Are pigs flying?

I think pigs are flying.

Wait, maybe tofu is flying.

I know what you are thinking…Ange is eating tofu?

It all started a couple months ago when my friend Sarah treated me to an incredible sweet and sour tofu dish for dinner. A heavenly sweet and sour glaze coated crispy baked tofu all served over steamed vegetables and wild rice. This meal was all I could think about for days! I haven’t tried a lot of tofu because I always thought that tofu bothered my stomach (I tend to have stomach pains after eating tempeh and seitan, for example), however this tofu meal did nothing of the sort. My stomach was fine and my taste buds were smitten!

A few weeks later, I was in the kitchen making a similar recipe…

Then, I made eggplant roll-ups with “ricotta” cheese and was also blown away.

[Both recipes may appear in a hopeful future cookbook, but if not, I will certainly post them!]

This week, I was struck with an idea to make a crispy breaded tofu to pair with sweet potato fries. I was inspired by a cornmeal tofu recipe in Veganomicon. One of the meals Eric always ate in university was chicken fingers and fries so I was curious if I could make a tofu version that he’d enjoy. It was a stretch, but I figured it would be an interesting experiment! You know how I love my kitchen experiments.

Well, lo and behold it worked…and we both inhaled this meal. Dipped in ketchup and served with roasted sweet potato fries, it was easily one of our favourite easy meals in a long time. I seasoned the fries and tofu with a lovely cinnamon/cumin/chili powder blend which went along nicely with sweet potato fries. I never thought I would see the day when we would both inhale tofu.

Crispy Breaded Tofu Strips & Sweet Potato Fries

These crispy strips could turn anyone into a believer…even my chicken finger loving husband.

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Yield: 2-3 servings

Inspired by cornmeal tofu in Veganomicon 

Ingredients:

• 1 package firm or extra firm tofu (I use organic, non-GMO, about 350 grams)
• 1/2 cup almond milk (or other milk)
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 1/3 cup cornmeal
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs (use gluten-free if necessary)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• scant 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp cayenne powder (for a kick of heat)
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• 1 large sweet potato + 1 tsp oil + 1/2 tsp cinnamon + pinch salt + 1/4 tsp cumin

1. Press tofu: Rinse the tofu with water and place a couple kitchen towels on the counter. Wrap the tofu with another towel, place another towel on top, and finally several heavy cookbooks on top. Let sit for at least 20 minutes to soak out the water.

2. Meanwhile, whisk together the milk and cornstarch in a shallow dish. In another bowl, mix together the cornmeal, breadcrumbs, salt, and spices. Set aside. Preheat oven to 400F and grease 2 baking sheets with oil. Slice the potato into fries and then coat with 1 tsp oil, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp cumin, and a couple pinches of salt. Lay out on greased baking sheet.

3. Slice tofu into 8-9 strips, lengthwise, depending on how thick you want it. With one hand dip the tofu strip into the milk mixture and then into the cornmeal/breadcrumb mixture. Use other hand to sprinkle dry mixture all over the tofu. Coat both sides entirely and then place on baking sheet. Repeat with the rest.

4. Bake tofu on middle rack and fries on bottom rack at 400F. Bake for 20 minutes, then flip the tofu and fries, and then bake for another 15-20 minutes until crispy. Remove tofu and broil the fries for a few minutes, watching carefully, until golden and charred in some spots. Remove and serve with ketchup!

The first thing I did was rinse and press the tofu. I put down a couple kitchen towels on the counter, then wrapped the tofu in another towel, added another towel on top, and then stacked heavy cookbooks on top. I let it sit for about 20 minutes. This simply soaks out some of the water in the tofu, allowing for a crispier result.

Meanwhile, I got my sweet potato on! I used 1 large sweet potato, added 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp cumin, few pinches of salt, and 1 tsp oil. Mix it all together and lay out on a greased baking sheet. Set aside.

After pressing, I sliced the tofu into 9 strips (next time I would probably just do 8 so they are a bit thicker)

Then I dipped the tofu into the milk and cornstarch mixture, followed by the cornmeal/breadcrumb mixture.

Place on a greased baking sheet. Now bake the tofu and sweet potato fries simultaneously (tofu on middle rack, fries on bottom), for 20 minutes at 400F. Now flip everything and bake for another 15-20 minutes. Remove tofu and broil the fries for a few minutes, watching very closely!

Amazing, crispy, addictive tofu strips that were made for dipping in ketchup!

With the leftovers, I chopped up a couple strips and mixed it into a big salad for lunch. It was a great salad topper with a kick of protein. You could also layer these in a sandwich or wrap too.

If you try it out, let me know what you think!

