Not Tuna Salad made with Hearts of Palm and Garbanzo Beans

This is another re-post to keep some of the best recipes up on top where they belong.

If you are like me you have probably been hearing a lot lately about the benefits of eating seaweed.  Doesn't sound too appetizing, right?  As it just so happens that is a nice ingredient to turn chickpeas into a mock tuna salad.  Tuna was one of my favorite lunches before I read, "The China Study" and "Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease" and gave up meat within a couple of days.
Let me reiterate:  I ate meat for 47 years and then quit because the research impressed me so much regarding how much healthier I could be by not eating animal protein or added oils and fats.  There are going to be foods I miss and tuna has been high on the list of foods difficult to mimic.

Here is a way to get yourself back into the zen of a tuna lunch.

1 can hearts of palm, drained, cut into 1/2" slices, then shred with a fork
1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup diced dill pickle
2 tablespoons Dried Seaweed, such as dulce flakes or minced nori sheet
2 tablespoons sunflower seeds
4 tablespoons vegan Mayo
2 tablespoons fresh minced parsley
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons mustard
1 teaspoon vinegar or pickle juice
1/2 teaspoon Bragg Sea Kelp Delight Seasoning (optional)
1/4 teaspoon dill
pinch black pepper
dash of dried or fresh chives

1. Crush garbanzo beans with a potato masher, set aside with shredded hearts of palm.
2. Chop celery and dill pickle, add to beans.
3. Crush seaweed together with sunflower seeds in a mortar and pestle, add to beans.
4. Add remaining ingredients to bean mixture and stir.  
5. Serve rolled inside Nori Sheets, in a traditional sandwich or with crackers.

Dried Seaweed and sunflower seeds after grinding

Not Tuna Salad 

Not Tuna Salad Sushi Rolls

Plant-based Diet Christmas Cookie Recipe

Holiday Cookies for the plant-based foodie!  No added fat, no eggs, little sugar!

If you like the pinole pizzelle recipe, you will probably like these.  Think "toasted corn" with a hint of mint and chocolate.  If you want them more chocolate and less corn, replace the masa harina flour with oat flour and add more Hershey's Dark Cocoa Powder.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup pinole corn flour, 
2 tablespoons oat flour, 
3 tablespoons Hershey's Dark Cocoa Powder
1/2 cup almond milk, plus enough additional to make into a smooth batter 2 tablespoons date sugar
1 tablespoon agave nectar
1 tablespoon chia seeds
1/2 teaspoon chocolate extract (or vanilla extract)
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
pinch salt

Combine all ingredients and drop a tablespoon of the batter onto each hot pizzelle press iron, close and bake until steaming stops, about 45 seconds.  You may have to apply a very light spray oil to the press before each batch.  Remove from press, place on wire rack to cool and decorate with melted 72% dark chocolate and crushed candy canes.


Hint:  Melt chocolate in a ziplock sandwich bag placed in a bowl of hot water.  After chocolate has melted, dry off the outside of the bag and snip the corner to add chocolate piping to the cookies.

Pesto change-oh, pesto made with kale and no oil

This is a bright, lemony sauce to use on whole grain pasta for those dinners where you want pasta, but not tomato sauce.  A pesto sauce made from a 'whole-lotta' kale and lemon but without the olive oil traditionally found in pesto sauce so it won't hurt your heart.  

Kale Pesto Sauce

Ingredients:

5 large curly kale leaves, rinsed and torn to make about 3 cups or enough to fill your food processor bowl
12 fresh basil leaves, or a handful, or about 1/3 of those fresh bunches they now sell in the produce section--sans roots
4 tablespoons walnuts
2 tablespoons pine nuts
zest and juice from one lemon (in that order to make it easy on yourself)
2 large cloves garlic
1/3 cup water
1 tsp. miso paste

Combine all ingredients in food processor and zip around for about 30 seconds.  Toss with hot pasta. This makes enough for one pound of pasta prepared according to package directions.

Whole grain penne pasta with kale pesto sauce, fresh diced tomato and vegan parmesan

Zucchini Banana Bread

Vegan Zucchini Banana Bread without eggs or added fat

Dry Ingredients:
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup oat flour
1/4 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup date sugar
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
2 tablespoons flaxseed meal
2 tablespoons walnuts

Combine dry ingredients and set aside.

