Enchilada Cornbread Casserole - Slow Cooker

Ovo-lacto

This was a real treat of flavors and rightfully stepping into the slow cooker season, since it's winter and all. I'm borrowing the original recipe's picture, since mine was sloppy but the flavors and satisfying factor really fab.

recipe and photo from Some the Wiser

I had a cornbread mix from Bob's Red Mill, but the recipe links to a DIY mix.

Also made this Red Enchilada Sauce to go with it - very easy.

Subbed brown rice for quinoa. 

Yum yum!

Gallo Pinto: Costa Rican Beans n Rice

Vegan

I followed this recipe

This is one of those dishes I had wanted to make for ... years! It turned out to be so easy, I don't know what took me so long. As it was, I inaugurated the huge new non-scratch wok Rich got for us. Yay!

BTW, beans + rice = complete protein.

Pumpkin Pie (mostly) from scratch

crust: vegan
filling: ovo-lacto veg
DIY ingredient: pumpkin puree

I combined two recipes for this creation:

Sweet & Salty Spiced Pecan Crust from Oh She Glows

Easy Pumpkin Pie Filling that's floating around on the web

(I just made the pumpkin puree by cooking chopped pumpkin in as little water as possible, straining and processing it)

The result actually won the pumpkin pie contest at a Thanksgiving potluck! People really enjoyed the sweet and salty combo, despite it sticking hopelessly to my pan... I think my oven was having issues and the pan could probably use more greasing up. 

I had extra filling, so baked it in little cups for wee desserts for the days to come after Feast o' Giving Thanks.

Easy Veggie-Scraps Stock and Black Bean Pumpkin Soup

Vegan

I'm finally in the groove of stashing veggie scraps in the freezer and then using them to make a stock - a few extra herbs from our garden (thyme, rosemary, basil), a bay leaf and you can always add another carrot or onion if you're keen, top up with water, simmer for 45 minutes, strain - voila!

The stock then went on to evolve into a Black Bean Pumpkin Soup loosely based on this recipe. Cumin is key :)

Zucchini-Crust Pizza

Ovo-lacto veg
From the garden: fresh thyme, basil

Based on http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/zucchini-crust-pizza

Be sure to squeeze out the liquid from the zucchini before baking the crust.
It has a nice frittata-like eggy flavor and I love having extra veggies all throughout the dish.

Impromptu Coleslaw
Shredded kohlrabi and carrot, diced celery, blanched broccoli and pea shoots, sliced cucumbers

Dressing (lacto-veg)
fresh cilantro, parsley and ginger; plain yogurt, apple cider vinegar, S&P

Middle Eastern Mezze Platter

Lacto-veg (omit yogurt in tahini dressing for vegan)











We recently went to Singapore and stocked up on all manner of spices at the super fun shopping excursion of a mall called Mustafa Center.

While most spices were Indian, we also picked up some za'atar. I later realized this was the stuff from my memories of the streets of Montreal in the wee hours after the bars as I picked out some Lebanese pizzas with this liberally sprinkled on top. (Note: I guess it's technically a flatbread called mannakish za'atar and I should make it sometime, too.)

Source: theKitchn

When I happened upon some Italian eggplants (plumper, much rarer in Taipei than the skinny long Chinese variety) it seemed it was high time for a Middle Eastern-inspired dinner. I based this on this roasted za'atar eggplant recipe and made chappatis for the first time to go with. Delish!

Oat Bran Pancakes

Ovo-lacto

We were treated to these pancakes while visiting Rich's sister in Singapore. She's since moved back to the UK, but we've adopted the recipe and love it. It is a breeze to make and delish.

Fresh or stewed fruit, chopped nuts, yogurt, maple syrup are good sweet options. I think you could easily top with some sautéed spinach and mushrooms and a sprinkle of cheese for savory.

Loose Recipe

1. Mix oat bran with yogurt, and an egg or two, depending on total amount. You don't need that much batter, they are very hearty.
2. We were fed with an addition of turmeric and rosemary that went fine even with a sweet topping, so we do something similar. Turmeric adds a pretty color and is a health booster. A little goes a long way.
3. Make 'em big or small and top as your heart desires. Yum.

Savoury Muffins

Ovo-Lacto
based on these Cheesy Vegetable Muffins (a great basic recipe)

Baked cheese makes for pretty pictures!

These were quite delish and had a nacho-like flavor.

