Pumpkin Gingerbread Muffins

Yesterday was Thanksgiving & I loaded my plate with lots of veggies! I had oven roasted sweet potato & beets, steamed cauliflower & broccoli, mashed potatoes with mushroom gravy (from My Beef With Meat), & of course cranberry sauce. "Where was your protein?", all the meat eaters are asking. My answer - I made raw pumpkin-maple pie with baked oat crust from THE oh she glows COOKBOOK. It's packed with nut protein & pretty darned yummy too!

Then there was leftover pumpkin puree. What's a hen to do? A little research & merge a traditional pumpkin bread recipe with a vegan pumpkin muffin recipe & here it is!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup sugar (your choice)

1/4 cup molasses

1/3 cup canola oil

1 cup pumpkin puree

2 flax eggs (2 Tbs ground flax mixed with 6 Tbs water)

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 tsp baking powder

I tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

pinch of salt

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Method:

Prepare a 12 muffin pan & set aside. Preheat oven to 350F.

In a large bowl, make the flax eggs &  let rest a few minutes. Stir in the rest of the wet ingredients. Add the spices, raisins & nuts. Stir well. Add flours, baking power & baking soda. Stir gently just until all ingredients are combined. Fill muffin pan & bake at 350F for 30 minutes.

Marinated Lentils

This recipe was taken directly from the Oh She Glows Everyday cookbook. It's so yummy I wanted to share it. An easy, make ahead or eat immediately, recipe this is a keeper! it was a hit at Burger Night and that's a tough crowd!

Ingredients:
1 cup uncooked french lentils
1/2 cup uncooked brown lentils
2 TB olive oil
2 TB plus 1 1/2 tsp red wine vinegar...here's where I made a change - I used White Nama Shoya Sauce and no salt or pepper
1 TB fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
 1 1/2 tsp maple syrup
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 1/2 cups sliced green onions both dark and
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1/2 cup oil- packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and finely chopped

1. Pick over lentils, discarding any debris. Rinse and drain. Place lentils in saucepan with 4 cups of water.  Bring to boil then reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered for 20-25 minutes or until tender.
2. In a large bowl whisk together oil, vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, maple syrup, salt. Stir in green onions,  parsley and tomatoes.
3. Drain the lentils really well and spoon them into the bowl with the other ingredients. Stir well.
4. Serve immediately (warm and delicious) or let cool slightly and then cover and marinate in the fridge. You can keep in fridge (in airtight container) for a week. or freeze in a freezer safe ziploc with all the air squeezed out. Lasts 1 month. Angela recommends adding  extra dressing and salt to liven it up.

My Favourite Flower Salad

I first made this salad from a recipe developed by Angela Liddon of  Oh She Glows fame. Props to our famous Canadian vegan cook! It was her version of a salad that she had purchased at Whole Foods. I made Angela's recipe the first time but then made some minor adaptations of my own. My version uses more sunflower seeds & fewer currants because I found the salad too sweet & I like to have an extra boost of protein. I also halved it & renamed it. It's an adaptable recipe, so try it out & add your own twist.

1 head broccoli
1/2 head cauliflower
1&1/4 cups shredded carrots
 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup currants
1/4 cups raisins
1/4 cup parsley
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
black pepper

I use my 7 cup Cuisinart food processor for this recipe.
Using the grater attachment, shred a large carrot & place in a large bowl.
Remove the flowers from a head of broccoli & place in the food processor, fitted with chopping blade. Chop until fine & place in the bowl with the carrots.
Remove the flowers from 1/4 head of cauliflower. Process until fine. Place them in the bowl with the other veggies. Repeat for the remaining 1/4 head.
Remove the leaves from a small bunch of parsley. Process until fine. Add to bowl.
Add the sunflower seeds, currants, raisins, lemon juice, salt & pepper.
Stir until everything is well mixed. Salad will keep, in the fridge for several days.
I love having this salad on hand. It goes with everything & is delicious on it's own for a quick snack.

pan-seared garlic tofu

This recipe is from  the oh she glows cookbook. Thanks Angela Liddon! It's simple, tasty & versatile. I like to eat is just as is but it's also good to add to stir fries, salads, veggie bowls, summer rolls ..... you get the idea.

this photo is 1/2 of the recipe

serves 4

Ingredients
1 lb block of firm or extra firm tofu
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp fine grain sea salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbs melted coconut oil

Method
Press tofu for at least 30 minutes.
Slice pressed tofu into 9 or 10 rectangles & then slice each rectangle into 6 squares.
In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Toss to fully coat tofu.
Preheat a cast-iron (heavy bottomed non-stick) skillet over medium heat for several minutes.
When a drop of water sizzles on the skillet, it's ready.
Add the oil to the skillet & tilt to coat evenly.
Add the tofu to the pan, Reduce heat to medium low & cook tofu for 3-5 minutes on each side or until golden.

Chocomole!!

Chocomole!!

This recipe is from Angel Liddon. She calls it Salted Chocolate Avocado Pudding & it can be found on her Oh She Glows app. I adapted it very slightly by using half the amount of coconut oil. I used sunflower seed butter, because I didn't have any almond butter on hand & agave instead of brown rice syrup, also due to a pantry shortage.
This pudding is just plain delicious. I like to eat it with seasonal berries / fruit. You can also use it as frosting on cake or freeze it in moulds to make a frozen treat.

Serves 3-4

Ingredients
3/4 cup of packed avocado (1 medium)      
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
2 Tbs agave syrup
1 Tbs melted coconut oil
2 Tbs unsweetened almond milk
1 Tbs sunflower seed butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp fine sea salt

Directions
If you're making just one batch of this, a mini food processor works well. If you're doubling (or more!) use a larger one.
Scoop the avocado into the food processor along with all the other ingredients & process until smooth. Chill for 2 hours, if you can wait that long ;)