photo by dysonish on Recipezaar

My husband and I made these for dinner (our schedules are a little off kilter these days). And we didn’t have syrup But they were still so good! We just topped them with a little Earth Balance. They’re fluffy and yummy and so simple to make!

5 Minute Vegan Pancakes

I definitely eat less salads when it’s super cold out. But today felt like a good salad day. Something light, simple, refreshing, and, yes, healthy!

Ingredients:

• Romaine lettuce, chopped
• cherry tomatoes, sliced
• Vegan cheddar cheese, shredded
• chik’n nuggets, grilled and sliced
• Walden Farms Ranch Dressing (calorie, carb, fat, gluten, cholesterol, and preservative free!)

• McCormick Salad Toppins

I love winter break! I actually have time to make yummy food. This evening’s dish is vegan lasagna. I looked up a few different recipes and kinda did my own thing. Lasagna is fun like that. And is ideal for someone like myself who often strays from standard recipes for one reason or another.

We used a 10.5×7″ stoneware dish, but you could probably go a bit bigger. We reached maximum capacity with ours. And glass works fine, too.

Ingredients:

• handful of fresh basil
• 1 box lasagne noodles
• 12 oz. bag of soy crumbles
• 18 oz jar of marinara sauce (at least)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 C chopped onion (or onion powder)
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced (or garlic powder)
• 1.5 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1/2 block vegan cheddar
• 1/2 block vegan mozzarella
• 1/2 tub firm tofu
• tub of vegan cream cheese
• few squeezes of lemon juice

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

Boil lasagne noodles with a pinch of salt to al dente. Drain and cool.
In skillet, simmer soy crumbles with olive oil, onion, and garlic. Once cooked, add marinara sauce, fresh basil (chopped or whole), and oregano.

In food processor, make “ricotta.” Put tofu, cream cheese, olive oil, and lemon juice. Pulse until mixed. Try to maintain coarser texture.

In dish, layer bottom with noodles, then soy crumbles, then “ricotta”, then grate mozzarella and cheddar on top. Repeat layering process 2-3 more times. Top with oregano. Bake for about 40 minutes. Let sit for 10 minutes or so before serving.

Note: to avoid burning the edges of the noodles, which is easy to do, cover the noodles completely with sauce. Lesson learned.

After some resistance, I finally gave in and saw The Princess and the Frog with my husband. And I ended up really enjoying it. It’s a good story, funny, visually appealing, and has some enjoyable music. So, this, in addition to Sleeping Beauty, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, Wall-E, A Christmas Story, and Where the Wild Things Are, goes on my list of approved movies for my future children that won’t annoy the hell out of me.

As we wandered back home in the unbearable cold, we were both salivating over all the gumbo in the movie. Though I didn’t have all the ingredients required, I decided to give it a go. I learned the hard way that okra is a key thickening agent in gumbo. Without it my gumbo was pretty soupy. I also didn’t have file powder, which is powdered sassafras leaves that add authentic Cajun flavor and also serve as a thickening agent. Some recipes call for flour instead.

So, here are some vegan gumbo recipes to keep you warm this winter. There’s quite a variety out there, so you’re bound to find one that suits your palate:

Vegan Chef Glorious Green Gumbo
http://www.veganchef.com/gloriousgreen.htm (calls for nutritional yeast)

Gumbo With Vegan Andouille Sausage

http://vegandad.blogspot.com/2008/05/gumbo-with-vegan-andouille-sausage.html

About.com Louisiana Vegetarian Gumbo:

http://vegetarian.about.com/od/maindishentreerecipes/r/veggumbo.htm

ehow Vegan Gumbo
http://www.ehow.com/how_2079619_make-vegan-gumbo.html

Fat Free Vegan Black-Eyed-Pea Gumbo

http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2006/08/black-eyed-pea-gumbo.html

