Cashew Ranch

• 1/3 cup raw unsalted cashews
• 1/3 -2/3 cups cold water
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

Combine these in a blender and process well, at least 2-3 minutes. The dressing will warm up slightly, and you will probably want to chill it down some before serving. Use less water for a dip. If you like, you can add a teaspoon of parsley to it and pulse a few times to mix it in at the end. Adding it with the other ingredients will just turn your dressing green.

Let's Talk Cashew Cream.

Ah, cashew cream. I don't know how I'd manage a dairy-free existence without you! Raw, unsalted cashews, liquid,  and a good blender make a thick, creamy sauce that substitutes marvelously for heavy cream or milk in many places. We use it in soups, desserts, sauces and salad dressings where dairy would be used.
Over the next couple of weeks, I will post recipes for creamy tomato soup, Alfredo sauce, ranch dressing, cilantro lime cream, lemon-dill sauce, and sweetened cream, but today, here is the basic formula for cashew cream:

• 1/2 cup raw unsalted cashews (According to Tal Ronnen, you should always use whole cashews for this, because the flavor is better. I suppose that if I were a celebrity chef, I might agree, but for those of us on a realistic food budget, take heart, I don't think you can taste the difference between whole cashews and cashew pieces once they are turned into cream. At least I can't).
• 1/2 -2/3 cup cold water

Place ingredients in a blender and process for 2-3 minutes, until the nuts and water have emulisfied into a smooth, creamy liquid. You do NOT need a Vitamix or a Blendtec to do this - I have a basic Oster blender and it works fine. Use in any recipe calling for heavy cream, except for whipped cream - I'll cover how to pull that off in a later post.

Award-winning black bean chili

On February 6th, our awesome local vegan store, Never Felt Better hosted their first cooking competiton, a chili cookoff, and guess what?  WE WON FIRST PRIZE!  Here's the recipe we've developed. It's a bit of work, but worth the effort. I hope you enjoy it too! Makes a GIANT freaking pot o'chili.

•  3 cups dry black beans, cooked in a 2qt crockpot full of water for 8 hours (this will be added, liquid and all, so don't drain them)
•  2 cups cooked short grain brown rice
•  2 tsps olive oil
•  1 diced onion
•  2 diced poblano chili peppers
•  3 tbsp chili powder        
•  3 tbsp cumin powder
•  1 12 oz bottle hard cider (apple or pear)
•  1 6 oz can tomato paste
•  1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
•  1 lb frozen corn
•  1 tbsp cocoa powder
•  1/2 tsp chipotle powder
•  1/4 tsp cinnamon
•  1/4 tsp vanilla extract
•  1/4 cup toasted unsalted pumpkin seeds (if you can't find unsalted ones, start with raw ones and toast them yourself, which is what we do, or add less extra salt) coarsely ground
•  6 (or more) cloves of garlic, crushed
•  1 very large butternut squash, peeled, seeded, diced and roasted at 425 for about 45 minutes, until edges start to caramelize
•  1/2 tsp molasses
•  1 tsp sea salt

  

Saute onion and peppers in olive oil until onion is translucent. Add cumin and chili powder, saute until liquid is absorbed by the spices. Add the cider, chipotle powder, cocoa powder, vanilla, cinnamon, ground pumpkin seeds, and molasses. Bring to a simmer. Add canned tomatoes (do not drain) and liquid, and tomato paste. Stir in the beans, squash, rice, corn, garlic, and salt. Simmer for 30 minutes. Serve immediately, or refrigerate for 12-48 hours and reheat, which lets the flavors meld and improves them. Really great with lime juice, chipotle Tabasco, Daiya cheese, diced onion, avocado, toasted pumpkin seeds, faux sour cream, or just as is.

Lentil-nut Stroganoff

Ok, so it's February and I'm just now posting Christmas dinner. Sorry, folks. This is one of the most complicated recipes I make, something we use for a fancy holiday meal.

One of my extended family's favorite special occasion meals is beef stroganoff.  It's a dish of cubed beef, sometimes mushrooms, stewed in a paprika laden sour cream sauce, usually served over egg noodles. Tricky to veganize, right? In order to do so, I started with a base recipe that I was introduced to several years ago when my friend Juli made a bunch of freeze-and-eat dinners for our family to eat while we were dealing with some major medical crap. The original mixture was intended for a shepherd's pie filling, but I've found the combination to be quite adaptable to serve in things like taco filling, sloppy joes, and this dish. To make the basic mock-ground beef  you need:

• 1/2 cup brown lentils
• 1/4 cup short grain brown rice or hulled barley
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans (walnuts will certainly work, I'd expect that sunflower seeds would probably substitute well if you needed to adapt the recipe to be nut-free)
• 2 cups water
• 1 teaspoon yeast extract spread, such as Vegemite or Marmite
• 1 cube vegetable bouillon or 1 tsp vegetable broth concentrate (I use Better than Bouillon)

