vegetarian | Turning Veganese

May 17 2013

Snacks

Epic Vegan Queso

We decided to take queso to the next level. Fortunately the preparation wasn’t epic; it is incredibly simple to make your own awesome queso at home.

You can start with Nacho Mom’s Vegan Queso or any other pre-made vegan queso or make your own.

Take your vegan queso and combine it with the following:
1 15 ounce tin of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 onion, diced and microwaved until soft
1 15 ounce tin of diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 package of Tofurkey soy Chorizo

Then we microwave it until it’s hot, stirring every thirty seconds. This is perfect for a gathering with friends, even omnivores!

This is Christie, signing off!

Tagged black beans, cheese, chili, dairy-free, easy, egg-free, gluten-free, jalapeno, nachos, onion, party, queso, quick, soy-free, superbowl, tomato, vegan, vegetarian

May 11 2013

28 Comments

Desserts

Mango Margaritas!

This is an incredibly simple drink and mango is in season here in Florida. I figured I’d honor our local bounty and make something really fresh (like from the tree in our backyard) and that’s sure to please. We typically collect our mango as they’re available and peel and then freeze the flesh in 16 ounce containers.

Place the frozen fruit into your trusty blender with or without tequila (one ounce per person is my rule), 1 cup of orange juice and juice from half a lime. Before you pour your beverage, you’ll want to coat the rim of your beverage receptacle with salt. There are 2 ways to do this. I recommend using fine sea salt but ordinary table salt is fine. You’ll gently dip the lip of your glass into your margarita and then into a bowl of salt OR rub the other half of that lime around the edge of that glass and then do the same with the bowl of salt.

Blend it up to smooth perfection and get ready to enjoy your vitamin A and vitamin C with enough fiber to make a vegan blush.

Thank-you for visiting the Virtual Vegan Potluck 3.0! Please visit the blogs before and after us in the potluck! They’re also amazing. This is Brent and Christie, signing off!

Tagged easy, egg-fre, egg-free, gluten-free, lime, mango, margarita, nut-free, orange juice, quick, salt, vegan, vegetarian, virtual vegan potluck

May 10 2013

1 Comment

Main Dishes

Tunaless Melt!

This could have made an amazing sandwich but it made an awesome wrap. I’ve been missing tuna melts, not for the fishy tinned tuna but for the melty goodness and crunchy celery. To make the filling I combined the following:

1 32oz tin of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

2 tbsp vegan mayo

1 cup of chopped celery

1/2 chopped onion

a generous pinch each of tarragon and thyme

1 tbsp marmite or vegemite

salt and flake red pepper to taste

I started by adding the celery and onion and microwaving it until the onion was soft.

I actually used a fork to mush the chickpeas. I liked the texture it provided since it reminded me more of real tuna that way. Once it was all mixed together, I microwaved it until it was hot and then adjusted the seasoning.

We combined this on a wrap with some Daiya cheddar which we melted by microwaving and then topped with some spinach and tomato. It hit the spot, EXACTLY!

This is Christie, signing off!

Tagged beans, celery, cheddar, chick pea, chickpea, chickpeas, dairy-free, daiya, easy, egg-free, flake red pepper, garbanzo, gluten-free, marmite, nut-free, onion, quick, salt, soy-free, spinach, tomato, vegan, vegemite, vegetarian

May 05 2013

Sunday Bunday

Today, Vlad is here to deliver another important message to fellow vegans. A healthy lifestyle does not stop at diet, but also includes exercise!

Follow your dreams, Vlad. One day you will surely trounce that towel.

From Vlad, Christie and Brent… Peace out, my vegans.

Tagged bunday, bunny, dairy-free, egg-free, exercise, gluten-free, milk-free, rabbit, sunday, vegan, vegetarian

Apr 30 2013

1 Comment

Main Dishes

Cuban can be vegan too!

Miami is immersed in Cuban culture. From the coffee to the art, Cuba’s heartbeat is felt in this city. We decided to honor our love for Cuban contributions (namely a colleague of mine who recently got his American citizenship!) by creating a Cuban inspired vegan meal; black beans, pork, rice and plantains are stereotypical in local cuisine.

For the black beans, all we did was drain a tin of black beans and combine with some roughly chopped peppers, onions and tomato.

We prepared some frozen Goya maduros in our oven. They’re basically fried mature bananas. They’re SUPER tasty.

We made Vigo yellow rice.

Instead of pork, we had maple bacon tempeh. A traditional preparation of pork in Cuban cuisine might be topped with sauteed onions and cheddar cheese. We decided on the rest of those peppers instead. All of this was really easy. It took less than an hour to prepare everything and it was also delicious, nutritious and satisfying.

Thank-you to our neighbor to the South for the inspiration and a good friend who is finally official!

This is Brent and Christie, signing off!

Tagged beans, bell peppers, black beans, Cuba, dairy-free, easy, egg-free, gluten-free, maduroa, maduros, maple bacon, nut-free, onion, peppers, plantians, pork, quick, rice, tempeh, tomato, vegan, vegetarian, vigo, yellow rice

Apr 25 2013

4 Comments

Main Dishes

Chickenless Salad Wraps

This was an inappropriately easy dinner. We’ve been busy trying to find a friend for our bunny so we haven’t had a lot of time to make anything elaborate. All we did was combine the following:

2 cups soy curls

1 cube bouillon

1/2 tsp herbes de Provence

We covered them in water and microwaved one minute at a time until the water was absorbed. Then I added 2 tbsp vegan mayonnaise and a generous squeeze of lemon juice.

We added it to a wrap with some spinach (I added that after I took this picture), home-grown sprouts, tomato and bell pepper.

It was sweet, savory, crispy, chewy, and satisfying.

