Breakfast Spirals

This recipe uses a lot of processed ingredients, which I don't really care for, but it makes for a delicious breakfast that's easy to prepare. Make ahead of time and store in the refrigerator or freezer, then just pop them in the microwave in the morning and pair with fruit for a quick and easy breakfast.

1 tube refrigerated bread dough
2 T. flour
1/2 onion, diced
8 oz. soy sausage crumbles
1/4 c. vegan parmesan cheese (optional)

Unroll bread dough onto a cutting board covered in flour. Brown sausage crumbles and onion in a large skillet. If necessary, use a small amount of olive oil to prevent from sticking.

Spread hot sausage crumbles and cheese, if using, over the bread dough. Roll dough, keeping ends even, much like a cinnamon roll. Slice into 1/2 inch pieces and arrange on a baking sheet covered with foil and/or cooking spray. Bake for 15 minutes or until slightly golden.

Serve immediately or refrigerate/freeze until ready to eat. Makes about 16 pieces.

Raw Veggie Salad

This salad combines several flavors and texture to give your tongue a little dance! I initially made this as a green salad for lunch, but when I realized the toppings were the best, I eliminated the lettuce. Make it ahead and refrigerate overnight for more intense flavor.

1 head broccoli
4 carrots
2 tomatoes
1/4 c. dried cranberries
2 T. hemp seeds
2 T. sliced or crushed almonds
2 to 4 T. raspberry vinaigrette salad dressing

Cut florets from broccoli. Slice each floret at least in half, and if large, in quarters. Peel carrots and slice very thinly (I used a mandolin). Dice tomatoes.

Place all ingredients in a large bowl. If making ahead, use a bowl with a tight-fitting lid. Toss or shake until dressing completely covers all vegetables.

Refrigerate at least 30 minutes or overnight.

Variation: Add 1/2 block extra firm tofu, diced.

Seitan 'n Salsa

This dish was so delish. I put everything in the crock pot in the morning, and I could smell the wonderfulness wafting from my home even before I opened the front door. Positive reviews from everyone! Feel free to substitute anything for the seitan - tofu, tempeh, portabello mushrooms or even mock chicken.

1/2 recipe Cheater Seitan
1 12oz can corn
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup salsa of your choice - the chunkier the better
1 12oz can tomato sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups black beans
Real salt to taste

Put all ingredients in a crock pot. Cook on low for at least 4 hours, but I cooked mine for 9 and it worked out fine. If possible, stir from time to time to ensure the dish doesn't burn.

Serve over brown rice, barley or whole wheat pasta. If desired, garnish with non-dairy sour cream and non-dairy cheese.

Black Bean Quinoa Vegetable Soup

Okay, so I pretty much just listed the ingredients, but I couldn't come up with a better name. :) My youngest son said, "Just call it soup." I guess I could have done that. It was tasty and made enough for three leftover portions - that's 3 days of lunches. I've started portioning out the leftovers, freezing them, and then sealing them in a food saver bag. This soup will work marvelously for that. It's high in fiber and protein and totally delicious.

7 cups vegetable broth*
3 large carrots
4 red potatoes
1 medium onion, diced
2 bay leaves
1 t. basil
1 1/2 c. cooked quinoa (cook 1/2 c. dry in 1 1/2 c. water for 15 minutes)
1 1/2 c. cooked black beans (rinse well if using canned)
1 12 oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained
Real Salt, garlic powder, and any other desired seasonings to taste
1 T. miso

Bring vegetable broth to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium and add carrots, potatoes, onion and bay leaves. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until carrots and potatoes are soft when pierced with a fork.

Add basil, cooked quinoa, black beans and tomatoes. Continue simmering until heated through. Add other seasonings (Real Salt, garlic powder, etc.) to taste. Remove from heat and stir in miso. Let stand 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 8, 1 1/2 c. servings

*Note: if using vegetable broth powder or bullion (which is generally what I use), add it at the end of the cooking cycle just before the miso.

Random factoid: Miso is extremely delicate. It should never be cooked or boiled, or it will curdle, break down and otherwise become disgusting. Always add miso at the very end of the cooking cycle after removing from heat. Yum!

