Pancakes v6: Vegan Coconut

Had some extra coconut milk around, plus shredded coconut, and felt like an indulgent breakfast... Found this recipe that seemed to check the boxes and not require any crazy ingredients and stuff:

Recipe
1 c flour (doesn't have to be coconut!)
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp sugar
pinch of salt
3/4 c coconut milk
1/2 c water
1 tbsp coconut oil, melted

handful of shredded coconut

• Whisk together the dry ingredients, then add the wet ones and combine - doesn't have to be super smooth, lumps are fine!
• Heat a non-stick skillet over medium; once hot, add some coconut oil and cook up batches of pancakes - about 2 tbsp to 1/4 c, a minute or two per side until set and browned.
• In the meantime, sprinkle the shredded coconut on a baking sheet and roast for a few minutes - don't forget while everything else is going on!
• Serve topped with toasted coconut, syrup, butter, etc.

Beet Burgers

This recipe comes courtesy of Purple Carrot, a while back but recreated it now that it's barbecue season!

Recipe
1/4 c quinoa
1/2 c green peas
2 oz shredded beets (maybe like half a beet?)
1/2 c bread crumbs
buns
aioli (3 parts vegenaise, 1 part sriracha or other sauce)
oil, salt & pepper

Cook the quinoa as directed (1/2 c water, ~10 minutes).  Add to a blender with the peas, beets, and bread crumbs and combine well.  Divide the mixture into halves and lump/press them into burgers.  Cook in a skillet with some oil over medium high, ~5 mins per side.  Serve on the buns with aioli and other toppings!

Notes
The patties are a little messy to work with, but actually hold together pretty well.  Not sure if they'd work on a grill though, might have to do some trial and error there...  And the recipe is easy to double or triple for more burgers for more friends, freezing for later, etc.!

"Sausage" (aka mushroom) "Breakfast" (aka anytime of day) Patties

Just did a Virtual Cooking Class with a chef who is on Instagram as @PlantBasedG.life and these are DELICIOUS. They SMELL just like sausage and get a delicious SEAR like a burger but its all mushrooms and plants :)

Ingredients

-3 cups white mushrooms

-1 large white onion, diced

-3 cloves garlic, diced

-1 cup brown rice

-4 oz black olives

-1/2 Jalapeno

-1/2 cup bread crumbs (I used Trader Joe's Gluten Free Rice Crumbs- use whatever! In the class he also told us you could also just make toast and use that)

-Avocado oil (2ish tablespoons but I honestly use less than every recipe says for oil)

-English Muffins (I used Ezekiel Gluten Free English Muffins. Highly recommend!!)

Spices

-Cayenne Pepper

-Oregano

-Cumin

-Dried Sage (I honestly just used regular sage and it totally was fine hahaha)

-Thyme

-Salt & Pepper

-Add any other spices you like :)

**NOTE: BLENDER NEEDED

To Serve

Tomato slices, lettuce, and raw onion slices

Steps:

1. Cook the rice, leave to cool

2. Blend the mushrooms till they kinda look like ground beef

3. Saute the onions in the avocado oil for a few mins (till translucent & starting to brown)

4. Add mushrooms to the onions and saute another few mins till the mushrooms are cooked. Add the garlic and ALL the spices (but NOT the jalapeno) and cook for another few mins.

5. Let everything cool (very important because you don't want to put warm stuff in the blender- it will get super hot in there)

6. Put the mushroom concoction, olives, and rice in the blender and blend. Add the bread crumbs & Jalapeno and blend a little more. It should start to look like ground beef.

7. Scoop everything into a bowl (this just makes it easier to form the patties and put on the pan

8. Add a tablespoon of avocado oil to a pan and set it to medium heat. When pan is hot, scoop out a patty sized chunk and put it on! It'll sear just like a burger its crazy. Flip over after 3-5 mins. Play around with timing obviously but cook for about 3-5 mins per side. 

While the patties are cooking, toast your English Muffins!

Serve with the raw tomato slices, raw onion slices, and lettuce. Eric liked his with Hot Sauce. 

ENJOY!! <3 Natalie

Cream of Broccoli Soup (with NO REAL CREAM)

This is another great recipe from The Plan Cookbook. Adjusted by me based on experience. Can easily be made vegan.

