No Salt Whole Wheat Crepes

When I was a kid, I remember being so excited when my Dad decided to make his homemade Polish Pancakes. He did not make them very often, but when he did, we kids knew we were in for a real treat. Once they were done, we filled them with sweet strawberry jam that my Mum had made. When I grew up I realized that the rest of the world knew them by the name crepes. Now I prefer my crepes plain or with just a tiny bit of maple syrup or fresh fruit. This version of  crepes have no eggs or dairy and roll beautifully.


Ingredients

2 cups whole wheat flour
2 Tblsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp stevia, or sweetener of choice


Blender Ingredients

3 cups water
2 Tblsp ground flax
1/2 cup applesauce
1 large banana
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup quick oats

For Serving

Fresh fruit, optional
Maple syrup, optional

Directions


Mix the first four ingredients in a large bowl.

Blend the water, flax, applesauce, banana, vanilla and oats, in a blender until smooth.

Mix the two bowls together.  Whisk until the mixture is smooth

The mixture should be somewhat runny. At this point you may need to add about 1/4 cup extra water to thin it out. It should be runny enough that it moves easily in the pan when tilted.

Heat a non stick pan until hot.

Once it is  HOT, add about 1/2 cup of batter and tilt the pan until the entire bottom is covered. My pan was a medium sized pan, so if you are using a larger pan, use more batter.

Once the surface is covered with bubbles and is no longer wet, peel the crepe off the pan and flip it. Now brown the other side. Remove to a plate and repeat until all the batter is used up.

Serve warm with maple syrup or fresh fruit as desired.

This recipe was inspired by this pancake mix: http://followyourecho.com/recipes/recipe.asp?recno=178

Mushroom Burgers

Who doesn't love to sink their teeth into a good burger.  This burger is healthy, plant based and doesn't squish everywhere when you bite into it. I use the mixture from my cabbage roll filling found here: http://barbsplantbasedkitchen.blogspot.ca/search?q=cabbage  and use it for burgers. These burgers are exceptional!

Directions

After making the mixture and it has sat to let the oatmeal absorb any extra liquid, shape the mixture into patties. I have a  1/3 cup scoop that I use. Place the patties on a plate and cover with plastic wrap until ready to cook.

Heat a fry pan using medium heat and add the patties, making sure not to crowd the pan.

Let them brown on each side. The key is to not over handle them.

Serve on you favourite plant based bun and top as desired.

Enjoy.

Roasted Red Pepper Sauce for Pasta

This sauce is plate licking good. And the great part is that it is easy to make and is lower in sodium too. So if you are in need of a tasty meal on the table quickly, this may just be the dish for you. You will need a blender for this recipe.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups onions, chopped
1 1/2 cups roasted red peppers packed in water, about 3 large peppers , chopped
2 tsp garlic, chopped
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/16 tsp stevia or sweetener of choice, optional
1/2 tsp veggie stock powder, or salt to taste, optional

1/4 cup oatmeal
2 cups water
1/3-2/3 cups nutritional yeast
Extra Nutritional yeast for serving


Directions

Dry fry onion until tender, adding a little water as necessary.

 Add in chopped peppers, garlic, stevia if using,  and spices, including the vegetable stock powder.

Cook for a few minutes

Transfer to a blender.

To the blender add in 2 cups water, nutritional yeast and the oatmeal.

Blend for about a minute. The mixture should thick and creamy.

Add the sauce back to the pan and cook until hot and bubbly.

Serve over cooked pasta.

Enjoy.

The inspiration for this recipe came from here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuaTKEV5qBU&noredirect=1 and http://www.mrsplantintexas.com/2015/06/oat-cheese-sauce.html

BLACK RICE SUSHI

My cousin, was a sushi chef for a period of time in Vancouver, Canada. This is a recipe that he shared with me, and I modified it by omitting the salt  and using black rice , which is a whole grain. The look is rather dramatic, and tastes very good. Any leftover rice can be mixed with the leftover veggies ( chop them up) and eaten as a sushi salad. Black rice can be found in some grocery stores and Asian markets.

Black Rice Sushi

1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 Tblsp sugar or sweetener, ( I used 1/2 tsp stevia powder), or to taste

1 cup black rice
2 cups water

1 pkg Nori sheets( you will only use 5 or 6 sheets)

Vegetables

1/2 cucumber, sliced thinly length wise, and cut into thin strips
1 carrot, cut as above
1 red pepper, cut as above
pickled ginger,drained
pickled banana peppers rings, drained


Bring the water and rice to a boil.

Turn the heat down and simmer for 50 minutes

Meanwhile, mix the sugar/sweetener with the rice vinegar and stir until mixed. You may have to heat the vinegar for a few seconds to make sure the sugar is fully incorporated into the vinegar.

