Lentil Falafel marinara subs

Falafel can be eaten in many forms. One of my favorite ways to eat it (and this weeks recipe) is in a marinara sub. When I make falafel I like to make sure I make extra so I have left overs for easy throw together meals.

You can have it in salad, in a sandwich, or in pasta. What is your favorite way to eat falafel. I’d love some new ideas!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cooked lentils (rinsed, cooked according to packaging)
• 2 TBS cilantro
• jalapeño seeded and chopped (Optional: for extra spice)
• 1 tsp Turmeric
• Italian seasoning (1tsp basil, 1 tsp oregano, 1 tsp parsley)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 4 – 6 TBS flour
• 1 TBS olive oil
• favorite marinara
• Dairy/egg free sub rolls (Most, if not all bakeries have them)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350º and grease a baking sheet.
2. Add all the ingredients except the flour to a food processor. Pulse until you have a paste like consistency.
3. Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl and stir in the flour one tablespoon at a time. You want the mixture to be dry enough to handle so it doesn’t stick to your hands.
4. Use a 2 TBS measuring spoon to scoop out the mixture. Shape it into a ball and place on the baking sheet. The mixture should make about a dozen falafel balls.
5. Place in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until they start to turn golden colored. *While the falafel is baking heat the marinara sauce in a sauce pot on the stove top.
6. Take them out of the oven and begin assembling. Place falafel on a sub-roll and ladle the sauce over the falafel. *You can purchase dairy-free mozzarella cheese or even a dairy-free Parmesan cheese. I personally like to grind up cashews and sprinkle it over top.

*I also enjoy this falafel recipe with spaghetti. It’s great for adding protein any Italian meal

 

Mexican Cauliflower

This is the year that winter decided it didn’t want to leave. No matter how much we kick and scream for it to go away, it continues to show us who the boss really is. I know I am not alone in the struggle, I am prone to seasonal depression. Some years I am not even safe in the summer time, and it has been a real struggle to keep my head “above water” these past few weeks. That is why it is so important to keep my thoughts distracted from the negativity. I am working on a couple of art projects, I try to keep my home clean (clutter and dirty dishes make me anxious), my hubby and I are planning a cross-country move in a few months, and of course I have food. Oh ,how I enjoy good homemade food. No more stews and chilies, I am ready for summer recipes! So I am going to pretend that it’s not really icky outside and focus on my favorite summer time recipes and hopefully come up with some new ones!

Mexican cauliflower is another favorite from my childhood. Anything Mexican has been and always will be a big hit with me. Mexican food doesn’t have it’s seasons, it is appropriate all year round, but I can’t help feeling “summery” about food that comes from such a warm and tropical place.

My mom made this recipe all the time when I was a kid. With a few tweaks and an added spice here and there, I am really excited to enjoy this amazing meal again as an adult. It’s also important to note that this meal is very hubby approved.

*Scroll past the recipe to read more. I share my insights and realizations on something I am most passionate about.

Ingredients:

• One large head of cauliflower (with the greens removed and the stem trimmed down so the cauliflower lays flat)
• 2 cups salsa (My own recipe is below)
• 8oz of vegan cheddar or pepper-jack cheese
• 1 cup of panko breadcrumbs
• 2 tbs of finely chopped cilantro
• 1/2 tsp cayenne
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp salt

For serving:

• Avocado
• tortilla chips

Salsa Ingredients & Directions:

• 1 can of fire roasted tomatoes
• 1 can of Mexi style lime and cilantro diced tomatoes
• one handful of cilantro
• 1 tbs minced garlic
• 2 tbs of sliced jalapeño
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp cumin

1. Place cilantro, minced garlic, and jalapeño in a food processor and pulse until the cilantro is very fine
2. Add the canned tomatoes and spices. Pulse until all the ingredients are blended. Adjust the flavor if you need to and done.

