Salad of Shaved Fennel, Oranges and
Roasted Chickpeas

8 servings 15 min prep 25 min cook

…For Roasted Chickpeas
Preheat oven to 400ºF (200ºC). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Lay a clean towel or paper towel on a clean work surface and spread the chickpeas overtop. Place another towel over top and gently press and roll the chickpeas around to remove any excess water. Place chickpeas in a bowl and toss with oil, salt, paprika, cumin, sugar and cayenne. Transfer seasoned chickpeas in a single layer to prepared baking sheet. Bake, stirring once after 15 minutes, until golden brown and crispy, about 25 minutes in total.

…For Salad
In a large bowl, whisk together oil, vinegar and mustard.

Add onion slices to a bowl of cold water for 10 minutes. Remove onions from water and pat dry with a clean towel or paper towel.

When ready to serve, very thinly slice fennel using a mandolin or a knife. Add fennel, onion, arugula and oranges to vinaigrette and toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Divide among serving plates and garnish with roasted chickpeas.

…Chef Tip
Save the fennel fronds, roughly chop and use to garnish the salad.

Roasted Cauliflower with Kale
Almond Pesto top

8 servings 15 min prep 20 min cook

Preheat oven to 400ºF (200ºC).

Place almonds, jalapeño and garlic in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast, stirring once halfway through cooking, until almonds are golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes. Deseed jalapeño and squeeze garlic cloves from their skins.

Meanwhile steam kale until bright green, about 2 minutes. Rinse under cold water and let drain in a colander over a bowl or sink.

To bowl of a food processor add almonds, jalapeño, garlic, kale, parsley, oregano, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Pulse until finely chopped. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, transfer to a bowl and set aside.

In a large frying pan over medium heat, melt 1 tbsp coconut oil. Add single layer of cauliflower florets. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and sauté until lightly browned. Transfer cauliflower to a rimmed baking sheet and repeat with remaining oil and cauliflower. Roast until tender, about 10 minutes.

Place in a large serving bowl and toss with pesto to taste. Serve immediately.

Spiced Cranberry Beet Compote top

8 servings 15 min prep 35 min cook

Bring a pot of water to a boil, add beets and cook until just tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Add oil to a frying pan and warm over medium heat. Add garam masala and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add shallots and sauté until starting to soften, about 2 minutes. Stir in beets, cranberries, raisins, orange zest, vinegar, sugar, salt and water. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until cranberries have popped and compote has thickened, about 18 to 20 minutes. Season to taste with pepper.

Transfer to a serving dish and serve warm or at room temperature.

sage and pumpkin seed encrusted gardein™
with cranberry cabernet sauce

6 servings 20 min prep 40 min cook

…for the cranberry cabernet sauce
heat the oil in a sauté pan. add the shallots and sauté for 3 mins. add the thyme and cranberries and sauté for 2 minutes.

season with salt and pepper. add the cabernet and scrape the bottom of the pan, then reduce the liquid by half.

add the stock and reduce by half. mix the arrowroot with the water and add to the pan. stir well and continue to cook for 2 mins. turn heat off and whisk in the vegan butter 1 tbsp. at a time.

remove thyme stems.

…for the cutlets
in a food processor, process the sage, seeds, paprika, bread crumbs, yeast, salt, and pepper until well incorporated.

(thaw the frozen gardein™ scaloppini) dredge each gardein™ cutlet in flour, then dip into the soy milk and then into the panco breadcrumbs.

sauté on each side until browned and crisp.

creamy mashed potatoes top
with chives

6 servings 20 min prep 20 min cook

cashew cream
soak 2 cups of raw cashews overnight.

add the soaked cashews to a blender and fill with water sufficient to cover the cashews by 1”. blend on high for 2 mins.

tip: if not using a professional high-speed blender, you might need to strain the cream through a fine-mesh strainer or cheesecloth. can substitute soy milk for cashew cream if needed.

mashed potatoes
place the potatoes in a large pot and cover with water. bring to a boil and cook for 20 mins. drain the potatoes, place in a bowl with the remaining ingredients, and mix until smooth. serve hot.

sweet potato biscuitstop

8 servings 20 min prep 20 min cook

sift together the flour and baking powder in a mixing bowl. cut in the margarine using a pastry blender until well incorporated.

add the agave nectar, sweet potatoes, and soy milk and combine, forming a soft dough.

