Sauteed Brussels Sprouts with Bacony Bits

Sauteed Brussels Sprouts with Bacony Bits
Vegan; Serves 4; 30 minutes

2 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts, trimmed
1 tablespoon Sesame oil
1/4 cup onion, diced
1 clove of garlic
1 Tablespoon thyme
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
2 Tablespoons Bacony Bits
2 teaspoons lemon juice (optional)

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. If sprouts are very small, cut in half; otherwise cut into quarters. Cook the sprouts until barely tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain.

2. Add oil to the pan and heat over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, stirring often, until soft but not browned, reducing the heat if necessary, about 4 minutes. Stir in thyme (or savory) sprigs, salt and pepper. Increase heat to medium-high, add the Brussels sprouts, and cook, tossing or stirring occasionally, until tender and warmed through, about 3 minutes. Remove the herb sprigs. Add the bacony bits, thyme (or savory) leaves and lemon juice, if using, and toss.

Pumpkin Burgers

Pumpkin Burgers
Vegan; Makes 6 patties

With all of the pumpkin I still have, I'm finding different recipes for it. I made these last, and they are really good! Since my pumpkin had already been pureed, these didn't take very long to make. I served these with an old favorite, chipotle mayo and Brussels sprouts on the side (recipe will follow).

1 15oz. can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 cup fresh pumpkin puree
egg replacer equivalent to 1 egg
1 red bell pepper, diced
1/4 onion, diced (add more if you like onion)
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon chili powder (if you like it a little hotter add 1 teaspoon)
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup bread crumbs

1. Saute garlic, onion and red bell pepper, until soft. About 5 minutes.

2. In a food processor, add chickpeas, egg replacer, cumin, chili powder, and coriander. Pulse until smooth.

3. In a large bowl, combine flour, breadcrumbs, chickpea mixture and pumpkin until mixture is stiff enough to from and hold patty shape. In a skillet (I used a little oil to coat the pan) over medium high heat, cook patties until golden brown. About 5 minutes on both side.

Vegan "Caramel" Fruit Dip

Vegan Caramel Fruit Dip

For those who will entertaining over this up-coming holiday season, this is perfect to set out with cut up fruit. This is also perfect for those with little ones, watch out though, there is a lot of sugar. The boys LOVED this one!

1 cup dates
2 Tablespoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup hemp milk

1. Place all of the ingredients in a blender. Pulse until smooth and chill until ready to be served.

Green Pea Poulourie

Green Pea Poulourie
Vegan; Can be made Gluten Free

Having an abundance of green split peas came in handy for this recipe! Bruce and I both had a bag when we combined kitchens. This recipe came out more falafel like, so I served them with Tzatziki sauce and flat bread.

1 (14 ounce) bag dried green or yellow split peas
3 cloves garlic, crushed (I had to use garlic powder since I ran out of fresh garlic)
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 serrano pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup all-purpose flour, plus additional (use gluten free flour)
1 tablespoon baking powder
oil for frying

1. Pick through the split peas removing rocks, then rinse. Soak, covered by 2-inches of water until soft enough to be broken with your fingernail, 3 hours to overnight. (Short on time, I put the split peas in the rice maker and put the setting on Brown Rice. It worked pretty good.)

2. When soft, drain peas, then puree in 1 cup batches in a food processor or blender until smooth along with the garlic, curry powder, salt, and serrano pepper. Add water as needed to make a thick paste. Sift baking powder and 1/2 cup of flour into a large bowl then stir in the pea puree, adding additional flour to make a stiff batter.

3. Heat a heavy skillet over medium-high heat to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

4.Form into small patties and place into the hot oil in batches for about 10. Turn when the bottoms turn brown, and continue cooking to brown the other side, about 5 minutes. Drain on paper towels, and sprinkle with additional salt if desired.

Pumpkin Dog Biscuits

Pumpkin Dog Biscuits

As these were baking, both Choxie and Fortune were in the kitchen watching the oven. Somehow they knew these were being made just for them. Grant actually tried one, and liked it. He asked what smelled good. He shared his cookie with Choxie and Fortune, but did take the last bite. So there you go..... Not only Puppy Friendly, but kid friendly too!

Egg replacer equivalent to 2 eggs
1 cup fresh pureed pumpkin
2 tablespoons hemp milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
3 1/2 cups gluten free flour (you can use all-purpose)
1 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. In large bowl, whisk together egg replacer and pumpkin to smooth. Stir in hemp milk, vanilla, sea salt, and cinnamon. Add flour gradually, combining with spatula or hands to form a soft, dry dough. Briefly kneed and roll out into about 1 inch balls.

3. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Place the 1 inch balls on the cookie sheet and press down. (Like a peanut butter cookie.) Poke holes with a fork and bake (in batches if needed) for 20 minutes until golden.

Pumpkin Spice Almost-Raw Cheesecake

Pumpkin Spice Almost-Raw Cheesecake
Vegan, Gluten Free, Almost Raw

Getting back from vacation, I was able to finally get to the pumpkins that I thought were going to go bad. Ending up having almost 8 cups of pureed pumpkin, I'll be posting the next few recipes calling for pumpkin. I took this to a potluck on Sunday, and didn't even get a slice since it went SO fast! Adapted from Addicted to Veggies.

Crust:

1 cup Walnuts
1 cup Dates
1 pinch of salt

Filling:

1 cup Cashews (I soaked overnight)
1 cup Macadamia nuts (I soaked overnight)
2 cups fresh/raw pureed Pumpkin Flesh
1/2 cup Coconut Sugar plus 3 heaping Tbsp
1/4 cup Coconut Oil- liquefied
3 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
1 tsp Vanilla
1 1/2 tsp ground Cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp ground Allspice
1/2 tsp ground Cloves
1/2 tsp Ginger Powder
2 pinches Salt

1. Combine walnuts, dates and a pinch of sea salt in a food processor until finely chopped. Press mixture very compactly into the bottom of a spring-form pan. I used the back of a spoon and my thumb to press the crust down, and it worked perfectly.

2. Take all filling ingredients and blend in food processor until smooth. Just let it go for a few minutes…. the texture should be nice and creamy. (I had to add a little bit of water, so I didn't burn out my food processor motor.)

3. Pour filling on top of crust and spread out until smooth. Cover with foil and freeze overnight. The freezing process will re-harden the coconut oil and set up the cake. After it is frozen you can refrigerate and it will be ready to serve after about one hour. Even though you have to freeze this cake to set it up, it is not a frozen cake… once refrigerated, it takes on an extremely similar texture to a regular old cheesecake.

World Vegan Day

World Vegan Day

November 1st was World Vegan Day and it wraps up the month of Vegetarian Awareness Month. Starting off with World Vegetarian Day and World Farm Animal Day, this month is a long celebration has been created to share wisdom, compassion and educate all of us to rise to the next level....

I have been busy with protesting a Bison and Cow meat packing plant, and socializing with friends that share the same thoughts. As much as being active making a difference in the world has great impact on all, we need to be able to take those much needed breaks and recharge....

So, in this up coming holiday season. Seek out the friends who make you laugh and smile, along with making new friends. Continue to make a difference for those you love or those who have no voice.