Vegan Strawberry Pie!!!

    Every time I eat this dish I go into a state of pure happiness, it's just that amazingly good!!  The best part?!?, This recipe does not include going to buy that mystery pink strawberry gel/glaze stuff in the bag from the grocery store.  Do they even still sell that stuff, I used to love to squish it when I was a kid, lol!! But why would you want to ruin the strawberries like that! I promise that it will take about as much effort or less to make your own homemade glaze, really!! It's so simple and the homemade glaze kicks the butt of that kind of pie and any other store made version. Trust me!!
     This was one of those pregnancy cravings for me, when I was pregnant with my first we hadn't gone vegan yet and my hubby had to run to Frisch's Big Boy late night a couple of times;). If you are not from here, Frisch's is a restaurant in the midwest known for it's not so "healthy" dishes.  I knew it was so bad for me so I thought once I went vegan, I couldn't have them anymore:(  That is until one Sunday night at my parents...               
     My sister in law(love ya Teppi) made these tiny strawberry pie bites and she had made her own glaze, that was when it clicked, I could make my own Vegan Glaze!!! Most of the store made glazes use some type of gelatin or cream, but there is no need, once you add the cornstarch it helps it thicken right up!  I have made this for two NEW mamas and one said "yes, I admit, I had it for breakfast'", and the other said "I had it at 4 am, it was that good!"  LOL. I just love when my food has that effect ;). You have been warned, haha;))  I also bought the pie crust from whole foods, you could totally make, but I am a realist and the little time I have I don't want to be trying to perfect a crust, this pie is all about the filling!!!  This recipe is adapted from The Brown Eyed Baker blog, I just left out a couple of ingredients to make it VEGANIZED!!!


Vegan Strawberry Pie

1 prepared pie crust pre-baked and cooled (the spelt flour one from WF is super good!!!)

For the filling:
3 lbs. Strawberries (Rinsed and hulled a.k.a. green stems removed)
1/2  cup Vegan Cane Sugar
4-6 TBSP. Water
2 TBSP Cornstarch
2 tsp. Lemon Juice

Go through the strawberries and pick out the "unpretty" ones to use for your filling, you will need about 1 1/2 cups of strawberries.  Put them in the food processor and process until you have a puree.  Whisk the sugar and cornstarch over medium heat and add in the puree.  Continue to whisk until you bring the filling to a low boil, at this point I add in a little water, and let the filling continue to cook.  You want to make sure that you let the cornstarch to cook out, you can taste it to make sure it doesn't have a chalky taste, that is why I add the extra water.  I just add in a tablespoon at a time to make sure it's not too much liquid.  As soon as it has thickened and the cornstarch is cooked out, then remove from heat and add in the lemon juice.  Let it cool to room temperature.

Keeping the remaining strawberries whole, toss them in the sauce and put into pie shell.  Refrigerate at least 3 hours, and then Enjoy!!!!

Ingredients

  

Yum

You could puree more, but it all cooks down anyways...

The beginning(I could've processed the strawberries more, but it still turned out yummy...)

Still too much cornstarch

Closer to being ready...

Ready!!!
More Pics of the Finished Product!!!

Raw Carrot Cashew Salad!!!

Lemon Ginger Tofu with Carrot Cashew Salad!! Yummy!!

    I know two posts in two days, what is going on!?!  I am officially in love with writing and sharing my passion AND I know my girl Rica still needs this recipe, so I thought why not?!?
   Anyways, I still remember the first time I made this, we couldn't believe how tasty it was!  Also the fact that nothing is cooked (so you don't lose all those nutrients) and that it takes 5 minutes to make just added points!!  This is amazing as a side dish to any Asian style meal, but it truly shines its brightest when paired with the lemon ginger tofu I make!! I am the first to admit that I don't really love to eat tofu, that was until I learned how to marinate and cook it to get the most amazing flavor and texture!  I could take a whole page up telling you about it, but I will just post next time;)).  It is truly a match made in heaven, but I love this salad so much I have started to make whenever we have Asian, and my daughter will eat spoonfuls of this stuff, I love it!!  Enjoy one of my favorites;)

p.s.  I didn't take any real photos the last time I made it, so there will be more pics of just the salad soon!! And I will be posting the recipe for the lemon ginger tofu next, so stay tuned and tell your friends, LOL!!!


Carrot Cashew Salad
2 cups shredded Carrot
1/2 cup Raw Cashews (roughly chopped)
1/3 cup onion (minced finely)
1/3 cup fresh Parsley (finely chopped) or dried 1/4 cup
2 tsp. Lemon Juice
1 tsp. Toasted Sesame Oil
1 tsp. Bragg's Amino Acids, plus extra to taste

Mix all ingredients together and let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes.  Serve over rice and enjoy!! This stuff is amazing!!!

