Collard Green Pesto with Kalamata Olives

     Not your traditional pesto...but then again basil can be so expensive when it's not in season. So all the more reason to use collar greens — they're cheap and they'll last you a lot longer. I like this recipe because it's a good way to use up any greens that have been sitting in the fridge and have lost a bit too much of their luster. Blitz them up and no one will ever know that they were on their way to the compost bin, at least not after you add garlic, lemon juice, kalamata olives and some quality olive oil.

     Because this pesto is so much cheaper than a normal basil pesto, you don't feel so guilty having extra sauce, after all we've got to get our greens in somewhere.

Serves: 4-10 (makes about 750mL)

Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 small bunch of collard greens (about 600g with stems)
• 1/3 cup walnuts or pecans
• 1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives
• 2 cloves of garlic, inner leaf stem removed 
• 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice, about half a lemon, juiced
• 1/2 cup to 1 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup to 1 cup water
• salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

1. In a large pot of boiling water, blanch collards about 2 minutes, or until bright green.
2. Once blanched, cut away the stems, if not already done, and give the collards a rough chop.
3. Toss collards in a food processor with all the other ingredients (yes it's that easy!), starting with the lower quantities of oil and water.
4. Blend on low to begin, then transition to a higher speed as the pesto starts coming together.
5. Add more oil and water until desired texture is obtained.
6. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

To the Garden I Go!

     Spring seems to have arrived...hopefully it stays this time. It has been a busy couple of weeks over here, and I had a couple things I wanted to share with everyone. So for starters, I'm done exams (finally!), though summer school(s) will be starting next week, and I'm still busy working at SickKids, but I have also started a summer internship working with Rye's HomeGrown. 

     Rye's HomeGrown in a cooperative which aims to build capacity for food security by producing fresh, wholesome food for the Ryerson community and providing interactive educational opportunities in urban agriculture. I am so excited to be the communications coordinator for Rye's HomeGrown this growing season, and so have been busy up on our 1/4 acre roof-top garden.

We just started planting the cold-weather tolerant plants, like faba beans and lettuces, this week seeing as its been a pretty cold winter and the last of our earth only defrosted a couple of weeks ago. But we've also been busy in our greenhouse growing microgreens and seedlings, along with running our garden design program.

While the weather continues to warm up I'll be getting busier and busier with the gardens, so if miss a post here or there, just know that I'm probably covered in compost. But when I do post, I'm hoping to try and incorporate some of the delicious and local fruit and vegetables from our gardens here in the heart of Toronto into my recipes.

If you live in Toronto, and want to get involved you can follow @ryeshomegrown on twitter or instagram or look us up on facebook for more information. We have drop-in volunteer days the first Friday of every month, so if you our downtown on Friday you should swing on over to our rooftop garden, the Valarie and Andy Princle Environmental Roof, located on the George Vari Engineering and Computing Centre Building (152 Dalhousie st) at Ryerson from 1-3. You can check out any of the links above for more information. The farmer's Market at Ryerson will also be opening soon. We will be selling our produce on campus every wednesday from 11-3pm starting May 13th.

I'm not sure if you guys are excited but I sure am! Growing amazing produce right in the middle of Toronto is crazy! And I love it!

If you have any questions for me explicitely about Rye's HomeGrown, you can contact me at RHG.communications@gmail.com.

Vegan Espresso Chocolate Chunk Cookies

     Last week I tried out a couple new recipe ideas. Some of them turned out so-so and need a bit more work, but these dark chocolate cookies I made are perfect just the way they are! And once I (and a close group of my friends...and Ryan's co-workers) give the seal of approval, it's time for you guys to give them a try and tell me what you think. 

     These cookies have a lot of substance to them. In addition to the fresh espresso, they also have cranberries and almond pieces which really make these cookies stand out. Oh, and of course there are chunks of chocolate. I decided it was time to make a chocolate chunk cookie mostly because I had a ton of dark chocolate left over from Easter. I've had the idea for this recipe as a note in my recipe book from before I even had a blog (I knew what was up) and I figured it was about time I tried to make my chicken scratch into something delicious.

     If you're not a big fan of espresso, don't be alarmed, it is not over powering at all but rather ties the chocolate and the cranberries together perfectly. If you taste the batter (and please do, it is delicious!) you can really taste the espresso, but baking breaks down some of the espresso aromatics, and makes the cookie almost more savory. I've got a similar recipe that doesn't have the espresso, but has the same ratio of flour to sugar, and they taste much more sweet. 

