I'm hoping to get this thread going and get some good recipes going on here, and I know I'm not the only one who'd be interested in this kind of exchange.

As I mentioned, I have issues digesting dairy and meat. And one of my local friends has recently decided he wants to go Vegan, after finding out how bad animal testing and stuff really is. He threw out his "Axe" bodyspray because he found out it was tested on animals. However, the same guy also can't have Gluten.

So I was thinking that starting this thread, preferably with labels on the heading saying whether it's Vegetarian or Vegan, and labelled Gluten-Free, in Bold font maybe?

I've got a couple recipes I've found online, but I don't want to post them until I've tried them myself. So I'd love to see what everyone else has to post, and I'll contribute once I've got something thats personally been tested.

-- Fri May 21, 2010 7:42 pm --

Okay, guess I'll start with something simple. I made this as a nice dessert for my brother and I.

Strawberry-Banana Smoothie (Vegan, Gluten-Free)

I made this by looking and judging consistency, so measurements may not be exact for you.

Ingredients :

- 1/2 bag Dole Frozen Strawberry Banana Fruit Mix
- 1 1/2 (or 2, didn't measure) cups of So Nice Vanilla Soy Milk
- 2 packets Sweet N Low Sweetener

**Feel free to use your own brands, freeze your own fruits, whatever else. Fruit filled my blender somewhere between 1/3 to 1/2. Figures are all approximate, since as said above, I pretty much eye-balled it.**

Preparation :
- Toss fruit, pour soy milk, and put sweetener in the blender. Blend until smooth. You may want to occasionally stir to get rid of any lumps.
- Pour and enjoy!

**Note: I checked the ingredients and searched online as well to make sure the Sweet N Low was Vegan-friendly and Gluten-free, and the So Nice Vanilla Soy Milk prides itself on being Organic and Gluten-free.**

I'll post a couple of my favourite recipes this weekend - too busy to type them in at the moment!

Well here's one I found online that I tried last night, and it turned out really yummy. Even my mom was amazed by it!

Vegan Ravioli *Not Gluten-Free* - Serves 4-6

Vegan Ravioli Dough:

* 1 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour (or whole grain flour if you like that)
* 1 1/2 cups Semolina Flour (fine is best)
* 3/4 cup water (You could do a vegetable broth, if you’re into a lot of flavour)
* 1 Tsp of Olive Oil

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together in a mixer. A bread maker works, or one of those cool Kitchen Aids. Whichever you happen to have laying around. If you so choose, do it by hand! Build up those muscles. Just think of how much better your food will taste if your arms feel like they’re falling off.

Work the dough into a ball. Add more flour if sticky, or water if it won’t work into a ball easily. Keep in mid that semolina flour absorbs more water then flour. Once you have it in a ball, cover with plastic wrap tightly in a slightly greased bowl and let rest for about a half hour, which is perfect. Now you can get your filling ready!

Vegan Cheese Filling:

* 1 & 1/2 blocks Extra Firm Tofu*
* 2 Tbl Lemon Juice (for the cheesy tang)
* 2 Tbl Nutrition Yeast (for more cheesy taste)
* 3 Tbl Vegenaise (I used a bit of Olive Oil instead, no Veganaise here)
* 1 tsp each fresh (or dried) Parsley, Marjarom, Basil and Chives
* 1/2 tsp each fresh (or dried) Thyme, Rosemary and Celery Salt
* 2 Tbl Garlic Powder

Salt and pepper to taste.

Directions:

*I know! Your thinking, always Tofu, not everyone likes Tofu. Well, I promise- you will love this. It made my family believers.

1. Start by crumbling the tofu. Make sure it is very fine, like ricotta would be. Once you have it ultra fine, add the herbs. You could just sake in some Italian seasonings until you’re happy, but I prefer the mix listed above.

2. Add the Vegenaise, it makes the mix a little more creamy. (Olive Oil helped with this in place of the Veganaise. My small town doesn't have much Vegan stuff)

3. Then add the lemon juice, nutritional yeast, garlic powder and salt and pepper.

4. Mix it well and you’re ready to put on a pot of water and start stuffing.

5. Take your ball of dough, and begin to roll it out on a floured surface. You don’t have to roll the whole ball at once, you can cut it into quarters and do one at a time. Get it flat! It doesn’t matter what shape it’s in, it needs to be flat. About a 1/8 inch thick, or thinner, depending on how doughy you like your vegan ravioli.

6. Once you have it rolled to your satisfaction, get a regular drinking glass
out of the pantry (round or square) and press the open end down firmly on the dough, lift and you will see your ravioli start to come to life. Repeat this step until you have no more dough left rolled out, just a bunch of little dough disks.

7. Now, take one and (depending on the size) put about 1 1/2 tablespoons of filling on it. Now take another dough disk and place it on top. Take a fork and and crimp down the edges. Repeat this until you have a bunch of ravioli waiting for their steam bath. Keep them separated! Never put one ravioli on top of another for even a second. You will wind up with a disaster. When your ready, just plop them in a pot of boiling, salted water for about 7-10 minutes each, or until they puff up and the pasta is tender.

