hot for food

hot for food made a hot potato for lunch today and I’m passing it on to you. I was thinking about this meal for like 24 hours… and I had time to pull it off this afternoon. Mind you, it’s easy, but I didn’t have to do anything else. So I could make it, photograph it, and blog it!

P.S. I just learned that if I set the camera to macro, it takes way better, closer pics! DOI.

This Guacamole Stuffed Baked Yam is a super easy, super healthy meal. I microwaved the yam, which made it even easier!

A larger yam, like this, takes about 9-11 minutes in the microwave. So make a slit length wise and microwave it while you make the guacamole. You can stuff it with whatever you like too. But I made my guac with 1 avocado, chopped green onion, chopped red pepper, some black beans drained from a can, thawed frozen corn, lime juice, and S & P. I also added some carrot ribbons (which are easy to do with a peeler) on top. Once the yam was done I just opened it and mashed it with a fork a bit before placing the stuffing on top!

Muffin tops are amazing! Don’t we all want them… not the kind above our tight jeans… but the crunchy, moist, crumbly top of a fresh baked muffin! I thought it would be hard to duplicate a bakery muffin at home. But it was not! I figured I would just over-stuff the muffin tin, and have the top of it sit and bake right around the edges. Well, it worked!

These are scrumptious and healthy (but watch out, there’s extra calories with that huge top!) Vegan Blackberry Cobbler Muffins. But this was like a “test kitchen” recipe because it only made 3 large muffins when I followed the same recipe from my carrot spice muffin post. I will work out a proper dozen recipe and let you know what it is. In the meantime, just drool at the photo.

Ok, I can get used to this vegan thing now that I’ve made and devoured a couple of delicious staples in life. Made into vegan friendly versions in the hot for food kitchen were chocolate ice cream and macaroni & cheese. Yes, you heard me right!

I can safely say I’ll never eat real ice cream again now that I’ve tasted this creation by SweetOnVeg. Jennifer, you are a genius! Go check out her recipe after you feast your eyes on my photo (although her photo is way prettier).

It’s ridiculously easy to make this, and it’s even perfect for people who eat raw. I saw this recipe a while ago, but it took me a while to figure out what I needed to buy… RAW CACAO powder. As I mentioned in a previous post, it’s not the same as COCOA powder. I found Navitas Naturals at Whole Foods, so it’s definitely around and abundant – now that we all know what a superfood REAL, RAW chocolate is.

Next up, Mac & Cheese. I was never a fan of Kraft Dinner. Unless, of course I was drunk… come on, we all do it! But I love CHEESE, and I can say with 100% satisfaction this recipe is killer. Proof… my boyfriend, who would live on KD if he could, said it was so delicious and will definitely eat it again… and again, and again. So HA!

It’s from VeganYumYum, another new fave blog that I recently mentioned. It’s in Lauren’s new cookbook (that I also mentioned), but she was kind enough to post it online, for all to make! It’s amazing. She calls it alfredo, but after looking up a number of vegan mac & cheeze recipes, this seems pretty close. I used macaroni noodles so in my books, it’s mac & cheeze. Check out the recipe here. Again, the hot for food photo is not as pretty, or should I say “hot”, as the original.

Scones are scrumptious! But usually I stay away since they’re typically fat-filled with butter. A certain POPULAR coffee shop makes delectable pumpkin scones that are my downfall. But now I’ve made my own, even better, version! I found it posted on a veggie message board, with no original link, so I don’t think I need to credit the author. I added the maple glaze though to make them more reminiscent of that certain POPULAR coffee shop’s version.

Maple Glazed Pumpkin Scones

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp all-spice
1/4 cup earth balance
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
2 cups pumpkin puree

In a large mixing bowl combine flours, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and spices. Cut in earth balance and coconut oil with a pastry blender or your hands. Then add in pumpkin puree and fresh ginger and combine well. Dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead a bit forming a large circle about 1 – 2 inches thick. Cut into 12 triangles, like cutting a pizza and put onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 425 F for 13-14 minutes.

Once the scones are cooled off you can make the maple glaze by whisking 1 cup of icing sugar with maple extract, to your taste, and add in cold water a bit at a time until you get a glaze that is stiff but will run in a stream from the end of your whisk. Drizzle over scones.

