Vegan Coconut Vanilla Cookies

Vegan Coconut Vanilla Cookies

2 Tbsp coconut oil

1 Cup vanilla soymilk

1 Cup flour

2 Tbsp brown sugar

2 Tbsp granulated sugar

Use coconut oil or non-dairy substitute to grease your baking sheet. In a mixing bowl, add all ingredients and mix well- make sure you get the flour chunks out of the batter! Pour batter onto a pre-greased baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes at 350 degree heat. The cookies are delicious- very buttery without the dairy. I like my batter sort of thin so that the cookies have a nice, crunchy, buttery bottom but they are still chewy. 

Mozzarella di Bufala

THIS is what real mozzarella looks like. If it isn't oozing with milk, it isn't good. End of story. This was dinner tonight. 

Nutella Soufflés

Pre-nutella

With nutella icing! 

Nutella Soufflés

1 Cup flour

2 Eggs

2 Tbsp melted butter

4 Tbsp nutella

3/4 Cup milk

This is super easy to make, and absolutely delicious. First, mix all ingredients in a bowl. The batter should be nice and thick, but thin enough that it can easily be poured into a greased/buttered muffin tin. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and let them cook for 15 minutes. They should rise a lot because of the eggs- if you want them a little fluffier, add egg white or use only one egg with one egg white instead. Add nutella as an icing when the soufflés are fully cooked. 

Apple Crisp

Apple Crisp

1 Cup crushed, organic walnut pieces and halves

1 1/4 Cup apple cider

3 Apples (courtland)

1/4 Cup cream of wheat

1/2 Stick of melted butter

1 Cup all-purpose flour (1/2 in the apple mixture, half on top)

1/4 Cup wheat germ

2 Tbsp. organic brown sugar

Slice your apples and put into a bowl with the apple cider. Trust me, the apple cider makes it gooey and adds a lot of natural flavor. Crush your walnuts by putting them in a plastic bag and using a jar. Add the walnuts to the apples and then put 1/4 cup of flour into the mix. Sprinkle some cinnamon and mix.

The crisp part: Add the remaining flour, melted butter, wheat germ, cream of wheat, and brown sugar. It should be a sticky texture. You can use oats instead of the wheat germ, but the wheat germ has a nice, nutty flavor to it. Fold all ingredients and add cinnamon.

Make sure the oven is preheated at 350 degrees. Butter a baking pan and add the apple mixture, then drop the blobs of the crisp batter on top. If you want it to be less doughy, add less flour and a little more butter.

Once the crisp comes out of the oven, drizzle some honey on top. It's nice served with vanilla soy milk, but the unhealthy, obvious vanilla ice cream also works!

Shrimp Scampi

Shrimp Scampi

12 Deveined shrimp (31-40 ct. bag)

Whole wheat spaghetti

1 Lemon

1 Cup organic spinach

1/4 Cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 Cup Italian-seasoned bread crumbs

Red pepper flakes

3 Cloves of garlic

I actually put down my fork to write this recipe because I just couldn't wait to share this!

Bring shrimp to a boil- when pink, remove from water and leave aside- you'll get to this in a minute! 

In a pan, sautée extra virgin olive oil with minced garlic. I used a garlic press to make sure the pieces aren't too big- this way it almost melts into the sauce mixture you will make. When the garlic is golden, add your spinach into the mix. Then, squeeze your lemon to make juice. Pour this into the pan and top with bread crumbs. I used Italian-flavored Progresso bread crumbs because they have parsley, which adds a lot of flavor. 

The bread crumbs also thicken the sauce to ensure it coats every bit of your pasta. Keep this mixture on low heat and move onto your pasta next. While the pasta cooks, take the tail off your (cooled) shrimp. Add them to the mixture in your pan. Then, add to your pasta when cooked. I love Barilla for obvious reasons, but it also cooks relatively fast. Top off your dinner with some red pepper flakes and enjoy! 

It's really easy to make this dish vegetarian or to substitute the shrimp with chicken. Oh, and don't, by any circumstances, add cheese to this if you've made it with shrimp!!!!!! Seafood and cheese typically don't mix, especially when lemon is added to the dish! 

