Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Oatmeal raisin cookies, a Christmas classic! Yum! This is one of my favorite recipes because:

1.       The ingredients are easy to find and you probably have them at home already

2.       It’s one of those classic ‘toss everything in’ recipes,

3.       It smells like Christmas in a box.

4.        It’s healthy and has a good dose of iron in the oatmeal.

Did I convince you to make them now? J

Oh, and they’re the soft type of cookie, not the crunchy type, which is my personal favorite.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 3 cups of oatmeal
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup brown sugar
• ½ cup white sugar
• ½ cup soy milk
• ¾ cup margarine
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 teaspoons of all spice, or 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ½ nutmeg and ½ cloves
• 1 cup raisins

Add both sugars with margarine and mix until fluffy.  Slowly add the soy milk, mix well. Add flour, baking soda, and spices. Mix until smooth, and add the remaining ingredients.

I find that the cookies taste better after the batter is refrigerated for at least half an hour, but you can bake them now.  Drop them on a greased cookie sheet, making round balls.  Bake for about 20 minutes to 180°C.
And wait for them to cool down before eating or they'll be all crumbly!!! Sheesh. I've done that 3 times now until I've learned my lesson.

Strogonoff Vegano, versão número 1

Oi pessoal!! Faz um tempinho, né? Espero que todo mundo esteja curtindo as férias !! As minhas estão cheias com estudos e muitas horas de sono, rsrs. Mas agora estou recuperada, e tá na hora de publicar receitas gostosas para comemorar o fim do ano ! Festas de fim de ano sem comida boa não dá, né ?

Presente para vocês !! Uma amiga compartilhou uma receita muito boa de strogonoff vegetariano. Fiz algumas modificações e voilà, receita vegana com cogumelos frescos! Segue abaixo os ingredientes e instruções.

Versão número 1 de Strogonoff vegano, de uma série de 4. Sim, gosto tanto assim de strogonoff

Ingredientes :

• 1 Cenoura
• 1 Cebola
• 2 dentes de alho
• 2 colheres (sopa) de margarina
• Extrato de tomate
• Cogumelos (usei cogumelos frescos + champignon. Sim, sou fã de cogumelos)
• Milho em conserva
• 1 colher de sopa de mostarda
• 1 lata de creme de soja (sei que é dificil achar, você pode fazer você mesmo com leite de soja, margarina e trigo, ou então usar leite de coco)

Modo de Preparo:

1. Cozinhe a cenoura. Cozinhei no vapor, mas pode ser com agua fervendo também. 

2   2. Refogue a cebola e o alho na margarina. Adicione os cogumelos frescos e cozinhe até soltar agua. Adicione a cenoura, o milho, a mostarda e refogue.

      3. Acrescente o extrato de tomate, deixe ferve por uns 5 minutos. Tire do fogo e adicione o creme de soja ou o leite de coco. Sirva com arroz e batata palha.

Essa receita é excellente em quantidades de proteína.

Bom apetite ! 

Vegan Stroganoff, version #1

Hey guys!! Long time no write. I hope everyone had a very happy holiday break! Mine were filled with studies and sleep a-plenty. Now that I’ve rested enough, time to make a batch of tasty recipes! Because besides meeting up with family and loved ones, that’s what holidays are for, right?

Today my gift to you is a special stroganoff vegan recipe! The original idea is from a friend of mine and I tweaked it around into a vegan version. It’s very tasty and the mushrooms do an excellent meat impersonation. Below are the ingredients and instructions. Instead of heavy cream, I used soy cream. It’s the first time I used it, and it worked perfectly. It’s not that easy to find however: you can make your own with soy milk and butter too. Coconut milk is also a good fix.

Vegan Stroganoff, version number 1 of a series of 4. Yep, I love stroganoff that much.

Ingredients:

• 1 Carrot
• 1 Onion
• 2 Garlic cloves
• 2 table spoons of vegan margarine
• Mushrooms (can be any type, really. I used button mushrooms and the canned version)
• Corn
• 200 g of tomato extract
• 1 tablespoon of mustard
• 1 can of soy cream or coconut milk, or make your own soy cream by mixing margarine and soy milk and a bit of maizena. Will be making a post on that later.
• Pepper & Salt

Instructions:

#1. Chop and cook the carrots. I chose to cook them with vapor, but they can be boiled too.

     #2.  If you’re using tomatoes, put them in the blender with a cup of water and blend until smooth. I don’t have a blender, so I used tomato extract, which works fine.

    #3. Cook the onions and garlic in the melted margarine. Add mushrooms (if using fresh mushrooms, cook until they release lots of water). Add corn, mustard, salt, and cook for about two minutes. Add tomato extract and bring to a boil.

    #4.Take off heat, and add soy cream. Tada! Serve with rice and potato chips if you got them J

This recipe is excellent for protein, but not so much for iron. If you’re making this for a main meal, try to accompany with a good source of iron. 

Thanks for the idea Mayara!! 

Have a great holidays, and awesome 2013!

Curry de grão-de-bico

A ideia original não é minha. Procurei um tempão pela receita e como não achei, tentei reproduzir ela como eu lembrei. Ficou simples e gostoso !!

