I had no idea what to expect when I set out to make the Crabby Cakes with Remoulade Sauce from Skinny Bitch in the Kitch, as I have never eaten crab before. My husband and I had a ton of fun making these, and the results were pretty darn good too! The sauce uses a TON of Veganaise (darn near cleared my jar) and produces more sauce than anyone needs, so I would definitely half it the next time around. Parsnip is great as the main ingredient, and the sauce is a yummy compliment!  My patties were a bit chunky, and didn’t hold together too well but I think if I mince/shred everything more finely it will be perfect!

Crabby Cakes with Remoulade Sauce
About 2 Tbsp. refined coconut oil
1 cup carrots, diced
½ cup celery, diced
4 shallots, minced
2 cup parsnip, finely shredded
1 cup whole wheat panko (or whole wheat bread crumbs)
¼ cup chickpea flour (or brown rice flour)
2 Tbsp. Ener-G egg replacer
4 tsp. kelp powder
1 ½ tsp. sea salt
¼ tsp pepper
¼ cup vegan mayonnaise
1 cup Remoulade Sauce (recipe follows)

Remoulade Sauce
Makes about 1 cup
1 cup Vegan Mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. finely chopped chives
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp. prepared horseradish
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 Tbsp. sweet paprika
½ tsp. fine sea salt
¼ white pepper
Mix all the ingredients together and refrigerate until ready to use.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 Tbsp. of coconut oil. Add the carrots and celery and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes. Add the shallots and cook, stirring occasionally, for 1 minute, or until the vegetables are tender. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
In a mixing bowl, combine parsnip, panko, flour, egg replacer, kelp powder, salt, & pepper. Stir in the carrot and celery mixture and mayonnaise. Shape the mixture into 8 cakes, about 3 inches across and ¾ inch thick.

Wipe out the skillet and return it to medium heat. Add the remaining oil and heat. Add the cakes and cook until golden brown, 2-3 minutes per side. Do not crowd the skillet; you may have to do more than one batch. Serve immediately with Remoulade Sauce.

I absolutely love Everyday Dish TV! It’s an online vegan cooking show, and over the past year I have found so many amazing recipes there! This recipe is simple, and slightly more healthy than traditional avocado guacamole. Now, I LOVE guacamole and avocados are my best friends so I wasn’t sure if I would like this recipe or not, but it was too intriguing not to try it. I really loved it, actually! My food processor is very small, so I needed to use my less than stellar blender to make this and as a result, had to add some water to really get things moving. The water definitely made things a little bit more mushy and fluffy than I would have liked, but aside from that it was great! Edamame really is an amazing little bean; I plan to try out a Edamame Hummus recipe soon as well.

I will definitely be making this recipe again, but not until I have purchased a fancy schmancy 10 cup capacity food processor! Click here for a video of Julie Hasson making the Edamame Guacamole, as well as the full recipe!

1. Favorite non-dairy milk?
Absolutely, 100% Almond!

2. What are the top 3 dishes/recipes you are planning to cook?
Vegan Spanakopita (because it sounds like a challenge), Vegan Crabby Cakes (because it sounds interesting, and I have no idea what crab might even taste like, nor will I ever actually know), Some sort of lemon cake or pie, although I’ve yet to figure out exactly what it will be!

3. Topping of choice for popcorn?
Earth balance + salt. I like to keep it simple.

4. Most disastrous recipe/meal failure?
Hmm, where to begin – these are so many choices! Probably screwing up a very, very, ridiculously simple soup recipe. It’s not the most grandiose failure ever, but, it should have been so simple! I still don’t understand what went wrong to this day. I blame in on bad dill weed.

5. Favorite pickled item?
I’ll go out on a limb here – pickles.

6. How do you organize your recipes?
Some in a file on the computer, but most are printed out in a binder I keep in the kitchen cupboard! I use plastic sleeves to keep the pages safe from my many spills, and dividers to organize everything by category. It’s a nice, simple system. I also make lists of new recipes that I want to try, and post them on my bulletin board – that way I can never complain that I don’t know what to make!