Assembling the Sushi

Once the rice is cooked, place it in a large bowl ( my cousin says to be sure not to scrap the bottom of the pan) and pour the vinegar mixture over the rice.

Gently stir to combine well. The rice should become somewhat sticky. But it will not be as sticky as white sushi rice.

Lay out a nori sheet and cover about 80% of it with a thin layer of rice. Leave about an inch at the top uncovered.

Layer the vegetables at the bottom of the sushi roll. I usually start with ginger and the pickled banana peppers. Then add on the carrots, cucumber and peppers on top.

Now starting at the bottom short end where the vegetables are, roll up the sushi. It is important to gently squeeze the sushi as you roll so that it holds together well.

Continue until all of the nori and rice are used up.

Place sushi rolls in fridge until ready to eat. Using a serrated knife, or other sharp knife, cut the sushi into pieces.

Enjoy.

TIP

Extra rice and veggies make a great salad when mixed together.

Keeping  a small container of water to dip the spoon into will help keep the rice from sticking to the spoon as you spread it out over the nori sheet.

A few spinach leaves are also great to add  if you have them on hand.



 

Easy Cabbage Rolls

 I love cabbage rolls. But if you use the traditional boiling water method of separating your cabbage leaves, it is a lot of work.  The cabbage is placed whole in a big pot of boiling water and repeatedly pulled out and the outer leaves pulled off. Instead of steaming up your kitchen, freeze your cabbage ahead of time for a few days and when you defrost it, those leaves they are pliable enough to roll. No more steamy kitchen and burned fingers either.

This recipe makes about 18-20 cabbage rolls depending on the size of the cabbages. Using a larger sized cabbage is best.



Cabbage Rolls

1 large onions , roughly chopped
15 cups mushrooms, cut into large chunks                                                      

1.5 Tblsp garlic, minced
1 tsp veggie stock powder, or salt to taste
1/4 tsp bl pepper
2 flax eggs
1.5 cups bulgur
2 cups boiling water
6 Tblsp mushroom seasoning ( optional) but adds a lot of flavour
2-4 cups quick or instant oatmeal, not cooked

1-2 frozen cabbages, depending on the size of your cabbages
1-2 large cans tomato juice

INSTRUCTIONS

Mix the bulgur and boiling water together and let sit for 20 minutes.

Sautee the onion in a hot pan, adding a little water if required, 

When the onion begins to soften, add in the  mushrooms.

When the mushrooms begin to release their liquid, add in veggie stock powder, garlic,  black pepper and mushroom seasoning. Once the mushrooms are cooked and there is still some liquid in the pan remove them from the heat.

Carefully,( THE MIXTURE IS HOT) using an immersion blender, blend the mushrooms until they are  finely chopped. I find that using a up and down motion is best and not using the motor continuously.

Add in  the bulgur and flax eggs.

Mix well.

Add in enough oatmeal so that there is no liquid left.

Now let the mixture sit for about 20 minutes so the oatmeal absorbs any remaining liquid.

After the mixture sits, it should be thick enough to hold together if you formed a patty.

Adjust seasoning now.

Preparing the Cabbage

If your cabbage is not defrosted, then place it on a plate and microwave it for 4-6 minutes, until the outer leaves are no longer frozen.

Carefully, start by pulling the leaves off intact.

When you can no longer remove the leaves, because they are frozen, place the cabbage back in the microwave for 2-3 minutes. Repeat pulling off leaves and microwaving, until you have enough leaves.

 Cut out the hard thick vein of the leaf and the base using a V cut. I usually cut off about 1-2 inches of the vein depending on the size of the leaf .


Place a leaf on the counter with the cut part close to you. Place a scoop of mushroom mix on the leaf ,with the cut side close to you.

 Firmly begin rolling the leaf, while holding the mixture in place. Tuck in the sides of the leaf and continue rolling. 

Place rolled cabbage roll, seam side down in a roasting pan.


Continue rolling until all the mixture is used up.








Cabbage rolls can be stacked on top of each other.

Any leftover cabbage can be diced and placed on top of the cabbage rolls.

Pour tomato juice over cabbage rolls. Do not have tomato juice more than 1 inch from the top of the pan. This avoids the tomato juice boiling over.

Cover and bake at 350 F for 2-3 hours. Because the leaves are  not pre cooked, I find that it can take as long as 3 hours depending on how many cabbage rolls you have made.

Cabbage rolls are done when the cabbage is easily pierced with a knife and the tomato juice has thickened and the rolls begin to turn a darker colour in places..

This inspiration for this recipe came from here  http://www.canadianliving.com/food/bulgur_and_mushroom_burgers.php