
The Best Vegan Crab Rangoon(Takeout Style)
The Best Baked Garlic Fries

The best French fries I’ve ever had are from Pommes Frites in New York City. Crispy, golden, perfectly cooked fries that just happen to be vegan-friendly! A few years back, the restaurant unfortunately had a fire and had to shut down indefinitely. I was heartbroken (as any fry-loving foodie would be), not knowing if they’d ever reopen.
But good news! They’re finally back! And if you know anything about me, you know I’m obsessed with dipping sauces. Pommes Frites offers around 50 different sauces, many of which are vegan or can be made vegan and honestly, that’s all they serve: fries and sauces. Simple, plant-based perfection.

Pommes Frites has this unforgettable dipping sauce, a wine, fig, and sage mayo situation that totally stuck with me. I’ve always thought the idea of a wine-infused mayo paired with garlicky fries sounded like a dream, and since I’m a fig lover, it was pretty much perfect.
Eventually, I decided I had to try making a vegan version myself. But I didn’t stop there, I also wanted to see if I could create a healthier take on the whole thing. That meant experimenting with baked fries (still crispy, of course!) and figuring out how to capture that rich, tangy, slightly sweet flavor in a plant-based mayo. Challenge accepted.

And just like that, vegan fig and wine mayo was born! And hot damn, it’s ridiculously good. The moment I dipped one of my ultra-garlicky, oven-baked fries into that dreamy, slightly sweet, tangy magic, my life changed. Seriously.
Also, turns out you can get potatoes insanely crispy in the oven. Just slice them thin and crank the heat. No deep frying needed. The mayo? Totally easy to whip up while the fries are baking. Minimal effort, maximum flavor, and 100% plant-based goodness.

What About the Mayo?
The mayo is made with a wine reduction, and then has fig paste added. That is cooled and then whisked into some vegan mayo. Super simple, super delicious. The mayonnaise also needs a bit of salt and pepper to balance the sweetness, but you can season to taste. You can of course use any condiment you want. However, I definitely recommend this fig and wine mayo!

This is the perfect party food, the perfect side for any meal, or just a really freaking good dish all on it’s own! I absolutely love this recipe, and I hope you do too!
- 3-4 Large Russet potatoes
- 3 Tbsp. Olive oil
- 10-12 Cloves of garlic, smashed
- 2 tsp. Salt
- 1/2 tsp. Black pepper
- 1/3 C. Red wine
- 3 Tbsp. Fig paste
- 3/4 C. Vegan mayo, I used Follow Your Heart Vegenaise
- 1 1/2 tsp. Salt
- 1/2 tsp. Black pepper
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Wash and cut the potatoes, slice the potatoes in half lengthwise, then cut into thin slices, then cut those into small sticks.
- Place in a bowl and stir with olive oil, garlic and salt and pepper until fully coated. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with foil.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes, flipping half way through, baking until brown and crispy.
- While the fries are baking, make the sauce.
- In a small sauce pan, bring the wine to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for about 15 minutes until the wine is reduced by half. Add the fig paste and whisk together.
- Let cook for another minute, then remove from heat and let cool completely, you can throw it in the fridge while the fries finish cooking.
- Once cooled, whisk together the fig and wine reduction with vegan mayo and salt and pepper.
- Once the fries are ready, serve immediately!

The Best Vegan Sticky Toffee Pudding Recipe
Vegan Chicken and Dumplings

Yes, I am from the South. Florida though, is different from the rest of the South, our food is definitely more seafood and Hispanic food than soul food and down home cooking. That being said, my Grandma grew up in Kentucky and my Dad also spent a significant amount of time there. So, I do know Southern food. One of my favorites was always chicken and dumplings. My Dad made a mean chicken and dumplings when I was a kid! My husband Chris and I talk a lot about our childhoods, the good and the bad, and this ALWAYS leads to conversations about food!

Making my happy memories vegan is a thing of beauty and pride for me. So, this vegan chicken and dumplings came together so perfectly, and warmed me inside and out. This is the PERFECT winter recipe! So steamy, a little spicy and so filling.


Have you ever made chicken and dumplings? It is incredibly easy and totally brilliant. The dumplings act like built in biscuits for sauce dippin’! We worked with the dumplings a few times, the first time they were too dry, then a little too moist, but finally we got them just right! Underneath the fluffy amazing biscuit like dumplings, is a fabulous thick gravy and vegan chicken as well as some nice diced veggies. This dish is all around insanely delicious. You need to make this before winter is over!


Oh man, so steamy! This chicken and dumplings needs to be in your belly on a cold night! This recipe is incredibly easy, ready pretty quickly and will feed your whole family, and then some. This recipe will warm you up and make you so happy, I promise!


