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Gumboots&Cats&VeganSnacks!

Loaded Quinoa Salad

This is one of my favorite salads, it's loaded with protein (Go Quinoa!) and it tastes great hot or cold! It's a crowd pleaser (omni approved) and super easy to make.

Quinoa salad, sweet chili tofu & corn

1 1/2 cups quinoa, dry
3 cups vegetable broth
2 medium carrots, finely diced
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1/2 orange pepper, chopped
2 sprigs green onion, chopped
1 small zuchinni, small cubes
1/3 cup chopped walnuts

1 part olive oil *(1/8 cup)
2 parts lemon juice *(1/4 cup)
pinch of salt
couple shakes of Italian seasoning

*I did not measure the dressing, amounts are approximate.

Rinse quinoa and combine in a pot with vegetable broth. Bring to a boil and simmer on low for 15-20 mins. While the quinoa is cooking, chop all your veggies. In a small container, combine dressing ingredientsm shake until mixed. It will seperate a bit so give it a good little shake before you toss it will the salad. Put all the veggies & walnuts in a bowl, pour warm quinoa overtop and stir. Add the dressing, serve warm or refrigerate to serve cold. Enjoy :)

Sweet Chili Sesame Tofu, Roasted Veggie Fried Rice & Grilled Asparagus

This is the perfect end of summer meal, so fire up your bbq and get ready to enjoy some seriously good food! You can marinate the tofu overnight if you wish but 20 mins is usually all the time I have and it always turns out. I like to make a whole bunch at once and then I have deliciously flavoured tofu on hand for a few days, if it lasts that lonh before I gobble it up! I usually do not measure the marinade, I just huck all the ingredients in a ziploc bag and add the tofu but for your sake I will add approximate measurements. I love roasting veggies, it takes a little longer but that deep, rich roasted flavour is so worth it!

Sweet Chili Sesame Marinade

1-2 tbsps Sesame Oil

3-5 tbsps Sweet Chili Sauce

2 generous squirts of Braggs

1 175g package extra firm tofu, sliced into 8 pieces

Yep, that's it! Combine in a ziploc baggie, mix it around a bit and add in your sliced tofu. I have started pressing my tofu before I marinate as often as I can remember, it seems to hold in the flavour better that way. I wrap the slices in a dish towel and stack some heavy books on top for 15 mins. To save time, you can sandwich the tofu (wrapped in cloth) between two cutting boards and stand on it for a minute. I like to use extra firm tofu because I know it will hold up well on the bbq. How long you cook it on the bbq depends on how you like your tofu. I like to cook it on the top rack for maybe 5-7 mins on each side, just enough to get those nice grill marks.

Roasted Veggie Fried Rice

2 Carrots, quartered lenthgwise

1 cup Brocolli, chopped into florets

1 small Yellow or sweet onion, quartered and layers split 

1 1/2 cups Bell Peppers, 1 inch pieces

2-3 tbsps Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375. Toss veggies in a large bowl with olive oil, salt & pepper to your taste. Cook in oven for about 30 mins, flipping at the 15 min mark. Remove any pieces that look cooked enough if needed.

1 cup basmati rice, dry

2 cups vegetable broth or water

2 tbsps margarine or olive oil

While the veggies are roasting, it's time to make the rice. I like to make my rice in a deep frying pan rather than a pot, that way when the veggies are done, I can add them right into the pan. The less dishes, the better! I also like to fry my rice until it is see through in a bit of margarine or olive oil before boiling. Just straight boiling will work just fine though. Add broth or water, bring to a boil and then simmer on low for 20 mins. It's that easy! Let the veggies cool down and roughly chop them up before adding to rice.

Lemon Garlic Asparagus

1 lb asparagus

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 lemon, juiced

salt

Wash the asparagus and trim the ends off. Arrange asparagus lengthwise in tinfoil, sprinkle with garlic, salt & lemon juice. Wrap it up and it's ready to toss on the bbq. I don't know about you but I like my asparagus just lightly cooked so it is still crisp but tender. Cook for 10 minutes at the most on the top shelf. Do not leave it on the bbq to stay warm, it will overcook and become too chewy. Remove when it is done and it will stay warm in the foil until you are ready to eat :)

