Weekend Snacks

This really isn't a recipe entry, but rather a way to make an entire meal, getting all your food groups in, from snacks, that don't include animal products.

Baked potato chips! They have a lot less fat, taste great...and are vegan...also counts as a starch!

Chips and Salsa! Again vegan, and salsa, if home-made especially, is a healthy serving of veggies.

Veggies of all kinds, baby carrots, sliced peppers, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc. All are great sliced, and raw veggies are best for nutrition. Instead of the non-vegan "ranch" dip (loaded with fat by the way) try a bottle of honey-mustard dressing as dip! It's awesome!

Oh nuts - all kinds of nuts. Great source of protein without eating dead muscle.

Breads...many breads are vegan, and I just love bread!

Fruits...cut up melon, serve berries, cherries, all you can. Many melons and berries are great anti-oxidants and water melon is a natural diuretic...for those of you who tend to hold water.

So there you go...stock up on healthy vegan snack...people LOVE them, and don't even realize they're "going vegan"!

Dessert Time!

OK, we've cover most of the basics, so before we start getting a little more complicated, lets move on to a dessert to round out your entire vegan meal menu.

Desserts can be tricky, mostly because of milk, butter and eggs, but...there is a great cobbler that people I know love and it serves great with dairy-free soy ice cream! YUM!

First, pick a fruit, almost any fruit...apples, peaches, mango, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, etc.

If using large fruits (apples for example) peel and cut into bite size chunks. If using a tart fruit as blueberries or apples, you may want to sprinkle them with sugar after cutting and make sure they're evenly coated.

Place the fruit in a 9 x 12 pan, and set aside.

In large mixing bowl add:

1-cup all purpose flour
1-teaspoon baking powder
1/2-cup sugar
1/2-cup dark brown sugar
1-cup quick oats
1-teaspoon cinnamon

Mix dry ingredients until they are well blended.

Slowly add 1 cup of soy milk as you stir, until you have the consistency of cake batter. If you need a little more or little less milk, that's OK. Add in 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract (pure is best) and stir a little more.

Once mixed, evenly pour over fruit in baking pan. Sprinkle appx. 1/4 cup of dark brown sugar evenly over the top.

Place in 350 degree oven and bake for approximately 30 minutes or until top is golden and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the cake part.

Pull out of the oven, let cool for 5 to 10 minutes then serve topped with soy ice cream.

DELISH!

Sticking with Italian

Another great vegan dish, way easy to make is lasagna.

For a favorite that even meat eaters will love....

Here's all you need:

One pound box lasagna noodles (cook as directed).
Two jars of your favorite meat and cheese free spaghetti sauce.
1 Package Tofurkey Italian sausages - cut into small chunks.
1 package vegan pepperoni.
2 pounds shredded vegan cheese.
1 pound package of vegan cream or ricotta cheese (softened).

Simply start with a 9 x 12 baking pan
Layer noodles, cream cheese, sauce, meat substitute, cheese and repeat until pan is full.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, let cool, serve.
You can top with vegan Parmesan if you want.

Options:

Leave cheese completely out. Noodles, sauce and meet are great on their own.
If you don't want to use "meat", chop veggies and use instead...or simply add veggies to ingredients.

Summer and Zucchini squash are great. You can also try fresh spinach, tomatoes, eggplant, or really any veggie you really like.

Trust me...it's always a hit!

A Simple Entree

When it comes to planning one of your first completely vegan meals, one that is easy, quick, and really hard to mess up is spaghetti. Many sauces you can buy at your grocery are vegan, even though they don't say it on the label, just read the ingredients. People won't know you're providing a vegan meal, unless you tell them.

This is a great chance to serve a great salad as a starter. You can also serve bread, and if you find them at your grocery, there are some great 'meatless' vegan meatballs. Or you can add vegan sausage, or even crumble vegan Boca Burgers into the sauce while warming. The sauce will disguise the "meatless meat" and seriously, no one will ever know. A great 'break in' meal!

Serve with your favorite wine...it's sure to be a hit.

If you can find it, add some vegan Parmesan cheese. Again, it's sure to be a hit!

Remember, if you're trying out vegan dishes on non-vegans. Throw away the containers and boxes before your guest arrive.

Sides

One of the most important decisions to make for a great presentation is the side dish or dishes you choose.

Typically one or two are fine, but you want to make sure the color is something that isn't on the plate, and try not to duplicate starch.

