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.

Soy BBQ Curry

Dang, I can't believe I made this. If you are a West LA local and a veggie who loves indian food, you probably know about Samosa House in Culver City. They make really good veggie indian food that I have had the pleasure to enjoy only a few times. My favorite dish of theirs is what they call "Soy BBQ" which is a curry full of soy chunks swimming in a dark red sweet and spicy bbq/curry sauce. After having it a few times, I was determined to make it. Only thing was I had no real idea what flavors I was tasting. It is sweet with slight curry flavors and a hint of spicy kick. Today I experimented and I think I came pretty darn close. Keep in mind these measurements are very loose as I was adding a little bit of this, a little bit of that as it simmered. You do what suits your palette.

Vegan Mouse Soy BBQ Curry

2 TB canola oil
1/2 a large onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup chopped eggplant (optional)
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
2 tsp garam masala
2 tsp hot curry powder
1-14oz can diced tomatoes with juice
1-6oz can tomato paste
2-3 TB tamarind chutney
2-3 TB BBQ sauce (I used hickory bbq sauce)
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 cups water or more
1 cup chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 cup tvp chunks (use more if you are not using chickpeas or eggplant)
1 TB olive oil


Heat canola oil in a pot and saute onions and garlic until soft and fragrant. Add the eggplant and cook until semi tender. Add the spices, tomatoes, tomato paste, chutney, bbq sauce, sugar, salt and water. Stir to break up the tomato paste and bring to a boil.

Add chickpeas and tvp chunks. Stir to make sure tvp chunks are submerged in the sauce so they will expand and soften. Then lower heat to low, cover with lid and let simmer. Every 10 minutes or so, stir. If you need to add more water, go ahead and do so. The tvp chunks should always be submerged in sauce. Also the sauce should be medium consistency and not too thick.

Continue to simmer covered for an hour and adjust spices and salt as you go. At the end, drizzle about a tablespoon of olive oil and stir.

Vegan Cowboy Chili and Cornbread.

I know this is more fall food than summer food but really, who turns down a steaming bowl of chili with a slab of cornbread? I've made this cowboy chili before. The trick is soaking dried chili peppers and pureeing them and adding the dark red emulsion into the chili. It creates a very complex flavor with some great heat. For the "meatiness", I used tvp chunks and tvp crumbles. Recipe here.


This is the famous PPK cornbread that I absolutely love. Makes good corn muffins too!

Vegan Red Wine Bolognese and Vegetable Biriyani

Yesterday's dinner was this comforting bowl of rigatoni with red wine bolognese sauce. I used TVP (textured vegetable protein) which gave it the perfect "meaty" texture. The parmesan-like topping is almonds/miso/nutritional yeast/salt.


Tonight's dinner was this simple vegetable biriyani from Flavors of India cookbook. It is flavored with cinnamon, cloves and cardamom.

Red Wine Bolognese Recipe

2 TB olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp. fennel seed
1 tsp. oregano
2 cans diced tomatoes (I puree them in a blender first)
1/4 cup red wine
1/2 tsp sugar
1/3 cup TVP
salt and pepper to taste

Saute onion, carrot, celery and garlic in olive oil until softened. Add herbs and stir for a bit. Add tomatoes and red wine and sugar and bring to a boil. Add TVP and cook for a couple minutes. The hot liquid will soften and rehydrate the TVP. Add a little water if too thick. Lower heat to simmer covered for 1 hour. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Chili Dog Craving.

Was craving chili dogs today so instead of buying one of those high sodium vegetarian chilis in a can, I made it from scratch which is sooo much better.


A Lightlife Smart Dog covered in chili, chopped onion and Daiya vegan cheese. This was so sloppy, it had to be eaten with a knife and fork. It was really good and satisfied the craving. I now have lots of chili leftovers that I can use for chili fries or taco salad or a baked potato topping.


Vegetarian Chili

3 TB olive oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can diced tomatoes with juice
1 TB ancho chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1 cup water (or more)
1/3 cup Textured Vegetable Protein (you can find TVP at health food stores or latin markets. It's called "carne de soya")
2 TB tomato paste
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
salt and pepper to taste

Sautee onions, bell pepper and garlic in olive oil over medium high heat until soft. Add spices and tomatoes and stir. Add water and bring to a boil. Then add dry TVP and stir. The hot water will re-hydrate the TVP and it will look like ground beef. Add tomato paste and stir to dissolve the tomato paste. If the chili looks too thick, you can add a little more water. Turn heat to low and cover. Let it simmer for about 5 minutes.
Add kidney beans and simmer for another 20-30 minutes. The longer the better. Season with salt and pepper.

Cowboy Chili.

I finally got around to watching 'Brokeback Mountain' last night and aside from the fact that it made me weep, it put me in the mood for a hearty cowboy style chili. Got this recipe from Country Living website and veganized it by using tvp soy chunks instead of beef. It used corn masa mixed with water to thicken it in the end as well as pureed chiles that have been soaking which gives the chili an amazing red color. I'll post the recipe here with my substitutions.

