Edamame Hummus

I am always looking for a new Hummus recipe. I love Edamame and when I saw this recipe on Oh She Glows I had to try it. So give it a try and serve it at your next get together. You will keep them guessing on what it is! Enjoy!!

Ingredients (2 heaping cups)

• 1 (500g) bag frozen organic shelled edamame (equal to 3 cups thawed/drained)
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• 3-4 tbsp fresh lemon juice (I used 4T)
• 1/4 cup tahini (stir well before measuring)
• 2-4 tbsp water, to thin as needed (I used 3T)
• 1/2-1 tsp fine grain sea salt, or to taste (I used 3/4 tsp)
• 1/4 tsp ground coriander seeds, optional
• 1/8th tsp cayenne pepper, optional
• To garnish: smoked paprika, freshly ground black pepper, extra virgin olive oil, edamame

Instructions:

1. If starting with thawed edamame, rinse and drain before using. If starting with frozen edamame, simmer in a pot of water until edamame is heated through. Rinse and drain before using. You can also remove the skins of the edamame for a slightly smoother spread, but I didn’t bother. Set aside a handful of edamame beans for garnish just before serving.

• 2. With motor running on food processor, drop in 2 garlic cloves to mince.
• 3. Next, add edamame to processor and process until somewhat smooth, stopping to scrape down the side of the bowl as necessary.
• 4. Add in the lemon juice, tahini, and water and process again until smooth. Don’t be afraid to let the processor run for a few minutes and get it really smooth!
• 5. Add salt to taste along with the optional cayenne pepper and ground coriander. Process again until combined.
• 6. Scoop into a serving bowl. Garnish with smoked paprika, freshly ground black pepper, a generous drizzle of olive oil, and reserved edamame. Serve with crostini, toasted pita chips, crudités, and/or crackers.

The Day I Tried Hot Yoga

 

Over Christmas break my daughter Liz who lives in NYC wanted me to try hot yoga. My oldest daughter Erin who lives in St. Lois, MO just happened to give me a 10 class pack to our local Bikram Yoga studio. So, very reluctant to going because I am not a heat person at all. I also worried because it was 90 minutes long! But much to my surprise... I loved it! I must say my best part was at the end of class where the instructor put a cold wet wash cloth over our eyes that had been soaked in essential oils. Then I had a cold cocoanut water waiting for me for the ride home! It is such a great workout and I highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a challenge. 

Bikram Yoga is a sequence of 26 Yoga postures and 2 breathing exercises practiced in a Hot room.  Each class is designed to systematically restore health and vitality to every system of the body.  Each posture provides a specific therapeutic benefit while preparing the body for the next posture in the sequence.  Bikram Yoga is based on the science of Hatha Yoga researched by its founder Yoga master Bikram Choudhury and tested upon the millions of students who practice Bikram Yoga every day.  Bikram Yoga is the original Hot Yoga practiced the world over by regular folks who are ready to work hard and feel amazing from the inside-out. 

Common benefits include:  body weight balance, improved sleep, increased strength/flexibility/balance, improved coordination and mental clarity, improved cardiovascular strength, reduced stress/anxiety/physical tension, strengthened connection between body/mind/spirit, decreased symptoms of back pain, knee injury, arthritis, bursitis, tendinitis, tennis elbow, scoliosis, depression, high/low blood pressure, diabetes, asthma, chronic fatigue, and reduced symptoms of a myriad of common chronic conditions.

                 "You don't do Yoga, you try Yoga." --Bikram Choudhury

                                              Namaste!

A day in the City (Syracuse, NY)

Saturday my husband Mike and I set out to go to a Camping show in Syracuse, NY which is about a half an hour from where we live. Mike is in hopes to retire in about a year. We have thought a lot about what we want to do. Mike is 55 today (Happy Birthday Honey!) So he is way to young to totally retire. So he will probably contract work out part time and the other part we want to travel and see the world! But lets start in the USA!! Our oldest daughter lives in St. Louis, MO. which is a 15 hour drive and our youngest daughter Liz lives in NYC which is about 5 hours. (Erin is actually putting in for a job in NYC.) So please keep her in your prayers, we are praying that god brings her closer to home!!!  Our 2 boys  Kevin lives in the same town as we do. Greg lives about 1/2 hour away. But our thoughts are that we can travel around the country to visit family. We are in hopes of buying  a fifth wheel. Long story short is that when we got to the show we learned that it is next weekend not this weekend!! So we went grocery shopping at Naturetime, then bought a few toys for my parrot Gabby at Petco, more grocery shopping at BJ's. We started to head home and started to think that maybe we should eat out because by the time we get home it will be late so we headed to our favorite restaurant in Syracuse called Alto Cinco. It is a mexican restaurant  in the Westcott area near Syracuse University.  I like it because they have a lot of Vegan options. 

