Cashew Lime Pesto

I've been experimenting with my pesto, using different kinds of nuts since pine nuts are pricey, and I have decided that cashews are the winner. They create a creamier taste, which is nice since I do not add cheese. Today, I added in two new ingredients to my usual pesto: organic parsley and lime (from the Hanten's garden in Temecula) . Yes, lime. The lime married so well with the other flavors, and added an extra dash of freshness that was perfect for a spring time meal. I may or may not have licked the food processor clean. I am pleased to present to you my new favorite pesto recipe....

Cashew Lime Pesto

(Serves 1)

3/4 cup of organic basil

1/4 cup cashews

1/2 cup garlic olive oil (I used garlic olive oil from the Temecula Olive Oil Company and did not add garlic, if you don't have garlic olive oil I would recommend using regular olive oil and then adding 1 clove of garlic)

a dash of salt

a dash of organic Italian parsley

the juice from half of a good sized lime

Blend all of these ingredients together in your food processor until they form a sauce or paste and spread over something delicious.

Since my latest food obsession has been grilled cherry tomatoes and hearts of palm, I covered both in the rest of the lime juice, grilled, and added them to my cashew- lime-pesto-spaghetti and was pleasantly surprised by this delicious dish.

My most recent foodie adventures...

One of the first things people always say to me after finding out that I'm vegan is... wow, it must be hard to go out to eat. My response- well... it depends on where you go. I think I've proven from my recipe posts that against my brother's beliefs, I do not survive off of rabbit food. When I go out, I refuse to let salads be my only option. Peet's Coffee and Tea has vegan cookies and scones, In-N-Out has their "veggie burger" (with no special sauce and cheese), Thai places almost always have an array of tasty vegan options, Chipotle's got a veggie burrito (or bowl) that can be vegan with black beans (and no cheese or sour cream), the Public House is always serving their (seasonal!) "Public Veg", Mediterranean places have falafel and hummus, and of course there is the Herbivore and Native Foods.... Get my point yet? I like good food, I like my good food to be vegan, and I REALLY like when I can find good vegan food when I'm out and about.

Exhibit A: Vegan mac & cheese, paired with Sterling's Sauvignon Blanc.

Who: Daniel, Nick, Molly, Crystal and me

When: Last weekend

Where: Homeroom, Oakland, CA

Why: Because I've been craving mac and cheese since I've been vegan and nothing has hit the spot like this before. Why wouldn't you want to check out a new restaurant that only serves 9 different kinds of mac & cheese (and of course a great selection of beverages and sweets)?!

Exhibit B: Vegan cinnamon roll with hazelnut frosting, topped with pecans and bananas.

Who: Alexandra, Nick and me

When: Last weekend

Where: Cinnaholic, Berkeley, CA

Why: Because one of my childhood best friends (who is also vegan) lives in Pennsylvania and recommended this place to me... that's saying something. Cinnabun has got nothing on this place. If you're anywhere near Berkeley, you have to taste them for yourself. If you're far away, no excuses- you can order them online here.

Both the vegan mac & cheese and vegan cinnamon roll were dangerously delicious and I will be back for more after a few trips to the gym. Thanks for reading :) - T

Beets and (Stinging?!) Nettles

As a vegan, one of the things I have to focus on is making sure I'm eating foods that are rich in protein and iron. I don't think supplements are the answer, and I also try to stay away from packaged and processed foods, so I try my best to choose natural nutrients.... like beets and stinging nettles!

Beets: "At about 35 calories per half cup, beets are rich in vitamins A and C, and also give us folates, calcium, iron and potassium." (Thank you to theCitycook.com)

Stinging nettles: "Nettle is packed with vitamins, minerals, and amino acids that are readily absorbed by our bodies when eaten as a whole food. They are high in calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, and B complex vitamins (among others) and they are also a great source of protein." (Thank you learningherbs.com)

I like to boil beets, I tried baking them once and they didn't taste as good as they do boiled. You can add them to a salad, mix them with other roasted veggies and drizzle with olive oil, and so much more.

Boiled Beets

Trim the beet greens

Wash

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil

Place the beets in the pot and reduce the heat to a simmer

Cover the pot and cook on a simmer for about 45 minutes

Poke with a knife to make sure they are tender

Drain

Peel the beets before they cool off

Slice

and enjoy!

Last Sunday I found these at the Moraga Farmer's Market. I was stoked that I found another source of protein but I was a little afraid to try them...

Stinging Nettles can be used on top of a pizza, in your pasta, or any other way you would eat leafy greens. But beware- they do sting, and evidently pretty badly. So do not touch them until they have been cooked. I purchased mine at the farmer's market where they had them in a plastic bag. I was advised to just dump them out of the bag and into a sauce pan without washing them. In order to take the "sting" out of stinging nettles, you have to cook them for 2 minutes in olive oil. I cautiously sauteed them in some garlic olive oil from the Temecula Olive Oil Co. for 2 1/2 minutes (to be on the safe side) and then drained and rinsed them after cooking them (because I was still a little afraid the stinging oils were still lingering). I topped my whole wheat, mushroom, garlic, and onion pizza with these greens and they added a ton of delicious flavor (and protein!) to the pizza.

