Sushi sushi Bo bushi banana fanna fo fushi me mi mo mushi- SUSHI

I spent all day singing that song to my nephew using different words. I rhymed for pretty much anything that I came into contact with- Henry, diaper, chicken....Kombucha. (That was a rough one and I may or may not have been out of breath at the end). Anyway, by dinner there was no way to get the song out of my head...

 So. I've been making sushi for a few years now and everyone is always really impressed that I can do it. But it's really not that hard, promise.

Ingredients (You can go to specialty Asian stores for this stuff...orrrr the foreign aisle at Meijer!)
2 cups sushi rice
2 cups water
(Ratios may depend on the rice cooker/May be different ratio for boiling rice on the stove.)
Rice vinegar (Such as Mizkan)

Nori (5-6 sheets-seaweed paper stuff :) )
Chili sauce
Mayo or vegan mayo
Water

Variety of vegetables- I usually use avocado, cucumber, asparagus and green peppers but you can use pretty much any veggies you have around.This time, I used steamed broccoli, sauteed kale and delicata squash, onion, carrots, celery and jalapeno.

For side/dipping: Soy, Wasabi, Ginger, spicy mustard, eel sauce, sweet and sour sauce, or whatever else floats your boat. 

Instructions
1. Make the rice and add 1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar while it is still warm, then let cool.
2. Lay a sheet of nori on the table with the rough side up, and put rice across the widest way, and add chili sauce-mayo mixture.
3. Pile on the veggies.
4. Roll in tightly.

5. Once it is almost all rolled in, sprinkle water on the tail, and then continue to roll completely.

6. Cut in 1 inch-ish segments. 

7. Voila!

                                                         
Left: Sauteed squash, kale and jalapeno
Center: Broccoli, carrots, celery and onion
Right: Carrots, celery, onions, jalapeno, and squash

 

If it doesnt work at first, just try to be patient. I made sushi a couple times before it both looked AND tasted good all in one roll. Dip it in different sauces and try out different veggies for the roll- including tempura ones! I didn't even experiment tempura or sauteed veggies until I mastered the whole rolling thing.

 
Tempura: 
Ingredients: Panko, spices, flour, egg, sliced vegetable or your choice (eggplant, squash, etc.), canola oil
Instructions:
1. Put spices of your choice in the panko-I used the same spices as I used for the eggplant parm.
2. Slice the vegetables (I used delicata squash)
3. Brush with flour, dip in egg, and then cover with panko.
4. Put 1/4-1/2 cup oil in frying pan and heat on medium-high. Put the veggie pieces in the oil, 4-5 at a time, flip over, and remove from the pan once golden brown. You can eat these alone or put them inside the sushi rolls.

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes

 

I've always thought of myself as more of a Debbie but lately, despite all the things going "wrong" (I prefer the term "not according to plan") in my life (ok, maybe a little wah-wahhh), I have kept surprisingly positive. To reward myself for going with sunshine and rainbows and avoiding deep, dark cave-dwellings, like those weird troll-y guys in Lord of the Rings, I decided to make something chocolatey and delicious. Here's what I came up with.... The cupcakes and purply frosting are vegan, but the white frosting does have egg whites.

Ingredients

2 cups flour

1 1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon cloves

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup water

1 tablespoon pure maple syrup

1 tablespoon agave nectar

1/3 cup coconut oil

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, cinnamon, cloves, baking soda, and salt.
3. Add water, syrup, agave, oil, and vinegar. Mix it up real good.
4. Grease muffin pan, or use liners, and put dough in all the holes.
5. Bake 30ish minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
6. Frost them and hide them from your loved ones.


Purply-Brown Frosting 
(Healthier of the Two):
Ingredients
1 avocado
1 Tbs orange juice
1 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbs maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon lime juice
1/4 cup blueberries (Frozen or fresh)
Instructions
In a food processor, combine all the ingredients until fluffy and delicious, then put it on top of the cupcakes.




White Frosting Recipe:

(Ingredients

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 2 egg whites
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. In a saucepan, stir together the sugar, water and cream of tartar. Cook over medium-high heat until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is bubbly.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, whip the egg whites and vanilla to soft peaks. Gradually add the sugar mixture while whipping constantly until stiff peaks form, about 7 to 10 minutes. Frost the cake of your choice.)