Wet Ingredients:
3 ripe bananas
2/3 cup shredded raw zucchini
1/4 cup almond milk
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Combine wet ingredients in mixing bowl at low speed until bananas are mashed.  Add dry ingredients and mix just until all flour mixture is incorporated into wet mixture.  Pour into prepared bread pan, bake at 350 for 30 minutes, turn oven temperature down to 325 and continue baking for additional 40 minutes or until bread pulls away from sides of pan, or when toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Note:  I made a version of this with whole wheat flour and the texture was very different, course and dry.  It also didn't rise as high.

Turmeric Soup

Turmeric Soup

Have you heard the buzz about how good Turmeric is for you?  It fights inflammation and has been found to be an effective treatment against arthritis so I have been working on ways to use it more in our diet.  For instance there is a hot sweet drink recipe floating around the internet that we really like which calls for turmeric, ginger and cinnamon in hot non-dairy milk.  It is a wonderful alternative to hot chocolate.  I won't blog the recipe since I didn't create it, but if you search for it you can find it on several sites.

Today I wanted a creamy mushroom soup for lunch and thought, I should try adding turmeric and black pepper to it and see how that goes.  As it so happens, it goes down just fine.

Ingredients for one bowl of soup:
1 cup finely chopped fresh button mushrooms
2 dollops of hummus (homemade if you can to keep out unwanted fats)
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
2 handfuls of fresh baby spinach leaves
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 healthy dash of ground black pepper
1/2-1 cup almond milk
1 dash of Bragg 24 Herb blend

Simmer over medium high heat until thickened, yet green stuff is still green, about 5 minutes.
Take a picture.

Spinach and Mushroom Ravioli, Plant Based

The secret ingredient for making these taste cheesy is the raw cashews blended with water.
Homemade ravioli can be a fun event and doesn't have to take all day.  To speed up the process I recommend using:
Twin Dragon brand gyoza wrappers, 2 packages (or your favorite vegan alternative)
2 jars of your favorite spaghetti sauce without animal protein and low fat such as "Muir Glen Garlic Roasted Garlic Organic Pasta Sauce"

Ingredients for filling to be placed in large bowl:

1 box frozen spinach, thawed and rinsed with excess water squeezed out
1 cup minced mushrooms, browned in skillet
1 tablespoon fresh minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon vinegar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon flaxseed meal
1/4 teaspoon salt
Dash of black pepper

Set aside and process in Vitamix or equal until smooth:
1 cup raw cashews, soaked in 1 cup boiling water for 15 minutes, do not drain
Add blended cashews to other ingredients and stir until incorporated.

Boil 2" of salted water in a shallow pan with a lid while you prepare the ravioli.  In another pan, warm the sauce.
To make a ravioli:
Place 1 teaspoon of filling on a gyoza wrapper and wet the perimeter with your fingers.  Place dry wrapper and top and press to seal edge, squeezing out excess air.  Cut edge as desired or press with ravioli shaper, optional.
After you have used up all the filling, begin simmering them 4 or 5 at a time in the salted water for about a minute, then remove with slotted spoon and place in hot pasta sauce.
Serve with vegan parmesan cheese or nutritional yeast sprinkles.

Note: I have also used egg roll wrappers to make these, laying out 4 ravioli's per wrapper side and then cutting them apart after pressing the top sheet down over the filling piles.  The ones I have been able to find do contain eggs so they are not vegan.

Spinach and Mushroom Ravioli made with Twin Dragon Brand Round Wrappers

Rhubarb Pie with Oregon Berries

We like to keep frozen mixed berries in the freezer for pies, oatmeal and smoothies.  I also like to keep a few packages of frozen rhubarb for those lazy Sunday afternoons when I feel like baking a pie but I don't want to completely sabotage my health with traditional ingredients like butter, eggs, pastry and cream.
Here is a simple little berry pie made with ground up dates instead of white sugar for your weak moments and sweet tooth cravings.

Rhubarb Berry Pie

A little slice of heaven!

Ingredients:
2 cups frozen rhubarb
2 cups frozen mixed berries
3/4 cup date sugar (ground dates)
1/4 cup corn starch
1 teaspoon agar powder (a thickener)
2 tablespoons agave nectar
1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
pinch nutmeg
1 9" pie shell such as low fat graham cracker type, or just put into pie plate that has been lightly sprayed with oil and dusted with oat flour.  DO NOT USE PASTRY, IT HAS TOO MUCH FAT!!!

