Loaded Baked Potatoes for 1

Potato of doom!

Twice-baked potatoes are a thing of beauty. It's like a combination of the 2nd and 3rd best way to eat a potato (the first being french fries IMHO). You get the crispy outside of baked potato coupled with the velvety texture of mashed potatoes. I don't know if I would necessarily call these true twice-baked potatoes, so I'll just call them "loaded" - as in "loaded with toppings and deliciousness".

Cheater Chick'n & Cheeze Empanadas: Pockanadas?

The golden, crispy exterior

I hate to call these empanadas. I feel like I'm doing a huge disservice to that which is a true empanada. So, we'll say these are somewhere between a super fancy hot pocket and an empanada. Fancy Pockanada? No? I'll work on it. But I definitely see Hot Pocket stealing that from me. THEN who will have the last laugh?

That being said, these are insanely delicious. Inside, the Daiya cheese and cream sauce melt together to make a phenomenally decadent center. The gardein chicken is strong enough to handle all the cooking, so it retains it's flaky, chicken-like consistency. A little jalapeno makes for a touch of heat. A handful of spinach to make you feel good about it. And the puff pastry outside... well, find me someone who hates puff pastry. We'll talk.

Cornbread, Ain't Nothin' Wrong with That

Chris Rock has forever ruined cornbread for me. I can't even begin to utter the words without immediately thinking: "Ain't nothin' wrong with that!!"And if you have no idea what I'm talking about, you should listen to this while you bake this AMAZING, incredibly perfect cornbread:

Isa's Chickpea Picatta

My version

One of my favorite "fancy" things to make is a picatta - whether it be seitan cutlets or gardein. So, when I saw in Isa's new cookbook "Appetite for Reduction" that she had revamped her recipe to be around 400 calories, I was pretty amped. The white wine sauce and all the mashed potatoes with tons of earth balance of the standard picatta is quite indulgent, albeit delicious, but maybe more indulgent than I would like.

Crispy Gardein Sandwich

Delicious and beautiful

I've been eating at home a lot and cooking AND taking photos. The posting part has just escaped me lately.

This sandwich is amazingly easy and quite delicious. It's also sort of elegant looking with the flat bun and fresh spinach. It's almost like a flat bread sandwich, which if you ever eat out or watch tv - you know it is so hip right now.

Pesto Pups - Italian "Pigs"-in-a-blanket

You can be pretty sure it's a bad sign when there are spiders living under your apron. I don't know what got into me. I left for vacation mid-summer, and just never left that state-of-mind I suppose.

Either way, I was struck with inspiration today! I was perusing through some flicker photos and saw that Whole Foods makes these crazy, vegan pigs-in-a-b

lanket with all sorts of soy cheese and what not. I had to have one. Plus, I've been on this crazy eating bender, and the photos are all I really need to tip me over the edge.

SO, I guess all I have for you is a really easy, fun way to make some vegan PIAB (we'll say PIAB from now on). Traditionally, I think they're made with your run-of-the-mill dogs, with some sort of puff pastry or pizza dough, and maybe a slice or two of american cheese up in there. But, I'm not a HUGE fan of vegan cheese. I don't know. I'm on the fence I guess. Then from that hatred, came love. Vegan pesto love.

Gardein "Beef" Red Wine Stew

I guess you could technically call this a vegan "Beef Bourguignon", but this dish seems to be a lot more than just "beef and red wine". I know I'm not breaking any molds here by making a stew. According to wikipedia they've been making stews since the 4th century BC, but I'd like to think they weren't making mock-meat stews like this. In fact, I bet they weren't this good.

I like this stew a lot. Stews sometimes have the bad rap of being bland, and it makes sense. I think people rely on the beef flavor too much. But when you're working with mock meats, you have to be a little more inventive. It doesn't really matter what red wine you use, it's just an accent to the overall flavor. The touch of chipotle powder adds a smokiness and the basil & oregano give it some herby savoriness. By adding the carrots last, they don't get overcooked and mushy-- and I hate mushy carrots. So you have some good texture contrasts in there. And if you've never had gardein before, you'll love these skewers. They have a meat-like texture with a beefy flavor, which is good for a "beef" stew.


[[Gardein "Beef" Red Wine Stew]]
Serves 4. Or 2 if you're hungry.

