This comes to us via Stephanie… an incredible Vegan who works at Williams Sonoma. She always remembers that we’re vegan… and shared this recipe … which sounds outstanding (though, I must admit, I didn’t have time to make it this weekend). Will do it this week! She says she makes it every week! From reading it, I can see why!!

Three-Grain Medley

Yield: 8 servings. 

Ingredients:
6 green onions, thinly sliced
5 1/4 cups Better Than Bouillon No-Chicken Base
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2-ounce jar diced pimentos, undrained
2/3 cup uncooked wheat berries
1/2 cup each, uncooked: hulled or pearl barley, wild rice
1/4 cup grapeseed oil
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon finely shredded lemon zest
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Instructions:
1. Combine onions, broth, garlic, pimentos, wheat berries, barley, wild rice and oil in 3- to 4-quart dutch oven.
2. Cover; cook on low until liquid is absorbed and grains are tender, 2 hours (less if you’re using quick-cooking grains – follow time on package). Stir in parsley, lemon zest, salt and pepper to taste.

Recipe note: Taste the recipe before adding any salt, as the Better Than Bouillon can be a bit salty to begin with. This dish is wonderful hot or room-temperature and also can become a stuffing for bell peppers, eggplant or tomatoes.

Nutritional Information per serving:
Calories: 207, Fat: 7g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Carbohydrates: 31g, Cholesterol: (not available)mg, Sodium: 182mg, Protein: 7g, Fiber: 5

I haven’t made this… but will be looking for some great butternut squash!! I already have the red quinoa! Looks fantastic! I won’t use honey… I’ll just sub that out with

Warm Quinoa Salad Link to LA Times

Vegan Cinnamon Rolls

So I decided I was going to figure out how to make vegan cinnamon rolls this morning. After a drive to the grocer (that included a mile ON the beach… early, before people were there)… I set out to make it happen. Had to be fairly simple, fairly healthy (albeit with a lot of sugar)… and yummy.

It worked.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

So – the ingredients:
For the ROLLS
2 cups whitewheat flour (or white unbleached)
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup vegan butter
2/3 cup plain almond milk

For the FILLING
3 tablespoons melted vegan butter
1/4 cup organic sugar
1/4 cup organic brown sugar
3 teaspoons cinnamon

For the ICING
1/2 cup organic sugar
2 tablespoons plain almond milk

MAKING IT HAPPEN:
First… mix the dry ingredients for the rolls… sift if you have a sifter, no biggie if you don’t (I use a whisk if I don’t have sifter). Then add teh butter (cold)… cut it in with two forks until it has kind of a bread crumb consistency (or thereabouts).

Add the milk… and mix until you can form it into a ball of dough… some flour will remain. Put it on a floured surface… flatten it out into a rectangle shape… and put some more flour on top (not a lot… just a light dusting).

Cover the dough with the melted butter (the 3 tablespoons)… then the cinnamon sugar mixture… try to get it evenly distributed or you’ll have trouble evening it out after.

Roll it up … wide end… as tightly as you can. Then slice rolls less than 1 inch each, put them on a greased cookie sheet, and bake for about 12 minutes (watch them – you want them to be browned on top, but not too much).

Now – the icing. I didn’t have powdered sugar, so I improvised. And love the result. I use a vitamix and a blendtech. Today, it was blendtech. I took the healthy, organic sugar… and made it into powder by blendteching it for about 40 seconds. Added the powder to the milk… whisked it up… and wow. Worked really well.

So – rolls are done… plate them (I don’t wait too long, you want them hot)… and put a tablespoon of glaze… serve right away.

Warning: Adjust the recipe as needed, you will not have leftovers no matter how many you make.

Enjoy!!!

Thanks to VEGAN DAD for the basis of this recipe. It’s a family pleaser… and fantastic… and EASY!!

PREHEAT OVEN to 450 degrees f.

