Cuban Black Bean Soup

Along with Fall baking comes Fall soup. I really like making a pot of soup because I can eat it that week as well as save some in my freezer. Of course, I love the warmth that a bowl of soup on a chilly (or freezing) day offers.

This soup has both warming temperature and spice. I got it from Robin Robertson's "Vegan Planet" you can find her sire here: http://www.globalvegankitchen.com/.

I added both lime juice and millet to this soup, as well as some avocado slices, to make it a complete meal.

Fall baking!!!!

Well, it has been an average of 11 degrees here in Edmonton the past couple of days (as far as I can tell), which means that I have to bake something containing pumpkin. Not only do I love the autumnal flavor that pumpkin lends to recipes, it is a great way to sneak in some fantastic nutrients!

The above picture is some pumpkin bran muffins I baked (from Vegan Brunch by Isa Chandra Moskowitz) except that I used wheat germ instead of Wheat Bran (because I am a genius) and added 1/2 a cup of cocoa powder. I had it with some fantastic Crabapple jelly I picked up from the Jam Lady at the City Centre Market.

Roasted Garlic and Artichoke Heart Hummus

This is sooooo good...... I can't even stand it!

Ingredients

1/4 cup roasted garlic cloves (from the antipasto bar at Sobeys. I have no shame in my total laziness today)

3 marinated artichoke hearts (cut into quarters)

juice of 1 lemon

1 1/2 cup chickpeas

1/4 cup tahini

4 tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup water

1 tsp Kosher salt

Directions

First, blend garlic until a puree. Next add lemon juice and water. Blend. next, add artichokes and bend again. add all other ingredients and blend until smooth. Enjoy with zucchini slices and pita chips!

Kale-avocado salad with lemon dressing

Kale and avocado are 2 "super foods" that vegans should eat regularly. At this time of year, kale is very soft (as compared to the stiffer, tougher leaves of fall) and can easily be prepared in salads that will suit most palates. Marinating the kale in this simple lemon dressing makes it especially tender. The avocado's mild creaminess is a nice compliment to the acidity of the lemon dressing and the tender chewiness of the kale. Here, I paired the kale with spinach and red orche leaves to vary the greens I was getting (I had a raw Kale-Strawberry-Kiwi smoothie earlier today from Lime Greens at the city centre market). I also added an orange tomato, just because I love them ;)

Marinated Kale and Avocado Salad with Lemon Dressing

Lemon Dressing

Juice of 1 lemon

2 tbsp Olive oil

1 tsp Sel Gris (gray salt from Provence, amazing, stuff!)

combine all ingredients in a large bowl and whisk until combined.

Note: I suggest that you prepare all your vegetables before you make the dressing, then, once you whip up the dressing you just toss everything in one bowl and you're done!)

1 bunch kale (washed, ribs removed and torn into pieces)

1 bunch green onions thinly sliced

1/4 cup cilantro leaves (washed, stems removed)

Directions: First, make the dressing, add the vegetables and combine. Then let sit for 15 minutes (not in the fridge please, room temperature is best!). Enjoy on it's own or with your own accompaniments!

Fresh Herb and Flower Hummus

You read right FLOWER Hummus. I picked up some edible flowers at the market on Saturday, and instead of making all of them into salad, I decided to make some of them into hummus! Different flowers have different flavors. For this hummus I used spicy flowers (usually orange, but ask your vendor, In my experience, they give fantastic advice and recommendations) and chive flowers (that taste onion-y).

Here's the recipe:

3 cloves garlic

4 chive flowers

7 pansies

other spicy flowers as desired

1/4 cup fresh basil

2 tbsp fresh oregano leaves

1/4 cup tahini

2 cups chickpeas

3 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp salt

5 tbsp water

First process garlic. add herbs and flowers and process again. add other ingredients. put into a bowl and decorate with flowers. Serve with crackers, pita and veggies! Enjoy! :)

Summer time = Market time

I love farmer's markets. Everything in the pictures above were bought from City Centre Market (on 104th Street Saturday mornings). I love getting creative with new produce, sometimes, it's a good idea to throw recipes out the window and get creative. For example, check out the awesome edible flowers I got... will be posting the salad I made from them soon...

Cafe Beirut

I walked passed both Press Cafe and Cafe Beirut a couple of times now, and decided to stop into Cafe Beirut for some Lebanese. Their windowed store-front displays all of their vegetarian (all vegan) offerings, which gave it the edge over Press Cafe (which I will try another time) in terms of choice.

The Server was extremely nice, I had the Madamus, which is a fava bean dish. it came with a really nice side salad. for about $7.00, it was a good buy!

Vegan Training: It is possible!

This is a great article and example of a body builder who is on a vegan diet. This answers the most common question that I am asked whenever someone first finds out that I'm vegan: "But you're so active! How can you be so healthy on this type of diet? How do you have so much energy? What about your protein?" Ok, so it's more like three questions and a statement, but whatever...

http://www.oxygenmag.com/vegetarian

Banana-Noothie

Well, first we had the Smoythie (smoothie that is made with soy as opposed to cow's milk) and now, we have the noothie, a smoothie made with nuts instead of soy or dairy! This is packed with protein, minerals, vitamins and is so delicious!

Please note: you need to use a food processor for Noothies, as trying to grind nuts in a blender can kill it. And, yes I had to kill my new blender (2nd one of the year!) in order to discover this fact.

Banana Noothie:

Ingredients:

1/3 cup macadamia nuts

1/3 cup walnuts

2/3 cup water

2 tbsp coconut flour

1 frozen banana

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp banana extract

1/2 cup almond milk

2 tbsp agave nectar or honey

Directions:

first process walnuts and macadamia nuts until smooth. then add in coconut flour, process again until smooth (don't forget to wipe down sides). add all other ingredients, and process until smooth. Enjoy!

Valentine's Day Murder!

It killed my blender! On Valentine's Day! This smoythie hath no heart!

Pineapple Raspberry Smoythie

1/2 cup fresh pineapple

1/2 cup soy yogurt

1 cup soy milk

1/2 frozen banana

1 cup frozen raspberries

Blend without killing your blender. Sweeten as desired.

Reading week...or cooking week?

And... it's February break. Was planning on going to Cuba, but instead am remaining in Edmonton so that I can get some assignments and reading done. Oh joy.

Always one to find that silver lining (and here, it was especially hard, giving up sun, fun, friends and hot cabana boys for books) I decided that this will be a "cooking week" as well as a reading week. the semester gets insane from here on in (read: I become a sad little library troll/hermit). But with help from "freezie" (that is what I've named my deep freezer, no, I'm not joking) I will be able to stay fed and healthy in an affordable way. Yay!

At least I get to use this new soup mix I found on sale... :P

Vegan Pizza!

I was really wanting some pizza....so.....

I got some spelt pizza crusts at Planet Organic ($12.99 for 4 12' crusts, not a bad deal), pizza sauce, some "Vegan Rella" (this melts the best out of the other options, I think) some veg pepperoni and then I threw on some mushroom slices and some kalmata olives that were hanging around my fridge...

Then I baked it at 350 F for 20 minutes.

You can get creative with this, really, you can put on whatever you prefer... but all together, this was much cheaper than ordering...