Peachy Keen Green

We like the Trader Joes Sprouted Whole-Grain Pizza Crust for this  homemade pizza , but I wanted to make my own for a Greek meza (photos below) with Yannis, Merche, John, & Elsa. Mom made homemade bread all the time, but I've never made a yeast dough. Judi says it's easy; Nick makes dough for their pizzas all the time. Natalie did a science fair experiment and found that adding sugar, honey, or maple syrup to the wet yeast made it rise more.  Judi says her favorite dough is whole wheat flour with a little maple syrup. So that's what I tried here, while  mostly following the recipe for  Roberta's Pizza Dough , which is surprisingly similar to this greek pita recipe . We made  pizza the greek way  with red onion, capers, oregano, and kalamata olives, and Yannis brought feta. We also had a meza of  stewed okra  in tomato sauce,  greek fava hummus, and  stuffed eggplant , which we ate with pita made from the dough. I used the ...

An Indonesian dish with spicy peanut sauce that Tim and Karen made for us for dinner, to put on top of a delicious tofu and vegetable stir-fry. Yum! Ingredients 2 T vegan butter for frying 1 cup chopped onion 2 medium cloves garlic (crushed) 1 bay leaf 1-2 T ginger (crushed) 1 small red pepper, diced (optional) 1 cup peanut butter 1 T honey 1 T vinegar 3 cups water 1 tsp salt dash tamari juice of 1 lemon 1/4 tsp cayenne (or Sriracha to taste) Optional garnish: sesame oil, sesame seeds Instructions In a saucepan, cook the onions, garlic, bay leaf, pepper, and ginger in butter. When onions become translucent, add other ingredients. Simmer on low heat 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve the sauce over an artful arrangement of cooked vegetables and tofu! Optionally garnish with a drizzle of sesame oil and/or sesame seeds. Would be nice if this were a little more yellow than brown... should I add turmeric?

At my (new) work, Masha brought back some delicious cookies from her holidays in Iran. I have lots of chickpea flour I need a use for, and these were delicious and not too sweet. Masha sent this  recipe and a video (use oil instead of butter). Here's another recipe that puts pistachios on top. Ingredients 1/2 cup vegetable oil 3/4 cup confectioners sugar 2 tsp finely ground cardamom 2 C chickpea flour (roasted flour if you can) 2-3 T chopped or ground pistachios Little cookie cutters, or a tablespoon measure to shape the cookies in a half disc. Instructions Combine the oil, sugar, & cardamom in bowl. Using a food processor or hand mixer, mix/pulse on medium for 2-3 minutes until light and creamy. Add chickpea flower and beat on low for another minute min. Dust your work surface with some chickpea flour and knead the dough for 10 minutes or pulse in a food processor with a dough blade for a few minutes and transfer to a bowl and knead until it is more workable. It...

Larrys's sister Cyndy made these for our long-weekend get-together; easy and yummy. Ingredients 1 box Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry (17 oz) 2 cups fresh or frozen berries 2 T water 1/4 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp chia seeds or tapioca (to gel a bit) Instructions In a pan, heat fruit and water on medium. Once bubbling, reduce heat and simmer 5-10 minutes, mixing frequently. Add cinnamon and chia or tapioca, mix, and let cool. Unfold puff pastry and cut into thirds. Cut squares and put into muffin tins. (Should make about a dozen.) Spoon on compote. Top with pastry square and bake, um, maybe 15-20 minutes? Let cool a little and serve as is or with (vegan) ice cream!

Larry calls this "danger bread" because he can't stop eating it :) Ingredients Dry: 3 cups whole wheat flour 1 tsp salt 2 tsp baking soda 1 cup walnut pieces Wet: 3 medium bananas, mashed 3 medium apples, chopped 10 dried apricots, chopped 1 cup sugar 3 flax eggs (3 T flax meal, 9 T warm water) 1 cup canola oil Instructions Make the flax eggs in a bowl; set aside to soak. Mash the bananas, chop the apples (I leave the skin on) and apricots, and mix them together.  Mix in the sugar, flax eggs, and oil. Then add the dry ingredients and walnuts. Stir until the flour is moistened. Pour into loaf pans (I used 4 small silicon loaf pans plus a dozen cupcake/mini silicon loaves). No need to grease and flour if you use silicon! Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes; check and take out mini loaves. Leave larger loaves in for another 20 minutes or so (50 min total). Let them cool in the pans for 20 minutes, and then pop them out of the silicon onto ...

