Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Last week my boyfriend's best friend, Chris, got a job promotion. Every time I see Chris he asks me if I baked him anything. I don't usually... but given the circumstances of a promotion I felt like cookies were in order. I called Erica, my right hand lady when it comes to baking, and asked her for a peanut butter cookie recipe. We decided on a more 'classic' peanut butter cookie- rich, with a slight crunch around the edges, and some chocolate chips thrown into the mix. I went over to Erica's, peanut butter in hand, with every intention of making these cookies. But within three seconds flat she had all the ingredients in a bowl and I quickly knew my place in this kitchen, off to the side. I did, however, slightly flatten each cookie before baking, which is a crucial step in the cookie making process. No flattening=no cookies.

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons unsweetened plain almond milk
2 tablespoons ground flax seed
1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups + 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 heaping cup sugar
1 1/4 cup natural creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup unrefined coconut oil, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon agave
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips + extra  (Ghirardelli semi sweet chips are vegan but the bitter sweet are not)

Preheat your oven to 350 F

In a small bowl whisk together the flax, plant-based milk and vinegar. Allow it to sit for ten minutes so the mixture thickens and curdles a bit. This will act as the egg replacer.

Whisk together the dry ingredients in a separate medium sized bowl: flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt until well incorporated.

In another bowl whisk together the sugar, peanut butter, coconut oil. Once well incorporated mix the flax meal contents into the bowl along with the vanilla and agave. Slowly add in the flour mixture, using clean hands mix to incorporate as the forming dough will become pretty thick. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Prepare a large baking sheet by spraying it with non stick spray.

Form the dough into 1 inch balls that are slightly flattened, about 2 inches apart from one another. Press a few chocolate chips into the tops of each flattened cookie and bake for 15-17 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through.

Makes between 2-3 dozen

Recipe adapted from Vegan Baking

Roasted Carrots with Carrot Top Pesto

Erica, Shaun, and I went to the farmers market the other day to check out some beautiful, fresh, local, organic produce. I stumbled upon these gorgeous red carrots that were shades of yellow and orange on the inside. They had these massive tops to them and I knew I had to figure out a way to cook them. Throwing away all that nutrition would be blasphemy. I asked the farmer who sold them to me what he did with them and he said he once made a pesto using the tops. It was like music to my ears. I would roast the carrots and top them with a carrot top pesto. It turned out absolutely amazing! Never again will I be throwing away carrot tops.

1 large bunch of carrots with tops
1-2 tablespoons of light olive oil, for roasting
1/4 cup basil
3 tablespoons macadamia nuts
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 garlic clove
1/2 cup light olive oil, for pesto
Salt and pepper, to taste

Erica and I at the market, it's amazing we didn't melt in the heat.

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Wash the carrots and remove the tops, making sure to save them. Cut the carrots into even segments. I left a little bit of the tops on the carrots to make the dish appear more rustic but the tops became brittle in the oven so I suggest just removing the tops completely.

Prepare a baking dish by spraying it with non stick cooking spray. Toss the carrots in the oil set aside for roasting and bake until fork tender, about 25 minutes.

In the meantime, prepare the pesto. Add roughly 1 1/2 cups of reserved carrot tops to the food processor along with the basil, macadamia nuts, yeast, garlic- blend. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil, continuing to blend until all the ingredients are well incorporated and somewhat sauce-like. Taste and add salt and pepper to your liking.

Once the carrots are tender, arrange them on a dish and spoon the pesto over top. Serve warm.

Stuffed Bell Peppers

I had two green peppers in the fridge, a box of mushrooms, and not much else. This was very a much a 'throw-something-together-and-lets-hope-it-works' meal. I made it for my family quickly and ran out of the door as I had plans for the night. Several hours later I received a text from my mom saying 'dinner was awesome!'. I was elated since I always struggled with turning bell peppers into an enjoyable meal. Not only is it up to par in the taste category but it is insanely easy to throw together too.