Creamy Broccoli Carrot Soup

This is so easy and so filling, but so healthy! I guess that's the theme of all my soups, if you really think about it. It doesn't have a ton of calories (only about 180 per cup), so you can easily have seconds - even if you're watching your weight. The boys and I scarfed it right down.

4 c. vegetable broth
1/2 c. dry barley
2 medium stalks broccoli
2 large carrots, peeled if desired*
13.6 oz. can Lite Coconut Milk (I used the Thai Kitchen brand)
1 c. vegan cheese (optional)
4 T. nutritional yeast
Granulated garlic to taste
Real Salt to taste

Bring the vegetable broth to a boil. Add barley, return to a simmer, and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, prepare the vegetables.

Shred carrots using the large holes of a cheese grater (a food processor makes quick work of this, but it's easy enough to do by hand). Cut florets off broccoli and chop stalk into pieces equal to the size of the florets, stopping when the stalk gets tough. Soak in a bowl of cold water and apple cider vinegar for about 10 minutes. Drain, then process in a food processor until small pieces but not completely pulverized.

After the barley has been cooking for 15 minutes, add coconut milk, broccoli and carrots. Stir to combine. Return to a simmer and cook 15 more minutes or until vegetables and barley are tender. Season with salt and granulated garlic as desired.

You can add the cheese and nutritional yeast at this point and serve, or you can make it creamier. I vote creamier. If you have an immersion (hand) blender, stick it in the pot and blend away until it reaches the desired consistency. If you don't, you can process in batches in your blender - just remember it's hot and the lid can blow off if you try to process too much at once. Make it as creamy or chunky as you like. If you are blending, add the cheese and nutritional yeast at the end. The cheese can be hard to get off the blender blades.

Makes 6, 1-cup servings (but you're going to want more than one cup, I promise!)

*Note: It is not necessary to peel most root vegetables - just give them a good scrubbing. Keeping the skin on retains more fiber and most of the time you won't notice a difference. :)

Mean Green Bean Soup

I wish I had thought of this while zucchini was in season, but it will certainly be a stand-by recipe next fall. In the meantime, this is a wonderful little treat to warm you up on those cold winter nights.

1 bay leaf
3 c. vegetable broth
2 T. olive oil
1 small white or yellow onion, diced
1 1/2 c. cooked white beans
2 c. sliced zucchini
1/2 of a 10 oz package frozen spinach (or use fresh)
1 c. cooked barley
1 T. dijon mustard
1 T. curry powder
2 T. nutritional yeast
1 T. miso paste

Put vegetable broth and bay leaf in a large pot. Bring to a simmer. Reduce heat and let stand 10 minutes.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently, 3 to 5 minutes or until onion is soft. If you prefer carmelized onion, which I love, cook a little longer until onion browns. Sometimes I carmelize some garlic along with the onion. :~)

Put onion and all remaining ingredients except nutritional yeast and miso paste into the large pot with vegetable broth. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook over medium heat about 3 to 5 minutes, or until zucchini is cooked and soup is heated through. Do not over cook! Mushy zucchini is nasty. :(

Remove from heat and discard bay leaf. Add nutritional yeast and miso paste, stirring well to combine. Let stand about 5 minutes before serving.

Random factoid: You may have noticed that when using nutritional yeast I always recommend adding it at the end of the cooking cycle after removing the dish from heat. I have read conflicting reports, but some suggest that nutritional yeast will break down when cooked. Personally, I have noticed that it becomes slightly bitter if boiled, so I add it at the end. The choice is yours.

Bean & Barley Weight Loss Soup

I call this "weight loss soup" because it's relatively low in calories, very low in fat, and high in both protein and fiber. It uses a few more processed ingredients than I usually like (canned corn, green beans, etc.) so feel free to substitute fresh or frozen if you have them. This is especially good for combatting the Christmas Hangover - you know, the time when in three days you eat more cookies and fudge than any person should eat over the course of a lifetime.

