Known Quantities

Amazing Blueberry Muffins

basilthyme — Sun, 02 Nov 2025 16:07:48 GMT

Based on the following recipe. https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/6865/to-die-for-blueberry-muffins/
I'm not sure why the baker of that recipe put up one that makes only 8 muffins, there is no 8 muffin tin. If you increase it by 1.5x the portions are all odd. Below is my adaptation.

Muffins:
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
3/4 cup milk of any sort
1 1/2 cup blue berries
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Crumb Topping
4 Tablespoons butter, melted
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Line a 12 cup muffin tin with liners. Heat the oven to 350 degree. For the muffin, mix all dry ingredients together. Mix all wet ingredients together. Combine the dry and wet ingredients. Fold in the blue berries. Place into 12 muffin tins.

Make the crumb topping and sprkinkle on top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Vegan Blueberry Scones

basilthyme — Sun, 30 Mar 2025 21:35:15 GMT

https://www.skinnytaste.com/low-fat-blueberry-scones/

That recipe is amazing. To make this vegan use vegan butter. For the butter milk I use cashew cream the proportion below.

Cahsew cream
1 cup raw cashews
1/2 cup - 1 cup water.

Soak cashews overnight. Drain and rinse the next morning. Blend cashews with 1/2 cup of water or so. I use all of this mix instead of the butter milk. It makes a VERY wet dough. These scones are dropped on the baking sheet with a spoon so it does not matter. Comes our delicious.

Vegan Makhini Sauce (can be used on tofu, chicken, or paneer)

basilthyme — Sun, 30 Mar 2025 20:49:16 GMT

1 small-medium onion, diced
4-6 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 inches of ginger, chopped
2, 14.5 oz cans of diced tomatoes
3/4 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon cardamom power
1/4 teaspoon fennel powder (optional)
2 tablespoons of Kasuri methi soaked in 1/4 cup water
1 cup of water
Red pepper flakes (optional)
5-6 tablespoons honey
Salt
Oil and butter for cooking

Cashew Cream (see recipe below)
1 cup raw cashers
1/2 - 1 cup water

Cashew cream
Soak cashews overnight. Drain the water and rinse the cashews. Blend with 1/2 cup of water until a fine paste forms. I usually try to do this with 1/2 cup water to make a thicker paste.

Makhini Sauce
Heat oil and butter until the butter melts. Sautee onion and pepper flakes until well done but now browned. Add ginger, garlic, garam masala and cardamom powder. Sautee until garlic is cooked but now browned. Add tomatoes. Add Kasuri methi and mix. Mix scrapping off anything that is stuck to the bottom of the pan. Place all of it in a blender and puree into a fine paste. Place the mix back into the pot. Add 1 cup of water (or until desired thickness). Add salt and honey. Cook until the sauce thickens to your desired texture. Taste, it should taste somewhat sweet, like a touch of honey. When the sauce is your desired texture, add 1/4-1/3 cup cashew cream (to taste). Turn off the stove. Do not cook the cashew cream too much. Add extra vegan butter at the end to make extra delicious.

To use the sauce with tofu, add to cubed tofu and simmer for 10-15 mins. Same with paneer. For chicken sauté chicken until mostly cooked, then add sauce and cook until the chicken is fully done.

N.B. too much ginger or garam masala gives the sauce a bitter taste. Add more honey to fix. This comes out very good. I can't tell the taste between this vs sauce made with heavy cream. You can also use this recipe and replace cashew cream with heavy cream.

This makes a lot of sauce. It does freeze well. This quantity for us makes enough for a block of paneer and 4 chicken breasts.

Vegan Chinese Turnip Cake (Lo Bak Go)

freshcarp — Mon, 23 Sep 2024 00:49:52 GMT

Based on turnip cake recipes from Omnivore's Cookbook and Wok's of Life.

