Vegan Stuffing with Sausage and Pecans

6 cups cubed whole grain bread (crust removed)
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium-large onion, diced
2 large stalks celery, diced
Any leaves from celery bunch, chopped
1 vegan sausage, crumbled (recommend Field Roast smoked apple-sage sausage)
¼ to 1/3 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
2 teaspoons low-sodium tamari
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
¼ teaspoon salt, or more to taste
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1½ cups Imagine No-Chicken broth (preferred over other commercial vegetable stocks)

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees. Bake the bread cubes on a baking sheet until dry but not browned – this may take 30 minutes or longer.

Heat the olive oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat and sauté the onion, celery, celery leaves and sausage (if using) for 15 minutes or until the vegetables have softened. Add the pecans, herbs, tamari, yeast, vinegar, salt and pepper. Then stir in the bread. Add the broth and let the stuffing sit for five minutes. Then really squeeze the stuffing with your hands for 30 seconds or so to mix and break up the bread a bit (this step is key!) If it feels like there are still very dry pieces of bread in the mixture, you can add a tad more broth – this will depend on the bread you used.

Raise the oven heat to 350 degrees. Grease an 8-inch square baking dish with (vegan) butter or oil. Add the stuffing and cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes, then uncover and bake 25 minutes longer, until the stuffing is crusty on top but not dried out.

Serves 6

Pasta Salad with Sun-dried Tomatoes, Chickpeas and Pickled Onions

1 medium red onion, very thinly sliced – preferably with a mandoline
2/3 cup red wine vinegar (or more if needed to cover the onion)
1 teaspoon sugar or agave
Pinch salt
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2/3 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes (oil-packed or other ready-to-use, see note above)
1 small head radicchio (Treviso is nice here) cored and diced (about 1½ cups)
2 tablespoons capers, rinsed
3-4 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
¼ teaspoon salt, or more to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
1 lb. whole grain elbow pasta
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Place the onion in a bowl and pour on the vinegar, agave and a pinch of salt. Let sit for 1-2 hours. Spoon out the onions (reserving vinegar) and chop.

In a large bowl, combine the pickled onions, chickpeas, sun dried tomatoes, radicchio, capers, basil, salt and pepper.

Cook pasta until al dente. Drain and rinse with cold water, draining very well the second time. Place the pasta on top of the ingredients in the bowl, then pour on olive oil and 1/4 to ½ cup of the vinegar from the pickled onions (I like it with ½ cup, but you may want to ease into it.) Stir all the ingredients together.

Best served within a few hours, as refrigeration tends to dull the flavors a bit (but still good!)

Serves 8-10 as a side dish

Leek and Wild Mushroom Tart with Cashew Cream

For the cashew cream:

3/4 cup raw unsalted cashews, soaked in water for 6-8 hrs, drained and rinsed
1-2 cloves garlic
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
¼ cup water

For the leek and mushroom topping:

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
3 leeks, white and light green parts thinly sliced (2 leeks if they are huge with lots of white)
1 pound mixed wild mushrooms, sliced
Salt and pepper to taste

For the crust:

1 3/4 c. chickpea (garbanzo bean) flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
1/4 c. cold water

Puree all of the cashew cream ingredients in a food processor until very smooth and thick. This will take up to five minutes, and may require scraping down the sides of the processor. If the mixture seems to dry to become creamy, add one or two teaspoons of water as needed.

For the vegetables, heat 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil in a large deep skillet or Dutch oven. Cook the leeks and a pinch of salt over low heat for 7-10 minutes, until soft but not browned. Remove to a bowl.

Heat the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil in the pan, increase the heat to medium and add the mushrooms along with another pinch of salt and a generous amount of black pepper. Sauté for 3-4 minutes, until the mushrooms are soft and most of the liquid has cooked off. Combine with the leeks.

To make the dough, mix the chickpea flour, salt and thyme. Drizzle the olive oil over the flour mixture and work together with your hands until crumbly. Add the water and mix very briefly, just until dough comes together.

Flatten the dough into a disk on a floured work surface (I used all purpose flour for the work surface, but you can use a gluten-free flour.) Roll it out with a rolling pin to about 1 inch larger than the diameter of your tart pan.

Loosen the dough by slipping a pastry lifter or metal spatula underneath. Fold in half and carefully transfer to a fluted metal tart pan, pressing it into the bottom and sides. If the dough breaks, don’t worry – you can easily piece it together in the pan.

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Cover the crust lightly with foil (don’t press), add some dried beans or pie weights and bake for 10 minutes. Let cool slightly.

