Vegan MoFo - Day 5

This is a no-brainer post. 

What do you see? Hemp seeds? 

No! You don't! A couple of tablespoons blend so easily in any smoothie that they are almost invisible!

I'm fond of rice milk with banana, frozen pineapple, frozen mango and hemp seeds. A yummy snack packed with protein, vitamins and fibre!

Vegan MoFo - Day 4

Hempseeds are awesome to throw into baked goods! 

In this case, I threw them into Dreena Burton's Homestyle Chocolate Chip Cookies. Delicious! I had intended to make itty bitty cookies using my smallest scoop but man, these puppies really spread out. Oh well, I thought, I'll just go ahead and make ice cream sandwiches since they were the perfect size! I thought I was being so novel.

But what I didn't realize was that the bottom of the recipe gave instructions for doing just that. Next time I will a) refrigerate the cookies to avoid bending them and squishing chocolate chips all over my hands and b) not forget about the softening ice cream so that it doesn't get as soft as soup. Ah well. I gave the sides a little roll into hempseeds and chocolate chips. Delish!

http://plantpoweredkitchen.com/recipes/recipe-chocolate-chip-cookies/

Vegan MoFo - Day 3

Not only are hempseeds great to sprinkle in oatmeal and on any salad for an extra protein boost, but they are a wonderful nut substitute for those with allergies. 

For instance, I adore Dreena Burton's Umami Almond, Quinoa and Sundried Tomato Burgers. Clearly, the name alone makes it a no-no for those with nut allergies. But swap the almonds for an equal amount of hempseeds and - Ta-da! - great allergy-friendly burgers, or meatballs, or crumbled into ground round.

These are GF and also soy-free (using coconut aminos) and so darn easy. I always keep tubs of cooked quinoa in my freezer so that I can make these quickly. I usually do a double batch and freeze half in a tub so that I'm good to go. Its so good and versatile that I vow to never make another mushy vegan bean burger again!

This time I made the mix into meatballs and topped my pasta with them. Yum! Omnivores give rave reviews!

http://plantpoweredkitchen.com/umami-almond-quinoa-burgers/

I served it alongside a fennel salad - this was much second time eating fennel and I loved how fresh and crisp this salad was. I'm annoyed that I only discovered it at the end of summer. Of course, I mixed in some hempseeds!

http://m.foodnetwork.com/recipes/22582

 P.S. Any tips to bring my blog from 2006 to 2013 would be totally helpful :)

Vegan MoFo - Day 2

Wow, I'm off to a good start! Another entry! 

Another Oh She Glows recipe - Eat Your Greens Chickpea Medley. This is my second time making this...I modified it by adding hempseeds (my MoFo theme) and cooked quinoa since I had some lying around. Love this! Next time I will scrap the quinoa and toast up some garlicky pitas to crumble on top.

Here's the link that has way nicer pics than my blog:

http://ohsheglows.com/2013/08/09/eat-your-greens-chickpea-medley/

Vegan MoFo!

Let's see if I can actually post daily! Given that my first post is on September 2nd, I'm afraid I'm not off to a good start.

My theme this year is...wait for it...hemp seeds! Should be interesting to see the many ways I consume hemp seeds every day!

I buy my hemp seeds directly from Manitoba Harvest in large quantities, but they are so widespread in Canada that they are available at Costco and Loblaws, as well as natural food stores.

Chock full of complete protein, omegas and iron, these babies should be part of every vegan's diet! Also great for food allergies, as they make a great substitute for nuts.

Here's my first entry: Blueberry Banana Pie Overnight Oats from Oh She Glows:

http://ohsheglows.com/2011/06/04/blueberry-banana-pie-vegan-overnight-oats/

Crappy mobile blogger doesn't let me embed links and just changed my font size!

Anyways, here they are with hemp seeds instead of nuts!

Oh My Amaranth!

I have had a package of amaranth in my cupboard for a couple of months now - I had heard about this iron-rich, gluten-free supergrain and decided to give it a go in a recipe that called for it to be cooked in a chowder-like soup. I have to admit, I thought it was disgusting. I then wondered - how on earth am I going to use this stuff up?

