{CRANBERRY JELLO}

This recipe has been around in our family for as long as I can remember.  Source, Mom?

Anyway, it's really good!

4 pkgs. no-flavor gelatin (you can use vegan gel like agar)
12 oz. cranberry, rasberry, or apple juice concentrate (or combination)
20 oz. can crushed pineapple
2 c. cranberry sauce
1 c. pecans or walnuts, chopped
1/2 to 1 c. vegan sour cream

• Strain pineapple, reserving juice.
• Mix concentrate with pineapple juice to make 4 1/2 c.  (Add water if necessary.)
• Sprinkle gelatin on 1 c. juice mixture.
• Let sit for 1 minute.
• Meanwhile, boil remaining 3 1/2 c. juice.
• Add boiling juice to cold and stir to dissolve gelatin.
• Pour into 9x13 dish.
• Refrigerate until half set.  (30 minutes to an hour.  Check every 5-10 minutes after 30 minutes.  It can go very quickly from liquid to set.)
• Meanwhile, combine and mix crushed pineapple, cranberry sauce, and nuts.
• When jello is half set, mix in fruit and nuts.

• Refrigerate 5 more minutes.
• Swirl or mix in sour cream.

• Refrigerate to set completely.

{STUFFING}

We have Susan (Fat Free Vegan) to thank for this one. So good! Marian and I are going to make more tomorrow to go with our other Thanksgiving leftovers. (I'll put the original recipe in parenthesis where I made some changes.)

1/2 c. onion, chopped

4 c. whole wheat bread cubes (4 thick-ish slices)
1 t. each of fresh rosemary, sage, and thyme, minced (3/4 t. poultry seasoning)
1 T. dried parsley or 3 T. fresh parsley, minced
1 T. nutritional yeast
1/2 t. salt
1 dash freshly ground black pepper
1/2 c. celery, chopped
1/2 c. dried cranberries (raisins)
1/4 c. pecans or walnuts, chopped

1-2 T. soy sauce
1/2 c. boiling vegetable broth (or water)

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Saute onions in water until soft. (I added this step.)
• Meanwhile, mix bread cubes with all seasoning, celery, cranberries, and nuts.
• Strain onions and add to mixture.
• Toss/mix until well combined.
• Add soy sauce to boiling broth and pour over bread mixture, stirring to moisten completely.
• Bake covered for 20 minutes.
• Uncover and bake for another 10 minutes.

{MASHED POTATOES}

This isn't really a recipe, but here's what we do for delicious vegan mashed potatoes:

potatoes
non-dairy milk
vegan margarine
salt
pepper

• Peel potatoes and cut into 2-inch chunks.
• Put 1 inch water and steaming rack in pressure cooker.
• Add potatoes to cooker, and cook on low pressure for 3 minutes.
• Quick release.
• Poor steamed potatoes into electric mixer (Bosch).
• Do initial mashing with potato masher.
• Warm milk in microwave.
• Use whisk beaters in mixer.  Turn mixer on, and add milk and margarine to desired texture, consistency, and taste.
• Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Serve with this gravy.

{A VEGAN THANKSGIVING}

When people find out we're vegan, they often ask, "What do you eat for Thanksgiving?"  Our answer:  "Everything!"

My girls and I are at Marian's.  (Mike has Dental Boards on Saturday; we left him this week so he could study in peace.)   This was our menu:

Mashed Potatoes
Gravy
Stuffing
Carrots
Peas
Candied Yams
Rolls
Cranberry Sauce
Cranberry Jello
Wassail
Apple Pie with Coconut Cream
Cheesecake with Blueberry Sauce

Here's the Spread:

And here's my plate:

Everything was delicious!  And I absolutely love eating a Thanksgiving Feast and not feeling that rock-in-my-stomach fullness afterward!