2 tbs. vegetable oil
2-3 cloves minced garlic
2 packages of Gardein BBQ skewers
1/2 cup white flour
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp parsley
1 tbs fresh chopped basil
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp chipotle powder
1 small red onion finely chopped
1 1/4 cup red cooking wine
2 cups no-chicken broth
1/2 cup sliced cremini mushrooms
1 bay leaf
2 carrots, sliced
more parsley for garnish

-- In a ziplock bag or a large bowl, add flour and onion powder. Mix together to fully incorporate the onion powder.
-- Remove the gardein from the packages and remove skewers. Rinse the gardein chunks with cold water to remove excess sauce.
-- Place rinsed gardein in the flour mixture and shake to full coat in flour. Remove coated gardein from the flour mixture and discard excess flour. Set aside the gardein.
-- Get a large pot and add 2 tbs vegetable oil. Heat on medium/high heat.
-- When heated, add the minced garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Lower the heat if the garlic starts to burn.
-- Add the gardein to the heated vegetable oil/garlic mixture. Allow the gardein to get crispy and flip to cook the other sides. About 3-5 minutes per side.
-- Lower the heat to a medium/low. Add the onions & all the spices and cook with the gardein about 5 minutes allowing them to get soft.
-- When softened, add the red wine. The red wine will simmer down and should begin to thicken from the flour on the gardein. This may take 5-10 minutes. Raise heat if it's not simmering.
-- After it simmers and thickens, add 2 cups of warmed no-chicken broth. Stir to fully incorporate.
-- Add the carrots, mushrooms, and bay leaf. Let it sit for about 15 minutes. It will begin to thicken some more and the vegetables will soften.
-- Serve over mashed potatoes or rice and garnish with parsley. Remove the bay leaf first!

Creamy Creole Pasta with Crispy Seitan & Broccoli [[Revisited]]

I posted this recipe about 9 months ago. It's easily my favorite thing to make. And since posting it, I've really updated this recipe a lot. And my camera. So here is my creamy creole pasta, again. With some prettier pictures and new twists...

Veganism can't do a lot of things well in way of replication. Vegan cheese by most standards, sucks in high quantities-- macaroni and cheese will be a life long battle for some. Tofu scramble is awesome, but really doesn't shine a light on actual scrambled eggs. You'll never get a fried egg again.

At the end of the day, though, we're a bunch of freaking wankers. We chose to not eat dairy and meat [[and honey for most of us]]-- we signed up knowing our food will never taste the same.

But as vegans, your taste buds adapt. Some days I crave nutritional yeast cheese. I love the chewy, delicious texture of a fake chicken patty. And tofu scramble speaks the words of my heart.

Last night I made a creamy creole pasta. It's been a while since I had a dairy cream pasta, but to me this was reminiscent of those delicious, creamy pastas I once enjoyed. And while dairy products seem most difficult to replicate, I think this does an amazing job of it.


[[Creole Cream Pasta with Crispy Seitan & Broccoli]]
This made a butt load. Like two large dinner plates, plus two decent sized lunch plates. And the more I work with chickpea flour to thicken my sauces, the more I believe that white flour is completely unnecessary.

About 2 cups whole wheat rotini
-- Cooked per packed instructions
-- I like to cook the pasta, then set it in a strainer in the sink and use the same pot for the cream sauce. Then add the pasta back to the pan and stir so it warms up again.

1 cup seitan, cubed
oil
creole seasoning
-- Dust the seitan with the seasoning and brown in a pan with some oil.

1 cup chopped shittake mushrooms
1/2 red onion chopped
1 green bell pepper chopped
1 cup spinach
2 roma tomatoes chopped
olive oil
-- Lightly sauteed in olive oil until soft. Add mushrooms, onions and tomatoes first. Then add spinach for last 30 seconds.

3 heads of broccoli, chopped
a drizzle of olive oil
-- Baked broccoli at 450 F in a glass dish for 15 minutes until tender and crispy.

Cream Sauce Ingredients:
2 tbs earth balance
4 cloves garlic, minced or finely chopped
4 tbs brown rice flour
1 1/4 cup soy milk
1/2 cup white cooking wine
1 1/2 tbs nutritional yeast
1 1/2 tbs creole seasoning [[tony chachere]], if you make your own creole seasoning be sure to add salt and pepper!
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 to 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Cream Sauce Instructions:
-- Melt earth balance in a medium sized sauce pan on medium heat. Add garlic and seasoning. Cook for two minutes allowing the seasoning to brown a little and the garlic to become fragrant but not burnt.
-- Then add brown rice flour*. Whisk it quickly until you have a roux, like a thick goop. Let it bubble for 30 seconds or so.
-- Add the white whine. Whisk for a while on medium heat until it's thickened up again [[like a cream sauce, not like the goop you had before]]. Let this bubble too to remove some of the alcohol flavor.
-- Then add the milk and whisk again, allowing it to thicken like a velvety cream sauce.
-- Once thickened again, add your nutritional yeast and continue to whisk until fully combined.
-- Add the grilled onions, peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, and spinach to the pan along with the noodles and stir to fully saturate the noodles.



*If you don't have brown rice flour, that's fine, you can use chickpea flour, corn starch, or any thickener like flour. Brown rice flour is found at whole foods, kroger, anywhere really.

