I am on a mission to freeze as many local greens as possible for the winter. Here is my current favorite way to put up swiss chard. I love pesto, but it is too heavy and oily for me. This cutes back on the oil (but not the flavor) and gives you the bonus of an extra serving of healthy greens.

1 bunch basil
1 bunch swiss chard
3-6 cloves of garlic, crushed
pinenuts or walnuts (a few tablespoons)
2 TBLS extra virgin olive oil (more or less depending on your taste)
vegan parmesan, if desired

Wash, stem, and steam the chard in a few tablespoons of water. I leave the leaves whole. Only steam until bright green, but soft. Transfer the chard to the blender. Blend until liquid. Add the basil leaves, garlic and oil and blend again. Salt to taste. I add the nuts and cheese right before serving. If freezing, I don't add the cheese and nuts until I defrost.

I've always been highly skeptical of cheeseless pizza...it just seemed like it would be missing something essential. And vegan cheese has never impressed me.

Well tonight I decided to try Amy's Cheeseless Pizza ... and wow, it was good! I added some spinach to make it even more nutritious, and it came out great. I didn't feel like I was giving up anything. Nice crispy crust, warm doughy center, and savory toppings, everything I loved about traditional pizza.

I'll definitely be eating this again and hopefully making my own too. :-)

So if you share my former prejudice against vegan pizza, give it a try, you might have a change of heart. :-)

Tags: -product reviews(uncategorized)

Seriously need help here. I have not had a white chocolate macadamia nut cookie since my pregan days. Does anybody have a good recipe for them? I hear vegan white chocolate chips tend to almost dissolve into the cookie and lose flavor =/ So not only a cookie recipe, but perhaps what types of vegan white chocolate are baking-friendly? I have requested them at Vegan Treats (Bethlehem, PA) - hopefully Danielle can come up with them if nobody here can help!

Tags: nuts-macadamia

 Hey guys, 

I have a beautiful head of savoy cabbage that I am desperate not to waste. I want to make wraps with it, but I don't quite know what to put in them. 
If you have any delicious cabbage wrap recipes or even other fun recipes to do with cabbage, I'd love to hear your ideas. 

Thanks!

I accidentally bought unsweetened chocolate almond milk, instead of the sweetened kind, but didn't notice until I'd opened it up and poured myself a glass. There's no way I can drink it like this, and while it tasted fine when I stirred in some sugar, I don't really want to keep doing that.

So, ideas for how to use unsweetened chocolate almond milk?? I was going to try making some kind of chocolate-banana-peanut butter smoothie with it, but that's all I could think of.

I have googled and searched for a vegan macaron recipe but haven't found a thing. It is pretty much the only thing I miss that isn't vegan...but is it even possible to make vegan? :/ I know they are pretty tricky to bake in the first place, and posting here is pretty much my last hope! hah

they are the cute little french treats, not the coconut macaroons..


help would be greatly appreciated!

Current Mood: sleepy

I made really yummy blueberry pancakes on Sunday.  They weren't particularly light and fluffy, but they weren't dense either.  They were more just hearty and tasty.  I topped with fresh blueberries and warm maple syrup.  YUM!

Mix dry ingredients:
1 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. white flour
1/2-3/4 c. quick cook oats
1/2-3/4 c. chopped walnuts
1 rounded T sugar
2 t baking powder
2 t cinnamon (because it's tasty AND good for you!)
1 t powdered ginger
1/2 t ground cloves
1/4 t salt

Then add:
1 c soy or rice milk
1/2 c. water (or a little more if necessary)
1 t vanilla (or omit vanilla and use vanilla flavored 'milk'
1 c. fresh blueberries

Cook in lightly oiled (pref. nonstick) pan for about 3 mins, until golden brown and bubbles start coming up through the pancake, then flip and repeat.

Makes about 6 med./large pancakes.

Most people don't believe that peanut butter goes with everything. Mostly this is because they haven't tried.

Until today one of the things I hadn't tried peanut butter with yet was pasta-style tomato sauce, so I couldn't be completely sure that it would work. I am almost sure that it goes with absolutely everything as long as you do it right, but I try to stay open to being proven wrong. My aunt didn't believe this would work; she was wrong.

Here's how I cooked it:

• Olive oil
• Cumin
• Sage
• Basil and/or pesto (the pesto I used was very simple, just basil and oil and pine nuts and salt)
• Lemon
• Balsamic
• Soy
• Mushrooms
• Peppers
• Tomatoes
• Peanut butter
• Eddie reckons broccoli would be good too, and he's probably right - I don't end up buying it much, myself. Maybe tofu, maybe other random veg.

Fry the cumin, sautée the peppers, chuck in the sage, slice in the mushrooms, boil down the tomatoes. Stir in the peanut butter, it'll slowly melt and break down. Scatter in the lemon and/or balsamic vinegar, soy sauce is probably optional. Make it extra delicious with plenty of basil.

