New Site

Hey everyone! #ICYMI

So much exciting stuff has been happening and to see it all, check out my new website: TastyKaitis.Kitchen.

All the recipes you know and love are there, along with menus, videos, merchandise, and MORE! 

Make sure to bookmark TastyKaitis.Kitchen in your browser and on your phone/tablet for all new content by me! 

More Recipes, News and FUN! :-) 

Head over to TastyKaitis.Kitchen now for new content on my new site!

Corn Salad

"I Could Never Be Vegan… it’s too expensive!!!"

First off, if you haven’t seen my friend Sara’s video: “5 Things Vegetarians are Sick of Hearing” you need to! “I could never go vegan” is one of them. I’m not asking anyone to become a vegan… All I suggest is “Taste This!” For some reason, there is a stereotype about vegan food, and I’m out to change that mindset! Read How!

(You've been warned!)

 

Stuffed Shells

Reader's Choice! I hope by now you know that I love responding to your comments and answering your questions and requests... If you didn't know that, well, here's proof!! 

Pineapple Salsa

Hi I'm Kaiti & I'm a Salsa-holic. Shout out to my best buddy ever @Wayeezy who knows just how much I'm addicted to salsa...

Grab some chips and get the scoop here!

OHMYGRACIOUS HOW GOOD DOES THAT LOOK?!

Bourbon Coleslaw

KY things I LOVE @WindyCornerMrkt @BuffaloTrace @MakersMark @KnobCreek @WoodfordReserve #bourbon

I've written many times before about my love for Kentucky, and somedays I crave the flavors of The Bluegrass. 

BBQ season with my friends has finally started and I wanted to impart a little Kentucky flavor into my contribution for the party. Here's what I did... Read More

Caesar Salad- REMIX

I love Caesar salad. As a vegan it's really hard to see Caesar salad on every menu and know that you still can't eat it. They serve it with seafood. They serve it with steak. They serve it with chicken. Why not serve it with a vegetarian option too? I mean we're vegetarian/vegan we eat salad, that's why you have it on the menu isn't it... That's all we eat right? So then, why ya gotta ruin it by putting meat on it?! Rude! 

Now, traditionally, Cesar salad is made with Romaine lettuce. That's all well and good but I wanted to jack up my nutritional intake. I've seen kale Caesar salad, spinach Caesar salad. Whoopy-friggin-do. I wanted to switch it up because... Well...  Here's why..

SUPER Greens (my favorite salad mix)

March 30, 2015 3:07pm. @FoodNetwork started following me (@tastykaitis) on Twitter!!!!!! 

I can't even explain how SUPER I feel writing this! Food Network is like... my LIFE! I've seen just about every episode of every show, buy the magazines when I have the cash to spare, and am constantly on the site to see what's new and find some recipes to veganize for me and you.  I've dreamt my whole life to have my own show on the Food Network! (Ask my parents... I used to talk through my steps in the kitchen with everything from making cereal to veggie chowder!  ... I may or may not still do it -- and yes I'm almost 27!) :-D

While I took some time to reflect on the excitement of my day... I wanted to make sure I remembered every detail... I realized that I spent the morning prepping my homemade salad bar, complete with my SUPER Greens Salad Mix!!! 

I'm sure I'm not the only one who goes to the grocery store salad bar more than 2xs a week. I know I'm not! I see the same people 4-7 times a week at the salad bar! But do you know how expensive it really is?! Food Network Magazine did an "In the Know" article back in 2011 (yup, this one stuck with me!) called Shop the Salad Bar. It showed just how much your average grocery store marks-up the items on a salad bar (at $5.99/lb... Whole Foods- near me at least is $8.99/lb) is MIND BLOWING!!!!  The mark-up on chickpeas... 386%!!!! (and that article was from 2011... who knows if this has gone up over the past few years!)

The thing that SUCKS is that the items that are the most bargain items on the bar... tend to be the ones that aren't vegan/vegetarian friendly.  

