Hopefully I am not too late posting this ultra-simple and silky soup recipe to bring you some New Year’s luck. At least, where I come from, enjoying black eyed peas on New Year’s Day is said to ensure a year of good luck.

I considered all manner of dents, hummus, casseroles, Taco fillings, enchilada filling, and more. But it all just seemed way too heavy.

My light recipe– which is really more of a method–starts with about 2 cups of vegetable soup, homemade or store bought. Mine was homemade and had a hint of curry, cumin, and smoked paprika. But blackeyed peas play nicely with virtually any flavor.

Then I cooked 10 ounces of fresh blackeyed peas in about four cups of water with a teaspoon of vegetable base and a teaspoon of roasted garlic base. Any kind of vegan vegetable stock would be fine. You can simmer on the stove for about 20 minutes or cook in the microwave, though I found that my microwave really wasn’t any faster.

I then added 4 ounces vegan cream cheese to the lead in there broth, he did again for about 10 minutes, and whisked until the creamwas melted and fully incorporated. Then I combined that mixture with the vegetable soup, heated through again, and served up the most delightfully creamy, yet light, cup of good luck.

Happy New Year!

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If bourbon is your spirit animal, below is my newest recipe that I created for a Maker’s Mark loving friend’s Christmas gift.

Can I just tell you how warm and inviting our house smelled?

Bourbon Spiced Bananoffee Bundt Cake with Bourbon Sour Cream Glaze (plant-based)

Bourbon-Spice Bananoffee Bundt Cake

2 cups flour
1 cup brown sugar
2 egg substitutions (I like Neat Egg)
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon sea salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 banana, mashed
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup non-dairy milk
1/2 cup bourbon
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons caramel syrup (or 2 more tablespoons maple syrup)
2 tablespoons concentrated coffee
2 teaspoons vanilla
Bourbon Sour Cream Glaze (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a bundt pan with baking spray. In a large bowl, whisk together all dry ingredients. Make a well in center, add mashed banana, and pour in all wet ingredients. Whisk together until batter is smooth. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Invert onto wire rack, cool completely, and then glaze.

Bourbon Sour Cream Glaze

2 tablespoons vegan butter, melted
2 tablespoon vegan sour cream
1 tablespoon bourbon
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped pecans

In a medium Bowl, whisk together first four ingredients. Whisk in powdered sugar, 1/4 cup at a time until any lumps are dissolved. Place cake on wire rack in shallow pan to catch drips and pour glaze over. Sprinkle with pecans.

I presented the cake in a doily-lined white cake box tied with a cream-colored-and-sparkly-gold-pinecones wired ribbon and sprigs of rosemary. If I had had a cinnamon stick, I would have tucked it in.

#vegancake #plantbasedcake #veganholidaycake #plantbasedholidaycake #MakersMark #vegan #veganrecipes #veganfoodshare #veganfoodporn #plantbased #plantbasedrecipes #plantbasedfoodshare #plantbasedfoodporn

My dear friend Sharon lost her cherished father about a year ago preceded by her mother. Holidays are always nostalgic and a bit bittersweet following loss.

Her father’s favorite cake was an orange black walnut. I have no idea how it was made, whether it was a pound cake, bundt cake, or layer cake, or whether it was frosted. She has mentioned it several times and I’m sure I asked, yet I don’t remember. It certainly wasn’t plant-based. But it is now!

Last night, I created my own version with fresh orange juice, black walnuts, and black walnut bitters both in the batter and in the glaze. Since it is December, I decided to decorate it with a woodsy theme using Rosemary, cinnamon sticks, and star anise.

Sharon said it was the nicest thing anybody had ever done. I’m sure not, as she is well-loved with legions of friends, but it gave me great joy, I have a fun new recipe, and she loved it.

Orange-Black Walnut Cake

1/2 cup chopped black walnuts
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons flaxseed meal
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup non-dairy milk
10 tablespoons vegetable oil
Juice of 1.5 medium oranges
Zest of 1 medium orange
1 to 2 tablespoons black walnut bitters
CreamCheese Orange-Black Walnut Glaze (recipe follows)

Cream Cheese Orange-Black Walnut Glaze

4 ounces vegan cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons vegan butter, softened
Juice of 1/2 medium orange
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon black walnut bitters
1/2 cup black walnuts

Decorations: rosemary, cinnamon sticks, star anise, Mandarin oranges segments, and the like.

Grease and flour a bundt pan or spray with Baker’s Joy. Sprinkle bottom of pan with the 1/2 cup of black walnuts. Place all dry cake ingredients in a large mixing bowl and whisk together. Make a well in center, add wet ingredients, and whisk together. Transfer batter to prepared pan and bake 40 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 10 to 15 minutes in pan and then invert onto wire rack to cool completely.

Make glaze: Place all glaze ingredients except nuts in a medium bowl and whisk until smooth. Decorate cake as desired with rosemary, cinnamon sticks, star anise, and, if desired, Mandarin orange segments. Spoon desired amount over cake. Stir nuts into remaining frosting and spoon additional glaze over each slice as it is served.

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Yep, you read that title right. I am known for all manner of Chex Mix. Some leftover okra chips after our Christmas Cheer Open House inspired this particular recipe. I gave it away as a couple of New Year’s gifts, but not before sampling a gracious plenty of it. Mmmm!

