Guest Blogger: Poppy’s Patisserie – Smoked Tofu Carbonara Pasta

So many new vegan bloggers to welcome into the fold! One such blogger is Poppy. Here she is in her own words,”I’m Poppy and I write Poppy’s Patisserie which is now fully vegan. I was a vegetarian since the age of six and have now been a vegan for almost two years. I am a University student studying Animal Management based in Kent, UK. I love food and especially love experimenting with new ways to eat plant based foods, full of goodness and flavour. I also love animals. I have two lovely sibling cats, ten bunnies, three chickens and five degu’s. They are great fun. Below is a post I’d love to share for a vegan carbonara style spaghetti using smoked tofu. It’s a real favourite of mine, comfort food full of goodness.” Follow Poppy on Twitter – welcome Poppy!

SMOKED TOFU CARBONARA PASTA

I’ve never eaten a real carbonara with bacon but have always been a sucker for creamy pastas. I remember once making a veggie version with veggie bacon and cream; it tasted delicious but I felt sick from the heaviness of the cream. I tried again with a traditional egg sauce but was so frightened of eating raw egg that I ended up cooking it to almost scrambled egg coated pasta. Yummy. Not.

So when it came to having a go, now vegan, I had no idea how it would turn out. Of course, any Italian pasta purist would shoot me for even describing this as a carbonara, but then again, so would they of my cream abundant version or even my version using the traditional ingredients which led to a spaghetti omelette. Hey ho.

It’s rich yet not too heavy, tastes smoky and creamy and is low in calories. What could be wrong with that?

For one serving: 652 calories

• 100g dried spaghetti or pasta of choice
• 10g soya or sunflower spread
• 10g plain flour
• 200ml unsweetened almond milk (or any other milk you prefer)
• 1 banana shallot, finely chopped
• 1tsp porcini mushroom powder (or add in a handful of sliced mushrooms instead)
• 100g smoked tofu (I use Taifun’s sesame and almond smoked tofu), sliced into lardons or cubed
• fresh chives to serve

1. Put a pan of salted water on to boil. Once boiling, add the pasta.
2. Spray or add a drop of oil to a pan and add the shallot over a low heat to soften. If using mushrooms, add now also. Once softened, remove and set aside. Set the heat to high and add the tofu. Fry until fragrant and starting to crisp and go golden. This should only take a minute or so.
3. Meanwhile, melt the spread in a small pan over a medium heat then stir in the flour. Cook the roux, stirring, for about a minute.
4. Gradually whisk in the milk until all is incorporated and smooth. Add in the mushroom powder (if using) and allow the sauce to thicken, stirring often. Season to taste. Stir in the shallot (and mushrooms, if using) and tofu.
5. Toss the sauce with the drained pasta and serve sprinkled with finely chopped chives.

Guest Blogger: The Food Duo – The Pot(Luck) of the Vegan

New bloggers who blog as a couple! Meet – The Food Duo! Here they are in their own words, “We’re a couple of quirky vegan kids in NYC who play with their food! Just don’t tell our moms! Recipes, reviews, news you can use and fun stuff…all from a vegan point of view! The Food Duo is written by Macaroon (girl) and Artichoke (guy).” Keep in touch with the Food Duo on all their social media links: Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest and Instagram. Welcome Macaroon and Artichoke!

Sunday Potluck! Can we do this every weekend…PLEASE?

Sorry, I’m a few days late with my “Kiss Me, I’m Irish (for 24 hours)” line! Then again, if my mom’s correct, we may have some Irish blood somewhere on her side of the family, but who knows? LOL

St. Patrick’s Day certainly has its religious roots, but I’ve always grown up with it being a celebratory day with friends (old, new and those lasting a single pint). The camaraderie that comes about truly makes the day fun and festive more so than just wearing green (which I did) or watching the parade (this year, the day before). This year was no different, except the parade on Saturday the 16th, rather than Sunday the 17th. Nevertheless, we enjoyed a lovely Sunday evening at a pot luck, meeting new folks, eating good food and sharing a common bond being VEGANISM!Organized through the NYC Vegan EatUp group on Meetup.com, our evening was entitled VEGANPOTLUCKAPALOOZA! So, you know anything ending in “PALOOZA” is certain not to disappoint. The pot luck was held at Harmony Kitchen Cafe in the East Village (NYC), which is a great vegan cafe and art space, which is part of the Yippie Museum, a venue of expression and activism. It was the perfect, cozy setting, and a big thanks to David Hall, the owner, for having us! BTW, Harmony Kitchen has some of the best iced tea I’ve ever had, and Artie is in love with their coffee.

