Curried Couscous Salad with Dried Cranberries

This delicious recipe was sampled at the E-town Potluck on Dec. 28, 2007 and contributed by Bonnie Young

1 (5.8-ounce) box instant couscous
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 orange, juiced
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves

1/2 lemon, juiced
Lots of freshly ground pepper

Heat the curry powder in a dry skillet before using. Then stir the couscous, cranberries, curry powder, and salt together in a heatproof bowl. Bring water (amount will be listed on package directions) to a boil and pour it over the couscous. Add the orange juice. Give it a big stir, cover the bowl tightly and let it stand, giving it a big stir once or twice, until the water is absorbed and the couscous is tender, about 5 minutes.

Fluff up the couscous with a fork. Add the olive oil, scallions, parsley, lemon juice and pepper. Stir until everything is distributed evenly throughout the couscous. Make this up to 2 hours ahead of time and keep at room temperature until you're ready to serve, or you can refrigerate this and serve the next day.

CACAO BLISS

Chocolate Cream Pie
by Beverly Lynn Bennett
from the Jan-Feb 2008 Issue of VegNews

This creamy, decadent, no-bake pie can be whipped up in less then 30 minutes. Cacao nibs provide a rich, chocolate flavor to the raw crust and an extra boost of chocolate flavor to the puddling-like pie filling, which can hold its own against any tofu base chocolate mousse.

Make one 9" pie.

Crust:
1/3 cup cacao nibs
1 cup pecans
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of salt
1 cup medjool dates, pitted
2 to 4 tablespoons of water (as needed)

Filling:
3/4 cup unbleached cane sugar
6 tablespoons cocoa powder
6 tablespoons corn starch
3 cups soymilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup cacao nibs

Garnishes: sliced bananas or berries, cacao nibs, shredded coconut, chopped nuts or dairy-free whipped cream

1. Prepare the crust, process cacao nibs in a food processor for 1 minute or until finely ground. Add pecans, cinnamon, and salt, and process for 1 to 2 minutes or until finely ground. Add dates and continue to process, adding water as needed, until mixtures comes together to form a ball.
2. Using your hands, evenly press mixture over the bottom and up the sides of a 9" glass pie pan to form the crust. Chill in the refrigerator.
3. to prepare filling, place sugar, cocoa powder, corn starch and salt in a medium sauce pan and whisk until free of lumps. Whisk in soy milk and place over medium heat. Cook while whisking constantly for 5 minutes or until mixture is very thick. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Transfer mixture to a glass bowl and place in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
4. Once mixture is chilled, stir in cacao nibs. Spoon filling into pie crust, smooth top, and chill for at least 2 hours, Decorate with desired garnishes.

Filling variations: For ultra-rich filling use chocolate soymilk instead of plain vanilla. For mint-chocolate pie, add 1/4 teaspoon mint extract to the filling. For a chocolate-peanut butter pie, add 1/3 cup peanut butter to the filling. For added flavor and visual appeal, place 1 cup sliced strawberries, bananas, raspberries, or cherries on top of the chilled crust before spooning in the filling. For a quick and easy version, the recipe can be made with a prepared graham cracker crust.

Sunflower Raisin Cookie Recipe

By Dr. Ben Kim on January 28, 2006 Healthy Desserts

Ingredients:

3 cups raw sunflower seeds (soaked in water overnight, drained)
10 pitted dates (soaked for 1 hour, drained)
1 cup chopped dried apricots (soaked for 1 hour, drained)
1 cup raisins (soaked for 1 hour, drained)
1 cup almond butter
1 tablespoon vanilla (optional)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

Directions:

Blend all ingredients in food processor to a nutty consistency. Roll into small balls and flatten out to about 1/4 inch thickness. Cover and refrigerate for one hour before serving.

From the Fall 2001 edition of Health Science magazine.

Marvelous Macaroons

This recipe is from an awesome vegan restaurant in Victoria, BC,

called Green Cuisine.

2 cups coconut (roast for 4 minutes)

2 cups grated carrot

1 cup brown rice (ground into flour) or

1 1/2 cups brown rice flour already ground

1/4 cup oil of your choice

1 cup brown rice syrup

1/4 cup orange juice

1 tsp vanilla

Zest from 1/2 an orange (zest = grated peel)

Mix all ingredients together. Place a sheet of baking

paper on a cookie sheet. Use an ice cream scoop to scoop

them with. Try to make sure that any pieces of grated

carrot are tucked under the macaroons. Bake at 400 F for

20 minutes.

*To do some plain and some chocolate, make up regular

recipe and scoop out 6 plain macaroons and then stir 1/2 cup of

carob chips into the remaining mix.

Chicago Diner Burger

This recipe is from the December 2007 issue of the Dr. John McDougall newsletter

Vegetarian burgers made without soy, tofu or beans are hard to find, so when I found this recipe online I had to try it immediately. The recipe also included a very high fat dressing (Red Pepper Aioli) to serve over the burger, which was modified into a much lower fat version. The sauce makes the burger very special so give it a try! These were a hit with all of my family members, although some of them preferred the burger with more traditional burger toppings.

Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Chilling Time: 1 hour
Cooking Time: 45 minutes
Servings: makes 14-15 burgers

4 cups water
1 onion, finely chopped
3 stalks celery, finely chopped
¼ cup soy sauce
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 cups rolled oats (not quick cooking)
12 ounce mushrooms, finely chopped
½ cup white whole wheat flour

Place the water in a large pot with the onion, celery, soy sauce, onion powder and garlic powder. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in oats, mushrooms and flour and cook 5 minutes longer. Transfer to a bowl and chill for at least 1 hour, preferably longer.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil baking sheets (see hints below). Shape mixture into burger sized patties and place on baking sheets. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes (see hints below). Carefully flip over and bake 10 more minutes.

