Offerings to Brigantia

Peanut Butter, Banana, Chocolate Chip Bread

2009-03-08T15:39:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness. Three of my favorite ingredients on the face of the Earth, converging into one glorious muffin. This. Is. Amazing. Originally from vegweb, but with some variations.

It is truly best to use natural peanut butter. For one, you don't get transfats, which are now considered to be worse than saturated fat. Even the "no stir natural" contains added fat to solidify the the natural oils of the peanut butter. So the requires stirring, no salt added, is the best way to go! If you do use unsalted peanut butter in this recipe, be sure to add some salt...probably about 3/4 t. would be sufficient. If you do use "regular" peanut butter, be sure to soften it by heating before you try to stir anything with it.

I didn't really measure the soy milk; I just poured enough in to make a good banana bread batter, consistency wise, but I think it was probably about 2/3 - 3/4 cup of soy milk. Don't be tempted to substitute more mashed banana for the applesauce; if you use more than 2 medium bananas (i.e. 1 c. mashed banana) the banana will completely overwhelm the peanut flavor.

Ingredients:
2 ripe mashed bananas
1 1/4 c. white flour
1 1/4 c. wheat flour
1/2 c. white sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 T baking powder
1/4 t. cinnamon
1 c. soy milk (or so)
1/2 c. applesauce
1 t. vanilla
1 c. natural peanut butter, softened to room temperature
1 c. chocolate chips

Directions:
In a large bowl, whisk together flours, sugars, baking powder, and cinnamon.
In a medium bowl, thoroughly mix together banana, soy milk, applesauce, vanilla, and peanut butter. Add to flour bowl.
Mix thoroughly until well combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
Pour batter into two 8x4 pans, or 24 muffin cups. Bake at 350. Muffins need 25 - 30 minutes; loaves need 50 - 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Warning: addictive!

Chickpea and Cashew Biryani

2009-03-07T15:04:00.000-08:00

This is from Vegan Dad; here is the link the recipe: http://vegandad.blogspot.com/2009/02/chickpea-and-cashew-biryani.html

I didn't have most of the whole spices, so I just guesstimated with the ground equivalents, and it turned out good. I tend to like things "saucier" and moister, so I ended up pouring balsamic vinegar on top of my bowl. Next time I will concoct some type of sauce to go with this. The interesting thing is that the rice takes the moisture even from the yogurt, and turns it into yogurt cheese! Which is pretty tasty; I'd recommend using 1 c. of yogurt. Also, since tomatoes are out of season, I just used a 14 oz. can of diced tomatoes, drained.

Graham Crackers

2009-03-07T14:49:00.000-08:00

I love graham crackers. But I don't like paying $3.00 for a box that will probably go stale before I finish them all, contains ingredients I can't pronounce...especially when I have a new recipe for them that I've been wanting to try out! This is from the Vegetarian Mother's Cookbook, although I reduced the amount of coconut oil to 2 T and then used 2 T applesauce. Definitely not as sweet as normal graham crackers, but I like them better this way. I also decided to use cookie cutters to get pretty shapes. I've included the original directions here, but I rolled out the dough directly out on the baking stone, then cut the dough with the cookie cutters, and peeled the "extra" dough away, and repeated, till I was out of dough.

These were a hit with both children and adults. You can dip them in Sweet Cinnamon Peanut Butter, or Vegan Low-fat Chocolate Pudding. Or enjoy plain! I was really happy with how crisp they came out, despite using some applesauce. They are almost like a healthy shortbread. They key is really to use whole wheat pastry flour. If you don't have any, you could try 1/2 white, 1/2 whole wheat, but I really wouldn't recommend using all whole wheat flour. It's important to prick the dough before you bake or it will bubble and puff.

Ingredients:
2 T. unsalted butter or coconut oil, softened
2 T. applesauce
1/4 c. maple syrup, honey, agave nectar, or brown rice syrup
1 egg or egg replacer (I used Ener-G, but flax would probably be ok, too)
2 c. whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 t. baking soda
1 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9x13 baking sheet.
Beat butter or oil and sweetener until light and fluffy. Add applesauce and egg and beat until smooth.
In a separate bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and sea salt together. Use low speed on a mixer to beat flour mixture into liquid mixture. The dough will be crumbly but should hold together when pressed in your hand. If it's too dry, add a little bit of water.
Press dough into prepared pan. A pizza roller would be ideal to use here. Score into squares a little over 2 inches. Prick each square several times with a fork. Bake 15 - 20 minutes, or until edges are golden. Cool and break into squares. Makes about 2 dozen squares.

Chunky Potato Chowder

2009-03-07T14:39:00.000-08:00

This recipe is so modified that I am able to call it an original of mine without any qualms! The tofu gives it some good protein and lipids (try saying that instead of fats...it'll change the way you think about things!) and combined with the potato...it's almost a complete meal unto itself! Thanks to my immersion blender, it's not a difficult meal to make. But if you don't have one of those, you can transfer the soup to a blender or food processor, then put it back on the stove some more. Try not to boil it, or the probiotics in the miso will die. Serve with some crusty bread and a salad for an amazing dining experience. It also keeps well in the fridge, and tastes just as good. Top with shredded cheese and green onions, if so desired.

Ingredients:
5 1/2 - 6 c. cubed peeled potatoes (~ 1/2 inch cubes; bite size-ish)
12 oz. MoriNu silk soft tofu
1 - 3 t. miso
2 t. olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 c. water
1 t. salt
1 t. dried dill (or 2 t. fresh)
1/4 t. black pepper

Directions:
Steam potatoes; do not boil.
In a blender, blend together tofu, miso, and 1 t. olive oil.
Meanwhile, saute onion in remaining teaspoon of olive oil.
Pour 4 c. of steamed potatoes into a large pot. Add tofu mixture, water, salt, and pepper. Blend with immersion blender until thick and creamy with no "chunks." Stir in remaining diced potatoes and dill. Heat, stirring occassionally, until warmed through.

Fried Rice

2009-03-01T12:25:00.000-08:00

This was delicious and worked for us as a complete meal because I added 4 scrambled eggs right at the end. You could also used scrambled tofu, or even just cubed and marinated tofu. A great way to use up leftover rice, this is originally from Vegetarian Mother's Cookbook.

Ingredients:
1 T sesame oil
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 c. chopped broccoli
1 c. frozen green beans
3 c. cooked brown rice, cold
1/4 c. water
1 T soy sauce

Directions:
Saute onion in oil for 2 minutes, then add carrot and broccoli. Cover and steam 5 minutes. Add rice, water, soy sauce, and green beans. Stir to coat rice and veggies with sauce. Cover and steam 5 - 10 minutes, or until veggies are softened. Chop up scrambled eggs, add add to rice (sub tofu is desired). Stir to mix thoroughly, and serve hot.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

2009-03-01T12:15:00.000-08:00

It has been so long since I have had a real, honest, chocolate chip cookie. So I wanted to make some...vegan! :-) This is from Vive le Vegan by Dreena Burton. Instead of writing out the recipe, I've included the link that will show you a video of making the cookies as well as just the recipe itself. http://www.everydaydish.tv/index.php?page=recipe&recipe=86. It is important to make sure that they really do cook all the way; don't worry, they stay nice and chewy! Mine puffed a lot in the oven, but flattened out perfectly once they cooled.

The only changes I made were:
1. I used whole wheat pastry flour instead of white all purpose
2. I used 2 T of oil and then some applesauce to reach the 1/3 c. oil
3. I made my cookies very small, so that the finished size is equal to about an oreo. This resulted in roughly 20 cookies that I still had to cook at the same temperature for the same amount of time as the "regular" size ones in the original recipe.

Macaroni and "Cheese"

2009-03-01T12:11:00.000-08:00

I have found yet another use for Dragonfly cheese mix...mac and cheese!

Take 3/4 c. of Dragonfly cheese powder/mix, and whisk together over medium heat with 1 1/2 cups of water. Continue heating and stirring until thickened to desired consistency. This made enough sauce for 1 pound of macaroni, but my husband doesn't like much sauce on his pasta, either, so if you like saucey pasta, use 1 c. of cheese powder and 2 c. of water.

Strawberry Bread

2009-03-01T12:03:00.000-08:00

This is yet another original recipe...I made it for a baby shower brunch/tea, and it is perfect for a spring treat! And such a nice change from banana bread, too. I used frozen strawberries because that is what I had on hand, but I'm sure that fresh would work as well, though you might have to add some water. I really wouldn't recommend just substituting the strawberries with jam, though, as I think that a lot of the texture would be lost, and the less fresh and light it would be.

Ingredients:
14 - 16 oz. frozen strawberries, heated and mashed to equal 2+ cups
two flax eggs
1/2 c. honey or maple syrup
2 T oil
1 t. vanilla
1 3/4 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 t. salt
1 t. baking soda
1/4 c. water (you may or may not need this)
1/2 c. chopped pecans, toasted

Directions:
Mix wet ingredients together. In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients together, except nuts. Add wet to dry, then fold in nuts. Bake at 325 for 45 - 55 minutes in a greased 9 x 5 pan, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Carrot Cookies

2009-03-01T11:53:00.000-08:00

The food coop here (well, it's 40 minutes away) sells carrot cookies. However, I was reluctant to pay $1.50/cookie when I was pretty sure I could passably create my own recipe for them. This is my second attempt, and I think they are pretty tasty for being so healthy!

Ingredients:
1 c. whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 c. rolled oats
1/2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon
1/8 t. ground cloves
1/4 t. ground nutmeg
1/2 c. applesauce
2 T oil
1 t. vanilla
1 flax egg (1 T flax plus 3 T water)
1/4 c. + 2 T packed brown sugar
1 c. shredded carrot, packed (I used my cheese grater)
1/3 c. toasted chopped walnuts or pecans

Directions:
Sift dry ingredients together. In a separate bowl, whisk together wet ingredients and sugar (applesauce through sugar). Add wet mixture to dry mixture. Fold in carrots and nuts until thoroughly distributed. Drop by large teaspoons (about half the size of a golf ball) onto a greased baking sheet and bake at 350 for 15 - 17 minutes. They will still be very soft and chewy.

Lasagna, again

2009-02-16T14:39:00.000-08:00

Well, usually my husband is the lasagna-maker in the house, since I absoutely hate making it! To me, it just seems to take entirely too much time and effort, especially if you're not going to get any vegetables out of the deal besides tomato sauce. However, it is one of my husband's favorite foods, and he's been super-busy with work...so I slaved over a hot stove for more than an hour and came up with this. Although it turned out fantastic, and we had enough to freeze for another meal, I am still definitely not taking over hubby's lasagna-making role. :-)

The "cottage cheese" recipe is from the Vegetarian Mother's Cookbook. I reduced the amount of oil and the amount of lemon juice in it. I wouldn't consume it by the cupful, the way I used to do with real cottage cheese, but it tastes perfect in the lasagna. Also, although it is not as traditional, it is much easier to mix the "meat" and onion, cheese, cottage cheese, and tomato sauce all together, then spread it on the noodles, rather than trying to negotiate separate layers. And the result is just as tasty, if less photogenic.

Ingredients:
"Meat":
1 pkg. Morningstar Veggie Crumbles
oil
1 onion, diced
3 -4 cloves garlic, minced
2 T dried Italian herbs

"Cottage Cheese":
2 t. lemon juice
1 T tahini
1 T olive oil
1 1/2 pkg. of water packed firm tofu, drained and pressed (like 20 oz. tofu)

Other:
16 lasagna noodles, cooked al dente
2 28-oz jars of tomato sauce (Prego Marinara preferred)
1 - 1 1/2 c. shredded vegan mozzarella
more cheese for topping (I admit that I did use "real" organic cheese for the topping, but I did pick mine off)

Directions:
Saute onion and garlic in olive oil until translucent. Add veggie crumbles, and continue to saute until crumbles are cooked through. Transfer to large bowl.

Using a potato masher, mash drained tofu, tahini, lemon juice, and olive oil until combined. Add to meat and onion mixture.

Add 1 1/2 jars of tomato sauce and shredded cheese to bowl as well. Mix until well combined.

Spray a 9x13 pan. Spread 1/2 of remaining tomato sauce on bottom of pan. Cover bottom of pan with four lasagna noodles. Spread 1/3 of meat-cheese-sauce mixture on top. Cover that with 4 lasagna noodles, and more mixture. Then another layer of lasagna noodles, and the rest of the mixture. Cover that with another layer of lasagna noodles. Spread the rest of the tomato sauce on top of the last noodles. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes. Uncover, and bake for 5 - 10 minutes, until cheese is melted and browned and sauce is bubbling. Let set for 5 minutes before serving.

Fruit for Shortcake (or just good eating!)

2009-02-04T19:03:00.000-08:00

So I was going to do strawberry shortcake, since strawberries are in season right now in dear old Florida. However, that did not work out, since it seems that almost everyone was avoiding working at the roadside stands due to this cold snap we're having right now. One box of mediocre (read: not shortcake material) strawberries was all I could obtain. So I raided the freezer for frozen fruit, and this is what I got.

Ingredients:
2 c. frozen blueberries
1 pound frozen peach slices
1/2 c. frozen cranberries
2 pints fresh strawberries, sliced
1/3 c. sugar

Directions:
Place frozen fruit and sugar in a large pot over medium heat. Heat, stirring occasionally, until warmed through and sauce is slightly syrupy. Add in strawberries, and continue to cook until softened. Let cool. Serve over shortcake, pancakes, biscuits, oatmeal, yogurt...

Almond Shortcake

2009-02-04T18:54:00.000-08:00

This is the first dessert that I have made from Vegetarian Mother's Cookbook, and I am quite impressed. It wasn't that hard to do, even with having to grind the almonds. And the results were perfect...soft and crumbly on the inside, a tad crunchy and golden on the outside...just sweet enough to be perfect with the fruit...a stunning success!

Ingredients:
1/2 c. raw almonds
3/4 c. rolled oats
1 1/4 c. whole wheat pastry flour
2 t. baking powder
1/8 t. salt
5 T cold unsalted butter/Earth Balance/coconut oil, cut into small pieces
1 egg or egg replacer
1/2 c. milk (dairy or not)
2 T honey or maple syrup

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375. Oil baking sheet, or lay down a Silpat. Grind almonds and oats to a coarse meal in the food processor. Process in flour, baking powder, and salt. Process in butter/Earth Balance/coconut oil until mixture resembles coarse meal.
In a separate bowl, beat egg, milk, and 2 T honey. Gently mix flour mixture into egg mixture. When just mixed, scoop out 1/4 cupfuls. Place on prepared baking sheet and flatten down to about 1 inch high. Bake 15 - 20 minutes or until edges and bottom are golden.
Serve with fruit of choice! I used a mixture of blueberries, peaches, cranberries, and strawberries, slightly cooked with some sugar.

