STRAWBERRY MANGO CRISP

Being a Vegan doesn't have to mean boring desserts! Everyone loves apple crisp so here's a delicious twist on that. Strawberry mango crisp will be a huge hit with your family, at a barbecue or your Saturday girl's day luncheon!

FRUIT MIXTURE:

4 cups strawberries chopped into fours
2 cups diced up mango
4 Tbsp sugar
4 Tbsp flour

TOPPING:

1 cup of flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup or 1 stick margarine

First you're going to preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Mix the ingredients for the fruit mixture together in a large bowl. That would be the strawberries, mango, sugar and flour. Spread this evenly into a 2-quart casserole dish and set aside.

Next mix the ingredients for the topping together in a medium bowl. This is the flour, oats and sugar. Cut in the margarine until the mixture looks small little peas. spread this topping evenly over the fruit mixture.

Bake this whole thing for 35-45 minutes until it is bubbly. Serve warm with 'non-dairy' ice-cream! Yum!

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VEGAN PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE

Everyone loves pumpkin pie and cheesecake and unfortunately until this past holiday season I always had to opt out on dessert at my family's house. This past Thanksgiving though I stumbled upon this this delicious recipe so I offered to make dessert (first time for everything) and it was a huge hit. My mother actually asked me to make another one at Christmas!

Things you'll need are:

12 oz firm silken tofu, pureed
8 oz nondairy cream cheese (I use Tofutti brand)
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup granulated sugar
3 Tbsp flour
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 prepared graham cracker crust (be sure to check the ingredients and make sure there are no eggs, etc..usually easy to find ones at Wholefoods...you really didn't think I was going to make the crust too did you? lol)

First you need to preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

While your oven is warming up you need to puree all of the ingredients (except the pie crust of course). After you have this all pureed, pour the filling into the graham cracker crust (by the way you don't have to tell anyone you bought the crust) and bake this for 50 minutes.

Once this has baked, allow it to cool for 30 minutes, cover with plastic wrap or the top of the pie container and refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight before serving. It really needs to be cold to be extra delicious.

So, if you always get seriously gypped out of desert at the 'pumpkin' pie holidays, now you can offer to bring a dessert and you get to indulge just like everyone else!

In case you don't know or you already know and it just makes you smile to think about it, consuming a Vegan diet has many health benefits. It aids in disease prevention, has nutritional and physical benefits and of course most importantly, it spares the lives of beautiful innocent creatures that deserve to live, live freely, live happily and feel loved.

SAVORY VEGAN POT PIE

Think you can't have a delicious pot pie being a Vegan? Think again! Here's a delicious recipe for you to try.

4 cubes vegetable bouillon or faux chicken bouillon
2 1/2 cups hot or boiling water
1/2 cup nutritional east flakes (available at health food stores)
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup oil
1 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 15.5 oz can potatoes, diced
1 1/2 cups frozen or caned/drained mixed corn kernels, peas, and diced carrots
1/2 lb faux chicken, cut into tiny cubes (try Worthington food's chick-ketts)
1 box puff pastry sheets

First things first. Preheat the oven, of course to 400 degrees. Mix the vegetable or faux chicken bouillon with the hot water to make a stock. Set aside.

Next, combine the yeast and flour in a large pot and stir constantlly over low heat, until lightly toasted. Add the oil, stirring to make a roux. Slowly whisk in teh stock, the garlic salt, and teh pepper. Add the vegetables and faux chicken and cook this for 10 minutes.


After you have that mixture cooked you are going to roll out one sheet of puff pastry adn place in a 9 inch pie dish; trim to fit. Pour in teh filling and cover with teh other sheet, cutting adn crimping the edges and making several 1 inch slices on top. Bake for 20 minutes or until the pasty is golden and puffed. I dare you to tell that these are Vegan. They're delicious!

VEGAN SPINACH LASAGNA

Here is delicious, colorful and fun play on the traditional Lasagna dish that you and your guest will enjoy. It's much lighter than traditional lasagna and would be great to bring as a dish to 'pass' at a dinner.

1/2 lb of lasagna noodles
2 10oz packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 lb soft tofu
1 lb firm tofu
1 Tbsp sugar
1/4 cup soy milk
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 Tbsp lemon juice
3 tsp minced fresh basil
2 tsp salt
4 cups tomato sauce

First you are going to cook the lasagna noodles according to the package directions. Drain and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Squeeze the spinach as dry as possible and set aside.

Next you're going to place the tofu, sugar, soy milk garlic powder, lemon juice, basil and salt in the food processor or blender and blend until smooth. After that is smooth, stir in the spinach.

Cover the bottom of a 9" x 13" baking dish with a thin layer of tomato sauce, then a layer of noodles (use about 1/3 the noodles). Next, follow with half the tofu filling. Continue in the same order, using half of the remaining tomato sauce and noodles and all of the remaining tofu filling. End this with the remaining noodles, covered by the last of the tomato sauce. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes and enjoy!

ZITI WITH SUN-DRIED TOMATO CREAM

Here is a great Ziti with sun-dried tomato cream recipe. This is perfect for lunch or a light dinner and will be a home run to bring to a BBQ or your in-laws for a side dish with dinner.

1 lb ziti pasta
1 cup chopped oil-marinated sun-dried tomatoes
1 cup firm silken tofu, drained and crumbled
3 cloves garlic, chopped
4 Tbsp chopped fresh basil or
1 Tbsp dried basil
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 small can marinated artichokes, drained and chopped
2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley

First you need to cook the ziti al dente. While the ziti is cooking, grab your food processor. In the processor, combine the tomatoes, tofu, garlic, basil, vinegar, salt, pepper and olive oil. Process these until you have a smooth consistency. Drain the pasta and toss the pasta with the sauce and artichokes. Sprinkle the top with the parsley. Enjoy!

VEGAN FRENCH TOAST

A common misconception is that Vegans don't have much of a selection of things to eat for breakfast but that is far from the truth! You just need a few ideas! Here's a super easy delicious recipe for Vegan french toast!

12 oz package silken tofu
1/2 cup soy milk
2 Tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
4-6 slices of bread
Strawberries: sliced

First you're going to combine everything but the bread and strawberries in a blender. This would be the tofu, soy milk, cinnamon, salt and vegetable oil. blend until smooth. Pour mixture into a bowl and dip each slice of bread into it until coated. On a lightly oiled griddle, brown the battered bread on each side. Serve while it's hot and top with your sliced strawberries, nuts, and maple syrup. Yum!

VERY VERY EASY VEGAN TRUFFLES

So...here is a very very easy Vegan Truffle recipe that everyone will love whether they're Vegan or not. Vegan desserts don't have to be 'tough' to make, you just need to know what to make. This is a simple recipe that requires no 'bake' time and they're fun.

Servings: 5 dozen

1 1/2 cups Vegan chocolate chips
8 oz tofu cream cheese
3 cups Vegan powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
Garnishes: finely ground nuts, cocoa powder and toasted shredded coconut

First you are going to place the chocolate chips into the top of a double boiler. Put this over medium heat and melt. While this is melting, grab your food processor and place the Vegan cream cheese in it and process for 1 minute or until smooth and creamy. Add half of the powdered sugar and process around 30 seconds. Add the other half of the powdered sugar and blend well. Next you are going to take you melted chocolate chips and the vanilla in the processor and process until the chocolate is distributed through out the mixture evenly. Transfer this into a glass bowl, cover it and place in the fridge to chill for about an hour.

Here comes the fun part! After this has chilled for about an hour, using your hands, roll into 1 inch balls. Roll the balls in the garnishes so they're evenly covered. Store the in the fridge or the freezer and enjoy!