Spanakopita (Vegan, Dairy-Free)

Growing up, my sister would make us Spanakopita (or, Greek Spinach and Feta Pie) on special occasions.  I loved it, and even ate it when I was allergic to feta cheese.  Why care about a skin rash when it tasted so good? :p

A couple years back, I became aware that you CAN make Spanakopita vegan AND dairy free.  Besides solving my allergy situation, I could also feed this to my vegan dad!  

This recipe is modeled off of the Vegan Word's recipe.  It required quite a few steps, but it was well worth the time.  Try it, fall in love, and repeat!

Ingredients:

10 sheets phyllo pastry
3 tablespoons oil or tahini for brushing the phyllo pastry
1 tablespoon oil
15 cups fresh spinach (about one large Costco pack), steamed, cooled, and drained (squeeze out any excess amounts of water)
1 onion, diced into small pieces
2 cloves garlic, chopped into fine pieces
3 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped
6 green onions, chopped, making sure the white parts are chopped finely
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon ground chili pepper *optional*

Vegan Feta (to prepare beforehand)
1/2 pack drained extra firm tofu, crumbled into feta size pieces
1 tablespoon miso
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1.5 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon  dried thyme
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
2 teaspoons tahini

Vegan Ricotta (to prepare beforehand or while cooking) 
1/2 pack drained extra firm tofu, pat dried with a towel
1/4 cup cashews
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon oil
1 garlic clove
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions:

Following these instructions exactly will provide the best results.

1. Prepare the vegan feta by mixing the miso, rice vinegar, lemon juice, oregano, thyme, nutritional yeast, and tahini in a separate bowl.  Gently pour the sauce over the crumbled tofu, mix, and marinate in the fridge for at least 8 hours.
2. Prepare the vegan ricotta, by blending the tofu, cashews, lemon juice, oil, garlic, salt, and nutritional yeast until it forms a thick paste.  Set aside.
3. When the cheeses are ready, you can now begin assembling your spanakopita!  Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees and greasing a 9x13 baking pan with oil or tahini.
4. Layer the first phyllo sheet into the tray and brush oil or tahini over the sheet.  Layer another phyllo sheet on the top of that and brush again with oil or tahini.  Repeat until you have done this for five phyllo sheets.
5. Bake the five phyllo sheets for 10 minutes in the oven.  Then, set aside.
6. In a fry pan, warm 1 tablespoon of oil.  Add the onions and saute until lightly golden brown.
7. Add the garlic, dill, mint, green onions, nutmeg, salt, pepper, and optional ground chili pepper to the fry pan.  Sautee with the onions for about 3 minutes.  Then, remove from heat and set aside.
8. In a large bowl, mix the spinach, fry pan mixture, vegan feta, and vegan ricotta until well combined.
9.   Spread the spinach mixture evenly over the pre-baked phyllo dough layers.

10. Place a phyllo sheet over the spinach mixture and brush oil or tahini over the sheet.  Then, layer another phyllo sheet on top of that and brush again with oil or tahini.  Repeat until you have done this for five phyllo sheets.
11.  Cut through the top layers of the phyllo sheets and spinach mixture, making serving size squares. Do not cut through the bottom layers of the pre-baked phyllo sheets.  This makes it easy to cut clean pieces prior to serving.
12.  Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees, and broil for one to two minutes to get a nice lightly golden brown color on top (watch the spanakopita carefully as ovens all vary)!
13.  Remove from the oven, and allow to cool for 20 minutes.  Cut through the bottom layers of the dough, following the square lines made previously.
14.  Serve and eat while warm or at room temperature.
15.  Store any leftovers in the fridge for 2-3 days, making sure to reheat in an oven prior to serving.

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"Cheesy" Crackers (Vegan)

This recipe is a modified version of Minimalist Baker's Vegan Cheez It recipe. I made changes to the recipe to make it cheesier and slightly spicier. These delicious crackers taste amazing fresh out of the oven, but even better the next day! Try them out and let me know how you like them!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
3/4 cup all purpose flour
4 tablespoons old-fashioned oats
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons cold water

Instructions:

Following these instructions exactly will provide the best results.

