Take That Starbucks! Pumpkin Pie Spiced Latte

When I worked helping to manage a health club, I started a love affair with coffee. Oh, irony you are so funny. The coffee was right there at the front desk, always hot and fresh and it was either that or get through the long days using pre-outlawed ephedrine-laden energy drinks. Since I was already nursing a healthy addiction to expensive water and am a sufferer of high blood pressure, coffee seemed like the smarter vice. Not only did I fall in love with a caffeine addiction, I let myself succumb to the daily trips by an office coworker to Starbucks. It was the holidays, the flavors were too enticing to pass up! If I only ordered two pumps in my Venti Pumpkin Pie Spiced, Peppermint Mocha, or just straight up Hazelnut Soy lattes surely I wasn't being that bad, was I? 

After leaving the club, becoming vegan, and adopting a healthier lifestyle, I quit my Starbucks addiction cold turkey. I still, however, enjoyed a daily mug of coffee. Recently, I was out running errands, and after years of not frequenting the place, decided to 'treat' myself to the Pumpkin Pie Spiced Latte. I soon had the belly ache I remembered (amazing how even though they used to make me feel ill, I couldn't stop getting them). It was sickeningly sweet and crazy expensive. Lesson learned.

Thanks to a random pin on Pinterest, I realized I could have been making them at home all along, and better, even! 

Now, I'm no barista, and this is no true 'latte', but for me, it has the same flavor and hits the spot. I had to play with the maple syrup a bit to make sure I didn't over sweeten it. I tend to like a scarce hint of sweetness but no more. What's so great about this is that you can absolutely tailor it to your own liking and for pennies!

Pumpkin Spiced 'Latte'
makes 8 cups

You will need:
8 cups filtered water
Almond milk* (any non-dairy milk you prefer in your coffee should do), heated
5 heaping tablespoons of your favorite darker roast coffee
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger powder
5-8 whole cloves

I make this in my run-of-the-mill coffee maker with paper liner. I had read that this type of coffee maker is ideal. I typically would use 4 heaping T of coffee for 8 cups of water, but the idea is to make this coffee a bit stronger than you typically would. If you have an espresso machine that would be perfect (and I envy you ;).

Place water in water chamber and coffee in filter. Mix spices with coffee grounds. Brew. Place desired amount of maple syrup in bottom of mug, fill mug two thirds full with hot brewed coffee. Finish with almond milk*. That's it! I admit it took some tinkering with the syrup and milk/coffee ration to get it just right for myself, but it was worth it!

I can't believe I never thought of this before! (I say this a lot with things I find in Pinterest).

*I have skipped the almond milk and just used the typical amount of French Vanilla Silk Creamer I typically do in my coffee (1 T) and think I like that just as much. I have also tried using So Delicious's Hazelnut Coconut Milk Creamer and maybe liked that the best, but don't always want the Pumpkin Pie Spice/Hazelnut flavor. I can't believe I just typed that. I LOVE hazelnut anything, but it's true!

Happy fall!

Favorite Vegan Tacos

Once upon a time or....last summer.....my sister and I were in the kitchen talking about fish tacos. She loves them. Her husband loves them. MY husband,  her brother, loves them.  I, a veg for well over a decade, had never had them. While the idea of stuffing some protein packed fish-y veg option in a corn tortilla with cabbage and a tangy sauce was super appealing, I wasn't entirely sold on fish-y seasoning, bread-crumbing, and frying tofu as a stand-in. In my head these were fresh, whole ingredient-laden beauties. What better veg protein than the most complete one? Beans and rice!

We agreed that Jasmine rice and lightly seasoned black beans would be perfect. We topped them with fresh, shredded green cabbage and my homemade spicy sauce and served on warmed corn tortillas. She thought they could use something extra, a little sharp cheese. If you're a  fan of a particular vegan cheese feel free to add some,  but I wouldn't. I love them just as they are. Loved them all last summer. Loved them plenty of times this summer. Devoured a couple of them just now. Love.

Some people might be wondering if any old rice will do. If any old beans will suffice, if lettuce makes a fine substitute for the cabbage. My reply to those people? I have no idea. I have never tried them any other way than exactly like this, and if I don't have one of the ingredients I happily wait until I do to make them. My sister's husband is a fan. My husband is smitten. I have friends who have made them a staple in their kitchen as well. These babies are where it's at!

