Cooking Delights

January

2008-02-04T09:29:00.000-08:00

Starting off January with an old-trusty favourite, pie! I think it was raspberry pie to lift our spirits towards summer on a dreary winter day!

Another healthy dinner, "Eat to Live" style. Notice how half the plate is teaming with a leafy green salad. I have taken to using only home made dressings on my salads, after being spoiled by Nicola when I take my yoga students on retreat at Harmony Dawn Retreat Center. My favourite dressing is the tahini dressing from Dreena's Vive le Vegan cookbook. Served with the salad was a quinoa and chickpea pilaf. Blogger won't let me put the image up right now, so I will try to post it later!

Next is a mellow mushroom and brown rice soup, which was honestly a bit of a bore. But, the muffins were outstanding! They were packed with protein, made with quinoa and almond flour. I got the recipe from Veganomicon. I will definitely be making these again. They are not much to look at, but they sure tasted good.

Where to start?

2008-02-04T09:16:00.001-08:00

I didn't even know if blogger was going to let me in, I haven't been here in so long. This is my busiest time of year as a lifestyle coach, yoga and pilates instructor, and blogging has definitely fallen by the wayside! I'm still cooking and eating healthy. Here's a look at what I have been cooking and eat.

Check out this healthy dinner! I don't even remember what it is! Looks like a burrito with fresh salsa on top. Notice the nice big healthy green leafy salad, "Eat to Live" style.

Look at this beautiful tea my friend Carolyn gave me for Christmas. They came in a gorgeous silk bags. My favourite was something rainforest... actually they were all good, and gone pretty quick too!

The last thing from December was this nifty chili recipe, with a built-in corn bread recipe. It didn't turn out quite right, but the chili was awesome. We ate a lot of chili in December, it went with our terrible colds!

I'm getting ready for my Thai vegetarian cooking class on March 1, 2008. I have most of the menu settled, but I am still looking for a green curry recipe. If anybody has a favourite, feel free to send it along!

Back on track!

2007-12-16T07:53:00.000-08:00

The last few weeks have been busy, busy. Top that off with a nasty flu that lasted a week and you get no blog entries. I got a new camera last week, so I am adjusting to that as well. First, you will have to be exposed to some shiny pictures. I only learned how to turn off the flash last night.

First up, a healthy salad. This salad has hemp seed nuts for protein and pumpkin seeds for iron. This salad is topped with Dreena's garlicy tahini dressing from Vive le Vegan. I love this dressing. It is my absolute favourite.

Next up is a new chili recipe from Dreena's Eat Drink and Be Vegan. This recipe has cocoa, coconut, and coconut milk in it! Let me tell you this is one rich chili!

Finally, yesterday I made the chickun pizzza from Dreena's Eat Drink and Be Vegan. What took me so long? I loved this pizza. It is so delicious and you don't even miss the cheese! I served it with a fresh salad of leafy greens topped with cilantro and bean srpouts! Crispy and yummy!

Last two cooking classes

2007-11-11T07:08:00.000-08:00

I can't believe I have hosted two cooking classes since my last post. Maybe that explains why I haven't had time to post! On October 27th I hosted a healthy vegan baking cooking class. We cooked up some of Dreena's best baking recipes from chocolate cake, to healthy rice krispie squares (my favourite) and apple streudal. Dreena was kind enough to donate a cook book for a giveaway. We had a very happy winner of her new cook book, Eat Drink and Be Vegan.

We had such a great time. We made all the desserts in the morning and then sat down to a plate of desserts for lunch with tea at about noon.

Last night I hosted another fantastic vegetarian cooking class. Asian Feast was back by popular demand. We made spring rolls, summer rolls and Buddha bowls. We had such an amazing time.

I can't wait until my next vegetarian cooking class on December 1. This one is a must attend for all vegetarians, vegans, selectatarians, and vegequarians alike. We are going to cook up a wonderful holiday feast for all those who avoid turkey on Christmas day.

Mexican Lasagna

2007-10-13T12:36:00.000-07:00

This is another recipe from Dreena's new cook book Eat Drink and be Vegan. This recipe is super healthy. The legumes give a great boost of fiber and protein. I wasn't overly fond of the cooked avacado, but next time I think I would just leave it out. I love these layer casseroles.

Happy Thanksgiving - Canada

2007-10-09T08:49:00.001-07:00

For Thanksgiving this year I made Walnut, White Bean & Spinach Phyllo Rolls from Dreena's new cook book, Eat Drink and Be Vegan. I folded the phyllo into triangles and served it as appetizers to my family. Then the vegans in the family ate the rolls with cranberry sauce for their main dish. It was yummy and received rave reviews. I also made the chocolate pumpkin pie. I can't believe I forgot to take a picture of it, but here is Dreena's picture here.

