Watermelon Salad

I realize I have not been posting anything for the month of March (oopsies!) so, for the last day of this boring month, I present to you a deliciously bold and healthy salad. It combines sweet and salty flavors of fruit, cheese and nuts;  juicy watermelon with candied walnuts, and feta cheese in a salad that is finished off with a sweet n' tangy balsamic vinegar reduction. To die for; seriously. I highly recommend this for any Spring/Summer brunch!

Candied Walnuts
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup walnuts
sea salt

Toast walnuts until brown and aromatic. Set aside to cool

In a heavy sauce pan, caramelize the sugar on medium-low heat until all the sugar has melted and the caramel is a rich amber color. Remove from heat, add in the walnuts and fold in with a spoon or rubber spatula until walnuts are coated. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and pour coated walnuts onto the pan. working quickly, use two forks to separate the walnuts from clumping together. Sprinkle on a few pinches of sea salt before the caramel hardens. Leave to cool and harden overnight.

Balsamic Vinegar Reduction
1 cup of balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp of sugar (optional for extra sweetness)

In a saucepan, add in balsamic vinegar and sugar. Stir to dissolve sugar and set the heat on high. Stir occasionally to prevent the mixture from burning, letting the vinegar boil and reduce down to half. When the reduction thickens (coats a wooden spoon) remove from heat and let cool before serving or storing.

Vegan Cheese Sauce on Steamed Broccoli Florets

I wanted to have some cheese sauce on my broccoli florets but I didn't have any cheddar cheese on hand. However, I did have nutritional yeast, annatto powder and soy milk on hand, so I made a "cheez" sauce out of that.
Annatto is a natural coloring agent derived from annatto seeds in the achiote trees. When used as a coloring agent, the powder gives off a yellow to orange tint.
I added mustard for an extra kick in flavor, to imitate the zesty taste of cheddar cheese.


Vegan Cheez Sauce
5 tbsp olive oil
5 tbsp flour
1 cup low-fat unsweetened soy milk/unsweetened almond milk
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/3 tsp annatto powder
1 tsp dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste

In a sauce pan, heat the olive oil on medium-low heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for 3 minutes to create a roux. Stir in half the cup of milk and whisk until smooth; whisk in the remainder. Add in the remaining ingredients and simmer until thickens, then season to taste. Done!

I served mine over steamed broccoli florets and baby potatoes, served with some veggie chicken patties.

Creamy Spaghetti of Lobster and Breaded Veal Scallopini

My family flipping loves shellfish, especially lobsters and since the lobsters were on sale for 7.99/lb, I went and bought two for merely 50 bucks. Instead of boiling the dears alive (ahaha, gotta love my vegetarianism!), I gave them a quick death by piercing a knife swiftly into their head and between their eyes. I placed the lobsters in a pot with minimal boiling, salted water and steamed them for around 15 minutes. When cool enough to touch, I cracked them open, took out all the succulent meat, cut them into to chunks and set aside for the sauce. For extra lobster richness and flavor, I also scooped out the brains and reserved them for the sauce (sounds gross, I know, but it is soooo worth it!).
I made a simple béchamel sauce (that is actually vegan so that I could later use in my own pasta dish) and reserved it.While I boiled my spaghetti noodles (which were basil and tomato flavored), I sauteed some garlic with olive oil and the brains in a frying pan until aromatic and added in a splash of white wine, cooking it down as I added in the lobster meat. Season lightly with salt and pepper before spooning in the bechamel sauce, letting all the flavors mingle and simmer on low heat. As soon as the pasta was al dente, I scooped the pasta into the sauce and mixed it together with a ladle of the pasta water, which helps the sauce adhere to the noodles. Stir in some freshly chopped flat-head parsley (aka Italian parsley) and serve hot.
I served the spaghetti of lobster alongside breaded veal scallopini, topped with brussel sprouts that were cooked in a balsamic vinegar reduction. It's a very low-in-fat meal since the sauce is made with low-fat soy milk and olive oil rather than whole milk and butter. The breaded veal were fried lightly in grapeseed oil, so the fat content there is also low. Nutritious and delicious!!

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Vegan Béchamel Sauce
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup flour
1 cup low-fat unsweetened soy milk/unsweetened almond milk
salt and pepper to taste

In a sauce pan, heat the olive oil on medium-low heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for 3 minutes to create a roux. Stir in half the cup of milk and whisk until smooth; whisk in the remainder. Leave to simmer until thickens, then season to taste.

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For my own veggie dinner, I had breaded eggplant rounds (I LOVE EGGPLANT) and a baked tofu and eggplant spaghetti with the vegan béchamel sauce. The baked tofu is a recipe that I tried out by The Vegan Zombie, and he has got me hooked. I've always disliked cooking with tofu but this baked tofu recipe is absolutely something I will make again.

EGGPLANT!!

To wash it all down, my brother made us a refreshing, non-alcoholic beverage that is to DIE for! It's called Targa 911 and it is soooo goood!

1 1/2 oz. orange juice
1 1/2 oz. passion-fruit juice
3/4 oz. pineapple juice
3/4 oz. lemon juice
3/4 oz. non-alcoholic grenadine
1/2 cup ice

Stir all ingredients together in a cup or use a shaker. SO GOOD.

Vegan Quesidllas

This is another Vegan Zombie Recipe (adaption). Fresh, healthy, and delicious!
Watch the recipe video here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDKL84nnCos

I added bell peppers and replaced the tofu for fake chicken burgers in mine.

Vegan cheese!

Vegan: Broccoli and Spinach Stuffed Pizza

I follow a vegan cook on Youtube called The Vegan Zombie and he had a recipe for stuffed pizza that I could not resist trying out. Since vegans do not eat/use any animal by products like cheese, milk, honey and the such, I was very excited to find that his pizza still contained cheese; vegan cheese. The product is called Daiya, a non-diary, cheese-flavored creation that melts and stretches just as real cheese would. The ingredients for the v-cheese included tapioca flour, coconut and safflower oil, pea protein and flavorings that made it taste like mozzarella/cheddar/or pepper jack. And the awesome part is, there is absolutely no cholesterol. I would justify it as a guilty pleasure. 
I picked up a bag at the Canadian Superstore for just $5 bucks and there was plenty left over after my pizza. The taste of it before cooking was alright, not great but after it was melted down, I could eat the gooey goodness forever!
The pizza was loaded with spinach, broccoli, garlic and onions on top of my homemade pizza sauce, covered with Daiya and covered with my whole wheat pizza crust. Brushed with extra pizza sauce and baked. YUMMMM!

Visit http://www.daiyafoods.com/index.html for more information on Daiya.
Visit The Vegan Zombie video for the recipe.