Luckily, the world is full of vegans who love tinkering with recipes – and so I found a blog called Elana’s Pantry, with a great recipe for vegan eggnog:

www.elanaspantry.com/vegan-eggnog/

This eggnog is smooth, creamy, and well-spiced.  A taste of the holidays in a glass!

This could be the first time ever that all of the necessary ingredients were already stocked in my kitchen.  Most are typical – almonds, agave, vanilla, and spices.  The outlier was Yacon syrup.  Yacon syrup is a sweetener made from the South American Yacon root.  It tastes like molasses and can be used in cooking and baking.  I had used it once before for an icing recipe and was excited to try it again.

As I researched Yacon syrup for this post, I was surprised to learn about its potential health benefits.  Yacon syrup has a low glycemic index, is relatively low in calories, contains beneficial bacteria, and may help to control appetite and food cravings.  It may also help with the absorption of dietary minerals and increase the efficiency of the immune system.

http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/yacon-syrup-project

The recent explosion of articles on Yacon Syrup is a result of Dr. Oz.  On November 4, 2013, the great and powerful Oz featured the syrup on his show as a possible weight loss tool.  To see this episode, click on:

http://www.doctoroz.com/episode/metabolism-game-changer

Now back to the recipe!  The first step is to place the almonds in a bowl and cover them completely with water.

The almonds absorb quite a bit of water while they are soaking.  Then combine the almonds and the water in the blender until smooth.

It is then time to strain the mixture through a nut milk bag.  I use the Amazing Nut Milk Bag pictured below.  The one-gallon, oval shaped nylon bag is sturdy, reusable, and easy to clean.

I have also heard of people using a cheese cloth to strain nut milk, but I have no personal experience with the cloth.

The fine mesh of the nut milk bag allows only the liquid to pass through, leaving you with smooth, creamy almond milk.  Don’t want to waste the almond meal that accumulates in the nut milk bag?  No problem.  You can dehydrate the almond meal to create almond flour.  There are also recipes that specifically call for almond meal as an ingredient!  (The Fussy Fork plans to post one such recipe in the near future.)

It’s then time to combine the remainder of the ingredients with the almond milk.

I love this vegan eggnog.  It heralds the holiday season.  And of course, if you want to take it up a notch, try adding some spiced rum!

The post Vegan Eggnog appeared first on The Fussy Fork.

This casserole is hearty, extremely flavorful, and popular with both vegans and non-vegans.  It also tastes equally delicious hot or cold.

The first step is to prepare the barley.

And strain it!

Gather the ingredients…

And sauté the garlic and onion.

Then add the veggies.

The recipe also calls for shoyu.  What is shoyu and how is it different from soy sauce?  The short answer is that shoyu is natural soy sauce.  Natural soy sauce is made from a combination of soybeans, roasted hard red wheat, sea salt, and water while mass-produced soy sauce is made from chemically produced defatted soybean pulp.  To learn more about the differences between shoyu and soy sauce click on:

http://www.vegkitchen.com/tips/soy-sauce-shoyu-tamari/

When I made this recipe, I used Bragg’s Liquid Aminos, a soy sauce alternative.  Bragg’s Liquid Aminos is a certified Non-GMO, gluten-free, protein concentrate made from soybeans.  It tastes like soy sauce and can be substituted in any recipe.

The bottom line is that you can use soy sauce, Shoyu, or Bragg’s Liquid Aminos in this recipe and achieve great results!

Add the spices…

And you’ve completed the barley layer!

Next up, is the Tahini Dressing.

Blend all of the ingredients in food processor.

Mix 3/4 cup of Tahini Dressing to the barley mixture.  It’s then time to assemble the casserole!  Start with a layer of barley.

Then add a layer of Tahini Dressing.

Then add a second layer of barley.

And a final layer of Tahini Dressing and put the casserole in the oven.

While baking, mouth watering aromas will fill your home.    And after 35 minutes, the Barley Casserole is done!

Dishes like this ensure that I never miss meat.  Dig in and enjoy!

The post My Favorite Holiday Barley Casserole appeared first on The Fussy Fork.

http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2006/12/sweet-potato-casserole-with-pecan.html

I first assembled my ingredients…

And roughly chopped the pecans.

It was then time to roast the sweet potatoes.  I poked them a few times with a fork before putting them in the oven.  I start to monitor the sweet potatoes when the juices begin to bubble out of the holes made by the fork.

It’s also easy to remove the skin of the sweet potato when they’re warm.  Just make sure not to burn your fingers!

I don’t have a potato masher, so I decided to use my electric mixer.

Which quickly made my sweet potatoes smooth!

I added spices, maple syrup, and some sugar.

I greased my pan with coconut oil and poured in the sweet potato mixture.

It was then time to make the top layer of the casserole.

Once the ingredients were mixed, I had a delicious looking topping!

I used my hands to sprinkle the mixture on top of the sweet potato layer.

After 45 minutes in the oven, the casserole was ready!  I admit I had my first taste right when it came out of the oven.

The sweet potato casserole is easier to serve, however, once it has cooled!

The post Vegan Sweet Potato Casserole appeared first on The Fussy Fork.