Tag Archives: Soy-Free

Gingerbread Cookies

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Gingerbread Cookies ~ From Vegetate, Vegan Cooking & Food Blog

“And I had but one penny in the world. Thou should’st have it to buy gingerbread.“ — William Shakespeare, Love’s Labours Lost

These little ginger gems are from the incredible new cookbook Betty Goes Vegan, by Annie & Dan Shannon, page 260.

This recipe conjures up dozens of soft, chewy gingerbread cookies that are so spicy and delicious you seriously cannot stop eating them once you start. Iced with Apple Vanilla Glaze, page 398.

We cut ours into stars, iced them, and added sugar sparkles. Then we wrapped them (some of them, heh!) up in compostable baggies, tied them with some vintage ribbon and gave them to friends.

Gingerbread Facts: Queen Elizabeth I is believed to be responsible for the first gingerbread man as she had them made to resemble visiting dignitaries and then presented them to the dignitaries as a gift.

Fresh Strawberry Pie

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Fresh Strawberry Pie ~ From Vegetate, Vegan Cooking & Food Blog

“One must ask children and birds how cherries and strawberries taste.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

This strawberry bombshell was made with a homemade whole wheat pie crust, oodles of fresh strawberries, sugar, and with cornstarch as a thickener instead of the bovine gelatin that is traditionally used in these pies.

We used the Fresh Strawberry Pie recipe from Cookin’ Crunk, the fantastic new vegan Southern cooking cookbook by Bianca Phillips, page 147.

This luscious pie was remarkably easy to make and even easier to eat… all you need are seasonal strawberries and a few pantry staples. That being said, this is definitely one to make in late Spring or early Summer.

Serve as you like with fresh cashew cream, Mimic Cream, or your favorite vegan ice cream.

Strawberry Facts: Strawberries are a member of the rose family (they are not “technically” berries).

Quinoa & Chard w/Sherry-Glazed Mushrooms

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Quinoa & Chard w/Sherry-Glazed Mushrooms ~ From Vegetate, Vegan Cooking & Food Blog

We made this wholesome, nutritious, and deeeelicious dish from Quick-Fix Vegan, page 60, for our lunches this week. We used black-eyed peas instead of the white beans that the recipe called for and we substituted millet for the quinoa, because that’s what we had in our pantry. We also substituted shiitake mushrooms for creminis because shiitakes are incredible immunity boosters and they are oh-so-delectable. Sometimes you have to improvise, you know? ;)

Quinoa Factoid: Quinoa is native to the Andes, and was a staple of the Incas (who called it the ‘mother grain’).

Carrot Bread w/Cranberries & Walnuts, Spread w/Dairy-Free Cream Cheese

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Carrot Bread w/Dairy-Free Cream Cheese ~ From Vegetate, Vegan Cooking & Food Blog

“The day is coming when a single carrot, freshly observed, will set off a revolution.” ― Paul Cezanne

From 1,000 Vegan Recipes, page 406. This moist, wonderful bread is chock full of carrots, cranberries, and walnuts.

We decided to go “carrot cake style” and top this with some dairy-free cream cheese, which complimented the bread nicely.

We substituted hemp milk for soy milk for a soy-free version, but you could substitute any of your favorite dairy-free milks here.

Carrot Factoid: In the 16th century, Dutch carrot growers invented the orange carrot in honor of the House of Orange, the Dutch Royal Family. They did this by cross breeding pale yellow carrots with red carrots.

Biscuits & Creamy Sage Gravy

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Biscuits w/Creamy Sage Gravy ~ From Vegetate, Vegan Cooking & Food Blog

“It is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all.” ― Laura Ingalls Wilder

Biscuits and Creamy Sage Gravy, served up Little House on the Prairie style in our dining room with some meat-free sausages, hot sauce, and fresh-squeezed orange juice.

From Vegan Diner, page 47. We substituted hemp milk for soy milk for a soy-free version.

