Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

I was staying with a friend a few weeks ago and we decided to make cookies. I was all like “no problem, I’ll just go on my blog and grab my recipe.” Much to my dismay I found that I have NEVER blogged my chocolate chip cookie recipe. I am truly sorry. You have been missing out on some amazing, and easy to make cookies because I was sure they were already here. I make these cookies a lot. Way more than I should. I love them right out of the oven, so much so that I have justified eating 3 or 4 every time I make them because they just don’t taste the same the rest of the batch. My husband loves them frozen. After I have eaten as many cookies as I can in one sitting (they must still be warm while consuming) I freeze the rest of the batch. This is a recipe only slightly adapted from “How It All Vegan” by Tanya Barnard and Sarah Kramer. I love this recipe because there are no crazy substitutions to make them vegan, and they taste amazing!

 

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup coconut oil
  • 1/2 cup Earth Balance
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 3 TBL water
  • 2 /14 cups flour
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1 1/2 – 2 cups chocolate chips

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
  2. In a medium bowl cream together coconut oil, Earth Balance, brown and white sugar, vanilla extract, and water mixing until smooth and creamy.
  3. Add flour, baking soda, and salt giving dry ingredients a stir before combining with the creamed mixture. Mix dry and creamed mixture just until combined.
  4. Add chocolate chips and stir to incorporate.
  5. Drop cookie dough by the spoonful onto ungreased cookie sheets leaving 2″ between each cookie.
  6. Bake for 7-9 minutes until golden brown.
  7. Transfer from cookie sheet onto cooling rack immediately.
  8. Wait a few minutes before eating to prevent burning your mouth on hot chocolate chips.
  9. Enjoy responsibly.

Vegan Mustgo Pasta

Vegan Mustgo Pasta
Vegan Mustgo Pasta

Ok, this is one of those recipes that is hard to write because it was just a little of this and a little of that from the refrigerator. Using up leftovers and odds and ends can be hard, but essential to reduce food waste. I HATE throwing away food! Because of this I have developed a skill for putting things together and making a new dish. My mom used to call this Mustgo as in “this must go, that must go.” As children my brothers and I would actually as for “musko” thinking it was an actual dish.

For this mustgo I had mostly odds and ends that needed to be used up before we left for a trip. Not enough of anything to make an actual recipe. We also had leftover pasta. I always seem to make more pasta than sauce. For the vegetables you could use leftover stir-fry, fajita vegetables, or frozen whatever. The sun-dried tomatoes are optional as not everyone has them in their refrigerator all the time as I do:) Nutritional yeast is also optional, but totally delicious. Happy mustgo to you!

Vegan Mustgo Pasta

Ingredients

  • Leftover cooked pasta, about 3 cups
  • 1 TBL olive oil
  • 1 TBL oil from sun-dried tomatoes (optional)
  • 1-2 cups of vegetables (I used 1 onion, 3 mushrooms, and a little broccoli)
  • 1/4 vegetable broth
  • 2 TBL nutritional yeast (optional)
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 TBL sun-dried tomatoes in oil, sliced
  • 2 TBL fresh basil or 1 tsp dried (optional)
  • 1 Tomato, chopped (optional)

Instructions

  1. Heat oils in skillet over medium heat.
  2. Add vegetables and saute until cooked through.
  3. Add the leftover pasta, vegetable broth, nutritional yeast, and salt and pepper.
  4. Cook until vegetable broth has evaporated.
  5. Add garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, and fresh tomato cooking 2 minutes.
  6. Add the fresh basil if using, and toss lightly before serving.

Vegan Sloppy Joes

Vegan Sloppy Joes
Vegan Sloppy Joes

Vegan Sloppy Joes are the perfect summertime meal for sitting on the deck, or a potluck with friends. A hearty meal filled with summer flavors and perfect with pickles and potato chips which are two quintessential summer foods. This recipe removes any “meat” product and uses barley for the hearty filling.  If it is too hot to cook you could also put all the ingredients in a slow cooker and cook for several hours, maybe 6-8, on high.

