highway and harmonies - that is the only way to describe my life at the moment. i've went on road trip after road trip, with multiple friends - creating different harmonies with each. the fulfillment i find within the (re)building of relationships is incredible; my favourite method is an old-fashioned road trip. no gps, no worries, just time.
unfortunately, in northern alberta, road trips lend no compliments to veganism. i've fallen off track, but i'm back! now with more support than ever. over the past month or so i've started to keep track of my recipes - here are a few of my favourites for summer:
an afternoon snack to share with the sunshine
fresh bruschetta
1 small package of multicoloured baby tomatoes (you can use regular, completely up to you)
1/2 medium onion, minced
3 full sprigs fresh oregano
oil and vinegar to taste (i used grapeseed and white vinegar)
salt and pepper to taste
mix all ingredients in a bowl - i like to quarter my tomatoes, giving them a bit of character. the simplicity of this recipe really makes it convenient at anytime - and it's an easy take-along for a picnic or barbeque. although easy to make, the freshness within this dip is in it's own category; the vinegar helps to awaken one's taste buds, followed by a mellow, almost-fruity bite, bursting with tomato flavour. this could be served on crackers, toast, the world is your oyster!
sunday morning saviour
chocolate chip pancakes
1 1/2 cups spelt flour
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 flax egg
1/4 cup melted vegan spread
1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips (i used dark chocolate)
mix dry ingredients in one bowl (except chocolate chips). mix wet ingredients in another small bowl. mix the two together, and fold in chocolate chips. fry as normal, and serve with fresh fruit and maple syrup. this recipe really comes in handy when the weekend has gotten the best of you. the pancakes can also be frozen individually and toasted when necessary for a quick breakfast.
i had made it almost four months, but for me, devotion is not defined by time; it is defined by many small aspects, such as explanation and evaluation. if other people are interested in veganism, i feel a friendly obligation to lend a hand - veganism is a fairly easy switch, given that one has used fresh ingredients before. in terms of evaluation - i feel it necessary to constantly challenge myself. to put myself in new situations, and gauge my reactions. obviously i have not lived up to my own standards in recent situations, but the past is the past, and i will continue to challenge myself through maintenance of vegan values - after all, we are only lent our time on this planet - it is best to treat what you have with the highest degree of respect. you are only given one body - do not pump it full of preservatives. veganism and raw food diets adopt a purist perspective, which i could not admire more. we can live in a sustainable way, but first we must abandon our societal greed.
philosophical start on sundays...
take care, animal-friendly followers,
xx ashley
Showing posts with label veganism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label veganism. Show all posts
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Sunday, April 15, 2012
coconut and almond dark chocolate brownies
hello all! i'm sorry i haven't been updating often at all still.. i'm in the process of: switching jobs and finishing my degree. so, as of right now i have four jobs and a full course. luckily i only have three final exams, but that means three 5000 word papers as well.. anyways, last night i had a craving for brownies, and this is the recipe i came up with. availability of ingredients will definitely depend upon location..
ashley's vegan dark chocolate brownies
1 full (almost) bar 90% cocoa dark chocolate (my lindt bar was missing three squares, it was perfect)
1/2 bar camino coconut dark chocolate
1 small tub coconut spread
1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups brown sugar
4 flax eggs**
2 tsp pure vanilla
1 tsp espresso
1/4 cup unsweeted shredded coconut + topping (optional)
1/2 cup sliced almonds (optional)
**4 flax eggs: add 12 tbsp water to 4 tbsp ground flax seeds, stir, and allow to sit while you prepare your other ingredients
preheat oven to 350 F. grease a 9 x 11 baking pan - you may line with foil if you find necessary, mine didn't stick too bad and i didn't use foil.
place the chocolate and coconut spread into a glass bowl (or double boiler) above simmering water - make sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. stir until both are completely melted and remove the bowl from the pot. let this sit for a few minutes.
in a small to medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder and salt.
in another medium bowl, whisk together sugar, flax eggs, vanilla and espresso. pour the chocolate mixture into the sugar mixture. whisk until completely incorporated. add the flour mixture all at once, and mix to incorporate. add the shredded coconut and almonds (optional).
pour into prepared pan and bake for approximately 30 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. at this stage, turn your broiler on, and cover the brownies with coconut - you want this coconut to be a light to medium brown. be very careful not to burn. take out, allow to cool, and enjoy.
