Thai Chick-Un Pizza from Eat Drink and Be Vegan

This was so so yummy I have to share the recipe with you all. I highly recommend picking up a copy of Eat Drink and Be Vegan by Dreena Burton. It's filled with great recipes!

Peanut Sauce

2/3 cup natural peanut butter
1/3 cup ketchup
2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp tamari
2 large cloves garlic, quartered
1 1/2 tbsp frish ginger, chopped
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup light coconut milk
1/2 tbsp water (or additional milk)
1 1/2-2 tbsp agave nectar

Pizza
1 (10-12 inch) pizza shell .....( I used the pre-made pizza dough from Shipyard)
1 cup cooked chickpeas
1-1 1/2 cups red bell pepper, thinly sliced
3/4 cup fresh pineapple, chopped. (I used canned)
1/2 cup green onions, sliced
1/2 cup mung bean sprouts (I used soy bean sprouts because they were out at the store when I went)
Peanuts and cilantro chopped as garnish (optional)


Prepare the sauce in a food processor, all all ingredients and puree until smooth. Add water or more milk to adjust thickness. Adjust to taste, add more red pepper flakes, or agave.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spread sauce onto your pizza dough. Distribute chickpeas, bell pepper and pineapple evenly. Bake for 17 -20 minutes, sprinkling on green onions for last minute of cooking, until the crust is golden. Serve sprinkled with the bean sprouts.

Review on Cocoa Coconut Chili

I recently ordered a new vegan cookbook from Amazon. Eat Drink and be Vegan by Dreena Burton is an awesome cookbook. Most of the recipes are wheat free. There are so many I want to try out. They all sound amazing. Last night I made the Cocoa Coconut Chili (wheat free). It was awesome! So full of flavor. Sweet and spicy my favorite two flavor combination's. It was very mildly spicy and my one year old son Radley went to town on a bowl! Hadley not so much but I think it was because she was tired and grumpy. She fell asleep in the middle of the living room floor while I was cooking it. We had to wake her up to try to feed her and she just wasn't having it. This chili made my whole house smell amazing....I wouldn't be surprised if our upstairs neighbors were enjoying the smell as well. So your welcome up there!

Ingredients:
1-11/2 tbsp coconut oil
2 cups onion, diced
1 1/4-11/2 cups celery, diced
1/2 cup red or yellow bell pepper diced
4-6 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp mild chili powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp all spice
2 1/2-3 tbsp dutch-processed cocoa powder
2 cans of 28 oz diced tomatoes
1 can black beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can light coconut milk
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
2 tbsp chipotle hot sauce
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1-1 1/2 tsp agave nectar
1-2 fresh limes

Directions:
In a large pot on medium heat, add oil, onion, celery, bell pepper, garlic, salt, pepper, chili powder, cinnamon, and allspice. Stir to combine. Cover and cook for 7-9 minutes, stirring occasionally; reduce heat if onions or garlic starts to burn. When onions start to soften, add cocoa and stir for 1-2 minutes, then add tomatoes, beans, coconut milk, and coconut. Stir to combine. Increase heat to bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in corn kernels and agave nectar, and cook another 5 minutes to heat through. Remove cover to let liquid reduce if desired. Season to taste with additional pepper, or hot sauce. Serve with lime wedges and squeeze on generous amounts of juice.

I decided to use dried beans rather than canned. I let the beans soak overnight. Also by the time we feed the babies and got them to bed. So we could sit down with a movie and enjoy dinner without the kids. I forgot about the lime wedges. I bet it would have been good with them but they are not necessary.

There she is with her thumb in her mouth passed out surrounded by toys!

Review on Hazelnut-Crusted Sweet Chili Tofu

Thanks to a recipe post on Veg Portland I have found a new and awesome go to vegan cooking blog. Although I have never made anything other than the hazelnut crusted sweet chili tofu from Como Water, after browsing through the recipes it is sure to be a contender for my favorite cooking blog. This very quick and simple tofu recipe is packed full of a sweet, spicy, and nutty flavors...go figure the name says it all. I will be using this again and again on the nights I don't feel like cooking a big dinner.

This was the sweet chili sauce I used which I believe is a different sauce than the one featured in the recipe. Also In case you were wondering here is the recipe for the side I prepared to go with it. It paired quite nicely.



Steamed Collards and Kale


3 cups fresh collards roughly chopped (Or use your hands to tear)
3 cups fresh kale roughly chopped
1/4 cup water for steaming
1/3 cup nutrional yeast
1/3 cup almond slivers
2 tablespoons minced garlic
salt to taste

In a stock pot on medium low heat add the 1/4 cup water and the freshly washed greens. With toss occasionally until wilted. Add the nutritional yeast, almonds, garlic, and salt. Toss well and serve.