That Was Vegan?

Grilled Cranberry Pistachio Quesadillas

Yah. You read that right. I put cranberries, pistachios and some Diaya Jack cheese together in a quesadilla.

And then I grilled it.

And then I ate more of them than I care to admit.  But I’m not sorry, because they were really, really good. You know that taste explosion you get when you mix salty, sweet and rich together? This was that, times a gajillion. Truly, the salty nuts, sweet (dried) cranberries and rich gooooey jack cheese are the perfect combination, expected or not.

The second best part about these is that I made them on the grill. Look at those grill marks!

My only regret is that I didn’t think these up myself. If I had, I’d be taking out ad time just to let the world know that I am, in fact, a genius. Sadly (for me), that honor goes to Andrea Chesman who wrote The New Vegetarian Grill. My hat’s off to you, Andrea!

Maybe I get points for veganizing it, though?

Grilled Cranberry-Pistachio Quesadillas (Makes 2 quesadillas)

Ingredients:

• 4 large tortillas (I used burrito-sized)
• 6 ounces Daiya jack cheese, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup chopped salted pistachios

Directions:

1. Schmear approximately 1.5 ounces of cheese on one side each of two tortillas, then sprinkle with the dried cranberries and pistachios. Schmear the rest of the cheese on one side each of the remaining tortillas, and press together.
2. Grill over medium/medium-low heat for about 5 minutes, then flip. Leave on for another 5 minutes, then cut and serve.  When you first put the quesadillas on the grill, shift them around a bit so they don’t stick (you can also use non-stick spray, but I haven’t needed it).

Enjoy!

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I don’t think I shared this with you guys, but I received an email last month from an editor at onegreenplanet.org asking if I’d like to join their team of contributing writers. Obviously I said YES!, and today my first post was published: Grilled Beet Salad with Almonds and Dried Cranberries!

Go check it out and show me some love 🙂

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Sweet Potato & Black Bean Quesadillas

Continuing with my Hot Weather Recipe ideas (meals that require no cooking, or can be prepared on the grill), I present to you: Sweet Potato and Black Bean Quesadillas! (if your grill doesn’t have a burner, you’ll have to boil the potatoes inside or microwave them, in which case I recommend a new grill, ha ha)

To answer your most important question first, YES there is cheese in there- Daiya Jack to be precise, but the creamy sweet potatoes allow you to cut back a little on the calories cheese if you’re so inclined (I was). Plus, it leaves you with more leftover Jack for Cheese n’ Crackers!

On a completely unrelated note, Jason and I went to a potluck dinner party last night hosted by our neighbors. These particular neighbors are kind, wonderful people who also happen to have owned one of the largest cattle ranches in Colorado (and if you know anything at all about cattle ranching in Colorado, that means it was really big), so needless to say they’re very big on meat. As in, when you’re invited to a BBQ at their house you can pretty much count on being served hamburgers and maybe chips and that’s about it. I was already vegetarian when we met them, so I’ve never partaken but I have gone home hungry, which is sad.  The other thing I’ve never done is tell them that I’m vegan. It hasn’t come up and I already know we’re not going to agree on anything to do with food politics or animal-agribusiness, so I’d prefer to just avoid it. I swear it has nothing to do with the fact that I’d be completely outnumbered 🙂

But I digress. This was the first time it was actually a potluck, and I was excited to know that I’d have more than chips and a few stray pickles to eat, yay! Someone made a wonderful salad with walnuts and strawberries which I gorged on, and I brought my Butternut Squash Mac n’ Cheese and Agave-Sriracha Grilled Sweet Potatoes (recipe to follow, I promise).

Not to toot my own horn, but everyone LOVED both, especially the m-n-c! I saw people going back for seconds and thirds, including the woman seated next to me, so I whispered to her that I had made it and it was vegan, and she couldn’t believe it. When she went back for just a little bit more after knowing it was vegan made me love her a little bit.  Shortly after that I got up to talk to someone, and by the time I came back she had told the whole table that it was vegan, and everyone was completely surprised. They were calling it “Macaroni and no cheese”, which I thought was cute. And they kept eating it!

The moral of the story? If you’re not sure what to serve to a room full of cattle ranchers and other omnivores, give my Butternut Mac n’ Cheese a try. They wont know it’s vegan, and even if you choose to tell them it is, they’ll love it anyway!

Grilled Sweet Potato and Black Bean Quesadillas (Makes 2 quesadillas)

These measurements are really just guidelines- you can change up the proportions to suit your own palate! ETA: When smashing the sweet potatoes, it doesn’t have to be perfect, just get most of the lumps out!

