Vanilla Coffee Frappe Verveggie Style

Move over coffee house frappe, this version is healthier, and really tasty!  One secret is coffee ice cubes.  For this recipe, I mixed 2 Starbucks Via packets and 1 1/2 cups of  hot water, then poured it into an ice cube tray and froze it over night.  However, any strong brewed coffee poured into an ice cube tray will do the trick.  The second secret is using dates instead of sugar, dates work really well in this smoothie.  Also be sure to blend the milk and dates first, then add the coffee ice cubes, or you will get a drink that is cold, but not smoothie icy.

Vanilla Frappe Verveggie Style
Makes 2 14-16 oz Frappes

1 1/2 c unsweetened coconut milk or your favorite unsweetened, non-dairy milk of choice
1/3 c firmly packed, pitted dates, soaked
1/2 t vanilla
7-8 coffee ice cubes (or more coffee to taste)
a pinch of sea salt

Firmly pack the dates with pits removed into a 1/3 c measuring cup.  The number of dates you can pack depends on the type of date.  Soak the dates in a bowl of water for an hour.

To make the coffee ice cubes, brew your favorite strong coffee, pour into an ice cube tray, and freeze over night.

In a high speed blender, add the dates, coconut milk, vanilla, and pinch of sea salt.  Blend for a minute or so, until the dates and coconut milk are completely smooth.

Add the coffee ice cubes and blend until the ice is smoothie consistency.

Pour into 2 pint sized glasses and serve.

Vegan Caesar Dressing

Most Caesar Dressing is made using eggs and anchovies.  This vegan version uses cashews, sunflower seeds, and dulse to get that creamy, salty flavor.  I love using this dressing on a salad made up of red kale, onion, tomatoes, and black olives-add croutons if you would like, but it tastes great without them.

Vegan Caesar Dressing

makes about 1 1/2 cups of dressing

1/4 c raw sunflower seeds, soaked and drained

1/2 c raw cashews, soaked and drained

3/4 c water

1/2 t dijon mustard

1/2 t vegan worcestershire sauce

2 T lemon juice

1 T dulse flakes

1 1/2 T nutritional yeast

1/2 T miso

1 large clove garlic

1/8 t white pepper

3/4 t black pepper

1/2 t celery salt

Place the cashews and sunflower seeds into a bowl and cover with water.  Soak for an hour, then drain.  

In a high speed blender, add the cashews, sunflower seeds, water, mustard, worcestershire sauce, dulse, nutritional yeast, miso, garlic, pepper, and celery salt.  Blend until smooth.

Assemble your favorite salad ingredients in a large bowl and toss with as much dressing as you would like.

Baja Style Tofu Tacos

These turned out really yummy.  Most baja style tacos are made with fish.  The texture of tofu, and tossing it in lime juice and rice vinegar, makes it a great substitute for fish.   

Baja Style Tofu Tacos

1 package extra firm tofu, pressed (see instructions below) and cut into 1/2 inch cubes

2 T seasoned rice vinegar

2 T lime juice

1 T canola oil

10 oz shredded cabbage

1/2 cup chopped sweet pepper

1/2 cup frozen sweet corn

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

2 green onions, chopped including tops

1/2 cup Veganaise

1 t. diced chipolte in adobo sauce

12 small corn tortillas

Sriracha sauce 

My tofu method

Fold a kitchen towel several times until there is enough towel to cover the bottom and top of a tofu block.  Place the towel on a plate, place the tofu on one half of the towel, fold the other half of the towel over the tofu, place a small cutting board on top, and weight it down with a heavy pan or pan filled with water.

Drain the tofu for 4-6 hours or even overnight in the refrigerator.  

Preheat oven to 350.  Cut the drained tofu into 1/2 inch pieces.  In a 9 x 13 inch baking dish, mix together the rice vinegar, lime juice, and canola oil.  Add the tofu and toss.  Bake for 20 minutes, then stir and bake for 10 more minutes.  Remove from the oven.

Tofu should be lightly browned.

While the tofu is cooking, mix the cabbage, pepper, corn, cilantro, and scallions.

There is more than enough cabbage mix for 12 tacos, so toss the extra with cilantro lime dressing for a side dish later in the week.

In a small dish, mix together the Veganaise and chipolte in adobo.

Warm a tortilla, add a little sauce, a little tofu, some cabbage mix, and top with Sriracha if you would like.

Vegan Puttanesca Sauce

I was looking for a simple dinner using kalamata olives and capers that I had in my fridge that needed to get used.  Non-vegetarian Puttanesca recipes I looked at use anchovies, but dulse flakes are a good substitute for the salty fishy flavor.  This sauce takes about 10 minutes of prep and less than 10 minutes to cook.  Very easy.

Vegan Puttanesca
28 oz can of diced tomatoes (try to use BPA free)
1/2 cup chopped parsley, loosely packed
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 t. red pepper flakes (or more if you like spice)
2 T drained capers
1/2 cup chopped kalamata olives
1/2 t. dulse
1 T olive oil
3/4 pound of your favorite gluten free pasta cooked to al dente (I did not salt the pasta water since there are salty ingredients in the sauce)

Add the olive oil to a pan heated to medium low.  Add the pepper flakes and garlic and cook for 30 seconds.  Add the dulse and cook for another 30 seconds.  Turn the heat up to medium.

Add the tomatoes, olives, parsley, and capers and mix well.

You may need to turn the heat up a little past medium to get the sauce heated through.  Cook for 5 minutes.

Add the pasta to the sauce and mix well.  Continue cooking for another minute until the pasta is heated through.  Add salt and pepper if needed.

Strawberry Banana Smoothie

This smoothie is so simple, I wasn't even sure that it should be a blog post.  But it's so yummy that my son never says no when I ask him if he wants one.  Smoothies can be made with any fruit you like, use a banana as a base, your favorite non-dairy milk,  then add whatever frozen fruit you like.  Using frozen fruit instead of ice gives smoothies great texture.  Also, frozen fruit seems to blend better than ice and you won't have little ice chunks.  I have a Vita Mix blender, which works amazing.  If you have a slower speed blender that doesn't work great, try to thaw the frozen fruit slightly before blending, but don't thaw it all the way.

Strawberry Banana Smoothie

Makes 2 cups

1 medium banana

1 heaping cup of frozen organic strawberries

1 c vanilla coconut milk

OR to control the amount of sugar:

1 medium banana

1 heaping cup of frozen organic strawberries

1 c unsweetened coconut milk

splash of vanilla

sweetener of your choice (agave, honey, etc) to taste

Add the banana, strawberries, coconut milk, vanilla, and sweetener to the blender and blend until the strawberries are smooth.  Taste and add more sweetener if necessary. If you use sweetened, vanilla coconut milk, omit the vanilla and sweetener.