Vegan Recipe of the Week: Jelly Donuts (Sufganiyot)

Sufganiyot, the Hebrew name for jelly donuts eaten during the Jewish holiday of  Hanukkah. These tasty treats are extremely popular in Israel, but are eaten around the world in many a Jewish home.  Traditionally these jelly donuts, along with many other fried foods, are eaten to symbolize the oil which miraculously burned in Jerusalem. They are delightful treat to enjoy during the Festival of Lights or throughout the year. The best part, is these donuts are animal free and can be served to you health conscious and vegan guests.  Happy Hanukkah!

Vegan Jelly Donuts (Sufganiyot)

1 25 gram (1 ounce) package of Active Dry Yeast

3 Cups & 1 Tbsp Organic Flour

1/4 Cup of Organic Earth Balance

1/4 Cup & 1 Tbsp of Organic Evaporated Cane Juice

1 1/4 Cups Water

1 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 Cup Organic Seedless Raspberry Jam

2 Cups of Frying Oil (Canola recommended)

Organic Powdered Sugar for dusting

Mix the active dry yeast, 1 tsp of evaporated cane juice, and 1 cup of warm water in a small bowl. Let this stand for at least 5 minutes, it will begin to foam and smell yeasty. Mix the remaining dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Slowly stir the yeast mixture into the dry ingredients. Add in the remaining 1/4 Cup of water and stir until dough-like. Melt the Earth Balance and add to this mixture. Knead the mixture together, adding flour or water as needed. Cover bowl and let the dough rise for about 1.5 hours.

Roll out the dough and cut round circles. Depending on how large you want the donuts, you can use a 2 inch cookie cutter or just a glass. Set aside the rounds and hit a skillet with the canola oil on medium-high. Fry each round for about 3 to 5 minutes or until golden brown on each side. You will want to turn them occasionally. Once you remove them from the skillet, dust or roll them with powdered sugar on each side. Set aside to cool on a backing rack or plate. Once cooled, poke a small hole (a toothpick or skewer will help) in each donut. Inject raspberry jam with a pastry bag with the smallest tip. Warm them in the oven before serving.

 

Fair Trade & Organic Cocktails: Spiced Apple Cider

The weather is certainly frightful and the only cure is to curl up in a blanket at relax with something warm to drink. When you are finished with your shopping and traveling, try cozying up with a hot glass of spiced apple cider. The holidays can be tense and stressful, but don’t let them get the better of you. Make sure you take a few moments to warm your soul, body, and RELAX! We have a special recipe for you that can be enjoyed quietly alone or served at your holiday party. You can serve with or without rum. Just remember, to put your feet up.

Organic Spiced Apple Cider

7 Cups of Organic Apple Cider

1/3 Cup Organic, Fair Trade Evaporated Cane Juice

1/2 Cup Organic Orange Juice

4 Organic, Fair Trade Cinnamon Sticks

1 Tbsp Whole Organic Nutmeg

1 Tbsp Whole Organic  Cloves

1 Tbsp Whole Organic  Allspice

Juice from one Organic Lemon

Orange and Lemon Peels for Zest

Organic, Fair Trade Cinnamon Sticks

1 Shot Organic Spiced Rum (optional)

In a large pot, warm the cider, lemon juice, orange juice on medium heat. Make sure not to boil the mixture. Add in the cane juice, while constantly stirring. Add all the spices, sans one cinnamon stick into a cheesecloth and tie off. Submerge the mixture into the cider and let simmer for about ten minutes. Meanwhile, peel the orange and lemon for a few pieces of zest. Remove the cheesecloth and set aside. If you are adding rum, put a shot into your mug and mix before garnishing. Garnish each glass with one cinnamon stick and a few zest peels of lemon and orange and serve warm!

 

Vegan Recipe of the Week: Homemade Vegan Roast

It’s almost Thanksgiving and as you are compiling your shopping list, why not skip the processed Tofurkey this year. We have a great recipe to create your own “turkey” roast in time for the holidays.  It will give your meal a real homemade feel, not that we don’t love Tofurkey, but making a roast from scratch is always so satisfying. This recipe is a tried and true friend’s family recipe that has been dished out at Vegan Thanksgiving for many years!

Homemade Vegan Roast

Gluten:

3 Cups Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Flour

3 Tbsp All Purpose Flour

1 3/4 Cup Water

1 Cup Soy Sauce or Bragg’s Amino Acids

1 tsp Garlic Powder

2 Carrots

3 Red Potatoes

1 Medium Onion

Breading:

1 Cup Bread Crumbs

1/3 Cup Nutritional Yeast

2 Tbsp Bragg’s Amino Acid

1 Tbsp Vegetable Oil

1 tsp Garlic Powder

1/2 tsp Cumin

1/2 tsp Oregano

1/4 tsp Black Pepper

In a mixing bowl combine all dry spices and ingredients for the breading and set aside. In a large saucepan, boil water, soy sauce, and garlic. While the water is boiling, combine Gluten flour and regular flour. Add in 1 3/4 cup water slowly, while kneading the dough. Slice dough into strips and drop each slice into the boiling water/soy sauce. After a minute each slice will float to the top. Let them float for a few minutes and then lift out of the water and set aside.

