Vegan Peanut Butter Cups

My hubby's new favourite treat, we first tried these out around Halloween time when the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup commercial's kept taunting us.  Hubby and I have always had a soft spot for sweets, especially those revolving around peanut butter and chocolate!  After a few tries and a few small changes to the original recipe we got off The Kind Life website, we've finally perfected it to our liking!  Be careful, these are incredibly addicting!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup of vegan margarine
3/4 cup of crunchy or smooth peanut butter
3/4 cup of graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of soymilk
1 cup of non-dairy chocolate chips
1/4 cup of chopped walnuts

Directions:
Line a 12 cup muffin sheet with liners
Melt the margarine in a saucepan over medium heat
Remove from heat and stir in the peanut butter, graham cracker crumbs and sugar until it's well mixed (I remove from heat because I was finding the ingredients would burn if I left them on while combining and mixing)
Put over heat and continue to stir for a minute more so that everything is well melted
Evenly divide the mixture between muffin cups (a few scoops per cup)
Combine the chocolate in milk in another saucepan (or clean out and re-use your first one)
Stir over medium heat until the chocolate has melted
Evenly distribute over the peanut butter mixture and sprinkle on the chopped nuts
Place in the refrigerator and for best results let them set overnight

We've tried them with both the soft and crunchy peanut butter.  Hubby loves them either way although I love them with the added crunch.  Both work well and are completely delicious!

Toasted Naan With Black Bean Dip

One of our absolute favourites is this delicious and nutritious bean dip.  Eat it with nacho chips, crackers or our favourite - naan, and enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 can of black beans (drained)
1 cup of spinach (raw)
3/4 cup of salsa
1 tsp. of Cumin
2-3 tbsp. of ground flax seeds (optional)
A pinch of salt

Directions:
Combine ingredients in a food processor and process on high for about 2 minutes or until everything is well blended.

In the meantime put slices of naan on a cookie sheet and cook for about 5 minutes at 375F.  Check regularly and remove when slightly toasted, then use a pizza cutter to cut into small triangles.

Hearty Homemade Vegetable Soup

 It's that time of year again where the nights are getting colder, the sky is getting gloomier and the days are shorter.  This time of year always seems to be when I start craving my Mom's homemade soup.  Last year I asked her how she makes hers since it's always so delicious!  I've since made it my own by adding some variations to it but the great thing about soup is you can always substitute, subtract or add what you'd like and it still comes out delicious!


Ingredients:
1 celery stalk finely chopped
2-3 containers of vegetable broth
1/4 cup of onion finely chopped
1 small carrot finely chopped
1 can of lentils or 1/2 cup of cooked rice (optional)
1 can of spicy red pepper diced tomatoes or 2 fresh tomatoes finally diced
Spices (I use a few shakes of each)
2-3 bay leaves
Small amount of garlic
Red wine (optional)
1-2 tbsp. vegetable oil

Directions:
Start by sauteing the onion with a little bit of vegetable oil in your largest cooking pot until they become clear.  Add a spoonful of minced garlic and the spices you like (I usually use a few shakes of parsley, basil, sage and oregano).  Next add the celery and carrots along with the bay leaves and a splash of red wine if you have it.  Continue to saute until the celery and carrots seem to have softened up and add your can of diced tomatoes.  I love the spicy diced tomatoes because they add a light heat to the soup.  Let this simmer together to get the flavours mixing for about 5-10 minutes.  Next add your lentils or rice if you wish and finally the vegetable broth.  Turn up the heat to high and bring to a boil, partially covered.  Then turn the heat to low and let everything simmer for about an hour.  Leave the bay leaves in the soup for the added flavour but don't eat them!

Personally I love to make this soup in the evening, then let it sit overnight so the flavours really absorb one another before eating it.  My Mom never made it with lentils but I started adding them instead of the rice because they're good for us vegans!  As well I use more vegetable broth then she does because I like having less in my soup and more broth where she prefers it being thick and chunky, so again there are so many variations you can try!