Serves: 3 dozen
Time: Prep 20 minutes; Cook 11 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup vegan margarine
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 espresso (If you like espresso pull two double shots, otherwise pull a  long double shot)
• 1 tsp vanilla

• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda

• 100g dark chocolate, chunked (about 1 cup)
• 1/3 cup chopped or sliced almonds
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375°F/ 190°C and prepare a large baking or cookie sheet with parchment paper. 
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream margarine with brown and white sugar. Slowly whisk or mix in espresso and vanilla until smooth.
3. In a medium mixing bowl combine flour, cocoa powder and leavening agents.
4. Pour dry ingredients into wet and mix well.
5. Add in the goodies: chunks of chocolate, cranberries and almond pieces and mix to combine.
6. Using a cookie scoop or ice cream scoop, scoop balls of delicious batter onto the cookie sheet, leaving about an inch and a half between the cookies.
7. Bake at 375°F/ 190°C for 9-11 minutes.
8. Remove from oven and let cool on the baking sheet for five minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
9. Enjoy!

Vegan Carrot Cake with a Cream Cheese Icing or Lemon Glaze

       There is something very satisfying about eating carrot cake. Could be the taste, could be the fact that I feel better about eating a carrot-based cake than other less nutritious desserts. Ryan actually thinks that my carrot cake might be too healthy, but he's happy because he gets to eat cake for breakfast.

       If you know my dad, you probably know that he LOVES carrot cake. I remember when I was around ten or so, my mother was had broken her arm during March break. But it being my dad's birthday, he wouldn't settle for anything less than homemade carrot cake. So my mother, with only one good arm grated my father carrots for his carrot cake. She always reminds us of how that was the best cake she ever made (this recipe is based off of her recipe, minus the sweat and tears that went into that particular recipe), and she never lets us forget it. 

       This carrot cake has pretty much everything in it, many of the ingredients personally requested by my father (he tasted it yesterday and was quite pleased) including shredded coconut and raisins. I grew up loving a good cream cheese icing on my carrot cakes, but recently have been opting for a tangy lemon glaze. Both toppings pare excellently with this recipe, and their recipes and instructions can be found below.

Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 2 cups finely grated carrot, unpacked (approx. 2 medium-large carrots)
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp ground flax seed
• 1 cup soy milk or other varieties
• 1/2 cup light oil, olive oil or vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp apple vinegar
• 1 tsp lemon juice

• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat or mixed flour
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt

• 2/3 cup raisins, soaked and drained
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut, I like unsweetened
• 1/2 cup walnuts, pecans or mix

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a loaf pan, bunt pan or 9x9 square pan.
2. In a medium bowl, combine all wet ingredients, and mix together.
3. Soak raisins in water while you prepare the dry ingredients.
4. In a large bowl mix together dry ingredients.
5. Pour wet ingredients into the dry bowl and mix until combined. Drain the raisins, then fold into wet batter with the nuts and coconut.
6. Pour into prepared pan and bake 350°F for 45-60 minutes. Depending on your cooking wear the times will vary, the square pan and the bunt pan will take less time to cook than the loaf pan.
7. Before removing loaf from oven, check done-ness with a tooth pick or a cake tester.
8. Let cool completely before icing or slicing.

Vegan Cream Cheese Icing

• 4 oz/125g Tofutti cream cheese
• 1/4 cup margarine
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups icing sugar

1. Beat cream cheese, margarine and vanilla, and gradually add sugar until fluffy.

Vegan Lemon Glaze

• 1/2 cup icing sugar
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice (fresh is better)

1. Whisk icing sugar with lemon juice until smooth.

Cold Soba Noodle Salad with Sesame-Soy Vinaigrette

       I'm not sure if you guys are aware of this, but my favourite type of food is Asian food. Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, you name it, it's all tasty. As the weather has been getting warmer, I've been craving many of my favourite summer dishes, cold soba noodle salad being one of them. So today I bring you my favourite "pasta salad" with an Asian twist. 

       I've been making this recipe for ages, and in general it's a real crowd pleaser. It was only recently though that I decided that it was about time I measure out exactly what I'm putting in it so that I can share this lovely salad with all of you!

Time: 20 minutes
Serves: 3-6

Ingredients:

• 9oz/250g buckwheat soba noodles
• 1-2 Tbsp peanut oil 
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp sesame oil
• 2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar 
• 1/8 tsp or a pinch of chili flakes
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 1 large carrot, fine julienne or shredded (or spiralized!)
• 1/4 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves, chopped (optional)
• 3 Tbsp sesame seeds, white and/or black

Preparation: 

1. In a large pot of salted, boiling water, cook soba noodles until al dente, about 5-8 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, start mixing up the dressing: in small measuring cup or bowl, mix together soy sauce, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar and chili flakes. Chop onions and shred, grate or fine julienne carrot. 
3. When pasta is ready, drain and rinse with cold water, then put in large serving bowl and gently mix with peanut oil to stop them from sticking.
4. Poor vinaigrette over noodles along with onions, carrots, cilantro, and 2 Tbsp of the sesame seeds. Toss and mix.
5. Let cool for at least one (1) hour in the fridge before serving. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 Tbsp sesame seeds before serving.

Red Lentil and Swiss Chard Stew

       Oh, stew. How you warm my heat. Sunday was day light savings (Spring is slowly coming to Canada) so amazingly, we actually ate dinner in daylight....though it was more of a lupper, seeing as we had brunch at 12.30. Anyways, we wanted some comfort food, so we decided on a hearty red lentil soup. Ryan wanted a soup, but I prefer stew, and it just happened that the pot wasn't big enough for him to add anymore liquid, so I won the soup vs. stew battle and we settled on a robust red stew with buttery drop biscuits.

