Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

(Already dialed down the sugar to make it less sweet)

Preheat oven to 350

Ingredients:

1. 1/2 cup coconut oil
2. 1/2 cup brown sugar
3. 1/4 cup almond milk
4. 1 tbsp vanilla
5. 2 cups flour
6. 1 tsp baking soda
7. 1 cup chocolate chips (trader joe's chocolate chips are accidentally vegan)

Mix first 4 ingredients, then add rest of ingredients. 

Spoon by tablespoons onto baking sheet (I like using parchment paper so nothing sticks)

Bake for 8 minutes.

Delicious!!

***great variation: do 1.5 times the tecipe except for flour. For flour, keep the same amount and add in 1 cup of oats. Also add in 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder***

Chocolate oat chocolate chip ones:

Cocoa Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients

• 1½ cup (188 grams) all-purpose flour
• ½ cup (43 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup (226 grams) unsalted butter, cubed
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 cup (213 grams) brown sugar, packed
• 9 ounces (255 grams) semi-sweet chocolate, chopped or chips
• 2 large eggs
• 1½ cups (150 grams) old-fashioned rolled oats

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt, and ground cinnamon. Set aside.
3. In a heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, add the cubed butter, water, semi-sweet chocolate, and brown sugar. Melt completely, stirring occasionally, until smooth. Remove from heat and add eggs one at a time. Add the dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated. Stir in the rolled oats.
4. Drop by the tablespoon onto the prepared sheet pan, leaving 2 inches between each cookie. Bake for 12 minutes, until edges are set. Let cool for 5 minutes on the sheet pan, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
5. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days, or in the freezer between layers of parchment paper for a few months.

Vegan Dumplings

Ingredients:

1 package of dumpling skins
1 bok choy (finely diced)
1 red or green or yellow pepper (finely diced)
1/4 cup dried mushrooms, rehydrated and finely diced
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
oil for the pan
1/4 cup of clear noodles (vermacelli)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon miso paste
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in pan, add garlic.
Add bok choy, pepper, and mushrooms and cook till soft.
In separate pot, boil noodles till soft, cut up with food scissors.

When vegetables are tender, add in strained noodles and miso, soy, salt, and pepper and stir fry. This is the filling for the dumpling skins.

Fill dumpling skins with the filling and pan fry, adding in a few tablespoons of water to cook the skins.

Serve hot.

Chinese Egg Custard/ Egg Tart

One large deep dish pie crust
1/2 cup sugar
1.5 cup water
9 eggs
1 dash vanilla
1 cup evaporated milk

But I had no evaporated milk, so I used some creamer instead:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup hot water
1.5 cups cashew milk
9 eggs
1 dash vanilla
1/2 cup half and half

Instructions if using the first ingredients list (this recipe has already been adjusted for sweetness. You will want to use about 3/4 cup sugar if making for dinner party):

1. Preheat oven to 450
2. Mix sugar and hot water (heat the water first) until all sugar has been dissolved, let mixture cool, or add in cashew milk or additional water for quicker cooling.
3. Add in rest of ingredients and stir till smooth (Other recipes say to pour mixture through strainer, but we all know I'm too lazy to do that. I just poured into pie crust).
4. Bake for 25 minutes.

Banana Flower Salad

This was probably the most or one of the most labor intensive dishes I've ever made. The people who ate it were divided on if they liked it or not. Some did, some didn't care of it, so it might be an interesting dish for some culinarily adventurous people, but maybe not a crowd pleaser.

Ingredients:

• Banana Flower
• 2 lemons
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon garlic hot sauce
• 2 tablespoons sesame or olive oil
• 1 bunch cilantro
• 1 handful of mint leaves

Instructions:

1. Clean and prepare the banana flower
1. Take off leaves (you can serve salad in leaves if you are feeling up to it - I was too lazy)
   

   
2. Shuck the flowers by taking off the outer leaves and stamen (this takes FOREVER)
   
3. Once you get to the middle part (when the outside leaves are pretty tender as well as the stamens, you can just chop up the middle part into small pieces and also throw in the lemon water mixture)
   
4. As soon as you shuck the flower, put into lemon water mixture to prevent oxidation (I used the juice of 2 lemons and then 2 cups of water) and soak for about an hour
2. Cut up one bunch of cilantro and the mint leaves
3. Mix one teaspoon of garlic hot sauce with 2 tablespoons of soy sauce and 2 tablespoons of sesame or olive oil and wisk together
4. When it's time to serve, strain the banana flower from the soak.
5. Combine all ingredients and toss together.

Potato Gnocci

2 yellow potatoes
1 or 2 eggs
2 cups flour
pasta sauce
some oil for frying if you like

1. Speed cook the potatoes in the microwave
1. roughly cut peeled potato into chunks
2. add about 1/4 cup water to potato in microwave safe bowl
3. microwave for 7 minutes
4. mash potatoes
2. Add 1-2 eggs to potatoes and mix
3. Flour cutting board and place about 1/2 cup of potato mixture onto cutting board
4. Mix with flour on cutting board till you have proper consistancy
5. Smash to about 1/2 inch thick and cut into rough squares (or roll into long rolls and cut off 1/2 inch pieces)
6. Place into a pot of boiling water and remove when they float
7. You can either toss into pasta sauce right then or pan fry and toss with sauce.

Kale and Farro Salad

1 cup farro
2 cups packed torn Tuscan kale leaves (about 2 ounces)
1/4 red onion, finely diced (about 1/4 cup)
1/4 cup packed mint leaves, thinly sliced, plus whole small leaves for serving
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon, plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup crumbled feta, preferably French

1. Cook farro
1. Cover farro with a few inches of water
2. Bring to boil and boil for 10-12 minutes
3. Strain farro and allow to cool
2. Put oil in pan and stir fry kale (I like more kale so I used about 4 cups of kale) until wilted
3. While kale is wilting, cut up onion and mint and place in bowl
4. Add lemon juice to bowl as well as olive oil, salt and pepper, and feta cheese
5. When kale is done, add to bowl as well as farro and toss.
6. Serve warm or cold.