Kid Friendly

Mar
26

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

I’ve been planning to post this recipe for a long time but I couldn’t find the words for it. Last week, while devouring our delicious vegan desserts at the V-Note, I asked two of my girlfriends for some inspiration. Words like “Romantic”, “Sensual”, “Indulgence” and “Seductive” were thrown in the air. One of them even mentioned the similarity between a strawberry and a tongue Oh..Kay, let’s not go there… there’s kids in the audience. 😉 Speaking of kids, here’s an idea for a fun playdate activity. Children love to help dip strawberries in chocolate and it’s like a mini science project to see the chocolate turn back to solid. The only “problem” I found with this recipe is that for some reason when I put them in the fridge to let the chocolate set, somehow they mysteriously disappear!! So my advice is to make plenty because they will fly off quickly.

Ingredients

25-30 Fresh Strawberries

1 ½ Cup of mixed Vegan Chocolate (I had left overs so I used Chocolate Chips and Bitter Sweet Dark Chocolate chunks)

1 tsp Coconut Oil

1/4 Cup Maple Syrup

1/2 to 1 Cup Soy Milk (add as you go, you might not need all of it)

1 tsp Almond Butter

1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract

For dipping:

A handful of finely shredded coconut, cacao powder, chopped almonds and crushed pistachio – I crushed them with a heavy coffee mug. Great for letting out some aggression 😉

Preparation

Wash the strawberries and pat dry on a kitchen towel.

Set-up a double boiler (Bain Marie) – you can use a sauce pan with water and a glass bowl over it. Bring water to a simmer on medium heat. Melt the chocolate in the glass bowl, just make sure there is no direct heat on the chocolate. Add the coconut oil, maple syrup, almond butter, soy milk and vanilla. Stir well until smooth ganache consistency.

Line-up the toppings on a plate or tray –the shredded coconut, chopped almond, pistachio and cacao powder — to dip the chocolate covered strawberries.

Hold the strawberries by the stem or leaves, dip into the melted chocolate mixture, twist and then dip the tip gently in the toppings.

Lay out the dipped strawberries onto a non stick surface — a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.

Place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes until the chocolate is firm.

Category: Blog, Easy & Simple, Gluten Free, Kid Friendly, Party, Recipies, Sweets and Desserts, Uncategorized

Dec
19

Roasted Cauliflower Potato Leek Soup

It’s finally snowing in New York and its a perfect day for homemade hot creamy soup (without any creams of course …)

A little “twist” to the typical ‘Potato Leeks Soup’ here, is simply the addition of cauliflower. Oven roasted cauliflower to be precise. Roasting the cauliflower on high heat concentrates the flavor and that steps it up from good to awesome as in Awe-Some-More Please!!

Ingredients

3 Medium Potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped

1 Head of Cauliflower (Cut into florets)

1 Large Leek, finely chopped (use only the white and light green parts)

3-4 Cloves Garlic, Minced

1 Quart Vegetable Broth

2 Cups Water

Olive Oil

1 Tbsp. Adobo or (Spice mixture that contains: Sea salt, garlic, onion, black pepper, oregano, bay and turmeric)

Salt and Black Pepper to taste

Roasted Sliced Almonds (optional)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 450°

Spread the cauliflower florets on to a baking sheet, drizzle olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt.

Roast for about 25-30 minutes, tossing half way if needed until golden brown at the edges, check every few minutes to make sure it doesn’t burn.

In a large pot, sauté leeks and garlic in little olive oil, add the roasted cauliflower, potatoes, vegetable broth, water and spices until the vegetables are covered in liquid. bring to a boil and let it simmer for 30-40 minutes or until the potatoes are soft.

Use a hand blender to blend until silky smooth, add water if its too thick.

Taste and adjust spices if needed.

To serve: sprinkle black pepper and roasted sliced almonds.

Category: Blog, Gluten Free, Kid Friendly, Recipies, Soups

Nov
14

Spaghetti Cardboard-O-Lognese

There are many kinds of meat substitutes and alternatives. The most common one is Seitan, which is a wheat protein and is the most versatile in its ability to “mock” meat. It comes in many textures and shapes. The Seitan that looks like ground meat is the easiest type to start with if you want to experiment. It is the closest in texture to ground meat.

I’ve found that there’s an assumption that meat “substitutes” taste like cardboard… but just like animal flesh doesn’t taste good by itself and needs to be flavored with spices and herbs (which come from plants), so does Saiten “meat”. Plus, I’d rather eat cardboard that tastes good and not eat the crushed body parts of a miserable dead cow.

