About aveg7803

Hi. I'm Ruth. I live in sunny central Florida. I am a relative newcomer to the vegetarian lifestyle and eager to learn more about it.

Stuffed Portobello Caps

Posted on March 8, 2014 by aveg7803

We like mushrooms. They have a wonderful, earthy flavor and they give you something that you can bite into. Their versatility is neverending. Just think of how many different dishes you’ve made, that start out with a can of cream of mushroom soup! By they way, you can make your own, much more flavorful, mushroom soup. But, that’s a post for another time. One of my favorite breakfasts is a simple sauteed mushroom and egg white omelette. Yum! These stuffed caps are made with easy to find ingredients and are a snap to make. The ingredient list –

The fixin’s

portobello mushroom caps, spinach, onion, roma tomato, goat cheese (for creamy yumminess), panko crumbs, red pepper flakes (for a little kick) and some herbes de provence. I like using herbs de provence. It makes me feel swanky. Next thing you know, I’ll be putting truffle oil on everything. If you don’t have herbes de provence, plain old italian seasoning mix will work just fine. You can still feel swanky, too. First thing to do, is to scrape the gills off the mushrooms. You don’t have to, but you can pile in more stuffing if they’re gone, so get them out of there.

Snap off the stems and scrape out the gills.

Snap the stems off, too. I don’t use them in the stuffing. Save them for making a vegetable stock. After the caps are clean, set them aside.

Clean mushrooms.

Now, dice up half an onion. You want about 1/2 a cup.

choppity chop chop

Swirl about a tablespoon of olive oil into a large saute pan. Using a medium low heat, cook the onions til tender, about 2 to 3 minutes.

cooking the onion

Add in the chopped spinach so it can wilt down.

add the spinach to the pan

It will just take a couple of minutes for it to wilt.

wilted spinach

Turn the heat off and set the pan to the side. Now, preheat your oven to 375º. Line a baking sheet with foil and set it by the mushroom caps. Time to make the stuffing. Give a roma tomato a rough dice.

diced roma tomato

I used a roma, because they are a meatier, less juicy, tomato. If you have to use a regular tomato, dice it, then, blot excess moisture up with a paper towel. Crumble the goat cheese into a medium sized bowl.

crumble with a fork

Combine with the diced tomato, panko crumbs, red pepper flakes and the herbes de provence. Add salt and pepper.

Stuffing mix

Add in the spinach onion mixture.

add the spinach onion mix

Mix it well.

Combine well

Divide the mixture among the portobello caps.

Stuff the caps.

Drizzle the caps with a little olive oil. This adds an extra layer of flavor!

Drizzle caps with olive oil.

Bake for about 30 minutes. I roasted some carrots alongside of the mushrooms and served them both with a nice, creamy risotto. A delicious, easy dinner!

Dinner is served!

Stuffed Portobello Caps

Author: Ruth@aveggiegoodday.com

Recipe type: Entree

Cuisine: American

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 50 mins

Serves: 4

Flavorful portobello caps, stuffed with a savory blend of spinach, tomatoes and goat cheese.

Ingredients

4 portobello caps, stems and gills removed
4 cups raw spinach, coarsely chopped and lightly packed
½ cup diced onion
2 TBL olive oil - divided
1 diced roma tomato
4 oz goat cheese, crumbled
½ cup panko crumbs
1 tsp herbes de provence
¼ tsp red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375º. Line a baking sheet with foil.
Saute the diced onion in 1 tablespoon of olive oil for 2 to 3 minutes. Add spinach to wilt, another 2 minutes. Place the goat cheese in a medium bowl. To it, add in the diced tomato, panko crumbs, red pepper flakes and herbes de provence. Pour the spinach and onion mix over the tomato cheese mixture and combine. Divide mixture among 4 portobello caps. Drizzle remaining tablespoon of olive oil.
Place caps on baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes.

Walnut and Date Stuffed Mushrooms

Posted on February 20, 2014 by aveg7803

Walnut and Date Stuffed Mushrooms

This isn’t your ordinary stuffed mushroom. It’s extraordinary! This is a vegan alternative to those cheese stuffed globs that everyone else makes. Make this and you’ll be extraordinary, too. The crunch of the walnuts, the savory tarragon and the sweetness of the dates will tantalize your taste buds. Your mouth will love you for it.

The ingredients:

Stuffed mushroom stuff

You’ll need a couple dozen whole mushrooms, walnuts, some onion, panko bread crumbs, tarragon and some diced dates. You’ll need some wine, too. The kind really isn’t important, so get what you like. I’m using Marsala just because it’s what I had.

First off, wipe the mushrooms off with a damp paper towel. Then, break the stems off and set them aside.

remove the stems

Get out a large skillet and heat it over medium. Toss in the walnut halves.

toast the walnuts

Toast them for a couple of minutes. Then, remove them to a cutting board. Let them cool a bit, then chop them into smaller pieces. Dump the pieces into a large bowl.

chopped walnuts

Dice up that sweet onion.

diced onion

Add a tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet and scrape the onions into the pan.

cook the onions

Cook them a couple of minutes, while you are chopping up the mushroom stems.

chop the stems

Now, add the chopped stems, along with that wine, to the cooking onion.

add stems and wine

Let the whole simmer for 2 or 3 minutes until most of the liquid had evaporated and the stems have cooked.

stems are done

Turn the stove off and let the pan cool a bit. While you’re waiting, chop up some tarragon,

chop up the tarragon

and add it to the walnuts bowl.

walnuts and tarragon

Pile in a half cup of date pieces, some panko, salt and pepper. Pour the mushroom stem mix into the bowl, too.

stuffed mushroom mix

Mix it all up.

