Recipes

• In a medium bowl by whisk all the ingredients to combine (or use a hand mixer if you prefer).
• Store refrigerated in an airtight container.

Prepare your workspace:

• Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
• Slice the mushrooms. Mince the garlic.
• Butter a 6 quart (6 litre) casserole dish.
• If using whole nutmeg, grate it with your planer.

Sautée the mushrooms

• Heat a large skillet to medium high. Add olive oil. Sauté the mushrooms until they begin to release their liquid.
• Add 1/2 the vegan butter and let the mushrooms soak up the additional liquid.
• Stir in the dried thyme (or Italian seasoning), salt and pepper. Remove the mushrooms from the pan and set them aside.

Make a roux

• Don't let the name intimidate you. A roux is a combination of oil (butter) and starch (cornstarch) that is used to thicken a liquid in the pan. It is super simple to make, and is the base for this delicious sauce.
• Turn the skillet down to medium heat. Melt the remaining butter in the skillet. Add the minced garlic, and cook to release the aroma (30 seconds). Sprinkle in the cornstarch. Use a whisk to combine the butter and cornstarch. Don't panic…it's supposed to seize up. Cook for a minute or two so the flavors can mellow.

  WELL DONE! You’ve made a roux!

Turn the roux into Béchamel Sauce

• Add about 1/4 cup (60ml) nut milk and stir into the roux with a whisk. Work all the lumps out before you add more milk. Continue adding the milk, whisking constantly.

  CONGRATULATIONS! You have made a Béchamel Sauce, one of the six French "mother sauces". Who ever thought it could be that easy!
• When all the milk is in the skillet and the sauce is smooth, add the vegetable stock, the concentrates, the nutritional yeast and nutmeg.
• Heat, stirring constantly for 8-10 minutes until the sauce has thickened up.
• For a super-silky texture, pour the Bèchamel carefully into your blender. Close the blender and cover with a folded towel to prevent accidental scalding from the hot liquid. Blend for 30 seconds to make the sauce silky smooth. Leave it in the blender for now.

Assemble the casserole.

• Using a mandoline or sharp knife cut the potatoes into discs about 3/8 inch (1 cm) thick.
• Arrange your ingredients in this order: sliced potatoes, blender of Bèchamel, sautéed mushrooms, Faux Parmesan cheese, and smoked paprika.
• In the buttered casserole, layer 1/3 of the potatoes in the bottom. Top with 1/3 of the sauce, 1/3 of the mushrooms. Sprinkle on 2 TBSP of the faux parmesan and a dusting of smoked paprika.

  Repeat for two more layers. If needed you can use your fingers to compress the potatoes if needed. It is best if all the potatoes are submerged under the sauce.

Bake the potatoes

• Cover casserole dish with foil and place in preheated oven. Bake 20 minutes, covered.
• Uncover the casserole. Bake uncovered for 50 minutes. The top will be bubbly and lightly browned. Remove from oven and let rest 20 minutes.

Garnish

• Spoon onto dinner plates. Garnish with fresh thyme sprigs. Grate a few strokes of nutmeg across the plate for texture.

  YOU DID IT! Congrats!

To make the Golden Milk mix

• Place all the ingredients in a small bowl. Stir briefly with a wire whisk to thoroughly mix ingredients. Store in an airtight container.

To make a single Soothing Golden Milk Latte

• Place 1 TBSP of the Soothing Golden Milk mix in a 12 ounce mug. Add 1 TBSP of COLD water. Stir throughly until there are no lumps.
• Heat 1 cup (250 ml) of warm nut milk to near boiling. Add to mug of prepared Golden Milk mix.

Garnish

• Float 2 oz of Better Half Almond/Coconut Milk Creamer on top of the beverage.
• Top with 8-10 grinds of fresh pepper.
• Serve warm in a quiet place, with a good book.

• Preheat open to 400°F (205°C)
• Line a baking sheet with a silpat, parchment paper, or foil for easy cleanup.
• Place the frozen meatballs on the baking sheet leaving a bit of space between them. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 mins until they are slightly crusty on the outside and wonderfully warm on the inside.
• Immediately plate the meatballs and cover with Simon and Garfunkel Mushroom Gravy. Garnish with a pinch of minced parsley "confetti.
• Traditionally Swedish meatballs are served with a dollop of Lingonberry Jam (a Swedish delicacy). Feel free to substitute marionberry or blackberry jam, or any other local berry jam.

