Whole Wheat Vegan Carrot Muffins

For a little while, Gary was juicing in the mornings. We had carrot/apple juice, orange/carrot/tomato/spinach, etc. It was quite interesting and didn't taste too bad. What I didn't like was the waste of the pulp of all the carrots we were using, thus this recipe came forth.

This was so easy to whip up. Within a half hour, Gary had muffins to take with him before he went to work. I met up with a few friends and brought some over, and they were a hit. It's healthy but wasn't dry at all.

I did omit the raisins, as I don't think raisins belong in everything. Gary is in agreement about that :). I also replaced some of the applesauce with oil, since I didn't have enough applesauce.

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Whole Wheat Vegan Carrot Muffins

made by cathy's kitchen journey
adapted from fannetastic food




ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 cup shredded carrot (or pulp from juiced carrots)

directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a muffin tin with 12 liners.
2. In a medium bowl, combine all the dry ingredients, flour through salt. In a separate bowl, combine the carrot and the apple sauce. (I didn't have quite enough applesauce, so I used canola oil to make up the balance).
3. Add the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk to combine.
4. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop the batter evenly into the liners.
5. Bake in preheated oven for about 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Yield: 12 servings

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Sauteed Spinach and Mushrooms

This is probably one of the easiest healthy side dishes to whip up even if you're pressed for time and have all the ingredients on hand. I purchased some fresh spinach, I think for the first time ever! Normally, I have frozen spinach on hand. However, I saw some fresh at the Chinese market and picked it up. It was crazy cheap, and it was a big bunch.

This dish is most definitely a power dish as well, considering all or most of the ingredients are basically super foods. Lucky for me, Gary loves all the ingredients, so I didn't have a hard time convincing him how delicious this was! The ginger and garlic added a nice flavor to the dish, and it wasn't too overpowering.

I used a wok for this, but a saute pan should work just as well. The spinach wilted significantly, so there was a lot more mushroom than spinach after it was cooked, so when I make this again, I might use 2 bunches or  try this with frozen spinach next time and see how it goes.

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Sauteed Spinach and Mushrooms

a cathy's kitchen journey original




ingredients:

• 1 TBSP canola oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 TBSP fresh ginger, minced
• 10 oz baby bella mushrooms, sliced
• 1 or 2 bunches fresh spinach (or a 10 oz package of frozen, thawed)
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• salt and pepper to taste

directions:

1. In a hot wok, heat the oil. Add garlic and ginger and cook while stirring for 30 seconds, or until fragrant.
2. Add the mushrooms and stir fry for a minute. Add the spinach and stir until it has wilted, continuing to stir for 3 minutes.
3. Add the soy sauce, salt and pepper to taste. Mix to coat well.
4. Transfer to a bowl and serve.

Yield: 2 servings

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Garlic Breadsticks

One day, I brought over an experimental loaf of bread over to my family to taste test. The loaf was still steaming hot, fresh from my breadmaker. Nobody could resist, and I got some good feedback for future loaves. My brother then promptly asked if I can make garlic bread. I said ok, but never said when I would actually make it.

When I made the pizza for the baby shower, I wanted to use some dough to make garlic breadsticks as well, but I wasn't sure how many pizzas the batch of dough would make. Since I used up all the dough for pizza, I didn't get a chance to make it. Since my brother was the one who requested the garlic bread in the first place, I decided to make it for his birthday.

For the garlic lovers out there, there's an abundant amount of garlic. My family loves it, so beware our wrath after we eat this! For those who don't like too much garlic, I was told that the garlic wasn't to prominent. I'm not sure how it works, but there was just enough garlic to satisfy everyone! The garlic haters even came back for more!

Although the dough didn't brown as much as I want, I wanted to keep it chewy. If I baked it any longer, it would have been crispy breadsticks. I may turn up the heat next time to see how it turns out.

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Garlic Breadsticks

made by cathy's kitchen journey
adapted from Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes a Day




ingredients:

for the dough (use a half batch):

• 3 cups + 3 tablespoons (25 1/2 ounces) lukewarm water
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 TBSP instant yeast
• 1 1/2 TBSP kosher salt
• 9 cups (38 ounces) all purpose flour

for the glaze:

• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 5-6 cloves garlic, crushed or finely minced

directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Mix until thoroughly moistened (use a spatula if necessary).
2. Loosely cover and set aside in a warm area. Let rise for 2 hours.
3. After 2 hours, transfer the covered bowl to the fridge for at least 3 hours, or up to 7 days.

to make breadsticks:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Combine the 1/3  cup olive oil and garlic in a small bowl. Set aside.
2. To make breadsticks, portion out 1/3 of the batch of dough.
3. Roll between parchment or wax paper to a 9x6 in rectangle. Cut into 9 1" wide pieces. Transfer to a baking pan, lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Stretching out the dough to lengthen as desired. Repeat with remaining dough.
4. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the breadsticks with the olive oil and garlic mixture.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown on the edges (mine didn't darken too much).
6. Remove from oven and brush on more of the olive oil and garlic. Allow to cool slightly before serving.
7. Serve with your favorite marinara sauce.

