Mango Pineapple Crumble

This is the last post for my daily recipes for the month of June. Thank you for all your interest and feedback, its been a pleasure sharing our meals with you all. I will continue posting weekly blogs on notes, ideas and thoughts about life as a modern yogini in Montreal, as well as vegan recipes. I think I might need a new title and catch phrase for my blog... let me know if you have any ideas.

We had some mangoes and a pineapple that needed to be used, so I googled it and found this recipe. Half way through mixing, we opened up the pineapple and found out it had gone bad, so I substituted with some frozen fruit (pineapple, strawberry & mango mix), fresh strawberries and an apple. I also substituted the margarine with sunflower oil, and left out the pecans and coconut since I didn't have any. I ended up doubling the topping as I was sending half of it to my brother and sister-in-law who just had twins! I highly recommend this one, it turned out to be a delicious & perfect recipe finale.

I did have some help in the kitchen...

Fruit Crumble from Vegetarian Times

Mango Pineapple Crumble:

             A home-style dessert gets a tropical twist by baking spiced mangoes and pineapple beneath a crunchy crumble topping. Serve with non-dairy, vanilla ice cream.

• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• ⅓ cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• ¼ cup plus 3 Tbs. packed light brown sugar, divided
• 1 ¼ tsp. ground cinnamon, divided
• ¾ tsp. grated nutmeg, divided
• ¼ tsp. ground allspice, divided
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 5 Tbs. chilled vegan margarine, cut into pieces, divided
• ½ cup raw pecans, coarsely chopped 
• 2 Tbs. unsweetened shredded coconut
• 3 mangoes, peeled, pitted, and cut into 1-inch cubes (2 ½ cups)
• ½ pineapple, peeled, cored, and cut into 1-inch cubes (2 ½ cups)

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Coat 8-inch-square glass baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Combine flour, oats, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 1/4 tsp. nutmeg, 1/8 tsp. allspice, and salt in medium bowl. Add 4 Tbs. margarine, and rub with fingertips until mixture forms coarse meal. Press together until mixture begins to form moist clumps. Stir in pecans and coconut.
2. Combine remaining 3 Tbs. brown sugar, 3/4 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. nutmeg, and 1/8 tsp. allspice in large bowl. Add mangoes and pineapple, and toss to coat. Transfer to prepared baking dish; dot top with remaining 1 Tbs. margarine. Sprinkle oat topping over mango mixture.
3. Bake 40 minutes, or until topping is golden brown and juices bubble. Cool 10 to 20 minutes. Serve warm.

Tilghman Island Stew

It was the first time I made this recipe so I cut down on some of the ingredients (in case we didn't like it), but it turned out delicious! I left out the Old Bay Seasoning, kale & okra (since I didn't have any) and replaced the green beans with peas. We served it over couscous, but it would be great on its own too.

Tilghman Island Stew served over couscous

recipe from Moosewood Restaurants New Classics cookbook

Vegan Camper

We spent a lovely weekend at our friends Pat & Marissa's camper. In the evening Pat made us Smores over the fire, and in the morning we all pitched in and put together the Kent Family Brunch for Jason's first Father's Day. 

roast marshmellows, add chocolate, press between graham crackers = heaven

Father's Day Kent Family Brunch at the camper

Here's another version of the Kent Family Brunch:
1 can beans in tomato sauce
Bavarian veggie sausage (from IGA)
potatoes - lightly boiled, then barbecued with onions & garlic
tofu scramble - fry marinated tofu (crumbled tofu marinated in tamari, garlic & fresh ginger) with peppers, sprinkle with nutritional yeast
1 slice of bread - served with peanut butter and/or jam
slices of fruit - pear

Summer Ice Tea

Jason makes a delicious & refreshing ice tea; here's his secret ingredients...

refreshing ice tea with strawberries and mint

Summer Ice Tea:
3 bags of decaf Earl Grey or Orange Pekoe
1/2 lemon (sliced)
mint leaves (fresh mint or mint tea bag)
optional vegan sweeteners: agave nectar or maple syrup


Boil water, add ingredients, let cool. Refrigerate and/or add ice cubes.