Brocolli "Pesto" Dip

This recipe was inspired by Adam Crisis' Kale Pesto recipe that he posted on the Post Punk Kitchen forums. I simply subbed brocolli for the kale, used a bit less miso and added lemon juice. This dip has a decent amount of protein and is low in fat. It is super tasty, even omni approved! Goes well with crackers or pita, you could also use it as a spread in wraps or on a sandwich.
Brocolli "Pesto" Dip

1-2 large heads brocolli, chopped into florets and lightly steamed
1 1/2 - 2 cups walnuts
5 cloves garlic
3 tbsps nutrirional yeast
1 tbsp miso
1-2 tsp lemon juice (adjust according to tastebuds)
salt & pepper (to taste)
1/4-1/2 cup water (start with 1/4 cup & slowly add more to get the consistency you like)

Combine first 6 ingredients in food proccesor & blend. Slowly add water to get the consistency you like. Add lemon juice, salt & pepper to taste. Serve with warm pita or spread on toast, enjoy!

Roasted Carrot & Ginger Soup

The cauliflower gives this hearty soup a thick, creamy base without the added fat of cream or nuts. Roasting the veggies adds a nice depth to the soup and brings out the sweetest of the onion but you could also steam the veggies for a subtler taste. Make sure to check on your veggies while roasting so they don't overcook or burn. The onions tend to cook a lot faster than the cauliflower and carrots so you may want to remove them at the 15 minute mark or you can leave them in for an extra roasty/charred flavor.

Roasted Carrot & Ginger Soup (makes about 6 cups)

1 medium/large head cauliflower, cut into 2 inch florets
4 medium sized carrots, cut lenghtwise into quarters or sixths if they are very thick
1 small yellow or sweet onion, cut into sixths and seperated
3 tbsps olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
2 cups vegetable broth
2 cups water
1/2 tsp powdered ginger
2-3 tsps lemon juice
3 tbsps brown sugar

Preheat oven to 375. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl, coat cauliflower with 1 tbsp olive oil and spread out on baking sheet. Toss the carrots & onions with 2 tbsps olive oil and spread out on second baking sheet. Sprinkle both sheets with salt & pepper. Bake in oven for 15 mins. Flip veggies, check the onions as sometimes they cook much faster and bake for another 15 mins. Once you veggies are done, transfer them to a blender or food processor. Add 2 cups vegetable broth and blend. You will probably need to do the rest of the blending in 2 batches. Pour out half of the mixture into a bowl. Add 1 cup water, 1 tsp lemon juice, 1 1/2 tbsps brown sugar and 1/4 tsp ginger, blend well. Transfer mixture in blend to a pot or other bowl. Blend the other half of the vegetable mixture with the remaining 1 cup water, 1 tsp lemon juice, 1 1/2 tbsps brown sugar and 1/4 tsp ginger. Add the blender contents into the pot or bowl and mix well. Taste and add salt & pepper to your liking. You may also want to add the other 1 tsp of lemon juice.

This soup freezes well, I like to do 1-2 cup portions. Let the soup cool, pour into freezer bags and lay flat on a baking sheet to freeze in nice thin, space saving shapes.

Cheese Onion Bread

This is a super simple recipe that I found in the user manual for my Black & Decker, All In One bread machine. I can't say that I am 100% in love with this recipe as it as not as cheesey & oniony as I was hoping for, but it is good. I plan on playing with it a bit to see how much cheese I can get away with adding as well as, maybe next time I will try using fresh onion instead of dehydrated onion flakes. This recipe is for use with the Rapid Bake setting which only takes 70 minutes. There is also another cheese onion bread recipe but it take 3.5 hours, I think that one might actually work better with the fresh onion & more cheese. *I have no idea why there are different measurements for US & Canada in the second recipe.

Cheese Onion Bread (Rapid Bake setting)
1 2/3 cups water
3 Tbsp powdered soy milk
3 Tbsp sugar
3/4 tsp salt
4 1/4 cups All Purpose or Bread Flour (US, use bread flour)
2 Tbsp dried onion flakes
1/3 cup shredded vegan cheese (I used cheddar Daiya)
4 tsp yeast (rapid or bread machine)

Cheese Onion Bread (Sweet Bread setting)
1 1/4 cups water 
2 Tbsp powdered soy milk
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt (1 1/4 tsp in US)
3 1/4 cups All Purpose or Bread Flour (US, use 3 1/3 cups Bread flour)
1 Tbsp dried onion flakes or 1/4 cup chopped fresh onion
1/4 cup shredded vegan cheese (I used cheddar Daiya)
1 tsp yeast (rapid or bread machine)

*Make sure you measure the ingredients into the baking pan in the order that they are listed.

