got an hour to kill?

i felt like i wasn't absolutely starving when i went to cook dinner last night, so i made an easy dinner, but with some simple waiting time. totally worth it, especially for the leftovers!

i made scalloped potatoes, fancy beans and rice, and green beans with mushroom and cashew

scalloped potatoes

• 4 medium sized potatoes, peeled and THINLY sliced
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 tablespoons soy free earth balance
• 3 tablespoons brown rice flour
• 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
• fresh pepper, to taste
• nutritional yeast, to taste
• garlic powder, to taste
• 2 cups milk of choice

PREHEAT oven to 350 F

in a casserole dish, start with a layer of potatoes

add some of the onion,

1 tablespoon earth balance (a lil dab here and there),

1 tablespoon flour (sprinkling evenly over layer),

then some salt, pepper, nut yeast, garlic powder

repeat and make two more layers, until ingredients are used

carefully pour the milk over the top layer, making sure to get the liquid into the nooks and crannies.

bake for about and hour, or until liquid is bubbling, top is brown, and it smells done.

fancy rice and beans

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup long grain brown rice
• 1/4 cup drained and packed sun-dried tomatoes (the kind in olive oil), chopped
• 1 1/2 cup vegetable stock
• 1 can roman beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 small zucchini, sliced
• smoked chipotle powder
• salt and pepper, to taste
• cilantro, chopped

in a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium heat

add onion and garlic, stir for about 3 minutes

add rice, tomatoes, and stock. bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to low

simmer gently for about 35-40 minutes

add beans and zucchini, cover and cook for another 5-7 minutes, or until rice is cooked and liquid is absorbed.

season with salt and pepper, top with cilantro

green beans with mushroom and cashew

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 hand-fulls of green beans
• 4-5 baby bella mushrooms
• pinch of chili powder, ginger, salt, and pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped or whole raw cashews

in a medium frying pan, heat oil

add garlic, stirring about 2 minutes

add green beans, cover and cook on medium heat for about 4 minutes

  stir in mushrooms, and spices, cover for another 4 minutes

add cashews and stir frequently

cook until green beans are at desired consistency.

once it's all done, plate it and gobble!

(warning! potatoes might put you in a food coma!)

did you know?

some vegans don't use table sugar.

typically, in the refining process, it is filtered through bone char to remove impurities.

there are no animal products in the sugar itself, but it is a naughty hidden secret of the factories.

if you are baking for a vegan friend of yours, make sure you find out if they choose not to use table sugar.

and if so, don't fret! there are tons of alternatives, including raw sugar, vegan organic fair-trade, turbinado, agave, date and beet sugar, molasses, maple syrup, etc.


more info for you here

lemon-lime loaf!

light, zesty, sweet, sour, and with a slight crunch, this is sure to please anyone who enjoys a citrus snack!

gluten free lemon-lime loaf

• 3/4 cup milk of choice
• 2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoon lime zest
• 3/4 cup brown rice flour
• 1/2 cup potato starch (not potato flour)
• 1/4 cup tapioca flour (also known as tapioca flour)
• 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup sugar of choice
• 5 tablespoon canola oil (perhaps some could be replaced with applesauce)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 large lemon, juiced
• about 1 cup confectioner's sugar

PREHEAT oven to 350 F

in a small bowl, mix milk, lemon juice, and lime zest. set aside

in a medium bowl, mix flour, potato starch, tapioca, xanthan gum, baking soda, and sugar. whisk and mix well

add the oil and the vanilla to the milk mix

slowly whisk wet mix into dry mix

the baking soda should react with the lemon juice, so don't freak if it gets foamy when mixing.

i added the batter to a loaf pan, and it honestly took longer than i expected to cook all the way through. i would say about 40 minutes. it was done when the entire cake turned a brighter shade of yellow.

check with a toothpick in the center if you aren't sure.

 once the loaf has completely cooled, whisk together the lemon juice and confectioner's sugar in a small bowl, slowly adding the sugar (it's a good flavor when it starts to look more white than clear),

and add to top of loaf.

 it takes about an hour for the icing to set, but by all means you don't have to wait that long to enjoy it!

(these also make excellent cupcakes!)

noodle bowl!

made a fresh, healthy, filling dinner tonight!

i was craving a Vietnamese noodle bowl, and with a quick run to my favorite healthy corner store after work i was on my way to one!

cashew nut butter noodle bowl

• 1 package rice noodles
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 orange pepper, chopped
• 6-7 mushrooms, chopped
• about 1 cup sugar snap peas
• 1 tablespoon raw liquid coconut aminos
• chili powder, to taste
• 1 cup raw coconut milk
• 1/2 cup cashew butter
• 1/2 of a lime's juice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1-2 tablespoon chili garlic sauce
• pepper, to taste
• fresh spinach
• 1 carrot, grated
• handful of raw cashews, finely chopped
• cilantro

         for this fantasy dinner i bought some gluten free rice noodles (vermicelli ), threw them in boiling water for about 4 minutes, drained, cold rinsed, and set aside.

for the veggies i started out with some sesame oil, garlic, and onion in a medium pan

cooked until onion was soft

added the chopped orange pepper

after about 3 minutes, i added the mushrooms

added some raw coconut aminos, chili powder, and covered for about 5 minutes

i then added the sugar snap peas, covered for another 5 minutes

uncovered, and cooked on low until mushroom was soft and flavorful

i turned off the heat and let the sauce settle.