~ 1 lb + 4 oz of Chinese Turnip/Daikon, peeled and grated using the large side of a box grater
~ 1-1.5 oz of dried shiitake mushrooms (by weight, also to taste -- I like a lot of shiitake)
~ 3-4 green onions, chopped (this is too taste, I like a lot of green onions)
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1 1/4 cup rice flour

1. Rinse the dried shiitake mushrooms. Soak in ~2 cups of boiling hot water, covered, for at least 15 min. Once soaked, squeeze excess water from the mushrooms, reserving the mushroom soak water, chop into small pieces.
2. In a wok or large frying pan, heat a little oil and saute the mushrooms until they start to brown lightly, about 5 minutes. Add the scallions and turn off the heat, stirring. Pour this mixture into a bowl and set aside.
3. Add the grated daikon and 1 cup of the mushroom soak water to the wok/pan. Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 12 minutes, until the radish is transulecent and soft but not browned.
4. Once the daikon is done cooking, transfer the cooked radish to a large bowl (not the one with the mushroom/scallion), squeezing out as much of the water as you can. Tongs are helpful for this, you can also use a seive. Make sure you reserve the water. You should have about 1 cup of water, possibly a little more. If less than 1 cup then add more of the mushroom soak water or regular tap water. Let it all cool for about 15 min.
5. While it cools, in a separate bowl, mix the sugar, salt, pepper and rice flour. After the 15 min have passed, add this mixture + the reserved turnip cooking water to the bowl with the cooked radish. Mix well and return this mixture to your wok/pan you used to cook the radish.
6. Cook over med/low heat while stirring constantly until the mixture thickens enough to draw a line on the bottom of the pan, about 1-2 min. Remove from heat and add the mushroo/scallion mixture.
7. Transfer the mixture to a greased pan that you can put in a steamer. I use my instant pot for steaming, and prefer to use the round silicon pan that came with the instant pot steaming set. Cover with foil.
8. Add about 1-2 inches of water to the instant pot. Then place the pan ontop of the steaming rack and set into the instant pot.
9. Set the instant pot to the steam setting, low pressure, for about 60 minutes + natural release. If your turnip cake is more than 1.5 inches thick then set it for 90 minutes.
10. Once the pressure has released, open the instant pot and remove the pan with the turnip cake. Insert a knife in the center -- it should come out clean. If not, then return to the instant pot and steam it for longer.
11. Cool to room temperature. Then refrigerate overnight to fully set.
12. Once set, you can flip the turnip cake out of the pan. Slice into 1/4" thick slices.
13. To serve: heat a skillet with a little oil, and brown each side of the turnip cake slices.

Easy Vegan Custard

freshcarp — Mon, 23 Sep 2024 00:31:58 GMT

I started by reading these recipes and the modified them to make my own.

1 cup of raw cashews (unsalted, untoasted)
1.5 cups of water, divied
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons corn starch
1 teaspoon vanilla*
rind from 1 lemon* (not zested, cut with a sharp knife, making sure get only the yellow skin and not the white pulp)

* Alternatively, replace these with other seasonings (e.g. saffron/cardammom for kulfi flavor)

1. Soak the cashews in boiling water, covered for ~ 5 minutes. Alternatively, soak them in room temp water a few hours.
2. Drain and rinse the cashews. Place them into a blender with 3/4 c of fresh water, sugar, and corn starch. Blend until fine. Vitamix or a strong blender is necessary for this.
3. Pour the Cashew cream into a sauce pan. Rinse the blender with the remaining 3/4 c of water to get any remaining bits of cashew cream and then pour this into the sauce pan as well. Add the seasonsings (vanilla extract + lemon rind) the sauce pan. At this point, you can also add 1/8 tsp of turmeric for color if desired.
4. Heat over med/low heat while whisking constantly until the mixture becomes thick. It might become a bit lumpy but this will even out after it chills.
5. Cool to room temperature, then remove the lemon rind.
6. Once cool, pour into a *fully baked* pie crust that is also fully cooled. Refrigerate to set. Alternatively, you can freeze it for kulfi or use as a custard in other recipes.

Vegan Creme Anglaise (Sweet/Cream Sauce - Base for Custards, Creme Brulee, Ice Cream)

freshcarp — Mon, 23 Sep 2024 00:18:52 GMT

Based on NYT Creme Anglaise Recipe. Creme Anglaise is the basis for many custards and ice cream. You can use this recipe for:
- baked vegan "egg" custard tarts: pour the custard into a blind baked pie crust and then bake at 350 until set (about 20 min if doing mini a tarts in a muffin tin, longer for a full pie/tart pan)
- as a sweet sauce over other desserts
- frozen as kulfi
- for creme brulee (I haven't personally tried this yet but I think it should work)
- as the base for ice cream (Again, I haven't tried this personally but I think it should work)

2/3 c raw cashews (unsalted and untoasted)
1 1/2 c water, divided
1 tsp vanilla extract*
rind from 1 lemon* (not zested, cut with a sharp knife, making sure get only the yellow skin and not the white pulp)
6 tablespoons aquafaba
1/2 c sugar

* Alternatively, replce with cardammom, saffron, and rose for kulfi flavor. Experiment with other seasonsings as well.

