Vegan Cauliflower Pasta

Tomorrow I will be gone on vacation on a vegan little cruise ship down in Croatia for one week. I'm really exited as I share a room with a unknown person. I will post more after the vacation - telling you what I ate and how it was. 

 Ingredible how much stress and preparation vacation needs. Packing the luggage, deciding what kind of dresses and t-shirt you want to pack -  etc. Beside, making sure showing that all perishable food are either eaten or given away. 

Though I thought that I really good prepared - there were more to do than I thought. And I my flight is at 6 a.m - which means getting up very early.. uah. But I knew I will be to exited for really sleeping. 

Today in the morning I brought my cats to their holiday (a cathotel). I don't like leaving my cats somewhere else, as I knew they are very scary and being without them - I felt so alone at home without the miau, cuddle and so on. 

Anyway, after I've done what I had to do, it was already dinner time. Though my stomach is quite tens, I had wanted to eat something but eating relaxed would feel much better........

I kept it simple of course, with the left vegetable I had in the refrigerator. 

If you're not having cauliflower at home -  us another vegetable - guess the taste will be similar. Now enjoy your dinner. 

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Cauliflower Pasta 

30 min 
2 People

Ingredients: 
400 g cauliflower 
salt 
4 spring onions 
200 g  rigatoni (noodles)

1 clove of garlic 
15 g basil leaves 
10 g pine nuts
120 ml olive oil 
Grated zest and 2 tablespoons juice from 1 lemon

Preparation:
From the cauliflower break florets. In a pot boil water, add salt. Then cook cauliflower for 5 minutes, drain, rinse with cold water and drain. 
Clean and cut 4 spring onions into 1 cm thick rings. 

In a frying pan without fat roast the chopped hazelnuts and then let cool. 

In plenty salted water cook 200 g rigatoni according to the package directions.

Meanwhile peel and press 1 clove of garlic. Coarsly shop basil leaves and puree with the pine nuts, garlic and 100 ml olive oil.  Season to taste with salt. 

Cut the caulifower florets into thick slices and in a large pan with 20 ml oil fry until golden brown about 5 minutes. Add the Spring onions and fry 1 more minute. 
Wisk under the grated zest and 2 tablespoons lemonjuice, season with salt. 

Serve the paste with the vegetable and top with the pesto.  

Raw Salad Bowl with "damm good Sauce"

After a day with appointments and lying in the sun I rushed into my kitchen to prepare a fresh dish. I was sweating by only standing in the kitchen and all I could think of is eating something to cool down -  off. 

First I had to drank a few glasses from my selfmade peppermint cooled tea - this helped, but still not in the mood for warm dish but anyway I was in the mood for vegetables. 

Perfect for a raw salad. The dressing for the salad - just perfect. I made an almost similar dressing before and for this one I just added some more ingredients and so it happen and the damm good Sauce was born. 

Hope you like this summer salad with the dressing. Enjoy the salad.

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Raw Salad Bowl with a "damm good-Sauce"

Ingredients:
julienned carrots
julienned zucchini
julienned radish
wakame (soaked and rinsed)
sprouts
shredded red cabbage

hot-blooded Sauce:
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 maple syrup of Agavenectar
1/4 cup tamari
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup tahini
1 clove garlic

Direction:
Sauce: Blend all ingredients and store in the refrigerator till us. (Keeps fresh in a glass jar 
about 4-5 days

For the salad, prepare all the vegetables and place zucchini in the center and arrange the other vegetables around the edges. Dizzle with the Sauce. 

Vegan Aioli

Sometimes I hardly can stop myself from preparing food, condiments after and after. The only thing about always preparing something - there got be someone eaten it. 

I often heard about the Aioli but always only saw non-vegan-recipes - till yesterday evening. Happy about finding a recipe in a magazine I decided to prepare it the next morning.  AND I like it much more than mayo (I hate mayo - even vegan). The recipe immediately went into my own recipebook - saved for another time. 

A usual dip for cooked fresh artichokes, sweet potatoe frittes or oven roasted baby potatoes. 

Too bad I hadn't known this recipe when artichokes are in season. 

Anyway the Aioli was very good just by dipping in roasted baby potatoes or whatever. 

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Vegan Aioli

Simple, Fast

Ingredients:

2-3 knob garlic (depending on their seize AND how much garlicy like of your aioli)

100 ml nature Soydrink

1 Tbsp. Lemonjuice

200 ml Oil

Preparation:

Peel the garlic and finely chop. 

Together with the Soydrink puree well. 

When it get foamy slowly add the oil by pouring it along the mixingwall. At the end slowly pour in the lemonjuice (by constantly wisking).

