Lemon Cheese Cake!

Okay its not vegan but it is lactose free. I got the recipe out of a book called 200 best Lactose-Free recipes by Jan Main.

Preheat oven to 350

Crust:

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Filling:

2 packages silken tofu
4 eggs, separated
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 Prepare crust: in a small bowl stir together graham cracker crumbs, sugar, oil, cinnamon. Press into the bottom of the pan forming a crust. Make sure to work the crust 1 inch up the spring form pan. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

2 Prepare the filling by draining the water from the tofu using a sieve. In a food possessor beat together drained tofu, egg yolks, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, flour, vanilla, and salt until smooth.

3 In a clean bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites on high until stiff peaks form. Fold into the lemon batter. Turn into prepared crust.

4 Bake for 60 t0 65 minutes or until almost firm in the center. let cool before cutting into wedges to serve. (I baked using a steam bath like normal cheese cake because I didn't want it to crack on top, even tofu pies crack)

Right now I am waiting for the cheese cake to cool, I have yet to try the cake.... but the batter tasted really good, and not supper tofu tasting.

Daiya Strombolies!

I used the pizza dough from earlier in the blog. I divided the dough in half and let both rise in a greased bowl. I then took one of the balls and cut it in half and rolled each half into a 10 by 8 rectangle. Then I filled with with some marinara sauce, basil, spinach, and DAIYA CHEESE. Vegan cheese that melts like gooey mozzarella.

I let the dough sit for about 10 minutes then I baked at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. It tasted really good even for having a ton of spinach in it.

Kabobs

You know what doesn't have dairy in it? Beef and veggies. This is also a great way to make a little meat go along way. I used a pound of Rib eye, I wanted to use sirloin, but they only had 2-3 pound steaks which was expensive. I did get lucky though, bell peppers were on sale only $1 for yellow, orange, and red. Unheard of where I live.

I just seasoned the meat and veggies with garlic salt, and pepper but the real flavor came from the peppers and onions. So Yummy.

VEGETARIAN CHILI

This was the best chili I have ever had, meat or not.



INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon oil

1 clove garlic

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 celery rib, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 Yukon Gold potato chopped in 1/2 inch pieces

1 sweet potato chopped in 1/2 inch pieces

1 can diced tomatoes

2 cups frozen corn

1 can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), rinsed and drained

1 can red black beans, rinsed and drained

1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained

2 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flake

1 bay leaf

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

A dash of dried oregano

1 can tomato sauce (Then fill can with water and empty in pot)

1 can tomato paste

Salt and pepper to taste

PREPARATION:
1. Rinse and divide the fresh vegetables. Chop the veggies into small pieces.

2. In a large skillet, saute the garlic, bell pepper, celery, and onion in hot oil until they are almost soft. I add just a little salt in the saute to make sure the veggies are well seasoned.

3. While one is stirring the vegetables in the skillet, the other needs to be opening the cans of beans and sauces. Drain and rinse all the beans.

4. In a large pot, mix together the chopped, cooked vegetables with the can of diced tomatoes,corn, beans, tomato sauce, can of water, tomato paste, cilantro, bay leaf, and spices. Save some of the chopped onion to use as topping.

5. Cover and cook on the low heat setting about one hour. I like to let chili simmer for hours because the longer it sits the better it tastes. But the flavors should be well mingled after an hour or so.

I have amended this recipe from one I found online, in hopes to recreate the Delicious vegan chili they make at Evos, which is a healthy fast food place in St. Pete Florida that offers really great fast food options for people who want to eat well for a good price and it tastes amazing. I added the potato because I have seen it in chili recipes before and have been unsure about adding it in, but I am experimenting with this recipe so I though why not add my favorite Yukon gold potato, and my newly discovered sweet potato. Well new to me, I had no idea they could be used in savory applications.

I also really wanted to try this recipe because Mike and I have been trying to eat vegan or vegetarian every other night or as much as possible. Its really hard to give up meat all together even though I know its better for people to eat less meat and its a hell of a lot better for the environment. It also keeps me in my skinny jeans. And my oven is broken so I could not make the veggie pizzas I made in an earlier post http://anondairylife.blogspot.com/2010/04/pizza-night.html

Eat the rainbow

If I have learned anything from my nutrition classes and reading, is that we don't get enough orange in our diets. One of the main reasons their is not a lot of orange foods for Americans to eat other than carrots. Let face it carrots are the cheapest and most abundant orange veggie. Cantaloupe is delicious but is really only good in season so like 2 months of the year, orange bell peppers are at time 2-3 times more expensive than the green bell peppers, and mangoes are quite the challenge to prepare. I have always looked at the sweet potato as one of those horribly sweet gloopy items at the end of the table on Thanksgiving. That was until I went to the North Star restaurant and had a wonderful vegan breakfast burrito with black beans onions bell papers and yes... sweet potatoes. Thats right the sweet potato is out of the marshmallows and brown sugar and into the salt, pepper, and onions. I don't want to say mind blowing, but it has really opened my eyes to the sweet potato and all it has to offer. So I give you....

Rosemary Potatoes and Asparagus

2 large Yukon Gold Potatoes (peeled)
1 even larger sweet potato (peeled)
1/2 lb of asparagus (woody bottom pieces removed by bending the spear and letting it snap off, discard bottom.)
8-10 pearl onions
1 sprig of rosemary
2 gloves minced garlic
salt and cracked pepper
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Oil to toss veggies in 1/2 cup divided maybe more

Chop the potatoes into 1 in sized bites, combine with prepared asparagus, pearl onions, and coat in oil.



Sprinkle with salt, pepper, rosemary, and Italian seasoning. Add garlic and mix seasonings over veggies with your hands. I like to do this in a 9x13in pan that I use to bake the veggies in. When well coated remove asparagus to be added back to pan 30 minutes later. Asparagus only need 8 minutes to bake while the potatoes need 45 minutes at 375 degrees.

Blackberry Cobbler!

Thats right folks summer is here. That means blackberries, and blackberries mean cobbler. Oh how I love cobbler of any kind.

Blackberry Cobbler recipe from

http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/blackberry-cobbler/97b86fd2-7588-497b-866d-8a1bd8b2e491?WT.mc_id=paid_search_200100_636117&WT.srch=1&esrc=11151

2 1/2 cups fresh or frozen (thawed and drained) blackberries (do not use blueberries)
1 cup sugar
1 cup Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk (lactose free milk)
1/2 cup butter, melted (Vegan butter)

1. In medium bowl, stir together blackberries and sugar. Let stand about 20 minutes or until fruit syrup forms. Heat oven to 375°F.

2. In large bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, salt and milk. Stir in melted butter until blended. Spread in ungreased 8-inch square pan. Spoon blackberry mixture over batter.

3. Bake 45 to 55 minutes or until dough rises and is golden.