Best Rolls Ever and Vegan to Boot.....

These Alexia French rolls are so perfectly delicious.  And that they are Vegan is an added bonus.  I just wanted to share these with you so that you could try them.  Even if you are not a Vegan, you will love these rolls.  They did not create them to be Vegan.  They just happen to be Vegan.  If you want to see their other products, you can go to their website http://www.alexiafoods.com/alexia-products/artisan-breads.jsp. 

One roll is 100 calories and ZERO fat.  I love that. 

They cook up so nicely in about 10-12 minutes.  They come out nice and crispy on the outside and nice and soft on the inside.  Pair it with a pat of Earth Balance and you have a perfect accompaniment to any meal.  So Yummy!!!!!

Indonesian Peanut Sauce

I absolutely love peanut butter and there is no greater dish to eat (in my opinion) then this peanut sauce and pasta.   I got the original recipe for this dish from Vegetarian Times at http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes/10942?section= .  But as I do with most recipes, I changed it to the below recipe.  I do not like spicy food much so I did not include the red pepper flakes but you can of course put those in.  I also increased the amount of peanut butter because I like it a but thicker and more of a peanut butter flavor.  You can put this sauce on any pasta.  I am going to try it on Spaghetti Squash this week to see how that is.  You can add any veggies, tofu, and nuts to this as well.  The picture above I added broccoli and carrots.  I usually add cashews or peanuts, but I did not have any so I couldn't with this one.

Vegan Indonesian Peanut Sauce

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 shallots
1 garlic glove
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1 tablespoon Tamari (vegan soy sauce)
1/2 coconut milk
2 teaspoon brown sugar
2 teaspoon lime juice
1/2 cup water

Heat the oil in a small saucepan over low-medium heat.  Mince the shallots and add to the oil.  Saute until tender.  Mince the garlic and add to the shallots and saute for about a minute.  Add the rest of the ingredients, whisking until smooth.  Let cook until just begins to boil.  Turn heat down and simmer for 3 minutes. 

Pour over pasta of your choice and cooked veggies.

In case you do not know what Tamari is, I have pasted a photo below.  You can get it in the ethnic aisle in most grocery stores.  I got mine at Hannafords.

Here is a picture of the sauce on angel hair pasta

Close up of that dish

Here is a close up of the dish pictured at the top of the blog

Even closer.....LOL!!!

Vegan German Chocolate Cookies

This is the easiest recipe for cookies.  You can really use any cake mix for these.  Just read through the ingredients to make sure it is Vegan.  I used the Duncan Hines German Chocolate cake mix which is Vegan.  Most of Duncan Hines cake mixes are Vegan.  But give the ingredients a quick glance because Duncan Hines does have a butter recipe that is obviously not Vegan.  You could also mix in Chocolate Chips, Oatmeal, Coconut, Pecans, or whatever you like into the batter once you have mixed all the other ingredients together.

Vegan German Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients:

(1) Duncan Hines German Chocolate Cake Mix
Equivalent of 1 egg of Egg Replacer
1/4 cup Oil
1/4 cup Water
1 tub of Coconut Pecan Frosting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix all ingredients together (except for the frosting).  Scoop out teaspoon size balls of batter and roll between your hands to form a ball.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes.  Take them out while they are still a bit soft in the middle. 

Let them cool. 

Once the cookies are cool take likesize cookies and put some of the frosting between the two and form a cookie sandwich.

 

Peanut Butter Mousse Brownie Pie

I stumbled across this recipe on a blog I follow called The Voracious Vegan.  The link for the recipe is http://thevoraciousvegan.com/2010/09/28/peanut-butter-mousse-brownie-pie/comment-page-1/#comment-13138.It is the most amazing dessert.  My kids absolutely loved this one also.  The brownie base of this pie is so chewy and delicious.  And the peanut butter mousse is light and fluffy.  I did have to substitute one ingredient.  I could not find Vegan Whipping Cream, so I used a technique using coconut milk.  Here is a link for turning coconut milk into Vegan Whipping Cream.  I am going to order Vegan Whipping Cream online and make it with that and compare the two.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LPcrEdnloc


I also doubled the recipe because I was using a springform pan that I thought was probably bigger.

Below are some pictures of what mine looked like.  This is one that definitely tastes as good as it looks.

