Pesto Mushroom Burgers

It’s so odd leaving one’s imprints all over the internet.

I’m definitely one of those people that has an account for every networking/blogging/portfolio website, and haphazardly tries to integrate them all into one, online identity. Alas, there is just so little crossover.
I don’t know why I even bother.

But, in the vein of online presences, I have a new blogging venture with the wonderful website One Green Planet, where I now get to spread some vegan recipes and articles to a wider vegan audience! Woooooo!

Enough of me, I know you’re here for NOMS. And what I’ve found lately is this: Sometimes simple is better.

As in the case of these “burgers”. Because sometimes you just don’t want all the extra calories of a bread bun, and a huge, tasty mushroom cap will suffice. And because pesto is the lovechild of natural ingredients and innovation.

By the way, don’t skip the garlic in the vegan garlic pesto part of the recipe. If you’re not a garlic fan, replace it with some other flavor burst, because this little sandwich needs some definite flavor direction to hit all the right notes. Simple, but scrumptious!

Pesto Mushroom Burgers

Ingredients
4 large portobello mushrooms caps
2 large slices of onion
4 tablespoons vegan garlic pesto*
4 medium-small tomatoes, sliced

Wipe mushroom caps with lightly dampened paper towel to brush off excess dirt. Layer one mushroom cap as a bottom bun, topped with a large onion slice, then spread with pesto, then layer tomato slices, and top with second mushroom cap. Serve immediately.

*Vegan Garlic Pesto

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups chopped basil
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup pine nuts
2 tb nutritional yeast
1 tb garlic, finely minced 

Combine ingredients in food processor in order listed and blend for about a minute. Scrape sides and re-pulse until smooth.

That’s all from me today- I’m going to go scan some art stuff (sounds so vague) and check out some books and read and lounge and be a summer bum.

Commence summery beach bum music suggestions:
[1] Real Estate- It’s Real
[2] Beach Fossils- Sometimes
[3] Discovery- Swing Tree

Happy nomming,

Danny

Red Velvet Cookie Dough

I pledge allegiance
To the flag cookie dough
Of the United Tastes of America
And to the vegan chocolate
For which I crave
One bowl, in my mouth, indivisible
With sugary red spoonfuls for all

~
I’m allegiant… for food. Good food. Healthy food. Sweet food. The 4th of July has traditionally been a holiday of unapologetic gluttony. What immedietly comes to mind: grease and salt. And there’s no real traditional dessert, unless you count those lame flag sheet cakes that everyone and their mother churns out.

Well, it’s time to vegan-ify this holiday. With cookie dough. But wait, this ain’t your ordinary assemblage of butter, sugar, and nutrition depraved white flour. It’s wholesome!

Of course, it still tastes unhealthy. The cookie dough texture is pretty spot on, and you can adjust the sweetness for how you like it. The studded white chocolate chips add a little indulgent touch, but not enough to detract from how brilliantly nutritious this dough is.

And you may have figured this out by now… but its red velvet flavored! Because we gotta have our basic reds, whites, and blues. Served in a blue bowl, this heavenly dip will blend right in with other classic potluck dishes. In fact, unless you tell people, they may not even know its vegan!

(Vegan) Red Velvet Cookie Dough

Ingredients
1/2 tsp liquid stevia, chocolate flavor (can use more, depending on taste)
1/2 cup almond milk
2 tb coconut oil
1 tsp butter flavoring
1 1/2 tsp white vinegar
1 can chickpeas, drained
3/4 cup whole wheat flour, or organic all-purpose flour
Red food dye
Vegan white chocolate chips, about 1/2 cup

Combine stevia, almond milk, coconut oil, butter flavor, vinegar, and chickpeas in food processor. Pulse until smooth and creamy. Stir in flour until just incorporated. Add food color until dough is desired shade of red. Stir in white chocolate chips.

Refrigerate for at least an hour before eating for best taste and texture.

You can also top it with one of those color-flame candles. Is fire considered a garnish? Now it is.

Well, this cookie dough isn’t the only new-best-red-thing in my life. I went to Eastern Market in DC today and scored these comfy boots:

Happy nomming (and 4th!) y’all,

Danny

Mini Healthy Blueberry Cheesecakes

My mind is so muddled today, forgive the brevity of this post.

I woke up with an incessant urge to bake. I donned some college sweatpants, an old nightshirt, and some giant platypus slippers. I wish I had a picture, it’d be priceless.

In my kitchen, we had one thing in abundance: berries. Thanks, Costco, for that.

~

While these were chilling, I was laying on the couch with a giant bowl of strawberries watching X-Files and Desperate Housewives on Netflix. Really, I couldn’t imagine a more apt description of most of my Sunday mornings.

But enough backstory, because I’m pretty sure you’re here for the (no-bake) goods.

~

 These mini cheesecakes are so absurdly simple, I can’t imagine a time when I’d be too busy to make them. They’re great as a make-ahead dessert, and since they’re made with tofu (oh yeah, did I mention they’re made with tofu?) they don’t need to bake in the oven at all.

The cheesecake filling is slightly lemon-y, but still sweet and oh-so-creamy. The blueberry swirls add depth and richness; a flavor combination in perfect harmony.

They’re also incredibly healthy: low-fat, high protein, high fiber, and loaded with antioxidants from the blueberries. You can literally lick the bowl, eat more than one mini-cake, and still not feel a twinge of guilt.

A perfect dessert? I think yes.

~

Tofu Cheesecakes

Ingredients
1 package light firm tofu, 14 oz
3/4 cup almond milk
1 packet vanilla pudding, 0.9 oz (for vegan, use soy milk powder)
2 tb agave nectar
2 tb sweetener (I used Truvia)
2 lemons, zested and juiced

Drain and press tofu to remove excess water. Then blend tofu, milk, pudding mix, agave, and sweetener until smooth and creamy. Zest lemon into mixture and add fresh squeezed juice, then re-blend. Pour into mini pie crusts.

Blueberry Compote

Ingredients
1 cup blueberries
2 tsp cornstarch
1 1/2 tb sweetener
1/3 cup water

Combine ingredients in saucepan over low heat with a whisk. Allow mixture to heat to a simmer, mashing blueberries with whisk until mixture has only a few lumps. Let simmer until thickened, the texture of jam. Remove from heat.

Drop a few teaspoons of compote into each pie shell. Swirl compote into cheesecake using knife.

To garnish, place whole blueberries around edges of each mini cheesecake.

Refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or freeze for 1 hour, until cakes are firm. Serve chilled.

~

As mentioned, these go well with lots of Netflix Instant-Watch. Just plop yourself on the couch with bowl and rubber spatula in-hand. In terms of what to watch, I’d go with either over-the-top drama or mumblecore indie flicks. If, like me, you’re at an impasse of your very existence, then “Tiny Furniture” is poignant and darling.

Happy nomming,

Danny