I found another outstanding blog and more inspiration. This girl Lauren Ulm (we have the same name, and nickname!) was on The Martha Stewart Show, and she too is a self-taught cook and food blogger… so exciting! Ok so it’s called  VeganYumYum and everything is yum… yum. Man, she’s only 25 I think, and she has her own cookbook which I WANT! It’s called VeganYumYum: Decadent (But Doable) Animal-Free Recipes for Entertaining and Everyday. I’m sure she doesn’t need the plug from me, as she’s already totally popular, but for my few readers, check it out! A great post on her site is from a couple years ago, but this is really going to help me. It’s a post on food photography for bloggers. She’s also not a pro photographer. I might have to steal (I mean borrow) an idea or two… if only to improve my shots! Check out the link here.

I’m a big believer in “use what you got” when it come to making meals. Typically, I’ve always got cans of beans, and different varieties of brown rice pasta or other grains and lentils. So here’s a couple meals I made in the last 24 hrs. There’s no real rhyme or reason to them… well, actually, the reason is I’m hungry!

Spicy Chickpea Linguine

Brown rice linguine, chickpeas, spinach, shallot, white wine, garlic, tomato paste, green onion, basil, cilantro, parsley, chili flakes, S&P, vegan parmesan (combined ground raw cashews, nutritional yeast, sea salt)

Warm Lentil Salad

Green lentils, spinach, corn, apple, green onion, ground coriander, nutmeg, fresh cilantro, cucumber, apple, salted almonds

As promised… my post about making my first vegan cheesecake.

It was a success! However, after sharing this with my bf and another couple of friends, we’ve decided it’s not so much a cheesecake – or CHEEZEcake – as it is a Chocolate Tart, or Chocolate Mousse Tart, maybe. Real cheesecake has such a distinct texture and bite, and when you make it with Tofutti/Silken Tofu etc. it loses that distinguishing factor. So after some thinking I’m going to call a Choco-holic Vegan Tart! The recipe I followed is from Dairy Free Cooking. But I ended up having to make some modifications because I didn’t buy enough Tofutti and couldn’t get all the way back to Kensington Market to buy more, so I subbed in 1 cup of silken tofu blended with chocolate soy milk for 1 cup of Tofutti. Perhaps this is what made it more like a mousse as opposed to a cheesecake?! But for a vegan dessert, this thing is satisfying, rich, and oh so chocolatey!

Choco-holic Vegan Tart

For Crust:
3/4 cup finely ground almonds
1/4 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup coconut oil (or canola)
1/3 cup maple syrup

For Filling:
2 1/2 tbsp ground flax seed
1/3 cup water
2/3 cup dairy free chocolate chips
1 tbsp Earth Balance
4 cups Tofutti “cream cheese”
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Grease your pan with non-stick cooking spray. I used a quiche pan instead of a spring form pan, but it worked well. You could also use 4 small tart/quiche pans. For the crust combine all ingredients in bowl and press evenly into your baking pan. Poke the crust with a fork all over to prevent it from bubbling up. Bake at 375 F for 7 minutes. Allow to cool while you prepare the filling.

Reset your oven to 400 F. In a bowl combine/beat the Tofutti with sugar and vanilla. Melt the chocolate chips with the Earth Balance either in the microwave  or in a double boiler on the stove. Mix flax seed and water (or egg replacer powder) in a third bowl. Add the flax mixture and chocolate mixture to the “cheese” mixture and combine well. Pour this mixture into your baked crust and bake for 5 minutes. Then turn down the oven to 275 F and bake for 40 min. (Leave oven door open for a few minutes while the temp comes down to 275 F). Allow the cake to cool and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours before serving.

Additionally, I decorated the top of the chocolate tart with a mixture of melted dark chocolate and raspberry jam, and topped with fresh raspberries before serving. The crust is especially fantastic, and it could be used for any tart filling. I have to start brainstorming future uses for it. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Today’s V-Day Breakfast Menu was Green Frittata and Carrot Spice Muffins. I also had a coffee, which I’ve started to add cinnamon into everyday. I heard somewhere there are lots of good benefits to having a tbsp of cinnamon a day. It’s incredible in coffee so it’s now my new thing. I failed at sticking to vegan. The muffins are and obvi the frittata is not. But it was delicious, and I don’t care!

