zucchini waffles

my mother-in-law's garden is overflowing with delicious vegetables!

she told me i can use zucchini and summer squash any way i'd use any other squash i decided to put that challenge to the test. yellow zucchini keep these waffles from getting too dark or greenish, and they crisp up on the oustide and stay moist on the inside. they're so delicious!

this recipe makes a LOT of waffles, so you might want to halve it. i love leftover waffles for breakfast or snacks the next day, so i'm happy to have leftovers, or you can do what we also do, and store extra batter in the fridge for fresh waffles all week long.

ingredients:

2 1/4 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp powdered ginger
pinch nutmeg
pinch salt
1/3 cup brown sugar (or regular for less color)
2 cups vanilla soymilk
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
2 cups pureed yellow zucchini

directions:

mix all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and add the liquid ingredients, mixing well until only tiny lumps remain. fold in the pureed zucchini and mix just until blended.

cook according to your waffle maker's directions.

in my experience, waffle batter will keep for about 5 days in the fridge.

note: i pureed my own zucchini by washing the zucchini, chopping off each end, and throwing chunks into my food processor. since zucchini isn't really that moist (at least ours isn't, it's been a really dry summer), i added 2-3 tablespoons of water to keep the blades going. you may need to adjust the liquid in your batter accordingly if you do this too, or don't have to do it.

note #2: this recipe works great with pumpkin! you just might want to add a touch more oil, up to 1/3 cup.

Pesto Alfreda Sauce

i'm slacking with the photos here! i need to fix that.

we have a very wonderful basil plant this year, and for awhile, it was growing like crazy. when i decided to try and make a pesto, i realised i simply couldn't stomach all of the oil that usually goes into it. (won't you be glad when i can finally stop cooking low-fat and stop catering to my gall bladder?) so i decided to try my hand at an alfredo sauce with a basil twist.

ingredients:

1/4-1/2 cups Earth Balance margarine (your preference, more or less)
2 cups soymilk
1 package Extra firm tofu (Mori-nu)
a handful of fresh basil leaves
2 tbsp onion powder
2-3 tsp garlic powder
1-2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp fresh black pepper
pinch of nutmeg
3 tbsp arrowroot powder
1 tbsp nutritional yeast

directions:

melt the margarine over med-low/med heat in a medium sauce pan. while it's melting, blend the tofu in a food processor with the basil leaves and all remaining ingredients until smooth and creamy (and green). add to the melted margarine and continue to heat until thick and saucy.

this was great on pasta, but also on a "white" (or green) pizza later in the week. next time i make it, i may omit the basil, or cut it in half. it was a little powerful with tofu basil ricotta on top, and i've learned too much basil isn't always a good thing. still, it was really delicious, and it was awesome to prove that dairy is not required to make a delicious creamy sauce like this.

low-fat cooking

i'm thinking i will start sharing some general cooking tips, tricks, and ideas in between recipe posts.

because of some previously-mentioned gall bladder pains, i've started being more careful about the fat added to dishes. while most of what i cook is naturally low-fat, i thought i'd give you all some tips for cutting down on the fat in foods. i promise you probably won't miss it! not only are these tips good for lower fat cooking, but they will often save money and are just generally healthier.

• when sauteeing garlic (or anything else), just cut the oil in half. a little oil helps bring out flavors and aromas in many herbs and spices (and garlic), but if a recipe calls for 8 tbsp, i bet you could get away with 4. or less. once the cooking gets started, add a little water or broth to keep foods from adhering to the pan and keep the foods moving.
  
• invest in a high quality food-grade oil spritzer. misting oil until your pan is lightly coated is better than pouring oil from the bottle into the pan. you can also mist oil onto the top of food before it's flipped, and will cut down on sticking. this also saves money since you wont need to buy any more of that spray-oil in the aerosol cans!
  
• when baking, substitute unsweetened apple sauce or mashed banana for oil. not only are you ditching the fat, but you're adding healthy fruits! and we all need to enjoy more fruits. if you're leery about giving up all the oil, try switching just half of it out. it'll cut the amount of fat in your cupcakes in half!
  
• switch to a non-trans fat variety of your favorite margarine and shortening. my favorite is Earth Balance. you're still eating fat, but it's tasty and delicious fat that won't cause nearly the same damage as trans fats.
  
