My favorite cookies growing up were “Peanut Butter Blossoms”. My Mom found the recipe in a magazine, co-sponsored by two major brands. These cookies, sparkling a little with sugar and melty chocolate perched atop crackled peanut butter cookie, were my absolute favorite. My Mom would only make these for Christmas, during which I’d be repeatedly admonished to stop eating them all. After the holiday season was over I’d spend the rest of the year pining for them.

The nice thing about being a grown up is that I can make these cookies whenever I like. When we do manage to send out Christmas cookies to loved ones, I always try to include some of these.

The use of flax meal as a binder compliments the peanut flavor perfectly. The nice thing about making a vegan recipe for this old stand-by is that all the animal products are removed. I believe food, cookies especially, always taste better when made compassionately, hence my name for these yummy cookies, “Peanut Butter Beauties“. I’m happy to share my childhood favorite, now made vegan, as part of the So Delicious Spring Fling Dairy-Free Recipe Contest.

The Stuff

• 1 3/4 cups flour*
• 1/2 sugar (evaporated cane juice)
• 1 t baking soda
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/2 cup shortening**
• 2 T So Delicious Unsweetened Almond Plus 5X almond milk
• 1/2 cup peanut butter***
• 1 t vanilla
• 2 T golden flaxseed meal whisked with 3 T water
• Extra sugar to roll cookies in
• Dark chocolate for topping cookies (see note)

  * Using whole wheat pastry flour is fine and just adds to the overall nuttiness of the cookie.
  **I like either Spectrum Naturals or Earth Balance.
  ***Crunchy or Creamy is fine. For extra special ones, get freshly ground peanut butter.

The Making

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.

Set out your shortening to warm up just a little.

Blend the 2 tablespoons of flax meal with the 3 tablespoons of water and set aside. As this mixture sits it will get thick and have a gel-like consistency.

In a large bowl, or the bowl for a stand mixer, add the shortening and peanut butter. Blend together on a low speed until they are will mixed. Add sugar and continue blending until sugar, peanut butter, and shortening are light and creamy. Add in remaining ingredients, aside from flour and blend, scaping down sides if needed.

Add flour in slowly, in 3 to 4 batches, and blend slowly to incorporate it. You will have a nice, firm dough, not too sticky when done.

Shape dough into 1″ balls and roll each ball in sugar. Place balls 2″ apart on an un-greased cookie sheet; the cookies will spread out so don’t skimp on the spacing.

Bake cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, until golden brown and starting to crack. Remove from oven.

While cookies are still on the cookie sheet, immediately top each cookie with a piece of chocolate. Press chocolate into the center cracks of the hot cookie carefully so they don’t fall apart, but the chocolate is wedged in. Carefully remove from cookie sheet to wire rack to cool completely. The chocolate will melt further into the cookie as it cools.

Makes 3 dozen+.

A Note About Chocolate:

These cookies are traditionally made with chocolate that isn’t vegan and isn’t really that tasty anyway. I have used good bars, Theo Jane Goodall bars to be exact, and broken into rough squares or rectangles to top with. Now I’m using E. Guittard 72% Bittersweet Chocolate Couverture Wafers and they are far easier to use than breaking up the bars. I just use one wafer per cookie and they are perfect.

For a few years Christie and I’ve been trying to create a vegan version of a salad dressing from Trader Joe’s she’d loved before she was vegan.

We’d made some good dressings, but nothing quite right until I came up with this rich, tangy dressing. We’re so happy with this recipe that I’m delighted to share it for the So Delicious Spring Fling Dairy-Free Recipe Contest.

I use this dressing for my fantastic, very easy Summer Cilantro Slaw. Making both the dressing and the slaw takes very little time. The slaw recipe only uses half the amount of dressing made, so you’ll have extra to enjoy on salads for a week.

