Thursday, August 8, 2013

Strawberry Vegan Ice Cream




Ingredients:
* 2 1/2 cups frozen or fresh strawberries
* 2/3 cups white sugar
* 1 tablespoon orange juice
* 1 cup almond milk, divided
* 1/2 cup coconut milk (located in the dairy section)
* 1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
* 2 teaspoons corn starch



How to:
* Heat 2 cups of strawberries in a pot with the sugar and juice.  Bring to a boil and simmer for 3-5 minutes (until the sugar is fully dissolved).  Remove from heat and let cool.  Once cooled puree in a blender.  Then pour into a bowl.
* Mix 1/2 cup almond milk and corn starch in a small bowl, set aside.
*Heat 1/2 cup almond milk, 1/2 cup coconut milk & coconut extract until simmering.  Add the corn starch & almond milk slurry to the heated milk.  Keep on low-med heat for about 5 minutes, whisking often to prevent burning.
*Pour milk mixture into the strawberry mixture bowl.  Let the milk & strawberry mixture set in the fridge for about 30 minutes, to cool even more.
*Chop the last 1/2 cup of strawberries - add to your strawberry & milk mixture.  Pour all into your prepared ice cream maker.  Let it run for about 25 minutes.
*Eat now or put your ice cream in a freezer container until you are ready for use.


***I topped mine with mini chocolate chips.  My husband topped his with chocolate syrup.  I bet toasted coconut would be delicious also.  You could change this up to make this your recipe.  Use different milks, extracts (vanilla, orange, almond) or berries (blueberries, raspberries) - limitless options!

Friday, February 1, 2013

Stuffed Poblano Peppers

I have another awesome stuffed pepper recipe for you! It is very similar to my Vegetarian Stuffed Anaheim Peppers.
 
Sauce:
*1 28 ounce can tomatoes (or 2 14.5 ounce cans)
*1/2 Tablespoon onion powder
*3 garlic cloves
*Salt and pepper to taste
 
Filling:
*2 1/2 cups cooked grains (I like to use Saffron Yellow Rice for this recipe)
*1 15 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
*1/2 c grated cheese (I used 1/4 c cheddar & 1/4 c mozzarella) (use vegan cheese to make this vegan)
*1/2 Tablespoon onion powder
*Salt and pepper to taste
 
Other:
*4 Poblano peppers
*1/2 cup crushed tortilla chips
*1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese (use vegan cheese to make this dish vegan)
 
Turn oven on to 425.
Wear gloves and cut the peppers in half and deseed them (keep the seeds to plant later).
Find a baking dish that will hold all of your peppers (I used a 9x13 glass pan)
 
 
 
Take all the ingredients for the sauce and place in a blender - blend until smooth.
 
 
 
Place the sauce in the bottom of your baking dish.
Place your cleaned and halved peppers on top of the sauce.
 
 
 
In a medium bowl combine your filling.
 
 
 
Stuff your peppers with the filling.
 
Top with the crushed tortilla chips and then your cheese.
 
 
 
Bake for 15 minutes.
 
 
 
**The peppers will be REALLY firm - I like them this way.  If you like them more tender I suggest roasting the peppers and removing the skin.  Here is a video.
 
**You can add or remove items to really make this your own recipe. (proteins, cheeses, veggies, cilantro, chives, different kinds of chips, etc)
 
**If you'd like to kick up the heat - add 1 whole jalapeno to the sauce before mixing in the blender.
 
**If you have a bit of left over filling mixture use it in a soup or taco salad - or give it to the kids - most kids don't like peppers anyway.