I’m still the world’s laziest lunch maker. Ever.

I’m lucky if I make it to the table to sit down like a civilized human being most days. When I’m busting my butt in the kitchen for hours each day, the last thing I want to do is chop more vegetables or do a lot of prep for lunch. So, I tend to fall back on frozen veggie burgers (I love Amy’s California burgers), hummus, salsa, and wraps because they are effortless and ready in 5 minutes. And thank goodness there is no chopping required!

I recently discovered the obvious: prep something the night before and I’ll have more variety in my lunch. I’ve talked about this little problem before (see part 1 and part 2) so as you can see old habits die hard! My problem is that I rarely think about lunch at night time, but perhaps this chickpea salad may finally change that…

I spotted a vegan “Not Tuna Salad” on the Whole Foods website and used it as my inspiration for this amazing chickpea salad wrap. While I don’t think what I came up with tastes anything like tuna salad (let’s be real, it’s chickpeas), I think it tastes even better! And this is coming from a former tuna salad addict who used to eat canned tuna for lunch all the time in university. Yes, I was that girl stacking towers of 59 cent tuna into her shopping cart like a crazy person.

So whether you never liked tuna or maybe you love tuna, add this to your lunch rotation! Pop it into a container, add a wrap and fruit, and you have yourself a well-rounded lunch…no veggie burger required.

Amy, I’ll see you on Wednesday.

Lunch This Week: Chickpea Salad Wrap

Eric asked me if it really tastes like tuna. “Umm…no…” I said after careful thought, “but it actually tastes better!” Who needs tuna when it tastes this good? It’s fresh, crunchy, filling, and has a great pop of dill. If you’ve had a jar of dill pickles sitting in your fridge for years, now is the time to use them.

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Yield: 3 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 (15-oz) can chickpeas (or 1.5 cups cooked chickpeas)
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 2 tbsp chopped red onion
• 3 tbsp chopped dill pickle (~1 pickle)
• 1 tbsp minced fresh dill
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 tsp regular mustard
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup toasted sunflower seeds (or pecans/walnuts)
• salt/herbamare and pepper, to taste

1. Preheat oven to 325F and toast the sunflower seeds for about 11 minutes.

2. Mix everything into a bowl, mashing up the chickpeas slightly with a fork, and season with salt (I used Herbamare) and pepper, to taste. Stuff into a wrap or pita, or enjoy with crackers or rice cakes.

Nutritional Info (based on 3 servings): 222 kcals, 8 grams fat, 32 grams carbs, 7 grams fibre, 1 gram sugar, 8 grams protein.

Ok, so I didn’t make this “the night before”, but I did make this at 10am on Saturday morning! Bonus points, right?

(Note: I didn’t end up using the paprika as shown in the photo)…and yes, that’s a dill pickle leaning up against the mustard. The jar of pickles has been in our fridge for a year? Amazingly, I’m not dead after ingesting it. Love pickles.

Chop, mix, and serve. Easy.

Veggies burgers certainly have their time and place in my work week, but thankfully now does this wrap! I hope you enjoy it too!

and a link to share for you today…

In case you haven’t seen it already, check out this thought-provoking NYT’s article by Mark Bittman – “We’re eating less meat. Why?” which talks about the 12% drop in US meat consumption in the last 5 years.

“We still eat way more meat than is good for us or the environment, not to mention the animals. But a 12 percent reduction in just five years is significant, and if that decline were to continue for the next five years — well, that’s something few would have imagined five years ago. It’s something only the industry could get upset about. The rest of us should celebrate. Rice and beans, anyone?” ~Bittman

The lovely ladies from Booty Camp Fitness recently sent me their new Ultimate Home Edition 11-disc workout plan to try out. I am a big fan of their first workout DVDs, so I was really excited to try their newest series. Sammie Kennedy- the Creator of Booty Camp Fitness- and the other amazing boot-camp instructors have a very friendly and laid-back style, making even the biggest exercise newbie feel confident. When you think of a “boot camp” workout, you often think of instructors screaming at you and lots of intensity. This isn’t Booty Camp’s style at all. It’s all about having fun, empowering women, and making it seem like you are working out with a few of your girlfriends (who just happen to know some killer workout exercises).

The 11-disc series contain the following workouts:

The DVDs come with a workout calendar, jump rope, measuring tape, lifestyle guide, and e-cookbook as well. I’ve been testing out the workouts since the end of December and I’m starting the 2-month plan this week.

