So I had a baby. Now I have no time. So I use MANY vegan life hacks (5 recipes included)!

Posted by LD in Beginner Recipes, Meatless Monday Family Dinners, QUICKIES!, Shopping Vegan and tagged with accidentally vegan, allergen free, almond, betty crocker, beyond meat, Catalina dressing, cheese, chocolate, chocolate chip pancakes, cinnamon rolls, dairy free, daiya, dessert, earth balance, Easy, Fast, feisty crumbles, havarti, Kraft, Low Ingredient, meatless mondays, pancakes, Party, peanut butter cookies, penzey's, pillsbury, quesadilla, quick, recipe, salad, taco, taco salad, tostada, Vegan, vegan cronut, vegan products to buy, vegetarian, what to eat, what vegans eat December 15, 2014

I had a baby a few weeks back. I was very ill before that causing a HUGE lull in my blogging and quite honestly my eating as well. I developed preeclampsia and could barely eat anything or walk, before that I got C-Diff… again no eating mostly doing the opposite of eating. I was the worst pregnant lady ever. If I was glowing it was strictly from swelling and fever. Thank goodness that is over. And let us welcome my vegan baby Solana Bray!

That all aside… I am getting back into my kitchen. Cooking when I can. Thinking of new recipes and enjoying my short moments of quiet when they come. The baby is out of the NICU (newborn intensive care unit, she was only 3lbs at birth but look at those cheeks now!) and at home so these moments are rare nowadays and my two stepchildren came to live with us in August. I think it is easy to tell that things have been hectic. So today I wanted to share some of my yummy vegan life hacks that I have been using to get through meal and snack times after work and on the weekends.

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VEGAN HACK RECIPES:

Peanut Butter Cookies: Use Betty Crocker Peanut Butter Cookie Mix and then sub out eggs with Egg Replacer. They come out perfect. I also use a silpat instead of cooking them directly on a cookie sheet because they are a little more crumbly. Let them sit for a few minutes before serving or else they fall apart.

Cinnamon Rolls: Use Pillsbury Crescent Rolls and don’t separate them at the triangle perforations or buy the dough itself if you can find it. They spread with Earth Balance Buttery Spread and sprinkle with cinnamon, brown sugar, and Penzey’s Vanilla Sugar. Roll up and then cut into 8-10 mini rolls. Bake for about 8-10 minutes until browned. Again, I use a silpat because they get sticky :).

Cheese Quesadilla: Grab some tostadas from the Mexican section of your grocery. I prefer Maizada. Top with crumbled Daiya Jalapeno Havarti. Microwave for about 30-45 seconds and top with another tostada and microwave 10 more seconds. Enjoy!

Taco Salad: I eat this for lunch almost everyday lately. Chop up 1 head of iceberg lettuce. Add shredded carrots. Toss with Catalina dressing. Then mix in cooked Beyond Meat Feisty Crumbles (I make 2 packages) and crushed Fritos. It will be your favorite lunch, I promise. My step kids adore it as a quick dinner as well!

Chocolate Chip Pancakes: 4 cups Bisquick, 3 1/2 cups Silk soy creamer, 1/2 tablespooon of Penzey’s almond extract, 1 cup of Enjoy Life Mini Chocolate Chips. Mix and cook on a skillet sprayed with Pam Canola Oil Spray. These are amazing. As a quick trick sprinkle some Penzey’s Vanilla Sugar on the raw side before you flip it and they are amazing! What a treat! Makes enough for 4-6 hungry people.

And there is always this very easily veganized “cronut” recipe to indulge in if these weren’t enough to make your holiday happier!

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Happy Holidays! Much Love! Food is Love!

Enjoy!

The Hippie Gypsy.

REBLOG: Chocolate Chip Cheesecake by Lucy’s Friendly Foods

Posted by LD in Beginner Recipes, Guest Contributer Articles, Holiday Recipes, Meatless Monday Desserts, QUICKIES! and tagged with cake, cheese, cheesecake, chocolate, chocolate chip cheesecake, cream cheese, dessert, Easy, holiday, Low Ingredient, quick, reblog, recipe, tofutti, vanilla, Vegan, vegetarian, what to eat, what vegans eat March 12, 2014

This is certainly a must to reblog. It looks tasty and beautiful for spring. I would need to make a few alterations due to the change in country but seems easy enough to alter! It also has Tofutti as a main ingredient which is a favorite of mine! I would even consider topping with sliced fruit. Enjoy… Chocolate Chip Cheesecake.

