Healthy Vegan Meals: Mushroom Asparagus Rigatoni Pasta and Eric's Super Yummy Smoothie Drink

Hello.

 I love coming up with ideas from the top of my thoughts and cooking like I am in a real time restaurant situation even at home. Thought I know it is mostly for fun when I cook. Putting the two aspects of pressure and fun make for an interesting product, most of the time, especially when it comes to food. I think this meal for me is a winner for sure since it was not to complex.
  The pasta required making a roux, and that I do not make often, so I thought that this was a toss up, since I have not been to successful at making roux the right consistency or flavor. I read some recipes from other cooks, and gathered some ingredients from here and there. The start of making a roux or any sauce is so exciting to me! That is when the flavor is just starting to intensify. Then it is a race for time to cook all the ingredients a good amount where one can add too much or not enough, so it marries well. It is really fun and kind of a challenge for me, but one can always add a little more water to make more time, or change the viscosity of the sauce.
 Though I created the pasta dish as well, I named this drink after my name for fun and because I like it so much! Making the smoothie was great because I prepared the fruits in about 3 minutes, and that was fabulous to make good time in a process that I thought would take a little longer. I thought I should eat the fruits in a bowl at first, then I better liked the idea of making a drink. That was much more satisfying then to eat the fruit itself, since the weather is warming up very nicely, and is only going to get more hot as the Summer progresses, so this smoothies great cooling effect will sure to be a welcomed favorite for oneself or to share with friends.


Mushroom Asparagus Rigatoni Pasta

Ingredients:

 Pasta
2 cups rigatoni pasta
enough water to boil

 Roux
1/2 cup asparagus
2 cups mushrooms
1/4 cup onion
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp parsley
1 tbsp garlic
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp flour
1 cup water

 I started with a pot of water to boil on medium high, and once the water had achieved a hot enough temperature, I added the pasta rigatoni. Letting that boil. Then I prepared the vegetable mixture of mushrooms, onions, garlic, and asparagus and placed in a heated pan that has olive oil added to it. Letting that Sautee to caramelize for about two minutes. Then I added the herbs and spice and mixed them, then letting it cook for about 4 to 5 minutes on medium low. I added the water to the mushroom satuee and turned the heat up to high and stirring, incorporating the flour a little at a time. A good way to incorporate the roux is in a separate sauce pan, add equal parts liquid then flour, until it has mixed and thickened, at that time add that to the mushroom satuee. I like saving time and energy by only using one pan. I used a whisk to incorporate the flour with the water, along with the mushroom satuee. I had to stir a little bit more but I had managed to make it a good consistency. I turned the burner to the satuee off. Returning to the pasta, I turned off the boil, as it should be ready, or al dente. Strain the water and add the pasta to the pan and stir until the roux has covered the pasta. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Eric's Super Yummy Smoothie Drink

Ingredients:

1necatar
1 apple
1 pear
2 apricots
2 kiwi
1 juice of a lime
2  1/2 cups of ice

 Prepare the fruits and put them in a blender with the ice. Blend for about one minute. I added salt to the glass of my rim for fun and garnish with lime. Then serve to drink. Makes enough for two people. Enjoy! :)


Thank you very much,

Eric M. Rangel

I have an e shop for my Love Cats

"Moon Kitten" Love Cats

Hello.

 I finally managed to have my Love Cats Cartoon Comics hosted by Society6! :) After I have done some reading about places that could host an artist, and reduce the efforts, and time of having to order inventory, print, and ship. I am still learning about this service, though so far I am really, really, really excited about this endeavor! I am a little closer to my dream of being an artist for a living, and having a great time being one! :) I only have one character up titled, "Moon Kitten". I have a comic of his adventure to the moon, though Moon Kitten is placed on items only in one scene, as will most of them. I intend to graphic design my characters and have them available on http://society6.com/ericsartcreative that way Love Cats can be with you and play! :)

Thank you very much!                    
Eric M. Rangel

Brown Sugar Cookies

 Hello. I recently gotten inspired by a baking mixer I saw in a photo. I really wanted to use it. I like the beater blade, it works very well. I love to use the KitchenAid Ultra Power mixer. They have three various attachments, the whisk, hook, and beater blade. In the recipe the beater blade will be used.

6 oz vegetable shortening

1 cups brown sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 cup applesauce
2 1/2 cups of flour

 Add the vegetable shortening and sugar to the mixing bowl and beat with the beater blade until
fluffy. I like to go fast here.

