Pumpkin Pie Fruit Leather (vegan + gluten free)

Oh fall.... I love the red, yellow and orange leaves on the trees (along with the leaves on the ground making the crunch crunch noise as you walk on them). The dried corn stalks and the gourdes, the crisp fall air. It all puts me in my happy place.

Especially the pumpkins. I love pumpkins. The way they look, the way they smell, and most of all the way they taste.

This year I got a couple adorable little organic pie pumpkins in the last box of the summer farm share we participated in. I put them out as decorations for a few weeks, then finally cooked them down before they could go bad. Now, what to do with all that delicious pumpkin puree I made?

Firstly, I made some pumpkin pie poptarts. All I had was whole wheat flour, so they turned out a bit grainy, but everyone loved the filling. I had a lot of puree left over even after those, so I used the same seasonings, along with a few other ingredients, and made the poptart filling into fruit leather with my brand new dehydrator. It was a smash hit! Everyone loves it! So now to share the recipe.

One batch of this is enough to fill 1 1/2 of my 10x11 inch dehydrator sheets. So I usually make a double batch and fill 3 sheets. 


Pumpkin Pie Fruit Leather
1 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 can sweetened condensed coconut milk
1/4 cup coconut sugar (sub brown sugar if you don't have coconut)
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp allspice
2 tbsp shredded coconut
1 tbsp dried cranberries, finely chopped
Coconut Oil

1. Combine all ingredients except the coconut and cranberries and stir well.

2. Add coconut and cranberries and fold in.

3. Use coconut oil to grease the fruit leather sheets for a dehydrator. Then pour mixture on and spread out into a 1/4 inch thick layer for leathery pieces, or thinner for crispy pumpkin pie chips. It will shrink as it dehydrates.

4. Put in a food dehydrator 8-24 hours at around 134 degrees for leather, or 155ish for chips. Check after 8 hours to see if it is becoming the consistency you are looking for.

5. Take out of the dehydrator and cut into smaller pieces, I usually use a pizza cutter. Store in baggies, or other air tight container.

Dill Tofu Salad Sandwiches (vegan + gluten free options)

Last weekend we went camping! Well... if you can count staying in a camper with several beds, a couch, table, tv, full bathroom and full kitchen camping. Either way, we went to a place in the woods and out on a lake for the weekend and I wanted to make something we could bring with to eat that didn't involve cooking so that we could eat it on the pontoon.
So, as usual, I looked to things that I liked to have before I was vegan. The first thing I came up with was chicken salad sandwiches. I used to copy one that I got at Caribou Coffee all the time, with rosemary and parmesean in it. So I tried to figure out what I could make that would be like my old chicken salad. My solution was making a copy (with some improvements) to the dill tofu salad wrap I periodically get from our local co-op.
This tofu salad works very well as a sandwich, or as a wrap. We like to snack on it by just wrapping a spoonful or two in a leaf of butterhead lettuce (which also makes it gluten free). Plus the recipe is quick, so when I made it to take camping I was able to just toss it together right before we left, in about 10 minutes. Maybe faster if you can chop quickly. My sister (who isn't veg) requested this recipe after trying it while we were camping. It keeps really well (I wrote a week, but have had ours last just fine for two weeks if we don't eat it all first), so it is great to make a big batch for the whole week for a lunch, after work snack, or any time you don't want to cook but want a quick and easy meal.

Dill Tofu Salad Sandwiches
Makes 8-10 sandwiches (or wraps!), depending how much you put in each one

1 14-16 oz block Extra Firm tofu, pressed to drain liquid and crumbled
1/2 cup vegan mayo
1 bunch scallions, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 medium red onion, diced
1/3 c packed fresh dill, minced
1 sprig fresh rosemary, minced (or 1/2 tsp rosemary powder)
2 tbsp fresh parsley, roughly chopped
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste

1 loaf bread of choice, we used Dave's Killer Organic Bread
1 head butterhead or romaine lettuce

1. To get the excess water out of the tofu you can put it on a plate with paper towels on it, and then place more paper towels on top of it, followed by another plate and then some cans of food or books on top to put weight on it. Leave it like this for about a half hour before crumbling.
      Another option is to just break off chunks of tofu small enough to fit into your palm and just squeeze out the extra water. It is more labor intensive (and cold!), but much quicker than waiting the half hour for the tofu to drain.

