My creation of this meal was inspired by a recipe Marty found on FB that was printed in Shape Magazine.  Plantains are easy to get in the islands and I do love empanadas so I was excited to give this
a try.  A portion of the directions I’m giving you are sort of
hypothetical…I followed the directions as they were printed and the plantain “dough” was not exactly malleable and I’m actually a bit confused as to how it ever would be.  Regardless it was great and I’ll definitely make it again and perhaps change the directions accordingly.  Until then, try this and find your own way!

What you’ll need (for the empanadas):
-3 Ripe Plantains
-1 small onion
-2 cloves of garlic
-1 ½ cups of cooked black beans
-1/4 tsp. cumin
-1/4 tsp. chili powder
-1/4 tsp. coriander
-1/4 tsp. cayenne 

-salt & pepper to taste
-flour for surface coating

-vegan cheese & sour cream (optional)

What you’ll need (for the sauce):
-4 ripe tomatoes, chopped (including juices)
-1/4 cup onion, chopped
-2 garlic cloves, chopped
-1/4 cup basil, chopped
-season to taste

What’s Next:
-Turn on the oven to 375.  Cut off ends of plantains and make a slit in the skin lengthwise (just the skin, not the plantain)
-Put the plantains on a baking sheet and bake for 40-45 minutes. When done
-Remove from oven and cool, then peel and mash- set aside
-While the plantains are baking…warm a medium/large pan with a splash of olive oil
-Sauté onions and garlic for a couple minutes then add spices and stir to combine
-Add the beans and stir to combine, continue cooking about a minute
-Mash some of the beans with a masher or large fork- then set the mixture aside
-Lightly oil a baking sheet & coat your hands (to prevent sticking) with the flour of your choice
-Divide the mashed plantain mixture into four balls, place them far enough apart from each other on the baking sheet & flatten like a pancake (recoat your hands with flour as needed)
-Divide the black bean mixture between the four (use common sense as to how much, you may extra bean mixture)
-Fold the plantain “dough” over the bean mixture and press the edges with a fork to seal. Top with vegan cheese (if using)
-Bake for about 20 minutes

What’s Next (for the sauce):
-While the empanadas are baking make the sauce
-Heat a pan with a splash of olive oil, then add garlic & onion and sauté for a couple minutes
-Add the tomatoes (including its juices), basil, and seasoning (if using). Reduce heat to low and simmer stirring often for 5 minutes
-Transfer the tomato mixture to a food processor and blend until well incorporated
-Serve the empanadas with plenty of sauce on top 

This is a main course dish that would go well with soup and corn bread on the side.  Enjoy!

*Feeds 4 Martys*

We had some friends from another boat over for dinner last night and they were my taste testers for a few new recipes.  It might go without saying that our cruiser friends are not vegan (we have not met any other cruising vegans in person) and I like to see if I can make something that taste “good” in their opinions, not just “good for being vegan.”  And they seemed to enjoy this soup and Marty and I liked it too!  I didn’t come up with this myself; it’s a variation of another great recipe from my yoga teacher Dharma Mittra.  It has the taste of energizing food!

What you’ll need:
-2 medium tomatoes, chopped 
-1 cup cucumber, cubed
-1/2 cup zucchini, cubed
-1/2 cup cubed bell pepper (any color)
-1 medium avocado, halved
-1 cup spinach
-1/2 cup basil
-1 lemon, juiced
-4-6 (4 if they are big or 6 if medium) dates, soaked 
 
What’s Next:
-Put aside half of the zucchini, half the avocado, and about a fourth of the tomato
-Put everything else in a food processor and blend until creamy
-Chop the ingredients you set aside 
-Distribute the soup into small bowls adding the chopped zucchini, avocado, and tomato into each


*Serves 4 Marty’s as an appetizer*

Growing up I was never interested in baking the interest only came over me recently.  My sister always helped my Mom, eventually totally taking over, with the task of making all the Christmas cookies, pies, and cakes. She is still a great baker and has a good audience with her husband and soon to be 5 kids.  I only have an audience of one and Marty is very happy and getting used to having a homemade dessert daily.  I want us to be able to stop eating the desserts it’s just that I like making them so much- weird huh.  So usually I share the goods (Marty doesn’t like that part) with our friends on other boats. This creation I adapted from a recipe in “Vegan Cupcakes Take over the World.”  It’s seriously good.

