Tropical Island coconut cake

Its been awhile since my last post, getting back into the swing of things after the holidays has been a bit of a struggle. We are starting the renovations to our home this week including the kitchen. I am not sure what to expect as I have never done anything like this before. I am assuming that my kitchen will have limited use for the next few months. Perhaps a few more raw recipes :P

Edward and Sons sent me another box of goodies to try out, including a bag of organic coconut flour. I have never worked with it before, so I was sort of unsure of how to use it. When I opened the bag I got lost in the sweet smell of coconut. The flour has a course powdery texture. It is also gluten free but because my family and I are not sensitive to gluten I cut it with all purpose flour.  They also sent me organic coconut flakes, which are crazy good! I toasted them a little for the topping and "glued" them on with this coconut spread I picked up in Quebec. Spread some blueberry jam in the middle  and made a quick blueberry sauce and put it all together to get this....

Coconut Cake Recipe

2 cups flour
3/4 cup Coconut flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/3 cup canola oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cup soy milk

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Mix well.
Pour into a greased pan ( I used a round 8)
Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until the knife comes out clean.

Granola bars

 

My daughters both love granola bars and its hard to find vegan granola bars at the store, I decided to try and make them...These turned out pretty good, except that I wish I added a bit more maple syrup and almond butter.

2 cups old fashion oats

1 cup wheat germ

3/4 cup coconut

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup sunflower seeds

1/2 cup ground flax seeds

1/2 cup dark chocolate chunks

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup chopped almonds

1 1/4 cup applesauce

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/3 cup coconut oil-melted

1 tbsp vanilla 

Preheat oven to 350

Add wet to dry, stir until well combined.

Line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper

press mixture firmly down. 

Bake for 25 minutes.

Cut while still warm. 

Let cool

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Coconut banana flax waffles

It is my daughters 14th birthday, and we are celebrating this morning with waffles! She loves pancakes, but I thought it would be fun to dust off the waffle machine ( I haven't used it for years). I am planning on making some owl cupcakes for her...check them out at happy vegan face.

I am loving all the new blogs I am discovering because of Vegan MOFO. There is so many recipes that I can't wait to try. It is challenging trying to post something everyday, but it is also fun trying to come up with recipes.

I had a poll on my blog asking my readers what they would like to see/read more of? Kid friendly was voted for the most, so that is what my goal is for a little bit trying to  making fun vegan food for kids.

1/2 ripe banana-mushed
1 cup non-dairy milk ( I used rice)
2 tbsp coconut oil melted + 1 tbsp for brushing on waffle maker
1 tbsp ground flax seed- mixed with 3 tbsp boiling hot water

1 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Mix up wet add to dry.
Use waffle machine according to direction.
Brush a some melted coconut oil on the griddle before adding the batter.

Summer strawberry cream pie

I love summer...especially love the fruit it brings. There is always a special place in my stomach for strawberries :P This year I am going to take the girls to the berry farm, and pick some. Last year we went blueberry picking, we enjoyed ourselves...17 pounds later.

Its been a pretty nice June for us here in Nova Scotia, sunshine one day and fog the next :P I am at the Hubbard's Barn Farmers Market again tomorrow, selling my vegan goodies.What better to celebrate summer then fresh local strawberries!

I picked up a couple of baskets and at first I was thinking strawberry muffins, keeping in mind that the market is a morning thing,and then I thought why not make mini-pies or tarts?

I made the pie crust with vegetable shortening. The filling is similar to my coconut banana cream pie, but this time I used half almond milk, half coconut milk.  Sliced the fresh strawberries, and arranged them nicely. TA-DA! Done :)

I still have a basket of strawberries left....muffins?

Sweet Potato & Tamarind Curry with Basmati rice

It been almost a week since my last post, both my daughters have been very sick with the flu :( I feel so helpless at times. I know I just have to give them lots of love and fluids.

This week I have slacked a bit on the kitchen duties.
I have been cooking the really quick dinners. You know the kind, BLT's, spaghetti, soup, etc.

