little pancakes for little babies

INGREDIENTS

• 1 egg
• 1 cup whole milk (I used oat milk)
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/4 cup ground flax (If you don’t have flax, just use 1 full cup flour instead)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil (or melted butter / margarine)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons sugar or maple syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a large bowl, beat the egg, then mix in milk and oil / butter.
2. In another bowl, mix flour, flax, baking powder, salt, sugar, and cinnamon.
3. Pour dry ingredients into wet ingredients, and mix until just combined.
4. Heat a griddle to medium heat and lightly grease the pan. To make 1-inch pancakes, drop on the pancake batter using a teaspoon. To make 2-inch pancakes, drop on the pancake batter using a tablespoon.  
5. Cook, until the tops of the pancakes have bubbles on them, the batter is no longer shiny, and the bottom of the pancakes are a light golden brown, about 45 seconds to 1 minute. Flip and cook for an additional 45 seconds to 1 minute, until the bottoms are also golden brown. Remove from heat and set on a plate to cool. 
6. To freeze: place in single layer on cooling rack. Put cooling rack in the freezer until pancakes are frozen solid. Then transfer to bag and seal. 

Vegan Sloppy Joes

Ingredients

• 1 cup lentils, cooked 
• 1 can garbanzo beans (14 oz)
• Olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons smoky paprika
• 1 can tomato sauce (14 oz), or tomato paste + water
• 1 tablespoon relish
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar or maple syrup

Serve with (Optional):

• Hamburger buns
• Pickles, Tabasco, quick pickled onions, jalapeños, extra mustard, coleslaw.

Instructions

1. Add oil to a large saute pan and heat until shimmering. Add the onion and cook on  medium with salt & pepper until glistening.

2. Add the garlic, chili powder, paprika and 3/4 tsp salt. Stir to coat the veggies. Add the tomato sauce, relish, soy sauce, mustard and sugar / maple syrup and stir.  Add the cooked lentils and garbanzo beans, and stir again. Cook on low for 5-10 minutes to warm through and to thicken a bit.  Serve with warmed buns and condiments.

3. Store the sloppy joes in a lidded container for up to three days or freeze for up to two weeks.

Tiny Batch of Oatmeal Cookies

We ate these before I could take a photo to post!

Original recipe from this site. They say this makes 2 cookies, but I think it’s more like 4.

 Ingredients:

• 1 and 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar lightly packed
• 1 and 1/2 tablespoons white sugar
• 2 tablespoons unsatled butter at room temperature
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 large egg yolk
• 3 tablespoons old-fashioned oats
• scant 1/8 teaspoon salt
• Pinch of cinnamon
• 4 tablespoons flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• chocolate chips or broken pieces of a chocolate bar

Instructions:

1. Leave 2 tablespoons of butter out a few hours in advance, if possible.
2. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Do NOT melt the butter at all or your cookies will not work without chilling the dough. (If you had to melt the butter in the microwave because you didn’t leave it out long enough, just hold off on preheating your oven, and put the cookies in the fridge after step 7 for about an hour.)
3. Combine the sugars, butter, vanilla, and egg yolk, in a small bowl until well combined.
4. Mix together and then add the oats, salt, cinnamon, baking powder, and baking soda.
5. Stir in the flour and chocolate chips.
6. If the batter is too dry add a tiny bit more butter and if it is too wet add a tiny bit more flour.
7. Using a cookie scoop or your hands make three balls of the batter and place on a cookie sheet.
8. Bake for 10-12 minutes (depending on their size– check after about 7 minutes!) or until lightly browned along the edges. Remove from oven and transfer to a cooling rack.

Stuffed shells – dairy free!