What you’ll need:
-2/3 cup soy milk
-1/2 tsp. apple cider vinegar

-1 ½ cups flour
-3/4 tsp. baking powder
-1/2 tsp. baking soda
-1/2 tsp. salt
-1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
-1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

-1/2 cup pure maple syrup
-1/3 cup canola oil
-2 tbls. brown sugar
-1 tsp. vanilla extract
-1 tps. Maple or Almond extract 
 
What’s Next:
-Preheat oven to 350 and lightly oil your baking pan- this time I used a Bundt pan and made a short bundt cake.  My cake came out dense and moist, it was very good.  Alternatively you could use a square 8x8 pan or round pan but nothing too large b/c it’s not enough mix for a large pan.  
-In a medium bowl whisk together the soy milk and apple cider vinegar and set aside for a few minutes
-In a separate medium sized bowl combine the flour through cinnamon on the ingredient list
-In the bowl with the soy milk, add the remaining ingredients (syrup through extracts)
-Sift or slowly incorporate the dry flour mixture into the wet ingredients and stir until smooth
-Pour mixture into your cake pan and bake until toothpick comes clean from the center- about 25 minutes
-Let cake cool completely, transfer to plate and frosting with Orange Cream Frosting (recipe below)

What you’ll need (for the frosting):
-2 tbls. + 1 tsp. vegan margarine
-2 tbls. + 1 tsp. shortening
-1 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar
-1 ½ tbls. orange juice (preferably from an orange)
-1/2 tbls. grated lemon zest
-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

What’s Next:
-In a medium bowl cream together the shortening and margarine with an electric on hand mixer
-Slowly, in batches, add the confectioners’ sugar with a small splash of orange juice and continue mixing until all juice and sugar is combined and smooth
-Add the zest and vanilla and beat another couple minutes
-Place the frosting in a closed container in the fridge until ready to use

Happy Dessert!

It was after 4pm when Marty reported he was hungry
(he was working hard today installing our new solar panels) and asked what I was making for dinner.  It has been so hot here I don’t much feel like making anything that requires me to turn on the oven which would heat the inside of our boat beyond the 93 degrees it is already.  So I looked at my vegetable inventory and decided on a new creation, and turned on the oven anyway!  At least I can jump in the water when I’m finished sweating it out in the galley!

What you’ll need (for the pie):
-2 ½ cups cubed pumpkin (or sweet potato)
-1 tbls. vegan butter
-1 tbls. brown sugar (optional/ omit if using sweet potato)
-2 cups butter beans
-1 small onion, chopped
-3/4 cups sliced carrots
-1 medium bell pepper (any color)
-3/4 cup chopped eggplant
-2 green onions
-1/4 tsp. cumin
-1/4 tsp. coriander
-1/4 tsp. cayenne
-1/4 tsp. ground ginger
-salt & pepper to taste

-1 cup (approximately) vegan gravy (recipe follows)

What’s Next:
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees
-In a pot boil the cubed pumpkin or sweet potato drain when soft enough to mash but not mushy
-In a medium sized pan heat a splash of olive oil and sauté the chopped onion, 1 minute
-Add the spices and stir to incorporate with the onion, 2 minutes
-Toss in the sliced carrots and sauté another 2 minutes
-Add bell pepper, eggplant, & chopped green onion & continue cooking 2-3 minutes
-Turn off the heat of the vegetable mixture & set pan aside
-With a hand masher or fork mash the butter beans in a bowl (it’s ok if they aren’t all totally smooth)
-Transfer the beans to your 9” pie plate & use a fork to press the beans into the pan including a little up the
sides
-Place the vegetable mixture on top of the beans and arrange evenly
-Pour about half the gravy evenly on top of the vegetables (reserve remainder)
-Mash the pumpkin or sweet potato with vegan butter and brown sugar
-Evenly distribute the pumpkin/sweet potato mash on top of the veg/gravy mixture
-Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes at 350
-Let sit for about 15 minutes before cutting with a specula- if you don’t wait your slices will not look like a pie, but it will still taste good!
-Serve with a little hot gravy on top

