oil free vegan recipes

International vegan cuisine, Italian, oil free vegan recipes, Pasta, Plant Based, Sauces & Creams, Vegan

Vegan Stuffed Pasta Shells with Silken Tofu Ricotta

Posted on January. 2023January. 2023 by writinstuff

Happy 2023!!!

Show of hands, who loves pasta? The easy answer is just about everyone except one girl I’ve known since I was a kid!

One of the pasta dishes I haven’t thought about in a long time is stuffed pasta shells. Back in the day I used to love it, bursting with bubbly cheese and a thick tomato sauce–usually from a can–I couldn’t get enough of it. But then as the years went by, I kind of forgot about it for years and years and years.

Until recently (well not so recently but these suckers aren’t easy to find in Europe) when I found myself watching some non-vegan cooking show and what did I see? Stuffed pasta shells. I looked everywhere, at all the grocery stores in town, even online and there was nothing.

Then one day at Lidl, which does a fantastic job of bringing in specialty items from week to week, I saw a giant bag of pasta shells. Score!

I still had a box of silken tofu in the fridge for just this purpose so I knew what would happen, and SOON.

So, if you’re looking for a delicious and easy vegan twist on the classic stuffed pasta shells recipe, look no further! This recipe uses silken tofu as a substitute for ricotta cheese, and is filled with flavorful vegetables such as spinach, onion, tomatoes, garlic, and bell peppers. Plus, the addition of tomato paste adds a rich and savory depth to the filling.

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Bar Food, Dips, oil free vegan recipes, Plant Based, Snacks, Vegan

Easy Vegan Dip Recipe ~ Roasted Garlic & Artichoke Dip

Posted on December. 2022December. 2022 by writinstuff

When it’s time for a party, you have to have a dip. Or two or three, actually. Whether its salsa, a vegan yogurt dip, cheese dip or hummus, there’s no party without something creamy to dip your carrot sticks and broccoli tops into. Right?

The great thing about vegan party dips is…they aren’t just for parties. Recently we went to see Avatar 2: Way of the Water and we went after a long day spent amongst people. You don’t know this about me but I’m not much of a people person. Between the noise and germs and bodies, it just becomes a lot pretty quickly. So by the time the movie was over–really great, by the way–I was over it all. And it was late-ish, as in a few hours before dinner so I decided that instead of whipping up a big ole lunch, we should do a quick dip.

I bought a baguette and I knew we had cucumbers and tomatoes already for a quick side salad. So there it was, a quick and easy vegan dip made from scratch and oil free.

Dips are great. They are fun and there are so many different ways you can whip up a few, quickly and easily.

Today’s dip is easy and let’s the oven do most of the work.

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oil free vegan recipes, Plant Based, Sauces & Creams, Vegan

Quick & Easy Vegan Meals ~ Pesto Vegan Eggs

Posted on December. 2022December. 2022 by writinstuff

You ever have one of those weird thoughts about something you want to eat but the weirdness of it prevents you from having it? Something that sounds like it probably won’t take very good but you can’t get it out of your head?

For me that dish recently was pesto eggs.

Weird, right?

So weird.

Anyway I let the thought sit with me for a good week or so, ignoring it because I was sure it would end up gross and who wants to waste calories on a gross vegan meal? Not me.

But then I was at Lidl and there was a ton of fresh basil, and I don’t know about you but I am not one of those women who can walk past fresh basil without grabbing at least four packages.

I love having pesto on hand because it goes with so many different things. You can use it on sandwiches, salad dressing, pizza, subs, pasta or a bread topper. You can even use it as a sauce! There are so many options and when it’s fresh and green and garlicky it’s just mouthwateringly delicious.

So, let’s talk about this weird pesto eggs dish that I couldn’t shake free.

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oil free vegan recipes, Plant Based, Potatoes, Vegan, Vegan Food Products

New Vegan Food Find! – Vegan “Luncheon Meat” AKA Vegan Spam

Posted on December. 2022December. 2022 by writinstuff

I already know what you’re thinking because I was thinking the same thing. “Isn’t SPAM already vegan?”

Despite the fact that it looks like something run through a blender, that luncheon meat product as well as all the others contain animal parts. Still, when I saw this can of vegan weirdness beside the vegan tuna, I frowned. I mean regular luncheon meat is pretty gross and I thought so even when I had no choice but to eat it as a kid, yet I knew that I had to give it a try.

