Chocolate Date Peppermint Shake and Ice Cream

2 cups milk beverage of choice
1 large or 2 small ripe frozen bananas
5-6 medjool
4-5 ice cubes
2 Tbsp. cocoa powder
1/8 tsp. peppermint extract

The Shake:

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until creamy and smooth, about 60-90 seonds.

The Ice Cream:

Follow shake directions and then pour into ice cube trays. Send them through a champion juicer. Add another banana and omit ice cubes for a creamier texture and add another date. Try it will frozen banana ice cream.

Or try it with orange extract or anything other extract. Try freezing coconut milk and running it through the juicer.

From Recipes for Health Bliss

Manzana Chili Verde

1 lb baby Yukon golds or other thick skinned potato, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (I used four medium/small potatoes)
2 T vegetable oil
1 lg yellow onion, cut into small dice
3 jalapeños, seeded and sliced thinly
2 poblano peppers, seeded and chopped into 1-inch pieces (I used bell peppers)
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano (preferably Mexican oregano - I used regular and have no idea what makes the Mexican kind so special)
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup dry white wine (I used white wine vinegar)
1 lb tomatillos (about 10 small to medium ones, I used 8 lg ones)
2 Granny Smith apples, cored, quartered, and sliced thinly
2 cups vegetable broth
1 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro
1/4 cup chopped scallions, plus extra for garnish (I used green onions)
1 (15-ounce) can small white beans, such as navy or cannellini, drained and rinsed (1 1/2 c)
Juice of 1 lime
Avocado slices for garnish

Place the chopped pototoes in a small saucepan, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Let boil, covered, for a little less than 20 minutes, until the potatoes are easily pierced with a fork. Drain and set aside. Of course, you should be preparing everything else while it is boiling.

Preheat a soup pot over medium-high heat. Sauté for 1 more minute, until the garlic is fragrant. Add the white wine and tomatillos, raise the heat a bit to let the wine reduce and tomatillos release their juices, about 5 minutes. Add the apples, vegetable broth, scallions, and 1/2 cup of cilantro. lower the heat to simmer (medium-low), cover, and cook for 20 minutes.

Use an immersion blender to partially puree everything. If you don't have one, then let the mixture cool slightly and transfer to a blender or food processor; pulse until just slightly chunky. Don't forget that if you are using a blender you need to be careful not to have a steam explosion, so pulse quickly and then lift the lid to let steam escape, then pulse again and repeat.

Taste for sweetness/tartness. Tomatillos are sometimes bitter; if that is the case, add a teaspoon or two of sugar and that should level things out. Add the cooked potatoes and the beans, and simmer for a few more minutes, until everything is heated through. Add the remaining cilantro and the lime juice. Ladle into bowls, garnish with avocado and scallions, and serve.

My tomatillos were sweet, so I didn't need to add the sugar and my fingers are burning because of the jalapeño seeds I scooped out (I saw some jalapeño gloves at the Panhandler last time I was there....maybe a worthwhile investment....). I made cornbread to accompany it. It's a really tasty Sunday Chili!

Sometimes you just need pizza...

Actually, my family likes to eat pizza at least once a week.  Since we have this "need," I decided I'd better figure out how to make a healthy pizza, and today I finally nailed it.  It was nutritious and completely delicious.  The recipe is copied from this blog.

Kefir Sourdough Pizza

Makes about 4 small 8" or two to three larger size pizza.

500 gm (1.1 lb) [about 4 cups] whole wheat, spelt or unbleached white flour

Kefir-sourdough starter

1 tsp. sea salt

1/3 cup olive oil

1 cup warm water

Mix well with a strong wooden spoon, ladle or clean bare hands. If the dough is too thick (firm and not sticky), add a small amount of warm water and mix for 2 minutes until the dough is moist and sticky with elasticity. The dough should stick to the fingers when touched and should stretch quite easily (it should be wetter than conventional dough).

For the next step, to stop the dough from sticking to your hands. Wet fingers and palm of hands with olive oil. Pinch off 1/4 of the dough. Make a round ball by rolling the dough in your hands. Place dough in a pre-greased cast iron skillet or pizza pan (OR what I used... big cookie sheet). Press the dough with fingers and stretch an even layer over the bottom of the pan right up to the edges. Form a thickness of no more than about 3/4" thickness. Do this with the rest of the dough in other pans.

(NOTE: I used the whole dough for my pizza in a big cookie sheet. Worked great!)

You can add your toppings on the crust and then let it rise OR you can let it rise than put your toppings on. I put my toppings on after I let it rise, but I don't think one way is better than the other. After you put your toppings on make sure you drizzle olive oil (about 2 Tbsp) over everything, then sprinkle with sea salt and pepper.

Place in a warm spot and leave to rise for about 2 to 6 hours (8 hours is best) until the base almost doubles in height. Bake in a hot oven set to 450 F and bake for 15-20 minutes. To determine if the pizza is ready, lift an edge of the pizza to reveal the base. It should be golden brown.

