Easy Vegan Gravy

Here's a simple recipe that packs a perfect punch when you need a quick gravy. I served it over a creamy cauliflower and potato mash. Please notice the gorgeous Portobello Wellington on the plate also! You can't believe how easy that Wellington is....find the recipe HERE.

Easy Vegan Gravy
 
Here's what you need:
1/2 C flour
1/2 C nutritional yeast
pinch oregano
pinch black pepper
olive oil
soy sauce
soy milk

Here's what you do:
In a cast iron skillet, toast the flour, yeast, oregano, and pepper. When you see the flour browning and it starts to smell toasty, blend in just enough olive oil to create a roux. Stir and whisk and stir and whisk. Add water and soy milk to create a gravy that is a pleasing consistency. At the end, add a few shakes of soy sauce.

Vegan Parmesan Cheese Two

I recently took an excellent 'Non-Dairy Cheese Making' class. The room was filled with vegans and the vegan-curious, and I felt so comfortable being with them! Some folks were looking for ways to eliminate lactose from their diets. Others were life long vegans. The woman sitting next to me had been eating vegan for three weeks - I hope she was inspired and not overwhelmed. The diet is amazingly simple - eat vegetables, not animals. All the other stuff, like the following recipe, is just icing on the cake.

This cheese tasted EXACTLY like dairy Parmesan. The only thing I do not like about it is that it kinda melts a bit when sprinkled over hot food and becomes a bit saucy. If you don't mind that, then this is the new Parmesan for you.  I actually mixed in this cheese with a batch of cashew Parmesan I had in the fridge which created a superb creation!

The recipes from the Non-Dairy Cheese Making class came from these books: Artisan Vegan Cheese by Miyoko Schinner, Non-Dairy Formulary by Skye Michael Conroy, and The Un-Cheese Cookbook by Jo Stepaniak. I do not know which author gets credit for this recipe. Sorry!

1 Cup almond meal
1/4 toasted pine nuts
2 T nutritional yeast
1 T mild miso
1/2 t salt
1/4 t onion powder
1/4 t garlic powder

Process in a food processor or high speed blender until finely ground. Store in refrigerator.

Party Rye

Here's another totally retro recipe I served as a lunch time snack on Thanksgiving. I remember eating these toasty little guys as a young girl when my mom would make them for cocktail parties. Now that I think of it, that probably annoyed her - us kids sneaking around in the kitchen, snatching her carefully prepared party food while she was trying to pull off a party. Sorry Mom! These were worth it!

I veganized the recipe and they turned out exactly how I remember them. What gives this simple recipe its unique taste is the rye bread - do not swap out the rye bread. Search high and low for Rubschlager Brand Cocktail Rye bread .....or take the time to cut tiny squares from another type of rye bread.

Here's what you need:
Cocktail size rye bread (30 slices for a full recipe)
1 small red onion, minced
1 C parmesan cheese (see note)
1/2 C mayo

Here's what you do:
Mash the onion, cheese and mayo together with a fork. Spread over the bread. Broil until brown and toasty - watch carefully!

Note: My vegan parm: 1 C raw cashews, 1/4 C nutritional yeast, 1 t salt. High speed blender. Totally addicting!

Vegan Jalapeno Poppers - Two Ways - Vegan Month of Food

Poesy and Plate
 Vegan Month of Food  2014

(check out the hundreds of VeganMoFo blogs HERE)
My goal: cook and blog about vegan food 20 times
  during the month of September. 
My theme: words and food

Today I share Emily Dickinson’s beautiful poem entitled “Prose.”  I not only think this is her take on the beauty of a lyric poem, but I think it has a deeper meaning regarding her view of being female.  You know, don’t shut us in; don’t make us write prose! Let us flap our lyric wings!

Really, are there any words more simple yet more beautiful than these? The image of a caged bird is always painful to me, so I love to imagine a bird escaping toward the stars.

