Chickpea Salad Pita or Sandwich

This is an adaptation from two recipes found in Jennifer McCann's Vegan Lunch Box. Nutty and crunchy with lots of possible variations for additional nuts and dried fruits, while packed with protein and flavor.  A great plant based/vegan replacement for a chicken or tuna salad sandwich.

2 cans garbanzo beans - drained, with juices reserved
2 T. nutritional yeast
1 t. sea salt
2 T. coconut milk cream

Combine ingredients in a bowl and gently toss.
Bake on a silpat or parchment lined baking sheet at 425 for 25 minutes, stirring after 15 minutes.

Allow to cool.

1/2 - 3/4 c. reserved chickpea/garbanzo bean juice (commonly called aquafaba and used as egg white replacement)
2 T. toasted sesame seeds
1/2 cup toasted pecans
1/2 cup finely diced onion
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
1-2 T. diced jalapeno
1/2 t. salt (to taste)
1 T. nutritional yeast
1 t. dijon mustard
1/2 t. ground ginger
1-2 t. maple syrup (to taste)
1/8 t. nutmeg
1/4 t. smoked paprika or liquid smoke - to taste
1-2 T. vegan sour cream or plain yogurt


Place reserved bean juices into a bowl and beat with an electric mixer on high until the mixture reaches soft peaks (similar to egg whites). Mix in mustard, ginger, nutmeg, sesame seeds, salt and paprika to taste.

Combine roasted chick peas, pecans, sesame seeds, nutritional yeast and garbanzo bean juice mixture in food processor and process until garbanzos and pecans are coarsely broken.

Place mixture in medium bowl and mix in jalapeno, onion, and cilantro. Add sour cream/yogurt if needed to add moisture then add maple syrup and additional salt - to taste.

Serve in a pita, or as a sandwich with mixed greens, arugula, spinach, kale, avocado, tomato, sprouts etc. with lightly toasted wheat or sour dough bread.

Variations:
Sunflower seeds
Grapes
Dried Cranberries
Raisins
Dried Blueberries
Tart dried cherries
Dill pickles (add a bit of pickle juice to the mixture too)

Grilled Plant Based Pizza

Oh my goodness! In our quest to find a plant based pizza that we actually like, we may have hit pay dirt. It's been a long time since we've had a pizza that we liked. We've tried lots of different recipes, tweaking things here and there, and then....we decided that it would be fun to experiment with making pizza on the grill (which we had heard about, but never actually tried).  Our pizza stone actually broke...so there was something about desperation being the mother of invention going on as well here folks - just keeping it real.

Although there was some trepidation at first, we were so surpised at how much we loved grilled pizza. The best thing about this pizza (other than that it tastes awesome) is that the cooking time is less than 10 minutes max, once it hits the grill, and it doesn't heat up my oven and home in the summertime.
Note however that it takes some advance preparation to allow the dough to rise, and to prepare the tomato sauce, and cheese.  All of these can be made in advance.



Dough: Use THIS recipe, adapted from Plant Pure Nation for the Pizza Dough
Optional Tomato/Marinara Sauce: Use THIS recipe for the tomato/marinara sauce
Cheese: Use THIS recipe from It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken for the nut based vegan mozzarella cheese
Additional Chopped veggies of your choice
Olives, onions, mushrooms, artichokes, basil, peppers, pineapple, spinach, tomatoes....

Speed is of the essence once you begin to cook the pizza so make sure to have everything prepared and ready to go before putting it onto the grill.
When making the Mozarella cheese, do not cook it all of the way. Allow it to begin cooking, but before it gets too gooey, remove it from the heat. 

Prepare the breadstick dough recipe, stopping before step 10.
Prepare the tomato sauce and have it on hand.
Prepare the cheese sauce, slightly undercooked

Preheat grill, with closed cover, until it reaches between 475-600* F.

Once the dough has risen, make sure to cover the parchment paper well with coconut cream.
Place dough onto parchment paper and smooth out into pizza shape, using hands or rolling pin. I prefer the rustic style, since it gets a little mishapen when being placed onto the grill anyway. 

• Carefully slide or flip pizza dough from parchment paper, directly onto the grill. Quickly adjust or arrange as neeeded. 
• Close cover and allow to cook for 2-3 minutes. 
• Make sure that the upward facing side (which will be the bottom) has also been coated with coconut cream, and carefully flip pizza over to the other side. 
• Quickly spread the cheese sauce upon the dough using a spoon or rubber spatula, followed by the optional tomato/marinara sauce. 
• If the tomato sauce is desired, add it on top of the cheese, rather than under it. Also, if left off the pizza at this point, it can be used as an excellent dipping sauce once the pizza is cooked.  
• Quickly add all desired veggies and close lid. 
• Allow to cook for an additional 5-7 minutes, until cooked through. 
• The mozzarella will not look stretchy or melty like animal based mozzarella. 
• Carefully remove from grill, sliding onto a serving plate or pan. 
• Immediately slice and serve. 

