Tag: Nondairy

Main

Cauliflower Cobbler

His Bite, Her BiteLeave a comment

Nora: A long time back, a coworker brought chicken pot pie leftovers to work that were very similar to this recipe. Cream of chicken soup, canned biscuits, you know the drill. I thought that kind of comfort food would be out of my reach until we came across this recipe! You can make your own vegan biscuits if you prefer not to deal with the spooky ingredients in canned biscuits.

Josh: Wholesome, savory, creamy, indulgent, and also delicious. This has that perfectly warming, pot pie eating experience to it. It is easy to make and great for reheating. It can feed a group or provide leftovers for many meals to come. Great in cold weather but also great in not-cold weather because it’s so darn scrumptious.

Cauliflower Cobbler
Adapted From: Connoisseurus Veg
Time: Approximately 50 minutes (10 minutes prep, 30 minutes cooking, 10 minutes cooling)
Makes: Dinner for 2 and at least 3 separate sets of leftovers, or dinner for 5
Omnivore Index: This is obviously full of veggies, but it is so creamy and wholesome that nobody will realize it is nondairy.
Ingredients

1 med onion, diced
1 bag frozen soup veggie mix (approx 10-12 oz)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup flour
1 cauliflower, chopped into florets
1.5 cups veggie broth
2 cups nondairy, plain milk
1/2 cup nooch (nutritional yeast)
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 can chickpeas, drained (approx 14 oz)
1 tbsp seasoning blend (for example, Trader Joe 21 Seasoning Salute or steak seasoning)
2 cans vegan-friendly biscuits (our local Kroger has a no-name brand that is vegan)
Recipe

-Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
-Sautee onions and frozen vegetables in a little oil until soft, add garlic, then add flour and stir until evenly coated
-Add everything except chickpeas and biscuits, simmer uncovered until cauliflower is tender (10-15 minutes)
-Add chickpeas, season with salt and pepper
-Place a 9×13 baking dish on top of a cookie sheet to catch overflow. Put stew into the baking dish, put biscuits on top covering stew. Bake 15 minutes, or until biscuits are golden brown.
-Let sit 5-10 minutes before serving.
Closing Arguments
Nora: Leftovers the next day may actually be better.
Josh: This recipe is just the best.
Parts / Components

Cream Cheese

His Bite, Her Bite1 Comment

Nora: Well, it is a thick creamy spread that you can use in place of cream cheese.

Josh: It’s cream cheese, except non-dairy and homemade rather than expensive and processed. Do with it as you will, flavor it up, go wild, the world is your bagel and you get to make the cream cheese. Cashews are amazing, they can do anything.

Cream Cheese
Adapted From: Connoisseurus Veg
Time: 10 mins (if skipping cashew soak and blending extra with blender/food processor), or 4 hours (if soaking the cashews), or 25 minutes (if boiling the cashews instead of soaking)
Makes: Roughly 4.5oz
Omnivore Index: It is thick, creamy, and great for shmearing on stuff. You tell me.
Ingredients

1 cup (4.5 oz) cashews, soaked or boiled
2 tbsp nootch (nutritional yeast)
1/4 cup (4 tbsp) lemon juice
1/2 tbsp oil
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
Recipe

-If soaking or boiling cashews, soak cashews 4 hours or boil for 15 minutes. Then drain cashews.
-Blend until smooth (approximately 1 minute, unless skipping soak/boil in which case blend for longer).
-Add everything else, stir or blend together.
-Chill before serving.

Closing Arguments
Nora: It’ll do.
Josh: It’s cream cheese. So… What else do I need to say?

Loaded Junk Food · Main

Poutine Tots

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Nora: I remember when I first learned about poutine. Gravy… on fries. With cheese. It’s so obvious! Mashed potatoes but crunchy and with CHEESE. Ever since college I have never been able to say no to a basket of gravy-fries. If cooking them at home, we prefer tots because of their superior crunchiness when oven-baked. We haven’t been inducted to the air fryer club… yet. Treat yourself to some heady, heavy deliciousness. If it seems too decadent, just remind yourself (as I often do) that all vegan food is essentially a salad.