They shut me up in Prose —
As when a little Girl
They put me in the Closet —
Because they liked me "still" —

Still! Could themself have peeped —
And seen my Brain — go round—
They might as wise have lodged a Bird
For Treason — in the Pound —

Himself has but to will
And easy as a Star
Abolish his Captivity —
And laugh — No more have I —

Vegan Jalapeno Poppers – Two Ways

Here’s what you need:

¾ C raw cashews soaked for a few hours, then drained

½ sweet onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 T Nutritional yeast

1 t cumin

1 T chicken-style seasoning with ½ C water(optional)

½ C veg stock (if not using the chicken-style seasoning)

1 4ounce can chopped green chilis (optional)

10 jalapenos, halved, seeds and veins removed

Olive oil

½ C crushed tortilla chips OR bread crumbs

Here’s what you do:

Brush the jalapeno halves with olive oil and set them aside. Prepare the filling by sautéing the onions and garlic in a bit of oil until softened. At the same time, toast the crushed tortillas chips in a 400 degree oven for about 5 minutes. Watch them closely.

Place sautéed veg, cashews, Nutritional yeast, cumin, seasoning, chilies and cream cheese (if using) in a blender. Loosen with a little veg stock or water. I found that the green chilies provided plenty of moisture! Adding more cream cheese will firm the mixture up also.

Spoon or pipe mixture into jalapenos. Bake for about 10 minutes in a 400 degree oven. Add the toasted chips (press in) and bake for another 10 minutes.  Broil for a tiny while at the end to get a nice toasty appearance.

Second Day:

There was plenty of filling to serve these another day, but I added some cream cheese to the mixture to firm it up. Instead of toasted tortilla chips, I used bread crumbs.

Cheezy Potatoes - VeganMoFo

Poesy and Plate
 Vegan Month of Food  2014

(check out the hundreds of VeganMoFo blogs HERE)
My goal: cook and blog about vegan food 20 times
  during the month of September. 
My theme: words and food

Every single diet I ever fell off of was because of potatoes and gravy of some sort. Dolly Parton

Not gonna lie….I didn’t love this. But I am a sucker for all things potato, so I couldn’t resist. What it needs is a stick of Earth Balance to make it creamy. Not gonna lie.

God bless Dolly Parton for saying so eloquently what I wanted to express. Of course, I ate every single shred all by myself, no problem. Proof of my love affair with the potato.

Here’s what you need:

1 28 oz bag frozen shredded hash brown potatoes

1 onion finely chopped

3 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 large carrot, peeled and chopped

3 C water

½ C Nutritional yeast

¼ C olive oil

1 T chicken-style seasoning (or other similar seasonings)

Salt

Garlic powder

Hot sauce

Paprika

Here’s what you do:

Place the thawed hash browns and onions in a greased casserole. Set aside.

Combine the chopped potatoes, carrots and water and simmer, covered, until very soft. Save the cooking liquid. Place the soft carrots and potatoes in a high speed blender. Add 2 C of the cooking water. Also add the Nutritional yeast, olive oil, seasonings. (Keep the paprika for a garnish only) . Blend until very creamy and thick and pour over the hash browns. Stir a bit to distribute the cheese sauce. Sprinkle the paprika over the casserole. Bake until bubble, maybe 30 – 45 minutes. Freezes great. 

Stuffed Baked Potato with Cashew Queso

Bake a potato. Add some of Isa Chandra’s Cashew Queso. Sprinkle generously with black beans, avocado and cilantro. Serve with pride.

Here’s what you need for Isa’s Cashew Queso:

1 C raw cashews, soaked for at least 2 hours or overnight

2 C vegetable broth

2 T white miso

2 T cornstarch

1 T olive oil

1 small onion, diced

1 red pepper, diced

1 jalapeno, seeded and diced

3 cloves garlic

2 t cumin

1 t ground ancho pepper (I used smoked paprika instead)

2 T nutritional yeast (optional)

½ t salt

1 T lemon juice

Here’s what you do:

Drain the cashews and place the nuts in a high speed blender or food processor. Add the vegetable broth, miso, and cornstarch. Sauté the onion and peppers in olive oil until soft. Add the garlic and cook for another few minutes. Add the cooked veg to the blender. Add the seasonings and nutritional yeast to the blender. (save the lemon juice till the very end.) Blend on high until smooth and glossy. Pour into a sauce pan and heat and stir until thickened and bubbly – being careful not to scorch the bottom. At the last minute, stir in the lemon juice.

