Spring Rolls

 I was getting my pedicure done when a man walked into the nail salon with a huge tray of spring rolls for the staff. I immediately began craving one so not long after I left the salon, did I head for the nearest grocery store to get my supplies.

My sister in law used to make lumpia, which are Filipino spring rolls so I had a basic idea of what I needed. I wasn't too sure whether I wanted raw spring rolls or cooked ones so I made both!

For the raw filling I used :
1 red bell pepper
1/2 green cabbage
handful of grated carrots
large bunch scallion
handful of bean sprouts
6 cloves of garlic
grated ginger
cilantro
basil

I squeezed lime juice over it along with some sesame oil,  tamari sauce and a small amount of chili sauce called sambal oelek. After soaking the rice paper in warm water for a about 15 seconds, I wrapped them over some filling and served it with sweet chili sauce. I do not think this recipe can be messed up as it is basically throwing in the things you like, as little or as much as you like!

 Then I used all the same ingredients but I wilted it down in the pan and added extra tamari and extra sesame oil. This was the fun part because we tasted as we went along . When we were happy with the taste, we rolled up more spring rolls and popped them in the oven. I served it with THIS very simple sauce, but I changed out the soy sauce for Tamari to make it gluten free. I also used apple cider vinegar because I did not have rice wine vinegar and added a little grated ginger as well. It was amazing!

Chocolate cake anyone?

I came across this Gluten free chocolate cake recipe on Ginger Lemon Girl's blog. I have to say it was so amazing that it was gone in two days.  I added a handful more of the vegan chocolate chips than the recipe called for and it was enough to satisfy any rich chocolate craving a person could have. Next time I will use canola oil instead of the coconut oil because my son Ryan does not care for the flavor of the coconut oil that much. I also took her tip and used Pillsbury Chocolate frosting as it is vegan and gluten free and drizzled some over the top with powdered sugar. It could not have been easier!

Last Night's Dinner

We love roasted veggies but last night we had them with a little twist. I was not feeling well so Stu took over the dinner making. I must say that I was pleasantly surprised to have Daiya shredded pepper jack cheese on the broccoli and cauliflower. So tasty and so easy.

Lentils

A few weeks ago, I attempted making lentils for the first time. I did not follow a recipe but just took a little bit from everything I read online. However, I did not follow one piece of advice I read about : "Do not mix newly purchased lentils with ones you already have at home as they will be more dried  out and cause them to cook unevenly." 


I will just cook them a little longer I thought, who cares if they are overcooked, right? Wrong! Some of the lentils were a bit under-cooked and I learned my lesson! At least they were two different colors so I could easily pick them out. I am proud of myself for trying something new, which seems to be a regular thing lately!

Gluten free vegan meatloaf

I used this recipe , using the gluten free substitutions. I also added chopped garlic and green pepper to it because of course I have to have garlic in "meatloaf"! For the topping I just used what I used to make for regular meatloaf, a mixture of ketchup, brown sugar and liquid smoke. Stu absolutely loved it. He couldn't get over the flavor and we were blown away by the texture. The recipe is from the book Let Them Eat Vegan so I actually want to buy the book now and make some more amazing dishes!

GFV Red Velvet Cake

So my guy was secretly busy in the kitchen last night making me stay in my room as to not see what he was up to. I smelled him baking something. He said it was some kind of oats cake with raisin glaze. I will admit I smiled but was not enthusiastic over the sound of that at ALL. When he was finally done I was so surprised! We each ate a nice sized piece. It was so goooood. But after eating clean wholesome foods for the past 6 weeks, the ingredients in this cake made us both feel terrible shortly after. (Shortening being a main ingredient). We decided we would not have any more of it but it was delicious and I was very touched that he went through all the effort to make something like this. I will find out where he sourced the recipe and post it later.

So happy!

Five week weight loss is TEN pounds!!

Guacamole

This week we were on a guacamole kick. The Hass avocados were 10 for $10  and it just so happened they were all ripe and ready for eating. So I made some guacamole. One night we used it as a topping for our rice burgers. We also enjoyed it as a dip with rice chips. Rice chips were a happy accident we found in the rice cake section and they were labeled certified GF. I had no tomatoes or onion so it was super quick and easy and just as delish as ever!