Yummy Peanut Butter Sauce!!!

Yummy Sauce served over rice with vegan nuggets, edamame, rice, and veggies!!

      I was just getting ready to blog about this yummy pie I made, but one of my best friends was over when I made this and she has been bugging me to get her the recipe(love ya girl), so here it is!!!  (I know if I'm getting requests for the recipe I am doing something right, Yay!!) I really do love when I have friends or family over because they can try out my food and it puts a big smile on my face to see that non-vegans can love the food I make too!!! This recipe is adapted from Chloe Coscarelli's cookbook, 'Chloe's Kitchen',  who is an amazing vegan chef doing her thing.  She actually just released her second book and I am so excited try it out (and you should too!). I just made a couple of small changes and left some things out to make sure my kids could enjoy and they do!! This is the best go-to dish when you are in a pinch too!!! This is good the next day, cold or hot!

Yummy Peanut Butter Sauce

1 cup almond milk

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup Bragg's Amino Acids (or soy sauce)

1 tsp. Ginger

3 cloves garlic

1-2 tsp. lime juice

1 tsp. sesame oil (preferably toasted)

Mix all ingredients except lime juice in a saucepan over medium heat.  Whisk until sauce thickens and comes together (about 7-10 minutes) and serve over pasta or rice with a side of the Carrot Salad (I will post this recipe next, as it is soo delicious and fresh!) This is the best sauce and can be used for anything you could think of!

Ingredients

Mixing Up (1)

Mixing Up (2) It has smoothed out and is getting creamy..

It's Ready!!!

Nana's Bean Sprout Salad!!!

 In honor of Mother's Day, (Happy Mother's Day to all the mother's I know, you are incredible people;), what else is more fitting than a ode to my mom, the one who instilled in me the love of cooking and being a good mommy?!?  I just can't say enough about how being a mother has changed my whole outlook on life and how I want to give the best of everything to my children, especially the food they eat!!
   Anyways, my Mom or Nana as my babies call her, doesn't actually measure anything for this so its more a taste as you go type recipe. Just consider yourselves very lucky as this is so yummy and it goes real quick any time it is on the table:)  Let me just say my mom has to buy two BIG bags of bean sprouts for it to last!!!LOL
  On to the real topic, the bean sprouts!  Last year we were sprouting our own and they were delish, but if you don't have time just buy at the store, you should buy at least two containers full for it to be worth it though!! The key to this is blanching the sprouts, but not too long, that they get cooked...  Oh and I am warning you now, once you start on this, you can't stop!!!:)

Nana's Bean Sprout Salad
2 containers of Bean Sprouts or As much as you want!!!
1-2 Tbsp. Bragg's Amino Acids
1 Tbsp. Sesame Oil
1 tsp. Sriracha Chili Paste
2 tsp. Agave or sweetener
Salt and Pepper to taste
   *This is a starting off point, I usually just eye it and go by taste, but the next time I make this I will and update!
Boil water, then put sprouts in for 5-6 minutes, then remove and run cold water over them, to stop them from cooking.  Mix Bragg's, Sesame Oil, Chili Paste, and Agave or Brown sugar, and S&P to taste!!  This is so simple, yet so good!

Up Close!!

This were our homegrown sprouts!!Amazing!!

Finished Product!!! YUMMY!!!

Mai Mai's Vegan Lasagna!!!

     Italian, anyone?!?  A go-to dish, that is filling and delicious, oh and did I mention, can be made ahead of time!!! (another upside to making in advance, no cleanup during the mad rush, at least that's what I call mealtime around this joint, LOL)

   This is a CLASSIC in our household and I love making this because it really can be done the night before or during nap time in the afternoon and be ready to go in the oven at dinner.  The best part is watching my kids literally inhale this!  I just made this recently for my neighbors who just had a baby(Congrats and welcome to the neighborhood little man:)!!  So I have pics of the making, but not the actual finished product, which is odd because I make this once a month, at least.  The next time I make it, I will take pics too!!
  Anyways, I took this over to my parents house for a sunday night get together with all my family(brothers, sisters, their spouses, nieces, nephews), i.e. a bunch of non-vegans and well they were all raving about how good it was!!  I had them officially fooled:)
   Whenever I make this I really do think of my family; it is such a homey dinner and makes the best leftovers!  I distinctly remember one time I was at my sisters house (it had to be about college age for me), but I hadn't been cooking a whole bunch and she wanted me to help.  I told her no, I haven't cooked in ages, I would probably mess it up.  Well she didn't let me get out of it that easy, she said ''this is the easiest thing to make, you can't mess it up"  and she was right, it was a piece of cake and I loved it.  Now that I have it VEGANIZED, it's hands down the best you've ever had!! Enjoy:)

p.s. This is one of those recipes that keeps getting better over time because of how much you make it and you figure out all the little tweaks and changes, so you are welcome in advance because this is ready to go:)))

