VEGAN AND WHEAT FREE CARROT CAKE

So to start I must admit I am not vegan nor have a gluten free diet but this past weekend I was browsing my bookshelf and remembered this vegan cook book I have and decided to pull it out (for anyone who is interested in knowing more about the cookbook I will post a link below). As I perused the pages I came across this carrot cake recipe I 'dog eared' (weird expression I know) and decided to try it out. The results were a very nice and moist cake that I am sure will make any vegan person jump for joy.

INGREDIENTS:

Can of vegan, oil based non stick cooking spray
3/4 Cup Garbanzo Bean Flour
1 1/4 Cup Rice Flour
2 TSP Xanthan Gum
2 TSP Baking Soda
1/4 TSP Salt
2 TSP Cinnamon
1/2 Cup Apple Sauce
1 Cup Canola Oil
1 Cup Water
1 1/4 Cup of Maple Syrup
1 TSP Vanilla Extract
2 Cups Grated Carrots

Frosting - choose whichever flavor you like (mine was cream cheese) pre-made or I can list ingredients below.

Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting
8 OZ firm Silken Tofu
12 OZ Soy cream cheese
1 Cup of Powdered Sugar
1 TSP of coconut extract
1/2 Cup of Unsweetened Coconut
2 TSP of Xanthem Gum (for thickening)

DIRECTIONS: - SHORT VIDEO BELOW

*Like with most cakes you start by mixing all the dry ingredients together in one bow.. mixing all the wet ingredients in another bowl and then combining them together...vegan baking is the same

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees

Grab a 9 inch bread baking pan and coat it in non-stick cooking spray.

In a large bowl mix your garbanzo bean flour, rice flour, xantham gum, baking soda, sat and cinnamon together.

In a separate medium bowl mix your applesauce, canola oil, water, vanilla extract and maple syrup.

Next mix your wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir until it is well incorporated. Then add in your grated carrots and mix well.

Pour cake mix into the coated baking pan and bake in the over for 75-80 minutes

Once finished remove from the oven and allow to cool before adding icing on top.

To make the frosting simply place all ingredients except the unsweetened coconut in a food processor and blend until smooth. Stir in the coconut after by hand. If possible you can make this the night before and refrigerate so it has more time to set and thicken.

 

 

For those who are interested in the cookbook I got this recipe from 'Sinfully Vegan' by Lois Dieterly.

 

 

I hope you enjoyed this recipe as much as I do. If you have any comments please leave them below and I'll be happy to answer them as soon as I can! Bon Appetite!!!

CHEESY GARLIC BREAD

I love Garlic bread! Its one of those things that is so hard to resist when set on the table. What’s not to like about warm bread, cheese and garlic right? Kids love it and it’s a great accompaniment with any Italian meal. This recipe I originally got from Rachel Ray and I was very happy how easy and fast it is to make and I just had to share! Enjoy!!!!

INGREDIENTS:

4 Cloves of Garlic (crushed)
2 TBSP of Butter (melted)
2 TBSP of Olive Oil
1 French Baguette
Grated Parmesan Cheese
Fresh Parsley (chopped)

DIRECTIONS:

Heat up the garlic butter and olive oil in a small pan over medium heat.

Take your baguette and split it in half, place under oven broiler until nicely toasted and golden (5-7 minute)

Brush bread with your garlic butter mixture liberally and garnish with cheese and parsley before returning to the broiler for an additional 2-3 minutes or until cheese has melted and nicely browned

Remove bread from oven, cut into chunks and serve warm.

 

I hope you enjoyed this recipe as much as I do. If you have any comments please leave them below and I'll be happy to answer them as soon as I can!  Bon Appetite!!!

BRUSSELS SPROUT CHIPS - VEGAN, VEGETARIAN

Looking for a great low calorie snack? I got you covered! Brussels sprouts are a great vegetable to turn into "chips" Not only are they delicious and crunchy when baked but they are full of vitamin K and vitamin C! This super easy recipe is great for kids and will have them eating their veggies like its popcorn!

INGREDIENTS:

1 LBS of Brussels Sprouts
2 TBSP of Olive Oil
2-3 TSP of Salt

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Wash and clean your brussels sprouts removing the stem and the outer layers. Cut cleaned brussels sprouts in half and place in a bowl.

Add your olive oil and salt to the bowl and mix well so everything is evenly coated.

Place brussels sprouts facing up on a baking pan lines with aluminum foil and bake for 25-35 minutes depending on how crispy you want them. Happy eating!

 

I hope you enjoyed this recipe as much as I do. If you have any comments please leave them below and I'll be happy to answer them as soon as I can!  Bon Appetite!!!

 

STUFFED ACORN SQUASH - VEGETARIAN AND VEGAN OPTIONS

I have tried many different squash recipes, but this has to be one of my favorites. My girlfriend Lili made it for me the other day when I went to her house for dinner and it was not only healthy, but really tasty so of course I had to share the recipe with you guys. You can add any veggies that you like and can even switch up the pesto for tomato sauce if you want. Be creative but most of all have fun!

INGREDIENTS:

1 - 2 Acorn Squash
3/4 Cup of Uncooked Quinoa
1-2 TBSP of Olive Oil
1/2 Medium Spanish Onion (chopped)
2 Celery Stock (chopped)
2 Clove of Garlic (minced)
1/2 Cup of Carrots (chopped)
1/2 Cup of Black Beans (drained and rinsed)
Pesto Sauce
2-3 TBSP of Goat Cheese, Feta Cheese, Halloumi (whichever you prefer/optional)
Salt and Pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. While oven is warming up go ahead and cut a small portion of the top and bottom of your acorn squash off to help it sit up straight. Next cut the squash in half, width-wise, and remove the seeds from the inside.

