Vegan Meatballs with Pasta & Tomato Sauce

This was my first ever attempt at making Meatballs. I was so excited to get a copy of Sharon Gannon's new cookbook Simple Recipes for Joy that I decided to dive right in and try something completely new. They turned out extremely flavorful and the perfect consistency (I feared dry and crumbly). I served them on brown rice pasta with a delicious tomato sauce recipe also from Simple Recipes for Joy. I'm only two recipes in, but so far I'm loving Sharon's new book and excited to try out some more recipes!

Spaghetti and "Meat" Balls
1/4 cup oatmeal
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/8 cup rice flour
1 tsp nutritional yeast
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1 tbsp oregano, basil
1 tsp onion powder, dry mustard, chili powder, paprika, garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt, pepper
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup cooked green lentils
1/2 cup cooked brown rice
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp tamari
1 tbsp veg stock in 1/4 cup boiling water
1 tbsp molasses (I omitted the molasses since I didn't have any on hand)
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp balsamic vinager
1 tsp vegan worcestershire sauce
6 mushrooms, sliced thinly
pasta
tomato sauce

Place dry ingredients and spices in bowl. Mix and pour into food processor. Add remaining ingredients. Transfer to bowl. Using your hands, for the mixture into small balls, approximately 1 inch in diameter. Bake 15-20 mins. Serve over your favorite pasta & sauce.
Note: This is a condensed version of Sharon's recipe. Check out Simple Recipes for Joy cookbook for the full version (with extra notes). 

Don't miss Master Class and Book Launch with Sharon Gannon in Montreal, November 1st, 2014! She's one of my favorte teachers and an inspiring woman...
Sharon Gannon is a 21st-century Renaissance woman, an animal rights and vegan activist and a world-renowned yogini, perhaps best known as the founder, along with David Life, of the Jivamukti Yoga Method. She is also an accomplished writer, dancer, painter, musician and chef. Sharon has devoted many years exploring the role of diet in promoting physical, emotional and mental well-being as well as spiritual development. She lives in a 125-acre wild forest sanctuary in Woodstock, NY. from Blogger http://ift.tt/1wKsX1j via IFTTT

Vegan Banana Carrot Muffins

As a kid I always loved baking and helping out in the kitchen, and I'm so happy that our son Levi feels the same way. As soon as he found out I was making muffins he wanted to help out! Since we had a whole bunch of old bananas in the freezer that needed to be used, I looked up vegan recipes that had lots of bananas but were more than just a banana muffin (as much as I like banana muffins, we were in need of a change). I came across this amazing recipe.

As much as we can, we try to buy organic. I was happy to find these organic oats at Provigo.

We pretty much followed the recipe, only changing the Whole Wheat Flour for organic Kamut (I find it a bit lighter), and replaced the Almond Milk with a sample of Coconut Milk I had been given from So Delicious at the Wanderlust Festival. They turned out moist and delicious!

Levi waited patiently to lick the spoon after we finished filling the muffin tray.

Vegan Banana Carrot Muffins.

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder pinch of salt
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup light brown sugar
3 medium bananas, mashed
1/2 cup carrots, grated
1/2 cup almond milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup rolled oats

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a large bowl, mash the bananas until only a few chunks remain. Add the vanilla and almond milk and mix with a fork. Whisk in the brown sugar until no clumps remain.

In a medium bowl, sift the dry ingredients. Fold into the banana mixture about half a cup at a time.

Add the oats and grated carrots, lightly folding until fully incorporated. 

Put batter into muffin tins or ramekins, filling only about 3/4 of the way.

Bake for about 30 minutes, or until a fork comes out clean.

Recipe by The Veggielogues

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Speedy Veggie 'n Rice Noodle Bowl with Homemade Teriyaki Sauce

After doing a quick google search for easy vegan recipes, I discovered this one. It's from Oh She Glows by Canadian blogger Angela Liddon. I bought the cookbook for my Mom for Mother's Day, and have been thinking of buying it for myself ever since. It's well put together, easy to read and full of great recipes.

You can mix and match the veggies according to what you have in your fridge and what's in season. Serve with a side salad, or as my husband likes best, with spring rolls and/or mock chicken.

