Sugar Free Raspberry Cocktails! ACD Friendly.

Raspberry Tequila Cocktail

• 2 oz Silver Tequila
• 1/4 lime, juiced
• small handful raspberries, fresh or frozen
• Sprite Zero
• ice

Put ice in cup. Add raspberries & lime juice. Pour in tequila & Sprite. Stir. Let sit for a minute to blend flavours or drink it right away like I did. Enjoy :)

Pickles, Pick Smoothie & Artemis Prime

I haven't had pickles in what feel like ages because most store bought pickles are made with white vinegar which I can't have but these babies call for apple cider. I picked up the cutest little pickling cukes at the farmers market and couldn't wait to use them. 

Pickles!

• 4 dozen pickling cucumbers
• 1 bunch fresh dill
• 1 quart apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup pickling salt
• 16 garlic cloves, peeled

Wash the cucumbers and remove any stems. Cover with cold water and refrigerate overnight or for several hours. Pack the cucumbers into pint jars as tightly as possible. Poke in 2 sprigs of dill per jar. Bring vinegar, water, salt and garlic to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes. Remove the garlic cloves and distribute evenly in to jars while the brine cools slightly. Pour hot brine into jars and seal. Makes 12 pints. Ready in as little as 24 hours or wait 2 weeks for super seasoned pickles.

Pink Smoothie

• 1 banana
• 1 plum
• 1 large handful strawberries
• 4-5 mint leafs
• water

Put fruit in blender. Add water. (I fill mine to the 2 cup line and add more as needed. Enjoy!

Artemis Prime

Summer Rolls

You will need:

• rice paper wrappers (I used 12 inch but I would recommend smaller)
• 1/4 large white onion
• 1.5 apples
• 1 large carrot
• 3 tofurkey sausages(I used polish style)
• 2 tsps grated ginger
• 2 tsps garam masala
• 2 tsps thyme
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tbsp olive oil(to cook mixture listed above)
• 1 avocado
• 1/2 cucumber, sliced lengthwise into small strips
• 10-15 apricots, finely chopped
• Bowl of warm water
• paper towel or small cloth

Combine onion, apple, carrot, sausages, spices and ginger in food processor. Pulse until desired consistency is reached (I like mine quite fine, you may prefer yours to be chunkier) In a large saucepan over medium heat, add olive oil and sausage mixture. Heat thouroughly. Transfer to bowl once cooked. Let cool down until you can handle the misture without burning yourself. This is very important...Please don't burn yourself!!!

 

 

 

 

Simple Summer Supper!

The weather has taken a turn for the better. The sun is back in full force as is any air conditioner in my vicinity!!! Last night we decided to bbq, it just seemed right. All week I have been meaning to make terryaki tofu and of course all bottled terryaki has sugar so my plan was to make it from scratch. All the recipes I found called for brown sugar and a coworker suggested I try to do a polynesian style terryaki and use pineapple in lieu of the sugar. What an awesome idea, only problem is now all my pineapple is gone...hrmmm what to do. Improvise! As always, I never have the ingredients a recipe calls for (or just don't like them) modify, modify, modify it is! I had plums & peaches, it had to work...had to! This also gave me the opportunity to use some of the dried herbs that April and I did last week. Here it is folks, Plum Terryaki Tofu, Roasted Veggies and Quinoa!

Plum Terryaki

• 2 plums
• 2 peaches
• 1/3 cup Braggs
• 2 large cloves garlic
• 1 large chunk ginger
• 1/4 onion, finely sliced

Combine all ingredients in saucepan over medium heat, cook until thickened and sweet(ish). Set aside to cool and add tofu once it is dry fried. When tofu is done marinating, reheat in pan with marinade and serve!

Tofu

• 1 175g package extra firm tofu

Press out tofu and remove as much water as possible. Slice lengthwise into strips. Dry fry over medium heat until golden brown on each side. Marinate for 30 mins or more in Plum Terryaki.

