Let go (of dairy parm) for this vegan pesto!

VEGAN PESTO...

Well, I love pesto.  It originated in Italy and traditionally it is not a vegan sauce because it is made with Parmesan cheese.  The other traditionally prominent ingredient is basil.  In truth, I love basil; I actually eat the raw leaves.  In the past, I have made pesto with cilantro, kale, spinach, and other green leafy plants.  Hands down, I love my basil the best!

For years, I had been making pesto with vegan Parmesan, but I am a bit over paying the $4.99 price for this processed product.  I began to look for a vegan pesto recipe that is just as good or better and I've found it.  Now, I love to share what I love with others.  So, if you've been looking for a great vegan substitute for dairy pesto sauce, look no further!

Before I get to the recipe, I want to tell you a bit about basil.  Basil is anti-inflammatory and low in saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium.  Basil has vitamins (Vitamin A, Vitamin B6, Vitamin C, Vitamin E. and Vitamin K) and minerals (Calcium, Copper,  Iron, Magnesium, Manganese, Phosphorus, Potassium, and Zinc).  It is also a source of protein and fiber.  Besides being known to have a wonderful unique aroma, basil is also known to have compounds that fight and prevent diseases.  Please google this herb for more information.

First harvest of my basil plant!  I'm developing
quite the green thumb! Yay!!!

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Like basil, pine nuts are also rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.  Pine nuts contain an enzyme called superoxide demutase, which help the body resist infections and fight free radicals.  Pine nuts are harvested from pine trees and are super-expensive.  Generally, an eight-ounce bag can cost about $16.00; and consequently, it's cheaper to buy pine nuts in bulk.  Raw pine nuts, or nuts of any kind, are better for you than boiled, fried, or roasted nuts because heating any nut lessens its chemical composition and destroys the protective nutrients. Google this information to learn more.

I secured the original recipe from Allrecipes.com (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/yummy-vegan-pesto-classico/).  It's vegan and if you want to stick with that recipe, then go ahead.  However, I like to change things up a bit when I cook and so I'm posting my version, which is a bit different and I hope you like it as well.

VEGAN PESTO (My way)

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup pine nuts, raw
• 1/4 cup cashews (or almonds, pumpkin seeds, walnuts)
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
• 2 bunch fresh basil leaves
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 -3/4 teaspoon liquid aminos, depending upon taste
• 1/2 teaspoon Monk's pepper

Instructions:

1. Pulse the pine nuts and cashews until crumbly in a food processor.
2. Add nutritional yeast and pulse.  
3. Add minced garlic and basil, then pulse until combined.
4. Add lemon juice, liquid aminos, and olive oil and process until smooth. 
5. Add salt and pepper and pulse until combined.

Vegan pesto ready for today's pasta!

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This pesto is very creamy.  Today I'm using it to season a pasta dish, but it makes a good dip or spread for sandwiches.  

If you love this version of vegan pesto, let me know.  I always appreciate hearing from you!  I also thank you for your comments thus far!

Hello! It's vegan jello!!!

VEGAN JELLO...

When I first introduced agar-agar in this blog, I was making vegan gummy bears. Though that recipe was somewhat of a success, it tried my patience, but I'm not going to give up on my vegan gummy bears.  Agar-agar usually tries my patience.  It makes me work for the results I want.  The other day, I had some fruit left over and decided to make a raspberry jello mold, but it was a major fail.  It had much too much agar in it.  The texture was more like plastic. Then, I found another recipe, using only 1/2 teaspoon of agar powder.  The recipe came out well, but a bit too runny for my liking.  I increased the agar in the recipe by 1/4 teaspoon but wasn't sold on the finished product until I doubled the agar powder in the original recipe and finally I think it is "gelatin"-like.  Yay!    

Now, for those of you who don't remember why vegans should not eat gelatin, here's a refresher.   Gelatin simply is not a vegetarian or vegan product. Gelatin is traditionally made by boiling the bones, cartilage, and skins of animals or fish.  Agar, derived from red seaweed, is a popular vegan/vegetarian substitute, however, if you've never used it in a recipe before do some experimentation to get the texture just right.  There are agar flakes and agar powder.  For every tablespoon of agar flakes, use one teaspoon of agar powder.  I like using the powder over the flakes mainly because I can buy it cheaper.  I buy it for .99¢ from the local Asian market.  One ounce of agar flakes may start at about $8.00.  So, I'll stick to the powder for now.

Ingredients for vegan jello sans the water.

I especially love jello in the summer.  It's light and it provides that refreshing dessert that I need.  Admittedly, I am a bit odd and I experiment with almost everything.  I'll make tea jello, juice jello, and flavor water jello.  If you are weird like me and love to experiment, then I urge you to try these as well.  Only don't be so disappointed if they don't turn out the way you want it to at first.  Each disappointment is a long-term lesson in making the jello you'll love to eat the future.  Only, don't give up.  With this, practice makes perfect and I practice a great deal.  Oh! You may not want to serve your failed experiments to others because they may incorrectly judge what vegan jello could be.  Instead, I took the hard road and ate all of my failed experiments.  Yeah, poor me!  If you try this, you'll see this really is an awesome treat!  Below is the basic recipe using fruit juice.