3 tbsp unsalted butter (who are we kidding, use more than that) (or olive oil)

1 large onion

herbs — I use a lot more than indicated — so, to taste: 

1 tbsp dried sage

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp celery seed — I love celery seed so use a lot, but note that it gives the soup a real spicy kick!

dash of sriracha and/or cayenne

2 cups chicken stock, chicken broth, vegetable broth

2 cups water (or use 4 cups broth)

1 (14-oz) can full-fat unsweetened coconut milk

8 cups chipped broccoli (~4 heads)

4 cups chipped zucchini (~2 medium)

1-2 avocado, pitted

In a skillet, melt the butter or heat the oil and sauté the onion, sage, cumin, celery seed until onion is softened.

In a soup pot, combine sautéed onion, broth, water, coconut milk, broccoli, zucchini, and cayenne/sriracha. Bring to a boil and simmer until the veggies are softened, about 30 minutes.

Blend the soup with the avocado for extra creaminess! I've never even thought about adding real cream — the coconut milk and avocado makes for a really lusciously creamy soup.

Zucchini Pancakes

This is a recipe from The Plan Cookbook, but modified by me thru experience. Good for breakfast! And with an egg substitution (and no goat cheese) would be vegan.

4-6 cups shredded zucchini (3-4 medium zucchini or 2 large)
4-6 eggs
1 onion, chopped
4-5 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 - 1/2 cup coconut flour (or some other kind of flour, I've used buckwheat)
lots of chopped dill (1/2 cup or so)
olive oil
topping: crumped goat cheese

Blot the zucchini with a paper towel to remove excess moisture.

In a bowl, combine: zucchini, eggs, onion, garlic, coconut flour, dill, 1 tsp olive oil and MIX.

Heat olive oil on skillet. Use 1/4 cup measuring cup to scoop out pancakes and flatten on skillet. Cook 5-7 minutes until browned on the bottom and can be easily flipped. Flip and cook for another 2-3 minutes.

Crumple goat cheese on top. Also good with hot sauce.

The Everyman's Chocolate Mousse

The Everyman's Chocolate Mousse

*My brilliant baker friend Sarah loves to challenge herself by making Jefe-friendly desserts. This one is his favorite and I am always jealous cuz he won't ever share. It is super simple and has literally 3 ingredients, 2 of which are different forms of water. SO, this mousse is allergy AND vegan-friendly!


INGREDIENTS:

3/4 cup (6 oz.) water
8 oz. chocolate (70% recommended, but pick what you love)
ice cubes
whipped cream for topping *optional


DIRECTIONS:

1. Pour water into a saucepan *you can flavor it with orange juice or cassis puree if you want to get fancy. Over medium-low heat, whisk in the chocolate. The result is a homogenous sauce.

2. Put the saucepan in a bowl partly filled with ice cubes or pour into another bowl that is over the ice--it will chill faster. Then whisk the chocolate sauce by hand or with an electric mixer *if mixer, it will thicken faster, so watch out! Whisking creates large air bubbles in the sauce, which steadily thickens. After a while, strands of chocolate form inside the loops of the whisk. Pour or spoon immediately into ramekins, small bowls, or jars, and let set. Serve immediately or refrigerate


3 things can go wrong and here's how you fix them:

1. If your chocolate doesn't contain enough fat, melt the mixture again, add some chocolate, and then whisk it again.

2. If the mousse is not light enough, melt the mixture again, add some water, and whisk it once more.

3. If you whisk it too much so that it becomes grainy, this means the foam has turned into an emulsion. In that case, simply melt the mixture and whisk it again, adding nothing.

Buffalo Chickpea Taquitos

Vegan comfort food yeah!  From here...

Recipe

1 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 can chickpeas, drained & rinsed
1/2 c tomato sauce
3+ tbsp hot sauce
2 tbsp milk
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp onion powder
3/4 tsp coconut / brown sugar
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp ground cumin
chili powder to taste
~10 flour tortillas

• Preheat oven to 400.
• Mash the chickpeas.
• Heat some oil over medium, and saute the onion and bell pepper 3 minutes, then add the garlic and spices for another minute.
• Add sauces and chickpeas to the pan, bring to a boil, and simmer a couple minutes, adding chili powder for more spice if needed.
• Scoop about 2 tbsp of filling into each tortilla, roll up, and put close together on a baking sheet.  Brush with oil for extra crispiness.
• Cook 15-20 minutes until crispy.
• Serve with vegan cheese sauce if you've got it!

Notes

Not super easy and not quite as good as chicken :/ but overall a fun one!