Thursday, July 31, 2014

Overnight Refrigerator Oats

Yum
About a year ago I came across cold oatmeal from Oh She Glows. Her recipe for easy vegan overnight oats was the start of a love affair between me and cold oatmeal. I love this oatmeal in the mornings before work in the warm summer months. It is so easy and so satisfying that you really can't go wrong.

This is my very basic recipe for, what is for me, the perfect cold oatmeal. This is the template that can become a backdrop for other flavors. Experiment with cocoa, nut-butters, fresh fruit, and chai to change it up. Or just google refrigerator oatmeal and be amazed; at least I was amazed, as I had never had this breakfast treat before.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup nondairy milk of your choice
1 tsp chia seeds
2 tsp agave nectar
Dash of cinnamon

Directions:

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and let it chill overnight.

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Cold Noodle Salad with Sesame Dressing

Yum
I am the only full-time vegan in my house. My husband and son are both very open to vegan food and my son is allergic to dairy and eggs, which means a lot of his food is vegan anyway by necessity.  But they are not committed to a vegan diet, so to be sure I have readily available vegan food for myself, I often cook several dishes on Sunday and eat leftovers throughout the week. This way I am set, no matter what the boys are having or how tired I am after work. It works very well for me. I like to think I am my own Whole Foods Deli, if that makes sense.

So, this salad only makes four servings, because that is the perfect amount for me to have for lunches during the week. If you would like more, then you could double or triple the recipe.

Cold Noodle Salad with Sesame Dressing
Ingredients:

6 oz whole wheat pasta, cooked according to package directions

1 carrot, thinly sliced
1 rib of celery with leaves attached, thinly sliced and leaves minced
1/2 cucumber thinly sliced

2 tbsp vegan mayo - I personally love Vegenaise 
2 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp Bragg liquid aminos (or soy sauce)
1 tbsp minced fresh basil
1 tbsp sesame seeds
1/2 tsp garlic powder
dash of cayenne pepper

Directions:

Cook the pasta in salted water, according to the package directions. While the pasta is cooking wash, peel (if necessary) and thinly slice your carrot, celery and cucumber. When the pasta is done, rinse it with cold water to cool it down and stop the cooking process. Put the pasta in a dish with the vegetables.

In a measuring cup mix all the ingredients for the dressing: vegan mayo, sesame oil, vinegar, liquid amines, bail, sesame seeds, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper. Pour the dressing over the pasta and veggies and mix. Chill the salad until ready to serve.

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 198 g
Amount Per Serving
Calories 
248
Calories from Fat 
82
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 
9.1g
14%
Saturated Fat 
1.1g
6%
Trans Fat 
0.0g
Cholesterol 
0mg
0%
Sodium 
72mg
3%
Potassium 
331mg
9%
Total Carbohydrates 
60.8g
20%
Dietary Fiber 
4.9g
20%
Sugars 
3.2g
Protein 
6.4g
Vitamin A 53%Vitamin C 6%
Calcium 5%Iron 10%
Nutrition Grade B-
* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

Monday, July 28, 2014

Oven Baked French Toast with Vanilla Maple Cream and Blueberry Sauce

Yum
My son loves breakfast and is so appreciative when I make something, which is usually on Saturday morning when I have more time. I enjoy baking anyway, but his appreciation is so sweet that I really enjoy these leisurely weekend mornings together.

This casserole is a regular in our rotation of favorites. Once you have the garbanzo bean flour, most of the other items are staples (for vegans anyway - I think?). It is a great way to use up some extra bread that might be getting stale, but I don't wait for stale bread....I make it whenever the mood strikes.

Oven Baked French Toast
Baked French Toast Ingredients:

9 slices of whole wheat sandwich bread cut into cubes (makes about 8 cups of bread cubes)

1 1/2 cups non-dairy milk (I prefer soy)
1 tsp vanilla
3 tbsp cornstarch
1/3 cup garbanzo bean (chickpea) flour - I know it sounds wrong, but it really works!
2 tbsp maple syrup
dash of cinnamon
dash of nutmeg
1 tbsp natural granulated sugar

Blueberry Sauce Ingredients:

1 cup frozen blueberries
1/2 cup water
2 - 3 tbsp natural sugar (depending on how sweet you like it and how sweet your berries are)
1 tbsp cornstarch

Vanilla Maple Cream Sauce Ingredients:

1 cup soy milk
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp maple syrup

Oven Baked French Toast Directions:

Spray an 8" by 11 1/2" casserole dish with cooking spray and preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Slice your bread into 1 inch cubes. I used regular sandwich bread and cut it into four strips and then those strips into thirds. Put the cubes of bread in to your greased casserole dish. In a small bowl or measuring cup whisk the soy milk, vanilla and cornstarch until the cornstarch is incorporated without any lumps. Then mix in the garbanzo bean flour, maple syrup, cinnamon and nutmeg. Whisk again to incorporate together. It is okay to have a few clumps of the garbanzo flour. Pour the wet ingredients over the bread crumbs, try to distribute it evenly and then sprinkle the sugar over the top. Bake for 30 minutes.

