Spicy hot cocoa

3 cups of unsweetened almond milk
1/4 cup of cocoa powder
1/4 cup of brown sugar
2 tablespoons of chocolate chips
1/8 of a teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1/2 of a teaspoon of cinnamon
Small amount of shaved peanuts, almonds, and orange zest for garnish

Heat the almond milk and chocolate chips on high in a saucepan for several minutes. Whisk and turn down the heat to medium when the chocolate melts. Add in the cocoa powder and sugar and whisk well until mixed. Add the cayenne pepper and cinnamon and mix well. Turn off the heat and pour into two mugs. Add the garnishes and serve!

This had just a little bit of spice that we both enjoyed. The orange zest really complimented the spicy cocoa well.

Sweet Beet in Granby

We recently visited Sweet Beet in Granby, CT after viewing them on the Happy Cow app. I was very excited that there was a fully vegan restaurant that I could visit without driving too far. When we arrived, I really enjoyed the decor. It looked very nice and clean inside. They have a small menu that changes daily because they use organic ingredients that are available. 
We originally wanted to get dinner yet the prices seemed a little high. They had salads, soups, chili, and a dish called cottage pie. The cottage pie looked interesting and tasty so we may get that sometime. We decided to just get some desserts this time, so we had one of each of the sweeties and 2 chocolate chip cookie balls. The chocolate sweetie was very tasty, but we weren't huge fans of the other ones. They were good, yet not too exciting. The chocolate chip cookie balls were very tasty though! We would definitely recommend getting those if you visit.

This place is worth a stop if you are in the area. The food seems healthy and fresh. There are soups and salads in refrigerated cases that are ready to take home or to have on your lunch break. All in all, The Sweet Beet seems like a nice vegan place and we look forward to seeing what else they come up with in the coming months.

Easy vegan beefless wraps

Hey all,

I just wanted to share an easy and delicious dinner that I made with the new Gardein sizzling szechuan beefless strips. The strips were delicious even before we put the sauce on. We used leftover Chipotle lime rice and it took less than 20 minutes to assemble. I thought it was a strange concept to put yogurt in a wrap but I really enjoyed it once I tried it. Enjoy!

1 package of Gardein beefless strips
2 tablespoons of oil
1 cup of leftover Chipotle lime rice
4 tablespoons of hummus
2 wraps
1 cup of organic mixed greens
4 tablespoons of plain coconut yogurt

Pan fry the beefless strips in oil per the package directions. Add in the leftover rice to heat up for a few minutes. Distribute the Gardein and rice mixture, and all other ingredients between the two wraps. It's that simple! :)

Simple Peanut Butter Pasta

I have been a huge fan of peanut butter pasta ever since I first tried it. I have used many different variations, and usually it just happens to be whatever ingredients sound like a good fit and are in the house. : ) Here is a version of a quick and simple vegan meal.

2 packages of Nasoya noodles
4 tablespoons of peanut butter
1 tablespoon of Earth Balance buttery stick
1 tablespoon Bragg's liquid aminos
2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast flakes

Drain and rinse the Nasoya noodles. I usually rinse them for at least a minute under hot water while they are in a colander. Heat the Earth balance and peanut butter on medium heat until melted. Add in the noodles and aminos. Cook on medium heat for another 3 minutes and then add the yeast flakes. Cook for about 2 more minutes while mixing occasionally and then enjoy! Feel free to change or add ingredients according to taste. We would usually put a lot of hot sauce in also but there wasn't any in the house. Also, Whole Foods has a delicious peanut sauce that is a great addition.

The way that I originally made peanut butter pasta many years ago was even simpler. It just included pasta, peanut butter and soy sauce. The way that we currently make it is probably much healthier because it has less sodium. (We used a LOT of soy sauce back in the day.)

