Vanilla Coffee Frappe Verveggie Style

Move over coffee house frappe, this version is healthier, and really tasty!  One secret is coffee ice cubes.  For this recipe, I mixed 2 Starbucks Via packets and 1 1/2 cups of  hot water, then poured it into an ice cube tray and froze it over night.  However, any strong brewed coffee poured into an ice cube tray will do the trick.  The second secret is using dates instead of sugar, dates work really well in this smoothie.  Also be sure to blend the milk and dates first, then add the coffee ice cubes, or you will get a drink that is cold, but not smoothie icy.

Vanilla Frappe Verveggie Style
Makes 2 14-16 oz Frappes

1 1/2 c unsweetened coconut milk or your favorite unsweetened, non-dairy milk of choice
1/3 c firmly packed, pitted dates, soaked
1/2 t vanilla
7-8 coffee ice cubes (or more coffee to taste)
a pinch of sea salt

Firmly pack the dates with pits removed into a 1/3 c measuring cup.  The number of dates you can pack depends on the type of date.  Soak the dates in a bowl of water for an hour.

To make the coffee ice cubes, brew your favorite strong coffee, pour into an ice cube tray, and freeze over night.

In a high speed blender, add the dates, coconut milk, vanilla, and pinch of sea salt.  Blend for a minute or so, until the dates and coconut milk are completely smooth.

Add the coffee ice cubes and blend until the ice is smoothie consistency.

Pour into 2 pint sized glasses and serve.

Vegan Caesar Dressing

Most Caesar Dressing is made using eggs and anchovies.  This vegan version uses cashews, sunflower seeds, and dulse to get that creamy, salty flavor.  I love using this dressing on a salad made up of red kale, onion, tomatoes, and black olives-add croutons if you would like, but it tastes great without them.

Vegan Caesar Dressing

makes about 1 1/2 cups of dressing

1/4 c raw sunflower seeds, soaked and drained

1/2 c raw cashews, soaked and drained

3/4 c water

1/2 t dijon mustard

1/2 t vegan worcestershire sauce

2 T lemon juice

1 T dulse flakes

1 1/2 T nutritional yeast

1/2 T miso

1 large clove garlic

1/8 t white pepper

3/4 t black pepper

1/2 t celery salt

Place the cashews and sunflower seeds into a bowl and cover with water.  Soak for an hour, then drain.  

In a high speed blender, add the cashews, sunflower seeds, water, mustard, worcestershire sauce, dulse, nutritional yeast, miso, garlic, pepper, and celery salt.  Blend until smooth.

Assemble your favorite salad ingredients in a large bowl and toss with as much dressing as you would like.

Baja Style Tofu Tacos

These turned out really yummy.  Most baja style tacos are made with fish.  The texture of tofu, and tossing it in lime juice and rice vinegar, makes it a great substitute for fish.   

Baja Style Tofu Tacos

1 package extra firm tofu, pressed (see instructions below) and cut into 1/2 inch cubes

2 T seasoned rice vinegar

2 T lime juice

1 T canola oil

10 oz shredded cabbage

1/2 cup chopped sweet pepper

1/2 cup frozen sweet corn

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

2 green onions, chopped including tops

1/2 cup Veganaise

1 t. diced chipolte in adobo sauce

12 small corn tortillas

Sriracha sauce 

My tofu method

Fold a kitchen towel several times until there is enough towel to cover the bottom and top of a tofu block.  Place the towel on a plate, place the tofu on one half of the towel, fold the other half of the towel over the tofu, place a small cutting board on top, and weight it down with a heavy pan or pan filled with water.

Drain the tofu for 4-6 hours or even overnight in the refrigerator.  

Preheat oven to 350.  Cut the drained tofu into 1/2 inch pieces.  In a 9 x 13 inch baking dish, mix together the rice vinegar, lime juice, and canola oil.  Add the tofu and toss.  Bake for 20 minutes, then stir and bake for 10 more minutes.  Remove from the oven.

Tofu should be lightly browned.

While the tofu is cooking, mix the cabbage, pepper, corn, cilantro, and scallions.

There is more than enough cabbage mix for 12 tacos, so toss the extra with cilantro lime dressing for a side dish later in the week.

In a small dish, mix together the Veganaise and chipolte in adobo.

Warm a tortilla, add a little sauce, a little tofu, some cabbage mix, and top with Sriracha if you would like.