Ingredients

  • 1 Cup pearl barley
  • 2 Cups vegetable broth
  • 2 TBL tamari
  • 1 TBL vegan Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 1/2 green bell pepper, diced
  • 1 cup tomato sauce
  • 1/3 cup ketchup
  • 2 TBL yellow mustard
  • 2 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
  • 4 hamburger buns, halved and toasted

Instructions

  1. Cook barley in the vegetable brother, tamari, and 1 TBL of Worcestershire sauce until tender, about 25- 30 minutes.
  2. Once the barley is cooked saute the onion in a high sided skillet until translucent, about 5 minutes.
  3. Add the green pepper and cook 1-2 minutes more until just tender.
  4. Add barley, tomato sauce, ketchup, mustard and the 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce.
  5. Stir together and cook until warmed through.
  6. Serve warm over toasted buns.

Vegan Millet and Pasta Salad

Vegan Millet Pasta Salad
Vegan Millet Pasta Salad

This is one of my all time favorite things to eat in the spring/summer. I’m not sure what it is, but the combination is fabulous. I’m not sure the actual original source, but it is a recipe from the Sunnymeadow School cookbook where my best friend when to school growing up. In my mind this is something her mom would make for pot-lucks and one I always looked forward to. It is a great pot-luck dish, and one even non-vegans will eat. Just remember to add the dressing the same day you are serving it or it gets a bit dried out. It is also a perfect, easy weekend lunch. This week I made a slightly larger batch of millet and have made the salad a fresh a few times.

Vegan Millet and Pasta Salad. 

Ingredients

  • 8-10 oz dry pasta, cooked according to package directions
  • 1 cup cooked millet
  • 1 red pepper, diced
  • 1 scallions, chopped (optional)
  • 3 TBL peanut or almond butter
  • 1 tsp maple syrup
  • 3/4 cup prepared vinaigrette dressing (such as Newman’s Own light Italian)

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl combine the cooked pasta, cooked millet, red pepper and scallions if using.
  2. In a separate bowl whisk together the nut butter, maple syrup and dressing.
  3. Pour the dressing mixture over the noodle mixture and toss together.
  4. Serve cold or room temperature the same day you make it.

My mom and Spice Cake

It’s Mother’s Day. Pretty late in the day on Mother’s Day. Don’t worry, I have a plan. First a bit about my mom, then a recipe from my mother’s mother’s mother (my great grandmother): Spice Cake!

My mom:  As you may have noticed I reference my mother frequently on my blog. This is because she is the reason I cook. She is pretty much the reason I do everything, but for now let’s focus on the cooking. Many of my earliest memories are cooking with my mother. I still distinctly remember standing on a chair and being taught how to measure flour correctly. From a very young age I was allowed to experiment with food. I have a recipe I wrote before I could spell apple. My efforts were encouraged and I never remember a time I was scolded for making a mess. My mother’s endless patience is something I wish I had inherited. My mother always took the time to explain how things work, and why we do what we do. If she didn’t know, we looked it up. Questions were encouraged and always answered. This parenting philosophy was carried out in the kitchen and out. I know that I have the self assurance that I do because of my mother. I can’t thank her enough. A friend recently asked my if my mother is always the way she is now. She had to explain. She said “you know, the perfect ideal of a Midwestern mother.” Oh, that. Yes she has always been that. I told my friend stories about when I was a teenager my friends would come over to hang out with my mom, and eat. She has always had more love and more food than anyone I know. I love you mommy. Happy Mother’s Day.

Now for the spice cake. This ties in, I promise. I love cooking. My mother loves cooking, and my mother’s grandmother loved cooking. Pretty much everyone on my mother’s side is an excellent cook, but the passion has skipped around a bit. This recipe for Spice Cake has been adapted to be vegan. It has been passed down from my great grandmother to now grace your table on Mother’s Day (if you’re also running very late), or day of the year to make it special. The spices are warming and will remind you of the warmest most loving grandmother you can think of.

