Here is another in our series of holiday recipes. We’re not even pretending these are healthy so don’t eat too many!

Caramel Popcorn Balls

Ingredients:

1/4 cup vegan butter or coconut oil
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 cup vegan marshmallows, cut up, if they are the big ones
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoon corn syrup
5 quarts popped popcorn – that is a rounded half cup with our air popper

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat except the popcorn, and stir until all is melted, and it is just beginning to boil. Pour over popcorn and stir with a wooden spoon. Wait until the mixture is just cool enough to handle, and with greased hands form into balls.

Warning: the mixture will be hot and sticky so be careful!

Today’s recipe is the first in a series of recipes that we think would be great to serve for the upcoming fall and winter holidays.

Not all of us are lucky enough to have extended families who are vegan or who are even tolerant of our compassionate way of living. We hope some of these recipes may help to keep the peace or even get cousin Tom or your sister to start thinking of making changes.

All recipes in this series have been omnivore tested and enjoyed by vegans, too.

– Linda Nelson

Italian Warming Chowder

Ingredients:

1 can diced tomatoes
1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 pound zucchini, thinly sliced
2 onions, thinly sliced or chopped
1 1/2 cups white wine (check barnivore.com for vegan choices)
1/4 cup vegan butter
2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
2 teaspoons minced garlic, or to taste
1 teaspoon dried basil
several grinds of black pepper
1 bay leaf
1 cup soy creamer or coconut milk

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Combine the ingredients from tomatoes to bay leaf in a 4 quart baking dish. Cover the dish tightly, and bake for 1 hour, stirring once or twice. Blend in the creamer or coconut milk, remove the bay leaf, and serve.

Add a green salad and some crusty bread for a simple Halloween meal, or include this on your Thanksliving table.

This is my go-to casserole for brunches and breakfasts. It is fast and easy to make, and the leftovers may be better than when it is hot from the oven.

– Linda Nelson

Grits Casserole

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cup soy milk or other non-dairy milk
1 3/4 cup vegetable broth
salt to taste (I leave it out since the sausage has enough salt for our taste)
1 cup quick cooking grits
1 cup vegan bacon or sausage (I always use Field Roast Italian sausage that I’ve browned in a wok before adding)
1 cup corn (I use the Trader Joe’s roasted corn, and I always add more!)
3 tablespoons vegan butter
1 cup vegan cheezy shreds (I use Daiya)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350, and grease a 9×13 baking pan.

Heat the non dairy milk and the vegetable broth together until they boil. Add the grits, and turn the heat down to low. Cook and stir until the grits begin to firm up, though don’t allow them to get stiff.

Stir in the vegan butter, vegan cheese shreds, and vegan sausage or bacon, and mix until all is incorporated.

Scrape all into baking pan and bake 45 minutes or until it is puffed and golden.

This is adapted from Robin Robertson’s 1,000 Vegan Recipes.

I’m posting this recipe for Free Chickens Soup in tribute to our Amandine, Clementine, Hikaru, Orion, Jason, Jewel, Joy, Phoenix, Phoebe, Beatrice, Coriander, Hypatia, Nutmeg, Harumi, Kotori, Tolstoy, Da vinci, Trudy, Annabel, Bibi, Autumn, and our never to be forgotten Guinevere, and to all chickens everywhere who suffer and die for someone’s cup of soup or omelet.

Chicken free soup is better for us and best for the chickens.

– Linda Nelson

Free Chickens Soup

Ingredients:

4 cups vegetable stock
2 cups thinly sliced, chicken-style seitan
2 stalks celery, sliced
1/2 cup diced carrots
1/4 cup diced onions
2 teaspoons ground sage
2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 bay leaves
1 cup linguine, broken into small pieces, or any other kind of pasta. I like to use small shells

Directions:

Combine the vegetable stock, seitan, celery, carrots, onions, sage, thyme, and bay leaves in a slow cooker on low for 6 to 8 hours. About 30 minutes (time depends on what kind of pasta you choose) before serving, add the linguine to the slow cooker and stir well. Turn the cooker on high and cook until the noodles are tender. Remove the bay leaves before serving.

This recipe for Pumpkin Dip is for those times when you crave Pumpkin Cheesecake or pie, but you just don’t want the mess or the time in the kitchen.

It is ready in minutes, and there are so many ways to enjoy it Try it with vegan graham crackers or cookies, apple slices, or on pumpkin pancakes. My favorite way to eat it is to stir a big dollop of it into my morning oatmeal with a few toasted pecans.

