VEGAN KORMA CURRY

Hey everyone! WOW, It's been a while. Life is great and things are wrapping up nicely for 2015. I've been working my butt off at 2 jobs now so I've been SERIOUSLY busy. Between that, christmas shopping, baking, cleaning, cooking etc.. life has been non stop!  I recently got a new oven so you'll be getting some brand new awesome recipes from me for the holiday season. My boyfriend and I also went to Vancouver to see L7!!!!! Which was probably one of the best moments of my life. Ive loved that band since I was 13 so there was some serious nostalgia at that show. We also went to CARTEMS DONUTERIE while in Vancouver. YOU NEED TO GO. If you haven't stop everything you're doing and go right now. They blew me away. Stole my heart. Their earl grey donut made my week. Also the vegan apple fritters AND the apple pie stuffed donuts!? It's like I had died and gone to heaven. I really love donuts. Always have, always will. We carried home a box just so we could enjoy them at home hehehe. I did hear a rumour that they are going to make ALL their donuts vegan. Not sure if it's true yet but wouldn't that be neat!!

 I attached a link to their website on their name above if you'd like to check them out!

I figured I should check up on everyone and give you another awesome recipe to make during this holiday season. I'll be back around christmas to make a post about our christmas feast but until then hopefully this satisfies your craving.

Although Korma Curry isn't the traditional dish you'd generally serve at a North American Christmas dinner it's still an awesome dish and definitely deserves being shared. Korma generally is a yogurt or cream based mild indian dish. Generally served with fish, meat or vegetables. I made mine with a coconut cream base. It was splendid! I think a couple scoops of natural coconut based vegan yogurt would have really made it that much better, if you don't have that you can use this recipe and it'll be just as good. I'm going to be exploring a lot more into specific indian dishes to make them vegan style. It's a pretty easy thing to do since a lot of indian dishes are generally vegetarian based. That being said if you're ever in a bind for food in an unknown place you know you can always go to an indian restaurant and find some vegan friendly food. I hope you enjoy my Vegan Korma as much as my partner and I did. We are going to be having the leftovers tonight!

Stayed tuned for some more dishes coming up soon! Happy Cruelty Free Cooking!!

VEGAN KORMA CURRY

Recipe

serves 4

2 cloves garlic, diced

1/4 white onion, diced

4 small potatoes, chopped, boiled then fried

1 can organic chickpeas, drained then rinsed

1 can organic coconut milk

2 big handfuls of spinach, chopped

2 teaspoons ajwain seeds

2 teaspoons coriander*

2 tablespoons curry powder*

1 teaspoon turmeric*

1 1/2 teaspoons garam masala

dash of chili flakes

*ingredients with a star beside them are the ones you can add a little more of if you want a bit more kick to your korma. This dish is generally mild so my spices were according to a mild flavour.

Serve your Korma over a bed of rice. I flavoured mine when I made it

Rice recipe

2 cups water

1 cup basmati rice

2 tablespoons of curry powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon butter, stirred in after rice is finished and cooled a bit

First, put on your rice. I'm sure you all know how to cook rice without a rice cooker but just in case... Add 2 cups of water to a pot and turn to med-hi heat. Add one cup of rice and your spices. Stir in spices so they blend well with the rice. Place lid over pot. Once your pot of rice begins to boil reduce heat to min and open the lid slightly allowing steam to escape. Let cook for 15-20 minutes. Once your rice is done, fluff it with a fork. This helps make it not stick together in a big clump. Once your rice has cooled a bit stir in your butter. This makes your rice creamy and gives it a little extra flavour that pairs really nicely with curry. Place rice off to the side with a lid on top to keep it warm.

Now time to make Korma!

Wash and chop all your vegetables. Grab a medium sized pot. Fill it half full with water and turn to med-hi heat. Place a lid over top. This pot will be to flash boil your potatoes.

This helps give them a good consistency and ensures they are cooked fully. Once the pot of water has come to a boil, add your potatoes. Boil for five minutes. Get a large frying pan. Add some olive oil and turn to med heat. Sautee your garlic and onion with a dash of the ajwain seeds for 5 minutes.

