Vegan Goldfish Crackers

In some toddler circles, Goldfish Crackers are one of the four major food groups. Now vegan kids and those with dairy allergies can enjoy them, too! Nutritional yeast and spices add a cheesy taste without the cheese.

But how can we make the crackers orange without cheddar? Well, how about using the same thing real cheese crackers use: natural annatto food coloring. Annatto seed extract is used to color cheese and many other foods; of course, you can use any orange food coloring you wish or leave out the coloring for crackers that are white but just as tasty.

Before you begin, you'll need to purchase a tiny fish cookie cutter like this one.

makes several dozen

2 ¾ cups white flour
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ cup canola oil, chilled in the freezer for at least 30 minutes
½ cup ice water
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Orange food coloring, as desired
Olive oil cooking spray
Fine sea salt, to taste

Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and spray with nonstick spray.

Combine the flour, nutritional yeast, baking soda, salt, paprika, cayenne, and onion powder in a medium mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Drizzle in the cold canola oil and toss with your fingers until the oil is incorporated and the flour has formed small to medium-sized clumps. Add orange food coloring to the flour mixture, if desired.

Mix the ice water and apple cider vinegar together and drizzle it over the flour, stirring with your fingers until the dough holds together.

Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead a few times, adding a bit more water if needed to form a cohesive dough. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out thinly, about 1/8-inch thick.

Cut out fish shapes using a small cookie cutter. If you would like to make happy fishies, use the curved tip of a spoon to give them a smile and a toothpick to give them an eye.

Place the fish on the baking sheets, spray with olive oil and sprinkle with fine sea salt.

Bake for 10 minutes, or until lightly golden on the bottom. Slide the parchment paper covered with fish onto a wire rack to cool.

Continue rolling, cutting, and baking little fish until you just can't take it anymore.

Creamy Shallot Dijon Dressing

This is the perfect dressing for a vegan bacon spinach salad: toss it with baby spinach leaves, fresh sliced mushrooms, and crisp bites of smoky marinated tempeh, like Fakin' Bacon.

makes about ½ cup

1 tablespoon shallot, minced
1/3 cup Vegenaise
1 ½ tablespoons red wine vinegar
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
Lots of freshly ground black pepper

Combine the shallot, Vegenaise, red wine vinegar, and Dijon mustard in a small bowl and whisk until well blended. Add lots of freshly ground black pepper, to taste.

Oranges with Raspberry Sauce and Ginger

This is a nice way to add excitement to oranges in the middle of winter, when most other fruits are out of season. The pickled ginger adds just the right touch of zing.

serves 4

6 large oranges
One 10-ounce package frozen raspberries, thawed
Sugar, to taste (optional)
Finely sliced pickled ginger (I use Ginger People Grated Ginger)

Peel and segment the oranges and remove all the membrane (I cheat on this and cut my oranges in half, then score and scoop them out just like a grapefruit). Do this over a medium bowl, collecting all the extra juice and putting the orange segments into the bowl.

Use a strainer to get all the extra orange juice out of the bowl of oranges and place it in a Vita-Mix or other blender along with the raspberries. Blend until smooth. Taste and add a little sugar if desired.

To serve, divide the orange segments into dessert bowls and top with a generous amount of pickled ginger. Serve with raspberry sauce.

Vegan Fudge

Oooh, this fudge is creamy, rich, smooth and sweet. Basically, it's everything you ever dreamed chocolate fudge could be. And no one will believe that there's no dairy, butter, or evaporated milk in here.

It can be a bit soft, though, especially if you add the optional marshmallow fluff, so keep it well refrigerated.

makes one 9-inch x 9-inch pan

4 cups powdered sugar
½ cup cocoa powder
½ cup nondairy milk
2 tablespoons nonhydrogenated margarine
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
½ cup vegan chocolate chips
1 cup cut up vegan marshmallows or ½ cup Ricemellow Creme (optional but sooo good)
½ cup chopped nuts

Spray a 9-inch x 9-inch baking pan well with nonstick spray and set aside. (For holiday gift giving I used seven well-sprayed foil baking cups.)

Sift the powdered sugar and cocoa powder together into a large mixing bowl, add the chocolate chips, and set aside.

In a small saucepan, heat the nondairy milk and margarine to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly to avoid burning. When the milk is at a steady, strong boil, pour it over the powdered sugar mixture and stir well with a wooden spoon until everything is well combined and the heat has melted the chocolate chips.

Stir in the vanilla, then fold in the marshmallows or Ricemellow Creme and the nuts.

Spread the fudge out into the prepared pan(s) and refrigerate for a day or more to solidify.

Variations: One inspired cook used soy nog for the nondairy milk with great results.

Christmas Limas with Chestnuts and Brussels Sprouts

A lovely celebration dish for the holidays, filled with sweet chestnuts and hearty Christmas Lima Beans. Christmas Limas are also called Chestnut Limas, because they have the nutty flavor and potato-ey texture of a chestnut. They are lovely, large beans with white and burgundy swirls that you can still see after the beans are cooked.

These Brussels sprouts are finely shredded and almost disappear into the dish -- a nice way to be sneaky with them if you or your family don't normally like them.

serves 6

1 cup dried Christmas Lima Beans
2 tablespoons olive oil
8 fresh Brussels sprouts, cleaned, ends removed, and leaves finely shredded
One 7 oz. package vacuum packed chestnuts or 20 fresh chestnuts, roasted and peeled
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Soak the lima beans overnight in water to cover. Drain, rinse, and place in a medium saucepan with fresh water to cover. Bring to a boil and reduce heat; simmer until the beans are tender, about 40 minutes to 1 hour. Drain, reserving some of the bean broth.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the shredded Brussels sprouts leaves and cook, stirring, until the greens are tender and beginning to turn golden, about 2 minutes. Add the beans, chestnuts, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, and a ½ cup of bean broth. Stir together and simmer until the liquid has cooked away and everything is heated through. Season with salt and pepper to taste.