Candy Cane Coffee Cakes

Every year my parents come over to my home for Christmas breakfast, and then for dinner we all potluck with extended family. I've decided to show you what we had for breakfast and what I brought for dinner and dessert. Following the photos, I'll have my recipe for my Candy Cane Coffee Cakes, my dessert contribution. I veganized a recipe several years ago from a newspaper clipping. They are labor intensive but worth the work and time. By the way, any glaze that happened to drip onto the platter, or even threatened to, was quickly scooped up by my three blessings!

For the breakfast we had:
Tofu Scramble with broccoli and red bell pepper
Waffles with boysenberry and homemade maple syrups
Fried Potatoes with red onions
Fruit Plate (courtesy of my mom)
Mixed nuts in their shells
Turkish Delights
Eight kinds of homemade Christmas cookies
Happy Birthday, Jesus, Cake
Coffee
Hot Apple Cider with cinnamon sticks
Hot cocoa

For dinner I brought:
Tropical Seitan Pasta Salad

For dessert I brought:
Candy Cane Coffee Cakes


Candy Cane Coffee Cakes


Christmas Breakfast

Tropical Seitan Pasta Salad (I will post this recipe at a later date.)

Candy Cane Coffee Cakes

Ingredients:

Filling:
1/2 cup vegan sugar
3 Tbs. water
1 tsp. cornstarch dissolved in 1 Tbs. water
2 cups fresh cranberries
1 tsp. dried grated orange peel

Bread:
5 to 6 cups flour
1/2 cup vegan sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
2 envelopes RapidRise yeast
2 tsp. salt
1 and 1/4 cup soy milk
1 Tbs. vinegar
3/4 cup vegan sour cream
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup vegan margarine
1 Tbs. egg replacer mixed with 4 Tbs. water
Pam

Glaze:
1 and 1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 and 1/2 Tbs. soy milk
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
maraschino cherries

Directions:

Make the filling first, so it has time to chill. In a medium pot, stir together the sugar and water over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved. And the dissolved cornstarch and stir. Add in the cranberries and cook until they begin to pop, about three minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the orange peel. Chill in refrigerator. For the dough, first mix together the soy milk and vinegar in a medium pot with no heat under it. Let it set until it thickens into a vegan buttermilk, about five minutes. While that is setting, in a large bowl combine with a whisk 1 and 1/2 cups of the flour, sugar, baking powder, yeast and salt. Set aside. Heat the pot with the vegan buttermilk on medium, and add in the sour cream, 1/2 cup water, and margarine until all is mixed in well and very warm. I touch the liquid with my fingertip, and if it's too hot, it's ready. Don't get it to the boiling point. Mix in the warm buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture on medium speed with an electric mixer for two minutes. Add the egg replacer mixture and another cup of flour and beat two more minutes on high speed. If your beaters start to overheat, turn it down to medium. The consistency of the dough will begin to change into a stretchy appearance. Using your hands or a large spoon, add enough of the remaining flour, a 1/2 cup or so at a time, to make a soft but not sticky dough. Turn it out onto a lightly floured board, sprinkle the top with a bit more flour and knead for ten minutes. Dust with additional flour as necessary, if it gets sticky while it is being kneaded. Cover with a dish towel for ten minutes. Take your filling mixture out of the refrigerator. Divide the dough into three equal parts, and roll each into an approximate 6x15 rectangle. Transfer each one to its own cookie sheet that's been sprayed with Pam. Spread 1/3 of the filling down the center of each rectangle. With a sharp knife, make cuts from the filling to the edge on both sides about one inch apart all the way from top to bottom. Now, fold each of these strips over the center at a downward angle, starting at the top, alternating back and forth, all the way to the bottom. Shape each rectangle into a candy cane. Cover with dish towels and let rise for 45 more minutes. Heat oven to 375 degrees and bake each coffee cake for 20 minutes. Cool completely on cake racks. When cool, mix together the first three ingredients for the glaze, and drizzle on the coffee cakes, following the pattern down the center. Where each pair of strips meets in the center, nestle in a maraschino cherry. Lots of work, but it makes three - one to eat, one to give away, and one to freeze. Feeds more than five hungry vegans.