Ingredients:

• 4 medium tortillas
• 3 ounces Daiya jack cheese
• 1 heaping cup smashed sweet potato
• 1/2 cup black beans
• Sour cream and salsa, if desired

Directions:

1. Using a butter knife or back of a spoon, schmear the cheese around on top of the 4 tortillas.
2. Cover 2 of the tortillas with a mixture of the beans and sweet potatoes, then top with the remaining tortillas, cheese side down.
3. Place the quesadillas on a grill heated to medium-low, making sure to move them around a bit for the first 10-15 seconds so they don’t start to stick. Leave still for about 5 minutes, then flip. Grill for another 5 minutes, then remove, cut, and serve with sour cream and salsa if desired.

Enjoy!

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Creamy(?) Tomato Basil Pasta

Hope this Wednesday finds you all happy and healthy! I’m working from home today which means I have dogs at my feet, and that’s about the best thing I can even imagine 🙂  This was meant to be my take on VeganYumYum’s Super Quick Tomato Basil Cream Pasta, but as you can see from the picture mine didn’t end up quite so creamy. Hmmm.

Anyway, it was still delicious and a GREAT way to use up the basil and tomatoes that I’m certain are crowding your garden right now!

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Curry Tempeh Sandwich

When I was an undergrad at SNHU I took one class in particular that has really stuck with me, more than 14 years later. I couldn’t tell you the name of the class or one single thing I learned from the textbook, and I can’t even remember the name of the professor. All I remember is that he inspired me to go vegetarian for the first time.

He was a vegetarian, and I think a bit of a hippie. The thing I really remember about that day was that he brought in some vegetarian food for everyone to try, including something he called Flightless Chicken Salad. I don’t know what was in it, although as I think back I’m certain the “meat” must’ve been tempeh. This was before Vegenaise, so it probably had some kind of tofu-based sauce. I remember that it was good, and I remember thinking that his was a lifestyle that really spoke to me.  Not the hippie part, but not eating animals, and the way he was always trying to raise awareness and make the world a better place.  I saw him as this kind, gentle person who was truly  making the world around him a better place. I wanted to be that person, too.

So I went home and announced that I was now a vegetarian. This was where it got tricky. I had no idea what vegetarians ate (other than Flightless Chicken Salad, which I had no idea how to reproduce), I had zero understanding of nutrition beyond the USDA Pyramid (lies!), and it’s not like I could just zip over to the local corner store and stock up on Tofurky and tofu. I’m sure there were items like that available somewhere back then, but certainly not in Backwoods, NH. This was also before Google, so that wasn’t really an option for me either. I know I’m making excuses, because there were people who went vegetarian or even vegan and stuck to it. But for me, it wasn’t time.

After a few days of probably just starving myself, I went back to eating meat, and tried not to think about how I was avoiding becoming the person I wanted to be.

My second attempt was when I lived in LA. I didn’t know anyone who was vegetarian, but I wanted to lose weight. A coworker made an off-hand comment, something like “Vegetarians are skinny, maybe you should do that!” Living in LA I had access to great vegetarian and vegan substitutes, so I filled the fridge with veggie balls and Tofutti Cuties from Trader Joes. Ultimately it didn’t stick, BUT I continued to weave those alternative products into my diet. I don’t think I ever bought meatballs other than the veggie ones after that, and the Cuties were pretty much always on my shopping list. Plus I was broke and couldn’t afford meat anyway, so I think we could safely call me “Vegetarian Adjacent”. A good side story- my friends and I were always out clubbing (oh man could I tell you some stories- but I wont) and a lot of times we’d all end up back at my apartment after last call.  I’m not sure how my roommates felt about that, but I had a lot of fun, ha ha. Anyway, people would be hungry so unless we remembered to hit the Del Taco drive through on the way, I’d end up throwing something together. My favorite was spaghetti and those TJ’s vegetarian balls. The first timers would usually give me a hard time: “I’m not eating those!” or “Gross!”, but everyone ALWAYS loved them. Always. People tend to have a hangup about trying vegetarian or vegan food, but I think if they’d just open their minds a little, they’d be pleasantly surprised.

Unfortunately this round of attempted conversion didn’t stick either- in fact it would be another 6 years before I officially became a vegetarian (and 8 until I became vegan), but I choose not to dwell on that. Instead I’d like to send a big THANK YOU out to that one professor who attempted to open the minds of a room-full of college students. I, for one, was pleasantly surprised!