Mild Yellow Curry Stew

2009-02-04T18:44:00.000-08:00

Yet another amazing dish from Vegetarian Mother's Cookbook. That is by far my favorite cookbook of all time, and I've only had it for a month! This was flavorful enough to be pleasing but I omitted the jalapeno/serrano chili and used 2 t. of curry, and it was perfect for us. But then again, we are definitely mild salsa type of people. We ate this over rice, but I'm sure it would also be good with naan. The cilantro and mint aren't necessary, but they did add a nice change of taste to the stew.

Ingredients:
2 t. olive or peanut oil
1 onion, diced
2 c. diced tofu, tempeh, or seitan (1/2 inch dice)
1 large sweet or regular potato (1/2 inch cubes)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 jalapeno or serrano chili, minced (seeds and membranes removed)
2 T peeled, minced ginger
2 t. curry powder
pinch ground cinnamon
1 3/4 c. broth
1/2 c. light coconut milk
1/2 t. sea salt
1 head of cauliflower, broken into florets
14 oz. diced tomatoes
4 c. packed baby (or roughly chopped regular) spinach (~6 oz)
1 T miso
1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1/4 c. chopped fresh mint leaves

Directions:
Heat oil over medium heat in a large pan. Add onion and tofu (or tempeh or seitan). Brown until golden, about 5 minutes. Stir in potato, garlic, chili, ginger, curry powder, and cinnamon. Sate' for 2 minutes. Add broth, coconut milk, salt, and cauliflower. Cover and bring to boil. Reduce heat to simmer and simmer 15 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Stir in tomatoes and spinach. Simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Mix miso with a little bit of the curry sauce from the pan until you have a smooth paste. Stir back into pot. Sprinkle cilantro and mint over curry.

Vegetarian Meatloaf

2009-02-04T18:32:00.000-08:00

Vegetarian meatloaf? Probably sounds like an oxymoron, right? Well, whatever it sounds like...I assure you that it tastes delicious! My husband says he can taste the difference between this and the real deal, but it's not as stark of a contrast as he was expecting. And my dad likes it which, you know, is really saying something! I think this came from a Cooking Light years ago, but the glaze is my own. This says to use breadcrumbs, but next time I am going to use oatmeal. The veggies cook out quite a bit of liquid, and I never have the patience to let it set for the required amount of time before serving!

Ingredients:
1 c. chopped celery
1 c. sliced carrots
1 medium onion, peeled and quartered
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 T oil
1/2 c. ketchup, divded
1/2 c. dry breadcrumbs
2 large eggs (or egg replacer)
1 pkg. Morningstar veggie crumbles
1 (12 oz) pkg. of fat free crumbles, such as LightLife Smart Ground
1/4 c. ketchup
1 T Dijon mustard
2 T brown sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Combine first four ingredients in a food procesor, and process until finely chopped.
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion mixture. Saute' 5 min. or until tender. Place crumbles in bowl. Make sure they are not in large clumps any longer. Add vegetables, breadcrumbs, and eggs to crumbles. Mix well.
Place mixture in a greased 9x5 pan. Press to compact.
Mix 1/4 c. ketchup, mustard, and brown sugar together. Spread over the top of the loaf. Bake for 35 - 40 minutes. Let set for 10 minutes before serving. Serve with baked potatoes and a salad for a truly "authentic" carnivore experience. Well, the sweet potato with appleauce probably isn't authentic for most omnivores, but oh well!

Turkey and Dumplings

2009-01-31T15:44:00.000-08:00

Chicken and dumplings is one of my husband's favorite meals. I couldn't make it to the store to buy the chicken style seitan, so I made a 1/2 recipe of the Turkey Roast and cubed that up to substitute. What I really liked about this dumpling recipe is that the dumplings themselves were light and fluffy, not dense and difficult to deal with when you're only armed with a spoon. For tasting so good, it was relatively easy. Feel free to vary the vegetables; it's winter, so I like to use the frozen veggies vs. the supposedly fresh from Mexico ones. :-) The dumpling recipe is from the blog Vegan Dad; I've embedded the link to the recipe instead of writing it out per his request.

Ingredients:
1 pound of chicken-style seitan
OR 1/2 recipe of Turkey Roast
2 T margarine
1 onion, diced
4 c. water
1/4 c. flour
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
bay leaf
1 16-oz. pkg. mixed frozen vegetables
2 c. broccoli (either frozen and thawed or fresh)
1 recipe of dumplings http://vegandad.blogspot.com/2009/01/dumplings.html

Directions:
In a large pot over medium high heat, sautee' the onion in the margarine. In a separte bowl, whisk together the water, flour, salt, and pepper until it is smooth. Either cube up the turkey roast or cut the chicken so that it is bite sized. Add to pot along with flour water mixture. Heat to a simmer, and add in mixed veggies and broccoli. When it has reached a rolling boil, spoon in the dumpling dough. Cover, and cook for 10 more minutes at a brisk simmer.

"Cheesey" tomato sauce

2009-01-31T15:38:00.000-08:00

I needed a very quick meal one night that still had protein and was filling...and voila! Yet another use for Dragonfly Cheese!

Ingredients:
amount and type of pasta of your choice
1 jar prepared tomato sauce (I like Prego)
1/2 c. Dragonfly Cheese mix
1 c. water

Directions:
Cook pasta. While pasta is cooking, prepare sauce.
Whisk Dragonfly Cheese mix with water over medium heat until starting to thicken and "string."
Add prepared tomato sauce, whisk to combine, and heat until warmed through. Serve over pasta!

Nacho "cheese"

2009-01-31T15:30:00.000-08:00

I served this at a party, and I can assure you that even the most devoted carnivore in attendance couldn't tell that this was vegan! The measurements for the added spices are kind of imprecise...I just kind of sprinkle/dump it on there and see what happens! So far, the results have been very positive.

Ingredients:
heaping 1/2 c. of Dragonfly Cheese mix
1 c. water
1 t. cumin
1/4 t. turmeric
1/4 t. dry mustard
2 T salsa

Directions:
Whisk the Dragonfly Cheese mix and water in a small pot over medium heat. Whisk in cumin, turmeric, and mustard until thoroughly combined and there are no lumps. Add in salsa. Keep whisking until mixture turns thick and "stringy." Serve warm with tortilla chips and more salsa!

Coconut Pecan Frosting

2009-01-25T13:32:00.000-08:00

Yum! No eggs and no cream or milk makes this recipe much easier than the traditional one. The only think you have to watch out for is not overcooking it, or else it will sugar and turn into a hard candy. And while that still tastes good, it is not quite the correct frosting effect! This is especially good with the Chocolate Cake. Double the recipe if you want to do a two-layer cake.

Ingredients:
1/2 c. stick butter or Earth Balance
3/4 c. sugar
1 c. shredded coconut
1 c. chopped pecans
1/2 c. soy milk
1 t. vanilla

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Boil for 7 - 8 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and let it set for a few minutes before spreading onto cake. Let it set for a few hours before serving.

Chocolate Cake

2009-01-25T13:22:00.000-08:00

If you're looking for an easy, delicious, moist, chocolate cake, look no further. If you're searching for one that has no eggs or dairy in it, and still tastes absolutely amazing...then you really need to stop looking! Because this fits the bill on all accounts in the most pleasing, chocolatey manner possible. Especially amazing topped with Coconut Pecan Frosting. I like that it makes really thick cake layers, because it seems that most vegan cake recipes I have come across, the layers are so thin it's like frosting a few pancakes! This is from vegweb. My cake came out so slanted because my oven is slanted!

Ingredients:
3 c. flour (whole wheat pastry is ok, but not regular whole wheat)
2 c. sugar
8 T cocoa
2 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
2 c. water
3/4 c. vegetable or coconut oil
2 T vinegar
2 t. vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Mix dry ingredients together. Then add wet ingredients, and mix until there are no more lumps. Pour into a greased 9 x 13 pan and bake for 40 minutes. If using two round 9 inch cake tins, bake for 30 - 35 minutes. Cool for 10 - 15 minutes in pan, then invert onto wire rack and let cool completely before frosting.

White Chocolate Cake

2009-01-25T13:06:00.001-08:00

I am not in any way, shape, or form, a fan of white chocolate. For me, the darker the better! However, we had a chocolate cake party the other night, and I decided to give this a shot for everyone who does appreciate copious amounts of sugar and whiteness in a cake. And everyone loved this cake. Oh, you could probably add a cup of frozen raspberries to make this a bit more "grown-up."

You really need to make sure that you liberally grease the bundt pan. And let it cool for 30 minutes before you take it out of the pan, or else you might end up with half the cake still in the pan. However, this can be fixed with frosting! Simply scrape the cake bits out of the pan, and pres them onto the rest of the cake. Then, cover the whole thing in icing. I simply melted another bag of white chocolate chips, then spread the melted chips on top of the cake and let it all harden.

Ingredients:
1 box white cake mix, unprepared
1 box of vanilla pudding, unprepared; the non-instant kind, and it must be the regular sugar variety
2 eggs
2 cups of milk
1 12-oz bag of white chocolate chips
1 c. chopped macadamia nuts, optional

Directions:
Mix all ingredients together. Pour into a well-greased bundt pan, and bake at 350 for at least one hour, until a toothpick comes out clean, and cake springs back when lightly pressed. Let cool for 30 minutes, then loosen edges with knife, and let cool completely. Decorate as desired/needed!

Vegan Low-fat Chocolate Pudding

2009-01-25T12:58:00.000-08:00

Talk about an easy way to make pudding or chocolate cream pie--with no milk and no gelatin! Great for kids, too.

Ingredients:
2 pkg. Mori-Nu silken soft tofu
1/2 c. cocoa powder
1 c. sugar
1 t. vanilla
chocolate or regular graham cracker crust (optional)

Directions:
In a blender, puree the tofu until smooth. Add in cocoa, sugar, and vanilla and puree, scraping sides as needed, until smooth and combined. Add more cocoa or sugar depending on taste desired. Pour into ramekins or the crust, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Decorate as desired!

Brocolli Noodle Casserole

2009-01-25T12:44:00.000-08:00

This recipe is from Cathe Olson's Vegetarian Mother's Cookbook. I just have to write this one out in its entirety because it is so delicious! I love the green and white combination, but I've already decided that I'm going to make it for St. Patrick's Day with green spinach pasta, so it will truly be a dish worthy of that holiday. The sauce is excellent, so I will be using the just the sauce over noodles in the future in lieu of a traditional Alfredo sauce. It's not too labor intensive, and you can chop the broccoli while the water is heating for both the pasta and broccoli, then make the sauce while they are cooking, and throw together a salad while it's in the oven. It also freezes well. And it has my new favorite ingredient: miso!

Ingredients:
1 pound pasta (rotini, fusilli, penne, macaroni, miniature shells, etc)
4 c. small brocolli florets
1 c. frozen peas

Sauce Ingredients:
1 pound Mori-Nu Silken soft tofu (so you'll need to buy two packages)
1 clove garlic
1 t dried basil
1 T miso
1 T tahini
1 T nutritional yeast flakes
2/3 - 1 c. soy milk

Topping:
Either 1/2 c. shredded cheese, or 1 c. bread crumbs mixed with 1 - 2 T melted Earth Balance

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400. Lightly oil a 3 qt. casserole dish. While pasta and broccoli are cooking, puree tofu, garlic, basil, miso, tahini, and nutritional yeast flakes with milk in blender until smooth. Add extra milk if sauce seems too thick. When pasta is al dente, drain and return to pot. Add peas, steamed broccoli, and sauce, mixing gently until well combined and coated. Pour mixture into casserole dish. Sprinkle with cheese or spread with the bread crumb mixture. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes, or until crumbs are golden. Serve hot.

Chili

2009-01-25T12:34:00.000-08:00

I have finally created a chili recipe worth writing down! I really like chili because it is easy, tasty, and good for both hot and cold weather. Served along some wedges of cornbread, it's a hard meal to beat! I really like the texture and taste that the MorningStar veggie crumbles give this, plus it makes it more pleasing to omnivores. :-) But, you can always forgo the veggie crumbles, or substitute them with some TVP. Everything is "normal" can size...14 - 16 oz. This makes quite a lot of chili, but you can always freeze the leftovers. Or use them the next day as a filling for enchiladas.

Ingredients:
1 can dark red kidney beans
1 can light red kidney beans
1 can black beans
1 can mild chili beans
1 can corn
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 can water
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 T oil
1/2 pkg. veggie crumbles
1 T cumin
1 t. chili powder
2 t. dried oregano
1 t. turmeric
salt, pepper

Directions:
Saute the onion and garlic in oil. When beginning to soften, add the veggie crumbles, cumin, chili powder, oregano, and turmeric, and cook throughly.

Drain and rinse all the cans of beans, except for the chili beans. Dump into large soup pot or crock pot. Add in can of corn, drained. Add in cans of tomatoes, undrained. Add in onion-veggie crumble mix, and water. Stir thorougly. Season with salt and pepper as needed. You'll probably need at least 1 t. of salt. Cook over low heat for at least 2 - 3 hours, until warmed through. You can also cook over higher heat for less time, but the flavor is better the longer it cooks.

Pumpkin Biscotti

2009-01-19T14:19:00.000-08:00

If you're ever in Portland, Oregon, you need to check out Sweet Pea Bakery. It's a vegan bakery, and the original developers of this recipe. I would bet that their version tastes better, too, since they aren't trying to reduce the fat in the biscotti!

Ingredients:
3/4 c. pumpkin
2/3 c. sugar
1 T Ener-G egg replaced mixed with 2 T water
1 T oil
1 t. vanilla
2 T pure maple syrup
1 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. whole wheat pastry flour
cinnamon, nutmeg, all spice, ginger to total 2 t.
1/2 t. salt
1/2 c. craisins (optional)

Directions:
Beat pumpkin, sugar, oil, vanilla, and syrup together until well combined. Stir in "egg." In a separate bowl, combined flours, spices (just thrown them in there how you think they'll taste good; I'd recommend 1 t. cinnamon, and then the others in varying portions to get to 1 t.), and salt. Mix dry mixture into wet mixture. Add a little more flour if it is not very stiff. Fold in craisins, if using.

Form into two logs about 3 inches wide and one inch high, and 12 - 14 inches long, or however long it ends up being! Place on parchment paper or a Silpat on a baking sheet or stone. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes. Remove from oven. Let cool 10 minutes. Slice into 3/4 inch thick slices. Turn flat side down. Bake for 12 minutes. Remove from oven, and flip them over to the other flat side. Bake another 12 - 15 minutes. Let cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

Tofu Enchiladas

2009-01-19T14:15:00.000-08:00

This recipe is from The Vegetarian Mother's Cookbook, but it is a pretty easy meal to just create. This one called for zucchini, onion, corn, and tofu as the filling. I used firm tofu and pressed it for a while beforehand, and it had almost a "chicken" hint once all baked up in the enchiladas. Just a large can of mild red enchilada sauce, 40 minutes in a 350 oven, and we were good to go!

