macsgfvkitchen-blog

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My favorite take out dish. ever.  bok l'hong aka som tam aka som tum aka green papaya salad. Shout out to Fresh Thai in Pasadena, CA- you little hole in wall, thank you.

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Chocolate Pudding (and variations)

I do not approve of the paleo diet. It's bad for people, and bad for the environment- what if everyone in the world filled half their plate with meat? It would be an environmental disaster! Also, has anyone told these people the lives of cavemen were nasty, brutish, and short? Not to mention the cavemen themselves were brutish and short. Anyways, perhaps the one thing the the paleo folk are right on the money with is the no refined grains bit. So I have to give them full credit for this idea behind this desert.

Gather:

1 pretty ripe avocado

1 half container tofu (firm, not firm, whatevs)

1/4 cup cocoa powder (unsweetened)

1/4 cup agave nectar (less, or more- to taste! I'm an eyeball-er, I can't remember how much added)

1/4 cup faux milk of choice (mine is coconut)

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Order of Operations:

Blend it all up!

I included 1 spring of mint leaves, and saved a few sprigs for garnish. If it seems too dry, add more milk, or if you have a sweet tooth more agave nectar. Keep it simple or mix it up. I've added oranges and a little orange peel, delicious. I've added espresso, delicious. I've added cinnamon and red pepper flakes, delicious.

A friendly word of warning- firm to extra firm tofu will leave little chunks in the mix, most likely. If you are anti-soy than just add another avocado. Good fats will rule the world! If you add too much milk and it's runny throw some chia seeds in there and let it set for a few hours- and then tell everyone you know how to make 'superfood' deserts.

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Sweet magical rounds from 'babycakes covers the classics'. I love babycakes and so should you.

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Avocodo and Chickpea Salad

Some people refer to this combination as fake tuna or chicken salad, but neither of those sounds appetizing in the first place, so let's just call it what it is.

Gather:

1 Can Chickpeas (Garbanzo Beans)

1 Ripe Avocado

1/8-1/4 Red Onion, diced small

1/2 Lemon

Salt/Pepper/Garlic Powder

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Order of Operations:

Put all the ingredients in a bowl, juice the lemon over the top, and mash together. You don't necessarily need to crush up all the chickpeas, just enough to get the everything combined. I use my hands, but if you are feeding other people, and one of them happens to be one those 'germs are the enemy' types, you can use a potato masher or some such accoutrement.

If bread is your thing, use it to make a sandwich out of this, just like you would with chicken salad. Add some sprouts, tomato, and cucumber slices or go wild and throw on some tempeh bacon.

I usually keep it simple and spoon some into romaine lettuce leaves and top it with some tahini lemon dressing and fresh basil, like below.

[macsgfvkitchen-blog]

Cauliflower Couscous w/ Portobello Mushrooms

People suggest using cauliflower for all sorts of things these days, but I've not had much luck with either cauliflower pizza crust (so much effort for something that doesn't resemble pizza crust even remotely) or cauliflower alfredo sauce (I would have described it as liquid plant mush). But cauliflower couscous? The texture of processed cauliflower is just right, and pretty much a blank canvas for add ins. Now that is an idea a girl can get behind.

Gather:1 small, or 1/2 large, head of cauliflower

2 tsp toasted sesame seed oil (or olive oil)

1/2 can chickpeas

1/2 red onion, small dice

2 bunches of fresh mint, leaves chopped

2 bunches of parsley, basil, or cilantro, leaves chopped

1/2 cucumber

Juice from 1/2 lemon

1/4 cup hazelnuts, cashews, or almonds (optional)

Dash of salt, pepper, and curry powder

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1 Portobello Mushroom

Olive Oil, Salt, Pepper

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Order of Operations:

Pulse the cauliflower in a food processor just until it has been chopped up into rice size bits, if it starts getting sticky you've gone too far

Put the oil in the pan, and then add the cauliflower. Roast over medium heat until pieces begin to brown.

Roast the chickpeas if you like them roasted (I left them raw)

Chop the onion, cucumber, and herbs (I used mint and basil) and place in bowl. I didn't have cucumber so I used some chopped Trader Joes Broccoli Slaw instead.

Mix in cauliflower, chickpeas, and squeeze lemon juice over the top. After it's all combined, add salt, pepper, and curry powder to taste. 

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Eat it like this as a side, it's delicious. Or make a meal out of it; grill up some portobello slices with oil, salt, and pepper. Cook over medium heat for 5-10 minutes.

In the mean time spoon some of the couscous into romaine lettuce leaves. Place portobello strips on top when they are done, and top with dressing of choice (here I used my ginger, lemon, tahini sauce).

The recipe was inspired by a similar one from one of my favorite blogs- http://www.loveandlemons.com/2014/02/18/spiced-cauliflower-couscous/

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The CCG. Carrot Clementine Ginger.

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My humble plant based cookbook collection. My favorites in no particular order- Candle 79, Millenium, Pure Vegan, both Babycakes, and Veganomicon.

