Chocolate Coconut Drops

My favourite dessert of all time is the classic chocolate coconut cookies my mom always made.  I love them.  For years I tried to figure out how she made these.  I finally figured it out a year ago.  When I became a vegan, I vowed to make them dairy-free.  I succeeded!  Here is my favourite recipe of all time:

INGREDIENTS

- 1/2 cup Earth Balance Natural Buttery Spread (vegan margarine)
- 2 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup Unsweetened Almond Breeze Original (almond milk)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 cups quick oats
- 6 Tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

INSTRUCTIONS

On medium heat in a large stock pot, melt the margarine.  Add the sugar and almond milk.  Bring the mixture to a gentle boil.  Turn off the heat and add in the rest of the ingredients.  Stir together thoroughly.  On a large sheet of wax paper or parchment, spoon out the mixture.  (I usually just use an ice cream scoop to portion them out evenly.)

Let them set for 30 minutes or so.  I find they are best if let alone for about an hour.

Enjoy!

Yummy Strippers

I've been experimenting with several recipes lately to make them vegan.  While I do that, thought I'd share another product find that is rocking my world.  A friend recommended PC Blue Menu The World's Best Meatless Breaded Chicken Strips to me.  I bought them at my local grocery store and fell in love.  They are soo good.  I eat them all by themselves, without a sauce.  They are yummy.  Hard to tell they are vegan.

Nice to find something this good that you pop in the oven with some frozen fries for a quick easy meal.

Lasagne Marinara with Spinach

I tried this recipe from page 196 of Veganomicon.  I made the entire recipe, including the cashew ricotta, almesan (vegan parmesan), and pine nut cream.  Damn, this was good.  Very rich.  Next time I would make this lasagne without the pine nut cream to help reduce the richness.  But a definite winner.  Amazing how a food processor, tofu, nuts, and herbs can put dairy to s-h-a-m-e.  Great flavour, great texture, and very filling.  I served it up with garlic bread and salad.