Vegan Mac n' Cheese

I know Mac and Cheese shouldn't be messed with and that there are some amazing recipes out there loaded with cheese,  heavy cream and butter to make it super tasty and addicting.  I've made "real" mac and cheese but never feel good after eating it. I am very sensitive to dairy so heavy cream and butter don't work well with my body. I could use cheese but wanted to make something that resembled the cheesy flavor without unhealthy ingredients.

Don't expect this to taste like regular mac and cheese because...it just won't. It tastes good but in a different way! So be open to a new recipe for this classic dish. You might be pleasantly surprised.

By the way - almond milk has more calcium than regular milk, nutritional yeast is one of the best sources of vitamin B12 and turmeric is an amazing anti-inflammatory ingredient. This is a great way to incorporate all of those ingredients into one dish!

Vegan Mac n' Cheese
Serves: 4

You'll need:

• Elbows or Penne (any kind of pasta - I used brown rice pasta)
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1/2 cup raw cashews
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 tbsp yellow miso
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 tbsp arrowroot powder (or cornstarch)
• *optional: 1 head steamed broccoli, peas or sautéed mushrooms

1. Start preparing pasta according to package directions. Save some pasta water for later. 

2.  Heat almond milk and arrowroot powder (or cornstarch) on medium high heat until its simmering. 

3. In a high powered blender mix in the cashews, nutritional yeast, yellow miso, lemon juice and spices. Mix until you get a "nut butter consistency" then add the warmed almond milk and arrowroot powder and mix for a few more seconds. Adjust consistency by adding more cashews or milk. Adjust seasoning by adding salt or pepper.

Sauce should look like this

4. Mix in sauce with pasta and loosen up with some pasta water if necessary.

5. Serve with steamed (or sautéed) broccoli, mushrooms or peas. 

Enjoy!!

Pam & Oscar

Mock "Chicken" Salad

Sorry for the hiatus again! I was cooking a lot but not writing my recipes down so I couldn't really post anything :)

I made this last week and it was great. My husband loved it and he does like meat so it proves that you can make tofu (or tempeh in this case) taste like chicken! This is a great alternative to regular chicken salad (which is loaded with mayonnaise, oil and unhealthy ingredients).

You'll need:

• 1 package tempeh (if frozen, thaw in fridge for a few hours).
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• 3 scallions
• 1 finely chopped pickle
• 2 celery stalks (chopped)
• 1/4 white onion (finely chopped)
• 2 tbsp mustard
• 3 tbsp vegan mayo (I used grape seed oil vegennaise)
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• salt and pepper to taste
• some toasted bread (I used gluten free bread but any will do)
• greens or lettuce for the sandwich

I used this "chicken salad" for sandwiches but it can also work as a dip with some pita chips or as a side dish.

1. Steam tempeh for 10-15 minutes. Chop into bite size pieces.

2. mix all of the ingredients together into a bowl and then add in tempeh pieces. These should be small enough for it to look like a "chicken salad.

3. If more mayo or mustard is needed, adjust seasoning. 

4. Serve over toasted bread and greens or just greens (as a salad).

*Great add-ins: some red grapes!

Enjoy!!

Pam & Oscar

Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Smoothie

I drink tons of smoothies and have one for breakfast almost every day.
I switch between green smoothies, protein smoothies and oatmeal smoothies. This is one of my favorite smoothies.

One glass of this drink has 10g of fiber! (thats about half your daily intake). It's filling and good for you. It has both types of fiber: soluble and insoluble as well as a lot of protein. Additionally, it's high in magnesium and iron.

More benefits:

Raisins are also a good source of fiber and antioxidants.

Cinnamon is a great anti-inflammatory food and can help prevent blood clots.

Bananas are a great source of vitamin B6, vitamin C and potassium.


This smoothie is very easy to make and tastes literally like an oatmeal raisin cookie! yum!

You'll need:

• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1 banana
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon (or more according to taste)
• 4-5 cubes ice

1. Just put everything in a high-speed blender and mix until smooth. I have a Vitamix blender and it takes me about 30 seconds. You can probably blend for a minute.

Enjoy!

Pam & Oscar

Amazing Vegan Chocolate Chunk Brownies

I know it's hard to find a great vegan chocolate brownie recipe. There are many out there. Yes, it's hard to make a brownie taste good without cream, eggs and butter or tons of white sugar.

Today I was really craving brownies...and did not want to eat an unhealthy brownie that would make me feel like crap (dairy is doing that to me lately). So, I scoured the internet for every vegan chocolate brownie recipe out there. I spent about 3 hours "researching" and also tweaking recipes here and there. I researched whether flax eggs, chia eggs or applesauce were the better substitutes for eggs and oil...I also looked for comparisons between using baking soda or baking powder and whether to use chocolate chips, etc!

Finally, I came up with a single recipe that encompassed the best of the best and I think these brownies are the best so far. They're fudgy, chocolate-y and cake-y at the same time. SO GOOD.

I will continue to make this better by trying other ingredients and amount variations.

