Spicy Asian Cucumber Salad

My daughter pulled this from a TikTok video. Perfect side dish for any Asian bowl or meal :)

Spicy Asian Cucumber Salad

Ingredients

10-20 Pickling cucumbers, sliced into 1/4" rounds

1/4 cup GF soy sauce

2 cloves garlics minced

1tsp ginger minced

2Tbls rice vinegar 

1/2-1 tsp chili oil

3 Tbls agave

2 Tbls sesame seeds

Method

Cover sliced cucumbers with salt for 5 mins, rinse well and drain.

Add all sauce ingredients into a small bowl and whisk till well combined.

Pour over drained cucumbers.

Asian Style Eggplant

Original recipe from The Delicious Crescent - I love that you can use regular eggplant! 

This is a great side dish for Asian style bowls and meals.

Asian Style Eggplant

Ingredients

1 pound eggplant Italian, Japanese or globe variety, medium size

¼ teaspoon salt some will be wiped out

4 tablespoons sesame oil divided

1 tablespoons sesame seeds toasted

1 tablespoon ginger peeled and minced

2 cloves garlic grated, optional

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes mild or chopped red chili pepper

½ teaspoon paprika try smoked paprika, optional

2 tablespoons soy sauce low sodium, adjust per taste

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 teaspoon maple syrup or sugar

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

2 tablespoons chopped green onions

Salt adjust per soy sauce

Method

Preheat oven to 425F.

Wash the eggplant, wipe it dry and cut it into ¾ inch slices. 

Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper (I use silicon baking mats which are reusable and easy to clean!)

Pat dry eggplant with paper towels to remove any excess moisture. 

Slice into 1/3" rounds and brush the slices evenly with about 2 tablespoons oil. 

Arrange eggplant in a single layer.

Bake until fork tender for about 30 to 35 minutes.

Remove from oven and allow to cool to room temperature.

In a saute pan, heat remaining oil at medium high. Add sesame seeds and toast lightly. 

Add ginger, garlic and stir then add red pepper flakes and paprika. 

Turn off the heat and let the spices steep in oil for 2 minutes, until they release some color. 

Stir in soy sauce, vinegar and maple syrup.

Add roasted eggplant, green onions, cilantro and toss well to coat. 

Serve with steamed rice. I used as part of an Asian style bowl for lunch prep.

Quiche Lorraine

Adapted vegan/GF from Quiche Lorraine recipe by Craig Claiborne in the NY Times.

Vegan Quiche Lorraine

Ingredients

Pastry for a one-crust nine-inch pie (I love Wholly Wholesome premade pie crust)

1/2 bag Louisville Vegan Toppin's - Bacon Bits

1 onion, thinly sliced

1 cup vegan cheese of choice. I used Miyoko's liquid mozzarella.

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese, I used Follow Your Heart Parmesan 

1 Bottle of Just Egg 

1/2 tsp black salt (kala namak)

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Line a nine-inch pie plate with the pastry. The Wholly Wholesome is already in the pie dish so done!

Bake 10 minutes.

Reduce the oven heat to 375 degrees. Take out pie crust and set aside.

Cook the onion in the a small amount of olive oil until the onion is transparent. Set aside.

In a bowl add the Just Eggs, black salt, nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste, whisk to combine. Add in bacon bits, onion and cheese.

The recipe says to layer the bottom of the pie crust with the bacon bits, onion and cheese and then pour over the egg mixture.

Slide the pie onto a baking sheet.

Bake the pie until a knife inserted one inch from the pastry edge comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Remove to a wire rack. Let stand five or 10 minutes before serving.

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

 Original recipe from Nora Cooks.

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Ingredients

2 Tbls olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium russet potato, peeled and chopped

3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped

1/2 cup raw cashews

4 cups vegetable broth

1/2 cup nutritional yeast

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1-2 cups water, as needed (see instructions)

4 cups broccoli, finely chopped

2 cups shredded vegan cheddar cheese (I didn't have any so I used a 1/2 disc of Miyoko's Farmhouse Cheddar and some Violife Feta)

Method

 

In a large soup pot, sauté the onion and garlic in the olive oil for 2-3 minutes over medium heat, stirring frequently.

