Banana Chickpea Pancakes with Carob-Peanut Butter Sauce

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 10-15 minutes

Banana Chickpea Pancakes

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cup Chick Pea Flour

2 bananas Ripe

1 cup water

Keep a little extra to add if the batter thickens

Instructions:

Put all the ingredients in a blender and pulse until mixed

Pour batter to form 3-4 inches round pancakes

Turn when bubble start to form on 1 side

Add some water if the batter starts to thicken

Recipe from the very talented Anja from Cooking with Plants (doubled)

http://www.cookingwithplants.com/recipe/two-ingredient-vegan-pancake-recipe/

Carob-Peanut Butter Sauce

Ingredients:

2 cups water

2 1/2 tbsp. arrowroot (you can use cornstarch)

1/2 cup carob powder

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup maple syrup

pinch salt

4 Tbps of natural Peanut Butter (or to taste)

Instructions:

Add all ingredients except peanut butter to a sauce plan and mix together. Cook over low heat, while stirring, until mixture thickens (about 5-7 minutes). Add the peanut butter at the end and stir.

You can also do the recipe without the peanut butter, and add a tablespoon of peanut butter to a quarter of the recipe.

Inspired by: http://www.livingvegan.org/recipes/details/127/Carob_Sauce.html

Assembling

Stack the pancakes with a pre-cut banana and layer the sauce

Enjoy !!

Raw Vegan Cinnamon Rolls

This recipe has 3 ingredients that work amazing together - bananas, dates and cinnamon. You will need a dehydrator for this recipe.

Ingredients 4 bananas 10 dates 1-1.5 tsp of cinnamon Instructions

1- Cut the banana length-wise, about 1/4 inch thick and following their natural curve

2- Sprinkle generously with cinnamon on both sides (see picture)

3- Put in the dehydrator for 6-8 hours, at 115 F

4- Soak the dates for 20-30 minutes and puree 

5- Spread the date paste on the bananas and roll them like mini-cinnamon rolls

6- Leave for another 2 hours at 115 F in the dehydrator

The key to this recipe is the cinnamon !

I have also sprinkled a very little salt. You can try with  or without.

This is how much cinnamon to sprinkle... on both sides. quite a lot. 

Enjoy !

Amazing Carob Sauce

This carob sauce is great with oatmeal and banana ice cream. Think of it as a mix of chocolate and caramel  

Carob Sauce over Banana Ice Cream

Carob Sauce and Banana over Oatmeal

The health benefits are: -       Lowers Blood Cholesterol Levels -       Natural Antioxidant -       Rich in Calcium -       A Good Source of Selenium Ingredients 2 cups water 2 1/2 tbsp. arrowroot (you can use cornstarch) 1/2 cup carob powder 1 tsp. vanilla 1/2 cup maple syrup pinch salt Instructions

Add all ingredients to a sauce plan and mix together.Cook over low heat, while stirring, until mixture thickens (about 5-7 minutes)

Inspired by: http://www.livingvegan.org/recipes/details/127/Carob_Sauce.html

 

Holiday Feast!

Hope you all had a great Holiday!

I had the pleasure to have my family over on Christmas Eve and we had a great

Here is the menu and links to the recipes for this feast!

Appetizer 

Lentil Mushroom Lentil balls with Cranberry / Pear sauce

http://ohsheglows.com/2013/11/13/lentil-mushroom-walnut-balls-with-cranberry-pear-sauce/

Main Meal 

Potato White Beans Cakes
http://potatostrong.com/crispy-potato-white-bean-cakes/

Fat Free Gravy (use 1/4 cup of brown rice flour instead of 1/3 cup)

http://www.cookingwithplants.com/recipe/dr-john-mcdougalls-fat-free-golden-gravy-recipe/

Sweet Potato Casserole

http://ohsheglows.com/2014/11/04/saweet-potato-casserole-with-a-crunchy-nut-crumble-vegan-gf/

From mom and dad:
Chinese Salad
Homemade Bread
Turkey

Dessert

Almond Butter Cup

http://ohsheglows.com/2013/07/19/raw-almond-butter-cups/

Peanut Butter Balls

http://ohsheglows.com/2013/12/16/peanut-better-balls/

Oreo Cookie Pie - no bake

Pie

http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2013/05/03/no-bake-oreo-cookie-pie/

Crust

http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2012/05/13/ridiculously-easy-chocolate-pie-crust/

Happy New Year 2015!!

Persian Inspired Tofu Scramble

One of my favorite brunch places in Montreal is a Persian restaurant in my neighborhood. I have decided to re-create my favorite in a vegan and low fat version: Feta Cheese and Tomato Omelette.

You might say  this is a tall order ... replacing both the egg, cheese and most of the fat. The results?  Very tasty and a great brunch dish! The "feta" definitely reminded me to the real thing.

Food for thoughts... The restaurant version has:
- 2x more calories compared to the homemade vegan version
- 5x more fat compared to the homemade vegan version
- 4x the daily recommended intake of colesterol (vs zero for the homemade vegan version)

Cut the tofu in small cubes

Pour the feta "sauce" on top of the feta and mix well

Put in fridge for 1 hour, covered

Cook the tomatoes and green onions (here I used chives instead)

Black salt ... interesting light pink color

Add in black salt, onion powder and maple syrup

Et voilà!

