Creamy Corn Chowder Recipe

Simple, hearty and Creamy Vegan Corn Chowder! The perfect soup to give you all the warm and cozy Fall feels!

This Creamy Vegan Corn Chowder is a healthy and budget friendly vegan meal! If you are new to vegan or vegetarian cooking, you’re in luck. This meal is super easy to put together, even for the novice cook!

Cashew cream is what makes the wonderful texture of this soup. Cashew cream is a simple mixture of soaked cashews and plant milk blended until velvety soft.

What you will need:
For this recipe you will need some very basic ingredients that you can find at any local grocery store, they are:
– Yellow Onion
– Garlic
– Potatoes
– Carrots
– Vegetable broth
– Corn (fresh or frozen)
– Cashews
– Plant Milk
– Spices

How to Make this Creamy Vegan Corn Chowder:
Making this corn chowder is easy. Start by chopping all the vegetables and sautéing them in a heavy bottom pot with a bit of oil. Next, we add the seasonings, broth, cashew cream and the corn. Once everything has softened it’s time to blend! This part is based on preference. If you want a super soft soup without any chunks then the entire soup can be blended, but it is equally delicious if you leave some veggie bits for extra texture! Finish it off by melting in some vegan cheddar cheese (optional).

If you have never made cashew cream, it is done by simply soaking cashews for a minimum of 4 hours and then blending in a high powdered blender with plant milk until smooth and creamy. If you do not have 4 hours to soak the cashews, they can also be softened by boiling for 5-10 minutes before blending.

If you are using corn fresh from the cobb, remove the kernels by gently running a knife down the length of the cobb. I find it easiest to place the cobb directly in a large bowl while doing this to avoid a big mess!

Finally, serve alongside a freshly toasted baguette or your favorite veggie sandwich!

Note: If you find your soup too thick and want to thin it out, add additional plant milk.

Storage: This soup stores well in the refrigerator for up to 3 days in an air-tight container. Re-heat on the stovetop or microwave.

RECIPE


Ingredients:
– 1 tbsp Cooking Oil
– 1 small Yellow Onion (diced)
– 2 Medium Carrots (diced)
– 3-4 Garlic Cloves (diced)
– 3 Medium Yellow Potatoes (chopped)
– 5 Corn Cobbs or 2 cups frozen corn
– 3 cups Vegetable Broth
– 1 tsp Parsley Flakes
– ¼ tsp Paprika
– Salt and Pepper to taste
– ½ cup Shredded Vegan Cheddar Cheese (optional)

Cashew Cream Ingredients:

– 1 cup Soaked Cashews (minimum 4 hours)
– 1 cup Plant Milk

Directions:
– Start by pre-soaking cashews for a minimum of 4 hours by placing them in a bowl and covering with room temperature water. Alternatively, you can boil the cashews for 5-10 minutes to soften. Drain and rinse the cashews and add to a blender with the plant milk. Blend until smooth and creamy. Set aside.
– In a large heavy bottom pot, heat oil to medium-high heat, add onion, garlic, and carrots. Cook for 2 minutes before adding the potatoes and spices. Stir and continue to cook for 30 seconds until fragrant.
– Add broth and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and place on a tight-fitting lid. Continue to cook until the vegetables have softened.
– Stir in corn and cashew cream and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
– Using an immersion blender or standard blender, blend contents of the soup until the desired consistency is achieved.
– Return to the pot and add vegan cheese and salt and pepper to taste.
– Serve immediately alongside a toasted baguette.

I hope you liked this Creamy Vegan Corn Chowder as much as we do! For more recipes by
Stunningly Plant-Based you can visit https://www.instagram.com/stunningly_plant_based/ or http://www.stunninglyplantbased.com

Roasted Vegetable Salad with Tahini Dressing Recipe

Before I tell you all about this recipe, let me introduce myself! My name is Holly and I run a Vegan Food Blog called Stunningly Plant-Based. I was born and raised here in Ottawa, and I have been vegan for the last 10 years. My goal is to showcase the simplicity of living a plant-based lifestyle that is easy and attainable for anyone! I have always been passionate about health, so a year ago I decided to work toward becoming a Registered Nutritionist. I want to provide even more valuable information to my readers about the health benefits of plant-based eating. Join me to explore all the delicious and nutritious ingredients this beautiful earth has to offer!

