut into 1/4 inch thick rounds
• 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
• 1 large shallot
• 1/2 tablespoon curry powder of choice
• 2 cups water (or milk alternative)
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/4 cup Fresh cilantro, to garnish
• 1/2 cup cremini mushrooms, chopped, to garnish

Method:

Preheat the oven to 400F. Coat the eggplant rounds in the grapeseed oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for about 8 minutes, until they are golden and quite mushy. Remove from the oven and let cool for five minutes. Remove the skin with a knife (it should peel off easily if it roasted long enough)

In a blender, blend the roasted eggplant, shallot, curry, water (or milk alternative) and salt and pepper. Divide the blended soup into four bowl, do a final test for salt and pepper levels, garnish with cilantro and mushrooms, and serve!

Beet Salad with Simple Miso Dressing

Please don’t hate me because my last three posts have been salads. I’ve to realize that when I come home after class, extravagance is not a thing. Efficiency and simplicity is what I’m all about these days. Another things I’ve noticed about myself is that my diet is hugely raw. Yes, I eat cooked grains and sometimes make roasted yam fries, but otherwise, my cooking is kept to a minimal (mostly because of the time). This salad is a prime example: shredded raw beets! Of course, you could shred them and roast them for a while (with a bit of oil and salt and pepper)to tenderize them, but here, I love the earthy AND crispy texture they give. Add a simple miso dressing and BAM, I got a salad for the ages. With this I had a fieldroast sausage, and a plain piece of toast (I’m not lying when I say I’m really into simplicity these days – I crave plain slices of toast). I simply ADORE Silver Hill’s Squirrely bread. Silver Hills Bakery makes awesome bread; they are vegan and packed full of goodness (and freakishly delicious).

I really love the white miso paste (which is the mildest) mixed with the balsamic vinegar; it’s a great combo of earthy and acidity. If you don’t know what miso is… I really couldn’t give you a good education on it… Basically there are A TON of different types of miso. It’s fermented. Yeah… Here’s a link to some info on miso!

By now, I’m positive you know the basics of how I make my salads, but here is the recipe regardless.

BEET SALAD WITH SIMPLE MISO DRESSING (serves two big bellies)

• 2 cups raw beets, shredded (I used three medium sized beets)
• 2 cups greens, chopped (I used kale)
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 cup cremini mushrooms, chopped
• 1 green onion, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons white miso paste
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• salt and pepper, to taste
• nuts or seed of choice for garnish (sesame seeds, hemp seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, etc)

Method:

Shred the beets on a mandoline or box grater and place into a large bowl. Add the greens, parsley, mushrooms, and onion to the bowl and mix.

In a small bowl combine the miso paste, balsamic vinegar, olive oil and salt and pepper and whisk to combine. If it’s really thick, add more olive oil or a bit of water. Pour the dressing over the salad and mix to coat.

Divide into two bowls and enjoy!

Raw Caramel

I feel like raw caramel is a bit of a trendy thing to do these days (I’ve seen about ten million recipes for it… I feel like even Lauren Conrad has one…). BUT I DON’T CARE BECAUSE IT TASTES LIKE SUMMER AND ALL THINGS GOOD. I love caramel. Specifically I love caramel apples. When my sister lived in Vancouver I would always demand to buy a caramel apple from Granville Island… I even forced her to fly one home on a few occasions… All that to say caramel has a special place in my heart.

The best part about this caramel is that there’s no boiling of cups and cups of white sugar! Or maybe the best part is that it tastes awesome… regardless, it’s super easy and made for a wonderful afternoon snack with some cut up apple. The main reason this is considered “raw” is because I used raw almond butter. Of course you can use any nut butter you want, and it can be roasted or salted if that’s what you have (I imagine this to be good with cashew butter).

As you can see in the picture, I had this caramel with apple slices (an organic Pink Lady apple, if you were curious). I imagine it’d be awesome with any other fruit, with chocolate, on toast with jam, in oatmeal or chia pudding in the morning. As I mentioned, it’s refined sugar free… therefore it’s the best kind of snack for any moment in the day.

RAW CARAMEL: (Makes 1/2 cup)

• 1/3 cups dates, pitted and soaked for 4 hours in water (reserve the soaking water*)
• 2 heaping tablespoons raw nut butter of choice** (I used almond)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• pinch of salt

Method:

In food processor, or a high speed blender (I used my handy little magic bullet), blend the soaked and pitted dates, nut butter, lemon juice, vanilla, salt, and 2 tablespoons of the dates’ soaking water. If it’s too thick, add more of the soaking water.