This was super on the baked potato and also great on sandwiches and burritos all week. Perfect, perfect, perfect for dipping. Think ‘crock- pot- and-Super -Bowl- party- good’. 

Mushroom Lasagna with Cashew Ricotta

Get in the kitchen – but first go buy some mushrooms. This recipe is my creation, and it’s a keeper. I was in the mood for mushrooms and lasagna, and this is what I came up with. This recipe goes down in history - good for company but better for a Monday night at home with your family.

Here’s what you need:

16 oz sliced white mushrooms

8 oz sliced shitake mushrooms – make sure no stems are hiding in the package- they’re tough and chewy. Cut them off and search the pile to be sure none are hiding.

16 oz sliced portabella mushrooms – gills removed – use a small spoon to scrape them away.

1 oz dried porcini mushrooms – soaked in 1 ½ C boiling water for one hour. KEEP that water!

3 cloves garlic, minced

10 oz cherry tomatoes

12 lasagna noodles

1 t cornstarch

1 T Earth Balance butter

½ C dry white wine

Dried basil

1 recipe cashew ricotta

(1 ½ C raw cashews soaked in water for one hour. Drain off water. Place in blender with ½ C  fresh water, 2 T lemon juice, 1 clove garlic, 2 T Nutritional yeast {optional, but adds a nice cheesy taste}, dash of onion powder. High speed, scraping down sides as needed, until creamy and fluffy.)

Here’s what you do:

Clean all the mushrooms and chop the larger pieces in about ½ inch chunks. Cut the soggy porcinis in smaller pieces too.  Sautee them all in a large pan in about 1 T olive oil.  Be patient. It takes about 12-15 minutes to get them browned on most sides.

Add another 1 T olive oil and drop in the minced garlic. Cook the garlic in the puddle of oil until it is fragrant – do not brown it! Even if you have to turn off the heat and let it just warm, that’s OK. Mix the garlic and mushrooms together.

At the same time that the mushrooms are cooking, reduce the soaking water from the porcinis. I added ½ C of dry white wine, some salt and pepper and simmered the liquid for about 10 – 15 minutes. You want about ½ C liquid.  When reduced, add 1 T Earth Balance butter and thicken it with about 1 t cornstarch. Instead of adding the cornstarch directly into the warm liquid, remove  ¼ of liquid to a small bowl, sprinkle the cornstarch over it and whisk until totally dissolved. At this time, you can drizzle the slurry directly into the hot liquid – no lumps! Works like a charm every time. Heat until thick and glossy. The small amount of butter adds nice body and gloss. Pour the sauce over the mushrooms.

At the same time that all this is going on, sauté some cherry tomatoes by heating them in ½ T of olive oil. When they seem ready to ‘burst’, prick them with a sharp knife to release some juice and pressure. Continue to sauté them until they are nicely wilted and deglaze the pan with some more wine. Remove from heat and set aside. You want it to be a bit juicy.

At the same time this is all going on, boil the lasagna noodles according to the box.

Assemble the lasagna as follows: spray an 8 or 9 inch square pan and place about 10 tomatoes in the bottom of the pan to keep the pasta from sticking. Create layers of pasta, mushrooms, cashew ricotta until everything is used up. Leave some pasta for the top layer and pour the remaining tomatoes over the top, tucking any stray corners of pasta down. I drizzled some more wine over the top to prevent dryness. Sprinkle with dried basil. Bake 350 degrees until heated through – about 30 minutes.

(printable recipe)

Vegan Parmesan Cheese

V is for Variety and D is for Dang Best Craziest Thing

Welcome to the Vegan Month of Food (VeganMoFo)  I intend to post 20 times during the month of September – all about vegan food. Check out the gals who organize the project here, and search out other fantastic vegan bloggers. I decided on the theme of “V is for Variety” because, honestly, once I quit the chicken breast – my food choices exploded! Join me!