This Vegan Roasted Vegetable Salad with Tahini Dressing is packed with flavour and nutrition! Perfect for a potluck, or a summer side dish.

Summer is officially here! Bring on the warm days, picnics, and time spent with family and friends. Today I am showing you how to make a salad perfect for this time of year. This Vegan Roasted Vegetable Salad with Tahini Dressing is full of colourful veggies, satisfying crunch, and a deliciously creamy dressing. 

What’s great about this recipe is that it is completely customizable. If you don’t have the ingredients listed below, try some of these alternatives:

  • Want to use up the leftover veggies in your fridge? Roast them up and toss them with your go-to crunchy greens. 
  • Millet gives this salad a little extra bulk and texture. If you don’t have millet, good alternatives can be quinoa or couscous. 
  • Sprinkled on top are crunchy roasted chickpeas, these can be subbed out and replaced with various seeds such as roasted sunflower seeds. 
  • The tahini dressing can be made sweeter by adding more agave or maple syrup.

I can’t forget to mention that this delicious bowl is a nutrition powerhouse. It contains loads of fibre, various vitamins and minerals, protein, some iron, and antioxidants. 

How to Make this Vegan Roasted Vegetable Salad with Tahini Dressing:

Roasted Chickpeas Ingredients:

  • 1 can of Chickpeas
  • 1 tsp Olive Oil
  • ½ tsp Paprika
  • ½ tsp Garlic Powder
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

Salad Ingredients:

  • 1 bunch of Kale
  • 1 large Sweet Potato
  • 1-2 Beets
  • 1 Green or Yellow Zucchini
  • 1 cup of Millet

Tahini Dressing Ingredients:

  • ¼ cup Tahini
  • 1-2 tbsp Agave or Maple Syrup
  • Juice of half a Lemon
  • 3 tbsp of Water

Directions:

  • Preheat oven to 425 Degrees Fahrenheit. 
  • Drain and rinse the chickpeas, and toss in a bowl with oil, garlic, paprika, salt, and pepper until they are well coated. Distribute onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and set aside. 
  • Prepare the vegetables by slicing them into thin discs and then again into halves. The beets should be the thinnest as they take the longest to cook. Aim for ½ cm or less. 
  • Distribute the vegetables onto a separate baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
  • Place both the vegetables and the chickpeas in the oven side by side on the middle rack. Remove the chickpeas after 15 minutes and the vegetables after 20-25 minutes or until tender. 
  • As the vegetables and chickpeas are cooking prepare the millet according to package instructions. Set aside and let cool.
  • Remove the vegetables from the oven and let cool. Adding the vegetables to the salad when they are too hot will soften the kale. 
  • Prepare the dressing by whisking together the tahini, agave, lemon juice, and water.
  • Finally, assemble all the ingredients in a large salad bowl, leaving the roasted chickpeas until last to retain their crunch.

Tip: Massaging the kale for 3 minutes with some olive oil, a squeeze of lemon juice, and a pinch of salt will enhance the flavour and reduce bitterness. 

I hope you enjoyed this recipe, and I can’t wait for the opportunity to share even more plant-based dishes with you!

Instagram: instagram.com/stunningly_plant_based

Try Veganuary this January!

December is here! At this time of year, many people start thinking about what resolutions they want to make for the New Year. For those who have been thinking about going vegan, a website called Veganuary can help make that transition easier!

Veganuary (vegan + January) is a worldwide movement that supports people to go vegan for the month of January—the idea being, of course, that once you’ve tried veganism for a month, you’ll realize how easy it is and will want to continue as a vegan after the month is over. Veganuary’s colourful, user-friendly website shares the personal stories of other vegans, debunks common myths, and provides an online Vegan Starter Kit, recipes, and advice. They also have a support group on Facebook for participants to get advice, as well as a mailing list that provides additional support during the month of January. Oh, and did I mention that participants can get all this for free?

