Strawberry Pie, Blueberry pie, Coffee cake, boiled peanuts

The Strawberry Pie was my fav dessert this year. It was nice and sweet but had that tang at the end from the lemon. It was nice. I wish I would have had some rhubarb though.


Preheat oven to 425F
5-7 cups of strawberries (depends if you want a pie that
domes or is flat.)
2-3 T Lemon juice
1 T Lemon Zest
1/2 - 3/4 C Sugar
3 T Corn Starch
2 Pie Crusts

I used half frozen half fresh but you use which ever works best for you. Thats just what I had on hand. If you use frozen let the berries thaw and dump the water off of them. Then put mix all ingredients and let them set for 10 -15 minutes before you dump them into the pie. After the 15 minutes dump into the shell place top shell on. Make sure you cut a vent hole.

Bake at 425F w/ edge of crust covered for 30 minutes. Then lower the temp to 350F for 40 minutes of until crust starts to brown. Don't let it burn. Uncover the edge of the crust about 15 minutes before you take it out.

The Blueberry cobler cake from the book " The Joy of Vegan baking" this was Johns fav. This link will take you to the recipe. This recipe I also used half fresh/ half frozen and it turned out great.















The Coffee cake came from " The Joy of Vegan baking" aswell. If you haven't guess thats my goto dessert book. All of the recipe I have made from it have turned out great. I made this primarily for my Non-vegan mom. She always goes out and buys donuts before the parade on the 4th of July. So I thought if I made this it might hold her off of buying the not so animal friendly donuts. It turned out nice and she really liked it.. and guess what.. No donuts were bought.. :) I should have got a picture after I took it out of the pan..oops.




Boiled Peanuts.... My husband was born and raised in Charleston, SC.. So that is were the peanuts come in. It has been I think 3 years since we have been down there. So to bring a little bit of the south to him I made him some boiled peanuts. We stop at the road side stands and convenience stores every time we are down there. At the convenience store they sit right beside the sweet tea just asking to be eaten...so he has me hooked on them aswell. It has been hard trying to find raw peanuts around here but just by luck last week we ran into them at an International Store in Morgantown. We bought 2 1/2 pounds. So I thought I would surprise John and make them for the 4th. They turned out really great. They are a little extra salty but I will cut that back in the recipe I post on here. They are super easy to make. So everyone should try these. And if you ever go anywhere Down south they are a big thing for locals so try them their aswell.

2 1/2 pounds raw shell on peanuts
1/2 to 3/4 cup salt

Rinse all the peanuts in their shells.
Fill pot of water. I used the pot I make my soups & beans in. Its just the 6qt pot I think. The biggest pot that comes with a set. lol... Add salt and peanuts. Cover. Bring to a boil then lower to a simmer. Then let simmer for around 4 hours. Check the bigger peanuts when they are soft not crunchy they are done. Check the little nuts aswell to make sure they are not getting to done. You don't want them totally mushy. But 4 hours should do it. Store them in your refridgerator in there liquid. If you think they are still a little salty put them in half their cooking water and half fresh water to set in the fridge.

You can also make cajun. They are really good too.

Vegan Hot Dog Sauce
When I was younger and still consumed meat I still didn't eat ground meat. So I never ate hotdog sauce. But I made this a few years ago but veganised and loved it. I even eat it like a sloppy Joe.

2tsp salt
1tsp Tabasco sauce
3tsp Paprika
2tsp Chili powder
1 small onion, optional
2 1/2 cups water
2T Vinegar
2T Brown Sugar
4T vegan Worcestershire sauce
1 small Bottle Katchup 12oz
1 small can tomato paste
2 packs Boca or Morningstar ground burger ( I used one of each). Brown, add 2 cups water & onion. Let the water cook out. Then add all other ingredents. Let cook till it thickens. Which shouldn't be that long. I let it simmer for about 30 minutes after it thickens. This makes 3 to 4 cooks. It freezes well.

Recipe Tester for "Color Me Vegan"

I was picked to be a recipe tester for Colleen Patrick- Goudreau New cook book "Color Me Vegan" which will be in stores net year.. !I am so excited. I have already tested one recipe and now have the next three....!!! I will update more later!!!!

