Bagels

I am a huge fan of bagels....but its more of a northern thing. Making my own seems like a good idea when I do go to the few places to get them...I mean $3.25 for a bagel?

Ingredients:

-1 cup warm water
-3 cups unbleached white flour
-2 tablespoons sugar
-1-1/2 teaspoon salt
-1-1/2 teaspoon yeast
-sesame seeds, toasted

Except for sesame seeds, place all ingredients in bread machine and set for normal dough. (You may also add whatever seasoning you'd like for a flavored bagel at this step.) I always put the water on the bottom and the yeast on the top so it will not become immersed in the warm water until the cycle has started.

Let the machine knead once and then turn off the machine and set a timer for 20 minutes.

Cut into eight equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope about 1 inch thick, wet ends and stick together. Transfer to a greased cookie sheet, cover, and let rest for 15 minutes in a warm place.

Fill a wok (or whatever you use) with about three inches of water. Place sugar in this water and bring to a boil. Add bagels for 1 minute, turning them as they boil. Drain. This might seem a but weird but it is what makes the crust harder then the doughy inside.



Return dough to the greased cookie sheet. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds. Bake at 500 degrees F for 7-10 minutes, or until desired browning occurs.

Sugar Scrub

I am a big fan of making your own gifts for people during the holidays. Not only does it really show that you are thinking about them and investing time into their gift, but it also gives you total control over the ingredients.

This year I decided to go for a do it yourself Sugar Scrub. People pay out the nose for these things at Bath and Body and even more for the Christmas addition.

What you need:
1 cup of organic sugar
1 cup of veggie oil
One drop of vitamin E
1-2 drops of essential oil (i picked Cinnamon and Orange because they remind me of Christmas time!)
Glass jars
Ribbon for decoration

Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and blend well. Using a spatula divide it into the jars.

I also made Labels for each of the jars with some cute clip art to explain how to
use it. Tie these on with some of the ribbon.

Thanks Giving- Parsley Potatoes

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pound potatoes
bunch of flat-leaf parsley
2 garlic cloves
2/3 to 1 cup vegetable bouillon
2 tbsp oil
small onion
parmesan
pepper
salt

Grab a bunch of fresh parsley and put it into a food processor or blender. Next take the garlic cloves, coarsely chop and drop in with the parsley. Pour in olive oil with this. Blend this all together. It doesn't have to be smooth, just well mixed.

Set a side and mince a small onion finely. Peel, cube and rinse your potatoes. If you want the parsley mix to sick really well to the potatoes I would pat them down with a clean towel.

In a skillet heat up you parsley oil and onions until translucent. This is really going to bring out the parsley flavor! Add the potato cubes, stir well and give them a few minutes. Mainly to let the parsley really stick to them.

Add about 2/3 cup of the bouillon, 1/2 a tsp salt (depending on how salty the broth is, mine wasn’t) and some pepper. Now simmer the potatoes over low to medium heat for about 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes the liquid will be all gone and the real baking starts. Just stir them now and then for another 10 minutes. They should be done by then.

And there we go! A perfect side dish that is a bit different then traditional mashed potatoes!

Thanks Giving- gravy!

Gravy on top of stuffing! These were my favorite things when I was younger so making a guilt free gravy was a dream come true for me!

Ingredients

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup chopped onion
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons nutritional yeast
4 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 cups vegetable broth
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in flour, nutritional yeast, and soy sauce to form a smooth paste. Gradually whisk in the broth. Season with sage, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, stirring constantly, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until thickened.

Makes about 2 and a half cups

Vegan Thanks Giving- Cranberry Sauce

Well after many many many Thanks Giving's filled with a big, stuffed carcase in the center of the table, having to pretend the food looked good to me to protect the feelings of my host and having to hide practically all of the food offered under my napkin (Or if I was unlucky enough having to eat it and then be sick for the next week) I decided to host my own Thanks Giving with some of my friends. So the next series of recipes are for a very vegan thanks giving!

The thing that is awesome about cranberry sauce is that it is so easy to make. Plus since there are so few ingredients it has a very clean, pure taste that can be lost during Thanks Giving.

4 cups of raw cranberries
1/2 cup agave, maple or rice syrup
Juice from One Orange

Rise the cranberry's and transfer them into a large sauce pan. Add in the Syrup, orange juice and 1/4 cup of water.



Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring often. When it comes to a boil reduce heat and cover. Boil gently until berries pop (About 10 minutes.). Chill for 1 hour before serving.

If you keep it warm it is also a great thing to put on top of pancakes or waffles!