Vegan
Lemon Lavender Cookies (vegan)
I’ve been enjoying playing with vegan baking and cookies are such a great way to experiment! I was in the mood for something lemony and as I was whipping up this batter I thought ‘how about lavender lemon!’
Ta-da!!! Lavender Lemon Cookies 😀 They are light and chewy and delicious and I am having a hard time not eating ALL of them!!!
These are also super fast to make so they are perfect for making any time you are in the mood for a treat ❤
INGREDIENTS:
•½ cup Earth Balance vegan butter (or other vegan butter)
•1 cup sugar
•1tsp vanilla extract
•1Tbs lemon zest
•1Tbs lemon juice
•¼tsp salt
•1¾ cups flour
•1Tbs dried lavender flowers
•¼tsp baking powder
•⅛tsp baking soda
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350°
Mix first 6 ingredients together until smooth.
Add flour, flowers, baking powder, & baking soda and mix again.
Scoop tablespoon sized pieces of dough onto parchment paper lined cookie sheets, 2 inches apart. (Seriously 2 inches…these will spread and touch if too close!)
Bake for 12-17 minutes, or until they begin to brown. **They will take closer to the 17 minutes if you use the airbake cookie sheets** Basically, you just want them to start to brown!
Cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet then move to a cooling rack.
Eat. Enjoy. Love.
Chickpea Flour “Omelet”
I love savory things for breakfast. Sometimes I really miss a big pile of scrambled eggs and veggies…so what do I do? Toast with avocado is great. Oatmeal and smooties are good, also. But what if I want something…more special?
Enter: The chickpea (garbanzo bean) flour “omelet”
This beauty is packed full of veggies and fiber and protein(17g!!) that will keep you full and happy for hours!!
Now, don’t get me wrong..this, to me, in no way resembles or replaces eggs in flavor or texture but it is DELICIOUS nonetheless! It is almost like a veggie filled pancake. Whatever you decide to liken it to, you will love it.
Feel free to play around with the spices and flavors to suit your preferences, but below is the basic recipe:
INGREDIENTS:
•Veggies of choice (pictured I used carrot, onion, crimini, & broccoli)
•⅓ cup chickpea flour
•1 T nutritional yeast
•⅓ cup water
• salt and pepper
Sautee the veggies over medium heat in either coconut or olive oil until as soft or crunchy as you like.
Meanwhile, make the batter by whisking together the chickpeaflour, nutritional yeast, and salt & pepper. This is also where you would add any other spices you like. Cumin, basil, oregano, & chili powder, for example, would be super tasty!
Pour the batter over your veggies and DONT STIR OR MOVE IT. Let it cook for about 4-5 minutes then fold it over on itself and cook for another 1-3 minutes. Play with the doneness and cook time because I know some people like theirs a little undercooked whereas I like mine cooked through.
Top with delicious things like vegan sour cream and/or salsa 🙂
Eat. Enjoy. Love
Vegan Pizza Dough
Aside Posted on Updated on
TOPPINGS IDEA #1:
Soyrizo, red onion, spinach, tomato, black olives, crimini mushrooms.
When almost finished baking brush crust with melted vegan butter & garlic powder.
After baking add avocado.
I LOVE pizza. Seriously. Daniel & I could eat it every single day of our lives!!!! Noted, we try really hard not to!!! But this crust makes it even harder because it is SO delicious. It gets wonderfully crisp on the outside, has such a good flavor and holds up very nicely to LOTS of toppings!!! (see above and below!)
Enough chit-chat. Just make this crust because I know you will LOVE it. Even if you aren’t vegan…you’ll STILL love it!!! Best crust I have EVER made at home, hands down, vegan or otherwise!!!
Makes one 12-16″ pizza (depending on how think you like your crust)
Ingredients:
- 1tsp sugar
- 1.5C warm water
- 1T active dry yeast
- 1T olive oil
- 1tsp salt
- 2C whole wheat flour
- 1.5C all-purpose flour (I always have bread flour on hand and use that)
- 1T melted vegan butter
- 1/2tsp garlic powder
Preparation:
In a large bowl, dissolve sugar in warm water. Sprinkle yeast over the top & let stand for about 10 minutes, until foamy.
