Roasted Eggplant Bruschetta

February 24, 2012 By Laura

This has been the LONGEST week.

Maybe because I know I’m 3 days from NUT BUTTER?! That’s really been the biggest hole in my life. That and oatmeal, but going without oats has been a little easier since Atlanta has turned into San Diego with 65-70 degree temps.

Spiced Almond Butter

As I think about what foods will and will not enter back into my life after Sunday, I am thinking more and more about what it means to eat clean on a daily basis. Should I cut out meat completely? Dairy products? Eggs?

After the first Standard Process Cleanse I did in November of 2010, I drastically reduced my intake of red meat and sugar. It has made a HUGE difference in the way that I feel. Red meat and I don’t process well together. Does that mean I won’t help myself to a bite of the tasty burger you ordered? Nooooo… I quite like Sarah‘s concept of being “vegan with benefits.” Maybe we can start a movement, Miss. Smart?

Sugar will remain an item I try to avoid. There are so many great alternatives out there, you don’t really need it!

Candy @ Healthy in Candyland just wrote a great post on sugar and my favorite alternative – Xylitol. Apparently it could have anti-aging properties!

Check out my Chewy Granola Cookies for a great start to using xylitol in baking!

How will I eat on post-cleanse on Monday? I don’t yet know what the right answer is for me. I do know that I will enter into the non-cleanse world by reintroducing one “new” food at a time, and pay close attention to what my body says about it.

Cleanse or no cleanse, I WILL be making many of this week’s French vegan dishes again!

I ran into my friend and his partner in Whole Foods last night, and they shared with me that my Vegan Goat Cheese Stuffed Oven-Roasted Tomatoes were on their menu! Keith (the “chef”) posted this pic later:

The two meat-eaters served vegan stuffed tomatoes with homemade organic Shepherd’s Pie with grass-fed Georgia beef and sweet potatoes, paired with a Vintage 2008 South Australian Shiraz.

Keith’s quote: “Props on the Vegan Goat Cheese girl! To die for!!!”

The next party dish I want to share is this Eggplant Bruschetta – installment #3 in the Vegan French Book Club Dinner Series (don’t you love how I made it so official-sounding?).

It was created a traditional bruschetta in mind, only the eggplant replaces the baguette to create a light, flavorful finger food.

Healthy and full of flavor, it was also the easiest dish.

Remember this Provençal Tomato Spread? I saved some and blended it with extra basil and olive oil to make a creamy sun-dried tomato-olive topping that was reminiscent of SDT pesto. It took less than 5 minutes. Wham, bam, thank you ma’am.

Topped with a little basil for color!

Roasted Eggplant Bruschetta

Olive oil
2 medium eggplants, cut in 1/2 inch slices
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Garlic powder
Provençal Tomato Spread
1/2 C fresh basil

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Line a large baking sheet with foil. Spray liberally with olive oil. Place eggplant rounds in a single layer on sheet. Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Roast for 15 to 20 mins. Flip each piece, checking to be sure the undersides have browned and become and a bit puffy. If they’re not, cook a bit longer.

Once flipped, sprinkle them with more pepper and some garlic powder. Place pan back in the oven for ~15 mins, until the undersides brown to match the tops.

Meanwhile, blend 1/2 C of the Provençal Tomato Spread with basil. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Add more olive oil (I added 2 tsp), if desired.

When the eggplant is cooked, arrange on a platter. Top each disk with 1-2 tsp of the purred provencal spread and a small bail leaf. Eat immediately.

Serves 8-10 as appetizers.

Note: Some people swear you don’t have to do this, but I always lay my sliced eggplant out, sprinkle generously with salt, and allow to sit for 10-15 mins. This helps remove some of the bitterness and excess moisture. If you do this, wipe off the excess moisture with a paper towel and proceed to bake as instructed.

***

3 days to go on the Standard Process Cleanse – I can’t believe it’s almost over! Like I said above, the idea is to add back one food at a time to see what you may be sensitive to…. I’m thinking nuts are coming back first! ~~That’s what she said.~~

What would you add back first post-cleanse?

Have you ever considered a vegan or vegetarian diet? What pushed you to do it or held you back?

Vegan Goat Cheese Stuffed Oven-Roasted Tomatoes

February 23, 2012 By Laura

Playing favorites isn’t fair.

No one ever said life was fair.

Everything I made for my vegan French book club dinner was good (I was kind of shocked)…. but we all have favorites, even if you won’t admit it. This is mine.

These vegan Goat Cheese Stuffed Oven-Roasted Tomatoes could probably get by on their looks alone. That isn’t why they were my favorite. ~~I’m not that shallow~~.

They were my favorite because of the cheese.