Shepherd's Pie

2009-01-14T16:40:00.000-08:00

This recipe is from my mother in law. It is different than most shepherd's pie recipes in that the potatoes are just diced on top, not mashed. But I like them a lot better this way. I have the recipe and assembly down below as I made it, but next time I think I would put the potatoes on top so that they brown a bit. It's just a plain kind of meal, and rather easy, nothing amazing, but good for the "meat and potato" lovers in your family. :-) Oh, my dad loves this with ketchup all over it.

Ingredients:
1 T oil
1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
6-8 medium Yukon gold potatoes, cut into bite size chunks (peel if they are not organic)
16 oz. frozen mixed veggies
1 1/2 c. veggie crumbles
1 recipe of Cream of ____ Soup
salt/pepper/garlic powder
shredded cheese, optional

Directions:
Steam potatoes for 20 minutes, or until tender.

Saute' onions and garlic in oil until softened. Mix with frozen veggies in a large casserole dish. Top with veggie crumbles, then top with potatoes, and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Then spread Cream of _____ Soup over it all. Sprinkle cheese over all this if desired. Cover, and bake at 350 for 30 - 40 minutes.

Condensed Cream of _____ Soup

2009-01-14T16:26:00.000-08:00

So ideally, this would be condensed cream of mushroom soup. However, my husband absolutely refuses to eat mushrooms. I can't complain, given the long list of things I refuse to eat, most of them involving dead animals. Anyway, I used celery for this, but mushroom, corn, broccoli, etc. will all work as well. If using celery or broccoli, I recommend that you steam the vegetables first, then saute' them so that they are very mushy in the soup. You can see in the pictures that it initially is quite soupy, but it does "firm" up as you let it set. I made this a few hours before I moved on to the shepherd's pie so that it would have time to do so. This was really good...I dipped some crackers in it, too!

Ingredients:
3 T Earth Balance (or butter)
2 c. finely diced veggies
3 T flour
1/2 c. broth
3/4 c. soy milk
2 t. mild miso
salt, pepper

Directions:
Melt Earth Balance in medium sauce pan over medium heat. Add vegetables, and saute' until very soft. Add flour, and fry for at least 3 minutes. It will clump the veggies together, but just keep stirring it all around with a rubber spatula and it will be fine. Add broth, soy milk, miso, and salt and pepper. Stir until thickened. Let set, and use in place of condensed cream of _____ soup in any recipe!

Dragonfly Cheese

2009-01-14T15:30:00.001-08:00

This recipe was posted on vegweb by a man with the user name of "Dragonfly," hence the name of the "cheese." The great thing about this is that you can make it in bulk, and it is a dry product, so it keeps for a long time in the freezer, and needs no thawing to use! So I now have a container of Dragonfly Cheese powder stuff in my freezer. You can cook this to the desired thickness, and flavor it differently for a variety of dishes. We just used this as a cheese sauce for steamed veggies and spaetzle one night, so I left it kind of thin, and plain, as the pictures shows. But next time, I'm going to reduce the amount of water and add a little bit of salsa to make a queso dip for tortilla chips. If you decide to use it as the cheese for mac and cheese, you could add some dried basil or ground pepper. And while it is not a "light" recipe, thanks to the cashews, it is really good, and that kind of protein and oil from nuts is very healthy.

As for notes on the recipe...it's pretty self-explanatory, but you absolutely need a food processor! And grind the cashews as finely as you can, or else they will separate from the liquid when you make the "cheese." You do need the full 3 T of seasoned salt, and garlic and onion powder. I would also add 1 - 2 t. dry mustard powder. Arrowroot powder is a thickener. You can find it at health food stores, and Bob's Red Mill makes it, and sells it onlin, if all else fails. You can substitute cornstarch for the arrowroot, but it will not be "stringy" the way that real melted cheese is. You can use soy milk instead of water.

Ingredients:
3 c. raw cashews
2 c. nutrional yeast
3 T seasoned salt, like Lowry's
3 T garlic powder (NOT garlic salt)
3 T onion powder or onion granules (NOT onion salt)
8 T arrowroot powder

Directions:
Using a very dry food processor, blend the nuts until they are a very fine powder. Depending on the size of your food processor, you can then dump all the ingredients in and continue pureeing, or you may need to do it in batches and then mix it together at the end.

To make cheese sauce:
Adding heaping 1/2 c. to 1 c. water, and heat over medium heat, stirring, until it has reached the desired thickness. Pour over whatever you want: veggies, beans, rice, pasta, enchiladas, use as cheese for pizza...the options are endless!

Raisin Bread

2009-01-11T11:44:00.001-08:00

This is a yeast bread that is very dense and absolutely amazing when toasted for breakfast! It really doesn't need more of an introduction than that. :-) I didn't have an orange, so I just used juice from the fridge and omitted the zest. Also, next time, I would increase the amount of walnuts to 1/2 c., but of course you don't have to use them at all if you don't want to. I substituted 1 c. of the wheat flour with 1 c. of oats, because I had run out of flour. This is why mine turned out particularly dense and didn't rise as much as it could have, but I like the texture that the oats bring to it. This is adapted from a recipe in the La Leche League cookbook.

Ingredients:
2 t. yeast
1 c. warmed orange juice (heat in microwave)
1/2 T orange zest
1 T. honey
3/4 t. salt
1 T flax meal + 3 T water, heated to form an "egg"
3 c. whole wheat flour (or use 2 c. flour, 1 c. oats)
1/4 c. chopped walnuts or pecans
1/2 c. raisins

Directions:
Dissolve yeast in juice with honey. Let sit for a few minutes while you sift together half of the flour and all of the salt and zest. Add juice/yeast mixture and egg mixture to flour. Mix, adding enough flour to reach a dough consistency that can be kneaded. Stir in nuts and raisins. Knead for 10 minutes. Grease a mixing bowl, and put dough into this. Cover, and leave in a warm place to rise until doubled. This can take anywhere from 1 - 3 hours. Punch down and dough and reshape into a loaf and place into a greased loaf pan. Cover, and let rise until doubled. Bake at 375 for 45 - 50 minutes. Remove from oven, and wrap tightly in a towel and place on rack to cool completely.

Italian Bean Stew

2009-01-11T11:38:00.000-08:00

Another one of my lunch "specialties." I like to put lots of celery, onion, and green pepper into this, because those are vegetables that I do not like to eat raw. I prefer cannelini beans for this, but can only purchase navy beans in bulk at the co-op. This is the double batch, and I like to use dried beans that I then soak and cook because it does take a lot of beans!

Ingredients:
2 t. oil
2 large onions, dieced
4 -6 cloves of garlic, minced
4 stalks celery, sliced
2 green peppers, diced
4 - 6 c. beans (cooked)
2 28-oz. cans diced tomatoes, undrained
1 - 2 T dried Italian herbs
1 - 2 t. salt
pepper
splash of red wine
water as needed

Directions:
Saute' onion, garlic, celery, and peppers in oil in large pot over medium high heat until onion is translucent. Add the rest of the ingredients. Heat on low setting or in crock pot until celery is tender. Simmer more vigorously or add more water depending on whether you want soup or stew. Makes a lot!

Truly Edible Tempeh!!

2009-01-11T11:29:00.000-08:00

This is quite a celebration for me, because I have tried to find a recipe for tempeh that both my husband and I truly enjoy. Not having much success, I created this recipe on the spur of the moment, and am very pleased with the results, even if it does take a while to prepare. Split the preparation up if you want to: steam it one night, marinate it all day, and then cook it. Tempeh is so healthy because it is a whole form of soy that is very digestible due to the fact that it is fermented. Sounds weird, I know, but with this recipe...it's good! We put these tempeh strips on Reuben sandwiches.

Ingredients:
1 8-oz. package of tempeh
1/3 c. apple cider vinegar
2 t. soy sauce
1 t. caraway seeds

Directions:
Steam tempeh in a steamer basket for 20 minutes. Remove, and slice into 16 slices. Place tempeh strips into a small container with a completely sealing lid. Combine vinegar, soy sauce, and seeds in a small bowl, and pour over tempeh. Place lid on firmly, and turn the container around a few times to coat the tempeh. Let it marinate for at least 3 hours, coming back every once in a while to turn the container over so that it marinates evenly.

When ready to cook, heat 1 T oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Place tempeh strips into pan and cook, turning every so often until they are browned and heated through.

Fat Free Granola

2009-01-11T11:16:00.000-08:00

Granola tends to be loaded with fat and calories...no wonder it tastes so good, right? :-) And while I am a fan of fats in their "natural" form, like walnuts, almonds, avocados, peanut butter, etc, I tend to try to reduce refined fats like oils and margarine/Earth Balance. I thought that this granola was going to be too sweet for my tastes, even without all of the maple syrup. I was surprised that despite the apple juice concentrate, there was no distinguishable apple flavor. I didn't much care for it all raw, but once toasted, it was quite yummy. Feel free to add pecans, almonds, sunflower seeds, etc. to this as you desire. For dried fruit, I used a dried berry blend that I found at Publix near the raisins, but I think in the future I will just stick to craisins or dried apples, as the berry blend had a lot of added sugar.

Ingredients:
3 c. oats
1 c. sweetened wheat or corn flakes (I used Uncle Sam cereal)
1/2 c. toasted wheat germ
1/2 c. chopped nuts (optional)
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. numeg
1/2 t. salt
1/2 c. thawed apple juice concentrate
1/2 c. maple syrup
1 t. vanilla
1 1/2 c. dried fruit

Directions:
Prehat oven to 300 degrees. Coat 2 baking sheets with PAM spray. Place oats in a strainer/colander, and dampen with water. This is important, or the oats will soak up all of the syrup/apple juice instead of it coating everything. Transfer oats to a mixing bowl, and add cereal flakes, wheat germ, nuts if using, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt, stirring well.

In a small bowl, combine juice, syrup, and vanilla, whisking well. Pour over oat mixture and stir until evenly coated. Spread granola mixture into prepared pans. Baking until golden brown, about 40-50 minutes, stirring thoroughly every ten minutes to ensure that it all toasts evenly. When it is ready, stir in the fruit and bake for 3 - 5 more minutes. Let cool completely before transferring to an airtight container.

Baked Rice

2009-01-07T18:04:00.000-08:00

We got a rice cooker for a wedding present, and my husband is in charge of that. However, we haven't figured out how to cook brown rice in it, and he doesn't like brown rice very much anyway. And despite my cooking accomplishments, I can never get more than a single serving of brown rice to cook correctly. However, I have solved my problem! Enter baked rice. It doesn't burn or get hard on the bottom, it cooks all the way through, and it's not the end of the world if you peek at it during its sojourn in the oven.

You can use any combination of spices, herbs, and seasonings for this. Try sweet with some cinnamon and a sprinkle of nutmeg, and apples or sweet potatoes instead of carrots and celery; forgo the veggies entirely; use ginger and dry mustard and splash of sesame oil; add pistachios, pine nuts, walnuts or cashews...the options are endless! What follows is the rendition that I came up with:

Ingredients:
3/4 c. brown rice
1 carrot, minced
1 stalk celery, minced
1/2 t. salt
1 1/2 c. broth
1/2 t. ground cumin

Directions:
Toast rice in a large skillet over medium heat until frangrant, about 5 minutes. Pour into casserole dish. Add in carrot and celery and stir. Whisk together broth, salt, and cumin. Pour into casserole dish and mix with other ingredients. Cover, and bake at 350 for 50 - 60 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed.

Cream of Broccoli Soup

2009-01-07T18:00:00.000-08:00

This uses ground cashews and some miso as the "cream," much the way that the Caesar Salad Dressing did. I thought this was amazing, honestly. I had a little bit for lunch the next day cold, and it was also really good that way. I think I will also make it in the summer and serve it as a cold soup, which can be quite refreshing in Florida! I added too much broccoli, so it's not as "cream" as it should be.

Falafels and Tangy Tahini Sauce

2009-01-07T17:56:00.000-08:00

This is my first time making falafels, and they were really good. My husband even enjoyed them, but I am thoroughly in love with the tahini dip. We had a lot left over, so I'm eyeing it for potential salad dressing and sandwich making. From Vegetarian Mother's Cookbook.

Cottage Cheese for Lasagna

2009-01-07T16:32:00.000-08:00

I need to ask Cathe Olson if I can publish a few of her recipes from The Vegetarian Mother's Cookbook, because this one needs to be shared. It worked perfectly in the lasagna that my husband made. While it is harder than dumping in a can of dairy cottage cheese, it is worth the little bit of work that this entails to get the health benefits. :-)

Wild Chick Soup

2009-01-07T16:21:00.000-08:00

Wild rice + chickpeas = wild chick soup! From Eat, Drink, and be Vegan, once again. Now that my new cookbook is here, there will be some more variety in recipe origins. :-) If you can find the "un-chicken" powdered broth base, this would probably be even better. But vegetable broth still resulted in a very yummy soup. Because my husband and I tend to like thicker soup better (think stew, not soup) I would not include the water in the future, just the broth. I know that the list of herbs seems exhausting, but they are worhh the purchase and really make the soup what itis. Serve with warm bread 0r noodles and a green salad!

Ingredients:
1 T olive oil
1 1/2 c. red onion, diced
1 1/2 c. celery, sliced
3/4 c. carrots, sliced
3 large cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c. uncooked wild rice
1/2 t. salt
pepper
1 t. dry mustard
1 1/2 t. dried thyme
1 1/2 t. dried oregano
1/2 t. dried marjoram
3 1/2 c. cooked chickpeas
4 c. broth
3 c. water
2 bay leave
2 T nutritional yeast
1/2 t. dried sage
1/2 t. dried thyme

Directions:
In a large pot over medium heat, add oil, onions, celery, carrots, garlic, wild rice, salt, pepper, dry mustard, dried thyme, oregano, and marjoram and stir to combine. Cover and let cook 5 - 6 minutes, stirring once or twice. Add 2 1/2 c. chickpeas, broth, water, and bay leaves and stir to combine. Increase heat to bring mixture to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 45 - 55 minutes, until rice is fully cooked and inner white grain of rice is exposed. With a hand blender, pulse soup to add body and creaminess to your desire. Stir in the reserved cup of chickpeas, nutritional yeast, sage, and thyme. Cook 2 - 3 minutes, then serve.

