A Salad of Sorts...

Alrighy, then.  Let's see, you'll need a base of chopped iceburg/lettuce.
Toppings are warmed:
Rice
Sun dried tomatoes
Cooked onion, carrot, broccoli
Raisins
Shredded low-fat coconut
Avocado

Drizzle with sugar free maple syrup, and sprinkle with nooch.

Adapted from The Tolerant Vegan

Dessert Plate

 

Ok, so this first one... let's just say I wasn't expecting it to taste all that great after I made it - it looked kind of off.  BUT, contrary to my expectations... WOW.  It had that flavour of sweet, sweet fruit.  Seriously, this is good stuff.

Adapted from Sweet Healthy Living

Part 1, the fruit: Mix together 1/4 cup chopped frozen strawberries, 1/4 cup chopped frozen bananas, 2 tsp chia seeds, a drizzle of maple syrup, a dash of cinnamon, and a dash of dried ginger.  Let sit in the fridge for several hours to thicken.

Part 2, the whipped cream (more than needed): blend 1 pear (ripe, cored, peeled, roughly chopped), 3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce, 1/3 cup raw cashews, a dash of dried ginger, 2 dates, 1 tbsp vanilla extract, and 1/2 tsp xanthan gum.

When you are ready to serve, top the fruit with the cream, and sprinkle with granola (I just used store-bought).  Mix together.

 

And now for the cookies and such...

 



The newcomers here are...
The white blob on the bottom is cookie dough from Chockolawtay.  I halved the recipe, skipped the protein powder, butter extract, coconut extract, rice flour, and vanilla paste.  I added vanilla extract and rum extract, and used baking blend stevia for the sweetener.  Big hit!
The chocolate to the right of the cookie dough is red velvet fudge from Foodie Fiasco.. although, obviously, not so red.  I opted to use banana, and thought these also turned out excellent.  Zapping in the microwave is not optional, trust me.
On the veeery right of my plate was some banana-pistachio bread.  Yuuum!  Straight from Boy and the Rabbit, only I skipped the frosting and added the pistachios straight into the bread.  Hey, that worked too...
The cookies on the left are pumpkin oatmeal.  I wasn't too impressed with them - rather flavourless, actually.

Saturday Dessert Plate

 Chocolate-filled Cookie Dough Truffles.  So, basically, for the chocolate part, mix up one batch of Foodie Fiasco's coconut butter, and use that in CCK's home made chocolate.  You'll have a bit leftover, but I'm thinking that this would be a good low-cal replacement for chocolate chips.  Then make the batter for these cookie dough truffles, using PB2 instead of peanutbutter, and stevia + molasses for the brown sugar (next time I would probably double the stevia, and throw in some cinnamon).  Leave out the chocolate chips, and add in 1-3 tbsp water to make a workable dough.  Wrap little squares of the dough around teensy balls of the chocolate, and refridgerate.  Done!

Blackberry cookies, adapted from Chocolawty.  They had a really pretty colour, and a nice, suttle blackberry flavour.  (I couldn't find stevia-sweetened blueberry jelly, so I bought blackberry instead... close enough!).  The only changes were halving the recipe,  using applesauce instead of oil, and using lemon zest in place of extract.

Made these peppermint patties... oh, HEAVEN!  It's been too long since I've had peppermint... Changes were using reduced fat coconut shreds instead of coconut butter (although I FINALLY broke down and bought coconut oil.  Dang, that stuff is expensive!), and using sugar free maple syrup.

 

Chocolate, Vanilla, and Brownie Pudding Pie.  Yes.  I used Chocolate Covered Katie's brownies, with dark chocolate cocoa powder for the brownies.  The only changes were halving the recipe, using stevia in place of sugar, and dark chocolate cocoa powder + extra soy milk instead of chocolate chips.  Even M, who doesn't like most of my desserts, LOVED this pie!

