Eating from the freezer!

My freezer is generally stocked with a wealth of ingredients! From soups to baked goods! I went digging the last couple of days and found some real winners.

Spicy Noodles are so delicious and satisfying! Brown rice spaghetti is $2.00/lb at my local Market Basket , so I usually have some on hand. Having a delicious  wasabi ginger sauce on hand from the freezer allows me to throw together this dish in the time it takes to boil the noodles. Of course, if you don't want to use noodles, feel free to sub Daikon!

I still have seitan cutlets in my freezer! I made a quick 5 spice BBQ sauce out of leftover Salsa, Ketchup, mustard and spices. I will never be able to eat seitan, but my son loves it so it's nice to have on hand for him. The next time I make the cutlets I will post the recipe. In the meantime, here is a link to one of my most basic seitan recipes.

Finally, finding two pieces of Almost Raw Key Lime Pie was a huge treat!

RAW KEY LIME RECIPE

Do you stock your freezer with leftovers?

WholeSoy & Co. Plain and Keylime Yogurt

A while back, I received a package full of yogurty goodness from WholeSoy & Co.  For those of you who have followed my blog for a while, you will remember I created recipes for their site.

I was given both Key Lime and Plain, Unsweetened flavors to review and I have to say, I love them both!
The Keylime was tart and struck a perfect balance between sweet and lip smacking goodness. Enjoyed both on it's own or as a topping on your favorite baked good, you can't go wrong with this lip puckering goodness!

The plain, unsweetened yogurt I used in so many recipes. Sweetened with a bit of stevia and chia seeds, it mixed in with oatmeal perfectly for a delicious breakfast!

I also used it in a delicious, creamy salad dressing!

Creamy Italian Goat Cheese Dressing

• 1/2 c Wholesoy Plain Yogurt
• 1/2 c Lowfat Vegan Mayo Alternative
• 1/2 c Goaty Cashew Cheese
• 1 T red onion, diced
• 2 Cloves garlic, pressed
• 2 T olive oil
• 2 T dijon mustard
• 1 T Braggs 
• 1 T nutritional yeast
• 1/4 t Italian Seasoning

Mix everything together and let sit for an hour before serving. 

Here are links to a couple recipes using plain soy yogurt! 

Sweet and Savory Cranberry Chutney Crostata (the crust is so flaky and out of this world, the yogurt really makes the tender texutre!)

Chocolate Mint Cupcakes (The yogurt really makes the frosting/glaze here!)

Red Pepper Soup
Scallion Flatbread

Gluten Free Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins (with a sugar free option)

Here is a recipe for one of my favorite muffins! I am including a sugar free option with the recipe, but you will have to bake it in a 9 by 13 pan instead of muffin tin. I find that Gluten Free and Sugar Free muffins are not quite as good as  breads, so if you are omitting sugar it is a better option to bake as a bread!

Gluten Free Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins

• ½ c golden flax meal
• 1 c milk
• ¼ c oil
• 1 c pumpkin
• ¾ c sugar
• 1 T cinnamon
• ¼ t nutmeg
• ½ t orange zest
• 1 T balsamic vinegar
• 2 c Bob’s GF Flour
• 2 t baking powder
• 1 t baking soda
• ½ t salt
• 1 c cranberries 

Mix everything together very well, folding the cranberries in at the end

Bake at 400 for 20 – 25 minutes

For a sugar free bread, omit sugar, add 1`/2 t kal stevia powder and bake in a 9 by 13 pan for 30 minutes

I used my Bean Milk in these. I really like bean milk in baking. It is so much cheaper than commercial non dairy milks and adds protein! Banananog works well too. 

 You can always make your own rice milk too! 

What are your favorite muffin flavors? 

Project Food Budget: Pinto Barley Chili

For those of you who saw my ranty post about the Evening News, I'm sorry if I confused you! I was referring to the scare tactics of the pharmaceutical commercials. Wow! I hadn't watched the news in a long time and every single commercial was about health problems and the drugs that could fix every woe you or your family might have! No wonder we are so sick in this society and that people turn to drugs for everything!

I obviously confused some of you because I got a bunch of emails asking if I was OK and what I meant by the post!

