Fluffy Baking Powder Biscuits

Great for breakfast, snacks, or lunches, these fluffy soft biscuits are easy to whip up. Serve with avocado, olive oil, nut butter, or jam.

A basic recipe, with lots of variations possible!

Fluffy Baking Powder Biscuits

2 cups whole wheat, spelt, or kamut flour
1 Tb baking powder
1-2 tsp sugar or agave syrup
1/2 tsp salt
3 Tb oil
1 tsp vinegar
1/2 cup soy milk or non-dairy milk
1/2 - 3/4 cup water

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add in wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Drop on a baking sheet lined with parchement paper (or use biscuit cutters to cut out biscuits). Bake at 400 degrees F for 12-15 minutes or until just golden.

Variations:
add nuts and/or seeds - such as 1-2 tsp sesame seeds or 1 Tb crushed pumpkin seeds
add nut butter - we use 2-4 Tb sunflower seed butter with about 1 Tb less oil
Oat biscuit - add some quick rolled oats and/or oat flour
Corn biscuit - add 1/4 cup cornmeal and about 2-3 Tb less flour
Pumpkin biscuit - add 2-4 Tb pumpkin puree with 2-4 Tb less water
Make it savory! with 1/2 tsp total of dried herbs or curry powder or even caraway seeds

Awesome Homemade Veggie Bean Burgers

Makes 10-12 patties

1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1 - 1 1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 cup each cornmeal and wheat gluten
2 1/2 Tb nutritional yeast
2 Tb flaxseed meal
2 cups pinto or black beans
1 Tb canola oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tb Braggs
1 Tb stone ground mustard
2 - 4 Tb diced bell pepper
2 Tb diced onion

1. In a small bowl, mix onion powder, cumin, cornmeal, wheat gluten, nutritional yeast, and flaxseed meal.
2. In a large bowl, mash pinto beans, then add remaining ingredients. Mix until just combined.
3. Add dry mixture from the small bowl to the bean mixture in the large bowl, and mix until well combined.
4. Form 10 - 12 patties. Place on a baking sheet that has parchment paper or has been sprayed with cooking spray.
5. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-25 minutes, or until golden on both sides.

Variations: Add 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes or cayenne
Add 1/4 - 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce or Balsamic vinegar
Use white beans, lentils, black-eyed peas, or kidney beans
Add 2-3 Tb finely chopped veggies
Add lime juice and jalapeno

Sweet Potato/Pumpkin Jalapeno Cornbread

We baked some awesome spicy comforting cornbread this weekend, and made some small modifications to make our recipe extra melt-in-your-mouth delicious!
1 cup spelt flour or other whole grain flour (we love wheat, kamut, triticalle, oat...)
1 cup white whole wheat flour or other whole grain flour
1 cup corn flour
3/4 cup medium cornmeal
¾ tsp salt
1 1/2 Tb baking powder
3/4 - 1 tsp ground coriander
2 Tb flaxseed meal
3 Tb agave nectar
2 Tb canola oil
3/4 cup sweet potato puree or pumpkin puree
1 cup plain or unsweetened soy milk
1 – 1 ¼ cup water or more soy milk
1 large (3-4 Tb) jalapeno, minced, and seeded if desired

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, mix all dry ingredients (flour through flaxseed meal). In a small bowl, mix the remaining ingredients (agave nectar through jalapeno). Add wet ingredients into dry and mix until just combined. Pour batter in a glass casserole dish (6 in x 8 in or larger pan 9 in x 13 in) or in a loaf pan (sprayed with cooking spray).

Bake until edges slightly browned for about 40-45 minutes, or until a tested inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow cornbread to cool a few minutes before cutting. Makes 12-15 servings.

Easy Veggie Pot Pie

LK's Easy Veggie Pot Pie

1 vegetable bouillon
1 cup unsweetened soy milk
1 cup water
1 1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp each salt and pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
3 Tb nutritional yeast
1/4 tsp each sage and thyme
1/4 tsp each onion powder and ground mustard
1/4 tsp celery seed
2 Tb oil
1/4 cup diced bell pepper
1 cup broccoli, finely chopped
1 med yellow squash, diced
2-3 large chives or 1/4 cup onion
1 cup potatoes, diced and cooked
3 Tb flour
prepared pie crust or just biscuits or toast!