Like Bacon.......................... And Cheese! :-(  (See all the findings here from the article here: Salad Bar Math) 

So... I started making my own salad bar at home! One day(more like an hour depending on how many veggies you have)+Veggies+mandoline= Salad Bar for the WEEK! For less than it would cost you to buy your salad for the week. Plus you get to decide what you put on your salad... you don't fall subject to the sadness that ensues when the grocery store swaps out one of your favorites for... Hard Boiled Eggs (Bleccchhhh!)

Grape Tomatoes, Red Bell Pepper, Fennel, Onion, Celery, Cucumber, Mushrooms and Carrots (Not Pictured: Peas, Baby
Corn, Microgreens, Beets, Kalamata Olives, Hummus, Quinoa, Farro, Wheatberries, Kamut, Harissa, etc!)

I'm sharing with you my "recipe" for SUPER Greens. What makes them super? Well... It's a mix of 4 of the Top 10 Most Nutrient Dense Foods (see: Dr.Fuhrman's List Explained for details) and it's chopped up so that you can enjoy the benefits of being about to eat lots of greens and actually feel full until dinner. 

1 pkg Baby Spinach & Arugula

8 leaves Kale, stemmed and roughly chopped (I like Lacinto best)

16 Brussel Sprouts, sliced about 1/8" (use a mandoline for uniformity)

Dump all of the spinach and arugula into a huge mixing bowl. Add in sliced sprouts and chopped kale. 

With the leaves all still intact, the mix is pretty voluminous... But wait... I'm going to fit it all back into the spinach/arugula
box!  WITH ROOM TO SPARE!!

Take a pizza cutter and cut the greens by rolling the cutter throughout the bowl over and over until everything is chopped and mixing into itself.

You'll notice that the mix takes up a lot less of the bowl... Scoop it out and store the mix back into the package for the spinach and arugula.  What was once full is now...

NOT!

Store in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Now for the Veggies: 

I used my mandoline for all my veggies except tomatoes (mostly bc I love tomatoes and nothing beats biting into a juicy tomato!)

Store water dense veggies in water (celery, cucumber, carrots... think of what veggies sit in water on the salad bar) in the fridge. I don't put my onions in water because it tends to leach the onion flavor. 

With everything else stick them in a tupperware in the fridge. When you have everything on hand, already prepped, tossing a salad together is a cinch!(pun ABSOLUTELY intended) 

With all the nutrients you get from these SUPER Greens and from raw veggies in general... You can have a SUPER day like me!!!* 

*Results not guaranteed :-)

I feel as though this post needs to be dedicated to a friend of mine from college... Not necessarily because he loves salad, but because he is known to most as SUPER Mario! :-) "This just in... You're Super!!!" hehehe

Tater Tots

Today, March 31st, is a great day.  Why you ask...? IT'S TATER DAY!!!!! That's right a national food holiday dedicated to my absolute favorite tuber! 

I did a little research hoping to find out the origin of Tater Day, thinking it may have a ties in Ireland or something cool like that... Well, no ties in Ireland BUT it appears it may be linked to a festival back in 1842 in my favorite state, Kentucky!!! The Tater Day festival was started as a celebration of spring and was an event where people would trade sweet potato "slips" (seeds).  It is THE oldest continuous trade day in US History. The festival is a 3 day affair with dates that range from March 28-April 6.  This year the sweet potato focused festival celebrates it's 159th year on March 6th. 

It's no secret that I love potatoes... I mean come on, who doesn't?! Well, I have to admit, I buy a lot of frozen tater tots. But without deep frying them in oil, I can't get them super crispy in the oven. Plus, with all the additives and preservatives, it doesn't make me feel too good about stuffing my face with them! 

So as some of you may know March is "March Madness" here in the US. It's a big college basketball tournament and bars are frequented in order for spectators to be able to catch every game. Which got me thinking... What would happen if you crossed french fries with onion rings? You'd either get onion straws or breaded potatoes... YAHTZEE!!! I found some mini potatoes at the grocery store and knew they could be breaded and BAKED to crispy perfection using a breading technique popular on onion rings! And did I mention, there's no oil?! *unless you want it... But its not necessary.

