Good Eats from BeStrixed

Yes, I'm back with a long overdue post. When the weather gets gorgeous, I spend absolutely no time in front of the computer. With all the rain we're having this week, (it hasn't let up for 6 days), I figured it was time to update my blog. So, to make up for lost time, I'm going to post about some of the Best Vegan Food of 2009 and it's going to knock your socks off. And did I mention that all of these things are Eat to Live friendly? And, to boot, they all come from one of my favorite vegan Eat to Live bloggers, BeStrixed. She's got a lot of amazing vegan stuff on her blog, (not just food!), so hop on over and check it out when you can.

Since life is short, we'll start with dessert first;-)

Bestrixed Butterscotch Pudding


Click here to view the original recipe.
Now, the first time I made this I made the "all vanilla" version of this recipe (see recipe below). I made it just before dinner and wanted it to be ready to eat for dessert so I spooned it into custard dishes and set them in the freezer for about 45 minutes. After dinner I served it to my dairy loving husband who does not eat, I repeat, does not eat cooked vegetables. He exclaimed, "this tastes just like vanilla ice cream!" Since then, the vanilla version has been a staple in our house. It's great warm, chilled in the fridge, or chilled for about an hour in the freezer. Just don't freeze it for too long or it will be too firm to eat. The texture is silky smooth. You just cannot go wrong with this recipe!

Bestrixed Butterscotch Pudding

Equipment: Pot for steaming, high speed blender (Blendtec, Vitamix)

3 cups of carrots, sliced 1/2" thick

4 large, pitted Medjool Dates or 8 pitted Deglet dates

1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract*

1/4 tsp Butterscotch Flavoring**

1/4 C (1 oz) Cashews

1/2 C water

Steam the carrots in water till done (about 20 minutes). While hot, combine carrots and 1/2 cup cooking water into a high speed blender with the extract and flavoring. Remove the cap from the blender cover and cover blender with a dish towel while blending to allow steam to escape without getting burnt. Blend until fairly smooth. Add dates, and blend again until smooth. Add the cashews and blend until completely smooth and creamy. Divide into 4 glass custard cups and serve warm or chill in the fridge, covered once cooled until ready to eat. Alternately, you may place in the freezer 45-60 minutes before eating for a delicious frozen treat.

* If you are making the all vanilla version, use 1/2 - 1TB Vanilla Extract. I use Frontier Indonesia Organic Vanilla Extract. If using a non-organic brand, be sure to check the ingredients label to be sure you are getting real vanilla extract without corn syrup. Most of the common brands contain high fructose corn syrup (yuck!), even the ones that say "Pure Vanilla Extract".

** I have yet to find a good quality vegan Butterscotch flavoring. Unfortunately, Frontier's Butterscotch "natural" flavoring has milk derivatives. If anyone knows of one that is vegan without corn syrup, please let me know.

Bestrixed Kale Chips


These babies are amazing! I'm going to warn you though, they are addicting. I have to limit my consumption to one cookie sheet per day of these. Click here for the original recipes from Bestrixed. If you are using your oven, be sure to set it on the lowest setting and check the temperature with an oven thermometer. Fortunately for me my circa 1974 oven goes as low as 155 degrees Fahrenheit. The recipe version that has become my absolute fave is as follows:

Bestrixed Kale Chips

Equipment: oven, cookie sheets with parchment paper or silpat baking mat, large bowl for combining kale and sauce

1 1/2 pounds kale, stems removed and leaves torn into bite size pieces (I used both dino and curly kale)
1/2 cup raw unsalted sunflower seeds (soak overnight, then drain, if using regular blender)
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 large clove garlic
1 tsp onion poweder
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 tsp wet brown mustard (I use Westbrae stone ground, no sodium)
1 1/2 tsp cumin
optional: 1 red bell pepper, 1 tsp curry powder