Vegan Puttanesca Sauce

I was looking for a simple dinner using kalamata olives and capers that I had in my fridge that needed to get used.  Non-vegetarian Puttanesca recipes I looked at use anchovies, but dulse flakes are a good substitute for the salty fishy flavor.  This sauce takes about 10 minutes of prep and less than 10 minutes to cook.  Very easy.

Vegan Puttanesca
28 oz can of diced tomatoes (try to use BPA free)
1/2 cup chopped parsley, loosely packed
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 t. red pepper flakes (or more if you like spice)
2 T drained capers
1/2 cup chopped kalamata olives
1/2 t. dulse
1 T olive oil
3/4 pound of your favorite gluten free pasta cooked to al dente (I did not salt the pasta water since there are salty ingredients in the sauce)

Add the olive oil to a pan heated to medium low.  Add the pepper flakes and garlic and cook for 30 seconds.  Add the dulse and cook for another 30 seconds.  Turn the heat up to medium.

Add the tomatoes, olives, parsley, and capers and mix well.

You may need to turn the heat up a little past medium to get the sauce heated through.  Cook for 5 minutes.

Add the pasta to the sauce and mix well.  Continue cooking for another minute until the pasta is heated through.  Add salt and pepper if needed.

Strawberry Banana Smoothie

This smoothie is so simple, I wasn't even sure that it should be a blog post.  But it's so yummy that my son never says no when I ask him if he wants one.  Smoothies can be made with any fruit you like, use a banana as a base, your favorite non-dairy milk,  then add whatever frozen fruit you like.  Using frozen fruit instead of ice gives smoothies great texture.  Also, frozen fruit seems to blend better than ice and you won't have little ice chunks.  I have a Vita Mix blender, which works amazing.  If you have a slower speed blender that doesn't work great, try to thaw the frozen fruit slightly before blending, but don't thaw it all the way.

Strawberry Banana Smoothie

Makes 2 cups

1 medium banana

1 heaping cup of frozen organic strawberries

1 c vanilla coconut milk

OR to control the amount of sugar:

1 medium banana

1 heaping cup of frozen organic strawberries

1 c unsweetened coconut milk

splash of vanilla

sweetener of your choice (agave, honey, etc) to taste

Add the banana, strawberries, coconut milk, vanilla, and sweetener to the blender and blend until the strawberries are smooth.  Taste and add more sweetener if necessary. If you use sweetened, vanilla coconut milk, omit the vanilla and sweetener.

Tofu Vegetable Scrambled "Eggs"

For a long time, I have preferred tofu "eggs" to chicken eggs.  This is a great recipe for any time of day.  It's also a great dish to bring to a brunch.  You can use any veggies that you have in your fridge.  I used potatoes, mushrooms, onions, tomato and spinach this time, but have used zucchini and peppers in the past.

Tofu Vegetable Scrambled "Eggs"
Serves 4-6
1 medium potato, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
sprinkle of salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder
1 t oil

1 t oil
1/2 c chopped onion
8 oz pkg of mushrooms, sliced thin
2 gloves garlic, minced
1 medium tomato, seeded and chopped
2 cups spinach, roughly chopped

1 15 oz package of tofu, drained and crumbled
1 t oil

1 t onion powder
1/2 t turmeric
1/2 t garlic powder
1/4 t salt
1/4 t pepper
3 T nutritional yeast

to taste: salt, pepper, nutritional yeast

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  In a medium roasting pan, toss the potatoes, oil, sprinkle of salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic powder.

Bake for 15 minutes.  Remove from the oven, stir, and bake for 10 more minutes until potatoes are soft and slightly browned.  Remove from oven and set aside.

While the potatoes are cooking, heat 1 t oil in a large pan over medium heat.  Add the onion and mushrooms and saute for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the garlic and cook for about 2 more minutes until mushrooms are brown and onions are soft.  Remove from the pan.

Add 1 t oil and add the tofu to the pan.  Turn the heat to medium high.  Cook and stir for 5 minutes, until the tofu is hot.  Add the onion powder, turmeric, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and nutritional yeast.  Stir and cook for an additional 2 minutes.

Add the tomato and spinach and cook for a minute, stirring gently.  Add the mushrooms, onions, garlic, and potatoes.  Mix gently. Taste and add more salt, pepper, or nutritional yeast to taste.

Vegan Thanksgiving Stuffing

This year, we had a really small group for Thanksgiving and so we veganized it.  There was a turkey for the carnivores, but also a Tofurky:)  Veganizing Thanksgiving is pretty easy to do, just use non-dairy cream and butter substitutes.  The gravy recipe we used was so yummy thanks to Daphne Oz's recipe from The Chew, try it next year-you may never go back to turkey gravy again!

