Vegan Au Gratin Potatoes

Potatoes smothered with cheese and onions....who wouldn't love this?  Well, problem is the cholesterol and fat in the cheese might kill you :(  So to make this a much healthier and vegan treat, use  my Vegan Cheese-y Sauce.    This meal is so rich, creamy and filling, that this small little dish made 6 meals!  Enjoy!!


Vegan Au Gratin Potatoes
2 tablespoons Grapeseed Oil
1 medium Onion - chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 teaspoon Herb Stop's Himalayan Salt
1/2 cup Almond Milk
6 small Potatoes - sliced thinly (about 5 cups)
Paprika
1 1/2 cups Vegan Cheese-y Sauce (1 recipe's worth) - Recipe is below:

• 3/4 cup Cashews
• 12 tablespoons Almond Milk
• 2 tablespoons Nutritional Yeast
• 1 tablespoons Arrowroot Powder
• 1 teaspoon Herb Stop's Granulated Onion
• 1 teaspoon Herb Stop's Pesto Mix
• 1/4 teaspoon Herb Stop's Turmeric Powder
• 1/2 tablespoon Olive Oil
• 1/2 teaspoon Unrefined Salt (I use Himalayan or Sonoma)

Heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.  Add grapeseed oil to a medium sauce pan.  Over medium heat, Add onion and saute until soft.  Add 1/2 teaspoon Himalayan Salt.  Add Almond Milk and stir constantly until it begins to simmer.  Turn off heat and add the Vegan Cheesy Sauce.  Stir until sauce is thick, but manageable.  Add sliced potatoes to the pot and gently toss until all the potatoes are covered.  Pour into a casserole pan (I used one from IKEA that is 7x8).  Sprinkle with Paprika and bake uncovered for 45 minutes to 1 hour (until potatoes are fully cooked).  ENJOY......

Potatoes tossed with the cheesy mixture

In the pan and ready for paprika

Dusted with Paprika and ready for the oven

Fresh out of the oven

Served with fresh steamed broccoli and a larger Amazing Vegan Dinner Roll

Beautiful color

Vegan Cheese-y Sauce

I don't know if it's just me, but I really miss cheese.  Perhaps this is due to my heritage - I am 1/2 Swiss after all. Not eating cheese as a Swiss....oh man, hopefully they don't revoke my citizenship!  lol.  Anyway, this is my classic cheesey mixture.  I use this when ever a recipe calls for cheese that needs to be melted.  Casseroles, potatoes, on top of tacos, really anything.  If you let it sit in the fridge over night, it gets very thick, almost like the consistency of brie.  It's delicious!  


Vegan Cheese-y Sauce
3/4 cup Cashews
12 tablespoons Almond Milk
2 tablespoons Nutritional Yeast
1 tablespoons Arrowroot Powder
1 teaspoon Herb Stop's Granulated Onion
1 teaspoon Herb Stop's Pesto Mix
1/4 teaspoon Herb Stop's Turmeric Powder
1/2 tablespoon Olive Oil
1/2 teaspoon Unrefined Salt (I use Himalayan or Sonoma)


Add all the ingredients to your Vita Mix or blender.  Blend until smooth and creamy.  The mixture will thicken to the consistency of warmed velveeta.  Enjoy!

Vegan Chili

The other day I went over to my Mom's house and she was making her husband a turkey chili that actually looked and smelled really yummy - I assumed it was because it was my Mom's food.  I think Mom's will always be the best cooks!  But then for the next 2 days all I could think about was chili!  How are you supposed to make a vegan chili meal? Well.....when the time came to make chili, it was after a very busy day and I was super hungry.  I needed food NOW!!  So we went to Basha's, luckily they have a giant natural foods section in Payson....yay!  I try not to used canned foods very often, but tonight was going to have to be simple. I picked up some canned organic diced tomatoes and organic black beans and we went home.  This meal was unbelievably filling and my non-vegan friends and family LOVED it!  I will definitely be making this again and without the cans....I'll post that recipe when it's done :)