If you’ve been considering trying vegan but don’t know how (or when) to start, why not sign up for Veganuary right now?

If you’re already a vegan but still want to get involved, there are numerous ways to volunteer with the organization online—just send them a message using their contact form and ask for more information on volunteering. And don’t forget to spread the word about Veganuary a couple of weeks before January starts!

Recipe: Homemade Chocolate Bark

Français

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This recipe is super simple but creates elegant-looking pieces of chocolate bark that you can serve at a party, give as a gift or use to satisfy a chocolate craving.

It’s also highly versatile so feel free to play around with different mix-ins. If you’re a fan of the popular Peppermint Pretzel barkTHINS for example, you could use chopped pretzels, candy cane pieces and a pinch of sea salt. If you like the pecan-caramel combination, try chopped dates and pecans and a handful of toffee pieces. If you prefer fruit and nut chocolate bars, try adding chopped almonds, peanuts and cashews and raisins.

Enjoy!

Homemade Chocolate Bark
Vegan | Gluten-free | Soy-free | Nut-free option

Makes one large baking sheet of bark

Ingredients:

  • 500 grams good quality dairy-free dark chocolate
    (baking chocolate, molding chocolate and chocolate chips/bars should all work well)
  • 1/2 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut
    (Costco sometimes carries Sunblest brand, which I love because it doesn’t have sulphites)
  • 1/2 cup seeds and/or nuts
    (I wanted a nut-free version so I used sunflower, pumpkin and chia seeds)
  • 1/3 cup dried fruit
    (I used unsweetened cranberries and wild blueberries)

Directions:

  1. Melt the chocolate in a saucepan over low heat, checking it often and stirring frequently so that it doesn’t burn. While the chocolate is melting, prepare 1 large (or 2 medium-small baking sheets) with a layer of wax paper or a silicone baking mat.

    IMG_3989
    Start heating the chocolate slowly…

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    … until it’s fully melted.
  2. Once the chocolate is fully melted, remove the pan from the heat and add in your mix-ins. Stir gently until they’re well incorporated.

    IMG_3994
    Add all of your mix-ins into the saucepan.

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    Stir gently to combine.
  3. Spread the mixture out onto the wax paper or baking mat, ideally in the shape of a rectangle, so that it’s about half a centimetre thick. Place your baking sheet in the fridge and let the chocolate cool until its hardened (about 30 minutes).

    IMG_4000
    Spread the mixture out evenly into a rectangular shape.

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    Chill for about 30 minutes until the chocolate has hardened.
  4. When the chocolate is fully cooled, gently peel it off the mat/wax paper and break it into medium-large chunks. Try to work quickly so that the chocolate doesn’t melt – it needs to stay cool to ‘snap’ nicely into pieces of bark.

    IMG_4005
    Break into various-sized pieces to create your ‘bark’.
  5. Store the chocolate in the refrigerator until you’re ready to enjoy. If you’re going to give it as a gift, just package it in some cellophane or a glass jar, add a ribbon and you’re good to go!

Recipe: Curried Sweet Potato, Carrot and Coconut Soup

Français

Soup

This is a great recipe for fall. Not only is the soup warming and delicious, but it’s also simple – you can throw everything into one pot. The recipe also works really well with squash (I recommend butternut). Feel free to play around with the spices.

