Creamy Tomato Soup

Again, this is a favorite of my children. Cooking for them is a joy-- but especially so when they attack healthy food with gusto. Here is a "Campbells " taste in a healthier format. This recipe was "borrowed & tweaked" from the Guilt-free Gourmet by Vicki & Gina Griffin

Tomato Soup

In a blender, place:

1 c. raw cashews
1 1/2 T. onion powder
2 T. nutritional yeast
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. dried basil
a pinch of oregano
1 cup water
3 T. honey

Blend well. Add 1/2 cup potato flakes or buds. Blend briefly again.

In a kettle, heat 1 large can of tomato juice. Add the cashew mixture & whisk together. Heat until hot on low heat.

This works well warmed in a crock pot.

Breakfast Casserole

When this is on the breakfast menu, one of my girls is ecstatic. She absolutely loves it!





In a medium size bowl, place:
1 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3 T. nutritional yeast
2 tsp liquid smoke
1/2 tsp. turmeric
1 T. tahini

Mix together until smooth. Add 1 cup of soymilk, a little at a time. Then stir in 1/2 cup dry potato flakes. Set aside to let it thicken.


In the bottom of a prepared 9 X 13 pan place frozen hashbrowns & soft bread cubes, at least an inch thick. Sprinkle with a vegetarian sausage or bacon of your choice.


Into the first mixture, crumble 16 oz. of firm tofu. Stir to mix. Spread over hashbrowns and bread.

Add more sausage or bacon if you like.
Cover with foil and refrigerate over night. Bake for at 350 degress for 1 hour -- 30" with foil on; 30" with foil off.

Drizzle with Cheezie sauce before serving.

Another option is to use a cheese substitute like Daiyo. I have done it that way & it works just fine. But, I think I prefer the Cheezie Sauce. My girls gobble it up either way!

Cheezie Sauce

4 oz. jar of pimento
1 cup raw cashew pieces
1 T. onion powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
3 T. nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp. salt
1-2 T. lemon juice
1/3 cup quick oats
1 1/2 cups hot water

Blend all together in blender until smooth & thick. We like to add about a tsp. of liquid smoke to this sauce, as well. Gives it a great smoked taste & goes nice with the casserole. I often divide the sauce into 2 containers and put smoke seasoning in some of it and taco seasoning in the remainder.

Creamy Pumpkin Flan Cake

To make this dessert, you really need a flan pan such as this one from Pampered Chef

Cake layer:

1 c. canned or cooked pumpkin
1/3 c. oil
3/4 c. Succanat
1/4 c. soy milk
1/4 c. ground flax
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 c. all purpose flour
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
a sprinkle of cloves, nutmeg & ginger
1/4 tsp. salt

Mix the pumpkin, oil, succanat, milk, flax and vanilla together in a bowl. In a sieve or sifter, place the flours, baking powder, soda, spices & salt. Sift dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture.
Preheat oven to 350 and prepare pan -- spray with cooking spray & cover the center section of the pan with parchment paper. Pour the batter into the pan. Smooth. Bake for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the cake. Tip cake out of the pan onto a wire rack to cool.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Filling

1 T. vegan gelatin
1 c. hot water
1 cup raw cashews
1 cup dates
1/4 c. coconut oil
1 T vanilla
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup pumpkin

Blend the first 4 ingredients. Add remaining ingredients. Blend all together until very smooth. If it's too thick to blend gradually add a little more water. Place in a container, cover & chill.

Caramel Topping:

Cook one 12 oz can of coconut milk with 1 cup of unrefined sweetener (sucanat, etc) for about 30 minutes over medium heat. Add 2 T. of flour & 1 tsp. vanilla. Stir until smooth. Cool.

After the cake is cool, spread the Pumkin filling into the depression in cake. Drizzle with Caramel Topping (you won't need the whole recipe, so you can use the rest for another purpose -- like dipping your finger into it & licking!) Garnish cake with chopped, roasted pecans.

Caponata (Eggplant Salad)

2 cloves garlic, minced
diced onion
1 green or red pepper, diced
1 med. eggplant, peeled and diced
1 16oz can tomatoes (draining them is optional)
2 tsp. honey
2 T. lemon juice
1 T. fresh parsley (optional)
salt to taste

Saute veggies together in olive oil/water until soft. Add the tomatoes. Simmer for about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and add the honey, lemon juice & salt. Allow rest time to blend flavors. It is best eaten at room temperature or cold. Yummy on crusty bread.

Frosting, Frosting, Frosting

I think one of my biggest challenges is frosting. How to make it yummy and healthy at the same time. I've been on a quest... and I think I now have a couple of winners!


Lemony Cream Cheese Frosting

1 T. vegan gelatin
1 c. hot water
1 cup raw cashews
1 cup dates
1/4 c. coconut oil
1 T vanilla
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup lemon juice

Blend the first 4 ingredients. Add remaining ingredients. Blend all together until very smooth. If it's too thick to blend gradually add a little more water. Place in a container, cover & chill. This is enough to frost a 11 x 14 cake. I spread it on the cake before serving. Works great for carrot or pumpkin cake. (See earlier posts for the cake recipes)

Peanut Butter Frosting

1 T. vegan gelatin
1 c. hot water
1 cup raw cashews
1 cup dates
1/4 c. coconut oil
1 T vanilla
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1/3 cup peanut butter

Blend the first 4 ingredients. Add remaining ingredients. Blend all together until very smooth. If it's too thick to blend gradually add a little more water. Place in a container, cover & chill. This is enough to frost a 11 x 14 cake. I spread it on the cake before serving. Works great for carob cake.

Fruit arrangements

Want a really healthy, sweet treat for a special occasion?? Fruit arrangements are kind of a popular option these days. I have met with success twice -- I am far from a professional at this -- but with some metal cookie cutters and other kitchen gadgets, wooden skewers and toothpicks, it's not hard. Kind of fun. Give it a try! My diabetic boss was on the "impossible to please" list for any kind of a sweet treat until I tried this! Made him a "melon cake" for his birthday. He liked it so much that he made one for his wife for HER birthday. (My boss is a dentist -- that's why there are teeth on the cake!)

Cowboy Cookies

Borrowed this from Isa & Terry and tweaked it...

2 cups quick oats
2 cups whole wheat flour
½ tsp. Baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp. Salt

Place all in a bowl and mix thoroughly.

2/3 c. olive oil
1 ½ c. sucanat
½ c. soy milk
1 T ground flax seeds
1 tsp. Vanilla

Place all of these ingredients in another bowl. Let rest a bit so that the sucanat melts. It will then stir together nicely. Go ahead and dump the dry mix into this wet mixture. Stir together.

Add:

1 cup carob chips
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup walnuts or pecans.

Preheat oven to 350. Line cookie sheets with parchment. Scoop cookies out onto parchment lined cookie sheet. Flatten a bit with the back of a spoon or with your hand. Bake 12-15 min.
Cool on a wire rack.

AFRICAN PEANUT SOUP

This isn't a dessert... but it's vegan & it's a delight! Danielle, this is for you!

onion (I use dried)
garlic
green and red pepper

Chop veggies and saute in olive oil. Add:

1 quart canned tomatoes
6 cups vegetable broth
1/2 c. raw brown rice

Cook until the rice is tender.

Add:

1 cup of roasted, unsalted peanuts blended in 1 cup of additional veg. broth
OR
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
cayenne pepper to taste (1/8 tsp.?)

Heat through.