Veggie Spaghetti Sauce

Who doesn't love a warm bowl of spaghetti? Actually I know someone who doesn't so don't answer that.

The beautiful thing about sauce, is that you can pretty much use it for any kind of pasta or even pour it over rice.

It's thick, hearty, heatly, spicy, nutrional and, obviously, delicious.

This on is 100% meat-free, there is very lil fat, tons of veggies. And the neat thing is, anti-veggie people wont even notice the difference.

Here is what you will need:

• 1 1/2 cup of dried soy protein (you can find it at BulkBarn)
• 1 cup of red wine
• 1 large onion, minced
• 2 carrots, chopped into small cubes
• 1 large can of tomato sauce (or homemade tomato sauce, see lasagna recipe)
• 5 tomatoes, de-seeded and chopped into small pieces
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 branches of celery finely chopped
• 3 large portobello mushrooms, diced
• 1/4 cup of fresh basil and thyme
• 2 tablespoons of red tobasco sauce
• salt and pepper
• Vegan butter for cooking

Alrighty! Now that we have the ingredients down, let's start cookin!

1. In a mixing bowl, pour red wine and dried soy protein, and let soak for about 5-10 minutes (while the veggies are cooking)
2. In a large sauce pan, over medium-high, melt butter and add in the onions, carrots, celery and garlic. Cook for about 5 minutes. 
3. Add to the mix, the chopped mushrooms and cook another 2-3 minutes. 
4. Drop in the tomatoes, the tomato sauce, the soy protein WITH the wine, the tobasco, fresh herbs, a pinch of salt and pepper. Mix well and let simmer for about 10 minutes. 
5. At this point you can taste it and adjust the spice and seasoning to your taste. 

And that's it! Voila! Done. Easy, right?  If you were to use the homemade tomato sauce from the lasagna recipe, I would suggest that you make a bigger batch since the sauce is pretty much the most important ingredient in this recipe.

For the soy protein, you can also omitt the wine, replace it by water or buy the already moist Yves' ground "beef". You could also make it with legumes or even quinoa.

The soy protein looks so much like ground beef that it doesn't freak out people as much when you say it's "vegan but still contains loads of protein".

If you are wondering why there aren't any pictures, well it's simply because I've decided to write down the recipe before making it tonight. I shall update the post later :)

Enjoy!

Choco-peanut muffins

It's no secret to my close friends and family that the idea behind the Untitled Rox Project first started with a passion for baking. Specially cupcakes. Who doesn't love cupcakes? Crazy people, that's who. 

As I sat at home, feeling kind of blue and not myself, I did what I usually do to bring up my spirits. I baked. I made super delicious Choco-peanut Muffins. 

Now, I'm normally not a huge fan of peanut butter, though lately I've been craving it, but these muffins don't have the overwhelming taste of peanut butter. 

They are easy to make. They are sweet. And they pretty much cured my blues. 

So here you go, dear reader. Maybe you'll make this during your next ''me day''.

Ingredients :

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup sugar (or any sweetener)
• 2 tsp. Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 tbsp. of cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts, or sunflower seeds, or pecans
• 1 tbsp. of vanilla 
• 1/2 cup of melted Peanut Butter
• 1/4 cup melted margarine
• 1 cup skim milk  
• 2 eggs, beaten 

 Here is what you'll need to do. 

1. Pre-heat the oven to 375 F. 
2. In a large bowl, mix together the flours, the sugar, the baking powder, the cocoa powder, the salt and the nuts. 
3. In the microwave, melt peanut butter (about 30 seconds) and margarine (15 seconds) SEPARATELY. 
4. In another bowl, beat the eggs, add in the milk, the vanilla, the melted PB and margarine. Whisk well. If you notice that the PB doesn't dissolve completely, leave it. It'll just make for pops of flavors when you bite in it :)
5. Incorporate the milk and PB mix in the dry ingredients and mix well. 
6. Take out you muffin molds, pop in liners, or if you prefer, spry it with cooking spray or oil.  And empty the batter in each liner. Should make for 12 muffins. 
7. Pop in the oven and bake for 15 to 18 minutes. Or until toothpick inserted in centres comes out clean. Cool in pan 5 min. 

