Homemade Unsweetened Almond Milk (Calcium enriched)

Makes 2 quarts

1 1/2 cups raw almonds

2 large pitted dates or three small ones (this does not make the milk sweet in any way,  just balances the flavor.

Soak overnight on the counter in about 2 1/2 - 3 cups water OR 1 hour in hot water.

Drain and rinse the almonds and dates, put in the bottom of a high powered blender. 

Add filtered water to fill blender about half way.

Add at least 8 (I actually use 20) Citrical +D3

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp sea salt 

Blend for about 90 seconds on a medium to high level.

Watch closely the first few times to get a feel for you blender as some will overflow.

Pour the slurry into a nut milk bag suspended in a 2 quart measuring cup. Fill the blender bowl with a cup of filtered water, put the lid on and shake to rinse the bowl and pour it into the milk bag. Squeeze the almond milk into the 2 qt. measuring cup until it's mostly dry. I add filtered water a cup or so at a time to the pulp left in the nut milk bag squeezing the liquid into 2 qt measuring cup until it's full. Pour the almond milk into storage container. Store in the refrigerator, shake before serving. It will last about 4 days although we always use it in two.

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(https://www.amazon.com/Value-MEA-200PC-Polycarbonate-Measuring-Pitcher/dp/B077RQS85W/ref=sr_1_5?crid=PXWOZHDOSYUM&dchild=1&keywords=2+qt+measuring+pitcher&qid=1632620360&sprefix=2+qt+mes%2Caps%2C199&sr=8-5)

One Pan Mexican Rice

This is a great main dish to eat with salsa chips and avocado or to roll up in a burrito or wrap. It freezes fairly well and you can cook the rice in it or use left over rice. If you are using leftover rice substitute 2 cups cooked rice for the raw rice and vegetable broth.

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 sweet onion diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup rice* and vegetable broth OR 2 cups cooked rice
• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (14.5 oz) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
• 1 cup corn kernels, frozen, canned or roasted
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 
  
• 1 avocado, halved, seeded, peeled and diced
• Juice of 1 lime
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Drain and rinse the black beans and corn if using canned and set aside.

*If using raw rice, drain the diced tomatoes saving the juice in a 2 cup measuring cup. Add enough vegetable broth to equal two cups. 

*If using cooked rice just add the tomatoes, juice and all to the pan. 

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil until the onion is transparent. Add the chili powder and cumin and cook until fragrant. Add rice, raw or cooked and cook and stir until the rice is coated with spices. All all beans, tomatoes, corn. 

RAW RICE: Add tomato/vegetable broth mixture and bring to a full rolling boil. cover with lid and set aside for 15-20 minutes until rice is cooked. 

COOKED RICE: Cook and stir until all ingredients are heated through. 

Add avocado, squeeze on lime juice and cilantro leaves if desired. Eat with chips and salsa, wrap in a tortilla or just eat it with a spoon? 

Vegan Cheese Sauce AND Vegan Shephards pie

Made with potatoes and carrots! 

Great over noodles for mac and cheese, baked potatoes with broccoli (we add meatless chili too). Keeps for about a week in the fridge. 

AMAZING (NONDAIRY NO NUT) CHEESE SAUCE

• 16 oz Yukon Gold Potatoes (about 3 medium)
• 2 large Carrots
• 3/4 to 1 cup Water (used to boil potatoes) or Almond milk
• 1/3 cup Nutritional yeast
• 
  
• 2 tsp Lemon Juice
• 1 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1/2 tsp Onion Powder
• 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1/2 tsp Brown Mustard (Yellow mustard works great too)
• 1/8 tsp Turmeric

Scrub potatoes and remove any eyes. Cut into halves or quarters to expedite cooking. 

peel carrots and break in half. Put in a sauce pan and cover with water. 

Boil potatoes and carrots in water pan until soft - about 10 minutes. Allow to sit in hot water with lid on for a few more minutes while you combine the rest of the ingredients.

