Cruelty-free Recipes: National Endowment for the Animals

Some favorite recipes from National Endowment for the Animals
These recipes have been gathered from various sources -- friends, family, cookbooks, websites, newsletters, etc. Some of the recipes have been tweaked to our tastes or to make them Vegan. We apologize that we don't have the sources for some of the recipes. If you recognize a recipe and know the source, please let us know and we'll be sure to give credit where credit is due.

Sweets are listed first -- we'll get these more organized soon!

The Top 10... or 11... oh, let's make it a baker's dozen :)
1. Nice Cream Cake
2. Calzones
3. Dennis's Chocolate Chip Cookies
4. Vegan Cheesecake
5. Strawberry Spinach Salad
6. Chocolate Pudding
7. Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Cookies
8. Pizza Dough Quick Like
9. Scrambled Breakfast Tofu
10. Grandma's Rhubarb Cake
11. Pumpkin Pie
12. Avocado Vegan "Egg" Roll
13. French Toast

Sweets...

Creme Filled Carrot Cake Cookies

Makes about 3 dozen sandwiches (72 cookies!)

carrotcakecookies

1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 cup granulated sugar
½ pound (2 sticks) Earth Balance buttery spread
2 Ener-G Egg Replacer OR ½ cup VEGAN yogurt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla
2 cups unbleached white flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground ginger
2 cups rolled oats (not instant)
1 ½ cups finely grated carrots (about 3 large carrots)
1 cup raisins
cream cheeze frosting (recipe follows)

Preheat the oven to 350F. In a mixer (or beat by hand), combine the sugars and Earth Balance. Continue beating until light and fluffy, about three to four minutes. Add the fake eggs and vanilla and mix until well combined.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices. Stir to combine. Gradually add this flour mixture to the Earth Balance mixture. Mix on low speed until just combined. Mix in the oats, carrots and raisins. Chill until firm, at least an hour. Drop by tablespoon onto a parchment lined cookie sheet, two inches apart.

Bake until brown and crisp, 12-15 minutes, rotating the sheet 180 degrees halfway through. Cool them on a wire rack. Once completely cooked, spread about 2 teaspoons of cream cheeze frosting onto a cookie, and sandwich together with another cookie. Store in the fridge.

Cream Cheeze Frosting

8 oz Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese, at room temperature
1/4 pound (1 stick) Earth Balance buttery spread
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Place the Tofutti in a medium bowl and whip until smooth. Gradually add the Earth Balance and continue beating until smooth and well blended. Sift in the powdered sugar and beat again until smooth. Add vanilla and beat. Place in the fridge; it will firm up as it chills.

Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Filling and Chocolate Frosting

1 1/4 c. all purpose four
1/3 c. cocoa
1 t. baking soda
6 T. Earth Balance margarine
1 c. sugar
1 c. rice milk
1 T. white vinegar
1/2 t. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray two 8-inch round pans with cooking spray. In a bowl, stir flour, cocoa and baking soda. In a saucepan, melt margarine; stir in sugar. Remove from heat. Add miilk, vinegar and vanilla to mixture in saucepan; stir. Add dry ingredients; whisk until well blended. Pour evenly into pans. Bake 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes our clean. Cool. Fill with peanut butter filling and frost the top (recipes follow). Makes 12 servings.

One Bowl Buttercream Frosting:

6 T. Earth Balance margarine, softened
cocoa: use 1/3 c. for light flavor, 1/2 c. for medium flavor, or 3/4 c. for dark flavor
2 2/3 c. unsifted confectioners' sugar
1/3 c. rice milk
1 t. vanilla extract

Cream margarine in a small mixer bowl. Add cocoa and sugar alternately with milk; beat to spreading consistency (additional tablespoon of milk may be needed). Blend in vanilla. Makes about 2 cups of frosting.

Peanut Butter Filling:

1 1/2 c. confectioners' sugar
1/2 c. creamy peanut butter
1/4 c. Earth Balance margarine, softened
2-3 T rice milk

Mix all ingredients to desired consistency.

If you have the time and patience, you can make this cake look really spectacular with vertical layers/stripes of peanut butter filling. Here's how:

Double the cake part of the recipe and bake it in 2 jelly roll pans. When cool, cut the cakes into 3 even strips per pan (the long way). Frost the strips with the peanut butter filling. Roll the first frosted strip up like a jelly roll, then stand it up like a pillar to form the middle of the cake. Layer each subsequent strip in concentric circles around the pillar--you'll need to smoosh them onto each other using the peanut butter as paste. When you're out of layers, it's time to tighten up your construction by using waxed paper or aluminum foil wrapped around the circumference of the cake and taped together. It should be pretty snug to keep the layers tight. Freeze the cake overnight in an airtight container or bag. The next day, let the cake thaw in the airtight container, then frost it with the chocolate frosting. When the cake is cut, it will have vertical rather than the typical horizontal layers.

I like to decorate the cake by piling chocolate curlicues on top. You can use either a chocolate bar, or melt some semi-sweet chocolate chips and then pour the chocolate onto waxed or parchment paper and allow to harden into a bar. Using a carrot peeler, slowly and firmly run it along the narrow side of the bar to form curlicues. If the chocolate is too cold, it will flake off instead of forming curlicues. You can warm the chocolate up a bit with the warmth of your hands and try again until you get the desired effect.

Mexican Wedding Cake Cookies

mexicanweddingcakes

1 c. Earth Balance shortening
2 c. flour
¼ c. agave nectar
½ t. almond extract
½ t. salt
2 c. pecans, chopped
powdered sugar

Cream shortening. Add other ingredients. Roll mixture into small balls. Bake for 30 minutes in a 300 degree oven. Roll in powdered sugar while hot and again when cold. Makes about 30 cookies.

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Pecan Cookies (or Bars*)

1½ c. flour
1 t. soda
1 t. salt
1 c. shortening (I use Earth Balance shortening sticks)
1/8 t. McCormick imitation butter flavor
¾ c. white sugar
¾ c. brown sugar
Ener-G egg replacer equivalent of 2 eggs
1 t. hot water
½ c. chopped pecans
1 c. chocolate chips
2 c. oatmeal
1 t. vanilla

Cream shortening briefly with imitation butter flavor. Add sugars and cream well. Beat in egg replacer, hot water and vanilla. Add salt, soda and flour and mix well. Add chocolate chips, nuts and oatmeal and mix well. Drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

* For cookie bars, decrease oatmeal by ¼ cup and bake at 325 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Caramel Corn

6 quarts (24 cups) popped corn
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup margarine (Earth Balance full-fat)
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. soda

Boil sugar, margarine and syrup together for 4 minutes. Add salt and soda. Pour over popped corn and stir as if for popcorn balls. Pour into a large cake pan or roasting pan and place in preheated oven. Bake at 250 for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.

Nice Cream Cake

nicecreamcake

This is for our most requested dessert using Soy Delicious Turtle Tracks vegan nice cream. Experiment with other flavors and let us know how it goes. We also love using Soy Delicious Purely Decadent Peanut Butter Zig Zag nice cream with peanut butter frosting on the top!

