@vegancookiemon's Cookie Jar

Scrapbook-Cookbook

[vegancookiemon]

Recipe: Ketchup Cookies

This week musicians Jon Autry and Laura K Balke came to Buzzbin in Canton, Ohio to play for us but also played true confessions on stage. Laura's involved how there's a town somewhere in Indiana that will never forget your name if you are gluttonous enough with ketchup. Desiring this sort of moral panic for myself, I decided to bring gratuitous ketchup craft into the cookie world.

I made these to take to a party as a joke. Then everyone loved them, and they were gobbled up so fast I only got to eat one. It was hard to convince people they were filled with ketchup, so this recipe is proof! What I thought would be a silly barf-inducer turned out to be a cool variation of the gingersnap.

I have to credit Terry & Isa for writing the excellent Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar because I used recipe #1 as a starting point.

You Need:

1/3 c ketchup 2/3 c canola oil 3/4 c + 1 tbsp vegan white sugar 1 tbsp molasses 1 tbsp tapioca starch (or substitute with corn starch)

2 tsp vanilla extract 2 tsp ginger powder 1 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp allspice 1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp baking soda 1c + 1/2c flour (I used whole wheat pastry)

To Make: Preheat oven to 350F. In a large mixing bowl, cream together ketchup, oil, sugar, molasses, and tapioca with a firm fork until fully combined (about 1 minute of mixing). Stir in the vanilla extract, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and salt until fully incorporated. Then, mix in the baking soda and 1 cup of the flower until just mixed and then add the rest of the flower. Continue to mix until you get a cookie-dough like consistency (can easily be formed into balls). Spread out parchment paper (or nonstick foil) on a large cookie sheet. Form the dough into walnut-size balls and spread them out about 2 inches apart as they will grow considerably during baking. Place in oven and bake for 14 minutes. The edges should be firm to the touch but the middles will still be springy – this is what you want for a soft cookie in the end. Allow to cool 10 minutes on the baking sheet, then 15 minutes on cooling racks or until the cookies are firm. I usually need to bake in two batches of 12 and yield about 24 cookies.

Don't forget extra ketchup for dipping (if you dare)!

[vegancookiemon]

Quick Recipe #10: Roasty "Canadian-Dutch" Tomato Soup

I once visited Ottawa, Ontario - easily one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Outside my green-roofed hotel with door knobs in the middle of the doors was this little cafe with a Dutch flag outside. I ventured in to find out that the Dutch do only two things: play chess, and drink tomato soup. I had a cup of that tomato soup, and yes, everyone was drinking it over their game of chess, no spoons, and it was the roastyest toastiest tomato soup I'd ever had. Years later I challenged someone to a duel in chess, and it triggered a chain of memories leading me back to that little slice of The Netherlands in Canada, and I just HAD to have that soup again. I tried and tried every tomato soup recipe and they never tasted right. Until one day I came up with this.

Ingredients: 5 medium red ripe tomatoes, stems removed and washed 4 cloves garlic, peeled 2 slices of an onion, about 1/4 to 1/2 inch think each 1/4 tsp allspice 2 tsp salt Dash of fresh ground black pepper To Make: Line a baking pan (one with a slight lip around the edge so any tomato juice won't get all over your oven) with nonstick foil. Alternatively, a brownie pan would work. Preheat your oven to 450F. When your oven is up to temperature, place the whole tomatoes, the onion slices, and the whole garlic cloves onto the pan and place them in the oven. Let them roast for about 12 minutes, or a little more if you dare. There should be some seared skin on the tomatoes and some browning to the garlic and onions when they are done. But don't bake for too long so anything ends up burning to a crisp. Take them out of the oven, and use metal tongs or a metal pancake flipper to transfer 1/2 the tomatoes directly into a blender bowl. Give it a few pulses to make room and then add the rest of the ingredients. Start pulsing the blender until the tomatoes turn to liquid then blend the soup smooth. Be careful to let some steam out periodically so it doesn't build up and pop off your blender top like a pop gun. Add the spices and blend again to fully incorporate. Serve piping hot and enjoy over a game of chess. Bonus: roast a jalepeno with the lot for some extra kick

[vegancookiemon]

Quick Recipe #9: Raw Mini-Pies

Pies are one of my favorite things to bake. They take dedication, art, and skill and seem to evoke much more nostalgia and memories than the average baked good. But that takes time, and store bought crusts are losing at life. So here is a raw pie, for the fast-paced jet set. Healthy, fast, delicious, and single serving.