OK, back to our regularly schedule program. This weeks installment in Project Food Budget is a delicious Pinto and Barley Chili. I love the way barley adds a chewy texture to this soup. Bulgur would also be a great addition. I used both ground cumin and cumin seeds because I love the little burst of flavor the seeds add, but if you don't have seeds you can leave them out. This chili is MUCH better the next day. The flavors come together and the barley expands in a way that really benefits the soup.

Barley and Pinto Chili

·        1 T ground cumin

·         1 t cumin seeds

·         1 T ground coriander

·         4 T chili powder

·         3 T EVOO

·         1/2 t marjoram

·         2 t garlic salt

·         1 large onion, diced

·         1 large green pepper, diced

·         ½ c barley

·         2 c cooked pinto beans

·         2 c water

·         1 c canned diced tomatoes (or better yet salsa)

·         1 -3 chipotle peppers

·         2 T vinegar

·         1 c packed cilantro

Method:

1. Heat Oil and spices over medium heat, add onion, pepper and garlic salt
2. Pour in water, barley, beans, tomatoes and chipotle 
3. Cover, bring to a boil for 45 minutes or until barley is done
4. Add vinegar and cilantro

When you first make this, it will taste pretty salty and the cumin will be fairly strong. After this sits overnight, the flavors come together and it is less salty. By all means, reduce the garlic salt if you are using salsa and canned beans!

If you find yourself with leftover chili, make a burger!

Have you made a burger out of leftovers?

10 Minute Creamy Tomato Basil Soup

Creamy tomato soup with fresh basil is one of my very favorite things ever. This was born out of leftovers and came together in 10 minutes, but you'd never guess because the depth of flavor is so good!

It is similar to my Creamy Tomato Soup, but better because of the fresh basil.  Paired with a grilled cheese sandwich, this made the perfect lunch. I used my Smoky Pimento Spread for the cheese in my sandwich and homemade bread.

10 Minute Tomato Basil Soup

• 1 c Roasted Garlic Marinara
• 1 c water
• 1/2 c White Bean Basil Spread

Bring to a strong simmer for 10 minutes, enjoy! 


The fresh basil, roasted garlic and tomato reminded me of Summer!

Here's a pic from a beach 10 miles away from my house! I can't wait for the snow to melt and the weather to warm up!

Pesto

We all know pesto is delicious on pasta, but I rarely use it as a sauce. I use it as a condiment more often and as finishing touch in soups, as a pasta topper and sandwich spread. To keep things cheaper, I use walnuts or even sunflower seeds in place of pine nuts in my pesto. I generally toast them, especially if I am using sunflower seeds. If you'd prefer a raw sauce, by all means don't toast them, but I guarantee the pesto won't be as tasty!

One of my favorite ways to use pesto is to smear it on my Chickpea Flatbread and add a bunch of veggies and wrap it up. So good and portable!

Chickpea Flatbread

Walnut Basil Pesto

2 large cloves garlic

1 t garlic salt

¾ c toasted walnuts

1.5 c packed basil

½ c packed spinach

Pinch white pepper

Pinch nutmeg

2 T nutritional yeast

1 T miso

1 T red wine vinegar

1 T olive oil ( optional )

Method:

1. Toast Nuts
2. In a food processor add the garlic and salt and process until garlic is almost a paste
3. add the rest of the ingredients except the olive oil
4. Top with oil if desire 

What are your favorite ways to eat Pesto?

Test this: Gluten Free Lemongrass Coconut Cake!

In my last restaurant job, I did a lot of gluten free (vegan) baking everyday. Every morning, I made the following:

• Gluten Free Muffins
• Gluten Free Brownies
• Gluten Free Cornbread
• A Gluten Free Cake or Cupcakes
• Gluten Free Cookies
• Sugar Free, Gluten Free Breakfast Breads

It was fun to come up with different combinations of flavors so I didn't get bored and this was one of my very favorite cakes! I have changed my recipe a bit to make it a bit cheaper by using coconut in the frosting instead of earth balance or shortening. I got the great idea to make coconut butter out of dried coconut from Heatheatsalmondbutter! What a GREAT alternative to the super expensive coconut butters out there.! Thanks Heather.

