Nice and Spicy Vegan Onion Rings

I know, I know - vegans are supposed to be super healthy. But sometimes even us veggie munchers want a sinful comfort food snack and this recipe will fill that bill nicely. And hey, the flaxseed and whole wheat flour add a little extra fiber so they're not totally junk food. NOTE: Because we're frying here in an indeterminate amount of oil, that sopped up stuff is not in the final calorie count. But if you're eating onion rings right, you're not counting calories tonight anyway. Enjoy!

• Ready In: 25 mins
• Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 1  tablespoon ground flax seeds
• 3  tablespoons water
• 1⁄4 cup  vegetable oil
• 1  cup plain soymilk (rice or almond milk will work, too)
• 1  cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄2-1  teaspoon  dried chipotle powder, to taste
• 1  teaspoon baking powder
• 2  large sweet onions, sliced to desired thickness (1/2 inch slices recommended for restaurant style rings, 1/4 inch or less for onion strings)
• 1⁄2 cup whole wheat pastry flour (to dredge)
•  olive oil (to fry)

Directions

1. Preheat a pan of olive oil deep enough to float the rings to 375 degrees.
2. In a mixing bowl, mix ground flaxseed in water and set aside 2-3 minutes until it hits a gooey "egg-y" texture.
3. Add in oil, milk, salt, pepper and baking powder.
4. Whisk until smooth.
5. Dredge onions in flour and quickly dip them into the batter mixture.
6. Place enough battered rings to cover the pan in preheated oil and let them float and fry for about 2 minutes. Flip when they achieve a pleasant brown color around the outer edges. Fry 2 more minutes on the flip side, remove with tongs and set onto a plate covered in many layers of paper towels to soak up excess oil.
7. Try to keep your hands off them until they're ready for the table.
8. Gloat at non-vegan friends who say you never get to eat any fun foods.