– Linda Nelson

Pumpkin Dip

Ingredients:

1 can pumpkin puree (do not use pumpkin pie mix.)
1 container vegan cream cheese
sweetener of your choice in the quantity of your choice (I’ve used brown sugar, powdered sugar, and maple syrup at different times. Please remember that if you use, a liquid sweetener, your dip will be considerably thinner. Start with 1/4 cup, taste, and go from there. I don’t like this very sweet, but you may want it sweeter. Taste as you go to find what you like best.)
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon cinnamon (feel free to add more or less of the spices)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Stir it all together, or whir it in a food processor until it is smooth. Chill, or not, and get your pumpkin fix!

Wouldn’t it be nice to enjoy a cup of tea or coffee and a wedge of shortbread sometime soon?

This recipe is really quite easy and the variations are endless.

– Linda Nelson

Vegan Rosewater Shortbread

1 cup vegan butter (you can find our simplified version on our website)
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons rosewater (the original recipe called for 1
teaspoon vanilla extract and 1 1/2 teaspoons rosewater, but I thought that was too subtle)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cornstarch
sugar for sprinkling

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly grease a 10 inch shallow tart pan with a removable bottom. I use my own shortbread pan.
2. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer or use a stand mixer. Beat the mixture for about 5 minutes, scraping down the sides often. Stir in the extract and rosewater.
3. Sift the flour and cornstarch together. Add half of this to the beaten butter mixture. Initially, mix it in with a rubber spatula so the flour doesn’t fly out of the bowl. Use your mixer to beat it in until mostly combined, and then add the rest. Keep mixing until all of the flour mixture is incorporated and the dough is crumbly, soft, and moist.
4. Place the dough in the prepared pan and distribute evenly. I use my fingers to firmly press the dough down so that the dough holds together. Make sure to press the dough into the fluted edges of the tart pan, of using, and if you’re using a pan like mine, make sure to press hard so as to assure the pretty designs.
5. Use a fork to gently poke into the dough at even intervals, sinking tines in about halfway. Place the tart pan on a baking sheet in the center of the oven rack and bake 30 to 32 minutes until the shortbread is slightly puffed and the edges are starting to turn pale gold. Remove the pan from the oven and set it on a wooden cutting board. Sprinkle with sugar and let cool for 15 minutes.
6. Use a thin, sharp knife to slice the warm shortbread into twelve wedges. Place the entire pan on a wire rack and allow it to cool at least another 30 minutes before removing the wedges from the pan. Store completely cooled shortbread in an airtight container. If you have a pan like mine, the last steps of scoring with a fork, and cutting into wedges is unnecessary. The shortbread just pops out and the little rectangles can then be cut easily.

This shortbread is a great cookie for sending through the mail to friends and family.

Adapted from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar.

We can’t get enough of fall around here. And what better way to celebrate the season than by combining two of its most essential staples: hot cocoa and pumpkin pie? This spicy scone has just a hint of chocolate, so if you’re a real chocoholic, you might consider adding some extra chocolate chips, or replacing the brown sugar dusting with some chocolate shavings.

– Rosemary Van Kleeck

Marbled Hot Cocoa & Pumpkin Spice Scones
[Makes 8 scones.]

Ingredients:

1/2 cup soy milk
1 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
3 cups flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons brown sugar for sprinkling
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
2 tablespoons maple syrup granules (optional; can also use maple extract, adding at the same time as vanilla)
1/2 cup coconut oil
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
6 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/4 cup hot water

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Lightly grease a scone pan or a baking sheet for drop scones. Measure out the soy milk in a large measuring cup and add the vinegar to it. Whisk and set aside to curdle. After the milk has curdled, add pumpkin and stir well.

Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, white sugar, spices, and maple granules. Add the coconut oil in small clumps, then use your fingers or a pastry cutter to cut it into the flour until the dough texture becomes pebble-like. Create a well in the center and add the soy milk mixture, oil, and vanilla. Mix with a wooden spoon until about half of the flour is incorporated. Mix again until all the ingredients are just moistened, taking care not to overmix. A couple of dry-looking spots are fine. Remove 1/3 of the batter and set aside.

Mix cocoa powder with hot water, stirring well until there are no clumps. Add to set-aside batter, stirring until fully mixed.

Add the hot cocoa batter back to the original batter. Swirl lightly with a knife to achieve marble pattern.

Distribute batter evenly in scone pan, or scoop ~1/4 cup portions onto a baking sheet for drop scones. Dust the tops of the scones lightly with brown sugar, then bake for 18-22 minutes, until the tops are lightly browned and firm. Transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool for at least ten minutes before removing from pan.