Avocado Sunflower Seed Pesto

Avocado Sunflower Seed Pasta! Recipe on the Vegan Outreach blog.

By Toni Okamoto

Avocado Sunflower Seed Pesto is inexpensive to make and really quick to throw together for dinner. It’s incredibly creamy and the combination of fresh basil, garlic, and lemon is the perfect flavor explosion!

It’s also easy to make gluten-free simply by choosing a GF-friendly pasta.

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb package of Spaghetti
  • 2 ripe avocados
  • 1/2 cup fresh basil
  • 1 cup unsalted sunflower seeds
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 2 tbs lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • salt, to taste
  • 1/4 cup nutritional yeast (optional)
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

Directions:

  • Cook the spaghetti using package directions.
  • In a blender or food processor, add avocados, basil, sunflower seeds, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and nutritional yeast and blend on high speed until smooth and creamy.
  • Mix the pasta and the pesto evenly.
  • Serve with cherry tomatoes to garnish.

Pumpkin Ginger Ice Cream

World's Largest Vegan Banana Split! Read about it on the Vegan Outreach blog!

By Lisa Rimmert, Donor Relations Manager

If you’re already vegan, or you’ve been following our blog, you’re probably well aware that most – if not all – animal foods can be made vegan and taste great, including the most decadent dishes like ice creams and other desserts. That’s the point one instructor and his Culinary Nutrition students set out to prove when they created a 1,251 lb vegan banana split. Yes, you read that correctly.

Last week in Denver – where I live – I attended a community event at Johnson & Wales University at which Chef Sacks and seven students unveiled what they hoped would be the world’s heaviest vegan banana split, and that’s exactly what it was.

World's Largest Vegan Banana Split! Read about it on the Vegan Outreach blog!

The enormous dessert consisted of more than 700 lbs of ice cream (made from a base of beans), over 200 lbs of bananas, and a variety of toppings like cherries, coconut and soy based whipped cream, cookies, nuts, and more. Ice cream flavors included pumpkin ginger, jalepeño corn, shoo-fly pie, and black bean molé.

The reason for making the banana split vegan, said Chef Sacks, was to “share with the rest of world that vegan cuisine is limited only by one’s imagination.” He added, “It is not a sensory sacrifice! It is a truly exceptional way to appreciate our food.”

The event was a project of the University’s vegetarian cuisine course, in which students learn to prepare nutritionally balanced vegetarian dishes. They also explore the importance of why people choose vegetarian diets. The banana split took five and a half weeks to create.

Despite below freezing temperatures, the unveiling and final weigh-in brought dozens of community members, each of whom had the chance to add a cherry as the “finishing touch” before the banana split was weighed. It has been submitted for entry in Guinness World Records.

World's Largest Vegan Banana Split! Read about it on the Vegan Outreach blog!

Chef Sacks said he considers the event a success. I have to agree. It was pretty thrilling to see so many people eating and enjoying vegan food. Chef Sacks said, “I really loved watching all the younger kids gorge themselves on bean-filled ice-cream. If they only really knew!”

Johnson and Wales University made available one of the recipes, and we’ve shared it below. Enjoy!

RECIPE: Pumpkin Ginger Vegan Ice Cream
Number of servings: 10

Ingredients:

  • Cannellini beans (canned) 5.25 oz.
  • Soy or rice milk 16 fluid oz.
  • Pureed pumpkin 5.25 oz.
  • Evaporated cane juice powder (raw sugar) 3.75 oz.
  • Ground cardamom 1 teaspoon
  • Ground ginger powder 2 teaspoon
  • Vanilla extract 1 tablespoon

Directions:

  1. Rinse beans and simmer for 4 minutes.
  2. Drain and rinse again.
  3. Combine all ingredients in blender, blend until smooth.
  4. Process in ice cream maker and freeze.

Allergy info: contains soy if using soy milk.

Video: 4 Ingredient Chocolate Pie

By Toni Okamoto

This chocolate pie is one of the easiest I’ve ever made! There are only four ingredients, and all of them can easily be found at your local neighborhood grocery store. For the crust, I bought one that’s pre-made from Keebler. It was only two bucks!

