"B"LT and A Wraps: When You Really Don't Feel Like "Making" Dinner

After eating Fakin' Bacon for years and kiiiiinda liking it but not really, I decided to explore the world of vegan "bacon" online. I tried a few recipes that used tofu instead of tempeh, then basically just made my own version up and guess what? It rocks! You can make the "bacon" ahead of time and freeze it (which also makes for a firmer tofu) for even quicker prep time.

Ingredients:

1 block extra firm tofu. (I keep these in the freezer for more firmness, just defrost first.)
4 TBSP tamari.
2 TBSP rice vinegar. (You can use apple cider vinegar in a pinch.)
2-4 TBSP nutritional yeast.
A couple drops liquid smoke flavoring.
Sweet smoked paprika to taste.
Any flavor wrap you like. I usually use plain, old flour tortillas since they are the most pliable and I tend to overstuff my wraps. Sometimes corn or flax wraps will crack.
1-2 large tomatoes.
Fresh lettuce or other green leafy veg. I use romaine.
1 large, preferably California avocado.
Reduced fat Vegenaise (Hands-down the BEST vegan "mayo" out there.)

Prep:

Defrost the tofu by either leaving it out or using the evil microwave. If you are using tofu that has just been refrigerated, let it drain on some towels for 10-15 minutes. You can press it with books to make it firmer if you like. This step drives me crazy, that's why I just freeze mine. Comes out just as firm and saves time.

Slice the tofu into 8-12 slices about 1/4" or less thick.

Mix tamari, nutritional yeast, liquid smoke and rice vinegar together.

Put tofu slices in either a large ziplock bag or flat baking dish and pour the marinade over the top, making sure to get it on all sides of the tofu slices. Add some paprika.

Let tofu marinate for 15 minutes (or longer).  If you made extra (I did!) you can freeze the rest at this point by storing in a ziplock.

Heat a large frying pan over med-high heat and spray lightly with cooking oil.

Fry tofu slices until browned (not burned!) sprinkling the paprika on top as you go. It takes about 3-4 minutes to get a nice browned and crispy consistency. Flip and repeat. If it's not crispy enough, you can always add more oil and turn up the heat, but I found that wasn't necessary.

At this point, prepare your wrap by spreading some Vegenaise all over it, then add your lettuce, tomato and avocado.

Once the "bacon" is finished, carefully place 4-6 slices on top of the other toppings and Wrap. It. Up.

If you want even more flavoring, I'm a big fan of Tajin (as you already know), which is a Mexican chili-lime seasoning that makes everything better, or you could sprinkle some fresh pepper, basil, garlic or oregano in there as well.

Serve with a side if you want, but it's really not necessary. Just a crisp dill pickle will do. Dig in! Let me know what you think. I think it's genius, but I'd love to hear your reviews!

New tasty post coming soon, I promise!

After looking at this hilarious and adorable collection of animals that are disappointed in you, I realized I've been slacking a tad with my posts. Thanks, sloth! Anyway, a really easy, healthy and tasty vegan BLT wrap is coming your way. Like, tonight! In the meantime, let these furry creatures express their disappointment with you too! http://www.buzzfeed.com/expresident/animals-who-are-extremely-disappointed-in-you

Tofu Omelettes FTW!!

Not sure why I never experimented with egg alternatives, besides the occasional Ener-G in something I was baking, but with the introduction of THE VEGG, the world's first vegan fried egg (http://thevegg.com), I started craving something eggy for breakfast and I didn't have any of those crazy things around, so I dug around on the internet and found a few recipes that used silken tofu as an omelette base and decided to give it a go. The one I went with is designed to be for one person, but unless you are completely starving or hungover, there's no way you could possible eat the whole thing without feeling gross afterward.
I was really pleased with how this came out, and though it is more time consuming than my usual breakfast, it's a great way to start your mellow Sunday morning (read: don't make this before a long run). Pair it with some hash browns, toast or sliced tomatoes and of course, a huge cup of coffee. YUM!

Serves 2

Prep time: 10 min/Cook time: 10 min

Ingredients:

1 package silken tofu, drained
1 TBSP soy milk
1 TBSP nutritional yeast (I used more)
1 TBSP cornstarch or arrowroot powder
1 tsp tahini
1/8 tsp onion or garlic powder (or both!)
1/4-1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
1 (good sized) pinch smoked paprika or chipotle pepper (I used sweet smoked paprika and it was great!)

Omelette fillings. I used spinach, crimini mushrooms, sugar plum tomatoes and a little bit of Daiya.

Instructions:

Blend together all ingredients except the filling. The Vitamix comes in handy here, but a hand blender or regular old counter top blender will also work well.

Spray a (truly) non-stick skillet with a little olive oil and heat on med-high until SUPER HOT. If you pour the batter into a skillet that isn't hot enough, your omelette will stick and you may not be able to fold it in half. It will still taste good though! ;)

Pour batter into the center of the skillet in a circular pattern about 6-8" across, then use a spoon to smooth over the top. Place your ingredients on top and reduce the heat to medium-low.

Cover and cook for 3-5 minutes, checking often to see if it's done. When the edges are getting crusty and the middle is no longer liquified, use your spatula to see if it's set. the bottom should be a golden-light brown color. When ready, scoop underneath one half of the omelette with the spatch and fold it over onto itself. Cook for another minute or so then carefully slide it onto your plate. Divide and serve HOT!

Enjoy! Let me know what you think!

Tips: Make sure your filling ingredients are dry, and if you are having a hard time getting the tofu to cook all the way through, you can divide the batter into two (or more) smaller batches.

Havarti Party!!!!

