Yummy Sandwiches and Chocolate Topped Energy Bars!

I was in the mood for a gigantic sandwich today and I envisioned a turkey, cheese avocado and slaw sandwich. I think I succeeded. I used Tofurky and Daiya products.

The slaw is a combination of kale, cabbage, red onion, carrot with a creamy Vegenaise based dressing with mustard.

BBQ pulled " pork" made with soy tvp chunks. I wanted to use jackfruit but didn't have any. This was great with the kale slaw!

Served on toasted white bread.

These are the usual energy bars I make but this time I had slightly less peanut butter than the recipe called for so the mixture seemed a little drier to me. The remedy for that was to add a layer of dark chocolate on top that I melted with coconut oil. Worked great!

The bottom layer is toasted oats, sunflower, pumpkin and chia seeds, almonds, chocolate chips, dried cranberries and apricots. This is all mixed with melted peanut butter and agave. I pressed the mixture into a pan and chilled for a couple hours. Then topped it with the melted chocolate and chilled overnight.

A Bowl of Chili.

I was in the mood for a bowl of chili today even though it was almost 90 degrees out. It has pinto beans, soy chunks, onions, zucchini and carrots. It was delicious! I topped it with a dollop of Tofutti sour cream to extinguish some of the heat. I don't think it worked because I managed to burn my tongue!

Vegan Beef Stew

Got this recipe idea over here. It uses seitan but instead I used rehydrated soy chunks. I didn't bake my stew in the oven, I just cooked it in a dutch oven on the stove for several hours on very low heat with a lid on it. I added a little more liquid to mine as well. Also other additions: green beans, celery, portobello mushrooms and marmite. I'm not big on eating soy chunks all the time but today I really wanted something meaty and comforting.

Bubbling over the stove.

I wanted to serve the stew on top of noodles that were like egg noodles. I found these at Vons and they are vegan and have no eggs yay!

So hearty and filling.

These are the deluxe cocoa brownies from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar. I liked them but they were a little too cakey for my liking. It is mostly my fault, my oven is wonky. I'm a fan of dessert so these will keep me happy for the weekend.

One Pot Chili Mac with Soy Chunks.

Not a great pic but if only you could taste this. I really enjoyed this hearty one pot meal. I do love throwing things in a pot and walking away. Works best on weeknights. I've made this a few times before and copied and pasted my recipe below with additions and substitutions in brackets. I added soy chunks to this which made it so meaty. Because I used them, I needed to add more water. If you feel it is drying out too much, feel free to add a little more boiling water to keep it moist and saucy.

One Pot Chili Mac
3 TB olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1/2 a large green bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 TB tomato paste (I used 4 TB today for more sauciness.)
2 TB chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 TB chopped chipotle peppers (I added this today.)
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups dry elbow macaroni pasta
2 1/2 cups boiling water (you may need about 1 cup more if you're adding soy chunks)
1 jar of spaghetti sauce, any kind (I subbed 1 can diced tomatoes and 1 can tomato sauce today.)
1 14oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed (I used black beans today.)
1 1/2 cups soy chunks

In a large pot on medium high, heat olive oil and saute the onion, bell pepper and garlic until veggies get fairly soft. Add tomato paste and spices and stir to coat veggies in spices. Add the macaroni, boiling water, soy chunks, spaghetti sauce and turn heat to high and bring to a boil. Add kidney beans and stir. Lower heat to medium and cover. Cook for about 10 minutes and then stir pasta to prevent sticking to the bottom of the pot. Cover again and cook for another 7 minutes. Remove lid and stir for 3 minutes or so to make sure pasta doesn't stick to bottom of the pot. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Vegan Steak and Mushroom Pie

The veggies.

Some ingredients.

The insides before topping with puff pastry.

From the oven to the table, all puffed and golden!

On the plate with a side of mashed potatoes. This is the best comfort food ever.

The Recipe:

Steak and mushroom pie

3 TB vegan margarine + 2 TB olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 carrots, sliced
2 ribs celery, sliced
1 cup dry protein soy chunks rehydrated in boiling water until soft.
2 TB flour
1 cup veggie broth
1 tsp red miso
1 tsp vegemite or marmite
1 TB tomato paste
1 TB vegan worcestershire sauce or soy sauce
1 tsp thyme
1 container mushrooms sliced
salt and pepper to taste
frozen puff pastry sheet, thawed (a good vegan brand is Pepperidge Farm)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Put the kettle on and boil water and pour over soy chunks in a bowl and let sit until soy chunks are soft.
3. Drain the hydrated soy chunks and put them in to a bowl. Add a couple of TB of flour and toss to coat the soy chunks.
4. Heat margarine in a pan on med high heat. Add soy chunks to pan and brown evenly, about 5 minutes. Remove soy chunks from pan and set aside.
5. Add oil to the pan and add the vegetables. Cook for a about 4 minutes. Then add vegetable broth, miso, marmite, tomato paste, worcestershire sauce and thyme to the pan. Cook for a few more minutes and then add the mushrooms. Add the soy chunks back to the pan, season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Turn heat to low and cover and simmer until veggies are tender.
6. Pour mixture into a baking dish and top with puff pastry sheets. Bake for 20 minutes or until pastry is golden and puffy.

Vegan Steak and Mushroom Pie

Out of the oven.


More veggies than "steak" but that's ok! It was pretty tasty on top of mashed potatoes.

Recipe here.

"Steak" and mushroom pie.

My neighbor was the one who inspired me to make this dish. She had a photo assignment to photograph the pub food at Ye Olde King's Head in Santa Monica. Her photos of the steak and mushroom (or it could have been steak and ale) pie looked amazing. I said to her: "I'm going to make that!" And so I did.


This is the filling of soy chunks, vegetables and mushrooms in a savory gravy.


Finished pie out of the oven.



I didn't have potatoes so I made cauliflower mash instead!

Steak and mushroom pie

3 TB vegan margarine + 2 TB olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 carrots, sliced
2 ribs celery, sliced
1 cup dry protein soy chunks rehydrated in boiling water until soft.
2 TB flour
1 cup veggie broth
1 tsp red miso
1/2 tsp vegemite or marmite
1 TB tomato paste
1 TB vegan worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp thyme
1 container mushrooms sliced
salt and pepper to taste
frozen puff pastry sheet, thawed (a good vegan brand is Pepperidge Farm)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Put the kettle on and boil water and pour over soy chunks in a bowl and let sit until soy chunks are soft.

3. Drain the hydrated soy chunks and put them in to a bowl. Add a couple of TB of flour and toss to coat the soy chunks.

4. Heat margarine in a pan on med high heat. Add soy chunks to pan and brown evenly, about 5 minutes. Remove soy chunks from pan and set aside.

5. Add oil to the pan and add the vegetables. Cook for a about 4 minutes. Then add vegetable broth, miso, marmite, tomato paste, worcestershire sauce and thyme to the pan. Cook for a few more minutes and then add the mushrooms. Add the soy chunks back to the pan, season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Turn heat to low and cover and simmer until veggies are tender.

6. Pour mixture into a baking dish and top with puff pastry sheets. Bake for 20 minutes or until pastry is golden and puffy.


Pie poured over cauliflower mash. This was SO TASTY.