If you haven’t noticed by now, I have a tendency to hide healthy ingredients in my daughter’s food. The “hidden treasure” in this recipe is the mashed acorn squash in the “Bolognese” sauce. When I made this dish for my daughter’s playdate guests it was a delicious success! The acorn adds sweetness, blends in perfectly in the sauce and the young vegetable detectives did not catch it. 😉

If you want to learn more about how to start and substitute, watch Colleen Patrick-Goudreau in her funny innovative lecture,

Ingredients

1 pack Spaghetti Pasta

1 medium Onion chopped

3 cloves Garlic minced

1 ripe Tomato

1 can crushed tomatoes

1/2 cup Vegetable Broth

2 packages Seitan (Cubed and Ground, I chopped them both more finely than packaged)

1/2 roasted mashed Acorn Squash (I used the other half from yesterday when I made this Red Lentil Patties recipe; you can use other mashed pumpkin or carrots, or anything that can add sweetness and can “disappear” in the red sauce).

3 Tbsp. Tomato Paste

1 Tbsp. Soy sauce

1 Tbsp. Brown Sugar (Optional)

1 tsp. Adobo Spice Mix (optional, I stick this stuff everywhere but you dont have to, just season as you like)

Sea Salt

1/2 tsp. Paprika

Olive Oil

Preparation

Cook the pasta according to package instructions, it’s important to salt the water. Drain the pasta and set aside until sauce is ready.

Start sautéing the onion and garlic in olive oil, add the ground Seitan. Stir occasionally for a few minutes until golden brown.

Add the tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, chopped tomato, the mashed squash, brown sugar and spices. Cook until everything blends well. Add the vegetable broth to “open” the sauce. let it simmer for a few m ore minutes until it all comes together and the sauce has a nice color and you like the consistency.

Pour the sauce over the pasta and mix well let it soak in the sauce for a few minutes before serving.

Category: Easy & Simple, Kid Friendly, Lunch, Recipies, Uncategorized, Whole Meal

Oct
24

Vegan Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Sauce

Just saying “chocolate cake” makes everyone smile 🙂 . Chocolate cake with raspberry sauce makes me smile even more. It was one of my pregnancy cravings… I was addicted to a chocolate soufflé with raspberry sauce from a Belgian restaurant in NYC and made my husband go with me or bring it home every chance I got… Sometimes at crazy hours. Well, you get a permit to harass your husband when you’re hormonal 😉

According to a Parenting magazine, chocolate is the number 2 most craved food by pregnant women, right after ice! It said “Chocolate — or any sweet for that matter — is something pregnant women can’t get enough of. This could be because chocolate makes you happy, and since there’s no drinking for pregnant women, chocolate is literally the next best thing. An old wives’ tale states if you crave sweets it means you’re carrying a girl”. Can you believe it?! Pregnant or not, nobody says NO to a piece of this moist chocolaty gorgeous red raspberry goodness.

I wanted a taller cake so I actually made two cakes to assemble as two layers. It is perfect as a one layer cake too, so If you want you can skip the second cake and just make it without the jam/sauce in the middle.

Ingredients

For the Cake:

Makes One 9 -Inch Round Layer

Dry:

1 ½ Cup All Purpose Flour

1 Cup Sugar (I used Turbinado Cane Sugar)

1/3 Cup Cocoa Powder

1 tsp. Baking Soda

¼ tsp. Baking Powder

½ tsp Salt

Wet:

1 Cup Almond Milk (I used sweetened Vanilla Almond Milk)

½ Cup Oil (Canola Oil or Grape-seed oil)

1/8 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar

1 Tbsp. Vanilla Extract

Raspberry Sauce:

2 Cups Fresh Raspberries

2 ½ Tbsp. Water

¼ Cup Sugar

1 tsp. Lemon Juice

1/8 tsp. Salt

For spreading between the layers:

3 Tbsp. Raspberry Jam

Chocolate Ganache Frosting:

Dark Chocolate chunks (about 1 and 1/2 – 2 Cups)

1 Cup Almond Milk

4 Tbsp. Maple Syrup (or Sugar)

Garnish:

Fresh Raspberries

Handful roasted Pistachios

Preparation

Cake:

Preheat oven to 350°

Brush with oil a 9-inch round cake pan.

