Cous Cous Salad

Since Cai has allergies to milk and eggs (among others) when we got together with my vegetarian friend Tara, we had to cook vegan. One of our staple lunch dishes was Cous cous salad. This salad kind of takes on a life of its own but somehow always tastes delicious:) It is great for emptying the fridge of tiny bits of fruit or veggies.

Cous Cous Salad

1 cup cooked cous cous
1 can of beans (any type - kidney, black, chick pea, white.....), rinsed and drained
1 avocado, cubed
1 pear/peach, cubed
1 apple, peeled, cubed
1 tomato cubed
1 large bunch of grapes, cut in half
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup craisins
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup chopped cilantro (or parsley)

Dressing:
1 1/2 tablespoon of dijon mustard
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar (or lemon juice or another type of vinegar)

Mix the dressing separately and pre-taste to check for flavor. Adjust amounts if necessary.

Add all ingredients to a large plastic container with a lid and pour on the dressing. Put the lid on and shake until it is uniformly mixed. Pre-taste to check for flavor.

Notes: I don't always have all those ingredients so I put in what I have. The idea is to balance the sweet items with the sour taste of the dressing. I've made it without the cilantro when I didn't have any and it came out just as good. I've used fresh and canned pears and peaches and they taste excellent as well. I'm sure you could add small amounts of cooked carrots/brocoli/green beans/peas as well if you had them. I don't think you can mess this up but the more you add the more salad you have so pick a LARGE container:)

Vegan Carrot Muffins

I got this recipe from my friend Tara, it was always our favorite "safe" dessert recipe for special occasions. Tara made 24 of these yummy muffins and transported all of them to our house for Cai's 2nd birthday party. We made a quick icing out of water and icing sugar and served them for dessert. Cai was extatic!

Vegan Carrot Muffins

1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cup water or soy milk
4 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
3 cups grated carrots
1 cup raisins (you could also add craisins or chopped dates or blueberries)

Blend oil and sugar, add water and beat. Sift flour with remaining ingredients and add to sugar mixture. Add carrots and raisins and mix well.
Bake in muffin cups in a preheated 350 degree oven for 25 minutes or until done.

You can also bake in a 9x13" cake pan for 30-40 minutes.

Vegan White Cake Cupcakes

Whenever we go to birthday parties with cupcakes I always make these for Cai so he doesn't feel left out. The are light, fluffy and delicious. I have to admit that I always use store bought icing and sprinkles because those are both egg and milk free:)

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup vegan margarine
1 cup rice milk
1 egg equivalent (Ener-G egg replacement)
1 tsp vanilla

Mix margarine, rice milk, liquid portion of the egg replacement, and vanilla with an electric mixer. Slowly add dry ingredients, including dry portion of the egg replacement, in a few additions, mixing well after each addition. Beat for 2 minutes. Pour into muffin cups and bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 20 minutes or until a toothpick, when inserted in the center of the cupcake, comes out clean.

Let cool and then top with store bought white icing.

Vegan Chocolate Cake with Maple or Mocha Icing

This is a delicious, dark, moist cake that is totally egg and milk free! We've made this cake for Birthdays, Saying good bye parties, and just for fun. It's never around for very long!

Cocoa Devil's Food Cake

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 cup rice milk

Combine the above ingredients in a small bowl, stir and set aside.

1/2 cup vegan margarine
1 cup sugar
2 egg equivalents (Ener-G egg replacement)
2 cups cake flour (2 cups less 4 tbsp regular flour)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 rice milk
1 tsp vanilla

Cream sugar and margarine. Beat in cocoa mixture. Mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, including the dry portion of the egg replacement. Mix the wet ingredients, including the wet portion of the egg replacement, in another bowl. Add the dry ingredients in 3 parts to the creamed sugar, margarine, and cocoa mixture by alternating with the wet ingredients. Beat batter until smooth.

Grease a tube pan and sprinkle sugar over the bottom. Pour in the batter and bake the cake in a 350 degrees preheated oven for 1 hour.

You can also make cupcakes with this recipe. Pour the final batter into muffin cups and bake for 20 minutes at 375 degrees. Only fill the muffin cups 1/2 full (maximum) because they rise A LOT!

When the cake is cool, cover it with one of the following icings:

Quick Vegan Maple Icing

2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 tbsp vegan margarine
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
real maple syrup

Mix everything but the syrup in a bowl. Slowly add the maple syrup until the icing is a good consistency for spreading.

Vegan Mocha Icing

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
2 tbsp cocoa
1/2 cup margarine
1/8 tsp salt
3 tbsp strong hot coffee
1 tsp vanilla

Beat the sugar, cocoa and margarine together until creamy. Add the salt and coffee. Beat for 2 minutes. When icing is cool add 1 tsp vanilla flavoring and let stand for 5 minutes. Beat well and then spread.

Vegan Peanut-free Raggedy Ann Cookies

I'm always on the look-out for cookies without eggs in them, Raggedy Anns are perfect candidates. Since finding "Sun Butter," Sunflower butter sold at our nearest A&P, I have been also been able to make recipes that require peanut butter, peanut butter free! Yahoo!

These cookies are fast and taste great, sun butter is the greatest replacement for peanut butter I have ever tasted, you almost don't even notice.

Vegan Peanut-free Raggedy Anns

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 cups quick-cooking oats
2 cups sugar
2 tbsp cocoa
1/2 cup rice milk
1/2 cup vegan margarine
1/2 cup sunflower butter
1 tsp vanilla

Combine graham cracker crumbs and oats and set aside.

In a large pot, mix sugar, cocoa, milk, and margarine. Bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute.

Remove from heat and stir in sunflower butter and vanilla.

Add dry mixture quickly and blend.

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto parchment paper and cool.

Store in an airtight box.

Make them with your little one and let them lick the spoon:)

Vegan Cinnamon Apple Pancakes

So we're not vegan, we're not even vegetarians but Cai is allergic to milk, eggs, peanuts and sesame and we don't keep any of those things in our house. Every Saturday morning we have pancakes and bacon and everyone looks forward to it every week. The pancakes are always vegan and the bacon...well....isn't:)

I'd thought I'd share our recipe since its so yummy.

Vegan Cinnamon Apple Pancakes

1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 egg equivalent (egg replacer such as Ener-G)
3 tbsp vegan margarine
1 1/4 cups rice milk
2 apples, peeled, cored, diced (I like macintosh)

Fry the apples in vegan margarine, in the frying pan you plan to use for the pancakes, until they are golden brown but not super mushy.

Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Melt the margarine in the microwave in a 2-cup glass measuring cup. When it is melted pour in the right amount of rice milk and stir.

Hint: I like to add the Ener-G powder to the dry ingredients and the water to the 2-cup measuring cup with the other wet ingredients.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until most of the lumps are gone. Add the fried apples and stir until they are coated. The consistency should be somewhat runny.

Add more margarine to the frying pan and pour out your pancakes in the size you want. Flip when ready and then serve with real maple syrup.

You can't go wrong with these, ENJOY.