You will need: Mini-pie pan or small bowl that is roughly mini pie-shaped For the raw crust (may need more depending on your bowl size): 2 tbsp ground flax seeds 1 tsp maple syrup Small dash of salt For the filling: 1 apple from your variety of choice (I like red rome and fuji, and you can obviously use any fresh fruit of choice here) 1/8 tsp or more allspice (or cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice blend) For the topping: About 2 walnut halves, chopped (I put mine in a bag and mash them with a hammer) To Make: Put the flax seed and maple syrup into your pie pan and stir them together with a fork. The flax should still be a little dry but should be sticky enough to push into a crust along the bowl. I usually coat the sides and don't crust the bottom to get higher sides. Push the flax into such a crust. Then, chop your apple into thin slices that will fit into your bowl. Toss them with the pie spices in another bowl and adjust spice to taste. Layer them into your pie plate over the crust and top it off with the walnut halves. Dig in.

[vegancookiemon]

Quick Recipe #8: Raw Carrot ShredFest

I tried for a long time to make raw main dishes that were tasty. This is one of the few that stuck with me. Great when you want to chow down big time but want to eat mostly raw vegetables in the process.

Ingredients: 1 lb shredded carrots 1/4 cup sliced, slivered, or chopped almonds (I put mine in a firm bag and use a hammer to chunk them, but they'll be fine whole too) 1/4 cup raisins or chopped up dates 1 tbsp shredded coconut 1 clove minced or micro-grated garlic Small dash allspice (or cinnamon) Salt to taste Optional: 2 big mushroom caps or collard leafs Toss everything together in a bowl. If you want, put some between two mushroom caps and call it a raw burger, or wrap it up in collards for a raw burrito.

[vegancookiemon]

Quick Recipe #7: Raw Buckeye Cookies

Buckeye cookies, Ohio's state cookie! Forever making Indiana super jealous with this cleaver application of the timeless PB+choc formula. Rendered here in raw form for the busy busy 21st century. This is a very quick and dirty recipe and is a little messy. For regular buckeye cookies you dip a sugared and vegan buttered up peanut butter filling into melted chocolate, but we're going to dip ours in a chocolated-up flax mix instead. You get the same experience, just easy and raw!

Ingredients: 1/4 cup ground flax seeds 2 tbsp maple syrup 2 tsp cocoa powder About 3 tbsp peanut butter (better if it has been in the fridge so it is more solid) To Make: Mix the flax, cocoa powder, and maple syrup in a bowl with a firm fork really well until a crumbly dough forms. Add nondairy milk or water in 1 tsp increments if you absolutely can't get it to make an almost-dough, but don't add too much liquid. It will be pretty crumbly, but that's okay. Take a small dollop of peanut butter (about 1-2 tsp) and drop it into your bowl with the flax. Roll it around and coat it in the flax, using the stickyness of the peanut butter to hold it all together. If you can, leave a little PB showing on one side for botanical accuracy. Repeat repeat until you have a lot of balls. Sometimes putting the "dough" into the fridge will help it stay stuck with your peanut butter. They will be a mess but they will taste great and this could be done strictly raw if you ground your own raw flax seeds, used a raw nut butter, raw cacao, and used a raw sugar or agave syrup. (Shh...) ((Secret Recipe: Crumble up some gingersnaps and mix them in with the peanut butter before making your balls.))

[vegancookiemon]

Teriyaki Pizza

I couldn't resist using the sauce from Quick Recipe #6 on a pizza! Whip up the same sauce, and bring it to a low simmer in a saucepan. Stir occasionally over the heat until the sauce thickens to a BBQ-sauce like consistency. You can then use this sauce to glaze a pizza dough (the recipe called "Pizza Dough, A Novel" in Vegan with a Vengeance by Isa Chandra Moskowitz is my method of choice), add a similar cadre of vegetables, and make an excellent Teriyaki pizza!

[vegancookiemon]

Quick Recipe #6: Terakayi Take Over

You can run, you can hide, and you will still be obsessed with Teriyaki everything after learning to make your own sauce. The trick is to tweak the sauce until you nail the exact flavor you crave.