for the cashew sauce, i whisked the coconut milk, cashew butter, salt, chili garlic sauce, lime, and pepper in a sauce pan over medium heat until blended

to serve, i took a medium sized bowl

i started with a layer of fresh spinach on the bottom

put some of the cold noodles on top of that

 added some vegetables

then grated carrots

and finally the tasty cashew sauce, with a sprinkle of the chopped raw cashews

oh yeah and cilantro and some more lime :)

(and, to serve my spicy side, i swirled in some sriracha)

french toast!

ever bought a loaf of gluten free bread that just wasn't very good?

too dry?

too dense?

or just didn't taste good?

if that's the case for you, or you simply want to make your day-old bread better, turn that bread into french toast!!

simple recipe, and with this one batch of batter i made a whole loaf of french toast

vegan gluten free french toast

• 1 cup milk of choice (i used regular so delicious coconut milk)
• 2 tablespoons brown rice flour 
• 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
• 1 tablespoon agave nectar
• 1 teaspoon ground flax seed
• 1 teaspoon vanilla (don't need this if you use vanilla flavored milk)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon 
• 1 loaf bread of choice (i used a brown rice loaf)

combine all ingredients besides bread in a medium mixing bowl, whisk

allow to settle for a few minutes

heat a non stick pan, and once warm, lightly grease (i used soy free earth balance)

whisk mix again before dunking the bread in

dip the bread in the mix for 3-5 seconds and place in pan

cook each side, until brown and crispy

serve with whatever makes you happy!

(maple syrup, fruit, powdered sugar, cinnamon sugar, preserves, sunflower butter.......)

pizza!!

  i was craving pizza at 3am, so i didn't really want to mess around with a dough for too long.

whipped this whole pizza up in around 30 minutes (majorly multitasking though!)

no worries of yeast for this crust recipe, just simple and fast.

for the toppings i used what i had in the veggie drawer, plus some daiya cheese (what a treat!)

next one i'll prepare ahead and have some pinapple.... mmmmm...

vegan gluten free no yeast pizza dough

• 1 cup flour (i used 1/2 brown rice, 1/2 white rice)
• 1/4 cup tapioca flour (also known as tapioca starch)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 1 tablespoon ground flax seed, mixed with 3 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon agave nectar
• 1/2 cup milk of choice (unsweetened)
• 1/8 cup oil

PREHEAT oven to 325 F

in small cup, combine flax seed and water. set aside.

in large mixing bowl, combine flour, tapioca, baking powder, salt, and xanthan gum (whisk well)

in medium mixing bowl, combine agave, milk, oil, and flax mix (after allowing to sit at least 5 minutes)

add the wet to the dry ingredients, mixing well with a spoon

put dough ball onto greased pizza pan (or baking sheet)

roll or press to desired shape/size

set aside until toppings are ready

for the toppings of this pizza, i used garlic, onion, orange pepper, zucchini, kale, and portobello mushrooms.

i started by heating some oil, garlic, and onion in a medium frying pan

i added the pepper, and zucchini, bout three minutes in between the two, also adding some italian seasoning (pinch or two of rosemary, oregano, sage, basil, thyme, salt)

i cooked that until zucchini tender.

in a separate pan, i sauteed the kale with some garlic and lemon juice until soft

 i sauteed the mushroom with chili powder, garlic powder, oregano

for the tomato sauce, i cut 3 tomatoes, cooked in olive oil, added italian spices, then put in food processor until creamy.

 

i put the crust in the oven alone, for about 5 minutes.

i then added the sauce, and all the vegetables, and then added some daiya mozzarella cheese

baked at 325 F for around ten minutes, then at 450 F until edges browned (around 10 minutes)

i let cool at least 10 minutes, then ate the crap out of it! 

you really can come up with anything you like for the toppings, the important part is the crust!!

coffee cake!

i couldn't find a single gluten free vegan recipe for old fashioned coffee cake anywhere online, so i concocted one of my own, and it came out great!

holy moly is this delicious!

for some reason the first few pictures i took of this cake got deleted while sending them, but these "after" photos just prove how good the cake really is, because we ate it!!

vegan gluten free soy free coffee cake

       topping

• 1/3 cup melted margarine (i use soy-free earth balance)
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup flour (white or brown rice)
• 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

      

     cake

• 1 flax "egg" (1 tablespoon ground flax seed, mixed with 3 tablespoons warm water)
• 1/2 cup milk of choice
• 1/8 cup applesauce (unsweetened)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup brown rice flour
• 1/4 cup potato starch (not potato flour)
• 1/4 cup tapioca flour (also known as tapioca starch)
• 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

PREHEAT oven to 325 F

  first thing to do is make your flax "egg", combining flax and water in small dish and let sit.

next step is to make the topping.

melt margarine over low heat, then allow to cool

combine brown sugar, flour, cinnamon in a medium bowl, mixing well

set aside

to make the cake, in a medium mixing bowl, whisk together dry ingredients.
 in a large mixing bowl combine your flax "egg" (after letting sit at least 5 minutes), milk, applesauce, and vanilla, mixing well

then add the dry ingredients, until evenly combined

pour batter into slightly greased round spring form pan

evenly add crumble topping to the top of the batter

bake 40 minutes, checking with a toothpick in the center of the cake, if it comes out clean, it' done
top with powdered sugar for some extra contrast (optional)

enjoy it, shouldn't last too long!