Lima Beans & Corn, Sweet Potato Pasta, Oven Zucchini, Breaded Fried Tofu

Lima bean & Corn - Makes 5 cups

I had these at the dinner after my Grandfather's funeral. They were really good. Although I am really hoping they did not have chicken broth in them...! I am really kinda wondering now if they did. I had never had lima beans before and this has quickly become a go to side dish me me. Or if I am home alone I boil up some beans add some frozen corn and eat it as a meal... I like to boil the limas in advance and freeze them. that way it doesn't take an hour and a half to cook them first or a $2 can of beans.

3 cups g Cooked Lima beans
2 cups g Frozen corn
Enough Veg broth to cover all the beans and corn
1 tbsp Vegan Butter of choice
1 tbsp Flour
1/2 to 1 tsp pepper
Salt to taste

Bring veg Lima beans, Corn , Veg broth, & Pepper to a boil. Melt Better add the flour to it and add to boiling pot. Make sure not to let it clump. When it thickens which should be fast it its done. Maybe about 10minutes all together if the beans where cooked in advance.


Sweet Potato Pasta

This was an accidental find. I was going to have some buttered noodle and beans for diner but accidentally opened the wrong can. But I love it. I really like to have it as a side to the Morningstar Farms vegan BBQ riblets. Or I just like it plain. It is a nice replacement for Mac & Cheese. I don't really like the nutritional yeast mac & cheese. But this turns out creamy and yummy... and sweet... :)


Box of whole wheat Pasta
1/2 cup Sweet Potato Puree
1/4cup soy milk
2 tbsp Smart Balance light
Salt to taste

Cook pasta as normal. Put the sweet potato puree in a pot with the soy milk and smart balance light. Let come together. Stir a little. Then add it to your pasta. If you don't want to make it on the stove top you don't have to. Just put it in a boil and stir together. If you put it in the microwave make sure you don't spoil the soy milk.


Oven Baked Zucchini

I love oven baked zucchini and though it is probably easy for everyone but me... I still make it. I have a horrible track record. I seem to either always forget about it and it turns into burnt zucchini chips or I get impatient and take it off early and eat it...

Zucchini - 1 whole for each person
Onion
olive Oil
salt

Preheat oven to 400. Slice onion and chunck up zucchini into bite sized pieces, or slices. Or you could just leave them cut long ways in to two or four pieces. the bigger the pieces the longer they take to cook. Put a little oil on the veggies and mix. lay on baking pan add salt. Then bake for 30 minutes or till desired doneness.


Tofu Nuggets- Pictured above with Zucchini

This recipe has been converted from the Deceptively Delicious Cook Book.

1 Cup Bread crumbs
1 Tbsp Flaxmeal
1 tbsp Vegan Parm like galaxy- optional- or try nutritional yeast
A pureed veggie of your choice. Depending on what you make it with.
1 tsp paprika
Egg replacer mixed with water- enough for all tofu
1 Pack extra firm tofu- this may work with tempeh
1/2 salt
oil

Mix all dry ingredients. Mix egg replacer with veggie puree in another bowl.
Slice tofu into bight sized chucks. Heat the oil. I like using thawed tofu. But tofu that had been frozen to give it more texture. Then dip into bread crumbs. Then put in pan with just a Tablespoon of oil. Do not use to much oil. They will fall apart or just be totally soked with oil. Then enjoy with your fave dip.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

It is quick & simple. The only thing you really have to do is chop and wait.... The pie looks super full after you add everything but it cooks down really nicely.

This has become one of my favorite desserts coming in only behind Pumpkin pie and Black Berry coobler. There are tons of recipes out there for rhubarb and I have been wanting to try some. This pie I have made 3 times now and it has turned out perfect each time. The recipe came from Vegan-licious.blogspot.com. Check back for more Rhubarb recipes because I have a ton of it to use and maybe even some more where that came from. The last picture was taken when the pie was cut and it was still warm... I couldn't wait... But it does set up very nice when you put it in the fridge.