Stir olive oil & salt into the yeast mixture, then mix in the whole wheat flour and 1 cup of the all-purpose flour until dough starts to come together. Tip dough out onto a surface floured with the remaining all-purpose flour & knead until all the flour has been absorbed & the ball of dough has become smooth (about 10 minutes). Place dough in a lightly-oiled(I use my Misto) bowl & lightly oil the top of the dough. Cover loosely with a towel & let stand in a warm place until doubled in size. Usually, this takes about 1 hour.
When the dough is doubled, tip dough out onto a lightly floured surface and form into a tight ball (could divide into 2 smaller balls for smaller pizzas). Let rise (either on surface or back in bowl) for about 45 minutes, or until doubled.
Preheat oven to 425°F. Roll dough with rolling pin until about 1/2-3/4 inch thick then drape over both of your fists & gently pull the edges outward while rotating the crust. When the circle has reached the desired size, place on a well oiled pizza pan. Add toppings.
TOPPINGS IDEA #2:
Pesto (homemade or otherwise), crimini mushrooms, black olives, zucchini, red onion, green bell pepper, dried cranberries.
After baking top with Vegan Parm
Bake for 12 minutes then pull out and brush crust with vegan butter & sprinkle with garlic powder. This is why the crust is SO amazing!!!!
Bake for an additional 5-10 minutes (depending on thickness and crispiness desired) until the crust is crisp and golden to your liking.
Eat. Enjoy. Love.
Homemade Yumm Sauce
If you have ever eaten Cafe Yumm then you know what this is and it needs no explaining!!! For those of you who haven’t….well you’ve missed out BUT NOW you can make your own yumm bowls of all sorts at home!!! And you know that the sauce is homemade & healthier 🙂
- Yumm Bowl: a mixture of rice, beans, veggies, yumm sauce, salsa, & vegan sour cream(or non-vegan, if you please) then just mix up and enjoy!!)
<–This Yumm Bowl: brown jasmin rice, kidney beans, yumm sauce, spinach, cilantro, tomatoes, black olives, avocado, and salsa.
You can also use this as a yummy salad dressing, sandwich spread, pasta sauce, veggie/cracker dip, etc, etc, etc 🙂
So…to the recipe!!!
Makes 1-1.5 cups of sauce
Ingredients:
- 1/2 C light olive oil (you could sub canola, or another light-flavored oil)
- 1/2 C almonds
- 1/2 C cooked garbanzo beans (homemade or canned)
- Juice of 1/2 of a lemon
- 1tsp oregano
- 1/2 – 1tsp yellow curry powder (start with 1/2tsp and add more to your liking!)
- 1-2 cloves garlic (again, start with just 1 and add more to your liking!)
- 1T nutritional yeast
- a small handful of fresh cilantro (optional)
- 1/2 C unsweetened almond milk
- 1T packed raisins
Preparation:
Put everything into a high-powered blender (Nutribullet is my weapon of choice) and blend until creamy!! This sauce comes out pretty thick so if you want to use any or all of it as a salad dressing I would just add a bit more almond milk to make it a tad thinner. OR just have a nice thick salad dressing!!!
My super secret: The RAISINS!!!!! (Now your secret, too). When I was making this, something was missing then *poof* “RAISINS” popped into my head so I added them and VOILA!!!! Perfect deliciousness 🙂 🙂 🙂
Keep covered in the refrigerator. Should keep 1-2 weeks no problem…not that you won’t eat it all in a couple days 😉
Eat. Enjoy. Love
Vegan Cauliflower Sandwich Bread
To be honest, I wasn’t sure how this was going to turn out! Haha. BUT, it is AMAZING!!!!!! It has a very light and slightly chewy texture with great flavor and it holds up perfectly for sandwiches and is WONDERFUL for toast!!!
I am going to be making a loaf of this every weekend from here on out!! And considering it is vegan, extremely healthy with NO artificial ingredients or any preservatives AND the cost to make it is about $1.00 it would be silly of me NOT to make it 🙂 I will also try adding in some dried fruit and nuts into one of my loaves next time…stay tuned for how that turns out!!
Makes 1 standard loaf.