For example, if you're serving a pasta dish, don't serve potatoes. Not only will these lead to a bland appearance, but texture and color are too similar as well.

Pick colorful veggies (summer squash, carrots, green, red and yellow red peppers, etc.

One way to add color to your plate is to use carrots. Not too many foods are orange, and if you have access to them, you can also buy red, white, purple and yellow carrots. Each color has a different flavor, or actually a variation in sweetness. Regardless of which you use, they all are flavorful and add beautiful color!

Carrots are easy to cook and with most root veggies, you can vary the recipe greatly.

One favorite is a simple dill sauce.

Add 1 cup carrots, peeled and sliced, or pre-washed baby, and a small amount (2-3 tablespoons of vegan margarine to medium sauce pan. You don't need to add water to carrots. If you cook them in a covered dish on low to medium heat, then they produce their own water. Heat on low until water forms in pan, add 1 teaspoon dried crushed dill, stir gently, and simmer until desired softness is obtained.

Some like their carrots with a bit more crunch, so that requires less time.

You typically don't need to add salt, as the margarine does that for you.

Another easy variation is to add a bit of brown sugar instead of dill. About 1 tablespoon per cup of carrots, and again, on low to medium heat.

The margarine and brown sugar make a wonderful sweet glaze.

Wilted Lettuce

I grew up in a family where both parents were from the South, and because of that, I've always had a particular liking for soul food. Collard greens, black-eyed peas, cornbread, fried squash (which I'll get to all those recipes soon), but one dish from the South that I never thought I'd have after becoming vegan was wilted lettuce, or wilted salad. Mostly because the way Grandma and Mother made it was with bacon, and yes, the bacon grease.

Well, here's a recipe that will have your guest licking the plate!

INGREDIENTS

* 1/2 cup olive oil
* 3 tablespoons white sugar
* 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
* 1 teaspoon dried thyme
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 8 Roma (plum) tomatoes, halved lengthwise
* 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
* 2 tablespoons brown sugar
* 1 3/4 cups olive oil
* 4 romaine hearts
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* salt and pepper to taste


DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 225 degrees F (110 degrees C). Mix olive oil, white sugar, rosemary, thyme, salt, and pepper in a large resealable plastic bag. Place tomatoes in the bag, seal, and shake to coat. Arrange coated tomato halves cut side up on a baking sheet. Bake tomatoes 2 1/2 hours in the preheated oven. Remove from heat, and let cool.

2. In a blender or food processor, finely chop the shallots. Add vinegar and brown sugar, and process until smooth. Slowly add 1 3/4 cups oil, processing frequently, so as to thicken the mixture.

3. Preheat grill for high heat. Brush romaine hearts with 1 tablespoon olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.

4. Place romaine hearts on the preheated grill. Cook 5 to 10 minutes, turning frequently, until slightly charred but not heated all the way through. Serve warm on salad plates surrounded by tomato pieces and drizzled with the dressing.

Continuing with Appetizers

Here's another great vegan appetizer guaranteed to please everyone...even the meat eater.

1 can vegetarian chili (Try Amy's or Hormel brand vegetarian chili)
1 container Tofutti cream cheese

Preparation:
Open can of chili and cream cheese and empty both into large microwave safe bowl and mix with whisk until smooth in consistency. Heat in microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring after each 30 second period, until dip is heated evenly (between 2-3 minutes) or serve at room temp with tortilla chips.

This is a quick easy favorite everyone loves!

More Appetizers!

Again, appetizers are a great way to introduce family, friends,guest and yourself to vegan dishes without being to blatantly pushy about it.

Another great, and very easy app are pinwheels.

Start with large flour tortillas. You can use either plain, spinach, wheat, tomato or a combination for color variation. Remember, color always makes food more desirable and add to the flavor. You want to make it look great. Presentation is key!

Next, find dairy free vegan cream cheese substitute. Tofutti brand is great. Taste great, and I've served it to many non-vegans without question. Let the cream cheese substitute sit out at room temperature for about 20 minutes prior to using to assure ease in spreading.

Pic up some vegan lunch meet. Deli style ham, turkey, or salami substitutes are usually available in the produce section of your local grocer. If you can't find it, you can always substitute the vegan meat replacement with thinly sliced vegetables of choice, chopped walnuts or both.

Next, take one bunch of scallions (small green onions), wash, cut the tips off and slice thin or chop fine.

