We stayed home for Valentine's Day

Yes, my boyfriend and I did. He came up to my house, there are not quite as many "special" restaurants as in Denver so we decided that any food I make would be better. I made Spinach Tofu Lasagna which was amazing with the fake cheese. I was surprised, usually I don't like these "replacement" recipes but this one was really good. The Ricotta Tofu worked out well even in a blender. Adding beef would have made it good also. I will try that next time because yes there will be one. The only complaint was the top layer of noodles did not soften. I suppose there was not enough sauce and cheese covering it (even though it did not melt on the top.) Next, to the cake. Gosh, I have seen recipes for this so many times and have never had the guts to make it (because I would eat all of it) but Valentine's is the perfect excuse. This is our new Valentines tradition I have decided because it was amazing. Usually anything with chocolate is. I added the raspberries on top which were the best pieces. Put them all over when you make it! Anyways, pretty good for my posting lately. My goal for the month is to be better. Plus, good distraction and break from massive amounts of homework!

Spinach Tofu Lasagna

2 C Spinach
1 package "Follow Your Heart" Mozzarella Cheese
12 Lasagna Rice Noodles
Tofu Ricotta (see below)
2 C (maybe 2 1/2) Tomato Pasta Sauce

1. Cut cheese into slices.
2. Layer in a 11x14 in baking dish:
1/2 c sauce
1 layer of Noodles
1/3 of Ricotta
1/3 of Spinach
1/3 of Mozzarella Cheese
3. Repeat 2 more times.
4. Bake in a preheated oven of 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Let sit for 10 minutes after done.

Tofu Ricotta
1 package firm tofu, rinsed and drained
1/4 C packed, shredded fresh basil
1/4 C chopped parsley
2 TBS finely chopped red onion
2 TBS fresh thyme leaves
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper

1. Combine all ingredients into a food processor or blender.
2. Blend until slightly crumbly.


Flourless Chocolate Cake with Dark Chocolate Glaze (from WholeFoodsMarket.com)

12 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips or bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped
1 cup (2 sticks) plus 3 tablespoons vegan butter, cut into chunks
1 1/4 cups sugar
6 eggs
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon soymilk
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 teaspoon gluten-free vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.

2. Spray a 9-inch springform pan with nonstick cooking spray, then line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper. Spray the paper with cooking spray, too, then set the pan aside. (I used a 9X9 baking dish and it turned out fine)

3. Place two-thirds (8 ounces) of the chocolate and 1 cup (2 sticks) of the butter in a medium saucepan over medium low heat. Stirring often, melt chocolate with butter until completely blended.

4. Remove from heat and transfer to a large bowl. Add sugar and mix well.

5. Add eggs one at a time, whisking well after each addition.

6. Sift cocoa into bowl and stir until just blended.

7. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until cake has risen and top has formed a thin crust. The cake should be just firm in the center when done.

8. Cool for 10 minutes, then invert onto a plate, removing sides of springform pan. Remove and discard parchment paper and set cake aside to cool completely.

9. Meanwhile, make the chocolate glaze. Melt remaining 4 ounces chocolate and 3 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan over medium low heat, stirring until smooth.

10. Remove from heat, then stir in milk, honey and vanilla. Set aside to cool slightly.

11. When cake has cooled, pour glaze onto the center.

12. Using a spatula or the back of a spoon, very gently smooth glaze along the top and sides of the cake.

13. Chill cake, uncovered, for 30 to 60 minutes before serving to set the glaze and make the cake easier to slice.

Soup!

Wow, have NOT blogged in a while. Been busy and unmotivated to write. But I've made some amazing things lately so I just have to share. Soup. I have a love/hate relationship with it. Love it cause it's easy and can be well balanced meal. Hate it because it's salty and not enough substance. This soup I made conquers all. I control the salt content and how much stuff is in it. It was a really well balanced mix of veggies, beans and broth. My first time cooking with white beans and kale so super exciting. It made about 5 servings and I froze some of it for a busy night. Highly recommended and enjoy!

PS-Recipe is from Whole Foods so you can find most of the packaged stuff (365 Brand) there for cheap.

Tuscan Kale and White Bean Soup

3 TBS olive oil

1 C diced onion

4 large garlic cloves, roughly chopped

1 (32-ounce) box vegetable broth

4 cups packed chopped kale

1 (14.5-ounce) can italian-style diced tomatoes

1 (14.5-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1 (14.5-ounce) can sliced carrots, drained; or two large carrots, peeled and sliced

1. In large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat.

2. Add onion; cook 3 minutes.

3. Add garlic; cook 2 minutes.

4. Add broth, kale and tomatoes (and fresh carrots, if using) and cover; cook 5 minutes or until kale is tender.

5. Add beans and canned carrots; heat thoroughly. Serve hot.

Thanksgiving for me!