Add all ingredients to high powered blender or magic bullet. Blend until smooth. 

Here is one recipe that uses half a recipe of cheese sauce! 

GARDENERS PIE (VEGAN SHEPHARDS PIE)

Cook 1 1/2 - 2 lbs of red potatoes either along with the potatoes and carrots for the sauce or you can microwave them if you already have the sauce made. I like to cook a few extra to have with broccoli and meatless chili and cheese sauce later in the week. 

While the potatoes are cooking, chop and sautée in a pan:
1 sweet onion chopped
2  carrots peeled chopped 
1 bell pepper chopped
4-5 mushrooms
2 zucchini or yellow squash peeled and chopped 
2 cups broccoli, cut into small flowerlets and steamed (you can steam them in a colander over the boiling potatoes)

Season with 2-3 tsp season salt. 
Add 1/2 recipe cheese sauce, put in a deep 2 quart baking dish.

Mash the potatoes with a little vegan butter (I can't believe it's not butter, it's vegan is really good). Add almond milk and salt. I like them a bit chunky. Spread them with a fork over the  veggie/cheese mixture. Cook at 375 for 30 minutes until potatoes are golden and the cheese bubbles around the edges. 

Unstuffed Tomatoes

This is one of the first meatless recipes I made and my family loves it! 

It takes about 30 minutes and has minimal mess. Great with fresh in season tomatoes!

Here's what you'll need: (all veggies are washed and chopped)

HOT LAYER:

1 TBS Olive oil (basil infused if you have it)

1/2 chopped sweet onion

1 clove garlic minced

3 or 4 celery stalks 

2 or 3 carrots peeled 

1 med. sized zucchini (I like to leave the peel on for color)

1 med. sized yellow squash

6-8 mushrooms 

1 med red bell pepper 

sugar snap peas 

2 tsp season salt

1 cup uncooked orzo pasta (can use rice or couscous but the pasta is the best)

 - feel free to substitute as needed

FRESH LAYER

4-6 fresh tomatoes

1 TBS garlic salt

Fresh basil leaves

TOPPING

2 slices of dry or toasted bread  (Dave's killer bread with seeds or any will do)

1 TBS nutritional yeast

2 tsp jacks garlic seasoning

2 tsp coconut oil (basil infused olive oil is also really yummy)

1/2 cup shelled pistachios

COOK PASTA: In a Med sauce pan add some salt to water and bring to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to directions. Drain but do not rinse.

PREPARE HOT LAYER:Chop veggies. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over hi to med hi heat.  When it's hot add chopped veggies and season salt. Don't be afraid to get a char on the veggies. Stir until tender.                           

While veggies and pasta are cooking add the TOPPING ingredients to a food processor until the bread is mostly chopped. Add the pistachios and chop until the bread is in fine crumbs but there are bigger chunks of pistachios remaining. 

When the veggies and pasta are done, combine them in the fry pan and set aside with a lid to keep warm.

Wash and slice the tomatoes, (*edited* it's best to cut them in bite sized pieces)and place into a colander with the salt. Allow the excess moisture to drain from the tomatoes for 10 minutes or so before adding the basil and transferring to a serving dish. Chop the basil while the tomatoes are draining.

 

 Put the vegetable/pasta mixture on the tomatoes and top with the bread crumbs. (My crumbs got more brown than golden.) Serve!

* I have recently been putting the hot mixture on the bottom, then added the tomatoes and then the breadcrumb topping on top.

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Breakfast? Steel Cut Oats

Steel Cut Oats. Breakfast of Champions.

  

People say they take too long to cook... 10 minutes is too long?(with most of that time available for you to do something else) Not a quick as nuking a pop tart but still....

If you cook them for a long time you get a bowl of mush - if that's what you're going for then regular quick oats would work just fine. 

