Almond-Hazelnut-Peanut Butter Blend

There is no doubt that I have a full fledged nut butter obsession. I really truly think that nut butter is the most delicious food in the world. It is my deserted island food... the one thing that I would want with me in the rare case that I would be trapped on a deserted island with no food. It would be my last meal. Well... along with a vegan chocolate chip cookie. 

My husband was really sweet and got me a Vitamix for Christmas our first year as a married couple, which seems like forever ago, which was also not long after I made the evolution to becoming vegan. I have truly felt like this device is worth every penny. It can do anything. It can save the world. The Vitamix should be President. Among the many talents of the Vitamix is creating nut butters. Nut butters can also be made in a food processor, but I have burned out too many food processor engines to actually recommend making nut butters in one. The Vitamix  does a stellar job with the nuts. Which makes it my buddy in my nut butter obsession. 

So far, I have stuck to your old standbys. Peanut Butter. Almond Butter. Sunflower Butter. But over the weekend I was noticing that I had a small amount of a few different nuts, but no large quantity of any one nut. What to do, what to do. So I made this incredible nut butter blend with the nuts I had on hand. It is SO good. I blended almonds, hazelnuts, and peanuts with a bit of each sea salt, vanilla and maple sugar, just to take it to the next level. This nut butter came out so velvety with a rich and subtly complex flavor, I never expected it to be as perfect as it is. 

I will mention here that I did need to add a bit of Grapeseed Oil to keep the nut butter working in the vitamix. I am not crazy about having to add oil to my nut butters,  I prefer them free of added oils, but in some cases you need the oil to make the nut butter grind up properly. You can always drain off the excess after the nut butter has sat for a day or so. It is so good, I'm thinking of adding it to the line up at Angelfood Vegan Treats.

I highly recommend this nut butter blend- it is such a treat. I have yet to try it with jam on my favorite multi-grain bread, but I am looking forward to that soon. If you don't have a vitamix, you can definitely do it in a food processor, it just takes more time, patience, and a spatula to scrape down the sides often. 

Almond Hazelnut Peanut Butter

2 cups raw almonds

1 cup hazelnuts

1 cup unsalted peanuts

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 tablespoons maple sugar

2 tablespoons grapeseed oil (or more as needed to assist in blending depending on your machine)

Add all ingredients to your vitamix or food processor. Start on low and move up to high. Blend well. If using a vitamix use the special tool to continuously push the nuts downward toward the blade. Per the vitamix directions for making nut butters, after about 1 minute of doing this, your mixture should be moving pretty smoothly. If it is not, let the machine rest for a bit since the motor can get pretty warm. Please refer to the vitamix instruction booklet if you are unsure. 

If you are using a food processor, you may have to scrape the sides down often, or possibly use more oil to get the mixture smooth. 

Spread on toast, bananas, or just a big spoon and enjoy! 

Sonoma Chickpea Salad

I have never been a mayo person. I have always thought it is the most disgusting thing in the world. Something about the texture and the fact that it turns clear when it sits out too long has always grossed me out. And then my brother got food poisoning from bad mayo on a vacation one year so that really did it for me as a kid. Therefore it is probably no surprise that when I chose to go vegan in 2007 I still had no interest in vegan mayo.
Somewhere along the line though, I was introduced to Wildwood's Garlic Aioli and I thought it was pretty darn good! Now I try to avoid most soy products, and too many processed foods, but I figure that a little bit every now and then is probably ok.
I never liked mayo based salads until after I became vegan and liked the Garlic Aioli. Now, I have found that they have a place in my life. I was at Whole Foods this morning picking up a few grocery items, and I saw they had a Sonoma Chicken Salad made with a processed soy based chicken replacement. It looked really good and refreshing on this 100 degree day in Roseville. I got to thinking that I could probably make the same thing with chickpeas to make it less soy based. So I came home and I did just that. And it is REALLY good. The only soy in this dish is the soy protein that is in the Garlic Aioli, which isn't too terribly much per serving.
Try this between two slices of toasted whole wheat bread, on sliced baguette, on a bed of lettuce, or hey even straight out of the bowl!

Sonoma Chickpea Salad

1 can (rinsed) or 2.5 cups cooked chickpeas
2 stalks organic celery, cleaned and diced
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
approx 20 organic red grapes, halved
1/4 cup red onion, diced
1/2 cup Garlic Aioli or other vegan mayonnaise you prefer
juice of half a lemon
1 tsp agave nectar
salt and pepper to taste

In a large bowl,  use a potato masher to mash up chickpeas until chunky and broken up but not too smooth. Add in celery, walnuts, grapes, onion, and mayonnaise. In a separate bowl combine lemon juice and agave nectar, and add that into your bowl. Mix everything together well, then add in sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Taste and re-season if necessary.

This dish is best served chilled. 4-6 servings.

Pure Life Chef is now Angelfood Vegan

Well hello there, it has been awhile! I am sorry for the absence, so much has happened since my last post! First and foremost, I had a baby. I have a beautiful 5 month old baby girl, and she is absolutely amazing and my new inspiration. 

Not too long after my last blog post, I got pregnant and suddenly food was completely uninteresting to me. All food except for plain whole wheat bread or a plain whole grain tortilla suddenly became the most disgusting thing ever. And that lasted quite awhile. Therefore I didn't do much cooking while I was pregnant or even grocery shopping for that matter. I had to send my husband to the store most of the time, just because I didn't like the smell or being in the presence of food. I also became obsessed with reading everything I could about pregnancy, birth, babies, and raising children. Hence, blogging took a back seat. 