INGREDIENTS:
6 whole wheat wraps
1 onion, diced
1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil
1 cup TVP
1.5 cups water
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cinnamon
Refried Beans (canned)
tomatoes
letuce
Vegan Sour Cream
Guacamole
Salsa (a bunch)

So – simple. Just brown the onion… then add the TVP, Spices, Water… cook for about 5 minutes.

Take a wrap… schmear it with 1/6 can of refried beans… dump a heavy tblsp of salsa and 2 of the TVP mixture… wrap it like a chimichanga (ends folded in)… place fold-side-down on a non-stick cookie sheet.

When you’ve got all six done… brush with oil.

Pop those babies in the oven for 20-25 minutes.

IN THE MEANTIME…

Make a salad.
Heat some refried beans.
Put out bowls of: Salsa, jalepenos, lettuce, tomatoes, vegan sour cream
Have a glass of wine.

Serve hot – mmmmm!!!

Serving idea: you can make it more like chimichangas… smaller… and do 12 with the same ingredients (just more wraps)… but we like them a little bulkier.

Okay… I haven’t made it… but it looks fantastic. The only Tortilla soup I’ve made since going vegetarian in 2008 is with my VitaMix … toss some veggies in and get amazingly healthy soup in five minutes. Not bad.

But THIS recipe… has some serious heart and soul. I know I’M going to make it soon – you should, too!

TORTILLA SOUP

And while you’re there… check out their awesome blog at VEGSLC

Okay… I haven’t made it… but it looks fantastic. The only Tortilla soup I’ve made since going vegetarian in 2008 is with my VitaMix … toss some veggies in and get amazingly healthy soup in five minutes. Not bad.

But THIS recipe… has some serious heart and soul. I know I’M going to make it soon – you should, too!

TORTILLA SOUP

And while you’re there… check out their awesome blog at VEGSLC

From: Shana King
Mac and “Cheeze”

Servings/Yield

–
1 ¼ Cups Raw Cashews
½ Cup Nutritional Yeast
2 tsp Onion Powder
1 to 2 tsp Salt, to taste
1 tsp Garlic Powder
½ tsp White Pepper, Can Use Black
3 ½ Cups Almond or Soy Milk
3 Tablespoons Corn Starch
½ Cup Canola Oil, (anything but olive)
¼ Cup Light Miso Paste
2 tablespoons lemon juice
16 ounce Box Macaroni, non-egg, non-dairy pasta
Method

Cook 16 ounce box of macaroni (or shells, or penne pasta). Drain and set aside.

Preheat oven to 375.

Place the cashews in food processor and finely grind.

(I think a blender would work for this…it might just take a little longer to get the cashews to the powder consistency. Don’t, however, allow cashews to turn to paste.)

Add nutritional yeast, onion powder, salt, garlic powder and pepper.

Pulse three more times to blend in spices.

In a heavy saucepan, combine milk, corn starch, and oil.

Bring to a simmer over high heat.

Decrease heat to low medium, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until thickener dissolves.

**FROM EXPERIENCE…..PUT ON A LOWER HEAT THAN YOU THINK….AND USE A WIRE WISK TO STIR THIS EVERY FEW MINUTES. This part takes longer than I always think it should …..but if you turn the heat up too much it sticks to the bottom of the pan. Just keep it on a low-med heat and stir a BUNCH.

Once this is thick and your cornstarch has completely dissolved….remove from heat and let it cool down for just few minutes. Then add the miso paste to this mixture – and whisk it in.

You aren’t supposed to ever boil miso – so make sure the mixture is cooled off.

With the food process running, gradually add milk/oil mixture to the cashew/nutritional yeast mixture. Blend for 2 minutes, or until smooth and creamy. Blend in lemon juice.

Combine mixture with macaroni in a large bowl. Can be eaten like that, but I find it’s too runny. So…

Pour the mixture with pasta into a large 13×9 or 13×11 casserole dish.

