a Sunday treat- vegan and delicious!

raw, vegan pie from the raw food festival last fall!

Lately I've really been enjoying the change in season. All summer I anticipated the first chilly night, green leaves turning gold, and the first day I could wear tights, a scarf, and have an excuse to bundle up a bit more. When I think of cold weather I think of comfort food, and when I think of comfort food I think of pie, which is one of my most favorite indulgences in the entire world. I love pie so much, especially in the fall and winter. An indulgence now and again is great, but often when the weather gets cold I find myself craving it a lot more often and daily pie probably isn't the best idea. The following recipe is one of my FAVORITE things to eat and a favorite treat my Mom makes for me when I come home for a visit. I think of it as a pie substitute- it tastes similar to the inside of a juicy apple pie but without any of the added sugars. It's super healthy and incredibly delicious. I could eat it by the bowlful, which I usually do! If you're looking to be even more health conscious you can omit the raisins, or if you want a little something different you could also add walnuts. Really, you could go crazy and add anything you could dream up. I think that some shredded coconut would be delicious too. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup raisins
• 6-8 apples peeled, sliced, and diced

Directions:

1) Put quarter cup of water into a pan

2) Add in fruit and put lid on pan

3) Turn the heat on until water is simmering, then turn heat to low

4) Cook for about 5 minutes on low (lid still on but taking off to stir occasionally)

5) After 5 minutes add about a teaspoon of cinnamon, stir, and continue to cook on low for another 5 minutes or until apples are done to your liking. 10 minutes is ideal for me.

...and wa-la! You have a quick, super easy, and tasty dessert (or great topping for oatmeal, or even vanilla ice cream, etc.!) I eat it hot, but I've had it cold before too. Enjoy, and let me know if you decide to try it. Here's a photo of the batch I ate today:

DELICIOUS!

Quick and EASY dinner idea: baked Sriracha tofu

Hi everyone! I wanted to share a super simple vegan dinner idea with all of you...baked Sriracha tofu plus veggies and grains. If you're unfamiliar with Sriracha, it's a spicy, spicy sauce that's works in all types of foods, but particularly works best in Asian dishes (in my humble opinion). With that said, if you decide to make this recipe, it's VERY spicy. Hank and I eat tons of spicy food (I order my Thai dishes "Thai hot" if it gives you an idea of what I like), so this isn't a big deal to us. But my Mom, for instance, couldn't handle it. (Love you Mama!) :)



So here's what you need for the whole meal-

1 block extra-firm tofu
Sriracha sauce
couple of cloves fresh garlic
half box/bag of fresh spinach
salt/pepper
brown rice
pinto beans (or any bean)
veggies of your choice

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

2. Drain the tofu and press the liquid out of it using paper towels. Once it's fairly dry, cut it into slices.

3. Squirt (yes squirt- the bottle has a twist top! haha) some Sriracha into a shallow dish, and coat both sides of your piece of tofu.

4. Line them on a non-stick bake sheet and place in oven. Bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until you can tell the top is looking a little more firm/crispy.

5. At the 15-20 minute mark, take the tofu out of the over and flip each piece over. Squirt a small amount of Sriracha on each piece, and spread it evenly with the back of a spoon. Put the tofu back in the oven for another 15 minutes or so.

6. While the tofu is finishing baking, heat up the beans, cook or reheat the rice, and whatever other veggies you'd like to include. Tonight we used an organic steamed mixed veggie bag in the microwave.

7. Additionally, while the tofu is finishing up, chop up about 2 cloves of garlic.

8. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a skillet, and when heated, add the chopped garlic. Brown on low heat.

9. Once the garlic is browned, add spinach. It looks like a lot at first, but it will quickly cook down. Keep moving the spinach around in the olive oil until you reach a consistency you like. I prefer it to be soft, but not too mushy. If you've never cooked spinach this way you'll see what I mean while you're cooking. You can also add salt/pepper to taste.

10. Remove the tofu from the oven, making sure it looks slightly crispy on the outside.

11. At this point, you should have quite a few finished products, depending on which parts you chose to make- rice, veggies, beans, spinach and tofu.

12. Plate and enjoy!

So, this was a super easy, throw together ingredients kind of meal. The tofu is nothing special- I just kind of made it up but Hank and I love it...and I hope you do too. It's also yummy to use in a sandwich, or on top of a salad! And remember you can always substitute the Sriracha with anything- soy sauce, bbq sauce, peanut sauce etc! This meal is such a good mix of protein and veggies and grains, and 100% vegan! Awesome.

Let me know if you try it.

:)