I am finding more and more alternates to cow’s cheese. By this, I do not mean fake cheese made from soy or rice products. We tried this when we discovered our family was allergic to Casein, which is a protein found in cow’s products (cheese, sour cream, yogurt…).  We did not care at all for these ‘fake’ products. We just did without cheese and cheese products.

A few months ago, I found sheep cheese at an International Food Shop. It was quite pricey, but I thought I’d give it a try. Then I found goat cheese at the same shop. I tried that. It was different at first, with each cheese having it’s own distinct flavor. Then, it kinda grew on us. I liked the way it melted and I was able to use it in dishes I had not been able to make such as real lasagna or paninis or pizza with cheese that melts. Read more

How To Make Tomato Sauce From Fresh Tomatoes?

This summer we had our finest crop of tomatoes. Read more

For those of us who are making our own loaf bread, it’s a great challenge to find a whole wheat bread recipe that can stand up to a loaf of store-bought bread in texture and taste.  This recipe and baking method accomplishes both and the technique is easy to learn.

Feel free to skip to the video below.

In my two or three years of making bread I have tried several whole wheat recipes and eaten lots of hard, stiff, crumbly, bread.  In bread making…persistence pays. I know I am very fortunate to have found a great bread recipe early in my bread making career. Read more

Once again it’s approaching 5:00 and I have no clue what’s for supper.

I looked around my kitchen, hmmm.

Earlier today I covered some raw cashews with water. I did not have a special plan for the cashews, I just knew I needed to use them. I had seen a video earlier this week of an Alfredo sauce using cashews as a base. Cashews make a wonderful creamy base for soups and sauces, that I do know!

So now I have a plan. A creamy sauce using the cashews that were soaking. Read more

I don’t know what it is about baking potatoes twice, but it just seems to spruce them up quite a bit. It’s not much more effort to make this recipe because the blender does most of the work for you.

I used my blender to make the potatoes smooth and creamy. Every time I have blended potatoes they have an interesting ‘sticky’ consistency, but after cooking you can’t really tell. And this certainly does not effect the taste. Maybe it’s the fact that I am not using dairy milk or butter…not sure.

The roasted garlic adds an excellent flavor to these potatoes as well. No one will be able to tell it’s a vegan version of the high fatty twice baked potatoes with butter and whole milk.

Roasted Garlic and Potatoes

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I would call this month a successful sprouting month. I have successfully used my sprouts in creative ways. Some of which my family did not even realize, and others in a way that I really need to work on (according to the food critics at my house).

Alfalfa Sprouts

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When I say Eggs, I do, mean real chicken eggs. Nearly all of this site’s recipes are Vegan or Vegetarian, but I do use eggs, sometimes.

Throughout my recipes I give alternatives for eggs, but I, personally, have never used an egg substitute for scrambled eggs or omelets. If you have, and it’s good, please let me know what has worked for you.

Back to real eggs… We have access to country chickens “aka yard eggs” and love to take advantage of this luxury.

From time to time we even get the privilege of taking care of the chickens and get to keep the eggs. We love that! There is just something about peaking into the nest and finding several eggs laid and ready to be taken. I guess it’s like a hide-and-seek game — fun for the whole family. Read more

This month I am working on being creative with sprouts. Today I used Alfalfa Sprouts in my guacamole. We love Guacamole at our house. It does not last long and this recipe with the added sprouts was no exception.

Alfalfa Sprouts sprouted in a mason jar

Guacamole alone is a great, kid-friendly dip and an easy appetizer for a crowd (or small family). It can also be a healthy and nutritional lunch for those of all ages. Read more

I have begun this New Year by learning how to incorporate more sprouts to our diets. So far I have sprouted Broccoli Seeds, Alfalfa Seeds and am now working on Mung Beans.

Sprouted Mung Beans

The following is just a few transformations Mung Beans undergo after sprouting:
•    Protein availability   — increases 30 percent
•    Calcium content        — increases 34 percent
•    Iron content               — increases 40 percent
•    Vitamin A content     — increases 285 percent
•    Ascorbic acid or Vit C content      — An infinite increase

This change was posted at healthlibrary.com. I found this list with lots more content on sprouting from GreenSmoothieGirl’s 12 Steps to Whole Foods. Fantastic book! I highly recommend it! I love looking through it to see what I could be working on to better the nutrition of me and my family. This month…sprouts!

For those who are new to sprouts (as I really am), it is super easy to sprout. The only tools I use are:

•    Pint or Quart Jar with rings
•    Cheese cloth big enough to fit around the opening of the jar
•    Sprouting Seeds or nuts (look for them at a Health Food Store)

So far I have blended most of my sprouts in smoothies, but I am trying to get creative now.

Tonight it’s Vegetable Chili – with Sprouts!

Sometimes it just tastes better served in a tea cup - if you are small enough to have a full serving tea-cup sized.

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This winter we have lots of sweet, easy-peel tangerines. The problem is they have so many seeds that we do not care to bother with them. I put my littlest cook to work juicing the small pile of tangerines I cut in half.