Blueberry Sauce Directions:

Heat the blueberries, water, sugar and cornstarch over low heat. Stir constantly until it thickens. This does not take long at all. Set aside.

Vanilla Maple Cream Sauce Directions:

Whisk the soy milk, cornstarch, vanilla, and syrup in a measuring cup to incorporate all of the cornstarch without any clumps. Pour into a saucepan and heat over low while stirring constantly. You want it to start to thicken. It does not take long. Set aside. This continues to set up after you take it off the heat, so err on having it too runny.

Serve the french toast with the vanilla sauce and the blueberry sauce layered on top of it. You can also just have the french toast with a dollop of vegan margarine and maple syrup.

For 8 servings. Nutritional information from caloriecount.about.com

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 181 g
Amount Per Serving
Calories 
251
Calories from Fat 
36
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 
4.0g
6%
Trans Fat 
0.0g
Cholesterol 
0mg
0%
Sodium 
591mg
25%
Potassium 
122mg
3%
Total Carbohydrates 
45.5g
15%
Dietary Fiber 
4.3g
17%
Sugars 
18.1g
Protein 
7.0g
Vitamin A 0%Vitamin C 5%
Calcium 3%Iron 5%
Nutrition Grade C-
* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

Friday, July 25, 2014

Soul Satisfying Vegan Cinnamon Rolls

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Last year my family took a road trip from Colorado to San Francisco and down the coast of California. We had some awesome vegan food on that trip and one stop was so freaking delicious that we can't stop thinking about it....one whole year later. The place was Cinnaholic, and it serves the best cinnamon rolls ever. They were the vegan version of Cinnabon, only with a crazy variety of amazing toppings.

I have since been working to perfect a vegan cinnamon roll that is a big gooey mess of goodness to fulfill our constant craving. These are it.

Soul Satisfying Cinnamon Rolls
For your planning:

This recipe involves several steps. You make the dough first and then let it rise for an hour. Next, you make the filling, roll out the dough, and cut it into the rolls. Then it rises again for another hour. Finally, you bake it and make the glaze.

Roll Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups warm water
3 tbsp sugar
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast (1 envelope)
1 cup warm soy milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 1/2 tsp salt
4-5 cups all purpose flour

Filling Ingredients:

1/2 cup vegan margarine (room temperature)
1 cup vegan brown sugar
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp cinnamon
pinch of salt

Glaze Ingredients:

1/2 cup natural powdered sugar
1 tbsp water
1/2 tsp vanilla

This recipe is easily halved. Once you have kneaded the dough and left it to rise once, simply divide the dough and freeze half. When you are ready simply thaw the dough, roll it out, slather on the filling and let it rise one more time before you bake it. Just be sure to halve the glaze and filling as well if you choose to do this.

Roll Directions:

I modified a classic bread dough recipe for these rolls. Start out by proofing the yeast. In a large mixing bowl combine the warm water, sugar and yeast to let it do its thing for about 10 minutes. You want it to get foamy because that means the yeast is good and starting to react. Next, stir in the warm milk (just microwave it for a couple of minutes), oil and salt. Now you start working in the flour by adding one cup at a time and stirring (a large wooden spoon works well for this). After adding about 4 cups of flour the dough should start to pull away from the bowl and clump together to form one big ball.

Turn it out onto a generously floured surface and knead the dough for about 5 minutes. Keep adding more flour when the dough starts to stick or feels too moist. The resulting dough should be smooth and resilient. Put this dough into a large bowl that has been oiled so the dough doesn't stick as it rises. Cover the bowl with a towel so the dough doesn't dry out and set it in a warm spot to rise for about an hour. If you put it in the oven with just the light on, it creates a perfect warm climate for the dough to rise.

Filling Directions:

When your dough has risen, punch it back down and let it rest for a few minutes while you make the filling. If you are reserving half of the dough for another time, this is when you divide it and freeze it. While the dough is resting make the filling. I simply place all the ingredients (margarine, brown sugar, maple syrup, cinnamon and salt) in a bowl and microwave it for 20 seconds if the margarine is still cold. Then vigorously mix the ingredients with a fork to break up any clumps of sugar.