If you don’t want to use the Keebler crust, I have purchased vegan cookies and crumbled them to make my own easy crust.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

  • 12 oz bag of non-dairy semisweet chocolate chips
  • One 14 oz package soft silken tofu, drained
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 vegan graham cracker crust

Directions

  1. Melt chocolate chips in the microwave for 45 seconds (or until melted) and mix until smooth.
  2. Put tofu in a blender and blend until creamy.
  3. Add melted chocolate and vanilla to tofu, mix thoroughly.
  4. Add tofu chocolate mixture to the pie crust and place in freezer for about an hour and a half.

Video: Elvis Sandwich

(click image to watch video)

By Josie Moody, Office Manager

Elvis Presley was known for some of his unusual tastes–and that includes food! In memory of The King’s passing* 38 years ago this week, we take one of his most famous, favorite snacks and make it vegan. Even if you don’t consider yourself a cook, you can whip up this treat in about the time it takes to listen to three of Elvis’ greatest hits!

*At least that’s what they’d have us believe!

For more weekly videos, please subscribe to our YouTube channel!

Recipe:

Ingredients:

  • 2 slices of your favorite bread
  • Vegan Butter
  • 1 ripe banana
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons of peanut butter
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons of Vegan Honee (or Agave Nectar)
  • Vegan Bacon (optional)
Instructions:
  • Spread vegan butter on one side of each slice of bread.
  • Mash up banana in bowl and put to side.
  • Spread peanut butter on non-buttered side of one piece of bread.
  • Spread Vegan Honee on non-buttered side of second piece of bread.
  • Take mashed bananas and put on top of the Vegan Honee.
  • Set aside and follow instructions on cooking vegan bacon.
  • After bacon is cooked, put on top of peanut butter on bread, and then put the two pieces of bread with all the ingredients together to make a sandwich.
  • Transfer to non-stick pan and cook on low to medium heat until golden brown, then flip with spatula.
  • After both sides are browned, transfer to plate, slice in half and enjoy!

 

Chocolate Covered Fruit Sticks

A healthy dessert! Find recipe at VeganOutreachBlog.com

By Toni Okamoto

If you’re looking for a perfect summer dessert, this is it! It’s fresh, healthy, and doesn’t require an oven! I brought this particular batch to a potluck and it was a huge hit, too. Make yours today and share your photos with us on Instagram by adding the hashtag #VeganOutreach!

Ingredients:

  • 1 pineapple, cut into chunks
  • 1 basket of strawberries, remove stems
  • 1 bunch of bananas, cut into chunks
  • 1 10 oz bag of vegan chocolate chips
  • lollipop or popsicle sticks
  • Parchment paper
  • chopped nuts, optional

Directions:

  • Add three pieces of washed and cut fruit to lollipop or popsicle sticks.
  • Place the chocolate chips on a plate and microwave for one minute, and mix until smooth and creamy. If there are still lumps, heat for another 20 seconds.
  • Dip one side of the fruit stick into the melted chocolate and place on parchment paper.
  • If using nuts, dip the chocolate fruit into your nuts before placing on parchment paper.

*Tip: Chocolate will harden faster if the fruit has been refrigerated or chilled.

Video: Guacamole

By Toni Okamoto

My favorite thing about guacamole is that it is so versatile! You can make it really creamy, full of garlic, or with extra lime juice for a more sour taste. This is my favorite way of making it and it is always a huge hit! Sometimes I also throw in a quarter of a diced red onion, and that is amazing too! We’d love to know in the comments below how you make yours.

Make sure to also watch the Guacamole video above, and subscribe to our YouTube channel for more videos like this one!

Ingredients:

  • 3 avocados
  • juice of half a lime, or to taste
  • 2 tsp olive oil
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tbsp freshly chopped cilantro
  • 1/2 roma tomato, chopped
  • salt and pepper

Directions:

Cut avocados in half, scoop into a bowl and mash until desired consistency.

Add lime juice and oil to the avocados, and blend with garlic, cumin, cilantro, and tomato, then season with salt and pepper to taste.

 

Veggie-Packed Potato Leek Soup

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By Toni Okamoto

I love soup season! You can pretty much throw whatever veggies you have into this soup and puree them. This recipe makes a HUGE batch, so if you don’t want a lot, feel free to cut it in half. I like to freeze the extra servings.

Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • yellow onion, diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 carrots, thinly sliced
  • 3 celery stalks, sliced
  • 1 large zucchini, chopped
  • 3 leeks, chopped
  • 6 medium potatoes, chopped
  • 8 cups veggie broth
  • juice of one lemon
  • pepper, to taste
  • sriracha, to taste (optional)

Directions:

Put a large pot on medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Add the zucchini, carrots, celery, onions, garlic, and leeks and stir.

When veggies are sautéed, add broth, potatoes, lemon juice, siracha and pepper. Turn heat to medium-low and let sit until veggies are soft, about 30 minutes.

To thicken the soup, use an immersion blender to puree — I recommend doing 2/3 of the pot. You can also use a regular blender if that’s what you have.

Serve hot and enjoy!

7 Layer Bean Dip

Vegan 7-Layer Bean Dip Recipe by Vegan Outreach!

By Toni Okamoto

With Cinco de Mayo today, I wanted to make something that was familiar and festive, but also really easy to make. 7-layer bean dips were a staple potluck item for my family when I was growing up, and it was surprisingly easy to make it completely vegan! With products like Beyond Meat beef-free feisty crumbles and Tofutti sour cream, it tasted exactly the way I remembered!

At the office we used the dip as a filling for burritos, and they were delicious!

Ingredients:

Directions:

In a medium pan, cook Beyond Meat beef-free feisty crumbles according to package directions.

Prepare rice according to Mexican Rice recipe.

In an 8-×-8 square baking pan or dish, begin layering with the can of refried beans spread evenly, followed by beef-free crumbles, Mexican rice, mashed avocados, salsa, vegan sour cream, and garnishes (green onions, tomatoes, and olives).

Presto Pesto and Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

Reviewed by Toni Okamoto

Complete with familiar and easy-to-follow recipes, Mistress Ginger brings fun into the kitchen with her hilarious book, Mistress Ginger Cooks!. Her lighthearted approach to vegan cooking is welcoming and approachable, which makes attempting a new style of cooking less daunting.

My favorite thing about the book (besides her personality) is that Mistress Ginger doesn’t assume the reader knows basic cooking skills. Although, some of the recipes are more complex, she walks you through them step by step and in detail. She also caters to both health conscious groups, as well as those seeking comfort foods, with tasty recipes including: French-Kissed Toast, Blueberry Stud Muffins, Tofu Gone Wild, Miso Sexy Soup, and many others with equally creative names.

I chose to review Tie-The-Knot Chocolate-Peanut Butter Pie and Presto Pesto. Both were extremely delicious and copied straight from her book, you can see my notes below:

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Unfortunately I couldn’t get a good enough photo of this pie, but it was seriously amazing! I recommend following the recipe as written, but if you’re impatient like me, you can have the pie “chill” in the freezer to expedite the process. Also, I only used 2/3 cup of sugar instead of the 1 cup of sugar and it was still sweet enough.

Another note: the second time I made the pie, I made it gluten free by lining a pie dish with gluten free ginger snap cookies instead of using a prepared graham cracker crust. It was delicious!

Tie-The-Knot Chocolate-Peanut Butter Pie

1 cup nondairy cream cheese, softened
1 cup unsalted smooth peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 can full fat coconut milk, chilled for 6-8 hours
1 prepared vegan graham cracker crust
1/3 cup nondairy milk
2/3 nondairy semisweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons vegan buttery spread, softened

Dearly beloved, we have gathered here to make a pie. Using an electric mixer, blend the nondairy cream cheese, peanut butter, sugar and vanilla extract in a large bowl until well combined. Rinse and dry the beaters.

Remove the coconut milk from the fridge, but do not shake the can. (When chilled, the cream from coconut milk rises to the top.) Gently turn the can upside down and carefully remove the lid. Pour the watery liquid into a storage container and reserve for other purposes. Scoop the coconut cream from the can and put it in a large bowl. Using the electric mixer, beat the coconut cream on high until fluffy, about 5 minutes.

Fold 1 cup of the coconut cream into the peanut butter mixture. Using the electric mixer, blend on low speed until smooth. Scoop the mixture into the pie crust, smooth the top with a rubber spatula, and chill for at least 2 hours.

