Raw Vegan "Scallops" with Orange Pepper Cream and Blood Orange Salsa

Hello there!

It has been mighty chilly here in Winnipeg (duh, it's January!) but I have had an excuse to stay inside for the past week - STREP THROAT!  It was a fun-filled, first time experience for me indeed (fun, like someone stabbing you in the throat with a fork)!  I was mostly on a liquid diet but some softer foods made it onto my sick bed menu too (Avocado Carpaccio, anyone?).  And in my antibiotic/Advil stupor, I managed to create an outstanding dish that I am so proud of and so excited to share with you!  King oyster mushrooms are not always easy to find, but I have had no problem finding them in my friendly neighborhood Asian grocery store.  Blood oranges are easily substituted with regular, seedless naval oranges or even grapefruit.  This recipe should serve eight as a starter or four as a main dish.  

Raw Vegan "Scallops" with Orange Pepper Cream and Blood Orange Salsa
Ingredients: 
for the mushroom 'scallops':
- one dozen king oyster mushrooms, bottoms and caps removed
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp nama shoyu or tamari soy sauce
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp agave syrup
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- S&P
for the bell pepper puree:
- 2 orange or yellow bell peppers
- 1/2 cup macadamia nuts
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 1 tbsp minced shallot
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
for the blood orange salsa:
- 2 blood oranges, rind and pith cut away with a sharp paring knife and diced (regular seedless naval oranges are fine if you can't find blood oranges)
- 1 minced shallot
- 1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped (or parsley if you are a cilantro hater)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp macadamia nut oil, or pistachio oil or avocado oil or olive oil
- 1 chili pepper, seeded and finely diced (optional)
- S&P

Slice the king oyster mushroom stems into 1/2" thick "scallops".  Mix together all other ingredients and season with S&P.  Marinate "scallops" in the lovely marinade you just whipped up for 30 min - an hour, stirring occasionally.

Dehydrate the "scallops" at 104 degrees for two hours, basting occasionally with the marinade.  Alternatively, if you are not in possession of a dehydrator, but want to keep this dish raw, warm the medallions in an oven on it's lowest setting with the door cracked open.  If you are not in the least bit concerned about the rawness factor, sear the scallops in a pan with 1 tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat until tender.

For the puree, combine all ingredients in a high speed blender and blend until silky smooth.  

For the salsa, toss all ingredients together and season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

To serve, put a few tablespoons of the bell pepper puree in the middle of each plate and swirl to make a nice circle.  Arrange the scallops in the center of the plate and put a spoonful of the blood orange salsa on top.  Garnish with a cilantro sprig if you like.

Enjoy!

XOXO
V.V.

Roasted Chestnut and Red Lentil Soup

Hey Lovelies!

I decided to try roasting chestnuts on Christmas Eve.  I saw people roasting chestnuts on big, cast iron grills, all over Rome and didn't get a chance to try them.  And they seemed like a totally idyllic thing to eat at Christmas (cue the Nat King Cole).  So I bought some chestnuts, painstakingly scored little crosses on them with my utility knife, tossed them with olive oil, salt, pepper and fresh rosemary, and waited with anticipation of festive bliss as they roasted in the oven.  

I had ten guests over on Christmas Eve and not one had tried a roasted chestnut before.  Once cooled, I proudly brought a massive platter of the toasty beauties into the dining room as a curious crowd gathered.  After wrestling with the peels a bit, we popped the crumbly innards into our mouths with excitement. . . "It tastes like a dry, baked potato."  "Yeah, a really dry potato, but a bit sweet."  A potato?  A dry potato?!  It was certainly not what any of us were expecting, least of all me.  No buttery crunch?  No toasty, warm nuttiness?  None.  Maybe they're better roasted over an open fire?

It goes without saying that I was left with a massive amount of skin-on, roasted chestnuts.  On Boxing Day (the day after Christmas here in Canada) my darling father took to the task of peeling said chestnuts and reserving their meat in a bowl.  "You can't just waste them!" he argued.  So I did what any chic, modern, resourceful gal would do, I Googled!  And that night, I adapted a recipe by Nigella Lawson (LOVE her!) and made a fabulously festive dinner out of my unconventional holiday leftovers.