7. Compost, trash, or garbage disposal?
I live in a small high rise, so mainly trash for now. I do keep some veggie scraps in the freezer though. I hear it’s good for making your own soup stock

8. If you were stranded on an island and could only bring 3 foods…what would they be (don’t worry about how you’ll cook them)?
Dark chocolate would be number one (75%), avacados, tortillas. That makes no nutritional sense, but I thoroughly enjoy all three.

9. Fondest food memory from your childhood?
The first time I made my own vegetarian meal. I believe they were potato quesadillas, and I was 12. I remember feeling quite accomplished!

Also, my Mom. She was amazing, and made me a separate, meatless,  meal from the rest of the family every day! I was the only vegetarian in the house, and she was always incredibly supportive!

10. Favorite vegan ice cream?
Turtle Mountain’s Purely Decadent Peanut Butter Zig Zag

11. Most loved kitchen appliance?
Blender/food processor.

12. Spice/herb you would die without?
Habanero

13. Cookbook you have owned for the longest time?
Company’s Coming’s Meatless Meals by Jean Pare, a cookbook my grandmother got me for Christmas when I stopped eating meat about 11 years ago (when I was 12 years old). Most definitely not a vegan cookbook!

14. Favorite flavor of jam/jelly?
Raspberry

15. Favorite vegan recipe to serve to an omni friend?
Cookies, who doesn’t like cookies?

16. Seitan, tofu, or tempeh?
Seiten/tofu toss up – I would never be able to pick just one!

17. Favorite meal to cook (or time of day to cook)?
Dinner, but a good breakfast on a Sunday morning is nice too!

18. What is sitting on top of your refrigerator?
Dog treats, Cereal box, coffee, a few take-out menus, other random things.

19. Name 3 items in your freezer without looking.
Edamame, wheat germ, ice cubes.

20. What’s on your grocery list?
Brought home a big haul yesterday! It ranged from parsnip, shallots, and edamame to both coconut and flax oil. Some fruit (bananas, oranges, apples), a lot of veggies (eggplant, green onion, carrots), Panko bread crumbs and much more!

21. Favorite grocery store?
Planet Organic (formerly knows as the Big Fresh)

22. Name a recipe you’d love to veganize, but haven’t yet
Spanakopita, and cheesecake. But, they will both happen. Possibly even this month. Stay tuned for all of that excitement!

23. Food blog you read the most (besides Isa’s because I know you check it everyday). Or maybe the top 3?
veganyumyum.com , bittersweetblog.wordpress.com , everydaydish.tv

24. Favorite vegan candy/chocolate?
Lindt’s Ecuador 75% dark chocolate.

25. Most extravagant food item purchased lately?
Maybe Tofurkey Slices? That isn’t exactly extravagant, but it’s all I’ve got!

26. Ingredients you are scared to work with?
None yet, bring on the challenges!

And, because every post is better with a picture: look how cute my dog is!

This recipe, from veganyumyum.com , is so delicious and so easy! I’ve made it twice since (very recently) discovering Lauren Ulm’s amazing blog! It’s a part of her new cookbook, and I think I might just have to get myself a copy ASAP. Every single recipe on her blog looks amazing; I literally want to make them all! I get really excited when recipes that are this simple are this good! I think most vegan kitchens have nearly all of these items in constant stock; I only needed to pick up the cashews! Another note, you can use any vegan milk for this recipe – I rarely purchase soy milk, and use trusty ol’ Almond Breeze for nearly everything.

Her food photography is amazing! Check out her blog; I dare you not to drool.