Taste and season with some salt if necessary. Set aside in the refrigerator till use. 

Vegan Mini Pepper Nachos with Corn, Beans and Avocado

Yesterday -  sunday - I was invited to a friends house for grilling. I made a lot of things, such as the Mango-Dip, a spicy Vegan BBQ Sauce, a vegan Aioli, a Gazpacho Salad AND those Mini Pepper Nachos. I made them the first time and they where very good - just tricki to fill as they where so small. Luckely they widend in the oven during grilling. 

It was the first time I saw mini peppers at the market and I brought them before nowing I was invited. And first I thought about letting them just topped and deseeded and then filled, but when the Invitation came I changed my mind. 

Everybody really liked them - a kind of different and much more healthy snack. 

Luckely the weather staid good - cause we had a week passed with rain nearly every day and the temperature lowered pretty much. 

But on Sunday the temperature rised just right up to be comfortable being outside with just one time a little rain. 

We had a really great evening - though my friend can't eat spicy and some of my prepared food was a little to spicy for her and she didn't tried. I was so sorry, I haven't really knowed it..........

Anyway the Nachos she really loved ;)

Note: Some recipe from my other prepared food - I will post some not as I haven't made pictures. Sorry

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Mini Pepper Nachos with Corn, Beans and Avocado

20 min
4 Servings

Sweet mini peppers nachos filled with lots goods such as pico de gallo, avocado, beans and vegan shredded cheese.

Ingredients: Pico de Gallo
2 cups tomatoes (seeded and chopped)      
1/4 cup onion (chopped) 
1 jalapenos (seeded and chopped) 
1 clove garlic (chopped) 
1 lime (juice) 
1 heaped handful cilantro (chopped) 
salt and pepper to taste 



Preparation:
Mix everything. 

Ingredients filled peppers:
1 small (200g) can of corns
1 small can (200g) of black beans, drained (or just a can of peas)
about 200-230 g Pico de gallo 
1 medium avocado, diced
salt and pepper 
500 g mini peppers, halved and de-seeded
1 cup vegan shredded cheese (or use a nacho sauce)
1 springonion chopped or cilantro for garnish. 

Preparation:
Preheat the oven up to 180 °C. 

Mix the drained beans, corn and pico de gallo and the diced avocado and springonion, season with salt and pepper (to get it spicier use some Cayennepepper or chilipowder). 

Arrange the prepared peppers on a baking sheet, fill them with the filling and then sprinkle over the vegan shredded cheese (or your nacho-sauce) and grill for about 20 min. The peppers should be soft and the cheese melted. 

Serve with a sauce such as a vegan sour cream or eat them plain as they are. 

Sprouting cucumbar salad

I have started my day with a fast but heahlty breakfast and my second dish - lunch had to be healhty aswell!

My breadmachine-bread was done and after household work it was already lunchtime, my stomach said hungry,.

I hadn't the time yet to go for groceries, but there is always something in your refridge you can produce something of. 
So did I. A cucumber and sprouts - perfect for a healthy salad with the selfmade bread.

The good thing about Sprouts - they are so healthy with full of vitamines and protein. I just love them, never a salad without........ I'm really addicted to it!!

A salad that comes completly without any kind of green salad. Health pur.

Loaded with so much of energy your ready to start a afternoon with hard work  - such as garden work, fitness, or or or. 

If you miss some green salad - add some if you feel like. 

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Sprouting Cucumber Salad 

A salad full of loaded power

Serves 6

Fort the salad
250 g baby plun tomatoes, chopped
200 g radishes, topped, tailed and finely sliced
1/2 cucumber, deseeded and finely diced
A buch of spring onions, finely sliced
40 g coriander, chopped
2 cm ginger, peeled and finely cut
250 g sprouted mung beans and mixed pulses

For the dressing
2 tbsp. oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp. sugar
2 tbsp. mustard
Juiche of 1/2 lemon

Preparation:
Toss all the chopped and diced salad ingredients together into a bowl. 

Prepare the dressing by combine all the ingredients in a separate bowl. Wisk with a fork and dizzle over your salad just before serving. 


Note:
If you plan to take this salad with you for lunch or to a party, pour the dressing into a container and dizzle over just before eating.  

Rasperry Lime Soda

As I have told you lately I looking for my sisters home and garden while they are on vacation. 

Yesterday - before it started to rain -  I worked in their garden with harvesting their fruits and cherry tomatoes. 
I harvest so much rasperries and some where close to be bad - I had to take a lot at home - instead off freezen them for my sister. 

Back, my own refrigerator was filled already filled up with left fruits my sister and there was no other way than preparing the rasperries. 

