Double Whammy Ginger Cookies

These are the best ginger cookies I've ever had. This year I doubled the recipe and gave them out as Christmas gifts to our staff. Everyone loved them!

perfect holiday cookie (but good anytime of the year)

2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp sea salt
2/3 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup molasses
1/2 coconut oil or sunflower oil
1/3 cup minced fresh ginger root
sugar

Whisk together dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients. Mix.
Roll dough into small balls, then roll in sugar to coat before placing on cookie sheet.
Bake 350° for 10 minutes.

Sesame Noodles

I got this recipe from Jae Steele's book Ripe from around here. It's actually called Spring Sesame Noodles, but it can be altered to be made all year round. I usually cut down on the tahini and add a bunch of extra veggies.

you can replace the  fiddleheads with any veggie (broccoli, brussel sprouts, etc.)

Sesame Noodles with red pepper & yellow zucchini served with  Ginger Glazed Carrots and a spring roll

Banana Pancakes

I made these for Levi's 1st birthday. He loved them! They're super easy to make, and they're delicious. I hope to continue to make them a Saturday morning tradition...

banana pancakes served with fresh fruit

Banana Pancakes recipe from Jae Steele's Get it Ripe cookbook

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble

I had a whole bunch of strawberries that needed to be used, and a bag of rhubarb from my moms garden in the freezer (plus I have a sweet-tooth) so this turned out to be the perfect recipe.

strawberry rhubarb crumble - yum

recipe from Jae Steele's Get it Ripe Cookbook

I think there's a typo in the fruit bottom ingredients; it calls for one cup of sugar but doesn't mention it in the preperations, so I just sprinkled the fruit with a bit of sugar, but it doesn't really need it since there's 3/4 cup sugar in the topping.

Quinoa Tabouleh

Quinoa Tabouleh makes an awesome side salad for lunch or dinner. I usually use the suggested cucumber, but since I didn't have one in the fridge, I replaced it with celery. It makes a nice big batch, so there's plenty left over.

fresh herbs from our garden

left over Quinoa Tabouleh

recipe from Jae Steele's Get it Ripe Cookbook

Fettuccini No-Fredo

An awesome take on Pasta Alfredo. It can be a bit heavy on its own, so to lighten it up we add veggies (you can boil them with the pasta, or fry them with the sauce) and cut down on the tahini (1/4 to 1/2 cup instead of 3/4 cup).

Fettuccini No-Fredo with broccoli, mushrooms & green onions

Fettuccini No-Fredo from Jae Steele's Get it Ripe Cookbook

Coconut Cauliflower Chana

This is a great recipe to make when you have lots of veggies in the fridge. I didn't have any cauliflower when I made it this time, so I substituted with zucchini. Chick peas are good source of protein. I've been told if you rinse them before cooking they'll give you less gas (not sure if that's true, but worth the rinse!). I usually omit the shredded coconut since I haven't found any non-sweetened kinds that I like. If I don't have any cilantro on hand, I'll substitute with parsley. This recipe calls for 1-2 tbsps of curry powder... I think 1 is enough, otherwise it tastes powdery.

Served over rice, with fake chicken from Yuan, and a spring roll & mango chutney

Coconut Cauliflower Chana from Jae Steele's Get it Ripe cookbook

Vegan Apple Crumble

Here's one of my favorite recipes from my #1 vegan cookbook Get it Ripe by Jae Steele. Quick, easy and delicious! Best time to make it is autumn with fresh apples, but it's so good I make it all year round.

Get it Ripe by Jae Steele available at Luna Yoga

Get it Ripe by Jae Steele available at Luna Yoga

Cowgrrrl Cookies

Awesome vegan cookies... People ask me for this recipe often. You can make them with chocolate chips or raisins, or both. If I don't have applesauce on hand (or if the dough turns out a bit dry) I'll use soy or almond milk.

