Recipe: Vegan Pancakes

Vegan pancakes are not as good as non-vegan pancakes. There is no avoiding or changing this. It is something we must accept. If I was someone who really liked pancakes, I would describe vegan pancakes as very disappointing. Now, that being said, vegan pancakes are still a fun addition to any breakfast, despite their unusual texture. Also, if your batter looks like cookie dough, you're doing this right!

Estimated Time Needed: 20-30 minutes
Good for Lazy Folks?: No

Ingredients:
- 2 cups unbleached white flour (I used King Arthur)
- 4 tbsp. natural cane sugar or raw sugar
- 3 tbsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 2 cups of vanilla soy milk
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 4 tbsp. vegetable oil

Preparation/Cooking:
1. Mix up the ingredients until you end up with a smooth, albiet shockingly thick, batter
2. Grease up a pan and put it over medium heat
3. When the pan is heated up, use a small ladel to scoop and drop pancake batter onto the pan
4. Cook until golden on both sides.

Serving Suggestions:

Top with fresh fruit and syrup. Tasty!

Recipe: Cold Thai Noodle Salad

This is a great vegan dish because it doesn’t require any substiutions. It isn’t a converted non-vegan dish based on a classic like pancakes, for example, that can easily turn out badly or ends up not tasting as good as the original or tasting nothing like the original.

Estimated Time Needed: 15-20 minutes
Good for Lazy Folks?: Maybe

Ingredients:
- 1 pack of pad thai-style rice noodles (I got mine from Trader Joe's)
- 6-8 scallions (green onions), chopped
- 1 head of romaine lettuce, chopped
- 3 small/medium tomatoes, sliced
- Several sprigs of cilantro, chopped
- Some good vegan peanut thai salad dressing (the one I used is called "Light Asian Toasted Sesame" and is made by Kraft Foods)
- Optional protein boost: fried tofu

Preparation/Cooking:
1. Chop the veggies and fry the tofu (if applicable)
2. Boil a pot of water and add the noodles. Cook for 10 minutes or until tender.
3. Drain the excess water from the noodles in a strainer then run them under cold water until chilled.
4. Set the rice noodles on a paper towel or a clean dish towel to dry.
5. Toss all the veggies, (except the chopped scallions), and the tofu (if applicable) with the dressing.
6. Serve the chilled and dried rice noodles on top of the salad.
7. Top the noodles with chopped scallions.

Recipe: 5 Layer Mexican Fiesta Dip

5 Layer Mexican Fiesta Dip is delicious and nutritious with a good balance of carbs (from chips), protein (from beans), fresh veggies, and good fats (avocado). It makes an excellent snack or a tasty lunch.

Ingredients:
- 1 ripe avocado
- about 1/3 of a red onion
- juice of 1/2 of a lime
- 2-3 small/medium vine-ripened tomatoes
- several sprigs of cilantro
- 3-4 scallions (green onions)
- 1/2 can refried black beans
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- a tasty salsa (I used spicy)

Preparation:
This recipe requires you to create 5 distinct layers
1. Guacamole (bottom layer)
- Scoop out the avocado and mash it up (I used a citrus reamer to do this)
- Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder
2. Refried Black Beans
- Take the beans out of the can and whip them with a spoon before adding them on top of the guacamole
3. Pico de Gallo
- Chop the tomatoes and remove the seeds
- Chop the cilantro and stir in to the tomatoes
- Chop the red onion and stir in to the tomatoes and cilantro
- Add the pico on top of the layer of beans
4. Salsa
- Put this on top of the pico
5. Chopped Scallions (top layer)
- Put these on top of the salsa

Serve with corn chips. Yum!

Looks Tasty!

This looks really good. I am going to have to try making it.

Recipe: Black Bean & Tofu Tacos

I don't know why but I've really been on a taco kick lately. But, hey, if it isn't broke, don't fix it...

Estimated Time Needed: About 15 minutes
Good for Lazy Folks?: Yes

Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup of black beans from a can (make sure they're vegan)
- 6 crunchy yellow corn taco shells
- 1/4 of a block of extra firm tofu, cubed
- 1/2 of a red onion
- 3 tbsp. cilantro cooking base or 1/8 cup fresh chopped cilantro
- 1 tbsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. paprika
- 1 tsp. cumin

Equipment Suggestions:
I didn't use a cast iron skillet this time but I wish I had...