Tonight I made a quick curry...one of my favorite comfort foods. I luv'it!!
I wish I had more experience in Indian cooking, maybe if I return to the restaurant industry, I would love to try my hand in a professional Indian kitchen.

I used the tamarind I bought a while back. I remember my first experience using it. I just added it, and ended up with a crunchy-seedy curry. Not the best. So this time I soaked a chunk of it in a little water and loosened the seeds. Drained it and added it to the curry. It has a sweet and sour taste, I think it gives the curry more "umpf".

I also have some exciting news...but I can't divulge it quite yet ;) I will know more as the week progresses. hehehe

2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion-sliced
3 cloves garlic-minced
1 tbsp fresh ginger-minced
1 tbsp cumin powder
1 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp curry powder
1/4 tsp allspice
2 tbsp fennel seeds- toasted and crushed
1 can coconut milk
1 can water
3 tbsp tamarind paste- soaked in 1/4 cup water-drained
1 cup cooked chickpeas
1 green pepper-chopped
2 tsp cane sugar
2 tsp sea salt
freshly ground pepper

In a large saute pan heat pan on medium high heat, add oil.
Add onions and saute for 3-4 minutes until soft. Add garlic and ginger.
Add spices and stir around until no longer powdery.
Add potato, stir to cover with spices.
Add coconut milk and water. Bring to a boil. Let simmer for 5 minutes
Add chickpeas and tamarind. Season with sugar,salt and pepper.

Coconut Banana Cream Pie

Ever since I became vegan I have dreamed about making this pie. I am a dessert lover... chocolate, strawberries, cookies, pastry, cake, you name it. I love it! This morning I really wanted to make something sweet and for some reason I couldn't stop thinking about this pie.

I looked in my fridge but I was out of vegetable shortening and since its a holiday, making a trip to the store was out of the question. The other week I got a huge jar of coconut oil in the mail, from Tropical Traditions, and like I said I have never really worked with it before.  It has the similar consistency of vegetable shortening, I decided to make the pie crust with it. It turned out perfect, flaky and the smell of coconut wafted throughout the house.

The filling is similar to a vanilla pudding with a hint of cardamom. I just bought a packet of agar agar that I found at an Asian grocery store the other week. Which helps to set it.

Crust

1 cup flour
1/3 cup coconut oil
1/2 tsp salt
6- 8 tbsp water

In a large bowl combine flour and salt. With two knifes (or a pastry cutter) blend the coconut oil into the flour until it resembles course sand. Add the water little at a time until it is easy to squish into a ball. Don't over work the dough or it will be tough when cooked.
Bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes

Filling

1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup cane sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp agar agar powder
2 cups soy milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp cardamom

In a sauce pan, mix together dry ingredients. On medium high heat, add soy milk, 1 cup at a time and whisk until thickens (usually takes about 6-10 minutes) If you get clumps whisk harder. Stir in vanilla and cardamom. Allow to slightly cool before adding it to pre baked pie crust.

To make the pie: Slice bananas (2) and arrange on the pie crust, pour filling over top.
For the top of the pie: Slice banana (1) and squeeze lemon juice over and sprinkle with sugar, arrange on top of the pie. Crush peanuts and a chocolate drizzle makes it even better!

Red Lentil Curry

This is was my night off so to speak, I don't normally use prepackaged food but when I do, I try and get the least amount of weird stuff listed in the ingredients. Being a vegan it is difficult to find these types of foods so when I do I am stoked!  I have experimented with Asian Home Gourmet products a few times the ones that I have tried are spice pastes. This is the first time I used red lentils and the family had seconds! I added a lot more coconut milk then the recipe called for (a full can), added a bay leaf,  cinnamon stick (broken), chopped fresh tomato, red wine vinegar, and a sea salt.  I also added peas, the little ones favorite:)

This is what I did:

Melted 1 tbsp of earth balance in a pot, add sliced onions, sauteed until very soft, added the spice package(that is all this product is, and oily spice).  2/3 of a cup of rinsed red lentils (until the water runs clear),
added 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup of coconut milk, bay leaf, and the broken cinnamon stick. Brought to a boil, added more coconut milk. Simmered until lentils were cooked (almost to a mush), added the vinegar, seasoned to taste, and added 1 cup of frozen peas & fresh chopped cilantro.
Served it with basmati rice.