Roasted Veggies

• Asparagus ( garlic, vegan margarine)
• Turnips ( garlic salt, vegan margarine, chives)
• Peppers ( red, yellow, orange peppers)

Wraps veggies in foil with their corresponding ingredients. Throw on BBQ, check after 10 mins.

Quinoa

• 1 cup veggie broth
• 1 cup quinoa

Bring to a boil, reduce to low. Cook for 15 minutes.

Maharagwe courtesy of the Vegan Police

I woke up this morning to rain. Really? It's August, why is it raining?? I'll be honest, I like the rain and since I am working today it really doesn't bother me. In fact, I like that it is a little cooler than usual because I tend to overheat easily. This dreary weather made me think of Maharagwe which was originally posted on the Vegan Police Forums. I would have to say about a year ago is when I first stumbled upon The Vegan Police! I was trolling facebook as usual and saw that Sarah Kramer had become a fan, of course I had to investigate. Turns out it was the best thing that ever happened to me. Dylan, Ryan & Crista are great people. I hope one day I can make the trip out to St.Catherines to meet them in the flesh. It seems like the ultimate Canadian city for vegans. I love their podcasts, always awesome indie music and so much information about being vegan that if you aren't already, you will want to be! Below is my jazzed up version of Maharagwe, I hope you all enjoy :) 

Maharagwe

 

You will need:

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 19oz chickpeas
• 2 cans diced tomatoes, strained
• 1 can coconut milk
• 2 tsps turmeric
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 3/4 tsp garlic salt
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp mustard powder
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 2 tbsps olive oil
• 1 pkg (175g) extra firm tofu*, cubed
• 1 handful of spinach*

Heat oil over medium heat in a deep pan and cook the chopped onion until it is soft and golden. Mash** the chickpeas with a fork and then throw them in with the onion. Add the chopped tomatoes, spices, tofu and coconut milk. Stir. Cover and leave to simmer for 10 minutes. Add spinach, turn off heat and cover. Remove from element once spinach is slightly wilted and a nice bright green. Serve with quinoa & garlic naan.

 

* Optional, not pictured above. This makes the dish even more amazing!!

** I like some chickpeas still whole, it's up to you whether or not you mash them completely.

 

 

 

Tofu Tacos, Corn Elote & a Green Smoothie for good measure!

Friday is here and for most of you that means 2 days off, I work weekends so I will be enjoying my friday when Sunday rolls around. I'd like to apologize as this post has minimal photos :( The food was so good, everything was half eaten before I realized I had no pictures. I guess I will just have to make it again, poor me...lol. I love Mexican food, it is my favorite cuisine...always has been! So I give to you, tofu tacos and corn elote (pronounced: el-eat-o) a delicious, cheesy corn casserole. Corn Elote was something my family grew up on and I never thought to veganize it until last night, actually that is a lie. I had thought about it but I knew it would be an expensive dish to make and I wasn't quite sure how to succesfully complete it as all the ingredients are "melty" and usually the egg would hold it together. Anyways, enough of my babble, I made it work and decided I had to share it with you all, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Corn Elote

• 1 can cream corn
• 1 can corn
• 1 cup sour cream (I used tofutti)
• 2 cups cheese (I used Earth Island Monterey Jack)
• 6 tbsps eNerg egg replacer, powder only
• 1 cup cornmeal
• Salt & pepper, to taste
• Salsa or hot peppers *optional

Preheat oven to 350. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl, fold gently, do not over mix. Pour mixture into greased casserole dish and bake for 60* minutes. *Because all the ingredients are "melty" and there is no real egg to bind everything together you may need to cook longer.Check the consistency of dish, if it is still a little wet, throw 'er back in for 15-30 mins.

Tofu Tacos

• 1 pkg extra firm tofu (175g)
• 1/2 medium onion
• 1/2 pkg taco seasoning
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• water
• veggies (lettuce, tomato, cucumber and whatever else you like)
• taco shells or tortillas
• sour cream & salsa

Heat oil in saucepan over medium heat. Cook onions until tender. Crumble tofu into pan, stir, add taco seasoning and a bit of water. Simmer until excess moisture is gone. Set aside.

