Black Eyed Kim Salad

Black Eyed Kim Salad

This salad is sans lettuce… But I promise you it’s quite healthy!  How can it not be when it’s full of beans and veg! But the best part?  It’s delish! 

This recipe would be great as a BBQ side dish, or even used as a ‘dip’!

When I first had this I asked the hostess what was in it and she spouted off a list of ingredients… I’d be lying if I told you I thought about anything else the rest of the day!  I should have just asked for pen and paper… 

I got home and couldn’t wait to replicate this colorful dish! 

So Here We Go.  What You Need:

1 can black eyed peas (drained)

1 can black beans (drained)

1 can corn (drained)

½ (or a bit more) chopped celery

½ red onion- chopped

1 jalapino (or pimento) pepper –chopped

1 tea garlic powder

1 tea black pepper

¼ cup apple cider vinegar

¼ cup veg oil

2 tbl worcestershire sauce (I always have to google the spelling of this crap.)

1 tbl sugar

The Fun Part:

-Combine all ingredients.

-Chill for a few hours

Enjoy with corn chips or tortillas or a spoon J

Fluffy (eggless) Pancakes

Freakin Fluffy Eggless Pancakes

Can you keep a secret? 

Don’t tell my dad…

Pinky promise??

Okay.  I love this pancake recipe more than my dad’s good ‘ol fashion recipe. <yike>

I know.  Shame on me, I have disgraced my entire family.  Seriously though- how can I NOT love it!  It’s vegan, eggless, and uses basic ingredients that I can bet you have in your pantry RIGHT NOW! 

Actually I am going to bet you $500 that you do have them in your pantry, because even if you don’t – this is the internet, and I can make outrageous bets like that and not have to live up to them. 

It’s so simple I’m sure even my husband can make them… though this is not a tested theory – I wouldn’t dare.  As I once said, ‘he doesn’t even know how to stir.’ 

So Here We Go.  What You Need:    This recipe feeds 2 people or 1 hungry person.     

                                                           (about 6/7 pancakes)

1 cup flour

2 tbl baking powder (yes you read that right, tablespoons)

2 tea cinnamon

1 cup almond milk (or non-dairy milk- or heck-cow’s milk if that’s all you’ve got)

2 tbl oil (I use orange juice- you can use coconut, veggie, whatever, earth balance butter,

               pineapple juice, I don’t care.)

The Fun Part

-Mix dry ingredients

-Mix wet ingredients

- Incorporate.  Stir just until combined

-Over medium heat in a non stick pan add a ladle full of batter and let cook until it bubbles all around (a minute or so)

- Flip

- Cook for half a minute or so, and…

Enjoy J

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

Okay, so before I became mostly-vegan I had this bom-diggidy cookie recipe!

Everyone is out to find the 'best' chocolate chip cookie recipe in the world... well kids, the search is over! 

Everyone loves them.  There isn't a sole who is disappointed while popping one of these suckers in their mouth.  They're so unbelievably soft and chewy on the inside, yet hard on the outside!  The secret ingredient.... Pudding.  

Though I doubt anyone is disappointed while eating a cookie… unless it’s this cookie (below)- The recipe I got for this pictured cookie was labeled as “the best chocolate chip cookie recipe in the universe”… FAIL! What a hoax the internet is…

these are NOT the best cookies in the universe.  
Whoever thought so needs to move. 

But I promise THIS recipe is not a hoax!  Trust me?

I digress… So I’m visiting my mom and some of my vegan-ness has gone out the window (and I’m reaping the consequences too. Feeling like garbage).   So while at her house we whipped these up in no time! 

These aren’t vegan—though I DO have a bangin vegan cookie recipe that I promise to share soon! 

Here we go.  What You Need: 

*This recipe makes 45 cookies, unless you eat the batter, like I love to do- then it will make like 24. 

¾ c butter (1 and a half sticks)

¾ cup brown sugar

¾ cup white sugar

1 small package of vanilla pudding

1 tea vanilla extract

2 eggs

2 ¼ cup flour

1 tea baking soda

1 ½ cup chocolate chips

The Fun Part:

-Cream butter and sugars together.

-Add the pudding powder- mix until incorporated.

- Add in the eggs and vanilla extract

- Stir in the flour and baking soda until incorporated.

- Stir in chocolate chips – more than a cup and a half if you want, heck you can even spring for some nuts if you’re up for it!

Drop by rounded tablespoons on greased cookie sheet.

Cook in 350 degree oven for 10-13 minutes until golden brown – they may be a little soft to the touch, but let them cool – They will harden a bit and be DElish. Honest!

Nutella Cookies

Nutella Cookies

There are very few recipes that I made that involve Nutella.  Actually there is one recipe.  This one. 

For those of you who know me, you know that I love nutella.  Even –this- awesome vegan nutella.  Anyway my favorite way to eat it is on a spoon.. any other way is a waste of nutella for me!  This exclusive recipe that makes that rule obsolete! 

I know. It isn’t healthy- but sometimes {all the time} you just have to indulge.  The only thing to change to make it vegan is to make the butter- vegan butter.  Easy enough! 

So here we go.  What You Need:


1 cup (2 sticks) vegan butter- room temp.
1/4 cup powder sugar-- plus some for dusting
1 tea. vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1/2 cup vegan nutella

The Fun Part

--Mix together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
--Add vanilla extract.
--Incorporate flour.
--Stir in nutella.

--Try not to eat a spoonful.  --OH go ahead!  You totally can, no eggs!! :)

Drop rounded tablespoons onto cookie sheet.
Cook at 350 for 10-12 minutes.
Cool and roll into powder sugar (or not, your choice!)