2. Prepare and add all the ingredients (except bread and lettuce) together in any order. Stir and taste to see if you'd like more of any particular ingredient. Store in the fridge for up to a week.

Raw Peppermint Brownies (vegan + gluten free)

I use a wonderful recipe by Oh She Glows to make these amazing raw brownies whenever Ryan gets a sweet tooth. I love her recipe as is, but like it even better with the addition of some peppermint! I made these for a party awhile ago and everyone said they taste like Fannie May chocolate mint bars.

Oh She Glows is also an amazing photographer, so I'll toss in one of her photos since they are so much better than mine:

Mine aren't nearly as pretty, but are even tastier! Ryan doesn't really like walnuts, so I process them all until they are powdery rather than leaving some as chunks.

The only issue I've had with these is that sometimes maple syrup doesn't want to stay combined with the top layer. It seems less likely to separate if the bottom layer is nice and cold before you put the top layer on, and if you mix and add the top layer quickly.

Raw Peppermint Brownies:
Serves 16 (or 2... depending on if you want to share ;)

FOR THE BROWNIES:

• 1 cup raw walnut pieces
• 1/2 cup hulled hemp seeds
• 1.5 cups pitted Medjool dates* (approx. 275g)
• 1/2 cup raw cacao powder or dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon pink Himalayan salt or fine grain sea salt

FOR THE HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE TOPPING:

• 1/2 cup virgin coconut oil
• 1/2 cup raw cacao powder or dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup (or agave nectar for a raw sweetener)
• small pinch pink Himalayan sea salt (or fine grain sea salt)
• 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tsp peppermint essential oil or extract (I used Young Living Essential Oil)

Directions:
1. Put walnuts through a food processor until they are very small pieces, almost sand textured.

2. Add the dates and hemp seeds and process until fine and sticky. It should look like a larabar consistency. Add cocoa powder, vanilla and salt and process until combined. 

3. Line an 8x8 square dish with parchment paper. I find it easiest to make a 10x10 square of parchment and cut in 2 inches at each corner towards the middle. Then the parchment edges will overlap and fit perfectly into the dish. 

4. Put dough into the parchment line dish and spread out and press into an even layer with a spatula or your fingers. Put into the freezer for at least 10 minutes.

5. Melt coconut oil over low heat on the stove or for about 15-20 seconds in the microwave. Add all other ingredients and stir to combine. Pour over the brownie layer and put back into the freezer for at least 1 hour. 

6. To serve, lift brownies out of the dish by lifting the parchment paper. Cut slowly with a sharp knife that has been run under hot water to warm the blade. This will keep the top layer from cracking. Instead it will melt through the top layer where you want the pieces cut. 

Keep the finished brownies in the freezer, or the top layer could melt and separate!

Vegetable Alfredo Lasagna (vegan + gluten free options)

 

 A few weeks ago Ryan and I were wandering around the grocery store, wondering what the heck we wanted for dinner. We really didn't know what to make, but whilst strolling past the pasta I got the idea to try making lasagna. I had never made lasagna before. I had never even really liked lasagna, because I don't usually like anything with tomatoes or tomato sauce. I did, however, used to like the stouffers vegetarian lasagna with alfredo sauce. So, I knew I had a great alfredo recipe, and figured I could improvise the rest. Luckily, Ryan trusted my musings and we snatched up some organic lasagna noodles and a bunch of veggies to use. He also grabbed some vegan mozzarella shreds and already had some Tofutti ricotta at home in the fridge to use. You could really use pretty much any veggies that you like. We decided on broccoli, red onions, zucchini, red bell pepper, mushrooms and spinach.

 Layering the pasta was easier than I expected. Just make sure you put a layer of the sauce on the bottom of the pan before you add the first layer of noodles. Otherwise the noodles will stick to the bottom and make it super hard to get them out after it bakes.

Then add a layer of veggies, then more sauce, then the ricotta mixture. Then do the next layer of noodles and repeat. Finish with a last layer of noodles on top, pour on the rest of the sauce and sprinkle with the rest of the mozzarella.

