Pretzels

These pretzels are soft on the inside and crispy on the outside. It's a good thing that this recipe is so easy to make because these pretzels are quite addicting! This recipe is diverse and can be used to make bread sticks or twists and can be stuffed with garlic, herbs or cheese.

Makes approximately 24 medium pretzels
Preheat oven to 425F

Tasty goodness

Ingredients

1 tbsp instant yeast
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
4 cups flour
1 1/2 cups hot tap water
olive oil and course sea salt

Preparation

In a large mixing bowl, mix together all dry ingredients.
Add hot water and knead well, will take about 5 minutes.
Stretch, roll and sculpt into desired shapes.
Place on greased baking sheet or baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone mat.
Brush olive oil on top of the pretzels and grind or sprinkle with sea salt.
Bake for 12-15 minutes at 425F

Enjoy guys!

Creamy vegan Coleslaw

Rich and delicious.  Your friends won't believe you when you tell them that this pretty dish has no animal products in it! I used to make my slaw with green cabbage, but the purple variety is so vibrant, it's hard to resist.

I rushed a bit taking this photo...I was a bit hungry. Would have been much prettier on a white plate. Oh well, tastes the same.

Serves 8-10

Ingredients

1 medium purple cabbage, chopped (of green)
2 large carrots, grated
4 inches of a leek, cut in half lengthwize then sliced into moons
1 cup vegan mayo
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp sugar (use 1 tsp if you use a green cabbage, purple is a bit sweeter)
2 tbsp pickle juice
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
salt and fresh ground pepper

Preparations

In large bowl, combine and mix all the vegetables
Mix remaining ingredients in a smaller bowl, taste for salt and pepper. If it does't taste galicy enough, hold out on adding more, the flavour intensifies as in sits.
Incorporate dressing with the cabbage and vegetable mixture as desired.
Cover and refrigerate for minimum 1 hour before serving.

Enjoy!

Oven-Baked Onion Rings

Crunchy, delicious and oil-free. We made these onion rings were with the largest red onions we could find and are they are absolutely scrumptious. All the goodness without the grease.  An added plus, the batter stays on these onions! (unlike restaurant onion rings where, after one bight, you are left with no onion and a whole lot of breading). The breading process, like any, can get quite messy, but the end result is worth it. Best served fresh, these tasty morsels won't last long.

They look crunchy, don't they? Makes most restaurant onion rings look tiny in comparison.

Ingredients

1 large red onion

5/8 cup or 1/2 cup + 2 whole wheat flour
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 cup cold unsweetened soy milk
1 tbsp apple cider

2 cups panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder

Preparation

Tried to take the picture of my set up before my hands got too battered. I'm no the cleanest cook in the kitchen :)

Preheat oven to 450F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Slice red onion into 3/4" slices, reserve large and medium rings, saving smaller segments for later use.
In a shallow dish or bowl combine flour, cornstarch and liquids and mix well, removing all clumps.
In another bowl, mix coating ingredients: breadcrumbs, yeast, salt and garlic powder.
With a fork, coat onion ring in batter, coating evenly, and let excess drip off.
Transfer to bowl with coating and coat completely.
Place onion ring on prepared baking sheet and repeat.
Bake for 18 minutes, flipping after 9 minutes. Check doneness before removing (I suggest nibbling on one).
Best served immediately.

Want an easy dipping sauce? I mixed about 1/4 cup vegan mayo with a tsp wasabi, a tsp ketchup, 2 tsp Dijon mustard,1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp oregano and salt and pepper to taste. Chilled it for 10 minutes to let the garlic powder work its magic. Delicious.

Enjoy guys!

Biscuits

This biscuit recipe is quick and easy and can really add a little extra to last night's leftover soup. We've also used this dough for a quick Friday night pizza crust. If you enjoy a heartier pizza crust, then I'd give this a try. It doesn't need much kneading or any rising time at all, and if you have extra dough you can just make biscuits for left-overs or nibbling. Great with chopped garlic, cheese, herbs or all of the above, this recipe is very versatile  I've also given the sweet variation of the recipe if you are feeling more the sweet tea biscuit route rather than the soup dipping, margarine slathering route.

