Wild Rice, Butter Bean and Roasted Carrots

Rice and beans are great because they are a complete protein. Rice and beans are less great because they can be boring. This is a delectable recipe that is unstoppably eatable. I say that even after it includes two things I strongly dislike: raw onion and dill.

Serves 6
50 minutes

1/2 cup Wild rice
1/2 cup Brown rice
1 can Butter beans, rinsed & drained
4-5 medium carrots
1/2 small Red onion, sliced paper thin
4 Garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp Olive oil
Bundle of fresh dill, diced
Salt & Pepper

Dressing
2 Tbsp Mustard
2 Tbsp Maple syrup
4 Tbsp Apple cider vinegar
3 Tbsp Olive oil
2 pinches of Salt

1. In a pot add 2 cups water, wild rice and a pinch of salt; bring to boil and reduce to simmer for about 45 minutes. (when the rice is cooked, it'll split open and show you it's naughty bits)
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slice carrots into 1/2 inch diagonals. Put in bake dish, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle minced garlic, salt and pepper over the top and toss. Roast in oven for 15 minutes.
3. In another pot put 2 cups water, brown rice and a pinch of salt. Bring to boil and reduce to simmer until rice is cooked, about 20 minutes.
4. Mix your dressing in a separate bowl.
5. When the time goes off on your carrots, mix in beans and roast another 5 minutes.
6. Drain rice when cooked and mix everything together: Rices, carrots and beans, dill, onion slivers and dressing. Add more salt and pepper if needed. Serve nice n' warm.

Original recipe from My New Roots

Vegan Pistachio Pudding

If it isn't evident by my last few posts, I am in Winter hibernation mode. All comfort food, all the time. My taste buds say yes, my jeans say no. I'll figure out which one to listen to while I eat my pudding.

Serves 6
20 minutes active + 3 hours to soak nuts & another 2 hours to set

1 cup Pistachio nuts
3 cups Almond milk (or vegan milk of choice)
1/4 cup Baby spinach
1/4 cup Corn starch
3/4 Sugar
1/8 tsp Salt
2 tsp Vanilla extract (the quality stuff, always the quality stuff)

1. Shell nuts if needed, soak in water for three hours, drain and add to food processor (or Vitamix) along with 1 1/2 cup milk and spinach. Blend until very smooth.
2. In saucepan add all your dry ingredients and mix. Mix in your pistachio mixture. Put pan over medium heat and stir in remaining milk. Stir continuously, until pudding coats the back of your spoon. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
3. Split into little cups, bowls, ramekins, whatever your heart desires. Place in fridge for two hours, possibly the longest two hours of your life. Serve!

Original recipe from Your Vegan Mom

Mount Dandy

I had some left over brandy from glogg making this Holiday season so I decided to whip together a cocktail. I know what you're thinking: Even Snookie wouldn't drink brandy from a martini glass! I apologize, I don't have a full assortment of drink-ware.

Serves 4
20 minutes

1/2 cup Brandy
1/3 cup Triple sec
2/3 cup Blackberry simple syrup
1/2 cup Sweetened vanilla almond milk
4 Blackberries for garnish

Blackberry Simple Syrup
1 cup Light brown sugar
1 cup Water
1 cup Blackberries
6 1inch pieces orange peel
1/4 tsp Vanilla extract, high quality

1. Simple syrup: Combine water and sugar in sauce pan over low heat. Meanwhile, process blackberries in food processor till smooth. Once sugar is dissolved add blackberries, orange peels and vanilla. Simmer for 15 minutes, strain and allow to cool.
2. Cocktail: Combine triple sec, brandy and simple syrup; pour into glass. Pour your float by placing spoon face up on the edge of your glass; pour milk, very slowly, into spoon allowing to over flow. Here is a perfect example.
3. I always toast, for there is always something to toast!

Peppered Chocolate Dipped Chips

I wanted a fun, fancy, decadent finger food to go with my cocktails the other night. Now you can see exactly how classy I am: fancy + decadent = chocolate dipped potato chips. After I got this whole thing rolling I decided that pink peppercorns would have been waaaaaaay better but I didn't have any. So I'm telling you: Use pink peppercorns.

