Roasted Walnuts Recipe (Vegan)

We like roasted, salted nuts for snacking on, like almonds and macadamias, however, I was unable to find roasted walnuts in any local store.  So I decided to make my own, using the technique I use for my Roasted Pumpkin Seeds Recipe.  These walnuts are incredibly tasty - the perfect balance of savory and sweet - and they are great for snacking on.

Roasted Walnuts Recipe

2 cups of shelled walnuts (one 8 oz bag)
1 tbsp + 1 tsp vegetable oil
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 275 degrees.  Add all of the ingredients to a medium mixing bowl and stir with a spoon until all of the walnuts are coated evenly.  Pour the nuts onto an ungreased, non-stick cookie sheet.  Put the nuts in the oven for 1 hour total roasting time, turning them every 15 minutes.  Use a spatula to turn them and lay them back out in a single layer before putting them back in the oven.  At the 1 hour mark, the nuts will be done.  Let them cool, store them in an airtight container in the pantry, and enjoy!

Homemade Croutons Recipe

I would love to find a package of croutons to buy in my local store that doesn't contain oils we can't eat, or corn products, or garlic, etc.  But unfortunately, I am out of luck with that, so I decided to make my own.  I buy a loaf of Swiss Peasant Bread every couple of weeks from Red Apple Market and keep it in the freezer, so I use this bread to make these crunchy, flavorful, delicious croutons. The trick to this recipe is the oven temperature and baking time, and the recipe just uses what you have on hand without any measurements, so feel free to experiment with different bread, spices, and oils you might like.  These croutons are great on Caesar Salads, as well as just to snack on.  This is how I make them:

Homemade Croutons Recipe

Olive oil
Salt
Dried rosemary spice

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Chop into small cubes as much rustic, day-old or semi-stale bread that you have on hand for this recipe.  Add them to a medium mixing bowl, then drizzle a little olive oil over the bread cubes.  Next add a sprinkling of salt and a sprinkling of dried rosemary spice.  Use your hands to mix the bread, oil, salt and rosemary together.  Add another drizzle of oil over the bread cubes if it looks like it might need it (don't overdo the oil), and use your hands to mix it together again.  Pour out the bread cubes in a single layer onto one or two cookie sheets sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.  Bake them in the oven for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.  Let them cool completely before storing them in an airtight container in the pantry.

Banana Muffin Recipe (Vegan)

Sam can eat bananas on a limited basis now, so I've started making my banana muffins again.  These muffins are egg-free, dairy-free, and are very moist and delicious.  They are great for breakfast, snack, or any time of day.

Banana Muffin Recipe

2 cups unbleached flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp nutmeg

2 extra ripe bananas
2/3 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla

Sugar in the Raw

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Mix dry ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl.  Peel the bananas and put them in a separate bowl.  Use a fork and mash them until they become a puree, as smooth as you can get (some small chunks are OK).  Add the wet ingredients and mix throroughly. Spray a muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray and pour the batter in. Top with a sprinkling of Sugar in the Raw. Bake for 20 minutes.  Makes 12+ muffins. 

If you want to make Banana Bread instead of muffins, pour the batter into a loaf pan sprayed with non-stick cooking spray, sprinkle on some Sugar in the Raw, and bake it at 375 degrees for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Let cool thoroughly before slicing. This bread and these muffins freeze well. 

Apple Muffin Recipe (Vegan)

Our little apple tree gave us quite the harvest of apples this year.  I peeled, cored, and sliced the apples and froze them into three-cup servings to make pies and muffins with.  You can use fresh or frozen apples or unsweetened applesauce in this recipe.  The muffins pictured above were made with my frozen apples.  These  muffins are so delicious and moist!  They are perfect for breakfast, a snack, or even dessert with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Apple Muffin Recipe

2 cups unbleached flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp nutmeg

1-1/2 cups of apple puree or unsweetened applesauce
2/3 cup water (if using applesauce, put in 1/2 cup water instead)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla

Sugar in the Raw

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

If using frozen apples, you'll need about 3 cups of frozen, peeled, apple slices.  Let them thaw out in the fridge, then add them to a food processor or blender and "Liquify" them into puree.  If using fresh apples, it will take about 4 to 6 apples to get the 1-1/2 cups of puree.  Peel the slices, then run the apple slices over a grater and grate the apples.  Then add the grated apples to a food processor or blender and "Liquify" them.  In the end, you want 1-1/2 cups of apple puree. 