Super rustic with a gravy base and drop dumplings, you really can’t go wrong here! Spoon into a nice bowl, serve piping hot with some nice fresh parsley, there is literally nothing better. I hope you enjoy!
- 2 C. All purpose flour
- 2 tsp. Baking powder
- 1 tsp. Baking soda
- 1 tsp. Salt
- 3 Tbsp. Dried chives
- 2 Tbsp. Flax meal
- 3 Tbsp. Water
- 1 C. Almond milk
- 1 tsp. Apple cider vinegar
- 1 Large carrot, diced
- 2 Stalks of celery,diced
- 1/2 an Onion, diced
- 2 Cloves of garlic,diced
- 1 Tbsp. Olive oil
- 1 C. White wine
- 1/4 C. All purpose flour
- 1/4 C. Vegan butter, I used Earth Balance
- 5 C. Vegan chicken stock or vegetable stock
- 2 C. Vegan chicken, I used Trader Joe's Chickenless strips
- 1 Bay leaf
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 1/2 tsp. Cayenne pepper(optional)
- Make the dumplings, whisk together all the dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl, make a flax egg by mixing flax and water together and let sit for a minute. Make vegan buttermilk by mixing almond milk and apple cider vinegar together and let sit for a minute.
- Add the flax egg and vegan buttermilk to the dry ingredients, and stir until completely combined. Set aside.
- In a large soup pot , heat 1 tbsp of olive oil on medium heat, add the carrots, celery, onion and garlic. Sweat for a few minutes until the onion starts to become translucent.
- Add the white wine, stir and reduce for a few minutes. Pour veggies and remaining wine into a bowl and set aside.
- In the soup pot, add the vegan butter and flour and stir. Cook for a few minutes to make a roux.
- Add the stock and the veggies and wine back in. Stir together. Add the vegan chicken and bay leaf.
- Taste and season.
- Time to add the dumplings, scoop small scoops of dough into the liquid in the pot, until all the dough has been used.
- Cover and reduce heat to low, simmer for 25 to 30 minutes until the dumplings are cooked through.
- Serve with parsley!
Vegan Huevos Rancheros Tostadas

I grew up in Miami, there were endless options for Mexican and Cuban food, as well as many other Hispanic restaurants. I was greatly influenced early on by my love of Hispanic food. There was an amazing little Cuban restaurant really close to my house when I was a teenager. My dad used to take us there at least once a week. It was astoundingly cheap and astoundingly delicious. I used to get a Cafe con Leche, and they had the most delicious plantains I had ever had or ever will have. My many hours spent at the cafe inspired a lot of mojo marinades! Huevoes Rancheros was one of my favorite Hispanic inspired dishes as well. I have never liked eggs over easy, but my brother and dad did, so I would make scrambled eggs for mine, and over easy for them. I had really been missing this wonderful dish recently, so of course, I made my own!

These “eggs” are a take on the scrambled eggs I used to make for my huevos rancheros, they are not just a crumbled tofu. I blended them with spices and a few other things to give them the flavor and texture of a real scrambled egg. It is incredibly easy, all you have to do it throw everything in a blender and then pour into a pan and cook like you would a real scrambled egg. Then all you need to do is fry up some corn tortillas and top with your favorite toppings!

Why did I make this vegan version of huevos rancheros into a tostada, you ask? Because it is so freaking good! Why the heck not? It makes it portable, crunchable, and delectable.( I don’t think crunchable is a word, but it should be) This entire combination is amazing. I recommend using all the components I did. I have a mashed black bean layer, then the “eggs” then avocado smashed with lime, salsa, cilantro and green onions. I would also say adding some vegan cheese is a great idea!

This quick breakfast is perfect for any time of day! I do love me some breakfast for dinner, and this kind of already borders on breakfast and dinner! You can totally get creative with this one, and throw what ever you want on these babies, anything you would put on a taco would work on these as well! Vegan huevos rancheros tostadas are so perfect! Have fun everyone!