Our family (except for Bardo) enjoyed sweet onions, red peppers, sliced roma tomatoes, fresh cilantro, and fresh basil.  I sprinkled soy cheese on 3/4 of it and just a little feta on the other 1/4.  The crust turned out amazing using the kefir start I started growing last week.  I'm now a believer in kefir, especially since I can make it with soy milk.  Next time I will put the crust on parchment paper for easier clean-up.

Thick and Hearty Split Pea Soup

this is an amazing soup I found on Fat Free Vegan Kitchen

2 medium onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 carrots, diced
3 ribs celery, chopped
2 cups dried split peas, checked carefully for debris and rinsed
6-8 cups water
2 medium potatoes, coarsely chopped
1 large bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1-2 teaspoons liquid smoke
2 teaspoons salt (or to taste)
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Lightly spray the bottom of a pressure cooker or Dutch oven with canola oil. Sauté the onions for about 5 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan often, until they begin to caramelize. Add the garlic, carrots, and celery and cook for 2 more minutes.

Add the peas to the pot. If you’re using a pressure cooker, add 6 cups of water; forregular cooking, add 8 cups water. Stir in the potatoes, bay leaf, celery seed, basil, and thyme.

For pressure cooking: Seal the cooker and bring to high pressure. Lower heat and cook at high pressure for 6 minutes. Remove from heat and allow the pressure to come down naturally. If beans are not completely cooked, cover loosely and cook (without pressure) until they reach the desired tenderness.

For regular cooking: Bring to a boil, cover, and cook over very low heat for 1 1/2 to 2 hours until peas are soft and disintegrate when stirred.

Add the liquid smoke, salt, and pepper. Check the seasoning and add more herbs if necessary. Cook several minutes uncovered to thicken (or add water to thin). Serve with warm whole-grain bread.

Makes about 8 servings, and tastes even better the next day!

Makes about 8 servings, and tastes even better the next day!

Per serving: 216 Calories (kcal); 1g Total Fat; (2% calories from fat); 13g Protein; 41g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 565mg Sodium; 15g Fiber.

Spiced Butternut Squash Muffins

Ingredients:

(makes 12 muffins)

Dry:

• 1.5 C whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 C cane sugar
• 1/3 C finely ground flaxseed
• 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda

Wet:

• 1 C pureed butternut squash (canned or fresh)
• 1/2 C raisins (or chocolate chips)
• 1/2 C skim milk
• 2 small very ripe bananas, mashed
• 1 egg

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350.

1) In two separate bowls, mix dry, then wet, and then combine, adding wet to dry and stirring gently until the mixture is uniform-ish.

2) Spoon the mixture into a non-stick (or sprayed with PAM) muffin tray. Don’t forget to sprinkle some raw oats on top to make ‘em look pretty!

3) Pop them in the oven for about 25 minutes. Fork check to make sure they are done.

My notes:  I used half an avocado instead of the second banana, wheat germ instead of flax meal, and squirted a little bit of agave into the wet ingredients, and of course used soy milk, oh, and I put vanilla in the wet ingredients, too.  I used the white sugar, but I think I'll just use a few dates next time because they were a teensy bit too sweet.  We put this in the dinosaur pan the Warlock's mom gave our family for Christmas.  They were a huge hit.  This recipe is from this website.

Yams and Apples

This recipe is stolen from my friend Christine's private blog.  It's so good that I will be making it on Thanksgiving.  It's not particularly healthy.  Sorry.

Yams and Apples

6 medium yams

5 golden delicious apples

1 cup sugar

2 cups water

3 Tablespoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon salt

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1 cube of butter

Boil yams and cool.  Place peeled, sliced yams and peeled, sliced apples alternating in casserole dish starting with apples.  Combine remaining ingredients.  Cook until thickened then pour over yams and apples.  Sprinkle with cinnamon.  Bake at 350 degrees for one hour.  *I cut the yams in half and boil them with the skin on.  Allow them to cool for an hour or so, then with a small knife remove the skins and slice. 

Blueberry Corn Pancakes

This recipe is awesome. MY friend has been trying new recipes and this recipe is from a cookbook call Veganomican. I'm definitely getting the book. I think the recipe calls for too much liquid. I reduced the milk to just 1 cup.

3/4 cup all purpose flour (I use whole wheat)

1/2 cup cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons canola oil (I used coconut oil and not that much. I used 2 tablespoons and tripled the recipe.)
1 1/4 cup soy milk
1/3 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (I used lemon extract because I didn't have lemon zest at the moment and it worked well.)
1 cup fresh blueberries
cooking spray or a little oil for greasing the pan

Preheat a large non-stick pan on medium high heat.
Sift together flour, cornmeal, bakig powder and salt. In a separate bowl, combine all other ingredients. Add wet to dry, mix until just combined, then fold in the blueberries. Do not over mix or pancakes will be tough.
Spray pan with cooking spray. Use a 1/4 cup measuring cup or an ice cream scoop to pour ot batter into pan. Cook pancakes until brown on bottom and bubbles form on top, about 4 minutes. Flip pancakes over with a thin spatula and cook until bottoms are brown and pancakes are barely firm to touch. Transfer to plates. Repeat with remaining batter, adding more oil to the pan as needed.