Yield: ~27 breadsticks

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Kale and Basil Pesto

With an abundance of kale left, along with a full windowsill basil plant, I decided to make some pesto. I've seen pesto using all sorts of greens before, so I decided to modify a recipe I've used before with success. This came out great, and Gary ate it even with the tri-colored pasta he hates so much :).

This is a great alternative to an all basil pesto. I've also substituted all spinach which works great as well. I only used about half the batch in the 12 oz pasta. Use this as a substitute for mayo or mustard for a great sandwich.

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Kale and Basil Pesto

made by cathy's kitchen journey
adapted from Vegan with a Vengeance




ingredients:

• 1/4 cup toasted nuts (I used walnuts)
• 2 cups, packed baby kale
• 1 cup, packed basil
• 3 large cloves garlic
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
• 2 tsp lemon juice (half a lemon)
• 1/4-1/3 cup olive oil

directions:

1. Combine all ingredients (except olive oil) in food processor and blend together.
2. Slowly pour in olive oil into the feeding tube while continuing to blend until desired consistency.
3. Serve with pasta or spread on bread in place of mayo!
4. To store leftovers, portion out the pesto into ice cube trays. Once frozen, pop out and place in a freezer bag. Defrost and use as desired.

Yield: ~1 1/2 cup

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Chocolate Cranberry Shortbread Cookies

For this recipe swap, we are assigned a random blog and we would choose any recipe from that blog. I was assigned JBean Cuisine. I had a tough time choosing which recipe to make. I probably bookmarked half a dozen recipes before I finally chose these chocolate cherry shortbread cookies. These look like a great sharable recipe, and I love that she also provide a vegan alternative.

I've never been a huge fan of shortbread cookies. I'm probably one of the few people in the world who doesn't like butter on everything. Give me plain lightly salted steamed veggies and I'm a happy camper! However, even though these shortbread cookies have a pound of butter in them, it isn't too rich and balances out nicely with the chocolate and fruit. I guess I'm not a fan of plain shortbread, but as long as they have some sort of mix-in to cut the butter taste for me it's fine. It was slightly powdery from the cornstarch, so I might reduce slightly next time to see how it turns out.  My family liked them, but my sister mentioned that there wasn't a lot of butter taste, even before I said anything.

I didn't need 7 dozen of these things, so I halved the recipe. I got about 2 1/2 dozen cookies from that batch. I also swapped out cranberries, since I have a lot of them!

Remember to check out Sarah's blog for the full swap round up!

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Chocolate Cranberry Shortbread Cookies

made by cathy's kitchen journey
adapted from JBean Cuisine




ingredients:

• 2 cups (1 lb) butter, softened (sub vegan butter to make it vegan!)
• 1 cup confectioner's sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup cornstarch
• 1 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips
• 1 cup dried cranberries, chopped

directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300° F.
2. In a separate bowl, combine flour and cornstarch. Set aside.
3. Using your stand-mixer with your beater blade (or in a large bowl) beat together the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in vanilla.
4. Add the flour mixture into the butter mixture until smooth.
5. Stir in chocolate chips and cranberries to the cookie batter.
6. Using a small cookie scoop, scoop dough and drop onto ungreased or parchment-lined cookie sheets. Press down to flatten (these don't spread) Bake 25-30 minutes (adjust to about 18-20 minutes if baking in convection oven).
7. Remove from oven and transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
8. Store in an airtight container or freeze.

Yield: ~7 dozen (I got 2 1/2 dozen when halved)

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Gingered Kale and Bok Choy

I swear that Gary changes is mind about foods every other day. One day, we saw a Vitamix demo at Whole Foods. The guy doing the demo made a green smoothie with all kinds of fruits and kale. He thought it tasted good. Meanwhile, I've tried to give him a green monster smoothie a while back and he didn't like it.

So fast forward to the present, I decided to pick up some kale for smoothies, or just to eat. I told him I would make a smoothie, but he didn't want any part of that! Of course, I mentioned that he liked it before, and he even likes the Bolthouse bottled ones as well as the Naked Juices, but NO!

OK, fine. I decided to find another way to use up the kale and found this recipe. It's a simple and quick stir-fried veggie dish that is similar to how I am used to frying vegetables, in a wok! I've used ginger with mushrooms, and I usually use garlic to stirfry vegetables. I don't know why I didn't think of stir frying the veggies in ginger too!

I had all the ingredients on hand. I omitted the cilantro since I'm not a huge fan. I've started to like it in certain dishes, but I wasn't sure how it would taste in this. I also added some almonds as a garnish for extra crunch.