With spatula or blunt knife, spread cream cheese substitute over one side of soft tortilla covering completely.

Add meat replacement (or other ingredients) in thin layers, completely covering cream cheese other than leaving one half of the edge, about 1/4 inch exposed. Add chopped scallions, arranging them as you would toppings on a pizza.

Start rolling towards edge where creams cheese substitute is exposed, keeping the roll nice and tight as you go. Go slow to make sure the tortilla rolls up as tight as possible without tearing the shell.

The exposed edge will adhere to the outside of the shell once rolled up complete allowing it to stay rolled up.

With sharp knife, start at one end of the roll and cut into 1/2 inch pieces. Set the pieces on serving place, exposing the sliced side, wrap with cellophane or cover and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.

You're ready to serve a great looking, great tasting vegan appetizer.

Step Two - An Appetizer

Today I'm going cover a appetizer that is easy, vegan, and great to serve if your menu is tapas or even to take on a picnic. It's also a great tasting healthy snacks for anytime you want that little something to eat.

Appetizers are great for those of you who are either easing yourself into becoming a vegan, or you are a vegan who is continually cooking for someone else who's not.

If you are cooking for someone else who is not vegan, and they are skeptical of your cooking because of it, keep in mind that for some reason, when it's an "appetizer", meat eaters don't seem to mind they're vegan. I'm sure they know there's no animal product used, but if you don't call it vegan, and just refer to them as appetizers, they really don't seem to mind as much. I'm not promoting lying or deception by any means; I just think sometimes things are better left unsaid. After a few rounds, and a liking of the appetizer by the meat eater is proven, then you can mention the word...softly. Unfortunately, some people have to be broken in slowly. I speak from experience.

Let’s start with a great vegan favorite, Bruschetta. It’s really easy to find bread at any store that is vegan. Get used to reading the ingredients on things you buy. You should always know what you’re putting into your body. I’ll get to the nutritional part later, as I want to concentrate on the basics for now, but one great big plus of vegan eating is if done right, it has a great positive impact on your health. I know I feel better, maintain a better since of balance, and also maintain a very healthy weight, which hasn’t always been the case.

OK, since I started, I will tell you, I haven’t always had issues with my weight, but just prior to becoming vegan, I had a discectomy in my lower back. After surgery, I gained 45 pounds. It was a combination between the prescribed steroids, the painkillers slowing my metabolism, being forced into poor eating habits (pizza, and lots of it), as it was difficult to cook for weeks after the operation, and a required sedentary lifestyle. Regardless of the reasons, and yes, some excuses, gaining 50 pounds in a relatively short amount of time brought me to a near depressed state and snowballed into even worse lifestyle choices including binge eating which left me pre-diabetic with boarder-line hypertension. I’m only 5’7” and had never weighed more than 135 pounds. I’m sure you can imagine 50 pounds was a lot!

Out of concern, I started doing some research, and came to believe the healthiest, quick way to loose unwanted weight without a great amount of exercise was to cut animal fat from my diet, so I thought; “Why not? It can’t hurt to try.”

Within six weeks, I had lost about 18 pounds. But then something happened I didn’t understand, and it sure didn’t make me happy. I stopped loosing weight. What I came to learn was that plateaus aren’t uncommon during weight loss. After your initial water weight loss, then some added pounds coming off, your body starts to readjust as neither gaining or losing weight is natural. Your body will resist change and your metabolism will adjust to try to maintain your weight.

If you are losing weight for health, don’t let these plateaus discourage you. Ride them out. They could last weeks, but if you keep increasing your exercise, and keep your calorie and fat count down, then it’s easy math. Basically, if you burn more calories than you take in, you will lose weight, and of course, we all know the opposite.

Thanks to my vegan diet, I lost all 50 pounds and decided to increase my exercise to become even healthier. I didn’t give up, I persevered, and it became a lifestyle. To this day, I still weigh 135 pounds, and for the first time in my life, have so much energy I LOVE the gym. I even became certified as a group fitness instructor and currently teach spinning classes 3 times a week (@ 5:30 am). I also work out on my own, so I get usually no less than 210 minutes of cardio per week. My yearly physical shows that I’m in great health, and I contribute a great deal of that to my diet. I’m no longer worried about diabetes or high blood pressure. Most importantly, as cardio vascular disease is the second biggest killer in the U.S., maintaining a healthy weight through eating right and exercising, will not only typically add quantity, but quality to your life.