I guess if you are eating the real, authentic Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese – you know, the official cheese from the official region in Italy – you can skip over this post. But if you are eating the dry dust from the green cans, please continue reading. You can tell if you’re eating the real cheese because its name is stamped on the rind; you can tell you’re eating the imitation cheese if it comes in a green cardboard can. You can also tell you are eating the real stuff if you are paying $15.00 per pound; it’s fake if it costs only $2.79 and can be found at the Dollar Store….in a green cardboard can.

Now, I know it’s the Vegan Month of Food, and I truly want to honor all the rules: post 20 times and talk only about vegan food. And so far, I am doing great. But I will confess that I do indulge in a bite or two of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese once in a while. Why? Cuz it’s awesome. And no nasty comments from you militant vegans out there….I am trying my best and that’s all anyone can ask!

In the meantime, check out this crazy recipe for vegan parm. It’s actually pretty darn good. I mixed it in with some Israeli couscous, roasted tomatoes and fresh basil from my garden.

Hey, if you are still using parm from a green cardboard can with a shaker top – STOP it! Try this instead! It’s better for you and it’s wholesome and it’s salty and it’s nutty and it tastes better than what you’re currently choking down!

Here’s what you need:

¼ C nutritional yeast      

1 C raw cashews              

1 t salt

Here’s what you do:

Process in a high speed blender until a powder is produced. Store in an air-tight container in the fridge.

Sprinkle away!

Cashew Cheese Stuffed Squash Blossoms

Anyone out there interested in participating in the Vegan Month of Food 2013?  (VeganMoFo) The fun starts in September. You can see my VeganMoFo2012 posts by clicking here. 

What a beautiful and elegant way to start our meal, with these delicious stuffed squash blossoms. Surprisingly, it wasn't that tricky…. except for the bees who were living in two of the blossoms!  I followed recipes I found here and here and I researched all kinds of tips on how to deal with the blossoms. Honestly, it wasn't hard at all and I was surprised how sturdy those beautiful golden curls were. Once the cashew cheese was inside, the petals just closed right up around it. Dip them in milk, dredge them in seasoned flour, pan fry them, sprinkle them with salt and gobble away. 

When choosing your squash blossoms, try to pick only the male flower. They have longer, slimmer stems. The female squash flower is attached to a thick, squat stem, which will become the fruit. But be sure to leave some male flowers so the bees can do their pollination thing!

Picked fresh from my garden

I tried to get a photo of the bee living inside - trust me, he was in there

Stuff them, dredge them

Fry them

Serve them with something light - Salad Nicoise was my choice

Here’s what you need:

Fresh squash blossoms – yellow squash, zucchini, pumpkin

½ C raw cashews, soaked overnight in water in the fridge

1 T white miso

2 T nutritional yeast

1 T olive oil

1 T fresh basil

1 C almond milk (or other non-dairy milk)

1 T cornstarch

½ C flour

A pinch of oregano, thyme, basil, etc for the flour

Salt and pepper

Vegetable oil for frying

Here’s what you do:

Make the cashew cheese by blending the cashews, miso, nutritional yeast and oil in a high powered blender. I had to stop and scrape and press down the cheese quite a bit because it’s really thick. Mine never got totally creamy, but it didn't matter. When it’s pretty well blended, add the basil. Scoop it into a pastry bag (or zip lock type bag).

Prepare the blossoms by opening up a seam and removing the pistol and rinsing away any unwanted stuff….like bees and such.  Fill each blossom cavity with some cheese. The yellow tips of the blossoms will wrap right around the filling. Don’t worry if the flowers break apart – the cheese will hold them together.

Mix the cornstarch milk and place in a shallow bowl. Season the flour with oregano, thyme, salt, pepper. Dip each flower in the milk and then dredge in the flour. Fry them in a bit of oil until brown and crisp. Serve immediately. 

(printable recipe) 

Nacho Cheese

We ate dinner with our fingers and drank beer from bottles. 

2 C mashed potatoes
1 C cooked, diced carrots
1/2 C nutritional yeast
1/3 C olive oil
1/3 C water
1 T lemon juice
1 1/2 t salt

High power blender.

