Category Archives: Vegan

Everything Seasoning…Copy that

 

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Everything seasoning is my new obsession. I have been adding it to everything (No punt intended)! It is all the rage right now. Every store sells their own version. From ALDI to Wegmans to Trader Joes to Costco. Recently my boyfriend and I married our kitchens and spices. Which means it is getting pretty serious (smiles and hearts). With the blending of the two pantries we discovered over 300 spices, grains, and more for our culinary adventures.

Which made me realize, we have a elite pantry but also that I can make my own Everything Seasoning Blend.

I spiced it up a bit with using black Hawaiian Sea Salt and Fleur de Sel; however, use what you have on hand. Mix it up!

Everything Seasoning Ingredients

4 TB poppyseeds

2 TB white sesame seeds

2 TB black sesame seeds

2 TB minced dry garlic

2TB minced dry onion 

2 teaspoon of Black Sea 

2 teaspoons fleur de sel 

Directions: 

Place all the ingredients in a small bowl and mix it up with a spoon, until well blended. Place all the ingredients using a large funnel into a 8 ounce ball jar (fits perfectly in this size here). Secure the lid & shake it up. Sprinkle generously on “Everything”. My favorites are hummus on a whole grain tortilla, winter spaghetti squash, hard boiled eggs, salads, and more.  So much more….

Roasted Heirloom Tomatoes

Summer time means homegrown tomatoes! Chad and I’s tomato plants are 7 feet tall.

We planted over a hundred plants in the rooftop garden this year. So now that they are ready to be picked we cannot keep up. One of our favorite things to do is slow roast them in the oven (that is when we are not eating them right off the plants!). Yum! We grew a variety of small heirloom plants so many vibrant colors of the rainbow with various flavors and textures.

We also love to give the tomatoes away. We probably give more away than what we keep. Sharing is caring ☺️

Roasting and freezing them help us enjoy them all year round.

This is such a simple recipe! All you need is time.

Ingredients:

  • 1-2 pints of ripe tomatoes (we like to grow the smaller variety)
  • Olive oil or canola oil spray
  • Kosher salt to taste

Directions:

  • Preheat oven to 250 degrees
  • Prepare a 1/2 sheet baking tray with either rack insert or lined silicone mat
  • Wash & rinse the tomatoes with water
  • Cut the tomatoes in half & line them on the sheet pan cut-side down.
  • Place the pan in the oven and let them roast for 2 hours at 250 degrees.
  • Once time has elapsed remove from oven and let cool. Place the tomatoes using a funnel into ball jars. Store in refrigerators.

I love to place this on top of my salad, eggs, or in a wrap with hummus. Or just eat by the spoonful 😋

Salt & Pepper Cashews

 

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The holidays are here! That brings the cold weather. Friday was winter solstice the shortest day of the year. Warm up and bring in the holiday cheer with these spicy cashews.

I love making homemade gifts for the holidays. I made these for my mom and dad in mind. They love salt and pepper pistachios and I thought they would love salt and pepper cashews just as much since it is their favorite nut. These look super cute in mason jars with holiday trim or you can set out at your holiday party for the guests to snack on.

Ingredients :

1 tablespoon of canola oil

2 teaspoons of ground garlic & pepper blend ( or 1 teaspoon of ground garlic & 1 of ground pepper)

1 teaspoon of kosher salt

1 pound of raw cashew pieces ( Trader Joe’s is a good place to find nuts)

Directions

1. Heat a large sauté pan to medium heat. Add oil, spices, and salt. Let the spices heat and become aromatic. ( This takes about one minute). Continue to stir to prevent the spices from burning.

2. Turn the stove to low heat, add cashews and continue to stir for 4 minutes on low heat.

3. Remove from heat and let cool.

4. Once cooled completely place in air tight container. Fits perfectly in a pint mason jar.

Festive Peppermint Sugar Scrub

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The holidays are here. Where does the year go? This year I feel a little more behind than usual. However, this does not stop me from making holiday treats for the ones I love. I recently learned my love language is showing love through acts of doing; which explains why I love to make homemade goodies for the ones I love and appreciate.