Preheat the oven to 375º. Get out a 9 x 13 baking sheet and line it with parchment paper. Or foil. Whatever you have, is what works best.

get the pan ready

Stuff the mushroom caps with a very generous tablespoon if filling. Mound it up and pack it tight.

stuffin’ the ‘shrooms

Line them up on the baking sheet until you run out of mushrooms or stuffing, whichever comes first. This is when I notice Punky, the kitchen kitty is here to supervise. Am I doing a good job, Punky?

Punky cat supervises.

When your tray is ready to bake, drizzle the mushrooms with a little olive oil.

drizzle with olive oil

Bake for around 20 minutes. You want the mushroom cooked but still firm.

all baked.

Take them off and arrange on a pretty tray. Garnish with some chopped parsley, if you are so inclined. I was so inclined.

Walnut and date stuffed mushrooms

They’re slightly sweet, a little savory, a bit crunchy and a whole lotta good!

Walnut and Date Stuffed Mushrooms

Author: Ruth@veggiegoodday.com

Recipe type: Appetiser

Cuisine: American

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Total time: 35 mins

Serves: 18 to 24

A full of flavor, vegan stuffed mushroom that's easy to prepare.

Ingredients

2 – 10 ounce packages of whole white mushrooms
1 cup walnut halves
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
2 Tablespoons olive oil - divided
¼ cup diced sweet onion
¼ cup Marsala or other wine.
½ cup chopped dates
¾ cup panko crumbs
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Cover a 9 x13 rimmed sheet pan with parchment paper.
Remove the stem ends of the mushrooms. Chop stems and set aside.
Toast walnuts in a dry skillet over medium heat for 2 to 4 minutes or until golden brown, stirring constantly. Remove and spread out on a cutting board and let cool slightly. Chop walnuts into smaller pieces and place in a large bowl. Add the chopped tarragon to the walnuts.
Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet. Add in the diced sweet onion and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Pour in the ¼ cup of Marsala and the chopped mushroom stems. Cook until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 2 to 3 minutes.
Pour the mushroom mix to the walnuts in the bowl. Blend in the dates, panko, salt and pepper.
Place a generous tablespoon of stuffing into each mushroom cap.
Place stuffed mushrooms onto prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the mushrooms are tender. Remove to platter. Garnish with chopped parsley, if desired.

Sesame Ginger Slaw

Posted on February 9, 2014 by aveg7803

Sesame Ginger Slaw

Cole slaw. I love it. When we go out for dinner and I’m offered the choice of a side salad or slaw? I’m going with the slaw. Maybe, I just love cabbage. What I don’t love, is a mayonnaise based dressing, all-the-time! Change it up. Give me something different. Something that will make me go – wow! I like wow. Wow is good. This sesame ginger slaw is wow. Try it, you’ll be hooked. I needed something to serve to my vegan friends, and that left mayonnaise out of the question. I know there are vegan options available. But, the store was so far away, and I’m kinda lazy, so I went with what I had on hand. The result was a light, refreshing, simple to make slaw, that will make you go wow!

The ingredients:

The line up

You’ll need 8 cups of shredded cabbage. There’s also 4 scallions, a knob of ginger for grating, some dijon, rice vinegar, toasted sesame oil, black sesame seeds and agave syrup. There’s no need to haul out the heavy food processor. All you need is a cutting board and a knife. Turn the cabbage upside down, cut through the cabbage on each side of the core. Next, cut the core out of the center silce and toss it (the core) away. Lay one half, face down and slice it into thin strips.

Shredding the cabbage

Then, cut in half in the opposite direction.

cut,cut,cut it up

Cut up the rest of the cabbage in the same manner. Dump it all in a large bowl. Take your scallions and slice them on the diagonal, very thinly.

slice, slice, slice it up.

Throw them in the bowl with the cabbage.

Use a big bowl!

Time to make the dressing. Get out a nonstick fry pan. Use at least a 10 inch pan. Heat it over medium for a bit, then, add the black sesame seeds. I used black because the color contrasts against the cabbage nicely.

Toasting the black sesame seeds.

Don’t walk off! This only takes 2 to 3 minutes. Stir them around and when you smell the toasty goodness, they’re done. Pull them off the stove. Save a teaspoon for garnish, just before you serve the salad. Time to grate the ginger.

grate ginger

I don’t waste time peeling it. I keep the ginger in the freezer and just pull out a chunk when I need it. I just run it across the grater and the brown peel just stays on the top. Nothing but great, grated ginger on the other side!

Get out a small bowl. To it, add the dijon, toasted sesame oil, grated ginger, agave syrup and rice vinegar.

sesame slaw dressing

Add in the toasted sesame seeds and whisk it all together.

Dressing is done

Now, if you’re not going to serve the slaw right away or you’re going to take it somewhere, cover up the dressing and stuff it in the fridge. You don’t want to dress the slaw until you’re ready to serve it. Cabbage does funky stuff to dressings. It makes them all watery and yucky. So, wait to dress. The slaw, not yourself. Unless, that’s how you roll. When you’re ready to serve the slaw, pour the dressing over the cabbage scallion mix and toss to coat. Sprinkle those reserved toasted sesame seeds over the top to purty it up.

It’s right purty!

You can eat this by itself, like I did, right after I took it’s picture or serve it as a side for sandwiches, grilled tofu, dinner omelettes, or whatever! It’s a wow slaw, so wow somebody with it!

Sesame Ginger Slaw

Author: Ruth@aveggiegoodday.com

Recipe type: salad

Cuisine: American

Prep time: 15 mins

Total time: 15 mins

Serves: 8

A simple, refreshing vegan slaw that's easy to make.