Roasted Chestnut and Red Lentil Soup
Ingredients:

- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 large carrot, chopped
- 2 sticks of celery, chopped
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
- 2 veggie bouillon cubes
- 6 cups water
- 1 cup red lentils
- 1 cup roasted chestnut meat (To roast chestnuts:  Buy 2 cups of chestnuts.  Deeply and carefully score an X on the flat side of each nut.  Toss with 2 tbsp olive oil, S&P and some fresh rosemary if you like.  Place the chestnuts in an even layer on a big piece of aluminum foil and then gather up the foil edges around the nuts, leaving a nice big opening at the top.  Place on a baking sheet and roast in a pre-heated 425 degree oven for 30 - 40 min or until the peels curl up a bit.  Let cool and then peel.)
- S&P
-Optional garnish: soy sour cream or cashew cream and chopped parsley

In your favorite soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Add the onion, garlic, carrot and celery.  Sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper.  Cook the veg mixture until slightly softened.  

Add the cinnamon, cumin, coriander, nutmeg and bouillon cubes and cook for one minute or until very fragrant.

Add the water, crank the heat to high and bring to a boil.  Add the lentils and reduce heat to medium low.

Add the chestnuts and simmer the soup until the lentils are very soft, about 20 - 30 min.  You will know they are done when you can smush them on the side of the pot with a spoon very easily.  

Puree the soup with an immersion blender (if you haven't got one, go buy one!  They are very inexpensive and make blending soups such a breeze!) and season with S&P.  

Ladle into soup bowls and garnish with a swirl of soy sour cream or cashew cream and a sprinkle of chopped parsley.      

This is very festive soup and warms you up from the inside out!

XOXO
V.V.  
 

Happy New Year!

Happy Happy New Year Hunny Bunches!

Did you have a nice holiday?  Eat any yummy-licious vegan fare?  My Dad and Step Mama drove from Calgary to Winnipeg and stayed at mine and ATM's newly renovated home, it was so nice to have them here!  They gave me an amazing Breville juicer for Christmas and I am totally hooked on juicing!  We had an awesome Christmas Day brunch at the residence of my lovely Step-Sister Steph and her boyfriend Nick.  Steph made an Eggs Benedict feast and even made a special vegan version for me!

 ATM was working in northern Alberta over Christmas so we hosted a faux-Christmas dinner for her family when she returned.  I made a Pumpkin Parsnip Lasagne from VegNews' holiday 2012 issue (which Santa sweetly tucked into my stocking!); Cinnamon Roasted Root Veg; Haricots Vert with Shallots, Lemon and Walnuts; V.V. style stuffing and gravy; and some PC Brand World's Best Meatless Chicken Filets dredged in cornstarch that was seasoned with S&P and fresh rosemary, and fried pan fried in olive oil.  It was a delightful feast!  

On New Year's Eve, ATM and I hosted a massive NYE bash and I served up vegan tapas that disappeared as soon as they left the kitchen!  In addition to the tapas on the V.V. blog, I made Patatas Bravas (deep fried potato chunks tossed with pimenton and chilies, served with a vegan aioli) a Mediterranean White Bean Dip and cutie little Empanadas with Mushrooms, Walnuts and Olives!

On New Year's Day, aside from cleaning up after our fete, ATM and I celebrated our 2nd Anniversary!  We were too exhausted to cook so we ordered veganized pizza and snuggled.  ATM surprised me with a Vitamix blender as an anniversary gift!  My DREAM blender!!!  Now the V.V. kitchen is totally pimped!