You will need: For the sauce: 1/3c water 2 tbsp Soy Sauce 1/4 tsp Ginger Powder 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder 1/2 tsp Hot Sauce 1 tsp Molasses 1 tbsp Tapioca or Corn Starch And yr vegetables of choice, such as: 1 green bell pepper 1 box of sliced mushrooms 2 stalks green onions, sliced 1 handful of spinach 1 zucchini, chopped in half, then into 1/4 inch half moons And yr protein of choice, such as: 1 cup chick peas, adzuki beans, black beans, etc And yr flair of choice, such as: Pineapple slices, mango slices, papaya slices, chopped apricot, etc Let's do this: Mix all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and wisk them together with a fork. Give it a little taste (the pro way is to drop a dot on the back of your hand and lick it so you never spread your cooties). Then, start tweaking to get it just right. The soy sauce (sometimes needs a touch more salty flavor), ginger (only needs a very small amount - too much makes it bitter - so use sparingly), and garlic (some like it more garlic-y than others) make the biggest differences. You know you have that perfect Teriyaki taste in your mind - manifest it! Dump enough water to just cover the bottom of a wok or pot and put the heat up to high. Get it up to close to a boil but not so boiling that it is evaporating and add the green onions, and reduce the heat to medium high. Cook them for about 1 minute, then add the box of mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms have shrunk in size and are a bit browned, about another 1 minute. Then, add the bell peppers and zucchini. Stir and let cook for about 1 minute more. Add the spinach and stir until it cooks down and wilts in with everything else. Then, add the rest of the sauce and turn the heat up to medium high and simmer for about 5 minutes. You want to reduce the sauce down so it thickens and sticks onto everything. Once it is reduced to your liking, add the beans, stir, put on plates, add the flair, and enjoy. Note: If you are soy-free, use 1 tbsp tomato paste instead of the soy sauce and add 1 tsp apple cider vinegar to make this more of an American BBQ sauce. Give it a taste and perhaps add some extra sugar to balance it out. Same rules about the need to tweak apply!

[vegancookiemon]

Quick Recipe #5: Pick Your Poison Sweet Potato Snax

So easy it almost feels like I shouldn't be making this a recipe. But this is the highest ratio of delicious to effort I've ever found in baking, so I just had to include it.Ingredients: 2 big sweet potatoes For #teamsweet: 2 tsp cinnamon 2 tsp sugar (the big raw organic sugar granules work great) 1 tsp oil (I usually use peanut, sunflower, or canola because they have high smoke points. I'd avoid olive oil since we'll be baking them pretty hot.) For #teamsavory: 1 tsp salt 1 tsp dried oregano 1 tsp dried basil 1 tsp nutritional yeast 1 tsp oil To Make: Preheat your oven to 425F. Line two cookie sheets with nonstick foil. Wash your sweet potatoes and then peel them using a vegetable peeler. Chop them into about 1/4 to 1/2 inch discs. Place them in a bowl along with the tsp of oil. Then, pick your poison: sweet or savory (or both!), and sprinkle those ingredients on top of your slices. Toss them around to get them good and coated in the seasoning. Then, place them on the foiled cookie sheets in a single layer. Bake them until they are tender, though the exact time is up to you, I'm usually happy at 30 minutes. Note: You can leave off the oil and just sprinkle the spices on directly, but I find the oil helps them stick and helps the sweet potatoes crisp up.

[vegancookiemon]

Quick Recipe #4: "Holy Hell" Nacho Cheeze

My reaction when I first tried this.

1 cup almonds 1 tbsp miso (or 1 tsp apple cider vinegar if you can't find miso or don't eat soy) 2 tsp turmeric 2 cloves garlic 1 tsp onion powder 1 tsp cumin 1 tsp chili powder 1 jalepeno, seeded, diced (optional) 1 tsp salt 2 tbsp nutritional yeast 1/4c water Put everything in a blender or food processor and blend away. Add water by the tbsp to help it blend if the 1/4 cup isn't enough. I do this in a normal blender just fine, just remember to scrape the sides down between pulsing. It is supposed to be more of a firm cheeze rather than a liquidy sauce, and chunks of almonds are just fine by me. Texture, my good people. Goes excellent on top of the taco lentils in blankets (previous post).

[vegancookiemon]

Quick Recipe #3: Tacos in Blankets

A delicious vegan taco filling wrapped up in your crispy fresh green leaf of choice.

Ingredients: 2 cups lentils, dry 4 cups water 1 tbsp chili powder 1/4 tsp garlic powder 1/4 tsp onion powder 1/4 tsp oregano 1/2 tsp paprika 2 tsp cumin 1 tsp salt 1 tsp pepper 1/4 cup diced raw onions 1 head of your favorite green - my favorite for these is romaine hearts, and collards, cabbage, chard - anything wrap-able and delicious raw, would also be divine To Make Them: Wash the lentils in a colander or strainer. Add them to a small soup pot with the 4 cups water, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes. While you are waiting, mix all the spices in a small bowl, and then do something important that only takes 20 minutes, like watch an episode of Parks and Recreation. After 20 minutes, give them a quick taste to make sure they are soft all the way through. Cook for a few more minutes if they are not. Drain off any excess water from the lentils once they are cooked and return them to the soup pot. Then, put all the spices and the onions directly into the pot and stir, letting the remaining moisture in the pot sauce them up. Give it a taste and adjust for salt if necessary. Tear off the leafs and give them a good wash. Spoon the taco lentils into a green leafy wrap just like a taco. Chow down. Feel free to top with the nacho sauce (next post). Variation: Also try this with any bean of choice. Just rinse and drain the cooked or canned bean and heat it up with the spices until they sauce up. Add a tiny dab of water if they don't. This is great with blackeye peas, and they only take 15 minutes in a pressure cooker.

[vegancookiemon]

Quick Recipe #2: Chai Tea Pudding

When it comes to dessert, I am always a fan of spice. But there is more to life than just my favorite, allspice, and thus this wonder was born.

Ingredients: 1 Chai style tea bag (the Celestial Seasonings India Spice Chai is perfect) 3/4 cup nondairy mylk (almond works great) 2 bananas 1 tbsp ground flax 1/4 cup blueberries (frozen or fresh) To Make: Bring the almond milk to just barely boiling in a saucepan, cut the heat, and add the tea bag to brew. Leave the bag in for a few minutes, but not too long or it could release bitterness. Remove the tea bag when the tea has brewed to your liking. The mylk should taste like chai! Put the brew and everything else into a blender and blend. Add more fruit ingredients if it is too thin. I like mine somewhere between a smoothie and a thick thick pudding. This is good over oats if you want to make it a meal. It is also good with a little carob or cocoa powder.

[vegancookiemon]

Quick Recipe #1: Sesame Sesame Sesame Noodles

Sesame seeds: proof food is a drug. And I have every possible route of sesame consumption covered here. Even better, this whole recipe is done in the time it takes you to boil up some noodles, chop some veg, and toss them in sesame greatness.

You will need:

1/4 to 1/2 box (you are shooting for about 3 cups cooked) of your favorite Asian-style noodles or noodly pasta (I use buckwheat soba noodles - cook time is only 3 minutes) 6 stalks green onions, chopped, white parts removed 2 tbsp tahini 2 tbsp soy sauce 1 tsp rice vinegar 1 tsp sesame oil 1 tsp red pepper flakes, sirracha, or hot sauce (skip if you don't like things hot) 2 tbsp sesame seeds 1 to 2 cups raw vegetables of choice, chopped small (carrots, celery, zucchini, bell peppers, daikon, bok choy, cabbage all work excellent - the sesame flavor is strong so have some great raw veg to balance it out)

...and Action: Cook the noodles according to package directions. When done, run under cold water to stop the cooking process, drain off the excess water, and place in a very large bowl. Wisk together the tahini, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and hot sauce (if using) in a small cup. Dump this and all other ingredients on top of the noodles, and toss and stir with a fork until they are good and coated and there are no clumps of tahini. Variation (in case you are #teampeanut or something): Use peanut butter, peanut oil, and chopped peanuts instead of the sesame ingredients. Note: Just leave out the soy sauce if you are soy-free, it will still taste great. You might want to add a little sea salt or experiment with any random sauces you have lying around.

[vegancookiemon]

Series: Quick Vegan Recipe Nerdery

I love cooking. Long recipes with multiple steps thrill me, and I have to admit, I despise the whole "quick superfast recipes for the busy important person" trend in cookbooks. I only have a finite number of calories I consume in my lifetime and I want every last one of them to be finger licking incredible. However, over the years I've come up with some recipes that really are just quick and easy. They aren't dumbed-down or compromises of the real thing. They are their own things. And just happen to be quick. So when a dear friend from Twitter asked me to share them, I figured it was as good an excuse as any to get a tumblr and put them out there! I will be releasing a handful of recipes that have served me well over the years in a few installments. Hope you enjoy.