Linda's Literary Home

Tag: vegetarian cuisine

  • Fettuccini Salad

    Image:  Fettuccini salad garnished with blue chips & wheat crackers

    Fettuccini Salad

    Ingredients for dressing

    • 1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
    • 2 tbsp olive oil
    • 1/2 cup orange juice
    • 1/4 cup rice vinegar
    • 2 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
    • 1 clove garlic, minced to paste
    • 1 tsp ginger, grated
    • 2 tbsp sesame seeds with hulls, roasted
    • 2 tsp agave nectar 

    Instructions

    1. Mix all Ingredients for dressing and set aside.

    Ingredients

    • 4 cups cooked fettuccini
    • 2 cups green beans, roasted
    • 1/2 cup Serrano peppers
    • 3/4 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in halves
    • 1/3 cup red onion, diced
    • 1/4 cup chopped basil
    • 2 tbsp sesame seeds with hulls, roasted
    • 1 tsp sea salt
    • 1 tsp coarse ground black pepper
    • 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes 

    Instructions

    1. Mix fettuccini, green beans, peppers, tomatoes, onions, basil, sesame seeds, salt, pepper, and pepper flakes.
    2. Pour dressing onto fettuccini and stir evenly throughout mixture.

  • Biscuits & Gravy

    Image: Original Recipe Biscuits- Photo by Linda Sue Grimes

    Biscuits & Gravy

    These are my original recipes.  You might want to experiment with amounts to find the style you like best.

    Biscuits

    This recipe can easily be converted to a vegan version by simply using vegan butter and almond milk.  When I make it as a vegan version, I use Earth Balance vegan butter and 365 Almond Milk.

    Ingredients

    • 1 cup whole wheat flour (I use 365 Organic)
    • 1 cup unbleached flour (365 Organic)
    • 4 tsp baking powder
    • 1 tsp baking soda
    • 2 tsp sea salt
    • 2 tsp coarse ground black pepper
    • 3/4 cup dairy or almond milk
    • 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
    • 1/4 cup dairy or vegan butter

    Instructions

    1. Heat oven to 450˚.
    2. Stir vinegar into almond milk and set aside.
    3. Place dry Ingredients into food processor.  Pulse until well mixed.
    4. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly.
    5. Add milk slowly until all moisture is taken up.
    6. Form into ball.  
    7. Flatten on floured counter and roll out dough to about 1 inch thick.
    8. Cut out biscuits with biscuit cutter.  Makes 12-14 biscuits.
    9. Place in cast iron skillet and bake in 450˚oven for 20 minutes; then, brown under broiler to two minutes.

    Image: Gravy in Cast Iron Chicken Fryer – Photo by Linda Sue Grimes

    Gravy

    This recipe is easily made vegan also by using vegan butter (Earth Balance) and almond milk (365) instead of dairy.

    Ingredients

    • 1/4 cup dairy or vegan butter
    • 1 tbsp olive oil
    • 4 cups dairy or almond milk
    • 3/4 cup whole wheat flour, plus 2 tbsp unbleached flour
    • 1 tsp each of sea salt & coarse ground black pepper

    Instructions

    1. Over medium heat, melt butter and oil in cast iron skillet. (The deep chicken fryer is perfect for making gravy.)
    2. Add flour, salt, & pepper, whisking until mixture becomes brown and grainy.  
    3. Slowly add milk, whisking until mixture is smooth.  
    4. Heat over medium burner until mixture begins to simmer.  
    5. Lower heat and gently simmer, stirring continuously for 4 minutes.
    6. Mixture may be thin but will thicken as it cools.

  • Homemade Whole Wheat Bread 

    Image: Loaf of Homemade Whole Wheat Bread – Photo by Linda Sue Grimes

    Homemade Whole Wheat Bread 

    Ingredients

    • 2 tbsp dry active yeast
    • 2 tsps raw sugar (honey or maple syrup)
    • 1 1/2 cups warm water, divided
    • 1/2 stick vegan (or dairy) butter, melted
    • 2 cups whole wheat flour (I use 365 Organic)
    • 2 cups unbleached flour (I use 365 Organic)
    • 3/4 cup wheat bran
    • 3/4 cup sesame seeds
    • 1 tbsp sea salt

    Instructions

    1. Mix yeast, sugar, 1/4 cup warm water, set aside to let yeast bloom about 5 minutes.
    2. Place flour, bran, sesame seeds, and salt in stand mixer equipped with a dough hook, mix well.
    3. After yeast has bloomed, add remaining water, butter, and yeast to flour.
    4. Mix on low-medium speed about 18 minutes until mixture becomes a solid mass of dough.
    5. Form into a dough ball and place in oiled or buttered bowl, cover with damp towel, allow to rise for 50 minutes.
    6. After first rise, divide the form into two parts or more if you want to make smaller pieces of bread.
    7. Shape divided dough into loaves and place in loaf pans, allow to rise for about 50 minutes.
    8. Bake in 350° oven for 50 minutes. Turn out onto rack to cool.

