dinner | Vegan Recipes from Cassie Howard

Thin Crust Pesto Pizza

April 16, 2014 2 Comments

I used to be all about the frozen pizzas. Delissio here, Dr. Oetker there. And then I switched to a vegan diet and BAM. Those pizzas were a no-no for me. Which is a good thing anyway, considering how high they are in salt, sugar and other crap your body doesn’t need.

So, I started making my own pizzas at home. Okay, so, my husband is usually the one that makes them, but I always assist with toppings, so that counts.

I love that I can experiment with different flours, different sauces and different toppings, and still come out with a tasty, healthy pizza (usually). This is one of them!

Even though everyone on the planet seems to be able to, I can’t make a circular pizza to save my life, so I made them rectangular. The pizza still tastes the same, so who cares, right?

Thin Crust Pesto Pizza

Recipe Type: Pizza

Author: Vegan Insanity

Prep time: 25 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 35 mins

Serves: 2-4

Ingredients

For the crust
3/4 cup warm water (not hot, not cold)
1 3/4 cup flour (I used 1 cup whole wheat, 3/4 cup kamut)
2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
1/2 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
For the sauce
2 large garlic cloves
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1/3 cup pine nuts (I’ve also used cashews or almonds)
4 cups fresh basil leaves
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/3 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
For the toppings
Whatever your heart desires! (I used zucchini, yellow pepper, kalamata olives and tomatoes)

Instructions

For the crust

Dissolve yeast and sugar in water and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
Pre-heat oven to 500F.
Add flour and salt to the yeast and sugar. Mix until combined.
Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead for 3-4 minutes.
Press dough into a large circle and place it on a lightly greased pizza pan (or sprinkle some cornmeal on a [url href=”http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B002RC4X0C/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=15121&creative=390961&creativeASIN=B002RC4X0C&linkCode=as2&tag=mrsjan0b-20″ target=”_blank”]wooden pizza wheel[/url] (to later slide onto a pizza stone in the oven).

For the sauce

Add all sauce ingredients to a food processor or high-powered blender and process/blend until smooth.

Putting it all together

Spread the sauce on the pizza crust, add your toppings, and bake in the pre-heated oven for about 10 minutes, or until the edges have lightly browned and the middle of the pizza is cooked all the way through.

Zucchini Fritters with Vegan Sour Cream

April 15, 2014 23 Comments

The other day I was trying to come up with a way to use a large zucchini that had been in my fridge for a few days and was not going to last much longer. It was lunch time, and I was aching for food.

I didn’t feel like making a sweet treat with it, I didn’t feel like a vegetable soup or stir fry or pizza. I wanted the zucchini to be the star of the show.

So, I made zucchini fritters for lunch! And they were awesome.

I topped the zucchini fritters with some of my vegan sour cream that I’d made the day before, and it was delicious!

Zucchini Fritters with Vegan Sour Cream

Recipe Type: Appetizer

Author: Vegan Insanity

Prep time: 1 hour 10 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 1 hour 20 mins

Serves: 2

These zucchini fritters make the perfect appetizer, and also work great for lunch or dinner (especially when paired with a salad!).

Ingredients

1 large zucchini, grated
1/2 tsp salt
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup kamut flour (or all-purpose)
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp olive oil

Instructions

Sprinkle some salt over your grated zucchini, allow to sit for about an hour to remove some water.
Put the zucchini in a large, clean dish towel, and squeeze out any excess water. Put zucchini in a large bowl.
Add in the minced garlic, flour, coriander, onion powder, and black pepper. Mix well.
Form into balls and press gently to flatten.
Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat. Cook until golden (about 5 minutes), then flip and cook for another few minutes, or until that side has also browned lightly.
Serve, with a dollop of vegan sour cream on top (or on the side).

Notes

[b]To make sour cream:[/b] To your blender, add the following ingredients and blend until smooth: 1/2 cup cashews (soaked for at least 2 hours and drained), 1 tsp lemon juice, 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/3-1/2 cup of water (as needed).

Mini Garlic Bread Cheeze Toasts

April 14, 2014 Leave a Comment

We recently hosted a birthday party at our house and some of our family & friends came out. It was our first time serving only vegan food, so we were worried that our carnivore friends & family were not going to enjoy anything.

Except vegan food is delicious, duh. We had to stop doubting ourselves, and our food. Our food is awesome.

I came up with a list of foods that most people love, such as garlic bread with cheese, and made the recipe vegan, like these garlic bread cheese toasts.