I didn't make any resolutions for 2013 but I certainly made re-affirmations.  I am a documentary junkie and lately Netflix has enabled me to feed my addiction to the umpteenth degree!  So many outstanding docs about diet and nutrition, our food systems and plant based diets are available right now!  First and foremost, if you haven't seen it already, please watch Veducated!  I know many, many people who watched it and really questioned their consumption of meat and other people who went vegetarian or vegan after watching it.  I really do believe that if more people made the connection between a hamburger and what that hamburger really is (was), fewer people would want to eat meat.  Other great docs to see include Hungry For Change, Farmageddon, Food, Inc., and the TED Talks series 'Chew On This'.  American Netflix has waaaaaay more selection than our good ol' Canadian Netflix (lucky ducks!), and I think you can watch Forks Over Knives on there. . . if so, WATCH IT!!!!   Watching these films has helped me re-affirm the reason I bring compassion into my kitchen and into my heart.

XOXOXO
Vivacious Vegan <3

Happy Holidays!

Hello my lovelies!

Life has taken precedence over writing over the past few months and though I haven't been posting lately, I certainly have many recipes and stories to share with you in the New Year!

ATM and I took a trip to Europe this Fall and I have lots of vegan tips for Vegan Euro Travelers!  We have also been renovating our house (meaning a brand-spankin' new kitchen to create more V.V. love!) and it is being completed just in time for my lovely Dad and StepMama's Christmas visit!  I have been living off of my coconut curry noodle soup recipe, cooked in a tiny pot on a two-burner hot-plate and while I am excited over the notion of a fully functional kitchen, I will most likely keep chowing down on the same noodle soup!

Over the holiday's, many herbivores can feel left out of the feasting, but this is so NOT necessary!!!  Here are some of my fave V.V. recipes that are perfect for this indulgent season:

Some lovely appies for your next holiday cocktail party might include Phylo Wrapped Asparagus with a creamy Lemon Aioli or French Lentil Pate.  For New Year's Eve this year, ATM and I are throwing a big party and yours truly will be serving up vegan tapas to our guests!

For an elegant, meat-less entree, try my Homemade Tofurkey with Wild Mushroom Sage Stuffing and Vegan Gravy, a delish and hearty Vegan Coq au Vin, Sunflower Crusted Seitan au Jus with Garlic Smashed Potatoes, or for something a little different, Cauliflower Steaks with a creamy Cauliflower Puree
.

I've never been much for sweets but for me the Holiday's seem incomplete without Vegan Irish Cream Liquor, in abundance!!!

I wish you and your loved ones all the best this season and look forward to sharing more vegan recipes and compassion with you in 2013!

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Vivacious Vegan



 

Vegan Dill Pickle Soup

Hey Sweetums!

It's getting chilly willy in Winnipeg so I figured it is time for yet another Vivacious Vegan soup recipe!  Today, I would like to share a super yummy soup that ATM and I had a version of at a little restaurant just outside of Edmonton.  It was an Italian restaurant, so we were a little weird-ed out when our server informed us that the soup of the day was Dill Pickle.  ATM, a serious pickle lover, ordered it and fell in love.  I became determined to make a vegan version as soon as we got home and it will definitely be on regular rotation during the colder months in our home!  I know it probably sounds a little strange, but it is basically potato soup with pickle brine, pickle chunks and fresh dill.  It tastes just like dill pickle flavored potato chips!

Vegan Dill Pickle Soup
Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion, diced
- 6 cloves garlic, chopped
- 6 cups (about 6 medium sized) Yukon Gold  potatoes, scrubbed and diced (you can use whatever potatoes you have, goldies are my fave <3 )
- 6 cups veggie stock (or water with 3 tbsp tamari soy sauce)
- 1/2 cup pickle brine (from the pickle jar!)
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 cup chopped dill pickles
- 1/3 cup chopped fresh dill (or 2 tbsp dried) plus a few extra sprigs for a garnish
- S&P

In your fave soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Add the onions and garlic and cook until fragrant (about two minutes).  

Add the potatoes and saute for ten minutes, stirring often.  Add the veggie stock or water and bring the whole shebang to a boil over high heat.  

Once the soup has reached it's boiling point, drop that heat to medium and simmer until you can easily smush a potato chunk on the side of the pot with a wooden spoon, about 15 minutes or so.

