Recipe Palooza!

A review of my Sample Recipes revealed that I had far too many sweet treats posted and not enough savory dishes and entrees. (Yes, I love the treats, but really, we need real food recipes too!)

So, the recipe party begins...

After posting the Cashew Banana Ice Cream, I have since posted:


Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto with Toasted Almonds and Pine Nuts (from ed&bv)

Peanut Passion Sauce (from ed&bv)

Chickpea Ratatouille (from Vive)

Kalamata Walnut Tapenade (from Vive)

I will be posting more recipes in the next couple of days... including a couple of summer salads and a new, unpublished recipe. (hint: oh-geez)

So... get cooking... especially those of you that don't have my cookbooks. No excuses, right?! :)

Who gets to do the (vegan) happy dance?

Winner is animal-friendly! Congrats, girl! Please e-mail me so I can get the books sent to your door!

Before the rest of you say "harumph, I never win anything", don't pout just yet. At the end of Oprah's 21-day cleanse, I might just feel like giving again. nudge, nudge - wink, wink ;)

Also, I am going to post up several recipes to keep you guys happy as well. You'll see I've just posted the Cashew Banana Ice Cream. Check in for more, and I'll update my blog to let you know what recipes I've posted.

Before I sign off, I need to say a couple of things...

First, I appreciate all of your interest in the contest and in eating vegan. There were some comments that really touched me, and I want to encourage all of you to keep on the vegan path. I will help you if I can, so please contact me here or through my e-mail if I can help you.

Second, on that note of e-mail... I have lost an e-mail that one of you sent me. :( I'm very sorry, my e-mail was acting wonky and rerouted the e-mail into trash. I wasn't able to reply straight away on your message, as I was catching up, though I know you had several questions you wanted me to answer. When I was ready to reply, I realized your message had been routed to trash and deleted. So, if you e-mailed me and have been waiting for a reply, would you please resend your message to me.

More food goodness soon... until then, go eat, drink & BE vegan! :)

Oprah - going vegan?! (and time to give!)

Well, not quite yet. But, if you caught a snippet of her show yesterday, you know that she has started on a 21-day 'cleanse', after reading the new book Quantum Wellness. Oprah had the author, Kathy Freston, on her show, who explained that she eats vegan, and considers it an essential part of being 'conscious'. Not conscious eating in the sense of thinking about our food as we eat it, but being a conscious spiritual being, which means eating healthier and in a way that involves no animal suffering.

I listened with excitement and hope. We know that Oprah has the influence and respect to evoke massive change. I realize this is a small step, and that Oprah may not continue on the vegan journey long term... but just imagine how many people have now opened their minds to eating vegan just from these few minutes of Oprah's show? Imagine how many people listened to this show hearing about vegan eating in a positive, uplifting, encouraging tone? Imagine how many people might just make dietary changes along with Oprah. Powerful. Exciting! Yes, I'm optimistic, but why not be? This topic would not have made it on Oprah ten or even five years ago. Times are changing.

Oprah expressed confusion about 'what's left to eat' on a vegan diet. Oh SO much Oprah... let us show you! Like this Sundried Tomato Pesto with Toasted Almonds and Pine Nuts from ed&bv. I posted about this pasta a long time ago, and we just had it again this past week. Doesn't it look so toothsome in this photo? I used brown rice penne pasta this time round, but feel free to try it with whole-wheat, kamut, or quinoa pasta!

Then, why not finish it off with some Cashew Banana Ice Cream (also from ed&bv)? You don't need a food processor for this one, and you may not want to buy commercial non-dairy ice creams again. This is luscious, creamy, rich, and heavenly. You know I wouldn't fib to you about something as important as ice cream! You must make this, so I will post the recipe soon!*

Feeling enthused, I need to spread the vegan joy!Time to give away a cookbook. No, two cookbooks - to one person. I want you to help me give. I'll send you two copies of ed&bv. One for you to keep and enjoy, and the other to give to someone that you know is tinkering with eating vegan. Let's help them take the plunge! Comment on this blog to enter, additional rules here.

*I'll get the recipe posted in the next couple of days guys. Still getting things in order after my mom's visit. And thanks for bearing with my delays in e-mails and blog questions and such. :)

Maple Sugar Snickerdoodles

Where have I been?! I know, I've been absent... I've simply been swamped with several things, including a recital for our daughter and my mom visiting. Juggling, juggling...

These are a new recipe, and a new favorite for our family. Maple Sugar Snickerdoodles. They are cinnamony-sugar sweet and crispy on the outside, and just tender and soft enough on the inside. The maple flavor is delicate and not overpowering - it's just the sugar on the outside hinting at maple flavor, there's no maple syrup in the batter itself.

Here they are fresh out of the oven on the baking sheet (lined with parchment). Don't you love the patterns that naturally develop through baking? So pretty! (btw, did you know that Snickerdoodles are not well known in Canada? I had never heard of them until about six or so years ago!)

We had a few batches of Snickerdoodles cycling through the house a few weeks ago. Since then, I've also made some treats from my books to munch on while mom's visiting... including Supercharge Me! Cookies from ed&bv. I've posted about these before, and these are really one healthy cookie in a delicious disguise! Truly, you won't believe they are sweetened only with maple syrup, include almond butter, and also 1/3 cup of flax meal! Yes, they do... BUT you won't believe it! This time, you can see I made them smaller for more bite-sized treats, so I baked them for less time - about 12 mins. I also didn't form them, simply dropped on the parchment. They taste the same, but I prefer them a little larger as per the recipe (and the previous post). These are so easy, tasty, and healthy...

Make them for your mom on Mother's Day!! You have time... go get to it!

Happy Mom's Day everyone, hope you are gifted with love and delicious vegan treats.

Dreena's "Fit-tucine" Alfredo

I've always loved my sauces. Sauces and dips and anything that is full of flavor. Many years ago, when I would order "Fettucine Alfredo", I'd ask for extra sauce... the noodles weren't pleasing enough, had to have lotsa' sauce!

Now, I can ladle on as much sauce as I want with this new "Fit-tucine Alfredo" sauce. I'm creating two versions, one using (some) soy, and the other soy-free. And while this isn't altogether 'low-fat', it IS of course no-saturated fat, and no-cholesterol.

When I've served it recently, I've topped it with my "Tamari Roasted Chickpeas" from ed&bv, and that has been spectacular! I have another topping planned for the 'fit-tucine', but haven't finalized it quite yet. I think I have the soy version of this fit-tucine nailed down, so I hope to finish the soy-free version soon and share them with you.

Here, I also served it with whole-grain rotini noodles instead of fettucine (cause I'm not a stickler for pasta rules), along with salad (not pictured) and broiled asparagus. This is my fave way to eat asparagus (apart from grilling), and it can be prepared just like the "Lemon-Broiled Green Beans" in ed&bv (see sidebar in the recipe).

You're gonna be ladling on extras of this sauce too... as our daughter said, giggling, during supper "whoa, mom, you really do love sauce"!