This is brilliant! With mini potatoes, there is no need to shred or boil them before they are baked into the most perfect, soft and buttery on the inside, SUPER crunchy outside tots! Napoleon Dynamite would be so proud! :-) 

Here's what I used, look at those mini taters!  Using Cajun seasoning adds a sneaky kick!

1 bag mini potatoes (I think it's 1-lb?)
2 cups All Purpose Flour
4 1/2 tsp kosher salt (divided, 2tsp and 2 1/2 tsp)
2 tsp Cajun seasoning (opt. but it definitely adds extra flavor)
1 cup Non-Dairy Milk
1 TBS White Vinegar
1 TBS Egg Replacer Powder (don't add water!!!) 
2 cups Panko Bread Crumbs 

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F. Place parchment paper onto 2 baking sheets and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, 1 tsp cajun seasoning and 2 teaspoons salt. In another bowl, whisk together the vinegar, milk and egg replacer. 

In another bowl (yeah yeah... this isn't a 1 pot meal sorry), combine the panko, and remaining 2 teaspoons salt and teaspoon of cajun seasoning.

Rinse the potatoes in cool water making sure they are completely wet.  Lightly dredge the potatoes in the flour mixture so that every centimeter is covered.  Shake off extra flour and then drop into the milk mix. Roll in panko, pressing to ensure the potato is fully coated.

Arrange on the prepared baking sheets in a single layer with a little space between each potato. Then place in the oven. Cook until golden brown, 14 to 20 minutes. Halfway through the cooking time, flip over each potato to ensure even crisping and browning.

Sprinkle with a little extra salt when they come out of the oven and serve. 

**If you'd like to use oil, add 3 TBS olive oil to the panko before coating... Don't want to use that much oil? Spray crusted potatoes with olive oil before putting them in the oven. 

These tots are so ridiculously crunchy! ANNNND best part, if you make lots they can be refrigerated AND reheated in the microwave for a few seconds all while retaining their crispy coating!

National Nutrition Month: Mushroom Filling for Ravioli/Tortellini

This month is National Nutrition Month® which was started by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics as an annual campaign to educate and inform everyone about nutrition.  This year the theme of National Nutrition Month ® is “Bite into a Healthy Lifestyle”.  

In my opinion (and I know there’s a lot of talk about this as well) one of the healthiest things you can do is eat more veggies.  Check out meatlessmonday.com to read about the benefits that eating veg once a week can provide!

But, going meatless doesn't mean you have to sacrifice taste or go hungry! 

If you follow my blog you’d know that I received a 3-piece pasta attachment for my Kitchen-Aid for Christmas and it has been an adventure to knock out different types of noodles, pasta and even dumplings with it! Well this recipe has been a long time coming and finally I have the chance to not only sit down and relax, but to also to have enough peace to be able to string words together to create sentences. 

My most recent creation with my pasta attachment: Tortellini and Ravioli! 

I based the filling for these off of my "Grown-up Mac No Cheese" recipe. Mushrooms and some cashew cream make for a meaty and creamy filling that is sure to satisfy everyone on your Meatless Monday. There are so many ways to top the tortellini or ravioli... I'll give you a couple ideas at the end of the recipe, which starts now!!

1 recipe of pasta dough

2 1/2 cups mushrooms finely chopped (Equal to about 8 oz of whole mushrooms)

1 cup finely chopped onion 

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup raw cashews

1/2 cup water

Salt and Pepper

Make pasta dough and let it rest.

In the meantime, sauté the mushrooms, onion, and garlic in the olive oil until the most of the water has evaporated.

In a blender, purée the raw cashews and water until smooth.  Be careful not to blend for too long or the mixture will be too thick!

Pour cashew cream into mushroom mixture and cook on medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until the cashew cream thickens enough to just start to hold the mixture together. (about 5 minutes) 

Transfer into a bowl and let it cool while you prep the pasta.

Roll out pasta dough in sheets (I rolled mine out to a 5 on my pasta sheeter). 

For Tortellini: Take a sheet of pasta dough rolled out to the 5 setting and cut into 2"x2" squares.  Put a teaspoon of mushroom filling in the center of the square. Fold corner D to corner A (see diagram at the left). Make sure when sealing, you seal pasta as close to filling as possible so there is no air inside the pasta! Use a little bit of water if the pasta isn't sticking enough.