Caesar Salad Dressing

2009-01-07T16:13:00.000-08:00

I was genuinely surprised at how good this tastes! Another stellar recipe from Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan, and one that I will most assuredly use again in the future. I did tack on the vegan Parmesan cheese at the end, and while it makes it less "natural" I found it really added depth to the flavor. No fish, no dairy...what could be better? :-)

Ingredients:
1/4 c. raw cahews
2 T raw pine nuts
2 1/2 T lemon juice
1 T olive oil
1 medium clove of garlic, roughly chopped
1 t. mild miso
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. + kelp granules (absolutely crucial!)
black pepper to taste
1 t. agave nectar
1/4 c. + water to thin as desired
1 t. vegan Parmesan cheese

Directions:
Puree' all ingredients in a blender, or with a hand blender. I found it much easier to use the hand blender, and an old glass peanut butter jar, because it can then simply be used as the container for the dressing. Add more lemon juice or agave nectar if desired. I served this along with the lasagna that my husband made.

Easy Vegan Brownies

2009-01-07T16:06:00.000-08:00

I am sure that there are more refined versions of this recipe...but for a quick brownie fix, this is a pretty good deal! I obtained the original version from vegweb, but what I have posted is the version with my "healthier" adjustments.

Ingredients:
1 c. sugar
1 c. whole wheat pastry flour (or use 1/2 c. white, 1/2 c. whole wheat)
1 T ground flaxseed
2 T oil
2 T applesauce
1/3 c. water or soy milk, you might need a little bit more
1/3 c. baking cocoa
1/2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1/3 c. vegan chocolate chips

Directions:
Sift together dry ingredients. Whisk together wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Add wet to dry, and mix until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips.

Pour batter into well-greased 8x8 in pan. The batter may need to be "spread" into pan rather than just poured.

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Sunflower Carrot Casserole

2009-01-01T11:58:00.000-08:00

Honestly, I used to absolutely hate this recipe when my mom would make it when I was younger. Now, I really like it, since I have discovered that it is especially good when topped with just a little bit of sour cream or balsamic vinegar. :-) My dad likes it covered in ketchup. It is quite a protein powerhouse, and this recipe completely fills a 3 quart dish, so be prepared for leftovers. I used millet, but next time I would either steam the millet a little bit first, or use quinoa or even orzo. Orzo obviously brings the protein content down. If you have a food processor, haul it out to make your life much more bearable!

Ingredients:
1 pkg. Morningstar veggie crumbles
2 t. oil
1/2 c. chopped onion
1/2 c. chopped celery
1 clove garlic, minced
4 c. carrots, thick grate/thin matchstick
28 oz. diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 t. salt
2 c. whole millet or quinoa
1/2 c. sunflower seeds

Directions:
Brown crumbles with oil, onion, celery, and garlic. In a large bowl, combine with remaining ingredients. Pour/spoon into greased 3 quart baking dish. Cover, and cook at 350 for at least 1 hour.

Berry Crisp

2009-01-01T11:49:00.000-08:00

This is kind of a compilation of recipes that turned out really well. You can use any fruit that you want, but I really do like it with mixed berries.

Filling:
4 c. fruit, thawed or fresh
1 T cornstarch
1 T lemon juice
1/4 c. sugar

Topping:
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. toasted pecans
3/4 c. flour
1/2 - 3/4 c. rolled oats
6 T butter/Earth Balance
cinnamon
vanilla
pinch salt

Directions:
Carefully mix the fruit mixture together. Pour into greased baking dish; I used an 8 inch round deep dish. Combine topping ingredients with a pastry blender until mixture is crumbly and sticks together when pressed. Sprinkle over fruit mixture, completely covering. Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 35-45 minutes, or until topping is brown and fruit mixture is bubbling.

Mushroom Gravy

2009-01-01T11:44:00.001-08:00

This recipe is from Cathe Olson's cookbook I mention in the following post. This was also put onto the vegfamily.com website. I made the gravy for Christmas dinner, and found it to be delicious with both the Turkey Roast and the cumin-lime sweet potatoes. The picture is of the gravy on top of the potatoes. A lot of color with the red plate and the orange potatoes, but the gravy is there! I added a little bit of constarch to this to speed the thickening process. I imagine that this would be absolutely perfect over spaetzle!

Ingredients:
1 T olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 c. sliced mushrooms
1 clove garlic, minced
1 T nutritional yeast
1 T flour
1 c. vegetable bullion
1 1/2 c. potato cooking water (or water)
salt, pepper

Directions:
Heat oil in a saucepan. Stir in onion, mushroom, and garlic. Saute' at least 10 minutes, until onions are translucent and mushrooms are juicy. Stir in yeast and flour until mushrooms are coated. Add bullion and liquid. Bring to a boil and simmer, stirring occasionally, until gravy thickens, about 10 minutes. Season to taste.

New cookbook!

2009-01-01T11:38:00.000-08:00

This is Cathe Olson's book The Vegetarian Mother's Cookbook. I highly recommend it. The recipes look delicious and relatively simple to prepare; many provide ways to do things a bit quicker and have directions for freezing and reheating. What I like the most about it is that it is full of "real" food; no crazy recipes for zucchini riccotta stuffed acorn squash with toasted pine nut cream sauce or anything like that. But instead, yummy food that you can realistically prepare as a real woman or man in a real kitchen with real time constraints for real people. In planning the menu for next week, 4 out of 6 of the meals at home are coming from her book!

Delicious Pakistani Dahl

2008-12-31T15:57:00.000-08:00

Of all my rotating lunch recipes at college (and now post-college) this is by far my favorite. Again, I usually double the recipe to make 3 quarts. Two things are key and essential for this recipe to turn out optimally: red lentils and coriander. I have tried green lentils (they're cheaper in the bulk bins at the coop!) and have forgotten the coriander, and have been severely disappointed both times. The lentils should disintegrate while they are simmering like the photo shows; not too appetizing to look at, but when you add the spiced veggies...yum! You can serve this over rice or with naan or something. It tastes good at any temperature.

Oh, you can find bottled chopped ginger at the grocery store near the chopped, bottled garlic in the produce section. I find ginger to be a pain to deal with, so I was very happy with how well the bottled ginger works.

Ingredients:
1 c. dry red lentils
3 c. water or broth
1 T oil
1 diced onion
1-2 sliced carrots
1-2 sliced celery stalks
2 - 3 minced cloves garlic
1 t. chopped ginger root
14 oz. diced tomatoes, drained
2 t. curry
1/8 t. chili powder
1 t+ cumin
1 t. ground coriander
1/2 t. turmeric
salt to taste

Directions:
Heat water in a large pot until boiling. Add lentils. Boil for one minute, and then simmer for 20 minutes until lentils resemble a thick paste. Meanwhile, heat oil in a frying pan. Add onion, carrot, celery, garlic, and ginger, and saute' until soft. Add spices, and saute' for another 2 - 3 minutes. Add tomatoes, and saute' for another 3 - 5 minutes. Add vegetable mixture into lentil paste. Stir to combine thoroughly. Simmer for another 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Brown Cereal

2008-12-31T15:50:00.000-08:00

I know, with the enchilada photo below, and now this, it's like two ugly (but delicious!) recipes in a row. I have been eating Brown Cereal since before I can remember, though I have now veganized it. Grape Nuts taste better in this and retain their crunch, but Fiber 1 keeps the calories a bit lower and increases the fiber. Just try it...

Ingredients:
1/2 banana
~1/2 c. Grape Nuts or Fiber 1
~1 T peanut butter
2 - 3 t. cocoa powder

Directions:
Mash banana in a cereal bowl with a fork. Add cereal. Stir to combine. Add however much peanut butter you want...just enough to make it stick together, or more for that peanut butter yumminess! Stir in cocoa powder. Taste very good when accompanied by a glass of soymilk.

Cheesy Bean Enchiladas

2008-12-31T15:39:00.000-08:00

Ah yes...nutritional yeast again, my favorite! lol. This makes a lot of filling for the burritos, but I just dumped it over the pan before topping with the cheese sauce, and everyone liked it. We used 8 inch tortillas and made 8 enchiladas; you can probably get more in the pan if you are a professional enchilada baker, but I am pretty horrible at it. Alternatively, you could forgo the entire rolling experience and simply layer the bean mixture and the tortillas...kind of like a Mexican-enchilada-lasagna experience. Either way, it doesn't come out looking that amazing, but it's tasty! Serve with a green salad and Mexican Rice.

Ingredients:
Sauce:
1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. nutritional yeast
1 t. salt
1 t. garlic powder
2 c. water
1 t. prepared mustard
2 T margarine
Filling:
1 can each of kidney, pinto, and black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can of enchilada sauce (I prefer the green kind, but could only find the red)
2 small cans of chopped mild green chilis, drained
1 large can sliced black olives, drained
2 onions, diced and sauteed
tortillas

Directions:
Combine yeast, flour, salt, and garlic powder in a saucepan. Add water and heat over medium heat until thickened and bubbling. Really thick is better; almost to the consistency of "queso" cheese dip stuff. Remove from heat, and add mustard and margarine. Reserve 1/2 c. of cheese sauce.

Take the rest of the sauce, and combine it with the beans, chilis, olives, and onions.

Spray a 9x13 pan with PAM. Pour 1/2 can of enchilada sauce in pan. Fill each tortilla with about 1/3 c. of filling; roll and place in pan. When you run out of space, or tortillas, spoon the rest of the filling mixture on top of all the enchiladas. Pour the rest of the can of enchilada sauce on top. Drizzle/spoon remaining cheese sauce on top.

Bake at 350 until brown and bubbling, 30-45 minutes.

Mexican Rice

2008-12-31T15:33:00.000-08:00

Ok, I have a bunch of recipes to post, so I'm going to take the lazy route and just give you the link to this Mexican Rice Recipe from vegweb. For once, my mom and I followed the directions exactly, so I don't feel bad about taking this short-cut. I was excited because my husband loved it, and couldn't even tell that it was made with brown rice!

http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=9100.0

Molasses Banana Oat Bread

2008-12-30T13:12:00.000-08:00

I love molasses, and have been wanting to create a vegan molasses oat banana bread for quite a while now. This is a no-fat added version; if you want you can always use oil instead of the applesauce! And actually, if you are using bananas that you had in the freezer and defrosted as the bananas, you may not even need the applesauce, as they previously frozen bananas tend to release quite a bit of liquid.

Ingredients:
1 c. whole wheat four
1/2 c. white flour
1 c. oats
1/4 c. sugar
2 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1/2 - 1 t. cinnamon
1 T flax meal plus 2 1/2 T hot water, whisked
soy milk or water as needed
1/3 c. unsweetened applesauce
1/4 c. molasses
1/2 t. vanilla
1 + c. mashed banana
1/2 c. chopped nuts (optional)

Directions:
Whisk dry ingredients, flour through salt.

In a separate bowl, combine flax "egg", applesauce, molasses, vanilla, and mashed banana. Add soy milk or water to thin down if needed.

Stir the flour mixture into the banana mixture until just combined. Fold in nuts, if desired. Bake in greased 8x4 pan at 350 for 45-60 minutes.

Vegan Turkey Roast

2008-12-30T13:00:00.001-08:00

Instead of posting this recipe and its instructions, I want to provide you with the link, because it also includes a video. Not that this recipe is difficult...I loved that all you had to do was dump, stir, bag, and boil. The only change I made was to 1. Add 2 t. poultry seasoning to the roast mixture and 2. add some honey to the ketchup sauce in place of some of the water.

This was a big hit at the Christmas meal with both the herbivores and omnivores. Topped with either the Mushroom Gravy or Cranberry Chutney, it was amazing. The texture and flavor were excellent, and I was really happy that it was not dry or crumbly. Lots of pictures here. lol. Oh, Pepperidge Farm pastry sheets are vegan. :-) But if they advertised that fact, hardly anyone would buy them!

http://www.everydaydish.tv/index.php?page=recipe&recipe=148

Back to Blogging...with a slight change of diet plants

2008-12-30T12:55:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone; sorry I have neglected the blog over the holidays. But now that I am back in my own house, I intend to fully subject my husband to my experimental cooking. :-) I am going to post a few recipes that I made over the break, too.

Just wanted to let you all know that this is no longer going to be a strictly 100% vegan blog...for a number of reasons, some personal, some simply practical, I have decided to add limited organic dairy (i.e., mostly nonfat plain yogurt) and "happy" eggs from a local organic farmer to my larder again. The dairy will be from Organic Valley as much as possible, because they pasture their cows, unlike Horizon and the generic organic dairy brands.

I feel that this still fits with my ecological mind set, and that this vegan-ish vegetarianism will be the best for my family in the long run. However, 95% of what you see on the blog will still be vegan, and 99% of it all could be made vegan by using non-dairy and non-egg options.

I'm eager for my culinary adventures of the New Year to begin; hopefully they appeal to you as well!

Harvest Vegetable Shepherd's Pie

2008-12-16T15:24:00.000-08:00

I received this recipe from a nutritionist at college that I saw one time. Although there is quite a bit of chopping and prep work, it is absolutely perfect for a cold day! And I think that the 4+ inches of snow outside qualifies it as such. :-) If you cut the tempeh into 4-inch pieces and and simmer it for about 20 minutes in broth, it is supposed to cut down on the bitter aftertaste. I haven't quite found that to be true, but when it is all mixed up with everything else, and baked, it tastes just fine.

Tempeh is made from soybeans and grains that are pressed into a "cake" and then fermented. Fermentation makes the soybeans more digestible while adding probiotics, so tempeh is a great deal for maximum protein ingestion. It also holds it's shape really well. It is because of this that I have heard that it is really good to grill with, but I haven't tried yet.

Ingredients:
1 pound tempeh, simmered, and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 -2 T olive oil
1 c. onions, diced
1 c. carrots, diced
1 c. mushrooms, sliced
1/2 - 1 t. fresh thyme
1 pound new or red potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch square dice
3 c. broth
3 T tamari or soy sauce
1/2 c. frozen peas, thawed
1/2 c. frozen corn, thawed
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1 -3 T cornstarch
1/4 c. fresh water or stock
1 1/2 t. fresh sage, minced
4 c. orange mashed yams, or mashed potatoes
1/2 c. sliced almonds, optional

Directions:
Heat oil over medium large heat in large saute' pan. Add tempeh, onions, and carrots; cook until onions are translucent. Add mushrooms and cook a few more minutes. Add thyme, potatoes, broth, and soy sauce. Simmer until potatoes are cooked but still firm, about 10-15 minutes. Stir in peas, corn, salt, and pepper. Bring to a simmer. Whisk together 1/4 c. water and 1 T cornstarch, and add to vegetables. If needed, thicken with a little bit more cornstarch and water. Stir well; add sage.