Turn oven on and set at the lowest temperature. Blend last 8 ingredients together and toss with kale til kale is coated. Place on baking sheets lined with silpat or parchment paper and dehydrate in your oven til completely dehydrated. (This took 6-8 hours in my oven).
*This recipe covered 4 cookie sheets for me. If you can only fit two cookie sheets in your oven at a time, reserve half of the sauce and half of the kale and make it after the first batch is done. The sauce does keep for several days, in a sealed jar in the fridge, so you can make the last two batches tomorrow, which you will need to do since you will have already eaten the first two:-)


Steamed Greens Sauce
OK, no photo here. I adapted the above sauce for kale chips by replacing the vinegar with water and toss it with a huge pot of steamed greens (about 20 ounces or 1.25 pounds in weight pre-steaming). You'll never eat kale naked again. Makes 5 servings.

1/2 cup raw unsalted sunflower seeds (soak overnight, then drain, if using regular blender)
1 large clove garlic
1 tsp onion poweder
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 tsp wet brown mustard (I use Westbrae stone ground, no sodium)
1 1/2 tsp cumin

Blend together and toss with steamed kale (1.25 pounds pre-steamed weight).

Bestrixed Tomato Soup

Click here for the recipe on Bestrixed.
So you're craving Campbell's Tomato Soup but don't want all that added sodium and who knows what else that usually comes in that can. I used Bionaturae Tomato paste for this recipe and followed the recipe as written. I added no salt - this soup simply does not need it. Perfect for a cold, rainy day.

And what's that hangin' out next to the soup? It's Ezekiel low/no-sodium sprouted grain bread topped with:

Basil Kale Walnut Spread
A spread that only a nutritarian can love and appreciate.
Equipment: pot for steaming, high speed blender or food processor
1 bunch kale
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup water reserved from steaming kale
fresh basil leaves
Steam kale for 5 minutes then blend or process with remaining ingredients. Eat it with crisp veggies or however you like.

As for when I'll be blogging again...Oh, just give me another rainy day:-)

Strawberries, Sweet Strawberries

Strawberries started showing up at my local farmer's market in early March. I just can't get enough. Here are two of my favorite ways to enjoy them these days:

Strawberry Mango Sorbet

*I used my Blendtec 3HP blender. If using a regular blender, strawberries may need to be thawed longer before blending.

1 heaping cup frozen strawberries
1 large piece dried mango
1/2 cup non-dairy milk (I used unsweetened hemp milk) + up to 1/2 cup more

The night before preparing, soak the dried mango in 1/2 cup of the non-dairy milk, covered, in the fridge. The next day you will have "mango cream" and the dried mango will be rehydrated. Just before blending, thaw strawberries for a minute or two. Place mango and mango cream in your blender, add strawberries on top, and blend on high (or the ice cream cycle if your blender has one), adding additional non-dairy milk as needed to reach desired consistency. How much additional non-dairy milk will determine what kind you are using and how much has been soaked up by the mango.

Serves one nutritarian.

Strawberries on Baby Greens with Tahini and Lime
Don't ask me why, but I can't get enough of these flavor combinations! If you're feeling adventurous, try making your own tahini from Bestrixed (click here).

1 pint strawberries
3-5 ounces baby greens salad mix with arugala
1 Tbs tahini
wedge of lime

Toss strawberries with baby greens and drizzle with tahini and lime juice. Serves one nutritarian.

Potluck Picks

So Thanksgiving is rapidly approaching and you are wondering what to bring to your Thanksgiving gathering that will please omnis and veggies alike, will stand out among the mashed potatos, pumpkin pie, and tofurkey AND won't having you slaving in the kitchen for hours. Check out the two recipes below. They have become my secret weapons of late at a few potlucks.

Red Wheatberry Salad with Pecans and Dried Cranberries

I simply veganized this recipe by substituting agave nectar for honey. The texture of the wheatberries and wild rice, combined with the tang of the lemon juice and tartness of the cranberries...this salad will make you mouth sing with joy!! I can't get enough of it.

