onion | Turning Veganese

Jan 10 2013

Simple Black Bean Chipotle Burritos!

Brent and I wanted something simple and delicious as we were recovering from our flu and this was it. One of the bigger issues with our love of Texan and Mexican cuisine is the lack of a suitably large soft tortilla to wrap Tex-Mex delights in. Fortunately we recently discovered that gluten-free wraps exist!

These babies are about the size of your typical wrap and are pliable, unlike their corn counterparts (which often must be fried in order to bend without breaking). You’ll need the following:
6 large soft tortillas
1 tin of black beans, drained
1 tin of diced tomatoes (seasoned with chilis and/or lime works well, I like Muir Glen)
1 package of crumbled tofu (Marjon is great) or 1 cup of reconstituted TVP
1 cup of your favorite chipotle, mole, ranchero or enchilada sauce
1 large onion, sliced
flake red pepper to taste
Daiya (optional)
corn oil

I sauteed the onion until it was soft. Then I added the tofu crumbles (use seitan if you’ve got a soy allergy), beans tomato and sauce. I stirred it until it was a good burrito consistency, adjusted the seasonings and the let Brent at it.

We plopped a generous amount of the burrito filling onto our new favorite wraps and then microwaved them (on top of a paper towel so they don’t get soggy) to melt some pepper jack Daiya we sprinkled on top. We added spinach after melting the cheese but we ate them before I could get a picture. Cilantro would have been good too!

It was spicy, hearty and packed with good nutrients for recovering invalids need. I suspect that’s just an excuse and we’ll do it again soon. YAY!

This is Christie and Brent, signing off.

Tagged black beans, burritos, crumbled tofu, dairy-free, easy, egg-free, gluten-free, health, healthy, lime, mexican, nut-free, onion, quick, recipe, recipes, soy, texan, vegan, vegetarian, wrap

Jan 06 2013

3 Comments

Main Dishes

Pasta a la Fauxlognese

As a kid, spaghetti bolognese was a favorite. It’s a rich meaty sauce wth lots of tomato and onion served with whatever pasta you tend to fancy. In this case, we’re using shirataki noodles and no meat. Shirataki noodles are great for those who are concerned about gluten and calories. If you use regular noodles, your fauxlognese will be more attractive than ours but just as tasty. You’ll want the following

1 onion, diced

3.4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tsp oregano

1 16oz tin of diced tomato

1 cup of TVP (reconstituted with water) or soy crumbles (Marion tofu crumbles work well here), chopped mushrooms can be substituted for those sensitive to soy

1 cube of “beef bouillon”

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1 tsp coriander

1/2 tsp cumin

salt and flake red pepper to taste

olive oil

Add a dash of olive oil and the onion and garlic to your pan and saute until the onion starts to carmelize, stirring occasionally. Add the tofu crumbles or TVP and the dry spices.

When everything is hot and fragrant, add the tomato. Mix it all up, stirring occasionally until hot and adjust the seasonings to your taste.

Your sauce should look deceptively meaty. Top with some vegan parmesan, shredded basil or Daiya or just serve as is.

This is a very kid friendly preparation of vegan fare, tasty and healthy to boot. I hope you get to try it!

This is Christie, signing off!

Tagged basil, cheese, coriander, cumin, dairy-free, easy, egg-free, garlic, gluten-free, health, healthy, low-calorie, nut-free, nutrition, olive oil, onion, oregano, pasta, quick, recipe, recipes, tofu, tofu crumbles, tomato, TVP, vegan, vegetarian, weight loss

Dec 06 2012

3 Comments

Main Dishes

Potatoes Au Gratin, VEGAN STYLE!!!

The holidays are upon us and there’s nothing better than something that’s easy, kid friendly (for your picky nephews), low fat (for your vain body-builder cousin), cholesterol free (for your crotchety aunt), easy (for your peace of mind) and cheap (because you already spent all your money on gifts). This recipe as written will serve 6-8 people as a side dish and doubles easily. It would be great for a departmental potluck.

You’ll need the following:

2 large white potatoes (sliced thin)

2 gigantic yams or sweet potatoes (sliced thin)

Potatoes, sweet potatoes and yams are easy to find for around $1 per pound this time of year so I use them fairly often during the holidays. I cut mine with a big old knife. This is one of those times I wish I wasn’t averse to mandolines. The finger that I partially amputated using one always tingles whenever I think about working with one. If you’ve got a good food processor with a slicing blade, I’d recommend using that for safety’s sake, if you’re a fan of the mandoline, use that and be really really really really careful, otherwise use a knife and be really really really careful. I leave the skin on; you don’t have to.

