Garlic Green Beans and Mushrooms from The China Study Cookbook
Preparation time: 20 minutes | Cooking time: 15–20 minutes | Makes 4 servings
Ingredients
1 pound green beans
1 pound mushrooms
2 tablespoons vegetable broth
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons tamari
Salt, to taste
Steps
- Rinse the beans, trim the ends, and break into 1-inch pieces. Steam over boiling water until tender, 7–10 minutes.
- Rinse and slice the mushrooms.
- Heat vegetable broth in a skillet over medium heat. Add sesame seeds and garlic, and sauté for 2 minutes.
- Stir in the tamari. Add the mushrooms and cooked beans. Season with salt.
- Cook 3–5 minutes, then transfer to a serving dish.
Tips:
- The papery skins on garlic can be easily removed using a chef’s knife. Lay the flat edge of the blade on top of the garlic clove and press down firmly with the palm of your hand. You should hear a slight cracking sound as the skin breaks. Then it can be easily peeled from the clove.
- My mother likes green beans with tarragon. When adding tarragon to this recipe, do not add tamari or sesame seeds.
More about The China Study: Website
Cranberry Sauce with Dates and Oranges from The Plant-Based Journey
This sugar-free version of a holiday favorite has been a hit 100 percent of the times that I’ve served it, and has been one of the most popular recipe downloads from my blog. Buy extra cranberries when they are in season and store them in the refrigerator so that you can make this all year long. It’s great for topping oatmeal and pancakes, or spread in sandwiches. (See reader photos of the recipe here!)
Yield: About 2 cups
Ingredients
8 Medjool dates, pitted
Juice from 1 orange
¼ cup water
1 (12-ounce) bag fresh cranberries (about 2½ cups)
1 tablespoon orange zest
Steps
- Soak the dates in the orange juice for a few hours or overnight.
- In a high-powered blender or food processor, blend the dates with the juice and the water.
- Put the date mixture in a large pot with the cranberries. Cook over high heat for 5 minutes, then reduce the heat to low and cook for about 15 minutes. Add more water as needed so the mixture stays liquid though dense, like thick, chunky applesauce. Remove from the heat.
- Let cool and store in the refrigerator. Serve as you would any cranberry sauce: with holiday dinners, or on cooked whole grains, mashed potatoes, your morning oatmeal, or to perk up a sandwich.
Note: If you’re in a hurry, you can probably skip soaking the dates. If you do, cook them for a few minutes longer to soften.
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Holiday White Bean, Potato, and Stuffing Casserole from Jazzy Vegetarian Classics
Holidays can be challenging when you are serving vegans and meat-eaters alike. But fret no more! This hearty stuffing-based casserole contains the comfort-food “feel” of shepherd’s pie—sans the meat, dairy, and eggs, of course!
Serves 6
Potato/Bean Layer
3 cups peeled and chopped white potatoes
1½ cups cooked white beans (drained and rinsed if canned)
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon dried marjoram leaves
Stuffing
4 cups whole-grain bread cubes, from 7 to 9 slices fresh wholegrain bread (see note)
3 teaspoons Italian seasoning (see note)
½ teaspoon sea salt
2 cups diced onion
2¼ cups vegetable broth
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 cup diced celery
4 cups diced mushrooms
⅔ cup chopped pecans
Garnish
½ teaspoon paprika, plus more as needed
Steps
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Oil an 11 x 7 inch baking pan or casserole dish.
To make the potato/bean layer, fit a large sauce pan with a steamer insert. Add 2 inches of cold water, and then add the potatoes. Cover and bring to a boil. Steam for 15 to 20 minutes, until they are soft, but not mushy. Put the potatoes, beans, garlic powder, and salt in a highperformance blending appliance and process until smooth. Transfer to a medium-size bowl and stir in the marjoram.
While the potatoes are steaming, cut the wholegrain bread into 1/2-inch cubes. Put the bread cubes, Italian seasoning, and salt in a large bowl and toss to combine. Transfer to a large, rimmed baking sheet and bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until the bread is slightly crisp. Put the pan on a wire rack and let cool.
While the bread cubes are cooling, prepare the stuffing by combining the onion, ¼ cup vegetable broth, and the basil in a large skillet. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for 7 minutes. Add the celery and ¼ cup broth, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add the diced mushrooms and another ¼ cup broth, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, or until most of the liquid has cooked down, leaving the mushroom mixture very moist but not soupy. Stir in the pecans and remove the skillet from the heat.