1 cup hard red winter wheat berries, soaked overnight

1/2 cup raw wild rice
2/3 cup toasted chopped pecans
1 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup chopped green onions
3 tbs fresh lemon
1 tbs agave nectar
1 tbs dijon mustard
1 tsp salt (optional)
1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1. Soak the wheat berries overnight then drain.

2. Boil the wheat berries in 6 cups of water for about 45 minutes, or until tender. Drain excess water from the wheat berries when done.
3. In another pot, cook the wild rice according to package directions.
4. Combine the cooked wheat berries and wild rice in a large bowl.
5. Whisk the lemon juice, agave nectar, mustard, salt, and pepper to make the dressing. Add the dressing to the wheat berries and wild rice, mix thoroughly.
6. Now add the cranberries, pecans, parsley, and green onions and gently combine.

Coconut Raspberry Squares from The Everyday Vegan by Dreena Burtonclick here to view the recipe

I used Polaner All-Fruit and Bob's Red Mill coconut to make these bars and they turned out incredible. Plan on making two batches as the first batch will be gobbled up within seconds - I promise!

I'm Back...

Finally, I'm back. The past few months have just flown by. With the days getting shorter, and the weather so much nicer, I have been maximizing playtime with my horses and minimizing time on the computer and time reading cookbooks. Not really a bad thing, though, as I ended up trying some new recipes that came to me via some of my favorite food blogs that I subscribe to. Whoever said that free recipes found on the internet aren’t as good as the ones found in cookbooks? Not me!

So, I have a small backlog of photos to post in upcoming weeks. Click on the name of each recipe to see the corresponding recipe.

First off, a couple of recipes from 101 Cookbooks. If you haven’t checked out this blog by cookbook author Heidi Swanson, I highly recommend that you add it to your blog reading. Although many of her recipes are not vegan, she comes up with some pretty good vegan recipes on a regular basis, which makes it worth taking a look at. Here are two that I have tried recently:

Maple Grilled Tempeh served with steamed veggies over a bed of quinoa. A simple and delicious meal. I’m always looking for uncomplicated marinades for tempeh so was thrilled when I came across this one.Peanut Butter Cookies
I made these with whole wheat pastry flour. Can peanut butter cookies get any easier and healthier than this?


Cauliflower Dal with Panch Phoran from Fatfree Vegan I made this recipe several months ago and quickly became a fan of Panch Phoran. Just as a side note, if your family doesn’t like the wonderful aroma of Indian spices lingering in your house for the week after you make your favorite Indian dish, you may want to turn on the fan over your stove when you make this, especially if you have the heat or A/C on and the windows shut.

And for the grand finale – Julie’s Peanut Sesame Noodles from Everyday Dish TVI prepared this for the first time for our monthly vegan potluck and by the time I made my way through the line to get some for myself, there was literally only one bite of it left! Fortunately I had set some aside for myself, prior to the potluck, (thus the picture), so I can vouch that it was absolutely DELICIOUS!!! I will definitely be making this again.

Helping Others, for Free

Sparkled Ginger Cookies

from Vegan with a Vengeance

Prior to adopting a vegan diet over 2 years ago, my absolute favorite cookies in the world were ginger snaps. However, since vegan ginger snaps are pretty difficult to find in stores, I didn't revisit this favorite cookie until a few weeks ago when I made a huge batch for a local vegan potluck. Fortunately for me I ate 5 before they left my kitchen, because they were quickly snatched up at the potluck. If you love ginger cookies, I highly recommend checking this recipe out.

Now that I have your attention, I'll move on to the main topic of this post...helping others.
Maybe it's the social worker in me, but I'm always interested when I hear of ways that I can help others that, well, are basically free and don't require a lot of time. I'm sure there are those of you out there who are feeling altruistic at times but don't have a lot of spare change to give out or very many hours left in your week for volunteer work. Because of this, I thought I would mention 3 ways to donate food or money to some really good causes, for free. Yes, that's right, for free, and with very little committment of time on your part! You're obviously already surfing the web, so surf a little further and check out the following sites. Helping others is just a CLICK away.

