Pancakes! (easy, and vegan!)

Who doesn't love a good pancake?! NO ONE! Well almost no one :)

Anyway, these are super simple.

Vegan Pancake

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 TBS Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Salt

1 tsp Sugar

2 TBS Vegetable oil (I used olive but I bet coconut would have been fantastic!)

1 cup Almond milk (or any other dairy free milk, rice or soy or hemp or oat or coconut...etc)

Some vegan butter for the pan, I used Earth Balance with Olive Oil

Mix together! Heat up the "butter" in a pan and pour some batter in, flip when the edges brown. Not that you need to be told how to make pancakes! 

You can add WHATEVER you want! I put some blueberries in one.

But you can add pretty much any fruit, bananas, strawberries, cranberries, lemon zest, maybe some chocolate chips, or cinnamon, or some pumpkin pie spice, the list can go on and on. Enjoy with some pure maple syrup, vegan butter, jam, orrrrr my fave, peanut butter!!

 

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Happy Saturday everyone :) 

Edamame Pesto

Pesto is already wonderful. Fragrant, green, I feel like it just makes anything you put it on a little bit fancier.

Anyway, here's the recipe:

Edamame Pesto

1 cup cooked Edamame (shelled, of course) I bought the bag from Trader Joe's frozen section and followed the package.

About 2 handfuls of fresh basil leaves

1 clove garlic

2 Tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Juice and zest of 1 lemon

Salt and Pepper

And that's it! Put everything in a food processor and ta-da! A plant based, dairy free, full of protein....Pesto. Yum yum.

Now what to do with it? Well friends, that's up to you.

You could put it on some crusty bread, maybe use it as a spread in a sandwhich (with smoked tofu and arugula)

Maybe put it on some sauteed veggies?

Maybe add those veggies with some more pesto to some pasta, for a portable lunch.

The possibilities are endless! Enjoy :)

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Basil Strawberry Cucumber Salad

Simplicity is best sometimes. And that's the philosophy of this salad. 

Ingredients:

Strawberries

1 cucumber, or 2 small ones

juice and zest of 1 lemon

1 Tbs Agave syrup

About 1/2 handful roughly chopped fresh basil

just the tiniest sprinkling of balsamic (optional)

I LOVE basil. It's aromatic, and beautiful, and in my opinion it adds a touch of "fancy" to pretty much everything you put it in.

 

Ok! Now chop up strawberries and cucumber and mix the "dressing" together and then pour over the top

Simply delicious. The Balsamic isn't absolutely necessary, but it does bring out something a little extra delish in the strawberries. 

Good food, happy girl, awesome life. Happy Friday everyone! :)

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Tomato Toast

I love tomatoes. I was so happy at the farmer's market yesterday when I saw those big, plump, red tomatoes everywhere. Those are the just the best, the homegrown, organic, in-season tomatoes. Yummmm!

Anyway, sometimes when it comes to delicious ingredients straight from nature, less is more. This is my Sunday morning spring breakfast (Today is MY Sunday). 

Toast 2 pieces of hearty whole wheat bread (I used Dave's Killer Bread, for this toast you want a hearty bread preferably full of grains and seeds)

Cover the toast with a thin layer of veganaise. Or even hummus. You can use mayo, I suppose.

Slice up 1/2 of one of those huge tomatoes and layer on the slices

Sprinkle on some black pepper and maybe a teensy little bit of salt

Make some coffee or tea and enjoy :)

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Black Bean Salad

This only has a few ingredients! 

Black Beans (I used 2 cans, fresh is definitely better if you can)

Handful of chopped cilantro

Juice of 2 limes

1 yellow pepper

1 orange pepper

(You can add red onion if you'd like, but I don't care much for onions)

Add a pinch of salt and black pepper
You can also add corn. I just didn't have any.

Honestly, I will probably mix this with some mixed greens for lunch tomorrow. It will be delicious. 

Yum!

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Oven-Roasted Veggies

I don't know why I was always intimidated by roasting veggies! It's so easy! I had some veggies in the fridge that were going a little soft and I needed something portable to eat, just got a new job y'know ;)

Anyway! Just take any veggies you have, I had yellow squash, green bell peppers and eggplant.

Toss with some extra virgin olive oil, plenty of black pepper and salt. I also chopped up some garlic and roasted that alongside the vegetables. 

 Roast at 425 degrees for 35-45 minutes.

Now what to do with it? You could toss it with some pasta, add some balsamic and cherry tomatoes, black olives, and fresh chopped basil..

And even better! If you plan to eat it cold, toss with some mixed greens (This is a blend of baby spinach, chard, and kale)

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If you have another idea, let me know! Enjoy :)

Cilantro-Lemon Hummus

I know there are toooooons of store bought hummus(es?). I know that most of them are delicious. But there is just something I find so cool, and ultimately delicious, about making my own! It cost way less too, trust me on that. Especially if you find the dried Garbanzo beans in bulk and just buy like 1 lb. This recipe can be used with canned beans as well. This makes 1 serving, as always you can double it, or even triple it if you have a large food processor. Ok! Enough of my blabbing, here goes!

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked garbanzo beans (note: I bought them dry and boiled them in water with some chopped onions and garlic for about 35 minutes, or until they were soft.)

1 handful cilantro. No need to chop.

1/2 cup liquid (water or veggie broth)

Juice of 1 lemon

1 tsp Salt

1 (or more) tsp black pepper

Put all the ingredients in a blender or food processor.

Blend!This takes awhile, be patient. 

And enjoy. Simple and delicious. Enjoy with veggies, pita chips, or as a spread on a sandwich. I was actually eating it with a spoon, but I love hummus more than the average person. 

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