• 8 ounces Kite Hill (or other brand / home made) vegan ricotta
• 1/4 cup almond milk mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
• 1 egg, scrambled
• salt/ pepper to taste
• cooked sausage, minced into small bits (2 turkey Italian sausages from Whole Foods meat counter)
• jumbo pasta shells
• tomato sauce
• extra mozzarella to sprinkle on top

1.  Boil pasta until al dente. Run under cool water and set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 400.
3. In a large bowl, combine: ricotta, mozz cheese, nutmeg, oregano, parsley, egg, salt/ pepper, cooked sausage. Mix well.
4. Put a layer of pasta sauce into the bottom of a baking dish.
5.  Stuff shells (not too much) with cheese mixture
6. Spoon more sauce on top of shells, being careful to cover corners of shells that will otherwise dry out in the oven
7. Cover with foil and bake for about 20 minutes, until sauce starts to bubble.
8. Remove foil and bake another 5-10 minutes. Let cool a bit before serving.

 

 

 

Turkey Burgers

• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1/3 cup minced parsley
• 2 tablespoons minced red onion
• 1 egg, scrambled
• 1/3 cup bread crumbs (Panko)
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Form into 6 fairly flat burgers. Refrigerate until ready to cook. Heat a small amount of olive oil in a large pan. Cook burgers until 165 F– be careful to keep heat low enough to cook burgers through without burning the outside. Keep  a lid on the pan to help with this.

Serve with avocado, cheese, and red onion on ciabatta bread.

Gingery Curry Tofu with Spinach

Ingredients:

• 1 package firm tofu– drained, pressed, and cut into small cubes
• curry powder
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• salt/ pepper
• 1 cup cashews, soaked in water up to a day (at least a few hours)
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 shallots, diced (or 1/2 onion)
• 1 bag of spinach
• turmeric
• vegetable oil
• rice on the side

Instructions:

• Sautee shallots, garlic, and ginger together with oil on medium heat for a few minutes. While cooking, use a blender to puree soaked cashews in their water until very smooth. Set this aside. Add spinach to shallot mixture and cook until wilted. Add 1 tablespoon curry powder plus 1 teaspoon of turmeric, plus salt and pepper to taste. After stirring well, pour in cashew cream.  Add 1/4 cup of water and bring to boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until reduced.
• While other step is going, mix cornstarch with 1 tablespoon curry powder + 1/2 teaspoon salt + 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Toss tofu cubes in this mixture, and then pan-fry in hot oil until crisp.
• In a bowl, scoop rice and then spinach mixture. Top with tofu.

Vegan Vodka Rigatoni

Recipe from here:

INGREDIENTS

• ¼ cup raw, unsalted cashews
• 1 cup water
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, diced
• ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1½ teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 cup vodka
• 1 (28-ounce) can peeled whole tomatoes
• 2 teaspoons salt
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 lb penne pasta, cooked
• 4 Tablespoons fresh oregano, minced

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
2. Start cashew cream – Soak cashews in 1 cup of water while you prepare the sauce. See Note.
3. Heat the olive oil in a large oven proof sauté pan over medium heat, add the onions and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes until translucent. Add the red pepper flakes and dried oregano and cook for 1 minute more. Add the vodka and continue cooking until the mixture has reduced by half.
4. Add tomatoes into the pan after the vodka has reduced. Add salt and black pepper. Cover the pan with a tight fitting lid and cook it in the oven for 1.5 hours.
5. Finish cashew cream – While the sauce is cooking go back to your cashews soaking in water. Blend the cashews and water in a high powered blender for 2 minutes until cashews are completely blended. Set aside until sauce has completed cooking.
6. Remove the pan with tomatoes from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes.
7. Place the tomato mixture in a blender and puree in batches until the sauce is a smooth consistency. Return to the pan over low heat.
8. Add 2 tablespoons minced fresh oregano. Add cashew cream and simmer for 10 minutes. Toss the pasta into the sauce. Serve with a sprinkle of fresh oregano on top.

NOTES

If you don’t have a high powered blender to make the cashew cream you will need to soak cashews in water for 8 hours, or overnight. This will allow you to create a smooth cashew cream in a standard blender.

Mini Apple Pies (for Pi Day!)

Pie for pi day!

I halved a chowhound recipe to make just enough dough for two small pies + extra dough for cutouts to decorate the top with (using a cookie cutter).

