Coconut “shrimp”

Now, I know fried food is a drag on the body, but sometimes I can’t help myself.  While looking in my freezer and realizing I still had a good 2 pounds of faux shrimp from many months ago, I figured it was time to do something with them.  My first thought was coconut shrimp  since I never could resist it while growing up.  So I ended up looking for a coconut shrimp recipe (non vegan) and veganizing it.  It had a gluten free option (but with egg) so I tried that and used ener-g egg replacer which I was sure would fail.  And it did.  However I have to say the shrimp was lovely even though the coconut fell off during cooking.  I wouldn’t put the recipe on here seeing as it was time consuming and not well worth it.

I will however post some pretty pictures of the wheat batter version I made for my family, since the pictures look great and it tasted amazing too (apparently).

 

 

This is the gluten free version!

 

 

The Wheat batter version!

Avocado Soup with grilled asparagus and tortilla chips

Avocados and tomatoes seem to be a match made in heaven.  At least that’s what every avocado recipe out there tells me.  Since I ain’t diggin the deadly nightshades (sadly including chili powder which is avocados closest friend), I created a recipe that excludes these and lets the avocado shine on it’s own.

And how did this little number turn out?  Well my father detests avocados.  Even when made into a flavourful guacamole.  After many attempts to include them into his diet by sneaking them into dips, salads and on top of dishes as a garnish I was very curious to see how he would find my soup.  At first I was sad to see at the end of the meal he still had a full bowl.  When I asked him how he liked the soup he replied, “I’m working on my second bowl!  This is really good!”

So there you have it.  But don’t take my word for it, try it yourself because avocados are not a food you want to ignore!

 

Avocado Soup

 

Ingredients:

5-6 small to medium avocados (very ripe)

1 Tbsp olive oil (or veg. oil)

2 small onions (finely diced)

2 tsp minced garlic (about 4 cloves)

2 cups of vegetable broth

1 cup soy milk (or any milk you want to use)

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp salt

2 heaping tsps cumin

pepper to taste

 

Garnish:  

Vegan sour cream

tortilla chips

 

Directions: 

Slice and mash the avocados very well.  (you can also puree them in a food processor).  Set aside.  

Heat the oil in a medium sized pot and dice your onions.  Fry the onions and garlic till soft and browned.  

Add in the vegetable broth, the avocados, and the “milk” and stir well (keeping all this on medium heat).

Add in the remaining ingredients.

As soon as it’s hot it’s ready to serve.  Add some tortilla chips and maybe a dollop of vegan sour cream! 

I ate mine with some grilled asparagus.  Not exactly a complete meal but I had already eaten quite a bit of protein throughout the day.

Cumin infused Kale

 

My iron levels are currently on the low side so I knew I had to run to the store and stock up on Kale.  Most people don’t get a sufficient amount of dark leafy greens and I’m definitely trying to both convince others to eat them as well as myself.  

I’m talking about our bitter and often tough friends Kale, spinach, collard greens and chard.  I have experimented with many recipes and it seems that these veggies always need to be at least slightly cooked (for both texture and for the body to digest properly).  I’ve also found they do well with seasoning, otherwise you generally have a limp, tasteless mass of chewy leaves.  After flipping through my recipe books I found one from “Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone” that tastes fairly sophisticated.

 

 

Mixed Greens with Cumin and Paprika (Or my version Cumin infused Kale)

Ingredients:

12 cups mixed greens – kale, broccoli rabe, chard or beet, escarole, mustard green

Salt

4 large garlic cloves

1 cup chopped parsley

1 cup chopped cilantro

3 Tbsp olive oil

2 tsp paprika ( I did without due to the deadly nightshade allergy)

2 tsp cumin

For Garnish: oil-cured black olives ( I used regular green ones), wedges of lemon and tomato (again you can defintely do without the tomatoe if allergic)

Directions:

1) discard any inedible parts of the green, such as kale stems and tough ribs.  Set the leaves in a steamer – the tougher ones on the bottom, the most tender on top – and cook until tender.  Or boil each type seperately in salted water, then drain.  Chop into pieces about one inch square.

2) Pound the garlic with 1/2 tsp salt in a mortar until smooth, then work in the parsley and cilantro pounding them briefly to release their flavours.

3) Warm the oil with the paprika and cumin in a wide skillet over medium heat until they release their fragrance.  Don’t let them burn!  Stir in the garlic, then add the greens and cook until any extra moisture has evaporated.  Taste for salt.  Pile into a dish and garnish with olives, lemon and tomato.  Don’t forget to squeeze those lemons onto the kale before eating!