Vegan Valentines "Heart Beat Lasagna"

Come check out my Steemit! https://steemit.com/@charityislove

My hubby and I made this, together, neither of us knowing how it would turn out, since I didn't follow any recipe, we just bought some ingredients that I thought would go well, together for a vegan lasagna.... all we knew is that he would use the mandolin to slice the beets and zucchini, and then shape the beet slices into hearts.

We decided to bake it rather than eat it as raw lasagna, as I had originally planned for it to be raw, but when he suggested that we bake it, I thought about it only for a couple seconds and agreed that everything might just set better and it would be easier to cut into slices, so I said we should do it at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

My hubby could not say enough good things about it.... I love when our projects work out!

I thought I'd share the recipe. Every measurement is only approximate and one may adjust to one's own taste. It is basically, zucchini strips for noodles, marinara made with sundried tomatoes, bell peppers, olive oil, two dates and spaghetti seasoning all whipped in a blender, pesto made with pumpkin seeds, organic salad greens, cilantro, lemon juice, parsley and a little salt, ground up in a food processor, and the "cheese" layers is just soaked cashews (about three cups) lemon juice, nutritional yeast, cayenne powder and a little salt.... also whipped up in a food processor while adding a little water at a time. The final layer on top of a second "cheese" layer is dill weed powder and the heart beets. I'll just show some photos from the process:

We're still learning to be better food photographers, but these still look pretty good and give the general idea. As time goes on, we'll be more nit-picky on how we arrange our food and dishes, as well as know the best lighting, though I think our lighting is pretty good... This morning I had a large slice.... and it is what makes me think it is possibly the best lasagne I ever had. How lasagna tastes the next day is always my test. Overnight, in the fridge, it all set even better, so my slice showed all the layers.... and the pesto and "cheese" layers were a perfect texture... and more nutty and flavorful.

Come check out by blog on Steemit: https://steemit.com/@charityislove

Another foraging treasure from last Summer!

Wild Raspberries and blackberries!!!

.... and I just so happened to have a bag of Bob's Red Mill pie crust mix..... and enough coconut oil to make a great pie crust.... so here are a couple photos of berries and the pie!

It is a long way until Summer, but look at it this way: soon, it will be warm enough to tap some maple trees.... and from then, it is only a short time until Spring.... so, here's a memory.... and here's to warm, sunny days, ahead!

Pine Nut Friendlies Second Attempt, Much Better!

This is a recipe from the cookbook, 'Street Vegan'.... my first attempt did not go this well because I substituted coconut oil for vegan margarine... and the coconut oil caused the cookies to start to burn at the bottoms and I needed to take them out almost 10 minutes early.

For my second attempt, I still used coconut oil, but baked them at 325 degrees instead of 350 degrees and they came out perfect!

This time, I also chose not to lightly grind the pine-nuts, but mixed them in, whole. I wanted to be able to showcase the while pine-nut experience about them.

Our Tomato Tart

Awhile back, my husband  (then, fiance) helped me to make this tomato tart to enter into our home-town pie baking contest. As much as the pie looked beautiful and tasty, we had a problem with the crust because we did everything at the last minute and did not have enough time to soak the walnuts. Our pie is an adaptation of Laura Miller of the Youtube show 'Raw, Vegan, not Gross.... but we added avocado and freshly picked garden basil.

Our pie did not win.... and we never got to eat it for ourselves..... but this photo reminds me that I want to make it, again.... and maybe make another one to enter into the contest, next Fall.... this time, though, we will make one to eat, for ourselves.

My husband is adorable.... I still think of his reaction when i asked if he'd like to help me make a pie for the contest. He was excited and enthusiastic to do it.... that's not a reaction that one would expect from a man. It is one of things that I love about him.