You will need a 9” spring form pan and…

Nice Cream:
4 pints Soy Delicious Purely Decadent Turtle Tracks nice cream
1 pint Soy Delicious Purely Decadent Praline Pecan nice cream (or vanilla)

Cookie crumb crust, middle, topping:
1 package of Newman O’s (or similar type) chocolate-filled chocolate wafer sandwich cookies. You can remove up to 6 of the cookies and eat them while you are making the cake :)
¼ cup melted vegan margarine

Pulse cookies in a food processor (or crush in a bag) until they reach a chunky crumb texture (don’t over-crush to dust/crumbs). Stir margarine into the remainder of the crumbs stir with fork. Press margarine and crumb mixture into the bottom of a 9-inch spring-form pan, but reserve 1/2 cup for middle and top layers of cake.

Sugared pecans (chop for middle and topping and leave some whole for top)
¾ cup pecans toasted
2 tablespoons vegan margarine
2 tablespoons sugar

Toast pecans over medium heat, add margarine to hot pan/pecans, then sprinkle with sugar and coat well. Remove from heat. Crumble most of the pecans when cool. Save about 10-12 pecans for a nice presentation on top of the cake.

Frosting for decorating the top edge of the cake
2 tablespoons vegan margarine
¾ cup or more powdered sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon soy/rice milk

Mix all ingredients until smooth and thick (might have to add more powdered sugar).

Fudge center:
¼ cup sugar
2 tablespoons vegan margarine
2 tablespoons water
1 ½ tablespoons light corn syrup
½ cup vegan chocolate chips
½ teaspoon vanilla

Bring first 4 ingredients to boil in a medium-size saucepan. Boil 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips until smooth. Stir in vanilla.

Other middle/toppings:
½ of a 12 oz jar of Smucker’s marshmallow topping (optional, but yummy)
¼ of a 7 oz container of your favorite organic chocolate syrup

Cake assembly:

Have everything prepared and ready. Work quickly so the nice cream doesn’t melt and become icy. You’ll probably have to run your hands under warm water between pints because it’s really cold!

Starting with the bottom (cookie crust) layer, add 2 ½ pints of the Turtle Tracks nice cream. Wearing rubber gloves (or not if you’re only making it for you), flatten the nice cream between your hands and press evenly onto the cookie crust.

For the middle layer, spread the fudge filling evenly over the first layer of nice cream mostly in the middle of the cake. Add some of the reserved cookie crumbs, crushed pecans, and marshmallow topping.

Next, add the remainder of the Turtle Tracks nice cream, followed by the Praline Pecan nice cream.

For a decorative topping, drizzle marshmallow topping, chocolate syrup, cookie crumbs, and pecan pieces evenly over the surface. Mound some whole pecans in the middle of the cake.

Spoon frosting into a piping bag (or a plastic bag with a tiny corner snipped off will do). Pipe frosting around the top outer edge of the cake.

Put cake in freezer and freeze overnight or until solid.

Draw knife between cake and pan and loosen the spring form. Slice and serve with a little chocolate drizzled over the top.

Raw Black Forest Chocolate "Cheesecake"

Vegan/Raw

Bursting with sweet cherries layered between a chocolate crust and a creamy chocolate cheesecake filling.

Filling:
2 cups cashews, soaked 1 hour or more, drain water off well
¼ cup agave
¼ cup maple syrup
½ cup water
¼ cup cacao butter, melted (you can also use a cacao bar)
¼ cup coconut butter/oil, melted
Seeds from ½ vanilla bean (or 1 teaspoon vanilla)
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1 10oz (maybe less) package frozen cherries, thawed

Using a blender or food processor, blend everything together except for the cocoa powder and cherries until completely smooth. Then blend in the cocoa powder or scrape the mixture into a mixing bowl and whisk the cocoa powder in by hand. Hand mix in the thawed cherries. If you want to make a sauce out of the cherries, either set some aside or use an additional package.

Crust:
½ cup brazil nuts
½ cup shredded coconut
Pinch of salt
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
2 tablespoons agave
1-2 tablespoons cacao nibs (or use 1-2 tablespoons of the cacao bar)
Seeds from ¼ vanilla bean or ½ teaspoon vanilla

Process the brazil nuts, shredded coconut, salt, cocoa powder and vanilla bean seeds in a food processor until fine crumbs. Add the agave and cacao nibs until the mixture just starts to stick together. Press into the bottom of a very small (4” or less) springform pan. If you are making a large cheesecake, double or even triple the recipe (crust and filling).

Pour the filling over the crust and chill until ready to serve.

Raw White Chocolate Strawberry "Cheesecake"

raw strawberry cheesecake

Filling:
2 cups fresh strawberries
1 cup cashews (better if soaked for 1 hour or so)
¼ cup melted coconut butter
2 tablespoons melted cacao butter (or use more coconut butter - up to 1/3 cup total)
¼ cup agave
1 tablespoon lemon juice
¼ teaspoon salt

Blend all of the ingredients high speed blender or processor until completely smooth.

Pour the filling over the crust and chill until ready to serve.

Ginger Snaps

gingersnapcookies

¾ cup non-hydrogenated shortening (Earth Balance shortening sticks)
1 cup white sugar
Ener-G egg replacer equivalent of 1 egg (Ener-G is potato starch and tapioca starch)
4 T. molasses
2 t. soda
½ t. salt
1 t. ginger
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 cups flour

Mix all ingredients together. Shape into a ball the size of a walnut, dip in white sugar and bake. (Push down and semi-flatten for a more “crinkly” look. 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

Bonbons -- Coconut

1 lb. powdered sugar (4 cups scant)
¾ cups mashed potatoes
1 lb. coconut (4 cups scant)
½-1 teaspoon almond extract

Mix above ingredients. Roll into balls. Put in freezer to set.

Melt in a double boiler:
2 cups vegan semisweet chocolate chips

Insert toothpick into coconut balls and dip into melted chocolate. Place on waxed paper. When chocolate cools/hardens, place in container and refrigerate or freeze. Keep refrigerated or frozen in an airtight container.

Bonbons -- Peanut Butter

Follow the directions above using the following ingredients for the center of the bonbons:

1 lb. powdered sugar (3-4 cups; some peanut butters are sweeter than others)
2 cups peanut butter
½ cup vegan margarine
½ teaspoon vanilla

(Either recipe makes approximately 50 bonbons.)

Butterscotch Bars

Cream: ½ cup vegan margarine
½ cup brown sugar
1½ cups flour

Pat above mixture into an ungreased 9 x 13” pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Cool a bit.

Heat just to boiling: 2/3 cup white sugar
2/3 cup light corn syrup

Add: 1 cup vegan butterscotch chips
½ cup crunchy peanut butter

Stir in until dissolved. Add 2 cups of vegan cornflakes, stir to coat, and spread over the crust.