Ingredients

8 cups of chopped cabbage
4 scallions
1 Tablespoon black sesame seeds – divided.
2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 Tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 Tablespoon agave syrup

Instructions

Place chopped cabbage in a large bowl.
Slice the scallions on the diagonal. Add to the cabbage and toss to combine.
Using a dry, nonstick fry pan over medium heat, toast the black sesame seeds. Stir occasionally 2 to 3 minutes or until fragrant.
In a small bowl, whisk together the rice vinegar, Dijon mustard, grated fresh ginger, toasted sesame oil and the agave syrup. Add in the toasted black sesame seeds, reserving 1 teaspoon for garnish. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. When ready to serve, whisk dressing and pour over cabbage mix, tossing to coat. Sprinkle top with reserved sesame seeds and serve.
NOTE: If you are not serving to vegans, honey may be substituted for the agave syrup.

Kale Chips

Posted on January 24, 2014 by aveg7803

Southwest Chipotle Kale Chips

Chips, or actually, crisps made from Kale. Light, airy, little, wisps of flavor. Flavor that costs a ton of money. Look at these prices! Well, now. We don’t have to pay those kind of prices, do we. Nope! We don’t. I have a dehydrator. Sure, you have the initial output of cash to buy the dehydrator, but you can do so much with it. Careful shopping can get you one on sale, or use one of those 20% off coupons that Bed Bath & Beyond are always sending out. Still not willing to put out the cash? Look at it this way. You’ll be saving all that money and more, simply by reducing your waste. Parsley about to go bad? Dry it. Far, too many jalapenos in your harvest? Dry them. Freeze coming and your pretty, purple basil plant is loaded with leaves? Dry them! Make the kid’s some fruit roll ups. That way, you’ll know for sure what they are made of. Just fill the dehydrator, turn it on and go read a book. It’s that easy. The savings will really add up. I paid $2.50 for a pound of organic kale and it made a gallon baggie full of crisps. Those are real savings.

Let’s make some kale chips, ok?

Simple ingredients, great flavors.

The special equipment needed? The dehydrator and a salad spinner. That’s it. This is going to be easy. Open the salad spinner and set it beside you and the kale. Fold a kale stem in half and hold it in one hand, using the stem and a handle. Use the other hand and tear handfuls of kale off and drop them into the spinner basket.

Tear off chunks.

You want the pieces of kale to be around 3 inches wide. They shrink up quite a bit, so bigger is better. Keep going until all the kale is torn. Then, carry the spinner basket to the sink and rinse the kale off.

Give it a shower.

Shake off the water and pop the basket back into the spinner and spin it!

Spin dry

Spread out a clean kitchen towel on your counter and rump the kale out onto it. Grab a paper towel and blot up the excess moisture from the leaves.

Blot dry.

Take that same paper towel and dry out the salad spinner bowl.

I have a new photo editor. Can you tell? lol

Place half the kale into the spinner bowl.

Half in the bowl

Drizzle them with 2 teaspoons of olive oil

Drizzle with oil

and rub it into the leaves with your fingers.

Give your kale a massage.

Then, here’s the tricky part. You have to decide what to flavor them with. Yes, I understand that this is tough, but I have faith. You can do it! Pick something that you like. Curry powder, garlic salt, Old Bay seafood seasoning, lemon pepper, herbs de provence, or, even, ranch salad dressing mix! If your seasoning mix is salt free, add a shake or two of salt, or just leave it off. There is no limit to what you can add for flavor! I am using a southwest chipotle blend because I like it. So, sprinkle on 2 teaspoons of seasoning blend and hand toss to mix.

Sprinkle with spices

Get out your dehydrator.

My dry guy

Open it up and set a tray beside your kale bowl. Start laying the kale out on the trays, keeping them in a single layer.

1st layer

Keep on layering.

keep on layering

When you run out of seasoned kale, start the flavoring process again using the other half. Don’t bother to wipe out the bowl, that’s just extra flavor!

Repeat oil & seasoning with the last half.

Hopefully, you run out of kale and empty trays at the same time.

All full

Pop on the top and start it up. Mine has direction printed right on top. Those are what I use, too. Can’t argue with brilliance. Check your kale about halfway through the cooking time. I like to rotate the trays at the time. Maybe it helps them dry evenly. I don’t know why I do it, but it make me feel better. Any how, after cooking time has passed, you’ll find that your kale has shrunk quite a bit.

All dehydrated up.

It’s supposed to. You did everyting right. You’ve made kale chips! Clean up is a breeze, too. One dirty salad spinner and a couple of dehydrator trays. Easy as can be. So, keep your money in your pocket and make your own kale chips. And fruit leathers, and dried fruits, and dried herbs, and oh,oh,oh, your own sun dried tomatoes!!!

Southwest Chipotle Kale Chips

Here’s the recipe.

Kale Chips

Author: Ruth@aveggiegoodday.com

Recipe type: Snacks

Cuisine: American

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 7 hours

Total time: 7 hours 20 mins

Serves: 12

Kale is seasoned and then dehydrated into light, airy, flavorful crisps.

Ingredients

12 to 15 stems of fresh kale
4 teaspoons olive oil - divided
4 teaspoons seasoning, such as curry powder, garlic salt or southwest chipotle – divided
Salt, if necessary.

Instructions

Special equipment needed – a dehydrator.
Get out a salad spinner. With the kale leaf folded in half, hold the stem in one hand, and with the other, tear off handfuls of kale. You want pieces about 3 inches wide. Place the torn kale pieces into the salad spinner. Rinse and spin dry. Dump the kale out onto a clean towel and blot off excess water with paper towels. Using the same paper towels, dry out the salad spinner bowl. Place half the kale inside. Drizzle with 2 teaspoons of the olive oil and massage the oil into the leaves with your hands. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons of the seasoning powder over the leaves. If your spice mix doesn't contain salt, sprinkle a little salt over the leaves, also. Toss in bowl using your hands.
Place a dehydrator tray beside your kale bowl. Spread out the kale, in a single layer. Repeat with additional trays. When the first bowl of kale is used up, repeat the oil and seasoning steps from above. When mixed, fill remaining dehydrator trays.
Assemble the dehydrator and process the kale according to your machines directions. For my Nesco model, it was 135º for 7 hours. Always check and rotate the trays halfway through the drying time.
It's done when it as crispy as you want it to be!

