The Veggie Gal

This is a super easy and pretty quick soup to throw together when you don’t have a ton of time.  The flavor is very mild and simple but you can spice it up with some creativity if you want to.  I enjoy the simplicity of it and the kids will eat it so that is awesome for me.

Don’t you love all the tv shows that claim a 5 or 10 minute meal but they have all the ingredients right in front of them all cut up and ready.  Sure many things would take 5 or 10 minutes if all the ingredients were ready for me to put together.  Well this soup only takes about 10 minutes once you have everything cut up and ready but really it takes about 30 minutes including prep but that is pretty quick for real food.

Veggie Miso Soup
Makes: about 8 servings (easy to half)

1 onion chopped (a whole rubber banded amount of green onions is great too)
4-6 shredded carrots
1/2 head shredded cabbage (kind and color of your choice)
1 1/2-2 cups frozen soy beans (edamame)
1 16 oz bag rice noodles (Chinese style) cooked in approximately 8+ cups of water
3/4 cup Miso Paste (flavor of your choice-adjust to taste)
1-2 teaspoons sesame oil
Powdered ginger to taste
2 Tablespoons soy sauce (adjust to taste-can use gluten free to keep it gluten free)
Sesame seeds
Salt to taste if needed

Chop veggies and steam in a little water to cook all the way through and not liquid is left in the pan.

While veggies are cooking cook rice noodles according to package which should only take 5 minutes once water is boiling (DO NOT DRAIN!)

Once the noodles are cooked through add the miso paste to the starchy water with the noodles and stir until blended.

Add the cooked veggies and other spices then adjust to your taste.  Garnish with sesame seeds and ENJOY!

Back to Top

Tags: Easy Vegan, Gluten Free, Healthy Meal, Quick vegan, vegan recipe, Vegetarian, Veggie Miso Soup

Spring is in the air and I’m getting excited for the weather to warm up and to be able to wear lighter clothes soon.  I actually have a few flowers that just popped up in my front yard so I’m buzzing with excitement.  We all need to get ready for those summer clothes right now and salads are a great way to drop a couple of pounds.

This salad is very hearty that you can just have it alone as a meal.  The quinoa is super high in protein and satisfies a big appetite.  Add what ever other Mexican flavors you enjoy like jalapenos or red onions to make it just the way you like it.

The Ranch recipe is similar to my Cucumber Cashew Ranch just minus the cucumbers and add chipotle seasoning.  It all comes together in less than 30 minutes!

Mexican Quinoa Salad with Chipotle Ranch Dressing

Greens of your choice
1/4 cup cooked quiona-per plate (cook according to package directions-chill if desired while making the Ranch)
Handful black beans
Toppings of your choice; olives, onions, tomatoes, avocado
Top with Chipotle Ranch Dressing (recipe below)

 Chipotle Ranch Dressing
Makes approx 2 cups dressing

1 cup soaked raw cashews (NOT roasted or salted!)
Enough clean water to just barely cover the cashews once placed in the blender or food processor
1 teaspoon (or more to taste) garlic powder
1 teaspoon (or more to taste) onion powder
1 teaspoon (or more to taste) dried parsley
1 teaspoon (or more to taste) chives
1/2 teaspoon (or more to taste) dill weed
1/2 teaspoon(or more to taste) lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon (or more to taste) sea salt
1/2 teaspoon (or more to taste) chipotle seasoning (Mrs. Dash works great since no salt is added)
pepper to taste

Make sure you soak your nuts, rinse completely and pour into your high powered blender or food processor.

Add all the rest of the ingredients in the order listed and blend until creamy.  If you are doing this in a food processor stop periodically and scrape the sides down.

Taste and adjust the spices to your liking.  If you need it to be thinner adjust the moisture with more water.

Pour into a container with a lid and refrigerate until well chilled, although it can be eaten right away if you do not mind it slightly warm.

Pour onto your salad and ENJOY!

Back to Top

Tags: Easy Vegan, Gluten Free, Mexican Food, Mexican Quinoa Salad with Chipotle Ranch Dressing, Quick vegan, vegan recipe, Vegetarian

To eat like my doctor hero’s (McDougall, Furhman and Barnard) recommend you need to think simple, whole and clean while staying away from added oils.  Well this Mexican Black Bean Quinoa over a Sweet Potato with Cashew Sour Cream fits that bill perfectly.