Jam? No, not enough sugar at home and no prewashed glasses. 
Dessert? Well for myself? And then, when no space in refrigerator? NO

Hmm, making a smoothie? No, not really - but yes a lighter version and then suddenly it made click and the idea about the Soda came up. 
Perfect on a muggy day.

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Rasperry Lime Soda



4 portions

Ingredients:
160 g Rasperry
50 ml water
70 g sugar
2 Tbsp. Limejuice, freshly squizzed
1 liter water

Optional: 2 Tbsp. Cassis-Rasperry-sirup (for those who like it sweeter)

Direction:
Mix all ingredients, expect of the 1 liter water and blend well. Pass it through a cheese cloth.
Now add the sirup if desired.

If the Rasperry-Lime-Soda should stay for a longer time, cook it shortly up befor adding the water. Otherwise fill up with the 1 liter water and enjoy your drink immediatly, garnished with a slice of lime and some mintleaves.

Amaranthpops-Joghurt-Fruitcup

I ate so much during my first days of Holidays, (filling up my batteries), that I'm really glad now, that I eat so healthy at least in the morning. 

Usually I eat lots of fruits and one or two pieces of bread with jam. But today when I opened the bread-box I saw that the bread had mold on it and - only when I got no grains at home - I cut the mold away and ate a piece of bread either, but not today. 

Luckely I lately bought a new pack of Amaranthpops and fruits I always got at home, I made myself a short fruitcup. 

After haven eaten, I made myself backing a new an fresh wholewheat bread. (Thank to the breadmachine).

Ready to start the day filled up with lots of work at home. 

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Amaranthpops-Joghurt-Fruitcup

4 Person
30 min

Ingredients:
1 dl vegan cream
250 g plain soyjoghurt
3 Tbsp. Agavenectar
3-4 ripe plums or 1-2 nectarine (about 200 g) cut into slices
100 g raspberries
40 g Amaranthpops or cracker, 

Preparation:
Beat the vegan cream till floamy then stir under Joghurt and Agavenectar. 

In a dessert cup or bowl, layer joghurt-mixture, fruits and Amaranthpops. Finish with fruits. 

Note: Depending on the season use other fruits. Of course your mix in other grains if you desire. 
If prepared as a dessert I would recommend biscuits for sweet dessert. 

Vegan chocolate-tahini timbale cakes

As you may knwo I'm not really a sweet person, but if I have guests over for a cup off coffee I can't just serve them "nothing" - and today I wanted to surprise them - as they hardly expect myself serving a dessert. 

Anyway, back to the roots. I got a new cooking book and in there I saw and found a recipe for chocolate-tahini cakes. 

I had to try - I could not really imagine tasting tahini good in a sweet cake, but the result- and yes I tasted it off course - was astonishing good!!! The original recipe said using muffin-forms but as I'm not having real muffin form I decide to make timbale cakes - looks even better than cakes in a muffin form. 

As I'm guarding my sister home with the garden I even had some rasperry to serve with - fresh harvest at my sisters garden. (and this for the next two weeks) As my sister fridge is overfilled I mostly will take the harvest things at home, either cooking or preparing jams out of it. 

My guest really like it and this is always a good sign, hmm? And served with fresh sweet rasperries just delicious.....

If you wonder as well if they tastes, try them out and you will be surprised!

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Vegan chocolate-tahini timbale cakes

This variation involves using tahini in place of butter. The batter is baked in timbales. You'll need to have enough (about 2 ml) nonstick (silicone) timbales to make two dozen timbales at a time.

Makes about 24

Ingredients:115 g dark baking chocolate, coarsely chopped
120 ml unsweetened plain soya milk
160 ml Kahlua or other coffee liqueur
120 ml tahini
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
190 g all-purpose flour
1 cup powdered sugar, plus more for dusting
1½ teaspoons baking powder
43 g cocoa powder 
½ teaspoon salt

Direction:

Preheat the oven up to 180C

Put the chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. In a small saucepan, heat the soya milk over medium heat until it begins to steam and almost comes to a boil. Pour the soya milk over the chopped chocolate, then add the Kahlua, tahini, and vanilla. Let stand for 1 minute, then stir until the mixture is smooth and the chocolate is entirely melted.

Sift the flour, powdered sugar, baking powder, cocoa, and salt together into a large bowl. Add the chocolate mixture and stir gently until just combined. Transfer the mixture to a pastry bag without a tip or a resealable
plastic bag with one corner snipped off.