Gramma’s Spice Cake 

Ingredients

  • 1 cup non-dairy milk
  • 1 tsp. vinegar
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 TBL vegetable shortening
  • 1 tsp. psyllium husks mixed with 2 TBL water
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp. cloves
  • 1/2 tsp. salt

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 370F.
  2. Add vinegar to milk and set aside.
  3. Cream together sugar and shortening until smooth.
  4. Add the psyllium husk/water mixture to sugar and mix together.
  5. In a separate bowl mix together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt.
  6. Alternate between adding flour mixture andc milk to the shortening, mixing thoroughly between additions.
  7. Pour batter into a greased 9×9 cake pan and bake for 30 minutes, or until cake pulls away from the edges of the pan.

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

Tomatillo before being turned into salsa
Tomatillo before being turned into salsa

I’m not going to lie to you; the picture of the tomatillos is not mine, it is fromhttp://commons.wikimedia.org. I almost didn’t write this post for a lack of a picture of the salsa, but I didn’t want to ruin your Cinco de Mayo because I didn’t have a picture of this delicious roasted tomatillo salsa. I have tried to take pictures of it, but it is eaten to fast and the pictures always blur. This salsa is a recipe I learned at the elbow of a wonderful friend when we lived in San Diego. Since living in Maine we have been growing our own tomatillos and have been making great batches of the salsa, always with the memories of being almost smoked out of our very small enclosed kitchen in San Diego when our friend roasted the chili peppers. Oh, the sweet memories. This is a perfect appetizer for any Mexican meal, or anytime you want to impress someone with your amazing salsa making abilities.

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

Ingredients

  • 12-15 tomatillos, husks removed
  • 5-15 chilis del arbol
  • 2 small cloves garlic, peeled
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp sugar

Instructions

  1. Line a heavy skillet with aluminum foil. (I use my cast iron skillet)
  2. Place tomatillos in the skillet and roast over medium high heat, turning occasionally, until tomatillos are cooked through and turning black in spots. About 20-30 minutes. (If you under-cook them I hear they taste like caterpillars) 
  3. While cooking tomatillos heat a small amount of oil in a small skillet. Add the chilies and cook until they are browned on all sides. Remove from heat and set aside.
  4. When tomatillos are cooked through place all ingredients (adding only a few chilies to start) in a food processor and blend until everything is mixed and very finely chopped.
  5. Taste and add more chilies and salt to suit your palate.
  6. Serve warm or after it has cooled depending on you level of patience.

Note: Salsa looses some of it’s spiciness when it cools.

 

Vegan French Silk Pie

Vegan French Silk Pie
Vegan French Silk Pie

It’s almost Easter which means it is time for pie. Really it is always time for pie, but especially now. Any family gathering is better with a delicious pie. One of my family favorites was always French Silk. The deep dark chocolate, the fluffy whipped cream… So rich and delicious. This one that took years of me thinking of how to convert and egg and cream filled pie to vegan, without once attempting a creation before I even had a brainstorm of how to get the perfect combination of taste and texture. This is it folks; a rich, creamy, dark chocolaty confection in a perfectly flaky crust topped with coconut whipped cream.

Vegan French Silk Pie

Crust

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour-pluse extra to roll crust
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 6 TBL shortening
  • 3 TBL very cold water-add an ice cube while making the recipe

Instructions

  1. Mix the flour and salt together in a medium bowl.
  2. Cut in the shortening with a pastry cutter or fork.
  3. Mixing with the fork add just enough of the water to hold the crust together in a ball with no large cracks.
  4. On a clean dry flat area sprinkle flour in a shape larger than you want your crust.
  5. Split the dough in half and make each half in to a ball.
  6. Place the dough ball in the middle of the floured area and sprinkle more flour on the dough as well as on a rolling pin.
  7. Role the crust starting in the center of the ball and working toward the edges. -touch the dough as little as possible.
  8. When the crust is rolled to the size you desire pick it up using the rolling pin and place in pie plate.
  9. The second half can be used for a top crust or another bottom crust.

Coconut Whipped Cream 

Ingredients

  • 15 oz can full fat coconut milk (without an emulsifier as an ingredient)
  • 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1-2 tsp granulated sugar (optional)

Instructions

  1. Chill can of coconut milk overnight in the refrigerator.
  2. The next day, pour off the liquid still in the can and scoop the thick coconut cream into a chilled bowl.
  3. Whip the chilled coconut cream until light and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes.
  4. Add the vanilla and sugar if using and whip again.