The workout that I love to hate? 20-minute Bounce ‘n Burn (jump rope)

Burn isn’t even the word! My legs feel like bricks when I do this workout. The last time I jumped rope was probably in grade school so it wasn’t pretty the first time I did it. After a couple painful sessions, I’ve relearned how to jump rope without whipping myself like silly (tip: wear long pants!). It will probably take me at least a few more sessions until I’m not gasping for air..it’s an intense 20 minutes, even with alternating jumping rope with strength exercises.

So far the videos are going well and I’m loving the variety of the 11 workouts. My muscles hate me though, so I’ve been making sure to stretch a lot, take my rest days when needed, and get lots of protein following tough workouts.

Like with this Triple lentil Recovery Soup!

Triple Lentil Recovery Soup

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Packed with over 25 grams of protein per serving, this soup will aid with post-workout recovery and get you back in the game in no time.

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 sweet onion, chopped (~2 cups)
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 heaping cup chopped celery

• 1/2 tsp coriander
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 5-6.5 cups vegetable broth, depending on how thin/thick you want it
• 1/2 cup dry red lentils
• 1/2 cup dry black beluga lentils
• 1 cup dry green/brown lentils
• Kosher salt & pepper, to taste (I used about 1/2 tsp salt)

1. In a large skillet or pot, add the oil and sauté the onion and garlic over low-medium heat for about 6-7  minutes.

2. Add in the celery and sauté another few minutes. Stir in the spices and cook for another couple minutes on low.

3. Now, rinse and drain the lentils and stir into skillet/pot. Add the broth and stir well. Increase heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, a simmer until thick and lentils are cooked, about 45 minutes to an hour. Watch closely and stir frequently so it doesn’t stick to the pot. Add more broth to thin out if desired. You can also use an immersion blender to blend some of the soup a bit. I did this, but left it mostly chunky. Add salt and pepper to taste.

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Prepare yourself for a high protein and flavourful soup, great for all those sore muscles that we often have at the beginning of the year. A little bit goes a long way with this soup! It’s extremely filling and lovely with a toasted bun or piece of bread.

It’s a bit of an “ugly duckling” soup, but I think we learned not to judge food by its appearance long ago.

Booty Camp Fitness Giveaway!

The ladies from Booty camp Fitness are giving away one of their Ultimate Home Edition 11-disc workout plan (this includes the 11 workout DVDs, the calendar, jump rope, measuring tape, and lifestyle guide) to a lucky OSG reader!

If you’d like a chance to win the Ultimate Home Edition 11-disc workout plan, simply leave a comment below telling me: Something you’d like to do in 2012 (maybe a goal you’d like to accomplish or something fun you want to do!). Contest is open until Wednesday. Goodluck!

The healthy dinner recipes continue…

I’m happy to report that as of December 30th, I finished off my cabbage that haunted me for almost 2 months in my fridge.

2 months.

I think I’ve discovered the fountain of youth because cabbage just won’t die!

Plus, I really didn’t want to bring this “cabbage baggage” with me into 2012.

har-har.

I ended up throwing some things into a pot and it turned out incredible. Lots of dill (thanks for the tip, Ewa), lemon and zest, cabbage, drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, marinara sauce, herbamare, lots of cooked wild rice, etc. It tasted much better than it looked.

I actually ate so much, I got a stomach ache from all the cabbage…never fun!

Now, I was faced with a new problem…I had a huge amount of dill to use up. Those bunches of dill from the grocery store are h-u-g-e.

As a result of my dill surplus I made this healthy dill dressing, packing in a whopping 1.5 cups of fresh dill.

Dill be gone.

I tossed together Dinosaur kale, red onion, cucumbers, my salt & Vinegar roasted chickpeas, and sesame seeds with the dill tahini sauce for a healthy, well-rounded meal.

And unlike the cabbage, when I ate my weight in this stuff, I didn’t get a stomach ache.

Kale for the win!

Dinosaur Dill Crunch Salad

Dinosaur kale (also known as Lacinato or Tuscan kale) is the dainty and sweeter sister of traditional curly kale. It blends beautifully in this salad while letting the flavours of the dill shine. As a result of it’s soft texture and pleasant taste, you don’t have to marinate the dressing on the leaves for long. The healthy lemon dill tahini dressing is very low in oil and packs in 1 & 1/2 cups of fresh dill to sneak in more greens. I topped the salad with my favourite crunchy salt and vinegar chickpeas. Their tangy and salty flavour compliments the dill dressing nicely while adding a bit of a crunch!

