Main Dishes

Scalloped Potatoes

Spread potatoes evenly in a casserole dish. Blend cashews with half of the water till smooth, then add the rest of the water and seasonings and blend well. Pour over the potatoes, cover with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour at 375 degrees F. Remove foil and sprinkle with paprika, return to oven uncovered just long enough to brown.

Curried Potatoes and Garbanzos

Sauté onion and garlic in coconut milk, add cumin. Mix curry powder with 4 T of cold water and add to mixture. Cook until thick. Add potatoes and stir until coated with curry. Add boiling water and cook until potatoes are almost tender. Add drained garbanzo’s and cook until water boils down and mixture is tender and thick. Add salt to taste. Serve with rice.

Best Oat Burgers

Heat ½ c water in pan, add onion and cook till tender. Add water and seasonings and bring to a boil. Stir in oats and nuts and turn off heat. Allow to cool about 5 minutes. Form into burgers on lightly oiled cookie sheet, using a round ¼-cup measure or ice cream scoop to make uniform patties, dipping the measuring cup in water after each burger to keep it from sticking. With wet fingers or back of measuring cup, flatten burgers. Bake at 300 degrees F for 30 minutes, flip and bake 10 more minutes. Good in sandwiches or with gravy. May also make them into balls for “meatballs” and add them to spaghetti sauce. Variation: For Breakfast Sausage, add 1½ t. sage.

Creamy Pasta Sauce

In blender, combine cashews and water, blend till smooth. Add remaining ingredients and blend well. Adjust seasonings as to your liking. Add water or soy milk as needed until desired thickness is reached (Sauce will thicken as it cooks). Cook in saucepan on medium heat till bubbly. Toss with whole grain pasta and serve.

Cashew Gravy

Blend cashews and sesame seeds in 1 c of water until smooth, then add remaining ingredients and blend again. Pour into saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir constantly until thickened. This is good on mashed potatoes or loaf or burgers.

Almond Rice Loaf

Blend garbanzo’s and ½ c water until smooth. Add remaining water, nuts and sunflower seeds and blend until fine. Add onion and blend slightly. Pour into mixing bowl. Add remaining ingredients and stir well. Let stand for a few minutes. Press into sprayed loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees F for 45-60 minutes. Let cool. Turn out and slice if desired. Serve with gravy or tomato relish (see following recipes). May also make into patties, this will shorten baking time. This is a very versatile recipe. You can use soaked soybeans instead of garbanzo’s, or any other bean. You can also used cooked beans. Different beans will change the flavor slightly, but they will all be good. You can vary the amounts or types of nuts and seeds. You can use breadcrumbs instead of rice. vary the seasonings to suit your taste.

Garbanzo a la King

Sauté onion, celery and pepper in 2 T water. In blender, combine all but the last 4 ingredients and blend till smooth. Add blender mixture to pan and add garbanzo’s, carrots, & peas. Bring to a boil and simmer 10 min to thicken. Adjust salt and seasonings to taste. Add slivered almonds if using). Serve on brown rice. Variation: Also good on whole grain pasta, toast, or over a baked potato.

Garbanzo Oat Patties

Blend all but nuts and oats until smooth. Add walnuts and blend for 10 seconds (if you are already using walnut pieces or chopped walnuts, omit this step). Pour into mixing bowl and add oats. Let set for a few minutes to absorb moisture then drop by ¼ c measure onto lightly sprayed baking sheet. Press out with spoon or bottom of cup until desired size is reached. Bake at <%=Html.Temperature_Farenheit(350) %> for 20 minutes, then turn over and bake another 10-15 minutes. Serve with gravy, use in sandwiches, or break up and use as chicken for a “chicken salad.” This is just a basic recipe that you can be very creative with! You can use soaked channa or soaked soybeans, and you can use any nut you like. You could also add sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, or flax. If you have some leftover cooked rice, you can mix some of that in there, too! Change the seasonings to suit your taste, as long as you keep them healthy!

Easy Cashew Gravy

Blend all ingredients with 1 cup water until smooth, then add 2 more cups of water and blend again. Pour into sauce pan. Rinse blender with remaining 1 cup of water and add to pan. Cook until bubbly and thickened, stirring constantly. This is just a basic gravy recipe. If you have a healthy substitute beef or chicken seasoning, you can add some to enhance the flavor. You can use less nuts and add a cooked whole grain to decrease the fat content. You can use raw onion or garlic instead of the powders, as well. If you want it darker, try browning some flour in the skillet and using it to thicken the gravy with instead of corn starch. Adjust the seasonings to your liking. Just play with it until it suits you.

Tomato Relish

Sauté onion in lemon juice, add water as needed until onion is clear and soft. Add dates and seasonings and mix, add a little water if needed to soften dates. Add crushed tomatoes and simmer 10-15 minutes. Serve with Almond Rice Loaf. You may also use diced tomatoes or fresh tomatoes chopped small if a chunkier relish is desired.

Almost Alfredo Sauce

Blend all ingredients with only half of the water until mixture is smooth and creamy. Then add the remainder of the water. (If you reserve some of the water, you can rinse the blender with it after you pour the sauce out and it won’t be wasted.) Pour sauce into a pan and bring to a boil. Simmer, stirring frequently until thickened. Be careful in the coconut milk you use. I have found that there is sometimes great disparity in how they taste. You want one that has a good, sweet taste and is not the least bit strong or bitter flavored. Make sure you taste a little before you pour it in, or it could ruin your sauce. If you have a good, sweet coconut milk, then you probably can do without the added honey. You could add other seasonings or herbs if you like, but I like it just the way it is! This is my favorite Alfredo recipe and it is the easiest! It also makes a delicious cream over peas or carrots.

Tropical Carrots

Sauté onion in lemon juice, add water as needed until onion is clear and soft. Add dates and seasonings and mix, add a little water if needed to soften dates. Add crushed tomatoes and simmer 10-15 minutes. Serve with Almond Rice Loaf. You may also use diced tomatoes or fresh tomatoes chopped small if a chunkier relish is desired.

Holiday Dressing Roll

Blend all ingredients until smooth then pour into medium bowl. Add 3 ½-4 cups Vital Wheat Gluten Knead just until mixed thoroughly, gluten should be soft and pliable but not sticking to your hands. Roll out the gluten into a rectangle about 11×17 inches between 2 pieces of plastic wrap to about ⅓-½ inches thick. *This is a salt free seasoning containing garlic, celery, onion, thyme, and cumin

Bread Dressing

Place bread cubes in large mixing bowl, add seasonings and mix well. Cook onions and celery in 1 cup of the water on the stove or in the microwave for 2-4 minutes. Place cashews and remaining cup of water in the blender and blend until smooth. Add onions and celery to blender and pulse 15 seconds. (You may omit this step if you like having the larger pieces in your dressing.) Add blender mixture to bread cubes and stir till bread is evenly moistened. Add more water if bread is still dry. Dump dressing onto rolled out gluten and press down evenly out to all the edges. Roll up and place on baking sheet with seam side down. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees F for 1-1 ½ hours. Cut into ¾-1 inch slices and serve with gravy.