Fruity Fresh Breakfast Muffins

Ingredients:

2C all-purpose flour

1T baking powder

1t ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

3/4C sucanat

2/3C soy milk

1 large banana

1/4C sunflower oil

1t orange zest

1C frozen blueberries

1C peeled and diced apple

Preheat oven to 375F. Line 12 muffin tins or prepare with oil. In mixing bowl, blend all dry ingredients. In a blender, puree banana with soy milk and oil. add to the mixing bowl and combine thoroughly. Mix in zest, blueberries and apples. Spoon evenly into muffin cups and bake for 20-25 minutes. Allow to cool completely before enjoying.

Blue "Sheese" Pinwheel Biscuits

Oh, yum. When I was a little girl, my favorite dish was my mom's chicken pot pie. It wasn't so much the stew as it was the biscuit topping that made me crave this comfort food. She always topped her chicken stew with biscuit pinwheels stuffed with melty extra-old cheddar cheese.

Now that I am vegan, those who know me well will tell you that the dairy product I miss the most is the gorgeous flavour of blue cheese. After finding blue "sheese" at Tara Natural Foods in Kingston, I decided to re-create these little gems using my new discovery.

The result is flaky, soft-textured and mildly blue-cheesy biscuits to be enjoyed with your favorite vegan soup or casserole - we're having minestrone.

Ingredients:

2C all-purpose flour

3t baking powder

3/4t sea salt

1T nutritional yeast flakes

1/3C earth balance margarine, cold

3/4C soy milk, plus a little extra for brushing

1/2 container Blue Sheese (or other vegan cheese), divided

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 F. In a food processor (large bowl), add dry ingredients. Pulse a few times. Add margarine and pulse until crumbly. Add 1/2 the cheese and pulse again. With processor on low, slowly add soymilk. Process until dough forms a ball.

Turn dough onto rolling surface and roll out to 1/2" thick. Sprinkle with leftover chees and roll up. slice into 1/2 - 3/4" rounds. Place on baking stone and brush with a little soymilk. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Biscuits should be golden. Makes 12-15 biscuits.

Veggies by George Weekly Challenge #6, Yellow Beets!

Yellow Beet Salad with Maple Mango Vinaigrette

We enjoyed this salad so much that there was none left for pictures!  If I get some more yellow beets, I'll make it again.

Salad Ingredients:

5 small yellow beets. peeled and grated

3 small carrots, peeled and grated

handful of small fresh basil leaves (or chopped fresh basil, if leaves are large)

     

- combine all ingredients in a medium sized bowl and set aside.

Vinaigrette Ingredients:

1C mango puree or nectar

1/4C apple cider vinegar

1/8C grapeseed or other light tasting oil

2 tbsp maple syrup

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 tsp salt

- combine all ingredients in blender and pour desired amount over beet salad.  The rest of the dressing will keep for about a week in the fridge.  Toss well, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to allow flavours to mingle.  Serve over fresh greens with a slice of crusty bread.  Enjoy!

Veggies By George Weekly Challenge #5

Say hello to Jack at Veggies By George!
Okay - I got my basket, but I'm not sure what I was supposed to use, so I've created recipes this week using greens and radishes.

Radically Roasted Radishes - pics to follow

I am generally not a raving fan of radishes, but after trying a dish featuring what appeared to be poached radishes at the Athlone Inn here in Gananoque, I thought I'd try roasting them.  The result was a starchy, slightly peppery and sweet (almost caramelized) treat that my hubby mistook for potatoes!

Ingredients:

4 extra large radishes, washed and sliced into eighths

1/8 C grapeseed oil

1tsp umeboshi (or apple cider) vinegar

1/2 tsp each ground sea salt AND pepper

1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme

2 cloves garlic, pressed

Preheat oven to 400 F.  Arrange radish wedges in a baking dish (I used a pie plate).  Mix remaining ingredients together, pour over radishes and toss to coat.  Roast for 30-45 minutes or until radishes are slightly golden and have lost their crunch.  Enjoy!

Coconut Braised Greens

1 bunch swiss chard, washed and chopped with stems and leaves separated

1 bunch kale, washed and chopped with stems and leaves separated

1 bunch bok choy, washed and chopped with stems and leaves separated

1 tbsp oil of choice, I used peanut

1 onion, chopped

1 C coconut milk

Juice of 1 small lime

salt and pepper to taste

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Add chopped stems and cook for 2 minutes.  Add chopped leaves and boil 3 minutes more.  Strain and set aside.  In same pot, heat oil over medium flame and add onion.  Saute until translucent.  Add greens to pot with coconut oil and lime juice and simmer for 5 minutes.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Super Fruity Un-Cheese Cake with Lime Shortbread Crust

This is a three part recipe, so buckle up and come along for the ride.

