Fancy Français Sugar Cookies

1 1/2 cup white flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/3 teaspoon salt
1 stick (or 1/2 cup) Earth Balance
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 egg replacer (I like to use 11/2 tsp flax)
Optional: 1/3 cup soy milk

1: Preheat oven to 375ºF
2: Very thoroughly mix all ingredients together, dry ingredients first, then wet ingredients.  Continue by adding soy milk (or water) one teaspoon at a time until mixture sticks together when squeezed (but is still a little bit crumbly).
3: Roll the batter out and create shapes using cookie cutters or do as I did and cut into squares with a pizza cutter.
4: Bake on a non-greased cookie sheet for 7-8 minutes.  Watch the time; remove from oven when slightly browned on the bottom.

Creamy Sugar Frosting:
2 cups confectioner's sugar
2 tbsp Earth Balance
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
Up to 3 tbsp of soy milk (add one tsp at a time until you reach the desired consistency)
neon food coloring

Fudge Frosting:
1 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
1/2 cup Hershey's powdered cocoa
2 tbsp Earth Balance
1 tbsp vanilla extract
Up to 3 tbsp of soy milk (add one tsp at a time until you reach the desired consistency)

TLT Sandwich

Tempeh, Lettuce and Tomato Sandwich

naan bread
Smoky Maple Bacon Marinated Tempeh
roma tomato
lettuce
Vegenaise

1: On medium heat, add enough olive oil to lightly coat a non-stick pan.  Add bacon strips and cook for three minutes on each side.
2: Lightly toast or warm flatbread.
3: Slice tomatoes, lettuce and add Vegenaise to flatbread.

Sausage Mac & Cheese

shell pasta
Tofurkey Italian Sausage (2)
1/2 package of Daiya Mozzarella
3 tbsp Earth Balance
seasoning (salt, pepper, Trader Joes' 21 Season Salute and/or parsley flakes)

1: Slice and saute two Italian sausages with a bit of olive oil.  Set aside.
2: Boil shell noodles until cooked al dente then strain and return to pot.
3: Add Daiya and Earth Balance and cook on medium until melted.
4: Season to your taste and enjoy!

*I made this reminiscing my mother's recipe of mac and cheese with ring baloney (eek!).

Simple Quesadillas

burrito-size tortilla

Daiya Mozzarella style

Daiya Cheddar style

Salsa

Earth Balance

1: Lightly butter one side of tortilla and place on medium-heat pan.

2: Add both kinds of cheese and a bit of salsa.  You can add peppers and olives if you'd like too, but I'm going for simple with this one. 

3: Butter another tortilla and place it on top.  Flip after side one is lightly browned (hopefully not as browned/burnt as the one pictured above!  Lol!)
4: Cut into 4 and enjoy! :)

Note: Sometimes I add black beans in there too. ;)

Fillo Pizza Bites

1 roll of Fillo
2 cups tomato sauce
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
oregano
paprika
italian seasoning
more oregano
Daiya mozzarella cheese


1: Preheat oven to 400 F
2: Heat tomato sauce on low adding small minced onions, herbs and spices.

3: Roll the fillo dough out (very carefully!!) and slice down the middle with a pizza cutter.  A knife will rip it, so I recommend not using one.

4: Put one tablespoon of the sauce mix on the left side with about one tablespoon of Daiya.

5: Fold ingredients into a triangle all the way down the length of fillo so as to seal the pizza bite.

6: Arrange on a cookie sheet and bake for about 4 minutes on each side.  You can also brush some olive oil on them to get them extra crisp.  I chose to do this for my first batch, but discontinued after realizing the fillo crisped enough on its own (for my taste).  Enjoy!

Zucchini Goulash

barilla pasta shells

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

oregano

Trader Joe's 21 season salute

1 cup tomato sauce

1 large zucchini

1: Saute onions with seasoning and a bit of olive oil.

2: Peel outer green off zucchini and discard (*cough* compost *cough*).  Then peel the rest of the zucchini in the same fashion, but this time keep it.

 3: Add zucchini to onions along with tomato sauce.  Add more seasoning to your taste.  More oregano is usually good.  Some garlic if you're in the mood for it, too.

4: Cook pasta according to direction, rinse and mix in with the sauce mixture.  That's it!  You can get more complex if you'd like to, adding black olives, garlic and even a green pepper.  Sometimes simple is good too, though.

