Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

These no-bake chocolate peanut butter cookies have become my new favorite vegan cookie.  They are quick and simple to make, and so delicious.
Enjoy!

Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
Makes 1 dozen

Ingredients:

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup coconut oil, measured in solid state
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup quick-cooking oats
1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

Instructions:

1. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper, set aside.
2. Combine peanut butter, maple syrup, salt, and coconut oil in a saucepan and heat, stirring continuously, until melted and well-combined.
3. Stir in vanilla and cocoa powder.
4. Add quick-cooking oats and mix well.  Turn off heat.
5. Add shredded coconut, and stir until combined.
6. Drop cookie-size portions onto prepared baking sheet.
7. Let cool in refrigerator or freezer until hardened.
8. Always serve and keep cold.  These cookies contain coconut oil, which will melt at room temperature.
9. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator or freezer.

Vegan Broccoli and Wild Rice Casserole

Happy Fall Y'all!

I had planned to post more often this Fall, but it's been a busy one; including visiting our beautiful new granddaughter in September.

She is so sweet, and we are so thankful!

 Things have settled down for now, so I bring you this creamy vegan casserole recipe that is a satisfying meal served all by itself; or a delicious side dish.
 The French fried onion topping gives it a traditional Green Bean Casserole kind of vibe, so it would be a perfect vegan dish to serve at Thanksgiving or Christmas.

My husband and I are looking forward to our first vegan Thanksgiving dinner at the ChocolaTree Restaurant in beautiful Sedona, Arizona.  This will be the first year in many, that I haven't cooked a traditional Thanksgiving dinner!  Also, I've added the Happy Cow vegan restaurant guide link to my sidebar.  This is a very helpful website for Vegan travellers.

Wishing you and yours a very happy and peaceful Thanksgiving,
Kim


Vegan Broccoli and Wild Rice Casserole
Serves 6

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked wild & long grain rice blend
2 cups frozen broccoli florets, par-cooked
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup yellow onion, diced
1 medium carrot, peeled and finely diced
8 oz. white mushrooms, de-stemmed and sliced
2 Tbsp flour
2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 cup French fried onions

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Pre-cook the wild rice blend and broccoli, set aside.
3. In a large saucepan, cook onions and carrots in oil until tender.
4. Add mushrooms to the sauteed vegetables, then sprinkle with flour, and cook for about a minute.
5. Add broth, and bring to a boil.
6. Add the cooked rice and almond milk to the mixture, stirring to combine.  Cook until it thickens, then season with salt and pepper.
7. Pour into baking dish, then press individual broccoli crowns on top.
8. Top with French fried onions.
9. Bake for 25 minutes, until golden and bubbly.  Allow to cool for 10 minutes.  It will continue to set as it cools.

Maple Candied Walnuts

I just couldn't let this beautiful summer go by without sharing at least one new recipe on my blog.
So today's recipe is a simple maple candied walnut recipe that is my favorite flavor combination; salty and sweet!  They're delicious sprinkled on a salad, and make a great little snack too.
Enjoy!

Maple Candied Walnuts

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups walnuts
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt

Instructions:

1. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. Preheat a non-stick pan over medium heat.  This step will help caramelize the walnuts properly.
3. Add walnuts, maple syrup, vanilla, and salt to the pan.
4. Stir constantly for about 5 minutes, until walnuts are carmelized.  There should be no liquid left in the pan.
5. Spoon walnuts evenly onto parchment-lined pan.  The caramelized syrup will harden as it cools.  Sprinkle with more salt, to taste.
6. Let cool for 2 hours before placing in an airtight container.

An Ordered Plan of Love

Honeysuckle climbing our porch.