Josh: Our Canadian friends have a lot to teach the world about life. One of the most important things I’ve learned is how critical poutine is. Seriously, it’s amazing. It is gravy and cheese on potatoes. It’s a goddamn revelation. We’ve made poutine with all sorts of fries now but we have two clear favorites: waffle fries and, our champion, tater tots. We bake the fries to crispiness because we don’t like deep frying, but you can cook yours however you like as long as they get crispy. If you make the cheese/cheeze ahead of time to cut down overall cook time the night you’re making it, the recipe only takes maybe 20 minutes or so (whatever the time it takes to bake the fries). You won’t regret poutine, ever.

Poutine Tots
Serves: 2 generously (it’s real good, is all I’m saying), probably 3
Cook Time: 20 mins if you make the cheeze ahead of time (or 45 mins if you make the cheeze at the same time)
Omnivore Index: The vegan-ness of this doesn’t come into play because it’s incredible. The only question is whether you like gravy and cheese on spuds or not. (Nora: An omnivore will definitely know the cheeze is fake.)
Ingredients

Cheeze
-1/2 cup (2.25 oz) raw cashews
-1 cup water
-1/4 cup minus 1 teaspoon tapioca starch
-1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
-1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
-3/4 teaspoon salt
-1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Brown Gravy
-2 tablespoons oil
-1 small onion, diced
-4-5 button mushrooms, sliced
-2 cups veggie broth
-1 tablespoon soy sauce
-3 tablespoons corn starch

-Tots, bag of frozen or homemade
-Green Onions, for garnish
Recipe

Make the cashew cheese ahead of time so it has time to cool.
1. Boil cashews 10-15 min, until softened. Drain and rinse.
2. Add all cheeze ingredients and blend in high power blender until smooth, at least 1 minute. (Will appear to be watery, but fear not.)
3. Pour into small saucepan and heat on medium-high heat, stirring continuously and scraping the bottom. It will curdle and look a little gross but keep stirring until thickened and stretchy, about 5 mins.
4. Scrape into a shallow dish and chill in fridge at least 30 mins.
5. Once solid, scoop small “curds” onto the poutine with a teaspoon or melon baller.

Tots
1. Bake according to package directions. You want them very crispy!

Brown Gravy
1. Using a medium saucepan, sautee onions and mushrooms in oil until well browned.
2. Add broth and soy sauce
3. Make a cornstarch slurry in a small dish with 3tbsp cold water. Add to gravy, simmer until thickened, about two minutes. Do not boil, since this can break down the starch and cause the gravy to thin back out. Gravy will thicken as it cools.

Assemble
1. Build your meal in layers. For equal delight in every bite, make a layer of tots, topped with a layer of cheeze curds, topped with gravy, and then another layer of each in the same sequence.
2. Top with green onion
3. Smash
Notes

-in this instance we used frozen tater tots but any form of potatoes could work – whether that be another form of frozen potato or homemade fries (the important thing is some crispiness to offset the rest of the dish being soft foods)
Even the cats keep their eyes on this meatless dinner!
Closing Arguments
Nora: JUST GIVE THEM TO ME.
Josh: Cheesy gravy fries. Think about it. Potatoes with cheese and gravy. C’mon, it’s perfect.

Main

Shiitake Wonton Soup

His Bite, Her Bite2 Comments

Nora: I am in love with this soup! I fully admit it is not authentic in any way but it is really, really yummy. Making the wontons isn’t a terrible ordeal; we often make this on weeknights and assemble dumplings while we talk about our day.

Josh: This soup is everything I want when I dine out, everything I wish was a vegan option at any restaurant. It is so light and flavorful, and homemade wonton really sells it. So delicious, so refreshing, and such great leftovers. Also, other than the time it takes to wrap the wontons, this is a really fast and simple recipe to make. It takes very little time and relatively little effort to put this soup together, and it packs a wallop in taste.

