Vegan Recipes from Cassie Howard

This Week’s Vegan Menu Plan

November 3, 2014 11 Comments

Every week, I create a menu plan for the week ahead. I’ve always found menu planning to be helpful, but especially when eating a vegan diet. Sometimes I forget to make one, and those weeks are just awful. I stare into the fridge and whine that there’s “nothing to eat”, even though the fridge is packed full of deliciousness. It’s bad.

So – I menu plan every week (usually) to make things easier on myself. And it works. I promise.

Here is this week’s vegan menu plan:

Breakfast:

1. Sprouted Buckwheat Breakfast Cereal by Chez Bettay

2. Pumpkin Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast by Vegan Yack Attack

3. Strawberry Banana Oatmeal Brule by A La Mode

4. Giant Hash Brown by RecipeTin Eats

5. Vegan Asparagus Mushroom Omelette by Vegan Cuts

6. Toasted Oatmeal with Jam and Coconut Whipped Cream by Cookie and Kate

7. Cinnamon Roll Pancakes by Vegan Yumminess

Lunch:

1. Sweet Potato Quinoa Patties by A House in the Hills

2. Sun-Dried Tomato & Garlic Pasta by Mind Body Green

3. Thai Pineapple Pizza by Coffee and Quinoa

4. Asian Lettuce Wraps by Jessica in the Kitchen

5. Bean and Barley Soup by Bev Cooks

6. Alfredo Sauce with Pasta and Spinach by Divine Healthy Food

7. BBQ Cauliflower Salad by Form and Beans

Dinner:

1. One Pot Thai Peanut Pasta by Apron Strings

2. Lentil Split Pea Falafel Bowl by Vegan Richa

3. Loaded Baked Potatoes by Namely Marly

4. Veggie Meat Balls by Diethood

5. Broccoli Tofu Stuffed Avocados by The First Mess

6. Veggie Sliders by Minimalist Baker

7. Olive Garden Slow Cooker Minestrone by Cooking Classy

Dessert/Snacks:

Nachos with Bean & Cilantro Dip by Vegan Miam

Smoky BBQ Kale Chips by Ricki Heller

Almost Raw Samoa Cookies by Cooking Ala Mel

Banana Bread Chocolate Chip Breakfast Bars by Ambitious Kitchen

Cinnamon Apple Chips by Jessica in the Kitchen

What’s on your vegan menu plan this week?

Gluten-Free Vegan Pumpkin Scones with Chopped Pecans

October 31, 2014 1 Comment

Scones, anyone? What about pumpkin scones? With a delicious glaze and crushed pecans?

Yes?

You’re not sick of pumpkin yet, are ya? Pumpkin is still flying around my kitchen ALL THA TIMEEEEE these days and I am digging into it left and right.

And these scones. They are not only stuffed with pumpkin and pecans and delicious fall spices like cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice, but they are also gluten-free.

What the what? Gluten-free? YES, FRIENDS. Even those on a gluten-free diet can enjoy these scones for breakfast. And that makes me happy. Everyone needs to be able to stick a warm, fresh-from-the-oven, scone into their faces at some point in their lives.

And that point is right now. Do ya dig?

I added crushed pecans to the top and inside of the scones, but you can definitely, totally, absolutely leave those out if you’re allergic or just don’t like them. Or swap for a different nut.

Whatever, friends. Do as you please. Just make sure you do something nice for yourself and indulge in a pumpkin scone! Enjoy!

Gluten-Free Vegan Pumpkin Scones

Recipe Type: Breakfast

Author: Vegan Insanity

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 15 mins

Total time: 35 mins

Serves: 8

Ingredients

Scones
1 cup raw pecans, chopped
1 cup sorghum flour
1 cup almond flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 cup coconut sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp salt
5 tbsp vegan butter (I used Earth Balance)
3/4 cup pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
1/4 cup non-dairy milk (I used almond milk)
1 tsp vanilla
Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 tbsp non-dairy milk (I used almond milk)

Instructions

Scones

Preheat oven to 425F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a non-stick baking mat.
In a large bowl, combine 3/4 cup pecans, the flours, baking powder, coconut sugar, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and salt. Mix together until combined.
Add the butter and with a pastry cutter, a fork, or your hands, mix together until the mixture resembles sand. (If you’re using your hands, work quickly so that the butter doesn’t get too warm – it needs to be very cold).
Add in the pumpkin puree, non-dairy milk and vanilla, and mix well until everything is combined. Form the dough into a large circle and cut into 8 slices.
Put the slices on the baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Glaze

Whisk together the icing sugar, cinnamon and non-dairy milk. Spread generously over the cooled scones and top with the remaining 1/4 cup chopped pecans.