Vegan Breakfast Part 2: Broiled Tofu with Sage Wasabi Cream, Sauteed Spinach, and Lebanese Tabouli

The first part to this series was a banana french toast with candied walnuts. And while I love a sweet breakfast, my favorite has to be the savory. Something about all that syrup first thing in the morning doesn't sit well with me. Unless we're talking about "weekend mornings", which are more around 12 pm. At that point, I could eat anything.

Anyway, Andrew and I have taken on a new aspect to the regiment-- morning yoga. We have 3 Rodney Yee yoga dvds that we cycle through. Well, we mostly cycle through "Power Yoga" and "Strength Building Yoga". It's a pain in the ass to wake up an hour earlier, but it's worth it. I feel so much better after working out in the morning. And yoga really focuses on both mind and body. I'll probably write more about this later, but the point being-- I'm really hungry in the mornings now! It gets my metabolism going I think. Thus, a series about breakfast food.

This is a really good nod to eggs florentine. It doesn't taste much like [[I don't think? I've never had it!]], but it's super delicious. The sauce is warm and creamy with a touch of spice and the Lebanese tabouli adds a fresh finish. Give it a try.


[[Broiled Tofu with Sage Wasabi Cream, Sauteed Spinach, and Lebanese Tabouli ]]

2 Ezekiel English muffins
2 tbs earth balance or other soy butter

1/2 block of tofu cut into 8 triangles
2 tbs soy sauce
1/4 cup vegetable broth
3 cloves garlic
some parsley

1 recipe for wasabi cream
plus:
1 tbs vegan sour cream, I use tofutti
1 tbs fresh sage chopped
a dash of cayenne pepper

1 tbs olive oil
1 cup spinach

1/3 cup tabouli - you can buy it at whole foods or make it yourself

-- Turn your broiler on high.
-- Mix together all the ingredients after tofu. Marinade you tofu in this mixture and then place in a glass baking dish.
-- Cook until a little crispy on the outside about 12-15 minutes. Then baste the tofu with a couple tbs of the marinade. Cook for another 5 minutes. Repeat and remove the tofu.

-- Heat the wasabi cream in a sauce pan. If you're using extra that has been refrigerated it may be kind of thick. Whisk in 1/4 cup soy milk.
-- If you're making it from start to finish, just continue with these instructions.
-- When wasabi cream is full heated [[or thickened]], whisk in the sour cream, sage, and cayenne. Remove from heat and set on warmer until ready to use.

-- Heat 1 tbs olive oil in a medium pan. When heated, add the spinach and cook until slightly wilted.

-- Assembly: Top your buttered English muffin halves with the tofu, then spinach, then wasabi sage cream, then sprinkle with tabouli.

Warm Wasabi Cream

I got a new camera last week! I'm pretty excited about it. It's a Nikon D5000, and though I'm not exactly a mad wielder of awesome pictures yet, I can see a huge difference with my food photos already. Which makes me pretty excited about this post. It's the premiere of the D5000.

I've really been plowing through The Conscious Cook. The recipes are a little challenging and often time consuming, but I really enjoy the change. This recipe is Old Bay Tofu Cakes with Horseradish Cream and Summer Vegetables. I made a few alterations, because sometimes it's just a pain in the ass to run out and grab every ingredient. Especially when you've gone to two stores already looking for old bay and you somehow forgot the horseradish.

Can't find Old Bay? It's often in the seafood section.

The recipe called for some shallots and other ingredients with fresh vegetables, bla bla. Instead, I bought a frozen bag of mixed, organic vegetables and cooked them with some thinly sliced yellow onion [[it's what I had on hand]], olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. And because I forgot the horseradish like a dummy, I decided to make a warm wasabi cream. Again, it's what I had on hand. Here's what I did:

[[Warm Wasabi Cream]]

1 heaping tbs earth balance
1 glove garlic
about 2 tbs brown rice flour
1 1/2 cups unsweetened soy milk
1 tsp salt and pepper
2 tbs wasabi

-- Warm the E.B. and the garlic.
-- Add the brown rice flour when the E.B. is completely melted and slightly bubbling. Whisk together and let sit for 20 seconds.
-- Add the soy milk, salt, pepper, and whisk to combine.
-- Allow to thicken on medium heat.
-- When thickened, whisk in wasabi and set on warmer until ready to use.

The tofu cakes were phenomenal. I'm not a huge white pepper fan, so I may leave that out next time, but they were really great. They were a little difficult to patty after sitting in the fridge for a a half hour [[still too runny]], but I made due. They certainly didn't come out as pretty as his, but they still tasted great. Creamy inside, with greasy crispy outside.