Chocolate Cherry Pancakes

This is the same basic recipe as the Zucchini Pancakes, with chocolate chips and cherries in lieu of the zucchini. They are so sweet on their own, they require no syrup! Of course, if you are craving a crazy sugar high, go for it!

Chocolate Cherry Pancakes

1/2 cup flour (I used all purpose)
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup unsweetened chocolate almond milk
1/3 cup cheries, chopped
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1 tbsp cooking oil or magarine

Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl. Chop cherries into small chunks. Mix the cherries into the dry ingredients and coat evenly, then add almond milk and stir well. Heat oil or margine over medium-low heat in skillet. Spoon 1/8-1/4 cup of batter into pan. Let sit for a minute and the sprinkle a few chocolate chips into pancake. You could add them right into the batter, but I find that they sink to the bottom of the pancake and then you have a big chocolately mess on one side. Cook over low heat (3) until the pancakes bubble, flip and cook the other side until golden brown. Serve alone or with syrup if you dare!

Cheater Sauce n Meatballs & Hint of Chocolate Zucchini Pancakes

 I call this cheater sauce because I used a jar of Classico as the base, it's just too hot out to make a sauce from scratch. You could add any vegetables you like, I used carrot and zucchini because I seem to have an abundance on hand. I wanted to use walnuts as the "meat" in the sauce but wasn't sure how that would work out so I decided to try this recipe instead and they turned out quite well. I halved the recipe and froze what I didn't eat at dinner. Make the meatballs first, while they are baking in th oven you can start on the sauce. Hope you enjoy this simple meal as much as I do!

Cheater Sauce

1 16oz jar Classico, Tomato & Basil
1 large carrot, shredded or finely diced
1/2 large zucchini, cubed small
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 tbsp olive oil
1/8 cup water

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add carrot, zucchini and Italian seasoning. Stir and cover with lid for 5 mins.  Add a 1/8 cup water to generate steam and speed up the cooking process. Let sit for 5-10 mins. Remove lid, turn heat down to low, add nutritional yeast and let simmer for a few minutes. Serve overtop your favorite noodle and top with meatballs.

Hint of Chocolate, Zucchini Pancakes
makes 4-5 small pancakes

1/2 cup flour (I used all purpose)
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 cup unsweetened chocolate almond milk
1/2 cup zucchini, shredded
1 tbsp cooking oil or magarine

Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl. Shred zucchini and pat dry with a tea towel or paper towel. You want to get as much moisture out of the zucchini as possible so your pancakes cook through properly, otherwise they won't cook very well inside. Mix the zucchini into the dry ingredients and coat evenly, then add almond milk and stir well. Heat oil or margine over medium-low heat in skillet. Spoon 1/8-1/4 cup of batter into pan. Cook over low heat (3) until the pancakes bubble, flip and cook the other side until golden brown. Serve with your favorite syrup!

*If you wanted a deeper chocolate flavour, add 2 tsps cocoa powder or 1/8 cup vegan chocolate chips.

Barley & Lentil Stuffed Peppers

I didn't have all the traditional ingredients for stuffed peppers so I decided to get creative and use what I had on hand in the pantry. This is what I came up with and it's delicious! *The filling makes quite a bit so you could halve it or make a ton of peppers and freeze for easy meals later :)

Barley & Lentil Stuffed Peppers

Pepper Filling
1/2 cup  pearl barley
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth or water
1 medium white or yellow onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 small head of broccoli, chopped
1/2 yam, cubed small
1/2 red pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
5 large bell peppers, halved
1 1/2 cups cooked lentils
1 1/2 cups mozzarella Daiya
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp garam masala
2 tsps tomato paste
1 tbsp olive oil

Almond Parm
1/2 cup almonds
1 tbsp garlic salt

Preheat oven to 350.
Combine pearl barley and vegetable broth or water in a pot. Bring to a boil, simmer for 45 mins. While barley is cooking, heat olive oil in a large saucepan. Sautee the onions & carrots with garlic salt & pepper over medium high heat. Microwave yams for 3 mins. Add broccoli & red peppers to the onion mixture, cover and let sit for 5-10 mins or until broccoli looks tender. Add the yams, garlic & garam masala, cover again for another 5 mins. If at any point the veggies stick to the pan add a bit of water and stir. Now add in the tomato paste, lentils, barley & Daiya. Mix well. Stuff the filling into your halved peppers and arrange on a deep baking tray. Sprinkle with almond parm and bake for 30 mins or until tops are browned. Let cool for 15-20 mins and serve.