The Stuff

• 3 limes
• 1 bunch cilantro
• 1/2 c vegan mayo
• 1/2 cup So Delicious Unsweetened Almond Plus 5X almond milk
• 1 large clove garlic
• 1/2 t cumin seeds
• 1/4 c pepitas
• 1/4 t smoked paprika
• 1/4 t sea salt (Hawaiian Alaea Salt pictured)

The Making

*If you have a powerful blender (e.g., Vitamix), you can make this without having to chop anything smaller.

Cut the bottom 4 inches off the bunch of cilantro, discard stems, and wash tops. Chop roughly and put into blending vessel.

Juice all 3 limes into the blending vessel. Add remaining ingredients. If using a less-powerful blender, chop the garlic clove into a few pieces first.

Blend on low until ciltanro is mostly chopped up, then increase speed to high. Blend a couple of minutes, or more, until smooth. Scrape down sides as necessary until you have a smooth, creamy dressing.

Makes 16 servings.

Nutritional Info

Serving Size: 2 Tablespoons
Calories: 62
Total Fat: 6 g
Saturated Fat: 0 g
Cholesterol: 0 g
Sodium: 83 mg (3%)
Carbohydrates: 2 g
Dietary Fiber: 3 g
Sugars: 0 g
Protein: 1 g

A few years ago I was inspired to make a savory bread pudding after a neighbor gave us a day-old baguette. Since last year’s quest for the perfect quiche base, I’ve wanted to revisit this comfort food favorite and make a few changes. We love the new result and I am happy to offer this new version for the So Delicious Spring Fling Dairy-Free Recipe Contest.

While the recipe calls for a full-size baguette, the equivalent amount of any stale bread will work great. The best versions combine a few dry heels of a different types of bread so you get a big variation in the taste and chewiness of the bread, which is awesome. The version pictured here used the ends of three different bakery loaves: Walnut Whole Wheat and Country Brown, both from Ken’s Artisan Bakery, plus a bit of White Sourdough, from Grand Central Bakery (bakeries noted for folks in or visiting Portland).

The Stuff

• 1 stale baguette, coarsely cut up
• 1 medium bunch of kale, washed, stemmed & shredded
• 2 small leeks, white parts only, sliced thin
• 1 large carrot, diced small
• 1 large stalk of celery, diced small
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 2 12.3-ounce packages lite firm silken tofu, drained of water
• 1/2 cup So Delicious Unsweetened Almond Plus 5X almond milk
• Leaves from 8 stems of parsley, chopped fine
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons tahini
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
• 1/2 teaspoon black salt* (optional)
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 1 T champagne vinegar
• sweet paprika to sprinkle over the top

*Black Salt, or Kala Namak is usually found at a Desi market or a good pan-Asian market that features ingredients popular in Indian and other South Asian cuisines. It is mostly sodium chloride, but it also contains sulfur in addition to the other minerals. It is pink or light purple in color and imparts a more subtle flavor cooked. It can be skipped, just add 1/4 t of sea salt, but it worth the effort to seek it out. If you don’t have any suitable markets in your area, Kala Namak Salt can be purchased online.

The Making

Preheat oven to 375.

In a skillet heat the olive oil on medium-high heat and saute garlic quickly, less than two minutes, until it begins to sizzle. Add in celery, carrots, and leeks. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to sauté until the veggies begin to soften. Add kale, cover and reduce heat to low. Continue to cook, turning occasionally, until kale is softened. After 10 minutes drizzle champagne vinegar into the pan and cover for 5 more minutes. Remove from heat.

In a large bowl add coarsely chopped up bread, fresh parsley, and sautéed vegetables.

Add the remaining ingredients into a blender. Process until mixture is completely smooth, occasionally scraping down the sides to be sure everything is incorporated. Pour this mixture over the bread and vegetables. Mix all ingredients together, making sure bread is coated with the tofu-custard.

Spray a 9×13 baking dish with Canola oil. Pour bread, custard and vegetable mixture into dish. Lightly press down so that the pan is evenly filled. Dust top with sweet paprika.

