Vegan Holiday Kitchen- Pumpkin Cheesecake with a Hint of Chocolate!

Good Morning friends! How is everyone? How many of you feel a little anxiety when we approach the holidays? What to make? How to prep and plan a holiday menu? Great vegan dishes to serve that the crowd will love? It can be a fun challenge and I get many emails asking me for suggestions and menu ideas. So I'm here today with a review/recipe for you that I am totally excited about! First let me just say that I really don't review things on here too often. I will however happily review things that I personally love and enjoy and actually use myself. And this book is definitely one of my new favorites. I wanted to make sure I got this review up in time for the holidays because it is a must buy in my opinion! I actually rarely cook out of cookbooks (this is the inner chef in me!) and I  am always brainstorming and testing my own new creations. But I have several staple books that I love and I think they are a must in any vegan (or not!) cookbook collection.

Vegan Holiday Kitchen

 The book is called Vegan Holiday Kitchen written by Nava Atlas. This book is a beautiful hardbound book that is organized so well. It has tons of beautiful food photos, and the recipes all look very good! The books chapters are divided by Holidays and events to help you plan from which include...

• Thanksgiving
• Christmas and The Holiday Season
• Jewish Holidays: Passover, Rosh Hashana, and Hanukkah
• Easter
• Independence Day and Summer Entertaining
• Brunches, Appetizers, and Potluck Dishes

For each of these chapters are tons of menu and meal ideas. I love this idea and I think it would be such a helpful tool for so many of you! I definitely recommend this book! Of Course, I can't leave you without a recipe from the book. They have generously let me share one of the recipes with you.  So naturally I chose something perfectly fitting for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. This looks so good, and I myself have added this pie to my menu for Thanksgiving. I am really excited to try it out! The recipe is the picture below of the pumpkin cheesecake in the picture collage. How good does that look? Enjoy everyone!!!

Pumpkin Cheesecake with a Hint of Chocolate

recipe from Vegan Holiday Kitchen

makes 1 9-inch pie feeds 6-8
printable recipe

What you need:

1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips

1/4 cup walnuts

1 9-inch good quality natural pastry crust, vegan, and preferably whole grain

1 12.3-ounce container extra-firm silken tofu

1/2 cup vegan cream cheese

2/3 cup natural granulated sugar

1 1/2 cups of well baked, coarsely mashed sugar pumpkin or butternut squash

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice or more to taste

1/2 cup chocolate chips for optional chocolate drizzle

vegan whipped cream for garnish, optional

How to make:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Combine 1/4 cup chocolate chips and walnuts in a food processor and pulse on and off until finely chopped.

3. Scatter the chocolate chip and walnut mixture evenly over the bottom of the pie crust and then set aside.

4. Combine half the tofu, half the cream cheese, and half the sugar in a food processor and process until smoothly pureed. Pour into the pie crust and smooth down with a cake spatula.

5. Combine the pumpkin or squash pulp in the food processor with the remaining tofu, cream cheese, and sugar, along with the cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice. Process until smoothly pureed and pour into the pie crust over the plain tofu layer and smooth down with a cake spatula.

6. Bake for 40-45 minutes until the mixture is set and the crust is golden brown. Let the pie cool to room temperature. Cut into 6-8 slices to serve.

7. If you would like to garnish each slice of pie with chocolate drizzle, melt the chocolate chips in a double broiler on the stove top. Transfer the melted chocolate to a pastry bag, or less fancy but almost as effective, a ziploc bag.  If using the Ziploc, snip a tiny hole in one of the corners and gently squeeze the chocolate over each slice of pie in an attractive zig-zag pattern. You can also garnish with a vegan whipped cream..

Adorable childrens coloring zine for Thanksgiving!