Momo's Baby Gifts Wishlist

Less than 5 months to go before baby ViMo arrives so I figured I should probably start putting together a list of things that I would like/will need upon his or her arrival. I'll be adding to this list as I find things I fancy. It is really important to me to use as many cruelty free/earth friendly products as possible, please keep that in mind when you are shopping for me. If there is something you would like to get for me that is not on my list and you are unsure if it is vegan friendly, please ask me, I don't mind doing the research :)

Baby Kanga Cloth Diapers
Baby Kanga Retail Locations in Victoria

Broody Chick , sold @ Thrifty Foods locations and are a local company! I pretty much want all of their products!

1. Fully compostable diapers- despite wanting to exclusively use cloth, I am sure there will be times when disposables make more sense/are easier!
2. Fully compostable wipes
3. Boody Balm - All natural diaper cream
4. Wonderbalm - Non petroleum jelly
5. Every Body Lotion
6. Every Body Wash
7. Bye Bye BooBoo
8. Sniffs & Snuffles
9. Bath Bar

 Organic Wipes (not pictured)

Fisher Price Safari/Jungle Playmat- I saw these at the Walmart in Langford.

Safari/Jungle Crib Set

 Rainbow Teething Necklace

Newborn Button Loafers

Green Elephant Loafers

Green Trees Blanky

Owl Hat & Diaper Cover Set

I love all the items PWC has to offer, especially the onesies. Any of them will do.
Panda With Cookie Etsy

Quick & Easy Shepherds Pie

  

Quick & Easy Shepherds Pie

 

• 2.5 lbs baby red potatoes
• 1 pkg Yves veggies ground round
• 1 pkg Simply Organic mushroom sauce
• 1 1/3 cup frozen (or fresh) mixed vegetables
• 1/4 cup vegan cream cheese (I used 1/2 plain & 1/2 chive & garlic)
• 1 cup Daiya cheddar shreds
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 1 tsp freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 350. Cut potatoes into quarters and boil until soft.

While potatoes are boiling, prepare mushroom sauce according to package directions.

Heat veggies ground round, veggies and 1/4 tsp garlic salt in saucepan over medium low heat.

Once potatoes are boiled, strain & transfer them to food processor (or large bowl for mashing). Add garlic, cream cheese & salt to food processor and blend until smooth. Mix mushroom sauce and veggies ground round together.

Layer in bottom of large casserole dish, next layer the potatoes into dish and smooth out. 

Sprinkle with cheese & pepper.

Pop in oven and bake for 30-45 minutes. That's it! Super simple and delicious!

Galaxy Nutritional Foods Vegan Cream Cheese-Chive & Garlic Review

First off, I have to say that this cream cheese by far, trumps all of the other varieties I have tried. Mind you, I have only evewr had Tofutti ;) It is smooth and creamy, tastes so similar to the real thing it is almost kind of eerie. Even my omni fiance likes it which is huge, because most vegan dairy substitutes just don't measure up for him.

To be honest , I did not come up with a recipe for this flavour like I had originally planned. It is so good, I don't want to cover up that awesome flavour, so I have been eating it spread on crackers or a bagel and I am okay with that! I think in the future, I would like to try and do an alfredo recipe as V suggested. Time will only tell.

If you have access to Galaxy Nutriotional Foods Vegan Cream Cheese at your local grocer, I highly suggest you give it a try. If they don't, ask them to roder it!...It is that good!!!

Cream of Brocolli Soup!

This is by far the best version of vegan cream of brocolli soup that I have made so far, I loved it! I didn’t follow a recipe when making this, I made it up so all of the measurements are approximate…You can tweak to your liking. I like to think of this as a super awesome guideline rather than an actual recipe!