Notes:*Instead of using the soaking water from the dates, you could alternatively use almond milk. **I’ve seen many recipes that use nut butter AND coconut oil. I imagine that’d be awesome and make it SUPER creamy… as always: feel free to play around!

 

Much love and peace in these stressful days of end-of-semester-madness.

Simple Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Balls

WHERE DOES TIME GO? I don’t know. But I think it’s better that I don’t…

School really pushed its limits (and my limits) this past month. I’m now on spring break so I’m beyond thankful for that. So to kick it off I made some cute little cookie things. They are the perfect size to just… shove in my mouth while I’m adventuring. They are adapted from Minimalist Baker’s 5 ingredient cookies, but I wasn’t in the mood for chocolate (I know… that’s not something you hear often out of my mouth), so I opted for raisins. Big surprise. One could easily add in any kind of mix in: berries, nuts, seeds, chocolate chunks, other dried fruit… anything really.

They are chewy and naturally sweet! The cool thing is that they;re actually really healthy (no refined sugars and only oats and almond meal!) so they could serve as a pre-workout power boost or as breakfast.

Oh, just a side note: I don’t have a food processor, just a handy lil’ magic bullet. This being said, I didn’t process the oats as the Minimalist Baker recipe recommends, therefore the oats were whole in my cookie. I really liked having the whole oats, but it’s a matter of preference (and what tools you have available!). ALSO, if you don’t want then to be balls, just squish them on the cookie sheet before baking to make them more like cookies.

SIMPLE OATMEAL RAISIN COOKIE BALLS: (yields 20)

• 1 cup medjool dates, pitted and soaked for at least 2 hours
• 1 medium ripe banana
• 2 tablespoons nut butter of choice
• 3/4 cup almond meal (ground almonds)
• 3/4 cup rolled oats
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup raisins (or mix-in of choice)

Method:

Process the dates, banana, and nut butter until smooth.

In a large bowl, combine the oats, almond meal, and salt. Add the date puree to the oats and almond meal and mix until combined. If the mixture is too sticky, add more almond meal or oats one tablespoon at a time.

Add your mix-in of choice and stir until it’s well distributed in the mixture. Cover the bowl and let chill in the fridge for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350F and grease two cookie sheets (I used coconut oil, but one could also use Earth Balance or grapeseed oil).

Once chilled, spoon out 1 tablespoon balls on to the cookie sheets with about 1 inch in between each ball. Bake for 15-18 minutes until lightly golden and slightly firm (Because there’s no eggs in these babies, they can be as under cooked as you want).

Let cool for a few minutes before transferring to an airtight container for storage… if any are left over after the feast.

EASY-PEASY! Much love as the days quickly transition from winter to spring (even though we got 30cm of snow overnight which covered the freshly uncovered brown grass…).

Coconut Surprise Muffins

 

 

I did a thing.

School is exhausting. I dance all day and I come home and I’m dead. My brain won’t function well enough to create so I usually make a super simple meal and sit and watch an episode of House of Cards, read The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, write, or do some housework. Essentially, I’m saying that I unfortunately haven’t had the mental capacity to invent any new and crazy food things. HOWEVER, I’m simple reinventing the golden nuggets I already have (such as the artichoke salad that’s based on the lentil salad!). Also I’ll admit this was created from some stress baking… Moving on… remember the coconut loaf I made a lifetime ago? The one that is heavenly? Well. I turned them into muffins. And I added a surprise in the middle…

 

 

 

For Valentines Day, my parents sent me this AWESOME salted almond dark chocolate bar. It’s so decadent and dynamic (not to mention fairtrade and organic!!). Sometimes things are so good you don’t want to taint them; this was not one of those things. I wanted to give this phenomenal chocolate bar a new lease on life – let it stretch it’s legs and do some good in the world. So I plopped a nice fatty chunk in the middle of coconut muffins. BAM.

I was inspired by this recipe for coconut muffins, but I (of course) mostly based it off my coconut loaf. I didn’t add dates or maple syrup so the coconut dough part isn’t very sweet, but that’s what makes the chocolate stand out… ya’ know? Whoa, epiphany: coconut coffee muffins – using strong coffee or espresso instead of milk alternative. As for an alternative to the surprise in the middle… good dark chocolate just seems to be the best option! Maybe a couple of berries or nuts or dried fruit? of course you could always add chocolate chips. It’s just that chocolate fulfills all desires. 🙂

SURPRISE: check the very bottom for another surprise.