One of the best parts of this recipe is that it makes a lot of cookies, so you can freeze half of them and then when you want them you just put them on a cookie sheet and pop them in the oven (great for when you have lots of hungry musicians coming through your home).

vegan chocolate chips from Viva Vegan Store

second batch for the freezer

from Jae Steele's Get it Ripe cookbook

Butternut Squash Risotto

Here's a nice recipe for when you feel like spending a little more time in the kitchen. I always find cooking grounding, especially when making risotto... the constant stirring is a meditation of its own.

I usually add some veggies when making this recipe, in this one I added broccoli, tomatos and mushrooms. I used traditional Arborio Italian rice instead of the suggested brown rice.

butternut risotto with spinach salad and spring roll

recipe from Get it Ripe by Jae Steele available at Luna Yoga

Vegan Brunch

Jason makes an awesome brunch. Usually he does it with tofu scramble, but we didn't have any tofu when we put this one together, so here's what we came up with...

spicy veggie sausage, baked beans, homefries, mango

we got these at Rachelle-Bery, but you can also get beans in maple syrup at the depanneur

spicy veggie sausage from Rachelle-Bery

home sweet homefries

recipe from Jae Steele's Ripe from Around Here vegan cookbook

Dragon Bowl

One of our favorite meals. It's quick to make and super versatile. We switch from using quinoa, couscous or rice, with whatever veggies we have in the fridge. If it's cold outside we'll fry/roast/boil some onions, carrots, zuccini, sweet potato and layer it with kale/spinach (grain, then greens, then veggies, topped with sauce), and if it's warm out, we'll go more raw with shredded carrots, beets, peppers, bok choy, and occasionally some fried tofu or tempeh. You can pretty much put this sauce over anything. I often cook by color, making sure I have a combination of reds, yellows, greens, etc.

On the side, we'll have brussel sprouts, dumplings, spring rolls, or Jason likes fake ginger chicken from Yuan.

we like to rate recipes... this one got a 12 on 10

Dragon Bowl served with red quinoa and dumplings

Dragon Bowl recipe from Jae Steele's Ripe from Around Here vegan cookbook

Vegan Challenge

A little while ago I wrote a blog about a documentary called Vegucated, I liked it so much I decided to screen it at the studio. It's a "feature-length documentary that follows three meat- and cheese-loving New Yorkers who agree to adopt a vegan diet for six weeks". To follow up the movie, Frances (one of our lovely Jivamukti teachers) suggested we host a vegan challenge of our own. I thought it was an amazing idea... We invited as many vegan/vegetarian friendly businesses to get involved and created a fun filled Vegan Challenge for the month of June, 2012.

As part of my duties I will be posting vegan recipes daily on my blog throughout the month of June. Most will be tried and tested by myself & family, with a couple recipes submitted by our generous sponsors.

Good luck to all those who are taking the challenge! 

Vegan Challenge
June 1st-30th, 2012
In honor of the Vegucated screening, we will be holding a vegan challenge throughout the month of June. If you’ve ever considered being vegan, here’s your chance to be part of a group exploring the realities of veganism, and debunking the myths.
The month will include:
- Unlimited yoga for the month of June at Luna Yoga
- A Screening of Vegucated
- Get it Ripe vegan cookbook
- A guided trip to the grocery store
- Discounts on local vegan restaurants and shops,
- Daily recipes (posted on Jennifer’s blog)
- A vegan cooking course
- Weekly gatherings 
June 1st-30th
Cost: $100
Take the challenge

Vegan Challenge participants will also receive discounts from Crudessence, Green Panther & lole, samples from Tonic, Rise Kombucha & Cocos Pure, 2 week gift membership from My Yoga Online, and 25% off at the Yoga Festival Montreal 

Thanks to all our sponsors for their generosity! 
Please feel free to add your comments, feedback and questions

Sample Veggie Brunch

People often tell me they'd like to eat more vegetarian meals but don't know where to start. Here's a delicious veggie brunch Jason put together last weekend...

Tofu Scram from Jae Steele's cookbook

Baked beans in maple syrup (from a can)

Bavarian Veggie Sausage (St Yves)

Baked Potatoes with garlic and herbs

Bon Appetit!

