South West Bell Peppers

South West Bell Peppers

Whether you are Vegan, Vegetarian, or a Carnivore you will enjoy these peppers. They have just the right amount of spice, and man.. they are filling! From the cilantro, to the beans, to the jalapeno peppers this dish just screams Mexico. Speaking of Mexico.. I’m hoping someone will take me on a vacation soon *cough* Dylan.

Recipe:

6 Bell peppers (any colour but green)

1/2 cup rice

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion

3 garlic cloves

1/2-1 jalapeno

1 14oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup corn

1 tsp chilli powder

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 can diced tomatoes

3 tbsp fresh cilantro

Pre heat the oven to 350 degree. Cook the rice according to the directions on the package. Slice the bell peppers length wise and clean out the seeds. Bring a large pot of water up to a boil and boil the peppers for 4 minutes. Take out and place on a paper towel until needed. In a large pan, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the chopped onion, garlic, and jalapeno. Cook for 5 minutes. Add the corn, beans, chilli powder, salt and pepper. Cook for 5 more minutes.

Add the cooked rice, tomatoes, and cilantro. Taste, and adjust seasonings if needed. Place the blanched peppers in a large dish. Fill each one with a heaping amount of the filling. There may be some left over, but trust me, it’s good just with a spoon too. Cook for 30 minutes. Serve with a spoon full of salsa on top.

Lentil Vegetable Soup

Lentil Vegetable Soup

When salads just aren’t cutting it for you anymore, it’s time to try out this Lentil vegetable soup. There’s a ton of vegetables in every bite, and the lentils add just the right amount of texture. This soup went fast in my house, and the recipe makes a pretty big batch, so you know it has to be good. Mmm there’s something just so comforting about a nice hot, filling, bowl of soup.

Recipe:

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

1 large carrot, chopped

1 cup brown lentils

2 cloves garlic, chopped

4 cups vegetable stock

1/4 cup tomato puree

1 tsp rosemary

Salt + Pepper to taste

1 potato, peeled and diced

2 handfulls of baby spinach

Heat oil in a large pot over medium low heat. Add onion and carrot and cook for 5 minutes. Add lentils and garlic, stir to combine. Add tomato puree, stock, potatoes, rosemary, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer for 30 minutes.

Once the potatoes and other vegetables are tender, ladle half of the soup into a blender. Blend until smooth and add back to the pot. Add the spinach, bring soup up to a simmer and cook for 2 more minutes to wilt the spinach.

Black and Yellow embroidery cake

Black and Yellow embroidery cake

This cake was for a 2 years clean birthday. It was also a dedication to the persons god daughter Faith. I had a lot of fun trying out new techniques as you can see.

The whole cake is vegan. Both layers are chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream, the top is a square layer and the bottom is round. The funny part about this cake is that it looked completely different when I thought I was done with it. I woke up the next morning a few hours before delivering it and completely re-did the bottom part. I’m happier with it now, so it was worth it to me haha. The top white piping is a technique called embroidery, and the bottom part is drapery which I learned from cake boss 😉

Barnyard cake

Barnyard Cake

This cute barnyard cake was for a 2 year old girls birthday party. The lucky girl was having real ponies at her party! How cool is that?
The bottom sheet cake is chocolate cake with whipped chocolate ganache, and the barn is made out of vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream. The animals are made out of gumpaste, and it was my first time really working with that stuff. I think I will try modeling chocolate next time.. haha. The decorations are a mixture of fondant and gum paste.

Pumpkin spiced carrot cupcakes

Pumpkin spiced carrot cupcakes

Leah came home with a bag of carrots from grandmas garden the other day. Not just a couple of carrots, we’re talking like 20 at least. She informed me that they were for “feeding the horsies”, so we got in the car and I drove all over town looking for some horses that were close enough to the road that we could feed them… ugh. We finally found some after about 20 minutes of driving. But seeing the look on her face when this huge horse took a ginormous bite of a carrot that she was holding in her hand, made it all worth it to me. With the leftover carrots came these delicious cupcakes nom nom, no complaining here.

These cupcakes throw your traditional carrot cake out the window. If you are getting sick of pumpkin already, you can replace the pumpkin puree with apple sauce and subtract the nutmeg and apple juice, they then turn into regular carrot cupcakes.

