Grilled Melty Sandwich!

Yesterday I came across this video on youtube and was mesmerized. I decided I was going to make a gooey melty sandwich for myself on the weekend. Went out to the store and got some good rye bread, Daiya cheese and roasted peppers. I made some caramelized onions first and then layered it all up and grilled it in my pan. It was so yummy. I served it with ginger sesame coleslaw.

Creamy tomato soup & grilled cheese, salad w/ homemade croutons, gluten free cake and another casserole.

It's supposed to rain all weekend, so I made an all American favorite: tomato soup paired with a grilled cheese sandwich. So comforting and delicious! I loosely followed Mary McCartney's "Must Have Creamy Tomato Soup" (subbing almond milk for the soy creamer) and made the sandwich using pepper jack and mozzarella Daiya vegan cheese. Yummy yummy yummy yummy....

A simple salad with mixed greens, homemade croutons (made from Ezekiel bread) and one of the most delicious salad dressings ever. It's the Caesar dressing recipe from The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook. Make it now! Recipe for the dressing below. For the croutons, just toss bread cubes with olive oil and garlic powder and italian herbs and toast in a 400 degree F oven for 15 minutes, stirring 1/2 way.

Gluten-free chocolate cake loaded with candy sprinkles.

I made this casserole last week. It's the usual quinoa, black beans and Daiya cheese tortillas casserole. I love it so much.

Caesar Dressing (Adapted from The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook by Jo Stepaniak)

3 TB nutritional yeast flakes
2 TB tahini
2 TB Dijon mustard (use whole grain mustard!)
1/2 tsp crushed garlic
1/3 cup water
3 TB lemon juice
1 TB red wine vinegar (she used balsamic)
2 TB Vegenaise (my addition!)
Whisk all ingredients together and chill. If too thick add a little more water.

VeganMoFo: Kale Salad, Soup and Grilled Cheez

Yesterday's post got me thinking about that Kale salad at M Cafe. It's covered in the most delectable spicy peanut sauce that I really can't get enough of. I tried replicating at home once by sauteeing the kale and making my own peanut sauce but it came out way salty. I didn't even think about going online to find the recipe. Well today I did and I found this video of the exec chef of M Cafe making this salad! He doesn't really give you measurements but you can at least get the gist of it all. So I got to work and whipped up the sauce and preparing the kale in the same way as in the video. Perfection! I will be making this more often from now on.

My Interpretation of M Cafe's Spicy Peanut Sauce

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (didn't have crunchy)
1/2 tsp minced ginger
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
pinch of salt
1 TB or more of red wine vinegar (didn't have brown rice vinegar)
1 TB or more of agave nectar (again didn't have brown rice syrup)
1 TB or more of soy sauce
a tiny bit of water (to help thin out sauce if too thick)
1/8-1/4 tsp cayenne
extra red pepper flakes

Whisk all ingredients together or blend. The measurements for the vinegar, agave, soy sauce etc. are loose because I was basically adding them from the bottle a bit at a time while whisking all together. I also tasted it as I went along until it was just right. You should do the same. It should be creamy, peanutty, slightly tangy and sweet with a spicy kick. The consistency of the dressing should be smooth, creamy and not too thick where you can't pour it.
Blanche a big bunch of kale in boiling water for 2 minutes. Remove kale and submerge immediately in ice water. Squeeze out all the water and pour sauce over the kale. You will probably have a lot more sauce than you need. Use what you want and save the rest for another dish! Toss lightly and add sliced red onions and chopped peanuts. Chill.



I made soup today. God knows why, it was 89 degrees out. I had two bunches of celery in my fridge which was an accident. I bought the second bunch a few days ago before I realized we already had a bunch hiding in the fridge. So this soup is what I always make when there is an abundance of celery. It's a very light and delicious soup that goes well with a salad or grilled "cheez" sandwich.

Celery-Potato Soup

2 TB olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 ribs or so of celery, chopped
2 small potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 C vegetable broth
1/2 C plain soymilk
1 tsp cornstarch mixed with about 2 TB water
salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in a soup pot on medium high heat. Add onion, garlic and celery and saute for about 4 minutes until soft. Add potatoes and broth and bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover and simmer for about 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Add soymilk and salt and pepper and keep simmering. Add the cornstarch/water mixture and let simmer to thicken. Puree half of the soup in a blender and pour back into the pot. Serve hot.


Another grilled cheez with tomatoes, basil and olive oil made with Colby Chedda from The Uncheese Cookbook.

