Vegan Cornbread, no added fat

Vegan Cornbread for the plant-based diet

Nearly fat free cornbread recipe without dairy, eggs and oil.  Re-posting in anticipation of Thanksgiving cornbread stuffing.
9x9 square pan, 400 degrees f for 35 minutes
Combine dry ingredients and set aside:
1 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup oat flour
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour (do not substitute plain whole wheat flour or it will turn out flat and dense)
3 tablespoons date sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp rubbed sage
1/2 tsp chives
1/2 tsp Hungarian paprika
1/2 tsp thyme

Combine wet ingredients:
3/4 cup rice or almond milk
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 tablespoon Egg substitute mixed with 
3 Tbsp water (whip until frothy)
1/4 cup pumpkin, pureed

Add wet ingredients to dry all at once and stir just until combined and pour into pan.  Dust the top with more paprika.
Bake 30 minutes.  This is ideal for making corn bread stuffing.

Vegan Cornbread, Wild Rice and (not) Sausage Stuffing Recipe, or Plant-based with no added fat

On Thanksgiving, I can forego everything but the stuffing.  We began eating a plant based diet just a few weeks before Thanksgiving the year we started this and what a holiday to not be able to sit down and eat the traditional meal.  So it was essential for me to find a way to have a stuffing that tasted as close as possible to my recipe of cornbread stuffing with wild rice and sausage, the recipe for stuffing that became our standard after working on it for years.

The new plant based version is very similar, a combination of the stuffing I grew up with, cornbread stuffing, and the stuffing my husband likes--wild rice and sausage.  This version leaves out the diced boiled eggs, diced gizzard, heart and turkey broth and meat from the neck that I used to boil and include.

You know what?  I actually like this version better.

Cornbread Stuffing

Recipe:
1 batch cornbread from a plant-based, no added fat recipe prepared and cooled (can be made a day ahead, I always do it the night before--it's a tradition)
2 cups long grain and wild rice mix such as Rice a Roni Nature's Way prepared without oil but do use the seasoning packet
2 cups vegan sausage substitute like textured soy, as low fat as possible (or see recipe below)
4 stalks celery, diced
1 cup soy curls, rehydrated with 3/4 cup hot not-chicken bouillon and diced into 1/2" pieces
1/3 cup walnuts (toasted) and chopped coarsely
2 cloves garlic finely diced
1 can sliced water chestnuts drained and chopped very coarsely
2 tsp. dried rubbed sage or poultry seasoning
1/2 cup fresh parsley
2 cups broth (mushroom, vegetable or not-chicken bouillon stock)

Cut cornbread into 1/2" cubes and set aside.
Sauté celery and garlic in nonstick skillet,
add broth and cook until garlic is tender.
Toss all ingredients in large bowl.  You may need to add more broth to make sure stuffing is moist but not saturated, then transfer to baking dish, 9x13 or similar.  Cover with foil or casserole lid and bake at 325 degrees farenheit for 60 minutes.

Sausage recipe:
1 cup TVP (textured vegetable protein, unflavored) 
1 cup vegetable broth, hot
1/4 tsp dry powdered ginger
1/8 tsp anise, crushed fine
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sage
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp rosemary, crushed
Stir all seasonings and broth into TVP and let sit for 10 minutes.
(Stir in 1/2 cup vital wheat gluten if pressing into patties such as for breakfast.)

Stuffing is even better the second day!  Serving suggestion: sprinkle dried cranberries over the top of  each serving.
This is ideal stuffed into large mushroom caps and baked until mushrooms are tender in a covered casserole with a little vegetable broth.

Shells n' Cheese with Peas, PBNAF

Our standard household favorite to eat while the big cheese is away is Mac n' Cheese because he does not share our enthusiasm for the dish.  Did I mention my daughter, my Mac n' Cheese partner, is away at college?  It's just me and the dogs.  It's just me and the dogs and the parakeets.  It's just me and the dogs, the parakeets and the fish. It's quiet anyway.

But now that I don't eat real cheese not having a favorite go-to recipe has become a problem because he is away, a lot.  Okay, not a lot but these occasions demand a little comfort food like Mac n' Cheese so it is about time I found a recipe worth blogging about.  I have tried a couple of the vegan versions but none have seemed truly great without a little tweaking to my tastes.  No onion powder please.  No turmeric either.

Shells n' Cheesy Sauce with peas

This is adapted from "Soy-Free Mac n' Cheese Recipe" by Lindsay Nixon.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups vegetable pasta shells or whole grain pasta of your choice
1 3/4 cups rice milk, low fat unsweetened
1/2 cup nutritional yeast (or slightly less)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon Vegan Parmesan
1/2 teaspoon paprika (not smoked)
1/4 teaspoon Bragg 24 Herb Seasoning
1/4 teaspoon Not-Chicken Bouillon
1/4 cup non-dairy cheddar shreds
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 1/2 tablespoons miso paste (most common available is made from soy which works for me)
1/2 teaspoon dry parsley flakes
2 pinches smoked paprika
flaxseed meal for topping

Put the water on to boil for the pasta and add it when the water is at a rolling boil.  Let the pasta simmer while you make the sauce.
Sauce:
Pour milk into a large skillet, add the yeast, cornstarch, garlic powder, vegan parmesan, paprika, herb seasoning, parsley and bouillon.  Simmer until thickened, add cheddar shreds.  Remove sauce from heat and add miso paste, parsley and paprika.  Set aside.
By now the pasta should almost be done.  Add the frozen peas to the boiling water and continue cooking until the peas are hot and bright green and the pasta is done.  Drain or scoop out of the water with a strainer and combine with the sauce.  Top with flaxseed meal.