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Gingered Kale and Bok Choy

made by cathy's kitchen journey
adapted from All the Good Blog Names are Taken




ingredients:

• 1 big handful baby kale, roughly chopped into 1" pieces
• 5 heads baby bok choy or shanghai bok choy, roughly chopped into 1" pieces
• 1 TBSP canola oil
• 1 TBSP minced ginger
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• salt to taste
• slivered almonds for garnish (optional)

directions:

1. Clean and rinse the vegetables thoroughly to get the sand out. Roughly chop into 1" pieces.
2. In a hot wok, add the oil and heat. Add ginger and mix continuously for 30 seconds.
3. Add the vegetables, mix with the wok spatula until they're vibrant green, 1-2 minutes.
4. Add a few sprinkles of salt, and soy sauce. Mix for another 2-3 minutes.
5. Transfer vegetables to a bowl and top with slivered almonds.

Yield: 3-4 servings

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No Knead Pizza Dough

This past weekend, my girlfriends got together to throw one of my high school girlfriend a baby shower. She is the first one of our group to have a baby and we wanted to do something special for her.

Since the mom-to-be has a dairy allergy, we set out to make everything dairy free. I made these vegan chocolate cupcakes that were a huge hit! I started out using the 2D tip, but the frosting ended up stringy since I used half shortening. It looked fine for the pink vanilla frosting since it looked like flowers but I just used a piping bag without a tip for the chocolate. I topped them with cupcake toppers from here.

We really had a mish-mosh of a menu that included Chinese and Italian cuisines. Since my friend loves pizza, I decided to make pizza for her using vegan cheese.

I've made pizza before, but I really hate kneading dough, even if it's with the Kitchenaid mixer. I've tried it in the bread maker with the dough cycle as well, but it wasn't quite right. This dough was perfect for me, since it required no kneading! All I had to do was dump all the ingredients in a bowl, mix, then leave it alone! Since I had so many other things to for the party, I decided to give this a go.

I halved the recipe and it made 3 good sized pies (about 12" each). I was going to try making garlic bread with this as well, but I ended up using it all for pizza.

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No Knead Pizza Dough

made by cathy's kitchen journey
as seen on King Arthur Flour, originally from Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes a Day




ingredients:

• 3 cups + 3 tablespoons (25 1/2 ounces) lukewarm water
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 TBSP instant yeast
• 1 1/2 TBSP kosher salt
• 9 cups (38 ounces) all purpose flour

directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Mix until thoroughly moistened (use a spatula if necessary).
2. Loosely cover and set aside in a warm area. Let rise for 2 hours.
3. After 2 hours, transfer the covered bowl to the fridge for at least 3 hours, or up to 7 days.

to make pizza:

1. Preheat oven and stone (if using) to 450° F.
2. To make pizza, portion out a softball sized piece of dough (about 8 oz).
3. Dust a piece of parchment with cornmeal and place the dough on top. Add another piece of parchment over the dough and roll the dough out between the 2 pieces of parchment. Leave the dough to sit for 30 minutes to reduce shrinkage.
4. Remove the top piece of parchment, top with pizza sauce, cheese and choice of toppings. Transfer to baking stone or pan with the parchment. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, depending on the thickness of your pizza.

Yield: I halved the dough recipe, which yielded 3 pies

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Peanut Butter Oatmeal Snack Cake

For this latest recipe swap, I received Kate's blog. I had my choice of anything I wanted to make, but I had quite a difficult time narrowing it down to one recipe! I wanted to make a dessert, but didn't really have an occasion to make or bring a decadent dessert. While her chocolate peanut butter cheesecake looked amazing, I knew I had to make the peanut butter oatmeal snack cake when I saw it pop up.

I love how this dessert isn't too sweet and it's pretty healthy to boot. It had a great salty/sweet taste. My peanut butter loving aunt wanted to hoard this all for herself. Pretty much all the fat is from the peanut butter, and since I use natural pb with no added sugars or anything, I had no guilt eating this for breakfast! ;)

I did cut the cake into 16 pieces instead of 9. It was pretty dense, so a little when a long way, and you definitely want a glass of milk or coffee or something to wash it down with. I did replace the milk with soy milk powder with water since I usually don't have milk on hand. Doing this ended up making this vegan (as long as your chips are dairy free), which is a plus in my book!

As always, remember to check out Sarah's blog for the full roundup of recipe swap recipes. I'm curious to find out who got my blog and what they picked!

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Peanut Butter Oatmeal Snack Cake

made by cathy's kitchen journey
adapted from Kate's Recipe Box




ingredients:

• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 TBSP vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup milk (I used soy milk powder with water)
• 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips

directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Spray a metal 8x8 pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3. Beat the peanut butter and sugar in your mixer at high speed until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and mix until combined.
4. Slowly add in dry ingredients while beating at medium speed. The mixture will be dry and look like coarse sand.
5. Reduce speed to low and slowly pour in milk. Mix until a dough ball forms. Fold in chocolate chips.
6. Form a dough ball with your hands then transfer to the prepared pan. Press the dough evenly in the pan.
7. Bake in preheated oven for 18-20 minutes, or until golden brown.
8. Let cool, then cut into 16 pieces (or however big you want them!)