OVEN 350C

IN A LARGE BOWL, MIX:

• 2 cups mixed vegetables (1/4 cup each:
•  sliced black olives
• re-constituted and diced sun-dried tomatoes
• fresh leafy greens chopped into fine ribbony pieces
• fresh corn kernels first cooked in salted water)

1 1/2 cups rye flour

• 3 tsp baking powder
• 
  
• WHISK TOGETHER:
• 2 eggs beaten lightly
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup yogurt
• 1 pinch salt
• 1-2 tsp Italian herb mix
• ADD WET TO DRY, MIX LIGHTLY, POUR INTO OILED CUPS
• TOP WITH 1/4 cup grated cheese (I only topped half of them)

BAKE 25-30 MIN 

Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake Bars

Ovo-lacto veg

Maybe I was inspired by my sister-in-law's awesome raspberry cheesecake back in June when I visited them in Estonia... Because this recipe popped out at me while searching for a sure-to-please dessert for my sister's engagement party. The verdict? Everyone loved 'em. I would only change one thing, which would be to make a graham cracker crust next time, just to up the ante.

Easy and fun to make, but there'll a bit of dish-washing required post-baking.
Recipe from a fellow-Canuck: Rock Recipes

Sweet Potato Veggie Burgers with Spicy Peanut Sauce

Vegan

I had this bookmarked for a loooooong time... well worth the wait! Thx again, Oh She Glows!
The only modification I would make is less black pepper. Also, my sweet potato coins burned to a crisp... so they really should be relatively thick and watch them like a hawk ;)

Served  with sautéed kale and carrot strips. Buns or rice work too, of course.

ROKing the espresso

Here is my Dad with the ROK coffee maker, hard at work... I don't know which of them is working harder, but the results were mighty tasty and the process quite entertaining. Great gift for a coffee-lover, as my Dad will attest!

Sweet Potato Falafels

Vegan

That's three falafel balls piled up on top of each other, with tahini sauce, green pepper and basmati rice.

More great recipes like the one above at My New Roots

I'll probably bake them a little longer next time to get them a little crispier

DIY Energy Bars - vol. 1

Vegan

This has been a revolution around here!

In short, if you have a food processor... go make yourself some energy bars. There's hardly any reason to buy them except convenience. You can customize them exactly as you like, keep only the good-for-you ingredients and save $$. And there are sooooo many recipes and types out there... Wild! So here begins my Energy Bar journey. It's a tough job, but someone's gotta do all that whizzing and taste-testing...

Imperative for successful bars:
Most of them don't need any baking and are held together by the sticky combination of something like a nut butter and a liquid sweetener, or ground up dried fruit, or a combination thereof. Follow these steps to make sure they stick together:

1) If your dried fruit is not moist, briefly soak it in a little hot water to plump it up

2) Once your mix is in the pan it'll be setting in, PRESS, PRESS, PRESS it down. It will be sandwiched between plastic wrap or parchment paper, so use your hands, a rolling pin, the bottom of a glass- whatever it takes! It must be compact.

Here is the first round-up of recipes I've tried that I will make again.

1. Almond Coconut Energy Bars

based on Minimalist Baker's Healthy 5-Ingredient Granola Bars

These are the closest to a successful commercial granola bar that I've tried so far. They have a pleasant crunch, are sweet but get balanced out by the nuts and oats and are easy enough to make, though do require a bit of time with the toasting, assembly and all that dish-washing after.


2. Soft Banana Oat Bars

based on Adventures of Our Family's Banana Oat Bars

This is probably the healthiest recipe of the bunch and in some of my friends' words "tastes like it" haha... However, the health nuts loved them. They are soft and with the extra banana I put in held in no problem - these do require baking. If you want something sweeter, add more dried fruit or some sort of sweetener - a glug of maple syrup or maybe sprinkle on some brown sugar?


3. Lemony Oat Bars

based on The Vegan 8's No-Bake Lemon Tea Oat Bars

In the world of endless snakc bar recipes, these are really unique! I loved the fresh lemon flavor! My German lemon tea was kind of strong and a bit strange, so I only used 5 tea bags instead of the 12. Next: try with my fave lemon tea of all time: Celestial Seasonings Lemon Zinger and make into flat bars in a shallow pan (rather than thick ones in a loaf pan, as per recipe).


4. Green Tea and Goji Berry

based on Vegan Crunk's Matcha Green Tea Almond Bars

Also very unique, delicious and easy-peasy! My ingredients were:
- dates, prunes and (very soft) goji berries, adding up to 1.5 cups
- 1/2 cup ground flax
- 1/3 cup mix of nuts and pumpkin seeds
- 1/4 cup matcha powder (I think this can be reduced by as much as half the amount - it's quite strong, even for me who adores green tea flavor and will make the bars less crumbly)

Another take: dried figs and prunes, toasted almonds, ground flax and chia, reduced green tea


5. Carrot Cake Bites

based on My Whole Food Life's Carrot Cake Larabar Bites

My mixture was kinda dry and giving my food processor trouble, so I added coconut water... a little too liberally. I ended up with pumpkin-pie-filling texture and even ground up oats could not save the day. So, I rolled these into sticky balls and they are delicious, if not exactly portable ;)


6. Crumbly Granola 

before-baking-photo: based on Real Healthy's Granola Bars 

Haha... so, these did not stick together whatsoever! I mean, in clumps, yes, so Rich and I devoured the resulting granola with a spoon because it was so damn yummy! I think the problem was the mixture was too liquidy - next time try omitting the coconut oil or reducing to a bare minimum, especially since I find it burns very easily. These also require baking.


