October 2017

10 Mouth-watering Main Dishes to activate your taste buds next Shabbath {Hint: They are all vegan!}

2 Comments / Holidays, Shabbath / By

Shabbath is one of those days I feel running up and down since the minute I open my eyes. But at the same time, it is the most wonderful day! Receiving the Sabbath almost feels like when you go to the forest and get fresh air. You feel relieved; like all the hard work of the week was well worth it and now you can disconnect yourself from the worries and connect to Hashem. Also, it is also a day when I can please my taste buds! ? Oh, yes! It is a great occasion to try new exotic recipes! (Yum!) ?? like these 10 Mouth Watering Main Dishes for your Shabbath Table that are all vegan!! (You’re welcome!) ?

1. Southern-Style Smoky Meatless Meatloaf

This recipe is so magnificent because it combines the creaminess of chickpeas and black beans and the texture of oats with the characteristic liquid smoke and bbq flavor of southern food. Oh yum!

2. Crispy Chickpeas Cutlets with Mushrooms Gravy

This recipe reminds me so well why I love chickpeas! It is essentially a breaded chickpeas patty, very easy to make and it is also  gluten free. Just double the recipe when you make these. Thank me later ?

3. Vegan Steak (No Seitan)

A genius recipe for all of those who are vegan and also gluten intolerant. You can watch the video on how to make this vegan steak here

4. Chickpeas Roulade with Spinach & Pinenuts Stuffing

Did you know you can make roulade with chickpeas? If you like chickpeas as much as I do, you’ll love this recipe.

5. Our Ultimate Vegan Meatballs

This recipe has become a staple in my house. They are extremely easy to make and has the perfect texture and umami flavor thanks to the mushrooms and spices. You won’t need meat in your meatballs after trying this one!

6. Sweet Potato & White Bean Chili

White Beans + Sweet potatoes! Can you start to imagine how delicious this is?! It is awesome!

If you don’t have white beans or fava beans don’t worry… Here is another version using chickpeas instead

7. BBQ-Flavored White Beans with Sausage and Spinach

This is like an English breakfast prepared in one pot and all vegan!! ? Don’t worry if you don’t find Tofuty or vegan sausages on the supermarket. You can learn how to make your own here

8. Tofu with Balsamic Roasted Veggies

At first, tofu for me was really bland and boring, but what I learned to love about Tofu is that it takes flavors really well, specially if you marinate with balsamic vinegar like in this recipe.

9. Vegan Shepherd’s Pie

This Shepherd’s pie is the best that I’ve tried so far! Period.

10. Greek Style Vegan Roast “Lamb”

And, finally, one recipe with the king of ingredients when talking about vegan protein, wheat gluten. I haven’t tried this recipe yet but I’ll leave it here for the record. It looks totally yummy and I am convinced it taste amazing with that combo of tahini and miso.

And…this is it! Awesome, right?!

Hope you enjoyed these 10 Mouth Watering Main Dishes and try a couple next shabbath (or for any occasion really!)

Which one are you trying first? (Hard to pick one? We are sure of it!) Let us know in the comments section below or head over Instagram and Pinterest and let us know right there. We love to hear from you! 

Have a nice day and week ahead! 

Until next time! 

Easy Banana Bread {Vegan, Low-sugar with Fat-free option}

2 Comments / Recipes, Sweet Treats / By

Hello, everyone! It was about time to write another post! My absence has been due to a malfunctioning laptop. It won’t turn on, no matter what I do. Apparently, it needed a vacation, so I had to figure out a way to make blog images with my phone. Not that I am very good at that, but at least we can continue posting regardless of my “smartphone-photo-editing-abilities” ? I guess we just cannot have it all. Can we? Anyways! To sweet up the day I made this incredibly easy Vegan Banana Bread.

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You’re going to love it because:

It is extremely easy. You just need a bowl, a fork and rubber spatula (and, well, your scale too! ?)

It is vegan and budget-friendly. Just a few ingredients you probably have at home.

