Pea Pesto [Vegan]

This is a delicious take on traditional pesto sauce. I created this when I was craving pesto but didn't have enough basil to make a batch big enough for two. I did have a freezer full of peas though. The sweetness of the peas actually blends really well with the basil and noodles. This is a great recipe when you want to add a little more veggies to your meal.

Ingredients
1 cup fresh sweet peas
1/2 cup basil leaves
1 tbs grapeseed oil
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp lemon juice

Combined all ingredients in a food proccessor and blend until well mixed. It's ok to have a few chucks of peas and basil. This is not meant to be a liquidy sauce. Mix with 3 cups cooked pasta. You can top it with some parmesean cheese [making it nonvegan] or even add the cheese during the processing.

Smokey Cheese Spread [Vegan]

My Grandpa always had a container of Wisconsin Smokey Cheddar Cheese spread in his refrigerator. I grew up loving it. Whenever I would visit, I would raid the fridge and eat most of his supply. I created this recipe because I missed one of my favorite cracker toppings. It's crazy how easy it is to make.


Ingredients
8oz Vegan Cream Cheese
2 cups Vegan Cheddar Cheese, shredded
1 tbsp Liquid Smoke

Mix all ingredients in a food processor until creamy. Tada! That's it!

This is lighter and creamier than most store bought cheese spreads. This the perfect dip for entertaining people as you can easily make a large amount and it tastes great. Nonvegan would never know it's not made with real cheese.

Buffalo (Joe) Mac & Cheese [Vegan]

It's a long running joke in my family that mac and cheese is all I eat. I suppose that I did eat it a bit too often as a child. But that's because cheese was always my favorite food. My friend Joe shares my love of cheese. Being from Buffalo, he also loves him some buffalo wings and blue cheese. So he cleverly came up with a delicious buffalo style mac and cheese. It was amazing. But since I do not eat cheese anymore, I can not enjoy his wonderful dish (or many of his other creations for that matter). After turning vegan, I knew that this was one of the top things I had to transform into an animal free food.

Ingredients
1 pound Elbow Noodles
8 oz shredded Vegan Cheddar Cheese
8 oz shredded Vegan Montery Jack Cheese
2 cups Soy Creamer
1/2 cup Franks Hot Sauce
3 tbsp Vegan Butter
2 tsp Mustard Powder
2 Tbsp Flour
4 Celery Stalks (finely chopped)
2 tsp Garlic Powder
2 tsp grapeseed oil (or whatever you use)
4 oz shredded Vegan Blue Cheese
Breadcrumbs (however much you like)

Preheat oven to 350. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add elbow noodles and cook until al dente. Drain and set aside.
While noodles are cooking, begin cooking celery by placing in small sauce pan, along with oil and garlic powder. Cook over medium heat until soft, and set aside.
In a large saucepan, melt 3 tbsp butter with 1/4 soy creamer. Mix in dry mustard and flour until well combined. Add remaing cream and the hot sauce and stir. Whisk the shredded
cheeses (minus blue cheese) into the sauce until melted and sauce has become thick. Lastly add celery.

In a large bowl mix pasta, sauce and 1/2 of the shredded blue cheese . Lightly coat a 13x9 baking dish with butter, oil, or spray. Pour pasta mixture into baking dish
and top with breadcrumbs and remaining blue cheese. Cook for 40 mins.

If you like to use vegan meats, you could add some chik'n strips in with the celery and cook it with about 1/4 of the hot sauce. I not a big fan of fake meat (or real meat for that matter) so I omitted it from this recipe. But it would be easy to add in.

This was pretty hot but the celery had a nice cooling effect. The crunchy breadcrumbs and blue cheese on top was my favorite part. This was absolutely amazing and something I would make for others to showcase how good veganism can taste.

Alfredo Sauce [Vegan]

This is the first in a series of pasta sauces that I've attempted to make vegan. Nonvegan alfredo sauce is mostly dairy products, so recreating it without using ANY dairy, can seem daunting. But, it was very simple and required hardly any ingredients. And, it was so yummy that Adam and I both agreed that nonvegan alfredo is not something we will miss.


Ingredients
1/4 cup Vegan Butter
1/2 cup Vegan Cream Cheese (I love the one from Follow Your Heart)
3/4 cup Soy Creamer
1/2 cup Vegan Parmesan Cheese
1 tsp Garlic Powder


On low heat, melt butter in a small to medium saucepan. Add cream cheese and wisk while it melts. Mix in garlic powder amd creamer. Lastly, wisk in parmesan cheese and continue cooking for a few more minutes. Remove pan from heat and and allow sauce to thicken.

We poured this over 2 1/2 cups of cooked pasta and mixed in some sun-dried tomatoes. It was incredibly delicious. Broccoli or asparagus would be other great additions.