My favorite part is the stuffing, so here's the basic recipe that I've been making for several years.  The secret trick is to make a puree of celery and onion, and stir that in with the rest of the veggies.  I got the idea from a recipe I found somewhere years ago, but am unable to locate it to provide a link.  Also, you can cook the veggies and puree the day before, so on Thanksgiving day, you just have to mix it together and bake it.  The herbs used in this recipe were from a package of poultry mix, which usually includes sage, thyme, rosemary, and marjoram, that way you don't have to buy each one separately.  Here's a picture of our vegan dinner with the yummy stuffing:

Vegan Thanksgiving Stuffing
makes a really full 9x13 inch pan
12 cups of one inch dried bread cubes, use good artisan bread
2 T olive oil
1/3 cup water
4 c celery chopped, divided in half
2 c onion chopped
2 c chopped carrots
2 leeks, green parts removed, white parts cut into quarters, then sliced
1 8 oz package mushrooms, chopped in small pieces
1 stick earth balance (1/2 cup)
salt, pepper
3 T chopped fresh sage
2 T chopped fresh marjoram
2 T chopped fresh thyme
1 T chopped fresh rosemary
5 cups no sodium vegetable stock, divided
4 t Ener-g egg replacer

In a large covered pan, over medium heat, cook the 2 T olive oil, 2 cups of the celery, 2 cups onion, and 1/3 cup water for 10-15 minutes until really soft, but not browned.  Stir occasionally through the cooking time and keep the cover on when not stirring.  Remove from the pan and let it cool.

When cool, place into a food processor and puree until smooth, then set aside.

In the same pan you used for the puree, add the stick of earth balance, 2 cups celery, 2 cups carrots, and 2 leeks and season with salt and pepper.  Saute about 5-6 minutes over medium heat until veggies are slightly soft.

Add the mushrooms and herbs (sage, marjoram, thyme, rosemary) and continue to cook for 5 more minutes or until the mushrooms are brown.  Taste and season with more salt and pepper if needed.

In a quart sized glass jar, add 4 cups of veggie broth and 4 t egg replacer.  Cover and shake well.

In a large bowl, add the dry bread cubes, celery/onion puree, and vegetable/mushroom mix.  Add 4 cups of the broth/egg replacer and gently mix it all together. Place into a greased 9x13 inch pan.

Cover and cook in a  350 degree oven for 35 minutes.  Remove from the oven, uncover and check to see if you need to add more broth.  Cover and return to the oven for about 5-15 more minutes or until the stuffing is moist and heated through in the middle of the pan.

Here's for you brother.

Smoky Lentil Tempeh Sloppy Joes

I realized when taking a picture of the final product for this recipe, that it's hard to make a sloppy joe look pretty in a picture.  A sloppy joe is a sloppy joe when it comes to looks, but they aren't all equal in yum.  This recipe was inspired by Lentil Seitan Sloppy Joes from the Skinny Bitch Ultimate Everyday Cookbook by Kim Barnouin

Smoky Lentil Tempeh Sloppy Joes
Makes 6 big sloppy joes
8 oz package of tempeh
1 15 oz can lentils, rinsed and drained
2 t olive oil
1 small/medium onion, chopped
1 medium red pepper, chopped
1/2 c chopped carrot
3 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/4 c tomato sauce
2 T tomato paste
1 chili in adobo sauce, chopped and seeds removed
2 T cider vinegar
1 t vegan worcestershire sauce
1 t mustard
1 T molasses
1 1/2 T brown rice syrup
salt and pepper

6 whole wheat buns
pickles

Cut the tempeh into small pieces.  Place a steamer basket into a medium saucepan and add water until it almost reaches the steamer basket.  Add the tempeh and cover with a tight fitting lid.  Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low-steam for about 15 minutes.

While the tempeh is steaming, make the sauce.  In a medium bowl, mix the tomato sauce, chili in adobo, tomato paste, cider vinegar, worcestershire  sauce, mustard, molasses, and brown rice syrup until well combined.

In a large pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Add the onion, peppers, and carrots and cook for 5-6 minutes, until veggies are softened. 

Add the garlic and steamed tempeh, and season with salt and pepper.  Cook for another 2 minutes, stirring.  Add the lentils and sauce and reduce heat to low.  Cover and heat through for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  The tempeh and lentils will absorb the flavors from the sauce.  Serve with buns and pickles. 