- 1 15oz. Block of Extra firm tofu
- 4 Tbsp. Coconut cream
- 1/2 C. Almond milk
- 1 Clove of Garlic
- 2 Tbsp. Nutritional yeast
- 3 Tbsp. Cornstarch
- 1 tsp. Mustard
- 2 tsp. Turmeric
- 2 tsp. Salt
- 1 tsp. Black pepper
- 1 tsp. Smoked paprika
- 6-8 Corn tortillas
- Oil of choice for frying
- 1 Can Black beans
- 1 Avocado
- 2 Limes
- 2 Tbsp. Cilantro
- Salsa of choice
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- In a blender, add all the "huevos ingredients, and blend on high until creamy and smooth. This will take a few minutes.
- Once the huevos mixture is ready, heat a small non stick pan, sprayed with non stick spray, scoop about 1/3 of a cup of the mixture into the pan, and smooth out evenly. Let cook for a few minutes on one side, and then flip over, and you can break it up a bit to look like scrambled eggs. Move around and cook on each side just like you would with eggs. Once all of it has browned a bit and it looks cooked through, remove from the pan and repeat as many times as you want until you have as many eggs as you need, depending on how many tostadas you plan to make.
- Heat about half an inch of oil in a pan on medium high heat, and once the oil is hot, add your corn tortillas, one or two at a time, cook for a minute or each side. Until brown and crispy. Repeat until you have all your tortillas done.
- Smash the black beans down a bit with some salt and pepper, using a fork, warm them in a sauce pan for a few minutes.
- Put together the tostadas. Lay a crispy tortilla down, then the smashed black beans, then the "huevos" , then avocado mixed with lime juice, salsa, and cilantro. Squeeze a little more lime juice on top and you are ready to go!
Vegan Banana Bread Waffles

Let us have a chat about bananas. I love them so much, and I think I may always go overboard with how many I buy(especially if I go shopping when I am hungry, am I right?), and then they go bad so fast! So, I am constantly thinking about things to make with very ripe bananas, besides banana bread. Don’t get me wrong, I love banana bread, it is just done to excess. Then I had a thought a few days ago, why fight it? I will just make it more fabulous! Vegan gluten free banana bread waffles became the answer to all my questions about what to do with my ripe bananas!


These waffles taste exactly like banana bread! I used a combination of oat flour, that I processed myself(but you don’t have to) and pecans also processed into a almost flour like texture. Mashed banana, cinnamon, then sweetened with either maple syrup or coconut sugar(I tried both, they are both amazing), this perfect breakfast is healthy, delicious and fast as heck!


I highly recommend getting a waffle maker, they are so awesome, and can turn any boring dish into something super exciting! This waffle batter, while being ironed, made my kitchen smell like banana bread, and it was totally awesome! This recipe is super simple, and is ready in minutes. Pour some maple syrup on top, and hot damn! So friggin’ good!


I also want to mention, if you are still like me, and you are trying to eat clean for your new year’s resolution, this is a perfect breakfast. I promise you won’t know they are really healthy and you don’t even have to tell anyone (shhhhhhhh….). Adding this to your repertoire will make life way easier! These waffles are perfect, crispy and crunchy on the outside, soft and fluffy in the center. The pecans and oats together make a really great texture! I was actually not sure how this was going to turn out, but I was so surprised by how incredible these waffles are!

I hope you enjoy, and as always, if you have any questions or feedback, I am happy to hear it! Have fun kids!
Tools I used:
Hamilton Beach Flip Belgian Waffle Maker with Removable Plates (26030)
Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Quick Cooking Rolled Oats, 32 Ounce (Pack of 4)
- 1 Banana, very ripe
- 2 Tbsp. Flax meal
- 3 Tbsp. Water
- 2 Tbsp. Maple syrup or coconut sugar
- 1 1/2 C. Quick cooking Oats, gluten free
- 1/2 C. Pecans
- 2 tsp. Baking powder
- 1 tsp. Cinnamon
- 1 tsp. Salt
- 1 tsp. Vanilla
- 1/2 C. Almond milk
- 5 Tbsp. Coconut oil, melted
- Plug in your waffle iron and begin to heat up.
- In a large bowl, smash your banana.
- In a small bowl, mix the flax and water to create a flax egg, set aside to thicken for a minute.
- Add the flax egg to the banana, along with the maple syrup or coconut sugar and stir together.
- In a food processor, add the oats, and process for a few minutes until very fine, and flour like.
- Pour oats into the large bowl with the banana mixture.
- Add the pecans to the food processor, and process down really fine as well, it doesn't have to be as fine as the oats. Add pecans to the large bowl with the oats and banana mixture.
- Add the remaining ingredients, the baking powder, cinnamon, salt, vanilla, almond milk and melted coconut oil.
- Stir all together until fully combined.
- Spray your heated waffle iron, scoop a good amount of mixture into the center of the waffle iron and cook according to your waffle irons instructions. Repeat until all the waffles you want are made.
- Serve immediately, with maple syrup!
- I like to use an ice cream scoop for my waffle batter, it is easy and insures they are the same size!