Yield: 9-16 servings

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Vegan Stuffed Shells

As I mentioned earlier. Gary really missed stuffed shells. While I made the lasagna with the filling, he still wanted stuffed shells. I decided to make it since I wanted to try out the filling with the spinach.

I found it really weird that Gary has never mentioned anything about stuffed shells in the 6 years we've lived together. That might be one of the reasons I've never made before, but I digress.

Although the original said to scoop 2 TBSP of filling in each shell, I found that to be a bit much. I used a medium cookie scoop, which was about 1 TBSP of filling. It made it a lot easier to fill as well. Even doing that, I still have some shells left over. You can save them and serve with sauce or use them in another recipe.

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Vegan Stuffed Shells

made by cathy's kitchen journey
adapted from PBS Food




ingredients:

• 2 TBSP olive oil
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 16-oz block extra firm tofu
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 TBSP nutritional yeast
• 1 10-oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
• 1 box jumbo shells (about 25 shells)
• 1 24-26 oz jar marinara sauce

directions:

1. Drain the tofu and pat dry with paper towels, lightly squeeze out extra water. Crumble into the bowl of a food processor or high-speed blender along with olive oil, salt, oregano, garlic and nutritional yeast. Process on high until smooth and “ricotta-like”.
2. Transfer mixture to a bowl and mix in the defrosted spinach to the blended tofu mixture.
3. Cook shells in boiling salted water until el dente. Drain, and add cold water to so it's easier to handle.
4. Preheat oven to 350° F. Pour about ½ cup pasta sauce into the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch pan. Using a medium cookie scoop, stuff shells with 1-2 T of filling and place in pan, seam side down. Repeat until all shells have been stuffed. (I had leftover shells)
5. Pour remaining pasta sauce over shells, cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

Yield: 6-8 servings

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Vegan Zucchini Lasagna

When I first saw this recipe for the tofu ricotta, I knew it would be a winner. I've used tofu as a ricotta replacement before, and it worked very well. However, at that time, I didn't have as much knowledge I have now about tofu.

I've always been a fan of tofu, but I never really knew the difference between firm or silken or whatnot. I just ate anything my mom fed me. Now that I have to find dairy alternatives, I have to be creative in what I use. This tofu ricotta worked out beautifully and you really wouldn't believe it's vegan until I tell you.

Gary had a hankering for stuffed shells earlier in the week. Lucky for him, I had this recipe in my back pocket and I was already planning on making it. He thought the filling was perfect for shells, and of course it worked well in lasagna too, as I first thought when I saw this. Try this, and I bet you won't miss the cheese either!

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Vegan Zucchini Lasagna

made by cathy's kitchen journey
tofu "ricotta" adapted from PBS Food




ingredients:

• 9 lasagna noodles
• 1 block (16 oz) firm or extra firm tofu, drained
• 2 TBSP olive oil
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 TBSP nutritional yeast
• 1 large zucchini, peeled and slice lengthwise
• 1 24 oz jar marinara sauce
• vegan cheese (optional)
• vegan parmesan (optional)

directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the water, then boil lasagna noodles for 10 minutes. Once done, drain and add cold water.
2. In a food processor, blend the tofu, oil, salt, oregano, garlic and nutritional yeast until smooth and the consistency of ricotta.
3. Peel and slice the zucchini lengthwise with a mandolin. 
4. In a 9x13 baking dish, add 1/2 cup of the sauce.
5. Pat dry 3 lasagna noodles and add to the pan. Spread half the tofu mixture (you might have to use your hands), then layer with half the zucchini, overlapping slightly.
6. Add 1/2 cup sauce then layer with 3 more noodles, the remaining tofu, and the remaining zucchini. Then top with another 1/2 cup sauce.
7. Top with remaining 3 noodles, then pour the remaining sauce on top.
8. Cover the pan loosely with foil, then bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes.
9. During the last 5 minutes, top with cheese and sprinkle with parmesan if desired.
10. Let rest for 5 minutes. Run a knife through to cut into 9 even pieces.

Yield: 9 servings

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Lentil Black Bean Stew

I've been looking for more lentil recipes so I can make something other than lentil loaves. This recipe came to me as part of the recipe swap, and it looked good to me. I showed it to Gary, and I'm so glad he's now on board with most vegan, bean, and lots of healthy recipes!

I think this came out ok. I made a mistake of not cooking the lentils enough and they were a little bit undercooked. It does say cook for 25 minutes, but I thought since I used brown lentils I could cook it for less time. I kept testing it out, and individual lentils were fine, but once I had a spoonful, I could tell it wasn't cooked enough. I also added a whole can of black beans instead of the 1 cup. I was a little confused with the ingredients list since it was all in one paragraph, but 1 can worked out. I think there wouldn't have been enough food for Gary if I only used 1 cup.