The gathering included some home chefs and professional eaters (some being one in the same…like ME). We shared dishes of hearty comfort goodness. The menu was full of deliciousness: delightful rainbow salad, perfect stuffed mushrooms with daikon, two kinds of yummy mac ‘n cheese (one gluten-free), stuffed shells with a flavorful cashew ricotta and garlic mashed potatoes with green cauliflower. The meal was topped off beautiful raw mint pie for dessert. I think we all did a bang up job!

So, you may be wondering what Artie and I made for the evening. Well, our contributions were the stuffed shells and mashed potatoes. Since we made our dishes without following a set recipe, we’ll need to work them out in written form, and share them soon, but they were pretty simple to make.

A sampling of a shell and skin-on mashed potatoes “aerial” shot

 

There isn’t much more I can say except it was great spending time with our fellow vegans, learning a little something about them and about ourselves. It was a wonderful experience and I hope we get to do this again really soon!

Oh and I’m in total love with the mint pie!

AMAZING! So happy Sarah shared the recipe. Will be making this soon for Momma Mac!

Guest Blogger: On the path to zen… – Chick’n Fried Tofu

There are vegans in Texas! One is Kerry, she writes a blog called On the path to zen…. Here she is in her own words, “I am a vegan working always on finding her zen. Not easy these days, but the journey is well worth it! I am a Master Gardener and a Reiki Master/Teacher, and these combine very nicely with living the life of zen.” Join On the path to zen… on Facebook too! Welcome Kerry!

Growing up in Texas, there are two dishes you can find served at a restaurant within a stone’s throw, no matter where you are. Barbecue and chicken fried steak.

And if you are in Texas, never, ever, ever, refer to chicken fried steak and country fried steak. Trust me on this.

As I have tried to explain to many meat eaters, I bet nine times out of ten it is not the meat they like so much as it is the flavors of the food. To that end I like to make dishes that even I-will-never-be-vegan folks will eat and proclaim it delicious.

Chicken Fried Tofu

One package extra firm tofu, frozen, thawed, pressed, sliced into 1/4″ slices

3 T. nutritional yeast

2 T. panko breadcrumbs

2 T. soy sauce

Old Bay seasoning

Salt

In one shallow bowl, combine the nutritional yeast and breadcrumbs and mix well. In another shallow bowl, pour in the soy sauce. Dip the tofu slices in the soy sauce and place in the breadcrumbs mixture, coat well on both sides. Place coated pieces on a sprayed baking pan. Sprinkle on some Old Bay and salt. Bake for 15 minutes, turn over, season and bake for another 15 minutes until golden brown. Serve. Enjoy!

I served mine with some peppered cream gravy, garlic mashed potatoes and green beans. Delish!

What I like most about this recipe is it is baked, not deep fried. Yummy, healthy AND cruelty-free!

Guest Blogger – Rachel in Veganland: Tahini chickpeas

After her wildly successful first post on VBU!, Rachel in Veganland – Not Skinny how could I not have her back? This time Rachel is back to share her take on tahini chickpeas. You can follow Rachel’s posts through email, and find her on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. Welcome back Rachel!

Living in this house in Carrboro has been a throw back to my first few days at college when I was cooking vegan for the first time in the communal kitchen of my dorm. There were 2 things I always had in my food box in those days: garbanzo beans and tofu. As the garbanzo is my favorite legume, I would eat them quite often, and in a variety of ways.

I would often sauté them up with some fresh onions and garlic, add in a few seasonings to suit my mood, then a sauce to tie it all together. This past week I’ve revisited that dish, as again garbanzos and tofu were readily available. This time, instead of the goddess dressing I would often use to tie all of the ingredients together, I used some tahini.

The result was caramelized fried-like glory with no breading, mess, or actual frying. What a fantastic and flavorful shortcut! The flavor was similar to fried chicken-like tofu but the garbanzos added a rich nuttiness to the dish that was only amplified by the tahini. Served atop a bed of fresh spinach, and it was heaven on a plate.