Lemon squares.  Not too good.... too much lemon, and a weird texture. :(

And, lastly, I finally made a variation on banana-fro yo (adapted from HHL).  It was 1/2 frozen banana + a scant cup frozen pineapple.  Yum!

What's Up Wednesday #2

Gingerbread Cookie Oatmeal.  That's right. So sweet!  A combination of Bottomless Oatmeal and Gingerbread Oatmeal (minus the molasses, lots of sugar free maple syrup, no coconut, steiva)

Been reading a good book: They Came to Baghdad by Agatha Christie. It's nice to actually read a book again, since I've been so busy with school work :D

I made these coconut flour sandwich thins (with guar gum and no nooch)!  Since the bread that I've been using had milk in the ingredients list (!) I knew I had to switch.  So, then I stumbled onto Foodie Fiasco - and WOW what a fabulous blog!  So many low-cal, healthy things.  Anyway, the sandwiches were super good.  Although, next time, I would make 8 pieces instead of 4, and then there would be no need to cut them in half. (UPDATE: I did make the 8 pieces yesterday, and it worked marvelously!)

Pineapple-Orange Setian - using oatmeal for the soy flour, mirin for the olive oil, and leaving out the nooch.  So, it was quite an ordeal to get this cooked!  First, I steamed it for 30 minutes.  It was still undone, so I baked it at 350 for 15 minutes.  Then I had it in a stir fry, but it was still super gummy.  the next day, I cut it into thin strips and grilled it on my panini press, and now it's OK! ;)  Next time, I would just steam it for 45 minutes and then grill it.  THAT should be muuuuch easier!

I've been enjoying this sandwich for lunch, on the sandwich thins that I made, with the Pineapple Orange Setian.

Super yummy salad dressing, a great way to use up that tomato paste in the fridge! ;)
(Of course with lots of changes: tomato paste for sauce, added LOTS of mirin, cider vinegar for the tarragon vinegar [have any of you ever seen this? I sure haven't], onion powder not juice, and Italian herbs in stead of dill)

And here's an interesting link that vegnews posted on facebook, in case you didn't read it: how being vegan saves water too!  Wow, we're sooo good! ;)
Ok, so another VegNews story.  Gross, or interesting?  You decide!

Belated What's Up Wednesday

Well, here's my first What's Up Wednesday!  Here goes... more pictures, less words!

I got butter lettuce seeds on Sunday, and planted them as soon as I got home from the nursery.  One started sprouting on Tuesday - boy, was I suprised!  (Yes, I planted them in little bathroom cups.  SOOO?)

Lookie lookie at the goodies I got yesterday!!!!
Coconut flour, guar gum, xanthan gum, and wheat bran!!!

Yeah, TOTALLY bought a beet and thought it was a rutabaga. Oh, well.  At least M likes beets - I hate them.  Although they are really pretty...

I finally got around to cleaning out my binders from school.  Look at alllll that paper we used!  Honestly, you'd think there would be a way to be more green.

Hah, and check this out - I had to take notes from a VERY tedious AP World History textbook last year... my writing was soooo small, about 50 pages all tolled, front and back... yes, my hand was very cramped that year! 

And, the best for last! This morning, I combined Foodie Fiasco's Bottomless Oatmeal with Honey What's Cooking's Almond Joy Oatmeal (used cashews instead of almonds, almond meal instead of almond butter, and more stevia).  Notes: you might want to use a liiittle less liquid.  And I simmered the oats for about 30 minutes.  Yup, it was so worth it!

PB Rice Crispy Bars

So, peanut butter rice crispy - oatmeal bars, anyone?  It makes about 6 bars, each clocking in at less than 50 calories!