Vegan Cowboy Chili

1 TB olive oil (plus a little more for later)
1 cup tvp chunks (plus boiling water to rehydrate)
1 large onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
14 oz. veggie broth or water
1 TB chili powder
1 tsp. cumin
2 cans beans (any kind), drained and rinsed
1 14.5oz can diced tomatoes
2 dried ancho chiles or any dried chiles you prefer
1 TB masa harina de maiz
1 cup water
1/2 tsp salt
1 TB cider vinegar
1/4 tsp sugar


Directions
1. Rehydrate tvp chunks: Put tvp in a bowl and pour boiling water to cover. Let sit for a little while. You will know that they are hydrated when you squeeze a piece between your fingers. It will be soft. If it's still firm, let soak longer. Drain water and setr tvp aside.
2. Rehydrate ancho chiles: Place them in a bowl and pour boiling water over them about a cup.
2. Heat olive oil in a large dutch oven. Saute onions on medium high until translucent about 3-5 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 more minute. Add tvp chunks after they have been drained. Add a splash of olive oil and stir around to coat.
3. Add vegetable broth, chili powder, cumin, beans and tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30-40 minutes or longer.
4. Puree the chiles: Remove and discard stems. Place softened chiles and the soaking liquid in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth -- 2 to 3 minutes.
5. In a small bowl, whisk the masa and water together. Stir masa mixture into the chili. Add ancho chili mixture, salt and vinegar and sugar. Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes. Season with more salt and pepper if desired.

Baked Tofu Sandwich, TVP Indian Curry and Banana Split Tea Bread

I made this sandwich last week using delicious baked tofu. Toast some whole grain bread, throw on some Vegenaise, lettuce, tomato and you've got a great lunch. Soy or tempeh bacon and avocado would be great additions as well.


Experimented with TVP chunks again to make this simple indian curry with kale and potatoes. It was so good on jasmine rice. I don't use TVP often so this was a nice treat.


This is the banana split tea bread recipe from Vegan Planet. It's so colorful and has bananas, walnuts, chocolate chips, cherries and coconut (my addition). It baked up beautiful but because of my wonky oven, it was a little underdone even though I checked it with a toothpick and it came out clean! WTH?


Thankfully the underdone bits are more "mushy banana" tasting rather than "uncooked batter" tasting.

Vegan Posole.

Lucky me! I got to enjoy this delicious, hearty bowl of veggie posole which was made for us by Eddie, a friend of my husband. This beautiful soup made with hominy and meaty soy chunks was topped with fresh shredded cabbage, chopped onions, jalapenos, fresh homemade salsa and lime juice. We enjoyed this very much. Thanks Eddie!

Junk Food Alert!

I had nachos for dinner. Yes these are very junky but what the heck! I was in the mood for them so I made sure that this was on the menu tonight. I made "taco meat" out of tvp and taco seasonings and cheez sauce from 'The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook'. It's the "instant cheez-it sauce" and I added a few TB of salsa to it. With some black beans, jalapenos and a vegan mayo "sour cream" (just mix it with lime or lemon juice), I had a drool worthy plate of nachos!


There's this recipe for microwave chocolate cake on vegweb that I had made a couple of times before. I was in the mood and I needed it now. So I whipped this up in 3 minutes in my microwave. I added vegan chocolate chips and white chocolate chips. Sweet coconut on top made it a fun dessert to indulge in. This is something I will not do often because it's junk food, but when you want it, you gotta have it!


And you're wondering, is it good? Why yes. Yes it is. It's very fluffy and soft and gooey from the melted chocolate chips.

Beans on Toast, TVP Tacos and Refried Beans

Leftover Heinz beans from last night made an excellent breakfast on toast spread with Earth Balance and sprinkled with black pepper. And I didn't forget the tea.



I couldn't wait to make refried beans from scratch again and this time with black beans. The easiest way for me to do it is to put the dry beans (1 lb. plus 8 cups water) into the crockpot the night before and let them cook. This morning all I had to do was reserve about a cup or so of the cooking liquid, drain the beans and heat them with sauteed onions, garlic, liquid smoke, the bean liquid, olive oil and salt/pepper while mashing with a potato masher. Seriously perfect beans. I also made red chile sauce with the dried guajillo, new mexico and arbol chiles. For the tacos, I used textured vegetable protein. The tvp meat was sauteed with olive oil, onions, garlic and taco seasoning.

EDIT: Still cooking from my pantry!
Pantry staples used: dried black beans, dried chiles, tvp, liquid smoke, olive oil, spices, Heinz Beans, white bread
Other items: onions, garlic, lettuce, tomato
Items purchased: taco shells, Earth Balance

Cooking out of the pantry: Enchilada Casserole and Sweet Corn Cake

So, day one of cooking from my pantry! I was lazy today to look for a new recipe so I reverted back to my old standby. This time I added tvp to the filling to bulk it up a bit. To go with the casserole, I made a side dish of mexican sweet corn cake which is a recipe from The Tropical Vegan Kitchen.