On a side note, don't you hate buying a can of tomato paste to use only one tablespoon at a time and the rest go to waste? Well, I bought a tube from Whole Foods a while back and left it in the fridge. It's lasted forever, and I can squeeze out as much as I need at a time. Of course, if you have a can of the stuff, you could probably freeze it and it will work the same, but I think the tube is easier.

Also, remember to check out Sarah's blog for the full roundup of soup and stew recipes, including my submission of hearty beef stew.

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Lentil Black Bean Stew

made by cathy's kitchen journey
adapted from Runner's World




ingredients:

• 1 tsp canola oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 TBSP tomato paste
• 1/2 cup lentils, rinsed and picked over for stones
• 1 15-oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
• juice of one lime (1 TBSP)
• salt and pepper to taste
• cilantro for garnish

directions:

1. In a pan on medium heat, add oil, and onion and cook until soft. Add garlic, spices and saute for 1 minute.
2. Add vegetable broth, tomato paste, then cover and bring to a boil.
3. Add the lentils and cook until tender, about 25 minutes.
4. Partial mash the black beans and add to the pot. Add the lime juice, salt and pepper, and cook for another 5 minutes.
5. Transfer to bowls and garnish with cilantro.

Yield: 2 servings

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Roasted Sesame Maple Ginger Tofu

I've always liked tofu, but other than putting it in soups like my mom did, I never really ventured out. When I saw this baked tofu recipe, I knew I had to try it. It looked simple enough and the flavors sounded great. Gary was onboard, so that was also my deciding factor in finally making it.

This tasted great and Gary enjoyed it even though it wasn't fried! It had a nice crispy exterior and chewy center that worked very well. I did reduce the sesame oil by half, since Gary doesn't like the taste of it. He's fine with everything else sesame though, go figure.

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Sesame Maple Ginger Tofu

made by cathy's kitchen journey
adapted from Cara's Cravings




ingredients:

• 1 block extra firm tofu, pressed, cut into 1 inch squares
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 TBSP tahini
• 1 TBSP soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil
• 1 TBSP pure maple syrup
• 1 tsp cider vinegar
• 1 TBSP sesame seeds
• pinch of ground ginger
• pinch of red pepper flakes

directions:

1. Preheat oven to 475° F.
   
2. Line a baking sheet with foil, spray with nonstick cooking spray and add the tofu cubes. Lightly spray the top with more nonstick cooking spray and season with salt & pepper.
3. Roast for 10-12 minutes, or until the pieces of tofu are lightly browned on the bottom. Turn the pieces over, and roast for another 10 minutes.
4. Whisk tahini, soy sauce, sesame oil, maple syrup, vinegar, sesame seeds, ginger, and pepper flakes in a small bowl until combined.
5. Remove the tofu from the oven, and toss with the tahini mixture.
6. Pour the the tofu back on the sheet, and drizzle the remaining sauce on top. Return the sheet to the oven and roast for another 5-7 minutes, mixing with a wooden spoon halfway through, until desired crispiness is reached.

Yield: 2-3 servings

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Vegan Mocha Muffins

If you're looking for a super sweet breakfast treat to start your morning, sorry, you're not going to find it here. What you'll find here is a great healthy muffin which has just the right amount of sweetness that will start your morning off right. I'm not saying that I don't eat sweets for breakfast. I've eaten a cookie before and considered it breakfast. Heck, one of my favorite cereals is Cinnamon Life, even if I haven't eaten it in a while.

As I've grown up, my tastes have changed and I tend gravitate toward healthier options. Getting Gary to eat healthier has been a struggle at times, but even he has changed over the years. In the past, he wouldn't be caught dead eating a vegan meal, now he loves most of them.

I made these one Saturday morning when I got up seconds before my alarm even went off. It snowed all night and left us with a few inches outside. What a better way to start off the morning with a warm muffin out of the oven! I made these while Gary was still sleeping and he ate 2 immediately. He enjoyed them and that's awesome to hear from someone who used to eat 5 whoppers in one sitting when he was a teen!

The only change I made from the original recipe was swapping out plain unsweetened soy milk for the vanilla kind. Gary's picky about soy milks, and the Westsoy brand is only made with soy beans and water, the less ingredients the better!

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Vegan Mocha Cupcakes

recipe by cathy's kitchen journey
adapted from Vegan Diner




ingredients:

• 2 cups all purpose flour
  
• 1 TBSP flax seed meal
  
• 1 TBSP instant espresso powder
  
• 1 TBSP baking powder
  
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  
• 1/8 tsp fine salt
  
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  
• 1 cup canola oil
  
• 1 TBSP vanilla extract
  
• 1/4 cup brewed coffee, cooled
  
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  

directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Line or grease a 12 cup muffin tray. Brew coffee and reserve 1/4 cup for batter. Set aside to cool.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, flax, espresso powder, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
3. In a separate large bowl, whisk the sugar, milk, oil, and vanilla extract until smooth and combined.
4. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined, then whisk in the cooled coffee.
5. Stir in the chocolate chips. Using a 1/4 cup ice cream scoop, divide the batter into the 12 cups.
6. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until tops are puffed up and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean. (mine were done at 20)
7. Cool in pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
   

Yield: 12 muffins

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Healthy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have to admit, when I read over this recipe and saw that it no sugar, I was concerned of how it would taste. I love healthy options for everything, but I never thought for a cookie.

