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!!!

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.

Vegan Month of Food… something unique, different, and fun. Every day. Well, almost.

Had a bit of inspiration today. Decided… instead of OATMEAL… I’d make Sausage Biscuits for the fam. I remember them from Hardee’s, or other fast food joints. But these have all the taste, with MUCH fewer calories, NO Cholesterol, and NO animal cruelty. Bonus!

Took all of 20 minutes. Total. Including polishing the silverware. In other words, it’s quick.

Drop biscuits… never need a mix again. This is SO simple. Rediculous. From THE JOY of VEGAN BAKING. I’ve already told you, buy the damned book. If you haven’t, click on the link below. Or go to Barnes and Noble. Or Border’s. Or wherever. But buy it. It’s REALLY REALLY good.

Recipe for da biscuits:
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 ⅔ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
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, whatever)

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.

So – sausage is GimmeLean from LightLife. AMAZING good stuff. MMMMMM. Make little patties, put them in a pan with a bit of olive oil spray… 4 minutes a side.

NOMNOMNOM

Oh – and I promised – here’s the link for the book.

HAPPY VEGAN MONTH OF FOOD!!

Patrick Grady
Scrambled TOFU Wow!

Servings/Yield

4 servings
1 Medium Onion , chopped
1 Green Pepper, Chopped
1 tbs. olive oil
1 package Firm Tofu, Crumbled
¾ package Gimme Lean Vegan Sausage, Crumbled
2 tsp cumin
3 tsp curry
2 tbs. Braggs Liquid Aminos
Method

Wow… have been hesitating trying to make this because the concept doesn’t sound too good to me. BUT – I’ve managed to make a scrambled tofu that I LOVE… and wanted to eat more and more of.

So – simple, too.

First thing – USE A WOK, if you have one. The constant turning and adding really can benefit from the larger, non-stick pan. If you don’t have one or choose not to use one, you just might have a bit of a mess to clean up. But that’s part of the fun of cooking, anyhow.

So – easy to do.

Chop the onion.

Chop the Green Pepper (fairly small).

Put the oil in the wok (or pan, I know I know) and heat to medium high

Sauté the onions and green peppers until the onions are translucent.
Add the sausage, by hand, bits at a time. Mix it in and then add more, until you’ve added all you want to add. I only used 3/4 of a package… but could have used more.

Using a non-stick appropriate spatula, Chop chop (that’s a technical term) the sausage… mixing it in, cooking it in…

Add the tofu, crumbling as you’re adding. Stir the whole mess constantly. NOTE: Not so important to drain the tofu, as cooking the entire liquid down is part of the equation.

When it feels right… after the tofu is sufficiently scrambled, and the sausage is sufficiently mixed in, add the cumin and curry… then add the Braggs (if using).

Continue to cook it down.. 8 to 10 minutes on medium to medium high. Watch that you’re not burning it, but … cook at a temperature high enough to reduce the water.

That’s it! Put it on a plate! Eat it! Now clean your kitchen!! (If you used the wok, this part is easier).

OH – one more thing. Serve it with vegan bread and butter and preserves… or a vegan scone… and fruit… or something. Otherwise you won’t get four servings out of this. Seriously. It’s that good.

Leftovers? Doubtful, but save ‘em in a glass container and have them tomorrow.

It’s a good idea to make this before the rest of the family gets up… ’cause you’ll have to make another batch before they’re ready to walk away. You can just get the kitchen cleaned up and give your honey some granola and almond milk… right?

Naahhh… make it for everyone.