Not ready for a gym or have physical limitations? Then exercise when and how you can, build up to make it work for you. Wash your car, do yard work, walk, do push-ups in a chair, whatever you do, make it a lifestyle. Don’t allow yourself to go off your routine. You have to stick to it to make it work.

Now if weight is not an issue for you, then thank you for your patients, and thank you for reading that lecture. One of the reasons I feel it’s important to acknowledge your reason for choosing a vegan diet…if you have a purpose, it will work for you. So in my case, it wasn’t the eating of animal that bothered me, it was the animal I was becoming…an elephant. What’s your purpose?

Anyway, back to Bruschetta. If you decide to make your own bread, follow the easy recipe below, then let the bread stand wrapped in a towel overnight. Slice thin, dab one side into a plate of extra virgin olive oil to completely coat one side of the slice, place under broiler just until edges turn brown. Remove from broiler, let cool, preferably on rack before serving.

Vegan Honey-Wheat Bread:

2 1/2 cups warm water

3 cups whole-wheat flour

2 tablespoon of yeast

1/2-cup honey

1/4-cup vegetable oil

1/4-cup soymilk

3 to 4 cups unbleached white flour

Pinch of salt (optional)

Directions:

In mixer with dough arm, or in bowl by hand, mix water, yeast and 1 tablespoon of the honey together in a large bowl. Pour in the 3 cups of wheat flour and mix well. Cover the bowl with a towel and place in a dry place. Let it sit for a minimum of 20 minutes.

After the dough stands, pour in the rest of the honey, oil, soymilk and salt. Mix together. Begin adding white flour, a 1/2 cup at a time. Once dough begins to firm up, after about the third cup of flour, knead the dough on a floured surface, slowly enough flour to make the dough smooth and elastic, between 5 to 10 minutes.

Cut the dough into two equal parts. Shape them into long rolls about 1-2 inches in diameter, grease two cookie sheets, place dough rolls on greased cookie sheets, cover with a towel and let stand in warm place until the dough doubles in size, between an hour and a hour and a half.

Bake loaves at 350 degrees F for appx 25-35 minutes until golden brown on the outside.

OK, now you’ve baked or bought your bread, sliced, oiled and broiled it and let it cool.

Now you can place it around a plate with a bowl of topping in the middle, or top the slices before serving.

Here’s the topping:

6 Roma tomatoes – diced

One bunch scallions - finely chopped

1-teaspoon garlic powder or two cloves of fresh garlic chopped (feel free to add more or less to suite personal taste)

1-teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

1/4-cup extra virgin olive oil

1-tablespoon basil

1-tablespoon cilantro

1-tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon blacken seasoning (optional)

Mix all ingredients together, put in airtight container and refrigerate over night.

Another serving option is to place topping on bread, top with shredded vegan parmesan cheese and bake at 325 for 10 minutes or until cheese melts.

So there you have it. A great vegan starter that even meat eaters will love, quick, easy, delicious and aesthetically pleasing.

Now that the we have my history out of the way, we'll concentrate more on recipes. But I will, from time to time, explain the various reasons it's important to live good!

Step One - The Salad

OK, for the first step, let's start with the basic salad. This is a great way to offer something unique and complete for a vegan meal, especially in the summer when produce is fresh and abundant.

Now you may be thinking a salad is a salad...you're way wrong.

First are the choice of greens. As you may or may not know, iceberg lettuce is not a very healthy choice. Not that iceberg is unhealthy, it's just there are better varieties that offer greater nutrients.

I would start with either romaine or even a spring mix. You can buy the pre-washed organic, but that usually cost more money and really isn't necessary.

So for the sake of argument, let's start with romaine. Buy a head, or package of 3 and wash it yourself. When I say wash lettuce, you really only need to rinse if off well. Since you're not using meat or dairy in the salad, you don't really have to worry too much about food poisoning from a product gone bad. Rule of thumb with lettuce, if it's brown, or turning brown, don't use it! Buy fresh.

One thing that will make your salad much better and fresher, avoid using a knife when shredding your lettuce. Instead, break the lettuce in to bite size pieces with your hands...again after a good rinsing under cold water.

Next, place the lettuce pieces into a large bowl and add a dozen or so ice cubes to the top. Slowly run cold water directly over the ice cubes until the lettuce is completely submerged. Let the lettuce stand in the ice water for 10 to 20 minutes. This makes the lettuce appear fresher, taste fresher, and gives it a nice crisp texture.