Citrus Sugar Cookies

- 1/2 cup Earth Balance Buttery Spread

- 1/2 cup Citrus Olive Oil

- 3 3/4 cups all purpose flour

- 1/4 cup vegan cream cheese

- 2 eggs worth of Ener-G

- 1 1/2 cup sugar

-2 teaspoons baking powder

- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Mix the Earth Balance, citrus olive oil and 1 cup of the sugar together in a large bowl. Continue to mix in the Ener-G egg replacer, vanilla and vegan cream cheese. Add the the baking powder and gradually add the flour to the mixture. Using your hands to knead the dough usually works best here. Split the dough into two loafs, wrap, and refrigerate for at least hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly flour the surface you're working on, roll out the dough, cut into your desired shapes and gently press the remaining sugar onto the top of your cookies. Bake for 12 minutes and enjoy! (Makes around 30 cookies)

XO- T

Ratatouille

This is one of my favorite dishes... especially when it's over penne pasta. It calls for simple ingredients, and, according to the movie Ratatouille, it was once a peasant dish.

My sous chef, Bella, and I tried Julia Child's recipe and loved it. You can find her recipe here. Bon Appetit :)

Agave Roasted Chai Granola

Happy New Year! This past Christmas I made granola for some family and friends. I had never made granola before and had always wanted to, so I gave it a try. I love chai and I love agave, so I blended a few different recipes together to create this granola. It was simple and fun to make, and is delicious in vanilla soy yogurt.

You will need:

2 large, rimmed baking sheets

1 sauce pan

2/3 cup earth balance margarine

1& 1/2 cups agave nectar

1 & 1/2 cups honey

10 cups of rolled oats

3 cups of almonds

3 cups of dried cranberries

2 cups of shredded coconut

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons ground ginger

2 tablespoons cinnamon

2 tablespoons ground cloves

2 tablespoons ground cardamom

I used local honey :)

Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees. Over low heat, in a sauce pan, melt the earth balance margarine with the agave, honey and the vanilla. On the lowest heat, keep cooking until the color turns a bit darker, then turn the heat off.

Next, in a small bowl, mix all of the spices together. In a larger bowl, mix in the rolled oats, almonds, the mixed spices and shredded coconut. Then, pour the melted margarine, agave, honey and vanilla mixture into the large bowl and stir to make sure everything is covered.

Spread the mixture onto two large baking sheets and drizzle some extra agave nectar on top.

Place in the oven and bake for about 10 minutes, then check to make sure it is not burning on the sides and mix with a spatula. Bake for another 6 minutes or until the granola is golden brown. Once the granola is done baking, pour it back into the large bowl and mix in the dried cranberries. Allow it to cool and then enjoy!

Untitled from Theresa Hayes on Vimeo.

Fig Pizza and White Bean Soup

I've been saving my bottle of The Grade's Sea-Fog Sauvignon Blanc (2009) for a nice occasion, but now that finals have snuck up on us, I decided we could use some pampering. About a month ago, my family enjoyed a lovely weekend in Napa where The Grade Cellars had prepared a wonderful tasting for us. The night before, we had dinner at Tra Vigne, in St. Helena and I had the Wood Oven Baked Fig Pizza without the gorgonzola cheese. I loved it. So, to go along with our Sauvignon Blanc for the evening, Nick and I recreated this pizza (with figs and mixed greens from the Moraga Farmers Market) and made a delicious soup to go along with it (with yellow carrots also from the Farmers Market).

Nick made his dad's delicious pizza/ focaccia dough recipe for our pizza:

2 pkg Dry Active Yeast
2 cups tepid water (about 30 seconds in the microwave)
2 tbsp sugar
¼ c. olive oil
½ c. vegetable oil
1 tsp salt
5-6 c. white flour

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Microwave your water for 30 seconds. Pour in yeast and sugar. Stir up to wake up the yeast.

Mix together all the liquid ingredients in your mixing bowl. Add 2-3 c. of the flour and stir together with a wooden spoon to begin pulling dough together. Add salt. (According to my dad, salt can kill your yeast. So he adds the salt at this point rather than adding it to the liquids. Dead yeast =flat pizza). Keep adding flour and mixing until the dough begins to hold together and you can begin kneading by hand.

Knead on a flat floured surface. Continue adding flour and kneading until the dough reaches the desired consistency. Tuck your dough into a ball and place it in a clean bowl with a little bit of olive oil. Flip the dough around so that it gets coated with the oil.

Cover the bowl with a clean dish rag and set aside in a warm place. Let the dough rise until it has doubled in size (about 45-60 min). Punch down the dough, recover with the cloth, and let the dough double again. Spread the dough out onto its pan, cover with a towel and let it rest again for about a half hour.

While the dough is resting, this is a good time to prepare the toppings. You'll need:

About 3 figs

1/2 an onion

Garlic

Vegan Blue Cheese

Mixed Greens

Balsamic Vinegar

Olive oil

Agave nectar

Caramelize half of a while onion, along with some chopped garlic in olive oil. Slice figs, crumble vegan blue cheese and mix balsamic, olive oil and agave together.

Put the dough in for a few minutes before topping it to let the dough set up.

Drizzle a small amount of the balsamic glaze over the dough. Then, top with caramelized onions, garlic, figs and vegan blue cheese. Cook for about 16- 18 minutes.

Once the pizza is done, top with mixed greens and drizzle the rest of the balsamic glaze over the pizza.

The soup of the night was the Vegetarian Times' White Bean Soup. We added fresh rosemary to the soup instead of parsley and it ended up being very tasty.

Everything was delightful and paired very nicely with our wine. I'm definitely making both the soup and pizza again sometime soon.