Coconut Chocolate Macaroons

The good  folks at Tropical Traditions sent me a big jar of  Virgin Coconut Oil to sample. When the mail person delivered it to my door this morning I quickly opened the box, then the jar... took a sniff and stuck my finger into the thick coconut goop, tasted it YUM!

I love coconut, but I have never worked with coconut oil before. It sort of  reminds me of sun tan lotion:P  This is my first recipe. I wanted to keep that amazing coconut flavor. Rummaged through my cupboards and decided to make coconut macaroons, with a little chocolate flare:P  This is not to be mistaken for the french macaron, that I have been seeing all over the blog world.  Which is probably why I made these...subliminal messaging (must make macaron:P)

• 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1//4 cup soy milk-(if I had almond I would of used it)
• 2 tbsp Tropical Traditions Virgin Coconut Oil-melted

Preheat oven to 350.
Mix dry ingredients in a bowl.  Mix wet ingredients in a seperate bowl.
Combine the two together. Stir it up.
Spoon onto a parchment papered baking sheet.
Bake for 12-15 minutes.

Avocado & Chocolate Tart

When I first saw this recipe on another blog  I did a little research and watched a video on you tube, I was like crazy avocado and chocolate. This I have to try...and today was the day! I know this is referred to as a raw dessert, but I don't think mine is, because I used cocoa powder. And that is processed.  I really like all the recipes that I have been seeing out there in the blogosphere on raw food. It inspires me. The only thing I wish I did different was I would of bought the right dates. I ended up having to push the chocolate mixture through a sieve, the dates were to hard (even though I soaked them for a half an hour). I still managed to get the sweetness out of them, I just didn't want all the little hard bits in it.

You must taste as you make it, adding a little bit of cocoa, maple syrup, water, etc... I like my chocolate not overly sweet. The crust is really interesting, and very tasty, It could be used with many different kinds of tart fillings. I got this recipe from my friend, An Opera Singer in the Kitchen.
We haven't eaten them yet...saving them for after dinner, but I did taste the filling and the crust....YUM!

Dahl that's not Dull

This and a bowl of brown rice is one of my favorite things to eat. Sometimes I even mix them together.

My buddy emailed me the other day looking for a good soup recipe, and this is it! It has a lot of flavor, and don't be shy on the sea salt! Add a little at a time, a chef once told me, you can always add more but you can't take it out.

• 1 1/2 cups red lentils

• 2 tbsp sunflower oil
• 1 onion- finely chopped
• 5 cloves garlic-minced
• 1 large piece of ginger- peeled and minced

•  1 tbsp cumin seeds- toasted and ground
• 2 tbsp coriander seeds- toasted and ground
• 2 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp turmeric

• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp maple syrup
• sea salt
• freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 cup coconut milk

In a large pot rinse and drain the lentils several times, until the water runs clear.
Cover with water and bring to a boil, cook until lentils fall apart. You will have to skim off the foam several times, I find using a ladle works the best.

Heat a saute pan and add oil.

Add onion, garlic and ginger, saute on low heat for at least 10 minutes.

On medium/high heat, in a small frying pan add the cumin seeds and coriander seeds, toast until they change to a darker colour or you can smell them. Grind in a coffee grinder if you have one, I don't so I use a mortar and pestle. Add to the onion along with the rest of the spices, cook for 2-3 minutes.
Add the onion and spice mixture to the skimmed off pot of lentils.

Season with vinegar,syrup,salt and pepper. Finish with coconut milk.