This is Christie, signing off!

Tagged bell pepper, dairy-free, easy, egg-free, gluten-free, herbes de provence, mayonnaise, nut-free, quick, soy curls, spinach, sprouts, tomato, vegan, veganaise, vegetarian

Apr 18 2013

1 Comment

Main Dishes

Spicy Peanut Chili Pizza!

This was our first in a line of experiments involving some of our favorite ingredients: PB2, Sriracha and tofu. We wanted pizza but didn’t have any of he traditional ingredients so we decided to wing it and make something Thai-inspired. We used a pre-made gluten-free pizza crust from the ZenCat bakery but you can use a storebought variety or make our home-made crust.

For the sauce, I combined the following in our blender:
1 block of silken tofu
3 tablespoons of Sriracha or suitable substitute (or to taste)
2 Thai chilis, I used one red and one green (I also buy them in bulk and freeze them)
2 tbsp PB2 or regular peanut butter

I blended it until it looked smooth while Brent prepared some soy curls.

We topped it with some sliced tomato and Thai basil (cilantro would work well too) and then baked it until it had started to brown around the edges.

A sprinkling of chopped peanuts (or cashews) really made this pizza interesting but it won’t suffer if you leave it off. It was creamy, spicy and decadent. It felt a lot naughtier than it was in terms of nutrition. The next time we do this, I’ll probably add some fresh cilantro or Thai basil after baking. I just love the cinnamon flavors it adds.

This is Brent and Christie, signing off!

Tagged basil, cheeseless, chili, cinnamon basil, dairy-free, egg-free, gluten-free, green, PB2, peanut butter, pizza, red, soy curls, sriracha, thai, tofu, tomato, vegan, vegetarian

Apr 12 2013

1 Comment

Lazy Vegan, Raw

Sesame Citrus Salad Starring KALE!

This was an afternoon salad for me and Brent when we were both home and wanted a snack that was more significant than a pickle. Brent peeled 3 mandarin oranges and prepared some soy curls.

I tore up some red and green kale and washed it.

I tossed it together with sesame seeds and a tangy citrus dressing and threw in the orange slices and soy curls for an easy tasty treat.

It was much more filling than either of us had anticipated. I think just about any citrus dressing would do but we used a local specialty: tangerine vinaigrette.

The orange, green and purple were also visually stunning and I love when food nourishes your mind AND your body so I’m a fan. Let me know what your variation on this theme is.

This is Christie, signing off!

Tagged dairy-free, easy, egg-free, entertaining, gluten-free, green, kale, mandarin, nut-free, orange, purple, quick, sesame, sesame seeds, soy curls, tangerine, vegan, vegetarian

Apr 02 2013

2 Comments

Desserts, Lazy Vegan, Main Dishes

Breakfast Wrap

This particular item more resembles dessert than breakfast but the nutritional profile doesn’t disappoint. All I did was take a flax gluten-free tortilla and topped it with the following

1 tbsp chocolate peanut butter (I used Peanut Butter and Co. but really any vegan nut butter will do)

2 tbsp dried blueberries (dried cranberries or raisins would work well too)

1/2 banana, sliced

1/4 apple, sliced

1/4 cup granola (I used Cascadian Farms)

I microwaved it for 20 seconds so it would soften and then ate it… It kept me full until lunch time. The crisp acidic apple and the soft sweet banana were perfectly balanced with the chewy blueberries and nutty chocolate crunch of the granola and peanut butter. Next time I might add some slivered almonds.

This is Christie, signing off!

Tagged banana, breakfast, cascadian farms, chocolate, cholesterol-free, dairy-free, dried blueberries, dried cranberries, easy, egg-free, gluten-free, granola, peanutbutter, quick, raisins, soy-free, vegan, vegetarian, wrap

Mar 26 2013

3 Comments

Reviews

“Shrimp” Jambalaya

This was one of those nights when we wanted something fun, but didn’t want to work too hard for it.

This Vigo Jambalaya rice mix was an easy base for our next ingredient. Brent made that while I prepared the rest. I diced an onion and sauteed it in Earth Balance buttery spread, chardonnay, flake red pepper and garlic.

We’re using a different kind of vegan shrimp than our usual Ocean’s Best. Visually it was a decent substitute for shrimp.

This particular variety is soy and gluten free and has the texture of overcooked shrimp. I don’t mind that chewier texture, in most dishes I prefer it. It gave a good contrast to the tender rice and soft onion.

At this point I’m neutral to the two. Sophie’s has a slightly better nutritional profile because they’re made with konjac flour instead of potato starch like Ocean’s best. In the end, they’re both tasty, very processed, taste not unlike the real thing but won’t convince most picky carnists. I’d get them if you’re really missing shrimp. Real shrimp are harvested by ocean dredging which is the ecological equivalent of clear cutting a forest. These are better for your conscience.

If you get to try them, let me know what you think!

This is Christie, signing off!

Tagged butter, dairy-free, earth balance buttery spread, egg-free, garlic, gluten-free, jambalaya, nut-free, onion, prawns, rice, shellfish-free, shrimp, sophie's kitchen, soy-free, vegan, vegetarian, vigo, white wine

Turning Veganese

I think I'm turning veganese, I really think so.

Tag Archives: vegetarian

Epic Vegan Queso

Mango Margaritas!

Tunaless Melt!

Sunday Bunday

Cuban can be vegan too!

Chickenless Salad Wraps

Spicy Peanut Chili Pizza!

Sesame Citrus Salad Starring KALE!

Breakfast Wrap

“Shrimp” Jambalaya

Follow “Turning Veganese”

I think I'm turning veganese, I really think so.

Tag Archives: vegetarian

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