Biscuits...what a kick!

It feels so good in the tummy on a cold winter day. I've been on a biscuit kick for the last week and I have two creations for you.
First, if you haven't gotten "Vegan with a Vengence" for your cooking library, it is a must. I checked out a lot of cookbooks from the library until I found a book that had more than 3 recipes worth using. I love all her recipes! Some have to be altered slightly for the younger tastebuds in our home, but here's why I fell in love with biscuits all over again -

Biscuits with sausage and mushroom sauce

First, the garlic cheese biscuit recipe I posted yesterday works great with this. Second, place the tempeh sausage crumbles from Vegan with a Vengence (also on theppk.com) on the biscuit and lastly, top with Isa's mushroom gravy (again, both book and website)

Tempeh Sausage Crumbles

by IsaChandra
Makes about 2 cups
This is delicious over pasta with marinara sace or as a pizza topping. It’s also good as a burrito filling or served for breakfast alongside scrambled tofu.
Ingredients
8 oz package tempeh
1 tablespoon fennel seed
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried margoram or oregano
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
2 teaspoons garlic, minced
2 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
juice of 1/2 a lemon
Directions
In a saute pan, crumble the tempeh and add enough water to almost cover it. Over high heat, steam the tempeh until most of the water is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Drain the remaining water and add the rest of the ingredients and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 10 minutes.

ISA's Mushroom Gravy
The nutritional yeast is optional here, but it does make the gravy a little more creamier, plus adds an extra depth of savory flavor.
4 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 medium yellow onion, diced small
2 Tablespoons olive oil
16 oz cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced and chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried sage
1/2 teaspoons salt
Several dashes fresh black pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine (chardonnay is great)
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
In a small bowl, mix the flour with about 2 cups of vegetable broth until well dissolved. Once dissolved, add the remaining broth and mix. Set aside.
Preheat a 2 quart pot over medium heat. Saute the onion in oil for about 5 minutes, until translucent. Add mushrooms, garlic, thyme, sage, salt and pepper and saute for about 5 more minutes.
Add wine and turn heat up to bring to a boil. Let wine reduce for about 3 minutes. Add the broth/flour mix and the nutritional yeast, if using. Lower heat to medium and cook for about 20 minutes, stirring often.
Taste for salt and pepper and serve.

And that's how I re-heat it all, without a microwave

Better than Bis*quick

This is my recent favorite side at dinner.
Biscuits
Super yummy and I daresay relatively healthy with only 5 ingredients.
This recipe is based on one I found in Babycakes, but with my own twist of my favorite biscuits in my college years -

Garlic and Cheese
2 c. whole wheat flour - for lighter cakes, do 1/2 and 1/2 white and wheat flour
1 T. baking powder
1 t. garlic salt
1/4 heaping cup of coconut oil (solid form)
3/4 c. hot water
vegan cheese, to taste (I used Daiya Pepperjack)

Combine flour, powder, and salt. Add oil and use pastry blender to combine until the oil is mixed to very small pieces - like combining cold butter to a mixture for pie dough. Add water and mix to soft dough. Add in a handful or more of "cheese" and mix in. Turn out on floured surface and cut into biscuits with whatever circular thing on hand - upturned child's cup is my favorite! Bake at 400 for 10 minutes. Slightly cool and enjoy!

(The green is zucchini - helps improve the moisture so it takes great a day old!)

Un-chicken Noodle Soup

We have caught one virus after another around here. They are all minimal and easily taken care of by CPTG Essential Oils, but one thing is for sure, good-old home remedies are still awesome! I decided to help build our immune systems with some yummy clear-broth soup, after failing miserably at creating a lentil soup.

The Jenny's Un-chicken Noodle soup was born. It was yummy, got great reviews from hubby and kids, so for your winter warmth and pleasure, here is my creation:

8 c. Vegetable Broth
1 c. dried carrots
1 c. fresh green beans, cut into 1/4 in pieces
1 pkg chinese noodles (I believe this is the equivalent of 2 pkgs ramen noodles)
Dash of pepper
Salt to taste

Heat it all up in a large pot and serve to the family!

