Vegan Apple Crisp

I just baked a vegan apple crisp and I wanted to share the recipe. I must say it is the best crisp I have ever made! ENJOY!

Ingredients

• 5 to 6 large apples cored and sliced
• Grated zest of 1 orange
• Grated zest of 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

For the topping:

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup oatmeal
• 1/2 pound cold vegan butter, diced

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9 by 14 by 2-inch oval baking dish.

Peel, core, and cut the apples into large wedges. Combine the apples with the zest, juices, sugar, and spices. Pour into the dish.

To make the topping, combine the flour, sugars, salt, oatmeal, and cold vegan butter butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low-speed until the mixture is crumbly and the vegan butter is the size of peas. Scatter evenly over the apples.

Place the crisp on a sheet pan and bake for 1 hour until the top is brown and the apples are bubbly. Serve warm.

apples, lemon zest, orange zest, cinnamon, & nutmeg

apples topped with crumble and ready to bake

fresh out of the oven

It was so delicious!!!

Huckleberry, Santa Monica (sometimes a girl just needs eggs)

I typically stick to a vegan diet 90% of the time but sometimes I just crave eggs. This morning I had breakfast at my favorite spot, Huckleberry in Santa Monica. Know for homemade breads, pastries and savory food. Everything served at Huckleberry is made on site using the best quality ingredients. Let’s just say the doughnuts are a must!!! My all time favorite dish is the Quinoa, butternut squash, and kale topped with two sunny side up eggs. Today I tried the poached eggs over fresh market vegetables with pesto and toasted bread crumbs.

Everything at Huckleberry is absolutely amazing and they offer so many vegetarian options. Once you try Huckleberry visit their other restaurant Rustic Canyon another favorite of mine.

Fresh baked pastries

Huckleberry

The Doughnut! YUM!

Quinoa, Kale, & Fried Egg

Poached eggs over market vegetables with pesto and bread crumbs

 

RUSTIC CANYON SNEAK PEAK:

Crispy white polenta, wild mushrooms, sunny side farm egg

 

cornmeal cake topped with fresh berries and sweet corn ice cream from Stone Rose Creamery

apple tart topped with Stone Rose Creamery ice cream

Wurstkuche has vegetarian sausages!

My friend Stephanie invited me to  Wurstkuche  exotic sausage grill in Venice today. I was very excited that they had vegetarian options because I LOVE a good grilled sausage!!! This place was a lot of fun and I definitely want to go back and try some of the beers (Wurstkuche has 24 imported beers on tap)! Wurstkuche offers, classic, gourmet, and exotic sausages all served on a freshly baked roll, including your choice of two toppings (caramelized onions, sauerkraut, sweet peppers, or spicy peppers) they also offer four types of gourmet mustards and of course THE BELGIAN FRIES with ohhhh so many sauces to choose from. Today we tried the curry ketchup & sun-dried tomato mayo. YUM!!!!

They have locations in Downtown LA and Venice Beach, definitely give this place a try.

You wait in line

 

pick a sausage

 

and then eat!

Sammy’s Woodfired Pizza has vegan options!

Sammy’s Woodfired Pizza opened in El Segundo a few months ago, and I must say I have really enjoyed everything I have tasted at this restaurant! Sammy’s is a chain restaurant with 12 locations in California, and 5 in Nevada. Sammy’s has a ton of vegetarian options, from veggie tapas, to vegan salads, and the best of all any of the pizzas can be made vegan because Sammy’s offers Daiya vegan cheese . All of the pizzas are delicious and last night I tried the Thai vegan salad and I really enjoyed it. ( you can substitute gardein “chicken for any of the meat)  If there is a Sammy’s near you I would definitely give this place a try!

Vegan Thai Salad with Gardein "chicken"

NutZo

Omg has anyone ever tried NutZo?? I just bought it from Whole Foods and it is amazing. NutZo is an organic omega 3 multi-nut butter made from peanuts, flax seeds, hazelnuts, cashews, almonds, brazil nuts, and sunflower seeds! Here are 7 reasons to eat NutZo. Like I said AMAZING! Go out and get some!

Nutzo

 

look at all the different nut's

Vegan Green Bean Casserole

You all know how much I love me some Paula Deen! I love making her green bean casserole it is always so scrumptious & amazing. I wanted to share my vegan version of her recipe!

Ingredients

• 1/3 stick Vegan butter ( I use Earth Balance)
• 1/2 cup diced onions
• 1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
• 2 cups sliced green beans
• 3 cups “No chicken” broth I use a low sodium broth or Better than Bouillon)
• 1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup (I made my own recipe follows)
• 1 (2.8-ounce) can French-fried onion rings (I bought an organic can from whole foods)
• 1 cup grated vegan cheddar

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Melt the vegan butter in a large skillet. Saute the onions and mushrooms in the butter. Boil green beans in the “no chicken” broth for 10 minutes and drain. Add the green beans, mushroom soup, onion rings, to the onion mixture. Stir well. Pour into a greased 1 1/2-quart baking dish. Bake for 20 minutes, then top the casserole with the vegan cheddar and bake for 10 minutes longer, or until the casserole is hot and cheese is melted.

VEGAN CREAM OF MUSHROOM SOUP:

1/2 cup no chicken broth
1 garlic clove
1 tbsp all-purpose flour

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1/3 c soy milk

In small sauce pan  add ”no chicken broth“, garlic, & flour bring to a boil then simmer on low for 5 minutes whisking a few times. While broth is simmering, steem sliced mushrooms (about 5 minutes). When steamed & tender to touch blend in blender with soy milk. Once pureed whisk into simmering broth and  now you will have vegan cream of mushroom base for your casserole!

Vegan Green Bean Casserole

Chocolate Chip Cookies Stuffed with “Oreos”

I made these delicious cookies last night and I wanted to share this quick and easy vegan dessert! Now I usually make everything from scratch but I wanted to try this vegan pre-made cookie dough called Eat Pastry! I was so happy to discover this cookie dough because, let’s be honest there are some nights that you crave a fresh-baked cookie but you do not want to do all the work! Eat Pastry is 100% vegan. No eggs, no dairy, no preservatives, no processing, no fillers, NO GMOs. It comes in a cute little pint jar and you can scoop the dough right out, place it on a baking sheet and 12 minutes later done!  Last night I decided to place Newman-o’s in the middle of the dough and It was oh so yummy!

Eat Pastry Dough

 

Dairy Free Newman-O's

 

Roll the dough in a ball, flatten it out, place cookie, candy bar piece, or peanut butter in the middle, & then  cover with more dough!

BAKE & YUM!

 

OH SOOOOOO GOOD!