Sheperd's Pie!

So! I learned a lesson with this recipe. Sheperd's Pie is a labor of love! Yet, worth every ounce.

This recipe is not mine; it is from here.  Just an FYI, but this recipe really should be served with a gravy. I did not prefer the one that was suggested; it was a bit vinegary for me. It was not to my tasting, so I know there can be better out there!  Have yet to find it. When I do, I'll share, of course!

Vegan Shepherd’s Pie with Gravy

Ingredients:

Mashed Potatoes

• 3 lb. potatoes,  peeled and chopped
• 2 tbsp Earth Balance, or equivalent
• 1/3 cup + 2 tbsp non-dairy milk (I used Almond milk)
• 1 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

Vegetable Filling:

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 medium carrots, peeled & small dice
• 2 parsnips,  peeled & small dice
• 4 celery stalks, small dice
• 1 1/4 cup  vegetable broth
• 2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1/2-3/4 tsp kosher salt, to taste + black pepper
• 3 tbsp flour
• 
  

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425F and lightly oil a 2.5 quart casserole dish.(I didn't have one, so I used two pie pans!) Place peeled and chopped potatoes into a large pot and add water, 2 inches above potatoes. Bring to a boil and then simmer on low for about 30 minutes until very tender.

2. Meanwhile, prepare the vegetable filling. Chop the onion and mince the garlic and add to a skillet along with the oil. Cook on low for about 5-7 minutes. Now add in the chopped carrots, parsnip, and celery. Cook on medium-low heat for about 15 minutes.

3. When the potatoes are done cooking, drain and add back to the pot. Add the Earth Balance (or butter), milk, and seasonings and mash well. Set aside.

4. In a small bowl, whisk together the liquid ingredients (broth, thyme, and flour). Add this liquid mixture to the vegetables in the skillet and stir well. Add your salt and pepper to taste. Cook for another 5-10 minutes or so until thickened. Season to taste.

5. Scoop vegetable mixture into casserole dish. Spread on the mashed potato mixture and garnish with paprika, ground pepper, and Thyme. Bake at 425F for about 35 minutes, or until golden and bubbly. Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before serving. Mixture will be very hot in the middle so be careful! 

Enjoy!

Black Bean Sandwich

Mmmmm. Just mmmmmmmmm. Yes, that's it - the sound you make, when you take a bite of this sandwich. It is SO good. It has a slight kick, but it is instantly dulled by the coolness of the avocado and acid of the tomato. So, it's BAM, WHAM, and OH so good. 

Ingredients:

1 (14.5 oz) can of black beans

1/2 cup of olive oil

2 limes, halved

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon garlic powder

Salt 'n Pepper to Taste

Avocados. sliced

Tomatoes, sliced

(....or any greens you prefer on sandwiches)

Ciabatta (or any crusty bread you'd prefer)

Ingredients: 

1.)  In a food processor,  add the beans, olive oil, spices, and squeeze the lime halves to get the juices.  Put the top on, and pulse until desired texture. I prefer to have my black beans finely minced, instead of chunks, but tis your preference in this recipe! 

2.) Next, pour the mixture into a small saucepan to warm up. While you are doing that, take your bread, and slice it, and half it.  Warm a skillet, and drop the halves, face down, onto it. Just for a lil browning on the surface, but don't go burnt! Unless, of course, that is a flavor you like.......?

3.) When warmed, both sauce and bread, pull off heat.  On a plate, spoon sauce over the bottom half of the bread slices. Drizzling and dripping is okay - means you can dip! Anyhow, top with avocado and tomato, and crown with the top half of the bread slices! 

Enjoy! I know I did. This is one of my favorite recipes. Period. Ever.   

Scalloped Potatoes

Potatoes. Love 'em.  Cheese. I love it. Can't have it, never could, and especially, now. So, my beloved scalloped potatoes were always out of reach, and could only drool from afar with much jealousy and awkward staring. BUT,  rejoice, here is a recipe to solve all those issues!

It's delicious, and sooooooo creamy. I would swear that their was some milk in there somewhere, but no where to be found. The secret is the flour and, very specifically, the almond milk.  The consistency of the almond milk, and the taste sells the deal.

Ingredients:


1/4 cup of vegan butter, melted (I use EarthBalance - Soy Free.)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
6 tbsp flour
7 medium potatoes, sliced thinly
1 large onion, minced
2 cups almond milk
paprika - to your taste.
dried parsley - to your taste

Preparation:


1.) Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Meanwhile, lightly grease a 9-inch baking pan with the a lil bit of butter.

2.) Stir the salt and pepper in the flour.

3.) In three layers, place 1/3rd of potatoes, 1/3rd of onion, 1/3rd of butter, and 1/3rd of flour. Repeat till done!

4.)  Pour in the almond milk till it is nearly up to the top layer of potatoes. It should be about 2 cups of milk. Use more if you have to. The milk level is important!

5.) Sprinkle with your desired amount of paprika, and pop it into the oven for two hours!