I cannot supply a recipe; I have never measured anything while making them or the spicy sauce that accompanies them. It's like any other taco, you have ingredients, you pile as much as you like of each into the tortillas. The sauce is something I've developed over time. It's modeled after those spicy sauces you get in sushi restaurants reserved for their star rolls. I basically just went with what I tasted and add each ingredient to taste.

Our Favorite Vegan Tacos

You will need (for tacos):

corn tortillas
jasmine rice, cooked
1 medium sweet onion
1 can low sodium black beans, rinsed and drained
1 tsp olive oil
sea salt
garlic powder (I'm lazy. You can use a couple cloves of garlic, minced)
cumin
oregano
green cabbage, cut in thin strips or shredded (or chopped, whatever you prefer!)

You will also need (for spicy sauce):

Veganaise (I use the Original, blue labeled variety but your favorite Veg Mayo stand-in will do)
Sriracha (rooster sauce!)
Toasted Sesame Oil (yes, it has to be toasted)
Agave nectar (I''m partial to the light variety, but I'm sure any will work fine, even using vegan sugar is likely a great sub if you don't have/don't like agave)

For the tacos:
Heat oil over medium heat in a sauce pan. Add onions and a couple pinches of sea salt and saute until soft and translucent. Add garlic and saute until starting to brown. Toss in the beans and season to taste with cumin and oregano (I put a few shakes of garlic, a few of cumin, and a few of oregano. I don't want those flavors to be prominent, but have found that adding them to the beans makes the beans taste amazing). Heat thru and take off heat and cover.

Spray skillet with oil on med heat. Heat small corn tortillas on each side until just starting to barely get brown spots, flip and repeat. Remove and put on plate, covered until all tortillas are ready.

Place tortilla on plate. Top with small amount of rice, then beans, then cabbage, then squirt with sauce.

For Spicy Sauce:
I make a bowl full and keep it in a squeeze bottle for future tacos, sushi, stir fries, whatever I want to put it on. This stuff is GOOD.

Place a few large tablespoons of Veganaise into a bowl. Add Sriracha  and mix until desired spiciness. I rarely taste it but have come to know the shade of orange I'm going for. I like it pretty spicy so a nice bright orange is where I'm aiming. Add a tsp or so of toasted sesame oil. I taste it here as not all toasted sesame oils are created equal and I don't want it's flavor to be overwhelming. Add a small amount of agave. Stir and taste and adjust ingredients to suit your tastes.

Sorry this is not a formal recipe. They really do come together so easily and are totally addictive! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask them in the comments. I'll answer them as best I can! Hope you and yours love them as much as we do!

The Perfect Vegan Burger!

For me, the perfect veggie burger holds its shape but isn't rubbery. It's full of flavor and packed with nutritious protein and not just filler. It's versatile and can be dressed however I prefer and doesn't have one overwhelming flavor that I'd get tired of. Ideally, it would hold up in a pan, in the oven, and even on the grill. while I don't recommend cooking these on a grill without first putting them on a pan, they really fit the bill on all fronts!

I was inspired by Melody of Melomeals's Three Ingredient Burger and used her Onion Soup Mix Replacer recipe to season my burgers, but there is certainly room to add herbs and spices to tailor them and create a whole list of various flavors. Instead of just using oats and beans, I used her guide of five cups of protein but decided to use quinoa (everything's better with quinoa, right?), rolled oats, tofu (because I seem to always have a partial block ready and waiting wrapped in a dish towel in the 'fridge), and beans (to help bind them). I added onions because they're my secret ingredient in a lot of things. Okay, now not so secret. I am smitten with these burgers dressed with Veganaise, Organic Ketchup, and chopped dill pickle on Sami's Bakery GF Sourdough Millet Bread (that I toast in a skillet with a light spray of olive oil).

I have made these from raw patty to pan on the grill or baked in the oven. I make them all at once and individually wrap them for future cooking (in a pan misted with oil). They freeze beautifully and are best, if frozen, when allowed to thaw first before cooking.

Out of the oven, they will appear a bit dry on the outside. If you're going to eat them right away, I place a large glass bowl over the ones I intend to serve as they cool as it helps get moisture back into them. If using for a later date, wrap cooled burgers individually and when cooked in a hot pan sprayed with oil, heat one side for a few minutes, add a T of water to the pan and cover for about thirty seconds to lock in some moisture, flip carefully, and allow to brown for a few minutes on the other side.