 Drain your potatoes and add them to the frying pan along with your coconut milk, chickpeas and spinach. Stir everything together then add your spices. Mix all your spices in really well. By this point your coconut milk should be bubbling a little bit and that means you're ready to reduce your heat to min, place a lid over top and let it cook for around 25 minutes. You can cook it for a little bit less if you want a more creamy base. If you want a less creamy base cook it for a little longer but keep an eye on it so you don't over cook it. Stir the frying pan every couple of minutes to make sure nothing is sticking. This also helps the spinach blend in with the coconut  milk which helps make your base for the dish. Once you have your desired consistency remove the frying pan from heat and stir it once more. Allow to cool for 5 minutes. Serve it over a bed of rice or some naan bread and there we have it.

Veggie Korma!

VEGAN OREO DONUTS

Hello everyone! It was my boyfriend,  Reece and I anniversary on the 9th of July and I obviously needed to make him something amazing for that day.  We are both vegan and loveeee to eat! I asked him what he wanted and he said donuts! Which gave me the grand idea to recreate the new Oreo donut the Tim Horton's just launched,  vegan style. Oreos are already vegan so it was pretty easy! I baked the donuts this time but with a different recipe.  They turned out amazing! I was super pleased with the results. It was a super easy recipe and they baked quick. Donuts at e my favourite.  I'm still reminiscing the vegan donuts at voodoo donuts in Portland.  After going there in May 2013 I was really inspired to come home and make my own! These are by far some of my best yet and I guarantee anyone would love these! As long as you have a sweet tooth because they are sweeetttt.  The coconut milk makes the perfect icing for them too. I hope you enjoy this recipe and I would love for people to share pictures of their donuts if they try this recipe! Leave it in the comments or message my Facebook page,

Happy baking!

Donut Recipe

2 cups flour + 1/4 cup extra flour for kneading and dusting 

2 teaspoons instant yeast

1/4 cup warm water

dash of salt

3 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon cocoa

2 tablespoons vegan margarine, melted

3/4 cup coconut milk

dash of salt

Icing Recipe

1/3 cup vegan becel margarine, melted *link attached

1 cup vegan powdered sugar

3 tablespoons coconut cream *thicker chunks in your can of coconut milk

*save some for the drizzle

2 rows of oreos crumbled for toppings

To start your dough recipe you will need a 1/4 cup of warm water with a dash of salt added to it. Sprinkle your 2 teaspoons of yeast over top of the warm water the allow to sit for 10 minutes. This gives you time to combine all your dry ingredients. You can add more cocoa if you want chocolate donuts. These just had a slight hint of chocolate in them with the amount I added. Thats what I was going for. Once your yeast is ready, create a hole in the middle of your dry mix. Add your yeast, coconut milk then margarine. Mix together well with a fork until dough is form then begin to knead and mix with your hands.

Knead your dough for 7 minutes. Rub a bit of margarine inside the bowl your dough is in so it doesn't stick and cover with a clean dish cloth and allow to rise at room temperature for at least a half hour. The longer you let it rise the more donuts you will get out of it!

While your dough is rising you can make your icing!

First step is to melt your margarine. Keep in mind that becel margarine is WAYYY lighter then regular original earth balance which is what I normally use. This made a really nice butter cream frosting! You MUST add the coconut cream to get the right consistency though. My icing was very thin before I added that but afterwards it was the PERFECT icing. I highly recommend using becel vegan margarine for your icings(especially butter cream ones) but just try and keep in mind you will need a vegan thickener. Other examples of thickeners are mashed bananas, natural agar agar and ground flax seeds.   

Gradually add your vegan powdered sugar while using a mixer. Mix constantly while adding. Once your sugar and margarine is mixed together well add your coconut cream. Continue to mix until desired consistency. I mixed mine for about 5 minutes.  Once it's finished place it in your fridge with a lid. 

NOW, your dough has risen for a half hour or more and you need to preheat your oven to 325 F. 

Knead your dough on a clean, lightly floured surface on your counter or table. You'll need to knead it for about another 10 minutes. Keep adding flour as needed to your surface. Rub vegetable oil all over your baking tray. Begin to roll out your dough with a lightly floured rolling pin. Keep rolling until the dough is a 1/4" inch thick.

