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Oh, Snap!!! As in, Ginger Snap…
Sweet, chewy and crunchy. Gingery molasses… It may be 100 degrees outside still, but in my oven I’m preparing for winter…
2 1/2 cups rice flour
2 tsp xanthan gum
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp pink salt
1/2 tbsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 cups coconut palm sugar
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup molasses
Heat oven to 375.
Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, combine sugar and oil, then add molasses. Add dry ingredients to wet in batches and mix well.
Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Pour some sugar on to a plate, roll dough into balls and roll in the sugar. Place them on baking sheet about 2 inches apart.
Bake in oven for about 10 minutes. Let cool on sheet.
Dip cookies in milk. A nutritious part of a balanced breakfast.
Vegan, Gluten-Free Cornbread
I’ve never made cornbread before. But I think I will again.
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup brown rice flour
3 tsp xantham gum
1/2 tsp pink salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
Onion and/or garlic to taste (optional)
1 cup water or nut milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil plus 2 tablespoons
1/2 cup agave nectar
1 to 2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and chopped (optional, or replace with 1/2 cup corn, canned, frozen or fresh)
Mix dry ingredients in large bowl. Mix wet ingredients in separate large bowl. Add wet to dry, stir until just mixed, then add the jalapeño peppers. Pour into a lightly greased baking pan, 8×5 or 9×6 or something similar. Bake for about 30 to 40 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
Sesame Ginger Miso Dressing
I was talking to my dear friend Jen last night, and among our many topics if discussion were trees, Chicken, and how food that you buy from the store pretty much sucks. All of it. Pretty much sucks. There is nothing that can compare to fresh, homemade food.
That being said, here is a recipe for some easy, delicious salad and salad dressing.
To make dressing:
In blender, combine 1 tablespoon miso paste, 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, 2 to 3 tablespoons sesame seeds or tahini, 1 to 2 tsp ginger fresh or ground, 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1/4 cup of water. Blend everything very well, and if dressing is too creamy for you, add a little more water. If it’s too runny, add more sesame or tahini.
Toss with a delicious salad (lettuce, sprouts, carrots, cucumber, onion, avocado) then serve in individual bowls.
Today’s Special
It’s not often I make a full on meal…. I am very lazy…. And I am not sure if this qualifies, but it was more than one bowl of food…. So that’s like, 2 meals…. Enough for 2 people…..
I made these awesome Savory Sweet Potatoes with Raw Fancy Ketchup (or maybe it was Catsup….) and Yummy Salad with Raw Hemp Ranch Dressing. It seems like a lot of work but it was quite easy…
Step 1: Soak sun dried tomatoes (1/2 cup) in water. If using oil packed sun dried tomatoes, skip this step.
Step 2: Savory Sweet Potatoes
Heat oven to 375.
Chop sweet potatoes into chunks, like fries or whatever size or shape you like. Toss them with some olive oil, salt, onion powder and garlic (fresh or ground) and spread on baking sheet or pan or dish. Bake.
Step 3: Prepare Yummy Salad
Chop lettuce, herbs and whatever greens you want to combine and put into a very large mixing bowl. Chop half a cucumber, add to bowl. Shred 1 carrot, add to bowl. Add like a tablespoon of some fresh, chopped onion. Add avocado if you want. I always want avocado.
Step 4: Prepare Raw Hemp Ranch Dressing
In a blender combine 4 heaping tablespoons hemp seeds, 4 large chopped basil leaves, lots of dried onion and garlic, about a tablespoon of chopped jalapeño, 1 tablespoon olive oil, juice from one lemon, and a little less than a half cup of water. Blend for about 2 to 3 minutes, or until smooth and creamy.
Step 5: Raw Fancy Ketchup
In a blender (use a small one if you have it) combine soaked tomatoes, dried onion and garlic, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon agave nectar, and about 1/4 cup of water. Blend. If the mixture is too chunky to blend well, add about a tablespoon more of water and blend again. Blend until smooth, only adding very small amounts of water to get the right consistency.
Step 6: Serve and eat!!!
By this time the potatoes should be nice and done and ready to eat. Remove from oven and let them cool a bit.
Toss the salad with the dressing immediately before serving, portion into bowls.
Put potatoes on a plate or bowl with ketchup on the side.
Get down and dirty with your vegan self. This is good stuff right here.
Butter Lettuce Salad
I recently discovered butter lettuce. It’s smooth and slightly sweet and makes a really wonderful base for salads.
Salad for 2
1/2 head butter lettuce, chopped
1 grated carrot
1 chopped small heirloom tomato
1/2 peeled and chopped cucumber
3 tbsp hemp seeds (optional)
1 tbsp sunflower seeds (optional)
1/2 tsp pink salt
Juice from 1 lime
2 tbsp olive oil
1 avocado halved, pitted and sliced
Nutritional yeast
Combine all ingredients in a very large bowl except avocado and nutritional yeast. Toss with tongs until mixed evenly. Divide into serving bowls and top with avocado slices and nutritional yeast. Be prepared to want seconds.
Mashed Raw-taters and Wavy Un-gravy
I have always found the idea of raw living a little daunting. It seems nearly impossible- how could I survive a 13 hour shift at work? Or a four day camping trip? It’s hard enough being a level 10 vegan. But, I am learning that planning is the key to being successful at many things in life. So I got this cool, new, raw foods recipe book and I tried making something that seemed easy from it: mashed potatoes and gravy (they both had about 4 ingredients and 1 direction- combine and blend). And it was easy enough. And it was delicious. But it didn’t taste like mashed potatoes or gravy. Which is not surprising since the recipe did not include one single potato. It’s more like yummy salad pudding. Sounds crazy…. But really…. It’s yummy….
Mashed Raw-taters
1/2 head cauliflower, chopped
2 avocados, pitted and scooped out
1/4 cup onion powder
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt (or more to taste)
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tbsp olive oil
Combine. Blend til smooth.
Wavy Un-gravy
1/2 cup nuts (cashew, almond, pecan, walnut whatever)
3/4 cup water
2 to 3 tbsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
Black pepper and salt to taste
Combine. Blend til smooth.
Pour gravy over taters. I top mine with a generous sprinkling of nutritional yeast.
Spicy Coconut Cashew Curry
Jaya Ganesha!
Cook quinoa or rice.
In a blender combine 2/3 cup coconut milk with 3 tablespoons of cashew butter. Add spices (turmeric, paprika, lots of cumin, chili powder, pepper, ginger, salt) and blend. Taste, and add more seasoning as desired. For creamier sauce add more cashew butter, for a mire liquidy sauce add more coconut milk.
Sautée tempeh with garlic, add broccoli and other vegetables.
Layer in rice or quinoa in bowls, spoon some tempeh veggies on top and pour on the sauce. Sprinkle some coconut shavings for garnish.
Om shanti!!
Vegan, Gluten-free, Hemp Pesto Pasta
Winning pesto pasta….
Make pasta of choice. I use gluten free vegetable spirals.
Chop one large bunch basil. About 2 cups.
Chop 2 medium tomatoes.
In blender, mix about 3/4 of the basil with a half cup of olive oil, a few cloves if chopped garlic, salt to preferred taste and juice from one lemon. After blending well, add a quarter cup or so of hemp seeds and blend one more time quickly.
Drain pasta, divide into bowls, then mix in remaining chopped basil. Add tomatoes and pour pesto sauce on. Garnish with nutritional yeast.
Add sautéed tempeh for protein.