Cheesy Hot Dog Roll-Ups

This is an easy, yummy dinner that doesn't take much time to make. It makes a lot, so if you want to make less, simply adjust the ingredients. We eat them uncut, but the picture shows what they look like inside. Hope you like them!

Cheesy Hot Dog Roll-Ups

Ingredients:

16 vegan hot dogs
Water
Pam spray
2 pkgs. Pillsbury Pizza Crusts
2 cups of finely shredded vegan cheese (We used Vegan Gourmet, cheddar style.)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Boil several cups of water in a medium pot. Once the water boils, turn off the heat and put in the hot dogs for two minutes. Drain and set the hot dogs aside. Spray cookie sheets with Pam spray. Spread out each of the crusts as much as you can on each of the cookie sheets. Sprinkle the cheese over the crusts. Cut the crusts in half lengthwise, then cut each strip into four squares. You should have a total of sixteen squares. Lay a hot dog on a square and roll up the dough around it. Pinch it shut along the side. Bake one tray at a time for seventeen minutes. If you can bake both at the same time and have them cook evenly, then do that, but I need to bake them separately. Child-friendly! Feeds five hungry vegans.

Scrambled Tofu

Scrambled Tofu is a classic vegan dish that I love to make. I've learned that everyone has their own favorite way of making it, so let me show you one of the ways I like mine. We enjoy ours for breakfast and dinner. The photo below shows our breakfast version served with sourdough toast. And, I think I'm also getting pretty good at capturing steam in my photos.



Scrambled Tofu

Ingredients:

1 Tbs. canola oil
2 pkgs. extra-firm tofu, drained
1 Tbs. turmeric
2 cups of your favorite veggies - we used:
1 yellow onion, halved and halved again lengthwise and sliced
1 cup of broccoli florets, sliced small
1 carrot, grated
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. onion powder
(I also use garlic powder when I have it on hand)
1 tomato, diced

Directions:

Heat oil in a large pan on medium high heat. When ready, break the tofu into 4 large chunks, each, and put in pan. Mash up with a potato masher. Cook tofu until water, if any, is gone, and the tofu begins to brown, while stirring occasionally, about five to ten minutes or so. Turn the heat down to medium, and shake the turmeric over the tofu until there is a good sprinkling, maybe a tablespoon's worth. Stir thoroughly. Add everything else but the tomato, and continue cooking for about five to seven more minutes, until veggies just begin to get tender. Add the tomato, stir and cook until heated through, just a minute or more. I love this with Sriracha hot sauce drizzled on top. Serves five hungry vegans.

Chunky Miso Soup

This is one of my favorite soups; I serve this a few times a year. I actually got the start for this off a miso container lid. It was a miso soup recipe that I had never seen before. Anyway, over the years I've tweaked it just enough to make it mine. I really like this photo, too. See the steam still rising from the bowl? I have to put this away right after dinner, or else I'll literally be eating it all night long until bedtime. Hope you like it as much as I do.

Chunky Miso Soup

Ingredients:

2 Tbs. canola oil
1 yellow onion, sliced
1 small cauliflower, florets sliced
2 large carrots, grated
1/2 head of cabbage, sectioned and sliced thinly
4 cans of vegetable broth
4 cups of water
1 package extra firm tofu, drained and diced very small
1/3 cup of peanut butter (or your favorite nut butter)
1/4 cup miso

Directions:

In a large pot, heat the oil on medium heat. Add the vegetables and cook until just tender, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the remaining ingredients and keep cooking for about another 20 minutes, until the peanut butter and miso have dissolved and been mixed in. A note on the peanut butter: it can be smooth or crunchy - I prefer the crunchy because I love to crunch the bits of peanut. Also, you can use cashew or almond butter, as well. They all work deliciously in this soup. Feeds five hungry vegans.

