Author Archives: Melissa

Oct 03 2012
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Reviews

It’s a Miracle!

Let me begin by saying that this post was supposed to be a review of a vegan frozen pizza until I read the finer print and realized that the pizza contained milk protein. Darn! I ate the pizza because I didn’t want to waste it, but I was seriously disappointed.

I found some consolation in a sweet treat: the Chocolate Almond Butter Miracle Tart by Hail Merry:

I have seen this several times but never bought it because, well… it’s not cheap. Having made my own raw desserts, I think the price is perfectly reasonable, but I couldn’t justify the investment until I made the mistake of going to the grocery store while on a crazy salty/sweet craving binge.

The tart itself is beautiful and dense. It’s not greasy and the best way to eat it was to just pick it up and take a bite out of it. I could definitely taste the coconut oil in the product and the almond butter was delicious. The tarts are small, but they’re perfect for sharing: there are three servings in one tart. I felt myself wanting more of a sweeter chocolate taste. For that reason, I don’t think I will buy this particular flavor anytime soon. There was a lemon tart that I am curious enough to try sometime.

Have you tried any Hail Merry products? What did you think? Let us know in the comments! –Melissa

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Oct 01 2012
8 Comments
Cooking

Vegan Bistek Part II

It seems like a really long time ago when I posted about Tofustek! and I actually find it hard to believe that it took me this long to make the recipe using soy curls instead of tofu.

 

Here is the recipe using soy curls:

1 cup soy curls
1/4 c soy sauce
1 tbsp lemon juice or calamansi juice if you’ve got it
2-3 tbsp veggie broth (I used ‘Not Beef’ boullion)
ground black pepper
1 medium onion, sweet vidalia recommended but any onion will do
olive oil

Rehydrate the soy curls as directed on the package, drain, and then add the soy sauce, lemon juice, broth, and black pepper. Mix and set aside to marinate. In the meantime, slice the onion into rings.

Fire up a pan and brown the soy curls in olive oil — do not add the marinade and set it aside, you’ll need it later! When done, put the soy curls in a bowl. Then, put the onions in the pan and cooking to your liking: I like them to be more on the raw side. Add the marinade to the pan and then remove from heat.

Place the onions on top of the soy curls and pour the liquid over everything. Ta da! You’re done!

This goes great with fresh veggies. Try it out! –Melissa

 

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Sep 29 2012
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Thoughts

Tofu with Marinara

This post will  short and sweet because today has been a big day of celebration. It’s my niece’s 7th birthday!

 

I had to get a bit creative because there wasn’t anything vegan at her party besides salad and some plain pressed tofu and some marinara. That was all I needed, though! If you had told me a year ago that I would be eating tofu with marinara sauce and liking it, I would have told you that you are crazy.

My niece has really grown up, and so have I! –Melissa

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Sep 26 2012
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Lazy Vegan, Reviews

Sliders!

I swung by my sister’s house this evening and the vegan options were limited to baby carrots, so I swung by the local store for something quick to have for dinner. Now, I could have bought some fresh veggies to cook or make a salad, but instead, I went with Gardein Sliders from the frozen section.

As you can see from the box, it’s 150 calories per slider and 9g of protein. No cholesterol, y’all! I heated the sliders according to the instructions and they came out perfectly heated with no sogginess.

I was really hungry and lazy so I topped the burgers with some ketchup and mustard. I didn’t put too much on the actual patty because I don’t like condiments oozing out of my burger; I’ll usually dip my burgers into ketchup or mustard. The sliders definitely needed some spice. I checked out the other items in my sister’s fridge and found this awesome organic horseradish mustard that was not only vegan but the perfect addition to the sliders.

 

Gardein sliders get an A from me for being a delicious and quick and easy vegan treat. Plus, I look super sexy biting into them!

‘Til next time! –Melissa

 

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Sep 24 2012
7 Comments
Cooking

Potato & Chorizo Tacos

It’s both a blessing and a curse that I cook vegan meals for myself and pretty much no one else. It’s good because I can try using new products in a handful of ways — which is what I have been able to do with Tofurky Chorizo — but bad because I don’t enjoy cooking for one and it can be rough going through an entire package of food by myself.

My latest experiment with Tofurky chorizo was potato & chorizo tacos. Now, this came out of wanting some vegan corned beef hash, but since the chorizo is already spiced as chorizo and I had tortillas, I went with the tacos instead.

This is a really simple recipe. First, I washed and cubed a potato. Then I browned some minced garlic and onion in olive oil, added the potato and about a half a cup of water, and let it cook in a pan until all the water had dried up.

Then, I added some Tofurky chorizo, onion powder, garlic powder, chipotle chili powder, and salt. I sauteed the mixture for about 5 minutes.

This was a great savory dish that would go just as well with rice or even by itself. I definitely enjoyed it more than the chorizo alone! –Melissa

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Sep 22 2012
2 Comments
Cooking

Tofu & Chorizo Scramble

It’s officially fall here in Chicago and I’m happy to report that it actually feels like fall outside. We’re talking sweaters and having to wear socks and weird pumpkin cravings. On a crisp morning, a nice spiced up breakfast of tofu scramble with soy chorizo makes a perfect vegan breakfast.