I read the passage below by author Caryll Houselander many years ago when I was a young mother, and thought it was the most beautiful and inspirational message that I had ever read.  Although I fell short of the mark many days, I always strived for this lovely ideal with my own children.
Enjoy!

~~~

To a young child home stands for God.  In it he learns to see and touch the gifts of God.  If his mother is wise she will make his home beautiful.  She will copy the world's Creator and make a tiny new Eden.  She will bring in flowers and give the child animals and feed the birds.  The food on the table will be clean and simple and good.  It will not only taste nice, it will look nice . . .

It is in his home that the child should assimilate the Sermon on the Mount, not as if it were being drilled in his brain by words, but as if he were breathing it in his whole being like the air . . .

The ordering of time, which seems so simple, really requires great skill and energy from the mother.  It has tremendous importance, above all if it is related (as it obviously should be) to the rhythm of day and night and is interwoven with prayer.

The child should wake to the singing of birds (and they sing in the cities as well as in the woods).  Give his heart to God, when light is young, play for long hours when the world is awake and lively.  He should form habits of regular hunger and thirst, so that food and hunger come together, and his grace is a real thanking.  With twilight there should come stillness in the house, and he should be lit to bed by the stars.

From such ordering of time he will learn unconsciously, though it may be years before he thinks this out, that he is not part of that chaos that man has made of this world, with its fearful abuse of time, but part of an ordered plan of love.

~ Caryll Houselander

First Grandchild

Something of God comes into our world

 with every child that is born.

There is here with the newborn child

a divine spark, a light within . . .

~ Rufus Jones, Quaker Author

I am so very happy to share that our eldest son and daughter-in-law welcomed their first child into the world yesterday - a precious and healthy baby girl!  She is such a beautiful blessing to our family.

Broiled Asparagus

Harvested in the spring, fresh asparagus, broiled, is a delicious springtime side dish.  So simple and quick to make too.
Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 lb. fresh asparagus

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper

Instructions:

1. Trim tough ends of asparagus.
2. Place asparagus in a single layer on baking sheet.
3. Drizzle with olive oil, then toss to coat.
4. Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper.
5. Place baking sheet on middle rack under broiler and broil asparagus for 6-8 minutes, turning asparagus over half-way through cooking, until slightly browned.
6. Remove from oven and enjoy.

Ginger Tofu with Broccoli

Ginger Tofu with Broccoli has become my new favorite vegan entree.  The Asian-inspired ginger sauce combined with the pan-fried crispy tofu and broccoli is so delicious, that it's on my dinner menu every week.
  Served with rice, this recipe serves three.
Enjoy!

Ginger Tofu with Broccoli

Ingredients:

Sauce:

1/4 cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 Tbsp minced fresh ginger
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp sesame seeds
1 Tbsp cornstarch

Stir Fry:

14 oz block extra-firm tofu
Pinch of salt
2 Tbsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp neutral and high-heat oil (I use avocado)
10 oz bag frozen broccoli florets
3 green onions, sliced
3-4 cups cooked brown rice

Instructions:

1. Place a paper towel on a plate.  Remove tofu from package and place on paper towel.  Place another paper towel on tofu.  Cover tofu with a second plate.  This will press the excess water from the tofu.  Press the tofu for at least one hour in the refrigerator.
2. While the tofu is pressing, prepare the sauce.  In a small bowl combine soy sauce, water, sesame oil, brown sugar, rice vinegar, ginger, garlic, sesame seeds, and cornstarch.  Stir until the brown sugar and cornstarch are dissolved, then set aside.
3.  Cut the pressed tofu into 1-inch cubes, then season with pinch of salt.  Sprinkle cornstarch over cubes, then toss to coat.
4. Heat a large skillet over medium heat, and add oil.  Add the dusted tofu cubes and cook, stirring when necessary, until the cubes are golden brown on at least two sides.  Then remove cooked tofu to a clean plate.
5. Add the frozen broccoli to the hot skillet and stir fry until slightly browned on edges.
6. Stir the sauce, then pour it into the skillet with the broccoli.  Stir and cook until the sauce begins to bubble and thicken.  Once thickened, turn off the heat and stir in the cooked tofu cubes.
7. Serve the tofu and broccoli over a bed of hot cooked rice.  Top with sliced green onions.

Vegan in 2019

 I made the switch to a 100% plant-based vegan diet (not consuming any meat, eggs, or dairy foods), on January 1st, 2019.
 I've been leaning toward a vegan diet for several years now; but watching documentary films such as Forks Over Knives and Cowspiracy; and reading How to Go Vegan and The Kind Diet late last year, really inspired me to renew my commitment to a more healthy and compassionate diet and lifestyle.

I plan to keep all my non-vegan recipes on my blog.  They are favorite recipes that I still prepare for my family and friends.  I will also add a Vegan label to my sidebar for new vegan recipes, and for a few of my older recipes that are vegan; such as Broccoli Noodles with Peanut Sauce and Spicy Hummus.

  I've been experimenting with many vegan recipes since the first of the year, and will have some delicious recipes to share with you soon!