Read more about how I ultimately became vegan (and stuck with it!)

Curried Tempeh Salad ( 2 sandwiches)

Ingredients:

• 4-5 ounces of tempeh, steamed and crumbled
• 3 tablespoon vegenaise (plus a little extra for spreading)
• Heaping 3/4 teaspoon curry powder (or more, to taste)
• 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 handfuls baby spinach
• 4 sliced of bread (I used Sandwich Thins, but any bread or even pita would be good)

Directions:

1. Mix together tempeh, vegenaise, curry and salt. Taste and adjust as needed.
2. Smear a little bit of the vegenaise on your bread, then layer 1/2 the spinach and top with 1/2 the tempeh salad.
3. Serve with a side of grapes or chips.

Enjoy!

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Cajun Fettuccine with Tofu

Just a quick post today to say Happy Friday and I hope you all enjoyed your patriotic celebrations! Also? Thank you SO MUCH for all the congratulations on my Veganniversary! You guys really do rock!  I’m at the dentist today having a permanent cap installed (ensconced?) so whatever you’re currently doing, you’re probably having more fun than I am 🙂

This pasta dish was equal parts spicy, creamy and rich: Cooper and I give it two paws up! I used Happy Herbivore’s alfredo recipe, and there’s plenty of tofu and tomatoes in there as well,  making it pretty healthy for a pasta dish. I made a double batch and we had it for dinner twice, and the leftovers held up perfectly well in the fridge/microwave which is always a bonus, right?

Cajun Fettuccine with Tofu (Makes 4-5 servings)

Adapted from the non-vegan/vegetarian recipe

Ingredients:

• TWO batches of Happy Herbivore’s Instant Vegan Alfredo Sauce (just the sauce, not the pasta!) (You can use AP flour- I did)
• 1.5 Tablespoons blackening spice
• 1 block extra firm tofu, drained, pressed and sliced
• 4-5 Servings of fettuccine
  
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3/4 cup grape tomatoes, sliced in half
• Nutmeg, to taste
• Sea salt, to taste
• Pepper, to taste
• Chopped parsley, if desired

Directions:

1. Prepare the Alfredo sauce, and taste-test. I added a dash of sea salt, but don’t add too much at this point- the blackening spice has some salt in it, too. Set aside.
2. Cover both sides of the tofu with blackening spice and bake at 350 until dry and firm (but not overcooked!), about 10-15 minutes each side.
3. Put 4 large servings of fettuccine on to boil, per package instructions.
4. In a medium pan, water saute the garlic and grape tomatoes until soft and fragrant, 4-5 minutes. Pour in the alfredo sauce and mix thoroughly.
5. Dice the cooked tofu and add to the sauce mix. Mix well and taste-test, then add nutmeg, S & P as needed.
6. Pour sauce mixture over pasta, and serve sprinkled with chopped parsley

Enjoy!

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Firstly, can I get a big YAY! for me? This week marks my 2-year veganniversary and I couldn’t be happier about it! Oh, what’s that? You want to hear my vegan story? Okay!

I had been vegetarian for almost 2 years (and approximately 80% vegetarian for another year before that, if you’re counting) but I knew I wanted more. I wanted to do more for animals, I wanted to be healthier, and mostly I wanted to live a life that was truer to my values. I had a couple of vegan friends who were great role models, and I was already using plant-based substitutes for most dairy products, but for some reason I was still hesitant.

It was right around that time that I joined our local Vegetarian/Vegan Meetup group and attended my first event- a book club meeting to discuss Skinny Bitch. That evening was a huge turning point in my life. I had read the book and it pushed me right up to the edge, but it was spending time with all those amazing vegans who were so happy and open and self-confident in their decision to be vegan- it gave me that extra bit of oomph that I needed! I went home and re-read the book, then went on Facebook to announce that I was going to go the long holiday weekend without eating dairy (because, obvs, nothing is real until you post it on FB, right?). My plan was to give it a shot, do my best, and see what happened. It was much easier than I thought it would be, probably due in part to the fact that I wasn’t placing a lot of stress on myself.  So then I changed my goal to 2 weeks, then a month. Once those short-term milestones had passed w/out incident dairy, I went ahead and pronounced myself VEGAN, and the rest is history!