Basmati Medley

Wow!  Every once in a while, I even surprise myself!  This was one of my most delicious recipes yet and and was so simple! To make it exactly as I did (recommended), you will need to shop Trader Joe's.  I'm sure you could substitute some of the ingredients...but I wouldn't!

2 cups organic vegetable broth

1 cup basmati rice medley

1 can white kidney beans

2 tbsp Earth Balance

Trader Joe's 21 Season Salute

2 pita pockets

spicy hummus

1: Traditionally, when rice is cooked over stovetop, you would use the 2:1 ratio; 2 cups water, 1 cup rice.  Instead of the water, I chose to use vegetable broth.  So add 2 cups vegetable broth and 1 cup basmati rice medley.  Also add 2 tbsp Earth Balance and 2 teaspoons of the 21 Season Salute seasoning. 

2: Bring to a boil, then immediately turn to low setting, cover and put a timer on for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes if the wild rice portion of this medley is still too hard for your taste, cook for an additional 5 minutes.

3: Add kidney beans and gently stir into the rice medley being careful not to mash the beans.

4: Serve with a side of pita triangles and spicy hummus for a deliciously simple and filling dish!  Yum!

Bean Burritos

A staple in our home.  We "heart" bean burritos.  And although I view them as simple to make, they do require all of the following ingredients:

Bean Mixture

2 cans organic pinto beans (or 3 cups if making from dried beans)

1/2 red onion, chopped

1/2 cup black olives, chopped

2 tbsp tomato sauce

2 tbsp Earth Balance

sweet paprika

ground cumin

cayenne pepper

salt and pepper

burrito-sized tortillas

Optional:

Light Balsamic Vinaigrette (watch the label!  Non-light is NOT Vegan!)

1: Saute onion with olive oil, adding all ingredients from the bean mixture listed above.

2: Cover and simmer on medium for about 6-7 minutes until beans are cooked thoroughly, being careful not to overcook, as the beans will get mushy.

3: Add to a tortilla along with a splash of light balsamic vinaigrette, which adds more zest than you'd think!  After you've had it, you won't want bean burritos without it!

Note: I make variations of this as well, including:

-1 can pintos with 1 can black beans

-1/2 cup Daiya melted in (for bean and cheese burritos) and baking in the oven until crisp

- adding more cumin while cooking the beans then dressing the burrito with lettuce, tomatoes and salsa for something more taco-like.

Spaghetti & Meatballs

Nate's Zesty Italian Meatless Meatballs

1 1/2 cups tomato sauce

1/2 onion, chopped

oregano flakes and/or powder (fresh is best, though!)

salt & pepper

paprika

cayenne pepper

Ronzi whole wheat thin spaghetti

1: Boil pasta according to directions, strain and set aside.

2: Saute onion with a bit of olive oil, until soft.

3: Add sauce, oregano, 1 tsp paprika and about 15 meatless meatballs, cover and cook on low heat for 15 minutes, stirring every few minutes.

4: Add a bit of cayenne to spice it up along with salt and pepper to taste.

5: Pour over spaghetti and serve.

Note: I added oven toasted Oroweat HealthFull Nutty Grain bread with Earth Balance and a sprinkle of Pepperjack Daiya to the side as well as Candied Carrots.

Candied Carrots

6 carrots

1/2 red or yellow onion, chopped

2 tbsp Earth Balance

1 tbsp brown sugar

1: Saute onions in pot.

2: Peel and thinly slice carrots.

3: Add carrots, Earth Balance and brown sugar to the pot, mixing thoroughly.

4: Simmer on low-medium for 10 minutes, until carrots are soft, but not mushy.

Burgers & Fries

Just a simpler way to make burgers and fries...the healthy way!

tortillas (instead of a bun!)

Vegan Boca burgers

1/2 red onion

lettuce

pickles

6 russet potatoes

olive oil

italian seasoning

seasoned salt

1: Preheat oven to 425º F

2: Peel and cut potatoes into long vertical pieces.

3: Blanche them in a pot of boiling water for about 7-8 minutes, but watch them so they don't get too soft!

4: Strain them and place them in a bowl with 2 tsp of italian seasoning and 2 tsp olive oil.  Mix well, making sure not to break the potatoes.

5: Bake for 15 minutes, flipping midway through for even browning, adding salt and pepper if you wish.

I like to make fries this way because it involves less grease, no fillers that are found in the frozen variety...and they taste much better!