So, I have changed up the recipe just a bit and now I'm putting it out there for YOU to test if you wish. If you don't have lemongrass, leave it out and add the zest of another lemon.. it will still be really good. 

My secret ingredient in gluten free cakes is mayo! Of course, I use my Low Fat Vegeanaise Alternative in my cake. Have you made it yet? It's so good! I've been asked if you could sub yogurt for the mayo and you might be able to, but I can't guarantee results. In fact, that is something I want to talk about for sec. 

The recipe I post are made with the ingredients I choose for a reason, so if you substitute things I can't guarantee the results! 

So, that being said, here's the recipe:

Lemongrass Cake with Coconut Frosting

·         ½ c golden flax meal

·         ¼  c low-fat vegan mayo

·         1 c sugar

·         1 t vanilla

·         1 t coconut extract

·         Juice and zest of 1 lemon

·         2 T lemongrass (I get mine frozen at my local ethnic market)

·         ½ c light colored oil

·         1.5 c Bob’s All Purpose GF flour

·         2 t baking powder

·         1 t baking soda

·         ½  t salt

Method:  Pre-heat oven to 350

1.       Mix flax, mayo, sugar, extracts, lemon juice, zest , lemongrass and oil together very well until everything is totally incorporated

2.       Sift together the flour, powder, soda and salt into the wet mixture and mix together completely. You don’t have to worry about over working this dough. Mix super well!

3.       Spray a 9 by 9 cake pan with cooking spray, pour batter into pan and bake for 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

4.       Cool cake completely on a wire rack

5.       Frost!

Frosting:

·         1.5 c unsweetened coconut shreds

·         ¼ c nondairy milk

·         3 – 4 c powdered sugar

·         Juice and Zest of 1 lemon

·         Pinch salt

1.       In a food processor, process the coconut and milk if needed until coconut turns into butter like substance. This will take around 4 minutes

2.       Add the powdered sugar, lemon juice and zest,  salt and process until it comes together like frosting  adding milk as needed

If lemon isn't your thing, my Gluten Free Chocolate Cake  and Gluten Free Brownies are delicious as well! 

If all of this sugar is not what you're looking for then check out some of some of these recipes:

• Chickpea Flatbread
• Kale Salad
• African Lentil Dip
• Southwestern Barley, Black Bean and Veggie Stew
• Chana Saag
• The Best Chickpea Salad

Also, here is a link to some Sugar Free Baked Goods! 

If you missed yesterday's Lasagna with White Bean Basil filling click here! 

Happy Monday Everyone! 

What are your favorite flavor dessert flavor combinations?

Lasagna with White Bean Basil Filling

Oh how I love lasagna! It's the perfect clean out the fridge meal. I like to add odds and ends to the dish and this one is no exception! I used leftover zucchini, onion, kale and chickpeas to bulk up the filling along with my Roasted Garlic Simple Marinara as the sauce.

I have a great tip for noodles. Take some very hot water and pour it into your 9 by 13 pan along with a t of oil. Add your dry noodles and let them soak while you are preparing the rest of your lasagna ingredients.(around 15 minutes) Just before layering, drain the noodles. This will soften them enough so they cook easily yet eliminate the breakage and irritation of boiling your pasta. I used whole wheat lasagna noodles. 6 in all to reduce calories.

The filling was a delicious blend of basil and white beans. You can use this as a filling, as a spread or a dip for vegetables. It's also really good mixed with some pasta cooking water for a light sauce. I used pressure cooked dry beans, but if you use canned you might want to reduce the garlic salt a bit.

White Bean Ricotta Dip/Spread/Filling

·         1 large clove garlic

·         1 t garlic salt

·         1 t lemon pepper

·         2 c white beans; no liquid at all (if you are using canned beans this will be a 29 oz can. Reduce garlic salt by half if using canned beans and then add to taste)

·         1 T balsamic vinegar

·         3 T nutritional yeast

·         Healthy pinch freshly grated nutmeg

·         1/3 c fresh basil

·         2 T best quality olive oil if desired

Method

1.       Pulse garlic, garlic salt and lemon pepper in a food processor

2.       Add the beans, vinegar, yeast, nutmeg and basil. Process until totally smooth

3.       Drizzle with Olive Oil if desired

This is a lasagna that you can feel good about eating. 