Preparation/Cooking:
1. Chop the tofu, red onion, and cilantro (if applicable)
2. Saute the tofu and red onion in olive oil or vegan buttery spread with the garlic powder, paprika, and cumin for 10 minutes or until crispy.
3. Microwave the beans for the prescribed amount of time.
4. Mix the cilantro or cilantro cooking base into the beans.
5. Assemble tacos in corn shells as follows: beans, tofu.

Serving Suggestions:
Top with a little shredded lettuce and your favorite salsa!

Recipe: Campbell's Tomato Soup... Vegan Possibilites!

Last night I ate a giant bowl of modified Campbell's tomato soup for dinner. Who knew that a delicious vegan treat could be so easy to make and so affordable (77 cents a can!)? Here's how I prepared my delicious bowl of tomato-y heaven:

Ingredients:
- 1 can of Campbell's Tomato Soup
- 1 medium tomato, chopped
- 3 scallions, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp medium taco sauce (you can substitute mild or hot, depending on your preferences)

Preparation:
1. Chop up the veggies

Cooking:
1. Cook the soup as prescribed by the instructions on the can
2. Add the taco sauce to the soup

Serve the soup topped with the chopped veggies.

For an extra protein boost, add plain extra-firm tofu or fried tofu. Another great addition is crushed tortilla chips.

Recipe: Simple Chickpea Salad

Estimated Time Needed: About 15 minutes
Good for Lazy Folks?: Yes

Ingredients:
- 1 small can of pre-cooked chickpeas, drained
- 1 roma tomato
- 1/2 of a medium red onion
- 1/2 of a medium cucumber
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp. water
- 4 whole leaves of romaine lettuce for garnish (optional)

Preparation:
1. De-seed and chop up the roma tomato
2. Chop the cucumber into thick square chunks
3. Toss the whole mess with the wet ingredients (lemon juice, vinegar, olive oil, water)

Chill and serve over romaine lettuce or with vegan pita bread

Recipe: Delicious Drunken Mushrooms

I love mushrooms. I think I've confessed that in the past but here I am again letting it be known that I absolutely adore these fabulous fungals!

This recipe, as is true of most of my recipes, is the result of a craving for something that I didn't have the ingredients for - mushrooms in Marsala wine sauce. While I didn't have any Marsala wine, I did have some Yuengling Light Lager chilling in the fridge. I think that when it comes to dishes that call for beer, dark, fancy beer is preferred. But, I can contest to the fact that light lager is plenty delicious and, in my opinion, tastes better when it comes to dealing with the leftovers from this recipe, which calls for only 1/4 of a cup of the bubbly stuff. Need I say that this dynamic dish is best consumed with some ice cold beer?

Estimated Time Needed: About 15 minutes
Good for Lazy Folks?: Maybe

Ingredients:
- 12 cremini/baby bella mushrooms, sliced thin
- 1 tbsp. of Smart Balance buttery spread or other vegan butter-alternative
- 1/4 cup of vegan beer, such as Yuengling (for more vegan beers, see my posting "Do Good Vegans Get Drunk?"
- 1 clove of garlic, crushed or minced
- 4 sprigs Italian parsley, chopped
- 1 tsp. of vegan Worcestershire sauce (optional)

Equipment Suggestions:
I used a nonstick wok to prepare this dish, as I am not a big fan of frying pans. However, you can use a large frying pan if you don't have a wok.

Cooking:
1. Over medium-high heat, melt the Smart Balance and add the garlic.
2. Saute the garlic for about 2 minutes.
3. Add the mushrooms and saute the whole mess for about 7 minutes, stirring almost constantly.
4. Take the pot off of the stove and add the 1/4 cup of beer. Return the pot to the stove and reduce the heat to medium.
5. Cook the mushrooms for about 5-7 more minutes or until the beer has reduced by about 1/3.

Serve topped with chopped parsley over toast, baked tofu, on a roll, on rice, or all by itself. Yum!