But if you prefer texture - chewy bits of oats with your fresh berries and bananas then steel cut oats is the way to go. 


Cook day of - SERVES 2 (one mama bear sized 1/3 and one papa bear sized 2/3)

(See below for large batch version that keeps in the fridge)

Before you go to bed add:
1/2 cup steel cut oats
1 1/2 cups water
to a medium sauce pan with a heavy bottom and good fitting lid.

Allow to soak overnight (if you forget to soak it, plan to let it sit 10 minutes longer in the morning after bringing to a boil)

In the morning Bring the oats and water to a full rolling boil then turn off the heat. (I like to add a handful of Goji berries at this point but that's totally optional.) When the water/oats settle down, put the lid on it but leave it on the burner.

Full Rolling boil

Chop and or rinse any fruit you'd like and add it to your serving bowls. I usually add a whole banana (split between both bowls), blueberries, raspberries and blackberries. You can also add apples, peaches or any fruit in season.

Now unload your dishwasher while you're waiting for it to cook - or get dressed, feed your dog or whatever. The oats can actually sit for a while and not burn or get mushy. You may have to reheat them for a minute when you're ready to eat but they will be the perfect consistency!

READY TO EAT?
I like to add to the oats:

Ready to sit wth a lid on it

1 tsp cinnamon
1 TBS Chia seeds
1 TBS Hemp Seeds
2 TBS Brown Sugar (Honey or whatever sweetener you have is fine, or try it without)
2 TBS Almond butter *recipe below

Stir into the oats adding a few tablespoons of water if needed and turn the heat back up until they are hot again (it only takes a minute or two if you turn it on hi and stir)

Put it on your fruit with a TBS of chopped almonds.

Large batch version to keep in fridge and just microwave as needed:

8 cups water

2 1/2 cup steel cut oats

large handful Goji berries (optional)

2/3 cup seed mixture (equal parts ground flax seeds, hemp seeds and chia seeds) 

1/3 cup good cinnamon - Name brand or Costco (double that if using a generic brand)

2/3 cups brown sugar (I have been leaving this out and adding a little honey each day)

1/3 - 1/2 cup almond butter

Stir water, oats and goji berries in a large pot and bring to boil. Turn off heat and whisk in seed mixture cinnamon and brown sugar (if using). Set on a cooling rack if you have an electric stove, otherwise you can leave it on the burner with the burner turned off. After about 5 minutes the mixture will have thickened and you can whisk in the almond butter. pour into a shallow container and cover, I often use two. (A deeper container will allow the outside to cool while the middle stays hot and keeps cooking. Unless you plan to stir it as it cools, a shallower container is better.) Store in fridge. Do not stack until both containers are cool. You can eat it the same day but may need to allow the portion you will eat to stand for a few more minutes. You also may need to add a bit of water to the oats when you warm them to get to proper consistency.

* HOMEMADE ALMOND BUTTER:



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Vegetable Barley Soup

This soup is hearty and so yummy. You can eat it cold or hot. It's a great replacement for a salad. You can put any veggies you want in it but I really like this combination. This recipe involves a lot of chopping but if you use the slicer attachment on your food processor it goes really fast. Also, I cook the barley separately and rinse it in cool water before adding it to the soup. I have found that it prevents the barley from swelling and taking over. It has become a staple around our house. It makes about 6 quarts of soup, make sure your pot is big enough. Mark and I go through this in a week, easily.

BARLEY
In a med sauce pan, bring water to a boil to cook 1 cup pearled barley. I let the barley soak in a mesh strainer in a bowl while water comes to a boil. When the water boils, lift the barley out of the soaking water and rinse it for a minute before adding it to the boiling water. Let barley cook while making the soup. Check the package for the amount of water to cook it in and time. When it's done, rinse it in cold water. It should be chewy but not crunchy.

