Pizza Pretzels

Pizza Dough*

1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 package quick-rising yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/2-2/3 cup hot water (120-130°F)
2 teaspoons EVOO

Combine flour, yeast, salt and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer to mix fitted with a dough hook.

Combine hot water and oil in a measuring cup. With the stand mixer is running, gradually pour in enough of the hot liquid until the mixture forms a sticky ball. The dough should be quite soft. If it seems dry, add 1 to 2 tablespoons warm water; if too sticky, add 1 to 2 tablespoons flour. Continue mixing until the dough forms a ball, then process for 1 minute to knead.

Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl. Coat a sheet of plastic wrap with cooking spray and place it, sprayed-side down, over the dough. Let the dough rest for 10 to 20 minutes.

*I recommend doubling this recipe.

Pizza Pretzels and Pockets
Preheat oven to 400ºF.

Cut the prepared pizza dough into 4 equal pieces and roll each out into a rectangle. Scatter the fillings (whatever veggies you want and cheese if making them dairy) over the dough. Brush the one of the long sides with a little egg wash then, starting with the opposite side, roll the dough up into a log, enclosing the toppings inside. Shape the log into a pretzel and transfer to a baking sheet.

Optional: Brush the top of the pizza pretzel with olive oil and sprinkle with parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning.

Bake until golden brown, about 15-20 minutes.

While the pizza pretzel is baking, heat up marinara or dipping sauce, until warm. Serve the pizza pretzel with the marinara/pasta sauce dipper alongside.

I found the pretzels to be too time consuming so I just started forming the dough into small circles, filling with ingredients and pinching closed the sides. Sometimes I put the sace insie and sometimes I don't. I also play around with ingredients. A huge winner in our house is pear and zucchini. 

* To make ahead/freezer meal - Prepare the pretzels as directed above and do not bake. Instead, wrap prepared pretzels in plastic wrap and foil. Place in a freezer bag and freeze. When ready to prepare, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place frozen stuffed pretzel on a baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 20-30 minutes. No need to defrost pretzel before baking.

Battered Fruit Rings

Pancakes are always a big hit in our house, we eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner!
So when I came across this recipe for Battered Fruit Rings on Pinterest I knew we had to try them today for dinner.
I used green apples and bananas coated in our favorite Vegan Pancakes batter.
They were really good and gave me so many different ideas to try.
For Rosh Hashana I want to make just apple ones, and make some sort of honey sauce to drizzle on the top, YUM!!
To try and get more vegetable in to my 3 year olds diet I want to try them with vegetables, I am thinking zucchini, sweet potato, and carrots.
The options are endless!

Spicy Peanut Noodle Stir Fry

With two kids now and not much time for cooking we have been eating far more pasta then I would like to admit. So, I have been trying to make the healthiest dishes I can with noodles.

A few days ago on Pinterest this yummy looking recipe for Spicy Peanut Stir Fry popped up.  I didn't have all the ingredients and decided to change things a bit, it was delicious and pretty quick, I will definitely be making it again.

Spicy Peanut Stir Fry

1 medium onion chopped

2 garlic clove, minced

1/2 tsp chopped fresh ginger

1 red bell pepper, sliced into 2-inch strips

2 tbls cashews

1/2 package spaghetti noodles
3 tbls Bragg's Liquid Amino Acids or soy sauce
1 tbls olive oil
1/3 cup natural peanut butter
3 tbls silan
2 tbls rice vinegar
1 tbls water
1/2 tbls chili powder
1 drop doTerra cilantro essential oil
2 scallions, thinly sliced (both green and white parts)

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and sauté the onion, garlic and ginger until softened. Add the red bell pepper strips and continue sautéing for 5 minutes or until softened. Add the cashews and continue for 1-2 minutes. Turn off heat. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the Bragg with the peanut butter, silan, rice, vinegar, water, chili powder and cilantro essential oil and set aside.

Cook the noodles according to the package directions. Rinse and drain the noodles, transfer to a large bowl, and toss with the peanut sauce and sautéed red bell pepper. Serve the noodles topped with the scallions.

Butternut Squash Mac n' Cheese

Meals around here have become to be an adventure. My 2 1/2 year old who used to eat everything has now become a picky eater, so every meal I am trying to figure out new exciting ways to make the same old thing and make it healthier, a person cannot live off of grilled cheese and ketchup or eggs and ketchup or pasta and bragg.

I made a huge pot of orange (squash, yam, carrot, pumpkin) soup for dinner a few nights ago so I decided to attempt this new trend of making creamy pasta sauce using butternut squash but instead I would use the soup.

