Vegan Miso Ginger Dressing

About 6 years ago I decided to ditch bottled grocery store salad dressing (you know, the kind loaded with preservatives, MSG, salts and oils!), and I began making my own dressings with natural ingredients like mustard, vinegar, ginger, and even hot sauce. I used to eat at Japanese recipes just for the salad with ginger dressing. It has taken me a while to create the perfect miso ginger dressing, but now I can finally dine at home!

WHAT YOU NEED & WHAT TO DO:

• 4 tbs rice vinegar

• 3 tbs miso paste (you can find this in the cooler at any Asian super market)

• 3 tbs low sodium soy sauce

• 2 tsp ginger, peeled and grated

• 1 tbs copped white onion

• 1 tsp garlic, minced

• 2 tsp lemon juice

Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor. Blend until creamy.




Keep refrigerated for up to 7 days.

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes

Happy Birthday, Dad! Shhh... do not tell him he these are eggless, dairy-free cupcakes! 

My dad and I share a love for food, especially sweets. However, getting my dad try my culinary experiments, especially any "V-word" dishes, is like introducing spinach to a child. I have not had to resort to using the airplane method yet, but there has been a lot of fibbing involved. Long before I became vegetarian, my parents used to lie to me and tell me chocolate milk came from brown cows, and the pork chop or sirloin steak on my plate was "chicken," since chicken was the only meat I wanted (I guess I never had much of a taste for animals...). In Dad's house, there is meat and a heaping helping of something buttery on the dinner table every night. When I offer to cook my dad dinner he sighs and says, "Whose child are you, anyway? My daughter, cooking another vegetarian meal...." Pops, I am not trying to completely convert you to the dark-veggie-loving-side! I just want you to live a little while longer! More birthdays, more cake!

WHAT YOU NEED & WHAT TO DO

• 2 cups coconut milk
• 1 3/4 cups sugar 
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 tsp pure almond extract 
• 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tsp baking soda
• kosher salt, to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degree.

Line cupcake baking pans with paper baking cups. I also like to grease with olive oil cooking spray so the paper holders can be peeled away from the cake nicely.

In a large bowl, beat coconut milk, sugar, vinegar, vanilla extract, almond extract, and melted coconut oil on low speed with a hand mixer. In a separate bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Sprinkle dry ingredients into the larger bowl and beat on low speed until all clumps are gone. Batter should look and taste like chocolate pudding. Seriously. Taste it raw!  

Divide batter into paper baking cups and bake for 20-22 minutes until spongy. Wait for cupcakes to cool before decorating. Recipe yields 24 cupcakes.

For today's celebrations, I made half of my cupcakes with chocolate frosting and the other half with vanilla frosting using this recipe from my sugar cookie post. 

Strawberry + Goat Cheese Sandwich

I like to think I make a mean meatless sandwich. :)

WHAT YOU NEED & WHAT TO DO

• handful of fresh strawberries, washed, tops removed, and sliced
• 4-5 large basil leafs
• 2 heaping tablespoons of goat cheese
• pinch of ground cinnamon
• bread (I LOVE Trader Joe's multigrain rustico bread)

On a flatiron, heat bread and goat cheese until bread is toasted. Spread warm goat cheese with a knife and sprinkle with cinnamon. Top with fresh basil leafs and sliced strawberries. So easy!

Chickpea + Avocado Sandwich

The weather in Philadelphia has been deceivingly sunny, and I have been longing for refreshing summer foods like avocados and watermelon. Unfortunately, there is still a slight chill in the air that makes me want to cozy-up with hot chocolate and soup. Since Philly is in between seasons, today I paired roasted red pepper tomato soup with a light and tasty chickpea and avocado sandwich. 

WHAT YOU NEED & WHAT TO DO:

• 1 large, ripe avocado
• 1 can organic chickpeas
• multigrain bread (I recently discovered and fell in love with Trader Joe's Multigrain Rustico Bread)
• lemon juice, freshly squeezed 
• 1 tsp dill weed
• handful of fresh spinach (or a fresh tomato, sliced)

Soak chickpea in hot water to remove shells. Scoop avocado into a medium size bowl. Add chickpeas, squeezed lemon juice, and dill. Mash ingredients well with a fork. Optional: toast bread. I prefer to toast my bread when I make this sandwich. Scoop chickpea and avocado mixture onto bread and layer with fresh spinach leafs or sliced beefsteak tomato. The more veggies, the better! Serve with soup and enjoy!

The ingredients listed above are enough to make 2-3 sandwiches. :) 

Frosted Cut-Out Sugar Cookies

My cut-out cookie recipe was created by my great-aunt and is now a family tradition. While growing up, my mother and I would cut the cookie dough into tree and star shapes every year at Christmas time. I get a craving for my favorite cookie and make these for other holidays through out the year. This weekend, I took a road trip with a car full of Valentines from Philly to Western, NY to visit some friends and deliver heart-shape, flower-shape, Hello Kitty, and hockey-inspired cookies. I think there is a cookie for everyone. :)

WHAT YOU NEED & WHAT TO DO:

Cookies:

• 1 egg
• 1 cup margarine, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• pinch of salt
• 2 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large metal bowl, cream egg, softened margarine, sugar, and vanilla. Stir in dry ingredients (baking powder, baking soda, salt and flour) to form a large ball of dough. Chill dough in refrigerator for about 2 hours.

