Vegan Green Quiche with Olive Crust

Vegan Green Quiche with Olive Crust

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INGREDIENTS

• 8 jumbo black olives, pitted
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup spelt flour
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 1 tablespoon flax meal
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• water
• 2 medium zucchini, sliced in ribbons
• 12 oz. firm tofu, crumbled
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 shallot, thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1/2 cup chopped frozen spinach (thawed and squeezed dry)
• 1/4 cup frozen peas
• 2 tablespoons flax meal (soaked in 2 tablespoons hot water)

DIRECTIONS

1. In a food processor, pulse oats until the consistency of flour. Remove to a medium bowl and mix with spelt, nutritional yeast, flax, and salt.
2. Place olives in the food processor and pulse until finely minced. Combine with dry mixture in the separate bowl.
3. Switch to a dough blade and place dry mixture in food processor. Pulse with water until dough forms a manageable ball. Wrap ball in plastic wrap and place in freezer.
4. When dough is cold enough to be manageable, roll out and place crust in an 8- or 9-inch pie plate. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, saute onion and shallot in some olive oil over medium-high heat until soft and golden. Combine this mixture and all remaining ingredients (excluding zucchini) in a medium bowl.
6. Fill crust with tofu mixture and layer zucchini ribbons over top. Spray with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt.
7. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30-35 minutes. To brown zucchini top, place under broiler for a few minutes.
8. Cool briefly and serve.

Maple Almond Blueberry Crumble

Maple Almond Blueberry Crumble

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INGREDIENTS

• 1/4 cup sliced, toasted almonds
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/4 cup spelt flour
• 2 tablespoons flax meal
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 tablespoons molasses
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup (plus extra)
• 2 cups fresh blueberries
• 1 heaping tablespoon potato starch
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 2-4 tablespoons maple syrup (for preferred sweetness)

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl. Mix together molasses and maple syrup in a small bowl, drizzle over dry mixture, and combine. If too dry, add more maple syrup.
2. In a separate small bowl, combine potato starch with lemon juice, almond extract, and maple syrup. Stir until no clumps remain. Mix into berries.
3. Pour berry mixture into a medium oval pan or round pan. Crumble oat mixture over berries.
4. Cook in a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes. Cool slightly and enjoy!

Cranberry Orange Muffins

Cranberry Orange Muffins

Adapted from The Food Librarian

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INGREDIENTS

• 1-1/4 cups fresh cranberries
• 1 Tablespoon orange zest
• 1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup egg substitute
• 1/3 cup fat-free plain organic yogurt
• 1/3 cup unsweetened soymilk
• 1/4 cup applesauce
• 1 cup white whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup rolled oats
• 2/3 cup light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup Smart Balance Light

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt together.
2. Add the egg substitute, yogurt, soymilk, applesauce, berries, and zest. Mix gently until just combined.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt.
4. Cut in the Smart Balance Light until clumpy.
5. Pour batter into 12 muffin tins and top with crumble mixture.
6. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Pumpkin Walnut Pie with Rolled Oat Crust

Pumpkin Walnut Pie

Adapted from 101cookbooks.com

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INGREDIENTS

• 1 pie crust (recipe below)
• 2 cups walnuts (divided) , toasted
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice blend
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon potato starch
• 1-1/2 cups of roasted pumpkin puree
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup egg substitute
• 1 cup lite coconut milk

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, racks in the middle.
2. Puree 1 1/2 cups of the toasted walnuts in a food processor until they turn into a walnut paste, past the 'crumble' stage. Set aside. Chop the remaining 1/2 cup of walnuts and set aside seperately, these will be sprinkled on top after the pie is baked.
3. To make the pumpkin pie filling, whisk together the brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice blend, salt, and potato starch. Stir in the pumpkin puree, and vanilla. Now stir in the egg substitute and coconut milk until just combined. Set aside.
4. Before filling the pie crust, crumble the walnut paste on top of the pie dough into the pie plate, quickly and gently press it into a thin layer across the bottom, creating a layer of walnuts that will sit between the dough and the filling.
5. Use a fork to prick the pie dough a few times to prevent air bubbles.
6. Fill the pie crust with the filling and bake for about 50 minutes - the center of the pie should just barely jiggle when you move the pie - the edges should be set.
7. Let the pie cool a bit, this makes slicing less messy. Serve straight or with a dollop of bourbon-spiked, sweetenend whipped cream or creme fraiche, and a sprinkling of chopped walnuts.

