Homemade – Page 3 – The Vegan Rhino

November 19, 2018November 28, 2020

Nanas Stuffing

My Nana’s stuffing recipe will complete any Thanksgiving meal or dinner! Here is another favorite of my Nana’s holiday cooking that I am excited to share with you all. Tossing homemade dried bread cubes with celery, onions, butter, and then topped with vegetable broth and baked to perfection. Pouring hot gravy over this stuffing is really what I crave each Thanksgiving, it’s just really that good. Be sure to save some room on your plate this year for this incredibly fresh and moist stuffing.

Yield: 6-8 servings

Ingredients

3 loaves of stuffing bread (or day old bread)

1-3/4 cup vegetable broth

2 sticks vegan butter

1 cup onion, chopped

1 cup celery, chopped

6 Tbsp. Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer + 12 Tbsp. filtered water, mixed

Seasoning:

2 tsp. poultry seasoning

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. onion powder

2 tsp. fresh dill, chopped or 1/2 tsp. dried dill

1 tsp. paprika

Directions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
Place the poultry seasoning, paprika, dill, onion powder, salt, pepper in to a small bowl and mix. Set aside.
On a baking sheet, place the sliced bread on to the pan and bake for 15 minutes, and turn bread cubes around. Bake for an additional 15-20 minutes slowly turning the cubes around. Once all of the bread is toasted, put them into a big bowl (you may need to use two).
In a frying pan, add the butter, onions, and celery. Sauté for 5-10 minutes or until the celery is soft. Dump the mixture directly over the bread cubes.
Then pour the seasoning mixture, egg replacer, and vegetable broth over evenly, mixing until well incorporated. The bread cubes should be wet but not soggy or overly soaked.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a greased casserole dish, add the bread mixture and bake for 1 hour or until golden brown.
Allow to set for 5 minutes before serving.

Chef’s tip: Feel free to make this the day before and place it in the refrigerator overnight.

November 18, 2018November 28, 2020

Green Bean Casserole

It’s the dish that most of us have been waiting for all year, Green bean casserole! Using cashew milk to recreate a “cream of mushroom” soup is a fantastic way to alter this classic side dish for Thanksgiving. Topped with crispy fried onion and baked to perfection, this plant-based alternative will leave you are your guests mouths watering for more!

Ingredients

4 Tbsp. avocado oil

1/2 cup onion, chopped

1 small shallot, diced

2 lbs. green beans, trimmed

1/2 cup baby Bella mushrooms, diced

2-3 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 tsp. Himalayan pink salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/4 tsp. dried thyme

1/4 tsp. smoked paprika

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups vegetable broth

1/2 cup cashew milk

1 Tbsp. nutritional yeast

1 Tbsp. tahini

1 1/2 cups crispy french fried onions

Directions

In a frying pan on medium-high heat, add the olive oil and onions and allow to cook for 2-3 minutes. Then add in the mushrooms and garlic, sauté for an additional 4-5 minutes.
Next, add in paprika, nutritional yeast, pepper, salt, thyme, and flour. Coat the veggies and add the cashew milk, vegetable stock, and tahini.
Turn heat to medium, and allow mixture to thicken, roughly 2-3 minutes. Set aside in the stove.
Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Dice and trim off the green beans ends, slice in half, and place in boiling water. Cook for 2-3 minutes and remove green beans from pot into a bowl of ice water.
In a big mixing bowl, add your cooked & drained green beans and pour the sauce over the green beans. Add about half of the fried onion crisps to the bowl and give a good mix.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a greased casserole dish, pour the mixture in and top with remaining onion crisps.
Bake covered for 40 minutes. Remove cover and continue baking until top is browned and bubbling.
Serve immediately.

Chef’s tip: If you do not like mushrooms, you can leave them out of this recipe.

November 17, 2018May 14, 2020

Pineapple Stuffing

Sweeten up your Thanksgiving dinner with this decadent Pineapple stuffing! Growing up as a kid, each holiday, my Nana would make this recipe for the family. It is really one of those dishes that you may have to double so that everyone can get enough. This super easy and simply 5-ingredient recipe is buttery with a burst of pineapple flavor with each bite you take. This amazing side dish will only take a few minutes to prepare so don’t worry about making this the day before.

Yields 5-6 servings

Ingredients

1 (20 oz can) crushed pineapple

1/2 cup vegan butter, melted

1 cup organic cane sugar

6 slices of white bread, cubed

4 Tbsp. Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer +8 Tbsp. filtered water, mix and set aside

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a mixing bowl, combine the melted butter, sugar, egg replacer, and pineapple and mix until well incorporated.
Add the diced bread and fold the mixture.
In a greased casserole dish, pour the bread and pineapple mixture in and bake for 1 hour or until top of golden brown.

Chef’s tip: You can always add Maraschino cherries if you would like.

November 16, 2018May 14, 2020

Cashew Broccoli

You don’t need to call for take-out to enjoy this vegetable wok of goodness tonight. I promise this recipe will be a huge hit at your next family dinner! Cashews and broccoli are some of my favorite things to eat (and they’re really healthy too!), so when you put those together for this classic dish, your taste buds won’t know what hit them. Paired with some steamed rice or quinoa, you will have yourself a hearty and nutritious packed meal for any occasion!

