Pecan-Date Oatmeal Stuffed Baked Apples

This is a great healthy dessert recipe that can even be made as a breakfast - and when it's in the baking dish right out of the oven it looks so beautiful (I just forgot to take pics at that stage!) I used Granny Smith apples for a tart twang, but it would be equally good with a sweeter apple, as long as it's a crisp apple, not mushy like red delicious variety. Pink Lady or Honeycrisp would be good varieties, I think.

One serving of the dish, reheated with a little almond milk on there to moisten it up

Pecan-Date Oatmeal Stuffed Baked Apples

(This recipe would serve 4 for dessert or 2-3 for a hearty breakfast. If you want to make breakfast for a family of 4 I would double the recipe.)

Ingredients:

-2 large baking apples, skin left on but cored

-1 cup oats

-1 tsp cinnamon

-1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

-5-6 Medjool dates, pitted and chopped (if you don't like dates or don't have them, you can sub dried apricots or even raisins)

-1 tbsp ground flax

-1/3 cup chopped pecans (or hazelnuts would also work well here)

-1 1/2 cups almond milk

-1 tsp vanilla

-3 tbsp brown sugar mixed with 1 tbsp margarine or vegan butter (optional)

-2 tbsp maple syrup (optional)

Method:

Preheat oven to 350F. Wash and core apples so that there is enough room in the core for stuffing. Lightly oil a baking dish (I used sunflower oil on a 9" square Pyrex dish).

In a bowl, mix together all the other ingredients (except for optional brown sugar mixture and maple syrup). Using a spoon, stuff apple cores with the oatmeal mixture and then pour the remaining oatmeal all over and around the apples.

Put in oven for about 30-35 minutes. **At this stage, if you want a sweeter dish (maybe only if using for a dessert?) mix together 1 tbsp melted margarine and 3 tbsp brown sugar and drizzle this over the whole thing when there's about 10 minutes left on the oven timer. Or, skip this and when the dish is done, drizzle some maple syrup over it.

(Note: I found this dish was sweet enough for breakfast without additional sugar/maple syrup. But for a dessert, I definitely preferred some extra sweetener on there.)


Extreme close up! Gooey baked apple and nutty delicious oatmeal.



Roasted Cherry Tomato Soup with Herbs

I think that roasting almost anything makes it so much more delicious and brings out the concentrated flavors so well, with so little effort on the cook's part. This soup is almost completely comprised of roasted cherry tomatoes (or other small vine tomatoes) and tastes great. You will definitely need a blender or food processor to do it though. Also - it sounds like a lot of tomatoes but this amount yielded enough for about 4 large bowls.

This is modified from Kathy's recipe, original here: http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com/2011/08/roasted-tomato-soup-with-grilled-daiya.html

Roasted Cherry Tomato Soup with Herbs

Ingredients:

-4 lbs. cherry tomatoes, or other small vine tomatoes - washed and removed from vines

-2 sweet onions, peeled and chopped into large sections

-4 tbsp. dried Italian herbs (inc. basil, oregano, rosemary)

-handful of sprigs of fresh thyme

-1 tsp. sea salt

-4 tbsp. lemon juice

-8 tbsp. olive oil (a good one if you have it)

-5 cloves garlic, peeled but left whole

-1 tbsp. vegan butter (or margarine)

-1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

-fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Method:

Preheat oven to 400F. In a roasting pan, spread out tomatoes and onion in one layer. If you have too many, you might have to roast in 2 batches, as I did. Pour 1/2 the olive oil and 1/2 the lemon juice over the tomatoes/onion if you're roasting in 2 batches. (If you can fit all the tomatoes/onions in one layer of your pan, then 1 batch is fine, then just put all the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and herbs in one pan instead of splitting them between the 2.) Rub the oil and lemon juice on the tomatoes and onions with your fingers to ensure somewhat even distribution. 

 

Tomatoes, onions, herbs and garlic BEFORE roasting



Then sprinkle the salt and dried herbs over the tomatoes/onions and stick in the garlic cloves and sprigs of thyme. Sprinkle some cracked pepper on top of the whole pan and put in the oven for 20 minutes, or until the onions are very soft. Remove the pan from the oven and remove the onions from the pan with tongs and set them on a plate to cool. Put the roasting pan back in the oven for another 20-25 minutes. Your tomatoes should look a little browned, shriveled, and popping open - but not burned. At that point, remove the pan and set on a rack to cool for a bit. At this point, remove all the thyme stems and throw them away.



