Just in case you were curious what I had been eating while I wasn't blogging last month....

Here are two stand outs:

Pasta Puttanesca

(whole wheat pasta, tomato sauce seasoned heavily with garlic, onions, capers, olives and red peppers with mushrooms and spinach tossed in for good measure)

This would be an "incomplete plate" but check out the Scalloped Potatoes!!!
(Potatoes, a vegan roux made from flour and a pinch of Earth Balance, almond milk, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, Daiya cheese...this is not health food)

If I find any other pics that never got posted, I will try to share them as well!

A full day's worth of yum!

Today was a busy day as I had both an audition and a rehearsal. Plus they were nowhere near each other, so I decided it was a good time to try out a new convenience food I picked up: Trader Joe's Vegetable Masala Burgers.








When you take them out, they resemble round frozen hash browns!! The box says "fully cooked, just heat and eat" but then directs you to brush them with ghee or oil prior to cooking them. Well thanks to the excellent influences of the vegans over at Fat Free Vegan, I have been trying to avoid as much unnecessary added fat as possible. Well I am very glad I did because check out how much oil "oozed" out of the burger while it was sitting on the plate:



I decided to fix it in a pita with a avocado sandwich spread that I whipped up the other day. It was basically the flesh of a VERY ripe avocado, garlic and onion powder, almond milk to thin the mixture and lime juice to help prevent browning. It is pretty good on sandwiches as a mayonnaise alternative. Here's the finished sandwich:


After my audition, I whipped out my trusty lunch box and ate my burger. It was lukewarm and very tasty, BUT with 8 grams of fat, only 2 grams of protein and only 1 gram of fiber (wasn't this thing supposed to be ALL vegetables?) it won't be replacing my regular lunches very often.



Dinner was much better. For one thing, it wasn't room temperature! And I didn't eat it in my car! Learning about the benefits of Allium veggies (onions, garlic, leeks etc...) during yesterday's health videos gave me even more reasons to load up on the garlic. So I made my FAVORITE Brussels's sprouts, which are simply broiled with salt, pepper and tons of garlic until they are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. I used to hate the sprout until I had it this way, now...Yum!

(Seriously, I was the only one home for dinner and this pan had been full!)

To go with it I made Seitan stew. I had no set recipe, instead I sort of "winged it" as I went along.




I sauteed onion, celery, carrot, red pepper, mushrooms and garlic. Then I added chopped seitan and seasoned liberally with thyme, rosemary, red pepper, black pepper and a pinch of salt and sage.

Next I stirred in about a cup of white wine and boiled for a few minutes to cook out the alcohol. Then I added 2 cups of water and bouillon cubes to match the volume of water (I chose to use a vegan chicken flavor).

After letting this cook for a while, I added about a cup of almond milk, returned everything to a boil and then thickened it with cornstarch.

For a quick, spur of the moment dinner it turned out tasty and filling!


On a separate note, please send me happy, warm thoughts for tomorrow as I am singing on a benefit for Haiti. It would be nice to not only provide a good concert but also to help earn a decent amount of money to send to our charity, Save the Children. We got a write up in the paper if you want more information: www.examiner.com .

a new nooch sauce!!!

Nutritional Yeast (or Nooch as it is called on several vegan sites) is one of those foods you either love or hate. It has a tangy, cheesy flavor and an impressive nutritional profile. Personally I love it. It is tasty in tofu scrambles, on popcorn, to season broths and flour coatings... basically anywhere!

I realize there are literally a million nooch-cheeze sauces on the internet, but they are not all created equal. After a lot of trial and error, this is my favorite version. It's good over pasta, steamed veggies or with chips dipped in it. I basically put it together myself but it was inspired by many other recipes.

(By the way, I am starting to think I may be a cheeze addict... in nearly every post that mentions any type of vegan cheese, i seem to eat the "evidence" leaving no food to photograph. The same thing happened again! I made a great Nooch and Noodle casserole only to lose control and eat it all before taking any pictures! But, for the sake of my blog I made another dish including baked potato and steamed broccoli, which you see in the photo above. This time I hid my forks until I took the pictures.)