3 hass avacados
2 garlic cloves
3 T lime (or to taste)
sea salt to taste -I dont measure
3 shakes of cumin
2 shakes of Cayenne pepper
cilantro-  I used about a half cup because it gives it the best flavor!

I just mash with a fork because I like it a bit chunky as does Stu.

Domino's Gluten free pizza

So, no pictures to post as I just wanted to eat, and we had a full house.

Domino's is offering a gluten free crust (only in small size) so we each got one. They were both cheese free, first time for me but Tiffany has had cheeseless before.

I had mushrooms, roasted peppers pineapple and black olives, Tiff had peppers, onion, mushrooms.

I liked both flavors and I liked the idea that I can pick up something on the way home, somewhere that the kids can get their meal too. Mine tasted  like a Hawaiian without the meat.

I will update later on in the month when I/We learn to make our own at home.

Stu

Carbs for breakfast?! Yeah mon!

I  don't believe I mentioned but Stu is from Jamaica and if you have ever been there, you know that breakfast is not traditional American breakfast. They eat salt fish, callaloo, dumplings, yams, and boiled banana all on the same plate... (lots of carbs which I love), and the bulk of most dishes contain pepper- not black pepper, but the ever so hot and flavorful scotch bonnet pepper. This is no problem for me because I love all things spicy. So when Stu surprised me on Saturday morning with this flavorful mash I was NOT complaining! It was basically boiled potatoes with the skin on, mashed up with raw red onion, scotch bonnet pepper, scallion, salt and a "likkle" bit of almond milk. It is a heavy breakfast depending on how much of it you eat and I admit- the two of us polished off this entire bowl! He said its his take on alloo choka, which is a West Indian dish. I am one lucky girl because I have a man who loves (and know how) to cook!

GFV Pizza & a Rookie Mistake

Tonight we decided to try out a place called Pizza Fusion. I found it online and when I found out they had GFV crust and GFV brownies I was in. But it was the GFV beer that had me at hello.I can honestly say the pizza tasted like ordinary pizza on a thin crispy crust. I did not taste anything funny in regard to the soy cheese either. 

 

"GF NOT VEGAN" BEER

The beer was so nice and felt like a real treat.When we were about halfway through the bottle we realized that while it was gluten free, it had honey in the ingredient list so of course it was not vegan. Another rookie mistake on our part because we should have checked the label without taking the waitress's word for it. 

I admit we did finish that round and split a second beer that WAS actually GFV.

What I liked about the salad was that I did not have to make the dressing and it was delish. I admit having spiral carrot strips made the salad feel special to me! It's the little things:)

He told me to look at the camera and then he kissed me, but I kissed him back-I promise!

What's a night out to a newly discovered restaurant without a gluten free vegan brownie??

Admittedly, my son's cookies looked amazing but they are NOT GFV so we snapped a quick pic and turned away from the cookies lol.

Another Meal From Greenwave Cafe

Last night Stu decided to stop and pick up dinner on his way home. Since we "discovered" this place a few weeks ago and quite liked it, we decided to go for another round of colorful, delicious, freshness. As an appetizer we had the "sushi" which was every bit like sushi and I can say nothing seemed to be lacking in flavor. The sauce was amazing as was the roll. We used to be regular sushi eaters before we made the switch to being vegan so we were quite impressed with this dish!

We also shared the lettuce wrap tacos which I think were even better than the burrito we had last time. The "cheese" sauce and guacamole were up to par.

Below were the kelp noodles. I do not recall what the name of the actual dish was called but it was an Asian inspired dish. I have to say I was not fond of the kelp noodles and neither was Stu so we only ate a few bites. 

The Search Begins!

Today is the first day of May and so the search begins for THE BEST gluten free, vegan devil's food cake recipe ever! Why? Because my birthday is this month and I am determined to make my first GFV cake! I will be scouring blogs and recipe websites and reading reviews which I heavily rely on before attempting new recipes. Any ideas? I'm salivating already :) Oh and it goes without saying that I will be needing a chocolate frosting recipe as well- just saying ;)