Nourish YourselfNourish Yourselfhttp://www.maggie-ann.com/nourish-yourself/2010-02-01T04:57:28ZSquarespaceRosemary Sage Lemon Cookieshttp://www.maggie-ann.com/nourish-yourself/2010/1/31/rosemary-sage-lemon-cookies.htmlMaggie Ann2010-02-01T04:04:06Z2010-02-01T04:04:06Z 

My adaptation of this recipe.

Ingredients: 

1 & 3/4 C. whole wheat pastry flour

1 t. dried sage

1 t. dried rosemary

1/3 C. evaporated cane juice

1/2 C. Earth Balance buttery stick softened to room temperature

1/4 C. yellow cornmeal

1 T. + 2. t. lemon juice

1 t. vanilla extract

1 T. Coconut milk, or other milk substitute

Glaze: 1 egg white whisked with 1 T. water & sprinkles of evaporated cane juice

  • Process dried herbs in blender until finely chopped
  • Add herbs, flour, sugar, and cornmeal together, blend with fork
  • Add buttery stick and cut with dry mix until mixture resembles small pellets 
  • Mix together lemon juice, vanilla, and milk substitute, add to dough mixture
  • Knead dough with hands until well mixed, roll into a log, and separate in half
  • On lightly floured surface, roll out one half dough log at a time until 1/8 inch thick, cut into small circles
  • Place on cookie sheet, brush with egg white, and sprinkle with sugar
  • Bake at 375 degrees approximately 7 minutes or until edges are firm and bottoms are lightly browned.
  • Remove from oven, allow to cook on wire rack

]]>Italian Chickpea Sandwicheshttp://www.maggie-ann.com/nourish-yourself/2008/11/25/italian-chickpea-sandwiches.htmlMaggie Ann2008-11-25T05:06:27Z2008-11-25T05:06:27ZThe variations are endless!

An adaptation of the Chickpea Italiana recipe found in Simply Vegan.

Ingredients:

19 ounce can of chickpeas or 2 cups cooked chickpeas, drained and mashed

1/4 teaspoon oregano

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1/4 or to taste powdered garlic (I would prefer to use fresh, but I am out)

Tomato sauce to the consistency you desire

Olive oil for lightly coating a skillet

Bread of your liking

*Additional toppings of your choice

  • Drain and mash chickpeas, I mashed mine coarsely, so they were still pretty chunky
  • Put skillet on a burner set to medium high, coat lightly with oil
  • Add chickpeas to skillet and toss about lightly
  • Add seasoning and tomato sauce until desired consistency is reached
  • Stir about until warm through

Now this part is open to  interpretation! Here's what I did:

  • Take one whole wheat baguette and cut in half length wise, then slice down the middle
  • Preheat oven to 375°
  • *(Here is where the additional topping come in :) Lightly coat one half with vegan cream cheese
  • Layer atop the vegan cream cheese veggies of your liking, on the first night we chose onion, black olives and green peppers. On the second night (pictured) it was onion, fried zucchini, and green peppers.
  • Place in preheated oven for approximately 8 minutes, or until toasty goodness happens
  • Remove from oven
  • Add another thin layer of vegan cream cheese to the opposite face of bread
  • Top with chickpea concoction
  • ENJOY!

If you will notice in the above photo the trained eye might spy some lentils! This was the second night we had these sandwiches and I was out of chickpeas. There was a tad of the filling left over from the night before so I used that and mixed it with some lentils I prepared in the same way. See, I told you it was super versatile! This is a very hearty sandwich, which will be gracing our table quite frequently I would venture to say!

]]>Vegan Whole Grain Biscuitshttp://www.maggie-ann.com/nourish-yourself/2008/10/22/vegan-whole-grain-biscuits.htmlMaggie Ann2008-10-22T14:51:00Z2008-10-22T14:51:00Z

Adapted from this recipe.

2 cups whole grain spelt flour*
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 cup nonhydrogenated vegan margarine, softened to room temperature (I use this)
3/4 cup soy milk

  • Preheat oven to 400 degree F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper, or lightly oil.
  • Stir together flour, salt, and backing powder in a medium sized mixing bowl. Using hand mush in softened margarine until mix resembles a coarse meal. (Don't forget to remove your rings, like me:).
  • Add soymilk all at once, stir to form dough.
  • Lightly flour parchment paper on baking sheet, turn out dough and knead a few time, at this point I added a bit more flour to reduce the stickiness.
  • Lightly flour top of dough, cover with another sheet of parchment, or wax, paper and roll until about 1/2 in. thick.
  • Cut dough into rounds, I used a jar lid. Continue rolling out the scraps until all dough is used.
  • Line round 1 in apart on parchment paper, place baking sheet in oven.
  • Bake for approx. 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

These biscuits are absolutely delicious. After going without bread for so long (I've been avoiding yeast), I was absolutely in heaven! I recommend serving them right out of the oven, but they are also delicious cut in half and toasted (my breakfast this morning). The spelt flour gives them a nutty sweetness, and its whole grain doesn't seem quite as heavy as whole wheat flour.