All of the ingredients are inspired by a bowl of gumbo: rice Chex for the rice, of course, Cheerios for the wheat that goes into French bread; Bugels for the corn as a nod in the direction of those that prefer cornbread with their gumbo; celery seed, crispy fried onions, and crispy fry bell pepper for the mirepoix; and fennel to suggest the sausage, Chesapeake Bay seasoning to suggest the seafood, and poultry seasoning to suggest the chicken that various folks prefer in their gumbo. Tomato paste and faux chicken bouillon, of course, represent the broth, along with Cajun seasoning and gumbo filet (ground sassafras). And I added pecans because they are just so darn Southern.

Feel free to play around with the spices, but I love it like it is. It’s a little on the salty side, so knock back a Sazerac while you enjoy a handful …or five.

Cajun Gumbo Chex Mix

1 cup butter
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
1 tablespoon fennel seed
1 tablespoon Chesapeake Bay seasoning
2 tablespoons Liquid Aminos
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3 tablespoons Cajun seasoning
3 tablespoons gumbo filet
7 cups Rice Chex
7 cups Cheerios
7.5 ounces bugles
2 cups pecan halves
4.5 oz Okra Chips (I use Farmers
Market brand from Harris Teeter)
6 ounces French’s Crispy Fried Onions, Caramelized
5 ounces French’s Red Pepper Crunchy Toppers

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Melt butter in large roasting pan. Whisk in next 6 ingredients. Stir in remaining ingredients. Roast for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Cool completely before packaging in air tight containers.

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If, after Thanksgiving and Christmas–or whatever winter holidays you celebrate–you can’t look another Brussels sprout in the face, you might want to try this tasty redux.

To make this quick and very light lunch or appetizer, I simply processed together about a half cup each roasted Brussels sprouts and roasted cauliflower, 2 tablespoons unsweetened non-dairy milk, 1 teaspoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon maple syrup, 1 teaspoon fig infused balsamic vinegar, a tiny bit of onion powder, and sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

To serve, I swirled it on a plate and topped it with a couple tablespoons each dried cranberries and pistachios, 1 tablespoon maple syrup, sea salt and a few sprouts.

It was delicious and satisfying on cucumber slices. And it looked festive without looking like a rehash of holiday meals and hors d’oeuvres.

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Yesterday, on Facebook, I posted all of the pretty pictures of the food from our 4th annual Christmas Cheer Open House. But what I didn’t share was my sweet potato bruschetta fiasco.

Depicted is what I intended to serve, which I prepared for myself this evening as a snack with a glass of Pinot Grigio. It was as delicious and pretty as I had hoped it would be. Darn it.

I had baked about five glorious foil-wrapped sweet potatoes in the oven on Tuesday in preparation for our open house yesterday. But then I forgot about them and let them sit overnight.

Research indicated that after 2 hours, I could reheat them to 160 degrees and kill any bacteria that might have grown, but after that, there could be a concentration that would not be killed by the heat and would be toxic.

Over the fence I tossed them and I had to create a new appetizer, which thankfully proved to be a hit.. (I will share it in another post.) Later, we saw a squirrel eating a piece of one of them on the fence, so all was not lost.

If you would like to try this stupid-simple appetizer, all I did was slice warm baked sweet potatoes and top with a dab of plant-based cream cheese, a toasted pecan half, sprouts, fresh thyme, a tiny drizzle of maple syrup, and a sprinkle of sea salt. Out of this world and so nutritious!

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I am excited to share this recipe with you because, in vegan baking, the basics–like Blondies–just have to be just right. And I have experimented endlessly to dave you the trouble.

As an egg replacement, I highly recommend Neat Egg, a new product to me, which I found at Kroger.

3/4 cups firmly packed brown sugar, light or dark
1/2 cup vegan butter, melted
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 plus 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1 vegan egg substitute (I like Neat Egg)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips or chunks
1/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease and flour a 5 by 9″ loaf pan. Place all the ingredients in a medium to large mixing bowl and whisk until a thick batter forms. Fold in chips or chunks and nuts. Spoon batter into prepared pan and spread evenly to fill, but avoid packing down. Bake until light brown around edges and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean, about 23 minutes. Avoid over-baking. Remove from oven and let cool slightly, invert onto a rack, and cool completely. To serve, cut into squares or rectangles with a serrated knife.

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Yield: 2 to 3 servings

My secrets (and recipe) for PERFECT Vegan Cauliflower Puree–better than mashed potatoes! Rave reviews at last night’s Starlight Supper Club…

1) cook only until tender; avoid overcooking
2) after cooking, even if you steam the cauliflower in a bag, drain it well on paper towels
3) for 12 oz raw cauliflower, use 1 tablespoon vegan butter and 1 tablespoon vegan cream cheese; don’t omit the cream cheese!
4) fold in the zest of one quarter or more I have a large lemon–this is a game-changer!

12 ounces raw cauliflower florets (I used the steam-in-bag microwave variety)
1 tablespoon vegan butter
1 tablespoon vegan cheese
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Zest of one quarter or more of a large lemon to taste
Optional: 1/2 teaspoon minced rosemary sizzled in 1 tablespoon melted vegan butter

Cook cauliflower just until tender, drain if necessary, and drain again on paper towels. Break up any large florets and process with vegan butter, vegan cream cheese, and salt and pepper to taste. Reheat if necessary and fold in zest just before serving. Drizzle with optional rosemary butter.

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