Place rhubarb and berries in skillet over medium heat with water to thaw for 3 minutes or so.  Stir in other ingredients and then transfer to pie shell.  Bake at 350 degrees f. for 40 minutes.  Cool on wire rack and dust lightly with powdered sugar, optional.

Butter Beans, Pasta and garden fresh Tomatoes for lunch

Basil, parsley and tomatoes fresh from the garden!  

So what are you making for lunch?  How about pasta, but instead of a heavy sauce just toss in a few diced tomatoes, blanched broccoli, olives and fresh herbs along with a sprinkling of balsamic vinegar and nutritional yeast/flaxseed meal/chia seeds?  Light and delicious!

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/

Blueberry Cake Recipe

Blueberry Cake Recipe, quick and easy without eggs or oil

Ingredients:
2 lbs fresh blueberries
1 lb fresh raspberries
1 package white cake mix, dry
1/2 cup applesauce
1 cup water
1/8 cup egg replacer powder
1/3 cup rice milk, or your favorite non-dairy milk
Steps:

1. Coat a 9"x13" pyrex baking dish lightly with crisco olive oil spray.
2. Pour all but 1/2 cup of the fresh blueberries into the bottom of the baking dish or enough to covert the bottom at least one berry deep.
3. Combine all the other ingredients except for the raspberries, using a mixer set on medium speed.  Scrape sides of bowl halfway through mixing.
4. Pour batter over blueberries and bake at 350 degrees f until toothpick comes out clean, about 35 minutes.  
5. Let cool on wire rack.
6. Make a lemon icing using 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar and a pinch of salt.  Adjust sugar and/or lemon juice until you have a nice but thin consistency.  (Goal: a thin icing layer to stick the berries to the cake with without all the fat of butter or shortening in a traditional frosting.)
7. Spread the icing on the cake and arrange raspberries and blueberries to look like our flag.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp, plant based with no added fat

Vegan Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

This is a recipe for Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp made without butter or oil.  It isn't a really sweet dessert, but delicious.  I hope you like it as much as we do!

Topping:
1 cup old fashioned oats
2 tablespoons date sugar
2 tablespoons chopped pistachio nuts
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon mace
Toss together and set aside while you prepare the fruit filling.
Fruit filling recipe:
2 stalks fresh rhubarb cut into 1/2 inch chunks
2 pounds fresh strawberries with hulls removed and cut into slices
1/2 pound fresh blueberries (optional)
To the fresh prepared fruit add a mixture of
1/4 cup oat flour
1/4 cup date sugar

Stir filling together and place in 3 quart casserole that has been lightly coated with spray oil.  LIGHTLY!
Place oat topping over fruit and bake for 45 minutes.
Serve at room temperature with Rice Whipped topping or non-dairy ice cream type dessert--or just plain.  

Plant-based Date Sugar Cookies, without added fats or wheat!

Who doesn't love a great little sugar cookie?  Especially when it can be had guilt free by using ingredients that are good for you?  No white sugar, no white flour, no animal protein, no added fats or oils?
Imagine that.

Date Sugar Cookie

Date Sugar Cookie Recipe
Dry ingredients, place in bowl and set aside:
2 3/4 cup oat flour
1 tablespoon egg replacer powder
2 teaspoons cream of tarter
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Wet ingredients and date sugar, place in mixing bowl of standing mixer:
1 1/2 cups date sugar
3/4 cup low fat, unsweetened almond milk
2 tablespoons molasses
4 oz. applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla

Raw dough prior to baking.  Sweet!

Combine wet ingredients first, then add dry ingredients and mix until just combined on low speed.
Spoon 1" mounds onto parchment, sprinkle with date sugar and press with flat-bottomed glass until 1/4" thick, bake at 350 degrees fahrenheit for 10 minutes.  Cool on wire rack.  Makes 18 cookies.

