Six Minute Vegan Chocolate Cake

I don't know if this really only takes six minutes, but it is fast. I also don't remember where I got it from. The Moosewood cookbook? Maybe. For best results, make a few hours ahead or the night before, store in the fridge. I don't have a recipe for my frosting, I just wing it, so use your favorite chocolate frosting recipe.

Also makes amazing cupcakes!

1 1/2 C all purpose flour

1/3 C cocoa *
1 tsp baking soda (3/4 tsp if using dutch cocoa)

1/2 tsp salt

1 C sugar

1/2 C vegetable or canola oil

1 C cold water

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 tsp vinegar (white or acv)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Oil an 8x8 baking dish. Mix all dry ingredients together. Add oil and water, mix. Then add vanilla and vinegar and mix until just incorporated. Pour into pan and bake 25-30 minutes, until inserted toothpick comes out clean.

*Dutch is best. It has a deeper, more intense chocolate aroma and flavor. I get mine from an Amish community, but it's not labeled as 'dutch' there.

Here is a picture of the recipe being enjoyed on Pixie's 4th birthday. I topped it with a very rich chocolate frosting and pink pig sprinkles!

Down Home Country Chicken Fried Seitan

For anyone that knows me, country style cookin' is not my style at all! However, having a husband who is celebrating one year of being a complete vegetarian this month (after eating mostly vegetarian food for 4 years), and who loves all things gravy, I decided to surprise him and make this for lunch today.

I pretty much got the most-awesome-wife award. :)

Scott said he thought he'd never eat chicken fried steak again. Which I thought was quite the compliment in itself. Even though I don't know what he's missing. 

This is what it looked like right out of the frying pan. The only thing I did differently was use whole wheat flour instead of all purpose. They were pretty darn big cutlets. You could either smash them out thinner, or I think I'll go with 8 instead of 5 cutlets next time. Especially if they will be put on a sandwich.

Added some homemade mashed potatoes, collard greens, and white country gravy. 

Definitely a comfort food, especially for those who have gone vegetarian/vegan in the recent past. 

The seitan you get after it's boiled is probably the best flavored boiled seitan I've had. For sure something I can make and use for stir fry, soups, curries, pot pies, etc. Seitan freezes well too!
Find the recipe here!

Homemade Vegan Sausage- Where Have You Been All My Life!?

It wasn't until a few summers ago that I found the lure of the grill. Grilling wasn't something that happened growing up and I often found myself left out when I attended BBQs. It wasn't until I got married and started grilling at parties with my in-laws that I realized there was a grilling world for me! Since then I have craved veggie hot dogs from time to time. Not that they tasted super great, but the smoke and sauerkraut made them delicious. I love sauerkraut and found myself pining for a veggie dog last week. The local grocery stores in my town have stopped carrying my preferred brand of dog and the rest are inedible or very expensive. I came across Vegan Dad's blog and about died when I saw the recipes. After being on a very strict diet for a weight loss competition the last 12 weeks, I'm ready to again delve into my passion for veggie cookin'. 

Vegan Dad got this recipe from Isa Moskowitz. I did borrow her book "Vegan with a Vengeance" from the library and I have a document of the recipes I want to try, floating somewhere in my files. After trying this amazing recipe, I am devoted to Isa! She is a vegan goddess.

Now, this is not a tradition hot dog, but is a sausage. It makes it taste that much better to me!

I couldn't believe how simple this recipe was. Some mashing, crushing, stirring, folding into foil, then steaming. No baking! No crusted pans! No kneading! And the taste is amazing! I can't wait to try it out on the grill.

It is time for the homemade sausage recipe.........here.

I am now going to savor my last few bites.

*Disclaimer: I have never before eaten a real sausage. It is my belief that most sane people will like this as much as I do! If you do not like a lot of spice, reduce the red pepper flakes.

Lentil Zucchini Mushroom Soup

I threw this together the other day when I made split pea soup for my husband.  He loves plain split peas, water and salt.  That's it.  The kids don't like it, so I took my chance to make a soup that James wouldn't like but I would!

I don't measure much when cooking, so this is more of a loose guide to a soup rather than a recipe.

Put 2 or 3 tsps olive oil into a large pot.

Sauteed one diced onion and 3 med garlic cloves.

Add 3 small zucchini, diced. Could use more.

Throw in 4 large mushrooms, sliced (more--like 12--would be even better!)