Ingredients:
- 1C Water
- 1T active yeast
- 1T raw sugar or maple syrup
- 2C unbleached white flour or bread flour
- 1C whole wheat flour
- 1C cauliflower rice/grated/pulsed
- 1 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp cumin powder (optional)
- 1/4 tsp Italian herb blend (optional)
- 1T extra virgin olive oil (optional)
Preparation:
Activate the yeast in 1/4 cup warm water, with sugar/syrup. Mix and let sit for 5 minutes or until frothy.
Grate, pulse or “rice” the cauliflower and measure 1 packed cup. I put 1.5 loaded cups small florets in my food processor and it gave me a cup of cauliflower “rice”.
In a bowl, mix all the flours, salt, spices, grated cauliflower.
Add the yeast mixture, oil and a 3/4 cup water and knead into a dough. Add more water if needed. Knead for 6-8 minutes. Spray/brush oil on top, cover with a towel and let the dough rise until doubled (1.5-2 hours).
Punch the dough down, use a tablespoon or so flour and shape into a “loaf”. Place seam side down in a bread pan.
Spray/brush oil on top. If desired, sprinkle with sesame seeds, oats, or flaxmeal. Cover with a towel and let rise for 45 minutes, or until close to doubled. The rise time varies based on the environment, so as soon as the the bread has risen more than 1.5 time its original size, start pre-heating the oven.
Bake at 375° oven for 35-40 minutes. After about 3/4 of the baking time, brush the top of the loaf with oil or vegan butter – it helps keep the crust soft 🙂
Take bread out and remove from pan. Let cool completely before slicing. I keep my loaf unsliced and slice it “to order”. I also keep mine in the refrigerator to ensure it stays fresh all week!
Eat. Enjoy. Love.
Veggie Sandwich….YUM!!!!!
Vegan “Queso” Dip
Ok….This stuff is PHENOMENAL!!!!! I love recipes like this because it makes it so simple to not miss the “real” thing. This dip is creamy, velvety, cheesy and you’d never guess that the main ingredient is eggplant. Yup. EGGPLANT! This also means that there are only about 55 calories per serving. Now that is a dip I’ll really enjoy eating!!! It also reheats really well so you can keep the leftovers in the fridge for several days 🙂
Makes roughly 6 servings.
Ingredients:
- 7-9 rounds of eggplant, sliced 1/4-inch thick
- Olive oil
- Sea salt
- 1 1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk
- 2-3 Tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp finely minced fresh garlic
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
- 3 tsp cornstarch (sub another thickener if desired)
- 1/4-1/2 cup chunky medium salsa, slightly drained
- Slice your eggplant into thin rounds just under 1/2 inch (not quite 1/4 inch), then sprinkle both sides of the flesh with a little sea salt and arrange in a colander to help draw out some of the moisture and bitterness. Let set for 10-15 minutes, then rinse with cool water and thoroughly pat dry between two clean towels.
- Preheat oven to high broil and place an oven rack near the top of the oven. Arrange the dried eggplant rounds on a baking sheet lightly spritzed with non-stick spray and drizzle both sides of the eggplant with a little olive oil. Sprinkle with a very small amount of salt.
- Broil on high for 4-5 minutes on each side, watching carefully as to not let them burn. Flip at the halfway point to ensure even cooking. Once the eggplant appears tender and both sides have golden brown color, remove from the oven and wrap loosely in foil to steam.
- After a few minutes, unwrap and peel the eggplant skin away. It should come right off. If you pack your roasted eggplant into a 1-cup measuring cup, it should be almost 1 cup.
- Place eggplant in a blender with the 1.5 cups almond milk, 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast, minced garlic, cumin, chili powder and cornstarch and blend on high until smooth and creamy. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. I added a pinch more sea salt and a little more nutritional yeast. To thin, add more almond milk.
- Transfer to a small saucepan and warm over medium to medium heat until slightly thickened and bubbly – about 5 minutes. The longer you go the thicker it will become.
- NOTE: If it isn’t looking as thick as you want, thicken with a slurry of cornstarch by adding an additional 1 tsp cornstarch to a small bowl with a little almond milk. Whisk to combine and then stir back into the pot. This should thicken it right up.
- Once hot and thickened, remove from heat and stir in salsa. remember to slightly drain your salsa so it doesn’t make the dip too runny. I added extra salsa on top of mine once it was in the serving dish 🙂
- Serve with chips, crackers or veggies. Or use it for in burritos, quesadillas, tacos, or on top of a veggie&rice bowl, or on pasta…the options are ENDLESS!!!
