Tag: cooking

Summer Farewell Peach Pizza

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Last week on Instagram for #VeganMofo, I shared a shot with my favorite late summer food: fresh, ripe peaches. It was the aftermath of the recipe I’m about to share with you.

Summer Farewell Peach Pizza | plantcrush.co

I celebrated the end of summer with this sweet and savory pizza, made with all seasonal ingredients. Gather up your very last summer peaches and some basil from the garden! Continue reading →

Kimchi & Tofu Lettuce Wraps

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The warm spring weather has prompted my sister and me to put many spring rolls and lettuce wraps on the menu lately. My cousin Jackie introduced us to kimchi tofu wraps last month and we’ve been hooked. Savory dry-fried tofu and fiery kimchi provide the main flavors in these wraps, while add-ins like basil, sprouts and cucumbers add green freshness.

Kimchi & Tofu Lettuce Wraps | plantcrush.co

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One-Apple Galette

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Easy Vegan Apple Galette
I am all about gorgeous desserts that are simple to make. This past weekend, I embarked on my first galette-making adventure.
Galettes look so beautiful, I was afraid it would be a difficult process, but it was easier than pie, honestly. I only used one apple!
For less effort than a pie, I got a flaky, light and tasty fruit pastry that looks amazing. I think I will always choose this over a pie.
There was some waiting time and apple peeling involved, so you’ll need a pinch of patience, but really, I’d much rather peel one apple for a galette, than five or six for a pie.
While the dough is chilling, you can chill too…read a book or take a nap! I prepared my dough around midnight, so I just went to sleep and let it chill overnight.
Easy One-Apple Galette
(makes 6 servings)

Easy Vegan Apple Galette

I had some coconut caramel sauce on hand, so I used that to sweeten the galette before baking it. It made the galette pretty decadent. Traditionally, sugar is sprinkled on top, but I also think maple syrup or agave could also be used. I also want to try making this with whole wheat pastry flour, and maybe coconut oil, in the future.
Total time: ~1.5 hours
Ingredients:
  • 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 pinch sea salt
  • 1 t organic sugar
  • 1/2 cup chilled non-dairy butter (I used Earth Balance)
  • 3 T ice water
  • ground cinnamon
  • sweetener of your choice (organic sugar, maple syrup, sucanat, or coconut caramel)
  • 1 apple, cored, peeled, and thinly sliced
  • Lemon juice, about 1 teaspoon

Method:

  1. Mix the all purpose flour, sea salt, and sugar in a food processor.
  2. Cut the non-dairy butter into the flour mixture using a fork.
  3. Process in the food processor until you get a coarse, crumbly mixture. Clumps are fine here.
  4. Transfer the dough to a mixing bowl and add the ice water. Use your hands to mix the flour mixture and water together. Roughly roll the dough into a ball and wrap it tightly in plastic wrap.
  5. Place the dough in the fridge and let it chill for at least 30 minutes. I let mine sit overnight. This dough can also be made two days ahead.
  6. Take the dough out of the fridge, let it soften a little so it’s easier to work with—this took about 5-10 minutes for me.
  7. On a floured surface, gently roll out the dough in a circle, about 1/8” thick. Place it on a baking tray or pan (I used a glass pie pan).
  8. Sprinkle cinnamon on the dough and arrange the apple slices to your liking in the middle of the rolled out dough—leave about 1 1/2 inches at the edges of the dough. Squeeze some lemon juice on the apple slices.
  9. Fold all the edges of the dough towards the center—for tips, check out this post from Food 52.
  10. Place the galette in the fridge and let it chill for at least 15 minutes. During this time, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
  11. Take the galette out of the fridge and drizzle your sweetener of choice over the apple slices–to your taste. Sprinkle some cinnamon on top and put a few dots of nondairy on top, if you want.
  12. Brush the crust with some nondairy milk or melted nondairy butter.
  13. Lower the oven’s heat to 350 degrees F and bake the galette for 30-45 minutes, or until the crust is golden.

Bon appétit! This crust can also be used with different fillings, like berries or sliced pears. I hope you enjoy it! If you make this please let me know how it turned out by leaving me a comment below!