Ooey Gooey Vegan S’mores Cheesecake Trifle

Posted by LD in Beginner Recipes, Holiday Recipes, Meatless Monday Desserts, Traveling Vegan and tagged with betty crocker, breyer's, brownie, cake, cheese, cheesecake cream, chocolate, chocolate cake, Coconut, coconut milk, Coconut Whipped Cream, cream cheese, dandies, dessert, Easy, Fast, fudge brownies, holiday, hot fudge, kitchen torch, libby's, Low Ingredient, marshamallows, meatless mondays, Party, pastry, Pie, potluck, pumpkin, quick, recipe, smores, tofutti, tofutti better than cream cheese, travel, trifle, vanilla, Vegan, vegan cheesecake, vegan cream cheese whipped cream, vegan graham crackers, vegan hot fudge, vegan marshamallows, vegetarian, what to eat, what vegans eat December 20, 2013

I joined the Wellness Committee at my work a few months back. I thought it was important to have a truly opposite opinion to the mainstream ideas of health in such a group. One that focused not on conventional “healthy” recipes and ways of being “well” but one that is a little more alternative. I am obviously a vegan but I am also a bit of a hippie and very interested in how wellness is also about being mentally well and taking care of the earth to result in healthy food and a healthy planet. This holiday season we had a Christmas/Holiday/Seasonal get together/luncheon at work. The Wellness Group sponsored it and although it was healthi-er I think we have a long way to go. I must say that I did prepare a not so perfectly healthy trifle for the baking contest so I am as much at fault as anyone on the healthiness of this luncheon. To me this recipe is far from healthy but for the group, I think they will find it the healthiest option on the table with all things considered. Take a look and Happy Holidays! (PS I won the contest!)

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S’mores Cheesecake Trifle

Ingredients:

2 packages Vegan Marshmallows
2 containers Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese
2 cans of Coconut Milk (refrigerated overnight or longer to separate)
1 cup powdered organic vegan sugar
1 squeeze bottle of Breyer’s Hot Fudge Sauce (vegan and sold at Walmart)
1 box of Fudge Brownie Mix (Betty Crocker is vegan)
2 cans of pureed pumpkin
1 box Chocolate Cake Mix (many vegan varieties are available)
1 package of graham crackers

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Preparation:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Get out (2) medium mixing bowls.
Get 1 smaller pie pan and 1 regular sized cake pan.
Get out your trifle container.
Spray cake and pie pan with Coconut Oil spray or some Pam-type equivalent of canola oil.
Open cans of coconut milk and slowly remove top layer of coconut milk fat and leave coconut water at the bottom. Try to remove as little wet material as possible. Place in one mixing bowl with cream cheese. Mix until combined well. Sift in powdered sugar with a sieve or squeeze sifter. I use a plastic $1.99 sieve I got at the Chinese grocery store and it works great. No need for anything fancy! Place bowl of cream in refrigerator.
In second bowl prepare brownie mix with one can of pureed pumpkin. Combine the two until smooth. Place in Pie Pan.
In the second bowl (do not wipe) add cake mix and 2nd can of pureed pumpkin. Combine well until smooth and place batter in cake pan.

Cooking:

