Cashew Cookies with Cranberries and Sunflower Seeds

Mmmmmmmm – I love these cookies! They taste very similar to a peanut butter cookie, but with a slightly more subtle flavor! And since cashews are much less of an allergen than peanuts and most other nuts, I hope this recipe will allow those who have never been able to enjoy a peanut butter cookie to finally do so. And with the cashews and sunflower seeds, each cookie has a whopping 2 grams of protein!! They are also gluten-free. You can make them plain and even press them down with a fork to make them look just like peanut butter cookies, or you can also add mix-ins for texture and taste. They are an incredibly versatile cookie! I love adding cranberries and sunflower seeds as shown here, but I also love them with chopped dates and peanuts, and also with raisins and chocolate chips. I’m sure you can think of some other incredible combinations!

1 cup cashew butter (if you cannot find ready-made cashew butter, you can make it yourself by using one of the many recipes online, or you can use peanut butter)
3/4 cup sugar *see adjusted recipe below if you do not do white sugar
1 T ground flax seed mixed with 3 T water
1/2 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1/2 t maple syrup
1 T brown rice flour

optional

1/2 cup unsweetened cranberries
1/2 cup sunflower seeds (I prefer salted, but unsalted is fine too)

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine all ingredients except cranberries and sunflower seeds in a large bowl. Mix well. Depending on the softness of the cashew butter used, you may need to use a hand mixer on low.

Stir in the cranberries and sunflower seeds if using.

With slightly wet hands, roll into balls about 1 T dough each and place 2” apart on two lightly greased baking sheets.

You can either leave them in balls, or press down a bit with a fork to flatten, depending on if you want them crunchier (flatten) or chewier (leave as balls).

Place your oven racks so one is in the middle and one in the top third. Bake for 6 minutes then switch the trays and bake another 6 minutes.

Let cool.

If desired, top with melted chocolate and cashew nuts.

Makes 2 dozen cookies

*To make these uber healthy – substitute 1/4 cup + 2 T agave for the sugar and add an extra 2 T brown rice flour. They will still be delicious but will not have as much of a nutty flavor.

Quiche Lorraine

Today was such a beautiful day. Beautiful Sundays always make me want to set out an amazing brunch. Brunch is definitely one of my favorite meals. I love the laziness of brunch; I love to linger over the delicious foods, reading the paper, and enjoying life. Brunch to me means relaxation. My absolute favorite brunch food has always been eggs benedict, and my vegan version, which has been a work-in-progress for some time now, is so great that I will post it soon. Today, however, I made another of my favorites. Quiche Lorraine. Quiche Lorraine? How can that be vegan, you may be asking. After all, not only is quiche usually made with eggs and cream, but Quiche Lorraine also has bacon and cheese. Pretty hard to veganize, right? Wrong!! This vegan version is savory and delicious, as well as nutritious, and is the perfect way to enjoy a lazy Sunday brunch. A green salad, a fruit salad, and this quiche, and my Sunday afternoon is complete!

For the frozen pie crust, I prefer wholly wholesome, found in specialty stores, but many major supermarket chains carry vegan ones, such as shoprite – just check the ingredients and make sure there is no butter or eggs. You will be surprised how many frozen pie crusts contain neither!

1 9″ frozen pie crust
1 lb extra firm tofu, pressed
1/2 cup raw cashew nuts
2 T nutritional yeast
1 T olive oil
1 vegan beef bouillon cube (I prefer Edwards and Sons not-beef)
1 onion, chopped
5 slices fakin bacon
1 t salt
1/2 t onion powder
1/3 cup vegan cheddar shreds, such as Daiya

Preheat oven to 425.

Press the tofu in a tofu press, or place it on a plate with another plate on top and some heavy objects, such as books or heavy pots, on top of that. Leave for about 20 minutes and the liquid will be released.

In the meantime, lightly grease a small pan and brown the fakin bacon on both sides over medium high heat. Remove from pan and cut into small pieces. Set aside.

Place the cashews, tofu and nutritional yeast in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Pour into a large bowl and set aside.

Add olive oil to a large pan over medium high heat. Saute onion until translucent, about 5 minutes.

Add the bouillon, salt and onion powder to the onion and mix to combine well.

Add the onion mix to the large bowl with the tofu mix. Add the bacon and the cheese and combine well.

Pour into frozen crust.

Bake 10 minutes, then lower oven to 375 and bake 30 minutes more.

Serve warm.

Crunchy Jicama Slaw

I love jicama, also known as the jicama Mexican yam, or the Mexican turnip. It has a subtle taste that is reminiscent of both an apple and a potato. It is so crispy and refreshing and loaded with vitamin C. My only issue with jicama is that it does not have an amazing color, but that is no problem. I just paired it with orange, purple and green veggies for a delicious salad that is pleasing to the eye and full of nutrition. I love knowing that I am eating the colors of the rainbow, with some jicama thrown in!

Just peel the jicama and shred for this salad. You can even just bite into it like an apple!