Mix the dry ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl. Add the wet ingredients and mix thoroughly. Spray your muffin tins with non-stick cooking spray and pour the batter in. Top with a sprinkling of Sugar in the Raw. Bake for 20 minutes. Makes 16 muffins. 

If you want to make Apple Bread instead of muffins, pour the batter into a loaf pan sprayed with non-stick cooking spray, sprinkle on some Sugar in the Raw, and bake it at 375 degrees for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.  Let cool thoroughly before slicing.  This bread and these muffins freeze well. 

Pumpkin Bread Recipe (Vegan)

Fall always reminds me that I need to start baking with pumpkin again.  I created a fantastic pumpkin bread recipe a few years ago that is a favorite in our house, and somehow I neglected to publish it here until now.  This recipe doesn't use cinnamon, just allspice and nutmeg to spice it and bring out the great pumpkin flavor.  This bread is moist and delicious, and it is also egg-free, which means you can lick the batter from the spoon and mixing bowl (Sam's favorite thing to do).  Enjoy!

Pumpkin Bread Recipe

2 cups unbleached flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 can pumpkin puree (15 oz. can)
2/3 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Sugar in the Raw

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Mix dry ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl.  Add the wet ingredients and mix throroughly.  Spray a loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray and pour the batter in.  Top with a sprinkling of Sugar in the Raw.  Bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.  Let cool thoroughly before slicing.  Makes 1 loaf.

If you want to make muffins instead, bake the muffins for 20 minutes at 400 degrees.  Makes 16 muffins. This bread and these muffins freeze well.

 

Sunflower Butter Crispy Bars Recipe (Vegan)

Sam is sensitive to corn, so I can't make Rice Krispie Bars for her since the marshmallows are made from corn syrup. I've wondered how to get around this for a long time (years, actually) and recently I figured it out. I decided to try using agave sweetened Sunflower Seed Butter as the binder for the Rice Krispies. Sure enough, it worked! The bars set firm in the fridge, and when I cut them and take them out of the pan, they leave behind just a few crumbles. They are really good! And perfect for a child with a corn sensitivity or allergy.

Sunflower Butter Crispy Bars Recipe

1/3 cup Sunflower Seed Butter (MaraNatha brand - it's not sweetened)
1/4 cup light agave nectar
2 cups Rice Krispies cereal

In a medium pot over Medium Low heat, add the sunflower seed butter and agave nectar and stir it constantly, mixing thoroughly, for about 2 minutes (don't let it burn or boil). Turn off the heat and add the Rice Krispies cereal, gently mixing it all together. Pour it into an 8x8 square baking pan and use a spatula to press the mixture evenly into the pan. Put it in the refrigerator for 2 hours to set before cutting and serving. Store bars in the refrigerator or freezer (they freeze well).

Crunchy Rice Bars Recipe (Vegan)

With Sam's food sensitivities, it is impossible for me to find a packaged cereal bar to purchase. The two main problems are oats and/or evaporated cane juice present in almost all of the bars I've seen. So I decided to make my own cereal bars for Sam. I wanted something crunchy like a granola bar, using crunchy rice cereal as the base. I also didn't want it too sweet. The recipe I came up with is exactly what I've been looking for all of these years. The best part is that Sam loves them!

Crunchy Rice Bars Recipe

1-1/2 cups of Enjoy Life Foods Perky's Crunchy Rice Cereal
2 tbsp honey or agave nectar
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp water
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Generously spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray.

Heat the honey, sugar, water, oil, vanilla, and salt in a small saucepan over Medium Low heat until the sugar melts and it starts to boil.

