Stirfry with peanut sauce

Stirfry with peanut sauce
Originally uploaded by aubribanana

This is a super easy dish to make. I stirfry whatever vegetables I have on hand and toss in some cooked asian noodles(usually rice noodles) and top with this yummy peanut sauce:

3/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup veggie broth
3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon freshly minced ginger
2 teaspoons red chile flakes(or to taste)
1 tablesppon tamari or soy sauce

Mix well in bowl and add to veggies in wok. Cook until heated. Adjust flavors to suit your taste!

Always fast and Delicious!!!!

Falafel!

Falafel
Originally uploaded by aubribanana

So, my fiance is obsessed with saying falafel all the time. I thought a good way to shut him up would be to make some falafel. It worked delicioiusly, well, only for the time that he was actually eating them. We both adored these tasty little chickpea patties. I think that the next time I make them I am also going to make home made pita pockets. Vegan with a Vengeance has been one of the best cookbooks I have ever purchased and I am so glad that I did. We topped the falafels with this yummy tahini dressing.

8 teaspoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup tahini
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
Juice of 1 lemon
Several dashes fresh black pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 cup lightly packed fresh parsley (I cheated and used dried, about half what you would use fresh)
1/2 cup cold water

Heat the garlic in 6 teaspoons of the olive oil in a small saute pan over very low heat for 2 minutes, just until fragrant.
Place the heated garlic and all the other ingredients except the parsley in the food processor or blender, and blend until smooth. Add the parsley and pulse until the parsley is very finely chopped but not pureed (the dressing should not be green, just have a lot of green floating around in it).
Refrigerate at least 1/2 hour in an airtight container. You may need to mix in a little extra water once it's chilled.

The dressing has a nice tangy but somewhat smokey flavor. Enjoy!

Blogging....easy?

No one ever told me this, I just assumed. I mean really, how hard is it to sit down for 20-30 minutes a couple of times a week to update a blog? Apparently much more difficult than I thought. I let life get in the way. Work, at my job and around the house, having me time, it all adds up to not taking the time to work on something that I want to be committed to.

What have I learned by all of this? Cooking vegan everyday is easy. Updating a blog more than once a week is not. I need to carve out the time to do it. I have all these great pictures and really tasty recipes that I would love to share. SO all the whining aside, here is one of our new favorites and an original recipe that I whipped up.

Chilly Black Bean Chili




Ingredients:

2 cans black beans
1 can corn
1 can tomatoes diced
1/2 a medium white onion, chopped
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
6 tablespoons red wine vinegar
8 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup chopped pickled jalapeno (or to taste depending on the level of spiciness you like)
1 red, yellow or orange bell pepper, chopped
4 tablespoons lime juice
1 1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
salt and pepper to taste
1 tomato, diced (Optional)
1/2 an avocado, diced (Optional)
Vegan sour cream (Optional)

Directions:

Rinse the black beans and set aside one half of one can of black beans. In a blender put cilantro, red wine vinegar, jalapenos, lime juice and garlic. Puree the ingredients and slowly drizzle in the olive oil(this would also make a wonderfully spicy salad dressing). Once all the ingredients are well blended, add the can and a half of black beans, onion, bell pepper, and tomato. Blend until smooth. Pour the mix into your serving bowl and mix in the reserved black beans and the can of corn. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed. Garnish with more fresh cilantro, diced tomato, diced avocado and any other yummy toppings you would like. Enjoy! This is great room temperature or straight out of the fridge. The flavors really have time to blend if you let it refrigerate over night.

People food and food for furry friends

California Blend Curry


This was a combination of a Vegan with a Vengeance recipe and a recipe I got off the fatfreevegan.com blog. The flavors were amazing and reminded me of the curry I had recently tried at Mela, and Indian restaurant in Asheville,North Carolina. I think my red curry past was a little old though, it didn't have much kick to it. I definitely would have enjoyed it more if it had been a little spicier.

Peanut Butter Puppers!



Unfortunately I can't remember where I got this recipe. I combed through tons of websites trying to find a recipe that I could use with the items I have in the house.


I decided to adapt a recipe that I found because it was a very simple recipe to make. I needed to make these because poor Molly Wobbles was all out of treats for her treat bowl. I also thought I might be able to save some money making my own.



So here is the recipe:

1 cup unsweetened plain soy milk
1 cup peanut butter (smooth, chunky, organic whatever you have)
1 cup flour (rice, whole wheat, plain white, again whatever you have)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/4 cup oatmeal flour (put some regular old fashioned oatmeal into a food processor and pulverize it)

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix milk and peanut butter in a bowl(stand up mixer or with a whisk or hand blender, whatever floats you boat). Combine dry ingredients and add to wet ingredients. Mix until it is blended well and forms a stiff not sticky dough. Place on a well floured surface and roll out to a 1/4 inch thick. Cut out treats with a small cookie cutter or if your feeling frisky cut your own design with a knife. Place on a well greased(canola oil) cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, turn over and back for an additional 15-20 minutes depending on your oven. They should look slightly browned. Let cool and place in a zip top bag or your dogs treat jar.



Molly approved!

Small disclaimer: My dog is not on a vegan diet. I do believe that dogs are carnivores and I would not feel right feeding her an all vegan diet.