 Stop the machine, and scoop down the sides. Add the baking powder and incorporate. Add the applesauce. It is good to stop the machine and lift up the top, and scoop the sides down when necessary. With the mixer on slow, add the flour in small amounts, until blended, not to over mix.



When mixed into a dough form, stop the machine and remove the dough ball.

 Place the dough on waxed paper and roll out about 2 1/2 inch diameter and 16 inches in length size piece. Roll in the wax paper and set in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Preheat oven for 350 degrees ferinheight.
 Take out the dough and cut into 1 inch thick rounds and place on wax paper on a cooking sheet. Place in oven to bake for 12-15 minutes (longer if necessary).



 When a fork inserted in the cookie comes out dry, and the cookies are browned, remove the cookies from the oven and let cool for five minutes on the baking sheet. Then remove them from the baking sheet and set them on a cooling rack to cool for a few more minutes.



 They are ready to be plated and ate! :)

Thank you very much,

Eric M. Rangel

Vegan Sausage Pot Pie

 Hello. I have gotten inspired recently, (as usually is the situation, when I create something), to bake a Pot Pie. One can use a metal pie tin and make a dough that is lain on the bottom. I used a wide and deep soup cup that is oven proof, that work wonderfully! I only used a top layer my recipe. After I made this dish and tasted it, I instantly gave it my approval, with a, "yup". I was really surprised on how delectable this culinary concoction was and pretty much gourmet. If I were to make this recipe again, I would use pumpkin, instead of potato, or maybe sweet potato, celery, and mushroom.

Filling:
1/8 purple onion
3 tbs olive oil
1 cup vegetable mix
2 tbs flour
2 tbs nutritional yeast
1/16 marjoram
1/16 Basil
1/16 Thyme
1/16 rosemary
1 medium size potato
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/4 vegetable broth
1 vegan sausage link

Dough:
1 cup of flour
1 tbs olive oil
1/4 coconut milk
1tbs brown sugar

 Prepare the onions with a fine dice. On low heat, place a pan, add the olive oil, and carefully place the onions to caramelize, and cook until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the vegetable mixture and stir. Let cook for 5 minutes. Add flour, nutritional yeast, herbs, and stir a little. Let cook for 3 minutes. Turn up the heat to medium high and add the coconut milk as well as the vegetable broth . Stir to incorporate the flour and nutritional yeast to make a roux and turn down the heat to medium low to start reducing. Prepare the potato into medium dice size, an add to the pan. Stir and let continue to reduce on low for 7 minutes or so. Do check and stir occasionally, fore the top and bottom will dry out, and stirring will keep an even moist viscosity.
 Meanwhile, in a small mixing bowl add the flour, brown sugar, coconut milk, and olive oil, and mix until combined. One may find to add more dry or wet. Use your discretion. The product will be a ball of dough. Roll it out on a smooth surface with light bench flour to keep the dough from sticking. Roll and flip the dough over and continue to roll it out, until the dough is about an 1/8 inch thick and the area is enough to cover the baking ware. One can place the baking ware upside down over the dough to check if there is adequate area, and it leaves a little indent where one should cut around leaving about an 1 1/2 inches to hang over the ends of the cup, to ensure a good seal.
 By this time the filling mixture has been reduces down to a thick and creamy consistency. Pour the filling into the baking ware and place the dough on top of the baking cup. Press the ends on to the cup to make a seal and make vapor vent on the top of the dough. Place in an oven at 475 degrees for about 10 to 15 minutes. The filling may come out of the vapor vents, it did for mine, so I put an oven tray on the very bottom to catch the drippings. This however created lots of smoke from the oven. I just turned on the oven fan and opened a few doors. This is not really a big deal, though, if one has others in the house they may mind. If so, they will definitely forgive you after you give them a taste of this fantastic meal. Remove from oven and let set.
 An surprising aspect of this dish is that even though it has been removed from the oven, if the top layer of dough is still intact, it will stay very hot for about a 25 minutes. I was so surprised that the flavors were so savory, that I just kept wanting to eat it, without stopping. I did not eat it all, there was so much. I hope that this is a recipe that turns out scrumptious for anyone that tries it.