I am buying bulk food to use for long term food storage and want to be sure I can actually make something with it when the time comes, plus we need to rotate the food so it stays good.  We bought 50 lbs of quinoa and sealed it in air proof bags at increments of 2 cups a piece.  I also bought 25 lbs of beans, brown rice, oats, and raw cashews so I will need to come up with other recipes to rotate that through.  As you all may have noticed I am having no problems coming up with recipes to use cashews but will be getting creative with the rest while continuing to add to the stockpile.

This recipe works great for using the stored food but better than that it actually tastes amazing if I do say so myself.  My husband actually said if he had to he could eat this every day.  PLUS it is SUPER DE DUPER good for you and won’t make you fat!

I usually make 1 cup of quinoa while I am making it and put the rest in the fridge so I can make my Quinoa Mandarin Salad with the cold Quinoa for my next meal, makes it quick and easy and we all need to consolidate time where we can.

Black Bean Quinoa over a Sweet Potato with Cashew Sour Cream

Makes enough for 6+ (think leftovers for lunch!)

6 small sweet potatoes/yams
1/2 cup prepared quinoa (prepare according to package directions)
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 cup cauliflower, chopped (or other veggie or your choice)
1 can black beans, rinsed (or cook your own whole beans)
1/4 cup corn (organic is best with the lowest possibility of being non GMO)
1 can Italian style diced tomatoes
1 4 oz can mild green chilies
1/2 teaspoon Oregano (or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (or to taste)
Chili powder to taste
Salt & Pepper to taste

Cashew Sour Cream recipe

Wash the sweet potatoes and bake at 400° in the oven for 1 hour or bake in the microwave until done, make sure to poke a few holes in them before cooking.

While the sweet potatoes cook, prepare the quinoa according to package directions.  Quiona should only take 15 minutes to cook.

Chop up the onion and cauliflower and steam with a little water until cooked through, add the spices and cook for a minute until most of the liquid is gone.  Add the rinsed black beans, Italian tomatoes, green chilies, corn, and cooked quinoa and stir well.  Cover the pan and cook on low heat for 15 minutes until it is very warm and flavors have had a chance to blend.  Taste and adjust the spices your your liking.

Cut the sweet potato in half and mash well, no need to add oils or butter here.  Pour desired amount of black bean quiona mixture on top of the mashed potato.  Sprinkle with a small amount of salt and pour desired amount of Cashew Sour Cream on and ENJOY!

Back to Top

Tags: Dr. McDougall, Dr. Neal Barnard, Easy Vegan, Gluten Free, Mexican Food, Vegan, vegan recipe, Vegetarian

The benefits of having your own food dehydrator are great!  These wonderful little un-ovens can make tons of delicious and healthful treats, help you store your garden harvest so it doesn’t  go to waste, help you build your food storage supplies and allow you to retain the nutrients of foods that would be lost during cooking.

Dehydrator

Now I am not a raw foodist but I do appreciate the teachings of that lifestyle and believe there is enormous value in trying to eat as much raw food as you can.  We all know that the soil our food is grown in is depleted in nutrients and is only getting worse so we need to keep as much of what is available as we can.

Obviously growing your own food in soil that you have enriched naturally is the best and you can reap more health rewards by doing so.  Saving as much of your harvest (or store bought if you need to) for use in the winter is a wonderful way to save money and increase your nutrient intake.  If done right you can start to store more for longer term use and know that as food prices start to sky rocket you are eating healthier and cheaper food than you can buy.  If you employ a quality dehydrator you can increase your intake of nutrient dense food while making all kinds of wonderful dishes.

Raspberry Fruit Roll-up

I do not have an affiliation with the company Excalibur who makes the type of dehydrator I chose to buy.  I only can tell you my experience with my own dehydrator and you can choose for yourself.  I did some research before buying a dehydrator and chose the Excalibur because of the reputation it seems to have all over the internet   I read tons of reviews and compared other machines and decided this one was the right one for me.  Now it is much more expensive than some of the others on the market but the quality and longevity made it worth it to me and I won’t have to replace it every year or two.