1 1/2 c. black beans
1 can (12 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (12 oz) white or yellow corn, drained
1 can (12 oz) green beans, drained
1 c. cooked barley (not pearled)
1/2 onion, diced
2 c. veggie broth
1 large or 2 small bay leaves
Basil, granulated garlic (or fresh garlic), and Real Salt to taste
2 T. nutritional yeast

Combine all ingredients except basil, garlic, salt and nutritional yeast in a large pot. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. Add basil, garlic, and salt to taste. Continue simmering for 15 minutes to allow flavors to blend.

Add nutritional yeast, stir well, and let stand for 5 minutes. Remove bay leaves.

Makes 4, 1 1/2 cup servings or 6, 1 cup servings.

Mushroom and Rice Soup

The biggest debate we had here was whether to add diced tomatoes to the recipe. Ultimately we decided no tomatoes with the Pick-a-Number routine. It was delicious and filling. We had very large servings and there was enough for 3 bowls. We will definitely be making this again.

2 c. vegetable broth
4 large carrots, scrubbed and sliced into "coins"
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 stalks celery, sliced
2 bay leaves
4 large mushrooms or 6 to 8 small mushrooms, stems removed and chopped
1 c. cooked brown rice
1 1/2 c. cooked garbanzo beans
Real Salt, granulated garlic and basil to taste
1 T. white or yellow miso
1/4 c. nutritional yeast

In a very large saucepan combine vegetable broth, carrots, onion, garlic, celery and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and cook for about 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Remove bay leaves.

Add seasonings to taste. It is easier to do it at this stage of the cooking than at the end because there are more Chunky Things through which you must blend the seasonings. If you prefer to do it at the end you can. :~)

Add mushrooms, rice and beans. Return to a simmer and cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until mushrooms are soft. Adjust seasonings if necessary. Remove from heat and add miso and nutritional yeast. Serve immediately.

Variations: Like many things on this blog, the vegetables can be swapped out, added or otherwise changed. Zucchini and spinach are some that come to mind. However, the soup can be made creamier, if desired. To make creamier, blend garbanzo beans with about 1/2 cup of the soup broth before adding to the soup. You can blend all or part of the beans, depending on your preference.

Note: When adding miso to a soup, it is important that the miso not be boiled. If boiled, miso paste turns oily and icky and, quite frankly, doesn't taste very good. For best results, cook the soup completely and add miso right before serving, AFTER removing soup from the heat source. :)

**Can be made in the slow cooker.** :o)

Random factoid: Most people toss a significant amount of fiber by peeling the skins off veggies. Whenever possible, leave the skins on vegetables like carrots and potatoes. Just scrub 'em good.

Smashed Yams

My favorite part of Thanksgiving is Yams. I love yams. Historically my family has made them with marshmallows (not vegan) and cream (again, not vegan). This dish is vegan friendly. Believe me - you're not missing anything.

6 yams
2 T. Earth Balance
1/2 c. pure maple syrup (more or less for desired consistency)
1/2 c. coconut milk (more or less for desired consistency)
Cinnamon, if desired

Scrub and peel yams. Bring a very large pot of water to a boil. Cut each yam in half lengthwise, then slice into 1/2 in. pieces. Boil for 20 to 30 minutes or until yams are very soft.

Drain yams. Dump into a very large serving bowl. Add Earth Balance and about 1/4 cup each of maple syrup and coconut milk. Add desired cinnamon if using. Using a hand blender, mix yams until very smooth and combined (about 30 seconds to 1 minute). Add remaining maple syrup and coconut milk, using slightly more or less as needed. Yams should be moist and fluffy, but not liquified.

Pour yams into a 13x9 inch baking dish. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until yams are slightly bubbly. Serve right away.

Can be made ahead if desired. Prepare dish to the point of baking and then store in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Remove dish from the refrigerator approximately 30 minutes before you are ready to bake it.

Variation: Add a small can of crushed pineapple (drained) before pouring in the baking dish.

Sweet 'n Creamy Dippy Spread

I originally made this as a dip for my homemade sweet potato fries, but it was absolutely delish spread on a bagel. This could easily be adapted as a savory dip/spread by adjusting the seasonings. The boys watched me make it and STILL didn't notice the beans. Bonus: a high protein, high fiber dip/spread that tastes sweet and creamy.