My two sons loved this so much there is only this little bit left.  I just made it yesterday and they are at school all day.  LOL!!!

Blueberry Pancakes

I have been making pancakes for oh, about 25 or 30 years.  This really is the best recipe I have ever made.  It does not leave you with that heavy feeling that you usually get from eating pancakes.  These pancakes are not as fattening as most pancake recipes either.  Each pancake has only about 200 calories and 2 grams of fat.  One pancake is defintely enough for me.  My kids and husband have at least two each though.  Feel free to use either whole wheat or white flour for this.  I usually use whole wheat, but I did not have any this morning so for these that I just made I used white flour.   My family prefers white flour, but I like whole wheat.  You can also substitute soy milk in place of the almond milk if you like.  Use fresh blueberries when they are in season.  When not in season, I recommend using the Hannaford's brand frozen blueberries.  They are the nice big ones which I love.  I like alot of blueberries in my pancakes.  You can adjust to your own taste.  You can substitute any fruit you like in this batter.   If you like chocolate chip pancakes you can do that also.  I would probably use about 3/4 cup to the batter or just sprinkle some over the top of each pancake once you scoop it onto the pan.  My all time favorite pancake is blueberry and chocolate chips together in a pancake.  It is the all time best.  My kids love this as well.  This batter would work well as just plain pancakes as well.  Bananas or Apples would work beautifully with this.  I did not have any (vegan) chocolate chips this morning though so I did not add any.


Vegan Blueberry Pancakes

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup Florida Crystals sugar
2 cups almond milk
2 cups blueberries
Vegetable oil

Mix together the dry ingredients.  Mix in the almond milk until just blended.  Do not overmix or it will become stiff.  It will be a very thick mixture.  Fold in the blueberries. 

You can use a griddle pan or a skillet to cook the pancakes.  A griddle pan works best, but a skillet will work just fine.  Whichever you use, be sure to not put too much oil on.  Pour a little bit of oil on the skillet/griddle and the wipe it with a cloth or paper towel.  Just leaving a very thin layer on the cooking surface.  If you put too much the pancakes will not cook properly and they will actually stick to the pan.  Less is definitely better.  Heat the oil over a medium heat.

Once the skillet/griddle is hot, take a 1/2 or 3/4 measuring cup and scoop up the batter and drop onto the hot skillet/griddle.  This is a very thick batter so I usually take the measuring cup and push is down and spread it out a bit.  So it is not so fat.

 It is important to be very patient with pancakes.  You will know when it is getting close to being ready to flip over because you will start to see little bubbles and air pockets start to appear around the edges and it will start to look a bit dry around the edges.  The below picture shows when the air bubbles where just starting.  This is when you can just start to easily slide the spatular under the pancake.

Once you start to see this take your spatula and slide just slightly under the pancake.  If the spatula does not go under with ease then it is not ready.  Once it can go under easily, slightly lift it up a tiny bit and see how it looks.  Once you see a nice golden brown you can flip it.  It is not a big deal to flip it a bit early because you can always flip it back over again.  But try to flip way too early and the pancake will fall apart when you flip it.  So be patient and let it cook until a nice golden brown.

Once you flip over the pancake, take the spatula and press down on the pancake all over it just slightly.  This will press out a bit of the uncooked batter in the middle.  Otherwise it will be really fat in the middle.

Let the pancake cook until it is a nice golden brown again.  If need be, flip it again until both sides are golden. 

Once the pancake is just about done, I like to put a pat of Earth Balance on it while sitting on the skillet/griddle and let it melt a bit and then spread it all over the pancake.  You can do it once it is off the pan as well or forgoe it all together.

This recipe makes 6 pancakes about 5" in diameter. 

Here is a picture of my youngest son, Josh enjoying these pancakes.  He does not follow a Vegan diet whenever he can help it, but he LOVES these pancakes.

Celeriac Soup

Celeriac, otherwise known as celery root, knob celery or turnip-rooted celery may be the ugliest vegetable out there, but is is surprisingly delicious.  Before you go and judge this delectible root, give it a try.  You will most definitely be glad you did.  Most people would think this is the root of the celery stalks that we normally eat, but it is not.  Although it does have a slight celery taste.  You will need to use a knife rather then a vegetable peeler when peeling celeriac as the outer skin it very tough.  Once you get into the beautiful white flesh you will see and smell just how wonderful it really is.  It really makes your mouth water.  The best thing about celeriac after it's taste is that it is very low in starch, has only 30 calories per half cup and has NO fat.  It can be substituted in any dish that calls for potatoes.  You can even mash it like mashed potatoes.  I guarantee if you give celeriac a try, you will fall instantly in love with it. 