Happiness is Healthiness

A couple of years ago I read a review about a vegan cookbook called Get It Ripe. I told Jason about it, and soon after he gave it to me for our 12 year anniversary (I know, it's been a while!). I fell in love with it right away; it's written by a local woman (Jae Steele), it's vegan (with lots of gluten, sugar, and dairy substitutes), and most of all Jae feels like someone I can really relate to, she is passionate about her work, and she seems to be doing a lot of it herself.

The first 100 pages of the cookbook talks about everything from vitamins and nutrients, to eating locally and organically. Usually I skip the intros to cookbooks and go straight to the recipes, but I thoroughly read and enjoyed this one.

The recipes are super tasty. I've cooked with them for many friends and family members, vegetarians and meat-eaters both love them! I've never had so many requests for recipes before. I liked it so much I started selling the books at our studio, and giving them as gifts. My Mom has been using it to cook for my Dad and Grandmother (who are both very traditional, old-school foodies). At first she tried to sneak in the tofu, telling my Grandmother it was chicken, but she knew something was up. Oma's favorite meal used to be meat & potatoes, now it's portobello mushroom burgers!

Even the baked goods are amazing, and that says a lot. Vegan desserts have a reputation for being dry, crumbly, and tasteless. Jae's Cowgrrrl Cookies are my nephews favorite, and some friends called us last week to say their son, who had been sick, was smiling after eating the Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins Jason had brought over.

After cooking many delicious meals from her book, I looked up Jae's contact info, and sent her an email inviting her to the studio... after some time, she accepted, and is now coming to give a workshop Happiness is Healthiness and promote her new book Ripe from Around Here next week!

Although we are friends on facebook, I've never met Jae Steele. I love to cook, I love good food, and I definitely think healthiness plays a huge role in our happiness, so I'm super excited to meet Jae, take her workshop, and get a copy of her new cookbook! Hope you can join us.

Here are some of our favorite recipes from Get It Ripe:
Sesame Miso Dressing, Perfect Peanut Sauce, Simple Dal, Coconut Cauliflower Chana, Barbecue-Baked Tofu with Mushrooms and Bell Peppers, The Good Shepherd's Pie, Double-Whammy Ginger Cookies

Happiness is Healthiness
Thursday June 3, 7:30-9:30pm @ Centre Luna Yoga
$45 (includes a copy of Jae's new cookbook Ripe from around Here)
info & registration

Veggie Scraps turned Veggie Stock

During the summers Jason and I compost all our kitchen scraps in our outdoor compost bin. By the end of the summer, the bin is full, and as winter sets in, it is difficult to get to, so we stop composting for the season. I have been feeling so guilty every time we throw kitchen scraps in the garbage (unfortunately the fruits and veggies won't turn into compost in the garbage dump due to lack of oxygen, and being mixed with battery acid, diapers, plastic, etc). I've been meaning to start worm composting indoors, but have yet to get around to making the space and buying a box (I also feel there's no way a small bin is going to be able to handle all the veggie scraps we create!). After chatting with Tara (one of our lovely receptionists) about it, she suggested we save all our scraps in the freezer and when I have enough, turn it into veggie stock... brilliant!

Since I'm home sick today, and veggie stock seems to be one of the only things I've been able to eat, I figured now was the perfect time to test it out. I checked out Jae Steele's Get it Ripe cookbook for a recipe, dumped everything into a pot and let it simmer... super easy! In the meantime I decided to try the Immune Boast Juice... I clearly don't have the right blender, as this turned into more of a meal rather than a juice (probably not the right thing for my upset belly anyway).

The veggie stock turned out amazing! I feel proud to have made it from scratch and am excited to use it in recipes. After watching the movie Food Inc on the weekend, I feel extra inspired to try new food options, start worm composting, and go a little more out of my way to buy local & organic. If you haven't already seen this movie, I highly recommend it!

One of Jason's friends once painted me a picture of a pig for my birthday. When he gave it to me, he said it made him think of me because it was wholesome. Although I was skeptical at first, I still feel like it was an amazing compliment.