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Yield: ~4 servings (but will depend on how much kale you use)

For the S & V chickpeas:

• 1 (15-oz) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2 cups white vinegar
• few pinches of kosher salt
• extra virgin olive oil, to lightly coat

for the dill tahini dressing: (makes just over 1 cup) adapted from my lightened-up tahini dressing

• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 2 tbsp water
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1.5 tbsp nutritional yeast*
• 1.5 cups packed fresh dill, stems removed and roughly chopped
• 1/2-3/4 tsp kosher salt

For the salad:

• 1-2 small bunches Dinosaur kale (also called Lacinato or Tuscan kale) OR 1 large bunch curly kale
• other greens if desired (I used a couple large, de-stemmed collard leaves)
• 1 English cucumber, chopped small
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 1 batch of Lemon Dill Tahini dressing (below)
• few tablespoons of sesame seeds, toasted if preferred
• 1/2 batch of Salt & Vinegar chickpeas

1. Salt and vinegar chickpeas: Preheat oven to 425F and line baking sheet. In a pot, bring 2 cups white vinegar to a boil and add pinch of salt. Add in drained and rinsed chickpeas and bring to a boil for 1 minute (no longer). Some skins may fall off and that’s normal. Turn off heat and let the chickpeas sit in the vinegar for 30 minutes. Drain the chickpeas, place into pot, and light coat with a tiny bit of oil and a few pinches of kosher salt. Place on pan and roast for 35-40 minutes at 425F, until golden and crispy. Halfway through baking, give the pan a shake to rotate the peas. Keep an eye on them to avoid burning, especially near the end. Leave on pan until ready to eat. They are best served fresh as they get soft when stored.

2. Dill dressing: In a mini chopper or food processor, mince the garlic. Now add in the rest of the ingredients, except for the dill, and process until smooth. Give the dill a rough chop and add into processor and process until smooth. Should keep in an air-tight container for 5-8 days in the fridge.

3. Salad: Prep all salad ingredients and add into a large bowl. Massage your desired amount of the dressing into the leaves and let it “marinate” until ready to serve. Add roasted chickpeas on top along with a drizzle of more dressing and sesame seeds.

*Note: If omitting the nutritional yeast, reduce the tahini by 1/2-1 tbsp as the yeast takes a bit of edge of the strong tahini flavour.

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The first thing I did was make my roasted salt and vinegar chickpeas. Have you made these yet? The chickpeas taste just like salt and vinegar chips, minus the deep frying and unhealthy ingredients. I strongly recommend them if you are a salt & vinegar fan!  They require 30 mins of vinegar soaking time and about 40 mins baking time, but the actual prep work is less than 5 minutes. They turn out so nice and crispy too.

While they roasted, I made the salad dressing.

I must say, I have no idea how I cooked so long without a stick immersion blender and mini chopper! I know you have been telling me this for years, but I really didn’t know how much I would use one.

I got this Cuisinart Smart Stick for Christmas and it’s working good so far. It does everything from finely chop garlic, puree dressings, blend soups, and more. It’s also very easy to use…I haven’t even glanced at the instructions yet. Hopefully it stands the test of time (and abuse) in my kitchen!

Once the dressing is prepared, chop your kale, red onion, and cucumbers. You can also use regular curly kale if you wish, but it will need to marinate longer to soften.

Pour some dressing onto the greens and massage it in. You can let it “marinate” for 10-15 (or longer) minutes before serving, but it’s not necessary when using dinosaur kale.

When the chickpeas are ready, sprinkle 1/2-1 cup on top along with more dressing and sesame seeds. Serve and enjoy!

A delicious, well-rounded, vegan & gluten-free dinner, lovely for the first week of January.

I ended with a vegan chocolate cupcake, leftover from Monday’s dinner party. When you eat a meal this good, there’s always room for dessert!

P.S.- I now have a page just for my Top recipes in 2011, so it’s easier for you to find them. The page is also located at the very top of the blog in the menu (beside “recipage”). I will be adding desserts and possibly snacks this week as well.

Happy New Year! Are you eager, worn out, hung-over, excited, or ready for summer?

Maybe, you’re cold and looking to warm up with a soothing bowl of soup? Or maybe you’re fighting off a bit of a cold from the holiday excitement?

Yes to all of the above.

Here are the top 10 soup recipes of the year according to you. I’ll rank the soups below and then tell you my personal favourites at the end. I also suggest serving the soup with warm & crispy cornbread or cheezy garlic bread.

Let’s get warm/healthy/energized…!

10. Red Lentil and Squash Curry Stew

9. Husband’s Healing Stew 

8. Carrot Apple Ginger Soup 

7. Vegan Tortilla Soup

6. Energizing and Spicy Broccoli Dal 

5. Curried Lentil Soup

4.Broccoli and Cheeze Soup

3. Mushroom Millet Soup with Cheezy Garlic Bread

2. Holiday Soup for the Soul 

1. Creamy Roasted Tomato, Garlic, and Onion Soup!

[and this how to roast garlic post was popular too!]

