Fast and Easy Vegan Mini Batch Cinnamon Rolls

By Corinne

These are an adaptation of a recipe I’ve used for my hospitality class. They make a perfectly acceptable cinnamon roll, even if you aren’t vegan. While they don’t have the richness of a yeast based recipe, the fact you can make them on a whim makes them totally worth it.

I personally prefer mine without icing, as I find them sweet enough. But the icing is good, especially if you make it with a liquor instead of non-dairy milk.

Makes: 6 rolls

Time: prep 10 minutes or less, bake 15 min, total 25 minutes

You will need

• ¾ cup flour
• 2 tablespoons white sugar (divided)
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ⅛ teaspoon salt (pinch of salt)
• 5 tablespoons non-dairy milk (75 mL)
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 5 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8th tsp salt (pinch of salt)
• 2 tbsp chopped, toasted pecans (if desired)

ICING

• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon of non dairy milk (OR a liquor of your choice you think will go well with cinnamon- I like grand marnier!)

Preheat oven to 375 . Spray muffin tins (6) if you are worried about sticking. In a small bowl, combine 3 tablespoons of brown sugar, 1 tablespoon of white sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon. Stir until combined. Keep separate until later!

In a separate bowl, combine flour, 1 tablespoon white sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir. 

In a separate bowl, combine milk, vinegar and 2 tablespoons of the melted coconut oil.

Add the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until a sticky dough forms.

Lightly flour the counter. Knead the dough until no longer sticky.

Roll out into a rectangle about 6 inches (15 cm) long and about 4 inches wide. Brush 2 tablespoons of coconut oil onto the dough and spread it out. Now you get to use the sugars! Sprinkle sugars and cinnamon on top of dough. Sprinkle toasted nuts on if using. 

Roll up dough lengthwise, pinch the seam together and cut into 6 equal pieces. Place each piece in a muffin pan, brush with the last of the melted coconut oil.

Bake for 14 – 15 minutes in muffin pan.

Mix powdered sugar with 1 tablespoon of milk(or liquor!) and stir until combined. Frost the rolls.

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Vegan (or not) Garden Pesto

By Corinne

Basil is amazing. I am so in love with basil in the summer I can hardly help myself from adding it to everything. Basil in every salad, basil on sandwiches, basil gently rubbed between my fingers just to smell every time I go outside on my deck… Ah! Well, enough with this summer reverie. It’s February and the days (while getting longer) are still short and dark and cold and we’ve just had two weeks of -20C without a break. I’m craving summer in a bad way!

This pesto is infinitely versatile- in the summer I use much more basil than other greens, but in the winter good basil is hard to find and pricy! Tonight when I made it, I used about 15g of basil and 15g of parsley(a small handful of each)- the rest was spicy arugula, so I omitted the pepper.

While I’ve historically always used cheese, I decided to give nutritional yeast a try for this recipe. I probably could have thinned it out a BIT more, but it actually emulsified easier than the cheese version, was smoother, and as a bit of a shock to both myself and my taste tester, was the preferred version!

Time: under 10 minutes

Makes: about 1/2- 3/4 of a cup 

You will need:

• 1/4 – 1/2 cup olive oil or other oil of your choice (I used sunflower oil)
• 1-2 cloves garlic, outer skin removed
• 1 ½ cup(lightly packed down) fresh herbs such as basil, parsley or greens such as spinach, kale or arugula
• ¼ cup nutritional yeast or parmesan cheese
• 1/4 tsp salt – to taste
• pepper – to taste

In a food processor or using an immersion blender(I usually use my immersion blender as this is a relatively small batch and I have a large food processor), combine the herbs/greens and garlic and process for 15 seconds.

With the food processor still running, add the oil SLOWLY until the mixture is smooth – you want it to emulsify. The mixture should look almost matte, and not oily. If your pesto looks oily you rushed the emulsification process and added too much oil at once.  You are looking for the mixture to be loose, not chunky but not watery or runny at all.

Add the nutritional yeast or cheese and process for ten seconds. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

You can see in the picture that I did a better job of emulsifying the one version on the left than the one on the right today. I’m going to blame using a different container than I usually use!

Toss with warm pasta, put on pizza, spread on a pork tenderloin or chicken… pesto is delightfully easy to use! This will stay good in the fridge for about a week. 

 

Vegan Chocolate Snowball Cookies

By:  Julie

Time:  35 min

Serves: 2 dozen cookies

I will admit, I used to have food prejudice.  With the word vegan I associated flavors like cardboard, kale, and unseasoned lentils.  After much research, and a daughter with food allergies, I have learned much.  I have learned that Vegan can be delicious, and if you make these cookies you won’t even know they are vegan  You will just think they are awesome – and so will anyone else you feed them to.  Picture a chocolate cloud… crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside, with a rich chocolate taste.  Heaven.  My sentences are getting shorter because I’m eating them and typing with one hand.  Because I can’t stop eating them.