COCONUT SURPRISE MUFFINS: Makes 12 medium sized muffins (15 small)

• 2 flax eggs (2 tablespoons ground flax + 6 tablespoons water)
• 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
• 2 small ripe bananas, mashed well
• 1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk, from a can
• 1/3 cup milk alternative (I used unsweetened almond-coconut)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cup spelt flour (or all purpose)
• 1 1/2 cup unsweetened desiccated coconut
• scant 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• scant 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 good quality chocolate bar (I seriously mean GOOD quality)

Method:

Preheat oven to 350F and prep a muffin tin with coconut oil, or muffin liners (my muffin tin is oddly small so I also greased some small ramekins).

In a small bowl, mix ground flax and water to make the flax eggs, let sit for 10 mins.

In a large bowl, combine all the wet ingredients, including the thickened flax egg.

In another large bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients, including the coconut. Add the wet to the dry and mix until just combined. The batter will be quite thick.

Fill each hole in the muffin tin half way with batter. You’ll most likely have to use your fingers to squish it into the corners a bit. Place a chunk of chocolate in the middle of each muffin and cover with remaining batter. Squish the batter around the edges to make sure the chocolate is well contained (you don’t want it to pop out and burn!)

Cook for 20-25 minutes until the tops are slightly golden, and spring back when lightly pressed. Let cool for 10 minutes. BUT ONLY TEN MINUTES OTHERWISE THE CHOCOLATE WILL NO LONGER BE ALL MOLTEN OR SURPRISING.

Keep in a sealed container. To reheat, pop them in the oven at 200F for a few minutes (or pop into a microwave for a few seconds).

HELLO AGAIN! Are you truly still reading after seeing the recipe? Cool! Anyway, to further convince you that I’m not creating much these days but simply reinventing, the above photo is of apple muffins. Remember my fruit explosion muffins?? Yep, I made them into apple muffins using 1 1/2 cup fresh apples and 1/2 cup dried apples. I then topped some with cinnamon, some with walnuts, and some with… you guessed it… raisins.

At this time of year, we’re all exhausted and pissed off and DONE WITH EVERYTHING. But remember that there is baking, and love, and coffee, and dreams, and passions. Being productive is difficult, but small steps still move you forward. If anything, let me inspire you to keep on moving. Even if it’s only a single breath.

Rum Balls

Who doesn’t love a rum ball?!

For ukrainian christmas, my pop and I made these tasty vegan treats to serve with coffee. The traditional Ukrainian Christmas meal includes 12 dishes, all without meat or dairy. Essentially, it’s a feast full of mushrooms and beets and hearty grains.

This is the recipe we were inspired by. We added more melted chocolate, and rolled some in good quality cocoa powder (it made for a prettier plate). We also didn’t have a lot of dates so we made up for the difference with raisins (as a raisin fiend, I was very happy with this choice). The final touch, was that instead of the 4 tablespoons of rum, we did 3 tablespoons rum and 2 tablespoons cognac.

The one thing we were sad about was that as the hours passed, the alcohol either evaporated or was seriously absorbed by the fruit. Luckily these puppies didn’t wait too long to be consumed but it did pose an interesting problem.

HOWEVER, if you didn’t add the booze, these would be AWESOME energy bites/snacks. The dates provide the needed sugar for a good work out and the fat in the nuts would keep you satisfied and keep you going longer. Huh. From boozey party time to sweaty dancing time!

RUM BALLS: yields about 50 satisfying balls

• 3 cups medjool dates (about 36 large dates)
• 3 tablespoons rum
• 2 tablespoons cognac
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup raw brazil nuts
• 1/2 cup raw walnuts
• 1/2 cup raw cashews
• 3/4 cups dark chocolate, melted
• 2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
• cocoa powder to coat

Method:

In a food processor pulse the dates, rum, cognac, vanilla, brazil nuts, walnuts, and cashews until they are chunky but well mixed. Drizzle in the melted chocolate and run the food processor until everything is finely chopped and sticking together.

Spoon the mixture into a large bowl and using your hands (or a wooden spoon), mix in the coconut. Once everything is well combined use your hands to roll out the balls.