1. Soak the cashews in boiling water, covered for ~ 5 minutes. Alternatively, soak them in room temp water a few hours.
2. Drain and rinse the cashews. Place them into a blender with 3/4 c of fresh water. Blend until they are fine. Vitamix or a strong blender is necessary for this.
3. Pour the Cashew cream into a sauce pan. Rinse the blender with the remaining 3/4 c of water to get any remaining bits of cashew cream and then pour this into the sauce pan as well. Add the seasonsings (vanilla extract + lemon rind) to the sauce pan.
4. Heat the cashew cream + seasonings on medium/low heat, stirring constantly, until it starts to steam. Then remove from heat and allow the seasonings to steep in the warm cream for at least 1 hour.
5. In a large saucepan blend aquafaba & sugar using an electric mixer until the sugar is dissovled and the aquafaba is at least a little foamy.
6. Slowly pour the warm cashew cream + seasonings into the saucepan with the mixed aquafaba/sugar. Normally when doing this with egg yolks you need to temper the yolks so they don't curdle in the warm cream by pouring a small amount of the cream into egg yolks and whisking vigorously until the yolks are warm. I have similarly been tempering the aquafaba but it may not be necessary.
7. (Optional but I think it helps with texture) Prepare an ice bath by filling a large bowl with ice.
8. Heat the mixture over med/low heat, whisking constantly until it thickens. You can tell it's done by coating the back of a spoon and drawing a line with your finger. If the custard doesn't drip back into the line then it is thick enough.
9. Pour the custard into a bowl or other container. Optionally strain it through a fine mesh sieve or manually remove the seasonings (lemon rind, cardammom peels, etc.)
10a. If doing the optional ice bath: place the bowl of custard in the bowl of ice. Fill the bowl of ice with water (making sure not to get water in the custard itself). Whisk the custard constantly until it cools. Then remove from the ice bath and refrigerate for at least 2 hours (or ideally overnight) before using.
10b. If not doing the ice bath: let the custard cool to room temperature. Then cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours (or ideally overnight) before using. You may end up with a skin that you can either remove or whisk into the rest of the custard.

Best Vegan Pie Crust

freshcarp — Sun, 22 Sep 2024 23:59:51 GMT

Adapted this pie crust from Smitten Kitchen. Makes a single crust -- double if you want to make a double crust or lattice pie.

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting surfaces
1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 sticks unsalted vegan butter, very cold*
1/4 cup water, very cold

* for vegan butter, I like "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" brand. Some margarine has dairy so be careful when buying it.

1. Whisk together flour, sugar and salt in the bottom of a large, wide-ish bowl.
2. Chop the cold vegan butter into 1/4-1/2 inch cubes (refrigerate in between cutting as needed to keep it as cold as possible)
3. Using a pastry blender or two forks work the butter into the flour until the biggest pieces of butter are the size of small peas.
4. Gently stir in the ice water with a rubber spatula, mixing it until a craggy mass forms. Then knead the dough 2-3 times by hand to form a ball.
6. Flatten each half into a 1-inch thick disc. Place in a covered bowl. If you don't have silicon mat for rolling the dough out on then wrap it in plastic. Chill in fridge for at least an hour or up to two days.
7. After the doug has chilled, if you have a silicon mat spread it out on your counter and flour generously. Also dust your rolling pin with flour. Place the pie crust disc on the floured mat and then also dust generously with flour.
8. Gently roll out the crust. Roll 1-2 times in one direction, rotate a quarter, and then roll 1-2 times again in that direction. Keep repeating this until the crust is the desired thickness.
9. For most recipes I recommend blind baking the crust at 400 deg. Prick the crust with a fork and cover the base with pie weights/beans. For a full pie blind bake for ~15 min until just starting to turn golden. For smaller tarts blind bake for ~8 min.

Instant Pot Chocolate Cake

freshcarp — Wed, 10 May 2023 21:42:18 GMT

Modified from Well Plated.