Tomatoes, onions, herbs and garlic AFTER roasting



Put the vegan butter/margarine, onions and the tomato mixture from the roasting pan (along with all the oils/juices!) into a food processor or blender, and blend until very smooth. You will probably have to do this in 2 batches as well unless you have a seriously large blender. It's ok if the batches don't have even amounts of herbs/oil, etc because you're going to transfer all of it into a soup pan on the stove to keep warm and add the final ingredient - a little cayenne. At that point it will all become mixed and blended well.

Once it's simmered on the stove for a bit, serve!

Extreme close up

Melty Chocolate Peanut Butter Muffins

These muffins are again a pretty healthy snack (only 2 tablespoons of oil!) but DO NOT taste healthy at all. For peanut butter/chocolate lovers like me, they are heaven. Also, they took only 10 minutes to throw together (plus cooking time). Healthier than most cookies and everyone will be shocked they're vegan.

  

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients:

Dry:

-1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour

-1/2 tsp salt

-1 tbsp baking powder

-1/3 cup rolled oats

Wet:

-mixture of 1/4 cup soy milk + 1 tsp ground flax seeds

-1 large banana, mushed

-2/3 cup maple syrup

-1 tsp apple cider vinegar

-1 tsp vanilla

Warmed:

-2 tbsp coconut oil or peanut oil

-5 tbsp peanut butter

Fold in:

-1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Method:

Preheat oven to 350F. Then mix together the soy milk and ground flax and set aside to meld a bit.

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl, then add in wet ingredients (including the milk/flax mix).

Warm the peanut butter and oil in the microwave a bit - not too hot but warm enough so that it is melty and liquidy. Pour into the batter and mix well. The batter should be room temperature because you don't want the chocolate chips melting when you mix them in.

Pour into muffin cups, filling to the near-top, and bake for about 18-20 minutes. Delish!

Make Your Own Granola; Impress Friends

Even if you are no culinary maven, you too can make your own granola. If you've ever looked at the nutrition information and did a double take at the calories then you might want to consider making your own and storing it in an airtight container. Takes no time at all and you can change the recipe depending on what ingredients you have on hand and what you're in the mood for. Plus it makes your whole house smell lovely, especially in the fall.

Crunchy Homemade Granola

Ingredients:

-3/4 cup vegan butter (margarine or other substitute, such as coconut oil)

-1 cup brown sugar

-1/3 cup water

-2 tbsp vanilla

-1 tsp cinnamon

-1/4 tsp nutmeg

-4 cups oats

-2 cups nut of choice (walnuts are my favorite)

-1 cup flaked coconut

-3/4 cup small nut pieces (I like to use a different nut here, like hazelnuts I've slammed around in a plastic ziplock bag or pulsed a little in the food processor)

Method:

Preheat oven to 300F.  Combine butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, water, and vanilla in a large saucepan and heat slowly until gently bubbling. Pour over dry ingredients and mix well (not with your hands.  It's hot.) 

Spread evenly on cookie sheet and bake for 45 minutes, stirring around/flipping with a spatula every 15 minutes.  Watch to make sure nuts don't burn.

Turn off oven after 45 minutes and allow granola to stand until oven has cooled, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove and allow granola to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Chili-Lime-Brown Sugar Baked Nuts

This is a quick recipe for an incredibly addictive party food - baked nuts.  The tart lime mixed with hot chili powder and sugar produces an amazing and different taste.  You can really use any kind of nut you want but I usually do a combination of peanuts, cashews and walnuts.

Chili-Lime-Brown Sugar Baked Mixed Nuts

Ingredients:
-4 cups of nuts (any kind you want, or a mixture)
-1/4 cup lime juice
-1/2 tbsp sesame oil (or olive oil if you don't have sesame)
-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
-2 tsp salt
-1/2 tsp cinnamon
-2 tbsp brown sugar

Method:

Preheat oven to 400.  Toss all ingredients together in a bowl with your hands, making sure all nuts are getting about the same amount of the spices/sugar.  Spread evenly on baking sheet (you might need 2 sheets, because they shouldn't be too crowded or in piles).

Bake for about 7-8 minutes, remove from oven and shake around/toss with a spatula.  Return the sheet to the oven and bake another 8-10 minutes.  Keep an eye on them so they don't burn - they are done with they smell great and look browned and dry.