Here is the recipe by Laura Miller:

 Crust: -3 c walnuts -1 T nutritional yeast -2 T olive oil -1/4 t salt Filling: -3 c walnuts, soaked overnight* -2 T lemon juice -1 T olive oil -1 c cherry tomatoes -1 T nutritional yeast -few leaves fresh basil PROCESS -Start with the crust. Place the walnuts in the food processor and blend for about 10 seconds, then add the remaining ingredients. -Press the crust into the tart pan, and dehydrate overnight, or bake at 200 degrees for 30-40 minutes, or until firm to the touch. -To make the filling, combine soaked walnuts, olive oil, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, and salt in a food processor. -Cut your tomatoes in half, then warm them in the dehydrator, or bake at 200 degrees for 20 minutes, just until softened. -Now, just assemble. Spread filling over the crust, add your tomatoes on top, and garnish with a little basil. -Refrigerate the tart for at least 30 minutes to allow it to set up. HEALTH FACTOR: -high in cancer-fighting lycopene -reduce the risk of heart disease -help lower blood pressure and cholesterol .... and her channel, Raw, Vegan, not Gross

Vegan Blueberry 'Nice Cream'

.... made with frozen bananas and blueberries in a food processor:

I Had the Honor to Prepare Eight Delicious Vegan Meals for the Homeless

I'm still thankful for the opportunity to do something for the homeless people that I see on the strip in Las Vegas. My parents have a timeshare, so, my husband and I sometimes get to spend a week or two at the Polo Towers.... and, the first time we were ever there, we were shocked and touched by the sight of the homeless people on the strip.... one man was lying face down under an escalator, knocked out, cold.... I was worried that he could have been deceased, so I told my husband and his friend that i need to check to see if he is breathing.

Anyway, to make a long story short, my husband and I had another Vegas trip planned for May of 2016 and I decided to put up a Gofundme to raise money to make 8 delicious vegan meals to hand out to 8 homeless people.and was able to raise 220 dollars.... I randomly chose a goal of 400 dollars, not really expecting to reach it.... but, as it was, after I had bought all the groceries and put together the meals, I still had a surplus and used it buy socks to put in the care packages.

.... and the meals for each package were quite massive. Each package came with a large container with half coconut-lime quinoa and a fresh mango, avocado salad. Then there were two natural peanut butter sandwiches on raisin cinnamon Ezekiel bread with coconut oil for butter.... and a condiment bag that contained salt and pepper packets, super cute glass bottles of Louisiana hot sauce, and some napkins..... and then, in each bag was added a pair of socks.

These are photos I took of our progress and updates on the Gofundme campaign:













It was a massive blessing to plan and prepare the most delicious, healing, plant-based food for those in the most need and to be empowered to deliver these meals.

Truffled Mashed Potatoes and Fried Onion with a Horserash-y sauce

This was part of a 'Street Vegan' recipe that was just too overwhelmingly ambitious for me to make in its entirety. The recipe is called 'Truffled Potato and Fried Onion Perogies. I decided to skip the perogy part because I would have had to make a substitution in making the dough, and it also required a mixer.... then rolling it out, shaping them into circles and then folding the potato mixture inside.... and frying up the perogies..... it sounds worth the effort, but I've never made perogies, before..... and the potatoes with the truffle oil were intriguing enough, as it was my first time ever trying truffle oil. it is absolutely earthy, rich, scrumptious and like nothing I have ever tried....I wonder where on earth that truffles can be found.....they are rarer than morels.

Anyway, the potato the truffle potato filling stood incredibly well on its own. I put it on a bed of baby greens and topped it with a dollop of a horshradish-y sauce that I made with horseradish and Veganaise, then garnished it with chives. It is sort of fancy, but it is not. :).

With Cashews and Nutritional Yeast, One Can Make Almost Anything!

These are gooey vegan quesadillas!

I followed a recipe by Carrots and Flowers , then added a few touches to make it my own.... ie. the pine nut.basil pesto, on top.

The "mozzarella cheese" comes out melty and gooey because of the ingredient, tapioca starch, which I was surprised that I was able to find it at my local healthfood store, Indigo Iris. I don't like cheese, but I like the taste of nutritional yeast.... and a lot of people say that nutritional yeast tastes like cheese.... so, it is a double blessing in that it only tastes like cheese to people that like cheese.

