Month: October 2011

Kale Pesto Pizza

I haven’t done a pizza post in a while, just haven’t had the time. But the one I made last night was amazing. I used the Kale Pesto from my Halloween Taco Rice Bowl post as the sauce, with some caramelized onions.  And I used the always delicious Daiya cheese. I didn’t blind bake this one because I was lazy. I just made sure my oven was as hot as I could get it first. The key to a good crust is high heat and as little time in the oven as possible.

Kale Pesto Pizza
1 pizza crust (try mine)
1/2 cup kale pesto (try mine)
1/2 cup Daiya mozzarella
1/2 an onion, cut into slices and caramelized
1/4 cup Kalamata olives, chopped

Pre-heat the oven as high it will go, mine was set to 500 degrees.

Roll out and shape your pizza into a pizza pan.

Top with the pesto.

Sprinkle on the cheese.

Add the caramelized onions.

Top with the olives. I suggest buying pitted ones, it was a pain to pit these.

Bake for 10 minutes, or until the crust is golden. Once again, this a non-dairy cheese so it will not get bubble. But Daiya cheese does melt so don’t worry.

It went nicely with a glass pinot noir (thanks for the suggestion mom).

Baked Apples

I was very sad yesterday when my mom texted me to tell me Steve Jobs, one of the cofounders of Apple Inc., passed away from pancreatic cancer. I looked at the text on my iPhone, a device his company developed that revolutionized mass communications, and my heart sank. Coming from a big techie family, his life and accomplishments were well-known in my home growing up. Whether you’re a Mac or PC person, you cannot deny that he helped change the world. You might not be able to read this very post right now if it wasn’t for his vision (and because I am typing this on a Macbook). I like what my brother posted as his Facebook status, “Steve, I was hoping you would stick around for “One More thing…” ”  

In honor of Steve, I decided to make baked apples. Many factors can trigger cancer, and diet is one of them. This is one of the main reasons I became a vegan. There are so many unknowns in this world and I want to give myself the best fighting chance of living a long, healthy life and proper nutrition is a good way to do so. Keeping that in mind, I made my apples a little bit differently. I did not use any butter. If you use nice ripe apples, their own natural juices will be enough to help it brown. I also did not use white or brown sugar. Most white sugars are processed using animal bones to remove the color so they are not vegan anyways. Not to mention it lacks any nutrients. Brown sugar is just white sugar with regular molasses added, so it isn’t any better. What I did use is black strap molasses. Yes, it is a processed sugar byproduct, but it does have some important minerals like iron, manganese, copper, calcium and vitamin B6. If you are going to eat sugar, it might as well have something beneficial in it. But, just like any processed food, it should be eaten in moderation. You cannot control the future, but you can control your actions now in order to have a better future. Steve is proof that all the money in the world cannot buy you health. Do all you can to prevent cancer. 




Baked Apples

4 Granny Smith apples

1/2  cup rasins

1/2  cup dry oatmeal 
1/4 cup black strap molasses 
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger 











Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. 

Core the apples, but make sure you leave the bottom intact. If you have an apple corer, I really suggest using it. It can be done with a pairing knife but it’s a little tricky. 

In a small bowl, combine together the remaining ingredients. 






Fill the apples with the mixture. I stuffed mine pretty well. 






Place the filled apples in a baking pan. Fill the pan with about 1/4 of an inch water. 
Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes. The apples should be tender, and the filling golden and caramelized. Let them cool a bit before eating. You can also cover the pan with foil before baking if you don’t want your filling that crunchy. 
Thank You Mr. Jobs. You changed the world and taught a whole generation to “think different.”








Halloween Taco Rice Bowl

Apparently today is National Taco day. And Halloween is just around the corner. So I thought I would combine the two. But, my normal grocery store did not have vegan tortillas and I didn’t feel like driving around town to find some, so I decided to make a rice bowl instead. All the same stuff as a taco, just over rice. For the Halloween  aspect, I used orange bell peppers, black-eyed peas (wooo, scary your food has eyes!) and topped it with a slimy-looking (but actual texture far from it) green kale pesto. I made the pesto the other day so I don’t have photos, but it’s so easy they aren’t needed. This recipe makes 2, but can easily be multiplied. Black beans would be good for the Halloween theme too.

Halloween Taco Rice Bowl

Kale Pesto:
1 large bunch of kale (sorry I didn’t measure it exactly)
Handful of basil
3 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/4 cup of olive oil
1/4 cup of lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
Red pepper flakes (optional)
The Rest of the Stuff:

1 cup cooked brown rice
1 cup black-eyed peas (I used dried and cooked them myself but canned is fine too)
1 clove of garlic, chopped
2 orange bell peppers, sliced into strips
1/2 cup onion, sliced
Salt and pepper to taste
1 medium tomato, chopped
Cilantro, chopped
Jalapeños
Or any taco toppings you wish.

