Thanksgiving Impatience

I was having a difficult time waiting until Thanksgiving for certain foods so a nice meal of dressing, mashed potatoes, and balsamic and brown sugar glazed carrots happened yesterday evening.  Since the holiday is soon I thought I'd pass along a few hints for easily making your meal gluten and dairy-free.

One of my favorite dressing recipes is for Dave Lieberman's Sourdough Bread Stuffing.  The only substitutions you need to make: use a gluten-free bread, Earth Balance butter, and vegetable broth.  It is important to use a hearty bread, Rudi's Multigrain works well- I dice and toast.

No matter the recipe, just make these simple changes in the butter, broth, and bread (BBB) and you're back to enjoying your dressing.  I love a cornbread dressing too!

For a little something different, bake the dressing in a muffin tin for some stuffin' muffins!  It gives everything a bit more crunch and makes handing out portions really easy.  It also makes transportation easy if you're taking your own side of stuffing to the family dinner.

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For mashed potatoes: substitute in Earth Balance and unsweetened original almond milk.

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Balsamic and Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots

Peel carrots and slice into diagonal coins.  Heat a skillet over medium-high heat, add a touch of olive oil, and add the carrots.  Sautee until tender--I added a bit of water to mine to help steam them into tenderness ever more.  Turn down the heat and add two tablespoons or so of Earth Balance, enough to coat the carrots and have a bit of extra sauce.  Add a tablespoon each of Balsamic Vinegar and Brown Sugar, adding more sugar and butter if needed.  Salt and pepper to taste if desired.  The best is when your mashed potatoes and the glaze mix together.

Buffalo Tempeh Tacos with Vegan Ranch

Buffalo Tempeh Tacos are one of my favorite quick and easy meals.  I started using tempeh after becoming gluten-free and actually prefer it to the vegan chicken substitutes (containing gluten) I used previously.  The texture is amazing for this.  I finish the tacos off with a quick vegan ranch dressing and my favorite toppings.

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Buy a package of tempeh, I use Lightlife.  Slice and chop into bite size pieces.  You can make as much or as little as you want but I use about 1/4 of a package for myself.

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat with a spritz of oil.  Toss in the pieces of tempeh and cook until they begin getting crispy, turning as needed.  Turn down the heat and add your favorite buffalo sauce.  To make the sauce vegan, use Earth Balance in place of butter or margarine.

I usually just throw my sauce together as I go, adding a tablespoon of Earth Balance, Louisiana Hot Sauce, Garlic Powder, and Freshly Cracked Black Pepper to the pan.  Toss well.

Move to a tray or platter with warmed corn tortillas, ranch (instructions below), and your favorite toppings.  I like arugula and tomatoes.  Green or red onions are great as well.  I prefer serving it this way so that my tacos don't get soggy while I'm eating.

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Vegan Ranch:

Spoon your favorite vegan mayo into a bowl equivalent to the amount of ranch you want.  Thin out with red wine vinegar, whisking well with a whisk or fork.  Sprinkle in some dill, parsley, garlic powder, and salt to taste.  Stir until well combined.

Pumpkin Ravioli

Pumpkin is a great ravioli filling and paired with mushrooms and a sage brown butter sauce, this meal turned out quite tasty.  I've made ravioli on the blog before and so you may find referencing my mushroom ravioli post helpful.

The main difference this time is that I decided to make the ravioli vegan.  Instead of eggs, I used olive oil to form my pasta dough.  Throw your favorite gluten-free flour mix on a cutting board, form a well in the middle and slowly add in olive oil.  Slowly mix the dough with your hands, adding water until the dough forms a ball.  Roll or pat flat and cut into equal pieces.  Place in the fridge.  I made this while my pumpkin was roasting.