It is barely sweet. After making this recipe 3 times in a row, I decided to cut down the sugar even more and it was still delicious

You can make it fat-free. For the original recipe I used melted margarine, then I used coconut oil and for my final try I skipped the added fat entirely (I substituted the fat with unsweetened apple sauce) so you can do it either way.

First of all I have to say…This is not your typical overly sweet banana bread. The sweetness of this banana bread come almost in its entirely from the very ripe bananas , so if you are looking for that, super sweet and so called “indulgent” recipe, this is not the one.

This recipe is great to use those bananas that are too ripe to eat by themselves. I have read some people suggesting that if you don’t have ripe bananas you can “ripen” them by baking them until the peel is black, BUT this doesn’t really work well with this (or any banana bread, for that matter) because even though you will soften the bananas is the oven, the sweetness and characteristic flavor of ripe bananas won’t be there. So, forget about the shortcut and just use very ripe bananas (if yours are still too green, this will be a great opportunity to also exercise your patience)

Vegan Banana Bread

Let’s talk about results

All banana bread versions came out spongy and barely sweet to my taste. The one made with margarine had a little crunchiness on the edges and it was slightly taller than the one with apple sauce. Also, the banana bread with margarine had a more tender and more fine crumb.

The last batch (made with less sugar and applesauce) came out a bit smaller than the first two but it wasn’t dense, and for me wasn’t really a big deal, but, if you feel your batter is too dense for your liking you always can add a bit of liquid (like soy or coconut milk). The crumb wasn’t as tender as the batch with margarine but for me still an excellent choice for breakfast or as a snack, specially for kids. And if you are watching your caloric intake, you don’t really need the extra fat and sugar ?

Vegan Banana Bread

– For the fat-free and (and less sweet) version I reduced the amount of sugar to 60grs and used 100 grs of unsweetened applesauce instead of the melted coconut oil (or margarine)

– To make this banana bread I used this 9×4 loaf pan. If you are making half batch, use smaller pan.

– The best way to test for doneness is with a thermometer. It needs to register 200ºF. If you are baking half batch and using a smaller pan, adjust baking time.

– For a half batch recipe see below



VEGAN BANANA BREAD (HALF BATCH)

330gr ripe bananas, mashed
5 grs baking soda (1 tsp)
55 grs sugar (1/4 cup)*
215 grs self rising flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
50 grs coconut oil or margarine, melted* (see notes for fat-free option)
A pinch of ground nutmeg
A pinch of salt
100 gr roasted almonds (optional)
5 ml vanilla extract (optional)

Which version are you trying first? Let us know in the comments section below, or on social media: Instagram & Pinterest. When you make this recipe, don’t forget to post your photos on Instagram with the hashtag #sisterblissdiary.

Until next time!

 

Apple Peel Chutney & Apple Crisp Cake {Stop Food Waste!}

Recipes, Rosh HaShanah, Sweet Treats / By

 

A few days ago, I had the pleasure to cook a wonderful Rosh haShanah Dinner alongside my beautiful friend Shifrah. Together we prepared a simple yet delicious Vegan Dinner (well, almost vegan because we used honey!) and as I was prepping the ingredients for an apple crisp. I was left with a ton of apple peels so I said to myself: “how can I use this?” I figured I’d make and Apple Peel and Mint Chutney.

 

The food waste issue…

 

Maybe you are wondering ”why?”. Why to save trims or peels from fruits and veggies? Why even bother about making a cake with a fraction of apple crumble?

Well, 30% to 40% of all the food is wasted in the United States only! (that was 133 Billions Pounds equivalent to $161 Billion dollars worth of food in 2010 and 100 Billions in Europe in 2014). Last time I checked 1/3 of the world food production goes to waste and, on average, families in the USA throw away 25% of the foods they buy. That is simply insane!

 

Precious food that:
– Could have helped feed families in need.
– Could have being used to give you more for the money you already spent by, for example, using peels and veggies scraps, or repurposing leftovers.
– The resources used to put all that food to waste globally, could be use to end, or at least alleviate, world’s hunger problems.
– Resources used to waste that insane amount of food could be used to help the planet not endanger it.