Veggie-Stuffed Vegan "Quiche"

This beautiful light and fluffy "quiche" is great because you can put almost anything in it and it will turn out beautifully. Last night I put scallions and 2 different kinds of mushrooms in it, but I have listed some other ideas below that would also work great. It is really easy and you can find the chickpea flour at any healthfood store. It also works best with a springform pan.

Vegan Veggie-Stuffed "Quiche"

Ingredients:

-2 1/2 cups chickpea flour

-2 1/2 cups water

-2 1/2 tsp salt

-dash black pepper

Fillings:

-3 cups chanterelle mushrooms

-1 1/2 cups button mushrooms, sliced

-2 cups finely sliced scallions

-1 clove garlic, minced

-1 tsp olive oil

-1 tsp olive oil (another, separate)

Some other ideas for fillings:

-3 cups roasted red peppers, finely diced

-1 cup sliced mushrooms on top

-1 cup crumbled vegan feta cheese

-1 clove garlic, minced

-1/2 cup finely sliced red onion

OR

-1 cup chopped sundried tomatoes

-1/2 cup chopped basil

-1/2 cup chopped white onion

-2 cups sliced mushrooms

Method:

Preheat oven to 400F. Grease a springform pan.

Heat the tsp of olive oil in a large pan or wok and once hot, add in the minced garlic. Stir in the chanterelle mushrooms and saute until they have a bit of color, set aside. Keep pan hot.

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, water and salt. Then add in the scallions and the chanterelles you just cooked and stir together.

Add your 2nd tsp of oil to the pan and once hot, add the sliced button mushrooms. Stir frequently until cooked a bit with some color. Set aside and turn off heat.

Pour the flour/scallion/chanterelle mixture into your springform pan and spread so it's fairly even. Then pour the sliced button mushrooms on top and scatter then, pressing them lightly into the "quiche."

Bake in the oven for about 20-30 minutes, until cooked through. You can lightly touch the top and press with your fingers to see whether it's cooked through. It should be dry on top but still light and a bit "airy." Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes in the springform, then remove the pan and slice for serving!

(I served mine with some fried tempeh slices, but it would be great with a vinegar-y salad too!)

Chai Pumpkin Berry Muffins (Zero Fat!)



Extreme close-up of melting berry goodness





Aerial view of awesome pumpkin muffins


About a week ago I roasted up a medium-sized pumpkin and pureed the flesh. I froze it in 1 cup amounts and so lately have been making several recipes which feature pumpkin because all I have to do is whip out a Tupperware container from my freezer the night before and let it defrost in the fridge and I have the main ingredient all ready to go. This weekend I tried another of Kathy's great recipes from her blog "Happy. Healthy. Life." and once again it didn't disappoint. For those of you who are looking for healthy recipes, this one definitely qualifies because it has NO FATS in it at all - no oil, butters, eggs, etc. Only oats, berries, pumpkin, etc. And not a whole lot of sugar either.

The original can be found here: http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com/2012/09/pumpkin-chai-spice-oatmeal-blueberry.html

Chai Pumpkin Berry Muffins

Ingredients:

Dry:

-1 1/4 cups rolled oats

-3/4 cup + 1 tbsp flour

-1 tsp salt

-1 tbsp baking powder

-1 tsp cinnamon

-1/2 cup + 1 tbsp sugar

Wet:

-1/3 cup applesauce, unsweetened

-3/4 cup pumpkin puree

-1 tsp vanilla

-1 tsp apple cider vinegar

-1 tbsp orange juice (we don't have OJ in the house so I used water and it was fine)

Egg replacer:

-1/2 cup boiling water + 1 chai tea bag - strongly brewed

-2 tsp ground flax seeds

Fold ins:

-1/4 cup sliced almonds (or any nuts) (I didn't use any nuts in mine)

-1 cup mixed berries (I just used organic frozen berries)

Method:

Preheat oven to 350F. Line muffin tin with paper cups. Boil the water and steep the tea for a few minutes, squeezing out as much chai flavor as possible then toss the bag. Add the flax powder and stir well, set aside.

Combine the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add in the wet ingredients and stir well.

Fold in the tea+seeds, fold in the berries/nuts. Pour batter into muffin cups and bake for about 20 minutes (test with a toothpick - it should come out clean).