1 1/2 c. cooked white beans
1/8 c. agave nectar
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. nutmeg
2 T. cashew butter
Non-dairy milk as needed

Place all ingredients except milk in a blender - preferably a high powered blender like BlendTec (but a regular blender will also work). Begin processing on low speed, drizzling milk in through opening in the lid. Use as much as needed for a smooth consistency, but remember this will be a dip/spread so it should be thick.

Process on medium high speed until very smooth. Check for taste, adding additional agave or seasonings if desired. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for several days.

Note: Cashew butter is quite expensive. I use it frequently because of the creaminess it lends to dishes, so I have it on hand. If you don't use it and don't want to buy an expensive jar for one recipe, soak a large handful of raw cashews in hot water for 30 minutes and use in place of the cashew butter, or use peanut butter or almond butter instead. These nut butters have a more distinct taste (and you will probably notice a hint of peanuts or almonds respectively), but it will still be delicious.

Hearty Veggie Stew

The boys usually don't like soup for dinner, presumably because it's not very filling. The beans and barley make it stick-to-your-ribs-tasty. When I first started cooking, my almost-15-year-old said with a disgusted tone, "What has infiltrated our dinner?!?" Then when he ate it he said, "Dearest Mumsies, this soup is actually quite good!" I guess that's a compliment. :o)

1/2 c. dry barley
4 c. veggie broth
2 bay leaves
1 small onion, diced
1 T. granulated garlic (or use desired amount of fresh garlic)
2 t. dried basil
1 to 2 t. Real Salt
1 1/2 c. cooked garbanzo beans
1 12 oz can petite diced tomatoes, drained
2 small zucchini, quartered and sliced
2 large mushrooms, diced (about 3/4 cup when diced)
1/4 c. nutritional yeast

Fill a medium saucepan halfway with water, 2 cups or more, and bring to a boil. Sort and rinse dry barley. Add to pot, return to boil, and cook for 30 to 45 minutes or until very tender. Drain.

While barley is cooking, combine veggie broth and bay leaves in a very large pot. Bring to a very low boil and cook for about 2 minutes. Add onion, garlic, basil and Real Salt. Stir to combine. Simmer about 10 minutes. Add garbanzo beans and tomatoes. Reduce heat to very low, just enough to keep warm, and simmer until barley finishes cooking.

Add barley, zucchini and mushrooms to soup mix. Stir to combine. At this point it may look like there is too much "stuff" for the broth, but resist the temptation to add liquid. The zucchini and mushrooms will cook down and it will turn out perfect. Cook for about 7 to 10 minutes or until zucchini and mushrooms are very tender. Remove from heat and add nutritional yeast, stirring to combine.

Serve immediately. Makes 4 very generous portions.

Cashew Sour "Cream"

I totally have to give props to Vegan Coach and Sassy Knutson for this, although I did tweak her version a little to suit my own personal taste. It's absolutely unbeatable when it comes to something creamy for spreading in a burrito or dalloping on a potato. The cashews are a "healthy fat" so it's super creamy. You really do need a high power blender for this, because it will stay a little too chunky in a regular blender or food processor.

1 1/2 c. raw cashews
1 t. raw apple cider vinegar
1 t. lemon juice
1/2 t. Real Salt
1 T. nutritional yeast
1 T. white or yellow miso
1 t. olive oil

Soak cashews in very hot water for at least 30 minutes. Use enough hot water to completely cover the nuts, keeping in mind they will expand slightly as they soak. Drain, but reserve water and set aside.

Combine remaining ingredients in a blender. Add a small amount of the reserved soaking water (a tablespoon or so) and process, on very high speed (I used speed 9 in my BlendTec), for about 15 seconds. Stop and scrape sides. If mixture is too thick while processing, add a little more water at a time until it will process easily. Taste mixture, adding additional salt, vinegar or lemon juice if needed. Continue processing, 15 seconds at a time and scraping sides of blender in between, until all nuts are blended and mixture is creamy. Keep in mind you want the final consistency to be like sour cream. It takes some work, so be patient!

Makes about 1 cup of sour cream. If you're not using it all right away, it can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about a week.