Remove the pot from the heat and puree everything to silky smoothness with an immersion blender.  Add the pickle brine, nutritional yeast, chopped pickles and dill and blitz with the immersion blender until everything is well combined, but there are still some chunks of pickle love left.  Return the pot to low heat and simmer for ten to twenty minutes to let the flavors become BFF's.  Taste, and season with S&P.  

Serve and snuggle!

XOXO,

V.V.

Red Quinoa Salad with Chickpeas, Cherry Tomatoes and Herbs

Hey Babes!

          It's time to admit it.  Summer is coming to an end.  I know this because the Starbucks Pumpkin Spice lattes are back (which are tragically not vegan - order a soy Cinnamon Dolce latte instead, you'll still feel the cinnamony love).  Before things get too chilly, make the most of the last summer tomatoes and try this awesome salad recipe out!  I whipped it up in a hurry to bring to my darling friend Kerri's BBQ and it was a HIT! 

If you love quinoa, you will REALLY love it's scarlet sister, Ms. Red Quinoa.  It still has the bran on it (kinda like the difference between white and brown rice) and is chewier in texture and even nuttier in flavor.  I love it and I know you will too!  

Red Quinoa Salad with Chickpeas, Cherry Tomatoes and Herbs

Ingredients: 

- 2 cups cooked red quinoa, cooled to room temp (white would be just dandy too)

- 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed well

- 1 pint red cherry tomatoes (about 2 cups, if you're getting them from the garden and not the grocery store)

- 1 pint yellow cherry tomatoes

-  10 to 12 handfuls of organic baby greens

- 1/3 cup roughly chopped mint

- 1/3 cup roughly chopped cilantro

- 1/3 cup roughly chopped basil

- 1/3 cup roughly chopped flat leaf parsley

- 6 scallions, thinly sliced

for the vinaigrette:

- 2 cloves garlic, minced

- 1 tbsp dijon mustard 

- 1 tbsp agave syrup

- juice of 1 lemon

- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar

- 1/2 cup olive oil

- S&P

 

Combine all of the vinaigrette ingredients in a mason jar.  Screw on the lid.  SHAKE IT BABY!  Taste and season with S&P.  Wasn't that easy?

In a large bowl, layer in your salad greens, quinoa, chickpeas, tomatoes, herbs and scallions.  If you are bringing in to a BBQ, the salad will travel well this way.  When you are ready to serve, drizzle your dressing over the salad and gently toss until everything has a nice gloss.  Turn out onto a serving platter and enjoy with friends or take the bowl and a fork, find a secret hiding place and eat the whole thing yourself. . .

XOXO

V.V. 

Vegan Abby and Brittany Theme Party!

Happy September!

ATM and I like to joke that we are joined at the hip, so when we found out that "Abby and Brittany" was premiering on TLC last Tuesday, we decided to throw a party!  The show is a series based on a TLC documentary about twin sisters' Abby and Brittany Hensel, who have conjoined bodies but each have a separate head.  As our excitement for the premiere grew, so did our wacky ideas for the party.  

While on a hot date at Tre Visi (noshing on Pasta Puttanesca - hold the anchovies - with gluten-free farfalle), ATM and I decided that themed vegan appetizers were absolutely necessary.  How the heck do you make themed vegan appetizers for a two-headed sister party?  Had we lost our minds?  Had we gone too far?  

Before we start coming off like total jerks, I should note that we have nothing but admiration and respect for Abby and Brittany!  They live a life that is unimaginable to most people and they thrive.  They seriously kick ass at life!  They are a very inspiring pair and ATM and I as well as our cocktail party guests remain huge fans :)

Back to the themed appies:  It was a lot harder to come up with themed snacks than I thought.  I ended up making a crudites platter with some Abby and Brittany's made out of veggies, served with my vegan ranch dip as well as 'Abby and Brittany in a Blanket' (two vegan hot dog slices wrapped in crescent roll dough and baked) served with maple mustard dip.  ATM's auntie and I made some very cute Abby and Brittany's out of fruit as well.  

We had a blast at the party and loved, loved, LOVED the show!!!

XOXO

Vivacious Vegan