1. Add first 9 ingredients (bouillon through nutritional yeast) in a small stove pot and cook on medium high heat for 2-3 min.
2. Then add sage, thyme, onion powder, mustard, and celery seed, and simmer while you chop the veggies.
3. Place veggies in a microwave-safe dish, and cook until almost done.
4. Add flour to the stove pot and bring to a boil. Stir constantly until thickens.
5. Combine gravy from the stove pot with the vegetables in a large container.
6. Store in refrigerator until the day you want to have this for dinner.
7. When preparing your dinner, take your prepared pie crust and bake in the oven according to baking instructions (about 10 min).
8. Place the container of the vegetable filling in the microwave and heat until hot.
9. When the crust is just golden brown, take out of the oven. Pour the vegetable filling over the crust.
10. Cut and serve. This will be messy, so another delicious option is to break off pieces of the pie crust, place on your dinner plate, then pour the warm vegetable filling over it, and serve. Or just serve the vegetable filling over homemade biscuits or toast!

Easy Whole Grain Crackers

Makes 35-45 small crackers.

Basic cracker ingredients:

1 1/4 cup whole grain flour**
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp, optional baking soda
1/3 -1/2 cup water
1 Tb oil
1 tsp, optional Dijon mustard

Spices to add:

Cheesy-garlic-flavored
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
1 tsp paprika powder
1/2 tsp turmeric (for color)
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (or to taste)
3/4 tsp Garlic granules/powder

Onion-pepper-flavored
1/2 tsp Onion granules/powder
1/2 tsp Black pepper

Curry-pumpkin-flavored
3/4 tsp - 1 tsp Curry powder
1/4 tsp Cumin
1/4 tsp Corriander
2 Tb Pumpkin puree - in place of some water

Herb-flavored
1/2 - 3/4 tsp Dried Oregano
1 tsp Dried Basil

1. Preheat oven to 375 - 400 degrees F.
2. Combine dry ingredients (including spices of choice) in a large bowl
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry mix bowl, and mix until combined. The dough will be a tad sticky.
4. Sprinkle parchment paper with some flour and roll out the dough with a rolling pin.
5. Roll it out very thin, trying to make it as even as possible, and then cut it into cracker sizes.
6. Place on a baking sheet, and bake for 18-25 minutes, flipping half-way, and baking until they start to brown just a little bit. Let cool.


**In regard to the choice of flours, try Bob's Red Mill whole grain flours, such as Kamut, Triticale, White Wheat, Barley, Oat, Spelt, or gluten-free flours like Teff, Buckwheat, Sorghum, Amaranth, or Millet. Each grain gives a unique flavor, so we enjoy trying different flours to get different flavors, such as nuttier or butterier or wheatier flavor...

Lemon Maple Three Seed Mini Muffins

1 Tb poppy seeds
1 Tb hemp seeds
1 Tb pumpkin seeds
1 3/4 cup oats
1 Tb sugar
1 1/2 - 2 tsp lemon zest
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp allspice
2 1/2 cup flour, such as spelt or kamut
1 Tb baking powder
3 Tb lemon juice
1 1/2 Tb flaxmeal
3/4 cup non-dairy milk
3 Tb maple syrup
1/4 tsp maple extract (or vanilla)
2 Tb canola oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Combine first 10 ingredients (poppy seeds through flour) in a large bowl. In a small bowl, add lemon juice and milk. Mix slightly, then add flaxmeal, maple syrup, maple extract, and canola oil. Combine wet ingredients into the large bowl with the dry ingredients, and mix until just combined. Drop batter into a prepared mini-muffin pan, and bake for 13-16 minutes for mini-sized muffins, or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Makes 12 mini-muffins, perfect size for parties.

Spicy Tortilla Soup

1/2 cup chopped onion
1 -2 cloves minced garlic
1 Tbsp Bragg's
2 cups water
1/2 cup fresh salsa
1 can no-salt added diced tomatoes (~1 3/4 cup), with juice
1/8 tsp salt (omit if have salted tomatoes)
3/4 - 1 cup black beans (from a can, rinsed)
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 fresh chopped cilantro (we like lots, and used about 1/4 cup?)
1/2 Tbsp lime juice
optional: fresh corn kernals, green chilies
When serving: avocado slices, tortilla chips, & nutritional yeast

To cook, we just prepped everything to have the soup later in the week, but you can cook this soup in a slow cooker (add all ingredients except avocado and tortilla chips) or just heat soup over the stove in a big pot, making sure to saute onion and garlic slightly first.

