Vegan Mac 'N' Cheese

This is a great vegan mac and "cheese" recipe. It is easy to make and the end result is tasty and creamy. You can find the recipe on Chef Chloe's website.

Roasted Root Vegetables

 

Ingredients:

- 5 small red potatoes, cut into quarters

- 2 large turnips, peeled and cut
- 4 medium carrots, peeled and cut
- 3 medium beets, peeled and cut into quarters
- 1 tbsp. garlic powder
- 1 tbsp. oregano
- 5 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

Directions:
1. Peel turnips, carrots, and beets. Wash potatoes with a vegetable scrubber. Cut vegetables into small pieces.
2. Toss the vegetables with olive oil (enough to coat) and seasoning. Salt and pepper to taste.
3. In a baking dish, cook at 400°F for about 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.

Spaghetti Squash

This is a classic fall meal. Follow this link to learn how to bake and prepare spaghetti squash. Serve hot with spaghetti sauce.

Pumpkin Muffins

 

This is a variation of a recipe I found on The Post Punk Kitchen. 

Ingredients:

- 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

- 1 1/4 cups vegan sugar

- 1 tbsp. baking powder

- 1/4 tsp. salt

- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon

- 1/4 tsp. ground cloves

- 1 cup canned pumpkin puree

- 1/2 cup unsweetened rice milk

- 1/4 cup canola oil

- 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

- 2 tbsp. maple syrup

Directions:

1. Lightly spray a 12 muffin tin. 

2. Combine dry ingredients separately from wet ingredients. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix well. 

3. Bake at 400°F for 18-20 minutes.

Mashed Turnips

Ingredients:

- fresh turnips, peeled and cut into quarters (I used about 10 turnips)

- 2 tbsp. olive oil

- 2 tbsp. Earth Balance buttery spread

- 1/4 c. - 1/2 c. rice milk (or any non-dairy unsweetened milk)

Directions:

1. Peel turnips and cut into quarters.

2. In a large pot, cover turnips with water and boil until soft.

3. Drain turnips in a strainer. Rinse off cooked turnips with cool water. Return to pot and add remaining ingredients.

4. Either hand mash turnips or use a food processor until smooth.

5. Serve hot with salt and pepper to taste.

Peanut Butter Blondies

(Recipe from, Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar, by Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero)

Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup peanut butter
- 1/3 cup oil (I used coconut oil)
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup nondairy milk (I used unsweetened almond milk)
- 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/3 cup peanuts (I omitted this ingredient)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease metal 8 x 8-inch baking dish.
2. In a mixing bowl, use a fork to vigorously mix together peanut butter, oil, and sugar. Stir in the nondairy milk and vanilla. Stir in the flour, salt, and baking powder. Once you get the flour somewhat mixed in, it's easier to just use your hands to knead the dough until soft. It will be very very thick and won't spread on its own. Transfer dough to the baking pan and press it into place. Sprinkle on the peanuts and lightly press them into the top.
3. Bake for 22 to 25 minutes; the blondie edges should be just barely darkened. The top will appear soft, and that's okay. Remove the blondies from the oven and cool completely before slicing.

Chocolate Bars!!

Sometimes a vegan's gotta get his or her chocolate on. There is no better way than with these chocolate bars by Go Max Go (purchased at Whole Foods). These puppies are dairy-free, do not use hydrogenated oils, contain no trans fats, and use natural ingredients. The chocolate is made from rice milk and these taste just like non-vegan chocolate bars! Also, the company that makes these treats is family-owned and operated. Now who doesn't love that?

Pesto

Pesto is one of those recipes that you have to experiment with until you get it right for your liking. I like more garlic than some people may prefer. The following measurements are suggestions based on how I made my pesto.

Ingredients:

- 5 tbsp. pine nuts

- 3 packed cups fresh basil

- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

- 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk

- 2 tbsp. nutritional yeast

- 3 cloves garlic

- salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients in a food processor. Process until smooth.

2. Refrigerate until the sauce thickens. Serve over whole wheat pasta.