Cafe 668, Toronto

2007-10-06T16:18:00.000-07:00

Cafe 668 is my absolute favourite veggie restaurant in Toronto. Now with their new digs down the road it is actually a place you can go for a nice dinner out. Add to that the fact that they now serve alcohol and you have a proper evening out.

Here I am raising a glass to our dinner. The front of the restaurant looking out onto the street is glass from floor to ceiling.

This is the famous and very delicious cafe 668 salad.

We also started with pan fried dumplings...notice we forgot to take a photo until half way through. My daughter, Trinity, loved these.

This is the crispy house noodles. YUMMY!

We always order the curries here. I love the texture and flavour of these coconut curries. This is the vegetable curry.

This is my favourite dish, the coconut curried eggplant.

At the front door they have these really cute pinapple plants.

Here's my husband, Tim, getting fancy with the photography using the mirrors on the west wall. Check out the new digs for Cafe 668. They are totally gorgeous and the food is absolutely delicious.

My first recipe from Eat Drink and Be Vegan

2007-10-06T04:06:00.001-07:00

I was totally starving and exhausted after all my coaching calls last night, but hubby was out with the car which made take out a mute point. I decided to whip up the sun dried tomato pesto from Dreena's new cook book, Eat Drink and be Vegan. This recipe was super easy and delicious. I think I whipped it up in the same amount of time that it would have taken me to get take out. This recipe is satisfying without any cheese and filled with nuts for protein.

I served it with a nice Shiraz. This South African red wine was bold and full of flavour, just the way I like it! Isn't the cork cute with the giraffe on it?

Mango Bundles

2007-10-05T06:47:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week Trinity and I made these darling mango bundles from Quick Fix Vegetarian. These were really fun and easy to make. I cut up the mango and Trinity did all the assembly work. They were quick and easy and really impressive. Tastey too!

I got mine!

2007-10-02T09:12:00.000-07:00

Today I received my copy of Eat Drink and Be Vegan in the mail. Dreena has really outdone herself this time. I can't wait to try the white chocolate and macadamia nut cookies, chocolate pumpkin pie and the more natural rice krispie squares. Oh yeah, there are lots of recipes of food too, not just desserts! LOL! Congratulations Dreena!

Broccoli and Walnut Topped Perrogies

2007-09-29T04:25:00.000-07:00

This recipe is from the Quick Fix Vegetarian. You can click here for some of the recipes from her cook books. This recipe was super simple and well received by the whole family. Even a slight human disaster on the stove (inadvertantly melting the perogie package to the wrong burner cover) couldn't keep this meal off the table in less than thirty minutes.

I don't often eat broccoli, but I probably should more often. Like other cruciferous vegetables, broccoli contains the phytonutrients sulforaphane and the indoles, which have significant anti-cancer effects. The walnuts of course are a source of omega 3's for vegetarians.

I love cupcakes!

2007-09-28T10:22:00.001-07:00

I took these to yoga class the other night. One of my coaching clients was celebrating her birthday. So we all got to partake in the celebrations! These are lemon gem cupcakes with lemon butter icing. No redeeming nutritious qualities, however, pretty delicious!

My newest cookbook

2007-09-26T23:52:00.000-07:00

No, my copy of Eat Drink and Be Vegan has not yet arrived, sigh. Amazon.ca is still giving me a projected delivery date of December 5th on my pre-order!

However, I did treat myself to this cook book by Robin Robertson, author of Vegan Planet. I do like the recipes out of Vegan Planet, however I find them a bit time consuming. Quick Fix Vegetarian on the other hand has loads of great recipes for very simple suppers. The recipes are what he calls pure vegetarian - meaning vegan, no dairy or animal products of any sort on the ingredient list. So far I have made a couple of recipes from the book and I am really impressed. Another exciting feature of this book are some quick fix appetizers and desserts! Gotta love that! Watch for some upcoming posts of recipes from this cook book.

Chocolate Butt Cakes!

2007-09-12T09:43:00.000-07:00

Every time I see this picture on Dreena's blog, I get all side tracked from what I am doing and all I can do is think about chocolate cake. On Sunday night I was dreaming all night about this cake. Seriously, in my dream I couldn't find my Everyday Vegan cookbook and I was totally distraught over not being able to make this cake. When I woke up in the morning I found my copy of Everyday Vegan on my cook book shelf and sighed a huge sigh of relief. I vowed to make this cake as soon as I could.