Combine this in a covered saucepan, a smallish one will do, and simmer on medium until the lentils are fully cooked, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the vegetables:

• 1 pound cremini (white button will work too) mushrooms, sliced
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 tbs olive oil

You are going to want a larger pot for this step,  because this is where the whole deal is going to end up. Saute the onions and mushrooms in the olive oil until the onions are translucent and starting to reduce. Once you reach that point, add

• 4 teaspoons paprika (I prefer smoked paprika in this dish, but either way works)
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper (fresh ground is going to have better flavor than preground, if you use pre-ground, then you might decide to increase it some) 
• 1/2 cup white wine

Simmer this until the wine evaporates. At this point, add either

• 2 tablespoons of flour OR 1 tablespoon tapioca or cornstarch

Stir this in to the mixture, and continue to stir for about one minute after the flour vanishes into it. Then add 2 cups of water. About this time, your lentil stuff should be ready, the lentils should be whole, but tender. Dump that pot into this one and stir it together. Add

• 1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
• 2-3 cloves minced or pressed garlic
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

You're almost done. The final ingredient you add right before serving,

• 3/4 cup sour cream substitute 

I usually use Tofutti's non-hydrogenated Better than Sour Cream, but it has maltodextrin, so if you are looking for a gluten-free alternative, try Follow Your Heart's Vegan Gourmet sour cream.

I usually serve this with a pile of steamed broccoli and a pound of Trader Joe's whole wheat rotelle. For the wheat free version, serve it over rice, quinoa, or gluten free pasta. Makes a whole lot - feeds 5-6 with leftovers as part of a holiday meal.

Eggless Nog

• 1/4 cup raw, unsalted cashews (you could probably use blanched almonds if you are allergic to cashews.
• 4 cups vanilla soymilk (or other milk-like beverage, coconut would probably be awesome)
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp rum flavoring
• 1/4-1/2 cup dark brown sugar

 
Put cashews into a blender. Add nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla extract, rum flavoring, dark brown sugar, and salt. Then pour enough vanilla soymilk to allow it to blend (at least a cup) and blend it until the cashews are completely dissolved into the drink. Decant it, pour in the rest of the quart and stir. Chill and serve topped with grated nutmeg. Or use as a coffee creamer. This was a hit with everyone at our family winter holiday gathering last year, from the vegan 5 year old to the omnivorous eggnog connoisseurs. It does mix well with alcohol, I like brandy or amaretto, but rum would work too.

Allergy Friendly Chocolate Cupcakes - gluten, corn, soy free

I thought I got a photo of these, but I don't seem to have. So have a shot of another set of cupcakes instead.

 

Trust me, these turned out tasty enough that the difference is academic. They have chocolate frosting though.

A note on ingredients: most commercial vanilla extracts use a corn alcohol as the solvent. Making your own extract is pretty painless, though, just slit open a couple of vanilla beans and soak them in alcohol (I've got a batch in brandy right now) and let them sit until the desired strength. Many corn-allergic folks aren't so sensitive that distilled alcohol can affect them. When in doubt, ask. Also, most powdered sugars contain corn starch. Wholesome Sweeteners brand does not. Check your labels. All vegan margarines contain either corn or soy derivatives,  so this recipe uses straight palm oil. 

• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 cup 'sticky' white rice flour
• 1/4 cup garbanzo bean flour
• 1/2 cup potato starch
• 1/4 cup tapioca starch (not pearls)
• 1 Tbs ground flaxseed
• 1 cup water or cold coffee
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (see note above) or the seeds of one vanilla bean - save the exterior for making extract
• 5 Tbsp neutral flavored liquid vegetable oil (canola, almond, safflower)
• 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

Preheat oven to 350.

Whisk together dry ingredients, add wet ingredients and stir to combine. portion into lined cupcake pan. I got 15 cupcakes out of this. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Allow to cool completely.

• 1/4 cup palm oil shortening
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla or equivalent
• 2-3 Tbs cocoa powder
• 1 Tbs lemon juice (adds a cream cheese-y tang, I always add this to icing)
• 1/2 tsp blackstrap molasses (optional - adds a buttery note)
• 2 cups cornstarch-free powdered sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt

Beat ingredients together to form a spreadable icing. Frost completely cooled cupcakes.
 

Six Ingredient Crock Pot White Bean Soup

Ok, 7 if you count the water.

2 cups dry white beans
7 cups water
Juice of one lemon
1 teaspoon salt
2 cloves crushed garlic
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh sage OR 1 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
1 bunch dino (also called lacinato) kale, chopped.

Place beans and water in a crockpot, cook for 6 hours on low. Add remaining ingredients and stir well, let stand about 10 minutes. Serve topped with a little olive oil, and a good bread if you are so inclined.

This is our favorite dinner for a busy day.