Quick Sammich for da Wicked!

Oh hai!
Do you guys know those days you’re so lazy *ahem* “tired”, you don’t even wanna think about slaving away over a stove to prepare a full, hearty meal? Well, yesterday night I was on one of those days and hold your witty jokes about women and sammiches, please ¬¬”

I really was in doubt if it is really a recipe worth of posting about… But hey! This is MY blog, and in the end of the day, I get to decide what goes in it or not! \o/

I was craving a hearty, wholesome, creamy sammich, so I went for a tofu burger, a quick hummus made with the leftover chickpeas from lunch and a nice wheat and assorted grain bread, topped up with a lovely and tangy brown mustard!

So, let’s get down to it already!!!

Ingredients:

For the Trick-Quick Hummus

Your leftover chickpeas cooked perfectly with salt and bay leaves I’m pretty sure you have hanging about your fridge (or simply open a nice can o’chickpeas, wathever!)

2 Tbsp and a lil’ bit more Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/2 tsp Cumin

1/4 tsp Black Pepper

For the Sammich

Your favorite Veggie Burger pan-fried with a tiny lil’ drop of olive oil for three minutes each side (I used a local, organic tofu burger with sunflower seeds and veggies!)

2 nice and round Tbsp of our Trick-Quick Hummus

2 slices of your favorite Wheat Bread

A healthy dose of your favorite Brown Mustard

Gadgets:

Plate

Fork

How to:

Trick-Quick Hummus:

In the land of food-processor-less people, place the chickpeas on a plate and mash’em really well, until there are but particles of them left (yeah, right…), add your olive oil and spices and mash again. Voilà! That’s your (tahine-less) hummus! 😀

Assembling the Sammich

Well, I guess you guys know how to prepare a sammich, soooo, pictures instead!!!!

Hurray for the lazy people everywhere!

Have yourselves a nice week! (Or what is left of it…)

♥♥♥

Yuca, Sweet Potato and Punkin Mash!

Sometimes what we really crave (or desperately need) is a lil’ different and delicious twist to our so regular and bland ‘tato mash, isn’t it? Well, and it doesn’t get prettier than this! Just look at this baby for crying out loud!:

Soooo yum! Wanna make it? Then ask me how and write it down!

Ingredients:

500 grams (’bout a pound) Yuca – the freshest, the faster it cooks. If you’re not actually sure about the freshness of this babies, cook them in a pressure cooker or something you have around ;D

250 grams (’bout half a pound) your favorite sweet and lovely Pumpkin

3 small-like-fitting-in-the-palm-of-your-hand Sweet Potatoes (I really don’t know exactly the weigh and stuff, so, don’t go asking! ¬¬”)

Enough water to cover all three of them separately

About a teaspoon salt, or to taste (I like the sweetness of the ingredients to shine)

Black Pepper and Cumin (freshly gated, if you can!), a teaspoon each

3 really generous tablespoons Vegan Margarine or Spread (Earth Balance or this stuff you guys get there xD)

Gadgets:

Three pots (Don’t you think about arguing with me! It’s delicious, so, it’s totally worth the sweat. And it’s just water. You won’t have too much work to wash afterwards. Words from a dish washing hater! \o/)

Potato Masher or something

Wooden Spoon

How to:

Wash ’em well, peel what needs peeling and cut everything roughly into cubes. Oh!  And remove the fiber-like center of your yuca before you put them to cook away if you can! If you can’t, they will tear apart easely after the root is thoroughly cooked. 😉

Boil each root and the pumpkin in a separate pot until they get really really really soft. Time depends on their freshness and quality, (mainly the yuca). But roughly it gets to 30 minutes (get it down to 20 if you use a pressure cooker) for yuca if fresh. If a little older, increase 10 to 15 minutes. Oh, for Christ sake, just test it often! ;D and 20 minutes for the other two to cook beautifully after the water starts to boil.

