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1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
2 pinches sea salt
2 pinches black pepper
24 ounces fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into bite-size pieces (8 cups)
1 tablespoon sliced almonds

CHUNKY MUSHROOM GRAVY
1 yellow onion, cut into ½-inch dice (2 cups)
16 ounces mushrooms, sliced (8 cups)
6 cloves garlic, minced
⅓ cup oat flour
2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a mixing bowl, combine thinly sliced onion, flaxseed, salt, and pepper.
Mix well to coat onions; let sit for 5 minutes.
Spread onions on prepared sheet and bake 15 minutes until lightly brown around the edges.
Set aside.
Meanwhile, place green beans in a steamer basket in a large saucepan.
Add water to just below basket.
Bring to boiling.
Steam, covered, about 10 minutes or until tender.
Remove from heat and transfer beans to a 2½-qt. baking dish.

To make gravy, combine diced onion, mushrooms, and garlic in a saucepan over medium heat.
Cover pan and cook, stirring occasionally, for 7 to 10 minutes or until onions start to turn translucent.
The mushrooms will release enough liquid to keep the vegetables from sticking to the pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk together oat flour, broth, vinegar, and Italian seasoning; season with salt and pepper.
Add broth mixture to mushroom mixture; cook for 3 to 5 minutes more, or until gravy thickens.
Transfer half of gravy to a blender.
Purée until smooth.
Return puréed mixture to saucepan and stir well.
Pour the gravy over the green beans in the casserole dish.
Scatter browned onions and almonds over the top.
Bake about 20 minutes or until heated through.

Makes 8 cups
Note: For less crunchy green beans, steam approximately 15 minutes. I substituted unbleached flour for the oat flour.
A recipe inspired from forksoverknives.com

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Eggplant, sliced into 1/2 inch rounds, dried in paper toweling
Olive oil
Salt
Filling choices:
Sun-dried tomatoes, julienned
Sliced mushrooms, sauteed
Sliced olives
Jalapeno peppers, slice and sauteed
Basil leaves

Preheat oven to 400°

Fit a baking sheet with parchment paper and brush with olive oil.
Place eggplant rounds on baking sheet, brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
Roast for approximately 8 minutes on each side, or until golden.
Remove eggplant rounds from pan and place on a platter.
Add your choice of fillings and fold like a mini taco.

Serves 4

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14 ounce package tofu, drained
2 cups mozzarella style vegan cheese shreds
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon garlic powder, or 2 cloves of fresh garlic, minced (added to the marinara sauce)
Salt and pepper to taste
2 – 25 ounce jars vegan marinara sauce
3 bell peppers, cored, seeded and chopped (a mix of red, yellow and
orange is a nice presentation)
12 no-boil lasagna noodles
Cooking spray
Can add sliced mushrooms or any other chopped vegetables to the sauce.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Lightly grease a 9 x 13 inch glass baking dish with cooking spray; set aside.
Wrap tofu in 3 or 4 layers of paper towels and gently press out as much
liquid as possible, changing paper towels once or twice as needed.
In a medium bowl combine pressed tofu, yeast, garlic powder, if using, salt and pepper and mash with a fork.
Set tofu mixture aside. Put marinara sauce into a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer. Add peppers, minced garlic, if using (and any other chopped vegetables) and continue simmering until peppers are tender,
about 10 minutes.
Spoon enough sauce into prepared dish to cover bottom, then arrange 4
noodles on top. Spread 1/3 of tofu mixture onto noodles and sprinkle
with 1/3 of vegan cheese shreds, then spoon more sauce over the tofu
and vegan cheese shreds. Repeat the process 2 more times, ending with
sauce. Cover with foil and bake until noodles are tender, 45-60 minutes.
Let the lasagna rest for 10 minutes and then serve.

Serves 4

Note: Can use regular lasagna noodles.

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2 tablespoons dried porcini mushrooms (can substitute with other dried mushrooms)
2 tablespoons nondairy butter
1 large onion, diced
2 stalks celery with leaves, diced
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped and divided
1 carrot, peeled and sliced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 pound fresh porcini or other mushrooms, sliced
2 quarts vegetable broth, mushroom broth or water
1 cup whole barley, rinsed
2 teaspoons coarse salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Soak dried mushrooms in enough hot water to cover for a half hour.
Strain through a filter (I place a coffee filter inside a fine strainer over a bowl).
Reserve the water.
Coarsely chop the dried mushrooms (throw away any pieces that are not soft).
Melt butter in a soup pot. Add the onion, celery, 2 tablespoons parsley, carrot, garlic and fresh mushrooms and saute until soft, about 5 minutes.
Add the broth or water and bring to a boil.
Add the chopped dried mushrooms, reserved mushroom water and barley.
Stir well and add salt to taste.
Simmer, covered, for about an hour or until the barley is tender and the soup is thickened, stirring often.
Add additional chopped parsley, mix thoroughly, and adjust seasonings.

Serves 6-8

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1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups chopped yellow onions
1 garlic clove, minced
6 cups (or more) water
2 cups lentils, rinsed
2 cups diced carrots
2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
1 cup diced celery
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried rosemary, optional
Pinch of dried, crushed red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper

1 cup chopped seeded plum tomatoes or 3 ounces of tomato paste
1/2 cup chopped watercress or parsley (optional)

Heat oil in heavy large saucepan or Dutch oven over
medium heat. Add onions and saute until golden, about
10 minutes. Add garlic and stir 2 minutes. Add water
through red pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to
medium, cover and simmer until lentils and vegetables
are tender, adding more water if soup is too thick, about
45 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Add tomatoes to the soup;
simmer 5 minutes.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Ladle soup into bowls. Sprinkle with watercress or parsley, if desired.

Serves 4

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1 cup non-hydrogenated, nondairy butter, cold
8 ounce package nondairy cream cheese
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup nondairy sour cream
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 cup finely ground walnuts or pecans
1 cup fruit jam or preserves (apricot, strawberry, or raspberry)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Cut the butter and cream cheese into small pieces.
In the food processor, pulse together the flour, salt, butter,
cream cheese and sour cream until the dough comes together.
Shape the mixture into 4 equal round circles. Wrap each circle
in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.
Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. (You may use
ungreased cookie sheets, but the jam mixture tends to ooze onto
the cookie sheet making it difficult to clean.)
In a bowl, combine the sugar, cinnamon, and walnuts or pecans. Set aside.
Lightly flour a work surface, and roll each circle into a 9 inch round, keeping the other circles chilled until ready to use.
Spread each circle of dough with a light layer of the jam. Sprinkle 1/4 of the sugar/nut filling and press lightly into the jam.
With a pizza cutter or a sharp knife, cut each round into 12 wedges or triangles.
Roll the wedges from the wide end to the narrow end, ending up with the point on the outside of the cookie.
Place on the prepared baking sheets with the point side down.
Bake on the center rack of the oven for 30-35 minutes, or until lightly golden.

Cool on wire racks

Yield: 3 dozen cookies

Note: To make it gluten free, swap out the unbleached all-purpose flour for Cup4Cup Wholesome Gluten Free Flour. There maybe other gluten free flour brands that work as well. But I used this brand.