My favourite soups just so happen to be the top 4 soups plus the carrot soup! Oh how I adore the carrot soup. And the red lentil and squash stew is high up there on my list too. What about you?

Other Best of 2011 posts:

Top 5 salads of 2011

Top 12 entrees of 2011

I’ve never been a big fan of black eyed peas which is a bit strange given how much I love beans and legumes. I’ve made black eyed pea soups in the past and was always left a bit disappointed with them. I felt like I was just slurping broth and chomping on black eyed peas. Not all that exciting.

I finally realized this year if I was going to enjoy them, I needed to amp up the flavours in the dish!

That’s where this chili comes in.

This year, I made chili instead of soup because I suspected the peas would pair well with the chili’s texture and flavours. I gave this chili a smoky and spicy BBQ flavour and it really brought everything together really well. I’m happy to report there was no disappointment with this black eyed pea recipe.

Instead of serving it with traditional cornbread, I was craving something flat and crispy so I came up with this crispy cornbread, which reminds me a bit of Socca chickpea bread. Like traditional cornbread and Socca, this version is cooked in a cast iron skillet for the crispiest texture and unlike traditional cornbread, it doesn’t have a delicate texture which makes it great for dipping into chili and soup. The flavour is lightly sweet with a crisp-around-the-edges and chewy-in-the-centre texture. A definite winner for sure!

As I type this, I really want to go back to the kitchen for more…..can I just give you my chicken scratch and call it a year?

Penmanship was never one of my strong suits. I think one of my New Year’s resolutions will be to write my recipes down neatly, or at least, legible.

Ok, ok, I will type it out. For your sake and mine…

New Year’s Smoky BBQ Chili

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I almost forget the black eyed peas were in there. If you’re like me, that’s never a bad thing. Here’s to a lucky 2012!

Yield: 5 cups

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 sweet onion, peeled and chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped (optional)
• 2.5 tbsp chili powder, or to taste
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp smoked paprika (optional)
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (or crushed red pepper flakes)
• 1/2 cup dry/uncooked black eyed peas
• 3/4 cup dry/uncooked black beans
• 6 cups vegetable broth
• 1 (28-oz) can diced tomatoes, liquid drained
• 2 tbsp tomato paste, to thicken
• 1 tbsp chia seeds (or ground flax), to thicken
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 2 tbsp your fav BBQ sauce
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
• couple handfuls of chopped spinach, or other greens like collard, kale, etc

1. Soak the beans in water overnight or for at least 3-4 hours. This part is optional, but it helps reduce cook time and makes the beans more digestible. Rinse and drain beans before using. In a large pot, add the oil and sauté the onion and garlic over medium-low heat for about 5-6 minutes, until translucent.

2. Add in the pepper and optional jalapeno and sauté for another 3-5 minutes.

3. Stir in the spices (chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, cayenne) and sauté on low another couple minutes. If you want, you can add just a bit for now and then add the rest to taste after it has cooked.

4. Add the dry black beans and black eyed peas, broth, and drained diced tomatoes. Stir well. Now stir in the tomato paste. Simmer on low with the lid ajar for about 2.5 hours, checking often to make sure it doesn’t dry out. If it does, add a bit more broth to thin out.

5. About 15 minutes before it’s done cooking, stir in the chia seeds, corn, and chopped greens. The chia helps thicken the chili. Also stir in the BBQ sauce, starting with 1 tbsp at a time and tasting as you go. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Can be made 2-3 days in advance and frozen if preferred.

Note: You can probably use canned beans, but you won’t need as much broth. I would add it slowly.

I was very excited to use my Kirkland pot (from Costco) that my mother in law Margaret gave me for X-mas! I’m loving it so far.

Every good chili recipe needs a secret ingredient. This BBQ sauce is the “special twist” in this recipe.

A couple tablespoons just brings all the spices together so nicely.

As with other chili recipes, making it in advance works to your advantage. I like making it the day before so the flavours can mingle overnight.

I also used chia seeds to thicken it, but you can use ground flax instead. I’ve heard that some people use cornmeal to thicken chili. I will have to try that next time!

This flat cornbread (shown above and below) was my very first trial. I made it in a square baking pan instead of a cast iron skillet. It crisped on the edges, but it had a very soft and bendy texture.

I noticed a huge difference when I used my cast iron skillet! It got a lot more chewy and crispy in the skillet. I picked up this skillet from Loblaws. I think it’s President’s Choice brand and only set me back about $9-10 bucks.

Note to self: Clean dried chili off the oven.