Try them and let me know what you think!


You'll need:

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 3 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 2 flax eggs (2tbsp flaxseed meal needed see below)
• 1 shot of espresso (or very very strong brewed coffee)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup + 1 tbsp all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder (unsweetened, dark)
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (vegan or normal)
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease and flour a brownie pan (8 by 8 usually or 9 by 13)

2. Make 2 flax eggs (put 2 tbsp of flaxseed meal with 6 tbsp warm water in a bowl and let sit for 2 minutes until it becomes gel-like).

3. Mix sugar, almond milk, canola oil, apple cider vinegar and flax eggs in a bowl with the espresso and vanilla extract.  

4. In a separate bowl, mix flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder. 

5. Add wet ingredients to dry mix. Stir until all incorporated. Add in chocolate chips and walnuts if using.

6. Bake for 17-20 minutes (depends on oven).

7. Let brownies cool for 10 minutes at least before serving or cutting up.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Estos brownies son veganos...asique no tienen leche, huevo o mantequilla (nada animal).  Se pueden preparar con harina blanca sin prepar o tambien  serian mas nutritivos hechos con harina "whole wheat" (trigo entero). 


Ingredientes

• 1 taza azucar morena (ojo: lo hice tambien con 3/4 de taza y salio bien)
• 1/2 taza leche de almendras (o de soya)
• 3 cucharaditas vinagre de manzana 
• 1/4 taza de aceite vegetal (o si quieren pueden usar 2 cucharadas con el mismo efecto)
• 2 cucharadas de linaza molida + 6 de agua filtrada
• 1 shot de espresso
• 1 cucharadita de vainilla
• 1 taza harina sin preparar blanca (o de trigo entero)
• 1 cucharadita de polvo de hornear
• 1/4 cucharadita sal
• 3/4 taza de cocoa (para postres - sin azucar)
• 1/2 taza de chips de chocolate dark
• 1/2 taza nueces o pecanas picadas (opcional)
• *opcional: azucar en polvo para espolvorear encima de los brownies

1. Pre-calentar horno a 375 F (190C).

2. Engrasar (con aceite o mantequilla) un molde rectangular de 8x8 o 9x13 pulgadas (saldran mas delgados con 9 x 13).

3. Preparar los "huevos de linaza" -- mezclar 2 cucharadas de linaza molida (usar licuadora) con 6 cucharadas de agua filtrada. Dejar en un bowl por unos 5 minutos hasta que parezca un "gel" o se cuaje. 1 huevo es el equivalente a 1 cucharada de linaza molida con 3 de agua (asique estamos usando 2 "huevos").

4. Mezclar en un bowl: azucar, leche de almendras/soya, vinagre de manzana, "huevos de linaza", shot de espresso, vainilla y aceite. 

5. Mezclar en un bowl aparte la harina, la cocoa, el polvo de hornear y sal.

6. Incorporar los ingredientes liquidos con los secos poco a poco. 

7. Agregar los chips de chocolate y las nueces/pecanas (si se desea).

8. Hornear por 17 minutos y dejar reposar por lo menos 15 minutos antes de servir.

Enjoy!

Pam & Oscar

Mushroom "Quinotto" (Quinoa Risotto)

Hi there!
It's been a few days since my last post.  My husband and I went to NY to visit family and I got a friendly visit over Labor Day weekend. It's been a busy couple of weeks but I am back in Houston cooking away!

NY was amazing...as always. I got to try the famous "Candle Cafe" Vegan restaurant (I think it's one of the most famous in the US). It was good but we had a lot of food. I did get somewhat inspired by the food and will be making/recreating some of them soon!

For now...I leave you with a mushroom quinotto. It's very very good for you and tasty. We know the benefits of quinoa are endless so it won't hurt to try this as an alternative to regular risotto. I used almond milk and olive oil instead of cream and butter.

I used some amazingly strong saffron that my parents brought back from Istanbul (if you have some strong saffron please be careful as it can be too much!)

I hope you love it!

You'll need

• 1 cup cooked quinoa (check out this post on how to make it)
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 4-5strips saffron (or 1/4 tsp ground saffron)
• 1/2 white chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped portabella mushroom  (or any mix of mushrooms)
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 cup white wine
• 1 cup almond milk (or if you don't want to make it vegan use cream)
• salt and pepper to taste
• parsley (fresh or dried whatever you have)
• parmesan cheese (optional)

1. Cook quinoa and set aside.

2. In a pot, saute garlic and onion in olive oil on medium heat. Then, when onions are translucent, add in the saffron, nutmeg and mushrooms. Stir for a few minutes.

amazing saffron from Istanbul

3. Add in the wine, almond milk (or cream if using). Add in salt and pepper to taste (adjust if necessary).

4. Add in cooked quinoa to the pot. Stir and add in more milk if necessary to get that risotto texture. 

5. When ready to serve, add about 3 tbsp parmesan cheese and adjust seasoning.

6. Serve with parsley and parmesan cheese on top.

Enjoy!!

Pam & Oscar