Thai Iced Tea

I was looking for something different to drink. By this time last summer I had not cut out coffee yet, so a replacement for that iced latte, 4000 calorie Starbucks was just what I had a craving for. That's when I concocted this little darling.

This is a great summer drink. It is so refreshing and yummy. Its also a good replacement for coffee on a warm summer morning.

INGREDIENTS (For one cup)
3 tea bags (I use chai cause it has Cardamom in it)

1/4 tablespoon of cardamom or nutmeg

3 teaspoons sweetener (I use agave)

1 cup boiling water

Ice

1/4 cup soy or rice milk

Add tea bags to boiling water. Add cardamom and sweetener. Let steep for 3 minutes. Pour over ice and swirl. Add soy milk. Sometimes I add an almond flavoring for variety.

Agave Oat Bread

So I adapted this from my friend Destiny, who makes a killer Honey Oat Bread. I hope that one day I can be as good of a baker as she is but I am still learning with that. All that I really did was use agave syrup instead of honey. As a vegan option you can also use a maple syrup for a nice sweet breakfast bread.

Is is a nice doughy one that tastes a bit like a harder Hawaiian sweet bread.

Ingredients:

10 oz Water
1 - 1/2 teaspoons - Salt
2 tablespoons - Agave or maple syrup
1 - 1/2 tablespoons -Margarine
2/3 cup - Quick Cook Oats
3 - 1/4 cups - Bread Flour
2 teas - Active Dry Yeast

I like a crispier crust so I put it in my bread machine under the dark crust setting but you can do a light or medium depending on what you personally prefer.

On a note, when using a bread machine, always put your wet ingredients in first. Follow with the dry and then put in the yeast, making sure that it does not touch the water.

Taco Tofu Steaks by Will

So my boyfriend made this for me for lunch today and it was oh so good! Its quick and its easy

Ingredient:

Helen's Tofu Steaks

Refried Veggie beans or black beans

1/2 a cup of chopped veggies

1 thinly sliced avocado

Fresh Salsa

Olive oil

Follow the instructions on the Helen's packet in a skillet coated with olive oil and your veggies. Once it is done place on your plate. Take out the veggies and put them on a paper towel for later. Heat your refried beans in the microwave or in a pan. Place on-top of the tofu steak. Top with the slices of avocado and salsa. Remove the veggies from the towel and place on top of that.

See! Easy and quick! And you'll love it!

Oat Rolls and Bread

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups warm water
3 cups whole wheat flour
2 tablespoon of yeast (or two packets)
1 cup of oats
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup soy milk
3 to 4 cups unbleached white flour
1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Mix water and yeast together in a large bowl. Pour in the 3 cups of wheat flour and mix well. Cover the bowl with a towel and place in a dry place. Let it sit for a minimum of 20 minutes, up to a day! Yay!

Pour in , oil, soy milk and salt and half a cup of oats. Mix together. Begin adding white flour, a 1/2 cup at a time. After the third cup, it begins to get pretty dense. Knead it for 5 to 10 minutes until it is smooth and elastic.

Cut the dough into the desired rolls (Remember that they will rise so make them about half of the size of the rolls that you want. You can also make two loaves out of this.

Cover pans with a towel in a warm place and let the dough double in size. This will take at least an hour to an hour and a half. Use a pastry brush and warm water to brush them. Sprinkle oats over the top.

Baking: Bake loaves at 350 degrees F for 35-40 minutes. Rolls should be baked at 375 degrees F for 20 minutes. For a crustier crust, place a baking pan on the bottom rack and let it preheat in the oven. When the oven is preheated toss a cup of water in with the rolls.

Vegan Enchiladas

So I am in no part Hispanic...I just happen to love the food. Once you get away from the South Texas version of it, it can actually be pretty healthy. I have been missing enchiladas lately and buying the Amy's one can get really expensive. So I decided to create my own! They turned out very yummy! I did put Cheese on some of them for my boyfriend. If you are vegan but want cheese you can always go for soy blends or almond cheese.

Ingredients:

1 cup of chopped veggies (I use onion, garlic, jalapeños and a variety of peppers)

1 cup of black beans

Green Chili sauce (Check the ingredients to make sure its vegan)

5 whole wheat tortilla (Again check, some of them use gelatin)

Soy or almond cheese (Optional)

Preheat to 450 degrees

Start by placing a tortilla down in a backing tray. load your beans, veggies, cheese and a small amount of chili sauce into the middle. Fold to close one side over the other. Repeat with all of the tortilla making sure that they fit snuggly together. You can use a ruler or a piece of Tupperware to hold them down. Or you can stick them through with toothpicks so the hold until you pour the sauce.

When you have all of the enchiladas fit snuggly into the pan pour the rest of the chili sauce over the top of them. It can flow over so don't be stingy with it. If you want top with cheese.

Take the pan and put it into the preheated oven. cook for 10-15 minutes or until the shells or the cheese start to brown.

Once they are done let cool and then enjoy! You can top them with vegan sour cream, salsa or extra veggies! Yummy!

Beet Salad with Spinach & Red wine vinaigrette

Believe it or not this is the first time that I have cooked or eaten beets! My god, I cant believe that I went this long without eating them! They are yummy and colourful! I loooooove them.

2 servings

4 small beets with the greens
1/2 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard
4 Pieces of raw spinach (fresh)
1 1/2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
handful of red onion


Cut the beet greens from the beets, leaving about 1 inch of the stems attached to the beets, and reserve 16 of the beet leaves. Scrub the beets, wrap them in small groupings tightly in foil and in a baking pan roast them in a preheated 350°F. oven for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until they are tender. Unwrap the beets carefully, discarding any liquid that may have accumulated in the foil, and let them cool until they can be handled. The beets may be roasted 1 day in advance and kept covered and chilled.
Rinse the reserved beet leaves and spinach, in a steamer for 1 minute, and transfer them with tongs to paper towels to drain.

In a small bowl whisk together the mustard, the vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste, add the oil in a stream, whisking, and whisk the dressing until it is emulsified.
Peel the beets and trim the stem ends flat. Standing each beet on its stem end, cut parallel slices into but not through the beet at 1/4-inch slices. Arrange 4 of the beet leaves on each of 4 plates and arrange the beets on the leaves.

Drizzle the beets with the dressing and sprinkle them with the onion.

Health bonus: Beets are so good for you! They are packed full of iron, vit c, and detoxifing properties that clean out the blood and replace it with good natural sugars and minerals! For more nutritional facts here is a web site that will give you everything that you could possibly want to know.

Spicy Chickpeas

Better than cruotons! This little buggers are so good for you. I am sure that everyone has heard about how good they are but how do you cook them? There is more to go than making hummus let me tell you that. I have used them in curries and soup...but some times you just don't have the time. These can be made and carried with you as I do in a small tuperware container. You can pick at them or you can toss them onto a salad for some extra fiber and crunch!

Another good thing? They are super easy to make and you can do it in an hour in your weekend in a giant batch.

Ingredients:
1 (15 ounce)can of chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
1 table spoon on olive oil
1 table spoon ground cumin

Preheat your oven at 350 degrees. Toss the chick peas in the cumin and olive oil than place into broiler pan or baking tray. Cook them in the oven for about 45 minutes or until crunchy. Half way through cooking move them around in the pan. IN the second half of cooking make sure that you keep an eye on them so they dont burn.

Makes about 1 cup.