Tag Archives: vegan

Sep 26 2012
4 Comments
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 25 2012
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Main Dishes

Fajita Pizza

I’ll have to start in advance by thanking the ZenCat Bakery for the pizza crust but the rest was all about what we had in the refrigerator. There wasn’t any traditional pizza or pasta sauce but we did have some salsa so I knew what we had to do.

I started by sauteing a chopped onion with a diced jalapeño, chopped garlic and some flake red pepper. When the onion began to soften I added some soy curls that Brent prepared with some Brag’s amino acids and cayenne pepper.

I sauteed them until the extra liquid from the soy curls was absorbed. I seasoned it with a little additional onion powder, cumin, coriander, a touch of garlic salt and some garlic powder.

I topped the crust with some salsa and then my fajita mix and then some more salsa. We topped it with Daiya mozzarella (though pepper-jack might have been better) and then I baked it according to Zen Cat bakery’s instructions.

It’s good to have frozen pizza crusts around. It’s a great way for us to have whatever veggies in the fridge that need munching and it’s faster than making pasta. This pizza disappeared quickly and Brent’s face lit up at the possibility of doing it again. We will…

 

This is Brent and Christie, signing off.

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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 23 2012
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Uncategorized

Healthy Desserts

I don’t worry much about Brent and I getting enough nutrients but I rarely skip and opportunity to make sure we’re getting enough iron and B vitamins. I learned about this product from a friend who had cervical cancer. When chemo destroyed her red blood cell count, she relied on FloraDix (or the gluten-free version, FloraVital) to improve her blood stats.

It did and in a hurry. Within 2 weeks she was considered healthy enough to continue her treatments and today (7 years later) she’s alive and well with no recurrences in sight. While this is merely anecdote, it’s good to know that an iron and vitamin B supplement can be gentle enough for someone who routinely suffers from nausea and effective.

So what does this have to do with Turning Veganese? Smoothies! I put a little something extra into every smoothie we drink and by ‘a little extra’ I mean anything from protein powder (from peas, of course), maca powder, carob powder, spirulina or just about anything to give it that nutrient and antioxidant kick. This is one of those nutrient and andioxidant kicks. I don’t like the idea of hiding vegetables and fortunately this doesn’t need to be hidden. It tastes fine all by itself!

Today I’m putting it into a blackberry raspberry banana orange smoothie. I know you want some. You won’t know the difference except the B vitamins make me feel like I was shot out of a cannon (in a good way).

This is Christie, signing off!

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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 21 2012
5 Comments
Main Dishes, Thoughts

Vegan Lasagna

I make a lot of vegan lasagnas because it’s what happens when I’ve got too many vegetables in the fridge that aren’t suitable for juicing, like mushrooms, zucchini and eggplant. It’s something I suspect a lot of vegans do and just don’t talk about… correct me if I’m wrong. (this is the eggplant version after baking, below)

We slice the zucchini or eggplant thin to use instead of noodles and go from there. Usually we line the baking dish with zucchini or eggplant, cover that with a layer of spinach and cover it in soaked lentils flavored with tomato and garlic and other spices plus whatever veggies we’ve got mixed in. (pre-baking, below)

I usually sneak in another layer of spinach if I’ve got it.Then we make tofu ricotta (tofu blended with a little arrowroot starch, onion and garlic powder, Italian seasoning, etc), pour that over the lentil veggie layer and make another layer of ‘noodles’ cover with some more tomato sauce, sprinkle with nut parmesan, Daiya, and/or nutritional yeast and bake 45 minutes to 1 hour at 350F/180C until it’s bubbly and the ‘noodles’ are tender. It’ll depend on the size as to how long it’ll need to cook. Usually when it’s bubbling up the sides, you’re set! (zucchini version below, after baking)

I’m not writing a recipe for this because I don’t want to box anyone in with specifics. I’d also love to hear your favorite vegan lasagna recipes or little tips and tricks you’d offer to others.

What’s great about vegan lasagna is that it affords the opportunity to eat the nutrients vegans sometimes have trouble getting without a lot of effort. B vitamins, iron and omega-3 and -6 fatty acids are among the nutrients that vegans sometimes miss out on due to eating a compassionate diet. Spinach (for iron), nutritional yeast (B-vitamins) and nuts (omega fatty acids) are my favorite sources of these nutrients.

This is Christie and Brent, signing off!

These make great leftovers but don’t normally make it to that stage.

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Sep 20 2012
5 Comments
Reviews

Vegan Beer : Green’s Tripel Blonde Ale

We decided it would be a good idea to do some videos to spice up the site. So, here’s the quick and dirty for Green’s Tripel Blonde Ale!

As discussed in the video, Barnivore is a great resource to check if what you’re drinking is vegan.

From Brent and Christie, peace out, my vegans.

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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
1 Comment
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 16 2012
2 Comments
Lazy Vegan, Reviews

The Other Lazy Vegans: Artichoke Burgers

I got these guys on impulse because they’ve got my dog whistle on them: gluten-free, vegan, organic. I can’t ignore those words. Five Star Foodies artichoke burgers are made primarily from rice, cashews and artichoke and have a great flavor all by themselves.

They keep indefinitely (barring the recommendation on the label) in the freezer and for weeks in the refrigerator. They cook quickly and easily and go well with fries or a tofu scramble. They cost me about $1.75 per burger and 4 come in a bag for a total of $7. Each burger contains 16 grams of fat, more sugar than fiber and 330 milligrams of sodium so those of you who are watching your weight or your salt might want to steer free of these babies in favor of something home-made. All in all it was one of the better gluten-free veggie burgers I’ve ever had. The texture was nice: they melted in my mouth without falling apart during cooking. Still, these haven’t converted me; I’ll probably stick to home-made burgers and trying new ones.

We served them up with a tofu scramble as though they were a breakfast sausage. This is probably not what these burgers were intended for but it allowed us to really taste the burger and not the bun and condiments. If you get to try them, let us know what you think!

This is Brent and Christie, signing off!

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