Remove the pan from the heat, add the rice cereal, and mix thoroughly. Pour the mixture onto the cookie sheet and use a spatula to spread it out into a rectangular shape. Use the spatula to press the cereal together so there aren't any gaps. The end result should be a thin rectangle without any gaps between the cereal. Bake it for 30 minutes.

When it is done, remove the cookie sheet from the oven and invert it onto a cutting board lined with wax paper. If the cereal bar doesn't come off in one piece, that's OK, just use your spatula to scrape off all of the cereal from the cookie sheet onto the wax paper, then repress the cereal into a rectangular shape before it cools off. While it is still warm, cut it into squares or small rectangles with a knife. As it cools it will become more and more crunchy, so you will not get perfect shapes (it will break apart like peanut brittle).

You can store the Crunchy Rice Bars in an airtight container, or you can freeze them (they freeze really well!). To freeze them, lay out the Crunchy Rice Bars in a single layer on a piece of wax paper that would fit in a large freezer bag (or tupperware container). If you have more than will fit on one sheet, put another piece of wax paper over it and start another layer. Cover the top layer with a piece of wax paper, then slide it in the freezer bag, seal it, and lay it in your freezer so that the pieces don't overlap. The Crunchy Rice Bars don't lose their crunch being frozen, and can be eaten right out of the freezer without thawing.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds Recipe (Vegan)

I grew up eating my Mom's roasted pumpkin seeds every Fall after we carved our pumpkins. Her recipe was from our neighbor, Mrs. Hallam. It has Worcestershire sauce and butter in it, so I can't make these seeds for my family. I created this recipe so Sam could enjoy roasted pumpkin seeds every Fall, too. We just carved our pumpkins for Halloween yesterday, so we are all currently munching on roasted pumpkin seeds at the moment.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds Recipe

3 cups of clean, dry, raw, fresh pumpkin seeds
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp salt

Carve your Halloween pumpkins and separate out the pulp from the seeds. Rinse off the seeds to get all of the pulp off of them and lay them out in a single layer on a wax paper-lined cookie sheet or two to dry out over night, or for a few days if need be. When the seeds are dry, you can roast them.

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Measure out 3 cups of dry seeds. Add them to a mixing bowl along with the vegetable oil and the salt. Use a spoon to mix it all together.

Pour out the pumpkin seeds and lay them out in a single layer on an ungreased cookie sheet or sheets. Roast them for 1 hour total roasting time, taking them out every 15 minutes and using a spatula to turn all of the seeds and lay them out again in a single layer. At the 1 hour mark, your seeds will be darkened and crispy. Let them cool, store them in an air-tight container, and enjoy!

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For those of you who can do Worcestershire sauce and butter, here is Mrs. Hallam's original pumpkin seed recipe:

2 cups of clean, dry, raw, fresh pumpkin seeds
1 1/2 tbsp melted butter
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

(for 3 cups of seeds, use 2 1/4 tbsp melted butter, 1 3/4 tsp salt, and 3/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce)

Follow the roasting instructions above, and enjoy!  These are truly decadent.

Juice Finger Jello Recipe

Finger jello recipes using juice are very common and they all have pretty much the same ingredients and the same quantities. Finger jello is a regular part of Sam's snack diet. Grape is her favorite flavor, along with black cherry. This is the way I make it.

Juice Finger Jello Recipe

2 cups 100% fruit juice, divided
3 packets gelatine
2 tbsp light agave nectar -OR- sugar (or 3 if juice isn't very sweet on its own)

Pour 1/2 cup cold juice in an 8x8 square pan. Sprinkle gelatine evenly over it and let it sit for a few minutes to be absorbed by the juice. In a small pan, heat the remaining 1-1/2 cups juice and agave or sugar until it starts to boil. Add the hot juice to the pan and stir the mixture until the gelatine is completely melted and dissolved. Refrigerate for 2 hours, then cut into squares. Pick up a square and eat it with your fingers. Finger jello stores in the refrigerator.