Crock-Pot Oatmeal

14 Dec 2009 7 Comments

by marisashealthykitchen in Home Cooking, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

I know you had all heard me profess my new-found love for breakfast but I haven’t posted one in a while. For the last couple of weeks I have been making Crock-Pot Oatmeal. As you know I am always cooking up a storm in my kitchen, so to have this one be super easy really takes the pressure of breakfast off me 🙂 What I do is throw all the ingredients in the crock pot on sunday, let it do its thing and then refrigerate them in perfect portions for the week. Love it! This really couldn’t be easier and there are so many versions to play with! The one below is this week’s breakfast but I will list addition as well.

Crock-Pot Oatmeal

1 cup of steel-cut oats
1/2 cup quinoa
1/2 brown rice
5 cups water
1/3 cup raisins
1/2 – 1 teaspoon salt, to taste
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup agave

In a crock-pot, combine the oats, quinoa, rice, water, raisins and salt. Turn on high for 2.5 hours or slow for 6 hours. About 1.5 hours in, stir and recover. Once the oatmeal is finished cooking add the sweeteners of your choice. Enjoy 🙂

Additions or substitutions

  • apples, chopped (before cooking for baked apples or after for crisp apples)
  • dried fruits (goji berries, cranberries, chopped figs, etc. )
  • berries (after cooking)
  • other grains (wheat berries, barley, buckwheat, cornmeal, etc)
  • sweeteners (honey, stevia, date sugar, etc.)

Cocoa V: New NYC Vegan Chocolate Bar!

09 Dec 2009 9 Comments

by marisashealthykitchen in In the News, New York Highlights Tags: , , , , , ,

OMG!! I am going to be all over this! Thank you NY TIMES!! How fabulous! Stay tuned……

For Vegans, Sweets of Their Own

By FLORENCE FABRICANT
Published: December 1, 2009

Vegans, who avoid all animal products, must read the fine print when it comes to chocolate because even the darkest bittersweet may contain milk solids. Pamela Blackwell, above, an owner of the vegan restaurants Blossom in Chelsea and Blossom Cafe on the Upper West Side, has given them a place, Cocoa V, to ease their concerns: two narrow brick-walled spaces, one a vegan dessert and wine bar and, next door, a shop.

Chester Higgins Jr./The New York Times

The chocolates created by Patrick Coston, her pastry chef, are made with organic cocoa, cocoa butter, soy lecithin and sugar or agave syrup. They are dark, smooth and intense. In the wine bar, which is outfitted with low tables, chocolates, brownies and savories like dairy-free “cheeses,” quiche and tea sandwiches are served with wines, coffee, tea and satisfyingly intense hot chocolate. The store also sells the sweets, including bonbons for $2.75 each, and pastries.

Cocoa V, 174 Ninth Avenue (21st Street), (212) 242-3339.

Butterscotch Smoothie

08 Dec 2009 6 Comments

by marisashealthykitchen in Cleansing, Raw Desserts and Treats, Raw Vegan Recipes, Superfoods, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Butterscotch Smoothie anyone? OMG! This was so good! Non-green smoothies are rare in my house and normally a weekend treat. This one is perfect for a treat anytime though! SO good! Mesquite is always a great addition. If you have never had it before I would definitely suggest this sweet, butterscotch tasting powder that is made from ground mesquite pods. Check it out here.

Plus they match the wood 🙂

Butterscotch Smoothie

4 large ripe bananas (I used some frozen and some ripe)
1 ½ cups water
4-6 dates
1 tablespoons of agave nectar
2 heaping tablespoons mesquite powder

Also the best thing about this smoothie, is you just put everything in the blender and blend away! You can add more mesquite or sweetener to taste.

Cauliflower Mash

06 Dec 2009 5 Comments

by marisashealthykitchen in Home Cooking, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: , , , , , ,

We love cauliflower mash in my house. It is so good yet so much healthier than mashed potatoes. Plus check out the gorgeous Yellow Citrus Cauliflower I picked up from Satur Farms, so fabulous! That really made this batch so special. I know people have been making this dish for years, but it is just so satisfying and always a great side dish.  Instead of margarine or butter I normally use Brummel and Brummel All Natural Yogurt Spread and I love it! Click on the link and see how great the stats are compared to regular butter or margarine. I also use almond or soy milk instead of whipping cream. Of course whipping cream would make this sinfully great, but my version is still pretty amazing!

Note: Now that I am completely vegan – I used Earth Balance instead of Yogurt Spread

Cauliflower Mash

1-2 heads cauliflower, trimmed
sea salt
1/4 cup whipping cream, soy milk, almond milk or regular milk (or more to taste)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter or margarine (or less, to save on calories) – I use Earth Balance

Cut the cauliflower, including the core, into large pieces/ Use a steamer to cook the cauliflower till they are tender, 15-20 minutes. Transfer the cauliflower to a food processor or Vita-mix. Add the liquid and butter and puree until completely smooth. Season to taste with salt.