Bake @375 for 30 minutes.

When the edges are bubbly and it starts to brown on top… mmmm mmmmmmm good.

Amazing down-home comfort food… tastes like the real deal, without all the fat, calories, and cruelty.
And – Done in less than 20 minutes … if you’re good.

1 Prepared Recipe Drop Biscuits
1 Package Gimme Lean Vegan Sausage
½ Cup All purpose unbleached flour
½ tsp salt
½ tsp fresh ground black pepper
3 cups Almond Milk (Unflavored)
Method

Fun, fantastic, down home comfort food.

First – prepare the drop biscuits (but don’t bake them yet). Put them on the baking sheet… and set aside.

Second – pre-cook the vegan sausage in a 4 quart (or bigger) pot in some olive oil (lightly sprayed). Remove from heat… but leave the burner on (you’ll need it in a sec).

Third – put the Drop Biscuits in the oven for 8 minutes (per recipe).

Fourth – mix the milk, salt, flour, and pepper in a bowl. Add this to the pot with the sausage… and stir it up. Return to heat, bring to a boil, lower to a simmer. Cover, stirring occasionally.

Fifth… biscuits and sausage gravy should be done at the same time!

Now … just enjoy!

Recipe for da biscuits:
From – The Joy of Vegan Baking Cookbook
Drop Biscuits – Vegan – Wonderuful _ SUPER FAST AND EASY

Servings/Yield

24 servings
lots. Depends on how big you make ‘em
1/2 plus 1/3 cup all-purpose unbleached flour
1/2 plus 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
(if you want – you can use all-purpose for all the flour, but the whole wheat adds a bit of extra healthy goodness)
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
⅔ cup nondairy milk
⅓ cup canola oil or melted non-dairy non-hydrogenated butter
Method

PREHEAT OVEN to 475. (PVO note: this is the slowest part of the whole thing… including cleanup. It’s amazing).

Lightly grease a cookie sheet… (PVO note: spray with PAM for baking)

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt until combined.

Add the milk and oil and stir JUST until the dry ingredients are moistened. It will be veyr sticky and thick, not smooth like cake batter. Use one teaspoon to form walnut sized scoops of batter and another spoon to scrape the batter onto the cookie sheet, spacing the biscuits about 1 1/2 inches (3.8 cm) apart.

Bake until the bottoms are golden brown, about 8 minutes (more if larger, just watch ‘em).

Serve hot.

I’m vegan for three reasons… my health, planet health, and animal treatment. My dogs are vegan, too… and they’re more healthy than other. I like to mix it up for them, too… and try to manage how much they ingest in preservatives. If it’s got a shelf life of a year… is it really good for them? So many dogs die of cancer (vast majority)… and I think it’s mainly due to the quality and quantity of meat and chemicals in their food. But that’s me.

This is a GREAT way to make simple snacks… for your pups.

Super simple… and the puppies LOVE them. Note – that they’ll last a little less than a week in a sealed container. No preservatives… that’s the great thing… but they won’t last for months because they are fresh and healthy.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup Almond Milk
1 cup Peanut Butter, Natural, preferred, smooth or crunchy

Method
Easy stuff –

Preheat oven to 275 degrees.

Put the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix ‘em up.

Put the wet ingredients in a separate bowl and stir until smooth and well blended.

Put the stuff from the wet bowl in the bowl with the dry stuff. Mix it up – but don’t over do it. Just to the point where the dough is wet and little dry flour (none) remains.

Then – turn it out on a lightly floured baking surface… roll it down to 1/4 inch thick… and cut with cookie cutters (I use bone and fire hydrant shapes).

Put the cut-out cookies on a baking sheet…

Bake ‘em for 45 minutes to an hour. They should get fairly crunchy… some other recipes call for higher temp and less time, but I find that makes them too “Bread-like.”

Let them cool… then call your best friends!

Store in a cool, dry, air-tight container.