Simple Marinated Farm Fresh Tomatoes & My Two Furry Love Bugs Birthdays.

Just when I have it in my mind to blog more it doesn't happen.  My son did something to our laptop and I just figured out where my pictures were downloading too.  Now I can share!

I hope your summer has been great so far.

It's that time of year again to celebrate the birthdays of our Merlin kitty(17) and Ace dog(3).

Now for some simple marinated tomatoes that might not even make it onto your pasta because it is so delicious.

Last year I made this recipe and the key is too use heirloom, home grown or farm fresh tomatoes which are sweeter than grocery store tomatoes.  If you only have access to grocery store tomatoes you can still make this it just won't be as flavorful as farm or homegrown.  I didn't have capers on hand and it still came really good but I do love the addition of capers.

Marinated Heirloom Tomatoes

Martha Stewart Living Magazine

adapted by  dreaminitvegan

Ingredients

• 5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 pounds heirloom tomatoes or homegrown/farm fresh, sliced into 1/2-inch wedges
• 3/4 cup torn fresh basil
• 3 tablespoons salt-packed capers, preferably Sicilian, rinsed (optional)
• 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest, plus more for sprinkling
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red-pepper flakes
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

1. Heat garlic in oil in a saucepan over low heat until pale gold, about 10 minutes. Reserve oil and garlic. Let cool room temp.
2. Combine tomatoes, 1/4 cup basil, the capers, lemon zest, red-pepper flakes, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Pour garlic oil and chips over tomato mixture. Marinate, covered, tossing occasionally, for 30 minutes or more.(I let it marinate a couple of hours)
3. If using on pasta you would add warm pasta to bowl, and toss gently. Top with remaining 1/2 cup basil. Season with pepper. Sprinkle with lemon zest.

Note* you can make this ahead if you are having company that day.  You can also spoon this on a nice baguette as an appetizer.

Grilling plant foods and Farmers Market

It's the second day of Summer.  Happy Summer everyone!

Yesterday was so beautiful and the Farmers Market was over flowing with beautiful colors and smells.  Happily sampling fruits and pistachios as my friend and I walked amongst the tents of organic goods.  Before we left we hung out and watched my friend's band play.  Good times.

These are local beans from a couple of towns over.  The middle bag are yellow beans which are recommended for Chili.  Since these are local they are fresher which means the cooking time is less.  They turned out to have a nice mellow flavor.  I used them below...

Grilled Vegetable Nachos

Father's Day grilling.  The above is grilled seitan marinated in a chimichurri sauce. The seitan recipe I use for grilling is taken from Veganomicon.  This is one of my husband's favorite meals.  I haven't made it since last year so he was happily surprised with dinner.

 Local artichokes that were steamed then drizzled with olive oil, garlic, lemon and sea salt then put on the grill.  Local corn too.

Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms that I grill as well.  Our local health food store had these HUGE  organic Portobello Mushrooms. One of them fed the 3 of us.  We noticed that these Portobello's were really light and airy compared to all of the other ones we have eaten. 

After visiting the Farmers Market I always realize just how lucky we are too have all of this fresh food available to us.  I definitely am so thankful for this!

Getting back to grilling.  This is a great meal to serve to someone who is trying to switch to a plant based diet.  The texture of the seitan and the flavor of the Portobello satisfies everyone's tastes. 

On another note it is my husband's first day of juicing.  Yep he had his first green juice this morning.   He is going to try to follow the Crazy Sexy Diet plan with my help, well with my preparation. ha! 

I'll share my new juicer I bought a couple of months ago next time.

Be thankful for what you have and smile!

Raw Ranch Dressing

Hi everyone!!!  Summer vacation has started for everyone.  How are you enjoying yours?
  My son graduated from the 8th grade last week which was bittersweet.  He has matured and grown so much over the last 3 years of middle school.  Crazy how time flies.  Those of you with kids know and you with little ones enjoy every moment because the next thing you know that are grown.  Okay enough of that.
Let's get onto some yummy stuff.

I've noticed that some of you stumble upon great finds at Costco well the last time I was there I found a bag of

 Raw Hemp Hearts from Manitoba 1.8lbs for $14.99!   These taste really good too. Some of my other buys are organic rice milk, organic coffee, organic spinach, pesticide free blueberries, garlic and organic corn chips and gluten free chips. What are some things you buy at Costco?

We've been eating a lot more salads lately and it's nice to change the dressings up according to the type of salad.  I usually make us an easy vinegar/olive oil or lemon/olive oil with salt and pepper but a creamy dressing once in a while is nice.  There is a nice Raw Caesar Dressing I make but I was looking for a Raw Ranch and found one. The first time I made this recipe I followed the recipe exactly and it was a little too vinegary for my taste but some may like that.  The changes I made on my second try were to only use maybe 2 T. of cider vinegar and more lemon juice.  I also only used 1 T. raw agave.  You can play with this recipe by adding more herbs too. 

