Curried Coconut Milk Cornbread

Curried Coconut Milk Cornbread

Makes 8-12 servings

• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tbsp curry powder
• 1 cup unsweetened coconut non-dairy milk
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/4 cup agave nectar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees, and grease a 9-inch pie plate. Combine dry ingredients in a mixing bowl, and wet ingredients in another. Add dry ingredients to the wet ones and mix only until the dry stuff is absorbed. Pour the batter into your pie plate and shake it from side to side slightly to even the distribution. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Loaded Broccoli Soup

Loaded Broccoli Soup

Makes two 1.5 cup servings

• 1 medium head of broccoli (including the stalk), chopped into pieces
• 1/3 a medium onion, sliced and separated
• 4 large cloves of garlic, sliced
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast (hereafter referred to as "nooch")
• 1 cup unsalted vegetable stock
• 1 cup coconut milk
• a dash each of salt, pepper, curry powder, and cumin
• olive oil cooking spray
• 2 tbsp vegan sour cream
• 4 tbsp salsa + 4 tbsp vegan sour cream
• 1 oz shredded vegan cheese 
• bread of choice

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Lightly grease a dish or roasting pan with cooking spray. Toss broccoli, onion, and garlic with spices and cooking spray and place vegetables in the roasting pan. Cook in the oven for 10 minutes, then remove and toss the vegetables. Replace in the oven and cook for another ten minutes. Remove and allow to cool. Transfer veggies to a food processor and add vegetable stock, coconut milk, nooch, and 2 tbsp of vegan sour cream. Add items slowly and blend well in between so that you don't blow up the food processor. Trust me, I've had it happen. Taste test and add more spices or nooch if desired. Transfer to a saucepan and warm over medium heat, stirring. Serve in bowls and top with the combined salsa and sour cream, and shredded vegan cheese.

Tempeh Bacon / B.L.T. Quinoa

Tempeh Bacon

Makes about 24 small slices

• 1 8 oz. package of tempeh
• 2 tbsp tamari or low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tbsp liquid smoke
• 1 tbsp pure maple syrup
• dash black pepper
• safflower oil 

Cut tempeh into quarters, then turn each quarter on its side and cut into three thin slices. At this point you'll have 12 strips. Combine tamari, liquid smoke, maple syrup, and pepper. Stack the tempeh evenly in a tupperware container and pour the liquid mixture over it. Let the tempeh marinate in the fridge at least overnight. I let it sit for 20 hours, turning the container upside down halfway through to make sure it soaks evenly. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, then very lightly grease a baking sheet and place the tempeh slices on it. Brush the slices lightly with safflower oil and bake for about 7 minutes. Remove the sheet and flip the slices over with a spatula. Brush the other side with oil and let it bake for another seven minutes. Once the slices have cooled slightly, transfer to a cutting board and cut each slice length-wise. Now you have 24!

B.L.T. Quinoa 

Serves 1

• 4 slices tempeh bacon
• 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
• 2 tbsp sun dried tomatoes, sliced
• 1/2 slice of red onion, diced
• 1/4 cup cucumber, cut into cubes
• 1 large handful baby spinach
• 1 tsp tahini
• 1/2 tsp Sriracha 
• 1/4 tsp agave nectar
• 1/2 tsp safflower oil
• sprinkle sesame seeds
• black pepper

Cook quinoa according to package until all the water is absorbed and the germ has separated from the seed. Combine tahini, hot sauce, safflower oil, and agave. Add tahini mixture, sun dried tomato, red onion, cucumber, and spinach to warm quinoa and stir until well mixed. Place on low heat for a few minutes if necessary. Transfer to a plate or bowl and top with tempeh bacon, sesame seeds, and black pepper. 

Black Bean Lentil Burgers

Black Bean Lentil Burgers

Makes 5 large patties

• 1 + 1/2 cups cooked and drained lentils
• 1/3 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/5 cup "ground beef" style vegan soy or veggie crumbles (I used Trader Joe's Beefless ground beef, but I hear Morningstar is also good)
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 5 medium-sized cremini mushrooms, roughly chopped
• 1 large slice of white onion, roughly chopped
• 1 flax egg (1 tbsp ground flaxseed mixed with 3 tbsp water)
• 1/2 tsp each of garlic powder and ground cumin
• salt and pepper

Place all ingredients except flour in a food processor and blend until fully combined. It may take a few rounds of processing to get it really smooth, but a smoother texture is worth the noisiness! Taste test the mixture and add salt and pepper as desired, processing in between additions. Transfer the mixture into a large bowl and add flour, mixing with hands or a spoon until the flour is fully incorporated. Roll a large handful of the mixture into a ball and flatten into a burger; you can either make 5 large patties like I did, or there's probably enough for 4 smaller patties. The mixture will stick to your hands a little but you should be able to form the burgers easily. If not, add flour in increments until you can form them successfully. If you don't want to cook the burgers all right away, store the rest in a plastic container with parchment paper between them so that they don't stick together. To cook the burger, grease a frying pan with cooking spray and set it over medium heat. Place the burger in the pan and cook on each side for about five minutes, or until both sides are well browned and firm but not burnt.

Magical!

