Let’s touch on the basics

Cooking is cooking is cooking and vegan cooking is no different, you’re just working with a different set of ingredients. Here are the basic vegan go-to replacements and how to use them.

Cashew cream - replaces heavy cream for soups, cheesecakes, cheese/cream sauces, smoothies. Soak cashews over night in whatever you would like so that the cashews are just covered with liquid and blend the next day until velvety smooth. Keep refrigerated and do not use after 5 days.

Aquafaba - this is a fancy term for the liquid in canned beans, namely chickpeas. You can use this is place of egg whites. Pour into a clean bowl with narrow high sides and whip on high. Add cream of tartar to help stablize the bubbles you’re creating so you get more volume. Use to make meringues, macaroons, whipped topping, mousse, mayo or even cocktails.

Agar - this is a vegan gelatin made from seaweed - it’s tasteless and works the same as regular gelatin except it doesn’t need to be refrigerated to set. Use however you would regular gelatin.

Tofu -