Wasabi-Ginger Coleslaw for One

This tangy side dish can serve double duty—put it on your sandwich! Yummmm!

½ teaspoon wasabi powder

½ teaspoon water

3 leaves of cabbage, chopped (I used napa, but any kind of cabbage will do)

1 slice of red onion, diced

Small handful of cilantro or parsley, chopped

½ carrot, grated

1 radish, grated or chopped

½-inch ginger, peeled and diced fine

1 TBLSP vegan mayonnaise

½ TBLSP of pickle juice or apple cider vinegar

Ground black pepper, to taste

1 TBLSP peanuts for decoration

1. In a small bowl, combine the wasabi powder with the water and set it aside to think about stuff. (Wasabi is a very philosophical vegetable.) Use more or less powder, depending on your tastes—just keep the ratio of water to powder the same.
2. Chop and put the cabbage, onion, cilantro, carrot, and radish into a small bowl.
3. The wasabi should be a nice paste, so add the ginger, mayonnaise, pickle juice, and black pepper to it. Stir it with enthusiasm to make a nice dressing. Make sure that the lumps are ginger—not wasabi—or you’re in for some trouble later.
4. Slosh the dressing over the cabbage mixture and stir it up. Maybe “toss” is a better word.
5. Top with peanuts and devour.

Shown here on a Buttermilk Biscuit (recipe coming soon), with roasted asparagus draped across, and some vegan mozzarella melted over the whole lovely thing under the broiler. It wasn't a tidy sandwich, but it sure was good! 

Apricot-Glazed Cauliflower for One

Do you ever have a hankering for barbecue sauce and you’re allergic to tomatoes (on which most such sauces are based)? Try sloshing this sweet and tangy sauce on tofu, slabs of seitan, steamed veggies, or, as seen here, on cauliflower florets. Yum!

2 cups cauliflower florets

3 TBLSP apricot preserves

2 TBLSP miso (yellow or white)

2 TBLSP rice vinegar

2 TBLSP soy sauce or tamari

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

Heat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil (for quick clean-up).

1. Place the florets on the baking sheet and heave it in the oven while you mix up the sauce, about 5 minutes.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients (preserves, miso, vinegar, soy sauce, and garlic and ginger powders.
3. Pull the baking sheet from the oven and slather the florets on all sides with the sauce.
4. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
5. Pull the baking sheet out again, flip everyone over, and bake for another 10-12 minutes. The florets should be fork tender and the sauce should be golden brown and bubbly.

Serve with a refreshing salad. Seen here is a purple rice and zucchini salad, recipe coming soon! 

Applesauce Pancakes for One

Once the jar of applesauce is open, what are you going to do? Why, pancakes, of course!

½ cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons granulated sugar

½ teaspoon baking powder

Several sprinkles of ground cinnamon

A sprinkle or two of ground nutmeg

Pinch of salt

½ cup non-dairy milk (I like almond, but any will do)

¼ cup unsweetened applesauce

Slosh of vanilla extract

Non-dairy butter or coconut oil for frying

1. In a small bowl (I like to use a cereal bowl), combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, spices, and salt. 
2. Add in the milk, applesauce, and the vanilla, and stir until just barely combined.
3. Put about 1 TBLSP of butter or oil into the skillet over medium-high heat. Plop the batter into the butter once it’s sizzling at about ¼ cup per pancake. You should get four of ‘em. When there are bubbles all over the surface of the pancakes, flip ‘em, frying until they’re golden brown.

Serve with sliced apples, bananas, or other fruit, and top with maple syrup, jam, or applesauce!

Variations:

• Put slices of apple underneath the pancake batter in the pan to get an artistic effect.
• Make a buttermilk version by combining the non-dairy milk with a slosh of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice and letting it sit for a few minutes to curdle. Then proceed as above.
• I was running low on cinnamon, so I used cardamom. OMG. Try allspice or cloves, too. 

Kabayaki Sauce for One

This makes about ½ a cup, so you’ll want to use it for dips, dressings, and coating your tofu.

• ¼ cup tamari or soy sauce
• ¼ cup mirin
• 2 TBLSP granulated sugar

1. Combine all ingredients in a small sauce pan.
2. Bring them to a boil and then turn down the heat. Simmer on low heat for a few minutes.
3. When it thickens a bit, take it off the heat, which should take about 20 minutes, depending on the intensity of your stove.

