Baked Corn Dogs

I've been wanting to make corn dogs for awhile now but as some of you may know, I cannot deep fry to save my life. So I started thinking about making them using Pillsbury dough but then I read that their products may contain animal ingredients, so I did not want to take that chance.

So my only other option was to make my own bread dough, which is something I don't mind doing at all. The bread in this recipe tastes exactly like the deep fried batter except it isn't as oily. A much healthier alternative to corn dogs if you ask me : ]

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Ingredients

* 1 cup non-dairy milk, such as soy or rice milk

* 1 package dry active yeast

* 2 Tb extra virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing

* 2 Tb light brown sugar

* 1 cup fine yellow cornmeal

* 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting and kneading

* 1 tsp salt

* 1/4 tsp baking soda

* 1/4 tsp paprika

* 9 vegan hot dogs

Directions

1. Warm the milk to about 110 F in a small saucepan. Pour into a medium sized bowl, add the active yeast and allow to sit for about 5 minutes.

2. Stir in the olive oil, cornmeal and brown sugar. Add the flour, salt, baking soda and paprika and stir to make the dough.

3. Turn the dough out onto a well floured surface and knead, adding more flour if it's too sticky, until smooth, about 5 minutes.

4. Shape the dough into a ball, place in a well oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm area until double in size, about 1 hour.

5. Meanwhile insert a wooden skewer into each of the hot dogs, set aside.

6. Preheat the oven to 450 F and lightly oil a large baking sheet.

7. Place the dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into 9 pieces. Roll each piece of dough into a 10 inch length.

8. Wrap each piece around a hot dog, tucking and pressing to seal. Place each wrapped hot dog on the baking sheet.

9. Once done rolling, brush each dough wrapped hot dog with a little soy milk and bake for about 12-15 minutes, or until golden.

Cranberry Orange Bread

So I had a lot of cranberries left over from Thanksgiving and I didn't really know what to do with them. Then the idea of a yummy pastry bread came to my mind. This bread is perfect to go with your coffee on a cold morning or as a great mid-day snack. It has a slight tartness from the cranberries but is also really sweet because of the orange juice. If any of you have leftover cranberries, as I did, I suggest you try out this recipe. You won't be disappointed! : ]

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Ingredients

* 2 cups all-purpose flour

* 1 1/2 tsp baking powder

* 1/2 tsp baking soda

* 1/2 tsp salt

* 1 Tb orange zest grated

* 1 1/2 cup cranberries

* 1/4 cup margarine, softened

* 1 cup sugar

* egg replacer, equivalent of 1 egg

* 3/4 cup orange juice

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir in orange zest and cranberries. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter, sugar and egg replacement until light and fluffy. Stir in orange juice.

4. Beat in flour mixture until moistened. Pour into prepared loaf pan.

5. Bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let stand for 10 minutes and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Roasted Fall Vegetables and Cornbread Stuffing

Oh my goodness, I have been cooking all day! How did this happen? It must be that time of the year again. I can't believe how fast this year is going and that Thanksgiving is just a few days away.

I thought I'd do a little test run of the stuffing I plan to make on Thursday and I also made some yummy veggies to go with it. I made biscuits too but those did not turn out as I expected. I think my problem was I rolled the dough out too thin. But that's okay, today was the day to make mistakes and learn from it. I would hate for this to happen on Thanksgiving day.

Have you guys started grocery shopping yet or do you wait til last minute? I did all my shopping yesterday and I am really excited to start cooking Wednesday night and Thursday morning. Well, I probably won't be back on here until after Thursday, so I am wishing you all the best and I hope that everyone has an amazing and special Thanksgiving!

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Ingredients

* 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

* 3 carrots, cut into 1 inch thick circles

* 1/2 pound brussel sprouts, halved

* 1 medium sweet potato, cut into 1 1/2 inch slices

* 1 pound red potatoes, cut into 1 1/2 inch slices

* 1 Tb dried oregano

* 1 Tb dried rosemary

* 1 tsp dried thyme

* 1 tsp dried basil

* 1/4 tsp salt

* 1 Tb black pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.

2. Grease an 11 x 17 inch baking pan with olive oil.

3. Place vegetables in a large bowl and toss with herbs, salt and pepper. Pour the oil over the vegetables and toss well, making sure all the vegetables are coated. Add more oil if they still seem too dry.

4. Spread the vegetables evenly on the baking pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes.

Cornbread Stuffing

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Ingredients

* 1 large onion, finely chopped

* 3 celery, finely chopped

* salt and pepper

* about 5 cups of corn bread ( I used this recipe )

* 1 tsp sage

* 1 tsp thyme

* 1 cup vegan "chicken" broth, such as Better than Bouillon or vegetable stock

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.

2. Add the oil to a large skillet and heat over medium heat. Add the onion and celery and saute until softened, about 8 minutes.

3. Season with sage, thyme and salt and pepper. Stir well and cook another 30 seconds.

4. Add cornbread and pour half a cup of broth over the stuffing, gently toss. If needed, add the other half cup of broth. The stuffing should feel moist but not wet.

