Vegan Lasagna

Cooler weather can only mean one thing... comfort food! Here is my new favorite - Vegan Lasagna! No need for fake meat and cheese - this recipe will knock your cozy socks off!

As you can tell, this was my second helping!

Ingredients:

1 - 8 oz box of whole wheat lasagna noodles

2 T nutritional yeast

Spinach Mix: 

4 cups fresh spinach (you can use frozen, but drain it well!)

1 T olive oil

1 t minced garlic

1 t minced shallot

1/2 t white pepper

1/2 t salt

1/4 t nutmeg

Tofu-cotta:

1 block silken tofu

1 T lemon juice

1 T tahini

1 T nutritional yeast

Simple Red Sauce:

1 T olive oil

1 t garlic

1 diced onion

1 diced carrot

4 or 5 large basil leaves (fresh from the garden if you can!)

1/4 t white pepper

1/2 t salt

1 - 12 oz jar of roasted red peppers

1 - 28 oz can of fire roasted tomatoes

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Bring large pasta pot of water to a boil. Add lasagna noodles and cook approximately 12 minutes on a gentle boil. (I've heard that you can assemble lasagna without having to cook the noodles, just make sure you have enough sauce and bake it for at least 45 minutes and the noodles will cook in the oven. Try it and let me know how it works!)

2. Meanwhile, sauté the spinach mix ingredients in skillet over medium high heat until wilted.

3. Add spinach mix to food processor. Add tofu-cotta ingredients and process until well incorporated.

4. Make simple red sauce by heating up olive oil in skillet (I just rinsed out the spinach skillet). Sauté garlic, onion, carrot, basil, salt and white pepper over medium heat until onions are soft. Add ingredients to a blender (you cane use your food processor if you don't want to get two gadgets dirty, but remove the tofu-cotta first!) with the jar of roasted red peppers and the can of fire roasted tomatoes.
5. Make layers! Add 1/4 of the simple sauce to the bottom of a baking dish. (I used 9 X 13, but use what you've got!) Add a layer of noodles and 1/3 of the tofu-cotta filling. Top with noodles, filling, and sauce until your last layer of noodles and sauce. Top with the 2 T of nutritional yeast.
6. Cover with tinfoil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 15 - 20 minutes until top noodles reach your desired level of crispiness! Enjoy!

Noodles and filling and sauce! Oh my!

Now that you have the basics down, the possibilities are endless. Next time, I think I'll do layers of eggplant. Or zucchini noodles. But I won't change a thing about the tofu-cotta filling. It was the best!

Vegan Chocolate Cuppy Cakes

Forget milk, oil, and eggs - everyone who has tried these cupcakes demands the recipe! And with a recipe this easy and delicious, there is no reason to buy a box of premade mix ever again!

Ingredients:
The Wet:
1 cu almond milk (or another milk substitute)
1 t apple cider vinegar
1/2 cu apple sauce
3/4 cu sugar
1 T vanilla

The Dry:
1 cu whole wheat flour
1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1/3 cu cocoa

Chocolate Glaze:
1 T cocoa
3 T powdered sugar
2 T almond milk

Before

After

Super Easy Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients and let sit for 10 minutes. (Quick science lesson: The apple cider vinegar curdles the almond milk and gives it an acidic property which allows it to react with the baking soda resulting in a light and fluffy cuppy cake!)
3. In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Whisk together lightly to integrate baking soda and powder well.
4. When your 10 minutes are up, pour the wet into the dry. Mix with spatula until just combined.
5. Pour mixture 3/4 full into lined muffin tin.
6. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Rotate once front to back during cooking. Allow to cool as long as you can stand it until you just have to eat one!

These are delicious as is, but to make 'em fancy, you can add a glaze by whisking together 1 T cocoa, 2 T powdered sugar, and 2 T almond milk until smooth.

This exact recipe makes a great chocolate birthday cake as well. Just allow a few more minutes for baking in a larger vessel.

Enjoy!

Quick & Easies: Vegan Protein Crunch Bars

If you like these:

But hate shelling out this:

For this:



Then may I suggest you try these:

At under 50 cents a bar they are a steal and require very little time and prep! 

Credit where it's due: This recipe is a variation from the inspiration of Camilla at Enlightened Cooking. You can view the original here. I discovered this recipe while shopping for inexpensive treats to keep Robert full and happy while on our upcoming vacation! The experimental batch turned out so well they were gone in one sitting of Jaws with two friends. No better way to enjoy shark week!

The Ingredients:
1 cu crisp rice cereal (to add a little health factor to this ingredient, you can use a brown rice variety available at Whole Foods by Erwhon)
1 cu quick cooking oats (Old Fashioned and Rolled oats will work in a pinch, but the resulting bar will be chewier)
2 T ground flax seed
1/4 cu raisins (or dried cherries, or dried cranberries, or... you get the idea!)
1/4 cu crushed almonds (I placed whole almonds in a zip bag and let 'em have it with a rolling pin. You could use any nut or seed here.)
1/4 cu chocolate hemp protein powder
1/2 t cinnamon
1/3 cu brown rice syrup (with all the things you can do with this stuff, it's worth the investment)
1/2 cu peanut butter (you could use almond or sunflower seed if you like)
1 t vanilla extract

Three easy steps:
1. In a medium microwave safe bowl, combine the 1/3 cu brown rice syrup and 1/4 cu peanut butter. Microwave until well blended, about 30 seconds or so. Stir in 1 t vanilla.

2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the 1 cu rice cereal, 1 cu oats, 2 T flax seed, 1/4 cu raisins, 1/4 cu almonds, 1/4 cu protein powder, and 1/2 t cinnamon. Mix until well integrated.