Remove dough from refrigerator and place a sheet of waxed paper sprinkled with flour on your counter top. Scoop dough (about the size of your fist) on to waxed paper. Cover dough with another sheet of waxed paper and roll with rolling pin. Dough should be rolled flat to about 1/8 inches thick. Now the fun part... cut into shapes! With a spatula, place cut-outs on a cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes. Cookies should be lightly golden when removed from oven. Place cookies on a cooling rack for at least 30 minutes before decorating.

Frosting:

• 2 tablespoons margarine, softened
• 1/4 cup vanilla soy milk
• 4 cups confectioner's sugar **food coloring and sprinkles are optional, but highly encouraged :)

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Using a hand-held mixer, cream ingredients. Add additional soy milk or sugar to create a thick, creamy frosting. Frosting should not be too drippy or else it will not set properly on the cookies.

Vegan Marble Banana Bread

When I was very young, my mother and grandmother made it very clear to me how sinful it is to waste food. They would invent new dishes out of leftovers and freeze quarts of unused homemade pasta sauce, and there was absolutely no leaving the kitchen table until my plate was cleared! It pains me to let food go moldy and uneaten, and then have to dispose of it-- even bananas! Of course the best use for very ripe, brown, unattractive bananas is banana bread. Recently I have been coming up with eggless, dairy-free recipes. Here is my vegan-friendly mini banana bread variation altered from my mother's traditional recipe.  The great thing about this bread compared to its original, the vegan version is super (this word makes me cringe...ew) moist! Sorry, Mom. I just discovered a low-fat, moist(er) banana bread!

**This recipe makes 4 mini loafs. To make 1 large loaf, bake for 45 minutes.

WHAT YOU NEED & WHAT TO DO:

• 4 very ripe bananas
• 3/4 cup sugar 
• 3 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1/3 cup coconut milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 6 tablespoons boiling water, divided

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Grease 4 small bread pans (I use cooking spray). Boil water on stove top. In a large bowl, mash bananas with a fork. Wisk in sugar, coconut oil, non-dairy milk, and vanilla with a fork. Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt. Scoop 1 cup of the batter into a small separate bowl. In this bowl, stir in cocoa powder and 3 tablespoons of boiled water. Add remaining boiled water to the batter without chocolate. To marble the bread: spoon 1/2 cup of batter from the large bowl into baking pan. Next, spoon chocolate batter. Alternate spooning the batter until baking pan is 3/4 full. Using a knife, swirl the batter for a few seconds. Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes until golden and spongy.

Spinach + Tomato Grilled Cheese

I am a vegetarian that does not eat near enough vegetables, so my goal this year is to eat more greens! On busy or stressful days like today, I have a habit of eating whatever is most convenient and in closest reach. Without thinking about veggies, I grab a handful of chocolates from a candy dish, a granola bar and some fruit snacks from the vending machine, or a day-old wrap from the delicatessen. I am trying to combat hunger, avoid junk food, and eat more greens by sneaking vegetables into as many meals as possible. One way to do this is by adding avocados, spinach leaves, tomatoes, artichoke hearts and bean sprouts into your sandwich-- and then taking that sandwich to work instead of eating at the delicatessen!

THIS IS WHAT I USE IN MY FAVORITE GRILLED CHEESE:

• Trader Joe's Soft 10-grain Bread (I used Trader Joe's Tuscan Pane for the image above)
• Cheddar cheese (I prefer Trader Joe's Organic Grass-fed New Zeland Cheddar)
• A bunch of fresh spinach
• 1 beefsteak tomato 
• 1 tbsp margarine (or Vegan butter) 

Blueberry Cheddar Dip

Winter really gets me down when the fruits I love are not in season, but I was stoked when I found blueberries on sale this week! I bought a few pints for snacking and the rest were used to make blueberry cheddar dip adapted from Jessica's recipe at How Sweet It Is.

WHAT YOU NEED & WHAT TO DO:

• 1 8oz brick of cream cheese
• 1 11oz package of fresh blueberries
• 3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese 
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium size oven-safe dish, mix softened cream cheese, shredded cheddar cheese and nutmeg. Fold in fresh blueberries. Bake for 30 minutes until blueberries have exploded. Remove from oven, stir gently and serve on a bagel  toast, or as a dip with crackers or pita bread. Refrigerate and reheat in microwave to serve again.

Lemon + Garlic Hummus

Two weeks ago, an old friend of mine visited Philly and I finally coaxed him into writing down his hummus recipe. Since the first time watching him make hummus from memory, I had always wanted to try my hand at it. Finally I had the chance, and above is the result. Hummus is surprisingly easy to make! I like to make mine with lots of lemon and garlic.

WHAT YOU NEED & WHAT TO DO:

• Canned chickpeas
• 2 or 3 generous tablespoons of Tahini per can of chickpeas
• 1 clove of garlic, minced, per can of chickpeas
• squeezed lemon juice from half of a fresh lemon 
• 2 tbsp of olive oil
• salt to taste 
• cumin to taste (optional)

Blend chickpeas in a mixer. The chickpeas have to be thoroughly cooked or if they are canned, soaked in hot water so the skins come off. Add tahini and blend the rest of the ingredients. Drizzle a little more olive oil on top. I also like to sprinkle a little dill weed or paprika. Refrigerate hummus and keep for up to 3 days. Some serving suggestions include pita bread or pita chips. This time I chose to serve mine with Trader Joe's Flaxseed Veggie Chips. If you are a garlic lover, these chips are for you! :)