Vegan Ranch Dressing

Tastes like the real thing!  So easy, and healthy for you too!   

1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk
    1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise (I use Vegenaise)
    1 teaspoon onion powder
    1 teaspoon garlic powder
    2-3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
    1 tablespoon dried or fresh parsley, finely chopped
    salt and pepper, to taste

Mix it all up in a blender, food processor or just put all ingredients in a jar or bottle and shake.

Magnificent Zucchini

I found this recipe in The Ultimate Vegetarian Cookbook, by Roz Denny.

I was surprised this week when my wife, along with our oldest daughter, came in bearing unexpected fruits from what I thought was our dormant garden.  Living in the Mojave desert, the summertime sun is just B-R-U-T-A-L.  We stopped getting any yields from our garden a month or so ago.  But rather than tear it all up, I decided to leave the plants in there, and to continue to water them, partly just to see what would happen, and partly due to sheer laziness.  It's too stinking hot out there to do any real work!

Anyway, in comes this zucchini squash the size of my forearm.  (I'm 6ft tall and weigh 200 lbs., down from 216 at the beginning of this year, BTW)  I had no idea the plants would produce in such heat, but there you have it!  The only thing I ever really knew to do with zucchini was to saute it or shred it into a quick bread.  This recipe looked very inviting.  And, WOW was it yummy!

3 cups cooked pasta shells or elbows
a 3-4 lb zucchini
1 onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, seeded and chopped (I used a red one)
1 TBS fresh, grated ginger root (I have no idea how to grate it, so I minced it)
2 garlic cloves, crushed ( I used 4 and minced them)
3 TBS sunflower oil (I didn't have any, I used olive oil)
salt and black pepper to taste
1/2 cup pine nuts
cheese, grated to serve (We're on a plant based diet, so I used nutritional yeast for that cheesy flavor)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. cook the pasta according to package instructions, drain and set aside.
2. Cut the zucchini in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds.  These can be discarded.  Use a small sharp knife and spoon to scoop out the zucchini flesh.  Chop the flesh roughly.
3. Fry the onion, pepper, garlic and ginger in the oil for 5 minutes, then add the zucchini flesh, tomatoes and seasoning.  Cover and cook for 10 minutes.
4. Add to the pan the pasta, pine nuts and basil.  stir well and set aside.  (I used too small a pan, had to put it all in a giant mixing bowl.)
5. Meanwhile, place the zucchini halves in a roasting pan.  Add a small amount of water in order to create steam.  Drizzle with oil, add salt and a little bit of pepper.  Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 15 minutes.  I would suggest doing this at step 3, when everything else starts to cook. If timed correctly, the zucchini should come out of the oven right when you're done mixing all the other ingredients together.  Hey, it's a busy house.  If we can shorten the prep time for any of these dishes, it's a good thing.
6. When the zucchini is finished roasting, remove from oven, discard the water, and fill the shells with the vegetable/pasta mixture.  Re-cover with the foil and return to the oven for 25-30 minutes.
7. If you wish, you can serve this dish topped with grated cheese.  As mentioned above, we enjoy a plant-based diet.  As a substitute, I mixed into the vegetable mixture 2 TBS of nutritional yeast instead.  

Black Bean Burgers

Got this from Vibrant Life Magazine, who got it from The New York Times. 

The original recipe calls for 1 can of black beans.  My wife and I have discovered that making them yourself from SCRATCH is easy, and saves you loads of money.  Just get them in the bulk section at your local grocery store.  Put a couple cups of dry beans in a crock pot, add water, salt, and whatever other seasonings you want, turn it on, and walk away.  Check back every hour or so to stir or add water, if needed.  In a few hours you have beans.  How cool, healthy, and cheap, is that???

\
2 cups black beans.  cooked, drained.
1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes, seasoned any way you want, or not.
If you want, add a small can of green chilis, or a jalepeno or two.
1 garlic clove, minced or pressed OR 1 tablespoon of garlic powder
1 teaspoon of onion powder
2 green onions, chopped, greens and all
1 cup carrots, chopped
1 cup parsley OR cilantro
2 cups quick rolled oats (Quaker oats will do just fine)
8 whole grain buns
toppings of your choice

process the first 8 ingredients in a food processor.  Remove contents into a large bowl.  Stir in the oats.  Form into patties.