Roll the dough out on a floured work surface to ½“ thickness.

cut out biscuits of desired size.

bake in a preheated 400°F oven on a greased baking sheet for 12 to 15 mins.

green beans with fresh cranberries top

6 servings 15 min prep 15 min cook

bring a pot of salted water to a boil.

add the beans and cook for 3 to 4 mins.

drain the beans in a colander and hold under cold running water to stop the cooking process.

blot the beans with a paper towel to remove the excess water.

put the beans into a dry skillet and heat over medium heat until the remaining moisture on the beans evaporates.

stir in the margarine, cranberries, garlic, parsley, tarragon, salt, and pepper.

toss to coat well. cook until heated through.

Beet & Orange Autumn Salad top

6 servings 10 min prep 45 min cook

for the vinaigrette
In a large saucepan, combine the vinegars, maple syrup, shallots, black pepper, coriander, dry mustard, and fenugreek. Bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat and simmer until reduced by one-third. Remove from the heat and chill. Once chilled, purée in a blender, while slowly adding the canola and the olive oils.

Strain, then add the chives.

for the roasted beets
vegetable oil sufficient to coat the beets.

Heat the oven to 400°F. In a baking dish, combine the beets with the vegetable oil and roast until soft (approx 45 minutes). Peel and chill.

to assemble the salad
Slice the beets quartering them and arrange on a plate with the orange slices and spinach then drizzle with the maple sherry vinaigrette.

Oven roasted banana rum cheesecake top
With spiced pecan crust and maple rum sauce

6-8 servings 1hr 50 min (plus 3hrs chilling) prep 45 min cook

Make the oven-roasted bananas
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Place the unpeeled bananas on a roasting pan and roast in the center of the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until the bananas are soft, the skins are dark brown, and some juice is seeping out. Let the bananas cool to room temperature in the pan in their skins. Set aside. Increase the oven temperature to 400°F.

Make the maple rum sauce
In a small saucepan, combine the maple syrup, Earth Balance, and salt to taste and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring frequently, until the sauce has thickened slightly, about 10 minutes.

Remove from the heat and add the rum, stirring well; be careful, as the sauce will bubble up a bit. Let cool for a few minutes, then taste and add more salt if necessary. Cool to room temperature, then transfer to a squeeze bottle. The sauce can be rewarmed by putting the bottle in a pan of hot water off the heat.

Make the spiced pecan crust
Combine all the crust ingredients in a bowl and stir until well incorporated. Press the crust into a 9-inch springform pan and put in the freezer for 5 minutes. Bake in the center of the oven for 8 to 10 minutes, until the crust looks a little dry and the edges are light golden. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Make the filling
Peel the roasted bananas and remove any obvious strings. In a food processor, puree the bananas until very smooth. Add the remaining ingredients and pulse until smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl periodically; do not overprocess, or the cream cheese will separate and curdle.

Pour the filling into the crust and bake on the center rack of the oven for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F and bake for another 35 to 45 minutes, until the top is the color of light brown sugar and the center of the cheesecake is set but still jiggles slightly; a toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean.

Let the cheesecake cool to room temperature on a rack for at least 1 hour, then cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight.

To serve
Rewarm the sauce in a pan of hot water. Use an offset spatula or a thin knife to loosen the edges of the cheesecake, remove the sides of the pan, and cut the cake into slices. Serve with the warm sauce and toasted pecans.

*making nut flour
To make your own nut flour, first freeze raw nuts overnight. Place about 1 cup of the frozen nuts in a food processor at a time and pulse until finely ground. Freezing the nuts prevents them from turning to nut butter in the food processor as the blade heats up - but be warned, it will be loud!