5. Stuff into a "turkey" and place remaining stuffing into a casserole dish, cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 to 60 minutes, or until top is browned and crisp.

Yakitori

Yakitori comes from Japan and are chicken skewers that are glazed in a sweet soy based sauce. They can be made with protein alone or mixed up with different vegetables. I used Japanese eggplant, red bell pepper and green onions in mine.

I know its the middle of Fall and I am bringing out the barbecue. I forget how cold it is in certain parts of the world right now. If it's too cold to barbecue, add a tablespoon or so of olive oil and stir fry all the ingredients in a large pan over medium high heat, until cooked, about 8 to 10 minutes.

I kept this dish simple and served the skewers with a side of short grain brown rice. YUM!

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Makes about 6 skewers

Ingredients

* 1/3 cup Tamari

* 1/3 cup mirin

* 1/4 cup brown sugar, lightly packed

* 1 Tb rice wine ( I used cooking sake )

* 2 Tb fresh ginger, grated

* 1 pound prepared seitan ( I used this recipe )

* 2 red bell peppers

* 2 Japanese eggplants or any other type of slender eggplant

* 1 bunch green onions

Directions

1. Place the tamari, mirin, brown sugar, rice wine and ginger in a medium sized bowl and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Place half of the sauce aside.

2. Add the seitan to the bowl with the remaining other half of the sauce. Stir well to coat the seitan. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to marinate for 4 hours or up to overnight.

3. Remove seitan from marinade and start assembling your skewers. (If using bamboo skewers, allow to soak in water for about an hour). Thread the seitan, bell pepper, eggplant and green onions onto each skewer.

4. Preheat a barbecue grill, coat each skewer with a little olive oil to help prevent it from sticking to the grill. Also do a light coat on each skewer of the left over marinade. Add the skewers to the barbecue and cook, turning occasionally for 10 minutes or until browned slightly and cooked.

5. Place the remaining sauce in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes or until thickened.

6. To serve, place the skewers on a plate along with the sauce.

Goulash

Goulash can either be a soup or a stew but in this case more of a stew. It's a traditional Hungarian recipe but there are many other variations that exist in other countries such as Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Australia and even here in the US.

This recipe would be the most similar to the Australian version. I used shredded tempeh to substitute the ground beef that is traditionally used. For a soy-free version, substitute the tempeh with 1 to 1/2 cups of lentils. Just increase the water used to 2 cups because the lentils will soak up most of the cooking liquid.

It took less than a hour to cook this. The only real work needed is a little chopping of the onions and shredding of the tempeh. Other than that, this is one of those meals that does all the cooking for you. Enjoy!

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Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

* 1 Tb olive oil

* 1 to 1 1/2 pounds tempeh, shredded ( about 2 to 3 packages )

* 1 yellow onion, diced

* 1 cups water

* 1 ( 15 ounce ) can of tomato sauce

* 1 ( 28 ounce ) can of diced tomatoes

* 2 cloves of garlic, minced

* 2 tsp dried basil

* 2 tsp marjoram

* 2 tsp dried oregano

* 2 tsp dried rosemary

* 2 tsp thyme

* 2 bay leaves

* 2 Tb tamari

* 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

* 1 1/2 cup dried macaroni pasta

( I used a little shredded Daiya mozzarella cheese and minced parsley for garnish but this is not necessary )

Directions

1. In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. Saute garlic until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the onions and saute until tender, about 5 minutes.

2. Add the shredded tempeh and saute another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Add a little of the water to deglaze the pan and scrap up all the brown bits. Pour the rest of the water, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, spices, bay leaf, soy sauce and pepper. Stir well, bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 25 minutes.

4. Add the macaroni, stir well, cover and simmer for another 20 minutes.

5. Turn off heat and remove bay leaves. Season to taste with more black pepper and salt, if desired.

The weather has been so cold lately that Taffy has been laying in the sun all day. Really can't blame him : ]

Pupusas, Curtido and Salsa Roja

For this MoFo post, I will be sharing a recipe from El Salvador. Pupusas are basically handmade tortillas that can be filled with an array of different things. For my filling, I kept it simple and stuck with black beans and cheese. These were actually really easy to make and because they were so good, my entire batch is gone. I'll be making another batch tomorrow..I would say it took me a little less than 5 minutes to shape each pupusa.

For the side dishes, I made a Salvadorian cole slaw and tomato sauce. These are always served along side pupusas and really did help bring the whole dish together. I made the cole slaw the night before, allowing it to marinate long enough so that the flavors got blended well.

I used the recipes from my Viva Vegan cookbook.

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Pupusas Stuffed with Black Beans and Cheese

Ingredients

Filling

* 2 cloves garlic, chopped

* 1 Tb olive oil

* 1 fresh green chile ( mild or hot, your choice ) seeded and diced

* 1 cup cooked black beans ( if using canned, drain and rinse )

* 1/4 cup water

* 1/2 tsp ground cumin

* 1/2 tsp dried oregano

* salt and pepper

* 1 cup shredded mozzarella-style vegan cheese ( try Daiya's Italian cheese )

Masa Dough

* 2 cups instant Mexican-style masa harina

* 1 3/4 cups or more warm water

* 1/4 tsp salt

Directions

1. Prepare the filling first : In a heavy skillet, combine the garlic and olive oil and fry over medium heat until sizzling and fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the chiles, black beans, water, cumin and oregano, and bring to a simmer. Cook for 6 to 8 minutes, or until the water has been absorbed but the beans are still moist.