        

              

To fold the into the tortellini shape, wrap corners B and C around your finger.  Fold A down to the center of the filling on the opposite side from where you've wrapped B&C together.  

Cook in boiling water for about 4 minutes or until they float to the top. 

For Ravioli: (without pan)  After you have rolled the pasta out into sheets, cut the sheet into an even amount of squares. Using a teaspoon fill the center of half with the filling. Brush around the filling with a little water and place the remaining squares on top. Press down around the seal to push out any air bubbles.
(with pan) Flour pan heavily lay one sheet of pasta on pan. Press into indentations slightly and place a teaspoon into the indentations and lay another sheet of pasta on top. Use a rolling pin to seal the ravioli and turn out of the pan.

Cook in boiling water for about 5 minutes or until they float to the top.

**Tortellini and Ravioli can also be frozen! Before cooking, place on a sheet pan and freeze. Store in a freezer container for up to three months. Cook until the float to the top.

For toppings, a simple red sauce is always nice. Or try something different, like tossing in garlic infused olive oil with halved cherry tomatoes and some chopped basil. Or maybe some olive oil and Earth Balance with garlic, shallots, peas, and sherry. 


Try it, let me know how eating meatless goes for you!

Homemade Pasta

I have always loved the idea of the Italian family tradition of Sunday Dinner.  Family coming together to learn about each other, laugh/cry, (probably argue if they are like my family and like to challenge each other) and most importantly: EAT!!  Hours and hours would go into preparing the feast.  It's like Thanksgiving every weekend!  I know you are thinking to yourself, “This chick is nuts! Thanksgiving every weekend!? I don’t have time for that!” I get it. But…

"Sitting down for family meals has been in decline in America
for decades..." Russo is right, look how old this pic is!

I heard an NPR "Special Series: Kitchen Window" piece by Susan Russo a while ago about Sunday Dinners and had to look it up for this post: "Who's got six hours to make dinner? We're too busy. But then I think, weren't our mothers busy, too? How did they do it? In some ways, life seemed better then..." Russo goes on in her Sunday Dinners piece, “Sitting down for family meals has been in decline in America for decades. According to surveys, however, that's beginning to change. This is good. Studies show that children who eat meals with their families are less likely to have behavioral problems, more likely to do well in school, and more likely to have a healthier diet. Not to mention that treasured childhood memories are irreplaceable.”  ...Despite my friends affectionate nickname of "Mom" I do not have any children of my own. I have had the opportunity to work with a variety of kids and families in my life as a nanny/babysitter, ballet teacher, and sign language interpreter.  I’ve had the chance to see the differences in “my kiddos” who have parents willing to make time for them and those who don’t. 

Okay… Okay… Enough with my opinion on spending time with your kids. I just know that personally I’ve noticed changes in my own attitude and spirit when I get to spend time with my family and friends and when I don’t.  And let’s be honest, what brings people together better than food?  Italian-American Family’s may be on to something… And amongst family and friends, who doesn’t love PASTA?!

Tah-dah! We are finally to the food portion of this post. (Apologies, I’ve just not had the motivation to actually sit down and write recently, so now that I’m feeling it, I’ve got a lot to say) Plus... For Christmas, I got the Kitchen-Aid attachments to make homemade pasta! Let the games begin!

I’ve written before about how much I love to make “family dinners” for my friends. A chance for everyone to get together in a chill atmosphere where we can all just be our (goofy) selves, eat good food, laugh really hard, and not have to worry about anything, except maybe eating too much!  This recipe is dedicated to my friends, as many of them have stood by me through some of the lowest and hardest points in my life.  I love you all (“Big”, Mark, “Favorite”, Kevin, Cody, Jane, Stepher, Jerry, Christine & Shawn, Waymire, and anyone else I’m unintentionally forgetting).  I hope to get to share this pasta with all of you some day! :-) 

2 cups AP flour

1 tsp Salt

2 TBS Olive Oil

1/2-3/4 cup Hot Water

In a large mixing bowl (or your Kitchen Aid with the paddle attachment instructions in parentheses) combine the flour and the salt.  Make a "well"-- a dent/hole in the center of the flour-- and add the olive oil.  Pour in 1/2 cup of water and stir with a fork, gradually incorporating the flour into the liquid. (Turn on mixer on the lowest setting)/

Add additional water if necessary to make the dough stiff and pliable, but NOT STICKY!

Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for 2-3 minutes, until smooth. Shape into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and let it rest UNREFRIGERATED for 15 minutes. 

I cut my disk into 6 wedges (so the pasta strands don't get too long/hard to manage).

Take a wedge, roll it into a ball and flatten into a small disk. Make sure to keep the dough you're not using wrapped completely in plastic wrap so it doesn't dry out. 

Follow the instructions on the guide that came with your attachments to roll out the dough.  Remember: Smallest number first and work your way up.  

I like roll out spaghetti to a 3 before cutting, fettuccine to a 4 before cutting (with the fettuccine attachment), and 5-6 for angel hair (cut with the spaghetti attachment) or ravioli (no extra attachment necessary)! 

From here, you have 2 options.  Put in a pot of salted (as my man Mario Batali says "to the level of the sea) boiling water for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Strain and top with your choice of topping. 

ORRRRR: Put it on a drying rack as seen here. Dry for at least an hour before storing in an air-tight container.  When you're ready, cook in salted boiling water for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Annnnnnnd Voila! My finished fettuccine with the sauce and veggies from my "Grown Up Mac No Cheese" topped with fresh cracked pepper and some nutmeg. Once you and your family (and friends) TASTE THIS! You'll never go back to store bought pasta! 

Hash Browns

A(nother) "Ode to Potatoes"!

If you've been following me for a while you know by now... I LOVE POTATOES... In fact, one of my first ever posts to my blog mentioned a story about the extent of my potato love.  Did you miss that one? Let's see if I can re-enact it for you...

"Anyway, like I was sayin', I love the potato. You can mash it, boil it, roast it, bake it, fry it. Dey's uh, baked potato, mashed potatoes, potato au gratin. Hash browns, home fries, tater tots. There's french fries, potato chips, scalloped potatoes, potato soup, potato chowder, potato pierogi, potato salad, potato pancakes, hasselback potatoes, twice baked potatoes, potato skins. That- that's about it."  (did you get the movie reference?)

Yeah... That ACTUALLY happened... maybe not exactly word for word in that order, but I did ramble on about all the ways you can cook potatoes! Why do I love potatoes so much? Seriously? DUH it's because potatoes are super versatile and you can eat them for every meal! (except maybe dessert... but then, there's sweet potatoes for that!)  Potatoes are like the French Manicure of food... they go with everything! 

ANYWAYS.... One of my favorite things to have for breakfast is a super crispy hash brown dipped in sriracha-ketchup. I used to have an issue with eating breakfast because I'd feel so sick afterwards... turns out it had to do with too much fruit/veggie acid in my stomach, but potatoes were a way to combat that! So I've been on a quest to create the best homemade hashbrowns and I've finally mastered them! 

(so much that this -----------------------------> was actually my breakfast one morning.. 2 gardein breakfast patties, a small batch of homefries and a huge hashbrown w/ sriracha ketchup) It was glorious.

So today's post is to give you my recipe for that large and crispy hashbrown at the top of my plate. I've now made these hashbrowns for my dad and sister and both love how crispy they are and how they aren't bland and boring.

To make these hashbrowns (small, about 2-inch diameter):

4 small-medium russet potatoes, peeled
1/4 small onion (optional)*
canola oil
s&p / any other seasoning you may like (you should try cajun! yum)

On a box grater, shred the potatoes on the small grating side. *if using onion, shred it as well

Soak the shredded potatoes in a bowl of cool water for 5 minutes.  Drain off water, pressing the potatoes to drain off all of the liquid. 

Add more water to the bowl and let the potatoes sit.

Heat about a turn of the pan of oil in a large pan over medium high heat.

Take a small handful of the potato shreds (and a pinch of the shredded onion if using) and mix it in your hand and roll into a ball.  Over the sink, squeeze the ball into a flat pancake, squeezing out as much water as possible.  Carefully place into the hot oil, and repeat until pan is full.

