Vegan Cooking with TLC

I made Sunny Pumpkin Seed Bread this week to go with flageolet beans (recipe coming soon). It was quite a nice accompaniment to the beans. I've also made it to go with veggie burgers. It's also really good toasted with peanut butter slathered on it not to mention just eating it plain! Sunny Pumpkin Seed Bread 1 ½ cups plant-based milk* 1 tablespoon yacon syrup** 1 tablespoon dry yeast 3 cups whole wheat flour 2 tablespoons ground flaxseeds ¼ sunflower seeds ¼ cup pumpkin seeds In a small saucepan , combine the plant-based milk   and d ate sugar ov er low  heat until it reaches approximately 110 degrees. Remove from the heat, stir in the yeast, and set aside for 10 minutes until bubbly. In a large bowl, combine the flour, flaxseeds, and seeds. Add to the yeast mixture and mix well to combine.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface.  Let set for 10 minutes. Knead for 5 minutes. Place the dough in a large bowl. Cover with a clean, lint-free dishtowel

I really enjoy flavored water, and mint water is one of my favorites - well, I guess they're all kind of my favorites depending on which one I have in the refrigerator. It's easy to make and quite refreshing with a variety of meals or just as a glass of water in the middle of the day. It offers a nice change when drinking plain water gets boring. My mint was looking and smelling quite good this week, so I decided it was time for some mint water.   Mint Water 1 cup fresh mint* 60 ounces water** Place mint in 60 ounce pitcher and pour water over mint. Let steep overnight in the refrigerator. Serve. Add more water until it begins to lose it flavor. It’s usually possible to get several extractions from the mint. *You can use more or less according to personal preference. ** If your pitcher is smaller than this, that's fine. Just use whatever you have on hand. I've made this same recipe with as little as 48 ounces of water. It's just a bit mintier, but 60 seems to work w

I developed my Tempeh & Potato Curry recipe based on inspiration from dishes I ate at several Indian restaurants combined with ideas from recipes I made from a few Indian cookbooks.  The elements came together in this recipe that feels a bit like eating comfort food.  It's good served with a side of rice , quinoa , or bread. I also often serve it with a simple salad as well. Tempeh & Potato Curry 1 cup almond milk * ½ cup almond pulp* 1 teaspoon chia seeds 1 pound tempeh ¼ cup water 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds 1 medium red onion 1 medium carrot 1 clove garlic 1-3 tablespoons curry powder** 8 small Yukon potatoes*** 2 cups tomato sauce 1 1/2 cups vegetable stock Freshly ground black pepper, to taste Mix together almond milk, almond pulp, and chia seeds and set aside. Cut tempeh into small pieces. Dice onion. Mince garlic. Chop carrot into small pieces. Cut potatoes into approximately small pieces. Add water to large skillet or saucier pan , bring to a boil, and add groun

I used to eat a smoothie every morning for breakfast leading me to develop a wide variety of them; however, I rarely wrote down the recipes. When I started eating smoothies less frequently, mostly only on weekends, I rather forgot about all those different smoothies.  I've started revisiting the idea though because sometimes I really like a good smoothie, particularly for breakfast. Recently, I remembered a smoothie I used to make with strawberries and mangoes, so I started playing with the idea. I updated it quite a bit and in some ways simplified it.  Strawberry Mango Smoothie ¼ cup walnuts ¼ teaspoon ground ginger ½ teaspoon matcha (green tea powder) 2 tablespoons raspberry balsamic vinegar 2 cups kale* 1 banana 1 avocado 2 cups frozen strawberries** 2 cups frozen mangoes** Place walnuts, ginger, and matcha in a heavy duty blender . Blend until resembles a powder. Scrape away from sides, if necessary. Break kale into small pieces. Add kale, vanilla, and vinegar. Blend until reac

I've been experimenting with using avocados to cream an ice cream like dessert. This version turned out really good. I'm still playing with some other versions, so there will be more of these recipes coming. I like desserts that are healthy but give one the impression of being decadent.   Blueberry Chocolate Chip Avocado Cream 2 ripe avocados 2 frozen bananas 2 cups frozen blueberries 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 teaspoon cinnamon 2 teaspoons yacon syrup * ¼ cup chocolate chips** Cut avocados in half. Remove seed. Spoon avocado into a food processor.  Cut bananas into chunks and add to food processor .  Add blueberries, vanilla, cinnamon and yacon syrup. Process until smooth. Spoon into a bowl. Stir in chocolate chips.  Will resemble a soft serve ice cream and can be served right away if desired. Cover and place in the freezer to firm up.*** Store in the freezer. *Yacon syrup is quite sweet, so it only takes a little bit. According to How Not to Diet  by Michael Greger, M. D. FACLM, ya