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Rolled Oat Crust
Adapted from King Arthur Flour

INGREDIENTS

• 2/3 cup (2 1/4 ounces) rolled oats, ground for 30 seconds in a food processor
• 1/3 cup (1 1/2 ounces) white whole wheat flour
• 1/3 cup (1 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons (1 ounce) brown sugar, firmly packed
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons (3 ounces) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
• 2 tablespoons Smart Balance Light, cut into small cubes
• 3 to 4 tablespoons (1 1/2 to 2 ounces) cold soy milk

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the oats, flours, sugar, cinnamon, and salt.
2. Cut the butter and Smart Balance into small cubes, and work into the dry ingredients (using your fingers, a pastry blender or fork, or a mixer) until the dough is unevenly crumbly.
3. Sprinkle in the milk, continuing to mix until the dough is cohesive. Grab a handful; if it holds together willingly, and doesn’t seem at all dry or crumbly, you’ve added enough liquid.
4. Shape the dough into a disk. Roll its edges along a floured work surface (as though the disk were a wheel), in order to smooth them out.
5. Pat the disk till it’s about 1" thick, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight, or for up to 3 days.
6. Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Allow it to warm a bit and become flexible, 15 to 30 minutes.
7. Flour your work surface, and roll the dough into a 12" circle. It may crack a bit around the edge; that’s OK. Just patch the crust once it’s in the pan.
8. Transfer the dough to a 9" pie pan that’s at least 1 ¼" deep. Trim and crimp the edges, making a tall crimp.
9. Place the crust in the refrigerator to chill while you prepare the filling.

Macadamia Butter Bars with Cranberries and Toasted Coconut

Well, it's back to school time again! Ugh. Not fun for me. But, along with the dreaded daily imprisonment I am subjected to, comes delicious snacks!

I am a picky eater. It's a fact. If you look at my recipes, I think you already know that. Well, I don't eat cafeteria food and I don't take my own lunch. The latter would seem probable, right? Well, I have an affinity toward hot food and I despise waste. All of those little plastic baggies and brown sacks that are thrown away every day make me cringe. So, a year ago, I decided to get a Laptop Lunchbox. I love it to no end, but unfortunately it's a bit of a hassle to lug to school... plus I look like a definite dork whipping out my multicolored plastic containers and cloth napkin. On top of that (Oh yes, I am a complicated girl), I am often not hungry enough during school to wolf down a whole meal. So the solution? Snacks.

I don't think it's necessary to further expound on my fastidious eating habits*, so I will sum it up by saying that most storebought snacks are either too fatty, too sugary, or too insignificant to attract my eye (The exception, of course, being the saliva-inducing Larabar). Thus, I make my own! Full of nut butter, oats, dried fruit, flax, soy protein, etc., etc. And the best thing about bars? Sooo adaptable! This time I made a slightly tropical version which is insanely delicious. Reusable packing tip for small quantities of snacks: take an empty Altoids container, round or rectangular, wash it out, and fill it with goodies. It holds the food in while protecting it with a compact, rigid shape.

*So my economics teacher today thought that it would be a fun little experiment to start off the school year with one of those little true/false questionnaires which are obviously rigged. Anyway, all of the answers were supposedly false (skeptic as I am) but I don't know about one. It stated that it is importantly to research/study a product before you buy it. Well, of course I said true. After all, I am a bit of a perfectionist. To explain her reasoning, the teacher said, "Well, think about if you were in a grocery store. Are you going to thoroughly inspect every single thing you buy? No." Um, beg to differ! She obviously hasn't gone shopping with me. Honestly, I don't know why anyone in my family does. I can pore over nutrition facts and ingredients for hours, trying to find the best one. Even the lady at the health food store agreed with me! When I spent ten minutes trying to discern the differences between different brands of Vitamin D, my mother laughingly told a passing sales lady what I was up to. As the lady so logically explained in my defense, "It is good that she cares about what goes into her body." Right? I mean, I didn't want some fish oil from farmed, saturated-fat nastiness "nourishing" my body. (I settled for plant-based). So anyway, yeah. That's my little rant about fixed true/false questions. Things like that are entirely subjective and I place no stock in them. Although we did draw a pig that identified our personality type, which was pretty cool. (Yeah, I know that I sound like I am in kindergarten, but whatever.)

Macadamia Butter Bars with Cranberries and Toasted Coconut

INGREDIENTS

• 6 tablespoons macadamia butter (much of excess oil drained before stirring)
• 1 tablespoon agave nectar
• 8 dried, pitted dates
• 2 tablespoons flax meal
• 6 tablespoons rolled oats, divided
• 1 tablespoon texturized soy protein
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened coconut
• 6 tablespoons puffed brown rice cereal
• 1 heaping handful dried cranberries
• 1 egg white
• 1 tablepoon toasted coconut

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oven to 350F.
2. Blend nut butter, agave nectar, and dates in a food processor until well combined. Add flax meal, 4 tablespoons rolled oats, TSP, and coconut. Whiz until blended but chunky.
3. Remove mixture to a separate bowl and stir in 2 tablespoons rolled oats, brown rice cereal, and cranberries. Taste at this point to determine whether it is sweet enough.
4. Mix in one egg white and press mixture into a greased 8x8 pan.
5. Sprinkle toasted coconut on top and gently press in.
6. Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes until the edges are crispy brown and the center is no longer moist.
7. Cool, cut into pieces, and reserve for snacks.