Thai Lettuce Wraps

These come from one of our favorite cookbooks: Everyday Happy Herbivore

Thai Lettuce Wraps:

• Thai Peanut sauce (see below)
• 1/2 c. cooked brown rice
• 1 c. cubed tofu
• 1 cucumber, shredded
• 1 carrot, shredded
• 6 lettuce leaves
• bean sprouts (optional). we use micro-greens instead since we can't ever find bean sprouts.
• 3 green onions (optional)
• fresh cilantro (optional)
• juice of lime wedges (optional)

Spoon all the ingredients, except lime wedges, into lettuce wraps. Squeeze fresh lime juice over the top if desired. Drizzle with Thai Peanut Sauce and serve.

Thai Peanut Sauce:

• 1 T. PB 
• 1 T. warm water
• 1 T. sweet chili sauce
• juice of 1 lime wedge
• 2 tsp. soy sauce
• 1 1/4 tsp. rice vinegar
• few light dashes of garlic powder (granulated)
• few light dashes of ginger
• 1 to 2 drops Sriracha (Asian hot sauce)  (we've never used this)
• 1 T. nondairy milk

In small bowl, combine PB, water, chili sauce, lime juice, soy sauce, rice vinegar, garlic pwdr, ground ginger and Sriracha.  Microwave for 20 seconds, whisk, then whisk in nondairy milk. Taste, adding more hot sauce as desired. 

**note: we always at least double the sauce recipe, and we never measure exactly the veggies. Just put whatever.  It's so easy to pack up and have for lunch the next day, and my kids really love it!

Vegan French Toast

Here's a really yummy Engine 2 recipe that we tried out this morning. Good thing Nate was already at work because the three of us ate the whole batch!  There are no eggs or milk in this and I actually greatly prefer the taste to regular french toast.

• 1 banana, mashed
• 1/2 c. milk substitute (we used vanilla soy)
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 4-6 slices whole grain bread

Combine the banana, milk substitute, vanilla and cinnamon in a shallow bowl. Dip the bread slices in the mixture and cook in a nonstick skillet on medium heat for 2 minutes on each side, or until lightly browned. 

Can serve with maple syrup, powdered sugar, and/or fruit. 

As you can see, we really enjoyed these!

Energy Bites

Once upon a time Nate and I made vegan cookies. And literally, it was only once.

We decided if we're going to be making desserts we'd best be making good ones.  Then a friend introduced me to these tasty things and we're revamping our decisions. This is a vegan dessert we can totally get behind.

There's no picture because we've eaten almost all of them. We each decided to save two for tomorrow, but that's hardly enough for a picture. Plus the ones on this blog are way better anyway.

These things are awesome!

Pesto Pasta

We've tried this Engine 2 recipe a couple times. I'd give it a 4 out of 5 stars. It's also good the next day cold, though, so maybe I'll give it an extra point since you can get two meals out of it.

ingredients:

• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 c. home-toasted walnuts (just heat on skillet with a bit of Braggs Liquid Aminos)
• 3 bunches or 2 c. fresh basil, packed
• 1/2 c. soy milk or water

• 16 oz. bow tie (or any other kind) pasta

Blend the garlic and nuts briefly in a food processor. Add the basil and liquid, and process to a thick consistency. Toss well with the pasta.

As a general cooking policy, I add salt (to everything). This is also good as a dip/spread for triscuits or other salty crackers. 

Mighty Muffins

We've made these several times now and my family loves them.  They're really healthy and really filling; I just ate two of these bad boys and feel stuffed to the rafters.   It's another Engine 2 recipe.

ingredients:

• 3 c. oat bran (I sometimes use half ground ww)
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 4 T. sweetener (I use agave)
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 large apple, grated
• 6 brown bananas, lightly mashed (leave some chunks)
• 1/4 c. walnuts, chopped or halved
• 1/4 c. raisins
• 3/4 c. water

Preheat oven to 375. Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Squeeze the juice of the lemon onto the combined apple and bananas. Add walnuts, raisins and water. Combine the wet and dry ingredients into one bowl. Pour into sprayed muffin tins and bake for 45 minutes* or until golden brown on top. 