Vegetable Bake with Crispy Topping

You may recall that I made it through MoFo2012…...that’s Vegan Month of Food, for those of you ‘not-in-the-know.’ I powdered through 30 days of complete vegan foods and only cheated a few times…mostly because of my love affair with feta cheese. There is not a Greek salad on earth that stands a chance with me in the room.

I also am happy to say that I followed the MoFo (that’s ‘Month of Food’) rule to post 20 times during the month. Let me tell you, it was difficult! I work two part-time jobs, still have a kid at home, have a husband who works a demanding job and also travels….meaning, I have a LIFE! But I did it! You can read all about my vegan journey by clicking over on the October 2012 link in the right hand margin. The recipes there are excellent, plus I share what it was like to ‘go vegan’ from a carnivore’s point of view.

Have I become a vegan? Well, probably not. But I have become super aware of the food on my plate. I just wondered what it would feel like to get the beef off of my buns, so to speak. Plus, my cholesterol is sky high……I am at the point of doing whatever it takes (besides meds… I refuse at this point…. I am probably labeled “uncooperative” in the file at my doctor…. Sigh…. )

Let me stop rambling about cholesterol and share a very interesting recipe I found during my MoFo (that’s ‘Month of Food’) experience. See here for the original recipe.

Here’s what you need:

4 C cooked vegetables (cauliflower, broccoli, frozen peas)

1 C soy milk

6 T Nutritional yeast (found in health food stores. Gives food a cheesy flavor)

1 T Earth Balance non-dairy butter

1 ½ T cornstarch

2 t Dijon mustard

¼ t garlic powder

½ t salt

½ C mashed chick peas

½ C oats

1 t dried herbs (like basil, oregano)

2 T Nutritional yeast

2 T crushed walnuts

Here’s what you do:

Steam the veggies till tender. Set aside. To make the sauce: melt the butter. Whisk in the milk, 6 T nutritional yeast, cornstarch, Dijon, garlic powder and salt. Stir till thick and pour over veg.

To make the crumbly topping: Mix the chick peas, oats, herbs, 2 T nutritional yeast and nuts. Sprinkle over vegetables. Bake at 350 until brown, maybe 20-30 minutes. Broil for just a minute if you want a crispier top.

(printable recipe)

Tuscan White Bean Pizza with Roasted Tomato Aioli - Vegan

(recipe  based on Vegan on the Cheap, by Robin Robertson, Wiley, 2010)

Garlic. Canned beans. Store bought thin crust. Roasted tomatoes. Pesto. Beer. Friday night. Happiness.

Here’s what you need for the pizza:

One good quality store bought thin pizza crust. (I swear by Boboli brand.)

I actually have two homemade pizza crusts that I also swear by, one of them is on my other blog……

did you know I used to write another blog?

That’s ancient history, now, but there’s some great stuff over there.

Click here and here to see my favorite homemade pizza crusts.

Olive oil

Fresh garlic

15 ounce can of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

Salt, pepper

1/3 vegetable stock

2 T nutritional yeast

Roasted tomatoes (mine came from the freezer)

Pesto (mine came from the freezer)

    (Olives, artichokes, spinach, fresh basil - the sky’s the limit when it comes to pizza toppings, right?)

Here’s what you need for the aioli:

1 pound Roma tomatoes

1 C water

½ C raw cashews

1 clove fresh garlic

Lemon juice

Salt, pepper and ¼ t liquid smoke

Here’s what you do for the aioli:

Quarter the tomatoes, remove the seeds, place cut sides up, drizzle with olive oil. Roast under the broiler until soft, but not too charred. Place all aioli ingredients in a high speed blender and watch what happens! Heat it over low heat.

I had my doubts before I put this in the oven,
 but now this pizza is in my regular dinner rotation. Try it! 

Here’s what you do for the pizza:

Mince and sauté the garlic until tender but not brown, over a very low heat. Add the drained and rinsed beans and stir around a bit. Season with salt and pepper. Add the vegetable broth and nutritional yeast. Smash the beans with a potato masher or fork.