Enter my issue of Fresh Juice! It mentions to pop it - like mini popcorn! I was pumped! I found a great video tutorial online (I'd link to it but mobile blogger sucks) - the technique was beyond putting kernels in a brown paper bag and microwaving, like I do for popcorn. The instructions in the mag seemed to suggest topping it with a little oil and eating by hand. Perfect! I thought. Except maybe these people have miniature fingers since there's no way you can shove this popped stuff in your mouth without making a giant mess - the puffed kernels aren't much bigger than the grain itself!

But the taste is much better - I've found myself sprinkling the puffed grain on steel cut oats, salads, and on pasta. But it was begging for something more.

I remembered seeing something on the Fresh Juice blog about mixing it with chocolate. Kyle sold it to the kids as a 'chocolate bar'. I fear that this sort of trickery is like a form of mini tree-hugger child abuse. But seriously it's so good, and the kids were none the wiser and begged more more! It's a new staple in this house.

Chocolate Amaranth Bars

(Gluten-free, soy-free, nut-free)

1 cup melted chocolate (Enjoy Life)

1 1/2 to 2 cups popped amaranth (google search it!)

Mix! Spread onto parchment lined cookie sheet and spread to same thickness as if you were making bark. Chill in the fridge at least one hour, then break into pieces. 

Plan to make this often - it doesn't last long!

Surprise Cookies

I really like cookies. They are easy to grab, less crumby than muffins and have a certain appeal as their namesake is often synonymous with a 'treat' of sorts. 

But I have a real issue making or eating a cookie that contains unnecessary vegan margarine and loads of sugar. Yeah, I get that it's supposed to be a treat and all, but if the last two years dealing with my son's food allergies have taught me anything, it's to make the most nutritionally sound choices for anything that goes into our mouths. So what that a cookie is vegan because it contains Earth Balance and organic sugar - you're no further ahead!

Well, these cookies stick to my principles, but you would never know it. As a result, I had to call these Surprise Cookies. If you've read any of my blog posts over the past year, although sparse, any recipe seems to involve hemp. So I'm being sarcastic alluding to the 'secret' surprise ingredient. But what's more surprising is what else is in them, and even more so, what's not!

Those avoiding wheat could enjoy these since they use oat flour and rolled oats (Only Oats brand could be used). Sweetness comes from puréed raisins and a few chocolate chunks (dark chocolate would also be a great sub), while body comes from puréed hemp hearts and shredded coconut. Iron-rich cocoa powder, hemp milk, vanilla, a touch of coconut oil and baking soda round out the rest of the ingredients. Take that, recipes that call for mounds of butter, sugar and wheat flour.

The key to making these look like regular cookies is to purée the crap out of the hemp seeds and raisins. I used to do this in my Vitamix, but its hard to scrape everything out away from the blade. Since getting my Breville Sous-Chef food processor, I've had a much easier time scraping out the mix while getting everything just as blended as I would have in the Vitamix. I can't vouch for regular blenders or food processors as to whether or not they have the power to pulverize the ingredients.

Surprise Cookies

(Wheat-free, nut-free, soy-free)

Makes about 3 dozen

2 cups hemp seeds (I use Manitoba Harvest Hemp Hearts)

1 1/2 cups raisins

3 tbsp coconut oil

1 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract

1/4-1/2 cup hemp milk

2 1/2 cups oat flour

1/2 cup shredded coconut

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 tsp baking soda

2 cups rolled oats

1 1/4 cups chocolate chunks or chopped dark chocolate

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line three cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Place the hemp seeds, raisins, coconut oil, vanilla extract and 1/4 cup hemp milk in a high-powered blender or food processor. Purée until a smooth brown blob forms, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a mixing bowl or to the bowl of a stand mixer (preferred! It's tough to mix this stuff by hand!). 

Add oat flour, cocoa powder, coconut and baking soda and mix. Add a little hemp milk if the mixture is dry. Carefully add the oats and chocolate chunks and mix until well-incorporated.