You are done.  Except for the best part which is eating it.  :)

Notes:

• Never rinse your pasta with cold water because then the starches wash away that help the sauce stick to it.  (Probably something I learned watching the chefs on Food Network...who knows?)
• Never add miso until the end of cooking because the heat destroys the good stuff in it.
• "Government Cheese" by Keb Mo is the only song I have with the word "Cheese" in the title.  Somehow it is not festive enough for this occasion so "Wouldn't it be Nice" by the Beach Boys is my recommendation tonight.

Penne pasta made from brown rice, topping is
raw shelled hemp seeds instead of flax for a wild evening.

Whole Grains

A delicious find, Golden Jewel Blend Whole Grains from In Harvest:

Great side dish Heirloom Grains

This is really good when made with vegetable broth and Bragg 24 Herb Seasoning.  We include fresh chopped vegetables right at the end of cooking time so they don't overcook.

Dad's Special Rice Dish

My father sometimes would make a rice dish at night when I was a kid that I really liked.  It was made from a box of chicken flavored rice, a couple of stalks of diced celery and about 1/2 cup of Jimmy Dean Sausage.  It was something he didn't make often but I distinctly think of it as something he made as a late night snack (between dinner and bedtime) and if the smell brought me into the kitchen he would invite me to grab a plate and have some.  I considered it a nice little treat.
Now I think of it as a comfort, especially since his passing last February and that darn anniversary is approaching.
I would like to make a version of this that doesn't use Jimmy Dean sausage or rice flavored with chicken stock but that has the same essence of comfort and time spent with Dad.

Recipe for Plant-based Special Rice

2 cups brown rice
2 cups vegetable broth
2 cups water
3 stalks celery, diced
1/2 cup vegan sausage, crumbled
1 teaspoon vegan bouillon, "not-chicken" flavored
Pinch each of granulated garlic, pepper, dried parsley & rubbed sage

Simmer rice in water and broth until most of the liquid is absorbed, about 40 minutes.  Add the vegan sausage, celery, bouillon and herbs.  Simmer another 3 or 4 minutes until the celery is hot but not discolored.

Makes 4 comfort servings.

I think Dad would have like to listen to "Still, Still, Still" performed on cello by Steven Sharp Nelson (featuring Marshall McDonald), I know I do.

Plant based Fried Rice (sort of)

If you have been paying attention to all the latest nutritional news about a plant based diet then you know that to order fried rice in a restaurant is really dumb.  Fried rice has far too much oil and besides it has eggs and pork in it.
But still, sometimes foods you used to like just sound good even though you won't ever eat them again--at least not in the same way.
Here is a quick recipe to bring back a little of that fried rice experience--

Start with a cup of sliced mushrooms in a hot skillet, sprinkle with a little Bragg 24 Herb seasoning mix

Add 1/2 cup frozen mixed vegetables

Add some brown rice, pre-made (but not heated in microwave) to speed things up with 2 tablespoons of water

Add a splash of soy sauce for flavor, heat through just until mushrooms are soft and veggies aren't cold.

And goodness, this looks pretty much like a healthier version of fried rice.  

Lunchtime!

Sweet Potato Comfort

Macaroni and Sweet Potato Melt

There is a recipe at the blog, Glow Kitchen, for a vegan macaroni and cheese, but it has oil in it and although the flavors blend into a delicious dish, it doesn't really seem like macaroni and cheese.  It is more like a lemony sweet potato party.  I wanted to try making it without the oil, and rename it so as not to put the expectation of mac and cheese in the taster's mind.   I also ended up making the "sauce" a little bit thinner and bumped up the crunchy topping with more immunity boosting ingredients.
This casserole makes a nice side dish for four.  Thank you Glow Kitchen!

Recipe for Sweet Potato Comfort
2 cups cooked whole grain macaroni
1 cup broccoli florets, bite sized and cooked just until bright green, tender-crisp
Sauce ingredients to be blended together:
1 sweet potato, cooked and mashed
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, or juice from one lemon
1/4 cup almond milk
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 tsp miso paste (omit for soy-free version)
1/2 tsp mustard
1/2 tsp garlic powder
dash of white pepper

Combine all the ingredients and spread into shallow casserole dish.  Cover with topping before broiling until golden brown.

Topping:
2 teaspoons each:
flaxseed meal
nutritional yeast
walnuts, chopped
sunflower seeds
chia seeds


See original recipe here:  http://www.glowkitchen.com/2012/06/macaroni-cheese/

Garlic Mashed Potatoes with Spinach Artichoke Dip, Mushrooms and Sun Dried Tomatoes

This combination of flavors is really good on a panini sandwich or just by itself as pictured.
I have been using garlic mashed potatoes on our hot sandwiches a lot lately with different combinations of other ingredients like spinach, wasabi mustard, and hummus.  Very satisfying.

Sweet potato and yam oven-fries, no-added-fat

Peel one yam and one sweet potato, cut into strips the size of steak fries, about 1/2"x1". Dip in non-dairy milk and place on cookie sheet lined with parchment. Be sure they are not touching each other. Sprinkle lightly with salt and Bragg seasoning, or your favorite steak seasoning. Bake in 400 degree oven until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Flip each fry over halfway through baking time to create even more crispiness on the fries.

Spanish Rice

Spanish Rice This is the best spanish rice I have ever had.  I omitted the part where you brown the rice in oil for heart-health!
	(from employees at IHM)
3/4 cup brown rice
1 cup vegetable broth or vegetarian chicken   flavored broth
2 fresh tomatoes
1/4 cup cilantro
2 cloves garlic
water
Place all ingredients except rice into blender and combine.  Add enough additional water to make 2 1/2 cups of liquid.
Place liquid and rice in 2 quart saucepan and simmer until liquid is gone and rice is tender.