Eat. Enjoy. Love
Vegan Loaded Muffins
I absolutely love 1 or 2 of these for a quick breakfast or snack 🙂 They are great warmed up with a little butter (I use vegan Earth Balance). YUM!!! They are FULL of yummy ingredients (from veggies to fresh fruit to dried fruit to nuts) and you can be completely creative with what nuts and dried fruits you use. Just use what you have in your pantry and they will be delicious. The options are endless 🙂
Makes about 16 muffins
Ingredients:
- 3T flaxseed meal
- 6.5T water
- 1/3 C applesauce
- 1T vegetable oil
- 1/4C almond milk
- 1T vanilla extract
- 1 zucchini, grated
- 1/3 C brown sugar
- 1 1/2 C flour (I always use whole wheat pastry flour)
- 1/2 C coconut flour
- 1T cinnamon
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 small carrots, grated
- 1 apple, 1/2 grated, half chopped into raisin-sized pieces)
- 1/3 C dried fruit ( I used a combo of golden raisins, cranberries, and chopped up apricots)
- 2T chopped walnuts
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375° and line muffin tins with paper liners (though I HIGHLY suggest investing in a silicone muffin tray…it will change your world!!)
In a medium bowl, whisk flax meal, water, applesauce, zucchini, oil, brown sugar, & vanilla.
In a large bowl, stir together flours, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir the carrots, apple, dried fruit, and nuts into the flour mixture to coat.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir to combine. If too dry, add a little almond milk.
Spoon into the muffin tins, filling totally full for full-sized muffins (or 3/4 if you prefer smaller muffins…this is what is pictured and it makes about 20 muffins).
Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until golden and a knife comes out 90-100% clean. **I like to take them out at the 90% mark because I like them to stay really moist inside**
Eat. Enjoy. Love.
Nutrition, per serving, when 16 full-sized muffins are made:
Vegan Burger Buns
I always get a little nervous baking yeast breads…I don’t necessarily know why, but I always have! After my first go at these Vegan Burger Buns, though I don’t think I’ll feel intimidated anymore. They were AMAZING. and actually quite simple to make. There is some prep time involved, of course, but the time waiting for these to rise is WELL WORTH IT!!! They came out light & fluffy and had amazing flavor 🙂
Oh, and just for fun I figured out the cost to make these…the whole recipe only costs $1.36 to make. That is only $0.17 per bun!!! How CRAZY is that!!! I am never buying burger buns again…and neither will you after trying these!!!! So now you know that not only do they taste amazing, but they are SOOOO inexpensive 🙂 Just makes you feel extra-smart!!
Makes 8 buns.
Ingredients:
- 1T active dry yeast
- 1/2C warm water
- 2T organic cane sugar
- 1/2 cup non-dairy milk (I use unsweetened almond milk)
- 1 flax egg (1 tbs ground flax seeds + 3 tbs water)
- 2T organic coconut oil (melted)
- 1tsp sea salt
- 1 1/2C all-purpose unbleached flour
- 1 1/2C whole wheat pastry flour
- **You can use only all-purpose flour. If you do you will get more rise out of the buns**
- 1T vegan butter (melted – to brush over the tops)
Preparation:
NOTE: If you do not have a standing mixer, you can still make these…you will just have to knead the dough by hand for 5-10 minutes. think of it as a little arm workout 😉
- In the bowl of a standing mixer, stir the yeast into the warm water and let it sit until dissolved.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the non-dairy milk, flax egg, coconut oil, sugar and salt.
- Add this to the yeast mixture and stir until well combined.
- Add all the flour mixture and stir until it forms a shaggy dough.
- Knead at low speed for 10 minutes (The finished dough should be smooth, feel slightly tacky and spring back when poked).
- Cover and let the dough rise in a warm spot until doubled in size (approx. 1 hour).
- Dust your work area with a little flour and turn out the risen dough on top.
- Divide the dough into 8 pieces and shape each piece into a tight ball.
- Transfer the balls onto a baking sheet and let them rise until they look puffy and hamburger-sized (approx. 30 – 40 minutes).
- Melt the butter and brush it over the risen hamburger buns (This helps the tops to brown and keeps the crust soft).
