Gluten Free Vegan Lemon Coconut Bars May 27, 2012

 

Happy Memorial Day! I hope everyone is enjoying the long weekend! We had a nice little get together and BBQ at our house on Sunday. It was the first of (hopefully) many outdoor shin-digs at our new house! We had a ton of fun grilling veggie burgers, chatting with friends, letting the kids get soaked in the kiddie pool, and enjoying the sunshine! One of my favorite parts of the day were these lemon-coconut bars. They are so so good! Nobody could tell they were vegan or gluten-free!

 

There are two things that make these bars unique. The first is that the filling has tofu in it! So not only are these bars much lower in fat the the real deal, they are also much higher in protein! For those of you trying to avoid soy, you can try subbing coconut cream in for the tofu. The second unique thing about these bars is that the shortbread crust has no butter OR margarine it it! Instead I use a mixture of coconut oil and coconut butter. For those who have never used coconut butter before it is heavenly! I highly recommend it! It is great in smoothies, used as a butter substitute, or just spread on a piece of toast with a drizzle of agave and sprinkling of cinnamon! YUM!

 

Anyways, back to my bars…

 

Gluten Free and Vegan Lemon-Coconut Bars

by Katie Barlow

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

 

Ingredients (24 bars)

For the crust

• 1 3/4 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour
• 2/3 cup organic powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/2 cup coconut butter
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

For the filling

• 1 cup silken tofu
• 2 cups organic cane sugar
• Zest from 3 lemons
• 2/3 cup lemon juice (about 3-4 lemons)
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• coconut flakes (to sprinkle on top)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350degF and lightly grease a 9x13inch baking pan.

For the crust

Pulse the flour, sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a food processor.

Add the coconut oil and coconut butter a tablespoon at a time and pulse until mixture resembles a coarse meal.

Add the mixture to the baking pan and press firmly into an even layer.

Bake for 20 minutes (you want the crust to be slightly under-done because it will continue to bake with the filling).

Remove from oven and let cool.

For the filling

Add all the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth and well mixed.

Pour the filling over the shortbread and sprinkle with coconut flakes.

Bake for 40 minutes or until the center is firm.

Remove from oven and cool to room temperature.

Allow the bars to cool in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before slicing into bars.

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Ahhhhhh-mazing enchiladas! May 6, 2012

 

I hope everyone had a great Cinco de Mayo Weekend! We had a friend come into town and spent a lovely sunny Saturday at the Santa Monica Farmer’s Market and then went to the beach. The weather was just perfect.

 

All I can say about the above enchiladas is…Oh wow! These are so good! I know this post is a little late for Cinco de Mayo but better late than never right? We had these enchiladas for dinner the other day and I was blown away by how good they were! Moist and filling. The perfect amount of spicy that was pleasantly offset by the creaminess and coolness of the guacamole. Yum…I cannot wait to make these again.

 

For the tortillas, I used sprouted grain tortillas and was pleasantly surprised by the results. Normally I think sprouted grain tortillas taste like cardboard but when smothered in enchilada sauce they become surprisingly soft and tasty!

 

Don not be intimidated by the super long recipe, these enchiladas come together surprisingly fast and effortlessly and they can be assembled ahead of time! I would suggest doubling the recipe because these make killer leftovers!

 

 

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas

Makes 3-6 servings (depending on how hungry you are and what else you serve with it)

Vegan, Low Fat, Sugar Free, Can be made gluten free, dairy free, egg free

 

Guacamole

 

Ingredients:

4 ripe avocados

Juice from 1-2 limes

Green part from 3 green onions, diced

1 tomato, diced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon garlic powder

 

Directions:

1. Mash everything together in a bowl. Taste, add more salt, garlic powder, or lime juice as needed.

2. Store in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to eat.

 

Enchilada Sauce (Adapted from Veganomicon):

 

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons coconut oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 small red onion, diced

3 large green chiles (I used jalapeno), deseeded and diced

2 teaspoons chile powder

2 teaspoons cumin

1 teaspoon oregano

1 28-oz can diced tomatoes in juice

1 teaspoon agave

2 teaspoons salt

 

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan, over medium heat, saute the garlic, onions and chile peppers in coconut oil until soft (about 4-7 minutes).

2. Add the remaining sauce ingredients, bring to a simmer and remove from heat.

3. When the sauce mixture has cooled, taste and adjust salt if necessary.

4. Puree in blender until mixture is smooth.

 

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Filling

 

Ingredients:

2 large sweet potatoes

1 can black beans

2 cloves garlic, minced

Vegetable Broth

2 tablespoons Taco seasoning (I used the one from Trader Joes)

Juice from one lemon or lime

1 teaspoon salt

 

Directions:

1. Peel and cube the sweet potatoes. Bring a pot of water to a boil and boil sweet potatoes until tender, about 20 minutes.

