Every now and then I find an old recipe on this  from a couple of years ago, poorly written with even worse photos. Especially when it’s one I loved I’m always tempted to make it again and give it the recognition it should have.

This recipe’s a one food-processor wonder. The ingredient list is a little long, but all you have to do is throw it together, blend it up, and heat to serve—that’s it. It’s also remarkably creamy and flavorful with a sauce for no fat or animal products in it, so it makes a great, healthy crowd-pleaser.

The finished sauce should be slightly spicy with a cool finish. You can adjust it by adding more or less cayenne and chili powder and as always season it to taste.

Black Bean Mole Sauce

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 1 1/4 cups):

• 1/2 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons white vinegar
• 5 Tablespoons honey
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 Tablespoon cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon mustard seed
• ~1/4 cup water

Method:

1. Combine all of the ingredients except for the water into a food processor and blend until smooth.
2. Slowly add the water while blending until the sauce reaches a fluid yet thick consistency.
3. Heat up before serving. Scoop a generous amount over protein like tofu, tempeh, or chicken.

The best part about making anything at home is the flavors. Artificial dyes and ingredients just never taste as good as the real deal. You can buy strawberry flavored maple syrup that vaguely tastes like skittles with absolutely no maple syrup in it, but why do that when you can make something with actual strawberries?

Since Spring is here, Driscolls offered to send me some coupons to use their fresh berries as a recipe ingredient. I was shocked how many recipes they already have on their website including a large section of gluten-free recipes; 106 and they’re still adding more—that’s no joke.

I was inspired to make this syrup because I hadn’t made chickpea flour pancakes in a long time. At first I was just going to cook the berries into the pancakes but that didn’t seem quite as exciting as making a strawberry maple syrup. All you need is the whipped cream and it’s a decadent breakfast.

I originally planned to use this for pancakes and waffles, but after tasting it it’s hard to think of a food this wouldn’t be delicious on. I’m already planning to pick up a pint of vanilla ice cream from the store to drizzle this on. You can also use it in any recipe in place of maple syrup.

Homemade Strawberry Syrup

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 1 1/2 cups):

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• 2/3 cup hulled strawberries
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Method:

1. In a small pot over a burner, combine the sugar and water and heat until the sugar has dissolved.
2. Boil the water until the simple syrup reduces to about half of its original volume.
3. While the water is boiling, puree the strawberries and maple syrup in a blender or food processor until they make a smooth sauce.
4. Off of the heat, combine the strawberry puree and simple syrup and whisk together. Whisk in the vanilla and cinnamon as well.
5. Put the pot back onto the stove and continue boiling until the syrup reduces to about half of its volume again. Don’t over-reduce the syrup to be quite as thick as maple syrup because once it cools off of the heat it will thicken.
6. Store any extra sauce in a sealed container in the refrigerator when not enjoying.

This is also a really delicious topping on plain oatmeal and oatbran for those days you don’t quite feel like making pancakes.

I used to have a teacher who loved Cheese Wiz so much, he kept a tube at his desk. I’m pretty sure there’s no actual cheese in Cheese Wiz, just like there’s no actual cheese in this recipe. But I promise you this is a much healthier way to get a cheesy fix.

I didn’t like sunflower seed butter the first couple of times I tried it. I think most people feel the same way if you try to enjoy it like peanut butter or almond butter or even cashew butter; it’s oddly savory and unenjoyable. But once I tried it in savory ways it grew on me.

Sunflower seed butter makes a better “cheese” sauce than any other nuts I’ve tried. It gives the sauce a rich and velvety texture, and the nutritional yeast and seasonings create a flavor that doesn’t taste exactly like the real thing but delicious nonetheless. 

Easy Vegan Cheese Sauce

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 3/4 cup sauce):

• 6 Tablespoons sunflower seed butter
• 3 Tablespoons water
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Method:

1. Mix all of the ingredients together.
2. Store in an sealed container in the refrigerator. As it cools, the sauce will get thicker. Either bring it to room temperature before using or mix in a little extra water until it gets to the desired consistency.

There are plenty of ways that this would taste good. I made cheesy vegan burritos with corn flour tortillas, scrambled tofu, and steamed kale.

This Summer I’ve been obsessed with these pancakes. Maybe it’s because I hadn’t had good gluten-free pancakes before them. Or because I’m just relishing having a stove that’s not 3 floors down(oh, the life of a student).

As much as I loved having them with a dredge of maple syrup, I figured that couldn’t be good day after day. Instead I wanted to sweeten them the natural way with some fruit. By using chia seeds to thicken the sauce, it comes together literally in minutes but has the texture of a sauce that’s been cooking for much longer.

Look how thick it is(that’s what she said)! It’s hearty, warm, and the perfect pancake companion. The chia seeds not only thicken but also add a healthy dose of omega-3s.

You can use almost any fruit for this—strawberries, blueberries, cherries, grapes, mango. The one exception I’ve found is that using all raspberries creates a very tart sauce. If you want to make a raspberry version, switch out half with a sweeter fruit like strawberries or add a tablespoon of sweetener.

Quick Fruit Sauce

Prep Time: 0 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients(makes 1-2 servings):

• 3/4 cup fruit, fresh or frozen
• 1 Tablespoon chia seeds

Method:

1. Pour the fruit into a microwavable bowl and microwave on high for 1 minute for fresh fruit or 3 minute for frozen fruit until hot and bubbly.
2. Mash the fruit into a puree and mix in the chia seeds.
3. Let the sauce sit for 5 minutes to thicken. Pour hot onto pancakes, waffles, French toast, or a dessert.

This is so easy to make, I throw it together in between mixing and pouring the pancake batter. If it gets better than that, I don’t know how.