Ranch Dressing/Dip

Posted by Snowdrop on Raw Freedom Community

  Number of Servings: 24 (or 3 cups)
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups nuts (cashew or mac or combo) soak them for a creamier dressing (1-2 hrs is fine, then drain)
3/4 - 1 cup filtered water for blending
3 tablespoons lemon juice (translates into approx 1/2 lemon)
1/3 cup cider vinegar
 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons agave (or 3 soaked dates)
2 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon garlic pwd
3 teaspoons onion pwd
1 teaspoon dill
1 tablespoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon basil
And to add after it's done:
1/4 cup finely minced parsley
another 1/2 t dill, minced

Directions
 In blender or food processor blend all ingredients till creamy and smooth except the last 2, then once blended, stir in the last 2 ingredients.

Thickens in fridge.
Thin to desired consistency if using as a dressing- or toss into wet lettuce leaves as is

Carmella's Notes:
~ This yields quite a bit of dressing, so you might want to consider halving the recipe.
~ Last time I made this, I completely forgot to put the dates in and it was still outstanding.

The raw ranch dressing was used on a green salad with crumbled mushroom pecan burgers I made.

Hope you are enjoying your weekend! 

I'll be back on here sooner than later!

Hello Sunshine! Hello GF Pasta Alfredo!

It's a beautful day out I hope everyone is enjoying it!

Here is a new photo of our California Poppys and Sweet Peas in our backyard. The poppys just recede and grow wild while the sweet peas I have planted years ago and keep coming up year after year.  I love sweetpeas, they smell so good!  What is your favorite spring flower?

Before I head back outside a quick post about a yummy GF pasta dish I made recently.

This recipe is taken from Chloe's Kitchen by Chloe Chloe Coscarelli, Fettucine Alfredo w/Shitake Mushrooms, Kale and Sun-dried Tomatoes.  The sauce is a base of homemade almond milk that is so easy to make.  You suppose you could try to use use storebought almond milk.  If you do let me know how it worked.  The recipe is below and the only I subbed is using the gf pasta, and I had baby bella mushrooms because I had them in the fridge.

Fettuccine Alfredo with Shiitake Mushrooms, Kale, and Sun-dried Tomatoes

From Chloe's Kitchen by Chloe Coscarelli
•1 pound fettuccine noodles
•2 tablespoons olive oil
•Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
•1 bunch kale, stems removed and chopped
•6 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and thinly sliced
•6 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and chopped

•Almond Alfredo Sauce, recipe follows

•1/4 bunch freshly parsley, leaves picked and roughly chopped

ALMOND ALFREDO SAUCE:
•1 cup raw almonds
•4 cups water, plus 2 cups water
•1 large yellow onion, roughly chopped
•2 tablespoons olive oil
•Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
•3 cloves garlic, minced
•1 teaspoon mellow white miso paste

Directions:
Cook the fettuccine according to the package directions.

In a large skillet, saute mushrooms in olive oil over medium-high heat. Season with salt and pepper and cook until they are soft and lightly browned.

Blanch and shock the kale so that it stays bright green. To do this, add the chopped kale into a pot of boiling salted water and stir for 15 seconds. Immediately drain and plunge the kale into ice water. Let it chill, then drain again.

Toss the fettuccine with the mushrooms, kale, sun-dried tomatoes, and Almond Alfredo Sauce. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley and serve hot.

For Almond Alfredo Sauce:
Heat about 4 cups water in a medium saucepot until boiling. Add the almonds to the boiling water and cook for 5 minutes. Drain the almonds, and with your fingers, peel the almonds and discard the skins.

In a large skillet, saute the onions with oil, salt, and pepper until soft and translucent. Add the garlic and let cook a few more minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Blend the skinless boiled almonds with 2 cups water until smooth, then strain through a colander lined with cheesecloth (a paper towel also works) set over a bowl or use a fine mesh sieve. Discard the solids. Return the almond milk to the blender and process with the onion mixture and miso. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Before use, heat the sauce over a very low flame until hot.

Until next time take time to stop and smell the flowers!

Celebrate it's Earth Day! Strawberry Chocolate Scones & Beetballs

Happy Earth Day! 

 Remember to celebrate our earth every day because we only have one.

Beetballs!  Can you get more earthy than this?

These incredible beetballs were found at Fat Free Vegan where you can find the recipe.

You don't have to be a beet lover to like these.  I was hesitant to try this recipe but once I added all of the   spices....I was shocked at how good these were.  I served them up with pasta and marinara. The next day they were added to a wrap.

Strawberry Chocolate Chip Scones.
These are as delicious as they look.
I wish I could take credit for the scone recipe because it is so good but I can't.  I found it last year on line on a blog called Vegan Bicyclinguist.  The scones are moist, unlike most scones, which make these so much better.  It's a great basic scone recipe to use and then you can change up what you would like to add to it.  I used spelt and then I left out the lemon zest for this recipe.

Enjoy the rest of this beautiful day!

Potato Leek Spinach Soup and a new GF Snack!

We've had so many issues with this laptop.  We need to send it in again for repair.  While it is somewhat working here we go!

            Happy Friday the 13th!