Basically I just cooked up the pasta. Then heated the soup, mixed in the cooked pasta and some shredded cheese and stir it all up and serve it.

It worked it was a hit and it was so quick an easy!

Red Lentil Loaf

I've seen lentil loafs before, but never using red lentil. I cam across this recipe on pinterest and adapted it.  I've made it a couple of times already and just served it for Shabbat lunch with tomato chutney and yogurt sauce.

The leftovers are great for lunches and it doesn't even need to be heated up, it is fine room-temperature.

1tbsp oil
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium carrot, finely diced
1/4 tsp medium curry powder

1/4 tsp dried ground ginger

1/4 tsp dried cilantro
dash cardamom
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups red lentils
4 cups water
1/2-1 cup rolled oats

Heat the oil in a saucepan, and cook the onion, garlic and carrot over medium heat for 5-10 minutes or until the onion is soft.  Add the spices and cook, stirring constantly for 1-2 minutes.

Add the lentils and water, and season to taste with salt and black pepper.  Simmer for around 20 minutes, until the lentils are soft.  Stir regularly adding more water if needed. 

Remove from heat and stir in as many oats as you need to bring the mixture to the correct consistency (you may need slightly more or less). The lentils should be moist, but sturdy enough to hold its shape solidly rather than filling the container.  Mix well.

Lightly grease a baking dish or loaf tin or line with baking paper, and spoon in the lentil mixture.  Spread out until smooth.

Bake at 200°C (Gas Mark 6 / 400°F) for 30-40 minutes, and then gently turn out onto a baking tray. If needed, broil for a few minutes to crisp and brown the top. Leave to cool for 5-10 minutes, before carefully slicing.

Coconut Milk Curry

I love curry and this curry is amazing and super easy. My amazing friend SR made this Squash and Chickpea Curry. I couldn't get enough of it, it was so unbelievably delicious. She used frozen spinach instead of chard since it is much easier to come by.  Using her recipe I made this curry a couple of times and not once did I actually put in the veggies that the original recipe calls for. One time I used sweet potate, white potato and peas and tonight I did carrots and red lentils. I haven't used vegetable stock in it and I make it on the stove top and cook it for less time, and it still came out great! Ha ha I am so bad at following recipes.

Here is the original recipe from SR. (I don't know her original source.)


SQUASH AND CHICKPEA CURRY

Ingredients

2 cups (500 mL) cubed peeled butternut squash
2 cups (500 mL) diced peeled potatoes
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 tbsp (15 mL) vegetable oil
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp (15 mL) minced gingerroot
3 tbsp (45 mL) mild curry paste
1 can light coconut milk
1 cup (250 mL) vegetable stock
1/4 cup (60 mL) natural cashew butter or peanut butter
1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt
2 cups (500 mL) packed shredded Swiss chard
1 cup (250 mL) frozen green peas
2 tbsp (30 mL) chopped fresh coriander

Preparation

In slow cooker, combine squash, potato and chickpeas.

In large skillet, heat oil over medium heat; fry onion, garlic and ginger, stirring occasionally, until onion is
light golden, about 7 minutes. Add curry paste; cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add to slow
cooker.

Add coconut milk and stock to slow cooker; stir in cashew butter and salt. Cover and cook on low for
about 4 hours or until vegetables are tender.

Stir in Swiss chard and peas. Cover and cook on high for about 15 minutes or until Swiss chard wilts.
Sprinkle with coriander.

Vegan Mac 'n Cheese

This is my first attempt at vegan mac 'n cheese and it came out awesome! I was surprised at how quick and easy it was to make and was even more surprised at how much everyone loved it!
One of my current obsessions is Brewer's yeast, but my husband is not as big of a fan so I wasn't sure if he would like this dish or not.  Most vegan "cheese" recipes call for nutritional yeast or Brewer's yeast because of its cheesy taste. I didn't tell him what was in it until after he tried it just in case, but this is SO good that I think you could fool many a cheese lover.

I got the idea to make vegan mac 'n cheese and started my internet search for recipes. Many recipes called for silken tofu or cashews or some other ingredient that I didn't have, so I just used the recipes I found as a guideline and here is what I came up with.