Fat Free Vegan Crockpot Gumbo

http://www.fatfreevegan.com/crockpot/gumbo.shtml

Recipe Zaar 10 Vegan Gumbo Recipes

http://www.recipezaar.com/recipes.php?categ=168%2C54&ls=d

Veg Web Vegan Gumbo

http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=27730.0

Recipe Land Pure Vegan Gumbo

http://recipeland.com/recipe/v/Pure-Vegan-Gumbo-31741

Recipe Source Vegan Gumbo

http://www.recipesource.com/soups/soups/04/rec0436.html

Big Oven Pure Vegan Gumbo
http://www.bigoven.com/9930-Pure-Vegan-Gumbo-recipe.html

Vegetable Stew Gumbo

http://www.vegan-food.net/recipe/112/Gumbo/

Bread: sea salt and rosemary focaccia
Toppings: tomato sauce, grilled mushrooms and eggplant, fresh sliced tomatoes, vegan mozzarella, grilled tofu with Italian seasonings, and topped with fresh ground pepper, thyme, and a dash of salt.

Baked at 350 for about 20 minutes… give or take depending upon the thickness of the bread. Or bake at a higher temperature if you want it a little less crispy.

Result:

Oh yeah. Yumtown. Vegan yumtown. The bread is thick, but light and airy. And the toppings fresh and magically delicious.

photo by letouj

This yellow curry dish is healthy and light, but still full of flavor. It’s easy to make and was loosely inspired by a recipe I found in Food Editors’ Favorites Treasured Recipes for Curried Chicken Roll-Ups. Among other things, I replaced real chicken with Chik’n Strips, and used this great Not Chik’n by Edward & Sons to replace chicken bouillon. It’s fun to veganize old recipes.

ingredients

• Morningstar Chik’n Strips
• grilled eggplant sliced
• grilled zucchini sliced
• 1 cube of Edward & Sons Not-Chick’n Bouillon
• 3 to 4 teaspoons Penzey’s Sweet Curry Powder
• lettuce
• white Basmati rice

Combine chik’n, eggplant, zucchini, curry powder, bouillon, and 2 cups water in medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Separate liquid and cook with rice for great seasoning. Once rice is done, pile onto a bed of lettuce (for crunchiness), and finally add Chik’n, eggplant, and zuccini. If there’s any sauce leftover, pour on top. Enjoy! (serves 2)

photo by tvol

It doesn’t get much better than sliced tomatoes and cucumbers with garlic hummus and dill weed on toasted whole wheat bead. So easy. So fresh. So fantastic.

Spring is here and this dish is great when combined with a warm afternoon or cool spring evening. Super easy, super tasty pasta dish.

Ingredients

• noodles (alphabet theme optional)
• olive oil
• Morningstar Chik’n Strips
• (mini) cucumbers
• grape tomatoes
• pine nuts
• (iodized) Sea Salt
• basil
• garlic powder

Cook noodles. Strain. Add a splash of olive oil, a dash of salt, some basil, and a few shakes of garlic powder. Crisp the Chik’n Strips in a pan. Once crisp, remove strips, and throw a handful or two of pine nuts into pan. Heat and shake for a couple of minutes. Keep a close eye on the pine nuts- they burn easily. Slice cucumbers.

Add chik’n, pine nuts, cucumbers, and grape tomatoes to pasta. Enjoy!

Sound too good to be true? Well, it almost is. I got the idea from a co-worker who had created a non-vegan version. It sounded delicious and I knew it could easily be veganised (and healthier). Strap yourself in because this dish is absolutely packed with flavor. And it goes great with green beans. Serves 2 at around 250-320 calories a serving (depending on if you use 1 or 2 TBS butter and weather or not you add sundried tomatoes).

What you’ll need:

• 1 bag of MorningStar lightly seasoned Chik’n Strips
• 1 or 2 TBS Earth Balance or other veg spread
• 1/8 block Vegan Mozzarella
• a few leaves of fresh basil (chopped)
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 clove garlic (minced)
• sundried tomatoes (optional)

Preaheat oven to 350°. In small sauce pan, roast garlic for a few minutes, then add butter and simmer a few minutes.