Vegan Breakfast Part 1: Banana French Toast w/ Candied Walnuts

Breakfast undoubtedly goes on my list of favorite foods. At my mom's house, everyone eats omelets-- daily. And before I was vegan, I was on the omelet train, too. I'd make one for lunch and probably eat another one for dinner during the summer. When I went to college, we'd drive to the nearest city to go to Denny's, just to get a midnight omelet with a side of everything [[because everything seems to come with everything, doesn't it?]]. My little sister hates eggs, though, so she was sort of the odd one out. She always wanted pancakes. And not to knock on my mom or the fine people at Bisquick, but I hated my mom's pancakes. I hate sogginess and the general texture of a non-fluffy pancake. But I can't blame her. Such a pancake takes infinite finesse and more time than she was willing to put into it. If you have Vegan with a Vengeance, Isa's adds lots of tips for perfect pancakes. One being: refrigerate your batter the night before. I swear by that.

But this post isn't about omelets or pancakes; it's about french toast. Whenever I want to do something nice, I'll wake up on the weekends and make french toast for me and Andrew. We usually just snack a granola bar or eat some cereal for breakfast, so it's always awesome when I have time to make french toast. These are sweet with just a hint of banana that doesn't overwhelm the undertones of vanilla and cinnamon. The candied walnuts aren't too sweet and add a nice texture contrast to the fluffy, crispy french toast. I love these!


[[Banana French Toast w/ Candied Walnuts]]
Check out my tips for perfect french toast.

French toast:
1 half loaf of day old ciabatta bread [[I got mine from whole foods on Lane Ave.]]
1 medium sized banana
1 cup soymilk
1 tsp vanilla
a dash of cinnamon
2 tbs canola oil

Candied Walnuts:
1/2 cup walnuts
3 tbs earth balance
1 tbs sugar
1/2 tsp salt

Instructions for Candied Walnuts:
- Blanch walnuts by boiling them in salted water for about 3-5 minutes. Strain and set aside in a medium sized baking dish.
- Melt butter on stove top.
- When melted, add the sugar and stir until dissolved. Remove from heat.
- Pour over nuts in the baking dish and stir until they are all fully coated. Sprinkle with salt and cinnamon and bake for about 10-15 minutes.

Instructions for French Toast:
- Place all ingredients, except the bread, in a blender and mix until smooth and creamy. You can also whip it with a hand blender, but that gets messy.
- Slice day old bread about 1/2 inch thick.
- Heat a large skillet with one tbs canola oil. After dredging both sides of the bread and allowing excess to drip off, place on heated skillet. You can use the extra tbs of canola oil if it gets too dry.
- Cook each side about five minutes, or until crispy. Keep warm in 200 degree F oven until ready to serve.

Serving Suggestions:
- Serve french toast with Grade A maple syrup, warmed. Top with sifted powder sugar and a tablespoon or two of candied walnuts.

Last Minute Vegan Gifts: The Conscious Cook

I love finding new cook books that are able to give you something different. A lot of the time, you'll buy one, and get a lot of overlap in recipes, which isn't always bad, but it is uninteresting. But Tal Ronnen's "The Conscious Cook" gives a lot of variety and modernizes a lot of your old recipe books by incorporating things like Gardein and Field Roast.

This book is great for veteran vegans and newcomers. It contains high quality glossy pages full of amazing [[and sometimes not so simple]] recipes, plus information pages. It has interviews with the best vegan restaurants, with the creator of gardein, and "best of" pages with his favorites-- from his favorite types of mushrooms, to the best items to pickle. I especially love the utility recipes, like Ronnen's cashew cream. And if you get bored of Ronnen's style, he has guest chef recipes in there, too.

I've only made one recipe so far-- the Cajun Portobello Sandwich with Avocado and Remoulade. It has a lot of flavor-- the mushrooms hold a very meat-like savoriness, and the remoulade is a nice tangy accompaniment. It's easily one of my favorite sandwiches to make. And if you're really into cooking, you'll have a lot of fun making this. This recipce wound up only making two sandwichs for us-- mostly because I like a lot of portobello in my sandwich, so you may want to double up the portobello and marinade recipe. You get lots of remoulade left over, too, which is nice for other sandwiches you make throughout the week.


Anyway, try out this recipe, and buy the book. It's amazing. Get it for someone for Christmas. I don't think Ronnen ever mentions veganism in the book. He calls them "meat-free" recipes. Which is nice if you want to get this for someone who eats meat, and may want to incorporate some "meat-free" cooking into their lives. Either way, get it-- it's beautiful and the recipes are spectacular.