Dina’s Chili-lime Ginger Tofu in Coconut Basil Broth with Rice Noodles

02 Dec 2009 5 Comments

by marisashealthykitchen in Home Cooking, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

My fabulous girlfriend Dina sent me the most deelish and simple recipe recently. I made it and was beyond delighted. I am already thinking about making it again soon. It was really quick and I had almost all the ingredients in my house already. This was just so tasty! I used wide noodles which took about 10 minutes to cook. It came out with the most delicious, thick, coconuty sauce! If you use thin noodles, it might need less cooking time and turn out more brothy. I had sliced the yam with a mandolin so it was super thin and broke up during cooking which just added to the thickness of the sauce.  We do not normally eat that much tofu in our house, but Michael and I agreed that this was the best we ever had it prepared, it was so good!

Dina’s Chili-lime Ginger Tofu in Coconut Basil Broth with Rice Noodle

2 cups veggie broth
1 can light coconut milk
1 cup coconut water (or more veggie broth/coconut milk)
Fresh basil, chopped
1 yam, peeled and slice thin
rice noodles
2 tsp safflower, grapeseed or another neutral oil
1 block tofu, cubed
Soy sauce or tamari, to taste
fresh ginger, grated
juice and zest from 1 lime
red pepper flakes
sriracha sauce.

Combine the veggie broth, coconut milk and coconut water in a saucepan over medium heat. Next add basil and the yam and bring to a boil. Cover and let simmer until the potatoes were tender. Add the rice noodles and cook till soft, 3-7 minutes.

Pour the oil in saute pan over medium heat and add the tofu. Hit it with some soy sauce, ginger, lime zest, lime juice, red pepper flakes and sriracha sauce. Saute until  nice crust forms on tofu.

Combine broth, noodles and tofu in a bowl. As Dina says, “Holy guacamole!!!!!!!! Try it! You’ll never do Thai takeout again!!”

Raw Corn Chowder II

01 Dec 2009 4 Comments

by marisashealthykitchen in Raw Vegan Recipes, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: , , , , , , ,

Here is another version of a deelish corn soup. This one is simpler but still super good! So easy, so creamy and good! This is best in the summer with fresh corn. This was the last of the fresh corn that I am using till next season 😦 Oh well, many fun winter recipes to come! Check out my other Raw Corn Chowder. 🙂

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Raw Corn Chowder II

3 ears of sweet corn
3/4 cup walnuts
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves of garlic
1 tsp sea salt
2 cup water
2 avocados, diced
ground pepper to taste

Set aside 1 cup of corn and avocado. Blend the corn, walnuts, oil, garlic, salt, and water. Pour the soup into bowls and top with avocado and corn. Ground fresh pepper on top and serve. Enjoy 🙂

Buckwheat Apple Cinnamon Cookies

30 Nov 2009 1 Comment

by marisashealthykitchen in Raw Desserts and Treats, Raw Vegan Recipes Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

More Apple Cookies 🙂 I am on a kick here. These were great! They had a bunch of ingredients and made a little more than I wanted, but since when do I complain about too much of a good thing?!?! It was a little hard to work with all these ingredients in the food processor. I would suggest processing all the dry ingredients and then pouring that mixture into a large bowl. Then adding the wet ingredients to the processor and then combining dy and wet together…that would simplify matters. But either way I am sure you would be happy with the results. These are good!

Buckwheat Apple Cinnamon Cookies
Recipe from The Sunny Raw Kitchen
makes a big batch of cookies

1 1/2 cups soaked almonds
1 1 /2 cups soaked buckwheat
2 cups apples, peeled and roughly chopped
1 cup dates, soaked
3/4 cup dried coconut
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup agave nectar (or to taste)
1/4 cup liquid vanilla
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup ground oats
1/4 cup ground flax
1 tbs cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup oat flakes

Mix all ingredients except oat flakes in a food processor until well incorporated. (You may need to do this in more than one batch!)

Transfer batter to a large bowl and mix in the oat flakes by hand.

Drop by the spoonful directly onto a dehydrator mesh and flatten with a spatula or a glass. (Mine were about 1/3″ thick.)

Dehydrate overnight at 110.

Fabulous Pot-Luck part 2

24 Nov 2009 10 Comments

by marisashealthykitchen in Home Cooking, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

After enjoying plenty of wine and Judith’s Amazing Fig and Goat Cheese Bruschettait was time to sit and enjoy the main course. I made 3 dishes for our pot-luck; a Chestnut and Mushroom Pâté en Croûte, an updated version of my Fresh Summer Bruschetta Pasta, and my go-to brussel sprout recipe. I must say, that everything turned out deelish 🙂

To see the recipe for my Fresh Summer Bruschetta Pasta click on the link. The only differences were that I used red onion instead of shallots and fresh ricotta instead of goat cheese. I also doubled this recipe which could have fed 10+ people! The fresh ricotta was an amazing addition. Mixing it with the hot, fresh pasta made the cheese melt right into it and it was soo good! Because I had doubled the recipe we had tons of leftovers! Good thing Michael really enjoys this dish 🙂

For the side dish I made my go-to brussel sprout recipe. It was inspired around my Aunt Carole and Aunt Joanne’s brussel sprouts. I am so lucky to come from an amazing family full of fabulously talented women! This dish would make a person who thought they hated brussel sprouts a true believer! They are super tasty and so good for you!