 

I used silken tofu for the scramble and seasoned it as I usually do. After the tofu was ‘scrambled’ and the spices were mixed in well, I made a hole in the center of the pan and plopped some Tofurky chorizo on there:

 

I added some garlic powder and Tapatio hot sauce to the chorizo and mixed it up before stirring it together with the tofu.

I opted to eat this with buttered toast (butter=Earth Balance) and a tomato-onion salad. My Mom made breakfast tacos instead. Versatility is a wonderful thing.

 

Yum! Have a happy first day of autumn! –Melissa

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Sep 19 2012
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Recipes

Korean BBQ and Mom’s Eggplant Salad

My Mom made an eggplant salad of sorts and I thought it would go really well with some korean bbq.

 

I previously posted a recipe for vegan korean bbq or kalbi. The original recipe works fine, but I made a few modifications:

1/2 cup soy curls
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
2-3 cloves garlic, coarsely minced (you can use garlic powder if you’re in a hurry)
sesame seeds
1 tbsp maple syrup

I set the soy curls in water to rehydrate. Then, I mixed the rest of the ingredients together. Once the soy curls were rehydrated and drained, I mixed everything together and let it sit for about 10 minutes. Then, I cooked the soy curls in a frying pan.

 

To make the eggplant salad, Mom started with eggplant that was already roasted and cooked it with garlic, onion, chili paste, sesame oil, and salt.

Enjoy with white or brown rice! –Melissa

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Sep 17 2012
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Cooking

Steak & Potatoes

I was trying to figure out what to make for dinner tonight when I spotted this:

Montreal Steak Seasoning by McCormick is a pretty damn good spice blend. “Hmm,” I thought. “This seasoning makes steaks so delicious. It’s too bad that I don’t eat steak anymore. But I can still use the seasoning!” Then I spotted some red potatoes and decided that I wanted steak and mashed potatoes for dinner, dammit.

I used soy curls for my ‘steak’ and I mashed my potatoes in the laziest way possible.

Soy Curl ‘Steak’ Ingredients

1 cup soy curls
1-2 tbsp McCormick Grill Mates Montreal Steak Seasoning
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp soy sauce
a sprinkle of Butler Chik-Style Seasoning (optional)

Lazy Mashed Potato Ingredients

um… potato(s)
Earth balance
salt
pepper

First, I put my soy curls in a bowl with water to rehydrate. Then, I washed my potatoes, covered them in a wet paper towel, stuck them in the microwave, and pushed the “baked potato” button.

These are the post-microwave potatoes.

Once the soy curls were rehydrated, I mixed them together with the other ingredients. I set it aside while I prepared the potatoes. Okay, stand back while I amaze you with my dazzling mashed potato method: quarter the ‘baked’ potatoes, throw them in a bowl, plop some Earth Balance on them, and then mash. Once they’re mashed, add salt and pepper to taste. I would have added some almond or soy milk, but I didn’t have any. Crazy, right?

Next, I heated the soy curls in a frying pan. Baking is good, too. Do whatever floats your boat.

Holy crap, you guys! I didn’t expect this to taste so good and be so satisfying. This was super easy to make and didn’t take a ton of time.

I will never crave real steak again! Okay, that’s probably not true… but I have a great vegan alternative and that makes me happy. –Melissa

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Sep 15 2012
2 Comments
Lazy Vegan, Reviews

The Lazy Vegan: Tofurky Chorizo

I would say that this is a classic lazy vegan post but it does require some effort, like opening a package and slaving over a hot stove for 5 minutes. I wanted a tasty dinner with minimal effort, so I decided to finally try the Tofurky Chorizo Style product that has been sitting in my fridge. It was perfect because I already had tortillas and only had to stop at the store for some pepperjack Daiya.

 

The product definitely looks meaty and once you open the pack, you can smell all the scrumptious spices. “That smells SPICY!” said my niece as it cooked.

 

I heated up the ‘chorizo’ in a mini frying pan for 5 minutes.

I served them on tortillas with some Daiya pepperjeck and a side of tomatoes. The product smelled spicy and it is tasty, but it could use more embellishment. I plan to add some garlic and/or onion powder and to serve it with hot sauce or fresh salsa. But it is good as-is and met my needs this evening.

I love Tofurky products! –Melissa

 

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Sep 12 2012
2 Comments
Reviews

SaviSeeds

I was browsing at ‘rhymes with Schmole Broods’ today and came across SaviSeeds by Vega. There were small packages, perfect for tasting, so I grabbed the Oh Natural and Cocoa Kissed pouches. I ended up staying late at work and was highly caffeinated, very much needing a snack as I waited to meet up with my sister for dinner. So I grabbed the Oh Natural bag and decided there was no better time than right then to try them out.

I have never heard of sacha inchi seeds before. They mostly remind me of peanuts, but the more I ate, the more I found them to be a giant, hearty seed — which is exactly what they are. The Oh Natural version is seasoned only with sea salt. These seeds were delicious and easily tied me over.

These guys are gluten-free and have 6 grams of Omega-3 (according to the package, they are the richest plant-based source of Omega-3) and 9 grams of protein per serving. AMAZING!

Here is a photo of the sacha inchi. Totally rad, right? I think I have found my perfect on-the-go snack! –Melissa

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