The lone vegan at the BBQ

I'm still here!!!  Not giving up, just busy! 

We had company for the past week or so and thus stayed with tried-and-true recipes rather than foisting our vegan recipe experiments on our guests' plates (I managed to stay vegan the whole time, though, which was goo).  I also survived my first BBQ with my husband's family (brother-in-law is BIG into BBQs and is quite good at them, actually) with my little Sunshine Burger while everyone else was eating chicken breasts or ribs.  Fortunately, I have absolutely zero craving for meat and watching the nieces and nephews eat the ribs kind of grossed me out, so I was very happy putting some BBQ sauce on my meatless burger and chowing down!  

I'm hoping to be back with a new recipe soon.  But, it's my birthday on Friday so I'll be pampered with others preparing food for me on the weekend, lucky me! ;-)   I'm a major traditionalist with birthday/holiday stuff, so  it's been an interesting challenge trying to adapt favorite family recipes my vegan guidelines.  We'll see how successful it is, but I'm excited to be starting on a "kind diet" path for my big 3-0!

That reminds me, if any of you have a great recipe for mushrooms, let me know!  On special occasions usually do baked mushroom caps with lemon and butter in the caps--they were my grandpa's favorite!--and I would really love to find something vegan to do with mushrooms either baked or sauteed.  Thanks!

  

My New Mascot

Meet my new mascot, Teaggy (he's a distant relation to Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle)! 
There really is a hedgehog in the kitchen ;-)

Vegan Cooking Challenge: Spicy Lemon Pepper Pasta with Broccoli

Tonight we enjoyed Spicy Lemon Pepper Pasta with Broccoli, courtesy of the "VeganYumYum" app my husband so kindly downloaded for me.  We both enjoyed it, especially for a light summer pasta dish, so decided it would be a great entry for the Vegan Cooking Challenge on Vegaloca.

RECIPE:

Dried Fettucini, enough for one

2 tsp Olive Oil (to start)

1 1/2 cups fresh broccoli flourets

1/4 cup sliced sundried tomatoes (oil packed)

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp fresh lemon juice, or more to taste

1-2 pinches of salt

black pepper, to taste

lemon zest for garnish (optional)

While the pasta is cooking in well-salted water, chop the broccoli flourets into small pieces (about the size of a nickel).  Slice the sundried tomatoes.  When the pasta is nearly finished cooking, heat a wok over medium heat until it's quite hot.  Add oil and broccoli and toss to coat, adding more oil a little at a time, if needed.  After 1-2 minutes, add tomatoes and pepper flakes.

Let cooked undisturbed for another two minutes, then toss.  Repeat this process until the broccoli and tomatoes have some color on them, and the broccoli is bright green and becoming tender.  Drain pasta very well and add to the wok, adding just enough oil to coat the pasta (if needed).  Add lemon juice and salt and taste, adjusting if necessary.  Plate and add fresh black pepper over the top, adding lemon zest if desired.  Serve immediately.

The trick to this dish is balancing the salt, lemon juice and oil.  You want enough oil to distribute the flavors over the pasta but not so much that it's greasy.  There shouldn't be any oil pooling in the bottom of the pan or on your plate--you want just enough to coat the pasta and no more.

The salt and lemon juice should even each other out; you should taste both without either being overwhelming.

 This was a very yummy dish.  We used angel hair pasta (cooks so much quicker!) and made enough for two people--by the time the water is boiled for the pasta you have everything chopped and ready for the wok and once the broccoli is done, the pasta is, too (the angel hair cooked in about six minutes).  Our sundried tomatoes weren't in oil, so I think that would have enhanced the flavor even more, but it was still a very tasty and light dish.  It would be good hot or cold.

Vegan Cooking Challenge: Sautéed Kale

Sautéed Kale

This dish is so easy to make I’m almost embarrassed to use it for the Vegaloca Weekly Vegan Cooking Challenge.  But, I LOVE it so I want to share it with you all.  I’ve been making it for about a month now.  I love eating kale—it’s like I can feel myself getting healthier with each bite, like Popeye with his spinach, haha!

Okay, so there aren’t really any set measurements here, it’s all to taste.

Sautéed Kale

Sauté one clove of garlic, sliced, in olive oil until just brown. 

Add dash of red pepper flakes to taste

Add kale leaves (remove stems) careful to avoid splattering

Pour vegetable broth over the kale until it’s dampened (about 1/4 - 1/3  cup or so)

Spritz with lemon juice.

COVER and steam until kale is vibrant (lighter) green and just limp.

Add a little salt and enjoy!

I had a terrible time getting a photo of this dish.  They all make it look like some sort of green slimy sludge.  But, trust me, it’s so yummy! :-)  Enjoy!

"These are a few of my favorite things..."

Monday the 13th marked the one-month anniversary of my commitment to veganism!  Of course, the celebration was slightly marred by the fact I had to eat a few milk products during my travels over the weekend, but other than that I am really proud of my tenacity in staying dairy-free.  (I'm still doing eggs and honey on occasion given other dietary restrictions that limit me from consuming a lot of grains or soy--as that works itself out, I plan to eliminate eggs next.) 

To celebrate, I thought I would highlight a few of the yummy things I've discovered as a joyful look at the sensory delights of veganism (never mind how good it feels to the spirit!) rather than looking at foods I've had to give up.  I read in a prologue to The Conscious Cook cookbook that one described being vegan as "eating everything except animal-based products." I thought that was such a refreshing way of saying it in a positive way rather than "I don't eat this, this, this, this or that..!" 