Would you believe that every single one of these cheese toasts (I think I made about 20) were gone in a matter of minutes? And we only had about 10 people over at the time. Everyone raved about how good these were, and we surprised them when we said that there wasn’t a lick of dairy in the recipe!

Mini Garlic Bread Cheeze Toasts

Recipe Type: Appetizer

Author: Vegan Insanity

Prep time: 3 hours 15 mins

Cook time: 5 mins

Total time: 3 hours 20 mins

Serves: 15-20 slices

Easy, delicious, and vegan. What more could you ask for?

Ingredients

1 cup raw cashews, soaked for at least 2 hours
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
2 small-medium garlic cloves
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp onion powder
12-inch baguette, sliced
fresh parsley for garnish, if desired

Instructions

Add all ingredients (except baguette) into a food processor or high-powered blender and process/blend until smooth.
Transfer mixture to an air-tight container and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Pre-heat your broiler.
Spread cashew cheese onto your baguette slices and broil for about 5 minutes, or until the edges of your bread are lightly browned. Watch them carefully so they don’t burn!
Sprinkle with fresh parsley, if desired.

Notes

[i]Adapted from [url href=”http://whollyvegan.blogspot.ca/2013/03/cashew-cheese-toasts-with-lentils.html?showComment=1364571787695#c7612044937722489851″ target=”_blank”]Wholly Vegan[/url].[/i]

Vegan Cauliflower Parmesan

April 11, 2014 1 Comment

Cauliflower is a miraculous food, isn’t it? On it’s own, it’s bland as hell, but that’s what makes it so awesome – because you can use it as a base for so many different dishes, such as:

Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce
Cauliflower Pizza Crust
Cauliflower “Chicken” Wings

And now, this cauliflower parmesan.

I am in love with this dish. It is so yummy! I first saw it on Cara’s site awhile ago, and had it on my “to-make” list for weeks. This week, I finally made it, with a few small changes, and it came out even better than I’d hoped.

It does take a bit of time to prepare, but I promise you that it’s worth it!

Vegan Cauliflower Parmesan

Recipe Type: Entree

Author: Vegan Insanity

Prep time: 40 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 50 mins

Serves: 3-4

If you’re looking for an incredibly satisfying meal, you’ve found it! This dish is one of my favourites because not only is it satisfying, but it is delicious and, of course, vegan. The breaded cauliflower is just mouth-watering. So good!

Ingredients

1 flax egg (1 tbsp ground flax seeds + 3 tbsp water)
Pasta of choice
1/3 cup flour (I used whole wheat)
1/4 cup water
1 tsp ground flax seeds
1 cup bread crumbs (I used Panko)
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 small head cauliflower, cut into chunks
1/2 tbsp olive oil
Marinara pasta sauce of choice (homemade or store-bought)
Non-dairy cheese (optional, but strongly encouraged – I used a mix of Daiya chedder and mozzarella shreds)
1 tbsp vegan parmesan cheese

Instructions

Combine flax egg ingredients (1 tbsp ground flax seeds + 3 tbsp water) together and allow to stand until thickened, 5-10 minutes.
Cook pasta according to package directions and set aside, keeping warm.
Once your flax egg is ready, add it, as well as flour, water and another tsp ground flax seeds to a shallow bowl. Whisk together. Set aside.
In another shallow bowl, add bread crumbs, oregano, basil, garlic powder, onion powder and salt. Mix together.
Dip each cauliflower piece into the flax mixture, then the bread crumbs, and place on a large plate. Continue until all cauliflower pieces have been coated.
Pre-heat oven to 450F and also warm up a large skillet (the biggest one you’ve got!) over medium heat.
Lightly oil your skillet, and cook the cauliflower in the skillet until both sides are lightly browned (5-10 minutes each side).
Spread a thin later of marinara sauce in the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish, then add in the cooked, breaded cauliflower. Top with a bit of non-dairy cheese, if desired, and bake for 10 minutes, or until cheese has melted. Serve over cooked pasta and sprinkle on some vegan parmesan cheese.

Notes

[i]Recipe adapted from [url href=”http://www.forkandbeans.com/2013/05/24/cauliflower-parmesan/” target=”_blank”]Fork & Beans[/url].[/i][br]*Use gluten-free pasta, flour and bread crumbs to make this a gluten-free dish.

Spicy Vegan Mac & Cheese

April 9, 2014 3 Comments

Growing up, Kraft Dinner was a staple in our house. Up until I was in my early twenties, I ate that neon-orange pasta on a regular basis. I loved it. Big time. Despite it being filled with so many awful ingredients like artificial food dyes (yikes!).