[[Cajun Portobello Sandwich with Avocado and Remoulade]]

Mushrooms:
Pinch of sea salt
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 shallots, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 to 3 tablespoons low-salt Cajun seasoning, divided use
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
4 large portobello mushrooms, stemmed, gills removed, cut on the bias into 1/4-inch slices

Assembly:
About 1/4 cup rémoulade (recipe follows)
4 soft sandwich rolls, split
4 to 8 romaine lettuce leaves, rinsed and dried
1 large tomato, thinly sliced
1 ripe avocado, peeled, pit removed and sliced

Rémoulade:
1 cup vegan mayonnaise
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1 teaspoon vegan Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons capers, minced
2 teaspoons minced shallot
1 teaspoon minced fresh parsley
2 teaspoons minced red bell pepper

For the mushrooms: Place a large pot over medium heat. Sprinkle the bottom with a pinch of salt and heat for 1 minute. Add the oil and heat for 1 minute, being careful not to let it smoke. This will create a nonstick effect.

Add the shallots and garlic and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until softened. Add 1 tablespoon of the Cajun seasoning, along with the wine, vinegar and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

Add the mushrooms and cook for 1 minute. Pour the mushrooms and liquid into a shallow container, cover and set aside to marinade for 1 hour.

Remove the mushrooms from the marinade and press between paper towels or in a cotton dish towel to remove the excess marinade, then sprinkle with the remaining Cajun seasoning, pressing the seasoning into both sides of the mushroom slices. Discard the marinade.

In a cast-iron skillet over medium high heat, cook the mushrooms in a single layer (you may have to do this in two batches) until blackened, 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Remove to a plate.

To assemble: Spread a spoonful of the rémoulade on one half of each roll. Top each with 1 or 2 lettuce leaves and a few slices of tomato and avocado. Divide the mushroom slices among the rolls. Close each sandwich, cut in half and serve.

Makes 4 sandwiches.

For the rémoulade: Place mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, salt, capers, shallot, parsley and pepper in a food processor or blender and blend on high for 1 minute. Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Makes 1 1/4 cups.

Spicy Tomato Quinoa

I'm trying to get back into the swing of things. I started a second job, which means more take-out and Amy's meals, less cooking, and thus less blogging. We were sick during the Thanksgiving meetup so I have nothing to show for that. It's been quiet here. But I'm trying to regain momentum.

I'll start with quinoa. When I eat rice, it's usually with a stir-fry or accompanied by beans and guacamole. And recently, I've been trying to re-invite quinoa back into my life in place of brown rice-- we've been shopping more at Kroger than the community market lately, and the market is the only place I know of to get quinoa. It's one of the best ways to get most of your essential amino acids, and my favorite food to mention when people ask how I get complete protein. It's probably the perfect food.

So, instead of using it in the standard ways we use rice, I decided to make an awesome spicy tomato quinoa that can stand alone. And it can.

This is spicy tomato quinoa, topped with garlic sauteed kale, cornmeal crusted tofu marinated in little lime juice, a garlic cream drizzle and a little chili powder.

[[Spicy Tomato Quinoa]]
1 cup dry quinoa
1 1/2 cups of vegetable broth, plus an extra 1 1/2
1 tbs tomato paste
1/2 medium red onion, finely chopped
1/2 large red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 Roma tomato, finely chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 1/2 tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp chipotle powder

-- Rinse the dry quinoa through a fine sieve. I let it soak for 10 minutes to an hour and then rinse it to remove any bitterness.
-- Add cold or room temp. vegetable broth [[1.5 cups]] and the quinoa to a large pot. Bring to a boil and allow to simmer until the the vegetable broth is absorbed. This will take about 5-10 minutes.
-- In a separate pan, heat the olive oil on medium. When heated, add the garlic and allow to become fragrant -- about 30 seconds. [[You can test the oil with a small piece of garlic. If it sizzles, it's ready. If it starts to smoke, it's too hot.]] Add the onions, tomato, and bell pepper. Cook in oil for about 5 minutes or until the onions are soft and translucent.
-- Check the quinoa. If it's still firm, add another 1/2 cup of vegetable broth and allow that to absorb. Continue doing this until the quinoa is tender. This may be more or less depending on how long you let your quinoa soak.
-- When tender, add the onion, tomato, and bell pepper to the quinoa including any excess oil from the pan. Add the tomato paste and chipotle powder and mix thoroughly.
-- You can eat it alone, or like I did - with garlicy sauteed kale and cornmeal crusted tofu.

Spinach Artichoke Dip

Andrew has been sick with a cold since last Friday, so I haven't really cooked much. I've just been getting takeout and trying to make him feel better, while simultaneously feeling like crap myself. I finally went back to work on Tuesday while Andrew stayed home and played Left 4 Dead all day. Butthead.