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

It's Utah, it's autumn, and everyone has an abundance of tomatoes. It's nearly impossible to give tomatoes away, so when Mom sent me home with five grocery sacks full of these little babies, it was time to get cooking. This recipe is super easy, but allow some time to simmer - the longer it simmers the yummier it will be. My oldest raved about it being the best spaghetti sauce he's ever tasted. I suspect it would work marvelously in a slow cooker, but I haven't tested that yet. :o)

Olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
18 small roma tomatoes*
1 T. basil (more or less to taste)
1 T. oregano (more or less to taste)
1 t. Real Salt (more or less to taste)
1/2 t. cumin (more or less to taste)
2 bay leaves

Heat a small amount of olive oil in a very large skillet. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until starting to brown. Meanwhile, prepare tomatoes.

Cut each tomato in half or quarters, depending on the size. Place tomatoes, all at once, in blender (I hope you have a Blend Tec or similar high powered blender, but if you don't, any blender will work). Use "Whole Juice" cycle if using a Blend Tec, or high speed in a regular blender. Tomatoes should be completely pureed. Once pureed, add all at once to hot pan with onions and garlic.

Add basil, oregano, salt and cumin, stirring to combine. Add bay leaves. It will not be very tasty at this point, and it has kind of a pink hue, but be patient. Cook, stirring frequently, over medium-low heat. Sauce will darken and thicken as it cooks. Cook at least 30 minutes, but longer if you have time, stirring and adding more seasonings as necessary.

Serve over cooked whole wheat pasta or thinly sliced vegetables - I like zucchini from the Spiralizer. Sauce can be made ahead in larger quantities, if desired. I don't usually have fresh herbs on hand (I tend to kill stuff like that), but fresh herbs would be exponentially delicious.

*Note: Feel free to substitute any kind of tomato. My romas were quite small so I had to use more than would be used for supermarket-sized tomatoes. The tomatoes filled a 1 quart blender almost to the top.

Variations: Spaghetti sauce is a great opportunity to sneak in extra veggies that picky eaters don't seem to mind. Thinly dice or slice carrots, zucchini, eggplant, mushrooms, bell pepper, spinach or pretty much anything else and cook in the sauce until tender. Yum! :o)

Creamy Broccoli Soup

This soup is so thick and creamy you'd never know it didn't contain dairy. If you prefer bigger chunks of broccoli in your soup, simply leave some of the tiny florets whole. Disclaimer: it took a bit to get this to taste "just right," so there are quite a few ingredients listed. Feel free to adapt it according to your individual taste.

2 large stalks broccoli
4 c. vegetable broth
1 1/2 c. cooked white beans
1/4 c. nutritional yeast
1 T. white miso
1 T. dried onion flakes
Soy Milk, as needed
1/4 c. hemp seeds
1 to 2 T. garlic powder
2 to 3 drops liquid smoke
1 T. Tamari, soy sauce or Bragg's Liquid Aminos
1 large pinch ground nutmeg
1/2 ripe avocado
Real Salt, to taste
Cornstarch, if needed for thickening

Cut broccoli florets from stalk. Soak in a bowl of cold water mixed with about ¼ cup apple cider vinegar or lemon juice (or other edible acid) for 10 minutes. Drain and rinse. Using a vegetable peeler, remove the tough skin from the stalk of the broccoli. Cut into smaller pieces, no bigger than ½ inch. Place all broccoli in a food processor and run on low speed for a few seconds or until broccoli resembles very coarse cornmeal. If desired, leave out a handful of the smaller florets to give the soup a chunkier feel.

Put broccoli and vegetable broth in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer, stirring frequently. Cook for about 10 minutes.

While broccoli is cooking, place beans, nutritional yeast, miso and onion flakes in a blender. Add a small amount of soy milk, less than ¼ cup, and begin to blend on low speed, adding more soy milk as necessary so it blends easily. Toward the end of the blending cycle add hemp seeds. Continue blending until smooth and creamy. Pour directly into broccoli mixture and stir to combine. Note: there is no need to clean out the blender at this point.

Add garlic powder, liquid smoke, Tamari or soy sauce and nutmeg to pot. Continue to simmer. Meanwhile, put avocado and 1 cup of soup mixture into the blender. Blend on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Use caution when opening blender lid as inner contents will be hot. Pour contents back into pot, stirring to combine. Test for taste, adding salt or additional seasonings as necessary.