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk or milk of choice

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar, white vinegar, or lemon juice

3/4 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder sifted if clumpy

1 teaspoon espresso powder (optional)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup pure maple syrup or honey

1/4 cup olive oil or canola/vegetable oil

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/4 cup chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional)

- OR- in place of of 1 tsp vanilla + 1/4 tsp almond, use 1 1/4 tsp orange extract

Instructions
1. Place instant pot handled trivet (for steaming) into instant pot (6 quart or larger) and add at least 1 inch of water (or 1/2 cup).
2. In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the soy milk and vinegar. Let sit 5 minutes.
3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking soda, and salt until well combined.
4.To the bowl with the soy milk mixture, add the maple syrup, oil, granulated sugar, extract (vanilla+almond -OR- orange). Whisk until well combined.
5. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients. Stir just until the flour disappears by hand with a wooden spoon or spatula. Fold in the chocolate chips with a spatula.
6. Generously coat a 6-inch round cake pan. Pour the batter into the pan and smooth the top. Cover the top of the pan completely with a double layer of aluminum foil. Really pinch the foil around the top of the pan to create a seal and prevent moisture from creeping in while the cake bakes.
7. Place the pan on the trivet in the instant pot. Cover and seal the instant pot. Cook on high pressure (manual) for 42 minutes. Immediately vent to release the pressure when the cooking time is complete.
8. Lift the cake from the instant pot and place on a wire cooling rack. Unwrap the foil cover. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
9. Run a dull knife around the edges to loosen and then invert it onto the rack to cool completely.

Notes
- To make a two-layer cake, repeat the recipe above twice.
- Store bought chocolate frosting (which can be vegan, depending on the brand) pairs beautifully with this rich, fudgy cake.
- For a delicious chocolate/orange cake, use orange extract as noted above and orange marmalade between the layers of the cake.

Can't Believe They're Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

freshcarp — Mon, 20 Mar 2023 01:12:06 GMT

Modified from Okonomi Kitchen.

Ingredients
10 tbsp vegan butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar (can do 2/3 cup if you want it to be sweeter)
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup aquafab (water from cooked chickpeas)
4 tsp vanilla extract
4 1/2 cups (540 g) all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 cups chocolate chip/chopped walnut mix

Instructions
1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the sugars, softened vegan butter, aquafaba and vanilla until combined.
2. Sift in the all purpose flour and baking soda and add in the salt. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet using a folding motion with a large spatula. This helps with not over mixing. Mix until the batter looks almost fully uniform.

3. Fold in the chocolate chips/walnut mix until evenly dispersed throughout the batter.

4. Cover the bowl with a lid or wrap and place into the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes.

5. Pre-heat oven to 350 F.

6. Scoop balls onto a baking tray with about 2 inches between each cookie, using an ice cream scoop.

7. Bake for 10-15ish minutes, checking for done-ness. Time depends on how big the cookies are and if you flattened them at all after rolling out, also your ideal doneness. Ideally, there should be golden brown spots on top but still a bit soft.

8. Let them cool on the baking tray for 5 minutes. Then transfer onto a wire rack to let them cool completely before eating.

Vegan Chocolate Muffins

freshcarp — Thu, 05 Jan 2023 01:59:41 GMT

Ingredients
1 cup plain, unsweetened soy milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp orange extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup chocolate chips (optional)
strawberry or raspberry jam

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350. Line a muffin tin with paper or foil liners.
2. Whisk together soy milk & vinegar in a large bowl and set aside for 5 minutes until it curdles. Then add sugar, oil, vanilla, and orange extracts until foamy.
3. In a medium bowl whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
4. Add the dry ingredients to wet in two batches until no large lumps remain. Fold in chocolate chips if using.
5. Pour into liners until about 1/2 full. Use a teaspoon to add a dollop of jam to each muffin, and then cover with more filling.
6. Bake for 18-20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

Vegan Banana Muffins

freshcarp — Thu, 05 Jan 2023 01:41:41 GMT

Modified from Connoisseurus Rex

Ingredients

3 medium overripe bananas
1/4 cup white sugar
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1/3 cup canola oil (or your favorite baking oil)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup rolled oats (+ more depending on wetness)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup chopped vegan chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°.
Line a muffin tin with liners (or grease + flour)
Peel the bananas and place them into a large mixing bowl. Mash them well with a fork, potato masher, or hand mixer.
Add sugar, brown sugar, oil, and vanilla to the bowl. Stir until well-mixed.
In a smaller bowl, whisk together flour, 1 cup oatmeal, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
Stir the dry ingredients into the wet. Don't overmix. The batter will be thick. Note: If your bananas were on the bigger side, add more oatmeal to make the batter thicker.
Fold in the walnuts and chocolate chips.
Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin.
Bake for 23-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Whole Wheat Pancakes -Dairy free

basilthyme — Mon, 14 Nov 2022 20:15:11 GMT

The recipe below is a derivation of the recipe from this website
https://www.fifteenspatulas.com/whole-wheat-pancakes/