Since I’ve adopted a much healthier way of eating, this blue box has left my home for good, and it’s not coming back. But I still eat mac and cheese. I just make my own in a much healthier way.

The best part of this dish is that there are not only zero artificial food dyes, but also no milk, butter or flour to be found – and it still tastes delicious!

This pasta is creamy, and hearty, with a bit of a spicy kick from the paprika and cayenne pepper. Yum.

If you have a high-powered blender, like a Vitamix or Blendtec, you should be able to get very smooth cheese sauce, but even if you don’t have one of those, you can still make the cheese sauce in a food processor and though it probably won’t be as smooth, it will be just as tasty!

I only had a small half-empty box of elbow macaroni, so I made that, and then made a large batch of penne pasta to make this dish large enough to feed my entire family. Everyone gobbled it up (and some went back for seconds!).

Spicy Vegan Mac and Cheese

Recipe Type: Pasta

Author: Vegan Insanity

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 8 mins

Total time: 23 mins

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

2 cups elbow macaroni*
1 1/2 cups raw cashews, soaked for at least 1 hour
1 small garlic clove, minced
3 tbsp lemon juice
3/4 cup water
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
pinch of cayenne pepper
paprika for garnish (optional)

Instructions

Cook pasta according to package directions.
While your pasta is cooking, add the rest of the ingredients (raw cashews, garlic, lemon juice, water, salt, pepper, nutritional yeast, paprika, turmeric, dijon mustard and a pinch of cayenne pepper) to your blender or food processor. Blend/process until smooth. It should be thick when it’s ready.
Once your pasta has finished cooking, drain, reserving 1/3 cup or so of the cooking water, then add back to the pot, with the cooking water. Mix in the cheese sauce until all of the sauce is evenly distributed.
Serve, with some fresh parsley and more paprika sprinkled on top, if desired.

Notes

*I prefer elbow macaroni, but you can use whatever noodles you have on hand.[br]*Use gluten-free pasta to make this dish gluten-free.

Deconstructed Falafel Bowl

March 28, 2014 5 Comments

As much as I love falafel, I really hate making them. They’re tedious and I’m lazy, so it’s rare that I make them. I have to really, really want falafel.

Of course, I’m a perfectionist and my falafel balls must all be identical in size and shape, so perhaps that’s why they take me so long to prepare, but who knows. All I know is that I love falafel and wanted to find a way to make this dish quicker.

As luck would have it, I stumbled across this post on Vegan Yack Attack (recipe from Megan at The Vegan Cookbook Aficionado) for deconstructed falafel bowls.

All of the deliciousness of falafel, without the hard work involved. Now that’s my kind of recipe!

I adapted it slightly, removing some ingredients and lessening others to suit my personal tastes, so feel free to check out the recipe on Vegan Yack Attack for Megan’s take on these bowls.

Deconstructed Falafel Bowl

Recipe Type: Entree

Author: Vegan Insanity

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 25 mins

Total time: 40 mins

Serves: 2-4

All the goodness of falafels with only a fraction of the work! This bowl is full of good stuff, and takes no time at all to put together! [i]Adapted from [url href=”http://veganyackattack.com/2014/01/18/deconstructed-falafel-bowl/” target=”_blank”]Vegan Yack Attack[/url] & [url href=”http://www.cookbookaficionado.com/” target=”_blank”]The Vegan Cookbook Aficionado[/url].[/i]

Ingredients

Roasted Chickpeas
3 cups cooked chickpeas
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Tahini Dressing
1/3 cup tahini
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 large clove garlic, grated with microplane
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp olive oil
pinch of salt
1/2 tbsp fresh parsley, minced
Putting everything together
Roasted chickpeas
Cooked quinoa
Lettuce, shredded
Cucumber, sliced
Tomatoes, sliced
Hummus
Tahini dressing
Hot sauce

Instructions

Roasted Chickpeas

Pre-heat oven to 375F.
Add chickpeas to a large bowl (if you’re using canned chickpeas, rinse them first). Add olive oil, lemon juice, onion, garlic, cumin, coriander, salt, and pepper, and mix well, until the chickpeas are all coated completely.
Add chickpeas to baking sheet and cook for 25 minutes, stirring once or twice during cooking.
Toss with the fresh parsley and set aside.

Tahini Dressing

Add all ingredients to a small bowl and whisk until everything comes together nicely. Add more water, if necessary, 1 tbsp at a time.