Pie crust:

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick)
• 2-4 tablespoons ice water
• lemon zest, optional

Instructions: Combine flour, salt, and sugar, (and lemon zest if using) in food processor and pulse a few times. Add in butter and pulse again until butter is about pea-sized. Remove blade from food processor. Drizzle 2 tablespoons ice water and mix using spoon. Add another 1-2 tablespoons of ice water, if necessary for dough to come together– try not to add more than you really need.

 

Filling:

• Two apples, diced: one Granny Smith, one red one (for a balance of sweet and tart)
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar (or regular sugar if that’s all you have)
• zest from half a lemon
• juice from half a lemon
• spices: cinnamon, nutmeg, and/or ginger

Instructions: Melt butter in pan on medium, then add diced apples to pan. Add salt, brown sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, and spices. Continue to cook until apples are soft. Remove from heat and let cool in the fridge.

 

Pie:

Roll out pie dough and then place into small pie pans– or just into circles to make a galette if you don’t have small pie pans. Add cooled filling, and then top with some more rolled out pie dough. You can make fun shapes here, or just do something standard/boring, it doesn’t matter because either way it will be delicious. Allow to cool/firm up in fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350F. Bake pies until dough is crispy and golden brown.

Lentils and Chickpeas with Vegan Chorizo

This is great on top of white rice for dinner, or with an egg for breakfast!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cooked lentils
• 1 can chickpeas
• 1 onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 cup soy chorizo
• 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Sautee onion and garlic until onion is translucent. Add chorizo and cook another few minutes, until slightly browned. Add lentils and chickpeas, then cook another few minutes. Season with vinegar, salt, and pepper. Adjust seasonings if anything seems off.

Tempeh “Meatballs”

Recipe from Minimalist Baker

My only change to the recipe was that I used a real egg instead of a vegan substitute.

Ingredients:

FOR MEATBALLS

• 1/2 cup white onion, minced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 flax egg
• 8 ounces tempeh* (or sub 1 heaping cup rinsed and drained chickpeas for similar result)
• 1/3 cup vegan parmesan cheese
• 2 tsp Italian seasonings (or 1/2 tsp each dried basil and oregano)
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley (optional)
• 1/2 cup vegan bread crumbs (gluten free for GF eaters | or sub almond meal)
• 2 Tbsp your favorite marinara or tomato sauce
• Olive Oil for sautéing + Salt and Pepper to taste

FOR COATING

• 1/3 cup bread crumbs
• 1/3 cup vegan parmesan cheese

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and prepare flax egg in a small dish.
2. In a large, deep skillet, sautee onion and garlic in 1/2 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat until soft and translucent – about 3 minutes. Set aside.
3. Add tempeh to food processor and pulse to break down. Then add sautéd garlic and onion remaining ingredients (except olive oil) and mix, scraping down sides as needed. You want it to form into a moldable “dough.”
4. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. The tempeh will come across as a little bitter, but once coated, baked and served with marinara it’s not nearly as apparent.
5. NOTE: Depending on how salty your vegan parmesan cheese is, you may need to add a little salt and pepper at this point. However, I didn’t find it necessary.
6. Scoop out 1 Tbsp amounts of dough and roll into balls. At this time, heat the same skillet you used earlier to medium heat.
7. Mix remaining bread crumbs and parmesan cheese together in a shallow dish. Add tempeh balls one or two at a time and roll to coat.
8. Add enough olive oil to form a thin layer on the bottom of your hot skillet, then add your coated tempeh balls in two batches, as to not crowd the pan. Brown for about 5 minutes total, shaking the pan to roll them around to brown all sides.
9. Add browned meatballs to a baking sheet and add to the oven to bake for about 15 minutes, or longer if desired for a crispier result.
10. At this time, prep any pasta your want to serve with your meatballs, as well as your favorite marinara sauce (I love thispizza sauce).
11. Once meatballs are deep golden brown and fairly firm to the touch, remove from oven.
12. To serve, top cooked pasta with meatballs and pour over marinara sauce. Top with another sprinkle of vegan parmesan cheese and fresh parsley. Leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to a few days, though best when fresh.