Mexican Cauliflower Directions:

1. Steam the cauliflower until it is tender, but not so much that it is falling apart. My favorite way to steam vegetables is to use my steamer basket in a large pot.
2. While the cauliflower is steaming, make the salsa (if you are making it from scratch) directions above. Also, in a large mixing bowl combine the cheese, panko crumbs, cilantro and spices. Shake up the bowl or stir with a spoon to blend and coat everything together.
3. Preheat the oven to 350ºF and grease a baking dish (I used and 8×8 dish)
4. When the cauliflower is done steaming (I poke mine with a knife or a fork to check the tenderness) let it cool for about 5 minutes before you transfer it to a baking dish. I used my 8×8 baking dish. Taking care not to burn yourself transfer the cauliflower to the baking dish.
5. Pour about 2 cups of salsa over the cauliflower. Use a rubber spatula to spread the salsa around the cauliflower so it is completely covered. Then take handfuls of the cheese mixture and coat the cauliflower with it. I find it is easier to just use my hands for this part. It’s ok if salsa and cheese mix fall to the bottom of the pan, it’ll be good for dipping later.
6. Bake in the oven for 30 – 35 minutes. The cheese mixture is supposed to turn a light golden color and be a little crispy. When done let it cool for 5 – 10 minutes.
7. There are many options for serving. We enjoy eating it with tortilla chips, avocado and a little extra salsa, but you can serve this in tacos, burritos, over mexican rice, ect.

Shared thoughts:

“Insight is an experience of the truth that cannot be simply given to another person in the way that one may communicate ideas or beliefs. Insight is spontaneous and has the nature of a gift. It is surprising when it comes and yet obvious. It is joyful and yet calm.” – Lawrence Freeman “The Good Heart”

I am currently reading “The Good Heart, A Buddhist perspective on the teachings of Jesus”, and when I read the passage above it was like it was jumping right off of the page. This passage articulately communicated what I have only recently begun to learn about the emotional connection to becoming a vegan.

Making the choice to be a vegan has to be an emotional one. I know a lot of people who will not like that statement, but it is true. Anyone I’ve ever known who has decided to be a vegetarian or a vegan for any other reason other than the welfare of animals has ALWAYS “fallen of the wagon” so to speak. I have to note: I am not speaking for everyone in the world who has given up meat and bi-products, but I can absolutely say that for the people I know, this is true and there are many of them. Veganism is not just about diet, it’s about life.

So let me rephrase, making the choice to be a TRUE vegan has to be an emotional one. It has to hurt. That means tapping into a part of yourself that is so deep, that you can finally make the connection between the faceless meat on the plate and the animal that was killed to be there. You can never look at meat as food again. That means completely rewiring your way of life and for many people, that is too uncomfortable to even fathom.

I would go as far as equating it to a spiritual experience. Once you’ve turned that part of your brain on, that gets switched off through conditioning while you’re growing up, it’s a little like waking up with new vision. You see the world and the other beings we share it with, in a whole new way. As soon as the switch turns back on, there’s no question anymore of “how am I going to give up meat?” Or “how am I going to give up cheese?” The question I hear the most is “why didn’t I do this sooner?”

Before I make my next statement, I want to be clear, I 100% support animal rights activists. I think they are some of the boldest and bravest people on the planet and I admire them greatly.

You can’t force people to care. You can help them try to make the connection, but it has to be something they discover on their own. I feel at this point it is important to refer back to my opening quote, “Insight is an experience of the truth that cannot be simply given to another person in the way that one may communicate ideas or beliefs. Insight is spontaneous and has the nature of a gift. It is surprising when it comes and yet obvious. It is joyful and yet calm.

Those closest to me don’t want to know, they don’t want to acknowledge the suffering that happens. I have shared with them all that is wrong with meat and bi-products. I have proven to them how easy and delicious it is to make vegan meals. But they refuse. Even though I have this blog and I spend hours, sometimes even days creating an all vegan recipe, my parents will still add meat to them. I have never been the kind of person to shove my lifestyle in someone else’s face. When a person feels shoved their response will almost always be to shove back. I have always recognized it as a personal choice. I wish I could get more people to care, but people do not appreciate having their way of life and their comfortable routine disrupted.

