Yield: 2 cups

Ingredients:

• 450 grams (2 & 1/2 cups) fresh or frozen peas
• 1 large sweet onion as Spanish or Vidalia, chopped
• 4-5 large cloves garlic, minced
• 3-4 tablespoons olive oil
• salt
• freshly cracked pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Cook the peas in boiling water or steam them.
2. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and sweat the onions and garlic until soft and glassy, but be careful to not over-cook as the garlic becomes bitter.
3. Drain the peas and place in a bowl.
4. Add the sautéed onions and garlic and puree to a smooth texture.
5. Add a very small pinch of salt and season to taste with cracked pepper.

Notes:

The flavor we enjoyed was quite garlicky yet sweet from the sauteed onion. This tasted delicious on whole grain bread but would also make a lovely dip for vegetables

Yield: 2 cups of dip

Ingredients:

• 2 Granny Smith apples
• 1/2 cup pickled little pearl onions
• 1/2 cup sweet sour pickles
• 1 tablespoon sweet syrup (agave, maple, elderberry flower)
• dash Tabasco
• small handful fresh parsley
• splash of olive oil
• splash lemon juice
• pinch salt
• vegetables of choice as dippers: sugar snap pea pods, fennel slices, celery, carrots, bell peppers etc.

Directions:

1. Place the pearl onions and pickles in a food processor and puree to a smooth mixture.
2. Peel the apples and chop in a size to add to the food processor, again puree.
3. Add the parsley, Tabasco, lemon juice salt and sweetener and process once more.
4. Season to taste.
5. Prepare the vegetables in bite size/dip size pieces.
6. Arrange on a platter as finger food, or individually in shot glasses as an appetizer or amuse bouche.

Savory Walnut and Herb Biscuits

Yield: 10-12 biscuits

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup white flour
• 3/4 teaspoon. salt
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 6 tablespoons margarine, cold
• 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
• 1 tablespoon tarragon, fresh, chopped
• 1 tablespoon marjoram, fresh, chopped
• 1 tablespoon chives, fresh, chopped
• 3/4 cup soy milk

Directions:

1. Combine the flours, salt and baking powder in a bowl.
2. Add the cold margarine, cut in pieces, rub he margarine in until the mixture has the texture of coarse sand.
3. Stir in the chopped walnuts and herbs, then add the soy milk and stir with a fork until the mixture just holds together.
4. Put the dough out on a lightly floured board and very gently knead it just a few turns, just until it can be rolled out.
5. The less you work the dough, the more tender the biscuits will be.
6. Roll the dough out 3/4″ thick, and cut out biscuits with a cutter.
7. Place the biscuits on a parchment covered baking sheet, and bake them at 425 F / 218 C for about 12 to 13 minutes, or until puffed and golden brown.
8. Makes about 10 to 12 biscuits.

Pistachio Eggplant Spread with Cajun Seasonings

This makes a very tasty eggplant spread that is a nice alternative for Baba Ganoush.

Yield: 1 – 1 & 1/2 cups

Ingredients:

• 1 eggplant
• 1/2 cup shelled pistachios
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon Cajun spices
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder

Directions:

1. Prick the skin of the eggplant all over with a fork.
2. Place the eggplant in an oven proof baking dish with a bit of oil, so that it does not stick.
3. Bake the eggplant at 350 F / 177 C until it becomes soft, about 20-40 minutes.
4. While the eggplant is baking, shell the pistachios.
5. When the eggplant has softened, remove from the oven.
6. When it can be handled without burning your fingers, remove the skin and place the pulp in a bowl.
7. Add the shelled pistachios and puree to a smooth mixture.
8. Add the lemon pepper, salt and garlic, onion and Cajun spices.
9. Season to taste with additional spices as desired.

Yield: 1 cup

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup vegan cream cheese like Tofutti’s ‘Better than Cream Cheese’
• 20 fresh cherries, pitted and chopped
• 1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
• 1 teaspoon sugar

Directions:

1. Bring the vegan cream cheese to room temperature.
2. Wash the cherries, cut in half and remove the pits and cut the rest into small pieces.
3. Do this over a small bowl to collect the chopped cherries and the juice while preparing.
4. Add the 1 teaspoon of sugar and stir the cherries well, this will help to draw more of the juice from the cherries.
5. Chop the walnuts.
6. Add the walnuts to the cherries.
7. Add the vegan cream cheese to the cherries and gently mix.
8. Season to taste. We enjoyed the flavor at this time, however if you wish it to be sweeter you can add agave syrup, maple or more sugar.
9. Also optional is cinnamon, but we did not want to overpower the blend of walnuts and cherries.