The burgers can be made by simply slicing the onions, adding olive oil to the pan to help ease the stick of the Boca patty and browning on both sides.  I opted to use tortillas instead of a big heavy bun, but you can also use a large lettuce leaf as a bun if you're trying to cut carbs.

Mint Marble Cookies

Mint Marble Cookies

Part 1:
1 1/2 cup whole wheat (or white) flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick (or 1/2 cup) Earth Balance
   (you can use 1/2 cup vegetable if you need to)
1 tbsp vanilla
1 egg replacer (I like to use flax)

Part 2:
1/2 cup cocoa
Trader Joe's Mint UFO chocolates

1: Preheat oven to 375ºF
2: Very thoroughly mix all ingredients from Part 1 together, adding water a teaspoon at a time until mixture sticks together when squeezed (but is still a little bit crumbly).
3: Add 1/2 cup cocoa.  It is extremely important that you fold the cocoa into the batter and not mix it together.  You want the batter to be "marbled" not completely brown, so once the cocoa is absorbed into the batter, STOP.
4: Roll the batter out and create shapes using cookie cutters or do as I did and use a small canning jar/glass dipped in flour (to avoid sticking) to create equal-sized circles.
5: Add a mint UFO to the top and bake on a non-greased cookie sheet for 7-8 minutes.  Watch the time; remove from oven when slightly browned on the bottom.

Alternate: If you like things extra minty, you could also keep the cocoa portion of this recipe separate, mix 1 tsp mint extract with 2 tsp water into the cocoa and then slowly add the cocoa to mix as describe above in step 3.

Avocado Sandwich

Avocado Sandwich

2 medium/large avocados

1 roma tomato

1/2 red onion

ciabatta loaf (watch the labels, if buying from a bakery!)

olive oil

sea salt & pepper

1: Preheat oven to 400ºF

2: Warm ciabatta loaf for about 7-8 minutes.

3: Cut down the center, sandwich style and dip one (or both sides) in olive oil.

4: Sprinkle salt & pepper on bread and add toppings.

Yum! :)

Pizza Crisps

tortilla

tomato sauce

1/2 red onion

Daiya pepperjack cheese

salt & pepper

oregano flakes

Nate's Zesty Italian Meatless Meatballs

Earth Balance

1: Preheat oven to 400ºF

2: Spread a very thin layer of Earth Balance on the back of a tortilla.

3: On the other side, spread a very thin layer of tomato sauce on the tortilla, being careful not to add too much.  (I learned the hard way: too much sauce = soggy crisp!).  Add oregano flakes salt and pepper to sauce and mix around

 4: Add thinly sliced onions and any other vegetable toppings.  I like to use whatever is on hand.  Sometimes olives, roasted garlic, green and red peppers...whatever you like! 

5: Lightly sprinkle Daiya over crisp, but not too much, as this is supposed to be a light pizza.

6: Cook for 4 minutes (not any longer or it will burn!!).  Enjoy!

 (This is how crispy it gets after just 4 minutes)

Optional:

Nate's Zesty Italian Meatless Meatballs.

They weren't too "zesty" in my opinion, so I sauted them on the stovetop in tomato sauce, cayenne pepper, salt, black pepper and oregano powder.  Then I baked them for five minutes before I sliced them up and added them to the raw crisps, which I baked for 4 minutes.

Steak & Potatoes

Steak & Potatoes

(for 2)

4 large russet potatoes

4 Vegan Boca Burgers

1 packet of Hains Vegetarian Brown Gravy Mix

Daiya pepperjack cheese

1/2 red onion, sliced

parsley

Earth Balance vegan spread

cumin

soy milk

1: Peel and cut up four russet potatoes into small squares (cooks faster) and add to medium pot of boiling water.  Cook until tender, but not too soft, maybe 7 or 8 minutes.  Drain and set aside.

2: Splash a little olive oil in a nonstick pan and add sliced red onions.  Next add Boca patties and cook for approximately six minutes on medium heat.  Sprinkle a little cumin on top.

3: Before turning, make sure that you add a little more oil, as the burgers are prone to sticking, no matter which kind of pan you use.  Cook for six minutes on side two as well, sprinkling a little more cumin on top.

4: Remove from heat. slice with a spatula, add Pepperjack Daiya, COVER and set aside.  (Covering it while it's still hot will allow the Daiya to melt without overcooking your burger pieces)

5: Make the Hains Vegetarian Gravy as instructed, which is 1 cup boiling water to one packet, constantly stirring until thick.  I like to make my own gravies too (that recipe later!), but this was a quicker alternative.