Anyway, LAST week I was really craving spinach artichoke dip and apparently Andrew and I have completely different memories of the non-vegan version of this dip. Whenever I had it, my mom bought it from Trader Joe's or something and it came all smooth in a container. It wasn't super chunky or cheesy. It was like a smoother, kinda chunky dip. If that makes sense. And I guess Andrew always got it at restaurants, really chunky, coated with lots of cheese. He called this more of an artichoke pesto. But it's not. There's no oil, and it's thick and creamy with cream cheesy goodness.

So, if you have Andrew's memory, then this isn't really the spinach artichoke dip of your dreams. You could probably make it chunkier and add a bunch of vegan cheese. I'm not in love with vegan cheese, so I stay clear. It is, however, a really great flavorful dip or spread. I put it on a sandwich with some Italian marinaded tofu.

[[Spinach Artichoke Dip]]

1 container of Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese
1 large chopped shallot
3/4 cup of jarred and drained artichoke hearts with 1 tbs marinade
1 packed cup of spinach
2 cloves of garlic, smashed
salt and pepper to taste

-- In a blender, mix cream cheese, garlic, and shallots until smooth.
-- Then add the salt, pepper, artichoke hearts and marinade, plus half of the spinach. Blend it all roughly but not into a smooth consistency. You want some chunks of artichoke still.
-- In a medium sized sauce pan, add the rest of spinach and cook until wilted. Add the contents from the blender and warm on the stove. Serve warm with chips or crostinis.

Yes, I do eat brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes on the daily now.

Balsamic Roasted Vegetable Sandwich

I hate to be completely unoriginal, but this is a darn good sandwich. And if you don't roast at home, you should try it. You can throw 'em in an oven and go play xbox or read or something [[Anyone play halo or L4D?]]. I can't imagine anything easier.

Bodega in the Short North makes a really good roasted vegetable sandwich, so if you're even lazier than this recipe, you should go try theirs. Sub in a spinach salad for their mixed greens salad, and you've got yourself a hardy little plate of vegetables. And if you hate vegetables, go to the grand opening of Rad Dog at Hal & Al's bar this Friday! Because their hot dogs are awesome. But I hope you don't hate vegetables. You'd be a sucky vegan.

[[Balsamic Roasted Vegetable Sandwich]]
makes 2 large sandwiches

1 cup chopped broccoli, small bite-sized pieces
1 cup chopped cauliflower, small bite-sized pieces
1/2 of large zucchini, chopped small
1/2 of a large red bell pepper, chopped small
1 large shallot chopped
2-3 cloves of minced garlic
1 tbs balsamic vinegar
3 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp marjoram
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basil

4 slices of whole wheat bread, preferably ezekiel
1 tbs vegenaise
1 sliced roma tomato
1/2 cup of baby spinach

*Pre-heat oven to 475 F.
-- Chop all vegetables and place in a large baking dish so every piece is touching the bottom of the pan [[no piles!]].
-- Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Mix with a spoon to evenly distribute.
-- Add the garlic and seasoning. Again, mix to evenly distribute.
-- Cook in pre-heated oven for 35-45 minutes, until vegetables are crispy and tender.
-- Toast bread, spread 1/2 tbs of vegenaise on each sandwich, top with roasted vegetables, spinach and tomatoes.

Tofu with Warm Cactus Relish

So, I dropped the ball and missed the last day of the Vegan Month of Food. But I did a lot better than I expected and posted nearly every day. I was having some camera difficulties and instead of just posting some recipe with no picture, I decided to wait. Yesterday I was at the dentist getting hacked and filled so I wasn't really in the mood to post. BUT, I'm back and hopefully I can keep up the momentum of before.

I bought a jar of cactus yesterday on a whim. I've had it before, never worked with it, but have always liked it. It seems to be in mostly Mexican dishes with eggs and I suppose it would pair nicely with a tofu scramble, but I didn't do that. I decided to pair it with a cornmeal crusted tofu and a creole sauce [[I used no-chicken broth instead of wine and halved the recipe for this]]. It's a little Southern-Cajun-Mexican fusion. And it's amazing. The cactus is a bit slimy at first, which is off-putting to me, but it picks up flavors nicely and pairs really well with onions and peppers.

[[Warm Cactus Relish]]

1/3 cup jarred cactus, cut into 1/2 inch slices
1/4 cup red bell pepper cut into 1/2 inch slices
1/4 cup coarsely chopped red onion
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
a dash of cayenne pepper, more to taste
1 tbs olive oil

-- Mix all ingredients in a small bowl, except for the olive oil. Toss to coat.
-- Heat olive oil in a pan on medium heat. Cook mixture in olive oil until the onions and bell pepper are soft.
-- Serve hot on top of seitan, tofu, tempeh, a salad, tofu scramble, etc. Anything!
-- Optional: At the end of cooking, at about 1 tbs chopped green onions.