Vegan Spicy Cheesy Bean Dip

So, I hear that the Super Bowl is coming up? I don’t know, I hate football. Every year my husband and I come up with some kind of anti-super bowl party idea. However, we still make all the same food you would have at a football type gathering, just vegan, of course! Then we watch the Puppy Bowl or something! Now, I want to make sure you know, I am in no way saying you shouldn’t watch football, and I am well aware that I am part of the minority on this subject (especially living in a major college town), so this recipe will work really well even if you are going to actually watch sports!

Just because you watch football, it doesn’t mean you can’t stay vegan and have all the same amazing foods and flavors that go with a sporting event! You just have to get creative!! The basic Super Bowl party foods I feel like you need are chips and dips, wings, maybe jalapeno poppers. I decided to work on a vegan version of all of these, and this is where my spicy cheesy bean dip comes into play! It is so delicious, I had to stop myself from eating it all alone, in a dark corner, sobbing.

This recipe is about as easy as you can get. You are just blending ingredients in a blender, and then heating everything together in a skillet. The only thing you really need to think about is how spicy you want it! It is also rather healthy I am going to say. The base is raw cashews, there is no gluten and no refined sugar, and to make myself feel even better, I baked tortillas until they were crispy and ate the dip with those. You can make that happen with flour or corn tortillas, and with corn you can keep it completely gluten free!

I highly recommend making this super easy, low stress dip for your next sporting party! It tastes so cheesy, spicy and perfect. I promise that everyone will love this, and you can join me to continue the mission to make everyone a vegan(at least part time?). I hope you enjoy! As always, if you have any questions or feedback, I would love to hear it!

- 1 C. Cashews, raw (soaked for at least 4 hours)
- 2/3 C. Vegetable broth
- 2 Tbsp. Nutritional yeast
- 2 tsp. Turmeric
- 2 tsp. Chili powder
- 1 tsp. Onion powder
- 1 tsp. Garlic powder
- 2 tsp. Salt
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1 Can Black beans
- 1/2 Can Crushed tomatoes
- A few dashes of Hot sauce
- Cilantro
- Green onion
- Limes
- Tortilla chips
- Soak raw cashews for at least 4 hours up to overnight.
- In a blender, add soaked cashews, vegetable broth, nutritional yeast, spices and lime juice. Blend on high until nice and creamy, this will take a few minutes.
- In a skillet, add the black beans, tomatoes, and a few dashes of hot sauce. Cook on medium high, and once the cheese sauce is ready, stir into the skillet with the black beans and tomatoes.
- Cook all together for 5-10 minutes on low heat until piping hot and creamy. Stirring every minute or so.
- Taste and adjust flavor to your liking, you can add more hot sauce or chili powder if you want it hotter, more lime for acid, and more salt if you need it!
- Top with cilantro and green onions and serve with tortilla chips!
- If you are having this at a party, and it gets cold after a while and starts to firm, you can throw it back on the stove and reheat! It tastes great reheated!
Vegan Apple Pie Baklava

I loved Baklava when I was a kid. It had everything I desire in a dessert. Crunchy, crispy, nutty sweetness. Every year, we take our daughter to the Greek food festival, and there are a few things I can eat, but really my kid just loves the music and the people, and I love watching how excited she gets. However, my husband always gets baklava. I will admit, I am jealous when he eats it, but no more!

I have created the most delicious baklava of all time. You will never know it is vegan, and you will honestly wonder why you never had apple pie baklava before. That flavor combination with the addition of the apples, seemed like a natural thing to do. It normally has spices that I think of when I think of apple pie. It is winter and apples are in season, and boom! Vegan Apple Pie Baklava!

The recipe while super simple, I will warn you, it is a bit time consuming. You make a few components, and then layer the phyllo dough with vegan butter. So, easy, but a bit of a process. You first make a simple syrup, then cook the apples down a bit, chop up nuts very fine, and then layer it all with the beautiful paper thin dough. Bake it until nice and brown and crispy, then pour the simple syrup over top and hear that fantastic sizzle when the cooled syrup hits the piping hot baklava!