Put the remaining 1½ cups vegetable broth into a small sauce pan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Put 4 cups of the toasted bread cubes in a large bowl. Add the mushroom-pecan mixture and stir gently to combine. Pour in ½ cup of the hot vegetable broth and stir to combine. Add as much of the remaining broth as needed so the mixture is moist but not soupy. (If the mixture still seems dry after adding all of the broth, add a small amount of water.)
Spread the stuffing in an even layer in the bottom of the prepared baking pan or casserole dish. Spread the potato mixture over the stuffing in an even layer. Sprinkle with the paprika. Cover loosely and bake for 40 to 45 minutes. Uncover and bake for 5 to 7 minutes, until slightly golden on top. Cool for 15 minutes. Serve warm.
Chef’s Notes:
- For a gluten-free option, make gluten-free stuffing using 7 to 9 slices of gluten-free bread in place of the whole-grain variety.
- If you prefer a sage-flavored stuffing, replace the 3 teaspoons Italian seasoning with 1 teaspoon crumbled dried sage leaves, 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves, and 1 teaspoon dried marjoram leaves.
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Autumn Dinner Loaf from Plant-Powered Families
This comforting dinner loaf is perfect for the holidays, but may become a year-round favorite! Serve with Home-Style Gravy, along with baked potatoes and green beans.
Serves 5–6
Ingredients
2 cups carrot, sliced
2/3 cup whole raw almonds
1/2 cup sliced green onion
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1–1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 1/4 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon dried rosemary or 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary leaves
1/4 teaspoon ground dried sage
1 medium-large clove garlic
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 lightly packed cups cooked and cooled brown rice
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons rolled oats
Topping Options (see note)
BBQ Topping:
21/2 tablespoons barbecue sauce
1–2 tablespoons rolled oats
Dry Topping:
2 tablespoons almond meal
1 tablespoon rolled oats
Pinch of sea salt
Steps
Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly wipe a glass loaf pan with a smidgen of oil. Line the bottom of the pan with a strip of parchment paper (place it in so it hangs over the short ends of the pan; this helps for easier removal of the veggie loaf from the pan).
In a food processor, add the carrots, almonds, green onions, nutritional yeast, Dijon mustard, sea salt, rosemary, sage, garlic, and lemon juice. Process until the mixture smooths out and starts to become sticky, scraping down the bowl as needed.
Add the rice and puree. At this point the mixture should be sticky enough to hold slightly when pressed. Add the oats and process through.
Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and evenly distribute.
If using the BBQ topping, spread the sauce over the top of the loaf, and then sprinkle on the oats.
If using the dry topping, combine the almond meal, oats, and salt in a small bowl, and then sprinkle over the loaf.
Cover the dish with foil and bake for 33–35 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 5–7 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand for about 5 minutes, then slice and serve.
Toppings Note: If you don’t care for barbecue sauce, you may prefer the dry topping. The dry topping adds a slight crunch, and is a nice option if pairing with the Home-Style Gravy.
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Mushroom Gravy from Blissful Bites
You are going to flip about how yummy, rich, and savory this gravy is; yet, it’s the healthiest version ever. My recipe tester thought it was so amazing that it could be bottled as a Christmas gift!
Makes about 4 cups
Ingredients
2 tablespoons safflower oil
½ onion, diced (optional)
8 mushrooms, stems removed and sliced
1 teaspoon dried sage
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon black pepper
Pinch sea salt
4 cups vegetable stock
2 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
½ cup nutritional yeast
½ cup barley flour (or other whole-grain flour), plus additional flour as needed
2 tablespoons white miso, dissolved in ½ cup stock
Parsley, for garnish
Steps
Heat oil in large pot. Sauté onion, if using, with a pinch of sea salt until translucent, about two minutes. Stir in mushrooms. Add spices and sauté another two minutes. Add 3 ½ cups of the stock, tamari, and vinegar. Slowly add in nutritional yeast and flour, stirring continuously with a whisk to prevent lumping. Add the remaining stock and miso while whisking. Simmer until gravy thickens, about 15 minutes.
Taste and adjust sea salt and spices as needed. Add more flour gradually to get the thickness you prefer.
To serve, spoon a mound of millet on plate, top with gravy and garnish with parsley.
