Apple Crisp Muffins

Hello Everyone! I have found another great recipe that I wanted to share. These apple crisp muffins may be the best vegan muffins I have tried outside of a restaurant. They are SO easy, very delicious, vegan, and of course healthy. I used gala apples because it's what we had. Another note, this is adapted from one of my favorite sites (again), Happy Herbivore. She makes the suggestions to add the "streusel" topping but let me tell you now it's a necessity. You can thank me later :). Oh and don't worry if you don't have whole wheat pastry flour. Once again I used regular whole wheat flour (really need to get some pastry flour!) and they came out delicious! Enjoy!

Apple Crisp Muffins
adapted from Here. 

1½ cups whole wheat pastry flour
½ cup rolled oats
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ cup raw sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp ground ginger
a dash of nutmeg
¼ tsp salt
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup apple, diced
¼ cup pure maple syrup


Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl whisk: flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices together. Add applesauce, sugars, maple, then stir until almost combined. Chop and add apples and combine. Fill muffin cups and sprinkle additional oats and brown sugar on top. Bake for 18-25 minutes (mine took 23). Enjoy! 

Welcome back Fall- Whole wheat pumpkin cranberry scones (of course healthy!!)

Longest title ever? Maybe but I think it covered everything :) These scones are really, really good. They are vegan and delicious. I adapted the recipe from Happy Herbivore. Have you been there? Amazing website with delicious recipes. Well I stumbled across this jewel earlier this week and knew I had to make it this weekend! I made them last night and it took me approximately 10 minutes. Super easy. I enjoyed one this morning after my run with my coffee-all the while pretending it wasn't like a sauna outside. Good morning. 

A couple of adaptions: I used agave syrup instead of maple (we didn't have any) and regular whole wheat flour instead of pastry flour. They were still delicious with both these changes! 

Whole wheat pumpkin scone 

adapted from here

1.5 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 tbsp baking powder

pinch of salt

3.5 maple syrup

1/2 cup pumpkin (pureed, not pumpkin pie filling)

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

2 tbsp non-dairy milk (optional)

1/2 cup cranberries (if using dry just soak in hot water for 10-15 mins)

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a cookie sheet.

Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin spice and whisk together to ensure even distribution of the ingredients.

Add wet ingredients: pumpkin, maple syrup, cranberries. Stir together to make dough. They make a dry dough (like biscuits but if you think it's too dry add milk one tablespoon at a time). You can make drop scones (like I did) or you can cut them like triangle by rolling the dough into one large ball and flattening slightly. Cut like you would a pizza into 'slices". 

Bake for 13 to 15 minutes, or until firm. Enjoy!

Hope you like these. Hopefully soon I will get up my courage to make homemade falafel. I've been wanting to for a while but it always seems so daunting!! I did this same thing with lentils until one day I just made them and they are so easy! I saw a falafel mix at CM last night. Maybe I should start there. I'll keep you updated!! 

- Hillary

Carrot Cake

This may be the best carrot cake recipe. Ever. It's not vegan but it is a cake with veggies in it so of course it should make the blog. Things I love: it's healthy, it has minimal animal products (egg whites and egg substitute, cream cheese), it has carrots!! I stumbled upon this healthy recipe on Pinterest. I adapted to use fat free cream cheese for the icing and left out the marshmallow creme(tricky non-vegetarian item), and I added walnuts to the batter and topping. Kevin said it's the best carrot cake he's ever had so I'd chalk that up to a success! 

Healthy Carrot Cake
adapted from here


Ingredients:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/2 cup egg substitute
- 2 egg whites
- 2 1/2 cups shredded carrots
- 1/2 cup applesauce
- 1/3 cup canola oil
- 12 oz fat free cream cheese
- 3 tbsp hot water
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Spray 2 (9-inch) round cake pans with non-fat cooking spray (I used butter flavored Pam), line the bottoms with parchment or wax paper, and spray the paper with the nonstick spray.
Combine the flour, both kinds of sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
Whisk the egg substitute and egg whites in a large bowl. Add the carrots, applesauce, oil, and raisins, and hot water stirring until blended. With a rubber spatula, add the flour mixture to the carrot mixture, and stir until blended. Spread the batter evenly in the cake pans. Bake until the cakes are nicely browned and the center of each one bounces back when lightly pressed with a fingertip, approx 30-32 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes. Remove the cakes from the pans, peel off the paper, and cool completely on racks.
To make the frosting, with an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the remaining ingredients until smooth.
Place on layer of cake on a cake plate, and using 1/2 cup of frosting, frost evenly out to edges. Place other layer of cake on top, and spread remaining frosting on top and on sides. Slice into 16 servings.