Pumpkin Cider Baked Donuts with an Apple Cider Glaze

Posted on January 11, 2014 by aveg7803

Pumpkin Cider Baked Donuts with an Apple Cider Glaze

Can we talk? Come on, pull out a chair and sit a spell. Look, I’ve already made you a plate. Let’s sip a cuppa joe and munch on a donut or two and chat. I have a confession. This food blog thing? I’m not so good at it. Oh, you’ve noticed? Well, I’m sorry. I have every good intention of updating it more often. But, then, you know, life happens. Work, kids, friends, parents, holidays, rain, sleet, snow, the flu, you kno LOOK, A SQUIRREL. I am lousy with my time management. I want to do a post, but the next thing I know – I’m out of time. I’m never out of excuses, though. Here’s my New Years Resolution – I’m gonna try my durndest to post more. I’m still learning. So, bear with me, it’s going to get better! Did you enjoy your donut?

Yum!

Here’s the recipe – Gather the ingredients and set the oven for 350º.

Baked donut ingredients, missing 3 eggs.

Pretend you see 3 eggs in that picture. They were still in the fridge. Whoopsie. Anyhow, crack 3 eggs into the work bowl of your mixer. Add in 1 cup of sucanat.

Look! The missing eggs.

Sucanat is just dried sugar cane syrup. I use it for most my sugar needs. Don’t have it? No matter, just use 1/2 cup each of white and brown sugar. Start up the mixer. When that’s blended, add in the pumpkin puree and vanilla.

add pumpkin

If you have homemade pumpkin puree, that will work. Just adjust the flour amounts so you end up with a thick batter. Mix it up. Now, combine the flour – I used a soft white whole wheat – the spices, salt and baking powder.

the dry mix

Stir it up, so it’s all combined.

mixed up

Take a cup of apple cider and pour it into the mixer bowl.

add the cider

Then, add the dry mix and blend it all together.

All blended together.

Grab your donut/muffin pans and coat them with spray oil.

coat pans with oil

Here’s a neat trick. When you have to get a thick batter into a small or unique shape, put it into a zip top bag.

zip top bag

Fill it with the batter –

bag the batter

squeeze out the air and seal it up.

all bagged

Squish the batter away from a bottom corner and snip it off.

about an inch wide

Carefully squeeze the batter out into the pans, filling them about halfway full.

fill the pans

Place them into the oven, you can stagger the trays to cook. Rotate them after half the baking time has passed.

stack them

Bake from 12 to 14 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in one comes out clean. Remove and cool in the pans for a couple of minutes.

Hot!

Then, flip them out on racks to cool completely.

Cool completely

While they cool, let’s make the apple cider glaze.

for the glaze

You need apple cider, a tablespoon of unsalted butter and powdered sugar. I just whizzed up some sucanat in my vitamix to make powdered sugar. Pour a 1/4 cup of cider in a small sauce pan with the butter.

cider and butter

Bring it to a boil,

reduce the cider

lower the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes or until the cider has reduced by half. Let it cool. When cool, put into a shallow dish and mix in 1 tablespoon of fresh cider. We want the flavor of the cider reduction without trying to mix the powdered sugar into that goo. So, thin it out a bit.

Don’t worry about the little specks. They’re good!

Add in the powdered sugar, until you have a thick glaze.

It’s ready!

Now, dip the donuts in the glaze, coating halfway up.

Use a small dish.

Stand your racks over some wax paper or paper towels, cause it’s going to get messy! Set the donuts/donut holes on the racks to dry.

oh, Oh, OH!

Oh yeah, baby!

Then, simply plate them up.

Pumpkin Cider Baked Donuts with an Apple Cider Glaze

Resist the urge to lick the excess glaze off the waxed paper. Oh, no one is looking, do it!

Pumpkin Cider Baked Donuts with an Apple Cider Glaze

Author: Ruth@aveggiegoodday.com

Recipe type: snack

Cuisine: American

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 14 mins

Total time: 34 mins

Serves: 12

A delicious blend of whole wheat flour, pumpkin, apple cider and spices, baked into a tasty donut.

Ingredients

For the Donuts:
3 whole eggs
1 cup sucanat sugar or ½ cup each of white and brown sugars
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup apple cider
4 cups whole wheat flour, I used a soft white wheat
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
For the Apple cider glaze:
¼ cup apple cider, plus 2 Tablespoons – divided, use as needed.
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
1 ½ cups powdered sugar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray donut pans and mini muffin pan with oil.
Crack three eggs into the work bowl of your mixer. Add in the sucanat (sugars). Mix until blended. Mix in the pumpkin puree and vanilla extract. Pour in the cup of apple cider.
In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients together: flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, salt and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl and mix until smooth.
Spoon the batter into a zip top bag, snip a hole in a bottom corner, and pipe the batter into the donut pan and mini muffin pan, filling each about halfway full.
Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, or until a tooth pick inserted, comes out clean. Cool on wire racks for 5 minutes, then remove from pans and cool completely.
For the apple cider glaze – Pour the ¼ cup apple cider into a small sauce pan. Add in the tablespoon of unsalted butter. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until reduced by half, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and cool completely. When cool, blend with 1 tablespoon of reserved cider. Stir in the powdered sugar until dissolved, adding additional cider, if needed. Dip cooled donuts halfway into the glaze, then set the donuts on a wire rack to allow the glaze to set.

Fresh donuts & coffee!

