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.

Cheaper Substitute for Water Chestnuts

Turnip is a great cheap substitute for water chestnuts. Just slice the turnip into thin slices and saute it with oil for a few minutes, then add a little salt and water, cover and let cook until soft, then you can add them to any asian dish or eat them as a side dish. They remarkably taste like water chestnuts. 

Thai cabbage stir fry

Thai cabbage stir fry is a staple in our home.

This recipe is based off of my Asiany Stir Fry but the main ingredient is white cabbage.  This stir fry, like the Asiany Stir Fry has tons of veggies and you can really add whatever veggies you want.  After sauteing the onions, garlic, ginger, and carrots add in the chopped cabbage and once it starts to cook add in the other veggies.  Continue to cook, stirring frequently and then add coconut milk and chopped fresh basil and cilantro, and continue to cook and stir until done. YUM!

Serve over brown rice.

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!!