Q: What is the difference between a dog and a pig? A: Your perception.

Every culture is conditioned to believe that animals are here to meet our needs. We are not born with this mindset in place. Just look up kids who don’t want to eat meat on the internet. There are so many videos and stories of children crying because they’ve realized that what is on their plate was once a living thing. There are also videos of children crying over their live chickens that mom and dad are about to kill. Children know better. They haven’t been calloused and brainwashed by cultural norms. They are still able to make the connection from one living being to another.

One of the saddest things I ever witnessed personally was when a little boy, I used to babysit, wanted to bring his cat inside from the rain and his parents scolded him and told him how disgusting it was. They made him throw his cat back outside in the rain storm. Here was this sweet, thoughtful, innocent child just trying to do a kindness for another living being, probably someone he loved, and here were his parents, calloused and unthoughtful of not only their “family pet”, but of their child as well. Think of the damage their words/actions have caused. Will he think twice that next time he wants to help someone? Will it be so bad that one day he’ll see an injured animal and not think enough of it to stop and help?

Then there are people who say they are animal lovers. Let’s be clear, if there is meat on your plate, you are not an animal lover. You may love cats, dogs, or cute forest critters, but if you can’t distinct living beings as equals you don’t love animals. Humans pride themselves on having higher consciousness and yet, they are tremendously unaware of the parts of thier mind that are shut off. All animals, like humans, know fear and feel pain. They also know happiness and comfort. Through childhood people are conditioned to forget this about animals whether they wanted to or not. Why? Because that’s the way we’ve always done it (My least favorite phrase on the planet.).

Eating meat is a form of intolerance, a bold phrase, I know. But allow me to define intolerance and then I’ll explain. Intolerance is the unwillingness to accept views, beliefs or behaviors that differ from one’s own. Animals have their own languages and behaviors and because of lack of understanding and tolerance, humans are under the impression that that gives them the right to use and abuse animals. If you don’t belive that, just look at the way we treat fellow humans we don’t understand. At the core of all intolerance is apathy.

I would like to point out, that I never once said that all people who eat meat are bad. Some of the nicest people I know and love eat meat. I am trying to convey that to become a true vegan (a real animal lover), you have to tap into the part of your brain, even your heart, that finally grasps the understanding that a cow wants to be happy and left to take care of her child as much a dog with puppies, that a chicken does not want to die just as you do not wish to die. Your perception will change and you will finally see that animals are not here to feed us, cloth us, or entertain us. They are sharing this world with us. Just as you would want the suffering of a fellow man to end, you can now recognize the mass suffering of animals and want it to end. Once you’ve made that connection food will never look the same.

“Insight is an experience of the truth that cannot be simply given to another person in the way that one may communicate ideas or beliefs.” I have just shared my own insights, my realized truths about what it takes to become a true vegan. I hope it spoke to you in a positive way, but like I said from the begining, it is very much like a spiritual experience. It’s personal and it’s exceptional, but you have to find it deep within.

SW Sweet Potato Hors d’oeuvres

First of all, my apologies for not updating my blog in over a month, I have really missed it! My February calendar was packed and then my oven broke, also breaking my heart a little. I had to make stove-top dinners for two weeks! Good thing my hubby and I love stir-fry.

I am excited to share this week’s recipe because I’m not just sharing one recipe; I am sharing three recipes that when put together, make one delicious appetizer. You can take one of the recipes and try it alone if you wish too.

I feel like I am constantly saying, “Oh that food is my favorite!”; I say it so often and about so many different kinds of food that I honestly don’t even know what my true favorite is anymore. I bring this confession up because I love southwestern food! I always have, when I was a kid I tried to put salsa and ranch on everything! Then I discovered guacamole and a whole new love affair was born. This recipe is a southwestern style hors d’oeuvre with all of those wonderful flavors I’ve loved since I was a child.