These cutout biscuits were so light and flaky, and the creamy sage gravy was to die for! Easy to make and even easier to eat. Such a tasty, savory breakfast. :)

Ocean’s Blueberry Orange Muffins

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Blueberry Orange Muffins ~ From Vegetate, Vegan Cooking & Food Blog

“Animals do not ‘give’ their life to us, as the sugar-coated lie would have it. No, we take their lives. They struggle and fight to the last breath, just as we would do if we were in their place.” ― John Robbins

The recipe for these bursting-with-pure-sunshine muffins is from the incredible book May All Be Fed, written by one of my greatest heroes and the reason I became vegan, Mr. John Robbins. This recipe is named after his son, Ocean.

If you like blueberries and oranges and oats then these are the muffins for you (and me!). We poured some of the batter into our Le Creuset heart ramekins and made giant lovey-dovey versions. We also substituted spelt flour for regular wheat flour for lower-gluten muffins. Keith enjoyed these with an espresso made using his coveted Alessi espresso maker.

Blueberry Facts: Blueberries contain significant quantities of both antibacterial and antiviral compounds, and have a reputation in northern Europe of fighting infections. They may also help protect against heart disease.

Marjoram & Peppercorn Brie

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Marjoram & Peppercorn Brie ~ From Vegetate, Vegan Cooking & Food Blog

“Brother Ben, this is the best damn sandwich I ever ate, it’s a baguette, with brie and butter, had four of these damn things every day I was there. (he reaches in and finds another one) Got a couple left – here, try one.” — Jerry from David Lynch & Mark Frost’s masterpiece, Twin Peaks

Even the mice loved the vegan brie that we made using Miyoko Schinner’s inspired recipe from her newest cookbook Artisan Vegan Cheese, page 12.

This smooth and creamy cheese is made using cashews, coconut oil, and rejuvelac, which is full of probiotics. We made two big wheels of cheese but we ate most of it before we got around to taking this picture because it was truly tasty and went down nicely with some bread, apples, and kombucha.

We followed Miyoko’s recipe advice and made one wheel of peppercorn and one herb wheel (in our case, fresh marjoram).

Meen Deen Doughnut Burger Supreme ~ from Hella Vegan Eats

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Donut Burger ~ From Vegetate, Vegan Cooking & Food Blog

We cannot take credit for the creation this masterpiece, we got it “to go” from a Hella Vegan Eats popup at Dear Mom in San Francisco.

What you see pictured above is the Meen Deen Doughnut burger Supreme. Hella Vegan Eats describes this as a “Freekah-beet burger patty sitting pretty between two sugar doughnuts with heirloom tomatoes, kale, secret sauce, & pickled red onions.” Hella Vegan Eats is truly festive vegan cuisine! I haven’t stopped thinking about this heavenly burger since I quickly devoured it. Apologies for the less than stellar photo. To be honest we didn’t have time to set this shot up properly as our number one priority at that moment was eating that burger!

Many thanks to the glorious blog Vegansaurus for always tipping us off about great vegan events in the Bay Area.

Doughnut Factoid: People know a good thing when they eat one… the doughnut has existed since the dawn of time. To this day archaeologists continue to unearth fossilized pieces of what look like doughnuts in prehistoric Native American settlements.

Fall Harvest Fruit Butter

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Fall Harvest Fruit Butter ~ From Vegetate, Vegan Cooking & Food Blog

“I won all the blue ribbons for canning at the state fair.” –Loretta Lynn

This is a festive fall treat made from seasonal organic pears, apples, home roasted pumpkin, agave nectar, and warming spices. Another great recipe from The Vegan Slow Cooker, page 33.

This scrumptious fruit butter contains all of the flavors that you associate with autumn. It is the perfect accompaniment to crumpets, English muffins, toast, or even a humble pb&j.

The recipe also says that this can be frozen for future enjoyment, but we decided to go old-school and can this in jars to preserve it. Canning is so easy, fun, and rewarding!

Kitchen Kitty

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Kitchen Kitty ~ From Vegetate, Vegan Cooking & Food Blog

Kitchen kitty (“culina cattus” in Latin)… I am pleased to introduce you to Leonard, the newest member of our little household. I chased this formidable tom cat down the streets of San Francisco for a year before I finally caught him! I’d seen him prowling around with a collar on for a while, but it eventually fell off. By the time he let me get close enough to him to grab him I noticed that he wasn’t even fixed. When no one came forward to claim him we took care of that and welcomed him into our home. I am so glad we did, as he is turning out to be quite a character (as can be seen in the photo above). Some of his favorite hobbies are eating, playing string, howling at 6 in the morning, and killing and eating flies (we stop him whenever we catch him in the act). Love ya’, Lenny!