Place the filling into a 3 quart casserole dish. Top with orange mashed yams (or mashed potatoes). Sprinkle with sliced almonds. Bake for 30 minutes at 350; yams will be golden brown and filling will bubble. You might want to put a cookie sheet underneath the casserole dish to catch the drips. Let set for 5 - 10 minutes before serving.

Orange Mashed Yams

2008-12-16T15:20:00.000-08:00

Yum! Sweet potato, yam, whatever: I know some people who get particular about didactics, but I think they they all taste amazing. I decreased the butter and sugar amounts, and it still tasted really yummy. The citrus is a nice change from the heavier squash dishes that tend to make their appearance this time of year. Butternut squash would also work well.

Ingredients:
3 1/2 pounds yams or sweet potatoes or squash chunks, all peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
1/4 c. brown sugar
juice and zest of one orange
1 t. lemon juice (1/2 of one lemon)
2 T Smart Balance
salt, to taste

Directions:
Steam or boil yams for 20-25 minutes, until tender when poked with a fork. Drain. Add other ingredients, and mash well and combine. Makes about 4 cups.

Gingersnap Biscotti

2008-12-13T08:56:00.000-08:00

I wanted to bring some biscotti to the Christmas potluck where there was going to be a hot chocolate bar. I had originally planned on making pumpkin biscotti, but then thought about and decided that gingerbread biscotti would be much more appropriate. Since I had never made biscotti before, I went internet hunting to find a vegan, ginger rendition, and so yet again, I must give credit where credit is due: this recipe is from the blog Fat Free Vegan: here is the link http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2007/12/fat-free-gluten-free-gingerbread.html

Because there is so little sugar in it, I really thought that it turned out more like gingersnap rather than gingerbread biscotti. The only real change I made to my version was to add 1 more tablespoon of molasses, and I had to add much more water than the recipe indicated would be necessary. But it really does harden up much more than I thought it would. I love dipping it in my tea in the evening...especially the orange spice tea...now I'll have to try it with the pumpkin spice tea!

Seitan with Apple Squash Chutney

2008-12-13T08:46:00.000-08:00

I have to credit the vegan blog "Vegan Dad" for this recipe. Here is the link: http://vegandad.blogspot.com/2008/11/seitan-with-apple-squash-chutney.html

I accidentally bought seitan chicken "pieces" instead of a block or cutlets of it. Seitan is made out of wheat gluten, which is incredibly high in protein. It provides a very nice nutrient and texture change from tofu. I know it doesn't look terribly appetizing in this picture, but mixed with everything else, it was quite good. It came in a box like tofu, and I dumped it out on this towel to soak up some of the excess water.

The only changes I made to Vegan Dad's recipe are as follows:
I used 2 stalks of celery
I cut everything into larger chunks, more bite sized
Instead of cooking it for 20 -25 minutes straight through, I cooked it for ten minutes. Then added the seitan pieces, stirred to coat them, and cooked for 10 more minutes.

I really enjoyed this recipe, and it is so perfect for a chilly day. Prep time isn't too bad, and you do get to just let it sit there on the stove while you get a head start on the dishes and setting the table.

Cranberry Orange Bread

2008-12-13T08:37:00.000-08:00

A good holiday bread! The original recipe comes from Whole Foods for the Whole Family by the La Leche League, but this version is a little different, and it's vegan. :-) I'd really recommend using an orange, not a tangerine or tangelo or clementine...it seems to affect the flavor somehow; don't know why! I made three batches of this; one was an 8x4 in. loaf; another was about 15 muffins; another was an 8x8 inch "cake." Basically, I had limited time, and only one 8x4 inch pan!

Ingredients:
2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 t. baking soda
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
2/3 c. sugar
2 T flaxmeal
zest of one orange
juice of one orange
hot water
2 T oil
1 c. or 1/2 pkg. of fresh or frozen cranberries
1/2 c. chopped nuts (pecans are best)

Directions:
Sift dry ingredients together (flour through flaxmeal). In another bowl, add enough hot water to the juice of the orange to make one cup of liquid; or use just use orange juice. Whisk in oil and orange zest. Stir into dry ingredients; fold in cranberries and nuts. The batter will be very thick, almost more like cookie dough. Bake in a greased 8x4 loaf pan (or muffin tin, or square cake pan) for 60-75 minutes; yes, it can take that long! Cool in pan for 15 minutes, then invert onto wire rack to cool the rest of the way. Freezes well, and makes great Christmas gifts!

Whole Wheat Quick Bread

2008-12-13T08:31:00.000-08:00

This is a nice high-protein bread that goes very well with both salads in summer and soups in winter. The best part: no kneading or rising! A traditional standby from my mom, veganized by me.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1 t. baking soda
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/4 c. wheat germ
1/4 c. soy milk powder (not soy flour)
1 1/2 c. plain soy milk
1/4 c. maple syrup
1/4 c. molasses

Directions:
Whisk together dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine milk, syrup, and molasses. Add to dry mixture, and stir until moistened. Let stand for 20 minutes in a greased 9x5 loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 45-55 minutes.

Spread Platter

2008-12-13T08:28:00.000-08:00

We had a Christmas potluck to go to, and I decided to do a hummus/dip/spread tray. My food processor certainly got a workout! I decided that next time, I'll just do a double batch of one, because that was a lot of work. But the results were amazing, and the recipes are below.

Sun-dried tomato basil hummus, 2

2008-12-13T08:22:00.001-08:00

I know that I already posted a recipe for sun-dried tomato basil hummus, but this one turned out so much better, that I couldn't resist. I think that here, the biggest difference was not confusing the flavors by adding lemon, and instead relying on lots of tomatoes and fresh basil, along with the tomato-infused oil from the jar.

Ingredients:
1 can garganzo beans, rinsed and drained
1 8 oz. jar of sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil
1/2 c. basil leaves, snipped
1 large clove garlic
1 -2 T tahini
salt, pepper
water to thin

Directions:
Shake oil from tomatoes, and roughly chop. Place all ingredients in food processor, adding water and olive oil from the tomato jar as needed. Process until thoroughly combined.

Hummus!

2008-12-13T08:17:00.001-08:00

Yep, regular old hummus; though I must say that this is by far the best "regular" hummus that I have ever made. I attribute this to a few things, mostly minimizing the tahini amount, only 2 small cloves of garlic, and a very sharp blade on the food processor. :-) Oh, and lots of basil!

Ingredients:
1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1 -2 T tahini
2 cloves garlic
juice of one lemon
zest of one lemon
1/4c. + basil leaves, snipped
1 -2 T olive oil
salt, pepper to taste
water to thin as needed

Directions:
Place all ingredients in food processor, and process thoroughly to combine. That's about it!

Cheesy Walnut Butternut Squash Spread

2008-12-13T08:05:00.001-08:00

This is vaguely taken from Vegweb, but I think this turned out better than the parent recipe would have. :-) A little time intensive to make because of the squash, but it turns out to be a very versatile spread. If you continue to thin it down with water or broth, it can be used as a pasta sauce, or pizza sauce, or lasagna sauce. I couldn't decide which was my favorite out of all the dips, but this one was definitely tied for tops. It made a lot, so I'm glad that I have leftovers in the freezer. :-) That is one nice thing about this dip as opposed to the others: it will freeze better.

Ingredients:
1 small - medium butternut squash
1/2 c. vegan "shaky" Parmesan; I tried this one from the first time and really liked it
1/4 c. nutritional yeast
1 c. walnuts
2 t. sage
salt, pepper
water or broth to thin

Directions:
Halve butternut squash lengthwise. Place facedown in a baking dish. Add 1/2 in. of water to dish. Cover, and cook in 350 oven for 1-2 hours, however long it takes the sqaush to reach fork-tender. I did this on a day that I had a lot of other baking to do. Scrape out of "shell" with a spoon. You can save the baked squash in a container for a few days before you make the spread.

Directions:
Place scraped squash into food processor. Add walnuts, and pulse to combine. Add cheese, yeast, sage, salt, and pepper, and continue to combine, thinning as necessary, until the walnust are ground and everything is thoroughly mixed. Thin as desired. Serve warm, sprinkled with more cheese.

Carribean Black Bean Spread

2008-12-13T07:57:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure where my mom got this recipe originally. I know that the ingredient list looks rather strange, but it turns out really good! I used two small bananas because I was trying to use them up, and it turned out a tad bit sweeter than I would have preferred.

Ingredients:
1 T oil
1/4 c. minced shallots
1 garlic clove, minced
3/4 c. thinly sliced banana (~1)
1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 c. or so of broth or water
juice of 1 lime
1 1/2 t. ground cumin
1/4 t. salt

Directions:
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add shallots and garlic; cook 2 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Add banana, cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in beans, 1/4 c. broth, lime juice, cumin, and salt. Cover and simmer 5 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed. Place banana mixture in food processor and blend until smooth, adding remaining broth as needed. Cool before serving.

Sweet Cinnamon Peanut Butter

2008-12-13T07:52:00.000-08:00

Oh my gosh this is so good! When I tasted it, I thought to myself, "I can't make this ever again! I'll be addicted!" Very simple, and kids love it! Adults, too. :-)

Ingredients:
1 c. smooth organic natural peanut butter
1/2 c. maple syrup
1/2 t. vanilla
1/2 t. cinnamon

Directions:
Soften peanut butter in microwave. Stir in syrup, vanilla, and cinnamon, and stir to thoroughly combine. If serving later, you may want to refrigerate it, but you should warm it up again in the microwave again if you're using it as a dip.

Pizza take Three

2008-12-10T17:58:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I finally have a recipe worth of posting!!

For the crust:
I basically took the crust recipe from the King Arthur Flour Company and just doubled to make two pizzas; here is the link to the recipe. http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/RecipeDisplay?RID=20. I didn't really follow all their detailed prep instructions, and I bake mine differently

The only significant changes I made to the ingredients for the crust are as follows:
Use 1/2 white, 1/2 whole wheat for the flour mixture
Add 1 - 2 T gluten
Use half the oil called for
Add 1 - 3 t. dried Italian herbs

Instead of letting the crust rise on the counter or whatever until doubled, etc., I make the dough the night before. I mix and knead the dough using the dough hook on my Kitchen Aid mixer, and just let it knead the dough until it comes off the sides completely in a cohesize dough blob. Add more flour/water as needed, but be stingy. Then spray a large bowl with PAM, plop the dough in it, and spray it heavily with PAM. Cover it tightly with plastic wrap, and set it in the fridge for 12-24 hours. Then 2-3 hours before you want to make the pizza, simply take the bowl out of the fridge and leave it on the counter. Not only does this make it easier to make the pizza that night, but letting it set for so long really helps to develop the gluten strands and make it much easier to work with.

For the sauce:
1 14 oz. can tomato sauce
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
1 t. dried Italian herbs
pepper, if desired
Mix/whisk it all together.

For the toppings:
The sky is the limit! Usually I'm a fan of olives, mushrooms, broccoli, pineapple, peppers, minced onion, sundried tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant... Today, however, I decided to vary things a bit, and on my portion, I put roasted garlic cloves, chopped artichoke hearts, sliced olives, mushroom pieces, and soy feta. I was really impressed with the soy feta, and will definitely be buying it again. You can also use a block of vegan cheese that you grate, like the cheddar or mozzarella styles of Follow Your Heart or any other brand. I messed my husband's portion up this time--the cheese should go on after the sauce, and then all the toppings.

To bake:
Place two pizza stones a cold oven. Now turn the oven to preheat at 425 with the stones still in there. Having the stones preheated ensures that the crust is crispy on the outside and doesn't stick to the stone. Make sure that your toppings, sauce, and cheese are all prepped on the counter and waiting and that the crust is all rolled out. Remove one of the stones and place it on the counter or stove. Sprinkle it with about 1 T of corn meal. Throw the crust on there. Quickly, spread the sauce, sprinkle on the cheese as liberally as you like, and then put the toppings on. Put it in the oven, and repeat with the second stone. Each needs to bake for 12-17 minutes, depending on how thick your crust is, so you'll have to watch them. Transfer to a large cutting board and slice as you desire!

Lemon Poppy Seed Crackles

2008-12-09T16:08:00.000-08:00

Yet another wonderful recipe from Dreena Burton's Eat, Drink, and be Vegan. I made these for a Christmas cookie exchange. They're a nice change from the usual butter and sugar-laden kind you encounter around the holidays. I forgot to buy poppy seeds, so these are poppy seed-less. :-) If you use white flour instead of spelt, they cookies will be lighter in color. This makes about 18 cookies.

Ingredients:
1 1/8 c. spelt flour
1 - 1 1/2 T poppy seeds
1/3 c. unrefined sugar
2 t. lemon zest
1/4 t. salt
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/8 c. brown rice syrup or agave nectar
1 1/2 T maple syrup
2 T lemon juice
1 1/2 t. vanilla
3 - 3 1/2 T oil
1 1/2 - 2 T raw sugar for topping

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. In a bowl, combine flour, poppy seeds, sugar, lemon zest, and salt, and sift in baking powder and baking soda. Stir until well combined. In a separate bowl, combine rice syrup, maple syrup, lemon juice, and vanilla. Stir until rice syrup is well incorporated, then stir in oil until well combined. Add wet mixture to dry, gently folding until just well combined (do not overmix). Take tablespoons of dough and roll into balls. Place balls 2 inches apart on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. DO NOT flatten. Sprinkle with raw sugar crystals. Bake for 11-12 minutes, but no more. Remove from oven, and let sit on sheet for 1 minute, then transfer ro rack to cool completely.

African Peanut Stew

2008-12-09T15:45:00.000-08:00

This is from one of my friends in Oregon, and it is amazing!!! Even my husband liked it, although he served it over rice, the starch-aholic that he is. It is a strong flavor, but very filling and nice on a cool day. It would look really pretty with green onion slices sprinkled on top, but I was running very late and didn't have time for that. :-) I served it with steamed broccoli and cauliflower. This makes 3 quarts, so I had to freeze the rest of it for another night.

Ingredients:
1 - 3 t. peanut oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 28-oz can diced tomatoes, drained
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
1/3 - 1/2 c. natural smooth peanut butter
4 c. broth
1 T balsamic vinegar or lime juice
1/4 t. cayenne pepper (or to taste)
2 t. salt
1 c. white rice
green onions, chopped

Directions:
Saute garlic in oil in medium heat for 1 - 2 minutes. Add broth, tomato paste, and peanut butter, and whisk until completely combined. Add tomatoes, vinegar, pepper, and salt. Bring to boil. Add rice. Cover and cook on low for 20 -25 minutes. Serve sprinkled with green onions, over more rice, if desired.

Candy (gingerbread) House!!!

