Veg for Life

Black Bean Enchiladas with Vegan Queso Sauce and Spanish Rice   This recipe does require some prep work. I used a one pound bag of dried black beans and made beans my usual way with a little vegetable bouillon, lightly seasoned with chili powder, cumin, garlic, and salt. Then I turned the beans into Chili by draining the liquid, sauteing onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Adding the drained black beans, and tomatoes, green chile peppers and corn. So far that was two meals, but I wanted to stretch it a little further. I diced some fresh zucchini. Put the zucchini in a colander and sprinkle salt over it to drain off the excess liquid. Saute the zucchini with minced onion, garlic, and pepper. Add the chili and you have an excellent enchilada filling. For a sauce I used the following 2 cups Vegan Mushroom Broth 1/2 cups Water 1 cup So Delicious Unsweetened Coconut Milk 2 Tbsp Soy Sauce 1 tsp Oregano 2 tsp Cumin 1 tsp Chili Powder 1 tsp Garlic Powder 1 tsp Onion P...

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Sometimes you just need the comfort of a warm bowl of oatmeal. This is made special by the addition of spiced Apple Cider. VegDad makes spiced cider a few times a year and after we are tired of drinking cider, I love to use the leftover for making oatmeal, apple butter, apple cakes, apple pies, etc. Recipe 2 cups Water 2 cups Spiced Apple Cider 1 cup John McCann's Steel Cut Irish Oatmeal 1 Granny Smith Apple, Diced 1/2 cup pecan or walnut pieces Pour water and cider into a large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Sprinkle in oats while stirring and lower temperature to medium. Stir in apple and nuts. Cook, stirring occasionally lowering temperature as needed to maintain a simmer, 30-35 minutes. Add a small amount of agave or demerara if desired.

If you are like me, you always have a small amount of beans or chickpeas leftover after your cornbread is gone. It isn't enough to be worth making another batch of cornbread, but you don't want to waste it. This recipe is a good way to get rid of those leftovers while enjoying the nostalgic flavors of meatloaf without the actual meat. Serve with potatoes, vegetables, and gravy, if desired. VegDad likes his loaf served over mashed potatoes, biscuits, corn and green beans with gravy over the top. I call it Neat Loaf. :) Whatever you decide to call it, I hope you will try this for dinner. Ingredients: 1/2 cup Cashews 2 Tbsp Olive Oil 1 Onion, diced 1 Large Garlic Clove, minced 1 Large Carrot, peeled and grated 1 Celery Stalk, diced 1 cup Mushrooms, cleaned and chopped 2 cups Mixed Cooked Beans (I used Chickpeas, Black-eyed Peas, and Pinto Beans) 1 cup cooked rice 1/4 to 1/2 cup tomato sauce, as needed 1 heaping Tbsp flax seed meal 1 tsp. Italian seasonin...

Peanut Butter Ice Cream We had a visitor over the weekend. Jason loves peanut butter, so VegDad suggested I let him try the peanut butter ice cream I had made last month. I got the ingredients together and put the ice cream base in the refrigerator Friday night, so when he arrived on Saturday I would be ready to make the ice cream. He liked the ice cream and asked me to post the recipe, so here it is. Modified from the Peanut Butter Ice Cream Recipe in Lick it! by Cathe Olson. Recipe 1 can (14 oz) Full Fat Coconut Milk * 1 cup So Delicious Coconut Milk, Unsweetened 1/3 cup Peanut Butter 1/2 cup Demerara Sugar or Agave Syrup 1 tsp vanilla Whisk ingredients together until smooth. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Pour into your ice cream maker and freeze according to your ice cream maker's instructions. I prefer making this right before I am going to serve it while the ice cream is still like soft serve. If you have more than you need, put the remain...