Cook for about 10 minutes to cook down a little. If soup is too thin, mix a couple of tablespoons cornstarch with an equal amount of cold water, stir to dissolve, and pour slowly into soup. Cook a few more minutes to thicken.

Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator, heating before serving.

Random Factoid: You know how when you're cooking along and testing and tasting and your dish is just missing something? That Missing Something is what the Japanese call Umami. Umami are specific ingredients that are known as the Fifth Taste. Salt, soy sauce, and avocado are all examples of Umami. For more information about Umami, check out the Umami website at http://www.umamiinfo.com/. Bottom line: if your dish just needs "something," try adding a Umami - you'll probably be amazed at the results.

Seitan and Lentil Tacos

This was one of those "What's For Dinner?" solutions. The kids had ideas that didn't sound all that great to me, and I had ideas that didn't sound all that great to them. This is what we finally settled on - and I couldn't have been more pleased. We have plenty of leftovers for dinner tonight.

1/2 recipe Homemade Seitan or Cheater Seitan
1 c. dry lentils
2 to 3 T. olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
Taco Seasoning, to taste
Tortillas
Taco Toppings (tomato, avocado, vegan sour cream, vegan cheese, spinach, lettuce, salsa, etc)

Cut seitan into 2 inch chunks (approximately) and place in food processor. Process on low for a few seconds at a time until seitan is crumbly and resembles cooked ground beef.

Fill a medium saucepan halfway with hot water, at least 3 cups. Bring to a boil. Meanwhile, sort lentils, removing any rocks or debris. Rinse under cold water. Add to saucepan, return water to boiling, and cook for approximately 30 minutes or until lentils are tender.

While lentils are cooking, heat a few tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add diced onion and minced garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, until onion and garlic begin to carmelize. It may be necessary to add additional olive oil if onion begins to stick to the pan. Once carmelization begins, add ground seitan and continue cooking for about 5 minutes or until seitan just starts to brown. If lentils are not yet finished cooking, reduce heat on skillet to low and stir mixture frequently to prevent burning.

Drain lentils and add to seitan mixture. Add taco seasoning, a few tablespoons at a time, until desired flavor is reached. Add approximately 1/2 cup hot water with taco seasoning, more or less as needed, to prevent seasoning from clumping. Do not add too much water as it will make your tacos too "drippy." Continue cooking and stirring until heated through.

Serve immediately on tortillas, garnishing as desired.

Note: The taco "meat" can be made ahead of time and heated through just prior to serving.

Variation: Add a 6 oz can tomato sauce or a 12 oz can petite diced tomatoes (drained) with the taco seasoning.

Variation #2 - Barley and Lentil Tacos. For one dinner we didn't have any seitan made, and it takes a considerable amount of time to prepare, so I boiled up 1/2 c. barley and used it in place of the seitan. The boys hardly noticed and the tacos got good reviews from my little critics.

"Fettucini" Alfredo

This is probably one of my favorite dishes, and I cannot believe I haven't posted it yet. The zucchini "noodles" make this a perfectly healthy, low-carb and low-fat dish.

2 medium zucchini
Olive Oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 T. white wine or cooking wine
1 12oz package soft silken tofu, drained
1/4 t. nutmeg
2 T. nutritional yeast
Real Salt as desired

Using a spiral slicer, slice zucchini into long, thin "noodles". If you don't have a spiral slicer, you can use a regular cheese grater to slice the zucchini, but it will not have the same effect. Still as tasty, but not as aesthetically pleasing. :o)

Pour a small amount of olive oil into a large skillet. Add onion and garlic. Saute over medium heat, stirring frequently, until onion and garlic have caramelized. Add white wine and cook for another minute or until wine has evaporated.

Place onion mixture, tofu, nutmeg, nutritional yeast and salt (if using) into a blender. Process on med-high speed for about a minute, adding a little non-dairy milk if needed to get the desired consistency.

Pour sauce into a medium saucepan over medium heat for a few minutes, or until just heated through. Do not let sauce boil. Serve immediately over zucchini.