2008-12-07T19:53:00.001-08:00

The Annual Candy House is a big deal in my family, and one of the most important traditions that I have carried on with my husband. It's a family recipe, so I won't be posting it here, but this is what emerged this year. There were a few design flaws that I have corrected for next year, but all in all it was a successful (and fun) experience, especially for our first Candy House on our own. Oh, it's called Candy House because when I was little, I couldn't pronounce gingerbread, but I could handle candy!

Eggplant Skillet

2008-12-05T14:22:00.000-08:00

This recipe is from my mom. I really really like it, and it definitely makes enough for leftovers. The original recipe called for fat free French dressing, but I like it just with the vinegar and salt and pepper, and maybe a little bit of olive oil. You can use fresh cherry tomatoes, or a large can of diced tomatoes, drained. You could also probably add sliced mushrooms, but there are certainly a lot of veggies here already. Yum!

Ingredients:
1 eggplant, cut into 1/2 in. dice (no need to salt it or anything)
1 small purple onion, cut into strips/diced/minced, depending on how well it needs to be hidden :-)
1 large or two small zuchinni or yellow squash, sliced
1 green pepper, cut into strips
2 c. cherry tomatoes
1/4 c. balsamic vinegar

Directions:
Place all ingredients except cherry tomatoes and vinegar in a non-stick skillet. Cook over low, covered, until tender, 10-15 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook another 3-5 minutes. Before serving, stir in vinegar, and any desired oil or salt and pepper. Serve hot or cold.

Pasta Fagiole

2008-12-05T14:11:00.000-08:00

This recipe is from my mother-in-law, and it is delicious! I was actually really surprised, because the ingredient list seemed a little random, with the turmeric and the rosemary, but I am definitely going to make this again, a lot. And of course, as most tomato-based dishes do, this tastes even better the next day.

Ingredients:
3 T onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 t. oil
4 sliced, peeled carrots
14 oz. crushed tomatoes
1 can chickpeas (I like Bush's brand), drained and rinsed
2 c. broth
1 t. minced fresh rosemary
1 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. turmeric
salt and pepper to taste
1 lb. pasta

Directions:
Saute onion, garlic, and carrots in oil until softened. Add broth and seasonings. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Add tomatoes and chickpeas. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer until chickpeas are heated through. Serve over pasta.

Mexican Lasagna

2008-12-05T14:04:00.000-08:00

I like this pretty well, but my husband thought it needed some help. So I'll post the pictures, and update it later. It comes from Dreena Burton's Eat, Drink, and be Vegan, and I think if I had just followed the recipe, things would have been fine. :-)

Chik'n pot pie

2008-12-03T12:10:00.000-08:00

My husband has told me numerous times that he really enjoys chicken pot pie so I finally took the hint and made it. I got the idea from Vegan Family Favorites, but altered it quite a bit. I added the mashed potatoes because they were leftover from Thanksgiving and needed to be eaten. Just add a bit more soymilk and cornstarch if you don't need to use up leftover mashed potatoes. :-)

I used frozen vegetables to make my life easier, and just steamed them a very little bit before I added them to the sauce. Fresh veggies more thoroughly steamed are of course an option, and I really would use a sauteed onion and sauteed garlic next time, but we were in a bit of a rush.

Ingredients:
double pie crust
1 c. broth
1 T dried Italian herbs
1 1/2 c. leftover mashed potatoes
1 T butter substitute
1/4 c. soymilk
2 1/2 t. cornstarch
3 c. mixed frozen vegetables
1 10-oz. pkg. of California blend frozen vegetables
1 pkg of Morningstar veggie chik'n strips, cut into 1 in. pieces

Directions:
In a medium saucepan over medium high heat, whisk broth, herbs, potatoes, and soy milk together. Add butter substitute and whisk it in as it melts. Remove 1 c. or so of mixture, thoroughly whisk in cornstarch, and add back to pot, whisking thoroughly. Cook until thickened, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and stir in vegetables and chik'n until coated. Pour into bottom pie crust; top with other pie crust and cut slits onto top. Bake at 400 for 35-30 minutes, covering edges of crust if getting too brown.

Cranberry Gingerbread

2008-12-03T11:51:00.000-08:00

I was determined to find and bake a successful gingerBREAD recipe. Vegan, of course, and relatively healthy, preferred. Combining a few different recipes and veganizing them resulted in this concoction. I really enjoyed it, and other people did, too. I didn't cook it long enough, so I really do recommend the full hour, and just cover it with foil if you feel it needs it.

The banana is only included to somewhat act as an egg, and take the place of butter. Banana flavor and texture is to be avoided, so make sure that the mashed banana is closer to liquified banana. The cranberries give it a good texture and flavor difference. The lemon sugar glaze is of course completely unnessesary, but I made this for a social gathering and wanted it to be pretty.

Ingredients:
2 c. whole wheat flour
2 t. cinnamon
1 t. ground cloves
2 1/4 t. ginger
pinch allspice
1 T flaxmeal
1 t. salt
1/2 c. sugar
3/4 c. molasses
2 T oil
1 c. applesauce
1/4 c. mashed banana
1 t. baking soda
1 c. fresh cranberries

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour a 9x5 in. loaf pan.

Sift together flour, spices, flaxmeal, and salt. In a larger bowl, whisk together sugar, molasses, oil, applesauce, and baking soda, making sure that soda is dissolved. Add dry ingredients to wet, and stir until combined. Fold in cranberries. Pour into 9x5 pan and bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool completely if putting glaze on it; otherwise, serve warm, preferably with sauteed apple chuncks and soy vanilla ice cream.

Lemon glaze:
juice of one lemon
zest of one lemon
quite a bit of powdered sugar
Mix powdered sugar into lemon juice until desired consistency is reached. Spread/spoon onto gingerbread loaf, and sprinkle with zest before glaze hardens.

Addictive Bean Curry

2008-12-03T11:37:00.001-08:00

Wow, I haven't had this in months! But at college, this was one of my three rotating lunch options. Every week, I would make a double batch of this, dahl, or "Italian Beans" and eat it everyday for lunch. Hm, no wonder I haven't wanted it for six months! It's not too bad timewise to make, and it tastes better the next day. Trust me, I know.

I usually just cook up 2-3 cups of dry beans (I'm a fan of cannelini beans, although these are Great Northerns) and add them in for the double batch. Actually, this looks better with darker beans, like kidney beans or black beans. My cheaters way of cooking dry beans is to rinse them off, and then throw them in a crockpot with hot water and cook on high for 3-4 hours, stirring occassionally. You can't cook kidney beans like this though, as the skin of the bean will release a toxin; kidney beans require the normal 12-24 hour treatment of rehydration and cooking.

Ingredients:
1 t. mustard seeds
1 t. cumin seeds (or 1/2 t. ground cumin)
1 T olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, diced
2 carrots, sliced
2 celery ribs, sliced
1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
2 cans of beans, drained and rinsed (or 1 1/2 c. dry beans, cooked)
salt, pepper
2+ teaspoons mild green curry paste

Directions:
Heat oil in a large sauce pan. Add mustard and cumin seeds, and stir until the seeds have almost all "popped." Add garlic, onion, carrots, and celery and cook until onion is golden. Add in tomatoes, undrained, and beans. Stir thoroughly to combine. Add curry paste and mix it in very well with the liquid; add a little bit of water if needed. Add salt and pepper to taste. Simmer 20 minutes, or until carrots are soft. Serve over rice, or with naan.

Nutritional Yeast

2008-12-03T11:31:00.000-08:00

I am seriously into nutritional yeast right now. You can sprinkle it on to food like Parmesan cheese, add it to soup to make to creamy, or make a "cheese" sauce out of like I did for the macaroni and cheese (updated picture below). With only 60 calories for two heaping tablespoons and less than one gram of fat, plus a good amount of a protein and a natural source of Vitamin B, it's a pretty good deal.

Vegan Cornbread

2008-12-01T19:17:00.000-08:00

My last few attempts at cornbread have not been met with rave reviews from my family--but this one was a hit! I think that I'll stop messing around with it...for now at least. It is hard to create a healthful recipe for cornbread that still tastes like cornbread. I really like using the cream style corn in this, but if you don't want to, you'll have to add more sugar and mess around with the amount of liquid required.

You should use the Ener-G egg replacer here, instead of a flax or banana "egg" in order to have it taste like traditional cornbread, and puff up well.

By greasing and heating the cast iron, then adding the batter, you can create a golden brown crispy crust...a must for Southern style cornbread. :-) I hope you enjoy this as much as we did.

Ingredients:
1 c. cornmeal
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. white flour
1 T baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1/3 c. sugar
1 can cream style corn
3/4 c. plain soy milk
2 T oil or melted buttery spread
1 T Ener-G Egg replacer
4 T water

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375. Grease a 10 inch cast iron skillet with Earth Balance (stick margarine). REALLY grease it. Place into oven as it is preheating.
Sift together dry ingredients, cornmeal through sugar. Whisk together soy milk, cream style corn, and oil. Add to dry mixture. Stir until just combined. Pour batter into cast iron pan. Bake for 25 minutes. Turn oven off, and let it sit in there for another 10 minutes. If you really want decadence, whip some maple syrup into softened butter and serve with that.

White Chik'n Chili

2008-12-01T19:09:00.000-08:00

This is a quick, easy, and yummy dish. You can put more effort (and maybe flavor) into it by sauteeing an entire onion in oil and cumin and then adding it to the mixture, but I like the "dump" method of this one!

Ingredients:
2 cans of Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
1 c. vegetable broth
1 - 2 bunches of green onions
1 pkg. of Morningstar Veggie Chik'n strips, chopped into 1 inch bites
1 small can of diced mild green chilis
2 t. ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
In a bowl, mash one can's worth of beans with a spoon so that it somewhat resembles thick refried beans. In a large saucepan over medium high heat, whisk together broth and smashed beans until thoroughly combined. Add all other ingredients, stirring occasionally until heated through. Serve with cornbread and a green salad.

Stuffing (dressing)

2008-11-29T08:56:00.000-08:00

I suppose this was not technically "stuffing" as I did not "stuff" it anywhere except into a pan! This is probably my favorite dish at Thanksgiving, so I used a 16 oz. bag of Pepperidge Farm Seasoned bread cubes/crumbs. Next year, I want to make the bread and use that, but for a first Thanksgiving, this worked well. It almost filled my 5 quart cast iron pan! Next year I might add craisins, but it tastes really great with the cranberry chutney

Ingredients:
1/4 c. olive oil
2 c. celery, sliced
2 onions, diced
2 Granny Smith apples, diced, I don't peel them
1 c. chopped pecans, toasted
1 bunch of Italian flat leaf parsley
1/2 c. apple sauce
2 Ener-G eggs (made with broth instead of water)
2 1/2 c. broth
2 + T poultry seasoning
2 t. rubbed sage
2 t. salt
1 t. pepper or to taste

Heat oil in a very large pan over medium high heat. Add celery, apples, and onions, and cook until softened. Mean while, whisk together apple sauce, eggs, broth, and seasonings. Add broth mixture, pecans, parsley, and stuffing mix to pan, and stir until well combined. Honestly, I had to put it into a stock pot to stir it all together. Add more broth as necessary; I tend to like my stuffing mushy, not crispy. Cover and bake at 350 for 30 minutes; uncover and bake another 10 - 15 minutes.

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

2008-11-29T08:53:00.001-08:00

This was pretty easy, really, and I make them for other occasions besides the holidays. Just bake the sweet potatoes at 350 until they are soft (or microwave on high for 10-15 minutes) and scrape out the insides into a bowl. Add whatever you want for spices, and mash with a potato masher. For a sweeter outcome, cinnamon, nutmeg, a pinch of cloves or allspice, and some butter substitute along with some soymilk work well; you could even add a little bit of vanilla. I really like them with some cumin and lime juice!

Creamy Pumpkin Pie

2008-11-29T08:44:00.000-08:00

Ok, I know, this was supposed to be pumpkin cheesecake. But I kept adding more pumpkin because I love the taste, and so the ratio isn't quite right for it to be "cheese"cake. Oh well, live and learn. If you want more of the cheesecake deal, then reduce the pumpkin to 1 c., and omit the sour "cream" and syrup.

Ingredients:
1 12-oz pkg Mori-Nu silken firm tofu
1 8-oz. container vegan cream cheese
1/4 c. vegan sour "cream"
1 can + 3/4 c. canned pumpkin
1 c. sugar
4 T maple syrup
1 t. vanilla
3-4 T flour
1/4 t. ginger
1/2 t. nutmeg
2 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. cloves
1/2 t. baking soda

Directions:
Puree all ingredients in a food processor. I would puree the tofu first so that you get all the lumps out, then add everything else. Taste test to adjust flavors and spices as desired.

Pour into a graham cracker crust, and bake at 300 for about 90 minutes, covering with foil as you deem necessary to prevent excessive browning. Baking time will depend on how much pumpkin you add, and if you have less time, then bump the temperature up and be sure to cover it. Chill overnight, and let sit at room temperature for about 1/2 hour before serving.

With some So Delicious vanilla ice cream, it's really good! Though I think that next time I will just try a regular vegan pumpkin pie. :-)

Graham Cracker Crust

2008-11-29T08:33:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite "processed" foods is graham crackers! Not quite sure why, but there you have it. So I love graham cracker crusts! But I'm not such a fan of how much butter or butter substitute you have to put into them. So this recipe also uses apricot jam to reduce the amount of fat needed. I would really recommend using jam with real sugar in it so that it will crisp up in the oven. This makes quite a bit of crust, but I wanted to make the little "cookies" on top for decoration.

Ingredients:
13 graham cracker sheets
2 1/2 T butter substitute, melted
3 1/2 T apricot jam, melted
1 T water
3/4 t. cinnamon

Directions for crust:
In a blender, pulverize the graham crackers in crumbs. In a large mixing bowl, combine the graham crackers, butter, jam, water, and cinnamon with a pastry blender until it starts to clump together. Press into a springform pan, making sure to press a 1/2 inch or so up the sides of the pan, and bake at 350 for 12 or so minutes. Put filling into crust, and bake according to directions.

Directions for "cookies":
Take leftover graham cracker mixture and add enough water so that it has more of cookie dough texture. Press flat on silicone mat and cut out with little cookie cutters. Remove excess "dough" from around cookies with a knife. Sprinkle with raw sugar, and bake ta 350 for 15-20 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.

Diversity Bread

2008-11-29T08:17:00.000-08:00

Originally, this was called Braided Bread. Then two years ago, I was at my boyfriend's family's house for Thanksgiving, and they had a friend over who was Indian. He saw the bread, and was convinced that this was a celebration of the gathering's diversity! I suppose it is, and the bread looks like it, too, with the dark rye, wheat, and white flours. It has become a classic in our house for Thanksgiving. And oh, that boyfriend is now my husband. :-) The ingredients will make more sense once you read the directions.

