Tuscan Pizza Sauce (vegan, gluten free, low fat)

This pizza sauce is a new favorite in our house. We came up with it after running out of the store bought Italian seasoning blend.

1 (15 oz) can organic tomato sauce

1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp whole fennel seed, gently crushed or chopped (not ground)
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/2 tsp organic coconut sugar (optional)
sea salt to taste

Mix all ingredients and your pizza sauce is ready to top your pizza.

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NOTES: This spice mix is also great in other pasta sauces. Combine the basil, oregano, thyme, garlic powder, fennel, black pepper and sea salt and add to your favorite pasta recipe. We add it to a very small amount of Earth Balance dairy free butter, and toss it with fresh pasta and sauted veggies like zucchini and bell pepper for a quick meal.

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*gluten free, soy free, and low fat

Baked Herbed Tofu Cutlets (vegan, gluten free, low fat)

These quick and easy tofu cutlets can be eaten as is, added to your favorite salad, a sandwich, a wrap or even dipped in your favorite dipping sauce. Lately I've been eating them in salad—a bed of romaine lettuce with onion, tomato and drizzling a vegan honey mustard-style dressing.


BAKED HERBED TOFU CUTLETS

Yield: 8 cutlets / 4 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25-30 minutes

Ingredients

juice of 1 lemon
1 lb. block organic tofu, drained and sliced into 8 cutlets

6 Tbsp fine gluten free breadcrumbs (recipe here or use store bought)
2 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp finely ground black pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder

Preheat oven to 425˚ F. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place juice of 1 lemon into a shallow dish, large enough to fit the tofu cutlets. In a separate shallow dish, mix breadcrumbs with parsley, salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder.

Dredge tofu cutlets in lemon juice, then in the herbed bredcrumb mixture. Place cutlets onto the parchment covered baking sheet and bake at 425˚ F for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

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NOTES: These cutlets refrigerate well, great for take along lunches.

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*gluten free, soy free, and low fat

Herbed Scalloped Potatoes (vegan, gluten free, low fat option)

Sometimes I hesitate to share recipes if I don't yet have a photo of the dish and the process. But for the most part, that just holds me back from sharing. So from here on out, I'm going to share sooner, even if it means coming back at a later date with photos. This is one of those recipes. Each time I've made it, there isn't enough light in the late evening to get good photos. I'll be back with those as soon as I can, but for now, enjoy this new recipe. It's perfect for greeting autumn—also known as comfort food season.

HERBED SCALLOPED POTATOES

Yield: 9x13 inch pan / 12 servings
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 90 minutes

Ingredients

6 cups thinly sliced golden potatoes
2 Tbsp vegan butter, plus additional for dish (optional, see notes)
4 Tbsp garbanzo bean flour
3 cups organic soy milk, divided
2 slices vegan smoky gouda cheese (optional, skip if going low fat)
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 Tbsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp ground sage

Preheat oven to 350˚ F. Grease a 9x13" casserole dish with vegan butter.

Place sliced potatoes in the greased casserole dish in a staggered manner so the sauce can reach all the potatoes.

For the sauce, place the vegan butter into a medium saucepan over medium low heat. Add about 1/4 cup of the total 3 cups of soy milk, and whisk in the garbanzo flour one tablespoon at a time, incorporating the flour completely. Add the remaining soy milk, and heat to just below boiling. Just before the mix boils, add the gouda cheese. Once the cheese is melted, add the remaining ingredients (salt through sage). Bring sauce to a low boil, reduce heat and simmer 1 minute. Remove the sauce from heat, and pour over the potatoes. Gently shake the pan to encourage the sauce to reach all the potatoes.

Cover the pan with foil and bake at 350˚ F for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 60 minutes. Remove from oven and allow the potatoes to rest 10 minutes prior to serving.

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NOTES: For low fat option, 1) use parchment to line the pan instead if you're following a low-fat vegan diet, omit the vegan butter by using a little more soy milk when incorporating the garbanzo flour, and 3) omit the cheese.

For a soy free option, substitute almond milk or a similar plant milk.

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*gluten free, can be soy free, can be low fat

Garlic "Parmesan" Croutons (gluten free, vegan)

I'm not much of a salad eater. Which is ironic since most people who learn I'm a vegan usually respond with the comment, "What do you eat, salad?"

Rarely.

But these croutons have rocked my not-so-into-salad world. I tossed them into my tofu BLT salad and slathered it in ranch dressing...and suddenly I'm seeing a lot more salad in my future.

A quick hint, I start my croutons a few days ahead, since I bake my own bread. I cut the bread and let it "stale" in the refrigerator a day or two, as stale bread seems to make a better crouton. You can sub any stale bread in place of the Sweet Potato Flat Bread, just be sure you have about 4 cups of cubed bread to start.


GLUTEN FREE CROUTONS

Yield: About 4 cups of croutons
Prep Time: 10 minutes + time for preparing 1 recipe Sweet Potato Flat Bread
Cook Time: 50 minutes

You will need a very large (or two small) cookie sheet and parchment paper for this recipe.

Ingredients

1 recipe Sweet Potato Flat Bread, cut into bite size cubes
2 Tbsp vegan butter, melted
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 heaping tsp dried parsley
2 heaping Tbsp nutritional yeast

Preheat oven to 325˚ F. Line cookie sheet(s) with parchment paper.

Cubed bread.

Combine herbs and salt in a small bowl. Place bread cubes in a separate, large mixing bowl.  Drizzle about 1/4 of the melted vegan butter and 1/4 of the herb mixture, tossing to coat the bread cubes. Repeat this process until you've used all the butter and herb mixture to coat the bread cubes.

Place bread cubes in a single layer on lined cookie sheet(s).

Pre baking.

Bake bread cubes at 325˚ F in for 10 minutes, then stir and return to oven for another 10 minutes. Continue baking and stirring, shortening time between stirring as the cubes darken. Bake until the cubes have thoroughly dried out and become crouton crunchy. Keep a close eye on your first batch, all ovens bake a bit differently and it's easy to burn these within a few minutes.

Post baking.

You can serve these immediately, warm or cooled. Cool completely before storing and eat within a day or two for best flavor and texture.

Chomp. Yum. Mmmmmmm!

*gluten free, can be soy free if using non-soy vegan butter

© 2016 Ahimsa Kitchen and Marty Tribble | Reproduction of this post without written permission is unlawful.

Blueberry Cobbler (vegan, gluten-free, low fat)

Don't be surprised if this cobbler doesn't make it to your plate!

This year I've made some of the biggest leaps yet in my culinary adventures. Mostly it's because I've given myself permission to explore more, and in that exploration to trust my intuition on how to take a typical recipe and transform it so that it works for my body's needs.

This is one such recipe. Who knew you could make a delicious cobbler with no fat? I certainly didn't, and wouldn't have expected this kind of flavor!

I took hints from about 10 different recipes, then blended that with my own twist on biscuit batter to come up with a cobbler base that won't leave anyone missing gluten (and trust me, I truly miss being able to eat wheat-based breads).

It would be a crime to keep this one to myself. So, here you go. You're welcome. :)

BLUEBERRY COBBLER

Yield: 9 servings / 8"x8" cobbler
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Bake Time: 40 minutes

You'll need parchment paper for this recipe.

FOR THE FILLING:

3 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
2 Tbsp coconut sugar
1 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon)
1 Tbsp arrowroot flour (dissolve in the lemon juice first)
1 tsp vanilla


FOR THE COBBLER BASE:

Dry Ingredients

1 1/4 cups rice flour
1 cup garbanzo bean flour
1 Tbsp tapioca starch
1 Tbsp potato flour
1 Tbsp aluminum-free baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp ground chia seed
2 Tbsp coconut sugar

Wet Ingredients

3/4 cup rice milk (or other plant milk)
1/2 c unsweetened applesauce
1/2 tsp vanilla


Method

Preheat oven to 375˚ F.

Line an 8"x8" glass baking dish with parchment paper. (If you use a metal dish, you'll likely need to lessen the bake time.)

Assemble the cobbler filling by combining all filling ingredients and set aside. (Be sure the dissolve the arrowroot flour in the lemon juice as noted before adding it to the remaining filling ingredients.)

Assemble the cobbler base. In a medium sized mixing bowls, whisk together the dry ingredients (rice flour, garbanzo flour, tapioca starch, potato flour, baking powder, sea salt, ground chia seed and coconut sugar). In a separate small bowl, combine the rice milk and applesauce; mix well and stir into the dry mixture until all dry ingredients are moist.

Place about 3/4 of the base mix into the parchment-lined baking dish, spreading the mixture evenly to coat the base of the pan.

Cover the base mixture layer with all the filling mixture.

Use the remaining 1/4 of the base mix to dollop the top of the cobbler. There's no need to spread out the topping, just make sure the dollops aren't really thick by making multiple small dollops instead.

Bake at 375˚ F for about 40 minutes or until crust is a golden brown. Serve warm or cool. Try it with a scoop of vegan vanilla ice cream or the vegan version of cool whip, coco whip...YUM!!!

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NOTE: If you have a sweet tooth, you may prefer more sugar than listed in this recipe, so feel free to adjust. You can also substitute stevia for a sugar free version of this recipe.

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*gluten free, soy free, low fat

Crabby Cakes with Tartar Sauce (vegan, gluten-free, low fat)

Crabby Cakes with Tartar Sauce

Before going vegan, I was a "seafood" lover. Since regaining my compassion, I can't fathom the thought of seeing these beautiful sea creatures as food, so I've been super curious about recreating the flavors and textures of seafood dishes, vegan style of course!

My first attempt to veganize crab cakes turned out really great. I call them "Crabby Cakes," because I like I said, I can't fathom eating a beautiful crab now, so even the name "Vegan Crab Cakes" makes me feel crabby! So Crabby Cakes they are.

The texture and taste is truly seafood-like...so much so that if I hadn't made these myself, I'd have been a bit worried about what was really in them!

These little cakes come together pretty simply, it took me just a few minutes to assemble them, and baking them brought the flavor together perfectly. You could also fry these in coconut oil first and then bake them, if you prefer.

I think you'll love these as much as I did. Enjoy!

I love to serve these with baked oven fries and slaw.

CRABBY CAKES

Yield: 6 small crabby cakes (serves 2)
Prep Time: 10-15 minutes
Bake Time: 30 minutes

You'll need parchment paper for this recipe. The Tarter Sauce recipe is here.

Ingredients

1 (14 oz) can heart of palm, diced small
1 Tbsp grated carrot
1/4 cup frozen, canned or fresh corn kernels (I used roasted frozen kernels)
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp finely chopped parsley or 1 tsp dried parsley
1/4 tsp dried dill
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

1 flax egg (see note below)
2 Tbsp (approximately, see instructions) garbanzo bean flour

1/2 cup plain gluten free bread crumbs (store bought or make your own, recipe here)

Ready to pop in the oven!

Method

Preheat oven to 400˚ F.

In a small mixing bowl, combine heart of palm, carrot, corn, green onion, parsley, dill, lemon juice. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in flax egg. Add garbanzo flour a little at a time, stirring between additions, watching for the mixture to started coming together into a texture that will allow you to form the cakes easily. The cakes should bind nicely but still be fairly moist, so if they aren't binding, add a little more flour while being mindful not to over add and make them dry.

Form 6 small cakes with the heart of palm mixture. Coat each cake with breadcrumbs, and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. The cakes will bind together even more upon baking, and will hold together easily when moved from the baking sheet to your plate.

Bake cakes in a 400˚ F oven for 25 minutes, or until cakes are light golden brown.

Serve with chilled tartar sauce (recipe here).

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NOTE: If you're new to flax eggs, place 1 Tbsp ground flax meal + 3 Tbsp water FOR EACH EGG NEEDED in a food processor (I use a the Magic Bullet for this job...works like a charm) and process for at least 1 minute. This creates a wonderful "gummy" texture that mimics an egg and works perfect for subbing eggs in most baking recipes. Bonus, no cholesterol!

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*gluten free

Tartar Sauce (vegan, gluten free, low fat)

Try this delicious sauce with my Crabby Cakes recipe!

TARTAR SAUCE

Yield: 1/2 cup sauce
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Chill Time: 0-30 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 cup tofu mayo (recipe here)
1 Tbsp low-fat Vegenaise or other prepared low-fat vegan mayo (optional, improves texture)
1 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp sweet pickle relish
1 1/2 tsp finely minced onion
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp ground black pepper

Method

Combine all ingredients and serve immediately or chill for up to 30 minutes before serving.

P.S. This sauce is a Crabby Cake's best friend.

*gluten free

Tofu Mayo (vegan, gluten-free, low fat)

This is a super simple recipe for tofu mayo, a sauce that can be used on sandwiches, in dressings and dips, in certain sauces to replace oil, and in any recipe that calls for mayonaisse.

TOFU MAYO

Ingredients

1 (1 lb) pkg organic silken tofu, drained
1 1/2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp coconut sugar
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp mustard powder

Method

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Place in a storage container and refrigerate. Your tofu mayo should stay fresh for at least 1 week if properly refrigerated.

*gluten free

Easy Homemade Breadcrumbs (vegan, gluten-free, yeast-free, low fat)

I've been on the hunt for vegan, gluten-free, yeast-free and low fat bread crumbs for far too long. Everything I find in stores is either including ingredients I'm not willing to put in my body or sugar-laden and over-priced. I really, really wanted to try a vegan version of crab cakes recently, so it was time to solve the breadcrumb dilemma (vegan crab cake recipe on its way).

My idea was to make a biscuit dough, bake, crumble and re-bake to create breadcrumbs. And much to my surprise, it worked! Not only would I have eaten the biscuits as made, but the breadcrumbs were absolutely delicious.

It was one of those ideas where I really went out on a limb, didn't expect much and was thrilled at the wonderful results.

Ok, your turn!

SUPER EASY HOMEMADE BREADCRUMBS

Yield: Approximately 2 cups bread crumbs
Prep Time: 10-15 minutes
Bake Time: 12-15 minutes + 15-20 minutes

You'll need parchment paper for this recipe.

Dry Ingredients

1 1/4 cups rice flour
1 cup garbanzo bean flour
1 Tbsp tapioca starch
1 Tbsp potato flour
1 Tbsp aluminum-free baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp ground chia seed

Wet Ingredients

3/4 cup rice milk (or other plant milk)
1/2 c unsweetened applesauce

Method

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Combine dry ingredients in a small bowl. Combine wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until well combined.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Spread breadcrumb dough in an even layer onto the cookie sheet (for me, the dough was about 1/2 inch thick, and I was able to spread it easily with my mixing spoon).

Bake at 400 degrees F for 12-15 minutes or until dough is slightly golden on bottom and edges.

Step 1: Bake the dough

Cool the dough thoroughly. Once cooled, gently crumble (so as not to create doughy lumps) the baked dough into small crumbs. You don't have to worry about getting the crumbs super small, as you'll be grinding them after the re-baking process.

Step 2: Crumble the bread

Preheat over to 300˚ F.

Place the crumbs in a thin layer on two parchment-lined cookie sheets (I was able to reuse my first sheet of parchment). Bake at 300 degrees F for 15-20 minutes, stirring the crumbs every 5 minutes to encourage even drying and toasting. Make sure the breadcrumbs are "crunchy," they should be fully dried out. I bake mine until they were a rich brown color.

Step 3: Bake bread crumbles to a rich golden brown

Cool the breadcrumbs thoroughly. I prefer my crumbs much smaller than what comes out of the oven (see above photo), so I grind them to suit my needs. Place about a cup of crumbs at time into a food processor or small blender (I used my Magic Bullet, it worked perfectly). Pulse the crumbs a few seconds at a time, until they are the consistency you desire, using caution not to turn them into dust, which is easy to do if you aren't watching closely.

Store your leftover breadcrumbs in an airtight container. They should keep for about a week at room temperature as long as you baked them long enough to remove all moisture. To store them longer, keep them in an airtight container in the freezer, they should stay fresh about 6 months this way. I put my breadcrumbs in a mason jar tucked into a gallon size freezer bag to help protect them from moisture, and tucked them in the freezer. As with all food storage suggestion provided here, they are just suggestions; use your own good judgement on food storage, and when it doubt, throw it out. It's never worth it to eat food that hasn't been properly stored.

These breadcrumbs are super tasty and work great in my Crabby Cakes recipe (coming soon)!

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*gluten-free, soy-free, low fat