Cut the carrots, onion, and potato in large chunks. Boil these until soft and set aside. In a small sauce bowl add the Bragg’s Amino acid and a little vegetable oil. Warm up a skillet on medium high and add the rest of the vegetable oil. Dip each strip in the amino acid and roll in the dry breading boil. Fry each strip until crispy on both sides (about 5 minutes).

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees. In a casserole dish, cover the bottom with a little oil or margarine. Layer the strips similar to lasagna and surround them with the boiled veggies. For an added treat, separate gluten strips with stuffing. Cook for fifteen/twenty minutes. Serve with all the fixin’s: mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, and cranberry sauce.

 

Vegan Recipe of the Week: Holiday Sugar Cookies

With only a few more days left until Christmas, everyone is scrambling to finish their shopping and get every detail ready for the holiday!  In my family, we used to bake a ton of goodies and deliver them to our extended family and friends on Christmas Eve. One of our favorites to bake were sugar cookies! They are so much fun and can be really creative. It is also a great activity to do with the whole family.  As a child, I used to spend hours designing and decorating my sugar cookies. Below we have a recipe for vegan sugar cookies, as well as frosting and suggestions for other decorations.  Happy Christmas and Merry Baking!!

Vegan Holiday Sugar Cookies

Cookie Recipe

Prep Time: 20-60 minutes    Bake Time: 8-10 Minutes per sheet

2 3/4 Cups Organic Flour

1 1/2 Cups Organic Evaporated Cane Juice (or other sweetener)

1 Cup Organic Earth Balance

3 Tbsp Warm Water

1 1/2 Tbsp Ener-G Egg Replacer

1 Tsp Organic Baking Soda

1 Tsp Organic Vanilla Extract

1/2 Tsp Organic Baking Powder

1/4 Tsp Salt

Frosting Recipe:

2 Cups Organic Wholesome Sweetener Powdered Sugar

1/4 Cup Hot Water

1/2 Cup Earth Balance

1 tsp Organic Vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a small mixing bowl, beat the Ener-G Egg Replacer and warm water until the consistency of an egg and set aside. Combine and sift all dry ingredients together: flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In another mixing bowl cream the Earth Balance and sugar. Beat in “egg” mixture from earlier and vanilla into the Earth Balance and sugar. Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Once they are combined, you can make the cookies! If you are making simple round cookies, roll about a tsp worth of cookie dough and place on cookie sheet. If you are making fun holiday designs: santas, reindeers, trees etc, on a cutting board sprinkle flour and roll dough out to thin layer. Cut out shapes and place on cookie dough. Make sure to give enough room for each cookie to rise. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until cookies have risen and are golden. Let cool for 10-20 minutes and decorate!

While the cookies are cooling, in a mixing bowl combine the Earth Balance, vanilla, and hot water. Slowly add in the powdered sugar (use Wholesome Sweeteners, they are confirmed vegan). Beat with electric mixer until smooth. This will make a standard frosting. If you want chocolate add in about 1/3-1/2 Cup vegan cocoa powder and mix. If you would like different colors you can add in food coloring (at your own risk). Be careful of chemical dyes, especially red as they may not be vegan and can include harmful ingredients. Seelect Food Coloring and Nature’s Flavors are all natural and vegan dyes. You can also find vegan sprinkles! Now it is time to decorate your sugar cookies however you would like. Trust us this is the best part, well aside from eating the cookies that is!

 

Vegan Recipe of the Week: Organic Cranberry Sauce

The week of Thanksgiving is finally here! We have been posting great vegan recipes all month and are so excited for the delicious holiday in a few days. Today we post our last vegan Thanksgiving recipe for this year, and it is a great one!  We thought we would save this delectable garnish. This quick and easy recipe will have your vegan and non vegan guests mouth’s watering and sure beats that canned stuff you used to serve!  Happy Thanksgiving

Organic Cranberry Sauce

Cook Time: 20 Minutes

1 Bag Organic Whole Cranberries

1/3 Cup Organic Evaporated Cane Juice

1/4 Cup Fresh Organic Orange Juice

~1 Tbsp Organic Orange Zest or to taste

Boil the bag of cranberries until they are soft. Strain out the water and put the cranberries back on the stove. Mix in the sugar. With a grater, grate fresh orange peel into the mixture to add zest. Squeeze the juice from the orange you used from the peel. Heat the mixture, but do not boil. The mixture should mush together. You may need to add more cane juice or orange zest  according to your taste. Cool in the fridge for at least an hour before serving.