I love making homemade goodies for Christmas. This year I went a little out of the norm for me and made a few non-edible gifts, like lip balm, body scrubs, and soaps. Please don’t be fooled I also made cookies (even macaroons!), and I will be making some breads for Christmas Eve. Once a baker, always a baker.

The last few years I have been all about starting new traditions with the ones I love and this year especially. In 2019, I hope to be posting more with many culinary adventures ahead with my love.

This recipe yields approximately :10 1/2 cups of sugar scrub. (As pictured from left to right you can place the scrub in 16 oz jars, 8 oz jars, or 4 oz mason jars. The top for the last 2 to the right is a holiday muffin tin cup, which I feel adds a little more holiday cheer).

Ingredients:

8 cups of granulated sugar, divided ( I found Aldi’s is the cheapest and right now it is $1.29 per 4# bag)

2 cups of coconut oil, divided

40 drops of peppermint essential oil, divided

20 drops of liquid red food coloring dye (optional)

Directions: 

  1. Using paddle attachment on your electric mixer beat 4 cups of sugar and 1 cup of coconut oil until fluffy. Add 20 drops of peppermint essential oil and mix a few more times. Set aside.
  2. In a separate mixing bowl add the remainder (4 cups of sugar, 1 cup of coconut oil and beat using a paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Add 20 drops of the essential oil and 20 drops of liquid red food coloring. Mix until you reach desired color and consistency.
  3. Portion out the scrub as you wish. I learned depending on the size jar you can use either a tablespoon or 1/8 to even 1/4 cup. I pushed down the scrub (with a small plastic [tupperware] dressing container) after each layer for a more ascetically pleasing appearance.

Special tip: Make sure to say yourself a jar. Take care of yourself this time of year and pamper yourself.

 

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Herbed Heirloom Tomato Salad

IMG_1197There is nothing quite like fresh tomatoes out of the garden in the summer time.  I love this fresh salad. It is so quick and easy the fresh herbs and fresh lemon do all the hard work. This salad was prepared to go with homemade pizzas for friends after a long workweek.

Ingredients:

8 cups of heirloom grape and cherry tomatoes (variety of color makes the salad vibrant)

1/2 Large Shallot; thinly sliced with mandolin

petite handful of fresh flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped (about a1/8 of a cup)

Petite handful of fresh basil, roughly chopped (about a1/8 of a cup)

1 1/2 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Lime Juice, 1/2 of a lime juiced (about 1-2 tablespoons)

Kosher Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Directions: 

Quarter the large tomatoes and half the medium tomatoes and place in a large bowl. Add the prepared shallots, toss in the chopped herbs, pour the vinegar & lime juice over the top of the vegetables, salt and pepper to taste. Let the salad sit for a half hour to marry flavors. Enjoy !

Fire Roasted Baba Ghanouj

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I was never the biggest fan of eggplant (other than eggplant parmesan). However this recipe will have you coming back for more. My boyfriend and I roast the eggplant, onions, and garlic right in the fire. It is absolutely amazing and super easy to throw into the food processor.

Fire Roasted Baba Ghanouj

  • 3 medium eggplants ( have tried all the varieties)
  • 2 medium yellow onions
  • 1 garlic bulb (only will be using 3 cloves of garlic for final product)
  • 1-2 teaspoons of kosher salt

Tools for the Job:

Food Processor

Fire Pit

Heat Protective Gloves

Tongs

Directions:

Wearing heat protective gloves, place the garlic bulb & onion (skin and all) in the fire coals. Allow to roast for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes have elapsed rotate the onions and garlic bulb. Add the entire eggplant in the fire coals. Allow the eggplant to roast for 10 minutes and rotate with tongs using heat protective gloves. Allow for the eggplant to cook another 10 minutes, then pull all the vegetables from the fire and place on a sheet pan to cool for at least 20-30 minutes. Remove the skin from the onions and toss into the food processor. Scoop out the eggplant meat and place it into the food processor. Lastly peel 2-3 cloves of garlic into the mix, salt to taste. Puree using the pulse function on the food processor. Enjoy the dip on pita chips, carrots or I like to add it to my tortillas.

 

Vanilla Bean Hummus

I tried a new twist on hummus two weekends ago! I was able to sample a few dessert hummus flavors and I think I ate the whole 8 ounce container of the vanilla bean in a weekend. I was out of town and I’m not sure you can locate the brand locally so I thought I’d give it a whirl.