Variations: Bake the batter in a loaf pan.

Add three thinly-sliced pears or 1 c. of 70% pure cocoa chips to the batter.

*The recipe says it makes 6 muffins. I don't know where you get muffin tins that big, but this recipe makes 18 muffins for us. The batter doesn't really rise when you cook it so you can fill the muffin cups pretty full.  I bake the muffins for 15-18 minutes and they're good. They'll still seem a bit doughy b/c of the bananas, but that just makes them moist. So don't over bake them! When the toothpick comes out clean they're good to go. 

Macaroni & Not-Cheese

This isn't a knock-your-socks-off meal, but it was surprisingly good, the kids both liked it and it's way better than "real" mac & cheese--even the Trader Joe's brand. We'll for sure be making it again.

ingredients:

• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 c. cashews
• 1/3 c. lemon juice
• 1 1/3 c. water
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 4-oz. jar roasted red peppers, drained
• 3 T. nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. onion powder
• 16 oz. whole grain elbow pasta, cooked

Saute onion on medium heat until translucent. In food processor, combine first five ingredients. Gradually blend in the other ingredients (obviously not the pasta).  Thoroughly toss sauce with cooked pasta. Bake @ 425 about 20 minutes until golden brown on top.

*I did it in a 9x13, uncovered. Seemed to work well. I also used rotini noodles b/c that's all we had. 

Unparmesan cheese

We love pizza. Let me restate that: we love pizza. But in a move away from dairy, we've been pleasantly surprised to discover two things:
one, we don't need cheese like we thought we did. and two, this is a delicious pizza topping.

Blend the following until fine texture:

• 1/2 c. raw cashews
• 1/3 c. nutritional yeast
• pinch of sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. onion powder
• 1/4 tsp. garlic powder

While blending, add 1 tsp. lemon juice and blend until mixture becomes coarse crumbs. 

This is a delicious pizza topping. But note that if you use it as a topping, put in on the top and not right over the sauce or it gets really pasty. We made a pizza with Mom's ww pizza crust, then sauce, then spinach, mushrooms, peppers and onions. Sprinkle a bit of this unparmesan on it and it's delish. We sprinkled a bit on top both before and after we cooked it and couldn't really tell the difference.

This is a really good topping for pastas, breadsticks, even popcorn. Try it out and tell me if you find another use for it!

Curry in a Hurry?

I love the book "I Dare You to Eat It" because it has been helping me plan meals using my food storage and, novel to me... plan my meals! So last night I got home around 7 and had to make a quick meal plus put Aaron to bed. This recipe was not only a life-saver, but Adam said it was "the best meal [he's] had in a long time!" It is easily converted to vegan or vegetarian, and uses canned, frozen, or fresh items.

Coconut Beef Curry

1 can beef chunks
1 can coconut milk
1 can diced potatoes
1 can sliced carrots
1 can peas
2 T. flour
4 t. curry powder
1/4 t. ground red pepper
1 envelope Lipton Onion Soup mix

cilantro, chopped

Combine everything but the cilantro in a medium pot (drain vegetables). Simmer for 10 minutes and serve over hot rice, garnished with fresh, chopped cilantro. *I also added coconut and peanuts to ours. Adam said, "Wow! This just went from a meal that I like a lot to a meal that I really want to eat a lot of!" So there you have it. Easy easy easy and amazing.


Oh, and I used frozen ingredients this time but the author of the book says it is a great way to disguise canned vegetables. Good, since I hate them and wouldn't know what to do with them in my food storage without recipes like this.

Steadfast Winter Soup

Based on a book I read a while ago, I've tried to make bigger lunches and smaller dinners. Especially during the winter, soup with a little bit of bread or fruit on the side is our favorite thing, and I've been trying to make a DIFFERENT soup EVERY night (or close to it) so now I'm posting what has been a clear favorite thus far. It is chock full of veggies (it's vegan) so it takes some chopping time! But it's SO worth it, and super healthy. :) This soup is SO flavorful, and every time we've made it I've felt compelled to quote Kung Fu Panda: "I wish my mouth was bigger!" It's not very colorful, but once you get past that, even my toddlers gobble this soup!