Happy Happy Monday! How is everyone? I just wanted to check in and tell you about a new find that I am loving! If you have children, this is perfect for them for this holiday season!
This is a Thanksgiving coloring zine written by the talented children's author Nathalie Vanbalen. She is the author of the children's book Garlic-Onion-Beet-Spinach-Mango-Carrot-Grapefruit Juice which I have reviewed in the past and love. Its an adorable book that teaches children why we eat a plant based diet, and she does so in a hilarious, laugh out loud, lighthearted manner. My kids love her first book and we read it all the time. So naturally when she contacted me saying that she had made a special coloring zine to teach children about a Turkey-less Thanksgiving, I couldn't wait to read it! The book is called

Happy Thanks Living!

This is an absolutely adorable activity to get for your veggie kids to enjoy during Thanksgiving! Love love love it! I haven't seen anything else out there like this. It is a 20 page coloring zine on all recycled paper, which makes me even more excited. I love Nathalie's style of writing, witty and catchy! Here's a few of the cute pages from the book.

Seriously, how cute is this?! This coloring zine will only be available for the rest of this week. At $5.00 a book, its a great buy and a really fun Thanksgiving activity to do with your kids!

Order your copy here at her website!

You will love it!

Winner of the nut milk bag giveaway!

Hello friends! Just here this morning to post the lucky winner of my very favorite nut milk bag! The winner was chosen at random through Random.org and the winner is ...


Tricia, who wrote
"Congrats on the good news! I have tried nut milk in the past and it is so good. Would love to try with the AWESOME nut bag!! :"-) "


Congrats Tricia! I will be sending you some more info and getting in contact with you so we can get this mailed right out and you can start start making your own nut milks!


For any of you that are interested in purchasing this bag that didn't win, you can do so by clicking  here.... 

This is by far the highest quality nut milk bag I have owned! I have had many over the years and none of the others have compared in quality, durability, etc. I highly recommend it!!! 


Well, I am off  to throw in some of my refried beans in the crock pot for tostadas tonight, one of my all time favorite meals! If you haven't made this one before , its so delicious, easy, and awesome for leftovers! I will attatch the link to the recipe below! Definitely give this one a try! Have a great Monday!

Tostada with Morgan's Amazing Refried Beans

click on the name for the recipe!

Creamy chai spiced pumpkin seed milk (raw) and a giveaway!

Hello hello my lovely friends! I hope all of you are doing well! So I am here today as promised with an awesome giveaway, a super healthy and delicious recipe, and a little announcement!  Where should I start?!

Well, first I guess I should let all of you in on the good news! No its not food related, but I thought you would enjoy the news anyways! The husband and I are very excited to be expecting baby number 4.  I am just about done with the first trimester, and I'm hoping that means that this morning sickness I have had will ease up a little. I have to be honest in saying that I haven't been able to keep a whole lot down. Or cook anything too exciting for that matter. But, I am really excited to be getting my appetite back a little and I am especially excited to create some new Thanksgiving dishes this year! I love coming up with new cruelty free and healthier ideas and hopefully inspiring others to give them a try! So there you have it. This house of veggies is about to get a little crazier than it already is, but in the best way ever! This will probably be the last little bambino for us so I am going to try to really take in the pregnancy and enjoy it fully. I will keep everyone updated on any new news!

Ok, ok, now back to what you all really come here for, the food! This recipe is a creamy chai spiced pumpkin seed milk that is entirely raw, so good for you, no sugars added (only from a banana) and a delicious treat that can replace all of the sugar loaded not so good for us "festive holiday drinks". I promise you that you will love this! Even my little two year old drank a whole glass and kept saying "mmmmm, yummy". Make sure that you use the raw pumpkin seed kernels (also called Pepita's). They are little green pumpkin seeds, and really mid in flavor. And they are just packed with such good nutrition! They are one of the healthiest seeds out there!

It's giveaway time!!!

If you have never made your own nut milk before, do not be afraid! It could not get any easier! You will however, benefit greatly from a good nut milk bag. I have bought and used many over the years, and my favorite is the one made by The Health Seekers Kitchen. You might think I am biased because she is in fact  my Mom, but the quality of her bags can not be matched! They are the most durable and easy to clean, and I just love them! And guess what...I have one to giveaway to one of you lucky readers! If you don't have one yet, now is the time to try and win this one! All you need to do to enter to win is leave me a comment on why you want to win the nut milk bag below. And that's it! Good luck to everyone!! Winner will be chosen Monday morning of next week!