Using either a donut cutter or a knife begin to cut out even shapes of your dough and place on lightly oiled baking tray.

 Repeat until all your dough is used. Once they are all ready, rub a little vegetable oil on top of the donuts and throw into your heated oven. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Take out and allow to cool.

Allow to cool for at least 10-15 minutes before icing or your icing will just melt off because it's wayy too hot. Take your icing out of the fridge now so its not to hard to spread on the donuts.

Crumble up two rows of oreos in a bowl.

This will be for sprinkling on top of the icing. Begin to spread icing on all your donuts. Try to make sure you will have enough icing left for the drizzle on top of the oreos but if you don't just break the icing recipe here down into a 1/4 recipe and use that! Once all your donuts have icing on them begin to sprinkle oreos all over them. A lot of the oreo crumbles will probably fall onto the plate. I just kept scraping them all off and sprinkling them until it all stuck to the donuts. Once you've covered all your donuts add a light drizzle of icing over top of them all. This is the last step but MOST CRUCIAL ONE. It really does make the donut. These will last in your fridge for up to 5 days. These are some of the best donuts I've ever made and I hope you like them :)

VEGAN PIZZA

Hey everyone! I haven't made a recipe post in way too long so thanks for staying tuned.  I've been working on my cooking at home,  trying to expand my social network and checking out other awesome vegan blogs in my spare time.  Its been way too hot to cool here the last couple days so it's obviously summer salad season.  I usually just live off of salads,  sandwiches and wraps in the summer time.  Its a nice change from lots of the complicated meals that us health freaks like to cool or bake.  I can definitely embrace a raw diet in the summer time.  For those of you that are raw during the winter,  that is impressive. Maybe it's being brought up in Canada but I need my hot seitan roast and home made stuffing.  ANYWAYS getting off topic here a little.  June 28th was National Vegan Pizza Day so I figured I'd celebrate by posting my vegan pizza recipe. Vegan pizza is the easiest meal to feed to meat eaters and have them not even notice.  My whole family will eat vegan pizza with me as long as I make it! Ha. If you're looking to help your family explore their animal free roots,  do a pizza night :) I promise they will not be disappointed!!  

Pizza is great because you can put virtually anything on it and as long as it's covered in tomato sauce and dosed with daiya people will love it.  Plus if you're picky you can make it exactly to your liking.  My favourites are toppings are bell peppers, mushrooms, stuffed olives and artichoke hearts.  Add some spinach or kale and you've got yourself the perfect pizza.  If that's not to your liking you could try pretty much any vegetable.  Some of my other faves are corn,  broccoli,  tofurky sausage or veggie chorizo.  Veggie pizzas are great but those tofurky faux meats are the bomb! Now field roast is back in Canada so you can use those too.  They are my favourite,  I am so happy to have them back.  If you haven't put those on a pizza yet, please do so now.  For your own sake.  Here's my dough recipe.  Enjoy! 

Dough recipe  

3 cups unbleached white flour or caputo flour (link attached if your interested)

1 packet instant yeast = to 2 1/4 teaspoons 

Dash of salt 

1 cup warm water

1 tablespoon olive oil 

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons pepper

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning 

Get one cup warm water in a measuring cup and add a dash of salt and stir.  Make sure it's not too warm or it'll kill the yeast.  It just has to be room temperature. Sprinkle the yeast on top and let stand for ten minutes.  In a large bowl  add your flour and spices.  Stir well. Make a well in the middle and add your yeast and olive oil. Mix together with a fork  until a dough begins to form then start to use your hands.  Knead for 10 minutes.  Add one teaspoon of olive to your bowl and rub it around the sides and on your dough.  This make sit so your dough doesn't stick.  Place a clean kitchen cloth over the bowl and let rise on the counter for an hour.  

This gives you the perfect amount of time to cut up all your veggies, oil your pan  and get ready to roll your dough out.  This is  usually how much I cut up for one large pizza. 