Before serving:
Place baked patties on a non-stick griddle and grill for about 7 minutes on each side, until browned. Serve on buns with Red Pepper Aioli (recipe follows).

Hints: There are quite fragile until after they are baked, so use extra care when flipping them for the first time. I found it worked best if I let them rest out of the oven for at least 5 minutes before trying to loosen them from the pans. I used non-stick baking sheets, but I still had to lightly oil them before using. To lightly oil my pans, I use a very small amount of cold pressed vegetable oil on a paper towel, and then rub that over the pan. Silicone baking pads that fit into the bottom of your baking pans also work well for this recipe.

Red Pepper Aioli

Use this as a topping for the Chicago Diner Burgers, as a dip for raw veggies, or as a spread for crackers or bread.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Chilling Time: 1 hour or longer
Servings: makes 2 cups

1 12.3 ounce package soft silken tofu
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
dash salt
½ cup jarred roasted red peppers

Place the tofu in a food processor and process until fairly smooth. Add remaining ingredients and process until very smooth (this may take several minutes). Refrigerate at least 1 hour for flavors to blend.

Vegan Chocolate Cake

This recipe was adapted from a recipe in the Compassion Over Killing Easy Vegan Recipes booklet

2 1/4" cups flour (can use whole wheat flour)
4 1/2 tablespoons coca powder
1 1/2 cups sugar (can easy be halved, use vegan versions and alternatives, Turbinado, etc.)
1/2 cup vegetable oil (to make low fat replace all oil with applesauce or equivalent)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons vinegar (can use apple cider vinegar)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups cold water

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Combine and mix dry ingredients until blended well. Add the wet ingredients and stir quickly. Once smooth, pour batter into a lightly-oiled 9 x 13 baking dish or pan. Bake for 25 or 30 minutes. (Note: As each oven is different, after 20 minutes, check the cake by inserting a tooth pick into it. If it comes out clean, it's done.)
3. Let the cake cool completely before frosting with icing of your choice.

Peanut Butter Frosting

12 oz firm silken tofu
3/4 cup peanut butter (smooth or crunchy, doesn't matter)
1/3 cup brown rice syrup

Put everything in a blender and process until smooth, stopping occasionally to scrap down the sides until everything is mixed. Make sure the cake is cool before applying icing. Refrigerate leftover cake.

Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Topping

Note: This isn't a fat-free recipe, though it does have less fat than other recipes of its kind.

4 large or 6 medium sweet potatoes, cooked (I used a pressure cooker) and peeled
2 tablespoons margarine
1/4 cup soy creamer or soymilk
1/4 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup or brown rice syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Topping:
1/4 cup margarine
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup unbleached white flour
3/4 cups chopped pecans
2 tablespoons maple syrup

Preheat the oven to 350 F and spray a 2 quart casserole dish with non-stick spray (or wipe with canola oil). (This can also be done in a crock. Cook on low until warm through.)

Mash the sweet potatoes with the margarine until smooth. Add the soy creamer, orange juice, vanilla, sugar, maple syrup, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. Pour into prepared casserole dish.

Mix the topping ingredients together until well-combined. Spread or sprinkle over the casserole and bake for 45 minutes or until hot throughout.

Cranberry-Sweet Potato Cookies

Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup maple syrup, brown rice syrup, or agave nectar
- 1/2 cup softened butter substitute (like Earth Balance) or coconut oil ( can substitute all or a portion of the oil with applesauce)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Ener-G egg replacer equivalent to 1 egg
- 1 cup mashed cooked sweet potato
- 1 3/4 cups whole wheat, barley, or brown rice flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 3/4 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Preheat oven to 375°F. Beat together sweetener and butter substitute or coconut oil until smooth. Add vanilla, egg replacer, and cooked sweet potato and beat well. In separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and pumpkin pie spice. Stir flour mixture into liquid ingredients. Fold in dried cranberries and nuts. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto unoiled cookie sheets. Bake about 10 minutes, or until bottoms are golden. Cool on wire rack.

Makes about 3 dozen

Note: If you don't have pumpkin pie spice, use 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon cardamom, and 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg.

Baked Pineapple

1 can 20 oz crushed pineapple in its own juice, undrained
2 Tbsps flour
1/4 cup sugar (if using pineapple in heavy syrup, this may be reduced or eliminated)
Ener-G egg replacer equivalent to 3 eggs
3 slices bread, cubed
1 Tbsp sugar and 1 Tbsp cinnamon mixed
3 Tbsp Earth Balance or equivalent

Light grease pan. Mix pineapple, flour, sugar and egg replacer. Pour into pan. Place bread cubes on top. Melt Earth Balance and pour over bread, Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar bake at 350 degrees - 45 minutes.

Can also be baked in a crock pot - Spray crock pot with non-stick cooking spray input ingredients as described above and cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 8 hours.

Tofu Rice Pudding

This recipe is originally from a potluck that the Lancaster Vegetarian Society had in February of 2006 and is also the recipe that we supplied to the Symposium to make for our meal on Dec 1, 2007. It's very easy and a great way use leftover rice.

2 T soy milk
1 pkg silken tofu
¼ raw sugar
2 c cooked brown rice
½ tsp cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla
1/3 c raisins

Blend milk and tofu until smooth in blender. Transfer to bowl and add remaining ingredients. Mix well. Chill several hours to blend flavors.