There are literally thousands of recipes you can make with a dehydrator and that is just in the vegan world.  You also can dry flowers and other arts in the machine so keep that in mind.  I will start to post some of the recipe I have made with my dehydrator and put them all in the “dehydrator” category so if you are looking for vegan dehydrated foods you can just go through my list.  There are so many wonderful recipes out there on the internet you could look for a year and probably not get to the end.  Pintrest has some awesome ones that I have yet to try but will be doing so soon.

Various Fruit Roll-ups

One word of caution,  my dehydrator does put off a little bit of heat and since you are drying food for hours at a time it can get toasty in the room it is in.  I like to use it in the fall and winter since it is chilly during that time of year and it is doing double duty, heating my kitchen and making my food.  In the summer I might put it in a room in the basement, in the garage or even out on the covered porch if I want to make things and not heat my house.

If you do decide to buy a dehydrator because you want to store your food and keep the nutrients and enzymes intact you should look up all the particulars that go along with it.  Some that I have learned so far are; never heat above 115° to keep all the enzymes and nutrients in the food (above that starts to kill them), store your food in air tight containers to prevent bacteria growth, I prefer to use my food saver to pull out all of the air and then I seal that in Mylar bags to keep them from the light, store the food in a cool, dark and dry place.  Rotate your food so you keep the freshest food (you can store food anywhere between 1 year and 30+ years!), when re-hydrating be sure to use the liquid since all the nutrients are in that liquid, when drying keep it thin to shorten drying time.  Now of course there are tons of other “rules” but these are the basics and are all pretty simple.

I have added some picture of the wonderful things I have used my dehydrator for which include, flax crackers, coconut flax cracker, vegetables, soups I have made from those vegetables, banana pancakes, fruit roll ups, dried apples, sweet lemons and bananas, flax pancakes, raw pizza, and kale chips .  I will continue to make things with it and will post as I go along to share.

Re-hydrated Soup

Coconut Flax Crackers with cashew cream and berries

Kale Chips

Cheezy Kale Chips

Blueberry Flax Pancakes

Dehydrating Bananas

Dehydrating Meyer Lemons

Banana Pancakes

Dehydrated Apples

Flax Crackers

Back to Top

Tags: Dehydrator, Healthy Meal, Nutrition, raw food, Vegan Dehydrator, vegan recipe, Vegetarian

As promised I am posting my Sweet Oatmeal Crepes.  These babies are so good we eat them for dinner quite often along side of the Cheezy Tofu Scramble.  The great news is every single person in our house loves these so I always know they are going to be a hit.  The extra great news is every single guest to our home who has had them loves them and will always ask for seconds.

The recipe for the crepes is basically the same as the Oatmeal Waffles but with more water to thin the batter.  That being said, like the oatmeal waffles, they can be a little soft in the middle.  When cooking these make sure to press down on the done side to squeeze out the batter.  They take way longer than a normal flour crepe but are so worth it so be prepared.  Plus, they are much higher in fiber and good nutrients that are missing in typical flour.  I thank Dr. Neal Barnard for the amazing oatmeal waffle recipe because I have now used it for not only the Oatmeal Waffles but for Oatmeal Pancakes 3 Ways and now Sweet Oatmeal Crepes.

Because the crepe part can take a bit of time I make them ahead of time and put them in the oven to keep them warm on the lowest temp.  These keep well in the fridge for leftovers (if you have any) and put together well for lunch the next day.

~NOTE~This is a 3 separate recipe meal so make sure you read this WHOLE thing before you get started so you can pre-make what is needed!!

Sweet Oatmeal Crepes
Makes: approximately 8 large crepes

2 cup rolled oats
2 1/2 cups water (add more as it sits and thickens if needed)
1 medium banana
1 tbsp raw sugar, or other sweetener
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
Sprinkle or two of cinnamon (optional)

Filling

Sweet Cashew Cream mmm mmm mmm 
Sliced bananas
Chopped or sliced fresh berries of your choice
Chopped nuts of your choice (pecans are a great compliment-use a small amount-there is a enough fats in the cashew cream)
Ground flax seeds (a small sprinkle)

Topping

Berry Sauce

Make sure you have soaked your cashews for the cashew cream-read the recipe before you start this one!  Make the cashew cream and berry sauce before you make the crepes so it can chill in the fridge while you make the crepes.