SOUP
In a large pot over med high heat bring to a boil:
1 qt. vegetable or tomato juice
2 cups broth of your choice
2 14 oz cans diced tomatoes
1 tsp oregano
1 TBS dried basil
2 bay leaves
2 TBS Worcestershire

While the tomato base is heating, chop and add the following in this order:
(do wait for it to boil, stir the vegetables in as you go)
1/2 onion chopped
4 stalks celery chopped
1 cup chopped carrots
2 red bell peppers, seeds and stem removed and chopped
1/4 head of cauliflower cut into flowerets
about the same amount of Broccoli cut into flowerets
1/4 of a med or 1/2 of a small head of green (or red cabbage) thinly sliced/shredded
1 zucchini (I leave the peel on) sliced in half the long way and chopped.

Allow soup to come to a boil, turn the heat down and simmer for 10 minutes until vegetables are crisp tender. Taste broth and add salt and/or Worcestershire (if you want more heat).

Add a proportionate amount of barley to the soup you are going to eat right away. Allow the remainder of the soup to cool before adding the rest of the barely. Refrigerate.

Meatless Chili

Active prep time 20 minutes. Total time 60 min.
Makes 8 servings. Using a food processor to chop veggies makes it go really fast.

Heat in a large pot over med high heat:
1 TBS Olive oil

Add:
1/2 med sweet onion (red or yellow) chopped
2 tsp Cumin
2 TBS Chili powder
2 TBS Dried Oregano (Mexican if you have it)
1 TBS Salt
2 Stalks Celery Chopped
2 Red Bell Peppers diced (Can use green)
2 Jalapeno peppers chopped (wear food handler gloves while cutting)
3 cloves garlic chopped
Cook with lid on, stirring occasionally until onion is transparent, about 5 minutes

Add:
2 4oz cans chopped green chili peppers (choose heat depending on how spicy you like your chili)
3 28 oz cans diced tomatoes
1 (15 oz) Can kidney beans drained and rinsed
1 (15 oz) Black beans drained and rinsed
1 (15 oz) Garbanzo beans drained and rinsed
Heat to a boil and turn heat to simmer for at least 30 minutes.
Taste to check heat. If you want it hotter add tabasco or ground pepper.
5 minutes before serving add:
1 (15 oz) Whole kernel corn

Serve in a bowl or over a baked potato.

Curried Butternut squash apple soup

This soup is all about fall. It's great warm or cold and the mix of flavors is a feast for the palette.
Mark and I are the only ones who eat it so I usually make half or 2/3 of the recipe.
Ingredients:
1 TBL. unsalted butter
3 cups fat free chicken broth
2 cups finely chopped onions (a little less is fine, chop in food processor)
1 TBL curry powder
2 medium butternut squash (about 3 lbs)(You can get this already peeled and chopped)
4 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and chopped
1 cup apple juice

Melt butter in a medium soup pot. Add 1/4 cup of the chicken broth, the chopped onions, and the curry powder; stir together and cook, covered, over low heat until the onions are tender, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, peel the squash (use a potato peeler), scrape out the seeds and strings, and chop the flesh coarsely. (You can buy the squash already peeled and cut up which makes it quicker)

When the onions are tender, add the remaining chicken broth, squash, and apples and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, until the squash and apples are very tender, about 25 minutes.

I use a ladle to transfer the hot mixture to a blender. This must be done in batches. Process until smooth. Put the processed mixture in a serving bowl. When all is processed add the apple juice and stir. (You can use the apple juice to wash down the sides of the blender, blend for a second to get out all the goodness and then pour into soup and stir) Season the soup to taste with the salt and pepper, serve immediately. You can warm again if necessary. Serves 4 to 6. Only 165 calories. You can eat this hot or cold, the flavors are more intense when it’s cold - be careful as you will come to crave it! If you want the gourmet look you can put some sour cream in a squirt bottle and swirl a little on top.

Credit for picture goes to rawfoodsdiet.wetpaint.com
If Amy was here I'm sure she could take a lovely one for me...