 

Filling

Ingredients

  • 1/2 Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks
  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 oz unsweetened chocolate
  • 12 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 12/3 oz silken tofu
  • pinch of salt

Instructions

  1. Using a double boiler melt the unsweetened and semi-sweet chocolate together. Once melted, set aside to cool.
  2. Cream Earth Balance buttery sticks and sugar together, using a mixer, until creamy and smooth.
  3. Add cooled chocolate and beat until smooth.
  4. Add vanilla extract, salt and tofu, beat everything until smooth and uniform in color, about 5 minutes.
  5. Pour into baked pie crust and chill at least one hour.
  6. Top with coconut milk whipped cream and serve.

 

Homemade Vegan Granola

vegan granola
vegan granola

I have extremely fond memories of helping my mother make granola when I was a child. We would make huge batches, divide it up and each of us got to add the ingredients we liked. She always added dried fruit to hers, my brothers hated nuts, so on. We had this huge silver bowl that we would make the granola in and I remember standing on a kitchen chair to stir; stealing bites from the bowl when my mom wasn’t looking. Then the smell. Oh, the smell. It was so wonderful, for hours it drifted out of the kitchen perfuming the house. The best was eating it while it was still warm with cold milk (soy even then). This recipe takes a little time though it is very easy. You just have to be around the house for a few hours and available to stir the granola every 20 minutes. Whenever I make a batch of this granola I end up eating it 3 or 4 times a day for the first week because it is so good. It’s great for a snack, breakfast, and dessert. Remember this recipe is flexible so use the ingredients you like.

Homemade Vegan Granola 

 

Ingredients

  • 6 cups rolled oats
  • 5-6 cups total of a mixture of the following
  • Rolled Wheat Flakes
  • Sunflower Seeds
  • Pumpkin Seeds
  • Sesame Seeds
  • Shredded Coconut
  • Unsalted Nuts (I like salted)
  • Flax Seeds
  • Bran
  • Millet (one of my favorites)
  • 1 TBL Cinnamon
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • ½ C. Oil
  • ¾ Cup maple Syrup, honey, agave, or molasses or a mixture of them
  • ½ water
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 tsp almond, hazelnut, or more vanilla extract
  • 1-2 cups dried fruit (optional)

Instructions

  1. Heat oil, maple syrup and water in a pan.
  2. When warm remove from heat and add extracts.
  3. Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl.
  4. Pour hot liquid over dry ingredients and mix together.
  5. Divide between enough shallow baking pans to evenly spread the granola in a single thin layer. About 3 9 x 13 or larger pans.
  6. Cook in 250 F. oven, stirring every 20 minutes until granola becomes golden brown and dries out. About 1-1 1/2 hours.
  7. Granola will become crunchier as it cools.
  8. After granola cools add dried fruit if using.
  9. Store in airtight containers.

Vegan Cinnamon Rolls

Vegan Cinnamon RollsIt took me a long time to try to make cinnamon rolls. Not because the recipe is hard, but because they are time consuming due to the rising time. Too fancy for just my husband and I, and what company is going to stay in bed long enough for me to make these. Finally I had my teenage cousins over and I had the opportunity to try these out. Cinnamon rolls are now on a rotation as I have figured out that I can make them in advance, and freeze the rolls making for an impressive, yet stress-free breakfast. Perfect for holiday mornings. This recipe is adapted from “The Joy of Vegan Baking” .  I found the recipe did not have enough filling, so I upped the quantity there. I also roll my dough out thinner and end up with lots of small cinnamon rolls.

To make ahead you have a few choices, they both work well. Option one: make the cinnamon rolls completely including baking. Freeze the rolls and re-heat in a 350 oven until warmed through. Make the icing and ice at this time. I have a tendency to over-bake the rolls using this option, just because I’m not paying attention, but it is very fast. Option 2: Make the rolls to the point where  you cut them. Then wrap and freeze. The night before you want them put them in the refrigerator to thaw, morning of let them rise for 30 min to an hour, then bake and ice as directed. They come out a bit more perfect this way, but it takes a bit more waiting time.