Banana Cream Frosting [Vegan]

I decided to share some vegan treats with my co-workers, as my veganism, even just vegetarianism, is quite a mystery to them. I wanted there to be options so everyone could try something, and decided to make 3 different cupcake flavors. Wanting to make something I hadn't before, to be daring, I took the plethora of bananas we had and made this banana cream frosting. Which I must admit, is to die for!


Ingredients
1/2 cup mashed bananas
1/2 tsp. lemon juice
1/4 cup vegan butter
3 cups confectioners sugar

Mix lemon juice with bananas to keep them from turning brown. Cream the butter till it is soft and fluffy, then mix in bananas and sugar and continue mixing till fluffy.



You can add a little vanilla if you like. I want to add some rum next time but I couldn't give that to my co-workers.
I placed this atop chocolate cupcakes and it was delicious. I used the leftover frosting on some vegan crepes.

Cranberry Cupcakes with Orange Buttercream Frosting [Vegan]

I love cupcakes. And in Long Beach we have The Frosted Cupcakery which makes the most amazing cupcakes ever. Unfortunately, now that I'm vegan, I can no longer enjoy said cupcakes. So I've been trying to master the cupcakes in Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. This is a variation of the Golden Cupcakes and Buttercream Frosting.


Cranberry Cupcakes
1 1/4 cup flour
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
3/4 Tsp. baking powder
1/2 Tsp. baking soda
1 cup Vanilla flavor Almond milk
1/2 cup margarine
3/4 cup sugar (I love the vegan sugar from Whole Foods)
2 Tsp. Vanilla Extract
1 cup frozen cranberries


Mix flour, cornstarch, baking powder and baking soda in a medium bowl. In a larger bowl mix margarine and sugar until fluffy. Mix dry ingredients and milk into the bowl with margarine and sugar. Add the cranberries and stir. Pour into a cupcake pan with cupcake liners. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Allow to cool before frosting, otherwise your frosting will melt and run right off the cupcakes.




Orange Buttercream Frosting
1/2 cup Vegan shortening
1/2 cup margarine
3 1/2 cups sugar (confectioners)
1/4 cup Coconut Milk
1 1/4 Tsp. Orange Extract
3 Tbsp Orange Zest to top cupcakes (optional)

Mix shortening and margarine. Add sugar and beat until well mixed. Add coconut milk and extract and beat until fluffy. When cupcakes are cool you can either pipe on the frosting or spread with a knife. This is a lot of frosting so piping is the best option. Otherwise, freeze and save the remaing frosting.



I'm addicted to the cranberry orange combination. It's especially sweet in this recipe.

Broccoli, Rice and Cheddar Casserole [Vegan]

This is one of those comforting midwest dishes I had while in Oklahoma over the holidays. I had this a few times and it was amazing every time. But, as with all great things, it wasn't very healthy. Sure it's loaded with broccoli, but it's smothered in cheese.And not just any cheese, CheeseWhiz. It was after eating this casserole for probably the third time, I was inspired to make a healthier, cheese free version.

1 cup Broccoli Florets
1 cup Uncooked Rice
2 cups Nondairy grated cheddar cheese
1/4 cup Vegan Sour Cream

Cheese Sauce
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp tumeric
2 tbs vegan butter
1 cup water

Cook rice according to package directions. Meanwhile, combine all the cheese sauce dry ingredients and stir in the water, breaking up clumps. Pour into a saucepan containing the butter and heat on low/medium until sauce thickens.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine rice, broccoli and 2 cups cheddar cheese in an 8x8 baking dish Next, stir in the cheese sauce and sour cream. Cook for 30 minutes.




Vegan cheese can never replace real cheese, but this recipe makes a very creamy cheese with a slightly nutty flavor. I hardly miss the real thing.

Basic Veggie Sandwich [Vegan]

This is my go to sandwich. Growing up the only kind of sandwich I'd eat consisted of cheese between two pieces of white bread, smothered in mayo(I admit, I love mayonaise). You wouldn't find a vegetable anywhere near my food. Now, I've discovered the wonderful tastes and textures of a slightly more complex sandwich. Consisting of creamy avocado, crunchy pepper and bitter sprouts, this is my grown up sandwich.

2 slices whole wheat bread (I love Hemptation brand)
Veganaise
1 slice vegan cheese
1 slice tofurky Peppered Deli Meat
1/4 avocado
5 thin slices Bell Pepper
cumumber slices
1/4 cup Sprouts
pepper

Since we've all made sandwichs before, there's no need to go into great descriptive depths. Veganaise on bread (or you can use hummus) then sprinkle with pepper. Layer on the rest of ingredients and enjoy.



