Mother's Day Tribute from Alyza to her Mother...

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My Mom
She has a large shaped heart 

in a pint sized body.
She has a warm smile on a cold day.
She is a hard worker with soft hands.
She laughs at my jokes and 

cries when I'm hurt.
She's tattooed in my heart and

 in my thoughts forever.
I love my mom.

©Alyza2017

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Cranberry-Orange-Chia Muffin Recipe, Vegan, Whole Food, Delicious!

Cranberry-Orange-Chia Muffin Recipe

Back in the day when people arrived at your door with baked muffins (does that happen any more?) I remember replicating a delectable recipe for orange-date muffins that involved cutting up a whole orange-- skin and all-- and putting it in my blender with those dates that came in hard little blocks from the Co-op, and of course, sugar, eggs, raisins, and oil and probably milk.

I got a craving for that fruity, yummy muffin.  I wondered if such a recipe existed for a vegan, oil free muffin with similar ingredients and taste.  Well, I did find a similar yummy-looking muffin recipe from the Vegan Richa blog, and made a few adjustments to get some of the "old" longed-for texture and taste in the recipe below.  See what you think!

INGREDIENTS: 

• 1 C.+ 2 T. organic seedless Orange Juice and Pulp
• Peel from 1/2 organic Orange
• 4 T. Chia Seeds
• 1/2 C. Sugar (I used organic brown sugar)
• 1/2 tsp. Vanilla (I didn't have Vanilla, but did have Orange Extract)

• 1 1/4 C. Flour (I used organic Spelt)
• 1/4 tsp. Baking Soda
• 2 T. Baking Powder
• 1/4 tsp. Salt (I subbed 1/4 C. Nutritional Yeast Flakes)
• 1/2 C. fresh Cranberries (or Frozen, or could use other tart berry of choice)

METHOD:

1. Peel 2 nice organic Naval, Seedless Oranges and segment into the blender.  Blend up and measure out the required amount (above).  Drink the rest, or set aside for someone else.
2. Combine peel from 1/2 of an orange and the Orange Juice and blend until smooth.
3. Add in the Chia seed and let it hydrate for about 15+ minutes in the Juice
4. Line a muffin tin (smaller cups) with paper cup liners or pull out  a Silicone set for super-quick clean-up and no muffin liners needed.
5. Set the oven to preheat at 375F (190C)
6. Blend together orange juice mix, chia seeds, sugar and vanilla
7. Add in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and blend until smooth. Throw in cranberries briefly at the end-- they do not have to be pureed-- you could just mix them in before pouring mix into the cups.
8. Pour or spoon batter into cups to make 8 - 12 muffins (depending on size of cups)
9. Bake for about 20 minutes, although baking times vary for different stoves and altitudes.  Check for doneness at 20 minutes.
10. Set on counter in pan to cool for about 5 minutes, and then remove to cool more on a rack (about another 20-30 minutes).

Yummy Chocolate-Avocado-Chia-Banana Pudding Parfait (Vegan, Whole Food, Plant-Based)

Chocolate-Avocado-Chia-Banana Pudding Parfait

Spent some time in the garden prepping the soil for planting and needed a bit of a treat for the hard dirty work (ha) so decided to try this lovely chocolate chia pudding recipe.  Then, to amp it up a little for people who love banana cream-chocolate parfait or pie, I decided to add a few layers of really ripe banana.  Hope you like it as much as I do!

Makes about 4 Parfaits

INGREDIENTS:

4 T. Chia Seeds
1 C. Almond Milk (or other non-dairy milk of choice)
Flesh of 2 Ripe Avocados
4 T. Organic Cocoa Powder (or Raw Cacao Powder)
4-6 T. Maple Syrup
1/8 tsp. Cinnamon
1 Ripe Organic Banana

METHOD:

1. Assemble ingredients and measure out in advance (or, if less OCD than I, skip this step)
2. Stir chia seeds and almond milk together in the canister of your blender. Let sit 20 minutes.
3. Add other ingredients (except the Banana) and blend until silky smooth
4. Layer Banana and chocolate-chia pudding and garnish with fruit, nuts, or lemon balm (or other mint) leaves.
5. Eat or chill in fridge for a couple of hours.

Vegan Spring Frittata

 
This "vegan frittata" is a take-off on the Persian egg dish often called "koko sabzi" and
baked up for the New Year (March 20th or thereabouts).  The lovely green fresh herbs really celebrate Spring!  I have used some traditional ingredients (the herbs) and some non-traditional ingredients (umeboshi plum vinegar, almond milk, nutritional yeast, and of course, the tofu.)  I think of this as a World Recipe.

Ingredients:

• 2 C. Organic Fresh Parsley, finely chopped
• 2 C. Organic Fresh Chives, finely chopped
• 2 C. Organic Fresh Dill, finely chopped
• 1 tsp. Tamari
• 1/4 C. Plum Vinegar
• 2 pkgs. Extra Firm Organic Tofu
• 1/2 C. Almond Milk
• 1/2 C. Nutritional Yeast
• 2 tsp. mixed Kosher Salt and Black Pepper 
• 1 T. Garlic Powder or 1 Clove Garlic, finely chopped

Method:

• Preheat oven to 350F/177C   - Cover the bottom of a casserole pan with parchment paper

• Saute the Herbs in a small amount of filtered water until limp in a large pan
• Add in the Tamari, Salt and Pepper
• Blend together in a Food Processor (or use a potato masher by hand): Tofu, Plum Vinegar, Almond Milk, Nutritional Yeast, and Garlic.
• Pour the Tofu Mixture into the large pan with the Herbs and mix well over low heat just until all ingredients are well combined
• CAREFULLY pour the entire content of the pan into the casserole and Bake at 350 degrees for abut 35-40 minute