• 1 giant head of brocolli, thick bottom stems removed
• 1/2 medium yellow onion
• 1-2 tbsps olive oil
• 1 23oz Unsweetened Mimicreme
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• salt, to taste
• cracked black pepper to taste
• 1/2 pkg Daiya cheddar shreds

Heat olive oil in large stockpot, over medium-high heat. Pulse onion in food processor for a minute or two, you want nice tiny pieces. Remove onion & toss in stockpot. Now pulse the brocolli for about a minute, you will have mostly small pieces but some nicer large chunks are okay too. Toss that in the stockpot and season with a generous pinch of salt & pepper. Stir & put a lid on it. Let the veggies soften, this will take about 5 minutes. Now add you vegetable broth, stir and put the lid back on, wait another 5 minutes or so. The brocolli should be a nice bright green & should be tender but not soft & mushy. Add the Mimicreme, turmeric, garlic salt and stir. Let the soup come to a soft boil and turn the heat to low-medium. Taste & add any additional spices. I found that even the unsweetened Mimicreme is a tad on the sweet side so I added quite a bit of salt & pepper, keeping in mind that the Daiya will add a bit of saltiness as well. Once the soup has simmered for about 15 minutes or so, it is probably good to go. Toss in your Daiya shreds, stir and let them melt right in (takes about 5 mins). Your soup is now ready to serve…Let it cool first though so you don’t burn your tongue! This soup will keep for 5 days in the fridge. I didn’t freeze mine but I miagine it would be okay.

Galaxy Nutritional Foods Cream Cheese Review!

Galaxy Nutritional Foods has an awesome variety of delicious, vegan, cheese alternatives. With both soy & rice based cheeses, they have an option for everyone. Their newest product is the Vegan Cream Cheese, which comes in two flavors, Classic Plain and Chive & Garlic. Both are dairy, cholesterol and gluten free as well as Kosher certified.

Both flavors are nice and rich, with a smooth, creamy texture. Originally I had planned on making a cheesecake but decided instead, I wanted to make a citrus infused, cream cheese glaze for some carrot cake cupcakes! I used the Carrot Cake recipe from Vegetarian Times February 2009 issue and then my own spin on the VCTOTW Cream Cheese Frosting.

I am very pleased with this cream cheese, it worked out perfectly. I have a couple ideas for the Chive & Garlic flavour but would love to hear suggestions on what you guys would like to see me make next!!!\

Until next time,
                            xoxoxo  <3 Momo  

Giveaway at Vegan Planet Blogspot!!!

Be sure to check out the Vegan Planet giveaway!!!

Spiced Steel Cut Oats with Berries

I have never been a big fan of oatmeal. I like food with a bit more texture so when I tried steel cut oats, I was pleasantly surprised! They are a little chewier than traditional oatmeal, I like that they don't turn to mush. They are pretty simple to make, takes a little more time than regular oatmeal, but that gave me a chance to putter around the kitchen and get other things done like emptying the dishwasher and switching my laundry. You can cut down the time by prepping the oats the night before. Pour boiling water over oats and leave overnight...then in the morning you can cook them for about 10 minutes and season how you like! I am big on pumpkin pie spice (ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg & allspice) so that is what I used for mine. You can add any spices you like.

Spiced Steel Cut Oats with Berries:
serves 1

1/2 cup steel cut oats
1 1/2 cups water
1/8 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp allspice
1 tsp sugar
2 tsps coconut flour
1/4 cup almond milk
1/4 cup berries

Over medium heat, bring water & oats to a boil, stirring and scraping the bottom of any sticking oats. Turn heat down a bit and let simmer until it thickens, approx 20 mins. At this point I added the ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, sugar & coconut flour. Remove from heat, top with berries & soymilk. Enjoy!
* If you like your oats a little softer, you can add an extra 1/2 cup of water to start and cook a little longer.

Sweet & Sour Soy Curls

Not too long ago I entered a giveway on Vegan Food Rocks blog and I won some Soy Curls.

Pretty much the best thing that has happened this month. They are awesome and now I am on a mission to find out where I can get them. They arrived pretty quick after she let me know I had won and also included some recipes for me to try. The first one I decided to use was the Sweet & Sour; Great idea, so great. I cannot get the taste out of my mouth/head....I can feel it in my bones. I couldn't find the recipe on the Butler website but it is pretty simple. I opted to use pineapple in liru of the sugar since I like to use natural sugars whenever possible and when is pineapple a bad idea? Never, really. I really enjoyed the texture of the product and the flavour is really dependant on what you season with, like cooking with tofu. Of course, I didn't take a picture, what was I thinking? This dish wasn't really pretty....I was in a hurry, had to get to work, blah blah blah. You need to take my word for it, or you can go read the Vegan Food Rocks blog post, she has pictures.