Adapted from Chocolate Covered Katie and Foodie Fiasco

Part I: mix together 1 cup rice crispies, 1/2 cup oatmeal, and 1/4 tsp salt in a small bowl.  In a larger, freezer-safe bowl (I just used a plastic container) mix 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1/4 cup sugar free maple syrup, 2 tbsp PB2, a splash of soy milk, and 1 tbsp agave.  Pour the dry mix into the wet, and mix well.  Press down HARD until very compact, using wax paper.
Part II: Mix together 1 tbsp PB2, a big splash of soy milk, 1 tsp coconut flour, and 1 tbsp shredded coconut.  Mix well, and pour over bars, spreading until even.  Top with pretzels, freeze, and enjoy!

Tropical Salad

This was super light... and fun to make/eat.  The macadamias were a real treat!

Adapted from Oh She Glows

Base: iceburg lettuce
Stuffs: chopped banana, pinapple, mango, macadamia nuts, shredded coconut
Dressing was a bit of tofu mayo mixed with balsamic vinegar, mirin, and agave nectar.

That's it.  Honestly!

Low-Cal 15 Minute Coconut Macaroons

Me: =D
Thanks to Chocolate Covered Katie... The only thing I changed was to skimp on the coconut milk by
~2 tbsp, and micorwave for 3 minutes instead of 2.

These are like little bursts of coconut...

Coconut Veggies, Beans, Tofu

Meh.  AP exams.  Take.  Over.  My.  Life.
But I can still cook!...  So, about this dish.  I slightly overcooked the broccoli, undercooked the beans, and should've added more coconut milk.  But it was still good, and I would totally eat this again.  :)

Adapted from WTHDAVEA

Cook some brown rice.  Boil a small chopped/peeled sweet potato.  Press 4 slices of tofu.
Saute chopped garlic and broccoli florets until the broccoli starts turning green, then add 1 1/2 cups black beans.  Stir together and add: coconut milk, corn starch, maple syrup, 'cowboy' seasoning mix, chili powder, thyme, and butter extract.  Add in the cooked sweet potato.
Slather the tofu with maple syrup and grill on a panini press.
And then it's all done...

Simple Coconut Stir Fry

Sorry, my camera ran out of batteries, so no pictures tonight. (Updated with picture, now, obviously...)   Which is reallllllly annoying because the stir fry was so pretty.  And coconut-y...  Adapted from HHL.

Brown rice was cooked with a bay leaf, garlic powder, and dried ginger.
Tofu was cut into slabs, marinated with maple syrup and liquid smoke, and grilled on the panini press.
Veggies were broccoli, onion, carrots, and mini-potatoes; sauce was 50/50 low fat coconut milk and maple syrup, with a smidge of Perfect Pinch sweet and smokey flavouring, thickened with corn starch.
Plated: rice, veggies, tofu, shredded coconut, and peanuts.  Eat with chopsticks.

Coconut Soba Stir Fry

As usual, this one is super easy to throw together - not to mention that I haven't had coconut milk in ages, so that was really nice. Adapted from HHL.

Veggies were broccoli, carrots, grated ginger, and onion, plus deep fried tofu.
Sauce was 1/4 cup peanut sauce (this peanut flavoured stuff I get from the Asian market), rice vinegar, 1/2 cup coconut milk, and cilantro, thickened with corn starch.
Served over soba noodles, topped with cashews.

Stuffed Bell Peppers Plus Sweet Roasted Cashews

Here's another set of delicious recipes that can be made in just a few minutes each.  The cashews take no time at all, and develop a very nice flavour in the oven.  I especially liked the subtle sweetness of the agave- not to mention the added side effect of all the nuts sticking together.  Just a btw- did you know that cashews have the lowest fat content of all nuts?  I thought that was rather interesting.  Walnuts, of course, have teh omega-3 fatty acids, and almonds are just plain old nutriet packed - the "king of all nuts", is what I have heard them called.  Anyway, I liked these cashews...

The last time I made stuffed bell peppers, they were not very good at all.  These, on the other hand, are the exact opposite, and there is a perfect balance of bell pepper to filling, which was my problem last time.  Not to mention they take minimal prepwork, and are a good way to use up leftovers.  Even M, who has eaten many stuffed peppers, said they were really good.  I actually tried to eat them with my fingers, because cutting them with a fork is kind of hard.  Failure.  But, hey, they still tasted excellent.