Avocado and Tofu Salad Wraps

Posted on December 14, 2013 by aveg7803

Avocado and Tofu Salad Wraps

This recipe is for a quick and easy lunch. These wraps pack so easy, that you’ll be able to take one anywhere. We just took ours on a road trip from Florida to Arkansas. They travel well and are far better for you than standard roadside fare.

Since I live in a sub-tropical climate, we have access to avocados year round. I take full advantage of that fact and eat them all up, as often as possible! They are a good source of potassium, vitamin C and fiber! Get your avocados out and let’s get started.

The ingredients.

Oh look, tofu!

Hmm, did I forget to mention that the wrap also has tofu in it? Well, it does. Did you know that tofu is an excellent source of calcium and iron? Now you do! The tofu ups the protein of the avocado salad mix. More protein means you stay fuller, longer. I chose the sun dried tomato wraps this time, but any tortilla will do.

Step one – open and drain the tofu. Pat it dry with paper towels and set it aside.

dry the tofu

Step two – cut 2 avocados in half and remove the pits.

halve the avocados

Step 3 – Scoop out the innards and dump them into a medium sized bowl.

the green stuff

Step 493 – Cut your lime in half.

limes

Using one half of the lime, (save the other half for a margarita) squeeze the juice over the avocados and mash lightly.

mash it up

Grab that tofu. You only need 8 ounces, so cut it in half and save the other half for something else.

8 ounces

Slice it into about 6 slices.

tofu slices

Then, crumble the slices over the avocado in the bowl.

Crumbled tofu

Mash it all up, again.

mash it again

Now, get out the red onion and cut off a chunk. Then, dice up about 1/4 cups worth.

diced red onion

Add the onion, 1/4 cup of mayo, 1/2 teaspoon curry powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt & 1/4 teaspoon of pepper into the bowl.

dump in the rest

Mix all the ingredients together until they are well combined. Nobody wants a big wad of onions in the middle of their wrap.

mix it all up

Take out 6 tortillas and heat them according to the package instructions. Lay one flat and spread 1/2 cup of salad mix along the bottom edge.

Keep the sides empty

Fold the edges in, like this –

fold in the sides

then, roll it up.

roll it up

All done! Plate it up with a nice, kosher, dill pickle and some yummy, veggie chips and ring the dinner bell. Lunch is served.

Lunch Time!

5.0 from 1 reviews

Avocado and Tofu Salad Wraps

Author: Ruth@aveggiegoodday.com

Recipe type: Sandwich

Prep time: 15 mins

Total time: 15 mins

Serves: 6

A tasty, wrap sandwich full of nutrient-dense avocado and tofu salad.

Ingredients

8 oz of firm tofu
2 avocados
½ lime, juiced
¼ cup diced red onion
¼ cup mayonnaise
½ teaspoon curry powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 package of tortillas

Instructions

Open and drain the tofu. Pat dry. Cut into 6 slices. Set aside.
Cut avocados in half and remove pit. Scoop out middle into a medium size bowl. Squeeze the lime juice over and smash lightly. Take each tofu slice and crumble into the bowl with the avocado. Smash lightly.
Add in the diced red onion, mayonnaise, curry powder, salt & pepper. Combine well.
Remove 6 tortillas and warm according to package instructions. Place a ½ cup of avocado salad along one edge, tuck sides in and fold over, envelope style.
Serve with a hearty pickle and some chips. Enjoy.

Glazed Cranberry and Orange Bundt Cake

Posted on November 20, 2013 by aveg7803

Glazed Cranberry & Orange Bundt Cake

You’ve made the cranberry orange sauce and it’s chilling out in your fridge, right? You’ve got leftover cranberries and oj, too. Maybe no on the oj but yes on the cranberries. You can freeze the whole berries and use them later. Or, you can make this awesome cake for the centerpiece of your holiday dessert table. Sure, you’ll have pumpkin pie, or cherry or apple or shoo-fly pie. That’s all fine and dandy for the pie addicts, but what about us cake people! Let us eat cake! This cake, as a matter of fact! Pretty to look at, even better to eat! So, take pity on the cake lovers in your house and bake a cake. We’ll love you all the more.

Let’s get crackin’ some eggs! The line up.

The starting line up.

Start off by preheating your oven to 350 degrees. Put the rack in the bottom third of the oven. Grease a 10 inch bundt or tube cake pan

A little dab will do ya!

and then sprinkle a little sugar in it. Roll it around to coat and them dump out the rest.

Just sugar coat it.

That’s my big, cake baking tip. Don’t grease and flour your pans. Use sugar instead. Speaking of flour, measure out 3 cups of flour.

3 cups

Measure out the salt, baking soda and baking powder.

salt, baking soda and baking powder

Then, dump them into the flour and mix them up. Set it to the side.

all nice and fluffy

Now, measure out 1/2 cup each of milk and orange juice,

Milk and oj

and mix them together, and set it aside, too.

Almost an Orange Julius!

Now, get out your mixer. Dump in the sugar and the coconut oil.

coconut oil and sugar

Flip the switch and cream them together. Add in the eggs, one at a time, mixing between eggs.

add eggs

Time to add the milk mix –

add a little wet

and the flour mix –

and a little dry

Add it by 1/3’s. It’s a thick batter, so this ensures that everything gets incorporated. While that’s mixing – chop your cranberries.

Chopped cranberries

They just need a rough chop. You don’t even have to get them all. However, you do have to go chase down the ones that flew off the cutting board and onto the floor. Except the one that the cat batted under the couch. We’ll get it later. Add the berries to the cake batter.

dump the berries in

Fold it all together.

fold in the cranberries

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth it out.

Batter up!

Bake it for 30 minutes, then, test it with a cake tester or pick. If no batter is sticking to it, you’re done. If it’s still wet, bake another 5 to 10 minutes and check again. Done yet? Good! Take it out to cool.

Inhale deeply!

Let it cool for 10 minutes. Loosen the edges with a knife if necessary, and then flip it out onto a serving platter.

