Vegan Recipes and Plant Based Cooking

I still remember the first time that I tasted cheddar bay biscuits from a certain seafood chain. That was many years ago, but I've been making them ever since.  But, for a long time now, I make them vegan. I used to make them with nutritional yeast. Which was good,  But  since vegan cheese has gotten better and cheaper in recent years, I've changed things up.  Nooch is a good cheese substitute, but making them with vegan cheese shreds really ups the deliciousness quotient.  I like to make mine using oat flour. It results in a lighter, fluffier finished biscuit. Plus, nutritionally, it's better. They are also, gluten free.  Ingredients 3 cups ground old fashioned oats 2 cups water 3 tbls canola oil 1 tbl baking powder 2 tbls soy protein isolate 1/2 cup vegan cheddar shreds 1 jalapeno, minced 1 serrano, minced 1 habanero, minced 3 cloves garlic, minced 2 tsps paprika 2 tsps turmeric 2 tsps dry thyme 2 tbls salt Make your oat flour by pulsing the old fashioned...

 This recipe is for a vegan marble blondie. So, it combines a brownie and a blondie into one scrumptious dessert. It uses garbanzo beans to create that dense, fudgy texture that we all associate with these kinds of pastries.  It's pretty easy to make using a food processor. Because vegan desserts should be as simple to create as they are delicious to eat.  Ingredients 1 can garbanzo beans rinsed 1 cup ap flour 2 tbls cocoa powder 1 1/4 cups sucralose 1 tbl baking powder 1/3  cup water 2 tsp vanilla extract 1/4 cup canola oil 1 tsp salt Instrctions In your food processor combine the beans, flour, sucralose, baking powder, water, vanilla, oil, salt. Coat an 8 inch square baking pan with non-stick spray. Preheat oven to 350 F. Pour the mixture into the pan, leaving 1/4 cup of it still in the food processor.  Stir the cocoa powder into the 1/4 cup of the mix still in the food processor.  Then swirl that into the baking pan mixture.  Bake at 350 F for 15-20...

 I don't know about you, but I really enjoy vegan 'meatballs'. They have great texture, taste and are kind of fun to make as well.  I've done black bean vegan meatballs before, but this time around I tried something new.  While I enjoy the crisp exterior and soft interior of classic black bean meatballs, I wanted to create something with a slightly chewier interior that more closely mimics classic meatballs.  The way that I did this was by using textured vegetable protein (TVP for short).  Now, the package directions will tell you to soak it and get it pretty wet, but it's much better when you only lightly moisten it.  So I made a typical black bean meatball mix in the food processor. Then I removed that to a small mixing bowl where I gently stirred in the TVP before rolling it into balls and baking them in the oven.  You'll be pleasantly surprised by the similarity to grandma's old fashioned meatballs. Not my grandmother's. She couldn't really cook,...

Cauliflower mash is all the rage. It's great. I really like it. But, zucchini mash is even better. It's creamier and more similar to the texture of mashed potatoes.  It's also a little easier to prepare. Zucchini cooks quicker. It's also less expensive.  Ingredients 3 medium zucchinis 1/2 block medium tofu 1/2 cup frozen corn kernels 3 cloves garlic 1 jalapeno 1 habanero 3 tbls canola oil 1 tbl Italian seasoning 1 1/2 tbls salt 1 tsp black pepper Instructions In order to get a nice white color you'll want to steam the zucchini whole. You don't want to char any of the flesh because then you'll get a weird greenish/brownish color to your finished dish.  Steam them in a bit of water with the skins on.  When they're tender, slice in half and scoop out the 'meat' with a spoon. Reserve the empty skins. Slice them up into strip and season. They are tasty.  Add the scooped out zucchini 'flesh' to a food processor.  In a small microwave safe vesse...

 Like many people, I love apple pie. It's one of my favorite desserts.  It's easy enough to make it vegan using vegetable shortening. However, I don't like to use that stuff.  Obviously, to keep it vegan, I couldn't use butter. I also, don't really care for the plant based butters available in the supermarkets. Not to mention that they cost a lot.  I decided to use walnuts to make an apple pie crust. When you put walnuts in a coffee grinder they turn to a thick paste similar to butter. So, I thought, that could work. And work, it did! My pie crust came out pretty great.  Full disclosure: this is my first time ever making an apple pie from scratch. Now, I'm a cooking show junkie though, so I had all the theoretical knowledge. I just lacked the hands on experience.  Crust ingredients 2 1/2 cups AP flour Approx. 1 cup walnuts (or 3 small handfuls) 1/3 cup Splenda or other sweetener 1 tsp salt 1 tsp baking powder Cold water Filling ingredients 2 granny smith ap...

 Here's an interesting variant on red pepper sauces. It uses multiple red spices and vegetables to create an uber-red sauce. It's a little bit smoky, a little bit sweet, a little bit spicy. Ingredients 1 med red bell pepper, chunked 1 red habanero, chunked 1 jalapeno, red or green, chunked 1 serrano, red or green, chunked 3 cloves garlic, halved 1/4 block medium tofu 1 cup water 2 tbls canola oil 1 tsp smoked paprika 1/2 tsp ancho chili powder 1 tsp aleppo pepper flakes 1/4 tsp cayenne 1/2 tsp oregano 1 tbl salt 1/2 black pepper Instructions In a dry small frying pan cook the bell pepper, serrano, jalapeno and habanero over medium heat until they have some good char.  Add the garlic, spices/herbs and oil. Continue to toast for a few more minutes. Until fragrant.  Carefully and slowly add in the water. Scrape to deglaze the dark bits from the bottom of the pan. Then simmer until reduced by 1/3. Add the tofu to a blender and then pour the pepper mixture on top. Puree until ...

 It's been a while since I've added any new vegan recipes. But I have one now. It's a creamy red pepper sauce.  It's somewhat similar to a vodka sauce minus the vodka. And with red pepper instead of tomato.  Still, it does have that creamy consistency as well as the bite.  In this case the creamy comes from tofu and the bite comes from a few spices.  Personally, I like red pepper based red sauces better than tomato ones. They have more depth.  Ingredients 1 large red bell pepper, diced 1/2 block medium tofu 5 small cloves garlic, halved 2 tbls canola oil 1 1/4 cups water 1 tsp crushed pepper flakes 1 tsp ancho chili powder 1 tsp aleppo pepper flakes 1 tsp dry oregano 1/2 tsp cayenne 2 tbls salt 1 tsp black pepper  Instructions Saute the bell pepper and garlic in the oil over medium heat for 10 minutes.  Carefully pour in the water and simmer for 10 minutes or until the peppers are tender.  Break up the tofu into chunks and add it to a blender...