Turn off the heat, season with salt and pepper, if desired, and let the beans cool enough to be handled.

2. Prepare the masa : In a large bowl, stir together the masa harina, warm water, and salt. The dough should be moist and firm but not too sticky. If too dry, drizzle in a little more warm water; if too wet, sprinkle with a tablespoon or two of additional masa harina.

3. Divide the dough into eight equal portions and roll into balls. Cover with a damp, clean kitchen towel to keep moist while shaping the pupusas.

4. To form a pupusa : Cup a ball of dough in your palm and use the fingers of your other hand to form it into a little bowl, taking care to pat the sides and bottom to more or less the same thickness. You want to create a hole about the size of a walnut.

5. Firmly press 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons of filling into the indentation, plus about a heaping tablespoon of cheese.

6. Fold over the sides of your "bowl" on top of the filling and firmly press down.

7. Now comes the shaping part : Moisten your hands a little. With gentle yet firm patting motions, begin pressing your pupusa down and out. Use your palms to occasionally flatten the entire pupusa a little, then use the pads of your fingers to shape and press outward the edges of your pupusa. The traditional way of forming it is to do a little of this motion all at once, while incrementally turning the pupusa in your palms a little bit at a time to work on the edges.

8. At this point the pupusa masa may crack, or some of the filling may poke out here or there. To remedy this : Moisten up your fingers just a little and smear a bit of dough over the offending crack. Ultimately, you may still have some thin spots and cracks, but as long as your pupusa is holding its shape, no worries.

9. Cover the shaped pupusas with a damp kitchen towel or waxed paper. Lightly oil and heat a cast-iron skillet or heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat. The skillet is ready when a few drops of water sizzle on contact. I like to brush pupusas with a little peanut or olive oil right before cooking, for a crisper crust.

10. Grill a few pupusas at a time, 4 to 6 minutes, flip, and repeat on the other side. Occasionally press down the center and edges gently with your spatula. Cooked pupusas masa should be firm and golden; a few dark spots on the surface is fine, even desirable. If serving all of the pupusas, you may want to keep them warm in the oven, wrapped in foil, while preparing the rest.

Curtido ( Salvadorian Marinated Slaw )

Makes about 6 cups

Time : 45 minutes

Ingredients

* 1 to 1 1/2 pounds of green or red cabbage, shredded very finely (8 to 10 cups of shredded cabbage)

* 1 to 2 picked or raw jalapeños, seeded and finely chopped

* 1 large carrot, shredded

* 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilanatro or parsley, or a combination of both

* 1 Tb coarse salt

* 2 tsp dried oregano

* 1/4 cup white vinegar, or more to taste

Directions

1. If you're shredding the cabbage yourself, the best possible tool to use is a mandoline gratter. Second best is a large food processor fitted with a shredding blade, but it's entirely possible to also thinly slice cabbage with a sharp heavy chef's knife and a cutting board.

Slice the cabbage in half, remove and discard the core, slice the cabbage into chunks that can fit on your mandoline or into your food processor, and shred it all up. If you have any remaining odd shaped pieces, chop them into fine shreds with a knife.

2. Combine the shredded cabbage and remaining ingredients in a large bowl and toss well to coat everything with the salt and vinegar.

3. Place the slaw into a very large resealable plastic bag, at least 1 gallon or more. Press out all the air and tightly seal the bag.

4. From here you can either seal it into another bag, place on a shelf in the fridge, and place a heavy object on top. Or place the bag in a large bowl, place a few heavy cans or a big bag of rice on top of the slaw, and transfer to the refrigerator.

Chill for at least 1 hour or overnight; the longer the cabbage chills, the more tender and juicy it will become.

* To serve, life up a handful of slaw and gently shake off any excess juices.

Salsa Roja ( Latin Tomato Sauce )

Makes about 2 1/2 cups sauce

Time : 20 minutes

Ingredients

* 1 Tb olive or vegetable oil

* 3 cloves garlic, minced

* 1/4 pound yellow onion, diced small

* 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano

* 1/2 tsp ground cumin

* 1/4 cup vegetable broth, white wine, or water

* 1 ( 15 ounce ) can tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, or diced tomatoes

* 1 Tb lime juice

* 1/2 tsp salt

* Freshly ground pepper

Directions

1. In a medium size saucepan, combine the olive oil and garlic and heat over medium heat until the garlic starts to sizzle, about 30 seconds. Add the onion and fry for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion starts to turn golden and transparent.

2. Stir in the oregano and cumin and fry for another 30 seconds. Add the vegetable broth to deglaze the pan; simmer for 1 minute. Add the tomato sauce and simmer for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, and lime juice and remove from the heat.

3. If desired, puree the sauce with an immersion blender until smooth, or leave as is.