What you’ll need (for the gravy):
-1 ½  tbls. olive oil
-3 tbls. flour
-1 ½ cup water (or veg. broth, if using broth you don’t need the bouillon cube!)
-1/2 veg. bouillon cube (no sodium kind)

What’s Next:
-If using bouillon cube (instead of broth) boil the water and stir in bouillon cube to make broth- set aside
-Re-heat, over medium heat, the same pan used to make the vegetable mixture (without the vegetables in it!)
-Add the oil
-Stir in the flour and continue stirring so the mixture doesn’t clump, about 5 minutes
-Slowly whisk in the broth- continue whisking about 2 minutes
-If the gravy is too thick you can add more water
-While the gravy is hot pour slightly less than half on top the veg/bean mixture-just leave the rest in the pan
-Before serving the pie you can re-heat the rest with a little water when the pie comes out of the oven

*Feeds 3 Marty's as a main dish or 6 as a side*

I just made these brownies for the first time today. 
A group of us are going up island to a local fish fry so I thought I’d make
something to share with everyone on the ride up. I’m going to the fish fry for
the local experience not the food and these brownies might be my
dinner!  

I can’t take credit for developing this recipe; this is a very close variation of a creation by Dharma Mittra, my yoga teacher.  It’s totally possible these are the best brownies I’ve ever tasted.  Try them out and
let me know if you think so too!
Here’s what I did…

What you’ll need:
-1 ½ cups flour
-2/3 cup cacoa powder (unsweetened)
-3/4 tsp. baking powder
-1/4 tsp. sea salt
-1 cup non-dairy chocolate chips (I use “vegan chips” from Whole Foods- I restock these every time I go back to the states!)
-1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

-3/4 cup agave nectar (or maple syrup if you don’t have agave)
-3/4 cup applesauce (unsweetened/no sugar added)
-1/2 cup water
-2 tsp. ground flax seed
-2 tsp. vanilla extract

What’s Next:
-Preheat oven to 350
-In a medium size bowl combine all the dry ingredients together, including the chips and nuts.
-In a separate medium bowl combine all the wet ingredients and stir to incorporate
-Slowing incorporate the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until well combined
-Pour mixture into a lightly oil greased 8x8 pan
-Bake for 30-40 minutes- the brownies will be a little moist but a knife/toothpick should still
come out clean from the center

Thank you Dharma!

Because we had some left over quinoa from dinner the night before I thought I’d try a new burger recipe.  Marty loves burgers.  I’m fairly certain I could make anything shaped like a burger and Marty would think it was great.  This one did come out good plus it was really easy and it’s on “Marty’s Picks.”  A winner all around!


 

What you’ll need:
-1 ½ cups cooked (or soaked/sprouted) black beans (if you use canned ones be sure to drain & rinse them first)
-2 medium sized carrots (peeled)
-1/2 medium red bell pepper
-1/2 cup cooked quinoa
-1/4 cup fine bread crumbs
-1/2 tsp. cumin
-1/4 tsp. coriander
-1/4 tsp. ground ginger
-1/4 tsp. cayenne
-salt & pepper to taste

Serve on rolls with lettuce, tomato, avocado and whatever condiments you
like.

