super easy vegan pesto pasta

first, make the pesto:

Spinach Pesto
(makes 1 cup)


Ingredients:
1 cup baby spinach (packed)
1/4 cup fresh herbs (chopped, I used basil)
2-3 cloves garlic
3 tablespoons olive oil
1-2 tsp lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Place everything into a food processor and blend.

put the pasta on to boil according to box directions. make enough for 2 people
then, cut up a handful of cherry tomatoes, 1/2 red onion, and 1/4 block of marinated tofu. fry in oil until the tomatoes get all watery and sauce like. then add the pesto and heat until warm. serve over the pasta.

summer cookin

in the process of adding recipes.



spinach pesto bruschetta:
lots of pesto is made with basil and pine nuts. my basil plants are still small because i grew them from seeds so i dont have enough to make a lot of pesto with. my dad is allergic to nuts so i discovered if you add uncooked oats it adds texture. to make this vegan omit the cheese and add some more olive oil. i made it with pumpkin seed oil it was delicious!

spinach pesto ingredients:

1 cup spinach (packed)
1/4 cup fresh herbs (chopped, I used basil, mint and garlic chives)
3-4 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons oats
1/4 cup feta
3 tablespoons olive oil/pumpkin seed oil
lemon juice to taste
pepper to taste

other ingredients:
1 baguette
1-2 cups of cherry/grape tomatoes, sliced.

Directions:
1. Place everything for the pesto into a food processor and blend.
2. slice baguette and toast the pieces. spread the pesto and place the tomatoes on top.

i served with fresh strawberries made a nice light healthy lunch!







fresh vegan veggie burgers:



burger mix:
1 cup water
1/2 cup uncooked hulled millet
1/2 cup uncooked pearl barley
3 tbsp sunflower seeds
1 1/2 tbsp pumpkin seeds
1-5 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tbsp chopped parsley
1/2 red onion, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup grated carrot
3/4 cup firm tofu
3 tbsp grated beets
2 tsp tamari
2 tbsp spelt flour
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp chili powder
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp cornstarch
3 tbsp mixed herbs
2 tbsp water (if needed)





1. put millet, barley and 1 cup of water in a pot on high heat and stir. bring to boil, then reduce heat until water is absorbed. put grains in a large mixing bowl, let cool.
2. grind seeds in a food processor. add to mixing bowl.
3. in food processor, puree garlic, parsley onion and carrot. then add tofu and process until smooth. add to mixing bowl.
4. add remaining ingredients into mixing bowl (except water) and mix thoroughly with large spoon. add water if too try and shape into patties. (6)
5. fry, boil, or grill until crisp and brown on oth sides- about 5mins each side.

served with tomato, thai peanut sauce, lettuce and homemade herb and garlic bread! yummmmmmmmmmy

thai peanut sauce:


5+ cloves garlic, minced
1 inch ginger root, peeled and minced
1 1/2 cups natural smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 tbsp tamari/soy sauce
2 tbsp paprika
about 2 cups (give or take) water
cayenne pepper

combine ingredients in a bowl and whisk until smooth. heat gently for 10mmins in a pot. serve hot!


Curried Couscous Salad with Cranberries:


made this for father's day dinner (front). i have just perfected the sweet potato and beet recipe behind it and will be posting it soon.

1(5.8-ounce) box instant couscous
3/4 cup sweetened dried cranberries
1-2 tablespoons curry powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 orange, juiced
2 to 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 to 4 green onions, trimmed and thinly sliced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1/2 lemon, juiced

Stir the couscous, cranberries, curry powder, salt, and sugar together in a heatproof bowl. Bring water (amount will be listed on package directions) to a boil and pour it over the couscous. Add the orange juice. stir and cover the bowl tightly and let it stand about 5 minutes.

Fluff up the couscous with a fork. Add the olive oil, green onions, parsley and lemon juice and stir thoroughly.

summer falafels

yumyumyum

Vermicelli in a mug!

So, aaron and I moved into our new apartment, and are trying to cook more. Here we made some weird, cold salad/hot salad/cold noodle layered thing in a mug, which turned out to be pretty tasty.
You'll need:

Cold Salad:
Arugala (washed)
1/4 cucumber (diced)
1 Roma tomato (diced)

Hot "Salad":
1/2 Orange Bell pepper (diced)
1/2 Yello Bell pepper (diced)
1-2 Portobello Mushroom cap (diced)
1 onion (finely chopped)
1-2 cloves garlic (minced)
1/3ish cup vegetable stock
tblspn veg oil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 block medium firm tofu
1/2 cup snowpeas


Noodles
1/2 pack dry vermicelli noodles
2 cups fresh water
salt.