my favourite part of this recipe is its versatility - you can virtually flavour these chocolate brownies with anything. earlier this month, i made these with mint dark chocolate - they were to die for!
again, i'm sorry for not keeping you updated, but i did make a delicious batch of stuffed peppers last night, which i'll share tomorrow :)
take care, animal-friendly followers,
xx ashley
ashley's vegan dark chocolate brownies
1 full (almost) bar 90% cocoa dark chocolate (my lindt bar was missing three squares, it was perfect)
1/2 bar camino coconut dark chocolate
1 small tub coconut spread
1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups brown sugar
4 flax eggs**
2 tsp pure vanilla
1 tsp espresso
1/4 cup unsweeted shredded coconut + topping (optional)
1/2 cup sliced almonds (optional)
**4 flax eggs: add 12 tbsp water to 4 tbsp ground flax seeds, stir, and allow to sit while you prepare your other ingredients
preheat oven to 350 F. grease a 9 x 11 baking pan - you may line with foil if you find necessary, mine didn't stick too bad and i didn't use foil.
place the chocolate and coconut spread into a glass bowl (or double boiler) above simmering water - make sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. stir until both are completely melted and remove the bowl from the pot. let this sit for a few minutes.
in a small to medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder and salt.
in another medium bowl, whisk together sugar, flax eggs, vanilla and espresso. pour the chocolate mixture into the sugar mixture. whisk until completely incorporated. add the flour mixture all at once, and mix to incorporate. add the shredded coconut and almonds (optional).
pour into prepared pan and bake for approximately 30 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. at this stage, turn your broiler on, and cover the brownies with coconut - you want this coconut to be a light to medium brown. be very careful not to burn. take out, allow to cool, and enjoy.
my favourite part of this recipe is its versatility - you can virtually flavour these chocolate brownies with anything. earlier this month, i made these with mint dark chocolate - they were to die for!
again, i'm sorry for not keeping you updated, but i did make a delicious batch of stuffed peppers last night, which i'll share tomorrow :)
take care, animal-friendly followers,
xx ashley
Thursday, March 8, 2012
ice "cream" and sweet hummus
lately, i have found myself craving sweets. normally, fruit would shake these cravings, but for some reason, this just has not been the case. last night, i stumbled upon a "three-ingredient vegan ice cream" on peta's website - i was curious. here is what i ended up with:
ashley's take on vegan ice cream
1 ripe banana
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tbsp all natural peanut butter
splash of vanilla rice milk
handful of almonds
peel the banana, and place it in the freezer - it should be completely frozen. combine the first four (all but the almonds) ingredients in the blender. then, pulse on high until a creamy texture is achieved. the peta version does not call for rice milk, but mine would not come together for the life of me, so i added it out of necessity. top with fruit, coconut or nuts, and enjoy. i found this as satisfying as a bowl of ice cream - which i would not lie about, i loved ice cream.
ashley's sweet hummus
1/2 can chick peas (garbanzo)
1 tbsp brown or raw sugar
1 tsp all natural peanut butter
2 tbsp coconut
splash of vanilla rice milk
handful of carob chips
place the first four ingredients in the blender, and pulse until a dry doughy texture is achieved. add rice milk, until it just comes together. fold in carob chips, and enjoy with animal crackers or other substantial "dippers." i imagine this would even be good with apples.
ashley's take on vegan ice cream
1 ripe banana
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tbsp all natural peanut butter
splash of vanilla rice milk
handful of almonds
peel the banana, and place it in the freezer - it should be completely frozen. combine the first four (all but the almonds) ingredients in the blender. then, pulse on high until a creamy texture is achieved. the peta version does not call for rice milk, but mine would not come together for the life of me, so i added it out of necessity. top with fruit, coconut or nuts, and enjoy. i found this as satisfying as a bowl of ice cream - which i would not lie about, i loved ice cream.
ashley's sweet hummus
1/2 can chick peas (garbanzo)
1 tbsp brown or raw sugar
1 tsp all natural peanut butter
2 tbsp coconut
splash of vanilla rice milk
handful of carob chips
place the first four ingredients in the blender, and pulse until a dry doughy texture is achieved. add rice milk, until it just comes together. fold in carob chips, and enjoy with animal crackers or other substantial "dippers." i imagine this would even be good with apples.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
cravings for sushi, muffins and puff pastry
hello all, my week has been ridden with sniffles and headache. it seems about this time every year i finally get the "winter bug" that everyone else has already gotten over. anyways, i am feeling a lot better today - and i think this is partly thanks to my new diet! i'm now at 33 days and i've never felt better (minus the whole head cold thing)! anyways, i thought i would share a few of my favourite meals from the week - most of these are eaten "out."