Tahini Fried Chickpeas and Tofu

1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed thoroughly

1/2 block extra firm tofu

1 Tablespoon olive oil

2 Tablespoons soy sauce or tamari

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 cup chopped onions

dash dried basil

1/2 cup tahini

Over medium heat, sauté garlic and onions until the onions begin to brown and get all caramelized. Then pop in your tofu, cut into nice sized chunks and allow it to brown slightly too. Add those chick peas and let it all mesh together for a couple of minutes, then add in your tamari. At the very end, add the tahini and remove from heat, stirring to incorporate thoroughly. Serve immediately over a bed of fresh, raw greens and eat your heart out.

Now that we’re back in Carrboro, we’ve of course been frequenting our favorite taco truck again, huzzah! This means the world’s most decadent and fantastic sauces. I always get an extra 2 oz. container to keep and smother on EVERYTHING I can. These chick peas were no exception.

Guest Blogger: Gormandize with A-dizzle and K-bobo – Vegan Bean and Mushroom Jambalaya

Our friend Keely from the blog Gormandize with A-dizzle and K-bobo. Keely has contributed before with a recipe for Chai Banana Loaf. You can follow her Blog, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest account. Welcome back Keely!

A month of American food wouldn’t be complete without my favourite American dish – jambalaya, a Louisiana speciality. Discovering this delicious dish essentially made me want to go to Louisiana! This jambalaya uses field mushrooms and vegetarian sausages instead of the traditional meat. Traditional jambalaya is also laden with green capsicum, however, I’ve left this out because it makes me sick – but if you are partial to a bit of green capsicum feel free to add it in, although I don’t think it needs it!!

I’ve also made this recipe using brown rice instead of white, it was also fantastic. You just need to increase the amount of water by about 2 cups and increase the cooking time by at least 20 minutes.

Ingredients

5 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, roughly chopped

2 field mushrooms, washed and chopped in large chunks

3 vegetarian sausages, chopped

1 celery stick, chopped

1/2 cup dry sherry

4 tbsp tomato paste

2 cups basmati rice

6 cups vegetable broth

1 tin diced tomatoes

2 bay leaves

4-5 sprigs of fresh thyme

2 tbsp fresh oregano, chopped

2 tsp dried marjoram

1 tsp sweet paprika

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tin cannelini beans, drained and rinsed

1 tin Kidney beans, drained and rinsed

(More hot water, as required)

To Make

1. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan or soup pot. Sauté the onions and celery for 2-3 mins. Add the mushrooms and veggie sausages and sauté until the veggies are cooked.

2. At this stage you’ll notice the bottom of the pan is getting all brownish from frying the veggies. So – deglaze the pan by adding the sherry (you’ll notice all the browny bits come right off the bottom and make your dish a lovely rich colour). Add the tomato paste as well and heat through.

3. Add the uncooked rice and cook, stirring constantly, for about 3-4 minutes. Add the vegetable stock, tinned tomatoes, bay leaves and all herbs and spices. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring very frequently for about 30 minutes, or until the rice is cooked through, you may need to add more water as you are going to stop the rice sticking onto the bottom depending on how thirsty your rice is.

4. When the rice is almost cooked stir the tinned beans through. When the rice is fully cooked serve.

Serves 4.

This month I’m featuring lots of delicious food from
Southern USA!

Check out my other recipe posts:

Mint Julep

Peach and Bourbon
Cobbler

Vegan Chili Pone (Chili
Cornbread Casserole)

Succotash

Pecan & Molasses Pie with Spiced Pumpkin Whipped
Cream

Candied
Sweet Potatoes

 

Guest Blogger: Carrie on Vegan – Photo Food Journal & Vegan Delish Giveaway

Our newest VBU! contributor is Carrie Forrest, author of Carrie on Vegan. Here she is in her own words,”I am a graduate student in public health nutrition and I write about my recipes and adventures in healthy, plant-based living. I recently released an app for iPhones and iPads called Vegan Delish that features 60 simple, vegan recipes with all kinds of cool features like a digital shopping list and social media sharing options.” Carrie is the first contributor to have an app – how cool is that? Love how everyone is so creative and inventive. Keep in touch with Carrie on Vegan through: Facebook, Twitter, and RSS feed. Also check out Carrie’s app Vegan Delish: iTunes Preview page, website, and Facebook page. Please welcome Carrie!