So if you want to try another vegan nooch sauce recipe here goes:

The New Nooch Sauce

Ingredients

1 large potato, peeled and chopped (yukon gold works best)
1/4 cup carrots, peeled and chopped
1/2 medium onion, chopped
5 cloves of garlic (BE VERY BRAVE.... IT'S GOOD)
small amount of vegetable broth
12 ounces silken tofu
2 TBS crunchy mustard
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
splash soy sauce
1 tsp cayenne (or more to taste)
turmeric & paprika (for color*)
2 TBS red miso paste

Method:

1. Put all veggies in a small pot, and cover with broth.
2. Bring to a boil and cook until very soft.
3. Turn down the heat and add tofu, mustard, soy sauce, spices* and nutritional yeast. (*The turmeric and Paprika are to adjust the color slightly if necessary.)
4. Simmer on low heat for an additional 3-5 minutes to reduce broth further if necessary. You will need to stir a lot and if stirring becomes to difficult move to step 5.
5. Remove from heat and stir in miso paste
6. Carefully transfer to a food processor and puree until the mixture is the consistency of a cheese sauce. Enjoy!

Note: Lemon juice is also a good addition... my husband doesn't care for it though. WHen combined with the miso, it can make things very tangy.

Southern Vegetable Goodness!!

Tonight's dinner started as I was thinking about those hoecakes.... I was sitting in traffic pondering their crunchy goodness and realized how much they made me think of fritters. There are so many varieties of vegetable fritters out there, so I decided to try to create some based loosely on the hoecake recipe. The resulting fritters are crunchy fried vegan morsels which are not at all healthy! They are pretty tasty though. I decided to "do penance" for the little greaseballs by having a very healthy assortment of vegetables (still in a very southern style) to fill the plate. In the end tonight's menu was:

• Southern-Style vegetable Fritters
• cucumber salad
• roasted tomatoes
• pickled beets with onions
• simple garlicky greens

The Cucumber Salad was the first "recipe" that I remember successfully following as a child. I told my father I would make part of dinner. This is what I made: thinly sliced cucumbers (my favorite little ones are still in season!!) and onions in a weak vinegar brine with salt, pepper, sweetener and dill. Although simple, its still light and refreshing....Yum!

Since my husband doesn't care for dill we had Pickled Beets just for him. He likes them with some sliced onions, basil, oregano, salt, pepper and a mixture of two vinegars (balsamic and red wine) and olive oil.

The Roasted Tomatoes were out of this world. I combined sliced tomatoes with balsamic vingar. olive oil, basil, LOTS of garlic and salt and pepper. Then I roasted everything for about two hours at 300 degrees. Besides some very occasional stirring, the hardest part was chopping the tomatoes. Over the course of two hours the garlic mellowed, the vinegar reduced and sweetened and the basil intensified, leaving a side dish that is more tempting than candy!

The Garlicky Greens were a sauteed combination of baby napa cabbage and spinach sauteed with garlic, salt and pepper. It was really simple, healthy and tasty.

Finally the intended piece du resistance...

Southern Vegetable Fritters

Ingredients:

1/4 cup silken tofu

1 cup unsweetend soy milk

splash vinegar (white, rice or white wine)

1-2 TBS Texas Pete hot sauce

1 TBS nutritional yeast

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 cup orange pepper, finally chopped

1/4 cup corn kernals

small handfull chives, finely chopped

1/8 cup sun dried tomatoes (roasted in oil), chopped

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 tsp baking powder

1 cup cornmeal

peanut oil, for frying

Method:

• Add vinegar to soy milk and let sit aside for a few minutes.
• Using a handmixer, fork or potato masher mash tofu. Combine tofu and surdled soy milk, mixing well to remove all lumps.
• Stir in hot sauce, Nutritional yeast and garlic powder.
• Stir in all vegetables. Add salt and pepper.
• Sift baking powder (or mix with a fork) into cornmeal and then fold this mixture into soy/ vegetable mixture. The resulting combo will be fairly stiff.
• Drop by tablespoon into hot peanut oil to fry.

Notes: You could probably use any comination of vegetables that you prefer. I personally would have liked these spicier in the future and will go heavier on the hot sauce.