Recipe:

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup shredded carrot

1 1/2 cups of pumpkin puree

1/2 cup apple juice

1 tsp vanilla

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cupcake tray with paper liners. Mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, combine Pumpkin puree, apple juice, vanilla, and shredded carrot. Mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients, mixing just until combined.

Take an ice cream scooper and scoop out equal parts of batter for each cupcake liner. Bake for 20-15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Maple sugar glaze

1 cup icing sugar

3 tbsp maple syrup

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tbsp coconut milk

Combine icing sugar with maple syrup, and cinnamon. Beat until well combined. Add coconut milk until you get your desired consistency. Once cupcakes are completely cooled, spoon glaze over top.

Pumpkin cream cheese swirl bars

Pumpkin cream cheese swirl bars

I had a thanksgiving dinner at my house this year, turkey and all. I enjoyed cooking for everyone, even if I could only eat half of the things I cooked. Cooking for me is more about sharing with everyone else, not for me to eat my own cooking, so I still get a lot of enjoyment cooking non vegan food. The night before the thanksgiving dinner, me and Leah stayed up baking the vegan pumpkin pie tarts (previous post) and these cream cheese swirl bars. She was my first taste tester for this desert, but she kept asking for more so I took her word that these were pretty darn good.

Recipe:

6 tbsp melted butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 large eggs

1 cup canned pumpkin puree

1/3 cup water

1 3/4 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp nutmeg

Cream cheese topping

8 oz cream cheese, room temp

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 tsp vanilla

1 egg

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 15×10 inch pan. Mix together butter, sugar, and salt. Beat in eggs, pumpkin, and water until blended. In a separate bowl, mix flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and nutmeg. Combine with wet ingredients until well incorporated.

Pour all of the batter except for a few tbsps into the greased pan and spread evenly. Prepare the cream cheese topping. Beat the softened cream cheese with sugar and vanilla until smooth. Add the egg and beat just until mixed in.

Drop tbsps of the cream cheese topping over top of the spread out pumpkin batter. Drag through with a knife. Drop the few tbsps of left over pumpkin batter on top (for extra colour contrast). Drag through with a knife again. Place in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.

WARNING: Let this desert cool completely in the pan and then cut out the squares while it is still in there. I flipped mine out to let it cool on the cooling rack and the top of it got stuck to the other pan while I was flipping it. I saved it, but it could have been a disaster.

Pumpkin Pie Tarts

Pumpkin Pie Tarts

Every year I notice more and more pumpkin flavoured items coming out as soon as that first chill of fall weather rolls around. You’ve got the pumpkin spiced lattes (my favourite!), pumpkin pie at thanksgiving, pumpkin blizzards, and even weird ones like pumpkin flavoured pringles and pumpkin eggo waffles. I, myself am totally on board on this pumpkin train, and the next 3 posts of mine are completely dedicated to pumpkin flavoured desserts!

This thanksgiving I was looking for a vegan pumpkin pie that didn’t have half a million ingredients in it, but still stayed close to the traditional texture and flavour of a true pumpkin pie. These definitely hit the spot for me!

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

1/4 tsp salt

6 tbsp cold water

Filling

1 15oz can pumpkin puree

1 cup canned coconut milk

3/4 cup sugar

3 tbsp cornstarch

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground ginger (1 tsp fresh)

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp cloves

Start by making the dough. Place your 2 cups of flour in a large bowl along with the salt and whisk through it to add some air and get rid of any clumps. With a pastry cutter, cut in the shortening until it’s about the size of peas. Add the water, little by little until the dough forms a ball (you may need a bit more if the dough isn’t coming together). Roll the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Once dough has rested, roll out onto a lightly floured surface as thin as you can without it cracking. Cut out 4 inch circles and push each one into a cupcake tin. Peirce the bottom of each one with a fork to prevent bubbles when cooking.

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.
Prepare filling by mixing the pumpkin puree with the coconut milk. Then add the sugar and cornstarch, as well as the salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Mix until velvety smooth.

Fill each tart all the way to the top with pumpkin filling.

Cook in the pre-heated oven for 15 minutes, then turn down the oven to 350 degrees and cook for an additional 25-30 minutes. Take out tarts when you can shake the pan and the filling doesn’t jiggle anymore.