There was only one problem... can you believe I don't have round cake pans? So, we decided to make them into cupcakes instead. This worked out well because I had about half enough ingredients for the icing! Trinity and I got to work. After mixing the flour and all the other ingredients Trinity and I realized we didn't have any canola oil in an aerosol can to spray our cupcake liners. Whenever you have an emergency like this and your hubby is out with the car it is a total life saver to have a friend and neighbour like mine! Off we went to Karyn's house. "Karyn we need spray oil!" When we got to Karyn's house, Karyn said, "Trinity, what is all over your bum?" I have to tell you that Trinity is one of the most tactile children I know.... hands in the flour, hands on your bum, flour on your bum. Karyn said, "You're not making cupcakes, you're making butt cakes!" And there you have it, the name stuck. Here are our butt cakes. They were so delicious and super easy to make!

This super trimmed down, non-fattening cake will definitely make an appearance at my healthy baking vegetarian cooking class. Whether it will be cake or butt cakes, I'm not sure yet.

Enchilada Casserole

2007-09-11T09:23:00.000-07:00

This is another super simple supper for my next vegetarian cooking class on Saturday September 22nd at 5:00 p.m. This was a really simple vegan enchilada casserole. The process of rolling enchiladas is eliminated by creating layers in a casserole dish. I made it vegan by cutting out the cheese sauce on top and topping it with a avacado cream sauce from Dreena's Vive le Vegan cook book. I think next time I will just skip the avacado dressing and do a simple guacamole instead. I served the casserole with salsa and a simple cole slaw. Not too pretty, but nice and easy and tasted great. Hubby gave it two thumbs up and came back for seconds.

Vegan for a day?

2007-09-11T07:39:00.000-07:00

I came across this article in my research about metta meditation today. It was located on a blog through the yoga journal website:

Celebs go vegan for peace

Christy Turlington, Russell Simmons, Sting and Donna Karan are participating in the Global Mala Project, an international effort that uses yogic events to raise awareness and funds for global causes on the United Nations' International Day of Peace (Sept. 21), by going vegan for the day. According to the United Nations, the waste emissions from animals raised for food contributes more to global warming than all the car and truck emissions in the world. How many of you are vegan or vegetarian? Why did you decide to eliminate animal products from your diet?

This little article has got my knickers in a knot. I am excited about the Global Mala Project, in fact I am hosting two events on Saturday September 22nd to support it. I appreciate that celebrities are raising the consciousness around global warming and the raising of animals for food. But really, how hard is it to go vegan for a day? How hard is it to call up your personal chef and say, "Can you make it vegan today?" Let's see some commitment with guts! How about vegan for a year. If you really care about the planet, how about just switching to a vegan lifestyle for the rest of your life?

Vegan Fettucine Alfredo

2007-09-07T05:04:00.000-07:00

More recipe testing for the September 22 vegetarian cooking class. People have already started registering, so I'm sure it will be sold out! This one is a definite keeper. I still can't believe that it tasted like traditional fettucine alfredo, without the cheese!!! You can't believe how happy I am about this! It is good for you too! I won't give away all the secrets here, you have to come to the cooking class. I served the fettucine alfredo with a fresh salad topped with avacado, pears and red peppers. I whipped up a simple raspberry vinagrette to drizzle over top.

Tortilla Soup and Southwestern Rice and Black Bean Salad

2007-09-05T11:14:00.000-07:00

More recipe testing for the next vegetarian cooking class. This cooking class in particular is easy and fun to prepare for since it is simple suppers. Pictured first is a Southwestern rice and black bean salad. This was super easy to make and was tastey.

Below is a really unique Mexican inspired tortilla soup. It was tastey too!

My daughter has become really interested in baking. Here are some vegan oatmeal raisin cookies from Dreena's Everyday Vegan.

West African Peanut Stew

2007-09-04T08:09:00.000-07:00

This is a recipe I am testing for my next Vegetarian Cooking Class. The next class is a simple suppers class and this was pretty easy to put together. The broth for this stew is thickened with peanut butter (I used almond butter) which gives it a little extra protein punch. Not only to almonds give vegetarians some protein, but they also help to lower LDL (the lethal kind) cholesterol and lower your overall risk for heart disease. It also has cabbage and okra.

Cabbage is a super nutritious food. The many phytonutrients is cabbage work as antioxidants to disarm free radicals before they can damage DNA, cell membranes and fat-containing molecules such as cholesterol. Now, new research is revealing that phytonutrients in crucifers, such as cabbage, work at a much deeper level. These compounds actually signal our genes to increase production of enzymes involved in detoxification, the cleansing process through which our bodies eliminate harmful compounds. A cleanse is just what I can use after a week of "all inclusive resort food" in Cancun Mexico.

