Aunt Carol's Orange Rolls

My husband's Aunt Carol is a phenomenal cook. She put together a cookbook of family recipes and gave one to each of her nieces and nephews. I just happened to be lucky enough to marry into the family and the cookbook was transferred into my willing hands.

I've asked her permission to post her recipe for orange rolls, and she was happy to oblige. I've made only a couple of changes to make it vegan, and I hope you'll enjoy the results.

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cup flour

1 pkg. active dry yeast (or 2 1/4 tsp. loose active yeast if you don't have a package)

1 1/4 cup plain soy milk

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup margarine

1 tsp. salt

1 Tb. ground flax seed, mixed thoroughly with 3 Tbs. water

4 tsp. grated orange peel

1/2 cup sugar

4 Tb. melted margarine

Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

1 T. margarine

1 T. orange juice (plus a little more if needed to make right consistency)

Instructions:

In mixing bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups flour with package of yeast. Heat milk, sugar, margarine and salt in saucepan until warm, 115 - 120 degrees, stirring constantly to melt margarine. Add to flour and yeast, along with the flax seed mixture and beat on low speed of electric mixer for 1 - 1 1/2 minutes, scraping bowl. Beat 3 minutes more at high speed.

By hand, stir in rest of flour (it may not all combine), shape dough into a ball and place in lightly greased bowl. Cover and let rise until double, 1 1/2 hours. Punch down, cover and let rest another 10 minutes.

Divide dough into 2 parts. On a lightly floured space, roll 1/2 of dough into a 16 x 8 in. rectangle. Brush with 2 tablespoons of melted margarine and sprinkle with 1/4 cup sugar and 2 tsp. orange peel. Roll up jellyroll style and seal edges. Cut into 1-in. slices. Place, cut side up, in a greased 9 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan. Repeat with remaining dough.

Cover and let rise in a warm place until double, about 45 minutes. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes or slightly more, until golden brown. Combine glaze ingredients. Remove rolls from pan and glaze while still warm.

*I glazed half of the recipe and left the other half unglazed for my husband, who doesn't necessarily care for the super sweet glaze on rolls. You could also add some dried cranberries to the inside of the rolls. That would add some special pizzazz, although it's really not necessary.

This may take a bit of time, but the results are definitely worth it!

Peach Berry Cobbler

There is a great little market not far from where I live that has fantastic deals on produce every Wednesday. This last week I was able to find peaches for about $.49 per lb. Of course, I had to buy at least a pound or two. Now that I had my acquisition, what would I do with it? I looked to find a great recipe for peach cobbler. I found this one for Peach-Blueberry...Tell me, how can you go wrong with that combination? I took it to potluck and it was scarfed up pretty quickly. I had to make another one for our family to enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup white sugar

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 cup soy milk

1/4 cup margarine, softened

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 Tbs. cornstarch

1/2 cup cold water

3 cups fresh peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced

1 cup fresh blueberries (frozen work well, too)

1 Tbs. margarine

1 Tbs. lemon juice

2 Tbs. white sugar

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl. stir together flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and baking powder. Mix in milk and 1/4 cup margarine until smooth.

In a medium saucepan, stir together the brown sugar, cornstarch and water. Mix until smooth. Mix in peaches and blueberries. Cook and stir over medium heat until thick and bubbly. Mix in 1 Tbs. margarine and 1 Tbs. lemon juice. Continue cooking until the butter melts. Pour into an 8x8 baking dish. Evenly spoon batter over hot fruit.

As a final garnish, mix together 2 Tbs. sugar and cinnamon in a small container. Sprinkle over the batter as much as desired. (I only used half of the mixture.) Place the baking dish into the preheated oven. Bake for approximately 40 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the crust comes out clean.

Yield: About 9 servings

Original Recipe was submitted to allrecipes.com by Amy Posont. I've tweaked it to make it vegan.

Curried Red Lentils

I happened upon these delightful split red lentils a few years ago, and developed one of our favorite recipes. One thing I appreciate about the red lentil is that it cooks so quickly. The stew was done before my brown rice could finish cooking!

Ingredients:

1 celery rib, diced

1 carrot, diced

1 small onion, diced

1 C. red lentils

2 C. vegetable broth (I made mine with 4 Tbs. vegetarian chicken broth and 2 cups water)

1 C. water

1/2 can lite coconut milk

1 Tb. curry powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. granulated garlic

pepper to taste

Instructions:

In a medium saucepan, saute celery, carrots and onion. When they are softened, add red lentils. Cook for a few minutes before adding broth and water. Bring to a boil and add seasonings and coconut milk. Cook on medium-high heat until the soup begins to thicken slightly, then turn down and simmer until the lentils look slightly smooth and creamy. Stir occasionally to keep from sticking.

This stew is great served over brown rice. We even eat it over whole wheat toast sometimes!

Peanut Butter Cookies

Gracie and I were in the mood to bake cookies. I have an over abundance of peanut butter, so naturally the best way to use it up is make Peanut Butter cookies, right? Daddy has been gone all weekend (just arrived early this morning) so we decided to surprise him with a little treat.

This recipe is very easy. Measurements are pretty much the same throughout, so it's easy to memorize. I substituted flax seed for egg and like the gentle nut flavor it adds to the dough. 1 tablespoon ground flax seed mixed with 3 tablespoons water is the equivalent of one egg. You could also use chia seed gel which adds yet another layer of protein to these delicious cookies. 3 tablespoons of chia seeds mixed with 1 cup of water yields a nice thick gel. 3 tablespoons of gel equals 1 egg.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup margarine

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar or 1/4 cup honey

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 Tb. ground flax seed, mixed with 3 Tb. water

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Granulated sugar

Instructions:

In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and peanut butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add the granulated sugar and brown sugar, baking soda and baking powder. Beat until combined, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. Beat in flax seed mixture and vanilla until combined. Mix in as much flour as possible with the hand mixer. Stir in any remaining flour with a wooden spoon.