       Also just to give you guys a heads up, I'm going to be offline for the next two weeks and will return on the 21st of March for a my birthday post (oh the options!). Two weeks four projects and four papers. Its going to be a very busy next couple of weeks. But don't worry, just because I'm not publishing recipes, doesn't mean I'n not making new recipes or testing old ones. A girl's got to eat after all.

       But anyways, back to the stew.... This stew is inspired by Indian dhal, and so uses some warm spices, like cumin and turmeric, but also some more floral spices like thyme and oregano. This stew is hearty enough that it doesn't need an accompaniment, but if you, like myself, enjoy dipping bread or biscuits into your stews and soups, give my vegan drop biscuit recipe a try.


Serves: 6-8
Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil
• 1 large white onion, diced
• 2 medium-large carrots, sliced into rounds or semi-circles
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• I bunch red or rainbow swiss chard, stems separated from greens, stems chopped, greens chiffonaded
• 2 cups red lentils (dry)
• 1/4 cup white wine (or 2 tbsp white or red wine vinegar)
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 2 cups water
• 1 can or jar tomato puree, or alternatively diced tomatoes
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1/4 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp coriander
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1-1 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
• pepper, to taste
• 3 medium white or red potatoes, chucked 
• 2 tbsp lemon juice

Preparation

1. In a large soup or stock pot, heat olive oil on medium heat. Sauté onions, carrots, garlic and chopped swiss chard stems for about 3 minutes or until onions are translucent. 
2. Add lentils, stir and let toast for a couple of minutes. Add the wine and let the alcohol burn off for an additional two minutes.
3. Add broth, water, tomato products and spices. Cover, bring to a boil on high heat, and then reduce and let simmer for 10 minutes. The lentils will absorb a lot of liquid so add more water as needed.
4. Add chopped potatoes, and simmer for an additional 15 minutes on medium heat.
5. When the potatoes are starting to get tender, add the swiss chard greens, slowly while stirring the soup to avoid greens from clumping together. Let simmer for an additional 5-10 minutes until all vegetables are tender. Taste and season with salt and pepper as desired.
6.  Remove from heat, and stir in lemon juice. 
7. Serve with biscuits or garlicky toasts and enjoy.

Vegan Baked Banana French Toast (or is it Bread Pudding?)

     Do you know what is better than Saturday brunch? 

     Sunday Brunch. I say brunch because this is usually a dish I eat with Ryan, but seeing as I'm a morning bird, I've already had my morning coffee and a snack/first breakfast and have started doing homework or typing up a blog post (like this morning) before he wakes up. Anyways, I've got the perfect recipe for your Sunday brunch or breakfast: super easy baked banana french toast or bread pudding (really, it's all the same thing). Seriously, there are only a handful of ingredients and you only need to dirty one mixing bowl and of course whatever you are baking this bad boy in. Seeing as we prefer not to eat eggs here at No Empty Fridge, we make our custard base out of bananas, non-dairy milk and cornstarch. It really is that easy. Since we like to get a little extra protein boost in the A.M., I like to add some toasted walnuts to the mix. Turns out great. This baked french toast casserole is rather firm so that you can serve it with a spatula or a large flat spoon but it's still soft and creamy on the inside. If you like it more custardy, take it out of the oven earlier, or leave it in a smidgen longer if you like it firmer.

Serves: 2-4
Time: 15 min + bake 30 min 

Ingredients

• 4-6 pieces of bread, cut into 1" by 2-3" chunks, or left whole
• 1 large ripe banana
• 1 cup non-dairy milk, I use regular soy milk
• 2 Tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp canola oil
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted (optional)
• Margarine

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°F/175°C. 
2. Place your walnuts, if using, in your baking dish (see below), and toast uncovered while your oven is getting up to temp. By the time your oven gets up to temp your walnuts should be toasted (depending on how fast your oven heats up), but if they don't yet seem toasted enough, you can toast them for a couple more minutes at 350°F, checking often to make sure they don't burn.
3. In a large mixing bowl mash banana until creamy, if your banana is really ripe you can do this with a whisk, otherwise use a fork.
4. Whisk in soy milk, cornstarch, cinnamon, vanilla extract and canola oil. Mix in chopped walnuts if using.
5. Coat all of the bread in the mixture. The older your bread is, the longer it will need to sit. Let sit for about 5-15 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes to make sure all of your bread gets coated in and absorbs the banana custard.
6. While soaking up the banana custard, lightly grease a small baking dish, I use a 7"x7" square or a 9" oval  glass or ceramic baking dish.
7. Mix your bread mixture one last time before pouring into your baking dish. Bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes.
8. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before serving with fresh fruit and a strong coffee.

and ready to bake

Have any favourite vegan breakfast or brunch options? Let me know!