Oh, it came out of the book "Vegan Soups and Hearty Stews for ALL seasons" by Nava Atlas. I've been SUPER impressed with almost all the soups we've tried out of this book so far. Vegan or not, this book would totally be worth your money if you're into (healthy) soup.

'Steadfast Winter Soup'

chop time: 25 minutes

cook time: 40 minutes (For me, the whole thing takes a little longer than an hour, because I'm slow)

makes 4 servings (it easily feeds our family of 4 twice, but then we do have toddlers)

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped

1/4 small cabbage, cored and thinly sliced (about 2 cups)

2 Medium carrots, thinly sliced

2 medium parsnips, thinly sliced (these look like white carrots...I had to ask for help to find them. In my grocery store, they come in bags of 4, so I double the recipe which also helps use up the cabbage)

One 15-oz can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

One 14.5-oz. can WHOLE tomatoes with liquid, chopped (chop them IN the can to avoid mess)

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 small potato, such as Yukon Gold or Red, diced

2 C. Water

1 tsp dried Thyme

1/2 tsp. salt

1 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar

pinch of sugar or natural sweetener

ground black pepper

chopped fresh parsley (I use dried)

Saute the onion in the oil (in your soup pot) for 3-5 minutes, or until softened. Add cabbage, carrots, and parsnips. Cover and continue cooking until the vegetables are soft, about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. (make sure to smell it as you stir...it's a heavenly peek into what you'll be tasting later)

Stir in the beans, garlic, potato, tomatoes, water, thyme, and salt. Bring pot to boil. Cover, and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 20-30 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in the balsamic vinegar and sugar. Salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve.

(Tonight, we served it with Garlic bread and oranges...yummy!)

Waffles

It may be silly to post a recipe for waffles, but I really like this particular recipe. We will often times make baggies with the dry ingredients so that it's a quick fix-up in the morning, or you can make them ahead of time, freeze them, then thaw them in a toaster for your own "eggo waffles." 

(This recipe comes from the Ivory cookbook, through Make-a-wish foundation)

1 3/4 cups flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs (vegan: egg replacer)

1 3/4 c. milk (vegan: soy milk)

1/2 c. vegetable oil

mix ingredients, and bake in a hot waffle iron.

Corn Chowder

This is a yummy corn chowder recipe from Jeremy's aunt. It's easily modified for a vegan version, and is very yummy. Freezes well. 

Corn Chowder

Aunt Candy's recipe book, modified Bratten's Clam chowder

1 c. chopped onion

1 c. celery, diced

2 c. potatoes diced (red potatoes don't need to be peeled)

put in a large pan, add just enough water to cover

simmer over medium heat until potatoes are tender

¾ c. butter (vegan: use soy butter)

¾ c. flour

in a separate pan, melt butter, add flour and blend.

Cook 1-2 minutes.

2 c. evaporated milk (vegan: add powdered soy milk to regular soy milk, for a 2:1 milk:water ratio)

add milk and cook until smooth and thick. Whisk out lumps.

½ tsp. Sugar

1 can corn, drained

½ tsp salt and pepper

add undrained vegetables, corn, and combine everything. Season to taste

Sneaky Momma's Tomato Sauce

This tomato sauce is YUMMY YUMMY YUMMY! Not to mention, it has Kale in it! One of those super-healthy foods that everyone's afraid to try. Well, blended into a sauce, you'd never know it's there (that's why I tried this recipe) and it's delicious! (It comes from the AWESOME vegan cookbook "Vegan Lunchbox," which is designed for kid-friendly vegan food)

Note: When you buy Kale at the store, one bunch is enough to triple this recipe. It freezes well, and when it's tripled, makes just under 7 quart jars of sauce. This sauce can be used in pastas, lasagna, or anything else you need a tomato sauce for. But I recommend not trying to triple the recipe in one step unless you have a REALLY large pot. My biggest soup pot wasn't big enough, and made for a REALLY messy kitchen.

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/2 c. chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper (optional)

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 (28 oz) cans whole peeled tomatoes, drained (I think I forgot to drain them...)