3 Ingredient Vegan Gnocchi

October 29, 2014 15 Comments

The first time I ever tried gnocchi was 2 years ago. I was browsing Pinterest (’cause duh, what else would I be doing with my time?) and came across this mysterious dish called “gnocchi”. Pasta made out of potatoes and flours.

Pu-lease. I am too sophisticated for that.

But I checked out the recipe anyway. I’m inquisitive like that. It looked easy (ha!) and the photos were mouth-watering so I thought I’d give it a try for dinner the next night when my best friend was coming over. Best friends forgive you when you mess up new recipes.

But wouldn’t you know it – my friend, who is Italian (!!!), actually helped me make the gnocchi that night because her grandmother had taught her. We had her granny on speed-dial during the whole process, and every time we got stuck on something (this recipe was supposed to be EASY, you guys!), we’d give her a ring, she’d sigh at our lack of gnocchi knowledge, and proceed to tell us what to do next.

After 3 hours (OMG 3 HOURS MAKING “EASY” GNOCCHI), we were done. Starving, exhausted, but so proud of ourselves! It was one of the best meals I’ve ever eaten.

And then I had to go and become vegan. And so I can’t make Italian granny’s recipe anymore because “the eggs are important”. I think she’d lose her mind if I asked her “would flax eggs work”. And I can’t have a little old Italian lady hating me, so let’s avoid asking her that, mmkay?

But then recently I really, really wanted gnocchi. It came out of nowhere. You know when you’re in the store and you see the most beautiful dragonfruit ever and even though you’ve never had dragonfruit before, you just want to dig right in, right there in the middle of the grocery store.

THAT. That right there.

Imagine that feeling times infinity and that’s how I felt about gnocchi last week. For two days straight, it was all I could think about. Could I use flax eggs? (Shut up, brain!) Could I just eliminate the eggs altogether? What was I going to do? How could I make vegan gnocchi that actually tasted good (and didn’t take 3 hours to make – ’cause no, thanks – not gonna happen again)?

Eventually, I got so desperate that I just started throwing ingredients into a bowl. Flour all over my shirt, in my hair, and mashed potatoes stuck to every surface in my kitchen. But did I care? Nuh-uh. I was making gnocchi!

With a bit of trial and error, I managed to make the most delicious, perfect little gnocchi friends I’ve ever tasted. I even pat myself on the back, I was so proud. And then I ate my way through that pile of gnocchi in no time flat. OMGOSHHHHHH I MISS YOU, GNOCCHI!

Not only is this gnocchi easy to make, it also uses just 3 ingredients. What?! Yes. 3. As in 1, 2, 3. Why do Italian grandmother’s have to make gnocchi so complicated? The quicker I can get gnocchi in my face the better, and this 2-ingredient recipe is my new go-to when I’m craving pasta pillows for dinner.

Homemade Vegan Gnocchi

Recipe Type: Entree

Author: Vegan Insanity

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 2 hours 35 mins

Total time: 2 hours 40 mins

Serves: 4

Ingredients

6 medium Russet potatoes
3 cups kamut flour (or all-purpose)
1 tsp salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375F. Poke your potatoes with a fork and place on a large baking sheet. Bake for about 1 hour, or until a knife can be inserted into the middle of the potato easily.
Slice the potatoes down the middle lengthwise and allow to cool for about 5 minutes.
With a clean kitchen towel, grab hold of one of the potatoes and scoop the flesh out. Repeat with remaining potatoes.
Pass your potato flesh through a potato ricer and place it all on a clean surface in your kitchen (the counter, the table, etc.).
Gently spread out the potatoes on your surface and start sprinkling the flour on top, about a cup at a time. Cut the flour into the potatoes with a large spatula. Once the flour is absorbed, add another cup of flour, repeat and add 1/2 cup of flour and cut it in, as well. If you need the final 1/2 cup flour, add it, and cut it in. If you don’t need it, just leave it out. You should be able to form the dough into a large disk.
Dust with flour and then wrap your disk in plastic wrap and allow to sit at room temperature for about 45 minutes.
Cut a chunk of the dough off of the disk and roll it until it is about 1/2 inch thick. Cut the roll into 1-inch pieces. Repeat with the remaining dough.
Heat a large pot of water over high heat. Once the water is boiling, add 1 tsp salt, then add a bunch of the gnocchi (do this in batches – don’t over-crowd them or they won’t cook properly). They should sink to the bottom and then float to the top when they are done (about 2-3 minutes).
Serve with marinara, [url href=”http://www.veganinsanity.com/recipes/vegan-parmesan-cheese/” target=”_blank”]vegan parmesan cheese[/url] and fresh basil or parsley.