In the end the only thing that was missing was some form of okra and we would have had a true southern vegetable review....

All-U-Care-to-Eat $2.99 buffet!!!

Earlier today my husband and I were walking around Baltimore (lamenting the fact that we both go back to work soon....) and shopping a little. In one of my favorite local used bookstores, Read Street Books, I stumbled upon the strangest little cookbook entitled: Cuisines of the Axis of Evil and other irritating states: A Dinner Party Approach to public Relations


The book features recipes from Korea, Iran, Iraq, Israel, India, Pakistan, Cuba, Burma, China and the good ole US of A. Without beginning any political discussion (this isn't a political blog...I'm thinking about the recipes), I want to tell you that this book is great. It has many recipes that are vegan and then many more that can easily be veganized. Since I love Asiatic Cuisines, I obviously bought it. And then.... I spent the entire walk home planning dinner. We set everything up like our own little All-U-Care-to-eat Chinese buffet.

Here was the menu:

• Vietnamese Style Spring Rolls 越南春卷
• Sticky Rice 大米
• Stir-Fried lotus Root 炒莲藕
• General Tso's Tofu 左宗棠豆腐
• Tropical Fruit Smoothie 水果时髦饮

The Vietnamese Spring Rolls were filled with soaked rice noodles, cucumber, red pepper, carrot, parsley, lettuce, chives and a homemade orange-ginger vinaigrette.



The Stir-Fried Lotus Root was seasoned with garlic, ginger, soy sauce and a little sesame oil. Fresh lotus Root can be purchased at most Asian grocery stores. Before using, it needs to be peeled. To prevent browning it can be soaked briefly in water with a splash of vinegar.


The General Tso's Tofu was a veganization of a recipe from the new cookbook. The recipe is posted below.


And finally to cool down all of that heat, we drank delicious tropical fruit smoothies! They were made from a combo of frozen lychees, cherries, banana and pineapple combined with lime juice, coconut milk, agave nectar and fresh minced ginger.

It was all great. After dinner we relaxed with Polynesian cocktails and watched Planes, Trains and Automobiles. It was a great date night and we didn't even have to leave our house.

General Tso's Tofu

Ingredients:

1 block extra firm tofu, pressed and cut into small chunks
1 cup broccoli florets
1 cup cornstarch
1 cup peanut oil + 2 TBS additional oil
4-8 small dried hot chilli peppers (I used 4 and it was wimpy... my DH had to add extra hot pepper)
1 packet liquid vegetable broth concentrate
white pepper

for sauce:
1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
3 TBS hoisin sauce
3 tsp agave nectar
2 TBS rice vinegar
1 TBS sake or mirin
2 cloves minced garlic
2 TBS minced ginger

optional garnishes: minced scallions, sesame seeds or parsley

Method:

1. Marinate tofu in the vegetable broth concentrate and pepper (do not add water!) stir to coat all pieces. Let sit for approximately 30 minutes to one hour. Use this time to combine all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl.

2. Right before cooking, set oven to low heat and line an oven safe pan with a few paper towels.

3. Heat the cup of oil in a wok or frying pan with steep sides. Working in small batches, lightly coat tofu in the cornstarch and fry until crispy. Place cooked tofu in prepared pan and keep warm in the oven. (Note: If you just dump the tofu into the cornstarch it will become a gluey mess... I found putting the cornstarch on a plate and turning the indivual tofu chunks with tongs to be the best method.)

4. When all of the tofu is done, pour off the oil into a jar to cool and wipe out the pan. Return to the stove and add the two tablespoons of additional oil to the pan.

5. Carefully cook your peppers (Watch out for your eyes and nose!) until the oil is slightly colored and the peppers are soft. Add your broccoli and sautee briefly.

6. Return the tofu to the pan.

7. Pour the bowl of sauce ingredients over the tofu and stir continually until sauce becomes slightly thick.

Garnish, if desired and serve over rice.

Guiness Pie

Sometimes I want something and it doesn't make sense. This week has been hot, humid and generally nasty and yet I craved a heavy, hearty meal. So for dinner we had Guiness Pie, a drunken sort of pot pie. This may not be a odd as it seems. A dear friend of mine maintains that the best pot pies are made in the summer because that is when you can get the youngest, freshest vegetables to include. Perhaps she was right because this was delicious! We served it with a side of summer vegetables in a tarragon butter. Heavy food or not, it was heavenly!