Eggplant Enchiladas

I posted about Eggplant Enchiladas a while ago but when I looked up, on my own blog, the recipe I was disappointed, I didn't post it. Here you go. I've made adjustments, so has my husband, and it got a big thumbs up last night at dinner.

Eggplant Enchiladas

1 TBS olive oil
1 cup diced onion
4 cups diced eggplant (peeled) **I cut this as small as I could so it was more indistinguishable
1 red pepper minced
1 can of green chilis
4 cloves garlic minced
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 can of white beans
1 drop cilantro doTERRA essential oil (real cilantro will also work, about a handful)
2 cans your favorite red/enchilada sauce
12 corn tortillas

1. Saute onion in olive oil for about 5 minutes on medium heat. Add eggplant, salt and pepper and cover. Cook 10-15 minutes, stirring often, until eggplant is soft.
2. Add red pepper, chilis and garlic and saute about 5 more minutes or until red pepper is soft.
3. Add beans and cilantroto eggplant mixture.
4. Roll 1/4 cup eggplant mixture in each tortilla and place in casserole dish sprayed with nonstick spray. After all tortillas have been used and dish is full pour Rotel or sauce of choice over enchiladas.
5. Bake 350°F for 30 minutes.

***I have made this two lazy ways: First way, I didn't do step 4. I layered tortillas, and the mixture. The second way, I heated tortillas in a pan, filled them, rolled them, poured sauce, then served.

Summer Favorite...Popcicles!

We're in Arizona. It's hot. I created a popcicle and it was a big hit! It's energetic, it's uplifting, and it'st therapeutic! Here's the recipe.

Mango Lime Ice Pops

1 box (11 oz.) coconut water
2 mangos, peeled and sliced off pit
1 banana, peeled
4 drops Lime doTERRA essential oil

Puree first 3 ingredients in a blender (if you freeze it all first and then put it in a Blendtec you get an instant dessert). Add lime oil, pulse blend to mix. Pour into popcicle molds. Freeze.

Stay tuned...I'm experimenting with lots of vegan recipes and oils. Yum!

A Gift To Touch The Heart

There are many gifts I've given and received. Yet as time progresses it's the intangibles that stand out. For me, in a season amidst dinners and goodies, this is the time the true thoughtfullness of family and friends comes to the forefront.

It is always appreciated when the response I get after telling someone my diet, to hear, "Tell me more." I feel that they are genuinely interested in the friendship between the two of us and want to deepen it by digging deeper and showing interest. Yet, I am deeply touched when not only does that someone remember my needs, but fills them.

Many vegans attend dinners by either eating prior to or taking their own food. I attended a party this Christmas where the hostess, bless her, had a spread of mostly vegan food. Her response, "well we can all eat your food but you can't eat all of ours, so we catered to you." She does the same for her celiac friends. True gracious hostess, true friend, truely felt.

There are simple adjustments easily made, with a little research. This hostess researched and found the consensus on Tofutti cream cheese, yes, it's as good as the real stuff. I'll add a few more hints to veganizing a dish. Veganaise is awesome, better than the real stuff. Earth Balance is a simple butter substiute, found for less at the biggest of big box retailers.  A simple google search can yield plenty of options for egg substitute (who doesn't have vinegar, water, and baking powder in their cupboard?). And lastly, keep a shelf stable box of non-dairy milk around. It's easily swapped out for the cow milk in recipes.

Thank you to friends and family that not only invited me to your functions, but also provided me sustance that I didn't have to make myself. It was truely a treat that fed hunger in both my stomach and heart.

Bean Dip

I used to make a slow cooker bean dip and never bothered to veganize it because of all the dairy it contained. I don't miss it anymore. Earlier this week my husband stumbled upon a very similar taste when he was being creative in the kitchen.

