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Yummy cookies exploding with goodness!

The cold foggy days of winter always make me feel like baking. The problem with that is I end up doing a LOT of baking and conversely...a LOT of cookie eating.

These cookies are completely vegan and yummy yummy. Oh and if you are a fan of frozen cookie dough this is the recipe for you.

Dry Ingredients: 
1 3/4mug of flour (I use mostly white unbleached flour, with some whole wheat flour along with a tiny bit of ground flax seed. You decide what proportions are best for you. And when I say 'mug' I literally mean a coffee mug. See pic at the end of this post for reference.) 
3/4 teaspoon (a real table 'tea spoon') sea salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Wet Ingredients:
1/2 mug olive oil
1/2 mug maple syrup (fill with oil first and then to the top with the syrup....when you empty the mug the syrup just slips right out.)
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 table spoons, (Yes a real 'table' table spoon...I don't use conventional measuring tools.... this is serious baking here.) Dehydrated Sugar Cane Juice "Sucanat" is the brand I buy.

Mix the dry ingredients thoroughly. Then mix the wet ingredients well enough to emulsify the oil and syrup. I use a plastic container with an air tight lid to shake the ingredients together. Kids especially love to shake the container wildly.

Pour the wet into the dry and mix well.

Then the fun part, 1 huge handful of each of the following:

walnut pieces (small evenly sized chunks)
almond slices (blanched skin off preferably)
cranberries
raisins
chocolate chips
(Optional: coconut shreds, pecans or pumpkin seeds)

If I have white chocolate chunks on hand I add a handful of those as well.

Mix well and then using your tablespoon, scoop out spoon sized cookies and place onto a cookie sheet.

Flatten each with the heal of your washed hands and bake in a 320-350 degree oven and remove when they are nicely browned. Bake longer for crunchy cookies, less for chewy ones. You can also just spoon drop the cookies for a more rustic look. Either way these cookies won't last long!

Quinoa With Eggs on Brown Rice Bread Toast

Here's another way to enjoy my quinoa salad. For this version add a can of beans or 5 bean mix.

Then I scramble one egg with a sprinkle of cold water, a pinch of sea salt and black pepper. (I cook my egg in the microwave in a Small bowl. It only takes one minute and the scrambled egg comes out perfectly tender and slightly moist. Not rubbery as you'd expect.)

Double toast a slice of brown rice bread, drizzle with olive oil and top with the scrambled egg. (If you double toast your brown or white rice bread you'll get a nice crunchy piece of toast. Otherwise rice breads tend to toast up a bit chewy.) 

Cover the egg with the quinoa salad mixture and enjoy!

Healthy Quinoa Fish Tacos

Quinoa is an ancient grain prized for its nutritional value and considered an unusually complete protein source.

I came up with this recipe after a decision to cut down on my gluten intake. I consider myself a pretty busy person however I make it a point to prepare this salad/condiment because it forces me to slow down a tiny bit. 

The result? A nurturing food that I feel good about eating. And the best part is its versatility. I eat it alone, on rice crackers, with refried beans in a rice tortilla, on scrambled eggs with rice bread toast, you name it.

And for variety I'll switch up the vegetables but I always dice everything. That's the secret.

Anyway, this particular recipe is fairly straight forward. Simply dice most vegetables and then combine all of the ingredients when your prep work is finished.

1 Beet diced (for a brilliant color and sweetness)
1 Carrot medium shred (optional, for sweetness and moisture)
1 inch slice of red cabbage, diced (for colorful crunch)
1 inch slice of green cabbage, diced (for more crunch)
1 stalk of celery chopped (for yet more crunch)
leaves of celery stalk minced (for flavor and color)
1 half onion diced (for flavor)
1 half green pepper diced (for flavor)

1 mug quinoa (1 mug of quinoa requires 2 mugs of water for cooking)

Bring quinoa to a boil then turn your heat down and let simmer for 20 minutes. The point is to have a virtually moisture free pot of quinoa when you are finished. Let cool completely.

To your vegetable mixture add, to taste: Rice vinegar, a couple drops of sesame oil, salt and pepper.

When your quinoa has completely cooled blend with the vegetable mixture. Mix well and season with vinegar, salt and pepper as needed.

Fish: Coarsely chop one fully cooked Basa fillet. (drizzle a small amount of olive oil, season with sea salt and pepper, then bake)

Arrange hot or cold cooked fish on top of a corn tortilla, spoon the quinoa mixture over the top and drizzle some rice vinegar and serve immediately! Enjoy!

Tomato Update

Our tomato's are coming along nicely. Still a little small but by September they should be  bright red and ready to eat.

Vegetarian Cooking and Baking

You can tell I'm thinking a lot about food this week. I love baking during this time of year and if you are a vegan or vegetarian like myself you will appreciate The Angelica Home Kitchen: Recipes and Rabble Rousings from an Organic Vegan Restaurant. I've prepared nearly everything from this book and let me tell you the recipes are amazing. Some are pretty involved but they all deliver.

I especially enjoy the dessert recipes and tonight I'm baking brownies which are wonderful to give as gifts for the holiday's. And I always make a point of letting my gift recipent know that they are enjoying a treat made without eggs, butter or refined sugar. I can't tell you how many fans I've made by sharing these special baked treats as gifts for the holidays.

Well I hope you enjoy!!

Healthy Homemade Granola

Fed up with store bought granola? I am. Organic brands can be very expensive and conventional brands are just loaded with sugar. So, here is my super easy recipe for healthy granola.

4-6 cups oats
1 tsp. Nutmeg
1/2 tsp. Cardamom
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2-2/3 cup maple syrup
1 to 2 tsp. vanilla
2-3 tbs. olive oil or safflower oil
hand full of crushed walnuts (optional of course)
hand full of sliced almonds (optional of course)
half handful of pumpkin seeds (optional of course)
handful of raisins or cranberries. (be creative!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the dry ingredients with the exception of the raisins. (Leave these to the very end of baking)

Combine wet ingredients separately and whisk well.

Mix wet into dry and stir thoroughly with a wooden spoon.

Spread mixture evenly into a 9x14 or larger roasting pan with low sides.

Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Add raisins and let cool. Then enjoy with fresh fruit and soy or organic milk!

Use your nose to gauge cooking time and will stir the mixture once or twice during cooking time to ensure none of the oats burn which can happen if you are not careful. 

Making your own Tempeh

I'm always on the look out for great vegan recipes. Here is a site with some terrific recipes and great information for those of you who may not know much about Tempeh.

No Foil Cooking

Thanks to Anna Shepard at Eco-Warrier for sharing this tip from one of her readers.

A Vegan Thanksgiving to Remember

If you are like me this time of year can be heartbreaking. Here are some terrific Vegan menus from 'Vegetarians in Paradise' for Thanksgiving that will make everyone thankful including our feathered friends.

Enjoy! Yum Yum! 

Veganism in a Nutshell

I have chosen a vegan lifestyle because of my love for all sentient beings so it makes perfect sense that I would be importing products from Brazil that are made with recycled canvas and a faux leather that is made from Amazonian plants.

Being a vegan is not so difficult once you understand what is at stake. Here is a great resource for those of you that may be exploring a new lifestyle. Vegan-ism in a nutshell is a terrific site answering some very basic questions that will de-mystify Veganism for you.