Category Archives: Basics

Tofu Cottage Cheese Stuffed Shells by Abby

capture_12102014_130215In this video, Abby prepares a tofu cottage cheese type filling in large pasta shells based on a recipe in the Naturally Gourmet cookbook.  The recipe uses store bought ingredients, so there is no need to make any special sauces, etc.  Like Abby says, this recipe is “quick, easy, and delicious”.  Enjoy. Continue reading

Philly Cheese Steak by Candice Hutchings

capture_09102014_154605A lot of people like cheese steak sandwiches.  In this video, Candice and her friend, Michael Nus, demonstrate how to make a vegan version of a Philly cheese steak sandwich.  While she and Michael have fun cooking together, she shows how easy it is to make a seitan replacement for real steak in these sandwiches.  She then tops her sandwich with sauteed mushrooms and onions.  She melts Daiya cheese for the cheese spread.  Once your seitan is made, this is a very easy sandwich to make, it is delicious, and a lot healthier than a sandwich made with animal protein.  You should try it.  It may become one of your favorite sandwiches. Continue reading

Dairy Free Macaroni and Cheese by Candice Hutchings

capture_07102014_103854Candice demonstrates an easy recipe for making a dairy free mac-and-cheese.  She uses a (Daiya brand) vegan cheese that can be bought in most supermarkets.  She creates a mixture of the vegan cheese with soy milk and spices.  After she heats up the ingredients, she adds it to the pasta.  Then, she places the mixture in a pan or casserole dish, tops it with breadcrumbs and bakes it.  This recipe is fast and easy to make, delicious, and a lot healthier than traditional dairy based mac-and-cheese. Continue reading

Vegan Queso by Candice Hutchings

capture_07102014_093849Candice demonstrates her version of a vegan queso.  She simply chops and sautes some vegetables, and to the vegetable mixture, melts (Daiya brand) vegan cheese which can be bought in most large supermarkets.  This is a really easy replacement for dairy queso, and it’s a lot healthier.  This queso can be eaten with chips and/or vegetables as an appetizer or snack.  And, it can be use as a topping for steamed vegetables, etc. Continue reading

Oven-Roasted Vegetables Without Using Oil by Chef Plum

capture_03102014_222720Most roasted vegetable recipes specify cutting the vegetables in small similar size pieces, coating them with oil, spices and seasonings, and then placing them in an oven.  In this video, Chef Plum demonstrates that you can eliminate the oil in this process.  This may be very important for some people who are trying to reduce as much fat from their diets as possible. Continue reading

How To Roast Vegetables In The Oven And On The BBQ Grill by Rockin Robin

capture_05102014_031409Robin presents tips on how to roast vegetables.  The sweet potatoes she is including with other vegetables will take longer to roast.  So, she cooks them a little in the microwave before she roasts them.  She makes sure her vegetables are not crowding each other in the roasting pan and each piece is touching the pan.  She also shows how to roast vegetables on a BBQ grill. Continue reading

Principles for Superb Salads by Jamie Oliver

capture_05102014_004706Salads are both healthy and delicious.  In this how-to video, Jamie Oliver shows some techniques for reducing the effort to making salads as well as ideas on how to kick them up in flavor.  He shows a basic simple dressing.  On this website, my goal is to continue to show video recipes on how to create tasty salad dressings without oil or raw eggs.  Salads are wonderful sides for a meal, or they can be the meal itself.  Enjoy them. Continue reading

Crispy Baked Eggplant by Bhavna Patel

capture_30092014_150320Many recipes for eggplant use an egg wash to hold a breadcrumb mixture used to coat the eggplant.  They are then fried.  In this video, Bhavna shows her approach to coat the eggplant with a mixture of spices, cornstarch, water, and panko breadcrumbs.  She does not use eggs in an eggwash.  She then bakes the eggplant slices instead of frying them.  This very good approach eliminates the animal protein in the eggs, and the fat in the frying oil.  You can see her similar approach to bake tofu in this post.  This is an excellent technique to create crispy tofu, eggplant, etc. without animal protein and the fat resulting from the frying process. Continue reading