Curried Sweet Potato, Carrot and Coconut Soup
Vegan | Gluten-free | Soy-free

Serves 6

Ingredients:

  • 1 onion, chopped finely
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil (or other oil)
  • 1 tbsp minced garlic
  • 1 tbsp minced ginger
  • 4 cups vegetable broth
  • 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
  • 3 carrots, peeled and chopped
  • 1 cup coconut milk
  • 1/2 cup crushed tomatoes or 3 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 tbsp curry powder
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne (or to taste)

Directions:

  1. Heat oil in a large saucepan on medium heat. When the oil is heated, add the onion and cook for 3 minutes, stirring once or twice to prevent burning. Add the garlic and ginger and continue cooking until the onion is translucent.
  2. Add the vegetable broth, sweet potatoes and carrots. Cook on medium heat until potatoes and carrots are tender, about 15 minutes.
  3. Add the coconut milk, crushed tomatoes or tomato paste and spices (adjusting to taste).
  4. Stir and reduce heat. Simmer on low for about 10 mins.
  5. Turn the stove off and let the soup cool for at least half an hour. Purée in batches in a blender until smooth (if soup is too thick to blend easily, add a bit of extra broth or water).
  6. Serve warm with bread or crackers and a side salad.

Mint Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

By Amanda

Here is my recipe that I used for the cookies I brought to the GoGreen Expo. Not too sweet but loads of chocolate and mint…what a great combination!

Mint Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients:

  • 1 cup vegan butter, softened (I used Earth Balance Soy Free)
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoon real mint extract
  • 2 1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 12 oz semi-sweet vegan chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder
  • 1/4 cup any vegan milk…soy or almond
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  In a mixer cream sugars and butter until fluffy.   Add liquids…non dairy milk and mint extract.  Combine dry ingredients in a large separate bowl.  Add wet mixture to dry ingredients and mix well.  Fold in chocolate chips.  Roll into small balls onto cookie sheet.  Bake 8-10 minutes.

NCVA Cupcake Challenge – Meet Our Judges – Part 1 – Auntie Loo

Hey everyone,

We’ve had such an AMAZING response to the Cupcake Challenge and we’re really looking forward to seeing and of course TASTING all your creations!

For those of you that haven’t signed up for a chance to have your cupcake named Ottawa’s best vegan cupcake, please click here

We kick off the Meet Our Judges series with none other than Ottawa’s own queen of vegan cupcakes….Auntie Loo!

Auntie Loo’s is a small vegan bakery here in Ottawa. Ms. Loo learned to cook at the knees of her family members, and the majority of what she produces are these very recipes- veganized! Auntie Loo firmly believes that if you want a dessert, it had better taste like one. Auntie Loo’s uses organic products whenever possible, and works with and purchases from small local businesses.

Most people want to know the story, so here it is: Put up to having a vegan treat table at the 2004 Ladyfest Ottawa Craft Sale by her sweet-toothed roommates, Ms. Loo had never even considered baking as a career. Overwhelmed by the response, Auntie Loo’s was born.

Nowadays, Auntie Loo’s Treats can be found in several locations around Ottawa, including her storefront at 507 Bronson Avenue.

Tales of Cake and Frosting

By Erin

I’m not sure how many of you know this, but the NCVA is developing a restaurant outreach program whereby we try to encourage and teach local omni restaurants to be more vegan friendly.

As part of our restaurant outreach package, I wanted to include a really easy and delicious dessert recipe since, even at the veg-friendliest restaurants, vegan desserts are rare.

I settled on chocolate cake since there are so many great vegan ones out there. Specifically, I opted for one of the recipes that helped Chloe Coscarelli win on the Food Networks “Cupcake Wars.”

Check out an article on her win at http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/06/tasty-vegan-food-cupcakes-show-it-can-be-done/.

She was also interviewed recently on “Animal Voices” a Toronto-based radio show. Check that out at: http://animalvoices.ca/2010/10/05/vegan-fitness-nutrition-ultramarathoner-brendan-brazier-dr-occhipinti-chef-chloe-coscarelli/

Anyway, I’d already tweaked the recipe a bit…a little less sugar, instant coffee because I never have espresso powder…but now I wanted to do a test run with the recipe as a two-layer cake. No big changes required, just needed to find the right baking time. Looking at other layer cake recipes, 350 for somewhere between 28 and 36 minutes seemed the norm.