Spread the bean layer on the crust. Top with the beautiful tomatoes and pesto. Bake. Spoon the Roasted Tomato Aioli over the slices. Eat. Drink beer. Enjoy Friday evening.

Cheezy Beany Bean Dip

We ate this last week and are still talking about it. Do you ever have meals like that? Where you just can’t stop talking about it? Simple ingredients with a little bump in flavor. A little extra love. A tiny teaspoon of extra flavor..... or a whole can. 

These quantities made a lot, which worked great for us, because we live on bean burritos for lunches throughout the week. In fact, Tim came home from work the following day and exclaimed, “I had the best lunch today!” Yes, he said that about a humble bean burrito. Little did he know that I actually had the best lunch. It’s because of the extra attention we gave the beans. Made all the difference.

Here’s what you need:

A large can of refried beans (30 oz, I think ) 

A can of chipotle salsa 

A few words about this little can of magic. It’s hot! This stuff packs a mighty punch, so start slowly. We can take an entire can, but you might like to start with half a can. (you can always freeze the leftovers in little ice cube trays and then pop the frozen salsa into chili or other tomato based sauces. )

Another word about chipotle: be sure to purchase the salsa for this recipe and not the chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. See the difference in the photo? 

Leftover juice from roasting red peppers (super secret ingredient! Remember when I roasted all those red peppers?)


I used the other half in some bean soup last week. Such flavor!



For the Cheezy Sauce:
½ C raw cashews, soaked in hot water for at least 30 minutes, drained, rinsed

1 T tahini

1 red bell pepper, roasted, with the skin and seeds removed (mine came from my freezer. You can also buy them in big jars in the grocery.)

¼ C nutritional yeast

1 T soy sauce

2-3 T lemon juice

¼ t cayenne pepper

Here’s what you do:

Whirl the beans, chipotle salsa and pepper juice in a food processor until smooth and creamy. Taste and adjust seasonings.

To make the cheese: put all the ingredients in a high powered blender and see what happens! This stuff is awesome! (The cheeze recipe comes directly from "Forks Over Knives" by Del Sroufe.)

Put it all together in a pretty pattern with your favorite Mexican toppings: cilantro, tomato, avocado, lettuce, green pepper – whatever sounds good to you! Serve with tortillas and chips.

Sour cream anyone? 

Linguini with Roasted Broccoli and Cashew Cream: VeganMoFo #7

I’m a Veganwannabe: Post #7

There’s not one person on earth who wouldn’t love this….unless, of course, you are a broccoli hater (what’s wrong with you?!) and in that case, you may substitute any other roasted vegetable.  The leftovers were amazing also. I can see myself experimenting with this cashew business quite a lot this month. I’ve got my eye on a ‘roasted poblano cashew cream’….. doesn’t that sound heavenly?

Here’s what you need:

Broccoli – cut in pretty good sized pieces, drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper, roasted until soft in a super-hot oven

Linguini- or other substantial pasta

Raw cashews

Garlic, salt, pepper, nutmeg

 Nutritional yeast……. I got brave and tried it.  Kinda tastes like cheese in a weird sort of way. I’m not still 100% sure of what it exactly is, but if other people eat it, then I assumed that it would be OK if I tried it too! It’s actually kinda fun to try brand, brand new ingredients!

Here’s what you do:

Roast the broccoli. I also roasted some tomatoes from my garden. ( I love ‘em with all foods and eat them practically every day.)

Soak some cashews in boiling water for about one hour. I have learned that you should rinse the nuts before soaking them. Some recipes called for using the same water to blend and others said to use fresh water……I think one thing I have learned already about vegan eating…..it doesn't matter!! 

They’re just vegetables! So, don’t worry!! They’re just cashews! J

Blend the heck out of the cashews….add more water if you want it thinner.

Sautee some garlic over very low heat. Add the cashew cream, salt, pepper, nutmeg and some nutritional yeast. Heat. Pour over the pasta and roasted broccoli. Serve with confidence! EXCELLENT! EXCELLENT! EXCELLENT! I give this recipe 3 'excellents.' :) 

Next post: Mickey Mouse Salad..... click back tomorrow to see what I mean!