Apple Galette | Vegan
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Merry Christmas!

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Vegan Hot ChocolateHi everyone,
I would just like to make a post dedicated to sincerely wishing my readership a very merry Christmas (or happy holidays, if you prefer)! Thank you all for following my blog–I appreciate your readership more than I can express in words!

In honor of today, I am sharing the following Christmas/winter playlist and some handpicked related articles below from my favorite places on the internet (I’ve also included some of my recipes for your reference).

If you have a quiet moment this holiday, feel free to check them out if you’re interested in reading about what’s usually on my mind during the Christmas season (and all year, really–yummy food and world peace are always relevant in my book).

I hope your holidays are filled with love and light, and I wish you and your families all the best for the upcoming new year.

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Smiling Moose Deli | sandwiches + soup + studying

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Last December, I adopted College Park’s Smiling Moose Deli as my study abode for an afternoon. At first, I came to grab food, but when I realized that they had free wifi and outlets available, I set up my materials and wrote my final paper there. The place offered a nice, warm atmosphere for studying and several vegan options to choose from. I ended up ordering a few dishes to keep myself satiated while working.

This place is very clear about labels and friendly about answering questions. Any of the vegetarian dishes can be ordered vegan if you ask them to hold the dairy products. Here’s my full review, originally published on The Shorthorn, UT Arlington’s student news website, published on October 2, 2013.

Before closing, they offered me free coffee (plus soymilk!) since it was the end of the day. Sweet. I had other study plans that night, so the caffeine came in handy.

Pictured above: Build-Your-Own salad, the Veggie Mo, and Vegan Vegetable Soup. The soup was hearty, and the sandwich was filling, but it was not my favorite. I loved the salad I had a few weeks ago–I tend not to order salads, but I was really craving fresh veggies and this hit the spot. I loaded it with all the toppings I could think of (they do not charge extra for extra toppings). College Park has several other vegan options too–check out my reviews here.

Good luck with finals! Load up on healthy snacks! 😉

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Icemageddon 2013 | chili + studying for finals

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Last night, I had to stop studying because the lights went out at my house.

When an ice storm causes a blackout in your neighborhood, it’s difficult to do anything but bundle up in several blankets and go into hibernation mode. You get cold, you get hungry, and you definitely do not feel like finishing your research paper on urban food forests. Reviewing hundreds of plants for your plant I.D. and ecology final? Nooo. Drawing the final plan for your park project? NOPE.

However charming studying by candlelight may sound, burrowing in blankets sounds like a better plan. The conditions of this ice storm have dangerously contributed to your case of senioritis, and maybe a case of the common cold…

Thank goodness for the generosity and hospitality of friends who live ten minutes away in warm apartments.  Warmth and wifi make a much better study environment than an icebox of a house. A bowl of chili mac and cheese doesn’t hurt, either.

My friend said to bring snacks and ingredients, so my sister and I brought all the veggies and tofu from our fridge, to keep them from going bad. We’ve been studying all day and cooking up a storm in my friend’s cozy apartment!

I hope you are warm and safe with your loved ones!

I invite you to ‘like’ my page on Facebook and come back soon (probably in several hours) for some recipes: namely, chili mac and cheese and tofu scramble! While you are waiting, please feel free to check out the recent recipe posts I did for work in November–vegan hot chocolate and a cleansing cranberry citrus smoothie.

Hot Chocolate

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hotchocolate
Did you know that hot chocolate and hot cocoa are two different things? Check out my hot chocolate recipe post on The Shorthorn’s site to listen to learn more about the art of hot chocolate. The photos and following post were originally published on The Shorthorn, UT Arlington’s student news website, on November 20, 2013.

Hot cocoa is for drinking by the mug-full. Hot chocolate is for slow, indulgent sipping. Both will make you feel warm and toasty.

I came up with the idea of writing about hot chocolate last week, when it was freezing outside. Although this week’s forecast looks pretty warm, I’m going to post this in anticipation for future cold weather.

This is probably my favorite post I’ve ever done for work. Everything was too much fun! If you try the recipe, let me know how it goes!