So now you have beautiful home made tortillas that you are snacking on while thinking, “man, these are good but what now?” Put that tortilla down! Stop snacking… you’ll be full before dinner!!!

“Re-fried” Pinto Bean Tortas

12 homemade tortillas

2 c pinto beans (pre cooked)

1 jalapeno pepper

1 onion

4 tomatoes

1/2 bell pepper

1 carrot

2 scallions

3 cloves of garlic

6 limes

1 bunch cilantro

salt

pepper

Finely chop the whole onion, put half in a large pan that has 1/4 c of hot olive oil and begin to brown the onions, and the other half in a bowl for your salsa.  Once the onion is tender add the garlic and 1/2 of the jalapeno pepper (both minced).  Chop up the pepper and the carrot very finely and add those to the onion-y garlicky goodness.

When all of the vegetables are tender add the pinto beans.  Let the beans simmer until they begin to get a little pasty.  Add more oil whenever the mixture starts to appear a little dry.  Add a handful of chopped parsley and the juice of 5 limes.

Chop up the other half of the jalapeno, the tomatoes, a fist full of cilantro and add it to the left over onions.

Salt, pepper and lime both to taste.

Place a dollop of the beans on the tortilla, followed by the salsa and some chopped scallions. If you want, you can add some regular, or vegan, sour crème to the top.

MMMMMM.

Serves 4

There are plenty of recipes where flax meal and water or bananas or applesauce can save the consistency of a baked good, but unfortunately carrot cake is not one of those desserts.  Because you want carrot to be the prominent flavor in a carrot cake, adding the banana and applesauce leaves you with a mouth full of carrot-y banana-y confusion.  If you are a hard-core vegan I say banana it up… but if not, I think a few eggs in this recipe really saves it!  This cake is not as healthy as many that I make, but it is good for easing people into the world of understanding and liking alternative foods. Dare to eat different, right?

If you do decide to replace the egg with a vegan substitute the conversions are:

1/2 banana for every egg.

1 tbsp flax and 3 tbsp water for every egg.

3 tbsp applesauce for every egg.

I strongly encourage you to purchase your eggs from a local farmer or farmers market to insure their quality.

Having said that…

Carrot Cake

4 eggs

2 c organic sugar

1 1/2 c vegetable oil

2 c whole wheat baking flour

2 tsp baking soda

3 tsp cinnamon

3 c finely shredded carrots

1 tsp almond extract

dash of salt

Frosting

1/2 stick vegan butter

3/4 container tofutti crème cheese

1 c chopped almonds

1 tsp vanilla

2 1/2 c powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Combine all of the ingredients up until the word frosting in a kitchen aid (or a bowl with a big spoon… prepare for an arm work out).  Grease the inside of 2 small loaf pans and bake the cake for about 35-40 minutes.  The cake is done when the top is golden brown and when the cake passes the poke test (poke test = gently gliding a knife, or any other sharp object, through the center of the cake and testing to see if any goo comes up with the knife. Goo = not done yet).

After the cakes have cooled, combine all the frosting ingredients in a blender and puree until it reaches frosting consistency, if the mixture is too thick add some almond milk.

Decorate your carrot cakes and you, my friend, are done!

Serves 8

I am on a mission to create a home made veggie burger that tastes better than a Dr. Praeger’s California Vegetable Burger; so far I have not succeeded.  My last attempt was the best so far.  The burger was made of sautéed onions, garlic, cumin, rice breadcrumbs, corn, peppers, carrots, tofu and potatoes.  I think the recipe could be great with some tweaking… so stay posted for that! However the oven-baked fries that I made with the burger were delicious!

Sweet Potato Fries

3 sweet potatoes

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp cayenne pepper

salt and pepper to taste

olive oil

Slice the potatoes into thin rounds and then in halves (so each slice is a half circle) lay the potatoes on a well olive oiled cookie sheet and sprinkle the seasonings onto them.  Toss the potatoes around so they are all a little oily and spiced. Bake them at 400 degrees for 15 minutes and then flip the suckers over.  When they are golden brown and a little crisp they are ready for consumption!

Serves 3-4

YUMMM Time. I know what you are thinking, turkey? Natasha… I thought you didn’t eat meat? Well I do.  I don’t eat it very often, but every once in a while I crave some animal protein, and I think there is nothing wrong with it every once in a while.  PLEASE PLEASE make sure that if you are going to indulge in meat that it is grass fed, hormone free, organic and raised sustainably.  Not only is this better for you, but it’s way better for the environment AND it tastes better.

Herbed Turkey Breasts with Roasted Vegetables

2 organic turkey breasts

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp sage

1 tsp rosemary

1 large red onion

5 cloves of garlic

5 carrots

4 celery stalks

3 c chicken broth

Chop up all of the vegetables and herbs and place them in a large roasting pan (like the one seen above) add the turkey and 1 cup of the chicken broth.  Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes, turn the turkey breasts over and then re-cover and continue cooking for another 45 minutes. Then remove the aluminum foil, add the rest of the chicken broth and continue to cook (uncovered) until the turkey breast has a golden glow and the inside is white all the way through!!  Enjoy! This recipe goes really well with my stuffing muffins!!!

Serves 6-8

What? Why would this post have such a long title? Well, I am guessing some of you feel that if you are going to take the time to make such a dish, you should soak and cook the beans yourself, which can be a daunting task.  Then you feel guilty about buying canned beans because you might as well just buy the hummus at this point, right? Nopppers. That pre made hummus should be sent to the hummus police for identity theft; preservatives, too much olive oil, not enough lemon, too salty OR how about when there is milk or cheese in the ingredients list, how did that sneak in there?!?! There are so many things to go wrong.  It’s very easy to make hummus in a cuisinart or a mini-chopper. If you don’t have a mini you should go buy one, they cost about $25 and they are spectacular!

Roasted Vegetable Hummus

3 cans organic garbanzo beans

1 bell pepper

1 eggplant

2 garlic cloves

1 tbsp tahini

1 lemon

olive oil

salt

Slice the eggplant and bell pepper thinly and roast them in the oven (at 350 degrees) on a baking sheet until they are soft.  Put the three cans of garbanzo beans in the cuisinart (without the water from the can) with the pepper, eggplant, garlic, tahini, 1 tbsp of olive oil, a dash of salt, and the juice of half the lemon.  If your cuisinart is too small for all the deliciousness then do it in batches.  If the hummus is really thick and not blending keep adding olive oil until it is smooth and creamy.  Depending on your tastes you may want to add more salt or lemon juice.

Serves 6

10 tomatoes

3 cloves of garlic

1 bunch of basil

dried oregano

olive oil

1/2 c goat cheese (optional)

2-3 long, thin baguettes

salt and pepper to taste

This really could not get much easier… Dice the tomatoes, garlic and 10 basil leaves.  Add a pinch of oregano, some salt and pepper, and a splash of olive oil.  Taste it. Is it good? Not exciting enough? Throw in some more basil, oregano, salt, pepper and olive oil until its just right! Slice up the bread and toast the pieces in the oven. Remove them when they are warm and just a little crisp.  Depending on how you want to serve the bruschetta either pre-plate the tomatoes on the bread and add a sprinkle of goat cheese or keep everything separate and let people serve themselves!

Serves 4

Look at my dad dish up that bruschetta like a pro!