Sugar Free Vegan Banana Milk Shake

Simple and delicious!!
The ingredients are:
8 oz. unsweetened soy milk
1 banana, the riper the better

There are two different ways to prepare.

For a frothier shake, combine the soy milk and banana in a blender, along with 4-6 ice cubes until combined.

For a thicker shake, freeze the banana for an hour or more and combine in blender with soy milk but don't add ice cubes.

Either way, really great and no added sugar of any kind.

Israeli Salad with Pickles and Mint

I first had this in a Mediterranean restaurant in NY City and fell in love with it.  This is the first thing in my life that has made me want to buy/cook with/consume pickles!   Another recipe that may take some experimenting to find what your taste preferences are, as far as how much of each flavor you want to come through.  I found, with the measurements below, the flavors blended nicely.

• 1 lbs. Persian or English cucumbers, (the ones I bought didn't say Persian or English, they were just the mini cucumbers with fairly soft peels, so I didn't peel) diced
• 1 lbs. ripe tomatoes, seeded and diced
• 3 large dill pickle spears, diced  (maybe 3/4-1 cup after diced)
• 15 fresh mint leaves, chopped 
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 Tbsp.  fresh lemon juice (or more to taste)
• 1/2 tsp salt (or more to taste)

Combine cucumbers, tomatoes, dill pickles and mint in a bowl.  Add olive oil, lemon juice and salt.  Toss to coat.  

Taste the salad.  Add additional salt and/or lemon juice to taste if deired.  Toss again before serving.

Can be served on a bed of spring greens.  Goes well with hummus also. 

Smooth and Easy Hummus

I am having a blast learning to cook Mediterranean dishes.  So many great vegan options to explore!  This is a great recipe that even my carnivores enjoy!  The key is patience.  It doesn't take an enormous amount of time, but everything is processed for a longer period of time after each addition.  I serve it with veggies, since I don't eat bread or pitas and doubling this recipe it is the easiest thing in the world!

One 15-ounce can chickpeas/garbanzo beans
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about 1 large lemon)
1/4 cup tahini
Half a large garlic clove, minced
2 Tbsp. olive oil, plus more for serving if desired
1/2 tsp to 1 tsp. kosher salt, depending on taste
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
2-3 Tbsp. water
Dash of ground paprika for serving (optional)

In the bowl of a food processor, combine tahini and lemon juice.  Process for 1 minute.  Scrape sides and bottom of bowl then turn on and process 30-60 more seconds.  This extra time helps "whip" or "cream" the tahini, making smooth and creamy hummus possible.

Add the olive oil, minced garlic, cumin and salt to the whipped tahini and lemon juice mixture.  Process for 30 seconds, scrape sides and bottom of bowl then process another 30 seconds.

Open can of chickpeas, drain liquid then rinse well with water.  Add half of the chickpeas to the processor and process for 1 minute.   Scrape sides and bottom of the bowl, add remaining chickpeas and process 1-2 minutes until thick and quite smooth.

This is where tasting the hummus and making a determination of your own preferences comes into play.  If you feel the hummus could be smoother, add water, 1 Tbsp. at a time, processing after each addition, until you get to the consistency you wish.  You may also add a little more salt if you feel it needs it.

It can be served warm or chilled.  It can be served with pita bread or fresh vegetables.  It can be served with 1 Tbsp. olive oil drizzled on top and some paprika sprinkled on that, or served without.  Hummus is the ultimate in versatile food!

Recipe adapted from www.inspiredtaste.net

Roasted Garlic

Love, love, love this!  Use it in different dishes or occasionally just pop one in my mouth! :)

1 or more heads of garlic
Olive oil
Knife
Aluminum foil

1) Heat oven to 400 degrees.
2) Peel (most of) the paper off garlic.  Use your fingers to feel away all the loose, papery, outer layers around the head of garlic.  Leave the head itself intact with all the cloves connected.
3) Trim about 1/4 inch off the top of the head of garlic to expose the tops of the garlic clove.  (The hard, round section is the bottom of the garlic head)
4) Drizzle 1 to 2 tsp. olive oil over the exposed surface of the garlic, letting the oil sink down in the cloves.
5) Wrap each garlic head in its own aluminum foil.  I make sure it's closed but not very tight around the garlic.
6) Roast in the oven for 40 minutes.
7) After 40 minutes, begin checking the garlic.  You can pierce the center clove and feel if it's soft, although typically if the garlic appears light-medium brown and roasted, it's done.  If you continue to roast, check every 10 minutes after.
8) Let the garlic cool slightly.  Press on the bottom of the clove to push it out of the paper or, if it's cool enough, peel the paper off.
If part of any clove is hard and too roasted, I remove that with a knife.  The roasted garlic can be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.  If you cover the roasted garlic with olive oil before refrigerating then you get olive oil with a nice garlic flavor and use that in cooking as well.