• just forget about it. pancakes don't need butter. fresh veggies don't need butter! mashed potatoes should be drowned in nearly-fat-free mushroom gravy, not butter! try it. if you make tasty, delicious, fresh food, i promise it won't need to be drowned in fat.
  

so i hope your gall bladder isn't as angry as mine. but if you're looking to cut down on fats, maybe this will give you some ideas when you're in the kitchen.

Quick and Healthy Sugar Free Breakfast Cookies

i tend to change this recipe a little each time i make it, but i've decided i like how this came out.

ingredients:

2 medium bananas, mashed
1/4 cup water
1/3 cup flax seed meal
3 cups oats
1/4 cup olive oil (this can be decreased to limit fat, just increase water content)
1/2 cup dried berries (I use mixed, or cranberries)
1/2 cup slivered almonds or chopped walnuts
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp agave nectar

directions:

Preheat oven to 350f.

Mix everything into a big bowl! (Mash the bananas first, and add everything else to save on dishes.) Shape dough into bars on a greased cookie sheet, making the bars about 1/3-1/2 inch thick. Make into cookie shapes for breakfast cookies, rectangles for bars, or pack into a cookie sheet and cut after they’re done baking. I prefer breakfast cookies, but these will make traditional “bars” really well.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until the edges brown.

Makes about a dozen large breakfast cookies, or six bars.

roasted veggies

while this isn't technically a recipe, it's still darned tasty-- and really easy. i've been trying to keep some gall bladder pains under control until i can get things situated (the joys of being uninsured in america), and consequently i've renewed my interest in eating lots of delicious veggies and low-fat foods.

this was my first attempt at cooking beets myself! i'm proud of how they came out and they were requested a second night! here are roasted beets and carrots, with asparagus.

roasted root veggies

in this photo, beets and carrots were roasted! i peeled and cut the beets into about 2cm cubes (give or take), and drizzled with a little olive oil and maple syrup in a glass baking dish. i salted them with sea salt, and tossed them to mix. i baked them at 400f for 45 minutes, turning half-way through. i cheated with the carrots since they were leftover steamed plain carrots-- 5 minutes before the beets were done, i tossed these in to re-heat them. make sure the beets are fork tender (but will still be firm) before serving.

i've since tried this with beets, carrots, and parsnips-- the parsnips take on the color of the beets when roasting together. if you'd like, roast stuff separate, and toss together before serving to keep the colors vibrant. but the purple is pretty and i don't mind.

roasted asparagus

i chop the ends off asparagus and give them a good washing. lay them in a glass baking dish and lightly drizzle with olive oil, salt with sea salt, and toss a bit with tongs. roast at 400f for about 20 minutes, flipping with tongs half-way through.

i served the asparagus, beets, and carrots with pomegranate bbq tofu from vegan with a vengeance, a huge favorite around here. (the bbq sauce is good on the asparagus, too!)

not-the-parmesean

it must be something leftover from my childhood, but a pasta dinner just isn't the same without the "shakey cheese" on top. i'll go without and still enjoy it, but there's something about that fatty salty topping, that's just awesome.

so here are some recipes. i'll update this as i discover more. :)

tofu shakey cheese

ingredients:

1 block of tofu, frozen and thawed, pressed (I used trader joe's extra firm)
2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp dried basil crumbled between your fingers
1/8 c. nutritional yeast
2 tsp olive oil

directions:

in a small mixing bowl, add the tofu, lemon juice, salt, garlic, and basil, and squish with your hands till it's pretty well mixed and crumbly. add the nutritional yeast and olive oil and mix with a fork. store in a sealed container in the fridge for a couple weeks before it gets iffy.

variation: using unfrozen tofu makes this much moister and is a great pizza topping, stuffed shell/manicotti filling, or lasagna ingredient.


not-the-parm 1

ingredients:

1/4 cup peeled almonds
1/4 cup unsalted sunflower seeds
1/4 tsp lemon zest
1/4 tsp sea salt

directions:

grind almonds in mini food processor until coarse crumbs remain. add the other ingredients and process until crumbs are small to very small. transfer to spice jar with a shaker top and store in the fridge. makes about a half cup.

not-the-parm 2

ingredients:

1 cup walnuts
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 tsp sea salt

directions:

put the walnuts in a food processor and chop until they resemble crumbs or coarse crumbs. add the nutritional yeast and salt, and pulsate a couple more times to mix. i recommend keeping the mixture in the fridge; in there, i think it'll last indefinitely. makes about a cup.