 

When all the cooking madness finished in my kitchen, I process the apple peel into tiny pieces, added sugar, spices, mint and voilá! This “chutney” made a nice addition to our breakfast oatmeal, toasts, and crackers, for a couple of weeks. If you are left with more that you can eat, store in a glass jar and give away to your family and friends. It would certainly make a nice holiday gift. Win win!

 

 

 

Super simple, right?

Let’s look at some other ways you can reduce food waste?

1. Don’t buy so much food in the first place

Certainly, many people buy too much; more than they can eat in a reasonable amount of time, sometimes as a result of  the “it-was-on-special-offer” syndrome. Buying less means you will take advantage of everything you buy before it goes to waste, and before you go and buy the same foods. You also will be showing some love to your pockets because wasting about 25% of your grocery budget is not funny.

2. Find ways to reuse the leftovers in your fridge

Instead of eating based on the “mood of the day”, check what you have in your fridge at least once a week, and build your meals of that day based on that (in my house that day is sunday, when we repurpose shabbath leftovers). After checking your fridge and realizing how much food you waste you will definitely be more mindful about the quantities you’ll buy next time, and you’ll learn more about it in the way.  After a while, you might start having fun with the process and discover new ways of eating your leftovers.

After Rosh haShanah dinner, we had leftover apple crumble and the “crumble” was not crunchy anymore, so I was going to repurpose it, no question about it! I mixed the apple crumble with a few ingredients and I got a nice, perfectly sweet cake, which I served as snack and nobody noticed it was made from leftover apple crumble!

 

To make this LEFTOVER APPLE CRISP CAKE you’ll need:

 

The leftover: 350grs of apple crisp (including homemade apple filling and the crumble (made with oats, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, and almond flour)
50 gr sugar (the apple crisp is already sweet)
3 Eggs, separated
125 gr self rising flour
Splash of vanilla extract (optional)
A pinch of salt.

For this recipe I used a 6″ round cake pan, with detachable bottom, covered with baking paper.

To make the cake, I started by whipping up my egg whites, adding your sugar little by little as I whip, until I got soft peaks.
Then, to this I added the egg yolks, and keep beating for a couple more minutes until the ribbon stage (this is where the mixture is a pale yellow color and thick).

At this point, I added the flour, a third at a time, sifting it over the egg mixture, and mixing it with a folding motion with a rubber spatula. Finally, mixed in the leftover Apple Crisp, poured the batter into the prepared pan and baked at 350ºF (180ºC) for 25-30 minutes.

If you are using this recipe as a reference for other fruits leftovers, keep in mind that it may take more or less time in the oven.  A good rule of thumb is check your cake with a toothpick inserted in the center after 25 minutes. If it is done, your toothpick will come out clean, and your cake should at least have some color on top and spring back when touched.

Take the cake out of the pan immediately and let cool completely in a wire rack before serving.

 

 

This simple cake was delicious and spongy, and not too sweet, so perfect for breakfast. The oatmeal, seeds and ground almonds of the crumble also gave a nice texture to this humble cake. I certainly loved the result and I hope you try it too!

3. Give away

If you have some foods you know you won’t eat (it happens!!) just give it away to your friends and family, or even random people. There are so many people in need, no matter the country where you live in.

One way you can do this is by cooking a meal with those ingredients and give it to the homeless. You can also, look for food sharing websites or Stop Food Waste initiatives on Facebook groups. They are plenty.

Hopefully now you see some ways for you to save money, take advantage of what you buy, waste less, help people in need and take care of the planet. It is important that we open our eyes about how much we waste in order to stop this madness, and our kitchens is a good place to start.

As we still have other big holidays coming; we can be more mindful this time and practice all we’ve learned. No excuse!

 

We have a dedicated Pinterest Board to collect all the excellent ideas and resources out there about food waste. If you want to be over there pining, just let us know by sending us an email to ka**********@gm***.com and we will add you as soon as possible.

Do you have other ideas about how to stop food waste? Let us know in the comment section below, pinterest or instagram!

Tizkú leshanim rabboth!