Bake, and remove when the noodles are browning an the cheese is gooey. I suggest putting a cookie sheet underneath the baking dish, just in case the sauce bubbles up over the edges at all. That way it'll just drip onto the cookie sheet and not the bottom of your oven!

Vegetable Alfredo Lasagna:
Serves 12
1 box lasagna noodles (gluten free if you wish!)
2 batches of Alfredo sauce (recipe follows)
8 oz baby bella mushrooms, sliced
1 red bell pepper, sliced and cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
1 red onion, sliced
1 head broccoli, cut into small florettes
1 container vegan ricotta (I used Tofutti)
1 8oz bag vegan mozzarella shreds (I used Daiya)
3/4 cup almond milk (or other non-dairy milk)
3 cups spinach, chopped

Vegan Alfredo: (make 2 batches for lasagna!)
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1-2 cups low sodium vegetable broth
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
6 cloves garlic, diced
1/2 cup raw cashews
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 heaping cup nutritional yeast
- Saute onions until translucent, adding broth as needed to keep from sticking. Add garlic and saute one more minute. Add onion and all other ingredients, excluding 1 cup of broth, to a blender and puree until smooth. Add broth as needed to reach desired consistency.

1. Make sauce and preheat the oven to 350 F.

2. Prepare veggies.

3. Prepare ricotta mixture: combine ricotta, half the bag of mozzarella, spinach and milk and stir to combine.

4. Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions, 4 at a time. Cook until softened but not so soft they easily tear.

5. Assemble the lasagna: Pour a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of the 9x13 pan and spread out evenly. Put in the first layer of lasagna noodles, followed by half of each of the veggies, a little less a little less than half of the sauce, then half of the ricotta mixture. Add the next layer of noodles and repeat. Put one last layer of noodles on top, along with the last bit of the sauce and sprinkle with the rest of the mozzarella. Put into the oven and bake for 40-50 minutes*. Remove when the top noodles start to brown and curl up at the edges and the mozzarella melts. Serve hot.

*I advise putting a cookie sheet underneath the baking dish so if the sauce bubbles over at all it has something to fall onto that is easily cleaned.

Chili Lime Brown Rice Bowl, + perfect brown rice! (vegan + gluten free)

 

I am trying a new way of eating recently. I'm trying to stick primarily to whole foods, and also eating mass amounts of fruits every day (like an 8 banana and 5 dates smoothie for breakfast!). I'm sticking to raw foods until dinner each day as well, and then having a nice high carb dinner each night. This week's creation was this tasty Chili Lime Rice bowl! A friend of mine recently gave me a bunch of organic rice, and I just used other things I happened to have in my fridge to throw this easy dinner together. 

A while ago I was telling one of my coworkers how I have never been able to get my rice to turn out right. It was always either too watery and mushy, or too little water and crunchy. I could never seem to get the amount of water right. Then my coworker told me this trick that he uses, and his rice always turns out perfect. White or brown rice. I have only tried it with brown rice thus far, but he said he usually make white rice so it should work with that too. All you do is rinse your rice first, then when you put it in the pot and fill it with water, you just fill it to about 2 centimeters above the rice. He showed me as the length of the tip of his finger to the first knuckle, but my hands are bigger than his so I couldn't just go by the "one knuckle" measurement. It looked like he was showing about 2 centimeters though, and when I tried that it turned out perfectly. This is a trick I'll be using for every rice dish from now on!

I made this late one night, so the photos are a bit darker than usual. Also, I was using my cute "Namast'ay in bed" wine glass to drink my berry tea kombucha. Here is my chopped up cilantro and big o'e pile of garlic.

 Saute the onions and garlic while the rice is cooking to speed things up a little.

 Once the rice is done, it can be added to the onions and garlic, and toss in the fresh chopped cilantro last.

