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This is probably my favorite summer dish. It is a fun one to do with your kids or when you have friends over. It is kind of like visiting a salad bar, or baked potato bar - so many yummy things to stack on your plate. My kids like being able to decided what goes on there plate and how much. This recipe is a good starting place, but feel free to add to or decrease the amount of each ingredient according to your family's taste. You can also use your own favorite gravy if you want.
It is a nice, light dinner for a hot summer day and filling. My mouth is watering just thinking about it!
Hawaiian Haystacks
Serves 4
1 cup brown rice (or favorite grain - quinoa is also really good!)
1 15 oz. can navy beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups crunchy chow mein noodles
1 tomato, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup green onion, or chives are good also
1 20 oz. can pineapple chunks, drained
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup shredded coconut
shredded vegan cheese, optional
Gravy
1 cup water, plus 1/4 cup cold water
1 tsp vegan chicken bouillon
2 Tbsp flour
salt and pepper to taste
Cook rice according to your package's directions.
To make gravy, pour 1 cup water into sauce pan. Stir in bouillon. Mix 1/4 cup water and flour in a small bowl and whisk together. Pour into the broth. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir for 1 minute. Take off heat and season with salt and pepper to taste.
To make your haystacks spread rice out on your plate. Then stack the chow mein noodles, beans and gravy. Add tomatoes, celery, bell pepper, and green onions. Top with pineapple, cheese (if using), almonds and coconut. Then dig in and enjoy!
My kids love ravioli. It is one of their favorite things to eat. It is not easy to find something they both love, or at least it sure seems that way sometimes. So I like to make it for them now and then for dinner. The only problem is ravioli tends to be filled with meat or cheese or even both. So I decided to give pumpkin a try. It turned out to be a very good decision! As I have said before in an earlier blog, I am not exactly crazy about pumpkin, but I loved these raviolis. They tasted so much better than I thought they would be and I can't wait to have them again! Even my husband was surprised, and he likes pumpkin far less than I. So here is another great fall recipe for you to try. They are really not that hard to make especially not having to make your own dough. Just make sure there are no eggs in the dough, if you are going a vegan route - most seem to have eggs. I used gyoza wrappers, but you could also try wonton if you prefer. If you can't find vegan Parmesan in the store, you can use the easy recipe at the end of this post. Also, you can use fresh sage (about 16 leaves) instead of the dried stuff.
Pumpkin Ravioli
Makes 4 servings
1 15 oz. can of pumpkin puree or 1 1/2 cups
1/2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
pinch of ground nutmeg
2 Tbsp vegan Parmesan, plus more for garnish
salt and black pepper to taste
24 gyoza wrappers
4 Tbsp Earth Balance vegan buttery sticks
1/2 tsp. rubbed sage
Mix the pumpkin, vinegar, nutmeg, and Parmesan; season with salt and pepper.
Working on a clean surface, lay down a single gyoza wrapper and place a small spoonful of the pumpkin mixture in the center, being careful not to overstuff (I used about 1 1/2 - 2 tsp). Rub the edges of the wrapper with water, then fold in half. Press firmly around the edges with your fingers to secure the filling inside the ravioli. Repeat with the remaining wrappers to create 24 ravioli.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Salt the water and turn down the heat to medium so that it's gently boiling. Carefully drop in the ravioli and cook for 3 minutes, then drain.
In the meantime, heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the butter and sage. Cook until butter is lightly brown and begins to give off a nutty aroma. (Do this carefully so you don't burn the butter.) Add the cooked ravioli to the pan and toss gently to make sure they don't break. Sprinkle with Parmesan if desired.
Homemade Vegan Parmesan
1/2 cup blanched almonds or white sesame seeds
2 Tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
1 - 2 tsp light miso
heaping 1/4 tsp salt
Grind almonds or sesame seeds to a fine powder in a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Add remaining ingredients and pulse or process until well mixed. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Shake container before using to break up any lumps. Will keep for a month or longer. May be frozen.
It is apple season time and my family loves apples. This year I spotted a recipe for some apple nachos and just had to try them! My family kept having me repeat that I was going to make them "apple" nachos. They thought they must be hearing me wrong. Anyway it was a big hit! You really can't go wrong making these - and the fun thing is you can really get creative with what you put on these. You definitely want crispy apples and the slightly tart goes really well with all the sweet things you put on them - so keep that in mind. This is what I did with my nachos - but feel free to be creative and put your favorite things on it.
Apple Nachos
3 crispy and slightly tart apples
3 tbsp creamy natural peanut butter
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1/4 chopped pecans
1/4 cup coconut flakes
1/4 cup vegan chocolate chips
Slice the apples thin enough so it would be easy to eat the slice in one or two bites.
Then melt the peanut butter, until it is runny, and drizzle it all over the apples. Next, top the apples and peanut butter with sliced almonds, chopped pecans, coconut flakes and chocolate chips. Then go nuts!
I made these muffins for breakfast this morning as a special treat. They turned out delicious. I used to love making muffins for breakfast, but when I became vegan it was hard to find boxed ones to make. So now I get to make them from scratch!. If you love almond flavoring - these are awesome. It made my house smell so good! The kids and I are trying to save some for when "dad" gets home from work, but that might not be so easy! I got the recipe from http://www.meettheshannons.net/, a cool blog where a couple is transforming the whole Betty Crocker cookbook into vegan recipes. So cool! The only things I did differently in this recipe were using baking cups instead of spraying, and using chopped almonds instead of sliced. I only put almonds on half though, because my kids aren't huge nut lovers.
Cherry & Almond Muffins
- 2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
- 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
- 1/3 Cup Sugar
- 1/4 teaspoons Salt
- 1 Cup Almond Milk
- 4 Tablespoons Margarine (softened)
- 1 teaspoon Almond Extract
- 1 Cup Frozen Cherries (defrosted)
- 2 Tablespoons Applesauce
- Raw Sugar & Raw Almond Slices to sprinkle over the top. Baking Spray (there are several vegan ones - just read the label to make sure)
Heat oven to 400.
Spray your muffin pan with a light coating of Baking Spray.In a large bowl, combine Flour, Baking Powder, Sugar and Salt with a wire whisk to make sure they are blended. Add Almond Milk, Margarine, Almond Extract and Applesauce and
blend with a hand held electric mixer on the lowest speed.Fold in the defrosted Cherries. Fill muffin pan about 3/4 of the way full. Then sprinkle the top with Raw Sugar and a few Raw Almond Slices. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until they are golden brown and you can remove a toothpick from the largest muffin cleanly.