The current recipe is for two dinners.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! We hope that everyone has had a great holiday season and New Year's celebrations.  We haven't made any resolutions this year, per say, yet we are trying to eat healthier. I have personally been super lazy when it comes to cooking anything, which means no new recipes for me to post. : (

I have been a little better about packing up lunches the night before work so it is ready to go in the morning. So, if you are also somewhat forgetful or strapped for time before work, it is a great time-saver. It also helps you save money and most likely calories by not ordering take-out food or buying junk from the vending machine while at work! : )

So I'll just go over a few of our favorite snacks that we pack up. I usually pack about 3 or 4 snacks along with a meal that we will prepare the night before also. One of my favorites as of late is to just make little trail mixes and store them in half-pint mason jars. I like to put in Sunflower seeds, almonds, carob chips, dried cranberries, peanuts, and walnuts. I like to eat the mix on its own but it also tastes great in yogurt. Another one of our favorite snacks is hummus with anything! : ) Sweet potatoes sliced with a mandoline make great raw "chips" to dip in the hummus, along with celery, bell peppers, carrots, etc. And lastly, we usually have one or two fresh fruits in our lunch bags. I have always loved bananas, but oranges are a new favorite for the both of us. Blood oranges are in season right now and are so delicious!

Well, I hope that we will be able to post some new recipes soon, but maybe these simple snack ideas will help someone in the meantime. Happy and healthy new year to everyone!

Nicole

Spaghetti Squash Pancakes

I will admit that I did not measure anything when it came to making these, so the amounts are pretty much just estimates! The finished product was pretty tasty though! The mister had baked a squash and we wanted to do something fun instead of just eating it plain, so the squash pancakes were created. I made a HUGE mess while forming the pancakes with my hands, so just beware that you are most likely going to get messy! Feel free to add more flour if the mixture is not sticking together.

3 cups of baked spaghetti squash insides
1 1/2 cups of flour
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 Tbsp of nutritional yeast flakes
Olive Oil for pan-frying

Set a frying pan to medium heat and add a small amount of oil. Mix all ingredients together until combined. Form the pancakes with your hands. Fry each for about 4 minutes and then flip over. They should look golden brown on each side when done. I cooked several pancakes at a time and it took about 30 minutes for all of them to be done. The mixture should make about 15 or so pancakes. We had enough to last us for 3 different dinners! They tasted great with a little bit of wholegrain mustard.

I hope that everyone enjoys this recipe! I think it would also taste great with a little bit of Daiya cheese melted on top! : )

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I just wanted to wish everyone a delicious and healthy Thanksgiving! I hope that everyone is enjoying all of the cruelty-free options out there. There are so many delicious meat alternatives and side dish recipes out there right now. Today we will be enjoying a Tofurky, corn, peas, green beans, mashed potatoes, stuffing, spinach salad and some vegan pumpkin pie! I was concerned about us overeating so I suggested adding a salad to our menu in the hopes of not eating a pound of potatoes each! : )

We may post recipes later, but our food wasn't too complicated. The stuffing is delicious though, so I may have to beg Andrew to post that recipe. : ) Happy Thanksgiving!!

Nicole

Easy Vegan Sausage Crescent Rolls

We found a package of vegan crescent rolls and I knew that I had to try to make a version of pigs in a blanket. I used to love them when I was growing up and these were absolutely delicious and SO easy to make! 

1 package of crescent rolls(hopefully your local Whole Foods or grocery store will carry some)

1 package of Tofurky sausages

1 package of Daiya cheese slices(we used Provolone & they were on sale at Whole Foods this week!)

So this was extremely simple and pretty quick. I preheated the oven to 350 degrees per the directions on the package of crescent rolls. I used 2 crescent rolls per Tofurky. Place two crescents together to make a larger triangle to wrap around the sausage. Place the sausage on the wider end of the crescent roll. Break the cheese slice in half and place both slices down the length of the sausage and roll the crescents. Bake in the oven per the instructions of the crescent roll package. Take out of the oven when golden and enjoy!

Quick Dinner

Hello,

I just wanted to share our dinner from last night because it was super simple and tasty! I was pretty hungry so I didn't even take a picture of the finished meal, but this took less than ten minutes to make and only had a few ingredients involved.

2 Tofurkey kielbasas, in half-inch slices
1 cup of kale
2 Tablespoons of nutritional yeast flakes
1 teaspoon tumeric
1/4 teaspoon of cayenne
1 cup of cooked cous cous (we had some leftovers)
1 tablespoon of oil

Add the kielbasa slices and oil to a frying pan and sauté on medium-high heat for two minutes, stirring occasionally. Add in the kale and sauté for another two minutes. Toss in the rest of the ingredients and lower the heat to medium. Cook for about two or three minutes and mix together well. Serve in two bowls and enjoy!