Tom Yum Soup with Shrimp

Thai Spicy Coconut Soup with Shrimp

12-15 shrimp (31-40 ct. bag)

1/2 green pepper

Red pepper flakes or sriracha hot sauce

2 Tbsp fish sauce

2 cans coconut milk

2 cloves of garlic

Fresh ginger

Lemongrass

Cilantro

I love Thai food. And I love seafood. Tom Yum soup is among one of my favorite soups that I get when I go out to eat Thai food, and I was fortunate enough to have aced it the first time I made it (two years ago). 

For the shrimp: I like using 31-40 ct. frozen shrimp because the size is perfect. I like them with the tail on because they are easy to peel off once cooked thoroughly. Boil them separately and bring to room temperature. Once at room temperature, you can easily take the tail off. Get them deveined- it will save you a ton of trouble!

The soup base: In a pot, add 1.5-2 cans of coconut milk and 1-2 cups of water and simmer. I don't like mine too sweet, so I tend to go for 2 cups of water. Add 2 Tbsp. of Asian fish sauce. Please take into consideration that it's quite salty, so you may need to add more water after this. Chop your garlic and add to the mixture. Then add some freshly grated ginger- and add this to taste. I love ginger, so I can never get too much of it. The most important part comes next- lemongrass. Yes, lemongrass. It gives it a tangy, citrus flavor that makes the soup really come together. I use almost an entire tube of organic lemongrass paste that you can find in the produce section of most supermarkets. Keep stirring and make sure all is mixed well. Add 1/2 diced green pepper- I prefer organic ones, of course. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat- this ensures all flavors have been mixed well but that it isn't too hot to add the shrimp. 

Add the shrimp. You can add sriracha sauce to flavor, but since fish sauce is already salty, I prefer red pepper flakes. Top off with fresh cilantro, but once soup is no longer boiling- you don't want brown, mushy cilantro. Enjoy! 

Broiled Salmon and Cilantro-Lime Rice

Cilantro-Lime Rice

1 cup long grain rice

1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil

1/2 organic green pepper

4 scallions

2 fresh cloves of garlic

cilantro

1/2 lime

Vegetable bouillon

In a pot, add uncooked rice to heated vegetable oil. Stir to cover rice and made sure it does not burn. Add chopped garlic. Then add two cups of water, vegetable bouillon, and bring to a boil. Remove the seeds from the green pepper and dice into cubes. Add to rice. Depending on the type of rice, the cooking times may vary. When rice is thoroughly cooked, add some cilantro and scallions to garnish. They are quite flavorful and add a lot to the dish. Squeeze lime juice on at the end. I always save some rice without lime juice so that it keeps longer in the fridge. 

Broiled Salmon

1 salmon filet

fish sauce

oyster sauce

1 clove of garlic

Chop garlic and combine fish and oyster sauces to taste. I've used oyster sauce that was the basis for sautéeing shitake mushrooms to add a little flavor. Marinate salmon overnight- and add sauces to taste. They do darken the filet. The trick to cooking salmon tenderly is to cook it for 7 minutes on 350 degree heat and then turning off the oven, where it rests for another 5 minutes. Enjoy! 

Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Basil Aioli

Basil aioli:

1/2 lemon for lemon juice

1/4 cup fresh basil (or more)

2-3 cloves of fresh garlic

2 egg yolks (optional)

3 Tbsp freshly grated parmigiano 

extra virgin olive oil

Use a blender to mix ingredients.

Cook whole wheat pasta al dente and add aioli to it- mix well! Aioli keeps for 2-3 days in the fridge. It's nice and creamy without using any heavy cream. Please note that is you eliminate the egg yolks, this is a "pesto" and not an aioli. I believe the term "aioli" comes from adding egg yolks to form a mayonnaise-like condiment to add to...well, you name it. Many thanks to Giada for inspiration. 

Organic Popcorn with Truffle Oil

A little truffle oil, cayenne pepper, Bianco Sardo cheese, and parmigiano go a long way. Cook popcorn with olive oil and add seasons to taste. Please note that olive oil has a different heating temperature than canola or vegetable oil, so watch out for burning! I used white truffle oil, but black truffle oil is a bit stronger if you are jonesing for some real truffle flavor.