Vegan Patty Melt

This is a super easy recipe I made up and it is so delicious! I made my own pastrami but I think you can buy vegan pastrami if you want to pay for it. You could also use another type of baked seitan. I am going to give the recipe for 1 sandwich so you can easily make it for one serving or several.

Vegan Patty Melt
2 slices French bread or sourdough
2 t vegan butter
5 slices vegan pastrami (silver dollar size)
1 t oil
2 T sliced sauteed onions
2 T sliced sauteed mushrooms
1 1/2 T vegan mayo
1 T ketchup
1 t spicy brown mustard

In a skillet, heat oil and brown pastrami slices. Meanwhile, mix together the mayo, mustard and ketchup and set aside. Spread vegan butter on one side of each bread slice and place in a skillet coated with cooking spray. Cook until lightly browned. Place bread slices, toasted side down, on plate and top with browned pastrami, sauteed mushrooms and onions and spread sauce over the top. Top with second slice of bread. Enjoy!

Sweet Sesame Tofu

I made a super yummy Valentines dinner last night - unfortunately, hubby got stuck at work and got home late so we didn't get to eat as a family. This dish was one of 3 that I made - I also made a veggie lo mein that was thrown together with leftovers of noodles, veg and sauce. It wasn't anything super special so didn't take a pic. Also made Peanut Tofu (recipe can be found under my review of Tofu Xpress to the right on my blog). This was a new recipe and was very yummy. Enjoy


Sweet Sesame Tofu (adapted from Better Homes and Gardens)

Step 1:
Cut 1/2 block of drained, pressed tofu into cubes
Combine 3 T soy sauce, 1 t sesame oil, and 2 t agave. Add tofu to this mixture to marinate. Set aside.

Step 2:
Combine 1 1/2 cups veg broth, 2 T soy sauce, 3 t agave, 4 t cornstarch, 1 T rice vinegar and 1 t chili paste. Set aside.

Step 3:
Cut 1 head of broccoli into small florets. Set aside.


Step 4:
Heat 2 t canola oil in large skillet. Remove tofu with slotted spoon from marinade. Add to skillet along with 1 T fresh grated ginger and 3 cloves minced garlic. Cook until tofu is browned. Add broccoli and sauce from step 2. Cook until sauce thickens and broccoli is crisp tender.

Serve over rice.

New England Style "Clam" Chowder

This is a recipe I made a couple times and our whole family loved it. It was out of a cookbook I had gotten from the library and after returning the book, I forgot about it and never wrote down the recipe. After a year of trying to search for the cookbook I had found it in, I finally discovered which cookbook I had used and the beloved recipe. This soup is so flavorful and delicious...though it doesn't really taste like clam chowder to me, it is fabulously yum!

New England-Style Chowder (adapted from Vegan Planet)
2 T olive oil
1 large onion chopped
2 celery ribs chopped
5 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
4 cups vegetable stock
1 2in piece of kombu
1 bay leaf
Salt to taste
1 cup unsweetened soy milk
1 T mellow yellow miso dissolved in 2 T water (I actually tried mellow brown rice miso in the batch I made the other night - I would prefer the mellow yellow soy miso as it is milder but the brown rice was still tasty, just a bit stronger)
8 oz mushrooms, coarsely chopped
1 t old bay seasoning

Heat stockpot with oil in it. Saute the onions and potatoes until browned. Add the stock, kombu, bay leaf, salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and cook until veggies are soft. Remove kombu and bay leaf. Use food processor to puree half of the soup mixture. Return to pot. Add milk, 1/2 t Old Bay and miso and stir until well combined. In a separate pan, heat 2 t oil and add mushrooms and celery. Cook until tender. Sprinkle with 1/2 t Old Bay and stir until well distributed. Serve soup topped with a spoonful of mushroom mixture.

Ok so I know this isn't a recipe but I had to share this picture of the perfect rainbow of color! Is it even possible to have a fruit salad this beautiful during the winter months? Thankfully a bunch of fruit has been on sale and we have been enjoying it thoroughly!

Breakfast Bagels

Just a simple breakfast sandwich that is super easy and delicious. It could hardly even pass as a recipe! Here are the easy steps!

1. Place slices of smoked tofu on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 15 min. (I use one large slice of tofu per sandwich so use that as your guide to how many slices you want to make)
2. Toast a bagel (one per serving)
3. Whip up some hollandaise sauce (2 T vegan mayo, 1 t lemon juice, 1/2 t mustard per sandwich).
4. Place a slice of tofu on one half of the bagel, pour hollandaise on top and put the bagel top on.
5. Enjoy!