 2 green bell peppers
1/2 cup quinoa
1 cup vegetable broth
1 box white button mushrooms
2 tablespoons braggs liquid aminos/soy sauce/ tamari
1 teaspoon Montreal steak seasoning
1 cup steamed broccoli (you can sub this for any other leftover veggie you have in your fridge)
1/4 cup diaya cheese + extra
Small bundle of scallions

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Halve the bell peppers, removing the seeds. Place in a small casserole dish that has been sprayed with non stick spray.

Rinse quinoa until water runs clear, then add it to a pot along with the broth and bring it to a boil. Cover and reduce head to a simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the water is absorbed. Remove from heat and allow to rest for 5 minutes.

While the quinoa is cooking quarter the mushrooms. Saute them in a pan with a little olive oil until they let out all their liquids and start to shrink down in size. Add in the liquid aminos and steak seasoning, continue to saute until tender. Remove from heat and place the mushrooms in a large bowl.

Cut the steamed broccoli into bite sized pieces and add them to the bowl with the mushrooms.

Dice the scallions and saute for 2 minutes, then add to the bowl with the mushrooms and broccoli. Toss in the diaya cheddar and the quinoa once it is done cooking. Stir the contents of the bowl until fully incorporated, then spoon into the bell pepper halves.

Bake for 55 minutes, until the peppers are tender. Sprinkle a little more diaya cheddar over top and broil for 1-2 minutes before serving.

Vegetable Lasagna with Lemon Basil Cashew Cheese

Over the past year I've made this a few times for my family since it's easy to throw together, makes a ton of food, and everyone always enjoys it. Not long ago I passed the recipe onto a friend who also had huge success with this lasagna. I finally decided to post it after giving a slice to another one of my good friends, Diego, and received nothing but rave reviews in return.

Lasagna:
1 box of bake-ready lasagna sheets
1 large jar of tomato basil sauce
Olive oil or coconut oil
2 medium zucchini
1 medium yellow squash
1 large spring onion, bulb and greens (or a regular onion if you don't have a spring onion)
2 garlic cloves
1/2 cup frozen spinach (or fresh, I happened to have frozen on hand)

Lemon Basil Cashew Cheese:
1 cup raw cashews
2 garlic cloves
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup water, or more as needed
3/4 cup fresh basil leaves, lightly packed
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
Pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Cut the zucchini and the yellow squash into thin half moons. Saute in a pan with some olive oil or coconut oil until tender. Set aside in a bowl.

Saute the onion and garlic in some olive oil or coconut oil for 2-3 minutes, until almost translucent and fragrant. Set aside in a seperate bowl from the sqaush.

Saute the spinach until all the water has cooked out, add it to the same bowl as the onion and garlic and stir until the three ingredients are well incorporated.

In a food processor add the ingredients for the cheese and pulse until smooth.

Prepare a casserole dish by spreading 1 cup of sauce on the bottom of the dish, adding your layer of lasagna noodles. Spoon over some squash and sauce, followed by a layer of noodles. Next layer on the cheese and onion-spinach mixture, followed by noodles. Repeat until you're out of ingredients. Top the last layer of noodles with sauce.

Bake for 45 minutes with a cover or tin foil, then remove foil and broil for 2-3 minutes if you like the top noodles a little crunchy. Let sit for 15 minutes before serving. And if you're into nutritional yeast as much as I am you can dust each piece with a little bit of it.

Chikun Bruschetta Sandwich (Replicated from Ethos Vegan Kitchen)

I spent the better part of April in Georgia attending a Vipassana meditation course which explains my absence from this blog. I've honestly been absent in all aspects of my life, as the course did not allow for any technology, cell phones, or human contact. To put it simply, I've been off the grid. But now that I'm back I've been dying to blog.

On the way home from Georgia I stopped in Orlando to visit my childhood best friend, Danielle. We went to Ethos Vegan Kitchen to catch up a bit. If you've never been to Ethos, plan a trip. That restaurant alone is worth the drive. It is by far my favorite vegan restaurant. It tops Sublime and Darbster by a long shot. Dani and I split the Chikun Brushetta Sandwich to start off with, something I wouldn't normally order but trusted Danielle's judgement. Holy Shit. That sandwich. Extraordianry. I came home and immediately replicated it. It was super easy to recreate and was a huge hit with my family- who are, in case you were wondering, still alive. I thought for sure they would have starved to death in my abscense, but somehow managed to live. Next time they complain that me leaving them will result in their starvation I'll keep this in mind.

