Black Bean Brownies

So today while roaming around the house, I adapted a vegan brownie recipe I saw online, not entirely original however I did not use all ingredients they listed. Instead I used what I had on hand. Now, I will tell you I have always loved brownies. I have not ever had a brownie that did not have flour or eggs in it. Although I had eggs on hand, I felt ambitious and felt that trying a veganized version would be great. While making this recipe, I also adapted a recipe by Vegan Dad for a "vegan sausage" but that will be a seperate blog entry. 

Anyway, I must say these brownies are so good and moist. The fat that I only  used a few items, was very enjoyable and easy. These are very good. I would say make them with your loved ones or even kids! I used my magic bullet so it made the batter very smooth and you really couldn't tell that I had black beans in them. I would add the cocoa powder for addition next time. Since I did not have that on hand, I did not add to my recipe. 

To do this without the chocolate chips is not recommended. 

Enjoy 

Ingredients:

• 1 Can of Black Beans
• ½ cup of rolled oats
• ⅓ cup of agave nectar
• ½ cup of water (or as desired)
• ½ or ⅔ cup of chocolate chips
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract
• ½ cup of olive oil
• ½ cup of baking powder

Directions

1. Drain a can of black beans, wash them, and place aside.

2. Add black beans, rolled oats, waer, agave nectar, vanilla extract in a blender until smooth. Set Aside in a bowl

3. Add rolled oats, baking powder to the batch.

4. Add EVOO before you add chocolate chips. Stir chips in the batch and some on the top of the batch

5. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Bake longer if necessary.

6. Cut bars and serve.

Fried Avocado Tacos

No, these are not your not your normal tacos. Imagine a yummy avocado nestled in a bed of spinach with sauteed corn and fresh tortilla chips. Okay, I know what you're thinking "but isn't that kind of a fatty with the avocado". However, I would remind you that healthy fat is good for you. Also, using healthy oils for this recipe is the key. I wanted to use organic coconut oil but I only had olive oil handy. This meal took a while due to the two parts of the recipe: making homemade tortilla chips and then creating the 'fried avocado tacos'

Ingredients:

• 1/2 avocado 
• 1/2 cup of frozen corn 
• 1/3 cup of pancake mix 
• 1/2 cup of water 
• 1-2 handfuls of spinach leaves 
• 8 corn tortillas
• 1 tblspoon of olive oil 
• garlic powder and sea salt (to taste) 

Directions: 

1. Microwave two corn tortillas for 30 seconds in the microwave. Set aside. 
2. Wash spinach leaves and add on the corn tortillas. 
3. Cut half of an avocado and dip in a water/pancake mix. 
4. Fry the avocado in olive oil until cooked. Make sure to flip on both sides for even cooking. 
5. Place fried avocado in the middle of the corn tortilla on top of the spinach leaves. 
6. Saute the frozen corn in EVOO adding some garlic powder and sea salt. Once finished, transfer to the  arranged tacos. 
7. Eat tacos when finished. You do not need any sour cream or other condiments. I ate mines bare. It was delish. 

The homemade tortilla recipe will be posted later this month. 

(c) 2013 by Pam Osbey 

All Rights Reserved

Zesty Zucchini Pie 

I love zucchini. Every week I buy them in large portions and work on several different recipes including a pie very now and again. Last week I messed up a perfectly good pie by adding a flaxseed mix which did not go well with my original recipe. So this one, I kept very simple, adding cage free eggs, zucchini chopped up with onions, cayenne, garlic and sea salt. A dab of heavy cream and shredded cheese. On my next go around, I would love to add Daiya Cheese and soy milk just to see if I can get it a tad bit healthier. This one tasted much better than last week's disaster. 

What you need: 

Fresh Zucchini

Chopped onions

Heavy Cream - 1/3 cup

2 cage free eggs

1/2 cup of Shredded Cheese

1 tsp of cayenne pepper

1 tsp of garlic powder

1 tsp of sea or kosher salt

Store bought Pie Crust (or make your own!) 