Sweet & Sour Soy Curls
serves 2

1/2 cup wild rice
1 cup soy curls
2 tbsps Braggs
2 tbsps nutritional yeast
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 red pepper, chopped
3 tbsps crushed pineapple
salt & pepper
olive oil, for cooking

Get your rice cooking since it takes forever, or you could use whit eor brown rice for shorter cooking times.
Rehydrate the soy curls in a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes. While those are soaking, heat a tbsp of olive oil over medium heat. Throw in your chopped onion & peppers, season with salt & pepper, cook until translucent. Add the soy curls, Braggs, nutrional yeast and pineapple. Cover pan and cook in the flavour for about 10 minutes. I turned my heat up a bit so everything got nice and crispy on the edges. Serve over rice.

This was one of the easiest meals I have ever made and I think I just may make it again for dinner tonight! Enjoy :)

Mixed Berry-Apple Crumble

Almost two weeks ago, I picked up a bag of delicious little gala apples for $3. I ate one or two and the rest of them sat untouched in a plastic bag on my kitchen floor. Oops. By the time I remembered I had them, they were a little bruised, my cats were probably using them as toys. I was going to make apple pie but didn't feel like fiddling around making a crust so crumble/crisp was the way to go. I also had a giant bag of mixed berries that I thought would go really well so I decided to use them too! Apples, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries....yum! This dish is not diabetic friendly. I could have probably done with a littler less sugar but I have a crazy sweet tooth. If you like, you could omit half of the suagr and yield similar results. The recipe below is from vegweb.com, I added some nutmeg and a bit more cinnamon....I also misread the margarine amounts so that was freestyle. For some reason I read it as 1 tbsp which made no sense so naturally I added enough for the mixture to "crumble". As well, I used 5 small gala apples.

Mixed Berry-Apple Crumble
4 large cooking apples
2 cups of mixed berries (I used frozen mixed berries)
1 cup of rolled oats
1 1/2 cups white flour
2 cups vegan brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 - 2/3 cups vegan margarine
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg

Preheat oven to 325'F (175' C). Peel, Core and slice the apples. Put the apples in a big bowl and mix in the berries. Mix one cup of sugar into the fruit along with a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg; mix. Place the fruit mixture into a 12 x 9 dish. Mix the oats, flour, remaining sugar, baking powder, nutmeg and cinnamon in a large bowl. Add margarine, use your fingers to mix into oat mixture until it resembles a crumbly consistency. Pour evenly over fruit mixture. Pop in the pre-heated oven for 35 - 45 minutes. I checked mine at 35 and left it in for the remaining time. You want the top to be a nice golden brown and the edges will be bubbly.

Serves 8 or 3 ravenous roommates (with leftovers)
Preparation time: 10-15 mins to prep

Lemon Chick'n Scallopini wiht Steamed Asparagus & Garlicky Red Quinoa

Garden was on for super cheap at the grocery store, I decided to try the Chick'n Scallopini. I am a big fan of the Crispy Tenders as is my boyfriend, which is awesome because he is not vegan. Asparagus was also on sale, I had some red quinoa already and a giant bulb of elephant garlic. When I think chick'n filet dish, I want lemon and Italian spices which is just what I did. I found this recipe for lemon chick'n rub. Awesome. I tweaked with it a bit. Instead I did the zest of one lemon, 1 tbsp dried basil, 2 tbsp garlic salt, 1 tbsp Italian spice, and a bunch of fresh ground black pepper. I didn't have any vegetable broth to do the quinoa in, which is coincedentally what is brewing away in my kitchen right now, so I opted for a large chunk of elephant garlic and some spices in water. Turned out wonderfully. The asparagus was super easy to do, steam and serve. For the scallopini, I brush each side with olive oil, rubbed with the lemon mixture and sauteéd on each side for 2-3 minutes. A very simple, low fat dinner that is omni approved! Hope you enjoy as much as we did.

Pizza!

