Monday 28 July 2014

Roasted Jalapeno & Corn Hummus

Chick peas, am I right?? They're pretty spectacular. They can do no wrong. Ever.

I bought jalapenos with the best of intentions of making some grande dish that I never got around to. And I had fresh local corn that I was going to BBQ, but never got around to it. See a theme here?? Like I said in my last post - WE'RE BUSY!

One thing that we always have in apocalyptic quantities in our house is chick peas. Because they're awesome. I don't ever need a special occasion to make hummus. I can pretty much eat it out of the jar with a spoon, as a spread on sandwiches, as a dip for fresh veggies, nacho chips or pita. Yum, yum, yum!

While looking for something to use my sad looking corn and jalapenos for, I found this gem. A couple of mods later, and there was hummus! (And then a few hours later, there was none!)

Hot Mess Warning: This will not be a Siobhan approved recipe. There will be no measurements. :)

For starters, I always pour a healthy amount of tahini into my food processor with a good splash of lemon juice and whip that first. It's the secret to creamy hummus! Then add in your drained and rinsed chick peas and pulse until coarsely chopped.

In the oven on low broil, I blackened the corn and at the end added the jalapenos. It took about 15-20 minutes. When they were done, I chopped the jalapenos and used a sharp knife to cut the corn from the cob and threw it all into the already coarse chopped chick pea mix. I turned on the food processor on low and started pouring in olive oil until the hummus was thick and smooth and lovely.

I didn't think to take a picture of it, though it was quite pretty. It's far too late now. But I did take a photo of the roasted jalapeno and corn. That'll have to do. Cheers!


Deep Fried Avocado Tacos

I don't know about you all, but avocados are one of my favourite foods. I eat at least one a day. I know that there are some people out there who panic and fret that "avocados are so high in fat, though! You shouldn't eat that many!", to which I reply PPPFFFFTTTTTTT.

When did fat become the enemy?? And is it the "fat" in avocados that people are afraid of or literally BEING fat? Either way, my PPPFFFFTTTTTTT still stands. I'm no professional or anything, but my motto when it comes to food is simple. Whole over Processed. Mostly in moderation (Because we all need a bag of chips and a bottle of wine for dinner now and again, or is that just me??) and get off your butt and DO SOMETHING. I'm not selling an illusion here; I'm not some primed Olympic athlete - but we walk the dog, go for family bike rides, cut the grass, work in the garden, work Cedar Row Farm as often as possible and just generally are busy people. I take the stairs  I deserve an avocado or two. :)

Now, onto the good stuff. I originally saw this recipe online somewhere, but it was very un-vegan. It called for buttermilk and loads of eggs. It really only served as inspiration for deep frying my own avocados so I don't feel schmucky not linking to it. As with most deep fried foods, you will need three bowls. That way you can make a really big mess and thrice the dishes.

Bowl # 1:
- 1/2 cup of flour
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp habanero powder
- 1/2 tsp dried cilantro flakes

Bowl # 2:
- 1 cup milk (I used unsweetened almond)
- 1 egg replacer (I used Ener-G, but Flax would also work)

Bowl # 3:
- 1 cup Panko bread crumbs
- 1 tbsp dried cilantro flakes (Because you can NEVER have too much cilantro!)

In a large heavy bottom sauce pan, heat about an inch and a half of oil medium-high. I don't have any fancy thermometers, I just splash some water in and when it fires back at me I know it's ready. Safety first! lol Depending on the size of your avocados, or your mouth I suppose, slice it in quarters or eighths.

Hot Mess Tip: Before you start frying, make sure you have a plate ready with paper towels to transfer them to. Also, you'll want to eat them right away so have your plates ready and waiting. I used corn tortillas, chopped iceburg lettuce, garden fresh tomatoes and fresh cilantro and green onion.