Now, you can either let it cool completely, or do what I do. Grab one that's still kinda warm. It's so much more delicious. Top it with the usual suspects: jam, bananas or even a chocolate spread.

This recipe can easily be made to be vegan (using soy, almond milk instead of milk-applesauce or crushed bananas and oil instead of eggs) AND sugar free just by switching some ingredients. It can also be made gluten-free by using different kinds of flours. Use the same amounts for either one of them as the original ingredients.

That's it! Enjoy! :) 

 

A little treat

Since tomorrow is VDAY, I thought I would post a sweet dessert recipe.
The beauty of this one is that it's, on top of being delicious, vegan, sugar-free and can be made gluten free.

It's a chocolate-cherry brownie with chocolate icing. YUMMMMMY.
I don't know for you, but if chocolate is involved, it's probably going to be something I would love. And cherries? Man, I am all over this.

So in the spirit of love and all things red and romantic, why not make this little treat for a loved one?

Here are your lists of ingredients

Brownie:

- 1½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour (you can use gluten-free flours like coco flour)

- ¾ cup splenda

- ½ teaspoon salt

- 1 teaspoon baking soda

- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

- ¼ cup of melted unsweetened chocolate

- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

- ⅓ cup canola oil

- 1 tablespoon white distilled vinegar

- 1 cup cold water

- 1 cup of pitted, fresh cherries
- 2/3 cup of unsweetened chocolate chips

Icing:

- 2 cups organic splenda

- ¼ cup (½ stick) dairy-free margarine, softened (Earth balance)

- ¼ cup plain unsweetened coconut milk

- ¾ cup unsweetened pure cocoa powder

- ¼ cup of melted unsweetened chocolate

- ½ tablespoon vanilla

Here is what you need to do for the brownie :

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry mixture and mix until just combined. Including the melted chocolate.
4. Add the cherries and chocolate chips.
5. Pour into a lightly oiled 9-inch cake pan and cook for 30 minutes, or until sticking a toothpick in the center comes out clean.
6. Once it's cooled down, transfer it to a cute plate.

Easy, right? Wait till you see the instructions for the icing!

1. In a medium-large mixing bowl, using an electric hand mixer, cream the splenda with the margarine until mixture is thick but well combined.
2. Add the coconut milk, cocoa powder, melted chocolate and vanilla, and continue to mix until smooth.

Now all that is left to do it spread some of that yummy chocolate frosting on top of your brownie, cool it in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to let the icing set and then serve!

Done! See, there's no reason for you not to try this! And the beautiful thing is, if you insist on making it with real butter and sugar, you can. Just change the splenda for the sugar and the vegan margarine for butter. Same amounts.

You can also add strawberries or raspberries instead of the cherries. Just make sure it's fresh fruit. It help keep the brownie moist and decadent.

But I really hope you'll stick to the original recipe ;)

Enjoy!

My new addiction

The term "addiction" isn't normally a very positive one. But in this case, it's extremely good.

Two common words, one extremely good and healthy drink.

Lemon. Water.

I've been having it twice a day, everyday for about 2 weeks. One cup of warm water with lemon slices in the morning, and a big glass of cold(ish) water with lemon during the day.

If you like lemonade, you'll like this. Granted, it's not sweeten but it's still very refreshing and good for you.
Do not sweeten it! It'll beat the whole purpose of drinking it in the first place.

You're probably thinking to yourself : Well duh, it's good. I've been having it for years! At restaurants, during a hot summer day.

but here is my question to you. Do you know WHY it's so good?

Let me tell you why :

1. Boosts your immune system: Lemons contain loads of vitamine C, and potassium. As you well know, vitamine C is great with colds. it fights them. (Think Neocitran, lemon-honey lozenges) And potassium helps out your brain and nerve function. It also helps out by controlling your blood pressure.