IN MY MOUTH! Oh, my god, I just picked up Daiya's new Jack and Jalapeño Garlic Havarti wedges and...oh, my GOD! They are absolutely amazing! I just sampled each one and now I'm super excited to have more of these delicious creations in my life. Just not too much. Everything in moderation, you know. This stuff would be fantastic on fresh cut veggies or pretzels, but I just ripped of a piece of sourdough and had them on that and...oh, my god. Seriously. Go out and get these immediately!

Baked Corn Tortilla Chips

If you're anything like me, you crave salty, crunchy things more than sweets. My addiction to savory snacks has been known to derail my hard work keeping myself fit and healthy more than once. After successfully walking past the Lentil Curls at Trader Joe's yesterday without grabbing a bag (or two), I decided to get some plain corn tortillas instead and attempt to make my own baked tortilla chips. I've always heard it was super easy to do, and guess what? It totally is! 10 short minutes is all it takes to make these super crunchy and flavorful chips! Now, they are still not great for you by any means (carbs, blah, blah, blah) but they are a helluva lot better for you than that deep fried, processed garbage from the market. Try 'em and let me know what you think! Experiment with flavors and even different types of tortillas too!

Ingredients:

1 package organic corn tortillas (I used Trader Joe's)
Spray olive (or other cooking) oil

Salt
Tajin (aka: my crack - a chili lime seasoning from Mexico) or whatever other spices you'd like to add

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 450º F
With a pizza cutter, cut a stack of about 6 tortillas into four equal pieces
Spray with just a tiny bit of olive oil
Sprinkle a little salt and Tajin
Bake for about 5-7 minutes, checking to make sure they don't burn.
Serve with guac or salsa

I just cut up some ripe avocado with a little lime juice squeezed on top. YUM!

Pizza Night!

I don't really eat a lot of pizza as a vegan. Don't get me wrong, I love that there are a million places in the city that use Daiya, but pizza and I have a weird relationship. Always have. I am terribly fussy when it comes to pizza sauce. It  makes or breaks it for me. Usually breaks it. I just find that there's usually too much shit in it, spice-wise. Anyway, I got a spiffy pizza pan with little holes in the bottom to get that perfectly crispy crust, so I figured I'd give it a whirl. The pizza came out incredible! Seriously good and less than half the price for delivery. Cha-ching! Double win! I went a little crazy with the toppings and will likely keep it simple for the next one, but still, it was amazing!  Here we go...

Ingredients:

Pizza dough, either pre- or home-made (I went with pre- and kept it simple. I did a mixture of whole wheat and regular dough.)

All-purpose flour

Pizza sauce (I used Cusina Antica from Rainbow and spent more on this than any other topping.)

Fresh spinach

Fresh garlic, sliced very thin

Fresh mushrooms, sliced very thin

Black olives, sliced

Artichoke hearts (in water, not oil)

Sun dried tomatoes 

1/4 C Daiya

Instructions:

Pre-heat oven to 450º

Spread some flour on your workspace and let the dough sit out and breath for 15-20 minutes. 

Roll out the dough. This is a lot easier said than done when you don't have a rolling pin and are not an expert pizza maker. We tried tossing it in the air, but clearly there is much more to it than that. I just consider ourselves lucky we didn't drop the whole thing on the floor. Ultimately, we just kept stretching  it on the pan until it was pretty close to the same size.

Add some sauce. We used quite a bit, saving a little for dipping.

Add the rest of your toppings, keeping things like sun dried tomatoes near the crust, not on the very top. Mine burned. :|

Cook for 8-12 minutes, until crust begins browning. I checked a few times just to make sure it didn't burn.

Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes if you have the patience.

Slice with a pizza cutter and serve! 

Bon appetit! :)

Ethiopian Seitan with Peppers

This is an oldie (meaning I've been making it since going vegan in 2009), but a really good goodie from my favorite vegan chef on earth, Isa Chandra Moskowitz's fantastic cookbook, Vegan with a Vengeance.

Apparently I'm on an African kick now, which is great during this cold and flu season. I firmly believe the spices used in this dish (and the Senegalese recipe) keep me from getting sick. The only danger is the possibility of overeating because it's THAT good. I hope you enjoy this as much as we do in our house. Also, invite some friends over, because this recipe makes a LOT of food!

I did add some other ingredients: tomatoes and onions, but the peppers stand on their own juuuust fine!

Ingredients for the puree:

I made this before my spice container makeover, obviously.

6 serrano chiles, seeded and coarsely chopped (Wear gloves!)
1 TBSP fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. ground cardamom
1/4 tsp. turmeric
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 C red wine (or not)
2-3 TBSP. olive oil

Ingredients for the seitan and peppers (and onions, etc.):

2lbs. homemade seitan (see previous post). You can also you pre-made if you don't have the time to make your own.

2 green bell peppers, seeded and cut into 1" strips
1 28 ox. can stewed or chopped tomatoes (optional)
1 large white or yellow onion, chopped


Preheat oven to 400ºF.
Place all puree ingredients into a blender and puree until smooth-ish.

Place seitan strips, peppers and onions in a 9x13"glass baking dish.

Smother with crushed tomatoes and puree.

Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil, flip the seitan and peppers and cook for 20 more minutes, uncovered.

Serve over rice or with Injera – Ethiopian bread that reminds me of paper towel from elementary school, except it tastes good! I have not tried to make this myself yet (it's on the list), but I have gone and picked some up at the local Ethiopian joint down the street a few times. Normally, I just serve it over brown basmati rice.
Also, I have been known to double the puree recipe (just not the oil!) if I am not using tomatoes. I like alotta sauce!
This is seriously one of my favorite dishes. I hope you enjoy it too!