Put about two dozen timbale moulds on a baking sheet (the number of moulds per pan varies, so just get as close to two dozen as you can). Pipe the batter into the moulds, filling each about two-thirds full.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the tops are firm but the inside is still slightly soft (test by inserting a wooden skewer or toothpick). Transfer the moulds to a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes, then invert the moulds and let the timbales cool completely, about 15 minutes. Lift off the moulds and dust the timbales with powdered sugar. These treats are best eaten the day they're made.

Grilled Millet rounds with Mango-Dip and Salad

There is nothing better than grilling on a warm summer early evening. Mostly you roast Tofu, Seitan and vegetables, fruits on the grill (or whatever else), but beside grilling wrapped Potatoes or Filo-packets there are not much possibilities to roast grains - exept you prepared patties out of them. 

And so did I. Grilled Potatoes and flatbread - I defenetly had done it much, but not ofter patties on the grill (always afraid they will fall apart). 

Today I tried it again and I don't know what I have done wrong the last times - but this time just perfect. 

Defenetly "a making again"-dish! If you miss a sauce for the patties I would recommend a Mango-Dipping Sauce (recipe below).

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Grilled Millet rounds with a summer salad

30 min
4 Persons

Ingredients:
4 dl vegetable broth
150 g of millet
150 g carrots, finely grated
150 g zucchini, finely grated
1 shallo, finely chopped
80 g nutritional yeast (instead of cheese)
1 egg-replacer
4 tbsp. tarrangon, finely chopped

Salad:
Salad of your favorite

Asia-Style Dressing:
3 Tbspl wine-vinegar
2 Tbsp. rice-vinegar
2 Tbsp. soysauce
1 clove garlic, finely chopped or grated
1 cm gingerknob, finely chopped or grated
2 Tbsp. sesamoil
5 Tbsp. oil

Mango-Dipping Sauce:
1 ripe Mango
1 ripe Avocado
1/2 small jalapéno pepper

Preparation: Mango Dip
First make the dip by peeling the mango and avocado, removing their stones and placing in the flesh into the processor along with the de-seeded jalapéno pepper. 
Blend until smooth and then pour into a bowl for dipping. Set aside. 

Preparation: MIllets-patties
In a cooking pan bring water to a boil and stir in the millet, cook covered over low heat (simmering) about 20 min. When the time is over, remove from the heat and set aside. 

Add the carrots and all ingredients and mix well. The mash should make about 16 portions. Take some with wet hands and shape a ball, then flatten slightly into patties. Set on a grill aluminum shell.

Place the aluminum plate on the hot grill - with lid closed over high heat. Roast the patties about 4 min on each side. 

While the patties are roasting prepare the salad and the dressing. Then mix the salad with the dressing and serve the patties with the salad and the dipping sauce. 

NOTE: If you miss the vegetables (such as zucchini, peppers, corn, eggplants a.s.o - grill some on the grill as well.

Yellow Pepper Soup

Yesterday I wasn't feeling well, shivering, headache, cought and nausea. Great! The lunch I had to vomit and I was working.....

In the evening I wanted to give my stomach only a soup and a piece of bread. I was hesitating weather to eat just a vegetable broth, but I knew I would be hungry after anyway and so I prepared I vegetable soup - and hoped my stomach will accept it!!! And he did. Uff 
I just eat slowly. 

Homemade soups are always good when you got nausea. 

The day after I woke up with fever and I had to go to work - I couldn't leave my boss alone with no one at the office. That's the bad side when you're the only assistant at a doctors office. Luckely weeking was coming very close.

The next week I passed work and came back on Thursday, a little weak, but health enough to work. Guess I catched a really bad flu - long time since my last one. 

But anyway, here I am not posting just my felt feelings, no - I post a really good soup! AND that's all that matters. 
I love peppers - more if they are peeled (better stomachfeelings). I could it easly in every dish I prepare..... like leek - I love!

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Yellow Pepper Soup

4 Portions

Ingredients:

1 Shallot, finely chopped

1 Garlic clove, finely chopped

vegan margarine or oil for steaming

1 Stalk celery, cut into pieces

2 yellow peppers, deseeded, cut into pieces

150 g of potatoes, peeled, cut into pieces

⅓ Teaspoon turmeric or Curry

7 dl vegetable bouillon

Salt, pepper

100 g vegan cream cheese (optional)

Direction:

Damp shallots and garlic in butter. When translucent add celery, peppers and potatoes and steam. Briefly add turmeric or curry to the stew and steam on.

Deglaze with broth and cook easily covered for 30 minutes till the potato and celery are soften and well to puree.

Puree the soup, you may spread it through a sieve to get the fibrous away and taste with salt and pepper.

Pour soup into pre-warmed great bowls, and garnish  with 1 tbsp. vegan creame cheese.