Thursday, June 16, 2011

Chewy Vegan Oatmeal Cookies, Lemon-Garlic White Bean Dip, Spaghetti Carbonara

I was in charge of snacks for life group last night. I wanted to make something without chocolate so that Keith could have some dessert (he can't have chocolate at night as it gives him bad dreams). I haven't made oatmeal raisin cookies in eons, probably because my hubby doesn't like raisins! These cookies were amazing. The best, by far, I have ever made (oatmeal raisin ones, I mean!). So, so delish! Chewy, sweet perfection!

Chewy Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (adapted from: http://www.cookiemadness.net/2008/06/chewy-vegan-oatmeal-raisin-cookies/)

3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour (3.25 oz)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 scant teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup light brown sugar (3 ½ oz)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/4 cup applesauce, drained on a paper towel
1/4 cup plus 1 T canola oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup raisins, plumped and patted dry
Walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two cookie sheets with Silpats.

Mix together the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.

Mix both sugars, maple syrup, apple sauce, oil and vanilla together in a medium bowl. Add the flour mixture and stir until blended. Stir in the oats, followed by raisins.

Let sit for 10 minutes.

Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto the cookie sheets. Bake for 12-14 minutes. Let cool for about 5-8 minutes on cookie sheets then carefully scoop up onto a wire rack.

Makes 2 dozen


I also made a veg/crackers/dip tray and tried out a new bean dip recipe. It was mild, creamy and very fresh-tasting. Olive oil was one of the ingredients for this dip and I was so thrilled to use some of my special olive oil from Italy. My in-laws recently took a Mediterranian cruise and they brought me this delightful little bottle of olive oil from Italy. It even had olive leaves in it! I do not care for strong-tasting olive oil and this one was perfect! Very mild and silky smooth. I couldn't resist including a picture of the adorable bottle it came in!!

Lemon-Garlic White Bean Dip (adapted from All You July 2011)
1 15 oz can white beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 t garlic powder
1 T lemon zest
2 T lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
2 T olive oil
1 T chopped fresh parsley
Combine all ingredients in food processor except parsley. Process until smooth. Add parsley and pulse until incorporated. Serve with veg sticks and crackers.

Another delicious recipe from Urban Vegan. I love that cookbook!The first time we tried Fakin Bakin, we were not impressed - it was very shortly after we began vegan eating. We have since
learned to like it's unique, smoky, differentness! It was great in this pasta. The sauce turned out so rich and creamy. Yum!


Spaghetti Carbonara (adapted from Urban Vegan)
1 T cornstarch
1 t salt
1/3 plus 1 cup soy milk
1 T oil
4 strips tempeh bacon
1/4 cup white wine
6 T Earth Balance
3 heaping T nutritional yeast
1 lb spaghetti, cooked according to package instructions
2 T fresh parsley, chopped

Dissolve cornstarch in 1/3 cup soy milk. Add salt. Set aside. In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add tempeh bacon. Cook on both sides until crispy. You may want to move heat to medium high at the end of cooking. Once crispy, remove tempeh bacon and place on paper towels. Add wine to same skillet. Allow to deglaze the pan - about 3-4 minutes. Add Earth Balance and stir until melted. Add nutritrional yeast and whisk to make a roux. Slowly whisk in 1 cup soy milk. Add cornstarch/milk mixture and stir until thick. Add salt and pepper to taste. Chop tempeh bacon and add to sauce. Pour sauce over drained pasta. Sprinkle with parsley.
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1 comment:

  1. Just UsJune 17, 2011 at 2:10 PM

    Yum...every thing sounds and looks so good. Have you ever made the Oatmeal, Walnut and Dried Plum Cookies from The Kind Life by Alicia Silverstone? I made them for our life group once and everyone went crazy over them They couldn't believe they were vegan. Now everyone at church has started requesting them. I'll have to try your cookies. I have a feeling they won't last very long when I make them. :o)

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Crispy Herbed Potato Stack

Crispy Herbed Potato Stack
I was going to try a recipe for herbed scalloped potatoes and at last minute decided to do something fast and easy. I made up the recipe and it was yummola! I layered sliced russet potatoes in a baking dish, drizzled with olive oil, and then sprinkled with coarse sea salt, fresh ground pepper, basil, rosemary, paprika, and garlic powder. Then I baked them at 425 fr about 45 minutes. They were crisp and very flavorful!

My thrown-together salad today - after discovering I had no leftovers for lunch!

