Vegan Cooking with TLC

I often cook my own pumpkin for recipes containing pumpkin, but sometimes canned pumpkin works just as well, or possibly even better. I have only used canned pumpkin to make these scones, but I'm sure one could cook and puree their own pumpkin to make them if desired. To be honest, I haven't tried it only because I usually make these on a whim rather than planning ahead. These scones feel like eating a healthy comfort food for breakfast or a snack, especially in the fall. They are great with both coffee and tea. Pumpkin Pecan Scones 1 can pumpkin ½ cup nut milk* 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar 1 tablespoons ground flaxseed 2 tablespoons hot water 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 3 cups whole wheat flour 2 tablespoons baking powder 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground ginger ½ teaspoon ground cardamom ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg ¼ teaspoon ground cloves ½ cup maple sugar** ½ cup pecans Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicon baking liner....

Blueberry muffins make for a wonderful breakfast, a great snack, or even a healthy dessert. This is the most basic blueberry muffins I make. I often make varieties of blueberry muffins, particularly with different spice combinations. Sometimes, though, it's nice to keep things simple.  Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins 1 cup nut milk 1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds 1 tablespoon hot water 2 cups whole wheat flour 2 teaspoons baking powder ¼ teaspoon baking soda ½ cup maple syrup 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 cup blueberries Preheat oven to 350 degrees.   Line a 12-cup muffin pan with unbleached compostable muffin paper muffin cups or silicone liners. Mix together flaxseeds and hot water in a small bowl. Set aside to thicken. In a small bowl, mix together nut milk, maple syrup, and vanilla. Whisk in flax seed mixture. In a medium mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Create well in the middle of this mixture. Pour liquid mixture into center of dry ing...

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 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...

I first decided to make Sourdough Waffles as a way to meet two needs. I was craving waffles, and I wanted a way to use the sourdough discard left from feeding my sourdough starter . Throwing away the discard every day feels wasteful, so I try to find ways to use it when possible. It worked for the waffles, but I found that letting the batter set overnight better develops the flavor. You can make it either way. If you want to let it set, use one day's discard to make the batter and make the waffles the next day. I prefer to make the batter early in the day and leave it in the refrigerator until the next day. It works great.    I like to serve them with fresh fruit and just a touch of maple syrup.  I bought a mini-waffle maker to make mine because I wasn't sure how committed I was to making waffles and didn't want to invest in an expensive waffle maker until I was. Using the mini-waffle maker takes a long time, but I probably won't replace it for a while because waffles...

I first tried Dragon Fruit several years ago in Hawaii. I liked it okay but didn't think much more about it after I got home.  When I found frozen Dragon Fruit in the grocery store, I bought some. I didn't know what I was going to do with it, but I bought it. Maybe it sparked a memory of that wonderful trip. I'm not sure. I brought it home.  Eventually, I decided to try it in a smoothie. It worked well there. Then one day I grabbed it as I was getting out frozen cherries for my oats. I started to put it back and then decided to give try it with my oats. I actually found I liked it in my oats, and thus I created this recipe. Dragon Fruit Oat Groats 1 cup oat groats 2 cups hot water 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground ginger 1 pinch ground cloves ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom ¼ teaspoon nutmeg 2 tablespoons dried Goji berries 2 dried bananas, cut into pieces 1 tablespoon dried barberries 2 teaspoons cacao nibs 1 cup frozen dragon fruit ½ cup froz...

This recipe was inspired by a packaged oatmeal I used to eat many years ago. I think it was called Peaches -n- Cream, but I can't remember for sure. One day I was looking in my freezer to see what fruit I had because I was a bit bored with my usual oats. I saw some peaches and that old breakfast popped into my mind. Then I saw I had some hazelnut milk left in the refrigerator, and I decided to see what would happen. My first attempt included blueberries and tasted good but wasn't what I was looking for. I removed the blueberries and played with the proportions of a few other ingredients. The result was this recipe.  I will likely share the blueberry version eventually as well. Creamy Peachy Spelt Berries 1 cup spelt berries* 2 cups hot water 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground ginger 1 teaspoon amla powder ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom 2 tablespoons dried mulberries 2 dried bananas ¾ cup hazelnut milk** 10 ounces peaches*** 4 teaspoons fruit infuse...