Pantry staples used:
quinoa
1 can black beans
tvp
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
dried herbs/spices: cumin, oregano, new mexico chili powder
6 whole wheat flour tortillas
masa harina
cornmeal
sugar
canola oil

Other vegetables/fruits and fridge items etc:
1 red bell pepper
2 cloves garlic
1/2 onion
10 oz. frozen corn
Vegenaise
Earth Balance margarine

Ingredients I needed to purchase: none


Mmm, casserole!


Mexican sweet corn cake. This was really delicious and sweet.

Pinto Bean and TVP Tostadas

Something I threw together after work. I just sauteed some chopped onions, garlic and jalapeno, added shredded kale, tomato sauce, rehydrated textured vegetable protein (for that ground beefy texture), pinto beans and spices like chili powder, smoked paprika, garlic powder and cumin. So yummy.

Peach Muesli and "Hamburger" Macaroni Dinner.

This is Jamie Oliver's "Pukkolla" muesli with freshly chopped peaches. I looove juicy peaches in summer!


Ok, so this came out of my craving for a childhood favorite "Hamburger Helper". It's funny because I don't really remember what it tasted like. Was it as good as I thought it was? Anyway, I went online and found a recipe for a dry seasoning mix that I adapted and used to flavor my dish. You'll see in the recipe below. I do have to say that this dish wasn't as "saucy" as I wanted it to be. Maybe next time I need to add more liquid or tomato sauce or something. But it was tasty and very very filling.

EDITED TO ADD:
I still wanted the macaroni to be saucier so when I came home from work I made up a quick thickened sauce of tomato sauce, water, ketchup and soy sauce and dunked the pasta back in to simmer for a few minutes. The result was much much better. I've edited the recipe to include these few extra ingredients.


Much saucier wouldn't you say? It was delicious. My brother came over and I served some to him. He ate two big bowls of it!

"Hamburger" Macaroni Dinner

1 cup dry textured vegetable protein (tvp) rehydrated with 1 cup hot water in a bowl, set aside. (or you may use a bag of Morningstar Grillers Frozen Crumbles -no need to rehydrate)
13 oz. macaroni
2 TB olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 a large green pepper, chopped
1 cup button mushrooms, sliced
3 TB dry seasoning mix (Recipe at bottom of post)
1 tsp chili powder
1-14oz. can diced tomatoes with juice
2-8oz. cans tomato sauce
2 1/4 cups hot water
2 tsp red miso paste
2 TB soy sauce
1 TB ketchup
1 tsp cornstarch mixed with a little cold water to dissolve

Cook macaroni in water per package directions. Meanwhile...

Heat oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Saute onions, garlic and green pepper for a few minutes. Add mushrooms and cook until vegetables are tender. Add the hydrated TVP and then add dry seasoning mix and chili powder. Stir to combine seasonings and tvp. Add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and hot water. Bring to a boil while stirring. Add miso paste, soy sauce and ketchup and stir to dissolve. Add cornstarch/water mixture to thicken. Lower heat to simmer for about 5-6 minutes. When sauce is thickened, add cooked and drained macaroni to it and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper and let simmer for a few more minutes.

Here's my adapted dry seasoning mix recipe:

1 1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 Tbs. garlic powder
2 Tbs. dried parsley
3 Tbs. onion powder
1 Tbs. salt
3 1/2 Tbs. veggie bouillon powder (or you can use nutritional yeast)
2 tsp italian seasoning
1 tsp paprika

Getting mentally ready for detox and some tacos.

So the day after Superbowl Sunday, I will start a detox diet based on Gillian Mckeith's meal plans and cookbook. So this means no processed food, no sugar, no white rice, no white pasta, no added salt, no coffee or alcohol... In other words only fresh vegetables, fresh fruit, smoothies, juices, herbal teas, whole grains, beans, nuts, seeds and tofu. I will be cooking everything I eat. (Except for Feb 18th our wedding anniversary, we are going to Real Food Daily. But they've got healthy vegan options so I'll be fine.) This week I've been enjoying sugar filled sweets, chocolate, coffee, port wine and white bread and rice. A little too much indulgence I think and on Sunday I'm making chocolate ganache cupcakes which will be my last sweet treat before the start of the diet. After three weeks, I hope to be able to crave sweets less and learn to up my raw fruit and vegetable intake. I also wouldn't mind losing a bit of weight! We'll see how this journey goes. I'll be recording it all on my blog and photographing the different foods I will get to eat. If you look back at some older entries (or under the tag "gillian mckeith") you'll see that I've tried a few recipes from the cookbook already and they aren't half as bad as some of you may think.

The other night I made tvp tacos that I forgot to post here.


The tvp was cooked with taco seasoning, lime juice, cumin, garlic powder and salsa. It was quite good. If you don't know what tvp is, it's dehydrated soy granules which you rehydrate in water. It closely resembles ground beef. You can get it in the bulk section of your health food store. It's cheap. You can cook it any way you want and put it in a myriad of dishes such as casseroles, enchiladas, lasagnas and pot pie.