Place both batters into oven. The cake will take approximately 30 minutes and the brownies will take approximately 50-55 minutes.
Take squeeze fudge and line the bottom of the trifle bowl. The cake will be going in the bottom and tends to be crumbly. This will give the appearance on the exterior glass of a neat chocolate line while also keeping the moisture of the cake in.
Next, cut or tear marshmallows in half. This will allow for them to be stuck to the glass and cake when layering.
When the cake comes out. Take the trifle bowl and press through to the bottom of the pan. This will create a circular indent. Most trifle bowls are smaller on the bottom than the top. That is why you place the cake and not brownie in the bottom. Cake will squish down and together so it will fit despite the slight size difference.
Flip the pan over on a wire rack to unlodge from pan and cool.
Once cool, tear away edges from the circular imprint and press down into the trifle bowl.
The fudge will make up for any imperfections. Feel free to add more fudge in a circle on top to finish the layer. Then place a few dots on top of the cake to prepare for marshmallows.
Press marshmallows up against the glass all around the bowl and then on top of the cake/fudge layer.
Take out a creme brulee style kitchen torch and brown the cake layers. Be careful lot to get too close the the glass. Not all glass is heat friendly.
Fill in holes between marshmallows with some fudge. Then crumble graham crackers on top. I used 1 package from a box. Approximately 8 sheets (you can reserve some for top layer if you want or just use more!).
Next place 1/3 of the cheesecake cream in the center of the crackers but try to avoid bringing the liquid too close to the edges.
Now add the brownie layer once it has been removed from the oven and cooled on a wire rack. You do not need to make a circular cut on this. Simply cut a triangular piece of brownie out of the “pie” and then it will allow for you to fold it into the trifle bowl by almost overlapping the edges where the cut was made. It also allows for you to have a snack 🙂
Next add the rest of the cheesecake cream and decorate with marshmallows, fudge, and crumbled grahams. I like to line the edge again with marshmallows and place a dollop of fudge between for a nice finish on it 🙂
Refrigerate overnight to settle. Serve cold. Enjoy!

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Food is Love.

The Hippie Gypsy

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Check My Recipe Out on Tofutti.com also!

https://twitter.com/tofuttibrand/status/412642439371816960/photo/1

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=698712053479883&set=a.192319737452453.46978.148368278514266&type=1&theater

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/550916966888690463/

http://www.tofutti.com/vegan-smores/

Cheesy Veggie Stuffed Bread

Posted by LD in Beginner Recipes, Meatless Monday Family Dinners, QUICKIES! and tagged with bread, cheese, cheesy bread, daiya, Easy, Fast, garlic, green beans, haricots verts, havarti, Low Ingredient, meatless mondays, olive oil, onion, quick, recipe, squash, stuffed bread, Vegan, vegetarian, veggies, what to eat, what vegans eat, Whole Foods December 16, 2013

I must say that I am in LOVE with the onion foccacia bread that is prepared at Whole Foods. I buy it all the time. I use it in my recipe for chicken pot pie. It is borderline amazing for any purpose. I just adore it. That being said I thought to myself after the holidays were over, “Wow I ate a lot of stuffing but I didn’t stuff it INTO anything”. Then I turned that on it’s head and wondered why not stuff a bread instead of stuff an animal. It is obviously healthier and less gross so let’s give it a whirl. Out came an amazing and delicious treat I have even served my guy friends at a recent dinner with a side of pumpkin curry soup. Enjoy! (they definitely did).

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Veggie Stuffed Bread

Ingredients:

Onion Foccacia Square from Whole Foods
Sliced Green and Yellow Squash
Fresh Green Beans
Daiya Havarti (1/2) Block
Olive Oil

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Baking:

Preheat oven to 430 degrees.
Slice out a one inch section of the center of the bread so that it is hollowed out but still has some bread on top and bottom. Do not cut complately through like a sandwich though so that you can fold it shut after filling.
Drizzle bottom interior of bread with olive oil then stack with sliced squash.
Crumble cheese on top and in between squash. Layer with Raw Fresh Green Beans.
Sprinkle with the rest of the cheese. Fold top shut.
Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Enjoy!

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Food is Love.

The Hippie Gypsy

My Vegan and Omnivore Family Thanksgiving Menu

Posted by LD in Holiday Recipes, Menus and tagged with apinach artichoke dip, apple, Au Gratin, beet, cake, carrots, casserole, cheese, chocolate, cookies, cranberry, dessert, Easy, Fast, field roast, food allergies, gravy, holiday, how to cook for thanksgiving with a vegan, macaroni, maple, martha stewart, mashed potatoes, meatless mondays, mushroom, Party, pears, Pie, Potatoes, potluck, prosciutto, pumpkin, quick, recipe, roasted veggies, salad, scalloped potatoes, spinach dip, squash, stuffed mushrooms, stuffing, thanksgiving, thanksgiving menu, travel, turkey, Vegan, vegan and omnivore holiday, vegan and regular thanksgiving, vegetarian, what to eat, what vegans eat November 19, 2013