Chickun Bruschetta Sandwich from Ethos

Recreated version which honestly tasted spot on!

4 pieces of thick sliced bread
2 Gardein Chick'n Scallopini (found at Whole Foods in the freezer section)
Follow Your Heart Mozzarella cheese alternative block (found in the cheese section at Whole Foods)
Lettuce, just a few pieces
1 extra large tomato
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup basil, chiffonade (cut into little ribbons)
2 tablespoons aged balsamic vinegar (the longer it is aged the sweeter it is)
2 tablespoons light olive oil


Dice the tomato into little cubes and place in a bowl along with the minced garlic, chiffonade basil, vinegar, and olive oil. Place in fridge and allow for flavors to marinate. Take 1/3 of the block of Mozzarella and dice the cheese into 1/2 inch cubes, set aside.

Drizzle a tiny bit of olive oil over the bread and toast until crispy. Prepare the Gardein Chick'n according to package instructions.

Assemble: Lay down a couple pieces of lettuce over the bread, then top with bruschetta and cubes of Mozzarella cheese. Drizzle a little bit of the bruschetta sauce over top. Place a piece of Chick'n over top and finish it with another piece of bread. Serve warm.

*I made two sandwiches and cut them in half to serve four.

*I layered my bruschetta and cheese last, which made it harder to eat. I recommend layering them first, then adding the chicken to the top before finishing it off with a slice of bread. 

Maple Spiced Roasted Carrots

A friend of mine always brings cinnamon roasted carrots to class and they're always so delish. I added my own spin to these with a little ginger and maple. This dish takes just a couple minutes to throw together and is always well enjoyed.

1 bunch of carrots, peeled and cut into thin rounds
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger
2 tablespoons refined coconut oil
2 tablespoons maple syrup 

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Prepare a baking sheet by spraying it with nonstick spray. Melt the coconut oil if it's not already liquid (in South Florida, it's usually always liquid at room temp). In a bowl toss the carrots in the spices, coconut oil, and maple. Spread on the prepared baking sheet and bake until the carrots are fork tender, roughly 20 minutes.

Recipe inspired by Olivia Gold

White Bean Curry with Collards and Sweet Potatoes

This is dish warming, hearty, easy to throw together and delicious. It has the perfect combination of protein, greens, starch, and is topped with a fresh avocado mango salsa. I packed away this little container for my friend, Erica, who gobbled it up and then harassed me via text message for more. By her reaction it's safe to say this dish was a hit.

 

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1 red onion, thinly sliced
2 jalapenos, seeded and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon fresh minced ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons mild curry powder
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon agave
3 cups vegetable broth
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch chunks
1 pound collard greens, deribbed, leaves chopped into bite sized pieces
1 cup coconut milk
1 15 oz BPA free can of white beans (I used northern beans, but whatever you prefer will work)

For the Mango Avocado Salsa:
1 ripe avocado, diced
1 ripe mango, diced
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Optional:
Basmati rice, to serve curry over  

In a large stock pot over medium heat saute the onion and jalapeno in coconut oil for 5 minutes, until the onion is slightly browned. Add in the garlic and ginger and saute another 30 seconds. Add in the curry, garam masala, salt, vegetable broth, agave, tomato paste, and stir to combine. Add in the potatoes, cover pot and bring to a boil, lower to a simmer and leave the lid ajar. Simmer until the potatoes are fork tender, about 4-5 minutes.

In the meantime, toss the avocado, mango, and lime juice in a small bowl, set aside.

Once potatoes are fork tender add the collards, beans, and coconut milk. Stir to incorporate, the greens will shrink down quite a bit so don't worry if they don't all fit at once. Leave lid ajar again and bring back to a simmer. Let simmer just until collards are tender, it should only take a few minutes.

You can serve it over rice or just eat this in a bowl with a spoon. Before serving top with some mango avocado salsa.

Recipe adapted from The Post Punk Kitchen