So I decided to try it. Okay, the truth is that my hubs loved this stuff when he first left Romania and ate it often and he put it in the cart–2 cans of it, in fact–and so I figured I’d have to share at least one recipe with you.

So…here we go.

I decided on something simple. My first option was burgers because I used to do that as a kid because there was so much fat on that luncheon meat that it crisped up nicely so you could slather it with ketchup and mustard and pretend it was a much better burger.

But there was a problem; this vegan luncheon meat wasn’t quite as malleable as it’s more famous non-vegan cousin. It was next to impossible to mash up with a fork so I knew that wasn’t going to work. Instead I had to grab a knife and chop it up and that’s when it hit me, Vegan Corned Beef Hash.

Of course this wasn’t even vegan corned beef but it was close enough and I paired it with vegan mashed potatoes and peas to give it that old school Americana recipe appeal.

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Casseroles, Cheese, oil free vegan recipes, one pot recipes, Vegan

Cheesy Vegan Cauliflower & Potato Casserole

Posted on November. 2022November. 2022 by writinstuff

One pot recipes. They are a staple in most households because they’re easy and–often–contain vegan cheese, but that’s not always the case.

One pot vegan meals are wonderful if you’re a busy vegan like me, consumed with a ghostwriting career, publishing romance novels and sharing yummy vegan recipes with the world. And when the weather gets chilly and sunlight fades too soon, sometimes you just want a vegan meal that is quick and easy, and doesn’t require using all the dishes in the kitchen.

Am I right?

This particular vegan dinner recipe is similar to casseroles I’ve eaten most of my life as a born & bred girl of the Midwest. Take a bunch of veggies, add potatoes and cheese and you have yourself a casserole! It brings back wonderful memories of a time when calories and nutrition meant very little to me and all that mattered was the ooey-gooey dish baking in the oven…and eating two helpings. At least.

These days it’s more of a convenience and a way to indulge in a mostly guilt-free way. Feel me?

Anyway this vegan dinner recipe is pretty simple, had limited ingredients and is so delicious everyone will swear you slaved in the kitchen for hours.

Fingers crossed.

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Noodles, oil free vegan recipes, Plant Based, Soup, Vegan

Easy Vegan Soups ~ Turnip Greens & Veggie Noodle Soup

Posted on October. 2022October. 2022 by writinstuff

It’s that time of year again when every home cook, recipe blogger and pretty much everyone else you know is touting their favorite soup recipe. Right?

If you’re sick of it, I’m sorry, because I am now that cook, that blogger and even that friend. It’s soup season y’all and you know that means I have another vegan soup recipe for you today.

Why?

Because soup is good for your body and your mind. The right soup (ahem, a vegan soup) is packed with colorful vegetables that are rich in necessary vitamins and minerals. Deficient on a particular nutrients? Add a handful of a particular vegetable to the pot. And you don’t have to get fancy about it, start with your basics: onion, garlic and celery. Build from there.

This recipe came about because I had a couple handfuls of turnip greens, three small turnips and I really wanted a hot bowl of soup. So instead of making regular turnip greens, (check out my other greens recipes here, here and here), I decided to drop them into a soup. With noodles, because of course with noodles.

So, let’s gather our kitchen tools, our vegetables and make some vegan autumn soup.

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Bowls, Grains, International vegan cuisine, oil free vegan recipes, Vegan

Easy Vegan Soul Food ~ Kohlrabi Greens & Smoked Tofu Dinner

Posted on October. 2022October. 2022 by writinstuff

I don’t know about you guys but I grew up on soul food. Delicious, fill up your heart–and arteries–soul food.

After years of enjoying a vegan lifestyle, I still have a slight longing for soul food on occasion. But the thing I want with my vegan soul food is fewer calories and more heart healthy choices but with the essence of my granny’s soul food.

Here in Romania the soul food choices are…not the same and that’s okay. I don’t need it to be exactly the same but one of the things I crave often, especially during the fall & winter months is greens. If I were at home in the US then it would be collard or mustard greens, but alas those are not options here so I have to get creative.

One way I do this is with turnip greens but a quick trip to the supermarket recently gave me another creative option. Kohlrabi greens.

Yeah, that kohlrabi. I was browsing the grocery store and found a bin of kohlrabi but there was twice as many leaves as there were vegetables so I moved to the side adn did what any good vegan would, I Googled ‘can you eat kohlrabi greens’ and found a quick and easy answer.