We originally ate this dip with corn chips then expanded to burritos. It would be great in a layer dip with green onions, tofutti, tomatos, etc. Try it!

First, make this "Cheesy" sauce. It's great on macaroni noodles (good enough for company) and then use the leftovers in beans, like we did. Here's the sauce, in case you don't want to flip pages.

¹/₂ cup nutritional yeast flakes
¹/₂ cup unbleached flour
1 teaspoon salt
¹/₂ teaspoon garlic powder
2 cups water
¹/₄ cup oil
1 teaspoon prepared mustard 

Mix nutritional yeast flakes, flour, salt, and garlic powder in a 2-quart saucepan. Whisk in water.

Cook over medium heat, whisking, until mixture thickens and bubbles. Cook 30 seconds more, then remove from heat and whisk in oil and mustard. Sauce will thicken as it cools.

Then add a can of refried beans (no lard kind) or reconstitute bean flakes. Add salsa to taste.

Seriously, this tastes like a nacho cheese dip with beans. I was even tempted to add a can of green chiles.

Jellies and Jams

Thanks to the email about sugar that I posted I've tried to substitute out sugar whenever I can.  I've been making my own jam for a while, after I discovered this freezer jam pectin that only requires 1 1/2 cups of sugar for 4 cups of crushed fruit, instead of a one-to-one ratio. Saturday I attempted to try making it with honey instead of sugar. Raw honey, to be exact, since I didn't cook it and could preserve its qualities. It turned out great, but it taste's like berry jam with honey instead of just berry jam. Next time I'll try fructose or evaporated cane juice.

If you're someone who's trying to eliminate high fructose corn syrup or corn sugar from your diet, or cares about finding non-GMO sugar sources, I highly recommend trying your hand at making jam. Just about all my neighborhood friends (even those who previously couldn't cook) have adopted this method because it's so incredibly easy. Here's pictures of the supplies you need.
Both these pectins are the same, just packaged differently. In the Phoenix area, you can find them at Albertsons and sometimes Wal Mart. Don't buy any other pectin though, it will require more sugar. Amazon carries it too.



These jars are a must. If you put jam into any other plastic container, the minute it falls out of the freezer the container will crack and shatter. These have fallen out many times and are still intact.

I'd love to hear about your attempts and successes!

The Best Apple Pie

My baking apples stacked up and I attempted my hand at an apple pie. It's been declared by our head-of-house, "It the best apple pie I've EVER had!"

AND it was so easy and simple.

First, invest in Marie Calendar's frozen pie crusts. They're vegan and delicious. I never mastered pie crust making, nor did I enjoy eating one, but this was enjoyable to prep and eat. two come packaged together. Thaw one crust while you prepare the filling:

5 large baking apples (Granny Smith is best) peeled, cored, and sliced
1/2 cup sugar
2 T. cornstarch
1 T. fresh lemon juice
1/4 t. cinnamon
1/8 t. freshly grated nutmeg

Preheat oven to 425. Mix together the filling ingredients. Pour into the second, frozen crust. Cover the pie with the thawed crust. Crimp edges and bake for 10 minutes. Lower temp to 350 and bake for 45 minutes. The pie comes out perfect, no burnt crusts.

Top with coconut cream

Coconut cream: open a can of Thai coconut milk, scoop out all the cream and whip it up with powdered sugar to taste. Serve immediately or refrigerate for firmer cream.

I Miss 'Nog

Egg Nog.

I used to consume it by the gallons this time of year. I tried Rice Nog last year. Not the same. BUT...
Meander over here and try out the Holiday Nog. I recommend less water for a thicker drink. Yum...and sugar free!