Don't use too much olive oil, especially if you're using pesto. Peanuts are amazing things, packed with all sorts of goodness, but man are they oily.

Serve with plenty of pasta, or some other starchy goodness of your choice.

Tags: pasta
Current Location: Edinburgh
Current Mood: content
Current Music: Ray Davies (and the Crouch End Festival Chorus) - Waterloo Sunset

For my flatwarming I decided to have a dessert and cocktail party (and I kinda wanna use this as an opportunity to prove that vegan CAN taste good!)
The menu is as follows:
Pumpkin pie
Lemon Pie
Chocolate cupcakes
Vanilla cupcakes
Chocolate mousse
Apple and Berry Crumble

Its in a couple of days, but I need help with the following things:
- In my pre-vegan days my 'speciality' dessert was lemon meringue pie. I can veganise everything but meringues, but was wondering if anyone has any ideas for a topping (I realise nothing vegan can really do meringue) because the only idea I have so far is walnut crumble topping and I don't think that would work.
- Does anyone have a chocolate mousse recipe? I tried blended tofu and melted dark chocolate but it didn't have the same lightness as its non-vegan counterpart. It did make me think I could somehow fashion it in to some sort of pie though although this defeats its purpose of being gluten free. I do have a couple of guests that are gluten free and am stuck at what to make them that would appease most of my omni friends.

So please throw recipes (gluten-free please!), ideas and hints at me, it'll be totally appreciated! (oh and if you want any of the recipes)

Tags: -allergies-gluten/wheat, desserts-mousse, foods that non-vegans would like

Well I asked my whole foods about ordering this. I was pretty certain they would not be able to do this (as another poster suggested) because this is another country and crossing borders and such just special ordering into a another store is not as easy as it sounds. Anyway, they cannot do this due to packaging regulations. Nutritional/bilingual packaging regulations being different in Canada than the US make this impossible. For example, Canada used to see Boca products but don't anymore due to the bilingual packaging thing.


Booo

Current Location: Canada

my oldest kiddo is almost five and currently getting handy at making his own sandwiches - but other than pb&j (which he doesnt really like) and your typical lunchmeat sandwich, im at a loss.

im looking for something easy i could make and keep in the fridge he could easily slap between two slices of bread or some interesting combination of things he could make.

im intrigued by the homemade lunch meat recipe i found in the tags and we do hummus/beans a lot.

Two things I suck at as a cook are baked pastries, and sauces (or soups that need to be blended).

Does anyone have some suggestions/recipes that are not terribly difficult to follow for vegan shortbread? My 11 year old desperately wants strawberry shortcake, or some facsimile thereof, for her birthday this weekend. I've tried a few times over the years to make this, but the shortbread has always been a huge disappointment. At best it's been too dense and heavy, at worst it's been.. indescribably horrible. If possible, something that does not include too-specialized ingredients would be great as well.

My favourite soup in the whole world used to be a nice Irish potato soup, before I went vegan. I have also never found a way to make a creamy based soup that didn't separate, taste like plastic (I really dislike vegan 'cheese' products, and think they taste like petroleum products), or congeal when it cools. If anyone has any cooking methods, ingredient suggestions, or magic tricks, I would be so grateful.

This was supposed to be a muffin recipe, but I didn't have any proper muffin pans!! They're still SOOOO delicious though, and so easy to make, so I thought I would share!

Ingredients
- 3 ripe bananas (the riper the better!)
- 1/4 Cup Oil or melted Vegan margerine
- 2 cups flour
- 1 cup Sugar
- 1 tsp. Salt
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
- 1 cup (walnuts, coconut, currants, oatmeal - whatever takes your fancy!)

Directions
+ Mash bananas... add oil/margerine and sugar... mix well!
+ Sift flour, salt, and baking soda together and add banana mixture. Mix until flour is blended.. (do not beat)
+ Pour into muffin pans or a bread pan and bake at 360F until a toothpick comes out clean.

hi just wondering if anyone knows of any vegan cookbooks specifically aimed at kids? there seems to be a couple of vegetarian ones but i cant find any vegan ones.

any suggestions greatly appreciated!

thanks,

ash

I made this curry sauce tonight to have in pita bread.  I tasted it when it was done, but it didn't really have much taste, so i added a few spices (can't remember which) but it just did not turn out well at all.  Which makes me really sad.  I was really excited about it.  What would you have done to improve the tempeh and curry a bit? Oh, and I didn't put the onion in.  I forgot about it until it was too late.