Free Rice Improve your vocabulary and help end world hunger. For every word you get right on Free Rice's on-line vocabulary game, Free Rice donates 20 grains of rice through the UN World Food Program. The word game on this site is not only fun, but addictive, so check it out, now!

iGive Next time you decide to make a purchase on-line, sign up through iGive first, purchase through their "mall" and have a percentage of the cost dontated to your favorite charity, animal charities included. Or, search the web through iGive's search engine, and they will donate 1 cent per search to your favorite cause. If you don't see your charity of choice listed, ask them to add it!

The Breast Cancer Site Click on the button and the site sponsors will donate money for education and free mammograms for those in need. They are partnered with the non-profit organization, National Breast Cancer Foundation.

The Hunger Site Click on the button and the site sponsors donate a cup of food to the hungry through Mercy Corps and America's Second Harvest.

The Animal Rescue Site Click on the button to pay for food and care for animals. This site partners with The Fund for Animals, North Shore Animal League, and Petfinder.com.

Finally, I would like to end this post by bringing attention to the cute little pink and white "What's for Dinner?" search engine box in the right hand column. This search engine was compiled by Susan V. at Fat Free Vegan who has done a tremendous service to the vegan community by developing healthy, delicious vegan recipes and then making them available via her website and blog, for free. If you'd like to add this search engine to your blog, check out her post here which tells you how to do just that.

Cold Soups

When I was younger I never cared much for cold soups. The whole concept was simply beyond me. I remember being invited over to a friend's house for dinner as a teenager and being horrified when her mother served us cold tomato soup. Thankfully, my food preferences have changed and cold soups are now some of my staple dishes during summertime.

My favorite cold soup recipes come from Nava Atlas' cookbooks. If you're short on time, want something healthy to eat, and require lots of variation in your diet, I strongly recommend that you check out two of Nava's books, Vegan Express and Vegetarian 5-Ingredient Gourmet. In recent weeks I have made some of my favorite cold soup recipes from these books:

Cold Tomato and White Bean Soup
from Vegetarian 5-Ingredient Gourmet

This soup is one of my all around favorite recipes. It takes less than 5 minutes to make, is fat free and Eat to Live friendly, and tastes absolutely delicious. You can see the recipe by clicking here. The recipe calls for stewed tomatoes but I use Muir Glen Organic Fire Roasted tomatoes instead. I also use canned organic cannellini beans which have no salt added, or cook my own, as they taste much better than their non-organic counterparts.

Cool White Bean and Cucumber Soup
from Vegan Express
Cucumbers, radishes, and dill combine to make this soup amazingly cool and refreshing, not to mention beautiful. I love the colors in this soup. Photos just can't do it justice.

Nearly Instant Thai Coconut Corn Soup
from Vegan ExpressCreamy and delicious, this soup will satisfy you if you're palate is searching for something a little sweet and a little spicy. You can see the recipe by clicking here.

With all this talk of healthy soups, I must confess I have had a bit of a sweet tooth lately, so I'm ending this post on a very sweet and sugar sprinkled note. Ever since going vegan over two years ago I have managed to totally abstain from one of my favorite cookies: snickerdoodles. For whatever reason, my cravings got the best of me in recent weeks. Fortunately Celine at Have Cake Will Travel came to my rescue with a portion controlled recipe for Snickerdoodles, (click here for the recipe). Enjoy!