Rinse 1- 2 cups french lentils, add to pot.  I love these kind, the green lentils.  They don't have them in the regular grocery store.  You can use any kind in this soup, but the green ones hold their shape and don't disintegrate like the brown do.

Add a bunch of water or broth.  (I threw in a veggie bouillon cube)

Let boil for a while until the lentils are getting soft, then throw in two cans diced tomatoes. 

When it's close to being done, salt and pepper if desired.  By waiting to salt a dish towards the end you use less since it all doesn't get absorbed deep into the veggies.

Then, I added frozen corn to each bowl of soup to cool it down.  It was SO GOOD with the corn just thawed, I highly recommend the flavor of the fresh corn with the rest of the soup instead of just cooking it all together.

That's it!  It made a huge stockpot full.  Vary the veggie amounts to what you prefer.

Edited to add:  I think I added some oregano, basil and thyme to this.  Thyme is good with lentils!  Add whatever herbs you like that sound tasty.  

"Ronis" - A Nut-Based Cream Sauce

Call it vegan, call it plant-based, call it healthy! Whatever you call it, this recipe is really yummy.
It has been in our family for years and adapted from a recipe my mom found. It was lovingly called "Ronis" when my brother was little and this was his way of saying "macaroni".

Ronis

• 12-16oz of prepared pasta or spaghetti squash
• 3 cups water
• 3/4 cup raw cashews (Update! I have use whole raw almonds to replace all or part of these. Amazing! For best results soak them for an hour, or at least 5 min in hot water.)
• 1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
• 1/3 cup nutritional yeast flakes
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• dash of garlic powder
• 1/4 cup real lemon juice -many times I up this to 1/3 to make it even tastier!
• 2 teaspoons salt
• black pepper to taste

Prepare your pasta or spaghetti squash.
In a blender, combine the water and nuts, blend until smooth. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend.

You have a few options at this point.

• You can put the noodles and sauce in a baking dish, cover with bread crumbs (opt. butter) and bake until thickened and bubbly.
• You can combine the sauce and pasta in a pot on the stove top and heat until the sauce thickens a little. It will thicken when cooled even more.
• Or you can put the sauce in a saucepan and heat it on the stove top to a simmer, until it is thickened. Then serve it over your pasta or squash.

We love this recipe and many guest have as well. I hope you will too!

Vegetarian Sushi

I know many people don't like sushi, just because they think it's just raw fish. For you people, you might like vegetarian sushi! I just love it. Now, you can go to a store or Japanese restaurant and pick up a box for $5...or...you can go to your local Asian market and get all the ingredients and make it yourself! I try to only use whole grains in my diet, but I admit, most Chinese food tastes better with white rice. I did hear that you can use short grain brown rice for sushi, so I gave it a try. Boy, it is delicious! I think it adds great flavor.
It helps to have a bamboo mat and paddle. I bought a set through my co-op for $3. The paddle helps a lot because the rice won't stick to it as much as your hands.
I bought 40 sheets of toasted nori for 5.99, wasabi for about $2, pickled ginger for 3.49, a bunch of black sesame seeds for maybe around $5, and I already have soy sauce on hand at all times. That's it! You would pay $200+ to buy 40 boxes of sushi and now I can make my own!
You just lay the nori sheet down, spread rice over it and press it down. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, add fillings, roll up, and voila! You are done.
In this picture, I used red bell pepper, avocado, and yellow carrots for my filling. Top some with pickled ginger, mix some wasabi and soy sauce together, and enjoy!

Gluten (Seitan) Roast

We have many different varities of gluten roasts in my family. We use this as a main dish for Thanksgiving. This is my favorite recipe!

Gluten Roast

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

gluten:
3 cups vital wheat gluten
3 cups warm vegetarian chicken broth (can use water)

Mix together in large bowl until just combined. Add seasoning.

seasoning:
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 tablespoons tahini
1 1/2 tablespoons paprika

Mix seasoning and stretch gluten to get seasoning into every part of the gluten. Use your hands and rub seasoning on gluten. Place in a lightly greased baking dish. Pop in oven for about 50 minutes to an hour, until middle is cooked and not rubbery raw. You may want to take roast out half way, cut it in quarters, and flip it for the rest of the baking time. I use a stoneware baking dish, so it's not needed with that.
After gluten roast is done and has cooled for a few minutes, you may want to slice on a diagonal to serve. Serve with mashed potatoes, gravy, and vegetables.