Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients 12 Medjool dates, pitted and chopped (about 1-1/2 cups or 8 ounces)
1 cup non-dairy milk
1-½ cups old fashioned rolled oats
¾ cup millet
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
½ cup applesauce
1 teaspoon lemon zest, packed
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (if frozen, do not thaw first)
½ cup roughly chopped walnuts

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350. In a small bowl, cover the chopped dates with the non-dairy milk and set aside (so the dates may soften).

2. Grind oats and millet into a flour in your blender (a high-speed blender will do a finer job) and place into a mixing bowl. Add the baking powder and cardamom to this and stir with a fork.

3. Place the dates and non-dairy milk into a blender and blend until smooth. Add this date mixture to the bowl of dry ingredients along with the applesauce and lemon zest, and mix with a spoon until all the dry ingredients have disappeared.

4. Gently fold in the blueberries and chopped walnuts. Spoon the batter into a silicone muffin pan or parchment muffin papers in a metal pan, filling each muffin cup about 3/4 full. (Since the batter has no oil, I have found that regular cupcake papers tend to stick to the muffins).

5. Bake for 30 minutes. The muffins will be done when the tops have begun to brown and cracks appear, and when a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for at least 15 to 20 minutes before removing.

Preparation: 30 minutes
Cooking: 30 minutes
Makes: 1 dozen muffins


Recipe from:  http://www.straightupfood.com/blog/2013/10/04/blueberry-muffins/

Chef AJ's Yummy Sauce

Ingredients:
1 - 15 ounce can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained (or 1.5 cups of cooked beans)
Juice and zest of one organic lemon (if the lemon does not yield 1/4 of a cup of juice, then add more lemon juice)
1/2 cup water
2 Tablespoons salt-free mustard (I use Westbrae Stoneground)
3/4 ounce pitted dates (approximately 3 deglet noor dates)
1 clove garlic

Preparation:
Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. If you are using a high-powered blender, you can make this sauce warm to serve over rice and veggies. It is also delicious cold massaged into shredded cabbage for "Yummy Slaw".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5uz-VWtM9Q

Chef AJ’s Red Lentil Chili

Ingredients:

2 14.5-ounce cans salt-free diced tomatoes (fire roasted preferred)

1 6-ounce can salt-free tomato paste
1 pound red bell pepper, (approximately 2 large),
8 cloves garlic
3 ounces of pitted dates (approximately 12 Deglet Noor dates or 6 Medjool)
4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

7 cups water (heated) (if using the crockpot you don’t need to heat it)

10 ounces chopped onion (approximately one large)
1 pound red lentils
1-1⁄2 tablespoons dried parsley
1-1⁄2 tablespoons dried oregano
1-1⁄2 tablespoons salt-free chili powder
2 teaspoons smoked paprika (different than regular paprika)
1⁄2 teaspoon chipotle chili powder (or more to taste)
1⁄4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (or more to taste) (I actually leave this out as I don’t like spicy and let people add this or hot sauce to their bowl)
scallions (for topping at the end)

Preparation:  place canned tomatoes, tomato paste, red bell peppers, garlic, dates, and apple cider vinegar in Vitamix and blend until smooth.

In Instant Pot, put in 7 cups of water, onions, red lentils, mixture from the Vitamix, and all the spices.  (I don’t stir this until it’s finished cooking) Cook for 10 minutes at high pressure.  You can either use manual release or natural release.

If using a crock pot:  Put in water, onions, red lentils, mixture from Vitamix, and spices.  Stir and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

This chili can be served over a baked potato, brown rice, or quinoa.  You can top it with the chopped scallions and sprinkle on some vegan Parmesan that you can make yourself or buy already made (Parma! makes a good one).  

Enjoy!

 

Link to the YouTube video Chef AJ made:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOfxvkqjIS4

 

 

Engine 2 Meatloaf

Ingredients:

2 stalks celery, chopped

½ onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

10 ounces firm tofu, drained (I just used a whole package)

¼ cup walnuts, finely ground

1-1/2 cups cooked brown lentils OR 1 package of vegan crumbles

1 ¼ cups quick-cooking oats

3 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons ketchup (additional for topping)

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons dried parsley

½ teaspoon each thyme, sage, and rosemary

Ketchup, to taste

Instructions:

Pre-heat oven to 350

Spray loaf pan (or use non-stick silicone bake-ware)

Sauté celery, onion and garlic on high heat in skillet with a little water or low sodium vegetable broth for 5 minutes until tender.

Remove from heat and cool.

Mash tofu in large bowl.

