CHICKPEA SENSATION PATTIES AND BETTER BANANA NUT MUFFINS

Yesterday I Made:

CHICKPEA SENSATION PATTIES for DINNER.

Recipe from Eat, Drink & Be Vegan by DREENA BURTON.

These patties are made up of a blend of chickpeas ( garbanzo ), brown rice, oats, onions, celery, capers, and a few other seasonings.

Served inside a whole wheat pita, with heirloom lettuce, sliced cucumbers, and lime and salt marianated red onions.

This was a perfect recipe to use up a few ingredients I bought for other recipes.

*Capers- Veganomicon's Cesar Salad

*Vegan Worcestershire Sauce-Karina's Kitchen- Spicy Vegetable Soup with Lime

*Tamari-can't remember for what.

The process for making the patties is simple enough:

-Saute the onions, celery, salt and pepper.

-Process the chickpeas and garlic and a few other ingredients.

-Add the sautee veggies and pulse to incorporate.

-Add brown rice and pulse until just combined.

-Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

-Form into patties and fry in a pan with a tablespoon or 2 of olive oil and cook each side 5 minutes or until golden brown.

You can serve them alone with what ever sauce you want or serve them in a pita like I did.

The BETTER BANANA NUT MUFFINS were eaten this morning for breakfast.

Recipe from MY SWEET VEGAN by Hannah Kaminsky.

Bananas nut muffins topped with oats, sugar, and cinnamon.

So what makes these muffins so special?

DRIED BANANA SLICES!!!

Traditional banana nut muffins usually call for only mashed bananas.

This recipe utilizes dried and mashed bananas.

I made 2 substitutions:

-whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose.

-walnuts instead off pecans.

Goes perfect with a steaming cup of morning coffee.

Next time, I might made this recipe into a loaf instead of muffins.

So I can slice, toast and spread with Earth Balance.

ASPARAGUS QUICHE WITH TOMATOES AND TARRAGON

Today I Made:

ASPARAGUS QUICHE WITH TOMATOES AND TARRAGON and KALE CHIPS for DINNER.

Recipe from Veganomicon.

A blend of cannellini beans, walnuts, tarragon, and asparagus with a flaky whole wheat crust.

Topped with bread crumbs, tomatoes, tarragon, and a few asparagus spears.

This is a dish to impress guests or even your family.

It's beautiful to look at and it tastes amazing.

The filling is smooth, while the crust is flaky and crunchy.

And the thinly sliced tomatoes add a nice mouth feel.

Unfortunately, by husband didn't really care for it.

"Too mushy and you can't really taste what it is."

PASTA DELLA CALIFORNIA AND TOFU CHOCOLATE MOUSSE

Today I Made:

PASTA DELLA CALIFORNIA for DINNER.

Recipe from VEGANOMICON.

Whole wheat linguine, arugula, broccoli, lemon juice and zest, red chili pepper flakes, and avocado.

This was actually my second time making this recipe.

The first time, I used broccolini and spinach instead of broccoli and arugula, which I think makes a better dish.

The arugula was way too bitter for me.

And the broccoli doesn't add anything to the recipe.

The avocado was our favorite part.

It seems a little odd at first to eat warm avocado, but it actually does work.

So creamy and delicious.

Today I Made:

TOFU CHOCOLATE MOUSSE for DESSERT.

Recipe from marthastewart.com.

Chocolate chips, silken tofu, soy milk, and cacao nibs.

This is has got to be one of THE best desserts ever!

And not just because it's a chocolate dessert.

But because it's SO SIMPLE to make.

All you do is melt the chocolate chips in the microwave.

Add the tofu, warm soy milk, and chocolate chips into a food processor.

Process until smooth and pour into individual ramekins and refrigerate for a few hours.

Top with cacao nids or shaved chocolate.

I highly recommend making this dessert.

You will not be disappointed.

CHIPOTLE CHIPS AND GUACAMOLE

Another new snack that we've been indulging in these past few days:

CASA SANCHEZ REAL GUCAMOLE and their latest creation:

CHIPOTLE CHIPS.

These are THE best tasting chips we have ever had.

They actually taste like chipotle.

So, if your in California, buy these chips ASAP from your local Whole Foods store.

They are based in the bay area and only sell locally.

And if your in a different state, please request them at your local Whole Foods store.

They're that good.

KALE CHIPS

Last Friday I Made:

ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH, QUINOA SALAD, BROWN RICE, and KALE CHIPS for DINNER.

Plain roasted squash with olive oil, salt and pepper.

Quinoa mixed with corn, red pepper, cucumber, green onions, jalapeno, cilantro, tomato, with a spicy lime and cumin dressing.

Normally I would place it over a bed of greens, but it really doesn't need it.

KALE CHIPS

All I can say is: THANK YOU KATH!.

Saw these on Katheats.com a while back and finally tried them 2 weeks ago.

This was my third time making them and I plan on making even more this week.

I can't get enough, they are so addicting.

The thing is that they are so simple to make and so delicious.

Preheat oven to 375*.

All you do is remove the stem and cut into small bite-size pieces.

Wash and completely dry them in a salad spinner.

Drizzle without 2 tsp of olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Bake for 15 minutes or until edges as brown and crispy.

And enjoy!

(Kath eats them with ketchup, but we eat them plain.)

We ended up topping the quinoa and brown rice with CASA SANCHEZ FRESH ROASTED SALSA. which we usually buy at WHOLE FOODS.

HOMESTYLE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Last Friday I Made:

HOMESTYLE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES for DESSERT.

Recipe from VIVE LE VEGAN by DREENA BURTON.

I'm not much of a cookie fan, but after seeing Legally Vegan's: Chocolate Chip Cookie post, I started craving them.

I doubled the recipe and decided to make them into GIANT size cookies.

I placed 4 giant sized spoonfuls onto the cookie sheet and once out of the oven, they had turned into 1 gigantic cookie.

My first instinct was to throw them away, but I ended up cuting it into 4 pieces.

So for the rest of the batter, I made them into normal size cookies and they turned out fine, a little too greasy for my taste, but husband loved them.

If you have a well stocked pantry, you will have no problem making these on a whim.

BANANA AND BLACK BEAN EMPANADAS

Today I Made:

BANANA AND BLACK BEAN EMPANADAS for DINNER.

Recipe from VEGETARIAN TIMES MARCH 2009 issue.

Whole wheat dough filled with black beans, onions, bananas, and spices.

Baked until golden brown.

Served with homemade GUACAMOLE.

Empanadas are the Latin-American version of calzones.

I've seen them stuffed with pumpkin, pineapple, and meat ( dead animal flesh ) of course.

This version was amazing.

The stuffing was both sweet from the bananas and spicy from the chili powder.

My only recommendation is to make a salsa or guacamole like I did.

Because the empanadas are little too dry on there own.

I'm definitely going to try making these again with different stuffings.

The possibilities are endless.