Put pan into the oven and immediately reduce heat to 350. Bake for 35 minutes. Remove from oven and cool five minutes before cutting and serving.

Makes 12 servings.

Nutritional Info

Serving Size: 1 slice
Calories: 171
Total Fat: 4 g
Saturated Fat: 1g
Cholesterol: 0g
Sodium: 241 mg (10%)
Carbohydrates: 25 g
Dietary Fiber: 3 g
Sugars: 3 g
Protein: 11 g

Last year I came up with a quiche recipe that highlights the delicious winter veggies we’re still enjoying in early spring. However, spring 2014 Portland  has been unseasonably, but gloriously, sunny and warm. With the appearance of fresh asparagus in the market I was inspired to make this colorful spring quiche for the So Delicious Spring  Fling Dairy-Free Recipe Contest.

This recipe makes two whole quiches in pre-made pie shells which makes it a star recipe for a brunch gathering. I use pre-made pie shells to speed up the preparation of this beautiful dish. I recommend Wholly Wholesome for pre-made pie shells. They have organic vegan, white & whole wheat pie shells as well as a gluten-free shells! I’ve used the wheat crusts, both white and whole wheat, and they’ve come out wonderfully every time.

The Stuff:

• 1 small, red, sweet bell pepper, 1/4″ dice
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small red onion, 1/4″ dice
• 1 medium zucchini, diced
• 1/2 pound asparagus, sliced in thin rounds (reserve 12 of the tips, cut at 2″ for garnish)
• 12 grape tomatoes, sliced in thin rounds
• 12 grape tomatoes sliced lengthwise, set aside for garnish
• 2 T fresh basil, chiffonade
• 3 T chopped parsley
• 1 t dry oregano
• 1t dry marjoram
• 12 oz firm, water-packed tofu
• 1 package firm, silken tofu
• 2 T cornstarch
• 1/4 c nutritional yeast
• 1/3 cup So Delicious Unsweetened Almond Plus 5X almond milk
• 1 T champagne vinegar
• 1/2 t turmeric
• 1/2 t dry mustard
• 1/2 t black salt* (optional)
• fresh pepper & sea salt
• 2 pre-made pie shells

*Black Salt, or Kala Namak is usually found at a Desi market or a good pan-Asian market that features ingredients popular in Indian and other South Asian cuisines. It is mostly sodium chloride, but it also contains sulfur in addition to the other minerals. It is pink or light purple in color and imparts a more subtle flavor cooked. It can be skipped, just add 1/4 t of sea salt, but it worth the effort to seek it out. If you don’t have any suitable markets in your area, Kala Namak Salt can be purchased online.

The Making

Bake the pie shells according to the directions and set aside.

Bring a saute pan to medium-high heat and lightly coat with spray oil. Add onions and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes, add garlic and continue to saute until very fragrant, about 3 more minutes. Add zucchini, asparagus, and bell pepper, sauteing for 7 minutes before adding dried herbs, sea salt, and freshly ground pepper, to taste. Saute for another 7 minutes and remove from heat.

Squeeze out water from water-packed tofu. No need to press for a long time, just squeeze out a little of the excess water with your hands. Crumble into large mixing bowl and add sauteed veggies, fresh herbs, and sliced tomatoes.

Put silken tofu, cornstarch, nutritional yeast, almond milk, vinegar, turmeric, dry mustard, and black salt into the container for a high-speed blender. Blend until smooth, scraping down the sides to be certain all dry ingredients are incorporated well with wet. Add contents of the container to the mixing bowl with the tofu and sauteed veggies.

Mix together all ingredients until evenly combined. Pour mixture into pre-cooked pie crust. Garnish each quiche with the reserved asparagus tips and sliced grape tomatoes.

Place filled pie crusts onto a baking tray. Bake in an oven pre-heated to 400 F for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the comes out clean.

