Ever Evolving Food Blog

Hello Everyone! I have had this blog for years now, and as my personal life has changed, so have my tastes and eating habits...for the better!! I am now a fully plant-based eater, so my newer recipes will reflect this lifestyle and way of eating.

All of my old recipes will remain on my food blog, of course, so there will be a mixture of the old and the new for everyone to look through and choose. You can always play around with any recipe out there and make it your own, whether it's plant-based or not. There are always other options!
Thanks SO much for following! Happy Eating!

What's Cooking With Melissa

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Saturday, November 25, 2017

Cranberry and Rosemary Cake (plant-based)

I was in the mood for a more savory cake after eating all the sweets over Thanksgiving this year.  The first thing that came to mind was something I could incorporate leftover cranberries into.  I ended up using what I had in my pantry, and it turned into a cranberry spice cake, which was more sweet than savory, BUT...I AM on a mission to create a savory cake.  More to come... 







Ingredient:
2 cups sugar
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup pumpkin puree 
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
2 cups spelt flour (or flour of your choice)
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder 
2 tsp basking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 Tbsp rosemary (dried)
1 1/2 tsp grated ginger
1 can whole cranberry sauce

Directions:
1. With a mixer on slow speed, mix sugar, applesauce, pumpkin puree, vanilla extract, and almond
     extract into a large bowl.
2. In another, medium-sized bowl, mix the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon,
     nutmeg, rosemary, and ginger.
3. Slowly mix in the dry bowl ingredients into the wet bowl ingredients, using a mixture on slow
     speed.
4.  In a small bowl, dump out the cranberry sauce and break up into small chunks with a spoon, then
     fold into the cake batter.
5.  Bake in a bunt pan (sprayed with non-stick spray) at 350 for about 40 minutes.  Check with a
     toothpick after 30 minutes to get a gauge on how much longer to leave it in your oven.
6. Once done, let cool for 15 minutes and add your favorite topping.  I added lingonberry sauce.  





Saturday, July 8, 2017

Mushroom Gravy (Dairy-Free)

I learned to make traditional gravy from my grandmother when I was a little girl using sausage grease, milk, and flour.  After becoming plant-based, I wanted to try one of the mushroom gravy recipes I kept seeing.  I have tweaked this one to suit my tastes.  I do not include white wine or nutritional yeast, but that is always an option if you prefer.  This recipe makes 4+ cups, so make sure you have something to store your extra gravy in.




Ingredients:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups vegetable broth
1 medium yellow onion (chopped)
4 cloves garlic (minced)
12-16 oz cremini mushrooms (finely chopped)
2 tsp dried sage
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. In a medium bowl, stir flour into 2 cups of the veggie broth with a fork.  Once it's blended and
        smooth, stir in the remaining 2 cups of broth.  Put aside.
2.  In a large saucepan, sautee chopped onion in ~2 tablespoons of water (or oil if you cook with oil)
        for about 5 minutes over medium-high heat.
3.  Mix in the mushrooms, garlic, sage, salt, and pepper and sautee for another 5 minutes, stirring  
        continuously.  *If you think the mixture is beginning to burn, lower the heat just a bit and add
        another 2 tablespoons of water.
4. Slowly stir in the broth/flour mixture. Make sure it's stirred up before you mix it in.  Bring to a boil, then lower heat to medium and cook for 20 minutes, stirring frequently.  *With about 8-10 minutes left, it will begin to thicken up.  At this point, you want to begin stirring more frequently, and you may need to turn the heat down to medium-low if it begins to reduce too quickly and burn.

Pour over your favorite dish or mash and enjoy! :)
Chopped Mushrooms
Cooking the Gravy

Ingredients