Caramel Corn

6 quarts (24 cups) popped corn
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup vegan margarine
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon soda

Boil sugar, margarine and syrup together for 4 minutes. Add salt and soda. Pour over popped corn and stir to coat. Pour onto a cookie sheet and place in 250 degree oven. Bake for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.

Compassionate Indistinguishable Vegan Cheesecake

9" spring form pan is recommended.
Half the recipe and reduce baking time to 45 minutes for a pie shell.

32 oz plain Tofutti Cream Cheese (four 8-oz containers)
1 1/3 cup sugar
7 teaspoons FRESH lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla

½ cup water
2 Tablespoons Egg Replacer (Ener-G powder)

Mix vegan cream cheese, sugar, fresh lemon juice, salt, and vanilla until smooth. Whisking in a mixer seems to work best.

In mixing bowl, whisk water and Egg Replacer until stiff peaks form when you stop and raise the whisk. This may take 3 or 4 minutes with an electric mixer on high.

Fold in the vegan cream cheese mixture. The Egg Replacer will foam quite a bit. Fold in thoroughly, but try not to lose all the fluffiness (air bubbles).

Pour into prepared crust and bake in 350 degree oven for 60 minutes. It may take up to 15 minutes longer - bake until a nice golden-brown skin forms on top.

Cool to room temperature and refrigerate for at least 6 hours.

Top with berries, lime spritz, or favorite topping.

Graham Cracker Crust

1 ½ packages (15 crackers) of vegan graham crackers
½ cup margarine
1/3 cup sugar
¼ teaspoon salt (adjust to taste - some margarines are more salty)

Crush crackers into crumbs. Mix melted margarine with crackers salt and sugar. Press into pan. Do NOT prebake the crust for the Vegan Cheesecake recipe.

FOR CHOCOLATE OH-YEAH CHEESECAKE…
Add ¼ cup cocoa to the crust mixture
Add ¼ cup cocoa to the cream cheese mixture (before the Egg Replacer)
Omit the lemon juice!

Carmel Nut Crust
Good with the Vegan Cheesecake recipe.

1 1/2 cups pecans, finely ground
1/3 cup quick-cooking rolled oats
1 Tablespoon arrowroot or cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 Tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 Tablespoons brown rice syrup, barley malt syrup, or dark corn syrup [i used light corn syrup]
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Place the ground pecans in a bowl and stir in the oats, arrowroot or cornstarch, and cinnamon, mixing well. Add the remaining crust ingredients, stirring until thoroughly mixed. Lightly oil the sides and bottom of a 10-inch springform pan (or use one that has a non-stick coating--this works best), and carefully pat the crust mixture evenly over the bottom using lightly dampened fingers.

“Crumb Donut Holes” Raw, Vegan and Healthy
Taste kind of like Hostess Crumb Donuts
Original recipe from http://www.living-foods.com/recipes/
(we added cinnamon and gave more specific measurements)

1 cup raw almonds
1 cup very soft, pitted dates
1/2 cup finely shredded banana squash (or zucchini)
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup more shredded coconut for rolling
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 to 1 teaspoon nutmeg
¼ to 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon sea salt

Process almonds in a food processor into very fine pieces. Add dates, a little at a time. Add salt and vanilla. The mixture will look like very coarse meal at first, and then all of a sudden it will come together in one big ball.

Take the big ball out of the food processor and, using your hands, mix in the shredded squash/zucchini, nutmeg, cinnamon and shredded coconut until it is all mixed in. Taste and add more coconut or nutmeg if desired.

Roll the mixture into small 1” balls and roll in remaining shredded coconut. Place in a single layer and chill in the freezer until firm (several hours). When firm, you can put them in a container and freeze. They’ll keep in the freezer for several months. Serve thawed (or frozen if you like ‘em that way).

ack to top

Cherry Almond Coffee Squares

1 cup Tofutti Sour Supreme
¼ cup water
Ener-G egg replacer equivalent of 3 eggs
1 package of vegan white or yellow cake mix
21 oz cherry pie filling
¼ cup sliced almonds, toasted

Glaze:
2 tablespoons soy or rice milk
1 ½ cups powdered sugar

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease and flour a jelly roll pan (15 ½ x 10 ½ x 1”). Mix sour cream, water and egg replacer; stir in cake mix until moistened. (Batter will be slightly lumpy.) Spread into pan. Drop pie filling by generous spoonfuls onto batter. Bake until cake springs back, 25-30 minutes. Cool. Sprinkle with almonds; drizzle with glaze. (Glaze may need a couple of extra drops of milk.)

Chocolate-dipped Peanut Butter Cookies

½ c. generic vegetable shortening (Crisco tests on animals)
1/8 t. imitation butter flavoring
1 c. creamy peanut butter
¾ c. granulated sugar
½ c. firmly packed brown sugar
1 t. vanilla
Ener-G egg replacer equivalent of 1 egg
1 T soy or rice milk
1 ¼ c. flour
¾ t. baking soda
½ t. baking powder
¼ t. salt

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Incorporate shortening and imitation butter flavoring. Cream shortening mixture, peanut butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in a large bowl at medium speed of electric mixer for one minute. Add egg replacer and milk. Beat until well blended.

Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add to creamed mixture. Mix well.

Drop rounded spoonfuls of dough onto ungreased baking sheet. Flatten in a crisscross pattern with a fork, or flatten with the bottom of a glass for a smooth cookie surface. Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Allow to cool.

To dip cookies: Melt one cup of vegan semisweet chocolate chips. Dip cookies half-way into the chocolate and allow to dry on waxed paper. You can put cookies in the fridge or freezer to speed up the process.

Chocolate Frosted Cookies

1 cup brown sugar
½ cup vegan margarine
2 squares of melted bittersweet chocolate OR ½ cup cocoa
½ cup soymilk mixed with ½ T vinegar
1 egg replacer
½ t salt
½ t vanilla
½ t baking soda
1½ cups flour
nuts (optional)

Icing:
2 squares of melted bittersweet chocolate OR ½ cup cocoa
6 T. vegan margarine
3 T. soymilk or soycream
1½ cups powdered sugar
1 t. vanilla

Melt margarine and chocolate in a double boiler or microwave. Add to brown sugar. Mix well. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until smooth. (Batter will be wet.) Add nuts. Grease cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

Icing: Melt chocolate, margarine and soymilk or cream. Add powdered sugar and vanilla and mix until smooth. Frost cookies after they have cooled.

Makes about 3 dozen 2-3” cookies.

Chocolate Pudding

1 1/2 pounds of silken tofu
1/4 cup oil
1 1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup cocoa
pinch salt
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Whip it all together in a food processor or blender. Chill and serve. Also very good in a baked pie shell as a chocolate pie.