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar or honey
1 cup soy milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 tbsp melted dairy free butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl combine egg, milk, butter, vanilla. Whisk wet ingredients into dry ingredients. It will be quite lumpy. Do not overmix as the pancakes become tough. Cook an ice cream scoop full on a buttered hot griddle until small bubbles form. Flip to cook on the other side. Should be golden brown on each side.

Green Bean Casserole Vegan

basilthyme — Mon, 14 Nov 2022 13:17:13 GMT

Insanely delicious and easy recipe by Pynelyf. You can't tell it's vegan.

1 bag frozen green beans (thawed)
1 box French's® Original Crispy Fried Onions
1 pack fresh button mushrooms, sliced
1 cup raw cashews soaked overnight
1 cup water
Black pepper to taste
Salt to taste

1. Thaw green beans
2. Preheat oven to 350.
3. Wash, slice, saute mushrooms and set aside
4. Drain and rinse cashews, adding water a little at a time blend until you get a cream (you don't want it to be too watery)...you might need more than 1 cup of water but I just don't remember so play by ear
5. Mix cooked mushrooms, cashew cream, green beans in the long pyrex baking dish (8x8). Mix in 1 to 2 cup of French's fried onions. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes or until you see little bubbles on sides of dish.
6. Remove foil, top casserole with remaining French's fried onions and bake for 5 more minutes.

Creamy Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup (Vegan)

basilthyme — Sun, 06 Feb 2022 01:20:35 GMT

The interwebz failed me when I was looking for a vegan roasted red pepper tomato soup. Lessons learned: do not put the pepper skin in as one recipe suggested. Too much cashew cream is not good either. Dry herbs are a terrible idea. . .I speak from experience. Below is a recipe of my own making. I think 1-2 stalks of celery would do well in here but I did not have any.

1/4 cup raw cashews, soaked
1 red pepper (roasted, see below)
2, 14 oz cans of diced tomatoes
2 large carrots
1/2 white onion diced
2 cloves garlic
1 bay leaf
3-4 cups vegetable broth
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup of basil
Salt and pepper to taste

Prepping the cashew cream: Soak cashews overnight. Before you make the soup prepare your cashew cream. Drain the soaking liquid and rinse the cashews. Puree cashews with 1 cup of broth.

Prepping the roasted red pepper: In a toaster over or oven, broil the pepper at 500degrees close to the heating element. Turn ever 5-10 min to skin on each side chars but does not burn the pepper flesh. Once all sides are done, remove from the oven and let the pepper cool. Once cool enough to touch, peel off the skin. Chop coarsely. Takes about 20-30min to char the full pepper.

In a heavy bottom pot, saute onion and bay leaf in olive oil on a medium heat. Once the onion gets golden, add garlic and cook until the garlic is fragrant. Add in carrots and 1 cup of broth. Turn to high heat, cover and bring to a boil. After the soup comes to broil, simmer covered for 5 min. Once the carrots are soft, add in pepper and tomatoes. I find this the easiest time to blend everything because there is not much liquid in the pot. Take out the bay leaf and set aside. Puree all the vegetable in the pot in a blender or use an immersion blender. If using an actual blender, pour the soup back into the pot along with the bay leaf. Blend the basil with 1 cup of broth and add to the pot. Add in the cashew cream. Mix well and bring to a boil. Simmer for 20-25 minutes. Salt and pepper to tastes.

Chewy chocolate chip walnut cookies (can be made dairy free)

basilthyme — Mon, 04 Jan 2021 01:15:30 GMT

Based on a recipe from Sallysbakingaddiction.com (chewy chocolate chip cookies on that website).
NB: Requires overnight refrigeration so plan accordingly

1 1/4 cup flour
1 cup walnuts (run through a blender to make a fine walnut meal/flour)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
Pinch of salt
1 stick of butter (dairy free butter works well)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large egg + 1 egg yolk
1 cup chocolate chips

Whisk flour, baking soda, cornstarch, salt in a large bowl. Add in walnuts and mix.
In a medium bowl whisk butter and sugars until all lumps are gone. Add egg + egg yolk. Add vanilla extract, mix.
Pour wet ingredients into dry and mix. Add chocolate chips. This is a very soft, thick dough. Chill at least overnight or up to 3-4 days.
When you are ready to bake, take out of fridge and let it sit for 10 min.
Preheat oven to 325.
Roll into balls about 1 tablespoon that are taller than they are wide. It will be a bit crumbly.
Bake for 12-13 minutes and remove. They will look underdone.