[[Basic Cornmeal Crusted Tofu]]

1/4 cup chickpea flour or white flour
1/3 cup water

1/2 cup cornmeal
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 garlic powder
1/2 tsp paprika
a pinch of salt

4-5 1/2 inch slices of tofu, pressed
2 tbs vegetable oil

-- Mix the water and chickpea flour into a thick paste.
-- Mix the spices and cornmeal in another bowl.
-- Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet on medium-high heat.
-- After pressing the tofu, rub the tofu in the wet mixture. You may need to massage it onto all sides of the tofu. Then press firmly in the cornmeal mixture on all sides. Repeat with all slices.
-- When all tofu is breaded, cook each slice on each side for about 3-5 minutes until golden brown and crispy. Place on a paper towel or paper bag to drain.
-- Top with creole sauce and cactus slaw.

Vegan MoFo Day 30: How to Fix a Broken Sauce + Recipe

Above is a really delicious, but REALLY broken, sauce. It's a lemon butter sauce. The base is a little soy milk, reduced, and a little no-chicken broth, reduced. And sometimes, for one reason or another, when you add your fat, everything sort of falls apart. And you get this sort of speckled, animal print looking sauce. It's really frustrating for a vegan because the best way to fix a completely down-right ruined sauce is to use an egg yolk. But for obvious reasons, that won't work.

So, in honor of my failures this week, I thought I'd give you all some tips on how to fix your broken sauces.

1. If you see it start to break, immediately obtain some of your base [[this could be soy milk, broth, whatever you started with]] and whisk some in, about 1-2 tsp., until the sauce comes together again.

2. You can whisk a little flour in when you add your fat [[oil, butter, etc.]]. This way, your sauce is less likely to break since flour is a pretty awesome binding agent.

3. You can also try blending a little tofu, a flax egg, or using an ener-g egg replacer in order to bind the sauce again.

4. To prevent, add you fat slowly and whisk quickly. And don't let it sit on the heat too long.

[[Lemon Butter Sauce]]

1 tbs olive oil
1 shallot, chopped
1/4 cup chopped assorted mushrooms
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup no-chicken broth
1/2 cup soy milk
2-3 tbs fresh squeezed lemon juice
4 tbs earth balance
1 tsp parsley
1/2 tsp fresh black pepper

-- Heat olive oil on medium heat.
-- Add shallots, mushrooms and garlic, when oil is heated. You can test the oil with one piece. If it sizzles, it's ready.
-- Cook vegetables for 3-4 minutes. Allow the garlic to become fragrant and the shallots to become soft and translucent.
-- When ready, add the no-chicken broth. Turn the heat up to medium high. Bring to a simmer.
-- When the broth has reduced in half, add the soy milk and whisk together. Once again, allow the milk to reduce in half at a simmer.
-- Add the lemon juice. Whisk together.
-- Add the 4 tbs of earth balance and whisk quickly. Add the earth balance slowly! If you add it too quickly, it will break. Try one teaspoon at a time. If the sauce begins to break, try any of the methods to salvage the sauce as stated above.
-- Add the parsley and pepper. Serve over any meat substitute, vegetables, pasta, mashed potatoes, rice, etc. Be sure to not let this sauce sit on the heat too long, as that will cause it to break. Prepare it right when everything else is ready. And if you refrigerate it, you're doomed! Dun, dun, DUN! [[like scary music?... ok.]]

Vegan MoFo Day 21: Cheesy Jackfruit Chimichangas

Whenever I'm super stumped about what to make for dinner, Andrew always says in a mocking voice "Chimichangas". I think it's because the word sounds so ridiculous. Either way, it never helps and it just frustrates me. So, when I was super stumped last night, I decided "F it, I'm making chimichangas". And I did.

We had this lingering can of jackfruit in our cupboard that Andrew usually makes amazing BBQ "pulled pork" with but since he hasn't been in the kitchen since his green thai curry adventure, I decided to use it. I wanted it to be sort of carnitas-flavored, this time, which I hadn't done before. The results were very successful. I think this deep fried beauty has taken the place in Andrew's heart that my creole once held. And I'm ok with that.

I felt a little guilty about making these. But if you think about it, jackfruit is like a whopping 30 calories a serving. And vegan cheese is hardly something to worry about. I'm reaching-- but I never said this was a diet plate. At least the tortillas are whole wheat.

[[Jackfruit Carnitas]]
I read a lot of jackfruit failures online, and it usually because people buy the wrong kind of jackfruit. Use YOUNG GREEN JACKFRUIT IN WATER-- NOT BRINE! I can't stress that enough. And if prepared properly, I guarantee it's delicious.