**To make vegan you could probably use fake eggs and soy cream cheese!**

Even Better Whole Wheat Pizza Crust!

Hello! You're thinking another pizza recipe?? Yawn...Well stop doing that because this one is much better!! The taste is gentler because I mixed in regular flour and the consistency is a lot better. You can find, what I call number 2 best here, along with our homemade pizza sauce. 

Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

via here

1 tsp. white sugar

1 1/2 cups warm water

1 tbsp. active dry yeast

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. salt 

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1. In a large bowl, dissolve sugar in warm water. Sprinkle yeast over the top, and let stand for about 10 minutes, until foamy.

Stir the olive oil and salt into the yeast mixture, then mix in the whole wheat flour and 1 cup of the all-purpose flour until dough starts to come together. Tip dough out onto a surface floured with the remaining all-purpose flour, and knead until all of the flour has been absorbed, and the ball of dough becomes smooth, about 10 minutes. Place dough in an oiled bowl, and turn to coat the surface. Cover loosely with a towel, and let stand in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

2.When the dough is doubled, tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and divide into 2 pieces for 2 thin crust, or leave whole to make one thick crust. Form into a tight ball. Let rise for about 45 minutes, until doubled.

3.Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Roll a ball of dough with a rolling pin until it will not stretch any further. Then, drape it over both of your fists, and gently pull the edges outward, while rotating the crust. When the circle has reached the desired size, place on a well oiled pizza pan. Top pizza with your favorite toppings, such as sauce, cheese, meats, or vegetables.

Bake for 16 to 20 minutes (depending on thickness) in the preheated oven, until the crust is crisp and golden at the edges, and cheese is melted on the top.

Yumo!! I think we'll have this tonight except on the grill. You know because we're not supposed to run major appliances during peak hours due to the desert like temperatures outside. Enjoy! 

4 Bean Vegan Chipotle Chili

So nothing says Summer dish... check that, 100 degree Summer in Texas... like-- chili?


Yeah, we've been eating Chili. Strange, but recently Hillary had a craving for chili so I put together a little of this and a little of that and made a pretty tasty vegan chili. So we brought it back tonight to make sure it wasn't a fluke. It wasn't. Despite the lack of meat it is hearty and filling.

Here's how you make it (though we understand if you want to wait for cooler weather to try it yourself):


- 2 green bell peppers
- 2 medium yellow onions
- 3 carrots




Dice these in small, same-sized pieces and heat in a soup pot with a splash of olive oil. While the peppers, onions, and carrots are heating add the following:


- 4 tsp garlic powder
- 4 tsp chili powder
- 3 tsp chipotle pepper flakes
- fresh ground pepper


The spice measurements are only approximate. You can do it to taste-- you like spicy, add more chili powder; you like smokier, add more chipotle; you like salty, add some salt; etc. I like to add the spices as the onions, peppers, and carrots are cooking so the oils and flavors in the dried spices get released. It's ok if the mixture browns or gets a very dark color, you just don't want it to burn.


Once the onions, peppers, and carrots are almost cooked through, add this:


- kernels from 2 ears of corn, cut off the cob


You want to add this late so that the corn doesn't overcook. The corn adds a really nice natural sweetness and a different texture as well. Next, add the following in no meaningful order:


- 2 15oz cans pinto beans, drained
- 2 15 oz cans chili beans, drained
- 2 15 oz cans dark kidney beans, drained
- 2 15 oz cans black beans, drained
- 2 15 oz cans diced tomatoes, drained
- 2 small cans plain tomato sauce (15oz total)


Bring everything to a simmer, let it go for about 10 min then add this:


- 2 heaping tablespoons tomato paste


Like with the spices, there's room for discretion here. You want a thick, tightened-up chili? Add a little more tomato paste. You want a soupier, runnier chili? Put less. Once the tomato paste is in, let the chili simmer for about 25 min.


This makes plenty of chili. Probably 10-12 servings depending on how big you consider a "serving." You can always half it, or double it if you plan on feeding the red army.


One word of advice, particularly if you are feeding more than one person-- it's best to make the chili on the mild side and then add hot sauce to your individual bowl to add heat. You can always add spiciness, you cannot take it away.


The other great thing about this meal is how cost effective it is. Here are the ingredients and my best approximate price breakdown for each. Keep in mind, buying in bulk, on sale, or dried beans instead of canned will bring down the per serving cost even further.

