Falafel Delight

Thank goodness for this amazingly delicious recipe! I am a huge fan of falafel, and thanks to this website, I have found a stunningly delicious and nutritious recipe! The combination of the sweetness from the warm sweet potatoes, along with the spicy cilantro creates such a delicious harmony that you won't be able to resist making them again.

This recipe comes from 101cookbooks.com and is truly fabulous.

Ingredients:

2 medium sweet potatoes (orange inside), around 700g or 1 1/2 pounds in total
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 small cloves of garlic, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 big handfuls of fresh cilantro chopped
Juice of half a lemon
a scant cup chickpea flour
a splash of olive oil
a sprinkling of sesame seeds
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 425F degrees (220C) and roast the sweet potatoes whole until just tender - 45 minutes to 1 hour. Turn off the oven, leave the potatoes to cool, then peel.

Put the sweet potatoes, cumin, garlic, ground and fresh coriander, lemon juice and gram/chickpea flour into a large bowl. Season well, and mash until smooth with no large chunks. Stick in the fridge to firm up for an hour, or the freezer for 20-30 minutes. When you take it out, your mix should be sticky rather than really wet. You can add a tablespoon or so more of chickpea flour if necessary (the water content of sweet potatoes varies enormously).

Reheat the oven to 400F/200C. Using a couple of soup spoons (put a well-heaped spoonful of mix in one spoon and use the concave side of the other to shape the sides) or a falafel scoop if you have one, make the mixture into falafelly looking things and put them on an oiled tray. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top and bake in the oven for around 15 minutes, until the bases are golden brown.

Makes about 18 falafel, enough for 4 - 6.

Enjoy! :)

Photo via www.101cookbooks.com

Mock Chicken Salad

In the mood for a healthy lunch, I decided to throw together some always-satisfying mock chicken salad. Paired with some crunchy tortilla chips, this mock chicken salad is a warm summer's day delight! :)

Ingredients:
8 oz gluten free tempeh (not grain based)
1/3- 1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise
2 stalks celery- finely shopped
1/4 red onion- finely chopped
3 tbs parsley- finely chopped
1/2 tsp dill salt and pepper to taste
1 rice tortilla

Directions:
1. Cube tempeh, steam for 20 minutes, cool
2. Combine all ingredients, except for the rice tortilla) and mash together with a fork
3. Refrigerate to cool
4. While the mock chicken salad is cooling, get our your rice tortilla and cut it up into triangles. Put the tortilla pieces in the oven on broil and pull out when brown and crispy.
5. Serve mock chicken salad with toasty tortilla chips and enjoy!

Photo via vivaciousvegansrecipes.blogspot.com

Pudding Delight

It was one of those nights. One of those, everything is going wrong and all I want to do is sit on the couch and eat some pudding, nights. Lucky for me, I scoured the pantry and found all the ingredients I would need to whip up a delicious batch of chocolate pudding. After finishing this beautiful little dessert, believe me when i say, "Nothing says 'comfort' like a savory bowl of chocolate pudding."

Ingredients:
1/3 cup sugar
2 1/4 cups vanilla rice milk
4 oz unsweetened dark chocolate
4 tbs cornstarch
1 tbs. butter

Directions:
1. Whisk together all ingredients over medium heat.
2. Whisk constantly to avoid burning.
3. Continue whisking until desired consistency, which should be about 15 minutes. I find that when you pat on the pudding with your spoon, it should jiggle, like pudding does! That's when you know it's ready.

Now here are your options... you can either store this in a container and let cool, or you can serve it warm. I personally love a cup of fresh, warm pudding, topped with a dusting of powdered sugar and a raspberry.

Now that's pure delight in a cup.

Photo via barefoodkitchenwitch.com

No-Chicken Noodle Soup

Usually when I wake up in the morning, I feel, well, honestly just ready for a hot cup of coffee. But this morning was different. I woke up with a frown on my face, a runny nose, a sore throat, and a terrible migraine. I'm sick. The common cold has interfered with my beautiful day, and now it's time to make some No-Chicken Noodle Soup.

Ingredients:
6 cups vegetable broth (I use low-sodium vege bullion)
1 package extra firm tofu- cubed
4 garlic cloves- diced
1 tsp cumin
2 stalks celery- sliced
2 large carrots- sliced
1 white or yellow onion- chopped
5 tbs nutritional yeast
1 pinch red chile pepper flakes
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 pinch chili pepper
1/2 tsp thyme
1 bay leaf
2 tsp salt- to taste
pepper- to taste
3 oz gluten free Mai Fun noodles (Chinese rice noodles)- or whatever kind of noodles you prefer

Directions:
1. Bring broth and tofu to a boil
2. Add carrots and celery
3. Add all other ingredients and bring to a simmer
4. Simmer until carrots soften to your liking (I let mine simmer for about 20 minutes)
5. If using Mai Fun noodles, soak in water for 10 minutes until softened
6. Toss noodles in with soup and simmer for another 10 minutes
7. Enjoy!