Can I get another YAY! for me? Thanks 🙂

According to PETA, vegans save an average of 198 animals per year which means that I’ve saved almost 400 lives in my two years of eating delicious meals without ever feeling as though I was sacrificing. And the added bonus? I haven’t been sick A SINGLE DAY in the past 2 years! I had a headache once, but I drank some water and it went away so I think I was just dehydrated 😉 If you knew me pre-vegan you’d realize just how amazing this is. I used to get 2-3 colds a winter, one of which would often leave me with a bad bronchial infection- you know the kind that makes you cough like a donkey braying? Yah, I don’t miss those.  The craziest part is that I didn’t realize just how often I was getting sick, I (like so many Americans) just accepted it as “normal”. Now I look around me at the non-vegans in my life and I’m in shock at how often they (and their kids) are ill. It’s mind boggling, really.

Coincidentally, we have another milestone to celebrate this week at TWV?… 100,000 all-time views! That’s right, in the less than 7 months this little blog has been around, a whole lotta peepers have been checking out my recipes, and for that I have a big YAY! for you all! Thank you so much for all the support and comments and ideas you’ve shared with me. You guys rock!

In case you’re curious, my most popular post ever (so far, anyway!) has been Cauliflower & Cheese:

Cauliflower n’ Cheese

It’s not hard to see why that one was so popular. I might go whip up another batch of it myself 🙂

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Tofu Buffalo Spring Rolls

Happy 4th! I hope you’re all celebrating responsibly 😉

Buffalo Tofu Spring Rolls. Tofuffalo Spring Rolls? Sure! They’ll also answer to “Hey You Delicious Thang” and “Please Get In My Belly Now”, in case you were wondering. Oh, and did I mention the Cashew Avocado Dipping sauce?

As a blogger I try to avoid making sweeping statements like the one I’m about to make, but I cannot stop myself: These are the best thing I’ve ever created! If you like buffalo sauce and handheld foods, then you must try these. Seriously. I command you.

But let me back up and tell you how these came about. Remember my Buffalo Seitan “Wing” Tacos? Those are also amazing, and you should make those as well, but let’s try and stay focused, shall we? So, I love taking foods that are usually served in one form, and re-creating them as another. Hence those Buffalo Wing tacos. And my Korean BBQ Tacos Pizza. And my Peanut Butter & Ice Cream Calzone.

Ha! Just kidding about that last one! Anyway, I was thinking about those Buffalo Tacos. I wanted to make them again, but wanted to try something a little different. I also wanted to stick with something that could be cooked on the grill (hot weather = no oven for me). I knew I had some spring roll wrappers in the freezer, and voila! These little suckers were conceived! Of course, I didn’t want to risk being called a fat man in a leather jacket again, so I ran the idea by Lauren first.  She thought it sounded good so ahead I went.

I swapped tofu for the seitan because A.) I didn’t have any seitan, and B.) I think it works better because you can get those nice little cubes. I also used raw cabbage instead of lettuce because I wanted something with a little bit of substance, something that would hold up well to the heat of the grill and not get all slimy. No one likes a slimy spring roll, amiright? I wasn’t sure how the spring wrappers would do on the grill (and I couldn’t find any vegan egg roll wrappers because, umm, they all had egg in them), but they turned out to be superstars. The trick? Double-wrap! Worked like a charm!

On the taco version I used vegan ranch dressing, but I wanted to do something a little different with these, so I created a cashew-based dipping sauce with avocado, So Delicious coconut milk, a tiny bit of sour cream and a dash of sea salt.  Yum! And everything was really easy to make. The sauce took about 10 minutes (plus 5-6 hours of cashew-soaking which doesn’t count). The rolls themselves required very little prep (carrot grating and cabbage slicing), and even rolling them went pretty quick.

In case you’ve never rolled a spring roll before, this is how you set up the wrappers (remember, two wrappers!). Approximately 2 tablespoons of carrot, about the same amount of cabbage, 5-6 cubes of tofu and a drizzle of Franks. Then you grab the top corner and fold it down to the bottom point, creating an inverted triangle. Fold the two sides in, then roll the entire thing up from the bottom. Easy as tofu pie, I promise.

Here’s the money shot:

And did you see the beautiful grill marks? Swoon!

