Raw Walnut Taco Meat

Raw Walnut Taco Meat
Raw; Gluten Free; Soy Free; Vegan

I always have to double this recipe when I make it. My mom, when she first had this thought this was seitan. A good pass! Here is the recipe without being doubled!

1 1/2 cups walnuts, soaked for 2-4 hours
2 teaspoons organic canola oil
2 teaspoons Braggs liquid amino
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
a dash of chipotle pepper powder

1. Combine all of the ingredients in a food processor and combine till crumbly and looks like ground seitan.

Use in stuffed raw peppers or to fill a kale wrap.....

Oven Roasted Mashed Potatoes

Oven Roasted Mashed Potatoes
Vegan; Gluten Free

Here I give you the ingredients and use the amounts that suit your tastes. Remember though, when these get baked the taste will become subtle and bake off....

1 pound of a combination of red and golden potatoes, cubed (I leave the skin on since it seems to keep them more together)
low sodium vegetable broth
hemp milk
earth balance
garlic
freshly chopped chives
crushed dried rosemary
crushed red pepper

1. Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners. Set aside. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add the potatoes and cook until tender when pierced with a fork. Drain and using a potato masher mix with ingredients until desired texture and taste.

3. Scoop the mashed potatoes into the lined muffin pan and scrape fork across the top. Drizzle with olive oil or earth balance, the potatoes will dry out-so don't skip this step. Bake for 20 minutes or until the tops are golden and crispy, serve warm...

Organic Blue Corn Nachos

Organic Blue Corn Nachos

Making the cheese sauce for this is what took the longest. But, if you make it ahead of time, you will have a quick snack or light meal made. There are no measurements in this recipe, so make as little or as much as you want.

Black beans
Chipotle powder to taste
Cayenne pepper to taste
Chili powder to taste
Garlic powder to taste
Onion powder to taste
Organic blue corn chips
Tomatoes, diced or quartered

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. In a medium skillet, heat black beans and spices with 1/4 cup water over medium heat. Stirring occasionally until fragrant. Allow to thicken.

3. In a casserole dish layer chips, tomatoes, beans and cheese sauce. Bake until heated through, about 5 minutes and serve warm.

Enjoy!

Buffalo Chickpea Dip

Buffalo Chickpea Dip
Vegan; Gluten Free

Make at least a few hours ahead to allow all the flavors time to meld together; cover with plastic wrap, refrigerate, and bake off just before serving.

1 15-oz can kidney, drained and rinsed
1 cup raw cashews, soaked overnight
3/4 cup Saso Roasted Red Pepper Chipotle Sauce
1/2 cup hemp milk
2 teaspoons lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon)
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon garlic powder
Ground black pepper
Kosher salt
1 teaspoon fresh, finely-chopped parsley
1 teaspoon fresh chopped chives
1 15-oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 cup Daiya pepper jack-style or cheddar cheese, divided

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. Add the beans and cashews to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse several times to break them up a bit. Add the hot sauce, non-dairy milk, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, onion powder, garlic powder, and a pinch of black pepper. Process until the mixture is entirely smooth (this will take several minutes), stopping to scrape down the bowl as necessary. Adjust salt to taste.

3. Scrape the bean mixture into a bowl and stir in the parsley and chives to evenly distribute. Stir in the chickpeas and 3/4 cup of the Daiya. Transfer the dip to a 9×9-inch square baking dish and sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of Daiya on top. (Note: Dip can be made up to this point a day or two ahead. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to heat and serve.) Cover baking dish tightly with foil and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until warmed through. Serve with tortilla chips or veggies for dipping.

Found and slightly adapted from Gluten Free in the City

Buffalo Tofu Bites

Buffalo Tofu Bites
Vegan; 1 hour

With an hour being the time, I promise-this is the type of recipe that is not as hands on. Step number 3 is what may take the most hands on, however I promise this is worth it! Grant and Max liked it, and this is perfect for any tale gate parties that are coming up!!

1 cup of hemp milk
2 tbsp corn starch
1 15 ounce block of firm tofu (organic), pressed to remove excess water
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup Earth Balance butter, melted
1/4 cup Saso Roasted Red Pepper Chipotle Sauce
1/2 tbsp of garlic powder
a dash of black pepper

1.Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. In a medium sized bowl mix the hemp milk with the corn starch and set aside.

3. In another medium sized bowl mix together the flour, paprika, cayenne pepper, garlic powder and salt. Next, cut the tofu in triangles; to do this first slice the tofu in half so that there are now 2 slabs of tofu, then cut each slab into thirds on the short side, then cut in half on the long side. Now you should have 12 small squares of tofu, slice each one of those on an angle to get triangles. See images below.

4. Now place the tofu triangles into the milk mixture and coat them, then dredge them into the flour mixture and get each side covered completely. Cover dish or bowl and refrigerate for an hour.

5. In a large bowl whisk together the melted butter, hot sauce, garlic powder and black pepper. Dip each piece of tofu in the mixture and place on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Bake for about 30-35 minutes turning halfway through. If you want them crispier just bake them a little longer. I served these with a vegan ranch dressing.

Ranch Dressing

Ranch Dressing
Vegan; Makes about 1 cup

There are some things with going Vegan that I miss, and this is one of them. I made this to go with the tofu buffalo bites and bacony stuffed dates. Even Grant and Max liked it...