Photo via katieanna.typepad.com

A Gluten-Free Girl's Dream

Good morning and happy Friday! Today is the day... a day to celebrate. A day to celebrate you!

In accordance to the celebration of the end of the work-week, the hubby decided to take me out to pizza, since it is my favorite. Typically, a gluten-free girl wouldn't be able to walk down the street to the local pizza shop and grab some gluten-free, and absolutely delicious, pizza... but we are lucky enough to have a Willow Street Pizza right down the way! Willow Street Pizza has an entire gluten-free menu with a few pizza selections, pasta selections, soup and salads. We ended up ordering a GF Cheese Pizza and a side of Romaine Gorgonzola salad. The pizza was deliciously garlicky and cheesy, with a wonderful added crunch to the crust.

We sat outside enjoying the beautiful weather and our yummy wood fired pizza, thinking about how lucky we are to have this place right down the street from us. What a find!

Can't Get Enough of Your Love...

A toast to you, my delicious chocolate sorbet!
Soft and yummy, my love for tonight :)

Ingredients:
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
2 cups water
1 espresso shot

Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients and cook over low heat until all ingredients have dissolved.
2. Get out your ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturers instructions. If you don't have an ice cream maker, scoop the sorbet into a container and freeze.

Picture via Chocolate and Zucchini

Pad Thai

Pad Thai with my Fave of the Day- Annie Chun's Pad Thai Rice Noodles

Ingredients:
3 garlic cloves
6 shallots
2 eggs, beaten
1 package Annie Chun's Pad Thai Rice Noodles
1 cup shredded slaw mix (which I got from the wonderful Trader Joes)
Tofu- about 8 oz (I marinated mine in soy sauce and broiled for 10 minutes to get that nice crispy exterior)

Sauce:
5 tbs soy sauce or fish sauce (I used soy because I didn't have any fish sauce on hand)
3 tbs sugar
juice from 1 freshly squeezed lime
small splash of rice vinegar
red chile pepper flakes (as hot as you like it- I use about 3 pinches)
cilantro to taste (I use about 1/4 cup)

Garnish:
1/8 cup crushed peanuts

Directions:
1. Spray your pan or wok with a bit of Pam, or grease with a small amount of oil
2. Add garlic and shallots to pan- stir fry until tender
3. Add your scrambled eggs, noodles, tofu, and sauce and stir fry until hot.
4. Garnish with crushed peanuts and enjoy!

Bon appetit!

Photo via ifood

Welcome to Dee's Delectables!

In case you hadn't realized yet... I love to create good, healthy food. I am inspired by a healthy lifestyle and believe the old saying, "you are what you eat."

My philosophy for an absolutely delectable dish is simple really, and it begins with creativity. Creativity?! What if I don't have any of that?! Well, dig some up hunny and dig in, because your creativity will make your dishes better than you could have ever imagined.

Since educating myself on the real world issues surrounding food and its production process, I decided to become a vegetarian. On top of that, I became wheat and gluten free because I found that it made my previously severe migraines dissipate to almost nothing. Some may be lead to believe vegetarian food can never be as good as a good-old piece of meat, but I beg to differ... and I'm sure you will understand after you try some of these surprisingly simple, absolutely delectable dishes.

With that said, here is a healthy and delicious recipe to start you off with:

Potatoes with Creamy Cheese Sauce (vegan)

6 potatoes
3 tbs olive oil
5 tbs rice flour
2 1/2 cups unsweetened hemp milk
1 tbs tahini
4 tbs nutritional yeast
2 tsp minced onion
2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
1 tbs rice vinegar
1 sprinkle of nutmeg
1/4 cup vegetable broth

(to add a nice orange color use a decent amount of paprika)

1. Preheat your oven to 375
2. Wash you potatoes and cut them into bite size chunks. Place them in boiling water for about 15 minutes or until tender.
3. Start making that delicious non-cheese, cheese sauce by heating up your oil over medium heat. Use your whisk to add in the rice flour. Whisk until combined.
4. Add hemp milk and bring to a boil, whisking constantly to ensure that your milk doesn't burn. Once the milk is brought to a boil, bring down to a simmer and let thicken.
5. Add the remaining ingredients and allow it to simmer to the desired thickness. I like to make sure my cheese sauce doesn't get too thick, especially if I am going to bake it or save it for the next day... it will thicken more overnight.
6. Place potatoes in a gratin dish and spoon some savory cheese sauce over the potatoes (enough to soak those delicious potatoes).
7. Bake for 20 minutes and voala!

Here is a side dish that will always be remembered... especially by your thankful vegan friends! :)