Inspired by this recipe from Alain Coumont, founder of Le Pain Quotidien cafés in France, I decided to take his concept and make it vegan. (Coincidentally, Le Pain Quotidien offers many vegan dishes.)

Everyone has some sort of vegan “cheese” they use in recipes. Often it’s cashew-based. Sometimes with nooch or any array of vegan products. It never really tastes like cheese.

With the exception of this tofu-based cheese. Tofu makes a GREAT sub for creamy cheeses like ricotta and goat cheese. (It made a helluva ricotta in this Eggplant Rollitini.)

This particular vegan version of tofu-cheese is a goat cheese. I swear to you – you would NEVER miss the real thing. The book club didn’t balk at all!

Goat cheese has a tanginess that was captured well with the lemon juice in this tofu creation. The miso lends a salty-sweetness to it, which helps bring out the cheesy side of the nutritional yeast.

Fantastic taste aside, the other plus to this recipe is that it’s easy… yet it looks impressive. There is a decent list of ingredients for the cheese, but you simply toss it all in the food processor. I love a one-bowl recipe!

Just be careful not to cut through the tomatoes when you scoop out the middles!

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Vegan Goat Cheese Stuffed Oven-Roasted Tomatoes

12 small-ish tomatoes
1 16 oz. pkg firm tofu, pressed
2 T extra virgin olive oil
1.5 T yellow miso
1/4 C nutritional yeast
1/4 C freshly-squeezed lemon juice (~1.5 lemons)
1/4 C yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp dried oregano powder
3-4 T finely chopped basil
Salt and pepper, to taste

Pre-heat the oven to 425.

Slice off the top 1/2 inch of each tomato and reserve the tops. Carefully scoop out the tomato cores and seeds. If necessary, cut a very thin sliver off of the bottom of each tomato to help them stand up straight. Arrange the tomatoes in a 9-by-13-inch glass or ceramic baking dish.

Crumble pressed tofu into the bowl of a food processor. Add remaining ingredients for “cheese,” except the basil. Process until smooth. Add basil and pulse briefly to combine.

Spoon the “cheese” mixture into the tomatoes, filling them just to the brim. Cover with the tomato tops and drizzle lightly with additional olive oil.

Bake the tomatoes for 30-35 minutes, until beginning to brown in spots and the cheese is hot. Let stand for at least 15 minutes. Serve warm. (They’re also good leftover!)

Notes:

I do not have a tofu press. Instead I drained the tofu, cut it in half horizontally, and wrapped it in paper towels. Then I stacked a load of cookbooks on top and let it press for 10-15 mins.
The cheese mixture can be made up to 2 days in advance. In fact, they are better on day 2 once the flavors fully marry. If you do this, do not add basil until just before you bake.

***

Tomorrow is Eggplant Bruschetta! Next week is the Salade Niçoise with Tempeh “Tuna”… then you’ll have a fully vegan-ized French-themed party spread! 🙂

What’s your favorite “veggi-tized” recipe? Or is there one you’d like to see made vegan/vegetarian?

What other dishes would you use a vegan goat cheese for? I’m making another batch this weekend!

No Beans About It: Butternut Thyme Hummus

February 17, 2012 By Laura

Trivia question.

Winner gets a $25 bar tab. Kidding…

What is the most expensive drink at Starbucks? A $9 Grande Latte with a few fancy add-ins? $15 with some extra espresso shots?

According to this article from Eater, the most expensive drink you can order is $23.60! Lucky for him, the customer had a free drink coupon.

Source: eater.com

This monstrosity was a Trenta (I didn’t even know that was a size) Java Chip Frappuccino with 16 shots of espresso, a shot of soy milk, caramel flavoring, banana puree, strawberry puree, vanilla beans, Matcha powder, protein powder, and a drizzle of caramel and mocha.

It reportedly didn’t even taste good.

One of the hardest parts of being on this cleanse is not having hummus. Like any good blogger, hummus is a staple food for me. It has its own level on my personal food pyramid.

Remember this pic from Wednesday?

As I was roasting squash this weekend, I remembered a hummus I made last summer using butternut squash rather than chickpeas.

This is a new version of that, with thyme being the herb addition rather than rosemary. I don’t know which I like better!

My butternut was one of the sweetest I’ve ever had. Some of that is probably the squash itself, but I also roasted it longer than I usually do. ~~Truth: I kind of forgot it was in the oven.~~

The longer bake time resulted in a sweet glaze on the squash. When I lifted it off to the foil I baked it on, I noticed a caramel had formed on the bottom where the juices spilled over. I promptly ate that up.