We woke up early this morning with very loud thunder and lots of lightening.  Our Ace dog came running in and jumped on our bed.  He's a big baby.  It's not even going to reach 60degrees out and it's April!  Oh well we need all the rain we can get.

There was a new GF snack on sale at our health food store so I thought we would give it a try.

Have any of you seen or tried Bhuja snack mixes before?  They are gluten free. These are quite good and have a multi grain noodles, crunchy chickpeas, green peas and peanuts in them.  I just wish the sodium was a bit lower but I can see these sprinkled on a salad or even mixed in with other gf crackers and pretzels.  These would be great to have out at a party.  Looking forward to trying some of the other mixes.

During a break in the rain on Wednesday I hit up the Farmers Market with a friend and bought some beautiful leeks and spinach to make this yummy Potato Leek Spinach Soup.  I don't usually make pureed soups but I've had pototo leek soup on my mind and I thought it would be nice to make it a bit healthier with some spinach.  Talk about an easy soup to make!  It can also be left chunky and just add the spinach at the end.

Potato Leek Spinach Soup
serves 4

INGREDIENTS:
1 T. extra virgin olive oil or water/vegetable broth
3 leeks, white and light green parts washed and sliced
1 large yellow onion(1 1/2 C.), chopped
4 cloves garlic,finely chopped or minced
3 large Yukon Gold potatoes (about 1 pound), peeled and cubed
5 cups vegetable stock
2 C. fresh spinach
1-2 tsp. fresh rosemary, minced
sea salt to taste

1. Heat a large pot over medium heat and add the oil or water/vegetable broth.

2. Add the leeks and onion.  I like to cover the pot with a lid for about 5-10min. which helps the onions soften quicker and also helps so the onions don't stick if only using water/broth.  Just check every couple of minutes and stir.

3. Add the garlic and stir well. Cook for 1 minute more.

4. Add the potatoes and vegetable stock, cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer. Cook 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

5.  Add in the rosemary and spinach for about a minute.

5. Remove the soup from the heat and use an immersion blender or if using a blender add a cup or so at a time. Blend until smooth.  Pour smooth soup back into the pot until just heated through.

The rosemary adds such a nice flavor to this soup.

Serve with grilled vegan cheese sandwich or baguette.

Enjoy!

Weekend wrap up!

Happy Monday!

It was a cozy weekend inside due to the cold weather, rain and hail.  Oh and there is snow on our mountains!  It's about time.

Keaton had a friend sleepover and instead of making pancakes for breakfast as usual I made them some coffee cake, fresh cut pineapple and cocoa.

The coffee cake is from The Joy of Vegan Baking by Colleen Patrick Goudreau.  I used a small 6 inch springform pan.

Yum!

St. Patricks Day Dinner this year was

Irish Stew.

Irish Stew

 Ingredients:
- 1T. Olive Oil
- 1 1/2 C. yellow or white onion,chopped
-  4 cloves garlic, finely chopped or minced
-  1 8oz. pkg West Soy Seitan*
- 1 T. cornstarch
- 1 12 oz. lager
- 1/2 C. red wine
- 4 lg carrots, chopped
- 5 yukon gold potatoes, chopped
- 1 T.thyme
- 1tsp fresh sage finely chopped or 1tsp dried.
- 2 bay leaves
-1 tsp. steak seasoning(this was in our pantry and I think added a nice flavor)
-2 tsp. vegan worcestershire sauce
-1 cube of low sodium vegetable bouillon or 2 C. veg broth
-water


1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Saute onions once soft add garlic for 1 more min. Add seitan and fry until it starts to brown.  Next sprinkle 1T. cornstarch and incorporate in.


2. Add lager and wine to the pot and cook uncovered, until liquid reduces a bit.

3. Add carrots, potatoes, spices, worcestershire sauce, 1 cube veggie bouillon(vegetable broth) and enough water to almost cover everything. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring to bubbling, cover, and simmer for at least 45mins, until veggies are soft. 

*Great Northern or cannelini beans would be a great replacement for the seitan as well as tempeh.  I didn't care much for the West Soy Seitan and would rather of used my own.

Irish Soda Bread which is so easy and quick to make.  It actually turned out great!  My son even said to me "you  made this?"  I guess he thought I had bought it.

*Just a quick note about the recipe.  I actually cut the recipe in half and only used spelt flour. 

Irish Soda Bread

Recipe by Vegan Dad (check out his blog)

INGREDIENTS

 1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
 1 tsp salt
 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
 2 tsp cream of tartar
 1 tsp sugar
 2 tbsp margarine
 1 1/2 cups soy milk
 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice


METHOD

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

1. Whisk flours, salt, baking soda, cream of tartar, and sugar together. Rub margarine into the flour until it resembles coarse bread crumbs. In a separate bowl, whisk soy milk and lemon juice together. Add to dry ingredients and mix together into a soft dough.

2. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead until smooth. Shape into a circle about 2 inches thick. Dust with extra flour and transfer to the baking sheet. Mark a cross in the top with the handle of a wooden spoon.

3. Bake for 40 mins, or until risen and firm.

Blog to you soon!