I figured since this was an experimental cake, I’d run another experiment while verifying the bake time. Have you ever noticed how adamant vegan bakers are about not overmixing cake batter? Apparently it leads to tough cakes, fallen cakes, cakes that don’t rise at all, and various other types of badness.

But if that’s the case, why do all boxed cake mix instructions tell you to beat the hell out of their batter for two minutes?

I don’t get it.

So I decided to put it to the test. Layer number one was “mixed lightly until just incorporated” while layer number two was beaten violently à la a boxed mix.

I baked layer number one for 33 minutes. It fell a little bit, making me think I should do layer number two for 35 minutes. Which I did, and, when it came out of the oven, I honestly thought that it was the winner. It was big and poofy and had a smooth, glossy surface. I envisioned myself calling out all the know-it-all vegan chefs and telling them to stick their light incorporation and accept that fact that, evil omni or not, Duncan Hines has been doing cakes since they were in short pants so if he says beat, dammit, beat!

But then layer number two deflated. Here’s a shot of the two layers side by side. The one on the left is the beaten one. Quite the difference in looks!

Now on to the icing.

I recently found a recipe for great fluffy vegan icing. Turns out the secret is a pound of fat. Ever notice how often the secret ingredient is a pound of fat?

That recipe is below:

4 cups confectioners’ sugar (Wholesome Sweeteners does one using unrefined sugar, for a mere thousand dollars a bag)
½ cup Earth Balance buttery spread
Pinch salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

Beat until fluffy (about 5-7 minutes). For a chocolate version, add ½ cup of cocoa.

I was planning to go with that recipe. But then I discovered Mimicreme Healthy Top whipped topping. While this stuff is healthy only in comparison to sucking on the tailpipe of an idling car, it is very delicious. Plus, it boasts a level of fluffiness that simply cannot be achieved using traditional ingredients.

So I decided to try mixing some sugar, coffee and cocoa into the Mimicreme to create a fluffy mocha icing.

I began by pulverizing some sugar and instant coffee in my partner’s coffee grinder (I’m sure he didn’t mind), then tossed that and a few tablespoons of cocoa into the unmixed Mimicreme. The stuff looks terrifying just out of the box, by the way. Remember when Tyler Durden retrieved the bag of fat from the liposuction clinic dumpster? Like that, only square.

Then I whipped and beheld the miracle that I had created.

The stuff was yummy, but seriously weird. First, even though I’d added a good half cup of dry ingredients to the cream, it was runnier than the stuff I’d made on a previous occasion with no additives. How does that work?

Second, it was neither liquid not solid. I actually put it in the fridge before putting it on the cake, hoping it would firm up a bit. When it hadn’t changed much after half an hour, I decided to go ahead. I dumped it all on top of the cake, then began spreading it carefully over the edges. I fully expected it to pour over, making unappealing puddles around the base of the cake.

But it didn’t. The semi-liquid cream sort of clung to the sides of the cake. I was amazed! Then I decided to tempt fate by trying to smooth out the clinging cream. No way was I getting away with this, I thought. It’ll peel away from the sides of the cake, or start running down, or something.

Nope. It was amazingly malleable. I spread, I swirled, I smoothed, and the modified Mimicreme just sort of went with it. It was kind of like the bowling ball mattress – touching any given bit of icing only moved that bit – the stuff around it stayed put.

Very weird.

Anyway, here are a couple of pics of the finished cake, with and without espresso chocolate shavings. I’ve got a couple of taste testers coming by later to see if hey can tell the difference between layers one and two.

Oh, and here is the final cake recipe:

3 cups flour
1.5 cups sugar
1 cup cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
1.5 tsp salt
2 cups coconut milk
1 cup vegetable oil
4 tbsp vinegar
4 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp instant coffee

Preheat oven to 350
Line the bottoms of 2 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper

Mix wet ingredients
Mix dry ingredients
Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and “mix lightly until just incorporated”

Divide batter between cake pans and spread it around (it’s a thick batter)

Bake for 32-35 minutes.

The additions to the Mimicreme were 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tsp instant coffee and 4 tbsp cocoa.