Turning Veganese

I must confess that:

• I was never a fan of Buffalo anything.
• I never tried Buffalo Chicken Dip until last New Year’s weekend aka My Weekend of Debauchery.
• I kind of forced my sister to take part in this cooking challenge and now we have a crapload of leftover Buffalo Chicken Dip.
• there is no more vegan Buffalo (Chicken) Dip left. I ate it all. /burp
• my loneliness is killing me now don’t you know I still believe that you will be here and give me a sign… hit me baby one more time.

I don’t know where my sudden craving for buffalo chicken dip came from. All I know is that I had to have it this past weekend. As a bonus, it would be a good vegan vs. traditional cooking challenge. I found a lot of vegan recipes online and liked spabettie’s the best (check out her blog for amazing recipes that I can’t wait to try). I didn’t have soy curls, which probably would have taken this to another level, so this is what I ended up using:

Vegan Buffalo Dip

1/2 cup Franks Buffalo Sauce
8 ounces Tofutti cream cheese
1/3 cup Tofutti sour cream
1 cup vegan cheddar, grated (use Daiya if you’ve got it)
5 stalks celery, diced

Combine all the ingredients in an oven-safe bowl or dish. I used two small bowls. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes, covering with foil at the 20 minute mark. Serve with celery, tortilla chips, eat it with a spoon… whatever tickles your fancy. The dip might seem soupy but don’t worry: it’ll have a good dipping texture to it after it cools off a bit. I got so excited while making this and then stuffing my face with it that I didn’t get any good photos. I suppose I could make some more this weekend, but having “everything in moderation” still applies to vegan junk/snack foods.

This dip is totally potluck-worthy. I don’t think non-vegans would be able to tell the difference, but you should caution anyone you serve it to in case they have a soy allergy, which my sister has. This is something that should be shared and not completely devoured by oneself while in the midst of a stress/PMS-induced craving attack. Trust me: you might regret it, even though the dip is delicious.

Let me know if you try this out with soy curls. And be sure to check out spabettie.com! xoxo… Melissa