3. Mix the wet and dry together in the large bowl. Start with a spatula since the brown rice mixture will be hot, but you will have to use your hands to mix it well. Pour mixture into a parchment lined and nonstick sprayed 9 X 11 pan (this is sticky stuff, so I lined the pan with parchment paper AND sprayed the paper with nonstick spray). Top with another piece of sprayed parchment paper use another pan to press down the mixture. Put your back into it and really squish the stuff! Refrigerate for 30 minutes then cut into 12 bars.

The bottom line: Our goal was to save money without having to sacrifice time or ingredients. These take about 10 minutes to make (minus chilling time) and although the cost of the whole ingredients may be in investment (the brown rice syrup will set you back around $5, while the hemp protein powder costs $10.99 for 16 oz) the final cost per bar is under 50 cents! And you will certainly find other uses for these products, right here in this blog!

Happy protein crunching!

Vegan Cinnamon Crumble Coffee Cake

It's my birthday! In lieu of birthday cake, I thought I'd share with you my recipe for coffee cake that recieved rave reviews at a business meeting this week. It has a lot of ingredients, but I'll bet you have most of them in your pantry. Plus, with whole wheat flour and applesauce in place of oil, it just doesn't feel entirely right calling this a "cake."

Crumbley topping ingredients:
1/2 cu whole wheat flour
1/4 cu brown sugar
2 T buttery spread (I use Earth Balance, you could also use the same amount of canola or vegetable oil)
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t ginger
1/4 t salt
1/4 cu chopped or crushed walnuts

Cake ingredients:
The Wet:
1 cu almond milk
1/2 cu applesauce
1 T apple cider vinegar
1 T vanilla extract

The Dry:
1 cu whole wheat flour
1/2 cu white sugar
1 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
2 t cinnamon
1 t ginger (I love ginger!)
1/4 t salt

You will also need:
A bundt cake pan
Non stick cooking spray
3 bowls
A spatula and/or whisk

The dry. The wet. The muffin method.

Delicious cake in 10 easy steps:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F
2. Mix the wet ingredients listed above in a medium bowl and set aside to rest for 10 minutes. This will effectively curdle the milk and give the cake a tangy flavor, but you will not taste the vinegar. Don't skip this step!
3. Melt the butter and mix with other topping ingredients. Mix until nice and crumbly. Pour into the bottom of a well -reased bundt cake pan. (It must be well-greased or you are not getting this thing out!)
4. Mix the dry ingredients listed above. in a large bowl Use a spatula or whisk to ensure that the baking soda, powder, and spices are well integrated with the flour. 
5. Add the wet to the dry and use a spatula to just mix the ingredients. Some lumps are okay.
6. Pour into the bundt cake pan overtop of the crumbly topping.
7. Bake for 25 - 35 minutes at 350° F until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
8. Let cook in the pan for 5 minutes.
9. Invert pan onto a plate and allow to cool for at least 10 more minutes.
10. Enjoy!


NOTE: If you don't have a bundt cake pan, you can make this in a regular square or round cake pan, but you will want to pour the cake batter in first and put the topping on top.

Vegan Peanut Buttery Cookies

I’ll bet you have everything in your pantry to make these right now.

Robert’s favorite food is peanut butter, but so many peanut buttery treats are non-vegan. So, here’s my recipe revision for Peanut Butter Cookies!

Ingredients:

1.5 cu flour (I used whole wheat)

1 t baking soda

1 T ground flax seed

3 T water(in place of the flax and water you can use one egg or any substitution for one egg)

½ cu peanut butter

½ cu brown sugar

½ cu butter or butter substitute (I used Earth Balance)

1 t vanilla

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375° F.

In a nonstick skillet over medium heat whisk together the 1 T flax seed and 3 T water. This is your egg replacer. Add this to your stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Add in ½ cu peanut butter, ½ cu brown sugar, ½ cu butter substitute, and 1 t vanilla and mix on medium speed until creamy. Slow mixer to low and gently add in flour and baking soda. Mix until just combined.

Dish out onto baking sheet lined with silicone mat or parchment paper. (I used my #70 disher – portion control!) Roll each portion into a ball then flatten with fork into a crisscross pattern.

The crisscrossing is my favorite part.

Bake at 375° F for 4 minutes then flip and rotate the sheets for even cooking. Bake for another 2 – 4 minutes until puffy and mouth watering. Let cook on cookie sheet for 2 minutes, then transfer to cooling rack. Allow to cool if you can stand it! Enjoy! I made 3 dozen cookies from this recipe!

What is your favorite cookie? Let me know and I’ll try to veganize it!

Quick & Easies: Strawberry Fieldgreens Forever

If I ever own a restaurant, this salad will be first thing on the menu. It's incredibly fast, easy, and delicious! You don't have to add the goat cheese, but the way it combines with the balsamic is incredible. Credit where credit is due: thanks to Leila B. for introducing me to the powers of strawberries in salads.

Ingredients: No portions here, just do what you feel!

Lettuce (I use heirloom from the garden, but baby greens or spinach work nicely)

Strawberries

Pecans

Goat Cheese (optional)

Balsamic Vinegar

Directions:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6. Drizzle on the balsamic and enjoy! If you choose not to add the goat cheese, you may want to add some oil to the dressing. Olive oil or walnut oil if you've got it!

There you have it! Now, this is made for the freshness of spring, but in the fall you could add dried fruit and walnuts, too. Yum!

Greens on the Porch

Flowers are beautiful, but why not showcase some spring greens on your front porch? My speckled trout heirloom lettuce complements my welcome mat nicely. And when you have an inkling for some Strawberry Fieldgreens Forever, it's only as far away as a trip to the front door.