Let it cool.

While the cake is cooling, it’s time to make the glaze. It’s just a simple, sugar glaze. Measure out a cup of powdered sugar. I sifted mine, it was lumpy. Kinda like me.

cuppa sugar

Measure out 2 tablespoons of orange juice.

a little oj

You may need it all, but start with 1 tablespoon first. Pour it into the cup of sugar and stir. Add more juice as necessary to get an even, flowing glaze.

Go with the flow

When the cake is cool, start drizzling on the glaze.

Round one

Keep going until you’re out of glaze.

keep on glazing

Let it drip off and puddle around the cake. That’s the good stuff. Mmmmm. You can garnish the cake with whatever you want. I used orange zest strips and sugared cranberries (recipe here) It says to keep the berries in the fridge overnight. Nope. Just let them sit in the hot simple syrup for about 20 minutes in the covered pot. Drain them – save that syrup for other uses – and let them sit in the colander for a couple of minutes. Then, roll them around in some superfine granulated sugar. Let them dry for about 20 minutes, then pile on the cake! Or just pop them in your mouth. They are just that good.

Sugared cranberries

Set this beautiful cake in the center of your dessert table and let all the pies go unnoticed.

Beautiful, inside and out!

Glazed Cranberry & Orange Bundt Cake

Author: Ruth

Recipe type: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 50 mins

Total time: 1 hour 10 mins

Serves: 12

A moist and delicious bundt cake popping with tangy cranberries and a hint of oranges.

Ingredients

For the cake-
3 cups all purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup coconut oil
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
½ cup milk
½ cup orange juice
2 cups fresh cranberries, coarsely chopped
For the glaze-
1 cup powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons orange juice, or as needed.

Instructions

For the cake-
Preheat oven to 350º. Grease a 10 inch bundt or tube cake pan and coat with white sugar, dumping out excess.
In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside. Combine the milk and orange juice. Set aside.
Using a mixer, add the coconut oil and sugar to a large bowl and beat together until creamed. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing until well combined. Using a third at a time, add in the flour mix and the milk juice mix. Beat at low speed until combined. Fold in the chopped cranberries. Spoon batter into prepared pan.
Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center, comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Invert onto a serving plate and cool completely.
For the Glaze-
In a small bowl, combine the cup of powdered sugar with 1 Tablespoon of the orange juice. Mix well, adding more juice as needed to make a pourable glaze. Spoon glaze over cooled cake. Garnish as desired.
Sugared Cranberry how to. http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/sugared-cranberries-10000000554659

Yum yum!

Whole cranberry orange sauce

Posted on November 16, 2013 by aveg7803

Gobble gobble

It’s that time of year again. You know what I’m talking about. The holiday that gets squeezed in between Halloween candy sales and the onslaught of Christmas goods. Thanksgiving! Time for pies, and sweet potato casserole – hold the marshmallows, thank you – smashed taters, vegetable tarts & terrines, bread and my absolute favorite, dressing! I know there’s a big debate about whether it’s called stuffing or dressing. My opinion, for what it’s worth, if you pile it in another ingredient – say a squash, eggplant, zucchini or other vegetable, then it’s stuffing. If you pile it into a casserole dish and bake, it’s dressing. Anyhow, dressing needs cranberry sauce. It needs it. Or, maybe I just need it. Confession time. I am a cranberry sauce junkie. Growing up, we only had the canned plop. It was okay, I guess. I could never get past the can ridges that were embedded along the sides. They were always there because everyone just slid that baby out of the can and onto a plate. Can imprints. Yuck. Throw away the can! You can make your own whole berry cranberry sauce! It’s the easiest thing to do. You will exert more effort using the can opener. Put it away and buy a bag of cranberries. You’re halfway to the best cranberry sauce you’ve ever tasted.

And, it’s time for another confession. My mother in law loves the stuff. It brings back memories of her childhood, when her mother made it. She used the canned stuff when my husband was growing up. The first time she had Thanksgiving dinner with us and had the fresh made stuff? Yeah, baby, you know who’s the favorite daughter in law now, uh huh! We’ll be out of town this year, so, being the darling that I am, I made her a batch to keep in her fridge, so she won’t do without.

Here we go!

Cranberry sauce ingredients

You’ll need 4 cups of fresh cranberries. My co-op was offering these cranberries. The clamshell reads, Sandhill Cranberry LLC, Wisconsin. This amused me. See, sandhill cranes are a migratory bird. So, it’s feasible that the birds that wade in their cranberry bogs, are the same that pick over my garden in central Florida.

Sandhill Cranes, sorry. Not much left.

You’ll also need one cup each of orange juice and sugar.

Measure it all out.

Rinse off the berries. Pour the OJ into a medium sized sauce pan and dump the cup of sugar on top.

If you’re doing what you ought to, you pour the sugar – wait, that’s not how it goes.

Heat until boiling, giving a stir, to help the sugar dissolve.

Boil the mixture

Then, dump in the cranberries.

Add the berries

Return to a boil and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. You’ll hear the berries pop. They’re supposed to.

Foam is ok.

It will get foamy. Don’t worry, it’s all good. That foam will settle back down while it cools. When your 5 minute timer dings, remove the pot from the stove and let it cool off.

Too hot!

Once it’s cool, pour it into a pretty dish and serve. That’s it. Super simple, isn’t it. You can make this a week ahead of time and keep it in the refrigerator. When the day comes, just serve it up in a dish with a couple of cute orange peel strips. I have pictured this with our *official* cranberry sauce utensil. It makes an appearance, tarnish and all, just for homemade cranberry sauce. I have no idea what it’s real purpose it. That’s the fun of it. Get yourself an official cranberry sauce spoonish type thing and enjoy!