Good morning and happy “What I Ate Wednesday“! Today I’ll be showing a picture of everything that I ate yesterday. It is always an interesting exercise to document everything I eat in a day, plus I hope you find it helpful in some way.

Breakfast was some leftover green smoothie with some buckwheat groats and almonds on top:

I went for a hike in Palm Springs around 9 a.m. Despite cloudy skies, I thought the mountains were so pretty:

Alan and I hiked further than we have ever gone before:

We then went to Costco to try and beat the holiday rush, but it was still craziness. I stocked up on all kinds of fresh fruit, frozen fruit, frozen edamame, etc. It was a huge load:

After all of that, lunch was much appreciated. I make a big romaine and vegetable salad with my Wild Blueberry Zinger Dressing, edamame and mandarin oranges for dessert:

Here’s a closer view of the salad:

Yesterday afternoon was spent catching up on work and doing a few errands. I decided to try using the pressure cooker again after my successful experience last Saturday night. This time, I just used brussels sprouts, collard greens, mushrooms, onions and water:

I checked with Jill Nussinow’s fantastic book, The New Fast Food, for the cooking times on the sprouts and the greens (don’t forget to enter to win a free copy of the ebook here!). I settled on a cooking time of two minutes for everything and I estimated about a cup of water. I added it all to the pot:

The chopped collards went on top:

I locked on the lid, set the timer to two minutes on high pressure, and sat back and hoped it would turn out okay. I figured the worst that could happen would that the sprouts would be undercooked:

While I waited, I also made a really easy cream sauce for the veggies. After all, who wants to eat plain steamed greens? To make my typical cashew cream sauce less fattening, I substituted garbanzo beans for half the nuts in this recipe. I was so pleased with the results, the sauce was still very, very creamy and flavorful:

Here’s the recipe:

[print_this]

Cashew & Bean Sauce

6 servings

Ingredients:

1/2 cup raw, unsalted cashews

1 cup cooked garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

2 teaspoons dried onion flakes

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

1/4 teaspoon dried mustard

1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes

1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk

1/2 cup white wine vinegar

Directions:

Combine ingredients in a high-speed blender and process until smooth.

[/print_this]

I used the quick-release setting on the PC when it was done and here’s what it looked like:

I was so happy that everything was cooked to perfection! It’s not exactly a beautiful dish, but here’s what the final product looked like:

I’m telling you, this was a hit and I’ll be making the same exact thing tonight for dinner.

For dessert last night, I made a version of my Chocolate Cherry Bomb that I’ll be posting in ice cream form on Friday. It was so decadent and yummy:

That’s it! I hope you enjoyed this photo food journal.

To wrap up today’s post, I’m doing another giveaway of my recipe app Vegan Delish! I received 50 promo codes from Apple when we did our last update and I want to share them with you. If you already own Vegan Delish, you can still enter and you can give the code to one of your friends or family members. So, I’m giving the code to 50 readers selected at random who leave a comment on this post and who do any of the following things:

1. Tweet this message to your followers on Twitter “Check out Vegan Delish, the healthy #vegan recipe app for iPhones and iPads: http://bit.ly/TNOWnc.”

2. If you already own the app, leave a review on iTunes. Note: if you downloaded the app using a promo code, then Apple won’t let you leave a review.

3. Do something else to help me promote Vegan Delish, like tell your co-workers about it. Tell me what you did. I trust you.

You can do any or all of these things, just leave a separate comment telling me what you did. You have until Sunday, December 23rd, to enter.

Thank you for all of your support!!! I hope you have a great rest of your week and I’ll see you back here on Friday.

Guest Blogger: A,B,C,Vegan – Cranberry Bread Salad

The holiday season is coming up and Esther from A, B, C, Vegan has a lovely Cranberry Bread Salad recipe for you. Esther took three years to transition to a full vegan lifestyle and understands the challenges new vegans encounter when they first start down this amazing path. She is now a Vegan Lifestyle Coach and plant-based nutritionist, offering personalized coaching for individuals looking to go vegan or merely incorporate some meatless meals and learn about eating healthier. She also offers menu consultation services, helping restaurants add meatless items to their menus to make more restaurants accessible for everyone.
Esther works and blogs at A,B,C,Vegan, where she helps new vegans, experienced vegans, and the merely curious explore this wonderful new world, giving inspiration, motivation, and community for a vegan lifestyle. She teaches the hows (recipes), the whys (health and compassion for animals), the whats (ingredients), and anything else readers want to see.