I discovered an unbelievably healthy carrot muffin recipe on Fat Free Vegan. Susan V’s recipes are amazing, mostly all fat-free, using whole, natural, unrefined ingredients, and the photos are to die for! I will add this site to my blog roll to share it with you. hot for food can only dream of being this good! Hey… I’m trying! Her recipe for the muffins is here, but I did a few things differently.

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cup spelt flour
1/4 cup raw sugar
1 tbsp ground flax seed
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp all spice
1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup agave nectar
1/2 cup almond milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup shredded carrot
1 shredded apple
1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts

Combine the first 9 ingredients (dry) together in a large bowl. Combine the second group of 6 wet ingredients together in another bowl. Add wet to the dry and combine until just mixed. Spray a muffin pan with non-stick spray or use liners, and spoon batter into the cups just to the top. Bake for 15 min at 400F. Makes 12 muffins.

This is the first time I’ve made a frittata. I didn’t really know what made it different from an omlette, but turns out it’s an Italian omlette! You could do this with any ingredients obviously, but this is a good for you, green version!

Ingredients:
6 eggs
1/4 cup soy milk
1/2 cup chopped asparagus
1 cup baby spinach
1/2 avocado, chopped
2 chopped green onions
fresh basil & thyme
S&P
1 tbsp olive oil
shredded cheddar or feta cheese

Pre-heat oven to broil. I blanched the asparagus in advance, so I ended up combining all the above into a bowl and then putting it into a hot iron skillet coated with olive oil. But you could cook the asparagus with the other veggies, onion, and herbs in the pan, then whisk eggs with milk, adding salt and pepper, then pouring that into the pan with the lightly cooked veggies. Once everything is in the skillet, sprinkle the top with cheese and just leave it to cook for 6-7 minutes, without touching it. Then transfer the skillet to the oven and broil it for 1-2 minutes. You’ll be able to see when it’s done.

Real torture, for me, is looking at hundreds of food photos online and grocery shopping when I’m hungry. For the last 2 hours I have been on flickr.com doing the former. omg. Why do I do this? Because I am obsessed with food…

Anyway, in my perusing’s this eve, I found Mr. Popple’s Chocolate. Another amazing vegan product… that I cannot get! I have checked health store after health store for a raw chocolate bar or an 88% chocolate bar and can’t find one that I feel is “pure” enough. Most still say “may contain milk ingredients”. Mr. Popple is from the UK and I have emailed him to see if we can order it online somewhere. Anyone out here in blog land have a solution for someone living in Toronto on where to buy good chocolate? I don’t want raw cacao beans either. What am I supposed to do with those for baking, cooking, eating?

Tomorrow is Valentines Day – who cares – but I am making my first vegan chocolate cheesecake for my bf and our friends. We’re having an anti-v-day dinner for 4. I will blog it as soon as it’s done! Now, off to dream of food. Night!

Yesterday when I made those cheezy spinach pies, I paired them with some homemade gingery carrot soup. I had a whole bag of carrots to use up so this was the perfect solution. Although I still have some left… probably enough for a carrot cake or carrot muffins! The recipe is a combination of a few that I looked at online. Which is something I usually do, and I’m starting to get really really good at just “going with it” on my own.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp Earth Balance
1/2 onion chopped
1/2 cup white wine
2 tbsp fresh grated ginger
2 garlic cloves minced
4 cups vegetable stock
2 1/2 cups thinly sliced carrots
1 apple chopped
2-3 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup soy milk
S&P
fresh chopped cilantro

Heat a sauce pan on medium, melt butter or margarine and sautee onion until soft. Add white wine, ginger, and garlic cooking for another 1-2 minutes. Next add in stock, carrot, apply, thyme and the bay leaf, and salt and pepper. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and cook for 20 minutes until carrots are tender.

Remove from heat and remove thyme sprigs and bay leaf. Allow the soup to cool a bit, then run through a blender until smooth. Return to the pot and heat again for a few minutes, stirring in soy milk and cilantro. To serve add more salt & pepper to taste, if needed, and garnish with thyme or parsley etc.

Making homemade soup is one of my favorite things to do. Eating pre-made soup from a can is a sure fire way to OD on salt. This is also a clever, tasty, and especially easy way to eat your veggies!