Veggie recipe

1 can tomato paste 

Half a white onion,  diced

3 cloves garlic,  diced 

5 mushrooms, sliced 

10 olives,  sliced

Handful of pickled artichoke hearts, diced 

Half a pack of tofurky chorizo or 2 tofurky sausages OR field roast vegan sausages 

Handful of fresh spinach

One bell pepper,  diced 

1/2 cup of daiya cheese (I usually use pepper jack) or vegan gourmet cheese (which is really good but so hard to find in Campbell River!)  *links attached

Once your dough has risen for an hour you need to preheat your oven to 400. Take your bowl and remove your dough  into a lightly floured surface on your counter.  Begin to Knead the dough for 10 to 15 minutes.  Adding flour as needed.  Once it's nice and soft and easy to work with begin to roll it out with your rolling pin.  Start from the middle  pushing out to create a disk shape.  Rotate the dough and flip it over  periodically to create the pizza shape for your dough.  Keep pushing out further each time to make the circle bigger and bigger. Keep rotating the dough to keep the shape uniform. Once the dough is big and round like a pizza you can begin to bend the edges in and pinch the with a fork to create your crust.  Stuff it with vegan cheese if you want! Once you have a dough completely around the edge of your pizza you'll need to to bake it for 5 minutes.  This allows the dough to cook thoroughly because veggies don't take nearly as long. Place it on an oiled round  pan and place in oven. Once you take it out your ready for the tomato paste.  Spread it around with a spoon and cover the whole dough.  Add your toppings  veggie,  meat then cheese.  Place as much as you'd like. Using a pizza paddle,  a spatula or your hands place the pizza on your oiled round  pizza pan.  Place  in the oven for 15 minutes. 

Take your pizza out and allow to cool for 10 minutes before you serve.  Slice evenly with a pizza knife and eat!

Thats just a few photos from my vegan pizza gallery :) 

Check out my vegan calzone recipe as well!  *link attached

I hope you had an awesome vegan pizza day and enjoy this recipe. Its so easy to make the hardest part is waiting for the dough to rise! I would love if everyone would tweet me @theherrrbivore and send me your summer salads with the #hastag #summersalads 

Thanks everyone for all your support on my blog and your commitment to a cruelty free lifestyle! Kudos to you! 

VEGAN BANANA CREAM PIE W/ A HAZELNUT DATE CRUST

VEGAN BANANA CREAM PIE

w/ a hazelnut date crust

I woke up this morning with such an itch to bake so I was instantly excited when my boyfriend said it was national banana cream pie day. Random yes but an excellent opportunity to try something new. I also had a serious craving for hazelnut so I went out and bought some pura hazelnut agave syrup which is the kind I used in this recipe and it is SOOO GOOD. I mostly drink it in my coffee usually but it was an awesome addition for my pie crust. It gave it just the extra pizzaz it needed. Although I didn't make my own custard for the middle I was really pleased with the gobio vegan custard packet that I bought at one of the local pharmacies here with an awesome vegan food section there. It was my first time trying the custard and although it needs quite a bit of sweetener to be delicious its an excellent base for a cream pie. I highly recommend it to anyone trying to pull off a vegan cream pie for the first time. So here it is. In the name of national banana cream pie day, my vegan banana cream pie. I hope you enjoy! Happy baking. 

*I attached a link to the Pura linkedin below if you want to check them out. They are an awesome local company from Vancouver, BC

Pie crust recipe

1 cup everland organic pitted dates (soaked in warm water for 20 minutes)
1/2 cup bob's red mill organic graham flour
1/2 cup everland organic unbleached white flour
1/4 cup lets do it organic shredded coconut
1/4 cup earth balance melted
2 tablespoons Pura hazelnut agave syrup (link attached here)

*I also left links to the other products I used if you wanted to check out these awesome vegan companies!

Steps

Combine flours in a medium sized bowl with your shredded coconut.  Mix together well with a fork. Next drain your dates and add to your food processor or blender. Add 2 tablespoons of agave syrup and 2 tablespoons spoons of melted earth balance. Blend together for 4 minutes. Add blended dates to the flours and begin to mix together well, pressing down while mixing to pack everything in tight. Once your pie crust has formed into a ball, press your pie crust into a pie  pan. Refrigerate for 5 minutes then bake at 375 for 12 minutes.

Once your crust is ready you can make your custard because you'll want your custard to cool before adding it to your pie.

