Tag Archives: Vegan recipes

Medievil Hummus Recipe

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Enough ugly reality; now we’re back to our regularly scheduled programming of avoidant, happy posts…

This isn’t the smooth, creamy dip we know today, but a rustic, nutty dish called Himmas Kassa from a recipe preserved in a medieval 14th-century Egyptian cookbook.

The marriage of ingredients elevates the humble chickpea into a dish worthy of royalty. I’ll definitely make it for Thanksgiving this year.

This is my very own, very basic Hummus Recipe. It’s SO easy! https://enchantedseashells.com/2023/06/14/zesty-veggie-hummus-vegan-pinwheels/

Instead of blended until silky smooth, Himmas Kassa was coarse, full of texture, and mixed with walnuts, fresh herbs, and spices like cinnamon, ginger, and caraway. It was served at banquets as one of the opening courses, to showcase the host’s refinement and generosity.

Recipe

  • 1 cup boiled chickpeas
  • 2 tablespoons tahini stirred with 2 tablespoons water and 2 tablespoons wine vinegar
  • ¼ cup finely ground walnuts stirred with 2 tablespoons lemon juice and 1 teaspoon wine vinegar
  • ½ cup chopped parsley
  • ¼ cup chopped mint
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • ¼ teaspoon each of caraway coriander, black pepper, ginger, and cinnamon, all crushed
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • For garnish: olive oil, olives, chopped pistachios

Instructions 

  • In a mixing bowl, mash the boiled chickpeas until they form a coarse paste.
  • Stir in the tahini mixture and the walnut mixture until combined.
  • Fold in the parsley, mint, olive oil, and spices. Taste and adjust salt as needed.
  • Transfer to a shallow serving dish. Garnish with olive oil, olives, and pistachios.
  • Serve with flatbread, pita, or crackers. Also delicious spread on tortillas.
  • I’d also serve with carrot sticks and cucumbers, sliced apples and jicama.

https://eatshistory.com/medieval-hummus-recipe-one-of-the-first-recorded-recipes-himmas-kassa/

Featured image courtesy of Pinterest

It’s A Tofu Miracle!

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Yes, an actual tofu miracle!

Tofu Tip: Save tofu water; do NOT discard it!

Photo from Pinterest

Tofu water can be used to water plants, add to compost, or as a substitute for aquafaba or other liquids in recipes. 

My mind is completely blown. I’ve drained tofu water ever since I started eating it, and that’s been a long long time.

Truthfully, I never thought it was anything but messy and annoying. Now I’ll save every single drop and tonight, I’ll try a DIY Tofu Facial.

Here’s what I learned: tofu water contains beneficial nutrients like protein, fat, carbohydrates, and minerals (N, P, K) which fertilize plants and promote growth. You can also drink it, use it in soups, or even for DIY facials due to its soothing properties. 

Some things you can do with tofu water:

  • Plant Fertilizer: Pour it onto your houseplants or in your garden to provide nutrients and help them grow. 
  • Compost Additive: The liquid can be added to a compost heap to enhance the organic material and nutrient content. 
  • Aquafaba Substitute: Use it in recipes that call for aquafaba (the liquid from canned chickpeas) as a vegan alternative for binding ingredients in sweets or savory dishes. 
  • Cooking Liquid: Incorporate it into dishes like soups or stocks, especially if the liquid has been reduced to a thicker consistency. 
  • Baking: Add it to the overall liquids.
  • Beverage: Some people boil tofu water with flavorings like vanilla almond milk, stevia, or cocoa for a nutritious drink. 
  • Smoothies: Add to blender with juices, plant milks.
  • Facials: Tofu water contains compounds that can have soothing and calming effects on sensitive skin. 

Let me know if you tried any of those suggestions, or if you plan to!

Easy Vegan Chocolate Mug Cake

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This is such an easy recipe — just a few minutes mixing and cooking in the microwave.

Since I have zero impulse control when it comes to being able to STOP eating chocolate, and since I was literally dying for some chocolate cake, and knowing my propensity to eat the whole thing, I decided to try a recipe for a single serving microwave chocolate cake.