Here are the full recipe and instructions that I followed:

Ingredients

• 8 tortillas medium
• 1/2 cup raw cashews
• 1/4 cup tapioca flour (also called tapioca starch)
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 1/4 cup water
• 1 1/2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 3/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp white pepper

Easy Chipotle Cream

• 1/2 cup soaked cashews
• 3/4 cup salsa
• 1/4 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp sea salt

Instructions

1. Soak cashews for two hours or overnight for the cashew mozzarella and chipotle cream. You can also boil them for ten minutes to soften. Drain the cashews. In a high-powered blender or food processor, add 1/2 cup soaked cashews and the remaining ingredients until the white pepper. Blend on high speed for 2 minutes until smooth. 
2. Pour the cashew mixture in a saucepan over medium high heat. Cook for 5 minutes until the cheese forms into a gooey ball in the center. Stir constantly to prevent sticking. The cheese will stay fairly soft. 
3. To make a large vegan quesadilla, spread 1/4 cup of cashew mozzarella onto one tortilla. Spread 2 tablespoons of cashew cream onto another tortilla. Combine the tortillas. In a skillet over medium heat, cook the Vegan Quesadilla on 30-45 seconds on each side until the tortillas are crispy and the cheese is melty. Cut into triangles and serve with extra chipotle cream and avocado!
   
   

I have to say that the blogger of Carrots and Flowers had more patience in waiting for the tortillas to come out a deeper golden brown... and her photos do more justice, but since this post is about how the recipe worked for me, as a first time trier, it is also about how MY tortillas turned out, so these are my tortillas. Both my husband and I were impressed.He LOVED them.... and I did, too, though I liked them even more, the next morning after being in the fridge, overnight. I don't know why.

One Quick Foraging Bounty from Last Summer:

Apples and lambsquarters:

These were the biggest apples, but they turned out not to be the best, I prefer the little crab apples for their sour and sweet punch of flavor..... apples that make me pucker, but have a sweet aftertaste.

My favorite wild greens are lambsquarters. I introduced them to my neighbors... one person asked me why I cooked it in bacon grease... she is one of my neighbors that does not quite understand what a vegan is..... but others have said that lambsquarters taste like bacon... now, quite a few of my neighbors have become fans of it. Thankfully, there never seems to be any shortage.

My First Attempt at a Recipe from 'Street Vegan'

Because this looked like the most simple recipe, and because it contains pine nuts, I decided that a 'Street Vegan' novice, like me would do well to start with this..... and the thought of a vegan cookie made with pine nuts was intriguing, I love pine nuts, and I figured that the baking would give the pine nuts the toasty flavor that only toasted pine nuts can have. I think it would have happened, but I made a substitution that change the whole composition of the cookie dough, so the cookies started to burn on the bottom, so I had to take them out 10 minutes early. I used coconut oil instead of vegan margarine because the only vegan margarines I can find contains palm oil.... because I don't like to read about cruelty to animals, I only know that palm oil somehow hurts orangutans, so I will not use anything containing palm oil. My other substitution was unbleached sugar instead of evaporated cane juice because I don't know where to get evaporated cane juice. I could not find any at the place I order food online.... and I already had to order the vegan powdered sugar. The cookies turned out alright, in spite of my having to take them out 10 minutes early (due to my substitution of coconut oil for the vegan margarine). I did not roll them into perfect balls because I just don't do things like that. Anyway, here they are. All in all, I recommend the recipe.... and my husband loves the cookies I made..... I'd recommend that a person find a vegan margerine that does not contain palm oil, because one will run into an issue of the cookies burning at the bottom if one uses coconut oil.... it is a different composition for baking.... baking is more of an excacting science than cooking... I'm definitely better at cooking:



For great adventures in vegan cooking, I recommend 'Street Vegan'. One thing I have to tell you is that there`are some ingredients that are exotic and/or hard to find. One example is umeboshi plum vinegar.... it is somewhat of a pantry staple for 'Street Vegan', though it sounds as though a little goes a long way. Another example is truffle oil. It is not in many recipes.... only one that I have seen, but I went ahead and ordered the same brand that the author recommended on a footnote of a recipe. Here's a link for anyone that would like to order 'Street Vegan'

My 'Thrive Market ' Food Haul for This Month:

It is i4 16 oz. bags of raw cashews, 2 8 oz. bag of pine nuts, 1 1-lb. bag of vegan powdered sugar, 1 16 oz. bag of organic balinese cacao butter, 5 18.3 oz jars of diced tomatoes, 1 10 oz. bottle of nutritional yeast, 1 9 oz jar of sour cherry spread, and Thrive sent a free 16 oz. jar of almond butter. I'm happy that the only ingredient is organic almonds... no palm oil. I spent a total of 108 dollars, which is pretty good.... I believe it says I saved 66 dollars and all orders over 50 dollars is free shipping.

.... More "Drool-worthy" Photos and Rcipes I Collected and put into a Blog!