How to:
1. Put oil in pan. Throw in onions, then garlic. Get the water boiling and make sure to throw in plenty of salt to help it along, and season the noodles.

2. Throw the mushrooms and peppers in with onions/garlic. Put the vermicelli into the water. WATCH IT, vermicelli cooks really fast. Once it's done, drain it, and you can blast it with cold water and refridgerate if you want to serve it cold. Pour in the veggie stock and let it reduce.

3. Diced the raw cucumber and tomato and line two large mugs (or bowls) with arugala (or romaine lettuce is you're like aaron and don't like the leafy majesty of arugala). Toss inthe tofu and snow peas, and season with salt pepper and garlic powder. Again, tofu cooks quickly, as do snow peas,so keep your eye on them.

4. Layer the raw diced veg ontop of the lettuce, the vermicelli on top of the veg and the hot "salad" mixture on top of the noodles. EAT!

NOTE: We threw some nasty chicken in there, so the version we made wasn't technically vegan...I picked all the chicken outta mine though, hahah! And we were lame and lazy and drizzled on some presidents choice peanut satay sauce. Could have easily made it through

cook book

made a cook book for some family as a christmas gift last year, thought i'd finally upload it.

chicken sandwich

after i handed in my layout assignment, we celebrated by buying chicken and goat's cheese. so i made sandwiches!


chicken, brie, and pear sandwiches with balsamic onions

ingredients:
1 onion, sliced
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 ciabatta buns, halved
1-2 boneless/skinless chicken breasts, cooked and sliced
1 pear, thinly sliced
brie cheese, sliced
2-3 garlic cloves, finely chopped


cook chicken breast by frying it in a pan or grilling it. then slice the onion and fry it in butter or oil on a frying pan. when onions are translucent add balsamic vinegar.
arrange garlic, chicken, pears, onions, and cheese on sandwich. grill on a panini grill or toast in a toaster oven until cheese melts. serve with salad:

apple grape salad with balsamic onions:

in the previous post i had a recipe for apple and grape salad. it was delicious so i made some additions:
1-2 cups of baby spinach/mixed greens
1 apple, thinly sliced don't remove the skin its good for you!
1 cup grapes, stems removed and sliced in half
1/2 cup balsamic onions from above sandwich.
1/4 cup dried cranberries

for the dressing:
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp dijon/spicy mustard

end of the school year

second year is done! woo! crazy happy and sad all at the same time.
i've been trying to get rid of all the food in my cupboard so i havent made anything great this past week. right now im eating rice with peanut butter and leftover hummus mmm. it got pretty busy in the last few weeks but here are some simple recipes i've made!
salads are easy to make quickly and healthy!

grape apple salad:

ingredients:

1-2 cups of baby spinach/mixed greens
1 apple, chopped into cubes. don't remove the skin its good for you!
1 cup grapes, stems removed and sliced in half

for the dressing:
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp dijon/spicy mustard

delicious! the honey makes it nice and sweet!



tahini-chickpea salad

ingredients:
1 1/2 cups of chickpeas, cooked (you can use canned if you must..)
handful of baby spinach/mixed greens

dressing:
3 tbsp tahini
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

i cant really remember what else i put in here, if anything. try it with mustard or garlic? whatever, it will be delicious anyway!


spring rolls with hot and sour sauce served with quinoa salad with peppers and cheese

i got some spring rolls from an asian grocery store. the woman made them fresh there and they were SO good. vegetarian too! i just cooked them in the oven until they were done.

for the hot and sour sauce:
3 tbsp honey
3 tbsp lime juice
2-3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tbsp chili flakes
just mix those together, it makes a great dipping sauce!

for the salad:
1 cup quinoa, cooked (you boil it)
2 cups baby spinach/mixed greens
1/4 red pepper, thinly sliced
1/4 yellow pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 cup cheese, cubed (i used cheddar but if you had like, goats cheese or feta it would rule)

and the salad dressing:
2-3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp lemon juice
black pepper, to taste
maybe 1-2 tbsp of hot mustard? i forget.

it was yummy :)

home made pasta sauce!

a little more complex but so worth it!