Yield: serves 2 people

Ingredients
1/2 pack of firm tofu
1 Tbps of apple cider vinegar
1 Tbps of red wine vinegar
1 tps dried basil
1 tps dried oregano
1 tps garlic powder
1 Tbps Tahini
1 Tbps lemon juice
1/2 large can whole tomatoes
4  strands of green onions
1/4 tps onion powder
1/16 tps maple syrup (e.g a drizzle. You can use any other sweetener)
1/4 tps black salt

Directions

Feta / Eggs
1. Drain excess water from tofu (see Tofu Preparation Instructions)
2. Cut tofu in cubes of approx. 1/2 inch
3. Whisk together apple cider vinegar, red wine vinegar, basil, oregano, garlic, tahini and lemon juice
4. Pour mixture over tofu and mix in with your hands
5. Store in fridge for 1 hour, covered

Scramble
6. Chop tomatoes and green onions roughly
7. Heat skillet at medium, add in green onions and tomatoes. Cook for 5-7 minutes.
8. Mix feta tofu. "Smash" some of the tofu, let simmer for 5 minutes
9. Add salt and onion powder. Mix well.

Serve immediately with pita bread to scoop  (or any other bread)

Notes:
1. I omitted the green onions as I made this recipe early in the morning as didn't have any. I used chives as a replacement. I also used a kaiser-type of bread to make a breakfast sandwich.
2. What is black salt? It is a type of rock salt containing some sulfur.. which means, it smells like eggs!  The rock is black however when grounded, it becomes a bubble gum pink. You can find it at Indian markets, spice shops and some bulk places. For Montrealers, I have seen some at Anatol on St-Laurent.

Feta recipe inspired by http://www.thevegancookbook.com/2008/11/vegan-feta.html
Recipe inspired by http://bybloslepetitcafe.ca/

Homemade Nutella Coconut Delight

Good evening ! I came home yesterday after a month trotting around the globe: Vancouver B.C, Whisler B.C and Brisbane, Australia. It was great to connect wtih my boyfriend's family and friends in B.C. From Vancouver, I then headed directly to Australia for work for a period of 3 weeks;  great experience and I met some amazing people.

I'm thankful to be back home and decided to get over my jetlag by keeping busy cooking. My Vitamix and food processor are offically back on duty!!

So, I have been thinking about homemade nutella for quite a while .. and today was the day where the magic happened. I made Nutella with a twist... I added coconut flakes and it turned out delicious! It is surprisingly close to the real thing, but it taste better and is much healthier!

Yield: Approx. 1.5 cups
Ingredients

2 cups raw hazelnuts
1/4 cup maple syrup (or any other sweetener, just check on the conversion)
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk (or any other non-dairy milk)
1/8 tsp salt

Directions
1. Pre-heat the oven at 420ºF/215ºC
2. Roast the hazelnut for 6-7 minutes and let them cool
3. Put the hazelnut into a towel and massage to remove the skins
4. Blend hazelnut and coconut in food processor for 3-5 minutes, or until smooth like nut butter
5. Add in all other ingredients and blend for another 2-3 minutes
6. As needed and to taste, add more soy milk.

Serve immediately; store leftovers in refrigerator in air tight container

I decided to only use maple syrup (and not coconut sugar)

The skins peel off very easily.. if not, don't worry about it.
the reason for peeling the skins is to avoid a bitter taste

I served the Nutella on little banana sandwich... amazing!

Colorful Asian Infused Rice and Vegetables Bowl

I have created this bowl last week and have made it three times already!

My plan was to assemble a simple meal by mixing up vegetables I had on hand and some leftover rice. 

And, it turned out delicious! A simple mix of whole foods, bursting of flavor. Bonus point: you feel good and light after your meal. 

What I like about this meal is that you can swap any of the vegetables with unloved leftovers in your fridge and freezer. Time to use those vegetables past their prime!

The important ingredient is the low-sodium tamari sauce, which really makes the meal come together.You can find it at any health store or health section in your regular store. The brand I used is called San-J, Lite Tamari, which is low in sodium, without gluten and is organic.

For the frozen soy beans, they are called "edamame" in the store and make sure to use the "shelled" ones. You may also try with frozen peas, I'm sure it would be delicious. 

Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients

1/2 cup sweet onions (or yellow onions)
2 garlic scapes * chopped (or 2 cloves of garlic finely chopped)

1/4 cup red pepper, chopped

1/4 cup red cabbage, chopped

1.5 cups of rice (any kind, I have used a mix of brown, black emperor rice and red rice)

1/2 cup frozen corn

3/4 cup frozen soy beans

1 tbsp olive oil

2-4 tsp of low sodium tamari (to taste)   

Directions

1. Heat up the oil on low to medium heat, in a medium size pan

2. Chop the onion and garlic scapes and cook in the pan for 3-4 minutes

3- Add in the chopped red pepper and red cabbage, mix well, wait 2-3 minutes 

4- Add in the rice, mix well, wait 2-3 minutes 

5- Add in the corn and soy beans, mix well, wait 2-3 minutes. The soy beans should start to get warm, but make sure they don't get too hot to avoid overcooking. 

6- Add in the low sodium tamari and taste. Add more tamari if needed.  

Pour in a bowl and serve immediately.

It will keep well in the fridge for 3-4 days.

* What are garlic scapes?  It is the stalk of the garlic plant
Easy ... 1 scape = 1 garlic clove  

Start cooking the onions and garlic

Garlic scape creeping up on the pepper ... 

Chop rest of vegetables as onions and garlic is cooking

Onions are pretty much ready, time to add the cabbage and pepper

With everything mixed in .. colorful, healthy and tasty

Ready to eat !

Enjoy!