Wait, vegan meringue cookies? Aren't meringues made from whipped egg whites and sugar? Ya, that's right. And you won't believe what can be used in place of egg. Garbanzo bean liquid. What? No, really, My pal Judi mentioned this months ago when she made  vegan macarons . I pressure-cooked chickpeas last night (I love fresh hummus), and on a whim, saved the liquid in the fridge. Macarons are delicious, but a fair bit work, and I didn't have any coloring. Then I though of meringues (!) and found these  vegan meringue kisses  - and there are many others . Crazy easy to make, but you need to be around for a couple hours because they cook on super low heat. Ingredients (makes about 60 meringues) 1 cup super fine (e.g., castor) sugar 1 cup liquid from cooked or canned chickpeas, chilled 1/2 tsp vanilla 1/4 tsp cream of tartar Optional: 2 ziplock sandwich bags for squeezing (rather than dolloping) 4 tsp brightly colored juice, like beet (liquidy jam might work ...

So many pears on our tree! So I googled for a pear dessert, and found this recipe for Pear Spice Upside-Down Cak e that looked good - and it was! And relatively healthy, too. The freshly pureed pears makes it spongy and light, and removes the need for oil. I adapted it to make two 8-inch rounds (rather than one 9-inch) since that's what I have -- and why not round up? For the bottom, you can use pear (or other fruit) slices, or  a  berry topping from this NYT recipe  (I did that when we had lots of blackberries!). If you use pear slices, make sure they are very ripe or they can be too hard even when cooked. The pears used in the puree can (optionally) be more green. The pear sauce, ginger, and spice combination in the cake is delicious. Ingredients Dry: 2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour 4 tsp tapioca or 1.5 T cornstarch 2 tsp baking soda 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp ground ginger 1 tsp nutmeg 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp cloves Wet: 2 cups (generous) freshly pureed pears (4...

Judi reminded me that we made these burgers with special sauce from Chloe's Kitchen recipes a couple of years ago and they were yummy. So I decided to make them for a summer BBQ this year. They were great! They are my favorite burgers now (with the sauce, they are amazing), although Larry likes the black bean carrot burgers a little more.  I also sautéed red & yellow pepper and a red onion, with a little garlic, to top of Italian Field Roast sausages. Oh my, that made them so much better. Got that idea from Judi & Nick, and the video, below, of Chloe & Roberto making Vegan Double-Double Burgers and Field Roast Sausage w/Peppers & Onion: I used tempeh (as in Chloe's book's recipe) and lentils from Trader Joes that were slightly spiced (in vacuum packaging, sold in produce area). Makes 8-10 single burgers. Ingredients 2 T canola oil 1 onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, chopped 1 8 oz package tempeh, steamed (8 oz pkg at Trader Joes) 1 15...

Given our abundance of carrots, I decided to tweak my zucchini walnut bread recipe to make carrot muffins. I borrowed some ideas from the Carrot-Raisin muffin in Vegan with a Vengeance, replacing raisins with walnuts and tweaking other ingredients a bit. It has less oil, sugar, and flour than my zucchini walnut bread, and adds almond milk, nutmeg, and (optionally) coconut. I also saw a recipe for carrot cake that used pecans, coconut, and pineapple... reminder to self to try adding pineapple sometime. Note: The first time I made this I used 1/2 C sugar and 1/2 C oil. They were delish. I tried reducing both to 1/4 C, and I think next time I'll do 1/3 C (just right?) Ingredients Dry: 2 C whole wheat flour 1/3 C sugar 2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp nutmeg 1/2 tsp salt Wet: 1 1/4 C almond or soy milk 1/3 cup canola oil 1 tsp vanilla 1/2 cup walnut pieces (or try pecans) 2 1/2 to 3 cups shredded carrot 1/4 cup shredded coconut (optio...

Our wonderful neighbors gave us two 5-lb bags of carrots after an online order snafu. So I pulled out the carrot recipes! I made my carrot soup , cut up a lot of carrots to eat with hummus , and made this old recipe from The New Basics cookbook that I haven't made for years - slightly adapted to be a little less sweet. I didn't have slivered almonds handy so I pulsed some whole almonds in the food processor and toasted them. I also made a new  carrot walnut muffin  recipe. Ingredients 10 carrots, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick 2 tsp sugar 1 tsp cinnamon 4 T margarine (earth balance) 2 T fresh orange juice 15 dried apricots, slivered 1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted salt and pepper to taste. Instructions Bring carrots to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer 10 minutes. Rinse under cold water and drain. Stir the sugar and cinnamon together and set aside. Melt the margarin and stir in the carrots and orange juice. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon mixture and cook o...