I choose one of my favorite Grandma mugs…

I have to confess that my very first mug cake was way more delicious than I anticipated! What a pleasant surprise! I will definitely make this again. But to be completely honest, those few bites weren’t quite enough to satisfy my cravings.

Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 tablespoon oil or melted vegan butter
  • 3 tablespoons plant based milk or half plant based milk and cold black coffee
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons dairy free chocolate chips (I didn’t have any in the pantry.)

Add the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, salt and baking powder to a mug. Whisk to combine.
Pour in the oil, non-dairy milk and vanilla into the mug with the dry ingredients and stir well with a spoon. If you have them, sprinkle the chocolate chips on top.
Cook in the microwave for 40 seconds. It will likely be a little undercooked in the middle at this point, but if you want it cooked more, microwave another 10-20 seconds. 
Serve immediately. 

Sweet Potato Brownies | VEGAN

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I make these so often, I can probably do it in my sleep. They are always requested by my son and DIL. The kids don’t eat chocolate, so it’s a grownup treat ONLY.

It’s SOOO easy and SOOO yummy.

Even if you’re not #vegan, don’t skip this recipe. I bet you’ll find it’s worth a try, especially if you love chocolate as much as I do.

It was so good, I’ve made it twice. The first time I used only five ingredients:

*Sweet potato, one cup cooked VERY SOFT and mashed
*Nut butter (I used almond), 1/2 cup
*Maple syrup, 1/3 cup
*Vanilla, one teaspoon
*Cocoa, 1/3 cup

Blend all ingredients by hand or in a food processor. Spread in a pie plate or small square baking dish.

Bake at 350 degrees for about twenty minutes. Let sit until completely cool.

If you have the time, the flavors are enhanced if it’s refrigerated or even frozen. I cut them into bite-sized pieces ‘cos it’s really rich.

You don’t actually NEED frosting, but who ever said no to more chocolate? Here’s my best baking hack for that…
https://enchantedseashells.com/2014/09/17/best-baking-hack-ever/

The results can be a bit dense; sometimes I add 1/4 cup all-purpose flour or buckwheat flour. It would also be easy to blend some oats for oat flour, so that’s definitely an option.

YUM. Delicious AND healthy!

P.S. This recipe isn’t overly sweet, so if you want to add more maple syrup or even a LITTLE sugar, go ahead. I thought it was perfect without any additional sweetener, but I’m a choco-holic.

Zesty Veggie Hummus #Vegan Pinwheels

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FINALzesty

Veggie Hummus Pinwheels are the perfect choice for a summer party or barbecue.

Hummus is so easy to prepare from scratch that it’s a staple here at Casa de Enchanted Seashells. (Recipe below.)

It’s mostly all prep work. Organizing your ingredients makes it easy. I don’t like onions, but the addition of a thinly sliced red onion would be a wonderful crunchy flavor enhancer.

veggie roll up 4

I used a handheld mandolin to thinly slice the veggies. Carrots, bell pepper, mushrooms, cucumber, and freshly steamed, chopped spinach. Make sure you squeeze out all of the cooking juice and save for soup stock later in the week.

I had some leftover guacamole and used that too. Organic pea shoots and cilantro (coriander to you all from across the pond) rounded out the healthy deliciousness. Add a squeeze of sweet chili sauce or sriracha (if you can find it!) to make it super zesty.

veggie rollup5

**For a really low calorie option, use a large lettuce leaf instead of a carb-filled tortilla.

Simply spread, layer, roll, and cut.

Spread with hummus, guacamole, spinach (this one doesn’t have spinach, but I used a slice of veggie cheddar cheese. The important part is to layer all the veggies on the side of the wrap or tortilla closest to you. Sometimes I heat the tortilla to make it a little more pliable.

vegroll1
vegroll2
vegroll3

Start rolling, keeping it tight. That’s the secret to a successful roll up. If you’ve ever made sushi, it’s the same principle, without using a bamboo mat. Tah dah! A fat little cigar shaped roll of yumminess.Cut in half with a sharp knife. 

vegroll4
veggie rollup3

Keep cutting…eating the ends as you go. Well, at least that’s what I did.
Turn them up so they’re smiling pinwheels, choose a special serving platter, and add a little garnish: here I used cilantro, pea shoots, and thinly sliced LIME.  