Why hello, it's officially the holiday season. Thanksgiving last week and Christmas and New Years right around the corner. These are my first holidays completely gluten/dairy free so they should be exciting. Thanksgiving went well because my family let me make versions of things I could eat. Christmas will be hard with all those cookies though! At least there's always chocolate. So I got to make the Pumpkin Pie for my family! My first time making a pie! It went pretty well. My wonderful brother is sugar free at the moment, hopefully not forever, so he wanted me to make the pie sugar free but I refused because I was making my own pie for me and if he wants his own pie then he can make one. The recipe called for 1/3 cup honey or maple syrup so I tried to convince him that it was natural sugar and he could eat it. He wouldn't and it turns out the pie needed more sugar. My grandma informed me that regular pumpkin pies have 1 cup of sugar in them. Wow, so that's a big difference. Needless to say the pie wasn't that sweet. Could kind of taste the tofu. But if there would have been more it would have been amazing, like normal people food! So add more sugar when you make it. I don't know how you do that, just add it in or do you have to alter the whole recipe. Next year I'll just look for a new recipe. This one was from Whole Foods. They would have one with less sugar..... The cornbread was a complete winner though! It was super easy. I decided to add another ingredient to my GF flour library, soy flour. It was less than $4 so I decided why not. Now I have it and can make cornbread whenever I want! It calls for stuff I usually always have, eggs, butter and milk. Then I just have to have corn meal which is super cheap. Anyways, I made the cornbread again this week, when I got back to Colorado because I was making chili! Ah I need to blog that also! Ok well that's enough blabbing for tonight. Hope you like the recipes! And Happy Holidays!


Gluten/Dairy Free Pie Crust

3/4 cup rice flour
1 tsp honey
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/3 cup vegan butter
2 TBS cold water

1. Stir dry ingredients together, making sure xanthan gum is evenly distributed.

2. Cut in butter or oil and add honey.

3. Add cold water a little at a time until a ball is formed. (I had to add 2 TBS more)

4. Roll dough to 1/8" thickness between two sheets of aluminum foil.

5. Peel top sheet of foil off, and invert dough onto a 9" pie pan.

6. Peel off other foil sheet.

Dairy Free Pumpkin Pie Filling

2 cups pumpkin purée (1 can)
2 eggs
1/3 cup maple syrup, honey, or rice syrup
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 (14-ounce) package silken tofu
1 (9-inch) unbaked pie crust (in pie pan)

1. Preheat oven to 425°F.

2. Put pumpkin, eggs, maple syrup, salt, pumpkin pie spice and tofu into the blender and purée until smooth. (Super FUN!)

3. Pour pumpkin mixture into unbaked pie shell and bake for 15 minutes.

4. Reduce temperature to 350°F and bake an additional 45 minutes, or until set.

Gluten/Dairy Free Cornbread

1 TBS vegan butter
1 cup corn meal
1/2 cup soy flour
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 TBS brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 egg
1 cup soy milk

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Place butter in a 9-inch square baking pan or in a small cast iron skillet. Put the pan in the preheating oven until butter is melted.

3. Remove from oven and tilt the pan back and forth to coat. Set

aside.

4. Mix corn meal, soy flour, brown rice flour, salt, brown sugar and baking soda together.

5. Add egg, milk and melted butter.

6. Combine with a few strokes, not overbeating.

7. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

Enchiladas!

Hello! I saw this recipe (well 2 of them) in The Gluten-Free Vegan by Susan O'Brien. It's actually the reason I bought the book.... It turned out pretty well. I acidentally added the black beans to the sauce instead of putting them with the yams inside the tortillas. And I guess I'm just not a big garlic fan because the garlic was a little too overpowering. I could just smell when I opened the container of leftovers. Sometimes I just like things bland and this was one the times. I'll probably try it again with beans on the inside and no spices. And this did make a lot. I had to freeze 2 servings because I wouldn't be able to eat all of them before going bad just in the fridge. I also served it on top of brown rice for extra nutrition and topped with avocado slices for amazingness! Here's the epic recipe:


Yam and Black Bean Enchiladas with Pomegranate Sauce


3 Large Yams
1 medium yellow oinion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic (I only put in 2 and that was too much for me!)
1 TB crushed coriander seeds
1 TB cumin seeds
1 TB cocoa powder
1 TB chile powder
1 tsp brown sugar
2 TB dried oregano
1 (14-ounce) can crushed tomatoes (or diced)
Seeds and juice from 1 pomegranate
Vegetable Oil
12 small corn tortillas

1. Microwave yams for about 5 minutes after pricking with fork.
2. Saute the onion in a large skillet over medium heat until transparent.
3. Add the garlic, cumin, coriander and continue to saute for 5 minutes.
4. Add the cocoa, chile powder, brown sugar and oregano. Cook for another 5 minutes.
5. Add the tomatoes and pomegranate seeds/juice.
6. Simmer for at least 20 minutes, adding water as necessary to create a medium thick sauce.
7. Cut up the yams into small squares. Put in a bowl.
8. Drain the black beans and add to the yams in the bowl.
9. Heat up a skillet with vegetable oil in it. Warm up the tortillas in it as needed, if tear as rolling.
10. Place enough sauce in the bottom of a 9x11 pan to cover it. Fill the tortillas with the yam and black beans, place in the pan.
11. After all the tortillas and pan in filled then pour the rest of the sauce on top. Place in an oven preheated to 375 degrees. Bake for 10-15 minutes.
12. Serve with avocado and brown rice for a superfood meal! And don't forget to freeze the leftovers!