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 ½ onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 5 cloves of garlic
• 3-5 tomatoes, diced
• ½ cup diced red/orange peppers
• 3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 2/3 cup water or stock
• 1 box of whole wheat spaghetti or other pasta (i had egg noodles)
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning, 1 tsp oregano, 1 tsp chili flakes

1. Heat oil in frying pan, fry up the onions and carrots
2. Stir in the garlic, tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms and stock. Simmer for 10mins, stirring occasionally. Add Italian seasoning, oregano, and chili flakes and stir in.
3. Cook pasta according to instructions on box
4. Pour the tomato mix into a blender and puree.
5. Put sauce back into the pan and stir in the chicken. Bring back to a boil and simmer for 10mins until chicken is cooked.
6. Serve over pasta. Garnish with grated cheese and fresh basil.

pumpkin loaf

banana pumpkin loaf

* 2 ripe bananas, mashed
* 2 eggs
* 1/3 cup olive oil
* 1 1/3 cups canned pumpkin puree
* 1/2 cup honey
* 1/2 cup white sugar
* 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 2 teaspoon cinnamon
* 1 teaspoon nutmeg
* 1 teaspoon cloves

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease an 9x5 inch loaf pan.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the mashed banana, eggs, oil, pumpkin, honey and sugar. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, spices, stir into the banana mixture until just combined. Pour batter into the prepared pan.
3. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool loaf in the pan for 10 minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.

Packed Lunch!

Shrimp and Tofu miso Stirfry I made for lunch one afternoon. Also has TVP (textured vegetable protein, it's like vegan ground beef), so tons of protein in this.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup mini shrimp
1/4 cup firm tofu
1/4 cup TVP
1 cup mixed veggies (snow peas, carrots, water chestnuts, broccoli, onions)
1/2 cup sweet potato


Sauce:
1 tbspn Miso
2 tbspn Organic Balsamic vinegar
2 tbspn Soy Sauce
1/4 cup tomatoes
1/2 tbspn soy bean oil
1 1/2 tbspn Lime juice
Big Squirt of Srirachi sauce

Steps:
1. Put veggies and a few drops of soy oil in a skillet.
2. Throw in tomatoes, TVP and shrimp.
3 Throw in potatoes, the rest of the sauce ingredients and finally the tofu.

Garnish with:
Hot Chili Seeds
Chives

Good on it's own, on noodles, rice, quinoa, couscous or a salad (as pictured)

Quinoa and Grilled Tofu Salad

Just a dinner i made for myself, which was very delicious.
Ingredients:
1/4 cup Organic Red and White Heirloom Quinoa
1 cup Organic Baby Herb Greens mix
1/4 cup firm tofu
1 Roma tomato
1/4 English cucumber
2 tbspns jalapeno hummus
1/2 tbspn extra virgin olive oil
1 tbspn Organic balsamic vinegar

Steps:
1. Boil quinoa in 3/4 water for 15 minutes covered.
2. Grill tofu for 7-10 minutes ( I used my george foreman grill)
3. Chop cucumber and tomato, wash baby herbs.
4. Assemble all ingredients, dress with oil and vinegar, and top with hummus.

Yummy, light and vegan! :)

beautiful day for a bike ride to bulk barn

got some fun health/bulk food stuff and then i made muffins! :)


dairy-free hemp granola cranberry date muffins:

1 cup 'hemp seed granola' (found this at bulk barn, its essentially just oats, sunflower seeds, hemp seeds, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds)
3/4 cup oats
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped pitted dates
3 tbsp honey
3/4 cup soy milk
2 tbsp natural peanut butter
6 frozen or not strawberries, halved and stem removed. (or 12 full ones whatever)

preheat oven to 350
mix together granola, oats flour, baking powder, and cinnamon.
mash bananas and add to bowl. add cranberries and dates and mix into oat mixture.
mix together honey, soy milk and peanut butter. add to mix until well stirred.
spoon into a lightly greased 12-muffin dish. top with a strawberry.
bake in preheated oven for 20mins ish.



i also made really good sweet-potato pizza:



curried sweet potato pizza:

Ingredients:
2-3 sweet potatoes, sliced into 1/2 inch rounds
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 large onion (sliced)
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 pizza dough
4-5 cloves garlic (chopped)
2 cups mozzarella (grated)
2 tomatoes, seeds removed and chopped
1 handful cilantro (chopped)

toss the sweet potatoes in curry powder and olive oil. bake in 400F oven for 30 minutes until tender.
meanwhile, melt butter in a pan. add the onion and cook on low until caramelized, about 30mins. add the curry powder and stir until fragrant.
prepare pizza dough on a greased pan. sprinkle with chopped garlic. spread the onions over the dough evenly. top dough with sweet potatoes, tomato slices, and cheese.
bake in 400F oven until dough is cooked, about 20mins. top with cilantro.