*More on spelt:

Spelt's uniqueness is also derived from its genetic makeup and nutrition profile. Spelt has high water solubility, so the nutrients are easily absorbed by the body. Spelt contains special carbohydrates which are an important factor in blood clotting and stimulating the body's immune system. It is also a superb fiber resource and has large amounts of B-complex vitamins. Total protein content is from 10 to 25% greater than the common varieties of commercial wheat. (Pacific Bakery)

]]>Vegan Creamy Butternut Squash Souphttp://www.maggie-ann.com/nourish-yourself/2008/10/15/vegan-creamy-butternut-squash-soup.htmlMaggie Ann2008-10-15T15:52:11Z2008-10-15T15:52:11ZTastes like a bowl full of Autumn!
1 medium to large butternut squash

4 cups of vegetable broth, I use low sodium (vegan) vegetable bouillon.
1 cup unsweetened soy milk
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp cinnamon

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cooking sheet with aluminum foil.
  • Cut butternut squash in half lengthwise, scoop out seeds (I save the seeds for next years garden).
  • Place halves face down on cooking sheet, bake for 30 minutes.
  • Rotate halves face up, poke with fork or knife, bake for additional 30 minutes or until tender.
  • Allow squash to cool enough to handle. Once cooled pour 2 cups of broth into blender, then scoop out the yummy squash from its skin using a spoon, plop into blender. Blend until smooth.
  • Pour squash mixture and remaining 2 cups of veggie broth into large soup pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer.
  • Add soy milk and spices, stir thoroughly.
  • Allow to simmer for 20 minutes.
  • Serve with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste!
]]>Vegan Whole Wheat Crackershttp://www.maggie-ann.com/nourish-yourself/2008/10/15/vegan-whole-wheat-crackers.htmlMaggie Ann2008-10-15T15:39:22Z2008-10-15T15:39:22Z
Vegan whole wheat crackers as a side.
2 2/3 cups stone ground whole wheat flour (or flour of your preference)

1 teaspoon salt
1 cup warm water
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

  • Blend flour and salt together in large bowl.
  • Add water and olive oil.
  • Mix thoroughly with hand (make sure to take off your rings :), begin kneading when consistency is right.
  • Dough should be a bit tacky, not too dry, but not too sticky to work with. If needed add more water, or flour, to obtain the right consistency.
  • When mixed roll into a large ball, then divide the dough into twelve even pieces.
  • Roll these pieces into small balls and coat lightly with olive oil.
  • Cover with clean dishtowel and allow dough to rest for 30-60 minutes.
  • While dough resting preheat oven to 450 degrees.
  • When dough is done resting lightly flour counter top, stretch dough ball flat with hands, place on floured surface, then using a rolling pin roll dough as thin as possible without tearing.
  • At this point you can cut or shape dough as you wish or leave as a large sheet.
  • Place dough sheet on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper (or non-stick cookie sheet).
  • Sprinkle with desired spices (I use salt and cinnamon sometimes).
  • Repeat with the rest of the dough balls.
  • Bake at 450 until crackers are deeply golden, this varies, turn the oven light on and keep an eye on the first batch then you'll have a better idea for the remaining batches.
  • Let cool before enjoying with your favorite soup, salad, or as a tasty snack (I like them with a bit of peanut butter!)


]]>Great White Chilihttp://www.maggie-ann.com/nourish-yourself/2008/9/24/great-white-chili.htmlMaggie Ann2008-09-24T01:43:24Z2008-09-24T01:43:24Z

Wanting something autumny and yummy for Mabon I came up with this pot o' something I'm going to name Great White Chili. I had a big bag of Great Northern beans in the cabinet, they were my starting point. Before I became vegetarian I enjoyed white chili a lot, so I thought it would be nice to come up with a veggie friendly pot. Here's how it went:

  • About 4 cups of soaked Great Northern beans. I'm not sure how much this would be dry. I just soaked the whole bag and froze what I didn't use for this chili.
  • 3 green bell peppers chopped into smallish pieces
  • 1 medium onion cut into fourths. 3/4 chopped for the chili pot, 1/4 chopped for garnish.
  • 4 cloves of garlic minced
  • 1 medium yellow tomato cut into fourths
  • 1/2 small jalapeno pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • dash cayenne
  • 4 cups vegetable broth. I used low sodium vegetable bouillon 
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 teaspoon olive oil (or enough to coat the bottom of your cooking pot
  • salt to taste

I like to be able to cook in one pot and this recipe does just that. Start with a large cooking pot. Coat the bottom with olive oil and allow to warm over medium-high heat. Once warm add the onions and saute for approximately 5 minutes, or until onions turn transparent and edges brown slightly. Add garlic and saute about 2 more minutes. Add all spices (but not jalapeno). Push around onions and garlic so coated with spices. De-glaze pan by adding a bit of the vegetable broth, stir thoroughly, add rest of veggie broth. Stir, allow to come to a low boil over high-medium heat. While this is heating up combine 1 cup of water, yellow tomato, and jalapeno to blender. Blend until smooth. Add this to the warming pot. Allow this all to come to a boil. Once boiling add Great Northern beans. Stir and allow to come to back to a boil. Once bubbling nicely reduce heat to just above simmer, place lid on tilted so some steam can escape. Cook for approximately 2 hours or until beans reach desired softness, add salt to taste. Garnish with onions (I added three chopped banana peppers to our onions) and serve with Vegan Whole Wheat Crackers. Enjoy!

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