- 2 green bell peppers ($2.00)

- 2 medium yellow onions ($.80)

- 3 carrots ($.22)

- kernels from 2 ears of corn, cut off the cob ($.50)

- 2 15oz cans pinto beans ($1.50)

- 2 15 oz cans chili beans ($1.50)

- 2 15 oz cans dark kidney beans ($1.50)

- 2 15 oz cans black beans ($1.50)

- 2 15 oz cans diced tomatoes ($1.20)

- 2 small cans plain tomato sauce (15 oz total) ($1.00)

- 2 heaping tablespoons tomato paste ($.66)

- Garlic powder, pepper, chili powder, chipotle flakes (about $.75 total)

- Olive oil (about $.15 total)

Total Cost of Ingredients: $13.28

Servings: 12

Total Cost per Serving: $1.10

Makes it taste even better!

Curried Zucchini Soup

*This is the second post today so don't forget to scroll down and see even more soup goodness!*Now onto zucchini soup- Kevin made this for me a couple of weeks ago and it knocked my socks off (I know I have the best hubby ever :))!  I ate almost all of it myself and then made it the next week. It is so light and delicious but still savory with the curry. It is good hot or cold which is great for summer. It's also REALLY easy to throw together. One thing I will say is an immersion blender would be clutch with this recipe. Seeing as we do not have one it got a little messy around the kitchen. It may have been the fact that I was salivating while making it and did not let it cool completely before putting it in the blender. But nevertheless I informed Kevin right away that it is a necessity we have an immersion blender. He as you can imagine did not see the emergency of the situation i.e. just so soup can go from the pot into my mouth faster- and we still do not have one. So that being said you can make it with a regular blender just let it cool- trust me. 


From our kitchen to yours :)

Curried Zucchini Soup
adapted from here


cooking spray
1 large onion
1 tablespoon curry powder
salt to taste
4 small zucchini (organic if possible)
1 quart veggie stock

Heat the pot and spray with cooking spray. Stir in the onion and season with curry powder and salt. Cook until tender. Stir in zucchini and cook until tender. Pour in veggie stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer about 20 minutes. If your lucky enough to have a hand blender you can remove from heat and blend until smooth.  If not, remove from heat, COOL and blend until smooth. 




Until next time! 

Chickpea and Kale Soup

First of all, sorry for the month long hiatus. I have been super busy with the end of school, a wedding, two bachelorette parties, another wedding this weekend, getting ready to start grad school (!), two hs graduations, a preschool graduation, etc. Kevin has since started a new internship and started summer school. Soo we have been busy which means the blog took a back seat. But don't you worry- while all this craziness was going on I was eating delicious vegan/vegetarian meals. I haven't been able to prepare as many thoughtful vegan meals so we kept it simple- which is sometimes better. For example, over memorial day we had a delicious simple vegan feast: vegan hot dogs with homemade sauerkraut (made by Kevin), sweet potato fries, and roasted corn. Who wouldn't love that meal?! Yesterday we grilled out again at the lake and we had portabella mushroom burgers, beans, and roasted corn. Kevin has a wonderful trick with the corn that keeps it so moist without any butter. Maybe he'll share that with you. 


One thing I do when we are so busy (to avoid eating out) is make soups. Also, a couple of weeks ago I was having a break down of eating too many carbs. I realized I needed more soups (not to be confused with more cow bell). So I found this recipe just in time. It's delicious and so good for you. Kale is a superfood that I definitely need to eat more of. 

from our kitchen to yours :)


Chickpea and Kale Soup
adapted from fat free vegan


1 large onion diced
2 carrots
4 large garlic cloves
spices:
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/8-1/4 teaspoon chilli powder or cayenne
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
2 bay leaves
2 3-inch cinnamon stick
3 cups cooked chickpeas (or 2 cans, drained and rinsed)
8 cups vegetable broth (or water plus bouillon)
1 large bunch kale, thick center ribs removed and chopped (at least 8 cups)
about 2 cups water
salt to taste


Add the carrots and onions. Cook until brown. Add the garlic and cook for about a minute. Next add the spices and cook for another minute. Add the chickpeas and coat in the spice mixture. Pour in the veggie stock, bring to a boil, reduce and simmer for 20 minutes. I did this part ahead of time and left to simmer until I was ready to add the kale. Add the kale and cook until desired tenderness is achieved. Enjoy :) 


This recipe has wonderful taste from the cinnamon and spices. It's super healthy because the nutrients in the kale are cooked into the broth. Can't beat it!


Oh and the original recipe called for saffron. I'm sure this would be a welcome addition but we didn't miss it one bit. Ok next post will be another soup (I wasn't kidding about soups!) that you HAVE to try!