Cranberry Orange Relish

Hi everyone! I haven't abandoned Tracie Cooks, I've just taken a small hiatus. I do have a few new recipes to add and in honor of the holiday season, today I'm posting my mom's recipe for Cranberry Orange Relish. It's delicious, ridiculously simple and there's no cooking required!

"When I was growing up, my father always made home-made Cranberry-Orange Relish every Thanksgiving. Since he passed away, my husband and daughter have searched every store around to get the "right" kind of cranberry sauce for me (I cannot stand "jelly" cranberry sauce). This year, we got fresh cranberries and oranges and decided to recreate the sauce my father made!!! I was surprised that many of the on-line recipes had directions to "cook" ingredients. Well I made my father's version and to everyone's surprise, EVERYBODY liked it!!!! So here it is. Enjoy! ~Nancy"

Cranberry Orange Relish

1 12 ounce bag of fresh cranberries
1 Large pit less orange
1 cup of sugar (add SLOWLY to taste) [Try Splenda or Equal for lower calories]

Wash cranberries and put them in a food processor. Zest some of the orange peel and then cut the orange into eights and put them into the food processor. Add sugar and then pulse the mixture until it's a relish-like consistency. That's all there is to it!

Note: I have a 14 cup food processor, so you may need to make two batches - add half the amount of cranberries and orange segments at one time - to fit into yours.

No Bake Cashew Cheese Cake

I love to learn about all types of diets, so last week while I was looking for some information on the raw foods diet, I came across this recipe for a raw vegan cheesecake. It seemed so simple that I just had to give it a try. I made some changes to the original recipe, but it still came out great! It doesn't taste like a 'normal' cheesecake - it's definitely different -but it was still yummy! Next time, I'm thinking of adding fresh strawberries or blueberries to the filling for a bit of a variation :)

No Bake Cashew Cheese Cake
(Yields: 8 slices)

Crust
1 3/4 Quick Oats
25 Pitted Dates
Splash of water

Filling
1 Cup of Raw Cashews (soaked)
3 tbsp Lemon Juice
2 tbsp Vanilla Extract
2 tbsp Water
Agave Nectar (to taste - I used 2 tsp's)

Soak cashews overnight (or if you're in a hurry, for at least 3 hours)

Grind oats until they reach a flour like consistency. Add 10 dates and blend together. Once thoroughly mixed, add 10 more dates. Blend. Add the last 5 and blend. If mixture is a bit dry, add a splash of water to lightly moisten the mixture.

Scoop mixture into a dish 9" round dish and press down with your fingers to cover the bottom and sides of the dish.

For the filling, blend together cashews, lemon juice, agave nectar, vanilla extract and water until smooth, fluffy and thick. (add additional lemon juice, agave and vanilla as needed). Note: Be careful not to over blend or you may wind up with cashew butter!

Fill the crust with the filling and spread evenly. Freeze for an hour or refrigerate for a few hours to set.

 The pie should last a few days in the refrigerator. but you can also cut it into slices and freeze them.

Bananaloupe Smoothie

I buy a lot of fruit (and don't always get around to eating it) so the freezer has become my best friend. I have so many bags of frozen bananas, grapes, strawberries, apples and other fruits that I don't know what to do with them. A couple of  years back, I heard about Kris Carr and her love of green smoothies, so after seeing her documentary and reading her book, I was inspired to give them a try.

At first, I was a little put off by the idea of eating blended fruits and vegetables - especially spinach! - but they're actually really delicious and there are so many different kinds that you can come up with. Plus, they're good for you. :) Now that summers coming, they're the perfect thing to make!

I've made quite a few different concoctions, but haven't written any of them down, so I decided to start doing that now.

Bananaloupe Smoothie
(Makes about 32oz / or 1 or 2 servings)

1/4 of a cantaloupe
1 banana (frozen)
4 handfuls of spinach
6oz Original Almond Milk
drizzle of agave nectar
1/2 serving of Vanilla Soy Powder
3 ice cubes

Add two handfuls of spinach, almond milk, 1/2 banana to the blender. Blend until mixed. Add 1/2 the cantaloupe, blend. Add two more handfuls of spinach, blend. Add the other 1/2 of the cantaloupe, soy powder and agave nectar, blend. Add ice cubes, blend until smooth.

Easy Vegan Chili & Macaroni Salad

When I got home from work the other day, the last thing I wanted to do was cook but I also didn't feel like ordering out or heating up a pre-packaged meal, so I decided to give this a try. I was out with my cousin and she had suggested that I make this. It was so simple that I don't think I'll ever buy canned chili again.

Easy Vegan Chili
(Servings: About 3 - can be more less, depending on portion size)

1 - 15.5 oz Can of Light Kidney Beans (drained)
1 - 15.5 oz Can of Dark Kidney Beans (drained)
1 - 14.5 oz can of Hunt's Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes with Garlic
1 packet  of McCormick Chili Seasoning Mix
2/3 Can of Water (using the Hunts can)
1 tbsp Flour

Portobello Pot Pie Turnovers with Roasted Radishes and Carrots

Watching the Food Network is dangerous. There's always something on there that looks so delicious that it just begs to be transformed into vegany goodness; this is one of those recipes. It may not be the healthiest of choices, but it sure is yummy - and who doesn't need some comfort food every once in a while?

Portobello Pot Pie Turnovers 
(Makes about 6 turnovers)

2 tbsp Butter (plus, a little extra, melted, to brush over the top of the pastry)
1 Onion, chopped
1 - 16 oz bag Baby Carrots, chopped (only chop 1/2 the bag)
2 Stalks of Celery, chopped
Salt and Pepper (to taste)
2 tbsp Garlic, minced
1 tsp Dried Thyme
3 tbsp Flour
1/2 cup Dry White Wine (I used Chardonnay)
1 Cup Stock (I used 1 Cup warm Water mixed with 1 tbsp Osem Chicken Style Consomme)
1 tsp Dijon Mustard
5 oz Baby Bella (Portobello) Mushrooms (about 1/2 a container)
1 1/2 Sheets Frozen Puff Pastry, thawed (I used Pepperidge Farm puff pasty)