Before I go...

2007-08-24T04:07:00.000-07:00

I'm off to Cancun Mexico for a week in the wee hours of tomorrow morning. I should let you know what I have been cooking over the last week or so. It has been a time of indulgence to say the least. Cooking and eating some of my favourite things!

Pictured above is the swiss chard and tomatoes for my garden. This meal has been a staple this summer.

Swiss chard and tomatoes tossed over organic whole grain pasta.

Pictured here is a mango/lime thai salad from the Harmony Dawn cook book. It was super yummy!

Peaches are in season, so I made peach pie. Yummy!

Problem is, it was so good I ate half the pie myself and gave myself a tummy ache.

Here are some yummy banana pancakes from Vegan with a Vengance. My hubby adored these. Apparently they were light and fluffy enough for this picky pancake eater.

More veggies from my garden to make....

This yummy home made vegetable soup. This soup was designed to use up as much as I could from my garden and my refridgerator before I head off to Cancun tomorrow morning. I succeeded in cleaning out my garden and my crisper with this delicious tomato and swiss chard soup. I served the soup with lemon poppy seed muffins from Vegan with a Vengance. (They are really just cupcakes with poppy seeds in them... super yummy!)

I have made Dreena's Homestyle Chocolate Chip Cookies twice in as many days. These are the ultimate cookie and crowd pleaser. Do you know how many people coincidently stop by my house every time I bake these? They never last long!

An oldie, but a goodie

2007-08-19T17:29:00.000-07:00

This is vegan pad thai from 125 Best Vegan. It is probably the best recipe in this cook book. This was probably my first vegan cook book before I found out about all the good ones like this one and this one. Nonetheless I have not come across a better pad thai recipe than this one. Now I have been wanting to get this cook book for a while now. Does anybody have this Thai Vegetarian Cook Book? I want to make some green and red thai curries... oh and some singapore noodles. The green and red curries usually have fish sauce in them, so I am anxious to see how they replace it. I guess I should just pick it up and start planning a Thai Vegetarian cooking class!

Fresh from the Garden

2007-08-16T05:49:00.000-07:00

Pictured here are some tomatoes fresh from my garden. Man tomatoes straight from the garden are sweet and juicy. A lot of my dinners have been looking like the picture below. Swiss chard from my garden with some garlic and fresh tomatoes. You can't beat it!

Yummy Noodles with Spicy Tofu Peanut Sauce

2007-08-14T04:36:00.000-07:00

When I took my yoga students on a yoga retreat at Harmony Dawn last June I picked up a great cook book by Nicola Lawrence called
The Dao of Harmony Dawn Cooking.

This recipe comes from that book. It was so good with lots of peanut butter and Asian ingredients. I will definitely be making this one again.

Retreat time is coming up again soon. Spaces are filling up quickly. So, if you are thinking of attending. Make sure to register soon!

The most cupcakes I have ever made at one time...

2007-08-13T05:07:00.001-07:00

On Friday July 27th, my friend and lifestyle coaching client, Becky Peister got married. For her wedding present I made her 168 cupcakes for her wedding. This was a BIG project. I have never made that many cupcakes at one time! I decided on Isa Chandra Moskowitz's Lemon Gem's from her cookbook, Vegan with a Vengance. What I decided to do was double the batch from Vegan with a Vengance and make it seven times.

I divided the project into two days.

The first day was spent baking and the second day was spent icing. For the icing I made a variation on the butter cream frosting from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. I changed up the recipe a bit adding some lemon juice and lemon zest to make the cupcakes more lemony. The final cupcakes had beautiful edible flowers on them. All in all it was totally fun. I'm not going to go into the cupcake catering business, but when my sisters and friends get married, I think this makes a lovely wedding gift!

My latest obsession

2007-08-10T04:57:00.001-07:00

Have any of you tried any of the sabra hummus available on the market now? I am totally addicted! I can't get enough of this stuff. My favourite is the roasted red pepper hummus, but I've also tried the spicy hummus and it is good too. I know it seems crazy to buy hummus when it is so easy to make, but this stuff is worth the extra pennies. We love it with the fresh artisan breads and baby carrots. We get it at Sobeys in case you are wondering where to find it. I honestly think I could live on this stuff. I always have at least two containers in my fridge now.

So if you wonder what I have been cooking lately, the answer is not much. On those days when it is just too hot to do anything in the kitchen I am sitting on my back deck with a container of sabra hummus and artisan bread and I'm done.