To the pot, add the potato, carrots, cashews, vegetable broth, nutritional yeast, smoked paprika and salt. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes, until fork tender.

Working in batches if needed, transfer the soup carefully to a blender and blend until very smooth.

Return the mixture back to the pot. 

If your soup is too thick, add water until a desired consistency is reached (I used 1 cup of water). 

Add in the bite sized broccoli florets and cheese, if using, and stir into the soup. I included the broccoli in the soup and pureed all of it because my kids don't like visible vegetables LOL

Bring the soup to a boil, then lower the heat to simmer for 10 minutes, until the broccoli is soft and cooked. 

The cheese should also be melted into the soup.

Serve, topping with more vegan cheddar cheese shreds, if desired. I topped with feta.

Grandma Liz’s NYE Lentil soup

This is a tradition in Italian culture, they eat a deliciously nutritious lentil soup on NYE. Lenticchie (lentils) are believed to bring good luck and prosperity in the coming year to those who eat them on New Year's Eve. 

An Italian gentleman I work with gave me his mother’s recipe that has been passed down over the generations so of course I have to keep the name to honor that beautiful tradition! And I only had to change it slightly to make it vegan!

Grandma Liz’s Lentil soup 

Ingredients

1 bag lentils (1lb/450g) rinse and take out any bad ones 

48oz/1.5L of veggie broth

4 stalks of celery chopped or sliced

6-8 Carrots chopped or sliced (as many as you like really)

Pinch Paprika for color

Dash of garlic powder

Salt and pepper to your taste

Pinch red pepper flakes (optional)

Method

Add all ingredients to a large pot and bring to boil. 

Add more water if it becomes too thick. (Some Italians eat the soup thick, some soupy -just go with your preference)

I did mine in the slow cooker for 8 hours until lentils were soft. 

Taste and add seasoning as needed.

Turn off heat and add a drizzle of olive oil to coat top - to taste, you can add more olive oil if needed.

I used Mountain Town Olive Oil Co. California Garlic Olive Oil - so good!

Thai Basil Fried Rice

 I changed this recipe a bit from the original. Found on Seonkyoung Longest blog.

Thai Basil Fried Rice

Ingredients

5 Garlic Cloves

1-5 Thai Chilis (Depended on spice level- I used 2)

1 medium shallot, small onion or green onions, chopped

2 Tbls Vegan oyster sauce (mushroom based)

1 Tbls spoon vegan fish sauce

1 Tbls GF soy sauce

1 Tbls palm sugar

1/4 tsp white pepper

2 Tbls vegan butter

12oz extra firm tofu, textured soy curls or vegan chicken pieces

2 vegan eggs (I used the Just Egg squares) - optional

2.5 cups cold jasmine rice

Handful of Thai basil (no it can't be regular basil)

Method

Add chili and garlic to a pestle and mortar and grind to create a paste.

Chop onion and set aside with garlic/chili mixture.

Mix sauce ingredients (vegan oyster sauce, fish sauce, palm sugar, pepper, soy sauce) together in a bowl and set aside.

Heat a wok or large skillet over a medium-high heat and add butter, faux chicken, garlic/chili mix and onion and mix for a couple of minutes until faux chicken is seared.

If using tofu instead of egg fry separately and set aside. I used Just Egg squares and just put them in the toaster and then chopped them up to add at the end.

Add vegan eggs with the faux chicken, garlic, chili, onion mixture to the wok and mix together well.

Pour in sauce and let simmer a moment until sugar is melted.

Add in cold rice in slowly and toss everything together until rice is covered in sauce.

Heat for around 3 minutes and then add in the basil and turn off the heat.

I like to serve with a side of steamed bok choy drizzled with vegan oyster sauce and sesame oil.

Notes:

You can sub faux egg with soft crumbled tofu, sprinkled with some Black Salt if you wanted to include the egg flavor but not the processed product.

For textured soy curls, dehydrate in some veggie stock before frying.

Stove Top Potpourri

 This was a super cute holiday gift from a colleague at work (her IG below). So simple and made the whole house smell like the holidays :) Check out @southerlyhome for other beautiful home inspiration!

