Creamy Broccoli Salad

With summer in full swing and the warm temperatures I do most of my food prep before 8 am and serve my family many types of salad for lunches and dinners. One of our favorite salads is a creamy broccoli raisin salad that is vegan uses many items that we grow in our vegetable garden and is toped with cashew dressing that is creamy, nutty and delicious.

Ingredients

Salad base

• 6 cups broccoli (about 2 medium crowns), chopped into bight sized pieces
• 1 cup raw sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup bunching onions or red onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup raisins

Cashew Dressing

• 1 cup raw cashews, soaked overnight
• 1/3 cup water
• 1-1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
• salt to taste

Directions

1. Add all the dressing ingredients to a high powered blender and process until smooth.
2. In a large bowl mix together the broccoli, raisins, onion and sunflower seeds.
3. Add the dressing to the vegetable mixture and mix well.
4. serve with a nice crusty bread.

Vegan vegetable miso soup

After a week of temperatures in the negative digits we really wanted a hardy, flavorful soup that didn’t contain a huge number of calories. What I came up with was a yummy and colorful vegan vegetable soup full of protein and fiber. The recipe for this lovey and easy to make soup is as follows.

Ingredients

• 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 teaspoon of olive oil
• 4 carrots, diced
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced
• 4 large cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small knob ginger, minced
• 1 tablespoon ground turmeric
• 4 cups water
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1/4 cup quinoa
• 1 bunch kale, chopped
• 1/4 cup miso paste
• 2 green onions, sliced

Directions

1. Heat olive oil in a dutch oven. Add carrots and onion to pot and cook until tender.
2. Add mushrooms, garlic, ginger and turmeric to pot and stir until fragrant.
3. Stir in water, vegetable broth and quinoa to pot and simmer on low for about 5 minutes.
4. Add kale and chickpeas and cover pot. Cook soup for another 10 minutes.
5. Whisk in miso, turn off heat and then stir in green onions.
6. Serve with a nice crusty bread.

Spicy Gingerbread

With the outside temperatures below zero and the in house temperatures in the mid 60s i decided to warm us and the house up be making a spicy vegan gingerbread to enjoy with our morning tea. The recipe for this yummy treat is as follows.

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons of canola oil
• 3 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped candied ginger
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 cup light molasses
• 3/4 cup vegan yogurt
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare an 8 inch square pan or the equivalent.
2. Heat the oil to a small pan. Add the ginger and sauté over a medium heat for about 3 minutes, or until fragrant. Remove the pan from the heat.
3. Combine the maple syrup, molasses and apple sauce and beat at high speed for 2-3 minutes. Add the ginger and oil mixture and beat for an additional minute. Set mixture aside.
4. Sift the dry ingredients together into a large bowl. Make a well in the center and pour in the wet mixture. Stir until thoroughly combined.
5. Spread the batter into a prepared pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the top of the bread springs back when touched.

Happy Holidays

Winter Crafts

November into December has me rushing to finish up holiday gifts. in the past week i managed to finish two blackwork pillows that i spent the summer stitching. The blackwork patterns for both pillows were acquired from The Steady Thread design site. The first pillow shown was created as part of a year long stitch along projectI participated in along with a little over 3,000 other people around the world. The second pillow shown was a nice quick stitching projected called Christmas Branch

I hope the two friends they will be gifted to enjoy the pillows.