No Oil Chewy Oatmeal Cookies

Here is a twist on these Flourless Oatmeal Cookies.  I wanted to see if I could make them with tachina instead of oil/butter/margarine and they came out great. Substitute tachina for the butter and add less sugar for a healthier gluten-free treat.

Coconut Milk Curry

I love curry and this curry is amazing and super easy. My amazing friend SR made this Squash and Chickpea Curry. I couldn't get enough of it, it was so unbelievably delicious. She used frozen spinach instead of chard since it is much easier to come by.  Using her recipe I made this curry a couple of times and not once did I actually put in the veggies that the original recipe calls for. One time I used sweet potate, white potato and peas and tonight I did carrots and red lentils. I haven't used vegetable stock in it and I make it on the stove top and cook it for less time, and it still came out great! Ha ha I am so bad at following recipes.

Here is the original recipe from SR. (I don't know her original source.)


SQUASH AND CHICKPEA CURRY

Ingredients

2 cups (500 mL) cubed peeled butternut squash
2 cups (500 mL) diced peeled potatoes
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 tbsp (15 mL) vegetable oil
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp (15 mL) minced gingerroot
3 tbsp (45 mL) mild curry paste
1 can light coconut milk
1 cup (250 mL) vegetable stock
1/4 cup (60 mL) natural cashew butter or peanut butter
1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt
2 cups (500 mL) packed shredded Swiss chard
1 cup (250 mL) frozen green peas
2 tbsp (30 mL) chopped fresh coriander

Preparation

In slow cooker, combine squash, potato and chickpeas.

In large skillet, heat oil over medium heat; fry onion, garlic and ginger, stirring occasionally, until onion is
light golden, about 7 minutes. Add curry paste; cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add to slow
cooker.

Add coconut milk and stock to slow cooker; stir in cashew butter and salt. Cover and cook on low for
about 4 hours or until vegetables are tender.

Stir in Swiss chard and peas. Cover and cook on high for about 15 minutes or until Swiss chard wilts.
Sprinkle with coriander.

Vegan Mac 'n Cheese

This is my first attempt at vegan mac 'n cheese and it came out awesome! I was surprised at how quick and easy it was to make and was even more surprised at how much everyone loved it!
One of my current obsessions is Brewer's yeast, but my husband is not as big of a fan so I wasn't sure if he would like this dish or not.  Most vegan "cheese" recipes call for nutritional yeast or Brewer's yeast because of its cheesy taste. I didn't tell him what was in it until after he tried it just in case, but this is SO good that I think you could fool many a cheese lover.

I got the idea to make vegan mac 'n cheese and started my internet search for recipes. Many recipes called for silken tofu or cashews or some other ingredient that I didn't have, so I just used the recipes I found as a guideline and here is what I came up with.

Ingredients

• 1 package of noodles
• 1/4 cup oil or margerine
• 2 Tablespoons Bragg (or soy sauce)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 Tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1-2 teaspoons agave nectar
• 2 Tablespoons tachina
• 1/2 cup flour
• 3 1/2 cups boiling water
• 1/2-1 cup Brewer's yeast
• Bread crumbs
• Paprika

Preheat oven to 350 F.
Cook pasta according to package directions.
In a saucepan over medium heat add oil, Bragg, garlic, mustard, pepper, agave nectar, and tachina. Whisk until mixed.
Whisk in flour & heat until thick and bubbly.
Add boiling water and continue to whisk until thick and bubbly. Remove from heat.
Stir in Brewer's yeast.
Mix sauce and noodles in a casserole dish.
Pour a generous amount of sauce on top. Sprinkle with bread crumbs and paprika.
Bake about 15 minutes until sauce bubbles up and top is browned.

Wheat Free Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

Post Punk Kitchen has done it again, these are AMAZING vegan chocolate chip cookies. I made them with whole wheat flour instead of oat flour and left out the flax meal since I was out of it. But I did add in some old fashioned oats to half the dough and it was SUPER YUM! I think I like them even better with the oats.  I definitely recommend doubling this recipe because just 18 cookies aren't going to be enough!

Vegan Pancakes

Recipe adapted from Post Punk Kitchen Puffy Pillow Pancakes

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cup water*
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon chia seeds
3 tablespoons sunflower oil
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

In a large mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center.

Measure the water/milk into a measuring cup. Add vinegar and chia seeds, and use a fork to vigorously mix the ingredients until foamy. This will take a minute or so.

Pour the milk mixture into the center of the dry ingredients. Add the sunflower oil and vanilla and use a fork to mix until a thick, lumpy batter forms. That should take about a minute. It doesn’t need to be smooth, just make sure you get all the ingredients incorporated.

Preheat the pan over medium-low heat and let the batter rest for 10 minutes.

Lightly coat the pan in oil. Add 1/3 cup of batter for each pancake, and cook for about 4 minutes, until puffy. Flip the pancakes, adding a new coat of oil to the pan, and cook for another 3 minutes or so. Pancake should be about an inch thick, and golden brown.

*Note: I didn't have any almond or soy milk in the house so i just used water. Almond or soy milk will make the mixture foamier and creamier, but water works just fine. If you want to use a milk use 1 cup milk and 1/2 cup of water.
I used 1 Tablespoon white sugar and 1 Tablespoon of brown sugar.