Whisk together wet ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

In another bowl sift together the flour and cocoa powder, add in the rest of the dry ingredients.

Combine the wet into the dry and mix until smooth.

Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake for 30-35 minutes. (check if it’s ready, insert a tooth-pick it should come out dry)

Let the cake cool before adding the ganache and the raspberry sauce.

Raspberry Sauce:

Place all sauce ingredients In a medium saucepan, cook over medium heat for 10-15 minutes.

Place the sauce in a small food processor or a blender and blend until smooth. Press it through a small fine mesh strainer with a spoon to get rid of the seeds. Keep it in the fridge until you’re ready to serve.

Mix 3 Tbsp. of the raspberry sauce with 3 Tbsp. of store bought Raspberry Jam to make it thicker. “Shave” the top of the bottom cake to make it more even. Flip the top layer cake upside down to get a flatter top and spread the raspberry sauce and jam mixture between the two layers of cake before covering with the ganache frosting.

Ganache Frosting:

In a saucepan, boil the almond milk, reduce to simmer, add the chocolate and maple, turn off the heat and stir well until the chocolate has melted.

Cool a bit, spread over the top and sides of the cake and place in the fridge to harden.

To Serve:

When you are ready to serve, cut the frosted cake, decorate every piece with a raspberry, pour some raspberry sauce on top, sprinkle with pistachios and start dieting tommorow…

Another way to decorate…

Category: Blog, Holidays, Kid Friendly, Party, Recipies, Sweets and Desserts

Oct
15

Penne A La Cherry Vodka

Traditionally, Penne Alla-Vodka has a pink creamy sauce. What gives the sauce its pink color is the tomato sauce mixed with heavy cream. These days, “Heavy cream” means something else for me. It means heavy cow’s udders, udders that will never comfort and nourish a baby cow because in the dairy industry cows are separated from their babies right after birth and the calfs are thrown into a small cage the size of their body. The mother cows are then “milked” by painful machines, so humans could steal their milk and drink it in their coffee or make heavy creams. Sad but true, I know it doesn’t have to be like that. We can have delicious nutritious food without it.

If you feel like you need a drink now… I’ve got your fix… how about Cherry Vodka? Well, not really for getting drunk but more for depth of flavors, most of the alcohol evaporates during cooking anyway, so don’t worry! it’s Ok to give it to the kids, worse case scenario they’ll go to sleep early. Just kidding, just kidding… (;

The ‘Cherry’ part in the Penne Alla ‘Cherry Vodka’ was an honest mistake which turned out to be a good mistake. I opened the freezer, picked up the bottle of Vodka without looking at it too much. Later I remembered that alcohol is not always vegan, I ran back into the kitchen to check and only then I realized it was a Cherry Vodka. Oh well, too late, it was already in the pan making friends with tomatoes and cashews. Also, technically tomatoes and cherries are both fruits right? so why not? it works for me… I was happy to find out that it was indeed a vegan Vodka, which made it even more tastier now 🙂 If you want to find out if an alcohol beverage is vegan, you can check it on this site: http://www.barnivore.com

For the ~~Heavy~~ Happy cream I used cashew butter mixed in with unsweetened soy milk, If you can’t find cashew butter it’s easy to make a simple cashew cream/”milk” from scratch. (see below)

Ingredients

1 Pack Penne Pasta (about 16 oz.)

2 Cups Crushed Tomatoes (I used San Marzano 28 oz. can)

1 Tbsp. Tomato Paste

4 Tbsp. Cashew Butter (Or ¼ Cup raw cashews: see below)

1 Cup Unsweetened Soy Milk

3-5 Cloves Garlic

2 Tbsp. Cherry Vodka

1 tsp Oil

1 tsp. Dried Basil

Salt & pepper to taste

Preparation

Cook the pasta in salted boiling water according to the directions on the package, (about 9 minutes to get it ‘Al-Dente’) Drain and set aside (do not wash the pasta!)

In a saucepan add the garlic and oil, sauté for 2 minutes.

Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, cashew butter, soy milk, cherry Vodka, basil, salt and pepper.

Stir in more water or soy milk if it’s too thick.

Cook for about 15 minutes and pour over the pasta to serve.

If you prefer to make the cashew cream from scratch:

Soak ¼ Cup raw cashews for 2-4 hours in water. Wash and drain. In a high-speed blender, place the cashews and ¾ Cup of soy milk or water and blend until creamy, add into the tomato sauce. (Instead of the cashew butter and soy milk).