Mom's Maple Syrup

I'm posting twice this week since I was MIA last week. This morning we had Steph's cinnamon pancakes for breakfast topped with Mom's classic homemade maple syrup. I decided I needed to post the syrup recipe; not because it's a very unique recipe but because most people don't even think of making syrup. It's easy and quick and while it has a lot of sugar at least you're avoiding all the high fructose corn syrup found in the store bought stuff.

MAPLE SYRUP

1 c. water
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. mapleine
 *For Cinnamon syrup, substitute the mapleine for 1/2 tsp. cinnamon.

Combine sugar and water in small pan, bring to boil and boil until sugar's dissolved. Remove from heat and add vanilla and mapleine.
You can refrigerate the left overs and reheat another day! Or serve cold but I like it warm. The cinnamon syrup is not as good left over. It gets a "boogery" texture as my husband so appetizingly likes to call it. :)

Someone correct me if I'm misquoting Mom's recipe!

Chili's {copycat} Salsa

My husband and I both LOVE chips and salsa. But that doesn't even begin to cover it. We have found that our marriage is happier when we have separate salsa bowls so no one can claim that the other is eating too much, and we buy more bags of tortilla chips per week than I care to admit. So when I say this is our favorite salsa, that really means something!! This is a recipe I found on Six Sisters' Stuff (ironic), but it was a little too spicy for me, as I'm nursing and spicy stuff makes my baby spit up. Plus, the tomato was a little too strong. So here is my less tomato-y (that's totally a word), milder version. It reminds me of Chili's restaurant, which I think is pretty yummy! And there's no chopping or bottling or anything hard or time-consuming. Just pour, blend, and eat! 

Chili's Copycat Salsa

Ingredients:

1 (28 oz.) can tomatoes (whole or diced work), drained well

5-6 jalapeno slices 

1/2 tsp. cumin

1/2-1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. garlic salt

1/2 tsp. sugar 

2 tsp. lime juice

1/4 cup minced onions (to be honest, I just shake some in there. I don't measure them)

*A note about the jalapenos: The first few times I made this, I bought new cans of jalapenos and ended up throwing some away when I didn't make another batch soon enough. But then I came across these babies.

They're much better because I can use less and not worry about storing them in another container. One less dirty dish? I'll take it. It's also easier to increase the spice by just a little bit instead of a whole jalapeno.

Directions:

A peek down my blender before mixing.

Combine all ingredients into blender. Blend until smooth. What's great about this is that it's so easy and you can add more/use less of anything to fit your preference! I would also suggest that you let the salsa sit in the fridge for a couple of hours after mixing. The flavors will blend, and who likes warm salsa, anyway?

I am going to start doubling this... we seriously eat one batch in a few days!! But that's okay, because it's cheaper than bottled salsa and more tasty, if I may say so. Enjoy!

Vegan Alfredo Sauce

Historically, I've always been pretty much a rule-follower when it comes to the kitchen. When I got married almost 6 years ago, I knew almost nothing about food. After a year of frozen pizza and chicken cordon-bleu, along with 60+ lbs. of pregnancy weight-gain, I started to gradually learn to cook.

I learned that I LOVED to read cookbooks. We would go to Barnes and Noble for date-night and I would sit there reading recipes. Before the birth of my second child, I bought a cookbook called "The Domestic Goddess" by Nigella Lawson. I can say that is probably my official turning point. (Although my neighbors Amanda and Chrissy in FL were huge influences in the right direction too.)
I started cooking like crazy. I followed cooking blogs. I tried new recipes pretty much every night, carefully studying the pictures and ingredients. We had our health food kicks and our not-so-health-food-kicks (McDonald's, anyone?), but I was in love with cooking.

I still am. After going vegan last September (more on that later) and committing permanently to a more difficult, healthy, and rewarding food lifestyle, I am in the kitchen more than ever. With that has come lots of experience and lots more confidence.

So I am proud to introduce my first ever recipe that I came up with on my own. I took inspiration from Chloe's Kitchen's alfredo sauce and Cupcakes and Kale's high-protein alfredo sauce, but I can truly say this is MY recipe. It's my first food-child, and I am oh so proud. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Steph's Vegan Alfredo Sauce

Ingredients:
2/3 c. raw cashews
1/2 head cauliflower
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced, or 2 tsp. jarred minced garlic
1 tsp. white miso paste
1 tsp. nutritional yeast
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice (juice from 1/2 lemon)
1/2 c. water
1/2 c. almond milk
dash pepper
1 tsp. sea salt, or to taste
1 lb. fettucine or other pasta

First, put RAW cashews into a small bowl. Do NOT use roasted or salted cashews. Raw cashews are the absolute best vegan substitute for heavy cream, and you won't be able to tell the difference at ALL. Roasted cashews will not work. You can find raw ones most decent grocery stores - I get them in my bulk bin section at Smith's or at Whole Foods. (If you have a super high-power blender, like a Vitamix, this step isn't totally necessary, but still recommended.) Cover them completely with water and let soak at least one hour or up to overnight. It will soften them up and make them blend into a smooth, creamy consistency with no little nut chunks in your sauce!

Bring large pot of heavily salted (I put in a good Tbsp or more) water to boil. Add pasta and cook according to package directions. Drain and return to pot.

Chop cauliflower into large florets and bring a small-ish pot of water to a boil.

Add cauliflower florets and cook 15-20 minutes, until soft. Drain. Meanwhile, heat skillet over med-high heat. Add chopped onion and let cook until soft. Add garlic and let cook a few more minutes, until onions are transluscent. Remove from heat.

A word about white miso paste: this sounds like a strange ingredient but is widely available - I find mine in the refrigerated produce section at Smith's near the tofu and mushrooms. It's kind of like chicken base of the Japanese world, I think, and adds a bit of a salty/cheesy flavor when combined with the nutritional yeast. It's high in protein and has lots of vitamins and minerals.

A word about nutritional yeast: this is NOT normal baking/leavening yeast. It comes in flake form, usually, and is a yellowish-brown color. It smells a little bad and I don't like it in large quantities (vegan mac'n'cheese is usually full of it and I don't love it) but when combined with miso it's JUST right. (I also use that same combo to make tofu ricotta chese for my lasagna, which will be coming soon on this blog.) Again, it's not too hard to find - it's just not a common ingredient. Don't let it put you off though - it's fun to experiment with new, strange ingredients! I promise, it will be worth it.

Okay, so in your blender dump everything but the pasta. Soaked and soft raw cashews, cooked cauliflower, sauteed onion and garlic, white miso paste, nutritional yeast, juice of 1/2 lemon (about 1 Tbsp, give or take), sea salt, pepper, water, and almond milk. (If you are not vegan - like all the other sisters here but me - you could use regular cow's milk. I haven't tried it so I can't vouch for any difference it might make in the flavor, but please don't forgo this recipe just because you don't have almond milk!) Blend on high about 2 minutes until silky smooth. Taste for salt - you might want to add more.

Toss hot pasta with sauce until every noodle is coated with deliciousness. (Add sauce to your liking - it made more than enough for about a pound cooked pasta, so you may have some leftover sauce.) Serve immediately.

We had this with garlic bread and roasted broccoli. Delicious, and just as good the next day as leftovers!