Vegan Cooking with TLC

In my last post, Priorities Shift in an Instant , I talked about how sometimes how the way I cook has had to change over the past few years due to life circumstances. I thought about this and decided to share a few simple recipes that one can do when facing limited capacity. Several will be recipes that require no chopping. Also, these recipes tend to be ones that can be used to save time or when one doesn't have a way to store fresh produce.   I have probably already shared a few other recipes that could also fall into this category of meals that can be made when you have a limited capacity for whatever reason.  I find it important to find ways to work with what is available to me because I don't always have the resources or the ability to do things the way I want to. It's okay to do the best you can in a given moment even if it's not the way you would normally do things.  Easy Cajun Spice and Tempeh Vegetable Pilaf (no chop version) 1 10 ounce bag frozen mixed vegetab...

 It’s amazing how easily priorities can shift in an instant. I started Vegan Cooking with TLC in 2018 and posted regularly for a couple of years. Then life brought some challenges and posting became irregular. Finally in 2022, I stopped posting for a variety of reasons, mainly I had overcommitted myself and couldn’t keep up with my own schedule. Then in the autumn of 2022, I suffered a substantial foot/ankle injury from a fall. Between caring for two cats with deteriorating health conditions and working toward healing my foot/ankle in addition to my usual responsibilities, I neglected many things during this time, including Vegan Cooking with TLC. In November 2024 just after finding out my ankle would require a second surgery to regain full use, I fell and broke my wrist in two places. I’m starting to cook again, but I still can’t chop. Cooking remains about ease and convenience. I have continued to embrace a healthy plant-based diet and have done my best to choose foods to aid hea...

As I thought about making Spelt Biscuits to share on the blog, I kept remembering my Daddy making Blackberries & Biscuits for breakfast on winter weekend mornings. He used the blackberries we'd picked and frozen during the summer. He sometimes made his own biscuits and sometimes used canned. Those blackberries tasted better than the store-bought ones I used this time. Maybe it had something to do with knowing we'd picked them ourselves. Maybe it had something to do the soil they grew in on our farm. Or maybe it's just nostalgia telling me they tasted better. Regardless, I decided to make this a two-recipe week and share both the biscuit recipe and this very simple recipe for Blackberries & Biscuits in honor of my Daddy. Blackberries & Biscuits 1 pint - 1 quart frozen blackberries 1 batch biscuits Place blackberries in a small pan . Heat over medium-low heat until soft and steaming.* Serve with biscuits.** * I think Daddy added some sugar to his when he cooked...

I remember biscuits at both of my grandmother's houses. They had very different styles for making biscuits, but both had their appeal. What I remember most about them thinking back is how cozy it felt when my grandmas served biscuits, even making biscuits with them felt cozy. I don't think my biscuits have ever been as good as either of theirs, but sometimes I wonder if that's as much about nostalgia as technique. I will readily admit that I find rolling dough kind of soothing and far too often roll my dough a bit too thin for biscuits, as I did when I made these biscuits this morning. So while this variation of biscuits has little in common with the biscuits either of my grandmas made, they both inspired me to develop a biscuit recipe. So, Grammy Stamm and Granny Cooper, this one is in your honor! Spelt Biscuits   2 cups spelt flour 1 tablespoon baking powder 1 teaspoon ground flaxseeds ½ cup hazelnut pulp ¾ cup hazelnut milk 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar     Preheat ...

I make many different varieties of smoothies. I like to play with the ingredients.  This  Mango Smoothie  is a rare smoothie where I don't include any berries.  I almost always include some type of greens. In this recipe, I use kale. It gives the smoothie a light greenish tint, which I find rather pretty but some might not.    I decided to make mango the star of this smoothie, which I enjoyed more than I expected.  I find this Mango Smoothie light and refreshing but quite filling. It makes enough for one large smoothie or two small smoothies.  Mango Smoothie 2 cups frozen mango ½ cup walnuts 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground ginger 1 teaspoon amla powder (optional) ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom 1 teaspoon matcha powder (optional) 2 teaspoons fruit infused vinegar ½ cup chopped kale 1 small orange 1 small avocado 1 banana Place walnuts, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, amla, matcha, and vinegar in blender . Blend until becomes a thick chunky bu...

Finding a plant-based burger recipe that works well has been a bit of challenge for me. I've tried several that worked okay but not great. I've tried several that had inconsistent results. So far I've made this recipe for Lentil Pecan Burgers a few times, and it's turned out well each time. I will say they are like any other burger in that cooking them can be tricky. They must be watched closely. Overcooking them will leave them dry and crumbly and undercooking them will leave them a bit mushy. Overall, I've had consistent results with these Lentil Pecan Burgers . Lentil Pecan Burgers   2 cups cooked brown lentils * 1 cup pecans pieces ¼ cup barley groats ¾ cup rolled barley 1 small onion 2 cloves garlic 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar 2 tablespoons ground flax seeds 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast 1 tablespoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon ground coriander ½ teaspoon chili powder   Soak barley groats in hot water until they fluff up a bit, approximately 15-20 minutes....