Lime Shortbread Cookies:

1 C non-hydrogenated vegan margarine

Juice and zest of 1 lime

1/3 C natural sugar

1 to 1 1/2 C unbleached flour

Cream first three ingredients together and slowly add flour until mixture resembles workable cookie dough.  Spoon out by rounded teaspoons on a prepared baking stone (or use parchment) and press lightly with a fork.  Bake in a 350 oven for 30-35 minutes, or until cookies are very subtly golden on top.  Place on a cooling rack to cool completely.

For crust:

When cookies are fully cooled, crush about 1 3/4 C of cookies and mix with one quarter to one third of a cup of margarine in a food processor.  Press into a prepared springform pan and set aside.

Un-Cheese Filling (to make while cookies are cooling):

1 package of silken tofu (soft) well-drained

4tbsp natural sugar or dry sweetener of choice

1tsp natural coconut extract

2tbsp corn starch

2tbsp flour

Cream first three ingredients together until smooth.  Slowly sift in flour and cornstarch.  Top cookie crust with this mixture and bake in a 350 oven for about 35 minutes.

Fruit Salad topping

I used

1 ripe mango, peeled and chopped

1/2 pint blueberries washed

1/2 pint washed cherries,  pitted and halved

1 nectarine, peeled and chopped

juice of 1 lime

2 tbsp simple syrup

mix all ingredients and chill.

You can leave this fruit as an optional topping, or place the fruit right on the cake and top with an agar-agar glaze such as this:

1 C pulp free fruit juice

2-3 tbsp agar flakes

Soak the flakes in the juice for 5 minutes.  Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer for 10 minutes, stirring constantly.  When agar is completely dissolves, spoon mixture over arranged fruit and chill until gel is set.  Serve chilled.

Veggies By George Weekly Challenge #4 - Lettuce!

Weekly Challenge #4;

Okay, I confess, I'm on vacation. Kim brought me a lovely head of lettuce as this week's challenge and I was too blissed out to be creative. I whipped up a simple salad of lettuce, finely sliced apple and roasted beet wedges topped with a home-made balsamic vinaigrette and it was beautiful. The lettuce was so light, crisp and refreshing that it cooled us off after a long muggy day. The salad was slightly pink after tossing (sorry, no pretty pics) but the flavour was great!

Ironwood Gardens Red Fife Wheat Bread

Oh, yum.  This is far and away my most successful bread making experience.  I used Red Fife wheat flour from Ironwood Gardens in Gananoque.  The bran in this flour gives the bread a very rustic look and texture.  Try it, you'll love it!  Find Chris and Mary at the Gananoque Farmer's Market at the Town Park on Saturdays (8am - 1pm).

Ingredients:

2C warm water

2 tbsp active dry yeast

1/2C unrefined sugar (can replace maple syrup, plain white sugar or sucanat)

1/4C extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp ground sea salt

3C red fife wheat flour and 3C unbleached, all-purpose flour, sifted together

Dissolve yeast in warm water.  The water should feel hot to touch, but not so hot that it kills the yeast.  Do not exceed 110 degrees F.  With your stand mixer and using a dough hook on low, add sugar, oil and salt.  Add flour to liquid 1 cup at a time, stirring between each addition.

When dough begins to form a ball, turn it onto a floured surface.  If dough is manageable before you have used all the flour, turn it out and knead in flour bit by bit until the dough is no longer sticky.  Knead, turn and fold for 5 - 8 minutes.  Place dough in an oiled bowl, turning until all sides are coated.  Cover and let rise until dough doubles in size - about 1 hour.  At this point, preheat oven to 350 F, prepare 2 bread pans with non-hydrogenated vegan margarine (I use Earth Balance) and set aside.  Punch down the dough and shape into 2 loaves.  Place in pans, cover and let rise another 30 minutes.  Bake for 45 minutes to an hour.  To check a loaf, tap on the bottom crust.  If it sounds hollow and hard, it is done.  If not, return to oven for a few more minutes.  Cool loaves completely on a wire rack before slicing, and store in plastic bags.