Whole Cranberry Orange Sauce

Whole cranberry orange sauce

Author: Ruth

Recipe type: sauce

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 5 mins

Total time: 10 mins

Serves: 8

A delicious blend of cranberries and orange juice.

Ingredients

12 ounces or 4 cups of fresh cranberries
1 cup orange juice
1 cup sugar

Instructions

In a medium saucepan bring the orange juice and sugar to a boil. Add the cranberries and keep at a full boil for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and let cool. Pour into a serving dish, cover and refrigerate until needed. Keeps in the fridge for up to a month. Can be frozen, too.

Zombie Eyeball Cookies

Posted on October 25, 2013 by aveg7803

Zombie Eyeball Cookies

Are you going to have a little spooky soiree? Do you need to send a tray of treats to school. Are ya just hungry? I am. Hungry, that is. Hungry for some cookies! These gory, little blobs of goodness are easy to throw together. I based this recipe on those monster eye cookies that float across the web. I really didn’t like them because they had cream cheese as an ingredient. Dude! Cream cheese goes on bagels, or pastries or, I don’t know, how about CHEESECAKE? Not cookies. Not Zombie eyeball cookies, anyhow. I did like that they are made out of a cake mix. That’s very handy. No need to measure out flour or sugar. Just dump it in the bowl with some eggs, oil & vanilla extract. So, that’s what I did and now you can do it too!

The beginning of our cookies:

Cookie ingredients

You’ll need a box of white cake mix, 2 eggs, vegetable oil, butter, vanilla extract, green and yellow food coloring, red and black edible food markers, a tube of red decorating gel, a cup of white sugar to roll the dough balls in, and some yogurt covered raisins or peanuts. There are premade candy eyeballs available, but read your labels. Most contain gelatin. This is why I chose to use yogurt covered candies.

Get out a couple of cookie pans. I use silicone mats on mine. You can use those or parchment paper or just use nothing. You’ll need 2 pans for the 24 cookies that we’re making. Set up your mixer. Add the butter to the work bowl and cream it.

Cream the butter

Scrape down the bowl and add in the eggs, vanilla and oil.

Add the eggs, vanilla & oil

Mix it up.

Mix it.

Now, add in the box of cake mix.

add the cake mix

Mix it until it’s well combined, pausing to scrape the goo off the sides. It’s going to be thick, like mashed potatoes.

Not mashed potatoes

Now, divide the dough into two bowls.

A dough divided can not be beaten.

Starting with one drop at a time,

One drop to start

tint one bowl yellow.

it’s really yella

Then, one drop for the green –

One drop of the green

and mix it up. I started out with a fork, then went to the spoon to finish it.

Not lime sherbet.

It’s time to chill the dough for 30 minutes. After 20 minutes have passed, preheat the oven to 350º. While the dough is chillin’, we can make the eyeball centers. Get the candies and the edible food markers.

It’s eyeball making time.

I used two different brands of markers, Wilton and Americolor. I prefered the Americolor. It had a long, fine tip, whereas the Wilton one was bluntish. You may have more available to you. Anyhow, get out about two dozen candies. You might have to eat a few booboos, but you can manage. Put a black dot in the center of each candy. Then, use the red edible marker to make squiggly lines out from the black dots on half of the candies. Or all of them, if you want. Set them aside, while you go fuss with the cookie dough.

Why do I feel like somebodys watching me?

Get out the chilled cookie dough. You’ll need a tablespoon or a scooper about that size. I use those scoops for so many things, so very handy to have. Scoop some cookie dough and plop it in the dish of sugar, that you so cleverly have ready.

Roll in the sugar

Roll them around until they are well coated, then place on the cookie sheet

dough balls on tray

and bake for about 10 minutes. They are done, when the bottoms are slightly brown.

Done!

Let them cool on the baking sheets for about two minutes, then remove them to a tray. Push a candy center into each cookie while they are still warm. Don’t move the candy center after it’s in there, it’ll be melty.

Bug eyes

Now, do the green.

They’re multiplying.

Let them cool completely. Get out the red decorating gel.

Red decorating gel

Using the gel, start at the center, by the candy piece and make some squiggly bloodshot eyeball veins. Yuck, huh?

Are you gellin’?

Let them rest for a couple of hours to set the gel. That is some sticky stuff. It’s gets everywhere. Then, set them on a nice party tray and decorate appropriately. And remember to give one of the little bony guys a cookie. He’ll be too full of cookies to eat YOU!

Eat a cookie, put some meat on them bones!

Zombie Eyeball Cookies

Author: Ruth@aveggiegoodday.com

Recipe type: Dessert

Cuisine: undead

Prep time: 30 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Total time: 50 mins

Serves: 2 dozen

A scary, spooky zombie eyeball cookie easily made from a packaged cake mix and candies.

Ingredients

FOR THE COOKIES:
1 box of white cake mix
½ cup butter – room temperature
2 eggs
2 Tablespoons of oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Yellow and green food color
1 cup granulated white sugar
FOR THE DECORATIONS:
20 yogurt covered raisins or yogurt covered peanuts
Red and Black edible food markers
1 tube of red decorating gel. Approx size, 1 oz.

