Recipes

Vegan Corned “Beef” and Cabbage: Happy St Patty’s Day!

This may not taste exactly like the real thing, but that’s okay. For those who really want to go green this St Patty’s Day—for the earth and the animals—it’s a fun alternative. It’s easy to make, too. Serve it with Beer Bread. Here are both recipes:

Vegan Corned Beef
1 pound seitan (I use Westsoy Vegetarian Stir-fry Strips)
2 tsp pickling spice
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp salt
1 cup water

¼ cup canola oil
½ large onion, cut into chunks
1 garlic clove, smashed and chopped
1 tsp horseradish
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 carrot, […]

By |2009-03-17T15:10:00-04:00March 17th, 2009|Tags: , , |4 Comments

World’s Best Peanut Butter Cookies—and Yes, They Are Vegan

I made these cookies for a fundraiser last night and, as always, was a little worried about the texture. It’s tricky to get vegan cookies to be tender, (and these are definitely crisp, not soft) but several people told me that they were the best peanut butter cookies they had ever tasted! (And one of them was my friend Phyllis, who is pretty much the most inspired baker in the history of the world.)

I used Adams brand peanut butter—the only PB I use for anything. It’s the closest thing to homemade, and it wasn’t involved in […]

By |2009-02-22T10:59:00-05:00February 22nd, 2009|Tags: |0 Comments

Great Vegan Bean Cuisine

The absolute best meal I’ve ever had was a platter of chickpeas and fresh tomato sauce; it had simmered all day on the open hearth of a restaurant in Sicily, and—along with a little pasta, escarole, and Chianti, of course—created a meal that could never be rivaled by even the most expensive cut of meat!

Other wonderful bean-based delicacies: garlic-infused Cuban black beans, spicy Indian lentil curry, or lemony chick pea hummus from the Middle East. Beans are world class cuisine!

I always keep a good supply of canned beans on hand for fast meals. But they […]

By |2009-02-20T10:50:00-05:00February 20th, 2009|Tags: , |1 Comment

Vegan Cocktail Party: Fast and Fun!

I’m having friends over for a little cocktail party (well, really just wine and beer) and am enjoying the challenge of putting together a good menu. My friends are easy-going types, but they aren’t vegan (or even vegetarian) so I want to make sure everything is especially yummy. And I want it all to be finger food. And I don’t have time to do a whole lot of cooking, so it has to be easy with a mix of fast recipes and store-bought items.

Here is what I’ve decided to serve:

Phyllo Cups with Artichoke Filling. In the […]

By |2009-01-22T13:34:00-05:00January 22nd, 2009|Tags: , |1 Comment

Favorite Vegan Cookbooks: They’re Like Old Friends!

I don’t know whether it’s the cold northwest climate or the chilly economic climate, but I’ve been hunkering down in the kitchen and cooking up a storm lately. My husband is ecstatic. Every time he walks into the kitchen I’m pulling lasagna out of the oven or madly stir-frying a heap of Asian veggies.

I have around 100 cookbooks on my shelves and access to thousands of recipes on the internet so coming up with ideas isn’t a problem. Even so, I often find myself pulling out much-loved older cookbooks—the ones that are tried and true. Some of them […]

By |2009-01-13T13:53:00-05:00January 13th, 2009|Tags: , |0 Comments

A New Vegan Thanksgiving Feast

I loved my Thanksgiving menu from last year and am not especially eager to make too many changes. But it’s always fun to try something new, so I’m tweaking the menu a little bit. I have some reluctant omnivores coming this year so dinner had better be good!

We’re trying a new sweet potato recipe, made with coconut milk. And there will be three kinds of cranberries on the table (you can never have too many cranberry dishes!) I’m also going to try to create a veggie version of that wonderful green bean casserole with French onions, although I […]

By |2008-11-20T13:43:00-05:00November 20th, 2008|Tags: , , |0 Comments

Tapenade: Easy Vegan Gourmet Appetizer & More

My local animal welfare group gave a little wine and cheese reception this past weekend for a group of new members. Although most of the guests were not vegetarian, I wanted to have one nice vegan appetizer on hand. I chose this quick tapenade recipe below and served it with little slices of ciabatta bread. It was a hit; people were practically diving into the bowl! Fortunately, however, I had made a double batch so I’d have a good supply for myself at home.

Leftover tapenade has endless possibilities and here is what I did with mine.

  • Roasted […]
By |2008-11-03T11:56:00-05:00November 3rd, 2008|Tags: |1 Comment

Celebrate Summer With a Vegan Picnic

My friends Lynn and Steve came to visit for the 4th of July. We had a blast—went to the Fiddle Festival, watched the fireworks from the beach, and drank champagne at the local monthly art gallery event.

But I have to admit that cooking for them made me feel a little stressed. They are not just omnivores; they are foodie omnivores. I’m not always sympathetic to foodie-ism, but they were my guests and my beloved friends and I wanted us all to be happy, and comfortable and well-fed.

For the 4th, I decided on a down-home picnic on […]

By |2008-07-07T12:56:00-04:00July 7th, 2008|Tags: , |2 Comments

Vegan Soups: Fast and Easy

Like the television jingle says, soup is good food. It’s great for weight control because the high water content helps to fill you up with fewer calories. Research shows that starting a meal with soup is likely to help you eat less overall. And of course, all by itself, soup makes a very filling lunch or dinner.

You can make a big pot of soup over the weekend and have it ready in the fridge for fast healthful meals later in the week. It’s portable, too—great to carry to work in a thermos.

It’s wonderful to make old-fashioned […]

By |2008-04-28T11:10:00-04:00April 28th, 2008|Tags: |2 Comments

My Vegan Thanksgiving Feast

Thanksgiving dinner is my favorite meal of the year. I love stuffing and gravy, all those winter root veggies, and the coziness of a festive dinner served late on a dark November afternoon. I don’t miss turkey one bit; it was never my favorite part of the meal, anyway. I’m convinced that, as long as the Thanksgiving table holds lots of yummy traditional dishes, others don’t miss the bird that much either.

With the help of a couple of friends, I’m having Thanksgiving dinner at my house this year. We’ll be mostly vegetarians, a few vegans, and a […]

By |2007-11-18T10:12:00-05:00November 18th, 2007|Tags: , |1 Comment
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