• Rinse, drain, and pick through the cranberries to remove any bad cranberries. Put the cranberries in the work bowl of your food processor. Process briefly to begin chopping up the cranberries.
• Wash the mandarine oranges, and remove the dead stem. Place them in the processing bowl. You can leave them whole, or you can cut them if half for faster processing. Pulse the processor until the mandarines are incorporated.
• Add the coconut sugar and the Grand Mariner.
• Run the processor until the mixture has a consistent and somewhat fine texture.
• Check for desired sweetness. Spoon out into a serving bowl. Keep covered in the refrigerator. When ready to serve, allow to come to room temperature. Garnish as desired.

• Zest one mandarine. Peel zest strips strips off a second madarine. Then peel all four mandarines and mash them in the bottom of medium covered sauce pan. (Remove the seeds.)
• Grate your ginger. If you store your ginger in the freezer it stays fresh for months. It also makes it easy to grate with a planer.
• Add the beets and all the remaining ingredients to the citrus in the sauce pan. Bring the mixture to a boil and immediately reduce to simmer. Cook the beets until tender but not "soggy". About 30 minutes.
• Uncover the pot. Remove the beets to a small, heated bowl and cover to keep warm.
• Bring the liquids back to a boil. Carefully add the liquor and burn off the alcohol. Return to a simmer, and let the water evaporate until the sauce thickens and becomes a glaze,
• Watch the pot carefully. Take if off the heat when it is reduced to about ⅓ cup of liquid.
• Presentation: Plate family style on a medium platter or bowl. Pour the glaze over the top. Garnish with mint leaves and orange zest.
• For leftovers: These beets, warm or cold, are a delicious addition to a green salad! Just saying....

• Fill a medium mixing bowl ¾ full with cold water. Add ½ of the lemon juice. Dice the apple into ¾" pieces. Let soak in the cold lemon water for 10 minutes to prevent oxidation (browning). Drain well in a small colander.
• Put the dressing ingredients in the bottom of the empty mixing bowl. Give them a good stir until well combined. Add the remaining lemon juice to taste.
• Return the apples to the mixing bowl. Add the grapes, celery, and walnuts. Toss gently until the salad is evenly coated.
• Presentation: Line four open stemware glasses with a leaf of romaine lettuce. Divide the prepared salad in the four glasses. Garnish each glass with a sprig of parsley and 3 dried cherries. Voila!

Sauté

• Heat a sauce pan over medium high heat. Add the oil. Sauté the onion until it begins to caramelize (turn brown around the edges).
• Add the mushrooms and continue cooking until the mushrooms release their water.
• Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds to release its flavors.
• Raise the temperature of the pan to medium high. Cook until the bottom of the pan is almost dry.

Deglaze

• Deglaze the pan with half of the wine. "Deglaze" means you are pouring a liquid into a hot pan. The liquid boils on contact. The boiling liquid can then be used to scrape the little caramelized bits off the bottom of the pan for extra flavor.
• Pour in the remaining wine. Turn the heat back to medium and continue to let the wine bubble until the alcohol evaporates and the wine is reduced by half.

Deepen the flavor

• Add the vegetable stock and all of the flavor ingredients.
• Bring to a gentle boil, and let boil for a couple of minutes. Reduce the heat. Simmer on medium low heat for 8-10 minutes to let the flavors bloom.

Finish the gravy

• If a thicker gravy is desired, thicken the mixture with a "slurry". To make the slurry, mix the cornstarch with COLD water, stirring out all the lumps.

  Bring the gravy to a boil. Stir in 1/2 the slurry to thicken the gravy. Add the remaining slurry for an even thicker gravy. If the gravy has a bit of a "flower" taste, that means the slurry isn't "cooked" yet. Bring the gravy back to boil for two minutes and that should mellow out the flavors.
• Return the gravy to a boil. Stir the hot gravy while you add 1/2 the slurry. Continue stirring until the gravy thickens. Add more slurry until you reach your desired consistency. If the gravy has a bit of a flour aftertaste, that means the cornstarch isn't cooked. Turn up the heat and let the gravy boil for a minute or two, stirring constantly.
• Taste and adjust seasoning, adding lemon juice (for brightness), salt and pepper to taste.
• Serve as is for a "chunky" gravy.
• For a smooth and silky gravy (and for Swedish meatballs), put the finished gravy in a blender. Cover the blender with a folded towel to protect you from hot liquids. Blend on high to desired texture.
• Serve immediately.