I have made these three times now, twice with chickpeas as my bean, once with cannellini beans. Both varieties came out perfectly, and I really couldn't tell the difference. I've really fallen in love with them and they are now my go-to burger. Every omni who has eaten them has also loved them, a testament to their yumminess and ability to deliver great texture for a veggie burger, something so many homemade recipes fail to deliver, I've found.

My Favorite Vegan Burger
makes 6-8 largish burgers

1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa (I use a blend of red and white)
1 1/2 cups extra firm tofu, excess water squeezed out
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup white beans (I used canned, rinsed)
1 sweet onion, chopped (large, small, it doesnt really matter)
1 batch Melody's Onion Soup Mix Recipe
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
olive oil (I use a Misto)

375 oven
Mist frying pan with oil and set to medium. Add onion and saute until soft and translucent. Add garlic and saute, bumping down the heat a touch, careful not to burn the garlic, until onions are browning and beginning to caramelize. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine tofu, beans and Soup Mix ingredients. Add onions and garlic when done and blend with immersion blender until it becomes smooth paste (you can do this in a food processor as well). Stir in cooked quinoa and oats and mix until everything is incorporated. Mixture should be sticky.
Line a baking sheet with parchment and spray lightly with oil. Shape handfulls of burger mixture (maybe 3/4 cup, approximately. I have small hands. I always end up with 7-8 burgers if you prefer to divide accordingly first. See why i'll never be a cookbook author? :) into balls and then into patties. Mixture should stick together well, work on binding cracks on edges with your hands. I've yet to have a problem with the mixture not coming together beautifully. Spray tops of patties lightly with oil and bake for fifteen minutes. Carefully flip* and bake for another 10-15 minutes. They will seem crisp on the outside. I always think they've dried out and will be terrible. Never have they been. Allow to cool completely, cover any you plan to use immediately so that they will steam in a bit of moisture as they cool and you prep your bread or buns and fixin's. Any you plan to use later or freeze, wrap individually and store. To heat refrigerated or thawed burgers, set heat on burner to medium and lightly spray a pan with oil. Cook patty for a couple minutes, add a T of water, cover for thirty seconds. Remove cover, flip, and brown other side for a couple minutes.

Dress as you please and enjoy! I most often have them on toasted bread with a big side of boiled kale or a salad. So satisfying!

*I use a large spatula and slide it under the pattie. I take a dough scraper (one could use another spatula, but I only own one right now) and flip it onto that one that is at an angle and ease it back onto the pan to avoid fully flipping it with one utensil. The patties at this point are very fragile, but if they do fall apart, are still sticky enough to mold back together. Just do so with caution as they are HOT. They won't be as pretty as your original shape, but they will stick back together.

Vegan Navy Bean and Kale Soup

In my last post I mentioned I've been enjoying leftover Spaghetti Squash in my soup for dinner. It's something I've never thought to do before but am so glad I did now as it's crunch and slight sweetness has been a perfect accompaniment to an otherwise smoky and hearty stew-like soup.

My local health food store has had in some gorgeous Lacinato Kale. Lacinato or Dinosaur Kale is my most favorite. (It is also known as Tuscan kale, Tuscan cabbage, Italian kale, Dinosaur kale, cavolo nero,black kale, flat back cabbage, palm tree kale, or black Tuscan palm). I think it has the perfect texture, once cooked, to win over anyone leary of adopting kale into their diet as a staple. It gets tender like spinach but still keeps it's form. I prefer boiling mine over all other methods so putting into a soup seemed like the perfect idea.

I had bought a can of organic navy beans remembering loving the ones my mom used to make. Hers were so rich and yummy I asked her about them to see what her secret was. Her reply? Lots of butter and a bunch of cheese. Yeah, that wasn't going to happen, but my navy been craving would not go away so I hunted the internet for a soup idea.

One recipe kept showing up all over the place. Here, and here, and here are just a few places I saw it turn up (tho none of them are vegan varieties). Inspired by what seemed to be a favorite blend I followed the recipe with a couple adjustments and have been enjoying the result. 