Tamale Fixings

Tamale Fixings
Plain pintos (for Keith), pintos, corn and onions; corn, jalepenos and Daiya; mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes, and chard

Making these was a bit time-consuming but kinda fun! They didn't turn out as good as I had hoped - the outer tamale part (not the filling) just wasn't as flavorful as tamales I have had in restaurants. I have another recipe I will try for the dough next time. Tamales are one of my favorite foods so I won't give up on this one!

"Buttermilk" Blueberry Pancakes

"Buttermilk" Blueberry Pancakes
I modified one of my favorite pancake recipes to make it vegan and then I added blueberries. Turned out quite yummy. Soymilk sours and thickens well - very similar to buttermilk. I have been really impressed with it's ability to substitute for real buttermilk.

"Buttermilk" Blueberry Pancakes

Egg replacement for 1 egg
1 1/4 cups soured soy milk (put 2 T vinegar into a 2 cup glass measuring cup. Add enough soy milk to equal 1 1/4 cups)
2 T canola oil
1 cup flour (I wouldn't recommend whole wheat or whole wheat pastry - it really takes away from the fluffiness of these pancakes)
1 T sugar
2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
Blueberries, optional

Mix dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients and stir just until combined. Heat griddle pour about 1/4 cup batter for each pancake. Sprinkle blueberries on pancakes after ladling onto griddle. Cook just until golden on both sides.

Veggie and Seitan Lo Mein

Veggie and Seitan Lo Mein
Overall, this was fabulous! However, I don't think the seitan added much so I would just leave it out next time. The lo mein also needed about double the sauce so I would simply do that next time for added flavor. This was especially spicy and yummy with some Sriracha drizzled on top. I made our favorite veg egg rolls to go with this and it was truly a Chinese treat!!

Veggie Seitan Lo Mein

I really did my own thing for this recipe so I am just going to outline the instructions and include the sauce recipe. I heated oil in a large skillet and added 3 minced cloves of garlic and about 1 cup of half-moon cut onions (I was out of green onions but next time I would use green onions as I like them a lot in Chinese food) and about 1 cup matchstick-cut carrots. After about 5-6 minutes, I added about 1/4 lb of whole green beans. I cooked these veggies until tender. Meanwhile, I cooked a 16oz package of chow mein noodles. Once the veggie mixture was cooked, I poured the sauce on the veggies, heated through and tossed with the noodles. Next time I would double the amount of sauce and have adjusted amounts below to reflect double recipe.

Sauce (Source:Adaptable Feast)
3 T soy sauce
3 T rice wine (I used 3 T rice vinegar and 1 t sugar as I didn't have any rice wine)
3 t sugar
4 T black bean garlic sauce
Mix all ingredients and toss with above mixture.





Chinese Broccoli Wontons in Ginger Soy Broth

Chinese Broccoli Wontons in Ginger Soy Broth
Pretty yummy. I found that steaming the wontons worked much better than the recipe suggestion to boil them. The broth was very mild and a bit too mellow for us. Still pretty yummy though. I added extra veggies to the wontons and scallion to the broth. The seasoning in the wonton filling was quite tasty!

Chinese Broccoli Wontons in Ginger Soy Broth (Source: Vegan Yum Yum)

(As usual, I modified several things so it's not exactly the recipe in Vegan Yum Yum!)

1 cup chopped broccoli
3/4 cup shredded carrot
1/2 cup chopped scallions
1 T oil
1 t fresh ginger, minced
1 clove fresh minced garlic
1/2 t hot chili sauce (such as Sriracha)
1 t hot Chinese mustard
2 T plus 1 t soy sauce
4 cups water ( I think this might have been more flavorful had I used vegetable broth or faux chicken broth???)
6 slices fresh ginger
1 T mirin (I used a splash of cooking wine as I didn't have mirin)
1 1/2 t sugar
2 t rice vinegar
1/2 t salt
1/2 cup chopped scallions
16 wonton skins

For filling: Heat oil in skillet and add broccoli, ginger, garlic, carrot, onion and cook until veggies are crisp tender. Add chili sauce, mustard, 1 t soy sauce and stir to combine. Remove from heat and set aside.

To make wontons, take one skin and place in diamond shape. Fill with 1-2 t filling. Fold in half to make a triangle and moisten edges with water and pinch sides to seal. Set triangle in front of you with point up and take the 2 side points and bring them together in front to cross. Set aside and prepare remaining wontons. When finished, place wontons in a steamer basket and steam over pot of boiling water until translucent.

Meanwhile, in a pot, combine remaining ingredients (except wontons) and simmer 10-15 min.

Place 3-4 wontons in bowl and ladle broth over wontons. Serve.