*Keep scrolling to read about my visit to The Ewam Garden of One Thousand Buddhas.

Southwestern Sweet Potato Hors d’oeuvres

Prep time: 30 – 35 minutes (unless you have a chopper or food slicer, that’ll cut your time in half.)

Makes 30 – 40 (a rough estimate because it depends on the size of the sweet potato)
Hors d’oeuvres Ingredients:

• 3 log shaped sweet potatoes (This is my recommendation if you want all your hors d’oeuvres to resemble the same size.)
• 2 tbsp. of olive oil or cooking spray

Guacamole Ingredients:

• 3 avocados
• 1 vine ripe tomato seeded and chopped
• half a red onion chopped
• 1 jalapeño seeded and loosely chopped
• Juice from 1 lime
• 2 tsp. of minced garlic
• 1 tbsp. of finely chopped cilantro
• salt to taste

Pico de gallo Ingredients:

• 3 vine tomatoes seeded and chopped
• half a red onion chopped
• 1 jalapeño seeded and finely chopped
• juice from half a lime
• juice from half a lemon
• salt and garlic to taste

Directions:

1. Set the oven heat to 450º and grease 1-2 baking sheets in olive oil or cooking spray
2. Slice the sweet potatoes 1/8 inch thick and place them flat on the baking sheets
3. When the oven is ready, place the baking sheets in the oven. Bake for 10 minutes, after 10 minutes pull out the baking sheets and flip the potato slices. Then, place back into the oven and bake for another 5 – 10 minutes. Keep an eye on them, you want them to get tender, but not crispy or burned.
4. While the sweet potatoes are baking, make the guacamole and pico de gallo (instructions below).
5. Assembling: Place the sweet potato slices on your serving platter. Add a dollop of guacamole to each slice, then top the guacamole with a teaspoon of Pico de gallo. If you’re entertaining and want the hors d’oeuvres to look even fancier, garnish with fresh cilantro.

*Always be prepared. You may just find you have left over guacamole and/or pico de gallo, imagine the possibilities! Tacos, burritos or southwest salad!!! Or maybe a yummy snack with tortilla chips. Enjoy!
Guacamole Directions:

1. Prepare the ingredients (i.e. chopping)
2. In a food processor add minced garlic, cilantro, and jalapeño. Blend on high for about 30 seconds.
3. Add the avocados. The best way to do this is to slice vertically (avoid slicing through the seed), then squeeze the avocado into the processor (when you squeeze a ripe avocado the seed should pop right out.). Also add the lime juice squeezed from a whole lime and a pinch of salt. Blend in the processor until it is creamy and smooth.
4. Transfer the avocado mixture to a bowl ( can be a serving bowl or a storage container).
5. Add the chopped tomatoes and chopped red onion. Fold them into the avocado mixture. Adjust the taste with a little more salt or lime juice.
6. Chill in the refrigerator or serve immediately.

*Even with the lime juice, guacamole does not last long. You’ll want to eat this within one to two days.
Directions for the Pico de gallo:

1. Add all the ingredients to a bowl and toss until the tomatoes and onions are coated evenly. Adjust taste to your liking.

*We love spicy food in our house, which is why I use Jalapeño. But if you are sensitive to spicy foods you can still make these recipes delicious and to your liking. Leave out the Jalapeño. Leave as is or add whatever you want.I recommend adding some cubed mango to the Pico de gallo. Mango is such a good complement to southwestern foods.

The Ewam Garden of One Thousand Buddhas

The Ewam Garden of One Thousand Buddhas is a real treasure that can be found in one of the most unexpected places; In the middle of nowhere, tucked between the valley of the surrounding mountains of western Montana. I had come across gorgeous pictures of this place a few years ago and knew it was going to be one of those places I just had to visit and see with my own eyes. My hubby and I recently made the decision to leave Montana within the year, so I honestly never thought I’d get the chance to visit the garden.