Our favorite local Indian restaurant, Janta , had a buffet with several delicious dishes the other day, including a cabbage dish and a mung bean dal. I had lots of cabbage and mung beans at home to use up, and I found a few recipes that combined them, so I gave this adaptation a try. It was totally easy and delish! The second time I made it, I used brown lentils . Just as good; maybe even better. I'm more likely to have lentils than mung beans around, so I think I'll stick with lentils for this from now on. Ingredients 1 1/2 cups lentils or mung beans, soaked overnight 1 small onion, diced 1 small head cabbage, shredded    (try half green, half purple) 1/2 cup diced tomato Saute: 2 T oil 1 jalapeno pepper, diced (or ground red pepper) 2 tsp cumin seed 2 tsp ginger, minced Spices: 2 tsp garlic, minced 1 tsp turmeric 1 T ground coriander 1 tsp salt ground black pepper to taste ground red pepper to taste Instructions Soak the b...

From Isa Does It, with a few adaptations to replace the coconut oil and applesauce with coconut yogurt, and reduce the sugar a little (it's plenty sweet). And it's a good opportunity to use my new adorable teeny weeny  silicone baking cup s. Makes about 12 teeny loaves (each about the size of a muffin). Talking with Judi  later: she loves her  cornbread recipe that has a 2 to 1 cornmeal to flour ratio and uses cashew cream and maple syrup. More cornmeal would be better; adjusted the recipe! Also updated based on The Best Vegan Cornbread recipe that Rick and Lauren brought over (up'd the baking powder and sugar) and these tips for good cornbread . Note: There's a sliding scale between cornbread and corn cake. One bread end is represented by just 1/4 C sugar, which we like. Most folks are probably used to sweeter cornbread, though; if that's you, double it (as noted below, by adding agave--or just double the sugar). Ingredients Dry: 3/4 C flour 1 1/4 C ston...

This recipe is adapted from a vegetable chili con carne in Jane Brody's Good Food Book ; my sister-in-law Brenda made a vegetarian version of it for me back in the '90s, and it was delish! I swap in different veggies sometimes, and replaced the brown sugar with dark chocolate (!), and of course, it has beans instead of carne. Ingredients 1 T olive oil 2 medium onions, chopped (about 2 cups) 3 large cloves garlic 1 jalapeno pepper, chopped 1 bell pepper (any color), chopped 2 large stalks celery, chopped 2 large carrots, chopped 2 potatoes, chopped 28 oz can diced tomatoes (opt.) 2 cups broccoli, chopped    -or- 2 cups chopped greens (opt.) 1 cup corn (add late) 2+ cups cooked beans (any mix of kidney, pinto, fava, or xmas beans) Spices (almost double for big pot) 1/4 tsp cloves 1/4 tsp allspice 1 tsp coriander 1 tsp salt 1 T oregano 2 T mild chili powder 2 T cumin 1 T dark chocolate or cocoa (I want to try  mole sauce ) Instructions In large p...

Another recipe of my grandma Esther's, easier to make than her ostakaka  and also not vegan, but vegetarian of course. Blogging it here for posterity and so I have access to it when I'm visiting Dad, in case we need to use up some of his eggs :) And here is a similar recipe . Ingredients 1 1/3 cup sugar 5 1/3 T cornstarch 1 1/2 cup water 3 T butter 4 T lemon juice 1 tsp lemon rinds 1/4 tsp salt 3 (or 4) egg yolks, beaten Baked 9-inch pie crust Meringue: 3 (or 4) egg whites 1 T cream tarter (or 2T cornstarch) 6T sugar Instructions Boil the sugar, cornstarch, and water for 1 minute. Add slightly beaten egg yolks. Boil 1 minute and remove from heat. Add butter, salt, lemon juice and lemon rind. Stir and pour filling in a baked  pie crust . Make the meringue: Beat egg whites until frothy. Add cream tarter, and then the sugar, 2 T at a time. Beat until it stands in stiff peaks. Spread the meringue over the pie, sealing edges at the crust. Bake at 400 degr...