Dennis Kucinich’s Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies
Barbara Bear made these for Dennis Kucinich when he visited Boulder, CO. Dennis said, "Wherever I go, people make me chocolate chip cookies because they know I love them. These are honestly the best I've *ever* had!" :)

3/4 cup vegetable shortening
1/8 teaspoon imitation butter flavor
1 1/4 firmly brown sugar
2 tablespoons rice milk
1 tablespoon vanilla
Ener-G Egg Replacer equivalent of 1 egg
1 3/4 cup white flour
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup macadamia nuts

Blend until creamy the shortening, sugar, rice milk and vanilla.
Blend in egg equivalent.
Combine flour, salt and baking soda and add to sugar mixture gradually until all mixed.
Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.
Bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 375 degrees for about 8 minutes

Double Chocolate Brownie Drops

1 1/3 cups vegetable shortening
1/8 teaspoon imitation butter flavoring
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Ener-G egg replacer equivalent of 2 eggs
2 ¼ cups white flour
2/3 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons rice milk
1 ½ cups large walnut or pecan pieces
½ cup semi-sweet chocolate pieces
½ cup white chocolate baking pieces

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine shortening and imitation butter flavor. Mix sugars and vanilla into shortening. Beat 1 minute or until creamy. Add half of egg replacer, beat 30 seconds. Add other half of egg replacer and beat once more for 30 seconds.

Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Add alternately with milk to creamed mixture. Stir in nuts and chocolate pieces.

Drop dough by tablespoon onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 7-9 minutes. Makes 3 ½ dozen 2-inch cookies.

(As vegan white chips aren’t easy to find, I usually use one cup of chocolate chips instead.)

Fudge Revel Bars

1 c. margarine
2 ½ c. flour
2 c. brown sugar
1 t. baking soda
½ t. salt
Ener-G egg replacer equivalent of 2 eggs
2 ½ c. oatmeal (not quick cooking variety)

Mix all of the above together and spread ½ of the mixture in a 12 x 8 jelly roll pan. (I use a 9 x 13, plus 1 bread loaf pan.)

Melt together over a double boiler:
2 c. vegan semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/3 c. vegan sweetened condensed milk
4 T. margarine
1 t. vanilla

Cool the mixture slightly and spread over first mixture. Top with the other half of the oatmeal mixture. Bake at 325-350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Rhubarb Cake
Matt Bear's Grandma's recipe

1 ½ cups brown sugar
½ cup vegetable shortening (or Spectrum has a non-hydrogenated shortening)
1 Ener-G egg replacer
1 cup sour soy milk
(to create "sour soy milk" -- add one tablespoon white vinegar to one cup minus one tablespoon soy milk and let sit for a few minutes)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups flour
1 ½ cups raw chopped rhubarb

Topping:
¼ cup white sugar or cane sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Mix sugar, shortening, “egg”, soy milk, vanilla, and salt.
Add flour and baking soda and mix.
Add rhubarb last and mix.

Pour into greased/sprayed/oiled 9x13” pan.
Sprinkle topping over batter.
Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes -- toothpick should come out clean when inserted to test if the cake is done.

Special Peanut Butter Crunch Bars
Matt Bear's Mom's recipe

½ cup sugar
½ cup light corn syrup
1 cup peanut butter
3 cups cornflakes
½ cup chocolate chips
a little margarine (just enough to lightly grease bottom and sides of 9” x 9” pan.

Heat sugar and corn syrup (stir continuously) on medium high heat to a light boil and continue to stir while it lightly boils for another minute or so. Don’t boil to high or too long or the bars will turn pretty hard. Remove from heat and add peanut butter. Stir in quickly to get peanut butter completely melted. Dump in the cornflakes and mix together well without crushing the cornflakes too much. Press down in greased 9” x 9” pan. Spread out chocolate chips on top while still warm and let sit for a few minutes – the chocolate chips will melt so you can spread them out like frosting. Let cool and cut. Freezes really well if you don’t eat them all like I do :)

Raised Donuts
Converted into a cruelty-free recipe from an old magazine

Makes about 4 dozen good sized donut holes.
Best when still warm and fresh!

½ cup soy milk
½ cup water
1 package (2 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast)
½ cup sugar
¾ stick (6 Tablespoons) margarine (Fleischmann’s unsalted is vegan)
1 teaspoon salt
3 ¼ to 3 ½ cup flour
vegetable oil for deep frying
sugar glaze or cinnamon sugar (see recipes below)

In a large bowl stir together soy milk (heated to lukewarm) and water (heated to lukewarm) and yeast. Let stand 5 minutes till foamy.

Add sugar and margarine and whisk till well combined (some lumps of margarine will remain).

Add salt and 2 cups of the flour and beat in a mixer until smooth. Stir in 1 ¼ of the remaining flour to form a soft but manageable dough. On a lightly floured surface (or with a kneading hook in a mixer) knead the dough for 2 minutes and let stand 10 minutes.

Then continue kneading dough kneading in enough of the remaining ¼ cup flour to keep dough from sticking. Put dough in a lightly oiled bowl, turning it to coat it and let it rise, covered, in a warm place for 1 ½ hours or until double in size (or can let rise in refrigerator overnight).

On a lightly floured surface roll dough out to ½” thick and cut out donuts (can use a donut cutter with donut holes or just cut them into about 1 ½” squares). Transfer pieces to wax paper and let rise, covered lightly, for about 1 hour or until doubled in bulk.

Heat 2-3” of oil in a kettle to about 375 degrees (medium high on a stove top). Drop in 4-6 donuts or 6-8 donut holes at a time and turn them as the surface and brown. Cook for 3 or 4 minutes or until golden. Transfer to paper towel.

While still warm, dip in glaze or sugar.

Sugar Glaze (for raised donuts)
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2-3 Tablespoons water
pinch of salt
Whisk together

Cinnamon Sugar (for raised donuts)
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
Mix together

Lemon Poppy Seed Loaf

2 ½ c flour
½ c vegetable oil
3/4 c sugar
1 egg replacer (I use Ener-G)
¼ c poppy seeds
2 t vanilla extract
1 T baking powder
1 T grated lemon rind

Lemon Syrup:
3/4 t salt
¼ c lemon juice
1 ¼ c rice milk
¼ c sugar
1 t grated lemon rind

1-Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8 x 8 baking pan with margarine. (For whatever reason, in my notes I have written “don’t use cooking spray”.)

2-In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, sesame seeds, baking powder, lemon rind, and salt. In a small bowl, combine the milk, oil, egg replacer and vanilla. Stir the milk mixture into the flour mixture just until the flour mixture is moistened. Do not over mix. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan.

3-Bake the bread 55-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Prepare the Lemon Syrup: In a 1-quart saucepan, heat the lemon juice and sugar to boiling. Stir in the lemon rind; remove from heat. Make a series of toothpick holes in the top of the bread. Pour the lemon syrup over the bread. Cool the bread in the pan until all the syrup is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Remove the bread from the pan and cool completely on a wire rack.

[The original recipe was called “Lemon Sesame Loaf” and calls for ½ c toasted sesame seeds, but I prefer poppy seeds. Also, the original recipe says to bake the bread in a loaf pan, but I could never get the middle to bake through, so switched to baking it in a cake pan.]