What are your favorite lasagna fillings?

Simple Veggie Sides and Sweet Mustard Dressing

I was fortunate to come into some produce! Grapes in the middle of winter is definitely a luxury item, although you can find them on sale here and there and if you use them judiciously they can still fit within the budget. If I had purchased the grapes, I probably would have gone with beans on the salad instead of the more expensive Nutty Goat Cheese.  I finished the salad with my Sweet Mustard dressing and some oranges for this delicious breakfast.

Sweet Mustard Dressing

• 1/4 c Lowfat Vegan Mayo  
• 2 T Dijon
• 2 T Yellow Mustard
• 1 T Onion Powder
• 1 T EVOO
• 2 T Apple Cider Vinegar
• 2 T water
• 1-2 T Braggs or Soy Sauce
• very scant 1/4 t stevia powder

I am going to be making some Gluten Free Pizza tomorrow tomorrow. One of my favorite toppings is this simple Zucchini Pepperoni. I like it to sit for at least 12 hours so the flavors can really infused the zukes. You can also dehydrate these into zucchini chips or a chewy version for raw pizzas! Sometimes I make a triple marinade and add in a big onion and green pepper. The salt draws the water out of the veggies so when you bake your pizza, the top won't be swimming in water. ( Make sure you drain the veggies before putting them on your pizza! )

I'm not usually a fan of baby carrots. They must be washed in some sort of chemical before packaging. I notice the same taste in pre-shredded carrots and coleslaw mix. I was teaching a cooking class once and I grabbed some shredded cabbage for a quick shortcut and it ruined the dish! 

That being said, why am I giving you a recipe for baby carrots? Well, someone gave me some so I'm using what I have and I know that many people love them, so here's a quick and nice side dish. 

Dilly Orange Carrots

• 1 T EVOO
• 1/2 c thinly sliced onion
• 1/2 t garlic salt
• 1 t smoked paprika
• 1 lb baby carrots
• 1/4 c water
• juice of 1 orange
• 1 t orange zest
• 1`T honey, agave or brown sugar
• 1 t dried dill ( or better yet, 1 T fresh dill )

Method:

1. Saute onion in the evoo along with the garlic salt and smoked paprika for 10 minutes
2. add the baby carrots, water and orange juice
3. Bring to a strong simmer and cook uncovered until carrots are soft (around 5 minutes)
4. Stir in zest, honey and dill 

These would be really good to serve with Lentil Loaf which I will be making in the next couple days. 

What's your favorite pizza topping? Mine is hands tons of veggies and a really strong nut cheese. Or simple very spicy jalapeno and mushroom with tofu ricotta.

Project Food Budget: Clean out the fridge soup!

Two posts in one day! If you missed my last post with the recipe for Gluten Free Lemon Strawberry Poppyseed Muffins bars, click HERE!


I'm participating in Project Food Budget and my submission for this week is going to be all about building a Clean Out The Fridge Soup!

I practically live on soup! I rely on old standbys about half the time, but for those times where I need to stretch my dollar, I just clean out the fridge. I am at my X's house, but I always bring food here because they live off of a lot of junk. I brought some cooked split peas, cooked chickpeas, marinara, kale, collards, carrots, onion, garlic, brown rice pasta and almond parmesan which was all food I had in my fridge that I would have used at home.

Clean Out The Fridge Minestrone

So this soup was created in 30 minutes. When I am building a soup, I start with oil, dry spices and aromatics. The spices I used today were basil, crushed red pepper flakes and cumin seeds. I added a couple T of olive oil to the pan and 1 large onion diced. 1 carrot  along with 8 cloves of garlic. I sprinkled some garlic salt and freshly ground pepper on the veggies and sauted for 10 minutes. Next I added marinara sauce, water, tons of chopped kale and collards, chickpeas and their cooking liquid and cooked split peas. Turned the heat up to HIGH and boiled away for 10 more minutes. Lastly, I broke up some pasta, covered the pot and turn the heat off. 10 minutes later we had a big bowl of nutritious soupy goodness. Finished with a bit of balsamic vinegar and almond parm it made a perfect lunch! We also had collards wrapped with peanut butter and banana inside. 