Vegan Cinnamon Rolls 

Ingredients

For the dough:

  • 4 1/2 tsp. Ener-G Eff Replacer powder (equivalent of 3 eggs)
  • 6 TBL water
  • 41/2-5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast (one packet)
  • 1 cup non-dairy milk
  • 1/3 cup Earth Balance Buttery spread or sticks
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 tsp. salt

For the filling:

  • 1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 TBL ground cinnamon
  • 3/4 cup Earth Balance Buttery Spread or sticks
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts

For the icing:

  • 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 2 TBL non-dairy milk

Instructions

  1. In the bowl of your stand mixer whisk the egg replacer and water until smooth- set aside
  2. In a small saucepan heat together the milk, Earth Balance, sugar and salt until the butter is almost melted.
  3. Remove from heat and stir until butter is melted. Make sure this mixture is warm, not hot or it will kill the yeast.
  4. Add 3 cups of the flour and yeast to the egg replacer/water mixture.
  5. Add the warm milk mixture and mix with the dough hook attachment. If you don’t have a stand mixer you can do this by hand.
  6. Continue adding flour 1/2 cup at a time until the dough forms a ball and no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl.
  7. Remove the dough hook and drizzle olive oil over the ball of dough, cover with a damp towel and set aside to rise for 1-2 hours.
  8. Once dough has doubled in size, punch it down then allow it to rest for 10 minutes.
  9. While dough is resting combine the filling ingredients and set aside.
  10. Place dough on a lightly floured surface and roll dough into a rectangle about 18″ by 12″.
  11. Spread the filling mixture evenly over the dough, all the way to the edges.
  12. Roll dough into a log and slice into buns, as large as you like. (I make lots of small ones)
  13. Place buns on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (for easier cleanup).
  14. Let the the rolls rise until almost doubled in size, about and hour.
  15. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  16. Bake rolls for 20-30 minutes depending on their size, until golden brown.
  17. While the rolls are cooking combine the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and milk stirring until smooth.
  18. When rolls are cooked remove from oven and drizzle with icing.
  19. Serve warm.

Bell Pepper and Tomato Rice

South Indian Bell Pepper and Tomato Rice
South Indian Bell Pepper and Tomato Rice

This rice dish is a South Indian dish from my childhood. I was lucky enough to learn how to make this from Alamelu Vairavan, the author of “The Art of South Indian Cooking” who was a friend of my mother. I still remember the smell of this dish as she made it the first time I tried it at a small cooking class. It is still one of my favorite dishes. I just made it today for a potluck. It was a hit and my dish was scraped clean. The dish comes together very quickly once the rice is cooked and tastes like you worked all day to achieve the depth of flavor. Good luck my friends.

South Indian Bell Pepper and Tomato Rice 

Ingredients

  • 2 cups basmate rice
  • 4 cups water
  • 4 TBL olive oil
  • 1/2 bay leaf
  • 1/2 tsp. cumin seeds
  • 1/2 tsp. fennel seeds
  • 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 1 large onion, but into strips
  • 1 large tomato cut into small chunks
  • 2 small jalapenos or Serrano chili peppers, minced
  • 1 cup tomato sauce
  • 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
  • 1 TBL curry powder
  • 1 TBL salt
  • 3 cups coarsely chopped green bell pepper
  • 1 cup lightly salted cashews
  • 1/4 earth balance buttery spread, or butter
  • 1/4 cup cilantro, minced

Instructions

  1. Cook rice in water until tender, about 20 minutes.
  2. Cool rice one hour so the grains will not stick together (if you have time)
  3. Heat oil in a large frying pan or wok over medium heat.
  4. When oil is hot, but not smoking, add the cumin, fennel and cinnamon.
  5. Stir and brown for about 30 seconds.
  6. Add the onion, tomato and chili peppers and saute one minute.
  7. Add the tomato sauce, turmeric, curry, salt and green bell peppers.
  8. Cook and stir occasionally until the bell peppers are just tender, 1-2 minutes.
  9. Stir in the cooked rice and immediately reduce heat to low.
  10. Stir in the cashews and butter.
  11. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve warm.