This is the best pumpkin pie I have ever eaten.  (Never mind that it’s the only pumpkin pie I can remember eating.  Everyone else likes it too.)

Recipe is from Gluten-Free Goddess and can be found here.  I have made the pie several times.  In the last go-round I subbed corn starch for tapioca starch, two flax “eggs” instead of Ener-G egg replacer, and 3/4 cup white sugar + 2 tbsp molasses instead of brown sugar.  For the milk, I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk.

Roasted pumpkin seeds are delicious, easy snack food.  If you haven’t tried them yet, do it.  All you need to know:

  • Rinse the pumpkin guts off your seeds
  • Optional: spray with vegetable oil and/or sprinkle with your choice of seasoning.  Anything goes, from cayenne pepper and cumin to cinnamon and sugar.
  • Spread out on a baking sheet
  • Bake at 325*F for around 25 minutes

Let them cool off and then try not to eat an entire pumpkin’s worth of seeds in one sitting.  It’s a challenge!

Puppies and Bananas

The only animals I eat!  Gluten-free bread made with this mix from Schar.

Brown Rice and Vegetables Cook up some whole-grain brown rice.  When it’s around halfway done, mix in the following items: Shredded carrots Chopped bell pepper Chopped sweet onion Finely minced garlic A teaspoon of vegetable margarine A few dashes of ground cumin Salt to taste As the rice finishes cooking stir frequently.  It develops a slight creamy texture.  Served on a bed of lettuce, this makes a great meal!
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Brown Rice and Vegetables

Cook up some whole-grain brown rice.  When it’s around halfway done, mix in the following items:

  • Shredded carrots
  • Chopped bell pepper
  • Chopped sweet onion
  • Finely minced garlic
  • A teaspoon of vegetable margarine
  • A few dashes of ground cumin
  • Salt to taste

As the rice finishes cooking stir frequently.  It develops a slight creamy texture.  Served on a bed of lettuce, this makes a great meal!

Vegan Cookies, for Your Dog and You Using peanut butter and oats as a base, these are extremely easy and highly customizable.  Just play around and have fun experimenting! But first you should familiarize yourself with what foods are toxic to dogs, and this page from the ASPCA is a good place to start.  When choosing your peanut butter try to get something with little to no added salt and sugar, and use plain 100% rolled oats. Here are the ingredients and rough measurements.  I use normal eating spoons for this, not measuring spoons. One prepared flaxseed “egg” Five heaping spoonfuls rolled oats Five spoonfuls peanut butter Sticking in a few other ingredients is a great way to give added nutrition, taste and moisture.  The PB&Oats only cookies can be a little dry, which dogs don’t seem to mind, but people do!  Adding in apples, grated or in sauce form, has been a great solution.  Add-ins to consider are grated fruits and vegetables (apples, carrots) apple sauce, or mashed sweet potato. Mix everything well.  You should be able to press your dough into shapes and have it hold together.  Add in little bits more of oatmeal and/or peanut butter until you find the consistency satisfactory.  If you’ve used add-ins you will need more than the initial five spoonfuls of peanut butter and oats and you may need a tablespoon or so of flour — I like using a tablespoon of sorghum flour when I make these with applesauce. You may now press out the dough and cut it with cookie cutters, or just make small flat shapes by hand.  Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and bake at 350* for 20-25 minutes.  Transfer cookies to a cooling rack immediately for best results.
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Vegan Cookies, for Your Dog and You

Using peanut butter and oats as a base, these are extremely easy and highly customizable.  Just play around and have fun experimenting! But first you should familiarize yourself with what foods are toxic to dogs, and this page from the ASPCA is a good place to start.  When choosing your peanut butter try to get something with little to no added salt and sugar, and use plain 100% rolled oats.

Here are the ingredients and rough measurements.  I use normal eating spoons for this, not measuring spoons.

  • One prepared flaxseed “egg”
  • Five heaping spoonfuls rolled oats
  • Five spoonfuls peanut butter

Sticking in a few other ingredients is a great way to give added nutrition, taste and moisture.  The PB&Oats only cookies can be a little dry, which dogs don’t seem to mind, but people do!  Adding in apples, grated or in sauce form, has been a great solution.  Add-ins to consider are grated fruits and vegetables (apples, carrots) apple sauce, or mashed sweet potato.

Mix everything well.  You should be able to press your dough into shapes and have it hold together.  Add in little bits more of oatmeal and/or peanut butter until you find the consistency satisfactory.  If you’ve used add-ins you will need more than the initial five spoonfuls of peanut butter and oats and you may need a tablespoon or so of flour — I like using a tablespoon of sorghum flour when I make these with applesauce.

You may now press out the dough and cut it with cookie cutters, or just make small flat shapes by hand.  Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and bake at 350* for 20-25 minutes.  Transfer cookies to a cooling rack immediately for best results.

Easy Kale Salad Steamed and de-stemmed kale, drizzled with balsamic vinegar and sprinkled with salt and nutritional yeast.  Possibly the best salad I have ever eaten.
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Easy Kale Salad

Steamed and de-stemmed kale, drizzled with balsamic vinegar and sprinkled with salt and nutritional yeast.  Possibly the best salad I have ever eaten.