Place the squash on a baking tray that is lined with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.

In the meantime make your quinoa.

While you are waiting for your quinoa to cook you can add the olive oil to a pan and throw in your chopped onions, celery, carrots, garlic and black beans. Sauté until the onions become translucent. I also like to salt and pepper my veggies as they are cooking

Once the quinoa is ready transfer to a bowl, add in your pesto and sauteed vegetables. Mix together. At this point you can add in your cheese if you want. Save a little for garnish!!

Once the squash has been in the oven for 30 minutes remove and stuff with the quinoa mixture. Garnish with cheese and pop back in the oven for an additional 30 minutes.

Once ready remove from oven and serve warm. Enjoy!

 

I hope you enjoyed this recipe as much as I do. If you have any comments please leave them below and I'll be happy to answer them as soon as I can!  Bon Appetite!!!

BUTTERNUT SQUASH RAVIOLI FROM SCRATCH!

I love ravioli! Actually I love anything that involves a filling wrapped in dough (ie perogies, dumplings, empendadas, calzone springrolls, etc). I recently made ravioli from scratch on valentines day weekend and it was such a fun experience. It is a bit lengthy so make sure you can devote a good 4 hours to it and make the filling the night before. I lucky snapchatted the whole experience so I was able to grab those videos and make a little film for you down below so dont forget to check that out!!! Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS
Filling - **Make the butternut squash filling the night before so that you can let it chill overnight.
1-2 Lbs Butternut Squash or 2 Packs of Pre-Peeled and Cut Butternut Squash
2 TBS of Olive Oil
Salt an Pepper (as desired)
1/8 Tsp of Ground Nutmeg
1/2 a Cup Parmesan or Ricotta Cheese or both! (1/2Cup of Ricotta, 1/4 Cup of Parmesan)

Dough-
3.5 Cups of All Purpose Flour
4 Eggs (3 For the dough 1 for the ravioli wash)
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 TSP of Salt
1/2 Cup of Water

Sauce -
8 Tbsp of Salted Butter
2 Tbsp of Shallots (minced)
1 Tbsp of Fresh Sage (Chopped)

OTHER MATERIALS

Pasta maker - I have a Lagostina Pasta Maker with Ravioli Attachment that works really well which I bought for around $67 CAD @ Canadian Tire! I didn't use the Ravioli attachment but you can if you like.

It essentially looks like this:

DIRECTIONS:

First we are going to make the filling. Preheat the oven at 350 degrees.

In a bowl combine your chopped and peeled butternut squash, olive oil, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Toss so that it is evenly covered before placing it on a baking tray covered in aluminum foil and popping it into the oven for 30 minute (or until tender).

Once the squash is tender remove it from the oven, transfer to a bowl and mash it with a potato masher. Once nicely mashed stir in your cheese and mix until it is fully incorporated. When ready cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge overnight.

Next we are going to make the dough using the 'well method'. Place your flour on the counter and create a well or hole on the inside of the mound. Add your eggs, salt and oil to the inside of the hole and slowly start to stir the contents inside the hole with a fork. Slowly using the fork start to incorporate the flour wall lining the whole. DO THIS SLOWLY! Once the dough starts to form and thicken you can ditch the fork and use your hands to knead the dough. If you feel like the dough is dry keep kneading and add water for assistance.

When you are finished and have one big dough ball place in a large bowl, add a little olive oil to prevent the dough from drying out and cover with plastic wrap. Set aside for 30 minutes or so.

Prep your pasta maker! You are going to want to start on the widest (#1) setting and work your way to the thinnest (#9)

Break the dough into three parts and start to feed it through the pasta maker moving the knob each time from widest to thinnest setting. Make sure to help your dough through so it doesn't get caught or jammed.

Place all strips of previously rolled out pasta on the counter which has been already lightly covered in flour.

Use the sheets with the larger width as the ravioli tops and the ones with the smaller widths as your ravioli bottoms.

Start placing your butternut squash fillings 1 inch apart along the smaller width pasta. Use the egg wash to create a grid seal around each dab of filling. Place the wider pasta strip (top) on top.

Press the top down the center and each row so that it stretches out nicely over the filling mounds. Cut the dough in equal sections trying to create a 1/2 inch perimeter around the mounts.

Using a fork press on the outer corners to help the egg wash inside create a seal between top and bottom pasta layers and fully seal in the butternut squash filling inside.

Once sealed fully, place on a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Once you are finished making ravioli place the baking sheet covered in plastic wrap in the fridge to store until you are about 20-30 min from your meal time.

When you are ready boil a pot of water. Once the water is boiling add a tsp of salt and place the amount of ravioli you want to cook in the boiling water.  You can store the remaining amount by rolling it in wax paper and placing it in a ziplock bag and freezing it.

Next start to prep your sauce. In a sauce pan on medium heat add in your butter followed by your minced shallots. Once the shallots start to become clear add in your sage. Allow the sage to release its flavor into the butter. Stir so that it doesn't burn. Add some salt

After about 6-7 minutes the ravioli should be ready and float to the top. Test to see if the pasta layers are fully cooked. When it is cooked drain and add to your sauce pan with butter and sage. Allow the ravioli to become fully dressed by the sauce before plating.

Add Parmesan cheese on top and garnish before serving. ENJOY!

 

I hope you enjoyed this recipe as much as I do. If you have any comments please leave them below and I'll be happy to answer them as soon as I can! There is also a video down below if you need more guidance while cooking!!!  Bon Appetite!!!