  • Mommy’s Cornbread Recipe and a Tweak

    Image: Country Corn Pone – Photo by Linda Sue Grimes

    Mommy’s Cornbread Recipe and a Tweak

    For years, I have experimented with cornbread, trying to find a recipe that was as good as my mother’s.  Finally, I asked my sister if she had Mommy’s cornbread recipe.  She did, and I tried it and discovered that was the taste I was after.

    The recipe is better with white cornmeal, which has become difficult to find except in mixes that contain leavening and other unwanted ingredients.  

    I was lucky enough to find white cornmeal on Amazon under the brand Indian Head.  The pack states that the product is “Old fashioned stone ground.” Interestingly, the white cornmeal cost $5.00 more than the yellow.

    While I do think that white cornmeal makes for better flavor, I have determined that the real difference that has made my earlier cornbread unacceptable was using egg.

    Except for my vegan version of cornbread, I had always added egg, and I now believe that the egg created a flavor that distorted the true taste of cornbread.

    In the vegan version, I had used coconut milk and vegan sour cream, which likely distorted the cornbread flavor.  It was a simple omission that has made all the difference in cornbread, the simple omission of egg from the recipe.  

    Now I plan to tweak my vegan version, by omitting the vegan sour cream and substitute almond milk for coconut milk.  The tweak offered here can easily be made vegan by using vegan butter (I use Earth Balance) instead of dairy butter.

    Ingredients

    • 1 tbsp oil
    • 2 cups white cornmeal
    • 1 cup flour
    • 2 tbsp baking powder
    • 1 tsp salt
    • 1 1/4 cup buttermilk
    • 1 cup water

    Instructions

    1. Heat oven to 425°
    2. Place 10 inch cast iron skillet with oil in oven
    3. In large mixing bowl place remaining ingredients 
    4. Mix well
    5. Remove skillet with hot oil from oven, and pour into mixture
    6. Mix well
    7. Return skillet to oven
    8. Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown

    My Tweak of Mommy’s Recipe

    Because buttermilk tends not to serve me well, I have tweaked Mommy’s recipe a bit.

    Ingredients

    • 1 tbsp unsalted butter and 1 tbsp olive oil
    • 1 cup white or yellow cornmeal (because white is hard to find nowadays)
    • 1/2 cup unbleached flour
    • 1 tbsp baking powder (without aluminum)
    • 2 tsp salt (I use Redmond Real Salt™️)
    • 1 cup almond milk (with 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar)
    • 3/4 cup water

    Instructions

    1. Heat oven to 450°
    2. Place 10 inch cast iron skillet with butter/oil in oven
    3. In large mixing bowl, place remaining ingredients
    4. Mix well
    5. Remove skillet with hot oil/butter from oven, and pour into mixture, mix well
    6. Pour mixture into hot skillet
    7. Return skillet to over
    8. Bake for 45-50 minutes until golden brown

  • Linda’s Original Recipe: Veggie Pizza

    Image: Linda’s Original Recipe: Pizza – Photo by Ron Grimes

    Linda’s Original Recipe: Veggie Pizza

    Pizza Sauce

    Ingredients

    • 1 tbs olive oil
    • 1 medium onion, chopped
    • 4 medium tomatoes, chopped
    • sea salt, oregano, basil, rosemary to taste
    • 4 cups veggie juice (like V8, I use Knudsen Very Veggie, tomato juice also works)

    Instructions

    1. Sauté onion and tomatoes in olive oil until tomatoes begin to fall apart.  
    2. Add spices.  
    3. Add veggie juice.  
    4. Simmer for 20 minutes.

    Toppings

    Spread over Pizza Dough generous amounts of the following

    1. Pizza Sauce
    2. Mushrooms – (I use jarred, but fresh is ok if you prefer) 
    3. Green peppers (sliced or diced, depending on your taste)
    4. Onions – (again, sliced or diced)
    5. Cheese – (any kind of cheese you like, even vegan)

    Whole Wheat Pizza Dough 

    Ingredients

    • 1 packet dry active yeast
    • 1 cup warm water 
    • 1 tsp honey (maple syrup or agave syrup)
    • 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
    • 2 tsp sea salt
    • 1 tbsp olive oil (or coconut oil)
    • 1 tbsp corn meal

    Instructions

    1. Stir yeast and honey (syrup) into water. Let bloom for 5 minutes.
    2. Place flour, salt, oil, and yeast  into stand mixer, fixed with bread hook.
    3. Knead for 8 minutes until dough comes together.
    4. Let dough ball stand in buttered bowl for 50 minutes.
    5. Turn out dough ball onto surface sprinkled with corn meal.
    6. Shape into desired form and place on pizza pan.
    7. Bake in 500° over for 5 minutes.
    8. Remove and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
    9. Add sauce and toppings and bake for 15-20 minutes at 500°.