Guiness Pie

Ingredients:
1 recipe basic pie crust (see below)
non-hydrogenated vegan margarine and vegetable oil
1 onion
1 carrot
1 stalk celery
2 cloves garlic
3 large mushrooms (button or baby portobello)
pinch red pepper flakes
can Guinness
2 bay leaves
1 TBS coarse ground prepared mustard (Dijon works too)
2 Vegan beef flavored bouillon cubes
1 cup dry TVP
1 cup water
1 can stewed tomatoes
2TBS corn starch and a small amount of water

Method:

1. Chop all vegetables and saute in a mixture of margarine and oil, until barely soft. Season with red pepper flakes.
2. Pour the can of Guinness over vegetables. Add bay leaves, mustard and bouillon.
3. Once beer is boiling and bouillon dissolved, allow to boil for another 2 minutes and then add the TVP. Turn heat to low and pour in additional cup water. Continue cooking until TVP is reconstituted.
4. Pour tomatoes into pot and break up the tomatoes with the spoon. Bring to an boil again. Mixture should be watery.
5. In a small jar or cup mix cornstarch with a small amount of water and stir well, until there are no lumps. Add to pot, stiring continually until mixture begins to thicken. Turn off heat.
6. Put filling into a casserole dish and top with rolled out pastry crust. Bake a 400 for 35-45 minutes until crust is done.

Basic Pie Crust:

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
pinch salt
2/3 cups solid fat (vegetable shortening, margarine, coconut oil)
small cup ice water

Method:
1. Combine flour and salt (you can add additional dry seasonings here if you wish)
2. Cut in fat with a pastry cutter, two knives or your hands.
3. Stir in ice water one spoonful at a time until dough forms.
4. Refrigerate for later or roll out on a floured board for immediate use.

Summer Vegetables in Tarragon Butter
(not really a recipe... just a simple way to jazz up the few veggies I had left in the bin!!)

Ingredients:

1/2 lb snow peas, chopped
1/2 lb carrots, chopped
fresh corn from 4 ears
non-hydrogenated vegan margarine
white wine
generous hand-full tarragon
1 TBS whole grain mustard
Salt and Pepper

Method:

Blanch all vegetables and rinse in cold water.
Melt margarine in heavy bottomed pan, stir in tarragon and mustard.
Reheat vegetables in margarine and toss thoroughly.
Add a splash white wine, toss through and saute briskly to cook off wine.
Season with Salt and pepper.

Note: I didn't give measurements of the fats and wine because I just eyeballed them. I typically use the wine so I can reduce the amount of fat necessary without compromising on flavor.

The Great Vegan Cook-In

This morning, my husband's good friend (and our neighbor) showed up with assorted meats for the grill (remember folks... I'm married to an omni, it happens sometimes), so we had an impromptu party. While they did their thing I was left to fix a vegan cook-in for myself and another neighbor who decided to eat veggie that night ( yay!!). I'm calling it a cook-in because although much of the food was grilled or is traditional cook-out/picnic food, we live in Baltimore and have no real yard to speak of. In fact the grilling was done on our teeny-tiny balcony on a tailgate-style grill. We ate all of the food indoors in the air-conditioning around a table.

The menu du jour:

• Vegan Boca burgers on kaiser rolls
• Compassionate Collards
• Potatoes and Peas in a dijon vinaigrette
• Corn on the cob
• Mint Iced Tea
  

The potatoes and peas were a twist on potato salad made with a vinaigrette instead of a mayonaise based dressing. I wanted to try something different since I have been eating so much potato salad lately. It was ok, but a bit to mild for my palate. My husband said he definitely prefers my usual potato salad, but it was worth a try. Since it wasn't too noteworthy I am foregoing sharing a recipe for it.

