Minimalist Baker work-potluck take-over

Around May, some people at work organize having pot-luck lunches to raise money for the Relay for Life. Groups usually pick a theme for their food. Last year our group did soup/salad and I made a wicked good chili. This year, we opted for Italian food. I have a couple co-workers who have issues with gluten and dairy, so I wanted to make something they could eat too. Well, I probably went a little overboard, but I had a lot of fun making everything. I thought it all tasted pretty good too.

I made

• vegan "meatballs," which also required me to make the 
• vegan "Parmesan cheese"
• No-Bake Carrot Cake Bites
• vegan, gluten-free brownies

I thought everything turned out great. Making everything did take some time. I made everything over two nights and each night I made quite a mess in the kitchen with all the bowls and the food processor.

For the "meat"balls, I used GF-soy sauce instead of the Worcestershire sauce, I didn't use fennel because I didn't have it. I used dried herbs where fresh were called because that's all I had. I also just  skipped the pan-fry step and baked them in the oven. They held together quite well and tasted good too. 

I didn't include raisins in the carrot cake bites and just coated them in finely-shredded coconut.

For the brownies, I used almond butter instead of peanut butter and skipped the chocolate chips because I didn't have any dairy-free chocolate chips. I baked the brownies a bit longer than the recipe called for - probably about 20-25 minutes total, and they still looked wet when I took them out. They definitely set up after cooling, like the recipe said.

I had several people at work ask for my recipes, and that always makes me feel like I made something somewhat tasty.