Chili Lime Brown Rice Bowl:

Serves 3-6

2 cups brown rice, uncooked

2 medium onions, diced

5-6 cloves garlic, diced

1/4 cup lime juice

1 cup cilantro, chopped

1 tsp salt

6 cups spinach, torn into smaller pieces

2 avocados, mashed

4 tbsp Poppyseed vinaigrette (recipe follows)

Poppyseed Vinaigrette:

1/3 cup cane sugar (or coconut sugar)

1/2 cup white vinegar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp dry mustard powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 tbsp poppyseed

1 cup water

1/4 cup ground flax seeds

 - Combine all ingredients in a jar and shake together to mix. Allow to sit at least 20 minutes for the flax to thicken the water.

1. To make the brown rice, first rinse the rice in a fine mesh strainer for 30 seconds. Put into a pot with a tight fitting lid, and add enough water to cover the rice and go about 2 centimeters above the rice. Bring water to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and put the lid on. Allow to simmer for 45 minutes. Turn off heat and let sit for another 10 minutes before removing the lid. Then remove the lid and fluff the rice and add it to the onions. 

2. Start onions while the rice cooks! Saute onions on medium high, adding some of the lime juice whenever they start to stick to the pan. Once they are starting to become translucent add the garlic and the rest of the lime juice and saute another minute. Turn off heat and set aside until the rice is done.

3. Once the rice is done add it to the onions, along with the salt and cilantro.

4. To serve, serve the hot rice onion mixture and top with the spinach, avocado and dressing and mix together. People can scoop out however much rice they want and top with as much of the other toppings as much as desired, rather than mixing it all together first.

Tater Tot Hot Dish (vegan)

Tater Tot Hot Dish (or Casserole to non-Minnesotans) is a classic dish to those of us in the mid-west. Dense and full of veggies and cream of mushroom soup, along with ground beef, cheese and tater tots, this is a dish anyone in Minnesota especially was always excited to see for dinner in their childhood (heck, adult life too). I have been making this vegan for a couple years now, sometimes with sweet potato tots, as well as with homemade hashbrowns on top instead of tots to health it up a bit. This time I changed it up by making my usual mushroom roux/gravy (to replace the cream of mushroom soup) with NO OIL! This drops the calories of the dish by about 500 calories. This makes the fact that I'm still eating tater tots a bit less guilt inducing. Plus, if you divide the dish up into 12 servings you're really only eating one serving of tots and a bunch of veggies. Not too shabby!

Typically, a roux or gravy is made with a 1:1 ratio of flour and oil (or butter) cooked together until it stops smelling like playdough and smells more like pie crust. Then you add broth or water to turn it into a gravy. I didn't want to use a bunch of oil if I could avoid it, so I used a Dry Roux method to get the same taste. Instead, you just bake the flour to cook it then use it with the broth to thicken it and still give it that great roux flavor. 

Plus, like I said, you could always make some hashbrowns with just a little oil and cut the calories down even more. It all depends on how much work you want to put into it. The gravy takes the most time to make, but the rest is super quick. Just line the bottom of the baking dish with whatever beef replacement you want, top with 20 or so ounces of frozen veggies, pour the gravy over it all, sprinkle some dairy free cheese, top with tots and another sprinkle of cheese and bake!

I usually use the vegan ground "beef" from Trader Joe's, but this time I used some from the new vegan butcher shop in the Twin Cities called the Herbivorous Butcher. You could also just cook some lentils and use them in place of veggie grounds. I like to use a basic organic frozen veggie mix of carrots, peas, and green beans. I also used Daiya cheddar cheese shreds, but you can use whatever type you want, or could skip the cheese altogether.

Feel free to toss in any herbs or spices you like as well! Sometimes I'll top this with chives, smoked paprika, chipotle, parsley, or any other flavor that I'm craving. You could also add a smidge of liquid smoke to the gravy once it is done to give it a slight bacon-y flavor.

When you bake the Dry Roux flour, it will look like this when you take it out of the oven.

 

The thickened gravy:

The finished hotdish! Look at those tasty veggies!