I am going to officially post my Thanksgiving Day menu here for all to see. I know there will be questions and recipes wanted and over the next week I will try to post those too. I truly delight in the Holiday cooking I get to do. Making food for my family and friends is fun because not only do you get the joy of the cooking process but you get the joy of watching others feel happy and healthy and nourished and maybe a little stuffed on something you created. I also find it amazing how we extract things from the earth to make our bodies fuel. One would say if something is on the ground not to eat it but Thanksgiving is the holiday of root vegetables. Of course they get a heavy rinsing but its kind of a strange concept how we shun some things afoot but not others if prepared properly.

I know there will be confusion as some of these items are not vegan but I do have an all omnivore family so I pepper in a few items that are not vegan (*denoted with an asterisk* ). Prosciutto Pear Cups are not vegan. They are a Martha Stewart recipe that I used to make pre-vegan and my family still asks for and I make in mini muffin pans chopping the pears into tiny pieces and tossing with shreds of fresh Parmesan. The cheese will be a mix of vegan and vegetarian. I eat honey but I know many vegans do not so I denoted it with an asterisk (and you can always use agave!). The turkey and gravy is not vegan (obviously) but there is a mushroom alternative and my own vegan Field Roast Turkey. Everything else is vegan. The potato au gratin is one of my favorite things to make and the cranberry upside down cake has become a requested staple from my husband and was of my late grandmother. Enjoy!

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MY THANKSGIVING MENU
“In the end, though, maybe we must all give up trying to pay back the people in this world who sustain our lives. In the end, maybe it’s wiser to surrender before the miraculous scope of human generosity and to just keep saying thank you, forever and sincerely, for as long as we have voices.” ― Elizabeth Gilbert

Appetizers:

Stuffed Mushrooms with Sundried Tomato Béchamel

Prosciutto Pear Cups with Parmesan Cheese Garnish*

Spinach Artichoke Dip in Bread Bowl with Carrot Sticks

Crackers (vegan)/Cheese Tray*

Sliced Bosc Pears

Honey to Drizzle Cheese and Pears*

Assorted Nuts

Dinner:

Turkey & Gravy ( For the Omnivores, organic, and locally sourced)*

Field Roast En Croute

Stuffing

Mashed Potatoes

Potatoes Au Gratin

Mushroom Gravy

Maple Roasted Veggies: Carrots, Sweet Potato, Shallots, Brussels Sprouts, Cauliflower, Fennel

Roasted Beet Salad: Beets, Olive Oil, S&P, Balsamic Vinegar

Butternut Squash Macaroni Casserole

Butternut Squash: Steamed and Pureed with Earth Balance on top

Homemade Cranberry Sauce: Sugar and Cranberries!

Jellied Cranberry Sauce: Most likely Ocean Spray Canned

Rolls

Dessert:

Pumpkin Pie: Whole Foods

Cranberry Upside Down Cake: Homemade

Caramel Apple Pie

Chocolate Chip Cookies: Homemade

Coffee

Tea: Yogi Kava and Yogi Detox are always in my house.

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FOOD IS LOVE.

The Hippie Gypsy

Vegan Chicken and Rice with a Savory, Creamy, Sage Pumpkin Sauce

Posted by LD in Beginner Recipes, Holiday Recipes, Meatless Monday Family Dinners, QUICKIES! and tagged with beyond meat, cheese, chicken, chicken and rice, chickenless strips, daiya, earth balance, Easy, Fast, freekah, garlic, holiday, Low Ingredient, low sodium, meatless mondays, onion, parsley, Party, pecans, potluck, pumpkin, pumpkin sauce, quick, Quinoa, recipe, rice blend, rice select, royal blend, sage, thyme, Vegan, vegetarian, what to eat, what vegans eat November 18, 2013