Você precisa de :

• 1 Cebola
• 2 copos de grão de bico
• Salsão
• 2 colheres de cha de curry
• 1 caixinha ou metade de uma lata de leite de coco
• Azeite e sal

Primeiro passo : Deixe os grãos-de-bico de molho na noite anterior. Como feijão , os grão precisam ficar de molho por pelo menos oito horas.

Segundo passo: Cozinhe os grãos-de-bico na panela de pressão por vinte minutos após emitir vapor, ou duas horas numa panela normal, até que fiquem macios.

Terceiro passo : Refogue a cebola picada em uma frigideira com azeite. Adicione o salsão picado e o curry e sal. Cozinhe até a cebola estiver amarela. Adicione os grãos de bico e cozinhe por 15 minutos no fogo baixo. Desligue o fogão e adicione o leite de coco, mexendo para absorver o sabor.

Sirva com arroz! Bom apetite!

Simple Chickpea curry

The original idea is not mine, I saw it on a site somewhere, and as much as I searched, I couldn't find the exact recipe again. So what I make is a reduced, simple version of it, which is just as tasty!

You will need (servings for 1 person):

• 2 Stalks of celery
• 1 onion
• Two cups of chickpeas
• 1 Tsp curry
• 1 box or half a can of coconut milk
• Olive oil

Step #1: Like all beans, chick peas need to be soaked for 8 hours before cooking them. The idea here is to leave the chick peas soaking overnight to be used the next day. Here, I soaked 500 grams of chick peas, much more than I need for this recipe, because I’m going to freeze part of them to make other recipes.

Step #2: Cook the chick peas in a pressure cooker, until it lets out steam for about 20 minutes, or in a regular pot for a couple of hours, until soft.

Step #3: Chop the onion and the celery.  Cook the onions in olive oil, in a large frying pan. Add curry and celery, cook into onions are yellow. Add the cooked chickpeas and cook for about fifteen minutes on low fire. Turn of the oven and add coconut milk, mixing while everything is still hot.

Serve with rice! Bon appétit!

Couveflor à la sesame

Essa é uma comida tipicamente Chinesa, ou pelo menos, uma adaptação chinesa nos Estados Unidos. Normalmente é feito com frango frito. Mas, alguém teve a ideia mirabolante de substituir o frango por couveflor (não fui eu, hehe) e ficou uma maravilha crocante!

Você precisa de:

• Couveflor, cortado em pedaçinhos pequenos
• 1 Cebola
• 1 dente de alho
• 1 colher de café de gengibre (em pó ou picadinho) 
• 1/4 copo de molho de barbecue
• 2 colheres de sopa de molho shoyu
• 2 colheres de sopa de molho chili (pode substituir por algumas gotas de Tabasco)
• 1 colher de sopa de vinagre
• 1 colher de sopa de concentrado de tomate (eu não tinha, não usei e ficou bom)
• Cebolinha verde (opcional)
• 1/2 copo de farinha de trigo
• 2 colheres de sopa de maizena
• Agua
• Sementes de sésame (também opcional, mas sem eles não tem graça!)

Primeiro passo: Pique a cebola e frita até tornar transparente. Adicione o alho picado, a cebolinha verde, e o gengibre e cozinha por mais um minuto. Adicione o molho de barbecue, cozinha por mais um pouco, adicione os molhos shoyu e chili, o vinagre, e o concentrado de tomate. Depois reserva.

Segundo passo: Misture o trigo, a maizena, e uma pitada de sal. Adicione agua até ficar com consistência de cola. Passe nos pedaçinhos de couveflor, e depois frita eles. Seque em papel toalha.

Terceiro passo: Junte o couveflor com o molho. Decore com sementes de sésame e com cebolinha verde.

Bom apetite!

Sesame Cauliflower

Hey everybody! Time to show you a powerful meat-substitute: cauliflower! Never guessed that one, right?

When I was a kid, on the rare times my mom didn't make dinner, we'd get Chinese takeout. Number one on my list was Sesame Chicken. It was yummy, had a sticky sweet sauce, and best of all: it was covered in sesames, which I also love on bagels.

For Sesame Cauliflower, you're going to need:

• Cauliflower chopped into nice bite sized pieces
• 1 Onion
• 1 garlic clove
• Ginger (chopped root or in powder)
• 1/4 cup BBQ sauce
• 2 Tbsp Sweet Chili Sauce
• 2 Tbsp Soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp Vinegar (I used cider vinegar)
• 1 Tbsp tomato paste (I didn't have any and it turned out fine)
• Green onions (optional)
• Sesame seeds (also optional, but it's the best part)
• 1/2 cup Flour
• 2 Tbsp Corn starch
• Water

#1: Make the sauce. Cook the chopped onion (and some green onions if you have some) in a frying pan until onions are transparent. Add garlic and ginger, cook for another minute. Add BBQ sauce, cook for another minute. Add chili sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, and tomato paste. When everything is hot and mixed together it's done.

#2. Make the paste: add the flour, the starch, and some salt. Add some water until the paste is thick. Coat the cauliflowers with the paste.

#3. Fry the cauliflowers until they are golden brown. Let them dry on a paper towel. Mix them with the sauce, and sprinkle sesame seeds on top.