Let quiche stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 12 servings (six generous slices per pie crust)

Nutritional Info (with crust)

Serving Size: 1 slice
Calories: 238
Total Fat: 14 g
Saturated Fat: 6 g
Cholesterol: 0g
Sodium: 242 mg (10%)
Carbohydrates: 20 g
Dietary Fiber: 6 g
Sugars: 4 g
Protein: 12 g

*Want a lower-calorie & gluten-free version?

You can also ditch the gluten and the calories in the crust by distributing the quiche into two dozen silicone baking cups that have been lightly sprayed with oil first.

Bake 30-40 minutes at 400 degrees, until a toothpick inserted into the comes out clean. This makes a whole pile (e.g., 24) of gluten-free mini quiches to enjoy!

These pack well for lunch or picnics, just don’t remove the silicone baking cup and stack into a container. They retain their shape well and are quite tasty chilled or at room temperature.

Nutritional Info (without crust)

Serving Size: 2 mini-quiches
Calories: 91
Total Fat: 3 g
Saturated Fat: 0 g
Cholesterol: 0g
Sodium: 109 mg (5%)
Carbohydrates: 8 g
Dietary Fiber: 3 g
Sugars: 3 g
Protein: 10 g

We love the mini crustless quiches from Fat Free Vegan, but have been on a quest for a full-sized quiche with a little more varied texture. For several weeks now I’ve been experimenting with quiche recipes on the weekends and finally have something I’m happy to post a recipe for. You can feel free to vary the veggies you add, changing them to fit the seasons, but the mix I include is pretty tasty.

The final version featured fresh kale raab we’d picked up the same morning at the Farmer’s Market. If you can get kale raab in the spring it is particularly lovely to find. Tender, sweeter, and so delicious, raab is a real treat when the spring veggies start coming in. Here in Portland we often see raab arrive before asparagus.

The Stuff

• 1 large, sweet bell pepper (red or orange)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 small red onion
• 1 medium zucchini
• 1 bunch kale or kale raab OR 1 large head broccoli
• 4 T chopped chives
• 4T chopped parsley
• 2t Herbes de Provence
• 12 oz firm, water-packed tofu
• 1 package firm, silken tofu
• 2T cornstarch
• 1/4 c nutritional yeast
• 1/2 cup vegan milk*
• 1 T champagne vinegar
• 1/2 t turmeric
• 1/2 t dry mustard
• 1/2 t black salt
• fresh pepper & sea salt
• 1 pre-made pie crust

The Making

Pre-bake the crust according to the directions and set aside. This recipe honestly makes a bit more than the pre-made crust and pan will hold, so I usually make a half dozen crustless quiches in silicon baking cups too.

Finely dice all veggies. Shred kale thinly or dice leaves along with the raab.

Bring a saute pan to medium-high heat and lightly coat with spray oil. Add onions and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes, add garlic and continue to saute until very fragrant, about 3 more minutes. Add zucchini and bell pepper, sauteing for 7 minutes before adding 2 tablespoons each of the parsley and chives, Herbes de Provence, sea alt & freshly ground pepper, and kale. Saute for another 7 minutes and remove from heat.

Squeeze out water from water-packed tofu. No need to press for a long time, just squeeze out a little of the excess water with your hands. Crumble into large mixing bowl and add sauteed veggies & herbs. Add in remaining parsley and chives.

Put silken tofu, cornstarch, nutritional yeast, vegan milk, vinegar, turmeric, dry mustard, and black salt into the container for a high-speed blender. Blend until smooth, scraping down the sides to be certain all dry ingredients are incorporated well with wet. Add contents of the container to the mixing bowl with the tofu and sauteed veggies.

Mix together all ingredients until evenly combined. Pour mixture into pre-cooked pie crust. You will have enough to fill 6 silicon baking cups that have been sprayed with oil first. Place filled pie crust and baking cups onto a baking tray. Bake in an oven pre-heated to 400 F for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the comes out clean.

Let quiche stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 8 servings.

*This recipe also featured a new product from So Delicious, a lovely, creamy Barista-Style Coconut Milk Creamer. A few weeks ago So Delicious graciously offered to send me some to try out, so I’ve used it in a few places where I’d otherwise have used soy or almond milk.

