Banh Mi! (no banh)

No Banh Banh Mi

I have put on a few ellbees recently and in order to get back on track I am trying to eat more whole foods hence the banh mi on red rice instead of on a roll. I think I prefer it this way. K had his the old fashioned way on a baguette and we both agreed that it was going in the regular rotation. In fact, we made this twice in one week! I rehydrated soy curls in veg broth for about 30 minutes and drained then squeezed out as much liquid as I could. Next I marinated them for a bit, stir fried it and boom!

Soy Curl Marinade
2 Tbs. tamari or soy sauce
1 Tbs. sesame oil (I used toasted)
1 Tbs. rice vinegar
1 tsp. grated ginger
a squirt of agave
red pepper flakes
tad of salt

Himalayan red rice is new in our house and we love it! Much more substantial than white rice and more flavorful than brown. K doesn't like brown rice, which I find insane. The dressing drizzled on top of the veggies is veganaise and sriracha mixed together.
So cook up some rice, chop up some veggies, stir fry some protein and dig in!

All the Cheese

Veggie Pizza

These are the results of the cheeses I made from the Artisan Vegan Cheese cookbook! Of course I made pizza! I used the meltable mozzarella and meltable cheddar on this pizza. I have to say it took a lot of planning to get to this point, there are very many steps to make these cheeses. Are they worth it? Yes and no.
I used to eat the heck out of some cheese and I still miss it a lot sometimes but I haven't given into temptation, yet. I had been vegetarian since I was 15, but I never liked eggs or milk type things, oh but cheese was a different story. I have been vegan for a couple of years (with a cheese relapse for a bit in there) and I have been on a quest (as a lot of us are) for a good cheese sub.
I think with more experimenting with these recipes I could get it close. All that said I have not remade any cheese since the first batch. Do what you will with that info.
My omni partner really enjoyed the mozzarella and made a caprese salad with it. He said it tasted like fresh mozz, so there is that. I think if you are willing to experiment with it and you have shit-ton of patience, give it a shot! I also made the quick parmesean recipe and added it to pasta and salads and I absolutely loved it.

Caprese Salad

Red grape and Parmesean Salad

Bibimbap

Vegan Bibimbap

I think I could eat Asian style food every day. We don't really have any good vegan Asian in Austin for some reason so I have to fill these cravings at home. Good thing there is a chinese market not far away! I used Gardien beefless tips for the meat in this but it would be good with just mushrooms too.

Vegan Bulgogi Recipe
1 package of Gardien beefless tips
1/3 C soy sauce
3 Tbs. sugar
1 Tbs. sesame oil
1/4 tsp. minced ginger
1/4-1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
3-4 cloves minced garlic
2 green onions diced
toasted sesame seeds

Whisk ingredients together and pour over thawed beefless tips. Marinate for at least an hour.
While I cooked the rice I chopped up my vegetables for the bibimbap. I used white onion, mushrooms, and cooked them separately and just grated some radish and carrots and chopped cucumber to add to the dish. After stir frying the marinaded beefless tips I arranged it all on a mound of rice. Add sriracha and yumtown!

Freedom (frito) Pie

Freedom Pie

Why freedom pie? I was trying to come up with something to make for the Presidential debate watch party we had a while back and that is what I came up with. Cute, huh? Plus we set up a TV in the backyard so I wanted something to convey the trashiness of the event. Enter freedom pies! 

This chili version is packed with veggies and tempeh, I added cilantro to use it up before it got wilted.  Throw it on some fritos, add your favorite cheese and top with more onions and cilantro, so good!

Tempeh Chili Recipe

1 package tempeh (I steam mine 1st)

a chopped yellow onion 

couple of diced carrots

garlic (to your taste)

couple of fresh jalepenos or other pepper diced

1 or 2 fresh diced tomatoes (reserve liquid)

1 can pinto, black or kidney beans (about 2 cups if dried)

2-3 Tbs of Chili powder
1-2 Tbs Cumin
3 Tbs tomato paste
1 cup veg broth
1 or so cups vegan beer (optional, use water or broth if not)
salt to taste
Bunch cilantro, chopped finely
some kale or spinach, chopped fine
Directions
Saute on med-high heat onions, carrots, jalapenos, and garlic for a few minutes until soft.
Add your steamed tempeh and let brown a bit.
Add tomatoes with tomato liquid.
Add beans, let warm through.
Season with spices.
Add beer and after a few minutes add veggie broth.
Let this simmer away and become chili-fied for a bit.
I always add the greens and cilantro at the end of the cooking process to retain their color and texture.


Enjoy!

Cheese!

I got Vegan artisan Cheese by Miyoko Schinner for Xmas and just put on a batch of the meltable mozzarella. I already effed it up by adding all of the salt to the cheese mix instead of one tsp. so this should be interesting. I really do have a knack for messing up recipes even if I have read through it enough to memorize it. I also have some rejuvelac in the works so I can try my hand at some Gruyere.

Fajitas! Ole!

Seitan Fajita Tacos

Since I forgot to take a picture of my very fancy seitan en croute for Xmas, I decided to take a picture of what I did with the leftovers. I was the only one eating the SEC (seitan en croute) so I knew there would be plenty left over and for that reason I cut the un-puff pastried seitan into thirds so I could parcel it out. (I went to 3 very non-veg Xmas dinners) The last piece never made it out of my house though so I sliced it very thin and sauteed it with peppers, onions, tomato and garlic. Throw some avocado on there and you got dinner! It turned out pretty darn good!

I also tried my hand at some pecan pie. I have never made it before and I followed the recipe from My Vegan Cookbook to a T. Well okay, I used store bought crust. Hey, something was bound to fail otherwise. Anyways, it turned out fantastic! No one would have known it was an evil vegan pecan pie! 

Here is the recipe link for the pie and a picture of the outcome.

http://www.myvegancookbook.com/recipes/recipe.php?id=92

Vegan Bacon Cheezeburger

It seems appropriate that this should start with something deliciously unhealthy even though I try to be pretty consistently healthy with my food choices. There is a food truck called Arlo's in Austin that serves the best burgers I have ever had, unfortunately for me they open at 8 pm and are not in my normal travel zone. I have only tried the vegan bacon cheezeburger so I can only vouch for that but have heard good things about other menu items.
Anyways, I was craving one the other day around lunchtime and thought I could try and create a burger that would satisfy. Oh, I did. This is the Savory lentil Burger from Fat Free Vegan.
I followed the recipe and it came out perfect, Susan really knows her stuff!
I used store bought whole wheat buns and follow your heart mozzarella for the cheese, with pickles, red onions, lettuce, tomato and veganaise. It really hit the spot!
For the bacon part I used coconut flakes, it takes about 15 minutes to make and is super good.
Coconut Bacon
1 C large flake coconut
1.5 Tbs. Tamari
1 Tbs. Maple syrup
2 tsps. liquid smoke
Cayenne to taste (optional)

Set oven to 350 degrees. Mix together wet ingredients and cayenne. Toss with coconut. Spread on parchment lined baking sheet and bake for about 10-15 minutes. Watch carefully it will be done before you know it! I usually stir every few minutes to coat evenly.