Tempeh in Curry Sauce

Total servings: 4

Recipe ingredients

400 g tempeh, cut in 2 cm cubes

1 cup soymilk (or milk)

1 tsp butter

1 onion

1/2 tsp cumin

1 tsp curry powder

1 Tbs white flour

1/4 cup fresh peas

4 cups cooked rice

Recipe directions

Steam the tempeh for 10 minutes.

Cook the onions in the butter until soft. Add the flour, cumin and curry and stir. Add slowly the soymilk while stirring. Add the tempeh and peas and boil on low heat for 1 minute.

Serve with rice. 
(it's from tempeh.com)


Second, I have been making these wonderful fruit salads for breakfast.  I throw some soy yogurt in and some flax seeds and it makes a great start to my day.  However, I would like to try something new now.  I would love to make them into smoothies for breakfast or lunch (when I have access to a freezer to keep it in during the day).  I would also like to make them into smoothies so that I can put some chocolate protein powder into them since I haven't been eating too well lately.  Can I still put the yogurt in?  Basically, I would be making them at night and sticking them in the freezer overnight.  Will the yogurt work with it?  I don't know how soy yogurt would behave in the freezer.  Or should I just use a little bit of soymilk?  I don't have any fruit juices to put in.

thank you so much!!!

Hello! I have a question about blenders - I checked the tags, but could not find anything about smaller, 'single-serve' blenders.

I used to make a smoothie every morning, but the cleanup of my Kitchen-Aid blender, plus putting it all back together each time, has really deterred me. I've been skipping breakfast lately, and would really like to get back into soymilk, fruit, and protein powder smoothies.

I've been looking into smaller 'personal-size' blenders that promise easy cleanup, and it looks like there are two main contenders out there:

Back to Basics:
http://www.amazon.com/Basics-Blender-Express-White-%2528BPE3WHITE%2529/dp/B000G65MSI/ref=sr_1_2

Hamilton Beach:
http://www.amazon.com/Hamilton-Beach-51101-Single-Serve-Blender/dp/B00065L6CU/ref=pd_sbs_hg_3

Has anyone used these products, and do you have a recommendation? The two big factors for me are ice crushing, and ease of cleanup. The fewer parts / pieces to disassemble and clean, the better!

Finally, if you have a favorite breakfast smoothie recipe to share, I would love to hear it.

Thanks!

Tags: -appliances-blenders, beverages-smoothies

I couldn't find anything in the tags, so I that's why I'm asking for your help! I am looking for a delicious (and hopefully easy) recipe for a vegan version of tiramisu, that even my omni friends will love! Whatever recipe I found online so far called for orange juice or lemons, but I'm very allergic to citrus... So I'm wondering if anyone had a yummy recipe that is free of citrus, or if you could let me know what I could use to substitute orange or lemon juice/lemon peel, etc. with. Thanks heaps for any hints!

Tags: desserts(uncategorized), ethnic food-italian

I made this a few nights ago and intended to take a picture, but it got eaten too quickly :( Anyway, it was absolutely delicious and really easy.

-1 large eggplant, sliced lengthwise into 1/4" slices (I used a mandoline -- if you don't have one you might want to buy two eggplants in case you mess up some of the slices ;) )
-Tomato sauce of choice, I used Muir Glen cabernet marinara
-1 recipe PPK tofu-basil ricotta
-Optional: soy "parmesan" (I skipped this and it was still great)

If you have time, salt/drain/press/rinse the eggplant slices. If not it'll probably still be fine :)

Grill or broil the eggplant slices with a little bit of cooking spray or olive oil on both sides until browned. I broiled them on high for 10 minutes on one side, 5-10 minutes on the other.

Stack up the slices on a plate and cover tightly with aluminum foil. This will cause them to steam so that they're easier to roll up. At this point I made the tofu "ricotta".

Roll up each eggplant slice with about 2oz of the ricotta mix, then place it seam side down in a small casserole dish. Cover the whole thing with tomato sauce, sprinkle with parmesan if using, and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. This serves 2-3 people; my husband ate it with whole wheat pasta with olive oil and garlic, I ate it with a spinach salad.

( Text of vegan ricotta under the cut )

I've been lacto-vegetarian my whole life, and am now much closer to vegan (though I occasionally allow myself my slip-ups), so I don't really know what Japanese mayonnaise tastes like. Given how little I like the taste of egg, I'd rather keep it that way. However, I want to try making vegan sushi pizza, for which Japanese mayonnaise must be used. Have any of you experimented with this? Can anyone give me any tips on how I might approximate the flavour?

I use Spectrum brand canola-based eggless mayonnaise, although I wouldn't mind getting one of the tofu-based brands instead.

Tags: condiments-mayonnaise, ethnic food-japanese

I seem to be allergic to wheat and I've just cut it out of my diet this week. (Me=wheat-free n00b. Who already feels a zillion times better.) Cooking at home isn't hard so far, but I'll be camping twice this summer and I'm trying to come up with meal ideas. Beyond replacing pancakes with oatmeal, I'm drawing a blank. Gluten is fine. It's just wheat.