Instructions

You'll need two baking sheets, either lined with a silicone mat or left ungreased.
For the cookies:
Cream butter. Add eggs, oil and vanilla. Mix for 30 seconds. Add in the cake mix. Mix, pausing to scrape down sides, until well combines. Divide batter into two bowls. Starting with 1 drop, add enough food color to reach the shade you desire. Tint one bowl yellow, and the other green. Chill dough for 30 minutes. After 20 minutes have passed, preheat your oven to 350º.
Pour the cup of white sugar into a wide, shallow dish. Using either a tablespoon or a scooper of that size, scoop balls of cookie dough and drop into the sugar. Roll the dough balls to coat and place 2 inches apart, on a prepared baking sheet. Bake cookies for 8 to 10 minutes, or until done. Let cool on the sheet for 2 minutes. Remove to a tray and push one candy piece into the center of each cookie. Do not try to move candies once they have been pushed into the cookies. Let the cookies continue to cool for an additional 5 minutes. Using the tube of red decorating gel, add some bloodshot eye veins to each cookie. Start at the edge of the candy center and squeeze a zig-zag line out to the cookie edge.
For the decorations:
While the cookie dough is chilling, get out 20 yogurt covered raisins or peanuts. Using the black food marker, color a small dot in the center of each candy. Using the red food marker, draw squiggly lines, leading away from the center dot, like in bloodshot eyes. Set the completed candies aside.
Place finished Zombie Eyeball Cookies on a decorative tray and goblin them up!

Zombie Eyeball Cookies

Grilled Avocado, Tomato & Onion Sandwich

Posted on October 11, 2013 by aveg7803

Grilled Avocado, Tomato & Onion Sandwich

Today’s post is a salute to the ever popular sandwich! A sandwich, sammich, or even the Rachael Raysim – sammie, everything tastes better between two pieces of bread. From the simple peanut butter & jelly, to the complex Dagwood, sandwiches are a mainstay of our diets. Sandwich creators are breaking new grounds every day! Would you have thought of using a donut as a hamburger bun? I wouldn’t have. That’s probably a good thing. Take a look at the sandwiches listed on the menu of your favorite eatery. There’s double this or triple that, resulting in a sandwich that is a big as your head! You would have to have a flip top mouth to eat it! Stay away from those double or triples and make this sandwich at home. Save some money and have a delicious, good for you, meal in minutes.

It’s sammich time:

Grilled avocado sandwich ingredients.

You’ll need 4 ciabatta rolls, or any sandwich roll, a couple of avocados, a red onion (because it’s prettier than a yellow), a big tomato, some mayo and some provolone cheese. Applegate is vegetarian friendly. As always, you can use what you have on hand. Maybe a spicy chipotle mayo and a pepper jack cheese, uh-huh!

Now, if you happen to be a grill master, fire up the barbeque and grill everything outdoors. Otherwise, get out your grill pan, large fry pan, or George Foreman grill and get ready to grill. We want a medium heat, so that everything cooks without burning. Pour a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a dish and get out a pastry brush. If necessary, slice the ciabatta rolls in half. Brush a little olive oil over the insides of the roll

Brush on a little oil.

and place them face down on your grill pan.

Grill your buns.

While they’re getting toasty, Slice all the veggies into 1/2 inch slices and spread the out on the cutting board or platter. Check the rolls. Are they nice and toasty?

Great grill marks!

Good. Do the next two rolls. Set them aside while we grill the veggies. Brush a layer of olive oil on both sides. Sprinkle a little salt & pepper over them, too.

Brush oil on the onions & tomatoes.

The avocados got their own board –

Eat a few slices. I did.

Grill the onions, 6 to 8 minutes,

onion rings

flipping them halfway through, until they are soft.

Almost cooked

Remove them and pile them on your board.

Just hanging out

Grill the tomatoes.

grill the tomatoes

They only take about 2 minutes per side.

grilling

Remove them to hang out on the board with the onions. Time for the avocados.

So good.

After about 2 minutes, flip them.

Flippin’ good.

Pile them on the board too, because it’s assembly time! Open all the rolls. Spread a layer of mayonnaise on the bottom half.

mayo layer

Add 3 or 4 slices of avocado. Add more if you didn’t eat a bunch of them already.

layer of avocado

Layer of tomatoes –

tomato layer

Layer on onions –

layer of onions

Layer of cheese –

cheese layer

And close them up!

Close them up

Let us pause for a moment and appreciate their beauty. LOng enough? Now, devour it! We had our with some Late July chips. You need to give those a try, too. So tasty.

Grilled Avocado, Tomato & Onion Sandwich

5.0 from 1 reviews

Grilled Avocado, Tomato & Onion Sandwich

Author: Ruth@aveggiegoodday.com

Recipe type: sandwich

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Total time: 40 mins

Serves: 4

A delicious blend of veggies, grilled to tenderness, covered in cheese and piled on a toasty ciabatta roll.

Ingredients

4 Ciabatta rolls
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Red onion, cut into ½ inch rings
1 Large Tomato, cut into ½ inch slices
2 Avocados, halved, pitted, peeled, and cut into ½ inch slices
3 Tablespoons mayonnaise – divided
Salt & pepper to taste
4 slices of Provolone cheese

Instructions

Place a grill pan or large fry pan over medium heat. Slice ciabatta rolls in half and brush cut sides with olive oil. Grill, cut side down, 2 to 3 minutes or until lightly toasted. Set aside.
Brush avocado slices, tomato slices, and onion slices with olive oil. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Repeat on the other sides. Grill onions, turning halfway through cook time, 6 to 8 minutes or until softened. Remove. Grill the tomato slices 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove from pan. Grill the avocado slices 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove from pan. Turn heat off.
To assemble grilled avocado sandwiches: Divide the mayonnaise among the ciabatta roll bottoms. Spread to the edges. Place 3 or 4 avocado slices over the mayonnaise. Top with slices of tomato, onions and cheese. Cover with top halves of bread. Serve.

Lunch time.

Easy recipes for hungry vegetarians.

Vegetables for everyone!

Author Archives: aveg7803

About aveg7803

Stuffed Portobello Caps

Walnut and Date Stuffed Mushrooms

Sesame Ginger Slaw

Kale Chips

Pumpkin Cider Baked Donuts with an Apple Cider Glaze

Avocado and Tofu Salad Wraps

Glazed Cranberry and Orange Bundt Cake

Whole cranberry orange sauce

Zombie Eyeball Cookies

Grilled Avocado, Tomato & Onion Sandwich