- Bake the buns at 375 degree for approximately 15 – 18 minutes (or until golden on the tops).
- Let the buns cool at room temperature before slicing and using.
Use these for delicious veggie burgers, sandwiches, snacks, etc. The possibilities are endless!!
Eat. Enjoy. Love.
Vegan Cashew Alfredo Sauce
This sauce is so easy, creamy, flavorful, and just plain delicious!! I enjoyed it with some delicious pasta (ingredients to come at the end of post) but this would be amazing on broccoli or cauliflower, as a dip, and, and, and. It is just simple & amazing.
Ingredients:
**Makes 3-4 servings, depending on how much you use**
- 3/4 cup raw cashews
- 1 1/4 cup hot water (if you are having this with pasta, use the starchy water from cooking the pasta!)
- 1-3 garlic cloves, based of flavor preference
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1T extra virgin olive oil
- 2-3T nutritional yeast
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 1T psyllium husk, optional
Put all ingredients, except for psyllium husk and S&P, in a high-powered blender (you all know I LOVE my Nutribullet) and blend until smooth and creamy. Season with salt and pepper to taste. If you want a thicker consistency add 1T of psyllium husk and blend again for a few seconds. It will thicken within a minute…and adds some extra fiber 🙂
That’s it. Told you it was simple 🙂
Put it on any and everything!!! Such as….
This was my dinner tonight 🙂 SO GOOD!!
It consisted of:
- Gluten-free rice pasta
- Broccoli
- Crimini mushrooms
- Peas (frozen)
- Kidney beans (low-sodium, canned)
I cooked my pasta and used the water to make my sauce…Next I sauteed the mushrooms and broccoli until slightly tender. Then added peas and kidney beans to warm up. Lastly, I added back in my pasta and sauce, tossed together and top with a little nutritional yeast and/or Vegan Parm.
**I had leftover sauce and am not upset about that at all 🙂 Just keep refrigerated.
Eat. Enjoy. Love.
Zucchini Pasta w/ Carrot-Walnut Sauce
This is Vegan. This is even Raw. Mainly, this is fast, simple, and DELICIOUS. The man of the house even requested a 2nd helping he loved it so much!!
I love experimenting with all types of foods and lately have really been enjoying vegan items and recipes. I am experimenting more and more with vegan cooking & baking so more recipes will be coming your way!! This was very simple & quick to make; in fact the part that took the longest was twisting the zucchinis through my spiralizer (noodle-maker for veggies…if you don’t have one, GET ONE!!). The sauce; about 1 minute, tops!!! I know you are going to love this!!
We ate ours cold, but I think it would also be amazing hot…which would take away the “raw” aspect, but hey, vegan is kick-a%$ all by itself 🙂 I think next time I will eat it hot, myself, in fact!
Ingredients:
**this makes 4 servings**
SAUCE
- 8oz carrots
- 1.5oz walnuts (toasted if not going for “raw”)
- 1/2 cup water
- 2T extra virgin olive oil (another oil could also be substituted, if desired)
- juice of 1 lemon
- 3/4tsp garlic powder
- 3/4tsp onion powder
- 1/2tsp salt (more can be added later, to taste)
- a handful of parsley (other herbs can be used also, if desired)
PASTA
- 4 zucchini, made into noodles
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced
- 1/2-1 bunch scallions, chopped
- extra chopped walnuts or Vegan Parm for toppings
In a high-speed blender, combine all the sauce ingredients and blend until smooth (you can add more water if too thick). Add more salt, to taste, if desired.
Pour over the zucchini, tomatoes, and scallions in a large bowl and toss to combine.
If desired, top with vegan parm and/or extra chopped walnuts.
Eat. Enjoy. Love
*******Some variations I recommend********
- Toast the nuts used for the sauce
- After blending, heat the sauce in a pan and, once heated to desired temp, pour over pasta and toss together
- Swap the parsley for cilantro and add 1/4-1/2tsp (or more if you like spicy) cayenne pepper
- Experiment with various nuts, herbs, & oils!!! Carrots go well with so many flavors your options are endless!! Get creative and have fun!!!
- Heck, while we are being creative, try using parsnips instead of carrots.
Ok…I am done with the options…for now 😉
Oregon.Kitchen 