For the crepes place all ingredients in a high speed blender and blend until smooth. Let stand a few minutes; if batter becomes too thick, add enough additional water to make batter easily pourable and thin enough to make a thin crepe.

Pour into a heated large skillet and rotate pan around right away to spread the batter to the edges making a thin crepe.

Cook until the edges start to come up and it can easily be flipped over.  (Tip-spray your spatula with some cooking spray on both sides so it does not stick and rip the crepe when you flip it)

Cook the second side while periodically pressing down on it to spread it thinner and make it cook through completely.  Cook until it is well browned on each side, it will look like it is not fully cooked but that is ok it will dry out a bit in the oven and soft is good.  Store in the oven until you are ready to put them together.

Chop the fruits and nuts.  Lay out one crepe on a serving plate, spread desired amount of cashew cream length wise down the crepe.  Top with chopped fruits and nuts and sprinkle a small amount of flax on top of that.  Spread a thinner amount of cashew cream on top of it all so it will stick when you roll the crepe.

Roll the crepe tightly and top the crepe with Berry Sauce and/or pure maple syrup then ENJOY!

Sweet Oatmeal Crepes Sauces

Back to Top

Tags: Breakfast, Dessert, Dinner, Dr. Neal Barnard, Sweet Oatmeal Crepes, Vegan Crepes, vegan recipe, Vegetarian

Trying to embrace the vegan food lifestyle my husband finds the most amazing recipes.  He found this wonderfully scrumptious recipe from the Herbivoracious blog.  He calls them “Vegetarian Frijoles Charros – Mexican Cowboy Beans with Smoked Onion” but since they are so freakin tasty in our house we call them AMAZING~Smoked Vegan Beans.

Call them what you want but make them and enjoy an amazing, savory and creamy dish that you can serve with just about a ton of things.  We have put them in fajitas, served on the side of veggie dogs, or simply with a salad and corn bread but the possibilities are vast.  We are going camping this weekend so we will precook our beans in the pressure cooker to bring along and the rest throws together really quickly.

These can be made low fat by replacing the oil with a quick spray of cooking oil.  We have made them without the chilies and with and both ways are amazing but we did not use the type of chilies he used so I can’t say how his are exactly. Obviously without the chilies this recipe is a little more kid friendly if your kids are sensitive to heat.  We also did not use the type of onion he suggests and I add a little more garlic because I love it.  Another change we made is how we smoked our onions so make sure to look at his recipe to choose which way you would prefer to smoke your onions.

Here is how we put his recipe together but the credit is ALL his, just marvelous!

AMAZING~Smoked Vegan Beans
Serves: 4+

1 handful smoking wood chips
1 large onion, chopped (depending on how you grill them you may need larger pieces then cut them down after you cook-ours fell through the grill plate we had)
2 whole dried chilies of your choice
Cooking spray (he used 3 T oil-your choice)
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
Salt to taste (the tomato paste and crushed tomato have a lot of salt in them so start with less and adjust up it can be too salty-our first batch was)
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 cup canned crushed tomato
4 cups unsalted home-cooked pinto beans, and 1-2 cups of their cooking liquid

Prepare your home-cooked pinto beans the way you prefer.  We cook our in a pressure cooker for 26 minutes and they turn out perfect.  Make sure to keep all the cooking liquid.

Bring your grill to approximately 600° then put a handful smoking wood chips inside of some tinfoil, fold it securely, poke some holes into it and place onto your hot coals.

Slice up your garlic and set it aside until you need it. Chop your onions and place onto a grill plate with holes for the smoke to get through and place onto your hot, smoking grill and grill with the lid closed for 7-10 minutes.  Check at 7 minutes to be sure they do not burn, the end ones might burn a little but that is ok.

