Vegan Recipes and Plant Based Cooking

A rich and creamy dairy/egg free alternative to the classic french sauce.  The unique taste of saffron combined with garlic makes for a mouth-watering way to dress your favorite mixture of vegetables and beans.  It's also pretty easy to make compared to a traditional hollandaise.  No double boiler required. No whisking. No danger of it splitting.  It tastes better too!  Ingredients 1/2 pkg firm tofu, drained 3 cloves garlic 2 pinches saffron 2 tsps canola oil 3 tbls water 1 tbl salt 1/2 tsp black pepper Instructions Sweat the garlic, saffron, salt and pepper in the oil for 5 minutes.  Add the water and simmer for 5 more minutes. Add the tofu to your blender. Pour the garlic/saffron mixture over it.  Puree until smooth. 

 This is a modification of a chocolate chip cookie recipe I found at iheartvegetables.com. It uses chick peas instead of flour. This idea totally blew my mind. It really does work beautifully.  However, I didn't want to use maple syrup or nut butter as they used in their recipe. Also didn't want to use regular chocolate chips. I wanted to keep it sugar free.  So, I just changed things up a bit to suit my own personal needs. The original idea is not mine, but I thought it might be helpful to some to know that it can be successfully adjusted without sugar or nut butters.  I still used nuts. Just straight up ground almonds. Allulose replaced the maple syrup. Sugar free chocolate chips instead of regular.  If you absolutely cannot use nuts at all, a mixture of ground oats and oil would probably work. Ingredients 1 can chick peas, thoroughly drained and rinsed 1/3 cup ground raw almonds 1/4 cup ground old fashioned oats 1/2 cup allulose 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 1 ts

Instant pudding mix is a quick and easy way to make a yummy dessert without much effort. However, it's no secret that almond milk does not work with instant pudding mix. You'll wind up with pudding soup.  Some people have solved this problem by using less almond milk than the package directions indicate. While this may work, you kinda get cheated out of your full amount of pudding.  Another solution, that I have found to the instant pudding plant milk conundrum is to use tofu.  I've found that half tofu and half almond milk works very well.  The package normally calls for 2 cups milk. Instead use 1 cup almond milk and 1/2 a package drained firm or extra firm tofu.  Just use a food processor to buzz everything up.  I also use sugar free instant pudding mix, but that is just personal choice.  You could use silken tofu, if you can find it. That would probably work nicely with a lesser amount of  almond milk. However, I haven't tried it, so I can't say for sure.  Depend

If you like miracle whip or tangy mayo, this is a pretty neat vegan alternative. It also has a bit of tartar sauce influence. But instead of pickles or capers, it uses a little vinegar and a handful of chilis.  It's mostly creamy, but has a little bit of an acid bite and a fair amount of kick from the peppers.  It's also very garlic forward. I find that when you combine sautéed garlic with tofu you wind up with a really pleasing aioli or remoulade type flavor.    Ingredients 1/2 block extra firm tofu, dried overnight 10 cloves garlic 1 jalapeno, finely minced 1 serrano, finely minced 2 tsps canola oil 1/2 cup water 1 tbl white vinegar 2 tbls salt 2 tsps Aleppo pepper flakes 1 tsp black pepper Instructions This is a pretty simple recipe. There's very little actual cooking involved.  Sauté the garlic, pepper flakes, black pepper and salt in the oil for 5 minutes.  Add the water and simmer for 3 more minutes.  Break up the tofu and add it to a blender. Pour the hot garlic mixt

 An abundance of veggies can sometimes be the inspiration for a new recipe. As it was in this case. Lots of chilis and tomatoes are transformed into a thick gravy like sauce that will please any heat loving vegan.  Ingredients 3 tomatoes 5 jalapenos 3 cloves garlic 1 serrano 1 tbl spicy mustard 1/2 cup water 1 tbl canola oil 2 tbls salt 2 tsps black pepper Instructions Sauté the chiles and garlic in the oil with the salt and black pepper until they have a little bit of browning.  Add the water and cook down until the chiles are tender.  Puree everything in a blender until smooth. 

This puree uses a combination of sweet and heat that's both exciting to the tastebuds and easy on the palette.  Carrots provide the sweet. A variety of chili peppers bring the heat. A little bit of tomato gives both acid and some additional sweetness. Besides salt and pepper, no additional spices are used. With such a gorgeous combination of vegetables and fruits there's no need for anything else.  Ingredients 8 oz baby carrots 1 poblano  1 serrano 2 jalapenos 1 habanero 6 cloves garlic 2 small or 1 large tomato 1 cup water plus 1/4 cup 1 Tbl canola oil 2 Tbls salt 2 tsps black pepper Instructions Cut the carrots, chili peppers and garlic into small chunks.  Add to a small frying pan the carrots, 1/4 cup water  and the salt. Cover and steam for 5 minutes.  Add the oil, poblano, serrano and jalapenos. Cover again and steam for 5 more minutes.  Add the garlic, habanero and black pepper, Simmer uncovered for 5 minutes.  Add the tomatoes, frying pan mixture and 1 cup water to

Layers of heat from a variety of chili peppers give this vinaigrette its depth of flavor.  The tomato adds acid and sweetness to round out the overall taste.  We will lightly cook the chilis for some smokiness .  The tomato will not be cooked, so as to retains its juiciness and tang.  Cooking time is minimal. Processing time is also short.  Very little effort. Pretty big reward.  Ingredients 1 plum tomato, chunked 1 jalapeno, chunked 1 serrano, chunked 1 habanero, chunked 3 cloves garlic, chunked 1/2 cup water 1 Tbl canola oil 1 tsp dry basil  1 Tbl salt 1 tsp black pepper Instructions Char the chilis and garlic in a small frying pan with the spices and oil. Just to get a little color on them.  Add the water and simmer for 5 minutes.  Add the tomato to a blender. Pour the frying pan mixture on top of it.   Puree until smooth and emulsified.  Chill in the fridge for a few hours. You could also use it as a warm vinaigrette.