Tater Tot Hot Dish:
serves 8-12

12oz - 1 lb veggie "beef" crumbles (any brand)
20-24oz frozen vegetables (any you'd like, but traditionally carrots, peas and green beans)
1 package vegan cheddar cheese shreds
1 small bag of tater tots
1 cup green onions, chopped
1 jalapeno, diced
1 batch mushroom gravy
 
Mushroom Gravy:
1 lb baby bella mushrooms (also known as crimini mushrooms), sliced
1/4 c Dry Roux flour (recipe follows)
1/4 c nutritional yeast
2 cups vegetable broth 
1 small yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, diced
1/2 cup Marsala wine
salt and pepper, to taste


To make the gravy:
1. Dry Roux: Make this before starting the onions! Bake 1 cup of flour spread out on a parchment lined cookie sheet at 400 degrees F for 45 min to 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes, until light brown, and remove from oven. It should be a little lighter than peanut butter.*

2. Water saute the onions until golden by cooking them on medium high and adding 1 tbsp of water when needed to keep them from sticking to the pan. Add garlic and continue to water saute another minute. Add mushrooms and allow to cook down, stirring occasionally, until the liquid that  comes out of the mushrooms is mostly gone.

3. While the onions, garlic and mushrooms cook, bring 2 cups of vegetable broth to a boil, and then add the flour and nutritional yeast. Whisk until combined to make sure there are no lumps. Bring to a boil and continue to whisk occasionally until thickened. It will be a little thin, but it will continue to thicken as it cools.

4. Deglaze the mushrooms: add the marsala to the mushrooms and cook on medium, stirring to loosen the cooked down parts that were stuck to the pan. Cook until about half of the liquid has evaporated, then add it to the gravy.

5. Stir mushroom mixture and gravy mix together and add salt and pepper to taste. It helps to be a little on the salty side, since it will be spread over all the vegetables as well.

To assemble Hot Dish:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degress F. Cook ground "beef" according to packaged instructions, then pour it to line the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish.

2. Pour frozen vegetables over "beef" and evenly spread them out. Sprinkle on the green onions and diced jalapeno as well.

3. Pour mushroom gravy over vegetables and evenly spread it out as well.

4. Sprinkle half the bag of vegan cheese over everything evenly.

5. Line the frozen tater tots in rows over everything evenly, trying to fill in all gaps.

6. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese over the tots and put into the oven to bake for 50 minutes, or until tots are golden and cheese is gooey. Serve hot, with ketchup if you wish.

* You could make just the 1/4 cup of flour in the oven, but I like to make more at once so it is ready the next time I make hot dish or gravy. If you just make 1/4 cup it won't take as long to cook.

Creamy Zucchini Soup (vegan + gluten free)

I had never thought to make soup out of zucchinis. When I lived in Spain in 2014 my host family made me "puree." It was very simple, just boiled zucchinis and onions pureed together with salt and olive oil, topped with some croutons. I loved it! I was amazed something so simple could be so delicious! This is a variation of that recipe. I added in some spices, spinach and corn and added some broth cubes to the water. 

This also makes a great soup to have if you have a dental procedure done... I made it for my boyfriend when he got his wisdom teeth taken out in January. All you need to do is puree the whole thing together rather than leaving some of it chunky.

 

 You can chop the onion and zucchini up into fairly large chunks since they will be blended up later anyway.

 

  

Creamy Zucchini Soup

Makes 6-8 servings

2 lbs zucchini, chopped

1 large onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp black pepper

4 cups low/no sodium vegetable broth

2 cups frozen or fresh corn

4 cups spinach

1/4 c raw cashews

1. Put 1 cup of corn, and all the cashews and the spinach in a blender. Set aside.

2. Put all other ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 25 minutes, or until the zucchini is tender. Pour into the blender with the other ingredients and puree until smooth. You will probably have to do this in batches.

3. Pour back into the pot and add the other 1 cup of corn. Bring to a simmer and cook until the corn is heated through. Serve hot with croutons or crackers.

Traditional Naan (vegan)

Naan is delicious. Like a pita with savory garlic and onion flavor to it, it is great to dip and soak up any sauce or eat warm off the pan all on it's own. One of my other favorite ways to eat it is as a personal pizza. Just spread on a little sauce, top with marinaded or fresh veggies, some vegan cheese and bake at 450 for 12-14 minutes.