Ingredients:
Base for each bread:
3/4 c. warm water
1 t yeast
1 c. white flour
1 t oil
1/4+ t. salt
1-2 t. sugar

For wheat:
2 T maple syrup
1+ c. whole wheat flour
For rye:
2 T molasses
1 T baking cocoa
1 t. caraway seeds
1+ c. rye flour
For white:
1+ c. white flour

Directions:
This is to make the 3 doughs separately. I find it to be much easier this way. Into a large bowl, place all the ingredients for the base (water--sugar) and mix thoroughly. Then add the wheat ingredients. Knead for 8-10 minutes, cover with a towel, and let rise until doubled. Make the base again, this time adding the rye ingredients; knead and let rise. Do the same thing, this time with the white ingredients.

Once the doughs have all risen, punch them down and separate each one in half. Take each half and roll and stretch it into a rope about 16 inches long. You should have 6 "strands" by the end. Take a white, wheat, and rye strand and line them up next to each other on the baking pan. Bunch the one of the ends of the strands together so that they stay (sorry, I should have taken more pictures!). Braid the strands together, and tuck the ends in so that they do not burn. Repeat with other three strands. Spray with PAM, and let rise 45 minutes. The picture is of the braids as they are starting to rise. Place in preheated oven at 350, and bake for 30 or so minutes. Wrap each braid tightly in a towel and let them cool on a rack. Slice and serve!

Cranberry Chutney

2008-11-29T05:55:00.000-08:00

This is a nicely spiced and tangy chutney. Make sure you cook it long enough at then soft boil stage so that the sugar will gel and it will set; otherwise you get thick, spiced cranberry soup. You can also use the juice of the orange + water to get to 1 cup of liquid. I usually omit the raisins because I'm not a fan of cooked raisins, and just add more chopped apples instead. :-) This is definitely one of the recipes to make at least a day ahead so there is less to do Thanksgiving Day.

Ingredients:
1 c. water
3/4 c. white sugar
1 (12 oz) pkg. fresh cranberries (or thawed)
1 c. apples, peeled, cored, and diced
1/2 c. cider vinegar
1/2 c. raisins
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. ginger
1/4 t. all spice
1/8 t. cloves
zest of 1 orange

Directions:
In a medium saucepan, combine the water and sugar. Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat. Add the cranberries, apples, vinegar, raisins, spices, and zest. Bring to a rolling boil, then reduce heat so that it softly boils/vigorously simmers for 10 minutes, stirring often.
Pour mixture into serving bowl, and cover. Let cool in fridge or on counter until desired temperature.

Upcoming Thanksgiving

2008-11-24T15:06:00.001-08:00

Some people have been wondering what I will be serving for Thanksgiving, being a vegan and all. I'll post pictures and recipes of everything as I do it, but here is a quick rundown of the menu. My husband is cooking a turkey breast for him and his father; his mom and I don't eat meat.

Tofurkey slices or turkey
Lemon-rosemary tofu slices
Stuffing/dressing with apples, onions, celery, and toasted pecans
Homemade cranberry chutney
Diversity bread (white, wheat, and dark rye flour in a braid)
Mashed potatoes with vegan sour cream and plain soymilk
Mashed sweet potatoes with cinnamon and nutmeg, or cumin and lime, haven't decided yet
Vegan gravy
Great big salad with homemade cumin-cinnamon vinaigrette

Dessert: vegan pumpkin cheesecake!

Lemon Pine Nut Basil Pasta

2008-11-24T14:59:00.000-08:00

This is a light, quick meal that has a strong but pleasing flavor. Nothing amazing, but a nice change from tomato or "cheese" pasta sauces. If you have fresh basil, use more! I picked the last of the leaves from my dying plant, and would have liked to use up to a cup of fresh leaves, but oh well.

Ingredients:
1/4 c. pine nuts
4-6 cloves garlic, minced
2 T olive oil
1/4 c. fresh lemon juice
zest from 1 lemon
fresh basil, snipped (1/4-1 cup)
salt
pepper
1/2 package of spaghetti

Directions:
Put water on to heat for pasta. Toast pine nuts in a 350 degree oven until golden brown. I never time this, sorry, I just keep checking them. :-) Heat oil in a small frying pan, and sautee garlic in it. Don't allow garlic to brown. Turn off heat, and add lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Mix to combine. Stir in pine nuts and zest. When pasta is cooked to al dente and drained, add lemon-oil mixture and basil leaves. Stir gently to combine. Serve with some French Baguette and a salad.

Whole Wheat Bread

2008-11-24T14:47:00.001-08:00

It has taken me a long time to get whole wheat bread that is not as hard as a brick nor as dry as a box of crackers. This is a large, heavy loaf, but it tastes amazing toasted with peanut butter or jam on top! Definitely not fluffy, but filling.

Ingredients:
1 T yeast
1 t. salt
2 t honey/molasses
2 c. very warm water
2 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. gluten flour
3/4 c. white flour
1/4 c. sunflower seeds (optional but tasty!)
sprinkle of flax meal

Directions:
Dissolve yeast and honey in warm water. Beat in gluten and 1 c. whole wheat flour. Add remaining whole wheat flour in 2 additions. Add seeds. Add enough white flour to get to the correct consistency (see picture). Knead for 10 minutes, or let your KitchenAid do its magic. I love that thing!Place dough in a greased bowel and cover; let rise until doubled, 1-3 hours, depending on how warm your house is. You can punch it down and let it rise again, or move on with things. Shape into loaf and put into greased 9x5 loaf pan. Spray with PAM, and sprinkle with flax meal (oat bran works well, too). Cover, and let rise until over the sides of the loaf pan, about 1 hour. When you poke it with your little finger, it should fill back out. If it stays dented, it needs more time. If it looks puffy and blistered, it's gone too far and will fall in the oven: take it out, reknead and reshape, it put back into loaf pan until correct amount of rising is attained. This is a picture right after I put it in the pan as it is beginning to rise.
Bake at 375 for 25-35 minutes. Bottom of bread should sound hollow when lightly "knocked" with your hand (you have to take it out of the loaf pan to check this).

Wrap tightly in a towel and allow to cool on a wire rack.

Yum!

Frosting (the best part!)

2008-11-23T13:14:00.001-08:00

This is the recipe for chocolate frosting, which is plenty to ice a two layer cake with. I also made a 1/2 batch of plain frosting to them dye and use to decorate the cake, and had some leftover from that which is now sitting in the freezer, awaiting another occasion for use. The helicopter and big H are because, as I said, the guys are all at flight school, and they're all desperate to fly search and rescue helicopters for the Coast Guard. The cake was a big hit, everyone liked it, and they had no clue that it was vegan! Though the other person there besides my husband who knows that I'm vegan was surprised to see that vegans do eat more than lettuce and tofu.

Ingredients:
1/2 c. + cocoa powder
4 c. powdered sugar
1 c Earth Balance (sticks of buttery spread)
2 T vanilla
sprinkle of salt
3-5 T soy milk

Directions:
Beat Earth Balance, vanilla, and salt until creamy. Add cocoa, and one cup of powdered sugar, and beat until well combined. Add rest of powdered sugar and beat until thoroughly mixed, adding soy milk as needed to keep smooth and spreadable. In this picture, I still needed to add 1 T milk; a little goes a long way, so be stingy. Spread the frosting onto the completely cooled cake.

For plain frosting:
Omit cocoa and compensate with powdered sugar; use only 1/2 t. vanilla. Can be halved, doubled, whatever you need. Dye needed color.

Vanilla Cake

2008-11-23T13:06:00.000-08:00

My husband and I had a party to go to last night that was a birthday celebration for two guys from his graduating class at the Academy who are also down here at Flight School. I volunteered to make the cake for two reasons. 1. I wanted to be able to eat it!! 2. I got a cake decorating kit for a wedding present, and was desperate to try it out. :-)

This is the cake recipe, which is pretty simple. I stirred it a bit too much, and it still came out quite springy and light, though the cakes were stable enough that I could move them around when positioning them without fear of them crumbling right then and there. This is from Eat, Drink, and be Vegan by Dreena Burton.

Ingredients:
1 c. white sugar
1/2 t. salt
2 c. white flour
2 1/2 t. b. powder
1/2 t. b. soda
1 1/2 c. plain soymilk
3 T unsweetened applesauce
1 t. fresh lemon juice (vinegar would be fine, too)
1 T vanilla
1/4 c. vegetable oil

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients (sugar through soda). In a separate bowl, whisk milk, applesauce, lemon juice, and vanilla. Whisk in oil. Add wet mixture to dry, and stir until just well combined. Oil 2 round cake pans. Pour batter evenly into pans, and bake for ~25 minutes at 350, or until a toothpick inserted in cake comes out clean, and cake springs back when lightly pressed. Cool completely on wire rack.

Vegetable Soup

2008-11-23T12:57:00.000-08:00

What is better than good old vegetable soup on a chilly day? A nice change of pace from salads and much more in season this time of year than lettuce. I made 5 quarts of soup, and then have lots for leftovers throughout the next week for lunches. Use what ever vegetables you want; I would have liked to have added cauliflower and frozen peas, but was out of those. You really don't need much broth, since the veggies release a lot of water when cooked, esp. if they've been frozen first (my peppers, green beans, yellow squash, okra, and corn were all frozen).

I don't know the exact amounts, but here is what I put into the soup:
carrots, sliced
celery, sliced
garlic (like 6 cloves) minced
onion, diced
1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained
yellow squash, sliced
okra, sliced
green beans
corn
butternut squash, in chunks
white potato, peeled, in chunks
green pepper, large dice
kale (one very large bunch) cut into 3 in. x 1 in. strips
2 c. broth

Throw everything except yellow squash and kale into a very large pot. Cook on high until boiling, reduce to simmer. Simmer for about 20 minutes. Add yellow squash and kale, and cover, cooking until squash and kale are tender; check that potatoes and butternut squash are as well. Serve! Goes very well with a crusty type of bread, like the French Baguette recipe on here.

Oatmeal in the Morning

2008-11-21T14:27:00.000-08:00

I don't often eat oatmeal for breakfast, but sometimes, something warm and blueberry-ish sounds very appetizing! I like to add soygurt and sliced bananas on top, and sprinkle it with flaxmeal. You can also add a few tablespoons of chopped pecans or walnuts as it's cooking on the stove, or use soymilk instead of water, but it will take much longer to cook and doesn't come out as thick as I like it. Also, if you're going to use dried fruit instead of fresh or frozen, or if you're using diced apples instead of blueberries, add them to the pot as soon as you set it on the stove so they will have a chance to soften.

Ingredients:
1/2 c. rolled oats
1 c. water
sprinkle of salt
1/2-1 t. cinnamon
1 c. frozen or fresh blueberries
1 t. honey, sugar, maple syrup, or molasses
1/4 t. vanilla
toppings of choice

Directions:
Put oats, water, salt, and cinnamon into pot on stove, stirring. Heat on high until mixture begins to boil; reduce to med-high and cook until almost all of the liquid is gone, then dump in the blueberries, and heat until they are hot and "pop" when touched. Keep stirring so that they heat evenly. Remove from heat, and add sweetener and honey. Transfer to bowl if you want to be civlized, and put toppings of choice on. Dig in. :-)

Pizza Again!

2008-11-21T14:19:00.000-08:00

Well I am still in the process of concocting the perfect pizza crust...this one turned out more like homemade crackers, and I wasn't aiming for a crust quite that thin and crispy. So when I get that, I'll post it. I did, however, really like the toppings, for what it's worth. I bought the cheddar "cheese" by Follow Your Heart, and it shreds really well, and tastes amazing both cooked and raw. It melts great, and is surprisingly creamy. This week, I had mushrooms, pineapple, black olives, and broccoli florets on mine. Yum!

Scrambled Tofu

2008-11-20T11:23:00.000-08:00

Scrambled eggs are obviously a thing of the past for vegans...but scrambled tofu is definitely still on the table! (pun intended). :-) This another recipe from my mother-in-law, and one that I really enjoy. I am actually surprised by how much it does taste like scrambled eggs. If you want an even more "authentic" flavor you could nix the Braggs/soy sauce, and instead add sulfured salt to taste. Not that I've ever been able to find the stuff myself, but I've seen it called for in "egg" salad recipes that use tofu. The turmeric in this is vital; it adds flavor as well as natural yellow color.

I served this with tater tots (which are usually vegan, actually) and fruit salad. Not exactly healthy, I know, but at least there was no cholesterol from the "eggs"! If you have non-stick cookware, you might be able to get away with only 1 T oil. I have cast iron that is still pretty new, and I definitely needed the 2 T to keep the tofu from gluing itself to the pan. This is a nicely quick recipe that involves minimal chopping...a nice change for a vegan!

Ingredients:
1 pound (or 14 oz., which is what Nasoya makes) firm tofu
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 of red pepper, finely diced
2 T olive oil
1/4 t. pepper
1/2 t. turmeric
3/4 c. minced green onions
2 t. Bragg's Liquid Aminos or soy sauce
Directions:
Drain and press tofu. Crumble.
Saute garlic, pepper, and onion in oil.
Stir in crumbled tofu, then add remaining ingredients. Use a rubber spatula to combine it all as well as break down the tofu chunks a bit. Cook for about 3 minutes.

Yummy Oatmeal Rolls

2008-11-20T11:12:00.000-08:00

This almost taste like those whole wheat Grands Biscuits from Pillsbury. Kind of. Minus the hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated soybean oil and artificial food coloring and preservatives, of course. We really like them, and it was a nice change from bread. I was surprised with how light and fluffy they are, given the whole grains included. I halved this recipe to make just one pan of rolls, and that turned out fine. From vegweb.com, again. I served this with the lentil stew, obviously.

Ingredients:
2 c. water
1 c. oats
3 T Earth Balance buttery spread
1 rounded T of yeast
1/3 c. warm water
1/3 c. brown sugar (or equivalent sweetener)
1 T sugar, molasses, or agave nectar
1 1/2 t salt
2 c whole wheat flour
1-2 T ground flax seed
2 T vital wheat gluten/gluten flour
white flour

Directions:
In saucepan, cook oats and margarine until the consistency of oatmeal. Let cool to room temperature.
In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add oat mixture, sugars, salt, flax meal, gluten, whole wheat flour, and enough white flour to form a soft dough. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Shape into 18 balls. Place in two greased 9 inch round baking pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes - 1 hour. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until golden pan.

Lentil Stew

2008-11-20T10:58:00.000-08:00

This is a recipe from my mother-in-law who has been a vegetarian for over 30 years. I've tweaked it a bit, but it's a pretty simple concept that is open to interpretation for everyone. :-) You have to get the lentils as soft as you want them before adding the tomatoes, because acid from tomatoes keeps beans from softening. Thankfully, there is no pre-soaking required for lentils. Not only does the lime juice or vinegar bring out the flavor, but it also cuts down at least a little bit on the gas-bean factor!

