Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Vegan Green Bean Casserole

This is my very favorite thing in the universe!!! I make it all year long! Although I regret saying this, I do not recommended using fresh or frozen green beans... the canned ones are softer and the fresh ones just aren't as good in this. I know sad right?

Vegan Green Bean Casserole

1/4 cup margarine
1/4 unbleached all purpose flour
2 c vegetable stock (canned or homemade)
2 cans green beans
1 cup of mushrooms,chopped(any kind is great)
1 1/2 c french fried onions
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
2 sprigs of rosemary

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Make a blond roux with the flour and margarine (click on the word roux if you don't know what this is)
add the vegetable stock slowly about a 1/4 cup at a time bring to a boil for 1 minute until thickened add salt, pepper and rosemary. Remove from heat and set aside. Add Mushrooms, green beans and 1/2 can of French fried onions to a 2 qt casserole pan. Pour the roux sauce over the top and cook for 20 minutes. Add the remaining French fried onions to the top and cook an additional 10 minutes until top is browned.

Vegan Pumpkin Pie

Vegan Pumpkin Pie

Pie Crust:
2 1/2 cups crushed ginger cookies, (about 55 to 60 cookies)
6 tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Put a 9-inch removable-bottom fluted tart pan on a baking sheet.
Make the crust by combining the ginger cookie crumbs and melted butter in a large bowl, until well blended. Add the crumbs to the tart pan and evenly press over the bottom and up the sides with the bottom of a measuring cup. Bake until set and a bit darker in color, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

Pie Filling:

2 cups canned pumpkin
1 cup low-fat soymilk or rice milk
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 Tbs. dark molasses or to taste
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground allspice



Preheat oven to 425F.

In large bowl, mix all remaining ingredients until smooth and blended. Pour into prepared crust and smooth top. Bake 10 minutes.
Reduce oven temperature to 350F; bake until filling is set, about 50 minutes. Set on wire rack to cool, then refrigerate overnight. Top with your choice of dessert topping if desired.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Pecan Crumble Topped Sweet Potatoes

Sweet Potatoes
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 tablespoons margarine
1/4 tsp of salt

Prepare a baking sheet either place parchment paper on a baking sheet or grease baking sheet with shortening.

Put cubed potatoes into steamer basket and place steamer into a large pot of simmering water that is no closer than 2 inches from the bottom of basket. Allow to steam for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender. Add margarine to potatoes and mash with potato masher. Add salt and continue mashing to combine.

Put into a piping bag and pipe on to prepared pan into circles about the size you prefer for one serving. if you do not have a piping bag use a gallon zipper bag with the corner cut off.

FAST PECAN CRUMB TOPPING
• 3/4 c unbleached all-purpose flour
• ½ c dark brown sugar
• 1/8 tsp of salt
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• 3/4 c pecans
• 4 tbsp margarine, sliced and well chilled

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Place flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon in a food processor. Add pecans and pulse until coarsely chopped. Add margarine and pulse until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle evenly over sweet potatoes and bake 10-15 minutes or until topping is browned.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Cranberry Orange Sauce-Vegan

Posting some of my favorite Thanksgiving Recipes this week... Yeah I know I am a awful blogger!!! I don't update enough!

Cranberry Orange Sauce

1 cup sugar (or more if needed)
1 cup water
Zest of 1 orange (grated very finely)
Juice of 1 orange
Cinnamon stick
Bag of cranberries (12 oz)


Make simple syrup with sugar and water. Put water and sugar in pan and bring to a boil, stir until sugar is dissolved. Add all of the remaining ingredients into a saucepan reduce to medium heat and simmer until the cranberries burst and the sauce thickens, about 15 to 20 minutes. (You may want to add more sugar if it isn’t sweet enough for you.) Serve at room temperature or cool and refrigerate. Remove the cinnamon stick before serving.

Fresh Cranberries (as with all berries) differ in tartness and this recipe should be adjusted by the tartness of your berries. Check the tartness AFTER cooking for the most accurate test, most of your berries should have burst you may need to add ½ to ¾ cup.