Butternut Squash Soup

Hi there! I love autumn for so many reasons, and soup is definitely one of them. I honestly wasn't much of a soup person until we started making them. As someone that had a lot of processed food while growing up, there is definitely no competition when it comes to a homemade soup versus something from a can. Anyways, here is a simple recipe for a vegan butternut squash soup that we made the other day. This could be made in about half an hour and tastes delicious! I hope that you all enjoy it!

Vegan Butternut Squash Soup

3 Cloves of garlic

1 shallot

2 tablespoons of Olive oil

1 butternut squash

6 cups of vegetable broth

Cut up the garlic and shallot. Sauté the garlic and shallot with olive oil in a large pot. Peel, deseed, and cube the butternut squash. Add the squash to the pot and cover with the vegetable broth. Boil until fork-tender. Remove the cubes to the blender and puree. Add the squash back to the broth on medium and stir. Combine well and serve!

Enjoy!

-Nicole 

Vegan Chili

Hi there!

So, it has been awhile since we have actually posted a recipe, and I thought I would share an easy autumn recipe with everyone. I honestly don't usually measure or even keep track of what I put in my recipes most of the time, so this is somewhat estimated. I do believe that cooking should be fun and you should adjust things according to your own taste, which is definitely what I always do. It usually turns out great unless it involves baking, which should have slightly more science than creativity.

Anyways, one of my favorite fall meals is chili! So here is a recipe for chili that I made recently. I was craving chili and decided to make some even though I didn't have all of the ingredients that I usually use. I was happy with the outcome and hope that you will be too! Please feel free to mix things up and let us know what you think of the recipe :)

1 carrot, thinly sliced
1 can of black beans, rinsed
1 can of kidney beans, rinsed
1 can of pink beans, rinsed
1/3 cup of sliced sun-dried tomatoes
1/3 cup of TVP
1 cup or more of water
1 tablespoon of chopped scallions
1/2 teaspoon of dill
2 tablespoons of amino acids
2 tablespoons of red wine
1 cup of cooked quinoa

Heat a large pot on medium-high. Add about half an inch of water to the pot along with the carrots and scallions. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the TVP, aminos and dill. Add some more water if needed. There should still be some moisture, so as to avoid anything sticking to the bottom of the pot. Stir in the wine and let cook on medium heat for about five minutes. Be sure to stir and add small amounts of water if necessary. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, quinoa & beans. Cook on low to medium heat for another 10 minutes. Serve hot with your choice of toppings! We enjoyed ours with avocado, Daiya Havarti, and vegan sour cream.

Enjoy and let us know what you think if you get a chance to try out the recipe! We hope to add some more recipes soon including our classic chili recipe and some tasty quinoa burgers that we had last night!

Nicole

Vegan cheesy cookies

Vegan cheesy cookies

1 cup white beans
1 cup corn meal
1 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup water
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1/8 teaspoon chipotle
1/4 tsp tumeric
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together.

Roll the mixture into little balls, about half inch balls would be great. Place on to a non-stick cookie sheet, flatten slightly, and bake for 10 minutes. The dough should yield about 36 cookies depending on the size.

Let cool for a few minutes and ten enjoy!

Three Tier Salted Caramel Chocolate Crunch Cake

Thank You Made Just Right! We were one of the Bake-Off Special Prize Winners. Check it out, and here's the recipe:

This cake is a little complicated, but so tasty. This delicious three-tiered vegan cake can cure your salty and sweet cravings at the same time! The caramel sauce is very sugary, and I think that the pretzels are the perfect little extra touch. I love peanut butter so this features a chocolate peanut butter frosting. Enjoy. : ) A note with the ingredients: Apple cider vinegar is the last ingredient for the actual cake batter. The next two ingredients are used to lightly coat the pans. The next five (sugar through coconut milk) are for the caramel mixture. The remaining ingredients, excluding the pretzels, are for the frosting. I chilled my cakes overnight in the fridge, but that's mainly because I made them late at night. You should let them cool about 30-60 min, but they work well when cooled overnight too. There was some extra caramel sauce which you can use on the individual pieces of cake, or you can halve the caramel recipe if you aren't too big on sugar. I used three different sized round pans(9, 6, and 4 inches), but you could always change that if you don't want to do three tiers.