If desired, roll the ball in cocoa powder (and tap off the excess).

Store in an air-tight container.

These balls were a huge hit with my fam… and I’m sure they will be with your fam too. (Unless your fam is my fam because my fam are my only readers… hehe)

Much love and warmth.

Spicy Pumpkin Soup

MY SEMESTER IS FINALLY OVER. Yet I don’t feel any weight has been lifted because I know I have to go back in a few weeks… sigh. I guess all I can do to comfort me is eat some wonderfully warming food (including lots of chocolate).

I know this isn’t very festive, but I’m not in the festive mood. And I had left over pumpkin puree in my freezer. And I was craving a velvety smooth soup. I contemplated having a pumpkin and ginger soup, but I feel a bit over loaded on ginger these days so I used cayenne pepper to add a hearty, spicy punch. The leftovers thickened up very nicely; I dipped crackers and veggies into it like a dip. I also had one serving of leftovers with wild rice and cilantro and pumpkin seeds – pictured at the end (it was nice having something a bit heartier in the soup to add texture, but I liked it better without the rice – maybe on top of brown rice or quinoa would be better?).

SPICY PUMPKIN SOUP: (serves 4)

• 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
• 1/2 cup white onion, chopped
• 4 small garlic cloves
• 2 cups pumpkin puree
• 3 cups low sodium vegetable broth
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• scallions, for garnish
• pepper, to taste

Method:

In a medium sauce pan, heat the grapeseed oil on medium heat an sautee the onions and garlic until the onions are transparent; about 3 minutes.

In a high speed blender, blend the cooked onions and garlic with the pumpkin puree, vegetable broth, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, turmeric and salt until very smooth. (I let the blender run for about 90 seconds)

Pour the puree into the medium sauce pan and warm on medium heat. It’ll only take 3-4 minutes to warm the soup up.

Garnish with chopped scallions and black pepper.

Leftovers with wild rice, cilantro and pumpkin seeds.

Za’atar Rice Pilaf

 

Let’s talk about how little time there is. For me, my free time is spent reading articles for classes, writing essays, writing more essays, and making my lunch (and often dinner) for the next day. I had minimal time to celebrate my birthday last week (which is okay because the holidays are right around the corner). I have ten million essays due and six million exams this next week. I have practical exams in my technique classes. Essentially, my time is very scheduled these days. ALL THAT TO SAY: My meals lately have been simple to make. This is no exception!

Rice. Spinach. Tofu. Onion. Almonds. Dried Cranberries. Balsamic Vinegar. Za’atar. Tasty, easy, lasted for many meals, filling, wonderful.

ZA’ATAR RICE PILAF: serves 2

• 2 cups water
• 1 cup Long grain brown rice (basmati, or short grain brown, or wild rice would also rock)
• 4 cups spinach, roughly chopped
• 1 10oz package of tofu, crumbled,
• 1/4 cup onion, chopped (I used white, but purple onion or shallots would be good too)
• 2 tablespoons raw almonds, chopped
• 2 tablespoon dried cranberries
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 2 teaspoon za’atar spice

Method:

In a medium sauce pan, bring 2 cups of water to a boil and add rice. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and let cook for 20-25 minutes (until all the water as absorbed and the rice is… cooked).

Place the rice in a large bowl and add the remaining ingredients. Mix well and serve warm.

Here is a version I made for lunch with mushrooms and fried onions.

As all my recipes are, this can serve as a base for an infinite number of dishes. With a base of rice, add chopped veggies and onions, with some protein (it doesn’t have to be tofu) and some nuts or grains and top with any kind of spice. For example, you could add crumbled tempeh, kale, parsley, cucumber, tahini and top it with cayenne and chili flakes… I don’t know if that’d actually be good… I should try it… I digress, rice is a good base for simple meals.

On a side note: WE HAVE SNOW HERE! Time to pull out my parka and drink all the tea. Much love.

Lentil Salad

 

LENTILS! What vegan doesn’t love them? I used this recipe from 101cookbooks, but I added almonds, hemp hearts and had the lentils on a bed of spring greens (even though it is not even close to spring time…).

This recipe was fabulous. The french lentils held their shape nicely and the simple dressing of oregano, olive oil, salt and lemon juice was satisfying. Sometimes it’s the simple things that are best. (Don’t get me wrong, making an extravagant dish is rewarding, but so is the humble olive oil). I sliced up half an avocado to have on the side with a squeeze of lemon. The amount of lentils I made lasted me for 3 days and it kept amazingly. By the third day, the oregano was super fragrant and delicious.