Well, this came out of the oven and the chocolate was all melty and gooey. I tasted it and it tasted like a crunchier version of a bowl of oatmeal I would eat in the morning, with the addition of chocolate. These ended up being a great breakfast option for me to grab on the go on the way to work, so I've also dubbed them as breakfast cookies.

I've never baked with olive oil, but I went back to the original source and saw that they used coconut oil. Since I always have that on hand and I've baked with it before, I used that instead.

The first batch came out as the shape of my cookie scoop, so while it was still warm, I pushed it down and it ended up like the shape of a mini hockey puck. The second batch, I flattened it before baking. I stored these in a zip top bag and they ended up a little soggy from the banana. I didn't mind the texture, and it made it seem more like little oatmeal energy bites than a cookie. Next time I try this, I might pack it into a pan to bake then cut into granola bars.

Remember to check out Sarah's blog for all the healthy recipes from the swap, including my contribution of lemon pepper salmon.

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Healthy Oatmeal Cholate Chip Cookies

recipe by cathy's kitchen journey
adapted from Tastetastic Voyage originally from 101 cookbooks



ingredients:

• 3 large, ripe bananas, well mashed (about 1 1/2 cups)
  
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
  
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, slightly softened (or olive oil)
  
• 2 cups rolled oats
  
• 2/3 cup almond meal (or heaping 2/3 cup blanched almonds, ground)
  
• 1/3 cup unsweetened coconut, finely shredded
  
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  
• 1/2 tsp fine grain sea salt
  
• 1 tsp baking powder
  
• 6-7 ounces chocolate chips or dark chocolate bar, chopped

directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F, racks in the top third.
2. In a large bowl beat the bananas, vanilla extract, and oil. Set aside.
3. In another bowl, whisk together the oats, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder. In a food processor, grind up heaping measurements of almonds and coconut, then add to the dry ingredients (if you already have almond meal and small shredded coconut, add it directly to the dry ingredients and skip this step).
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until combined. Fold in the chocolate. Drop dough, about 2 teaspoons in size, or with a cookie scoop, an inch apart onto a parchment or Silpat lined baking sheet. Press down slightly.
5. Bake for 12 - 14 minutes or until golden brown on the top.
6. Allow to cool 5 minutes on cookie sheets before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely

Yield: a little less than 3 dozen

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Tofu and Broccoli with Peanut Sauce

Happy New Year!

Here's to a new year, and a new you! I don't really make resolutions, but if I had to make one, it would be to eat healthier, less meat, and more whole foods. I've already started doing that, but I will continue to do so this year.

One of the things I've started reading up on and cooking is vegan meals. We've had a few good recipes for breakfast that are vegan, but we don't really have many vegan dinners. This meal was great because not only was it vegan, it was tasty and filling as well!

I made the mistake of using a stainless steel pan for this. I guess I missed the part about using nonstick! The tofu stuck a little and the sauce burned off a little. Next time I make this, I will definitely use a nonstick pan.

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Tofu and Broccoli with Peanut Sauce

recipe by cathy's kitchen journey
adapted from Vegan Yum Yum, as seen on Made Just Right




ingredients:

• 1 block extra firm tofu, pressed, cut into small squares
• 1 TBSP canola or peanut oil
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp mirin

peanut dressing:

• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 TBSP sugar
• 1 TBSP soy sauce
• 1 TBSP seasoned rice vinegar
• 1 tsp hot chili oil (I omitted)
• pinch of salt

for serving:

• steamed broccoli
• 1 grated carrot
• cooked rice
• crushed peanuts (optional)

directions:

1. Whisk sauce ingredients in a small bowl until smooth (be patient, it’ll look curdle at first then smooth out) and set aside.
2. Fry tofu in the oil over high heat in a non-stick skillet until browned on both sides. Drain and return to hot pan (turn off the heat). Mix soy sauce and mirin together and pour over tofu, mixing well. It will bubble up and form a light glaze.
3. Plate rice, add broccoli, tofu, carrot, and crushed peanuts. Drizzle with sauce and serve.

Yield: 2 servings

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Slow Cooker Vegetarian Sweet Potato Chili

After the holidays, I had a few sweet potatoes left over. What a better way to use them up than in a chili! I saw this recipe on the Real Simple facebook page before Thanksgiving and I knew I wanted to try it with whatever sweet potato I had left. This is a great meatless chili and packed full of vitamins and fiber!

