Date Balls

After seeing pictures and recipes for date balls and having dates in my cupboard waiting for me I decided to meld a few together to create my own. It took two tries for me to land on this recipe as my favorite mash up. The requirements when I was looking for reference recipes: no coffee, ingredients I already have, nutritiously dense, few ingredients. After comparing recipes I came up with this a 5 ingredient and simple recipe. You can omit the coconut if you want but with the addition of coconut it reminds me of Samoas Girl Scout Cookies.

1 cup pitted dates (I use Madjool)
1 cup oats
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tbsp flax meal
2 tbsp unsweetened coconut shreds


Place dates, oats, flax meal, and cocoa powder in a food processor and process together. It will eventually form a ball within the food processor which is perfect for shaping. Shape into balls, roll in coconut shreds and enjoy. Store in the fridge

Make ahead breakfasts

In the mornings it can be hard to get up early enough to make quality food. So here are some ideas for what to make the night before. The great thing is if you use the right container you can take it with you too.

 CHIA SEED PUDDING:
1 cup non dairy milk
2/3 cup chia seeds
Splash vanilla (optional)
Toppings

Mix together everything except the toppings and refrigerate. Wait at least 5 hours to eat. Top with desired toppings and enjoy.

OVERNIGHT OATS:
1 cup non dairy milk
1 cup oats
1 1/2 tbsp chia seeds
2 tbsp peanut butter
Toppings
Mix everything together in to a container of your choosing. Refridgerate for at least 5 hours or overnight. Top and enjoy.



Notes:
Chia seed pudding: It is good to eat in a few hour (4-5) if desired. Also if it turns out too think of too runny change the amount of chia seeds as desired. The more chia seeds the thicker it becomes.
Overnight Oats: I made my first cup (pictured) in a peanut butter jar when only a little bit was left.

Vegan Baking with Nadine: Peaches and Cream Macaroons

Makes about 20

My recent discovery has been Aquafaba! Where do you find it in the grocery store though? Surprise! It's in your can of garbanzo beans (or chick peas) for about a dollar! Just drain the liquid into a separate bowl instead of washing it down the sink and save the beans/peas for another use!

With this relatively cheap and healthy alternative, imagine how many delicious recipes you can make? This opens up so many more options for vegan-friendly sweet treats! And if you've already succeeded in making macaroons, this should be a breeze! If you're newer or this is your first time, it's tedious, but so worth the treat in the end!

I highly recommend reading the instructions first!

If you omit the filling portion of the recipe, this is a basic recipe for vegan macaroons. Feel free to explore recipes and share in the comments!

Peaches and Cream Macaroons

Ingredients:
1 15 oz can of chickpea water (aquafaba)
1/2 Cup sugar
1 1/4 Cup almond flour
1/2 Cup powdered sugar
1/2 Cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
peach colored food gel

For the filling:
1 Tbsp vegan friendly cream cheese, room temperature
2 Cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp dairy free milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 Tbsp favorite peach jam

Macarons:

1. Start by boiling the aquafaba in a small pan over medium heat, reduce until 1/3 cup is remaining, this takes 5-7 minutes. Transfer to mixing bowl and set aside until room temperature, about 10 minutes.
2. Prepare the dry ingredients. Sift the almond flour and powdered sugar together until no clumps remain, discard any pieces too large to pass through.
3. Once the aquafaba is at room temperature, attach a balloon whisk and whisk on medium speed until fluffy (should not take more than 5 minutes). Add the sugar and whisk on high until the meringue is extremely stiff and glossy (5-10 minutes). Preform a simple ribbon test, it should take the ribbon 5 or more seconds to disappear in the mixture.
4. Add vanilla and color gel, whisk until combined.
5. Fold in half of the dry ingredients to the meringue mixture, using a spatula, go slowly. Continue folding until the dry ingredients are incorporated. Fold in the second half and repeat. Preform a simple ribbon test, the batter should take 3-5 seconds to disappear into the mixture. If your mixture takes less than 3 seconds to disappear, you've over mixed and have to restart.
6. Spoon the mixture into a piping bag, snip off the end, and pipe one-inch circles on backing trays lined with parchment paper.
7. Once the trays are lined, pick the tray up to elbow height, and drop on the counter. This process is important because it gets the extra air bubbles out of the mixture. Repeat twice more.
8. Leave the macaroons to dry out at room temperature for one hour.
9. Firstly, place your first tray in the oven and then set the temperature to 210F. Bake for 30 minutes. Do not take the macaroons out of the oven yet!! Turn the oven off and leave the macroons in the oven for 15 minutes. Then open the oven door and leave the macroons in the oven for 15 more minutes. Take the tray out and let cool fully on counter. Repeat the process with remaining tray(s).
10. Pair like-sized macaroons together, placing one upside down to easily pipe frosting

Filling:

1. Cream together the cream cheese, vanilla and powdered sugar.
2. Add almond milk until mixture is a thick, smooth cream.
3. Place into a piping bag.
4. Pipe around the edge of the macaroons, creating an empty center.
5. Dab a small amount of jam in the center.
6. Gently sandwich the top shell with the base shell. Repeat until all macaroons are filled.

Recipe: Barbeque Pulled Jackfruit

It's crazy how with plants you can recreate so many different textures and flavors. This was so similar to pulled pork that I was shocked when I tried it. I will definitely be making it again in the future. The jack fruit doesn't have the same color as cooked meats do so be careful when adding barbecue sauce. It adds flavor quicker than it does color to the pale fruit. Adjust the sauce to your taste, it doesn't take a lot to get a good flavor though. 
You can pair it with so many different things, when making this we didn't want to get anything special so tortillas were used; perfect for other dished since I don't eat a lot of bread in my household. 
Some recipes you find will use fresh jack fruit. After looking over multiple recipes we found that it was easier to use canned jack fruit and not worth it to use fresh. This has to do with the ripeness of the fruit and the preparation can be labor intensive. 

2 20 oz cans of young green jack fruit in water

2 cloves minced garlic

Olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1/2 top cumin 

2 try paprika powder

1 top chili powder

1 pinch red pepper flakes

2 top brown sugar

1/2+ cup Barbecue sauce

Black pepper, to taste

Drain and rinse jack fruit. Remove the core from the prices but do not shred.Stir in spices and brown sugar until evenly coated.

In a pan heat olive oil over medium heat and sauté onions until translucent. add garlic and cook until fragrant. add the jack fruit and cook for 3 minutes. Add barbecue sauce and vegetable broth and cook for 15 - 20 minutes. shred the jack fruit and add more barbecue sauce if desired. 

Serve in a bunch or in vessels of choice, top and enjoy.