Lazy Man’s Pickles Buy refrigerated pickles from store. Eat storebought pickles. Keep container full of brine in fridge because you’re putting off emptying it and dealing with the pickle smell invading your kitchen. Get cucumbers in produce box next week. Slice cucumbers and put them in storebought brine for a few days. Eat and enjoy your cucumbers that were pickled in recycled brine!
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Lazy Man’s Pickles

  • Buy refrigerated pickles from store.
  • Eat storebought pickles.
  • Keep container full of brine in fridge because you’re putting off emptying it and dealing with the pickle smell invading your kitchen.
  • Get cucumbers in produce box next week.
  • Slice cucumbers and put them in storebought brine for a few days.
  • Eat and enjoy your cucumbers that were pickled in recycled brine!
Tofu Scramble I used the following ingredients.  Taste-test as you go along, adding a little bit of seasoning at a time until you’re satisfied. Two blocks of firm tofu, well pressed (this is the brand I use) Soy sauce or substitute (such as Bragg’s Liquid Aminos) One handful chopped onion Four finely chopped garlic cloves Turmeric powder Cumin powder Dried cilantro Black pepper I put approximately three tablespoons of soy sauce diluted with approximately 1/4 cup water in a pan over medium heat, along with a couple teaspoons or so of the spices.  It cooked for around six minutes, during which I stirred frequently and added more seasoning and tasted frequently.  I added a little more water and soy sauce after around three minutes when it had soaked up the original liquid. When the tofu was done I quickly cooked some bok choy in soy sauce until it was tender and put it on the side with raw carrots.  Yum!  The tofu scramble keeps well in the refrigerator for a few days and can be eaten cold.
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Tofu Scramble

I used the following ingredients.  Taste-test as you go along, adding a little bit of seasoning at a time until you’re satisfied.

  • Two blocks of firm tofu, well pressed (this is the brand I use)
  • Soy sauce or substitute (such as Bragg’s Liquid Aminos)
  • One handful chopped onion
  • Four finely chopped garlic cloves
  • Turmeric powder
  • Cumin powder
  • Dried cilantro
  • Black pepper

I put approximately three tablespoons of soy sauce diluted with approximately 1/4 cup water in a pan over medium heat, along with a couple teaspoons or so of the spices.  It cooked for around six minutes, during which I stirred frequently and added more seasoning and tasted frequently.  I added a little more water and soy sauce after around three minutes when it had soaked up the original liquid.

When the tofu was done I quickly cooked some bok choy in soy sauce until it was tender and put it on the side with raw carrots.  Yum!  The tofu scramble keeps well in the refrigerator for a few days and can be eaten cold.

Cheezy Almond Spread/Dip The hardest part of making your plant milks at home is coming up with different ways to use the leftover pulp, am I right?  The pulp from my last almond milk batch was turned into a dip inspired by the ever-popular cashew cheeze dip. It’s a versatile recipe so throw in whatever herbs and spices you like.  I used the following: Pulp from two cups of almonds A tablespoon or so of water Two tablespoons of nutritional yeast powder Roughly a teaspoon of cumin Two garlic cloves Salt to taste Since I had been making almond milk, I already had the food processor out and just used it.  Had I pulsed the mixture longer or used a different blending apparatus I might have achieved a smoother texture, more like the cashew-based dips I’ve made, but this was good enough for me.  In retrospect a bit of oil or margarine might have helped too.  Experimentation!  That’s what keeps this fun.
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Cheezy Almond Spread/Dip

The hardest part of making your plant milks at home is coming up with different ways to use the leftover pulp, am I right?  The pulp from my last almond milk batch was turned into a dip inspired by the ever-popular cashew cheeze dip.

It’s a versatile recipe so throw in whatever herbs and spices you like.  I used the following:

  • Pulp from two cups of almonds
  • A tablespoon or so of water
  • Two tablespoons of nutritional yeast powder
  • Roughly a teaspoon of cumin
  • Two garlic cloves
  • Salt to taste

Since I had been making almond milk, I already had the food processor out and just used it.  Had I pulsed the mixture longer or used a different blending apparatus I might have achieved a smoother texture, more like the cashew-based dips I’ve made, but this was good enough for me.  In retrospect a bit of oil or margarine might have helped too.  Experimentation!  That’s what keeps this fun.

Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup For roughly eight servings, I used the following: Three cups of baby carrots One smallish sweet potato Six-ish cups of water Two tablespoons rice vinegar Approximately 1/4 cup chopped onion Two chopped garlic cloves (could have used more)  A teaspoon-ish of ground cumin Salt and pepper to taste I boiled the carrots until soft, which took around fifteen minutes.  While that’s going, I baked the sweet potato in the microwave, peeled it, and cut it into large chunks. When the carrots were tender I removed the pot from heat, added in the remaining ingredients and pureed it all with an immersion blender and everything was pretty smooth and well-combined.  After that all that was left was seasoning it to taste and eating!
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Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup

For roughly eight servings, I used the following:

  • Three cups of baby carrots
  • One smallish sweet potato
  • Six-ish cups of water
  • Two tablespoons rice vinegar
  • Approximately 1/4 cup chopped onion
  • Two chopped garlic cloves (could have used more)
  •  A teaspoon-ish of ground cumin
  • Salt and pepper to taste

I boiled the carrots until soft, which took around fifteen minutes.  While that’s going, I baked the sweet potato in the microwave, peeled it, and cut it into large chunks.

When the carrots were tender I removed the pot from heat, added in the remaining ingredients and pureed it all with an immersion blender and everything was pretty smooth and well-combined.  After that all that was left was seasoning it to taste and eating!