Brothy Beans with Sausages

Tonight's dinner is a hearty, warm dish to serve on a cold December night. It's just got a few ingredients and is spiced very simply. One note on this: when I tried to take a picture of the dish, my husband chimed in that he thought the picture made the food look unappetizing. Well, actually, he didn't say it quite so nicely. He suggested I add some color, like a red or green bell pepper set on the side of the plate. Knowing that I didn't have a bell pepper of any color in the dish, I thought about it, and said I was going to put an onion next to it. He didn't think it was up to par, but I like it. So, tell me - how do you handle photographing a dish that may taste great but doesn't look good on camera? By the way, I love brown (note my blog's background and my outfit in my pic), and I think this dish looks and tastes delicious!

Brothy Beans with Sausages

Ingredients:

1 pound dried pinto beans, sorted through for grit
1 32oz. box of vegetable broth
4 cups of water, and more if needed
1 Tbs. of canola oil
2 packages of Smart Links (vegan sausages)
1 yellow onion, sliced
1 pound mushrooms, washed, ends trimmed and sliced
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Directions:

Soak the beans overnight in water or for several hours in the morning. Drain and rinse. Put in large pot with broth and the four cups of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook for one hour. Reduce heat to medium low and cook for another hour. Make sure there is just enough water to cover beans, adding water if you need to. After the second hour, keep cooking the beans, but in a separate pan, heat the oil on medium heat. Slice the sausage links into thirds on the diagonal and add to the pan with the onions. Cook for five minutes, then add the mushrooms. Cook for another fifteen minutes, stirring occasionally. Add to the large pot of beans with the salt and pepper. Cook for another ten minutes to blend the flavors. This is best the first day as the sausages tend to get a little mushy after that, so eat as much as you want! Feeds five hungry vegans.

Macaroni Salad

This is a very simple, child-friendly dish. It takes just a few moments to make, and children will eat it up. My three blessings seem to like less rather than more ingredients in any given dish. The more things I add, the more I risk them not liking it. So, this has been received well.

Macaroni Salad

Ingredients:

1 pound of small elbow noodles
2 large carrots, trimmed and diced small
4 celery stalks, trimmed and diced small
1 cup of Veganaise
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Directions:

Cook noodles according to package directions. While the pasta is boiling, chop the carrots and celery. Drain the pasta and pour back into the pot. Add the carrots, celery, veganaise, salt and pepper. Stir thoroughly and pour into a serving bowl. Chill for at least two hours. Stir before serving. That's it! Serves at least five hungry vegans.

Tofu Nachos

Tonight's dinner is a big, goopy, sloppy, messy, high-calorie, kid-friendly pig-out. I make no apologies for the shortcuts or fat content of this meal. Every once in a while, I make my family a big platter of nachos, and we sit around the ottoman on the living room floor and eat together while we watch a favorite family movie. Tonight, we're back from soccer tournaments, and we watched "Bibleman vs. The Cheater" - oooh, watch out! Also, an entry on my nachos would not be complete without one of my family's favorite food stories. About a year and a half ago, before I really mastered how to melt vegan cheese, I made a platter of nachos. I turned on the broiler and put the platter on the top rack. In a few moments, smoke was billowing out of the oven, and my girls were shouting, "The nachos are on fire!" Thinking they were exaggerating, I opened the oven door and real, live flames came bursting out! Completely surprised, I hollered for my husband who came into the kitchen staring at flames licking out of the oven. He quickly pulled out the dish, set it on the stove and put a large lid on it to smother the flames. When we took off the lid, everything was burned, the chips were completely black, but our "meltable" cheese was wholly unchanged. The orange-colored shavings just leered back at us, challenging us to try and melt them in any dish of our choosing. Since then, I have learned to conquer this valiant opponent, and once again, I will share my way with you. Also, if you notice in the picture that the back of the nachos looks different from the front, that's because one of my daughters doesn't like cheese, tomatoes or chunky salsa. Soon, I will learn my lesson and create a kids' platter and an adults' platter where I can really spice it up. (For my gluten-free friends, this is a treat you can enjoy, as well.)