Flat & Crispy Cornbread

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Flat, chewy, crispy, “buttery” and lightly sweet tasting, this cornbread is the perfect vehicle for chili or other winter soup. You can also eat it on its own or with your favourite spread for breakfast or a snack.

Yield: 4-6 pieces

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp cornmeal
• 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp whole wheat pastry flour (or flour of choice)
• generous 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tbsp organic cane sugar
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/2 tbsp coconut oil, melted (or oil of choice or earth balance)
• 1/2 tbsp coconut oil (for coating skillet)

1. Preheat oven to medium broil (#3 on my oven). Place an 8-10 inch cast-iron skillet in the oven to pre-heat. In a microwave-safe bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (cornmeal, flour, salt, sugar). Now whisk in the water and melted 1/2 tbsp coconut oil.

2. Microwave batter on high for 60 seconds. Batter will have thickened up a bit and cooked around the edges. Whisk vigorously until all clumps are gone. Place back in microwave and heat on high for another 20 seconds. Remove and whisk well until no clumps remain.

3. Carefully remove the cast iron skillet from the oven. Add 1/2 tbsp of coconut oil. Move it back and forth to coat bottom and edges.

4. Pour batter into the skillet and quickly spread it around with the back of a large spoon. It’s ok if it doesn’t touch the edges perfectly. This will depend on the size of your skillet.

5. Place skillet in the oven and broil over medium heat for 10 minutes, watching it very closely as oven temperatures will vary! I kept an eye on it the entire time. When edges start to blacken (for me, after 10 minutes) remove carefully and gently flip it over using a flat metal spatula. Bake for an additional 2 minutes on the other side watching very closely.

6. Remove and let it sit in the skillet for 3-5 minutes. Place on cutting board and slice into 4-6 pieces. You can slice off any blackened edges if necessary, but a little bit adds to the fun.

I wasn’t expecting much from this cornbread, but I could not stop eating it.

I had a few slices for breakfast this morning and I had to peel myself away from it to keep from eating the entire thing! It’s just perfect on it’s own and even better dipped into chili. I can see myself having a lot of fun adapting this recipe.

Well, that’s a wrap for 2011 I guess.

Thank you for making 2011 an exciting, fun, and memorable year for me. I am so thankful for everyone of you who have impacted my life in so many positive ways.

I wish you a 2012 filled with glowing health, love, happiness, and the courage to follow your dreams.

I’ll catch you on the flip side!

Last night, as I was eating my 4th holiday cookie in a row dunked in Holly Nog, I started to think about salad.

and Green Monsters.

Funny  how that works, eh?

and then my thoughts drifted back to more holiday cookies.

So I ate the last Chocolate Chip Cookie with toasted pecans (sorry Eric) and decided today I would revisit some of the most popular salad recipes of 2011 on Oh She Glows.

If a miracle happens, I might even find the motivation to get my butt to the grocery store and make one too.

Here are the 5 most popular salad recipes of 2011 according to you. Dig in!

5) Detox Salad

This vegan, gluten-free, oil-free, and soy-free salad is based off the Detox Salad at Whole Foods…while being easier on the wallet to boot. It makes me want to dance in my kitchen when I eat this! I love it drizzled with a touch of maple syrup and sprinkle of cinnamon just before serving.

4) Red Quinoa and Black Bean Salad

Extremely light, fresh, and packed with protein and healthy fats, this tangy salad will have you dreaming of Spring and Summer. Not that you weren’t already when you stepped your feet on the icy bathroom floor this morning.

3) Back on Track Salad

Who says you have to wait until January 1st to get your eating back on track? Wheatberries give this salad a great chewy texture and can be found in bulk food stores such as Bulk Barn. If you don’t want to use wheatberries you can probably substitute brown rice or quinoa too.

2) Weekend Glow Kale Salad 

I used to hate kale.

The only way I could bring myself to eat kale was if I put it in a Green Monster, and even then it was always quite bitter. Or I would bake kale chips and cook them so long that you couldn’t even tell it was kale.

Well, lucky for the 20 kale plants I planted in my garden this summer, it grew on me.

This kale salad is easily one of my favourite salads of all time. I learned with the right preparation techniques (such as marinating), kale could be just as good, if not better, than my previous go-to romaine lettuce. Not to mention, kale’s nutritional profile blows romaine out of the water. I always tell kale skeptics to try this salad because it will often change your mind…

Last but not least, I present to you the most popular salad recipe of 2011…

1) Lightened Up Protein Power Goddess Bowl 

All women are Goddesses, so it only makes sense that this recipe was #1 in 2011. If the holidays have left you feeling a bit less than Goddess-like, energize yourself with this high-protein vegetable bowl. It fills me up for hours and even takes my mind off cookies occasionally too.