Mai Mai's Vegan Lasagna

"Ricotta Cheese"
1 block extra firm tofu (pressed and crumbled)
2 cups Fresh (not frozen) Spinach and processed fine
1/2 cup veganise ("follow your heart" is best tasting brand IMO), you could get by with using a bit less too
1/2 cup Daiya shredded mozzarella vegan cheese
1/4 cup nutritional yeast (this is a dried flake that will give it a good cheesy taste, you can find at whole foods in bulk section)
1-2 tsp dried herbs: Garlic, Basil, Oregano(I just sprinkle to taste with this)
dash of salt and pepper and braggs amino acids(similar to soy sauce, but less sodium)

Once you have pressed tofu (I just wrap in paper towel and squeeze excess water out or you could put a plate with some weight on it to press out more, but I find it works the same:)
Mash the tofu with a potato masher (you want it to be a fine crumble, no big chunks, but not silky smooth either), then mix in the veganaise, cheese, yeast and herbs.  It should be creamy and you can taste and make sure it is seasoned enough.

"Meat"
1 cup Textured Vegetable protein (again in the bulk dept)
1/4 cup onion
3 cloves garlic
2 cup broth (veggie)
dash of vegan worcheshire, braggs, and hickory smoke

Saute the onions and garlic until translucent and fragrant, then add the tvp and broth, this just needs to be a medium heat, you do not want to boil the tvp as it will lose its shape. After the tvp is soft, mix into the sauce.   OR you could buy the frozen boca crumbles in the freezer section of the nature dept at kroger or any grocery!!

Assemble all ingredients in layers, starting with a thin layer of sauce, then noodles (I get uncooked or oven ready from giant eagle, make sure they don't have egg in them!!!), then "ricotta", then sauce and continue on until you get to the last layer of noodles and then top with just sauce!  Please post any questions or comments!

INGREDIENTS

MIXING UP THE "RICOTTA"

READY FOR DAIYA CHEESE SHREDS

TVP READY TO GO!

VEGAN CHEESE!!!

MORE SAUCE!!

SPINACH

ALMOST FINISHED!! YUMMY IT IS LOOKING GOOD!!

"Sausage" Country Gravy!!!

Biscuits and Sausage Country Gravy!!!

 I know, I know, this is not on anyone's list of "healthy foods" but let me just say, what is life about if you can't splurge occasionally?!?  This used to be my favorite dish at Bob Evan's when I was a little girl, but even before going vegan I just couldn't allow myself to truly enjoy it knowing that some type of lard and all that junk would be apart of the dish.  So about midway through this winter, my hubby and I had an itching for some good old breakfast comfort food.... and this became a new classic!!!  I found a recipe online, but tweaked the ingredients a bit to make it perfect and that's exactly what it is, Perfect!  I even found its great with rice or part of a casserole, basically you can't go wrong with this!  Even better my kids loved it and by the end of it our bellies were happy and content:)  You can definitely make your own biscuits(more power to you, I have done before and it's worth the extra time), but as I was short on time I ended up using Bisquick (yes its vegan, omg!)... I will post a recipe for biscuits next time, but let's focus on the real star of this dish, the GRAVY!!!

Country Sausage Gravy

2 TBSP.  "butter" Earth Balance
1/2  small onion (diced)
4 TBSP. Flour (use whole wheat or all purpose)
1 package of veggie sausage (8 oz)
1/2 tsp. Maple Syrup
3 cups plant milk
1/4 cup Nutritional Yeast
1/2 tsp. Salt
dash of Bragg's
1/2 tsp. Black Pepper
1 tsp. Sage
1/2 tsp. Thyme

Melt the "butter" in a saucepan over medium heat, then add the onions and saute until translucent.  Sprinkle in the flour until mixed well and then add the sausage, just enough to brown or heat through.  Pour in the milk slowly and add the syrup, nutritional yeast, bragg's, and seasonings and whisk until well incorporated.  This should be at a medium heat and thicken as you whisk, you want to make sure to do this for at least ten minutes, whisking every so often, so as not to burn and the flour taste to be cooked out.  Then once the gravy covers a spoon and stays put, you are ready to enjoy.  As I said this is great with biscuits, rice, bread, casserole... your imagination is the only limit!! Enjoy!!  It is also great the next day too:)

The gravy should stick on the spoon when you dip it....MMM.. ready to eat...

The kiddos enjoying and soo big since the last time I posted!!! Time is flying:)