Vegan Cranberry Upside Down Cake

This is a family recipe, and it never fails to make a good impression. It's all kinds of gooey and tart and sweet. Mm.

1 pound cranberries
1-1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1/4 cup melted Earth Balance margarine (or canola oil + 1/4 tsp salt)
1 6-oz. container vanilla soy yogurt
1 cup flour

Spread the cranberries in the bottom of a well-oiled pie dish. Top with 1/2 cup sugar and chopped nuts.

Mix the remaining 1 cup of sugar with the margarine and the soy yogurt. Add the flour, mixing just until incorporated. Pour the batter over the cranberries and bake at 350 for 1 hour.

A Mostly Vegan Christmas (or Fun With Puff Pastry)

We hosted a holiday party last night, and so I did what came naturally... smeared stuff on store-bought puff pastry and baked it. Nom nom nom.

Asparagus Tart

1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
2 Tbsp stone-ground mustard
1/2 pkg powdered pesto mix (or 1/4 c pesto)
1/4 cup hummus
1/2 bunch asparagus spears
olive oil, salt and pepper

Spread the mustard over the puff pastry, leaving about a half inch on all sides. Top that with pesto, followed by hummus. Trim the asparagus spears and lay them on top of the hummus. Drizzle the asparagus with olive oil, salt and pepper. Fold in the edges of the tart, and bake at 400 for 25 minutes.

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Death by Raspberry Chocolate Roll

1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
1/4 cup dark chocolate peanut butter spread (or nutella, optional)
1/4 cup raspberry jam
2 handfuls mini chocolate chips
raw sugar for sprinkling

Oil a baking pan well. Sprinkle your working surface with raw sugar. Place the puff pastry on top. Spread the dark chocolate spread on top, followed by the raspberry jam. Sprinkle generously with chocolate chips. Roll up lengthwise, then place in baking dish. Bake at 400 for 25 minutes.

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Easy Spanakopita

1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
2 pounds baby spinach
1/2 bunch asparagus, diced
1/2 cup kalamata olives, minced
1/2 pkg powdered pesto mix (or 1/4 cup pesto)
1 cup cheese curds OR 1/4 cup hummus
1/4 cup diced artichoke hearts (optional)

Steam/microwave the spinach until dark green and wilted. Mix with the diced asparagus, olives, pesto and cheese curds (or hummus and artichoke hearts). Top with puff pastry and bake for 40 minutes at 350.

Cheezy Vegan Hash Brown Casserole

1 batch Hurry Up Vegan Alfredo Sauce
1 tsp curry powder
1/3 cup hummus
12 oz. frozen hash browns
1 cup frozen peas (or shelled edamame)
1 cup french fried onions

Blend up the ingredients for the alfredo sauce for 1-2 minutes, or until very smooth, adding the curry powder and hummus at the end. Mix the sauce with the hash browns and peas in a well-oiled casserole dish. Top with french fried onions and bake at 350 for 45 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.