Ingredients

• 4 cups Flour (I used whole wheat, but feel free to use all-purpose)

• 4 teaspoons baking powder

• 2 teaspoons baking soda

• 1 1/2 cups cocoa powder

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/4 teaspoon cardamom

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 cup olive oil

• 1/2 cup Melted Earth Balance Buttery stick

• 1/2 cup maple syrup

• 2 1/2 cups sugar

• 4 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 1 1/4 cups water

• 1 cup Earth Balance soy milk

• 1 teaspoon flaxseeds

• 2 teaspoons Apple cider vinegar

• 1 dash Cooking spray

• 3 pinches Flour for dusting the pans

• 2 cups sugar

• 1/3 cup water

• 5 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 6 tablespoons Earth Balance buttery stick

• 2/3 cup coconut milk

• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 3 tablespoons coconut milk

• 1/2 cup Earth Balance soy milk

• 1 1/2 cups fresh ground chocolate peanut butter

• 1/4 cup Earth Balance buttery stick

• 1 1/2 tablespoons Earth Balance shortening

• 2 cups powdered sugar

• 2 dozen pretzels

Directions

1. To prepare the cake, 1. In a large mixing bowl add the dry ingredients (4 cups flour, 4 teaspoons baking powder, 2 teaspoons baking soda, 1 ½ cup cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon cardamom, and1 teaspoon salt) and stir to combine.
2. In a second mixing bowl add the wet ingredients (½ cup olive oil, ½ cup melted Earth, Balance Buttery Stick, ½ cup maple syrup, 2 ½ cups sugar, 4 teaspoons vanilla extract, 1 ¼ cups water, 1 cup Earth Balance Soy Milk, 1 teaspoon ground flax seeds, 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar) together and mix well with a spatula until they are combined.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and then add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir together.
4. Spray cooking pans with cooking spray and flour pans (we used three sizes: one 9 inch, one 6 inch pan and one 4 inch.
5. Add batter to pans so each pan is about half to two thirds full.
6. Bake at 350 degrees. The 4 inch cake will take 24 minutes. The 6 inch cake will take 30 minutes. The 9 inch cake will take 35. You can always check your cakes before these times, and they will be done when you can stick a fork or knife through and there is no uncooked batter.
7. Let the cakes cool completely before assembling.
8. Now for the caramel sauce: Heat a heavy sauce pan on medium heat.
9. Add 2 cups of sugar, 1/3 cup water and 5 teaspoons of vanilla extract to pan and stir continuously with a whisk.
10. Once the sugar has melted and has begun to boil, stir vigorously for about 2 minutes.
11. Add 6 tablespoons Earth Balance Buttery Stick and continue to stir vigorously until melted.
12. Allow mixture to return to a boil stirring occasionally, then stir vigorously for two minutes while the mixture is boiling.
13. Add 1/3 cup coconut milk to mixture while stirring.
14. Continue stirring until mixture returns to a boil and add the second 1/3 cup.
15. Stir for 5 minutes while mixture boils and then remove from heat.
16. Transfer mixture into a glass or metal pan and refrigerate for 20 minutes. **Wash all cooking utensils immediately**
17. After you've washed your pan and utensils that you cooked the caramel in, it is time to start the frosting. Cream the 1/4 cup Earth Balance buttery stick and 1 1/2 tbs shortening together with a hand mixer or standing mixer on medium speed.
18. Add 1 1/2 cup chocolate peanut butter and thoroughly mix with shortening and butter. Add 3 teaspoons vanilla and mix for about 20 seconds.
19. Add the powdered sugar and mix until combined, about 3-5 minutes.
20. Add the 1/2 cup Earth Balance soy milk and 3 tablespoons coconut milk and mix until combined, about 3 minutes,
21. Crush pretzels and set aside.
22. Now comes the time to assemble the cake! Make sure that the cakes are cool enough to work with. Place the 9-inch cake on a plate, top down. Add a scoop of caramel in the middle of the cake. Place the 6-inch cake on top of the caramel. Add a scoop of caramel to the middle of the new layer. Place the 4-inch cake on top of the caramel.
23. Frost the outside of the cake once to seal in the crumbs. Refrigerate for 5 minutes and frost again.
24. Add the crushed pretzels to the cake.
25. Drizzle caramel on top and sides of the cake – there will be extra caramel which you can serve to your guests just in case they don’t have enough caramel on their piece, before serving microwave the caramel just until melted).
26. Place two pretzels on top of cake for decoration. Serve and enjoy!