You can add or subtract any of the ingredients to your liking. As I said before I love the different textures in this and the flavors really complement eachother.

Tomato Basil Pizza [Vegan]

It's safe to say that everyone loves pizza. Crunchy crust, herbed sauce and gooey melted cheese make this dish a staple around the world. But, for vegans who have given up cheese, it's near impossible to find a pizza joint that will cater to the vegan diet. Luckily Z Pizza has a vegan pizza. But for those without a vegan friendly pizza parlor, you'll have to do with making your own. Thankfully vegan cheese has come a long way. And while alternatives will never live up to the real thing, the Vegan Gourmet Cheeses in this recipe are certainly close.


Tomato Sauce
1 6oz can Tomato Paste
1 cup Water
1/4 cup Olive Oil
1 tbs Oregano
1/2 tbs Rosemary
Salt & Pepper to taste

Combine ingredients until smooth. Set aside to allow flavors to blend


Pizza Dough
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
2 cups Wheat Flour
1 cup water
2 tbs olive oil
1 tbs Garlic powder
1 tbs Thyme
3 tbs Nutritional Yeast

Blend dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add water and oil and mix using hands. Beat until dough becomes stiff. Place on a floured surface and form dough into a round. Then roll into a flat pizza shape. I like to roll the edge up a bit to create a thicker crust, and sprinkle with a few favorite seasonings. Set aside and preheat oven to 350 degrees while you prepare toppings.


Toppings
1 Tomato
3 Large Basil Leaves
Vegan Gourmet Cheese in Mozzarella
Vegan Gourmet Cheese in Chedder

I suggest freezing the vegan cheeses for at least 4 hours before hand. It will make them much easier to shred. It is up to you how much cheese you want on your pizza. I shred about 1/2 to 3/4 of each block of cheese as I enjoy a really cheesy pizza. Next, slice up the tomato, be sure to remove any seeds along the way. For the basil, I roll up a few leaves and slice it thinly, so I have long thin piece to cover the pizza.

Place sauce on dough, top with cheese, tomatos and then basil slices. Place in oven on a round metal sheet and bake for about 20 mins. Voila! Delicious animal free pizza.



This dish can be made easier by buying sauce and dough, but I enjoy making my own so I can season to my liking. So play around with the flavors. I swear you wont tell the difference between this and pizza made with real cheese. I introduced this to a friend of mine at work, a rabid meateater, and he loved it! Even asked for the recipe.

Tofu Stuffed Shells [Vegan] & Parmesan Crisps [Vegetarian]

I remember once mentioning to Adam that I was going to make stuffed shells. He asked what was in it and when I told him ricotta cheese, he said something I'd never heard him say before: I hate ricotta! Coming from a man who'll eat just about anything, I knew he meant it. But, my dear -vegetarian for over a year- boyfriend does love tofu. So, after some research, I replaced the ricotta with tofu, a much healthier ingredient. It's great in shells, ziti's or lasagnas.

1 box jumbo shells
1 jar tomato sauce (dairy free for vegan shells)
1 block firm tofu
1/2 cup chopped spinach
1/4 cup chopped basil
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp oregano
1/4 cup nutritional yeast (optional)
black pepper (to taste)


Cook shells according to package directions. Drain and allow to cool.
Preheat oven at 350. Place a layer of sauce on the bottom of a 13x9 baking dish.

Meanwhile, open your block of tofu and drain water from container. Then absorb as much water as possible by pressing some paper towels down over all sides of the tofu. Break apart tofu and place in a medium size bowl. Mix in lemon juice, garlic powder, oregano and pepper. If you're using nutritional yeast, mix it in as well. Nutritional yeast is not essential to this recipe. It will give it more of a cheesy flavor and a bit more protein. It is an ingredient most vegans have on hand and use. (You can even make vegan nacho cheese with it)

Chop spinach and basil and then add to the tofu. Place mixture in a food processor and blend until tofu is about the same consistency of ricotta. If you don't have a food processor you can use your hands to mix and squeeze everything together.


Spoon about 2 tablespoons of tofu ricotta into stuffed shells and place in sauce covered dish.(I like a lot of filling so we had less shells than you would if you only fill with 2 tablespoons worth) Place more sauce over shells. Cover dish with foil and bake for 15 minutes.



Parmesan Crisps

This is the easiest thing you will ever make. And oh so freaking yummy. I got this recipe from Gwyneth Paltrow's website Goop.com. All you need is shredded parmesan cheese. Place 2 tablespoons of cheese in flat circles on a baking pan. Cook at 400 for 5 minutes. Allow to cool for 1 minute then remove and consume.


I am happy to say that Adam loved the stuffed shells. He had three servings! And the parmesan crisps are great with any pasta dish.