Spaghetti Squash

This was really fun to make. I've never cooked with Spaghetti squash, so it was a real treat. Very tasty and very filling. And it's really neat that the spaghetti squash acts like spaghetti noodles.


Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes

1 medium Spaghetti Squash (sliced in half, and be careful when you slice it!)
1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 block of  pressed* extra firm tofu, cubed
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 medium onion, sliced
2 carrots, peeled and sliced (Julian)
5 peeled Roman tomatoes, chopped into quarters
4-5 fresh Basil leaves, sliced
1 tablespoon fresh Rosemary, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons roughly chopped black olives.

*pressed tofu- cut half a block of extra firm tofu, and train as much water from the tofu. Wrap it in saran wrap, and place it on a plate, and place a small weight (such as a can, or a medium apple or onion). Leave in the fridge for 3-4 hours (or the longer the better).This will help to draw out more water, and make cooking the tofu easier.


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Slice the squash and clean out the seeds that are on top. On a cookie sheet, place the squash halves cut side down. Place in oven for 30-40 minutes or until you can pierce a knife in the squash smoothly. When it is cooked, let it cool enough to handle, and spoon out the insides.

Heat the EVOO over medium heat. Place the tofu in the skillet, and lightly brown. Stir in minced garlic, continually stirring for about 2 minutes. Add the onions and carrots, cooking until tender. Add the tomatoes, and let it simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Next add the basil and rosemary, stirring for about a minute. Add salt, and stir thoroughly.

On a plate, place about 3/4 cup of the spaghetti squash, and top with tomato mix. Garnish with black olives, and a sprig of Basil (optional).

Not Your Mama's Biscuits

One thing I do miss is a good homemade biscuit. And one of the many meals I do miss by my mom is her homemade biscuits. So, me being the adventurous type, I decided to take this task on. Which...is either a good thing, or a bad thing. Well... How do I say this...it ended in epic failure. It felt like I was in an "I Love Lucy Episode" and Murphy (Murphy's Law) was in my kitchen, helping me ever so much. If you want a free laugh (mostly snarky comments and poking fun at myself), do read. However, if you have any suggestions, they are much appreciated.

I had all my ingredients set out, ready to tackle my mom's famous biscuit recipe, and I was confident going into the recipe. It was until I started kneading the dough that I realized something wasn't right. My dough wasn't binding. And on top of that, the flour I used to dust my counter top with was readily absorbed. That should have been my first red flag. But I continued on kneading the dough, thinking it just needed more work. The more I worked it, the dryer it became. And eerily enough, it became reminiscent of art gum eraser (you'll see in the picture below). That really...really should have been the second red flag. But me being optimistic (just look at the title of the blog :D), figured this will work out. All of my cooking has worked out before. But the third red flag should have been my biscuits becoming stuck in the glass. You see, I use a glass like a cookie cutter for biscuits, it's a good way to tell if you have enough air kneaded into the biscuits. When you cut the biscuits, you'll hear a poof sound with some flour dusting in the air. Well, my biscuits decided to poof and lodge themselves in the glass, even after flouring the glass. Luckily, I was able to get the art gum shaped biscuits dislodged and onto the cookie sheet.

The formed biscuits, before oven

But allowing myself the benefit of the doubt, I kept trudging on. Well, I placed the biscuits in the oven, and well...they just became more dry, and didn't look or cook right. (On a side note, always check your oven top to make sure you have no plastic on top. It's just a word of advice). The outside was cooked, but the inside was soft. So, I placed them back in the oven on low heat, still hoping it would help, but alas, nothing could save the poor biscuits.

Post oven carnage

They were crumbling (not the good kind of crumbling), dry, and when you dropped it, it shattered like an antique vase (I dropped a biscuit by accident, and well...you can see from the picture) *sigh*. I forced myself to eat one with a gluten-free veggie patty, with a little Veganase, and that didn't even salvage the taste.

It was reminiscent of heavy gluten free vegan bread. :P (which I gave up a while a go).

I will definitely try again, once I clean the plastic from my stove, pick up the crumbly biscuits from the kitchen, and restore some of my confidence, lol.