One last note, this recipe was EASY. Cooked the lentils, and that was pretty much it. I even did an outline for an essay while the lentils were cooking! If you don’t have time to cook your own lentils, no biggie. Just use two cans of lentils and make a little bit more dressing. If you want to learn how to cook lentils, check the note at the bottom!

LENTIL SALAD: serves 2

• 1 cup dried lentils (or about 2 cups cooked)*
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 4 handfuls of spring mix greenery (spinach, kale, chard or lettuce would also work)
• 1/4 cup raw almonds, chopped
• 1 tablespoon hemp hearts
• 1/4 cup green onions, chopped

Method:

Rinse the lentils and pick out any stones or weird things. In a large pot, cover the lentils with two cups of water and cook uncovered for 20-30 minutes. Add water as needed to make sure the lentils are just barely covered. (Lentils are cooked as soon as they are tender and no longer crunchy.*)

Meanwhile, combine the oregano, olive oil, salt and lemon juice in a small bowl. Put two handfuls of greenery on each plate. Once the lentils are cooked, divide them onto each plate on top of the greenery.

Pour half of the dressing over each plate and garnish with almonds, hemp hearts and green onions. Add some extra salt, pepper or lemon juice (or avocado) as needed! Enjoy.

Much love and many easy meals as November… RUSHES INTO DECEMBER. OMG WHERE HAS THE YEAR GONE?

*Note: This is a great resource for how to cook lentils.

Root Goddess Bowl (With Orange Maple Dressing)

Some serious delicious fall goodness here… I felt like a complete goddess after inhaling leisurely munching this. You can’t tell, but there’s some brown rice under all of that too! Here’s what’s in this bowl:

• Beets
• Brown rice
• Hemp hearts
• Mushrooms
• Orange Maple marinated tofu
• Pecans
• Persimmons
• Pomegranate arils
• Sweet Potatoes

I don’t know what it is about root vegetables, but they make me feel amazing. Not to mention I love the taste of them roasted in grapeseed oil and sprinkled with salt. When I added all the other fall goodies (the persimmon and pommegranate and cinnamon + maple in the dressing) I was feeling pretty ready for a fire (or christmas…).

This bowl could be made with SO many different things you could do with this. I recently mentioned some other good vegetables to roast (carrots, broccoli, pumkin, squash to name a few) and those would all be great in this. Also roasting the mushrooms instead of having them raw, or marinating tempeh instead of tofu. Any fall fruit (apples, pears etc) would also be a great addition.

Is it a major food blogging faux-pas to use pre-cooked grains in the recipe (“1 cup cooked brown rice”) without explaining how to cook it? OOPS.

Inspired from this and this!

ROOT GODDESS BOWL: (serves 2)

• 1 large sweet potato, cut into 1/3 inch rounds
• 1 large beet, cut into 1/4 inch rounds or cresents
• 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
• 14oz. package of plain extra firm tofu (Marinated for min 1 hr in following dressing)
• 1 cup cooked brown rice
• 2 large handfuls of greens (I used spring mix, but kale or spinach would work)
• 4 mushrooms, sliced
• 1 persimmon, sliced
• seeds from 1/2 a pomegranate
• 2 tablespoons pecans
• 2 tablesoons hemp hearts
• salt

ORANGE MAPLE DRESSING:

• 1 teaspoon orange zest
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 2 teaspoon balsalmic vinegar
• 2 teaspoons pure maple syrup
• 2 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• salt

Method:

To marinate the tofu, cube or slice the tofu (max 1/2 inch thick, thinner is better) and layer into a shallow dish. Whisk all the dressing ingredients together and pour over the tofu. Let marinate for minimum 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 400F and prep a baking pan with grapeseed or coconut oil or parchment paper.

In a large bowl mix the chopped roots with the grapeseed oil. Place on the pan, add a healthy grind (or shake) of salt,  and pop into the oven for 35-45 minutes, stirring every 20 minutes or so.

Meanwhile, layer the rice and spinach, with the marinated tofu, mushrooms and persimmons onto each plate. Add the roasted roots once cooked.

Before serving, garnish with pomegranate seeds, pecans, and hemp hearts. Use the left over dressing from marinating the tofu to pour over the salad. Enjoy!

May the warm roots ground you!