Shape dough into 1-in balls. Roll in additional white sugar. Place balls 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten by making crisscross marks with the tines of a fork.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for 7-9 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Tasty, tasty! Enjoy with a short glass of soy or almond milk. :-)

Vegetable Pot Pie

One of our family's favorite meals is vegetarian chicken pot pie. I remember when I was a child, we could buy individual frozen vegetarian pot pies at the health food store: chicken or beef flavor. Once in a while we'd have them for a treat and it seemed like the longest 45 minutes in the world as that delicious pot pie cooked in the oven. I'd sneak a peek at the ever-goldening crust and hope that it was ready to eat soon. Then...the moment arrived. I'd slip my fork through the flaky crust and try to take a bite and immediately burn my tongue! It was worth it. All too soon the pot pie was finished and the craving was satisfied for a while.

Unfortunately, the company stopped making those little delectable morsels of vegetable goodness. The only frozen precooked pot pies you can find now are the Amy's brand. I've tried them, and while very good, they just don't measure up to the original vegetarian pot pies of my memories.

The solution? Make my own. Here is my rendition of pot pie. I'm sure there are many wonderful recipes out there, but this is what I've created. I hope you enjoy this recipe. If you make it, please send me your feedback. I'd like to hear what additional ingredients you added or subtracted.

Ingredients:

Filling

1 T. olive oil

3 small Yukon Gold potatoes, washed and diced (red potatoes would work fine, too)

1/2 onion, diced

2 celery ribs, diced

1 carrot, peeled and sliced into bite sized pieces

2 vegetarian chicken patties, cooked and cubed

1 T. vegetarian chicken seasoning

1 tsp. granulated onion

1/2 tsp. granulated garlic

salt, pepper to taste

Gravy

1/2 cup raw cashews

2 cups water

4 T. vegetarian chicken seasoning

1 T. cornstarch

Instructions:

In a medium pot, saute vegetables in olive oil. Add seasonings as vegetables soften.

In a blender, blend 1/2 cup cashews with 1 cup of water until very smooth. Add additional 1 cup of water, chicken seasoning and cornstarch. Continue blending until well combined.

Pour cashew milk mixture into vegetables and cook over medium heat until combination begins to thicken. Stir often to make sure vegetables do not stick. Take off of heat and immediately pour into 8 x 8 casserole dish. Cover with your choice of uncooked pie crust. Poke 4-5 holes in top of pie crust to vent. Bake pot pie at 350 degrees for 45 - 60 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove and allow to cool for a few minutes before cutting through.

Complete the meal with a fresh green salad. Serves: 4 (depending on the size of pieces you cut!)

A Classic Favorite

I went to bed last night wondering what I would make for breakfast this morning. I know, I know! I really need to expand my thought patterns. I had some leftover home fries and sausage. Throw some scrambled tofu and a flour tortilla into the mix and you have one of my all-time favorite breakfast foods: the breakfast burrito. Voila! Breakfast is solved.

The breakfast burrito is so user friendly. You can add or subtract ingredients as you like.

Ingredients:

Flour or corn tortillas

Scrambled tofu

Crumbled cooked tator tots or hashbrowns

Vegetarian sausage links or patties, cooked and crumbled

Soy sour cream

Soy cheese

Salsa or Taco sauce

Olives, optional

Instructions:

Layer ingredients in tortilla. Roll and enjoy!

I made a Mexicali Tofu Scramble for my breakfast burrito this morning.

Ingredients:

1/4 of an onion, chopped fine

1/2 yellow bell pepper, chopped fine

1/2 orange bell pepper, chopped fine

1 block water-pack tofu, crumbled

Turmeric, Cumin, Granulated Onion, Granulated Garlic, Soy sauce, Oregano, Salt

Instructions:

Saute onion and bell pepper in a little cooking spray over medium heat. Add crumbled tofu to pan. Add seasonings to taste and color consistency. I only used a sprinkling of turmeric, oregano and garlic. I like the taste of cumin so added more. The soy sauce is nice because it adds a touch of saltiness with a rich flavor.

You'll have to experiment for yourself, but that's most of the fun, isn't it?? :)

Enjoy!

Breakfast Today

So, last night I planned to make waffles for breakfast this morning. I usually use a modified recipe that my mom created with granola and other ingredients (super easy!), but I didn't have everything that I needed. My husband always talks about these incredible oat waffles that he used to eat, so I decided to try my hand at making oat based waffles.

I think I may have created a new favorite! It takes a little longer than your average white flour waffle, but it's definitely worth it. Not only for your heart and digestive system, but for your taste buds as well.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup raw cashews (you could experiment with other kinds of nuts if you wanted)

7 dates

2 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup corn meal

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. salt

3 cups of water (plus a little more as needed)

handful of coconut (opt.)

1 T. flax seed (opt.)

Instructions:

Blend cashews and dates with 1 cup of water in blender until very smooth and creamy. Add rolled oats, corn meal, vanilla and salt ~ blending with the rest of the water. Turn off the blender and stir in the coconut, if using.

Spray your waffle iron with cooking spray and pour batter onto hot waffle iron. Bake for 11 minutes. Remove and enjoy with your favorite toppings! I made a mixed berry sauce for mine.

Yield: 3 large square waffles or 7 small round waffles (give or take depending on your waffle iron)