Cook your peppers for a minute or two on each side in a hot pan to soften them up a bit.  Pull them out of the pan and chop into small bite size pieces then put them back into the pan with a little cooking spray (or oil) and add the smoked onions, garlic and a teaspoon of salt and cook until it all softens up, maybe 2-3 minutes.

Add the beans, one cup of the bean liquid and the crushed tomatoes, bring it up to a simmer then reduce the heat and cook them for another 15 minutes.  Taste to see if you need to add more salt or more bean liquid to your desired consistency then serve and ENJOY!

Back to Top

Tags: Beans, Cowboy Beans, Easy Vegan, Gluten Free, Quick vegan, Smoked Vegan Beans, vegan camping, vegan recipe, Vegetarian, vegetarian beans

Our family really loves the Kikkoman’s teriyaki sauce and I really love quick meals so this one is a winner.  It takes only about 15 minutes and tastes like you slaved away for hours in the kitchen.  My little ones gobble this up and my teen daughter always has me make extra so she can take it for lunch (even cold it is yummy).

To make this meal as quickly as possible it is best to use the 10 minute brown rice as well as have a bag of frozen veggies on hand.  Then you can just boil the rice, quick fry the chik’n patties and steam the veggies all in less than 15 minutes, seriously!

FYI, the teriyaki sauce can be slightly spicy so I usually only drizzle a little on everyone’s plate to make it look pretty then I pour some into a bowl after heating it up for self serve. Then everyone can adjust to their own tastes and spiciness but I promise it is not that spicy and if my 3 & 6 year old can eat this than anyone can!

Teriyaki Chik’n with Rice & Vegetables 
Serves: 4

1 box =  4 Boca Chik’n patties, defrosted
1/2 bag frozen veggies of your choice (or 2 cups fresh veggies chopped)
1/2 jar Kikkoman Teriyaki Sauce
2 packages of boil in a bag brown rice or 4 servings quick brown rice

Cook the brown rice per the package instructions.

While rice is cooking steam the veggies until tender crisp, strain off water and set aside.

While the rice and veggies are cooking chop the defrosted Chik’n patties into bite sized pieces and quick fry in a non stick pan with a little cooking spray until browned and heated though.

Warm up the teriyaki sauce and put into a serving bowl.

Plate the food with the rice on the bottom, top with desired amount of veggies and chik’n then drizzle with the teriyaki sauce and ENJOY!

Back to Top

Tags: Dinner, Easy Vegan, Quick and easy, Teriyaki Chik'n with Rice & Vegetables, vegan chicken, vegan recipe, Vegetarian

We recently decided to try the Tomato Bisque recipe from The Conscious Cook cookbook by Tal Ronnin and WOWIE YUM.  I usually adjust recipes to add less oil where I can but he is such a wonderful cook who it seems has taken such care and time with his recipes that I thought I should just leave it as he made it and I’m glad I did.

This soup tastes like the best soup from the best restaurant you have ever been too and one you would pay a fortune for but it is cheap to make at home.  It is super rich and packed with flavor yet smooth (even when I left it chunky) and really just explosion on your taste buds.  Honestly, I can’t say enough about how delicious this soup was.  This is a perfect meal to serve to skeptical guests who think vegan food is bland and boring.

I usually like a more chunky soup and my husband and kids like a creamy soup so I did it both ways and you can see the texture of both in the pics so you can decide which looks more to your own liking.

I am typing this recipe out exactly as it is written in his book and as I said I did not change a thing from the ingredients and yum.  I did however not blend mine as much and did not put it through the sieve to make it super smooth because I wanted all the fiber and texture but you decide if you want it my way or his, I’m sure the taste is the same.  I also included his recipe for the cashew cream below the soup.  BEWARE you need to soak your nuts overnight (unless you have a Vita-Mix,which I HIGHLY recommend!) so plan ahead!!!

I pared it with a wonderful salad of my own making but with a dressing from his book and also with his Focaccia bread (I will post that recipe soon too) and it was a super satisfying meal that almost leaves you intoxicated.  Get up and try this soup!