While the hashbrowns are in the pan, use your spatula to press down on them. (I've found not doing this results in a higher chance of the inner potatoes being raw.)  Season with salt and pepper (and/or other seasoning) and flip when the edges start to deepen in color. Cook until both sides are golden brown.

Drain on a paper towel sprinkle with salt and serve while hot!

How easy is that?! It's is important not to skip the soaking part of this recipe.  Soaking the potato shreds helps to remove all of the potato starch which will help your hashbrowns to achieve the super crispy exterior!

Pumpkin Cheesecake

It's National Pumpkin Cheesecake Day! (gotta love the super specific food holidays hahaha) It is also the day that my blog reached 19,000 Views!!!! Thanks so much to everyone who reads and shares my blog.  Depending on how quickly my view count continues to go up... I have a big surprise that I've been secretly working on that I will announce for either 20K or 25K views!  So Keep Sharing!

Well what kind of food blogger would I be if I didn't give you a recipe for today's "holiday"?!  If you've been following me for a while you may remember that last year's Thanksgiving a debuted a new dessert.  It just so happens that I never posted the recipe (ughhh I'm such a blonde sometimes) annnnd it was a Pumpkin Cheesecake... Are you connecting the dots...???

Today's recipe, in honor of NPCD ...yeah I'm sick of writing it out.... issss:

Pumpkin Cheesecake with a Gingersnap Crust! 

Oh it's so good.  When I made it for the non-vegan family members to try, they all said the same thing... "But this doesn't taste Vegan...!?"  What does that even mean? Why does everyone have this preconceived idea that vegan food is not as good as regular food?  UGH those people bug me... Just TASTE IT! (slight variation of my normal tagline... but it's the same point!!)

Crust:
1 1/2 boxes of Back to Nature Triple Ginger Cookies (Or try making crust with my Gingersnaps!)
5 TBSP Earth Balance Soy-Free Margarine, melted

In a food processor pulse cookies into fine crumbs. 

Add in melted margarine and pulse until it looks like wet sand.

Grease a 9-inch springform pan and pour the crumbs into the pan.  

Press down* and around firmly to create crust on the bottom and up the sides of the pan.
*I use a measuring cup to spread and press the crumbs into a crust.

Filling:
2 (8-oz) containers of Daiya Cream Cheese (or your favorite brand non-dairy cream cheese)
1 (15-oz) can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 cup light brown sugar
1 TBS cornstarch
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Combine all ingredients in a food processor or stand mixer, until completely combined.

Pour the filling into the prepared crust.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree F for 45 minutes.  Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake in the oven for another 10 min.

Remove from the oven and let it sit out at room temperature for an hour.
Refrigerate for at least 4 hours and serve!

World Food Day 2014

In honor of World Food Day, I wanted to just take everyone on a journey of my recipes with origins from all over the world. In case you missed it on Facebook and Twitter here are all of the recipes, by country, that I posted throughout the day! (plus a few extras!)


China/Chinatown:

Szechuan Green Beans

Fried Rice

Lo Mein

Kung Pao Chick'n

General Tso's Chick'n

No-Crab Rangoon

Baked Spring Rolls

Mongolian "Beef"

Vietnam:

Black Pepper Chick'n/"Beef"

Greece:

Gyros

Italy:

Soy-Free Lasagna

Eastern Europe:
Noodles and Cabbage

Pierogi

Gingersnaps


France:

"Goat Cheese"

French Baguette

Tapenade


Mexico:

Enchiladas

Stuffed Peppers

Fajitas

Not-Really Fish Tacos

Butternut Squash Tacos

USA:

Kentucky Fried Chick'n Salad Sandwiches

Cincinnati Chili

Philly Cheesesteak

Cornbread

Biscuits

Southern Style Panzanella

Beefless Stew

California Pizza Kitchen: Thai Crunch Salad

Veggie Gumbo

Vegetable Chowder

Hope you're eager to make these recipes and share with you're friends/family!! Remember two little words will almost guarantee they'll try it... "TASTE THIS!!"