Drain your stuff and mash ’em well in your biggest pot of all three, first the yuca, which is a lil’ tougher and will need a bit more elbow grease, then the sweet potatoes and then, the pumpkin. Add the marge, salt, pepper and cumin, turn the heat to minimum and mix gently with your wooden spoon until everything is really well incorporated and it looks like the creamy of all heavenly cream-stuff.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand that’s it! How simple and yummy and *gurgles*… It’s ready to be eaten as a side dish to your lovely vegan stuff! (Or to stuff your face as it is! Like I always do ‘cuz I’m lazy to cook a lot of stuff at the same time!!!)

Have a lovely dovely week!

♥♥♥

Beanballs!

Hey you!! ^^

Here to say that this week I was craving something meatball-y or wiener-y and was having some sorta Black Bean Soup fever, so, I had plenty of this lovely beans around.
Coming back from my bellydance class, hungry like the wolf, I checked my pantry and I got that blissful “Eureka” moment! Beans + My craving for meatballs = BEANBALLS!
Unfortunatelly, my Veganomicon was locked in the office (well… It’s a loooong story -.-). So… I checked the Interwebs for a nice recipe that would fit my seasoning rack needs.
Well, my Black Bean Balls came out a huge success! Even the bean hater here at home loved them!
This recipe yelds 38 tiny lil’ balls, as I like it. Oh, and I achieved the most beautiful flavour combo! *-*
Let’s get to it already! I’ll stop my babbling before it’s too late. Oh, and just look at them already! And the Spaghetti too!

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Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups Cooked Black Beans (I cooked mine into my Pressure Cooker for 45 minutes)
under a 1/4 cup vital wheat gluten
1/2 cup bread crumbs
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. Tomato Sauce
2 1/2 cloves garlic, pressed or grated
1/2 Lime zest
1/2 tsp. thyme, crushed

1/2 nutmeg, grated
1/2 tsp Himalayan salt

Preheat oven to 375

Throw your black beans into a medium sized bowl, grab a fork and mash them like you mean it! You want them to be fairly well smooshed, but not to the point that they’re unidentifiable as, you know… beans. I basically threw in the salt, tomato sauce and olive oil (do 1 tbsp. if you want less fat) and stirred it all in with a spoon. Next I added the crushed thyme, garlic, lemon zest, nutmeg and the vital wheat gluten. The last step was to stir in the breadcrumbs.

After you have everything stirred up and holding together (without being totally solid, our the balls will come out very tough [this-is-not-a-pun-alert]) roll up your beanballs.  I just got a baking sheet, sprayed it with some oil, and placed the beanballs on there. I cooked them for  15 minutes and they were perfect this way. But keep checking to achieve the browness and stuff you like.

I hope you all are having a nice week!

♥♥♥

 

Blender Carrot Cake!

Hi people! 😉
Today, one of my momma’s classic: a delicious and (relatively) healthy carrot cake!
I like the structure of it, the fact that it is more like a souffle than a cake, the taste, the memories … So, so good!

With no further ado, let’s get to it!

Ingredients:

3 medium carrots, grated or thiiiiinly sliced
1 cup Canola Oil
1 / 2 cup Brown sugar
1 / 2 cup Organic Sugar

2  cups All Purp. Flour
1 / 2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 / 2 teaspoon Baking Soda

Gadgets:

Your Beautiful Blender (or Vitamix, which makes me envy-er)

Big Bowl

Wooden Spoon

A round 9″ springform lined with foil

How to:

Place the carrots with the oil and sugar in your blender. Pulse to “break” it all to tiny lil’ pieces, and then blend at high speed. If it becomes difficult, add 1 / 4 cup water and blend until it resembles a fine puree.

Preheat oven to 180 ° C / 375F.

Pour your carrot mix into the bowl and mix with the remaining ingredients using the wooden spoon until it’s all combined well. No uncooked flour pockets allowed! It ruins the entire thing, just sayin’.

Place the  dough in the pan, adjust with a spoon to make the surface even and bake for 30 minutes. Test with a toothpick. If it comes out dry, the cake is ready! Isn’t it the simplest thing? 😉

Allow it to cool and dig in!