And now its recipe time! mmmmmm mmmmmm tasty tasty!

Creamy chai spiced pumpkin seed milk

(raw)

printable recipe

What you will need:

1 cup of raw pumpkin seed kernels (also called Pepita's) Soaked in a bowl with water for a few hours

5 cups fresh water

2 tsp cinnamon

Seeds from 1 vanilla bean, or 1 tsp good quality vanilla extract

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/8 tsp allspice

1/8 tsp ground ginger

1/8 tsp ground cardamom

fresh nutmeg (about 10 grates on a microplane)

2 packets of stevia

1 large very ripe frozen banana

To Make:

After soaking the pumpkin seeds for a few hours, drain the water off and place into a Vitamix blender or any blender that you have. Add 5 cups of fresh water, and blend for several minutes, until the seeds are blended up very well. Using a large bowl, dump the milk into a nut milk bag and strain into the bowl. Squeeze the bag gently to get all the liquid out, and the pulp will stay behind in the bag. Discard the pumpkin seed pulp, you won't need it. Rinse the blender out well, and then dump the strained milk back into the blender. Add all the rest of the spices and the banana, and blend again to combine well. Will last about a week stored in the fridge. Soooooo Yum!!!!

Morgans amazing Broccoli Cheese Soup

Of course, without the cheese, or the cream, or the milk.   :D   My version is soul satisfying, body nourishing and comfort food from my childhood at its best! It is exactly what I want when there is a chill in the air. If you call almost 70 degrees in southern California "a chill". haha  But I know many of you are in full blown snow heaven right now so see...I made this recipe just for you! Get cooking, get cozy, warm your belly and watch some new good movies!  Stay tuned for my next recipe! It includes an awesome giveaway, and of course something pumpkin! Watch for that,  and have a wonderful wonderful soup eating weekend!!! Until next time my friends..

Morgan's Amazing Broccoli Cheese Soup

Makes a ton! About 8 servings and is awesome for leftovers!!

printable recipe

What you need:

1 batch of creamy cashew cheese (recipe below)

3-4 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 onion

4 cloves garlic

4 small or 2 large celery, diced

4 small or 2 large carrots, diced

pinch of salt and pepper

3 32-ounce boxes of organic vegetable broth

about 4 heaping cups of chopped broccoli florets (3 small heads of broccoli)

1 tsp salt and a crack of pepper

1/4 tsp. ground mustard

creamy cashew cheese:

1 cup raw cashews, soaked for about an hour

5 sundried tomatoes
1 cup nutritional yeast

juice of 1 small lemon

1 Tbsp. mustard

1/2 of a small jalapeno pepper

1 tsp. garlic powder

3/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp. paprika

1 cup fresh water

After you have soaked the cashews, place the nuts and all other ingredients into a Vitamix or a good blender and blend until completely smooth.

To make the soup:

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium high heat. Add the onions and garlic and saute for about 3 minutes until softened slightly. Add the celery and carrots and a pinch of salt and pepper and saute a few more minutes. Then add the vegetable broth, broccoli, and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 45 minutes or until the broccoli becomes tender. While the soup is cooking make the creamy cashew cheese.

Gently blend the soup in batches in your blender or using an immersion blender, but do not over blend.. I scooped it in batches into my Vitamix blender and then just blended it for a few seconds on a very low setting. The soup should be mostly smooth but still with some very small chunks here and there and a little texture. Taste the soup at this point and then add any additional salt and pepper you need. You can serve this as is or top with store bought or freshly made croutons!