Creamy Avocado-Vegetable Soup (Vegan)

Ingredients
2 teaspoons Better Than Bouillon No Chicken Base
2 teaspoons Better Than Bouillon Vegetable Base
4 cups water
1 avocado
3 cloves garlic
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 block of vegan cheese/cheese of your choice
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon pepper
2 teaspoons cilantro
1 teaspoon white pepper
2 teaspoons cumin
1 tablespoon paprika
(can instead use mixed spices such as tortilla spice or grilling spices, etc.)
1/4 cup flour

4 potatoes
2 tomatoes
2 stalks celery
1 onion
2 large carrots

Instructions
1. Heat water and bases in pot until it is warm and looks like broth.
2. Add chopped avocado, garlic, coconut milk, cheese, and spices (add more to your taste).
3. Stir well, let cool, and put in food processor. Once ingredients are finely mixed, add flour and continue to process.
4. Chop potatoes, tomatoes, celery, onion and carrots in small cubes.
5. Put avocado mixture back in pot and continue to heat, adding the rest of the vegetables.
6. Heat at medium heat until potatoes and carrots are kind of squishy, ya know, like how they should be in soup.
7. Enjoy with crackers or corn bread, and throw some cheese on if you dare to eat dairy (ha, I did.)

Sweet Potato Chips (Slash-Salami on wheat with spicy mustard)

I ate a salami sandwich today and I must admit, there is no way to fake cured meats. If you are a pastrami-craving vegetarian, give up now :)

On a completely unrelated note, here is how to make sweet potato chips. I feel like they are pretty self-explanatory but they're pretty and we ate out tonight so it's all I've got to show.

Ingredients: 
Sweet potatoes- 4 small/medium or 2 large
1/4 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon Lawry's or other grilling spice
1 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon salt

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Slice the sweet potatoes as thinly as you can.
3. In a large bowl, toss sweet potato slices with oil
4. Add in spices and toss again until evenly covered

 5. Spread in a single layer on an ungreased baking sheet.
6. Baking times will vary, flip over, and bake until crispy on both sides.

7. Serve with Ketchup and/or ranch. Mmmm

Eggplant Parmesan (Meat and Dairy free)

I asked a carnivorous friend of mine what vegetarian dish I should make a few nights ago, and he said Eggplant Parm. I'm thinking that is because that's the only veggie meal he's ever heard of. But that's ok, it was marvelous.

Ingredients
1 large eggplant or 3 small/medium eggplants
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs
2 cups Panko or breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons ground almonds 
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon basil
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons pepper

1/3 cup canola oil

1 box of angel hair pasta/spaghetti noodles- (I used brown rice noodles, and would NOT recommend it. Texture not so awesome.)

1 jar of tomato sauce (or make your own if you're really adventuresome)
1/2 cup crushed almonds
2 cloves garlic
1 diced red onion
1/2 cup mozzarella flavored soy cheese
Sprinkles of vegan parmesan cheese
(If you aren't dairy free, use real cheese. Please :) )


Instructions
1. Slice the eggplant into 1/2 inch slices.
2. Add almonds, oregano, thyme, basil, garlic, onion, salt and pepper to the panko. Add more or less spices to taste.
3. Brush each slice with flour, cover with egg, then dip in panko.
4. Heat oil in a medium frying pan.
5. Fry each panko-covered eggplant slice for 3-5 seconds on each side or until crispy and golden brown.

6.  Boil noodles per box instructions and preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

7. In a 9x13 pan, spread almonds, garlic, onions, and sauce on the bottom. Spread fried eggplant slices on top. Sprinkle cheeses on top of the eggplant.
8. Bake until the sauce in the middle of the pan is boiling. Serve on top of the pasta and enjoy with a nice glass of red :)

Chocolate-Raisin-Oatmeal Cookies (Vegan)

A few weeks ago, I was in North Branch, Michigan (Put up hand, point to middle of thumb) and had hands-down the most incredible ice cream of my life at Custard Cabin. It was Oatmeal Cookie, and had not only oatmeal cookie dough/chunks and raisins and cinnamon but ALSO chocolate AND caramel. OhMyGoodnessDiosMioOhMonDieu. This started an obsession by me (it could be argued that this obsession now has a mind of its own) to find a similar ice cream and so far NO one else makes anything like it, at least no ice cream companies that sell product at Meijer, Trader Joe's, Quality Dairy, Holiday Markets, D&W, etc. etc. If you can't tell, this has become a very serious goal of mine.

This started many discussions, one of which was with my sister. When she and I start talking about food, it usually ends with an oven full of baked goods and a freezer full of ice cream, plus, while we're waiting for the baking to finish, we usually add in a visit to a restaurant or two until we meet our cravings. However, she is currently trying to lose her post-prego weight (even though she looks gorgeous and should not be worrying about it!) and I'm trying to get healthier and back into shape.

So the solution to all of this was that we decided it's imperative to always have vegan, somewhat guilt-free oatmeal cookie dough in the house (Duh). That way, due to the absence of raw eggs, there is absolutely zero risk when eating the dough with a (large) spoon. And we decided that Custard Cabin did it right by putting in both raisins AND chocolate. Sooo this is me, using what I know about baking AND health AND veganism/vegan baking alternatives to try to come up with the perfect oatmeal cookie recipe, highly addictive and yet with no pants-button-opening necessary.