When you are a kid in any part of the world it seems like “chicken and rice” is a staple type of food. How those components are dressed is different depending on time of year, climate, and culture but all those aside we can all agree we kinda love the simplicity of this dish. It is fall and I had a few friends show up unexpectedly at my house last night. I literally had NO idea they were coming with their two kids and fairly large German shepherd – coyote mix (Ryder) who is my tiny 9 lb rat terrier – chihuahua mix’s (Lola) best friend (I know it’s odd but adorable. Pics of Lola are posted below). That being said I had to make up food in a snap for an all omnivore crowd with one child that is citrus and citric acid intolerant. That means no tomatoes or lemon or orange or lime. Which, oddly, I use quite a bit. So I figured a nice chicken and rice dish with a pumpkin cream sauce sounded easy enough. I grabbed my steamer and away we went. I steamed Rice Select Royal Blend with Red Quinoa on the brown rice setting of my steamer/rice cooker with water salt and earth balance per the cartons instructions and then went off to make my pumpkin sauce.

The upside? They brought a raw vegan pumpkin pie that was sooo delicious. Thanks guys!

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(Lola and Ryder having dinner at Ryder’s house a few months ago)

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Chicken with a Creamy Sage Pumpkin Sauce

Ingredients:

1 Container Beyond Meat Chicken-less Strips (lightly salted)
1 can Pumpkin
2 tbsp dehydrated onion
1-2 tbsp Salt
2 pinches Ground Pepper
4 tbsp ground sage
1-2 tsp Thyme
2 tbsp granulated garlic
1/2 cup Daiya Mozzarella
1/4 – 1/2 cup Nutritional Yeast
1/2 cup Soy Creamer
1/4 cup Pacific Natural Foods Hazelnut Milk

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Cook:

Place medium to large sauce pan over medium heat.
Add all ingredients to sauce pan except chicken.
Dice chicken set aside.
Stir ingredients until mozzarella melts into the sauce.
Add chicken. Simmer covered for 15 minutes.
Serve over or beside rice.
Garnish with parsley and unsalted raw chopped pecans.

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Serves: 6.

WW Points for Chicken and Sauce: 4

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Food is Love.

The Hippie Gypsy

PHOTO of MY DOG LOLA with my Husband and I:

Vegan Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Posted by LD in Beginner Recipes, Holiday Recipes, Meatless Monday Family Dinners, QUICKIES! and tagged with baked, butter, cheddar, cheese, daiya, earth balance, Easy, Fast, garlic, gooey, holiday, mac and cheese, mac and cheeze, macaroni, macaroni and cheese, macaroni and cheeze, meatless mondays, noodle, olive oil, panko, Party, potluck, quick, recipe, salty, soy, soy creamer, soy milk, thyme, turmeric, Vegan, vegan mac and cheese, vegan macaroni and cheese, vegetarian, what to eat, what vegans eat, whole grain, whole wheat November 6, 2013

I really really love Mac and Cheese. I love Amy’s new vegan rice mac and Daiya cheeze. I love my own vegan bacon mac and cheese. I love that whole foods squash casserole mac and cheese that I make with the stuffing topping. I mean I love anything even Mac and Cheese related. It is such a wonderful comfort food that I think anyone can relate. When I was detoxing off omnivore food after my surgery I remember crying in a CVS full of exiting hormones telling my husband I needed the instant mac and cheese in the cup and I was probably going to have a melt down if I didn’t get some. Yea it was dramatic. And no he didn’t leave me, he just ushered me out. I remember thinking I am acting like a pregnant woman with these hormones. Well thankfully I am no longer going through the detox period of becoming vegan and I also can make mac and cheese (vegan) anytime I want. This recipe is how I feel I would best be able to mimic the baked macaroni and cheese I made back when I was not vegan. This is not your 1980’s blue box macaroni and cheese. This is the real stuff. I think this is the best way to think of “homestyle” or “comfort” food recipes. These are not meant to be the most healthy but are generally far healthier than their omnivore predecessors. I hope you love the ooey, gooey yumminess as much as I did.

