Chickpeas Nibbles..

Italian Chickpea Nibbles


1 15- ounce can of  chickpeas drained

1 teaspoon of olive oil

½ teaspoon of garlic powder

½ teaspoon of oregano

½ teaspoon basil

½ teaspoon onion powder

Sea salt to taste

Pepper to taste

Veggie oil cooking spray

.Preheat oven to 400


2. In a bowl combine the chickpeas, oil, garlic powder, oregano, basil, onion power and pepper.


3. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. Spread the chickpeas onto baking sheet in one layer.


4. Roast the chickpeas until they are nicely browned about 10 minutes tossing them halfway through.


5. Remove from oven and cool chickpeas slightly



Just something for a snack instead of air popped popcorn. And its something Patience has gotten used to instead of chips. We make the veggie chips but there is no way she wants to look at the unhealthy chips...WAY to go Patience :)

Cream of Asparasgus Soup

Cream of Asparagus soup


3 cups of sliced asparagus about 1 pound

2 cups of veggie broth

¾ teaspoon of chopped fresh thyme

1 bay leaf

1 garlic glove

2 tablespoons of whole wheat pastry flour

2 cups of plain soy milk

Pinch of ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon of salt

¼ grated lemon zest

½ tablespoon lemon juice

Ground pepper to taste

Hot sauce to taste
. Combine asparagus broth, ½ teaspoon thyme, bay leaf, and garlic in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Place the asparagus mixture in a blender, cover, and puree until smooth.


2. Place the flour in a large saucepan over medium heat. Gradually add the soy milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Add the pureed asparagus mixture and nutmeg and stir to combine. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and strain. Add the remaining ¼ teaspoon thyme, salt, lemon zest. Lemon juice, and pepper. Add hot sauce for taste

Sweet Treat, cherry Nirvana

Cherry Chocolate Nirvana


2 cups of frozen cherries

2 bananas

1 and ½   cups chocolate soy or rice milk


Put all ingredients into blender and blend until smooth.


I found this in The Get Healthy go vegan cookbook

Of course this is a once a week treat. Instead of cookies or ice cream. When we do have treats once a week Patience appreciates them a lot more. Because its just that a treat.

She works very hard walking and doing her exercise daily

Peanut Butter soup

Peanut Butter Soup

Serves 1

2 tablespoons each of diced onion and celery

½ cup of canned veggie broth

i½ cup of water

1 Tablespoon of chunky peanut butter ( all natural)

3 medium tomatoes blanched, peeled seeded and chopped ( or canned tomatoes diced )- as many as you like

Dash of salt, pepper, and hot sauce


Spray small saucepan with nonstick
cooking spray and heat: add onion and celery and cook stirring for 2 minutes. Stir in broth, water, and peanut butter, bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat let simmer for 8 minutes. Add tomatoes, salt and pepper and stirring, return mixture to a boil. Transfer to soup bowl and add hot sauce and stir to combine.


This is a nice snack when your hungry but not ready for a meal. It may sound alittle odd but Patience enjoys it . I would rather her sip on this soup than eat cookies or chips. I found this in my Vegan cookbook. We plan on doing alot of vegan recipes this new year.

Homemade Veggie Broth (better than a can)

We have used both a can or made homemade. If in a pinch we use a can from Swanson however i do not like worrying about sodium.

You made it yourself Veggie Broth

Makes about 2 quarts

What you need

2 Large yellow onions, coarsely chopped skins included

2 Large carrots peeled and coarsely chopped

2 Leeks, washed and coarsely chopped

1 parsnip, peeled and coarsely chopped

1 slice of lemon

Handful of parsley sprigs

Salt to taste

Combine all ingredients with 9 cups of water in a large stockpot and slowly bring to a simmer over low- medium heat. Partially cover and simmer for 2 hours. Strain the broth through a mesh strainer and press down on the veggies to get all the liquid out. Freeze in ice cube trays or 1 quart container for up to 3 months or store in the fridge in a covered container up to 4 days.

I adopted this recipe from Healthy Vegan book from library.

Sweet Potato Hash..Not everyday!!!- Ya'll

Another special day dish...Not everyday!! We had sweet potato in the Bistro Md meals. We made this for New Years Eve morning. Because Daddy was home. But went for a nice family walk. - Another vegan meal.

Sweet Potato Hash with peppers

What you need:

2 pounds sweet potatoes peeled cut into ½ pieces

¼ cup of veggie broth

3 garlic cloves

1 small onion

1 small bell pepper chopped

1tablespoon of paprika

Kosher salt to taste

                                                      Ground pepper to taste

1. Place sweet pot. with water to cover in a large sauce pan. Simmer potatoes for about 15-17 minutes

                                       Until tender drain and set aside

2. Heat broth in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook garlic, onion, and bell peppers for about 4 minutes. Add paprika, salt, and pepper and continue to cook for 5 minutes, until veggies are soft. If necessary, add 1 to 2 more tablespoons of broth add the sweet potatoes and cook to heat through.

Mushroom crepe

Let me stress this again, we would not normally eat crepes everyday. We usually have a protein shake for breakfast with fruit. and Patience has her egg with veggies or veggie sausage. But let's face it a crepe is alot healthier than biscuit and gravy. This would be made on a holiday and when we are not eaing bread products for the rest of the day.
When we had the Bistro Md meals they had mushroom crepe's in the meal. I obtained this recipe from a Healthy Eating Vegan book. We are trying to go with vegan recipes.
Since Jerry hours have changed for the holidays i will try to make cooking videos with Jerry and Patience.

Recipe:

Green Chile and Oyster Mushroom Crepes

What you need :

1 tablespoon of Egg re placer

½ cup of soy creamer plus 2 tablespoons

1 cup of unbleached all purpose white flour

Vegetable cooking spray

2 cups of chopped oyster mushrooms

1 tablespoon of fresh sage

Black pepper

2 to 4 tablespoons of canned roasted diced chilies

1. Mix the Egg re placer with ¾ cup of water. Combine this with the soy creamer and salt. Quickly wisk the flour

Into the wet ingredients until completely smooth. The Batter should be thin. If it is not thing add another 1 to 2 tablespoons of water.

2. Heat pan over medium heat. Coat lightly with the spray. Pour ¼ coup of the batter into the pan and quickly tilt and rotate the pan until the crepe batter is spread thin. Cook the first side for about 2 minutes until lightly browned at the edges and then loosen the crepe with a spatula. Flip it and cook the other side for about a minute. Set finished crepe aside and repeat with the remaining batter. 

3. Sear the mushrooms over high heat in 2 tablespoons of water for 2 to 3 minutes. Add 1 Tablespoon of the sage and black pepper for taste. Cook for 1 more minute until mushrooms are cooked through. Add the green chiles to the mushroom mixture and mix to combine.

4. Load about 2 tablespoons of the filling toward to one side of the crepe, spreading it along the length

Roll the crepe closed until they are  filled