My Google search on an Orange Oil-Free salad dressing lead me to this post on Green Lemonade’s site.  The original recipe called for avocado, which I did not have. The other ingredients were honey, apple cider vinegar and a bit of water (as well as orange juice).  I made it without the avocado or water and it turned out wonderful. It was light (due to no oil) and sweet and very tasty.

I am not a big salad eater, but this dressing is a winner and helps makes salads easier for us to eat. It was simple to make and the proportions are easy to work with. Her idea for the salad to accompany this delicious salad dressing is winner as well.

Check out her recipe here.

You can adjust the quantity of the Salad Dressing by tasting it to decide if it has too much vinegar and not enough oranges or honey to suit your taste. This also makes quite a bit, but it’s a wonderfully light dressing.

You can add a bit of water to the Orange Juice too.

Add this to a mixture of Romain, spinach leaves, mixed salad greens, walnuts, grapes and grated carrots. If you have a weakness for croutons (like me), add some of them too. Read more

Pumpkins are showing up everywhere and they are so beautiful to keep around, until the day you discover a growing moldy spot on the back! Yuck! It is past time to cut up and cook the pumpkin.

I was given a very large pumpkin from a friend’s garden this summer (yes, this summer). I cut it up, cooked the pumpkin and froze the cooked pumpkin puree for year round pumpkin dishes.

Here is a simple ‘how to’ when processing a large (or small pumpkin).

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This vegan hummus pizza is a quick meal that, like any pizza, can hold an unlimited amount of toppings. The sky (or fridge) is the limit for this versatile vegan pizza.

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One of the perks of owning a high powered blender the ability to make raw soup on demand. This vegan soup recipe can be made raw if you exclude the last two ingredients.

For a great blender cookbook, checkout a few top picks at Amazon.

Before purchasing my Blendtec Blender I watched many videos and read many reviews and so on. But, it was while seeing a live demo and tasting the soup made from the Blendtec did I decide to buy it.

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My Favorite Vegan Cornbread

There is nothing better than crispy cornbread to accompany your cooked greens and a big pot of beans and rice, or bean soup. With fall well on it’s way here and the little sprouts of greens coming up in the garden, it’s time to get the cornbread cooking in the kitchen!

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Sloppy Lentil Joe on homemade Whole Wheat Bun

I found this recipe in Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease by Caldwell B. Esselstyn. The last half of his book is recipes. I have found the spices in some of his recipes are rather bland, but they are written for those with heart disease. I add salt and different seasonings.

This book has great ideas for lunches/dinners and desserts. I recommend this book to be on every cooks recipe book shelf.

I found this recipe to have great flavor. I served the Sloppy Lentil Joes on homemade buns with steamed asparagus or over brown rice.

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I found a copy of Betty Crocker’s Italian Stuffed Mushrooms on my mom’s counter the other day. Oh, how I love stuffed mushrooms, but in the past I never seemed to get the seasonings quite right. Well, I grabbed the recipe and decided to give it a go (action beats standing still any day).

Here is another challenge: to make them without butter or cheese. Note: I very rarely find a recipe that I do not alter and either take away, substitute or add something. This was no exception. Read more

I have been wanting to try a pumpkin soup recipe this year. Every fall the girls and I choose several great pie sized pumpkins. This year, the last pie pumpkin has been designated for soup!!! Needless to say, the one who picked out this pumpkin was quite disappointed.
But, it is I who does the cooking!!! So, I get to say what goes in the pot and today it’s the last of the pumpkins!!!

Some time back I tried a great recipe for Thai sweet potato soup. I found the recipe in a veggie cookbook from the library and was quite perturbed when I realized I had not copied the recipe before returning it! But, I will get it back and be sure to post it! I was fantastic…but that’s for Sweet Potato Soup post… However, that soup had some ingredients I really liked together. Lime, coconut milk and curry. I know, what a combination! I would have never put that together…but it works.

So, when I found this Curried Pumpkin Soup recipe with those ingredients…I jumped on it.

I found this recipe in the Southern Living Christmas Cookbook. Special edition for Dillard’s on page 151. I altered it very little…

• 1 large sweet onion, chopped
• 1 Tbsp. minced garlic
• 1 Tbsp. minced fresh ginger
• 1 Tbsp. curry powder
• 1/8 tsp. ground red pepper
• 1/8 tsp. ground cumin
• 2 (15-oz.) cans unsweetened pumpkin ( I used about 3 cups fresh pumpkin)
• 1 cup water
• 32-oz. container vegetable broth
• 1 (13.5-oz.) can lite coconut milk (I used regular coconut milk and it was fine,I guess calories are the difference between the two kinds)
• Juice of 1 lime
• 2 1/2 tsp. salt

If using fresh pumpkin: cut pumpkin in half, scoop out seeds and stringy things, bake or microwave until pulp can be spooned out easily–all this should be done ahead of time.

Saute onion in hot soup pot over medium heat until tender. ( no oil is needed) Add garlic and next 4 ingredients; saute 1 minute. Add pumpkin, 1 cup water and broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium; add coconut milk, lime juice, and salt, and simmer, stirring often, 25 minutes.

Remove from heat and process mixture in blender or hand mixer/blender until smooth. Return to soup pot and heat until warmed.

I served with whole wheat Naan. Yummy!

Enjoy!