Sunday, May 24, 2009

Some Vegan Yumminess

The sassy, spunky Clem recently asked me for some ideas for vegan dishes, and I figured I would share some of them here so you can all see that vegan doesn't have to be boring.

I'm not vegan, but I do try to eat vegan and buy vegan products as much as possible and I really admire the idea behind the choice. I'm very much for animal rights and planetary health. I got these recipes from a Mercy for Animals booklet. If you are curious about them, you can find them here: MercyForAnimals.org

So, enjoy!

Breakfast Scramble

1 tbsp. vegetable oil
1/2 lb. sausage substitute
1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. firm tofu, drained and crumbled
1 tomato, diced
1 tsp. turmeric
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
2 green onions, minced

Heat oil in a skillet. Add the sausage substitute, onion, and garlic and fry until browned. Add the tofu, tomato, turmeric, and garlic salt and saute for 5 minutes. Add green onions during the last minute of cooking.


Blueberry Muffins

3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup unbleached white flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. sea salt
egg replacer (equivalent to 1 egg)
1 cup rice or soy milk
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix all dry ingredients. In another bowl, mix all the wet ones. Stir the wet into the dry without over-mixing. Oil a muffin tin and spoon in the batter, filling the cups 2/3 full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.


Crunchy Veg Wraps

4 tbsp non-dairy cream cheese (try the Tofutti brand...it's yummy)
4 10-inch flour tortillas
1 cup shredded spinach
1/4 cup alfalfa sprouts
1/2 cup shredded red cabbage
1/2 cup sliced avocado
1/4 cup chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup diced cucumbers
2 tbsp finely diced red onion
salt and pepper, to taste

Spread 1 tbsp. of cream cheese over each tortilla. Sprinkle an even amount of the remaining ingredients on each wrap and roll up.


"Cheese Steak" Sandwiches

1 tbsp. olive oil
1 medium-sized yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 medium-sized red bell pepper, seeded and cut into thin strips
8 oz. seitan (available at health food stores), sliced thin
1 tbsp. vegetarian Worcestershire sauce (available at health food stores)
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
4 oz. soy mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 6-to-7 inch sub rolls

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and bell pepper, cover, and cook, stirring a few times, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the seitan and cook, turning once, until lightly browned on both sides, about 5 minutes. Add Worcestershire sauce and season to taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with the soy cheese and allow it to melt.

Split the rolls lenghtwise and fill with the seitan and cheese mixture. Serve hot.


Fried "Chicken"

1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder
2 cups unbleached flour
4 tbsp. nutritional yeast (optional)
3 tbsp. yellow mustard
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp. baking powder
1 lb. mock chicken (try Worthington Foods Chic-Ketts or White Wave wheat meat)
3-1/2 cups vegetable oil

Mix together the salt, onion powder, pepper, garlic powder, flour, and nutritional yeast in a deep bowl. In a separate bowl, dilute the mustard with 1/2 cup water. Add 1/3 cup of the flour mixture to the mustard mixture and stir. Add the baking powder to the dry flour mixture and mix.

Dip chunks of the mock chicken into the mustard batter, then drop each chunk into the flour mixture and coat with the desired amount of "crust". Fry the chunks in hot oil on medium-high heat in a large skillet or deep fryer until crispy and golden brown, turning as needed.



I will post more later! :D

6 comments:

  1. dude, i'm hungry. bring some of that over! lol

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  2. These are great recipes! I'm not a full-fledged vegan either, but like you, I try to eat less meat and other animal products. Now, if I can only get the hubby on board; may be these recipes will do the trick! :)

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  3. @smiss hehe, we should have a dinner night :)

    @esque I try to not only eat that way but I always buy cruelty free cleaning products and cosmetics. :) I have an absolutely awesome vegan cookbook that I have tried a bunch of recipes from and every single one has been to die for! Vegan and vegetarian food can be amazing, you just have to find the things that you like.

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  4. I have found in baked goods you can substitute a banana for an egg. it changes the flavor but it usually tastes pretty good. love your recipes!

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  5. YAY! I am going to try a few of these and let you know how it goes...or how my body handles it lol

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  6. @EverImprovingMe I've done that too. Doesn't work so great in pancakes though :/

    @Clem yay! I have a fair number more too. :D

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