Agave-Coconut Roasted Cashews

Adapted from 175 Quick & Easy Chinese Recipes

Makes 1 cup

1 cup cashews- whole or pieces

1 tbsp agave nectar or honey

1/3 cup dried coconut flakes

Chili sauce, to taste

Preheat the oven to 375.  Mix all the ingredients in a bowl, and spread onto a baking sheet.  Roast for 12 minutes or so, until lighty browned and they smell really nice, checking occasionally.  Serve hot or cool.

"Burger" Stuffed Red Bell Peppers

Adapted from 175 Quick & East Chinese Recipes

Serves 4

8 oz Boca crumbles

1 small carrot, finely chopped

1 large green onion, chopped

1 tsp finely chopped or grated ginger

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp rice wine

1/2 tbsp brown sugar

3 small red bell peppers, or enough to put the stuffing in, cut in half, stemmed, and seeded

1 tbsp Panko break crumbs

Heat a wok over medium heat with a bit of water, and add the Boca crumbles, carrot, onion, and ginger.  Saute for 5 minutes, and then add the soy sauce, rice wine, and sugar.  Heat through, and mix well.

Preheat the oven to 375.  Stuff each bell pepper half, and then put the stuffed peppers, filliing side up, on a baking sheet.  Sprinkle with Panko, and then bake for 35-40 minutes, until the peppers are deflated and the filling is lightly browned.  Serve.

Coconut Udon Tofu Stir Fry

This stir fry is amazing.  I wasn't feeling all that great today- my stomach had been hurting and I have this aweful taste in my mouth.  So I didn't eat very much for my lunch, and by dinner I was so hungry that I didn't really care how much my stomach hurt, I was eating a lot.  So I made this stir fry, which turned out to be just the thing that I have been craving for a long time.  It's been ages since I have made udon noodles, and these seemed to turn out really well.  I thought it was just slightly sauce heavy, and M agreed, so go a bit heavier on the veggies if you want.  And I always love the tofu, as usual...

A Noodle Dish

Adapted from Eat Air

Serves 4

12 oz fried tofu, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 heat broccoli, cut into florets
5-7 green onions, white parts thinly sliced, green parts chopped into 1 inch pieces

4 small carrots, cut on the diagonal

1 red bell pepper

2/3 cup edammame
1 tsp ginger, grated
2/3 cup reduced fat coconut milk
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp basil

1 tsp curry paste

1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce
2 tbsp corn starch
Udon noodles, cooked, to serve

Peanuts, to serve

Mix together the coconut milk through the corn starch in a bowl and set aside.

Heat a wok over medium high heat with a bit of water. Add the carrot and sauté for a couple minutes and then add the broccoli and ginger. Cook for 3 more minutes and add in the bell pepper and green onion. After another minute add the edammame, and then stir fry another couple seconds. Add in the sauce and cook for another minute. Add in the tofu, heat through, and serve over udon noodles topped with peanuts.

Coconut Rice and Veggie Stir Fry

So, I did not really read the recipe when I decided to make this dish.  I just skimmed the ingredients, and then thought "Ok, that's goog.  I'll just add more veggies."  Hah, and then when I realised that the tofu was supposed to cook with the rice in the original, I felt kind of stupid.  And this one turned into another stir fry, that was actually quite a nice change from other stir fries because of the cinnamon and other spices in the rice.  You really can't go wrong with cashews and cinnamon.