{CHERRY CHOCOLATE CHIP SNACK BARS}

Another variation on breakfast bars:

1 1/2 c. oats

1 1/2 c. shredded wheat cereal

1 1/2 c. cashews

1 1/4 c. dates

3/4 t. cinnamon

3/4 t. salt

1 1/4 c. dried cherries
3/4 c. vegan chocolate chips

1/3 c. water

1 1/2 T. egg replacer powder

1/2 c. honey

1/2 T. vanilla

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Place first ingredients and 3/4 c. dried cherries in food processor.  (If you don't have a large-capacity processor, you may need to do this in 2 parts.)
• Process until finely chopped.
• Add remaining 1/2 c. cherries and the chocolate chips, and process until they're the size you want.
• In a large bowl, whisk together water through vanilla.
• Add oat mixture and stir to combine.
• Transfer to a lightly greased 9x13 baking dish, and lightly press flat.
• Bake on 350 for 20 minutes, or until edges are golden brown.
• Allow to cool completely before cutting and serving. (They're even better chilled in the fridge or freezer.)

{APPLE CINNAMON SNACK BARS}

Another variation on breakfast bars:

1 1/2 c. oats
1 1/2 c. shredded wheat cereal
1 1/2 c. walnuts
1 c. dates
2 t. cinnamon
3/4 t. salt

1 1/3 c. dried apples

1/3 c. water
1 1/2 T. egg replacer powder
1/2 c. honey
1/2 T. vanilla

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Place first ingredients and 2/3 c. apples in food processor.  (If you don't have a large-capacity processor, you may need to do this in 2 parts.)
• Process until finely chopped.
• Add remaining 2/3 c. apples, and process until they're the size you want.
• In a large bowl, whisk together water through vanilla.
• Add oat mixture and stir to combine.
• Transfer to a lightly greased 9x13 baking dish, and lightly press flat.
• Bake on 350 for 20 minutes, or until edges are golden brown.
• Allow to cool completely before cutting and serving. (They're even better chilled in the fridge or freezer.)

{CHOCOLATE CHIP SNACK BARS}

These are a variation of the breakfast bars.  So yummy!  I make a bunch and freeze them for my husband to pack in his lunch.

1 1/2 c. oats
1 1/2 c. shredded wheat cereal
1 1/2 c. pecans
2 1/4 c. dates
3/4 t. cinnamon
3/4 t. salt

3/4 c. vegan chocolate chips

1/3 c. water

1 1/2 T. egg replacer powder
1/2 c. honey
1/2 T. vanilla

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Place first ingredients in a food processor.  (If you don't have a large capacity processor, you might have to do this in 2 parts.)
• Process until finely chopped.
• Add chocolate chips and pulse a few time, until they're the size you want.
• In a large bowl, whisk together water through vanilla.
• Add the oat mixture, and stir to combine.
• Transfer to a lightly greased 9x13 baking dish and flatten down gently.
• Bake on 350 for 20 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown.
• Allow the bars to cool completely before cutting and serving.  (They're even better after being chilled in the fridge or freezer.)

{RAW TACOS}

I saw this on The Cooking Lady (Thanks!).  I really liked it, but the cheeze was pretty rich, so I couldn't eat enough of it to get full.

I think the ground walnut "meat" would be a great addition to any taco salad, tostada, soft taco, etc.

And the cilantro-cashew cheeze reminded me a bit of ranch dressing.  I might try to tweak it a bit to make a salad dressing.  I've been wanting a good vegan ranch for a long time.

I also think the cheeze would make a great vegetable dip!

{GROUND WALNUT MEAT}

1 c. raw walnuts
1/2 T. ground cumin
1/2 T. ground coriander
1/2 T. liquid aminos, tamari, or soy sauce
1 pinch salt

• Place all ingredients in a food processor.
• Process until mixture resembles ground meat.  (Be careful to not over process into butter.)

{CILANTRO-CASHEW CHEEZE}

1-2 cloves garlic

1/2 t. salt

1 c. raw cashews

2 1/2 T. fresh lemon juice

1/4 c. packed fresh cilantro leaves

1/4 c. water

• Place garlic and salt in a food processor and process into small pieces.
• Add cashews and process into a paste.
• Add lemon juice, cilantro, and water.
• Process to mix well.

