Nachos for a heart-attack-free super bowl party!

I don't really have much interest in the super bowl besides the commercials and maybe the half-time show, but I love good food and entertaining! If I were having a super bowl party, this is what I would serve. You won't have to worry about heart attacks with this recipe. My sisters and I opted to go to Trader Joe's for a quick meal rather than Chipotle the other day and that is where this recipe was born. We needed it to be quick and with three of us it took less than 10 minutes to throw everything together. So unless you have 3 pairs of hands working in It was so good I had to share. This recipe features vegan nacho cheese, vegan sour cream, refried beans, beef-less taco meat, guacamole, salsa and fajita style peppers and onions.

Mmm Fajita Nachos

Vegan Fajita-Style Nachos

You will need:

2 tubs of non-dairy [cream cheese] spread

1 can Trader Joe's salsa style refried beans

1 pepper (red or green)

1/2 red onion

1 bag blue corn chips

1 package Avocados Number One Guacamole- or if you have time to make any other guacamole recipe, that's fine

1 tub of Trader Joes Serrano Salsa Fresca- or other Salsa you enjoy

1 tsp Trader Joes Red Jalapeno Sauce- if you don't have TJ's maybe you can sub Tapatio or Texas Pete or whatever other hot sauce you enjoy

1 package TJ's Beef-less Grounds

olive oil

1 Tbs lemon juice 

1 tsp chili pepper

1/2 tsp paprika 

1/4 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp salt

Start by slicing the peppers and onions first then place the onions in a pan with some olive oil on low-medium heat. While the onions are cooking down, start the taco "meat." 

In a bowl mix the chili pepper, paprika, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder and salt in with your Beef-less Grounds. Once thoroughly mixed, pour olive oil into a pan add your "meat" and brown until desired temp is reached.

 While you're cooking the meat or once you're done, it should be time to add the sliced pepper to the onions that have been cooking. Add more oil if necessary. 

Next make the nacho cheese. Take one container of non-dairy spread and dump it into a small saucepan. Add 1/2 C water and 1tsp Jalapeno sauce along with a dash of salt and a dash of garlic. Stir over low heat until your nacho cheese reaches desired consistency. 

Now put the refried beans in a bowl with 1/4 cup water and heat in the microwave on high about 2 minutes. Stir well once you take it out of the microwave. By now our peppers and onions should be cooked so don't forget to remove them from heat.

Then make the sour cream. In a bowl mix the other tub of sour cream with about 2 Tbs of water and 1 Tbs of lemon juice and it's ready to serve. If it still feels too thick you can add a little more water.

Place everything in serving bowls and let your guests put together their nachos however they like. If you're taking food to a party and that's too inconvenient, you can layer it in a large bowl in this order: beans, meat, nacho cheese, peppers and onion, guacamole, salsa, sour cream. Or, try my 7 Layer Dip if you prefer. 

Happy Super Bowl!!

I think I must be a stress eater but at least it's good for my creativity!

My mom's in the hospital, she just had surgery. She's doing well but every time I come home from the hospital I just keep making delicious gluten-free recipes. Maybe it's because all the food at the hospital is so awful I have to remind myself that there's good food in the world. Yesterday I made the most delicious rosemary olive gluten-free loaf which my sister and I polished off before I could think of blogging about it. Today I woke up wanting pancakes so. I made my own recipe and made the dough. They were amazing! Luckily for you guys, I remembered to blog. ;-) This recipe is so easy too!

So delicious!

Easy Gluten-Free Pancakes

Ingredients

---

• 1/2 C certified gluten free oats
• 1/2 C cornstarch
• 2 Tbsp. honey* or agave
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. xanthan gum**
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 1 Tbsp. flax meal***
• 1 C. water + 1/4 C water
• 1 Tbsp. oil- I used olive but I think it would be better with grape seed oil.
• 1/4 C blueberries (optional)
• *Honey is not considered vegan by most so if you're opposed to the consumption of honey, use agave
• ** You can find xanthan gum at Whole Foods or online. I also see it at the chinese grocery stores sometimes. Most recipes don't require much so it's good to just keep around the house for your GF baking needs.
• *** The flax meal and 1/4 C water mixture is a replacement for an egg so if you eat eggs and you don't have flax, you can use one egg instead.