FINALzesty

Beautiful, festive, healthy!

BASIC HUMMUS

One 15 oz. can unsalted garbanzo beans (or your own from scratch)
Four garlic cloves
Six tablespoons lemon juice
One-third cup tahini
Salt, pepper, hot pepper sauce

Drain beans, but save juice. Toss it all into a food processor and blend until desired consistency. Add a little juice from the beans as needed. Season to taste.
That’s it! Couldn’t be any easier, right?
Options: Add chopped, drained spinach, jalapeños, roasted red peppers, etc. Use your imagination and experiment. It’s all tasty. Especially if you add a squeeze of lime…

Tofu Snowball Cookies | Vegan Recipe

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Every so often I feel like Emmymade when I try out or tweak a new recipe. (If you don’t know who she is, Emmymade has a YouTube channel with about three million subscribers.)

Aren’t they pretty? Read all the way through…

I searched for ways to incorporate tofu in sweet recipes and I found a bunch of ideas for tofu cookies.

Here’s my version:

Tofu Snowball Cookies
1/2 cup tofu (silken works best but I used what I had)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. lemon juice
1/4 cup oil
2 cups flour

Blend oil and tofu in food processor until smooth.
Add all the other ingredients.
Cover and chill for thirty minutes.


Shape into balls on parchment lined baking sheet.
(The dough felt very rubbery to me as I was forming the balls, very different from other cookie doughs…)
Chill again for thirty minutes.
Bake at 375 degrees for about 10-12 minutes until the top looks dry.


Let cool for a couple minutes.
Roll in powdered sugar.
Cool completely.

They tasted absolutely disgusting!

I’m not a fan, ewww.

I had an old Border Collie named Victor who would eat almost anything and I don’t think even he would have eaten these cookies, that’s how bad they are! It would have been hilarious to watch his face as he spit them out or found a place to bury them in the garden. Miss you, Victor!

If you try this recipe, please let me know if your results are more edible than mine.

I think the rubbery Play Doh texture should have been a huge red flag, but it was an experiment. Sometimes my recipes work out and sometimes they don’t!

#epicfail

UPDATE: After a few hours, I tried another one and the wait definitely improved the flavor and texture, so I won’t toss them in the compost.

BEST Crispy Tofu With Spicy Mayo Dipping Sauce

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This recipe is everything, and SO easy. Vegan, of course.

The secret to success is freezing the tofu before cooking. Here’s what to do. Drain the tofu, cut into squares, place on a plastic cutting board, and freeze.

Don’t be worried if the tofu changes color; it’s all good, and the color change means the texture of the tofu will be chewier and even more delicious.

When it’s nice and frozen (took a couple hours for me) place in a bag with some cornstarch and shake.

Add three tablespoons of oil to a pan and heat until shimmering. I like avocado oil.

Be patient and don’t check on the crispy progress too soon. You’ll know the tofu is ready to turn when it releases easily from the pan.

You could also bake in a 350 degree oven or place in an air fryer, but this time I used the cooktop ‘cos it was quicker.

When it’s brown and crispy on both sides, sprinkle with a little cracked pepper, and serve.

For my yummy Dipping Sauce, mix 1/3 cup vegan mayo with a tablespoon of Sriracha. Add a little chopped cilantro. This sauce is very similar in taste to the Japanese mayo at sushi restaurants.

It’s seriously SO full of flavor, I could almost eat an entire block of tofu. Not kidding.

National Pancake Day – Best Buckwheat Pancakes

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Happy National Pancake Day!
It’s not just Fat Tuesday; it’s the day to celebrate pancakes, too!

When the original Angel Boy was young, my pancakes were a source of extreme disappointment. They looked inviting on the outside, but the interior was often mushy and undercooked.

Finally, my son had such a fear of my pancakes that he refused to eat them. It was quite traumatic for him, and I can understand that. Poor guy.

Things have changed with the Angels.

I worked hard to perfect my pancake game and I can now proudly claim to make the BEST Buckwheat Pancakes in my little part of the world.

There’s something incredibly delicious about the addition of buckwheat flour that elevates these pancakes.

