Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Vegan Breakfast Sandwiches

Seriously the best breakfast I have made in a while! I wanted to make a breakfast sandwich so I got creative and whipped this up. It was super yummy!

I bought this Nasoya Super Firm Sprouted Tofu from Whole Foods last week - I had never tried it but got a super great deal on it. It is soooo yummy. I is very firm - more like the consistency of pressed tofu. In fact, I didn't even press it.

I dusted slices of tofu with a mixture of nutritional yeast, black salt, and fresh cracked pepper. then I pan seared it in a couple teaspoons of canola until browned and a tad crispy on both sides. Next, I cooked some sliced Gimme Lean Sausage and cooked it in a skillet lightly coated with canola until browned on both sides.




I lightly spread some vegan butter on sliced Italian bread and toasted it on one side in a hot skillet. I topped the bread with tofu and sausage slices and topped with another slice of bread. I served this taste delight with some homemade vegan hollandaise (a combo of tofu mayo, veganaise, mustard and lemon juice)for light dipping.

Fabulous!

Cheesy Mac...Blue Plate Special

Recipes can both be found in Vegan Diner!
Cheesy Mac

Vegan Diner is such a great book! Love the recipes and pictures. This picture doesn't look all that interesting or even appetizing! I don't claim to be a good photographer! Despite this downfall, however, this Cheesy Mac was yummy! Very creamy, quite easy and full of creamy flavor!
Blue Plate Special

Yup, another Vegan Diner classic! Though the combination of flavors and ingredients might seem a little odd, this was fabulously yummola. I made it for breakfast but it would make a perfect lunch or dinner too. I actually would change the spice combo when I make it again I think - the smoked paprika was delicous but it wasn't my favorite to have at breakfast-time. Super yummy - several steps involved so not a speedy breakfast choice but delish!

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Vegan Magic Cookie Bars...Hearty Sweet Potato and Veggie Stew...Vegan Simplicity of Veganness!

I really wanted to try a vegan version of magic cookie bars around Christmas time (I know, it's taken me that long to post!!) - these turned out pretty yummy. The "sweetened condensed milk" wasn't really anything like sweetened condensed milk but the cookies were still yummy and did resemble magic cookie bars. Find the recipe at http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2007/10/vegan-magic-cookie-bars_5400.html.

My mom gave me a recipe for a hearty stew that sounded fabulous - I modified it quite a bit to fit what I had on hand but the end result was very tasty indeed!

Hearty Veg Stew
2 cups quartered mushrooms
1 large onion, diced
2 cups peeled and sliced carrots
2 cups veg broth
2 t poultry seasoning
1/2 t salt
1 t pepper
1 8oz can tomato sauce
1 14.5 oz can petite diced tomatoes
3 small sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 cups torn kale
Combine all ingredients except kale in a crockpot and cook on low for 4-6 hours.

Okay so this isn't exciting and it isn't a recipe really - just had to take a picture of a meal I had this week. Hubby was working and I didn't have any leftovers...so I baked a huge potato and then sauteed some zucchini and mushrooms in a little olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper. This was the best meal I made all week! I love simple, delicious vegan-ness!

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Tofu Scramble...Chick-un Noodle Soup...Vegan Biscuits and Sausage Gravy

Once again it's been a while since I posted! I miss blogging but our lives are so much fuller now that we are homeschooling. Enjoy these delish and easy recipes!

a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-V_iTDMa-e4E/TwmEefmi_VI/AAAAAAAABJg/VnR4nVbrcVc/s1600/tofuscramble.jpg">I haven't made too many tofu scrambles that I am just crazy about but this one was super yummy. I have recently tried Gimme Lean sausage and I have to say it is fabulous! I love both the sausage and the ground "beef" style - such a great product. This scramble was a complete success and super easy too.

Tofu Scramble
4 med size potatoes, peeled, diced
1 package extra firm silken tofu, drained, crumbled (you could use regular tofu but I didn't have any and I think it has a stronger taste too)
1/2 package Gimme Lean sausage, crumbled (or other vegan sausage)
canola oil
black salt
pepper


Heat canola oil in skillet - enough to barely cover bottom of pan. Add potatoes and cook for about 10 minutes. Add tofu and sausage and cook until all ingredients are browned. Sprinkle with black pepper and black salt - I just sprinkled these on without measuring. Black salt has a distinct and strong flavor that resembles the sulfur taste of eggs so don't use too much. It really did give a nice "eggy" flavor to this scramble. Serve

ZThis soup was very yummy - perfect chicken soup substitute. I used Reames egg-free noodles which make the best soup I think! This is the perfect soup to have around when you are down with a cold!Recipe can be found in the Happy Herbivore cookbook.

Once again this recipe for vegan biscuits and sausage gravy was made with Gimme Lean sausage. These were so good - the best I have made.

Biscuits
2 cups flour
1 t salt
1 T baking powder
5 T vegan butter
3/4 cup unsweetened soy milk
Combine dry ingredients. Mix. Cut in butter. Add milk until dough forms. Do not knead. Pat into circle and cut biscuits - I usually make it thick enough to make about 8 biscuits. Bake at 400 for about 10-12 min.

Gravy (adapted from Vegan Diner)
1/2 package Gimme Lean sausage, crumbled
1/4 cup flour
3 T nutritional yeast
2 cups unsweetened soy milk
1/4 t granulated onion
1 t salt
1 t black pepper
2 T vegan butter

Brown sausage in skillet in a lightly oiled pan. Remove sausage and set aside. Add vegan butter until melted. Add 2 T milk. Whisk in flour until paste forms. Slowly add remaining milk, constantly whisking until smooth and thick. Add spices. Add sausage. Serve over biscuits.