Now for the filling.  You'll need a sugar pumpkin to make your own pumpkin puree or buy a can.  Preheat your oven to 350.  Cut off the stem of your pumpkin and cut it in half.  Scoop out the seeds.  Spray a bit of oil on the pumpkin and place cut-side down on a foil or wax-paper lined pan.  Roast until tender, up to an hour.  A butter knife will easily pierce the pumpkin.  Remove from the oven and scoop the flesh away from the skin.

 

Place the flesh in a blender or food processor.  Pulse and blend until smooth.  Move to bowl.

Add:

1/2 cup walnuts, ground in food processor

1 tablespoon vegan parmesan

1 teaspoon brown sugar (this can vary depending on your pumpkin)

1/4 teaspoon Sage

1/8 teaspoon Thyme

salt and pepper to taste

Mix or blend well.  Feel free to change around the spices to your own tastes- I think some rosemary, garlic, and shallots would taste great in the filling as well.

Now it is time to make the ravioli.  Place a small amount of filling in the middle of one piece of dough, place another on top and crimp with a bit of water if needed.  You can cook these right away or place in the fridge until later.  To cook: place in boiling water for a few minutes until the ravioli float to the top.

Sauce: To a medium heat skillet, add a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and a few tablespoons of Earth Balance.  Let the "butter" mixture cook/brown a bit and add 1/4 teaspoon sage and black pepper and red pepper flakes to taste if desired.  Add a handful of chopped mushrooms--I used a gourmet blend.  Cook until tender.

Add your ravioli and coat well in the sauce.  Plate and sprinkle with some vegan parmesan if desired.

Butternut Squash Gnocchi

I am loving butternut squash this fall and this is one of my favorite recipes so far.  I make gnocchi with leftover mashed potatoes fairly often but this is my first time using squash.  I must say, these are my favorite I've ever made-the texture was perfect.

--Instructions--

Clean off your butternut squash and stab a few holes all over it. Place in an oven preheated to 375 and bake for an hour, until soft. Remove from oven and cut in half. Scoop out the seeds. Scoop the flesh out of the skin into a bowl. One very small squash made all the gnocchi in the photo above.

Mash the flesh and add a pat or two of Earth Balance and a splash of unsweetened original almond milk to smooth out the texture. You're just smoothing, don't thin it out too much. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Begin gently mixing in flour, I use King Arthur Flour Gluten Free Multi-Purpose Flour, little by little. You want the dough to just come together. It is right when you can pick up a chunk of dough and roll it into a thin log. Make several logs with your dough, flouring your hands as needed. 

With the log on a surface, take the side of a fork and cut each gnocchi. I like to go back and carefully press the fork on each gnocchi to create texture. Your sauce will better attach to this.

At this point I like to put my gnocchi on a plate (sometimes I cut them on a plate) and place them in the fridge for a bit. You can also freeze them flat, on a cookie sheet, bag, and freeze for later.

Too cook: throw the gnocchi in some boiling water. When they float to the top, they're done. Only takes a couple of minutes.

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This time, I enjoyed my gnocchi with mushrooms and red onions in a sage butter sauce.  In a pan over medium to medium-high heat, add a tablespoon of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of Earth Balance. Melt (if you're using actual butter, let it brown a bit, you'll thank me) and add in some sage. Half a teaspoon or so.  Throw in sliced mushrooms and onions or whatever veggies you're in the mood for and let them get soft. 

Now you can add your cooked gnocchi. Stir everything together, add some fresh chopped Italian parsley and cracked black pepper. Plate and sprinkle on some vegan Parmesan cheese. Enjoy. 

This is a very "eye it" recipe so feel free to comment with any questions.

Stew

I've moved from soup to stew. This a warm and hearty one that will remind you of a great beef stew while being both gluten free and vegan.

