Sweet Almond Shortbread

These cookies are amazing! I would never have pegged them for being vegan.

Sweet Almond Shortbread

1 cup earth balance
1/2 cup evaporated cane sugar
2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 tspn almond extract
1/4 tspn salt

Beat earth balance and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add remaining ingredients and mix until combined. Wrap in plastic and shape into a roll. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut cookies 1/2 inch thick and bake for 5 to 8 minutes. Move to wire rack to cool.

Snowballs

No bake oatmeal peanut butter cookies for the weekend! They are a great source of protein and kick the chocolate craving in a healthy way.

Snowballs

1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup agave nectar
1/2 cup quick oats
1 tspn cacao powder
1/2 tspn vanilla extract
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut (plus more for rolling)
1/4 cup vegan chocolate chips

Mix all ingredients together. Roll 1 tspn into a ball in your hands and roll in coconut. Refrigerate and enjoy!

Fresh Juice and Pumpkin Spice Smoothies

In the last few weeks I have been battling constant migraines. I thought they were the product of caffeine withdrawals, but as it turns out I think they were related to something else. Anyway, I tried just about everything to get rid of them. A good friend of mine suggested that I try juicing fruit and veggies to detox. She suggested juicing carrots, cucumber, kale, radishes, beets, etc. Basically anything that is a dark green or rich color.

I know what you are thinking. It's the same thing I was thinking. Yuck! But, the headache was so bad and had lasted so long I figured, why not? I got some carrots, cucumbers, kale, broccoli, apples, and orange juice. I blended the veggies and orange juice and strained them because I don't have a juicer. Then I put the juice back in the blender and added an apple and a frozen banana. I also put some vegan protein powder and 1 T of ground flax seed in the blender. I added some ice cubes as well to give it a better consistency.

My friend suggested adding ginger as well. I did the first time and added way too much. It makes your throat burn for a long time. So if you are planning on adding it, go easy. Like a teaspoon or less for a blender full.

I was shocked by the color. It's an awful green color that is enough to stop any sane person in their tracks. But I pressed on and was very surprised that it was really good. You can't even taste the greens. The main things you taste are a little bit of the carrot juice and the apple and banana. It's really good. I have been making them for about a week now.

The best part is they make you feel a lot better. I used to drink Gatorade before I ran, but since I have been juicing I haven't drank the Gatorade and I have been able to run faster and longer. I'm definitely hooked.

The other thing I tried this week that is awesome was also a juice/smoothie. It tasted more like a frappuccino to me. I'm sure it would be awesome with coffee in it, but I don't like the taste of coffee.

Pumpkin Spice Smoothie

1/2 cup pumpkin (cooked or canned)
1 banana
1 T pumpkin pie spice
1 T ground flax seed
2 T protein powder
ice
apple juice (enough to make the desired consistency)

 

Pumpkin Flapjacks

A couple of weeks ago I bought a book called The Lean by Kathy Freston. Its a wonderful book about leaning into a vegan diet. It is a thirty day program to gradually replace your old habits with new, better ones. They are really simple things like drinking more water, getting more exercise, taking vitamins, etc. It is a great program that I would recommend to anyone thinking about taking this step.

There are also some great recipes in the back of the book. One of them is pumpkin flapjacks. They are awesome! So I thought I would share the recipe with you.

Pumpkin Flapjacks

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tspn salt
2 tspn baking powder
1/4 tspn allspice
1/8 tspn ground cloves
1 tspn ground ginger
1 tspn cinnamon
1/4 tspn ground nutmeg
1 cup pumpkin, canned or pureed fresh
1 cup almond milk
1/2 cup water
2 T oil
2 T agave nectar
2 T apple cider vinegar
1 tspn vanilla extract

Sift the flour, salt and baking powder together in a large bowl. Add the spices and mix well. In a separate bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, milk, water, oil, agave nectar, vinegar, and vanilla. Fold the pumpkin mixture into the dry ingredients.

Preheat a large, seasoned cast iron skillet over medium heat for 5 minutes. Spry the pan with a small amount of cooking spray. Pour 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake. Cook the pancakes about 3 minutes per side, or until golden brown.

 

Indian Bread

My mom used to make this recipe a lot. She always called it Indian bread. I'm not sure if that means it's from India or if it somehow is derived from an Indian recipe or if the name just stuck somehow. Any way it's really good.

We always put beans and cheese on top (cashew cream is really good) and all kinds of vegetables: lettuce, tomatoes, onions, etc. Then top with guacamole, Tofutti sour cream, and taco sauce.

Indian Bread

1 cup unbleached all purpose flour (can use 1/2 whole wheat)
1 tspn baking powder
1 tspn garlic powder
1 tspn onion powder

Mix with enough water to combine into a sticky dough.

Cook in 2 T of oil in an electric skillet until golden brown on both sides.

Chili

One of my mom's favorite things to cook growing up was Mexican food. We had it two or three times a week. It is one of my favorites too.

I love this recipe because you can make it on the weekend and have it all week on all kinds of different things. A few examples: Chili with onions and peppers and Fritos corn chips, chili dogs with meatless hot dogs, burritos and tacos, taco salads, 7-layer dip, Indian bread ( my mom's recipe ).