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Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients for Sauce:

(1) block Daiya Cheddar
(1) cup Soy Creamer
(1) stick Earth Balance Buttery Sticks
1/4 cup Nutritional Yeast (”nooch”)
1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon Yellow Mustard
1 tablespoon Thyme
4 tablespoons salt
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/2 cup all purpose flour

Ingredients for Bake:

2lbs of elbow macaroni (I use whole wheat)
1 bag Daiya Cheddar Style Shreds
1 cup or more of Panko Flakes (breadcrumbs)

Prepare Sauce and Macaroni:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large pot bring salted water to a boil. Add elbows and cook until al dente. Drain and Set aside.

In a sauce pan place all sauce ingredients except flour in a pot and stir until well combined and a little thick. It will be salty but this is good because you will need that to season the pasta.

Add flour last. The sauce should be pretty thick but pourable at this point.

Baking:

Spray a casserole pot with oil and then add macaroni.

Pour sauce over macaroni and mix until well infused.

Add Daiya Shred and mix in until well incorporated. They will melt during baking.

Next top with panko and a few pinches of salt if you want (I even give a few quick sprays of oil to ensure browning).

Cook for 10-15 minutes. If you want it more brown cook 30 minutes but double the sauce recipe in order for the recipe not to dry out.

Let Cool 5-10 minutes. Serve hot and Enjoy!

Serves 10-12.

Side Note: When reheating this dish from leftovers always place some water in the bottom of the bowl. This will ensure the pasta does not dry out in the microwave and the cheese can remelt. You can also add more cheese with the water. I do the Daiya Havarti to add some spice!

WW Points: 11pts for 15 servings. 14 for 12 servings.
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Food is Love.

The Hippie Gypsy.

Vegan Cheesy Tomato, Pasta, and Lentil Bake

Posted by LD in Beginner Recipes, Meatless Monday Family Dinners and tagged with beyond meat, cheese, Cheesy, chicken, Easy, Fast, garlic, italian, lentil, meatless mondays, noodle, olive oil, onion, Party, pasta bake, potluck, quick, recipe, tomato, Vegan, vegetarian, what to eat, what vegans eat October 23, 2013

I learned how to cook lentils last year from a girl who was born and raised in Ethiopia, Africa. She made the most delicious garlicy tomato infused lentils I had ever eaten with this flatbread made of Teff. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. It was at a vegan cooking demonstration on a Friday night in the hall of a church in the Fenway area of Boston that we all call “The Fens”. I had somehow persuaded my otherwise unwilling husband to attend. I knew he would probably want to skip the whole thing but luckily he was loving me enough that night to suck it up and attend. He ended up leaving happy because he liked most of the food and met another omnivore there dragged by his wife as well. After that I decided I must learn to cook lentils and incorporate them in my diet. They have so many good qualities and I am a sucker for a bean of any sort. So In my steamer I dumped water, salt, garlic, and tomato paste and started cooking my lentils. They take a while and I have learned to pick through them for stones and soak them in water to soften them. But my new favorite thing to do is take them and layer them in pasta or lasagna or any sort of casserole. It adds protein and heartiness without any strange new flavors or weird textures. Even the kids like them and the youngest is pretty much against all bean varieties except canned green beans. So this was the biggest hit of the summer in terms of my use of lentils: Vegan Cheesy, Tomato, Pasta, and Lentil Bake. I think even the mixture over rice would go well but I will try that at Christmas break 🙂

Enjoy!

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Cheesy Tomato, Pasta, and Lentil Bake

Lentil Mixture

1 Bag of Lentils (Green French Lentils or Plain Lentils Work Well)
1-2 cans of Tomato Paste
Water
Salt
Granulated Garlic Powder

Pasta:

(2) lbs of Rotini Pasta (I use the vegetable kind)

Cheesy Tomato Sauce Layers:

4 cans diced tomatoes
1/2 cup of Daiya Mozzarella
1/8 cup of Galaxy Foods Parmesan
1/2 block Daiya Havarti
Salt
Ground Pepper
Granulated Garlic Powder

Preparation:

Preheat Oven to 425 degrees.
Boil Salted Water for Pasta. Add pasta at rapid boil. Cook until Al dente, Drain and set aside.
Open all Tomato cans.
Fill Steamer with lentils after rinsed and picked through. You can presoak them for 30minutes to aid in the cooking process.
Add water, a healthy amount of salt, and several shakes of garlic to the mixture. Place on Brown Rice setting and begin steaming. You may need to add additional time so check on the lentils for softness and mix 2-3 times during steaming. It may start to get thick so add extra water if needed.