They are in such high demand that I often need to whip up two batches. I can’t flip them fast enough to toss them on the plates of those feral little creatures.

Past traumas have been healed; my grown up angel boy can put away a giant stack without being frightened that he’s going to bite into uncooked pancake batter.

I had to get a big griddle to handle the demand and it’s like a Grandma Diner.

“More pancakes, please!”

Two versions of my famous pancakes; it’s easy to make *vegan.

Best Buckwheat Pancakes
Whisk together in bowl:
1 egg
1 cup milk/plant based etc.
2 TBS veg oil
1 TBS brown sugar or agave
1 tsp vanilla
Add:
1/2 cup white or whole wheat flour
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder

Mix just until moistened, batter should be lumpy. Don’t overmix. Let batter sit for a few minutes. Cook on hot oiled griddle until brown on both sides (and cooked all the way through haha.)
Options: add cinnamon, chopped apples, sliced bananas, berries.

*To make it vegan, use only plant based milk, delete the egg, and add two teaspoons white or apple cider vinegar as the final ingredient.

Vegan Sweet Potato Brownies

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Even if you’re not #vegan, don’t skip this recipe. I bet you’ll find it’s worth a try, especially if you love chocolate as much as I do.

It was so good, I’ve made it twice. The first time I used only five ingredients:

*Sweet potato, one cup cooked and mashed
*Nut butter (I used almond), 1/2 cup
*Maple syrup, 1/3 cup
*Vanilla, one teaspoon
*Cocoa, 1/3 cup

Blend all ingredients by hand or in a food processor. Spread in a pie plate or small square baking dish.

Bake at 350 degrees for about twenty minutes. Let sit until completely cool. If you have the time, the flavors get even better if it’s refrigerated or even frozen. I cut them into bite-sized pieces ‘cos it’s really rich.

You don’t actually NEED frosting, but who ever said no to more chocolate? Here’s my best baking hack for that…https://enchantedseashells.com/2014/09/17/best-baking-hack-ever/

The results were a bit dense, so the next time, I added 1/2 cup flour, and that made all the difference. I used regular white flour, but it would be so easy to blend some oats for oat flour, so that’s definitely an option.

YUM. Delicious AND healthy!

P.S. This recipe isn’t overly sweet, so if you want to add more maple syrup or even a LITTLE sugar, go ahead. I thought it was perfect without any additional sweetener, but I’m a choco-holic.

Veggie Tomato-y Tofu Soup #Vegan

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Perfect for this cooler autumn weather…

Last weekend was my monthly refrigerator cleaning project and I thought I’d toss everything I could into a pot and create some sort of soup.

The good news is I have a scrumptious pot of healthy soup to last a few days; the bad news is that now empty refrigerator and a need to hit the grocery store.

Here’s what I found to work with:
-Mushrooms
-Red Pepper
-Carrots
-Celery
-Onion
-Broccoli
-Fresh chard and garden herbs
-Tofu

I first cubed and marinated the tofu in a little olive oil and Italian herbs with spicy dried red peppers.

I didn’t have any Better Than Bouillon  (vegan) which is too bad as it’s amazing, and I didn’t have homemade stock, so I pan roasted the veggies in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil for a long time to develop fond on the bottom of the pan.

FYI: Fond are the brown particles found at the bottom of pans after browning vegetables. It adds flavor and moisture to a dish.

When I saw all those yummy little brown bits, I added a bit of water to make it easy to scrape up, then I added the marinated tofu, along with one large can of San Marzano tomatoes and one can of water.

FYI: I like to use the best Italian tomatoes because I think it really makes a flavor difference, especially when they’re the star of the show.

I added one scant teaspoon sugar and sea salt/pepper to taste along with these garden herbs:

Thyme, bay leaves, sage, oregano, and a lot of basil, saving some to sprinkle on just before serving.

Such vibrant colors! Simmered for about 45 minutes, pulled out the stems of the herbs as the leaves had fallen away as it cooked.

Before serving, I used my immersion blender to make the texture velvety and creamy.

YUM!

Options: Add cooked beans, lentils, pasta. croutons

Serve with fresh basil and vegan parmesan shreds.