Cue the Cookie Monster!

I have confessed before, that although I have tried many new recipes since becoming plant based eaters, I haven't really tried that many dessert type dishes. 

I need to have a few in my files, for when we have company and also for when we think we might die if we

won't get something sweet to
eat.  We try to keep those treats few and far between, but every now and then a girl needs a cookie.  This recipe was super easy to put together and quite yummy.  I have to admit, I have a killer chocolate chip cookie recipe that I have used for years, and this recipe is not as good as that one, but I would rather use this one. I can feed my belly and my soul at the same time with this one.

VEGAN CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

½ cup coconut oil

1 cup brown sugar
¼ cup almond milk
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
1 cup vegan chocolate chips
½ cup toasted, chopped walnuts or pecans

Preheat oven to 350.

Cream together the coconut oil and brown sugar.  Add the almond milk and vanilla and cream. 

In a separate bowl mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Combine the wet and dry ingredients, then stir in chocolate chips and nuts. 

Place by tablespoonfuls on ungreased cookie sheet or parchment paper. 

Bake for 7-10 minutes.  Place on a rack to cool.

Husband's thoughts: These are great!  She made some with dark chocolate and others with the white chocolate and dried cranberries.  Those are show on the picture to the right. Both kinds were tasty.  I refuse to admit how many of these I ate.   

Sort of Ranch Salad Dressing

I am trying to get as much processed fat out of our diet as possible.  I really bought into the thought that olive oil and coconut oil are good choices for a healthy diet.  I knew they still had a lot of calories, but I did not realize just how harmful they are for our health.  If anyone has an interest in researching this, there are many videos on You Tube from people such as Dr. John McDougall, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, and many more.


When we have a salad, we almost always use a homemade vinaigrette.  I keep it in the fridge most of the time.  But the truth is, there is a lot of olive oil in that vinaigrette.  I decided that I would start trying some healthier dressings.  My daughter sent me this recipe.  I did a little tweaking, but it is really quite good.  It is a "creamy" dressing, and that was nice.  Please note that this is not a fat free dressing, because there are cashews in the dressing.  I was not too worried since the amount of cashews was quite small.                                                        
                                                                                                           
PLANT BASED RANCH DRESSING

¼ cup raw cashews

¾ cup unsweetened almond milk
1 Tbsp. chia seeds
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
½ medium garlic clove or ¼ tsp. garlic powder
½ tsp. granulated onion
½ tsp. dill weed
½ to 1 tsp. celery seed
1/8 tsp. fresh ground pepper
¼ tsp salt or to taste
1 t sp. minced fresh parsley
2 tsp. chives, snipped

Soak the cashews in water for 4 hours or overnight.  Drain water off and proceed with recipe.

Place all ingredients except parsley and chives into a blender and process on high until smooth.  Add parsley and chives and blend on low briefly to incorporate them.  Check seasonings and add more as needed.   Let sit in refrigerator for at least one hour.

In the interest of complete disclosure, my husband did not love this dressing.  He didn't hate it, just didn't love it.  I will keep searching for a dressing that he likes, but I plan to keep making this for myself.

Healthier falafels

I have changed my falafel recipe up a bit.  In the past, I was sautéing them in a pan.  Since they are dipped in panko crumbs, the olive oil was soaked up somewhat when they were sautéed, and that made me hesitant to make them very often at all.  They were good, but it took more olive oil than I was comfortable with ingesting.  I decided to try baking them instead.

I also made some other changes to my recipe, including increasing the spices.  I had some at a Middle Eastern restaurant a week earlier, and theirs were much spicier than mine, so I knew I needed to step it up in the spice area. 
The last time I made them at home, I had wished that they were just a little less dry.  I simply added a couple tablespoons of vegetable broth, and that problem was resolved. 


I wanted to check out how much difference it would make between sautéing them and baking them, so before I cooked them, I just sautéed one patty in olive oil and baked one patty.  The sautéed patty took half as long to cook and looked better, but once they are put in the oven, it doesn't really matter if they take 20 minutes

instead of 10 minutes.  That time can be used putting together the rest of the meal, or having a glass of kombucha. 

FALAFEL

 2 ¼ cups cooked chickpeas

3 scallions, coarsely chopped
1 large clove garlic, coarsely chopped
1 ½ tsp ground cumin
1 ½ tsp ground coriander
¾ tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp. Bangkok seasoning, optional
¼ cup packed coarsely chopped parsley
¼ cup packed coarsely chopped cilantro
1 egg or egg substitute
1 lemon, juiced
kosher salt
1 ½ tsp baking powder
1/3 cup flour
2-3 Tbsp. vegetable broth
½ cup panko crumbs
cooking spray, olive oil preferred, (such as Pam)

In a large bowl, mash the chickpeas with a potato masher, leaving some texture, (bits of chickpeas).  Stir in the  scallions, garlic, cumin, coriander, cayenne, Bangkok seasoning, parsley, cilantro, egg or egg substitute, lemon juice, and salt to taste. 

Add in the baking powder and flour and stir to combine.  Add the vegetable broth, a little at a time, until there is a bit of moisture to the ingredients.  Place the bowl in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or overnight.    

Remove the chickpea mixture from the refrigerator.  Drop spoonfuls of the chickpea mixture onto a plate with the panko crumbs and press gently into patties.  I like the patties to be about 1 ½ inches in diameter.   Place the

patties onto a sheet pan which has been sprayed with the cooking spray.  Then spray the top of the patties also with the cooking spray.

Bake in a 425 degree oven for about 20 minutes, flipping them over once.  If more browning is desired, turn the broiler on to brown the tops a bit more.

NOTE:  Can be served on top of a salad.  Our favorite way to serve them is in a pita.  Half the pita bread and stuff with your choice of:

Falafel patties

Tomatoes, chopped
Green onions, chopped
Beets, diced
Dill pickles, diced
Lettuce, shredded
Honey mustard dressing or tzatziki sauce

I was really expecting the sautéed falafel to be far better than the baked one.  However, my husband and I both felt that there was very little difference in the taste of the two.  I will definitely choose baking them from now on.  When I use the cooking spray, I realize that I am still adding oil to the dish, but it is far less oil than the other methods. 

We are going to kick this olive oil/coconut oil habit if it kills us.  (Actually, hopefully it will extend/enhance our health.