Biscuits

Cooking Time: 15min, Preheat Oven to: 450°F

Ingredients 

4 cups flour, white, whole wheat or a combination
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup margarine
1 1/2 cups soy milk
1/2 tsp vinegar

Preparation

Mix all dry ingredients. (Add in optional dry ingredients, see variations)
Cut in margarine (like you were making a pie crust), be very gentle to not over mix.
Add milk and vinegar just to moisten. Gently combine.
Drop large blobs by the tablespoon onto an ungreased cookie sheet. OR roll the dough out with flour to 1" thick and cut with a round cookie cutter or an upside down drinking glass for round, formed biscuits.
Bake at 450°F for around 15 minutes or until golden.
Enjoy!

Variations 

Sweet Tea Biscuits:

scant 1 cup brown sugar
1 cup orange peel, or mixed peel or raisins or currents or dried fruit of choice
       Add to dry ingredients

Biscuit Pizza Crust:

3 cloves minced garlic
herbs of choice
       Mix in additional ingredients with the dry goods.
       Roll out onto large baking sheet, forming a thick outer crust if desired. Bake for 10 minutes at 450°F, dress as desired than bake for a minimum of 10 more minutes, or until everything is cooked.

Ravioli

Mushroom Ravioli

No time to make fresh pasta for your ravioli? An easy substitute is wonton wrappers. Fill with whatever filling you desire, fold in two or place top wrapper on, wet the edges and seal with your fingers before doing a final decorative seal with a fork. Boil for around 5 minutes, sauce and enjoy.

Best Ever Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Serves: 4-5 dozen cookies
Cooking time: 11-13 minutes
Preheat Oven to 350F

Ingredients

1 cup vegan margarine
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup boiling water
2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup chopped pecans
3/4 cup chocolate chips

Preparation

Cream together margarine, sugar, vanilla.
Add flour and salt and mix well.
Dissolve baking powder in boiling water and add to mixture. Stir in oats, nuts and chocolate. And mix.
Roll dough into golf ball size balls and flatten with a fork on a baking sheet.
Bake at 350F for approximately 12 minutes.

Mini Vegan Quiche

I've stumbled upon a few recipes for vegan quiche, but I find this one the simplest and the most delicious. The filling, can also be made to your liking. I've used mushrooms, leeks, red peppers, shallots, swiss chard and even pumpkin!

Makes: 24 mini quiches

Ingredients

I package round wonton wrappers
Margarine for greasing
Optional: Vegan cheese

1 tbsp olive oil
6 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups whole mushrooms (scant), sliced and diced

1 red pepper, diced
1 leek or 4 green onions, chopped
2 tsp dried oregano
Salt and Pepper

1 pound/ package firm tofu
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp dijon mustard
1/4 tsp tumeric
several dashes fresh ground black pepper
1/4 cup nutritional yeast 

Preparation 

Preheat oven to 400 F.
Grease one 12-muffin pan with margarine. Stretch out each wonton circle so that it better fits in the tray. Press the wontons firmly into place.
In a frying pan, heat oil over medium. Add garlic and onions, cook for 3 minutes. Add mushrooms, cook for 2 minutes. Add red pepper, and oregano, sauté for an additional 5 minutes, or until vegetables are almost done. (these vegetables can easily be substituted, you can use leeks and mushrooms for an earthier taste, or for some more greens, add a bunch of finely chopped Swiss chard tops to your garlic) If you are cooking greens, you may need to add a little water, however, by the end we do not want any excess water to get into our quiche. 
While sautéing, start the 'egg' base. Give the tofu a rinse and a good squeeze over the sink to remove excess water. Use you hand to crumble the tofu into a mixing bowl until it looks like ricotta. Add the remaining ingredients to the tofu and mix well. When the vegetables are ready, drain off any excess liquid and transfer the vegetable sauté into the mixing bowl and mix to combine. Taste for salt and pepper.
Spoon the tofu mixture into the wonton bowls in the muffin tray. Press the mixture down and flatten each.
Add vegan cheese on top of quiches if desired.
Bake at 400F for 20 minutes, until firm and slightly brown on top.
Let cool 3 minutes on wire rack before serving.

Wonton wrappers are not necessary and may be substituted for any shell, or no shell at all. This recipe can also be prepared in a 9" greased pie plate.