Tomato Bisque
Makes 6 servings

Sea salt
4 tablesppons Earth Balance
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
3 cloves garlic, smashed
2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
5 cups faux chicken stock (try Better Than Bouillon brand)
1 (28-ounce) can whole fire-roasted tomatoes,  juice included
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
Leaves from 2 fresh thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
Freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups regular Cashew Cream (see below)
Parsley for garnish

Place a large stockpot over medium heat.  Sprinkle the bottom with a pinch of salt and heat for 1 minute.  Add the Earth Balance and stir until melted, being careful not to let it burn.  This will create a nonstick effect.  Add the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic and cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.  Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and continue cooking and stirring for 2 minutes.

Add the stock, tomatoes with juice, parsley, thyme and bay leaf.  Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper, then add the Cashew Cream.  Continue to simmer (do not boil) for 10 minutes.

Remove the bay leaf.  Working in batches, pour the soup into a blend, cover the lid with a towel (the hot liquid tends to erupt), and blend on high several minutes, until very smooth.  Pour the soup through a fine-mesh sieve.  Ladle into bowls and garnish with parsley.  ENJOY!

Cashew Cream:

2 cups whole raw cashews (not pieces, which are often dry) rinsed very well under cold water.

Put the cashews in a  bowl and add cold water to cover them.  Cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight.

Drain the cashews and rinse under cold water.  Place them in a blender with enough fresh cold water to cover them by 1 inch.  Blend on high for several minutes until very smooth.  (If you’re not using a professional high speed blender such as a Vita-Mix, which creates an ultra-smooth cream, stain the cashew cream through a fine-mesh sieve.)

Makes about 2 1/4 cups thick cream or 3 1/2 cups regular cream

Back to Top

Tags: Dinner, Healthy Meal, Tal Ronnen, Tomato Bisque from The Conscious Cook, Vegan, vegan recipe, Vegan soup, Vegetarian

I had not eaten a pot pie since I was about 12 when I decided to try Amy’s pot pie.  I have to say it was not that great but good enough to intrigue me into making my own and it has 10x’s the flavor of the one I had.   Sorry Amy, I do love your black bean enchiladas though (although I have not attempted to make my own YET).  Well after some experiemtning with my filling I am pretty happy with how it turned out.  The crust is the standard crust most vegans do for theirs except I add a bunch of spices to give it even more flavor.

This would make a great centerpiece for Thanksgiving or of course as individual pot pies, you would just have to add more crusts depending on how many you serve.  Obviously it would make a great dinner dish any time though.

I make extra filling so that the next day when you eat the leftovers you have more to add moisture since it does dry out a bit.  The filling does thicken up so add a little water before reheating.  It also makes a great soup as left overs if you don’t have any of the pie.

I would normally put broccoli into this but the day I took these pics I did not have any on hand but add and subtract veggies to your own desire.  MAKE SURE all your veggies are chopped to about the same size so they will evenly cook.  With the spices in the filling, adjust to your own taste by starting low and adding more as you go.

Tofu Pot Pie
Makes 1 large pie serving: 6

Crust;

2 cups flour of your choice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon dehydrated onions (I used red)
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon sage
1/4 teaspoon thyme
2/3 cup Earth Balance Spread
5 Tablespoons COLD water

Filling;

1 package firm/extra firm tofu, cubed (same size as veggies)
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
2 cups of vegan chicken broth (add more if you get it too thick)
2 potatoes, chopped
1/4 cup corn
2 carrots, chopped
4-8 mushrooms, chopped
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (ore more to your taste)
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning (ore more to your taste)
a pinch of sage (ore more to your taste)
a pinch of thyme (or more to your taste)
4 Tablespoons flour mixed with a very small amount of water

Fry the cubed tofu in a non stick skillet with a little cooking spray on medium heat.  Once they are browned well and cooked through toss in the hot pan with soy sauce then set aside.

For the rest of the filling put everything except flour mixture into a pot and cook until it is done but firm still.  Add the cooked tofu & flour mixture  to thicken then turn off the burner and set aside.  Preheat the oven to 350º

For the crust mix together the flour & spices well then add in the earth balance and cut it through to mix well.  Pour the cold water into the mix and then blend until you have a nice ball.

