Thai Basil Chic'n Stir-Fry

I found this recipe in a Cooking Light magazine and made it vegan, and subbed out a couple of ingredients for what I had in the frig. It was amazing!!! I served it over whole wheat coucsous with roasted garlic and olive oil. Definitely a make-again. I hope you enjoy it!

• 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 tablespoon Bragg's
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 large jalapeno chile, thinly sliced
• 1 package Gardein meatless chick'n strips, slightly thawed
• 1 1/2 cups sliced red bell pepper (I used 6 baby sweet red peppers)
• 1 sweet onion, thinly vertically sliced
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice 

Combine hoisin, sugar, 1 tablespoon water, and Bragg's in a bowl, stirring with a whisk until sugar dissolves.

Heat a wok or large skillet over high heat. Add oil; swirl to coat. Add garlic and jalapeno chile; stir-fry 30 seconds or until fragrant. Remove and set aside.

Add chick'n strips; stir-fry 4-6 minutes, until browned.

Add bell pepper and sliced onion; stir-fry 2 minutes.

Add the jalapeno/garlic mixture and the hoisin mixture; bring to a boil. Cook 30 seconds or until slightly thickened.

Stir in basil and juice.

Serve immediately.

Enjoy!!

Vegetable Coconut Curry

I love curries; Jack, not so much. I had all the ingredients to make this curry I found on the internet with a few omits and subs. It was very flavorful and I like the idea that you can use the veggies you have on hand and/or the ones you like. I served this over brown rice for a complete meal.

• 2 small sweet potatoes, (adjust for the size you have)
• 2 small russet potatoes, (adjust for the size you have)
• 1 large stem broccoli, (stems sliced and cut into bite-sized pieces)
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1 medium sweet onion, thinly sliced
• 1 jalapeno, sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 medium zucchini, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup asparagus, cut into 1 inch slices
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 can diced tomatoes, un-drained
• 1 can full-fat coconut milk
• 1/2 cup green (English) peas
• *** I added about 8 ounces of thawed Tempeh Chunks during the last 15 minutes of cooking time!

Peel and chop the all of the potatoes. Fill a large pan with water, bring it to a boil and cook the potatoes for about 10 minutes.

While they cook finely slice the onion, garlic and zucchini. De-seed the jalapeno and slice. Add the onion, garlic and jalapeno to a large skillet/pan with the coconut oil. Cook for about 4-5 minutes, stirring to avoid browning.

Add the zucchini and cook another 2-3 minutes.

Add the cumin, cinnamon, turmeric, ginger, chili powder and vegetable stock to the onion mixture. Stir well. Add the chopped tomatoes and coconut milk.

Add the broccoli to the boiling potatoes and cook few a few minutes.

Drain the potatoes/broccoli mixture and add to the vegetables in the skillet/pan.

Reduce the curry to a low-medium heat and cook about 15 minutes until it's thick and the flavors marry. During the last 5 minutes of this cooking time add the peas.

Stir well, give one final taste to see if it needs any salt or extra seasoning.

Serve over rice.
Enjoy!

Zucchini, Squash and Corn Casserole

This is one of those amazing, comfort food dishes. While squash and corn are so plentiful you really need to make this. I didn't have fresh corn or I would have used that, but frozen works great. This makes a large casserole that would be great for a potluck or dinner with guests. Leftovers reheat well.

• 3 yellow squash, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
• 3 zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
• 1/4 cup Earth Balance margarine, divided
• 2 cups diced sweet onion
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 cups fresh corn kernels (or frozen)
• 1 package Daiya cheddar shreds
• 1/2 cup Toffuti (vegan) sour cream
• 1/2 cup Just Mayo
• 2 large flax eggs, (1 T flaxseed meal + 3 T warm water = 1 egg, mix these together and stir well, let sit about 5 minutes)
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon table salt
• 1 1/2 cups soft, fresh breadcrumbs, divided (I make my own and keep it in the freezer)
• 2/3 cup nutritional yeast , divided

Preheat oven to 350°. Melt 2 tablespoons Earth Balance in a skillet over medium-high heat; add onion, and sauté 10 minutes or until tender. Add garlic, and sauté 2 minutes.

In a large bowl stir together squashes, onion mixture, corn, next 6 ingredients, and 1/3 cup each breadcrumbs and nutritional yeast just until blended.

Spoon mixture into a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish.

Melt remaining 2 Earth Balance. Stir in remaining 1 cup breadcrumbs and 1/3 cup nutritioanl yeast. Sprinkle over casserole. Bake at 350° for 45 to 50 minutes or until golden brown and set. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

I served this with Gardein Chipotle Lime Crispy Finger - drenched in Frank's hot sauce.

Enjoy!!!

Mango Datil Jam

I'm happy to report that my Datil Pepper wintered over just fine and is beautiful. It is full of peppers, I know I need a pic, and this is my first harvest. I found this jam recipe and used it as a guide although it uses habanero peppers. I did some research when I first bought my Datil and found out they are in fact related to the habanero. I picked 12 ripe Datil's and made this jam. It is HOT, it starts out sweet with some heat, then the sweet leaves and the heat stays!!! Awesome batch of jam.

 

• 12 ripe (yellow) datil peppers
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 fresh mango, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 cup apricot nectar
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 6 cups sugar
• 1 package liquid Certo

In a blender add datil peppers, vinegar, mango, and juices.

Blend until well pureed.

Bring mixture and sugar to boil in a heavy pot. Boil 8 minutes.

Add certo, stir well.

 Bring to boil again.

Pour into six 1/2 pt jars and seal*.

*The easiest way to can is this - wash and dry canning jars thoroughly. Place lids and rings in a pot of barely simmering water. Once jelly is ready, fill a jar, leaving about a 1/4" headspace. With tongs, remove lid and ring from water, place on jar, and tighten, although not too tight. Turn jar upside down on a dishtowel. Repeat with remaining jars. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes. Turn upright and allow to seal. Tighten rings on all jars. If any of the jars don't seal, simply store in the refrigerator once cool. The other jars can be stored in a pantry for 8 months to a year, if it lasts that long. (Thanks to Home by 28 Cooks for the above already typed directions.)

This is the process I use for all my canning unless a  water bath is required.
Enjoy!!

Crescent Pizza Pockets

I saw this recipe on Facebook, it's from the Pillsbury web site. I had all the ingredients needed to make it vegan and add a little more zip. Below is my delicious, vegan version.

• 1 can (8 ounce) Pillsbury refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
• 1/4 cup (or more to your liking) pizza sauce
• 3/4 cup Daiya mozzarella shreds
• 16 slices Tofurky pepperoni slices
• 4 tablespoons onion, minced
• 4 tablespoons bell pepper, minced
• 8 black olives, quartered

Heat oven to 375F. Unroll dough onto cookie sheet; separate into 4 rectangles (2 triangles each). Press each rectangle to form a 6x4-inch rectangle, firmly pressing perforation to seal.

Chop your veggies.

Spread about 1 tablespoons pizza sauce on half of each rectangle to within 1 inch of edge.

Sprinkle each with cheese.

Top with onion, bell pepper and black olives.

Add pepperoni.

Fold dough from the top over filling; firmly press edges with a fork to seal.

Bake 13-15 minutes or until deep golden brown. 

Serve warm.