Boston Baked Beans

1 lb Pinto Beans
½ c Maple Syrup
½ c Ketchup
½ c Molasses
1 Onion Chopped
3 tsp Salt
1 tb Mustard
3 c Water
2 tb Arrowroot

Soak beans several hours. Place all
 ingredients in a pressure cooker. 
Raise to pressure and cook 50 min
 at pressure. After 50 min let pressure

 come down naturally. 

Vegan Potato Cheese Soup

So, my crazy awesome family, like most of you, has taken the new year to mean that THIS YEAR will be the year that I look great, eat right, and get that fabulous body that I've been dreaming of….Just like last year! Each side of my family has chosen different ways to accomplish this goal.

 My side has started a FB page and we're shearing recipes. So far my mom is posting whohash….which is a decadent version of funeral potatoes. My brother has posted Garlic Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes. While both are scrumptious, something tells me we're not going to meet our goal this year either. I dunno…just a hunch. There are some other awesome recipes on there so check it out anyways (cooking with the monsons). 


My In-laws have taken the motivational rout. They have started a competition to loose fat and gain muscle and everyone who meets their goal gets to go to hawaii….at their own expense. While the winner…still don't know how the winner is determined if everyone meets their goal…hmmm…anyway, they get their way paid. 


Hubby and I are not participating since he has to gain weight ….pour fellow, And I'm trying a more of a love my self as I love my neighbor kind of goal. 


Anyway, long story even longer….We were trying to make over some recipes to be more body friendly and my AMAZING sister in law suggested potato cheese soup. I tried it out on some family and they licked the bowl clean..seriously, there wasn't a bite left. 


Here's hopen you like it as much as they did and you have better luck with you're new years resolutions then we're having.



Vegan Potato Cheese soup

5 potatoes
5 stalks celery
5 Large carrots
1 onion
1 c cashews
1 zucchini
nutritional yeast
salt
pepper
onion salt
nutmeg

Cube and cook the potatoes, celery, carrots and onions in water till tender (I do it for about 7 min in the pressure cooker). Place half of the cooked veggies in the vitamix....oh sorry, the blendtec with the cashews, raw zucchini, nutritional yeast (about 1/2 C). Add just enough vegetable broth to blend. Blend till creamy. With the remaining vegetables, drain, slightly mash, then return the blended mixture and stir. Add salt, pepper, onion salt, and nutmeg to taste. Add more cashews and nutritional yeast for a cheesier taste.

Sausage Gravy Bisquits

After living in the south I often....really often crave something fatty and heavy and deep fried. But the mere thought of typing that makes me shiver. It's like talking yourself into trying something very non-vegan and you find you can't get it past your lips. This recipe seems to help those cravings. In the previous post I wrote about a new love in my life - Cream of everything mix. The other morning I was searching for something to make for breakfast and having been oatmealed out I gave this a try. It made the list of new family faves after my 2 year old had his third helping. I hope you like it as much as they did.

Vegan Sausage Gravy

1/3 c cream of mix
1 1/3 c liquid
2 sausages (or morning star brand)
4 pieces of toast or bisquits

Make gravy and crumble in the sausages. Pour over toast and serve hot. You may want to double this. :)

Cream O' Somethin'

Happy New Year everyone! Now that wer're 3 months into the year and I still have yet to post. :) Well, I have found something worth posting and a wonderful reader named Rachelle reminded me that my blog is still here so here it goes. I found this wonderfully helpful recipe on pintrest the other day that is a base for any cream of soup. I did a little veganising and here it is. I'll also post how we used it. The original recipe is from oneorangegiraffe.blogspot.com It has a lot of fun recipes on it you'll want to check out. Not vegan but cute!

Cream Of Everything Soup Base

1 C soymilk or rice milk powder
3/4 c potato or cornstarch
1/4 c vegan beef or chicken bullion
4 tb freeze dried minced onion
2 tb onion powder
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt

Put all ingredients in a mason jar and shake shake shake your sillys out...sorry, can you tell I spend my day with a 2 year old? To use mix 1/3 c of mix with 1 1/3 c of liquid such as water or vegetable broth. Stir over low heat till desired consistancey.

Let me know how you use your cream of!