This is the dough before I added the blueberries.

How to make it

---

• Put the 1/2 C oats into the blender and blend until the oats have mostly the consistency of flour. In mixing bowl, stir together oats, corn starch, baking powder, xanthan gum, and salt. In a small bowl combine the flax meal with 1/4 C water and mix together. Let stand while you get another mixing bowl, and mix the honey, water, and oil. Add to oat mixture all at once and mix in flax meal mixture and blueberries if you're using them. Stir until blended. Pour about 2 Tbsp. or 1/4 C onto heated pan or griddle. On my stove we set it to a 2 out of 8. Not sure what temp that is. Sorry. You can test the temp of your pan or griddle by wetting your fingers and dropping a drop or two of water onto it. If it skates across the surface, it's ready. When you drop the dough onto the pan, you will need to help it spread out as the dough doesn't really spread out easily as regular pancake mix. Perhaps this could be helped by adding more liquid but I didn't think to try that.
• Cook until pancakes are golden brown, you will know it's time to flip when you see little bubbles on the surface of the pancake.  Makes 8 to 10 pancakes. 
• And yes, my sister and I ate them all. :-p
• 
  

I'm the vegan Paula Deen y'all! J/k, I'd never eat that junk, but this food is good!!

So, I'm working on a new cooking endeavor. I'm making a YouTube cooking show! I spent hours filming it last weekend and was so tired at the end, I didn't even film my second recipe. However, y'all are in luck because I'm posting both recipes here so you can have a preview!  I'm not sure when the episode will be edited. So, I couldn't wait to share with you. 


I love pizza. I have tons of creative pizzas I make, but for now, I'm just going to share two that I adore. One of my crusts is regular and one is gluten-free. Everyone loved the gluten free version better. Surprising, but  I'm happy with that result. Anyway, here they are:

Vegan Spinach - Mushroom - Sausage Pizza

Besides ingredients listed below for each component of the pizza, you will also need Daiya cheese.

Crust

3 ¼ C Whole wheat pastry flour

½ C yellow cornmeal

1 ½ Teaspoon Himalayan pink crystal salt

2 tbsp honey or agave

4 ½ tsp  rapid rise yeast

1 ¼ C warm water 110-115 degrees Fahrenheit

½ C olive oil

Mix yeast ¼ cup of warm water, ¼ cup of flour and honey or agave in a bowl. Let stand in a warm place for 10 minutes. Mix in with the rest of the ingredients, knead for 15-20 min punch down and knead until the correct texture is achieved (add a bit more flour if needed so it’s not sticky). If you want a lighter crust, you can reduce or omit the olive oil and add in up to 1/4 cup of water if dough is too dry.

While the dough is sitting, make your Italian sausage, sauteed mushrooms, tomato sauce and spinach and cheese mixture.

Saute the mushrooms in olive oil, about 5 min on medium heat, remove from heat and set aside.

Make cheese mixture:

½  brick of firm tofu

1 tub of non-dairy cream cheese

3 tbsp lemon juice

2 tsp agave nectar

1 tsp dried basil

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp granulated garlic

mash together with fork and add in spinach

Set aside while you make the "sausage" 

Vegan Italian Sausage recipe:

1lb high protein tofu

1tsp salt

3/4 tsp pepper

1tsp onion powder

1tsp Marmite (yeast extract) w/ 1/4 c olive oil

1tsp fennel seed

1 clove garlic minced

2 tsp oregano

Crumble your high protein tofu into a bowl add in salt, pepper and onion powder. Mix the Marmite with olive oil (it won't ever blend completely but mix until the olive oil looks brownish and the Marmite isn't so sticky and blend together with the tofu mixture

Set aside.