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Lemon Ginger Tahini Dressing

Gather:

Juice of 1 lemon

1/4 inch piece of ginger

1 tblsp diced garlic

1/2 cup tahini

1/4 cup water

1-2 tblsp tamari (to taste)

salt and pepper to taste

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Order of Operations:

Place all ingredients in a blender, food processor, or a container for your immersion blender. Blend away. You may need to add more water to get it to the consistency that you like. If it is a bit too bitter for you add 1 tblsp agave or maple syrup.

I suggest fresh lemon juice, and freshly chopped ginger and garlic- but use what you got! I've made this with with pre-prepped and packaged ingredients and it still tastes delicious.

Proceed to put it on anything and everything that could be considered a salad- or use it as a dipping sauce. I'm preferential to pouring it over massaged kale, avocado, a few slices of cucumber, and a side of saurkraut.

[macsgfvkitchen-blog]

The Amazing Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Chickpea Cookies

It is a long name for cookies with so few ingredients- I almost called these chocolate chip hummus bites, but realized that sounded inedible... These little niblets are very easy, and the perfect empty cupboard desert.

Gather:

1 Can Garbanzo Beans (rinsed and dried)

1/2 Cup Peanut Butter or Almond Butter* (keep it natural)

2 Tblsp Vanilla (+ optional 1 tsp coffee extract*)

1/4 Cup Sweetener (honey, agave, maple syrup*, etc)

1 Tsp Baking Soda

Optional- Oatmeal

*see note at end

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Order of Operations:

Preheat oven to 350

Place everything in a food processor, and process!

Roll into balls, place on parchment paper or silpat. Press down slightly and then bake for 10 minutes. Note- they will crisp up on the outside, but remain soft on inside. This is when you have to adjust your expectation of exactly what a cookie is supposed to be. These are residents of the exotic land between cookie dough and the final product.

Notes- Originally I had no plans to add oatmeal but in all my batches the dough was too wet to roll up, so that is when the oatmeal was introduced into the mix. It all depends on how oily your peanut butter is and if you really dry out the beans before mixing everything- you can add a little flour here as well, I would recommend either almond meal or garbanzo bean flour until the dough begins to hold together.

I've made a couple batches of these in testing, the single most delicious set was made with almond butter, maple syrup, and some coffee extract. Simply amazing. The ones with honey were my least favorite, they tasted like something an eccentric hippie aunt would try to pass off dessert.

[macsgfvkitchen-blog]

An Apple Pie For All

Have you ever tried to make vegan gluten free pie crust that you can actually roll out? It's a disaster, and if it works, it resembles and tastes like white cardboard. I suggest a compromise- use a press in crust, and then top with a crumble. Will it look like your traditional apple pie? No. Will it taste delicious while still being vegan and gluten free? Most definitely.

Gather:

Crust-

2 Cups Almond Flour

Pinch of Salt

2 Tbsp Coconut Oil

1 Tblsp Ground Flaxseeds+3 Tblsp Water

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Filling-

3 Cups Sliced Apples (I would suggest at least half of them be tart green apples)

1/3 Cup Maple Syrup

1 Tsp Cinnamon

2 Tblsp Orange Juice (or citrus juice of choice)

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Crumble-

1/3 Cup Almond Flour

1/3 Cup Brown Sugar

1/3 Cup Rolled Oats

1 Tsp Cinnamon

1/4 Tsp Nutmeg

1 Tsp Vanilla Extract

4 Tblsp Earth Balance (or solid coconut oil)

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Order of Operations:

Preheat oven to 350. Combine flax meal and water and let sit for a minute or two. Then place all the crust ingredients in food processor and pulse until a ball is formed. Don't keep pulsing, if it gets too warm the dough will fall apart again. Break into four even pieces, place in the middle of pie pan, and press each out (this will help you keep the crust even). Pre-bake the crust for 5-10 minutes.

I used an apple corer to get the apples into even sized slices, if you are a lover of apple pie, I suggest owning one. Once you have apple slices mix with citrus juice, cinnamon, and maple syrup (you can sub agave nectar here if you prefer, or use a 1/2 and 1/2 mixture). You can throw this in a pan with a little rice flour and potato starch, and warm over medium heat for ~5 to 10 minutes, if you want everything to cling together and reduce the sugar a bit, but it's not necessary. When the crust comes out of the oven, layer the apples on top. If they are uncooked they might be a towering heap, but don't worry, they will reduce in size will baking.

Place all the crumble ingredients in a food processor and pulse. It helps if your Earth Balance, or coconut oil, is kept cold up until the point of mixing. Don't overprocess, you just want to combine everything- and you want some of the oats to still look like oats. If it seems to wet, add in a few more oats and pulse a few more times. At the end mix in some whole oats (mainly for looks, not necessary). Sprinkle crumble evenly over apples.

If you have precooked the apples, leave the pie uncovered and bake for 15-20 minutes until the crumble toasts up. If you are starting with still raw apples, then cover the pie with aluminum foil and bake for 25 minutes covered, remove the foil, and allow the top to crisp for ~10 to 15 minutes.

It is going to look and smell like heaven, but for the love of pie be patient! Let it cool before slicing for best results, or it will fall to pieces. When cooled down, slice 'er up, and serve with your favorite vanilla fice cream (faux ice cream).