In bottom of a bread pan, place chik’n strips. Grate vegan ‘rella over chik’n. Top with basil. Then pour melted butter and garlic on top. Add a few sundried tomatoes on top (chopped if desired). And top with freshly ground pepper, to taste.

Bake for about 20 minutes. Then, if you like crispier chik’n, broil for a few minutes.

That’s all there is to it.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

In honor of this day, I thought I’d post some not too complex vegan recipes I found for Irish num-nums.
(sources included at the end of each recipe)

Irish Soda Bread

• 1 cup soy milk (rice milk works too)
• 1 T. apple cider vinegar
• 2 ¼ flour
• 2 T. sugar
• 2 t. baking powder
• heaping ¼ t. baking soda
• ½ t. salt
• ½ cup (or more!) raisins
• 3 t. caraway seeds

Preheat oven to 350°.
Add the vinegar to the milk and set aside to ‘curdle’. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. When the oven is ready add the wet to the dry and mix just until everything comes together into a dough. Sprinkle a bit of flour onto a lightly greased cookie sheet. Form the dough into a ball, sprinkle a hint of flour on top and give it a little “x” slice across the top. Bake for approximately 40 minutes. Give it a toothpick test for doneness and if it sounds hollow when you tap it, it’s certainly ready. Set it on a rack to cool or the bottom might get soft.

To keep it festive, add a couple drops of green food coloring into the milk before mixing. (source)

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Vegan Irish Coffee

• 2/3 cup hot strong brewed coffee
• 2 tbsp Irish whiskey
• 2 tsp raw sugar
• vegan whipped cream or whipped topping (optional)

Stir together the coffee, whiskey and sugar, making sure the sugar dissolves.

Garnish with a generous spoonful of non-dairy whipped cream, if desired. (source)

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Irish Colcannon Potatoes and Cabbage

• water for boiling
• 5 large potatoes
• 1 head green cabbage, chopped
• 3 leeks, sliced
• 1 cup soy milk
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg (optional)
• salt and pepper to taste

Place potatoes in a large pot and add enough water to cover the potatoes. Bring to a boil and cook for at least 20 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.

In a separate pot, boil the cabbage in water for 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.
In another pot or skillet, cook leeks in soy milk until tender, about 15 minutes.

When potatoes are done cooking, mash them together with leeks, soy milk, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Add cabbage and stir to combine. Add more salt and pepper to taste and enjoy! (source)

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Vegan Irish Whiskey Cake

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 cup vegan margarine
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• Egg replacer for 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup strong coffee
• 1/2 cup Irish whiskey
• 1-2 tbsp powdered sugar (optional)

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9×13 cake pan.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda.
In a separate large bowl, beat together the vegan margarine and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the egg replacer and mix well.
In another bowl, combine the coffee and whiskey.
Slowly add the flour mixture and the coffee mixture into the margarine and sugar mixture a bit at a time, beating well in between.

Pour into the cake pan and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Allow to cool slightly, and sprinkle the top of the cake with powdered sugar if desired. Enjoy your vegan Irish whiskey cake! (source)

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Vegan Irish Stew

• 4 cups peeled, diced potatoes
• 2 cups peeled, diced carrots
• 3 Tbs. olive oil
• 1 bag frozen/non-frozen meatless crumbles or one package fresh mushrooms (diced)
• 4 garlic cloves (freshly smashed and diced)
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1/2 cup diced tomatoes
• 1 Tsp. Oregano
• 1 Tsp. Thyme
• 2 Tbs melted vegan margarine
• Salt and pepper to taste

Peel and slice carrots and potatoes. Set to boil. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onions and garlic. Brown for 5 minutes, then add tomatoes. 5 minutes later, add meat substiute (frozen or non-frozen crumbles or mushrooms) and sauté for 5 minutes (mushrooms will take a few more minutes). Pour in vegetable broth, melted margarine, oregano and thyme.

Add carrots and potatoes. Salt and pepper to taste. Some like to add Guinness, red wine, or another type of alcohol. Be creative!! Let simmer for up to an hour. (source)