Almost Ice Cream

Try this one out! Turkey Legs was a huge fan of the blueberry flavor I made him today.

bag of frozen fruit
a few dates
milk of choice

Throw the fruit, dates and a little milk in the food processor and process. Don't add too much milk or it turns into a smoothie; just enough to get the processor to work. It should be thick enough to put in a bowl and eat with a spoon. I've tried blueberry, strawberry, and peach so far. I'm excited to try banana and pineapple. The blueberry was the best so far! Have fun experimenting!

Creamy Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

Here's another one from the book The Vegetarian Family Cookbook that the Silly Witch gave me for Christmas. It's really tasty and even my husband Turkey Legs complimented me on it! That was a shock! It's definitely light so make it a first course and serve it with a salad and something of more substance like a healthy casserole or pasta dish.

1 large butternut squash
2 tablespoon oil
1 large red oinion, chopped
4 cups peeled, diced apply, any cooking variety
4 cups vegetable broth
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 cups milk of choice
salt and pepper to taste

Cook the squash in the oven at 400 degrees for 50 minutes or until tender. Saute onion in oil for 8-10 minutes. Add apples, broth, and spices. Bring to a simmer, then cover and simmer until apples are tender, about 10 minutes. Puree squash with 1/2 cup of milk. Puree apple mixture in separate pan. Add squash mixture to apple mixture. At this point, decide how creamy you want it and add milk to desired consistency. I didn't add any more milk because mine would have been runny. I'm assuming using a bigger squash will make it thicker.

Yummy Smoothies

This is a smoothie I tried from Dr. Fuhrman. You will never believe how good this is!!! I couldn't believe it. Give it a try even if it seems a little weird!

1 bag of spinach
1 bag frozen blueberries
a couple of tablespoons flaxmeal
a few dates
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
soymilk (I used vanilla, I think he uses unsweetened)
a banana (I actually put in two because I was unsure how it would taste, I think one would be just fine though)

Put it all in a food processor and blend til smooth. It's so good. I made this drink because I was so sick of eating salad, but I still needed to eat some greens that day. Next time I do it, I'm going to soften the dates by putting them in a little water and boiling it for a few minutes and then pureeing them first. This way I won't have so many chunks of dates in it. It was hard to drink with a straw with the date pieces.

Here's another one I haven't tried yet:

spinach
kiwi
avocado
pineapple banana

I hope to try it soon, but if you do first let me know how it tastes.

Meal Time is Important!

On New Years Day I had the opportunity to eat dinner with my twin sister and little brother. We made a yummy stir fry with tofu. The recipe is from the Betty Crocker Cookbook that my mom got me for Chistmas. (This book has everything!) It was an especially fun dinner meal because my sister sent me some Japanese place setting and table runner. So we ate our stir fry with chopsticks!

Here is the recipe and some other pictures from the meal!






Happy New Year!

Silken Peanut Spread

The Silly Witch gave me a great cookbook for Christmas, The Vegetarian Family Cookbook by Nava Atlas. It has some great recipes and I'm excited to try them. This one is so good. It give you the consistency of the unhealthy peanut butter in the stores but is much better for you!

3/4 cup Natural-style peanut butter
3/4 cup silken tofu
2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey

Process until smooth. Transfer to airtight content. Keep 2 weeks in the fridge! Yummy! I love how this spreads on the sandwich or with apple slices!

Potato Carrot Kugel

From The New Laurel's Kitchen cookbook. My WHOLE family loved this!

1 onion, chopped
2 tablespoons oil
1 clove garlic, pressed or minced
3/4 cup vegetable stock or water
1 cup grated carrots or 2 cups winter squash
3 grated potatoes
2 beaten eggs (this recipe works with 1 egg as well)
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup wheat germ
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons salt (I cut the salt in half)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Saute onion in oil (I actually used vegetable broth) until well done, and add garlic. Add stock, carrots, and potatoes and cook for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in eggs. Mix together the flour, wheat germ, baking powder, and seasonings and add to vegetables. Pour into a greased baking dish and bake fro 1 hour. Serves 4 to 6.

Prudence's Pancakes

Mix together:
1 c. whole wheat flour (freshly ground)
1 T. sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

In seperate bowl add:
3/4 c. milk or soy milk (add more if you like your pancakes a little flatter)
1 egg
1 T. safflower oil
1 grated apple
1/2 c. fresh or frozen blueberries (I add more, I love them!)
1/2-3/4 c. finely chopped pecans (food processor)

Stir together the wet and dry ingredients until just moistened. Cook
on griddle. Yum, Yum!
(I double this recipe for my family).