My friend and I had an engagement that took us to western Montana, to a town only 20 minutes away from the Ewan Garden of One Thousand Buddhas. When we were done with our engagement, I convinced her that this was a place she would not regret visiting.

Here is an excerpt from their website http://www.ewambuddhagarden.org/on the purpose of this special place.

“Dedicated as an International Peace Center, the Garden of One Thousand Buddhas supports people in cultivating inner peace and in preserving the ancient culture of Tibet. The mission of the Garden is to provide visitors of all faiths with an opportunity to generate profound merit, to reduce global negativities, and to bring about lasting peace. Through the use of the ancient symbols of Buddhism, the Garden awakens one’s natural inner qualities of joy, wisdom, and compassion.” – the Ewam Buddha Garden website.

I am not a Buddhist, but I have studied Buddhism a bit and I have so much respect for their culture and beliefs. Most of my favorite quotes come from the Dalai Lama himself.

“Life is as dear to a mute creature as it is to a man. Just as one wants happiness and fears pain, just as one wants to live and not die, so do other creatures.” – Dalai Lama

When we pulled up, they hadn’t yet opened their gates. So we sat and patiently waited while one of the kind workers came to open the gate and welcome us. I am already completely in love with the mountains and the mountains surround the garden were breath taking. It is the perfect place to find peace.

It was a chilly day with lots of snow and ice on the ground. The meditation pond was frozen over. There was a thick fog rolling in over the mountains and yet it was stunning. I didn’t care that my fingers and toes were starting to freeze, I just drank in the sights. I can’t imagine the kind of beauty inside and out of the garden during late spring and summer.

Here are some more sights from the Garden of One Thousand Buddhas.

 

Heirloom brown bread and a winter wonderland

Thanksgiving is over. Now the hustle and bustle of Christmas preparations begins. I am sad to say that my hubby and I will have to spend our holidays in Montana this season. It’s never an easy decision to make, but when you live 1700 miles away from family these hard choices will often present themselves.

I was blessed with a lovely childhood, I do not take that for granted and I have tried to carry that with me into adulthood and marriage (My journey hasn’t been as effortless as my parents made it look. Though I know there were sacrifices of their own that I did not see.). My family has so many traditions, some classic like watching “It’s a Wonderful Life” the same night we decorate the tree; and some silly ones as well, like always having to stop at the same gas station for coffee and cocoa on our way to grandmas house Christmas day. It’s a cherished lifetime of invaluable memories and instilled in me what really happens when you have traditions. What happens is consistency and quality time, which produces fond memories, which creates hope and excitement for the next time around. I can remember a few of my favorite presents from my childhood, but my fondest memories, the ones I’ve tried to recreate in my own home are the ones that involve my family being together.

A tradition my mom and I have together is baking. She would make several pounds of gingerbread dough and we would decorate dozens of little gingerbread men to share with friends and family. Dad was banned from cookie decorating… I don’t think I need to explain why.

One of our favorite baked goods that’s always on our table during the holiday season is brown bread. It’s basically a loaf of ginger bread. My mom got the recipe from my great grandma Tiffany (One of the most amazing women I have ever met.). I have managed to successfully carry this tradition on into my own household. My husband loves brown bread! I recently looked up the origin of this recipe and was surprised to find that it was created in Boston Massachusetts and in that part of the U.S. it is known as “Boston Brown Bread”. However, the most surprising fact about it’s origin, is that it was originally made in a tin can! It can even still be found sold in a tin can in Boston markets.

I am sharing this delicious recipe with you. It’s very sweet. A slice could be eaten on it’s own with some Earth Balance butter spread on top. It can be served with nice cream. Or served during dinner, which is the way we’ve always served it. It’s origin story said it was always served with baked beans.