6: Mash potatoes with a potato masher adding 2 tbsp Earth Balance, a splash of soy milk, white pepper and salt with a sprinkle of parsley.

7: Pile potatoes on plate, carefully adding the "steak" strips over the top.  Drizzle the gravy over the top and I'm telling you, I even surprised myself with how delicious this was!!

Optional side dish: Cheesy Cauliflower & Broccoli

Cheesy Cauliflower & Broccoli

Cheesy Cauliflower & Broccoli

raw or frozen cauliflower
raw or frozen broccoli
Earth Balance vegan spread
Daiya cheddar cheese
salt & pepper

1: Saute vegetables in a medium sized pot with 2 tbsp Earth Balance along with a dash of salt and pepper.  Cover and cook on low-medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2: Add just enough Daiya (1/4 -1/2 cup, depending on how much vegetables you used) to pot, mixing until thoroughly melted and covered.  Try not to mix too long, as the Daiya will begin to stick to the pan!  Enjoy! :)

Chik'n & Eggs

Tofu Scrambled Eggs



1/2 twin package of firm tofu
1/2 red onion
1/2 tsp curry powder
1 tbsp Earth Balance
nutritional yeast
dash of cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste


Optional:
Daiya Pepperjack Vegan Cheese
red and/or green peppers

1: Preheat pan with a splash of olive oil on medium heat.
2: Crumble tofu with your fingers as you place it in the pan, making a chunky sort of scrambled look
3: Add onions, curry, Earth balance, nutritional yeast (add a little at a time until you're comfortable with the flavor, as too much can be overwhelming) and any other vegetables you'd normally eat with eggs
4: Lightly brown the tofu, flipping and stirring occasionally until lightly browned, maybe 7-10 minutes total

5: Add Daiya either while cooking and mix it in, or like I did, after cooking, as a topping.  If you choose to add it after, place a lid over the eggs and let sit on a *low temperature* burner for five minutes until the Daiya is completely melted.

I made this particular meal with Boca Chik'n Patties as a special treat for my Vegan friend who had an intense craving for chicken and eggs upon waking.  The Chik'n patties were delicious baked in the oven until crispy with a lightly toasted onion bun!  Yum!

Vegan Mocha

1 cup drip coffee
3/4 cup Silk Very Vanilla Soy Milk
2 tbsp Hershey's Special Dark Syrup


Options:
espresso (if you have an espresso machine)
rice or soy whipped cream
Sweet & Sara mini marshmallows

1: Add Hershey's syrup and coffee to mug and stir until thoroughly mixed
2: Heat soy milk in a medium sized pot on high heat
3: Right before the milk begins to boil, remove from heat and beat with a whisk until frothy
4: Add to an extra-large, cozy, rainy-day mug, holding back foam with whisk until the very top.  Enjoy! :)


Side note: this isn't just my cheaply-fabulous way to make a mocha...Seattle has many, many coffee drive-thru cafes, many of which I discovered, used Hershey's syrup as the "mocha"!  Tricky!

Red Bean Samosa

1 cup red beans

1/2 red onion

1 cup mashed potatoes (either from scratch or instant)

1/4 cup Daiya cheddar cheese

3 large tortillas, sliced in half

1 cup romaine lettuce

curry powder

1: Preheat oven to 400°F

2: Saute chopped red onion in a medium-sized pan then add red beans.

3: Cook red beans on medium heat until soft enough to mash.  At this point, also add the mashed potatoes.

4: Curry is a very tricky spice.  If you add too little, you might as well not have added any.  If you add too much, however, you'll feel like you've taken a bite of an incense stick from your local hippy shop!  My advice: add slowly, simmer for a minute, then taste.  The flavor comes out the slower you cook the beans.  You can also add peas at this point if you'd like, however, I like to reserve peas for the more traditional samosa.

5: Take the 1/2 tortilla and cut the rounded part off the top.  You'll have to maneuver the bean/potato mixture around until you're able to make a triangle envelope out of this thing.  Do some experimenting here!

6: Bake samosa on a baking sheet for approximately 6 minutes, or until lightly browned.  You can flip it over at this point if you'd like both sides browned, or just leave as is to enjoy a softer samosa.

7: Spread over a bed of romaine lettuce and enjoy with a balsamic vinaigrette or a homemade pepper vinaigrette (if you're feeling saucy).

This is also delicious with a side of roasted pepper rice. :)