Pear-Apple-Blueberry Crumble.

Third post of the day and I had to show you. After I cleared the dishes and cleaned up after having my delicious burger dinner, I noticed the apples and very ripe pears in the fruit bowl. "I should make a crumble with those.", I thought. Then a few minutes later, I had a very strong urge to do it NOW. So off I went and chopped up the fruit and added it to a bowl with cornstarch, lemon, cinnamon and a bit of maple syrup. Then I made a crumble topping of melted Earth Balance, bit of brown sugar, coconut, oats and whole wheat flour. 45 minutes later, we have a delicious sweet crumble that goes amazingly with vanilla soy ice cream. I was in heaven eating this.

Eggplant Bean Stew Burgers!

I had a brainwave at work while eating leftover stew for lunch (pictured above). It had such great flavors of cumin and fennel that I thought it would taste good mashed up as a burger. As soon as I got home, I got to work.

I had about 3 cups of stew leftover which had gotten nice and thick in the fridge overnight. I put it into a big bowl and mashed it up real well. Then I added about 1/2 cup of ground almonds and sunflower seeds that I whizzed up real quick in the blender. Then about 2 cups of whole wheat bread crumbs, a handful of oats and some spices (chipotle chili powder, mesquite and more cumin, salt, pepper). I shaped them into patties and baked in a 375 F oven for 30 minutes, flipping halfway.

I served them with a topping of harissa mayo (just Vegenaise mixed with harissa, which is a Moroccan chili sauce), grilled onions and mushrooms. YUMMY!

Chia Seed Pudding

Healthy dessert over the weekend. I wanted to bake a sinful treat but decided against it. This helped my sweet craving just fine.

Aubergine Fennel and Bean Stew, Kale Salad.

This is the Aubergine (eggplant) Fennel Bean Stew from The Happy Pear cookbook. I adapted mine a bit. Used kidney beans instead of black beans and I had no pumpkin so I used yellow potatoes instead, otherwise the recipe flavors were the same. I love when eggplants get all silky in a stew like this! I loved the fennel, cumin and cardamom flavors.

Served with whole wheat pita.

Mmm.

More kale salad in a tahini based dressing with chickpeas.

Newly acquired: The Happy Pear Cookbook!

So excited! Just got this book in the mail today. Looking forward to cooking delicious food from it this weekend! I do love their food philosophy and I can sense the passion in what they do. If you don't already know, "The Happy Pear" are Dave and Steve Flynn who own a natural foods store and cafe/restaurant in Greystones, County Wicklow, Ireland. I found out about them via Jamie Oliver's Food Tube on youtube. I was hooked from the first video where they teach us how to make Irish stew with Colcannon. I have made a few of their recipes via their youtube channel and I've been really happy with the delicious results. Super healthy good for you food that is veggie and tasty! Here's a sneak peek for you guys. I highly recommend buying the book if you like what you see. I got mine on Amazon for about $20.

Paul McCartney Teaches You How To Make Mashed Potatoes.

Cutest thing on youtube! Oh Paul, how I love you so...

Red Lentil Dahl, Caesar Salad & Energy Bars.

Tried out The Happy Pear's recipe for red lentil dahl today. It's pretty similar to the usual dahl I make but they add curry powder and lime juice to theirs. I also added a tiny bit of olive oil to sautee my onions and garlic and also added about 1 TB of tomato paste. I also pureed half of the soup because I used whole red lentils which didn't break down enough for me. Because of the added tomato paste, it was more tomatoey. Yummy!

Caesar salad with whole grain croutons and sauteed tofu. I used the dressing from "The Ultimate Uncheese cookbook". I added some Vegenaise to my dressing to mellow it out a bit. It's quite strong with the nutritional yeast and dijon flavors, as is.

Love these energy bars. They are made out of toasted oats, peanut butter, agave, maple syrup, coconut, hemp protein powder, nuts, dried fruit and chocolate chips! Slightly healthier alternative to a processed power bar or candy bar. I posted the recipe at a previous blog entry here. I omitted the sugar and used maple syrup/agave instead. I found that the bars are softer as a result.

Wrapped up individually for lunches this week.

Here, watch The Happy Pear red lentil dahl video!

Buckwheat pancakes & Tomato Cashew Potato Stew.

Got this recipe from The Happy Pear over at facebook. Mini buckwheat pancakes with bananas, maple syrup and cinnamon. Pretty tasty.