1 (6 oz) can tomato paste

1 cup shredded basil leaves

2 cups shredded kale leaves

1 large carrot, grated

2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp dried thyme

pinch of dried red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

3/4 tsp salt (or to taste)

- Heat the olive oil in a wide saucepan over medium heat. Saute the onion (and red bell pepper) until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and saute, stirring constantly, for 1 more minute.

- Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, basil, kale, carrot, parsley, oregano, thyme, and red pepper flakes. break the whole tomatoes apart with the back of a wooden spoon and stir until everything is well blended. When the mixture begins to bubble, lower the heat and cook on low, stirring occasionally, for about one hour.

-let cool slightly, then transfer the tomato sauce to a blender, working in batches if necessary. Blend until completely smooth, then transfer to a clean saucepan and stir over low heat until warm. Add the sugar, pepper and salt. 

Just a note: we skipped the re-heating at the end because we were only making this sauce to freeze. So that meant we also left out the last 3 ingredients and it was still delicious. But I'm sure you could add them before you blend if you want to skip the re-heating step. 

Snobby Joes

This is a vegan recipe for Sloppy Joes out of my vegan cookbook, "Veganomicon."  The recipe lacks a little bit of texture, which my sister brilliantly remedied by adding some of our leftover Cracked Wheat from breakfast that morning. So for those of you who love to have one meal work for two, make cracked wheat for breakfast, then add the leftovers to your snobby joes that night (and feel free to freeze the leftover snobby joes for later use!) 

1 cup uncooked lentils (we used red lentils, because we happened to have a ton)

4 cups water

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, diced

1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 Tbsp chili powder2 tsp dried Oregano

1 tsp salt

1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce

1/4 cup tomato paste

2-3 Tbsp maple syrup

1 Tbsp prepared yellow mustard

4-6 buns

pour lentils and water in a small saucepan. Cover, bring to a boil. Once it's boiling, lower heat and simmer for about 20 minutes until lentils are soft. Drain and set aside.

about 10 minutes before lentils are done, preheat a medium-sized saucepan over meium heat. Saute the onion and pepper in the oil for about 7 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic and saute for a minute more.

Stir in the cooked lentils, chili powder, oregano, and salt. Add tomato sauce and paste. Cook for about 10 minutes. Add the maple syrup to taste and the mustard and heat through.

Turn off heat and let the pot sit for about 10 minutes, so that the flavors can meld, or go ahead and serve immediately if you can't wait. 

note: add the cracked wheat at the very end, if you decide to do that.

Chili Lime Burritos

This is Heidi's recipe I just cut and pasted; Nate and I made this recently and both really liked it.

Chili Lime Burritos

Chili lime “meat” filling

• 1 c. walnuts
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp dried cilantro (coriander powder)
• 1 ½ tsp chili powder
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Tbsp lime juice (half a lime)
• ¼ tsp salt

PULSE (don't just turn it on and let it go until it purees) in Food processor (S-blade) until it looks like ground beef


Salsa (Pico De Gallo)

• 3-4 roma tomatoes, coarsely chopped
• ½ bunch fresh cilantro (washed)
• ½ medium onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 small jalepeno (I always seed them to reduce spice)
• PULSE in food processor until chunky consistency

guacamole

• 2 ripe avacadoes
• pinch of salt
• ¼ c. salsa (above)

Wrap in tortilla and serve with extra toppings:
lettuce, sprouts
green onions
olives (except who in this world likes olives? ew.)
we've also used black beans and rice

Welsh Cakes

If you've never had this tasty breakfast treat, you're in for a surprise. These are pretty yummy, but we usually kept them for more special occasions. I've added in parentheses some obvious replacements for making these vegan. Sorry for no pictures on this one (I even had some from our anniversary last year, but they somehow got deleted in my camera)

CUT together the following:

2 c. flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 square margarine (or soy butter)

Then Blend in:

1/2 c. sugar

1/4 c. raisins (optional)

1 c. milk (soy or regular)

2 eggs (or egg replacer...we love EnerG brand, which is also a great food storage item)

Roll to 1/2 inch thick.  (I never have that thick of dough to actually roll it) make small pancakes (about 2 inches in diameter) on a flat, greased griddle using a low temperature (275 degrees). Sprinkle/top with powdered sugar and serve.