Here is my family recipe for Holiday Brown Bread. Read on to hear about our long weekend in the beautiful mountains of Alberta and British Columbia Canada.

Brown Bread

1 loaf

Ingredients:

• 2 C of flour
• 1 tsp of baking soda
• 1 tsp of baking powder
• 1/2 C of sugar
• 1/2 C of molasses
• 1 Flax egg (1tbs of ground flax seed and 2 1/2 tbs of water)
• 1 tbs of vegetable shortening
• 1 C of boiling water

Instructions:

1. Heat oven at 325º F
2. Grease and flour a loaf pan
3. In a large mixing bowl mix together dry ingredients then stir in the wet ingredients.
4. Pour the batter into the loaf pan.
5. Bake in the oven for 1 hour.
6. Take out and let cool.
7. Serve with dinner, with baked beans, or with your favorite nice cream. *Or you can sneak a slice every couple of hours until you’ve devoured the whole thing like my husband does.

A winter wonderland

Our adventures in a wintery Canada

The mountains have a mystical way of drawing us to them. Last weekend my hubby and I venture north to Calgary, Alberta in Canada. We stayed the night in the beautiful city, I miss city life. We had a great place right in the heart of it. What a treasure to look outside and see the skyline all lit up at night.

The next morning we met up with our good Canadian friend and ventured out to the mountains of Banff National Park.

Our first day we walked along a trail just taking the majestic view. We also visited a protected hot spring with an endangered specie of snail only known to Banff Canada. Later in the evening we went swimming in Upper natural hot springs. It was about 30 degrees outside, but the hot spring was about 110 degrees. It was so relaxing.

The next morning was very cloudy and snowy. We could barely see the mountains anymore. We ventured to the stunning Lake Louis. We couldn’t see the mountains and the lake was frozen and covered with snow. But that didn’t dampen our spirits. The foliage and graceful snow fall  was creating a fairytale beauty all it’s own. We walked along a trail (That I can only assume went around the lake) just admiring the splendor.

After enjoying the snow for a little while we headed to Emerald Lake in British Columbia. It was still snowing pretty hard there as well, another winter wonderland

We stayed at Emerald Lake Lodge, which I found out later on, that the whole lodge is basically an island in the middle of the lake. I didn’t realize at the time because the lake was frozen over and covered with snow.  At night Emerald Lake transformed into a real life Thomas Kinkaid painting. It was absolutely stunning. Hubby and I spent some time just wandering the little village in awe.

We Went to bed with no real knowledge that when we woke up the next morning the giant mountains would be smiling down on us. It was like waking up in a new place, with a new kind of beauty.

I felt so humble staring at the vastness of this magnificent mountain. I need to find out it’s true name, but in my mind I keep referring to it as “Grandfather Mountain” because of the respect its presence commands. 

 

Did I mention I love mountains? Before breakfast, even before coffee, hubby and I eagerly got dressed and headed back out into the snow like a couple of kids.

I don’t know how long we were out there walking around, but its a walk in the snow with my love that I’ll never forget.

Now that the mountains were back out and the sky was blue again, we decided to go back to Lake Louis and she did not disappoint.

We headed back to Banff’s downtown village for brunch and then said goodbye to the mountains and in Calgary we said goodbye to our good Canadian friend. Then we ventured homeward and reunited with our cherished furbabies.

The mountains are always calling. They have taken a piece of me and they know it. Now that I love them, they will never let me go. Something happens to me when I am standing in the presence of a mountain. Peace washes over me like a warm bath. I want to run away into the mountains and live in peace.

Thanksgiving ciabatta stuffing

Winter is here. Winter comes early in this part of the U.S. and it stays for a long time. Some days it can be difficult to shake the winter blues. But it helps to try to see the beauty in things around us. Sometimes winter makes it easy to see the beauty, like the other morning when a thick fog rolled into town and frosted everything from the blades of grass to the tip tops of the trees. I wish I could have gone for a long walk that day to capture some truly magical moments, but alas my day job did not allow it. I did sneak this picture real quick on my way out to my car.