Place the minced garlic and fennel seed into oiled pan and sauté together add in the tofu mixture and oregano sauté until the tofu is very browned and a crispy add more olive oil for sauteing  if needed

Set aside and make tomato sauce

Tomato Sauce:

2 cups tomatoes (canned is fine)

2tsp agave

1 clove of garlic

1 tsp onion powder

 Puree all ingredients in blender

When dough is ready, assemble the pizza.

Press dough into oiled pan and up on the sides. Brush the bottom of the crust with olive oil, next spread the spinach and cheese mixture. Spread tomato sauce on top of that then add the sausage and mushrooms. Top with Daiya cheese or any other brand of vegan cheese you enjoy. Place pizza in oven pre-heated to 475 and cook for 20 -30 minutes.

Creamy Jalapeno and Chorizo pizza- Gluten Free

For this pizza, besides the ingredients listed for each component of the pizza below, you will need avocado, olives and Daiya or other brand of vegan cheese.

Pizza crust recipe

3 1/4 cups flour (flour = 1 1/4C GF oat flour, 1C tapioca starch, 1C rice flour)

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

1 1/2 teaspoons table salt

1 Tbsp xanthan gum

2 tbsp honey or agave

4 1/2 teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast (this is equal to two 1/4 oz packets)

1 1/4 cups warm water

1/4 cup vinegar

½ cup olive oil

Mix yeast ¼ cup of warm water, ¼ cup of flour and honey or agave nectar in a bowl, cover and let stand in a warm place for 10 minutes. Mix in all the other ingredients, knead 10-15 min and let stand covered for about 1 hour.

Set aside while you prep the other components.

Pre-heat oven to 475 

 Creamy Jalapeno Sauce:

1 8oz tub non-dairy creme cheese spread (I use Trader Joe's non-dairy spread, Tofutti also makes a good one)

1 Tbsp TJ’s Red Jalapeno Sauce

1 Tbsp lime juice

1 clove of minced garlic, sautéed in approx 1-2 Tbsp olive oil

1tsp agave

dash of salt

Sauté the garlic first then blend together with the other ingredients

set aside

Next make Vegan Chorizo- you can also purchase vegan Chorizo at many grocery stores if you prefer not to make it however, I love the health benefits of tempe so I made this recipe.

Vegan Chorizo:

Tofurkey brand Homestyle Tempe

1 tsp salt

1/4 Cup apple cider vinegar or regular distilled vinegar

2 tsp agave nectar

2 tsp paprika

2 tsp chili pepper

2tsp organic ketchup

1/4 tsp cumin

1-2 cloves of garlic minced

dash of oregano

ground black pepper to taste

tbsp water

Crumble tempe and mix all ingredients then sauté in olive oil until desired texture and consistency is reached

Set aside

Assemble pizza when dough is ready.

Press dough into oiled pan. Pour creamy jalapeno sauce over bottom of crust and spread evenly. Next add a layer of fresh spinach top with soy chorizo then add olives and top with Daiya cheese. Place in oven preheated to 475 bake for 20- 30 minutes. After removing pizza from oven, slice up an avocado place on top of the cheese. Coat avocado slices with lemon juice so they don’t turn brown. Sprinkle some chili pepper and paprika if desired and serve.

Decadent German Chocolate Cheesecake- Raw, Gluten-Free and Vegan!!

     My boyfriend told me he was craving cheesecake just a few days before his birthday. Hmm... I started tossing out all these ideas (do you want strawberry, cherry, chocolate, chocolate chip?) I was imagining all kinds of tasty ideas. He was just like, "Stop! You're making me hungry." Well, he's no help. :-p So anyway, he mentioned cheesecake and I love raw, vegan cheesecake and have been wanting to experiment making my own. I also love this amazingly decadent vegan german chocolate cake that my sister has been making for everyone's birthday for the past year or so. It's full of bad things like sugar and processed flour but it's vegan and so delicious.