Vegan Truffled Mushroom Grilled Cheese

I bought a little jar of white truffle oil to see what all the truffle buzz is about and it's pretty good stuff.  So far, I've only used it with mushroom dishes and this one is no exception.  I was debating between making a pizza and sandwich, and the sandwich won this time.  These can be made in a panini maker, in a toaster oven, or in a pan like traditional grilled cheese.  This would also make a delicious pizza, just use a pizza crust instead of bread.

Vegan Truffled Mushroom Grilled Cheese
Makes 6 sandwich rounds or 3 larger sandwiches

8 oz mushrooms sliced (I used button, but this would taste great with any variety)
3 cloves garlic, finely diced
1 small shallot, finely diced
1/2 T olive oil
2 t truffle oil
salt and pepper
6 T vegan mozzarella cheese (I used Daiya Mozzarella Style Shreds)
a big handful of spinach leaves
6 sandwich rounds (I used Rudi's Organic Whole Wheat Sandwich Flatz) or 6 large slices of bread

Make the mushrooms:

In a medium/large sized pan, over medium heat, cook the olive oil, mushrooms, and shallot for 5-6 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook 1-2 more minutes, until the mushrooms are cooked and the shallots are softened.  Remove from heat and season with salt, pepper, and truffle oil and give it a stir.

Assemble the sandwiches:
If using sandwich rounds, divide the mushroom mixture on 6 halves of the rounds or if using larger bread, on 3 pieces of the bread.  Top each of the 6 rounds with 1 T of vegan cheese, or top the 3 pieces of larger bread with 2 T each of vegan cheese.  Top each one with some spinach and put the other slice of bread on top to assemble the sandwiches.

In a pan sprayed with cooking spray, grill each side over medium/medium low heat for about 3 minutes, or until the bread is toasted and the cheese is melted and serve.

Spaghetti Squash with Cherry Tomato Sauce

I was lucky enough to find squash and cherry tomatoes at the farmers market at the same time.  Like! This recipe was inspired by my sister, who made this as a side dish for Christmas dinner one year.  It's really simple, but very tasty.
On Cooking and Ingredients

Spaghetti Squash with Cherry Tomato Sauce
Serves 4-6 as a side dish
a 2 lb spaghetti squash
1 t olive oil
1/2 c chopped onion
4 cloves chopped garlic
3 c halved cherry tomatoes (measure after cutting)
2 t dry basil
salt and pepper

Cut the squash in half and remove the seeds.  Bake cut side down in a lightly oiled baking dish at 350.

Check it after 30 minutes.  Squash is done with it's soft enough to run a fork through and scrape up "noodles" as in the picture below.  If it's still not done after 30 minutes, bake it for 10 more and check it again.  You don't want to bake it for too long, or else it will turn into mush. Put the squash "noodles" into a serving bowl or use the squash shell to serve.

Have the tomatoes ready to go when you start the sauce:

In a pan over medium heat, heat the 2 t of olive oil.  Add the garlic and stir for 1-2 minutes until soft and fragrant.  Add the cherry tomatoes and basil and heat through for 1-2 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper and serve over the squash.

Split Pea Soup

It's the beginning of hot soup season!  I picked up some leeks, potatoes, and a beautiful bunch of fall herbs on Saturday at the farmers market from my favorite chemical free farmers and made split pea soup in the crock pot.  It will make your house smell so savory while it's cooking, mmmmm!
On Cooking and Ingredients

Split Pea Soup
Makes 12 Cups
6 cups vegetable broth
2 cups split peas rinsed
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 1/2 c diced carrots
1 c diced celery including leaves, use the inside core if possible
2 1/2 c chopped, cleaned leeks (see below)
2 c potatoes, cut into 1/4 - 1/2 inch cubes
1 T fresh thyme leaves
1 T fresh rosemary leaves, chopped
1 T fresh sage leaves, chopped
1 bay leaf
2 t celery salt
1/2 t black pepper

Cut the dark green tough ends off the leeks.  Slice the white/light green/tender part of the leek in half length wise, then chop into 1/4 inch slices:

Soak the slices in a bowl of water and separate the slices with your fingers.  Rinse and drain them several times to remove the grit.

Add the leeks, and all of the listed ingredients to a crock pot.  Cook on high for 4 hours. Soup is done when the veggies are soft, and the peas blend in to the rest of the soup.  Season with pepper to taste.