So without further ado, here is the recipe:

Chili
1 can dark red kidney beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can red beans
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 - 2 cups tomato sauce ( I use spaghetti sauce or pizza sauce - whatever I have leftover in the freezer)
2 bay leaves
1 tspn basil
garlic and onion powder to taste

Mix all ingredients and cook for 25 minutes on low. Make sure to remove the bay leaves before serving. Reheats and freezes well.

Lemon Raspberry Corncakes

I saw this recipe on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives a while ago and I thought it sounded really good. Of course I modified it to be Vegan. I think corncakes must be something that are popular in the South. It seems to me that is where the restaurant was that was making them on the show. I am from the Mid-West and had never heard of them until I saw that show.

Anyway, they are really good! They barely lasted long enough for me to take the picture. I actually used strawberries, because I didn't have any raspberries. It worked just as well. Very tasty!

Lemon Raspberry Corncakes

1/2 cup unbleached flour
1 cup cornmeal
1/2 tspn baking soda
1 1/2 tspn baking powder
2 T turbinado sugar
2 T lemon zest
4 1/2 tspn ener-g egg replacer mixed with 6 T warm water
1 cup soy milk
2 T melted butter (Earth Balance)
1 cup fresh raspberries

Mix ingredients together and grill on flat top or electric skillet.

Pumpkin Scones

This is one of my favorite recipes. It reminds me of pumpkin pie during the holidays.

Pumpkin Scones

2 cups unbleached flour
3/4 cup turbinado sugar
1 T baking powder
1/2 tspn salt
1/2 tspn cinnamon
1/2 tspn pumpkin pie spice

1/2 cup canned pumpkin
3 T soy milk
1 1/2 tspn ener-g egg replacer mixed with 2 T water
6 T cold butter (Earth Balance), cut into cubes
1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips

Mix dry & wet ingredients separately. Use pastry cutter to blend butter into dry ingredients. Then add wet ingredients.

Bake at 425 degrees for 14 to 16 minutes.

Basic Bread

I wanted to share with you my favorite bread recipe. I don't really like store bought bread and since it really isn't that good for you I try to stay away from it. This bread is so good though that I have to say I eat way too much of it. It is awesome right out of the oven!

The trick to making it turn out perfectly is letting it rise for the proper amount of time - which I have found to be about an hour and then a half hour after you have put it in the pan.

Basic Bread

1 T Yeast
4 T Raw Sugar
1 cup warm water
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup unbleached white flour
1 tspn salt
4 T oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix yeast, water, and sugar. Let sit until yeast bubbles. Put flour in and stir really good until dough forms. Let dough rise until it doubles itself (about an hour). Add oil and salt and stir. Knead dough for 10 minutes, bringing from bottom to top. Add flour until it doesn't stick. (I used a KitchenAid mixer which works great!)

Brush the top of the dough with oil so it doesn't get sticky or hard on top. Oil or flour your hands and the pan. For rolls, form into balls and tuck under. You want the tops of the rolls or loaves to have oil on them. Let rise until they double in size. (about half an hour) Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Vegetable Stew with Dumplings

Lunch today is from one of my favorite cookbooks - Vegan Homestyle. I got this book from their website www.emeraldwellness.com.

The stew was really good. It calls for fresh veggies, but I used some frozen veggies I got from Whole Foods. It turned out really well.

Cashew Cream

I've been struggling with giving up cheese for a long time. I eat it on almost everything and haven't been able to find a suitable replacement. I tried all the popular and expensive vegan alternatives and I can't imagine even developing a taste for them.

My mom used to make this cream sauce that we put on bread that was really good. I've read about it in a few different places and finally came up with a recipe that I love. Here it is:

Cashew Cream

1 cup Cashews
1/2 cup Cooked Polenta
1/4 cup Tomato Sauce (pizza sauce or marinara sauce)
Water (enough to cover the cashews and make the sauce creaming when blending)
1/4 cup Nutritional Yeast Flakes
1 T Garlic Powder
1/2 T Onion Powder

Blend until smooth.

I estimated the amounts. I kinda just dump things into the blender until it tastes right, so you may have to play with the recipe until you find what works for you.

This recipe is great for spreading on homemade bread and baking in the oven until the cream is toasted. I love it that way! It is also a great alternative to cheese on pizza and I also found that I love it on chili and tacos.

I watched a video this week about how cheese is made and determined to stop eating it. If you want some good inspiration, that's all you need to do!

Coconut Chocolate Cupcakes

I bought these amazing vegan cupcakes at Whole Foods this week and wanted to make some of my own. Well, mine didn't turn out so well, but they are pretty tasty. The consistency is right but they have a strong coconut taste that I'm not so fond of. 

And the frosting isn't right. It is a lot of coconut and it isn't thick. 

Anyway, here is the book and recipes:

Here is what the frosting is supposed to look like:

And here is what it actually looks like:

Not exactly the same. I tried whipping it, but that did not work. It is supposed to be kept in the refrigerator because coconut oil is solid when it is cold. However, I don't know how they got it fluffy. 

The cupcakes are good. I used dark chocolate because that is what I like. They are a bit bitter without the frosting, but really good with it. Like I said, if you don't like coconut, you won't like these. 

Not my favorite recipe. Will have to keep searching for a better frosting. I found one that I might try this week that is buttercream. Sounds good!