It’s not overly sweet. If you’re a sweet-tooth, make the cake even more Brazilian and traditional, and sweet by making a simple chocolate sauce to go with it:

1 / 4 cup Cocoa Powder
1 / 4 cup Sugar or Agave
1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
Hot water.

Mix cocoa, sugar and vanilla. Add hot water with a spoon until the mixture reaches the consistency you want. Poke the cake several times with a toothpick and then, pour the sauce over!

I hope you have a great weekend!

♥♥♥

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The Best Choc Chip Cookie for a good friend! ;)

Oh, hi! 😀

I’ve been craving chocolate chip cookies for a while. Only having eaten recently a couple recipes from VCIYCJ from Terry Hope and Isa Moskowitz, as Rocky Roads and PB Pillows and unfortunatelly having a lack of tapioca flour, I had to search the whole intertubes for a recipe which would fit.

I found this one here! And it was the perfect match for my pantry necessities to feed a lovely friend of mine I am going to visit this sat. Wish me luck! 😀

So, right to it!

Put on your Massive Attack Album from ’98, called Mezzanine, and then, assemble your Dry Stuff
1 1/4 Cup Unbleached All Purpose Flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt

your Wet Stuff

1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1/4 Cup (White) Vegan Sugar
1 Stick (1/2 Cup) of Soy Butter (Earth Balance)
2 TBS of ground flax mixed with 3 TBS of Warm Water (allow to sit for 2 minutes)
1 tsp vanilla extract

and Other Stuff
1 Cup Vegan Choc Chips

Now, while you dance in pretty 8 undulations and stomach undulations too, sift your dry stuff into a nice big bowl. Get all your wet stuff together. Whisk or mix your wet stuff thoroughly with a spatula. (Do not beat!). Mix your wet stuff and dry stuff together; (again with a spatula not an electric mixer).

You should have a nice stiff mousse-like dough. Mix in your vegan choc chips. Form your cookie dough with wet hands and place (with a good amount space between them) on a sheet covered in grease proof paper. Bake for 20 – 23 minutes at 300 degrees until golden brown, while you dance your ass off at the living room (if you’re alone, of course, or in front of everybody if u’re a exhibitionist!)

I hope you guys have a lovely weekend with your friends! 😀

A lovely dinner for a lovely hungry person!

Hello everyone! ^^

Here’s the english version only for you, who doesn’t understand even a tiny bit of my mother language!

Main Course

Brocolli Lasagna with Creamy Béchamel Sauce

Dessert

Dark Chocolate Brownie with Almonds, Homemade Strawberry compote and Salted Chocolate Sauce

 

Ok! On to it! First, put on your This Morn’ Omina last Album, L’Unification Des Forces Opposantes, for a delicious ethnic spice into your regular electronic, and wiggle your hips on your way to your kitchen. Trust me: You’ll want to.

Then, gather your ingredients for the Lasagna:

1 steamed Brocolli head destroyed cut into tiny little florets

1 Tbsp Toasted Sesame Oil

1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 tsp Garlic Salt

1/2 tsp Powdered Cumin

1/2 tsp Dried Thyme

Package of your favorite Lasagna noodles, that ones you don’t need to cook beforehand, they just cook away straight into the oven.

Red Sauce:

About 1 cup of your favorite Tomato Extract, combined with 1 cup Water, Salt and Pepper to taste.

Bechamel Sauce:

1 cup your favorite (unsweetened) Non-Milk

1 heaping Tbsp vegetable margarine

2 Tbsp All Purp Flour

1 package of your favorite Vegan Heavy Cream

Salt, Pepper and freshlygrated Nutmeg to taste

and for the compote:

2 packs of fresh Strawberries, preferrably organic (about 260 grams each)

3/4 cup Raw Sugar

Juice of 1 Lime

You must be thinking “Helena!!!! ARE YOU NUTS??? BANANAS??? Like, 520 grams of strawberries, a lime and only this wee bit o’ sugar??”