 

Vegan Recipe of the Week: Vegan Mushroom Gravy

Today is World Vegan Day and in honor of this day of celebration we are posting our easy and quick vegan gravy recipe. With Thanksgiving fast approaching we thought we would start our vegan recipes now!  From now until Thanskgiving we will be posting delicious and nutritious vegan holiday recipes. For some traditional favorites such as stuffing and yams check our holiday log of recipes and look for more to come. This recipe is quick and easy and will taste a lot better than those gravy packets! The gravy is a nice way to top off your Tofurkey, mashed potatoes, and even on top biscuits. So enjoy and Happy World Vegan Day!!

Organic Vegan Mushroom Gravy

1 1/2 Cups Organic Vegetable Broth

1 Organic Onion, diced

1/2 Cup Organic Brown or White Mushrooms, diced

2 Tbsp Organic Earth Balance Margarine

2 Tbsp Corn Starch

2 Tbsp Organic Flour

2 Tbsp Organic Soy Sauce

1 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast

1 tsp Organic Garlic, Minced

1/4 tsp Salt

Dice the onions and mushrooms and mince the garlic. In a saucepan, sautee the onions, mushrooms, and garlic on medium for 2 to 5 minutes. Add in the flour and salt and cook for about 2 minutes. Add in the vegetable broth. Stir continually while slowly adding in the corn starch. Bring to a full boil for 2 minutes while stirring constantly. Bring down to low heat and add the soy sauce and nutritional yeast. Heat for another minute and then serve. You will want to serve quickly or a film will grow on the surface. You can always keep it on low heat and stir occasionally to avoid this. The gravy will thicken after cooling a bit and you may have to adjust the heat to get the perfect consistency.

 

Vegan Recipe of the Week: Eggless Deviled Tofu Bites

Easter Sunday is fast approaching and when one thinks of traditional Easter food, eggs of course come to mind! But of course for vegans this is not an option. To read more about why vegans refrain from eating eggs, check out our previous blog titled The Truth About Eggs. Most vegans are used to traditional foods served for holidays including Deviled Eggs. We have put together a tasty alternative to traditional Deviled Eggs with our Eggless Deviled Bites. These are a terrific appetizer and wonderful to bring along to family events. Who knows you might encourage friends or family to eat vegan. Enjoy this tasty traditional recipe and Happy Easter from all of us at Autonomie.

Vegan Eggless Deviled Tofu Bites

Prep Time: 30 Minutes Makes: 16-20 Bites

1 lb Organic Firm Tofu
1/2 lb Organic Silken Tofu
2 Cups Warm Water
1/3 Cup Organic Vegenaise
2 Tbl Organic Yellow Mustard
2 Tbl Organic Relish (dill works best)
1 Tbl Onion, finely minced
1 Glove of Garlic, finely minced
2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Black Pepper
1 tsp Tumeric
Paprika, for garnish
Organic Cherry Tomatoes, for garnish (optional)

Drain and rinse the firm tofu and slice in half vertically. You can then cut into 1 inch squares or if you are feeling creative, cut into oval shapes with a pairing knife. The ovals will give it more of an authentic “egg” look but the squares will do just fine. In a large bowl combine warm water and only 1 teaspoon salt. Place your tofu cubes or ovals into the water and allow them to marinate while you prepare the filling. Finely mince the onion and garlic and set aside. In a large bowl combine the silken tofu, vegenaise, mustard, relish, onion, garlic, remaining salt, pepper, and tumeric. Mix this thoroughly until smooth. Drain the tofu ovals or squares and arrange on a plate or serving platter. Use a paper towel or cloth to soak up any excess water on the ovals/squares. With a spoon or scoop, place a dollop of the filling mixture from the bowl on top of each bite. Sprinkle the bites with paprika and place a cherry tomato in the center, if you choose. Any left over filling can be used as a cracker dip or sandwich filling. You can serve immediately or keep in the fridge to harden.

 

Vegan Recipe of the Week: Vegan Holiday Nog

Mmm tis the season to drink and be merry! One of the most traditional holiday drink is that of Egg Nog. However, obviously by the name it is not vegan friendly! Never fear, there is always a vegan version to be had. Of course you can take the easy way out and purchase some Soy Nog or Rice Nog from the store. However, if you want something delicious and homemade, try these recipes for Vegan Holiday Nog: one raw and the other soy based. What a tasty holiday treat that even the non vegans can indulge in!

Raw Vegan Holiday Nog

• 1 Cup Cashews
• 1/2 Cup Dates, pitted
• 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3 cups water

In a blender or food processor place all ingredients and blend together into smooth and creamy. Heat over the stove until warm enough to drink or serve cold. Garnish with a cinnamon stick and cinnamon sprinkles .

