cold bar from the deli down the street. crispy tofu in fresh sweet chili sauce. snow pea salad. ginger wings. bet.
REAL Food Changes People. Something to chew on.
Archives for posts with tag: sweet
My take on ‘French’ toast. Using Clearance rack bread, that is usually a day old or more, eggs and cream (custard), spices and a cast iron pan. This is best made the night before breakfast, so the custard can really get into the bread.
Serves 5. Pure delicious.
1 large loaf Italian bread, cut in 1 in. thick slices
3 cups evaporated milk ( or use what you have on hand – soy, dairy, etc.)
3 eggs
2 tablespoons agave syrup, plus additional for topping
2 tablespoons brown or raw sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon, plus additional for sprinkling
1 TBsp powdered ginger
1 TBsp powdered nutmeg
1 TBsp powdered clove
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract, optional*
In a medium bowl whisk the milk, eggs, sugar and agave, cinnamon, salt and extracts, pour over the bread. Sprinkle with additional cinnamon and sugar.
Line a deep baking dish with the bread slices, and pour the milk mixture over top. Let the bread soak for a minimum of 10 minutes, longer if you can. Make sure both sides of each toast have a good soaking of the custard mixture absorbed.
Heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat, melt a tab of butter in the pan and fry the toast for 7 – 10 min. per side or until they turn golden brown.
Alternatively, you can bake the toast uncovered at 425F for 30 minutes, or until puffed and golden.
Serve Immediately.
Top with fresh fruit, yogurt and honey, granola, almond slices, Fresh Fruit Jams or with this delicious Pecan Praline Topping:
Praline Topping
1 stick butter, slightly softened
1 cup raw sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons agave syrup
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and mix well. Cook over medium heat for 5 – 10 minutes, until sugars melt and the mixture has a nice caramel consistency.
//Ingredients//
2 parts tamari
1 part agave syrup (or other sweetener)
1 part rice vinegar
1 part dark sesame oil
2 TBsp ginger, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 scallion, sliced
juice OR zest of 1 lime (zest packs more punch)
//Method//
Use as a marinade for seitan, tofu, chicken, beef, pork or veggies.
Grill on a hot surface for 10 – 15 mins per side.
Try to pause between bites, it’s soo darn good.
Dessert around our house is usually something like Fig Newtons, Fruit, Ice Cream or a home-made treat (cookies, pudding, cake, tart…). Last Sunday I decided to try my hand at an old-time favorite, Zucchini Carrot Bread.
For those of you not familiar with the old-school church bake sale staple, this ‘bread’ actually tastes more like cake and is so moist it sticks to the roof your mouth. It is best served with an ice cold glass of almond milk (coming soon).
With a sweet, slightly crisp ‘crust’ and two servings of vegetables in each slice, this is a perfect afternoon snack for the kids I had to make two loaves, just to be sure I had enough on hand for the kids and DH. Also makes a great compromise for parents who are keeping a close eye on their child’s sugar intake. The prep is simple, and the cooking is only setting the oven and the timer. *Snap*
Ingredients:
* 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/2 tsp. baking soda
* 1/2 tsp. baking powder
* 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
* 2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
* 1/2 tsp. ground cloves
* 2 large eggs (You can substitute using flax egg: 2 tablespoons spoon ground flax seeds + 6 tablespoons spoons water)
* 1/2 cup vegetable oil
* 2/3 cup Agave Nectar (1 cup Sucanat can also be used)
* 1 tsp. vanilla
* zest of one lemon
* 1-1/2 cups shredded zucchini
* 1-1/2 cups shredded carrot
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Coat a loaf pan with butter. Sprinkle coated loaf pan with all purpose flour. Shake off excess.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together first 6 ingredients. Use a whisk to make sure everything is well incorporated.
3. In a large bowl, beat eggs, oil, sugar, vanilla and lemon zest. Stir in zucchini and carrot.
4. Stir flour mixture into zucchini carrot mixture. Pour into prepared pan.
5. Bake 40-55 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
Serves 6 – 8
Slices of this make for a totally rad midnight snack. Just ask my husband. <3>
Sometimes, cravings and flavors just begin to take on a life of their own. Such is the case with this recipe. I was looking for a good smoky, BBQ-esque, Asian fusion kind of dish. That, of course, did not involve meat of any kind. I’ve seen some BBQ shaved Seitan sandwich recipes, and Hoisin Tofu recipes – neither got me too excited. I had a great starter by way of a staple seitan recipe – which can be modified many different ways. But I was still missing that magic…
Last week sometime (the day before I began my Spring fast) I picked up the April 2009 issue of Real Simple Magazine. There was a cool article about Cleaning Your House Naturally that caught my attention, but lo and behold there on p. 151 was a recipe for Ginger Hoisin sauce. Needless to say I knew exactly how to take this and make it stellar! I turned an awesome vegan rib recipe into Ginger Hoisin Glazed Veg*n Ribs.
Recipe after the jump. If you make it that far. Ok. Seriously. Stop Drooling.
2 Cups vital wheat gluten
4 Teaspoons paprika
4 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
4 Teaspoons onion powder
2 Tablespoons Chinese five spice powder
4 Teaspoons garlic powder
1 1/2 cups water
4 Tablespoons Tahini
2 Tablespoons natural peanut butter
2 Teaspoons Liquid Hickory Smoke
3 Tablespoons Tamari
1 Tablespoon freshly minced ginger (optional)
2 Green onions sliced (optional)
2 Cups Ginger Hoisin Glaze
Preheat the oven to 375 and lightly grease a deep roasting pan.
Mix the first 5 ingredients together in a large bowl.
Mix the water with the nut butter, Liquid Smoke, peanut butter and soy sauce (make sure there are little to no clumps) and add it to the dry ingredients.
Stir to mix well and then knead lightly by hand in the bowl for a couple of minutes, until the dough is smooth and keeps its shape.
Roll the dough out to 1/2 inch thickness.
Cut strips out of the dough and roll them out to about a 1/4 inch thickness (dough will spring back).
Place your seitan strips into your roasting pan.
Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.
Then set broiler on high and broil your seitan strips for 5 minutes.
Remove the pan from the oven.
Brush the Ginger Hoisin Glaze onto the seitan strips, and return to broiler for another 5 minutes or until glaze is slightly crispy.
Garnish with green onion, or freshly minced ginger.