1 tbsp onion powder

1/2 tbsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp salt

a pinch of flake red pepper

3 tbsp nutritional yeast

12-16 ounces of silken tofu

1 cup of soy or almond milk

4 tbsp almond flour

vegan mozzarella and/or parmesan (optional)

Take the onion powder, garlic powder, salt, flake red pepper, nutritional yeast, tofu and half a cup of milk and blend it all up.

Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of almond flour on the bottom of a large baking dish and make a layer of white potatoes on it.

Then slather that layer with some of your tofu mixture. Now repeat the process with the yams or sweet potatoes: layer them on top and then add the tofu cream. You should be able to get 5 or 6 layers of potatoes. I then put the remaining milk into the rest of the tofu sauce and mixed it well before pouring it over the top of the potatoes. I added a few slices of Teese mozzarella (any vegan cheese will do) and sprinkled it with the rest of the almond meal and sprinkled it liberally with walnut parmesan.

Bake it for an hour and a half at 400F/200C

You should get a beautiful layered look and a delicious addition to any holiday meal. Hopefully your guests will be too busy enjoying it to notice the orange and white stripes.

This is Christie and Brent, signing off!

Tagged almond milk, budget friendly, cheap, cheesy, cheezy, cholesterol-free, dairy-free, easy, garlic, gluten-free, holidays, inexpensive, kosher, low fat, nutritional yeast, onion, parve, pepper, potatoes, quick, salt, soy milk, tofu, vegan, vegetarian

Nov 30 2012

2 Comments

Main Dishes

Tempeh Cacciatore

Not long ago I got a request for cacciatore from fellow blogger, VeganMonologue. How can I resist!? I took a slab of tempeh and cut it in half. I did it at an angle to satisfy my love of the rhombus. Add that to the list of things nobody needs to know about me. You’ll need the following:

1 package of tempeh
1 pinch salt, plus more to taste
1 pinch freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
olive oil
1/4 red bell pepper, chopped
1/4 green bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
4-5 garlic cloves, sliced
1/2 cup dry red wine or 1 cup of dry white wine
1 28oz can diced tomatoes with juice
3/4 cup veggie bouillon
3 tablespoons drained capers
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried cumin
1 pinch nutmeg
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil leaves

I added it to a pan with some rosemary infused olive oil (regular olive oil is fine) and a pinch each of salt and cracked black pepper. I sauteed until it was lightly browned on each side. I transferred the tempeh to a plate with some fabulous wooden tongs that my sister got me.

Then I added a chopped onion, 1/4 of a chopped green bell pepper and 1/4 of a chopped red bell pepper. I sprinkled in some chopped parsley and slivers of garlic and sauteed until the onion became translucent.

I added the white wine (I used a pinot gris and kind of wished I’d used a merlot. If you try that let me know how it goes.), 1/2 tsp of dried oregano leaves, 1/2 tsp of cumin and a pinch of nutmeg and simmered until the wine was reduced by half.

Then I added a half cup of vegetable bouillon, a tin of tomatoes, 2 tablespoons of capers and a pinch of cracked black pepper. I stirred it a few times to mix and then added the tempeh back to the pan, covered it with tomatoes and allowed it to simmer for another 20 minutes.

Brent made some guinoa while we waited because it was what we had but I think this would be better with pasta or mashed potatoes.

After 20 minutes, the tempeh should have taken on some of the characteristics of the broth. Put the tempeh on your quinoa, potatoes, pasta, whatever and spoon generous helpings of the remaining deglazing/reduction. I sprinkled mine with some fresh basil leaves. This is a hearty meal, full of savory and herbal flavors all brought out by the acid and sweetness of the tomatoes. This would also work with chickpeas or seitan instead of tempeh for those with a soy allergy. It’s a surprisingly healthy crowd pleaser.

A note for the health conscious: don’t be afraid of soy. There’s a lot of propaganda out there that says soy isn’t good for you for one reason or another. A word from your vegan scientist: the data suggest that soy is better for you than meat, dairy and eggs by a long shot, particularly if you’re worried about cancer (particularly colon cancer) or cardiovascular disease.

This is Christie and Brent, signing off!