Larry brought in some cabbage and kale leaves from the garden, and I thought I'd try a new recipe. This is adapted from a mix of  Spinach & Mushroom Mini Vegan Puff Pastry Quiche  and Oh She Glows  Stuffed Mushroom Phyllo Roll . Ingredients 1 sheet vegan puff pastry (about 8 oz.), thawed if frozen 1 cup shredded Daiya cheese OR tofu mix: 1 lb. extra firm tofu, drained 1 T soy sauce 2 T lemon juice 2 T nutritional yeast black pepper to taste saute: 1 T olive oil 3 cups finely chopped mushrooms 1 onion, diced 2 garlic cloves, minced 4 cups finely chopped greens sundried tomatoes to taste (optional) Instructions If not using Daiya cheese, use the tofu mix: Place tofu, soy sauce, lemon juice, nutritional yeast and pepper into food processor and blend until smooth. Saute mushrooms and onion until softened, 5-10 minutes. Add garlic and greens. Remove from heat and fold in Daiya or tofu mixture. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a large baking sheet w...

Adapted from Chloe's Kitchen , a simple delicious dish. Ingredients 3 large yams, peeled, cut, roasted in oven 1/2  can lite coconut milk 1 T maple syrup 1 t salt 1/2 t cinnamon 1/2 t cloves 1/2 t ginger Instructions Peel the yams, dice, and roast in the oven with a little olive oil. (Or boil or microwave, but roasting is easy, and you can throw in some other veggies to much while you mash!) Put cooled yams in a big bowl. Add spices and syrup and mash. Add coconut milk.  Serve warm. Yum! Chloe's original recipe called for a full can of coconut milk, but I found half a can was enough. Use any leftover coconut milk to make a quick coconut chia pudding  :)

This is my grandma Esther's recipe for Ostakaka (Ost = cheese, kaka = cake), a custard from her Swedish family (*) and one of Dad's favorites. It's not vegan, but I'm blogging it for posterity (and I may try to make it for Dad some day.)  This recipe is similar . Another favorite dessert recipe is grandma's lemon meringue pie . 1/6/17 Update: Cliff and Kathy gave us ostakaka from Nelson Food Pride  during my trip to NE. (Nelson, like grandma!) Kathy makes it every Christmas, but it's an all day, error-prone affair, so they bought it this year. Just in time, phew! Dad loved it with jam. Not too sweet. And much easier than making it :) 12/29/20 Update: Lisa Nelson Callihan says there is a cheat way to make it!!!  Use cottage cheese instead of milk and rennet tablets. Use the 4% milkfat cottage cheese if you can find it. Ingredients 1 gallon whole milk, non-homogenized (may have to get it from a dairy) 2 T flour 1/8 t salt 1/2 C suger 3 eggs, beaten 1 cup...

Judi made so many delicious things for  Thanksgiving  this year, including these slightly sweet and spicy brussels sprouts. Yum! Ingredients 1 1/2 lbs Brussels sprouts 1/2 cup oil 1/4 cup rice vinegar 1/4 cup brown sugar or maple syrup 2 T Sriracha fresh ground salt and pepper Instructions Preheat the oven to 400°F. Trim the base away from the brussels sprouts and discard. Cut the sprouts in half. Toss in a large gallon bag. In a small bowl, whisk the oil with the vinegar, sugar/maple syrup, and Sriracha to combine. Pour into the bag with the brussels sprouts and toss until they are fully coated. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Spread the brussels sprouts on a baking sheet, cut sides down. Roast until the crispy on the outside and golden and caramelized on the cut sides, 20 to 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

Munira's family gave us some sauteed mung bean sprouts last year, and they were such a treat; nutty and yummy. And, it turns out, pretty easy to make. I bought some mung bean seeds and a  sprouting jar with 3 different sizes of lids (for different bean sizes and sprouting stages), and now make my own sprouts to saute! We've also tried broccoli sprouts, but only raw; they're not so yummy raw, so I'll try them sauteed next time. Ingredients Jar of sprouted mung beans 1 T olive oil 1 tsp cumin seeds 4 cloves garlic 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (or more if you like it hot) 1/2 tsp turmeric (optional) salt and black pepper to taste For mung bean sprouting: 5 T mung bean seeds (about 1/3 cup seeds); I use  Todd's seeds sprouting jar; I use  Jar Seed Sprouter cool water Instructions Put mung bean seeds in a sprouting jar. Soak 8 hours. Rinse with cool water 2-3 times a day; swirl and drain. Always store in a tipped position in a bowl, so the water...

