Mushroom Gravy

1 small onion chopped
1 lb mushrooms chopped
1-2 cloves garlic
2 T olive oil
1 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp rosemary
pinch of black pepper

Saute above ingredients and then add:

2 cups milk (any nut milk)
1 T soy sauce
2 tsp Spike or salt to taste
3-4 T white flour (add until thickened)

Pumpkin Bread Pudding

1 cup coconut milk
1 15-ounce can organic pumpkin
½ cup brown sugar (can use maple syrup)
½ teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
10 cups cubed day-old bread of your choice
2 tablespoons brown sugar


1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9x13x2 inch-baking dish.
2. In a blender, process coconut milk, pumpkin, brown sugar, salt, and spices until smooth. In a large bowl, toss the bread cubes with the pumpkin mixture until each bread cube is coated.
3. Fill the baking dish with the mixture and lightly press it down with the back of a spoon. Evenly sprinkle about 2 tablespoons brown sugar over the top of the bread pudding.
4. Bake for 25-30 minutes until top is lightly browned then let the pudding cool a few minutes. 

Coconut cupcakes!!!

    1 1/2 cups flour
    1 cup white sugar
    1/2 cup flaked coconut
    1 teaspoon baking soda
    1/2 teaspoon salt
    1 cup coconut milk
    1/3 cup canola oil
    1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    1 teaspoon white vinegar

1. Preheat oven to 350F.  In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, coconut, baking soda, and salt.  Add in the rest of the ingredients, adding the vinegar last. Stir until well combined.

2. Bake 30 minutes or until centers come out clean.  Remove from oven and allow to cool.

3. Frost with your favorite vegan frosting and decorate with freshly toasted coconut.

Creamy Pumpkin Penne

Last night's experiment was taken from Chef Chloe's blog which if you haven't checked out, you need to!  I think next time I will cut back on the syrup so it's not a sweet but besides that it was delicious.
http://www.chefchloe.com/blog.html

Pumpkin Cream Sauce
1 large yellow onion, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups cooked pumpkin
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 ½  cups non-dairy milk
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons syrup (we used Nutmeg syrup)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Crispy Sage
2 tablespoons canola oil
8 fresh sage leaves, whole
sea salt

Pasta
1 pound penne pasta
½ cup toasted pecans, roughly chopped
3 tablespoons chopped fresh sage

Pumpkin Cream Sauce
Sauté the onions with oil, salt, and pepper until they are soft and translucent. Add garlic and let cook 2 more minutes. Remove from heat. For the pumpkin cream sauce, puree the onion mixture, pumpkin, tomato paste, non-dairy milk, nutmeg, agave, and 1–1½ teaspoons salt in a blender until smooth. Add black pepper and more salt to taste.

Crispy Sage
Heat 2 tablespoons canola oil in a small skillet until a small piece of sage sizzles when added to the oil. Fry the remaining sage leaves 4 at a time, flipping once, until crispy (about 1 minute total). Watch the sage leaves carefully to make sure that they do not burn. Let them drain on a paper towel and season lightly with salt.
Toss together and serve!

Peanut butter cookies

What better way to procrastinate! So delicious.


1 1/2 teaspoons Ener-G Egg replacer (or equivalent of 1 egg from another brand)
    2 tablespoons warm water (to dissolve egg replacer)
    1/2 cup granulated sugar
    1/2 cup packed brown sugar
    1/2 cup peanut butter
    1/2 cup vegan shortening
    1 1/4 cups flour
    3/4 teaspoon baking soda
    1/2 teaspoon baking powder
    1/4 teaspoon salt
    3/4 cup vegan chocolate chips (optional) I use organic dark chocolate from the Grenadian Choc Co.

 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. First mix egg replacer with warm water.  Mix sugars, peanut butter, vegan shortening, and egg replacer until smooth.

2. Add dry ingredients and mix until blended evenly. Add chocolate chips (optional)

3. Make each cookie about 1" in diameter and flatten with a fork.  Place cookies 3" apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.

4. Bake for 9-10 minutes.  Let cookies sit on tray for at least 5 minutes.


5. Enjoy with a delicious glass of Almond Milk!

Pumpkin Risotto

    2 cups pumpkin, cubed
    2-3 cups veg broth
    1 teaspoon olive oil
    1 small onion, diced
    2-3 tablespoons fresh thyme, or 1 tablespoon dried
    1 cup risotto rice
    1/2 cup white wine, warmed
    salt to taste
  
Directions:

1. Steam pumpkin.  Heat a pot of veg broth on the stove, and keep warm. Warm another pot to medium, and add the oil and onion. Coat the onion in oil and cook it until it is translucent, but not browned.

2. If using dried thyme, add it now to onions. Otherwise, the fresh thyme can wait until the very end of this whole process. Add the rice and stir to coat it in the oil. Pour in the warmed wine and stir until it is all absorbed. Add the heated water to the rice 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly until all the liquid is absorbed before adding more. Add salt to taste.
3. Use all 3 cups water for a very creamy risotto, or only 2-2 1/2 cups for a sticky risotto. When all the liquid is absorbed, the rice should be soft, but only just cooked. Then you can stir in the pumpkin.

Oat Groats?

When I saw oat groats in the store the first thing I thought of is how I used to pick them out of my horse's feed and eat them.  They are as delicious now as they were when I was a little girl.  Here is a easy tasty idea for a breakfast that will keep you going all morning.

1 cup organic Oat Groats
2 cups water
mixed spices like cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg

Bring the oats to a boil and then let simmer until the water all gone.  I sprinkle the spice mix into the pot while it is simmering.

Serve warm with fresh or dried fruits, nuts, seeds, or yummy cinnamon sugar.  I love to eat it with banana and whatever dried fruit I have.