It started out with us not sure if we had to pay for parking. Because usually on the weekend its free so, all of a sudden the bartender came out to tell us that we didn't have to pay for parking. That was so nice of him. We must have looked like 2 idiots!! Lol

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I just love the atmosphere of the place its very small and cozy!

                                                               The view from the bar.

                                                            Love that they have Vegan!

This what I had for dinner! Angelino It was Yummy!! Enough for two meals!

Farro Fagioli Minestrone Soup

During the winter months I like to make up a pot of soup on the weekends. I make a large enough pot to eat at lunch for the week. Seeing I work at home usually I am in a hurry and don't want to take to much time for lunch. I would end up opening the fridge and would eat the wrong thing because I don't want to take the time to make something healthy.  I was looking for something fast. I usually hold off lunch till I am beyond hungry. Being a vegetarian makes it harder. I can't just  make a turkey sandwich!  I had recently gone to Uno's Chicago Grill with my family and had their vegetarian soup. I liked it so much that I thought I would try creating my own recipe. Feel free to add or subtract any of the ingredients.

• 2 medium carrots, peeled
• 2 medium celery stalks
• 1 large onion
• 1 tbsp dried rosemary (or 2 Tbsp fresh)
• 4 garlic cloves, pressed
• 1 Tbsp dried thyme (2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh)
• 4 cups coarsely chopped fresh kale leaves
• 1 cup fresh or frozen kernel corn
• 1 small unpeeled zucchini, diced
• 1 cup of shelled edamame or lima beans
• 1 14.5 can of organic white beans
• 3 cups vegetable stock
• 3 cups water
• 2 cans (14.5oz each) no salt added diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 cup uncooked farro
• 1 can no salt added kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 tsp sugar (I use sugar in the raw)
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 /2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
• 2 oz. parmesan cheese, grated (Vegan Parmesan to make this Vegan)
• 1/2 - 1 cup of uncooked small pasta (I use - Acini Di Pepe which are small little BB's)

Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Total Time: 45 Minutes
Yield: 6 Servings

1. Finely dice carrots, zucchini and celery. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil over medium high-heat 1-3 minutes or until shimmering. Add carrots, celery, onions, zucchini, pressed garlic and thyme to stockpot cook and stir 1-2 minutes or until onion is translucent.

2. Add kale, stock, water, tomatoes and farro to stockpot; cook, uncovered. 5-6 minutes or until simmering. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cook, covered, 20-25 minutes or until farro is tender. Stir in corn, beans, edamame, pasta, salt and black pepper. You may have to add more stock and water in equal parts.

3. To serve, ladle soup into serving bowls. Top with parmesan cheese.

Cooking tips:
Kale has large dark green leaves and a mild cabbage flavor. Before cooking remove the leaves from the tough center stalk.

Farro is a type of wheat with a firm, chewy texture when cooked. It can be found in the ethnic section of the grocery store.
If desired quick cooking barley can be substituted for the farro.

Vegan and Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

I was looking for a good Vegan and Gluten-free Chocolate Chip cookie recipe and after trying a few different recipes I came up with these. I found the recipe on one of my favorite blogs! Give it a try and let me know what you think. I bet you can't just eat one!

Vegan and Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Thin, crisp, and chewy. While these aren’t your typical soft and doughy cookies, we loved them anyways. The almond flour gives them a taffy/chewy texture and it was hard to eat just one. The cookies firmed up quite a bit by the next day, so I would suggest cooking them a bit less than 12 mins (which was what I did).

Yield: 18-20 cookies

Ingredients:

• 7 tbsp Earth Balance + 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar (I used organic)
• 1/4 cup organic cane sugar (or use white sugar)
• 1 flax egg: (1 tbsp ground flax mixed with 3 tbsp water)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 cup gluten-free oat flour (I processed 1 cup certified gf rolled oats into flour)
• 1 cup Bob’s Red Mill Almond Flour (add 2 tbsp Bob’s Red Mill Almond Flour if you want a thicker cookie)
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a small bowl, mix together the flax egg and set aside.

2. With an electric mixer or in a stand mixer, beat the Earth Balance and oil until fluffy. Add the sugars and beat for 1-2 minutes until creamy. Beat in the flax egg and vanilla extract.

3. Beat in the remaining ingredients and fold in the chocolate chips.

4.With wet fingers, shape balls of dough and place on the baking sheet. The dough will be very sticky but don’t worry! No need to flatten the balls down! Bake for about 10-11 minutes until slightly golden along edges. Allow to cool for 5-10 mins. on the baking sheet and then transfer to a cooling rack for another 10 minutes.







These are the best vegan cookies by far!