Layering the Pasta Bake!

Once your lentils are prepared and pasta is cooked. Spray a casserole pan with Pam or Olive Oil Spray.
Sprinkle bottom with salt and layer with pasta, 2 cans of diced tomatoes*, sprinkle on a layer of parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, and garlic, then lentils.
Top with Havarti broken into small crumbled pieces like a feta cheese would be.
Then repeat but top with mozarella.

Bake!

Bake at 425 degrees for at least 30 minutes but no more than 45 minutes. The top should brown slightly.
The layers will have meted together and form a yummy cheesy sauce.
Serve hot! Feeds 8-12.

*Optional: Add chopped zucchini or Beyond Meat Chicken Strips to the layers before or after the tomatoes.

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Food is Love.

The Hippie Gypsy

Vegan Lasagna

Posted by LD in Beginner Recipes, Holiday Recipes, Meatless Monday Family Dinners, QUICKIES! and tagged with cheese, daiya, Easy, eggplant, garlic, havarti, holiday, lasagna, macaroni, marinara, meatless mondays, mozzarella, noodle, olive oil, onion, potluck, recipe, ricotta, tomato, Vegan, vegan lasagna, vegan pasta, vegan pasta sauce, vegetarian, what to eat, what vegans eat, zucchini October 18, 2013

Let me just start by saying that when I was NOT vegan, I hated lasagna. More specifically I hated Ricotta Cheese. I am not sure if it was the flavor or the weird goopiness of it all (and yes that is now a word because I said so), but it was definitely not my cup of tea. Fast forward to me as a vegan. The first vegan dish I ever made for my stepdaughters was lasagna. They were fresh off the plane visiting my husband who was just my boyfriend at the time in our 3rd floor walk up in East Boston. It was a humble apartment with high ceilings and a city view and mice and fleas and a heart shaped burn on the family room floor that made me find it charming and oh-so-urban. We ate in our small dining room with built in china cabinet just off our oversized kitchen complete with a broken dumb waiter. I loved that place. I loved that meal because the kids gobbled it up. Since then I have made some minor changes depending on what I have in the house so I will explain those modifications as “options” but give you the base recipe. It’s yummy and not runny and delicious and healthy and all kids of good things. Eat up!

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Vegan Lasagna

Vegan Ricotta Ingredients:

1 package of very firm tofu
1/8 cup Garlic Powder
1/8 cup Nutritional Yeast (“Nooch”)
Kosher Salt
Fresh Ground Black Pepper
2tbsp+ of Olive Oil
Basil
1 can of chickpeas drained and rinsed

Marinara Sauce Ingredients (or just use Rao’s Marinara):

1 small can of tomato paste
1/2cup of olive oil
4 regular sized cans of crushed tomatoes
1 can of diced tomatoes (get the kind with chiles for a kick!)
!/2 cup of dehydrated onion or 1 onion cooked down and pureed
Kosher Salt
Fresh Ground Black Pepper
Basil
Pasta Sprinkle (I use a shake or two of this from Penzey’s)

Pasta: I use (1) package of Lasagna Noodles that are no precook and egg free which are super easy to find in any grocery market.

Cheese: Use Daiya Mozzarella and Daiya Havarti to layer and top the lasagna

Options: Sometimes instead of my vegan Ricotta I use just veggies and Daiya Havarti for the layers and mozzarella on top. Recently I layered in diced zucchini and eggplant with the havarti and it was a huge hit and lower calorie/fat. I have also just added chopped veggies as a layer on top of the sauce adn that is always a winner to. Again I stick with zucchini and eggplant. But feel free to add peppers or whatever you like!

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Prepare:

Mash all ingredients of the Ricotta in a mixing bowl with a potato masher until the crumbled texture of ricotta. I use at least 2 tablespoon of olive oil and a good amount of garlic powder, salt, “nooch” (nutritional yeast), and pepper. Basil is very important to this mash. Add it last.
Place all marinara ingredients in a large sauce pan and mix until boiling. Simmer and allow to set for at least 45 minutes.
Preheat oven to 425degrees.