I adapted the directions from www.thekitchn.com for this post, just to save time, but what they have lines up exactly with how I roast garlic.

Brown Rice Update

An update to the Beans and Rice recipe, I recently came upon Trader Joe’s Rice Blend.  It has high fiber content and with barley and Daikon Radish seeds, is much healthier than your standard, instant brown rice.  I fix the rice blend according to the package directions and then when it’s done, I add about 1 3/4-2 cups to the bean and chorizo mixture that’s already cooking.  Tastes even better!  

Shakarkand Gobi

Aloo Gobi is a staple in most Indian Restaurants and I was recently introduced to it.  Of course, anytime I make something that calls for white potatoes, I substitute sweet potatoes and so far, I have not been disappointed (except I had to change the name of the dish, since Aloo means white potatoes while Shakarkand means sweet potatoes)  This was also my first experience with a recipe that calls for a hot pepper.  I am not someone who likes spicy food so when I went to the store, I bought the Pablano pepper marked Mild-Medium and used 3 Tbsp.  The adventurous chef can experiment with higher levels of heat.  The original recipe called for a whole Serrano pepper.

2 Tbsp Ginger-Garlic Paste (recipe follows)
1 Tbsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp. ground tumeric
1/4 tsp. garam masala (optional)
1 1/2 cups water divided
2 Tbsp oil (I used sesame, the original recipe called for peanut)
1 medium onion, sliced (about 1 cup)
3 Tbsp Poblano pepper, seeded and chopped
1 tsp. cumin seeds
1 small head cauliflower, cut into small florets (about 4 cups)
2 cups raw, unpeeled sweet potatoes cut into 1/2 inch cubes
Kosher salt

Garlic-Garlic Paste:
1/2 cup cloves garlic, whole
1/2 cup fresh ginger, peeled, cut into 1/2 inch slices
1/4 cup oil
Throw garlic, ginger and oil in food processor and let it go until it forms a semi-smooth paste.  There will still be tiny little pieces in there, but overall it should resemble a paste.  Save what you don't use in a glass jar.  It should last in the fridge for 2-3 weeks.   Can be used in other recipes.

For Shakarkand Gobi:
Mix 2 Tbsp Garlic-Ginger paste, coriander, tumeric, garam masala and 1/2 cup water in a small bowl.  This is a simple wet masala (spice mix).  Set aside.
In a large pot, warm oil over medium heat until shimmering but not smoking.  Add the poblano pepper and wait 30 seconds and then add the cumin seeds and wait until they're done sputtering.
Add the onions and cook 2 minutes.  Add the wet masala and cook about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Paste should thicken, deepen in color slightly.

Add the cauliflower and potatoes, stirring to coat the vegetables with the masala.  Season with salt and add 1 cup water.  Cover and cook over medium heat 10 to 15 minutes.  Then remove the lid, stir and cook until cauliflower and potatoes are cooked through about five minutes.  When I stir the dish, while it's cooking, I slightly mash the vegetables, so it's a little more mixed together.
Can be garnished with a couple Tbsp chopped cilantro.

**adapted from The Food Network website

Lentil Bolognese

The judges were split on this one.  I loved it, my mother loved it, partner thought it was good, teenager wasn't a fan (but her skull hasn't completely hardened yet) :)
This is a wonderful, thick, hearty dish.  I used macaroni when I made this, and while any pasta would work, I think a shorter pasta works best (penne or ziti or corkscrew which is used in the picture)
I found this recipe in a magazine where they were finding ways to use red wine, but I don't drink so I doubled the almond milk and still enjoyed this dish immensely.


1 1/2 cups mushrooms, chopped finely
1 onion, roughly chopped (about 1 cup)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 carrot, coarsely chopped
1 leek, white part only, halved and sliced
1 piece celery, sliced
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper
1 1/2 cups cooked lentils
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes with juices
1-6 oz. can tomato paste
8 oz. cooked gluten free ziti, penne or macaroni
Vegan grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

In a food processor, pulse onion, garlic, carrot, leek and celery until coarsely chopped.  In a large pot, warm oil over medium heat.  Stir in onion mixture and mushroom, sprinkle with salt and cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables are soft but not browned, 8-10 minutes.
Add lentils, seasoning, bay leaf and milk.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has evaporated, 2-3 minutes.
Stir in tomatoes and tomato paste, scraping bottom of the pot.  Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 10 minutes longer, stirring to prevent scorching. (Sauce will be very thick)
Season with salt and pepper.
Remove bay leaf and stir sauce into pasta.
Top each serving with 1-2 Tbsp. vegan grated Parmesan cheese.  Parma! brand is outstanding!!

Adapted from Health Magazine