This recipe originally came from a past edition of Our Compliments magazine and caught my interest because it was dairy free, which is important for my family.  Corinne and I wanted to see if we could make a vegan version as this is the result.  It has the same texture as the original and is just as tasty.

You Will Need:

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/3 cup canola or vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp ground coffee
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup of well mashed very ripe banana (1 large)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 cup icing sugar

Preheat oven to 350F.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.  In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt and baking powder.  In a stand mixer bowl, or a large bowl, use mixer to beat together cocoa powder, oil, and coffee until well combined.  Scrape down sides and beat again.  Add white sugar and brown sugar and beat until combined.  Add banana and vanilla and mix thoroughly.  Some people who are afraid of sticky dough here might chill it to make it easier to work with, but I promise, it’s fine.  Just skip it.  Time is money.  If you are sticking your finger in the dough at this point to lick it off you will get an intense banana flavor.  Most of this mellows after baking so don’t panic.  I doubt your family will even realize there is banana in there if you don’t blab and tell them.

Put icing sugar in a small bowl.  Using a spoon (don’t bother with an ice cream scoop, the texture of the dough will just make you insane if you try to use it), and your fingertips, make 1-inch dough balls and roll them in the icing sugar before placing on your lined cookie sheet.  Repeat until all the dough is gone and you have 24 pretty white snowballs.  I baked my two sheets of cookies separately because my oven doesn’t seal particularly well but if you have cooked two sheets at one time in the past with success, by all means throw them both in there at once.  Otherwise, bake one sheet at a time for 6-8 minutes (mine took 8).  You will no they are done because they will have leveled out and cracked a bit.  They will be like little molten lava cakes when you first take them out and they are delicate.  slide the parchment paper with the cookies off the sheet carefully onto a cooling rack.  Allow to cool completely before eating.  Or throw them in a bowl with ice-cream because, damn, they really are like little lava cookies.

Let us know how this worked for you!

Quinoa Taco Salad

By Corinne

I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with quinoa as I shared in my post on Lemony Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpeas. I find it tends to suck the flavour out of things, and isn’t really that exciting on it’s own. Ha, ha, am I selling you on this yet? This really is a wonderful supper full of savoury flavours and delightful textures. I have found that red quinoa seems to have a bit more flavour, and I prefer it for this dish and most others. It is vegan as long as you either use dairy free cheese shreds and either omit or use a dairy free version of sour cream.

This recipe was inspired by one from Thug Kitchen 101- but edited for both additional flavour and simplicity. It could also easily be used as a filling for tacos, or as a topping for nachos 🙂

 

Time: about 35 minutes

Serves: 4 generously

You will need:

• 1 cup red quinoa, rinsed (to rinse or not to rinse? I buy mine in bulk so rinse)
• 1 3/4 cups water or veggie broth (I used veggie broth)
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp coriander
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1 cup canned (cooked) black beans
• 1 large onion, small dice
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 red bell pepper, small dice
• 1-2 fresh jalapeño, minced (don’t be afraid to use at least one here! The quinoa really does make things less spicy somehow)
• 2 heads romaine, washed and chopped
• juice of one lime, + additional lime wedges for each salad
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• tortilla chips
• garnishes- avocado or guacamole, additional jalapeño, green onions, diced cherry or regular tomatoes, salsa, sour cream, shredded cheddar or queso fresca

Combine 1 cup quinoa with water or veggie broth. Add 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp coriander, 1 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp oregano. Bring to boil, and then cover and reduce heat to a simmer. Stir every few minutes until water is absorbed and quinoa is fluffy- about 20 min. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding a bit more of everything to your taste, or leaving it as is. While quinoa is cooking, prepare vegetables.

Add 2 tbsp oil to pan on medium high heat, and add onion, black beans, bell pepper,  and jalapeño to pan. Fry until veggies are starting to get tender and getting some colour- about 5-7 min. Add cooked quinoa, lime juice, garlic, and cilantro. Stir for an additional minute or two.

Serve hot over lettuce with toppings of your choice. Also delicious cold for lunch the next day!

 

 

Black Bean Dip

By Corinne

Cilantro seems to be one of those things that people like or REALLY dislike. The people who like it always seem to like it a lot. To me, cilantro tastes fresh and almost a bit citrusy. The people who hate it usually describe it as tasting like soap. That all being said, this black bean dip is for sure for the cilantro lovers! The ingredient list is short, and it’s a nice complement to salsa.