Salsa

• 4-5 small tomatoes
• 3-4 basil leaves
• 1 large clove garlic
• 1/4 onion
• pinch of sea salt
• dash of lime juice

Put all ingredients in blender or magic bullet. Voila!

Green Smoothie

• 2 cups mixed fruit (I used graes, melons, peaches & strawberries
• 1 handful pineapple
• 1 handful spinach
• 1 chunk ginger
• 2 cups water

Blend and enjoy!

Quinoa Stirfry

After our trip to the Farmer's Market yesterday, I had an abundance of fresh veggies that needed to be used! The only trick was to find a tasty marinade for my tofu that would taste good since all the store bought marinades have either sugar or vinegar. I did some searching online to see what homemade recipes were out there and came up with a simple recipe. I am not crazy about the marinade so I will definitely be doing some tweeking in the future, possibly omitting half of the cider vinegar used. Here it is in all it's glory, the Quinoa Stirfry!

Stirfry:

• 1/2 Red onion, chopped
• 1/2 Red pepper, chopped
• 5-6 Crimini mushrooms, chopped
• 1 lrg Clove garlic, minced
• 1 lrg Chunk ginger, minced
• Handful of baby bok choi, chopped

Marinade

• 1/2 cup Braggs
• 1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1/2 Red onion, chopped fine 
• 3-4 cloves garlic, chopped fine
• 1 lrg chunk of ginger, chopped fine
• 1 pkg Extra firm tofu

Quinoa

• 1 cup Quinoa
• 1 cup Veggie Broth

Start by combining all the marinade ingredients but the tofu and combine in a shallow dish. Micorwave for 60 mins to infuse braggs/vinegar with the essence of onion, ginger/garlic. Set aside.

Prepare the tofu by first pressing out all the water. This can be done a number of ways, the easiest way I find is to have a super absorbent towel that won't leave lint all over your tofu, wrap it in said towel and either press it out by hand or leave it under a heavy book while you cook your veggies. Once tofu is drained of all moisture, cut the block lengthwise into thirds and then cut little cubes or triangles. Over medium heat, place tofu in pan with NO OIL, the goal here is to dry fry the tofu so it has no moisture, this way it will suck up the marinade and retain more flavor. Flip and brown the other side, then set in marinade dish for at least 30 minutes.

Cooking times for Quinoa are very similar to rice. I like to soak the quinoa in broth for a bit before I start cooking. Add quinoa & broth to pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 mins, lid on. Set aside.

Now, moving onto your veggies. Over medium heat, add 2-3 tbsps olive oil to your pan, let that heat up while you chop your veggies. First to go into the pan is your onions, red pepper and mushrooms. Cook for about 10 mins and then toss in your garlic, ginger and bok choi. Turn heat down to low and cover pan with a lid for about 5 mins. Add tofu to mixture, turn heat off and allow flavors to blend for a few minutes before serving.

Serve stirfry over a bed of quinoa and enjoy!!!

Farmer`s Market Tuesday

For the past week or so, April and I have been talking about driving out to the Farmer`s Market to pick up some fresh produce do some dehydrating. I was dying for some dried fruit with no added sugar, these new restrictions keep me on my toes. We picked up all sorts of awesome goodies, peaches, blueberries, strawberries, cherries, apricots, turnips, bok choi, pickling cukes, onions, peppers, green onions, dill, sage, basil & chives. I can hardly wait for everything to dry. We stacked 15 trays so it may take longer than usual. Stay tuned for some new recipes this week...I`m thinking savory dinner muffin!

Bonus cats!! Joey and Joe Joe.

Artemis! Sneak peek :)

Last week I came across http://www.catscradleanimalrescue.com/ and got the chance on Monday to go visit a special torti I had my eye on! This is Artemis, she is a super shy, calm, sweet little baby. Vince & I are excited to bring her home. She has a bit of a cold so they want to monitor her for the next week or so and then she can come home!!! Here is a sneak peek at the little muffin...many, many, many more coming soon!