Kale & Potato Enchiladas w/ Chips Plus Potato & kale soup

There are tons of recipes for Potatoes and Kale and I know why.. Because they go so well together.

Kale & Potato Enchilada's
Make sure you buy the book it is Great!

This recipe came from Veganomican..... and it is really good. It takes a little time but it is worth it. This was the first time I have ever had enchiladas so I am sure you figured out that this is the first time I have made them. The mix in Potato and Kale mix was so Yummy and the sauce was a good topper. But It can be kinda messy... But like I said well worth it.

We also made chips out of the rest of the corn tortillas. They were a nice salty & crunchy extra.

Tortilla Corn Chips

Just cut the tortilla
Spray with oil
Sprinkle / salt
Put in the oven at 350F
and bake till browned and crispy.. Between 7 and 15 minutes..

There are also so many different toppings you can add. The possibilities are endless.

Kale & Potato Soup

I loved this recipe from Vegan Vittles. It turned out awesome. It was supper easy and I made it two days in a row when I was sick. It is definitely a comfort food..! I don't know what else to say about this one.. Just TRY IT! You will love it... Buy the book!!!! All the comfort food you could ever want... Plus potatoes and Kale are both super cheap and you can make a ton of it. I think I will have this for dinner today.

CousCous, Pasta & Beans, Vegan white sauce & Brussel Sprouts

I have been cooking sorry I have neglected posting. I have been totaling busy. But with no further ado.... Here are some of the recipe I have made lately...

Corn & Couscous salad from the Martha Stewart living web page.. Out of all the couscous recipes I don't know why I chose this one but sadly I did. I am not a big fan of curry powder alone. And this tastes alot like curry powder. John and I both really did not like it... But here is a link incase you would like to try it.... Martha Stewarts Corn & Couscous salad

Next up is Pasta with a Northern Bean white sauce. I make this when I want something quick and easy.. very quick and easy. I throw spinach in also. Just to round it out a little.
I take a can of northern beans and drain it.
Put half the can into the blender of food processor and add a good amount of pepper and some water or soy milk. You might want to try some nutmeg too. Thats the spice that is in dairy white sauce. You aso might want to try so light smart balance in the mix.
I put the rest of my beans in the pasta. Mix in the spinach and then poor the sauce over. 15 minutes and dinner is served....


Sometimes I also just use the white beans, pasta & spinach. Just melt some smart balance light and some salt and pepper.. That way you have far less dishes and done even quicker. Fast and simple for those of the go days..

I have also recently become a fan of Brussel sprouts having my first one just a month or so ago. I used the recipe from Vegan Lunch Box Names Best Brussel Sprouts and John and I loves them..! I could have just had a dinner of Brussel...!!! they were awesome. But we had it with Roads end soy mac and soyrizo. This is also the first time I have also had soyrizo. In this pic they are not mixed together. But we mixed it with the Roads end and made Chili make and it was pretty good too. The soyrizo is pretty spicy. I was kinda surprised.

Lately I have also tried the soy chreese packets on my Popcorn too.. It is pretty Tasty.. And I am not a big soy cheese fan.

Found the camera!!!!!

This is the first post in sometime..... oops.... But I will get straight to the point.. Food!!!

1st a snack I love to have....

Banana's, berries, w/ peanut butter Rye Crackers

Quick simple and is really tasty. I'm not big on the rye crackers by them selves but w/ the peanut butter and bananas....I love them. They are high in fiber and protein!!!! Plus you can get a couple servings of fruit with them.


4 Rye Crackers
1 Tablespoon peanut Butter
1 Banana
Berries of you liking


Fried Tofu w/ sweet & sour mixed veggies & lo mien

1 pack firm tofu (drained, frozen. thawed and redrained)
Sweet snap peas or Green beans
carrots
Red, orange sweet peppers
Pineapples (fresh or canned in pineapple juice)
Lo mein noodles
Sweet & sour sauce

I fry my tofu ahead of time. It can sit for a while. I cook it when I feel like it the same day I am going to eat it. Then later when I want to through the rest together it is all done. I normally used frozen peas & beans so unthaw them. Throw all the veggies in together. Boil the lo mein seperaly. When the lo mein is almost done throw in with the veggies and it will finish cooking off in there. Add the tofu so that it reheats and then add your S&S sauce.