To make the kale pesto, first wash the kale and basil well. You can remove the stems if you like but I left them on. Peel the garlic too.

In a blender or food processor, add the kale, basil, garlic, and pine nuts. Pulse until ground up and combined.

Add the olive oil and lemon juice. Blend until smooth.

Season with salt and pepper to taste. I also added some red pepper flakes for a little kick.

The color might be reminiscent of slime, but it’s so good. And not to mention the wonderful health benefits of kale.

For the rest of the rice bowl….

Cook the rice according to the direction. I did mine in a rice cooker. Set aside.

I soaked my beans overnight and cooked them according to the package with just a bit of salt. If using canned, rinse them well and just heat them up. Set aside.

Slice the onions and peppers into strips. Chopped the garlic.

Heat some oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook just until it softens.

Add the onions and bell peppers. Season with a bit of salt and pepper and cook until the bell peppers start to blacken a bit and onions start to caramelize.

Time to assemble. In a bowl, put a serving of rice.

Next put on some black-eyed peas.

Then the orange peppers and onions.

Now put some of that lovely green kale pesto.

Lastly, I topped mine with some cilantro and jalapeños. But sour cream, vegan cheese, olives, or any taco toppings would be wonderful too. I am trying to eat more holistic foods so I kept it simple.

The pesto is what totally makes the rice bowl. And the orange peppers are just fun.

There will be more Halloween posts to come. It’s my favorite holiday because I am named after Elizabeth Montgomery’s character Samantha on the TV show Bewithched.

Purple Sweet Potato Hash

I talked about purple sweet potatoes, or ‘uala in Hawaiian, in my Purple Sweet Potato Salad post. But I have fallen more in love with them since. They are cheap at the Hilo Farmers Market so I buy them often. My new favorite breakfast is a purple sweet potato hash. A little sweet, a little salty, and very easy to make. A hash is usually just chopped or julienned ingredients pan-fried until golden brown. Most common kind is hash browns, which usually consist of white potatoes. While I have nothing against traditional hash browns, purple sweet potatoes have more nutrients too. You might as well get more vitamins and minerals in your food if you are going to cook them in fat. 


This is the most basic way to make this hash. You can add in veggies, beans, tofu, or even top them with some vegan cheese. I had shortening left over my from birthday cupcakes so I fried them in shortening but olive oil is great too. 



Purple Sweet Potato Hash
1 cup purple sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 clove of garlic, minced
Red pepper flakes, to taste
1 tbs vegetable shortening
1/4  cup of water
salt and pepper to taste











Wash, peel, and dice the sweet potatoes. Mince the garlic. 





Heat the shortening in a large skillet over medium heat. 



Once the shortening is melted, add the garlic and red pepper flakes to the skillet. Cook for a minute or so, just until you can smell the garlic. Don’t let it brown or burn.





Next add the sweet potatoes. Stir to coat every piece. 





Next pour in the water and cover with the lid so the potatoes can steam. Keep it covered for 3-5 minutes until the water is mostly evaporated. 



Remove the lid and turn up the heat a little so the potatoes can brown. Cook to desired color and crunchiness. It hard to tell because of their dark color, but I like mine lightly golden. 


Remove from the pan and season with salt and pepper to taste.



This hash makes a wonderful main dish or a nice side dish. Try it with a tofu scramble and some soy bacon strips. I ate mine as is with a dash of hot sauce. I love a good Sunday morning breakfast.  










Jazzed-up Ramen Noodles

Instant ramen noodles aren’t just for college students and don’t have to be so unhealthy. I don’t buy packaged foods often, but sometimes you just need a big bowl of steaming hot broth and noodles (and  at 75 cents a pop who can argue?). Try to find brands with lower sodium and no animal products. This means no chicken, beef, or seafood flavors. Vegan means no animal products and chicken flavoring usually implies it came from a chicken, so it’s not vegan. Stick to vegetable broths, the one I used was mushroom.

But the best way to counteract the evils of packaged foods? Throw some fresh stuff in there too! This is just one of many variations I make when I want to jazz up my ramen. I also suggest tofu, spinach, carrots, radishes, cabbage, edamame, jalapeños or any combination of these. 
Jazzed-up Ramen Noodles
1 package of instant ramen soup
2 cups water (may vary based on the brand you use)
1 1/4 inch piece of ginger root, sliced finely
1 clove of garlic, chopped finely
1 bunch bok choy
Fresh basil, chopped finely
Green onion, sliced finely 
Red pepper flakes 
Cook the noodles accordion to the instructions on the package. My package said to boil  2 cups of water, add the noodles and cook for 3 minutes. 
After about a minute of cooking, I added in the ginger and garlic. 
I suggest boiling the bok choy for a minute or two first so it is less bitter. 
Once the noodle are cooked, transfer to a serving bowl. 
Add the bok choy, and top with the basil, green onions, and pepper flakes. 
Relive or continue to survive your college days with cheap, easy, and delicious bowl of jazzed -up ramen.