Coconut Rice with Tofu and Veggies

Serves 4

Adapted from Happy Healthy Life

1 cup long grain brown rice
1/4 cup light coconut milk

1 ¼ cups water

A few drops coconut extract
1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon
Dash of nutmeg and cloves

1/2 cup shredded coconut
1 Tbsp agave nectar
2 Tbsp rice vinegar

14 oz fried tofu, cut into bite sized pieces

½ cup light coconut milk

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tbsp corn starch

2 tbsp mirin

Dash of nutmeg and cloves

2 tbsp agave nectar

3 carrots cut on the diagonal

1 red bell pepper, chopped

2 heads broccoli, chopped into florets

1 onion, sliced

1 tsp. grated fresh ginger

Cashew pieces, to taste (about 1/3 cup)

In a pot, add the rice, coconut milk, salt, coconut or regular water, nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon.  Bring to a boil and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes.

Add the agave, vinegar, coconut flakes, and vanilla extract.  Cook until the rice is done, about 30 more minutes. 

Mix together the coconut milk, through agave, and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat a wok over medium high heat.  Add the carrots, onion, and ginger with a bit of water.  Sauté for 3 minutes, and then add in the broccoli and bell pepper.  Sauté until almost tender, and then add in the coconut milk mixture.  Add the tofu, heat through, and then serve over the rice topped with cashews.

Another Stir Fry

Here's another quick stir  fry with the very typical long list of ingredients in the sauce.  It's really good, just life every other stir fry that has come along recently here.  M really likes it, because of the chicken and peanuts, which are among her favorite ingredients.  Mine too, but I like a lot of things.  I was very pleased with how this turned out.  Plus, I actually managed to not under or over cook the rice this time, so that was a really nice change. Yay!  Go me.

Coconut “Chicken” Curry

Adapted from Chinese and Thai 400

Serve 6

½ cup tamarind juice
1 tbsp vegetarian chicken bullion1 tbsp agave nectar

¾ cup reduced fat coconut milk

Chili sauce, to taste
Juice of 1 lime
1 tbsp corn starch
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, pressed

2 cups broccoli florets

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 cup frozen peas (I used snow peas when I made this, but it would be better with peas)

1 vegetarian chicken, about 3 cups, chopped
12 oz fingerling potatoes, cut in half if large and boiled until tender
Rice and peanuts, to serve

Mix together the tamarind juice through corn starch in a bowl, and set aside.

Heat a wok over high heat with a bit of water. Sauté the onion for 2 minutes, and then add the garlic. Sauté for another minute and add the broccoli and bell pepper. Sauté for another 4 minutes, and then add the sauce. Add the peas and “chicken”, and simmer for 2 minutes. Add in the potatoes, and simmer for another 2 minutes, until heated through. Serve over rice, topped with peanuts.

Coconut, Potato, and Veggie Stir Fry

This is rather an interesting dish, one that I would never have dreamed up. It has a kind of sweetness that is a very nice surprise, and makes a nice change from the normal pace of stir fries. I love the little fingerling potatoes in here too, which really add a lot of punch to the dish. Since M is not such a big fan of the “ham”, I just had mine on the side of the plate, which made me squeal because it was so pretty. Another great stir fry. There never seems to be two of a kind with stir fries.

Sweet, Potato and “Ham” Stir Fry

Adapted from Wok
Serves 4
1-2 tbsp masaman curry paste
1 cup reduced fat coconut milk
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground cardamom
3 tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce
3 tbsp tamarind juice
1 tbsp corn starch
1 smallish onion, chopped
2 carrots, sliced
1 head broccoli florets
1 bell pepper, chopped
12 oz fingerling potatoes, boiled until tender (about 8 minutes)
3 cups vegetarian ham, chopped

Rice and almonds, to serve

Mix together the curry paste through corn starch in a small bowl. Set aside.

Heat a wok over medium high heat with a bit of water. Add the onion and carrots, and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the broccoli and bell pepper, and sauté for another 4-5 minutes. Add the potatoes and sauce, then the ham. Cook until heated through, about 1 more minute, and then serve over rice with almond slivers.