I have never written down this recipe so all my measurements are approximates.

For the other entree I made a Chestnut and Mushroom Pâté en Croûte! mmmm! I first made this a few years back when Michael and I were just dating. It is still a main concern of mine to make the most scrumptious food out there, but of course when you are dating you want to really impress! This is an exceptional entree or side dish that is so deeeeelish! Yummy filling and puff pastry, how can you really go wrong? You can play with the filling, for instance if you aren’t into mushrooms just leave them out or substitue some cauliflower or cooked potatoes. This is a luscious and playful dish, have fun with it 🙂 If you want to keep it 100% vegan use soy milk to brush on top of the pastry to get that gorgeous shine instead of an egg wash. (1 egg mixed with a tablespoon of water)

I had a little trouble cutting it, but it was still amazing!

Brussel Sprouts with toasted Pine Nuts

2 pints of brussel sprouts, cleaned and trimmed, quartered
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup toasted pine nuts
onions (optional)
salt to taste

In a large pot saute the brussel sprouts with the olive oil and garlic for 5-10 minutes. They will turn bright green and gorgeous! Add in the pine nuts and salt to taste. Enjoy!

*the cooking time depends on if you like your brussel sprouts crispy or cooked through, taste as you cook to tell.

*sometimes I saute some onions beforehand and put them in with the brussel sprouts, always delicious!

*to toast the pine nuts; pour onto a baking sheet and toast in 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes, being careful that they do not burn.

Chestnut and Mushroom Pâté en Croûte
serves 4-6

2 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2/3 cup button mushrooms, chopped
1 cup red wine
2 cups canned chestnuts, pureed
1 1/2 cups fresh breadcrumbs
salt and pepper to taste
1 lb frozen puff pastry, defrosted
soy milk or egg wash

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Heat the oil in a large pot, add onions and cook for 10 minutes, stirring. Add garlic and mushrooms and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add wine and cook for 2-5 minutes until most of the liquid has reduced. Remove the pan from heat and add in the chestnuts, breadcrumbs and salt and pepper to taste. Let cool.

Roll out the pastry dough into 2 strips. The first should be around 6x12in and the other 9x12in. Place the first strip onto a baking sheet which has been sprayed with cooking spray or water. Spread the chestnut mixture over the pastry, leaving a 1cm gap around the edge. Form the mixture into a neat loaf. Brush the edges with water and lay the 2nd piece of pastry on top. Press the edges down to seal and trim. Make a few steam holes with a fork and brush with soy milk or egg wash.

Bake for 8 minutes and reduce heat to 400degrees and bake for a further 20-25 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown. Serve immediately and enjoy!!

Oats and Chia

23 Nov 2009 3 Comments

by marisashealthykitchen in Raw Vegan Recipes, Superfoods, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

More oats and chia 🙂 This was great because it was raw and still included oats. Having the oats become saturated by the almond milk overnight really worked! I added a few drops of stevia for some sweetness and raspberries because they are my fave. Yum!

Oats and Chia
serves 2-3

1 cups thick rolled oats (raw if you can find them)
1 cup almond milk, plus more for serving
1 1/2 tablespoon chia seeds
pinch of cinnamon
berries
stevia and/or agave to taste

I am medium bowl place the oats, chia and connamon. Add the almond milk and stir well. Let sit for 10 minutes and stir well again. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
In the morning stir again and then top with berries, stevia and/or agave for some sweetness.

Baked Sweet Potato with Cinnamon & Coconut Butter

18 Nov 2009 3 Comments

by marisashealthykitchen in Home Cooking, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Veggie Girl is awesome and always has great recipes and insights on her blog. Here is her latest snack obsession that I loved as well!! My mother-in-law has always told me that she loves to eat sweet potatoes and once I saw this recipe I decided to take the plunge 🙂 (I have had them before, but not a regular staple in my life) It was awesome!! Plus coconut butter is so delightful, always!! haha This was a sweet and satisfying meal that I am sure I will have many times! It can be breakfast, a snack, lunch or a side for dinner. Try it out, so simple and deelish! Thanks Veggie Girl 🙂

IMG_2758

Baked Sweet Potato with Cinnamon & Coconut Butter

1-2 sweet potatoes
1-2 tablespoons Coconut Butter (Just like Veggie Girl, I highly recommend the Artisana brand of coconut butter. It is by far the best out there ever!!)
Cinnamon to taste
Dash of salt

Bake the sweet potatoes at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes. Cut open and add coconut butter, cinnamon and salt. Enjoy!!!

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