Top with hemp, sesame or sunflower seeds, smoked paprika or parsley if desired.

Note: If you prefer not to use soy in your dishes, substitute 1 1/2 c. cooked white beans for the tofu. You will need to add significantly more liquid when blending (think veggie broth, non-dairy milk and/or water), but it will still be yummy-licious.

Sloppy Lentils

This dish could be made in the slow cooker as well - if you're able to get up early enough in the morning to prepare it (yeah, um, that hasn't been me lately). My kids initially complained when I said I was making Sloppy Lentils, probably because they detest Sloppy Joes made from ground beef. Surprisingly, my oldest - who complained the loudest - gobbled up his serving and had seconds.

1 cup dry lentils, sorted and rinsed
Olive Oil
1 small onion, diced
1 large or 2 small cloves garlic, minced
1 6 oz can tomato sauce
1 12 oz can petite diced tomatoes, undrained
1 t. dry mustard
2 T. Bragg's Liquid Aminos
2 T. Agave nectar
Real Salt, optional

Fill a medium saucepan halfway with hot water, about 3 cups, and bring to a rigorous boil. Add lentils, return to a boil, reduce heat to medium and cook 25 to 30 minutes or until lentils are soft.

While lentils are cooking, pour a small amount of olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, until onions and garlic are soft and just starting to brown. Remove from heat.

Drain lentils and return to saucepan. Add cooked onion and garlic, tomato sauce, tomatoes, mustard, Bragg's, and agave. Stir to combine. Add Real Salt to taste, if desired. Bring to a light simmer over medium-low heat and cook for 20 to 30 minutes, or until heated through and sauce begins to thicken.

Serve on hamburger buns or open faced over a slice of bread. Top with vegan cheese if desired.

Makes about 8 sandwiches.

Note: There are several types of lentils (green, brown, red, black, yellow, etc). The most commonly used in the United States are green, brown and red. Brown lentils are popular because of how well they hold their shape and are great for use in salads or soups. Green and red lentils will become a little mushier when cooked, so keep this in mind when selecting lentils. Additionally, green and red lentils will cook faster than brown, so keep that in mind when gauging cooking times. I used brown lentils in this recipe. Do not mix old and new lentils together, as they will not cook evenly.

Layered BBQ Seitan

There's nothing like having dinner ready when you come home. Since I'm a single parent, the only way that's going to happen is by relying on my long-time soul-mate: The Crock Pot. This little vittle definitely takes some prep time, so unless you're a super chipper morning person, I recommend making it the night before and sticking it in the refrigerator. The next morning all you have to do is plug it in! :o)

Olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced
2 russet potatoes, scrubbed well and thinly sliced
1 bell pepper (any color), quartered and sliced
3 large carrots, scrubbed and sliced (leave the peels on)
1/2 recipe Homemade Seitan or Cheater Seitan, or 1 package commercially prepared seitan, sliced into small cubes
BBQ Sauce (recipe will follow)

Pour a small amount of olive oil in a large skillet and bring to medium heat. Add onion, all at once, and cook until soft. If desired, cook until onion begins to carmelize, which creates a wonderful flavor for any dish. Put onion directly in the bottom of a 4 to 6 quart slow cooker.

Spread sliced potatoes on top of hot onions, followed by peppers, carrots and seitan (in that order). Prepare BBQ Sauce.

1 6oz can tomato paste
1 t. ground mustard
2 T. apple cider vinegar
1/4 c. molasses
2 T. Sucanat
1/8 c. soy sauce*
1/8 c. Bragg's Liquid Aminos*
1 c. hot water

Combine all ingredients except water in a medium-sized bowl. Whisk until combined. Add water, whisk again, and stir continuously until all sucanat has dissolved and all ingredients are combined.
*Note: I used a single 1/4 cup measuring cup and eyeballed it halfway with soy sauce and the rest of the way with Bragg's. You can use all soy sauce or all Bragg's or any combination. I like the flavor of the soy sauce for this dish but the health benefits of Bragg's, so I use them both!

Slowly drizzle BBQ sauce over layered veggies and seitan. Do not stir! Just do your best to cover all the seitan with the sauce. It will become moist as it cooks.