Banana Bread

This recipe turned out great. It came from the PPK website. Its one of Isa's recipes so you now its going to be good!








Baby Bella & carmalized onion sammies

This sammie is from Sarah Kramers book The Garden of Vegan. The only thing different I do is I purchase baby bella's and slice them up thin. I don't like the mushroom texture or the black oil that portabellas leak off. Plus I don't ass the goddess dressing. But these are really good try them. The recipe is on page 56.

Strawberry Cake w/ tofutti cream cheese icing

This strawberry cake turned out pretty good. It came from The Joy of Vegan Baking the Strawberry Cupcake recipe on page 87. The tofutti cream cheese icing came from the same book page 231. It was a tad bit liquidy though. I added extra toffuti cream cheese to get it to thicken up some. When you mix up the batter to this came it is an awesome red. I wish it would stay that color. But the flavor is good and it turns out a light pink brown color. The toffuti cream cheese icing is awesome on it. I can't wait to try it on a carrot cake!














Chocolate Chocolate Chip muffins


These are from the book Vegan with a Vengeance. This recipe always turns out yummy and very chocolatey. Definitely try this recipe! (Sorry I can't list the page number I can't find my book...)












Shepard's pie

This recipe originated from Rachael Ray's 30 minute meals. But I changed it up a lot. So I am going to post my recipe and click on her name for the link to her recipe.

Ingredients

Potato Topping
2 to 3 pounds Pototoes
2 Table spoons tofutti sour cream or cream cheese (I used the Toffuti sour cream)
1/2 cups Veg stock or soy milk (I used stock this time)
Salt & pepper

Filling
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 pack ground boca crumbles
3 Carrots
1 Cup sweet peas
1 onion
1 pack tempeh of choice
2 Tbsp Smart Balance Light
2 Tbsp flour
1 Cup veg broth
2 Tsp Vegan Worcestershire sauce
1 Tsp Paprika

Instructions
Boil potatoes. Strain and add the tofutti sour cream, stock, salt, & pepper and mash.

while potatoes ate boiling. Add oil to skillet over medium heat. Add the Onions to cook down some and after onions sweat down some add the carrots so they can become tender. After carrots get tender but still have some texture left add Boca burger and tempah to brown. Add peas. Let cook 5 minutes. Make a well in the center of the mixture. Add smart balance & flour let cook a minute. Whisk in veg broth & vegan worcestershire sauce so that it forms a gravy. Pour mixture into an over safe pan if you didn't cook it is one. Place the mashed potatoes on top. Sprinkle w/ paprika. Broil for 6 to 8 minutes. Till the potatoes are crusty. Serve....











Pinto Beans
I just started cooking beans from scratch. This batch turned out great. I froze a big bowls full. And then I made these for dinner.

Pinto Beans- Boil water then turn off. Let set for an hour or two in the hot water with a cover over it. Strain and rinse. Let cook for 3 to 4 hours. Don't cook till done if you are going to freeze them. Freeze in there broth.

Pinto beans w/ bread or Corn bread
Finish cooking beans with pepper, salt, and onions. (Onions are optional). Cook beans till desired tenderness. In a cup or bowl melt smart balance or add oil and some flour. I part butter to one part flour. Depending on how much bean broth you have to thicken. About 1 Tbsp of Flour & oil pour cup of fluid. Add some water to you cup to thin out flour mixture. Then add slowly to beans. This will thicken them. Make sure the broth doesn't scald the flour mixture because then it will not mix in and will leave chunks of flour throughout your food. Which is not good..... Add a good amount of pepper.... This serves really good with corn bread. But when I don't feel like making corn bread we have it on regular buttered bread. Even when I do make corn bread I make the sweet corn bread and I have it for dessert and have my beans on regular bread. After it thickens it is ready to serve.