Other honourable mention:

Over The Rainbow Cabbage Salad with Tahini-Lemon Dressing

Well, I’m going to mow down on a salad today. And then I’ll have a holiday cookie or two for dessert. If there are any left, that is.

Are you feeling as well rested as I am today? I could seriously bounce off the walls right now and there isn’t a lick of caffeine in my body. Man, the extra hour is the best…aside from that whole getting dark earlier thing. That really put a wrinkle in my lasagna dinner photography plans last night!

Want to know a secret?

I’ve never made lasagna before! Not even before I became a vegan. Back then, the best thing I cooked was popcorn in my popcorn maker and frozen dinners.

Anyways, I always loved eating lasagna, but assumed it was super difficult to make. Well, it turns out that it’s not as bad as I imagined…like everything in life. (Thank you anxiety.) This lasagna was quite easy even for an experienced popcorn maker like myself. And if you’re a multi-tasker in the kitchen like I am things move along even quicker.

How do you make a vegan lasagna taste as good as its non-vegan counterpart?

Above all, it must have a creamy and cheese-like flavour. Most vegan lasagna recipes use a tofu-based “ricotta” cheese, but I wanted to try something different for my recipe. As a cheese replacer, I made a Lemon Basil Cashew Cheeze which I adapted from my Stuffed Portabella Pizza recipe. I absolutely loved it in this lasagna and it gave it a really luxurious creamy and cheesy flavour.

The first thing you do is make this cheeze spread in your food processor. I did this ahead of time and just kept it in a sealed container in the fridge until I was ready to make my lasagna.

I also saved time by using bottled pasta sauce (1.5 bottles), but you can make homemade marinara sauce if you prefer!

The next thing I did was sauté the vegetables. I chopped 1 sweet onion, 1 large red pepper, 2 small zucchini, 1 cup of cremini mushrooms, and minced 3 garlic cloves.

(I love the sunset light beaming into my kitchen at this time!)

While the vegetables are sautéing, you can boil your noodles. The best lasagna making tip that I can give you is to slightly undercook your lasagna noodles. I cooked mine for about 8 minutes and then quickly rinsed them with cold water. No one wants mushy noodles in a lasagna! I used Kamut noodles and they were very tasty.

Once that is done, it’s time to start layering your lasagna. I took step-by-step pictures to help guide you along the process. So yea…if you’re not taking a bazillion photos it should move along even quicker!

Tips:

• I used about 1 cup of pasta sauce on the bottom of the casserole dish.
• Use half of your basil cheeze for the 1st layer and the rest for the second layer. Ditto for the vegetables!
• You can add as much or as little cheese on top as you prefer. I think I used about 1 cup?

At this point you can wrap it up and put it in the fridge until you are ready to cook it, or you can bake it right away like I did.

After layering, bake in the oven, covered with tin foil, for 40-45 minutes at 400F and then remove the tinfoil and broil it over medium heat for about 4-5 minutes, watching closely.

That wasn’t so bad, right?

We also have a ton of leftovers to enjoy for lunches all week long!

Would I change anything next time?

The only thing I would add next time is to crumble a couple of my favourite Amy’s California burgers (pre-cooked?) onto a layer of the lasagna. I think that would give it a great “ground-beef” like texture. Otherwise, I wouldn’t change a thing!

We both gobbled up two big pieces and Eric packed some for his lunch today. I’d say it was a success!

Drool.

Now, my mind is swirling with a seasonal lasagna recipe like pumpkin or squash lasagna. I think that would be really good!

Don’t forget, today is the last day to enter my giveaway!

Isn’t it cruel that I’m dangling these burrito pictures in front of you several hours before lunch on a Monday morning? If I was a better planner, I would have posted this recipe yesterday. Then you could have made these for dinner and had leftovers for lunch today. Oops?

The truth is, I was just too busy stuffing my face with burritos yesterday!

Burritos are delicious, versatile, portable, filling, and a great source of vegan protein. What’s not to love? Plus, what other food are you challenged to stuff a thin, tiny wrap with as much filling as possible while avoiding explosion? The challenge is thrilling.

Why in the world have I not made vegan burritos before?

Luckily, you guys keep me in line! A vegan recipe blog without a burrito recipe has not been unnoticed by many of you. I’ve had several requests for a black bean burrito recipe and I finally got my butt in gear. I just had to wait until inspiration struck.

Inspiration turned out to be a huge craving and a butternut squash that wasn’t getting any younger.

Burritos it is.

This recipe takes a bit of time due to roasting the squash and cooking the rice. My suggestion is to cook the squash and rice the day before. Then all you have to do is throw some things in a skillet and it will come together in 20-30 mins.