A deliciously creamy stew with cashews, tomatoes, yellow potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, leeks, mushrooms, carrots and parsnips! To make it creamy, I blended the cashews with a little water and also blended some of the soup. Recipe below. I made it up and never measure anything so you might have to fiddle a little bit with it!

Tomato Cashew Potato Stew
2 TB olive oil
1 leek, sliced
½ large onion chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
herbs: thyme, oregano, basil (about 2 tsps fresh)
1 parsnip, sliced into bite size chunks
1 carrot, sliced
1 large sweet potato, cut into bite size chunks, about 2 cups
2 or 3 yellow potatoes skin on, cut into bite size chunks, 2 cups
1 portobello mushroom, chopped
1 cup green beans, cut into pieces
1 can stewed tomatoes
2 cups veggie broth
1 cup cashews that have been soaked in hot water for a half hour
1 TB soy sauce
pinch of cumin
salt and pepper to taste
pinch of cayenne

Heat olive oil in a soup pot over medium high heat. Saute leeks, onions for a few minutes. Add garlic and herbs. Continue to cook a few minutes more. Add parsnip and carrots and cook until everything gets a little tender. Add sweet potatoes, yellow potatoes, portobello, green beans, stewed tomatoes with juice and veggie broth. It should all cover the potatoes. Bring to a boil and then lower heat to simmer for 15-20 minutes until potatoes are tender. Meanwhile, drain cashews and blend with about 1/2 water in a blender. It will blend easily and look like milk. If too thick, add a little more water. Add this to the stew. Stir and simmer for about 5 more minutes. Season with soy sauce, salt, pepper, cumin and cayenne. You may leave the soup as is or you can ladle some of the potatoes and liquid portion of the soup into a blender, blend til smooth and pour back into pot. Simmer for another 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally so the potatoes don't stick to the bottom of the pot.

Kale salad again!

Addicted to the kale right now. Made this one last night with kale, red cabbage, carrot, red peppers and red onion.
The dressing I got from The Happy Pear's kale salad recipe (find it on youtube!) which has tahini, cashew, lemon, honey, cumin, coriander, paprika and chili. I omitted the cashews and honey, used maple syrup and added more water and lemon to thin out the dressing a bit. Delicious!

Super Healthy Kale Salad and Mushroom Masala Curry.

Made a delicious kale salad tonight with tahini dill-chive dressing. Scrumptious! It has kale, arugula, carrots, red onion, red bell pepper, toasted walnuts and dried cranberries!

First I massage my kale with a tiny bit of olive oil, salt and lemon juice. This will make the kale leaves tender. Then I added all the other veg and tossed with the following dressing. I let it chill for about 15-20 minutes. The flavors are amazing and the kale leaves softened just enough.

Tahini dressing:
1/3 cup tahini
1/2 lemon, juiced
2-3 tablespoons water
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tsp maple syrup
1 tsp dried dill
pinch of cayenne
fresh chopped chives
salt and pepper
Whisk all ingredients until smooth. Add more water if too thick.

Great curry with mushrooms and peas. I love curries. They really are the very best kind of comfort food. I had an idea today that L.A. needs a veggie friendly curry house. Wouldn't that be wonderful? And not just indian curries, but curries from all over.

Irish Lentil & Root Veg Stew and Kale Colcannon Mash.

Happy St. Paddy's day all! I saw a video on youtube yesterday of The Happy Pear, who are twin brothers who cook and also own a veggie cafe and grocer. They are so fun to watch. I loved the simplicity of the recipe and the fact that it is a vegan recipe made it all the better. Whipped it up tonight and really enjoyed it. The flavors are really good and it's definitely a comforting dish. It's also super healthy and full of delicious ingredients!

Here's the video!

Get Well Ringo! cupcakes and Falafel Sandwich.

Sexy lowfat vanilla cupcake recipe from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World. I used strawberry soy yogurt instead of vanilla and added chopped strawberries to the batter. On top, I used full fat cream cheez frosting that I had leftover in the freezer and fresh cut strawberries.

I heard Ringo was not feeling well and cancelled a show this past week. Hope he feels better today! These cupcakes are so yummy!

Falafel recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance. I modified it a bit. Added spinach, garlic-herb oil that I made the other day with fresh sage, oregano and basil from the garden. I also subbed oatmeal and garbanzo bean flour (besan) for the breadcrumbs. And I baked instead of fried. Perfection!
Stuffed into a pita bread pocket with hummus, lettuce, arugula, cucumber, tomatoes and garlic sauce that I concocted from tahini, vegan mayo, lemon juice, garlic and cilantro. Also a few shakes of Tabasco for heat!