Chocolate Donuts

1 cup non-dairy milk
1 tsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 T. pure maple syrup
1/4. c. succanat
2 T. olive oil
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup dark chocolate cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 cup vegan chocolate chips

Add the lemon juice to the milk and stir briefly, then let it sit for a bit.  In a medium size bowl, place the vanilla, syrup, succanat and oil.  Add the milk and whisk until smooth.  In a sifter or sieve, place the flours, cocoa, salt, baking powder and soda.  Sift into the liquid ingredients.  Add chips.  Mix until combined.

Spoon into 2 prepared donut pans -- this recipe will make 12 donuts.  Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.  For the infamous breakfast, I let them cool for a bit and then swished them in a turbinado sugar/cinnamon "powdered sugar" that I made by grinding the sugar in a coffee grinder until it was the desired texture.

A note about the pans -- I got mine at Walmart -- they are Wilton pans.  Each pan makes 6 donuts.  I have another mini-donut pan (non-Wilton)  that I don't like as well.  They tend to stick and it's harder to work with the small size.  My baking assistant is partial to this one, tho'.

Rosemary and Roasted Garlic Potato Soup

This is a very unique spin on potato soup. Rather yummy, if I must say so myself. My taster testers gave it their stamp of approval -- so here it is for publication!!

6-8 medium potatoes
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
1-2 T. olive oil
1 T plus 1 teaspoon Tones Rosemary Garlic Seasoning
3/4 cup raw cashews
4-5 cups water
3 T. nutritional yeast
1 T. onion powder
2 tsp. salt

Peel the potatoes and dice small. (You can use a food processor for this step). Heat olive oil in an electric skillet. Add the diced potatoes and garlic. Cook and stir until the potatoes start to brown. Mix in 1 tablespoon of the R/G seasoning. In a blender, place the cashews, 1 tsp. R-G seasoning, nut. yeast, onion powder, salt and 1 cup of water. Blend until smooth. Pour 2 cups of water over the potatoes and simmer until soft (but not mush). Add another cup of water and at least 1/3 of the potato mixture to the blender. Blend again until smooth. Pour this into the potato mixture and stir to combine. If the soup is thicker than you want, add more water. Heat to bubbly and serve.
(If you dice the potatoes in the food processor, you will have pretty small pieces. My children like it better that way. But if you enjoy bigger chunks in your soup, just chop by hand & you'll be good to go! It's good, either way.)

Carob Mint Roll

This combination is uniquely mine... but I definitely need to give credit to the Brackett ladies for guidance with the Whipped Topping and I totally borrowed their Carob Sauce! Also, just a warning -- the whipped topping will need to be made before hand, so it has a chance to chill and be rebeat.

CAKE ROLL

2 1/4 tsp. dry egg replacer

3 T. ground flax

Whisk together a bit to blend. Add 3/4 cup of hot water. Whisk again.

Add:

1 cups sucanat

3/4 cup applesauce
1 T lemon juice

1 tsp. vanilla

2-3T Roma

Go ahead -- whisk it again!

In a sifter or sieve, place:
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
3/4 c. all purpose flour
1 1/2 T. corn starch
1 1/2 T. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/3 c. carob powder

Sift and add to the wet ingredients. Mix until well blended. Pour into jelly roll pan that is lined with parchment. Bake at 375 for 15-18 min.

Turn out onto a towel sprinkled with powdered sugar. (I make my own with turbinado sugar - 2 c. sugar & 1/2 c. cornstarch. Blend in blender)

Roll it up from one of the narrow ends. Place on a wire rack to cool.

Whipped Topping (from Seven Secrets Cookbook)

1 cup water

1 rounded T agar flakes (or 2 rounded tsp. agar powder) (it's important that it's rounded)

1/2 c. raw cashew nuts

1/3 c. honey or 1/2 cup turbinado sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp coconut extract (opt -- but leave it out for this dessert)

1/4 tsp. xanthan gum

1 12oz. can coconut milk

Stir together the agar and water and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer for 1-2 minutes.

Place everything else into the blender. Add the agar mixture. Blend on high until smooth. Chill it well --either in a large, shallow container to cool it quickly. Or just stick the blender in the fridge over night. Then you won't have to wash the blender twice! Once the mixture is WELL chilled, re-blend. This is very important! Wa-la! Now you have whipped topping. This is a VERY nice topping. I had some reservations the first time -- but it works like a charm and tastes amazing and it's not full of all manner of nasty stuff!

Take 1 1/2 - 2 cups of whipped topping and add 1/2 tsp. mint flavoring and some green food coloring. Mix in well. The rest of the topping can be used for another dessert or frozen for later.

Once the cake roll is cool - spread it with the mint topping. Chill well.

Before serving -- slice the roll and drizzle with Carob Sauce. I put mine into a squeeze bottle to make this easier. Enjoy!

CAROB SAUCE

1/2 c. date pieces

1/2 c. honey

1/2. c hot water

1/4 c. cashew nuts

2 T carob powder

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. Roma

1/2 tsp. salt

Blend until smooth. Chill

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.