Ingredients:

FOR THE TERIYAKI SAUCE:

4 1/2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons coconut aminos (see note)
1 tablespoon sesame oil
3 to 4 1/2 teaspoons coconut sugar (or granulated sugar of choice), to taste
2 small cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
fresh ground black pepper, to taste

FOR THE NOODLE BOWL:

3 ounces/85g gluten-free brown rice soba noodles (or soba noodles of choice)
1 tablespoon coconut or olive oil
2 1/2 cups broccoli florets, chopped small
3 celery stalks, chopped
3/4 cup shelled frozen edamame
2-3 medium carrots, julienned
2-3 green onions, thinly sliced
1-2 teaspoons sesame seeds, for garnish

Directions:

Prepare the sauce: In a medium bowl, whisk together the sauce ingredients until combined. Set aside.

Bring a medium pot of water to a boil.

For the noodle bowl: Meanwhile, preheat a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add the oil and coat the pan. Add the broccoli florets, celery, and 2 tablespoons of Teriyaki sauce and saute for about 7-9 minutes, reducing heat if necessary.

When the water boils, add the noodles and reduce heat to medium-high. Cook the noodles as instructed on the package directions (about 4-5 minutes for most soba rice noodles). Drain.

Add the frozen edamame and julienned carrots to the skillet and saute another 5 minutes, or until the edamame is heated throughout.

Stir the drained noodles into the stir-fry mixture along with 2/3 of the Teriyaki sauce. Cook for a couple minutes and then serve immediately with a garnish of sliced green onion and sesame seeds.

Store leftovers in a container in the fridge for 1- 2 days. To re-heat leftovers, add them into a skillet with a bit of oil. Pour on the leftover dressing and toss to coat. Heat over medium until heated throughout and serve immediately.

Notes: I used coconut aminos (which is very low in sodium), but feel free to use low-sodium tamari instead. I recommend adding it to taste since it has a higher sodium content than coconut aminos so you might not need as much. To get more servings out of this dish, feel free to add more soba noodles.Soy-free option: Omit the edamame and replace with adzuki beans, chickpeas or another bean of choice. Use coconut aminos instead of tamari.gluten-free option: Use gluten-free soba noodles such as brown rice or buckwheat. Be sure to check the label of your tamari and other ingredients as well.

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Zucchini Banana Muffins

When a friends Mom handed us a bag full of fresh zucchinis from her garden, my first thought was zucchini bread, however since our 3 year old son is in favour of muffins, I went with this recipe instead. They turned out moist, delicious with just the perfect amount of sweet.
Note: the best bananas for baking are the really ripe, mushy ones. Once you see them starting to turn brown, throw them in your freezer (they'll probably turn black), and defrost them when you're ready to start baking.

Ingredients

1. 2 cups shredded zucchini
2. 1 cup mashed ripe banana
3. 1/2 cup applesauce
4. 2 tsp vanilla
5. 3/4 cup sugar
6. 1 1/2 cup flour (I suggest Kamut)
7. 1 tsp cinnamon
8. 1 pinch nutmeg
9. 3/4 tsp baking soda
10. 1/2 tsp salt
11. 1 cup raisins (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees; grease a 12 cup muffin tin
2. Mix the mashed banana, applesauce, sugar and vanilla together in a bowl.
3. Stir in shredded zucchini.
4. Add 1 cup flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt to zucchini mixture and combine.
5. Stir in remaining 1/2 cup of flour and raisins.
6. Scoop into muffin tins at 3/4 full
7. Bake in oven for approximately 20-22 min, or until toothpick inserted comes clean.
8. Cool and enjoy!

Recipe By Tara @ Suburble

Adapted from IsaChandra from the Post Punk Kitchen

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Fresh, green salad

I put this tasty salad together with fresh ingredients from our first Lufa Farms Basket. Then I sprinkled it with Hemp Seeds (Hemp is a high protein seed containing all nine of the essential amino acids) and Nutritional Yeast (It is a source of protein and vitamins, especially the B-complex vitamins, and is a complete protein). It tastes especially good when you have fresh organic produce!

fresh, green salad

boston lettuce

cucumber

endives

green onions

hemp seeds

nutritional yeast

Chop veggies & sprinkle with hemp seeds and nutritional yeast. Serve with your favorite dressing.

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