2. Balances pH: Drink lemon water everyday will reduce your body's acidity. "But lemon as citric acid..." Yes, it does, but it doesn't create acidity once the the body has taken it in. 

3. Helps with weight loss: Huh? How? Well water is just plain good for zillions of reasons. It hydrates and flushes out toxins which help preventing bad fat to stick around. While lemons help fight hunger cravings because they are high in pectin fiber.

4. Aids digestion:  Lemon juice helps flush out any yucky stuff that make you feel ill. Heartburns? Gone. Nausea? Gone. 

5. Is a diuretic: Lemons make you go potty (#1), for lack of better words, which helps purify your system.

6. Clears skin (and makes wrinkles less visible):  The fountain of youth has been discovered! The vitamin C in the lemons helps decrease wrinkles and blemishes. (My skin actually cleared up a bit! Wrinkles I couldn't tell you... I don't have them...yet.)

7. Freshens breath: It's acidity will help break off any thing that's lodge there and creates that foul smell. It can also relieve some tooth and gum pain.

8. Relieves respiratory problems: same principle as with the colds. It helps get rid of chest infections and halt thoseannoying coughs. It's said that can help relieve asthma and allergies.

9. Keeps you calm: Vitamin C is one of the first things that your brain and body eliminate when you are stressed out or anxious. As mentioned, lemons contain a whole lot of vitamin C.

10. Helps kick the coffee to the curb:  After drinking lemon water for a while, and helping feed your brain, and get rid of any nasty stuff your body stores, you might actually stop feeling the need for caffeine. (Though this is not proven, but, logically, if your body is in top shape, you shouldn't need caffeine. As much as coffee is delicious... it's not always the best choice.

So there! Not only is tasty, refreshing, cheap and easy to make, it's extremely good for you. 2 birds, one stone. Or in this case, 10 birds, one stone.

So go ahead, grab a glass, fill it with water, chop off 3-4 slices of lemon, drop them in and enjoy!
You could also you the already made lemon juice, just be sure it's 100% lemon juice, and that nothing else was added.

Quinoa, lentils and kale goodness.

Why hello there! Come here often? I sure hope so!
Today, what I have for you is a very easy recipe (again). I've had it last night and thought about sharing it with you.

It's packed with flavor, fiber and protein. It's completely vegan. But wait. It has protein, but it's vegan? So there's gotta be tofu right? WRONG.

I'm not a huuuuuge fan of tofu. So whenever I can make something that has just has much protein but omitting the tofu, I am a happy camper.

Quinoa, a grain and a seed packed with protein, iron and fiber.
Kale, a green containing protein, vitamine C, potassium and loads of other goodies.
Lentils, is also high in protein and vitamines.

Mix these 3 together and you've got a pretty powerful meal.

Preparation time : 10 minutes
Cooking time : about 20 minutes (including the quinoa)

Here is what you'll need :

- 5 large leaves of kale, chopped
- 1 cup of rinsed lentils (I used canned ones, it's quicker for everyday purposes)
- 1 1/2 cups of cooked quinoa
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon of tobasco
- 1 tablespoon of Earth Balance Butter
- 2 tablespoons of grape seed oil (or any other oil)
- 1 1/2 teaspoon of onion powder
- Salt and pepper


For the quinoa, just follow the instructions that come with whatever brand you've got. Mine said to boil 2 cups of water, empty the dry quinoa in the water. Turn down the heat to low and let simmer for 15 minutes. Take off the heat, fluff with a fork. That's it. Done.

1. While the quinoa is cooking, in a frying pan, over medium-high heat, drop in the butter and the oil and let melt.
2. Put in the kale, garlic, onion and sauté for about 5 minutes.
3. Drop in the lentils and mix all together.
4. Add the quinoa to the mix, as well as the tobasco, the onion powder and the salt and pepper (a pinch of each). Mix well, lower the heat and let cook for another 5 minutes, tossing everything around to make sure that everything is seasoned.

Taste. You can add more onion powder, tobasco and seasoning. to your taste. And serve!

That's it.
It's seriously so good. I even brought the rest with me to work. Lunch is going to be tasssstttyyy.