This Week’s Vegan Menu Plan

October 27, 2014 4 Comments

So – I menu plan every week (usually) to make things easier on myself. And it works. I promise.

Here is this week’s vegan menu plan:

What’s on your vegan menu plan this week?

Chocolate & Coconut Pumpkin Bars (Raw, No Bake)

October 24, 2014 5 Comments

With a can of pumpkin in my hand, I was on a mission to make something tasty. I didn’t feel like cookies or cake or pie or fudge (WHAT?!), so I hopped on Pinterest and scoured the site for pumpkin treats I could make right here, right now.

Then I got distracted by quotes. And cute kitten pictures. And the next thing I knew, an hour had gone by and I hadn’t looked at a single pumpkin recipe. Focus, Cassie! Focus.

Okay. I will focus. Search “vegan pumpkin dessert”. Find lots of cookies, cakes, pies and fudge. NONONONOTHANKYOU. After searching for almost another hour (OMG WHAT IS HAPPENING, PINTEREST?!), I finally stumbled upon a recipe that looked yumz!

These no bake chocolate coco pumpkin bars. Okay FINE, these will do. As if I was settling or something. Man, I am grouchy when I’m on Pinterest too long.

Whipped up a batch, ate them all in 2 days. Didn’t share with my fam. They went bonkers. Made more, with slight changes to the recipe. They ate them, and I was the best mom/wife ever again. Awesome. I always knew I was the best. Score!

These guilt-free treats are so good. And they’re pretty! And you all know how much I loves me some pretty food. It makes my soul happy.

So today I encourage you to make some pretty food. It’s the weekend! Celebrate with some chocolate & coconut pumpkin bars. Preferably in front of the TV with a super scary movie playing. Halloween is coming and it’s time to scare yourself. And eat tasty fall treats. YES PLEASE.

Chocolate & Coconut Pumpkin Bars (Raw, No Bake)

Recipe Type: Dessert

Author: Vegan Insanity

Prep time: 45 mins

Total time: 45 mins

Serves: 8

Ingredients

10 dates, pitted
1 cup almonds
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 small banana
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
2 tbsp agave
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Instructions

Add dates, almonds cocoa powder and 1 tsp of cinnamon to your food processor. Process until it all comes together into a ball.
Transfer the mixture to a 9×5 baking dish and flatten it out in the pan. Set aside.
In small bowl, combine the shredded coconut and coconut oil. Mix well until thick (you may need to add more coconut oil or shredded coconut to get it to a spreadable consistency). Spread this mixture on the chocolate almond mixture in the pan.
Add the banana, pumpkin puree, agave and 1 tsp cinnamon into your food processor and process until smooth. Pour over top of the coconut mixture and smooth it out so that it covers the entire dish.
If desired, sprinkle some coconut on top.
Freeze for 60 minutes or until set. Cut into squares and serve. Store in the freezer. Remove for a few minutes to thaw before eating.

Notes

Adapted from [url href=”http://www.runningtothekitchen.com/2012/11/no-bake-chocolate-coco-pumpkin-bars/” target=”_blank”]Running to the Kitchen[/url].

link

Chocolate Beetroot Dougnuts

October 22, 2014 3 Comments

Extra, extra! Read all about it!

I put beets in my doughnuts and I’m loving every last bite of these chocolate morsels!

I used to be one of those people who hated beets. In fact, just the sight of them alone would give me the heebie jeebies. My mom used to always buy the pickled beets in a jar, and those, I would eat, but fresh beets? No way! Those things are weird!

Well, flash forward to 2014 and fresh beets have now become a staple in my diet. They’re great for more than just eating, though! I also love (read: am obsessed with) them in my smoothies and juices. And they’re good for you!