Pie filling recipe

2 cups vanilla almond breeze milk
1 packet goBio organic custard
2 tablespoons cane sugar
2-3 bananas sliced

Steps
Measure 2 cup of almond milk. In a bowl add the contents of the custard packet and 1/4 cup of your milk. In a pot bring your remaining 1 3/4 cup of milk to a boil then slowly add your mixture to the pot once its boiling. Turn down to a low bowl and whisk together until desired consistency. For me it was around 10 minutes. Afterwards pour your custard into a bowl and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Next its time to make your pie! You'll need 2 to 3 bananas depending on how much banana you like. Slice them thinly then place slices in your crust. Cover the whole bottom of your crust.
Add your custard to the pie crust and spread evenly. Place one more layer of banana slices on top. Top it all off with your choice of whip cream if your heart so desires. Its delicious on its own. Refrigerate until you're ready to serve.

VEGAN CARAMEL CINNAMON BUNS WITH COCONUT SHREDS

VEGAN CARAMEL CINNAMON BUNS WITH COCONUT SHREDS

Three words. OH MY GOD. If you haven't had vegan caramel yet you will not believe your taste buds when you try some of this! 100% vegan and gluten free. Its so easy to make with just 4 simple ingredients.  The hardest part is getting the right consistency.  As long as you stir it constantly and keep it at the right temperature, you cant fail. This will be your new favourite recipe to complete all your vegan treats. If you cook it an extra 5 minutes you can make vegan caramel squares! As long as you have some shallow square molds. Now enough about my caramel.  Its time to talk cinnamon buns! I LOVE cinnamon buns. Pastries and coffee is actually one of my top 5 favourite things in the world. Ever. So I dont mess around when I make cinnamon buns. These are PERFECT. Better than any regular cinnamon bun I've ever had. Its light, fluffy, chewy and moist. Not too sweet so the caramel is the perfect finish. If you're a fan of cinnamon buns, you've got to try these! You'll never go out to buy some store made cinnamon buns. You can satisfy you and your friends cravings with this simple, cheap and easy recipe! Enjoy!

Recipe

makes 10

2 1/2 cups flour

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons sugar

1 cup almond fresh coconut milk

4 tablespoons earth balance melted

1 package instant yeast

1/3 cup of raisins soaked in warm water

Filling

1/4 cup earth balance

3 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon wholesome sweeteners raw blue agave syrup

2 teaspoons cinnamon

Handful of organic shredded coconut

Caramel

1 can coconut cream chilled 4 hours then drained of water

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon earth balance

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Steps

Preheat oven to 350F.

Melt 4 tablespoons of earth balance on low heat and combine 1 cup of almond milk. Stir in sugar and salt and remove from heat once everything is well combined.  Pour into a large bowl. Let it cool down. It has to be lukewarm because you're adding your yeast to this mixture and if its too hot you'll kill the yeast. Once lukewarm sprinkle your yeast over top of the milk mixture and allow to stand for 10 minutes. Stir your yeast in and begin to sprinkle in your flour a 1/2 cup at a time. Stirring constantly while adding. Add your cinnamon and raisins and begin to knead your dough with your hands once all the flour is added. Continue to knead for 5 minutes. Rinse and dry your mixing bowl then pour a small amount of oil in tr bottom. Rub it all over the bowl then place your dough inside. Cover with a cloth and allow to rise for 1 hour.

This leaves the perfect opportunity to make the caramel!  To make the caramel

you need to have a can of coconut milk in the fridge for at least 4 hours. Next take your chilled coconut milk out of the fridge and get a strainer place the strainer over a bowl and poke a couple holes through the top of the milk with a knife. Place the can in the strainer with the open side down and let the excess water drain out. There shouldn't be too much. Scoop out all of the coconut cream and place it in a frying pan. Turn it on to med-low heat (between 4 and 5 on your stove). Allow the cream to start melting then sprinkle your sugar, butter and vanilla on top. Stirring until everything is well combined.  Once your mixture begins to bubble allow it to get to a steady boil, not allowing it to boil over. Remove from heat for a minute if it keeps boiling over. Stirring it almost constantly, allow it to cook for 20 minutes. Pour into a bowl and allow to thicken.

This will keep well in the fridge for up to a month you just need to reheat it if you're going to drizzle it over something.