1 1/2 c shredded carrot
1 1/2 c shredded purple cabbage
1 1/2 c shredded jicama
1 1/2 c shredded kale

For the dressing:

2 T soy sauce
1 T olive oil
1 T lemon juice
2 T walnuts
2 t agave nectar
1 t sesame oil

I use my food processor with a shredding blade, but if you don’t have one, you can certainly shred the carrots, cabbage and jicama with a hand grater. The kale, however, you will have to finely chop.

Place carrot, cabbage, jicama and kale in a large bowl.

Please click on this photo to enlarge it so
you can see how beautiful the colors are!

Combine the dressing ingredients in a blender or food processor and pour over the vegetables. Mix well. Note – you may prefer not to use all of the dressing. I like it a bit dry, but some people prefer it with more dressing.

If you do not have a blender, or want to take a shortcut, omit the walnuts and just mix the remaining sauce ingredients by hand. While the walnuts add texture and a bit of creaminess and protein, the sauce will still taste great without them.

Best Ever Vegan Fudge

Don’t you just love fudge? And who wouldn’t love fudge with chocolate, peanut butter, butterscotch and marshmallow? The result is a perfect blend of all those yummy flavors. It is creamy and delicious and so simple to make! I made it a lot when my kids were younger but I stopped making it once we became vegan because I couldn’t find vegan butterscotch chips. Until now, that is! YAY! I found vegan butterscotch chips (click here), ran home to make this fudge, tweaked it a little bit and it is perfection; even better than I remember! Before making it, I will always have to make sure I have the butterscotch chips and the vegan marshmallows on hand, because both can be hard to find in stores and may need to be ordered online, but this fudge is so well worth any extra effort that I will still be making it often. And just so you know, if you use regular marshmallows, they contain gelatin, which is made by boiling bones, skin, connective tissue and organs of various animals such as cows, pigs, lambs and horses. Infinitely better to prepare in advance and get one of these vegan brands (Dandies or Sweet & Sara) at a specialty store or online. Enjoy!

12 oz vegan chocolate chips
1 c peanut butter
1 T vegan butter
1 c vegan butterscotch chips
8 oz vegan mini marshmallows
1/4 t salt
1/4 t vanilla

Lightly oil an 8×8” pan, then line with a large piece of plastic wrap so that the piece drapes well over the sides of the pan.

In a medium size pan, melt the chocolate, peanut butter, “butter,” butterscotch and salt over medium heat, stirring until smooth.

Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and marshmallows. Cover by folding over the plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 3 hours.

Remove plastic and cut into whatever size pieces you like.

Potato Cakes with Lentil “Caviar”

I recently came across black lentils for the first time and knew I had to come up with a really special way to use them. What I created far exceeded my expectations! The potato cakes are so crispy and delicious and the lentils, while they obviously don’t have the squishy texture of caviar (which I never really cared for anyway), they do have a seafood taste. By cooking them in kombu and shitake broth, the fish flavor is subtle, yet perfect. This recipe makes a very large amount of both the caviar and the potato cakes, so please reduce it unless you are making it for a party as I was. And just so you know – they will disappear very, very fast, so you might want to make more than you think you need! I used fresh dill, chives and lemon zest to garnish them, but I bet they would also be wonderful with fresh cilantro, rosemary, orange zest, fried sage leaves, or whatever you have on hand. They are just so darn good they will always taste great!

For the lentil “caviar”

1 c black lentils
1 oz dried shitakes
12” piece kombu
1/2 t salt
2 T dulse flakes

Separately soak the shitakes in 2 c warm water and the kombu in 4 c warm water, for 30 minutes.

In a medium saucepan, place the lentils, salt, dulse, and the shitakes and kombu, with 2 cups of the soaking liquid from each.

Bring to a gentle boil, then turn heat to low, and with lid open a little bit, simmer for 25 minutes, or until tender. Remove kombu and shitakes and then drain lentils.

For the potato cakes (latkes) – makes about 75 bite size

6 large russet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1 large onion, cut into chunks
2/3 c quick cooking oats
3/4 c plain bread crumbs
1 T salt
1 t onion powder
canola or safflower oil for frying

In a glass bowl, combine oats with 1 1/3 c water and microwave on high for a minute and a half. Set aside.

Grate potatoes and onion together (onion will help potatoes from turning brown) in a food processor or by hand.

In a large bowl, combine grated potatoes and onion with bread crumbs, salt, onion powder and oatmeal.

Heat oil in pan over medium high heat. Form mix into small circles and cook in oil until browned on both sides, about 3 minutes per side.

If the mix gets too liquidy, you can add more bread crumbs as you go along.

For the cream

8 oz tofutti better than sour cream, or other vegan sour cream
1/4 c chopped chives

To serve – place a teaspoon of cream on each cake and place a teaspoon of caviar over the cream. Garnish with your choice of chopped dill, lemon zest, chives, parsley, cilantro, fried sage, orange zest – just about anything you like!