Wholesome and Healthy Spicy Lentil Chili

Hello hello! Hope all of you are doing well and enjoying the beginnings of all things Fall! This is by far my favorite time of year! I love the holidays that are spent with loved ones, I love the beautiful weather, and I love the food!  Soups being at the top of that list. In this chili I use lentils, which are a powerhouse of health and nutrition. Lentils are a legume and grow similar to peas in a pod. And do you ever get this lovely question from your friends.. "Where do you get your protein?" Well us veggie eaters get our protein from many natural sources. Did you know that lentils are 26% protein?!  And they are also packed with folic acid, soluble and insoluble dietary fiber, high levels of vitamins A and B vitamins, and are one of the highest sources of antioxidants found in the winter growing legumes!  Some other awesome health facts of the humble little lentil are...

• The type of fiber they have reduces cholesterol
• Good for those with diabetes- the fiber in lentils traps carbohydrates, which slows the digestion of them, which prevents wild swings in blood sugar levels
• so so good for digestion, and constipation issues, again, because of all that fiber!
• Really great for weight loss! Keep you full longer and the insoluble fiber passes through you virtually intact which means low calorie but filling!
• A study at the Department of Nutrition at Harvard has shown that there is a link between diets high in lentils and reduced risks of breast cancer
• Linked to reduced risk of coronary heart disease

Oh Lentils, how I love you! You keep me energized and healthy!  There are several different varieties of lentils. I chose for this recipe to use 2 different colors, but you can use whatever kind you get. This is a soup that will nourish you and warm your belly and soul this time of year! Enjoy friends, and now lets go make some soup!

Wholesome and Healthy Spicy Lentil Chili

Serves 6-8

printable recipe

What you will need:

4 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 yellow onion, diced

3 stalks of celery, diced

2 carrots, diced

5 cloves of garlic, minced

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

1 Anaheim chili, seeded and diced (if you are sensitive to spicy food, just leave this pepper out)

1 Tbsp. cumin

1 Tbsp. chili powder

1 Tbsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. paprika
1 Tbsp. maple syrup
1 tsp. blackstrap molasses

2 1/2  boxes (just estimate) of vegetable broth/stock (using the 32-ounce boxes)

1 14.5 ounce can tomato sauce

a few tsp. salt (to taste)

pepper

2 cups of lentils, I used 1 cup of red lentils, and one cup of french lentils

Vegan sour cream

tortilla chips to dunk in the soup

To make the soup:

Heat olive oil over medium high heat in a large soup pot. Add the onion, celery, carrot, and garlic with a pinch of salt and pepper and saute for about 5 minutes until softened..Add in your bell peppers and Anaheim chili with another pinch of salt and pepper and saute for a few more minutes. Add in all the spices, vegetable broth, tomato sauce, 1 Tbsp. maple syrup, 1 tsp. blackstrap molasses, a couple tsp. of salt, and lentils and stir well. Bring to a boil, and them simmer for about 35 minutes or until the lentils are soft and tender. Taste the broth after it is finished cooking and adjust salt and pepper to taste.

To Serve:

Ladle soup into bowl. Top with a dollop of vegan sour cream and chips either crumbled on top, or served on the side for dipping! YUM!

Pizza with creamy sunflower seed and cashew nut cheese, roasted peppers, olives and mixed greens

Hello Hello my lovelies! How is everyone? Well, considering that I am in the process of moving, and I should be packing at every chance I get, I have chosen to forgo the task at hand for my one true love...cooking up some awesome vegan food! :D  And I just had to share my newest recipe with you all! Think thin crust pizza/flatbread covered in an Italian herbed sunflower seed and cashew nut cheese, and topped with roasted red peppers, jalapeno stuffed olives, and a salad gently tossed in a light vinaigrette on top. perfection on my tongue! If you don't like spicy food, just use regular olives or kalamata olives if you like those. Either would be great. But if you do like jalps, definitely go with the jalapeno stuffed olives. I had the in-laws in town for a visit and all of my taste testers loved this! It was a perfect game day snack, cut up in to little rectangles. Use any extra sunflower seed cashew cheese on sandwiches! Hope you all have a great week!! Enjoy!!!