Begin layering:

Spray a large lasagna pan with Olive oil/Canola oil/Pam and start with a layer of sauce then noodles then cheese/vegetables and continue. Top wth mozzarella, sprinkle with salt and garlic powder, and drizzle some olive oil over it before placing in oven. I like to use seasoned olive oil from time to time and that is the same as teh pizza oil I use in my pizza recipe.

Bake:

Bake for at least 30-45 minutes. Or until you can see the cheese melting and browning on top.

Cool:

Allow to cool and set about 5 minutes so that the cheese is not liquid lava on your tongue. Serve hot and Enjoy!

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*Note: I will post more pictures soon. I have to download them!

XOXOX,

The Hippie Gypsy

Creamy Broccoli Cheese Soup

Posted by LD in Holiday Recipes, Meatless Monday Appetizers, Meatless Monday Family Dinners and tagged with baby carrots, broccoli, broccoli cheddar, broccoli cheese, broccoli cheese soup, carrots, cheese, cheese soup, chowder, cream, cream cheese, cream of broccoli, creamer, creamy, daiya, flour, garlic, holiday, meatless mondays, mozzarella, olive oil, onion, Party, recipe, salt, silk, soup, sour cream, sour supreme, soy cream, soy milk, stew, tofutti, Vegan, vegan broccoli cheese soup, vegetable bouillion, vegetable broth, vegetarian, water, what to eat, what vegans eat September 17, 2013

When I wasn’t vegan and I was applying to law school I worked at a law firm in Quincy, MA near a Panera Bread. My favorite lunch was always a bowl of their signature Broccoli Cheese Soup and a toasted Asiago bagel and an apple. The soup was so decadent and the sharp Asiago smothering the bagel made me just fall into a million pieces. I would’ve eaten this over a filet mignon or fancy lobster dinner (mostly because I never liked either but also because it was that good in my mind). So when I was beginning my ideas for this next week of blogging on soups, stews, and chowders I thought that I really must start off with Broccoli Cheese Soup. I have eaten the broccoli cheese soup in Chef Chloe’s cookbook and it is very good and very healthy but I wanted to make a truly decadent creamy creation that reminded me of that soup near the law firm. So with that I present my version.

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Creamy Vegan Broccoli Cheese Soup

Ingredients:

6 tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup flour

1/2 tsp granulated garlic

1 tbsp vegetable bouillon paste (I use Penzey’s)

1 1/3 cup Daiya Mozzarella Shreds

(1) White Onion

(2) Heads of Broccoli

(6) Small or Baby Carrots

1 qt of Soy Creamer

1/2 cup soy milk

1 cup of water

1/4 cup Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese

1/4 cup Tofutti Sour Supreme Sour Cream

Salt

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Prepare the Base:

Put (2) tablespoons of oil in a pan with salt and (1) onion chopped into rings.
Sweat the onion on medium heat until very soft and light golden brown. They will naturally start to separate as they heat up, so continue stirring.
Take 1/2 of the onions out and place in an extra large sauce pan. Add broccoli and 1 tbsp oil and place on medium heat,
Toss oil, onions, and broccoli and sprinkle with salt. Leave on medium heat.
Take remaining onions in the frying pan and add 3 tablespoons oil and flour. Stir until it forms a paste.

Cooking down the soup:

Pour creamer into large sauce pot with broccoli and onion mixture.
Bring to a simmer.
Add all remaining ingredients and oil/onion paste except for carrots.
Stir until broccoli is soft and well combined. The sauce should be thick now and form a film on top if not constantly stirred.
Take an immersion blender and place in pot allowing the blender to chop and puree the broccoli. You can reserve a few small pieces if you want it a little chunkier.
Then shred the carrots with a peeler or making matchsticks with a sharp knife and add a few minutes before serving. These should be cooked but slightly crisp.
Serve hot and Enjoy!

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Serves (7). 1 cup servings. WW Points 11.

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XOXOX,

The Hippie Gypsy

The Hippie Gypsy

Food is Love. Will Travel For Veggies. Will Surf for Peace. Be the Change. Practice Compassion.

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