Ingredients

• 1 package of noodles
• 1/4 cup oil or margerine
• 2 Tablespoons Bragg (or soy sauce)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 Tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1-2 teaspoons agave nectar
• 2 Tablespoons tachina
• 1/2 cup flour
• 3 1/2 cups boiling water
• 1/2-1 cup Brewer's yeast
• Bread crumbs
• Paprika

Preheat oven to 350 F.
Cook pasta according to package directions.
In a saucepan over medium heat add oil, Bragg, garlic, mustard, pepper, agave nectar, and tachina. Whisk until mixed.
Whisk in flour & heat until thick and bubbly.
Add boiling water and continue to whisk until thick and bubbly. Remove from heat.
Stir in Brewer's yeast.
Mix sauce and noodles in a casserole dish.
Pour a generous amount of sauce on top. Sprinkle with bread crumbs and paprika.
Bake about 15 minutes until sauce bubbles up and top is browned.

Wheat Free Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

Post Punk Kitchen has done it again, these are AMAZING vegan chocolate chip cookies. I made them with whole wheat flour instead of oat flour and left out the flax meal since I was out of it. But I did add in some old fashioned oats to half the dough and it was SUPER YUM! I think I like them even better with the oats.  I definitely recommend doubling this recipe because just 18 cookies aren't going to be enough!

Vegan Pancakes

Recipe adapted from Post Punk Kitchen Puffy Pillow Pancakes

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cup water*
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon chia seeds
3 tablespoons sunflower oil
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

In a large mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center.

Measure the water/milk into a measuring cup. Add vinegar and chia seeds, and use a fork to vigorously mix the ingredients until foamy. This will take a minute or so.

Pour the milk mixture into the center of the dry ingredients. Add the sunflower oil and vanilla and use a fork to mix until a thick, lumpy batter forms. That should take about a minute. It doesn’t need to be smooth, just make sure you get all the ingredients incorporated.

Preheat the pan over medium-low heat and let the batter rest for 10 minutes.

Lightly coat the pan in oil. Add 1/3 cup of batter for each pancake, and cook for about 4 minutes, until puffy. Flip the pancakes, adding a new coat of oil to the pan, and cook for another 3 minutes or so. Pancake should be about an inch thick, and golden brown.

*Note: I didn't have any almond or soy milk in the house so i just used water. Almond or soy milk will make the mixture foamier and creamier, but water works just fine. If you want to use a milk use 1 cup milk and 1/2 cup of water.
I used 1 Tablespoon white sugar and 1 Tablespoon of brown sugar.

A New Spin On the Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie

So what does a person do if they run out of cocoa powder?! Make something totally new and maybe even better!!!

This smoothie is creamier and more refreshing than the traditional Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie.
So here is what I did...
In a blender or tall cup for an immersion blender add:

• 1-2 frozen bananas
• 1-2 Tablespoons natural (sugar free) peanut butter
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• dash of cinnamon
• 8 ice cubes (you may need more or less depending on what consistency you are going for)
• 1/4 cup liquid

I add in small handfuls of ice as I go as well as adding small amounts of liquid until I get the consistency that I am looking for.
You may be asking yourself "what liquid should I use", great question! I used water, but if I had vanilla almond milk it would make this smoothie even better.  Water worked just fine, milk or soy milk would also work great.   Yum! This smoothie was SO good that just writing about it make me want some right now!

Check out the smoothie mustache!

Chayim also loved this smoothie as much as I did.

Black Bean Soup with Chipotle Chiles

This black bean soup is super yum and healthy!

I make my own chipotles in adobo using those long skinny green spicy peppers that you can find any where.  If you can't find limes because it isn't the two months of the year that we can get limes here, then you can just use lemon or try a young green lemon, its not quite a lime, but more lime-like.
I find that this recipe needs more spices so just add more in as you like, overall this is an awesome and quick prep recipe.
You can also try sour cream instead of yogurt, add green onion and a few tortilla chips as a topping, or let people add their own fixings.

Cinco de Mayo Dinner

As a California girl who loves Mexican food, I decided to make a Cinco de Mayo inspired Shabbat meal since it was Cinco de Mayo.

We had a vegan Hot Tamale Pie as the main.  We like spicy so I added in finely chopped fresh hot pepper.  In my opinion this recipe needs the extra spice and could use more cumin, chili powder and salt.  As always I used dried beans instead of canned, just soak the beans for as long as you can, preferably over night) and then boil in water until soft but not mushy.  Adding some spices in while the beans are cooking could add an extra flavor too!

To make a full protein we had green rice (arroz verde) loosely based on this recipe and using brown rice instead of white.

There was of course one of my favorites, homemade salsa (pico de gallo)!

And for dessert we had Chayim Cupcakes Mexican-Style!

OLE!!

Chayim Cupcakes

These Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes are amazing and are known in our family as Chayim cupcakes because it has become a tradition to make them for Chayim's Birthday!

The frosting is super easy and healthy!