Pumpkin Cake Roll

3/4 cup flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Ener-G egg replacer equivalent of 3 eggs
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 cup chopped walnuts
sifted powdered sugar

Filling:
6 oz Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese
¼ cup vegan margarine
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 cup sifted powdered sugar

Grease and lightly flour a 15 x 10 x 1” jelly roll pan. (You can use parchment paper on the bottom of the pan instead of greasing it to make sure the cake doesn’t stick.) Stir together flour, cinnamon, baking powder, ginger, salt and nutmeg. In a small mixer bowl beat egg replacer at high speed of an electric mixer about 5 minutes or until thick and fluffy. Gradually add sugar, beating until sugar dissolves. Stir in pumpkin and lemon juice. Fold dry ingredients into pumpkin mixture. Spread evenly into prepared pan. Sprinkle with walnuts. Bake in a 375 degree oven 12-15 minutes.

Immediately loosen edges of cake from pan and turn out onto a towel sprinkled with sifted powdered sugar. Starting with the narrow end, roll warm cake and the towel together, nuts on outside of the roll. Cool on a wire rack.

For filling, beat Better Than Cream Cheese, margarine and vanilla until smooth. Beat in 1 cup powdered sugar. Unroll cake, spread with filling. Roll up cake (without the towel). Chill until serving time. (Tastes good partially frozen as well.) Makes 10 servings.

Vegan Carrot Cake

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
3 Ener-G Egg Replacer
2 cups grated carrots
1 cup crushed pineapple, drained well
2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup chopped toasted pecans
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla

Cream oil, sugar and egg-replacer well. Add pineapple and grated carrots and mix well. Sift/mix flour, soda, salt and cinnamon together then add to creamed mixture. Add vanilla last. Beat well and bake in two round cake pan to layer. 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Vegan Cream Cheeze Frosting
4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup full-fat Earth Balance vegan margarine
3 ounces Tofutti cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla

stir/whip frosting, but don't whip too long or it will go flat

Ener-G egg replacer equivalent of 4 eggs
15 oz can of pumpkin (with spices added)
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1½ teaspoons cinnamon

Frosting:
3 oz Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese
6 tablespoons vegan margarine
1½ cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 tablespoon rice dream or other non-dairy beverage

Beat egg replacer, pumpkin, and oil; add remaining ingredients and mix. Bake in a shallow baking pan for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Frost when cool.

For frosting, mix all ingredients together until smooth. Add more powdered sugar or milk to reach desired consistency.

Pumpkin Pie

1 unbaked pastry crust

Blend in a blender of food processor until smooth and creamy:
3/4 pound tofu
1 (16 oz.) can pumpkin (2 cups)
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/3 cup oil
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup light brown sugar
1 1/2 Tablespoon molasses

Pour mixture into pie shell. Bake for one hour. Chill and serve.

Vegan Sweetened Condensed Milk

1 c. Better Than Milk (rice vegan beverage mix)
2/3 c. white sugar
3 T Fleischmann’s no salt margarine, melted
a few drops of vanilla extract

Pour ½ cup of boiling water into a blender. Add the dry milk, sugar, margarine and vanilla. Blend on high speed for 30 seconds or until completely smooth. Use in a recipe immediately or store in a covered container in the refrigerator.

Rhubarb Cheesecake Squares

Crust:
½ cup margarine
½ cup brown sugar
1¼ cup flour
½ teaspoon salt

Mix ingredients until crumbly. Press half of mixture into an ungreased 9 x 9 inch pan.

Filling:
8 oz Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese
Ener-G egg replacer equivalent of one egg
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
¾ c sugar
1½ cup diced rhubarb

Combine all ingredients and beat well. Pour over crust and sprinkle with remaining crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Allow to cool, then cut into squares. Keep in refrigerator.

Rhubarb Muffins
(makes 12)

1 ¾ cups flour
¼ cup sugar
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
1 Ener-G egg replacer
¾ cup rice milk or soy milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup chopped rhubarb

Topping
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 Tablespoon margarine (melted)
1/3 cup sugar

Mix dry ingredients. Combine Ener-G egg replacer, milk and oil and add all at once to the dry ingredients. Add chopped rhubarb Stir quickly just until all the ingredients are moistened.

Fill greased muffin pans 2/3 full.

Mix together Topping and scatter over muffin batter.

Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.

Toffee Nut Bars

Bottom Layer:
½ cup Fleishmann’s no salt margarine
1¼ cup flour
½ cup brown sugar

Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix margarine and sugar. Add flour. Press and flatten into the bottom of a 9” square pan. Bake 10-15 minutes until crust just starts to brown. Then top with:

Top Layer:
½ cup medium-firm tofu, whipped smooth (I used mori-nu, firm)
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 Tbsp. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup chopped almonds

Placed whipped tofu in a large bowl and stir in the sugar and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the coconut and almonds. Return to the oven and bake 25 minutes or until the topping is golden. Cool slightly and cut into bars.

Streusel Coffeecake

Cake ingredients:
¾ c. sugar
¼ c. non-Crisco vegetable shortening (Crisco tests on animals)
Ener-G egg replacer equivalent of 1 egg
½ c. soy or rice milk
1 ½ c sifted flour
2 t. baking powder
½ t. salt

Streusel mix:
½ c. brown sugar
2 T. flour
2 t. cinnamon
2 T. Fleischmann’s no salt margarine, melted
½ c. chopped nuts (I use toasted pecans)

Mix together thoroughly sugar, shortening and egg replacer, stir in milk. Sift together and stir in flour, baking powder and salt. Spread half the batter in a greased and floured 9” pan. Sprinkle with half the streusel mix, add the remaining batter and sprinkle remaining streusel over the top. Bake 25-35 minutes at 375 degrees until cake tests done. Cut in 3” pieces, serve warm.

Recipe submitted by the following:
Mary Kaphingst, Tampa, FL
Joan Robson, Utica, OH

This recipe comes from a book entitled “Favorite Recipes of Home Economics Teachers: Desserts Edition including Party Beverages. (copyright: Favorite Recipes Press, Inc. 1963)

I like to add a cup or so of fruit (rhubarb, blackberries, or blueberries, etc.) to the middle layer for extra flavor. Or use the recipe below for Fruit Filling.

Fruit Filling for Coffeecake

Choose from 6 cups peeled, cored, and thinly sliced fresh apples or pears;
5 cups peeled, pitted, and sliced fresh peaches or apricots, or sliced rhubarb;
4 cups fresh or frozen pitted tart red cherries, frozen unsweetened blueberries,
boysenberries, or blackberries, or frozen lightly sweetened raspberries.

In a 2-quart casserole combine 2/3 cup sugar (1 cup for rhubarb or cherries) and 3
tablespoons cornstarch. Stir in desired fruit and 1 tablespoon lemon juice (omit juice
for rhubarb or cherries). Cook in microwave, covered, on high till fruit is tender and
mixture is bubbly, stirring every 2 minutes till slightly thickened, then every minute.
Allow 5-7 minutes for apples, peaches, and apricots; 8-10 minutes for pears and berries;
10-13 minutes for rhubarb and cherries.

(Note: This is actually a recipe for making pie filling.)