Lentil and Brown Rice Enchilada's

I must admit I feel guilty about some of the foods I should be eating and don't really enjoy.  One of them is brown rice.  The other one is lentils.  So Tuesday after work I started a cup of brown rice cooking on the stove while I worked on other things around the house.  I decided to cook some lentils in a different pan at the same time, with no idea of how to make a great tasting dinner out of it.  After an hour or so the whole house smelled so good you wouldn't believe it!  I came up with a stew recipe by combining them and adding a few other things.
There was a lot of stew left over the next day since there is only two of us most of the time now, so I used the leftovers to make an enchilada casserole that was really pretty good, and so dear friend, the recipe is as follows:

Lentil Stew

In a deep skillet with tight fitting lid cook some brown rice.
1 cup dry brown rice
1 cup mushroom broth
2 cups water

In a 1 quart saucepan cook some lentils:
1 cup lentils (grown right here in Washington, in the palouse region where we attended WSU)
1 cup vegetable broth
2 cups water
Let both of these simmer for an hour and then pour the lentils over the rice and add a few more ingredients:

1 large can organic fire-roasted diced tomatoes,
if you like tomato chunks leave as is, otherwise you might want to spin these in a blender before adding.
2 cups vegetable broth
2 cups pre-cooked red potatoes, quartered.
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon cumin

Serve with a sprinkling of nutritional yeast flakes over the top.

Lentil Enchilada Casserole


1 small can enchilada sauce
8 corn tortillas  (make them from scratch without oil if you can, or buy the most low fat available)
6 to 8 cups leftover lentil stew
1/2 cup Rice cheddar shreds (a non-dairy cheese product)

In small casserole dish pour a small puddle of enchilada sauce, about 3 tablespoons.
Dip two of the corn tortillas in the sauce to completely cover and arrange them on the bottom of the pan. Spread about two cups of the stew over, repeat the corn tortillas dipped in enchilada sauce, spread 1/2 cup of the Daiya shreds, and repeat the entire process until you reach the top of your casserole dish.  The top should be Daiya shreds.
Bake for 45 minutes in 350 degree oven.
Serve with a small dollop of non-dairy sour cream and a sprinkle of fresh cilantro, look towards the camera and say, "Ole'!"

Dear Restaurant, Please serve something like this:

What I long for while away from home is something like this:  a plate of steamed kale (that is still a nice bright green, so not too long on the heat please) with pan roasted mushroom slices and green beans that again are green and tender-crisp (not mushy and some gray-green color).

Green Beans, the fun way

After I took the photo, I added walnut sauce (it doesn't photograph well but tastes divine).
If you would like to make this for yourself, here is the recipe:

For the Kale:
2 or 3 cups washed, torn kale with the large vein stem removed
1/4 cup water
dash of Bragg 24 Herb seasoning
dash garlic powder

Bring water to simmer in skillet with lid, add the kale and other ingredients, replace lid and cook for one minute.  Turn off heat.

In a different skillet:
1/2 lb sliced mushrooms
1 cup sliced fresh green beans
1 clove garlic, diced fine

Saute in skillet at a high heat with lid until mushrooms are golden brown.  The water from rinsing the beans is enough to provide a nice steam.  Add garlic, if desired.

For the walnut sauce (this is derived from Anne Esselstyn's Walnut Sauce Recipe):
Omit this sauce if you are avoiding soy products.

In a Magic Bullet Blender or equal, combine the following (makes enough for several servings and keeps in fridge several days):
1/4 cup walnuts
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 tablespoons low sodium tamari or other soy sauce
1 Tablespoon minced fresh garlic, about one really large clove

Blend until smooth and creamy, pour a little over your plated kale (drain the water off first), mushrooms and green beans.  Feel the goodness seep through your insides.  Ahhh.

Easy Peasy Whole Grain Pizza Crust Recipe, Plant-based, no added fat

Now that I made a Whole Grain Combo Flour out of all the different types of flours I had on hand (see the list in the previous bread post) I used it to also make a pizza crust dough.
It was really crispy and delicious so I don't want to forget how I made it!

Music sets the mood with the "Godfather Waltz".

Plant based Pizza Dough Recipe

Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit with your pizza stone already inside the oven.
Ingredients for one crust:

1 cup blended whole grain flour mix (or whole wheat and oat flour)
1/4 cup vital wheat gluten
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon yeast
1/2 cup water +/- to make the dough the proper consistency.

Mix everything together and knead for a minute to make the dough smooth and elastic. Let rest under plastic wrap for 10 minutes, then roll into a 14" circle or the same size as your pizza paddle.  (Tell me you have a pizza paddle.)  Let rest 10 minutes on the paddle.  Keep it moving around with a smidgen of cornmeal between the dough and wood.