Squash caramel aside, you should try this hummus. It’s wonderful with veggies and crackers. Thin it out with some apple cider vinegar and water for a salad dressing. Spread it on a sandwich.

Serve it as an appetizer with crudités and a yeasty sparkling wine (*drool*).

You really can’t go wrong.

Butternut Thyme Hummus

2 C butternut squash, roasted
2 cloves garlic
2 T fresh thyme
1 T tahini
1/4 tsp cayenne
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
S+P, to taste

Place all ingredients in food processor and blend until smooth.

Adjust spices, salt, and pepper to your preference.

Makes 1.5 cups.

***

Tonight is another cleanse dinner. We lost one cleanse buddy, but my BFF and I are still going strong! I’m making root veggie fries to go with her homemade tomato soup… it’s our version of french fries and ketchup.

What are you doing this weekend? Any fun adventures planned?

What is your favorite hummus flavor?

Sweet Potato Pie Chia Pudding

February 10, 2012 By Laura

We’re on Day 5 of a successful cleanse!

16 to go.

Honestly, it hasn’t been hard. It’s been so great having the friend support, and seeing them feel good makes me even more determined.

Results come quickly! My friend sent me the following message yesterday morning:

I have an inordinate amount of energy. This from a girl who consumed no less than 6 servings a day of caffeine… I’m like, let me clean the whole house, do laundry, and work all day with my kid on my hip. WOO!

I’m so proud of my best friend!!!

The daily breakfast smoothies continue. I do love smoothies. With all of the random things I throw in them, I rarely end up with the same concoctions (except my favorite Liquid Sweet Potato Pie).

Atlanta is finally getting cold(er) this week and the thought of a cold drink for breakfast was too much to handle. Then I remembered – seeds are allowed on the cleanse… that makes chia pudding legal!

I typically make fruit-based chia puddings like this peach cobbler chia or this banana cashew… but there was a giant sweet potato staring at me. With my favorite smoothie in mind, I decided to try it as a chia pudding.

Sweet Potato ~~Pie~~ Chia Pudding. Sweet chia, it was good.

Nuts aren’t allowed, so that ruled out adding my usual nut butters… again, seeds are legal… sesame… tahini!

Turned out to be a genius mix-in. The nutty, toasty flavor came through subtly, adding a cool dimension.

The martini glass certainly added something as well. 🙂

Sweet Potato Pie Chia Pudding

1/4 large sweet potato, baked
1 T chia seeds
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
1/2 C unsweetened vanilla coconut milk (or other liquid of choice)
2 tsp tahini
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ginger
2-3 drops vanilla stevia
Shake of salt
Pinch cloves

In a bowl, mash up the sweet potato until smooth. Mix in all other ingredients and refrigerate at least 1 hour (or overnight). If it looks too thick, add more milk or water as needed.

Stir and enjoy!

***

Weekends are always my clean-eating weakness, so I’m really excited to have a dinner and game night with my cleanse buddies!

Have you made chia pudding before?

Are you celebrating Valentine’s Day this weekend? Share your plans – let me live vicariously!

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

February 2, 2012 By Laura

These Chocolate Zucchini Muffin sound a little strange, but you’d never guess the sneaky zucchini add. Best of all, these 100 calorie bites are vegan, gluten-free, and almost sugar-free.

This deliciousness took me a week to get right. But when I did… oh lawd they were good!

Judging from the reaction these chocolate muffins got at this week’s dinner party, I found the right combination of ingredients.

Chocolate-y and moist, these are muffins you could chow on for breakfast without guilt.

Why guiltless? Because you would be starting out your day with veggies!

The “secret” ingredient in these is zucchini! Fool your kids, your partner, your co-workers… yourself… you cannot detect a trace of the veggie. I’d put money on it.

I love making these as mini muffins. It makes them perfect for snacking, and they remind me of those trashy-but-delicious brownie bites from the grocery store.

These zucchini-filled treats please basically everyone. They’re vegan, gluten-free, almost sugar-free, and a mere 100 calories! Unicorn brownie bites!

I realize the ingredient list is long, but it doesn’t take much time to throw it together and the end result is well worth it!

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

1/4 C cocoa powder
1/4 C coconut flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp guar gum (or cornstarch)
2 T Xylitol
2 T NuNaturals Fiber Baking Blend (or other sweetener)
1/2 tsp instant coffee
Shake of salt
1 flax egg (1 T ground flax + 3 T water)
1/4 C unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or other milk substance)
2 T coconut oil
2 T unsweetened apple sauce
1 T almond butter (or other nut butter)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 C shredded zucchini
1/4 C chocolate chips

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk together dry ingredients in a large bowl. Set aside.