In case you’re curious about the “Hot Weather Recipes” title, or if you’re just keeping track, here’s the skinny: It’s been uncomfortably hot in Colorado lately so I’ve made an effort to come up with more recipes that can be cooked entirely on the grill (sometimes they use a stove-top burner which my grill has). I’m also trying to keep my choices  interesting and unexpected and hopefully not-too-obvious, so things that are already meant to be cooked on the grill don’t count!  So far we have:

• Tuno-Stuffed Tomatoes
• Grilled BBQ Tater Tot Pizza

Buffalo Tofu Spring Rolls With A Cashew Avocado Dipping Sauce (8 spring rolls and plenty of dipping sauce to go with)

Ingredients:

• 1 block extra firm tofu
• Franks Wing Sauce
• 2 large carrots, grated
• 1/2 cabbage, sliced
• 16 spring roll wrappers, defrosted
• 1/2 cup cashews (soaked for 5-6 hours or overnight)
• 2 ripe avocados
• 2 tablespoons vegan sour cream
• 3-4 T So Delicious coconut milk
• Pinch of sea salt

Directions:

1. After the tofu has been thoroughly pressed, sliced through the middle then into 4 equal rectangles. Cover in Franks Wing Sauce for about an hour then grill over medium high heat for 7-8 minutes (on foil or a pam-sprayed grill). Cover the upwards-facing side with more Franks, flip and grill for another 6-7 minutes.  Cut into small cubes and set aside.
2. Open your wrappers and remove as many as you’re going to use, place the pile on a plate with a wet paper towel underneath and on top of the stack. Keep a 3rd towel in a small bowl of cold water handy. Remove the wrappers from the stack 2 at a time, very slowly. They’re going to be sticky, but if you keep squeezing that 3rd paper towel them as they separate you shouldn’t get any tears.
3. Place the wrappers (2 at a time!) on a non-sticky surface like a cutting board oriented like a diamond (see picture above), and spoon approximately 2 tablespoons of carrot, about the same amount of cabbage, 5-6 cubes of tofu and a drizzle of Franks onto each. Then you grab the top corner and fold it down to the bottom point, creating an inverted triangle. Fold the two sides in, then roll the entire thing up from the bottom.
4. As you complete one place it onto another plate that you can easily carry out to the grill, with the edge of the wrapper down- this will keep them closed. When they’re all completed, heat the grill to medium-low heat and spray with non-stick spray. Place on grill (wrapped edge down), for about 5 minutes. Flip (no need to add more spray) and grill for another 5-ish minutes. The wrappers should be crispy and should have great grill marks- just make sure they don’t burn.
5. While they’re on the grill, combine the remaining ingredients in a good blender, and blend until smooth.  Serve along side the spring rolls, maybe with some extra Franks for dipping.

Enjoy!

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Chili Lime Seitan Kabobs

Thank you for all the wonderful feedback and comments on my Crazy Pizza recipe- I’m glad to know my readers are as playful and adventurous as I am 🙂

I made these seitan & veggie kabobs for a BBQ last month, and I think they were a hit. I actually  make them pretty often just for dinners (and leftover lunches!), so clearly I’m a huge fan. They’d be great for a 4th of July (vegan) BBQ! And before anyone starts to feel queasy, those are TOFURKY sausages in the background, haha.  Seriously though, these make GREAT leftover lunches- I like to slide them off the skewers before packing them away in tupperware. You can eat them as-is, or sometimes I throw in some quinoa and mix it all up. Nuke the whole thing in the microwave for 45 seconds and it’s deeeeeeelish!

Before we get to the recipe for the kabobs I want to throw a little bonus recipe/idea your way: Chili Lime Butter! Just throw a few tablespoons of your fave vegan butter into a bowl and let it come to room temperature. Mix in a teaspoon (or more!) of chili powder and a couple squirts of lime juice, then put the bowl back in the fridge until if firms up. It is SPECTACULAR on corn on the cob, and I bet it would also be really good on some grilled cornbread. Mmm… cornbread…

Okay, check out the recipe while I wipe up this drool…

Chili Lime-Marinated Seitan Kabobs (Makes 6 Kabobs; 2-3 servings)

Ingredients:

• 6 wooden skewers
• 1 Tablespoon chili powder (I use a NM blend)
• Zest and juice of 3 limes
• 5 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 loaf homemade seitan
• 1 Mexican squash, sliced
• 1 summer squash, sliced (and also halved on the thick end)
• 1/2 sweet onion, quartered
• 1 small bell pepper, cubed

Directions:

1. Submerge the wooden skewers in cold water and allow to soak for at least 30 minutes (but an hour is better).
2. In a tupperware large enough to fit all the seitan and veggies, mix the marinade: Chili powder, zest and lime juice, and olive oil.
3. Slice the seitan lengthwise into 3rds, the cut crosswise into 1/4’s.  Place in marinade along with the rest of the ingredients and let sit for as long as you can. I’ve done as little as an hour and as much as a whole day- I’d recommend at least an hour.
4. Build your kabobs, alternating seitan and veggies with an average of 2-3 pieces of seitan per kabob.

Enjoy!

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