What You've All Been Waiting For: Recipes!

My vegan diet has me eating a lot of the same foods. I just love the B.A.T's (bacon, avocado, tomato) so much though that I don't mind at all. I did want to try a new vehicle for the filling though and had been eyeing a recipe in one of my newer Taste of Home magazines for Homemade Tortillas.

Here's the recipe:

Homemade Tortillas

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup water

3 Tbsp olive oil

In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Stir in water and oil. Turn onto a floured surface; knead 5-6 times. Divide dough into 8 portions. On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion into a 7" circle.

In a large non-stick skillet coated with cooking spray, cook tortillas over medium heat for 1 minute on each side, until lightly browned.

You can stack these on a plate under a clean slightly damp kitchen towel as you make the whole batch.

I made the dough and divided it into 8 portions. C rolled them out and cooked them for me because I was starting to get frustrated with the dough sticking to the counter.

They turned out sooo tasty! These tortillas made awesome B.A.T's.

bacon, avocado, tomatoe

 While the sandwich would have likely been enough for a light meal, I felt like having something more with the sammie. How about a steaming bowl of lentil soup?

lentil soup and sammie

 This is the best lentil soup EVER. It might actually be just one of the best soups ever. Period. The recipe is actually called "Lentil Soup You'll Absolutely Love. Trust Me." I don't remember where I found the recipe but it was on a blog somewhere. We gave a copy of this recipe to the chef at Terrace 55 so that he could make it for the appetizer at our wedding. They came served in shooter glasses with a breadstick straw. So cute!

Because I love you guys so much, I am going to share this much coveted recipe. My copy is crinkly, worn, stained, and well-used. Don't be intimidated by the long list of ingredients. This is an easy recipe and it makes a lot. This soup can be frozen. Make sure you have an immersion blender and a large pot. You could use a blender to puree this in batches, but my preference is the immersion blender. Much easier and cleaner.

Please enjoy this and serve it to those people you really care about.

Healthy, easy, wholesome, and perfect for when you need a warm hug.

Lentil Soup You'll Absolutely Love. Trust Me.

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 tsp salt

5-6 large carrots, peeled (if not organic), and sliced

3 cloves garlic or 1 Tbsp chopped garlic in oil

1 Tbsp dried thyme (or 3-4 sprigs fresh)

1 - 14oz can Aylmer Accents Spicy Red Pepper tomatoes

1 cup red lentils, dried

cracked black pepper, to taste

1/2 cup dry white wine (or water or stock to make non-alcoholic)

4 cups vegetable or chicken stock (vegetable to make it vegan)

1 cup water (if you want to add 1 cup wine and 1/2 cup water, that works)

1-1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar, or a splash

Pour oil into a large pot set over medium heat. Add in onions and a generous pinch of salt. Saute for a minute or 2 and add in carrots. Cook about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook for a minute more, stirring frequently to prevent burning. Add in thyme, tomatoes, lentils, salt and pepper. Stir. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 10 minutes. Retrieve any thyme stems if using fresh.

Pour in wine, stock, and water. Increase heat to medium. Cover partially and let simmer for about 30 minutes, until onions are tender. Use an immersion blender and puree the soup until smooth. Add in vinegar and stir. Serve or cool and freeze.

Enjoy!!

I have served this with chopped sauteed kielbasa and crimini mushroom dumped into each bowl and a crisp piece of ciabbatta on the side. Add a salad and you have a perfect meal.

red lentil soup

 The only difference between my workday breakfasts and my weekend breakfasts is the freshly ground coffee. 1 cup of dry oats, with boiling water poured over top. My breakfast almost everyday lately, which I love! My mom bought me a vegan ice cream making book for Christmas so I have been engrossed in the colourful tasty looking recipes many afternoons and evenings. My mom has a big pot of fresh rosemary (so jealous!) and she generously gave me a small ziplock full of the enticingly fragrant stems.

This photos shows how I like to start my day.

oats and coffee

 I found a recipe for quinoa veggie burgers online so figured that since I had all of the ingredients, that this would be an easy dinner.

organic quinoa from Costco

 I followed the instructions on how to cook up the grain and then got to work on the veggies. Onions, mushrooms, shredded zuchinni and carrots all into a bowl. The quinoa was supposed to act as a binder, along with some cornstarch and egg replacer. I made the mistake of adding those 2 ingredients together and they just clumped. Ugh! Whatever. On with the show. The shredded veggies took a while to do so I wasn't making a new batch.

shredded and chopped veggies

 With the burger filling done, I was going to deal with the chocolate craving that I was having. I had given my mom a call and she told me about some vegan pudding that she makes all the time! I thought that was very cool and since this would use up the half carton of silken tofu from the omelet disaster AND hopefully curb my dessert craving, I was excited to give it a whirl. Did I mention that this recipe sounded super simple?

