Tag: yummy

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 325ยบ 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

Shepherdess Pie

veganlivingbydanielle

I get so many compliments on this dish from vegans and non-vegans alike! I like to veganize this dish to share at potlucks and holiday gatherings. It is a hit time after time! I think it’s pretty simple, I hope you agree.

I Googled “what do you call a vegan Shepherd’s Pie?” and it came up “Mushroom Planter’s Pie” or “Sheperdess Pie” so I chose the latter. The first felt like a mouthful…

If I’m making this to serve for dinner, I use a casserole dish. For potlucks, I use a crockpot.

If you’re using a crockpot, you’ll have to skip steps 6 and 11.

This is allergen friendly too because it’s dairy free, nut free, gluten free, and soy free!* *depending on the “butter” used

Ingredients:

Mashed Potato Topping

  • 3-4 large Russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
  • 1/2 cup vegan butter
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened original oat milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1/4 cup nutritional yeast (optional)

“Meat”

  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 yellow onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 lb Beyond Meat
  • 1 tsp rosemary
  • 1 tsp thyme
  • 1/2 tsp parsley
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 8 oz vegetable broth
  • 1 1/2 cup frozen mixed veggies
  • 2 Tbsp flour (sun corn starch to be gluten free)
  • 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)

Directions:

  1. Peel and cut the potatoes into 1 inch cubes. Put the potatoes in a large pot, cover the potatoes with water, and boil until they are soft, about 10-15 min.
  2. While the potatoes are boiling, dice the onion and mince the garlic.
  3. Saute the onions in a large frying pan over medium heat with olive oil. After about 3 min when the onions are golden, add the garlic and Beyond Meat. Turn the burner up to medium-high heat to brown the meat.
  4. While the meat is browning, add the herbs, salt, and pepper.
  5. Once the meat is browned, add the broth and veggies. Then add the flour and nutritional yeast to thicken. Cook for about 5 min until the veggies are no longer frozen, and the sauce has thickened.
  6. If you’re using a casserole dish to serve, move the oven rack toward the top of the oven. Preheat the oven on to broil at 550F.
  7. Drain the water from the cooked potatoes.
  8. Add the butter, milk, garlic, salt, pepper, and nutritional yeast to the potatoes and mash them up until smooth.
  9. Add the meat and veggie mixture to the dish or crockpot and spread evenly.
  10. Spread the mashed potatoes over the meat and veggies evenly.
  11. Put the casserole dish, uncovered, in the oven to cook the top of the dish until the potatoes are golden brown. This should only take about 2 minutes so keep an eye on it!
  12. Top with parsley flakes for garnish, optional.

Enjoy!

Recipes, Uncategorized

Pumpkin Donut Holes

veganlivingbydanielle

Happy Fall! Around this time of year, I love apple picking, pumpkin patches, haunted houses…the usual festivities, but I miss those dang fall donuts! It occurred to me, I need to veganize a pumpkin donut recipe! They were so much easier than I expect for making donuts too!

Below, I hav shared the ingredients and directions and then some useful tips that I found while cooking below that (substitutions, brand recommendations, etc.)

Ingredients:

Donuts:

  • 1 Tbsp flax meal1
  • 3 Tbsp water
  • 1 3/4 cup sifted flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pumpkin spice2
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  • 3/4 cup pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar3
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 cup any non-dairy milk

Topping:

  • 1 stick unsalted vegan butter4
  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 Tbsp cinnamon

Directions:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Make sure the rack is centered.
  2. Generously grease a 24-cup mini muffin pan with nonstick spray or some vegetable oil with a paper towel.
  3. In a small bowl, whisk together 1 Tbsp flax meal with 3 Tbsp water and let it sit for at least 3 minutes. This allows the mixture to become gelatinous, egg-like.
  4. Sift5 flour into medium mixing bowl. Mix in baking powder, salt, nutmeg and pumpkin pie spice.
  5. Put the pumpkin puree in a separate large mixing bowl and mix in brown sugar. Make sure this bowl is bigger because you’re going to mix the dry ingredients into this bowl!
  6. Mix in the vegetable oil, vanilla extract, and add the flax egg. Pour in milk, and mix until smooth.
  7. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl with the wet ingredients and stir until the dry mixture is completely mixed in, no clumps. Be careful not to overmix the batter.
  8. Scoop the batter into a 24-cup mini muffin pan, about ยพ full each cup, and bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.6
  9. While the donuts are baking, melt the butter in a bowl in the microwave (about 1 minute). Allow the butter to cool before dipping the donuts in the butter. Also, mix the sugar and cinnamon together and pour part of the mixture on a plate or leave in the bowl to get ready to roll the donuts. Last thing before the donuts come out, set up a baking sheet or plate with parchment paper to set the donuts on after coating in sugar.
  10. Remove the donuts from the oven and allow to cool just enough to handle.7
  11. Dip the donut holes in the melted butter, and roll to coat in cinnamon sugar.
  12. Serve warm if possible. Fall donuts are better warm!8 Enjoy!

Makes about 36 donut holes

Tips!