Top your soup with avocado, tortilla chips, and nutritional yeast!

Coconut Cinnamon Roll Muffins

muffin ingredients:
2 tsp baking powder
1-2 dashes each of allspice and nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup cornmeal
3/4 cup 10 grain flour or whole wheat flour (or other flour)
3/4 cup + 1 Tb kamut flour
1/3 cup succanat sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp coconut extract or vanilla, optional
2 Tb canola oil
2 Tb coconut oil, nut butter, or canola oil
3/4 cup soymilk

date filling:
6-8 fresh dates, chopped and pitted
1/2-3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup coconut butter or coconut oil
extra coconut butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix muffin dry ingredients together, then add wet ingredients and mix until just blended. Process date filling in a food processor until very smooth. Spread half of the batter into a mini muffin pan, then spread about half of the filling gently over the batter. Top with the rest of the muffin batter, sprinkle muffins with cinnamon, then bake in the oven for 15 minutes (make sure not to overbake in order to maintain a soft moist muffin). Cool slightly, and when ready to serve, top generously with the rest of the date filling and extra coconut butter. Enjoy for breakfast or as a treat!

Other variations: lemon, orange, pumpkin, fig, raisin spice, apple...
The best part is that these have no margarine/butter, no yeast, no rolling and slicing, and no waiting for the dough to rise!

Vegan Harvest Cornbread

2 cups white wheat flour, spelt flour, or whole wheat flour
2 cups whole grain cornmeal
2 Tb baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup vegetable or safflower oil
2 Tb agave nectar
2 cups milk alternative (such as soy, hemp, almond, oat milks)
1/2 - 3/4 cup frozen corn, or fresh corn kernals from 1 corn cob
1/3 cup + 1 Tb banana pepper, diced
1/3 cup + 1 Tb red onion, diced
optional 2 Tb flaxseed meal

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium bowl, mix all dry ingredients. Make a well in the center of the bowl, and add agave and oil. Then add milk, and combine liquid ingredients with the dry ingredients until just blended with no flour clumps. Place in a medium round pan coated with cooking spray. Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes until golden brown.

Carrot Trail Mix Muffins

1 1/2 Tb ground flaxseed
1/3 cup pineapple juice
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup wheat germ
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt
1/4 cup date pieces
2 Tb sunflower seeds
1/2 cup + 1 Tb pineapple, crushed
1 Tb safflower oil
3 Tb agave
1/2 tsp coconut extract (or just vanilla)
1/8 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup carrots, finely grated

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Combine pineapple juice and flax in a small bowl and set aside. Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl and wet ingredients in another bowl. Stir in flax mixture to wet ingredients, then add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Bake in a mini muffin pan for 15-20 minutes (check for doneness and golden color). Sprinkle cinnamon on top. Makes 12 mini muffins.


We especially like the pineapple as a sweetener. Sunflower seeds added a nice crunch, but we may try walnuts next time. Other ideas: apple butter and currant muffins and pumpkin pineapple muffins.

Homemade Pizza Crust

1 1/2 cup warm water
1 tsp sugar
1 pack dry active yeast
1 Tb olive oil
3/4 tsp salt
2 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cup hard white wheat flour
1 tsp basil
1/2 tsp oregano
fresh rosemary leaves, chopped

Add all ingredients according to your bread machine's directions. Set on dough cycle. When done with dough cycle, flattened into a pizza crust. Place stone in oven to preheat, then add crust to stone and bake at 500 degrees F for only 5 min. Can freeze crusts for easy pizza dinners for the week. To finish the pizza, add toppings, then bake at 425 degrees F for 8-15 min.

Homemade Millet Cornbread

1/4 cup flax
3/4 cup hemp milk
3/4 cup oat flour (or other flour)
1 cup cooked millet grits
1 cup cornmeal
1 Tb baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup agave
1/4-1/3 cup chopped red bell pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Mix flax and some milk and let sit. Combine the remaining ingredients in a large bowl, except for the bell pepper, then add the flax mixture. Stir until combined, add bell peppers and stir until just blended, then bake in a round pie pan or make muffins in a muffin pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden.

