Kale Chips

Well, those are two words that I never thought I'd put together. And I never thought I would follow those two words with these words "Oh my god, SO delicious and addicting!" So, yeah, the lady clan and I made kale chips this week. I'd seen them mentioned a few times on vegan blogs and had been curious. I guess my curiosity got the better of me. The girls and I could not stop eating them. I'm sure we've consumed at least five bunches of kale this week alone. "How in the heck do you make a kale chip?" you may be asking yourself. Well they're super simple.

One bunch of kale (or two or three depending on how many you want to make)
a little olive oil
a little red wine vinegar
salt, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne (and/or any other seasoning you like)
nutritional yeast (because I love it).

Pull the kale from the stems and break the leaves into 2 - 3 inch pieces. Toss in olive oil and vinegar. Arrange on a cookie sheet in a single layer. Sprinkle with nutritional yeast and seasonings of your choice. Bake at 275 degrees for about 30 minutes or until they are crisp.

That's it. Oh, make sure to put them in an airtight container or zip lock back to store them or they'll get chewy. Not that my kids cared, they ate the chewy ones too.

Vegan Eating, Week One

So, I'm a procrastinator. I know it and will admit it freely. Generally I like to be done planning my weekly menu before the week actually starts, but that didn't happen this time. I just finished the menu today and have to go to the store this afternoon or no one will be eating anything! Alright, here's this week's vegan menu (side note, when I refer to milk it will always be either soy, rice or coconut):

Monday: Breakfast - cinnamon oatmeal with fruit (bananas/apples/raisins), Lunch - ramen (noodles with mushrooms and spinach), Dinner - stir fry (peppers, onions, mushrooms, broccoli) over soba noodles

Tuesday: Breakfast - cereal with banana & milk, Lunch - homemade hummus on toast with carrot stick and apples, Dinner - sauteed mushrooms over couscous and oven roasted asparagus.

Wednesday: Breakfast - millet (cooked, then pureed with almonds, milk, nutmeg and cinnamon), Lunch - PB&J with fruit, BBQ tofu with mac-n-cheese (I'll post a recipe for vegan mac and cheese below) and sauteed green beans

Thursday: Breakfast - cereal with banana & milk, Lunch - leftover BBQ and mac, Dinner - mushroom risotto and broccoli

Friday: Breakfast - Fruit Salad (apples, bananas, raisins, coconut, almonds with a peanut butter sauce...I guess I should post the recipe too), PB&J with fruit, Dinner - red lentils (I'm going to try something fancy with that...I'll post the recipe if it turns out tasty) over rice.

Saturday: Breakfast - smoothie (frozen strawberries, frozen banana, frozen peach, milk, OJ and maple syrup or sugar), Lunch - veggie wraps with hummus, Dinner - black bean burgers and roasted potatoes

Sunday: Breakfast - Oatmeal with fruit, Lunch - leftover black bean burgers, Dinner - Pasta with sauce and veggies, salad.

This menu is not super different from our regular menu, just much less cheese melted on things. I am also eliminating soda (which I am ashamed to say that I have a slight addiction to, but in my defense, I really only have one soda a day, two MAX and probably not even every day). Alright, disclaimer over. On to the recipes.

Vegan Mac-n-Cheese (sauce to pour over whole wheat macaroni, makes enough to feed a family of 6 for dinner and lunch the following day. And these are approximations because I rarely measure anything)

3 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp flour

2 1/2 cups unsweetened milk (I use soy, but it works with rice or coconut too)

1/2 - 1 cup nutritional yeast (depending on your own taste, I like a lot)

1/2 cup vegetable broth

1 tsp turmeric (it makes it nice and yellow)

1 tbsp mustard

1 tbsp basil

1 tsp thyme

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp garlic powder (or you can use fresh garlic, minced)

sea salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Add flour, stirring constantly for about a minute (you're making a roux - think that's how you spell that). Slowly add milk (whisking constantly) letting the mixture thicken before adding more milk. Add broth. Stir and simmer over medium low heat to thicken slightly. Whisk in all of the seasonings and spices (there's not order to this, just do it). Last, add the nutritional yeast. Whisk everything until it's smooth and creamy. I just pour the sauce over macaroni and serve, but it can be baked in the oven (in the fashion of baked macaroni).

Peanut Butter Sauce for fruit salad (this also works with cashew or almond butter)

1 cup of peanut butter

1 cup of milk

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 cup (or less depending on how sweet you like it) of maple syrup

Put everything in the blend and blend until smooth. You can add more milk if it's too thick. Pour over fruit salad of diced apples (I like Fuji or granny smith), sliced banana, raisins, almonds (or any other nuts) and unsweetened coconut flakes. It's a very filling breakfast

Years of being duped

For years I have been led to believe that Duncan Hines was the master of frosting, Aunt Jemima had the lock down on pancakes, Pilsbury was the king of biscuits, Betty Crocker....well, you get where I'm going with this right. Pop open a can or a box and whip up some deliciousness in no time flat, right? Wrong! A couple of years ago I decided to be bold (and a bit crazy) and whip up a carrot cake from scratch. I'd never made anything from scratch before. It just seemed like something that only grandmothers and Stepford wives did. And a carrot cake? Seems a bit complicated for a first attempt, but it was the most delicious slice of cream cheese frosted heaven that I'd ever tasted. After the carrot cake came the lemon buttercream frosting on homemade lemon cupcakes (um, I like cake and cake-type foods). Since that day, if I can make it from scratch, I will make it from scratch. Sunday is generally buttermilk biscuit day around here. I make a big batch and we all have breakfast together (well, the hubby works Saturday nights, so he usually has breakfast a few hours after the rest of us). I was too lazy this morning to whip up a batch, so instead of making my own, I thought I'd share the recipe and maybe someone else will start their own buttermilk biscuit Sunday. Bijou is getting her practice in now. Enjoy!

Buttermilk Biscuits

3 cups all purpose flour

3 tbsp sugar (optional, I leave this out a lot)

3 tsp baking powder

rounded 1/2 tsp of salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 stick of butter (cold and cut into cubes)

1 1/2 cup of cold well shaken buttermilk

Preheat oven to 425. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Sift into another bowl. Use a fork or a pastry cutter to cut in the butter. The consistency will be like moist sand. Some large lumps of butter left in are fine, you don't want to over work it. Stir in the buttermilk and mix until the dough sticks together and forms a ball. On a floured surface knead the dough 4 - 6 times. It is VERY important to ONLY knead 4 - 6 times. If you knead too much your biscuits will be tough.

Arrange on a non stick baking sheet (I use my pizza pan) so that the biscuit are just touching one another. Brush the tops with milk. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

On a couple of occasions I have added cinnamon to the biscuit dough and made a brown sugar glaze to spoon over them once they come out of the oven. Enjoy with a big glass of milk. Don't they look SUPER DELICIOUS?!!!! They are!!