Drop by medium-sized scoops (heaping tablespoon) onto parchment, leaving 2 inches between blobs. Flatten with the palm of your hand, then bake for 10 minutes. Let cool completely on pans.

Baked Yeasted Vegan Doughnuts

I have owned my donut pans for quite some time. I have excitedly made lots of vegan baked doughnuts, but all definitely on the 'cakey' side. While they were good, they just tasted like a cupcake in a different form. I wanted something that didn't taste like a grocery store donut, but rather like something from Tim Hortons, but vegan, not fried and of course, allergy-safe!

I finally got around to making these:
http://vegandad.blogspot.ca/2012/02/baked-yeast-donuts.html?m=1

I subbed in rice milk, used coconut oil instead of shortening, and ground chia instead of flax. The result? A delicious, moist dough. I separated into 12 pieces and pinched tubes into my ungreased pan. I followed the same baking instructions but put two pans in at once on convection (I had two very eager kiddos!). Worked perfectly!

We topped with vanilla and chocolate glazes, allergy-free natural sprinkles, hemp seeds and coconut flakes. Lots of fun for the kids to decorate! Too much fun to eat :)

Hempella!

Being vegan is great these days with so many cookbooks and convenience foods, but dealing with life-threatening allergies with your kid sucks.  I've been in a rut lately trying to find ideas for lunches that would appeal to the world's pickiest 2-year-old...the same kid that has several life-threatening food allergies.  It's not fun.  And I like to cook. 

Lately I've been extra bitter that I can't just whip out peanut butter (life-threatening allergy to peanuts and tree nuts), or the supposed allergy-safe Sunbutter (severely allergic to sunflower plus it may contain soy, which is life-threatening), nor pea-based butters (despite growing out of legumes, some pulses bother him).  How I long to just make a quick sandwich with one of those, with some fruit.  I remembered how as I kid I ate Nutella sandwiches in ridiculous quantities - so much so, that my mother ended up with a complete set of drinking glasses (they used to be packaged that way - great recycling idea back in the day!).

And then I had an epiphany today - I use hemp for everything under the sun!  Surely I could make a spread with it!  And this is pretty much what I did: I threw all of this stuff in the Vitamix and blended.  Easy!  And somehow, it doesn't have that grassy hempy taste...somehow it tastes like hazelnuts!  It's totally weird!

Hempella (Nut-free, Dairy-Free, Soy-Free, Gluten-Free)

1 cup shelled hemp seeds (I use Manitoba Harvest Hemp Hearts)
1/2 cup agave nectar
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup rice milk powder
2 tablespoons coconut oil, room temperature
Optional: piece of vanilla bean or scraped seeds

Put liquids in Vitamix jug first, then dry ingredients, ending with hemp seeds.  Blend, using the plunger to help mix everything up so it's consistently smooth, about 1 minute.  If mixture looks a little dry, add a little more agave until it gets running more smoothly. Scrape into a jar with a lid. 

I used this as a spread on a wrap with bananas, but can also see this plopped into homemade ice cream in the last few minutes to make fudge chunks, or to sandwich two cookies together.  It's pretty rich and nutty tasting! 

Holy Hannah!

Ever since I received Vegan Desserts by Hannah Kaminsky for Christmas, I knew we had to throw a pool party just so I could make the Watermelon Bombe. Well, those parties were this weekend!

So this isn't a last minute dessert idea...it requires planning to make the avocado-mint, coconut vanilla and watermelon-chocolate chip sorbet layers. But every ounce of planning was worth it! Sooo yummy!

Btw - shameless plug for my biz...if you are in Ottawa, you can follow my BetterSweet Treats on twitter! @bettersweet613 - I'll embed a link when I get to a PC!

Diner Dinner

I've been feeling a bit retro lately - not sure if the logo design for the new biz influenced that or not - but I've been craving healthy junk food.

Dreena Burton's Spicoli Burgers (sans bun) with Chloe Coscarelli's Oven-Baked Fries and Sweet Tomato Ketchup are hearty and filling but not in a heavy, bloated way! A serving of crispy kale chips rounds out the meal.