Belgian Waffles (Can be made dairy free)

basilthyme — Mon, 04 Jan 2021 01:02:34 GMT

This recipe is from Kingarthurbaking.com (with slight changes). These are yeasty, fluffy, and crisp.

1 1/2 cup lukewarm milk (for dairy free, almond milk works well)
6 tablespoons of butter melted (for dairy free I used Myoko's cultured butter)
2-3 tablespoons honey
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs lightly beaten
2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoon yeast

Things I plan to do try next time: 1 cup flour, 1 cup oatmeal. Cinnamon instead of oatmeal.

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. It will be a bit lumpy. It will double in size as it sits so pick a bowl large enough. Cover with a towel and let sit at room temp for 1hr or in the fridge overnight. I find it is the best when it has been sitting at room temp for about 3hrs. Heat your waffle iron, butter well. Add 2/3 cup or 3/4 cup batter to the iron as per directions for your waffle iron. It does expand while cooking so don't overfill. Eat immediately.

Crepes (Can be made dairy free)

basilthyme — Tue, 26 May 2020 00:17:00 GMT

Recipe is from cookingclassy.com.

1 1/2 cups milk (soy milk works well)
1 cup flour
3 tbs butter, melted (Earth Balance dairy free butter works well)
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
Butter for cooking
Salt (optional)
1/2 tsp Vanilla extract (optional)

Step 1. Decide if you want sweet or savory crepes. Or you can split the batter in half as I like to do.
Step 2. Add milk, flour, butter into a blender and blend until mixed well. The blender gets all the lumps out but adds too much air so the batter needs to rest for 1hr at least.
Step 3. Pour batter into another container once mixed. It will separate into layers and if you leave it in the blender, it is too hard to mix the layers without adding air back in.
a) If you are going to do sweet crepes, add the vanilla extract to the container
b) If you are going to do savory crepes, add salt to taste
Step 4. After resting for an hour, mix the layers gently with a spoon
Step 5. Heat a non-stick pan on med to high heat
Step 6. Butter the pan, add 1/4 cup of batter into the center and tilt the pan to spread the batter. For my pan I have to move the center of the pan onto the flame otherwise the center does not come off. Cook on the first side for 2-3 minutes, flip and cook on other side for 1-2 minutes.

I highly suggest looking at the cookingclassy.com website because it has pictures. Once you get the hang of it is, this is quite easy.

Sweet fillings:
-Cream cheese frosting: 4oz cream cheese and 3 tbs butter at room temp. Blend together. Add 3/4 cup powdered sugar pushed through a sifter. Mix until lump free. Serve with crepes
-Nutella and bananas

Savory fillings
-eggs with mushrooms and green onion.

Makes about 12, 8inch crepes.

Rickie's Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili

basilthyme — Sun, 01 Dec 2019 15:35:53 GMT

Olive oil
1 large (about 1/2 lb) sweet potato, peeled and chopped
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp dried orgeano
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1 can died tomatoes
1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)
1.5 cups vegetable broth
Salt to taste

Saute onion, bell pepper, and sweet potato on med to high heat until the onion is soft. Stir in garlic, chili powder, cumin, oregano, and cayenne. Saute 3-4 mins. Add tomatoes, beans, broth, salt. Stir well. Simmer and cook for 30 mins. Serve with quinoa.

Serves 3-4
Variation: add fake beef or chicken for protein

Pumpkin Cookies

basilthyme — Sun, 01 Dec 2019 15:28:58 GMT

3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter or 1/2 cup apple sauce
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup pumpkin
1 cup quick cooking oatmeal (uncooked)
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350F. Mix together sugar and butter. Add egg, vanilla, and pumpkin. Mix well. Mix in oatmeal, flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Stir in choclate chips. Place by easpoon onto cookie sheet. Bake 20-25 mins (or if using multirack setting on a convection oven, 16 mins.)

Makes about 40 cookies.