Putting it all together

In bowls, add some of the cooked quinoa, a bunch of roasted chickpeas, some tomatoes, some cucumber, a handful of lettuce, and a big dollop of hummus. Drizzle on some of the tahini dressing and a squirt (or more) of hot sauce. Serve and enjoy!

Sweet Potato & Roasted Red Pepper Soup

March 26, 2014 2 Comments

You know, sweet potato is pretty much a miracle food. You can do so much with it! I love it roasted and served over salad, on it’s own, juiced (yes, you can juice a sweet potato!) and more recently… in soup!

This one is so freakin’ good, I cant even tell you. We enjoyed it with crusty bread and Earth Balance butter, and had it again for leftovers the next (by the way – even better on day two!).

Sweet Potato & Roasted Red Pepper Soup

Recipe Type: Soup

Author: Vegan Insanity

Prep time: 25 mins

Cook time: 25 mins

Total time: 50 mins

Serves: 6

When the cold weather hits, it’s time for the comfort of soup! This dish is sure to please any soup lover that is looking for a little bit of comfort.

Ingredients

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled & chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped carrots
3 cloves garlic, minced
3-4 large roasted red peppers, chopped
4-5 cups vegetable broth
1 cup coconut milk
Large handful of fresh basil, chiffonade
Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375F. Place the sweet potatoes and onions in a large bowl. Drizzle with about half of the oil, then sprinkle on 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper. Toss to coat the sweet potato and onion completely.
Roast for 20-22 minutes, or until golden brown. Set aside.
Heat the remaining oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add celery and carrots, and cook for about 5 minutes. Then, add the garlic, roasted red pepper and sweet potato & onion mixture. Cook for another 5 minutes.
Add the vegetable broth and coconut milk and bring to a boil. Once the mixture begins boiling, reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer, uncovered, for 15 to 20 minutes, or until sweet potato chunks can easily be pierced with a fork.
Remove from heat, and using an immersion blender, puree the soup until it reaches your desired consistency.
Add salt and pepper to taste, throw in your fresh basil, and serve.

Quick & Easy Falafel Salad

March 25, 2014 Leave a Comment

I love falafels just about any way I can get them. In a salad, in a pita – even on their own. They’re just magnificent balls of goodness.

Although the ingredients list for this recipe is rather huge, don’t let that scare you, because this is really such a simple dish to prepare. It’s perfect for lunch or dinner!

If you want to bake the falafels instead of frying, you can do that. Bake at 350F for about 20 minutes (turning halfway through cooking).

Quick & Easy Falafel Salad

Recipe Type: Salad

Author: Vegan Insanity

Prep time: 30 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Total time: 50 mins

Serves: 4

These falafels are melt-in-your-mouth delicious!

Ingredients

Falafels
1 3/4 cup dry chickpeas, soaked overnight
2 garlic cloves
1 small onion, chopped
1/8 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/3 cup water
2 tbsp flour (I used whole wheat)
1 flax egg (1 tbsp ground flax seeds + 3 tbsp water – allow to sit for 10 minutes, then whisk)
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/2 tbsp chia seeds
1/2 tbsp hemp hearts
oil for frying
Dressing
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup plain soy yogurt
1 tsp coconut sugar
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
Salad
salad greens
cherry tomatoes, halved
cucumber, sliced

Instructions

Falafels

In a high-powdered blender or food processor, pulse chickpeas until they are chopped up very small.
Add garlic, onion, parsley, cumin, coriander, baking soda, salt, lemon juice and water. Pulse until all ingredients are mixed together well.
Transfer to a large bowl, then add flour, flax egg, sesame seeds, chia seeds and hemp hearts. Mix well. You should be able to form them into small balls. If not, add a bit of water, just a tablespoon at a time, until you get the right consistency.
Start rolling all of your falafel balls and set them onto a cookie sheet. Place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
Once your falafels have firmed up a bit in the fridge, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add enough oil to over just over half of the falafels. Once oil is heated, carefully add the falafels to your pan, just a few at a time, until browned on the bottom, then flip over and wait for the other side to brown.
Repeat until all falafels are cooked.

Dressing

Add all ingredients to a jar and shake well. Place in the refrigerator until you’re ready to use it.

Assembly

Divide salad greens, tomatoes and cucumbers among 4 salad bowls. Top with fried falafels, then drizzle on your dressing and serve.

Notes

If you want to bake the falafels, you can do that. Bake at 350F for about 20 minutes (turning halfway through cooking).