Yields 18 servings 2 tablespoons

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of drained chickpeas

1/8 teaspoon of baking soda

1/8 teaspoon of kosher salt

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1 teaspoon Milled flaxseed

1 1/2 vanilla beans, the paste

1/2 teaspoon off ground Vietnamese Cinnamon

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

7 packets of truvia or sweetener of you choice)

1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk

Directions:

Place the first 9 ingredients in the food processor and purée to cream. Gradually add the almond milk until you reach the desired creamy texture to your liking.

Refrigerator for a few hours or overnight for optimal taste.

Spicy Garlic Scape Hummus

I may be going overboard with the garlic scapes. But when they are bountiful why not. They are only here for a short while.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons of tahini

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1 1/2 cup white beans (cannellini), reduced sodium (rinsed and drained)

1/2 cup chopped garlic scapes & the immature bulbs (optimal)

1 tablespoon of dried Italian seasoning blend

1/2 of a lemon juiced and the zest

1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt

Directions: 

Place all the ingredients into the food processor and pulse until smooth.

 

Special notes: 

I recommend letting this hummus marry overnight in the refrigerator. The scapes can make the hummus spicy at first after the ingredients marry overnight the heat decreases.

 

This hummus goes well with pita chips, crackers, on tortillas with some extra fresh cut vegetables like kohlrabi, English cucumber, and carrots.

Pumpkin Spice Chia Overnight Oats


Now that it is October I feel like I can pumpkin it up. I started the day with this delicious treat. 

Ingredients 

1/2 cup of pumpkin purée

3 tablespoons oats old fashioned

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 

1/4 teaspoon ground pumpkin pie spice

1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk 

1 1/2 cups water

2 teaspoons Chia seeds

1 teaspoon sliced almonds 

2 packets truvia or your favorite non-calorie sweetener

1/2 -1 tablespoons vanilla protein powder 

Directions:

Place everything in a 32 ounce mason jar. Secure with lid. Shake it up. Let the oats rest overnight in the refrigerator. Shake well before serving. 

The oats will thicken up slightly however if you want a Thicker consistency reduce the amount of water. 
Hot oatmeal alternative: 

Place all the ingredients listed above in a microwavable glass bowl. Give a good stir & microwave on high for six minutes. Be careful all the contents will be very hot.  Stir the oats place back in the microwave and microwave again for another six minutes. Enjoy!

Quinoa and Cucumber Salad

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Today we are celebrating father’s day a little early since my dad has to work next weekend. I was asked to bring a salad or the vegetarian dish. As my mom would put it “something you will eat” lol. This recipe is vegan so you can be safe to make the dish for your vegan guests as well.

There are a lot of benefits to a using quinoa in dishes. I like the fact that it is a whole grain and packed with protein. I prefer using the tricolor quinoa more or less for ascetics. I know the tricolor tends to be more expensive. If you like the tricolor as well,  I will share a trick to making the pantry staple last longer. Try purchasing a large bag of the white quinoa (like the Costco size) and mixing it with a small bag of tricolor. You will be surprised how the two can extend the tricolor effect.

This recipe yields: 6 (1 cup) servings

Ingredients

1 1⁄4 cup(s )canned low sodium black beans, drained (this is one 15 oz can)
1 cup canned artichoke hearts, drained and diced
2 cup cooked tricolor quinoa, cooled
1cup English cucumber, diced (this about 1/2 a medium)
1⁄4 cup fresh lemon juice (this took about 1 and a half fresh medium lemons)
1 cup raw red bell pepper, diced (this is about one medium)
1 cup raw yellow bell pepper, diced (this is about one medium)
3 medium raw scallion(s)
4 clove(s), smallgarlic clove(s)
2Tbs Pasta Sprinkle aka Italian seasoning
1tsp kosher salt
1⁄2 tsp ground  pepper
1⁄8 cup Lime jalapeno balsamic vinegar
Instructions
1. Place all the ingredients in a resealable container and give it a good toss.  Place the lid on the container. Store in the refrigerator to marry overnight or for a solid 1-2 hours.
2. Enjoy at your next potluck!