first, sushi. this is my one love. although i cannot partake in the actual "sushi," i find myself craving kappa rolls almost everyday. this night, my best friend and i indulged in: kappa rolls, kappa and avocado rolls and vegetable rolls (dynamite for her). we also had a bit of vegetable tempura, but i was afraid of egg content, so i quit early. i find that i never crave meat, but instead i crave baked goods that can only be created with plenty of milk and butter.
i had my first bad restaurant experience. after perusing the menu, i asked about their pan bread - it contained eggs. so, i ordered the cliche mixed greens with oil and vinegar.. when it came, i was greatly disappointed. the greens that i had asked for came with apples on top (which i don't oppose, but i specifically asked for "just" greens), and the oil and vinegar came in a little bowl. anyone with experience knows that the oil merely sits on top of the balsamic, which results in a very oily dressing. i ate it anyways, and clenched my jaw as i paid the $8 bill.. really? jeeze.
on a brighter note! i came across (and altered) an awesome recipe for fibre-rich muffins:
sunny boy vegan muffins:
1 flax egg (mix 1 tbsp ground flaxseed with 3 tbsp warm water)
3/4 cup rice milk
2 tbsp canola or veg oil
1/2 cup organic sunny boy cereal
1 1/2 cup spelt flour
1/2 cup raw sugar (this came out a bit too sugary for me, but i like my muffins fairly wholesome, not sweet)
1 1/2 tbsp baking powder
soak the sunny boy cereal in milk for about 20 minutes (or overnight if you do not want texture in your muffins). combine liquid ingredients in a medium bowl, and dry ingredients in another medium bowl. add dry ingredients to wet and mix well. place batter into greased muffin tin and bake at 375 F for 18-20 minutes. you could add dried fruit into this recipe as well - i didn't this time, but i will probably try cranberries next time!
note: the ingredients for sunny boy claim it "may contain traces of milk and eggs" due to the nature of the company - this is due to the use of these products in the factory, not in the processing of this specific product. i have not been that specific in my veganism.
take care, animal-friendly followers
xx ashley
first, sushi. this is my one love. although i cannot partake in the actual "sushi," i find myself craving kappa rolls almost everyday. this night, my best friend and i indulged in: kappa rolls, kappa and avocado rolls and vegetable rolls (dynamite for her). we also had a bit of vegetable tempura, but i was afraid of egg content, so i quit early. i find that i never crave meat, but instead i crave baked goods that can only be created with plenty of milk and butter.
i had my first bad restaurant experience. after perusing the menu, i asked about their pan bread - it contained eggs. so, i ordered the cliche mixed greens with oil and vinegar.. when it came, i was greatly disappointed. the greens that i had asked for came with apples on top (which i don't oppose, but i specifically asked for "just" greens), and the oil and vinegar came in a little bowl. anyone with experience knows that the oil merely sits on top of the balsamic, which results in a very oily dressing. i ate it anyways, and clenched my jaw as i paid the $8 bill.. really? jeeze.
on a brighter note! i came across (and altered) an awesome recipe for fibre-rich muffins:
sunny boy vegan muffins:
1 flax egg (mix 1 tbsp ground flaxseed with 3 tbsp warm water)
3/4 cup rice milk
2 tbsp canola or veg oil
1/2 cup organic sunny boy cereal
1 1/2 cup spelt flour
1/2 cup raw sugar (this came out a bit too sugary for me, but i like my muffins fairly wholesome, not sweet)
1 1/2 tbsp baking powder
soak the sunny boy cereal in milk for about 20 minutes (or overnight if you do not want texture in your muffins). combine liquid ingredients in a medium bowl, and dry ingredients in another medium bowl. add dry ingredients to wet and mix well. place batter into greased muffin tin and bake at 375 F for 18-20 minutes. you could add dried fruit into this recipe as well - i didn't this time, but i will probably try cranberries next time!
note: the ingredients for sunny boy claim it "may contain traces of milk and eggs" due to the nature of the company - this is due to the use of these products in the factory, not in the processing of this specific product. i have not been that specific in my veganism.
take care, animal-friendly followers
xx ashley
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