Zucchini Bread

2 c. sugar
1 c. canola oil
Ener-G egg replacer equivalent of 3 eggs
2 c. grated zucchini
1 Tbsp. vanilla
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. soda
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3 c. flour
1 c. nuts, chopped (optional)

Beat sugar, oil, egg replacer and vanilla, then mix in zucchini. Mix flour, salt, soda, baking powder and cinnamon. Combine the two mixtures, beating well. Add ground nuts. Pour into two greased 8 x 8” pans. Bake at 325 degrees for approximately 1 hour.

Appetizers, Entrees, Dips, Sauces, etc.

Strawberry Spinach Salad
Dressing:
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon poppy seeds
2 Tablespoons toasted sesame seeds (lightly toast in pan over medium heat, stirring)
1/2 cup oil
1 Tablespoon minced red onion
1/4 teaspoon Vegan Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 cup cider vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Mix dressing before serving.

The other stuff:
One bunch of spinach
One pint of fresh sliced strawberries
1/2 cup toasted pecans or toasted sliced almonds (toast in oven or in pan stirring often until nicely browned)

Toss together adding dressing to taste. Dressing will keep a few days for future batches/servings. Spinach will get wilty if you pour the dressing on too far in advance.

Veggie Chili

chili

2 c eggplant, diced into ½” cubes
1 c onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 c green pepper, chopped
2 28 oz cans whole tomatoes, chopped
6 T olive oil
1 T chili powder
1 ½ t cumin
1 ½ t oregano
¼ c fresh parsley, minced
1 15 oz can kidney beans
1 15 oz chili beans in sauce

Heat oil over medium heat in a large pot. Add eggplant and onion and sauté until onion is translucent and eggplant is somewhat softened and browned (20 minutes or so). Add garlic and cook a minute or so until fragrant, but not browned. Add tomatoes, chili powder, cumin, oregano, green pepper and parsley. Cook for 10 minutes. Stir in beans and cook for 10 minutes more. Adjust seasonings if necessary.

Vegan Cruelty-Free Egg Rolls (egg-free, cruelty-free and yummy!)
20-24 Vegan egg-roll wrappers
You can get these in most Asian markets, some natural food stores or ask your Co-op to special order them from www.DenverTofu.com (they make our favorite).
1 cabbage
1-2 large carrots
1/2 cup red wine (or red cooking wine)
1 teaspoon black pepper
2-3 Tablespoons soy sauce
2-4 Tablespoons sugar
Oil for deep frying

Middle:
Shredded cabbage with shredded carrots. You can do this to taste, but we use about one head of cabbage to one really big carrot and we shread everything pretty fine.

Boil a gallon of water and either dump the cabbage/carrot mixture into the water for about 10 seconds and strain or just pour the boiling water over the cabbage/carrot mixture directly in the strainer. The cabbage/carrot mixture should wilt pretty quickly, but you don't want it to lose all of its crunch.

In a large bowl, mix well the blanched cabbage/carrot mixture with red wine, sugar, soy sauce and black pepper to your taste. Squeeze out excess moisture from about a 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup of the mixture and place on a wrapper. Roll it, seal with water or water/flour mixture. Deep fry in oil until crispy brown. Drain on towels and let cool a bit before eating.

Avocado Vegan “Egg” Rolls
Makes 12 large rolls and the dipping sauce really adds something fantastic!

Tamarind Dipping Sauce
4 Tbls. white vinegar
4 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoon tamarind pulp
2 cups agave necter (instead of honey)
1 teaspoon ground saffron (optional)
2 cups chopped cashews
2 2/3 cups fresh cilantro
6 cloves garlic
1 bunch green onions
4 Tbls. granulated sugar
4 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 cup olive oil (we've found this is optional... to your taste)
Stir together vinegars, tamarind, agave and saffron and microwave on high for 1 minute until tamarind is dissolved. In a food processor or blender, puree tamarind mixture, cashews, 2 2/3 cups cilantro, garlic, onions, sugar, pepper, and cumin. Pour into bowl, mix in oil, cover and refrigerate for later use.

Roll Filling
4 large avocados - peeled, pitted, and diced into ½” chunks
½ cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil – finely chopped
¼ cup minced red onion
2 teaspoon chopped fresh cilantro
½ teaspoon salt
12 or more vegan “egg” roll wrappers (available at natural food stores, co-ops, asian markets or www.DenverTofu.com)
Carefully stir together avocado, tomatoes, onion, 1/2 teaspoon cilantro, and salt trying not to mash the avocado chunks. Roll into rolls. Deep fry in hot oil until golden brown. Drain. Serve with the tamarind dipping sauce.

Vegan Philly Sandwich
Served on a Hoagie Roll or Focaccia -- this is one of Matt Bear's favorites!

Step 1: Philly Sauce
Make a roux:
1/2 cup margarine melted
Slowly add 1/3 cup flour.
Then add:
Up to 3 cups water (2 cups for thicker sauce, 4 cups for more less thick)
1/3 - 1/2 cup Nutritional Yeast (to your taste)
1 Tablespoon stone-ground mustard
1 teaspoon Asafitida (optional)
Tamari to taste.
Cook on low heat until desired consistency

Step 2:
Heat up a skilliet with olive oil
Hot fry/grill jullianned Green Bell Pepper and Yellow Onion until soft
Add a splash of Tamari

Step 3:
In a skillet, cook thinly sliced Portablla Mushrooms in Balsamic Vinegar and Tamari until black.

Step 4: Load up a Hoagie Roll or sliced Focaccia with all of the above and smother in Philly Sauce

Step 5: Enjoy!

Green Bean Casserole

¼ c margarine
¼ c flour
1 ½ c vegan "chicken" broth, warmed (Osem or Telma brands are available in kosher section of supermarkets. I use Frontier brand—available at Wild Oats stores, or you can order it online at www.frontiercoop.com)
1 T soy sauce
1/2 t garlic powder
2T vegetable oil
1/4 c nutritional yeast
2 14.5 oz cans French-style green beans, drained
1 2.8 oz can French-fried onions

In a medium saucepan, melt the margarine over low heat. Add the flour and whisk it continuously for 1 to 2 minutes until it forms a roux. Add the broth, soy sauce, and garlic power, whisking continuously for 1-2 minutes until the sauce is thick and bubbly. Add the oil and nutritional yeast. Whip again until smooth.

Pour the sauce into a small casserole dish, add the green beans and stir to coat. Bake for 10 minutes, then top with the French fried onions and bake for 10 more minutes, until browned and bubbly.

Makes 4 servings

French Toast

1 pound silken tofu
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 cup light corn syrup
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 Tablespoon oil
pinch salt

Whip it all up in a food processor until very smooth and creamy. Brush/spread thin layer on bread in a hot skillet and flip it over to fry. Don't spread the other/top side of the bread until the first side is browning and almost ready to flip. Then brush/spread and flip to brown that side. Brown well on both sides and repeat process till mixture and/or bread is gone. Makes about 12 slices. Serve with maple syrup and Vegan margarine.