2 tbs vegetable oil
1 can of YOUNG GREEN JACKFRUIT IN WATER, drained
2 tbs chili lime cholula
1/3 cup beer, I used my trusty magic hat #9
a few shakes of liquid smoke
1 chopped roma tomato
seasoning: chipotle powder, ancho chili powder, paprika, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder
* a small dash of cinnamon -- small!

-- Heat the vegetable oil on medium heat.
-- After draining the jackfruit, keep the pieces whole and let them cook in the vegetable oil for a few minutes.
-- Some may feel soft enough to pull apart. At this point, add the cholula and allow it to saturate into each piece, flipping them over to fully coat. Coat each piece with a little seasoning-- all but the salt and cinnamon. Simmer for a couple more minutes.
-- Add the tomatoes, beer, and liquid smoke. By now you can probably break them apart. Some may be more easily broken than others. So, as they simmer in the beer mixture, break them apart, using the back of a fork for the harder parts. Partially cover, leaving an opening for some steam to come out, and allow to simmer on medium low-heat for 10-15 minutes.
-- The beer should evaporate and the tomatoes show have dissolved into the sauce. Add another layer of seasoning, including the salt and cinnamon. Taste. Keep on low heat and mix every so often until ready to serve.


[[Cheesy Jackfruit Chimichangas]]

1 recipe for jackfruit carnitas
1/2 cup daiya or FYH cheese
4 medium sized, whole wheat tortillas
1/2 inch of vegetable oil heated on high heat.

-- Place the tortillas on a baking sheet, top with cheese substitute of choice. Under a low broiler, melt the cheese. Keep an eye on them so you don't dry out the tortiallas
-- Remove from oven and top with jackfruit carnitas.
-- Closing the ends, roll the tortilla up and place in heated vegetable oil FOLD SIDE down first. Allow to brown about 20-30 seconds. Flip and brown the other side.
-- Remove chimichanga and place on a paper towel or a brown paper bag to drain.
-- Serve with guacamole or tofutti sour cream or salsa... or eat it by itself.

Vegan MoFo Day 20: An Old Favorite

Last night we had mounds of dishes to do, and it being Monday, we were a little beat. So instead of bringing new, awesome food-- I'll show an old faithful. The creamy creole pasta. It's basically earth balance or olive oil and any type of thickener [[all purpose flour, chickpea flour, brown rice flour]] mixed in a pan in equal parts. Plus, one cup of soy milk and a half cup of vegetable broth or wine. Then some seasoning and sauteed vegetables. Check out the complete recipe.

We probably eat this creamy creole pasta once a week. I'm not sure how this ended up being our go-to meal, but it did. I guess it's a no-hassle way to get protein, carbs, and vegetables all in one meal, glued together with some creamy spice. And you don't really need a certain assortment of vegetables. I'll use spaghetti squash for pasta, broccoli, zucchini, tomatoes, varying types of onions, bell pepper, spinach, kale, tofu, seitan, tempeh, fake chicken patties-- you name it, it works.

Anyway, Andrew's birthday is this Sunday and the plan is vegan lazagna and a cheesecake that I will be decorating. I'm pretty excited about it and hope to get some good shots for you all. If you're on twitter, give @andrewwarner2 a birthday shout out. Happy Tuesday.

Vegan MoFo Day 18: Seitan Cheesesteak

This will be a short post today. Andrew and I woke up late after a night at the Haunted Hoochie, and today we're trying to find a new gym to sign up with. We started actively running at the end of last winter and now that it's getting to be freezing cold again, we need to find a way to get our exercise on! So, hopefully we'll find a good place to go.

So, ths sandwich isn't exactly a cheesesteak. It's more like a seitan fillet with shallots, red peppers, and daiya cheese. Like a fancy cheesesteak. I've been trying to use the daiya cheese in different ways, and this so far has been my favorite. The daiya cheese has a lot more flavor than the FYH cheese I usually use, so it worked with with the spicy seitan fillets to compliment the heat. If you can't really handle spicy, I'd use less karen's hot wing sauce. That stuff is REALLY hot.

[[Seitan Cheesesteak]]

2 seitan fillets
2 shallots, sliced
1/4 of a red bell pepper, chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 tbs olive oil
2 tbs karen's hot wing sauce
1 tbs flour
1 tbs creole seasoning
1 tbs vegetable oil
1/2 cup italian blend daiya cheese
4 pieces of ezekiel sesame bread

-- Marinade seitan in karen's hot wing sauce.
-- Sauteed shallots and peppers with garlic in a little olive oil until limp an tender.
-- Dredge fillets in flour and creole seasoning. Heat vegetable oil on medium high.
-- When heated, cook each side of the fillets until browned and crispy.
-- In the pan, on medium heat, top with the sauteed peppers, shallots, and daiya cheese. Cover with lid until cheese is melted.
-- Put on toasted ezekiel bread with a little ketchup or whatever you like to put on your sandwiches.