Eat and enjoy the yummy goodness!!

Spaetzle and Goulash

Since I have added two vegan-modified recipes that my father taught me, it’s only fair that I share a recipe from my mother’s side of the family.  Ergo tonight’s meal –

Spaetzle and goulash. 

Now I know goulash is an often referred to term used by Americans as an ‘everything but the kitchen sink’ recipe. It actually has a different recipe for different parts of the world. This recipe was, like nutella, a staple in my home growing up all thanks to my oma.  This is the Hungarian style.

Every time I make it, it reminds me of a lazy Sunday afternoon with nothing else to do but feel the wind blow through the open windows.  Gotta love those comfort meals. 

I have also made this Hungarian staple meal vegan.  It was simple- I just omitted the meat and replaced it with some fancy mushrooms – the perfect meat substitute!  Although, if you’re not vegan/vegetarian, by all means, cut up some bloody top round.  It’s your body!

So here we go.  What You Need

For the Goulash
8 oz portabella mushrooms diced (or sliced) (or meat, or not ya know, whatever, your choice)

1 onion (or ½ large) chopped

2 bell peppers (whatever color you love)

3 cups of water
2 packets brown gravy mix (some have a milk protein in them, check the label)
¼ cup paprika

     *you can also use the goulash mix by knorr instead of gravy mix & paprika*

For the Spaetzle

1 1/4 cup flour

1/2 cup water
1 flax egg (1 tbl ground flax seed + 3 tbl water)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp nutmeg

The Fun Part:

- in large pot add mushrooms, onions, and peppers – let cook until softened – about 5 minutes

- add the water, gravy mix, and paprika.  Bring to boil and let simmer for 5 minutes. And you’re done.

-          Meanwhile in a bowl add flax egg, water, salt, and nutmeg.  Let rest for 15 minutes.

-          While it’s resting, boil a big pot of water.  Use a spaetzle maker or a colander to push the dough through and into the water.  Let boil for 5 minutes or until pasta starts to float.  – do this in a couple of batches so the water isn’t too crowded and the spaetzle doesn't stick to itself.  

Whoopie Pies - Vegan Style

Whoopie Pies

Whoopieeeeee 

Ever since I took a vaca to Pennsylvania to visit my family last summer I have fallen DEEPLY in love with all of the amish goodies – Their breads, their jams, their auctions, and most importantly- their oh so famous whoopee pies! 

I literally gained 5 lbs that summer and I can attribute every pound to those darn delicious whoopee pies. 

I even got a whoopee pie maker!  How cool is that?  If you’re interested in getting one I got mine at Kohls  and it is called babycakes whoopee pie maker – and it’s fantastical.
I will add that you do not need this special maker for this recipe, these cakes will cook just as easily in the oven on a regular cookie sheet .. you’re welcome!

Whoopies.  What You Need:

1 box Duncan heins yellow cake mix (accidentally vegan)

1 can pumpkin puree

*I promise they don’t taste ANYTHING like pumpkin… do you trust me?

That’s it!  I told you it was easy.  

The Fun Part: 

Mix.

Cook in whoopee pie maker for 2:30

Or

Scoop onto cookie sheet- Cook in the oven at 350 for 15ish minutes or until golden

I use a small cookie scoop to get even rounds.

 – makes 24 whoopie pies – 48 single rounds. 

   Filling

4 c powdered sugar

3 tbl shortening

3Tbl earth balance butter

Ps. If you DO want pumpkin tasting whoopee pies use spice cake mix and add spices like cinnamon, ginger, ground cloves, nutmeg, and allspice – just a tad of each—or pumpkin pie spice—whatever) 

Before their trip to the oven. 

left side = whoopie pie maker
right side = oven

Vegan Gnocchi

Vegan no-ricotta Gnocchi 

Let me start by saying that I could have gone the easy route making these vegan and just used potatoes, but as my dad always said, “when they’re made with ricotta they’re lighter and I can eat more.”

A wise man my dad is. 

The first time I made vegan ricotta gnocchi I made a couple of mistakes.  1. I used eggs and 2. I used two $4.00 tubs of vegan ricotta.  Now, I love gnocchi, but I don’t love them eight+ dollars worth!  I’m a frugal woman. 

So here is a modified recipe that uses tofu and it’s quite delicious, have a taste!

Let me add quickly that I use the tofu that you can buy on the shelf.  It comes in a cardboard box and it is probably half the price of refrigerated tofu. 

So here we go.  What You Need:

14 oz firm tofu (drained) crumbled

2 tbl lemon juice

3 tbl vegan parm

2 tea garlic powder

1 tea nutmeg

4 oz tofutti cream cheese

2 cups white flour + ½ cup to kneed in if needed.  (I usually need this.)  (and ps you can use wheat if that’s what you prefer, but I swear using white makes them taste almost the same as regular gnocchi)

The Fun Part:

-          Combine all ingredients (I don’t even dirty a bowl- just use the counter top- the old fashioned way)

-          Kneed dough until no longer super sticky

-          Roll out into snakes (or logs -if you’re an adult)

-          Cut into bite size pieces

-          Make a thumb print into each one (gives the sauce somewhere to go – you can also do this the fancy-schmancy way and use a fork to roll them, but I just see that as wasted time, my belly doesn't have the time to wait for me to use this method!)

-          *If you are going to freeze them, nows the time to do that.*

Cook in a pot of boiling water for 6 minutes – until they’re all floating toward the top of the pot.  You'll have to do a few batches, it will be worth it.  

Serve with pasta sauce and munch J

Little hands love to help :)