In a small mixing bowl combine 1/2 cup techina, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract, and enough agave nectar to make the techina sweet and a creamy smooth consistency.  Add in 3/4 cup or more to taste of unsweetened cocoa powder and a dash of salt.  Mix well.  Then slowly add in small amounts of water till the mixture becomes smooth creamy frosting.

 Alternatives:

If you want to make the cupcakes chocolate then just add in 3 Tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder to the dry ingredients.

If you like cinnamon add in 1/2 -1 teaspoon of cinnamon to the dry ingredients.

For Mexican-Style add in 2-21/2 teaspoons of cinnamon to the dry ingredients and add chili powder (to taste) to the techina frosting for a bit of a kick!

Moroccan Couscous

In honor of all of those who gave their lives for Israel, our dinner for the end of Yom HaZicaron and the beginning of Yom HaAtzmaut!

Make this quick spicy couscous recipe healthier by using whole wheat couscous or make it cheaper by using a couple carrots instead of sweet potato.

Veggie Chili & Baked Sweet Potatoes

My new obsession is making a huge pot of veggie chili and baking a ton of sweet potatoes and chopping up some fixings.

Chili is like cholent, but in my opinion WAY better!

I used whatever dry beans I have around and soak them overnight. Then in the morning I saute onion and garlic then add in the beans with the water they have been soaking in and more water if necessary. Let them cook till partially cooked and geting soft, then add in seasonings: salt, chili powder, cumin, dry coriander and what ever else tickles your fancy. Add in veggies: carrots, zucchini, bell peppers, jalapeno, tomatoes and/or tomato paste, etc.. let in cook a bit longer. (The bell peppers and zucchini I tend to add in later as they get soft quickly. When its closer to being done I add in some kind of grain: bulgar, barley, brown rice. My favorite is bulgar, it gives it a bit of a ground beef texture which is good for those meat eaters. Let is simmer for a while till nice and cooked.

In the meantime I scrub a bunch of little sweet potatoes and throw them in the oven right on the rack and lt them bake till soft. Note they will make a mess in the bottom of the oven with sugar liquid that cooks out of them.

Then when I am ready to serve it I slice the sweet potato open just like a plain old baked potato and top with the chili, shredded cheese, salsa, chopped red onion, green onion, jalapeno, sour cream, and crushed tortilla chips and whatever else sounds yummy.

This saves well and is great for quick leftovers.

Flourless Oatmeal Cookies

Tried these Flourless Oatmeal Cookies today and they are super yum!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie

Perfect for these hot summer days and so so easy!

First put a banana or 2 in the freezer to get real cold or even frozen!

Then in a blender mix together:

• Banana
• Peanut Butter
• Cocoa Powder
• Sweetener of your choice (only use a tiny bit, the bananas are sweet enough on their own)
• Ice
• Milk of your choice (I use soy milk)

Blend everything and add more ice till you get the consistency that you want.

Pour in to a tall glass, add a straw and enjoy!

Triple Chocolate Cupcakes (gluten free)

While searching for a gluten-free chocolate dessert recipe I came across this great recipe!

Triple Chocolate Cupcakes

They are quite tasty and very unique. I did not have coconut flour so I put unsweetened shredded coconut in the food processor till it was more fine.
The next time I make these I think I will add vanilla and cinnamon and maybe even some banana and/or nuts.

Yummy Dahl & Brown Rice

One of my favorite dishes to make for dinner is an Indian inspired red lentil dish called dahl.
I usually start by making brown rice and then in a seperate sauce pan I lightly sauté chopped onion and garlic. Then add in red lentils, water & spices. I usually spice with curry powder or tumeric, salt, pepper and Ginger (fresh is best). Cook until done and serve dahl over rice. This dish is great with a scoop of sour cream or plain yogurt!

I tend to make this for dinner and then pack it up for lunches. This is a quick and easy dish. Enjoy!

Green Salad with Orange and Fennel

My mom has taught and inspired me how to make gourmet salads. She is the best and makes a gourmet salad for herself almost every day for lunch.

I am not always a fan of fennel but it works great in a salad with oranges. Both fennel and oranges are easy to come by and inexpensive when in season.

To make this salad use what ever greens you like, spinach, baby greens or just good old romaine. Beet leaves, sorrel, mustard greens or chard would also probably be great on their own or mixed in. Mix in sliced fennel and cut up orange segments and chopped green onion. To top off use a slightly sweetened olive oil white vinegar dressing with mustard seeds.

I was inspired by this recipe from epicurious.com.
Green Salad with Orange, Fennel and Asparagus