     I have been thinking that I could probably quite successfully make a raw version of this incredible cake. Of course it would have to be a cheesecake type cake because I don't have a clue how I would make a delicious chocolate cake that was spongy, moist, still raw and doesn't taste healthy. So, a silky cheesecake kind of texture would have to work. It turned out great! I would only change one thing. I made a tasty crust for it however, I think I would prefer a dark chocolate coating where the crust would be, just to make it more true to the delicious cake my sister makes as well I believe it would better compliment the texture of this cake. So, I will be adding the chocolate coating recipe to this one later. I have an idea of how I want to make it but want to test it first before I post. Anyway, this recipe has lots of healthy fats and is free from the most common allergens: milk, dairy, eggs, soy

Crust:

1 C raw oat groats (if you can't find these, you can use whole oats)
1/2 C raw coconut oil (I like Artisana brand from Whole Foods)

Pour oat groats into blender or food processor and blend a minute or so until it has more of a floury consistency. It will be a bit grainer than flour then mix together with the oil in in a bowl. Sometimes I need to add a little extra coconut oil. Once the dough is mixed, press into the bottom of your pie pan and refrigerate while you prepare the filling.

Filling:
1 C coconut oil
1 C shredded coconut
2/3 C raw cashew or macadamia nut butter ( you can make this by soaking nuts overnight and blending in a vitamix or food processor)
1 C raw cacao or cocoa powder
1 C raw agave syrup
1/4 tsp sea salt

Blend the shredded coconut and oil in the blender or food processor until smooth then blend the rest of the ingredients together. You can also melt the ingredients together with a spoon over heat no higher than 98 degrees. Blend until smooth. Spread mixture over crust and place in fridge again.

Topping:

1 C honey dates or medjool work well too
1/2 Tbsp raw whipped honey* (optional)
1 Tbsp vanilla extract**
2/3 C raw pecan pieces
1/3 C shredded coconut

Soak pecans and dates separately overnight. I actually skipped this step but it does usually make a difference. Place dates, honey, and vanilla in the blender and blend until smooth then stir in coconut and pecans. Spread this mixture over the top and serve right away or refrigerate until you're ready to serve it.

*Honey comes from bees so is not vegan
**Vanilla extract is not raw but is tasty so I use it you can leave it out if you eat strictly raw foods

Vegan, Gluten-Free, Healthy (and Easy) Gravy Recipe

     Since it's almost Thanksgiving, I imagine people will be searching for great vegan and gluten-free gravy recipes. I created this recipe last Thanksgiving based on my mom's vegan gravy recipe. This is really simple and can be made with or without mushrooms. I love mushrooms but sometimes I just want plain gravy.

Anyway, if you're making it with mushrooms, thinly slice some baby bella or crimini mushrooms and saute them in olive oil with a good splash of Bragg liquid aminos (or soy sauce) and set aside.

Ingredients:
1/2 C olive oil
1/2 C nutritional yeast flakes
2-4 tsp corn starch or arrowroot powder
1/4 C Bragg liquid aminos (if you don't have this ingredient, use a soy sauce)
2-3 C vegetable broth (I like Imagine brand or make your own)
freshly ground black pepper (optional)

Over medium heat, brown the yeast flakes in the olive oil. It will make somewhat of a paste then add the Bragg liquid aminos and the cornstarch or arrowroot powder. Once you have everything mixed, add in the mushrooms if you're using them, then gradually stir in the vegetable broth. Add more arrowroot or cornstarch if it doesn't thicken to the desired consistency. If you like it to be saltier, add more Bragg liquid aminos. Once it's finished, reduce heat and grind a little black pepper on top if you like and serve. It's great with mashed potatoes.

If you're not worried about gluten, you can replace the nutritional yeast flakes with whole wheat flour and leave out the cornstarch.