I thought Gary wasn't going to go for it at first, but he actually enjoyed it. He didn't miss the meat! Since he can't have dairy, he didn't add any of the toppings therefore making it vegan, and it was still delicious!

Although you can definitely taste a hint of sweet potato and cinnamon, I didn't really see it. I think it could use a bit more next time. I also used dried beans instead of canned, since I had them on hand anyway. I added more water since I was using the dried beans, and I'm glad I did. It soaked up very nicely, and the chili was still thick and hearty. I only added one jalapeno because we're not big spicy people, but it could probably have used more. I usually don't have peppers on hand, but you can definitely use whatever you have.

This made a lot, so you can store them in single serving portions and freeze for later.

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Crockpot/Slow Cooker Vegan/Vegetarian Sweet Potato Chili
adapted from Real Simple

ingredients:
1 cup dried black beans
1 cup dried kidney beans
1 cup dried great northern beans
1 medium red onion, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped (or more of desired)
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 TBSP mild chili powder (or 1 TBSP medium-hot)
1 TBSP ground cumin
2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 cups water
optional toppings: shredded cheese, sour cream, sliced scallions, sliced radishes, and/or tortilla chips

directions:
The night before, pick out stones and discolored beans and soak in cold water (changing the water once) in the liner of a 4-6 qt slow cooker.

If you have time right before making this, I recommend sauteing the onions, garlic and peppers to bring out some flavor. If not, you can follow the directions below.

Right before cooking, drain the beans and rinse in a colander. Combine the onion, bell pepper, garlic, chili powder, cumin, cocoa, cinnamon, salt, black pepper. Add the tomatoes (and their liquid), beans, sweet potato, and water. Stir to combine.

Cover and cook until the sweet potatoes are tender and the chili has thickened, on low for 7 to 8 hours or on high for 4 to 5 hours

Serve the chili with the sour cream, scallions, radishes, and tortilla chips. [to keep it vegan, use Daiya (or your choice of vegan cheese), or omit the cheese and sour cream all together]

Makes 4 heaping servings, or 8-10 smaller bowls

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Mixed Berry Fruit Smoothies

Whenever we have a light dinner, we usually chase it down with a a couple of smoothies. Lame, I know, but we're both not too in to alcohol, and sorta watch what we eat. I normally don't eat a lot throughout the day, so it wouldn't hurt to have some extra fruit. I love smoothies, but the mass market ones can also be chock full of sugar and stuff I don't want to ingest. Our smoothies are frozen fruit and juice, nothing else!

These smoothies are great for a morning pick me up. This is a great base for any add-ins such flax or any other boost you may want.

I get aggravated sometimes when we use our mugs and tall glasses for smoothies. They're not really equipped to keep something cold for a long time. When I saw that the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program was offering Tervis tumblers up for grabs, I jumped at the chance! I've heard such great things about them, but I've never actually used one before. I wish I had got one sooner because this thing is awesome! I filled the Tervis with the smoothie and it kept it cold til the last drop. Because of its double insulation, it didn't sweat on the outside and my hands stayed dried. When I get a chance, I'll probably get a few to use at home.

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Mixed Berry Fruit Smoothies

ingredients:
1 cup frozen mixed berries (raspberries, blueberries, strawberries)
1 cup frozen mangoes
2 cups freshly squeezed orange juice

directions:
Add all ingredients into a blender. Blend until combined. If the mixture is too think to pour, add a little bit more juice to thin it out.

Makes 2-3 servings

disclaimer:
As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received a complimentary Foodbuzz Tervis tumbler. All the reviews and opinions are my own.

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Vegan Chocolate Mocha Cupcakes

Did you know today is World Vegan Day? I didn't but it's just a happy coincidence that I'm posting this today! Today marks the start of a month long vegan celebration. I guess I celebrated early, since this past month has been primarily vegan recipes!

As I mentioned, I made 2 different cupcakes for our birthday get together. The other one I made was this chocolate mocha cupcake also from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. I was set to make a chocolate cupcake, but the notes in the book also had instructions on turning the chocolate cupcake into a mocha one.

I think these turned out pretty good, as a chocolate cupcake. I didn't taste too much coffee in the cupcake, and only slightly in the frosting, even though there was coffee in both the cupcake batter and the frosting. I missed the part where it said to dust with cinnamon or nutmeg, so I think that would have made a difference as well. I also made the mistake of putting too much vanilla in the frosting while halving rest of the ingredients. It didn't taste off, but the extra liquid made the frosting a bit too thin while piping.

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Vegan Chocolate Mocha Cupcakes
adapted from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World

ingredients:
cake
1 cup unsweetened soy milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp kosher salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 TBSP cold strong brewed coffee

frosting (half the original recipe)
1/4 cup non hydrogenated shortening
1/4 cup vegan butter (rec: Earth Balance)
1 3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 TBSP cold strong brewed coffee
cinnamon or nutmeg for dusting

directions:
make the cake:
Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners.