Top with all your favorite toppings and pop it into the oven and slide it onto that hot pizza stone.  It will be ready in 12-15 minutes.  Fast, right?  Faster than delivery pretty much is what I am thinking.  And so much healthier.  Smile, you deserve to relax.

Whole Grain Herb Bread for the Bread Machine

Plant-based bread recipe without added fats or oils

I actually have run out of oatmeal and whole wheat flour during these days of bad roads but I really wanted a nice fresh baked loaf of bread to eat with our dinner of barley soup or chili.
I do have an extensive collection of weird flours that we keep in the freezer to try out, so I made a mixture of all of them to create a whole grain combo flour.  That makes giving you this exact recipe difficult but here goes:

3 1/2 cups whole grain flour--favorite or a mixture of equal parts of whatever you have on hand:
corn flour, spelt flour, graham flour, garbanzo bean flour, chia seeds, wheat germ, oat flour, rye flour, buckwheat flour, almond flour (don't use much of this--it has a high amount of fat per tablespoon), amaranth grain, Bob's whole grain cereal mix, scottish oats, etc.

1/2 cup vital wheat gluten
1 3/4 cup warm water
1 tablespoon yeast
2 teaspoons agave syrup
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons non-dairy milk, such as rice milk
2 teaspoons herb mix such as Bragg 24 Herb Seasoning

Bake on White Bread Setting.   The smell is heavenly.....

Peach and Blueberry Pie and a discussion about fat

Peach and Blueberry Pie

When I first read the books, "Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease" and "The China Study" in October of 2010, I was convinced of the research and results that a diet without added fat, or any animal products is the way to go.  I am still convinced.

For the first few months I was maniacal about every little bit of fat listed in ingredients of every product I bought.  Then I read, "The Engine 2 Diet" and relaxed, just a little.  We started having the occasional walnut sauce over steamed kale.  Walnuts.  And I bought an avocado once in a while for the salad, but not often.  I read, "Fat Free, Flavor Full" by Dr. Gabe Mirkin and Diana Rich.  I liked what he said about a few grams of fat being acceptable.

Then I read Dr. Fuhrman's book on nutrition to build immunity and watched a lecture by Dr. Ornish discussing his Spectrum book.  We have altered what we eat just enough to include some seeds and a few nuts, and to focus on the immunity boosting plants especially:  mushrooms, anything from the brassica family like cabbage and broccoli, strawberries, sunflower seeds, etc.  

Don't get me wrong, I strongly believe that the work of Dr. Esselstyn and Dr. Campbell trumps all the other information I am reading.   We still don't eat meat, dairy or olive oil, but do eat out once in a while and order vegan dishes.

I aim to not go higher each day than 20 grams of fat, none of which comes from putting oil or other fat on our food.  I do not keep bottles of olive and canola oil in the house.  I do keep a small bottle of sesame oil in the fridge for specific recipes and I do keep spray oil for specific light applications, like homemade tortilla chips.

I recognize there is a small amount of fat in the non-dairy milk we drink (almond milk for him, rice milk for me), the occasional walnut, sunflower seeds or avocado slice, and a little fat in the whole grain bread we typically buy, "Dave's Killer....".  (Sorry but I don't care for the Ezekiel brand bread items, they almost always end up in the trash rather than being consumed.  Life is too short to not like what I am eating.  The rest of the food we eat on this diet is fabulous.)

To put 20 grams of fat in perspective, a typical black olive has about 7 grams of fat.  A glass of rice milk (8 ounces) has 2.5 grams of fat.  So 20 grams of fat might sound like a lot, but I understand that the average American eating a typical western diet consumes about 85 grams of fat per day and has plaque in his or her veins, diagnosed or not.

These are the choices we make so that this plant-based, no added fat way of eating is do-able and sustainable for us.  Since we have become plant-based while in good health, before we have been diagnosed with heart disease, diabetes, cancer or other serious health problems I suspect we have the luxury of slightly more food choices--seeds and nuts in small quantities--than a strict heart or cancer patient would have.  Our next blood test will be an interesting tell.  This year our focus is on eating less processed food.  Baby steps.