 Thank you very much,

 Eric M. Rangel

Healthy Vegan Meals: Sleepy Blueberry Pancakes

 Hello. I love pancakes! Ever since I can remember they have been a big part of breakfast. Though since I have decided to be a vegan, pancakes have kind of been out of my mind because of the use of eggs. Though I found this is not necessary. I read other peoples recipes and found that many peoples have been making pancakes without the dairy and eggs very often. Pancakes are a fave of mine. Though my pancakes may still be more comparable to that of the "Galloping Gourmet", I am getting more improved at the art of making pancakes! :)

Vegan Sleepy Blueberry Pancakes

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp of baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup soy milk
2 tbsp of olive oil
1/2 cup of blueberries

 In a large mixing bowl, sift in the flour. Add the rest of the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl. Then add the wet ingredients into the bowl, and start to whisk the ingredients together until it is mixed. This is a crucial aspect of pancake making. With the whisker in the batter, lift it out to see it's consistency. I like to have it on the more non-viscous side, that way the batter can cook more thoroughly. Add the blueberries and gently fold them in (blueberries are a super fud high in antioxidants). Make sure the skillet is hot and oiled before the batter is poured onto it. I put the heat on medium/ high. Slowly pour the batter onto the skillet. One should see bubbles appear right away. That lets one know that that heat is on high enough and that the batter is of a good consistency. Let cook for about 1 and a half minutes, then flip them over to cook on the other side. The first side tends to be more presentable then the other. I put this side up and stack the pancakes. I used maple syrup and topped with confectioners sugar! :) Good luck and have fun making your scrumptious pancakes! :)

Thank you very much! :)

Eric M. Rangel

Fairy Princess Rule!

 I have been drawing a few gud gals lately. I like to refer to them as "Fairy Princesses" because I like mythical beings and female highnesses. Then I figured I would combined them both together and see how it would turn out. My first lady was one of love. I named she Tiffany. It means jubilee to me. Some people say it refers to God or something like that. Either way that is what I choose to name she.

She has that aspect love that she mostly helps in. These gals are helpers. They help the people with there magic endowments. The second lady I choose to draw is Serena. She is the princess of peace.

I liked drawing cool colored beads for her hair the most! She brings peace to those whom would like it.

Last but not least of that I thought I had vastly improved and did my best yet with, Victoria! :) She brings happiness to the table. The rabbit, "Maya", is a symbol of her kindness and she just likes fluffy animals. In the other hand she holds her favorite food, pizza! :) They both symbolize happiness in a neat and fun way! She is a vegan as well, so the pizza is doubly so! It makes her happy to share. She will share here gifts with the other Fairies and vice versa. The ladies will work together to have fun by helping others with their magic! :) Thanks you very much! :) Eric M. Rangel

Healthy Vegan Meals: Pistachio, Edamame, and Purple Cabbage Coleslaw

 Hello. I would like to mention this recipe I put together. Someone may have used these same ingredients though I have looked at at least 30 different kinds of coleslaws and they all kind of varied. So I used my years of experience experimenting in the culinary field, and my imagination, to compose a slaw that was unlike any I had seen before and omitting the ingredients, I thought might not be palatable for those who have similar interest in my taste. I had not seen any recipes with pistachios, that of a nut is super rich in flavor and high in nutrients. Nor have I seen edamame bean used. I had my doubts. Though when I took a bite, it was instantaneous satisfaction! :) I wanted to make it again, right after I finished eating the salad! I could feel my body laughing with glee from the amount of satiating nourishment derived from the "raw" ingredients! That is going to be a goal of mine, to use more "raw" ingredients in my recipes, just to note. Raw is a way of preparing foods that have not been processed and mostly gearing toward organic. The idea is that the fundamental nutrient composite is not lost in the cooking process, thus adding to a more maximum adequacy in the assimilation in the body creating more energy to use and boosting ones immune system.  Any food that is cooked above 104-120 degrees is not considered "raw" anymore. This subject is for a another time. That and not to mention smoothies! :) Though for now here is a simple recipe to conjure! :)


Vegan Pistachio, Edamame, and Purple Cabbage Coleslaw

Ingredients:
3 tbsp Vegan Mayonnaise
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup pistachios
2 cups purple cabbage
1/2 cup carrots
1/2 cup edamame

 Boil a pot of water and cook the edamame for about 10-15 minutes or until fork tender. Meanwhile, in a mixing food processor, puree the mayonnaise, lime juice, and the pistachios. It should have a consistency of a dip, though more viscous then not. Set aside. Rinse and prepare the vegetables in to length wise cuts. The vegetables are pretty hearty in and of themselves, so I like to prepare them thin. Strain and rinse the edamame a bit to cool them. In a mixing bowl add all of the ingredients with salt and pepper to taste. Mix. garnish with whole pistachios.

Thank You very much! :) I do hope you enjoy this scrumptious salad! :)

Sincerely, Eric M. Rangel