Recipes

You are currently browsing articles tagged Recipes.

Chewy Double-Chip Oatmeal Cookies

March 18, 2009 in Cookies | 6 comments

Chewy Double-Chip Oatmeal Cookies

I’m obviously not going to be hired to name recipes anytime soon, but this is the best description I could think of. These cookies stay nice and chewy, even the next day, and contain both chocolate and butterscotch chips. I was looking for something to enjoy with a nice, cold glass of chocolate soymilk that I’d been craving for about a week. I also knew that I wanted to use the vegan butterscotch chips I scored from my visit to bazu, and that I wanted a semi-healthy, chewy oatmeal-based cookie. After searching through a few recipes, I came across this lovely recipe from Celine, of havecakewilltravel.com, which I adapted to meet my particular craving.

I decided to use white whole wheat flour, since it has a milder taste than regular whole wheat flour, yet still has a good deal of fiber. If you don’t have it, or can’t find it, I would suggest whole wheat pastry instead of regular whole wheat flour. I used almond butter since it has a more neutral taste, and dark brown sugar since I wanted a deeper toffee flavor. Then a shot of whiskey, just for fun, although I like to think it amped up the butterscotch flavor. If you can’t find vegan butterscotch chips (I’ve heard they’re available on the east coast at Price Chopper and Food Lion), just use 1/4 cup each of chocolate chips and pecans, or 1/2 cup chocolate chips if you don’t do nuts.

Chewy Double-Chip Oatmeal Cookies

1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup rolled oats (quick or old fashioned, not instant!)
3 TBS natural almond butter
1 TBS canola oil
2 1/2 TBS non-dairy milk (I used almond)
1 TBS whiskey
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 TBS chocolate chips
3 TBS vegan butterscotch chips
3 TBS coarsely chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 425°. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt, then add the oats and stir to combine. In a medium mixing bowl, vigorously whisk the almond butter, milk, whiskey, brown sugar and vanilla extract until smooth, then add the flour mixture and stir until combined, and fold in the chips and pecans.

Drop the dough by rounded tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheet, flatten slightly with moistened fingers and bake for 7 minutes, or until barely golden. The cookies will look slightly underdone, but will firm up quickly as they cool. Let cool for about 5 minutes on the baking sheet, then remove to a rack to finish cooling.

Makes about 1 dozen cookies.

Garlicky Kale, Lentils, and Tempeh Bacon over Quinoa

March 3, 2009 in Dinner | 3 comments

Try to contain yourself. I’m actually posting twice in a month, and I’ve actually written a recipe, if you can call it that. I’d been dreaming about something smokey, with tempeh, some sort of bean or lentil, and greens over a grain, and since I generally always have greens, beans, grains, and some sort of tempeh in my pantry and refrigerator. This dish comes together really quickly; dinner was on the table in about 45 minutes, which is great if you’re like me, and can’t decide what to make some evenings until you’re ravenous.

When I make this again, I’ll add lemon zest to the quinoa, and some toasted pine nuts to the greens mixture.  It’s very tasty as is, but I think the extra elements would take it over the top.

Kale with Lentils and Tempeh Bacon

Garlicky Kale, Lentils, and Tempeh Bacon over Quinoa

serves 4-6

Kale and Lentils:

2 tsp olive oil

3 large cloves garlic, minced or pressed

1 cup chopped onion

1 package Tempeh Bacon Strips

1/4 cup white wine or water

1 1/2 cups cooked lentils (I used French Green Lentils, but really, any lentils that hold their shape well after being cooked would work)

1 large bunch of kale (I used Dino Kale), rinsed very well, and chopped or torn into bite sized pieces

1/4 cup golden raisins (optional, if you simply must leave them out)

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Quinoa:

1 cup uncooked quinoa

generous pinch of salt

scant 2 cups water

Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat for a few minutes, then add the tempeh bacon and sautè for about 5 minutes, until the tempeh is nicely browned. Add the garlic and onion, and cook, stirring constantly, for 5-10 minutes until the onion is just lightly browned and fragrant. Add the wine or water, and stir to deglaze the pan. Add the lentils, stir, then add kale on top of the mixture, reduce heat to medium-low and cover the pot while you prepare the quinoa.

Heat the uncooked quinoa in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes until just lightly toasted. I learned this method from bazu over at Where’s The Revolution. It is much, much easier than rinsing, and works just as well. Add the water and salt, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer, cover, and cook about 20 minutes, or until water is absorbed and the “little tails” appear. If you’ve never made quinoa before, you’ll see what I mean when it is fully cooked.

Add raisins to pot containing kale and lentils, and gently fold in the kale and raisins. Add the balsamic vinegar, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper, and stir again to combine. Cover the pot and let simmer for about 20 minutes, checking occassionally and adding additional liquid if the pot becomes too dry. I usually need to add about 1/4 cup of extra liquid, depending on how much water is clinging to the leaves of the greens.

When the quinoa is done, pile some on a plate with a generous helping of the greens mixture, and enjoy.