Yeah, my dear… Imagine a super sweet compote over a super sweet brownie with a super lovely AND sweet sauce… What do ya want? Go diabetus?? ¬¬”

IF you want this thing only to spread over a nice slice of bread, be my guest to add more sugar, then, but never more than 1 cup. It’s nonsense, believe me.

and for our brownie:

(I like to use a recipe by my lovely brit, Naomi, The Gluttonous Vegan as my white canvas and work over it. You can read and marvel at her lovely pics right here.)

8 Tbsp vegan Margarine
200g Dark Vegan Chocolate
1 1/3 cup Sugar
1 1/2 cup Flour
3 tbsp Cocoa Powder
1/8 teaspoon Salt
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
4-5 tbsp Soy Milk

Around a handful  Almonds, crushed.

aaaand last, but not least, our CHOCOLATE SAUCE! 😀 (Oooh… That’s music for my ears… Say it again! CHOCOLATE SAUCE! I think I’m gonna name my next cat after it *-*)

I love this recipe, by the Photographer K. Miller, presented to me by lovely Celine @ her blog, clicky here.

3/4 cup Unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup Unrefined sugar

1 cup Boiling Water

1/2 tsp Coarse Salt (I used Hymalaian Pink Salt)

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Alright! Now you have the ingredients to start playing around your kitchen like a boss (or bossette).

How to’s:

While you steam the broccoli to the point of “Holly Sh*t, this is so tender the florets will never keep its form!”, wash, remove the green part and cube your strawberries. Put them in a saucepan with the sugar and lime juice. Mix it all up and light the fire, babe. Keep them in reeeeeally low heat for about 20 minutes or until the sauce is reduced and is somewhat gelatinous.

Mash you broccoli as you mean it, mix the seasonings and try not to just gobble it up like Cookie Monster. Because it’s freakin’ delicious as is. Set aside, AWAY from your taste buds and greedy eyes.

Mix your tomato extract with the water, salt and pepper and simmer until is somewhat saucy, but still really liquid. (yeah, I’m not accurate. I’m a cook, not a scientist, you know?!) Set aside.

Prepare your béchamel by melting the margarine, toasting the flour to a really nice golden sheer, then adding the milk, seasonings and heavy cream. Stir until a creamy, but very pliable sauce appear. Mix half of it into the broccoli mixture and try to resist the temptation to get a toast and try this nature’s wonder.

Preheat your oven at medium.

In a nice Lasagna dish, place a layer of tomato sauce, a layer of the noodles, the broccoli and béchamel mix, another layer of noodles, another layer of tomato sauce, etc, until the ingredients are all gone. Finish with topping the whole lasagna mess with the rest of the béchamel.

Cover the dish with tin-foil and roast for about 30 minutes. Test the texture of your noodles with a fork. If it’s soft, it’s done. If not, roast for 10 minutes more at a time, always checking for the doneness with the fork.

While your Lasagna roasts away, wash your strawberries very well, remove the green leafy thingies, crush’em a lil’ bit in a pan, with a fork, then add the sugar ant the lime juice. Stir and put to simmer in a very low heat for about 30 minutes stirring occasionaly.  Easy, fresh and simple!

When the lasagna is done and while the compote simmers away, time to make some brownies!!!!

Melt the chocolate and margarine over a low heat in a saucepan, then pour into a mixing bowl. Add the sugar, flour, cocoa, soy milk, crushed almonds and vanilla and mix until combined.

Line a baking dish with foil.

Pour your delicious brownie batter and spread with the back of a spoon.

Put into the oven at 180°C for around 30 minutes.

While the brownie bakes away, prepare your wonderful sauce in 4 easy steps.

1. In a saucepan, add sugar and cocoa powder and whisk until combined. Pour 1/2 cup boiling water over mixture and whisk until a smooth paste is formed.

2. Add the remaining 1/2 cup of water, stir, and bring the syrup to a small boil for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently.

3. Reduce heat to a simmer, add salt (either the full 1/2 tsp, or to taste).

4. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Let cool completely (about an hour), stirring now and then, before transferring to a glass container.

K. Miller advises to refrigerate it while not in use, ok??

That’s it, lovelies!!!! See u next time! ^^

♥♥♥