Purple Cow Ice Cream Floats

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Purple Cow Ice Cream Floats ~ From Vegetate, Vegan Cooking & Food Blog

“I never saw a purple cow. I never hope to see one. But I can tell you anyhow I’d rather see than be one.” – A well-known poem by Gelett Burgess, written in 1895.

Ambrosia in a pint glass! These delightful delovely delicious floats are made using grape ice cream and vanilla cream soda. The easy-to-make ice cream recipe is from Hannah Kaminsky’s brilliant book, Vegan A La Mode, page 94. It is made using coconut milk, so it is soy-free. We used an organic, natural cream soda. These went down fast. ;)

Carrot Muffins

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Carrot Muffins ~ From vegetate, Vegan Cooking & Food Blog

From Vegan with a Vengeance, page 46. We substituted spelt flour for regular wheat flour and agave for sugar. We didn’t have any raisins (which the recipe calls for) but these were fluffy, moist, and delicious nonetheless. These are the perfect breakfast muffins!

Carrot factoids:
The Ancient Greeks called the carrot a philtron, which translates to “love charm.” They believed the carrot made both men and women more amorous. These muffins were lovely, indeed! ;)

The scene from the movie It Happened One Night in which Clark Gable leans nonchalantly against a fence eating carrots while talking to Claudette Colbert inspired the creators of Bugs Bunny to give him the same nonchalant, carrot-eating demeanor.

Heirloom Apples ~ Pink Pearl & Red Gravenstein

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Apples: Pink Pearl & Red Gravenstein ~ From Vegetate, Vegan Cooking & Food Blog

“My best traveling was done during winter months when the cold has settled in and my feet are bared; the icy earth quickens my step.”  – Johnny Appleseed on why he went barefoot.

How do you like them apples? I know I did… gorgeous and tasty pink pearls and red gravensteins. These heirloom apples appeared at our local health food store extraordinaire, Rainbow Grocery Co-op last week. Neither Keith nor I had ever seen pink pearls before. They were so pretty I just had to take a picture of them to share with you. They were creamy pink on he outside, and fuschia on the inside! The gravensteins gave the pearls a run for the money, too. They were a beautiful vivid ruby red in color, with green accents. Both varieties were crunchy, sweet, and juicy, and were perfect lunch break apples. :) Be sure to eat your apple a day, as apples are high in fiber and vitamin C and apple pectin is powerful at cleansing the body of residual radiation (and we all know that we’re getting more than our fair shares of radiation from wireless devices and nuclear fallout these days).

Millet-Crusted Mushroom-Leek Pie

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Millet Crusted Mushroom Leek Pie ~ From Vegetate, Vegan Cooking & Food Blog

This savory, meaty pie was a real treat! From The Urban Vegan by Denise Balcavage, page 140. It has a simple to make gluten-free crust, and a filling of mushrooms (we used shiitake and enoki) and leeks. I accidentally added 1/2 cup of nutritional yeast to the crust instead of 2 tablespoons and it was still amazing! This is the first time that we’ve ever cooked millet, and I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised. The crust recipe could be used as a gluten-free option for any savory pie filling. Millet is high in protein, rich in nutrients, and a great energy source.

Cherry Cola Ice Cream

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Cherry Cola Ice Cream ~ From Vegetate, Vegan Cooking & Food Blog

This uber-rich and incredibly delicious ice cream recipe is from the inspired cookbook Vegan A La Mode, by Hannah Kaminsky, page 80. We made this in our indispensable Gelato Pro Ice Cream Maker, which is made in Italy and is self-cooling so you don’t need to put any part of the machine into the freezer, which usually takes up precious freezer space.

This is a fun recipe to make, as you get to create your own cola simple syrup to use. It’s also bursting at the seams with ripe, fresh summer cherries, and has the creaminess of coconut milk to boot.

We served this piled high on gluten-free sugar cones.