Time: 5 minutes

You will need:

• 1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
• a generous handful of cilantro including stems-see photo below for an idea of how much- you could of course use less if that is your preference
• 1-2 cloves of garlic
• juice of two limes

Drain and rinse the black beans. Give the cilantro a rinse, but don’t worry about drying it. Add beans, cilantro, 1-2 cloves of garlic, and the juice of two limes to a food processor and pulse until combined. Serve with bread or tortilla chips, or as a yummy spread on a wrap (think the way you might use hummus). This is fine made the day before, but doesn’t keep well for more than a few days because of the mass of cilantro. I used canned beans, which I usually find salty enough, but if you are using dried beans that you’ve rehydrated, you may wish to add salt.

Hominy with Kale and Chicken

By Corinne

Living here in the great white north I’ve only recently been introduced to hominy.  After a bit of looking around on the internet, it seems like canned hominy is easy to find and can usually be found near beans in the grocery store. Most sources recommended using canned rather than dried, and if you can find them, it will certainly save them a step. If you’re living in Thunder Bay, I haven’t found canned hominy anywhere (though word on the street is that Bulk Zone has brought in some canned hominy now!) and the only place I’ve found whole dried hominy is Renco’s Foods on Court St.

Once you’ve figured out the hominy part, this is an easy supper.

Time: about 35-45 minutes (depends on the thickness of the chicken you are cooking)

Serves: 4

You will need:

• 2 chicken breasts
• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 2 cups of hominy* (rehydrated and cooked) or probably one can drained will do
• 1/2 onion diced
• 6 cups of washed and finely chopped kale leaves – no stems
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 2 cups of cherry tomatoes (I used mini san marzano because they are my fav)
• 1/4 tsp red chili flakes, or one crumbled red chili
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• Juice of one fresh lemon
• 1/4 cup white wine or chicken broth. I used white wine.
• Salt and pepper

*If you can find canned hominy, by all means, use that. If using dried hominy, start this recipe the day before by cooking the hominy. I skipped the soaking overnight step and cooked it in the slow cooker on low overnight. It still took until early afternoon before kernels were tender and had popped. I cooked the whole bag of dried hominy and froze what I didn’t use in two cup portions so that I won’t have to do this step again for a while.

In a large pan heat 1 tbsp canola over medium heat. Season chicken on both sides with salt and pepper and add to pan. If your chicken breasts are quite thick, you may wish to cut them in half to reduce cooking time. Cook for about 15-20 minutes (depending on the thickness of your chicken) until chicken is thoroughly cooked. Remove chicken from pan.

Add 1 tbsp canola to the pan and turn up the heat a bit to medium high. Add the hominy and stir and cook for about 10 minutes until some of it is getting a bit browned on the edges. Add the onion and cook for another 5-7 minutes. Add the cherry tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes.

Slice the chicken breasts and add back to pan with the other ingredients. Add the chili flakes, thyme, garlic and kale. Add the white wine and the lemon juice. Stir until chicken is reheated,  kale has wilted and the liquid has been mostly absorbed, about 5-7 minutes. Some of the tomatoes may have just started to break down, that’s ok, but if they’re all still whole that’s ok too. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper.

Harissa Chicken Wraps with Hummus

By Corinne

I am generally not one for buying spice blends, though I do enjoy when my friends visit exotic places and bring them back for me! Harissa is a Tunisian (though variants are found throughout north Africa and the Mediterranean) blend of of chilies, garlic and other spices such as mint. It’s often found as a paste rather than as the dry spice blend and either will work in this recipe. I picked up this Harissa blend on a bit of a whim, though I did receive a cookbook for Christmas that calls for harissa in a few recipes. I made my own wraps for this, but you can certainly use store bought tortillas or pita breads.

Makes: about 6-8 wraps

Time: about 30 minutes, more if you make your own flatbreads

You will need:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• about 1 tbsp of harissa spice blend
• about 3/4 cup of hummus (mine was very garlicky!)
• veggies you like- I used sprouts, tomatoes, avocado, cucumber and red onion- other options might include red peppers, lettuce, baby spinach, mushrooms or any other veg you like in a wrap
• wraps or pitas (I found this was enough chicken to make about 7-8 wraps, but I used a lot of veg in my wraps) I used Homemade Flour Tortillas, but certainly store bought is fine

Sprinkle both sides of chicken with harissa spice. I cut my chicken breasts in half lengthwise as they were fairly thick and I wanted to reduce the cooking time. Set chicken aside and allow to marinate for a bit while you prep any of your veggies you will be using with your wraps.

Add a little oil to pan if necessary. Add chicken to pan and cook for 5-7 minutes on each side.  When chicken is fully cooked, remove from pan and slice into pieces about 1/2 inch thick. Since these wraps are delightful with the chicken warm or cold, you could certainly prep the chicken the day before, and they are awesome for lunch the next day.

To assemble, spread about 2 tbsp of hummus on centre of wrap (or more or less as you like it!) and place chicken and veggies of your choice down the middle. Fold up from the bottom, then wrap both sides around. You can pin it all together with a toothpick.