Here is a collection of recipes I found, mostly from other Pinterest site: a lot of them are from popular vegan recipe sites, like 'Oh She Glows' , 'Fragrant Vanilla Cake' and 'The Simple Veganista'. I'm showing some photos from my Pinterest site.... and must be, on some consciousness level, am deciding to accept that we are now in the Fall season. I've chosen photos of food with a Fall theme, or with some Fall colors:

                                                  Healthy Pumpkin Pie Smoothie: from jessiemonds.com

Vegan Pumpkin Pie, Three Ways: Classic, Rustic 'Oh She Glows'

                                       Raw Pecan Pie Bars by 'Sweet Healthy Living'

Savory Chickpea Pancake/Flatbread 'The Simple Veganista'

Guilt-Free Vegan Enchiladas HealthyAperture.com

                  Apple Pie Blondies with Brown Sugar Frosting! chockohlawtay.blogspot.com

 

Jumbo Chickpea Pancake – A High Protein, Filling Breakfast or Lunch!  'Oh She Glows'

 

Cookie Dough Nut Butter & Double Cookie Dough Ball recipes, using natural vegan ingredients. 'Oh She Glows'

 

From: This Rawsome Vegan Life: raw pizza with spinach pesto & marinated vegetables

Chickpea Quinoa Chard Pizza topped with Roasted Cauliflower and grape tomatoes. 'Veganricha'

Caramelized Onion Pizza on a Sweet Potato Crust. (Vegan and GF)

For this, I used a recipe by Breast Cancer Maven and created my own toppings of carmelized oinion, black olive slices and ground almonds for a "parmesian" topping.

Crust: Recipe by Breast Cancer Maven;

Ingredients

• 2 cups of sweet potato puree (2 large roasted sweet potatoes)
• 1 bulb of garlic
• 1 TB chia seeds
• 3 TBS water
• 1 ¼ cup gluten free oat flour
• ¼ cup almond flour
• 1 TB olive oil
• 1 TB apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp salt
• Olive oil for drizzling
• Your favorite pizza sauce and toppings

Instructions

Roasted Potatoes and Garlic:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Wash potatoes well and puncture with a fork a few times.
3. Lay on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or foil to catch the drips.
4. Next prepare the garlic by cutting the top off of the garlic to expose the individual cloves.
5. Drizzle with olive oil.
6. Wrap the entire bulb in foil, place on the baking sheet with the potatoes.
7. Bake the potatoes and garlic until tender, approximately 45 minutes.
8. Once finished, remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Crust:

1. Next, prepare the chia egg by combining the chia seeds and water in a small bowl and let it rest for 10 minutes until it forms a gel.
2. Remove the skin from the sweet potatoes and from 3-4 garlic cloves and place them in a large mixing bowl.
3. Using a fork, mash the potatoes and garlic into a smooth consistency.
4. Stir in the oat flour, almond meal, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, basil, oregano, and sea salt.
5. Add the chia egg and mix well.
6. Line a pizza pan with parchment paper.
7. Scoop the crust mixture onto the pan and slowly spread out the dough evenly on the pan using a spatula. This recipe will make one large pizza or two smaller pizzas.
8. Place the pan in the 400 degree preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes until the dough has set.
9. Remove from oven and add your toppings.
10. Place back in the oven for another 10 minutes until the edges are golden brown and your toppings are heated.

Notes

I like to use the jumbo elephant garlic for roasting (if you use the jumbo bulbs, use only 2 cloves.
Recipe adapted from Blissful Basil's Sweet Potato Pizza Crust.

Topping: 

Carmelized oinion, made in cast iron skillet with olive oil, using medium heat

a small can of black olive slices

a coffee grinder full of slivered almonds, ground to a fine powder

Add these to crust, according to the crust instructions and bake for another ten minutes, according to the instructions.

This was demolished, quickly by two hungry people. I recommend, at least doubling the recipe.... and that's only for two people! ;)

... a raw, vegan restaurant in Chicago, called 'Chicago Raw'... LOVED it!!!

I cannot say enough good things about this restaurant! Here are a couple videos showing some of the amazing food! My favorite entrees were the raw lasagne and the felafel patties.... and, though this part is not in the video, but, the following day. I returned to try the apple pie and pumpkin ice "cream"..... I liked the pie, but LOOOVED the ice "cream".... it was one of the best desserts I have ever had!