8. Remove and place in a large bowl and add your favourite sauce.

**Recipe is reposted from Here, and the site has various other recipes too! **

See, I'd love to contribute as I'm a 100% gluten-free, ex-vegetarian. Only I can't cook.

I may have to pick my exes brain (as she is an amazing cook) and get back to you.

This is my favourite tofu (vegetarian) recipe. I could eat it till I poop! (I mean 'pop'!

FRIED TOFU (BEAN CURD) WITH PEANUT SAUCE
This is another very sociable dish if you put it in the centre of the table
where people can help themselves with cocktail sticks.

SERVES 4
500 g/1 lb tofu (bean curd), marinated or plain
2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp smooth peanut butter
'/2 tsp chilli flakes
3 tbsp barbecue sauce
I litre/ 1 14 pints/4 cups sunflower oil
2 tbsp sesame oil

BATTER:
4 tbsp plain (all-purpose) flour 2 eggs, beaten
4 tbsp milk
'/2 tsp baking powder
'/2 tsp chilli powder
1 Cut the tofu (bean curd) into 2.5 cm/1 inch triangles. Set aside. Combine the vinegar, sugar and salt in a saucepan. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the peanut butter. chilli flakes and barbecue sauce.
•To make the batter, sift the flour 3. into a bowl, make a well in the centre and add the eggs. Draw in the
flour, adding the milk slowly. Stir in the baking powder and chilli powder.
4 Heat both the oils in a deep-fryer or . . large saucepan until a light haze appears on top.
5 Dip the tofu (bean curd) triangles into the batter and deep-fry until goldenbrown. Drain on paper towels. 6 Serve with the peanut sauce.

FRYING TOFU
You may find it easier to pick up the tofu (bean Curd) triangles on a fork or skewer in order coat them in batter before placing them in the hot oil.

Lorda, I'll have to mention this recipe to some of my vegetarian friends! Sounds like it could be good.

I'd try it, but I'm Vegan. Haha, Meat, Dairy, and maybe even Eggs (incident with eating noodles with egg a few nights back) make me sick. Though, maybe if the Eggs were replaced with "Ener-G Egg Replacer" (which I've only heard of, never seen. They don't have it here) and the Milk with Soy Milk, it could be Vegan.

Gosh, even in the ridiculous little town of Napanee you can get egg replacement stuff! Comes in a carton. My mom uses it all the time because she has cholesterol problems.
Unfortunately this next recipe has egg in it again, but it's a family favourite. My nutsoid sister, Denise, will walk by and stick her finger in a cooked patty and look at me and say, "You're not going to eat that, are you?" then pick up the patty and walk away with it. Takes all kinds....

SWEETCORN PATTIES

These are a delicious addition to any party buffet, and very simple to prepare. Serve with a sweet chilli sauce.

MAKES 12
325 g111 oz can sweetcorn, drained
I onion, chopped finely I tsp curry powder I garlic clove, crushed
1 tsp ground coriander
2 spring onions (scallions), chopped
3 tbsp plain (all-purpose) flour
72 tsp baking powder
salt
I large egg
4 tbsp sunflower oil
Mash the drained sweetcorn lightly in a medium-sized bowl. Add all the remaining ingredients.,except for the oil, one at a time, stirring after each addition.
2 Heat the sunflower oil in a frying pan (skillet). Drop tablespoonfuls of the mixture carefully on to the hot oil, far enough apart for them not to run into each other as they cook.
3 Cook for 4-5 minutes, turning each patty once, until they are golden brown and firm. Take care not to turn them too soon, or they will break up in the pan.
4 Remove from the pan with a slice and drain on paper towels. Serve quickly while still warm.

PR ES EN TAT I ON
To make this dish more attractive, you can serve the patties on large letuce leaves with a sprinkling of spring onions (scallions) cut on the slant, for a more elegant appearance.

TIME SAVER
The mixture can be made in advance and will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

... I'm in a Ridiculous Little Town. The Health Food store had Nutritional Yeast, but not much else. I haven't been in there myself (mom picked up the Nutritional Yeast for me), but I may venture down and see what they have, what they can order in, etc.

A&P (Metro now, I guess ) sell the egg replacement stuff... and No Frills! I thought any biggish store would have them. There's no Health Food store in Napanee of which I know. Can you order online? Where exactly are you? (Send me a PM if you'd like.)
Can you get non-dairy cheese?

Hrm, No Frills does? I'll have to check next time I'm there. O_O And no, can't get non-dairy cheese in this town. There are places out of town with it, but awhile out of town. I may ask the health food store to order some in if they can.

I found a site you may enjoy which deals with egg replacement in recipes. Admittedly, I haven't looked at in in depth, but that's only due to a lack of time at the moment. I'll get back here with another recipe as soon as I can find something which might be interesting to you. I look forward to hearing whether or not you were able to find the egg replacement cartons or the non-dairy cheese.
http://www.vegcooking.com/vegcooking-eggreplace.asp

1 1/2 cups sake

1 1/2 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice

3/4 cup filtered water

2/3 cup maple syrup

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 cup coarse crystal date sugar

Mix all ingredients but the date sugar. Dip the wet rim of the martini glass in the date sugar

Aye, whats it supposed to make?

Something awfully big for a martini glass, I suspect!! (But sounds good nonetheless...)

A hangover.