Except I'm forgetting dessert! Thanks to a recent promo through VegNews, I got ahold of Mr. Nice Guy's recipe for vegan Lemon Meringue Pie. Check out the pile of vegan (no eggs!) meringue! Insane! This tasted great! Came together so quickly!  Might add this to my BetterSweet Treats lineup!  Although I might have to change my tagline to Cupcakes and Cookies and one super yummy Lemon Meringue Pie!

BetterSweet Treats...now open!

My little home business is now taking orders! Vegan, allergy-friendly cupcakes and cookies! Made in my soy-free, peanut-free and tree-nut free kitchen!

Check out my website!
www.bettersweettreats.ca

Kyson Turns Two!

My little boy is getting so big!

Kyson loves monkeys so it was only natural to make Chloe Coscarelli's agave nectar-based chocolate layer cake into a monkey face (thanks Savvy Mom for the decorating idea!) and I made her Banana Cupcakes with my own buttahcream frosting (and a banana slice, of course!). So yummy!

Nicer Krispie Squares

Dreena Burton's Nicer Krispie Squares...I subbed hemp seeds (shocker!) for the macadamia butter and they were great! Yum!

More Chloe!

I seriously can't get enough of Chloe's Kitchen, Chloe Coscarelli's new cookbook. I swooned over it in a recent blog post, and have found myself making so much from it.

But I was trying to think hard about why I consider this to be one of my go-to books. I've realized now why it is: There is nothing 'weird' in this book. Honest to God, I turn each page and consider making each recipe (of course making necessary allergy subs where need be). I truly believe that this is one book that you can challenge yourself to make each item. And it's not just North American food fare - there are some ethnic-inspired dishes to help encourage trying something new, but they aren't weird! I also have alot of books that have either a million recipes or too many variations of one recipe that seem to complicate things. I find that overwhelming. Or they have a billion ingredients. This book doesn't! It's just so fab.

Anyways, to prove my fondness for this book, here are some more yummy things I've made this past week:

Tomato-Basil Bisque - Roasting the tomatoes, garlic and onion before blending adds such a yummy flavour! Love having the Vitamix since it makes soups so smooth compared to the immersion blender. I didn't make the pumpernickel croutons since I don't have a recipe that is Kyson-safe.

Rosemary Tomato Gallette with Pine Nut Ricotta - Delicious! I felt so fancy. I used Buttah to make the crust, and it was so flaky. Instead of using pine nuts, I used hemp seeds (surprise!). It was great! Would definitely use as a dip!

California Chipotle Chop with Agave-Lime Vinaigrette - Scrumptious! I just omitted the step where one would cook beans with garlic and chipotle since we cant do beans. I had added garlic to the salad but not chipotle so technically I don't live up to the title! Ash loved this and begged for more!

BBQ Pineapple Pizza - Sooooo good! I love her BBQ sauce! I have to admit that I didn't cook her own ketchup ingredients first - I just added those ingredients and cooked them as the BBQ sauce cooked. I just thought the flavours of this dish were so unique!

* Since I'm using mobile blogger, my pics are all shoved at the bottom! Will fix when I get to a PC!

Pizza Roll Ups

I make pizza. Alot. While I can change up the topping, the shape is pretty consistent. I've thought about a calzone style, but it takes forever for it to cool and I don't need the stress of one of the kids getting a burned tongue!

I was happy to read about Pizza Roll Ups in Today's Parent ages ago, and have made them a few times.  Basically, you roll out the dough to a rectangle, top it, then roll it up like a cinnamon bun, slice, and place separately on a parchment-lined cookie sheet to bake (I did mine at 375 for about 15-20 minutes). The kids are actually super pumped about them mainly because they initially think they are having cinnamon buns for dinner, but they remain excited after they realize they aren't filled with sugar - hooray!  And I'm jumping for joy since I have them stuffed with veggies that are easily disguised in this format - double hooray!  They are too busy unwinding them and stuffing their faces to realize that there is spinach, red pepper, mushrooms and nooch in there!