Pizza with sunflower seed and cashew nut cheese, roasted peppers, spicy olives and mixed greens

makes 2 baking sheet sized pizzas

printable recipe

Pizza Dough: (I got this pizza dough recipe from a very good friend of mine, Maria, who got it from HER sister. It is fabulous!!  After Maria made me some amazing bruschetta pizza a few weeks ago, I emailed her begging for the recipe. They were so kind to give me the dough recipe!!  I just swapped out the white flour for wheat but you can use white if you want. Also, I made my dough in a Kitchenaid mixer with the dough hook)


*you can skip this step if you want and use a pre made pizza dough*


1 1/2 c. warm water
2 tsp. dry active yeast
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. salt
About 3 1/2 to 4 cups of white whole wheat flour, or regular white flour


Whisk the warm water, yeast and sugar together in a large mixing bowl or in a Kitchenaid. Let sit for about 5 minutes until it is bubbly and active. Add the salt and your first 2 cups of flour. Using the dough hook on the lowest speed or using a wooden spoon, mix the dough until combined. Then add another cup. and continue to mix After the 3rd cup has been added, add by the 1/2 cup. If you are not using a Kitchenaid, start kneading with your hand when the dough becomes to hard to stir. The dough should be wet but not overly sticky. you should be able to work with it without it sticking to things. You want to add as little flour as possible without it sticking to the surface. at this point,  Divide the dough into two balls and place each in their own Ziploc bag or wrap in saran wrap and place int he fridge until ready to use. If you are only making 1 pizza you can freeze the other one and then thaw before using.

Sunflower seed and cashew nut cheese

makes about 3 cups of cheese

1 C. raw cashew pieces

1 c. raw unsalted sunflower seeds

1 clove garlic

4 sundried tomatoes

1/2 cup nutritional yeast

1/4 c. fresh Italian flat leaf parsley

2 Tbsp. mellow white miso paste

2 Tbsp. dried oregano

3 tsp. ume vinegar or red wine vinegar (try to find the Ume vinegar if you can!)

Juice of 1 lemon

1 tsp. garlic powder

1/2-1 tsp. salt (add slowly to taste)

pepper to taste

Soak the cashews and sunflower seed for about 1 hour. Drain and add into a vitamix blender or a regular blender. Add all other ingredients. Begin mixing and add water slowly to help it mix. Start with 1/2 cup water and from there add more as you need to help your blender mix the ingredients well.  Be careful not to add too much water and make it overly runny. You want it to stay thick and spreadable. You want this to be the consistency of a soft cheese or a hummus. Once mixed well, taste, store in a container in the fridge until ready to use.

Salad Vinaigrette:

1/4 c. red wine vinegar

1 Tbsp. Veganaise, vegan cream cheese, or about a Tbsp. of silken tofu to help make creamy)

1/2 tsp each oregano, parsley, and garlic powder

Salt and pepper to taste

About 1/2 cup Olive oil

In a bowl add all ingredients except Olive oil. ix, then slowly drizzle in the olive oil until creamy. Set aside until ready to use.

To make the pizzas:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Dust a baking sheet or a pizza stone with some cornmeal. on a clean surface dust a little flour and roll out your dough into either a circle (if using a pizza stone) or a rectangle (if using a baking sheet).  Transfer the dough to the baking sheet and poke the top all over with a fork to puncture and prevent bubbles.  Brush the top with about 1 Tbsp. of olive oil. then sprinkle with a pinch of garlic powder and dried oregano Bake for 12-15 minutes, until slightly golden and cooked through. Remove fro the oven and place the crust on a cutting board or other surface to cool very well.

For pizzas toppings:

sunflower seed cashew nut cheese

roasted red bell peppers (you can buy them jarred and ready to go)

Jalapeno stuffed olive (these can be found just at the regular grocery store usually)

Spring mix lettuce

Vinaigrette made earlier

Once cooled, spread pizza crust with about a 1/2 inch layer of the sunflower/cashew cheese. Next layer the roasted red bell peppers.

In a bowl toss about 4 large handfuls of mixed greens with just enough vinaigrette to coat well. Pile about 2 cups per pizza on the top. You can then either sprinkle the jalapeno stuffed olives all over ( I add them generously) or you can serve the olives on the side and people can add as they wish.

Enjoy!!!