In a small bowl mix egg, milk, oil, nut butter, and vanilla until well-combined. Pour the wet mixture into the dry and stir until just combined.

Squeeze out zucchini to remove excess moisture, then add to batter along with chocolate chips. Gently fold to combine – don’t over-mix!

Place 12 muffin liners in a muffin pan (or lightly grease a mini muffin pan) and spoon the mixture into each tin so they are about 1/2 full.

Bake on the middle rack for 10-15 mins, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before serving.

Makes 12 small muffins or 24 minis.

Approximate Nutrition for small muffin: 100 calories, 7.4g fat, 9.5g carbohydrates, 3g fiber, 2g sugar, 1.5g protein

Notes:

I have tried this with a full 1/4 C of coconut oil (rather than 2 T oil and 2 T apple sauce) and found it to be too greasy, but you could try it either way
You could also leave out the guar gum; however, it helps the muffins to stay together better (coconut flour can result in crumbly baked goods)
If you can’t find Xylitol or the Baking Blend, you can use any sugar/sugar-replacer

***

Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the Buzz… my “Beefy” TVP Chili made the FoodBuzz Top 9 today!

How do you sneak veggies in?

If you have worked with coconut flour, what’s your favorite recipe?

Raw-ish Vegan Jerky + WIAW

January 25, 2012 By Laura

All day yesterday I thought it was Monday.

Funny how now that it’s Wednesday, I’m feeling like Friday is not so far away.

This week has really been awesome – tons of cooking, which means I have LOTS to share with you. More to come!

For now, lets cheers to chalkboard wine glasses, kick-ass workouts, being half way to Friday, and my friend Jenn’s What I Ate Wednesday.

Breakfast:

After last week’s hotel oatmeal ick, this more than made up for it:

Overnight oats in an almond butter jar. Pure bliss.

Oatmeal
Unsweetened vanilla almond milk
Chia seeds
Pumpkin puree
Almond butter jar remnants
Cinnamon
Vanilla
4-5 drops of vanilla liquid Stevia
A little TBA chocolate something crumbled in. 🙂

Lunch:

Another bit of amazingness. Citrus Chickpea Cilantro Salad with carrots atop an eggplant patty.

Recipe for this deliciousness coming tomorrow!

Dinner:

You may be familiar with a little problem I have. When I go out I sometimes get so excited about the meal that I forget to take pics. This is all that remained of my post-workout dinner last night:

That WAS a side salad, 2 veggie tacos, a chips and salsa trio, and a Patron Silver margarita. Whoops.

More proof that Taqueria del Sol remains my favorite intown taco joint.

Snacks:

Continuing with last week’s blogger recipes, I tried Gena @ Choosing Raw’s Portabello Jerky. It was a fantastically salty, satisfyingly chewy afternoon snack. Seriously – Gena is a genius.

My raw-sih version of Gena’s raw jerky is at the bottom of this post!

Lucky me was asked to taste-test a new cookie recipe for Cookie Underground. I mentioned trying these veggie-based cookies at the Atlanta Underground Market here.

My test-kit included an original recipe and 4 alternatives for their Parsnip Vanilla flavor. In my mind there was a clear winner. Check them out on Facebook to read more!

Apparently I need to rename this blog dessert underground because my pre-workout snack was on of these vegan Granola Cookies:

At just 3g of sugar and over 1g of protein, can you blame me? P.S. They freeze perfectly.

Last, there was a vegan, gluten-free post-workout dessert.

I promise to share next week – I want to make one more batch to test with more soda. Let’s just say they are silky in texture, impossibly chocolate-y, and inspired by a Cookie Underground concept. 😉

Raw-ish Portabello Jerky

1 large Portabello mushroom
1 tsp soy sauce
1tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp ancho chili powder
3 drops liquid Stevia
3-4 twist of freshly ground pepper

Mix all ingredients. Slice ‘shroom into 1/2 inch thick sticks and marinate overnight in refrigerator overnight.

Place on foil-lined baking sheet and cook in 170 degree oven* for ~3 hours.

*Note: Gena had a dehydrator – check out her instructions for raw jerky details. For those of us without… just set your oven at it’s lowest temp (mine is 170 degrees). It’s raw-ish. 🙂

***

I’m really into vegan/low-sugar cooking and baking lately! It’s fun to try different style and I love feeling so clean.

Have you tried vegan jerky? Have you tried “real” jerky?

Do you feel a little the-end-is-near relief on Wednesday?

Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner: A Tribute

January 20, 2012 By Laura

Today is a tribute.

Friday seems like the perfect time to celebrate some fantastic bloggers who have inspired some of the best meals I’ve had. This list is not at all exhaustive, but it’s what I’ve had lately for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.