6.)  Top with dried parsley, and enjoy!

Aubrey's Organic Shampoo

Today, I bring you a review of Greener Finding Alert! Ding. Ding. Ding. A Ring. 

So, the pluses of this item! Which, if you can not tell, is shampoo. The few benefits of this shampoo is the following: It is whole foods - you actually are nourishing your hair, instead of slowly killing it with chemicals.  It is all organic, which is nice for the earth.  It is vegan, aka, no animal sources or tested on animals. Also, the bottle is from recycled material, and fully recyclable.  AND, if that doesn't seal the deal, it is made in the U.S.A. Can this product be any better? It hits all my stars!

Now, the review. Ahem. There IS one con to this product, and that is the price. It is not cheap. It is like ten bucks for it, but the shampoo does go far. I have really long hair, down to my midback, now, as I am growing it out. It has lasted awhile. So, it does help with the sticker shock. Also, another honesty is, I have oily hair. Bet you all wanted to know that! The thing is - it truly does clean my hair good, but it does get a bit dry, even for my oily hair. I am going to try its other products, and see if I get better results. Still, it isn't too bad of a frizz. And isn't frizz in - right???  

In other words, up to you! I would recommend the company, absolutely, and the product, but maybe, not THIS precise one. They have other types of shampoo, so I'm going to try those - and give you all an update on how that goes!

This is my greener finding of the day. PEACE! 

Pancakes

Again! Hola!

Once, again, as I did note - I love breakfast! So, no surprise that pancakes is one of the first recipes I tackled. This recipe came from The Happy Herbivore - highly recommend it to any vegan! Love the book. They are a bit dense, though. Just your FYI, if you prefer light cakes, which I do. Still! They were good, and yummy...and well, I'm willing to share!

Ingredients: 

1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp fine salt

1 cup non-dairy milk (I use almond milk. A post on that later!)

2 tbsp pure maple syrup

Instructions:

1.) Whisk flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt together in a large bowl. Next, add the non-dairy milk and maple. Stir until well combined; a few lumps are okay!

2.) Let rest for 10 minutes

3.) Meanwhile, heat a skillet over very low heat.

4.) Spray the skillet with cooking spray, and pour batter with a 1/4 cup. 

5.) Cook on one side until bubbles form, flip, and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes.

Cinnamon-Banana Toast Crunch

Hello everyone!

This is one recipe I can, and do, eat over and over, again! I love breakfast food, can eat it any time of the day, and I LOVE my sweets. This is a combo of both. Be forewarned, it is sweet! If you don't like sweets, gasp, you might want to skip this recipe!

Cinnamon-Banana Toast Crunch

Ingredients:

1 slice of whole-wheat bread

1/4 cup of pure maple syrup

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1 banana, sliced

1/4 cup of walnuts

Instructions:

1.) Toast the bread to your preference. I like my toast almost burnt! 

2.) While it's toasting, whisk the syrup, cinnamon, and vanilla together. 

3.) Plate toast, top with the banana and walnuts, and drizzle mixture on top!  Enjoy! 

Kicker Sesame Noodles

Hello Everyone!

Today, I present you one kicker of a noodle dish! When I say kicker, I mean, BAM, watch out for the spice. It isn't too bad, but it does that pleasant linger of a burn. And it builds. You are forewarned. Or, well, watch...I'm going to learn I'm a heat wuss. Anyhow, a non-vegan took a bite of this, and LOVED it. In fact, he took half of the freaking bowl. Save some for me!

So, it has approval from meaties!

I hope the rest of you enjoy as much as I did.

P.S. Check out addition of a Green Find I made at the bottom.

Kicker Sesame Noodles

Ingredients:

2 pounds of whole-wheat spaghetti

1 cup of reduced-sodium soy sauce

4 tablespoons sesame oil

4 tablespoons vegetable oil

4 tablespoons of rice-wine vinegar

3 tablespoons of crushed red pepper

1/2 cup of scallions

1/2 cup of cilantro, chopped

4 cups of snow peas

1 cup toasted sesame seeds

Instructions:

1.)  Cook the spaghetti per package directions!

2.) Meanwhile, in a LARGE bowl (this is one big recipe!) whisk together the soy sauce, vegetable oil, rice vinegar, crushed red peppers, the scallions, and the cilantro. 

3.) When pasta is done, and drained, toss into the bowl and add in the snow peas and sesame seeds. Mix and serve! Ciao!

GREEN FINDING ALERT

Check it out! This is the ULTIMATE winner. This is the box of the whole-wheat spaghetti. It was store brand (Ralph's, for those wondering), and the cheapest on the aisle. I will point out the ingredients, yeah, no extras!  Also, made in USA. WOO. I support world commerce, all for it, but with how our economy has been suffering, and having personal friends suffering hard from it, I like to always support our country, if I have the choice! So, extra woot-woot!

Finally, look at the lovely recycle symbol. Made from 100% recycled paperboard. Can this guy get any better? A win! This pasta is a score.