VEGAN FRUIT JELLO 

About 4 servings of  jello.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon agar-agar powder
• 1 cup fruit juice (be sure it's 100% fruit juice of choice)
• 1/4 cup cane sugar

Instructions:

1. Mix agar-agar powder in water to dissolve.  
2. Then pour into saucepan combine with juice and cane sugar.
3. Bring it to boil over medium heat, which takes about 10 minutes.
4. Once at a boil, let boil for about 2 minutes. Be sure to stir occasionally to mix. 



One White Grape Peach Jello ready to eat!





5. Remove from the heat pour into individual cups or molds, or in a small glass tray. Refrigerate at least 3 hours before serving. I usually make it the night before and eat it the next day.

Tip: Be sure to pour into mold while mixture is hot so it will not begin setting in the pot.  Do not leave out the water as it provides the correct texture to the jello.  Also, orange juice is tricky and only fresh-squeezed orange juice works with this recipe.

Enjoying a refreshing treat!

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If you liked this recipe, let me know.  It is a warm time to enjoy some refreshing jello.

Yes, she said sushi!

VEGAN SUSHI...

I love vegan sushi. There's really no limit to the veggie combination of these rolls.  You may even add tofu.  My favorite sushi rolls are California sushi rolls without the seafood.  They consist of raw cucumbers, avocado, and carrots.  I make sushi a meal because it really is one.  Once you eat six or twelve of these babies, there's little else you'll feel like consuming.  They are indeed a meal if you chew them properly, you'll be full in the 20 minutes it takes your brain to realize that it has eaten and is satisfied.

Freshly made vegan California Sushi Rolls.

Sushi typically consist of a raw seafood (fish, crab, lobster, etc) with some raw veggies and rice surrounded by seaweed or nori sheets.  Now, sometimes the rice appears on the outside of the roll and sometimes the rice can be contained in the roll.  Typically sesame seeds are also sprinkled on sushi.  I typically leave these off of mine because I don't need them and often I don't have sesame seeds on hand.

Believe it or not, there are about 10,000 kinds of seaweeds in the world.  They are both fresh and saltwater varieties. There are green, brown, and red seaweeds, and not all seaweeds are ediable, but most seaweeds and algae make up the food source for many underwater organisms as well as human beings.  The most common edible seaweeds for humans are arame, nori, kelp. kombu, and wakame, which you should google for yourself! 

Nori seaweed is the most nutritious among seaweeds.  It has as much protein as soybeans and an array of vitamins (12 kinds of vitamins, including Vitamin A, Vitamin B, Vitamin C) and minerals (iron and calcium) as well as EPA (Eicosapentaenoic Acid), glutamate acid, inosinic acid, guanil acid, and fiber, which are beneficial to good health.   Nori has rich flavor and one-third of a sheet of nori provides enough daily fiber to aid in the prevention of colon cancer. 

Nori sheet with rice and veggies spread on it and ready to be rolled.

Brown rice is a great substitute for the usual white sushi rice because it is a whole grain with a low glycemic index.  Brown rice also has minerals (selenium and manganese), B-Complex vitamins, fiber, antioxidants, naturally occurring oils.  It also helps in eliminating candida from the body as well as aiding the body in losing weight.

Now, if you've ever googled how to make sushi, you found that you need at least a rolling mat.  I'd say that a rolling mat is only essential if you want the rice on the outside of the roll.  Over the years I bought a bamboo rolling mat, but I find I can make my sushi without it because I contain my ingredients. Without further ado... here's my basic recipe.  

VEGAN CALIFORNIA ROLLS
Makes approximately 3 Rolls (about 18 pieces)

For the rice:
2 cups short-grain brown rice, cooked (I use leftover rice)1/8 cup plain rice vinegar
1 tablespoons raw agave
1/2 tsp salt (optional...I never use it because it would be too salty for me when dipped in liquid aminos)

For the filling:
3 toasted nori sheets (I use organic Pacific sushi nori, Emerald Cove brand)
1 avocados, peeled, pitted and sliced
1 organic cucumber, seeds scraped out and cut into long spears
1 carrots, peeled and cut into strips

Cooked, cut, and ready for sushi making!

Instructions:
Cook rice the way you normally would or according to instructions on package (Since I start with leftover rice, I place in a saucepan with boiling water for about one of two minutes).  Add the vinegar, agave and salt (if you want it) in a saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Cut up raw veggies and set aside.

Place the hot rice into a shallow, ceramic bowl.  Lay one nori sheet onto the rolling mat. Using wet hands, evenly spread a portion of the rice over the nori sheet, leaving 3/4 inch visible at the end furthest away from you. Place the cucumber, carrot and avocado on the sheet closest to you. At the base of the mat, start to roll over the ingredients, pressing firmly as you go. Once you have formed a log shape, lift up mat and apply gentle pressure back and forth to ensure the roll is firmly molded. Using a very sharp, wet knife, cut and discard (or eat) the ends of the roll and cut into thick slices. 

Dividing the roll into bite sizes.

Repeat process with the remaining nori sheets and ingredients. Serve with liquid aminos (or soy sauce).  You may also want to add pickled ginger and wasabi, but I usually enjoy mine without these.

Finished sushi rolls with liquid aminos.

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Do you love vegan sushi?  What rolls do you like?  There are a variety of vegan ways to make these.  Tell me your favorites.