And on another side note, I should probably try a different flour. I used soy flour, which may not have been the best idea. And maybe xanithum gum wouldn't be a bad idea either...

Asian Fiesta

I absolutely love spicy food, the spicier the better. Though it can back fire, lol.

This dish is a spin-off from sauteed peppers that you will usually get with fajitas. I like to change things up a bit, and add in a little Asian flair (I grew up with Japanese, Korean and American cooking). Hopefully you'll enjoy the spicy yet savory veggies, tossed with tofu and spices. :D



Asian Fiesta


Prep Time: about 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30-40 minutes

Ingredients:

1 cup of Jasmine rice (uncooked)
1 1/2 cup of water
1-2 TB Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
1/2 block of extra firm tofu cubed
1/2 medium onion sliced
1/2 medium *red bell pepper
1/2 medium *yellow bell pepper
1/2 medium *green bell pepper
3/4 cup or 3 baby bella mushrooms, sliced (1/2 large portabella mushroom sliced)
a splash of hot chili sesame oil (found in Asian/Korean food markets)
1/2 to 1 teaspoon of tamari
Sprinkle of red chili flakes (for a more spicier taste, add Korean red chili flakes)
*You can find an organic pepper mix in the frozen aisle.

Bring 1 1/2 cups water to a boil for rice. Once water has begun to boil, add rice and bring back to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer, and cover for 20 minutes.

In a medium sauce pan, heat EVOO on medium-low to medium heat. Add cubed tofu to the pan, browning on both sides. Add onion, red pepper, yellow pepper, and green pepper, stirring occasionally. Once the onions have started to turn translucent, add mushrooms. Continue cooking and stirring for about 3-4 minutes. Add the hot chili sesame oil (a little goes a long way), stirring to make sure all the veggies and tofu are covered. Allow veggies and tofu to simmer for about 1 minute. Add the tamari, stirring to ensure all ingredients are covered. Finally add the red chili flakes, stirring for about 1 minute.

Plate 1/2 cup of rice and top with the cooked veggies and tofu. Add an extra dash of tarami for taste, if needed.

Summer Salad

After spending time out in the summer heat, you will definitely want something cool and refreshing. It's an ol' favorite but with some twists. Hopefully you will enjoy the smooth avocado paired with the sweet and tart berries.

Prep time: 5-10 minutes
Cook time: 0 minutes



Summer Salad with Cucumber Water

 Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups baby spinach
1/3 cup  *raspberries and blackberries
1/4 cup * medium strawberries sliced
1/2 avocado chopped roughly
pinch of cilantro (optional)
1/8 teaspoon roasted sesame seeds (optional)

*alternative: buy frozen organic mix sold in the freezer aisle

Rinse the 1 1/2 cups of spinach, and dry thoroughly, snapping off the stems. Rinse off raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries, drying thoroughly. Chop strawberries in half, making sure to remove the tops.
Plate spinach, and place berries on top.
Cut avocado in half, being mindful of the seed in the center. Run a small spoon between the avocado shell and the inside, removing the avocado fully. Slice length wise, then cut in half, placing the avocado on top. Top with cilantro and/or sesame seeds. And serve!
And if you happen to make this salad a head of time, squeeze some lemon juice over the salad. This will help to preserve the color of the avocados.


Personally, I like to eat my salads raw (no dressing). However, if you like to have a little taste with your salad, you might want to try a raspberry vinaigrette. Or, if you happen to use the frozen fruit, take the juices from the berries, and mix it with about an 1/8 teaspoon of agave nectar (more or less depending on your taste of sweetness). And to add a little crunch, you can always add almonds.

Heres to good eating, having fun, and living the adventure!

Welcome to the first post of the Happy Gluten-Free Vegan Girl!
I'm extremely stoked to get this up and running~ for a lack of better terms.

My goal for this blog, is to offer different recipes for the gluten-free vegans (gfvs) out there, as well as for others to share their recipes.

And, this isn't simply limited to gfvs, but those who are wanting to try something different, looking for alternatives to recipes, and hopefully for a little inspiration.

I will be offering different recipes, along with pictures, on my little adventures of cooking.

So, heres to good eating, having fun, and living the adventure. :)