Directions: 

1. Soak the zucchini in a water wash (part water, part apple cider vinegar for 20 minutes before using). After the soak, drain the water and prep the zucchini by cutting it or using a spinalizer to have thin ringlets of zucchini prepped for the pie. 
2. Chop 1/2 of a onion, set aside. 
3. Take out your store bought pie crust and let it get to room temperature, then start layering the zucchini, onions, and seasonings. 
4. Add 1/3 cup of the heavy cream and part of the shredded cheese. In addition, whip 2 cage free eggs and add to the pie, making sure that all are mixed evenly. Keep adding shredded cheese on the top of the pie. 
5. Bake at 425 degrees for 1 hour. 
6. Serve with a simple salad or eat as a snack. It's yummy! 

(c) 2013 by Pam Osbey 

All Rights Reserved 

Pineapple Pizza 

This might be the easiest recipe ever. I really liked that it was simple and gooey. An online facebooker gave me this idea and I improved it with a few additions.

Here's what you will need:

1. 1 can of biscuits 
2. Fresh or Canned Pineapples
3. Tomato Sauce / Pizza Sauce 
4. 1/2 of a large Zucchini 
5. 1/2 of chopped onions 
6. Assorted seasonings - garlic powder, black pepper 

Chop up the zucchini and fresh onion, set aside, and bake or saute them in olive oil. After they are finished, you should prepare the pizza crust (by taking out the can of biscuits), laying the biscuits and arrange in a pan. Fill the pan to capacity, then spread the tomato sauce on top of the biscuits (your crust). On top of the crust, spread the onions and zucchini. Drain the canned pineapples and arrange on the pizza. Sprinkle assorted seasonings and bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes. Dinner is served. 

Enjoy! 

(c) 2013 Pam Osbey 

All Rights Reserved 

Pam's Slamming Eggplant Delight Sandwich 

Ingredients 

2-3 eggplant slices 

6-8 cucumber slices 

1 -4 slices of fresh red bell pepper 

a dollap of mustard & bbq sauce 

hamburger bun 

So I have begun to be obsessed with vegetable sandwiches for a while. 

I made this early in the morning and had for lunch today. 

Instructions: 

1. Wash & slice all vegetables
2. Grill the eggplant slices for 12 minutes on 350 degrees in oven 
3. Arrange veggies on the hamburger bun any kind of way you like 
4. place mustard and bbq sauces on the top and bottom of the hamburger bun 
5. Take eggplant slices and put between the other vegetables 
6. Eat and enjoy 

(c) 2013 Pam Osbey 

Grilled eggplant slices with Vegan Rice 

One eggplant 

Brown Rice (1 cup) 

1/2 of an Onion 

1/3 cup of white corn 

1-3 ounces of TVP Beef Slices 

1/3 cup of Almond Milk 

Assorted seasonings (curry powder, Mrs. Dash Blend, garlic powder, cajun powder)

Wash and cut the eggplant, dip into a small amount of coconut oil and grill on your George Foreman grill. Prepare rice then set aside in a bowl (takes 20+ minutes). Reconstitute the tvp by placing in a bowl of water for at least ten minutes. Once it is ready you will add to the pot with the other ingredients. Chop up onion, zucchini, and toss frozen corn in a small amount of coconut oil. Cook down until it starts to carmalize, then add the rice to the pot along with almond milk and seasonings. Let simmer for a while when ready, serve along side the eggplant. 

Enjoy! 

Fresh Kale Salad with cranberries 

and homemade croutons 

Ingredients 

2-4 bunches of fresh kale 

1 teaspoon of unsalted sunflower seeds

one fresh navel orange 

fresh cranberries (craisins can be substituted) 

shredded carrots 

whole wheat bread 

1 teaspoon walnuts 

balsamic vinegar 

1 teaspoon olive oil 

Wash the kale and assemble on a plate or in a bowl. Cut navel into sections and arrange on the plate. Toss the rest of the ingredients and mix the olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Pour the mixture over the salad. Add the shredded carrots. While arranging your salad, bake a few slices of whole wheat bread and bake at 450 degrees for 12 minutes. Cut the slices and toss on salad. Serve along or with homemade soup or as an addition to your dinner. 

(c) 2013 Pam Osbey

Healthy Appetites