Amazing spinach dip

My favorite spinach dip

1 Box frozen spinach, chopped
1 Can water chestnuts, chopped
1 C Tofutti Sour Supreme-Better than Sour Cream
1 C Vegannaise
1 1.8 oz package dried leek soup (or if you can't find vegan leek soup, there are vegan onion dried mixes)

Thaw spinach, combine all ingredients, mix, refrigerate and served in a hollowed-out sour dough bowl with veggies and crackers. It's great like this, or you can add chopped artichokes too.

We don't miss meat at all

I'm not kidding! Tonight we had Garlic Maple Portobello Burgers that were so easy to make and to die for!! Of course, we skipped the cheese...
Here's the recipe, and a note about maple syrup:

When it comes to pure Maple Syrup, Grade B in no way denotes inferiority. The "B" stands for Black Amber, and indicates the syrup was made from sap tapped late in the maple sugaring season. Grade B maple syrup has a deeper color and more robust, complex maple flavor than the lighter grades, which makes it perfect for incorporating into savory recipes.

As a key ingredient in the marinade for these vegetarian portobello burgers, Grade B maple syrup provides a hint of earthy sweetness to balance the sharp garlic and salty tamari. Sweet potato friesmake a great accompaniment.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Yield: Serves 4.

Ingredients:

• 4 large portobello mushrooms, stems removed.
• For the marinade:
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons pure Grade B maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon tamari
• 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
• 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
• To assemble:
• 4 ciabatta rolls or whole-wheat burger buns, split
• 4 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 2 ounces aged sharp white cheddar, sliced
• 1 small avocado, peeled, pitted, and sliced
• 1 medium tomato, sliced

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 425º.

Lightly oil a medium roasting pan or baking dish large enough to hold the mushroom caps without crowding.

Gently clean the mushrooms with a brush or damp paper towel. Place them gill-side up into the baking dish.

Whisk together the oil, syrup, tamari, and vinegar. Stir in the garlic.

Spoon the marinade evenly over the mushroom caps, topping each with some of the garlic. Allow the mushrooms to marinate at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes. (This is a good time to prep the sandwich fixings if you haven't already).

Place the baking dish with the mushrooms and marinade into the preheated oven and roast for about 15 minutes, or until the mushrooms are cooked through and appear juicy and sizzling.

While the mushrooms are roasting, spread the ciabatta or burger rolls with Dijon mustard. Divide the cheese evenly among the rolls. (If you prefer toasted rolls and melted cheese, place them on a baking sheet and pop them in the oven during the last few minutes that the mushrooms cook.)

Remove the mushrooms and rolls from the oven. Layer each roll with avocado, tomato slices, and a portobello cap. Enjoy!

Adorable video of baby pig getting a warm-up bath!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAipJYYqDqw&feature=player_embedded

Banana Almond Pancakes - Vegan and Gluten Free

Yay! I made these babies up, from a combination of several recipes, and what I had in the fridge...and they turned out yummy! REALLY yummy! So I am motivated to blog again :)

I've been trying to avoid wheat per my doctor's orders, and am finding that I feel ALOT better, and it's not that hard! I didn't realize just how much wheat I had in my diet everyday, it was a lot. If you eat too much of one thing, you can develop an allergy to it, and if you cut it out for awhile, you may be able to add it back in in moderation later. So for now, I am avoiding it, and we are getting a better variety of whole grains, and more vegetables in our diet after cutting out some of the breads and wheat fillers. There are a lot of delicious alternatives to wheat products out there too. Some of my current faves are:

-Food for Life gluten-free bread, Millet

-Edward and Sons crackers, Brown Rice Snaps in Tamari Sesame

-Bionaturae pasta (pasta! it's really good too!) Organic Gluten Free made with rice, potato and soy

Oh yeah, back to the pancakes!

Here's the recipe:

Almond Banana Pancakes – Vegan and Gluten Free

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten-free All Purpose flour
• 1/4 cup Sucanat, or any granulated sugar
• 1 tsp ground flax 
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• about 1 1/3 to 1 1/2 cups Almond Milk
• 1 tbsp Safflower oil
• 1/2 cup almond butter (i used home-made)
• 1 medium sized banana- thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp Braggs Apple Cider vinegar
• coconut oil or vegan margarine for cooking

Directions:

Mix flours, sugar, ground flax, baking powder and salt together in large mixing bowl. Add 1 cup almond milk, almond butter and safflower oil and stir until well combined. Stir in sliced banana pieces, sort of smashing them into the batter as you stir. I left quite a few chunks in mine. Next add your vinegar and about 1/3 cup more almond milk until a batter consistency is reached. You may need more or less milk depending on how thick your almond butter is… and on your preference for batter thickness. I don't like too-thick pancakes, I like them so thin they form a crispy edge!
I use an electric griddle on about 325 F, and ladle the batter out to make sure each pancake has banana in it. Enjoy!

Note: To make your own delicious almond butter, just put a couple of cups of organic almonds into a food processor and process until smooth. It will take around 12 minutes, but it is so easy and you only have to scrape the sides a few times during the process. Make sure you process until the oil is released, you will know when it gets really creamy and looks like a butter! Store in airtight container in the fridge. Some people soak and re-hydrate the almonds first, and I think I read that it is healthier to do this...but I need to research this some more. In the mean time, it's still fresher and cheaper than store-bought almond butter.