Hurry Up Alfredo
Makes 2-3 Servings

1 Cup Soymilk
1/3 Cup Raw, Unsalted Cashews
1/4 Cup Nutritional Yeast
3 Tbs Low-Sodium Tamari or Soy Sauce
2 Tbs Earth Balance Margarine
1 Tbs Tahini
1 Tbs Fresh Lemon Juice
2 tsp Dijon Mustard
1/2 tsp Paprika (smoked is awesome)
1 Pinch Nutmeg
2-4 Cloves of Garlic, optional
Black pepper, to taste

Add all the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. This may work best in a high-speed blender (like a Vita-Mix), but you can definitely make it in a regular blender. Just blend extra-long, or perhaps strain if if you want it perfectly smooth. Tiny bits of cashews won’t hurt anyone though!

If you’re making this sauce for pasta, drain the pasta and return it to the hot empty pan. Pour the sauce over, place on medium heat, and stir until heated through. Serve with lots of fresh cracked black pepper. I love it with steamed broccoli added in!

I don’t even know what to say about these cookies. They are amazing; spicy and chocolaty. Make them! The recipe is a part of the new book Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar (which I plan to purchase immediately).

Mexican Hot Chocolate Snickerdoodles!

For the topping:
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

For the cookies:
1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
3 tablespoons almond milk (Or your preferred non-dairy milk)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon chocolate extract (or more vanilla extract if you have no chocolate)
1 2/3 cups flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cayenne

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Mix the topping ingredients together on a flat plate. Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, use a fork to vigorously mix together oil,  sugar, syrup, and milk. Mix in extracts.

Sift in remaining ingredients, stirring as you add them. Once all ingredients are added mix until you’ve got a pliable dough.

Roll dough into walnut sized balls. Pat into the sugar topping to flatten into roughly 2 inch discs. Transfer to baking sheet, sugar side up, at least 2 inches apart (they do spread). This should be easy as the the bottom of the cookies should just stick to your fingers so you can just flip them over onto the baking sheet.  Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, they should be a bit spread and crackly on top. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

This recipe showed up in my inbox the other day from Booty Camp Fitness. I signed up for Booty Camp a few weeks ago, and have been surprised by how many vegan recipes I have been receiving! This is a great recipe for a healthy falafel; I would definitely make it again!

Chopped parsley, just because it’s pretty!

All of the ingredients in the blender:

Here are the results after blending. I found the  batter to be a little bit too wet to form into patties, but my husband had the awesome idea of rolling them around in the chick-pea flour that we had sitting around. I love that the parsley turns everything green!

The patties after baking:

The final falafel! Yum!

Baked Falafel Sandwiches

15 1/2 oz canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1/4 cup onion, chopped

1/4 cup parsley, or cilantro, fresh, chopped

1 medium garlic clove, minced

1 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp ground coriander

1/4 tsp table salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 Tbsp all-purpose flour

2 Tbsp tahini

1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

2 tbsp water

4 whole wheat pitas
lettuce

Preheat oven to 400ºF.

Combine chickpeas, onion, parsley, garlic, cumin, coriander, salt and baking soda in a food processor or blender. Process until mixture is coarsely pureed and transfer to large bowl. Stir in flour; shape mixture into 4 patties and let stand for 15 minutes.

Spray a large ovenproof skillet with cooking spray and place over medium-high heat (if you don't have an ovenproof skillet, make sure to cover the handle of your skillet with aluminum foil before heating). Add patties and cook until golden brown, flipping once, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer pan to oven and bake 10 minutes.

Whisk together tahini, lemon juice, and water.

To assemble sandwiches, place 2 lettuce leaves inside each pita, add 1 falafel patty and drizzle with 1 tablespoon tahini dressing. Serves 4.

Last year, during Vegan Mofo (the Vegan Month of Food), I started a blog. Well, I haven’t updated it since then, but I’m back and ready to go again! There are so many recipes that I want to try out this year, as well as a few old favorites. So, stay tuned for plenty of vegan goodness!

Here’s a yummy meal from last year’s Vegan Mofo: Stuffed Red Peppers with Julie Hasson’s Spicy Italian Seitan Sausage!

- Renée