The Collards were a total success though and so perfectly seasoned that no one requested any hot sauce, vinegar, or even salt & pepper! They were perfectly done, smoky, spicy and not a bit watery. Plus they were the ultimate no-fuss side dish. I threw them in the crockpot and walked away. Besides stirring them every hour or so, I didn't think about them again until dinner time. I named them compassionate collards because unlike the southern tradition of seasoning greens with meat, these were wonderfully meat free. Here is the recipe:

Compassionate Collards

Ingredients:

For each bunch of collards you will need:
1 sweet onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
3 chipotle peppers ( from a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce)
1 packet imitation ham flavoring (I used the goya variety...if you read the ingredients it is meat free) or some liquid smoke

Method:

Clean your collards really well but do not spin dry, you want a little water clinging to them.

Prep the collards by removing the center stem and chopping into bite-size pieces. (this is really easy to do if you stack several leaves and roll them tightly before chopping)

Place in a large crockpot, put all other ingredients on top of the collards. Do not add additional water!!! As the vegetables cook down they will give off some of their own water which will season the collards without causing them to be watery.

Turn Crockpot on high and let cook until done to your desired tenderness (for me that was about 4-5 hours...)

See... Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy!!

Note: I left the chipotles whole so that people could see them and not bite down on one if they didn't want too. They could be chopped or even pureed if you wish.

By the way, when I went to pick up the Boca Burgers I noticed that Morningstar farms now offers a grill-style chick patty, that is TOTALLY VEGAN!! I usually don't even think twice about their stuff because it has eggs or milk... but this was exciting. So even though my friend requested the boca burgers, I bought a box of the Morningstar Grillers Chick'n for later.

I would say the cook-in was a success as everyone cleaned their plates of all their veggies, one of my friends asked of he could have some collards to go and people lingered late into the night. Now if I could just find a way to fit us all of that small balcony so we could have a proper cook out!

A healthier greener goddess...

The Baltimore Urbanite this month ran an entire article on salad bars and specifically "Green Goddess" Salad dressing. Although the original dressing is decidedly unvegan with its mayonnaise, sour cream and anchovies, I was inspired to try to create my own Veganized version of this green monster. Both my husband and I found the dressing below to be delicious but bear in mind neither of us has any idea what the real "Green Goddess" is all about. To go with the dressing, I created a salad based on my own salad bar favorites from when I was a kid. I would eat so much salad that my dinner had to go home in a little Styrofoam container. This salad was so tasty that I ate two bowlfuls.. I almost had to pack up the rest of my lunch again! (My husband also had two bowls... there really is something magical about this salad!)

Magical 70's Salad with Greener Goddess Dressing
(By eschewing animal products, this dressing is both healthier and more eco-friendly than the original)

Greener Goddess Dressing

Mix the following in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy:

1/2 cup fresh parsley
1 clove of raw garlic
1 small handful of chives
3 TBS rice wine vinegar
2 TBS dijon mustard
1 caper berry, stem removed
1 TBS caper brine
2 TBS dried tarragon
1 large sheet roasted laver
1/3 cup vegan Mayonaise
6 ounces silken tofu (1/2 vacuum- sealed block)

Magical 70's Salad:

Put all of the following in a large bowl, chopped (if necessary) into equal small pieces:

Leaf Lettuce
Romaine Lettuce
Carrot
Cucumber
Mushrooms
Red Pepper
Scallions
Extra Firm Tofu (water pressed out)
Black Olives
Tiny green peas (from freezer, defrosted)
Sunflower seeds

Mix chopped veggies in a bowl with a small amount of dressing until every bite is covered. Sprinkle with freshly grated black or red pepper.

(NOTE: As an afterthought I realized that croutons and fake bacon bits would probably be awsome in this salad)


To go with the salad, I fixed a quick and simple tomato bisque that truly cooked itself. This is so simple that I am almost embarrased to call it a "recipe".

Lazy-Girl's Tomato Bisque (LOW-FAT)

Ingredients:
3-4 cloves garlic, whole
2 cans tomatos (stewed if you like it sweeter, plain if not)
fresh or dried basil to taste
almond milk, unsweetened
Salt and Pepper, to taste

Method:

Place garlic, tomatoes (including liquid) and basil in an oven safe pan. Roast at 450 for about 1 hour or until garlic cloves are soft and fragrant.