  1. Flax meal works best, but flax seed also works! You can also throw flax seed in a blender, bullet, or food processor to get flax meal.
  2. Pumpkin spice sure makes the recipe easier, but if you don’t have pumpkin spice, you can substitute 1/4 tsp of each of the following: cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves/allspice.
  3. Don’t have brown sugar? In a separate bowl, thoroughly mix 1/2 cup white sugar with 1/2 Tbsp of maple syrup or molasses.
  4. You can buy sticks of butter that are vegan brands like earth balance, but brands like Country Crock and I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter have vegan butter as well. A quick hack with these brands that aren’t fully vegan, look at the ingredients list to see if it says at the bottom of the list “Contains: Milk.” If it does not say contains milk, you should be good! Milk is an allergen and by law must be clearly labeled.
  5. If you don’t have a sifter, you can use a spaghetti strainer or similar to sift. I have a metal spaghetti strainer that I use when a recipe calls for sifted flour.
  6. If your last batch of donuts does not fill the whole muffin tin, before popping them in the oven, fill the empty spots up about 1/4 of the way with water to ensure even baking of the batter.
  7. After removing the donuts from the oven, I took them out of the tin as soon as I could so they would cool faster and so I didn’t burn my fingers on the pan. I just dumped them out on a clean cookie sheet, but you can also use a spoon to scoop them out onto a plate or pan.
  8. If you have leftover donuts, place the donuts on top of a paper towel in a container put them in the fridge overnight. Try to make sure the donuts aren’t touching if you can.

Lifestyle Tips, Recipes, Uncategorized

Forsythia Syrup

veganlivingbydanielle

I have had wicked bad seasonal allergies since I was very young. My eyes would be so itchy I would give myself black eyes rubbing them in my sleep, I could not be outside without being a big ball of ick, itchy throat to the point of no relief… In high school, I started getting allergy shots over 5 years or so, but still need to take regular allergy meds. That is just how bad my allergies are. Still, no medicine would alleviate my itchy throat! The only thing that would help is a teaspoon of honey a few times a day. When I went vegan, I did not know what to do instead of honey. This year, I noticed a bunch of my friends posting about foraging, especially with dandelions and forsythia flowers. I started to look more into some of these recipes and found blogs saying using forsythia flowers can help with allergy relief! Luckily, I have forsythia bushes in my backyard that already bloomed and were not treated with fertilizer or any other chemicals, so I tried right away! (For more seasonal allergy relief tips, check out this blog post: https://www.earthpothecary.com/blogs/news/allergy-season)

 

I use the syrup to sweeten teas and other foods. Sometimes I will have a spoonful of the syrup if my throat is itchy.

 

Why is honey not vegan? Here are some main points, but you can read more here: https://www.vegansociety.com/go-vegan/honey-industry

  1. It is a product that comes from a living being. Vegans do not eat animal flesh or anything that comes from a living being.
  2. Many bees can die or be badly injured when humans collect their honey.
  3. Commercial industries and some local producers artificially inseminate (rape) the queen to breed more worker bees.
  4. Bees make honey to survive through hibernation. It is not ours to take, they are not our slaves, working to make something for us to steal from them.

 

Tips for how to harvest:

  • Make sure there are no bugs on the flowers you are picking! I found a few bees close by and some ants in the flowers. It would not be vegan if I accidentally got bugs in it!
  • Just pick the flower, no twigs.
  • Do not press the flowers down into the measuring cup. Just pluck them and put them right in the cup.
  • Make sure the flowers you are harvesting have not been treated with any chemicals.
  • When you bring the flowers in, do not rinse them! Having the pollen on the flowers helps your allergy relief just like local honey has pollen in it.
  • The recipe calls for 2-3 cups of flowers. I like to use 3 cups for a slightly stronger flavor, darker color, and potentially slightly more relief. The relief part is probably mental.

 

Ingredients:

  • 2-3 cups forsythia flowers
  • 4 cups water
  • 1-2 cup sugar (I prefer 1 cup of brown sugar which very closely resembles the sweetness and taste of maple syrup.)
  • something to steep tea in
  • small/medium sauce pan

Directions:

  1. Pick 2-3 cups of flowers.
  2. Bring 4 cups of water to a boil in a tea kettle or saucepan. (You can add less water if you would like a bit of a stronger flavor and your mixture to be more syrup-y and less watery.)
  3. While boiling, place the flowers in a tea pot or a heat-safe bowl to steep. I have a tea infuser so I can pour the liquid out without having the flowers come out too. If you do not have one, any heat-safe bowl is fine as long as you can cover it. You can strain the flowers out later.
  4. Pour the boiling water over the flowers.
  5. Steep overnight to make it nice and strong.
  6. Strain the flowers out of the “tea.”
  7. Pour the “tea” into a saucepan and add sugar.
  8. Bring to a boil and then simmer on low for about 30 minutes stirring frequently to avoid burning.
  9. Allow the mixture to cool and pour into a Tupperware container or mason jar.
  10. Store the syrup in the fridge.

Enjoy! I hope this helps soothe your allergies as well!

Syrup
This recipe yielded about 6 of these jars

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