Here's the little lady at 4 months

Now here I am five months after giving birth to my baby, ready to get back out there. I've never been more inspired than now to keep spreading the vegan message through my cooking and recipes and now my newest venture, my vegan baking operation. I have revised this blog to reflect the name of my new business, Angelfood, and I am also expanding the topics that I will blog about. I will still cover my  cooking, recipes and products, but I plan to also blog about my adventures in raising a healthy veg child.

I was able to keep all of my old posts and followers as Pure Life Chef, as you can see in the archive, but I am excited about the new direction of my blog and my business with Angelfood. Angelfood Vegan Treats is my new baking operation. I work out of a local kitchen to produce all handmade, small batch vegan treats such as cookies, brownies, sweet breads, muffins, cupcakes and candies. I am currently in the process of making contacts to get my products out and accessible to the public, and I am also taking orders for bridal/baby showers, parties and events. If you are in the Greater Sacramento Area, please check it out. In the future, I am also hoping to start teaching some vegan cooking classes again, I really miss them!

Many exciting things on the horizon here. Thanks for sticking around the blog, and I promise lots of good stuff to come! 

The Lasagna of Love...Valentine's Dinner

Lasagna is one of my favorite foods of all time, especially since childhood. I'm sure I have mentioned that before on this blog, and anyone who knows me will know this! Lasagna really is a labor of love as sauces and fillings must be made individually, noodles cooked, toppings prepared, and everything must be  seasoned just right to make the entire dish come together in harmony (wow, I even get poetic when writing about lasagna). This is the first time I have made this lasagna with cashew creme, and ingredient that I use often in my cooking, both savory and sweet. Cashew creme is an incredibly versatile and healthy replacement for dairy based creams/cheeses. If you want to know how to make cashew creme (very easy) read here. Once you have the basic creme made then you can season it with sea salt, lemon and nutritional yeast if you are using it as a savory cheesy replacement. If you want to use it like sour cream, then leave out the nutritional yeast.
Moving on! I also used my beloved Field Roast sausage as the protein in this lasagna. I simply took two links (I like the Fennel Apple flavor) and pulsed it in a food processor to make crumbles and then mixed that with about 1 cup of marinara.
The other layers of this lasagna are spinach and leeks that have been sauteed down with a hint of garlic and then mixed with the cashew creme. Atop that layer is a layer of roasted squash (yellow and zucchini both- make sure and season the veggies well) but you could use any veggies you like. Just be sure to cook the veggies prior to adding them to the lasagna, other wise they will release all of the water into the lasagna and nobody likes a watery, tasteless lasagna!
So again, this is layered as: Marinara, then noodles, spinach/creme mixture, veggies, noodles, crumbled sausage, noodles, red sauce, then cashew creme, topped with some homemade bread crumbs and sprinkled with oregano.
This was really a delicious lasagna. My hubby loved it and gobbled down two pieces! It was the perfect accompaniment to our Valentines evening. Followed by rich yet healthy brownies from the Millennium cookbook made with Ghiradelli cocoa in honor of our San Francisco roots- the city in which our love began.

Kabocha Squash Curry

Last night I made this delicious Kabocha Squash Curry that is just loaded with delicious vegetables that soak up the silky and flavorful coconut milk curry. Some Thai restaurants do the Kabocha Squash curry, but certainly not all...I have found it can be hard to find. I really love this dish and vegetarian curries in general, but this to me, tops them all.  The squash is so sweet and buttery, but still has texture and bite to it. The kabocha squash is more dense than a butternut squash which and has a slightly different taste and a bright, beautiful color.
To cook the kabocha squash is actually quite easy. I first take the whole squash and put it in a 350 degree oven for about ten minutes. This softens it up enough to where I can cut it in half easier. Take the two halves and scoop out the seeds in the inside. Then, put the two halves, cut side down on a baking sheet, and return to the oven for about 25-30 minutes depending on the size of your squash. You want it to be done, al dente as it will continue to cook as you simmer the curry. When the squash is cool enough to handle then take small scoops out of the squash leaving only the thick skin behind.

To make the curry, I saute up all my veggies, except for the squash, with lots of garlic, ginger and a bit of salt in coconut oil. In a separate saucepan, combine 1 can of coconut milk with 2 or so tablespoons of curry paste, and a small piece of lemongrass.  (or you can make your own, but that is a separate blog post. Thai Kitchen makes some good ones). After my veggies have started to soften, then I pour my coconut milk mixture over the veggies, add the squash and  let them all simmer together. I finish the dish with a squeeze of lime juice, some chopped thai basil, and a bit more salt if to taste. Remove the lemongrass and serve over a bed of delicious brown rice. In this picture I made a brown rice pilaf with almonds, peas, onions, and a bit more spice.

This is a hearty, nutritious dish with lots of warming spices perfect for a cold January night!

2010 Holiday Dish Roundup

Apple Hazelnut Torte

For some reason my computer has decided not to work with me tonight, and will not upload the pictures of the beautiful Apple Hazelnut Torte that I made for my mom's Birthday! I will keep working on it, but it in the meantime I will happily share the recipe (which has a photo of it's own).

I saw this recipe in last month's Bon Appetit, and it is an Apple Torte however the crust is made with breadcrumbs and hazelnuts. I thought this was very interesting and decided to give it a whirl. I happened to have a bunch of homemade cinnamon bread in the freezer, so I used that bread to make the breadcrumbs which really added to the flavor of the crust, so I highly recommend doing that!

This was a very easy recipe to veganize because there were no eggs in it. When the recipe called for butter, I used Earth Balance, and when it calls for milk, I used almond milk. Simple as pie.

This dessert went over very well with the crowd, and I do recommend it. Can't wait to share the pics with you, but in the meantime, check out the recipe here...