Yields 2 servings

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsalted raw cashews

1 broccoli head, florets head only

1 small onion, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

1 celery stalk, diced

1-2 Tbsp. vegetable broth

Cashew sauce:

1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce

1 Tbsp. rice vinegar

1 Tbsp. agave

1/4 cup saki, (optional)

1/2 tsp. ginger

1 garlic clove

1/4 cup filtered water

3 tsp. cornstarch

1/8 cup green onions

Directions

In a skillet, add a little bit of vegetable broth and turn to medium-high heat. Add the onions and sauté for 3-5 minutes. Then add the broccoli, celery, and carrots, adding more vegetable broth as needed so it does not stick. Sauté for roughly 5 minutes longer and then add the garlic and ginger.
Turn to high heat and deglaze with saki. Once alcohol has cooked off, add the soy sauce, rice vinegar, agave.
Mix together cornstarch and water and pour into the pan. Allow sauce to thicken and remove from heat.
Toss in cashews and green onions.
Serve with white rice or noodles.

Chef’s tip: If you would like to use oil instead of vegetable broth, use 1 Tbsp. avocado oil or sesame oil.

November 15, 2018May 14, 2020

Cuque de banana (Banana Cake)

This recipe was shown to me by a coworker who wanted to challenge me to think outside my comfort zone and bring a childhood memory of hers back to life. Cuque de Banana is a classic Brazilian banana cake that is normally made with eggs and milk, so I decided to create my own plant-based version. Essentially, it’s a cross between crumb cake and banana bread and it’s super addicting. This dish makes a wonderful breakfast or even an after dinner treat. Whichever you decide, just know that a hint of Brazil has touched your kitchen.

Ingredients

Cake:

3 Tbsp. Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer + 6 Tbsp. filtered water

2 Tbsp. vegan butter, softened

1 cup plain almond milk

1-1/2 cup organic sugar

2-1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1 tsp. vanilla extract

4 bananas

1/2 tsp. Vitacost Himalayan Fine Pink Salt

Crumb Topping:

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/3 cup organic sugar

1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon

4 Tbsp. vegan butter, melted

1/4 tsp. Vitacost Himalayan Fine Pink Salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a mixing bowl, coming the sugar and butter. Mix well until smooth, add the eggs and stir until combined. Mix in the almond milk and vanilla, set aside.
In another mixing bowl, sift flour, salt, and baking powder. Pour mixture into into wet ingredients and stir to combine.
To make the crumb topping: pour all ingredients into a bowl and mix well. Set aside until you are ready to assemble.
Take your cake pan and line it with parchment paper and grease it with butter and pour cake batter in.
Slice bananas in half and then in half long ways. Place the bananas on top of the cake and top with the crumble mixture.
Bake cake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Allow cake to cool slightly before serving.

Chef’s tip: When using the toothpick to check on the cake, make sure you do not get a banana chunk. This will make you think the cake is not finished cooking, when it could be done.

November 14, 2018May 14, 2020

Pasta Fazool (Pasta e fagioli)

With the weather starting to get colder, I thought now would be a great time to break out one of my favorite family recipes: Pasta Fazool (pasta e frasule)! This dish brings back so many memories of family dinners with my Nana cooking this soup for us all. This old school “peasant” dish has really become a staple in my life as a go-to comforting meal, especially when I want a taste of home. Get ready to break out some crusty bread to scoop up all this soupy goodness! I hope that you all enjoy this recipe as much as my family and I do.

Soup:

2 cans northern beans (juice in)

2 Tbsp. tomato sauce, canned or homemade

2 cup vegetable broth

2-3 cloves garlic, (sliced)

1/4 cup avocado oil

1 cup onion, chopped

1-2 tsp. oregano, to taste

1/2 tsp. Vitacost Himalayan Fine Pink Salt

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

2 cans of water for EACH can of beans

1-1/2 to 2 cup Ditalini Macaroni, cooked

Directions

In a medium soup pot on medium heat, add olive oil and diced onions. Sauté for 5-7 minutes or until onions are translucent.
Next, add all above ingredients (except for Ditalini macaroni). Bring to a boil and then reduce to medium-low stirring occasionally for 5 minutes.
Slowly add the cooked Ditalini macaroni to the soup. Note: Start by adding 1-1/2 cups and see how the thickens turns out. If you desire a thicker soup, add remaining 1/2 cup macaroni.
After 10-15 minutes of simmering, remove from heat and serve with choice of bread (or my personal favorite: pizza!)

Chef’s tip: the more macaroni you add to the soup the thicker the soup will get.

November 13, 2018May 14, 2020

Another “Neat” Taco

Fast and healthy meals don’t always have to be made from scratch, but that doesn’t mean they need to be completely store bought either. This taco “meat” is really neat! (pun intended) Why you may be wondering? Because it has all of the flavor and ingredients inside, all you need to do is add water and give it a good ol’ mix and voila- you are ready to go. You will be delighted to find out how great this Mexican style taco neat “meat” tastes! Don’t forget to kick it up a notch by adding a bunch of plant-based toppings like lettuce, guacamole, and mango salsa!

