Vegan Parmesan Cheese

We made it! After 23 hours of driving, spread out over three days, we are finally sleeping in our new apartment in Queens, New York. We couldn't be happier. Our apartment is everything we hoped for. The metro is literally right across the street, there's an amazing food market less than a block away, and there are all different kinds of cuisines to choose from at our fingertips. 

The view from our apartment our first morning. See the food mart?!

Breakfast my first morning in our new place. Chocolate mint oats with banana slices, 

almond butter and hemp hearts.

As for the interior of our apartment, we were unpacked in two days. I'm the kind of person that loves organizing and decorating, so to be able to start from scratch in a new, clean apartment was a dream. I spent all day yesterday working on the final touches and now we can just enjoy the open space, large windows and of course the kitchen!

This angle makes the world map look small and not centered, but it looks better in person.

At least I hope so.

Ah, the kitchen. It's good to be cooking and baking again. I'm actually amazed at all the different things I've been able to whip up in addition to all the decorating and unpacking I've been doing. I guess you could say I've been deprived. 

Since we got here on Friday I've made:

Peanut Butter Coconut Cookies

Asian Coleslaw Salad

Homemade Nutella

Homemade Tahini

Ratatouille

Nutella Stuffed French Toast with Strawberry Sauce

Couscous with Sautéed Veggies and Chickpeas

Watermelon Juice

AND...Vegan Parmesan Cheese. 

Yum.

If you follow me on Instagram, you would have seen my picture of the Ratatouille I made the other day. I said that I would be sharing the recipe today, but then I remembered that the recipe calls for vegan parmesan and I have yet to share that recipe with you. So, today I'll share with you how to make a dairy-free parmesan thing that's pretty close to the real thing. I really hope you try it out, whether you eat dairy-free or not. Brett gave this parmesan high marks and kept reaching back for more. But, the coolest thing about this faux parmesan for me is the way it melts like real parmesan cheese. When you sprinkle it on something warm, it seems to just melt away and marry with all the other flavors.  

Make this parmesan quick, because you'll want it to sprinkle on my Ratatouille, which recipe I'll share with you next!

Vegan Parmesan Cheese

Ingredients:

• 1 cup raw almonds
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Place all the ingredients in a food processor and process until a fine meal forms.
2. Store in an air tight container in the fridge.

Eat Consciously,

Faith

What I Ate...in NYC!

Hello Everyone!

I'm excited to be writing this post from America! These past two months have been quite the whirlwind. Brett and I were in China for five weeks and then flew straight into NYC to look for our new apartment. We found an amazing place in Queens in only four hours of looking and we couldn't be more ready to stop living out of suitcases. If you live in New York City, leave me a comment! I'd love to know who else is living in the City.

The self-proclaimed "Queen of Queens!"

Brett's parents met us in New York and we had an entire week to explore different parts of the city and try out amazing food. With all the different kinds of food we ate in New York and with all the amazing Chinese food we ate in China, I've gotten some amazing inspiration for different dishes and baked goods I want to try and create. I can't wait until Friday when we'll be fully moved into our new place and I can be back in the kitchen again. 

Today I'm going to share some of the amazing food I got to eat last week during our time in the big apple with Brett's parents. They spoiled us rotten and we tried out so many different cuisines! If you live in NYC, I hope this post will introduce you to some new places to eat that you've never heard of before. I included links to some of the restaurant's websites, so be sure to check them out!

Tibetan Vegetable Momos from Phayul Restaurant in Jackson Heights.

$3 Juice with Carrots, Spinach, Apple and Celery from a fruit stand in Queens.

The Garden Veggie Sandwich with Parsley Hummus from Siggy's Good Food in Brooklyn. 

If you live in New York City and have yet to go to Smorgasburg, you need to go! It's on pier 5 right by the Brooklyn Bridge and there are tons of venders there selling all kinds of amazing food on Sundays. And for you fellow vegans and vegetarians, they have tons of plant-based options. I was in heaven.

The Calexico from Chickpea and Olive at Smorgasburg.

A beet slider with avocado, picked red onion and jalapeños, daiya cheddar cheese and chipotle aioli!

Ample Hills Creamery on Pier 5 in Brooklyn.

One of the best things about Ample Hills Creamery is that they have pretzel cones. Pretzel cones people! The combination of the salty cone and the rich, sweet ice cream was amazing. I think I'll start adding pretzel to my ice cream more often!

Coconut Fudge Vegan Ice Cream.

The falafel wrap from Hummus Kitchen off 9th Ave between 51st and 52nd.

Focaccia Bread with Marinara Sauce, Mushrooms and Basil from Full Moon Pizza in the Bronx.

And of course there is always Whole Foods for lots of quick, grab-and-go options. I got these spring rolls and the brownie right before we went and saw the Broadway show Bullets on Broadway.

Spring Rolls with Peanut Dipping Sauce from Whole Foods.


Vegan Peanut Butter Swirl Brownie from Whole Foods.

That's all the food from New York that I have to show you right now. Starting Friday I'll be back in the kitchen, hopefully whipping up some delicious, new recipes to share with you!

Brett and I on our last flight rocking some $8 Beats from China.

To see what other bloggers are eating and to get some new meal ideas, head over to Jenn's blog, Peas and Crayons!

If you live in New York City, which part do you live in? What are some of your favorite restaurants in the city?

Where have you traveled overseas?

Eat Consciously,

Faith

Almond and Cashew Cherry Yogurt (Vegan!)

When I first went vegan I thought yogurt was going to be the hardest thing to give up. I had grown to love plain greek yogurt with fruit and granola for breakfast, so the thought of giving it up made me sad. While it was hard to stop eating it the first week, I soon found different things to eat for breakfast that made up for it.

The longer I've been vegan the more I've begun experimenting with harder recipes. A while back I finally started researching homemade yogurt. I would occasionally buy non-dairy yogurt at the grocery store, but it's so expensive that I wanted to learn how to make my own. And I did! You can check out the recipe here!

While my homemade yogurt became a staple in my house, I still wanted to find a yogurt substitute that didn't take hours of incubating to make. Not long after, I came across Deliciously Ella's Cashew and Almond yogurt and it sounded delicious to me...and unfortunately expensive. I decided to make a few substitutes and try it out and, voila! This delicious, fruity yogurt was the result! It takes a fraction of the time to make, is thicker, and has more consistent results.

Yum!

Almond and Cashew Cherry Yogurt

(Make about 4 servings)

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup almonds
• 1/4 cup cashews
• 1/4 cup dates
• 1/2 cup frozen cherries (or any frozen fruit)
• 1 1/2 cups water, divided
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch (or other thickener)

Directions:

1. Soak the almonds, cashews and dates in a bowl for about 4 hours.
2. Drain the nuts and dates and place them, along with the frozen berries and 1 cup of water, into a blender. Blend until smooth.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 1/2 cup water and teaspoon of cornstarch until dissolved. Pour it into the blender and blend with the other ingredients until combined.
4. Pour the contents of the blender into a medium-sized sauce pan over medium heat. Let the mixture heat slowly while whisking often until the "yogurt" thickens. You can know when it's ready when your whisk leaves marks in the yogurt.
5. Pour the yogurt into a jug and place in the refrigerator to cool.
6. Serve with fruit and granola for a delicious breakfast!

Eat Consciously,

Faith