The Pumpkin Pie

Sure, you can have Thanksgiving without the bird, there's some very good Tofurkey's out there, but you can't have Thanksgiving without the pumpkin pie! I attempted a vegan pumpkin pie last year. I scoured the internet and found a few recipes. My husband and I ate it, but our palates missed out. In fact, he ate it, but with real cream on top to tone it down. This year I pulled out my favorite recipe and veganized it. Success again! With the exception that it had too much ginger in it (he thought the same thing when I made it normal a few years back) it was good. Even my neighbor thought so when she stopped by after I'd made it. I had to get that second opinion from the non-vegan's palate too!

So here's for all you last-minute pie makers that can't let the holiday go by without that familiar taste of Thanksgiving.



This was super fun to make with my toddler. The ingredients are put together so nicely that she was able to mix them without much spillage, and so proud to help mommy out. Involve them! They're more likely to eat it if they help.

Williams-Sonoma Classic Pumpkin Pie - veganized

1 1/4 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 Tbs. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
Less than 1/2 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg (I always just do 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg)
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
2 cups pumpkin puree
Ener-G egg replacer for 3 eggs
1 cup heavy cashew cream
1/3 cup non-dairy milk
Pre-baked and cooled deep-dish piecrust - Marie Calendars ready made is vegan and tasty
(This recipe requires deep dish, if you choose to not use deep-dish, you can divide it into two pies. Pre-baked is a MUST - trust me)

Preheat oven to 375.

In bowl, whisk together brown sugar, cornstarch, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Add pumpkin, egg replacer, cream, and milk. Whisk to combine.

Pour filling into prebaked piecrust; bake until center is set, 60-65 minutes, covering edges of crust with foil after 30 minutes if it browns too quickly. Transfer pie to wire rack; let cool completely, at least 2 hours. before serving. Serves 10.

Yummy, sugar-free and fat-free

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 15 oz can white, great northern, or butter beans, rinsed and blended
3 cups honey
2 Tbsp ground flax seed
6 Tbsp. water
1 30 oz can pumpkin
5 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. allspice
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. cloves
2 tsp. ginger
2 tsp. nutmeg
1 cup nuts (optional)
3 cups chocolate chips

Mix wet ingredients. Slowly stir in dry ingredients. Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes.
**Update note: If 80 cookies are made with this recipe the cookies are 100 calories each.

Sugar Cookie - Veganized

I veganized my favorite sugar cookie recipe! Not only veganized, but improved and, if I do say so myself, awesome. So, in holiday celebration, shaping and sharing treats and the awesome "no animals harmed in my cooking" spirit, share it!

Sugar Cookies

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup Earth Balance or Smart Balance Lite (it's vegan too!)
1/2 cup coconut oil
1 tsp. vanilla (or a little more!)
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1 egg substitute - Ener-G egg replacer or flax seed (1 T. ground flax seed, 3 T. water) if you don't mind seeing the flecs of flax in your cookie
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cream of tarter

Cream sugar, Earth Balance, and oil. Add each ingredient and mix well. Refridgerate one hour. Roll out, cut shapes, or use a cookie press. Bake at 375 for 7-8 minutes.

Enjoy this soft tasty cookie!

A Whole Head

Have you ever eaten a whole head of lettuce in one sitting? Do you have multiple heads of lettuce in your fridge from Bountiful Baskets that just keep stacking up? Find the right recipe and you will! I loved this recipe so much that I ate it for breakfast one morning, and found myself eating a whole head of lettuce! Beautiful ruffage!

See if you love it too!

Fruit Nut Lettuce Salad with Poppy dressing


Romaine lettuce, torn bite-sized (1st layer)
2-3 nectarines sliced (or pears or peaches)
roasted pecans (recipe below)
poppy seed dressing (recipe below)

Poppy Seed Dressing
Combine in shaker or blender:

1 c. canola oil
½ c. red wine vinegar
½ c. white sugar
1 t. salt
1 t. onion powder
1 t. poppy seeds
½ t. dry mustard

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.Spread pecans on cookie sheet and bake in oven for 10 mins. Let cool about 30 mins. Break apart. Store in airtight container.