Recipes

February 28, 2013April 5, 2017 Matt Cooking Stuff, Recipes

Apple Pie Chia Pudding

One ingredient I’ve heard a lot about lately is chia seed. Supposedly they are one of those superfoods packed with tons of nutrients. We’ve put them in smoothies and oatmeal before, but never a pudding. I found this recipe from a great site called Vegan Yack Attack.

What I like about this recipe is that there is no added sugar. The sweetness only comes from the apple juice and a 1/2 tsp of maple syrup. The chia seeds soak up the moisture from the apple juice and become a pudding/gelatine texture.

This was a great sweet treat to end our meal. It’s no apple pie, but it was light, refreshing, and absolutely satisfied my after dinner sweet tooth.

I found a couple other chia seed puddings I plan on trying in the coming weeks as well.

RECIPES:

Apple Chia Seed Pudding (I made 2.5x the recipe and it made enough for 4 servings)

Pumpkin Pie Chia Pudding

Banana Chia Pudding

February 27, 2013April 5, 2017 Matt Cooking Stuff, Recipes

Thai Red Curry with Asparagus and Tofu

I totally ran out of red curry paste while making this, so ours was a little weak. But everything still had great flavor. Ellie gobbled this up. Tofu, asparagus, and the rice. “More sauce please!”

I’m sure you could use whatever vegetables you wanted to if you’re not a fan of asparagus.

Out of everything I’ve made for vegan week so far, this probably took the longest, and it didn’t really take all that long.

RECIPES:

Thai Red Curry with Asparagus and Tofu

February 26, 2013April 5, 2017 Matt Cooking Stuff, Recipes

Vegan Cupcakes

My friend Karen came over for lunch and decided to contribute to this week’s Vegan Week by making her own cupcakes. She said she made many varieties and then tweeked them to come up with this.

Now when I hear vegan cupcakes, I don’t get excited. I think of a dry, hard, crumbly, unsweetened blob of something resembling cake. But then you think vegan cupcakes are just dairy free. And that doesn’t sound nearly as scary. A lot of people eat dairy free cakes and such and a lot are really good. The recipe Karen used here was not resembling a chocolate cupcake, it was a chocolate cupcake.

Aya came home and gobbled one up and said, “What’s vegan about these? These are awesome!”

We loved them. I’ve had four today and have my eye on another one.

RECIPES:

Vegan Cupcakes

The dry:
1 1/2c flour
1/2c cocoa
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp soda

The wet:
1 c sugar
1/2 c oil
1 c almond milk (vanilla)
1/4 c choc syrup (hersheys dark)
2 tsp vanilla

The activator:
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar (do not sub regular vinegar)

375 oven
Prep pans/cupcake cups
Sift the dry
Whisk the wet
Slowly whisk the dry into the wet until thoroughly mixed
Mix in the activator
Bake immediately for best rising

Frosting:
Natural peanut butter
Vanilla
Powdered sugar
Almond milk
Dark chocolate chips, melted (Ghirardelli)

February 26, 2013April 5, 2017 Matt Cooking Stuff, Recipes

Vegan Quinoa Sweet Potato Chili

As far as chilis go, this was not my favorite. However, not comparing it to chili and judging it on its own, this was really good. We all really liked it. Between the sweet potatoes, beans, and quinoa it was very filling and rich with flavor. The quinoa texture balanced the mushiness of the sweet potatoes and the avocado on top really made it sing. I paired it with a salad with pecans and strawberries. Not bad eating. Now for dessert. Vegan cupcakes!

RECIPES:

Vegan Quinoa Sweet Potato Chili

February 26, 2013April 5, 2017 Matt Cooking Stuff, Recipes

Mediterranean-Style Pasta w/ Toasted Garlic Panko

A friend came over for lunch who supported participating in vegan week, so I whipped up this simple pasta dish. My photo doesn’t look as delicious as the website I got the recipe from, but that’s ok. This was a simple light dish. I didn’t have fresh basil on hand though, so it fell a little flat. The artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes, and olives were great. But I think it really needed the fresh basil to make it a better dish. It was still tasty, just a little bland.