1/4 cup hemp milk
1/4 cup vegan mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon granulated onion powder
1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon parsley (fresh or dry)
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Chill until ready to use.

Basic Tofu Scramble

Basic Tofu Scramble

Well the below are the measurements that I use for this (typical) Sunday morning. I jazz it up with tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, mushrooms, asparagus and spinach. Pretty much whatever I have on hand. Bruce has come to love this as either a sandwich on rosemary sourdough or on an everything bagel. I serve this with a tempeh bacon, and the combinations are pretty endless.

Ingredients:

1/2 yellow onion, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1 block organic tofu, drained and pressed
2 tbsp oil or earth balance
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp turmeric (optional)

Preparation:

1. Slice the tofu into approximately one inch cubes. Then, using either your hands or a fork, crumble it slightly.

2. Sautee onion, pepper and crumbled tofu in oil for 3-5 minutes, stirring often. Add remaining ingredients, reduce heat to medium and allow to cook 5-7 more minutes, stirring frequently and adding more oil if needed.

3. Wrap in a warmed flour tortilla with a bit of salsa for a breakfast burrito or top with soy or non-dairy cheese. Serves two.

Per serving provides approximately: Cal.: 365; Cal. fr. Fat: 220; Tot. Fat: 24.5g; Tot. Carb.: 18.9g; Chol.: 0mg; Sod.: 484mg; Dietary Fiber: 4.8g; Prot.: 24.2g; Vit. A 19%; Vit. C: 100%; Calcium: 39%; Iron: 33%

Found: About.com

I'm So Blue Mashed Potatoes

I'm So Blue Mashed Potatoes
Vegan; Serves 4

While shopping at the farmers market on Saturday, I was able to find more of my favorite blue potatoes. Since it's Grants birthday, and needing a kid friendly side to go with the portabella mushroom steaks, I made these. Several years ago, I made these for a holiday dinner-the color is a beautiful blueish purple.... Loosely use the measurements below, every taste is different.

1 pound blue potatoes, scrubbed and semi skinned-cut into large-medium chunks
(I like to leave some of the skin on, so they don't fall apart-more rustic)
1-1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1-1 1/2 cups hemp milk
1 Tablespoon Earth Balance
1-2 teaspoons garlic powder
1-2 teaspoons rosemary
sea salt and black pepper to taste (I used 2 pinches of sea salt)

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender, about 15-20 minutes. Drain.

2. In a large bowl, combine vegetable broth, hemp milk (a little at a time, about 1/2 a cup) with the potatoes. (I used my hand mixer, since my potato masher is in storage.) Using a hand mixer, on the lowest speed mix until liquid is gone. Add earth balance, rosemary and garlic. (Here is where you taste it to see if you need to add more, to get the flavor and texture you want.)

Serve warm and enjoy!

Jalapeno Poppers

Jalapeno Poppers
vegan, makes 10 poppers

I made these last month for a pot luck, and everyone LOVED them... I made about 40 of them to make sure there were plenty for people to enjoy. If you make as many as I did, please wear gloves, my fingers were burning for days after. ~_^

5 large jalapeno peppers, de-seeded and halved

cheese mixture:
1/4 cup vegan cream cheese
1/4 cup Daiya cheddar cheese shreds

Flour Mixture:
2 Tbsp whole wheat flour
1 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
1 tsp garlic powder
dash of chipotle powder
pinch of salt and pepper

Panko Bread Crumbs

small flat bowl of hemp milk (about 1/4 cup)

1+ cups olive oil

Directions:

1. Prep your jalapenos by halving them and carefully removing the seeds. Set aside.

2. Get your "breading" station set up. You will have a bowl for each of these: cheese mixture (fold the shreds into the cream cheese), flour mixture, panko crumbs, soy milk.

3. Start prepping your jalapenos. Here is the method: stuff with cheese, roll in milk, roll in flour, back in milk, roll in panko crumbs, set aside. Pressing the panko crumbs into the wet cheese layer really helps. Continue this process until all the jalapenos are stuffed and breaded.

4. Pour your oil into a large pot over med-high heat. Test the oil for heat-readiness by dropping one panko crumb into the oil - if it sizzles, the oil is hot enough. If you can get by with cooking all your poppers with 1 cup of oil, great. But if you want a more saturated "fry" you may need to add more.

5. Pan-fry each jalapeno popper for about 90 seconds on each side. Flip with care.

6. Transfer poppers to a paper towels to cool for a few minutes before serving.

Found: kblog.lunchbox.com

Cashew Nut Cheese

Cashew Nut Cheese
Vegan

Alright, so I know what you're thinking.... What is this, but honestly, just humor me. This was a HUGE hit with raw foodies, vegans, vegetarians, flexitarians, and carnivores, alike! This is a great spread for veggies and pita chips, I took this to a potluck over the weekend with rave reviews. My roommate really liked it-the carnivore-with onion bagels.

1 cup cashew butter
1/4 cup almond milk
2 Tablespoons tahini
2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon white pepper (milder flavor then black pepper)

1. Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth and combined. Alternately, mix them in a large bowl using the back a wooden spoon to mash them together. (I did this about 3 times.) Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Per 2 Tbsp. Serving: 180 cal.; 14g fat (2.5 sat fat); 0mg chol.; 125mg sod.; 96g carbs.; 6g prot.
Found: www.Care2.com; Whole Foods Recipes......