To Serve:

• Spread 2 T. cheeze down center of Romaine lettuce leaf.
• Sprinkle with 2 T. ground walnut meat.
• Top with salsa and avocado slices.
• Wrap and enjoy!

{APPLE PIE}

We had a Relief Society meeting last night and learned how to make pie crust. After watching the demo, I was bound and determined to make a whole wheat, vegan pie crust without using shortening. Here it is. It's not a flaky, melt-in-your mouth crust, but it's not too hard or tough either. I'm not sure if the non-flakiness was due to my inexperience (probably handled the dough too much), or just because coconut milk doesn't act like shortening. But, it was tasty, and for my first pie ever, I'll call it a success.

I took elements from this recipe and this one, along with a crust recipe my friend sent to me.

{APPLE FILLING}

6 c. apples, peeled and thinly sliced (food processor)
2 T. lemon juice


2/3 c. apple juice
3 T. flour
3/4 c. sucanat
1 dash salt
1 t. cinnamon
2 t. lemon zest

• Peel and slice apples (reserve and freeze peels for later use in green drinks), toss with lemon juice, and set aside.
• Combine flour, sucanat, salt, and cinnamon in a small saucepan.
• Over medium heat, slowly add apple juice, stirring (whisking) constantly.
• Add lemon zest and continue to stir.
• Bring to a boil.
• Remove from heat and set aside.

{WHOLE WHEAT PIE CRUST}

2 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 t. salt
1 c. hardened half of chilled Thai Kitchen coconut milk
Up to 6 T. cold water (put ice in some water to make it really cold)

• Put coconut milk in fridge to chill for at least a couple of hours, better overnight.
• Combine flour and salt in a large mixing bowl and put in the freezer to chill, at least one hour.
• Put rolling pin and pastry blender (or knife and fork) in freezer to chill.
• After everything has chilled for long enough, puncture bottom of coconut milk can to allow liquid to drain out. (Reserve and freeze for later use in pina colada shake!)
• Scoop out solid(ish) part. Should be about a cup. If not, add liquid back to make 1 cup.
• Cut into flour, using a pastry blender or knife and fork, until the dough resembles small peas.

• Sprinkle water 1 T. at a time, and mix with a fork, just until dough starts to hold together.
• Form into 2 balls, one slightly larger than the other. (Handle dough as little as possible.)
• Roll out on floured parchment paper until slightly bigger than a 9" pie dish.
• Carefully pick up parchment paper and fold over to lay crust into dish.
• Pour apples into crust.
• Pour sauce slowly over apples. If you pour too fast, it will run off the pie instead of seeping down into the apples.
• Cover top with 2nd crust.
• Fold edge of bottom crust over top crust and make a fluted edge.
• Cut design in top.

• Brush with non-dairy milk.
• Cover edges with foil to avoid over browning.
• Bake at 375 for 25 minutes.
• Remove foil and bake for another 25-30 minutes.

• Serve topped with this coconut whipped cream.

{GARLIC HERB DROP BISCUITS}

I served these tonight with this skillet lasagna.  Very good.  I had planned to make garlic bread but hadn't made any french bread, so I just tweaked the drop biscuit recipe, and they turned out great.  Very mild, so add more herbs if you're wanting a stronger flavor.

2 c. whole wheat flour
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. garlic powder
2 T. nutritional yeast


3/4 c. non-dairy milk, cold
1/4 c. (heaping) applesauce
1/2 T. fresh basil*, finely chopped
1/2 T. fresh rosemary*, finely chopped

• Preheat oven to 400.
• Combine dry ingredients.
• Mix wet ingredients together (I include fresh herbs in "wet") and then add to dry.
• Mix until well combined, but not too long.
• Drop onto lightly greased baking sheet.  (I always make 9 biscuits.)
• Allow to sit 2-3 minutes.
• Bake at 400 for 12 minutes.

*I've started buying these herbs, along with parsley and cilantro, fresh.  I chop them up and then freeze them in recipe-friendly amounts.  I've loved having them on hand!