Indian Spiced Chickpeas

Indian Spiced Chickpeas

My boyfriend always bugs me about not liking leftovers. For him, it’s a quick meal to microwave whenever he feels hungry, and to me, it’s a meal that I already had recently.. why would I want it again? I like variety, and it’s pretty rare that I make the same meal twice within a couple of months. One of the things that I love about being vegan is that it really pushes me out of my comfort zone and makes me try eating things that I never would have considered before. (Did I mention I now love mushrooms, 3 weeks ago I would never touch one!)

These chickpeas make a nice filling fibre packed dinner paired with some basmati rice and a salad, or they make a delicious side dish to any meal. They are full of flavour, and super easy to make.

Recipe:

2 tbsp oil

2 onions, chopped small

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsps fresh ginger

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp cumin

1 tbsp curry powder

salt

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

2 fresh tomatoes, diced

2 cans of chickpeas

1/2 cup vegetable stock

Chopped fresh cilantro

Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, ginger, and garlic and saute for 3 minutes. Add cinnamon, cumin, curry powder, salt, and cayenne and stir until the spices become aromatic, about 1 minute. Add the diced tomato and simmer on low for about 10 minutes.

Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Add them to the tomato mixture along with 1/4-1/2 cup of vegetable stock. Cook for 10 minutes.

Stir in cilantro right before serving, and sprinkle more on top for garnish once served on the plate.

Coconut Banana Breakfast Muffins

Coconut Banana Breakfast Muffins

As a baking and cooking vegan, I have decided to use as many “normal” ingredients as possible. If you’ve ever looked up a vegan recipe for baked goods you know what I’m talking about. From spelt flour to xanthan gum, there are a lot of weird natural ingredients out there.  When the baking urges come on, I like to open my cupboards and have everything I need to bake with right in front of me, I think everyone’s with me on this one.

Ever hit snooze on your alarm clock one too many times? Eating is the last thing on your mind as you’re running around the house trying to get everything ready for your day. Breakfast muffins are the perfect solution! They’re healthy, delicious, and you can grab one with two fingers as you’re racing out the door with your arms full.

Recipe:

(yields 12 muffins)

Topping:

1 tbsp medium shred coconut

1 1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp canola oil

Muffins:

1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup medium shred coconut

1/4 cup sugar

1/4-1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 – 1 1/2 mashed ripe bananas

3/4 cup non dairy milk

1/4 cup maple syrup

2 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp vanilla

3 tbsp canola oil

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees

In a small bowl, combine the topping ingredients. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients, sifting in the baking powder  and baking soda. Stir until mixed well.

In another bowl, combine the mashed bananas, milk, maple syrup, vinegar, vanilla, and oil.

Combine the wet and dry ingredients and stir gently, just until mixed.

Take an ice cream scoop and scoop out each muffin into a liner in a muffin tray.

Sprinkle topping on top.

Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Triple-Threat Chocolate Macaroons

 I discovered something so brilliant, and exciting that I couldn’t stop smiling for hours. Ready for it?… A lot of chocolate chips are dairy free! No need to splurge on extra expensive chocolate from the natural food store. Just read the ingredients on your semi-sweet chocolate chip bag, and odds are, they’re vegan! Phew.. glad I got that off my chest.

These macaroons are deeeeelish! Coconut, chocolate, chewy, yummy.. no more words are needed.

Recipe:

1/2 cup dairy free chocolate chips

1 tsp canola oil

1 1/8 cups unsweetened medium shred coconut

1/4 cup sugar

1/8 tsp salt

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 1/4 tsp baking powder

3 tbsp non dairy yogurt

1 tsp vanilla

2 tbsp non dairy chocolate chips (mini chips work great!)

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place the 1/2 cup of chocolate in a bowl with the oil. Microwave just until melted, stirring every 15 seconds.

Combine the coconut, sugar, salt and sift in the cocoa powder and baking powder

Stir in the yogurt, vanilla, and melted chocolate.

Add the 2 tbsp chocolate chips and stir until combined.

(The batter should be very thick, but still moist.)

Place the batter in the fridge for 5 minutes.

Take 1 rounded tbsp of batter and roll in your hands to make a ball. (don’t flatten)

Bake in oven for 11 minutes. Let cool on baking sheet for 3-4 min then gently move to a cooling rack.