Tag: tips

Recipes, Uncategorized

Cream of Mushroom Soup

veganlivingbydanielle

Green bean casserole has always been my favorite side dish at holiday dinners (sorry mashed potatoes). When I went vegan, I knew there had to be a way to make this dish vegan or I’d cry. Yes, the year that we messed up the green bean casserole and didn’t have it for Thanksgiving is infamous with my family.

Even after years, and all the great vegan products that have come out lately and hit mainstream grocery stores, I still cannot find pre-made vegan cream of mushroom soup. When I Google canned vegan cream of mushroom soup I only find recipes, and some of them are complicated!! We all have enough going on for holidays, especially if you have multiple dishes to make, are hosting, or just don’t want to spend hours in the kitchen!

Here is MY recipe that works really well with my green bean casserole.

PS. I follow the green bean casserole recipe on the back of the French’s Crispy Fried Onion container, but substitute this soup and some original flavor oat milk or other dairy-free, unsweetened milk to veganize! You know what else? This recipe yields enough soup that I can freeze half of the soup when I make it for Thanksgiving and use the rest for green bean casserole at Christmas!

I hope you find it as easy, and as delicious as I do!

YOU try to take a flattering picture of cream of mushroom soup, okay?

Ingredients:

  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 1 small white or yellow onion, finely chopped
  • 1/2 lb baby portabella mushrooms or other small mushrooms, thinly sliced or chopped
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp thyme (recommended but optional)
  • 3 Tbsp flour
  • 2 cups vegetable stock or broth
  • 1/4 cup non-dairy, unsweetened, original milk (I prefer oat milk)
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Heat olive oil in a medium/large pan over medium-high heat.
  2. Add onion and saute until translucent, not brown.
  3. Add mushrooms and saute until tender (about 5-8 min) stirring frequently. (Tip: I use a mandolin to get my mushrooms nice and thin quickly! I’m so slow with chopping and cutting so having a mandolin saved me so much time.)
  4. Stir in a pinch of salt and pepper, garlic powder, and thyme if desired.
  5. Sprinkle the flour over the veggies in the pan.
  6. Stir in 1 cup of vegetable stock or broth until the flour blends in and cook until it boils.
  7. Stir in the remaining broth and non-dairy milk.
  8. Reduce heat to simmer.
  9. Add any salt, pepper, or additional broth/stock to taste and desired consistency.
  10. Remove from heat and serve!

Enjoy!

Recipes, Uncategorized

Banana Bread

veganlivingbydanielle

This is my GO TO banana bread recipe when I am baking for other people. I love my wheat-free banana bread, and so does my husband, but it is a bit more of an acquired taste and a different texture since it’s made with oats instead of flour.

This recipe is one that I veganized out of my mom’s cookbook from when I was growing up. It is so easy to make and always a crowd pleaser.

direct notes from Mom’s cookbook

She makes it every year for family in little mini-loaf pans, and I prefer to make mini-muffins for bite-sized baked goods when I make them. The original recipe has the bake time for a regular loaf (9 inch x 5 in x 3 in) so I have bake times for all the above and more!

Ingredients:

  • 2 Tbsp flax seed, ground
  • 6 Tbsp water
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2 – 3 medium bananas, mashed (yields about 1 1/2 cups)
  • 3/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 325º F.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together the ground flax seed and water.
  3. Grease the pan or tin you will be using with spray or some of the vegetable oil. You can also use muffin tin liners if you are making muffins.
  4. In a large bowl, mash your banana. Then, using a wooden spoon, mix in the flax seed/water mixture, sugar, and oil.
  5. Stir in the remaining ingredients.
  6. Spread the batter into your greased or lined tin or pan.
  7. Bake until you can insert a toothpick or tool and it comes out clean. Times vary based on your oven, but here are the times we’ve found that work:
    • Full sized loaf: 60 – 70 min
    • Mini-loafs (makes 4 tins): about 35 min
    • Full sized muffins: 20 – 25 min
    • Mini-muffins (makes about 3 dozen): about 15 min

Enjoy!

Recipes, Uncategorized

Tofu Scramble

veganlivingbydanielle

I’ve been loving tofu scramble! I call it tofu scrambie for fun. So good for breakfast and one container of tofu lasts me for about 2-3 breakfasts.

That Tofu Thing

I bought myself a tofu press for Christmas and it’s amazing! I used to squeeze the water out and soak the excess water with paper towels. Very wasteful, but it works…The tofu press squeezes the water out all the way which makes it cook more evenly. It really helps if you grill or fry it up. For this recipe, you don’t have to go too crazy getting the excess liquid out, it just takes a bit longer to cook thoroughly.

