COW-FREE Raw Vegan Ranch and 'Regular' Vegan Ranch Dressing

Since this post is obviously about COW FREE Vegan Ranch, I thought I'd post some pictures of my kids, with, ironically, the cows on our neighbor's ranch...

Yes, ultimately, we all know where these cows end up, but they're friendly cows, and kept clean, well-fed and free to roam large pastures at least.

My kids love to "visit" them from time to time and the cows seem to enjoy it too, wandering over for petting and scratches (too bad this ranch isn't a VEGAN ranch, huh?)...

Anyway, on to the recipes: If there was one item my kids wanted in the fridge this summer (besides iced herb tea from my herb garden) it was RANCH DRESSING!

I think I made several gallons over the course of the summer months, all consumed with truck-loads of fresh veggies by hungry teenagers and their friends, cousins and random acquaintances.

I'll post my two standbys. (It's always nice to have more than one "favorite" for those days you're out of a key ingredient):

One is with raw cashews and is my fave, though I don't always have raw cashews on hand.

The other is slightly more "traditional", but I swear you'll be able to pass off either one as the "real deal" at your next Ranch Dressing Lovers Convention or family picnic!

.

CASHEW RANCH (with RAW option)

.

Soak 1 1/4 cup raw cashews for 2 hours

-- 3/4 cup soymilk OR water if you want a completely RAW dressing!!

-- 1/2 a lemon, juiced

-- 1/3 cup cider vinegar (I think that's raw, right?)

-- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

-- 3 cloves garlic

-- 1 teaspoon garlic powder

-- 3 teaspoons onion powder

-- 1 teaspoon dill (or 2 tsp fresh - fresh is better!)

-- 1 tablespoon sea salt

-- 1/2 teaspoon basil (or 1 Tbsp. fresh, fresh is better)

.

Drain soaking cashews. Blend cashews and soymilk, vinegar and lemon juice until creamy and smooth in your food processor - this takes a while. Then add everything else. Stir well.Let refrigerate 2 hours or overnight. Just before serving stir in an additional 1/4 cup finely minced parsley and 1/2 t more dill, minced.

.

.

----------------------

.

"TRADITIONAL" VEGAN RANCH

.

.

2/3 cup Vegannaise (vegan mayonnaise)

1/2 cup plain soy milk

2/3 cup Sour Supreme or Tofutti vegan sour cream

2/3 cup pureed silken tofu

1 tsp. white vinegar

1/2 tsp celery salt OR:1 tsp celery seed AND 1/4 tsp salt

*2 tablespoons chopped green onions (or fresh chives, chopped)

*1/4 teaspoon onion powder

*1 - 2 Tablespoons minced parsley (fresh is WAY better here)

*1(or more) garlic clove, finely minced

(*You can whiz the chives, parsley, onion and garlic with a little soymilk in the food processor to speed up making the dressing. Fresh herbs TOTALLY make this dressing!)

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/8 teaspoon cayenne

1/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

.

Use an immersion blender to combine all ingredients, or shake in a jar with tight-fitting lid.

Taste and adjust seasonings to your preference.

Chill for an hour or so to thicken and blend flavors.

Makes 2 cups.

.

Homemade Seitan "Wrap" from a Fairly OLD Tofu Mom

.
I must be getting old.
.
I know this because my ears are ringing and I am unreasonably exhausted. I blame it on late-night partying. Last night I attended the Jeremy Camp and Mercy Me "Rock and Worship Road Show Tour" with five of my girlfriends. Wild women, aren't we?
.
Perfect seats, 12 rows from the stage, what an experience!!! Yes, it was very loud. (See? I'm old!) But it was SO FUN!!! Completely awesome and amazing. If you're into Christian Music, or these particular artists, and this tour comes anywhere near your hometown, by all means GO!! GO!! And it's ONLY 10$ dollars!! One of the most meaningful and incredible evenings I have had in ages!!!

And even better? We started with an all vegan dinner at Seattle's lovely Bamboo Garden restaurant.

But back to feeling old - and the concert. Well, said concert ended after 11:PM and we ended up home after midnight - I was so wound up it took a long time after that to actually SLEEP!!

.

.

.

..

.

.

.

.

Here's what I found waiting for me in MY bed! Once I made room for myself to actually sleep in my bed, I crashed like a dead person.

.

I'm sure I used to stay up this late all the time with minimal effects on my energy level. But today, let me tell you, I FEEL OLD!! My butt is d-r-a-g-g-i-n-g...

.

Which brings me to lunch today - since I was completely out of ideas (or ambition) and apparently my children were dying of starvation because you KNOW I never feed them, I pulled a package of homemade seitan out of the freezer, thawed in the evil microwave and grilled it for some quick, easy "wraps".

.

If you make your own seitan, by all means freeze some of it for later. It defrosts easily and works perfectly in sandwiches, soups, stir-fry and any other quick meals you want to throw together. SO CHEAP too!!
.
Now, I am not fond of the word "wrap" so I'm not sure why I'm using it. I guess because it more accurately describes this sandwich than calling it a burrito. It's just a bunch of good stuff in a flour tortilla, call it what you want.

.
No recipe for the wrap itself, it's just homemade seitan using the Quick Seitan Cutlets recipe (to which I added sage and thyme - hence the sloghtly green color) from Vegan Dad's blog. I grilled the seitan to fabulousness in the panini press, cut into strips, wrapped in a flour tortilla with chipotle BBQ sauce, my own slightly amazing vegan ranch and baby greens.

.

DEEEELISH!!! Enjoy and have a great weekend. I'm back to Seattle again tomorrow for VegFest. My middle Sprout Daughter is going with me and ....(*gasp*) bringing a BOY WITH HER! Details later.

Vegan Ranch Dressing!

Supper was simple and boring tonight, but it's probably one of my kids' all-time favorites.

Sloppy Joes, which I can make blindfolded, and a HUGE bunch of fresh veggies dipped in ranch dressing. The Sprouts and I could live on veggies and ranch, I swear.

BV (Before Veganism) we were all HUGE Ranch Dressing addicts - almost harder to give up than cheese - and it's taken me many trials to find the exact recipe combination that tasted "ranch-y" and tangy and creamy enough for all of us. Here ya go... (Oh, and I'll post the Sloppy Joes another Day).

Enjoy.

Ranch-Style Dressing

2/3 cup Vegannaise (vegan mayonnaise)

1/2 cup plain soy milk

2/3 cup Sour Supreme vegan sour cream

2/3 cup pureed silken tofu

1 tsp. white vinegar

1/2 tsp celery salt OR:1 tsp celery seed AND 1/4 tsp salt

*2 tablespoons chopped green onions (or fresh chives, chopped)

*1/4 teaspoon onion powder

*1 Tablespoon minced parsley (fresh is WAY better here)

*1 garlic clove, finely minced

(*You can whiz the chives, parsley, onion and garlic with a little soymilk in the food processor to speed up making the dressing)

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/8 teaspoon cayenne

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Use an immersion blender to combine all ingredients, or shake in a jar with tight-fitting lid.

Taste and adjust seasonings to your preference.

Chill for an hour or so to thicken and blend flavors.

Makes 2 cups.