Here is Attempt Number One:

Ingredients  

1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup agave nectar
1/4 cup coconut milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground flax seed
1 teaspoon cinnamon

1-1 1/2 cup regular oats
1/2 cup raisins
(Or use Musli with raisins: Two birds, one stone- I used Seitenbacher Musli #4 which had an added bonus of pumpkin seeds and dried apples, yum)
1/2 cup carob/chocolate chip or Cocao nibs

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (If you REALLY wanna bake them...)
2. Combine oil and sugar, then add in agave nectar, milk and vanilla.
3. Separately combine flour, baking soda, salt, flax and cinnamon.
4. Mix the dry and wet ingredients together
5. Fold in the oatmeal, chips and raisins

6. If you decide you want cookies and not dough like us, then put about 8-12 tablespoonfuls of dough on a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until dry-looking and golden.

Either way-Enjoy!

Pizza with (Ridiculously delicious) Garlic Herb Crust (Vegan)

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
1 1/2 cups water, heated in the microwave for about 1 minute
1 Envelope- 1/4 ounce baking yeast
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (I used bread flour because I didn't wanna go back to the store :) )
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour or unbleached flour
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons dried garlic powder or fresh garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil (I ran out of olive oil and used garlic flavored olive oil/ dipping sauce. NOT complaining)

Instructions:

1. Mix syrup and water in a large bowl.
2. Add yeast and without stirring it, let it sit 5-10 minutes. It gets foamy and starts to smell like beer.
3. Stir in flour, salt, basil, thyme, rosemary, oregano, garlic and oil.
4. Knead until it looks how it looks in movies, when they spin it around on their fingers and throw it all around the place. You really just need to guess. If it seems too dry, add water and if it seems too wet, add flour. (Try to throw it in the air if you dare, but if it falls on the ground don't tell your unsuspecting family members who will soon be eating it for dinner)
5. Cover the bowl with a towel and let sit for 1 hour.

6. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
7. Divide the dough into two equal balls. If you only want to make one pizza (I definitely made, and ate, two...) put the second dough ball in a plastic bag and refrigerate or freeze.
8. Grease two pizza pans, and set each dough ball in the center of one pan, pushing it out to make the crust. Put some fork holes in it so it doesn't turn into a ginormous dough bubble that explodes in your oven.
9. Bake the crust with no toppings for about 10-15 minutes, or until lightly browned/dry looking.
10. Add sauce, real or fake cheese and toppings of your choice, then bake another 10-20 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the cheese or "cheez" is melted in the middle.

For my pizzas, I used canned organic pizza sauce,  and for the cheese- a mixture of Daiya Mozzarella Style Shreds and Veggie Shreds Parmesan, Mozzarella & Romano blend.

For the toppings on the first pizza, I layered spinach and Roma tomato slices, covered with freshly ground salt, pepper and garlic powder.

 

For the second pizza, I used chopped onions, red and green bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, and spicy baked tofu.

Also- the crust would definitely be good enough as bread or breadsticks and used to dip in olive oil or some other yummy dip.

EDIT: I tried this again for a second time and added dill. Do not, I repeat DO NOT, for the love of jebus, add dill. Pickle bread may sound like the best idea ever thinked up, but think again....

(Adapted from VegWeb.com / Source of recipe: "Radiant Health, Inner Wealth."www.radianthealth-innerwealth.com )

Carrot Raisin Peach Spice Muffins (Vegan)

I made these for the vegan side of the family/ state :) and they (all 12) were gone in much less than a day. The vanilla sugar I made is not the traditional vanilla sugar using vanilla bean and all that, but it was deee-lish. You could also make a vanilla glaze and drizzle that on top to make it more of a dessert rather than a breakfast or snack. And since they're vegan, that must mean they are totally and completely healthy right?? Absolutely. Enjoy.

 

Ingredients

2 cups white or whole wheat flour 

1/4 cup natural sugar 

1 teaspoon baking powder 

1 teaspoon baking soda 

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon 

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 

1 teaspoon ginger  

1 tablespoon ground flax seed- can use a coffee grinder

1/3 cup agave nectar
1/3 cup Peach Jam (Can also use applesauce or other flavored jams)
1/2 cup coconut milk (Rice milk or soy milk can be substituted, or cow's milk if not dairy-free/vegan) 1/4 cup water
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3 shredded carrots 
1/3 cup raisins

**Topping to Sprinkle: Vanilla sugar (Combine 3 tablespoons sugar, 3 teaspoons cinnamon, and 4-5 drops vanilla. Stir with a fork and put heap on top of each muffin before putting into the oven)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a muffin pan.
2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and flax.
3. Add agave nectar, jam, milk, water and vanilla.
4. Add in the shredded carrots and raisins. Add nuts if preferred (I'm allergic, so this is the only recipe where I will specify this haha. Add nuts where you want, I don't want my face to swell up and my throat to close. Call me cray-zay).
5. Evenly put batter into the muffin pan. Sprinkle with vanilla sugar, if you wanna.
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes, and check with a toothpick.

(Adapted from Fat Free Vegan Kitchen)