Christie has totally fallen in love with the Unsweetened Vanilla Coconut Milk to add to her smoothies. There should be a smoothie recipe coming soon.

So far the creamer has been a good stand-in and adds a nice richness to the dishes I’ve made with it. It might be boring, but I’m just loving the creamer added to my black tea in the morning, even more so than the  is really wonderful in my black tea in the morning!

There’s also been an experiment with Irish Soda Bread, using both the Barista-Style Creamer for a savory bread and the Vanilla Coconut Milk for a sweet bread with dried blueberries.

My first foray into the pumpkin korma yielded something more akin to an aloo gobi. Very tasty, but not a korma. After revisiting the recipe again, and adding more So Delicious Plain Greek-Style Coconut Yogurt is what finally made this recipe exactly what I wanted it to be: a satisfying, rich, warming korma!

Despite the rich taste of this dish, a cup serving has only 1 gram of saturated fat, is high in fiber, loaded in vitamins, and is gluten-free too! Enjoy it as an appetizer, a compliment a homemade, Indian feast, or a fabulous, creative addition to your Thanksgiving celebration!

Since this was a dish I envisioned the first time I got to try out some of the the Greek-Style yogurt from So Delicious, I’m delighted that it was selected for the second week of the So Delicious® Dairy Free “SO Much to Love” recipe contest happening on Facebook!

The Stuff

• 6 cups diced pumpkin
• 1/2 medium head of cauliflower, cut into bite-size pieces
• 2 large cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 medium zucchini, 1″ dice
• 1 large yellow bell pepper, 1″ dice
• 1″ of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
• 15oz canned, diced tomatoes
• 1 large onion, diced small
• 2 8oz containers of So Delicious, Greek-style, plain coconut yogurt
• 1/2 t whole cumin seed
• 1 T ground turmeric
• 6 whole cardamom pods
• 1 c water
• High heat spray canola oil

The Making

Heat a 6 qt sauce pan to medium heat. Lightly spray the bottom of the pot and add the cumin seeds. Toast seeds for 30-60 seconds, until they are browned and fragrant.

Add onion and saute 5 minutes, add minced ginger and garlic. Sprinkle ground turmeric over all ingredients, add in cardamom pods and mix in. Continue to saute, stirring occasionally, for 5-7 more minutes. Onions should be beginning to brown and caramelize. Add diced pumpkin, reduce heat to medium-low, and saute for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add cauliflower and stir in.

Combine yogurt and tomatoes in blender. Process until smooth and creamy. Add mixture to pot. Rinse blender container out with the 1 cup of water, and pour into the pot. Mix everything together well.

Cover pot with lid. Reduce heat to low and let simmer for 25-40 minutes, until pumpkin is tender.

Serve by itself, with rice, or along with some dahl. Just watch out for those cardamom pods, they’re quite shocking to get whole.

Makes 8-9 1-cup servings, depending upon the size of your head of cauliflower.

Nutrition Details

Serving Size: 1 cup
Calories: 85
Total Fat: 1g
Saturated fat: 1g
Sodium: 49 mg
Carbohydrates: 17g
Dietary Fiber: 4g
Sugars: 5g
Protein: 3g

I’m so excited that Vegan Nosh has been selected to participate in the So Delicious® Dairy Free “SO Much to Love” recipe contest happening on Facebook! For the next 4 weeks there will be 64 fantastic new recipes posted, with three brand-new recipes coming from Vegan Nosh!

Each week there will great prizes for fans who vote during the “SO Much to Love” contest. Fans are eligible to vote once each day and once they cast their vote will be entered to win a prize a day and one grand prize per week. The authors of favorite recipes will receive the truly fabulous prize of a cooking equipment shopping spree!

