zucchini pizza {vegan}

i don't care if we're eating vegan, pizza is a must. here's a vegan version of zucchini pizza, that would also be great with some mozzarella or goat cheese on top.

zucchini pizza

serves 2-4

ingredients:

homemade or store-bought pizza crust (i use the barefoot contessa's dough, here.)

1/4 cup cornmeal

3 tbs. olive oil

2 tbs. garlic, minced

1 tbs. garlic salt

3 roma tomatoes, thinly sliced

1 zucchini, thinly sliced

1/4 cup artichoke hearts

salt & pepper, to taste

1. preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. heat 1 tbs. olive oil in a small sauce pan. add zucchini slices & saute until almost translucent.

3. cover baking sheet or pizza stone with cornmeal. set dough on top of it.

4. brush dough with olive oil & minced garlic. sprinkle with garlic salt, especially crusts. rub in with your fingers.

5. cover dough with tomatoes, arranging in a circular pattern. lay zucchini on top of tomatoes, also in a circular pattern. evenly spread artichoke hearts on top. sprinkle with salt & pepper, and put it in the oven. cook until crust is golden brown.

chocolate cookies {vegan}

we've been on the hunt for good vegan cookie recipes, & we've tried a couple not so good ones. these ones were yummy though, & especially good when turned into ice cream sandwiches. soy ice cream sandwiches! duh.

chocolate cookies

makes 2 dozen

ingredients:

1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil

1 1/4 cup sugar

3 tbs. soy or almond milk

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 2/3 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup cocoa powder

sugar, for rolling

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. whisk together the oil, sugar, milk & vanilla in a medium bowl.

3. combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda & salt in a small bowl. add to wet ingredients and mix until dough forms.

4. roll into 1 1/2" diameter balls. roll in sugar and place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper, at least 2" apart from each other. flatten cookies with bottom of glass, & sprinkle more sugar on the tops of the cookies.

5. bake 8-10 minutes, until tops are cracked. do not overcook. let cool before removing from pan.

sweet potato fries {vegan}

sprinkling your sweet potato slices with salt helps to get some of the moisture out before baking, & thus helps them become a little more crispy. these fries are healthy & tangy with a kick of lime. what i really want to attempt now is sweet potato tater tots. . .

sweet potato fries

one sweet potato

1 tsp. fine salt

2 tbs. olive oil

1 tbs. lime juice

1 tsp. lime zest

coarse sea salt, to taste

1. preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

2. peel the sweet potato. (you don't have to do this, but i like to.) cut into strips. it doesn't matter how thick you make your strips, but the thicker they are, the longer time they will take to cook. what does matter is that you make them uniform in size, so they cook evenly.

3. spread strips across paper towel and sprinkle with fine salt. let sit for ten minutes to sweat.

4. move the sweet potato strips onto a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. the parchment paper is important so they don't stick to the pan. coat with olive oil and throw in the oven for 20-40 minutes, until soft inside and slightly browned.

5. once they come out of the oven, sprinkle with lime juice, lime zest, and sea salt, to taste. serve hot.

panang curry {vegan}

i know, i know, this picture isn't very pretty. i need to find some better lighting or we need to stop eating dinner past sunset, because taking photos after dark in our kitchen is bad news. but i still thought i should post this curry, because it was delicious. this was round two of try making panang curry, & this time i was satisfied. the only thing i would change is to use coconut cream rather than coconut milk, because i wished it were a little bit thicker.

panang curry

serves 2

ingredients:

1 14. oz. can coconut milk

2 tbs. red curry paste

2 tbs. brown sugar

1/2 cup broccoli, cut into bite-size pieces

2 carrots, peeled & sliced into 1/4" pieces

4 long beans, cut into thirds

1/2 pound fresh shrimp

1. bring the coconut milk & curry paste to a simmer in a medium sauce pan over medium heat.

2. add the fish sauce, brown sugar & uncooked vegetables. simmer for 10 more minutes, stirring frequently.

3. if using shrimp, add it now & continue cooking until shrimp are cooked, about 5 minutes.

4. serve hot with jasmine or (better) coconut rice on the side.

peanut butter cookies {vegan}

last week, chase & i embarked on vegan march. we're cutting out dairy & eggs from our diet for the next month (we already don't eat meat, but we're going to keep eating seafood). of course, we pre-gamed last week with our favorite deep fried coconut shrimp from kahuku grill, buttery tuna melts from tita's, and homemade kona coffee ice cream sandwiches dipped in white chocolate. now that it's begun, however, we've been trying out some new recipes to satisfy our sugar cravings. these cookies were perfect. they're super soft and super peanut-buttery. we ate them all last night so i'm not sure how they keep . . .sorry bout it.

peanut butter cookies

(makes 2 dozen cookies)

from chocolatecoveredkatie.com

ingredients:

3 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

3/4 cup flour

2 cups peanut butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup applesauce

2 tsp. vanilla

sugar, for rolling

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. combine first 3 ingredients in medium bowl. add wet ingredients (up to the vanilla).

3. form dough into 1 1/2" diameter balls. roll completely in sugar and place on cookie sheet with parchment paper. criss cross with a fork or flatten with the bottom of a glass.

4. bake for 8 minutes. let cool on baking sheet for at least 5 minutes before removing from pan.

acai bowls.

maybe it's just a hawaii thing, but acai bowls are the shiz and everyone should know about them. acai is purportedly some brazilian superfood responsible for millions of pounds of body weight lost and disease cured and energy gained . . .and yada yada. who's to say what acai isn't capable of? who knows. but i knows that these bowls are yummy. this one is pretty standard, but they're also super yummy with coconut shavings, goji berries, fresh mango, pineapple, or any other combination you could dream up.

acai bowl

(for 2)

ingredients:

1 cup frozen strawberries

1 cup frozen blueberries

1/2 cup apple juice

1/2 - 1 cup acai juice (i use sambazon)

1 banana, sliced

3/4 cup granola

1 tbs. chia seeds

2 tbs. honey

1. blend the frozen berries with apple & acai juice until a super thick smoothie is formed. add more liquid if need be. (if you have a vitamix from the 80s, as i do, this usually involves a lot of violently shaking the entire appliance back and forth until the blades decide to start spinning. if you have a more capable blender than i do, then good for you!)

2. scoop the acai mixture into a (fairly large) bowl. top it with the banana slices, granola, chia seeds & honey.

3. grab two spoons and eat up!