Tofu Nachos

Ingredients:

1 Tbs. canola oil
1 package extra firm tofu, drained
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1 30oz. can vegetarian refried beans
Corn tortilla chips: 5 handfuls, 3 handfuls, 1 small handful, 1 large bowl-ful
1 and 1/2 cups Vegan Gourmet cheese, cheddar style, finely grated
1 can olives, drained and sliced in thirds
1 tomato, diced
1 package Tofutti Better than Sour Cream
1 package guacamole
1 cup of your favorite salsa (we used Herdez, medium)
Sliced peperoncini - the amount is your choice (we used Mezzetta brand)

Directions:

Make sure your oven rack is set from the second position from the top, and turn the broiler on. Heat the oil on medium-high heat in a non-stick pan. When hot, add the tofu and mash with a potato masher into pretty small chunks. Cook the tofu until it begins to brown, stirring frequently, about five minutes. Turn the heat down to medium and add the onion powder, ground cumin and garlic salt. Stir well, and continue cooking for another five minutes; then turn it off. In a small saucepan heat the refried beans. In a large platter, take the five handfuls of chips and cover the bottom. Add the beans then the tofu on top. Sprinkle the cheese over this. Broil for four minutes to melt the cheese. Take out of the oven and add the olives, tomato, vegan sour cream, guacamole and salsa. Sprinkle the peppers over all. Take the three handfuls of chips and line the outer edge of the platter with them. Take the small handful of chips and garnish the center of the nachos with them. Take the spare bowl of chips and the platter of nachos and dig in. We start with the outer chips and the garnishment then work our way down to the soggy delight beneath. The chips in the bowl are to assist you with your digging efforts. Feeds five hungry vegans. Enjoy!

Lasagna with Soy

This is a delicious child-friendly lasagna! I've used some shortcuts to save money and time, but feel free to do everything from scratch, if you desire. The olives I bought whole and sliced myself to save money, and the sauce is store-bought to save time since making lasagna is time-consuming enough. The brand I chose does not have corn syrup. (My husband is hypoglycemic, so we need to watch that closely. Now, our whole family does not eat or drink anything with corn syrup for health reasons.) I made it on Saturday night, and my two older blessings have been eating up the leftovers for breakfast and lunch ever since!

This is a picture of the whole lasagna.

This is a picture of a square of the lasagna. Notice all the goodies inside.

Lasagna with Soy

Ingredients:

1 box of lasagna noodles
1 tsp. canola oil
1 package of SmartGround, original style
2 - 12 oz. boxes of silken firm tofu
2 Tbs. chopped fresh parsley (we used flat style from our garden)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 bunch spinach
1 can of whole olives
2 jars of Classico Fire Roasted Tomato spaghetti sauce
1 cup of Vegan Gourmet cheese, cheddar style, grated finely

