Sunday, December 21, 2008

Sunny Blueberry-Corn Muffins

This is the recipe from VWAV and it is fantastic! I will definitively do it again. The muffins are kinda crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Taste amazing! They remind me on my non vegan days that I used to eat lot of cornbread or corn cakes. Yay!, but these ones are definitively better, they have no cholesterol, they're vegan, plus I used 1/2 all purpose flour and 1/2 whole wheat to make them more heart healthy and stuff. They came out perfect. Isa Chandra on the book wrote that they are perfect for spreading with a pat of soy margarine. My mom said they would be amazing with her cup of coffee in the morning. They are amazing on their own, but I might try them like Isa said, it seems tasty, I don't like coffee alone, though. They are perfect sweet corn muffins, and the blueberries and the lemon zest makes them more special, [and tasty!]


Ingredients:

1 cup all purpose flour (you can use 1/2 all purpose and 1/2 whole wheat if desired)
1 cup cornmeal
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup corn or vegetable oil
3/4 cup soy milk
2 tablespoons soy yogurt (I used plain, but I think vanilla or even blueberry will work fine)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1 1/4 cups of blueberries (I used 1 cup, I didn't had more, and they were fine)

Preheat oven to 400
ºF. Lightly grease a twelve muffin tin (I used liners, so I didn't made this step).
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and sugar.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the oil, soy milk, soy yogurt, vanilla and lemon zest. With a wooden spoon, fold the wet ingredients into the dry. Fold in the blueberries, being careful not to over mix.

Fill each muffin cup three-quarters full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick or knife inserted in the center of one muffin comes out clean. Serve warm.

Enjoy!! :]






Thursday, December 4, 2008

Stuffed Jumbo Shells With Vegan Ricotta "Cheese"

Photobucket

Few months ago I went to Freshmart and bought a little box that came with 3 stuffed shells with a vegan ricotta-like "cheese"[tofu] and with broccoli, spinach, spices and sauce. That for $5 and some cents, yes pricey for only 3 shells. I've never made any stuffed shell pasta before. And I loved those I bought, so I got ideas and made them my self today because I save more $ doing them myself and are fresher. I think I was kinda lazy or was very busy so I didn't made this before. But I did today and I loved the results, my mom tried them and she loves it! I did all to taste so I don't have exactly amounts of the ingredients, but accommodate them to your needs and taste.

Ingredients:

-Jumbo Pasta shells
-Firm or Extra firm Tofu (mashed well)
-Sugar
-Basil
-Onion powder
-Garlic Powder
-Few tsp. of fresh lemon juice
-Sea salt
-Spinach (thawed and squeezed dry)
-Broccoli
-A little soy milk (depending on how many shells are you doing)
-Your favorite tomato sauce
-Vegan Parmesan Cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F

Prepare the pasta shells according to the package directions. Drain and set aside.

Prepare the broccoli. Drain and set aside.

Place the tofu, sugar, soy milk, garlic powder, lemon juice, basil, and salt in a large bowl and mash together with a fork until it has a ricotta-like consistency.

Add the spinach & cooked broccoli and mix again. Set aside.

Pour half of the tomato sauce into a casserole dish. Fill each pasta shell with the "cheese" filling and place it, open side up in the tomato sauce. Continue until all shells and filling are used up. Pour the remained tomato sauce over the stuffed shells and sprinkle some vegan parmesan cheese over the top of the entire dish.

Cover pan with aluminum foil and bake for some minutes until all are good, and the sauce is not dried up. Remove foil and bake few minutes more.

Serve and Enjoy. =)