Cook on low setting for 6 to 8 hours. If making ahead and sticking in the refrigerator, allow an additional hour or so of cooking time. All crock pots vary, so start checking it as close to the end of the cooking time as possible. There's nothing ickier than trying to scrub burned BBQ sauce off a crock pot.

Tip: Those little green scrubbing pads you find in the cleaning section of the grocery store make quick work of scrubbing root vegetables like potatoes and carrots. When I get them home I cut them in half and boil them to eliminate any ickiness you wouldn't want to come in contact with your food then keep them handy for food prep. It may be obvious, but don't try to use them on softer foods - only sturdy root vegetables. :o)

Veggie Packets

I've always avoided recipes like this because they never seemed to turn out. These little packets turned out wonderfully. They would work wonderfully when camping, too. These can easily be assembled ahead of time, if desired, and refrigerated until ready to bake.

2 c. cubed seitan (1/2 recipe Cheater Seitan from this blog)
2 small eggplant, peeled and cubed
1 large russet potato, cubed
1 28 oz. can whole tomatoes, drained and cubed
1 bell pepper, any color, diced
1 small yellow onion, diced
Olive oil
Dried thyme
Garlic powder
Real Salt
Foil or parchment paper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Wash and cut vegetables according to instructions above. Cut four pieces of foil, approximately 12" x 16". Fold in half like a book and then unfold.

On one half of the foil, distribute vegetables evenly. Drizzle a small amount of olive oil and season with thyme, garlic powder and salt as desired. Arrange seitan on top of vegetables, drizzle a little more olive oil, and add additional seasonings.

Fold foil over vegetables and fold edges, making at least 3 creases to keep juices in while cooking. Arrange foil packets on a baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Note: Cooking time will depend on size of vegetable cubes. The 40 minute recommendation is based on very small chunks of vegetables. Eggplant cooks faster than potatoes, for example, so I left the eggplant a little larger and cut the potatoes very small. If you prefer larger vegetables just increase your cooking time.

Serving Suggestions: My kids love everything in a tortilla, so they took the contents of their foil packets and wrapped it in a tortilla with some of my homemade sour cream. I like sauce on my veggies, so I topped mine with some of the sauce from the Veggie Mac n Cheeze. Vegan Alfredo or Cheesy Bean Sauce would also be delicious.

Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Cookies

Yes, they're vegan - and delicious! They're not health food by any stretch of the imagination, but they're much better for you than something bought commercially or recipes that have two sticks of butter as the first ingredient. :o) If you have a wheat grinder or a BlendTec (or similar high powered blender), it is preferable to grind the wheat immediately before using it in the recipe. If you don't have one of these blenders, using commercially prepared whole wheat flour will work.

3/4 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup Earth Balance (or other vegan butter)
1 T. vanilla extract
3 T. soy milk
3/4 cup Sucanat
2 T. ground flax seed
3 T. water
1 3/4 cup finely ground wheat OR commercially prepared whole wheat flour
2 T. gluten flour*
3/4 t. salt
3/4 t. baking soda

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cream peanut butter, Earth Balance, vanilla, soy milk and Sucanat in a large bowl. Mix flax and water together in a small bowl and let stand for about 5 minutes, or until an "eggy" consistency. Add to peanut butter mixture and beat until combined.

Grind wheat (if doing so) and combine flour with salt, gluten and baking soda. Add to peanut butter mixture and beat to combine. Mixture will be very thick.

Form balls of dough slightly smaller than a golf ball using two spoons or your hands. Place on cookie sheet at least one inch apart. Flatten with a fork in a criss-cross pattern. Bake for about 8 minutes or until no longer doughey. Remove from cookie sheet immediately and cool on a wire rack or paper towels.

*The gluten flour is optional. It works to help "soften" the whole wheat flour. The cookies will still work without the gluten flour, but the resulting cookie will be drier and more crumbly.

Makes about 32 cookies.

Tip: Whole wheat is highly nutritious, and by grinding it right before incorporating into a recipe you maintain the nutritional value in the wheat. However, as the ground wheat sits, it rapidly loses its nutritional value. Store any leftover wheat in the refrigerator in an air-tight container and use within 5 days.