Thai Coconut Corn Soup

From: Vegan Express: Featuring 160 Recipes for Quick, Delicious, and Healthy Meals, by Nava Atlas.

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon light olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 to 5 scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced
1 medium red bell pepper, cut into short, narrow strips
Two 15-ounce cans light coconut milk
1½ cups rice milk
One 16-ounce bag frozen corn
2 teaspoons good quality curry powder
¼ teaspoon Thai red curry paste, more or less  to taste
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
½ cup minced fresh cilantro

DIRECTIONS:
1. Heat the oil in a small soup pot. Add the garlic, the white parts
of the scallions, and the bell pepper. Sauté over medium-low heat
until softened and golden, about 2 to 3 minutes.

2. Add the coconut milk, rice milk, corn, curry powder, the green
parts of the scallions. If using the curry paste, dissolve it in a
small amount of water before adding to the soup.

3. Bring to a rapid simmer, then lower the heat. Cover and simmer
gently for 5 minutes. Season with salt and remove from the heat.

4. Serve, passing around the cilantro for topping.

Annettes Gazpacho

(Image: www.whatscookingamerica.net)

This is the best Gazpacho Ive ever had. The prefect acidic dish to fix those pesky pregnancy cravings if you are having a girl :)

Annette's Gazpacho

Place in a blender and puree:

2-4 tomatoes (can use canned tomatoes if fresh ones are not available)

2 T. lemon juice

1 t. oregano

Small amount of snipped fresh rosemary (or I sometimes use rosemary olive oil)

3 T. olive oil

1 clove garlic

V-8 – maybe about 1- 1 ½ cups

Pour this over chopped up veggies of your choice – mushrooms, tomatoes, avocados, celery, cucumbers. Add more V-8 to make it the consistency you like. I also sometimes put finely chopped spinach in the Gazpacho.

Vegan Peanut Butter Cups

(image: hellyaitsvegan.com)

Vegan Peanut Butter Cups

Now mind you, I am sending you the recipe straight up as it is.  Vegan.  Make any adjustments you need.  I don't have special graham crackers and I just use regular old chocolate chips. 

1/2 cup Earth Balance butter

3/4 cup crunchy peanut butter

3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (about 10 squares)

1/4 cup maple sugar or other granulated sweetener (sometimes I use brown rice syrup)

1 cup grain-sweetened, nondairy chocolate or carob chips

1/4 cup soy, rice, or nut milk

1/4 cup chipped pecans, almonds, or peanuts

Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Stir in the pb, graham cracker crumbs, and maple sugar and mix well.  Remove the mixture from the heat.  Evenly devide the mixture, approximately 2 Tbsp per cup, among the muffin cups.

Combine the chocolate and milk in another pan.  Stir over medium heat until the chocolate has melted.  Spoon the chocolate evenly over the pb mixture.  Top with chopped nuts.  Place in the refrigerator to set for at least 2 hours before serving.

Cowboy Salsa

This recipe comes from Lisa. It is so yummy and sure to be a hit at any party!
Do this first ~

Boil together:
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
let cool then add:
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Mix together in bowl:
1 can black-eyed peas, drained & rinsed
1 can pinto beans, drained & rinsed
1 can shoepeg corn, drained
1 small jar (2 oz) pimentos
green onions (2-4) chopped
1 cup chopped green pepper
1 cup finely chopped celery (about 3 stalks)
1 small jar/can chopped jalapenos

Pour liquid sauce over veggies. Let sit awhile - overnight is best.
Serve with tortilla chips (blue are best!)

The first time follow the recipe; after that you can experiment adding or taking away ingredients.