 

Tofu And Coconut Noodles

I really don't think that there is anything spectacular about this dish that really makes it stand out.  But, it's still really good.  Not to mention so simple to make, like most things similar to these types of dishes.  And it has coconut milk, which I still seem to be addicted to.  This is another dish that goes well with pretty much any veggies, and is a good fridge cleaner-outer.

Coconut Noodles with Tofu and Veggies

Serves 4

Adapted from Chinese and Thai 400

1 tbsp masaman curry paste

1 tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce

2 tbsp soy sauce

Juice of 1 lemon

1 tbsp corn starch

1 cup reduced fat coconut milk

1 onion, thickly sliced

3 carrots, chopped

1 large head broccoli florets

3/4 lb green beans, chopped into 1/2 inch lengths

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

12  oz package fried tofu

2 servings frozen egg noodles, cooked in boiling water until thawed, and drained

Mix together the curry paste through coconut milk in a small bowl.  Set aside.

Heat a wok over medium high heat.  Add the onion and carrots, and saute for 2 minutes, and then add the green beans.  Saute for another two minutes and add the bell pepper and broccoli.  Saute until almost tender, about 4 minutes.  Add the remaining ingredients and sauce, and cook until heated through and well mixed, about 2 more minutes.  Serve.

Coconut Tofu Stir Fry and Snow

It actually snowed.  It actually snowed!  That never happens.  M and I were, as usual, pretty skeptical when the weather man said  that there was going to be snow because he is usually wrong, but it actually did snow for once.  And we got several inches too, from the looks of it.  All the little kids went out to play in it, but I just stayed inside for the better part of the day, and M and I  ran our usual errands.  What was really funny was that I needed apples, and there hadn't been any good ones in the stores that I had went in over the weekend, so M and I went on a search for my essential breakfast food.  We ended up at Whole Foods, and I saw a pile of nice-looking apples laying in a display outside the front door.  I was sure that there would be another display of them inside the store, but oooh nooo.  So I ended up digging through the apples in the freezing cold, with M shivering beside me.  But it was all worth it, because they did taste really good.

This stir fry is another cold weather dish, and I was excited that it had coconut milk in it, which seems to be M and mine's favorite ingredient of late.  This recipe is quite good.  The only thing I would do differently next time would be to add a bit of corn starch to the sauce because it was not very clingy to the veggies.  Other than that, I loved it, and M agreed.  The only thing was that we were kind of short on tofu, so we ended up adding that to our individual servings.  I think a stir fry deprived of proteins is really depressing.  For the leftovers, we used part of a giant log of "ham" chopped up, which I also really liked.  Like most stir frys, this one is pretty easy to make, after the washing is done.  When I was mixing up the sauce, it looked soo good, too.  I'm just waiting to try it with corn starch, because that would be even better.

Tofu Stir Fry with Peanuts and Coconut Sauce

Serves 4-5
12 oz fingerling potatoes, cut in half
1 lb button mushrooms, quartered
3-4 cups green cabbage, shredded

2 lbs fried tofu

1 medium onion, sliced
3 cups broccoli florets

3 large carrots, cut on the diagonal

2 cloves garlic

1 red bell pepper, chopped

¼ cup soy sauce

2/3 cup light coconut milk

1 tbsp honey or agave nectar

1 tbsp chili garlic paste
3 tbsp hoisin sauce

1 tbsp corn starch

Peanuts, to serve

Bring a large pot of water to boil, and cook the potatoes until tender but firm, about 8-9 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Meanwhile, mix together the soy sauce through coconut milk in a bowl. Set aside.

Heat a wok over high heat with a bit of water. Add the onion and carrots and sauté for 2 minutes, and then add the cabbage and bell pepper. Sauté for two to three more minutes, and then add the mushrooms and broccoli. When they are a few minutes away from being tender, about 4 minutes, add the bok choy, tofu, and sauce. Cook for 2 more minutes and then add the potatoes. Cook until heated through, and serve over rice topped with a generous amount of peanuts.