This is backpack camping, not car camping, so weight is an issue.

Any ideas? Or if you have other advice about living wheat-free, I'll take that, too! I'm going through the tags but I can use all the help I can get.

Tags: -allergies-gluten/wheat, pack friendly foods/camping trips

I just made this for dinner and I thought I'd might share it with you all. (and shameless plugging for my new blog)

Ingredients:
2 dried shiitake mushrooms
1 package of soft tofu
1 cup veggie protein crumbles
soy sauce (or soy sauce alternative)
vegetable oil
water at hand
chinese chili hot sauce (optional)
scallions (optional)

1. Soak the dried shiitake mushrooms in hot water until soft.
2. Cut the tofu into cubes. (I used soft tofu in this case.)
3. Cut the scallions. Separate the whites and the greens.
4. Set pot on burner and turn on heat to high. Wait until the pot is dry and hot before adding a bit of oil to coat the bottom of the pan.
5. Add shiitake mushrooms and scallion whites. Stir-fry until mushrooms are lightly burnt. Add protein crumbles.
6. Add 1 spoon of soy-sauce (or 2 spoons of Bragg's). Add a bit of water to prevent the crumbles from drying out and burning. (This is also where you add the hot sauce if desired.) Stir.
7. Add the tofu and stir. Add water if needed to prevent from drying. Turn heat to medium. Close the lid and let it sit for about 30-45 seconds before stirring again.
8. Do a quick taste test. If too salty, add a few pinches of sugar. Stir and pour into bowl.
9. Quickly heat the scallion greens into the pot for about 30 seconds. Garnish the dish.


Recipe here: http://theveganabc.blogspot.com/2009/07/ma-po-tofu.html

Tags: ethnic food-chinese, tofu

There's probably something similar floating around here but my friend's mother made this for me on the 4th. It was my first time having guacamole salad and it was delicious!

Ingredients:

Hi everyone!!

I found this recipe for peach pie and I'd really love to try it but Im not sure what the vegan equivalent of creme fraiche is since Ive never tried it before. Ive found a few substitutions online but I don't know how they'd hold up in terms of this recipe.
I have tofutti better than cream cheese and some blueberry soy delicious coconut yogurt, if either of those would be useful...

anyways here's the recipe for the pie, from http://delicioushouse.blogspot.com/2009/07/peach-pie-perfection-fresh-peach-pie.html
For the Filling
2 lbs (5-6 medium) yellow peaches, ripe (but not over-ripe) and in season
2 tablespoons sugar
pinch of salt
5 tablspoons créme fraiche (or sour cream in a pinch)

For the Streusal
1/4 cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoons quinoa flour (or all-purpose flour)
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1/4 cup cold butter, cut into pieces


1. Prepare your crust. Set aside. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2, Makes the streusal. Mix together powdered sugar, quinoa flour, baking powder, and salt. Using a fork, a pastry cutter, or your fingers, work cold butter into flour until pea sized chunks form. Store in fridge until ready for use.

3. Prepare peaches: pit and slice peaches. Toss in a medium bowl with sugar and salt.

4. Assemble the pie

Spread 2 tablespoons créme fraiche on the bottom of the crust. Sprinkle with 1/3 of the streusal.

Top with peaches (you can arrange them neatly or toss them in higledy piggledy. They'll taste good either way. Really. I promise.) Top with the other 3 tablespoons of créme fraiche...
and sprinkle with the remaining streusal.

5. Cook the pie in preheated oven for about 50 minutes, until the streusal is golden brown and the creme fraiche is bubbly. Let cool before serving, if you can wait.



Here is a possible sub I found:
1 cup Tofutti Cream Cheese (or other Vegan Cream Cheese)
2½ tbs almond, rice or soymilk
1 tsp of lemon or lime juice

OR
in a blender
3/4 cup vanilla (or unsweetened) soy milk
1 tablespoon lemon juice
blend for a minute and a half on high
mix well 1 cup of sunflower oil (or 1/4 almond and 3/4 sunflower oil) with 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract and a tablespoon maple syrup...add this mixture very slowly, in one thin stream, while still blending on high, and keep blending until it gets really thick. (it should get thick as you get to the end of the oil)

Tags: substitutes-dairy-cream/condensed milk

WOW! is all i have to say. these were/are un-fucken-believable. the chai addiction gains strength, like some kind of careening juggernaut! NOM. repeat, nom.



( pictures + recipe onward )

Tags: desserts-cupcakes

Does anyone have a recipe for Sticky Date Pudding?

I haven't had it in years, and someone suggested I cook it this weekend. Hopefully it turns out wonderfully (and photogenic).

Tags: desserts-puddings