Larry's sister Cyndy made this for us a decade or more ago, and then made it again for Thanksgiving this year, which reminded me how delicious it is! Ingredients 1 C wild rice, dry 1 C chopped walnuts 1 C golden raisins 1 large apple, cored & diced 1-2 celery ribs, sliced grated rind of lemon 4 scallions thinly sliced dressing: 3 T lemon juice 2 cloves garlic 1/2 tsp salt fresh ground black pepper 1/3 C olive oil Instructions Rinse and cook rice in instant pot (2 C water, 20-25 minutes) or on the stove (4 C water, 1 part rice). (Instant pot requires less water and is easier!) Combine walnuts, celery, scallions, raisins, apple, lemon rind in a large bowl. In a jar with a tight lid, combine dressing ingredients and shake vigorously. Pour half of the dressing on the apple mixture and toss well. Combine rice with food mixture and pour on remaining dressing. Let sit 1 hour at room temp and serve on lettuce if desired. Can make the day before and let it sit overnigh...

Another recipe adapted from a recipe in  The Indian Vegetarian  cookbook by Neelam Batra (see also the  diced potatoes and tomatoes  recipe). The original calls for 4 jalapenos (!!). I use one medium jalapeno; any more and we can barely eat it, it's so spicy. Shown here with Munira's yummy roti! Ingredients 2 medium eggplants (1 pound each) 2 T canola oil 1 T cumin seeds 1 tsp fenugreek seeds (optional) 2 tsp minced garlic 1 T (1 inch) minced fresh ginger 1 1/2 C red onion, chopped  1 1/2 C fresh tomato, chopped or 1 can diced 1/2 - 1 C chopped cilantro 1 small hot green or red pepper Optional: 1 cup fresh peas spices: 1 tsp paprika 1 tsp tumeric 1 tsp salt optional: 1/4 tsp cinnamon 1/4 tsp cloves 1/4 tsp nutmeg Instructions Wash the eggplant and poke holes in it with a fork. Bake in 400 degree oven for 40 minutes. Let cool. Puree in a food processor. (This can be done the day before and stored.) Saute cumin seeds in oil until they sizzle...

This bean dish was served at a lunch at work, in both vegan and with-bacon-and-ham forms. Judi and I thought the vegan one was delicious (don't know about the other!); I brought home leftovers, and Larry agreed. Turns out catering got the recipe from our admin assistant, Vickie, whose office is next to mine. So we bought dry red beans and tried it. The veggie broth had plenty of salt in it, so I don't list the half teaspoon of salt called for in this recipe, after tasting it. Anyway, it was easy and very flavorful! I think dry beans taste better than canned, but you could used canned, of course. And I liked cooking the dried beans in the large soup pot for this; I usually boil beans in a smaller saucepan, and that's messy. Big soup pot from now on for beans! Serve with rice or cauliflower rice and a veggie. Ingredients 1 pound dried red beans, rinsed 2 T olive oil 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onions 3/4 cup chopped celery 3/4 cup chopped bell peppers (yellow or green)...

This potato dish is adapted from a recipe in  The Indian Vegetarian  cookbook by Neelam Batra, who also has a web site, Neelam's California Indian Cuisine . Thanks to my friend Munira for recommending it! I made this dish for a bbq at Judi's the other night, and she said it was blog worthy :) Ingredients 5 cups diced potatoes (~8-10 small red) 3 T olive oil 1-2 jalepenos, chopped (the original said 5!) 1 1/2 cups chopped onion 2 cups finely chopped fresh tomatoes 1 cup loosely packed finely chopped cilantro 2 T coriander 1 tsp cumin 1/2 tsp paprika 1 tsp salt fresh ground black pepper 1/2 tsp garam masala 3 T chopped cilantro for garnish Other vegetables as desired (I sometimes add peas or kale) Instructions Pre-cook the potatoes: I cut them into chunks and use a microwave steamer (5 minutes), in batches. In a pan, fry the onion and pepper a few minutes on moderately high heat. Add the tomatoes and cilantro and cook, stirring occasionally, until mo...