How about the beauty in those cold, cozy mornings at home? I love a quiet morning with a beautiful wintery sight out my window, nowhere to go and a warm drink in my hand.

You know another beautiful thing about winter? Comfort food. One of the ultimate comfort foods is definitely stuffing. I don’t want to brag but I make awesome stuffing! I’ve had so many people ask me for this recipe after they’ve had a taste and when I have Thanksgiving with family, it’s always a must that I make the stuffing. So skip the boxed stuff and try something new that’ll be a real hit at your Thanksgiving table this year.

If you’re concerned about having yet another dish to prepare, I kept the instructions pretty simple. And I don’t recommend you go with another bread, stick with the ciabatta, it’s the perfect stuffing bread.

Ciabatta and Herb stuffing

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 1 large loaf of ciabatta bread cut into small cubes
• 2TBS Olive Oil
• 1 carrot diced
• 1 Celery stalk diced
• 1 small yellow onion diced
• 2 Cups of Vegetable stock
• 2 TBS of fresh chopped sage
• 2 TBS of fresh chopped rosemary
• 2 TBS of fresh chopped parsley
• salt
• black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven at 375º
2. Over medium heat, heat olive oil in a skillet. Add carrot, celery, and onion. Cook until the onion is transparent and carrots are soft. Once cooked through, transfer to a glass bowl.
3. Add stock, sage, rosemary, parsley, salt, and pepper to the bowl. Whisk together.
4. Spray 9 x 13 baking dish with non stick spray or coat in coconut oil.
5. Add ciabatta cubes to the baking dish.
6. Pour the stock mixture over the ciabatta bread. stir to coat the bread pieces.
7. Bake in the oven for 30 – 35 minutes or until it turns golden on top. *I like mine crispy on top so I leave it in a little longer.
8. Remove and enjoy!

 

Grandma’s Zucchini bread

My family is everything to me. And I have been immensely blessed by the women in my family, they have instilled so many treasured values in my life. I was a pen pal with my great grandma from my childhood into adulthood. I’ve also been a pen pal with my grandma since I was a little kid; which has been exceedingly therapeutic since I moved so far away from her. They helped me appreciate the art of letter writing and sending cards. My mom has passed down recipes to me that she received from her mom, that grandma received from her own mother and so forth. Generations of women taking care of each other.

One of those cherished recipes is Zucchini bread. I remember my friend’s mother bringing zucchini from her garden so my mom could make her some loaves of our family’s zucchini bread. My mom got the recipe from her grandma and now she has passed it on to me. This was a very delicate recipe for me to modify. I didn’t want to alter it too much because then it wouldn’t be my family’s recipe anymore. All I did was switch from chicken eggs to flax eggs. Then added a healthier oil option; from vegetable oil to coconut oil. Everything else is original and just as delicious as I remember it.

Zucchini Bread Recipe (vegan)

Serving: 2 loaves        Bake time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

• 3 flax eggs (3tbsp of ground flax-seed mixed with 6-7tbs of water, set for 10 minute)
• 2 cups of sugar
• 1 cup of coconut oil
• 2 tsp of vanilla
• 2 cups of shredded zucchini
• 3 cups of flour
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• 2 tsp of cinnamon
• 1 tsp of baking soda
• 1 tsp of baking powder

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degree
2. Grease two loaf pans
3. In a large bowl, whisk the flax eggs, sugar, oil, and vanilla
4. Stir the shredded zucchini in with the sugar mix
5. In a separate bowl mix the flour, salt, cinnamon, baking soda, and baking powder.
6. Using a sifter, sift the dry mixture over of the wet mixture and mix them together
7. Split the batter between the two pans
8. Bake for 1 hour (check the center with a toothpick; if it comes out clean, it’s done)
9. Remove from the oven and let it cool down in the pan.