Vegan Chocolate Pudding

1 lb silken tofu

1/3 cup cocoa powder

2-3 Tbsp maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla extract

Blend all ingredients in a food processor, scrapping down the sides often, ensuring that the mixture is smooth. Spoon into serving cups and cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

vegan pudding ingredients

 Wow. This pudding is so simple and so tasty I will never buy Jello pudding again! Since you can substitute 3 Tbsp of melted chocolate for the cocoa powder, you could change up the flavour of the pudding if you like. White chocolate and orange extract, using agave syrup instead of maple, and you have a new pudding flavour! Go now and try this!

dark chocolate pudding

 With dessert in the fridge, I figured I should start on the burgers. With my screw-up with my egg replacer, these did not hold together well at all. We basically ended up just sautee-ing the mix.

quinoa and veggie burger

 Served with peas and roasted beets, and we have a meal. Ta-da! Despite how they looked, the burgers (or quinoa and veggie fry) was surprisingly tasty. I would make these again and be more careful with the recipe.

another vegan dinner

 I didn't feel like cooking the other night so decided to make something super easy. Cooked red lentils with reduced sodium taco seasoning added to it. Served warm over chopped iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, and black olives and I had my quick and filling dinner for one.

lentil taco filling

 I needed an easy dinner because I had a lot of food packing to do. I was driving to Kenora Thursday morning to spend the next 2 days there working on their showroom. I would be helping to re-merchandise everything and make it look fresh and organized. Since I was still eating vegan, it was going to be really tough to eat out, so I wanted to be sure that I had enough food for my breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks packed with me. I made sure to have enough for 2 B.A.T sandwiches, fresh veg, raw nuts, water, fruit. The weather was cold and I left early in the morning with my fresh ground coffee, a giant bowl of oatmeal, food for the trip, my work laptop, clothes, my briefcase, and off I went.

Autumn's Here: Gather Your Acorns!

Fall is upon us. The weather has taken a turn and cooler air is beginning to blow in. It feels like I blinked and all of the trees in our neighbourhood have changed from green leaves to shades or oranges and yellows. Our yard and sidewalks are filled with the crunchy fallen leaves, blowing in from the nearby neigbours and parks. Now is the time for warm drinks, warm dinners and warm flavours. Tea, stews, cinnamon, warm soups, fresh-from-the-oven treats...this time of year calls to these treats and tastes. I find myself feeling nostalgic as I walk outside during this season, with the wind wipping my hair around even as the sun beats down on my skin. This is my favorite time of year. Like a squirrel preparing for winter, I too am collecting nuts and burrying them for when the weather turns cold and bitter and I need a quick meal. Instead of nuts, I am preparing foods for the freezer, where I hide my precious meals under the cover of foil, each carefully marked with labels and instructions. Nesting, I believe is the correct term. I am nesting.

The cold weather gets my brain churning and obsessing over fresh baking and all things spicy. Items that are perfect for sharing (i.e. sending home with family and friends) and dishes that I can freeze in batches are prefered.

For a few weeks now, I have been craving ginger cookies. Not just any ginger cookies, but soft chewy ones with a strong ginger flavour. My dad used to make the best ones and are in my grade-school cookbook called Muriel's Molasses Crinkle Cookies. On a side note, did you know that there is a book called World Famous Muriel, in which the child hero is a girl named Muriel who is obsessed with peanut butter cookies. I loved this book as a kid since my name was pretty rare, even though back then I didn't like peanut butter. I would absolutely love to get my hands on a copy of these books, but they seem to be impossible to find (Christmas present hint, ahem, lol). I found a molasses cookie recipe in my recipe box and compared it to one I found on Allrecipes.com and they were identical so I figured my odds were good.

I mixed up the dough in my food processor. Sticky sticky dough. Yuk. I added more flour to try and get the dough to be thicker, but nothing was working so I stuck the dough into the fridge to maybe harden a little.

Molasses cookie dough

The dough didn't get any less sticky so I grudgingly worked with it as it was. Attemping to shape it into a ball and roll it in sugar proved less than fun and soon my hands were covered in the mess. Tasty mess though.

Sticky cookie dough

After some fighting with the dough, I flattened out the walnut sized balls and popped them into the oven. I'm a fan of chewy cookies, so if this is what you like, be sure to watch them like a hawk and take them out before they get brown.

Flattened raw cookies

The cookies look alright, but not as I remembered them. They weren't dark enough. Also, the should have had striations through them. That was the Crinkle part. Hmm, suspiscious. Also, they didn't smell strong enough. I tasted one. Disappointment. The cookies were tasty but not what I had been looking for. When you are craving a childhood treat, it needs to taste exactly the same. C's brother was over helping him frame our basement which is half of why I decided on the timing for making these, he also loves ginger cookies. He left before they were ready so I dropped off a ziplock of them in his mailbox the next night while walking the dog. All the cookies were eaten, and were tasty, but I will need to make another batch. After talking to my dad, I had the wrong recipe! The one I needed used raisins. Next time.