Stove Top Potpourri 

Ingredients

1/2 cup cranberries

2 oranges/clementines

4 sticks cinnamon

3 Tbls all spice

2 tsp nutmeg

Mason jar

small zip bag (jewellery size)

Instructions for the receiver.

Decoration-holly sprig, butchers twine (optional)

Instructions

Place the loose spices in the small Ziploc bag.

Add oranges to the jar, followed by the cinnamon stocks and cranberries.

Add the spice bag last.

Seal jar and decorate as desired.

Print out the instructions (below), scroll and hot glue them to the lid.

Vegan Holiday Menu

What's on your vegan menu for the holidays this year? If you're answer is silence then maybe I can provide some inspiration by sharing what will actually be on our holiday table this season! Here is a link to all "Christmas" and gathering posts.

Appetizer

Warm Artichoke & Spinach Dip

The family will be fighting over this dip. It's so moreish!

Mains

Veggie Pot Pie

This will be a hit with everyone, so delicious.

Tofu Turkey

Hubby likes to slice and lightly fry them after baking.

Sides

Green Bean Casserole

Christmas vegetables

We will do mash potatoes as well but these roast veggies are so comforting.

Condiments

Cranberry sauce

Golden Gravy

This simple gravy is always a hit!

Dessert

Apple Pie

Classic dessert for Christmas (I love doing Pavlova as well!) Make sure you get your vegan vanilla ice-cream to go with it....sooo good!

Mince Pies

Fruit mince pies are something I grew up on at Christmas time, they are so good with a cup of tea in the afternoon :)

Extras

Cinnamon Cookies 

I make these before Christmas to share with my friends, family and work colleagues. Always a huge hit!

Candy Cane Fudge 

 I make this after Xmas (assuming the kids haven't eaten all the candy canes) because it's a delicious way to get rid of those last couple candy canes you may still have.

Drinks

Eggless Nog

Vegan Baileys

Hardly seems necessary now with Bailey's releasing it's almond milk variety but incase you want to control the ingredients :)

Hot Cocoa

Don't forget your mini vegan marshmallows

Vegan Chick Fil A Sauce

 Copy Cat Chick Fil A Sauce adapted from Family Fresh Meals.

Vegan Chick Fil A Sauce

Ingredients

1/4 cup vegan honey, golden syrup or agave

2 tablespoons yellow mustard

1/4 cup vegan barbecue sauce

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise

Method

Whisk until smooth and enjoy!

Veggie Pot Pie

Hubby made this vegan version of his chicken pot pie the other day and it was SOOO GOOD! We were all fighting over the leftovers LOL. I think it would work well with faux chicken too! Switch mushrooms for faux chicken and you vegan chicken pot pie ;)

Veggie Pot Pie 

Ingredients

2 thawed pie shells (I used the Wholly Wholesome GF pie crusts - they come in a 2 pack)

Filling

1/3 cup vegan butter or margarine

1 medium chopped onion

1/3 cup rice flour

2 teaspoon salt or veg seasoning

1 teaspoon pepper

1 cups vegetable broth

1 cup cashew milk (or very creamy non-dairy milk)

1 1/2 cups chopped/sliced mixed mushrooms 

2 cups frozen mixed vegetables, thawed

Method

Heat oven to 425°F. and put one pie crust in to cook for 13 mins, then remove

In 2-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. 

Add onion; cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until very tender. Stir in flour, salt and pepper until well blended. Gradually stir in broth and milk, cooking and stirring until bubbly and thickened.

Stir in meat substitute and mixed vegetables. Remove from heat. Spoon mixture into cooked pie crust from step 1. Top with second crust; seal edge and flute. Cut slits in several places in top crust. (this is where I differ, I am lazy and just like to throw the top pie crust ,tin and all, on the top and pinch the edges together. After about 15 mins of cooking you can safely pull the top pie tin off and the crust should stay in place. )

Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

I’ve made individual ones (when I only had one pie crust) with faux chicken pieces instead of mushrooms and halving the recipe. Took about 20-30 mins at 425F.