Vegan Recipes and Plant Based Cooking

Here's a new variation on some other purees and sauces I've previously shared. It features a variety of vegetables and is pretty easy to make.  I mostly made it to use up some veg that were getting old, but it still had to taste good.  All the flavor comes from sauteing and then simmering the hard vegetables. A broth is created full of all their goodness.  From there, it's just a matter of buzz and enjoy.  Ingredients 1 cup leftover baby carrots, chunked 2 jalapenos, chunked 1 serrano, chunked 3 cloves garlic 1 cup spinach 1 1/2 cups water 1 tbl canola oil 1 tbl salt 2 tsps black pepper Instructions In a small sauce pan sauté the carrots in the salt, pepper and oil for 5 minutes. Add the peppers and continue cooking for 5 more minutes. Add the garlic. Cook another 5 minutes.  Add the water. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until the carrots are tender.  Add the spinach. Cover and simmer another 3 minutes or until the spinach is wilted.   Add to a blender. Allow to cool. T

 It's been a while since last I shared a recipe. That's because I've mostly just been using recipes I've already posted. But I did make this pretty delicious cheese sauce not too long ago. It's not vegan. It does use cheddar cheese. It is vegetarian. It can easily be vegan, if you sub plant based cheddar.  Ingredients 1/2 block silken tofu 1/4 cup cheddar cheese 1 shallot, sliced 3 cloves garlic 1 jalapeno, minced 1 serrano, minced 1 cup water 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp black pepper 1 tsp canola oil Instructions Sauté the shallot and garlic in the oil until tender. Pour in the water and simmer until reduced by half.  Add the remaining ingredients, except the jalapeno and serrano, to your blender. Pour the shallot/garlic mixture on top. Allow to cool uncovered for 5 minutes.  Cover and puree until smooth.  If necessary add more water in 1/4 cups increments to achieve the desired consistency.  Remove the sauce to a storage container. Stir in the minced jalapeno and serrano. 

When you have too much of certain ingredients, you don't want to waste them. It's not hard to find a way to utilize them that will still be satisfying.  Sauces and purees can be an easy way to take extras and leftovers and save them from going into the trash.  Food is expensive. Don't let it go to waste. Get creative.  In my case, I had some kale that was getting old. No problem. Some kale pesto saves the day.  Ingredients 2 cups kale 3 cloves garlic 3 jalapenos 1 serrano 1 habanero water salt, pepper oil Instructions Add the kale, a teaspoon of salt and 1/4 cup water to a large frying pan. Cover and let steam until the kale is bright green.  Remove the kale to your food processor.  In the same pan sauté the garlic and chiles in a teaspoon of oil and a teaspoon of salt. Cook until the garlic and chiles start to char. Then add the 3/4 cups water. Simmer uncovered until the chiles are tender.  Add the garlic and chile mixture intto the food processor with the kale.  Add 1/

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