Morning Waffles

I am doing you the favour of sharing the best waffle recipe I've come across...and we eat alot of waffles.  Our weekends typically consist of one (or two) mornings enjoying some fluffy waffles. This recipe also happens to be vegan and could very easily be gluten free. I typically use a mix of spelt and whole wheat.

Deliciously Vegan Waffles:
3 cups flour
2 Tbs baking powder
1-2 Tbs sugar (optional)
1/2 tsp. salt
3 cups rice milk
1/3 cup orange juice
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
 

I found this recipe on "Art of Dessert"

Cosmic cookies

My favourite local coffee shop has these cookies sitting on the counter everytime I go in, tempting me. I thought it was about time I tried to make a version of my own. I made mine a little bit bigger so I can take them as more of a granola bar/breakfast bar..yes I said a cookie for breakfast.

Ingredients//yields-24 cookies

2 1/4 cups Quick cooking oats
2 cups Spelt flour
1 cup Sunflower seeds
1/2cup Pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup Shredded coconut, unsweetened
1/4 cup Flax seeds
1 cup Coconut sugar
1 tbsp Cinnamon
2 1/4 tsp Sea salt
1 3/4 cups Carob chips
1 1/4 cups dried cranberries
1/4 cup Rice bran syrup
3/4 cup coconut oil
1 cup almond milk 250 ml

bake at 350 for 25min.

Kale Chips

I dont think Im the only one who enjoys a good snack in the evening, Something to crunch on while getting sucked into the newest series on netflix (orange is the new black..hello!). I adore popcorn for all it has to offer but recently tried Kale chips on a whim (and by whim I mean wilting kale in fridge) and havent regretted it! They are deliciously crunchy with a salty kick....and healthy,right..?!
I have no real "recipe" but I start by removing the leaves from the stock (stock is very bitter!) washing then covering with coconut oil-I have a pluther of coconut oil so I use it frequently in my daily life-moisturizer, shaving cream, conditioner, cooking, baking...it goes on....anyways, you could use any 'high burn' oil. Then season with garlic powder and salt and throw them in the oven (350c) for 7-10min. Easy and man, they are tasty. Popcorn, this isnt the end we're just on a break.

Homemade breakfast hash

Sundays call for a lazy, yet delicious breakfast. I think this is the perfect combination of all things delicious for your lazy sunday (or monday or any day). I adapted it from one ingredient chef,  a wonderful food blog you should most likely take a look at. For this recipe I used a sweet potato (because they're amazing) but if you dont prefer sweet potato simply substitute 2 russet potatoes (should be about 2 cups grated potato). You could even use frozen hashbrowns..but hey, Im not going encourage that because homemade hashbrowns are delicious.

Ingredients:
1 tsp. tumeric
1 tsp. nutritional yeast
1 cup tofu

1 med. sweet potato
1 med. potato
1 tbsp rice bran oil
1 cup black beans
1 green pepper
1/2 onion, diced
1 tsp. garlic powder (to taste)

For this morning specifically I scrambled my tofu, you can cube it or scramble it or not use it at all-your choice. If you are going to use it (as I do!) please oh please use an organic, non gmo brand. (soyganic is great!) any healthfood store or grocery store with an organic section should carry it.

1.Take your 1 cup tofu and scramble it in the pan with a fork, add tumeric and nutritional yeast. Remove from pan. (check out this post about properly preparing tofu)
2.Heat oil in fry pan and grate your potatoes, squeeze out as much moisture as you can from the grated potatoes. It's easiest to do this with a potato ricer, using it much like you would a garlic press, except you don't force the potatoes through the ricer. You just press out the moisture. If you don't have a ricer, use paper towels to squeeze out as much moisture as you can from the grated potatoes. Add potatoes to fry pan with diced onions. Allow to cook for 4min (or until crispy) and 'flip' the hashbrowns to cook evenly on the other side.
3. add remaining ingredients(including tofu) and cook for 10-12min, stirring occasionally.

 how I will actually be eating it...smothered in homemade organic ketchup and a cup of coffee. yes please.

Dinner with friends..a vegan feast if you will

Last night was lovely and I think we may have started a new tradition among friends. My wonderful friends Katy, Renee and I all got together to cook up a lovely dinner (chips+dip is dinner, right?) and scrumptious dessert. We drank sparkling water (not wine..), chopped veggies, make sarcastic comments back and forth..love friends that can take my sarcasm, and chatted the night through. Bean Dip, miso soup and vegan cheesecake was on the menu! I highly recommend all-I ate way too much and regret nothing. Who's hosting next week..and who else is coming?

 we might not have let our cheesecake sit long enough..so it became more of a cheesecake pudding..whoops! Still delicious.