Raw Pear Salad with Raw Feta Cheese

This was one of the first all raw recipes I tried and it really motivated me to keep going. It's got that salty sweet tangy twist to it which I love. I love a good tang! It's way quick to throw together if you have the cheese already made and is a great salad to take to parties.

Raw Vegan Feta Cheese


cashews
water
salt
lemon juice

Blend all ingredients together in a blender till creamy, adding just enough water to blend. Place everything in a cheese cloth or milk bag and then in a strainer with a bowl under and let sit in the fridge over night. The next day the mixture should be firm and able to hold a shape. Form into a ball and in a container let it sit another day or till it has a bit of a tang to it. This makes a great cheese ball to eat with crackers at a party, Just roll in herbs to cover and it looks beautiful!

Pear Salad


easy cashew cheese
Olive oil
Brussels sprouts

pear
salt
pepper

slice Brussels spouts really thin. Cube pear and mix with the Brussels sprouts. Sprinkle with olive oil and crumble the cashew cheese and extra cashews. Mix well and serve cold. As you can see in the picture. People just can't wait to eat this salad!

Raw Sandwich Bread

When I started going raw the HARDEST thing to give up was bread! I always had to start out with my toast in the morning. I could go the rest of the day without it but I had to have my toast! Behold my answer. I found this totally EASY recipe that you can make ahead of time. It's so great and you can use it for all sorts of thing - crackers, bread, croutons..all sorts of thing!



 

Raw Sandwich Bread


1/4 c ground flax
2-4 c carrot pulp
1 zucchini
salt
water

Mix everything together in a blender till creamy adding just enough water to blend. Pour on a plastic lined dehydrator rack and dry till you can turn it over - about 2 hours. Flip and continue to dry till pliable. 

Raw Crusted Portabello Mushrooms

Most of my family has gotten use to the fact that we're vegetarian. While the teasing continues on I've gotten use to that to. They are starting to understand the fact that we're vegan...though I have to explain to them what a vegan is on a regular basis. Now that we've gone raw we've pretty much given up hope and just lumped it in with "you eat weird" category and when we eat together we just bring our own food and pick at what we can. First off we started apologising for how we eat and trying really hard not to inconvenience anyone and when people came over we would make them meat or whatever they would like. After talking with several others we've really realized that we aren't the weird ones. Our culture is so backwards! I better stop now before I get going on a tangent! This is a great recipe to make ahead, take with you, and eat at a BBQ or something.

Raw Crusted Portabello Mushrooms


portabello mushrooms stemmed and cleaned
Raw vegan ranch dressing
panko


Dip the mushrooms in the ranch dressing then in the panko. Place in a dehydrator for 2-5 hours or till you can poke with a knife and it is soft all the way through. I even enjoyed this more then when I did it in the oven! 

Raw Vegan Kefir

Many of you have read of my great Kefir adventures. When it comes to fermenting and keeping things alive, well, lets just say that it's not my forte. My dad once gave me a plant that he said could not be killed...do I really need to go on?Matthew and I tried starting a urban garden on our back patio. It lasted 1 week. I once read on pintrest that you can keep green onions and celery growing indefinitely and continuously harvest from them. I followed the directions precisely and all I had was a pot of Stinky molding sludge. I mourn not inheriting my fathers green thumb. I once mailed him a weed from texas that I had let sit on my counter for a week in a zip lock bag. I thought for sure it was dead when I sent it but when I came to visit he had pots and pots of this beautiful purple vine. He can grown anything...and from experience...I can just about kill anything.
That said, that is why I LOVE this recipe. It's raw, it's vegan, and I havent' killed a batch yet. This is so easy! 3 ingredients and you're done. And Kefir is supper healthy for you. Its said to have come from " the shepherds of the Caucasus mountains and was a gift from Mohammad." It's really that good! Matthew lived in Sweden and got hooked. He often would reminisce about his lovely Kefir in a pathetic longing voice and now he enjoys it once again. I hope you do too.



 

Raw Vegan Kefir

1 c cashews
1 c water
1/4 c synergy drink (you can get this at any health food store - or you can use any brand of Kumbacha you like)

Blend the water and cashew in a blender till creamy. Once smooth add the Kumbacha and blend again. Place in a glass bottle and let sit in the fridge at least over night but more like 2 days. It should have a slight tang to it. Pour over cereal or fruit. Yum!