Shiitake Wonton Soup
Serves: 4-6
Time: 30 minutes prep, 10 minutes cook
Slightly adapted from:
Ingredients:
Wontons:
-1 pack (approx 40) vegan wonton, gyoza, potsticker, dumpling wrappers (check ingredients carefully!)
-5oz shitake mushrooms, washed and chopped small
-1 tbsp soy sauce
-2 cloves garlic, minced
-1/2 tsp dried ginger
-1 green onion (white and green parts), minced
-1/2 tsp sesame oil
-1/2 tsp liquid smoke

Soup:
-1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
-1 tsp sesame oil
-1 tsp dried ginger
-2 cloves garlic, minced
-10 cups veggie broth (not-chicken flavor is best)
-4 cups (1 small head) napa cabbage, cut cross-wise into strips
-2 tbsp rice vinegar

-2 more green onions, for serving
Directions:
For the dumplings:
1. Chop garlic, shiitake mushrooms and green onions. Mix with all other wonton filling ingredients.
2. Fill wrappers with about 1 tsp mushroom mix. Dip your finger in a small amount of water and run around the edge of the wrapper. Fold the wrapper in half and seal the edges together, pressing any air pockets out. Press the two folded “corners” of the half moon together, overlapping slightly.
(You can make the wontons a day or two ahead of time. Store them in an airtight container with a well-wrung wet paper towel on top.)

For the soup:
1. Heat a large pot over medium-high. Heat oil until it shimmers. Add garlic and ginger, saute until fragrant.
2. Pour in broth, bring to boil. Cook wontons for 5 minutes or until they all float.
3. Remove from heat, add the cabbage and vinegar. Serve, topped with green onions.

Closing Arguments
Nora: Super-slurpy deliciousness!
Josh: An excuse to eat wonton soup? Yes, please.
Main

Gnocchi Primavera

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Nora: I love this recipe because it is so easy and it only uses one pot and the blender… oh and it’s delicious! The leftovers are also excellent for several days after. Feel free to try any blend of quick-cooking veggies. I bet zucchini or asparagus would be great in this dish! Just add them in while cooking the mushrooms.

Josh: This is the ultimate weeknight dinner. The ingredient list is modest, the prep work is easy, and the whole thing comes together quickly! Then when you think about how rich and creamy it is, comfort for your tum, and how absolutely delicious it is… well, there are just so many reasons why this is an ideal dinner. It’s the kind of meal that tastes like you slaved over it for hours even though it took you mere minutes. Most importantly: gnocchi. Mmmm.

Gnocchi Primavera
Makes: dinner for 4, or dinner and lunch for 2
Cook Time: 20 min
Omnivore Index: Creamy and indulgent, nobody is going to assume it is dairy free.
Ingredients

-1 package gnocchi
-2 roma tomatoes, diced
-bunch of spinach (4 handfuls work well)
-8 oz mushrooms, sliced
-15 oz can great northern beans, drained
-oil, for caramelizing mushrooms

Sauce:
-1 cup nondairy milk
-1/2 cup (2.25-2.5 oz) raw cashews
-2-3 cloves garlic
-2 tsp miso
-3 tbsp nutritional yeast
-1 tsp tapioca starch/flour
-1 tsp salt
-cracked black pepper, to taste

-green onions for garnish

Instructions
1. Cook gnocchi according to package directions.
2. While gnocchi is cooking, throw sauce ingredients into a high-speed blender and run for 1-2 minutes or until completely smooth. (If you do not have a high-speed blender, quick-soak your cashews by putting them in a small pot of water, bring to boil for five minutes, let sit covered 30 minutes or as long as your patience will allow before draining. Or soak overnight in the fridge.)
3. Put spinach in your colander and drain the gnocchi on top of it. Return pot to the stove with a bit of oil over medium heat.
4. Saute mushrooms until they release juices and those juices evaporate. Add everything into the pot and cook, stirring frequently, for 2-3 minutes until sauce thickens.

Closing Arguments
Nora: gnocchi = dumplings = good
Josh: Did we mention this is a great excuse to eat gnocchi?