Vegan Fest- The BEST veggie burgers you will eat

This past week's vegan fest was A-mazing. Katy hosted at her sweet home, and we had a menu of delicious food. Veggie burgers with blueberry bars for dessert. It was all so delicious I barely snapped any photos-whoops.
Recipes at bottom!

 The BEST veggie burger:

• 1/2 cup onion, diced
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• Flax eggs: 2.5 tbsp ground flax + 1/2 cup warm water, mixed in bowl
• 1 cup oats, processed into flour
• 1.5 cups bread crumbs
• 1 cup grated carrots
• 1 cup cooked black beans, rinsed and roughly pureed or mashed
• Heaping 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley (or fresh herb of choice)
• 1/3 cup almonds, chopped
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
• 1 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 tbsp Tamari (soy sauce)
• 1.5 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. oregano
• salt and black pepper, to taste

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F (if baking). In a large skillet, sauté onions and garlic in 1/2 tbsp oil. Mix your flax egg together in a small bowl and set aside for at least 10 mins while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
2. Place all ingredients (except spices and salt) into a large mixing bowl and stir very well. Now, add seasonings and salt to taste.
3. With slightly wet hands, shape dough into patties. Pack dough tightly as this will help it stick together. I made 8 medium patties.
4. Throw it on the bbq or fry 5 min each side in a skillet

 Blueberry Bars

• 2 cups regular rolled oats
• 1 & 1/4 cup oat flour (process rolled oats until flour forms)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tbsp chia seeds (ground flax probably works)
• 1/2 cup Sucanat (or brown sugar)
• 1 tbsp nut butter (I used almond butter)
• 1/4 cup applesauce
• 1/4 cup brown rice syrup
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• 1/3 cup chopped almonds

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a square pan with two pieces of parchment paper
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (rolled oats, oat flour, cinnamon, chia, salt, and Sucanat). In another small bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients (nut butter, applesauce, brown rice syrup, extracts). Add wet to dry and stir well until throughly combined.
3. Fold in the blueberries and almonds and pour into pan. Spread batter with wet hands and press firmly so it packs together. This will help them stick together.
4. Bake for about 30 minutes at 350F. Allow to cool completely before cutting. Makes 12 squares or however many you want!

These recipes are from Oh She Glows

Lets eat delicious food and call it a vegan feast

Last night was such a success. Being around wonderful people, eating good food is bound to be a success. On the menu last night was black bean and kabocha stew (oh my so good!), whole wheat biscuits, and chocolate espresso brownies-yes, it was incredible.
We have basically been cooking our way through "the kind diet", trying out new recipes discovering what we like and what we would pass on. So far I pass on nothing...but this was only week two.
I hosted this lovely dinner evening and although cozy-we all fit!
Thankyou Rebecca, Renee, and Katy- such a lovely evening with friends. Katy hosts next week and we would love to see new faces! Scroll to the bottom for recipes!

Black Bean and Kabocha stew

1 cup black beans
1” piece of konbu seaweed
2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil (we used coconut oil)
2-3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/2 cup chopped onions
1 tsp. chili powder
Sea Salt
Pinch of Crushed Red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 ½ cups diced tomatoes
 kabocha squash, peeled and cut into pieces
1 cup mirin
2 teaspoons white miso
2 celery stalks diced
1/2 cup cilantro 

1.Toast black beans in a dry skillet on low heat for 5-10 minutes.
2.Put beans in a large pot with the kombu and 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cover for 20 minutes (or longer if using dry black beans).
3.While the beans cook, combine the oil, garlic, onion and chili powder in a large skillet over medium heat. Add salt, red pepper flakes and cumin, continue cooking another 2-3 minutes.
4.Add tomatoes, squash, mirin,celery and 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for about 35 minutes. Drain black beans and add to stew.
5. Garnish with cilantro-eat!

Whole Wheat Biscuits
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup non dairy milk (more or less as needed)


Combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add oil and milk as needed. knead 20 times. form into biscuits and bake at 350 for 20min or until golden brown.


Espresso fudge brownies
3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cacao powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups maple sugar (we used coconut sugar!)
3/4 cup almond milk blend (or any nondairy milk)
3/4 cup espresso (or decaf coffee)
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup walnuts

Heat over to 325 F and grease a 9 inch pan.

combine flour(s), cacao powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar and oil. Slowly stir in milk and espresso. Stir in walnuts, Bake 25 min.

We served with coconut ice cream!

 

we were happy to host.

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