lemon leek israeli couscous

this is a super simple side dish i whipped up tonight...

5 medium sized leeks, whites only
strained juice from 1 large lemon (2-3 T.)
1 T. olive oil
1 cup dry israeli couscous
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
salt & pepper
8-10 artichoke hearts, cut into quarters

chop the leeks into ~1/2-inch pieces. bring a pot of salted water to a boil and then add the leeks and cook until tender. drain the leeks, reserving the cooking water. measure out two cups of the cooking water and use this to cook the israeli couscous (bring the water to a boil, add couscous, cook until liquid is gone OR until couscous is desired texture and then drain). while the couscous cooks,put leeks in a blender and puree until smooth. add in lemon juice and olive oil and some salt and pepper. give it another whirl in the blender. when couscous is ready, mix it together with the leek mixture. add nutritional yeast and additional salt and pepper, if desired. stir in artichoke hearts and enjoy!

summer strawberry muffins

these muffins are perfect in my book...not too sweet and with a touch of tart strawberry goodness. if you like a sweeter muffin, you may want to adjust things a bit...perhaps toss the strawberries in a sweetener of choice before adding them in, or create a strudel topping with margarine, sugar, flour and cinnamon.

ingredients:

1/3 c. evaporated cane juice, sugar or sweetener of choice
1/4 c. earth balance or other veg margarine
egg replacer of choice for one egg
1 t. vanilla
1 c. whole wheat flour
1 1/3 c. unbleached white flour
4 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1 c. soymilk
1 1/2 c. chopped fresh strawberries

pre-heat oven (350 degrees). cream butter and sugar together, then add in egg replacer and vanilla. mix in dry ingredients, along with soymilk. then, fold in strawberries gently. place in muffin cups or a greased muffin tin. bake 20-25 minutes or longer if needed.

smoothie goodness

one of the best parts of summer is whipping up smoothies using whatever goodies are around from the farmers market...here is the one i am drinking right now:

~1/4 cup chilled coconut milk
one whole peach, diced
one ripe-ish banana

blend and enjoy!

super easy peanut sauce

this is my own creation, which i am posting here mostly for my own reference so i can remember this next time i want to make it, and also so others can enjoy it...

1.5 c. coconut milk
1.5 c. natural peanut butter (i.e., no sugar added)
2 T. soy sauce or Bragg's liquid aminos
1 T. brown sugar
1 T. rice vinegar
1-2 T. diced chilis (e.g., thai chilis, jalapenos, serranos)
1-2 T. sriracha (or other garlic chili sauce) - optional
water or extra coconut milk (as needed)

combine all ingredients except water/extra coconut milk in a small sauecpan. cook over a low flame until heated through. once hot, add water/extra coconut milk to achieve desired consistency. cook a minute or two longer - do not cook longer than this or the sauce will begin to solidify.

this is a good dipping sauce for lightly fried tofu, or can be used to make peanut noodles.

veganized banana bread

it turns out my mom's delicious banana bread is just as scrumptious when veganized!

2 cups unrefined sugar
3/4 cup canola oil (or oil of your choice...i used avocado oil this last time around and it worked just great!)
substitute of your choice for 3 eggs
1 t. vanilla extract
1 1/3 t. baking soda
1/4 cup sour soymilk (add 1 T. lemon juice to soymilk)
5 large, uber-ripe bananas***
2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 t. salt
1 to 1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts (depending on how nutty you like things)

preheat oven to 350 degrees. mash bananas - if you have used frozen bananas, they will be pretty mushy and you may not even need to do this. dissolve baking soda in milk (the mixture will foam...kind of like those "volcanoes" you made in grade school). combine sugar, oil, egg sub, vanilla and soymilk mixture. add bananas
and mix well. combine flour and salt and add to wet ingredients along with the nuts. mix thoroughly and pour into 2 greased loaf pans or a single bundt pan. bake for 45
minutes to an hour. cool in pans for about 20 minutes then remove and finish cooling on racks.

***i usually freeze my old bananas that get brown and smelly and wait until i have enough saved up to make this.

lemon poundcake

i made this for a potluck yesterday....

ingredients:
2 cups unrefined sugar
1 cup Earth Balance (or other vegan margarine)
egg substitute for 4 eggs
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
3/4 cup "buttermilk" (mix 2 t. lemon juice with enough soymilk to equal 3/4 cup)
2 T. freshly grated lemon peel
1.5 T. lemon juice
1 t. lemon extract

pre-heat oven to 325. beat sugar and margarine together in large bowl. beat in egg substitute slowly, in about 4 equal parts (i.e., pretend you are adding in four eggs, one at a time). until well mixed. reduce mixer speed and gradually add flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt alternately with "buttermilk" until well mixed. stir in lemon peel, lemon juice and lemon extract.

spoon batter into greased and floured bundt pan, or one large loaf pan, or two small loaf pans. bake for 40 to 60 minutes. cool 10 minutes; remove from pan, then cool completely.