Vegan Oatmeal Cookies

This recipe I copied directly from the PBS link below.  The only thing I changed for the Guest House was the cashews.  I substituted raw sunflower seeds instead. I believe the raw cashews would have made a sweeter cookie.  But we are a long way from town and there was no chance to make the trek to Redway.   Next time I will try cashews.

Use very ripe bananas in this healthy, gluten-free recipe to get the right moisture and sweetness without having to add sugar or fat.

(Recipe Courtesy: Marc Matsumoto from the Fresh Tastes Blog) Continue
Yield: 12 cookies

• 10.6 ounces (300 grams or about 2 large bananas) very ripe banana

• 2.7 ounces (75 grams or about 1/2 cup) raw cashews

• 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast

• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/8 teaspoon salt

• 6.7 ounces (190 grams or about 2 cups) rolled oats

• 2.3 ounces (65 grams or about 1/2 cup) dried fruit

Put the oven rack in the middle position, and preheat to 300 degrees F (150 C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Put the bananas, cashews, nutritional yeast, cinnamon and salt in a food processor or blender, and puree until smooth.

Measure out the rolled oats and dried fruit, and place them in a bowl. Stir in the banana mixture.

Use your hands to roll out balls of dough, and flatten them onto the cookie sheet. Because they contain no leavening they will not rise, so you can put them pretty close together.

Bake for 20-30 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned and the cookies are chewy.

These are best served warm, so if you have leftovers, just heat them up in the microwave for a few seconds.

Produced by:

Original URL: http://www.pbs.org/food/fresh-tastes/vegan-oatmeal-cookies/Ingredients

Directions

Cottage Cheese Noodles

An easy to prepare casserole that is a monastery standby during our Guest House Openings.  We prepare Cottage Cheese Noodles using all non gluten ingredients.  You can of course use white flour as a thickener for the sauce instead of rice flour and opt for wheat egg noodles.


6 oz noodles (Your choice - medium width flat noodles are best.  We use rice vermicelli noodles)
2 TBSP butter
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 TBSP white rice flour or other thickener
1/2 tsp dry mustard
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 1/4 cup milk
1 TBSP fresh lemon juice
1 TBSP gluten free tamari or gluten free soy sauce
1 cup grated cheddar cheese (We use white raw cheddar cheese)

Cook noodles as directed until just tender.  (If using rice vermicelli noodles make sure you do not over cook them.  They will cook more in the casserole.)

Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat.  Add onion and cook until tender but not browned.  Blend in flour, mustard, salt and pepper.  Cook until the flour bubbles but not brown.  Add the milk and cook, stirring constantly until thickened. Beat in lemon juice and soy sauce.

Generously oil a 2 qt. casserole dish. (We use a long rectangular glass baking dish.) Put in the cooked noodles.  Pour the sauce over the top of the noodles.  Sprinkle grated cheese over the top.

Bake at 350º for 25-30 minutes.  Brown cheese under broiler a little longer if necessary. 

Serves 6

Some notes:  I use olive oil for the casserole bottom.  You may need to add a little liquid depending how done the rice noodles are.

White Bean Soup with Butternut Squash

This is a variation of the the following recipe from Twelve Months of Monastery Soups by Br. Victor-Antoine d'Avila-Latourette, 1996,  Triumph Books, Liguori, Missouri, page 163.

1 pound dry white beans
12 cups water
2 onions
1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut in small cubes.
2 leeks
1 celery stalk
a few leaves of garden greens (spinach, chard, etc)
4 garlic cloves
6 tablespoon olive oil
2 vegetable bouillon cubes (or to taste)
finely minced thyme leaves

Soak the dry beans in cold water for at least 10 hours.  Rinse them well and put them into a large soup pot with water.

Cut the onions, leeks, and celery into thin pieces.  Cut greens into wide strips.  Mince garlic.  Add to soup with chopped squash, along with oil and bouillon cubes.

Cook soup, covered, over medium heat for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally.  Let the soup sit for about 10 minutes with the lid on. 

Add salt, pepper, and thyme.  Reheat for another 5 minutes and serve hot.

Butternut Squash Soup Portuguese Style

This recipe is from Twelve Months of Monastery Soups by Br. Victor-Antoine d'Avila-Latourette, 1996,  Triumph Books, Liguori, Missouri, page 51.

6 servings (we usually make this about 3-4 times.)

6 TBS olive oil
3 onions, chopped
5 garlic gloves, minced
2 butternut squash, peeled, halved, seeded, and cut in chunks
1 potato, peeled and cubed
1 carrot, peeled and sliced
7 cups vegetable stock (we usually use 1 vegetable bouillon cube for a large pot of soup)
salt and peper to taste
1/3 cup freshly minced parsley
fresh thyme leaves as garnish

Pour the olive oil into a large soup pot and sauté onions and garlic over low heat for 3 -5 minutes. Turn off heat, covert the pot and let the onion-garlic mixture steam for 15 minutes.

Add squash, potato, and carrot and stir the mixtue well.  Pour the stock andbring the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover the pot, and let simmer for 45 minutes.

Add the seasonings and parsley, stir well, cover the pot and simmer for another 15 minutes.

Blend soup with a hand blender or in a food processor or blender.  Serve garnished with fresh thyme leaves.

Macaroni and Cheese

Cook 2 cups of elbow macaroni in boiling salted water till tender; drain.  In saucepan, melt 3 TBS butter; blend in 2 TBS all purpose flour, 1/2 tsp salt, and dash pepper.

Add 2 cups milk; cook and still till thick and bubbly.  Add 1/4 cup finely chopped onion and 8 ounces cheddar cheese or mixed cheeses, cubed.  (This is the secret... we use only really good flavorful cheeses). Stir till melted.

Mix cheese sauce with macaroni. Turn into 1 1/2 quart casserole.  Sprinkle 1 sliced tomato with salt; arrange on top.  Bake at 350° for 35 to 40 minutes or until heated through.  Makes 4 servings.

We triple this recipe and put in a long baking dish.  You can spice this up if you wish with red pepper and more onions.)

Green Goddess Salad Dressing

Put all the following ingredients in a blender:

1/3 cup mayo
2/3 cups plain yogurt
2 TBS Olive Oil
1 TBS Lemon Juice with a splash of cider vinegar
1 smashed or cut clove of garlic
1 medium handful of chives or green onions (about 3 medium size with the white bulb)
1 handful of fresh basil leaves
1 handful parsley without the stems
1/2 tsp salt

Blend on medium - taste and adjust herbs and seasoning.

Chard Rice Casserole

Adapted from "Spinach Rice Casserole" in Mollie Katzen's Moosewood Cookbook,  1977, published by Ten Speed Press, Berkeley, CA


This casserole takes about 1 1/4 hour to prepare and serves 6 +.

Prepare ahead of time:  2 cups raw brown rice cooked in 4 cups of water

2 pounds raw, chopped chard
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
2 or more cloves of garlic.  (We always use more)
3 TBS butter
4 beaten eggs
1 cup milk
1 1/2 cups grated mozzarella or cheddar cheese
1/4 cup chopped parsley
2 TBS tamari
1/2 tsp salt (more to taste)
a few dashes each - nutmeg, cayenne
1/4 cup sunflower seeds (optional)
paprika

Sauté onions and garlic with salt in butter.  When onions are soft, add chard.  Cook 2 minutes.

Combine with all ingredients except sunflower seeds and paprika.  Spread into buttered casserole and sprinkle with sunflower seeds and paprika

Bake covered 35 minutes at 350°F.

(At the monastery we double or triple this recipe and cook in a long baking dish.  Our notes read "bake uncovered 55 minutes at 325°F.)