--To a slow cooker add--

4-5 medium sized potatoes, coarsely chopped

1 bunch of carrots, peeled and chopped

4 cloves of garlic, smashed and minced

1 small Vidalia onion, coarsely chopped

One can of diced tomatoes

1 cup Cremini mushroom, quartered

1 cup of Red Wine

1 shot of Brandy or Sherry (optional)

1 tablespoon of Sorghum Molasses

2 Bay Leaves

Several Dashes of Worcestershire Sauce (make sure to buy a vegan brand) 

2 drops of liquid smoke

1/2 teaspoon Rosemary

1/2 teaspoon Thyme

1/2 teaspoon Sage

1/2 teaspoon Paprika

1/2 teaspoon Fennel

1 teaspoon Salt (or more to taste)

Freshly Ground Black Pepper (I add A LOT, add at least 1 teaspoon)

I also add a can of young green jackfruit in brine.  Drain the can and rinse the fruit completely, remove any seeds.  If you're new to jackfruit, I recommend trying it this way first: http://bakeanddestroy.net/2013/03/you-dont-know-jackfruit/ 

Once this is in the cooker, add enough Vegetable Broth to just cover everything. Put the cover on top and cook on low for at least 8 hours, or until vegetables are tender. If cooking on high, your cooking time will decrease.  The jackfruit will break up some through the cooking process but feel free to help it along with a fork--it is amazing how reminiscent it is of pulled pork.

In the last hour of cooking, you'll want to take this from soup to stew.  In keeping this gluten free, I use a slurry of cornstarch and water.  Add 3 tablespoons of cornstarch to a cup and whisk in water until it is smooth.  Incorporate into the stew.

I throw in half a bag of frozen peas at this point as well.

Let the stew cook the last little bit and serve with a bit of fresh parsley on top.

Butternut Squash Soup

Fall makes me think of filling soups--first up this year, butternut squash.  This version is vegan and gluten free.

--Ingredients--

One butternut squash

One carton of vegetable broth (make sure it is gluten free)

One Vidalia/sweet onion

Olive Oil

Cilantro

Four cloves of garlic

One dried red chile

1 1/2 Tbsp Curry Powder

1/4 tsp Turmeric

1/4 tsp Cinnamon

1/4 tsp Sage

1/8 tsp Ginger

Salt and Pepper to taste

Coconut Milk

One Lime

Stick blender (or blender)

--Instructions--

Clean off your butternut squash and stab a few holes all over it.  Place in an oven preheated to 375 and bake for an hour, until soft.  Remove from oven and cool enough to cut in half.  Scoop out the seeds.  Cut up/scoop out the flesh of the squash--leaving the skin.

Place a soup pot over medium heat.  Add a bit of oil and the onion, chopped.  While this gets soft, get your spice mixture together.

Smash and finely chop the garlic.  Chop/mix in all the spices (including the diced dried chile) and a tablespoon or two of chopped Cilantro, to taste.

Add the spice mixture to the softened onion.  Let everything meld together and the garlic soften a bit.  At this point, add all of the butternut squash and vegetable broth.  You will likely use half to 3/4 of the carton.  It varies depending on your squash--keep it on hand as the soup cooks and add as needed.  Bring the soup to a boil, lower the temperature and cover for a half hour or so.

Remove from heat and let cool a bit.  Use a stick blender to get the soup to a smooth texture or blend, in batches, in a blender.  Once smooth, blend in about 2/3 cup of Coconut Milk and stir in the juice from half a lime.  Serve with some cilantro and a lime wedge.

Pizza!

I miss "real" pizza but am very thankful. through trial and error, to have figured out my favorite gluten free crust and vegan cheese.  The right items make a great pizza!

-The goods-

Crust:  Kinnikinnick Personal Size Pizza Crust 

Cheese: Teese Mozzarella Vegan Cheese

I top the crust with my favorite pizza sauce from Local Folks Foods, add thin round slices of the cheese (less is more with vegan cheese), and whatever vegetables I have around.  Bake and enjoy.

Another favorite option is buying a plain pizza from Bold Organics and doctoring it up with fresh veggies.  Very impressive for frozen pizza!

Note: Scizzas are worth every penny.