What’s Next:
-Put the cooked black beans in a medium sized bowl and mash them up some with a hand masher- they don’t need to be completely mashed
-In a food processor, pulse chop up the carrots and red pepper together until they are in small pieces
-Add the carrots, red pepper, quinoa, and bread crumbs to the bowl with the beans and combine
-In a small bowl mix all the spices together then distribute evenly in the bowl with the beans, ect..
-Combine everything together using your hands, then form into patties

-If saving for later, wrap the burgers in parchment paper and place in a zip lock bag in the fridge
-For cooking, heat a pan over medium/high heat with a splash of oil.  Or broil in the oven
-Cook burgers for 2-3 minutes on each side and serve while hot

*Makes 4 Marty size burgers*

Falafel wraps are awesome.  It’s something I make for lunch not regularly but frequently and Marty gets very excited each time like he is getting some sort of reward or something.  Sometimes I make these on pitas which are sometimes better- it’s really whichever I can find fresh at the store.  Not that the falafel isn’t good on its own but what really makes it great are the accouchements and of course the love that goes into making it.  I always use a hummus spread on the wrap and add chopped up cucumber, tomato, and sometimes avocado to the inside with the falafel.  It’s a real crowd pleaser even for non-vegans!

You can either fry these in a pan with a little oil or bake them. 

What you’ll need (for the falafel):
-1 cup cooked garbanzo beans (chick peas) if using canned drain and rinse first
-1 tbls. flour
-1/2 tsp. baking powder
-1 clove of garlic chopped
-1 tbls. chopped fresh parsley
-1 tbls. chopped fresh cilantro
-1 tsp. lemon juice (may need slightly more if mixture seems too dry)
-1/2 tsp. coriander
-1/2 tsp. cumin
-1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
-salt and pepper to taste
-wraps or pitas

What’s Next:
-For baking, preheat oven to 375
-Place the beans in a medium sized bowl and mash up with a hand masher or fork
-In a smaller bowl combine all the dried spices then distribute over the beans and combine with a fork
-Add the remaining ingredients and mix together well
-Form the mixture into about 1 ½ inch balls then mash to flatten just a bit
-Place the balls on a lightly oiled baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes on each side until lightly browned

Serve warm in pitas/wraps with tomato, cucumber, and hummus (click for recipe)

*Makes about 14 balls which is enough for at least 4 wraps/pitas*

Since we have been in the Caribbean I seem to have been on a mission to search out the best roti. Or maybe it’s just that veggie rotis are the only vegan thing universally sold on the islands.  Either way, I love them and figured with as many as I’ve tried I could come up with my own recipe by taste.  I decided I would try and make them myself but the shell (or skin as it’s called) turned out more like a thin pizza crust.  I shared my problem with a local roti and “doubles” maker and asked for some tips.  The response I got was a giggle and then “oh don’t you worry about that, it takes years of practice to perfect the art of roti skin making.”  Some people may have considered this a challenge- so far I think it’s a pretty good excuse to let someone else make the skin.  And, as luck would have it a local market recently started selling fresh roti skins.  It’s possible you could buy them frozen where you live or you can start practicing! 
 
What you’ll need:
-2 Roti Skins
-1 medium sweet potato (peeled and cut in ½ cubes)
-1 small gold potato (peeled and cut in ½ cubes)
-2 medium sized carrots
-1/2 large bell pepper (any color)
-1/2 cup of peas
-3 tbls. coconut milk
-1/2 tsp. cumin
-1/4 tsp. cayenne
-1/4 tsp. turmeric
-1/4 tsp. coriander
-salt and pepper to taste

-mango chutney for serving (optional)

What’s Next:
-Boil the sweet potato and gold potato together until just tender, drain and put back in the pot
-In a pan over medium heat sautee the carrots, pepper, and peas for a couple minutes
-Add all the spices to the vegetables and stir until well incorporated, remove from heat
-Pour the coconut milk on the potatoes and mash by hand just a few times (there should still be potato chunks)
-Transfer the vegetables to the same pot as the potatoes and mix together with a spoon
-Place half the mixture on the center of one shell. Fold long ways once, then both ends in, and lastly the other long end. Repeat for roti #2
-Place both roti’s in the already used vegetable pan with a very small amount of oil on medium heat. Heat rotis for one minute on each side.
-Remove from heat and serve with mango chutney (or whatever you like)