Vegan Chili
3 tablespoons Grapeseed Oil
1 medium onion - chopped
1 clove of Garlic - pushed through a garlic press
1 cup Quinoa
2 - 3 cups water
1 Orange Bell Pepper - diced
2 cans Diced Tomatoes
1 tablespoon Herb Stop Southwest Mix
3/4 teaspoon Ground Cumin
1/4 teaspoon Himalayan Salt
1 can Black Beans - drained and very well rinsed

In a medium to large sauce pan, heat grapeseed oil over medium high heat.  When the oil is warm, add the onion and garlic.  Sautee until limp.  Add quinoa and sautee until all the oil has been absorbed - about 3 minutes - make sure you stir constantly.  Add 2 cups water, bell pepper, tomatoes and spices.  Reduce heat to medium and allow to cook until the quinoa germ is visible and the water is almost fully absorbed.  During this process make sure to stir occasionally and check the water level.  You may need to add more water depending on evaporation. (I used 2 1/2 cups this time).   Add beans and cook for an additional 5 minutes.  Serve nice and hot.  YUMMY!  The more you reheat this meal, the better it gets!!!

Colorful Vegetable Linguine

Sometimes I look into my fridge and I say to my husband, "babe, there's nothing to eat".  He's such a good sport, he just laughs with me.  The fridge can be full of things, but in my head none of it is coming together for a meal.  This was one of those cases.  I started pulling vegetable and pasta out, put I didn't want a traditional marinara sauce. This actually turned out really neat, the tomatoes let out their juices and made a light sauce, the veggies were awesome.....definitely worth a try!

Colorful Vegetable Linguine
1/2 package Quinoa Harvest Linguine
1 medium-large Tomato
1/2 cup Sweet Corn Kernels
1 medium Zucchini - sliced into thick rounds, then quartered
1 Scallion - sliced into medium rounds
1 slice Red Cabbage - chopped into smaller 1 inch pieces
1 teaspoon Herb Stop Roasted Garlic Granules
1 teaspoon Herb Stop Sprinkle and Rub
1/2 teaspoon Parsley Flakes
1/2 tablespoon Olive Oil
Grapeseed Oil

Cook pasta according to directions.  While pasta is cooking prepare the vegetables.  In a large frying pan, add enough grapeseed oil to sautee the vegetables - about 1/2 tablespoon.  Add Garlic, Sprinkle & Rub, Parsley.  Over medium high heat, heat the oil.  Once the oil is warm add scallion and sautee until the scent comes out.  Add the corn, zucchini and cabbage and sautee until well coated in the herbs.  Reduce heat to medium low and add tomatoes. Cover.  Stirring frequently, allow to cook for about 5-10 minutes until the tomatoes have release their juices and zucchini is cooked, but not mushy.

Toss cooked linguine in olive oil.  Add noodles to the vegetable mixture.  Toss until well coated and serve nice and hot.

As a side dish I made some wedge fries and had some organic ketchup.  How yummy!

beautiful array of colors

ready to eat!

Nutty Brussel Sprout Quinoa

For some reason I've been craving brussel sprouts, so I thought why not satisfy that craving!  Brussel sprouts are always served alone, nothing special, so I thought I'd be bold and pair it with cashews, quinoa and a little lime juice.  It was super yummy!  Now....my mom always says "when you eat something cooked, you have to eat something raw".  So I made a little side dish of tomatoes, onion, olive oil and some vinegar.  DELISH!

Nutty Brussel Sprout Quinoa
1 cup Quinoa
2 handfuls Brussel Sprouts
1/2 cup Cashew halves
2-3 cups water
Lime Juice
Himalayan Salt

In a large sauce pan over medium high heat, add quinoa, 2 cups of water, brussel sprouts and cashews.  Cover and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium and allow to heavily simmer until all of the water is absorbed and the quinoa germ is visable.  During this process you may need to add more water depending on how much has evaporated.