Top the partially-baked crust with the cashew cream, then the leek and mushroom mixture. Return to the oven and bake for 25 minutes longer. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Serves 6

Almond and Hazelnut Encrusted Tempeh
from Dining at the Ravens, reprinted with permission

For the marinated tempeh:

1 tablespoon sliced ginger
2 cloves garlic, sliced
3 cups water
1/4 cup gluten-free tamari
1 package tempeh, sliced 1/2-inch thick on the bias

For the flax “egg wash”:

2 tablespoons ground flaxseeds
1/2 cup warm water

For the almond and hazelnut crust assembly:

1/2 cup raw almonds
1/2 cup raw hazelnuts
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Spray oil (if baking) or 2 tablespoons olive oil (if pan-frying)

For the Marinated Tempeh:
1. Combine the ginger, garlic, water and tamari in a saucepan and add the sliced tempeh. Cook until tempeh has heated through, about 10-15 minutes.
2. Drain tempeh from the cooking liquid, set aside and let cool.

For the Flax “Egg” Wash:
1. In large mixing bowl, combine flaxseeds and warm water and whisk until thicken. More water may be added as necessary; mixture should resemble thick pancake batter. (Note from Cathy: heating the mixture in the microwave for 45 seconds then letting it sit for 15 minutes helps it thicken.)

For the Almond Hazelnut Crust and Assembly:
1. In food processor, combine almonds and hazelnuts and process until coarse, sand-like consistency is achieved (note: you want little chunks of nuts, like you see in my photo.)

2. Add salt and pepper and process for a moment longer until well incorporated.

3. Place in a small mixing bowl and set aside.

4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

5. Dip each slice of tempeh into the flax wash and immediately dredge in the almond and hazelnut mixture until the tempeh is well coated.

6. Spray a large baking sheet with cooking spray, then set tempeh slices on it.

7. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until golden brown and crisp.

8. Alternatively, place 2 tablespoons olive oil in a saute pan, or oil a griddle and heat to medium heat. Place each piece of tempeh on the pan or griddle and cook until golden brown on each side (5-7 minutes per side.)

Baked Falafel with Berbere Spice
Adapted from Mark Bittman’s recipe

1 pound dried chickpeas
4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 large onion, cut into 8 pieces
2 tablespoons berbere (or substitute 1 1/2 tablespoons cumin and 2 teaspoons cayenne)
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom (optional)
1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, large stems removed
1 bunch cilantro, large stems removed
1½ teaspoons salt (fine salt is best here)
1 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil

Soak the chickpeas in a large bowl of water for 12-24 hours. Drain.

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a large rimmed metal baking sheet with a couple teaspoons of the olive oil (I do not recommend a nonstick baking sheet – the falafel won’t brown the same way.)

Put half the chickpeas and half the remaining ingredients except the olive oil in a food processor (don’t bother measuring half – it’s all going to get mixed together later). Pulse until the mixture is minced and grainy, but not pureed. Place in a large bowl, then process the second half and stir everything together in the bowl.

Form the falafel into rounded discs by putting a couple tablespoons in the center of your palm and giving it four or five hard squeezes with both hands as you mold it into shape (you can use your thumbs to help round the edges). Place them on the baking sheet very carefully – if they break apart, re-form and repeat. Fit as many as you can on the baking sheet without overcrowding; it may take three rounds of baking to cook them all.

Brush the tops lightly with olive oil. Bake 10 minutes, then carefully flip and bake 10 minutes longer. Serve immediately, or refrigerate and reheat by wrapping in foil and baking in a 350-degree oven for 15 minutes (30 minutes if frozen.)

Spiced Carrot-Pecan Muffins

Dry ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup oat flour
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
scant ½ teaspoon salt
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom (optional)
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon fresh orange zest
1/3 cup chopped pecans, plus more for optional topping

Wet ingredients:

1 tablespoon ground flax seed whisked with ¼ cup water (see below)
1/3 cup maple syrup or agave nectar
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
½ cup plain almond yogurt (recommend Kite Hill brand)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1½ cups shredded carrots

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly oil a muffin pan.

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk together the flax and water, then microwave for 45 seconds. Combine the wet ingredients, including the flax mixture, in another bowl. Combine the wet and dry ingredients, stirring briefly to combine. Add the carrots.

Spoon the batter into the muffin pan (I found that there was enough batter for 11 muffins). Sprinkle the tops with additional chopped pecans if you’d like. Bake for 18 minutes.

Makes 11-12 muffins