This Vegan Apple Pie Baklava is one of the best things I have ever tasted, and now is a perfect time to make it. So many amazing apples are in season right now, go out and get your favorite and make this fantastic recipe! One last note, all of the phyllo dough I found was “accidentally” vegan, but just double check when you purchase your dough! Peace out!
- 1 C. Sugar
- 1/2 C. Water
- 1/2 Tbsp. Lemon juice
- 1 Cinnamon stick
- 2 C. Apples, peeled and finely chopped (I recommend green apples)
- 1/4 C. Sugar
- 2 C. Pecans or walnuts, chopped finely
- 2 tsp. Cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. Cloves
- 1/4 tsp. Nutmeg
- 1 tsp. Salt
- 24 Sheets of phyllo dough, vegan
- 3/4 C. Vegan butter, I used Earth Balance
- Make the syrup first. In a small sauce pan, add all the ingredients except the cinnamon stick and bring to a simmer. Add the cinnamon stick and continue to simmer until it reaches 225 degrees(use a candy thermometer to check)
- Once syrup reaches the right temperature, remove from the heat and take out the cinnamon stick. Set aside to cool.
- Peel and then chop apples into very small pieces.
- Place in a sauce pan with the 1/4 cup of sugar. Cook down until softened, and liquid begins to thicken, this will take about 10 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Add the cooked apples to a bowl, and add the remaining filling ingredients: the finely chopped nuts and the spices, and stir together.
- Melt the vegan butter in the microwave for about 30-45 seconds.
- In a 9x13 in. baking dish, start to layer the phyllo dough. Lay one sheet down and brush with melted vegan butter, repeat this until you have 8 sheets put together. Pour half of the filling on top and smooth out.
- Repeat with 8 more sheets, then the remaining filling, then 8 more sheets.
- Score the dough, slice 4 even slices lengthwise, then slice diagonally across to create diamonds.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, lower the temperature to 300 degrees, and bake another 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.
- Remove from the oven, cut fully where the scores were made and pour the cooled syrup over while it is still hot.
- Let cool for at least 4 hours.
- Enjoy!
- If you sprinkle a little cold water on top before you bake, it will help the dough not curl up.
Vegan BLT Salad

The thing I hear a nauseating amount, is this, “I would be vegan, but I love bacon too much.” Well, if you have been following along with me, I have probably already informed you of how much I LOVE coconut bacon. If you feel like you will crave that sweet and salty crisp of bacon, I think this will help you make it through. Then one day, you will realize you don’t miss any meat at all. You will realize you feel so much better physically and can feel a lot better about how awesome you are!

I have been brainstorming about what else people put bacon on that I could create a vegan substitute for, and continue to make it so easy for people to live without animal products and salads are something I used to always put bacon bits on. Working off of that, I was thinking BLTs are pretty trendy, right? I don’t know. It seems like I have seen a lot of variations recently, so I thought why not come up with my own. Very often ideas come to me, and kind of actually wake me up, and I decide right then and there in the wee hours of the morning, that I am brilliant, and will work on my ideas upon becoming more lucid. Then once I have coffee, I can kind of determine if I am actually a genius or not.


It turns out, this time, it was a brilliant idea. This was one of the most delicious salads I have ever had. I really like sun dried tomatoes, but some beautiful cherry tomatoes, or really any kind you want would be amazing. I also made some of my cheesey garlic croutons, but if you want this salad to be gluten free, just nix the croutons and maybe add some pecans or something!


I have been toying around with the idea of a vegan creamy garlic dressing using tofu, and I finally felt like I found the correct vessel for said dressing. It was the perfect compliment to this salad. I think a balsamic vinaigrette would work great too, and be a lot less work, if you are not up to making the dressing, but I highly recommend it!

This a quick and easy week night meal, full of flavor and very filling! I hope you all enjoy, and as always, if you have any questions or feedback, I am happy to hear it!
- 1 C. Coconut flakes
- 1/2 Tbsp. Liquid smoke
- 1 Tbsp. Soy sauce or Tamari for Gluten free
- 1 Tbsp. Maple syrup
- 15 oz. Block of extra firm tofu
- 1/2 C. Coconut oil, melted
- 2-3 Cloves of garlic
- 1/4 C. Soy sauce or tamari
- 1/4 C. Apple cider vinegar
- 1/2-3/4 C. Water
- 2 tsp. Agave
- 2 tsp. Nutritional yeast
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- Lettuce of choice
- Tomatoes, sun dried or cherry
- Croutons(optional)
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Make the coconut bacon first, stir all the ingredients together in a bowl until the coconut is completely coated in the liquid smoke, maple syrup and soy sauce.
- Pour onto a prepared baking sheet and smooth out to a single layer.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes until it is nice and crispy.
- While the coconut is baking, make the dressing.
- Place all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth, it will take a few minutes. You can add more or less garlic depending on your preference, and I would start with 1/2 Cup of water, and add more depending on how thin you want it.
- Once the coconut bacon is done, and the dressing is ready, toss together the lettuce, bacon, tomatoes and dressing.
- Enjoy!
- I used 3 cloves of garlic because I love garlic, but the choice is up to you.
- I also used about 1/2 cup of water because I like my dressing thick, but add more water if you want it to be easier to pour!