Crispy Herbed Potato Stack

Crispy Herbed Potato Stack
I was going to try a recipe for herbed scalloped potatoes and at last minute decided to do something fast and easy. I made up the recipe and it was yummola! I layered sliced russet potatoes in a baking dish, drizzled with olive oil, and then sprinkled with coarse sea salt, fresh ground pepper, basil, rosemary, paprika, and garlic powder. Then I baked them at 425 fr about 45 minutes. They were crisp and very flavorful!

My thrown-together salad today - after discovering I had no leftovers for lunch!

Tamale Fixings

Tamale Fixings
Plain pintos (for Keith), pintos, corn and onions; corn, jalepenos and Daiya; mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes, and chard

Making these was a bit time-consuming but kinda fun! They didn't turn out as good as I had hoped - the outer tamale part (not the filling) just wasn't as flavorful as tamales I have had in restaurants. I have another recipe I will try for the dough next time. Tamales are one of my favorite foods so I won't give up on this one!

"Buttermilk" Blueberry Pancakes

"Buttermilk" Blueberry Pancakes
I modified one of my favorite pancake recipes to make it vegan and then I added blueberries. Turned out quite yummy. Soymilk sours and thickens well - very similar to buttermilk. I have been really impressed with it's ability to substitute for real buttermilk.

"Buttermilk" Blueberry Pancakes

Egg replacement for 1 egg
1 1/4 cups soured soy milk (put 2 T vinegar into a 2 cup glass measuring cup. Add enough soy milk to equal 1 1/4 cups)
2 T canola oil
1 cup flour (I wouldn't recommend whole wheat or whole wheat pastry - it really takes away from the fluffiness of these pancakes)
1 T sugar
2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
Blueberries, optional

Mix dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients and stir just until combined. Heat griddle pour about 1/4 cup batter for each pancake. Sprinkle blueberries on pancakes after ladling onto griddle. Cook just until golden on both sides.

Veggie and Seitan Lo Mein

Veggie and Seitan Lo Mein
Overall, this was fabulous! However, I don't think the seitan added much so I would just leave it out next time. The lo mein also needed about double the sauce so I would simply do that next time for added flavor. This was especially spicy and yummy with some Sriracha drizzled on top. I made our favorite veg egg rolls to go with this and it was truly a Chinese treat!!

Veggie Seitan Lo Mein

I really did my own thing for this recipe so I am just going to outline the instructions and include the sauce recipe. I heated oil in a large skillet and added 3 minced cloves of garlic and about 1 cup of half-moon cut onions (I was out of green onions but next time I would use green onions as I like them a lot in Chinese food) and about 1 cup matchstick-cut carrots. After about 5-6 minutes, I added about 1/4 lb of whole green beans. I cooked these veggies until tender. Meanwhile, I cooked a 16oz package of chow mein noodles. Once the veggie mixture was cooked, I poured the sauce on the veggies, heated through and tossed with the noodles. Next time I would double the amount of sauce and have adjusted amounts below to reflect double recipe.

Sauce (Source:Adaptable Feast)
3 T soy sauce
3 T rice wine (I used 3 T rice vinegar and 1 t sugar as I didn't have any rice wine)
3 t sugar
4 T black bean garlic sauce
Mix all ingredients and toss with above mixture.





Chinese Broccoli Wontons in Ginger Soy Broth

Chinese Broccoli Wontons in Ginger Soy Broth
Pretty yummy. I found that steaming the wontons worked much better than the recipe suggestion to boil them. The broth was very mild and a bit too mellow for us. Still pretty yummy though. I added extra veggies to the wontons and scallion to the broth. The seasoning in the wonton filling was quite tasty!

Chinese Broccoli Wontons in Ginger Soy Broth (Source: Vegan Yum Yum)

(As usual, I modified several things so it's not exactly the recipe in Vegan Yum Yum!)

1 cup chopped broccoli
3/4 cup shredded carrot
1/2 cup chopped scallions
1 T oil
1 t fresh ginger, minced
1 clove fresh minced garlic
1/2 t hot chili sauce (such as Sriracha)
1 t hot Chinese mustard
2 T plus 1 t soy sauce
4 cups water ( I think this might have been more flavorful had I used vegetable broth or faux chicken broth???)
6 slices fresh ginger
1 T mirin (I used a splash of cooking wine as I didn't have mirin)
1 1/2 t sugar
2 t rice vinegar
1/2 t salt
1/2 cup chopped scallions
16 wonton skins

For filling: Heat oil in skillet and add broccoli, ginger, garlic, carrot, onion and cook until veggies are crisp tender. Add chili sauce, mustard, 1 t soy sauce and stir to combine. Remove from heat and set aside.

To make wontons, take one skin and place in diamond shape. Fill with 1-2 t filling. Fold in half to make a triangle and moisten edges with water and pinch sides to seal. Set triangle in front of you with point up and take the 2 side points and bring them together in front to cross. Set aside and prepare remaining wontons. When finished, place wontons in a steamer basket and steam over pot of boiling water until translucent.

Meanwhile, in a pot, combine remaining ingredients (except wontons) and simmer 10-15 min.

Place 3-4 wontons in bowl and ladle broth over wontons. Serve.