Yields 8 tacos

Ingredients

1 pouch Neat Foods Mexican-Style

1/2 cup water

1 small onion, diced

1 Tbsp. avocado oil

1/2 cup cooked white rice

1/4 tsp. Vitacost Himalayan Fine Pink Salt

1/2 lime, squeezed

1 tsp. fresh cilantro, finely chopped

Toppings:

Guacamole

Mango salsa

Lettuce

Directions

Using a bowl, pour the contents of the pouch into a bowl and mix with water. Set aside.
Heat a sauté pan on medium-high heat. Add the oil and onion, stirring occasionally for 3-4 minutes.
Add the neat Mexican style “meat” to the pan, breaking it up into crumbles as if browns, roughly 10-12 minutes.
In another bowl, add the rice, minced cilantro, salt, and lime juice and mix (season to taste).
In either a hard or soft shell, place some of the rice, followed by taco meat, lettuce, salsa, and guacamole (or with whatever toppings you’d like).

Chef’s tip: if you would like to spice up the neat Mexican style mix, add 1-2 tsp. siracha.

November 9, 2018May 14, 2020

Roasted “Tomato” Sauce

With more people unable to eat acidic foods, I wanted to create this “tomato” sauce that everyone could enjoy on their pizza! This sauce uses red peppers and mushrooms which gives an almost tomato sauce flavor. Whether you are gluten-free or not, you can enjoy this sauce on a cauliflower pizza crust or a regular crust made from dough. Whichever you chose, you will be impressed.

Yields 1-1/2 cups

Ingredients

2 medium red peppers

4-5 medium baby bella mushrooms

1 medium red onion, halved

2 Tbsp. fresh parsley

2-3 cloves of garlic

Pinch of Vitacost Himalayan Fine Pink Salt

Pinch of Spicely Organics ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
On a baking sheet, place peppers on and place into the oven. Roast for 25-30 minutes. Once peppers are soft, turn them on their sides and turn oven to broil. Place peppers on top rack and allow to “burn” until the skin is black. Remove and set aside to cool.
Remove skins once peppers have cooled down.
In a blender, add your red pepper, mushrooms, onion, parsley, and garlic. Blend until mixture is well combined. Pour on to favorite pizza crust, or pasta dish.

Chef’s tip: This sauce is great for those who would like to enjoy pizza but can not have tomato sauce or vinegar.

November 6, 2018May 14, 2020

Southwestern Black Bean Salad

Cut the carbs and try this loaded salad for #TacoTuesday today! This salad is filled with fresh fruits and vegetables like red onion, juicy mango and pineapple, cherry tomatoes, and creamy avocados. One bite and you won’t be able to stop! That’s because the reviving taste of the fresh lime juice mixed with the black beans and other flavors will keep you wanting more!

Yields 2 servings

Ingredients

16 oz. organic spring mix

1/2 cup black beans

2 Tbsp. hemp seeds

1/3 cup mango salsa

1/8 cup red onion, sliced

1/2 avocado, sliced

1 tsp. fresh cilantro, chopped

Vinaigrette:

1/2 cup avocado oil

1/8 cup agave

1/2 cup lime juice, fresh squeezed

1 tsp, garlic

1/2 tsp. Vitacost Himalayan Fine Pink Salt

1/4 tsp. Spicely Organics Ground Black Pepper

Directions

Salad:

On a large plate, place all of the lettuce down in a big layer. Top with cooked black beans, hemp seed, mango salsa, red onion, cilantro, and avocado.

Dressing:

In a small bowl, mix together all dressing ingredients until well combined.
Top salad with dressing and serve with sides of lime wedges.

Chef’s tip: To spice things up, add 1/4 tsp. jalapeño to the dressing,

November 4, 2018May 14, 2020

Rich Dark Chocolate Mousse

Rich and decadent chocolate mousse has never been so easy to make! Using both cacao nibs and Hershey’s unsweetened coco powder gives this recipe a dynamic duo that will make you melt in your seat. Grinding up the cacao nibs into a fine powder is key to getting this texture right, but once you do, it will be amazing and well worth it! Treat yourself and your friends to this truly amazing dessert that may leave you licking the bowl at the end.

Yields 3 servings

Ingredients

1 container silken tofu (454 g/1 lb)

3 Tbsp. Madhava organic amber raw blue agave

1/4 cup Vitacost organic ground chocolate-covered cacao nibs – non-GMO

1/4 cup Hershey’s Natural Unsweetened Cocoa

Directions

Blend all ingredients in your Vitamin blender until smooth.
Pour into ramekins and place in the refrigerator to set for 30 minutes.
Serve with fresh fruit and mint sprigs.

Chef’s tip: Using freshly ground cocoa nibs will deepen the chocolate flavor, if you do not have, it is more than alright to use a 1/2 cup of Hershey’s chocolate powder instead.