The marinara adds a lovely depth of flavor due to the roasted garlic and herbs. The cooked split peas made a silky, almost creamy broth and added more protein and staying power to the soup. 

This made 8 cups of soup!

The absolutely great things about cleaning out your fridge is that you often come up with really really tasty food. Unfortunately, it is hard to replicate it again sometimes! 

What are your favorite Clean Out The Fridge meals?

Gluten Free Strawberry Lemon Poppyseed Muffin Bars

I'm staying at my old house because my X is out of town and cooking for both my sons. It's so nice to have my kids and dog in the same house. It's really the little things in life.

I made a batch of these delicious muffin bars. They aren't very healthy, but they could be worse! They are a cross between a muffin and cake I guess. You could dress it up with a glaze and serve it as a dessert or go simple and sprinkle powdered sugar on it. Whatever you do, make sure it's eaten within a day or so at the most because gluten free baked goods dry out really fast.

Strawberry Lemon Muffin Bars

• 1/2 c flax meal
• 1.5 c non dairy milk 
• 1/2 c olive oil 
• 1 c sugar
• 1.5 c chopped frozen strawberries
• juice and zest of 2 lemons
• 1 T poppyseeds
• 1/4 t nutmeg
• pinch turmeric for color if desired
• 2 c Bob's Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Mix
• 1 t baking soda
• 2 t baking powder
• healthy pinch salt 

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 375
2. Whisk first 9 ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Beat super well. Let stand for 15 minutes
3. Sift in the dry ingredients. Mix very well. 
4. Spray a 9 by 13 pan with cooking spray, bake for 30 minutes, rotating pan after 15 minutes

I also made a big batch of our favorite Thai Tofu Stir Fry using frozen broccoli. 

I'm totally obsessed with hummus filled collard wraps. I can't get enough of them. I've been eating them every single day. I am so sad to hear that many of you in different countries don't have access to collard greens! I wonder if you can grow them? If you have some land, I can send you some seeds if you'd like! 

How I love Collards!

Just a quick post to give respect to my favorite green.. Collards!

You can wrap up all of your favorite filling on a raw or lightly blanched green and save around 200 calories and add major nutrition to your meals, replacing a large flour tortilla or two pieces of bread!

Collard greens (Brassica oleracea L. Acephala group), fresh, raw, Nutrition value per 100 g (Source: USDA National Nutrient data base)

Principle	Nutrient Value	Percentage of RDA
Energy	30 Kcal	1.5%
Carbohydrates	5.69 g	4%
Protein	2.45 g	4%
Total Fat	0.42 g	1.5%
Cholesterol	0 mg	0%
Dietary Fiber	3.60 g	9%
Vitamins
Folates	166 mcg	41.5%
Niacin	0.742 mg	5%
Pantothenic acid	0.267 mg	5%
Pyridoxine	0.165 mg	13%
Riboflavin	0.130 mg	10%
Thiamin	0.054 mg	4.5%
Vitamin A	6668 IU	222%
Vitamin C	35.3 mg	59%
Vitamin E	2.26 mg	15%
Vitamin K	510.8 mcg	426%
Electrolytes
Sodium	20 mg	1%
Potassium	169 mg	3.5%
Minerals
Calcium	145 mg	14.5%
Copper	0.039 mg	4.5%
Iron	0.19 mg	2.5%
Magnesium	9 mg	2%
Manganese	0.276 mg	12%
Selenium	1.3 mcg	2%
Zinc	0.13 mg	1%
Phyto-nutrients
Carotene-ß	3842 mcg	--
Crypto-xanthin-ß	80 mcg	--
Lutein-zeaxanthin	8932 mcg	--

Raw Eggless Salad

Here are some of my favorite fillings:

• Southwestern Rawco 
• Lemony Almond Pate
• Raw Eggless Salad 
• Nutty Goat Cheese
• Smoky Pimento Cheese
• Hummus
• African Lentil Dip
• Kale Salad
• The Best Chickpea Salad
• Black Bean Hummus
• White Bean Dip

Of course, you can always cook your greens too!

Do you enjoy collard wraps?