Posts Tagged ‘recipe’

After only 2 nights of sleep here in Chicago, I am off to my next adventure – Devil’s Lake in Wisconsin! We will be camping and climbing with some good friends out there for the weekend! I’ve never been climbing before, but it is on my Fitness Bucket List, so I’m really excited!

 
Before I go pack the car for the drive up there I wanted to share this yummy recipes with you guys! I made some brownies to take along for everyone; shhh don’t tell them they’re vegan! The recipe came from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar; I tripled this recipe to have enough for everyone.

Ingredients:

• 3 oz of silken tofu (about 1/4 of the package)
• 1/4 cup soy milk
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch (I used arrowroot powder)
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• powdered sugar (optional)

Preheat oven to 325*F. Line an 8 x 8 inch brownie pan with parchment paper. Blend the tofu, soy milk, and oil in a blender until smooth. Use a spatula to transfer to the mixture into a large bowl. Mix in the sugar and vanilla using a fork. Sift in the flour, cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt (the recipe stresses the importance of sifting the ingredients to prevent clumpy brownies). Mix batter until smooth.

Transfer batter into pan and smooth the top with a spatula. The batter will spread during baking, so don’t worry! Bake for 30-40 minutes until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Remove brownies and paper from pan and allow to cool on rack for 15 minutes before removing from paper and cutting. Sprinkle with sifted powdered sugar if desired and enjoy!

I had to try one before packing them up for the trip, and let me tell you, they are so rich and chocolatey! No one will ever know these are vegan!

See you all when I get back!

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Hi guys! Last night I made the most incredible blue cheese burgers on the grill, but of course, forgot to take a picture of them!!!

Let me start off saying that I am usually not the biggest fan of blue cheese, I only like it in SMALL amounts. However, I thought I would give these a try and they were to die for! That being said, I will most likely make them again before the summer is over and remember to take a picture for you guys!

I found this recipe in the August edition of Better Homes and Garden magazine. The recipe was actually for meatballs, but I turned it into burgers instead!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb beef (organic, grass-fed preferably)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup parsley, chopped
• 2 Tbsp red wine
• 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• 1/4 cup blue cheese crumbles
• 4 buns (I used Trader Joe’s pretzel rolls!)
• Whatever burger extra fixings you prefer

In large bowl combine garlic, parsley, wine, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Add beef and mix with hands until well combined. Carefully mix in the blue cheese and form into 4 burger patties. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour before grilling.

I served mine with some corn on the cob, grilled zucchini, and fresh fruit. These burgers were so flavorful all by themselves that I totally forgot to put ketchup on mine! You HAVE to try these, they are YUMMY! I love summer grillin!

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After eating this for dinner the other night at Jessica’s dinner party I couldn’t help but make some of my own! This simple salad is the perfect side to any summer meal. There is no particular measured amount of each ingredient in this recipe so feel free to use what you like!

Ingredients:

• Cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• Mozzarella cheese, cubed
• Fresh basil, chopped
• Olive oil
• Balsamic vinegar
• Salt and pepper

In large bowl combine tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil. Coat with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. Keep refrigerated before serving.

What’s your favorite summer recipe?

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In search of a healthy summer dessert I came across a recipe in Clean Food for a fresh fruit tart with an almond crust. I’ve never been the type of person to make pies or tarts but I thought I would give this one a try. And I’m so glad I did! This tart is not only healthy, its extremely delicious! Without the use of butter or sugar, this tart has a natural not-to-sweet flavor that’s perfect for a summer dessert. This recipe is also extremely versatile, you can substitute any fruit that’s in season to make a healthy tart anytime of the year!

Ingredients:

Crust:

• 1 cup almonds
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup wheat or oat bran
• pinch of salt
• 3 Tbsp maple syrup
• 3 Tbsp canola oil
• 1 tsp almond extract

Filling

• 4 kiwis, peeled and thinly sliced
• 3 peaches, thinly sliced
• 1 cups berries
• 1 cup apple juice
• 1/4 cup fruit nectar (I used apricot nectar)
• 2 Tbsp maple syrup
• 1 Tbsp gelatin or agar powder
• 1 Tbsp arrowroot
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350*F. Put almonds in food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Add oats, wheat bran and salt and process until mixture is a coarse meal. In small bowl whisk maple syrup, oil, and almond extract. Add mixture to almond-oat mixture and process to combine. Transfer to a 9-inch pan and press down to form crust. Pierce crust several times with fork and bake for 15 minutes until lightly browned. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

Arrange peaches around the outside edge of tart. Next arrange kiwis and finally fill the center with berries. In medium pot combine apple juice, fruit nectar, syrup, gelatin or agar, and arrowroot. Turn heat to medium-high and whisk continuously until ingredients dissolve and mixture thickens. Add vanilla and remove from heat. Set aside for 5 minutes. Spoon mixture evenly over tart. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.

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This morning I cooked up some Sunday morning brunch to start the week off right! Before I retire my Eat Drink and Be Vegan cookbook to the shelf for a while I decided to make one last recipe. Since I had some left over Celestial Crème from last weekend, I decided to make crepes so that I could use the rest of the crème as a topping!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 Tbsp ground flax seed
• 1 1/2 cup plain soy milk (or regular skim milk)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 Tbsp canola oil
• 1 cup spelt flour*
• 1/8 tsp sea salt
• Oil to coat pan
• 1-2 cups strawberries, thinly sliced (you can use any fruit you like)

In small bowl whisk together flax seed and milk. In large bowl combine flour and salt. Add wet mixture to dry mixture and whisk to combine. Oil a nonstick skillet and place over medium heat. Scoop 1/4 cup of batter onto pan and immediately remove from heat as you move the pan around to spread the batter to make a large circle. Return pan to heat and allow to cook about 1 minute until crepe is dry on top and easy to flip.

Using a wide spatula flip crepe and cook on other side for another minute. Continue making crepes until batter is all used up. Fill half of the crepe with fruit and fold over. Top with Celestial Crème. Recipe makes about 10 small crepes. These crepes are really yummy and super easy!

You can also use this recipe to make savory crepes filled with cheese, veggies, and herbs. Just omit the vanilla extract in the recipe above. I may use my extra crepes for a savory lunch or dinner crepe later in the week!

*Note: spelt is a non-hybrid primitive relative of our present day wheat that dates back more than 9,000 years. Spelt has a unique nutty flavor and because of its high water solubility, its vital nutrients are quickly absorbed into the body. Spelt flour can be used as a substitute to any recipe calling for wheat flour.

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