Remove from oven and puree using blender or imersion blender.

Once tomatoes are smooth, add almond milk to thin the tomato puree. Season with pepper and salt (if necessary).

Yep... that's it. Embarrasingly simple. Its even tastier if you start with fresh tomatoes, but using canned saves ALOT of time. (If you start from fresh, you will need to add more S&P)



And finally for dinner I had vegan lasagna. I tried a trick from Jessica Seinfeld and hid carrots, spinach and mushrooms into the sauce before pureeing everything. The lasagna was pretty good, but if I did it again, I'd probably skip the spinach.


The basic outlines of the lasagna components were:

Sauce: Cook 1/2 onion, 3 cloves garlic, 1 stalk celery, 1 carrot, lots of red pepper and braggs liquid aminos (or just salt...) in a little red wine. When veggies are soft add two cans italian tomatoes, fresh basil and parsley. Bring to a boil and cook to combine. (this was where I added the spinach but leave it out... just trust me on this one.) Puree everything until smooth and add small can tomato paste. Taste sauce and adjust flavors if necessary. (If you didn't listen and added the spinach anyway you will need to add agave syrup.) Heat through and set aside until you are ready to assemble your lasagna.

Tofu Riccota: In a food proccesor combine equal parts silken tofu and extra firm tofu, some basil, a few cloves raw garlic, some chives, a few squirts lemon juice, nutritional yeast, Bragg's (or salt) and pepper. (It is also good if you add a tiny amount of EVOO or some vegan parmesan). Set this aside until you are ready to assemble as well.

I am going to assume you know how to assemble your lasagna. I followed the box directions for the oven temperature and noodle preparation.

Vegan lasagna is one of my favorite dinners. I seem to make it differently every time, but I always love it. There is just something about all of those noodles and the garlicky tofu-ricotta that I just love. Although my DH has tried this in the past and announced it "ok", it is not his favorite. I don't take it personally, he didn't even like it when I got a restaurant version that was out of this world. Vegan lasagna is a hard sell to non-vegans. As an Italian and non-vegan he is never going to accept a lasagna that is not dripping with cheese and meat. He ate something else tonight. That's fine....more for me.

Sunday Dinner

Most of the time Sunday dinners are big at our house. Since we have been traveling, we have been eating alot of takeout, fast food and other less than tasty stuff, so I wanted to be sure that we had a good dinner today.

Today's menu was: Veganomicon's Chick Pea Cutlets (for me... DH had a different protein), mashed turnips bought fresh from the farmer's market, Asian style greens (seasoned with mirin, crushed pepper flakes, garlic, ginger, kecap manis and sesame oil) and a carrot puree.

The picture didn't come out too well but everything tasted great. I always love the chick pea cutlets because they are chewy and have a great crust to to them. The other veggies were all well seasoned and tasty as well. Although turnips seem like a fall or winter vegetable, the ones that I get at the farmer's market this time of year always seem to taste sweeter and have an excellent texture. Also since they are my husband's favorite vegetable, any time I can get them we eat them.

I always love my greens sauteed and seasoned with soy, ginger, garlic, pepper and sesame. This time the greens in question were labeled "Chinese Brocoli" and were a lovely green with tiny yellow flowers. The carrots were a new attempt for me, which I adapted from a soup recipe. They were delicious, both sweet, spicy and rich without being heavy or fatty. The basic recipe is at the bottom of the page.





For dessert we had Blackstrap ginger bread with lemon sauce from Vegan Lunch box. It wasn't very sweet, but with the lemon sauce it hit the spot.


The carrot puree was an adaptation of a soup recipe from the cookbook A Vegetarian's Ecstasy.

Indonesian Carrot Puree (LOW FAT)
(adapted from A vegetarian's Ecstasy)

Ingredients:

8-10 Carrots, peeled and chopped
1/2 of a medium banana, sliced
1 clove garlic
1 spoonful minced ginger
1 TBS soy sauce
pinch each of : crushed fennel seed, crushed red pepper, clove powder, wasabi powder, curry powder and turmeric

sweet white wine and soy milk (I used vanilla)

Method:

Put carrots, banana, garlic, ginger soy sauce andspices in a two quart sauce pot. Pour in enough wine to cover the carrots and boil until carrots are soft enough to mash and the wine reduces. Remove from heat and puree using immersion blender or food processor. When carrots are fully pureed, stir in 1/2- 1 cup of soy milk. Season with additional salt and pepper if necessary.