Something I find myself doing a lot is browsing vegan recipes. I think that is why I am hungry so often, I am always looking at food, I can't help myself. There are so many great blogs out there with pages and pages of fantastic vegan recipes. One of my favorites is Melo Meals, every single recipe I have tried is delicious, they are all low fat, most of them gluten free and super cheap. I just discovered she has started a recipe index!! Yes! Which led me to the chickpea flatbread. I got a great big bag of chickpea flour from a coworker a while ago to make pakoras and it never occured to me to do flatbread, thanks Mel! So now I have no excuse not to make the pizza! My fridge is full of awesome pizza ingredients at the moment; spinach, mushrooms, onions, elephant garlic,  mozzarella daiya...If only I still had basil, I would do an edamame pesto base instead of tomato sauce. Next time! Unfortunately I also did not have tomato paste, so tomato sauce it is...not as good as paste but works in a pinch. Here is my pizza creation!

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

I got the recipe from Vegetarian Times. http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes/10896 . I omitted the cheese, added corn, veggie ground round and used fresh spinach. I also topped them with spelt breadcrumbs and used double the garlic that the recipe called for. I think I will make these again but next time I will add more quinoa, they were pretty mpist. They are great served with a vegan cheesy sauce!

Bottle Drive for Justin!

15 year old Justin was diagnosed on Christmas Eve with a rare form of Cancer. We are collecting bottles to raise money for the family's costs of traveling, accommodation, food etc to and from Vancouver while Justin undergoes Chemo and radiation treatment!


Saturday Jaunary 8th
439 Davida - right near Tillicum Mall
10 am - 3 pm

 Thank you for the support!

Mini Spinach & Bell Pepper Quiches

I really cannot take any credit for this recipe. I based it off of Isa's Broccoli Quiche found in this 2008 blog post from the PPK. I have made that quiche many times now with little subsitutions here and there, then I stumbled upon this recipe for mini crustless quiches which I tried and was not as pleased with. The form just wasn't there, even though their taste was spot on, I didn't want to make them again because they totally fell apart. That being said, I was still jonesing for a mini quiche. I do not have a huge amount of freezer space so for me, it is easier to make smaller dishes and kind of peice them in the freezer like a jigsaw puzzle. That's always fun when I overload it and forget, open the door and surprise! frozen treats everywhere!!!  All I really did here is made the quiche with what I had on hand which is why it is not the same as Isa's but there is no way that I am calling this my own recipe, it's hers, hands down. She is an awesome chef, I cook from her blog posts 90% of the time and was lucky enough to recieve her newest cookbook Appetite For Reduction for Christmas. I highly suggest everyone run out and get a copy, even if you are not trying to lose weight, these recipes are super tasty, easy to make and of course, vegan. Win, Win, Win!!! So here you have it, my mini quiche rip off recipe ;) I didn't do any crust because all I had on hand was rice flour. I am not going to lie, I tried to whip one up and failed epically...I hate wasting but I would rather chuck the crust that have them just not turn out right...lesson learned! Ok, now here is the recipe for real this time.

Mini Crustless Spinach & Bell Pepper Quiches

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 lrg red pepper, finely chopped
• 1 lrg orange pepper, finely chopped
• 1 tsps dried basil
• 1/2 tsp tumeric
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 2 tbsps water
• 1/2 cup raw, unsalted almonds
• 1 tsp mustard powder
• 1/3 cup nutrional yeast
• 1 375g pkg extra firm organic tofu
• 1 cup spinach, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat. Saute the onion and garlic in the oil for about 3 minutes. Add the peppers, basil, tumeric, salt and pepper. Cook for 10 minutes, until peppers are soft.

Meanwhile, process the almonds in a food processor into fine crumbs. I actually like to grind mine up in a magic bullet, I find it to work better. Give the tofu a squeeze to get rid of some of the water, then crumble it into the food processor along with the mustard and nutrional yeast. Add 2 tbsps water and process until relatively smooth.

Transfer to a mixing bowl, add the pepper mixture and stir throughly. Taste for salt, then mix in spianch. Use a rubber spatula and evenly distribute mixture into a greased muffin tin. Bake for 30 mins, if they still look a little soft in the middle, bake for an additional 10.  

Once out of the oven, let the quiches sit for about 5 mins. Then gently use the dull side of a butter knife to seperate the sides of pan. Let them sit for another 15 mins or so before you try to take them out, that way they will have had some time to set a bit. They are not the prettiest dish to serve but damn tasty. I imagine if they had crusts, they would be much more beautiful and photgraphable!