Celeriac Soup

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons Earth Balance
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
3 Leeks
2 Onions
4 Bay Leaves
4 Teaspoon  Ground Thyme
12 cups Vegetable Stock (I use the boullion cubes dissolved in water)
2 Celeriac
2 Large Potatoes
4 Turnips
1 cup Vegan Whipping Cream
1/2 cup Vegan Sour Cream
Salt
Pepper

Melt the Earth Balance in a large pot, then add the olive oil.  Chop the leeks and onions and add to the pan.  Next add the bay leaves and Thyme.  Let this saute until the onions and leeks are tender.

Peel and dice the celeriac, potatoes and turnips.  Once the leeks and onions are tender add these to the pot along with the veggie stock. 

Bring to a boil and let simmer until the veggies are tender. 

Remove the bay leaves.

Puree everything in a blender or food processor.  You might have to do this in several batches as this is alot of liquid.  If you have an immersion blender you could use that right in the pan. 

If using a blender or food processor, on the last batch add in the whipping cream and sour cream and then mix into the rest of the soup with a whisk.  If using an immersion blender just add at the end and mix until well blended.

Season with salt and pepper.

You can add a little dallop of sour cream after you spoon it into bowls.

Vegan Apple Crisp

I do not have any pictures of this apple crisp as I am just typing the recipe in and not actually making it.  I will add pictures the next time I make it.  It is a delicious and sweet recipe that is sure to please.  Many friends and family members have had this recipe and rave about it. It really comes out looking like any normal apple crisp.

Vegan Apple Crisp

Ingredients:

8 apples
1 cup flour
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (seperated) Florida Crystals Sugar
3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (seperated) Florida Crystals Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Earth Balance (at room temperature)
3 tablespoons Cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Peel, core and slice the apples.  Place in a 9 x 13 pan.  Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of each sugar over the apples and mix around.  Spread out the apples in an even layer.

Mix the flour, remaining sugars, Earth Balance and Cinnamon with your fingers.  It will be quite sticky and messy.  Sprinkle this evenly all over the apples.

Bake at 350 degrees until the apples are very tender for about 30 minutes.

Butternut and Leek Casserole

This next dish that I created is a butternut casserole that is absolutely delicious.  The ingredients do not sound like they would taste good together but this is quite delicious.  My mother-in-law and my friend Anne, both had some and thought it was quite delicious as well.  You can really use whatever veggies you want with this.  So experiment and let me know how it comes out.

Butternut, Leek and Tomato Casserole

Ingredients ;
2 medium butternut squash
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 leeks
1 pound tomatoes
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 1/2 cups coconut milk
1/2 cup rolled oats
2 slices of bread
1/4 cup of Earth Balance
salt
pepper

Cut the butternut squash in half and scoop out the seeds.  Place in a pan large enough to hold all four halves.  Pour about an 1/2 inch of water into the pan along with the squash halves with the skin side facing up.  Bake these at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes or until you can easily stick a fork through the skin.  Let the squash cook through before proceeding to the next step so the squash has enough time to cool for handling when needed.

Once the squash is done dice the leeks into small pieces.  You can just slice it if you would like but it is harder to eat that way.  Heat the oil in a saute pan over low to medium heat.  Once heated up add the leeks and cook until nice and tender and slightly brown. 

While the leeks are sauteing you can dice up the tomatoes and set aside.

When the squash is cooked enough to handle scoop out the squash and place in a 2 quart casserole dish.  Then mix in the leeks, tomatoes, and ground cumin.  You can add more cumin.  It is up to your taste.  I found this to be just enough.

Once that is nicely mixed stir in the coconut milk. 

Bake covered in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes. 

While this is baking, toast the slices of bread until nice and brown.  Then process the oats and the bread slices in a food processor until small crumbs.  Melt the Earth Balance and add to the processor while processing. 

After the casserole has cooked for the 30 minutes sprinkle the crumbs over the top and cook for another 15 minutes or until toasted to your liking.