chocolate mint bundt cake

chocolate mint bundt cake
Originally uploaded by broken dolly

tasty and delicious!

ingredients:

1 1/2 cups soymilk
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
4 generous tbsp cocoa powder
2 cups flour

directions:

preheat oven to 350f and grease a bundt pan. mix wet ingredients, sift in dry. mix well. bake 37-40min, until a toothpick comes out clean.


for the icing:

melt 12 oz. vegan chocolate chips in a double boiler, add 1/4 cup soymilk and 1 tbsp peppermint extract. allow cake and icing to come to room temperature before frosting. cake is moist, so take care not to break up the cake.

store cake covered in fridge to keep the ganache/icing from melting.

sugar-free carrot mini-muffins

i was trying to think of a witty or at least more descriptive name for these guys, but nothing comes to mind. they're pretty healthy, as far as these things go, since they use date sugar in stead of regular sugar or artificial sweeteners, have carrots in them, and can be made whole wheat for extra awesomeness. i opted to use white flour because my newfound love of fiber is probably going to backfire on me soon and i don't want to overdo it. (date sugar is ground up dehydrated dates, which are my new favorite food.)

my apologies for the lack of picture, but they seem to have been eaten too quickly for me to get a good one!

ingredients:

1 cup soymilk
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp ground flax seeds
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup minus 2 tbsp date sugar
1/3 cup pineapple juice
1 cup shredded carrot (about 2 medium carrots)
1 tsp orange zest (i buy it in the spice section instead of making my own)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch nutmeg (fresh or not)
1 1/3 cup flour

directions:

preheat oven to 375f, and spray a mini muffin tin with oil. then mix everything up! in the interest of laziness, i mixed everything in one bowl in the order above (first letting the vinegar curdle the milk a bit). if you are fancier and less lazy than me, you can mix the wet ingredients together, and then sift in the dry. mix well, and spoon into mini muffin tin. bake for about 18-20 min, until a toothpick comes out dry. cool for a moment and then transfer to wire rack.

makes 24 minis! (if you want full-sized muffins, it should make about a dozen, and double the cooking time.)

variations: add 1/2 cup raisins, dried cranberries, dried cherries, and/or chopped walnuts. to make them less healthy, they'd be awesome with a crumb topping or cream cheese frosting!

chickpea salad sandwich

ingredients:

1-15oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 tsp onion powder
3 tbsp vegan mayonaise
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp sweet relish
1/2 tsp yellow mustard
dash black pepper

good hearty bread for sandwiches
lettuce, tomato, other fixins

directions:

mash the chickpeas with a potato masher until no whole beans remain. add the rest of the ingredients (through black pepper) and mix with a fork until well blended. (feel free to season more to taste, too.)

smother on bread with lettuce and tomato, or whatever makes you happy.

brownies

this was an attempt at rescuing a broken recipe a friend tried to use. i had a sweet tooth and it was a good excuse to attempt vegan brownies. pre-vegan days, i was not a cake brownie fan, but preferred them fudgey and gooey and practically oozing into your mouth from your hands. i'm still hoping to find that someday in a vegan treat, but in the meantime, these aren't too bad. they're cakey but extremely moist. they'd probably do well drizzled with a raspberry or strawberry sauce, peanut butter frosting, or turned into a cake or torte. however, in the interest of simplicity at 2am, i just sprinkled a little powdered sugar on top and left them on the counter as a treat for my hard-working fiance when he gets home.

ingredients:

1/2 a 12oz aseptic package tofu (about 1 cup)
1/2 cup soymilk
1/3 cup canola oil
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups sugar
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder

directions:

preheat oven to 350f. grease an 8x8 pan and dust the bottom with cocoa.

in a blender, puree the tofu with the soymilk until smooth. if you have a really great blender, throw in all the other ingredients and go to town. if your blender isn't that brave, scrape out the tofu mixture into a large mixing bowl, add the other ingredients, and mix well. it'll be pretty thick. pour into the prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes. a toothpick inserted will not come out clean, but it'll be obvious when the center isn't batter any longer.

cool on a wire rack, and remove from pan before cutting, or cut away. i actually don't seem to own an 8x8 brownie pan that's sufficient for brownies, so i used one of my good cake rounds, and wasn't going to carve it up with a knife-- hence the wire rack. you do what makes you happy :)