2. Drain sweet potatoes and place back in pot.

3. Over medium heat, add the black beans and garlic and about 1/4 cup of veggie broth. Cook until veggie broth is absorbed, mashing the sweet potatoes and black beans.

4. Keep adding veggie broth 2 tablespoons at a time and mashing the sweet potato and black bean mixture until you have a fairly smooth mixture. It does not have to be pureed but there should be no more large chunks of sweet potato left. Once the mixture is at the desired consistency and all the veggie broth has been absorbed, turn off the heat and add the rest of the ingredients. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.

 

To Assemble the Enchiladas:

 

Ingredients:

6 medium sized tortillas (I used these sprouted grain ones)

Sweet potato and black bean filling

Enchilada Sauce

 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375degF. And get out a large rectangular baking pan.

2. Take each tortilla, spread with sweet potato and black bean filling and roll up. Place in baking pan.

3. Once you are done filling the tortillas, Spread the enchilada sauce over the top. Use all of it!

4. Cover and bake for 25 minutes. Then uncover and bake for another 20 minutes.

5. Remove from oven and allow the enchiladas to cool for about 10 minutes.

6. Serve topped with a gracious dollop of guacamole. YUM!

veganize It! seitan Tikka Masala. September 19, 2011

 

You know that seitan I taught you how to make the other day? Well this is a really good way to use it! If you like Indian food you will love this dish. I created this dish because my husband absolutely loved chicken tikka masala before we became vegan and really misses it! I decided to take a recipe for traditional chicken tikka masala and substitute the dairy and meat for vegan alternatives! It came out really really good. It does not quite taste like the original but it is pretty close and still really really yummy! I like to serve it with black rice and lots of veggies stir-fried in a bit of coconut oil!

 

Seitan Tikka Masala

Vegan, Dairy Free, Soy-Free

 

Makes about 2-4 Servings

 

Marinade:

1 6oz plain coconut yogurt

1 tablespoon lemon juice, from 1 lemon

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1 package seitan, cut into bite size pieces (Or make your own!!)

 

Sauce:

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoons salt, or to taste

2 teaspoons garam masala

1 cup diced tomatoes

1 cup coconut milk

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

 

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine yogurt, lemon juice, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, black pepper, ginger, and salt. Stir in seitan, cover, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.

2. Place garlic, jalapeno pepper (deseeded), cumin, paprika, salt, garam masala, diced tomatoes, and coconut milk in a blender and blend until smooth.

3. Grill or pan sear seitan with yogurt sauce until most of the liquid has been evaporated and seitan is beginning to brown.

4. Add sauce and cook until heated through. Serve over rice and garnish with cilantro.

Veganize it! Green Bean Casserole. September 12, 2011

 

Happy Monday! Today I bring you a recipe that I do not cook very often. It is comfort food at its finest! Thick, hearty, filling, and salty goodness. I have never had traditional green bean casserole so I cannot compare this to the original, but this is very very good. And I have served this to people who love the real thing and they have told me this comes very close! This is one of those dishes I make only on special occasions (or when the hubby buys green beans and specifically requests it!) and for people who are afraid of vegetables and “healthy” or vegan food. Even the pickiest of eaters will love this dish.

 

Traditional green bean casserole calls for canned green beans. I cannot get myself to use canned vegetables so I use fresh green beans in this. I also use a ton of mushrooms and a variety of different types. In this particular version I use cremini and shitake but you can use whatever your favorite mushroom is! Portobella would be yummy in this.

 

You can find French fried onions at your local grocery store near the canned vegetables. For a healthier version of this you can just omit the French fried onions, it will still turn out super yummy!

 

Enjoy!

 

Green Bean Casserole

Vegan, Dairy Free

 

Makes 4-6 Servings

 

Ingredients:

1 pound fresh green beans, ends removed

2 tablespoon coconut oil

1/4 cup vegan margarine

1/4 cup flour

1 1/2 cups vegetable broth

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

2 packages mushrooms (I used 1 package cremini and 1 package shitake)

1 3 ounce can French-fried onions

 

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. In an oven proof saucepan, melt the coconut oil over high heat. Add the green beans and sauté until softened and beginning to brown.

3. While the green beans are cooking, heat another saucepan over medium heat and melt the margarine. Make a roux by adding the flour and whisk until combined and beginning to thicken. Add the vegetable broth while stirring to make the sauce. Add the soy sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt, stirring frequently, until sauce thickens. Whisk in the nutritional yeast.

4. Add the mushrooms to the green beans and sauté until softened. Add the sauce and stir until the green beans and mushrooms are well coated. Sprinkle the French fried onions on top of the casserole. Bake for ten minutes.