Graham Cracker Bar

I made a graham cracker bar for dessert for my family, and they all loved it!  G said it wasn't mustache-friendly, but that didn't stop him from chowing down.  I made this once before, but it was a few years ago.  The response was so positive, we'll have to do this again sooner rather than later.  You can look for Nabisco Original graham crackers for a vegan choice, or my store (Raley's) has their own chocolate graham, which is vegan.  Either way, everyone got to top their crackers just the way they wanted them, and it was fun to boot!

 Graham Cracker Bar:  Chocolate graham crackers (Raley's brand), homemade chocolate and vanilla frostings, vegan chocolate chips, two type of sugar crystals and white sprinkles, shredded sweetened coconut, bananas and strawberries.  The crackers had corn syrup, and the pink sugar crystals had coloring; other than that everything else was natural and free of colors and artificial flavors.

Here are my two crackers and my quota of sweetness for a month!  On the left, a cracker is smothered with chocolate frosting and has bananas and strawberries and white sprinkles.  On the right, a cracker is smothered with vanilla frosting and has coconut, chocolate chips and more white sprinkles.  Flossing is a must to get rid of those sugar bugs!

Graham Cracker Bar

Ingredients:

Vegan Graham Crackers
Various toppings - We used: 
Homemade chocolate frosting
Homemade vanilla frosting
Vegan chocolate chips
Pink sugar crystals
Blue sugar crystals
White non-pareil sprinkles
Shredded, sweetened coconut
Chopped bananas
Chopped strawberries

Directions:

Lay everything out in a fun, accessible way.  Grab a cracker, and get going!  Feeds five hungry vegans in this house!  Yum.

Snowy Bananas and Strawberries

Here is a very simple salad to welcome those warmer days, and one in which we can also reap the sweet harvest of strawberries already at our Farmer's Markets.  Enjoy!

Snowy Bananas and Strawberries

Ingredients:

3 bananas, sliced into rings
3 cups of coarsely chopped, fresh strawberries
1 cup of shredded, sweetened coconut

Directions:

Toss all the ingredients together right before serving.  Enjoy right away.  Feeds five hungry vegans.  So satisfying!

Raw Sweet Potato, Beet and Coconut Salad

Do you ever nibble on vegetables that you've only experienced in cooked form - roots or otherwise - to see how they taste?  I've been doing that more and more the last year or so, and I've discovered some wonders!  Raw sweet potato and beets are very good!  I've known this for a few months but didn't know what to do with that information, until I thought of pairing them together.  Adding some sweetened coconut adds just the right amount of sweetness to make this a delicious salad with no dressing at all.  I grated them to make it easier to chew and to be more appealing to my Blessings.  Also, with the coconut, it makes for a nice, uniform appearance.  I knew my girls would eat it because it was dinner, but the big test would be JK.  I put some on a spoon, and he gingerly stuck his top lip out to take the minutest taste.  Then he came back for more and more.  I served him some with dinner, and he ate it all up.  Everyone was surprised that they liked this (except for me: I knew I would), and this will definitely stay on my list of salads to make.

Raw Sweet Potato, Beet and Coconut Salad

Ingredients:

2 cups grated sweet potato (approximately one medium sweet potato)
2 cups grated beet (about two medium ones or one large one)
2 cups sweetened shredded coconut, packed

Directions:

Make sure you trim the ends and peel the sweet potato and beet before grating.  I used my grater blade in the food processor; it made for a quick job.  Rinse the sweet potato shreds in a colander to get rid of any starch that might brown them.  Rinse the beet shreds in a colander to get rid of any loose juice, so the whole salad doesn't turn beet color.  You won't be able to get rid of all the beet juice, but you want to be able to enjoy this colorful salad's beauty.  Add the sweet potato shreds, the beet shreds and the coconut in a large bowl and stir.  Can chill or serve right away.  Feeds five hungry vegans.

Fresh Summer Fruit Salad

We make a lot of fruit salads, and the summer seems to offer such a wonderful variety of natural sugary goodness.  This is an example of one of the salads I made a few weeks back, when the fruit was still at its most flavorful.  I added a bit of coconut and raisins for some extra variety.  I served this with some of my homemade rolls .  It makes for a nice lunch or a light dinner. 

Fresh Summer Fruit Salad

Ingredients:

1/4 of a large watermelon, approximately four cups, chopped
1 cantaloupe, seeded, cut away from rind and chopped
2 mangoes, diced   * See tip below on how to prepare a mango
2 bananas, sliced
1 nectarine, chopped
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1 small snack box of raisins, approximately 1/4 cup

Directions:

Put all ingredients in a large bowl.  Gently toss together and serve immediately.  Feeds five hungry vegans.

* There are two ways that I have found the easiest to get at the succulent mango.  One is to peel the ripe fruit with a paring knife.  Once you get the peel going, it is easy to just grasp ahold with your fingers and pull it off the fruit.  Once the fruit is peeled, you can take a larger knife and slice the two wide halves of the mango away from the fibrous pit inside.  Then you can go around the edges and slice away any large chunks of mango still attached to the pit.  Anything left over but too small to cut off, can munched on directly.  Just wash your hands afterwards.  The second way is to leave the peel on and slice away the wide halves like above.  With the fruit still in the detached peel, you take your knife and carve cubes into the mango.  Then, laying the peel flat, carefully slice under the mango cubes, releasing them from the peel.  For the remainder of the mango still attached to the pit, you may do the same or peel and cut away as in the first option.  One of these choices should appeal to you more than the other.  Either way, don't let the fact that you have to work a little harder deter you from getting at a fresh mango.  They are worth it!

Black Bean Mole' over Coconut Couscous

I cannot take the credit for the creativity of this dish.  I got this out of a newspaper clipping several years ago.  All I've done is veganize the toppings and bring out larger quantities of them, adjust some of the ingredients, give directions on how to toast the coconut, and make the directions in more my style, with slight changes.  But, my family, all of them (gasp!), loves this dish, and it's so fun and different, that I just had to share.

Black Bean Mole' over Coconut Couscous

Ingredients:

Couscous:
1 cup uncooked couscous
1/2 cup coconut
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Mole':
1 Tbs. olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 - 15 oz. cans of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 - 16 oz. jar of mild or medium salsa
1 and 1/2 tsp. unsweetened cocoa
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

Toppings:
1 pkg. Follow Your Heart Vegan Gourmet cheese, Monterey Jack style, finely shredded
1 container of vegan sour cream
6 green onions, sliced
2 tomatoes, diced - we used a combination of red and yellow tomatoes

Directions:

For the couscous: Prepare the couscous according to package directions.  Set aside in a covered pot.  While the couscous is being prepared, take a small pot and heat it over medium heat.  Add the coconut and cinnamon and stir.  Continue to stir until the coconut begins to brown, or toasts.  It should emit a nice fragrance, not a burned one.  Once toasted, stir into the couscous and recover.

For the mole': Heat oil in a medium pot over medium heat.  Add the garlic and cook for less than a minute, until it releases its wonderful aroma.  Do not over cook - garlic is quick to burn.  Add the rest of the mole' ingredients and stir well.  Lower the heat to medium low and cook for another five minutes, or so, until all is heated through.  
Serve mole' over couscous and load up the toppings.  So, so good! Feeds five hungry vegans.