After the lettuce sits in the ice water for the time period mentioned, make sure any remaining ice cubes are removed, drain the water off the lettuce using a colander, strainer or even a lettuce spinner. Line a large bowl with paper towels and carefully place the lettuce into the lined bowl to absorb any excess water.

Now you're ready for other ingredients.

The rest is really up to you. Since people have various taste in vegetables, you can add what you like. Even as a vegan, I hate mushrooms (I don't eat fungus that grows on sh*t) so I never use mushrooms in any of my recipes, but if you like them, knock yourself out.

Now if you're going to make this salad as the opening for a multi-course meal, then remember it's best to keep it simple.

One salad I serve that always gets rave reviews contains the following:

• Choice of greens or lettuce (about 1 cup per serving)
• Toasted pine nuts or walnuts
• Small pieces of peeled grapefruit or mandarin oranges
• When in season, pomegranate
• Chinese noodles or croutons (if using croutons, make sure they don't contain butter)
• Raspberry walnut or citrus vinaigrette.

If you use raspberry walnut, Ken's Steak House brand is great. If you want to try your hand at citrus vinaigrette, follow the recipe at the end of this post. Either is great because they're light, fragrant (food needs to smell good) and the taste are unique enough to give your salad a flavor to remember.

Now, put all the ingredients into a bowl (except Chinese noodles) and add about 1 to 2 tablespoons of dressing per salad. Mix the ingredients with dressing and put on to salad plates or into salad bowls. If using Chinese noodles, add them on top after salad is plated.

Again, if it's a starter course, keep it simple, yet add complimentary and unusual flavors to make that salad something to about. Color is also important. Remember, as with any dish, appearance is half the battle. If it looks good, then chances are people will think it taste good. That's why I love the Mandarin oranges and pomegranate. They provide robust color and great flavor. You can use both, and remember, don't be afraid to substitute. If pomegranate is not in season, try raspberries or blackberries.

A really nice touch is to put your salad plates or bowls in the freezer for at least 30 minutes prior to serving and pull them out just prior to adding salad to plate. I usually put them in overnight. This helps keep the salad fresh to the last bite.

Now, if you're having salad as your meal, then keep in mind you want all your food groups. Proteins, veggies, grains, and fruits (tomato is a fruit). Nuts, especially almonds, walnuts or peanuts along with various beans like garbanzos or chilled, cooked red beans are great sources of protein.

Veggies? Have at it. What ever you like and is fresh...go for it! Try to use a variation of colors. Red, Yellow, Orange, for example, tomatoes, yellow squash and carrots. Just make sure you chop or grate your veggies so they are easy to pick up with a fork and not awkward to chew. Easy to eat food keeps your guests comfortable.

Grains, use non-butter croutons or Chinese noodles.

Again, combine ingredients, add dressing, toss in large bowl and viola! A beautiful and colorful salad as a meal.

If you're up for broadening your taste, try a non-dairy vegan cheese (available at many health food stores or even Whole Foods. Just remember to not use too much. Non-dairy cheese can have a strange taste for those not use to it. It's better to use too little than too much, and remember, if you don't have a store that carries non-dairy cheese in your area, no worries, leave it out...you're going to be fine without it!

There you go, you're on your way. Check back for more coming very soon! I'll be updating daily. Also, feel free to ask questions, make suggestions or submit your own ideas...they're all welcome!

Citrus Vinaigrette:

• Juice of one large navel orange
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 2 tablespoons Balsamic vinegar
• 4 tablespoons light olive or canola oil
• Fresh ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard


Place all ingredients in blender and blend at low speed for about 30 seconds. Shake well before applying to salad. Store in refrigerator. Keeps for several days.

Welcome to Vegan Cooking School

Welcome to Vegan Cooking School. A site dedicated to providing you with great recipes that will please even the meat lover, without the meat, dairy or other animal products.

Eating healthy can be difficult, but after a decade of eating vegan, I have thousands of fool proof recipes and dinning ideas to please the most discriminating palates.

I will also engage you in great entertaining ideas that will "WOW" your guest and keep them talking about your entertainment skills for years to come.

A step by step guide to eating healthy, which is not only a benefit to your long term personal health, but is an ecologically sound choice that impacts the planet on which you live.

Please feel free to leave comments, or ask for advice. This site is for you!