Tagged basil, bell pepper, black pepper, cacciatore, capers, chickpeas, cumin, dairy-free, easy, egg-free, fool-proof, garlic, gluten-free, goy-free, green, healthy, nut-free, nutmeg, onion, quinoa, red, red wine, salt, sautee, tempeh, tomato, vegan, vegetarian, white, white wine

Nov 23 2012

5 Comments

Main Dishes

Lasagna; Comfort Food and Crowd Pleaser

It’s the day after thanksgiving and you probably can’t eat anymore of those greasy garlic smashed potatoes and decadent Tofurkey roast and are wishing for something light and easy. Well, here it is.

I posted about lasagna a while ago and didn’t give instructions because I consider it a self-explanatory free-form dish. Now that the concept is out there I figure I should give you an idea of what I do so you can weigh in and offer your improvements.

You’ll need the following for the layers:

2-3 zucchini, sliced into long thin strips or 1 large eggplant sliced thin and sauteed

1/2 lb spinach, fresh or frozen

For the tofu ricotta:

1 package of tofu, any kind will do (use a cup of dry cashews, soaked if you’ve got a soy allergy)

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1 tbsp onion powder

2 tbsp nutritional yeast

1/2 tbsp garlic powder

1 pinch salt

For the filling:

1/2 cup chopped mushrooms, dried or fresh

1/2 cup of textured vegetable protein or TVP (use lentils if you’ve got a soy allergy)

1 cube of bouillon, I like “beef” for this recipe

1 tbsp cumin powder

1/2 tbsp coriander powder

1 tsp dried oregano

1 pinch nutmeg

1 pinch chili powder

1/2 onion, chopped

4-5 cloves of garlic, sliced

Topping:

pasta sauce (a href=”http://theveganshusband.wordpress.com/2012/09/09/the-worlds-best-pasta-sauce/”>I like this one

Daiya or other vegan cheese

Miscellaneous:

salt and pepper to taste

olive oil as needed

Below is my first layer.

I sprayed my pan lightly with olive oil and then arranged my eggplant on top and then covered it with spinach. I buy fresh spinach for salads and freeze whatever is leftover at the end of the week so we usually have some in the freezer.

I put a little olive oil, the onion and garlic into a pan and sauteed them until the onion started to soften. Meanwhile I prepared the bouillon in a cup of water by heating it in the microwave. I added it to the pan along with the mushrooms, TVP and spices for the filling. I heated it on low until the mixture had absorbed most of the moisture.

I added it to the baking dish, poured some sauce over it, put down another layer of spinach and prepared the tofu ricotta.

The tofu and spices went into a bowl and mooshed to conformity!

I didn’t make quite enough so maybe I’ll double the ricotta next time. It’s kind of important to the recipe to have copious ricotta or this will more closely resemble a vegetable casserole than veggie lasagna.

After adding the tofu, we added another layer of eggplant and spinach and then topped it with pasta sauce and Daiya.

I baked it at 350F/170C for an hour and then we accidentally the whole thing. Top with chopped black olives and shredded basil if you want something pretty AND delicious. Yay!

This is Christie, signing off!

Tagged basil, cilantro, coriander, cumin, dairy-free, daiya, easy, egg-free, garlic, gluten-free, kid-friendly, lasagna, lentils, mushrooms, nut-free, olive oil, olives, onion, pepper, quick, ricotta, salt, sautee, soy-free, textured vegetable protein, tomato sauce, TVP, vegan, vegetable casserole, vegetarian

Nov 21 2012

Celebrating Our One Year Anniversary With Easy Penne!

Some of my favorite recipes are the ones that are the result of desperation: there’s lots of little things leftover in the fridge, half a box of pasta, nothing new or exciting, just random ingredients and your brain!

I cooked some about a cup and a half of penne. Then, I heated up some olive oil, garlic, onions, and about 2/3 cup of marinara that I had leftover. I added a bit of balsamic vinegar and then I seasoned it with crushed red pepper and Italian seasonings and topped it with some capers. It was easy and delicious and I was able to finish off some of the things I had sitting in my kitchen and fridge.

On another note, today is the one year anniversary of our first post on Turning Veganese! It came up really fast and it’s been a wonderful year of learning and bonding with friends and cooking and eating and getting healthy. We have an exciting giveaway coming up to celebrate this fantastic year! But first, we shall celebrate the US Thanksgiving holiday. We at Turning Veganese are grateful for YOU! Thank you for your support and for all the fun.

