Strawberries and Cream Pancakes

I’ve been having a lot of fun with cashews the other day, and had found a recipe that required heavy cream. Soaked, blended cashews and water of course made a lovely substitute. Afterwards, I still had some of this cashew cream left over and had just picked up a bunch of gorgeous strawberries. Variations of pancakes or waffles are such a lovely day off treat, and strawberries and cream are such a beautiful combination, it was a pretty easy decision! I hope you like these, I definitely did! I topped mine with Earth Balance, Sal used Earth Balance and raw, local honey. I personally don’t use honey, but if you eat it, I recommend going for local all the way!

3/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp sugar
A few dashes pink Himalayan salt
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup cashew cream *see note*
1/4 cup vanilla almond milk
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 c strawberries – chopped

*note!
To make the cashew cream soak 1 cup cashews overnight or 8 hours. Drain and blend thoroughly with 1 1/2 cup water.

Preheat a lightly greased skillet over medium heat.
In a medium bowl combine all dry ingredients and mix well. Mix in wet ingredients. If your batter seems too thick add a little extra almond milk,  a tbsp at a time. Fold in the chopped strawberries. Pour batter in pan, wait until the top bubbles and the edges look a bit cooked and flip. Let cook for a couple minutes and then flip to ensure they’re cooked on both sides. Top with strawberry jam and coconut whipped cream, with earth balance, or with powdered sugar and syrup!

Black Bean Tacos And Cashew Cream

After a full day at work, a bike ride home, and a good bit of homework waiting for me, I was not only hungry but wanted something fast and easy. A quick look around the kitchen and it’s decided. I had a can of black beans, taco shells, and cashews. Black bean tacos with a cashew cream.

Unless you, unlike me, planned ahead and soaked your cashews for about an hour, boil some water and soak 1 cup of cashews while you do the rest of your work.

Rinse out your can of black beans and add them to a medium sized sauce pan.
I minced 1/4 of an onion (use onion powder if you don’t have an onion) and mixed it in.
I tossed in 2 tsps minced garlic (can substitute garlic powder)
Mix in 1/4 tsp pink Himalayan salt, 1 tbsp cumin, 1 tsp chili powder, and a dash of red pepper flakes
Deglaze with 1-2 tbsp water or veggie broth, mix well, and mash up some of the beans in the process.

Prepare your taco shells as instructed.

Drain your cashews, and put them in your blender. I used my Vitamix, blends it up nice and smooth in not a lot of time. Blend the cashews a bit and then add 3 tbsp lemon juice, 2 tbsp water, 2 tsp cumin, 1 tsp minced garlic, a couple dashes pink Himalayan salt, and a couple tsps Siracha. Blend thoroughly scraping down the sides as you go to make sure you get it all nice and smooth. If it’s too thick for your liking, just add a bit more lemon juice or water.

Put your beans in the taco shells, top with the cashew cream, and enjoy!

Easy Pasta Dinner

The sauce for this pasta was ready before the linguini was, and it was delicious!

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil for the linguini. Cook according to directions, drain, set aside.
Dice and sautee 1/2 a red bell pepper, 1/2 a green bell pepper, and some mushrooms and set aside. (I left mine raw and added to the sauce with the protein crumbles)
Blend 1/2 cup cashews and just enough water to cover them in the Vitamix for several minutes.
Add 1 can of diced tomatoes,  blend.
Add 1 tsp. minced garlic, 1 tbsp. Italian herbs, 1 tsp. onion powder, a pinch of cayenne, a bit of fresh ground black pepper,  1 tsp. olive oil and blend until smooth.
Add the peppers, mushrooms, and 1/2 cup Light Life Smart Ground Protein Crumbles. Mix gently until just combined.
Pour sauce into pot and add pasta back into it. Mix until heated through. I topped my bowl with Go Veggie Parmesan.

Interested in protein crumbles? They’re delicious and can be a nice and easy addition to “beef up” a meal:
http://www.lightlife.com/Vegan-Food-Vegetarian-Diet/Smart-Grounds-Original

I love this parmesan replacement from Go Veggie!
http://goveggiefoods.com/our-products/dairy-free-cheese-alternative-products/grated-topping/parmesan/

lentil-a-roni inspired!

If you don’t have it, I highly recommend picking up Isa Does It! It’s a beautiful and fantastic cook book by Isa Moskowitz with so many great recipes like the one pictured. The lighting isn’t great but you get the idea! This is a “cheesy” pasta with lentils added in. The Lentil-A-Roni recipe in Isa Does It has me playing a lot more with soaking lentils to mix into sauces. This one is mainly nutritional yeast and soaked cashews.

The Lentil-A-Roni recipe is absolutely fantastic, I’ll have to post a picture the next time I make it. You soak cashews and blend them in with pasta sauce to make a delicious, creamy tomato sauce. The lentils add such great texture and a healthy little bonus to the meal.  I occasionally  send favorite recipes to my Nanny, and this was included in the most recent letter, I’m a huge fan!