Sweet Potato Black Bean Wraps & Carrot Cake Cupcakes w Vegan Creamcheese Icing!

Sweet Potato Black Bean Wraps with Kale and Mushrooms
as inspired by this recipe for Sweet Potato Black Bean Burritos

serves three to four

vegan

alter to taste

(garden fresh kale!)

Ingredients:

>whole wheat pitas

For the Sweet Potatoes

• 1 med size sweet potato
• 1 Tablespoons vegan butter
  
• salt & pepper
  

For the Mushrooms, Kale & Beans

• 1/2 large spanish onion
• 2 garlic cloves
  
• 1 or 2 portabello mushrooms
• handful of green kale leaves
  
• 1/2 large can of black beans

• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon Cajun spice
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• a pinch of oregano
• ground pepper to taste

Directions:

Peel and chop sweet potato and boil until soft. Add the vegan butter and salt and pepper then make it into a mash! Meanwhile, in a frying pan, add onions and garlic until soft. Continue to add the rest of the ingredients for frying. The whole wheat pitas can be warmed by placing them on top of the ingredients frying near the end of cooking. Serve the sweet potato mash and veggie/bean mixture as seperate dishes for the table so that warmed wraps can be assembled individually. As with many of the dishes I've been making lately, offer Chimmichurri sauce on the side!

Carrot Cake Cupcakes w Vegan Cream Cheese Icing!

vegan

makes twelve cupcakes

Ingredients:

4 large carrots

1 banana

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

dash of salt

1 heaping tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

dash of cardamom

1/8 cup brown sugar

1 tbsp maple syrup

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp vanilla

1 tbsp almond milk

1/4 cup nut mix or pecans or walnuts

Icing:

1 small can coconut milk

1/4 cup vegan cream cheese

pineapple or citrus fruit juice (1 bloodorange, squeezed)

1 tsp vegan mayo

1 tsp wheat germ

1 tbsp oats

1 tbsp flour

1 tsp maple syrup

1 tbsp hemp hearts

1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Boil or steam 4 large peeled carrots. Blend with banana andd small amount of water for consistency. Add to large mixing bowl. In a large mixing bowl add cake ingredients together. Mixture should have a wet, maleable consistency without being runny. Pour into oiled cupcake pan and make for 25 mins at 350 degrees in the oven.

ICING:

In the meantime, cream together icing ingredients, stir to produce a lightly frothed liquid. Put the vegan icing into the freezer until the cupcakes are finished baking. This should produce a thicker icing like texture. Take the carrot cake cupcakes out of the oven and let cool for several minutes. Remove carefully, top with generous portions of icing and serve!

I've converted the original recipe to a vegan one, and it would have been nice to have the toasted pecan, crushed pineapple and white chocolate for the icing! Yet I think you will find these a crowd pleaser and people will be amazed that this is a vegan recipe! ENJOY!

Personal Pizza Vegan Yummyness!

Personal Vegan Pizza

Ingredients:
pita bread
oil
tomato sauce
vegan pepperoni or zucchini
green pepper or other vegetable
vegan mozzerella
romano beans
garlic cloves
parsley
basil

Method:
On a baking sheet at 350 degrees for 20 mins:

On a fresh whole wheat round pita bread, add oil and tomato sauce to start. Add vegan pepperoni or zucchini . Add chopped green pepper or any other vegetable of choice! Top with 1/4 shredded vegan mozzerella cheese, handful of romano beans, freshly chopped garlic, parsley, basil and cracked pepper. Try it with zaatar sprinkled on the crust!

Polenta: It's Whats For Dinner!

It's great when you try something new and it just works! Just came up with this dish that has a polenta/yellow cornmeal base and it is so tasty. It has a nice rose-creme like sauce which is a refreshing feature in a vegan dish!

Serves 2

In a saucepan on the stove (medium heat):

1/2 cup cornmeal/polenta
2 cups water

add desired amount of chives, thyme, basil, parsley, oregano or 1 drop of oregano oil (add spices as desired such as chili, salt and pepper or any fresh herb such as cilantro!)

In a frying pan on the stove (high heat):

2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 can beans or chick peas
1/4 cup vegan cheese, grated (mozzerella or cheddar style)
1 yellow pepper, cut into strips
1/4 cup tomato sauce

garnish the dish with halved cherry tomatoes and a generous helping of cut up fresh green sprouts!

You may choose to serve this meal as two seperate parts or mix all of the ingredients together at the end et

fin.

Cumin Asparagus & Tamarind Chutney

APPROX 10 STALKS ASPARAGUS, CUT IN HALF
1/4 ONION, CHOPPED
LOTS OF CUMIN

A DASH OF TAMARIND (PASTE/CHUTNEY)

GARLIC (POWDERED OR FRESHLY MINCED)
SALT & PEPPER

FRY IN OIL UNTIL COOKED AS DESIRED

SERVE OVER RED OR WHITE QUINOA, RICE, LENTILS OR POTATOES

WITH A SPOONFUL OF TAHINI, CHUTNEY, CHIMICHURRI ON THE SIDE!

Mum's Vegan Lasagna

VEGAN LASAGNA JUST THE WAY MY MUM MAKES IT FOR ME!

