GreenChefs is the modern “G” Food Network. The new Organic Food Lifestyle featuring luscious organic and seasonal based recipes from the top Green Chefs around the world.
This is a basic stock that can be used with pretty much any soup or stew. You can always tailor your homemade stock to enhance the soup you are making. For example, if you’re making a sweet vegetable soup, add sweet potato or squash for extra sweetness. Also use your vegetable trimmings, such as leek tops, mushroom caps, squash skins and fennel tops. But avoid spinach, cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, kale, collards, brussel sprouts, beets, onion skins and wilted vegetables. They will make your stock bitter. The stock will last about 5 days in the fridge and 2 months in the freezer.
Two lil’ Pumpkin Muffins sittin’ on a plate. One got devoured, and then there was one. One lil’ Pumpkin Muffin sittin’ on a plate. He got gobbled up, and then there were none!..None until you make more that is.
Fall in love with my two cozy recipes for vegan pumpkin muffins: Cream-Topped Pumpkin Muffins and Spiced Up Pumpkin Muffins. These muffins bake up fluffy, velvety and moist. Bake them this weekend! When I made u p this patch, it was a drizzly, gray-skyed, melancholy morning here in NYC. Too gloomy to venture outside in, but perfect weather for pumpkin muffin baking. There is nothing better than warming up your home with the smell of baking muffins.
One goal I had with the spicy muffin was that I wanted to create a muffin that rivaled Le Pain Quotidien’s Pumpkin Muffin
Lets start with the Spiced Up. In this muffin I add a hint of cayenne, an extra dose of orange zest and pumpkin seeds. These are my muffins of choice in the mornings, not too sweet and perfect slightly warmed. Goes perfect with a warm cup of organic espresso. For extra spice, try adding in 1/2 tsp of grated fresh ginger.
Now from my Cream-Topped. The cream-topped muffins have a silky layer of sweet vegan cream cheese/vanilla yogurt blend drizzling over top, as well as in the center of the muffin. Yes, oozing sweetness. I enjoyed both varieties and will definitely be making these again this fall!
One goal I had with the spicy muffin was that I wanted to create a muffin that rivaled Le Pain Quotidien’s Pumpkin Muffin (which is not vegan – most of their delicious muffins are vegan). And if you’ve ever seen Le Pain’s Pumpkin Muffin, I think I did a pretty good job replicating it. This is one of those cozy weekend activities, which really pay off. Your family and friends will love you, trust me, give it a whirl…
This is one of my favorite times of year in New York. For me, everything right now has to be creamy, warm and filled with ginger. That doesn’t mean I don’t still drink green smoothies and kale salads, but when it comes to dessert, it has to be fruit-filled and warm.
I became obsessed with all the mini pears I saw around the greenmarkets. Anyone who reads this knows I have an affinity for anything miniature or especially tiny in size. This may be because I relate to them, being barely 5’1 myself. The little guys have to be recognized sometimes, so I thought I’d treat these little pears just as if they were big ones, and poach them. It resulted in a creamy, sweet and Autumn dessert with just enough of a napoleon complex to be big & bold in flavor.
You will never make hummus again. Well, maybe you will but I promise you will make this recipe more! It’s one of my all time favorites. So full of flavor and so satisfying. Toast some whole grain bread or pita and you’ve got a wonderful appetizer for your holiday dinner parties.
The first time I tried macarons was at the Macaron Café in Midtown, Manhattan. I had seen many photos of them prior to that and always wondered if they were as tasty as they were pretty. And were they ever. Those macarons melted in my mouth and made my eyes close with pleasure. Even today, whenever I am in the area, I indulge and buy a box of six.
Since preparing healthier alternatives to old favourites is what I love, I decided it was time to conquer the macarons. And what better time to do it than the winter holidays? They are sweet, colourful, and overall cheerful – a wonderful treat and a nice gift. For the flavours, I went with seasonal fruits like persimmon and pomegranate and two powders I had on hand – matcha and blueberry. Each created a beautiful colour, no artificial dye required.
We decorated our tree yesterday. It’s a beauty and fills the home with the smell of pine. Paloma was thrilled when she came home from day care and found the tree all lit up in our living room. She couldn’t stop singing this song, which is a traditional Russian jingle about the New Year’s tree.
The macarons were a success, everyone in the family enjoyed them with a hot cup of tea or two. The persimmon kind were voted the popular favourite.
This recipe is from the San Francisco restaurant Gather, created by their chef, Sean Baker. His recipe was featured in Food and Wine Magazine last month as one of the best restaurant dishes of 2010. It was the only vegan recipe so, of course, I had to try it. YUM! I added walnuts when he called for pecans cause I didn’t have any on hand as well as no miso and still it was rich, flavorful and delish.
Eating black eye peas on New Year’s Day is thought to bring prosperity for the new year so… eat this yummy stuff UP and have a very very happy successful delicious new year!! And don’t forget your greens!
Now, here’s a cooking mystery that I’ve been trying to solve. The original fig bar recipe calls for coconut oil in the “dough” part instead of the almond butter that I used in my adapted version. I’ve tried to use coconut oil, but it immediately went rancid in the dehydrator. I didn’t give up easily and tried to use different brands of coconut oil, but the result was always the same – rancid. I’m puzzled – it never happens when I use coconut oil in other recipes that require dehydration. If you happen to know the reason, please let me know. I’m truly curious.
It’s challenging to find fresh organic fruit in the dead of winter. This, of course depends on where you are located in the world. As for me, all the organic berries I find in the markets of New York, are not only extremely expensive but they all seem to be coming from far away places. And so, I decided to go with a couple of bags of frozen organic berries. Those berries were my inspiration for this gluten free berry crisp dessert. It just goes to show you, you never know from where or from what something delicious will be born!
The oven at my BF house sucks. I think I have expressed this unfortunately dilemma before. So when it comes to baking, I cross my fingers and hope it comes out alright due to the uneven heat distribution. That said, these cookies came out of the oven completely flat…blended all together like one big pancake. I almost tossed them…that is until I tasted them…Mmmm. So if the same thing should happen to you, don’t fret. They are still very tasty and the pics came out so good I may have accidentally created the new flat square cookie craze… :)
Napa and savoy cabbage are a softer and sweeter variety than your regular green cabbage, so choose either for this recipe. This is a wonderful accompaniment to serve with one of your favorite winter soups. Adds a refreshing crispiness to your meal.
This maybe a simple salad, but believe me it pacts a flavorful punch. The sweet carrots mixed with Moroccan spices and fresh herbs are a heavenly combination and a refreshing colorful addition to any of your winter meals. Warning, you may wanna eat the whole bowl all by yourself…