Once your dough has risen for an hour it should be about double in size. Knead it for about 10 minutes then roll it out on a lightly floured surface. 

Melt 1/4 cup earth balance and combine it with your sugar, cinnamon and agave syrup. Spread your butter mixture on your rolled out dough, sprinkle your coconut shreds on top. Save some of your mixture for the top of the cinnamon buns. Begin to roll your dough with the longest side closest to you, pinching tightly while you roll it. Once the whole thing is rolled pinch the open edge with your fingers to seal it. 

Cut off 2 inch sections of the roll and place in an oiled glass baking pan. Repeat until finished. Spread the rest of  your butter mixture on top. Bake for 25 minutes.

Allow to cool for 15 minutes then drizzle your caramel on top. Cut into even squares and serve!

VEGAN SUSHI ROLLS (without a bamboo mat)

VEGAN SUSHI ROLLS

Sushi is such an easy thing to make vegan.  Its great for having people over because you can make tons for so cheap. Its easy to make lots of different kinds and just an all around awesome meal. It takes a bit of practice to get the rolling part right but there's tools you can use to make it easier! Personally I just always use my hands but my little sister uses this. Its a sushi bamboo rolling mat. Theres a link attached if you want to buy one check them out. As well as a picture below. It works awesome and makes your rolls really perfect. Plus you can make rolls with rice on the outside and seaweed in the middle which is pretty hard to do when you don't have one. There's so many great ingredients you can use in a sushi roll. Heres a list; cucumber, carrot, celery, avocado, tofu, yam tempura,  ginger,  garlic, seitan piece's, bell peppers, onion, spinach, lettuce, thats the most I can think of but I bet theres more! I love all of the San J gluten free sauces. The soy sauce they make is perfect. I also love using everland sweet and sour sauce!! Its by far my favourite organic sweet and sour sauce ever! Theres a link to both companies websites attached to their names if you want to check them out. Heres my quick easy steps for making sushi.

Rinse your sushi rice in a strainer until the water runs clear. About 1 to 2 minutes. In a medium sized pot combine your water and rice. The measurements are a little different for sushi rice. It should be about 1 cup to 1 and 1/4 cup of water. Anymore than that and your sushi rice turns into sushi dough. Place a lid on your pot and allow it to come to a boil on med-high heat. Once it starts to bubble turn down to min. heat. Allow to cook for around 15-20 minutes. You can add 1 teaspoon of sesame oil and 1 tablespoon of soy sauce to the water. It really adds to the flavour of your rice. Once all the water is absorbed and your rice is hot and sticky you can remove it from heat and give it a good stir. Now that thats cooling its time to do the fixings! This part is totally up to you! You can do whatever you want with it. Remember not to overstuff them too much or you'll have a hard time rolling them. Also remember to cut your vegetables long and thin so they fit better inside your roll when cutting pieces off. Fry up your tofu in your choice of stir fry sauce. Prepare a clean area to roll your sushi.

To roll your sushi without a mat you need to place a seaweed wrap on your cutting board. Place one big spoon full of rice onto your wrap. Flatten it out with a spoon. This makes it a lot easy to roll it. Make sure your rice is right to each side of the sushi wrap or they won't cut up into pieces very well. Place your ingredients in the middle and begin to roll from the side closest to you. Pinch tight with your fingers begin to roll the roll against the cutting board or plate. Its kind of like rolling burritos but without the sides folding in. Heres an example,

Just make sure you start by turning the end into the middle very tight and continue that motion till the entire thing is rolled. 

Use cold water to seal up the edges. Dip your fingers in cold water and rub the ends of the sushi wrap to form it together. 

Once thats ready you can slice up your sushi to serve!

This is my recipe for these rolls.

Recipe

2 cups sushi rice = 6 rolls

2 carrots, sliced thin and long

3 celery stalks, sliced thin and long

half a cucumber. sliced thin and long

half a red pepper, sliced thin and long

half a container of soyganic tofu, fried

Everland sweet n sour sauce

San J Soy sauce for dipping. 

I love dripping some sauce into the inside of the roll. It makes your rolls look extra fancy. 

 This is a picture of my yam tempura! I haven't posted the recipe yet but I thought I'd give you a sneak peek! Stay tuned if you want the recipe!