Ingredients:

2 packages (of 340g) veggie ground, added to sauce mixture
spices (basil, oregano, pepper, garlic & onion powder), added to sauce mixture
2 tall jars of tomato sauce (add 2 tbsp brown sugar)
1 package mozzerella soy cheese, shredded
1 package Daiya mozzerella (tapioca/pea protien) shredded cheese
1 large stock of broccoli, steamed
1 small head of califlower, steamed
2 cups of carrots, shredded, steamed
1 package of cooked lasagna sheets (vegan)
*enough for 3 layers

Directions:

Steam carrots (separately) until soft, steam broccoli and califlower together until a fork goes through. But not mushy! Create sauce mixture by adding veggie ground to tomato sauce, reserving 2 cups of sauce for bottom and top. In a large deep baking dish, spread 1 cup of tomato sauce. Layer lasagna noodles (slightly overlapping), then veggie ground sauce, cooked/shredded carrots. Add half of both types of shredded cheese. Proceed with the next layer of noodles, veggie ground sauce, broccoli and carrots. Add other halves of remaining cheeses. Layer the top with the lasagna noodles. Then spread the last cup of sauce over noodles. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes, covered with tinfoil. Cook for an additional 10 minutes, uncovered.

Vegan Poutine!

VEGAN POUTINE!

Serves 3-4
On baking sheets:

2 large sweet potatoes, cut into fries
dressed with :
oil (mustard, grapeseed, olive, etc.)
1 small Spanish onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
paprika, cumin, sea salt and pepper,
dash of cayenne pepper/chili powder
Bake at 350 for 25 mins

1 large zucchini, cut into halved disks
1 can of white beans
1 large beet, shredded or cut into small cubes
1-2 garlic cloves, chopped
Bake at 350 for 15 mins

Prepare a bowl of 5-6 med-large carrots, shredded
Serve as topping or mix with creamy curry sauce and serve as "gravy"

Creamy Curry Sauce
4 tbsp vegan mayonaise
1 tbsp rice milk
1 avocado
1 tsp mustard
2 tsp nutritional yeast
1 tbsp curry powder
add crumbled tofu for desired consistency
mix in a blender, especially for larger portions!

Serve with option of balsamic vinegar dressing, chimichurri sauce, or ketchup!

Serve sweet potato fries as the base, the zucchini and bean mix as a "cheese curd replacement" topping and the creamy curry sauce with carrots as the "gravy". I suppose another option could be to use vegan shredded cheese and vegan gravy of some kind. Of course, not the traditional French Canadian poutine you'll find available to your average Francophone! This is a dish my friend and I experienced in Nova Scotia at the annual Evolve Music Festival. They serve a vegan poutine dish which inspired this one, in a place in the green hills dubbed "Sunflower Valley": hence, "Sunflower Valley Vegan Poutine"! Find another variation from my blog here. Thanks so much for reading about this dish which is very special to me to serve. Can be made as a small side dish or cooked in large quantities, like for London Food Not Bombs! It is a great option for festivals and camping in nature, as ingredients can be easily accomodated and
CAN BE SERVED ENTIRELY RAW!

Thanks to Reduce Footprints for helping to share this glorious feast for veggie eyes!

Vegan Suet: Baking for Birds and Squirrels!

My yard is full of beautiful creatures mowin down!

I cannot hide my exitement in this early morning post, as trying out a suet recipe for the birds is proving fruitfull....at least so far for the squirrels! This is the recipe that I found which has been altered as shown. I threw a few cubes out the window into the yard when I got up and the squirrels have gotten to it with speed! SUPERCUTE to see them chowin down on amazing peanut butter suet thats vegan! I had to resist the stuff myself....hmmm maybe I'm a little deprived in the sweet snack department!

Homemade Peanut Butter Suet from 10000birds.com

Melt 1 cup shortening. Add 16-20 ounces of crunchy peanut butter.
Heat and stir until melted.
Add 1 cup of raisins, 1 cup of black oil sunflower seeds, 6 cups of cornmeal and 4 cups of flour.
Spoon into a 13X9 pan. Chill until it is hard. Cut into chunks for suet feeders (or stuff into cracks and crevices in logs).

BECOMES

Homemade Vegan Peanut Butter Suet

Melt 2-3 sticks or 1 cup of vegan shortening
Add 8-10 ounces crunchy peanut butter
HEAT AND STIR UNTIL MELTED TOGETHER
Add 4 cups of cornmeal
Add 1 cup black oil seed for wild birds or any other (bird)seed to the brew
Slowly stir in 2 cups of whole wheat flour
Pour into pan(s) or casserole dish(es) and chill in the fridgidare
Cut into cubes and put into bird feeders, specific suet feeders, in the cracks of trees and benches, wait and enjoy as the animals do too!

*use organic ingredients if possible to make things critter friendly

Creamy, Lentil and Vegan!

Creamy, Lentil, and Vegan!
with tamarind chutney and za'atar

In a skillet with grapeseed or olive oil:

1 cup previously cooked lentils
2 med. sized carrots, chopped into disks
5-6 large radishes, grated
1/2 onion or 2 tsp onion powder
1-2 lare garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 tsp fresh ginger, chopped
1/4 tsp nutritional yeast
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp curry paste
1-2 tbsp tahini
1-2 tbsp almond (or rice) milk
juice of one lemon wedge

garnish with Za'atar and (tamarind) chutney!

Zatoun Za'atar Ingredients: Traditional Palestinian recipe made in Jenin

• Ground Dried Thyme
• Roasted Sesame Seeds
• Sumac
• Sea Salt