Stir in cooked mixture and remaining ingredients, and combine well.

Spoon mixture into loaf pan. Top with a layer of ketchup.

Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Recipe:  http://engine2diet.com/recipe/lynns-meatloaf/

 

 

 

 

Barbecue Beans and Greens

This was so yummy and filling.  I listed it as a side, but I pretty much made it my meal I ate so much!
This is from the Forks Over Knives web site: 
http://www.forksoverknives.com/recipes/bbq-beans-greens/

INGREDIENTS:

water to sauté
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 entire bunch of greens (kale, chard, collards), chopped into bite-size pieces
1 can cooked pinto beans (or 1-½ cups), drained and rinsed
1 can cooked white beans (cannellini or white Northern) (or 1-½ cups), drained/rinsed

FOR THE SAUCE:

¾ cups water
5 dates, pitted and chopped
1 can (6-ounce) of tomato paste
1 can (8-ounce) of chunked pineapple, including juice (in juice, not corn syrup), or ½ cup each of juice and diced pineapple
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon granulated onion
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1 teaspoon ground paprika (plain or smoky flavor)
 

Instructions:

Place the pitted and chopped dates into a blender with the ¾ cups water to soften.

In a large soup pot or skillet, sauté the onion in a tablespoon or two of water, just enough so that it does not stick, for 2 minutes until soft. Turn heat to medium-low, and add the chopped greens and beans, and cook for a 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In the blender, add to the water and dates: the tomato paste, pineapple and juice, apple cider vinegar, mustard, granulated onion and garlic, and paprika. Blend until smooth, about 30 seconds.

Add the sauce to the pot of onions, beans and greens, and stir until evenly mixed. Cook on low for 5 to 10 minutes to incorporate the flavors, then serve.

Chef’s notes:

Spice it up: If you like a hot and spicy sauce, add ½ to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or other hot-n-spicy blend of your choice.

Baked Beans: You may also transfer the finished recipe into a baking dish for “baked beans.” Bake covered for 30 minutes at 375ºF

 

 

RASPBERRY LEMON CHIA PUDDING

This recipe was found on Esther's Kitchen FB page  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Esthers-Kitchen/322435514572629

 by Esther's Executive Chef Deb Gleason

 Dip your spoon into this delicious dish and taste the raspberry explosion. Chia seeds are loaded with Omega 3s and fiber and they make awesome Esther Approved pudding possible.

 

 Ingredients:

 1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
 1 cup plant milk (rice, almond, soy etc)
 Juice of 1/2 lemon
 4 large fresh dates (eg Medjool) or 3 Tablespoons maple syrup
 5 Tablespoons chia seeds

 Directions:

 Blend everything except for the chia seeds in a blender or food processor (I used my Vitamix) until smooth. Pour into a bowl, stir in the chia seeds and allow to sit overnight or at least 4 hours in the fridge.

Frittata

I have no idea where I found this recipe.  I'll give credit if I can figure it out.

1 tablespoon olive oil (optional)
6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 bunch of red chard, rough stems removed, chopped well (about 4 cups) OR spinach
2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 pound extra firm tofu
1 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce
1 teaspoon wet mustard (whatever you have)
1/4 teaspoon turmeric (I add a bit more)
several dashes fresh black pepper
1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes (I add a bit more)
salt to taste (I omitted)

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Preheat a large heavy bottomed pan over low-medium heat.  Add oil (or a bit of water) and garlic and cook for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. (add a bit more water as needed if not using oil).  What you're doing is "blonding" the garlic; it's ready when it's turned a light amber color.

Add chard or spinach, oregano, and turn heat up to medium high (add mushrooms here if using).  Sautee for about 5 min., until chard/spinach completely wilted.  Add splashes of water if needed to get chard/spinach to cook down.  Turn heat off.

While the chard is cooking, prepare your frittata base.  Give the tofu a squeeze over the sink to remove a little of the water.  Use your hands to crumble and squeeze it in a large mixing bowl, until it has the consistency of ricotta cheese (about 3 min).  Add the remaining ingredients to the tofu and mix well.  When your chard is ready, incorporate it into the tofu.  Be sure to get all of the garlic, but if there is any moisture in the pan try to avoid adding it to the tofu.  (Add sundried tomatoes to the mixture if you desire)

Lightly grease an 8-inch pie plate and firmly press in your frittata mixture.  Bake for 20 minutes until firm and lightly browned on top.  Let cool for 3 minutes and then invert onto a plate and serve.

NOTES:  You can add mushrooms to the chard/spinach when it is cooking.  You can add in some sundried tomatoes to the tofu mixture if desired.