Esther is a graduate of the Main Street Vegan Academy, self-taught chef, soon to be graduate of the eCornell certification program in plant-based nutrition, and has her Master’s degree in teaching.

Follow her Blog, Facebook and Twitter. Welcome back Esther!

I so badly wanted to add some extra green to my Thanksgiving table, so I devised this salad. And promptly forgot to actually make it for Thanksgiving! But I had the ingredients, so I ended up making it for lunch that weekend… and the next day, and the next day, and the next day…. Yeah, it’s that good. I’ve been devouring it for over a week now and still not tired of it. It finally occurred to me what it reminds me of, and why I love it so much. My Grandpa used to make this cranberry bread for Thanksgiving, and this is basically that – in salad form. (It’s like the opposite of my green smoothies turned kale doughnuts.) Cranberries, walnuts, orange, all mixed together… it’s like the holidays in a bowl! Add this to your holiday table (works just as well for Christmas as Thanksgiving ), and see if it doesn’t bring a little extra smile to your face.

Cranberry bread in a bowl!

Cranberry Bread Salad

Guest Blogger: V is for Vegetables – Lentils and Basmati Rice with Caramelized Onions and Spiced Pita

Please welcome back Vanessa, author of V is for Vegetables. You can read her previous post here a recipe for Zucchini Boats. Check V is for Vegetables on Twitter as well. Please welcome back Vanessa!

My new iPhone finally arrived in the mail. Can you believe the camera on it? I love how many different uses the iPhone has and the camera might be my favorite part on the new one. The camera has facial recognition technology on it which is nothing new but I loved how it kept finding faces in the rice. Do you see a man’s face to the left of the center onion ring? I didn’t see it at first until I realized my phone was trying to tag him as a person. The phone is almost too smart.

This Middle Eastern dish is often called Mujadarah which is a fancy way of saying “rice, lentils and onion.” I adapted this dish from Veganomicon, the excellent cookbook by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. The one downfall of this cookbook is the lack of pictures. When I first made this dish, I thought, “No wonder there are no pictures… This looks like kitty litter.” With a little garnish, this dish ends up looking as delicious as it tastes.

Ingredients for rice, lentils and onion:

• 3 large red onions, peeled and sliced into thin rings
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 1 cup long-grain basmati rice (brown or white), rinsed
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 cup red lentils, rinsed
• Basil leaves for garnish

Directions for rice, lentils and onion:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. Lay the onion rings flat and separated in a large roasting pan. Toss in olive oil. Roast for 25-30 minutes, stirring every 5-10 minutes until translucent and slightly burnt.

3. Bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Add rice, cinnamon, allspice, and cumin. Return to a boil then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes.

4. Uncover and gently stir in the lentils. Bring to a boil again then lower heat, cover and simmer. Cook until all water is absorbed. For me, this takes 12-15 minutes. Allow the dish to cool for 10 minutes then fluff with a fork.

5. Fold in the caramelized onions, garnish with basil leaves and serve with pita bread.

Ingredients for spiced pita:

• 4 whole wheat pitas
• 4 Tbsp olive oil for brushing
• 2 tsp paprika
• 2 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp salt

Directions for spiced pita:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Slice the pita bread into 1/8ths like a pizza.

3. Combine olive oil with the seasonings. Brush the mixture onto the insides of each pita crisp.

4. Spread the pita crisps out on a baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes until light brown.

Serves 4-6

Slightly adapted from: Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook

Guest Blogger: Vegan Life – Vegan? Obese?

Everyone, please meet our newest VBU! blogger, Michaela Moran, she is the author of the blog Vegan Life. Here she is in her own words, “I’m a freshman at University of New England studying applied exercise science. I hope to continue my studies into physical therapy in the next few years. I run on the cross country team here at UNE. Other hobbies of mine include surfing and skiing. Altogether, I love to be active and outdoors. My blog is about life as a vegan and all the amazing health opportunities it has to offer.” Please make Michaela feel at home and drop by her blog. Welcome Michaela!

Vegan? Obese?
The two words put together just don’t sound quite right. There is a reason for that. Personally, I’ve never met an obese vegan before, and I’d be surprised to say the least if I did. For the most part, people who choose to go vegans have at least a slight idea about the value of the foods and nutrients they are putting into their bodies. It’s practically impossible to be a vegan and not pay attention to what you are eating.