Beets:

Lower your blood pressure
Boost your stamina
Fight inflamation
Are an aphrodisiac (no really!)
Are high in many vitamins and minerals
Help your mental health

Oh, beets. You are magic and I love you long time. Let’s be friends forever.

So! These doughnuts!

They’re pretty, right? That’s just another thing beets can do – make pretty food and drinks.

These doughnuts have a chocolate frosting on top (cause’ duh – chocolate), and I also added some beet juice & icing sugar on top to finish them off. And then I proceeded to eat 3 doughnuts before I could even snap a picture. Oops.

I bet you can’t eat just 1 either! Go ahead, try it. I dare you.

Chocolate Beetroot Dougnuts

Recipe Type: Dessert

Author: Vegan Insanity

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 8 mins

Total time: 18 mins

Serves: 6

Ingredients

Doughnuts
3/4 cups + 1 tbsp kamut or all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp ground flaxseed
1/2 cup almond milk
1/3 cup coconut sugar
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup grated beet
Doughnut Topping
Chocolate: 1/2 cup dairy-free chocolate chips, melted
Beet Glaze: 3 tbsp beet juice + 1/3 cup icing sugar, whisked together

Instructions

Doughnuts

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a doughnut pan with no-stick spray and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a small bowl, mix together the flaxseed, almond milk, coconut sugar, vinegar, olive oil and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until incorporated. Fold in the grated beets.
Spoon the mixture into your doughnut pan and bake for about 8 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely.

Doughnut Topping

Spread the melted chocolate on the cooled doughnuts, then drizzle with the beet juice + icing sugar mixture.
Enjoy!

Mini Cauliflower Crust Pizzas with Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce

October 21, 2014 2 Comments

The other day I was thinking out loud and my brain forced me to blurt out “cauliflower crust pizza I need you in my liiiiiife”. And clearly if I’m thinking about a particular food, I need to make it, or my brain will not be happy. And so I obliged. I made cauliflower crust pizza. And it was just as amazing as I thought it would be.

The reason I went with mini pizzas is because every time I try to make a full-size pizza, the crust always falls apart and I cry and curse and hit things.

So I went with mini pizzas this time. Thankfully, there was no foul language shooting out of my mouth when these babies were done. My husband was thankful.

I topped my pizzas with marinara, lentils, green peppers and a healthy dose of vegan parmesan cheese. The result? An easy to eat, healthy, gluten-free vegan pizza and makes my tummy happy. Success!

Mini Cauliflower Crust Pizzas with Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce

Recipe Type: Pizza

Author: Vegan Insanity

Prep time: 30 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 1 hour

Serves: 4 servings

Ingredients

Marinara Sauce
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, not packed in oil
1 cup chopped tomato
1/2 chopped cucumber
1 garlic clove
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
1/4 tsp thyme
1 tsp oregano
1 cup water
1/4-1/2 tsp salt
Cauliflower Crust
1 1/2 cups cauliflower florets
2 tbsp ground flax seeds
6 tbsp water
1/2 cup almond meal
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp basil
1/4 tsp oregano

Instructions

Marinara Sauce

Soak your sun-dried tomatoes for at least 2 hours, then drain.
Add all marinara ingredients to a food processor or blender and process/blend until combined.

Cauliflower Crust

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a non-stick mat. Set aside.
Place the cauliflower into a food processor (you may need to do this in batches, depending on how large your food processor is) and pulse until you get a rice-like texture.
Add the cauliflower rice into a large pot, cover with water and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook for about 5 minutes. Drain the cauliflower rice and allow to cool completely.
Once cooled, the the cauliflower rice and transfer to a large, clean dishtowel. Wrap it up and squeeze out as much of the remaining liquid as you can. The more, the better.
Mix together 2 tablespoons ground flax seeds with 6 tablespoons water and set aside to thicken.
Add the cauliflower to a large bowl, then add in the chia seeds, almond meal, salt, garlic, basil, oregano and flax egg. Mix well, then divide the mixture into about 12 balls. Form those balls into small pizzas and place on the baking sheet. Press together well so that the crust stays together when baking.
Bake for about 15 minutes, or until the top is dry and golden brown. Flip, and bake another 5-10 minutes.
Then, add your toppings and return to the oven for another 5-10 minutes, or until everything is nice and warm.