Next, roll out your dough on a lightly floured surface. I like to roll mine somewhat thin; around 1/8th inch thick. Then spread the filling on the dough and roll it into a log. Use a serrated steak knife to cut the dough into 8 or 16 rolls (depending on if you are making half or not). Place the rolls in a rectangular baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking oil. Cover the rolls and let them rise again for about an hour.

*You can also make 12 larger rolls...cut them thicker and set them next to each other in a 9x13 rectangular glass baking dish.

When the dough has risen again preheat your oven to 375 degrees. When ready, bake the rolls for 25 minutes, until they are just starting to lightly brown. Soon after taking them out of the oven, I like to invert them over a large serving platter so all the gooeyness is on the top and this way they won't stick to the pan.

Glaze Directions:

While the rolls are cooling make your glaze by whisking the powdered sugar and water together with the vanilla. Play with the proportions by adding more water or powdered sugar to get the consistency to your liking.

For 16 rolls. Nutritional information from caloriecount.about.com

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 109 g
Amount Per Serving
Calories
299
Calories from Fat
88
% Daily Value*
Total Fat
9.8g
15%
Saturated Fat
1.7g
8%
Trans Fat
0.0g
Cholesterol
0mg
0%
Sodium
455mg
19%
Potassium
95mg
3%
Total Carbohydrates
48.3g
16%
Dietary Fiber
1.7g
7%
Sugars
17.0g
Protein
4.8g
Vitamin A 5%Vitamin C 0%
Calcium 3%Iron 12%
Nutrition Grade C
* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Blueberry Pinwheels

Yum
My mom used to make these pinwheels when I was growing up. I always loved them, and now I appreciate how simple they are. I originally posted these a year ago on Vegan Runners, but want to repost them here because I make them all of the time. I am slowly moving my favorite recipes here so I have them all in one place. Believe it or not, this blog is a great resource for me, too and I refer to my own recipes all of the time.

These are made with a basic baking powder biscuit dough wrapped around fresh or frozen blueberries.

Blueberry Pinwheels
Ingredients:

2 cups flour - plus a little more for kneading and rolling out the dough
2 tbsp natural sugar - divided
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup water
1 tsp vanilla

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.

Combine the flour, 1 tbsp of the sugar, the baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl. Whisk to combine. In a measuring cup combine the oil, water, and vinegar. Pour the oil and water mixture into the flour and mix until the dough pulls together.

Sprinkle a clean surface with flour and knead the dough for about a minute. You do not want to over-process this dough because it will toughen up, so just be sure it is all well combined and stop kneading.

Roll out the dough out into a rectangle that is about an inch thick and about 14" by 10". This is not exact, but is just a guideline to give you an idea. Sprinkle the dough with the remaining 1 tbsp of sugar and spread the blueberries out all over the dough as evenly as you can. Roll the dough into a log and cut into 12 pieces. I find it easiest to cut the roll into fourths and then the fourths into thirds. Also, a serrated steak knife is great at cutting the dough without pulling it and also for cutting through the frozen blueberries.

Put the rolls into a muffin tin sprayed with cooking oil and bake for 12 minutes. Let cool to room temperature and enjoy. You can sprinkle another pinch of sugar over the tops at this point if you want to add a little sparkle.


For 12 pinwheels. Nutritional information from caloriecount.about.com

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 56 g
Amount Per Serving
Calories 
146
Calories from Fat 
57
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 
6.3g
10%
Saturated Fat 
1.2g
6%
Trans Fat 
0.0g
Cholesterol 
0mg
0%
Sodium 
196mg
8%
Potassium 
159mg
5%
Total Carbohydrates 
20.3g
7%
Dietary Fiber 
0.9g
4%
Sugars 
3.3g
Protein 
2.2g
Vitamin A 0%Vitamin C 3%
Calcium 6%Iron 7%
Nutrition Grade C-
* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

German Chocolate Cupcakes - Allergy Friendly

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Tomorrow is my son's 12th birthday. I wanted to make a dessert for him, and German Chocolate Cupcakes sounded like just the thing; except my son is allergic to nuts. I set out to make nut-free vegan German Chocolate Cupcakes, and these came out amazing. The cake is rich and moist and the topping is sweet and decadent. It is such a good combination.

I used both pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds in the topping, because I wanted a more complex "nutty flavor". The pumpkin seeds are green, though, which may not be the look you are going for. You can easily leave these out and just use sunflower seeds.