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and put your top rack into the second position from the top. Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cold water until you can handle them with your hands. While the water for the noodles is heating to boil, prepare the rest of the lasagna fixings. Heat the oil in a small saucepan and add the SmartGround when ready. Cook until it browns, then set aside. In a medium bowl, mash the tofu with a fork and stir in the parsley, salt, pepper, onion powder and oregano. Set aside. Wash the spinach thoroughly and tear the leaves into bite size pieces. Discard stems (or put them in your compost like us). Drain and slice the olives into thirds. In a 9x12 baking pan, pour 1/2 cup of the sauce on the bottom and spread around. You are now going to make three identical layers with the noodles and other ingredients. Start off with three rows of noodles to cover the sauce. If you are using a more narrow noodle, you will have to adjust the rest of the amounts accordingly. Spread 2 Tbs. of soy on each noodle, followed by three Tbs. of the tofu mixture on each noodle. Layer a blanket of the torn spinach leaves on the tofu, followed by a 1/4 cup of the olives spread over the spinach. Pour one cup of sauce on top of that. Follow with two more layers exactly like this one. On top of the third layer, add one more layer of noodles. Cover this with 1 and 1/2 cups of sauce, making sure all the noodles are covered (or else you'll get dried out noodles). Sprinkle with 1 cup of cheese and top with the rest of the olives. (You will have leftover sauce and noodles for another meal.) Bake for 40 minutes, then turn on the broiler for five more minutes to melt the cheese. Let set for five minutes or so before cutting. Feeds at least five hungry vegans. Enjoy!

Savory Bulgur Dressing

Tonight, I thought I'd show our menu and pics of our Thanksgiving dinner and feature the recipe of our Savory Bulgur Dressing. This was actually a recipe of my father's that I've tweaked over the years to make it mine. When my oldest daughter (now 12 years old) was a toddler, we decided to have Thanksgiving at our home and have one holiday where our child could eat whatever was on the table. The last few years, I've let each family member pick a dish that they would like to have on the table; sometimes it's been traditional, sometimes not. So this year's menu is:
Tofurky Feast (picked by my 9 year old daughter)
Potato Salad (picked by my 12 y.o. daughter-we almost always have this!)
Savory Bulgur Dressing (picked by me)
Cranberry Sauce (picked by 12 y.o.-she likes whole berry, but I also got jellied)
Black-eyed Peas (picked by my husband, who also prepared them)
Fried Cabbage (picked by my husband)
Strawberry Tart (picked by me)
Pumpkin Pie (picked by me)
My three year old son went along for the ride. I realized later that he didn't pick something, but next year I'll make sure he does. A note on the cabbage: my Arkansas-bred husband likes fried cabbage to slide down his throat. He thinks chewing it is over-rated and unnecessary, and to get this way, it has to be an unnatural brown. So, I was happy to still have recognizably green cabbage hit the table this year. Anyway, on with the pics and recipe. Hope you like it!

This is a picture of the Savory Bulgur Dressing.

This is a picture of our Thanksgiving table. The green cabbage is in the front right corner of the table. The object in the back right corner is a scarecrow we made last month. You can make out the legs of my nine-year old daughter in the back left corner.
These are our Thanksgiving desserts. The little white pumpkin is my nine-year old's pet pumpkin, Pumple, and she was very happy that Pumple was going to be famous by having its picture in my blog.

Savory Bulgur Dressing:
Ingredients:

1 Tbs. canola oil
1 large onion, diced
1 bunch of celery, sliced small
1 pound of white button mushrooms, coarsely chopped
1 cup of parsley leaves, chopped (we used flat parsley from our garden)
1 can of black olives, drained
2 cups of bulgur
2 and 1/2 cups of vegetable broth
1 tsp. of salt
1/4 tsp. of pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Heat the oil on medium heat in a large non-stick pan that has a lid. Saute' the onion and celery until tender, about ten minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook for five more minutes. Add the parsley and olives and stir. Add the bulgur right to the pan and the broth, with the salt and pepper, and stir thoroughly. Put on the lid and place in the oven. Bake for one hour. Feeds a whole bunch of hungry vegans!

Potato Haystacks

This is another incredibly easy recipe to make. All you basically need are potatoes and a little oil. However, before I give the directions, I need to make a few notes about it. The amount of oil is really up to your taste. My husband likes to joke that since he was raised in Arkansas, his mother liked to make deep fried lard. So, his tolerance of oil is extremely high. Most people don't salivate at the sheer thought of their dinner being soaked in oil, but he does. Anyhow, I recommend starting off with the amount of oil I list and then add more if you so choose. I would also use a non-stick griddle to help limit the need for oil. I list suggested time amounts for cooking, but those can be adjusted as well, depending on how hot your burners get over several minutes. For some reason, one of mine gets consistently hotter even though I don't adjust the heat upwards. So, to prevent burning, I lower the heat slightly and adjust the cooking time. I also use two griddles to speed up the cooking process and a food processor to speed up the grating time. If you find your potatoes are not sticking together, either add more oil or cook longer on the side that needs to stick together. We enjoy these with breakfast, but you can eat them whenever it pleases you. With that, here goes.



