Stuffed Pumpkins with Grains and "Chicken"

My friend, Michele, is my favorite guinea pig when I try out a new recipe. Not only is she guaranteed to try everything, she also washes every dish. Who could ask for more? She came over for this little pumpkin experiment. I'm working on ideas for Thanksgiving and I thought the flavors and presentation would make this a beautiful side dish. Stuffed Pumpkins with Grains and "Chicken" 4 small pumpkins 1 quart Imagine No-Chicken Broth 1 tablespoon Earth Balance ¼ cup long-grain brown rice ¼ cup forbidden rice ½ cup wheat berries ¼ teaspoon nutmeg ½ pound ground Match "Chicken" meat ½ cup dried cranberries (optional) ½ teaspoon cinnamon...

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Creamy Coconut-Curry Sauce

There aren't many restaurants in my neck of the woods where one can get a satisfying vegan meal (you know, one with actual protein in it). Sometimes when I go out with friends, I'm reduced to eating french fries (which doesn't do me any favors). My regular lunch date, Kate, has been extremely patient with me as I've begun to eat a vegan diet. I'm like Sally from "When Harry Met Sally," with everything prepared specially or "on the side." The other day, we ate at a chain restaurant called "Stir Crazy." It was a great meal, due in large part to a patient server and a very vegan-friendly menu. I had the coconut-curry vegetable dish and became...

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Tempeh Bacon (Insert Clever Bacon Pun Here)

I admit, I had been known to partake in bacon (of the pig variety) in my former life. Leaving bacon behind to become a vegetarian wasn't a deal breaker for me, though, like it is for many others. It would be nice if there was a real-live, super-duper substitute of the veggie kind for bacon, but I'm not holding my breath. What makes real bacon so bacon-y is everything that classifies it as meat. Substitutes are either tooooooooooo salty, too chewy, or too not bacon. I have yet to try any that I can choke down and even the varieties other vegans swear by are unpalatable to me. So, damnit, I made my own bacon-type substitute. My first disclaimer...

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Snappy Turtle Cookies (or, Saying "I Love You" with Vegan Cookies Means Never Having to Say You're Sorry for Salmonella Poisoning)

These are my favorite cookies . . . one of Grandma's recipes. I'm not sure what's "snappy" or "turtle-y" about these babies, but they've been called that for over 70 years, so who am I to buck family tradition? I love that these are simple and sweet (but not too sweet). These are more a tea-cake cookie, and are just perfect with a warm cup and good gossip from the gal next door. The original recipe, from the 1940's, was probably pretty expensive to make during wartime; it called for 3 eggs and butter. As I look through family recipes like this to veganize, I'm always amazed that war brides didn't go ahead and veganize recipes themselves....

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Peanut Butter and Jelly Ice Box Cookies

Soooooooooooo, school's back in session. I'm a teacher by trade, and this time of year is still filled with school supplies and new shoes. It's also when my kids and I start dreaming of goodies for our lunch boxes. For my boys, their thoughts turn to peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (their fave for lunch). In honor of the new school year and the reemergence of lunchtime treats, I thought I'd veganize my grandmother's recipe for her Peanut Butter and Jelly Ice Box Cookies. Fair warning: I am not a baker. I lack skill and patience to make cookies pretty. The pictures reflect this. However, they were moist and lived up to their name....

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Mushroom and Wild Rice Tarts with Truffle Oil-Infused Crust

I am getting sassy in the kitchen, People! Time was mixing flour and rolling it out into some pie-shaped configuration was the stuff of nightmares for me. No longer! This entire meal was built around the following thought: What would happen if I used this ridiculously over-priced white truffle oil in a pie crust? This tart was creamy and warm and using the truffle oil made me feel like a real foodie type. I made this recipe up as I putzed along, but wrote down what I was doing as I went. Hopefully you can recreate it, because it was too good to be vegan! Mushroom and Wild Rice Tarts with Truffle Oil-Infused Crust 3 cups prepared...

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Teriyaki-Flavored Happiness (or, These Vegetables Aren't Going to Eat Themselves!)

If you've been following my blog, you may notice the same ingredients used in multiple recipes. There's a really good explanation for that: I'm a normal person and not a gourmet cook. I make a trip to Whole Foods once or twice a year, for example, to purchase specialty ingredients and to stock my freezer with vegan meat alternatives. Other than that, I'm shopping down the street at Kroger, Meijer, or on a day when the three boys aren't trying to kill each other in the back of the mini-van, I may get a trip into the local health food store. As far as the purchase of fresh vegetables goes, I have learned to think with my brain and not with...

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Corn Fritters You Can Bring to a (Vegan) Hillbilly Hoedown

The first time I heard of corn fritters was as a little girl, thumbing through The Beverly Hillbillies Cookbook (yes, it's real. My mother used to have it. Ours was from the 1970's, but there appears to be a newish version from the 1990's). It was one of the first recipes I ever made on my own (with the exception of the frying in oil part- for that I was an eager spectator). What I loved about corn fritters is that they combined two of my favorite things: corn, and deep frying! There were times as an adult that I had to admit I'd eat just about anything if it were deep-fried, and at least corn fritters started with a somewhat healthy...

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Liberating Beatific Beans from their Flavor Packet Oppressor

Bean soup is a thing of beauty. The colors and textures of the beans combined with their nutritional properties make them something worth savoring. I love the bean aisle in my grocery story, but for some stupid reason the dried beans are relegated to the bottom shelf (much like poetry in a book store. Hmmm . . . that's an interesting coincidence). They are all so pretty to look at, and always so inexpensive. You really could live on 'em. During my last couple of trips to my local grocery story I've paused in front of the bags of mixed beans, which always contain packets with "natural ham flavoring." The beans themselves are so healthy,...

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