A few of my favorite things:

Rice Dream Mint Carob Chip "Frozen Non-Dairy Dessert'  SOOO yummy, I don't know why I'd ever want to go back to ice cream again!  Mint chip has always been my favorite flavor so I'm really, really happy that I will no longer miss the taste of Ben and Jerry's (let alone the calories, haha!)

I also fell in love with some scrumptious hemp ice cream sandwiches while we were in the Denver area over the weekend.  Alas, a local company makes them so it will have to remain a distant, treasured memory now but it did encourage me to try the hemp frozen dairy dessert next time I'm at my local natural foods store.

Sunshine Burgers   I was delighted to come across these tasty "burgers" made with sunflower seeds and rice.  I sometimes love the "burger" feel, with a nice bun, slathered in spicy mustard, with pickles and all the trimmings.  But, I don't like eating processed soy very often and I also try to stay away from wheat gluten. So, I was really happy to find these. I got the original flavor and they are so tasty with a wholesome, nutty goodness and herb flavor but mild enough that it works well with mustard, etc.  Next time I'm at Whole Foods, I'll try more flavors!

I'll post again with more of my favorite finds as the weeks progress. Although I try to make my meals from scratch as much as possible, sometimes it just won't do.  So, let me know if you have any favorites I should check out!

Traveling Vegan

I'm behind on my cooking challenge posts as my husband and I were out of town for a long weekend.  Thus, rather than cruising through my kitchen creating some groovy new vegan dish, I navigated the strange new waters of being a traveling vegan!  (Well, a wanna-be vegan, at this point.)   Overall, it was pretty smooth sailing, I'm happy to say :->

We were fortunate that we had access to some nice natural foods stores and I could easily find vegan products there.  I think my favorite was a Thai spring roll--yummy!--and a hemp ice cream sandwich that was fantastically delicious!!!  Restaurants were a bit more problematic.  For example, the veggie burger contained milk so I got a pizza with no cheese--however, I don't know if the crust contained milk or not.  Since I am new to veganism, I feel okay with myself if I just try to do my best and not purchase any animal products outright and I do have my little tiered system for what I will and won't eat as I ease into the diet (i.e., absolutely no meat products first and foremost, then no milk, and finally no eggs or honey.)  My husband is such a good sport about my diet, but I don't want to take up all our travel time trying to find or get to vegan restaurants, so I just do the best I can and don't beat myself up over it if I'm not 100% sure about that piece of bread so long as I asked for the sandwich with only veggies--no meat or cheese!  (You should have seen the guy's face at the Safeway deli when I asked for that, haha!)

The worst meal was probably at one of the B&Bs we stayed at.  I had specifically requested vegetarian breakfast (figuring vegan was just too darn hard for them) but my lovely stuffed croissant French toast came with a neat little side of sausage links.  Gurrr!  Moreover, you know there was lots of butter in the croissant and then it was stuffed with cream cheese!  Of course, it tasted heavenly but I only ate one croissant to get myself through the morning and gave the other piece to my husband.  I figured it was already served to me, so I wasn't saving any animal suffering by not eating it, but I was worried it would upset my tummy.  I couldn't bring myself to even touch the sausage, though.  I realize this may have been an oversight on the part of the B&B owners, but when they have a specific section for "dietary requests" on their reservation form and then serve meat to a vegetarian, well, I was more than a little miffed!

The only time I knowingly botched my diet was at the airport.  It had taken forever to get through security and we were running late, so I had only time to grab something at a little bagel shop.  I knew a bagel alone wouldn't be enough for the evening ahead, but the sandwiches all came with meat and/or cheese and were unbelievably expensive.  So, I got a bagel and... yogurt :-(  Again, I tried to be gentle with myself and know that I could have made so many more poor choices during the trip (there were LOTS of temptations!) and just be thankful I was able to have such a healthy and vegan trip, overall.

If any of you would like to share some tips for staying vegan on the road, I'd love to hear them!  Thanks :-)

Weekly Vegan Cooking Challenge* "Jambalaya"

Jambalaya!  

Mmm, mmm, spicy goodness!  :-)  

This is a collaborative cooking venture in that my husband came up with the recipe (he pulled the best of a variety of recipes) and I helped prepare it.   Picture doesn't really do it justice!

Ingredients

chopped:

1 large onion

1 bell pepper

4 celery stalks

3 tomatoes

combine with:

2 cans (6 oz each) tomato paste browned

4 cups vegetable stock

2 cups rice (uncooked)

stir in seasonings:

1/2 tsp Jamaica Me Crazy Spice Mix

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp marjoram

1/2 tsp celery seed

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp black pepper

Meanwhile, slice 2-3 Tofurky sausages and fry lightly in just a hint of oil.

(we used the Kielbasa flavored sausages) 

Add everything but the sausages large soup pot, simmer until rice is cooked (it will absorb most of the vegetable stalk; consistency should  be a bit "sticky" but not at all watery)  

When cooked, add Tofurky slices, stir and serve.

Makes 4-6 servings, maybe more depending on how hungry you are.  It's great as left-overs, too, even spicier the next day.

My husband and I really enjoyed this dish.  I must say it was just a tad spicy for my palate, but perfect for his, so adjust the pepper accordingly.  Also, if you don't have Jamaica Me Crazy (or another "jerk" spice mix) then just add a dash of paprika and sugar.  

Also, I had never browned tomato paste before, and am not sure how successful I was with it so I'd recommend checking out some how-to sources online if you're unsure as I am not the best person to give advice!

This is definitely a hearty dish with a great variety of veggies, protein and grains and it is one we will definitely prepare again.

*My second entry in the Weekly Vegan Cooking Challenge, headed by my friend Lee over at her blog Vegaloca.