Burrito with ALL the sides

basilthyme — Mon, 04 Feb 2019 01:49:55 GMT

Tofu
1 block of tofu
1/2 teaspoon oregano (ground up)
1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin power
McCormick's chipotle chili powder (to taste)
Taco Sauce
Soy Sauce or tamari sauce
Pinch of sugar
1/2 cup water
Salt
Olive oil
Slice tofu into 8 and press for 5-10 minutes. Once pressed, crumble into a non-stick pan and saute on high heat until golden brown. Add oregano, coriander, cumin, chipotle chili powder (to taste), sugar, and salt. Mix, taste, and re-season (keep it light on the salt as there is more salt to come in sauces). Add taco sauce to taste (about 2-3 tablespoons), soy or tamari sauce (1-2 tablespoons). Add 1/2 cup water and simmer until all of the water is absorbed. I like my tofu very dry.

Lime Cilantro Rice
3/4 cup rice
1 bay leaf
Salt
Olive oil
Lime juice
Cilantro
Cook rice. Add olive oil, salt, and bayleaf in the water while cooking. Once the rice is done season with chopped cilantro (about 1 tablespoon) and lime (1-2 tablespoons). Add additional salt if needed. Mix gently with a fork and serve hot.

Corn Salsa
1-2 cups Frozen corn
1/4 cup Onion finely chopped
Jalapeno finely chopped (to taste)
Cilantro finely chopped (to taste)
1-2 tablespoons Lime juice
Salt
Olive oil
We do about 2 cups of frozen corn, produces about 4 generous servings. Microwave corn for 1-2 minutes. Add chopped onion, jalapeno, cilantro, lime juice and salt. Mix and taste. Drizzle with olive oil as needed.

Sauteed onion and bell pepper
1 onion sliced
2 green bell peppers sliced
Olive oil
Add onions and peppers to the pan with olive oil. Saute on med to high heat until done to a texture you like.

Other sides:
Guacamole
Beans (black or pinto, rinsed)
Cheese
Sour cream

Assemble your burrito or burrito bowl.

Diane's Farrow Stuffed Red Peppers

basilthyme — Mon, 04 Feb 2019 01:10:55 GMT

4-5 large red bell peppers
Mushroom Farrow (Alessi or you can make your own farro or use mushroom risotto)
Mozzarella cheese
Pasta sauce
Fresh Basil

Slice bell peppers in half. Clean the insides and lay skin side down linked up in a 13x9 pan. Bake for 20-30 min at 400 degrees (depends on how well you like your peppers cooked. I like mine well done). While the peppers are roasting, cook farrow as package directions. Once the peppers are done, stuff with farrow. Top with a generous amount of pasta sauce. Add desired amount of mozzarella. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven and top with chopped fresh basil.

A's Best-Ever Chili

basilthyme — Mon, 04 Feb 2019 01:03:03 GMT

Veggie crumbles (or beef)
1 med onion diced
1 pack mushroom diced (optional)
1 can black beans rinsed
1 can kidney beans rinsed
Corn (frozen or fresh) rinsed
1 28oz can diced tomatoes (or can do 1 14 oz diced and 1 rotel)
Water
2 bay leaves
Chipotle chili powder (about 1/2 - 1 tsp)
Cumin powder (1-2 tbs)
Cinnamon (1-2 tbsp)
Salt
Olive oil

Sautee bay leaves and onion until the onion is translucent but not golden. Add mushrooms if using (I don't usually add this to a real meat chili. It gives fake chili nice texture). Add veggie crumbles and sautee for 3-5 minutes. Add beans, corn, and diced tomatoes. Add desired amount of water. The remaining spices are all to taste. Chipotle chili powder adds a lot of flavor and heat so use carefully. I use 1-2 tablespoons (I spelled that out so there is no confusion about the amount, yes tablespoon) of cinnamon and cumin. Salt to taste. Cook for 30 min. Taste during the cooking and adjust seasoning as you like.

