Vegan: Creamy dreamy balsamic dressing

Ever wanted to lick the plate clean after a salad? I have.....hello creamy dreamy balsamic dressing.

What you will need:

2 Tbs Nayonaise vegan (or regular mayo if you are non-vegan)
6 Tbs olive oil
3 Tbs Balsamic vinegar
1 Tsp Agave
pinch cayenne pepper
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

Combine ingredients in a jar or a squirt bottle like I used. Shake vigorously for a few minutes until a smooth light mocha coloured dressing is evenly blended. Alternatively you can use a small food processor using the pulse function.

Options:

Want different flavours like maple balsamic? - Add maple syrup instead of agave to sweeten. YUM!

Want to use as bread dipper- add more olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Just that easy folks.

**Notes**

What the heck is Nayonaise anyways? website- http://www.nasoya.com/products/original-nayonaise/original.html. I bought mine locally at Planet Organic, and you can also get it at AtlanticSuperStore.

Drink: Sweet and Spicy novel-tea

Better start licking your lips. This sweet and spicy drink will get your temperature up and best yet-Its VEGAN Yay.


What you will need:

250ml/1 cup-Organic Creme Earl Grey Tea Brewed (or chia or black tea or choice)
250 ml/1 cup mil substitue of choice (I love original unsweetened Almond Breeze)
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Agave syrop to taste
few drops organic vanilla extract (optional)
Tool: Milk frother (I just handheld about $15 to buy)
Clear glass (double-walled of with handles is recommended-thin glass gets HOT)
Garnish: Carob/raw sugar **Note** this will cause the fluffy steamed milk sub. to start sinking. So its helpful to put on just as you are about to enjoy.

This is what a hand frother looks like. 

Heat up your milk on the stove or (Shock the horror: in the microwave) and then pour into glass until its just over 1/4 way up the glass. Break out your handy-dandy milk frother and frother that puppy up until its super foamy on top.

Take a large spoon and pour hot brewed tea over the spoon against the side of the glass so the tea by-passes most of the milk froth, you will begin to see the hot tea layering in the middle of the glass between the hot milk and the frothy whipped top section. Continue pouring until froth reaches top of glass.

Then use spoon to spread milk froth to cover your entry hole where you were pouring the tea. Garnish with carob and cinnamon or raw sugar. Enjoy this brilliant little novel-tea.

Carob garnish YUM*

Entree Starter or Side: Candy Cane Beat salad with grilled veggies and goats cheese

Entrée, Starter or Side

Candy Cane Beat Salad with grilled veggies and goats cheese

What you will need:

4 medium sized candy cane beats (these guys are brilliantly pretty)

2 handfuls cheery tomatoes

Quarter white/Spanish onion sliced

1 green zucchini, peeled and thinly sliced

1 yellow zucchini, peeled and thinly sliced

Half a red bell pepper, cut into large chunks or slices

½ Bag of baby spinach

4 large medallions of goats cheese (disk shapes)

3 TBS Olive oil

1TBS cayenne pepper

Salt & Pepper to taste

Dressing of choice *(I used maple balsamic dressing)

Directions:

Scrub down beats with vegetable scrubber, or with clean wet rag. Cut off top and bottom of beat salvaging as much of the body as you can to slice. Slice beats in medium thickness disks so they will withstand boiling without falling apart.

Bring water in a soup pot to boil; just enough water to cover beats (using full pot of water just takes longer to boil and risks boiling over, and hello it’s wasteful!!! J) Add 1 TBS olive oil, Cayenne pepper and salt to taste into water. Boil beats until fork slides easily through flesh or el dente, (*I don’t like eating mushy food) drain away water and fill pot with cold water then set aside on counter or in sink so beats don’t continue to cook.

Heat up grill pan, BBQ, Oven or in my case Panini grill for grilling your veggies. Grill (BBQ or Bake; on baking sheet) onion, zucchini, and red bell pepper, adding 2 TBS olive oil so it won’t stick to Panini grill. Grill for aprox. 10 minutes until Zucchini are almost falling apart.

Arrange clean, dry baby spinach leaves in two pasta bowls or on plates, cut cherry tomatoes in half’s and arrange evenly on top of spinach. Arrange goats cheese medallions (as a whole disks or crumble), then top with warm grilled veggies, and finish with drained cooled beats slices. Finish with the dressing of your choice and pepper to taste.

Something so magical about these guys, like Dr. Seuss, or Willy Wanka invented them.

Layer warm veggies on top of your goats cheese; it melts and blankets your spinach to perfection!

YUM!!!!!

Appetizers, Crackers: Zesty Cheese crackers

 ZESTY CHEESE CRACKERS

What you will need:

1 cup butter

8 oz. pkg. Imperial Cheese (sharp cold pack cheddar cheese)

Dash of salt

¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

¼ tsp. cayenne pepper

2 tsp. Tabasco sauce

¼ tsp. worcestershire sauce (optional)

1 ½ cups flour

4 cups Rice Krispies

Directions:

Preheat oven at 350

In a large mixing bowl Cream butter and cheese together. Add seasonings.  Beat in flour (Or mix/crush by hand). Stir in Rice Krispies cereal.  Mix well. 

Shape mixture into pin pong ball sized balls. 

Press down with a fork or your finger, which has been dipped in cold water.  Bake at 350^o F (180^oC) for 15-20 minutes, until lightly browned.  Makes about 2 dozen.