Chocolate Chip Hummus

     I am such a nice daughter, I made a delicious (No Sugar) Cookie Dough Dip for mom's potluck, knowing I wouldn't be attending. As I said previously, me, mom and my sis are all scare performers and though we work at the same place, our scare areas are far apart. :( Anyway, this is not my own recipe. It is from my new favorite blog, Chocolate Covered Katie. Since starting my blog, I have been reading other great blogs to get inspiration and ideas and Katie's is my favorite so far. I don't want to steal so of course I must give credit where it is deserved. This dip was amazing! We served it with apple slices and graham crackers and I am told it was the talk of the terror tram. Mom even met another family of scare performers at the potluck. The mother was so happy because her daughter has an autoimmune disease and is allergic to nearly everything. So, she was very excited her daughter had an option to eat something that was both healthy and delicious.

      This recipe is mainly made with garbanzos, which is why I like to call it chocolate chip hummus, but you would never know it has garbanzos by the taste. The oats and vanilla disguise any bean flavor or texture it might otherwise have. Best part is, you can have your protein and your sweets at the same time and not feel guilty. I actually made mine with raw agave rather than dates (had no time to soak the dates) so mine did have sugar technically I also added a little extra vanilla because I love it. Personally I could have it as a meal but I'd probably eat it after a nice little salad since I like to have some raw veggies with every meal. Although dipping raw apple slices could be sufficient raw food intake. ;-) So anyway, now you're probably salivating so check out the blog: (No Sugar) Cookie Dough Dip

Btw- This is how I made it. It's a little different than her's.
Chocolate Chip Hummus
• 1 ½ cups chickpeas (1 can, drained) (250g)
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• ¼ cup peanut butter 
• ¼ cup nondairy milk 
• ½ C raw agave or brown sugar
• ¼ C oats
• ½ cup chocolate chips

Add all ingredients (except for chocolate chips) to a blender or food processor, and blend until very smooth. Then stir in the chocolate chips and serve.

Trader Joe's Vegan 7 Layer Dip Recipe

I call this Trader Joe's Vegan 7 Layer Dip because everything came from TJ's and for the most part did not require a whole lot of effort. Here is the recipe:

1 can Trader Joe's fat-free Refried Beans
2 cloves garlic thinly sliced
olive oil

1 package TJ's soy chorizo

1 box/2 containers of Avocado's Number 1 Guacamole

1 container of TJ's Pico de Gallo Salsa

1 tub of TJ's "This Is Not A Tub of Cream Cheese, This Is a Tub of Non-Dairy Spread"
1-2 TBS lime Juice

Calamata Olives

1 chopped organic red pepper

First pour some olive oil into a pan large enough to cook your beans, add the garlic and saute until browned. Remove from heat and add the beans along with 1/2- 1cup filtered water and mix. Return to heat and cook until you reach your desired temp/consistency. Pour beans into a serving bowl. It will look pretty in a glass bowl.

Rinse pan and cook soy chorizo with a cup of water heat until water mostly boils out. Pour into bowl on top of the beans.

Next add the guacamole on top of the chorizo.

Then add the salsa.

Now mix the lemon juice together with the cream cheese. You may need to thin a little more with some water to reach a sour cream consistency then add on top of the salsa.

Take as many calamata olives as you like and slice in half. Toss in on top of the sour cream. You may also use black olives but calamata are my favorite so that's what I used. I didn't measure. I probably used about half the jar but I was eating them too. Just use as many as you think you will like.

The final layer is red pepper. You can saute them if you like but I prefer them raw. Just chop it up and toss them in and enjoy. I made this twice. Once after work at 4am which mom, sisters and I devoured quickly and once for my boyfriend. He's a meat eater and he loved it. Sorry there's no pic of the finished product. We were so tired and hungry, we just dove into the food. I'll update with a pic next time I make this. By the way, it tastes great served over a bed of lettuce or on top of TJ's organic white or blue corn tortilla chips.