burritos

2 cups dried kidney beans, soaked overnight
1 onion
4-5 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp cumin
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp chili flakes
1-2 cups jasmine rice
juice of 1/2 lime
tortillas or pita breads
cheese, grated
baby spinach/mixed greens
handful of cilantro
plain yogurt or sour cream

boil beans, garlic and onions until the beans are tender. mash in a bowl.
mix in cumin, chili powder, paprika, chili flakes.
meanwhile, put the rice in the rice cooker.
heat up 2 tbsp olive oil and fry beans. add some water if it's too thick.
warm up tortillas or pitas. mix together beans and rice. add lime juice.
spread bean mixture onto pitas. top with cheese, spinach, cilantro, yogurt.

why did the chick pea cross the road

i had lots of tomatoes so i made my favourite chick pea curry for dinner.


2 ½ tbsp olive oil
5 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2-3 bay leaves
2 green chillies or chili flakes
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon gram masala
1 ½ onion, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
3-5 tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup chicken broth/stock
1 can chickpeas or 1 cup dried chickpeas, soaked overnight and drained.
Lemon juice
1-2 avocados
lime juice
naan or pita bread
rice

Boil chick peas for 15-20 mins until tender. drain

Heat olive oil in a pan. Add garlic, whole chilies, spices, and bay leaves and simmer on medium-low heat for 3 minutes stirring frequently.

Add onions and carrots and fry for 5mins on medium heat. Then stir in tomatoes and chicken broth. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
Stir in chick peas. Simmer for 5 mins until sauce starts to thicken slightly. Add lemon juice to taste.

Meanwhile, mash together avocado and lime juice in a bowl.
Serve chick pea mixture over rice and avocado mixture on the bread.



i also made blueberry spice muffins:

1 3/4 cups oats
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2-3 ripe bananas, mashed
1 cup frozen/fresh blueberries
3 tablespoons honey
3/4 cup soy milk
2-3 tablespoons natural peanut butter
handful of frozen/fresh raspberries/blackberries/strawberries

mix together oats, flour, salt, baking powder and cinnamon.
mash banana. mix banana and blueberries into dry ingredients.
in a seperate bowl, mix soy milk and honey and peanut butter. stir into fruit mixture.
scoop into muffin cups and top each with a raspberry/whatever.
cook preheated 350 degrees F for 20mins

the recipe i had also called for an egg and 3 tbsp of melted margerine. but i omitted them to make it healthier and they tasted fine. add more honey or a sprinkle of brown sugar to make sweeter.

dijon lentil and spicy salami casserole

my roommate stephanie bought this really awesome casserole magazine. every page looks delicious, and they have a section for healthy casseroles. i've made it twice and changed the recipe slightly but it was delicious both times!
apologies for the bad quality photos, i had to use my webcam because i am currently camera-less.

1 1/2 cups water
1 cup fresh green beans or frozen peas
2 or 3 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch slices
1 large onion, chopped
1 cup of spicy salami, chopped or sliced thinly
1 1/4 cups dried red lentils, rinsed and drained
1/3 cup reduced sodium chicken broth or dry white wine or water
3 tablespoons hot dijon mustard
1 teaspoon dried thyme or cumin
1 teaspoon dried parsley
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
1 table spoon olive oil
lemon juice

prehead oven to 400F. boil water in a pot and add beans, onions and carrots. return to boiling and reduce heat and simmer for 8-10mins. remove from heat and add lentils and salami. in a bowl, combine broth/wine, mustard, thyme/cumin, parsley and 4 cloves of the garlic. stir into salami mixture.
transfer everything into an ungreased 2QT casserale dish. bake, covered for 25-30mins until lentils are tender. meanwhile, toss together breadcrumbs and oil. sprinkle over sausage mixture and bake uncovered about 10mins until crumbs are browned.
before serving, top with last clove of garlic and a few squirts of lemon juice. delicious!