More Boxes

Happy Birthday to the boyfriend. A friend gave me this mix and I had been waiting for a good time to use it and this seemed like it. I was a little wery of using a box cake mix, especially GF. But I added the stuff it said to in the mix. You had to add 2 eggs, 1 1/2 cups of yogurt (I used plain soy yogurt), vanilla, butter (vegan Earth Balance) and I think that's it. I mixed it all together and it got really thick. I got excitied and started eating the batter. yummm I can taste it now...... I used partchment paper because I wanted the cake to come out well to decorate it. But I didn't know cakes had to bake for so long! I've actually never make a cake by myself before ;) And I ended up doing this late on a friday night, which worked out well because I made the AMAZING frosting while it was baking, did dishes then the cake was done. Took it out and left it to cool overnight, then frosted in the morning. In the end, it turned out super well. I would highly recommend this mix. Now I want to try all the Whole Food's GF mixes! I finally got to try the cake after I gave it to my boyfriend. We both loved it. It stuck together quite well and was moist. So I was proud for making yet another desert! Here's the recipe for the frosting! Cheers to a gluten and dairy free cake!

Dairy Free Chocolate Frosting

1/2 cup (1 stick) dairy-free margarine, room temperature
2-1/2 tablespoons honey (really added to the texture!)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup dairy-free 100% cocoa powder
2-1/2 tablespoons water
2-1/2 cups powdered sugar

Place margarine, honey, and vanilla in mixing bowl. Sift cocoa into this bowl. Using electric beaters at low speed, cream these ingredients together. Add water and sift powdered sugar into mixture. Beat with electric beaters on medium speed until well mixed. Use frosting to frost cake.

Makes about 2-1/2 cups frosting, enough to frost a 9-inch double-layer cake.

Finished!

I wish.

COOKIES! Oh my gosh I wish I could eat them more often. I banned myself from making desserts awhile ago. But last weekend I just had a craving for cookies. I wish there was a place in this small of a town that I could just buy a cookie. But no so I had to make them. Making gluten free cookies from scratch = nightmare. So I bought this box mix at Whole Foods and it was even on sale too. It was really simple, only called for you to add, 1 egg, butter (I used vegan Earth Balance) and vanilla. I mixed everything up and snacked on the yummy yet very crumbly dough. What else about being gluten free is new though?! I squeezed the dough into balls and baked. When I pulled them out of the oven I was amazed to see a real cookie. Not a super flat or spread out mess. The cookies looked real, like in those old days of so called food. I was amazed and ate one when they cooled a bit. Satisfied the craving! Thank you. I froze the rest so I didn't eat them all at once (the reason for the ban on baking) and I still have some a week later. So it worked. Anyways, I recommend this mix, it's pretty quick. I also have the chocolate cake mix that I'm making for my boyfriend's birthday in a few weeks so I'll let you know how that turns out. Good eating!

It was different and delis!

My friend and I try to make dinner every Tuesday night. She has the same food standards that I do, very healthy. And she knows that eating gluten, dairy and meat free is amazing. I saw this recipe in the Whole Foods Market Local Food Magazine also. Told you it has amazing recipes. I wanted to try a different kind of quinoa recipe because I feel all of them are kind of weird. This one was very good. It made a large bowl full! So we had extras for lunch the next few days. I like it because it has all the food groups in it. Protein (3 kinds- nuts, grain, yogurt), veggies, fruit and yeah that's all I eat so yes. Anyways try it out for yourself and enjoy!

Quinoa Salad with Stone Fruit and Basil
1 1/2 cups quinoa
6 Tbs. Olive Oil-divided
4 Tbs. lime juice- divided
1 bunch fresh basil (we only used 4 leaves because we didn't want it too strong, but you could use a few more)
2 cups halved fresh cherries or sliced plums, nectarines, or apricots (I also used pears)
1 cucumber, diced
1 can (1 1/2 cups) cooked chickpeas
2 large shallots, finely chopped
1/4 cup sliced almonds or pine nuts (we used pine nuts-yummy!)
1/4 cup plain soy yogurt

1. Bring 3 cups of water to a boil in a pot. Stir in quinoa. Reduce heat to medium, cover and let sit for 15 minutes, or unitl all the liquid has been absorbed.
2. Remove from heat and cool. Transfer to serving bowl and toss with 3 Tbs. olive oil and 2 Tbs. lime juice. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Lay 5 or 6 basil leaves flat on tip of one another on cutting board. Roll tightly into cylinder, then slives into thin strips.
4. Add basil, cherries, cucumber, chickpeas, shallots and alomonds to quinoa mix. Toss. Chill for 30 minutes to allow flavors to develop.
5. While that is going on, whisk together yogurt, remaing 3 Tbs. olive oil, and remaining 2 Tbs. lime juice in small bowl. Serve salad with yogurt dressing.