Yummy Dishes

Every year for all Thanksgiving and Christmas Holiday family gatherings, I bring the cranberries.  I first made them soon after I got married, and people have been requesting them ever since.  Here is the easy, yet time consuming recipe.

Ingredients

• 2 (12 oz) bags of fresh cranberries
• 2 cups orange juice
• 1 1/2 cup raw or beet sugar
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 (10 oz) jar of orange marmalade (I like Smucker’s Simply Fruit)
• 2 TBSP fresh grated ginger root

Dump everything into a large dutch oven, stir, and cover.  (Make sure you cover it, once those cranberries start popping they can make a really big mess!)  Bring mixture up to a boil, but don’t walk away, they can boil over pretty quickly and make a huge sticky mess.  As soon as the mixture reaches a boil, immediately lower the heat to a simmer to avoid boiling over.

Continue simmering, and once the cranberries are done popping, remove the lid. Simmer for 45 minutes to one hour, stirring frequently, until the cranberries break down.  Mashing the popped cranberries against the side of the pot with the back of a spoon helps, or you can even stir the mixture with a potato masher if you want to.

You can be done at this point, that’s the way I like them.  But, if you like your cranberries more smooth instead of chunky, you can stick an immersion blender in there and blend away until they look the way you want.

Pour hot mixture into an 8×8 glass container, or something else of a similar size that won’t melt when you pour the molten lava like mixture into it.  Let cool to room temperature and then chill for several hours or overnight before serving.

Variations:

1. Use ginger marmalade instead of the orange marmalade, or use half orange marmalade and half ginger marmalade.  I even found a ginger-orange marmalade once that was imported from England, and it worked great!  Omit the fresh grated ginger if using this variation.

2. Don’t like oranges?  Use apples!  Throw some apple butter in the mix instead of the marmalade and use apple juice instead of the orange juice.  You can also add 1/2 cup of rasins if you want to, they go great with the apples and cranberries!

Looking for a yummy Valentine’s Dessert?  Something that is not made entirely of chocolate?  Try some deep fried bananas!  They are really yummy, and kind of remind me of a doughnut.  They are great right out of the frying pan, or topped with chocolate, carmel, or even cinnamon, vegan powdered sugar and/or cocoa powder.

Ingredients

• 4 ripe (but not mushy) bananas, peeled and cut into 1 inch thick pieces
• 1 cup plain soy milk mixed with 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup plain flour, minus 2 TBSP
• 2 TBSP rice flour
• 1/4 cup grated coconut
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt

Directions

• Preheat oil over medium heat until hot
• Combine all ingredients except for bananas and mix well.
• Dip each banana piece into batter, and then fry in heated oil until golden brown on both sides.
• Garnish as desired and eat!

NOTE: These are best served fresh, but will keep for up to 1 day in the fridge if needed.  To reheat, just pop into a 350 degree oven for about 5-10 minutes until heated through.

Valentine’s Day is on a Monday this year, so I did my Valentine’s Breakfast today instead.  I made the crepes recipe from Dr. Neal Barnard’s Get Healthy Go Vegan cookbook.  It is a really easy crepes recipe, and super yummy!  He stuffs his crepes with mushrooms, but I filled mine with either plain peanut butter or Justin’s Chocolate Almond Nut Butter and sliced bananas then I dusted them with vegan powdered sugar and/or cocoa powder.  I served them with a side of plain soy yogurt with sliced bananas and some granola.  Yummy!

My local grocery store finally started carrying Daiya Shredded Cheese!  The first time I tried it was at a local pizza restaurant that actually has vegan cheese on the menu, and they use Daiya cheese.  I really liked the pizza I had there, and so I was really excited to see the same cheese that they used in my local supermarket.  It’s great for pizza, of course, but it’s also great for quesadillas, grilled cheese sandwiches, casseroles, and sprinkled on some chili.  Have you tried it?  If not, run out and get some, or order some online.  It really does melt, and it tastes good too!  Here is a picture of the package, as well as photos of daiya used in a quesadilla (with tomatoes and green chilies), and as a noodle casserole topping.

After all the big holiday meals, it’s nice to just relax and have a big bowl of soup.  This is a really easy soup to throw together, even if you’re not in the mood to cook.

Ingredients

• 1 (16 ounce) can Refried Beans
• 1 (16 ounce) jar of your favorite salsa
• 1 (15 ounce) can Black Beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can Corn, drained
• 1 (32 ounce) box Vegetable Broth
• 1/2 tsp Cumin
• 1/2 tsp Chili Powder

Directions

• Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan or stock pot and bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Serve with crushed tortilla chips.
• Optional:  Garnished with diced avocado, shredded vegan cheese, vegan sour cream, guacamole, and/or sliced green onions.