Love you guys! –Melissa

Tagged anniversary, capers, easy, garlic, Italian seasoning, marinara, olive oil, onion, penne, recipe, thoughts, vegan

Nov 04 2012

NACHOS!

Brent and I like to play video games together. Nothing says “gamer” like junk food so that’s where this is headed. All you really need is tortilla chips and Daiya but crumbled seasoned tofu, olives, chopped jalapeño, diced tomato or onions, salsa, Tofutti sour cream and a lot of other things can help bring your nachos up a notch.

We baked ours in the oven to melt the Daiya after adding seasoned crumbled tofu, salsa, jalapeño, onion and salsa. A little fresh cilantro would have made this unstoppable but its absence didn’t stop us from devouring it.

I le recommend, especially if you’ve got a football game or a video game in your future.

This is Christie and Brent, signing off!

Tagged cheese, chili, chips, cilantro, coriander, cumin, dairy-free, daiya, easy, egg-free, garlic, gluten-free, jalapeno, nut-free, onion, snack, snacks, soy-free, tofu, vegan, vegetarian

Oct 30 2012

4 Comments

Cooking, Main Dishes

Penne Puttanesca

Puttanesca is terribly underrated and we were cleaning out the fridge this particular day. I started simply and got some of my favorite pasta sauce and a bag of rice pasta. Brent is in charge of making pasta so I was saucy!

I diced an onion and sauteed it with some flake red pepper and basil olive oil. It smelled SO amazing I wish I could make a scratch-n-sniff post.

I added 2 cups of sauce and threw in

1 tin of olives that I drained

1 cup of TVP (omit if you’re sensitive to soy)

1 tbsp cumin

1 tbsp coriander

1 tin of black beans, drained and rinsed

1 tin of kidney beans, drained and rinsed

I stirred it up until it was hot and fragrant and when Brent was done making the pasta we mixed it all together and devoured it.

I guess we do this kind of pasta a lot and don’t always post about it. Capers, mushrooms, garlic, basil leaves and just about everything else gets throw into this dish. I recommend it for families with kids who will find the hunt for all the different veggies and beans entertaining.

This is Brent and Christie, signing off!

Tagged basil, beans, black beans, coriander, cumin, dairy-free, egg-free, flake red pepepr, gluten-free, kidney beans, nut-free, olive oil, olives, onion, pasta, pasta sauce, puttanesca, soy, soy-free, tomato, TVP, vegan, vegetarian

Oct 23 2012

Kale Chips

I’ve got a thing for kale. It’s among my favorite green leafy vegetables and I love a lot of them so that’s saying something. This is a little known fact among carnists but I know most vegans out there are nodding their heads when I say that kale makes great chips. Today I’m telling you about 3 different brands that Brent and I have tried.

Kaia Foods makes 3 different flavors of kale chips: barbecue, cheese and sea salt and vinegar. I found the taste to be bitter and the chips were crushed in their bags. They’re gluten-free, nut-free and soy-free. They’re fairly inexpensive so far as kale chips go at $5.89 per bag.

New York Naturals is one of my favorites. It comes in Bombay ranch, cheese, spicy miso and sea salt and vinegar flavors. Bombay ranch was my favorite with a creamy, tangy flavor with a hint of curry to it. The sea salt and vinegar was very salty which is saying something because I dig salt. The kale chips were huge [mostly] intact leaves covered in delicious flavorful cashews. Just watch out for the stems… they’re like twigs. They’re fairly high in calories but are a great alternative to junk food that’s made from junk. These contain soy and nuts but are safe for people with nut or gluten allergies. They cost $7.99 ber box but I think they’re at least worth giving a try if you’ve got some spare cash for a new mouth experience.

Pacific Northwest Kale chips come in cheezy, cilantro lime jalapeño and Stumptown original. Stumptown contains hazelnuts and the other 2 contain cashews so be aware for those with nut allergies. The flavors are kind of awesome and I particularly liked the Stumptown original; it was subtly spicy and cheesy. Unfortunately they did get stale quickly in the Florida humidity but I think that’s unavoidable here. They also got crushed in the bag so it was difficult to get both the flavoring and the kale into my mouth (not as bad as Kaia Foods). They cost $8.99 per bag. If you’re in the market for kale chips, I’d recommend the New York Naturals.

What New York Naturals did that the others didn’t was to put their chips into a box. This keeps the flavoring on the kale and the kale intact so you get chips instead of crumbles. So now you know Brent’s and my favorite is NYN but if you’ve got a dehydrator you’ll end up with the best product if you make it yourself. Kale with a touch of olive oil and sea salt is my favorite of favorites.