No-Fuss Peach Crisp

Homemade Granola
1 cup oats
~ 4 Tb agave, enough to coat all the oats
a pinch of sea salt
lots of cinnamon
sunflower seeds

Lay out oats on a cookie sheet, then add agave and mix thoroughly to coat. Mix in a little salt and lots of cinnamon. Spread out evenly over the sheet, then sprinkle sunflower seeds to your liking. Bake at 325F, checking/stirring frequently, until aromatic and lightly browned. Let cool to harden.

Warmed Peaches
4 large juicy ripe peaches, chopped

Put in a skillet and cook at med-heat until warmed and syrupy. Then serve with granola on top for a simple and healthy treat. Could also serve it with yogurt for a parfait.

Vegan Nutty Fudge

This fudge is healthy, with the base from almond butter instead of powdered sugar/condensed milks, and could be easily made into a raw fudge treat, if you didn't melt the almond butter with the agave nectar. Most importantly, it is the best fudge we've ever had, and is so gooey, chocolaty, and nutty!

1/2 cup agave nectar
3/4 cup no-salt added nut butter (we used almond butter)
3/8 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (can use other nuts or some chocolate chip)
1/2 tsp flavoring extract (Vanilla extract usually. Also try mint, maple, coconut, etc...we used maple extract)

In a small stove pan, heat agave and nut butter for a few minutes just until creamy and mixed together. Turn off heat and add cocoa, walnuts, and extract. Mix thoroughly and quickly before starts to thicken, and then pour into a small square pan sprayed with cooking spray. Spread eveny, then place in fridge to harden. Once chilled, cut into squares. We enjoyed these in the freezer - they were firmer yet gooey. Enjoy!

Makes a good amount, but small enough for two people to enjoy over the week. We had halved the original recipe adapted from Gluten Free Vegan Cookbook.

Chai Crunch Pancakes with Cherries

3 Tb flaxseed meal
3 Tb water
2 cups Bob's Red Mill 7 Grain Pancake Mix
1 Tb chai seeds
1 Tb finely ground nuts
2 cups cold vanilla soymilk
2 bags Organic India Red Chai Tea, seeped in the soymilk
2 Tb safflower oil
1 - 1 1/2 cups frozen cherries, warmed in the microwave
cinnamon for sprinkling
powdered sugar and/or agave


In a small bowl, combine ground flaxseeds and water and mix to make a pasty "egg". Let sit for a few minutes.

In a medium-sized bowl, add pancake mix, chia seeds, and nuts. Add milk, oil, and the "egg" mixture into the medium-sized bowl, and mix everything just until blended.

Preheat a large skillet at medium heat. Spray with cooking spray, pour batter onto the skillet, making two or three pancakes at a time. Flip the pancakes when the edges begin to brown and bubles show in the center. Cook the other side until slightly-browned.

Sprinkle powdered sugar and cinnamon, top with cherries, and serve with agave, if desired. Enjoy! Makes 10 pancakes (depends on how large/flat you make them!).

Note: We each had two pancakes with 1/4 cup of cherries, and then froze the other servings to have on hand for another breakfast!

Quinoa-Oat Date Porridge

1/4 cup quinoa
1/4 cup steel cut oats
Bob's Red Mill Date Crumbles (to your liking - 1/4 cup?)
~ 1 1/2 cups vanilla soy milk (could add more depending on how thin/thick you like your oatmeal)
lots of cinnamon
optional: hemp seeds

Bring milk to a boil in a large saucepan. Add quinoa and oats, cover, and simmer 20 minutes. Portion into two bowls, add dates and cinnamon, and sprinkle hemp seeds if desired. Makes two servings.

Almond-Graham Apricot Bars with Dark Chocolate Glaze

These bars contain very little ingredients (all organic) to make it simple and natural. You could adapt it to keep it more raw by not baking it.

Ingredients:
~ 2 cups dried apricots, unsulfured

1 cup almonds, no salt added

1 cup crushed graham crackers, ~24 graham squares (We use Health Valley's Oat Bran Graham Crackers)

8 Tbsp natural creamy almond butter, no salt or oil added (We usually use Eastwind Creamy Almond Butter, but the store didn't have it this time, so we used Maranatha's Almond Butter)

~1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract (We used Simply Organic brand)

~1/3 of a 71% Dark Chocolate bar, about 8 squares (We used Equal Exchange Organic Very Dark Chocolate)

Instructions: Preheat oven to 350 F.

Step 1:
Soak apricots in water in a small bowl for a few minutes.
Place soaked apricots in a blender or food processor. Add vanilla extract, and process till blended and chopped up nicely. It will be like apricot paste!
Put the apricot "paste" back into the bowl.