Heat the nondairy milk in a small saucepan over medium heat just until it begins to steam and bubble. Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate chips until melted. Add the vegan buttery spread and heat over low heat, stirring until smooth. (This chocolate sauce is not only delicious on peanut butter pie. Try spreading it on you lover … but wait until it cools).

Pour the chocolate sauce evenly over the peanut butter filling. Smooth the top with a rubber spatula and chill for at least  hours so the chocolate topping becomes firm.

Store loosely covered with plastic wrap in the refrigerator and use within 1 week.

Consider extending marriage rights to other foods in your pantry. Why should peanut butter and chocolate be the only ones allowed to wed? Lets spread the love, broaden the spectrum of flavorful pairings, and brighten our plates with glittering diversity. Amen, sister friend!

pesto

As you can see from the photo below, the Vegan Outreach staff LOVED this dish! Josie and Jack ended up thumb wrestling for the last serving, and you can see from the picture who won the battle. Josie loved it so much that she couldn’t even wait to serve the pasta in a bowl — she ate it straight out of the giant pot.

The only thing I changed about the recipe was adding nutritional yeast. It’s totally a personal preference, but I enjoy a little cheesy-tasting kick to my pesto. I added 1/8 cup and it was perfect!

Presto Pesto

2 cups stemmed fresh basil, firmly packed
1/2 cups walnuts
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice, plus more as needed
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more as needed
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper

Combine the basil, walnuts, garlic, lemon juice. salt, and thyme in a food processor. Pulse until just mixed and still chunky. Stop as needed to scrape down the work bowl with rubber spatula.

Process the mixture while adding the oil in a steady stream. Stop processing as needed to scrape down work bowl. Continue processing until completely mixed but still a little chunky. Pesto should be mostly smooth with just the right amount of stubbly texture, like my men.

Season with additional lemon juice, salt, and pepper to taste. The flavor of the pesto by itself should be very bold, also like my men. Wow, I never realized how much my men and pesto have in common. That must explain why I cannot get enough of either.

photo 2 (3)

Sunflower Seed Pesto

Interview by Toni Okamoto 

Today we meet Renee Press of Fire and Earth Kitchen.  As you can see in this interview, she is really knowledgeable about different aspects of food and food preparation, and has the sweetest way of explaining so it is easy to understand.

We’re thankful that Renee took the time to chat with Vegan Outreach about the questions commonly asked about veganism. Check out her answers below, and if you have the chance, try that tasty Sunflower Seed Pesto. I have made batches of the pesto and froze it in individual servings — it’s amazing! So much cheaper than using walnuts or pine nuts, too.
Fire and Earth Kitchen

What chain restaurant do you recommend if you’re traveling or in a hurry? Hmm, probably Chipotle. If Veggie Grill is around, I’d go there for sure.

Is it expensive to be vegan? It can be as expensive to be vegan as being an omnivore, it depends what you buy and where you shop. Buying in bulk (if available) saves a lot of money, as does buying fresh produce and certain staples, rather than pre-packaged meals. Shop around for the best deals and make a grocery list of what you’d like to buy that week.

Is it possible to be vegan if I live with family members who are not vegan? Yes, you just need to plan. Think ahead to make dishes that would appeal to everyone (veggie lasagna, rice and beans, curries, stir fries) meals that can easily be enjoyed veg.

Is it boring to cook only vegan foods? Learning to cook with plants has been the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done. You hear time and time again, “The day I went vegan, the doors of culinary experimentation were opened to me” And it’s true, vegan cooking is one of the most versatile, healthy, and delicious ways to cook. You just need to ignite that spark by giving it a try.

What easy recipe do you have to share with Vegan Outreach supporters who are interested in learning to cook veg foods?

This Sunflower Seed Pesto  is spectacular on pasta, veggies, pizza, toast. The light nuttiness of the sunflower seeds mixes with the punch of the fresh garlic, and the bright taste of basil wonderfully and really captures the essence of summer. The photo shows it mixed with gluten-free spaghetti and a mound of fresh vegetables. But it’s so tasty, anything goes. Double this recipe if you like it!

Sunflower Seed Pesto on the Vegan Outreach Blog

Ingredients

  • 1 cup basil
  • 1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 3-4 cloves garlic
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp sugar
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in food processor and process until creamy. Usually 1-2 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed. Toss with warm pasta, spread on toast or pizza, or use as a dip.