*Feeds 2 Martys*

Isn’t Chocolate and Peanut Butter amazing together?  My best friend got me
hooked on the combination when we were kids and the only ice cream she would get at Baskin Robins was chocolate peanut butter.  I frequently search out a way to add peanut butter into chocolate recipes but you can always leave it out if you
don’t like it as much as me or if you are serving someone with an allergy.   So chocolate and peanut butter made into a pudding seemed like a pretty good idea to me.  My Mom used to use that instant pudding mix to make pudding and put them in little bowls in the fridge; I remember it being very hard to wait the appropriate cooling time before we got to eat it!  Then we would stir in some cool whip or vanilla ice cream, yum! Did
anyone else love that?  So, my taste may have changed a bit but I wanted to replicate that wonderful experience of pudding, vegan style.  So I noticed that “Vegan Pie in the Sky”, a newly published book, had a pudding pie recipe and this is how I made my variation. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed with this; we weren’t!  And I got to use the local Grenada chocolate, a bonus!

What you’ll need:
-Pie crust; store bought or homemade
-3 cups almond milk
-1/4 cup cornstarch
-1/3 cup sugar
-3 tbls. cocoa powder with no additives 
-3 tbls. vegan chocolate chips
-1/3 cup peanut butter
-1 tsp. vanilla extract
-Whip cream (optional) for serving (recipe below)

What’s Next:
-In a medium sized pot, combine 1 cup of the milk with the cornstarch and whisk until dissolved
-Whisk in remaining milk, sugar, and cocoa powder
-Bring to a boil whisking occasionally. Once boiling, reduce heat to slow boil and whisk constantly until the mixture is thick
-Add chips and peanut butter and stir until melted and incorporated. Add vanilla
-While the mixture is hot pour into in the pie crust and let cool on the counter for 20 minutes.
-Place parchment paper over the filling so a skin doesn’t form and refrigerate at least 3 hours
-Serve with whip cream if you wish (hint you’ll need to start this at least 10 hours before serving)

What you’ll need (for the whip cream):
-1 can coconut milk (not the “light” version)
-sugar, stevia, or agave to taste

What’s Next:
-Open the can of coconut milk (do not shake it first) and leave it to sit in your fridge for about 10 hours
-Pour the coconut milk in a bowl (if you want the cream even thicker you can leave out the water part at the bottom of the can
-With a hand mixer or beaters whip in your sugar to taste

 That’s it, enjoy!

Risotto is totally easy to make and good for a fast meal on the boat.  Sometimes I’ll make a big batch of it for offshore passages, put it in meal size containers, and heat it up when we’re ready to eat.  I make risotto a variety of ways depending on what sort of vegetables are available.  This week at the market I got some local broccoli and cauliflower (a surprise!) and spinach.  Here’s how it went down…


What you’ll need:
-1 ½ veg. bouillon cubes or 3 cups premade veg. bouillon
-1 cup Risotto
-1/2 onion (optional) chopped
-2 cloves garlic (optional) diced
-1/2 tsp. cumin
-1/4 tsp. cayenne
-1 cup loosely packed spinach
-3/4 cup broccoli
-3/4 cup cauliflower

What’s Next:
-Combine 3 cups boiling water with the bouillon cubes and set aside
-In a pot with a splash of olive oil sauté the garlic and onion for a few minutes on medium heat
-Stir in the spices
-Add the risotto and stir to combine, let toast for a minute or two
-Slowly begin stirring in the veg. bouillon, and bring to slow boil, when the liquid evaporates stir in more
-In a food processer, puree the broccoli, spinach, and cauliflower and set aside
-Once you’ve added all the bouillon but before it has completely evaporated, stir in the vegetable mixture to incorporate and let simmer for a few minutes-adding water if the mixture gets dry
-Serve hot

*Feeds 3 Martys as a main course, or 5-6 as a side*