  

Leftovers re-imagined: Vegetable Curry with White rice towers

Vegetable curry with white rice towers

 

What you will need:

Leftovers in this case vegetable curry (or stir fry, tofu, or anything you want to add rice and curry sauce to)

White, or brown or basmati rice (prepare rice by package instructions. My rice cooker took two measures of rice to four measures of water)

1 Cup Apple sauce

1 quarter or segment of white onion with root attached

2 TBS olive oil
1 TBS pure Ginger (from tube or jar)
1 TBS cilantro (dried, from tube or frozen shaker box)

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp coriander

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp cumin

2-3 bay leaves (remember to take these bad boys out before you are done)

4-6 fresh thyme sprigs

2-3 cups vegetable stock

½ cup white wine (optional)

Handy tool:

Cuisipro Scoop and Stack Ice Cream Scoop work on ice cream, shapes, cookies, tea biscuits, and YES EVEN RICE into compact towers. See 3^rd photo Credit: Cusipro.com

http://FrozenTreats.cuisipro.com/en/

http://www.amazon.com/Cuisipro-Scoop-Stack-Cream-Green/dp/B00152MIGQ

Quick tip:

If you are just starting to stock your pantry or spice cabinet and want a quick and dirty trick for Indian cooking pick up ‘Garam Masala’ – a mix of cinnamon, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, cardamom seeds, black peppercorns, cloves and nutmeg – a North Indian all spice of sorts. You won’t regret it! This singular spice mix could have substituted in here for most of the spices listed as one step. YAY for simplicity.

Directions:

Add oil to a sauce or soup pot and heat over medium heat. Add quarter of white onion (TIP: remove peel but keep part of root attached so it doesn’t separate, you want the onion flavor but not the actual onion, you will be taking this guy out when you remove the bay leaves)

After the onion has simmered in the oil for 2-ish minutes reduce heat add apple sauce, spices and mix together with white wine. Add vegetable stock gradually, sprigs of thyme and bay leaves.

Let sauce simmer 10 minutes.

Pre-heat plates or pasta bowls in microwave and unplug rice cooker or remove inner bowl. Heat up leftovers in microwave on high for 5-6 minutes. Use ice cream scoop or scoop and stack tool and arrange two balls or towers of rice per plate. Spoon leftover around or on top of rice.

Remove bay leaves, thyme springs and onion segment from sauce. Ladle or pour sauce over each plate of leftovers and rice. Garnish with basil or sprigs of thyme as seen in picture. Serve immediately. 

Dip: White bean, parmesan, and oven roasted garlic

White bean Dip

What you will need:

Whole head of garlic

16 oz Can of navy white beans

6 Tbs olive oil

1 Tbs sweetener (or sugar)

Salt and pepper to taste

2 tps Cayenne pepper

1 ½ cups Parmesan cheese

½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut top and bottom off garlic head; peel off skins and place cloves in tinfoil pouch drizzle with 2 Tbs olive oil season with salt and pepper. Bake for 25 minutes until golden brown and cloves fall apart with fork.

Rinse navy beans with cold water, drain and place in food processor. Add in roasted garlic, drizzle in remaining 4 Tbs olive oil. Add 2 tps cayenne pepper, sweetener and Parmesan cheese. Pulse on high for 3-5 minutes until mostly smooth.

Transfer mixture into casserole dish and mix in most of the cheddar cheese and sprinkle small amount on top. Bake for 10 minutes until top is bubbly

Serve with chips, crackers and cut vegetables. 

Appetizer or Side: Vegan cream cheese stuffed tomatoes

This recipe come from Canadian Living Magazine (Photo Credit: Canadian Living magazine)


Appetizer or Side

Vegan Cream Cheese stuffed tomatoes


Prep time: 5 minutes
cook time: 20-25
Skill level: Beginner to Intermediate 

What you will need
2 boxes cheery tomatoes

Vegan Cream Cheese full container

Spinach 2 cups frozen chopped

Roasted garlic 2-3 cloves whole (or sautéed in pan for 15 minutes)
1/2 tbs nutmeg 

Salt & pep to taste

Cayenne pepper to taste

Basil leaves to garnish

6 Tbs olive oil (2 in pan, 4 in blender/processor)

Directions:

Heat thick-bottomed pan or soup pot over medium heat.

Add with olive oil right away (it will spit at you if you add it to a hot pan)

Add garlic into pan sauté for 15 minutes or until soft.

Add in spinach, season with nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste

Fry for 6 minutes keeping things moving in the pan.

Prep food processor or blender

By drizzling 4 TBS olive oil along inside

Add whole container vegan cream cheese

Prep cherry tomatoes

Cut off ¼ of top off cheery tomato and scoop out insides

Tip: You can stand up in mini muffin tin to stuff or slice thin tip off bottom without piercing into hallowed out inside so the bottom is flat and they can stand up on a baking sheet

Take pan/pot off heat and add hot contents directly on top of cream cheese in food processor.

Blend or mix for 3 minutes pulsing button until garlic cloves are chopped and blended into mixture.

Spoon mixture into tomatoes or use pastry or sandwich bag to pipe mixture in.

Garnish with single basil leave and serve right away.

Note: this recipe can be prepared in advance and chilled in fridge for up to 2 days before dinner party or kept in the fridge for easy snack.