The inspiration for this came from this non-vegan recipe- http://laist.com/2013/10/07/recipe_gluten-free_apple_pie_with_a.php

[macsgfvkitchen-blog]

Almond Milk+Almond Meal

Gather:

1 Cup Raw Almonds (or not raw, it actually doesn't matter)

Nut Milk Bag

Order of Operations:

1) Soak the almonds in water overnight, or for at least 8 hours.

2) Drain and rinse the almonds, and put them in a food processor or vitamix. Process with 1 cup of water to start, then add 1 cup at at time, up to 4-5 ish cups. This depends on your almonds, how thick you like your almond milk, and the capacity of your food processor. If it is your first batch ever, 4 cups is a safe bet.

4) Pour through a nut milk bag into a bowl or tupperware. Squeeze out all the liquid you can! The almond milk will keep, covered, in the fridge for up to a week. Separation is natural! Just give 'er a little stir before consumption. You can add some vanilla extract and sweetener, agave or maple syrup, to taste. (Nut milk bags can be found on Amazon if you can not find them from a local retailer- if you have friendly neighborhood health food store or kitchen supply check there first!)

5) Save the pulp- turn into almond meal by spreading out over a silpat or other non stick surface and placing in oven for 1-2 hours at 250. You'll know when it's dry when it is crumbly. Then process the crumbles into finer pieces- and use in any recipe that calls for almond meal. Or, follow step 6, which I strongly recommend.

6) Make almond meal cookie dough bites- recipe here- http://detoxinista.com/2013/03/raw-cookie-dough-bites-vegan/

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Cashew Hazelnut Milk

Gather:

1/2 Cup Raw Cashews

1/2 Cup Hazelnuts

Nut Milk Bag

Order of Operations:

1) Soak the nuts in water for 12-14 hours

2) Drain the water and rinse the nuts

3) Process the nuts w/ 1 cup water to start until the nuts become small chunks, then add another cup, and keep processing- add up to 5 cups of water total. How much you add will depend on how strong you like your faux milk- this has a stronger flavor than almond milk, so I usually add 4 cups.

4) Filter through the nut bag into a bowl, and be patient! The pulp from cashews is much finer than from almonds, so it takes longer to squeeze all the goodness out. They say you can use cheese cloth, but I've never tried and it sounds messy. You can find a nut milk bag on amazon, and it is well worth the investment!

5) At this point you can add a little agave or maple syrup and some cinnamon (so good) or leave it plain (also, so good). It will last in the fridge for up to a week. It doesn't separate like almond or rice milk, and is a little thicker so it is great for baking- or in coffee!

6) Save the pulp! I made pancakes out of it, but you can also use it as a crust for pie (mix with 6-8 soaked dates, press into pie pan, prebake at 350 for 10 minutes).

[macsgfvkitchen-blog]

Chipotle Black Bean Burgers w/ Toasted Pepitas

Gather:

1 Cup Brown Rice+ 2 1/2 Cups Water

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1 Can of Black Beans

2 Bay Leaves

2 Dried Chipotle Peppers

Dashes of Salt, Pepper, and Oregano

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1/2 Cup Raw Pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

Dash of olive oil, sprinkles of chili powder, salt, pepper

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1 Red Onion

1 Avocado

1 Tomato

A few kale leaves

A 'bun' or other closer of your choice

Order of Operations:

Cook the brown rice, first, it takes about 45 minutes. Bring the water and rice to a boil, and then simmer until rice is done. I typically add 1/2 a bouillon cube to add some flavor.

Pour the black beans+liquid out of the can (or use 1 1/2 cup home cooked beans+1 cup water), and add the bay leaves, chipotle peppers, oregano, and salt 'n peppa. Let simmer quietly for ~ 20 minutes or get creative- add in some roasted garlic, or red onion, or some cayenne pepper if you like the spice.

Put the pepitas in a skillet and add just enough oil to coat, throw in some salt and chili powder and roast for 3-5 minutes over medium heat. Watch them, move them around, flip them- really look like the active cook while doing this- you don't want them to brown up necessarily but they will begin to look more dry.

Preheat the oven on to 350 and oil a cookie sheet, or really, whatever pan strikes your fancy (pizza stone will work, too). Remove the bay leaves from the black beans but leave the chipotle peppers. Add the rice, black beans, and pepitas to a food processor and process away. (You can do this in a mixer, or vita mix- I suggest do 1/2 batch at a time). Use an ice cream scooper, or spoon, or your fingers to dole out burgers of your preferred size onto the oiled cooking vessel, and put them in the oven. Cook for ~30 minutes, flipping and rotating 1/2 way through.

While the burgers are crisping up you can prep the extras- slice the avocado and tomato and lightly massage the kale. Then compile everything when the burgers emerge. Here, I turned the avo into a simple guac (mashed up with a little salt) and  I used 1/2 of a rice tortilla to hold everything in, pierced it with 1/2 kabob stick, and topped it off with a dill pickle.

The idea for this is based on a recipe in the Candle 79 cookbook. This New York eatery deserves some serious respect for their awesome vegan food.