(the version i made tonight had no beans/peas because i didn't have any. :( sad. )

avocados!

sorry for lack of updates, busy schedules and lack of cameras are the ones to blame.



i have recently been starting off my day with something i like to call a 'kermit the frog smoothie'. also known as shrek smoothie for a younger audience. it is surprisingly tasty and really great for energy!

kermit the frog smoothie: makes 2 smoothies

flesh of 2 avocados
1 ripe banana
2 scoops of vanilla yogurt (optional for vegans)
1 cup ish of soy milk (adjust to preferred consistency)
3 or 4 ice cubes
squirt of lime juice (also optional)

mix all the ingredients together in a blender. the lime juice isn't essential it's yummy without but it just gives an extra bit of flavour to make this smoothie dynamite.

serve with oatmeal. trust me on this one: instead of putting milk and sugar in your oatmeal, put a few scoops of this in. it's superbreakfast!
and as promised, it turns the precise shade of green as this fella:

the doctor ordered more lentils

because those lentil burgers were so effing good i pretty much made the same recipe again. only this time i served it over rice.


i boiled the lentils until they were done and absorbed all the water. red lentils are best for this. then in a seperate bowl i mixed the garlic, cumin, garlic powder, chili flakes, cilantro, onions, and mustard. i also put diced cherry tomatoes in the bowl. when the lentils were done i mixed it all together while it was hot but didn't let it cook more. i like a really strong garlic flavour so if you don't then feel free to cook it more.


served it over jasmine rice. yummmmmmmmy!





for dessert, i found this recipe for healthy banana cookies. i've made something similar before so i wanted to try again. the recipe is very easy:

3 ripe bananas
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup dates, pitted and chopped. (you can also use raisins, dried cranberries, chocolate chips etc.)
1 teaspoon honey
2 tablespoons peanut butter (we use natural crunchy peanut butter. much better)

preheat oven to 350 degrees F
mash bananas
mix everything in a bowl. leave to sit for 15mins
put cookies in for 20mins.

i took them off the pan right after i took them out and they left a bit of residue. perhaps i will grease the pan with margerine next time. i might also add some cinnamon.

Red, Grreen, Orange and Yellow Stirfry!

Made an awesome and simple stirfy using carrots, water chestnuts, red.orange/yellow pepper, baby corn (all these were frozen) fresh broccoli, firm tofu and garlic sprouts (thanks kathryn!). Never used frozen veggies before, usually cut my own, but was lazy and the result was nice. Something to keep in mind is to put the garlic/onion in the pan first, then frozen veggies, then fresh, then anything like tofu (or egg, if I ate it) would go in last.
Served with a Balsamic miso glaze (it also contained ketchup, mustard, lime juice, vegetable stock and awesome asian hot sauce).
Please forgive the fail photo.
Also I ate too many of Kathryn's cookies, which were amazing.

lentil burgers

red lentils are the shit. i was craving something lentil-ey and i found this recipe on fatfreevegan. it was just what i wanted.
changed it up a little:

1 cup red lentils
1.5 cups hot water
1/4 cup fresh, chopped cilantro
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 large onion, minced
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon chili flakes
1-2 tablespoons hot dijon mustard
flour for binding
cooking spray or oil



Boil the lentils with the water. When the lentils are cooked, all the water should be absorbed. If the lentils are watery, let them sit to absorb the rest of the moisture. When the lentils are cooked and relatively cooled, add the cilantro, garlic, onion, mustard, and spices. If the mixture is watery, add some flour to bind the ingredients. Shape the lentils into patties and broil in oven or fry in skillet.

i had some issues with them falling apart as i tried to fry them. then i tried to cook some in my george foreman grill.. those worked but took a long time for some reason. next time i'll just do it in the oven.

topped it with cherry tomatoes and garlic sprouts. will totally make this again, it was so amazing! dylan brought over the cutest potatoes i've ever seen to serve on the side.




cookies for dessert :)

mates, dates, and inflatable bras

my lovely roommate katie was so kind as to buy some raspberries yesterday. i also had some dried dates hanging around. the result! a date smoothie!

date smoothie:
1 cup raspberries
3 tbsp vanilla yogurt
1 cup + soy milk
3 dried dates, pitted
1 tbsp peanut butter

it was so fresh and yummy. served it with oatmeal. smoothies poured into oatmeal is so much more badass than brown sugar.



and for lunch today i didn't have much, but i did have garlic sprouts i got at whole foods (which is the devil itself on a student budge) .

guaranteed garlic breath sandwich:
2 slices of good bread (i used rye i think)
2-3 grape/cherry tomatoes
handful of garlic sprouts, rinsed
4 slices of cheese
roasted garlic hummus
garlic powder (just a little, sprinkled)
pepper

put it on the grill and served with strawberries. also could be served with apple slices to minimize the garlic breath afterwards.

smoothies, tofu, and peanut butter

our brand new cooking blog! yell at us to post on it