Pad Thai

One of our favourite meals to make. Serve with a side of dumplings, seitan or spring rolls.

Pad Thai with seitan

Sauce:
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
1/2 tsp chili paste
2 tbsp tamari
1 tbsp cider vinegar
1 tbsp canola oil
1 tbsp water
1 tbsp molassis
2 tbsp peanut butter

Veggies:
3 green onion
3 garlic cloves

red cabbage

celery
1 zuccini
1 pepper
broccoli
tomatoes
other suggestions: tofu, bok choy, chop suey, 

Toppings:
cilantro
lemon juice
crushed peanuts

Mix sauce ingredients together. Set aside.
Lightly fry veggies. If you're using tofu, add it at the beginning with the onions and garlic.
Add sauce to veggies.
Boil rice noodles. Add noodles to veggies and sauce. Mix together.
Serve topped with cilantro, lemon juice and crushed peanuts.

Roasted Vegetable Curry

This is a delicious curry from Moosewood Restaurants Simple Suppers; fresh ideas for the weeknight table cookbook. All the recipes from this book are designed to be quick and easy. While the veggies are roasting, there's time to make the sauce and side dishes. We've been making recipe for a couple of years and still enjoy it.

roasted vegetable curry with basmati rice and fiddleheads

recipe from Moosewood Restaurants Simple Suppers; fresh ideas for the weeknight table cookbook

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble

I had a whole bunch of strawberries that needed to be used, and a bag of rhubarb from my moms garden in the freezer (plus I have a sweet-tooth) so this turned out to be the perfect recipe.

strawberry rhubarb crumble - yum

recipe from Jae Steele's Get it Ripe Cookbook

I think there's a typo in the fruit bottom ingredients; it calls for one cup of sugar but doesn't mention it in the preperations, so I just sprinkled the fruit with a bit of sugar, but it doesn't really need it since there's 3/4 cup sugar in the topping.

Quinoa Tabouleh

Quinoa Tabouleh makes an awesome side salad for lunch or dinner. I usually use the suggested cucumber, but since I didn't have one in the fridge, I replaced it with celery. It makes a nice big batch, so there's plenty left over.

fresh herbs from our garden

left over Quinoa Tabouleh

recipe from Jae Steele's Get it Ripe Cookbook

Pasta & Summer Veggies

Here's a quick, easy and delicious meal. I can't take credit, it's my man's favourite meal to make. He puts it all together in less than 1/2 an hour.

Pasta & Summer Veggies

salad with balsamic vinegrette

Pasta & Summer Veggies:
olive oil
onion
garlic
zucchini
peppers
tomato
capers
fresh herbs (basil, oregano, parsley)
sea salt
pasta

Boil your favourite pasta for required time.
Fry onions in olive oil. Add garlic, zucchini, peppers & tomatoes. Sprinkle with sea salt
Serve pasta with veggies, topped with capers & fresh herbs.

Salad:
lettuce
tomatoes
green onions
homemade croutons (toast cut into squares, drizzled with olive oil)

Wash and cut lettuce. Top with sliced tomatoes, green onions, and croutons.


Salad Dressing:
olive oil
canola oil
balsamic vinegar
dijon
salt & pepper
herbs (basil, parsley, chives)
garlic

Mix and serve over salad.

Chick-Pea Burgers

A yummy, summer burger. It's a good recipe on its own, but I added lemon juice and sea salt to give it a bit of zing. Served on some delicious kamut & quinoa bread (but you could use any old bread), topped with lettuce, tomato, pickles, mustard and relish. I had enough for leftovers, so I had it again a second night, but served it on tortilla instead; perfect for a hot summer night as it requires no cooking!