With your avocado sections, coat evenly in bowl 1, transfer to bowl 2 and then into bowl 3 for the Panko. Don't skimp on the Panko. Press it right into it! Repeat until all avocado is coated and ready to go. I laid mine out on a cutting board so that I could do them all at once but if you allow help in the kitchen there's no reason you couldn't use teamwork here.

You can use tofutti sour cream, or daiya cheez on your tacos but I wanted a rich, creamy, spicy sauce to top off my tacos with so I whipped up this:

3/4 cup Vegenaise
2 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp Sriracha Hot Sauce
2 green onions, chopped. I used my herb scissors.
1 large bunch fresh cilantro, chopped with scissors

The end result? THIS.



Monday 21 July 2014

Moxarella ON EVERYTHING!

Very rarely do I get THIS excited about things. (That may be an absolute lie.) but I am really REALLY excited. So excited in fact, that I just used caps locks on five words, including the title. Good grief!

Those who know me, know I'm not a big fan of faux cheeses. Actually, that's a little general. Specifically I don't like processed faux cheeses. They just taste so weird to me! I had good luck with the tofu ricotta for the stuffed shells. Then I saw this little gem and thought it was worth a try. I did not make the whole pizza recipe - just the moxarella. I had very low expectations. Very low. Almost non-existent.

But something beautiful happened. It was easy. Like, really, really easy. And cheap. Tapioca starch is only .99 cents for a lifetime supply and the cashew count is only 1/4 a cup. And friggin' delicious. It has the perfect mix of salt and tang and it's creamy and light and wonderful.

As the original recipe states it isn't a good replacement for a Caprese salad but baked it is 11/10.

Copied from One Green Planet:

  • 1/4 C. raw cashews 
  • 1 C. hot water (NOT boiling)
  • 2  T. + 1 t. tapioca starch
  • 1 small garlic clove, minced
  • 3/4  t. sea salt
  • 1 t. fresh lemon juice

After chilling it and using it on pizza with some tomatoes from our garden and a sweet basil base sauce I had lots left over.



I got to thinking. What if I roll them in a mix of panko and herbs and bake them? And then inhale them like my life depended on it? Yes please. The moxarella is really "sticky" so you'll need to wrap it in saran wrap. Oddly it doesn't stick to knives or other objects, just fingers. Anyhow, the breading was easy to make. On a silpat, or sheet of saran wrap mix:

1 cup panko crumbs
1/2 tbsp oregano
1/2 tbsp basil
1 tsp garlic powder

Cut the moxarella into "sticks" and roll into panko mix. They will flatten and roll out as you go. Repeat for as many as you'd like. Arrange on a parchment lined baking sheet, spray with canola oil (If you want them more like fried, as opposed to baked) and bake at 425 degrees for 5-7 minutes per side or until golden brown.



You can dip them in whatever you'd like. I made a quick vegan ranch dressing dip. This one's good.

Enjoy!

Dessert Pizza

Sometimes, something so simple can be so amazing. We were going for dinner with friends the other night and I needed to make a dessert to bring.

Maybe because I've baked so many cakes lately I'm all caked out. I wanted something would really 'wow' them. And then I thought of it. Dessert pizza! 

First I whipped up a batch of my fave chocolate chip cookies, but instead of dividing it up I rolled it out on a parchment lined cookie sheet and made my "pizza" base. You can either let the giant cookie air cool, or put it in the fridge or freezer to harden to be able to apply the next layer.

Then I used a tub of Almond Dream vanilla ice cream as the next layer. I spooned the entire tub into my food processor with 1 tbsp of almond milk and when it was smooth and spreadable I slathered it on the now cooled cookie and immediately got it into the freezer to harden while I prepped the next layers.

I had walnuts kicking around, but they weren't chopped so I worked my magic. Because I had previously made thick, rich bourbon caramel I got the cheat this next step. You will need to follow this link and make your own caramel :)

Now, to assemble!

Repeat after me. Cookie. Ice Cream. Chopped Nuts. Caramel. OM NOM NOM.



If you're feeling EXTRA fancy you can add a chocolate drizzle on top, as well. Perfection.