We don't eat smoothies as often as we used to but do enjoy them when we do. I like to keep smoothies relatively simple but get in as many healthy ingredients as possible without sacrificing flavor. This particular smoothie really lets the cherries shine. Cherry Berry Smoothie ¼ cup almonds 1 teaspoon ground ginger 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon amla powder, optional* ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom 1 teaspoon matcha (green tea powder) 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds 2 tablespoons cherry infused balsamic vinegar** 2 cups spinach*** 1 avocado 2 bananas 1 cup frozen blueberries 3 cups frozen cherries water**** Place almonds, spices, amla powder, matcha, flax seeds and vinegar in a blender.***** Blend well. Add spinach. Blend until well blended. Add avocado and bananas. Blend until well incorporated. Add frozen cherries and blueberries. Blend until smooth. If too thick, add a little water to thin to desired consistency. Pour into large mugs . Serve. Note: I use organic ingredients whe...

After reading How Not to Diet by Michael Greger, M. D. FACLM, we decided to try oat groats for breakfast. I was incredibly skeptical about how it would work. But now I actually prefer them over steel cut oats. We now eat oat groats several times a week most weeks. Very Berry Oat Groats 1 cup oat groats 2 cups hot water 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground ginger 1 pinch ground cloves ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom ¼ teaspoon nutmeg 2 tablespoons dried Goji berries 2 tablespoons dried mulberries 1 tablespoon dried barberries 2 teaspoons cacao nibs 1 cup frozen blueberries 4 teaspoons fruit infused balsamic vinegar* 4 tablespoons walnuts ½ teaspoon hemp seeds Add oat groats to a pan . Add water to pan. Cover. Let soak for at least 30 minutes.** Add spices and flax seeds. Stir together. Bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer. Let cook until groats are tender, approximately 25-30 minutes depending on how long they soaked.   Add dried fruit and cacao nibs. ...

I used to eat a smoothie every morning for breakfast leading me to develop a wide variety of them; however, I rarely wrote down the recipes. When I started eating smoothies less frequently, mostly only on weekends, I rather forgot about all those different smoothies.  I've started revisiting the idea though because sometimes I really like a good smoothie, particularly for breakfast. Recently, I remembered a smoothie I used to make with strawberries and mangoes, so I started playing with the idea. I updated it quite a bit and in some ways simplified it.  Strawberry Mango Smoothie ¼ cup walnuts ¼ teaspoon ground ginger ½ teaspoon matcha (green tea powder) 2 tablespoons raspberry balsamic vinegar 2 cups kale* 1 banana 1 avocado 2 cups frozen strawberries** 2 cups frozen mangoes** Place walnuts, ginger, and matcha in a heavy duty blender . Blend until resembles a powder. Scrape away from sides, if necessary. Break kale into small pieces. Add kale, vanilla, and vinegar. Blend until...

I came up with this recipe one day when I wanted to make quinoa for breakfast but didn't have enough quinoa. I added some spelt flakes I had in the pantry to make up the difference. Sometimes that's what we have to do. Look in the pantry and make things work. I jotted down the recipe and promptly forgot about it until recently when I looked through the recipe workbook I keep in the kitchen. I saw it and decided to make it again to verify it worked and to share it if it did. So, here it is! Berry Cherry Quinoa Porridge ½ cup quinoa ½ cup spelt flakes* 1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground ginger ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom ½ cups water ½ cup blueberries** ½ cup cherries** Pour enough water in a small pan to cover bottom of pan. Add flaxseeds. Stir. Add spices and stir. Add quinoa and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer 10 minutes Add spelt flakes. Simmer 5 more minutes until flakes soften. Sti...

The past few weeks have been rough on this blog... Sighs! Every time I went to make a recipe for it, I was missing ingredients. I have no problem substituting ingredients when cooking for my household, but I don't like to when I'm cooking for the blog. I don't want to create confusion. Normally, I'd just run to the store and pick up what I needed, but that seemed like a luxury during a pandemic, so, I just didn't post anything.  Finally this week I managed to have all the ingredients to make something,  Blueberry Chocolate Chip Scones . This version uses whole wheat flour which makes them denser than we normally think of when we think of scones. Blueberry Chocolate Chip Scones 1 cup almond milk* 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar 1 tablespoons ground flaxseeds 2 tablespoons hot water 3 cups whole wheat flour 2 tablespoons baking powder 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 teaspoon ginger ½ teaspoon cardamom ½ cup date sugar ¾ cup almond pulp* + ¼ cup almond mil...