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 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 GARBANZO ( CHICKPEA ) FLOUR CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

This recipe might seem a little bit weird at first but once yu take a bite you will regret not trying it sooner. Garbanzo bean flour is a great gluten free alternative for cookies. Its much healthier than eating regular ol' flour.  Its fun to experiment with different flours as well! Baking and cooking is all about trying new things and finding out what taste good together. The texture of these cookies are absolutely perfect though. By far one of the best I made. The chickpea flour makes them so soft and chewy. It makes for perfect cookies. I think it would work awesome for brownies too. Ill try that next. This recipe would be easy to make gluten free,  just substitute the whole wheat flour for any other gluten free flour. You could try and use just garbanzo bean flour but it is very soft and absorbs liquids easily leaving the consistency fairly sticky. I do advise using either gluten free whole wheat or unbleached white flour. I definitely will be posting more baked goods with garbanzo bean flour.  I love how veganism gets more interesting and fun!

Hope you love making my

Vegan garbanzo (chickpea) flour chocolate chip cookies

Recipe

Makes 350F
1 cup bob red mills Garbanzo(chickpea) bean flour
1 1/4 cup organic whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons agave syrup
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup enjoy life vegan chocolate mega chunks
1/4 cup earth balance butter, melted
1/2 cup turbinado sugar
1 banana, mashed
4 tablespoons spoons organic coconut milk

Steps

Preheat your oven to 350 F. Combine ingredients, flour to chocolate chips in a large mixing bowl. Stir together well with a fork,  making sure there is no clumps in your dry mix. In a medium sized bowl mix your melted earth balance and sugar. Mash 1 banana in a measuring cup and add 4 tablespoons of organic coconut milk. Mix together well and add it to your butter and sugar. Mix together well. Create a well in the middle of your dry mix and add your wet mix. Stir everything together with a large spoon for 5 minutes. If your mix is still too sticky you can add tablespoons of flour one at a time.  Once your cookie dough is ready you can rub earth balance on your cookie sheet for baking. Scoop out one large spoon of cookie dough and place it on the pan. 

They should be about an inch and a half across in size. Flatten out your cookies with a fork so its relatively flat. Repeat that until your cookie dough is finished.  I made 15! Bake for 10-12 minutes.  Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.  Enjoy your healthy dessert!

BREAKFAST GRANOLA BARS

BREAKFAST GRANOLA BARS

So last night my boyfriend and I had a sweet tooth but weren't sure what to make. I had tons of nuts and peanut butter so i figured I'd make some granola bars. He had a weird request though, Cheerios! My boyfriend LOVES cheerios. So I figured I'd be able to make something good! This was definitely a "whatever you got in your pantry" kind of dessert but its great for taking to work and munching in the morning as well! Try experimenting by putting your favorite cereal in it or maybe some agave syrup instead of jam. Its basic, easy and good for you:)

Recipe

1/2 cup quick oats
1/2 cup graham flour
1/2 cup cheerios
1/4 cup almonds
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup cranberries
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons jam
1 tablespoon almond fresh coconut milk
2 tablespoons earth balance butter, melted
1 cup peanut butter, smooth

Steps

Preheat your oven to 325 F

Combine all ingredients (quick oats-sugar) in a large bowl. Stir together well. Once mixed, add your jam, almond milk, earth balance and peanut butter. Your mixture should begin to form into a big ball. If its too dry you can add more milk or agave syrup. The more sticky stuff you put in it the better they will stay together! Stir it together very well, pushing it down while you're doing this to help make the mixture stick together well.
Rub some earth balance on a baking dish so your granola bars don't stick. Pour your entire mixture into your dish and begin to press it down with a spatula. Continue to press your granola bars for 10 minutes.
 Make sure theres lots in all the corners and edges. The longer you press them the better your granola bars will stick together so keep going as long as you can! Once your granola bars are packed enough sprinkle something on top to finish it. I used coconut shreds. 
Give them one more push to make sure all the coconut will stay on your bars and put it in the oven. Bake for 25 minutes. Let stand for 10-15 minutes before you eat. If its still steaming let it sit longer. If you cut it to soon your bars will fall apart! If you want them  to stay together really well don't cut them that night. Leave them in the dish and refrigerate overnight. Theres no way they will fall apart after that. Enjoy:)