Next time we go to Chicago, we are definitely eating at Chicago Raw.... though we have been told we also need to try Karyn's, which is also vegan... and mostly raw.

My Vegan Pinterest, part 2, (posted from my former blog) :)

If you'd like to see more photos and recipes like these, you may want to come check out my Pinterest. :) My last Vegan Pinterest post seemed to go over well.... and I have collected more recipes.... so, I thought I'd go a head and post some more photos. :)

Fruit Pizza with a Maple Quinoa Crust by GreentThickies.com




Sugar-Free Apple Pie Chia Seed Jam + Breakfast Parfait. Vegan, gluten-free by Oh She Glows


raw pizza bites! vegan, gluten-free, sugar-free, raw and they taste just like pizza! by: Veggienook.com



Raw Vegan Jamaican Jerk Burgers Copyright Shernell Cooke recipe found at Vegan in the Sun



 

Juicer Pulp Bread by Gluten-free Cat


  Deep Dish Apple Pear Tart by Raw Food Recipes Chick-pea Omelet by Sketch-free Vegan Eating

Raw Coconut Chocolate Macaroon Cookies with Ganache (V and GF)

Ganache:
1 Lb. raw cashews
a bit of cherry juice
a few organic strawberries
1/4 cup 'Sugar in the Raw'
3 Tbsp.s lime juice
1/4 teaspoon himalayan pink salt

Cookie:
1 bag shredded coconut
1 bag small-sized vegan chocolate chips
1/4 cup 'Sugar in the Raw'
3 Tbsps lime juice
1/4 teaspoon himalayan pink salt
2 tbsp.s cayenne powder (or to your taste)

Start with the ganache, because if some is left in the food processor, it's lighter in color and will blend with the cookie stuff. put all ganache ingredients in food processor.... keep mixing... if you want, add a bit more cherry juice. it will not be very pink, more tan, but add the strawberries, last, so there are small chunks of strawberry in the ganache... the next day, the ganache will taste like strawberry shortcake.

Remove ganache from food processor, into a bowl.... fill food processor with the coconut flakes.blend on the highest setting for anywhere between 15 to 30 minutes.... I'm not kidding... the coconut flakes will liquify or come close enough... once done, put in a bowl to re-add.

Now pour the chocolate chips in the processor and blend on high.... it will be ready in five minutes are fewer. Re-add the coconut plus the lime juice, sugar, salt and cayenne powder, then blend until well mixed.

Place mixture on a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Press with another piece of parchment paper and spread flat to make make whatever cookie shapes. Then spread ganache over the individual cookies... and garnish with strawberry slices, or whatever you would like to use to garnish. Always only use organic strawberries.

The texture is just right, so it doesn't need to be chilled in the refrigerator, like some raw cookies.... but, like so many things, they are good refrigerated and taste even more amazing, the next day.... or, at least, I think they do.... especially the ganache, which tastes exactly like strawberry shortcake.

Let me know how you like it. :)

A Book Review of 'Street Vegan', by Adam Sobel

This is from the cook booked, called, 'Street Vegan', by Adam Sobel, who's vegan food truck was awarded as the coveted 'Vendy' Award, several years in a row, for best food vender in New Jersey.

I'm not sure I'm ambitious enough to try to make the fritters, yet, as I don't have a deep fryer, and am going to have to mull over what I need to look for in a deep fryer, but, on my list of recipes from this book, I'm going to try to make the 'Truffled Potato and Fried Onion Perogies'. There is a note on the same page about truffle oil and how to choose the real thing.

An easier recipe, as far as baking looks to be the 'Pine Nut Friendlies'.... though easy, it sounds absolutely exquisite. What is not to like about a freshly baked pine-nut cookie? I'll be needing to buy some vegan powdered sugar.... other than that I already have the pine nuts and the few other ingredients.

So..... stay tuned for some photos of my loving efforts, as I'm looking forward to making the perogies and pine nut cookies, very much.

Check out my blog on Steemit: https://steemit.com/@charityislove

If this looks like a great book that you'd love to own, click the Amazon link!

Raw Flax and Sauerkraut Crackers:

These are just sauerkraut and flax-meal, blended in a food processor, then "cooked" in a dehydrator, overnight. Anything "cooked" under 116 degrees fahrenheit is still raw because the enzymes stay intact and more bio-available.

.