This week I’m kicking off the deliciousness with a hearty, hot breakfast. You can vote for my wonderful Spiced Oats & Figs as a new favorite breakfast recipe on So Delicious’ Facebook page during the week of May 7, 2012! Voting for the first week ends on Sunday, May 13th at 11:59 PM (pacific time).

On weekends I have a little more time to make breakfast, so it is often something special. This delicious variation on an old favorite of ours, steel-cut oatmeal, makes use of dried figs and the wonderful Vanilla Almond Plus milk from So Delicious and makes for a mildly sweet, healthy breakfast to start your day.

If you happen to have a “fuzzy logic” rice cooker with a porridge setting this recipe becomes even easier since you can just toss all the ingredients in and wait for your breakfast to be done. Our rice cooker also boasts a timer which lets me put in all the ingredients the night before and we awake to the tantalizing smell of a breakfast already completed.

The Stuff

• 3/4 cup steel-cut oatmeal, dry
• 3/4 cup So Delicious Vanilla Almond Plus Milk
• 1 1/4 cups + 1 Tablespoon water
• 5 dried figs
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

The Making

Slice of any stems or dry ends off the figs. Slice in half, then cut halves into thin ribbons.

Rice Cooker Method: Place all ingredients into rice cooker bowl and cook on “Porridge” setting. After the cooker has completed, open and stir together everything with a rice paddle.

OR

Stove-top Method: Add the water and almond milk to a large, heavy saucepan (1 1/2 quart) and bring to a boil. Add the oats in while stirring, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Mix in the dried figs and spices, cover, and continue to simmer for another 10 to 15 minutes, stirring often to prevent the oats from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Garnish with chopped raw walnuts or almonds and a drizzle of almond milk.

Makes 2-3 servings

Nutritional Info (1/3 of recipe)

Calories: 222
Total Fat: 4 g
Saturated Fat: 1 g
Sodium: 29 mg
Carbohydrates: 40 g
Dietary Fiber: 6 g
Sugars: 9 g
Protein: 9 g

I already am a fan of products from So Delicious and that was before they gave me a great t-shirt at Vida Vegan Con last year. We buy two brands of vegan creamers because our opinions are pretty distinct and I prefer the plain variety from So Delicious. So you when someone from the company asked if I wanted to test some of their new products made with almond milk I was pretty excited.

Special arrangements were made so I’d be home the day the shipment, on dry ice, would be delivered. Two boxes, one containing new almond milk products, and the other filled with 5 pints of new almond milk ice cream and two boxes of dark chocolate covered almond milk ice cream bars.

First, let me say that we ate the bars pretty much immediately. The Mocha Almond Fudge, dipped in dark chocolate and covered with almonds, was a real fave. That said, the vanilla almond milk bars, also dipped in dark chocolate, were also delicious.

Honestly, they arrived while Christie was in Mountain View and it was a real challenge to not eat them all by myself. Christie, upon finishing the last one off, asked me, “When can I get this at the store.”

The five pints I saved to share with the current planning team for Open Source Bridge 2012. I figured we could end a meeting with a little ice cream party.

All Meetings are Better with Ice Cream!

The team dug into the pints:

Gimmie the Ice Cream!

We all went back and did our best to “test” the ice cream thoroughly.

Woohoo Ice Cream!

In the end, we were unable to finish all five pints off. We left them in the freezer for other folks at Collective Agency to enjoy.

We Couldn't Finish!

You can see that the Butter Pecan, Mocha Almond Fudge, and Cherry Amaretto were the big favorites. That isn’t to say that the chocolate and vanilla aren’t great, but we were just so full from all the other ice cream we couldn’t eat anymore!

So Delicious, thank you so much! You made our planning meeting awesome with ice cream. We can’t wait to our local store starts to stock this fantastic choice for dessert!

**Update: April 28, 2012*

This past weekend we spotted both pints and bars of the new Almond Milk ice cream at a couple New Seasons markets (Arbor Lodge and Mountain Park specifically). We’ve already consumed a box of the Mocha Almond Fudge bars!

Mocha Almond Joy!