Once ready to serve, squirt a little lime juice over the top and season with salt as desired.

If you were interested in the side dish, here it is.......

Tomato Side Dish
1 medium Tomato, diced into medium pieces
1 slice of Red Onion, diced into small pieces
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
1/2 tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar

Mix all ingredients together and allow to sit for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Cranberry Sauce with Lime

I've never made cranberry sauce before.  Since I've become vegan, my palate has changed.  I never liked cranberries but now I do!  I found some organic fresh cranberries at Sunflower Market the week before Thanksgiving, which was exciting......but what do I do to make sauce???   Everything called for orange juice and I didn't have any.  So the wheels were turning and this came out unbelievable!  My mom said she wanted it for jam the next day, so she was the lucky winner of these left overs!

Cranberry Sauce with Lime
2 cups Fresh Cranberries - washed & de-stemmed
1/3 cup Herb Stop Lemon Sugar
2/3 cup Herb Stop Cane Juice Sugar
1 cup Water
Zest From One Medium Lime

Place water into a medium sauce pan, add sugars. Heat to boiling over medium heat, stirring occasionally.  Boil for 5 minutes.  Add in cranberries.  Stir well.  Heat back to boiling and boil until cranberries are done popping (I didn't know this about cranberries, but the cranberries release natural pectin when they pop and thats how it gels up - pretty neat!), about 5 minutes. Turn of heat and add lime zest.  Stir very well.  Cover and store in the refrigerator over night.

fresh cranberry sauce

Vegan Pecan Pie

Because the store has been so busy lately (I'm very grateful for that!), I haven't had a chance to post anything.  So I'm going to have to do a little back tracking.  I realized I only posted the Nut Turkey and nothing else from Thanksgiving!!!  Oopsy!  As I searched for ideas of a pecan pie, I thought this task was hopeless and then I found a recipe in one of my books that used agar.  I didn't really like the entire recipe, so I changed it up and it was delicious!  This recipe is not super sweet, which was a nice change.  ENJOY!

Vegan Pecan Pie

1 1/2 cups Water

2 teaspoons Herb Stop Agar Agar Powder

1/2 teaspoon Herb Stop Himalayan Salt

1 cup Maple Syrup

1 tablespoon Herb Stop Vanilla Extract

1 teaspoon Herb Stop Vietnamese Cinnamon Powder

3 cups Whole Pecans

1 Chocolate Cashew Pie Crust - see below for recipe

Toast Pecans in the oven ahead of time.  Set aside.  In a medium sauce pan, bring water to a boil and whisk in the agar agar powder.  While just below boil (a really heavy simmer), continue to stir often for 10-15 minutes - until the agar agar has dissolved.  Reduce heat to medium and whisk in the salt, maple syrup, vanilla extract and cinnamon.  Continue cooking and whisking until the cinnamon is fully incorporated - about 5 minutes. Let mixture cool for 5-7 minutes - until manageable and add in the pecans.  Stir well until the pecans are well coated.  Pour into a preprepared pie crust.  Place in the refrigerator over night.  The pecans should be held together by what looks like jello.  YUMMY!!!

whisking away.....

A yummy pie in the making :)

A beautiful slice

Chocolate Cashew Pie Crust

1 1/2 cups Cashew Pieces

1/4 teaspoon Herb Stop Himalayan Salt

1/4 teaspoon Herb Stop Baking Soda

2 tablespoons Grapeseed Oil

2 1/2 tablespoons Maple Syrup

1/2 cup Vegan Chocolate Chips

Grind cashew pieces into a flour.  Be careful not to grind too long or you'll end up with cashew butter.  Set aside.  Melt chocolate chips over very low heat until smooth.  Preheat oven to 350.  Mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Add wet ingredients and mix well.  Press into a pie place with fingers.  Bake for 10 minutes and let cool completely.  

ready for the oven