Navy Bean and Kale Soup (Guest Starring Spaghetti Squash!)
serves 4, approximately 


1 T olive oil (I use a mild variety, not extra virgin)
1 medium onion, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
2 large carrots, peeled and sliced
1 1/2 cups cauliflower, chopped into small florets
1 large bunch Lacinato kale, stems removed and torn into bite size pieces
2 cups veggie broth (I used Better Bouillion's Organic Vegetarian paste. two tsp for two cups of hot water), divided
1 can navy beans (any white beans would be equally good, I bet!), divided*
*remove 1/3 cup beans with some liquid. rinse remainder of beans and set aside
1 cup tomatoes (approx. I used about that much from a box of chopped, but wished I'd had whole to avoid so much tomato juice. I'm not typically a huge fan of tomato-based soups, but this was pretty great)
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried thyme/oregano blend
course sea salt to taste
black pepper to taste
2 c cup baked spaghetti squash
hemp seed for topping (optional)

Put beans with liquid and about 1/3 cup broth in blender or tall cup and blend to creamy with immersion blender. In stock pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and a pinch or two of sea salt. Saute until just turning golden brown and add garlic. Do not let garlic burn. Saute for another minute or two then add carrots,  cauliflower, and kale. Once kale starts to wilt and other veggies are crisp tender, add broth. Cover and simmer on low/med heat for about 20 minutes or until veggies are cooked to desired softness. Stir in tomatoes, beans and blended beans, and heat thru. Place servings in bowls and top each with 1/2 cup squash. Dust with hemp seed and cracked black pepper to taste.

Great with a side salad and some vegan french bread (I love La Dolce Vegan's recipe) for sopping up the soup-y goodness! Enjoy!

Baked Spaghetti Squash with Tomato Basil Walnut Pesto

Living in Florida, even North Florida, almost inevitably means that when the stores start putting up Halloween and Fall decorations, when department stores are schlepping tanks and shorts on sale racks and adorning their displays with sweaters and other things with bulk and sleeves, one is deep in the throws of Florida's schizophrenic weather. One morning you wake and it's sixty degrees. you bust out your favorite jeans and a light but long-sleeved top and contemplate opting for 'real shoes' over your usual sandals or flip flops. Then it's noon an you're sweating in the high eighties temperatures, longing for that sundress you smirked at before leaving home. Or you  are graced with a breeze one day that hints of fall and a house full of open windows and clean, crisp air around the corner. The next time you walk outside it's muggy and the rain clouds are looming, threatening to leave muddy prints all over your newly mopped tile floors. 

All this is to say while the various colorful squashes are starting to make their entrances into produce sections across the sunshine state, I'm still partial to picking up a spaghetti squash in September. Yeah, all that to say just that. Sorry. ;)

Spaghetti squash is easily my favorite hard squash. It's light but has body, it's fun and versitile, it doesn't have an overpowering flavor one would get bored with which is great because one yellow beauty easily lasts for many meals.

Shopping at my local health food store last week I was enchanted by one lone giant organic spaghetti squash. One look at it and I thought, 'Ooooooh, I have some pesto in the freezer I want to use!', and dinner was born.

The pesto was inspired by some olive oil cured tomatoes and a giant handful of fresh basil I had had on hand after a small dinner party. I just threw the tomatoes with some of their oil, the basil, some toasted walnuts, a dash of salt, three cloves of garlic, and a heap of nutritional yeast into a deep cup and zapped it with my immersion blender until it was pureed. When I'd made it, I had no use for it so I split it into two freezer bags, each with about five servings of 1 1/2 T each in the bag. Into the freezer they went. that was about a month ago. The  other day when I brought home the squash I just popped one of the bags into a bowl of warm water until dinner time.

Spaghetti squash, like most squashes, is intimidating to cut into. It's hard and unforgiving and, to me, feels like a sharp knife accident waiting to happen. This is why I opt to bake mine whole before cutting into it. I just pierce it about four or five times with a sharp paring knife, toss it on a baking sheet, and pop it in a 375 oven for an hour or until a knife pierces the skin and sinks in without much resistance. Once out of the oven, I let it sit for a few minutes and then cut in half, scoop out the seeds and discard, then use a fork to ply the spaghetti like strands from the skin and place in a container. You can nuke the squash if you're so inclined or if you're pressed for time. I find that baking it, however, yields the perfect consistency. Cooked squash strands that haven't lost their shape and still retain some bite and slight crunch, not mushy.

Wanting to green up my meal, I used my mandoline's shred attachment to shred one large zucchini and used half of that and tossed with about 3/4 cup of squash. I tossed these with 1 1/2 T of pesto and sprinkled liberally with hemp seed.

This has been my go-to lunch for a few days now. I will sometimes heat up an Original Sunshine Burger and smear that with a tiny bit of horseradish just to amp up the protein of my meal. By dinner I'm still not tired of the squash so it makes a second appearance. Stay tuned for that!