As I was going to all of this trouble to make the cupcakes, toast the seeds, and make the frosting, I decided to make a lot of cupcakes. This recipe makes 32 cupcakes, so your sweet tooth will be set for quite awhile.

German Chocolate Cupcakes - Allergy Friendly
Cupcake Ingredients (Adapted From Moosewoods Dessert Cookbook):

3 cups flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 cups vegan sugar
2 cup water
1 tsp instant coffee granules
3 tsp vanilla
4 tbsp white vinegar

Topping Ingredients (Adapted from Feed Me I'm Cranky's German Chocolate Cake Recipe):

2 cups soy milk
1/4 cup water
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup vegan margarine
1 tsp salt
1 cup vegan sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup raw sunflower seeds (you will toast them)
1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds (you will toast them)
3 cups shredded coconut

Cupcake Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with paper liners. You can get earth friendly ones like, these Natural Brown Ones.

Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a mixing bowl. Add the sugar, and stir to mix well. When all the dry ingredients are incorporated, add the wet ingredients. I like to combine the wet ingredients in a large measuring cup and pour them all in at once. You will mix the water, coffee granules, vanilla, and white vinegar and pour that over the dry ingredients. Fold until it is just combined and there are no large clumps of flour. Pour into cupcake tins, lined with the cupcake liners until each is 3/4ths of the way full. Bake for 18 minutes.

While the cupcakes are baking, make the topping.

First, toast the sunflower seeds and the pumpkin seeds in a dry frying pan over high heat. Shake often, so they don't burn. A cast iron pan also works very well for this. You will know they are done when they start to smell fragrant and are turning golden brown.

Next, put the soy milk in a saucepan and let it simmer for quite awhile. Stir it frequently and let it reduce to half the original volume. Next, mix the cold water with the cornstarch and slowly add that to the soy milk while stirring the whole time to avoid it clumping up on you. When this has thickened a bit, add the vegan margarine, salt, and sugar. Continue to stir as the margarine melts, the sugar dissolves, and it all incorporates.

Finally, remove from the heat and add the vanilla, toasted seeds, and shredded coconut. Let the topping cool before adding a nice spoonful to the top of each cupcake.

For 32 cupcakes. Nutritional information from caloriecount.about.com

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 83 g
Amount Per Serving
Calories 
202
Calories from Fat 
69
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 
7.7g
12%
Saturated Fat 
3.1g
16%
Trans Fat 
0.0g
Cholesterol 
0mg
0%
Sodium 
230mg
10%
Potassium 
133mg
4%
Total Carbohydrates 
32.3g
11%
Dietary Fiber 
1.8g
7%
Sugars 
19.5g
Protein 
3.1g
Vitamin A 3%Vitamin C 1%
Calcium 1%Iron 13%
Nutrition Grade C-
* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

Monday, July 21, 2014

Carrot Raisin Salad

Yum
My carrots are doing very well in my garden, and I love to use them in this late summer salad. It is so cool and refreshing, and such a simple dish. For my small family of three, I just make enough for four small servings. We often make this for a side dish when we are grilling. It is also wonderful for potlucks and leftover for lunches.

I used to blog over at Vegan Runners at 2sistersrunning.blogspot.com, but realized that I love posting recipes more than posting about my workouts. I created this new site to focus solely on vegan food. I will continue to post new recipes here, as well as repost some of my favorite recipes from Vegan Runners. This salad is one that I make all the time. I originally posted it in the fall of 2012 on my original blog.

Carrot Raisin Salad
Ingredients:

4 large carrots, shredded
1/3 cup raisins
1/4 cup Vegenaise (or your favorite vegan mayo)
salt and pepper to taste
apple cider vinegar

Directions:

Wash, peel and shred the carrots into a bowl. Add the raisins, Veganaise, salt and pepper. That is it....super easy, right? Reserve the apple cider vinegar and just add a dash before eating the salad. This really brightens the dish and brings out the flavors. If you add it before eating, it thins out the mayo.

For four servings. Nutritional information from caloriecount.about.com

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 98 g
Amount Per Serving
Calories 
156
Calories from Fat 
82
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 
9.1g
14%
Saturated Fat 
0.5g
3%
Trans Fat 
0.0g
Cholesterol 
0mg
0%
Sodium 
136mg
6%
Potassium 
321mg
9%
Total Carbohydrates 
16.7g
6%
Dietary Fiber 
2.2g
9%
Sugars 
10.7g
Protein 
1.0g
Vitamin A 241%Vitamin C 8%
Calcium 3%Iron 3%
Nutrition Grade B
* Based on a 2000 calorie diet