We snagged both these recipes from "the kind diet". Tonight was the first time I had tried "vegan" sour cream and cream cheese, and although I wouldnt incorporate them into my everyday diet, they were delicious!

Bean Dip:

1 can refriend beans
2 avacados
1 cup vegan sour cream
2 tomatoes
1 pepper
1/2 red onion

1 (large) bag Corn Chips

layer..eat!

Cheesecake:
3/4 cup Earth Balance
2 cups graham cracker crumbs*
1 (12 oz.) package silken tofu
1 cup nondairy cream cheese
1 tbs safflower oil
1/4 cup (pure) maple syrup plus an
additional 1 to 2 tsp if using a fresh fruit topping
1/4 cup soy milk
2 tsp arrowroot
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp lemon or orange extract (optional)**
Fresh mixed berries for topping
(or frozen mixed berries, thawed)


1.Preheat oven to 350° F. Oil an 8″ or 9″ springform pan (we didn't have a springform pan, so we used a pyrex bowl)

2.Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Turn off the heat and stir in the crushed graham cracker crumbs. Press the crumb mixture into the bottom and slightly up the sides of the prepared pan and bake for 5 min. Let cool on a baking rack

3.Combine the tofu, cream cheese, oil, 1/4 cup syrup, milk, arrowrrot, vanilla and citrus extract (if using) in a blender or food processor and process until smooth. Pour the mixture into the graham cracker crust and smooth the top with a spatula

4.Bake the cheesecake for 45 min to an hour. Let the cheesecake cool to room temp. Top the cheesecake with the berries and chill...if you can wait!


Happy Friday Friends

Something Scrumptious//a delicous nut loaf

This is a recipe from the blog My New Roots, and she claims this is a "life changing loaf of bread". Ill leave those kinds of serious decisions up to you, in the mean time this bread is divine. Its not your typical bread, its dense, nutty, chewy, flour-less, and more importantly, its easy. Give it a go, it might just change your life.

Ingredients:
1 cup sunflower seeds
½ cup flax seeds
½ cup hazelnuts or almonds
1 ½ cups rolled oats
2 Tbsp. chia seeds
4 Tbsp. psyllium seed husks
1 tsp. fine grain sea salt
1 Tbsp. maple syrup or agave
3 Tbsp. melted coconut oil
1 ½ cups / 350ml water

1. Combine all dry ingredients directly in a loaf pan (except the chia seeds). In a separate bowl combine the water, oil, chia seeds and maple syrup. Add wet ingredients to the dry, stir until combined. Let sit 2 hours or overnight if you can! I let it sit overnight the first time and 2 hours the second, Id recommend giving it all night but both options worked.
2. Preheat oven to 350°F
3. Place loaf pan in the oven on the middle rack, and bake for 20 minutes. Remove bread from loaf pan, place it upside down directly on the rack and bake for another 30-40 minutes. Bread is done when it sounds hollow when tapped. Let cool completely before slicing.

*This recipe requires psyllium husks, and can be found at any health food store.

something scrumptious//Granola Bars

I love love love granola bars, these ones especially. I have one in my purse at all times-(you never know).

Granola Bars (vegan friendly)
1 cup whole oats
1 cup steel cut oats (or whole oats)
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup almonds (chopped)
1/2 cup walnuts
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp chia seeds
1 tbsp flax seeds
1/4 cup sesame seeds

1/2 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup brown rice syrup
1 tsp vanilla


Combine all wet and dry ingredients in a large bowl until fully mixed.  You should have a mixture wet enough to form a ball but still crumbles. If its not wet enough add a bit more peanut butter or rice syrup. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper (easy cleanup!) and press mixture into the pan. Should be enough to cover the entire cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 15min or until edges are golden brown. Let cool and cut into bars. Baking them will make a crunchy granola bar, if you want a softer bar skip baking them and let cool in the freezer until hard. Cut into bars, wrap and store in freezer.

Optional ingrients:
Shredded coconut
carob chips
hemp protein powder (hello protein bars!)
almond butter instead of peanut butter

or whatever else tickles your fancy. Enjoy.