Separate the ball in half making one half be just slightly bigger than the other half.  Pour a small amount of flour onto a clean counter and roll out the smaller half of the dough until it will fit into your pie pan.  Spray the bottom of your pie pan and place the rolled out dough into it pushing up the sides until they reach the top.

Roll out the slightly larger piece of dough for the top of your pie making it thinner and bigger than the top so you can pinch the top to the bottom.  If you want to cut out some leaves or other decoration do so now and set them aside.  If you don’t want a decoration just poke some holes in the dough while it is still on the counter to vent it while it cooks.

Pour the filling into your crust until it is about 1/4 inch from the top of the pan.  Place your rolled out dough on top of the filling and pinch together the sides with your fingers or a fork.  If you have decoration place that on top and put it in the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes or until the crust is done.  If you want a browner crust spray it with cooking spray.  Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes so it will cut and set up well then ENJOY!  Stay tuned, I am putting up my Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake next…

Back to Top

Tags: Dinner, Tofu Pot Pie, Vegan, vegan dinner, vegan pot pie, vegan recipe, Vegetarian

I decided to buy a package of Chick’n Scallopini by Gardein since Chef Tal Ronnen talks so highly about that brand in his book The Conscious Cook.  I had tried something from that brand a year or two ago and did not like it but figured I would try again and see.  I went onto their website to search Tal’s recipes and found this recipe for Macadamia Encrusted Chick’n which actually is not credited to him so who knows who came up with it.

This recipe looks beautiful and would be a great one to serve to a non-veg guest.  The mango broccoli slaw that accompanies it is very delicious and when eaten with a bite of the chick’n makes the combo just burst with flavor and texture.  I do have to say honestly that the chik’n alone is pretty boring and bland.  I think it must be eaten with the slaw or maybe a dip could be made on the side if you don’t like mixing your food.

I really hate frying any food and tried to just use cooking spray but it would not work well so ended up frying it and using a  paper towel to soak off what oil I could.  I think baking it might work to keep the fat down though and if I make this again that is what I will do.

I added the tablespoon of sesame oil required and then only 1 tablespoon of the olive oil instead of the 1/3 cup and then adjusted with water to equal the 1/3 cup to keep that oil low.  The slaw still tasted amazing and honestly I think you could get away with just adding the sesame oil and no olive oil and adjust with water instead but you decide what you want.  I might even just add 1 tablespoon of sesame seeds in place of that oil too and I’m sure it will still taste amazing and then it will stay a WHOLE food.

I will post the recipe exactly how it is on the Gardein website then you can make what adjustments you want from that.  I had a ton of flour and soy milk left over after dipping it so you may want to start lower to not waste.

Macadamia Encrusted Chick’n
Serves; 4

1 bag of Gardein Scallopini (4 pieces)
1/4 cup macadamia nuts
1/2 cup unbleached white flour
to taste salt & pepper
1 cup soy milk

Mango Broccoli Slaw:
1 mango
1/3 cup fresh orange juice
1/3 cup rice vinegar
1 tbsp sesame oil
1/3 cup olive oil (I only used 1 tbsp then filled up the rest with water)
1 tsp brown mustard
1 bag broccoli slaw
2 tsp minced shallot
1 tbsp grated ginger
to taste sea salt
to taste cayenne pepper

Warm oven to 400°F. Toast the macadamia nuts on a baking sheet for 10 to 15 minutes, until browned. Cool.

In a coffee grinder or food processor, grind the nuts.

Mix the nuts with the flour and season with salt and pepper.

Moisten the scallopini in the soy milk, then dredge in the nut mixture.

Pan-fry on both sides until golden and crispy.

Meanwhile, peel and cut the mango into 1/4-inch cubes.

Wisk together the orange juice, vinegar, sesame oil, olive oil and mustard.

In a large bowl, combine the broccoli slaw, shallot, and ginger, mix in the dressing, and let sit for 10 minutes. Stir in the cubed mango and season with salt and cayenne.

Top with the pan-fried scallopini.

Back to Top

Tags: Chef Tal Ronnen, Dinner, Easy Vegan, Lunch, Vegan, vegan recipe, Vegetarian