Tammy’s Dairy-free Ranch Dressing
From The Leading Veg LLC
Specializing in Delicious Vegetarian Cuisine
PO Box 7187 Boulder, CO 80306 (303)642-0414
www.leadingveg.com email:lynn@leadingveg.com
Catering Menus available at: www.threelittlefigs.com

Makes: 1 pint

1 cup tofu sour cream (recipe below)
1 cup vegenaise
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt

Thoroughly mix the above ingredients.

Tofu "Sour Cream"
This recipe makes 1 quart.

2 lb fresh silken tofu (e.g. Denver Tofu Co. or Nasoya)
1/2 cup canola oil
1 tsp salt
3 Tbsp lemon juice
1 heaping Tbsp rice syrup

Put all ingredients in food processor and blend until smooth.

Ricotta-Style Filling (from Tofu Cookery by Louise Hagler)
Even our family and friends who don't think they like tofu or ricotta cheese love this filling. Use it in lasagna, manicotti shells and/or as a topping for other pasta dishes. We really like it as a topping on our spaghetti with marinara sauce.

3 lbs firm tofu
½ c fresh lemon juice
4 t sugar
2 t salt
6 T oil (I use olive oil)
4 t dried basil
1 t garlic powder
1/4 - 1/2 cup frozen or fresh chopped spinach (optional, but yummy)

Mash or process tofu to desired consistency (we mash the tofu with our hands to get a nice crumbly texture). Mix in remaining ingredients. Adjust to taste.

Stuffing Balls (or Stuffing)

1/3 cup vegan margarine
½ cup chopped celery
¼ cup chopped onion
5 cups soft bread cubes
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon poultry seasoning (you may substitute sage)
¼ teaspoon pepper
½ cup chopped parsley
¼ cup vegan “chicken” broth
Ener-G egg replacer equivalent to one egg, well beaten

Optional ingredients: raisins and/or peeled and diced granny smith apples

In a skillet, melt margarine. Add celery and onion and sauté until tender. Toss in remaining ingredients and shape mixture into eight balls. Place on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes.

(Omit egg replacer and bake in a greased casserole dish without shaping into balls for stuffing.)

Twice Baked Potatoes

4 medium russet potatoes, baked (or microwaved)
½ cup shredded Follow Your Heart vegan gourmet cheddar cheese
1/3 cup rice milk
Ener-G egg replacer equivalent of one egg
2 tablespoons vegan margarine
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
chives (optional)
paprika (optional)

Cut a thin lengthwise strip from the top of each potato. Leave a ¼ inch thick shell as you scoop out the potato innards. Beat the potato innards with all of the remaining ingredients except the paprika until smooth. Spoon the mixture into the potato shell and sprinkle with paprika. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes (or microwave until bubbly).

(Chives weren’t part of the original recipe, but I think they add a lot. For extra decadence, spoon Tofutti sour cream over the top.)

Wild Rice with Mushrooms and Almonds

½ cup uncooked brown rice
½ cup uncooked wild rice
¼ cup vegan margarine
½ cup sliced almonds
2 tablespoons snipped chives or chopped green onions
1 cup sliced button mushrooms
3 cups of Frontier brand veggie “chicken” broth

Wash and drain rice. Melt margarine in a large skillet. Add rice, almonds, chives and mushrooms. Cook and stir until almonds are golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Pour rice mixture into an ungreased 1½ quart casserole dish. Heat broth to boiling. Stir broth into rice mixture. Cover tightly and bake about 1½ hours until all of the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender and fluffy. Makes 6-8 servings.

Coconut Curry Tofu

A creamy coconut milk, spicy curry and ginger tofu dish! Serve over rice or with tortillas or with naan bread. Makes 6 servings.

2 bunches green onions
1 (14 ounce) can light coconut milk
1/4 cup soy sauce, divided
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
2 teaspoons chile paste
1 pound firm tofu, cut into 3/4 inch cubes
4 roma (plum) tomatoes, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
4 ounces fresh mushrooms, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
4 cups chopped bok choy
salt to taste

Remove white parts of green onions and finely chop. Chop greens into 2 inch pieces.

In a large heavy skillet over medium heat, mix coconut milk, 3 tablespoons soy sauce, brown sugar, curry powder, ginger, and chile paste. Bring to a boil. Stir tofu, tomatoes, yellow pepper, mushrooms and finely chopped green onions into the skillet. Cover and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Mix in basil and bok choy. Season with salt and remaining soy sauce. Continue cooking 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender but crisp. Garnish with remaining green onion.

Scrambled Tofu

1 pound firm tofu
1 teaspoon oil
1/2 onion chopped
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
garlic powder to taste
pinch tumeric
salt and pepper to taste
You may also add peppers, Vegan cheese and/or Vegan sausage crumbles (we like to add all of these).

Crumble tofu in skillet and stir on medium-high heat to remove most of the moisture and to brown. Add onions anytime during that process. As it starts to brown add a teaspoon of oil. Add soy sauce and a couple sprinkles of tumeric to make the tofu nice and yellow. Add garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste. Add peppers, Vegan cheese and Vegan sausage crumbles.

Sesame Eggplant Salsa

This was inspired by a similar dish served at the now defunct China Moon restaurant in San Francisco. Serve the salsa with a bowl of Pita Crisps.

Two 1 to 1 1/4-pound eggplants
1 tablespoon vegetable oil or peanut oil
3/4 cup (packed) plus 1 tablespoon minced green onions
2 1/2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon chili-garlic sauce*
3 tablespoons (packed) golden brown sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 large plum tomatoes, seeded, chopped
3/4 cup (packed) plus 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 1/2 teaspoons oriental sesame oil

Preheat oven to 425°F. Pierce eggplants all over with fork. Place on baking sheet. Roast in oven until eggplants are very soft and deflated, turning once, about 1 hour. Cool slightly. Cut eggplants in half; scrape flesh into strainer set over large bowl (do not allow bottom of strainer to touch bowl). Let eggplant drain 30 minutes. Transfer eggplant to processor. Using on/off turns, process until almost smooth. Heat vegetable oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 3/4 cup green onions, ginger, garlic and chili-garlic sauce; sauté just until onions soften, about 45 seconds. Stir in brown sugar, soy sauce, vinegar and lemon juice. Bring to simmer, stirring constantly. Mix in eggplant puree and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in tomatoes, 3/4 cup cilantro and sesame oil. Cool to room temperature. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to medium bowl. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before serving.) Garnish eggplant salsa with 1 tablespoon each green onions and cilantro. Serve with Parmesan Pita Crisps. *Available at Asian markets and in the Asian foods section of many supermarkets. Makes about 4 cups.

Garlic Pepper Tofu with Broccoli

1 lb firm tofu, cubed
2 cups broccoli

Sauce:

½ cup canola oil
2 T soy sauce or tamari
1 T fresh garlic, minced
2 T peanut butter
¼ cup water
F resh cracked black peppercorn, to taste

Fresh cilantro, as garnish

Fry tofu in a dry skillet until evenly browned. In the meantime, mix the sauce ingredients and heat in microwave for about 1 minute to melt peanut butter, stir well. When tofu is almost done browning, add broccoli to the skillet and cook on high heat to lightly scorch the broccoli. Allow the pan to cool briefly, then add the sauce and stir to coat the tofu and broccoli. Garnish with a few sprigs of cilantro. Serve over steamed rice.

