Ingredients:

1 bunch of romaine lettuce
2-3 garlic cloves minced
2 T nutritional yeast
1-2 T lemon
1 t white wine vinegar (not necessary if you don't have it)
1/2 cup of vegan mayonnaise
2 t dijon mustard (also not required but gives a nice flavor if you like mustard)

Process:

Clean and chop the romaine lettuce. Mix all of the other ingredients together in a bowl. Put your as much romaine lettuce as you crave in a bowl and top with the desired amount of dressing.

I love tomatoes and any derivative of tomatoes (think paste, sauce, diced, etc.). So to satisfy my strong desire for this delicious fruit (although considered vegetable by nutritionists) I came up with this yummy salsa. 

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups tomato (chopped or cherry tomatoes)
1/2 cup tomato paste
1 T garlic powder (or 5 cloves fresh garlic)
1/4 cup of chopped onion
1/2 t cuman
water as needed to get to your desired consistency

Mix all of the above in either a food processor or blender and process enough to keep it somewhat chunky.

Ingredients

1/2 onion chopped
4 cloves garlic chopped
2 T Mexican seasoning (click here for the mixture I used)
3 cups dry pinto beans  
1 t cilantro
1 t chipotle peppers in adobo (more if you really like spice or less if you don't)
​1 cup water

Method:

Using the fry function of your pot, saute the chopped onions and garlic until translucent. Add all of the rest of ingredients. Follow your instant pot instructions on how long to pressure cook the pinto beans. My instant pot requires pressure for 25-30 minutes. You can speed this time up if you soak your beans the night before. I selected high pressure to cook my pinto beans per my instant pot instructions. Select the time and follow any other of your instant pot instructions for pressure cooking. When the pressure cycle is complete, remove any excess remaining water in the pot. Blend the beans using a hand held emulsion blender ( or throw beans in a blender) and blend until smooth. Enjoy!

Vegan Stuffing

1 loaf of vegan bread torn into pieces dried out a day or two
4 celery stalks chopped
1 onion chopped finely chopped
2 cups of vegan stock
1 lb of vegan sausage cut into smaller pieces
2-3 oz maple syrup
8 T vegan butter
t T Sage, Thyme, Rosemary and any other herbs you like

Heat oven to 350. Melt the vegan margarine in a large saucepan. Sauce the onion and celery and sauce until translucent. Brown the sausage. Add the maple syrup and stir. Add the dried bread and mix well into the butter. Add as much of the Vegan stock as necessary to make the dressing moist. Put the stuffing into a square oven proof casserole with a top and place in oven for about 30 minutes. Remove casserole lid and keep in the oven for another 15 minutes or so until the top of stuffing is crispy. Top with vegan gravy (recipe below)

Vegan Gravy

6 cups of vegetable stock 
1/2 cup sweet onion finely chopped
4-6 oz of mushrooms chopped
1 clove garlic minced
1/2 cup of flour
1 tsp soy sauce 
1 tsp sage
1tsp thyme
salt and pepper to taste


In a large sauce pan, heat about 1/2 of the stock until boiling. Add the onion, mushrooms and garlic and cook until onions are translucent about  5 -10 minutes. Add the spices and the soy sauce. Sprinkle in the flour and cook. Stir continuously to make a roux until brown. Slowly add as much as the stock as necessary to make a gray of your liking while whisking until smooth while keeping the mix on a low simmer. 

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Ingredients

1 14.5 oz can of fire roasted tomatoes with green chilis 
1 t fresh jalapeno pepper, more if you like it spicier (jarred is ok in a pinch)
1/4 cup yellow onion chopped
2-3 cloves fresh garlic chopped
1/2 t cumin

Throw all the ingredients in a blender and blend for a few seconds. If you like it thicker, add some tomato paste until desired consistancy is reached.

Ingredients

2 packages of Pillsbury crescent rolls
2 packages of vegan cream cheese
1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise
1/2 cup vegan sour cream
6 T ranch spices - I use the Penzeys ranch spice
2-4 cloves garlic pressed
Use what ever veggies you like chopped small. I used about 5 cups of broccoli, cauliflower, yellow peppers, carrots and tomatoes. You can use more or less veggies of your choice.

Method:
Roll the crescent rolls out on a cookie sheet and pinch edges together to form a pizza like crust. Bake according to instructions. Let cool completely. Meanwhile, mix the vegan mayonnaise, sour cream, cream cheese, garlic and ranch spices together in a bowl. Top the pizza crust with the ranch mixture and veggies, slice in squares and enjoy!

Ingredients - serves 6

1.5 T olive oil
1 large onion chopped
1 carrot chopped
1 leek chopped
2 cloves garlic chopped
1 t dried thyme
1 T flour
6.5 cups vegetable stock
4.5 cups frozen corn or fresh corn
2 t garam marsala
1/2 t coriander
2 bay leaves
1 small sweet potato chopped
1.5 cups cauliflower chopped

Method:

Heat oil in a pot. Sauté chopped onion, carrot, leek, thyme, coriander, garam marsala and garlic until onion is translucent. Stir in the flour and cook for an additional minute and pour in the vegetable stock. Stir well. Add the sweet potato and cauliflower to the pot and turn up heat until boiling then reduce. Simmer for about 20 minutes while stirring frequently until the sweet potato and cauliflower are both soft. Stir in 3.5 cups of the corn and cook for an additional 3-5 minutes. Using and immersion blender or regular blender, blend the mixture until somewhat smooth. Add the rest of the corn and serve. May top with toasted pumpkin seeds or croutons if desired.

In this recipe, I had some leftover sesame ginger dressing from my asian salad and decided to saute it! Just press your tofu between paper towel and place a heavy item on the top for as little as 1/2 hour and cut into cubes. So easy! Just listen to how delicious it sound!

We were at the St. Petersburg Farmers Market on Saturday. Just as the market was ending, there were great deals on produce so I picked up a head of Cauliflower for $2.50 and figured I'd be able to make up something for it with the limited spices I have here in Florida. I really enjoyed the flavors I threw together and hope you do too!

Ingredients:

1 Head of Cauliflower cut up in small pieces
2 T olive oil
1/2 t paprika
1/2 t cumin
2 large cloves of garlic chopped
1/2 cup of vegan parmesan cheese
1/4 cup of vegan mozzarella cheese
chopped green onions or parsley to top (not necessary but it looks nice)

Method:

Pre-heat over to 400 degrees. Place the cauliflower in an oven safe pan. Add the olive oil and garlic and mix well with the cauliflower. sprinkle the spices over the cauliflower and then top with the parmesan cheese. Bake for 15 minutes, mix with a spoon and add the the mozzarella cheese. Bake for another 15 minutes. Plate and top with chopped green onions or parsley (optional). Enjoy all on it's own, or as a side dish!

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Ingredients:

1 8 oz package of vegan cream cheese softened
1/2 cup of vegan mayonnaise
1/2 cup vegan sour cream
1 package of Trader Joes frozen artichokes
1 12 oz package of Trader Joes chopped spinach
1.5 cups of vegan mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup of vegan parmesan cheese
3 large cloves of garlic pressed in a garlic press

Method:

Preheat oven to 400F. Thaw and chop each artichoke into about thirds. Thaw the chopped spinach and strain the excess water out of it. Mix in an oven safe bowl the vegan cream cheese, mayonnaise, and sour cream together. Add artichoke and chopped spinach. Fold in the vegan mozzarella cheese.  Sprinkle the vegan parmesan cheese on top. Cover with foil and bake for about 35 minutes. Take the foil off and bake another 10 minutes. Enjoy with chips or pita bread!