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Sweetly Southern Pecan Pie Squares from Love Fed
My dear mother, Anna Maria Perrone, was born and raised in Italy and by default happens to be a really good “mama” cook. You know, the ones with the big hips (sorry, Mom, but this is a sign of a woman who eats as well as she cooks) who are always waving a wooden spoon? That’s my mom. As a result, I’m a lucky girl. She always cooked for me, my three sisters, and my dad, Italian food mostly, but some really wonderful simple American dishes, too.
Holiday time, in particular, was nirvana. Like all kids, my sisters and I would get excited around the holidays, anticipating a lot of gift unwrapping on Christmas morning. But the joy that filled our home during those days was just as much (if not more) due to what was going on in the kitchen. Every holiday season, my mother, sisters, and I spent hours baking cookies, pies, and cakes to go with the well-planned Italian-American lunch and dinner menus my mother was famous for. We’d be in the kitchen working (with them doing most of the work since I wasn’t much of a cook in those days) while my dad would be in the living room, cranking up CDs to cheer us on.
One of my mom’s best desserts was the classic pecan pie. With memories of my family’s Christmas baking traditions dancing in my head, I recreated it to raw/vegan specifications one cold winter’s day, working it into a square pan instead of a pie plate. While it’s certainly festive enough for the holidays, it’s also a wonderful treat any time of year.
Yield: One 8×8″ square | Prep time: 30 minutes
Crust
1 c. cashew flour
1 tbsp. coconut crystals
1 tbsp. lucuma powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla bean powder or vanilla extract
2 tbsp. honey
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Topping
1 c. pecans
3 tbsp. coconut nectar or maple syrup
1 tsp. maple extract or maple syrup
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Filling
24 pitted dates
1 tsp. vanilla bean powder or vanilla extract
2–4 tbsp. filtered water
1 tsp. maple extract or maple syrup
Coconut nectar, for garnish (optional)
Steps
Line an 8×8″ square pan with parchment paper.
To make the crust: Place the cashew flour, coconut crystals, lucuma powder, cinnamon, vanilla bean powder, honey, and vanilla extract in a food processor and process until the mixture sticks together when pressed between your fingers. Press the crust into the bottom of the square pan, approximately 1⁄4″ thick. Set aside and make the topping.
To make the topping: In a small mixing bowl, combine the pecans, coconut nectar, maple extract, and vanilla extract. Stir gently until the pecans are well coated. Set aside and make the filling. To make the filling: In a food processor, combine the dates, vanilla bean powder, 2 tbsp. of the water, and maple extract and process until a gooey paste forms, adding more water as needed.
To assemble: Using a spatula, spread the filling evenly over the pressed crust. Spread the topping over the filling until the whole top is covered. If desired, lightly drizzle coconut nectar over the top for a nice finished glaze. Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
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I was hoping to see the Holiday dish from The Jazzy Vegetarian. Sadly the title is followed by a repeat of the Garlic Green beans and mushroom recipe.
Hi — the recipe for the White Bean Casserole was replaced by a repeat of the Green bean recipe — oops
There’s no recipe for the Holiday White Bean, Potato, and Stuffing Casserole! Looks like the green bean recipe was repeated instead. All of them look wonderful, thanks for sharing these!
The recipe for Holiday White Bean, Potato, and Stuffing Casserole from repeats the recipe ingredients and directions from the green bean and mushroom dish above it.
Oops! I should have proofread before hitting “submit”. Ignore the “from” word.
Yes, the recipe for Holiday White Bean, Potato, and Stuffing Casserole repeats the recipe ingredients and directions from the green bean and mushroom dish above it. Please post the Holiday White Bean, Potato and Stuffing Casserole as it looks great!
Sorry for the mistake, everyone! The post has been updated with the correct recipe.
VEGANS DON’T USE HONEY!!!!!!!!! WHAT THE THE HECK IS LUCUMA AND WHERE DO YOU GET IT?!?!?
Thanks for your comment! Love Fed has some recipes that are “beegan” (vegans who make an exception for honey) friendly, but the honey can be swapped for another sweetener like agave, date syrup, or maple syrup. Lucuma is a soft, Peruvian fruit that has a caramel flavor and most commonly comes in powder form. Here are a couple of places it can be ordered from:
http://navitasnaturals.com/index.php?p=view_category&search_text=lucuma+powder
http://www.sunfood.com/lucuma-powder-8oz-organic-raw.html