Chick-Pea Burger with side salad

recipe from Anne Lindsay's New Light Cooking

Fettuccini No-Fredo

An awesome take on Pasta Alfredo. It can be a bit heavy on its own, so to lighten it up we add veggies (you can boil them with the pasta, or fry them with the sauce) and cut down on the tahini (1/4 to 1/2 cup instead of 3/4 cup).

Fettuccini No-Fredo with broccoli, mushrooms & green onions

Fettuccini No-Fredo from Jae Steele's Get it Ripe Cookbook

Colorful Stew aka Tofu Stew

It's officially called Tofu Stew, but I don't think that sounds very appealing, especially since there's a lot of people who aren't that excited about tofu, so I've renamed it Colorful Stew. You could make it with or without tofu. The recipe calls for winter squash, but I didn't have any so I subsituted with sweet potato. I also cut down on the salt, changing it from one tbsp to one tsp instead. You can use any kind of miso and vinegar you have - I've never seen umeboshi vinegar, so I substitute with rice or wine vinegar.

Colorful Tofu Stew served with fake chicken and dumplings from Yuan

Tofu Stew from Kripalu Cookbook

This cookbook comes from the Kripalu Center for yoga and health in Massachusetts. I've never been, but heard great things about it.

Végépâté & Veggie Stix

I tried making my own végépâté, it turned out pretty good, but so far nothing compares to the one from Fontaine Sante. It makes the perfect sandwich with tomato, pickle, cucumber, Vegenaise, mustard. Served with a side of Veggie Stix.

Levi's favorite - Veggie Stix from IGA - and they're Kid Kritics Approved!

végépâté sandwich with veggie stix

Some of my favorite végépâté sandwiches around town are found at:

Chez Jose

Aux Vivres

Que de Bonnes Choses (Hudson)

Hot & Sour Stir-Fry

Our staple stir-fry... The recipe calls for a 'coleslaw mix', but you can use any veggies. We usually do carrots, peppers, zucchini, onions and some tofu marinated in soy sauce. It tastes good with crunchy veggies, so you can just fry them for a couple of minutes, (that way they keep more of their nutrients as well). I stopped adding the suggested cornstarch since I didn't feel it needed it.

hot & sour stir-fry served with black rice noodles & dumplings from Yuan

we usually use plain white rice noodles, but I found these black rice noodles at Que de Bonnes Choses and thought they'd be a fun change

hot & sour stir-fry from Moosewood's Simple Suppers for the Weeknight Table

West African Groundnut Stew

We've been making this dish over the past couple of years and love it. You can use a selection of your favorite veggies, covered with this delicious peanut butter sauce. The recipe calls for tomato juice, I rarely have it in my fridge, so we use canned tomatoes (juice included).

West African Groundnut Stew with couscous and fiddleheads

West African Groundnut Stew from New Recipes from Moosewood Restaurant

Vegan Pizza

Pizza night is one of my favorites. We make everything from scratch, so it can be labor-intensive, but you could buy pre-made crust and sauce to cut down on steps. We've got our routine down-pat: I make the dough and sauce in the late afternoon, let it rise & simmer, and then Jason rolls it out and puts it all together in the evening. It took us about a year of experimenting, now this is the most delicious pizza I've ever tasted!

two-toned delicious vegan pizza left: tomatoes, peppers, basil, onion right: tomatoes, onions, capers, olives, vegan cheese

Pizza Dough:
1tbsp dry active yeast
1tsp sugar
1 1/3 cups warm water
3 1/4 cups flour (I use organic white flour)
1tsp salt (I like sea salt)
pepper
3 tsp olive oil

Combine yeast and sugar in a measuring cup, add warm water (I use hot tap water), set aside until it bubbles, 10 minutes.

Stir together flour, salt & pepper. Add 2 tsp of olive oil. Pour in yeast mixture. Mix well, adding extra flour if necessary, until the dough forms a ball. You might want to put oil on your hands before mixing, so that the dough doesn't stick to your fingers. Knead the dough for 10 minutes, folding it and pressing it down again.

