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1lb black beans
1 medium onion
1 green bell pepper
2 carrots
6 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon oregano
5 cups Vegetable broth

Sort out any bad black beans or stones. Cut onion in chunks. Cut bell pepper into chunks. Cut carrots into 1-2 inch pieces.

Put all ingredients in instant pot.

Cook on pressure in instant pot for 40 minutes.

When timer goes off wait for instant pot to depressurize.

Remove “some” liquid and save it in case needed when blending. This is not an exact science here. The idea is once blended you want a nice smooth texture. By removing some of the liquid you prevent the mash from being too runny.

Blend with an immersion blender. If the mash is too thick add back some of the liquid and continue blending to your desired consistency.

Enjoy immediately. Can be stored in the refrigerator and reheated to use later. Makes a great dip for chips, a side dish or an ingredient on tacos.

I’ve always liked cream of mushroom soup. As a kid I’d eat Campbell’s. Later in life Progresso and other brands too. But when I switched to a Whole Food Plant Based diet, creamy soup just became a thing of the past. That is until a few weeks ago when I found Cadia Organic Creamy Mushroom Soup at the Green Market in Sherman, Texas. I’m sure its available at other stores as well.

To prepare you simply open the bag, pour it into a small sauce pan and heat it on the stove on medium heat for about 3-5 minutes. Tastes so good. Better than any of the store bought varieties I mentioned above. Look for it at your local market.

Going to a whole food plant based diet means not eating meat or dairy. Of the things we might say we miss the most is cheese. However with education like Dr Barnard’s Dairy is Dangerous video we choose not to eat cheese. I stead with some research and customization we’ve come to this nacho “cheezy” sauce. Its great for dipping chips, making enchiladas, adding black beans, or even making into a layered dip.

You’ll need the following ingredients:

• 1 whole medium onion
• 2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes
• 3 carrots
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 cups vegetable brooth
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (if desired)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon miso paste
• 3/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
• Japalenos or other peppers as desired for spice

Chop onion. Peal potatoes. Cut ends off of carrots and wash. Put all ingredients into Instant Pot. Set for pressure cook for six minutes.

When the six minutes is up, release the pressure and open the Instant Pot. Use a spachla to scrap the sides of the Instant Pot of anything that has boiled up on the sides.

Blend until smooth. There are two basic options. First, you can use an immersion blender directly in the Instant Pot. Second, you can pour the contents of the Intant Pot into a Vitamix or other high speed blender and then blend. Be careful with either method especially pouring into a blender as the contents of the Instant Pot are extremely hot.

Enjoy!

A couple of helpful notes to keep in mind.

First, we find these glass jars are a good way to store the sauce. When you are ready to use it, yiu can scoop into a bowl and microwave it. If it gets too thick, add some water.

Second, if you are making veggie brooth using boulion you can use boiling water to save some time on the pressure cooking.

Third, because some incregredients like carrots are not an exact measurement the consistency of the final product may very. If after blending the sauce is not velvety smooth, add a little more water and blend somemore.

Cashew Cream makes a replacement for sour cream in recipes that call for that as an ingredient. You can make it thicket or thinner depending on what you’ll be using it for. You’ll need the following ingredients

• 3/4 cup raw cashews
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• Pinch salt
• 3/4 to 1 1/2 cups water

The first step is to boil the cashews in three cups of water for 20-25 minutes. Once soft, drain boiling water and put them in ice water for a few minutes to cool them off.

Put the cooled cashews into a vitamix blender bottle and add the remaining ingredients. Blend on medium for a couple of minutes. You’ll notice as the blender is running eventually you won’t see bits of cashews.

Open the blender bottle and check with a spoon. There should not be any bits of cashews. If there are blend another minute or so. When the spoon is dipped into the cashew cream it should be creamy.

You can now use this in place of sour cream to make ranch dressing, sauce for enchiladas, dip, etc.

Tonight I made Vegan Sloppy Joes for dinner. To make plant based sautee the onion, garlic and bell pepper in veggie booth instead of oil.

We like to serve on pretzel buns that we get at Whole Foods.

You can top with your favorite add ons like jalapeños, relish, pickles, mustard, onion, etc. Serve with a side like Mac and cheese, side salad, hash browns, etc.

One of my favorite breakfasts especially on cold mornings is a nice bowl of oatmeal. Using an instant pot its extremely easy to make. You can even make it the night before and set the delayed start on the instant pot to have it ready in the morning.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup oats
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tablespoon flax seed
• 1 scoop Amla powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 cup blueberries
• 1 banana
• 3-6 strawberries
• Small amount of chopped nuts (if desired)
• Your favorite plant based milk (I prefer Almond)

Put a removable tray or basket in the instant pot and fill with water to just below the tray.

Add all the dry ingredients in a bowl that is safe for the instant pot like a Pyrex bowl.

Add water and blueberries. Sometimes I’ll also add the banana here. If yiur bananas get over ripe you can peal them and freeze them then use them in this step. Put the bowl in the instant pot.

Set the instant pot for four minutes. If yiu are making this the night before this is where you would set the delayed start time.

When the pressure is released open the instant pot. Top with strawberries, banana, chopped nut, and your favorite plant based milk (I prefer Almond). Enjoy with a cup of coffee!

Note: if you have a larger bowl you can make multiple servings at a time. Just add more flax seed, Amla, etc. Water should be twice the amount of oats.

Tonight I am making Butternut Squash Risotto in the instant pot.

While visiting North Carolina recently Mande found a vegan plant based restaurant that was not far away. We decided we should go. The day we planned to go we came to find out that due to COVID-19 there was no indoor seating. We decided to get carry out and figure out where to eat. We placed our order for 5:45 pickup and when we arrived they told us it was placed for pickup at 6:45. I am assuming this must have had to do with the fact that out computer is set to central time and we are in the eastern time zone. Regardless it turned out to our advantage. Turns out there was one table on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant with four chairs and one man eating at it. When he was done we took the table. Since the restaurant knew we were there they put our order in and gave it to us as soon as it was ready.

We were not disappointed. The Slipped fried mozzarella sticks appetizers had the same look as real cheese, and were excellent.

The Little Faith sandwich is delicious. BBQ jackfruit, pineapple, avacado! Wow!

If we end up back in Winston-Salem, North Carolina area we would definitely plan to go back to Mozzarella Fellas. Check them out.