Potato Haystacks

Ingredients:

3 large baking-style russet potatoes
Canola Oil
Ketchup (optional)
Salt and Pepper (optional)

Directions:

Wash, then grate or shred the potatoes with their skin on either with a hand grater or in a food processor. Put the potato strands in a colander and rinse thoroughly under cold water, and drain. Heat two tablespoons of oil in a skillet over medium heat. When hot add a small handful of the potato to the oil. You want as much entanglement as possible, so don't try to straighten out the strands. You should end up with a pile about the size of a medium pancake. Fit four or so on your griddle and heat for 10 minutes. Don't move them while they are cooking. Take a pancake spatula and carefully flip over each pile. Cook on this side for about eight minutes, checking for browning. It is okay when you first flip if there are loose strands on top, for they haven't been cooking as much as the bottom. You do want the bottom to be sticking together, though. Add a teaspoon more oil and cook a little longer, if the potatoes aren't sticking together. As you continue cooking your haystacks, adjust time and temperature, if you are seeing them begin to burn. Add the two tablespoons of oil to the griddle for each batch of four haystacks you cook. Enjoy with ketchup and salt and pepper, if you wish. Feeds at least five hungry vegans. Kid friendly!

Apple Streusel Coffee Cake

This is a delicious, moist coffee cake that I recommend you make the day before to give it time to rest. The liquid used is orange juice, which gives it a light, citrusy flavor. I've put in a substantial amount of cinnamon for my husband's taste buds. The streusel comes out thick and sweet,with the edges slightly chewy-hard...yummy. We eat this for breakfast, but you can enjoy this as a dessert, if you wish.



Apple Streusel Coffee Cake
Ingredients:

Streusel:
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup peeled, chopped apples
1 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
5 Tbs. melted vegan margarine

Cake:
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 softened vegan margarine
1/2 cup vegan sugar
1 and 1/2 Tbs. Ener-G Egg Replacer
6 Tbs. water
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup orange juice

Glaze:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbs. orange juice

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray the inside of a tube cake pan, like Bundt, including the tube, with a non-stick cooking spray. In a medium bowl, combine all the streusel ingredients, except for the melted margarine. Mix well and add the margarine, stirring until well coated. Set bowl aside. In a second medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and baking soda; mix well. In a large bowl, using an electric blender, blend softened margarine and sugar. Add the egg replacer, water and vanilla and continue blending until well mixed. Alternately blend in the flour mixture and the orange juice into the sugar mixture, taking a couple of turns with each. Spoon half of the batter into the cake pan, and top with half of the streusel. Spoon the rest of the cake batter on top of the streusel, leaving the remaining streusel in its bowl. Bake the cake for 15 minutes. Take out of the oven and top with the remaining streusel. Bake for 35 minutes, so an inserted toothpick comes out clean (sticking it through the batter, not the top layer of streusel). Cool completely on a wire rack. When cool, take a butter knife and gently run it around the edge of the cake, including the tube, to loosen any stuck streusel. Put a large plate over the top of the pan and invert cake - it is now upside down. Take your serving platter and place on cake, and flip once again. Your cake is now right side up. Mix together glaze ingredients and drizzle over the top of the cake in a zigzag pattern. If you are eating the cake right away, let it set for at least ten minutes to let the glaze slightly harden. Feeds at least five hungry vegans. So good!