Velvety Grits w/Sautéed Summer Squash, Heirloom Tomatoes, & Parsley-Walnut Pesto

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Velvety Grits w/Sautéed Summer Squash, Heirloom Tomatoes, & Parsley-Walnut Pesto ~ From Vegetate, Vegan Cooking & Food Blog

Can I tell you how much I am loving grits lately? :) This was made using another easy, winning recipe from Bryant Terry’s fabulous The Inspired Vegan, page 107. Such a great dish for summer! The flavors of the creamy grits, sauteed squash, juicy tomatoes, and lemony parsley pesto were bright and satisfying. I love the idea of a parsley-walnut pesto because parsley is an excellent tonic for the kidneys and walnuts are packed with omega-3 fatty acids. This is definitely one to make while heirloom tomatoes are in season.

Let’s Go to the Mediterranean! ~ Hummus Platter

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Hummus Platter ~ From Vegetate, Vegan Cooking & Food Blog

Another game day luncheon. Hummus (made using a really tasty recipe from Veganomicon, page 67) with veggies, kalamata olives, dolmas, and pita chips. We always drizzle olive oil and lemon juice on our hummus, and then sprinkle paprika on top. We also use dried chickpeas that we cook at home instead of canned ones to save on packaging and cash money, and to reduce our exposure to the BPA that is in food can linings. For those of you who have never made pita chips, it is so easy! Just preheat your oven to 350°. Then cut your pita breads into little wedges, arrange them on a baking sheet, and pop them into the oven. Bake for 15 minutes, flipping the chips once halfway through cooking. Allow to cool and then devour! :)

Savory Grits w/Sauteed Lima Beans, Roasted Fennel, & Thyme

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Savory Grits w/Sauteed Lima Beans, Roasted Fennel, & Thyme ~ From Vegetate, Vegan Cooking & Food Blog

Keith and I had never had grits before, and we did not know what we were missing! This phenomenal recipe form Bryant Terry’s cookbook The Inspired Vegan is full of flavors galore. The grits were creamy and cheesy, the beans were oh so tender, and the roasted fennel was caramelized to perfection in the oven. We used smoked rock salt on the fennel, which lent a nice smokehouse flavor to the dish. The recipe called for broad beans but stated that lima beans could be used instead. We couldn’t find broad beans at our local health food store, so we substituted frozen lima beans. We also drizzled some really nice olive oil on top after plating. This is an excellent soy and gluten-free meal option.

Fresh Tomato Salad

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Fresh Tomato Salad ~ From Vegetate, Vegan Cooking & Food Blog

This salad was indeed very fresh and tangy! Made using 3 varieties of seasonal heirloom tomatoes, red butter lettuce, chopped fresh herbs, and a truly delicious tarragon vinaigrette. This salad would be a great companion to virtually any entree. From 1,000 Vegan Recipes, by Robin Robertson, page 65.

Una Fiesta Bonita!

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Una Fiesta Bonita! - from Vegetate, Vegan Cooking and Food Blog

Tortilla soup with pico de gallo and spicy tortilla strips from The Real Food Daily Cookbook, pinto beans with homemade guacamole, and sassy virgin margaritas from I Am Grateful: Recipes and Lifestyle of Cafe Gratitude.

Tahini Zucchini Bread

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Tahini Zucchini Bread - from Vegetate, Vegan Cooking and Food Blog

This is my favorite sweet bread, hands down. The tahini adds a richness that is carried through by the sesame seed topping, and the zucchini ensures that the bread stays moist. We omit the cinnamon so the main spices in the loaves are vanilla and ginger. This great recipe is from the Vegan Planet cookbook.

Sesame-Crusted Oyster Mushrooms Over Burdock Kimpura

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Sesame-Crusted Oyster Mushrooms Over Burdock Kimpura - from Vegetate, Vegan Cooking and Food Blog

With wasabi cream, kecap manis, and sea vegetable salad. From The Artful Vegan cookbook. One of the tastiest appetizers served at the world famous San Francisco vegan restaurant Millennium is a version of this… it is so good that I highly recommend ordering it as an entree. This recipe is from one of Millennium’s wonderful cookbooks.