Serves 2-4
20 minutes

A bag of your favorite salted potato chips
1 cup Vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup Almond milk
2 Tbsp Powdered sugar (possibly more)
Pink peppercorns (or in my case black)
Parchment paper

1. Heat chocolate in a double pot* Vegan chocolate needs a little help melting sometimes so I add a little bit of almond milk at a time to get it to a nice consistency. Add powdered sugar. You want a balance between the salty and sweet so, if your chips are super salty make your chocolate more sweet.
2. Once your chocolate is smooth and sweet enough, start dipping your chips, shimmy any extra chocolate off and lay on parchment paper.
3. About every 10 chocolate dipped chips grind fresh pink peppercorns over the top. Repeat, allow to set and enjoy!

*When I say double pot I'm referring to a pot inside a pot. If you have a set great! If you don't it's easy to replicate. Take a big pot and fill it half way with water. Set another, smaller, pot inside this pot. If the water flows into the smaller pot dump some water until it doesn't anymore. The smaller, interior pot is where you'll be doing your melting (if that wasn't obvious)

Plenty: Tamara's Ratatouille

We live down the street from this great, local book store. We often wonder in on a lazy evening and spend a little too much time browsing books. I can always be found thumbing through cookbooks. I never make the commitment of purchasing one because I always feel they are a boring index of recipes, half of which we can't use. Every once and a while though l pick one up and want to read it cover to cover like a copy of Game of Thrones. This is actually a book for vegetarians but it was so very exciting (and the vegetarian recipes seem relatively easy to alter) I had to pick it up. Needless to say: Go buy, in the meanwhile, here is a preview of what awesome food you can expect.

Serves 4
1 hour 30 minutes

8 Tbsp Sunflower oil
2 small onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, sliced
1/2 Green chile
2 Red bell peppers, diced
1/2 small butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1 Parsnip, peeled and diced
1 cup Green beans, trimmed
1 Zucchini, diced
1/2 large Eggplant, peeled and cubed
1 Potato, peeled and diced
2 Tomatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp Tomato paste
Salt and Pepper
1 cup Water
Cilantro, chopped for garnish

1. Prep all of your veggies. I've never chopped so many veggies in my life!
2. Heat 2/3 of the oil on medium-high heat in a large pot. Add onions, cook 5 minutes. Add garlic, chile and bell peppers for 5 minutes. Add squash and parsnip for 5 minutes.
3. Remove veggies from pot into a large bowl. Add remaining oil to pot, heat and add green beans, zucchini and eggplant for 5 minutes. Return the rest of the veggies to the pot.
4. Add remaining ingredients EXCEPT cilantro. Simmer on low heat for 30 minutes. Add salt and pepper as needed.
5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pour veggies into a roasting pan. Cook for 30 minutes.
6. Garnish and serve. So good!

Over cooking the vegetables is exactly the point here - Yotam Ottolenghi

Vegan Caesar Salad

Holy crap, this one is good. The boyfriend told me he would eat this everyday. Which is saying a lot because it's neither chicken, nor cinnamon roll. I'm sure if I cared, I could have made gluten-free croutons, but the idea of buying an entire loaf (or shall I say brick) of gluten-free bread just to make a hand full of croutons is foolish. Walnuts are better, I need not explain why.

Serves 4
10 minutes

Dressing
1 Tbsp Almond butter
1 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 tsp Nutritional yeast
1 Tbsp Tamari
2 Tbsp Lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 1/2 tsp Olive oil

Garlic Garnish
1/2 cup Vegetable oil
4 Garlic cloves, sliced
1 Tbsp Nutritional yeast
Pinch of salt

1 bundle Romaine lettuce, roughly chopped
1/2 cup Walnuts, roughly chopped
Black pepper

1. Mix all your dressing ingredients together in your salad bowl. I like my Caesar dressing on the thick side, if you do not, just add water till you get a consistency you like. Now, with the back of a spoon smear the dressing to coat the interior of the bowl, add your lettuce and toss. This will give all your little lettuce bites an even coating of dressing.
2. For the garlic garnish; in a small pot, heat your oil on medium heat.Toss your garlic slices in nutritional yeast and salt. When oil is heated put the garlic in till golden, about 1-2 minutes, it happens quick! Beware! With a slotted spoon remove from oil and place on paper towel.
3. Assemble. Lettuce, fresh ground pepper on top, a sprinkle of walnuts and toasted garlic.

Original dressing recipe from My New Roots

Pink Sunrise

I thought it was about time I started sharing some of the juices I throw together in the mornings. Usually they consist of anything about to go bad. Happy accidents are the most exciting.

Serves 2
10 minutes

2 Oranges, peeled
1 Lemon, peeled
1 Red apple
1 cup Blueberries
2 inches Ginger, peeled

1. Juice, drink, smile.

Alcoholics note: A good gin, add as much as needed.