Double Chocolate Cupcakes

Double Chocolate Cupcakes

(Roughly adapted from the Post Punk Kitchen)

Makes 16 cupcakes

For the cupcakes:

• 1 + 1/2 cups almond or other non-dairy milk
• 1 + 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 + 1/8 cup raw turbinado sugar
• 1/2 cup safflower oil
• 2 + 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 + 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 + 1/8 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 + 1/8 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a muffin tin lightly with cooking spray and insert paper or foil cupcake liners. Combine almond milk and apple cider vinegar in a large bowl and whisk until combined. Let the bowl sit for a few minutes (you're basically making vegan buttermilk!) Add sugar, oil, and vanilla extract to the vegan buttermilk bowl and whisk until the mixture is frothy. In a separate bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Combine with a dry whisk to make sure that the dry ingredients are uniformly mixed. Add dry ingredients to wet ones in two batches, whisking after each batch until most lumps are absorbed. Make sure you scrape the sides of the bowl; flour always gets trapped there! Once your batter is nice and mixed, spoon or pour it into the cupcake liners, filling each liner about 3/4 of the way full. I ended up doing one batch of 12 and another of 6. Bake about 18 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Once the cupcakes have cooled slightly, use a butter knife to gently lift the cupcakes out of the pan. 

For the chocolate topping:

• 1/3 cup almond milk
• 1/3 cup vegan semisweet chocolate chips
• 2 tbsp pure maple syrup

Bring almond milk to a boil in a small saucepan, then reduce heat to low. Add chocolate chips and maple syrup, stirring until chocolate has melted and dissolved into the almond milk. Once the mixture is uniform, turn off the heat and let it cool for about 10 minutes. When cupcakes have cooled sufficiently, dip them one at a time upside down in the chocolate. They will be runny at first so stick them in the fridge to set once they've been dipped. 

Chocolate Avocado Pudding

Chocolate Avocado Pudding

Serves 1  

• 100 grams of ripe mashed avocado; I used 1/2 + 1/4 of a medium avocado
• 1/2 a cup of vanilla flavored non-dairy milk
• 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• sweetener, to taste

Combine avocado with non-dairy milk and cocoa powder in batches in a food processor; scrape the sides, adjust amounts, and blend well to achieve a creamy consistency. Add sweetener of choice and blend until pudding is satisfyingly sweet, then transfer into a bowl and snarf with reckless abandon!

Light Pesto Pasta

Light Pesto Pasta

Serves 1

• 1 serving whole wheat spaghetti or other pasta, cooked and drained
• 1/5 of a block of silken tofu (about 91 grams)
• about 20 fresh basil leaves or more, to taste (I used 18 grams total)
• 4 cloves of fresh garlic, pressed
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1/4 cup of unsweetened non-dairy milk
• salt and pepper to taste
• a large handful of baby spinach (optional)

Combine tofu, pressed garlic, nutritional yeast, and basil leaves in a food processor. Add non-dairy milk slowly between processing until the sauce is completely blended. Add more non-dairy milk if necessary to achieve a creamy consistency. Add salt, pepper, or more garlic/basil leaves to taste and process until combined. Combine pesto sauce, cooked spaghetti, and spinach in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir frequently until spinach has wilted and pasta is hot. Serve immediately.

Roasted Red Pepper, Mushroom, & Arugula Pasta

Roasted Red Pepper, Mushroom, and Arugula Pasta

Serves 1

• 1 serving of whole wheat spaghetti, cooked al dente and drained
• 1 medium red bell pepper
• 5 small to medium sized mushrooms, sliced (I used cremini)
• 1 large handful (about a cup) of fresh arugula
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
• a dash each of garlic powder, onion powder, and ground thyme
• sea salt and black pepper, to taste
• olive oil cooking spray (or 1 tsp olive oil)

Set oven to broil on high. Spray bell pepper evenly with cooking spray or brush with olive oil. Set in a roasting tin and place in the oven as close to the flame as possible. Check on it often. Once the pepper has been slightly blackened on one side (this should not take more than ten minutes), remove the roasting tin carefully and turn the pepper. Replace it in the oven and allow the other side to blacken. Once done, remove the tin from the oven and place the pepper carefully in a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and allow the pepper to sit for ten minutes so that the skin softens. Once the pepper is cool enough, remove the skin and slice the pepper into strips. Now pat yourself on the back. You just roasted a pepper! Place mushrooms and small amount of water in a frying pan and allow mushrooms to cook on medium heat until most of the water is absorbed. Add spices and nutritional yeast and sauté to evenly coat the mushrooms. Add more water as necessary to absorb the powder ingredients. Add roasted peppers, arugula, and pasta. Saute over medium heat until arugula is wilted and the pasta is hot. Most of the liquid should be absorbed. Add salt and pepper as desired. I went a little crazy with the black pepper but I really liked the spicy taste with the sweet red peppers. I would recommend being sparse with salt and liberal with pepper. Serve immediately with a dash of vegan Parmesan if desired. 

Fajita Vegetable Stir-Fry

Fajita Vegetable Stir-Fry

Serves 1

• 1.5 bell peppers, sliced into long strips
• about 10 cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 a sweet onion, sliced
• 1/4 cup pinto beans
• large handful of baby spinach
• 1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• generous amounts of garlic powder, chili powder, cumin, and black pepper
• a dash of cayenne pepper
• salsa and jalapeños, to taste

Place the peppers and onions over high heat in a frying pan with a small amount of water. Allow the peppers and onions to cook until soft. Add more water as needed so the veggies don't stick. Reduce heat to medium. Add cocoa powder and spices and sauté, adding more water if necessary to prevent burning or sticking. Add pinto beans and spinach and stir until mixture is hot and spinach has wilted.

Enjoy with hot peppers and salsa!