Herbed Potato Salad

3 lbs. boiling potatoes, about 8
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 scallions
2 tablespoons chopped celery leaves
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 ½ cups nayonnaise or veganaise

Put potatoes in a pot of salted water. Bring to a boil and cook until tender, about 25 minutes. Drain. Meanwhile, combine salt, pepper and lemon juice in a small jar and shake until salt dissolves. Chop scallions including the green tops. When potatoes are cool enough to handle, peel and cut into pieces. Pour lemon mixture over warm potatoes and toss. Stir celery leaves, parsley and scallions into the potatoes with the vegan mayo. Chill. Makes 12 servings.

Matt’s No-chicken Gravy

¼ cup vegetable or canola oil
2 tablespoons flour
1 ¾ cup water
½ cup Frontier brand veggie chicken broth powder
1/8 teaspoon (or less) pepper

Stir oil and flour together over high heat and allow to bubble for a minute or so. Mix water and veggie broth powder together. Pour the broth into the roux and stir. Add pepper to taste. Serve over potatoes or no-turkey sandwiches.

Pizza Dough

3/4 cup very warm (but not hot) water
3/4 Tablespoon sugar
3/4 Tablespoon yeast
pinch of salt
1 1/2 - 2 cups flour
1/4 cup oil

Stir sugar and salt into warm water to dissolve. Add yeast and stir into water briefly. Let rest for 5 minutes or so until foamy. Dump in about half of the flour and about half of the oil. Mix well with a fork. Then work in the rest of the flour and oil with hands. Knead and add more flour if necessary to make a dough ball that is no longer sticky.

Let rise for 30 minutes, work into oiled pan. Pile on the pizza toppings and bake at 350 F till done. If you have a lot of toppings you may have to broil for the last couple of minutes to get the Vegan cheese bubbly/browned.

Calzones (little pizza pockets)

For dough:
3 3/4 flour
2 1/4 teaspoons dry yeast
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
1/2 cup Vegan margarine (such as the full-fat Earth Balance)

For Filling:
10 oz. tomato sauce (add seasonings to taste or use pizza sauce or marinara sauce)
1/2 chopped onion sauteed
Garlic (to taste)
1/2 green pepper chopped
Vegan pepperoni (we like Yves brand)
Vegan mozzeralla

Prepare the filling by sauteing the Italian seasoning, onion and green peeper in a bit of oil or water unitl vegetables are somewhat tender. Add the garlic and saute briefly before adding the tomato sauce and pepperoni. Heat through and set aside. Grate the cheese and set aside until dough is ready.

Combine 2 cups flour, yeast, sugar and salt. Heat water and margarine (120-130 degrees or about one minute on high in a microwave oven). Add liquid to flour mixture and blend at low speed till moistened; beat 3 minutes at high speed. Gradually add enough remaining flour to make a soft dough. Knead on floured surface (or with dough hook in the mixer) until smoothe and elastic (about 3-5 minutes). Let rest for 15 minutes. Divide dough into 10-12 pieces and roll into 6" circles. Put a couple heaping Tablespoons of filling in the center of the cricle, fold over and pinch/roll the edges to keep the filling inside. Bake at 400 F for 12-15 minutes.

For a special dessert treat!
You can put blueberry pie filling or your favorite pie filling in place of the pizza sauce filling. Then top with a powdered sugar glaze and confectionery sprinkles. Oh, man, these are good!

For a quick and easy version!
Buy vegan frozen bread dough (such as Rhodes bread), canned pizza sauce, your favorite pizza toppings and vegan mozzarella. Thaw the dough, assemble and bake as described above.

Foccacia (pizza bread)
Great for dipping or for roasted veggie sandwiches!
2 cups very warm (but not hot) water
3/4 Tablespoon sugar
1 Tablespoon yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup oil

Top with:
1/4 cup oil (for pan and drizzle)
1/2 teaspoon salt (big grains are really good)
Ground black pepper (fresh ground is really good)
Garlic (optional)
Onions (optional)
Italian seasoning (optional)
Roma tomatoes very thinly sliced and spread out (optional)

Stir sugar and salt into warm water to dissolve. Add yeast and stir into water briefly. Let rest for 5 minutes or so until foamy. Dump in about half of the flour and about half of the 1/3 cup of oil. Mix well with a fork. Then work in the rest of the flour and oil with hands. Knead and add more flour if necessary, but no need to work this dough very long -- leave the dough kind of sticky (not like the pizza dough recipe).

Let rise for at least 45 minutes.

Oil a 9-13 cake pan very well. Lightly work dough into pan and let rise again for 15-20 minutes. Drizzle several Tablespoons of oil over top, add garlic, grilled onions, very thinly-sliced roma tomatoes, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper -- whatever you like -- we like all of it! Bake at 350 F for 30-40 minutes or until browned on the top and the bottom. Good warm or cooled as sandwich bread.

Sloppy Joes
Old Minnesota church cookbook recipe made cruelty-free

1 white onion (slightly brown in pan first)
1 pound ground vegan hamburger (Morningstar or Boca make good ones)
1 Tbsp ketchup
1 Tbsp white vinegar
1 tsp mustard
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 10-12 oz. can tomato soup
salt and pepper to taste

Mix it, heat it and season to taste. Can easily double or triple recipe and freeze for later.

Southern-Fried Tofu

1 lb firm tofu (White Wave Tidal Wave is best)

MARINADE:
~1/3 c. tamari or shoyu
~1/4 c. mirin or sherry
splash of balsamic vinegar
3 cloves crushed garlic
healthy splash of sesame oil
1 Tbls Frontier no-chicken powdered chicken broth
BREADING:

1/2 c. flour
~1/4 c. sesame seeds
~2 tsp seasoning salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 c. nutritional yeast
Cut tofu into slabs or strips. Marinate them for at least 1/2 hour. Drudge in the flour. Fry in oil until golden brown on all sides. For a healthier version, lightly grease a pan and bake 'em, turning once after around 25 minutes and bake for another 15 or 20 more.

Tofeta
From Lynn Halpern of LeadingVeg.com

1 lb firm tofu (or the 19 oz extra firm from Denver Tofu Co. is OK, quantities are not precise. i like the firm consistency of White Wave Tidal Wave as well)
Marinade Ingredients:
1 Tbsp White Miso
1 Tbsp Cider Vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp onion granules
½ tsp garlic granules
¼ - ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
herbs such as thyme, oregano, basil, etc.
Place together marinade ingredients in a bowl. Whisk together. Cube the tofu and place
in a tupperware-type container with a tight-fitting lid. Pour Marinade over tofu. Place lid
on and shake to cover all the tofu. It can be marinated for several hours or up to a few
days (in the refrigerator, of course). Shake occasionally to cover all the tofu with the
marinade.