Whisk the milk and vinegar in a measuring cup and set aside for a few minutes to curdle.

Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl and mix to combine.

Beat together the milk mixture, oil, sugar, vanilla extract and coffee in a large bowl. Sift in the dry ingredients and mix until no large lumps remain. (batter will be thin)

Fill cupcake liners two-thirds of the way and bake for 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool.

prepare the frosting:
In a stand mixer, beat together the shortening and butter until light. Add sugar a little at a time and beat for 3 minutes until no lumps remain, scraping down the sides as necessary.

Add vanilla and coffee and beat for another 5-7 minutes until light and fluffy.

Scoop frosting into a piping bag or heavy duty zip top bag and pipe from the outside in. Dust tops lightly with ground cinnamon or nutmeg.

Makes 12 cupcakes

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Vegan Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting

These past few weeks, a few friends and I hit a huge milestone. We all turned the big 3-0! While most people see it as a big deal, I didn't see it that way. I really am one of those that feel like 30 is the new 20, and my life and adventures have only just begun. If anybody looked at Gary and I, we definitely don't look like we're already in our 30s! These are the same folks I celebrated 2 years ago at the sausage fest party.

A bunch of my friends are ones that I've known since elementary school, as early as kindergarten. I think it's great that we've still kept in touch all these years. Even though we've all hit 30, we decided to go do something fun and kiddy - Laser Tag! I've never gone before, so better late than never!

We went out for an early dinner at a Shanghai Restaurant and I brought cupcakes. I made two flavors, this vegan vanilla one being one of them. I actually bookmarked this recipe a while ago, and I decided to make it for this occasion since I had almost everything on hand. I didn't have many eggs left, and I had some soy milk to use up. I didn't have to go the vegan route, but I did. To be honest, I think vegan cupcakes are pretty easy to make, and seem less messy.

If you think there's no way these cupcakes can stand up to regular ones, well they can! Nobody knew they were vegan until I told them!

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Vegan Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Fluffy Vanilla Frosting
adapted from Vegan Cupcakes Take over the World, as seen on their blog

ingredients:
cupcakes
1 cup unsweetened soy milk (or almond milk and omit the almond extract)
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 TBSP cornstarch
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup canola oil
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and scraped

frosting (half the original recipe)
1/4 cup non hydrogenated shortening
1/4 cup vegan butter (rec: Earth Balance)
1 3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 TBSP soy milk

directions:
make the cake:
Preheat oven to 350° F. Line muffin pan with cupcake liners.

Whisk the milk and vinegar in a measuring cup and set aside for a few minutes to curdle.

Sift the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl and mix to combine.

Beat together the milk mixture, oil, sugar, vanilla extract and vanilla bean in a large bowl. Sift in the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and mix until no large lumps remain. (batter will be thin)

Fill cupcake liners two-thirds of the way and bake for 20 to 22 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool.

prepare the frosting:
In a stand mixer, beat together the shortening and butter until light. Add sugar a little at a time and beat for 3 minutes until no lumps remain, scraping down the sides as necessary.

Add vanilla and milk and beat for another 5-7 minutes until light and fluffy.

Scoop frosting into a piping bag or heavy duty zip top bag and pipe from the outside in.

Makes 12 cupcakes

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Vegan Multigrain Waffles

Lately when Gary isn't asking for pancakes, he's heating up a few frozen waffles for breakfast. His latest addiction is quinoa waffles. He loves the nutrients and protein it gives him, and it gives him more energy for whatever he needs to do. I haven't found a quinoa waffle recipe yet, but if you have one let me know.

I did decide to make this multigrain version to try out as an experiment. You see, I "borrowed" my sister's waffle maker a while back, and I don't plan on returning it anytime soon :). These came out great, and I liked the wholesome nutty taste the oatmeal added. Overall, this recipe is a keeper as a basic waffle that will fill you up all morning.

This was an easy recipe to whip up in the morning. My 15 yr old waffle maker heated each batch up in about 7 minutes.

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Vegan Multigrain Waffles
source: Vegan Visitor

ingredients:
1 cup whole wheat flour
2/3 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup quick cooking oats
1/3 cup ground flax seed meal
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 TBSP white sugar
2 cups soy milk
2 TBSP vegetable oil

directions:
Preheat waffle maker according to your manufacturer's directions.

In a large bowl whisk together all the dry ingredients (flour through sugar). In a mixing cup, add the oil to the soy milk. Whisk the milk into the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined, and most lumps are gone.

Spray or brush the waffle maker with oil. Pour enough batter into waffle maker and cook per the waffle maker's instructions. Mine took about 7 minutes each batch of 2 waffles. Repeat until batter is used up, spraying/brushing more oil as necessary.

tips:
*make sure you don't cover after removing from the waffle maker, otherwise it will get soggy
*toast the waffles to make them extra crispy
*store leftovers in a freezer bag and reheat in toaster for a quick morning breakfast!

makes about 8 waffles (more or less depending on your waffle maker)

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