1. In a food processor, process the dry ingredients until the oats are not recognizable and the dry ingredients are fully mixed.
2. Add in the oil and process again until the dry ingredients look slightly crumbled.
3. Adding 1 tablespoon of cold water at a time, process the mixture until it forms a crumbled dough like appearance. Do not add more water.
4. Using your hands, form a ball out of the dough. Then, form the dough into a disc.
5. Lay the dough on a floured surface. Flour a rolling pin. Roll the dough out so that the dough is about 1/8 inch in thickness.
6. With a knife, cut 1 inch squares. Re-roll any leftover dough so you can make more crackers.
10. Using a fork, poke a hole into the middle of each cracker.
11. Gently move the squares onto an ungreased baking sheet, making sure the crackers do not touch. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Note: Bake the crackers less for softer crackers and bake the crackers longer for crispier crackers!
12. Let the crackers cool before enjoying!


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Spicy Cheesy Biscuits (Vegan)

These are the cheesiest tasting vegan biscuits I have ever tasted. The magic ingredient? Nutritional yeast. With some extra spice added (I used ghost pepper, but this recipe uses more mild chili peppers), these biscuits transform into flavor filled gems. Try them out and let me know what you think!

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons coconut oil (solid)
1-2 chili peppers diced into very small pieces (sub any other type of spicy pepper)
1 cup almond milk
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Instructions:

Following these instructions exactly will provide the best results.

1. Add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice into the almond milk and set aside. This is how we make vegan "buttermilk."
2. Mix the flour, nutritional yeast, baking powder, baking soda, salt and chili peppers together.
3. Add the coconut oil into the flour mixture. The coconut oil should be in solid form (if your coconut oil has melted due to heat, place the oil into the fridge so that it can harden). Once the coconut oil has been mixed into the flour mixture, the flour will have a "crumbled" look.
4. Add in the almond milk/lemon juice mixture into the flour mixture. Stir until combined, but do not overmix. The dough will be very sticky.
5. Cut the dough with a knife or pastry cutter into eight pieces.
6. After flouring your hands, grab each piece and create a flattened disc shape. Place on a foiled baking sheet so that the biscuits touch. See photo:

7. After all biscuits are placed on the foiled baking sheet, use your thumb to create a divot thumbprint in the middle of each biscuit. This prevents the biscuits from becoming dome shaped in the oven. (Technique Credit: Minimalist Baker).
8. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes at 450 degrees. The biscuits will be a golden brown color. 
9. Enjoy!

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Fluffy and Healthy Pizza Dough

This recipe is my go-to pizza dough as the cooked dough is soft and fluffy. I have used this recipe many times with a variety of different sauces and toppings. Enjoy!

PS: Photos were updated on June 8, 2018. 

Cooked Vegan, No Oil Pizza

Ingredients:

1 and 1/2 cups warm water (not hot, about warm bathtub temperature)
 1 tablespoon yeast
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 teaspoons salt
2 cups all purpose flour
1 and 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

Uncooked Vegetarian Pizza

Instructions:

Following these instructions exactly will provide the best results.

1. Add yeast to warm water and stir. Leave for 5 to 10 minutes until water becomes foamy. If the water does not foam up, your yeast may no longer be active or your water was too warm.

2. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

3. Add in the foamy yeast water into the dry ingredients and knead until all the flour has been incorporated. Keep kneading for about 10 additional minutes.

4. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise for an hour in a warm place (I usually place it into a cooled oven).

5. When the dough has doubled (or, sometimes even tripled), knead dough again for a few minutes with flour on your hands as the dough will be extra sticky. Form a large ball of dough. Place plastic wrap on the bowl again and let rise for another 30 minutes.

6. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Press out dough onto a foiled pizza pan (or two, if you want thinner crusts). You may consider lightly greasing the pan to make sure the dough comes off nicely (but, I have done it without oil and it has turned out just fine with a bit of strategic fork use). Place your desired toppings on the pizza (fun vegan fact: nutritional yeast is a good substitute for cheese).

7. Bake for 16 to 18 minutes until the edges of the crust are golden brown. Bake longer if you chose to make a thick crust.

Uncooked Vegan, No Oil Pizza

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