Drop Biscuits 'N Gravy

I am finally getting over my weird intimidation with baking and cracking open this amazing cookbook: "The Joy of Vegan Baking" by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau.  She has perfected countless vegan recipes for breads, cookies, cakes, and everything in between.

I almost didn't believe it when the biscuit recipe said prep time: 5 minutes.  Could it be this easy to make tasty biscuits?  Yep!  Here's how:

Biscuit Ingredients:
1 2/3 Cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tblsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt 
2/3 cup almond milk
1/3 cup melted Earth Balance (or you can just use canola oil)

Preheat oven to 475, and lightly grease a baking sheet.  Combine the dry ingredients first, then add the milk and oil and stir with a fork.  The batter should be thick.  Use two spoons to put little scoops of batter on the cookie sheet.  (We also made traditional-sized biscuits with this recipe and they turned out fine.  The mini ones were PERFECT for the biscuits n gravy, though).  Bake for about 8 minutes.

Gravy ingredients:
Earth Balance vegan butter
almond milk
flour
diced onion
vegan sausage (We used Light Life brand)
seasonings

For the vegan gravy, we made a roux with the butter and flour, then added the almond milk.  Simmer for a few minutes and you can add a little more flour/milk to get the consistency you want. Stir and simmer.  In a separate pan, we sauteed the onion and sausage, then added it to he gravy. 

Baja Birthday Dinner

For my 27th birthday dinner, my mom prepared a Mexican feast including vegan tamales, "fish" tacos with fresh pico de gallo, and refried beans.

 Let's start with the tamales!  I was excited to help with the process because I had never made tamales from scratch.  I'd say they were quite tasty!  For the masa we used a recipe from the Bon Appetit Cookbook and just substituted non-vegan ingredients for vegan ones (Earth Balance instead of butter, and cut out the cheese).  I took a picture of the recipe.
 


Then for the filling we sauted up some soy veggie crumbles, onion, and peppers and mixed in some Daiya pepper jack shreds.   First, lay down some masa dough and flatten it with your hands, then put the filling on top.  Layer more masa and squish it all together, sealing the mixture inside.  Then wrap it up in a corn husk just as if you a Chipotle employee wrapping up a burrito.  We used strips of the husk to tie it all in a nice little package.  Here are some pictures of the process.

 

 

 
While making the tamales, we pressed extra-firm tofu to prepare for the vegan fish tacos.  After the water has been pressed out, slice the tofu.  Coat in flour.  Then dip in vegan plain yogurt, and then coat in panko (bread crumbs).  Fry the tofu cutlets in oil until the coating is golden-brown.

 

Topped with pico de gallo and lime, these baja tacos were super fresh!  Feliz cumpleaños a mi!!  Thanks, mom!

Vegan Cheezeburger?!!

This one's gonna be quick:  but I just want to say that if you're looking for a vegan hamburger alternative that is just like real thing (only better), it's gotta be Gardein.  We all know that I'm a faux-meat aficionado and in my opinion these make the best "can't believe it's vegan" burgers.  Topped with Daiya vegan cheddar-style shreds, Gardein burger patties, spinach, home-grown tomato, vegenaise, dijon, pickle, and a whole wheat bun! 

Ken's Vegan Reuben

I will admit that this isn't a "true" Reuben since I used sourdough instead of rye bread.. but it was still yummy!  To make a vegan thousand island dressing, I mixed Vegenaise, ketchup, and diced pickle. Three of my favorite condiments together as one.  Tofurkey brand deli slices are my favorite of store-bought sandwich slices because they are sliced really thin.  For my Reuben I used the roast beef style deli slices and Bubbie's sauerkraut (squeeze out the water first.)  Finally, spread Earth Balance on the outside of the bread and grill it up!  Not the healthiest sandwich I've ever made, but definitely some tasty comfort food.     

Chicken Fried Tofu dinner

Here's what you see on this plate:  Red quinoa, steamed broccoli and carrots, skillet potatoes, braised kale, and fried tofu. 

For the tofu, we kind of cheated and started with a pre-baked savory tofu made by WildWood organics.  I Love the firm texture of the baked tofu and this brand has just enough savory flavor-- but not too much. 

I prepared one shallow bowl with a mixture of almond milk and arrowroot starch, and another bowl with flour, panko, and seasoned salt.  We sliced the tofu in thin triangles and heated oil in a skillet.  Fry each side for a couple minutes until brown, then set on a paper towel before plating. 

My plate: (as you can see, I'm a kale addict)

 Chris' plate: 

As for everything else, I used my rice cooker for the quinoa, the potatoes have onions, garlic, and red peppers, and you can look at this post to see how I like to cook my greens. 

Things to make with chickpeas

I made a big batch of chickpeas using my pressure cooker, so I had to find some different uses for them.

I first made a kale and sundried tomato hummus that was inspired by a recipe on VeganYumYum.  I processed the beans first with salt/pepper and olive oil, then added the kale (steam it, and press all the water out) and tomatos and processed a bit more.  A healthy twist on hummus!



I also made "Roasted Chichers," which turn the beans into a tasty snack.  I saw this recipe in my Vegan Planet cookbook and they were so quick and easy I had to try it!  Just put the chickpeas in a shallow baking dish, drizzle some olive oil and sprinkle salt and pepper.  Heat the oven to 400 and cook for about 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

We added some of those chichers to a southwest-style tofu scramble (yum!), and the next day I put the leftovers in a melty, grilled breakfast sandwich featuring Daiya vegan cheddar!  Yes!

Fresh Pesto Gnocchi

The basil in my garden is flourishing!  Time to make pesto! 

For the pesto:
Fresh basil (about 1 1/2 cups loosely packed)
2 cloves garlic
1/3 cup pine nuts
Olive oil

Start with the pine nuts and garlic in the food processor.  When they are chopped, add the basil and process.  Then lastly add the olive oil until it looks the consistency you want. 

In a pan, saute some chopped onion and sun-dried tomatoes.  When the gnocchi is cooked, add it to the saute and mix the basil in.  A quick, flavorful dinner.
  

Stuffed Crust Pizza!

We LOVE pizza.  And lucky for me, Chris takes care of the tricky part (tossing the dough, building the pizza) while I chop veggies and get the toppings ready.  This time, we used a frozen whole wheat crust from Whole Foods.  Since the pizza pan was a bit too small for the crust, Chris decided to put a thin layer of Daiya vegan cheese around the edge and then folded the crust over top.  Experimenting is fun! 

Before going in the oven

Toppings included Daiya vegan mozzarella, red and green peppers, onion, mushrooms, and Yves vegan pepperoni.