I found this recipe at vegetarian.com. I made a batch of these as the recipe says, and another with the same recipe but with half whole wheat pastry flour and half all purpose flour, and they still turned out quite well. A bit denser, and the flour taste was more prominent so if you do decide to try it that way I would raise the amount of each spice a bit so the flavors still shine through. They made really good pizzas, but for plain munching I prefer the all purpose flour naan better. 

It helps to have two people when the time comes to fry the naan. That way one person can roll them out while the other person tends to the frying. They cook quite quickly, so it by the time you are done rolling the second one out, the first one will be coming out of the pan. 

 The naan will puff up a bit as it cooks, so don't be afraid to roll them pretty thin. Here is an example of how big a ball of dough I used for each naan was compared to the size of a finished naan.

The dough will make big bubbles while it cooks but you don't need to pop them or push them down. Once the naan is done and out of the pan they will drop down on their own really quickly. 

Traditional Naan (vegan)

Makes 6-8 pieces, depending on how big you want them

Prep time: 90 minutes + 5 min cook time

1 tsp active dry yeast (about 1/2 a package)

1/2 c warm water

1 tbsp sugar

3 tbsp non-dairy milk

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp salt

1 3/4 - 2 cups all purpose flour

oil spray for cooking

1. In a large bowl mix the yeast with the warm water. Let stand 10 minutes until frothy.

2. Add in the sugar, milk, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and enough flour to make a soft dough, about 1 3/4 to 2 cups. On a lightly floured surface knead the dough for 6-8 minutes, or until smooth. 

3. Lightly oil a bowl and put the dough in and cover with a damp cloth and allow to rise for one hour. 

4. Punch down dough and divide into 6-8 equal pieces (depending on how big you want them, or how many you want). Roll into balls and put onto a baking sheet. Cover with the towel again and allow to rise another 30 minutes. 

5. Preheat a pan to high heat (don't use a nonstick pan with teflon, they release chemicals at high heat!). Roll each ball into a thin circle or oval then add to the pan one at a time after spraying the pan with oil. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until the bubbles start to brown then spray the top of the naan lightly with oil and flip and cook the other side another 2-3 minutes. Serve warm.

Garlic Lover's Pasta Salad (vegan + gluten free options)

Oh this pasta....

This has become one of my after-work food cravings that I can whip up in a jiffy whenever I want something creamy.

The Good Earth Food Coop has a vegan garlic lovers pasta that I based this recipe on. I used to buy a little pack of it every time I went there until I finally got it into my head that I could make my own at home for cheaper. The only flaw was that then I have a huge batch of something I'm addicted to just sitting in my fridge, calling to me. So now I try to just make it for get togethers with family and friends to share so that I don't eat the entire thing myself in a day or two. I used organic wheat macaroni noodles this time, but have often used bowtie noodles too and really like that. It can easily become gluten free if you just use gluten free pasta noodles.

If you really like uber creamy pasta salad add a bit more mayo. If you really like the flavor of nutritional yeast toss in some more. This is a simple recipe and the proportions aren't very important, so feel free to adjust it to your taste :)

Garlic Lover's Pasta Salad
Makes about 8 cups

16 oz pasta noodles of your choice
1 1/2 c vegan mayo (I really like Just Mayo)
1 c frozen peas
1/2 c nutritional yeast
8 cloves garlic, diced
1 1/2 tsp salt
pepper, to taste

1. Prepare pasta noodles as directed on package

2. Drain pasta noodles, and allow them to cool. *

3. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Stir well until combined.

4. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving. *

*I tend to just rinse the noodles with cold water to cool them faster if I want to make and eat this right away. If you do, rinsing the noodles removes the starch from them that helps the mayo hold on to them. To combat this, first just add a little of the mayo and nutritional yeast to the noodles as well as the peas and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes. The frozen peas help suck the warmth from the noodles and cool it faster. Then add everything else and stir to combine. The texture won't be quite as great, but it'll still taste great!

Super Moist Banana Cinnamon Rolls with Rum Glaze (vegan)

Once again, I happened to find myself with overripe bananas. I always overestimate how many bananas I can eat in a week. So, after some hunting around, I found a tasty recipe from Conscious Eatery. I used her recipe for the rolls, with a few alterations, and my own recipe for the glaze.