Vegan cookies - any type!

freshcarp — Tue, 28 Mar 2017 00:38:43 GMT

Base recipe (oatmeal chocolate chip - cakey style)
Makes ~20 cookies

Ingredients
1/2 cup coconut oil (melted completely)
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons molasses
1 vegan flax egg (mix 1 tbsp ground flax seeds with 3 tbsp water, let stand for 10 min until it becomes the texture of jelly)
1/4 cup unsweetened soy milk (room temperature)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup old-fashioned oats
3/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix coconut oil, sugar, and molasses in a large mixing bowl until mostly combined.
3. Add the flax egg and mix until smooth.
4. Add soy milk and and vanilla extract and mix until all combined.
5. In a separate, medium sized bowl, mix together oats, flour, baking soda, and baking powder.
6. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix together until combined.
7. Fold in chocolate chips.
8. Using an ice cream scoop, drop onto baking sheet lined with parchment. Use a spoon to flatten slightly.
9. Bake for 9 minutes in preheated oven.
10. Cool on tray until cookies are no longer soft to touch.

Variations
- For flatter cookies remove the flax egg.
- If you don't want oatmeal cookies swap 1 cup oats with 1 cup flour.
- For double chocolate cookies swap out 1/4 cup of flour with 1/4 cup of cocoa powder.
- Can mix in nuts and/or dried fruit for different types of cookies.

Polish Coleslaw

pynelyf — Wed, 28 Dec 2016 18:53:06 GMT

I had this dish for the first time at a Polish diner in Michigan. Up to this point, I had hated coleslaw. I am not a huge mayo or cabbage fan and found this combination particularly unfortunate. This recipe changed my mind about cabbage and coleslaw (although not about mayo because it is mayo-free). The resultant dish is light, refreshing, and tasty.

Ingredients:
1 small cabbage
1 medium onion (optional)
1 small apple
1 - 2 carrots
1 small bell pepper

seasonings:
1/4 to 1/3 c olive oil
1/2 c apple cider vinegar
pinch of sugar
salt
black pepper
dill

1. Shred cabbage, grate apple, carrot, onion, and bell pepper and mix together in a large bowl.
2. Add all seasonsings (adjust olive oil and vinegar to taste).
3. Mix well, and let sit for at least 20 minutes (for richer flavor, refrigerate overnight) before serving.

Thanksgiving (everything but the turkey)

basilthyme — Tue, 24 Nov 2015 16:56:08 GMT

Stuffing (based of a Better Homes and Gardens recipe)
1 load of sourdough bread (makes about 8 cups dry bread cubes)
2-3 large stalks of celery finely diced
1 medium onion finely diced
1/2 stick of butter
1 1/2 cups broth
1 teaspoon poultry herbs
2-5 small to medium sized fresh sage leaves finely diced (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

Place slices of bread on a cookie sheet the night before and leave out for 12-24hrs. Slice bread into as small cubes as you can. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in a medium sized pan. Add onion and celery, saute for 7-8 minutes on medium heat (do not brown). Turn off heat. Add broth, herbs, salt and pepper. Place bread in 13x9 baking dish, drizzle broth mixture over bread. Toss to moisten all the bread. Add more broth if bread appears dry. Bake covered for 30-45 minutes.

Mashed potatoes (based off recipe from NYT)
2 large potatoes (russet, or Yukon gold)
1/2 stick of butter
3-4 tablespoons of whole milk
Salt and pepper to taste

Peel and cut potatoes into 2 inch pieces. Place in cold, salted water. Bring to a boil and simmer/boil for 20 minutes. Drain. Remove into a bowl and mash. In the pan heat up the butter and milk. Mix butter mixture into boiled potatoes. Salt and pepper.

Cranberry sauce (based off recipe from The Pioneer Woman)
6 oz of cranberries rinsed
1 teaspoon of orange zest
1 small cinnamon stick
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
3/8 of a cup of sugar (yes I did say that, that's 1/4 a cup and half of 1/4 cup)

Place all ingredients in a heavy bottom pan. Cook for 15 minutes (not simmer for 15 minutes, turn on stove and start timer). Cranberries should have popped by then. Stir occasionally while cooking. Once 15 minutes are up, place in a container to cool and it will solidify on its own.

Pecan pie
1 9'' frozen pie shell
2 cups of pecans coarsely chopped
1 cup (can do slightly less) light karo syrup
3 large eggs lightly beaten
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons melted butter
2/3 cup lightly packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

In a large bowl mix syrup, sugar, butter, eggs, salt, vanilla extract. Place pecans into frozen pie crust. Pour liquid into pie shell. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Then tent loosely aluminum foil to avoid burning the crust and cook for another 30-40 minutes. It will have risen up but will settle as it cooks.

Other than the pie, all of the above recipes serve 4. The pie is a . . .full sized pie. These recipes are inspired from a number of recipes online with personal variations.