Yes, you can eat them. You can cook them the way you cook pretty much any dark leafy greens from spinach to kale to collard greens.

SCORE!!

I grabbed a few hundred grams that had been discarded by other shoppers, stuffed them into my mesh produce bag and happily paid pennies for them at checkout.

Now, let’s see what I did to turn kohlrabi greens into a delicious vegan soul food dinner!

Smoked kohlrabi greens, smoked tofu & couscous

This is a quick and easy vegan soul food dinner that’s sure to please any crowd!

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Asian Food, Bowls, International vegan cuisine, Noodles, oil free vegan recipes, Salads, Sides, Vegan

Vegan Banana Blossom “Meat” & Hong Kong Style Noodles w/ Crunchy Vegan Side Salad

Posted on October. 2022October. 2022 by writinstuff

Yep, here we are again back in my vegan kitchen with noodles on the menu. I know what you’re thinking, does this chick eat anything other than noodles? The answer is yes, I do eat plenty of other grains but Asian cuisine is my favorite and I love to experiment with it.

And I love to eat noodles.

It’s somewhat of a comfort food for me in that it is the perfect backup when I’m testing out a new recipe because noodles make everything better. If I screw it up, at least we’re having noodles, right?

So there are noodles but there are also banana blossoms. Don’t judge because I know what you’re thinking, here we go with another of those specialty ingredients that are impossible for normal vegans to find. I would have said the same thing, except I was just browsing the Asian section of Kaufland and happened up these canned banana blossoms in water. Of course I grabbed them, because all these vegan chefs have been making everything out of it from vegan fish to vegan chicken and I was curious to try it out.

But deep frying? Not for me, please and thank you. I decided to keep it simple and go with a sauteed version that does still serve as a vegan meat alternative, but subtly so.

And this dish is the end result.

Delicious vegan noodles with banana blossoms

This vegan dish is easy to make and it feels as if it takes a lot more time than it does, which means its a great way to impress vegans and non-vegans alike!

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Asian Food, International vegan cuisine, Noodles, oil free vegan recipes, one pot recipes, Plant Based, Soup, Vegan

Vegan Hot & Sour Soup Recipe

Posted on October. 2022October. 2022 by writinstuff

With fall upon us and autumn weather barreling in like she owns the place, our house become a soup kitchen, quite literally. Just this month alone, we’ve probably had soup about 7 out of 10 days because yeah, we love soup that much.

But cooking–and eating–so much soup means you have to keep it fresh or else someone (by someone, I mean me) will start complaining about having repeat dishes. That means scouring vegan blogs, recipes that can be veganized, making fusion soup recipes and tweaking old favorites. It can become a lot if you let it.

I refused to let it because soup is just a warm cold weather salad, right?

All right, maybe that’s a poor comparison but they are both low in calories, high in nutrients and full of vegetables, which is basically a bowl full of goodness.

I don’t always post a lot of vegan soup recipes because the photos hardly ever (cough, cough, never) turn out great. But soup, at least my soup recipes, would be perfectly categorized in my ugly but delicious category.

Anyway this vegan soup recipe isn’t my own, it’s from Will Yeung who had some really great Asian style vegan recipes. I follow him on YouTube and this Hot & Sour Soup recipe has become a favorite since he posted it.

The list of ingredients, at first glance, may seem overwhelming but once it’s all chopped up, I promise you it’s easy peasy…ish.

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Casseroles, Cheese, International vegan cuisine, oil free vegan recipes, one pot recipes, Pasta, Plant Based, Sauces & Creams, Vegan

Hot & Spicy Vegan Mac and Cheese Recipe

Posted on September. 2022September. 2022 by writinstuff

My husband loves mac & cheese. I mean he REALLY loves it and if I wouldn’t turn my nose up at it, he would request it at least once a week. Calories and fat and inflammation be damned.

Not that I mind (don’t tell him that) because vegan mac & cheese is delicious, especially this version that doesn’t actually include any cheese at all, not even vegan cheese. This is basically a thick and creamy vegan bechamel sauce with turmeric for color, tons of nutritional yeast, herbs & spices for a big ol’ pop of flavor.

The best part of all is that this vegan mac & cheese recipe is hot and spicy, and super easy to make!

If you’re not a big fan of spicy foods, I would recommend that you either take out ALL the seeds of the chili peppers or omit them altogether because I also added hot sauce to the bechamel because I am a crazy person who LOVES spicy stuff.