Mustard Salad Dressing

1 Avocado

2 Bananas

½ cup Apple Cider Vinegar

1 ½ cups Water

4-5 tbl Amy’s German Mustard (or other mustard you like)

4 oz (~1 cup) raw Cashews

Blend

The Amy’s mustard has apple cider vinegar, so it should be safe if you can do ACV. If not, maybe use rice vinegar and skip the prepared mustards. Instead add ground mustard to taste - maybe 1-2 tbl. You might also need some salt and pepper if you go the ground mustard route.

Walnut Cream Sauce - Italian Style

Playing with a different pasta sauce and came up with this today:

3 carrots - peeled
1 zucchini - peeled optional
1 cup walnuts
1/8 cup ACV
1/2 cup coconut milk - the unsweetened pseudo-milk kind
1 tbl each: chopped garlic, oregano
1/2 tbl each: salt, pepper, basil, thyme

Blend everything together in food processor or Vita-Mix (requires tamper)

This was a bit of a pain to get it to blend as carrots are not as smooth as zucchini for blending purposes. The pepper really hangs on afterwards, so I might cut back on that next time. It’s heavy on salt too, but that’s how I like it.

The coconut milk was more about trying to get it to blend. This ingredient could probably be water without noticeably changing the flavor.

Reminds me of the carrot ravioli I used to get at The Newsroom. Still liking the taste so maybe I’ll go with it as is. Decisions, decisions.

Coconut Bacon

I recently had some very delicious vegan cajun food at a newer restaurant - Krimseys Cajun Kitchen in North Hollywood (http://krimseys.com/). They topped their soup with maple coconut strips, which gave me the idea for trying it at home.

This is very similar to the Bacon-ish Bits recipe posted here previously. I didn’t have maple syrup, so I used coconut sugar instead. The online recipes I’ve seen for vegan bacon include liquid smoke. That’s a bit too carcinogenic for my liking.


Equipment needed: Mason Jar with lid (holds at least 3 cups), 1 cup Measuring Cup, 1 tbl Measuring Spoon, Glass Baking Pan (could be metal or silicone or...), Oven

1 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
2 cups reduced sodium Tamari (contains soy)
2 tbls Coconut Sugar
Coconut Flakes

Or 3 cups of your marinade of choice. The resulting flavor depends on what’s in your marinade.

Fill the mason jar to near the top with coconut flakes. Add the rest of the ingredients. Put the lid on and shake over the sink in case it leaks. Refrigerate overnight or at least 6 hours. The timing on this is flexible. I like to do overnight to be sure the coconut absorbs a decent amount of the marinade. I also like to sit the jar on a paper towel to absorb any drips.

Pre-heat oven to 250 deg (F)

Drain the coconut. If you like the marinade and want to make more “bacon”, save it. I drained mine into a container of sunflower seeds. Those will get baked soon.

Spread the coconut into the baking pan. It can be layered - I recommend less than 1” deep. Bake for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. You may need to scrape the bottom of the pan to loosen any that are stuck. Turn off the oven and allow the coconut to crisp up as the oven cools.

Bacon-ish Bits

For use as a salad or pasta topper, or as a snack

Equipment needed:
1/2 cup measuring cup, covered bowl, baking dish with sides (9"x13" or thereabouts), spatula or spoon, oven, optional strainer

In the bowl:

12 oz raw, shelled, unsalted Sunflower Seeds
1 cup low (or reduced) sodium Tamari
1/2 cup Apple Cider Vinegar

Tamari is a wheat-free version of soy sauce. If you're avoiding soy but not sulfites, use 1 1/2 cups of balsamic vinegar as the liquid. Or use whatever marinade you like.

Either stir the contents of the bowl with a spoon or cover and shake them. Be sure no seeds are stuck above the liquid. Cover and place in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours - overnight might be best.

Pre-heat the oven to 300 degrees

Rough strain the liquid - this can be done by holding the lid against the top of the bowl but not quite sealed so the liquid can drain out or by using a strainer. You don't have to get it all, just most. Pour the remaining contents into the baking dish.

Bake for 45-50 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Minimalist

What minimalist means in the context of these recipes:

Minimal - prep time, ingredients, and clean up

For example with the dark chocolate brownies:

The prep time is about 30 minutes.

Clean up is faster because of re-using equipment. The pot becomes the final mixing bowl. The 1 cup measure is used for all of the liquid ingredients. The 1/2 cup measure is for the dry ones. The parchment paper keeps the cookie sheets from getting dirty - though I still wash them afterwards, it's not a huge chore.

Instead of using baking chocolate and adding a sweetener, this uses pre-sweetened chocolate chips.