Soy Holiday Nog

• 21 oz Silken Tofu
• 2 Cups Soymilk
• 2/3 Cup Organic Sweetener (we prefer Evaporated Cane Juice)
• 1 Cup Cold Water
• 4 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon of Nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon of Cinnamon

In a blender or food processor blend all ingredients until completely smooth. Heat the mixture over the stove until warm enough to eat or serve cold after refrigerating. Garnish the drink with a cinnamon stick and cinnamon sprinkles.

 

Vegan Recipe of the Week: Pumpkin Cupcakes

It’s a fright outside with ghosts, ghouls, and monsters around every twist and turn as Halloween approaches. Everyone is putting together their costumes and its time to start thinking of yummy Halloween desserts. Parties are popping up everywhere and they generally call for potlucks. What better than Vegan Cupcakes, and not just any cupcakes but Vegan Pumpkin Cupcakes with Powdered Sugar Frosting (optional). These tasty Autumn inspired treats will be a hit at your Halloween party or upcoming Fall Holiday! So treat those little ghosts and ghouls to some delectable Pumpkin Cupcakes. Happy Halloween from us at AP.

Vegan Pumpkin Cupcakes

Cupcakes:

1/4 Cup Organic Soymilk
1 Tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
1/2 Cup plus 2 tablespoons Organic All-purpose flour
1/2 Cup Whole-wheat pastry flour
1 Tsp Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
1/3 Cup Organic Evaporated Cane Juice
1/3 Cup Packed Brown Sugar
1 Tsp  Cinnamon
1/2 Tsp Ginger
1/2 Tsp Nutmeg
1/2 Tsp salt
1/2 Cup Pumpkin Purée
1/4 Cup Applesauce
3 Tbls Vegetable Oil
2 Tbls Pure Vanilla Extract

Frosting:

3 Tbl Earth Balance Margarine
1 Tsp Organic Vanilla Extract
3 Cups Powdered Sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. If you are using cupcake holders, place into cupcake pans, if not add a little bit of oil to each cupcake hole. In a medium bowl mix the soymilk and apple cider vinegar together. In a large mixing bowl sift the dry ingredients: the flours, baking powder, baking soda, sugars, spices, and salt. Whisk pumpkin purée, applesauce, oil, and vanilla into the soymilk and vinegar mixture. Fold the wet and dry ingredients together, be careful not to over-mix.  Pour the mixture the cupcake pans and bake for 18 to 20 minutes. To make the frosting cream together the margarine, vanilla, and powdered sugar until smooth. Be sure the cupcakes cool before applying frosting.

 

Vegan Recipe of the Week: Vegan Matzo Ball Soup

Spring is now upon us and we thought we’d highlight the April holidays by sharing some great vegan recipes. Thursday marks the Passover holiday and of course Passover Seder Dinner! And what would a Passover Seder be without Matzo Ball Soup?! So today you are in for a real treat! We are sharing our vegan version of Matzo Ball Soup just in time for the holiday. Our recipe calls for Silken Tofu, which for some of the Jewish faith who refrain from eating legumes on Passover, it may not be suitable. However, we have included hints for how to create this delicious soup without the use of tofu. Bete’avon!

Vegan Matzo Ball Soup
8-10 Cups of Vegetable Broth (or water and veggie bullion cubes)
1 1/2 Cups of Matzo Meal
3/4 Cup Silken Tofu or 3 Medium Peeled and Boiled Potatoes
4 Tblsp Olive Oil
1 Peeled Carrot
1/2 Medium Peeled and Chopped Onion
2 Tsp Ener-G Egg Replacer (optional)
1 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tsp of Black Pepper
1/8 Tsp Cumin
Fresh Dill or Parsley to Taste (optional)

If you are using potatoes instead of tofu, peel and boil potatoes for about 20 minutes or until they are soft. In a large mixing bowl combine, olive oil, matzo meal, salt, pepper, cumin, egg replacer, and either silken tofu or potatoes. Knead the dough until firm or smooth with your hands or place in a blender for about 4-5 minutes. Let the mixture stand for about ten minutes. Meanwhile, on the stove boil a large pot of water. Form the dough into 2-3 inch balls and drop into the boiling water. Boil the dough for 15-20 minutes and be careful not to overcook them!! While those are boiling, in another large pot, heat up the vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Add in the peeled carrots, peeled onions, salt, and pepper. After boiling for about 5-10 minutes, reduce to low to medium heat and let it simmer. Carefully remove the matzo balls and add them to the vegetable broth. Let the soup simmer on low heat for about ten minutes. The soup is now ready to serve!! Garnish with fresh dill or parsley or both, if you choose.