Waffles I like having waffles for breakfast on special occasions. This is a recipe for a double batch of waffles. You can put half or more of these in the freezer, so they are ready and waiting for your next special day. The coconut cream will not last that long, but you can use it to top desserts, vegan sundaes, or coffee. My can of coconut milk didn't separate so I could only whisk it to soft peaks. It was still tasty, even if it wasn't quite as pretty. You can replace half of the oil in this recipe with mashed banana, pureed pumpkin, or applesauce. My kids need the extra fat and calories so I just use the oils most of the time. Waffles 3/4 cup Warm Water 1/4 cup Flax Meal 2 cups Unbleached All Purpose Flour 1&1/3 cups Spelt Flour 2/3 cup Coconut Flour 8 tsp Baking Powder 1/2 tsp Salt 3&3/4 cups So Delicious Coconut Milk, Unsweetened 1/2 cup Demerara Sugar 1/2 cup Canola Oil 1/2 cup Light Olive Oil 2 tsp vanilla 1/2 cup Unsweetened Shredded...

Chickpea Potato Curry with Rice Everyone agreed this was better after an addition of raisins. I will try to make it again with raisins and naan bread on the side. VegDad was very impressed with the curry. This recipe might not be as child friendly as my others, my kids were not all that thrilled with the curry experience although, the raisins made it slightly more palatable for them. Chickpea Potato Curry 1 Tbsp Olive Oil 2 cloves of Garlic 1 Small Onion (diced) 2 cups Chickpeas (cooked & drained) 2 Medium Potatoes (diced) 8 oz. lite coconut milk 1/2 cup sweet peas 1/2 Tbsp Hot Madras Curry Powder 1/4 tsp Cumin 1/8 tsp Chipotle Chili Powder 1/2 tsp Salt 1/4 cup raisins Saute onions and garlic in olive oil until golden in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add chickpeas, potatoes, coconut milk, peas, and seasonings. Simmer stirring occasionally for 20 minutes. Add raisins and serve over rice or with naan or chapatis.

Pineapple Pecan Cream Cheese Muffin I had frozen pineapple, pecan, and partial containers of vegan sour cream and vegan cream cheese. I could not waste these precious ingredients, so the idea for these muffins was born out of my efforts to utilize every scrap of food. I'm okay with that since it can lead to the utter deliciousness that is these muffins. My children devoured their muffins in minutes. Recipe 1 cup Unbleached All Purpose or White Wheat Flour 2/3 cup Spelt Flour 1/3 cup Coconut Flour 1 Tbsp Baking Powder 3/4 tsp Salt 1/8 cup Sour Cream Substitute or Plain Vegan Yogurt 1/8 cup Cream Cheese Substitute 1/3 cup Demerara Sugar 1 cup + 2 Tbsp So Delicious Coconut Milk 1/4 cup Canola Oil 1 tsp vanilla 1/2 cup Pineapple Chunks cut into small pieces 1/3 cup Pecan Pieces Grease or spray muffin tin with oil. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Measure flours, baking powder, and salt into a medium sized mixing bowl. Set aside. Measure sour cream substitute o...

Tofu Strips Now this recipe takes serious commitment and planning.  I wasn't even going to post it.  My husband and children insisted that the effort was totally worth waiting three days for the tofu to be ready.  I know what you are thinking, "She has lost her mind if she thinks I know what we are having three days ahead of time."  Don't worry, it doesn't have to bee that organized.  If you know at some point during the week you are going to want fried rice, you can have the tofu already pressed and in the freezer, or thawing in the refrigerator, or soaking in the marinade.  See, totally uncomplicated.  This tofu is completely worth the effort. Recipe 14 oz Block of Firm Tofu (Not Silken) Marinade 1/8 cup Toasted Sesame Oil 1/8 cup Soy Sauce 1/8 cup Lemon Juice 2 tsp. Chili Garlic Sauce First, you press all the liquid out of the tofu with a tofu press.  Leave tofu in the press in your refrigerator for one day.  Pour off the li...

