Cornbread

This is the only cornbread recipe that I have ever made that came out right. I found the recipe on food.com and adapted it slightly to fit what I had on hand. This is literally the best cornbread I think I have ever had! Here is what you need:

3 tsp Ener G egg replacer powder
6 Tbs water
1 cup unbleached flour
1 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup soymilk
1/4 cup oil                                                  

                                          

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Spray an 8x8 baking dish with Pam. Mix together the Ener G powder and the water until frothy. Stir in the rest of the ingredients and mix until combined. Pour into pan and bake for 25 minutes. Enjoy!

 

Homemade Ranch Dressing

1 cup of tofu sour cream
1/2 cup grapeseed oil veganise
2 Tbs dill weed

Mix together and enjoy

Potato Pancakes

A few weeks ago I had Potato Pancakes at Ethos Vegan Kitchen and while they were good they tasted a bit sweet. Ever since that day I have been thinking about what I would have done differently. Now don't get me wrong the potato pancakes at Ethos are delicious, but they are more pancakes with potatoes in them than cakes made of potatoes. I set out to make the perfect potato pancake. I even invited my mom over for breakfast so that I would have the non veg perspective on these. The recipe made 10 and we ate each and every one of them! They turned out really well, here is what you need:

 

2 cups shredded potatoes

1/2 cup diced onion

1 Tbs Freeze dried chives or 3 Tbs fresh chives, chopped

1 1/2 tsp Ener G egg replacer powder

2 Tbs water

3 oz shredded vegan cheese

Olive oil ( for cooking)

 

In a larger bowl mix the egg replacer powder and water together until frothy. Mix in the rest of the ingredients. Heat some olive oil in a large skillet and add the potato mixture in the shape of patties. Cook until golden brown on both sides. Serve with homemade ranch dressing.

 

 

Chickpea Salad

This year for my birthday my mom gave me one of her mixing bowls I have been coveting for 25 plus years. She has had the bowl as long as I can remember and as a young girl I always dreamed it would be mine. I always thought it was special when she would let me use it growing up and knowing my love for the bowls she gifted them to me.

July was also a special month for me because I hit my 2 year vegaversary. I went to lunch yesterday at Ethos in Winter Park to celebrate. While the food was good- I kept thinking: my food is just as good! 

One thing is for sure the longer you cook veg the better it gets! This is a take on "tuna salad" from the Happy Herbivore cookbook. I didn't have some of the ingredients they called for so I rolled up my sleeves and put on my thinking cap. Here is what you need:

1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed 

1 stalk of celery, finely diced

1/2 small onion , finely diced

1/4 cup chopped olives ( green or black)

1 tsp smoked salt

Pepper to taste

Veganise ( the amount needed depends on how wet you want your salad)

In a mixing bowl mash the chickpeas with a fork. Add in the rest of the ingredients and mix. Serve immediately or chill first if desired. Enjoy!

Veggie Pot Pie

Before going vegan I would eat chicken pot pie at least once a month; it was one of my favorite foods. It hit me this week that I could totally make it without the chicken- so I did! I'm not sure why it took me almost two years to figure it out, but I will say I won't let that happen again . Here is what you need: 

2 pre-made crusts ( be careful to check for animal products when buying I didn't see any in the Publix brand. 

1/2 bag of frozen peas and carrots

1 onion, diced

8 oz mushrooms, sliced

1/2 cup of tofu 

1/8 cup of non-dairy milk

1 Tbs olive oil

1/2 Tbs diced garlic 

1-2 potatoes, diced and cooked ( can used can potatoes in a hurry)

1-2 veggie bouillon 

In a blender puree the tofu and non-dairy milk. 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and pre-bake your bottom crust ( about 10-12 minutes)

Sautée your onion, mushrooms  and garlic in the olive oil, once onions are translucent add in the frozen veggies, tofu mixture, bouillon cubes and potatoes. Cook for a minute or two to heat through. Pour into pre-baked crust and cover with remaining crust. Poke a couple of vents into the top crust and bake until golden brown (10-12 minutes). Enjoy!

Cookie Butter Oatmeal

I like to read VegNews as soon as it arrives I am tearing through it... maybe it's because I feel even more isolated now that I've moved. It's weird for me to be home and vegan. My dad is trying not to tell me I'm crazy too much I'm sure but it's way more obvious I'm different daily living with him. The differences weren't as apparent while I was living alone, but back to the oatmeal. Living with dad we eat a lot of oatmeal. While reading through the latest VegNews I saw an article about vegan teens I found it inspiring as most of them admitted that their friends are not vegan. A few of them were asked what their favorite foods are and I was slightly surprised to see oatmeal listed. I was also excited for a new way to make oatmeal. While reading her ingredients I was perplexed as I had no idea what cookie butter was, my mom and I had a discussion about it and instead of turning to my good friend Mr. Internet we assumed it was a typo. Let me assure you it is NOT a typo. Cookie butter is amazing. We drove to Gainesville for my birthday last week and while wondering around Trader Joes I was surprised and delighted to see cookie butter sitting on the shelf. The only mistake I made was not buying more than one jar. Back to the oatmeal - here us what you need:

1 cup oatmeal

2 cups chai tea( next time I won't sweeten it)

2tsp cookie butter

1 handful of dried cranberries

1/4 cup walnuts

Now if you have the magazine you will see some slight variations ( I used what I had and didn't add the peanut butter), but trust me on this and use 1 tsp less cookie butter and replace it with peanut butter if you like.

Brew the tea and then cook the oatmeal in the tea. Stir in the rest of the ingredients and enjoy!

Pear Crisp

A super easy but delicious dessert. I was at Vive La Verde this week picking up some produce and the owner gave me 4 pears on my way out the store. He was a little perplexed when I told him I like my pears crunchy, but thought that they were perfect for baking (he is a raw vegan). Perfect for baking they were. I just peeled and sliced them and placed them in the bottom of a loaf pan. Poured a small amount of brown sugar over them. For the topping I used:
 2 tablespoons of Earth Balance Spread
1/4 cup of chopped walnuts
1/4 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup of Oats

I melted the spread in the microwave and then placed all the ingredients in a bowl to mix it together and poured it on top of the pears. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 375 degrees. Enjoy.