7. Gingery Pumpkin Seed Chews

oops forgot to take a photo! picture and recipe both from Florida Coastal Cooking's Gingery Pepita Energy Bars

This recipe wins hands-down for super-fast no-mess. I think I was done in ~10 minutes. Very yummy! Now I need to source some more crystallized ginger! - or make it ;)

Another take: walnuts and prunes and candied orange peel, coated in hemp nuts. YEAH!

Quinoa Salad

Vegan

This super-easy idea also works well with other grains like rice, barley, spelt and wheat berries and pseudo-grains like kasha, wild rice. Oh, and tiny pastas like couscous.

1. Cook quinoa (1:1 grain to water ratio). Skim off any funky scum you get. Apparently this is normal.
2. In the meantime, dice up any additions you want to stir in (eg. veggies, herbs, flavor bursts like olives, capers, sun-dried tomatoes, etc). Make a dressing (super-simple can be made from two ingredients: some yummy good oil of choice with something sour, like lemon juice or caper or olive liquid, etc).
3. Mix everything together. Sprinkle with seeds for a pleasant crunch and protein boost.

Seedy Protein Bread (GF)

Vegan, GF

Texture is dense and chewy. Delish with miso and yellow pepper slivers or avocado or hummus or nut butter or pesto or ...



Original Recipe: Oh-She-Glows

I didn't have enough chia seeds, so topped off the 1/2 cup measure with ground flax
Spices: oregano, marjoram, rosemary, cumin - smells amazing!
8x8 baking pan worked fine, same time.
If pumpkin seeds could stay crunchy, would be even better. Toast them first?

The Humble Can of Tuna

Pescotarian

Part of the meal-makers series:

Add a few veg, seasonings, and voila, your meal is served.

Avocado goes really well with tuna. Chop it on top of a tuna salad, slice it on a sandwich and it can even replace the mayo, just mash it in (not as pretty but healthy!)

In Costa Rica I was once served tuna in avocado halves. Edible plate - genius idea!!


Here is a sustainability guide to which canned tuna is your best choice for responsibly sourced fish stocks.

More info on sustainable fish.

Carrot-Walnut Cake with an Indian twist

Vegan (bananas keep it together instead of eggs)

I've had this recipe bookmarked for a year or even two and finally made it. VERY GOOD! 

The Indian twist is cardamom and the author said it's similar to the yummy Indian dessert called halwa (not to be confused with Arabic halwa made of sesame seeds, which is also fantastic, but different in every way).

I used the lesser amount of sugar and even then felt it was unnecessary, as the raisins and ripe bananas more than do the job. I didn't add the walnut-coconut-caramel topping, which sounds delicious but then would really make this unbearably sweeeeeeeeet. Maybe if I cut all all sugar entirely, topping included? Anyway, it's a keeper!

For another vegan carrot dessert, check out Carrot-Coconut Cookies

Easy Pear Sauce

Vegan

I often make applesauce 'coz it's so darn easy and if you're doing healthy baking, it'll often show up in a recipe to cut down on the amount of oil. Pretty much any fruit puree will do in my experience (these Fudgy Brownies turned out delish with a medley of stewed fruit) and of course are delicious on their own with a spoon, on toast, pancakes, oatmeal, yogurt...

Anyway, we indulged our expat experience recently with a big box of baby Honey Bell pears from Costco, from New Zealand and as they were starting to soften en masse, I browsed again for a pear sauce recipe. Here is a winner - simple, delicious, and it's got my favorite spices. I made it in our Turtle (the slow cooker) but you don't have to - it only takes about 30 minutes on the stove.

I'm getting lazy with taking photos recently... other people just do such a good job!
 Pic and recipe both from Two Peas and Their Pod

Pumpkin Pancakes

Ovo-veg

No kidding, these taste like pumpkin pie!

I didn't take any good pictures, so photo and recipe credit both go to MyGutsy

Pretty easy to make, although they dirtied up 3 mixing bowls and you need the low-carb-lovers-trend-extraordinaire almond flour (which you can make it yourself with a food processor, if not readily available or you're looking to save $).

Actually, you could probably use any flour and it'll work out fine. The 5 eggs could probably hold together a derelict building, let alone a few measly pancakes.


I also recently baked these Pumpkin Spice Bars.

I did use dark brown sugar as directed and they went super dark, so maybe a mix of golden and dark is what resulted in the pretty color below. Anyway, they were good and VERY EASY!