Grilled Cheez and Gypsy Soup.

These hit the spot!


I make these sandwiches ALL the time using the "Colby Chedda" Block uncheese recipe from The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook. They are so good.


Gypsy soup (aka creamy tomato soup)

There's this cafe in Westwood called The Gypsy Cafe. And they have (or had, I haven't been there in years) this creamy tomato soup called 'Gypsy Soup'. I remember it being my favorite thing on the menu, served with 1/2 a sandwich. I never knew what was in it but I think ricotta cheese was what made the soup creamy. At that time I would recreate it at home very cheaply with a can of condensed tomato soup and a tub of ricotta.

I haven't thought about that soup since then but tonight I wanted tomato soup to go with my grilled cheez sandwich. I've never made my own tomato soup before so I decided to just wing it. I brought out stuff from the pantry and fridge and next thing I knew, I was making a creamy soup that reminded me a lot of the Gypsy Soup from that cafe. yeah!

Vegan Gypsy Soup

1 TB olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 TB fresh basil, chopped
2 TB soy sauce or more to taste
1 tsp sugar
1 14 oz. can stewed tomatoes, blended until smooth in a blender
2 1/2 cups plain and unsweetened soymilk
4 tsp. (or more if desired) tomato paste
1 TB nutritional yeast (optional)
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and saute onion and garlic until softened. Add the basil, soy sauce and sugar and stir. Add the tomatoes and bring it to a boil. Slowly add the soymilk. Add the tomato paste and stir until it is dissolved. You may add more depending on how tomato-ey you want your soup. Add the nutritional yeast if using and ground black pepper. Lower heat and simmer for about 10 minutes until everything comes together and thickens a bit.

Comfort Foods.

Comfort food was something I never imagined I could have again once turning vegan. Foods I remember from childhood: Meatloaf, creamy casseroles, chili, thick stews, mac & cheese, grilled cheese, ohhhhhhh... I thought some dishes would never be vegan friendly. I was wrong. I've prepared ever so many comforting meals that made everything all right in the world. Here are some photos.


Chili really doesn't need meat to be warm, hearty and filling. This Sweet Potato and Veggie Chili really hits the spot. Recipe can be found here.


Meatloaf, mashed potatoes and gravy. Oh yes. This is a really good tofu/veggie loaf that I make often. It's perfect with a side of mashed potatoes and gravy (in this pic, a white bean gravy - recipe from Vegan With A Vengeance). You can find the loaf recipe here. (I omit the egg in this recipe.)


I love getting out my crockpot in winter time. I love getting out my crockpot in summer time too. It doesn't matter what the weather is like; if I want comfort food I am going to have it! This beautiful Lentil and 'Sausage' soup was sooo good. I adapted this recipe by switching out the meat kielbasa for Tofurkey brand tomato and basil vegetarian sausage. This soup thickens into a stew the longer it sits which is pretty damn awesome.


I used to love chicken pot pie. Now I love chickpea pot pie. This one is just like the pot pies I remember. I used Vegan Dad's pot pie recipe because he's such an awesome cook! For the crust, I used this fantastic "Cheezy Quackers" recipe from this great blog.


I once craved the tuna casseroles that my mom used to make for me when I was little. She would use egg noodles, cream of mushroom soup and slices of Kraft singles melted on top. None of these things fit my diet so I had to improvise. What I came up with was this creamy, mushroomy casserole with crushed chips and french fried onions on top. I've added mashed chickpeas to fill in for the tuna as well as provide the protein. This dish is great and well loved by all when I take it to potlucks. I've posted my recipe here.


I call this 'Meat Eating Husbands Love This Shepherds Pie". I adapted a recipe that my friend Becky made for her meat eating husband. He loved it so I thought my meat eating husband would love it too. He did. This one's a winner. It's got broccoli, carrots and potatoes in a rich mushroom gravy. The french fried onions on top was Becky's brilliant idea. I've since used them in other recipes like the casserole above. I've posted my adapted recipe here.


I had to save the best for last. Grilled cheese. While this doesn't taste like dairy cheese it's an awesome equivalent. It's gooey, rich and creamy and so very tasty. I used the Colby Chedda " block cheese" recipe from The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook. It has a cashew and pimento or roasted red pepper base.

I'd just like to add that I have made several mac and cheese recipes which were wonderful. Unfortunately I don't have pictures of them. I'll get shots of them next time. Hope all these dishes inspire you to make your own veggie comfort foods!