Gather spices: turmeric for color, salt or egg salt/black salt, and pepper.

Spices

Plate

Directions:

  1. Drain tofu of liquid and squeeze as dry as possible.
  2. Cut the tofu into cubes.Tofu
  3. Warm frying pan on the stove over medium heat.
  4. Add oil to the pan.
  5. Saute veggies if desired. Some of my favorites are onion, broccoli, mushrooms.
  6. Once warmed, add the tofu to the pan and mash with spoon.

  7. Add a small dash of turmeric for color and mix until all tofu is yellow.
  8. Add a few tablespoons of unsweetened , plain soy milk to keep the tofu from getting too dry.
  9. Add a dash of garlic if desired.
  10. If you have black salt/egg salt, you can use in place of the salt. I recommend about 1/8 to 1/4 tsp and mix.
  11. Add salt and pepper to taste either while it’s still in the pan, or upon serving.
  12. Dress them up like you would scrambled eggs!

Enjoy!!

Recipes, Uncategorized

Chik’n Parm

veganlivingbydanielle

Dress up your Wheat “Meat” recipe and make a chik’n parm dinner!

It’s super simple and very similar to cooking up chicken or eggplant parm, if you’ve ever done that.

You’ll need flax egg, vegan bread crumbs, frying oil, flour (optional), and sprigs of basil (optional for garnish).

Make a flax egg:

  • In a mixing bowl, whisk 1/4 cup flax seed meal with 3/4 cup water.
  • Let stand for 5 minutes for the mixture to become gelatinous.

Prep bread crumbs:

  1. I use 1-2 cups of vegan Italian bread crumbs. I like these bread crumbs from Whole Foods because they’re vegan and already seasoned.
  2. Whatever bread crumbs you use, you can add a bit of flour to the bread crumbs to make them stretch further and last longer.
  3. You can also search through your grocery store’s panko or plain bread crumbs and check the ingredients list that they are free of egg and dairy.
    • You can add Italian seasoning to the plain bread crumbs, 1 tsp Italian seasoning per cup.
    • If you don’t have Italian seasoning, you can use 1/4 tsp of oregano, 1/4 tsp of basil, 1/4 tsp of onion powder, 1/4 tsp of garlic powder.
  4. Put the bread crumbs, whichever option you choose, on a plate.

Directions:

  1. Take one slightly cooled piece of Wheat “Meat” and dunk it in the flax egg until it’s evenly coated on both sides.
  2. Take the piece that’s coated in the flax egg and cover in the bread crumbs on both sides.
  3. Put the coated piece on a clean plate.
  4. Repeat until all pieces are coated in flax egg and bread crumbs.
  5. Set frying pan on medium-high heat and add frying oil.
  6. When the pan is warm, put the Wheat “Meat” pieces in the pan.
  7. Cook until one side of the piece is golden brown and flip to cook on the other side. Add more oil if needed.
  8. Cook until golden brown on both sides.
  9. Remove from pan.
  10. Top with warmed red pasta sauce and vegan cheese if desired. I prefer Violife mozzarella and parmesan.
  11. If you are using “meat” that is completely cooled, I recommend baking for 15-20 minutes. You can also bake for 5-10 minutes to melt the cheese.
  12. Top with a sprig of basil for garnish.

Enjoy!

CH

 

 

Lifestyle Tips, Uncategorized

Free Vegan Mentor Program

veganlivingbydanielle

UPDATE Feb 2023: Sadly, this program dissolved a few years ago. However there are similar programs out there, but I don’t have experience with them.

Vegan Outreach: https://veganoutreach.org/vegan-mentorship-program/ 

I volunteer with PETA’s Vegan Mentor Program and highly recommend signing up to receive a mentor if you need help going vegan. It’s totally free!

You’re sent a packet of information about going vegan and assigned a mentor who is available to answer questions and guide you along your journey to veganism via phone call, text, email, video chat…however you prefer.

Since I started last year, I’ve mentored about 11 new vegans. We share recipes, tips on how to face new challenges, and resources to answer your questions.

Sign up today and your free mentor will help you go vegan at your own pace. No pressure! Sign up here!

Already vegan? Interested in becoming a mentor? PETA is always looking for volunteer mentors. E-mail KeithB@peta.org with “Vegan Mentor” in the subject line to get started.