Normally I stuff mine with some minced seitan for added protein.  But it's been nice out the past couple of days, and I've had my mind on ramping up the cupcakes and cookies home baking business, so I've been lazy and haven't made any seitan.  So - why not use my other go-to protein source...hemp seeds!  I figured why not - they made a great sub for lentils in my pasta salad the other night, and they turned out great in the cinnamon buns!  Each roll easily had 2 tablespoons worth, so it bumped up the protein by about 10g per roll!

Ooey Gooey Cinnamon Buns

I've been rather busy in the kitchen lately!

Still loving my new cookbooks! Made Chloe's cinnamon buns...wow! Yummy!

When it came to the 1 cup of raisins called for in the recipe, I wondered what I could use - Ash would never eat raisins and my other idea for cooked apples and I'm sure Kyson would have turned up his nose at both too. I then dreamed about the good ol' days when I would have pecans in there...but alas those days are over.

So what else? Surprise - hemp seeds! And they turned out great! See for yourself!

Cinco de Mayo!

Have no real idea what this occasion is but it was an excuse to celebrate something!

From Chloe's Kitchen, I made Mini Potato Skins Stuffed with Avocado Salsa. Soooo good! I've never had potato skins before so now I'm wondering what else I can stuff these puppies with! I loved her method of roasted the potatoes whole with olive oil and S&P then slicing, scooping and baking again. Ash devoured these! They were so festive! I only cheated a little bit since instead of making salsa fresca I used Farm Boy fresh salsa - so good!

From Eat, Drink and Be Vegan, I made Lime Sucker Coconut Pie without the coconut. As I tweeted to Dreena Burton...sweet Jesus! This was way good. I made the crust using the Graham Cracker recipe from the ppk, crumbled it and used the crust recipe from Vegan Pie in the Sky by my beloved Isa Chandra. Then I achieved something I have never been able to do...have agar that actually sets! And in just over an hour! This pie was so tasty - subbed vanilla rice milk and grapeseed oil for the coconut although I'm sure it tastes even better with the coconut...one day I hope I can make it the real way! One month today until the next allergy test so we will see! Anyways, back to the pie...I topped with fresh raspberries and served with Chloe's raspberry sauce. Soooo good!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Protein-Packed Pancakes

So for years now, I've made pancakes with the usual ingredients - flour, nondairy milk, baking powder, a little oil - nothing special. Well, the other night was an eye opener.

Went through Dreena Burton's Let Them Eat Vegan and was happy to see two choices of pancakes for my planned pancake supper. The first - Apple Hemp - looked great, but I worried Ash would be upset at the chunks of cooked apple in there. The next option was Whole Grain Chia - looked good but I really wanted to try the hemp! So I did the latter with the added hemp! Delish!

I think next time I might try subbing the chia for hemp entirely - the chia gets gooey after awhile and despite thinning it with milk, the goo was hard for me to cook away. I love adding small amounts of chia to muffins and such but after attempting a chia pudding a few weeks back, I think I have an aversion to too much of it as it gets gooey.

But the thing I'm totally amazed about is why I never thought of adding hemp to pancake batter! Seriously! Just adding 3/4 of a cup adds a whopping 60 grams of protein! Dividing that across a batch of 12 pancakes, basic math skills tell me that adds 5 grams of protein to EACH pancake - that's in addition to the couple of grams from the flour. That's insane! It was especially insane because the kiddos each ate 4 pancakes apiece! I was one happy mama.

Here they are with fruit and my strawberry and raspberry sauces. Yum!

Let Them Eat Vegan!

My other new cookbook is by Dreena Burton. I really like how there is a variety of recipes, with variations to make it soy free, gluten free, and nut free. It's a big help! Stuff looks good, but I'm afraid I'll have to wait until Kyson grows out of something (notice I said 'when' and not 'if'...I'm trying to stay postive!) to be able to make most of it, since it's understandably full of legumes! *Sigh*

But I've been attacking the muffins! Pictured are Oat 'n' Applesauce and BF Blueberry and Chia Banana.

I'm making yet another batch since Kyson requests these daily and we are all out. Given that he's so limited and fussy regarding what he will eat, I can't afford to be out!