Vegan camping here we come....

In preparation for our upcoming camping trip, I spent the day preparing two good outdoor foods: Cole slaw and potato salad. Both of these are recipes that I tend to pull out when I have a lot of skeptical non-vegans to feed. They hardly even know these are vegan until they see me eating them. The potato salad, is somewhat traditional while the slaw is Asian inspired.

(In looking over my last few posts, I seem to be eating an abundance of siracha, curries, peanuts, sesame and ginger!!! I will endeavor to post a wider variety of recipes when I get back.)

Savory Vegan potato salad
(This is inspired by potato salad made by Mr. Williams, a co-worker of mine. I could never hope to recreate his version which is so good that in his words "it will make you slap someone")

Ingredients

5 lbs Russet potatoes (red potatoes work as well)
1/3 block tofu
2 stalks celery
1 small Vidalia onion
3 scallions, greens only
1 sweet red bell pepper
3/4 cup frozen petite peas, defrosted on counter
1 large carrot
1/4 cup parsley
1/2-1 jalapeno pepper (optional-to taste)

the following to taste:

whole grain mustard
vegan mayonnaise
sweet relish
rice wine vinegar
salt and pepper



Method

- Wash potatoes and boil with their skin on until tender then remove from hot water.

- While potatoes are boiling: wash and chop celery, onion, scallions, red pepper, carrot, parsley and jalapeno (if using). Place in a large bowl.

-Prepare tofu by pressing the water out and cutting into 1/8 inch cubes. Set aside.

-When potatoes are done,rinse with cold water. Peel and chop them before adding to the other vegetables.

-Using your taste buds as a guide mix vegetables with mustard, mayonnaise, relish and vinegar. Everyone is different but we prefer a ratio of 2:1 for the mustard to mayo, about 4 tablespoons of relish and around 1/4 cup of vinegar. When it is the way you like it, gently stir in the tofu and peas.

-Chill for at least 1 hour before serving.

Asian Style Spicy Slaw

Ingredients

Salad ingredients:
4 1/2 cups shredded green cabbage
3 scallions
2 medium carrots, shredded
1 sweet red bell pepper, minced
1/8 cup sesame seeds (optional)

For the dressing:
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup Lo-Sodium Soy sauce
2 TBS dark sesame oil
1/2 Siracha hot sauce (more if you like...)
2-3 TBS natural peanut butter

Method:

-Mix the vegetables and sesame seeds in a large bowl.
-Place all dressing ingredients in a jar with a tight fitting lid. Shake or stir until well mixed.
-Pour dressing over salad and stir to combine.
-Refrigerate for at least one hour prior to serving.



Hopefully everything will go smoothly on this camping trip... my husband is not a camper and my parents tell me it has been raining for days. At least I am bringing good food!

a week at my in laws

I'm visiting with my in laws this week. They love having us visit because my husband and I cook dinner every night. I'm the only vegan as usual, but no one is complaining about the food. So far the big hits have been vegetable curry, Vietnamese summer rolls with a spicy mango-ginger sauce and this broccoli side dish:


Italian Broccoli with Sundried Tomatoes

Ingredients:

5-6 crowns broccoli chopped into florets

1 cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped

1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped

4 shallots, chopped

3-4 cloves garlic minced

Olive Oil

Dry White Wine

Salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes to taste

Method:

-Blanch the broccoli for 3 minutes and then drain. Set aside.
-In a separate pot heat a small amount of olive oil and saute the tomatoes, until very soft.
-Add the Basil, Shallots and red pepper flakes. Continue to saute until the shallots are soft and then add the garlic.
-After the garlic is slightly colored, add 1 to 1 and 1/2 cups of the white wine and cook until it is reduced. Season with the salt and pepper and then stir in the broccoli and heat through.


Note: This is excellent over pasta as a main dish. To serve over pasta, chop the broccoli into smaller pieces.