Sautee chopped onion, garlic, and red pepper in a skillet.

Add your salt, seasonings, cooked beans and cooked rice:

Now stir in 1.5 cups of cooked butternut squash. I mashed mine up a bit with a fork, but left some larger pieces too.

Stir in 3/4 cup Daiya cheese (or your preferred cheese) and heat until melted. I can’t even begin to describe how amazing the cheese made this mixture. It went from good to mind blowing! I don’t suggest skipping the cheese.

Now wrap it up and add your desired toppings. If you use about 3/4 cup of filling per burrito it should serve 4 comfortably.

I added spinach, avocado, and salsa in addition to the bean/cheese filling. You could also add vegan sour cream, lettuce, tomatoes, chopped Cilantro, sunflower seeds, hot sauce, etc.

Fold in the sides:

Take the end closest to you and wrap it over and tuck underneath the filling.

Monster hands, optional!

Now finish rolling the wrap until the lose end is on the bottom.

With a knife, slice through the centre.

Somehow I managed to avoid explosion!

We both agreed that these are the best vegan burritos we’ve tasted and we’ve tried a lot. I’ll be making these again and again!  The black and orange is also pretty festive for Halloween, don’t you think?

It also makes a great salad topper too.

…and a great post-workout feast which is how we enjoyed the burritos yesterday. The only thing missing was a cold beer!

As for the leftover roasted squash? You can use it to make Butternut Squash Mac ‘n Cheeze or maybe Butternut Squash and Black Bean Chili.

Have a great Monday!

Yesterday’s joke has actually turned into a self-fulfilling prophecy; I’ve been eating pumpkin non-stop all week. And I can’t seem to stop. Maybe there is some truth to my Long Weekend Hangover theory after all. Pumpkin does make everything better.

Oh, and I have a great Pumpkin chia pudding recipe coming up. It might be one of my all-time favourite quick & easy pumpkin recipes. It’s that exciting.

But so is this cheeze sauce…

I was thrilled to find out that many of you went crazy for my Butternut Mac ‘n Cheeze recipe. This recipe might go down as one of the most popular in 2011. I received all kinds of comments, tweets, Facebook comments, and emails about this recipe last week. It’s always good to know that you guys enjoy the same crazy things that I do!

I knew a pumpkin version of this cheeze sauce was not far away. Many of you commented and told me that you made a pumpkin version and it turned out great. I was pretty excited about how quickly it would come together. All I had to do was stir in a cup of canned pumpkin at the end of making the sauce. Quick and easy!

There’s no blender required. No food processor. Just a stove top (but I’m sure you could also make this in the microwave too).

This Pumpkin Cheeze sauce exceeded my expectations. I couldn’t keep my spoon out of it.

Ok, Ok, it was my finger. Sue me.

This was so easy I wanted to shed tears of happiness. I’ve been having my share of frustrations with recipes over the past couple weeks and to have something come together perfectly on the first try was welcomed.

I love how orange the sauce is too. I never thought I would see the day when I would eat a cheeze sauce and feel healthy! The nutritional info was also a pleasant surprise (see end of recipe). I forgot how much protein and fibre nutritional yeast has in it!

I also wanted to point out that I made a couple adjustments to the original recipe. I cut the milk down to 3/4 cup instead of using 1 cup to make the sauce a bit thicker. I also cut down the salt to 1/2 tsp instead of 3/4 tsp. Lastly, I increased the nutritional yeast to 6 tbsp instead of 5 tbsp. I’ve updated these changes in the Butternut sauce recipe too.

I made two servings of pasta and added enough sauce until I felt like it was enough.

…which is a lot.

Bring it on!

As for which version I like better?

It’s close. I would have to say the butternut version wins by an inch. You really cant beat fresh, roasted butternut! With that being said, I know I will end up making this version more often just because it’s so easy.

Now, you can spice up this sauce any way you’d like.

I think a little cinnamon stirred in would be lovely to bring out the pumpkin flavour. I actually added some dried sage (after the photoshoot) and that was nice too.

I served it with red kidney beans and sautéed kale and a sprinkle of Herbamare. I also used some leftover cornbread topping and mixed it into my mac ‘n cheeze. Great idea.

Wondering where to purchase nutritional yeast? You can find it in the natural foods section of many grocery stores (Loblaws/Superstore carries it) as well as bulk food stores and health stores. I’m sure you can find it online too. For those of you who purchase nutritional yeast, please leave a comment and let me (and others) know where you buy it!

What other ways do you think this sauce could be adapted? Any other mix-in ideas? Any other vegetables?

I vow to try them all.