Place the ball of kneaded dough in a lightly oiled bowl, coat dough with olive oil, cover with a towel. Set aside in a warm area (if you've got something baking in the oven, you can place it on top of the stove), until its doubled in size (approximately one hour).

Punch down dough, knead for a couple minutes, adding flour to keep from sticking. Cut dough in half to make two crusts. If you'd like to freeze one, put it in a large baggie and put it in the freezer for next time (when you're ready to use it, you'll need to let it thaw for a couple of hours).

Roll dough to fit baking sheet (to your desired thickness), rolling from center out to the sides. Place the dough on a lightly oiled pan and let it rise for 10 minutes. Add your favorite toppings.
Recipe adapted from Moosewood Restaurant New Classics

Tomato Sauce:
1 can tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
garlic
herbs (rosemary, oregano, basil)

Combine ingredients in a large pot. Simmer 10-60 minutes (the longer you simmer the thicker the sauce).

Toppings:
tomatoes
fresh basil
peppers
onion
vegan cheese (Jason likes 'daiya' mozzarella style shreds)
capers
olives
etc...

Trashy Vegan

I'm not sure if it's politically correct, but we call this meal 'Trashy Vegan'. People always say we're "so healthy" since we're vegetarian, but sometimes it's fun to have something quick & easy. To add a little nutrition, color and flavor, Jason added tomatoes & green onions to the Mac & Shreese, and coleslaw, dill pickle and condiments to the tofu dog.

Mac & Chreese from Viva Vegan

Mac & Chreese + Tofu Dog

Coconut Cauliflower Chana

This is a great recipe to make when you have lots of veggies in the fridge. I didn't have any cauliflower when I made it this time, so I substituted with zucchini. Chick peas are good source of protein. I've been told if you rinse them before cooking they'll give you less gas (not sure if that's true, but worth the rinse!). I usually omit the shredded coconut since I haven't found any non-sweetened kinds that I like. If I don't have any cilantro on hand, I'll substitute with parsley. This recipe calls for 1-2 tbsps of curry powder... I think 1 is enough, otherwise it tastes powdery.

Served over rice, with fake chicken from Yuan, and a spring roll & mango chutney

Coconut Cauliflower Chana from Jae Steele's Get it Ripe cookbook

Vegan Rhubarb Muffins

My Mom gave me some fresh rhubarb from her garden, so I searched for a vegan rhubarb muffin on the internet and found this one on The Venice Vegan. They're delicious! I didn't have any "Egg Replacer" (Ener-G), so I used banana & sunflower oil, and then added some extra soy milk until it came out the right consistency. Although it only made 11 muffins, they're well worth it... the ginger & cinnamon give them a hint of spice and make them extra special.

Vegan Rhubarb Muffins from The Venice Vegan blog

Vegan Rhubarb Muffins

• 1 C Fine Chopped Rhubarb
• 2/3 C Brown Sugar
• 1 1/2 C Flour
• 1 Portion Egg Replacer (Ener-G)
• 1/3 C Unsweetened Soymilk
• 1 t Baking Soda
• 1 1/2 t Vanilla
• 1/2 t Cinnamon
• 1/2 t Ginger (powdered)

Streusel Topping

• 1 t Earth Balance (or preferred Vegan margarine)
• 3 T Sugar
• 1 T Flour
• 1/4 t Cinnamon
• 1/4 t Ginger

Preheat oven to 350.  Mix all dry ingredients thoroughly then incorporate wet into dry.  Combine streusel ingredients and mix with fingers until combined.  Divide into 12 lined muffins, and top with streusel mixture.  Bake for 35 minutes.

 Check out more recipes on The Venice Vegan blog

Quinoa Vegetable Stew

My Mom made this for our Mothers Day dinner, it was yummy and light. She used sweet potato, spinach, mushrooms, onions and a can of tomatoes (we both agreed fresh tomatoes would have been nice), served with a lettuce salad with avocado and walnuts.

colorful and yummy

Quinoa Vegetable Stew from Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites