A collection of recipes that I’ve created on the fly. All measurements are approximate, because I don’t actually measure as I cook, so I just guess afterward if what I make turns out well. Please use your own discretion when seasoning and mixing ingredients. If the consistency’s off, correct it. If it’s bland, add more seasoning. Get creative!

Dips, Spreads and Small Stuff | Entrees, Salads and Big Stuff | Breakfasts, Desserts and Snacks
Notes on Ingredients You May Not Recognize

Dips, Spreads and Small Stuff

Basil-Garlic Homous | Vegan Chicken Salad | Vegan Tuna Salad | Tofu Ricotta | All-Purpose Salad Dressing/Marinade

Basil-Garlic Homous

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
3 – 5 cloves garlic
1 – 2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp tahini (optional)
1/4 cup fresh basil or to taste
Paprika, capers and/or kalamata olives, basil leaves for garnish

In a food processor, grind chickpeas and garlic. Add other ingredients. Process or blend until smooth. Garnish with a sprinkling of paprika and other chosen garnish. Let chill for one hour or more, covered. Eat with warm naan or pita bread.

Vegan Chicken Salad

If you like your chicken salad to be very chicken-y, try doing two packs of firm tofu instead of one; remember to double all other ingredients for the chicken, too. Makes enough for 6 or 8 sandwiches.

‘Chicken’

1 pack firm tofu, undrained, cut into small cubes
2 tsp rosemary
2 tsp sage
2 tsp oregano
Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 350 Fahrenheit. Cut tofu and spread evenly in a roasting pan. Season; toss; bake for 5 minutes or until some pieces are turning golden brown and the spices are fragrant.

Spread

1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise (this also might work: tahini + water to create a mayo-like consistency)
2 tbsp mustard
1.5 tbsp miso paste
1/2 block tofu – silken if you’re blending by hand, medium-firm if you’re using a blender
1/3 white onion, diced
1 clove garlic (optional), minced
1/3 cup green onions, diced
1/2 cup or more fresh dill, chopped
Soy or rice milk, unsweetened and unflavoured, for consistency – or water
Salt and pepper, to taste
Paprika and tumeric, to taste

Mix mayonnaise, mustard, miso and tofu until creamy; add onion, garlic, green onion and dill. Mix until even. Add milk if necessary for consistency.

Add the spread to the tofu; mix til all tofu is coated. Chill until ready to serve. Works well in sandwiches or on crackers.

Vegan Tuna Salad

1 tin white beans, drained and rinsed
2 tbsp vegan mayonnaise
1 tbsp miso paste
1/3 cup soup nori or other nori (seaweed)
Salt, pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients except for beans and mix in a blender or with a hand mixer (or with a fork if you’re stubborn) until the seaweed is fairly broken up. (If you’re mixing with a fork, cut up the nori into little itty bitty pieces first.) Add beans and mix until evenly coated. The beans should be soft enough that they collapse somewhat but leave a bit of texture behind. If you have trouble mixing in your miso if mixing with a fork, add a bit of water and make it into a liquidy paste before adding it.

Tofu Ricotta

1 block medium-firm tofu
2 tbsp dijon mustard
2 tbsp vegan mayonnaise (optional)
2 tbsp miso paste (optional) (mix with water beforehand to create a stirrable liquid)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
About 1/2 loose cup fresh basil, chopped OR fresh coriander, chopped – dry spices will work too, if you haven’t got fresh
Pepper, to taste
Salt, to taste

Drain tofu but do not press. Crumble into a bowl and add everything else; stir til the consistency of ricotta. Adjust flavourings to taste.

This recipe might also be really good if you freeze and then thaw your soft or medium-firm tofu for a chewier consistency.

All-Purpose Salad Dressing and Marinade

This salad dressing has a sweet flavour to it and quite a kick thanks to the garlic. If you want less garlicky breath, feel free to cut the garlic in half or cut it out entirely; it’ll still taste good. I’ve also used this dressing as a marinade for baked tofu and it would work as a sauce as well. All ingredients are “to taste”, measurements are extremely approximate.

2 tbsp olive oil
1.5 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1.5 tbsp dijon mustard
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tbsp pure maple syrup
Salt and pepper, to taste

Combine all ingredients. Food process or blend if you can, but if not, just mix them well. Taste it and see if it tastes right to you before serving. I like to add a bit more maple syrup if I’m using it for a fruity spinach and strawberry salad, or a bit more mustard if I’m using it as a marinade. Fresh basil would be a nice addition as well, I suspect, if you’ve got it.

If you can’t get pure maple syrup, agave nectar will do as well, or if you’re (gasp!) a bee-gan, you can use honey.

Entrees, Salads and Big Stuff

Pizza Crust | Coconut Curry Mango-Plantain Rice Noodle Salad | Simple Tomato Lentil Dahl | Fresh Cherry Tomato Salad | Coconut Mango Jambalaya | Infamous Vegan Mac’n’Cheese

Pizza Crust

1 packet active yeast (8g)
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 tsp salt
3 cups whole-wheat flour -or- 2 cups whole-wheat flour and 1 cup oat bran or cornmeal, -or- 2 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour and 1/2 cup nutritional yeast (my favourite, yum for nutritional yeast)
Really, you can use any combination of flours as long as it equals about 3 cups. Try 1/2 to 1 cup of semolina, or spelt flour.
1 – 3 tbsp olive oil (optional)
1 tbsp brown sugar (optional)
Spices, to taste (we use pepper, basil and rosemary – fresh rosemary is really nice)

Mix the yeast and warm water together; stir. Add salt and spices. Stir in flour. If dough is still super sticky or liquidy, add more flour, oat bran, cornmeal or nutritional yeast (whichever you like best). Add oil and sugar (optional). Knead for three minutes. Add 1 tbsp oil and roll the dough so it’s coated in a light layer of oil. Set aside in a warm and draft-free place for 20 minutes to rise. Cover with a damp cloth for best results.

Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface until your preferred thickness. Add sauce and toppings. Bake pizza at medium-hot temperature until toppings are baked through. I recommend roasting your vegetables partway beforehand so you do not have to worry about overcooking the crust.

Depending on the type of flour you use and the optional ingredients you incorporate, this crust can be hard and tough, or soft and fluffy.

Coconut Curry Mango-Plantain Rice Noodle Salad

Came up with this for a vegan potluck attendee who’s allergic to gluten, soy, nuts and sesame seeds. Turns out she can’t do curry either, but it was great anyway!

Curry Sauce

1.5 cans coconut milk
1/2 cup unsweetened rice milk
1.5 – 2 tbsp red curry paste, or to taste
2 tbsp fenugreek

Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat; cover and let simmer for 5 – 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

Rice Noodles

1 package rice noodles, or enough to feed yer crew

Prepare noodles according to directions on package, or just boil them til they look okay, like I do. Drain and rinse in cold water.

Plantain

2 plantains
1 tbsp vegetable oil

Chop the plantains in irregular but similarly sized shapes. Fry over medium-high heat until the outside of the fruit is uniformly yellow. Remove from heat.

Other Ingredients

2 mangoes, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1/3 cup shredded coconut

Combine and let chill until ready to eat (2 – 3 hours is best). Toss with coconut. Toast the coconut if you’re feeling really fancy.

Simple Tomato Lentil Dahl

1 cup lentils (any colour; red are quicker, green and brown take more cooking time)
1 – 2 cups water
1 tin cherry tomatoes in sauce
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1 – 2 tbsp oil or margarine
1/2 tsp dried ginger
1 tsp cardamom
2 tsp garam masala
Salt and pepper, to taste

Saute the onions and garlic in olive oil. Add spices and continue to saute til fragrant and until the onions are beginning to be translucent. Add the lentils and water, and half of the tin of tomatoes. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce to a simmer.

Cook until reduced. Add the rest of the tomatoes. Cook until lentils are done. You may have to add more water.

Serve with warm pita or injera (Ethiopian flatbread).

Fresh Cherry Tomato Salad

One bowl half full of cherry tomatoes
1/2 a small avocado, or 1/3 a large avocado
Cucumber, corn or other fruit/vegetable in similar amounts
1 tbsp mustard of your choice
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1.5 tsp olive oil

Using a sharp knife (serrated enough to cleanly sever the tomato skin), cut each tomato in half. Cube the avocado and cucumber into one-centimeter (1/3 inch) pieces. Add mustard, vinegar and olive oil. Mix until evenly coated.

Coconut Mango Jambalaya

You can play with the spices a little bit here… try cumin, bay, basil, or tumeric. We just used what was on hand. It was perfect, but the spices were not necessarily the most obvious flavour. You could also use a bit of “jerk” seasoning in place of all spices… if it’s spicy jerk seasoning you may want to omit the chili pepper as well.

1.5 tbsp coconut oil
1 red onion, chopped
1 tbsp dried fenugreek
1.5 tsp paprika
2 tsp coriander
1 red chili pepper, diced
500mL coconut milk
1 large can peeled tomatoes
4 yellow mangoes, peeled, pitted and chopped
1/3 cup shredded coconut
4 cups brown rice, cooked to an “almost done” state

Melt the coconut oil over medium-high heat. Add red onion and sautee. Add spices and toss til onion starts to become translucent and spices are well distributed.

Add coconut milk and chili pepper and bring to a boil. Turn down heat and simmer.

Chop canned, peeled tomatoes into bite-sized pieces. Add tomatoes and all juice to simmering coconut milk. Bring to a boil and simmer again.

Let simmer and reduce for 15 – 20 minutes. Add rice, shredded coconut and mango. Stir til well mixed. Heat through.

Let cool for 5 minutes and serve. Top with toasted coconut or sesame seeds if desired.

Infamous Vegan Mac’n'Cheese

3 – 5 cloves garlic, to taste
1/2 medium yellow onion
2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp paprika
1.5 tbsp olive oil
1.5 tbsp dijon mustard
1+ tbsp Earth Balance or other margarine
1/2 block VeganRella, Vegan Gourmet or other MELTING vegan soy cheese (read: not Sheese)
1 cup unsweetened rice/soy/whatever milk
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
Salt and pepper, to taste

Mushrooms, broccoli, spinach, or any other vegetables you like
Macaroni

Preheat oven to 350.
Add macaroni to boiling water and cook until almost done. Do not overcook unless you want mush casserole.
Saute onion and garlic in olive oil. Add turmeric and paprika; toast spices in oil with onion and garlic until onion is starting to become floppy and translucent. Add the cheese, grated, with the soy milk, mustard, margarine, and nutritional yeast. Stir regularly until melted.
Put the drained macaroni in a casserole dish and add cheese sauce. Add vegetables on top if you’ve chosen to include some. Top with more grated cheese, or maybe some bread crumbs and nutritional yeast, or some paprika – just for texture and colour.
Cover the dish and bake, letting the vegetables steam to satisfaction. I guess this takes about 15 minutes. Maybe 10, but who’s counting?
Remove cover and continue to bake until top is browning. You might want to broil it too. This usually takes about the amount of time it takes me to go outside with a friend, get distracted, and then remember that we’ve got food in the oven – it’s always perfectly done at that point.

Breakfasts, Desserts and Snacks

Yeasty Toast | Wholesome Breakfast Smoothie | Coconut-Orange French Toast | Tastes-Like-Christmas Carob Sauce

Yeasty Toast

I stole this recipe from my summer love. It’s simple, tasty, and perfect to absorb alcohol after a long hard night out – and before you go to bed! It has helped prevent many a hangover.

Crusty bread cut into thick slices
Earth Balance or other vegan margarine
Nutritional yeast

Preheat your oven or toaster oven to whatever temperature you like best. If you’re a distracted and negligent cook, make it a bit cooler so that you don’t accidentally burn it. Spread margarine on the bread. Add nutritional yeast – however thick you want. Bake until bread is toasted.

Wholesome Breakfast Smoothie

This smoothie is wholesome and healthy, tasty and satisfying, and perfect for starting a big day with lots of energy. I buy “baking bananas” (brown bananas) for a discount at my local grocer’s, peel them and freeze them. That way I always have a good supply of breakfast bananas. I also usually soak the oatmeal in hot tap water while preparing the rest of the ingredients. The warmth and grittiness of the oatmeal help this feel more like a meal and less like a brain freeze.

1 banana, peeled and frozen
1/4 cup quick oats (oatmeal) softened with hot water
1 tbsp pure maple syrup
1/4 cup coconut milk (or vanilla rice or soy milk)
1 tbsp shredded coconut
1 tbsp cocoa
Cinnamon and/or vanilla, to taste (optional)
Ground flaxseeds, hempseeds, spirulina and/or protein powder (optional)

Blend all ingredients in a food processor or blender. If you have a lower-powered processor, you might want to cut the banana into smaller pieces first. Pour into a glass and drink.

Coconut-Orange French Toast

4 – 6 pieces of bread, maybe raisin bread, thick and crusty and a little bit hard (toast it if it’s fresh)

2 egg replacers – eg. 2 tsp psyllium husks and 6 tbsp warm water, beaten
1/4 cup (or a small chunk) medium-firm tofu (or silken if you don’t have a blender)
2/3 cup coconut milk
1/3 cup hemp, soy, rice, almond or other milk
1/3 cup orange zest (grated rind) or one orange’s rind grated
The juice of one orange
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon, or to taste
1/2 tsp salt

Combine all ingredients and blend til creamy. Soak two pieces of bread in the mixture at a time, turning to ensure maximum coverage. The longer you soak them, the tastier they’ll be. Heat up some oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, put the bread in the skillet. Flip when it starts to brown; remove from skillet when both sides are golden-brown. Serve with pure maple syrup, chopped fruit and anything else you like your French toast with.

Tastes-Like-Christmas Carob Sauce

1/2 cup carob chips (use dark chocolate chips if you don’t have carob)
1/4 cup vanilla or unflavoured soy, rice, almond etc. milk – or coconut milk if you want it really creamy
1+1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
Nutmeg, allspice, cardamom to taste if you have them

Melt carob chips with milk in double boiler (or, like me, in a small pot resting in a larger, water-filled pot on the stove). Add spices, stir til creamy.

Notes on Ingredients You May Not Recognize

Fenugreek: This is an Iranian spice, also known as methi or kasuri methi. You can find it in the import aisle. It’s a key ingredient in many of the foods I make, and it is delicious and fragrant. I use the Peacock brand. It’s got a peacock on it.

Nutritional Yeast: Cheese for vegans! This is a flaky yellow powdery substance that you can buy at your local health food grocery store. They’ll definitely have it at Whole Foods, and maybe at Trader Joe’s too, if you’re American. I am lucky enough to be able to buy it from my local corner grocer’s. It’s chock full of B12 and yumminess.

Plantains: Most people have heard of them but not everyone knows what they are. Plantains are a banana-shaped fruit; they taste like a cross between bananas and sweet potatoes. Lightly fried in oil or coconut milk, plantains make a delicious carb-alicious meal. They are not as sweet as bananas, but are still quite sweet.