Plus, vegan foods such as whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts and beans are low in saturated fat and have little to no cholesterol. And to make it even better, these foods have a ton of fiber and nutrients. It would be difficult to actually become obese eating a diet rich in healthy vegan foods.

All animal products, meat, dairy and eggs, are the highest foods in saturated fat.

But there’s protein…

Fact.

However, unnecessary protein becomes converted into fat when digested. So that means when the average person eats meat, their body is absorbing all the fats right in it, plus, the protein that gets stored as fat. Most meat eaters do not realize just how much they are eating either. Often times the “serving” of meat a person will eat contains as much protein, or close to as much as they would need in a day. Multiply that by however many times this person eats meat in one day. Chances are they have gone over the necessary intake, meaning their body will try to convert it to fat.

Going vegan can be so beneficial when it comes to prevention of health issues. Obesity, diabetes, and heart disease are often times controlled by the individual and what he or she eats. Paying attention to what goes into your body is a huge part of developing a balanced and healthy diet. Try eating vegan for a day, maybe a week or possibly a few… it will make more of a difference than you know. You might not want to go back.

Guest Blogger: The Breakfast Blog – Apple Molasses Breakfast Bars

Thank you everyone for keeping the new bloggers coming! Our newest blogger is Laura, author of TWO vegan blogs: Cook to Love and The Breakfast Blog. Today she has given us a post from The Breakfast blog. Here she is in her own words, “My name is Laura. I am 30 years old, and I live in Houston, TX, where I blog about cooking and eating my way to a healthy, happy life. I love food, fitness, and all things vegan. Follow Laura on all her links: Cook to Love blog, The Breakfast Blog, Facebook: The Breakfast Blog, Cook to Love. Twitter: Cook to Love.

Do you like cereal bars?

I used to love them when I was a little girl.

But, now that I’m all grown up (or so I sometimes fancy myself to be), those flimsy, little, fruit-filled snacks no longer make the cut as far as breakfast is concerned. If I am going to break from my tried-and-true oatmeal routine for some kind of breakfast bar, it had better be a good one.

I like breakfast bars with attitude. They’ve got to have a little sass, if you know what I mean. They’ve got to be thick and rich enough to give an air of sweet, sinful indulgence. And bold enough to stand up to my morning coffee. Unashamed.

Sort of like a brownie. In breakfast clothing.

Of course, underneath that firecracker facade, any breakfast bar I am going to eat has to be chalk full of healthy ingredients. To fuel my long morning bike rides. Or runs.

I know it sounds like I’m being picky, but, you know how important breakfast is to me. Which is why I’ve come to expect so much from my breakfast bars.

And this one–this dark, rich, decadent, apple-filled treat–delivers. Because they are so moist and lush, these apple molasses bars, to me, feel more like brownies.

They’re lightly sweet, and if you choose to add raisins and walnuts (which I highly, highly recommend you do), they’re also soft, crunchy, and just a little gooey.

Apple Molasses Breakfast Bars (Gluten-Free, Vegan)

1 cup sorghum flour

1/2 cup buckwheat flour

1/2 cup tapioca starch

1 cup rolled oats

1 tsp xanthan gum

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

Ener-G Egg Replacer for 2 eggs (1 tbsp Ener-G plus 1/4 cup warm water, whisked)

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup coconut palm sugar or brown sugar (I used coconut palm sugar. These bars are not overly sweet, so you may want to add more sweetener, to taste.)

1/2 cup blackstrap molasses

1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

2 tbsp coconut oil, melted

2-3 tbsp nondairy milk, as needed (I used 3 tbsp.)

1 heaping cup peeled, chopped apple (the equivalent of 1 large or about 2 medium apples. I used 1 large honeycrisp apple.)

1/3 cup raisins (optional)

1/3 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350, and line either an 8″x8″ or 9″x9″ pan with parchment.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flours, oats, xanthan gum, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, whisk together Ener-G “eggs,” applesauce, coconut oil, molasses, sugar, and vanilla.

Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients, and mix until well-combined. Fold in apples, raisins, and walnuts, if using.

Bake for 20-25 min., or until the center is firm.

Cool completely before serving. These bars keep well refrigerated in an air-tight container.