Vegan Cheddar Biscuits Before I was vegan I was loved cheddar biscuits, I finally decided to try Daiya Shreds Cheddar Style Vegan Cheese. My family and I loved the results.  These biscuits would go nicely with the potato crusted frittata or with mashed potatoes, gravy, and what my kids call veat loaf.  http://www.veganlunchbox.com/loaf_studio.html I skipped the drenching the biscuits in butter/Earth Balance.  In my opinion, they are tasty enough without the extra fat.  If you like yours buttery, by all means melt a tablespoon or two of Earth Balance margarine to brush over them. Vegan Cheddar Biscuits 1 cup Unbleached All Purpose or White Wheat Flour 1 cup Spelt Flour 2 tsp. Baking Powder 1 tsp. Salt 1 tsp. Demerara Sugar A Few Grinds of Fresh Black Pepper 1/3 cup Non-Hydrogenated Shortening 1/2 cup Daiya Shreds Cheddar Style 1 Tbsp. Lime Juice 1 cup So Delicious Coconut Milk or Non Dairy Milk of Choice Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Ligh...

Naturally Orange flavored Coconut Pecan Muffins I don't know what it is exactly, but the last few days recipes have just been popping into my brain. I have been coming up with something new every day. It has been so hot here that I have been doing most, if not all of my baking at night. These muffins were the result of a 1 AM brainstorm.  My family loves them and has deemed this recipe blog worthy.  High praise, indeed.  I hope that you will like them as much as we do. Orange flavored Coconut Pecan Muffins 3/8 cup Warm Water mixed with 1/8 cup of Flax Meal 1/3 cup Demerara Sugar 1 cup So Delicious Coconut Milk Unsweetened (or Non Dairy Milk of Choice) 1/3 cup Orange Juice 1/4 cup Extra Light Olive Oil (or Canola Oil) 1 cup Unbleached All Purpose Flour (or White Wheat) 2/3 cup Spelt Flour 1/3 cup Coconut Flour 1 Tbsp. Baking Powder 1 tsp. Salt 1/2 cup Unsweetened Shredded Coconut 1/2 cup Pecan Pieces Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Whisk togethe...

Potato Crusted Frittata Last night I decided to alter my tofu scramble slightly and add a shredded potato crust to make a frittata.  I loved the results as did my husband, the children were only slightly less receptive due to the visible chunks of vegetables.  They did both enjoy the flavor after overcoming their initial reluctance to try it. This is definitely a recipe that would work equally well with a salad for a light dinner or with fruit for a satisfying breakfast.  I hope you will enjoy it as much as we have.  Without further ado here is the recipe. Crust Recipe 2 Medium Potatoes 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt 1 Tbsp Light Olive Oil Salt and Pepper to taste Heat oven to 450 degrees.  Prepare an 8x8 casserole dish with Light Olive Oil.  Thoroughly wash potatoes.  Shred potatoes.  Place shredded potatoes into a colander in the sink.  Sprinkle with Kosher Salt.  After a few minutes squeeze liquid from the shredded potatoes and ...

Vegan Cherry Cream Cheese Pie My husband has been craving the Cherry Cream Cheese Pie he remembers from the summers before we went vegan. Our kids are less picky just wanted something sweet and cool. Today, I realized I was up to the task with a little help from Mama Pea with a vegan version of sweetened condensed milk . It looks like the old pie, it smells like the old pie, and yes, it tastes like the old pie. You can't see it, but I am definitely doing a victory dance here. As always, my non-dairy milk of choice for the sweetened condensed is So Delicious Coconut Milk. You are lucky I was able to get a camera shot of this it is disappearing fast. Next time, I might try adding another 4 oz of Cream Cheese substitute or using full fat canned coconut milk instead of So Delicious for the non dairy sweetened condensed milk to try for a thicker consistency, but the taste was awesome, as is.  Seriously, you should try it right now. Vegan Cherry Cream Cheese Pie 1 pkg. Ext...