Step 2:
Grind almonds in the food processor till chopped up finely. Place in a medium-sized bowl.

Step 3:
Grind graham crackers till crushed into graham cracker crumbs. Place in the bowl containing the almonds.

Step 4:
Mix graham cracker crumbs and almonds, then add the almond butter to bind the mixture together.
Place graham-almond mixture into a square baking pan and press down to make a crust.

Step 5:
Bake crust till slightly brown, about 3-4 minutes.

Step 6:
Place apricot paste on top of the crust and try to spread it over the whole area to make an apricot layer.

Step 7:
Bake 7-8 minutes.

Step 8:
Melt chocolate. We just put it in the microwave for a few seconds. Make sure to stir and check on the chocolate periodically so it doesn't burn. Just heat till melted throughout.

Step 9:
When the apricot bars are done baking, drizzle the melted chocolate over it to your liking.Step 10:
Let the bars cool in the fridge for a while before slicing them. The first bar you'll cut will crumble just because it would be difficult to get it out of the pan. Actually, as time passes, the crust gets less dry/crumbly and holds together better.

Note: This was our first attempt at these bars, so we may make some adjustments next time to make the crust less crumbly (agave?) or add more apricot layer. You could even sprinkle some shredded coconut on top. It still is very tasty and a nice & healthy treat!

Chewy Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies with Dark Chocolate Chunks

Flax "Egg":
2 Tbsp ground flaxseeds (flax meal)
¼ cup water

Dry:
1 cup stone ground 100% whole wheat flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour
3 cups rolled oats (NOT quick-cooking)
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon

Wet:
2 tsp vanilla extract
¾ cup sucanat (unrefined granulated cane sugar)
1 cup sweet potato puree or canned sweet potatoes (no sugar added), drained and pureed
¼ cup safflower oil
½ - ¾ cup water

Add-ins:
½ cup dried cranberries (preferably Eden Organic’s Dried Cranberries sweetened with apple juice instead of sugar)
½ cup (~16 squares) Equal Exchange 70% Dark Chocolate, cut into chunks (about 2/3 of the whole chocolate bar)

Preheat oven to 325 F.

In a medium sized bowl, combine ground flaxseeds and water and mix to make a pasty "egg". Let sit for a few minutes.

In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients (flour, sugar, oats, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon).

In the medium bowl with the flax "egg", mix the rest of the wet ingredients just until incorporated (vanilla, sugar, sweet potato puree, oil, and water). Add the dried fruit and chocolate chunks. Make sure to distribute evenly and not over-mix.

Drop large spoonfuls of dough about 1 inch apart on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Flatten each cookie just slightly. (The cookies will not spread).

Bake for about 10 minutes, making sure not to burn the tops. If needed, cover with foil. Makes about 30 cookies.

Agave Mustard Dressing

2 Tb spicy mustard
2 Tb agave nectar
1/2-1 Tb safflower oil
2 Tb apple cider vinegar
a little water to your liking to make it thinner

Mix all ingredients. Enjoy in salads, wraps, tofu, potatoes, vegetables, etc!

Strawberry Muffins

Ingredients:
3 Tbsp ground flaxseed
1/4 cup soy milk

1 cup oat flour (We use Bob's Red Mill)
1 cup white whole wheat flour
3/4 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
ground cinnamon
1/2 cup unrefined whole cane sugar

1 6 oz. carton strawberry soy yogurt (We use Whole Soy & Co.)
2 Tbsp safflower oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup fresh strawberries, diced
3/4 + 1/3 cup soy milk

Directions:
Wash and dice strawberries.

Mix flax and milk in a small bowl and let sit for a few minutes to make your "egg".

Preheat oven to 350 F and line mini muffin tins with paper liners.

In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients and dash cinnamon heavily. (We forgot to measure the amount of cinnamon, but do it to your liking. We are cinnamon lovers.)

Combine wet ingredients in another bowl, except for the strawberries. Add wet mix to dry and stir just enough to combine. Gently stir in strawberries.

Divide batter into muffin cups, sprinkle tops with cinnamon, and bake for 13-16 minutes. If using big muffin liners (we used mini), then bake for about 20-25 minutes.

Makes about 24 mini muffins. May be good to eat with strawberry jam, more cinnamon, or some almond butter.