This is Christie, signing off!

Tagged cashews, dairy-free, easy, gluten-free, kale, nut-free, onion, quick, salt, snack

Oct 09 2012

15 Comments

Cooking

Crazy Easy Three Bean Chili and a Giveaway!

Three bean vegan chili is nothing to sneeze at when we make it. Before I talk about chili though, I’m going to tell you about Muir Glen – I’ve been using their organic canned tomatoes for years.

I grew up farming and tomatoes have a special place in my heart. In fact I’m a tomato snob. I usually turn my nose up at tomatoes in the supermarket and in restaurants because they’ve lost their flavor through refrigeration, artificial ripening techniques, and through selective breeding for other traits like improved shelf life. Subsequently I turn to canned varieties unless I can get good ones from my garden or from my farmer’s market. Muir Glen has a range of organic tomato products including their roasted diced tomatoes, tomato paste and regular diced tomatoes. Whatever they’re doing over there definitely makes a difference and this is a giveaway so you can see for yourself without spending your hard earned cash.

Back to chili. Tomatoes are important for chili recipes. I can’t imagine chili without them: they provide a crisp base and a source of important nutrients like lycopene and vitamin C. To begin we assembled the following:

1 onion, diced

1 jalapeño, minced

1 cube vegetable bouillon

1 tsp cumin

1 tbsp coriander

1 15oz. tin of pinto beans

1 15oz. tin of kidney beans

1 15oz. tin of black beans

1 15oz. tin of diced tomatoes

1 15oz. tin roasted diced tomatoes

1 cup TVP (use a 15oz. tin of pumpkin puree if you’re sensitive to soy or both if you want a mellower chili)

1 tsp flake red pepper (more if you like spicy food)

salt to taste

1 tsp olive oil

We sauteed the onion, jalapeño and spices and sauteed it in olive oil until the mixture was fragrant and steamy.

Then we added the tomatoes and heated them until it started to bubble.

Then I added the rest of the ingredients (don’t drain the liquid from the beans or tomatoes). I added both TVP and pumpkin. That’s just how I roll. After it was nice and hot, I adjusted the spices and served up topped with Daiya and some home made bread.

This is a flavorful chili that will fool a lot of meat eaters with how hearty it is. The roasted tomatoes add an additional depth of flavor that you can’t get just by adding liquid smoke. The textured vegetable protein will confuse a lot of vegans because it’s so meaty. It’s cholesterol-free, high in fiber and low in fat.
So now on to the giveaway. This is a promo by Muir Glen: they’re going to send you a 14.5 oz can Reserve Harvest Sunset Organic Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes, a 14.5 oz can Reserve Harvest Sunset Organic Diced Tomatoes, a 14.5 oz can Muir Glen Organic Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilies, a 14.5 oz can Muir Glen Organic No-Salt Added Diced Tomatoes and recipe booklet featuring a variety of recipes created by award-winning chefs from around the country. Of course you’ll only need the recipe book for using the other cans of tomatoes because you’ll want 2 of them for my recipe.

In order for me to select winners, all you have to do is the following:

1. like and follow our blog

2. like us on FaceBook

3. comment below on what you use tinned tomatoes for most often in your kitchen

Then I’ll ask each of the randomly selected winners (5 in total) to email us their mailing address before midnight Sunday, October 14. I’m excited to pass on some free products that I’ve been enjoying for years so that I can be sure I’m not crazy for liking Muir Glen.

This is Christie, signing off.

Tagged bouillon, chili, cilantro, coriander, cumin, dairy-free, daiya, egg-free, free stuff, giveaway, gluten-free, jalepeño, muir glen tomatoes, nut-free, onion, pepper, pinto beans, pumpkin, roasted, salt, soy-free, textured vegetable protein, TVP, vegan, vegetarian

Turning Veganese

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

Tag Archives: onion

Simple Black Bean Chipotle Burritos!

Pasta a la Fauxlognese

Potatoes Au Gratin, VEGAN STYLE!!!

Tempeh Cacciatore

Lasagna; Comfort Food and Crowd Pleaser

Celebrating Our One Year Anniversary With Easy Penne!

NACHOS!

Penne Puttanesca

Kale Chips

Crazy Easy Three Bean Chili and a Giveaway!

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

Tag Archives: onion

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