I didn't take any good pictures, so photo and recipe credit both go to Sally's Baking Addiction

Slow Cooker Inaguration!

Sweet Potato Chili
Vegan

recipe from A Year of Slow Cooking

And the first tomato we've grown in our garden (that we got to before the neighborhood birds ;)

Sprouted Bread aka Essene Bread

Vegan

I've heard it said sprouted bread is the earliest bread in history.  While I have no way of verifying that information, it does seem to be recommended as superior to modern bread made from flour, for its digestibility and nutritional value. It has a natural sweetness and although takes longer (a few days to sprout the grain, a few hours to bake), the actual hands-on time is shorter and way simpler than yeasted loaves.

Of course, the texture is completely different (chewy and crumbly) and therefore best suited to being spread with some nut butter and fruit for breakfast or a snack, you could potentially use it for a sandwich-like creation, especially with the little bagels I made this time around.

The base recipe will make a plenty-tasty sprouted bread from just wheat berries as the sole ingredient. I usually play around with flavor, adding seeds, orange juice or zest, dried fruit, cinnamon, etc.

Sprouted Bagels, inspired by The Happy Raw Kitchen blog

Pumpkin Miso Muffins

Vegan and sugar-free

An unexpected twist on a savory muffin. Quite delish! Recipe from Just Bento

Masala Chai #2: Yogi Tea

Vegan

This is a nice little concoction : )

Taking a break from studying Greek patterns

Recipe is from 3HO Kundalini Yoga

Per serving:

1. Bring 10 ounces (about 1 1/3 cups) of water to a boil

2. Add spices, cover and boil 15 to 20 minutes
- 3 whole cloves
- 4 whole green cardamom pods, cracked
- 4 whole black peppercorns
- ½ stick cinnamon 
- 2 slices fresh ginger root

3. Add ¼ tsp black tea*, let sit for a few minutes

4. Add ½ cup "milk" and reheat (I use oat "milk")

5. Strain, sweeten with honey if desired

______________________________________

Health Benefits as described by 3HO:

• Black pepper: blood purifier
• Cardamom pods: digestive aid
• Cloves: beneficial to the nervous system
• Cinnamon: strengthens the bones
• Ginger root: healing for colds and flu, increases energy
• Black Tea: *a homeopathic (minute) dose of black tea acts as an alloy for all the ingredients, creating just the right chemical balance (I add 1-2 tsp for a caffeine boost)
• Dairy Milk: the milk in the tea helps in the easy assimilation of spices. While it was not a part of the original recipe, Yogi Bhajan (Kundalini Yoga teacher) permitted the use of soy milk as a variation.

Plumped-Up Miso Soup

Vegan (or Pescotarian*)

If you've been to a Japanese restaurant, chances are you've had miso soup. The stuff is salty, delicious and wakes up your digestive system, so it's usually served as an appetizer.

For some years I had been making it a meal in and of itself, by adding vegetables and rice noodles. The process is dead easy and results delicious and filling:

1. Heat sesame oil in a pan (careful, as it goes from hot to smoking rather quickly)
2. Briefly saute thickly sliced carrots
3. Fill pot with boiling water and use a bit more hot water to dissolve a glob of miso paste in a bowl with a whisk (you can add more later according to taste)
4. Keep soup at a gentle simmer (if it goes into a rolling boil, the miso will lose some of its nutritional value)
5. Add quick-cooking veggies like broccoli, bok choy, as well as dried seaweed (I've used wakame, nori, arame, hijiki)
6. Rice noodles: the easiest method is to toss them in at around the same time as veg in step 5, but if making a big pot of soup, they will start to disintegrate after being heated repeatedly. The other option is to make them separately. Cooked brown rice is yet another alternative.
7. To serve, put cooked rice or rice noodles in individual bowls, add cubed soft tofu and ladle broth and veggies on top. Enjoy!

* Since coming to Asia, I've discovered miso paste with fish, as well as miso soup cooked with fish pieces, making it that much heartier and richer in flavor. I like it both non- and veg.

Shakshouka (Eggs Poached in Tomato Sauce)

Ovo-veg (Ovo-lacto if you use a cheese, like feta)

photo credit and recipe: Indulge & Devour

This is such an easy, fun and satisfying dish.

I've made it adding any ol' kind of veg:

- just stagger the cooking times (eg. grated carrot can go in with the onions, sweet peppers need only a few minutes if you like them a bit crisp, heavier sprouts like soybean are a nice addition stirred in just before the eggs are cracked in, leafy greens arranged on top around the eggs, to steam once the lid is on)

- this dish benefits from veggies cut into similar-sized small piece: eg the soybean sprouts were delish, but I will chop them up next time, so they get integrated into the tomato stew.