You can either bake at 450 degrees (f) for 8 minutes, then flip the patties and broil for another 2 minutes.

OR you can just saute' them on a skillet or in a pan, 5 minutes a side, until browned.

Place the patties on your toasted buns, add your favorite toppings and enjoy!

WARNING:  If your family is anything like mine, you might want to make a double batch!

Easy VEGAN French Toast Recipes

Vegan French Toast

This easy vegan French toast recipe uses bananas instead of eggs, giving it a sweet flavor. Use a thickly sliced whole grain bread.  Using soft, store bought, white bread will result in the French toast being too soggy inside.

Ingredients:

    * 2-3 ripe bananas
    * 3/4 cup soy milk
    * 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
    * 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (optional)
    * 1 teaspoon vanilla
    * bread
    * vegan margarine

Preparation:
Blend bananas, soy milk, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and vanilla in blender or food processor and pour mixture into pie plate or wide dish. Gently dip bread slices into the mix, coating both sides. Fry in vegan margarine in medium-hot skillet until golden brown. Serve with toppings of your choice.


Coconut Banana Vegan French Toast

A simple homemade french toast recipe, completely egg-free and suitable for vegans. This tropical-flavored French toast is made with coconut milk and bananas instead of eggs, so it's lower in fat and also cholesterol-free.

Ingredients:

    * 2 bananas
    * 1 cup coconut milk
    * 3/4 cups soy milk
    * 1/2 tsp sugar
    * 1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)
    * bread
    * oil or margarine for frying

Preparation:
Mash the bananas well and whisk together with the coconut milk, soy milk, sugar and cinnamon. Pour into a shallow pan or pie tin.

Dip both sides of the bread into the mixture, and cook in a lightly greased skillet over medium heat, cook until one side is golden brown.  Flip and cook that side til golden brown.  Serve immediately (In my house they get gobbled up as fast as I can make them!)  with toppings of your choice. 

Shrimp Tacos

OK, so I slip once in a while with the whole vegan and vegetarian thing.  Sue me.  The kids substituted beans instead of shrimp, so I guess you could do that.  But why, when you have the yummy shrimp?  (I know, I know...)

I found a recipe for shrimp tacos that was just heavenly.  I'll not bore you with the details on how to heat up corn tortillas, so let's just skip to the spice and sauce step, shall we?

First, thaw out 20-40 medium shrimp, shelled, de-veined and de-tailed.  Put them in a gallon sized ziplock bag along with:

1 clove minced garlic

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 TBS olive oil

Mix all that up, seal the bag and let it marinate while you heat up the grill/barbecue.

Cook the shrimp on the grill, I won't bore you with how to do that.

Meantime, whip up this sour cream, lime, cilantro sauce

1/4 cup of sour cream (I used soy based, vegan)

2 TBS chopped cilantro

1/4 tsp cumin

juice and some zest from 1 lime

salt to taste

Put the shrimp in the corn tortillas, add shredded cabbage (it works better than lettuce, it doesn't wilt) chopped tomatoes and drizzle on (pour it on, baby!) the sauce.

Yum!

Lentil Salad

An amazingly easy, delicious way to get all your protein in a low calorie, yummy salad.  Just cook up 1/2 cup each lentils and rice (cooked to instructions and fully cooled) to your favorite salad recipe.  Add some crispies like croutons, roasted pita bread chips, tortilla chips... Whatever the would go with the salad.  SIMPLE!

Vegan Mac and Cheese

3/4 lbs macaroni, cooked to package instructions

    "Cheese" Sauce:
    3/4 cups unsweetened nondairy milk (soy!)
    1/3 cups nutritional yeast
    1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
    1/2 cup water
     2 tsp soy sauce
    1/2 block (8 oz.)  tofu
    1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
    1/2 tablespoon paprika
    1/2 tablespoon salt
    1 dollop mustard, optional

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Boil water in a big pot and cook pasta according to package directions.

2. Add all of the "cheese" sauce ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. Once pasta is cooked, drain and put it in the baking pan (about the size of a brownie pan). Pour the "cheese" sauce over the pasta.

3. Bake until the top of the pasta looks slightly browned and crispy, about 15 minutes.