Use to marinate tempeh, tofu, permeable vegetables (like parsnips, celeriac, or mushrooms), or dress your sushi with it. Yummmm!  

Beans on Toast for One

This is a simple English-style breakfast. You may not have had it, but once you try it, it will become a regular item. It’s fast, it’s filling, and it’s yummy!

1 slice of homemade bread (or store-bought, if that’s all you’ve got), toasted

2 TBLSP vegan cream cheese

4 TBLSP cooked beans (canned is fine. I like cannellini beans, but any will do)

1 green onion, chopped, greens and all

1/3 ripe avocado, sliced

2 TBLSP vegan cheese, shredded

Salt and pepper, to taste

1. Put the bread slice onto a tray, plate, or baking pan that can go under the broiler.
2. Slather the cream cheese on it (the bread, silly, not the pan).
3. Pile the beans on top of the toast in such a way that it’s spread nicely to the edges.
4. Sprinkle the green onion on top of that and spread out the avocado in yet another layer.
5. Sprinkle the shredded cheese on top of the whole mishegas and festoon with salt and pepper.
6. Put it under the broiler for 5 minutes (you’ll want to watch closely to keep it from burning).

Slice it into two pieces if you want to pick it up to eat it, or use a knife and fork as if you were a civilized person.

Tofu “Sour Cream” Dip for One

This tastes surprisingly sour, almost like sour cream.

4 ounces silken tofu (about ¼ package)

Juice from a wedge of lemon

1 clove garlic

Pinch of salt

1 TBLSP vegan mayonnaise

1 green onion, finely chopped

2 TBLSP fresh parsley, finely chopped (1/2 TBLSP dried will suffice in a pinch)

1 TBLSP fresh dill, finely chopped (1/2 TBLSP dried will do it too 

1. Combine tofu, juice, garlic, and salt in a food processor or blender, and whirl until smooth.
2. Remove from the processor and add in the mayonnaise, green onion, parsley, and dill. Taste for salt and possibly pepper
3. Chill for at least ½ an hour before serving.

Makes a good dip, or use it as a topping for potatoes (I like it on sweet potatoes), or you could mix it into your pasta sauce or plop it on your steamed veggies.

Seen here over steamed veggies (broccoli, string beans, mushrooms, onion, zucchini, and kale) and rice. 

Spiced Applesauce Cake for One

Even if Autumn is a just beginning, you can force the issue with this little cake. I’m so glad it made two little cakes! Yummmm.

For the Cake:

9 TBLSP all-purpose flour (1/2 cup plus 1 TBLSP)

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Pinch ground nutmeg

Pinch ground ginger

Pinch of ground cloves

½ cup unsweetened applesauce

6 TBLSP brown sugar

2 TBLSP canola oil

1 TBLSP white or apple cider vinegar

Slosh vanilla extract

2 TBLSP raisins

2 TBLSP chopped walnuts

For the Icing:

6 TBLSP powdered sugar

1 ½ TBLSP maple syrup

1-3 TBLSP water or non-dairy milk

Make the Cake:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease a 4-inch baking pan. A single-serving casserole will do just fine, too. Mine went nicely into TWO four-inch pans, which meant I get cake tomorrow too! Yay!

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger.
2. In another small bowl. Whisk together the applesauce, brown sugar, oil, vinegar, and vanilla.
3. Add the wet mixture to the dry, and stir until just barely combined. Don’t overmix or you’ll get a tough cake.
4. Fold in the raisins and walnuts. Plop the batter into the prepared pan, making sure that the top is even. 
5. Bake for 35-40 minutes, rotating the cake once about halfway through. Keep baking until a toothpick comes out clean.

Let the cake cool completely in the pan before removing. It will go faster if it’s up on a wire rack.

Make the Icing:

1. In a small bowl, whisk the sugar and maple syrup together until it’s very smooth.
2. Add the water or non-dairy milk 1 TBLSP at a time until it’s a smooth and thick icing that’s still pourable.

Assemble the Cake:

1. When the cake is completely cooled, run a knife around the inside edge of the pan to loosen it. Unmold the cake and set it on your serving plate. You might want to put little rectangles of parchment paper under it so you can pull them out later and not have icing on your plate, but don’t worry about it too much.
2. Lightly drizzle some of the glaze over the top of the cake. If you want it sweeter, coat the top more thoroughly. There’s plenty of icing for both little cakes and some for the cook, too!