I usually double this and freeze a quart for leftovers, and eat what's left after that lunches during the week. It tastes really good warmed and then wrapped up in a tortilla! You can serve it over rice or pasta or couscous or quinoa, too; I like it with rolls or bread on the side, though. Not much to look at, but very healthy, filling, and flavorful. Not much active preparation time, although you do need to alot at least 70 minutes for cooking time.

Ingredients:
1/2 bag (= 1/2 pound) of green lentils
2 carrots, sliced
2 stalks of celery, sliced
1 onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 T oil
14 oz. of crushed or petite diced tomatoes
2 c. broth
2 t. dried Italian herbs
1/2 t. turmeric
1/4 t. ground ginger
salt and pepper to taste
2 t. lime juice, or apple cider vinegar

Directions:
Saute garlic, onion, celery, and carrots in oil until soft. Add lentils and broth. Stir to combine/evenly distribute. Cover and simmer for 30-45 minutes, or until lentils are as soft as you want them.
Add tomatoes and spices; season with salt and pepper.
Simmer for 30 minutes, covered. Add lime juice or vinegar. If too watery, cook another 10 minutes without cover.

Apple Cinnamon Cake with Lemon-Maple Frosting

2008-11-18T12:12:00.000-08:00

Do NOT make this if you are looking for a quick, easy cake!!!! I felt like I spent all day in the kitchen, seriously. However, the results were delicious. Or at least I hope that they were...I didn't eat the final product, as it was actually a "try-out" dish for a volunteer job that I am hoping to get. I've applied to teach some cooking classes at the local food co-op, and they said to bring in samples. So I made pumpkin hummus (which, by the way, without a food processor is a horrendous operation) and then this cake, sticking with the "fall" theme. So if you're looking for am amazing cake to impress people with...here it is! From Vive le Vegan by Dreena Burton, with a few minor changes.

Cake Ingredients:
1 1/4 c. flour
3/4 c. oat flour
3/4 c. raw sugar
2 1/2 t. b. powder
1 t. b. soda
1 T cinnamon
1/4 t. nutmeg
1/8 t. allspice
1/4 t. salt
1 c. unsweetened applesauce
3/4 c. soy milk
2 t. vanilla
1/4 c. oil
Cake Directions:
Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, whisk the wet ingredients together. Add the wet mixture to the dry, mixing until just combined. Pour into two greased 9 inch cake pans and bake at 350 for 20-22 minutes, until lightly golden brown and spring back after being lightly touched. Let cool completely before frosting.

Frosting Ingredients:
1 12-oz. pkg of silken firm tofu (Mori-Nu)
1 1/4 t. vanilla
2 T oil
1/3 c. maple sugar
1/2 . + 1 T raw sugar
1/8 t. salt
1 1/2 T. fresh lemon juice
2 t. fresh lemon rind (~ 1 lemon) reserve 1/2 t.
1/4 c. soy milk
1 T agar powder

Frosting Directions:
Pat tofu dry with a towel. Place into blender with vanilla, and blend, scraping sides as needed, until completely smooth. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine oil with syrup, sugar, and salt, stirring occasionally until the sugar dissolves. Add lemon juice and 1 1/2 t. lemon rind, again stirring occasionally. In a small bowl, dissolve agar powder into soy milk until smooth. Add to maple syrup mixture, and stir through. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 5 more minutes to fully dissolve agar. Remove from heat, and add to blender with tofu; blend until thoroughly incorporated, scraping sides as needed. Refrigerate until completely cool (it will be very solid!). When ready to use, reblend, until completely smooth again. I didn't need to add any more soy milk, but you can add a few teaspoons if it is too thick, but remember, it must be very thick in order to work as frosting. Frost cake (between layers, and all around top and sides) and refrigerate several hours to set completely. I added pecan halves and raw sugar to decorate mine.

Spaghetti Sauce

2008-11-18T11:54:00.000-08:00

I know that spaghetti sauce is not complicated, and many cooks have their own individual recipe...but here is mine! We don't have spaghetti very often; usually only when my husband requests it, but once in a while, nothing can compare to a simmering pan of tomato-herb goodness. I like to use whole wheat pasta, but I eat very little of the pasta itself, and my husband is still loving the white variety. So I found a compromise...granted, it's rather contrived, but Ronzoni makes a white pasta that has 3x the amount of fiber as regular white pasta, and they've added calcium. Strange, yes, and not traditional...but it's a good compromise for us.

Note: there are no olives or mushrooms in this recipe for one reason each. 1. My husband will NOT eat mushrooms (the peppers here are a stretch) 2. I accidentally bought the olives with the little jalapeno pepper bits, and neither of us will eat those! And I have no idea what is going on with the formatting here! Sorry!

Ingredients:
1 T olive oil
1 onion, diced
4-6 cloves garlic, minced
1 green pepper, diced
1 c. mushrooms, sliced (optional)
1 jar of prepared pasta sauce (I love Classico)
1 small can tomato paste
1 14-oz. can diced tomatoes (fire-roasted, if you can find them)
1/4-1/2 c. red wine
1 small can black olives, sliced (optional)
1 1/2 T dried Italian herbs (I get mine from my aunt and uncle's herb garden--delicious!)
salt and pepper to taste
1 t. sugar
1 glass of red wine
1/2 pkg. of MorningStar veggie crumbles, sauteed with 2 t. Italian seasoning (optional)
Pasta of choice

Directions:
Pour yourself a glass of red wine.
Heat olive oil in a large sauce pan. Saute onion, garlic, green pepper until softened. Add mushrooms and barely cook (they should not release their water).
Pour in pasta sauce, tomato paste, diced tomatoes, wine, and olives. Stir to combine thoroughly. Add herbs, seasoning, and sugar. Cook over low, covered, for 1-2 hours, adding more water/wine if needed, or turning heat up and removing cover to thicken.
You can add the veggie crumbles about 10 minutes before serving and heat through, or serve veggie Chick'n patties on the side. Cook pasta of choice according to directions, and serve!

Vegan on a cruise

2008-11-14T14:37:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the lack of postings in the past week; I have been on a cruise for my honeymoon, and so have been doing absolutely zero cooking. And I miss it!!! So there will be an onslaught of new recipes coming, I promise. :-)

It wasn't too difficult to eat vegan on the cruise...I assure that it is an excellent method to maintaining or even losing weight when there is food available 24/7, for free! I haven't weighed myself this week, so I can't say for positive, but veganism certainly limits the "acceptable" food to a manageable variety and portion.

I was able to work with the dining room chef to ensure that my meals were vegan every night for the seated dinners, and the food was amazing! The last night I had authentic Indian masala and flat bread...heavenly. The more disappointing part was that the soups were always made with beef stock (whoops, figured that one out the hard way) and the vegan desserts were normally simple "tropical fruit samplers." Though there was a poached pear in red wine sauce one night, and another night I ordered apple pie, ate the apples, and gave the crust to my husband.

Breakfast and lunch and snacks we ate buffet-style, and once I figured out that there was peanut butter sequestered away, I was much happier. Absolutely no soy milk whatsoever, but oatmeal somedays, and really good nutty/grainy bread. Lunch usually consisted of the salad bar with kidney beans, chickpeas, and olive oil and vinegar for dressing. And again, lots of fruit. They would not let me order a cheeseless pizza...apparently that's impossible.

All in all it was a good dining experience, supplmented with a few handfuls of nut and fruit mix and Luna bars that I brought on board, too. :-)

Spaghetti Squash Salad with Balsamic Vinegar Dressing

2008-11-07T08:46:00.000-08:00

I am proud to say that this recipe is completely made-up, and that my husband really enjoyed it! 2 for 2! :-)

Ingredients for salad:
1 spaghetti squash
1 28 oz. can tomatoes (or 4 c. fresh tomatoes), drained
2 medium zucchini
3-4 T pine nuts
1 t salt

Ingredients for dressing:
1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
1 T soy sauce
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1/2 t. dried Italian seasoning
Just put everything into a container and shake throughly.

Directions:
Cook squash: cut in half lengthwise. Place facedown in 9 x 13 pan filled with 1/2 inch of water. Cover with foil, and bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes. Remove from oven, and take squash out of water to cool. When completely cool, scrape a fork over the flesh of the squash, and it will come off in strands just like spaghetti. Do this until all of the flesh is scrape out into large bowl.
Saute zucchini until just tender. Add zucchini, tomatoes, and salt to squash and mix well.
Toast pinenuts in a pan in the oven until lightly browned. Add to squash mixture and mix well. Pour dressing into bowl, and mix well. Serve chilled.

Vegan Quiche

2008-11-07T08:33:00.000-08:00

Yum! This was really good! I have always liked quiche, and while this isn't as "smooth" as the traditional egg and cream variety, is much lower fat, quicker to cook, and no cholesterol. Plus, like I said, it tastes really good. ;-) From vegweb.com again, with a few changes. I did try to make a homemade crust, but the lack of rolling pin makes it rather difficult, and I'm going to work on the recipe before I make it public!

Ingredients:
1 ready-made pie crust (Wholly-Wholesome makes a frozen vegan crust)
1 pound firm tofu, drained
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound of veggies (broccoli* or spinach**)
*if broccoli, cut into very small florets
**if frozen chopped spinach, defrost, squeeze water out, and fluff with fork
1/2 c. soy milk
1 T soy Parmesan cheese
1 T nutritional yeast
1/4 t. Dijon mustard
3/4 t. salt
scant 1/4 t. ground nutmeg
1/4 t. red or Cayenne pepper
Directions:
Heat oven to 400. Bake pie crust for 12 minutes. Cook onion and garlic until just soft; add veggie of choice, and heat through. This will cook the broccoli, if using that. In a blender, puree tofu, soymilk, cheese, yeast, mustard, salt, nutmeg, and pepper, adding more soy milk if needed and scraping with spatula often. It will be more the consistency of soft whipped cream cheese. Pour into bowl, and add vegetables. Mix well to combine. Pour into pie crust and smooth. Bake at 400 for 30-40 minutes or until quichese is firmly set. Remove and allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Alfredo Sauce

2008-11-05T19:15:00.000-08:00

Without butter, cream, cheese, or milk...what do you make Alfredo sauce out of? Well, another way to achieve creaminess without coconut milk (which, you have to admit, would be kind of strange in an Italian recipe) is with tofu and/or nutritional yeast. This calls for silken tofu, which you do not press at all. This recipe calls for the silk soft tofu from the aseptic containers; Mori-Nu is the brand that I am most familiar with, found in the Asian section of grocery stores. I found the vegan Parmesan cheese at the food co-op; it's just the "shaky" cheese; they didn't have any vegan Paremsan that you could grate. I found it to be rather bitter, so don't go crazy with it in the recipe.

This recipe is great because you pretty much can have all the ingredients on hand no matter what, and all you do is dump everything in a blender, and then heat it up. I made this slightly more complicated and time-consuming (and nutritious) by adding steamed carrots, peas, and broccoli to make more of a pasta primavera sauce. It turned out really good, and even my omnivore husband said to make this one again!

Ingredients:
1 pkg. silken soft tofu, drained
2 T vegan butter spread
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 T nutritional yeast
2 T vegan Parmesan cheese
splash of plain soy milk
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. ground nutmeg
pinch of pepper
steamed vegetables (optional)

Directions:
Fry garlic in melted butter spread in a saucepan. Once slightly cooked, pour melted butter spread + garlic into blender. Add tofu, yeast, cheese, splash of soy milk (maybe 1-2 T to start?), salt, nutmeg, and pepper. Blend until completely combined, adding more milk if necessary. Pour into original saucepan, and quickly heat through, stirring occasionally. Add vegetables if desired, and serve over cooked pasta.

Coconut Lime Rice

2008-11-05T16:07:00.000-08:00

Coconut milk is the vegan way of attaining heavenly creaminess without supporting the dairy industry and torturing cows. :-) Soy Delicious "ice cream" now has a line out called Purely Decadent that uses coconut milk instead of soy milk to make vegan ice cream http://www.turtlemountain.com/products/purely_decadent_Coconut_Milk.html
Coconut milk tends to be very high in fat, but there is light coconut milk, too, that cuts down tremendously on the fat and calories. This recipe is delicately flavored and is a good contrast to the strong flavor to the tempeh.

Ingredients:
1 c. brown basmati rice (if using white, decrease cooking time to 20 minutes)
1 can (~14 oz.) light coconut milk, well shaken
1/2 c. water
2-3 T freshly squeezed lime juice
1/4 t. sea salt
1 1/2 - 2 t. lime zest (do this before juicing)

Directions:
In a saucepan, combine rice, coconut milk, water, lime juice, and salt. Bring to a boil oh high heat, stir, reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 35-45 minutes, until liquid is absorbed and rice is cooked through. Turn off heat, stir in lime zest, and let sti for 4-5 minutes. Serve warm (but eating the leftovers straight from the container in the fridge later is good, too!)

Sweet and Sour Tempeh

2008-11-05T15:55:00.000-08:00

This is taken from Dreena Burton's Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan, yet again, with a few changes. Seriously, you should just go buy the book! Regular potatoes can be used in place of the sweet potato, and I cooked it in a casserole dish with a lid rather than the 9X13 pan with foil. Simmering the tempeh in vegetable broth is suppposed to remove some of the bitter flavor, but I think I would try tofu next time, or even seitan. I served it with the coconut lime rice above.

Ingredients:
2 T arrowroot powder (or cornstarch)
1 c. water
1/4 c sugar (raw, preferably)
1/2 c. ketchup (ok, it's not a completely authentic recipe!)
1/4 c. rice vinegar
1/4 c. maple syrup
2 T tamari or soy sauce
2 T oil (peanut or sesame is good)
1 t. blackstrap molasses (or reg. molasses will work, too)
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 t. salt
2 1/2 c. sweet potatoes, about 1/2 pound, peeled, quartered, and sliced 1/4 in. thick
1 1/2 c. green bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 1/2 c. onion, thinly sliced
1 8 oz. can pineapple, either crushed or in chunks, lightly drained
1 pkg. tempeh (8 oz.) simmered in vegetable broth for 20 minutes, then cut into 1/2 inch cubes

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425. Whisk or blend arrowroot, water, sugar, ketchup, vinegar, syrup, tamari, oil, molasses, garlic, and salt all together. Transfer to baking dish and add sweet potatoes, pepper, onoin, pineapple, and tempeh. Mix to coat with sauce. Put lid on dish or cover 9x13 pan with foil, and cook for 60-70 minutes, or until potatoes are tender and sauce has thickened.