Snickerdoodles

Good Eats from The PPK

When I transitioned to a vegan diet over two years ago, one of the first web sites I encountered on my quest for delicious, yet uncomplicated vegan recipes, was The PPK. What I love about Isa and Terry's recipes is that they make amazing vegan food accessible to people like me with limited cooking skills, a small kitchen with appliances circa 1976, and no Whole Foods Market or gourmet grocery for over a hundred miles. Taking a look through my food photos the other day, I realized that in recent weeks I have made quite a few PPK recipes so decided to do a post showcasing them all. Enjoy!

Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Cookies - without the walnuts, from Veganomicon. A staple food in our household!

tlT - tempeh, lettuce, and Tomato sandwich made with Tempeh Bacon from Vegan with a Vengeance, served on Ezekiel sprouted grain bread. I capitalize the T in Tomato because that beautiful Tomato is the star here. This is the only time of year that I make tlT's as I despise those pale, grainy tomatoes that one finds in the market the rest of the year, and I'm certainly not going to insult my tempeh bacon by having it share a sandwich with anything inferior!

Almond-Quinoa Muffins - from Veganomicon. The subtle hint of cardamom combined with the delicate crunch of quinoa make my mouth sing with joy! I was out of dried fruit, so simply omitted it from the recipe. See the quinoa peeking through the roof of the muffin?

Broccoli Polenta - from Veganomicon. I have made polenta plain, with spinach, with carrot juice, in my slow cooker, in my microwave, and on my stovetop, but not of my prior efforts come close to comparing with this recipe. If you've never liked polenta before, give it a second chance with this recipe. I don't like to spend a lot of time in the kitchen most days so I simply poured it into an 8x8 glass dish then cut it into rectangles once it set, then served it with Southwest Beans from Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker by Robin Robertson. I reduced the oil in the polenta by 1 Tbs with no ill effects. Hiding in back are some fire roasted tomatoes and Sour Cilantro Cream, (made without the oil), also from Veganomicon.

Spicy Pinto Sausages - click here for the recipe from the PPK blog. I shaped these into patties before steaming then served them breaded and pan fried, per Julie Hasson's recipe for Spicy Italian Cutlets, along with Julie's sauce from the same recipe, over spinach linguine. Absolutely delicious! No need for spending the big bucks at a fancy Italian restaurant when you have this!!

French Lentil Soup with Tarragon and Thyme - from Veganomicon. The recipe can be found here on the PPK website. I love lentil soup but had never made it with French lentils before trying this recipe. The texture of those tiny little lentils combined with the tarragon, makes this no ordinary soup. A must try!

Brownies and Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are two staples in my house as my husband has a major sweet tooth. After trying various vegan brownie and chocolate chip cookie recipes, we have voted these to be the best, hands down. Even our omnivore co-workers gobble them down and ask for the recipes time and time again.

Rusty's Chocolate Vegan Brownies

I found these on Recipe Zaar a few years ago and they are the best brownies that I have ever had, vegan or not. The secret is in the chips and the applesauce. I use Sunspire's Tropical Source non-dairy chocolate chips, organic applesauce (unsweetened), and Edensoy Chocolate Soy Milk.

Click here for the recipe.


Dreena Burton's Homestyle Chocolate Chip Cookies

Featured on Everyday Dish TV, these cookies come together in a snap. I use Sunspire's Tropical Source non-dairy chocolate chips in these as well.

Click here for the recipe.

Banana Koffee Cooler

This is my staple, weekend, mid-afternoon snack in the warm weather months. So quick and easy to make and a great way to use up bananas that turn too ripe before you have a chance to eat them. Simply peel them and place them whole inside a ziploc freezer bag or container, in your freezer for later use in this recipe.

Banana Koffee Cooler

1 frozen banana
2 heaping spoonfuls of Pero - or your favorite instant grain beverage
non-dairy milk - I prefer Edensoy's Edenblend Rice Soy beverage

Slice banana into 1/4" thick coins and place in a blender jar or a tall cup if using an immersion blender. Add Pero. Add milk until bananas and Pero are just covered. Blend until smooth. Garnish with chopped dark chocolate.