Bread Sticks - Plant Based

What started out as a pizza dough recipe, turned into breadsticks that we couldn't leave alone. Crisp and crunchy on the outside, and soft and chewy on the inside - these have been a hit with all of the eaters in our home. 

(Adapted from Plant Pure Nation's Pizza Party). 

Pizza Dough 

(Note - I usually double this recipe)

1 1/2 cups warm water

1 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup

1 tablespoon active dry yeast

1 ¾ teaspoon Bob's Red Mill Egg Replacer (mixed with 1 Tablespoon water)

1 teaspoon sea salt, plus more

3 cups unbleached, white whole wheat flour (you can also use whole wheat flour here too)

1/2 cup cream from coconut milk (refrigerate or lightly freeze coconut milk beforehand so that cream will rise to the top)

Directions:

1. In a mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water and maple syrup. Let stand until frothy.
2. Stir in the egg replacer, flour and salt. Knead for 6-8 minutes, until smooth.  Add more flour as needed if dough is too sticky to knead.
3. Place the dough in a bowl and cover with a damp towl. Set aside in a warm place to rise, until the dough doubles in size, about 1 hour.
4. Punch down the dough and allow to double in size again, about 30 minutes.
5. During the second rise, preheat the oven to 450-500 degrees. Leave your pizza stone in the oven during the preheating. Preheat oven for 45 minutes!!
6. Place coconut cream into a glass dish or ramekin and lightly melt in microwave (10-20 seconds). 
7. Spoon a bit of the coconut cream onto a large piece of parchment paper, and smear around with hands - covering palms in process. 
8. Remove dough from mixing bowl, and pat out into a rectangle with hands. Use additional coconut cream to prevent sticking. 
9. Roll dough out to be  ¼ inch thick. 
10. Using a pizza cutter, cut dough into slices that are 1/2-1 inches wide, and 6-8 inches long. Shape or roll into breadsticks as needed by hand.
11. Place close together, but not touching on silpat, parchment paper, or hot pizza stone. 
12. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until lightly browned. 
13. Remove and immediately brush with the remaining melted coconut cream and lightly sprinkle with coarse sea salt. Optional - Sprinkle with garlic powder for a garlicky breadstick

Serve warm - excellent with this Marinara sauce 

 *Note - this recipe works great for a grilled pizza dough recipe as well.

Amazing Carrot Cake - Oil, Egg, Sugar, & Gluten Free (but it still tastes terrific) Plant Based Cake

It has almost been two years since we started our plant based journey, and in those (almost) two years, I've made and tried some really bad cakes. I had pretty much given up even considering making cakes - even for birthdays, until I came across this recipe from Straightupfoods.com.

As I was making this recipe, I had some confusion reading the recipe and did a couple of things incorrectly. I also added some additional ingredients. Following is my adaptation, which we loved. 

·       3 cups nondairy milk

·       8 ounces pitted dates (14-16 Medjools or 28-32 Deglet Noor), chopped

·       1 very ripe banana

·       1 cup raisins - divided

·       2 teaspoon vanilla extract (or seeds from 1 vanilla bean)

·       3.5 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

·       4 teaspoons cinnamon

·       4 teaspoons baking powder

·       2 teaspoon baking soda

·       2 teaspoons sea salt
      1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

·       1 teaspoon salt

·       1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

·       3 cups grated carrots (4-6 medium)

·       1 cup chopped walnuts

·       ¾ cup unsweetened coconut flakes, plus more for the garnish (lightly toasted if desired)

·       Vanilla Frosting (below)

Heat oven to 350*F.

Place oats in blender, and blend until a fine powder is formed. Pour into a large bowl and set aside.

Place milk, dates, banana, raisins and vanilla in blender and blend until smooth. (Soak for 15-20 minutes first to soften if not using a high powered blender.)

Add cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg to the oat flour and mix with a whisk to incorporate.

Mix in the contents from the blender.

Mix in the carrots, remaining raisins, nuts, and coconut.

Line 2 nine inch cake rounds with parchment paper, and divide batter between the two pans.

Bake for 40-45 minutes.

Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans.
Remove from pans and cool completely on a wire rack.

Serve with vanilla frosting (Double this recipe), and garnish with toasted coconut flakes.