While the almond milk and vegan butter cools, and then the yeast is proofing, it is a good time to measure out the other ingredients so they are ready to go into the bowl.

 Once everything is combined it'll look a bit ragged at first...

 ... and then will come together into a smooth dough. It will be a bit sticky still though, look how it still sticks to my finger.

While the dough rests a little, mix together the filling: brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg

 Roll out the dough onto a well floured surface and spread on some melted vegan butter. Pour on the brown sugar mixture and spread it out evenly.

 Look at that pretty sugar!

Roll the dough up and pinch it closed. 

Turn it 90 degrees, so it is easier to cut.

Cut the log into 12 equal pieces. I find a sharp bread knife works best to cut through the dough without squishing it.

Lay the pieces in a 9x13" baking dish and allow to rise before baking. They will plump up and fill in the spaces between them.

After they rise...

Super Moist Banana Cinnamon Rolls with Rum Glaze
Makes 12 rolls

 

Rolls:

• 3 medium over-ripe bananas
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 2/3 c dairy-free milk 
• 3 tbsp Earth Balance or other vegan butter, cubed
• 2 tbsp unsweetened apple sauce
• 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast (or one packet)
• 1/4 c sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 flax 'egg' (1 tbsp ground flax + 3 tbsp water)
• 3 1/2 c all-purpose flour 
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Filling: 

• 3/4 c packed light brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 2 tbsp Earth Balance or other vegan butter, melted 

 1. Puree bananas and lemon juice together until smooth (chunks are usually okay in banana bread, but we want them super smooth in this dough or the texture will be off). Set aside. In a small bowl, combine flax and water and set aside as well.

2. Combine milk and butter and heat until butter is melted, either in a small pot or in the microwave. Add apple sauce, and allow to cool until very warm to the touch, but not so hot you couldn't hold a finger in it. Then add the sugar and yeast, stir, then let proof until frothy, about 5 minutes.

3. Add salt, flax 'egg', banana, puree, and 2 cups flour. Mix until combined. Then add the other 1 1/2 cups flour, cornstarch, cinnamon and baking powder. Mix together until dough forms. Add extra flour 1 tbsp at a time if it isn't making a good dough. It will be a bit sticky, but don't add too much extra flour or it will toughen your rolls, and we want these fluffy! Cover and let rest 10 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, combine brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in a small bowl.

5. Turn out the dough onto a floured surface and kneed for 3 minutes, adding flour only to keep from sticking. Roll dough out into a 16" by 20" (more or less) rectangle. Spread the melted butter out over the dough. Sprinkle the brown sugar mixture evenly over the rectangle, coming within 1/2 inch of all edges. Starting at a short side, roll the dough up tightly to the other end. Pinch closed.

6. Cut the rolled dough into 12 equal pieces, and arrange in a buttered 9x13 inch baking dish. Scoop up any brown sugar that fell out and sprinkle it over the arranged rolls. Lightly cover with a cloth, or plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 45 minutes. During the last 10 minutes of rise time, preheat the oven to 350 F. Remove cover and bake for 22-25 minutes, until golden.

7. While rolls bake, make the glaze. Pour over the warm rolls and let set. Serve warm.

 Rum Glaze:

• 2 tbsp vegan butter 
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tbsp almond milk (or other non dairy milk)
• 1 tbsp white rum
• 3/4 c powdered sugar

1. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.

2. Add brown sugar, milk and rum. Stir until sugar dissolves.

3. Remove from heat and add powdered sugar. Whisk together until smooth, and pour over rolls immediately.

*Note: My oven temp isn't always consistent, so to help make sure the rolls bake all the way through in the correct amount of time I usually put 8 rolls in a 9x13 pan and 4 in an 8x8 pan so they aren't so tight together. You could also just bake them a bit longer, but I separate them instead to avoid the outside of them getting over baked and dry. So if your oven is anything like mine you may want to separate them as well. 

*Other note: If you don't have brown sugar, or you think you do and then find out it is hard as a rock, you can just make your own! Just take the same amount of white sugar and add 1/8-1/4 tsp  molasses and beat together with a mixer. Or for the glaze you can just add both to the pot without premixing them since it's just going to be heated and dissolved anyway.