Pigs 'n Blankets

I wasn't sure what to name these lovelies. They could have been Piggie-free Pigs 'n Blankets or No Oinks Here, but I stuck with the simpler version. These are very easy to make and definitely kid-friendly. My littlest blessing preferred the broccoli over everything else, though. Hope everyone in your home likes these, too!



Vegan Pigs 'n Blankets
Ingredients:
2 - 3 pkgs. vegan hot dogs (totaling at least 15 hot dogs, depending on the brand)
2 pkgs. refrigerated Pillsbury Crescent Rolls

Directions:
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Bring a medium pot of water to boiling. After it boils, turn off the heat, and add the hot dogs. Let sit for two minutes, then drain. Separate the rolls into their triangles, and roll individual hot dogs up into the rolls. Bake for 13 minutes. Easy as that. Serve with mustard, steamed veggies and fresh fruit. Makes 16 pieces to serve at least five hungry vegans.

Breakfast Burrito

This yummy burrito is normally served at breakfast, but you can serve it for the occasional dinner. I've taken a typical fast food breakfast and made it animal-friendly. Hope you like it!










Breakfast Burrito

Ingredients:

Burrito-sized flour tortillas
Two 12 oz. pkgs. extra-firm regular tofu
1 tsp. Garlic Powder
2 tsp. Tumeric
Salt and Pepper to taste
Canola Oil
One 30 oz. can of vegetarian refried beans
Two pkgs. of your favorite vegan "bacon" (We used SmartBacon by LightLife.)
Your favorite salsa (We used Herdez, medium.)

Directions:
In a medium pan, heat one tablespoon of oil on medium high heat. Drain water from tofu and break up into big chunks into pan. Take potato masher or fork and mash it up, stir occasionally. When tofu begins to firm after a few minutes, add seasonings. When seasonings are well blended, turn heat down to medium to finish cooking. You don't want any water left in the pan from the tofu. In a flat skillet or griddle, heat very limited oil on medium heat. Lightly fry vegan bacon. If using SmartBacon, you might need to gently take the backside of a butter knife to loosen the pieces from each other. After a minute or less, flip the vegan bacon. Drain on paper towels. Heat beans in small pot on medium low heat to warmed through. Slightly to one side of the tortilla, spread a heaping tablespoon of beans, a couple of tablespoons of tofu, a tablespoon of salsa with a little salt and pepper if you wish, and one slice of vegan bacon. To roll the tortilla, fold over the side where the food is, fold up the bottom slightly, and finish rolling from the side. This should keep things from falling out, but keep a fork handy! Have some fruit and more vegan bacon on the side. Feeds at least five hungry vegans.

Sourdough Soy Pizza: My very first post!

Welcome! I'm glad you found me. Tonight, I made a meal that was a special request from my oldest blessing: Sourdough Soy Pizza. When I was a teenager, I loved the Stouffer's frozen pizzas on sourdough bread, so last year I decided to veganize it. I really don't know what took me so long.

Sourdough Soy Pizza

Ingredients:

1 large loaf of extra sourdough bread (I used Colombo)
Your favorite pizza sauce, either homemade or store-bought (I used Cento)
Your favorite pizza toppings --
We used: VeganGourmet Cheese, Mozzarella Style
Fresh button mushrooms, sliced
Canned whole olives that I sliced
Marinated artichoke hearts
Gimme Lean Sausage Style, cubed and fried lightly

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and position rack second from top. Slice loaf into four equal sections and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Spread the amount of sauce you want on your pizza. I let my children top their own to their liking. Add vegan cheese, if you are using. Add the rest of your toppings. Bake for ten minutes to begin heating and combining the ingredients. Turn on the top broiler and carefully broil for three to five minutes to melt the vegan cheese, if using. Remove any of the pizzas that do not have cheese on them at this time. Careful not to burn your bread. For garnish, I used a fresh sprig of parsley from our garden. Feeds five hungry vegans, with me sharing with my youngest blessing.