Ingredients:

• 1 sweet potato
• 1-2 splashes chili oil or Tabasco
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
• 1-2 teaspoon maple syrup
• very small pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Peel the sweet potato and slice in large pieces.
2. Place in a steam and steam until soft.
3. Puree the cooked sweet potato to a smooth consistency.
4. Add the seasonings.
5. Taste to season and season to taste. We did not want a salty flavor, we wanted a sweet spread, but with a slight kick of warmth both immediately on the tongue (from the chili or Tabasco) and a longer lasting warmth gotten from the ginger.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups green peas
• 3 Tbs. sesame oil
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts (or other nuts as pine, cashews pistachios etc.)
• 2 tsp. vegetable bouillon powder
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 Tbs. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. curry powder
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 2 tsp. grainy mustard
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne
• 1 French baguette
• 3 Tbs. fine olive oil
• 1/2 cup fresh pea tendrils (for garnish)
• pepper and salt to taste

Directions:

1. Cook the peas.
2. Drain the peas and allow them to cool slightly.
3. Put the peas in a food processor, blender or use a staff mixer.
4. Add the sesame oil, mustard, water, lemon juice and vegetable bouillon.
5. Add the walnut pieces and the rest of the seasonings and puree. If the mass is difficult to puree you can add some water.
6. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper. We find that it tastes great as it is, however often it depends on what vegetable bouillon you use.
7. Slice the baguette on the diagonal and brush each side with some olive oil.
8. Grill or toast the baguette slices.
9. Spread the pea spread on each piece.
10. Garnish with fresh pea tendrils.

Making Pea Bruschetta from Harald Walker on Vimeo.

Notes:

This is also a great dip for vegetables, and it also makes a very nice sauce over pasta when thinned out with some soy milk.

This was really delicious. Traditionally Welsh Rarebit is a cheddar sauce poured over toast. We came across this fantastic recipe from the very talented vegan cook Bryanna Clark Grogan Bryanna’s Cheddary Spread.
Only a couple things were changed to make our vegan version of Welsh rarebit. We used 2 heaping teaspoons of grainy mustard, 1 tablespoon of sesame oil, to bring out a more nutty flavor, a light dash of nutmeg. The rest of of the recipe was followed according to directions. We enjoyed this over wholewheat toast for a Sunday morning brunch.

Yield: 1/2 cup

Ingredients:

• 30 g. (3 Tbs.) sunflower seeds
• 45 ml. (3 Tbs.) lemon sunflower oil or other vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon generous horseradish
• 1 teaspoon agave or corn syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• pepper

Directions:

Combine everything in a food processor and process until smooth.
Your spread should have a white color.

Notes:

This is a variation of the original sunflower spread developed by Mihl of Seitan is my motor.

Ingredients:

• 1 large Italian bread
• 4-5 Tbs. fine olive oil

for the fava bruschetta

• 2 lbs. fresh fava beans
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 Tbs. fresh thyme
• 1/3 cup light vegetable oil, or fine olive oil
• dash cumin
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Shell the fava beans.
2. You need about 1 cup shelled beans.
3. Cook beans in 1 quart boiling water until just tender, about 3 to 5 minutes.
4. Drain beans.
5. Place beans immediately into a bowl of cold water.
6. Drain.
7. Peel outer skin of beans by loosening with tip of thumbnail or knife and slipping off.
8. Put shelled, peeled beans, garlic oil and thyme into bowl or food processor, and only slightly mash. Its not necessary to completely puree unless that is what you wish.
9. Add salt and pepper and a dash of cumin as desired.
10. Slice the Italian bread on the diagonal.
11. Brush each side with some fine olive oil and place on the grill for a few minutes to toast.
12. Serve the toasted slices with the fava beans spread and optional olive oil for dipping.

This is so good, easy to make and affordable when you make it yourself. The photo shows the chive version. Just chives added to the basic recipe found at:
Sunflower seed spread