Big soft ginger cookie

Next on the autumn baking list: biscotti. Not only are biscotti typically lower calories than most cookies, but they just demand to be served with a steaming mug of hot tea or coffee. Biscotti are also an impressively simple cookie to make and perfect for sharing. My first go-to is always my almond-cranberry version. I believe it's from Allrecipes.ca so you'll be able to find out how to make these little gems with a simple search.

The dough is fairly basic and simply. Biscotti is best mixed by hand and should be a stiff dough. Almond extract gives the cookie it's main flavour. From this point on, you could use any add-ins that you want, or simply swap out the almond extract for another flavour. Ideas: almond extract, shredded coconut and diced candied pineapple as add-ins. Vanilla extract with chopped apricot and white chocolate. Just typing this and I want to go make another batch!

Biscotti dough

The add-ins for this recipe are cranberries and I've added in some orange zest. The orange zest needed for this recipe was only about 1/4 of the orange's skin. I decided to zest the whole thing and freeze the leftovers in a Tupperware for another use. I saved the rest of the orange for eating.

Biscotti getting the cranberries and orange added to the dough

Sticky dough, yes, I know. not our favorite. The trick is to wet your hands with cold water, shake them off, and then pick up the dough. Carefully shape the biscotti dough into long thin logs, about 1/2" thick.

Biscotti dough pre-baking

Pop those babies into the oven until golden. This is the first baking step of your cookies. You could absolutely eat these now after they are cut up, but to get a true crisp biscotti, the cookies require a second baking cycle, to dry them out.

First baking

Slice up the logs into biscotti shaped biscuits with a sharp knife, once the baked dough is cooled.

Sliced biscotti

Once the cookies are sliced into their proper sizes, the cookies need to be put back onto a baking sheet, sliced sizes up and down. Put these back into the oven for another 5-7 minutes per side (sometimes this is done at a lower temperature to dry out the cookie vs browning them too much).

Cranberry orange almond biscotti

my soup recipes

With the sweet smell of cookies still hanging in the air, my inspiration for nesting hadn't left. I had some onions and carrots in the fridge and all of the extra ingredients to make 2 different kinds of soups: a spicy lentil soup and a thick green pea soup. The lentil soup was one of C and my favorites when we were first together. We made it all the time and everyone that tried it, loved it. This soup was such a big part of our meals that we decided to give the recipe to the chef at Terrace 55 and have him make a shot of it for the appetizer at our wedding. Yeah, it's that good.

Since both of the recipes needed chopped carrots and onions, I prepped these first to be sauteed. At first glance, it would appear that I was making 2 large pots of the same soup. It's convenient that the base ingredients are the same and that both soups are simply and quick to prepare.

Prep the carrots

Chopped onions, cooking until fragrant

carrots and onion, ready for the next steps

Lentil soup first. Once the base ingredients are soft, then some garlic is added and cooked. A cup of lentils are added and stirred in, cooked for another 10 minutes before adding in chicken stock, wine/water, a can of spicy chopped tomatoes, salt, pepper and thyme. Simmer.

Lentil soup, simmering

Now, for the pea soup. This one is even easier. A package of dried green peas, salt, pepper, some chicken and beef stock. Simmer.

Pea soup simmering

The lentil soup had been simmering for about 35 minutes now and is ready for its last step.

lentil soup before blending

The pea soup is now ready as well. You can tell by how puffy and soft the green peas have gotten. The same things happen to lentils. If the soup you are making looks too thick and has evapourated too much of its liquid, add in some more stock.

The sweet cookie smell in the kitchen had long since been replaced by a warm savoury hearty smell of vegetable soups.

Pea soup, almost ready.

While I am sure these soups would be tasty as they are (hmm, in fact, I might try them just as they are next time I make them for a chunkier style soup/vegetable stew), these soups call to be blended. We now own a new very cute blender, but my prefered method for doing soups is to leave them in their original pots and use an emersion blender to smooth the soup. Lucky me, my emersion blender is also a highly adorable colour. Ah, what a beautiful sight! Two large pots of very different tasting soups, steaming on my stove-top. What a perfect way to welcome in fall. Once these soups cooled down, I divided these batches in half and froze them in leftover ice cream containers. The rest, I enjoyed over the week as part of my lunch at work. Soups are the ultimate comfort food. I suggest on the next evening this week with some cool bite to it, that you made your own large pot of warmth for yourself and your family.

Lentil and pea soup