Lately I have been reading the Facebook posts of people who are new to this diet which reminds me of how I was when new--worried about ANY fat from packaged foods or from anything.  We were so strict and limited ourselves so much it was almost impossible, especially when traveling or eating out.  I have learned to pick my battles, and the most important is not eating animal protein.  The next is nothing fried, ever.  (So no vegan donuts or french fries.)  After that, all the other things: fat listed in the ingredients, processed foods, non-organic produce...the list goes on and on.  If a typical serving (crackers, bread, etc.) lists more than 3 grams of fat I usually do not even bring it home.

Here is the exception:

Last night we made fruit pie for dessert.  The store-bought, frozen, whole wheat crust was not fat-free, in fact there are 8 grams of fat in 1/8 of the pie shell, but so convenient for the occasional pie.  It was in the freezer, left over from the holidays.

Ingredients:

1 pie shell, your favorite low-fat or non-fat recipe or whole grain store brand

Frozen peach slices, enough to cover the bottom of the pie shell, about 2 cups.

1/2 cup almond milk

2 tablespoons date sugar

2 tablespoons corn starch

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Cover pie shell with peach slices.  Combine sweetener, milk and cornstarch until thoroughly blended and pour over the peaches.  Top with enough blueberries to cover.  Bake in 350 degree oven for 35 minutes. Remove and cool on wire rack.  Dust with powdered sugar, optional.

Remember when we used to use a cube of butter and put a cup of sugar in our pie?  This is way better.

Rebecca's Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies, PBNAF

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup white minute rice
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup almond milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup sugar "in the raw" (white sugar ok too)
• 1 3oz package Butterscotch JELL-O Cook and Serve pudding mix (NOT instant)*
• 1 cup oat flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 cups instant oatmeal
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp butterscotch flavor
• 1 tsp butter flavor
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Place water, minute rice, vanilla, and salt in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Keep it on heat for 10 minutes, covered, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. 
2. Reduce heat to low, and add almond milk. Stir constantly until grains of rice can be easily squished against the side of the pan with the back of a spoon, or until mixture resembles tapioca pudding. 
3. Take mixture off heat and put in blender. Blend until smooth.
4. Scrape mixture into the bowl of a standing mixer and fill the blender with hot water. Set blender aside.
5. Beat the rice paste at the highest speed, adding sugar and pudding mix large spoonfuls at a time to ensure smooth blending. Reduce speed and add oat flour and whole wheat flour.
6. Add remaining ingredients at the slower speed.
7. Grease a baking sheet, and using a large ice cream scoop (1/4 cup worked well), plop servings of dough onto the baking sheet at 2" distances. Try not to work the dough to much, or the texture will not be appealing.
8. Bake at 350 for ten minutes, and let cool on the baking sheet.

Makes 1 dozen. (Maybe more if you don't eat as much dough)
*or vegan pudding mix
Guest post by Rebecca

Soy-Free Enchiladas, Plant-based with no added fat

Recipe for Soy-Free Enchiladas
by Cindy Jewell

Preparation Method:

Combine green layer and set aside:

• 1 cup chopped bok choy sautéed in mushroom broth over high heat for 1 min.
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• dash pepper flakes
• 1 can (4 oz) mild green chilies
• 1 cup prepared quinoa (rinsed and cooked until soft)
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Combine red layer and set aside:

• 1 can pinto beans (15 oz)
• 1 can diced tomatoes (14.5 oz)
• 1 cup seitan, chopped into small pieces
• 1 teaspoon chili powder

Additional Ingredients:

• 1 large can enchilada sauce 
• 9 to 12 Corn tortillas (or fat free whole wheat if you prefer)
• 1/4 cup rice cheese

Steps:

1. Layer tortillas dipped in enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 9x13" pan. (Coat pan LIGHTLY with spray oil first.)
2. Spread 1/2 green chili mixture,
3. Another layer of tortillas dipped in enchilada sauce
4. Spread all the red mixture.
5. Another layer of tortillas dipped in enchilada sauce
6. Spread remaining chili mixture.
7. Pour any leftover enchilada sauce over the top (You probably won't have any left.  No worries)
8. Spread rice cheese shreds over top.
9. Bake 350 f. for about 45 minutes or until bubbly hot.

If you aren't allergic to onions, feel free to add them in with the bok choy.